So much news...

...yet it seems rather redundant and boring to us.

I am sure if I told you we've been busy, you would would probably not believe me.

The dogs have found a way out of the fence. Despite it being only 6" from the ground, Snow managed to slip underneath. King followed suit and so they were gallivanting around the neighborhood.  It's always something right? A while back when it was just King, before Snow, we purchased an "invisible fence" which worked off radio waves from a buried wire, collar & transmitter that would send out a audible signal through the collar if they got within a certain distance from the buried wire and then a shock if the dog continued to get closer. Unfortunately, it was only for a 10 acre property or less. We were looking at the possibility of re-homing both of them since it was impossible to keep them in any longer but a friend told me about a more powerful invisible fence system that would cover 100 acres. I immediately bought it and we installed it a few weekends ago. Works like a charm! Snow got her chance first, only took 2 shocks before she would no longer even meet us at the gate and she didn't even offer to try going under the fence!

We'll need to get a 2nd collar, especially since I'd like to open up the area to include the front yard, but obviously that's not fenced so the wire will have to be buried. Right now, Snow does not wear one and I bnk on the fact she still thinks she is while King wears it. The issue with both of the dogs is, as soon as you turn your back, they take advantage if no one is there to tell them otherwise. They are good dogs, but they have a strong desire to wander and are strong willed and hard headed. A regular hand held correctional shock collar trainer would not work for them to know their boundaries and respect them. The wire and collar is their trainer when their regular trainer (us) cannot be around to watch them and reprimand them.

Keeping them in the back yard is absurd and is not fair and so this invisible fence was our last option. Having both of them in collars assures me that they will not test it if given the opportunity. It's a fair and consistent training tool and so far has been invaluable!

Last week I was sitting at the kitchen table and a coyote walked right across the back yard. Several weeks before that, a fox walked right across the back yard! We've lost 2 more chickens, but I think the culprit was a skunk...which I caught in a trap in my barn! We disposed of it but not before it took 7 shots to vital areas. That's kinda sad, it wasn't our first choice but the thing wouldn't die! Jeremiah thought people were joking when they say the bet way to put them down is to drown them. How they avoid being sprayed I don't know...but maybe they do and just deal with the consequences but this stupid thing sprayed anyway and the trap still smells to high heaven! I still think we have another one living in there but now that the dogs are out there full time, loosing chickens straight out of the coop should be a thing of the past. Now, if they wander outside of the fence, which they tend to do from time to time, that's another story but yet another reason I want the dogs to be allowed into the unfenced area of the yard. How we configure that though so the goats don't get out is a separate issue.

The pigs are well. We are selling 2 of the males. We don't need all these pigs. The hampshire female is still limping but getting around happily enough for food so until such time when she weighs too much to be amblitory, we'll keep putting weight on her and then send her off to the butcher. I opened up the gate between their pen and the garden about 6 weeks ago and they did a fabulous job of eating up the spent plants and tilled it from corner to corner. It's all ready for net year's plants! When we fences off their area, there was a 4 foot tall pile of compost. You know that thing has been completely flattened??? They tilled it under so nice for us so that will be ready to go on the garden in the spring. We'll probably let them back in there again to aerate it and till the compost under and then they'll be relegated back to their pen. I've also been letting them out in the orchard and they've done a fine job of tilling all that up too. I'll probably regret the decision to let them in there one the rain and snow come since it may be a soupy mess, but it looks nice right now anyway.

Baker Creek (heirloom seeds) was having a 50% off sale on all their 2012 seeds so I got a pretty good variety for around $30. I think we're just about set on seeds for next year's garden. And with the dogs now staying in the barn yard, we can take down the panel fencing in the back yard and use it for other things to include a panel greenhouse next spring which is basically a hoop house. Our winds are incredibly bad here, spending money on any type of green house that is not bomb worthy is a waste of money. For about $50 we can put one together that will withstand the wind and snow and be disassembled easily if we need it to be and reuse it for another project if we so desire.

I spent last Sunday cleaning and organizing our garage. The shop is still a disaster but one day over Thanksgiving we plan to get that cleaned up. I'd like to take 8 foot in the back and put up a wall to house at least a fridge for excess milk and eggs so milk and egg buyers can come at their leisure and just pick it up, whether I'm here or not. It'd be nice for veggies too. Rachel mentioned wanting to put up a veggie stand next summer. I told her it would take more than just sitting out there manning it for her to earn money on it. It would require their help in the garden too, which they were pretty good about last summer if we got out there early enough before the heat got to be too much. Next year's garden will be bigger now that the pigs have done such a good job of tilling up the outer 4' perimeter from the fence in. The ground was hard and full of weeds and I didn't bother taking the rototiller though it. Now it should be easily workable.

We're getting together with some friends for Thanksgiving. We're both cooking a turkey but sharing the rest of the cooking. We should be fat and happy by evening time and still have plenty to take home.

Our big truck needs a new tranny. Jeremiah's former student is able to get us a brand new one for fairly inexpensively and the school has graciously taken the old one out. It waits for the new one to be delivered from Tulsa next weekend to be put in.

The new truck we bought needed a bed. Jeremiah and his students welded one and Jeremiah is working on replacing a u-joint and new parts for the driveshaft this evening.

The day are, for the most part, staying fairly warm in the 60's and 70's. The nights are cool, usually hovering around freezing but we have had some fairly cold days as well and little rain. We had a storm drop about 1/2" the other night with thunder so loud above the house it sounded like it'd split in two. They are saying we have about a 60% chance of snow a week from Tuesday. I don't look forward to that but I suppose it's about time. We really ought to get started on putting up more wood, we just haven't had the time. Normally I start a fire in the morning before everyone else is up to take the chill off but soon enough the stove will be going non-stop.

Snow is due to have pups the first part of January. It's amazing to me their gestation is only 2 months! We'll see how all that goes this time around. Generally they dig a den and don't want anything to do with man made whelping boxes. If she digs another den, we'll put some straw bales up around the outside, build a waterproof roof to set on top of the bales and she should be fine. She'll go into the barn and that's a possibility too but I don't want pups in the house, they belong out in the barn yard.

Our first does are due the first part of January too. I know I swore I would never have kids so early again but there was a method to the madness. I had a couple of does we held over and did not breed their first year (dry yearlings). There is no sense in holding them any longer so I'll get about a month long reprieve from milking before it starts all over again. The kids generally do fine, even when born on bitterly cold nights, usually without human intervention but I don't particularly like to be out on such cold days! However, as time goes by and I get the proper clothing, it's not really such a big deal. The kids always grow better and are ready to breed sooner when they are born early anyway. It's still nice to have late spring kids though and be on hand for kidding wearing nothing but a t-shirt!

If this winter is anything like last, I'll be happy I bred for earlier kids. If it's anything like the year before, I'll be cursing. Whichever way it goes, I just know we need moisture! I try to keep myself up to date on weather conditions and developments. It's no surprise much of the US is still in a drought but the latest was that the climatologists still didn't know what ocean currents are doing and so predicting the long term forecast was difficult because they don't know where the jet stream will be. Never in my life have I followed climate like I do now that we live in a place where life depends on three words: "If it rains". The last almanac said it we'd have snow by the end of Oct. then the more recent one said it was going to be another mild winter. I don't put a lot of faith in any weather prediction and if a cold snowy winter is what it would take to get moisture, I'll take it! I won't be happy, but I'll take it.

A lot of snow would not be horrible. It's not like Alaska where it's cold from August 1st to July 30th of the following year. At least it starts to warm up come the end of March/first of April in a normal year here. All kidding aside, my friend Jo said it was a horribly cold and snowy winter last year in Wasilla, Ak. The summer was below average in temperature and it never stopped raining. Their first snow fall was in Sept. I think, perhaps the first part of Oct. I just couldn't take that! I get sick of ice on the water buckets and dressing up, dressing down, dressing up, dressing down & bringing in wood. It's fun for a little while, then it gets plain irritating. It's a lot better now that I know not to look forward to Spring at the end of November. I should wait until at least February!

We put 3 spring bucks kids in the freezer last weekend. Well, Jeremiah and some friends did anyway. The kids and I went shopping. We'll have meat for quite a while, the freezer cannot take a single bit more!I made chili the other night from a leg roast I hunked up. It came out really well, I thought. Kids couldn't tell the difference between goat and beef and I was not about to announce to Rachel what kind of meat it was. She's still not down with the whole "alternative" meat.

Rachel tried out for the single girls solo part for the K-3 musical. She got it. She's really a very nice singer and it's fun to be in the car when a song comes on the radio we all know. She should make a fine Mrs. Clause.

Anyway, we'll enjoy these next few days of lovely weather. We're headed up to Lawrence, Ks. (birthplace of prohibition) up near Kansas city on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We've promised the kid a day trip for some time and since the transmission is coming to us from Tulsa, we don't need to make a trip down to get it. Drew has not yet been to Oklahoma and apparently they have a fantastic aquarium but we'll save that trip for another time. We're going to go to K-State natural history museum to see dino bones instead. Friday of course is the big shopping day at Joann fabrics on Black Friday but I am not feeling like doing any black friday shopping...I value sleep too much and don't get nearly enough of it. Last year we skipped it. I probably should this year too, we'll see.

I'll end here for now.