Greetings all. I have put up a picture of the newest addition to the flock. Tuxedo finally had her babies. One gal, and one boy. one with floppy ears, one with short ones. One is the kid to badass, and the other is juniors, he is a saanen mix. the boy is the one that should have been the gal as I wanted another milker. well, I am just happy they are all healthy and fine.

short blog today. more later.
have a good one

Here it is the month of April. still snow on the ground. It is slowly melting, and good weather is on the way. I am anxious to get into the garden and get my hands dirty. Last year the garden was huge, I canned so much, it will last till the garden comes in again. We will have the cellar done this year, and the pumpkins and squash will keep all winter long. last year I had to can them. There is so much going on here that it will take time to get it all done. We will be moving the house at Harleys out here in the coming months. It will be a winter project to get it all finished. It is a free house, and it needs some work, right up my alley. It is a two story house, with two fireplace chimneys. I am going to put a wood cook stove in the kitchen. I have one now, but want one with an oven.
the animals are doing well, we have not sheared the sheep yet. the man is coming soon. it is a thing I am going to learn to do, and then a spinning wheel is in order. It will be nice to spin what I weave.
the turkeys and geese and ducks and the chickens are all laying now. the goats have all kidded except for one. her name is tuxedo, cause she looks like she is wearing one. my nubian, she had three, unfortunately, they are all bucks. I am looking for another milker. I want milk now. lol
We will have pigs soon. having a hard time finding little ones right now. will have to go to the sale barn in norfolk and pick some up. they have them there. we bought our sheep there, and sell our goats there also.
Looks to be a great year. a busy one, but a good one.
the best to all.
Linda


the picture is of Lulu, my fav sheep. raised her from the bottle. her mama died. she thinks I am her mama. lol

Well, Here it is January 9. My third year anniversary is coming up soon. Yet another year has come and gone. Another winter here in Nebraska. I am waiting for spring so I can get out of the house.

In this year, Sams uncle Henry has passed away. It has been a month now, and almost to the day that his dad, Victor, passed on January 2 three years ago. There are two left. Milford and Ray and neither are in the best of health. They are in the processs of selling Henrys farm and all of his antiques. I say that because the farm implements are very very old. They are having an auction the first of March. Sam has until then to get his dads fence pannels and old stuff out of there. the land will be sold to his neighbor, and it will be turned into a corn field. so goes another farm here.

I am taking pictures of the farm now before it is forever gone, and I will post them soon. I have a few already, but they are still in my camera. I have ended up with Henrys truck, of course we have to pay for it. But, it is mine now. Just the formality of transfering the title over to me. It is nice to have a truck that actually looks good, and runs like new.

The weather here today is taking a nasty turn. There has been snow, and it has been Nebraska cold in Feb. normal stuff, today it is almost 50 out there, and raining. thunderstorms are on the way in. Perhaps a bit of nasty weather is emminent. the clouds looking rather dark and ominous too. We will see.

Boy, it is hard to believe that I have been here for almost three years now. How time flies. I am now comfortable in this new life, and it seems like there is no other place on earth but here. I watch the news, but I am glad I am here and not there. Time here is in another world, a much better one than I had been used to. Farmers are a different breed of folks. I am glad I am here.

The gardens have just been phenomenal this year. I have been canning all summer it seems. I have the task now of making vegetable soup out of the end of the crops. We will have the horn of plenty this winter. I have just about bought all the jars in Nebraska. lol. We have some potatoes yet to dig, and the beets and parsnips have to be pulled. I will can the beets, the rest will go into the cellar. The tomatoes and peppers are still producing. I have put up peaches and pears, and the apples are waiting on me. The chokecherries and plums have been made into jelly. Next year we will have the grapes. The vines have done splendidly. It has been a good year.

Sam has been in the hay fields all summer. Bumper crop this year. He is now planting wheat for the spring. The soybeans will have to be combined in a week or so. Next year the field will be in corn. We have two new tractors and a corn planter. This will help out a lot. It brings the total of tractors to four now. He is busy hauling hay to the feedlots. Quite a bit left to do.

The animals are happy. We have so many now. The turkeys and the guineas make their rounds in the yards and gardens looking for grasshoppers and bugs. There are not as many bugs as there used to be since they got here. The ducks have their own pen now, and the geese are with the chickens. We have five new kittens, and three new pyrennese pups. The male is in with the chickens. He is their guard dog now. We are down to five goats, and still ten sheep. They get along well.

We are slowly tearing down the old house. The lumber will be used around the farm here, a lot going into the chicken house. We are getting it ready for the winter. Power will be put out there for the lights. There is also power to be put in the storage van so I can have a place to weave and sew this winter. It is an old moving van, and is quite large.

They ran the new gas line, we are getting off propane. The price has just skyrocketed. We are going to natural gas. It is much cheaper. Sam is buying me a new gas range and a microwave hood. I am looking forward to this. The old one is just shot. We are putting in new windows, and the door is already done. We have to finish the siding, and that will be done when the hay is finished. He is going to close in the front porch for the winter. Still a lot to do. I am wondering how the winter will be this year.

I am off to make soup, a lot to do today.

take care.

Linda