A Day In the Life of...

Two baby goats spent the night with us last night - Lil Bit (of course!), and a baby billy that I have dubbed "Toby".  (I can't help myself; everybody gets a name around here... Gosh, even my Jeep has a name - Elvis!)

Lil Bit on the linoleum... and, Oh my gosh, where is her diaper?

So, Lil Bit and Toby were pretty good house guests.  Toby was overwhelmed at first, and just stood like a statue.  Poor thing.  He became much more relaxed after a long session wrapped in a big towel, and sitting on my lap.  Lil Bit recognized "home" immediately, and she ran up and down the hall, jumped around, did every cute goat trick imaginable.  She LOVES to click her little hoofs on the linoleum in the kitchen.  I told Moshe she is practicing the River Dance.  I wish I knew how to take a video of her with my phone - it is hilarious to watch!



 Both  babies (almost incredibly!) settled down in the designated goat area of the bed.  And, except for one brief and unsuccessful attempt by Lil Bit to get the bottle,  they slept all night.  Alas, CassPurr  got on the bed at 4AM,  wanting his kibble. When I spoke to CassPurr, Moxie came around to my side of the bed, whining to go out.  Then, the goats were up,  "Ma-a-a- ing" like an operatic duet. Such powerful voices these little creatures have!  So, we were all up.  Changing goat diapers. Warming goat bottles.  Cuddling and talking to the precious babies... Fed cat. Fed dog. Fed people.  Fed chickens.

CassPurr - the most patient kitty, ever!

Toby went back to the farm, but Lil Bit is staying with me today.  Lil Bit is snuggled at my feet under my desk, happy to lay on the edge of the heating pad, amidst the tangle of computer cords, extension cords, etc.  Meanwhile, CassPurr is ensconced on "his" sofa.  He came into the office, inspected Lil Bit, ate some kibble, and went back to the couch. He is - without a doubt - the most patient kitty ever.  He has tolerated, even welcomes, dogs, cats, chickens, and now goats!  What a nice boy!



One of Lil Bit's sisters will come and spend the night tonight.  The owner of the farm where the baby goats were born wants to start a petting zoo, so the more socialized the goats are, the better. So, the babies are being rotated... all spending the night here to get human contact. It's okay with me as long as the diapers work and the babies don't start chewing up sundry items such as clothing, furniture, important documents... minor detail...you get the picture.






It's overcast and cool today.  I'm going to make barbecue sauce; going to make some BBQ chicken with some of it; can or freeze the rest.  I already baked dog biscuits for Moxie and Beau, as well as cornbread for us people this morning. Since I have a bunch of cooked chicken on hand, I will probably also make chicken salad and/or chicken pot pie. Some days are just designed for lots of cooking.



It would be a nice gesture on my part to sweep, mop, and vacuum as well. Then, if there is any energy left, I'd like to paint.  I have two or three ideas floating around in my head... would like to get them on paper before they dissolve.  We'll see...

Shalom  Y'all - Twyla

Miscellany from Green Acres

Icicles at the window of our "Cozy"

Umm . . . I like your belt.

So, it is Monday morning once again.  We had a quiet weekend... lots of movies and popcorn, eating leftovers,  not doing much other than the necessities... which, actually, is quite a bit when you think of it!  Regardless of weather and regardless of our health,  the animals need to be fed and watered,  eggs need to be gathered,  wood needs to be collected and the fire in the wood stove  kept alive.  I spent nearly every moment hugging the heating pad yesterday;  I either had it on my feet or my knees most of the day.  I just could not get warm.  Then, last night, I remembered a giant furry grey poncho that a friend gave me several years ago... it is now my newest "uniform" - to be worn every day until.....???  I never had to wear school uniforms, but I did have to wear white nurses uniforms... ever the optimist, I would hear other nurses complaining about the boredom of having to wear white, and I would always answer, "Yes, but it makes it so easy to decide what to wear!"   The big grey poncho is making it easy now.


      This morning, after getting the basic chores done, we went out with our cameras to capture some more of the snow scenes... especially now that the sun is shining and the snow is melting a bit.  Just look at the icicles hanging off the eaves above the "Cozy Room" window!  And, IF you can take your eyes off my hubby's outfit, take a gander at the size of that icicle from the eaves on the front of the house!!!


   Moxie and Beau are having a ball playing in the snow.  Beau is still skittish, but did cooperate a little bit better for picture-taking today.  Most of the time when I try to snap his picture, all I get is his hind end.  Today he was a lot more comfortable.  I've been feeding him for about two weeks now.  It makes me really sad, realizing that someone must have been really mean to him for him to be so wary of people.  And, that someone purposely abandoned him in the dead of winter.  He came up to me two or three times and licked my hand, but I have yet to pet him.  He sees Moxie loving all over Moshe and me, but, I guess he's just not ready to trust us.  If nothing else, I am glad that Moxie has this great friend to roam the woods with. The two of them take off running together and it's as if they have wings.   Still, I hope the day will come when Beau will want to be our friend.

Beau and Moxie in the woods

      One day late last week I went to the next town over and went grocery shopping;  they were having a big sale, and I wanted to take advantage of it.  I bought a couple turkeys, several pot roasts, several pounds of hamburger;  also, several packages of pasta,  multiple bottles of cooking oil,  multiple cans of coffee, mega- sized packages of paper towels and bathroom tissue.  Everything I bought was on sale.   Of course, then I had to come home and put all the stuff away... A turkey in the cooler to thaw and cook,  another turkey in the big freezer,  one pot roast in the refrigerator to fix over the weekend,  the others in the freezers,  the cans of coffee under one of the beds until I can find a better spot... etc.  So, today I went into the art room for some reason, and there was the cooler!  We had both forgotten about the turkey!  Sheesh!  It was still okay, and Moshe has it soaking in brine and we will bake it overnight tonight.  (Wow!  Will the house ever smell good tomorrow morning!)  Of course, ever the comedienne, I couldn't help but say that it's a good thing we are too old to have children... 'cause we would forget
where we put them!

Pretty Face and the snow

     I have to wonder what the chickens think about the snow.  (DO chickens think??? Well,  you know what I mean...)  The weather plays such nasty tricks on them!  For the most part, they have all stayed "upstairs" in their roosts all weekend.  I'm sure it's warmer up there.  And drier.  Poor Pretty Face is in her little broody coop still.  She will have with her anywhere from three to six of the Peeps, which are now nearly half-grown chickens.  The others all huddle together in the peep house at the other end of the screened "courtyard".  They come out to eat and drink, but that's about it.  Pretty Face starts talking to me the second she sees me standing at the sliding glass door.  And, I don't think she is exactly saying, "I love you.".  I wonder if they think we can somehow control the snow??? Or the temperature???  Who knows.

     Okay,  just in case anybody is wondering about Moshe's big wide white belt,  it is an abdominal brace.  We bought it last week to help support his broken rib.  (And it really helps, too!) Yesterday afternoon, when he came in from the snow, I called him the "Abdominal Snowman."  Nice, huh?

...the grim reaper meets the abdominal snowman...    ;D

                                                              

Shalom Y'all


     Twyla

Goin' ta Town

     Yes, I remember living in cities (as large as San Francisco) and towns (as small as one square block). And all the hustle and bustle. The "importance" of  clothes, hairstyle, perfect fingernails... remember "Dress for Success"?  Make all the right appearances to fit in to the corporate world.  Or the hospital scene, which, actually is also the corporate world.   I remember thinking it was almost unbearable if I didn't go shopping every day.  At least window-shopping.  Ahhh, but now...

poor scared baby...

   Goin' ta town means we actually have to leave our little neighborhood.  We write lists of what we need and where we'll go to get these things.  Today we needed some groceries and a few things at the feed store.  We grocery-shopped first, then stopped at the feed store on the way home. The feed store is one of my favorite-of-all-time places.  It's like "Cheers" - where everybody knows your name, only minus the alcohol, of course.  This morning at the feed store we met a newly-adopted kitten;  she had shown up literally starving at their doorstep, and they took her in.  They already have one resident cat at the feedstore.  And a rabbit. So, what's one more little urchin?  I, personally, have taken in so many strays over the years, I doubt seriously that I could recall them all.

some of the more girly stuff at the feed store...

    
Like I said, I love the feed store.  We needed to buy  cracked corn, laying pellets, mash for the peeps.  We also bought a new choke chain for Moxie, since she lost hers a couple weeks ago.  The store is chock full of interesting things, many of which I haven't the slightest idea about what they are.  But, for someone like me, it's always interesting to see the farm equipment intermingled with cast iron skillets, country art items, animal feed, and a few antiques.  Conversation is always good at the feed store.  We talk about everything from politics to pig-raising. (Or,  is that the same thing???) Sorry... couldn't resist...
     Yes, I remember living in San Francisco, working at Macy's of California. Wearing those tailored suits.  I even had a couple jobs where I carried a briefcase!  I remember buying "Cosmopolitan" and "The New Yorker" magazine.  And, I remember  living in the Atlanta area, going to nursing school in Atlanta, wearing those crisp white uniforms and lab coats with "RN" embroidered on them.  The starched white nurses' cap - the pride of receiving the stripe on it.  And, I subscribed to "American Journal of Nursing" and "RN Magazine"
     And, NOW,  here is the cover of a magazine that caught my eye this morning:

No, we don't raise pigs.  And, we don't eat pigs.  But, I DO LOVE THIS MAGAZINE COVER!  "... Green Acres is the place to be..."
Shalom Y;all - Twyla

Ahh, The Peaceable Kingdom

Pretty Face

     Life is a learning experience.  And life on the farm is certainly a learning experience!  We never cease to be amazed at the occurrences here on our little homestead.
     Last weekend we moved all the baby chicks together -  3 that Pretty Face recognized as the ones she'd hatched, and the 6 that she rejected having been brought in as newcomers when a week or so old. We put all the Peeps together, thinking it would be best to combine them before they got to an age where they'd fight. (Admittedly, we don't know what that age would be, but we were basing it on the fact that the girls are acting like hens and the boys are acting like roosters.)
      So, together they went, and they did very well as one big family.  But, poor Pretty Face.  She remained in her little broody coop.  Alone.  She could see and hear her babies, but couldn't get to them.  It made me sad from the first moment. She cried and paced in her courtyard.  I was certain that she wanted to be with her babies!  Moshe kept saying, "Oh, she'll be alright."  But I just didn't think so...  More out of concern for me than Pretty Face, Moshe agreed to try putting her in with all the chicks.  It didn't work at all!  She pecked ferociously at the 6 "intruders", while happy to see her 3 chicks.  She went back to her solitary life.
     It bothered me all week.  It bothered me every time I looked out the back door, every time I went out to get in the Jeep, every time I went to get firewood, etc.  Ohhh, it bothered me.  I knew that Mamma chicken was mourning.  She paced nervously and talked incessantly.  I knew - like only another mother could - that she was missing her babies terribly. But, neither Moshe nor I could figure out what to do about it.

Peeps and the Peep hole

 

 Then, last night insomnia stuck.  I solved 2 or 3 problems during my middle-of-the-night-sleeplessness.
One of the solutions was the Pretty Face situation.  My idea was confirmed later in the morning when I spoke to my parents on the phone.  Mom grew up on a big farm with lots & lots of chickens.  When I described my idea, she said it was exactly what they used to do with the broody hens.  So, here it is:  We moved Pretty Face's broody coop adjacent to the Peeps coop, cutting a "Peep-sized" hole in the chicken wire so that the Peeps can go from cage to cage but Pretty Face has to stay in her territory. We figured Pretty Face's 3 Peeps could visit her, yet still interact with the other Peeps.  And, if the other Peeps came into hostile territory they could escape through the Peep hole. (No pun intended.)  My hope was that they could ALL learn to get along...
    

the combined coops

When the deed was done, sure enough several chicks went through into the broody coop.  Pretty Face immediately took her babies under her wing.  She started out scolding and pecking at the other Peeps, but in less than ten minutes she was accepting them all!  At one point I looked out the back door and Pretty Face had 6 chicks with her - and, only 2 were her original chicks.  Another time she was drinking simultaneously with 4 chicks, only one of which was "hers". 
     Moxie was really helpful during the transition.  While Moshe was cutting the chicken wire and moving the broody coop, he let Pretty Face walk in the back yard.  We knew she wouldn't go far... not with her babies so close by.  Moxie the Wonder Dog walked alongside Pretty Face, keeping track of her like a shepherdess with her sheep.
     And CassPurr?  He slept on the dining room chair that he has claimed as "his", totally oblivious to any and all the world's problems.  A total success story.

                 Shalom Y'all - Twyla

Update on Pretty Face

               Pretty Face is still faithfully setting on her three eggs.  (Now I wish we'd put more than three under her... Oh, well... maybe next time.)  She is quite the broody hen, seldom leaving her eggs at all.  Occasionally we will see her out in her "courtyard", taking a drink of water or a bit of food.  Then, it's right back to her eggs.  She reminds me of the old Dr Suess book, "Horton Hatches a Who".

               When I lift the top of her little broody house, she coos like a dove. She is such a sweet little mommy. I really hope her eggs hatch so that we have the privilege of seeing her with the baby chicks. 

Grama Harper's Chicken Yard

                               
My mother grew up on a farm, and she says watching a hen with her chicks is a sweet experience.  Approximate date for hatching: Oct 9th - less than a week away!  I am looking forward to posting pics of Mommy & Babies!

Shalom Y'all - Twyla

Goin' Down the Mountain

       Just a quick post this morning... About a year-and-a-half ago, my purse was stolen.  I lived "down the mountain" at the time.  Today we need to drive to the Barrow County courthouse for a hearing for the burglary suspect.  I may or may not need to testify. While we're there, we will visit family and friends - make a day of it - and, then, drive back up the mountain.
     We rarely drive down the mountain.  There's something about being here... We just don't want to leave...
Is it the beauty here? The general honesty and integrity of the people?  Or something more?  I believe there is a beautiful spiritual state here. 

     LORD, please give us traveling mercies today. Let us accomplish everything we set out to do; then, return us safely to our little farm.  Thank You for Your MANY blessings.     Amen.

         Shalom Y'all -
                  Twyla

Fall is Approaching

My watercolor, entitled "Mountain View"

          Yes, we are still doing our Fall Cleaning.  Almost done.  It feels so good.  Everything looks so nice;  I always find changing the decor invigorating,  Moshe said, "It's as if we have a new house, without moving!"  It really IS, too;  because we have changed all the rooms except the bathrooms. (I'd change them, too, if I had the time!)  We plan to do the last little touches tomorrow...  looking forward to re-establishing a routine of some sort...
     This month has been exceptionally warm for this area.  A couple days ago I was talking with a lady who has lived here for many years. She said she can't remember a Summer this hot, and certainly not a September this warm.  But, Fall is approaching.  Every day we see a few more red, yellow, and  brown leaves among the green of the trees.  Quite a few leaves are falling in the roads, too.  I like all the seasons, but Autumn is my favorite.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because of the beautiful colors of the trees.  Maybe it's memories of bonfires and hayrides and roasting marshmallows and picking apples off the trees. Maybe it's just time for a change in temperature and a change of pace.  Spring and Summer are hectic for the farmer;  Fall and Winter provide us with more time for reading, playing board games,  and hobbies.  I'm ready... How 'bout you?
                                                                 Shalom Y'all,     Twyla

Organic Eggs vs Storebought

This  is from a  CNN news story I read last night on the Internet:


A law firm specializing in food poisoning cases has filed a suit related to the tainted eggs

The CDC estimates hundreds of Americans have been rendered ill by contaminated eggs

Iowa's Wright County Egg has recalled 380 million eggs due to salmonella concerns

The U.S. egg industry produced about 6.5 billion eggs in April

The Egg Safety Center has a complete list of recalled eggs, their expiration dates, and brands.

(CNN) -- Hundreds of Americans have likely become ill from tainted eggs, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell said Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration, which investigates food contamination, said the CDC received reports of approximately 200 salmonella cases every week during late June and early July. Normally, the CDC has received an average of some 50 reports of salmonella illness each week for the past five years. Many states have also reported increases of this pattern since May 2010, the FDA said.

A few of our organic eggs.

    

  












 WOW! I'm so glad we have our 11 hens  - we get between 8 and 13 eggs per day... Nice, pretty, brown, organic SAFE eggs.  Thanks to "Pretty Face", "Runt",  "Miss Congeniality", "Big Mouth", et al. Various shades of brown, various sizes... invariably delicious and healthy. All praise be to God.

Oh, You Romantic Devil, You

This morning's post included a picture of one of the chicken arks. Did you notice the big white cat INSIDE the ark with the chickens? This is CasPurr; he's been friends with the chickens since they were two days old. CasPurr was following Moshe around the yard one morning, as he usually does, "helping" with the chores, when he stuck his head into the ark. Moshe let him go inside, then ran and fetched the camera to capture the moment. The chickens were cool about it, but CasPurr was kinda' scared. I think he was afraid he's have to stay in there like the chickens do... Too funny!

Our life in the country is a peaceful and beautiful existence. We live a simple life. No TV or radio to gum up the works with negativity. We do have the internet, obviously...

A couple hours ago I was outside looking at the plants and visiting with the chickens. I was hand-feeding them greens, which they love. Their favorite is dandelion greens. Moshe & I laugh at ourselves for getting excited over seeing a big dandelion plant, knowing that "the peeps" will love those greens!!!

One day about a month ago, Moshe went out of town for some dental work. That afternoon, I heard his truck turn in the driveway. As I watched him get out of the truck, I saw a flash of something and then he hid it behind his back. "Ah-Ha!", said I. As he came to the back door, I hurried to greet him, thinking, "Oh, that sweet man has brought me a bouquet..." As he opened the door, he said, "Hey, Baby! D'ya' wanna' help me feed the peeps?" And, he swept forth the "bouquet", which was giant dandelion greens. The bouquet was for the chickens. I have since threatened to write a book about these type of incidents and name it "Oh, You Romantic Devil, You".

Just Us Chickens

My hubby and I recently bought a dozen cute little chicks. They were so small! I could hold any of the little fuzzballs in the palm of my hand. Fast forward about two months, and we have eleven BIG chickens and one even BIGGER rooster! The rooster, who I named Brewster, (I know... it's not very original!), has finally learned all the syllables of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo", and he practices this phrase over and over. And over. Especially when he hears my voice. My mother grew up on a chicken farm and she swears that chickens raised from babyhood will forever think of their caretaker as "Mommy"! So, I'm Mommy to the foul fowls. Chickens poop alot!!!