Life on the Farm

Any Day Now...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:49:00 +0000

Miss Primrose is almost ready to "freshen," or so I am told by my Mennonite neighbor. In the next couple of weeks, I will play midwife to a 1,500 pound Jersey-Holstein mix mama.

I must be crazy.

We have created a new enclosure throughout our yard for mama cow to graze since the pastures are pretty well chewed down from the summer. She spends a lot of time just hanging out near the house. She is kind of like a very LARGE dog. She wants to run and play and lick your face...and believe me, you haven't experienced anything until you get a big slobbery kiss from a cow!

26 chicks in the sticks...redux

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:50:00 +0000

So I came really close to putting the farm on the market in August. Had a realtor come out and everything. Every time I pray about selling the place, I always get the same answer...STAY THE COURSE. Of course, this answer makes no sense to me, seeing how we bleed money out of every inch of this place! But I am trying my best to heed the Spirit and stay the course.

While in Birmingham temple last month, I prayed so hard for an answer and felt a strong impression to "use the talents I have given you." So I came home from Alabama with a renewed interest in seeing what my talents could do in the way of making this place work.

During the month of August, I had randomly started pursuing a few things, such as building my own brick oven and making cheese. I mean, I have all this raw milk from Elmer...what else can I do?

I figured I should get back to blogging and I have a lot to catch you up on....especially if you have not been following my adventures on Facebook. So stay tuned...and let the fun begin!

Back from hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:58:00 +0000

It was a long, cold, lonely winter...

We survived the winter. After recovering from the oil spill and surgery and a really bad Christmas vacation we settled in like hibernating bears. I don't think it got above 6 degrees most of the time. Every month was torture when the utility bills arrived. We spent about $1000 a month for oil, propane, and electric each month. I used to live on that kind of money....now it just goes to heat...crazy.

We raised those meat chickens over the winter...it was the most expensive meat I ever paid for. I butchered them in January....probably a good month after they should have been killed. The meat is not really that good, so I don't think we will be attempting to raise any more animals for food. Beside, no one really had the stomach for it. Thank heavens for our neighbor Elmer who did the killing part.

Many thoughts of selling the place have been forefront in the family discussions. I think we need to stay for one more year until Nick gets out of high school.

Summer is fast approaching and lots of projects are underway. The roof will need to be scraped and painted this year. Whoever thought it was a great idea to slap a coat of house paint on galvanized steel was not very bright.

Anyway, not much else to report on....

Some moms bake cookies with their kids...

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:20:00 +0000

and others slaughter chickens! Truer words have never been spoken, and these were, by a co-worker who thought it quite hysterical that we have embarked on this latest adventure.

Our first batch of baby "meat" chicks arrived last Thursday. One chick died during shipment, but with our free exotic chick, we are still at 25. The chicks spent the first couple of days in the brooder in Melanie's room. This was to protect them from all the cats that have been in the house recovering from their recent surgeries (yeah! We finally got some spayed!).

It was sad for me as I was in the hospital when the chicks came and I missed the first couple of days with them. Sunday evening, we moved them into the coop. They are so happy to have the freedom to roam. I placed some clumps of grass in with them (learned this trick from Backyard Poultry magazine) so they could start eating greens and looking for bugs.

I worried these past two nights as the weather has been blustery. The babies need to be kept at about 90 degrees because they don't have a lot to keep them warm. They seem to be doing ok with the heat lamp and are still chirping away.

I have to be honest, it will be extremely hard to do the deed. They are SO CUTE! Maybe it will be easier when they all grow up to be ROOSTERS. Heaven knows we don't need any more roosters here! I threaten chicken nugget at least once a day that he will be my test subject when it comes time to stuff the freezer!

Photos to come soon.

Cage-Free vs. Factory Farming

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:51:00 +0000

Today, Oprah did a show on a proposition in California that would alter the living conditions for chickens, veal, and pigs that are being factory raised.

I watched the show with an open mind, and while I can see both sides of view, it is hard not to be biased because I have free range chickens. I nearly broke down watching the clip of a egg factory. The chickens are packed 6 to a crate, with about 80,000 per chicken house. They live there inside these houses for their entire lives, never seeing the sunshine or eating fresh grass and bugs.

I love my chickens. They have personalities and, as someone on Oprah said, "they have the spark of life in them just as human's do, and they deserve better treatment considering their lives are given for us."

I think it all comes down to economics. Most of the factories already in production would go under if they were required to completely overhaul their cage systems. However, if more farmers would free range, the cost of these types of eggs would go down as supply increased.

I am still soliciting thoughts on whether or not people would consume less or consider what they consume more if they had an active role in or a better understanding of where their food came from.

Thoughts?

Circling the Wagons

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:58:00 +0000

Every day the news seems to bring more depressing news about the economy. One of the main reasons we decided to try out this farming experiment was to learn to be more self-sufficient. The prophet and apostles are always counseling church members to build up a year's supply of food, stay out of debt, and follow the word of wisdom.

In our continuing effort to live off the land, the Mastracola's have decided to try their hand at raising some meat chickens. We ordered 25 meat chickens from McMurray Hatchery that should arrive the week of October 20. We have cleaned up the coop and readied the back room for the new chicks. We had a family meeting and it was decided that we cannot name these chicks or play with them too much, as it was so easy to become attached to the flock we have producing our eggs today.

It will be an interesting task when the time comes for the chicks to make it to our freezer. No one here at the house is quite ready to be the executioner. I have repeatedly told the kids that there will come a time that they will be grateful for having learned these skills. We will all take part in the process.

I really feel that if people had to raise their own food, and slaughter it in order to get it on their table, I believe there would be a different respect towards what, and how much, we consume. I wonder how many people actually stop to think about the factory process of growing and processing meat? It has been something that has been on my mind lately. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:12:00 +0000

The corn came down this weekend. I don't know why, but it makes me sad. As it grows over the summer, it provides a protection for us from the wind and insulates us from the world. I think the only ones who are happy about the corn being cut are the chickens. I am watching them from the kitchen window as they forage for any lost treasures.

The Combine

Black gold, Texas tea

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:16:00 +0000

Ok, so I learned something new this week. Heating oil does not look like car oil, it looks more like gasoline. I just always had this image in my mind of a thick black liquid that cost me so much to heat my home. Heating oil is actually a thin, red liquid.

How I discovered this amazing thing was at 11:45 on Saturday night, Melanie came running into our room to tell us that she heard something pop, vibrate the floor, and then a hissing noise and a bad smell followed. We ran to the basement to discover the pipe at the base of one of our oil tanks had ruptured and was spewing oil all over our basement. My first thought was how much money was leaking all over the floor and as I watched the oil run down the floor drain, my second thought was that it was going to contaminate our well. These thoughts were immediately replaced by a more pressing one, the several hundred pounds of food being stored in the basement. Oil has a very offensive odor that will absorb into any surface that is not glass or metal. The thought of oil flavored Cheerios propelled me into action. I quickly ran through the house gathering up bodies to come help evacuate the food storage.

We cleared out the food and turned our attention to the leak. Nothing we tried could get the oil to stop spilling out. We didn't even know who to call. Who do you call when oil is spilling all over your basement floor? So we called our insurance company to find out if they ever had to deal with this type of issue before. They told us to call 911 (seems so clear in hindsight). Within 3 minutes, the first of several companies arrived on the scene. These talented men quickly stopped the leak and had contained the spill. We believe the loss was about 40-50 gallons of oil, most of which drained into the ground beneath the house.

About 2 am, the oil company arrived to pump out the remaining oil from the damaged tank. As they investigated the damage, it quickly became clear that the tank had been placed on a 2 inch piece of wood spanning an uneven portion of the floor, decades of dampness combined with the weight of 275 gallons of oil caused the wood to collapse, taking the corner of the tank with it. When the tank shifted and crashed into the second tank, the movement caused the pipe at the bottom to crack open.

We now have 5 barrels of oil sitting in the yard next to the house, awaiting the replacement of the oil tank. We had a restoration company come today to evaluate the remaining oil damage and will wait for a quote on the repair and restoration. Could be as simple as absorbing as much oil out of the concrete as possible with a 2 process coating of epoxy to seal the concrete preventing the oil fumes from affecting the house. They will most likely need to take core samples from the concrete/ground beneath the house to determine where the oil went. We will also need to test the well for contamination, but so far, so good. Worst case, they will need to jackhammer the entire basement floor and reconcrete.

As bad as all of this sounds, we are so amazingly grateful that this did not happen earlier in the day as were were in Washington and the kids were home alone. Additionally, if it had happened while we were all at work, we would have lost almost 600 gallons of oil (at 3.55 a gallon) and our entire farm would have surely been contaminated as well as killing our beloved pets because of the dangerous fumes trapped in the house. Absolute worst case, if this had happened while the furnace was running, our house would have burned down. So, if there is a bright side, this was the best possible outcome. We saved our food, prevented the loss of our entire supply of oil, and protected our family.

Beginnings and Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:54:00 +0000

This summer has really gone by fast! I blinked and it was over. I feel like I didn't even experience the summer at all. I didn't work in the garden, spend much time with my animals, or just relax and enjoy the sunshine.

Work has been very intense for me since about April because of the size and number of implementation projects I am assigned. It has not left me much time to blog about anything! Now summer is over, school is back in session, and early morning seminary starts on Wednesday. I am getting my classroom and supplies in order today and trying to catch up on email . I thought now was a good a time as any to put out an update.

So, we are not doing very well in the cat arena. After our two momma cats each blessed us with a litter this Spring, we were set for a while with some good mousers. Our plan was to spay the mommas when they finished nursing. Well, our orange tabby had a different idea and gave birth to 6 more babies last week. Hopefully we will be more successful with the spaying this go-round because at 15, I think we have enough cats for one small farm!

One of the spring kittens met with tragedy this week. John Malkovich (as I liked to call him because he was a dead ringer for the famous actor) seems to have had an accident. We are not sure if it was a fall or if he got clipped by a car. He broke a tooth and seems to have peed out a little blood. He didn't have any other visible wounds, but was breathing heavy and could not walk on his back leg. We tried to comfort him as much as possible, but he crawled off into a bush and died the next afternoon. Bob is truly tired of digging holes, but death seems to be an unavoidable facet of farm life.

The horses are doing well. Melanie has been riding all three and they are becoming more familiar with her. She said that Lily has the smoothest canter that she has ever experienced. We tried selling Star over the summer, but didn't have much luck. I am so averse to sending her to the auction because I would hate for her to get sold to some slaughterhouse knowing that she would likely meet an inhumane fate.

We have been working on our food storage this summer. We were fortunate enough to be able to secure some red and white winter wheat between out kind stake food specialist and the DC cannery. Wheat orders have been backordered for months and quantities are being restricted to 100 lbs per family. I think we are up to 300 pounds stored, but this is not even a dent of what it should be. We generally have kept plenty of rice and flour along with some canned goods. We canned cherry jam, but haven't attempted any other fruit. Our cellar has been extremely hot this summer and I am not sure if it is the dehumidifier running all the time or heat being magnified by the heavy metal bilco doors. My jams keep liquefying in the heat. Any suggestions?

Another issue that has been a plague on us is mice. We have tried every possible method of eradication, but they are like nuclear super mice! We have brought the cats in, tried traps, poison, sonic deterrents, etc. Nothing has cleared this house. We can hear them in the ceilings chewing through the plaster and lathe. Our food storage is safe for the most part because we keep it in sealed plastic or glass jars, though they have made their way through some bags of tortillas and a large bag of bread flour. I went to tractor supply and bought these cool pet food containers that are tall and narrow and have wheels on the bottom and a lid that locks shut. They fit a large Costco sized sack of flour in them nicely. The wheels keep the container off the dirt floor. I keep the sugar and flour sacks in these rolling bins. I think for our other dry goods we may have to buy some plastic totes from Walmart and start storing in there.

I am so sad about the economy. We really want to put an addition on this farm house. We have the plans all drawn up and have a contractor ready to do the work. Since the basement thing is not really working out, we have designed a large walk in pantry within the new kitchen for our food storage. However, the mortgage crisis has caused banks to be less flexible with how they design mortgages these days. Even though we fully qualify to borrow the money, we cannot find a bank to construct a loan to put on the addition. Food storage and additional bathrooms were our main needs with the addition, but it seems to be a fading dream for the time being.

Today we are finishing up our only other house project, installing new fencing in our side garden. We had old ranch style wooden rails along the front, but the wood posts had rotted in the ground and we needed to pull it out. We purchased new white plastic picket fencing with the hopes to have at least one item that does not need regular maintenance! Everything else here is painted and peeling! Did I mention that Bob is tired of digging holes.....

So that is about it for summer updates. The corn out behind the house is starting to dry and yellow meaning the close of another planting season is about to come to an end. We get so very sad when the corn gets cut as we like to think of it as our cocoon from the world.

The chickens are doing well and are still my favorite part of life here on the farm!

Catch Up

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:41:00 +0000

Ok, it is catch up time. I am severely negligent in my blog entries these past couple of months. I have no good excuse other than just plain old being busy.

Since my last update, Bob had surgery and spent about 6 weeks recovering. Not much was getting done on the farm during his down time, although I did rip out the carpeting in the summer house and give the room a fresh coat of paint. We have completely transformed it into a nice retreat. I put in a couple of before and after. The before were actually part-way through the remodel and the after are not quite the finished product.

There is still some painting inside the fireplace and we need to move in a desk for the computer. But for the most part, we have everything set up.

Our kittens are getting to be almost full grown. They are really entertaining, but I am ready for them to go to deserving homes!

I love these chickens. We discovered that when you call them "Here chick, chick, chick" they will all come running from the barnyard to you. It is hysterical. Yesterday, Nick and I went to pick raspberries at a local farm and we made jam. I took some video, but it is too large to post. I need to find a way to get a smaller sized video so I can post it.

Our vegetable garden is struggling this year. We just have problems with weeds and a large groundhog. Someone at church lent us a trap for the groundhog, but the options once we catch it will be limited to letting it die in the sun, shooting or stabbing it. None of these options will be acceptable at the Mastracola farm. We have learned that it is illegal to trap a pest and release it somewhere else without permission. I like the idea of releasing it at the highway off ramp as I see groundhogs frequently in center of the cloverleaf!

Spring Kittens, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:26:00 +0000

Our other surviving barn cat, "Porch Kitty", had a litter of kittens tonight. She has been trying to get into the house for 2 days, always finding a way to sneak past us. When I was changing out of my work clothes tonight, I happen to look down into Kelly's dog crate on my bedroom floor and I saw the cat inside curled up on the dog bed. I asked Bob if the cat had her kittens in there and he said he didn't think so. Upon closer inspection, out popped the second kitten. We are up to 4 babies at this point, and it looks like she is done.

The other cat is doing well. One of the babies died the first night. She has 6 kittens left and just got moved into a larger kennel today as she was outgrowing the smaller crate we had them in.

The new paint mare is doing well. Her leg is healing up nicely and she is able to trot on it. The vet was here today to give annual physicals and shots. She said the paint looks great and will be fine.

Spring Kittens

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:55:00 +0000

Our orange tabby barn cat, "Kitty", had her first litter of kittens today. I believe there are 7 babies in the litter. Mom and kittens are doing well.

I am so proud of myself. I went to the small animal auction tonight and I did not buy a single thing. I showed such great restraint as there was a mama and baby goat that were so cute, I couldn't stand it! I may have to rework the living quarters in the barn and go back next week...hee hee.

Losses and Gains

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:49:00 +0000

R.I.P. Sonny

With a sad and heavy heart, I am here to report that Sonny, our favorite rooster, died tragically a couple of weeks ago. He never really recovered from losing his voice and eventually suffocated to death. We never were able to discover the nature of his throat issues. When we saw that his wattle and comb suddenly turned purple (which is caused by lack of oxygen), I frantically tried calling every vet in two counties and no one would treat a chicken. I googled potential issues, and spent about $50 in chicken antobiotics, electrolytes, and de-wormer from Tractor Supply Company. I had only given him a small syringe of chicken gatorade when it became clear that it didn't make it to his stomach, but seemed to go right into his lungs. He started gasping and coughing up the liquid. It was heart wrenching to see him suffer so much. Within about 15 minutes, he died in my arms. Sometimes, being a farmer is just hard.

So what do you do when your beloved rooster gives up the ghost? You go out and buy yourself.....a new horse? Yesterday we stopped in at the Fredericksburg Auction House for the monthly horse, tack, and hay auction. I had only intended to see if we could pick up some cheap tack and supplies, but ended up coming home with a 3 year paint mare, whom we named Lily, after the Consider the Lilies song and scripture. Actually, Lily is her barn name. Her official horse name will be "Mom's Foolishness" which is appropriate!

The story behind our new mare is simple. She was the best looking horse they had to auction yesterday, but we noticed that her back leg was hurt and swollen. I guess a bunch of people complained and were going to call the police. So I started asking around to some more experienced horsemen and spoke with the owner. Turns out, Lily, had gotten her leg caught on the trailer when they were unloading the horses yesterday. It skinned her back leg from knee to hoof. There was not much blood, but it was definitely swollen. After much discussion with my new friends, I decided to talk to the owner about taking her out for a ride to see how bad the limp was, and if the leg was broken. Because of the fuss people were making, they actually just put her back on the trailer and were not going to auction her. The owner said if I was interested, I could just buy her directly from him for $500, which is like getting a ferrari for the price of a chevy. After some deliberation and weighing of the odds, we decided to take a chance on this dream horse.

She has been so gentle today, allowing us to clean her wounds and apply some peroxide and balm (SWAT ointment today, but we will be getting bag balm, which was recommended by our horse friends at the auction). She is out grazing in the pasture today and while she favors the back leg a bit, is not limping to badly.

I will keep the blog updated on her progress.

In other news, we have been working so hard on fattening up Sarge. He is actually looking pretty healthy now and I have been brushing and brushing to get all the winter coat out. Once I am done, he will have a sleek black coat underneath that will gleam! I need to take some new photos and post them out here for all to see. No more concentration camp victim!

The Sick Chick

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:04:00 +0000

Well, actually, the sick rooster. Our Cuckoo Maran has a bad case of laryngitis. I have never heard such a pathetic and funny thing as his almost whisper of a crow. We are not sure how he got it, but we separated him from the rest of the flock. He spent his day inside the house in a dog carrier, trying to get warmed up and rest his voice a little. I am concerned because once he lost his voice, the other roosters started attacking him. His comb was badly damaged, so I cleaned it off with some warm water and put some antibiotic ointment on it today. Mom and I spent about 90 minutes shoveling out about 1000 cubic feet of poopy pine shavings. We emptied the whole coop out and will put down some new clean bedding. I had read on the net to keep piling clean bedding on because the droppings will generate heat. Well, they also generate ammonia, which can be a contributor to the breathing problems. We want to eliminate all the possible causes because I am not sure I can lose another chick.

We lost another barn cat to the road this week. Our big boy, Cat, got hit by a car the other day. The remaining two kitties are just lost this week looking for him.

So even though we are not in a flood plain, we have gotten so much rain this winter, the ground is saturated and there is just no where for the rain to go. We got 3 inches in one day last week and had the worst flooding the property has seen since we lived here. We had to shovel the mud and gravel from the driveway when the rain stopped, we have so much run off from the fields above the house. I can't wait for Spring!

We are drying out and with the weather being nicer, it has been great to get outside and do some farm chores!

Last, if you ever decide to buy an old farmhouse, make sure you buy ready to assemble furniture that you don't even intend to move out of the house. Bob and I purchased some dressers for our bedroom this month and we could not get the dresser up the stairs. We tried for two hours to push, prod, angle, and dismantle that thing and had no luck. Bob got a hernia and we ended up tying a rope to it on Saturday and pulling it up on the porch rood and hauling it in through the bathroom window! What an ordeal!

Look for more updates as the weather gets nicer!

Some days are better than others....

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:58:00 +0000

I wish I could say that this blog is one of those better days, but do the better days really make as good a story?

I was not eager to go into the office on Wednesday, but had the opportunity to meet an out-of-town co-worker visiting just for the day so I decided to go in. I mentioned to Melanie that morning that she needed to make sure her barn chores were completed before school because her memom would not be here to do them for her while she was at school. (Memom is out in Colorado this week)

So I am all dressed up in a nice pair of cream colored slacks and dress boots. I put on a dress coat and headed out to my car. I noticed that the chicken coop was closed and although it was foggy and moist outside, it wasn't really raining and it was supposed to be unseasonably warm, so I thought I should open the coop and let out the chickens. I walked over to the barn yard and was immediately greeted by a vast wasteland of sopping wet mud. It has been raining pretty much for a week here and we were completely flooded last Friday. I had told Melanie that she should not work with the horses out there because the ground was vey soft. She did not listen and jumped her horse in the barnyard to the point that there was basically no sod left at all. I carefully tried to find some places to step without getting my shoes and pants dirty. I made it over to the coop door without too much trouble and opened the door. I wish this was the end of my story.

As I was finding my way out of the barn area, I noticed that Sarge's stall door was partially open, so I peeked in to say hi. That was when I saw his water bucket was completely empty. Of course, the water spigot is....you guessed it....over at the entrance to the coop. So now I have to make my way back to the coop with the bucket and somehow get the bucket filled up and carried back to the barn without getting dirty. Did I mention the bucket is about 15 gallons?

I made my way back to coop and started to fill the bucket. I noticed that I had a few small mud splatters on the bottoms of my slacks and was a little angy. I filled the bucket about a third full and lugged it back to the barn. I brushed the dirt from my nice coat and decided I should check the other horses' water, too. I went to the second stall and when I opened the door, I grabbed for the bucket which was situated between a large dirty horse and the door. She was so anxious to get out that as I was trying to pull the bucket from the stall she pushed her way out the door.

So, now I have a dirty, thirsty horse who is not intersted in trying to go BACK into the stall. I made the executive decision to put the horses out in the pasture for the day. I guess in hindsight it may have been an easier task to shove her back into the stall. I took Shadow by the halter and started to walk her towards the pasture. As I approach the north side of the coop, I notice the ground is not only muddy, but that it still has puddles of water all over it. Now, I have to maneuver myself and a 1000 pound beast through this minefield without getting my shoes or pants dirty. I somehow managed to get to the gate only to discover that the top hinge was off and the gate was stuck in the deep mud. So, with horse in one hand and barely keeping my footing in the deep mud (remember, I have on cream colored pants and dress boots) I struggle to pull the broken gate through the mud. After pulling it open about 2 feet, the horse pushed her way into the pasture. I decided at this point that it might be a good idea to go change into my muck boots. I figured I was already late for work at this point, so what would it matter.

So I carefully step back through the mud and head back to the house. My boots were completely swamped with mud and I was completely angry to the point that I actually considered driving up to the school and pulling Melanie out of class to work her over a little bit! I pulled off the muddy boots and shoved on my muck boots jamming my pants down inside.

I walk back over to the barn to take the other two horses out to the pasture. Each time having to maneuver the broken gate through the mud while getting the horse in without having any escape or fall down. Once all were safely in, I had to find a way to keep the gate secured with the broken hinge. To fix it properly would be a two man job, and I was an island unto myself at this point. So I went in search of some chain that I could use. Back through the mud I stole one from another gate. The smaller piece of chain just barely fit around the post and with no extra links to spare I managed to get it latched together. Proud of my accomplishment I started to walk back to the house when I realized that the horses did not have water. So now I have to completely fill a 15 gallon bucket up with water and drag it though 10-inch deep mud, reopen the gate, and get it inside the pasture. Once again, I thought of going to the school...

After getting the water in the pasture, I noticed the horses were trying so hard to get whatever little green was left in the ground, I thought I should check the feed stall. Of course, to my astonishment, there was no hay in there. I figured that Melanie did not leave herself enough time to bring down hay for them, so she gave them some grain and left for school. Now, I have the task to go up into the barn and pull down a bale of hay to take out to the pasture. I walked up the barn and saw that there was some flakes of hay (a segment of hay is called a flake and we normally feed them two flakes). So I picked up a flake or two and carried the loose hay (in my black wool coat) down to the pasture. I repeated this process three times because we generally throw it in different areas so they don't fight over it. Out of breath, with sweat pouring down my face, hair dishelved I returned to the porch to get my muddy boots. I took them to the outside faucet and sprayed them down to get the clumps of mud off. Once cleaned, I returned to the porch and swapped out my boots. I went to the car and brushed off the hay from my coat and looked for my Tide pen to clean the mud off my pant cuffs which were wrinkled and dirty from the 30 minute ordeal. I could not find it, so back into the house for a wet papertowel as a lousy second choice. I cleaned off the best I could, tried to reorganize my hair and started on my way to work.

You would think this would be the end of this tragic tale of mud and woe, and yet you would be wrong. All the way to work I kept smelling cat urine. To my utter shame, the barn cats peed on the muck boots out on the porch and when I pulled them on, it transferred to my hands. It took about 10 handwashings, Purell, and lots of hand cream to get through the day.

The only bright spot in my day is that our main computer application and database crashed at lunchtime and I had to go home early. What a shame.....

( on a sad note, one of our chickens died last week. She was found in a nesting box and we have no idea how she died, but we are now back to 26 chicks in the sticks)

Consider the Lilies

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:03:00 +0000

I apologize for not having the time to create any updates for two months. It has been a busy time away from the farm and, for a period, it seemed as if nothing of note was happening here. As I sat in fast and testimony meeting yesterday, I contemplated getting up to speak, but didn't really know what I would say. The MoTab song, Consider the Lilies, came to my mind as I often think of it when I see the chickens wandering outside. As I thought of the meaning behind the words, I turned to the scripture that it references:

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:25-34

I am humbled by nature and its complexities and its delicacies that almost seem to contradict one another. Tonight is no exception. I went out to the chicken coop to close the lights for the night and I noticed an egg in one of the nesting boxes. It looked eerily translucent. I blinked, thinking that I was seeing things. I reached in and gently picked up the strange egg. It's shell was simply a thick membrane, nothing more. It is quite beautiful and delicate to the touch, yet peculiar to the extreme. If you hold it to the light, you can see the yolk inside. An egg is something that most do not think twice about, however, we have been enthralled with the various shapes, sizes, and properties of the eggs that our chickens have produced.

On a side note, earlier this year a bird made a nest in a wreath on our front door. We watched for two weeks as the baby birds hatched, grew, and flew away. Two weeks! I could not believe it.

I love to watch the chickens as they fill the measure of their creation. They dig in the flower beds, leaving behind tilled and fertilized soil. They nest and lay their eggs. They bustle around talking in a quiet chicken language. The roosters proudly defend and protect their flock from predators great and small. An example of this occurred a few weeks ago. I was in the kitchen and I heard the roosters making a racket outside. They were not crowing as one would expect, but almost shrieking. I went to the door to see what was going on and all of the hens were hiding under the large pine tree. The 5 roosters were in the yard running around and yelling. I looked up and saw two large hawks circling overhead. How amazing to see nature in action. That Heavenly Father created these beautiful creatures with all the instincts and knowledge they need to survive here. They are a source of pure joy in my life.

Equally as amazing to me, our horses have grown a winter coat. Not being much of a horse expert, this year has been full of experiences that are new for me. I had no idea that horses hair changed at all! But ours have grown into a thick, ruglike coat to keep them warm through the harsh winter months. I have been grateful for the warmer days this new year has brought. The horses have been able to stay outside in the pasture more often and I imagine it must be a thrill for them after being cooped up in the barn so much.

Everything else on the farm has gone into a state of hibernation. The lush greenery of the summer gave way to the decay of autumn and the stark nakedness of the winter. We are currently mourning the loss of a large tree that was toppled by an ice storm around Christmas. I look forward to the spring, when all will be renewed again.

Record Setting Egg

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:56:00 +0000

Ok, I know I wrote that we got the biggest egg ever the other day, but the one I got this morning is a record setter. Honestly, I don't know what to say about it. I feel bad for the chicken that had to pass it.

Here are two contrasting photos of the gigantic egg and another of an extra large egg.

Here is a photo of this egg trying to fit in a carton with the rest of the eggs from this week.

A time of change

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:45:00 +0000

Fall is here. It is my favorite time of the year. I love to feel the chill in the air and to see the leaves change. I love the smell of the autumn. The pungent smell of decaying earth and foliage. The chickens are doing a wonderful job of cleaning out all of the undergrowth of the gardens around the house. They aerate and fertilizer the ground beneath their feet.
This is our foster horse, Sarge. He has been living here for about 2.5 months. He was a little underweight and wasn't very attractive, which is why I haven't posted any photos of him. We have been fattening him up and he is starting to grow his winter coat. He is 20 years old and a former racehorse. These days, he is more likely to be seen meandering through the fields around the house. I retrieved the largest chicken egg I have ever seen. It is like a super, jumbo! You can't really tell from the photo here, but it is as large as the palm of my hand.

Our oddball rooster, Falcon. He mostly keeps to himself.

I believe this Red Star is the breed that laid the huge egg. They are known for their large and plentiful eggs.

My favorite chickens are the Partridge Rocks.
Most days, the chickens hold a meeting on the barnyard gate.

A rooster in action!
"Can you believe how wide Bertha's behind has gotten?"

Photo Update

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:24:00 +0000

The final fruits of our labor

The first egg

Sonny

Falcon

Getting ready for the night shift

Really, in the tree

Porch Kitty and The Assassin

...and a partridge in a pear tree

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:03:00 +0000

Ok, well, more like a Partridge Rock in a regular tree. Doesn't make any less strange. Some of the chickens love to fly up into the large tree in the barnyard. Last night, 5 of them stayed up there all night. They were so high even Bob could not get them out. I don't mind them being up there, but I don't want them to be harmed by a predator. I also think it will be hard to collect eggs that have been dropped from the top of the tree!

We have been steadily getting an egg a day. We think it is probably the mystery chicken that showed up in our barn one day. She is probably a little older than our other girls. The chickens will be 20 weeks old this Saturday and should all start laying soon. I made some fried rice last week and used about 3 of our eggs. I can't believe how yellow the yolks are! The eggs were yummy and I am looking forward to making a nice breakfast one of these days.

There is a small group of hens that like to hang out by the kitchen door. They are there every afternoon. One of the Red Rocks comes right up to the storm door and bangs her beak on the glass to get my attention. It is pretty funny when they show up, though we don't like the bird poo everywhere. Enzo likes to eat it, so we really need to keep him on a short leash....dogs, ugh.

The day are getting shorter and shorter. I noticed this morning that it is now still dark when we finish with seminary in the morning and it is always dark by 8. I dread the days where it is dark by 5 pm. We are starting to look at heating oil prices and snow throwers. (I thought that was why we had kids???) Gosh, I can't believe winter is almost closing in. We have a really large driveway to clear and there is no way we can do it with a shovel. New toys are fun, though!

Our garden is waning. We havested about a 5-gallon bucket of sweet potatoes, 10 pounds of carrots, another gallon bag full of green beans, baskets of tomatoes, and of course, our pumpkins that are still out there growing. We have been eating the fruits of our labor just about every night. It is really delicious! We learned a lot this summer about how we want to do the garden the next time. It will soon be time to till the ground and lay our manure out for the winter.

The short days, work schedules, and church callings are keeping me really busy these days. I have been trying to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in each day, but it isn't always possible. That doesn't leave much time for farm and house stuff (and blogging). I do have more pictures to get loaded, so look for a photo update soon!

A week of firsts

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:28:00 +0000

WE GOT OUR FIRST EGG TODAY!

I went out to open the coop this morning and to fill the feeder and check on the water. When I started chasing the chickens out of the nesting boxes, I happened to notice a small brown egg in one of the boxes. Most likely, it is a pullet egg. Young hens will sometimes lay a small, yolkless egg the first couple of times. I actually was a little surprised to see an egg so soon. The girls are 18 weeks old now, and it is just a little soon. They are supposed to start laying at 20 weeks. I guess we have fattened them up enough to start laying a little early.

Another first this week is Melanie rode Star! I have been threatening to sell her if she won't work with her. I came home from the store on Saturday and she came running out to proclaim her accomplishment. She said Star was good and didn't buck or try to stomp on her. I think we are making progress. I also think the addition of a large, male horse has upset the order of the pasture and put Star in her place. Honestly, I don't spend too much time alone with her since I got kicked. I find myself tensing up when she comes near and especially if she turns towards me. It is a reflex now and since horses can sense these things, I don't want to press my luck.

We will be harvesting our sweet potatoes this week as well. They are ready to be picked and stored. I have read that you need to dry them at 80 degrees for a couple of weeks and constantly turn them so they don't get moldy or rotten. I have no idea how we will accomplish that~ Hopefully, they will be ok with 75 degrees inside the house.

I apologize for not updating the blog lately, but honestly, there hasn't been much to write about. Things sort of settled down between August and September. I think the next few weeks will be more interesting as we have crops coming in for harvest and the egg laying should pick up. We have a nice pumpkin patch this year. I hope to expand the garden next year to increase the pumpkin patch as they have been my favorite thing to grow.

Start saving your egg cartons! I think by mid-October we will have more eggs than we know what to do with!

Lots of updates!

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:10:00 +0000

I am back from my week in Texas. I was able to observe some desert farming in New Mexico. They grow pecans, chilis, and cotton. It was my first time seeing a cotton field. Honestly, I don't know how anyone has a back left after watching people bent over picking the cotton and chilis. The plants are so low to the ground! We drove through the largest US pecan orchard, Stahmanns. For three miles along route 28 the trees provide a canopy over the road and it is one of the most beautiful drives ever. We were grateful for the shade with 103 degree days and some fairly high humidity for that area. As strange as it sounds, I love to look at crops. I love driving through the green hills of PA looking at the corn growing, or field grass. One of my favorite parts of Italy were the olive groves and vineyards. There is something about a field of crops growing that strangely appeals to me. Maybe it is the uniformity, I don't know.

While I was down South, Bob and Melanie went to Denver (PA, that is) to look at camp horses. There are summer camp programs that need people to care for their horses in the off season. You get the horse and all the tack for free and are responsible for caring for the horse until next summer when they return to camp. the benefit is you can ride the horse all you like while you have it and if the horse doesn't work out you can send them back and get a different one. Melanie settled on a Thoroughbred/Quarterhorse mix named Sarge. He is an older horse and well trained. He is providing us with another riding horse and a pasture buddy for the other two horses. Although, we thought if we had three, it would solve the problem with the horse getting upset when they are separated. Melanie was riding Sarge yesteday afternoon and the other two horses were making a ruckus.

Star came home on Sunday. The family who has been working with her said she is a good jumper. The girls had her jumping 2 foot fences! She really needs an experienced rider with a dominant personality. So we now have to decide what we would like to do. We can keep her and hope Melanie gets the courage to ride her or we can sell her. I missed her terribly while she was gone, although I have the painful lump in my leg to remind me of her, LOL.

A co-worker was kind enough to bring me 4 barn cats last week. They are still kittens and come from good barn cat stock. They are keeping close to the barn right now and we hope they will take care of our mouse problem. I saw a field mouse in the chicken coop last night and could not believe how large they have gotten eating all our feed. Now I just have to work out the problem of the cats getting to the mice when the coop is locked at night. I have thought about putting a cat in there with the chickens, but I am not comfortable doing that until I am certain the cat will not attack the chickens. Normally, the chickens can take care of themselves, but at night they are relaxed or asleep and easy to approach. Oh, and we are naming them after famous assassins such as Carlos the Jackal, Nikita, Bourne, and Mai Ling (house of the flying daggers).

The farmer leasing the land adjacent to my property came and cut the corn down yesterday. I was so sad. It was like our barrier from the world. Melanie is delighted because she got permission to ride her horse in the fields now that the corn is down. He said she can go anywhere there are no crops. I figure she will have about 60-70 acres to ride in now and it will take her away from the main road and out of the pasture, which pleases me.

I am happy to report that all the rain we got last week has helped with the pasture. The grass is growing great right now and we hope it can keep the horses fed for another couple of months. We had 200 bales of hay delivered last week. I want to make it last as long as possible.

A picture is worth a thousand words....

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:25:00 +0000

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I tried to put some of the best that we have taken in the past month. The first three photos are from a visit with my brother James' family back in July. My nephew, AJ, decided at the end of the day that he was going to take one of the chickens home with him and selected one of our white rocks that he liked to call "Whitey". We told him if he could catch it, he could keep it. As you can tell from these photos, he was unsuccessful.

The next set of photos are of the house. It was a great morning to take these photos, with the clear sky and bright sun. In the photo, you can see our house to the right, with the summer house in the center. The small building to the far left is the pump house/butcher house. Our well is housed in there and we use that building for a garden shed.
Ever since I was a little girl visiting the Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia, I have dreamed of living in a home with winding stairs. It takes a little practice to maneuver them, but once you get the hang of it you can fly up and down them with ease.

We are starting to harvest our bounty from the garden we like to call, "Weedville," and are grateful for anything that hasn't been eaten by the wildlife!

The best feature of our farmette is our 1800's Pennsylvania German Bank barn. It is the jewel in the crown and we love every part of it. The name William Kurt is carved into one of the support beams inside and we are curious to know if he was the builder. Every post and beam is doweled into place and roman numerals are carved into each piece to match for assembly. You can feel history as you stand inside the massive bays that may have housed carriages and farm equipment. Livestock was kept in the lower part to shield them from the wind and cold.

My other favorite place to be here on the farm is out in the barnyard and the chicken coop. I love to sit out with my chickens and watch them frolic in the grass, pecking around for small bugs to eat. They are really maturing, cackling and crowing all day long.

Click here to listen to the chickens cackling

Click here to listen to our rooster crow

These two Blue Andalusians were supposed to be hens....but surprise, one has grown into a fine rooster (above). I think the females (below) are beautiful with their big eyes and slim builds. They remind me of roadrunners rather than chickens. They are the only breed I purchased that will lay white eggs.

Our head rooster, "Chicken Nugget," keeps a watchful, close eye on his girls. In this case, it is Rosie, our Partridge Rock.

And last, but not least, our sorrel mare, Star. No foal, perhaps not really pregnant. Still lactating and ornery as ever. I was kicked twice last week and spent this week recuperating from some large bruises and a bad case of whiplash from being thrown to the ground and doing a backwards tumblesault. In the last photo, you can clearly make out the shape of a horseshoe on my leg.

Twofer

noreply@blogger.com (Michelle) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:09:00 +0000

I heard the words I dreaded last night. "Mom, I think the horse is pregnant!" What! How can this be??? She is lactating like a freak right now. I actually thought she may be pregnant since we bought her based on her size and shape. It is impossible to know these things when you buy at auction. You have no idea where the animal was and who had access to her. It takes 11 months for a horse to gestate.

We called the vet last night and she left us a message explaining that horses will lactate if they have a diet too high in protein and too many phyto-estrogens from plants like sweet clover...which is most of what grows in our pasture. I am hoping that this is the case. I did google pregnant horse images, and well, it sure looks like our horse. She is very large in the girth department.

A two for one.

If she is pregnant, we will know in the very near future because her signs indicate an imminent birth.

I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies!

On a brighter note, our new floors started getting installed today. Here is the first photo.

The other two bedrooms will be completed Thursday and Friday. I am so excited to have nice floors again. We have been living with rotten 100 year old floors full of sheet metal patches and staples. It will be nice to be able to unpack and set up our furniture once and for all.

The chickens are still growing and entertaining us. The head rooster is doing a great job at protecting the flock. So far, we haven't had any issues of the roosters fighting. The head rooster "Chicken Nugget" is so dominant, I think the pecking order has been established and there will be peace in the land. They are now 10 weeks old and have graduated to "finishing" feed for weeks 10-20. After that, they will go on layer rations.

Multiplicity

noreply@blogger.com (Archeanthus) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:03:00 +0000

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Somehow our chickens have found a way to clone themselves. We now have 27 chickens and no idea how. We bought 4 chickens of 6 different breeds, 1 rooster of another breed, and received a free chicken with our order, yet another breed. Each night I do a head count as I close the coop. Last night, we had 27 chickens. The strangest thing is that the extra hen is one of our exotic breeds, the cuckoo maran. Melanie said that when she let the chickens out the other morning, she noticed a black head poking out of the barn stall. She opened the door and out came a cuckoo maran. She didn't think anything of it. We have accidentally locked them out on occasion. But where did this hen come from? She is the same size as our 2 month old chickens.

Tonight, we came home from dinner out and one of the chickens was up in a tree. I couldn't believe my eyes, but there she was! Way up in a tree branch.

Strange indeed!

The farrier was out this week to work on the horses hooves. Our sorrel mare, Star, had pulled off her front shoes and was way overdue for a trim. They both had their feet trimmed and are looking sharp. The farrier told us he believes Shadow is a Thoroughbred with perhaps a little Arabian in her. Maybe the mystery is solved.

Now that we have caught up with the outside work, we have been able to turn our attention to the inside. We have been busy painting the bedrooms this week in preparation for our new floors to go in next week. It is a lot of work with all the windows and trim. The rooms here have very wide chair rail and lots of windows. I can't wait to be finished and decorate. It is starting to feel more and more like home.

Well, back to painting!