A Successful Farm Day!

First thing this morning, a family came to pick up several of our very beautiful (very annoying) wild chickens. My mom saw a post online last night of a family looking for some more to add in with several young hens they had.. So we went out to catch a few. 3 roosters and 2 wild hens less here! Slowly we are getting rid of them!

Moving along with the farm day, we also had conversations with several people about our broken tractor and possibly selling it after posting it on craigslist. We found a great group of people down the road interested and came to a deal! And, they said they'd be able to help from time to time on the farm, something we could use..

Babies!!

Just when we were sure that there were no babies arriving this spring, we were shocked!!

On May 4th, 2 days before Shelly was coming home from school and two months after most of our lambs have arrived, little Fawn was outside in the pasture when we went to feed the sheep that night. We were shocked! Mom actually cried a bit she was so happy..

Fawn is a gorgeous baby black girl sheep. She looks just like a little baby deer - very leggy. I don't know if it's just the fact there is only one this year or what, but she looked gigantic as soon as she was born!

She's a month old now and beautiful! She hops around, jumps, leaps, kicks her little legs and chases the wild roosters (definitely my favorite hobby of hers). She's often in places she shouldn't be making me wonder if the "bad" gene is in Arthur's blood since her half brother Franklin is also a big brat! Sure, we had 4 babies last year, but just this one is pretty fun too.

Why the plural with the subject when there's just one lamb??
My you're quick!

Well, we've got baby ducks too!!

As of yesterday, there's one adorable baby :) The ducks (because, yes, there are two ducks on one nest!) have been sitting on a nest for some time now and I think we were all starting to suspect that much like the sheep, the ducks were not going to have any babies either ... but we shall see.
.

Tips On Tuesday

Basil repels flies and mosquitoes.

To deter ants, use catnip by sprinkling it in their paths.

Tips On Tuesday

Smelly shoes? stick a piece of well-burnt toast in each one and leave them overnight – the carbon will absorb the bad smell.

Tips On Tuesday

If you happen to get covered in poison ivy, splash vodka on the affected areas. Vodka helps neutralize and denature the compounds involved so that you feel better, faster.

Vodka is also good to keep in the cabinet in case any of your pets accidentally get into anti freeze. See info here - http://www.2ndchance.info/antifreeze.htm

Tips On Tuesday

Have a skin blemish?

Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a band-aid over it. We'll have honey available at our farm stand, if you're interested ;)

Country Diary Excerpt

I checked on the seedlings again today. The tomatoes have popped up, the artichokes too!

For Christmas, I got this neat shiitake mushroom growing kit. After following the instructions, I noticed today that brown patches have shown up on the mushroom blob. I'm excited to see how this goes ... and use the mushrooms for cooking!

Tips On Tuesday

Splinters are not uncommon here whether it's from fencing or wood for our fireplace.

If you get a splinter (ouch!), just pour a drop of Elmers Glue all over the wound/splinter tip. Then let it dry and peel the dried glue off your skin - the glue will pull the splinter out with it.

Country Diary Excerpt

I started planting seeds. I have oregano, cilantro, basil, artichoke and grape tomatoes planted now in small pots and I can't wait for them to pop up! I'm hoping to have a great growing season.

I've come up with a new trick for labeling my seedlings too. I've always had trouble labeling - How to be more organized? What won't wash away? What won't get sun bleached? Anyway, my new idea is to write what is what on small post-its and then put tape over it to keep moisture out. So far it's going great!

There's been a lot of snow this week. There was 8 inches over night Wednesday - Thursday alone. I'm really putting the snow blower to good use.

Happy Chickens

The girls have started laying eggs again, thankfully. They went from laying 10 - 12 eggs a day to zip-o ZERO - a big disappointment! The girls are back to laying their average 10 eggs a day.

I am happy the weather report was incorrect. It was predicted 4 - 6 inches of snow and we did not get any! I purchased a snow blower last spring (hoping it would prevent us from getting any snow). It is only January 21st and I have used it 5xs! Maybe the snow blower purchase didn't prevent us from getting snow, but it sure beats shoveling the whole long driveway!

Tips On Tuesday

Do you suffer from arthritis?

Use some WD-40 Spray on the area and rub it in.

Tips On Tuesday

Got sunburn?

If you have a large amount of your body burnt, make a bath, empty a large container of Nestea into it, let the bath water cool and then soak for awhile.

If you have just a small portion burnt, like the back of your neck, make some tea (a mint tea like peppermint or spearmint are especially good for cooling), let it cool and then apply it to the area.

Teas have tannins that help the healing process.