Strawberries

Good Afternoon.  Today the weather is fantastic.  It is great to be outside and my boys love it too.  The past three days I have been working on planting my strawberry plants.  I bought four different types, so we will have strawberries throughout the season.  I planted over 100 plants.  Until our irrigation water is turned on (which won't be until mid-April) I have to water them by hand.  Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal except that my plants are on the East side of our property and the water faucet is clear on the West side.  I have to figure out a better way of doing this task. 

Normally, I would have my garden started by now, but I have decided to wait until the irrigation water is turn on.  I just can't hand water so many things or I will get too frustrated.  It is hard for me not to get it started, but I know it is for my sanity.  My husband is going to get the garden fencing up this weekend.  So, when the water is turned on, we will be ready!

Well, time to get back to work.  Enjoy your day everyone. Bye.

Goodbye Old Tree

Wow!  What a weekend we had.  Our tree finally was cut down and it looks so strange without it.  We bought two new trees to replace the old one, but we haven't put them in the ground yet.  The man who cut down the tree told my husband that he can't believe some of the big branches hadn't fallen onto the house.  I am so relieved that big dead tree is gone.  We spent Saturday and Sunday working hard outside.  I dug holes and planted over 50 plants.  We actually worked so hard that yesterday we had to take a day off to rest our bodies. 

The chickens are doing good.  We finished their fenced area, so now they have more room to roam.  They love having all the space to look for bugs and such.  It is really fun to watch them and when one finds a bug, Sabrina isn't far away.  In the evening I have to herd them back into the hen house.  Now, that is comical because some of them starting freaking out and running around like a chicken with their head cut off (pun intended). 

Today I have 100 strawberry plants to get into the ground.  My husband prepared the ground for me, so it shouldn't be too hard to get them planted.  I hope everything greens up soon and the plants all survive.  It won't be long until we find out.  Have a great day everyone. Bye. 

Pictures

I figured it was time for me to post some pictures of the farm.  The first one is my husband putting up the fence for the chickens new free range area.  We haven't finished building it, so they haven't been able to enjoy it yet.  Hopefully, this weekend my husband will finish the door and then the chickens will be able to have more space to roam.  I already know they are absolutely going to enjoy all the space. 

Putting up the chicken fence



 This next picture is of our two dogs.  The big black one is Oliver.  The small brown one is Sam.  They enjoy the farm and have adapted very well.  Oliver likes to greet everyone that walks by our house.  Finally, I think they are getting used to seeing him run up to them.  He is a pretty big dog and people are often afraid of him, but it doesn't take long to learn he is very gentle.  Sam on the other hand has quite the opposite personality.  He thinks he is a big dog, but really is my midget.  He likes to bark at everyone who walks by our house and chase them down the road. 


Oliver and Sam

  The third picture is looking toward the East.  This is where we are adding more lawn for the boys and beyond the lawn will be our garden.  My husband turned over the land where the garden will be last weekend.  We will finish tilling the garden and making the rows this weekend (weather permitting).  Hopefully, I will get some plants and seeds in the garden next week.  I can hardly believe it is already time to plant.  Well, enjoy the weekend.  Bye.


Looking East





Plants, Trees and Vines

Good Morning.  Finally, we have sun shining today and so far no wind.  Some of my plants that I ordered online arrived yesterday.  They tell you to plant them as soon as you can, but we won't be able to get them in the ground until this weekend.  Most of the plants actually look like they are going to do just fine, but some of the vines I ordered I am a bit skeptical.  They literally sent me sticks.  They have a one year guarantee, so at least if they don't grow I can get my money back.  I will have to post a picture of the before and after of theses vines in about 6 weeks. 

My chickens are doing great.  We actually got a half a dozen eggs the other day.  It is pretty fantastic to eat your own eggs from your own chickens.  My husband and I were just talking last night about how neat it is to raise and grow our own food.  It is so fulfilling and nice to know where your food is coming from.  My family teases us because we buy almost all organic food.  But, once you learn what is in the "regular" food it doesn't take long to convert.  I have two young boys to take care of and putting food in their little bodies that is free of pesticides and preservatives is vital to their health. 

This morning me and my boys are going to buy some trees.  This weekend (weather permitting) we are getting our big ugly tree cut down and I want shade locust trees to put in its place.  Have a good day everyone. Bye.

What a windy day

The weather hasn't exactly been cooperating the past several days.  We were supposed to get our tree cut down on Friday, but it rained too much.  So, now we have to wait until next weekend.  It has been really windy this weekend, so that makes it hard to work outside.  I am not a big fan of wind, it sends me indoors more often than not.  On a positive note it allowed me to do some deep cleaning in the house today. 

My husband built a fenced area for the chickens so that they can got outdoors and enjoy nature.  We buried the fence underground so we don't have to worry about dogs, raccoons or any other predator getting in.  These are some spoiled chickens, let me tell you.  They are so much fun though and I just love that we got chickens.  The day before yesterday we got five eggs.  That is the most we have received in one day.  They are starting to do their job and do it well.

I will post some pictures this week of the work we have done.  I should say the work my husband has done...I use the term "we" loosely.  Things are looking great and I am so excited for summer. Bye.

This and That

What a week we have had here on the farm.  We have been doing all sorts of projects and everything is starting to come together.  Finally, I can visualize how things are really going to look here.  The gravel truck just arrived and the boys are having fun watching him dump out the rocks along our driveway.  Our driveway is pretty much dirt and so when it rains, it turns into mud.  Kids, dogs and a husband with mud isn't the best way to keep my house clean.  So, gravel down is going to be great to cut out a lot of mud and dirt.

We are adding more sprinklers and other irrigation around the house.  We got that trenched and my husband is getting the pipe glued together before he puts it underground.  We are adding more lawn for the kids and for the chickens.  We are also putting up fencing for the garden and the chickens this week.  I have to get my garden ready to go in the next couple of weeks.  Some vegetables are ready to go in the ground and that is so exciting. 

I will post some pictures this weekend when we get some more work done, so you can see what we have been up to this week.  It will also explain why I haven't posted a blog in five days! Well, off I go.  Enjoy the day and Happy St. Patty's Day to everyone. 

Burn Baby Burn

Well, another fantastic day of weather.  Low 60's and we are getting hot working outside.  Today was a good day to burn our huge pile of weeds.  Where we live you can purchase a burn permit from the local fire department for $10 and burn weeds, ditches, fields, etc.  So, over the winter we have been creating a pile of weeds to burn and we finally did it today.  It is still smoldering, but the initial blaze was quite something. 


As we clean up around outside we have been finding so many bugs.  The great part is chickens love bugs, so we have been collecting them throughout the day and then tossing them into the coop.  The hens manage to get most of the bugs before the rooster even has a chance.  The egg production is still down since we added more hens to the mix, but we are still getting one or two a day.  Well, have a great weekend everyone. Bye.

The Clan

Our hens have stopped laying eggs since we added more chickens to the family.  Hopefully, that doesn't last too long.  I might actually have to buy some eggs from the store if they don't start laying again soon.  These birds make me smile and laugh every day.  It is so funny how they get used to a schedule.  I give them fresh water and scratch each morning.  They see me come outside and they all come running to the fence waiting for their treat.  Laverne and Shirley are completely aware of what I am doing.  They always come over to me no matter if I have food or not.  Our rooster was crowing yesterday afternoon while me and the boys were outside.  My youngest son starting joining in with the cock-a-doodle-do.  It is such a great sound to hear and reminds me how wonderful it is to live on a farm.  Sabrina is still louder than the rooster and she definitely tries to remain the leader, but Max won't have any of that. 



Max...our rooster



The Clan



Next week we are going to make the hen house a lot bigger and fence in an area for them to "free range" during the day.  It will be nice for them to have more space and be able to search for bugs and any other grub they enjoy.  Now that we have the rooster it is nice to know the hens have someone taking care of them.  If our dachshund decides to get into the coop now, he will be the one getting tackled.  Well, I better get busy with some house chores before we head outside for the day.  Bye.

This old house

The rain is gone and the sun is shining.  However, the rain made the leak in our breakfast nook worse.  I can only imagine what it looks like in the ceiling.  I told my husband the other day that if we could see in between the walls of this house we would run.  This old house has issues, but it has so much character.  I love that about old houses, there are just so many stories caught up in them.  I am on a mission to put shelves up everywhere I can.  I need more storage space and shelves are an easy solution.  It's not on our list of things to spend money on this year, but I have to add it on because I am going crazy with the lack of space.  It shouldn't cost a lot of money, so we will have to just go for it. 

Our chickens are all doing good together.  I am still a little freaked about the rooster, but as we get to know each other it is getting better.  I talk to him through the chicken wire a few times a day so he gets to know me and be okay with my presence.  I want him to look at me as his Mom, not an enemy.  So far he seems more scared of me than I am of him, hopefully that feeling remains.  We have four new hens and their names are...Rosa, Lucy, Ruby and Sally.  Now, if I can remember nine names it will be a miracle.  One of the new hens looks exactly like Sabrina, so my oldest son calls her the other Sabrina.  I will get a picture today of all of them and post it on my next blog. 

As this month continues on it means we are that much closer to planting our garden.  My husband is going to take next week off of work so we can get the ground ready for planting.  Also, next week we are getting a big 100 year old cottonwood tree cut down.  It is near our house and most of it is dead.  It is massive, so that is going to be a project.  I am excited to get rid of that tree and plant some new ones around the deck.  So, lots going on for us from here on out.  Time to soak in some sun. Bye.

Cock-a-doodle-do

Good Morning-

The weekend was pretty uneventful.  The weather wasn't great for working outside, so it allowed us to be a bit lazy.  I realize however, that is okay and we deserve a lazy weekend here and there.  We decided we needed to get more hens, so yesterday my husband went and got some more layers from the same lady we bought the first five.  He came home with four more layers and a rooster, yes, a rooster.  The rooster is huge, I mean gigantic.  His feet are as big as my hands...and I have to admit he freaks me out a bit.  I have read stories about roosters going after their owners to display their dominance.  Well, I am not too excited about that idea.  The lady said he is a calm rooster, but I still can't get over his size and I picture him flying up at my face with those claws.  I will get over it and who knows, maybe he will become my new best friend and I will laugh thinking back to ever being scared of him.  My oldest son named our rooster Max. I think that is a great name.  We still have to name the four other hens and I will let you know what we decide.

Every time the UPS man drives near our house, my heart drops.  I am afraid my plants that I ordered are going to arrive before I am ready.  We are getting things ready, but we have a long way to go before we are ready for our shipment.  If the plants arrive before we are ready, our garage is going to become their temporary home.  Let's hope we are ready before they arrive.

Today equals another lazy day since it is raining.  However, the sun is supposed to show himself later this week, so I will just rest myself until he decides to join us again. 

Deer, Oh Dear

This week (and it's only Wednesday) I have been working a lot outside.  I am tired, sore and feeling overwhelmed.  There is so much work that needs to be done on our land.  To get it to look how it looks in my head is going to take a very long time.  I tend to get impatient and want to get things done now.  Never mind that if I wait a day or two, my husband can get all his toys out and take about one hour what would take me three days.  So, my impatience creates a sore and tired woman...who later realizes she should step back and wait for the weekend.  Too little too late for my body! 

We have a bunch of trees not on our land but our neighbors behind us.  I have witnessed a few deer over the past few months.  The first time was at night letting my dog out to do his business.  I heard a noise and glanced over and saw something running away.  Granted it was dark out, but they passed by a light and deer are so graceful in their movement, that I knew it just had to be deer.  I saw one or two a few weeks after that early in the morning.  So, the reason I am telling you this story is because I have been telling my husband that we have deer living near us.  He kept telling me that I was seeing things or it was just one passing through.  But, I knew they were living in the trees behind us.  I told him we have to make sure we plan out our garden so it is deer proof...unless we don't want any vegetables.  Again, he tells me oh no, we don't need to do that.  Well, this morning I witnessed at least 20 deer running into the trees behind our house. AHA...I knew it.  I immediately texted my husband at work to tell him the news.  I of course had to rub it in, wouldn't you?

My chickens are doing good and I found out their ailments are normal.  The Vet told me that they can fight about food and that causes them to loose their nails or their beaks can chip.  So, nothing serious I just have to keep an eye on them.   When ever I bring them out a special treat I definitely notice they get more aggressive.  Especially Sabrina, she actually comes charging at me to get the goods first.  Well, it is late and I feel as though I am not making sense, so off to bed I go.  Goodnight all!

The biggest loser

Well, we didn't win the ugliest bathroom contest.  I figured we wouldn't, but it sure would have been nice.  So, fixing the bathroom stays on our list, our long list of to-do's.  Our previous home had so much closet and storage space and this old farm house has none.  I feel like I am surrounded by stuff all the time.  I can't seem to put it anywhere, so it gets shuffled from here to there.  We need to make better use of the space we do have and we need to do that soon. 

Sabrina finally laid an egg yesterday.  We were outside most of the morning and she was chattering away, even my oldest son asked me what she was talking about.  Well, not long after she was up on a nest box.  She was there for a couple of hours and finally she left an egg.  She must of figured out she was going to be dinner and decided she better pull her weight. 

More warm days this week, so we will be working outside getting the land ready for planting and gardening.  It won't be long and my huge shipment of plants and trees will arrive, so I have to get the prep work done now.  I enjoy working outside...I sure wish it was warm here more days.  The sun is shining, so time to pull myself together so I can get outside.