Swamped

May 3, 2007 at 4:55 am · Filed under Fence, Fruits of Our Labor, Honey Bees, Laying Hens, Oberhalsi Dairy Goats, Projects

Well, so much for using this blog to keep great daily records…..  LOL!

Between the demands of outside work, Ryan’s driver’s ed, and homeschooling, I have been on the computer very little.  Things are starting to actually shape up around here.

The fence was finally finished and the goats moved into the main pasture (finally) around the 23rd.  I still need to finish their shelter, but that has been put on the back burner for now.  I did get Bernice, the mama goat’s, hooves trimmed.  The girls are next. 

We were blessed with 60 laying hens. Their owner hurt her back and could no longer care for them.  We gave a family down the road 30 of them and got the remainder settled into the barn.  Hopefully we will find someone to take another 15 of them.  It is great to have fresh eggs again!  I will make a concerted effort in the future to be sure I have a new laying flock matured and ready to lay before being forced to “retire” my old layers. I am in the process of building them a coop that I can move around with the four-wheeler.  It should be pretty cool when it is finished (if I do say so myself).  Hopefully, that will be sometime this week.

We did go to Freeport and pick up 10 of those honey supers.  I got them painted and on my hives right away.  Hive #2 is thriving, but is very aggressive.  Beginning to wonder if they have become Africanized.  Hive #1 is doing fine.

The farrier came finally and trimmed Emily’s hooves.  After a cancellation and a couple no-shows, her hooves looked like they would fit perfectly into a pair of elf booties.  Poor thing.

She desperately needed them done, and I was thrilled to finally find a farrier that is not odd or crotchety that is accepting new clients.  He will be back in 6 weeks. 

She was not happy about having her hooves messed with, but we bribed her with the much-desired animal crackers.  She is a sweetie, but was a pill that day. She does NOT like the camera, but wants the cookie. LOL!

Down in the garden, I repaired my leaning grape trellis and planted 4 more grape vines, moved my blackberry bushes and compost piles, replaced my 3 winter-killed blueberry bushes, and built a raised 4′ x 20″ strawberry bed out of TREX lumber, a la Square Foot Gardening. Hopefully, I will be able to get the new strawberry plants in there tomorrow.

By the way, this week I have done ZERO housekeeping! NONE!  I am sure there is going to be hell to pay the next day it rainy day.  Do I care? Nope. <grin>

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Nettles Rant

April 14, 2007 at 4:32 am · Filed under Opinions, Spring, The Land

Today was the day I had been waiting for.  I got to BURN!  I must be a pyromaniac at heart, because burning the pasture and the ditches off in the spring is probably one of my favorite spring-time jobs.  I got everything to the east of our lane done today. Hopefully the wind will not be blowing and I can do the west side tomorrow.

By some ironic twist of fate, on the day I got to do my favorite job, I also had to do the one I do my best to avoid.  I really try to be as organic as possible.  I work hard at it.  I compost, I mulch, I use natural pest deterrents, etc.  I hate, hate, hate to use chemicals, but especially an herbicide. Well, today I broke out the Round-UP.  Not only did I use it, I went through 2 gallons of the stuff.  *sigh*

We have two very nice creeks that run through our property.  It is nice and shady and moist all along our western boundary.  Ideal accommodations for the bane of my existence, stinging nettles.  Apparently conditions were even better than ideal this spring.  It was coming up EVERYWHERE.  Honestly, I have never dealt with a more infuriating, invasive weed before in my life.   

I leave the natural areas of the property alone for the most part.  Plenty of nettles elsewhere for the caterpillars and bobwhites. But I already have to dig them out of the garden without having my efforts further thwarted by their creeping rhizomes that can spread an amazingly long distance underground. So… if they come within a 50 foot radius of my vegetables and berries, I break out the big guns.

Nettles have a vendetta against more pleasant and attractive plants and do their best to over-take and choke the life out of them.  The root system on nettles is amazing and the teeniest bit of rhizome left in (or even on) the ground will re-root and grow a six-foot tall stand of the noxious things, practically overnight. They aren’ t even pretty.

Plus, they give me a lasting-nasty-red-rash-that-itches-like-hell.  

Don’t begin to TRY to tell me they are edible and how amazingly nutritious they are!  And, yes, I do know that nettles are considered a delicacy in Sweden.  Yeah, an extract of the roots is terrific for treating prostrate problems….. I. don’t. care.  I am the only “greens” eater in the family and we are so over-run, I couldn’t eat enough of the darn things to keep them under control if that was all I ever ate for the rest of my life.  Besides, I can’t eat them.  They are covered with poison now, and I am not sorry.

I may consider myself “organic”, but Round-UP is my friend.

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The Chicken Story

April 13, 2007 at 6:02 am · Filed under Humor, Laying Hens

If you need a laugh, go read The Chicken Story.  If you are over 35 and have given birth, visit the bathroom first.

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Run, boy! Run!

April 12, 2007 at 7:27 pm · Filed under Fence, Oberhalsi Dairy Goats

 

Well, the goats have discovered that when we are working on the electric fence it means the fence isn’t turned on, therefore, they can escape with impunity.  The day before yesterday they got out and were making short work of my shrubs, so I sent the boy out with our “secret weapon” to round them up.  You see, our goats KNOW what a bag of Sweet 16 (their favorite thing in the whole-wide-world) looks like!  He walked out of the barn with that bag and whistled and was almost stampeeded.  Better run, boy, before they knock ya down and take that bag of feed away. If they discover it is empty they are going to stomp you into a bloody pulp.

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April 9th

April 10, 2007 at 5:36 am · Filed under Flemish Giants, Honey Bees, Other Expenses

Well, it is a no-go on splitting my bee hives. I cannot locate good carnolian queen bees anywhere.  Everyone is sold out until June. Sigh. Guess I will just go with the two hives and buy the 10 honey supers and hope to split next year.

I finished my feed-bunk! The materials cost about $50.  Can you believe how much lumber is going for?  Alan came up from working on the electric fence and commented how great it looked in an obnoxiously surprised voice.  (When is that man gonna learn that the woodshop tools are really mine and I just let him borrow them?)  I think it looks great, if I do say so myself.  The steers let me know that it meets expectations.

Alan also used the last bag of insulators and had to head to Farm and Fleet for more.  He spent $150 there on replentishing our fencing supplies.  The new pasture is almost goat ready!  I am going to be SO happy to have them out there instead of in the pen.

I picked up the two new does today.  One is a two year old and the other is a one year old.  He bred the two year old on the 7th.  I believe that my Sr. doe was also bred on Saturday, so I should get two new litters of baby bunnies around the 8th of May. 

             Note to self: Remember to put litter-boxes in hutches on the 2nd.

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Pretending to farm

April 8, 2007 at 8:06 pm · Filed under Free thinking

How many people get to live their dream? Hopefully, many do, but I know how fortunate I really am.  My husband is a hard worker and good at his job.  Thankfully, his job provides enough for our family that I can stay home enjoying the kiddos and pretending to farm.

I dabble and I play and I pretty much spend all my free time and all my free money on my hobby. I can guarantee you that (when you are small scale) doing things yourself often costs just as much as buying the end product at the store.  Sure, it is healthier, fresher, and usually better quality, but it is no cheaper.  When you factor your time in, the cost goes up exponentially, so you had better enjoy it.

I might complain about how last year, we spent a fortune on feed for our beef and ended up with a $52 profit for the year.  Not much, considering I had to go out twice daily throughout the winter and chop holes in the ice of the creek, whether I felt like it or not. BUT I take comfort of knowing that the meat I feed my children wasn’t fattened on antibiotics, hormones and glucose pellets. Plus, I LOVE it when people rave about how great our beef is and their friends call, wanting to get a side the next time we butcher.  I guess my point is, I don’t raise any of our food because I have to, I do it because I love to!  I plant, and prune, and weed, and doctor, and milk because that is who I am.  It fulfills me.

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Spring has arrived!

April 7, 2007 at 4:48 pm · Filed under Angus Cattle, Feed records, Flemish Giants, Spring, The Dogs

It is that time of year again when I am chomping at the bit to get outside. Unfortunately, because of the weather, I am still often confined to the house drooling over catalogs.

So far we have a list of outdoor jobs that is three, single-spaced pages long. I have my priorities circled in blue ink and Alan has his circled in pencil.  Of course, very few things are circled by both of us. LOL!

Three days ago we got our new Black Angus steers.  We only got three this year because we got tired of paying $400 a month for feed through the winter.  I am already regretting it.  Going from 6 to 3 is a big change.  They look lonely out there.  I am checking around to see if I can round up one more.  He charged me $1.15 a pound for them and they averaged 675 lbs each. 

                                      They look pissed, don’t they?

So far I have kept them in the feed-yard as they seemed pretty anxious.  After having last year’s bunch immediately run through my electric fence upon arrival, I wasn’t eager for a repeat.  If they have calmed down enough this afternoon, I will let them out into pasture.

Today I spoke with one of the officers of ISBA (IL State Beekeepers Association) and arranged to buy at least 10 medium honey supers with drawn comb from him, for the terrific price of $15 each.  That is less than half what they would cost me new, and with drawn comb, my bees will be able to put 90% of their efforts into producing honey right off the bat.  If I am able to arrange for the purchase of two new queens from Hawaii, I will split my hives and buy 20 supers from him instead.  It is a bit late to arrange for queens, but I am hopeful.  I emailed Kona Queen Bees about availability and hope to hear back from them soon.

I also spoke with my bunny guru concerning the replacement of three of my Flemish Giant does.  Two got sick over the winter and died, despite my ministrations, and another had to be culled as she had developed the nasty habit of killing her litters for no apparent reason.  He has agreed to sell me one fawn doe that is ready to be bred, and hopefully connect me with a raiser in the Peoria area that has a few available.

In the last week, we started spring cleanup, got 2 tons of feed delivered on 3/31 that totaled $406.26, took Jake and Reba to the vet for their 3 year rabies vaccinations, worked on fence, dug a drainage channel and am in the process of building a new feed-bunk for the steers, but need to go get more lumber. 

I am also eagerly awaiting our first windless day so I can get out and burn.  Ahhhhhhhh… Spring!

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