Catch Up!

I t has been a busy week so I have some catchin' up to do! The last several days I have been up to my elbows in pears! Pears are the hot climates apple! You can grow apples here but you won't get a bumper crop,pears on the other hand...well, one big tree will make more than you know what to do with! My pear tress are just tiny sticks but I am lucky enough to have a friend who gave me about 2 bushels!

Now, don't judge these pears by how they look! Like apples there are many different pears for different uses. These are caning pears and they are usually "ugly" and hard as brick bats! Perfect for caning! Let me tell you, peeling this many brick hard pears is hard on the hands but I persevered and got every single one put up! I have quarts of pear halves in syrup, bear butter,pear preserves and diced pears in syrup. Also, lots of happy critters because everyone from goaties to chickens loved the pear peelings!

On to farm happenings!  We said good by to Sir Loin ...this picture is at a bad angle, he was much plumper ....

and all this springs sheep babies...

and hello to my new freezer! With these and the chickens and rabbits I am looking at not buying meat for a year! Plus our animals were totally grass feed and chemical free and if you were to put a price on that meat...well, it would be a considerable amount more that the stuff in the grocery store! I am really excited by how much we will save by not buying meat for a whole year! Now if I can get a decent fall garden I am estimating saving around $ 400 a month in groceries! I will still have to buy stuff like flour and sugar and oatmeal but for the most part we will be eating our own farm raised goodness!
We replaced Sir Loin,meet the new Sir Loin and his momma Sadie! Yes, he is alive,he is just napping!

They are both Dexter cattle. This will give us 3 cows,now we just need a bull and our herd will be complete. Their calves will give us meat and and extra to sell every year to make hay money if we need to buy some hay.

I haven't shown you the goaties in a while and Isobelle was asking about them so I took some pictures this morning while I was visiting them. Butter Bean is always looking for treats!

Look at his tongue sticking out trying to get a hold of my skirt! Crazy goat!

Here is Mr.Tumnus looking suave and debonair..

Sweet Pea is napping in her and Nibbles' favorite spot, it is an old ash pile where we burned some wood. For some reason they love to lay in it. Doesn't she look sweet....she looks like she is praying an a little light from heaven is shining down on her.

Doodah is ..well, Doodah!

Lola, Doodahs daughter, is getting big! She is a wild goat but she will still come up for some scratchins' if the mood hits her! I think she has crazy eyes and she chews cud at warp drive! Maybe she has goatie ADHD!

Her brother Harley is sweet,calm and gentle.  He lives in the buck pen with his daddy and Butter Bean and him and Bean play all day long! I am hoping to sell him this fall when he is a little bigger. Someone will be lucky to get him as a herd sire because he has such a great disposition .We already sold his brother, Bo Diddly, and we didn't even advertise him for sale!

And I can never forget our Nibbles girl! She is by far our most beloved girl, just look at her sweet face! Her boys are long gone to a home together to be pets for 4 children.

Just for the heck of it I thought I  would throw in one of Clyde! He is such a funny looking fellow,little skinny legs with a barrel body and big ole long skinny head! He is sweet as the day is long! You can let him "donkey lip" all  over you and he will never bite.

Now you all have the whole week of the Laughing Duck farm catch up! Hope you enjoyed it!