!!!! Giveaway !!!!

I have never done a give away before,so I thought I might try one! I am going to give away a cook book,but not just any cook book! This is a cook book for us raise it ourselves,homesteading kind of folks! It is  The Farmer's Wife Canning and Preserving Cookbook. 

It is full of all kinds of recipes on putting up our harvest! Plus it is all retro, full of cool old pictures and the recipes are all dated from around 1910 and onward.

It is also full of little articles that were written by canning ladies of the past!  This one below just cracks me up!

Even if you are an old pro at canning, this is a really cool cook book just because it has so much history in it. Also, anything that needed to be updated to modern safety standards has been done already in the book.
Plus, it has all the instructions needed for beginners! Oh ,and it is hard backed!

So how to enter...Just leave me a comment! I am not going to make you follow me....but I am a blogger and I love when folks link up to me so...if you do follow me you have all my blogger love! For extra entries..hmm lets say 5 extra entries just blog about my giveaway and say you did in 5 extra comments! Easy Peasy! The Drawing will be in two weeks, March13! Good Luck!

Thank You and Random Farm Stuff

I want to say thank you to everyone out there who made such kind comments yesterday.It is hard to believe that a little goatie who was here for such a short had so much meaning in my life.I miss him ,as I am sure I will for quiet awhile.I missed him curled up in my lap as we watched T.V.

I do not want to talk about sadness for awhile.I will just throw out some more randomness from  around the farm.   Whirly Comb Jr. had her little chickies out yesterday. Two are Buff Orpingtons,one is a Maran mix and the other is an Easter Egger mix.

Only 4 hatched....I am thinking we may have to replace Elvis with a younger rooster is he can't do a better job!

 The little bunnies have gotten bigger...

 

This one with the white ears is the doe I just bought .She is going to be for breeding, not the stew pot!

 

  

Sweet pea thinks it is Crazy Hat Day on the farm! She does this all the time,she likes to eat her hay fluffy and she has the perfect horns to fluff it up.That, or she is just taking a snack with her for later!

 

 

Sweet Pea is a kisser,she loves to give us goatie kisses! The Boy says it is because she somehow knows we saved her.She is the most affectionate goatie I have ever met.The Boy found some special skin and coat vitamins for her and they are making a big difference! It is for horses but has a reduced dosage for goats.

 

Just some random duckness !!

  

  

Can you guess what this is?      It is asparagus I started from seed! Yes,I know it will take a long time before it is big enough to make! Some friends gave me some mature plants.There is just something...I don't know... satisfying about growing things from seed!

  

I know this is just airplane trails but....

  

And last of all....do you see what I see ? Yep,that old oak is budding out! That tree knows something I think! Spring is near!

  

Have a great day everyone!

Sad Day

I write this with a sad and heavy heart.We lost our little Murry last night.He did not get better after his second trip to the vet.He spent his last moments much like he spent his short life snuggled in our laps by the fire.He will be greatly missed.He had a huge, spoiled rotten personality and was overflowing with cuteness.

I know this is part if farm life,but that doesn't mean I feel his loss any less.I take comfort that in his short life all he new was love and kindness from his human family.I really felt that out of all The Boy's goaties,that Murry was kind of mine.I will miss him underfoot in the kitchen talking to me in his little goatie mumble that he did.

I do think maybe more was wrong with him that  what we thought....he had different symptoms toward the end...I just don't know.He had a lot of the symptoms his momma had when she died..I wonder a little if is was some defect passed down.. I will never know but my mind will always wonder.We try and give our goaties the best,best food ,hay and medicine...it is getting.. well ..frustrating .Even The Boy said last night  maybe we are just  not meant to have goats.Nibbles is due in a few weeks ,I almost feel a sense of dread,of what have we done...there is no going back now.She and Doodah are both due in March.I hope and pray things are OK for them and their babies.Everything else we raise here we have done well with.I just can't believe the bad luck we have had with the goats.

In hind sight...being slightly more experienced..we bought Guinness(Murry's mom) and Sweet Pea from the same place...looking back now I would not have bought them from where we did,it was not the best place and I am almost certain she was not honest about some things,Sweet Peas age for sure.Nibbles and Doodah came from very good places , so that gives me hope that all will be well with them. That has been a hard and expensive lesson,but a lesson learned none the less.I count my self less naive,not all goat people are good goat people.

This blog is a journal of sorts ,an honest one, not just the good and successful things that happen but  also the mistakes and heartbreaking failures. I feel like it would be some sort of lie or half truth if I did not write  of how things are really going.When you are basically starting this kind of life from scratch, without a clue except what you read on line and in books,...well...your going to have set backs.I don't think anything is as good as life experience.That is just part of it I know. Will I stop being attached to our animals,no way! Will  be a wiser person,I hope so.

I want to say thank you to all of you who gave me kind words of support and well wishes through this.I know many of you have experienced this already your selves. It is just ..well..so sad.

I will never forget our little Murry Von Furry Pants.I am glad he was with us,even for a short time.I will miss him terribly.

More on Murry and Other farm Happenings

Murry was back to his old self last night. This morning he started getting worse again and his breathing was terribly labored so, back to see Dr.Merry our vet(Don't you just love that name!).She worked us in and said the labored breathing was a good thing ,his lungs were starting to clear but his not being able to eat well was our biggest problem.She gave him 2 more shots and if he doesn't get to eating good we have to do it again tomorrow.She said this just happens with bottle babies some times as their immunity is not as good,which I knew but he had been good and  healthy up until now.The good thing is Dr.Merry still thinks he will make a full recovery! I tell you it is hard watching him be so sick.I have never had a sick baby goat before...if  it happens again I will have more experience and confidence to know how to treat it myself ..I hope!

It snowed here yesterday!Of course it is gone today but they were some of the biggest flakes I had ever seen! This is a blurry picture but you can still see how big the flakes were ..sort of!

Here is Weenie looking cute in the snow! She spends her days stalking a mouse hole by my shed underneath the bird feeder!

Whirly Comb Jr. has been sitting on some eggs and they were starting to hatch and peep last night! That dark brown egg is a Cuckoo Maran,it will be a Buff Orpington mix most likely.

  At the time she went broody the girls were just starting to lay so I just stuck under her what I had that day! Whirly Comb Jr. is the half Buff Orpington  daughter of one of our little Bannie hens.

Unlike her tame and gently momma,she is meaner than snot ,but she has her momma's broody ways and will even go broody smack dab in the middle of winter!

I also picked up a young New Zealand  rabbit to replace the meat rabbit we lost this past summer to the heat wave.Ours we have now are Californians.That will put us back at 2 does and a buck. I might get another doe later on.The boys are working on fence and I am going to go and love on Murry, hope every one is staying warm!

Murry update!

Whew! Murry is coming around! I will tell you I was worried! This morning he couldn't even stand...poor little guy...I just feel so bad he got sick. He was just a little off last night...scary how it got so bad so quick!He finally perked up enough to take a little bottle and has a spark back in his eye! Thank you everyone for all your prayers and well wishes!

Murry Is a Very Sick Goatie

Last night Murry seemed a little off. This morning he was very weak.We rushed him to the vets and he has a bad upper respiratory infection. We have no idea why this happen but our vet said they can come on very quickly.He has always been very healthy.She gave him antibiotics and glucose and said if he hasn't taken to his bottle by this afternoon to bring him back as she  will want to keep him over night.She also told us to make his formula with pedia-lite. As you all know , raising him since he was born, we are very attached to him ...so if you believe in prayer for animals..well.it would be appreciated.

Black Holes,Couch Goats and Donkey Love

This is a black hole....

No, not the outer space kind of black hole.This is a hole that the boys dug for fencepost!

Notice our lovely,and when I say lovely it is dripping with sarcasm, black gumbo soil!  It is really sticky awful stuff! In fact it doesn't even deserve to be called dirt! Hubby rented this nifty little piece of equipment to get all these holes done!

He has let The Boy do all the operating....

 

He is just supervising! What every parent looks forward too,children of working age! Well,they'll never learn anything if you don't put them to work..um...I mean teach them..yeah... that sounds better!

 

They went day before yesterday and got this load of pipe to do the corner and stretcher post with. Hubby is an A-1,cracker jack welder!

The boys already have the t-post in the ground.When they get finished it will be about half our front pasture done,which will be about 5 acres fenced in.This place had no fences when we bought it,so we have a lot more to do before we are done!


Now, on to couch goaties!

 

Yes,instead of lap dogs we have lap goaties! Poor Murry, he is worn out from spending all day complaining out in the goat pen!

 

I don't know why he complains that way,he ate so much while he was out there it felt like his little belly was going to pop!

Moving right along to .....donkey love !   I know,it is a little late for Valentines day!  In my defense, it is hard to get a picture of these two doing this,every time I get close they stop because I might have a treat after all! You all know about  poor Clyde's addiction !

 

Bonnie and Clyde groom each other all the time! It is rather sweet to see how they love each other! They were my buy one get on free donkeys because their previous owner would not let them be separated on account of them being  so bonded!

They are a cute couple! Sadly, we will never have any baby donkeys as Clyde is a gelding. This also means no mules either as they share a pasture with Sweetie! I like mules fine,good and useful animals, I just wouldn't know what I would do with one!

Random Farm Photos

Sorry everyone,I have not been in blog land lately! Things are always so busy around here when Hubby is home,with the warm weather it gets extra busy! I will just lay it out there,I am pooped!  So no long post but lots of pictures of animals.

Here is Mr.Tumnus gnawing on his scratchin' branch !

 

One of the things I like to do when I am tired is take a rest in the goat pen.It is peaceful to sit with my goatie friends and give them some scratchins' and just watch and enjoy them! Since they are sharing  a pen with the turkeys the turkeys want attention too!

  

Murry is learning to be a goatie and not people! He is not happy about this and complains constantly the whole while stuffing himself with everything he can get his little goatie lips on!

  

  

Here is a close up of a turkey eye!Hard to believe something that looks like this is so tame and gentle! Just like the old saying goes,you can;t judge a book by its cover!

  

Just because you can never see enough of cute little(very plump) Murry stuffing his cute goatie face here's another picture!

 

We can't forget Butter Bean! he's having a good scratch!

 

Murry again,I just can't help it!

  

Here are the newest baby sheep!

  

More sheep! They think I might have some feed!

  

This is Foxy,our only girl baby.We are going to keep her to increase our herd,so she got a name! Her chin markings make her look like she is smiling!

  

This is Butterscotch,a fawn runner duck.

  

This crazy looking black chicken is a cross between a polish rooster and an Easter Egger! She lays colored eggs.All our Buff Orpington Easter Egger crosses seem to lay colored eggs!

  

One last shot of Butter Bean! I took pictures of the other goatie but for some reason they didn't load.

 

Next time I will show you them.Nibbles is getting fat , she is due in March sometime and Doodah shortly after that.Sweet Pea is as sweet as ever,covering us with her sweet goatie kisses! Her ordeal has taken a tole on her it is evident in her poor coat and flakey skin...sigh.We are trying hard to get her  fat and sassy again! She has managed to put some weight back on so hopefully she is on the right track.Hope you enjoyed a walk around the farm.I am still trying to visit everyone..just haven't been commenting....I am addicted to you all and can't stay away!!!!

Get a Big Ole Bunch of Cute!!

If you are a goatie-goat lover like we are,and I know most of you who read this blog are, go over and check out my blogging sister TEXAN,she has  twin doe-lings just born. Start your day with a dose of awww and cute,cute, cute! You'll be glad you did!

Hard Working Boys!!!

The Boys spent yesterday clearing out from under these cedar trees.

They had limbs to the ground and vines and brambles galore!

These run along the drive way and border what was once a good sized pond.

The folks who made the pond didn't do it right and the dam broke.We plan on having it fixed in late summer, when it is good and dry!

That thing The Boy is using is a small chainsaw on the end of a gas powered weed eater.

I don't mind him using that.The regular chainsaw, however, is a different story! That would turn the rest of my brown hair gray for sure!

 Hubby said The Boy did all of the cutting,he just piled the limbs and vines! Hubby is doing a wonderful job of teaching The Boy to become a man and do mans work! Actually, I would have rather been out there with them working...but someone has to do the house work and let me tell you..it ain't gonna be those two!

Hubby shaved off his big China winter beard and got a haircut ! Hubby works a rotation in China for my new readers who may not know!

Of course not all the beard, he knows I like his whiskers! He is giving me that goofy look because he caught me taking his picture!

So there yo have it! Another busy day on the farm!