FarmerDenise's journal - full on harvest time = busy, busy, busy

[lorihadams]

Once again....I have goat envy....they really are pretty!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

They're so pretty!! The next goat I have my eye on is a fawn colored lamancha/alpine mix. She looks JUST like a deer, just a little thicker belly and smaller ears.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Thanks for all the compliments on my little cuties. Yes they are lamanchas. The are both mixes, one is lamancha/alpine the other lamancha/nubian. I don't know which is which

Peach donuts sound wondefull. Just make jelly donuts with peach jam filling sounds real good to me

These goats will be full sized. The herd they came from was so gentle and mellow, I have no concerns whatever about their manageability, once they are full grown. They don't like to let me out of their sight. Today I ran away from them during our evening walk and they were right behind me

I still haven't taken them to DD's. We just had another busy day and it just didn't fit in the day.

I am so tired now. It got pretty warm today. DSS was supposed to have changed all the waterers yesterday evening. When I did morning rounds I foudn that the chicken waterers had not been done. SO ended up taking care of them.
I discovered a sick chick and worked on it in the house. It passed later in the day. It had trouble breathing. I think it might have inhaled some peach juice and ened up with inflamed tissue. It got a little better after I cleaned it's face and nostrils up and squirted some saline solution into the nostrils. I was ready to take it back outside, when I noticed that it's breathing got bad again. So I figured maybe it had to do with the heat.

SO made a nice brunch for us, which we ate outside in our gazebo. Then we decided to have a nice dinner and focus on it for today. I roasted one of our chickens that I butchered in May. He made pie crust and I picked blackberries to make a blackberry & peach pie. SO is making pesto. I considered making green bean casserole, but had to start evening chores, so the beans (the ones I picked a couple of days ago) are cooked and ready to be made into casserole for tomorrow.

I did the usual of pulling weeds for the animals, gathering eggs throughout the day, laundry, dishes, laundry, feeding animals, checking animals, changed the kitty litter box (I put it around the henhouse to deter the rats, it sort of works). I also have been using dirt from the field in the litter box, since we don't have money for cat litter. The cats got used to it.

SO told me, that he told the boys, that we cannot afford to feed them all the time. If they don't contribute financially they can't expect to eat here. He told them that we often don't have enough for us to eat. Part of the problem is that we might get a big piece of meat and cook it up one evening, expecting to get 2 or 3 meals out of it. DSS and his friend stop by and finish it up in one sitting. DSS will put it on his plate and not even eat it all. His friend goes back for seconds and thirds until there is none left. Sometimes I don't even get to have seconds, because he had gone back for a third time. Someone needs to teach these boys some manners!!!

The boys are here now and I really hoped to have left over chicken. I think SO already invited them to dinner though

I might just cut that chicken up before everyone serves themselves and put a portion of it away for tomorrow.

Now to go back outside and enjoy the last hour or so of sunshine.

 

[freemotion]

Thanks for all the compliments on my little cuties. Yes they are lamanchas. The are both mixes, one is lamancha/alpine the other lamancha/nubian. I don't know which is which

I can help you with that, as that is what my two doelings are, mostly. The black one is the Nubian, and the brown one is Alpine. My Plum's mother, Mya, is Alpine and Plum has the "Spock" ears. My Peach's mother, Ginger, is half Nubian, and a quarter each of Alpine and Boer (so 75% long ears!) and she has the little elf ears.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Free, that fits with the personality of the black one. I was told they are noisy and sound a lot like a baby. Flower does cry a lot and it sounds like "Mama, maaaa, ma-MA" You should here her when she is ticked

I did a lot of goat therapy today. It was lovely. They both sat next to me, Blossom touching and enjoying being stroked. It was nice and peacefull and calming.

Otherwise it was a busy day. I did visit DD and brought her some of the pie we made yesterday. I also brought our dog over, so she could play with her dogs. All three dogs had a fun time. While they were romping and chasing each other, I picked blackberry vines and weeds for the goats. Then I also picked some blackberries.

SO and I made another blackberry-peach pie tonight. I also made my green bean bake and I have leftover chicken in the crockpot. We still have green pasta. So dinner is a done deal and it is yummy.

I am tired and am ready to eat dinner and desert and watch tv and play some stupid computer games. Good night

 

[FarmerDenise]

It has been a busy morning and for onc I have something to show for it.
I got a bit of a head start on animal chores yesterday, by getting extra feed out for all the critters.

SO decided to get the lettuce transplants in the ground and we pulled up all the old lettuce, saving to few good heads for us and feeding the rest to the chickens and the goats.

I started picking beans and decided to call it quits after I filled 2 bowls. I have soo much produce to deal with already.

I finally took the bowl of soap bits and put them in the crockpot with a bit of water and some calendula petals. They are simmering until I have a moment to stir them up.

I have 2 kinds of bread rising. I made a basic white bread dough for SO saving a little bit of it. I used the little bit of dough for my experiment. I added all the grains I had been soaking for 2 days in water and in water with whey added to the small piece of dough. The grains were wet and I added more white flour to get the right consistency. Now that is rising as well.

I got everything washed up.

I made tea and it is sitting in the fridge for us to drink.

I put some italian plums in the dehydrator

I labeled a jar of dehydrated peaches

And now I am going back out to get some sunshine and see what else I can get into, check on the animals, listen to the noise from the airshow and maybe catch a glimpse of a cool plane or two and maybe hug a couple of goats.

 

[FarmerDenise]

DSS and friend dropped in, just as I was headed out. I picked a few peaches that had fallen to the ground, checked on the little chicks, and sat with the goats.
The girls fought over who got to sit on my lap for a while, until I had enough
on my way to the chickens I had a good look at the things growing in the garden and noticed some weeds that I just had to pull. I got a nice handfull and tossed them to the chickens. Then I went into the chicken yard and sat on a box in there and at first one then the other chicken jumped on my lap. I took the opportunity to check them out for bugs and sticky feathers and poopy stuff and such, and spotted a louse on DSS's favorite cockerel. THis little fellow hasn't been quite right for some time and we have been keeping an eye on him. He had dirty featheres as well. So once I spotted that louse on him I decided it was bathtime. I handed him to DSS and prepared a bath with flea soap. DSS brought him in and was all worried about giving this bird a bath. I told him to just gently lower him into the tub, that many of the birds actually seem to like it. Sure enough, once the little guy was settled in he just sat there and let DSS bathe him

I think he really enjoyed it

 

[lorihadams]

that is tooooooo cute......he really does seem to like it

 

[freemotion]

Well, knock me over with a feather! Chickens like baths, who knew?

 

[tortoise]

LOL. My chickens liked baths too. They were really nasty dirty when I got them and I kept them in the house most of the time, so cleanliness was important!!

For the lice, you can put 1 or 2 drops of Ivomec (1% Ivermectin liquid) on the skin at the base of their necks. Takes care of it quickly.