Sunday is Just Another Day

Up at 4:30 outside at 5:00 to hay the goats. Started a batch of soap and started laundry to wash. 

The cheese I set last night is ready to drain. 

Shade cloth up but I ran out of zip ties. 

Found a chain for the gate. 

Hung out the pile of udder washing rags I washed earlier 

Took hay to my buck Bentley who is staying at my friends house for now. He got a hoof trim while I was there. Realized I was missing a meeting at work. Went anyway because I need zip ties. Meeting was over of course. Realized I had no cash and new debit card hadn’t arrived yet. So go home for $, go back and also get feed. 

On the way home. It’s not even 10:00 am. It was actually reading 100 down on the highway. 

Check on goats. Got a big piece of tin off the back of the pen so they have more airflow. Water goats and chickens while I’m out there. 

Get to taste a White Marseilles fig for the first time. Yummy. Thomas Jefferson brought them to the US from France. 

Finished this batch of soap. Unscented with colloidal oatmeal. 

Check weather. Supposed to rain next weekend. But we have already exceeded the predicted high for today by several degrees. 

Afternoon heat check. Chocolate (in back) and Gazelle are fine. I have decided to move Gazelle along so message me if you want to know more. 

Got the chèvre draining. 

Put away all the milk things I washed last night. 

Had toast and cheese for lunch. 

Went out and checked on everyone again, filled up water buckets, wet down shade cloth and of course played with baby goats. 

Feed & water chickens, pick up eggs. Get ready to milk. Midnight’s udder feels hard so I coax her the milk stand by carrying her twins. So then Chocolate and Gazelle are yelling because they want to go too. Midnight has the tiniest teats ever!  They’ll get bigger but it was hard to get much milk out of her. She did super standing for her first milking and after they went back to their pen her boys were nursing. I hope that relieved some pressure. I’ll check her again in the morning. 

Bambi is last in the milking line and I decided to move her and Bashful in together in the new pen. Bambi isn’t very nice to Esmarelda, always butting her around. I’m afraid if Storm and her kids get in the way the kid would get hurt. Anyway took some coaxing and manipulating with a pan of grain to get Bashful in. Bambi immediately began yelling and testing the fence and gate. Cross my fingers I did a good enough job. 

I grabbed my clippers and trimmed some tree branches to give them something to do. But there was still a lot of yelling even past dark. On the other hand Storm and Esmarelda didn’t seem too concerned that Bambi didn’t come back to their pen. 

By the time I brought the milk in the house it was going on full dark. So I filtered milk, washed up all the milk things, a few people dishes, got a bath and went to bed. 

Been a long hot week

The flowers are picking up

Okra

Picked the first Trombonccino plus Armenian cucumber, zucchini and patty pan

Seeds planted are popping up

Made some yogurt 

Posie gave me bit of a scare with some super rapid breathing. It was a super hot afternoon like 110 very humid and no breeze at all. She was much better when it finally cooled down and the next evening was her usual trouble making self. 

With the heat plus the heavy rain a couple weeks ago I’m seeing signs of coccidiosis in some chicks. Most are doing ok but these two are down. Giving some milk and hope they make it. 

The flies oh man the flies. I have about 25 fly traps out right now and they aren’t even making a dent. This trap has only been up about 48 hours. And it’s not just me, apparently the whole state has issues. 

Mr coyote comes by every afternoon. The red arrows point him out. 

First tarantula of the season

#appreciation

Today I appreciate the much cooler temperatures 

10/10/19 the days work

Little chick is doing better so back to the coop. 

Time for grit for all the pens and oyster shell for the layers. 

Even little chicks need grit to properly digest their food. 

I added holes around the side of the bucket for making compost extract. I also put in less compost so it wasn’t so heavy when wet. 

The bucket with compost inside the barrel. Add water and stir. 

After sitting a bit and a lot of stirring to keep it oxygenated take it out and pour around plants. 

Theses radishes got some today. They are not as dark a green as I’d like to see. 

Time to clean coops. 

And make a new compost pile. 



Mmmmmm. I’d say not all of my sexed pullets are pullets! That one on the right is a cockerel while that’s a pullet to the left. 

Time to get some stuff out of the van. 

Found an old fence panel to cover the last gap. Now to wait for blue stake to mark the gas line so I can set the other post for the driveway gates. Almost there just keep on trucking. 

Spent the afternoon taking Giotto to the vet for his ear infection. It started in his right ear but now it’s in his left. 

Dropped Giotto off at home and went to the grocery store. Then home to do chores. Look a little silkie eggs. Not sure who’s laying in that pen. By the way the white cockerel, a black cockerel with a single comb and the 4 partridge are for sale.  Not show quality (poor crests and red faced) but nice pets or showmanship birds. 

And now it’s time for food and bed. 

6/25/18 The Days Work

Sunday's Eggs

I have an abundance of eggs right now. I was too tired Sunday to sort and date them so did them this morning. Then out to do chores.

I mixed some concrete and lugged it by the bucket load up the hill to stabilize some of the fence posts. You don't normally cement in T-posts but a lot of this hill is shifty and unstable so I'm cementing some of them in so they don't wash out. I originally wanted a pen 50x100 feet but about 40 feet up the slope it got even steeper. I think it will end up being about 40x80-90 feet. Once done I can move the extra chickens and the dogs home from my mom's place.

Pineapple Sage

I managed to get the Pineapple Sage potted on into bigger pots. They are not always winter hardy here so I keep them potted so I can protect them in the winter. When I raised rabbits I would grind older ones up with fatty pork for sausage and used Pineapple Sage to season them, a light sage flavor with fruity tones.

Pandorino tomato

Some of the cherry size tomatoes are almost ready, much much later than last year!

some of the chicks

I have chicks of all sizes and ages. From hatched yesterday to almost 4 months old.

making jelly

I spent the morning mostly watering and moving hoses around. Then after lunch I made prickly pear jelly which never jelled. So it's just syrup. That's the second time that recipe has not worked. Will try a different recipe tomorrow.

A little Catch Up

Plum Purple Radish from Baker's Creek

I  see I haven't posted in months. No sense trying to catch up, will just go forward. Several beds of large radishes have come and gone. Very popular with many of my customers.

spinach

Spinach is always a big hit. Too bad I can't grow it in the summer time. Spinach is a very cool weather crop. Once we hit 80 degrees it just wants to make flowers and seed. Also the seed won't even sprout at that temperature, it's too hot.

new potatoes

This years potato crop was very poor. We had almot no rain and the ground is dry as dust.

Buff Orpington and Black Copper Marans chicks

I've hatched lots of chicks, some hatching today and one more hatch due July 3.

cactus flowered dahlia

To my surprise some of the dahlias I grew from seed last year survived the winter in the ground and in pots and are blooming now. I see buds on some others.

tomato almost ready

There have been a couple of ripe tomatoes, but not enough to take to market.

elephant garlic

The garlic harvet was also dissapointing. It is probably only half the weight it could have been. Again, lack of winter rain is to blame.

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