The electric fencer (the box that plugs into an outlet and basically supplies electricity to the electric perimeter fence) was the wrong one. All these years we had no idea! The goats had been getting over into the neighbor's property day after day. It's a huge issue when their front yard shares a fence with our back yard and their garden area and lovely lawn is right there. Last Sunday we ran another 3 strands of fencing which doesn't take terribly long but after a little more research on the type of fencer I discovered why we were having issues. Another trip to town to buy the right fencer and all was zapping right! Except...yesterday (Wednesday) evening I went out to do chores and check the pigs mud hole to discover they may not have had water for a little while to do the fact somehow somewhere the electric was jumping over to their automatic water metal bowl and shocking them! Poor pigs! It's been close to 100 since Monday and for the life of us we cannot figure out why or where the current is coming from.The chore this weekend is to get the tractor in there and shore up the area they have dug out nicely for a wallow but it's also under mining the fence, to sink a post to attach the auto-waterer to and call it a day.
We had to unhook the invisible fence (for the dogs) when we put up new fence lines and for 3 days in a row now Snow has been out in the early morning. It's just never ending it seems! This evening's chore, as if there weren't enough is to hook the fence back up for the dogs except we have to do some rearranging because the line their fence was running on is now electrified so we have to go around the entire perimeter and hook it up to another line. Sigh.
I am feeling better as far as the nasuea goes, it's all but gone but I still tire easily. Granted, I am not sleeping well at night either. I'll sleep a few hours and be up or a few hours, try to get a few hours before he break of day but wake up so tired that sometimes it's better had I not fallen back to sleep. I've had that horrible sleep cycle since Drew was born. Occasionally (every couple of weeks) I'll get one good interrupted 8 hours of sleep and be "good to go" for another couple of weeks. I am not one for naps, but generally I have to catch a 1.5-2 hour one daily. I guess it's a good time for it though because it's so hot out during the day anyway that there isn't much else TO do.
The temps the last couple weeks have been unbearable. I won't complain too much. The reality is the summer has been pretty nice and we're in for another cool down, so they say. The garden went to heck while we were in Ca. ll the rain we got really got the pigweed growing well and it was just too much to deal with when we got back. We tried, Jeremiah and I, spend a good few hours in there but it just did so little bit of good that we gave up. I've weed eated a bath through the bermuda and pig weed so we could get to the tomatillos and tomatoes and so that's what it's been. The luffa and gourds are still growing, I expect once things start to die back I can get in there and gather those.
My first sonogram was last Monday. All looks well. I had an AFP (Alpha-fetoprotein- screens for Downs Syndrome, Trisotomy 18, Spina Bifida) test done by blood work. The test results came back normal. I debated having it done. I am not "old" but odds do increase quite a bit after 30 compared to being in one's 20's though still the odds are quite low in the broad scheme of things. On that note, if something like Trisotomy 18 were to show up, I'd want to know so that we could prepare ourselves ahead of time. I hate the thought of having a bunch of sad people after being so excited to hear the news. That said, the test isn't fool proof but is 80% accurate.
Our next sonogram is Sept. 15, the half way mark and that should be it unless something comes up. The insurance plan has us at a hospital in Wichita. I am not thrilled about that due to distance and potential weather in Feb. but it is a good hospital and for that I am grateful. I will give the insurance company a ring and see what the odds are of changing it but if it's Wichita, it's Wichita.
The goat herd has been whittled down quite a bit. I still have a couple of individuals for sale and will have a few more later in the year. We've had a lot of hens go broody and hatched out quite a few new chicks this summer. It looks like we have one last hen sitting on a nest that is probably due to hatch any day now. We've lost a lot of the chicks to hawks and such. Once they leave mom at about 4 weeks they tend to get taken pretty easily. I don't feel like putting them all into a chicken tractor (roving coop) as that means extra feed and filling water. Right now we feed so little with as much as they all forage that I figure the cost of loosing some is worth the savings of work and feed. That may sound kind of awful but it is what it is. One mama hen has successfully managed to keep her brood of 8 safe. She's taken refuge in the pig pasture where there is a lot more tree coverage. We'll see how many chicks end up making it to pullet size, determine which are hens and which are roosters and then cull the rest of the flock based on those #'s. I know we have entirely too many roosters currently. We caught quite a few and send them home with a friend. They aren't worth our time to butcher them for dinner. There are 2 more I'd like to catch but they've gotten smart and have started roosting in the trees.
Our boar (male pig) went off to the processor a week ago. Keeping him at near 500 lbs. was getting too expensive. I have a couple of ideas for breeding our sows but for now, we don't need him. We have a sow due at the end of the month. In fact, I have to get out there and try to get her moved over to a pen and shelter. She shares the pasture with her 2 Feb. piglets, one of them our new gilt we'll keep as a breeding sow (another reason for moving our boar on as he was her sire). I only took 6 piglet reservations for the next litter. I expect to keep a few for us to raise up too. We need to get 1/4 beef too but there's still plenty of time for that. What there's not plenty of time for is putting up hay. We were in Ca. when brome (grass) was cut. I had wanted to put up 100 bales of those but it would have been a special request to have small squares done by our supplier so we just asked they everything be put in to rounds. We've picked up 5 already and will be going out for at least another 6 some time this weekend I think. I thought about maybe going back to alfalfa hay instead of the pellets. For a while there the girls weren't eating them but all the sudden they changed their minds and so I think we'll just keep on keeping on with that. They are more expensive but take up so little room, are always available and there's no waste.
The rental house we still him and haw about what we're going to do with. I think with everything that's going on, it may be best just to sell it when it's complete. I cannot imagine having a rental property to deal with too. We aren't disappointed we bought it, life has just changed a bit and we're trying to decide what's the best decision to make. It still has to be finished though and that includes a little more painting, finishing the tile floor in the kitchen, 6 interior doors, installing 2 exterior doors, fixing the little roof on the ornamental well out back and few other odds and ends. The upstairs bathroom and pretty much the entire upstairs, aside from some baseboards in the bathroom, is done.
Hutch. schools are back in session. The kids don't go back until after Labor Day. It's been a nice longer summer. Their school class roster came out yesterday, they are excited. I know being at a bigger school will be a change but they will enjoy it I am sure. It's farther away of course but we're set up to carpool with one of Rachel's friends. Jeremiah will take them in in the morning and they will be brought home afterward.
With Hutch. schools back in session the pool in Hutch is now closed. The Buhler pool though is still open and I took the kids up yesterday afternoon to swim for a couple of hours. Drew desperately needs to work on his swimming skills. He wants to go off the diving board but is just not swimming well enough I am confident there won't be issues. Rachel has always been a great swimmer and we've asked her several time if she might like to join a team but she's quite happy just being a guppy for fun and will literally spend an hour and a half jumping of the board over and over and over. The Buhler pool is small but was pretty quiet yesterday. Mostly moms with their younger kids trying to beat the heat. We'll try to go a few more times before the end of the month I think. It's cheap and close enough entertainment, that's for sure. In fact, driving up to Buhler is closer than driving all the way over to the west side of Hutchinson.
Mot days seem to roll one right into the next. Some days we're busy, other days are slow.Time to get started with the day.
New baby's first photo
Drew helping with barn chores in his PJ's
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