Memories of Mine to Thine

Babies!

2012-05-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh babies on the farm...
Meet Nutmeg. She's the second born, and the smaller of the two. She's also darker than her mommy and her sis.

This is MiniMe. We'll be calling her Mini. She was the first born, and definitely NOT mini. She weighed in on day two at nearly 5 lbs!!

What cute sisters. :) Their momma is doing well. She had some back leg issues from delivering such large babies, but today, she seems to be getting her strength back.

DOELINGS!!

2012-05-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Ginger had her babies last night!! I was crossing my fingers for a girl, but I didn't just get ONE, and got TWO!! This is pretty cool news for my herd, because any does out of this breeding will be keepers!! I'll be able to breed them to both my bucks.

I Mustache You to Read This...

2012-05-20T20:02:00.001-07:00

My friend Linda Woods and her seester Karen rock. End of story. They rock. First of all, because they are just super dee duper cool people. Mostly because they are one of the pillars in the foundation that started my creative adulthood. They recently wrote a new art journaling book, and called it YOU RULE. I love it on about a billionty different levels. I especially love that they don't encourage you to only journal or create when you're happy, or have only nice things to say. I was already sure before I read it, that the book was going to be pretty amazing. Then Linda asked me to take a look at it. Of course I said YES!!
I got the Kindle version, and it's amazing. I was inspired. I wanted to get out the paint and get some frustrations out...
but there's this thing.
I call it
SOBUSYICANBARELYREMEMBERMYNAMEITIS.
It's pretty contagious, and I have it really bad right now.
Busy busy busy.
I have so many things on my to do list of busy that when people ask me what I've been up to or what my plan are,
I
go
absolutely
totally
100%
BLANK.
Seriously.
I cannot remember.
My life had better not DEPEND on me remembering either... because otherwise, I'm toast.
Linda's book, however, has affected me.
It put an idea in my mind...
and when I get creative ideas, they swim in my head until I get them out.
I had to create.
So I went digital!!
Linda's book is about rules, and the rules that no one seems to have put into the handbook of LIFE.
When you read them, you will totally have a personal experience that fits the rule.
Every.
Time.
My new rule was inspired by my friend Kelly, who is the QUEEN of cussing by using non cuss words. I love her for it, and even though I know the latest one I heard from her isn't new, it was fresh to me...
and
I
LOVE
IT.

cuss like you mean it. YOU RULE is also available in print if you want to hold it in your hands!!
Disclosure: Thank you, Linda, for the free kindle version of YOU RULE!! I would have needed to create this and blog about it anyway. :)

Business Card Giveaway from Print Runner

2012-05-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Once in a while I get requests from other companies to help promote their product. Most always, I decline, but this latest offer was something I thought might be able to benefit one of you!! I was asked to host a giveaway for Print Runner.com. PrintRunner.com was established with little more than a small press and a dream. Ten years later, their company became one of the foremost quality printers in Southern California. They are committed to providing the best value and high quality full color printing at affordable prices, and that has made their company grow. PrintRunner is a full service high quality printing company located in Chatsworth, California.

I got to choose from a small list of things to offer, and I business cards, because all us little people need those!
*You will be eligible to win:

250 Business Card Size and Style Business Cards

2x3.5 (Standard) Colors 4/4 Color Both Sides Paper 14 pt. UV Coating on Front, 14 pt. UV Coating on both sides, no rounded corners.

If by chance you don't WIN... you can still use print online with PrintRunner! They print business cards that look professional and expensive at an affordable rate.

TO BE ENTERED TO WIN:

You only need to

Comment here on this post.
Include your contact information, either by enabling emails through your blogger profile, or by listing your contact email in your comment.
Be a resident of the US
Be 18 years of age or older.

THE WAY IT WORKS:

Winners will be chosen by a random number generator, and selected from first comment being #1 with the second comment being #2 and so forth.
Ineligible comments will not be counted.
Contact information will be verified before passing it on to PrintRunner, and unanswered efforts to confirm contact information will result in a new winner being chosen.
It would also be really nice, but it's not necessary to win, if you would hop over to Twitter and/or Facebook and connect with PrintRunner there!

The deadline to get yourself entered is MAY 26th, 2012!!

Comments will be closed once the deadline is past.

*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above.
** As part of the deal for hosting this giveaway, I will be receiving my own set of business cards from Print Runner!
*** Winners are allowed to win only once over a two-month period, so if you've recently been super dee duper lucky, and have won something through them in the last two months, you will not be eligible to win these cards.

The Family that PLAYS together...

2012-05-11T01:05:00.001-07:00

STAYS together...

Kara loves to play with Hash, and today, Macs tried to get her to play tug of war with him. Obviously she was happy to do it. lol Hash likes the IDEA when it's just you and him... until you actually pull on the rope. This arrangement worked out really well, because he just mouths the rope while the real tug of war happens between someone else. lol

White Rabbit's Pocket Watch with Clear Cast Resin

2012-05-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'm having so much fun with my Amazing Mold Putty ®!! This time, I used Creative Paperclay and Clear Casting Resin to make a custom pocket watch for my White Rabbit doll! Visit the Amazing Mold Putty BLOG and check out my post with instructions on how I made the watch to go with the White Rabbit!!
Disclosure: As a member of Amazing Mold Putty's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.

Never Really Meant to be Ours

2012-05-06T18:33:00.001-07:00

I know a lot of people won't agree with the choice we made... or understand why/how we needed to make it... but I know a lot of people will ask about what happened when we decided to re home our Chiwiener dog, and get a new dog. I've decided to blog about it.

We originally bought Buddy (our Chiwiener dog) for Macs' birthday. He was supposed to be Macs' dog. We tried to establish good pack order, and not encourage "lap dog" behaviors, which all worked. However, no matter what we did, Buddy did not LIKE Macs. He wasn't aggressive, he wasn't mean, (the dog OR Macs) he even LIKES little kids and babies, but it was very obvious that Buddy's favorite human was NOT Macs. (which broke Macs' heart every day) He was a good dog, just a terrible fit for our family, and our reasons for bringing him into our home in the first place. It was obvious he didn't enjoy "us" much, and we were all disappointed in how things turned out with Buddy. For a long time, we kept trying...
"He's still young, give it some time. He'll come around..."
We kept saying things like that... making excuses. Looking back, I see it was like walking with one foot up the side of a hill... you can do it, but it just doesn't feel right. It's extra work, and not really that much fun. It's forced.

Eventually, it started to become clear that Buddy was never going to be "second nature" in our family... Not because of anything we were doing wrong, and not because he was a bad dog with bad habits. We were just off sync with each other, and that was probably not going to change. Eventually, Travis and I started talking about getting a larger family friendly breed that would also be a good guard dog. We didn't have room for three indoor dogs, so we talked about finding a new home for Buddy. It all happened a lot faster than I imagined it would.

I posted on FB that we were looking to re home him, and gave our reasons why, explaining that he was a good dog, just not the right dog for US. Within an hour, I had a friend contact me saying that she had recently put her Chiwiener down, and had started looking for another dog. She wanted Buddy. Macs and I took Buddy up to meet Kelly and her family, and so Macs could see and feel good about the new home Buddy might be going to. Right off the bat, Buddy was in love with them as much as they were with him. That made Macs and I both feel at ease. It was pretty obvious he was going to be much happier with them, and so left Buddy in his new home.

Travis and I agreed that we would wait to get a new dog until just the right one came around... we wanted to be sure we didn't force anything, and end up in the boat we had just gotten off of. Travis checked Craig's List, and we called on a couple dogs that didn't feel right. We passed on them. We ended up scheduling a visit to the local shelter. We looked at about 4 dogs while we were there. One of them seemed to be a good fit. She was large, but good with the kids, and seemed at ease with Travis and I, so we decided to bring Hash in to meet her. I've never in my LIFE had a dog absolutely refuse to meet another dog, but Hash did. He wouldn't go anywhere NEAR the other dog. It wasn't even a matter of them not getting along! He wasn't going to give her the chance to not get along with him! They just plain old weren't gonna happen. So we went home empty handed. On the way home, Travis and I talked about what exactly we wanted, and what we might face now that we knew Hash might be too intimidated by large dogs to even give them a chance. As much as we were trying NOT to get a puppy, it was something we thought we might have to consider given the newest bit of circumstance with Hash.

Later that night, I re visited the shelter's website to look back over the dogs we HADN'T looked at when we were there... at the very bottom of the page, there was a new listing that hadn't been there when we were there that morning... a 2 month old puppy. A female. (one of our requirements) Spayed. I called the first chance I got the following morning and put a hold on her until I could get in to see her later that day. We had some pretty specific requirements for what kind of a puppy we would consider getting.

When I got to the shelter, Sahara (her name at the shelter) was with her brother in the pen. He was being adopted as I was waiting with Sahara's papers to adopt her... and his new owner, seeing her papers in my hand called out to his wife, "See Hon!! I TOLD you she wouldn't be here all alone without her brother for very long!!" Funny, because I was about to feel bad about leaving Sahara's brother all alone at the shelter without his sister... lol

She's very dainty and petite compared to her brother... Not too big for Macs to handle, and easy for us to manage while we teach her the basics of obedience. Her personality is very calm, and she loves just BEING with us. I wasn't expecting for things to move so extremely fast like they did... but it's been pretty cool to see how after all this time, trying to "make it fit" all of the puzzle pieces seem to have fallen into their places more perfectly than I had ever imagined.

Buddy getting the start treatment at his new home while Alexa gets her hair did for prom:

Our new puppy Kara (pronounced CAR UH) crashed out with Macs the way he's been pining for Buddy to do since the day we got him...

Sometimes, I guess you have to stop trying to force things, and just surrender to the fact that no matter how much you love a thing... once in a while, they were never really meant to be yours.
PS: She and Hash get along just fine. :)

Frame Fragments with Amazing Mold Putty

2012-04-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Frame Fragment created using Amazing Mold Putty!

My first project as a design team member for Amazing Mold Putty ®!! I made a gift for Ian's graduation... Visit the Amazing Mold Putty BLOG and check out my post with instructions on how to make your own frame fragment, and see more pictures of the completed project!

Disclosure: As a member of Amazing Mold Putty's design team, I recieve product at no cost to myself.

Barn Raising

2012-04-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you rent your property, and you need a new barn? You make a portable barn! A long time ago, my mom saw an idea in Mary Jane's Farm Magazine about using the portable tarp carports for barns. They are 10X20 feet. I loved the idea, and have been saving to get one for a while now!! We're using 3/4' plywood that was given to us to line the inside walls. This will keep the goats from pushing against the tarp walls. Travis is going to help me build a wall on the right 1/3 of the side of the barn. That side will be my "milking parlor" and where I'll keep my stanchion. Possibly my hay also. It will be about 6X10 feet. The rest of the barn is for the girls. That will be about 10X14 feet, with the last 4X10 at the far left being sectioned off into two 4X5 stalls for kidding pens, leaving the middle area 10X10 for the rest of the girls when there are does with kids in the kidding area. The carport is just over $200.00 at Costco, and so far, we had all the pieces for the walls. It will take two cattle panels to create all the divisions inside that I'd like, so total cost should end up being about $250.00 Not bad for a barn I'll be able to take with me if we move. The boys will be getting the old barn, and the girls will soon be living in THIS:

Door to the right, gate across the awning area in the middle. Because the barn isn't predator proof, the barn is in the goat pen where Keena can access all sides at night while she is paroling the area. Another thing I did to the hoop houses I made, is to paint the tarps that are covering them with a KOOL SEAL flexible roof paint. I think this will help keep the tarps from rotting, and keep the areas inside the houses dry!!

Kidding pen end. I'll be dividing the middle with a wooden pallet, and making "gates" out of cattle panel sections. Harriet thought you should have a goat in the photo for cutesies.

Speaking of does with kids...
GINGER IS PREGNANT!! I haven't said much because I just haven't been too sure... with my bad breeding luck, I was starting to think we might NEVER have yummy goat's milk again... but it's official. She's a big as a house, and in the last week or so, her udder has started to fill out. She's due to kid at the end of May. Cross your fingers for me! I'd really like her to have at least one girl. I get to keep a girl from this breeding for my breeding stock, so I'd really love to have a doeling in there.

Oh, Whiskers.

2012-04-14T12:03:00.002-07:00

I forgot whiskers!! But here's a photo of my White Rabbit!! Complete except for his whiskers. I'll share more later!!

Creative Paperclay® Design Team call!

2012-04-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Creative Paperclay®!! I've been using it ever since I learned how to make cloth and clay dolls... it has opened a whole new door for me!! I missed the Design Team call last time around, and they are having a new call now. I decided to try for it!! Creative Paperclay is the coolest stuff ever!! I love how it works just like pottery clay. (which I have used and worked with for years...) The best part about it, is that you don't have to have a KILN to dry it!
I've been using Creative Paperclay® to make goggles for my Steampunk dolls...

and in art journaling...

I'm working in the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland right now... I'm going to make him a pocket watch with casting resin and Creative Paperclay®. :)

One thing I'm especially looking forward to, whether I make the design team or not, is to use Creative Paperclay® with Amazing Mold Putty. I think it will be a blast to use in creating new elements in my dolls, and I've got some ideas for using it on canvas too!! I'm hoping that this logo right here, will end up in my sidebar saying I'm part of their team! Click on the image to visit the Creative Paperclay® blog!

Wish me luck!!
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Designing Again!!

2012-03-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

Holy COW!! I have news!! I've been itching to share it for what feels like FOREVER...
Remember THIS POST?
Well, I MADE THE TEAM!!
I am now a member of the Amazing Mold Putty design team!!
Check it out!!
Be sure to subscribe to the Amazing Mold Putty blog, because the team of ladies I'm on the team with is outstanding!!
I'll be sharing on my blog, and the Amazing Mold Putty blog once a month, and so will the rest of the team. I'm so exited to get the chance to play with this stuff!! It's going to be so much fun! I'm waiting for my first shipment to get here. Fingers crossed that by the time you read this (I'm prepping this post a day early) I'll have my package in my hands!!
Meet the rest of the team!!

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Sure, Bert!!

2012-03-28T19:02:00.003-07:00

Ernie's been busy settling into the family this week...
Getting a ride on Macs' shoulder...

Trying to decide just how terrifying the special "traveling" perch is... and deciding being close to the laundry folding was worth the terror...

REALLY enjoying his food. :)

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Ernie I'm Awfully Fond of You

2012-03-22T18:54:00.005-07:00

Ever since I was a little girl, exotic birds have been a part of my life. My neighbor had an Umbrella Cockatoo, an African Grey (which was actually the smaller version LIKE a grey, and I can't remember the name) and a Conure. I worked with a Macaw when I worked at Wildlife Safari, and the pet store I worked at also had a Macaw, an Umbrella Cockatoo, and other smaller exotics. Growing up, we had Parakeets, Lovebirds and Cockatiels, but never anything larger.
Until today.
I have a friend that owns an Umbrella Cockatoo, and she was helping her breeder re home a bird. His name was Dexter. I got to meet Dexter, and he was a sweetie. A Goffin Cockatoo. Smaller than Umbrella's, but with a good nature, and pinkish feathering instead of all white. Dexter was the bird that got me even considering a large bird, even though I've always loved them. I just never really thought about owning one. I talked to my friend about taking in Dexter, but in the process of that, she found him a home, and so I didn't take him. Then her breeder talked about a second Goffin that she needed to find a home for. He wasn't being re homed, but he was nearly 7 months, and quickly getting to the age that breaking the bond with him would be hard not only on the breeder, but on the bird. His name was Ernie.
I went to meet Ernie today, and he and I hit it right off.
Our first self portrait

Chillin' on the cage...

Travis says he's going to teach him to say "I pooped my pants"
lol
I say we'll just stick to "uh oh" instead.

Personally, I want to teach him some part of THIS song...

On our way home, I stopped by the thrift store, and picked up some baby toys for him. Now, when Raegan gets too old for her baby toys, we'll be seeing if Ernie can take them!! lol
Here he is, checking out Josh, how is checking out him, checking out his cage.
Check it out.

Ernie, we're awfully fond of you!!
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Around the Farm Mar.2012

2012-03-19T13:25:00.008-07:00

I got outside and did some much needed work in the goat/chicken area...
The boys are finally in their yard. I still have some work to do on the structure I plan to use for the girl's barn until I can buy their larger barn. In the mean time, the boys sleep in a dog crate together, and the girls get the other 1/2 of the barn. I need to put up some fencing to keep the boys in their side of the barn. (Milton discovered he can jump out.)
Calvin up front, Milton in the back:

Calvin is probably THE sweetest goat I've ever owned.
I got a few full body shots of Ginger

Fingers crossed that this is pregnancy width.

She should have come into heat last Saturday, and I didn't notice any signs.
She's been letting me get close to her when we're out in the yard... she used to be wary of me when we were in the open. Didn't mind milking, and being close inside, but didn't like to get too close out in the goat yard. Lately, she's been coming up to see if I have goodies though. Before you know it, I'll be talking about how hard it is to get a full body picture of her! lol

Lucy is getting to be a big girl. :) I should be able to breed her in the near future. Just need to weigh her and see if she's big enough for that yet. When she is, Milton will be her man.

The thing about friendly goats, is that they don't usually stay far enough away for you to get good pictures of their full body.

Unless you're trying to show off the "new" roof you put on your chicken tractor... then they need to be in the shot.

Silly Harriet! lol I put one of the broody hens in the tractor so she can hatch out some chicks, but she isn't too sure about the move... we'll see if we've wasted a clutch of eggs or not. I'm sure hoping not.
It's also nearly time to plant fruit trees!! I can't wait to get to the local garden shoppe and pick out a few fruit trees. I've already bought two female kiwi, and one male... I love the curls in the vines.

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Amazing Mold Putty

2012-03-14T14:01:00.005-07:00

Recently, I found out about a new product called Amazing Mold Putty. For a while now, I've wanted to try resins and molds, because of my friend Kerin, and her fondness for them. She's even written a book about using resin clay in art, and she's always telling me I need to try them. She thinks that resin would be a natural extension of the art I already do. I've wanted to for a while now, because I agree with her! Then, the other day, my friend Terri Sproul mentioned that there was a call for new design team members for Amazing Mold Putty on the product blog.
HOLY.
MOLY.
It's the coolest stuff ever!! When I watch the videos, I keep thinking to myself, I could USE that!!
I have so many things that I've found in my thrifting that I would LOVE to use to create something new.
I bought two of these frames,

and I've used one. I keep waiting for the perfect THING to use the second one in...
BUT!
If I used the Amazing mold putty, I could use it in an assemblage piece! I could use it all, or I have an idea to use just a piece of it in a piece with bits of tattered laces...
I've seen scrapbook pages with keys in them, and what if I used the putty to create replicas of THESE keys!?

I love the detail on them... they would look so neat on a page.
I've wanted to use this doorknob frame for ages... but it's the ONLY one I have. If I could make a mold... I'd have as many as I could make!! All it's crumbly details, and chipping paint.

I could see it on the cover of an art journal, or mixed into the base of one of my dolls...
I have vintage trinkets that I could never get another of, that I could use to create more...

Can you just see that on a new baby card!? The molds are food safe too! I could use them to make edible cupcake toppers when my sis has her first baby and I get to throw her a baby shower!
I have a bunch of doilies that I bought to use in art pieces.

I think it would be so neat to be able to make myself sturdy "stencil" templates for spray painting on art journal pages, or for using the same pretty piece over and over in collage work.
As you can see, my mind is spinning with ideas for how to use the Amazing Mold Putty.
I could use it to make crunky doll parts for art work using the vintage doll bits I've collected.
I could use the clear resin to make "glass bits" from the tons of cool jars I've got all over the house!! Think of how neat an etched piece of glass would look in an assemblage piece.

I could use it to make molds for my Creative Paperclay too!! I have used Creative Paperclay before in molds, and it works so well!
I used Creative Paperclay in a sugar skull mold to create this auction piece I made.

With the flexibility of the Amazing Putty, removing the mold from the dry clay would be a breeze!
I could create my own molds using my stamps like I did in this Creative Paperclay on my art journal page, and make stamps... textures for art journals...

Really, you're only limited by your imagination!!
I'm writing this post in hopes of being part of the design team for Amazing Mold Putty, but even if I don't make the team, I am going to have to find some near me, or order some on line, because I think the time has come. I'm hoping that this logo right here,

will end up in my sidebar saying I'm part of their team! I love working with the deadlines of a design team, and I haven't had that for a while now. I think it's the kick in the pants my creativity needs, because as you can see, I have no shortage of ideas. If not, I'mma have to get me some of this stuff and start getting crafty, because one way or another, this resin is HAPPENING man. Wish me luck!!
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Introducing:The Bucks

2012-03-10T15:13:00.005-08:00

When I started this goat adventure a year and a 1/2 ago, I never planned on having bucks. I planned to take my girls on goat dates, and have them bred off farm. Since then, I've bred my Ginger a few times, and Harriet too. Neither girls has settled, and it's been about a year since I've had milk. Turns out timing a goat date is a tricky thing, and I am not good at it. After a lot of thought about how to solve my problems with getting my does settled, I decided to bite the bullet, and purchase a buck. Since goats are herd animals, and I don't want to keep my buck with the does, I'd have to have a companion animal for him. I didn't see the point in keeping a wether. That's just a mouth to feed and nothing to get back from it, so I decided to get two bucks.
It opens up my breeding options quite a bit, as I explained HERE...
Today, I got to bring home my boys!!
Meet Milton:

Meet Calvin:

Before they came home, they got the dis-budding iron one last time, and got treated for pests, PLUS they got their ears tattooed. Calvin is a sweet heart. Snugly and loving. I'm so sad he'll be a stinky boy I don't want to pet in such a short time. Milton isn't so trusting of me. It will take some time to get him less skittish with me, but he'll come around. :) Besides, I don't really NEED him to be super friendly. Just not hard to catch.
I'm really blessed to have been able to get Calvin. His father was sired on Pholia Farm here in Oregon. Lucky me, gets to have some of the best milking bloodlines there are to be had!!
Now, if Ginger can just be pregnant from this last breeding. I'll be a happy girl.
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Postcard Perfect

2012-03-09T20:18:00.004-08:00

I'm always telling people that I feel like I live in a postcard...
When the boys and I are out and about, I'll spot a postcard scene, and shout it out.
"Postcard!"
I took a walk today with some friends, and decided to bring my camera to show you.
Old barns are everywhere...

Streams are full this time of year...

Today, it felt like summer was nearly here...

When I was out in the yard today, I heard a noise that makes my heart sing.
The wild plum tree in front of the kitchen window was alive.
You could HEAR the life in it...

The bees are out!!
I checked my wild hive... and they were buzzing about the scrag they live in! That's two winters now they've survived in that scrag.
Then I checked on my Top Bar hive...
All winter, I have checked to see if they are still inside. It's always been cold enough that when I checked on them, they were inside, moving around in a big ball of bees. It wasn't warm enough for them to be out, but they were alive, and I didn't do anything to help them. I wanted to see if they would be strong enough to survive the winter.
THEY DID!!

Look at that delicious yellow pollen on their legs!! I'm so excited to see they made it! I can't wait to break open the hive and taste their honey...
Tomorrow, I am going to pick up the bucklings! I can't wait to get them home... Harriet didn't kid on her due date, which means I missed her window of standing heat again. Having the bucks on my own property will make it so much easier to breed.
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Growing Boys

2012-02-18T14:44:00.000-08:00

An update on the cuties! They are getting big! I've got their rain cover/shelter area completed. I get to pick them up in the middle of March.
Harriet should kid at the end of this month, and because I didn't plan things very well... her due date happens to be on the day that Ian goes to state. lol Thankfully, I think I have a goat sitter that will be able to supervise.
Milton:

Cal

Thanks to Holly, from Myrtle Myst Farm for the photos!!
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Urban Farm Handbook Challenge!

2012-02-10T11:02:00.001-08:00

I just found out about the Urban Farm Handbook's challenge today, and I'm jumping in!! (you can click the image above to see what it's all about, and view the schedule, or click the image in my sidebar to see all the posts related to this challenge at Sustainable Eats) I just bought their book too. I've been wanting to for a while now...
February is soil month.
I've shared my composting system before...
but I'd also like to use my animal manure to fertilize my garden. I even have an area for spent hay to go until the chickens scratch through it, and eat up all the hay seed. Their scratching also breaks down the hay and creates an AMAZING mulch that I use on my garden. I posted about it HERE.
I also blogged about getting rabbits to supplement my soil.
The difference in just one year from natural soil improvement has been nothing short of amazing.
So are you up for a challenge? You don't have to have a farm to join... The folks hosting the challenge raise their food in the city. You can too! Get started!
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Bucklings.

2012-02-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

When I first got goats, I had no intentions of ever owning a buck, because my breeder has more than one, and they are unrelated to my does. She would like me bring my does to breed to her. Since that time, I've been TRYING to get my does settled for nearly a year now. It's not working. I'm not catching them in the prime of their heat cycles, and it's just not taking. I know it's not the bucks, because they have been busy siring plenty of babies with other does. lol
SO.
I've been considering owning my own buck. I finally decided to do it, and since goats are herd animals, and should be kept with at least one other goat, I figured it was probably smart of me to get a companion for my buck. That means a wether (a castrated male) or another buck. I didn't figure it made much sense to buy one buck, and then keep him with a goat that was really only good for eating up food.
SO.
I'm getting two bucks.
I went out to Holly's farm this week and chose the two I'm taking.
This is Milton

This is Cal. I'm trying to decide if I'm keeping his name... I'd like to keep a C name... Maybe choose a longer version of Cal for his official name...

I'll be bringing them both home in about 6 weeks. :)
It took me forever to figure out what to do for bucks...
I wanted to be sure to get bucks that would provide me with as many breeding options as I could have... Here's what I figured out.
My breeder has three bucks.

Mr. Stinky
Captain
Rocky

One of my does (Ginger) is not related to ANY of those bucks.
Two of my does (Lucy and Harriet) are daughters of Mr. Stinky.

My plan is to buy bucks from Captain and Rocky from breedings with does that are not related to my does. (there are about 2-3 does that I can buy from at my breeder's farm)
I plan to keep doelings from Harriet and Lucy when they are bred directly with Captain. (Harriet should be kidding with Captain's babies soon, and I plan to breed Lucy to Captain this year when she is a year old.)

With those breedings I will have the following options to breed:

Captain's Offspring (Cal):
Ginger
Harriet
Lucy
Doelings from Ginger's most recent breeding to Mr. Stinky (if she has them)
Any doelings from any of the above does bred with Milton.

Rocky's Offspring (Milton):
Ginger
Harriet
Lucy
Doelings from Ginger's most recent breeding to Mr. Stinky (if she has them)
Any doelings from any of the above does bred with Cal
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Good and Painty

2012-01-30T22:14:00.001-08:00

I'm actually on track for art journaling this year!!
There's a new prompt up at A Year in the Life of an Art Journal...

and I got my page done for Emily's prompt too!!

ALSO...
On Wednesday, I get to go visit my goat dealer, and look into bringing this little guy home along with one other to become my breeding bucks!

Plus, girl to boy rabbit ratio has recently changed... and now I have one buck and two does... I'm hoping baby rabbits are in the future!
Photos of those in the near future... and hopefully this year, I'll be adding Muscovy ducks to my mix.
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Blankets

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

It snowed today...
It was beautiful. There's just something about the quiet cover that a blanket of snow provides...
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Today was a weird day... feeling low.
Feeling irritated over stupid things.
Feeling sad about things I cannot change.
Somehow, the snow didn't make any of that better...
in some ways, the shut in ness of the day is... I don't know...
MORE.
Like a big fat snowball to the face.

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Remember When?

2012-01-10T16:21:00.001-08:00

I was so excited when Emily Falconbridge blogged that she was going to host journaling prompts this year!! I was even more excited that her prompts will be more about the journaling than any art per say... and so I'm going to follow a long with her, and add her journal prompts to the journal I made for A Year in the Life of an Art Journal this year.
Here is my page.

The journaling says:
When I was a little girl, I looked forward to Thanksgiving at gramma's. She used to make her table look so beautiful... I remember how she used her prettiest goblets and made her own napkin rings to match every year. I remember how even us kids got set up with pretty plates, and real glass goblets. She never fussed or seemed worried that we would break anything. She had a special way of making sure we all felt like we were her guest of honor.
The journals I made to sell are also in my etsy shop!

I also have extra filler pages and an embellishment kits! (my journals have an embellishment kit included.)
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Art Journaling 2012

2012-01-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year for me... the time when I start wrapping up preparations for A Year in the Life of an Art Journal . I have invited new guest hosts, and will be welcoming back some old ones... deciding what the theme of the year will be...
Just generally prepping for the year to come.
This year, I'm really excited about my journal. I have some ideas that I've had for a while, and this year, I'm taking the chance to share them.
I'm even getting some journals ready to sell. :) Not a lot, mind you, but a couple.
One for me, two to sell.

I'm looking forward to the fact that Emily Falconbridge is sharing some prompts this year on her blog!!
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