Saturday Around the Farm

Today we were up early.  PH went out hunting with the help of our pup Duke.  We picked Duke up off the street thinking he was a Rott pup, but while he may have a smidge of Rott, he is more likely some kind of cow dog.  He is great at herding the goats.  We didn't even train him.  He's also a great tracker, and loves to follow PD#1 when she goes off on horseback.  He's kind of a fluffy looking short of Rott.  I'll try and take a picture and post it here, and if anyone can tell me what they think he might be that would be awesome!

Anyway, we basically hung around the house today.  I let the Freedom Rangers out of their tractor today (only 4 weeks left to butchering) to well...free range ;-)  They didn't like it too much, they stayed close to the barn, though a few followed me around most of the day, and I kept stepping on them.

The main flock of chickens, my egg layers, love to hang out around the pond.  I guess they find a lot of food there.  I took a few pictures of them today, and will post them below.

The Ladies Out for a Walk (the blonde ones are Buff Orps, and the others are Americaunas)

This is our BIG rooster Patton and his wife

 Patton is a Rhode Island Red (dad/Buff Orp X (Mama).  He is HUGE!  His daddy was HUGE, so he definitely took after his daddy, but he is odd man out.  All the girls like Napoleon.  He has way better manners when it comes to "courting".  Patton is more of an ambush kind of guy.  Patton only has one hen that likes him.  This one is a black sex link that we were given.  She had a sister, but she didn't make it.  This hen stays by his side, where the other hens RUN when they see him coming.  They hide behind Napoleon. 

Napoleon - our banty rooster - dad to Buff Jumper

Buff Jumper (Banty/Buff Orp X)

Buff Jumper is about the same size as his dad.  I guess the rooster genes are stronger in our chicks. We hatched out Patton and Buff Jumper in our incubator. 

Here is a picture of Molly, our Charloais heifer calf.  She follows me around at night when it's feeding time.  She is very quiet, and waits her turn.  Her best friends are the pigs.  It's like they are family or something.  If she is grazing and looks up and they are gone, she panics.  She calls them and they come running, or she runs to find them.  It's pretty hilarious to see a scared calf looking for her pigs.

Molly

PH began the next step of the house, and was able to purchase about 8 plywood boards for the roof. We'll need to save up more money to keep enough to finish the front slope.  Once that is done, PH will ask a friend to come help him, as heights are not PH's strong suit.

PS#2 "helping" Daddy unload the few boards we bought

 Nothing exciting going on today just cleaning and laundry.  Made Venison steak for dinner, and am off to make cookies now.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Water, water everywhere

We have water!  I am so excited!  PH opted to not repair the wiring on the previous pump.  Our old pump was a 7.5 hp irrigation pump that was here when we purchased the property (almost 4 years ago).   I've been wanting a way to get the water out of the well if our grid electricity went out.  We have a generator, but the old pump needed way too much electricity (amps) and our generator couldn't provide it.  So, PH (relunctantly) replaced the old pump with a 1.5 hp deep well pump that we can operate off the generator, if needed.

We will work on the non-electric aspect of getting water out of the pump, hopefully soon.  So, PH spent this evening flushing the tank, because the initial batch of water that was pumped into the tank smelled really bad.  Smells like sulphur, and when we would drink it, it tastes like when you touch a metal fork to a filling.  Pretty gross.  The water in the tank was emptied into the pond tonight, and filled with fresh water.  Tomorrow PH will replace the water filter here in the house, and we hope this takes care of the issue.  I am moving up the Berkey filter purchase closer to the top of the list.

I've been able to wash lots of clothes today, and hung most on the clothesline.  But due to rain in the forecast tonight, put the last load in the dryer (PH work uniforms). 

PDs and I also went through a ton of clothing today, and have a huge stack of clothes to get rid of, and one to put into a tub for winter clothing.  Washed sheets for the beds, and the girls cleaned out their loft.  I was able to wash dishes, mop the floors, and clean the bathroom as well.

On the list for tomorrow is cleaning out the fridge, finishing the kitchen, making Wild Mustang Grape Jelly, organizing the outdoor kitchen, cleaning the living area and decluttering lots of stuff, plus continuing with the laundry.  The PDs will be picking up trash around the land, and cleaning up the playground. 

Our chicks are scheduled to hatch tomorrow (13th of August), and tonight PD#1 heard a little peep, at first I thought it was the tea kettle, but when I opened the incubator, sure enough one egg has a cracked little hole!  I picked it up and heard a peep!  We are so excited.  We have a dozen eggs in the incubator and it'd be great if they all hatched, or at least most of them.  I wasn't sure our little banty rooster was doing his job.  My girls (hens) are bigger than he is, one is a Rhode Island Red and the other three are Buff Orpingtons.

I checked on purchasing additional hens and a rooster yesterday.  They were beautiful, but the gentleman was asking $25 a bird.  That is way too rich for my blood.  On the positive side, these people are fully aware of the potential problems looming ahead.  My first group of people in "main stream" society who have it going on.  They have two RVs, where family members have moved in with them.  They are raising chickens to sell for income, and have a huge yard (1 acre) to be able to grow a garden, and could even have a couple of goats.  I mentioned that to them, and the lady said it was in their plans.  I was very pleased to see "someone" waking up to what is going in the world around us.