They just smell different

Each time I work in the garden I can smell the produce around me.  It's a smell that I realize I haven't smelled in a very long time, which is sad.

Real garden produce smells so much different and better than what is in the grocery store.

It dawned on me one day that the fact that I noticed it was sad proof of what our food system has become and what I took far too long to get back into.

Our first cucumber and several small roma tomatoes

Everything in this salad was from our garden

And then there were two

I finally did it.  I finally downsized to two goats.

Jenny, Rucker, and Cash found a new home with a couple in West Virginia that has several pet goats, a pet miniature donkey, and a pet cow.

It was the hardest for me to pick up Rucker and put him in their kennel.

The oldest son got really quiet and wouldn't say much.  This was his way of showing that losing the goats is hard for him.

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After they left, Kelly was crying out in a way that I've never heard before.  She and Jenny had grown apart ever since the boys were born because Jenny was their mom and moved on to protecting and parenting them, so I didn't realize how much it would bother her.  Broke my heart.

The most persistent perennial... weeds!

Every time I start a project I always think how I should have taken "before" pictures so I can see my progress.  The same thing happen this morning, about thirty minutes into weeding the garden I knew I should take a picture of how bad things were.

There is a path buried under those weeds

The sweet potatoes have gone everywhere

Not sure why I bothered to weed the Brussels sprouts when they've been destroyed by goats

Good thing these grow higher than the weeds

I spent about 2 hours weeding and laying down newspaper to help stop the weeds.  I only wish I had a ton of mulch to lay down so it would look as nice as the tomato rows.  I finally stopped, knowing that I still have a ton of work to do.

Weeds cleared and paper to help keep it this way

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And seeing this gave me hope for the fresh produce we will have soon, and annoyance at all the weeds under there

That sucker is huge!

I have been pretty disappointed with the garden so far.  I'm not sure if I'm just expecting things too soon or if it isn't producing when it's suppose to be, but besides the lettuce, this is the first thing that we have harvested.  It is pretty darn big though.

There are several pickling cucumbers and butternut squash growing and a bunch of tomatoes that are still green so my hopes are still up.

Ticks Beware!

We are down to two guinea after the "good" guinea decided to disappear at night for several days and then her feathers turned up in the yard one morning....

The ticks have been really bad this  year and I have wondered if it is because we no longer have enough guinea... so I got some more.  :)  Now if I can just keep them all alive until next spring....

A typical morning on my farm

I took this video after I had fed the goats and let the birds out.  I was hoping to catch the younger cockerels crowing, although I didn't manage to get that.

At 0:20 you'll see that Rucker was eating my pants while I tried to record things.....

At 0:30 you'll see Clyde taking advantage of one of his girlfriends

At 0:40 you'll see and hear The Stranger Rooster making the noise to call others over.  Clyde does this EVERY time I put treats out, but this is the first time the stranger rooster has done this, I think he's starting to feel at home and I think he has a thing for Silkie Sue (not in this video).

At 1:18 you'll see how Jenny has finished eating HER food so she went to eat Carrie's food, and cash came to help.  Jenny is a bit pushy even with her boys.

At 1:54 you'll see that Rucker has learned from mom

At 2:15 you'll see and hear a little from one of the youngest roosters (cockerels)

At 2:35 you'll see the chicks coming through the fence and then one of the cockerels strutting around.  This one has started crowing, but I didn't catch it in this video

A Typical Day

Recently I have had many people ask me questions about how I get everything done around here, especially since I'm a single mom.  

I decided to break it down for a typical week/work day based on this last school year.

I wake up at 4AM and head to the gym.  Yes, really.  I learned several years ago that I must workout if I want to stay in shape and physically able.  I think it also helps my self esteem.  Unfortunately, my only choice is to go at 4AM because there is just no other time to go.

As soon as I get home I change into my rubber work boots, take the dog out, feed the goats, and open the coop doors.  The youngest chicks get freedom to range all day and the laying-aged birds get freedom into the chicken run.   

The goal is to be in the shower by 5:30, so if I can get inside before 5:20, I will make myself eggs for breakfast.

From 5:30 to 6:30 I take a shower, get dressed, put makeup on and dry my hair, make lunches (since we don't often get it done at night), getting the boys up, nagging them to get ready, packing up my computer nad work bag, and sometimes making them breakfast.  The boys get up at about 6, so if they are dragging their feet then I don't have time to make them breakfast and they get granola bars and bananas or something else I can grab on the way out the door.

I drop the youngest at daycare and then make the hour drive to work.  I get to work around 7:30, and the students show up at 8:45.  I leave work at 4:05, the moment that I'm allowed to leave and I head straight to daycare to pick up the youngest.  

On a good day, I get him at about 4:45 and we are home by 5.  As soon as I get out of the car, I change into my rubber boots and head over to open the coop door that will let the laying hens free range, feed the goats, and let the dog out.

As soon as I'm inside the house I figure out dinner and get to work.  

The youngest goes to bed at 7, so after the animals are taken care of I only have about an hour and a half to make dinner, feed everyone, clean up from dinner, get him to clean himself and hopefully have him make his lunch, and put him to bed.  

Once he's in bed I head outside to count and lock up the birds and let the dog out one last time.  I try to finish the dishes and then I set my gym clothes out (I wear my gym pants to sleep so it's one less thing to do in the morning), check my email one last time, and go to bed.

The goal is to be in bed by 8, although I don't usually get to bed until almost 9, and at times it's later than that.

I am a firm believer that getting 8 hours of sleep is important to maintaining health, so that's what I try to get and I try to get the youngest son into bed so that he gets as close to 11 hours of sleep as possible.

This schedule has worked except during the swimming lesson or cross country season where we will have 2-4 nights of practices so that 90 minutes of time with the youngest son before bedtime also has to include driving to and from a 40-60 minute lesson or practice.  This also doesn't include the times that I need to clean out all of the animal water dishes and refill them or deal with other random issues like refilling feed chicken feed bins, luring goats back into the pen when they've gotten out, taking care of sick animals, etc.

On the weekends I play catch up and clean the water dishes, clean the coops out, pick up the dog messes, and do all of the household chores.

This has been the schedule for two years and since I am switching jobs next fall I am hoping that things will go smoother and I will have more time in the afternoon to get things done.  Hopefully I won't be getting up at 4AM anymore.  

We may finally have our second garden harvest soon

The garden has FINALLY started to produce...

I just hope the sweet potatoes are looking as good under ground as they do above ground.
If only I could get rid of those weeds....

One of the stacked herb pots.  I still need to plant more.

Sunflowers that the goats ate.... Looks like only one is still alive.

The goats got to the green beans too.  Half the plants are gone.

The broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbages have been eaten by the goats :(

The tomatoes are starting to pop up

Calendula flowers

The first bell peppers

Potato plants

The first raspberries - and they tasted great!

The pumpkins are growing and I planted more watermelon plants.

The first butternut squash

The first zucchini

Darn goat

The goats are constantly trying to get the chicken food.  I finally put a chicken wire net over the top of the feeders so they can't put their heads inside and eat it all.

Tonight I was fighting Carrie off as I tried to fill the feeder and then I left the empty bag on the ground while I went to take care of a few other things....

I don't even think she found any crumbs in there

 This is what I walked around the corner and saw when I went back to get the bag.

Worst feeling followed by the best feeling

Last night when I counted the chickens we were one short.

Putting the birds in at night is a feat.  The 17 youngest chicks are in the smaller coop with the stranger rooster that's been back for about a week now.  There are 5 buff orpington chicks and then 12 easter eggers that my students hatched.  They're 2 months old now but since they like to move around when I am counting them, I have to count the five buff chicks first and then count the twelve.  The bigger problem is that they like to hide under the coop and we have to get them all out.

Then I head into the big coop and count the adult birds, 12 total.  And then the guinea, 2 left (one disappeared from the coop last week although we see her alive during the day.)  And then the 9 chicks that are all 3 months old and look the same.

Last night when I counted the adults I had 11.  So then I had to go through them to see which one was missing and for a moment I was scared I wouldn't be able to figure it out.  Do I really know all of my birds?

Clyde.
Big Red 1 (the sick one)
Big Red 2 (the healthy one)
Buffy Sue
Mary Sue
Buffy Two.. Wait... Buffy two was missing.

It was 10 PM, pitch black out because the clouds were covering the moon, and nasty from the rain.

I checked the obvious places (the goat houses) but since the goats were in there hiding from the rain and mud I knew she wasn't there.

It's a terrible feeling to have a missing bird and to know that when it's that dark out and the only normal places she could seek shelter are empty (at least empty of birds) you probably won't find it.

And then I walked over to the tall coop.  The coop that we haven't used since we built the big one.  The doors are always shut, the tiny window is 5 feet off the ground and doesn't have a screen from predators, and the chicken door is at least 3 feet off the ground and doesn't have a ramp or a door.  We simply don't use this coop because I never put the important pieces back on.

This is the window, 5 feet off the ground and even with a flash on the camera you can see how dark it is

And guess who was sitting inside?

I scooped her up and carried her to the big coop and finished my count.

It is the best feeling to find a bird and know that everyone is accounted for.  I'm not sure why she's sneaking off into her own private house and I don't know how she is even getting inside the coop.

Tonight, I found her in the same place...