Sunday, May 2, 2010
Pigs Doing What They Do
Willy made a "special friend" today in Miss Piggy. Looking ahead 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days....
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Momma knows best, right?
After spending the last few days going out every few hours and holding the doe so Little Girl could feed, she lost the battle last night. Such is life on a farm. Someone said where there is livestock, there will always be dead stock at some point. I keep this in mind as I am reminded of the cycle and fragility of life.
Like I told my friends, I know that animal mothers generally sense that something is wrong with their young. Therefore, they don't waste resources on something that is ultimately not going to survive. As humans, we have intervened so much that animals that never would have or even should have survived are entering the gene pool. This is ultimately a self-defeating endeavor. Weakening the genetic base is not in our best interests, and not in the best interests of our stock.
Like I told my friends, I know that animal mothers generally sense that something is wrong with their young. Therefore, they don't waste resources on something that is ultimately not going to survive. As humans, we have intervened so much that animals that never would have or even should have survived are entering the gene pool. This is ultimately a self-defeating endeavor. Weakening the genetic base is not in our best interests, and not in the best interests of our stock.
Friday, April 30, 2010
New Babies!
On Wednesday, Nina the Boer kidded sometime between 8am and 2pm. One beautiful boy and a not-so-beautiful girl. Don't get me wrong, babies are cute, but this little girl has the not so great luck of being twinned with a stunning little boy.
Baby Boy:
Baby Girl:
Another new "addition" is my new front steps! I'm so thankful to Dennis of Summer Winds for spending the whole day putting these up. He's a great carpenter!
If you need work done, I highly recommend Dennis! Summerwinds Backyard Designs
Baby Boy:
Baby Girl:
Another new "addition" is my new front steps! I'm so thankful to Dennis of Summer Winds for spending the whole day putting these up. He's a great carpenter!
If you need work done, I highly recommend Dennis! Summerwinds Backyard Designs
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Food, Inc.
I watched the movie Food, Inc. today. I can't say as I'm particularly surprised by the content. It reaffirmed my beliefs in growing as much of what we eat as is possible.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
LIfe is Funny Sometimes
Coffee.....check
Get dressed.....check
Take truck to gas station.....check
Put gas in front tank.....uh.....check.....but what the hell?!? There are chicken eggs in the bed of the truck. Guess I found one of the hiding places my hens have been using! Right, now what? They will NOT survive the ride to Pawnee and back, so...I go inside, and ask for some paper towels and a small sack. I wrap each of the five eggs, and carefully put it in the sack, and proceed on my merry way.
Buy 350 pounds of assorted animal food.....check.
Get home.....check
Haul 350 pounds of food into the house.....oh, ow, ow, check
Call hubby and amuse him.....check
The seriously amusing thing is I had just told Mom on Monday that I need to find the hens' hiding places, because I'd definitely seen chicken sex, but no eggs. I also located the "nest" of my ONE Rouen duck. I left THAT egg there.
Post blog.....check
Get dressed.....check
Take truck to gas station.....check
Put gas in front tank.....uh.....check.....but what the hell?!? There are chicken eggs in the bed of the truck. Guess I found one of the hiding places my hens have been using! Right, now what? They will NOT survive the ride to Pawnee and back, so...I go inside, and ask for some paper towels and a small sack. I wrap each of the five eggs, and carefully put it in the sack, and proceed on my merry way.
Buy 350 pounds of assorted animal food.....check.
Get home.....check
Haul 350 pounds of food into the house.....oh, ow, ow, check
Call hubby and amuse him.....check
The seriously amusing thing is I had just told Mom on Monday that I need to find the hens' hiding places, because I'd definitely seen chicken sex, but no eggs. I also located the "nest" of my ONE Rouen duck. I left THAT egg there.
Post blog.....check
Monday, March 8, 2010
Rain, Rain, and Guess What? MORE RAIN
I realize that I should be thankful for all the rain we've had lately. However, I'm kinda at my limit for the moment. Please, Mother, let the ground dry out (AGAIN) so that we may once more traverse the pastures in (relative) safety. Currently, walking out the door is an activity worthy of military hazard pay, I swear. I'd take pictures, but I don't know where the camera(s) is(are) and wouldn't have any way of transferring them from the camera to the computer if I did. Yet.
When I fed the critters this morning, I managed to get a face full of pig food, the wind was blowing so hard as I put it over the fence for them. I love the feed, it does wonders for the piggies, but it's a coarse powder, and the blowback wasn't fun.
When I fed the critters this morning, I managed to get a face full of pig food, the wind was blowing so hard as I put it over the fence for them. I love the feed, it does wonders for the piggies, but it's a coarse powder, and the blowback wasn't fun.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Homestead Happenings
Wow! It's been busy around here!
First the bad news, Gumdrop and Sir Lunchalot passed on, and have been buried in a big hole in the Northwest pasture. Smokey, Goosey and the boer baby also were victims of the intense Christmas snow and ice.
On to the good news. We have a new calf, London Broil. After basically giving up on Kaylahni, we put her in with Squire, but I guess she really was pregnant. A "fall" calf it was not, and a Dexter calf it is not, but it IS a calf, and she did it all on her own. He will be steered next weekend. Ewe3pio had twin ewe-lings, and Ewephoria is most certainly pregnant. We are also expecting some Nubian/Boer crosses soon, as Nina has started bagging up. I'm not sure if Paint and Joan are pregnant, yet. But I suspect that Doobie did his job thoroughly.
We (read JIM) spent the morning moving the pigs to their bigger and hopefully escape proof pen over what will be the garden. They seem happy with the new digs.
Soon we will have perimeter fence and new pastures for the sheep, goats and poultry. We will also be building movable shelters for all.
First the bad news, Gumdrop and Sir Lunchalot passed on, and have been buried in a big hole in the Northwest pasture. Smokey, Goosey and the boer baby also were victims of the intense Christmas snow and ice.
On to the good news. We have a new calf, London Broil. After basically giving up on Kaylahni, we put her in with Squire, but I guess she really was pregnant. A "fall" calf it was not, and a Dexter calf it is not, but it IS a calf, and she did it all on her own. He will be steered next weekend. Ewe3pio had twin ewe-lings, and Ewephoria is most certainly pregnant. We are also expecting some Nubian/Boer crosses soon, as Nina has started bagging up. I'm not sure if Paint and Joan are pregnant, yet. But I suspect that Doobie did his job thoroughly.
We (read JIM) spent the morning moving the pigs to their bigger and hopefully escape proof pen over what will be the garden. They seem happy with the new digs.
Soon we will have perimeter fence and new pastures for the sheep, goats and poultry. We will also be building movable shelters for all.
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