Catching up

Wow, how to catch up from an 11 day blogging block? I've had 596 things running circles in my mind these last couple weeks to write about, but everytime I've sat down to actually do it- nada. I have, however, enjoyed reading all your blog updates! Keep 'em coming. :)

I will start by saying that a dear friend of mine is promoting our products on her blog! What a sweet, special, gifted lady she is. With a brand new, fresh little baby in her arms to boot! Number 10! Stop by her blog at http://www.septembermccarthy.blogspot.com/  and you're sure to be blessed! Also, if you have checked out our products pages and are discouraged to find that many of them are out of stock, take heart! They sit curing as I type and will be ready in 2-4 weeks. Check back, please! If you'd like to reserve a bar or 10, leave a comment, or send me an email! I'd be glad to set some aside. This is our first foray, if you will, into the small business world and I never really imagined that the original 200-some bars would sell out in the first two weeks. :) The soaps must cure for 5-6 weeks before use, so it takes a bit of time to make up for such a quick sell-out. Thank you to all who have ordered so far! Don't forget about our wonderful salves. Scrubs and goat's milk lotion are in the works :)

The past couple weeks have gone a little something like this:

Our sweet Charlotte turned 1! Here she is loving her cake. Really, what child of mine doesn't love cake?

What a treasure.

And what to my wandering eyes did appear?

Garlic! Spring is here :)

Trampoline jumping, mud-crawling, nature hiking, wheelbarrow lounging, school with pull-ups on our heads...

you know, the usual.

For my birthday two days ago, I requested from Joe a grow light system. Cause really, what 33 yr old woman doesn't want her some grow lights? More on that later... :)

And, our Connor will turn 12 this weekend. Birthdays really are wonderful things, even so close together!

I know I must be leaving some things out. So we'll catch up later.

Be blessed and have a great weekend!

Elizabeth

Win Some, Lose Some

I couldn't believe it when I ventured out to the coop this morning.

Here is what we found...

I had to rub my eyes and look again. Can't say that I've ever been so excited over two eggs before.  The sight of these brown beauties brought a song to my heart.

Corny, but true.

And since it has been almost two months without eggs from our hens, that makes these particular eggs rather expensive little eggs. We shall call them delicacies. All frugality aside, 

I will enjoy them with a smile on my face. And... we even got another tonight!

Oh, it's the simple things, eh?

But...

(refer now to the title of this post). For right about the time I was doing a happy dance around my eggs, I looked down to see a chicken laying dead in the corner of the coop. Mauled by something. I'll spare you the details, so very unfortunate. But I am thankful this particular predator was only feeling hungry for one hen and not 9 last night.

 This evening, my diligent husband set out not one, but two, live animal traps. Sardines lay stinking waiting inside them. I'm hoping Mr. Mink, or Foe Fox, or Rowdy Raccoon has a hankering for canned fish tonight rather than chicken cutlet...

"The Lord giveth and the Lord has taken away" ?

(Job 1:21)

Do chickens and eggs count?

Have a great weekend

Turkey, Anyone?

While I'd like to pretend that my life is uber-exciting every day, some days the most exciting happenings are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Exciting, for sure, if your are a foodie like me, but I don't count vegetable peeling, soup stirring, milk spilling, bread rising, children whining (I don't like thiiiisssss...) altogether the adventures I'd like to relay through this blog any more than you care to read about them. Quite frankly, though, that is all that has gone on here the last two days.
Oh, there were cookies baked by Connor and his younger sisters (Good!), chicken coop cleaning (still no eggs), some wood stacking (happy to say we should have enough to burn full-time next winter), snowman making (and destroying), a snowball fight in the dark between the boys and their Dad (always fun), and still pampering the baby who has a lingering cough and runny nose. She has been up frequently at night the last several days, so I've not been at 100% either. Ok. I've been grumpy, whiny, and generally unpleasant. Yuck. I'm sure you other moms know how unfortunate this is for the rest of the family, as everyone seems to take on the same attitude as mom. Double yuck.

 I am excited to report though that we are getting our soaps made and ready for sale by early Spring! Dandelion's Acre will offer goat milk soaps, yummy body scrubs and organic herbal salves. All of our products are 100% natural, made with the highest quality ingredients such as raw goat's milk (but of course), coconut oil, mango butter and pure essential oils. Just in time for your Spring Easter baskets and Mother's Day goodies. We'll be making a product page off this blog, so check back often!

In other exciting news, we are checking on a momma Alpine and her two kids. Even if this sale does not pan out, our goat barn will not be empty much longer, I can feel it!
 Deciding which breed of turkeys to order,

 
Standard Bronze, or...




Giant White. What would your preference be ? ;) Can not wait to see these big beauty's gobbling around the farmyard.

Other spare moments have been spent perusing seed catalogs. Yeah! My fingers are aching to dig in the dirt again, and my mouth watering for homegrown peas and tomatoes and greens, oh my!

And now, someone is crying and someone is yelling, and so this blog mom must depart. What's occupying your time these days?

A Girl Can Dream...

Saw this advertised today: 10.6 Acre Farm with Spacious 3 Story Farmhouse Spring Water, Views ~and it sure got my mind reeling with all sorts of excitements.
"Plenty of space for gardening and self sustained farming.
3 Post clothesline" Yes, even a 3 post clothesline is exciting to me. It goes on to say how the property is fenced, with a 108 stall barn and milk room!! Possibility for 8 bedrooms in the house! It just got my heart a-pounding. Pounding because unbelievably it is ~almost~ in our price range. But almost is not enough today. IF it were mine and IF I had a bit more time, money and know-how, it would be turned into a goat dairy with a few angora goats and sheep thrown in for fiber. Oh, and let's not forget some pleasure ponies for riding on the trails of the state forest it borders. Oh my. While I DO have faith that someday this may all be quite possible, and I realize it is OK to dream, today the only thing I need to concentrate on are the responsibilities I am currently endowed with. And they are many.  A wise person once told me that if I want to go big someday, I must first perfect small. Working on this... And so, my plans for this humble acreage in the year 2011- however long it takes us to find our "real" farm, include: 1. growing a garden large enough to actually have a considerable amount leftover to can, freeze, or dehydrate. And to be able to can, freeze, dehydrate enough to last throughout winter. This may be somewhat ambitious as I've only been able to can and freeze mere scant amounts in the past. But nonetheless, a goal. 2. To acquire more dairy goats and have them pay for themselves in what they produce for us. A profit would be nice in future years, but realize that is not realistic at first. 3. A weanling pig or two to grow for meat? (Shhhh, don't tell my husband, or my neighbors for that matter ;)) Plan to help grow them with excess goat's milk (excellent for growing pigs, I've heard). 3. Raise 2-3 turkeys and approx. 10-20 meat chickens. Which would mean- 4. Learning to butcher turkeys and chickens . 5. At least get the darn hens to start laying for us again. (a very short term goal, I might add). I think that is plenty 'nough to keep me busy this year. We'll also be constructing either cold-frames or a grow light system to start our garden plants with. Any advice on which you prefer?

I'll leave you today with a few pics of the country kids (sorry for the weird format, still figuring out how to do this) and one of my favorite verses (which was a good one for today):  "I have learned to be content." Phil. 4:11

That would be the "farm toad" Cricket on Charlotte's head



Brenna with our first buckling "Theodore"

 

I love this one. Brenna is such a good helper :)



 


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Our First Egg '05