The calm before the storm

Well, it appears I haven't been as good about my blogging as I had wanted to be. I am trying to enjoy the peacefulness while I can. In the next two weeks we will be having puppies and kids and I am beginning to wonder what the heck I was thinking. I should have timed this a lot better. Miley is going to be having her litter of yellow lab puppies which we have been waiting for on pins and needles. The goats are always fun so I am hoping they will decide to not all kid at the same time. The weather has been beautiful so everyone seems to be happy for the moment. Now we just wait for the chaos.

Sisterly Love

Well, today everyone was helping out on the farm by doing chores. The hubby was trying to fix the lawn mower, I was getting cobwebs down from the eaves, and the girls were cleaning out the goat's stall. I couldn't help but feel the love from my two daughters as they worked together. I would hear things like, "Knock it off!" "You're not helping me!" And always a favorite, "I am gonna tell mom!" As I kept knocking off the cobwebs several thoughts went through my head. The first ones I probably shouldn't mention because no mother would admit to those ones. The next thoughts were that I should leave so that I didn't have to listen to this or that they just needed to work it out by themselves. Finally, I decided it was time to intervene since they had been in there about an hour sharing their sisterly love. Of course the bickering stopped as soon as they heard the barn door open. I walked in and I looked at both of them and told them that I could hear them yelling from outside. Before the finger pointing could go any further I told them that I was very sorry and that it was my fault. They both stared at me blinking in disbelief. I told them that clearly I hadn't given them enough opportunities to develop good teamwork. I told them that the more they argued the worse I felt as a mom. I promised them that there will be lots more opportunities in the near future for them to show me how well they can work together and more chances to make me proud. The look on their face was priceless. I walked out of the barn and not another peep was heard. It appears that my barn is going to be looking good this summer!

Real Chicken Farmers

Well, yesterday was an interesting day. We took 13 chickens to the processing plant and we watched a little of the "processing." I don't know how they were killed because I couldn't watch that part but I did see them come flying out of the deplucking machine which was astonishing. The 13 birds went from being alive to store ready in less than 5 minutes. I was amazed at how clean those birds could get so quickly and how fast the workers prepared them. However, there is a certain smell that lingers in the processing plant that I can't seem to get it out of my head. Now, I have worked as an animal health technician for about 10 years so the smell of blood doesn't bother me too much but this smell is different. As a matter of fact, when I ate my first farm raised chicken last night I swear I could almost taste that smell. The meal wasn't as satisfying for me as it was for the rest of my family. My whole family took part in sampling the chicken including my youngest who raised them and they all agreed that it was better than store bought chicken. Me, I kept my thoughts to myself. When I went into the hen house this morning I got a little wiff of the "processing" smell for whatever reason and felt sick to my stomach. Maybe I need more time to pass before I try another one of our home ranged chickens again or maybe I am just not the chicken farmer type. I think it is the latter.

Summer Begins

Well, summer can finally begin now that county fair is over. What a week! The goats did great at the fair and the kids had a blast hanging out with their friends. Our newest venture was my youngest daughter's desire to earn money at the auction. Her older sister made a decent amount of money with her market eggs so we had to figure out what animal we felt comfortable sending to market. That was a tough decision for a family who saves baby opposums from getting hit on the road. She decided to raise some Cornish Cross chickens. Now, this was no small undertaking. She raised 16 chickens and only four made weight to go to fair. But it was exciting watching the smallest little girl up there holding her two heavy chickens upside down. It was something we will always remember. Her grandparents had a bidding war and she ended up doing very well in the auction. I don't know if she will do it again because she said it was a lot of work cleaning that coop everyday but she was very happy with her earnings.

My older daughter did great with her goats and won the Best in Show doe at the fair. We call that the Grand Poobah award. One of my proudest moments was when the 6 goats were lined up to compete for this award and every one of those goats were Sly Farm's goats. They weren't all owned by us but they were babies that were bred by us or born on our farm so that was a big accomplishment.

Well, our next big event is the arrival of some yellow lab puppies. Raising puppies is a lot of work but it reaps many rewards. My passion has always been to raise nice animals and I am just thankful that my family goes along with all of my endeavors. I can't imagine living anywhere else but on a farm. The best way to wake up is walking out your back door watching the sun rise, listening to my horses neigh, getting licked from all my dogs, and hearing the goats calling from their pen. Sure, they want breakfast but they make me feel special.