come back chickens

we have finally got our chicken able to free range around the property. But this morning the kids forgot to open the gate that leads to our property. So shortly this morning, they had all gone under the fence to the adjoining property. I sure hope they find their way home!

plum jam

If there is one thing my family eats a lot of, it's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was given 2 huge sacks of plums from a lady in town. So I decided to make a freezer full of jam that we could eat on all year. It turned out delish and it's comforting to know that my kids will be eating one less processed food.

grasshoppers

I've been working on growing a few starter plants for my garden. The second I put the fragile seedlings outside, they immediately get eaten by grasshoppers. I put mesh over the pots and dusted with sulfur to no avail. About to try planting number 4. After some research I will try barrier plants of cilantro, as well as a garlic oil spray.... Please please please work.... Btw I love watching my chickens devour those pests by the beak full !!

stove update

just spent 2 days cleaning my vintage propane stove. And all the burners lit, I was so excited. The igniter tried to light the oven, and poof... Electrical fire. Nothing huge, just enough to melt the wires and my heart!

clothes line

everwhere we have ever lived has prohibited clothes lines. I hung my first loads of laundry just now. It feels great to conserve energy!!

guinea fowl

ordered us 4 guinea fowl keets from a local breeder. I've never actually seen one before, but I know they are effective at guarding for snakes and intruders. I can't wait till they hatch and we can pick them up!

propane

so apparently there is a differance between a natural gas stove and a propane one. Lol... I actully found a free one on craigs list. It's like 25 years old. It needs some serious cleaning... Guess what i'm doing today.

one of those days

our injured chicken died this morning shortly after we woke up. The sadest part was we were all there checking on him, then all of a sudden he started flapping his wings furiously. Mind you he hadn't moved a muscle since the attack. Feathers were flying everywhere, then nothing. The look on my daughter's face when she realized he wasn't better, but dead... I will never forget.
Also the egg in the pasture mysteriously was cracked....and a huge rock laying next to it.... But it was a bad egg anyhow, just wonder what laid it... Guess i'll never know.

poor chicken

last night the nieghbors dog got a hold of one of my chickens. My heart dropped as I walked over there to his limp, seemingly dead body. But he was still alive. I picked him up and examened his body and there were no bite marks or blood. But his body still was lifeless like a rag doll. I originally just put him in the coop to recover,but the other chicken started to peck him. So I got a small cage and filled it with hay and made a bed for him. Before I went to bed I used one of my children's medicine seringes to give him water. He seemed very thankful. This morning there was no change. He hadn't moved, just still laying limp on his side. But I gave him a little more water. I even caught a grasshopper for him to eat, but he was uninterested. I'll check on him through out the day. I hope he makes it.

egg discovery

I found an egg in the pasture this morning. It is all white and larger than a chicken egg. It also feels like there is something in it. My first thought was to incubate whatever it is. But then I thought it might hatch a family of snakes or something. So I left it to nature to figure it out. I'll just keep a watchful eye on it... Can't wait to see what kind of animal comes out.

derserving dog

I walked the over grown pasture right at dusk, my dog came with me (as he always does) to protect me. I really do feel safe with him leading the way! When we reached the bottom I told him it was time to head home, he bounced over all the wild flower patches and underbrush, he looked like a deer going through the forest. I didn't even know a dog could move so gracefully through so many obsticles. He sat and waited for me at the gate. And he looked so happy. I thought he really deserves this new found freedom as much as we do!

hand made loading dock

so the front of the property has a small hill down to the road. My husband dug out a loading dock on the side of the hill. It made it so much easier to load up the lawnmower and I'm sure we will need some easy loading in the future. We keep saying we are going to let the land dictate what will be done, and it was like it was always there. Cool.

chicken peck

the chickens peck my diamond ring everytime I go in the coop to feed them. I swear if they eat one off, we'll be eating chicken for dinner! I'll get it back some way or another...lol

stupid lawnmower

my husband took apart the lawnmower last night and replaced the parts he thought was wrong, but it's still not working right. Guess we are going to take it to someone.

chickens were in a mood.

wow. The chickens liked the bugs the kids collected so much, they were practicly attacking! My son was bending down to get a bug out, and one pecked his face. Man I thought it got his eye... Lesson learned... Don't crouch down in the chicken coop!!

fun for the kids!

I got an old coffee can for the kids to catch bugs and save them to feed to the chickens tonight. The kids are happy and busy :)

wow, I can't believe that we moved to the farm a week ago! Moving is no fun!! I think what I miss most is the starbucks! The farm is definitely starting to feel like home. At night we sit on the porch and you can hear a pack of coyotes howling, turkeys, raccoon, and something I don't recognise. Although we are still unpacking a mountain of boxes, we have managed to buy 13 baby bantam chickens to start us on our way of being self sustainable. We converted an old animal shelter into a coop. (the same day we bought them) and then we built a little run for them. I figure once they get to know us we'll let them roam free. We also bought our first lawnmower. Yep you read that right, we kept our lawn short with a weedeater @ our last home. We bought it used, drove about 4 laps around the yard and it died. Guess we will have to learn how to be mechanics too. I've been watching small engine repair videos on you tube... Lol Our future plan is to develop a pick your own pumpkin patch and also have our family be totally self sustained. Thanks for following! Ps- difficulty in finding utility service out here has lead me to use my cell phone for internet. Haven't quite figured out how to post photos yet, but I will post lots once I figure it out!