Three Things About Spring

Spring is not may favorite season but I just love it. However, there are three things about spring that never cease to amaze me....

This is not going to be a great blueberry year. But the blooms are beautiful.

1. The insane weather. The other night we actually had to turn on the air conditioning for the house because it was too hot.... today I'm walking around in heavy sweats looking for my hat.

2. When it rains it pours. We've had some soggy springs and there is always the worry that we can't get the planting done. Right now we are waiting out the last frost date - I think we are in the clear but anything could happen. I could really use several dry days to I can move some of the seedlings out of my bulging greenhouse and into the garden. I'm so thrilled with my greenhouse - it's absolutely packed and I spent yesterday picking out tiny sprouts and transferring them to bigger containers.

Who doesn't love to see seeds sprout?

Of course, now I need a bigger greenhouse and I'm scrambling to whack together some shelves to hold everything. I'm also really glad that I got so much tilling done to get the garden beds ready - just need the right conditions for planting.I also really need to get the turkey house shoveled out but it's hard to haul all the barn litter thru all the standing water. The ducks are happy tho.

3. Every little victory feels terrific. . Everything is greening up and I actually had to do some mowing. The goats have a new grazing yard and now all I have to do is convince them that they don't have to wait for me to walk themselves down there.  The onion sets I put out are doing pretty well and here's hoping that the peas, beets, radishes, and kale didn't get washed away.

And this weekend - or early next week - we may have some new additions.... I can't wait and I'm dreaming of pork chops.

Happy Friday everyone!

Just a couple blooms....

Wow what a rain yesterday - it was a supersoaker. Nothing like what my friends in Florida had to deal with but it will take awhile for this water to run off.

 There are a few things starting to bloom, tho. Like these dogwoods....

And the dandelions...

I spied a few apple blossoms also. My notes indicate these are a bit late. But maybe this will save them from a late frost. Anything could happen with this crazy weather we've been having.

The good news is that everything is coming up in my greenhouse.  I won't be able to transplant anything for a while yet - at least until the garden dries out. The ground is still pretty cold also - so I'll just keep waiting for conditions to improve.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Soggy Dog Day

Nothing to see here, folks, we are having a soggy dog day. What a rain!

Big, boring dog day. That's what we have.

We were no where near those big storms thundering across the South, thank heavens, but we are getting our share of the rain portion of that storm system.

Did everyone see the heroic efforts of this guy on the news this morning? Talk about a real life hero.

Nothing' but snoozin' and looking bored. Or sleeping.

With the weather firing up again today it's probably a good time for everyone to review their storm preps and get their plans in place. Even if you aren't in imminent danger, being prepared is essential.

Let's put up this post again and that video from last year you just have to see. It's the family inside a tornado - and how quickly the storm ripped apart their house. No one wants to think that this could happen to them - but that's what these folks probably thought also.

Believe me, you will feel better if the only thing you do today is go to this site, put in your zip code, and bookmark that page (or set up alerts) for your area.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Stay safe and get your storm prep planning done. A soggy dog day is the perfect time to get your ducks in a row.

Grazing Goats and Planting Potatoes

Yesterday the goats verily stampeded me to get out of their yard and into the green.... we went grazing on the hillside. They loved it.

Grazing goats - they are so happy to be out and about.

After this long winter they are sick of hay... And hey!  - they really want to get weeding. This is perfect for us because, despite our careful planning, we are starting to get low on hay. The even better news is that all of that stupid wild rose is starting to come out in the woods - and the goats just love it. They will have it all mowed down in no time.

I'm going to have to get busy and get the electric fence reconfigured so I don't have to sit there and watch the goats. Unfortunately they get scared if I'm not around - or they torment the dogs....  so for now I've been their personal goatherd. It's my least favorite farm chore but I use it as a break in my day and take a cold drink down to a comfortable chair and watch them goat around.

Daisy is making a cute little udder. She is going to be a milking superstar.

In about a month things will get extremely interesting - all four "big" goats are due within a couple days of each other. I honestly can't tell if Dahli is pregnant or not. But Daisy is developing the cutest little udder.

Debbie definitely is pregnant - she looks like she has two babies at the most. 

Nibs looks fabulous with her post-baby body. 

In planting news, I need to get in my notes that the rest of the potatoes got planted. The majority are just up the hill from the blueberry bushes... and the rest are in the bed next to my now-dead rose. Rats.

I'm really glad I spent the last couple work days tilling because it looks like we'll have some sporty weather these next couple of days and could have rain all week. I'll have a couple hours before the rain hits so I'll see if I can get a little more planting done.

Happy Monday everyone! Are you grazing goats or planting potatoes?

Tub o' Nibs

Nibbles being cute with Daisy looking on....

Nibbles actually looks great and she is giving a good amount of milk. I'm about to take them all down to the woods to graze.

Happy Sunday everyone!

The Most Dangerous Thing in the Barnyard

Our highest priority this weekend will be to get these meat chickens in the freezer. Altho..... we did get 2 more eggs from them yesterday and frankly I'm really wondering if we can get a few more "free meats" this way. But these fat girls aren't going to last much longer.

The scene of the crime. See the bailing twine? Dang.

As it is we found one "trapped" in the garage yesterday. Actually she just got stuck in a corner and couldn't get turned around. Creepy meats just aren't that smart... good thing I spied her out of the corner of my eye. Otherwise we would have spent the better part of our evening chore time looking for her.

This group of meats is really amazing - they are extremely far ranging and we've found them roaming around all over the property. But they are seriously on their last, shaky meat legs. We found this out the hard way the other nite.

When we are done with a bale of hay I've gotten in the habit of tying the twine on one of the cattle panels we've used for the meat pen. It's not even something that I've ever thought about. Just tie one on and walk away.

Unfortuantely my carelessness has led to the twine being a very dangerous danger to the not-so-smart meats. One of them got her creepy meat foot tangled up in one of the pieces of twine.... and she panicked. I probably don't have to elaborate... but let's just say that we found a badly beaten pile of meat when we went out for chores. Death by flapping which probably induced a creepy meat heart attack. Ugh.

Nothing is worse than a totally preventable barnyard death. Especially when it's your groceries -  wasted meat is the worst!

The most dangerous thing in the barnyard usually isn't a varmint or some menacing piece of equipment... it's usually your own carelessness.  In my case, it was a carelessly tied piece of bailing twine.

Another "Most Dangerous Thing"..... is a bucket of water. I can't tell you how sorrowful I've felt finding a chick drown in a bucket of water. One time I went out to find a poult swimming... swimming I tell you... in an open bucket... Thank heavens I went out, randomly, and found her!

Other dangers.... a board or even a pitchfork propped up right where a wayward goose can waddle under and causing it to fall and hit someone. Bale of straw? Don't ever leave it propped up on one end - make sure you lay it down.

Patio chair left in the goat yard so that you can sit out there? Just wait until you hear your herd queen screaming hysterically.... and then you run out there to find one of the goat babies hanging upside down by a hock. For heavens sakes. I swear Debbie was having a panic attack. When I got the baby free (unharmed) Debbie actually came over to me, and put her head against me until she stopped shaking. I can't tell if she was thanking me or scolding me.

The weirdest barnyard injury? My little garage duck was horribly mauled by a lawnmower. Now, the mower wasn't running. It wasn't even moving. It was parked in the garage. But somehow she got her foot tangled up in it.  Badly. I mean to tell you that was some serious business. We can't believe that she lived...and that she recovered. She's a little more gimpy now but she's doing great - and she avoids going over by the mower now.

The barnyard is fraught with danger, friends. Most of which you couldn't imagine. Keep an eye on your buckets, keep your duck away from the mower, and from now on... don't leave your bailing twine tied to the pen. For heavens sakes.

Happy Friday everyone! Is your barnyard filled with danger?

Why Not Rabbits?

Sometimes folks ask me why we don't raise meat rabbits. Rabbits are easy to raise, don't take up a lot of space, are extremely economical, and well... breed like rabbits. So why not? The answer is simple- we won't.

Fatty meat chicken. Not a meat rabbit.

The fact is that there is no "good"reason why we don't raise rabbits for the table. When I say "good" I mean there is no logical and/or logistical reason. For instance, there are a lot of good/logical/logistical reasons why we don't have milk cows. We don't have pasture, they are expensive to buy, and if I get kicked in the head by a goat I'll just get mad, get my knives, and start the grill. If I get kicked in the head by a cow I'll just lay there in a heap for hours until my husband gets home. We think those are "good" reasons not to have to cow.

Not to mention the last time I had to chase the neighbor's cows.... one of them turned around and chased me. As I stood my ground, trying to "puff up and look big," I thought to myself, "Damn... this is just stupid."

You see, our whole success at this farming thing depends on me not getting hurt. I need to be able to get up, walk on two legs, and use both arms to do hard manual labor... all while performing high-level cognitive reasoning. Loss of any of those puts us in a tight spot.

But rabbits aren't going to run me down, kick me (too) hard, or do much more than leave me with a bad bite.... so why not?

We just won't.

Notice I didn't say "can't." There is a world of difference between can't and won't. It's important to understand the difference and be OK with it. Sometimes I think folks think farming is a competitive sport and everyone has to do the same thing. Nope. Not true. The only way this works is if you start with what you've got, do what you can, and do what works for you.

Our beautiful Pep, not a meat rabbit but is shaped like one. Plus she is a goof.

We won't raise rabbits for the table because... well. We're soft on them. Any time I see a meat rabbit all I can think of is our beautiful cat, Pepper. Pep is mostly bunny shaped and has soft and luxurious fur. Bunny-like fur. Anytime I think of butchering rabbits all I can see in my mind's eye is Pepper in a pot. The Big Man raised rabbits as a kid for 4H... so he's soft on them too. So we just won't do it. We are OK with that.

Butcher goats? Sure. We think are ready to do that this fall. Chickens? Heck we can do that all day long. Pigs? Lambs? Buffalo? Sure, sure, and while we could I'm not sure we have the set up for a full sized bison but we'd sure give it a go.

But rabbits? We just both get a little nervous and start avoiding eye contact. Now, the folks I know who raise rabbits love it - they think it's easier than dressing chickens and can't imagine why we are squeamish about it. We just stand there and shrug.

We don't know why folks don't like to butcher chickens. We don't think they are too gross, are not put off by the feathers (we skin chickens anyway), and it's extremely easy for us to let the meat chickens roam around the farm until their day of glory comes. But we won't try and over convince you if it's not your thing. Everyone has their limit and that's OK. Rabbits are past our limit.

Should YOU raise rabbits? Absolutely! I'm 100% behind that and will encourage you all I can.  Just because it's not for us doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. Folks who can't have chickens (due to zoning or what not) say that rabbits are the answer. They are quiet, don't take up much room, provide a ton of excellent compost, and nosy neighbors will be none the wiser. Rabbit meat is lean and lovely and they have an excellent feed to meat conversion. Plus when they have babies you say they "kindle" which is a hilarious word, if you ask me.

And you can cook rabbit in all kinds of ways, including like this.

If I were to get started I would get the Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits. Also, I know a guy who knows a guy who wrote a book about Backyard Meat Rabbits as part of his Urban Rabbit Project. How terrific is that?

So what do you think? Are you are fan of raising rabbits for the table? Thinking about it? Just because it's not for us doesn't mean that it isn't the perfect project for you. Come on now, hop right out and find out the story on meat rabbits.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Editor's note: Again with the affiliate links to Amazon and another disclaimer? Yep! And also I have an update to this post about the All American pressure canner. Looks like that great sale has come and gone. I've moved the All American ad down lower on this page so I can keep track of that sale and to see if it comes back. However, the Presto 23 quart canner is still a terrific deal at just $75 and that includes FREE SHIPPING from Amazon. I have two Presto's and I just love them. 
 
If you like this blog or if I've helped you at all in your farming efforts - and you have to buy something from Amazon anyway - why not start your purchase from Amazon from one of the links, my store, or the black Amazon search box on the right side of this page? I'll get a tiny percentage of the sale which helps me maintain the "cost" of this blog. Every little bit helps - Thanks!