Just another manic Monday

 I love that song. And I love Mondays. Always have. I had a productive day. I made privet jelly. 15 half pint jars. I had picked the flowers and made the juice a week ago. Finally got around to make the jelly today. It smells just like the flowers and tastes really good. I am pleased with it. Now I am wondering if people who have allergies from privet should eat this jelly?

I made 33 of the smallest canning jars of plantain salve yesterday. I made it in the crock pot. It all turned out really nice and solid. I really love this salve. It's great for all kinds of bug and any bites and bee stings and itches. Also great to put on tick bites. Good stuff.

And a few weeks ago I had infused plantain leaves in olive oil to use in a castille soap. Which I finally made today.It's so pretty and white with a hint of green. This will take 8 weeks to cure/ I like castille soap. It's rich and creamy.

Here is the soap I made with the lard from pigs I raised. It's a summer citrus scent with orange, lemon and lime EO's and orange zest. It smells amazing!

I made just 4 bars of Sandalwood for my friend who disbuds my goat kids.

Here's Heather and Kansas, on the lawn, having a nice little relaxing time together under the shade tree.

I always wanted Red bud trees here. This is the biggest tree and there is another little tiny one in my rock garden. I got them from my mom's yard. I need more.

I also mowed most of the yard and front by the road. And washed a load of clothes and hung them out on the lines. My favorite thing to do is wash my sheets and hang them out on a sunny day. Then when I get in bed, it's the most wonderful smell and I sleep like a baby!

The lady who wanted Ella Belle has decided to not get her. I am a little upset, but I'll try to put them all on CL. And my friend who was supposed to get the pigs didn't come this morning. It was raining. So I  hope he comes tomorrow. And I had a call from some strange person about the chickens. I was just going out to check the bees and had the smoker going and my mom was just leaving and hit the fence. And I, like a dummy, answer my stupid phone. And I couldn't understand them so I told them to call back later. They were asking all kinds of stupid questions. They did call back but I didn't answer the phone. Please tell me I am not the only one who has done this? I will not sell any animals to people who don't know anything about them. Like how big does a Cornish Cross meat bird get? Come on.

I had a call Saturday from a lady who said her daughter wanted a lamb. I knew right away I would never sell her A lamb. I told her sheep like to be with other sheep and she'd need more than 1. She said that would be fine. And did she want a hair sheep or a wool sheep? She said it didn't seem that hard to cut the wool off a sheep. No, I will not sell anything to her either. Sorry. It takes all kinds, I suppose.

I was going to make elderberry jelly too. But when I went out to pick the flowers, they weren't all the way opened. So I'll wait til they are all the way opened to make the juice for jelly. That should be really good.

I am reading an old book that I read several years ago, about bees. It's called The Keeper Of the Bees by Stratton Porter. It was written in 1925. I love old books. The smell is so cool. And there are several references to real bee keepers who wrote books, like Pliney and Huber. Love this book. And now that I have bees, I am reading it again.

So just another Monday. What have you all done today?

(By the way, all the jelly, salve and soap are for sale. If you'd like anything, let me know.)

Sunday ramblings

Saturday was just one of those days. Just ho-hum. I did make 11 of the smallest canning jars of plantain salve to sell at market. I picked a bunch more plantain to make more later when I get more jars.

Also make a batch of feta cheese last night. It has to sit out 24 hours, then in the fridge a few days. Then I'll marinate it in half pint jars in olive oil and fresh picked herbs to sell too.

Went to mom's for a birthday lunch. So many birthdays in May and June so we just celebrate them all together. My brother's is the 11th. He just left this morning to go back to Colorado. He and his daughter and grand son and my sister and her 3 daughters and a grand daughter will all be coming back up in a few weeks for Gary's memorial. Mark cleaned out mom's house. He put up locks and motion lights and they installed an alarm system. Got the house pressure washed and did lots of yard work. Cleaned the garage. Didn't get a garage door opener yet but will soon. Also changed the door locks so she has just one key. So he did a lot in a week. And I helped as much as I could. Mom will have a day or 2 by herself to rest. She was exhausted. But sad to see Mark leave.

We have all 3 grand daughters this weekend. That wears me out! 14, 11 and 10. Of course Kansas, the 10 year old, lives here with Heather. So I am always worn out! But we got her in a summer camp program at the day care. She'll have plenty to do there with all the field trips and swimming. She is a child that has to be busy all the time. And there was NO way I was going to keep her all summer. I love her, but no.

I have sold my pigs, Bob and Joe, to my friends up the road! He's going to come get them either Monday or Tuesday. I can hardly wait. But had a little moment this morning while feeding them, that I almost changed my mind. But just a moment! I'll still go get the old bread from the bread store for them every week. And I'll probably get at least a half of one of them. I just can't seem to be able to handle all these animals right now and need to let some go.

There is a couple that's supposed to be coming to get Ella Belle today. And I hope I can talk them into getting Zarah and Ira Joe too. So that will be at least 1 less goat, hopefully 3 by the end of the day today.

I also put an ad on CL for the Cornish Cross meat birds. I'd like to sell the 40 younger ones and just keep the 9 older ones that will be ready to butcher in a few weeks. I will keep all the Freedom Rangers. I did have a call from a guy the other day. I said I would not go lower than $4 a piece. And that's like just giving them away. I swear, people want you to just give these animals away. I have so much more money in these birds than I could ever get out of them. Really. So I may just end up keeping them all. They'll be ready to butcher in about a month or so. I may be able to hang on that much longer.

So, not much to write about. I'll post pictures later. I really don't like to just have a post with no pictures, but this is it folks! I hope you ALL have a great Sunday. And don't forget to look around and thank God for all you have!

Disbudding, done for the year.

I took the girls to get disbudded this afternoon. They were not happy with me at all. Ella Belle had to go back for a little scur that was making her look all wonky. And we can't have a wonky looking doe, right? So she looks much better. Her brother, Ira Joe, has some scurs too, but he didn't want to go. They all did great. My friend Kendra, has been disbudding for me for years now. She lives in Trion, which is about 35 minutes from here. She's really good and gentle and gets it done pretty quick. One year though, I had so many kids born within a week of each other, that she came here and did them all. And castrated some of the bucks too.   But that's the only time she's come here to do it. Her 2 kids and husband all came out and watched. Her husband had to help hold Ella Belle while she fixed her up because she's quite bigger than the triplets are. And she was not a happy girl about the whole deal. And she let us all know it. So that little job is done for the year. I don't think there will be any more kids this spring.



Mariah wouldn't even look at me to get her picture taken. But she did in the next one. She's so cute. Every time I brought out a kid, Kendra's kids would oohhh and aww at them. They have LaManchas and Kendra said it'd been a long time since she's had to hold ears back.

Do any of you disbud your kids yourselves? It's just one of those things I'd rather get someone else to do. The first time I took kids, I cried. It was awful. Now it's just one more thing to have to get done. And I know it only hurts for just a few minutes. Then they are just fine. I can do a lot of things. That's just not one I want to do. And this time, we bartered for soap. Cool.

This garden

The garden this year is nothing like I have ever experienced. I actually got it started back in the middle of March with potatoes, collards, kales, radishes, beets and lettuces. We had SO much rain in between. Then heat. Then freezing cold. Then just plain ole cold. All the poor little plants didn't know what to do. Then we had floods. And most everything was washed away. All my good soil too. So this is what it looks like today, June 5th 2013.

These tomatoes are looking really good. I did have to replant most of them. I just tied them to the stakes awhile ago. And weeded. There are some tomatoes on some of them. And I have basil in between them too.

This row really took a beating the last flood we had. I had all kinds of squash and zuc seeds and plants and cucumber seeds too. Most of them were all washed away along with the soil. But the ones left are doing good. I did put Epsom salts on each plant too. I think that's helped them.

These are the cucumbers already trying to climb the fence. There are little tiny cucumbers on them!

Looks like just a bunch of dirt, but there are field peas and beans coming up in these rows.

And some potatoes came up. I am planting squash and zuc seeds in the spaces where nothing came up. Here are some potato flowers. And a bad bug.

There are some eggplants in the mulch here. I just gave them some fish emulsion so I hope that helps them. I also have several coming up from seeds in a flat that I had ordered from Johnney's.

Here is where I just pulled up all the big tall radishes that did nothing. I'll plant something else here now. Just got to figure out what. The cabbages I planted back in March to the left are finally starting to grow. The beets in the middle are too.

This is the collard and kale rows. Just sitting there, doing nothing. I have picked some kale a few weeks ago. They are under a pecan tree and I planted too close together. They need more sun. I did plant more kale over to the right, in the full sun. It's all coming up, doing pretty good. Now we just need a little rain.

Here are some field peas popping up in the very sorry soil I have here. But they don't seem to mind. I can't wait for some good ole field peas and rice! My favorite meal.

So, there is my pitiful looking garden. I was almost ashamed to post pictures. I have never had to replant before. I would have had bean flowers blooming by now and I'd be picking loads of green beans in a few weeks. But not this year. This fall, I will be planting clover as a cover crop. It really needs it.

How does your garden grow? Any luck? Have you harvested anything yet? I would love to see your gardens too. And hear how they are doing so far.

Ticks!

Last night, I felt an itch on my back. I felt a little tiny bump and thought it might be a little seed tick like we found on Kansas the other day. But it wasn't. This morning, this is what I pulled off my back. Yuck!!! It's not one of the regular ticks I see a lot but one of the ticks I see on dogs that get huge. And it was on my back! So disgusting. I had made a plantain salve last year so put some of that on the spot. It helps with itching and healing. I need to make some more because I use it a lot. I also found a recipe for a tick repellent that I will be spraying on me and Kansas when we go outside. I hate ticks!

I do believe this is going to be a bad tick year. I have found ticks on Sandy the goat too. She gets them around her face and on her ears. And I guess the dogs are full of them and they are in the house.

Anyone else seen ticks or had them on them already? What do you do to get them off? We usually put Vasalene (?) on them to suffocate them then pull them out. The little tiny seed tick on Kansas was on her leg where the crease is at the top of the leg. And they get behind an ear or knee. Be careful and check for ticks!

 I am loving my new mower. I can get this whole place mowed in no time now. And it all looks so good. It is really helping on saving a lot of time. I even mowed the back yard where John Henry lives most of the time. I wish I could get it out back in the goat yard now. I am still afraid to mow where it's a bit steep though. I just go up and down.

My brother is here from Colorado staying with our mother. Mom's brother and his wife came up yesterday from S. Ga. but had to go back home for a funeral tomorrow. So a short stay. But so good to see them. We cleaned out Mom's garage this afternoon. It looks so good. My brother's  going to put a garage door opener in for her. She'll be able to get her car inside now. It's amazing how much there is to do after a death. Phone calls. Changes. Cleaning. And tomorrow we will go to the funeral home to get Gary's ashes. The funeral home director is so nice. Very Southern. Calls everyone Honey and Sweetie and hugs us all and says how pretty we all are. He is a very nice person.

Anyway, it's been a very busy time. And now more birthdays. My oldest daughter, Heather, will be 34 tomorrow. I remember the day she was born like it just happened. I had no idea what was going on, being my first labor. I thought it would be horrible excruciating pain and it wasn't at all. I was in labor all night, then my water broke. So I called the doctor. He said I better get to the hospital as fast as I could. The whole way there I wanted to push so bad. Got in and was taken straight back to delivery and had her in just a few minutes after getting there. I was up and walking around within minutes. It was so easy. I never did understand why people said it would be so awful. So she was born the day before my birthday. She was my best birthday present ever. Happy birthday, Heather!! I love you.

Rendering lard

I put this bag of pig fat in the fridge a few days ago. So today had some time and rendered it down. I need to make more soap because I have only 2 bars with lard left.

I had 2 pots going, then went down to the one pot. I love how the house smells while doing this. Like uncured bacon.

I don't like cracklings so the dogs will get what's left. They love it.

And I got 4 1/2 quarts. It looks good. I like to cook with it too.

Has anyone else rendered lard before? What do you use it for?

Life goes on...

This has been the longest week. With 2 birthdays, my oldest grand daughter Chloe turned 14 Monday and my husband turned 65 Tuesday. And then my step dad Gary passed away early Tuesday morning. Normally, people are taken to a funeral home, then a viewing, then service, then burial. But with cremation, there is none of that, unless there's a memorial service.We're having that the last of June for family to be able to come from Colorado and S. Ga. So it's been a little strange, just being at Mom's for the past several days.  But the neighbors and friends and family here have been great. Mom's neighbor Gary has mowed her lawn. His wife Windy came over a few nights ago and talked with mom. And brought a cake. My SIL Jason mowed the yard last week. And he and Abby finished up the deck and got it all set up again. And Heather has been with her a few days helping her as well. Mom's friends Allison and Pearl, from where she worked,  brought over some chicken casserole, pasta salad, deviled eggs and a cake. It was SO good! Thank you all so much. I know it means so much to my mom. People have called and come by. We miss Gary so much. It's just empty without him there. I always feel like something's not right, then realize he's not here any more.

And other things are going on around here too. I got home Sunday after being at the hospital, and Annabelle had a little ewe lamb. She so cute. Mostly Finn. Annabelle's mother, Lucinda, was full Fin and the ram is mostly Finn. So I had to dock her little tail a few days ago. I decided to name her Buttercup, since she was born in the pasture full of them. Annabelle did great and is such a good mother. Her 1st lamb too. And Abraham is a good daddy.

                                                             Annabelle, the new mom.

Last night, I went out and put another box on top of the hive. The bees were all hanging out at the entrance a few days ago. I asked the guy I got them from about it and he said they were probably getting crowded and to put on the other box. So I did. They looked happy today.

A friend who lives up on the mountain past us called my husband today and said he'd heard that bears had gotten into some hives up the road from me and tore them all up. These hives are about 5 miles from here. That's pretty scary. I hope they don't come down here for my one little hive.

And these pigs! We moved them last week up to the creek bed. (That's a whole other blog post! You just can't make a pig do what a pig does not want to do!) I am hoping they will do some damage control here. This is where the river starts that washes down to my garden when it rains a lot. I hope the pigs will be able to damn it up or something. Make a pond? They've got one started. I had their water in a bucket in that tire back there. And every time I'd go back out, there the bucket would be, outside the tire and empty. So I took this rubber trough out there today. I hope this will work. Aren't they growing bigger? But not big enough yet.

Here's Sandy and her triplets. They are getting bigger every day. And so cute! I love them.

Also Monday, my husband went to Home Depot and found this big ole mower. I hated it at first. But now I kind of like it. I bush hogged the pasture next door. Yesterday at noon. With shorts on. And no sunscreen on my legs. Like a big dummy. It's hurts! But it did great. And will save us a lot of money by not having to find someone else to do it. I can do it when I need to now. See how Abby's legs are all out front? And this was her test drive. Almost ran over her dad! See him trying to get out of the way? It was too funny!

 And here's the birthday girl, Chloe. 14 years old now! I am an OLD lady, y'all. OLD! I remember when she was born. 5 weeks early. Had to be in the hospital 9 days. Then on a heart monitor the 1st 6 months of her life. And she just graduated from middle school today! She's now officially a 9th grader going to high school! WHAT?

Here is her sister, Coryn, graduating from 5th grade. Can't hardly see her. She's getting her certificate in the white shirt. My zoom doesn't work any more. So she's now officially a 6th grader going to middle school! WHAT? I am SO old now. I really feel old. How does this happen?

So life goes on some how, despite a death of a loved one. New life happens all over. People graduate. Pigs grow. People have birthdays. That's how it should be. And to know that one day soon, we will see our loved ones again! That makes it better.

Hello

I know it's been awhile since I last posted. It's been a pretty busy 3 weeks here. I really would like to say thank you so much to all of you who have sent good wishes and prayers for my step dad, Gary, and my mother. I am so thankful for all of you.

Gary has had a very rough 3 weeks. In the ICU for a long time. Up one day, back down the next. He was put in a private room last Monday. Stayed there 4 days. Then back in ICU again. Yesterday, the doctors were optimistic about his recovery. They were saying all they needed to do then was to get him to eating and moving again. Even mom went home early last night at 5. She's not ever done that. She called at 8:30 to check on him. The nurse said he was doing good.

Then at 1:00 AM a nurse called and said mom should get there as fast as possible. They only live a few blocks away. But she didn't make it in time. He passed away about 1:15 this morning. I went and stayed with her last night and have been there all day.

We had to go to the funeral home to finalize the arrangements. (Thank goodness, they had bought funeral insurance and had all the paperwork. We had just gone to a funeral home here last Thursday to give them all the paperwork.) He will be cremated and we'll have a memorial service sometime the end of June. My brother will be here from Colorado Saturday for a week. I'm so glad. Mom will be so happy to see him. He said he'll be helping her with everything that needs to be done there.   Then my sister and her 3 daughters will be here the end of June with my brother.

Mom and Gary were married 34 years. That's a long time. She's a strong woman but this will take a long time. One day at a time is the way we'll take it.

Please continue to pray for my mother. She will need prayer and strength to get through this time.

And I also wanted to say, that no matter how much a person irritates you or says something or does something that either hurts or makes you mad, just get over it and make amends. You just never know when something like this will happen. Then they're gone. Just like that. Gone. So please, go hug you mom or dad, sister or brother. And your children. Love one another. And be there for your family.

Thank you all again.

Dogs:3 Possums:0

 Bubba and Stella, the hunters. A possum in my milk room! Not any more. And all my little meat chicks in the yard behind them, free ranging.

Stella looks like she is proud of her self. Not many creatures leave this farm the way they came in, thanks to Bubba and Stella. They take care of their farm. They aren't afraid of anything. Good dogs!

Stella Bella Luna STINKS!

I do not know what this stinkin' dog got into this morning, but it was pure nastiness. She stunk! Bad! When I went to put her in her crate before I left to go back to the hospital, I noticed a nasty smell coming from her direction. She must have rolled in something out on the driveway. It really was nasty.

So when I got home, Kansas helped me give Stella, the stinky, a bath. It's nice to have help. Stella was really good and stood still the whole time. Kansas scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more.

Then poured more water on her.

Then scrubbed some more. Til she was finally clean again!

Jim and Bob had to see what all the fun was about. They are nosy pigs, these 2 boys. And they love water and were probably wondering why they didn't get a bath too. I did put the water hose on them later. They are happy pigs!

And the chicks had to come check out all the commotion too. I had let them all out of their little pen this morning. They finally ventured out a little later. Then followed me right back in to eat their dinner. Happy chickies!

And here's Kansas, drying off the clean doggie. She'll be clean for about 2 hours and 26 minutes. The dog doesn't like being clean. But we are all happy people! Oh, the life of a farm dog.

The cats at Outback Farm

There are 6 cats here at Outback Farm. All live outside, either in the barn or out back, hunting. I've had these cats for years and years. I know the oldest one has to be about 12. And 4 of them my daughter Abby gave us. Her husband is allergic to cats, so she can't have any. So they are all out here.



This is Sybil. I got her from some friends, along with her brother. Abby's friend was wanting a white male cat, so he went to her house. Her ears are all curled up from being outside in the sun. I don't think she can hear. But she's a great cat. She's about 8 years old.

And this is Gilbert. My grand daughter named her. She was brought here by Abby. She found her at her apartment complex when she was a little kitten and couldn't keep her there. I think Gilbert had 2 litters of kittens, then she was spayed. I kept one of her kittens but she just left one day. She about 8 years old too. She loves to hunt and brings home lots of goodies.

This is how these 4 eat. In the cat room up on this old chest freezer. And always in this order too. Gilbert, Andy Oakley, Cosmos and her son Alex. All these here were from Abby. Cosmos is the oldest, around 12 years old. Her son Alex was actually given to my grand daughter Chloe on her 4th birthday. And she will be 14 the 27th of May. So he's 10 years old. And Andy is probably the youngest, around 6 or 7. He is probably the best hunter of the bunch. Nothing is safe around here. Birds, mice, rabbits, squirrels, lizards. They are good cats.

I do have another cat I got from a friend. Her name is Soshe. She's grey and not looking very good right now so didn't take her picture. She has a skin problem I am trying to treat but she hates to have anything put on her. I really don't know how old she is. Maybe close to Cosmos' age.

I really don't like cats. But they are good to help keep the mouse and rat population down. I hate that the birds aren't safe here. I have never fed birds because the cats will kill them. The birds that do make nests here are on their own. There is an old tree out front that I call the bird condo. Holes all up the branches and trunk full of bird's nests. Those are pretty safe up there. And I have 3 blue bird houses in the sheep yard. But generally, cats are not my favorite animals. I tolerate these guys those. Since I've had them all for so long.

Just a little cuteness

Here's Mariah, Whitney and Diana at a week old. I still cannot believe they are all 3 girls. But they are!

News

Well, I sure wish I had not posted about my garden now. After just now watching the evening news, it's so much worse all over this country right now. Goodness, there's flooding, tornadoes, people who's homes have washed away. It's a mess out there. Just a wet mess all over. So I have nothing like I have just seen on tv. I so hope everyone is ok and not flooded where you are. And I am so sorry I am such a whiney butt.

Again

Well, after replanting most of my garden Friday, it's all washed away. Again. It has done nothing but pour here all morning. Even the pond we get when it rains went way over to the middle of the pasture. This is only half the garden. To the left was the Blue Lake green beans. The next was the squash, zucchini and cucumbers. I did rescue some of the zucchini and squash that was washed down to the end. And the heirloom sweet corn and field peas all probably gone. I didn't take a picture of the okra rows but there was a river going down that too. And not only seeds and plants but the soil too. It's so depressing and sad to see this. This is the 2nd time to replant. I have never had to do this before. I just don't get it.

This is the side yard where the rabbits and Cornish Cross meat chicks are. If you look past the grill on the right you can see the wooden shelter where the chicks are. They are ok. The rabbits are way over to the left. They are ok but I moved them up to higher ground. And behind me is the goat pasture. It had a raging river running through it and this is where all this water is coming from. And then the garden is beyond this and where all this water is headed.

Right now, it's stopped raining. But it is coming again. And it's really hot out there too. I just don't know what to do right now. Crying doesn't really help. That's just more water and I really don't want to see more water.

Gary

This is my mom and Gary, just this past Christmas at their house. They met right after my husband and I got married in Oct. 1978. They were married in April '79. And have been together ever since. And I do mean together. They do everything together. They've only been apart when either mom or Gary have had surgery. And once Gary worked 3rd shift. Other than that, together all the time. They moved up here to Ft. Oglethorpe to be closer to me and my family. My brother and sister and all their kids are in Colorado.

Gary has been in the hospital since last Tuesday. In ICU the whole time. He is a very sick man right now. He has had a few good days and they get their hopes up. Then the next day he's back down again. Yesterday mom called and said I needed to get to the hospital fast. It took just a few minutes to change from my dirty farm clothes, jump in the car, turn on the flashers and drove as fast as I possibly could the 25 miles to the hospital. God cleared the road of most cars. And I had to go trough only one red light. But made it in about 30 minutes.

He was hooked up to an oxygen mask, head slightly down, breathing really fast. The nurses were doing all they could for him. They took off the mask so he could cough. He was so congested. He did pull through this, but barely. We just don't know what's going to happen. The doctors have said that when he is able to leave ICU that he'll have to be put in a rahab center. He'll have a very long road ahead of him.

He looks nothing like this right now. The last thing he ate actually was  a meatloaf I made at his request for his birthday the 5th. Nothing since then. And no, it was not the meatloaf that did this. He has a lot of problems mostly due to pneumonia right now. And very low blood pressure, very fast heart rate. It just goes on and on.

They just live a few blocks from this hospital in a really nice neighborhood. Everyone watches out for each other. Their closest neighbors have mowed their yard a few times before. Last week mom mowed the front yard and wouldn't let me do the back. I shouldn't have said anything about it and just done it. But she went home the other night and the back was mowed. Her neighbor Gary had done it. Really nice people.

I worry more about my mom right now. There's been way too many downs than ups. She gets her hopes up one minute to have them thrown to the ground the next. She is able to go home at night. But she's just worn out, sitting or standing most of the day. I have been there too but not like her. She called last night to tell me she was home for the night. She said she was so tired that she had her keys out to open the elevator door! I so hope he gets over this for her. She needs him so much. He does so much for her. And I don't know what she'll do without him.

I love Gary. Although we have had some rough times, I do love him. They have reservations to go out to Colorado in August to see the rest of the family out there. We keep telling him he has to get better so he can drive mom out there. They still have so many things they want to do still. Please say a prayer for Gary. And for my mom. I don't want her to get sick over all this. So far, she's doing really good. She's a very healthy lady. And I love her so much.

Daisy, the city dog

This is my grand dog Daisy. My daughter came out yesterday and brought her. She really loves it out here. There's so much for her to get into here. Cats to chase. Stella to play with. Chickens to chase. Sheep and goats, now that's fun! But the rabbits. Those are her very favorite things to pick on. And she will not leave them alone. She is all around their cage, barking and running. Abby got her out of there once. But back out she went.

                                                 Trying to sneak up on the poor bunnies.

                                     Daisy will never make it in the country on a farm. Not Daisy.

She was plum worn out after all that chasing. She has fun out here. But she loves being back in town. She's a sweetie and my very favorite grand dog.

The 3 little "Divas"

 Here are the little "divas".  I think I will name them after some of the biggest divas, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Diana Ross.  These little girls are so sweet. And very special too. I love them.

And Kansas does too. I found this dog cage on CL last week. I went to get it Friday night. It's just perfect for the little divas to go outside with Sandy but be safe from big fat hungry pigs. It would be way too easy for the babies to get into the pig pen which is connected to the goat barn. And it has cattle panels, which a cute little baby goat would fit right through. And I would really hate that to happen. So til they are bigger, or I can, by some miracle, get the pigs moved to the front where I want them to til for me, the babies can stay in this. And Sandy can jump over to get to them. It's only 2' high. And has a little door. And Kansas can protect them too.

So tonight, I noticed the kids are only nursing on one side.  I took Sandy to the milk room and milked out the other side. I strained and put it in a bottle. Went out and fed the littlest diva baby. And she drank over half of it. I guess I'll bottle feed  her a few times a day. She's so small.