Spring!

Our unidentified tree in the front yard is blooming and its absolutely gorgeous! Everytime I walk to the truck it greets me and I smile. I know its blooms will be short lived, so I will enjoy them while they are here. The peonies I planted are starting to emerge from the ground. The hydrangeas are settling in, and we can see shades of blue already. Today, the weather is gorgeous! I took the dogs on a long with with one of my girlfriends. It was so nice to be out in the sun, walking after having been cooped up during the winter. Welcome Spring, I hope you stay!

Thunderboomers

So people around here refer to thunderstorms as thunderboomers. A phrase I hadn't heard until we moved here, but I think is quite fitting. A thunderboomer doesnt allow one to sleep, unless you are Hubby who can sleep through anything. A thunderboomer shakes the house so that the glasses on the kitchen shelves rattle. A thunderboomer is amazing and what I am witnessing right now. Today was a normal enough day. It was slightly cloudy as we worked outside all day. Hubby emptied out the little red coop completely, down to the bare floor. We moved it across the yard (moving a 400+lb chicken coop is not easy) to be near the playhouse coop. We set it up with new bedding and moved all the chicks over. This time we put a heat lamp in "just in case". Today would never qualify as a warm day, but it was nice enough to turn off the heater. Tomorrow is supposed to be 81 at the highest temp. No wonder we are having thunderboomers tonight! Since we were home all day today, the chickens enjoyed free ranging. As we would move the little coop slowly, they would bring up the rear, pecking at anything they thought might be food. This includes my shoelaces. We moved the ducks into the goat pen so that their pen can dry out from all the mud. Their blue kiddie pool moved with them and they are quite happy. They are not too sure what the goats intentions are. Jackie, just wants to play and she jumps about. If she jumps too near the ducks they all quack and run. Jackie will stand still for a moment trying to figure out where all her new friends went. She gives up eventually and leaves them be. When I checked on them all this afternoon I wished I had my camera (which by the way is on vacation until I find the charger). Jackie, Billy and Kisses were all basking in the sun together. Billy's head was on Kisses' tummy and Jackies was on Billy. Super cute! Even the ducks were laying down enjoying the sun, and having peace of mind that the goats werent going to do anything as long as they were sleeping. On a sad note, Marshmallow the angora is not looking well at all. In fact, we expect he will pass any day now. He was old when we got him, complete with a broken back healed wrong. We figured we would just let him live out his days. He did see the vet about 2 weeks ago for his eye. Friday night he started acting super lethargic. He would fall on his side and couldnt right himself. He was still interested in his food and water, especially his hay. Today he doesnt even open his eyes. We know he is alive because his nose twitches. Poor guy. There is no point in taking him to the vet because he is a really old bunny. When we visited the vet last week even the vet admited that he was old, and no matter what tests we do, he is still going to be old. I explained to the vet that I wanted Marshmallow to be healthy, even if he is old. So the vet gave us medicine for his eye and gave Marshmallow a haircut. I am not sure if Marshmallow is reacting to the meds, or if he would be sick anyways. It is sad to watch him like this and we are doing our best to keep him as comfortable as possible. I will not be surprised if he doesnt make it through the night. Speaking of angoras, and to lighten the mood, we did adopt another angora, Fluffy on Sat. Fluffy came to us from another knitter who is moving and cant take him with her. Fluffy is 2 years old, litter box trained and loves playing with the cats. He had the longest nails I have ever seen on a bunny. They were so long that they would lay sideways . I trimmed them (at least 1/2 inch on each nail) so that he is comfortable and can walk. Each week we will trim them a little more, so that the nail and the quick return to normal size. Other than that, fluffy is extremely healthy and as handsome as can be. We intend to breed Fluffy with the two girls so we can have more fiber animals (or sell the offspring). I am so thankfully that Hubby lets me indulge in them, as they are not very practical. But Hubby puts up with me, and I love him dearly. Hubby and I witnessed Mittens, the cat, jump from the second story balcony to the ground below and run away. We have been wondering how in the world he gets off the deck. Now we know. Mittens was our troubled cat, who would pee on inappropriate places. Mainly the bed. Especially the bed with fresh sheets. So Mittens gained outside privedelges. On nice days we open the french doors and let the cats on the deck. Buttons hasnt figured out how to escape (yet). Mittens always escapes and returns later, sometimes a week later, sometimes days, or like tonight, sometimes hours. Mittens returned tonight just as it started to rain. Smart cat he is! This week will be a busy one here at Victory Garden Farm. We are hoping our tax return comes so we can put up more fencing for the goats. We have one roll of fencing up, and are waiting the funds to finish the real pen. For now they are in a chain link pen composed of many dog pens put together. While it works, its not very permanent. Hopefully we can get the fencing up next weekend. I have the next two days off, and am having fun planning knitting projects. If tomorrow is as warm as its supposed to be I might take my knitting outside for a spell. Hopefully I will find the camera charger tomorrow...

Seeds, Sunburn and Snow

Within the past 24 hours, I have planted seeds. got a sunburn and watched it snow...welcome to spring! Yesterday was on the nicer side of cold. Temperatures hovered in the low 50s, which was enough to get me out and going. Luckily I had the day off and was able to get a lot done around the house. I planted more seeds, but instead of veggies, these were of the flower variety. They will be started indoors since spring is so moody here. When we bought the house last summer, all of our efforts went into working on the inside. We didnt have time or the means to clean up the leaves on the lawn that fell in the fall. When we finally had time to devote to the outside, it was winter and either snowy or wet. So the leaves just sat there all winter, thankfully not damaging the lawn. Now that the weather is warming up and the snow has melted it is time to deal with the lawn. I raked up the leaves on the front lawn. When Hubby got home from work he brought huge lawn bags from Home Depot. We bagged up all the leaves and burned them. We stayed out working on the yard until it got chilly. Only then did I realize I had a slight sunburn...oops. I am so not used to this nice weather.

Apparently I shouldnt get too used to it. As I type, big flakes of snow are floating down. So far, they are melting when they hit the ground, and I can only hope they dont decide to stick around. I like snow- in the winter. Not at the end of march, when it should be 60. No, I dont like snow today, not at all. Rain I can deal with. Rain is good for the garden I am trying to convince to grow. Snow is just cold...

On a happier note, my pullets have a new trick. If you remember we have 4 pullets- chickens who are not old enough to lay, but older than the chicks. When they see me coming they fly through the air and land on my shoulder/head/any body part higher than my waist. THey will then sit on my shoulders until I force them to get down (this usually involves feeding them). I think they think I am their personal perch. I love it! Who wouldnt love walking around with 4 chickens on her shoulders? Ok, maybe dont answer that. Sorry about the bad photo quality. The pictures are from my phone.

Tonight calls for cuddling with the hubby watching the 4th and final season of The Good Life, which my Mamaw sent me in the mail today. Thanks Mamaw and Papaw for thinking of me! Leftover chili with cornbread muffins for dinner when Hubby gets home.... I am going to go put on some handknit socks and a sweatshirt!

Hello and Goodbye

This week there are a lot of changes going on around the farm. The chicks said hello to their new coop. Mama Bunny said hello to her babies. And the farm will say goodbye to Meanie. Today Meanie has her date with the butcher. In just a few hours I will load her into the truck and she will say goodbye to her home. Sad? yes. Part of life? yes. It may be her last day with us, but that doesnt mean she is neglected. In fact, this morning she had got herself tied up and couldnt stand. I dropped everything I was doing to go untangle her. She may only have a few hours left, but by golly, they will be good hours. Hubby gave the goats extra hay last night, and they got extra rations this morning. I dont think Meanie knows what is going to happen later, and maybe its better that way.

On a happier note, Mama Bunny is doing well. All 7 babies are alive so far. I realized last time that I can't count them as alive until after a week or so. If Mama bunny feels that one or two are weaklings, she will take care of it. And by that, I mean she will eat them, dispose of the evidence. I always thought it was horrible that a rabbit could and will eat their young. I guess if I look at it from the rabbits perspective, she is doing it to save the others. If she were in the wild, a predator could sense the weak babies and would be drawn to the nest. So perhaps that one weak runt would be the death of the whole litter. The mama would just be trying to put the best interests of the rest of the babies ahead of one baby. So far, all our babies look fat and healthy. I am hoping they all live and will keep you updated.

Today is another cold dreary day. I dont think its supposed to heat up much. I am layered in my farm clothes, drinking my coffee, with the heater turned down. Tonight Hubby and I are hopefully doing our taxes. It will be our first year owning a home, and I am hoping to get a tax break. Last year we barely got a refund, and this year we could really use it. We are still not using credit cards, and while its hard!, its also sooo much better. There isnt the stress hanging over us while we wait for the bill to come. If we dont have the money, we dont buy it. This is teaching us restraint, but also to be content with what we have. I have been knitting from my stash and realizing how much yarn I do have. We are cooking "from the pantry". We go grocery shopping for fresh veggies and fruits as well as coffee and milk. Other than that we are trying to clean out the pantry. We have a ton of frozen meat in the chest freezer and are going to try to thin it out. We are learning to adapt and use what we have. We are loving it! Once Kisses has babies (if she is pregnant), we wont have to buy milk at the store. We havent bought eggs since I cant remember when. We will have even more meat, after Meanie's date. The baby bunnies will fill the freezer too. When the chicks are old enough to lay, we will thin out our flock. Our meat chicks will be ready in a month. I want to buy as little at the grocery store as possible.

This post is getting way off topic...and laundry is calling. We are looking forward to what other hellos and goodbyes will happen here on the farm. Stay tuned!

Dreary Days

Today is one of those epic dreary days. The day started out drizzly, turned to rain, turned to cloudy, and finally thunderstorms. As I type, its pitch black outside, I have the window open and can hear the rain, and the loud thunder booms. Lightning flashes across the sky allowing me to temporarily see the front yard and tree. It lights up the neighbors house and yard across the street, and then its gone. I sit and wait for the thunder, counting seconds inbetween light and noise. A dreary day for sure, but perfect in my world. We need these to counter the 70 degree days I also love so much. My garden needs the rain. The rain barrels collect the water to be used for all the poultry and livestock. I wouldnt wish everyday to be like this, but for now I am enjoying it. That said, I did have to brave the day to run errands. My frist errand of the day was driving into Pennsylvania to pick up livestock fencing. The drive went smoothly. On my way home I stopped at Sonic Drive In. Sonic is on my list of favorite eateries, not because of its good food. I love it thanks to its epic Route 44 Ice Tea, along with all the memories Sonic holds. Fresh in my memory is the Sonic in Texas near our house. When Hubby was deployed, I would walk the dogs to the Sonic, get an ice tea and bones for the dogs. We would sit in the scorching Texas heat and enjoy our treats before walking home. When Hubby came home he too joined in on our Sonic walks. We could easily make tea at home, but I cherished the walk and talks we had. Delving further into my memories of Sonic, I revisit my childhood. We didnt have a Sonic nearby. I do remember family vacations to the midwest, visiting family in Arkansas and Texas. Sonics are plentiful in the midwest. I remember my first visit and how I couldnt believe one didnt have to leave ones vehicle. The icing on the cake was when the car hops delivered our food on rollerskates. To a little girl far away from home, something as simple as this was memorable. I remember laughing with my sisters as lowrider trucks circled the Sonic with nothing better to do. So today I enjoyed my tea, despite the fact it wasnt delivered via rollerskates. I brought home a tea for Hubby, not wanting to exclude him. When I arrived home, there was a box on my front door. I have been awaiting two boxes eagerly. One is a box of hydrangeas, and the other is our bee equipment. Todays box was small, thus being the former. I opened the box to reveal three small twigs . These twigs aka hydrangeas will grow to be huge bushes hopefully. I want to hide our parking area and thought I would do so using hydrangeas. Hydrangeas too have a special place in my memory. Growing up, my mom always had dried hydrangeas about the house. They were also our wedding flowers and due to that fact will always be special. Today's hydrangeas will bloom white and turn to green. They will take years to be the huge flowering bushes that grace the gardens nearby. I will have to remember not to mow them over with the lawnmower, mistaking them for sticks and twigs. On an extremely dreary day, what better than new blooms to brighten my day? After enjoying my package, I had to take Marshmallow aka The Kid to the vet. The Kid is our male angora, given to us as a spent 4H project. When we got The Kid, he had an eye issue. Not knowing what to do, as it was getting worse, I took him to the vet. The vet examined The Kid, flushing out his ducts, shaving off ruined fur and observing his nature. The Kid has always "hopped" funny. The closest comparison would be to the slinky dog on Toy Story. The Kid hops with his front legs, and his back follows later. The vet's theory is that a while ago he must have broke his back, and it healed wrong. The vet went into detail about what we could do if we wanted to know for sure. X rays, blood work and the likes would let us know what is going on while costing us a bundle. I told the vet that my main concern is getting him healthy. If he isnt in pain because of his back, then we dont need to research his history. The Kid is an old bunny. Thanks to the vet and some meds, he will be back to new, but with his own style of hopping about. Obviously he can still have relationships with the girl angoras so I dont think he is lacking too much. We returned from the vet with lighter pockets and a happy bunny. He was returned to his cage with some new chew toys (everyone got new chews) and I am sure he has already told the other bunns about his adventures. After dinner with the hubbs, I relaxed in a hot bath. A hot bath is my favorite way to unwind after a long day. Wrapped in my bathrobe and slippers, with the window open, here I sit enjoying the crisp air and writing to you. A good, dreary day indeed.

Welcome Spring

Happy First Day of Spring! Hubby and I celebrated by tilling the garden plot. I am wishing I had a hot tub (preferably one from here http://snorkel.com/) to relax in because my back, and Hubby's as well, is killing me! We took turns tilling the plot. Since the plot was grass yesterday, we spent a good amount of time raking the clumps of grass, and throwing them on the compost heap. Once we were satisfied with the tilling job, we started planting our veggies. As I write, we have broccoli, spinach, lettuce, kale and onions in the new garden plot. These are our tests, as it is supposed to snow this week. We have seeds started indoors that we will plant in the ground when we dont think it will snow and or freeze. The weather is supposed to rain all week and I hope the garden survives. Kisses, our new goat is settling in well. We were prepared for her to cry all week. We were told a goat will always cry, and sound horrendous, for their first week in a new home. Not our girl! Knock on wood. She has been extremely well mannered. She cries softly occasionally, but George the Rooster is louder than she. Jackie and Billy dont seem to care one way or another that we have a new goat. Meanie, is her usual mean old self. Jumpy pays Kisses no attention until Kisses gets too close. So far so good. I only hope they continue to get along. On the rabbit front, I think one of our does is going to give birth this week. She is currently renting a rabbit cage in the laundry room so that if and when she delivers her babies might have a chance. She is enjoying this new location. The previous baby bunnies are getting huge! They look more and more like real bunnies on a miniture scale. Hubby thinks he has found homes for two of them, even though that was not our intent. Our male angora has some issues around his eye. I am not sure what is going on there, but we will keep an eye on him. Hopefully it will clear up. If not, its off to the vet we go. We had a lovely visit from a friend/old coworker of mine. It was so fun to show her all that is new around the farm since she last came. I dont realize how much it has changed, since its all been slowly evolving. Looking at it through her eyes made it so much more exciting. Hubby and I are relaxing, watching The Good Life tonight. My back aches, and my arms throb from the vibrations of the rototiller. At least its done for now. Tomorrow can be a lazy day in the rain. I am looking forward to the moment my head hits the pillow tonight.

dreaming of green

We were completely spoiled the past couple of days. Yesterday reached up to 79 degrees, and I was at work. This weekend is starting out well (as well as it can be at 7am on a sat). During these nice days I find myself dreaming about the farm being green. Its hard to imagine the backyard looking like it did in the picture above (when we first got Jackie back in October). Right now I can see straight back through the woods. There are no leaves on the trees to add mystery to the forest. If I look closer, I can see tiny green buds on the branches, just trying to peek out. Its coming, spring is really coming. Hubby and I are planning the veggie garden. We have the less hardy seeds started indoors, and the cold tolerant outside. Hopefully this weekend we will get the potatoes and rhubarb in the ground. I have peonies ready to plant, and hydrangeas on order. I am itching to get the plants in the ground, but will just have to wait. The nice weather is just a tease. It is supposed to snow on wed... still, I can dream right?