One word: Busy. All in all we're not too busy, we take time every day to spend time as a family, somehow.
Drew has been on again off again sick with this nasty bug going around. There is one bad thing to say about a milk winter for sure and that's that it's not cold enough long enough to kill off all the nasties.
Off topic, but truth be told, I feel like I haven't seen my husband in months! He's been gone all the time for one thing or another. I won't get in to why, the reasons are many.
We've been really enjoying the record temps here...spring has sprung really and I hope it sticks around.
We've had new babies born- 2 on Sunday and 3 yesterday (2 does and a very large handsome buck). Rachel's (hopefully) last dr's appointment for her leg was yesterday. They took final X-rays and gave her the all clear to run and jump as long as it didn't cause her any pain. We've been waiting on Apricot for what seems like 2 weeks with daily and nightly checks. All in her own time 2 days past her due date she had a kid on the ground by the time we got home. I hadn't planned to come home, I had planned to go take the kids right to school but as it happened, Rachel wore stained play clothes instead of school clothes so as fate would hate it, we got to see two of them enter the world.
Toddy had 2 flashy buck kids on Sunday. I won't talk about them too much as their fate is pretty much sealed. One of them though I call "Bitchy Boy" because he just doesn't shut up. Or rather, he has spurts where out of nowhere he'll squawk, then stop...like, someone disrupts him or the wind hits him wrong or the sunlight isn't in the right position. The kids think it's mean to call him that. He was doing really well until yesterday, then it seems he didn't want to eat a whole lot. He knows where to get food and seems eager to go get it but looses enthusiasm. I tried to bottle him but he didn't want anything to do what that either. It may be that he's just a bit slower to get going than this brother who's now robust and doing all those fun goat baby things at only 3 days old. I gave him a little oral pick-me-up and we'll see how is today.
We expect rain much of next week. It's welcome! Our pond has standing water in it and I do hope that this drought does not continue.
I have been making and selling goat's milk soap. I find it rather fun. In fact, I have a new website for all goat/farm/soap relate stuff: www.marmaladehollow.wordpress.com Eventually I'll change it over to a "dot com" address but if you happen to want to check it out, be my guest. I'll continue with the blog here, but in trying to keep the farmy stuff separate of the family updates, I'd rather keep personal life, personal (even if the world is free to read here) so this one will remain as is.
We have our chicks ordered. Me and a couple of other families went in on a large order of 'pan fry' birds. We'll be raising about 25 of them strictly for butcher. They are all roosters and hefty discounts are given since, like most male species, the world doesn't need but a few. So, we should be putting some home grown chickens in the freezer in the fall.
I also ordered my layers as well- silver laced wyandottes. I don't know if I or Rachel (for those of you who talk to Rachel) told you the story or not, but last year when we were getting hay I heard Rachel screaming from across the yard. Course, we all thought it was funny that she was being chased by a rooster and there was a split second where I didn't realize she really thought she was running for her life. It was one of those "funny but not really all that funny" moments. After that split second I, of course, ran over to run the rooster off but after that she wanted nothing to do with chickens ever again. She still doesn't but in reading up on chicken breeds I found the SL wyandottes not only to be very attractive but also good layers, good dual purpose (meat and egg) and very cold hardy due to their small close comb. I ordered only pullets from the farm store. I had wanted some roos as well but I waited too lat to order online and the minimum order from the farm store is 25. I don't need 25 additional roos! So, I am hoping from this 'pan fry' order of 150 or whatever it is, there will be at least SL wyandotte in there so that I can have a roo for my females. Laying hens are VERY popular around here. Not that I intend to start selling layers, amongst all the other stuff I do, but eventually I will need to replenish the stock.
Never mind that we don't have our coup built yet! I'm hopeful at some point that happens.
As I sit here and white this in the dark, the cat is licking the bowl of cereal milk. Guess I won't be finishing that!
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Total Randomness
1. The hallway is nearly all painted. I have yet to paint the ceiling, though it is primed, as is the woodwork. Painting woodwork is not my favorite. The walls are a light beige and it really looks so much better! I even painted one kitchen wall too. I figure the hall bathroom or the laundry room will be next. It's amazing what a coat of paint will do. The house is dark because of how it sits long-wise easty/westy. I would love to go with more jewel tones but there's just not enough light for that, especially in the hallway but accent walls make me happy too.
2. Rachel has an orthopedist appointment on Wednesday. Supposedly they will cut off her cast, re-X-ray her and we'll go from there.
3. I spent last Friday afternoon with the kids at school.
4. Jeremiah left mid-day Friday with 3 students for Mo. for a welding competition. No one metaled but they did each receive $500 scholarships. Believe it or not, he takes another group of students this coming Friday too. We've got high hopes for their placing. I think he goes to Tulsa next month and there is a welding competition in April in his shop. I don't know how many schools are being invited. The school year is busy!
5. While I go through cycles of very poor and very good sleep, I NEVER slept well as a married gal in the city when Jeremiah was away. Put me in the country while he's away and I sleep. Funny how one can feel safer when people live farther away than right on top of ya.
6. We expect new babies in about 6 weeks and will be kidding from mid-March all the way to June! We've had such great weather I almost kick myself for not breeding sooner...but, hindsight is 20/20. The girls due first should start wearing signs on the front and rear end that read, "WIDE LOAD". About 2 months prior to kidding if you position your hand right, you can feel little goat baby kicks. It's exciting.
7. It's supposed to be 60+ degrees the next three days. This weather is SUPER bizarre. Jo called last night, they had just made it in to the border in Alaska. They said it was -61 degrees the day before. That is not bizarre, that's absurd!
8. I am ready for spring in some ways, but in others there's still lots to be done and it can hold off a while longer. We've been collecting plastic containers for planting in and I hope to start seeds real soon. With all that's been going on, I doubt we'll be getting a green house together in time so the plan this year is just to do cold frames...which is more than what we had last year-little by little.
9. We do have the wood for a chicken coop though and I will be ordering chicks come mid-February. Knowing my luck winter will decide to set in but never you mind because I have a good brooder for them and heat lamps. So, this will force us to get this chicken coop done sooner rather than never.
10. I watched a good documentary 2 nights ago. If you have time to watch it before Wednesday, Feb. 1 (when it no longer is free to watch), I urge you to: http://action.freshthemovie.com/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6608
11. I keep meaning to take the camera out with me to the barn in the morning when I do chores. One of the kittens follows me out as does the dog-when he's not left out there overnight-and some of the things she does are so funny. She has no fear, that's for sure. Th goats can't figure out what she is but she would like to make friends with them. They would not. She likes the barn quite a bit and hangs out there some days. Friday she climbed up to the top of the posts and sat there, out of reach of the dog who was quite perplexed and thought it was a game.
12. It's been a long while since I've seen deer run through the property now that the electric fence is up, but the other day while raking one of the younger girls did an about face and looked intently into the pasture. A buck and a doe went leaping by. King was not out there with me that day, those deer would have gotten a run for their money!
13. I am intent on buying a semen tank this year so that I can artificially inseminate this fall...not myself mind you, my goats. I have all of the other equipment and the know how. Keeping as many bucks and/or buying new really is not cheaper in the long given my location the lack of what I like.
14. Last year's spring break job was to replace all the fencing around the property- which, incidentally, took a lot longer than a week but it was the removal of the old fence that took the longest!-. This year we'll be digging trenches for water and electrical line(s). I need to water to each of the 4 pens, and the new pen that will be erected some day attached to the buck's pasture. I also need water to the garden area and future orchard. We'll rent a ditch-witch. I won't be digging those trenches by hand.
15. Believe it or not, it is warmer in Yellowtail, Montana right now (45 degrees) than it is here in Hutchinson, Kansas (28 degrees)!
16. As of this second we expect rain Wednesday and Friday and snow on Saturday. Give it a few seconds, they're sure to change their minds on the forecast. I'd be happy for rain and snow. Wait, what? I did not just say I'd be happy for snow. Providing it's not a huge storm that dumps tons of snow, I don't mind little bits of it here or snow that doesn't stick at all. This year has been SUCH a far cry from last year where it seemed they were spraying the roads every other day with de-icing solution! I haven't seen the "storm trucks" ONCE this year. Good riddance.
17. I went to bed feeling sick last night. I woke up feeling sicker- must be a cold. My head hurts from sinus pressure. Getting out this morning will make me feel better, believe it or not.
18. Rachel's 4-H projects this year are fiber arts (knitting was her choice though it includes crocheting, cross stitching and another that doesn't come to mind.), cooking/baking, dairy goats and reading.
19. She broke her leg at a 4-H project meeting for fiber arts! Go figure! Jane: "Rachel, how did you break your leg?" Rachel: "At a knitting meeting."
20. I have taught her how to cast on. I tried to teach her the knit stitch yesterday, she hated it. She prefers the cast on only. I told her she can't complete anything by only casting on.
21. I only learned to knit about 3 weeks ago so I am barely staying one step ahead of the egame. I did not like the purl stitch until literally yesterday. Change of needles and yarn makes all the difference for a novice.
22. I keep calling yarn, "thread". Must be the seamstress in me!
23. Drew is a Cloverbud this year. A child must be at least 7 years old to participate in 4-H but there are often many younger siblings who want to be part, so they get to be Cloverbuds. During the "meat and potatoes" part of the meeting (i.e. last meeting minutes, a.k.a. "the boring part"), the Cloverbuds get to go to another room and do something more fun. Drew's first meeting was a few weeks ago. He didn't want to go. He had fun and he'll get used to it, but this is a good experience for him as he is not as outgoing as Rachel is. He needs these types of things for social skills.
24. Rachel gives her first presentation in May in front of her 4-H group. She will be nervous but she also needs theses types of experiences for good social skills and it will help when she is older not to be painfully scared when speech class becomes necessary. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that she does not see these people all the time and therefore is not nearly as comfortable as she'd be if she knew them all well. I figure that if her talk is about goats and we hauled a baby goat along, the audiences attention will be more on the goat than her which may help her not feel so self conscious. We'll see how that turns out. Baby goats visiting the school is always a hit and kids keep asking me when I am going to bring more. Who couldn't love a baby goat anyway?
25. Jeremiah is half way finished with his Masters!!! The summer of 2013 is also the summer we intend to give his own welding school a trail run.
That's all the randomness for now. Out to do chores and hang out clothes.
2. Rachel has an orthopedist appointment on Wednesday. Supposedly they will cut off her cast, re-X-ray her and we'll go from there.
3. I spent last Friday afternoon with the kids at school.
4. Jeremiah left mid-day Friday with 3 students for Mo. for a welding competition. No one metaled but they did each receive $500 scholarships. Believe it or not, he takes another group of students this coming Friday too. We've got high hopes for their placing. I think he goes to Tulsa next month and there is a welding competition in April in his shop. I don't know how many schools are being invited. The school year is busy!
5. While I go through cycles of very poor and very good sleep, I NEVER slept well as a married gal in the city when Jeremiah was away. Put me in the country while he's away and I sleep. Funny how one can feel safer when people live farther away than right on top of ya.
6. We expect new babies in about 6 weeks and will be kidding from mid-March all the way to June! We've had such great weather I almost kick myself for not breeding sooner...but, hindsight is 20/20. The girls due first should start wearing signs on the front and rear end that read, "WIDE LOAD". About 2 months prior to kidding if you position your hand right, you can feel little goat baby kicks. It's exciting.
7. It's supposed to be 60+ degrees the next three days. This weather is SUPER bizarre. Jo called last night, they had just made it in to the border in Alaska. They said it was -61 degrees the day before. That is not bizarre, that's absurd!
8. I am ready for spring in some ways, but in others there's still lots to be done and it can hold off a while longer. We've been collecting plastic containers for planting in and I hope to start seeds real soon. With all that's been going on, I doubt we'll be getting a green house together in time so the plan this year is just to do cold frames...which is more than what we had last year-little by little.
9. We do have the wood for a chicken coop though and I will be ordering chicks come mid-February. Knowing my luck winter will decide to set in but never you mind because I have a good brooder for them and heat lamps. So, this will force us to get this chicken coop done sooner rather than never.
10. I watched a good documentary 2 nights ago. If you have time to watch it before Wednesday, Feb. 1 (when it no longer is free to watch), I urge you to: http://action.freshthemovie.com/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6608
11. I keep meaning to take the camera out with me to the barn in the morning when I do chores. One of the kittens follows me out as does the dog-when he's not left out there overnight-and some of the things she does are so funny. She has no fear, that's for sure. Th goats can't figure out what she is but she would like to make friends with them. They would not. She likes the barn quite a bit and hangs out there some days. Friday she climbed up to the top of the posts and sat there, out of reach of the dog who was quite perplexed and thought it was a game.
12. It's been a long while since I've seen deer run through the property now that the electric fence is up, but the other day while raking one of the younger girls did an about face and looked intently into the pasture. A buck and a doe went leaping by. King was not out there with me that day, those deer would have gotten a run for their money!
13. I am intent on buying a semen tank this year so that I can artificially inseminate this fall...not myself mind you, my goats. I have all of the other equipment and the know how. Keeping as many bucks and/or buying new really is not cheaper in the long given my location the lack of what I like.
14. Last year's spring break job was to replace all the fencing around the property- which, incidentally, took a lot longer than a week but it was the removal of the old fence that took the longest!-. This year we'll be digging trenches for water and electrical line(s). I need to water to each of the 4 pens, and the new pen that will be erected some day attached to the buck's pasture. I also need water to the garden area and future orchard. We'll rent a ditch-witch. I won't be digging those trenches by hand.
15. Believe it or not, it is warmer in Yellowtail, Montana right now (45 degrees) than it is here in Hutchinson, Kansas (28 degrees)!
16. As of this second we expect rain Wednesday and Friday and snow on Saturday. Give it a few seconds, they're sure to change their minds on the forecast. I'd be happy for rain and snow. Wait, what? I did not just say I'd be happy for snow. Providing it's not a huge storm that dumps tons of snow, I don't mind little bits of it here or snow that doesn't stick at all. This year has been SUCH a far cry from last year where it seemed they were spraying the roads every other day with de-icing solution! I haven't seen the "storm trucks" ONCE this year. Good riddance.
17. I went to bed feeling sick last night. I woke up feeling sicker- must be a cold. My head hurts from sinus pressure. Getting out this morning will make me feel better, believe it or not.
18. Rachel's 4-H projects this year are fiber arts (knitting was her choice though it includes crocheting, cross stitching and another that doesn't come to mind.), cooking/baking, dairy goats and reading.
19. She broke her leg at a 4-H project meeting for fiber arts! Go figure! Jane: "Rachel, how did you break your leg?" Rachel: "At a knitting meeting."
20. I have taught her how to cast on. I tried to teach her the knit stitch yesterday, she hated it. She prefers the cast on only. I told her she can't complete anything by only casting on.
21. I only learned to knit about 3 weeks ago so I am barely staying one step ahead of the egame. I did not like the purl stitch until literally yesterday. Change of needles and yarn makes all the difference for a novice.
22. I keep calling yarn, "thread". Must be the seamstress in me!
23. Drew is a Cloverbud this year. A child must be at least 7 years old to participate in 4-H but there are often many younger siblings who want to be part, so they get to be Cloverbuds. During the "meat and potatoes" part of the meeting (i.e. last meeting minutes, a.k.a. "the boring part"), the Cloverbuds get to go to another room and do something more fun. Drew's first meeting was a few weeks ago. He didn't want to go. He had fun and he'll get used to it, but this is a good experience for him as he is not as outgoing as Rachel is. He needs these types of things for social skills.
24. Rachel gives her first presentation in May in front of her 4-H group. She will be nervous but she also needs theses types of experiences for good social skills and it will help when she is older not to be painfully scared when speech class becomes necessary. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that she does not see these people all the time and therefore is not nearly as comfortable as she'd be if she knew them all well. I figure that if her talk is about goats and we hauled a baby goat along, the audiences attention will be more on the goat than her which may help her not feel so self conscious. We'll see how that turns out. Baby goats visiting the school is always a hit and kids keep asking me when I am going to bring more. Who couldn't love a baby goat anyway?
25. Jeremiah is half way finished with his Masters!!! The summer of 2013 is also the summer we intend to give his own welding school a trail run.
That's all the randomness for now. Out to do chores and hang out clothes.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Morning thoughts: Ode to goats
Don't jump on me! I hope you did not just get crap on my pants! Dangit, you did get crap on my pants!!! Oh well, a little crap on the pants never hurt anyone.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
How to Speak (and BE) Like A Minnesotan Kansan
I'm compiling a list of all the words and daily life activities that are different so that when, and if, you visit, you won't be caught off guard when someone says the following to you and/or so that you can learn the lingo and mannerisms so you'll fit right in...that is, if you want to:
#1 I suppose I've already mentioned Arkansas. As in, the Arkansas River. Not to be confused with the state I don't think, because, believe it or not, despite the fact they are spelled the same, by God, they are not pronounced the same. So, if you want to fit in while inRome Kansas, say ArKansas River and not Arkansaw, for heaven's sake!
#2 Goats are not does and bucks. I would venture to say the more snooty people call them that, but here in Kansas- where the ArKansas River flows- goats are not deer for heaven's sake, they are billies and nannies!
#3 Despite the fact that we once had a vice president named Dick Cheney -pronounced Ch-A-ney- Cheney, Kansas- spelled just like the vice president!!!- but pronounced ch-ee-ney, with a long "e". Got it? For heaven's sake! Go figure.
#4 The city of gold is El Dorado. Yep, we have one too and ours is a city, not a county (for all you California folk). BUT, don't think for a minute that the city of gold would be pronounced anything like the Spanish would. Oh no, this is Kansas for heaven's sake! Catch yourself before you say El Door-ah-doh and say El Door-aye-doh instead? You can be like a Canadian, right...I mean, aye?
And that concludes the language portion...for now. On to mannerism. The following will for sure get people looking at your license plate if you near your car and if not, will certainly get a raised eyebrow if nothing else.
#1. If you walk out of McDonald's and use your cell phone to take a picture of the little sticker on the door with a small hand gun and a line through it to denote you cannot bring firearms into that eating establishment, people are gonna know you isn't from 'round here!
#2. If you rubber neck at a tractor driving down the highway with a man and and woman sitting on said tractor hauling a trailer full of livestock on Tuesday (from or to the sale barn of course) or Walmart bags on any other day, people are gonna know you isn't from 'round here!
#3. If you go to the feed store and ask them how much their hay is, they gonna know you isn't from 'round here.
#4. If you don't have a church, GET ONE! Sure enough you'll be asked by every neighbor, and passer by and little old lady at the grocery store to join them at theirs. If you decline and not mention attending your regular church (even if you don't!), they gonna know you isn't from 'round here.
I think that concludes today's lesson on how to speak (and be) a Kansan.
#1 I suppose I've already mentioned Arkansas. As in, the Arkansas River. Not to be confused with the state I don't think, because, believe it or not, despite the fact they are spelled the same, by God, they are not pronounced the same. So, if you want to fit in while in
#2 Goats are not does and bucks. I would venture to say the more snooty people call them that, but here in Kansas- where the ArKansas River flows- goats are not deer for heaven's sake, they are billies and nannies!
#3 Despite the fact that we once had a vice president named Dick Cheney -pronounced Ch-A-ney- Cheney, Kansas- spelled just like the vice president!!!- but pronounced ch-ee-ney, with a long "e". Got it? For heaven's sake! Go figure.
#4 The city of gold is El Dorado. Yep, we have one too and ours is a city, not a county (for all you California folk). BUT, don't think for a minute that the city of gold would be pronounced anything like the Spanish would. Oh no, this is Kansas for heaven's sake! Catch yourself before you say El Door-ah-doh and say El Door-aye-doh instead? You can be like a Canadian, right...I mean, aye?
And that concludes the language portion...for now. On to mannerism. The following will for sure get people looking at your license plate if you near your car and if not, will certainly get a raised eyebrow if nothing else.
#1. If you walk out of McDonald's and use your cell phone to take a picture of the little sticker on the door with a small hand gun and a line through it to denote you cannot bring firearms into that eating establishment, people are gonna know you isn't from 'round here!
#2. If you rubber neck at a tractor driving down the highway with a man and and woman sitting on said tractor hauling a trailer full of livestock on Tuesday (from or to the sale barn of course) or Walmart bags on any other day, people are gonna know you isn't from 'round here!
#3. If you go to the feed store and ask them how much their hay is, they gonna know you isn't from 'round here.
#4. If you don't have a church, GET ONE! Sure enough you'll be asked by every neighbor, and passer by and little old lady at the grocery store to join them at theirs. If you decline and not mention attending your regular church (even if you don't!), they gonna know you isn't from 'round here.
I think that concludes today's lesson on how to speak (and be) a Kansan.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Whirlwind Weekend
Another busy weekend behind us and I think it may take me all week to recover.
Saturday we got out early to head up north. We spent the better portion of the day there helping out at a friend's and what not and I feel pretty accomplished at what all we were able to get done including pulling blood from 7 does, trimming 2 stinky bucks feet, removing a bathroom mirror and light fixture and eating some darn fine pizza for lunch.
After all the chores were done, the fam. and I headed 30 miles SE to Herington, Ks. to pick up our LGD (livestock guardian dog) "King". Trying to get him into the car was, well, fun but after all was said and done he settled right down. Jeremiah did have to pick him up and he probably weighs, well, I don't even know but for Jeremiah to say a lot, he must weigh a pretty good bit. His shear size is quite intimidating! King stayed in the garage somewhat happily Saturday night. Sunday morning he was ready to head out to the goats and he's still out there today so I think he might want to stay :o). I'll emphasis the fact that he could easily dig his way under the fence any time he wanted and could easily jump the fence any time he wanted too. Not too much but his own will is keeping him in.
He's a good dog, great with the kids and so far seems to be very obedient and willing to please. I saw him digging in the pen (not under the fence, just out in the open) and scolded him from the house to stop and immediately he did and went on to something else. The goats are skeptical of their new herd mate but they'll settle down and this is a perfect opportunity to start the cycle of guardian dogs as herd mates being as how kidding is about to get into full swing here over the next month. He seems to sense their uneasiness and has been hanging back letting them have their space but is always very eager to meet us at the gate and walk along side as we/I do the chores. It'll take some time for everyone to get adjusted but I can finally rest easy and not feel like I have to lock the babies up at night. At the very least, even if King turns out to be more of a family oriented dog than a guardian, the mere presents of him should keep predators away. He doesn't seem to mind living with the flock and is pretty relaxed about it all.
Sunday I found some couches in Wichita so we headed over there to pick those up. I told Rachel I would try my best to get started removing the popcorn crap on her ceiling so I can paint in there. It's supposed to rain I think-though that could change-but rain would make for a good weekend to stay inside and get inside stuff done.
The weather has been on again and off again cold and warm. There is some prediction of snow and rain and ice so we'll see how that turns out. Today is dreary and rain is expected later today and tomorrow.
A couple weekends ago we bought an approx. 2 ton round bale of grass hay (brome) and the damn thing is moldy through and through. Jeremiah and I spent the better part of 2 hours yesterday cutting it apart with a chainsaw and salvaging what we could. I don't have the guys # that we bought it from but I do have his address so one of the chores today is to sit down and write a letter and hope he calls me. It's not that I think he knew, it was barn stored after all and he runs a huge operation so it's not as though he was trying to stiff us as our single bale purchase is kind of a drop in the bucket for him I'd imagine. At the very least I'd like a mold free replacement or my money back!
Off here for now. If at some point over the next week if the sun comes out and/or I happen to remember the camera when I go out to the goats, I'll get a photo of our new herd member.
Saturday we got out early to head up north. We spent the better portion of the day there helping out at a friend's and what not and I feel pretty accomplished at what all we were able to get done including pulling blood from 7 does, trimming 2 stinky bucks feet, removing a bathroom mirror and light fixture and eating some darn fine pizza for lunch.
After all the chores were done, the fam. and I headed 30 miles SE to Herington, Ks. to pick up our LGD (livestock guardian dog) "King". Trying to get him into the car was, well, fun but after all was said and done he settled right down. Jeremiah did have to pick him up and he probably weighs, well, I don't even know but for Jeremiah to say a lot, he must weigh a pretty good bit. His shear size is quite intimidating! King stayed in the garage somewhat happily Saturday night. Sunday morning he was ready to head out to the goats and he's still out there today so I think he might want to stay :o). I'll emphasis the fact that he could easily dig his way under the fence any time he wanted and could easily jump the fence any time he wanted too. Not too much but his own will is keeping him in.
He's a good dog, great with the kids and so far seems to be very obedient and willing to please. I saw him digging in the pen (not under the fence, just out in the open) and scolded him from the house to stop and immediately he did and went on to something else. The goats are skeptical of their new herd mate but they'll settle down and this is a perfect opportunity to start the cycle of guardian dogs as herd mates being as how kidding is about to get into full swing here over the next month. He seems to sense their uneasiness and has been hanging back letting them have their space but is always very eager to meet us at the gate and walk along side as we/I do the chores. It'll take some time for everyone to get adjusted but I can finally rest easy and not feel like I have to lock the babies up at night. At the very least, even if King turns out to be more of a family oriented dog than a guardian, the mere presents of him should keep predators away. He doesn't seem to mind living with the flock and is pretty relaxed about it all.
Sunday I found some couches in Wichita so we headed over there to pick those up. I told Rachel I would try my best to get started removing the popcorn crap on her ceiling so I can paint in there. It's supposed to rain I think-though that could change-but rain would make for a good weekend to stay inside and get inside stuff done.
The weather has been on again and off again cold and warm. There is some prediction of snow and rain and ice so we'll see how that turns out. Today is dreary and rain is expected later today and tomorrow.
A couple weekends ago we bought an approx. 2 ton round bale of grass hay (brome) and the damn thing is moldy through and through. Jeremiah and I spent the better part of 2 hours yesterday cutting it apart with a chainsaw and salvaging what we could. I don't have the guys # that we bought it from but I do have his address so one of the chores today is to sit down and write a letter and hope he calls me. It's not that I think he knew, it was barn stored after all and he runs a huge operation so it's not as though he was trying to stiff us as our single bale purchase is kind of a drop in the bucket for him I'd imagine. At the very least I'd like a mold free replacement or my money back!
Off here for now. If at some point over the next week if the sun comes out and/or I happen to remember the camera when I go out to the goats, I'll get a photo of our new herd member.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Weekly recap
We've been busy here! Week before last the temps were so nice reaching the 70's and even setting a record one or two days. We spent all last weekend in the yard. Had two of Jeremiah's students over to help us chop wood and clear brush. There is so much and it's all a bit overwhelming when you look at it all. For so many years, as the trees broke and/or died, they were either left in the woods or if on the main paths/areas, pushed into piles in the woods to decompose. It's real hard to see the piles in the woods when it's spring, summer and part of fall because of the grass and the briers and bushes but come late fall and winter, it just looks, well, wild. Natural, but wild.
There's a lot of good wood in there to burn it just needs to be hauled out, cut and split. Things are different, as I am sure you know, when you work full time. Or, when Jeremiah works full time anyway. Weekends are super busy and it's still not really light enough yet to do anythings in the evenings and most of the time it's too cold anyway, so there ya go.
This morning was chilly and we had a lot of moisture last night so the trees are coated in a layer of ice which is actually really pretty to look at...from afar that is, as in, inside where it's warm. Photos wouldn't show the ice though so no point in taking one. Yesterday was frigid.
The children and I went, for the first time, to the Hutch. Library and wow, what a great place! I wish I had taken them sooner. Rachel got a library card. Unfortunately it's on the west side of town (we live on the east side) so going over there would mean a special trip unless I need to go to the Hutch. Post Office (which is also over there) but I think we'll be making another trip this week. It's just something we'll have to make a point to do, perhaps pick them up from school instead of them taking the bus and go.
Jeremiah's truck's registration in Ca. (no we haven't gotten the plates changed over yet!) is due this month and so I'll need to run over to the court house to pay the $12 to get plates and tags. I'm not totally sure how they figure out registration, but it has something to do with your property taxes. Go figure! But actually the truck will be considered "antique" so we get off paying a heck of a lot less. My car was substantially more but still less than Ca. so I can life with it. Our car insurance, by the way, is half here than what it was in Ca. There's no surprise.
The baby goats are doing just fine. They jump and play and sleep and eat. What else is there? One of them is quite friendly, he's the larger of the two (the darker one with brown spots). He's also got the most potential (as far as I'm concerned) as breeding quality. The whole, "I worked so hard to save them and they won't go on my dinner plate" thing has blown over. The fact the smaller one won't play pet goat would make it easier for me to send him to the auction but nothing will be decided until mid-summer. They were disbudded over a week ago, that's always a fun chore but they were back to jumping around shortly after everything was said and done.
We've got lots of plans in the works. I've put off the notion of putting up a panel green house this Spring. While it wouldn't take very long to do, I think putting together some cold frame boxes with either old windows or corrigated clear plastic for lids would be faster and I don't need a whole lot of room to start seedlings in for us.
Our biggest chore is coming at the end of March when we start putting in our new property fencing. Jeremiah is not looking forward to it but I really am. The task seems daunting to him I'm sure, but everything I've read tells me it's a pretty quick job, in comparison that is. If I haven't mentioned before what we're putting in, I'll explain now. We're installing High Tensile Wire. It's 12.5 gauge wire, which when pulled taught, is VERY springy. It will be 5-6 wires tall (approx. 48" tall) and "hot" (electrified). I've done months and months of research on this stuff. It's cheap, lasts longer than any other fencing and has the lowest maintenance and is the easiest to put up. What more could we ask for?
Why is it cheap to put up? Not only is it inexpensive to purchase (as low as .02 a foot for the wire), but it requires a lot less posts than traditional fencing- wire, wood, woven or welded wire. On flat terrain you can get away with posts spaced as far as 100'. It is recommended that "battens" be installed, which is nothing more than a plastic/pvc pipe with groves in it to accept the wires to keep them spaced apart between the posts driven into the ground. These pipes (battens) are not driven into the ground, the are usually only as long as the measurement from top to bottom wire. While most of our terrain is not flat- there are rolling hills-I am hoping we can get away with using wooden posts only on the most substantial hills and t posts for the rest. We will need "insulators" which are pieces that fit onto the post that hold the wires in place- though some people use large staples.
Unlike woven or welded wire, high tensile is not tightly secured directly to the posts (although I have heard that some do say not to tightly secure this type either so that the fence gives, but there isn't nearly as much give in these types of fencing as high tensile). The high tensile can be stapled but the staples are not to be driven tightly to the wire because the wires are supposed to "float". If stapled, the staples do nothing more than acting like the "batten" keeping the wires where you want them vertically, if that makes sense.
The beautiful thing about this fencing is that it is so springy. The fence line intersects a lot of trees. We get severe ice storms and if the piles of wood and broken limbs in the woods are any indication of how much actually brakes and falls, we'd be forever repairing any other type of fencing. As I've stated, high tensile is super springy with as little as 1300 lbs. of holding power for every wire! Meaning, if a limb (or tree) were to fall on the wire, once it's removed, the wire will spring back into place and not be damaged a bit. Posts may need to be replaced but where there are long stretches of flat land, providing the post is somewhat away from the fallen limb, it will have no ill affects which is the reason they recommend not putting in more posts than you need and why the wire "floats" within the staples or insulators- less is more in this type of fencing under most circumstances.
As far as fixing the fence in the event a post is broken or bent, the wires just need to be removed from the post (which is where insulators would come in handier than staples). Unlike, say, woven or welded wire, high tensile wires can be spliced (using a crimper). Well, no, take that bac. Woven and welded wire can be spliced but it's quite a bit more effort to do so and re-stretching the fence is more labor intensive. If the high tensile wires are not damaged, you just hook them back up to the post(s) and re tighten via the inline strainer.
The inline strainer is connected to two ends of the high tensile wire, tightened to a certain PSI and holds it, maybe you've seen them on barbed wire. Until I started researching high tensile I never knew what the round thing with teeth connected to the wire actually was. It does the same thing that the ratchet strap strainer does- tightens up the fence/strap ! So, you loosen the wire by the strainer, make your fix and re-tighten. In barbed wire applications, over time the wire will start to sag so you take your handy dandy strainer tool. give it a couple clicks and you fence is tight again. Woven or welded wire is a whole lotta hooplah more than that to fix.
Should I be a spokeswoman for high tensile? We'll see. As far as predator control, that's a big one for us! I've seen coyotes jump a 5 foot fence from a stand still. I know we have them, I know they are many. I know an adult goat is probably not on the menu of a coyote unless they are seriously hungry, even when hunting as a pack, which could happen, but baby goats are a fairly easy catch. We do plan to get an LGD (livestock guardian dog) but until then, and in addition to, an electrified fence is also going to be a huge deterrent. I still haven't made a final decision on wire spacing but it's going to be something like 6" off the ground, 8" from that, 10" from that and then 12" and 12" making a total of 48". As far as deer deterrent, that's not a huge concern for me. It is some as deer can carry parasites that will harm goats. I'd just assume keep them off the property and I know they have one major "highway" through the east portion of our property that they could just as easily walk along the fence line on the outside of the property line (and they do on some occasions). Believe me, we wouldn't be affecting a major portion of their grazing grounds by making ours off limits. I have read that a 48" high fence, normally, wouldn't deter deer at all, but a 48" electrified fence may be another story. However, that does bring up the garden issue, more on that later though in another post.
So, we're both sold on the high tensile. Our main pen that we can see from the house will all be re-fenced with cattle panels. Jeremiah calls it the viewing area :o). It will not be electrified and my plan is to have the goats come up to the main pan at night.
I've done a lot of reading up on electric fencing too and while high tensile and electric, to me, goes hand in hand, no everyone electrifies their high tensile. On a side note, some cattle around here are kept in with a single strand of electric wire! Can you believe that? You'll be driving along and see a herd of cattle out on an old corn field and you'd swear there isn't a thing in the world keeping them in. Upon further inspection you'll see 2 foot high rebar sticking up out of the ground every 50' to 100' and a nearly invisible wire connecting them. I almost cannot believe it. That won't work with goats and even high tensile wire fence, unless it's electrified (and I am certain of this from previous experience with un-electrified gates and fences, a goat can shimmy under), they won't stay in. So, we'll alternate hot and ground wires, have substantial -minimum 8' foot long- galvanized rods pounded deep into the ground along the fence line. The herd goat(s) will need to be trained to the fence and Jeremiah said that me being the one to throw them into it may break that trust relationship we have between each other, so I told him he could do it instead, ha ha ha ha ha! But in all seriousness, the fence is probably more of a psychological barrier than a psychical one.
All in all, while fencing approx. 11 acres seems like a large task, the hardest part will be deciding where to place posts and then setting them. I am hoping t posts can be used for much of it so we don't have to dig holes by hand (as I am not going out to buy a $500+ engine powered auger or the rental fee on a post pounder) to set as few as 10 posts when I know darn well, after fencing the majority of the property will probably the last fencing we do on much of it. As I said, the posts, unless in a hilly area, should be few and far between And, to a certain extent, pounding t posts is a pretty easy chore. After the posts are set, it's nothing more than rolling* out some wire, attaching it around the corners and poles and tightening it with the strainers.
While it's not a day job, the amount of work required will be nowhere near as labor intensive as other types and I expect to have the job done in just 2 days or so (not including any posts we may have to set in concrete). I have to call the supplier companies and see if t posts are recommended for slightly hilly terrain. If they'll be okay, we'll save a ton on those as there are already so many holding up the deteriorating twisted wire fence now. Our corner posts are still in great shape and that is the heart of any good fence. Once the wire is strung between the two posts, it's tightened a bit, line posts are then installed, the wires are attached by either insulators or staples (on wooden posts) and then the wires are tightened to about 200-250 lbs. of pressure.
*High tensile is rolled tightly on a a reel, and from what I understand, needs to be unrolled in a spinning jenny which Jeremiah can make at the shop.
At any rate, I'll continue this conversation at a later time. As for the high tensile, I believe I've talked about that enough to explain what we're doing for anyone who's interested. We'll take pictures as we go as I now there are some folks who could benefits from a real world how to. I know I'd be happy to see some blog posts of "real" people installing the stuff and not just hearing about how their uncle installed 15 miles of it in a day by himself.
Later I'll share later my research on good deer/rodent deterrent fencing that I plan to do in the garden and orchard.
There's a lot of good wood in there to burn it just needs to be hauled out, cut and split. Things are different, as I am sure you know, when you work full time. Or, when Jeremiah works full time anyway. Weekends are super busy and it's still not really light enough yet to do anythings in the evenings and most of the time it's too cold anyway, so there ya go.
This morning was chilly and we had a lot of moisture last night so the trees are coated in a layer of ice which is actually really pretty to look at...from afar that is, as in, inside where it's warm. Photos wouldn't show the ice though so no point in taking one. Yesterday was frigid.
The children and I went, for the first time, to the Hutch. Library and wow, what a great place! I wish I had taken them sooner. Rachel got a library card. Unfortunately it's on the west side of town (we live on the east side) so going over there would mean a special trip unless I need to go to the Hutch. Post Office (which is also over there) but I think we'll be making another trip this week. It's just something we'll have to make a point to do, perhaps pick them up from school instead of them taking the bus and go.
Jeremiah's truck's registration in Ca. (no we haven't gotten the plates changed over yet!) is due this month and so I'll need to run over to the court house to pay the $12 to get plates and tags. I'm not totally sure how they figure out registration, but it has something to do with your property taxes. Go figure! But actually the truck will be considered "antique" so we get off paying a heck of a lot less. My car was substantially more but still less than Ca. so I can life with it. Our car insurance, by the way, is half here than what it was in Ca. There's no surprise.
The baby goats are doing just fine. They jump and play and sleep and eat. What else is there? One of them is quite friendly, he's the larger of the two (the darker one with brown spots). He's also got the most potential (as far as I'm concerned) as breeding quality. The whole, "I worked so hard to save them and they won't go on my dinner plate" thing has blown over. The fact the smaller one won't play pet goat would make it easier for me to send him to the auction but nothing will be decided until mid-summer. They were disbudded over a week ago, that's always a fun chore but they were back to jumping around shortly after everything was said and done.
We've got lots of plans in the works. I've put off the notion of putting up a panel green house this Spring. While it wouldn't take very long to do, I think putting together some cold frame boxes with either old windows or corrigated clear plastic for lids would be faster and I don't need a whole lot of room to start seedlings in for us.
Our biggest chore is coming at the end of March when we start putting in our new property fencing. Jeremiah is not looking forward to it but I really am. The task seems daunting to him I'm sure, but everything I've read tells me it's a pretty quick job, in comparison that is. If I haven't mentioned before what we're putting in, I'll explain now. We're installing High Tensile Wire. It's 12.5 gauge wire, which when pulled taught, is VERY springy. It will be 5-6 wires tall (approx. 48" tall) and "hot" (electrified). I've done months and months of research on this stuff. It's cheap, lasts longer than any other fencing and has the lowest maintenance and is the easiest to put up. What more could we ask for?
Why is it cheap to put up? Not only is it inexpensive to purchase (as low as .02 a foot for the wire), but it requires a lot less posts than traditional fencing- wire, wood, woven or welded wire. On flat terrain you can get away with posts spaced as far as 100'. It is recommended that "battens" be installed, which is nothing more than a plastic/pvc pipe with groves in it to accept the wires to keep them spaced apart between the posts driven into the ground. These pipes (battens) are not driven into the ground, the are usually only as long as the measurement from top to bottom wire. While most of our terrain is not flat- there are rolling hills-I am hoping we can get away with using wooden posts only on the most substantial hills and t posts for the rest. We will need "insulators" which are pieces that fit onto the post that hold the wires in place- though some people use large staples.
Unlike woven or welded wire, high tensile is not tightly secured directly to the posts (although I have heard that some do say not to tightly secure this type either so that the fence gives, but there isn't nearly as much give in these types of fencing as high tensile). The high tensile can be stapled but the staples are not to be driven tightly to the wire because the wires are supposed to "float". If stapled, the staples do nothing more than acting like the "batten" keeping the wires where you want them vertically, if that makes sense.
The beautiful thing about this fencing is that it is so springy. The fence line intersects a lot of trees. We get severe ice storms and if the piles of wood and broken limbs in the woods are any indication of how much actually brakes and falls, we'd be forever repairing any other type of fencing. As I've stated, high tensile is super springy with as little as 1300 lbs. of holding power for every wire! Meaning, if a limb (or tree) were to fall on the wire, once it's removed, the wire will spring back into place and not be damaged a bit. Posts may need to be replaced but where there are long stretches of flat land, providing the post is somewhat away from the fallen limb, it will have no ill affects which is the reason they recommend not putting in more posts than you need and why the wire "floats" within the staples or insulators- less is more in this type of fencing under most circumstances.
As far as fixing the fence in the event a post is broken or bent, the wires just need to be removed from the post (which is where insulators would come in handier than staples). Unlike, say, woven or welded wire, high tensile wires can be spliced (using a crimper). Well, no, take that bac. Woven and welded wire can be spliced but it's quite a bit more effort to do so and re-stretching the fence is more labor intensive. If the high tensile wires are not damaged, you just hook them back up to the post(s) and re tighten via the inline strainer.
The inline strainer is connected to two ends of the high tensile wire, tightened to a certain PSI and holds it, maybe you've seen them on barbed wire. Until I started researching high tensile I never knew what the round thing with teeth connected to the wire actually was. It does the same thing that the ratchet strap strainer does- tightens up the fence/strap ! So, you loosen the wire by the strainer, make your fix and re-tighten. In barbed wire applications, over time the wire will start to sag so you take your handy dandy strainer tool. give it a couple clicks and you fence is tight again. Woven or welded wire is a whole lotta hooplah more than that to fix.
Should I be a spokeswoman for high tensile? We'll see. As far as predator control, that's a big one for us! I've seen coyotes jump a 5 foot fence from a stand still. I know we have them, I know they are many. I know an adult goat is probably not on the menu of a coyote unless they are seriously hungry, even when hunting as a pack, which could happen, but baby goats are a fairly easy catch. We do plan to get an LGD (livestock guardian dog) but until then, and in addition to, an electrified fence is also going to be a huge deterrent. I still haven't made a final decision on wire spacing but it's going to be something like 6" off the ground, 8" from that, 10" from that and then 12" and 12" making a total of 48". As far as deer deterrent, that's not a huge concern for me. It is some as deer can carry parasites that will harm goats. I'd just assume keep them off the property and I know they have one major "highway" through the east portion of our property that they could just as easily walk along the fence line on the outside of the property line (and they do on some occasions). Believe me, we wouldn't be affecting a major portion of their grazing grounds by making ours off limits. I have read that a 48" high fence, normally, wouldn't deter deer at all, but a 48" electrified fence may be another story. However, that does bring up the garden issue, more on that later though in another post.
So, we're both sold on the high tensile. Our main pen that we can see from the house will all be re-fenced with cattle panels. Jeremiah calls it the viewing area :o). It will not be electrified and my plan is to have the goats come up to the main pan at night.
I've done a lot of reading up on electric fencing too and while high tensile and electric, to me, goes hand in hand, no everyone electrifies their high tensile. On a side note, some cattle around here are kept in with a single strand of electric wire! Can you believe that? You'll be driving along and see a herd of cattle out on an old corn field and you'd swear there isn't a thing in the world keeping them in. Upon further inspection you'll see 2 foot high rebar sticking up out of the ground every 50' to 100' and a nearly invisible wire connecting them. I almost cannot believe it. That won't work with goats and even high tensile wire fence, unless it's electrified (and I am certain of this from previous experience with un-electrified gates and fences, a goat can shimmy under), they won't stay in. So, we'll alternate hot and ground wires, have substantial -minimum 8' foot long- galvanized rods pounded deep into the ground along the fence line. The herd goat(s) will need to be trained to the fence and Jeremiah said that me being the one to throw them into it may break that trust relationship we have between each other, so I told him he could do it instead, ha ha ha ha ha! But in all seriousness, the fence is probably more of a psychological barrier than a psychical one.
All in all, while fencing approx. 11 acres seems like a large task, the hardest part will be deciding where to place posts and then setting them. I am hoping t posts can be used for much of it so we don't have to dig holes by hand (as I am not going out to buy a $500+ engine powered auger or the rental fee on a post pounder) to set as few as 10 posts when I know darn well, after fencing the majority of the property will probably the last fencing we do on much of it. As I said, the posts, unless in a hilly area, should be few and far between And, to a certain extent, pounding t posts is a pretty easy chore. After the posts are set, it's nothing more than rolling* out some wire, attaching it around the corners and poles and tightening it with the strainers.
While it's not a day job, the amount of work required will be nowhere near as labor intensive as other types and I expect to have the job done in just 2 days or so (not including any posts we may have to set in concrete). I have to call the supplier companies and see if t posts are recommended for slightly hilly terrain. If they'll be okay, we'll save a ton on those as there are already so many holding up the deteriorating twisted wire fence now. Our corner posts are still in great shape and that is the heart of any good fence. Once the wire is strung between the two posts, it's tightened a bit, line posts are then installed, the wires are attached by either insulators or staples (on wooden posts) and then the wires are tightened to about 200-250 lbs. of pressure.
*High tensile is rolled tightly on a a reel, and from what I understand, needs to be unrolled in a spinning jenny which Jeremiah can make at the shop.
At any rate, I'll continue this conversation at a later time. As for the high tensile, I believe I've talked about that enough to explain what we're doing for anyone who's interested. We'll take pictures as we go as I now there are some folks who could benefits from a real world how to. I know I'd be happy to see some blog posts of "real" people installing the stuff and not just hearing about how their uncle installed 15 miles of it in a day by himself.
Later I'll share later my research on good deer/rodent deterrent fencing that I plan to do in the garden and orchard.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Prepare for the ice age Siberia Kansas
Excerpt from The Weather Channel online just now.
"What:
Strong high pressure will invade the central United States transporting VERY cold air into the Plains, Midwest and as far south as south Texas.
When:
Begins Monday morning (northern Plains) through Thursday morning
Impact:
Dangerously cold air combined with harsh winds will give way to subzero wind chill values. Long-duration exposure in the elements will be life-threatening."
"What:
Strong high pressure will invade the central United States transporting VERY cold air into the Plains, Midwest and as far south as south Texas.
When:
Begins Monday morning (northern Plains) through Thursday morning
Impact:
Dangerously cold air combined with harsh winds will give way to subzero wind chill values. Long-duration exposure in the elements will be life-threatening."
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Ramblings
This evening I am sitting in our living room which is probably 80 degrees or so. The rest of the house is about 68. The fire feels so good. We got some good wood this last batch from a black locust that we cut down only a few months ago but despite it being fairly new wood, it's dry and is burning so long and hot.
I can sit on the couch and see the main road this time of year because the trees are leafless. Yesterday the big tanker trucks came by and sprayed salt solution on the roads in preparations for this storm moving through. I can tell how icy and slick it much be because the headlights move slowly across the width of the window. I was nice enough to park the Explorer in the garage so Jeremiah can take it tomorrow without having to scrape ice off the windshield. I'm wonderful right? I have chili simmering on the stove and it just smelled so so good. It was perfect...warm fire, simmering chili, cold cold cold outside and me...inside...warm, looking out into the cold. Perfect!
I don't think it made it above 24 today...overcast and a bit foggy even, felt colder. It was flurrying snow and ice when Drew and I left for the grocery store this morning shortly before 9. They were salting the sidewalks when we walked in.
It was a busy busy day. We didn't arrive back home until 11 and after rushing groceries in it was time to get Drew back out the door to catch the bus, back in to put groceries away, bake a cake to take to Rachel's class and while it was in the oven, I hussled out to the goats with warm water though there wasn't any ice on their buckets. Being under shelter really keeps them from icing over even when the air temp. is 24 degrees out. They so appreciate the warm water.
I wanted to kill me some goats yesterday! I really should take the camera out when I feed. There's always something worth documenting. Yesterday I went out and the little angels had about 900 lbs. worth of straw strewn about!!! YES, that's NINE HUNDRED...with a 9 and then two zeros. We bought 2 large round bales of straw before the last storm. I opened one up to bed them down well and tried to tie a tarp around it. Goats decided they had to get underneath and check it out so I hauled 3 gate panels to it to make a pen around it with the 4th side being an unused pen's fence.
They hadn't touched it after the gates went up but that's because they hadn't been outside of the barn since the snow started falling 2 Mondays ago!! We finally got rid of most of the snow this past Monday when the temps warmed up and it took them a few hours to knock down the gates, rip off the tarp and have a 900 lb. bed of straw to lay on all day! Stupid goats. I didn't have the strength to throw it all into a tall haystack so I covered it the best I could and grumbled some choice words to them about it and almost didn't feed them dinner...I thought about all 12 of them BEING dinner...for me.
After the cake was done baking, I worked on getting some packages ready for mailing while they cooled. Then it was back upstairs to make frosting, take it to school, serve it and then rush back home with the kids after school let out. It was spitting ice when I went out to feed this afternoon. It hurts your face when you walk into the wind which is all the way out to the barn. I am dreading this storm. I'd much rather have the cold than the snow. I hate gearing up with boots to go feed, falling in snow, slipping, trudging, getting wet, falling, trudging, swearing...
Snow is hell. I freakin' hate snow! I would rather deal with negative temps than to have to trudge through snow so hopefully this storm doesn't dump much. Hard to imagine this place green and full of life with this crappy weather. On that note though, 2 weekends ago Jeremiah got the generator up and running. We needed a longer extension cord for it which ended up costing a fortune. He had to make it as I don't guess they sell generator specific cords with special generator plug things. He taught me how to hook it all up and run it. I wrote the directions down in case he's out of town or at work and I need to start it up...not too difficult and we can run everything but the dryer and the stove on it but that's why we have the woodstove and why I have been practicing cooking on it! Not to mention the fact I'd just assume hang clothes up around the house on hangers than use the dryer. I'm trashy, it's official.
As for stuff around the house...wood requirements are kicking our butts this year. Which, I guess, is to be expected. We're playing catch up...some day we'll be caught up on that front but one can only chop so much wood at a time. This latest bundle we got, as I said, is burning so well. There's still a ton out there we just have to get it and getting wood gets old real quick when you know it's going to burned just as soon as you stack it...it would be nice to know that the work we're doing stacking wood will be for future use. ::Sigh:: Someday.
Still haven't painted anything but the basement...I wanted to get the kid's rooms done for Xmas but just too much going on. I did buy the paint for the 2nd basement room today though and we got it textured last Sunday. This weekend's chore is to prime and paint in there. I want to paint a wall in the living room red, the rest of them white or country white or something. I picked out the color today but will wait until I am ready to get it all mixed up...which I say is within the next two weeks but I've said that before too. I want to get this popcorn crap off the ceiling and can't really bare the thought of the mess just yet.
I made a big pot of beans last night for dinner. Simmered them with some pork steaks on the wood stove yesterday and was a bit afraid of how the whole meal would come out but it actually was pretty good. I cooked up some rice to serve the beans over the top, liquid was almost as thick as a gravy, had enough meat for a 2nd meal (tacos) later this week and plenty of beans for 3 meals worth...that's what I call cooking ahead. I used them in the chili tonight and can I just tell you how delicious it was!Well, it was delicious.
We went to Sam's club (Walmart's version of Costco) on Friday after the kids got out of school. It's in Wichita and most people would think that's a hop skip and jump away but I hate going down there. We bought the membership in August. We've never belonged to one of these big bulk warehouse stores because it was never worth it. We were a small family and we just didn't need the bulk. Now the bulk comes in handy for some things but I really think after all is said and done (membership costs and gas+time+hassle to go down there), it's not worth it!
I amaze myself at being able to memorize the prices of things that I buy to compare. There really isn't too much at Sam's besides yeast, Gatorade, a few herbs/spices and large cans of tomatoes that is cheaper. I hardly think those items are worth it! You'd think things like 3 dozen eggs and 50 lbs of flour would be cheaper at Sam's, but you'd be wrong. I did buy a big thing of All free and clear laundry detergent the last time I was there in August. Would you believe I am still using it? And it said good for 110 loads. HA! Little do they tell you their recommended amount is about 3/4 more than you really need, concentrated or not. I wash a whole years worth of laundry for about $20. I tried making my own soap once...for the effort, $20 is cheaper.
I dread waking up tomorrow to find my walking path out to the goats covered again in the white crap. I keep thinking spring though and maybe someday it'll be here. It kind of reminds me of the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Seven brothers went to town and kidnapped their beloveds, took them to the spread they all lived on but not before creating an avalanche in the pass stranding them on their "own side" until spring and preventing the townsfolk from coming to get their kinfolk. Anyway, the girls sing a song about the snow falling and falling and falling mentioning January, February, March, April, May...J.U.N.E and when you're, "about to forget the whole thing...all at once one day it's spring". I kinda figure it'll be like that here...or, you know, not. Whatever. Maybe this winter will just roll right into next and it will be like one long year in hell.
Past the children's bed time now and still haven't cleaned up from dinner. Been nice to sit here and just relax as I haven't, "had a chance to pick my nose all day let alone sit down for half a minute" as I so eloquently put it to Jeremiah when he asked how my day was. Well, the kids thought it was hilarious anyway.
Good night.
P.S. The phone rang a bit ago. It was the kid's school. The district is closed on Thursday due to icy road conditions. Free day for them. Not too long after we got another call from the Hutch. school district. I told Jeremiah all kids get a free day. But him? All teachers had to report. HA! What a low down mean and dirty trick. Course I told him the truth...only I have to wake up early and get to chores...just like every other day. Oh well, maybe we'll get the room in the basement primed and painted earlier than this weekend.
I can sit on the couch and see the main road this time of year because the trees are leafless. Yesterday the big tanker trucks came by and sprayed salt solution on the roads in preparations for this storm moving through. I can tell how icy and slick it much be because the headlights move slowly across the width of the window. I was nice enough to park the Explorer in the garage so Jeremiah can take it tomorrow without having to scrape ice off the windshield. I'm wonderful right? I have chili simmering on the stove and it just smelled so so good. It was perfect...warm fire, simmering chili, cold cold cold outside and me...inside...warm, looking out into the cold. Perfect!
I don't think it made it above 24 today...overcast and a bit foggy even, felt colder. It was flurrying snow and ice when Drew and I left for the grocery store this morning shortly before 9. They were salting the sidewalks when we walked in.
It was a busy busy day. We didn't arrive back home until 11 and after rushing groceries in it was time to get Drew back out the door to catch the bus, back in to put groceries away, bake a cake to take to Rachel's class and while it was in the oven, I hussled out to the goats with warm water though there wasn't any ice on their buckets. Being under shelter really keeps them from icing over even when the air temp. is 24 degrees out. They so appreciate the warm water.
I wanted to kill me some goats yesterday! I really should take the camera out when I feed. There's always something worth documenting. Yesterday I went out and the little angels had about 900 lbs. worth of straw strewn about!!! YES, that's NINE HUNDRED...with a 9 and then two zeros. We bought 2 large round bales of straw before the last storm. I opened one up to bed them down well and tried to tie a tarp around it. Goats decided they had to get underneath and check it out so I hauled 3 gate panels to it to make a pen around it with the 4th side being an unused pen's fence.
They hadn't touched it after the gates went up but that's because they hadn't been outside of the barn since the snow started falling 2 Mondays ago!! We finally got rid of most of the snow this past Monday when the temps warmed up and it took them a few hours to knock down the gates, rip off the tarp and have a 900 lb. bed of straw to lay on all day! Stupid goats. I didn't have the strength to throw it all into a tall haystack so I covered it the best I could and grumbled some choice words to them about it and almost didn't feed them dinner...I thought about all 12 of them BEING dinner...for me.
After the cake was done baking, I worked on getting some packages ready for mailing while they cooled. Then it was back upstairs to make frosting, take it to school, serve it and then rush back home with the kids after school let out. It was spitting ice when I went out to feed this afternoon. It hurts your face when you walk into the wind which is all the way out to the barn. I am dreading this storm. I'd much rather have the cold than the snow. I hate gearing up with boots to go feed, falling in snow, slipping, trudging, getting wet, falling, trudging, swearing...
Snow is hell. I freakin' hate snow! I would rather deal with negative temps than to have to trudge through snow so hopefully this storm doesn't dump much. Hard to imagine this place green and full of life with this crappy weather. On that note though, 2 weekends ago Jeremiah got the generator up and running. We needed a longer extension cord for it which ended up costing a fortune. He had to make it as I don't guess they sell generator specific cords with special generator plug things. He taught me how to hook it all up and run it. I wrote the directions down in case he's out of town or at work and I need to start it up...not too difficult and we can run everything but the dryer and the stove on it but that's why we have the woodstove and why I have been practicing cooking on it! Not to mention the fact I'd just assume hang clothes up around the house on hangers than use the dryer. I'm trashy, it's official.
As for stuff around the house...wood requirements are kicking our butts this year. Which, I guess, is to be expected. We're playing catch up...some day we'll be caught up on that front but one can only chop so much wood at a time. This latest bundle we got, as I said, is burning so well. There's still a ton out there we just have to get it and getting wood gets old real quick when you know it's going to burned just as soon as you stack it...it would be nice to know that the work we're doing stacking wood will be for future use. ::Sigh:: Someday.
Still haven't painted anything but the basement...I wanted to get the kid's rooms done for Xmas but just too much going on. I did buy the paint for the 2nd basement room today though and we got it textured last Sunday. This weekend's chore is to prime and paint in there. I want to paint a wall in the living room red, the rest of them white or country white or something. I picked out the color today but will wait until I am ready to get it all mixed up...which I say is within the next two weeks but I've said that before too. I want to get this popcorn crap off the ceiling and can't really bare the thought of the mess just yet.
I made a big pot of beans last night for dinner. Simmered them with some pork steaks on the wood stove yesterday and was a bit afraid of how the whole meal would come out but it actually was pretty good. I cooked up some rice to serve the beans over the top, liquid was almost as thick as a gravy, had enough meat for a 2nd meal (tacos) later this week and plenty of beans for 3 meals worth...that's what I call cooking ahead. I used them in the chili tonight and can I just tell you how delicious it was!Well, it was delicious.
We went to Sam's club (Walmart's version of Costco) on Friday after the kids got out of school. It's in Wichita and most people would think that's a hop skip and jump away but I hate going down there. We bought the membership in August. We've never belonged to one of these big bulk warehouse stores because it was never worth it. We were a small family and we just didn't need the bulk. Now the bulk comes in handy for some things but I really think after all is said and done (membership costs and gas+time+hassle to go down there), it's not worth it!
I amaze myself at being able to memorize the prices of things that I buy to compare. There really isn't too much at Sam's besides yeast, Gatorade, a few herbs/spices and large cans of tomatoes that is cheaper. I hardly think those items are worth it! You'd think things like 3 dozen eggs and 50 lbs of flour would be cheaper at Sam's, but you'd be wrong. I did buy a big thing of All free and clear laundry detergent the last time I was there in August. Would you believe I am still using it? And it said good for 110 loads. HA! Little do they tell you their recommended amount is about 3/4 more than you really need, concentrated or not. I wash a whole years worth of laundry for about $20. I tried making my own soap once...for the effort, $20 is cheaper.
I dread waking up tomorrow to find my walking path out to the goats covered again in the white crap. I keep thinking spring though and maybe someday it'll be here. It kind of reminds me of the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Seven brothers went to town and kidnapped their beloveds, took them to the spread they all lived on but not before creating an avalanche in the pass stranding them on their "own side" until spring and preventing the townsfolk from coming to get their kinfolk. Anyway, the girls sing a song about the snow falling and falling and falling mentioning January, February, March, April, May...J.U.N.E and when you're, "about to forget the whole thing...all at once one day it's spring". I kinda figure it'll be like that here...or, you know, not. Whatever. Maybe this winter will just roll right into next and it will be like one long year in hell.
Past the children's bed time now and still haven't cleaned up from dinner. Been nice to sit here and just relax as I haven't, "had a chance to pick my nose all day let alone sit down for half a minute" as I so eloquently put it to Jeremiah when he asked how my day was. Well, the kids thought it was hilarious anyway.
Good night.
P.S. The phone rang a bit ago. It was the kid's school. The district is closed on Thursday due to icy road conditions. Free day for them. Not too long after we got another call from the Hutch. school district. I told Jeremiah all kids get a free day. But him? All teachers had to report. HA! What a low down mean and dirty trick. Course I told him the truth...only I have to wake up early and get to chores...just like every other day. Oh well, maybe we'll get the room in the basement primed and painted earlier than this weekend.
Monday, January 10, 2011
I LOVE SNOW!
I LOVE SNOW! I love photos of it. I love how clean and beautiful it looks. I love watching it fall from the sky. I LOVE SNOW...when someone else is in the picture, someone is else is standing in the gosh darned friggen cold taking the photo, someone else is hauling hot water to their animals and cleaning up after children and getting dressed and undressed and redressed and undressed and dressed and undressed yet again within an HOUR and all that other crap! Yeah, I love it alright. Love watching it on TV, love watching it from the window from inside a warm and cozy house and love especially when I don't have to deal with it.WHY did we move here again??? The kids have been out playing in it about 500 times now! It hasn't even been here 24 hours. WHY did we move here again?!?! Thankfully both the kids are in school as I write this otherwise that 500 would easily triple. WHY did we move here again?
Imagine me dragging Drew along out to the road to catch the bus all the while I am almost screaming at him to stay in the tire tracks that Daddy had made that morning as he left for work only to get to the bus about 300 feet away from the house to find him COVERED in snow! I had to ask myself if I was that one tacked minded trying to get him TO the bus if I didn't realize I was dragging him IN the snow. Nope, I wasn't. He just thought that walking through 8 inches of it was much more fun than walking in the packed down tire tracks!
It was nice alright. Nice for the first 5 minutes when I woke up and everything is blanketed in white. That was about the extent of the nice but since then, I have had it! Those 20 lbs. I lost are easily going to turn into about 50 with the trips I am making to the goats with hot water and convincing them that it's not anthrax! It's not the trips I mind with the water bucket. I could easily put in a deicer cutting my trips to 2 or even one to just feed. It's all the other crap! (i.e. dressing, putting on boots, falling on my as...rear end in the snow, etc. and then reversing all of that on the trip back up.) It's not even the cold for the most part. I scored a wool zip up jacket yesterday at the farm store for $10. I am WARM. If I knew I wouldn't freeze to death by wearing nothing, surely I would just so I didn't have to deal with taking all the layers off and putting them back on and dragging snow and dirt inside, ug. If I had to deal with this more than 2-3 months out of the year (and LORD HELP ME IF IT'S A BAD YEAR AND IT STICKS AROUND THAT LONG), I'd literally choke myself to death on snow. NO JOKE! People who like living in snow are INSANE! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go kick a snowball!
FRIZZLE FRACKING FLARKIN FLICKIN SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Imagine me dragging Drew along out to the road to catch the bus all the while I am almost screaming at him to stay in the tire tracks that Daddy had made that morning as he left for work only to get to the bus about 300 feet away from the house to find him COVERED in snow! I had to ask myself if I was that one tacked minded trying to get him TO the bus if I didn't realize I was dragging him IN the snow. Nope, I wasn't. He just thought that walking through 8 inches of it was much more fun than walking in the packed down tire tracks!
It was nice alright. Nice for the first 5 minutes when I woke up and everything is blanketed in white. That was about the extent of the nice but since then, I have had it! Those 20 lbs. I lost are easily going to turn into about 50 with the trips I am making to the goats with hot water and convincing them that it's not anthrax! It's not the trips I mind with the water bucket. I could easily put in a deicer cutting my trips to 2 or even one to just feed. It's all the other crap! (i.e. dressing, putting on boots, falling on my as...rear end in the snow, etc. and then reversing all of that on the trip back up.) It's not even the cold for the most part. I scored a wool zip up jacket yesterday at the farm store for $10. I am WARM. If I knew I wouldn't freeze to death by wearing nothing, surely I would just so I didn't have to deal with taking all the layers off and putting them back on and dragging snow and dirt inside, ug. If I had to deal with this more than 2-3 months out of the year (and LORD HELP ME IF IT'S A BAD YEAR AND IT STICKS AROUND THAT LONG), I'd literally choke myself to death on snow. NO JOKE! People who like living in snow are INSANE! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go kick a snowball!
FRIZZLE FRACKING FLARKIN FLICKIN SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Thinkin' Spring
I don't care what the weather report says, I'm thinking spring and will continue to try to keep spring on my mind no matter how much ice I'm breaking.
There plans to build a green house probably next month. It won't be anything spectacular. Truth be told, I'm a real big fan of cattle panel hoop houses. (Click on the blue letters and it will take you to some photos of what I'm talking about). We get some pretty severe wind storms here but I read an article recently of a guy in Iowa who raises calves in them for a few weeks and says his won't blow away. They are staked down well and reinforced and Jeremiah and I have some ideas of our own to get one erected for seedlings.
The cattle panel hoop houses are great for so many things, including animal shelters (click on the blue letters again to see photos of animal shelters) and I have been a long time amirer of them. We've bought 20 or so used panels from here and therefor fairly inexpensively and since my barn would require a bit of modification to keep kids completely safe from predators, I'm thinking about erecting a couple panel houses to keep kids in. I haven't looked too much into sturdy waterproof canvas or duct tarps for an animal shelter but for a green house, Lowes or Home Depot carries heavy duty plastic sheeting that would do real well for a green house.
I got my first seed catalog in the mail yesterday so later today when the kids are home from school we'll go through and circle all the things we'd like.
I've been cleaning the girls barn practically everyday and dumping the contents of the wheelbarrow onto the future garden site. We have very loamy soil here on our property, I hear things do real well on it with some good fertilizer. I certainly have that, and A LOT of it! Around the end of March we may start rototilling the garden site to work in all the amenities we've been putting out and with seedlings started early, come planting time in May (or whenever it is) we should have no problem getting a few things to grow this year. We're all very excited to get started with spring and winter has barely just begun. We do expect a couple of warm days (by warm I mean high 40's) this week followed by a storm next Sunday. I'll take high 40's. Heck, I'll even take 40 if the sun's out and there's no wind.
We have an underground spring that feeds the pond. Just the other day while cleaning brush I also discovered we have a creek bed that feeds the neighbors smallish pond in the front corner of their property! Right now there are deer bedding in it. We're working towards clearing out the massive amounts of down trees and limbs in it. Jeremiah would like it looking like a real creek bed by spring. Eventually we'd like shore up the one side of the pond (where I usually take photos from), cut out a lower bank on the creek side and see if we can't actually get it running. If not running, the main purpose would really be to keep the water out of the back yard as that's the lower side of the pond. In very wet years, the neighbor says there can be standing water out by the goat's pen fencing. Some day Jeremiah would also like to get a windmill water pump working to keep the pond full all year round and to water the garden as they are both close to each other. In fact, we plan to use the underground spring as our garden water since it is very close to the surface. I'm guessing that the meandering stream of bermuda grass is the path the stream takes, the water is supposed to be pretty close to the surface so while we may fight the grass in the garden, until we can get a windmill in for running water, we're hoping the ground water and rainwater are all the garden will require. Otherwise we'd have to run a fairly long hose from the house to the garden.
Water has been piped out to the barn from the house and we could try to locate that, trench across the back yard to run a spigot, but I don't know if all that will happen this year. We'll see. Baby steps!
That's all for now...we've always got a thousand ideas running through our heads. Only so much time and money though :o).
There plans to build a green house probably next month. It won't be anything spectacular. Truth be told, I'm a real big fan of cattle panel hoop houses. (Click on the blue letters and it will take you to some photos of what I'm talking about). We get some pretty severe wind storms here but I read an article recently of a guy in Iowa who raises calves in them for a few weeks and says his won't blow away. They are staked down well and reinforced and Jeremiah and I have some ideas of our own to get one erected for seedlings.
The cattle panel hoop houses are great for so many things, including animal shelters (click on the blue letters again to see photos of animal shelters) and I have been a long time amirer of them. We've bought 20 or so used panels from here and therefor fairly inexpensively and since my barn would require a bit of modification to keep kids completely safe from predators, I'm thinking about erecting a couple panel houses to keep kids in. I haven't looked too much into sturdy waterproof canvas or duct tarps for an animal shelter but for a green house, Lowes or Home Depot carries heavy duty plastic sheeting that would do real well for a green house.
I got my first seed catalog in the mail yesterday so later today when the kids are home from school we'll go through and circle all the things we'd like.
I've been cleaning the girls barn practically everyday and dumping the contents of the wheelbarrow onto the future garden site. We have very loamy soil here on our property, I hear things do real well on it with some good fertilizer. I certainly have that, and A LOT of it! Around the end of March we may start rototilling the garden site to work in all the amenities we've been putting out and with seedlings started early, come planting time in May (or whenever it is) we should have no problem getting a few things to grow this year. We're all very excited to get started with spring and winter has barely just begun. We do expect a couple of warm days (by warm I mean high 40's) this week followed by a storm next Sunday. I'll take high 40's. Heck, I'll even take 40 if the sun's out and there's no wind.
We have an underground spring that feeds the pond. Just the other day while cleaning brush I also discovered we have a creek bed that feeds the neighbors smallish pond in the front corner of their property! Right now there are deer bedding in it. We're working towards clearing out the massive amounts of down trees and limbs in it. Jeremiah would like it looking like a real creek bed by spring. Eventually we'd like shore up the one side of the pond (where I usually take photos from), cut out a lower bank on the creek side and see if we can't actually get it running. If not running, the main purpose would really be to keep the water out of the back yard as that's the lower side of the pond. In very wet years, the neighbor says there can be standing water out by the goat's pen fencing. Some day Jeremiah would also like to get a windmill water pump working to keep the pond full all year round and to water the garden as they are both close to each other. In fact, we plan to use the underground spring as our garden water since it is very close to the surface. I'm guessing that the meandering stream of bermuda grass is the path the stream takes, the water is supposed to be pretty close to the surface so while we may fight the grass in the garden, until we can get a windmill in for running water, we're hoping the ground water and rainwater are all the garden will require. Otherwise we'd have to run a fairly long hose from the house to the garden.
Water has been piped out to the barn from the house and we could try to locate that, trench across the back yard to run a spigot, but I don't know if all that will happen this year. We'll see. Baby steps!
That's all for now...we've always got a thousand ideas running through our heads. Only so much time and money though :o).
Friday, September 3, 2010
You know it's going to be a bad day when...
- Your neighbor's yapping
stupid little annoying mutts who you would like to shootadorable pouches are no match for your very loud doe in heat at 6:30 in the morning and that's your morning wake up call. And although it's 6:30, you smile because your incredibly annoying doe's constant wailing is par for the course and you feelslightlyincredibly satisfied that the neighbors are getting a taste of their own medicine. Victory, although short lived.
- You figure since both of your kids will be eating at the school cafeteria that day you can sleep in and totally forget your husband doesn't eat in the school cafeteria.
- You are so sick of seeing straggly hair on your 6-year-old and think it's time for a cut while she eats her breakfast and you screw up somewhat but don't say anything, stick a clip in it, and send her off to school.
- You go out to feed the goats and slip on a 12 inch long spring and fall flat on your
assrear end.
- After falling flat on said rear end and after the dust settles, you proceed into the tack room to get a scoop of grain and hit your head on a hook on the way up.
- Rubbing your head vigorously thinking you should have just stayed in bed, aforementioned doe in heat wails at you while you walk up to the house for breakfast and you think, "And it's not even 9 o'clock, I can't wait for what the rest of the day holds!"
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday
Met the neighbors today. You know, the ones whose horse we've been taking care of now for, 1, 2, 3, 4...17 days now.
Funny thing though, they didn't mention the horse, but I did.
I am being a bit overly dramatic about the horse. Quite honestly it's not been a bother. It's not like I've been feeding it, because I wouldn't. We did realize Sunday though she was back on her own property and neither of us put her there. She'd need to be taken through the goat's pasture to access it so we figured someone finally came and got her. She's not too happy about being there. I never did call them, figured eventually someone would come and call on her or we'd sell her and say we didn't know a thing about any horse. We financed cats, not a horse!
Speaking of cats, I've seen them a total of probably 5 times. They come around for sure, their food bowls is emptied. Suppose it could be wild critters but I doubt these cats are ever going to come around.
Guess what? Remember how I said the school bus picks the children up on the road? Well, get this, she's now driving up in the driveway and dropping them off (and picking Rachel up) practically at the door step! Mrs. B. was having quite a hard time from the looks of it backing in every morning and every afternoon.
I had been working in the basement, came up stairs thinking the children should be home soon. Hadn't heard the bus back up beeping so decided to go out front and wait for them when I opened the front door and there was a big yellow bus in the wraparound drive! How's that for door to door service?
We'll see how that goes this winter. She said she doesn't like to pull into people's drive because it can make ruts. Our driveway seems to drain just fine (the whole property does in fact) so hopefully it'll be fine for her to just pull around twice a day for the entire year. It seems kinda funny to have a big yellow school bus pulling around our driveway!
Jeremiah says the kids are being a pain in the rear end this evening. I told him I'm taking the night off meaning he gets the bathing and teeth duty.
I wrote a list today of all the things I'd like to get accomplished. Sad to say most of them are household duties! I marvel at the fact that anything around the house gets done with both Mom and Dad work. I just don't see how!
I made a super easy, super delicious homemade bread today. Jo (my friend) has been following the recipes from Artisan Breads In 5 Minutes A Day for a while now. I've known about the book and technique for some time, just haven't gotten around to doing it. I changed my recipe from their master recipe a bit but overall it's the same basic principle. It has yeast, so it isn't a quick bread BUT it doesn't require kneading. There is logic behind why it doesn't need it (no pun intended), and I can't remember exactly why, but if I remember right it had something to do with the fact that the dough is much wetter than a traditional kneaded dough.
I made enough for 4 loaves and really, it was just so quick and easy. NO KNEADING REQUIRED. I baked 2 and I'll be honest with you. I ate practically a whole fricken loaf all by myself almost as soon as it came out of the oven. The whole reason I made the bread in the first place is because I ran out of bread for lunches and here I was eating what was supposed to be for dinner and lunch tomorrow! Oops. I say that like it was an accident, it wasn't, not at all.
The rest of the dough will sit raw in the fridge. It should pick up a bit of a sourdough-y zing. I'll bake those tomorrow into loaves or maybe turn them into pizza dough for dinner. Wish I had tried this technique long ago. I put eggs and a bit of sugar into my dough, something the recipe didn't call for. It turned out a bit like brioche (a french buttery eggy bread). AfterI we got a hold of it for dinner, there is just enough left for tomorrow's lunch. Phew!
I didn't get as far on my "to do" list as I would have liked today. I did manage to finish getting the popcorn crap off the basement ceiling yesterday. I tried to start priming it today but I should have wiped it down with a wet cloth to remove all the dust because the primer isn't wanting to stick. I'm just making a mess of it so stopped 1/4 of the way through and will pick it up again tomorrow.
I did start tearing off the paneling on the walls though today. Fortunately for me it's just nailed and not glued. I had thought about just priming and painting it but hell, if I am going to do it, I may as well do it right. Oye, why do projects always turn into something so much bigger than they originally start out as!? Now I am thinking of faux painting the concrete floor to look like tile. I don't know how ambitious I'll be about that by the time I get done with the ceilings and walls.
Jeremiah is doing well. Coming along with a totally unique, totally personalized lesson plan has been a bit challenging. I know there's so much I should catch you all up on in regards to that but I'm not real sure exactly how to explain it.
Long story short is that his entire morning from about 8 AM to 10:30 is taken up by a single class with a short break. He has those same students all morning. They are a mixture of totally green to welding to 2nd year students. It came as a total shock to him! He is working with someone who specialized in lesson planning (I think that's her job) and they've devised a way to teach to such a wide variety of levels without talking over anyone's head or boring any one else.
Jeremiah's spent a lot of time putting this together and I am sure after this year it will be a lot easier for him. I am also sure that as time progresses he'll revise it, add to it, take away, etc. The first year is the hardest.
We just realized the phone we plugged in over the weekend had the ringer turned off! God, I swear I feel like such an idiot! The school nurse called my cell phone today and left a voicemail. For those of you who don't know, our cell gets horrible reception at the house. So I called her back and left her a message to call me at the house and that I would be in all afternoon. I had wondered why she had called the cell when she had the number to the house. Well, gee wiz, NO WONDER!! I think the people at the school from the school bus driver to the school nurse thinks I am an idiot because it appears that I haven't got a clue on the phone issue!
Time for bed in middle America.
Funny thing though, they didn't mention the horse, but I did.
I am being a bit overly dramatic about the horse. Quite honestly it's not been a bother. It's not like I've been feeding it, because I wouldn't. We did realize Sunday though she was back on her own property and neither of us put her there. She'd need to be taken through the goat's pasture to access it so we figured someone finally came and got her. She's not too happy about being there. I never did call them, figured eventually someone would come and call on her or we'd sell her and say we didn't know a thing about any horse. We financed cats, not a horse!
Speaking of cats, I've seen them a total of probably 5 times. They come around for sure, their food bowls is emptied. Suppose it could be wild critters but I doubt these cats are ever going to come around.
Guess what? Remember how I said the school bus picks the children up on the road? Well, get this, she's now driving up in the driveway and dropping them off (and picking Rachel up) practically at the door step! Mrs. B. was having quite a hard time from the looks of it backing in every morning and every afternoon.
I had been working in the basement, came up stairs thinking the children should be home soon. Hadn't heard the bus back up beeping so decided to go out front and wait for them when I opened the front door and there was a big yellow bus in the wraparound drive! How's that for door to door service?
We'll see how that goes this winter. She said she doesn't like to pull into people's drive because it can make ruts. Our driveway seems to drain just fine (the whole property does in fact) so hopefully it'll be fine for her to just pull around twice a day for the entire year. It seems kinda funny to have a big yellow school bus pulling around our driveway!
Jeremiah says the kids are being a pain in the rear end this evening. I told him I'm taking the night off meaning he gets the bathing and teeth duty.
I wrote a list today of all the things I'd like to get accomplished. Sad to say most of them are household duties! I marvel at the fact that anything around the house gets done with both Mom and Dad work. I just don't see how!
I made a super easy, super delicious homemade bread today. Jo (my friend) has been following the recipes from Artisan Breads In 5 Minutes A Day for a while now. I've known about the book and technique for some time, just haven't gotten around to doing it. I changed my recipe from their master recipe a bit but overall it's the same basic principle. It has yeast, so it isn't a quick bread BUT it doesn't require kneading. There is logic behind why it doesn't need it (no pun intended), and I can't remember exactly why, but if I remember right it had something to do with the fact that the dough is much wetter than a traditional kneaded dough.
I made enough for 4 loaves and really, it was just so quick and easy. NO KNEADING REQUIRED. I baked 2 and I'll be honest with you. I ate practically a whole fricken loaf all by myself almost as soon as it came out of the oven. The whole reason I made the bread in the first place is because I ran out of bread for lunches and here I was eating what was supposed to be for dinner and lunch tomorrow! Oops. I say that like it was an accident, it wasn't, not at all.
The rest of the dough will sit raw in the fridge. It should pick up a bit of a sourdough-y zing. I'll bake those tomorrow into loaves or maybe turn them into pizza dough for dinner. Wish I had tried this technique long ago. I put eggs and a bit of sugar into my dough, something the recipe didn't call for. It turned out a bit like brioche (a french buttery eggy bread). After
I didn't get as far on my "to do" list as I would have liked today. I did manage to finish getting the popcorn crap off the basement ceiling yesterday. I tried to start priming it today but I should have wiped it down with a wet cloth to remove all the dust because the primer isn't wanting to stick. I'm just making a mess of it so stopped 1/4 of the way through and will pick it up again tomorrow.
I did start tearing off the paneling on the walls though today. Fortunately for me it's just nailed and not glued. I had thought about just priming and painting it but hell, if I am going to do it, I may as well do it right. Oye, why do projects always turn into something so much bigger than they originally start out as!? Now I am thinking of faux painting the concrete floor to look like tile. I don't know how ambitious I'll be about that by the time I get done with the ceilings and walls.
Jeremiah is doing well. Coming along with a totally unique, totally personalized lesson plan has been a bit challenging. I know there's so much I should catch you all up on in regards to that but I'm not real sure exactly how to explain it.
Long story short is that his entire morning from about 8 AM to 10:30 is taken up by a single class with a short break. He has those same students all morning. They are a mixture of totally green to welding to 2nd year students. It came as a total shock to him! He is working with someone who specialized in lesson planning (I think that's her job) and they've devised a way to teach to such a wide variety of levels without talking over anyone's head or boring any one else.
Jeremiah's spent a lot of time putting this together and I am sure after this year it will be a lot easier for him. I am also sure that as time progresses he'll revise it, add to it, take away, etc. The first year is the hardest.
We just realized the phone we plugged in over the weekend had the ringer turned off! God, I swear I feel like such an idiot! The school nurse called my cell phone today and left a voicemail. For those of you who don't know, our cell gets horrible reception at the house. So I called her back and left her a message to call me at the house and that I would be in all afternoon. I had wondered why she had called the cell when she had the number to the house. Well, gee wiz, NO WONDER!! I think the people at the school from the school bus driver to the school nurse thinks I am an idiot because it appears that I haven't got a clue on the phone issue!
Time for bed in middle America.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Dorothy we're not still in Kansas!
Silly me, how could I have forgotten that weather in Kansas is not the same as weather in California. Because, you know, IT RAINS in the summer!
Round about 3 AM thunder woke me up. That along with some sort of swaying of the bed made me think, Oh God, TORNADO!
There was in fact no tornado, I mean, obviously but it was a torrential downpour! I should have taken the camera out to document how much rain actually fell-not that you couldn't find an updated annual rainfall to prove my case- but anyway...
We had left a 10 cubic feet wheelbarrow out by the goats and the dang thing was more than half full. All the dishes that were left out were overflowing with water. It's nearly 1 now though, the thermometer outside is hovering at 70 degrees and the breeze is blowing and you'd think it's Spring! Ahhhh, what a relief.
Round about 3 AM I realize I had hung two loads of laundry outside on my makeshift clothes line (i.e. cattle panels) the night before. CRAP! Not only that, but as I sit and write this my whole rear end is completely soaked. I left the windows down in the car. To make matters worse, all the paperwork for Andrew's preschool teacher was sitting on the passenger side seat...wet. Yep, this was shaping up to be a great day!
I cannot tell you how much I am really enjoying the rain in the summer. The lightening and thunder storms are awesome, truly truly awesome! El Paso had storms that came close to these, but only a few weeks here and I've seen more than a handful of storms that kinda put what I knew to be thunder storms to shame.
Everything is so green and it really is quite beautiful...reminds me of the Spring in Ca. That was one thing I thought I'd miss...but it's like California Spring all Spring and Summer long here. Can't beat it. If it could remain like this all year round, hovering around 70 with a slight breeze for clothes drying, keeping the air fresh and house aired out, I'd love it!
I'm sure one day into winter and I am going to wish we had weather like we did today!
Round about 3 AM thunder woke me up. That along with some sort of swaying of the bed made me think, Oh God, TORNADO!
There was in fact no tornado, I mean, obviously but it was a torrential downpour! I should have taken the camera out to document how much rain actually fell-not that you couldn't find an updated annual rainfall to prove my case- but anyway...
We had left a 10 cubic feet wheelbarrow out by the goats and the dang thing was more than half full. All the dishes that were left out were overflowing with water. It's nearly 1 now though, the thermometer outside is hovering at 70 degrees and the breeze is blowing and you'd think it's Spring! Ahhhh, what a relief.
Round about 3 AM I realize I had hung two loads of laundry outside on my makeshift clothes line (i.e. cattle panels) the night before. CRAP! Not only that, but as I sit and write this my whole rear end is completely soaked. I left the windows down in the car. To make matters worse, all the paperwork for Andrew's preschool teacher was sitting on the passenger side seat...wet. Yep, this was shaping up to be a great day!
I cannot tell you how much I am really enjoying the rain in the summer. The lightening and thunder storms are awesome, truly truly awesome! El Paso had storms that came close to these, but only a few weeks here and I've seen more than a handful of storms that kinda put what I knew to be thunder storms to shame.
Everything is so green and it really is quite beautiful...reminds me of the Spring in Ca. That was one thing I thought I'd miss...but it's like California Spring all Spring and Summer long here. Can't beat it. If it could remain like this all year round, hovering around 70 with a slight breeze for clothes drying, keeping the air fresh and house aired out, I'd love it!
I'm sure one day into winter and I am going to wish we had weather like we did today!
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