Some Bovine and Avis aries...

And just a warning: there is a picture of my husband's foot, if anyone is squeamish. It's really not bad, just wanted to let you know. It's at the very end.


 I put the critters out in the back yard for a few days, to eat down the grass back there. It was growing pretty good. I think Louise is looking like she's gained some weight since being here and eating all this grass.

They are also in the side yard, where the older apple trees are. Full of apples. And Louise loves apples. She's just the right height to reach up into the trees to get hers. She doesn't eat the ones already on the ground, like the sheep have to. She's beneath that. Literally.

Amarillo came over to see if Louise would knock a few good ones down for her. The sheep aren't too much afraid of her any more. I think they're ok with her. The alpacas, still terrified!

I grabbed a few bags of wool yesterday. One was a fleece that was already washed from last year. Can't remember who's now. But looks good. I'll start carding it soon. I think I'll add some of Sugar's fleece to it to make it softer.

But this is Adele's wool. She is a dirty girl. Lots of VM, all over it. It took awhile to go through it all. Had to throw some out, it was so bad. And still didn't get all of it. Washed a few buckets and will see if carding will get the rest out. It's not the best wool. Adele is probably 75% Finn. Her mother is a Katahdin-Dorper cross. So I'll use most of hers for felting.

So for those of you who process your own wool, what do you do with the dirty tips that turn yellow in washing?  It's just not pretty. I would like to try dying some of this. I bought koolade the other day, for the first time in years. Still 5 packs for $1. Cool! I have citric acid and vinegar. I'll have to get directions for dying with koolade.

I love this picture. Wish Adele had been over some more though.

This is some washed and on the drying rack in the studio. We got some rain last night. so had to put it inside.

This is Adele. The bag of already washed wool in above her. It's a big bag full too.

And here's the foot with the diabetic ulcer. It really is a lot better. But seems to be taking forever to heal. So the other night, I was laying in bed, trying to think of more natural ways we could try to heal it. He went to the foot doc a few weeks ago and they took another culture to send off. It came back and it's full of bacteria. Some not good. So back on antibiotics again. And the cream he's been using is doing nothing.

So honey kept popping up in my head. I even dreamed about using honey on his foot. Next morning, I looked it up on line. Saw several articles about the healing properties of honey. So, we are trying honey on this ulcer. I wanted to document the progress.

When he went to his primary doctor and  told her what we were doing, she about had a fit.  Never said not to use it, but let him know how she didn't approve of it at all. But we will still do it. I called my bee mentor and he's going to come next week to see if I can harvest just one frame from each hive, so we can have fresh raw honey to use. And for him to take a few spoons full each day as well.

I am so excited about this fair! It's this weekend! I'll be taking the grand kids. I hope y'all have a fun happy weekend!

The Fair Is Coming!!!!!!

 When I first heard that a fair was going to be at Mt. Cove, just 5 miles from my house, I wasn't too happy about it. I was thinking about all the traffic up and down the road here. We are also having an Iron man race the end of Sept. too. There have been tons of bikers riding out here from Chattanooga for months now, practicing. It's very annoying and a bit scary when there are packs of bikers on our curvy hilly roads all day. But that's a whole other story.

So this fair, I have found out, will be the real deal. With rides and all! That's what got me excited about it. A real county fair. I haven't been to a real fair since I moved up here 36 years ago. We always had a country agricultural fair in Statesboro when I was growing up that we always went to. Such fun memories. When I found out there was a Hamilton Co. fair in Chatt. I wanted to go. But it was just lots and lots of craft people and fair food. They did have the exhibits and animals, but it just wasn't the same.

When I heard more about this fair, that it was going to have a mid-way and all the rest of a real fair, I was pretty excited about it then. And it's just 5 miles away! I went down there yesterday to see what's going on. It's going to be spread all over this huge farm. The mid-way is on a landing strip. The exhibits will be in a few different places across the road. I think the animals will be in a few big barns. So there will be lots of walking or shuttling going on. This place is several hundred acres. Beautiful place. The county bought this land a few years ago.

So if any of you are in the area Sept. 12-14, come on up. And honk when you go by Outback Farm! Or stop in and say hello. I think I'll be moving the sheep, alpacas and cow to the back pasture.

What a beautiful place to have a fair. It's at the end of West Cove Rd. in the valley between Lookout and pigeon Mts. The mountain in these pics is Pigeon Mt. to the east. Lookout is to the west behind me. So peaceful out here. But not for long!

My husband,,,

I have the best husband. Even with all his problems, he still helps me out of some of my problems. Like this darn lawn mower. And many others before it. I am not a person who takes very good care of things. And our farm is full of tree roots, branches, big chunks of bark from all our fire wood, rocks, big ole dog bones. So many other things that a lawn mower runs over. And stumps. There used to be cedar trees all down our long driveway. We had them cut down. And now there are foot high stumps, right in the middle of both sides. Plus an incline. Then fence. I was mowing the driveway yesterday and got sucked onto a stump. Then tried to get off the stump and got into the fence. SO up the driveway I go, madder than a wet hen, or wet goat, to get the husband to come help me get it off.

Poor guy, takes him half an hour to hobble down there. But we get it off the stump. I turn it on. He said to turn the blades on. Well, the most awful noise I ever heard came out of that mowing deck. Blades were hitting metal.

So back to the garage we go. Get it up on the thing there. He lays his yoga mat down. It doesn't look like the deck is bent. But the left blade is hitting it. So he takes it off. And these are new blades he had to get because I bent the last ones, just a few weeks ago. So he grinds off a little bit and sharpens them both. It works! So off to finish mowing. He's so good at fixing things I mess up. And can figure out how things work. I love him and think I'll keep him.

So this diabetes is really a mess right now. His ankles are healed and have been for months now. But he got this diabetic ulcer on his right foot about 6 months ago. He's been going to the foot doctor for almost a year now in Nov. The ulcer is not better. It's not as big, but is still there.

SO all night, I'm thinking of natural ways to treat this thing. Honey kept popping up. So I looked up natural ways to treat foot ulcers, and there it is. An article about honey having natural antibacterial properties and healing foot ulcers in diabetics!

That's what we're going to start doing this morning. Just some honey on the wound and wrap with gauze. I'm going to take pictures, but not show them here of course, for records. I'm thinking in at least 2 months, this ulcer will be GONE! And some prayer would help too! Prayer always helps.

Just a little bragging on my hubby. He also never tells me I'm stupid or reckless or a bad mower. He just goes on and fixes my messes for me. Best husband ever!

Kansas and Abi

 Just look at this. This is my mom's new dog. She's had her 1 week yesterday. She loves my mom. And apparently is in love with my grand daughter Kansas too. This is what I found when I came inside for a minute, while fixing Mom's gate. Look at them, all snuggling and happy. I am so jealous!

When I come to Mom's, Abi barks and runs around to each of the kitchen doors, looking at me. Then she'll run behind Mom's chair and look at me. She just doesn't like me inside Mom's house.

But when we go outside, she is all over, running up to me and letting me pet her. I also went with Mom to take her to the vet last Thursday. She was great, in the car. And at the vet.

She's just nervous when I first get to Mom's. Maybe she smells Bubba and Stella?  I don't know what it could be. But after awhile, she's just fine. She is the best dog. And just loves Mom. And Kansas.

I love how her left eat flips up. In some of the shelter pics, it's all over the top of her head. So cute. And she's a little older than we first thought. She'll be 2 in December. And she is already a spoiled dog. Mom's house looks like a 2 year old lives there, with all the toys and snacks all over.

This is good for Mom to have this dog. She just needs to go about her daily living and Abby will fit right in to it. Just the best thing for her right now.

And she's so good with Kansas. I don't even worry about her being in the house alone with her. And after seeing this, I will never worry. I think she would protect Kansas if she had to.

Sorry for such blurry pictures. I do believe I am going to have to start wearing glasses. Or contacts. Or else have laser surgery. Everything up close is fuzzy anymore. Getting old just about ain't fun.

More pumpkins.

 I hope all is back to normal at Mrs. T's now. I had to go in all day yesterday, so brought all my wool and needle felting stuff to work on. I made 4 more pumpkins and started on a turkey. I need to get some pipe cleaners for his legs. I took Mrs. T to lunch, then we went to my favorite store, All Books, to get more dyed roving and wool to make more pumpkins. I love that store. But really need to learn to dye all my own wool. I spent $45 there. So need to get over to the studio to make more. And more soap. I need some Orange-clove soap.

Here are all the needle felted pumpkins so far. I'm going to market Sat. so need lots more. I love making these. Every one is so different and I like it better than the one before.

I went out yesterday when I got home and caught this beautiful scene. I love it! Louise with the sheep and the horses across the road with Pigeon Mt. in the background. What a peaceful setting right there.

Louise is such a good cow. But boy, is she a big cow! She's like 10 goats. But she's a good girl.

I went to the garden too and saw all the seeds I had planted last Friday have come up! Must have been a good sign to plant on. Plus we got so much good rain right after I planted.  I need to get some lettuce seeds while I'm out today. Have to go with my mom to take her new dog to the vet for a well check. Mom is so funny. She went to a pet store in town yesterday and spent about $75 on that dog. She told me and then said "What's wrong with me?" I just laughed. Spoiled dog for sure!

Needle felted pumpkins. And charcoal soap

Last night, my oldest grand daughter and I went over to the studio. She had an art project she needed to work on. And I wanted to do some needle felting. Well, I was going to make wool dryer balls, but started making some pumpkins. I think they turned out so cute. I love them. I love these colors a lot.  I need to dye some wool so I can make more of them. Need to get ready for fall markets.

What else can I needle felt for fall?

This is the charcoal soap cut up. This is the first time I have done anything like this. Next time I make this soap, I'll use my taller long wooden molds. But I think it turned out pretty.

While we were in the studio, it rained. One time, I thought we were in a tornado. The wind just all of a sudden started howling and blowing the trees over. Then it poured rain. But this morning, all the beds I had planted with kale, collards and radish seeds, were all fine. Didn't get flooded at all. We sure did need this rain. But this week, in the low 90's.

Happy last day of August, y'all! And have a happy and safe Labor Day!

Mom and her new dog, Abbyelle (Abby)

Yesterday, my family worked on getting my mom's fence finished so we could go get her new dog, Abby. Her back yard was fenced on all 3 sides, but not connected to either the garage or house. She lives right behind the big park in town, and there is a creek between her and the park. So lots of people are there all day. And sometimes kids walk through her yard and through the back gate to get to the park. Not any more.

We put up 6' privacy fence. But the gate that needs to go to her back yard is really wide. So we just put up a fence to get it all enclosed so we could let the dog out free. We'll have to figure out a way to make a gate that won't be so wide for mom to be able to handle. Meanwhile, she can go through the garage for now. And Abby has the whole back yard to play and run in.

There have been some break-ins near mom and she was getting a little nervous being there alone. Abby is an American Staffordshire Terrier. Or a Pitt Bull. She's 1 1/2 years old. We found her at Mckamey Animal Shelter in Chattanooga. She's been there most of her life. She had a foster family where she stayed about 6 weeks. So everyone was very happy to see Abby go to her new forever home with mom. Someone actually paid the fee for her. They were all there yesterday, including the foster mom, to see her off.

We stopped at Tractor Supply and took her in with us to get her a big bag of dog food and some treats and some tennis balls. Which she loves. This little girl will be spoiled before too long. But very much loved and cared for. The foster lady said Abby slept on the bed with her. So mom is letting her sleep on her bed. They had a really good night last night, their first night together. Mom said Abby slept all night. She was worn out from her big day.

She will be a good companion and protector for mom.

Louise the big brown cow.

Louise in the stall. She takes up the whole 10x10 area. She's HUGE!

I put her over here on this side so she could start eating all the tall grass. Then I'll bring the sheep and alpacas over in a few days.

I was putting the chickens up for the night a little early, because I was getting ready to plant my kale, collards and radish seeds. I had tilled this morning. I wanted to get the chickens put up so they wouldn't go in the garden and start scratching up what I'd just done. BUT, Black Bart and 2 of the hens would NOT go inside the coop. Louise was still laying in that same spot and I guess Black Bart was just a little scared of the big ole furry monster. I don't think he'd been this close to her. And right next to his coop now! So he and the other 2 hens took off in the opposite direction. So I had 1 hen in the garden while I planted. I could tell they'd already been in where I'd tilled. I had to go get Louise up and away from the coop so I could get those bad chickens in. I did finally get them in. Where they will stay for a few weeks, til the seeds sprout and start growing.

It was HOT out there! I was thinking how the end of August heat is so different than the end of April heat. Like April is new and we welcome a little heat. But by the time the end of August rolls around, we are ready for some coolness again. I am anyway. A nice cold shower helps a lot!

We have to go to my mom's in the morning. She's getting a dog from McCamey Animal Shelter and they want her to get her yard completely fenced in. Because this dog is very strong and she kind of pulled mom while she had her on the leash. So they were concerned about mom. So we will be putting up 3 sections of fence in the morning, then going to meet Abby's foster family. Everyone at the shelter is so happy for Abby. She's been there the longest of any of the dogs. She will be a good dog for my mom.

Hope y'all have a great weekend.

So that was fun!

 I had to spend the day with Mrs, T. today. So I brought all my wool I had just washed, along with my carder, so I could work on that while I was there. It took me all day to hand pick and get just that one pink tote ready to card. I got 4 batts done later. I'll start making wool dryer balls with this wool.

I found a lady to come tomorrow to meet Mrs. T and check things out there. She'll stay all day and then get to meet Mary, who will be there at 5, so she can tell her about night time stuff. So hopefully she can fill in or take a few days a week.  Had a call from Betty, who was really shaky and her daughter was coming to take her to the ER, Which she has not been to yet. Really frustrated with her. So she can't come to work tomorrow. Which I want her to be well before she comes back. Or get on some kind of wellness plan and take a few weeks to get it all worked out. She may not be able to come back at all. So this lady will be a fill in for her. Emily still has this awful migraine going on too. So enough of that already. Between me and Mary, we'll get through the week. And I love Mrs. T and love hanging out with her.

So got home and got all my ingredients together to make this charcoal facial soap. I was so excited to make it because I have never swirled before. Like had 2 different colors and all. I have watched a lot of videos and kind of had the procedure down. SO I was ready for it.

Got my lye and water mixed up and in the sink. Got all my oils measured and in the pot on the stove. Measured my EO's. I used rosemary and peppermint. Got the charcoal measured up. Then re read the instructions real good again, just for good measure. Got the lye and oils to 100. Got them stirred up together. Added the EO's. Then stick blended a bit. Got the soap separated into 2 containers. Added charcoal to one and French clay to the other.

Then the fun part: layering the 2 soaps! I wish I had just left it like this now. But there will be more later on.

It ended up like this. Too much black. I should have had the lighter color on top.

  '
And this is what it ended up looking like. Now I have to wait til when I get home tomorrow evening to check on it and unmold it and cut it up. I can hardly wait to see what the swirls look like. You know I will take pictures and show it off. It was really fun. And not at all as hard as I was thinking. Or complicated. Thank you, Youtube video soap people! I am so much a visual person so it helps to actually SEE something being done first.

And had to get my little soap drying rack over to the studio to put all these new soaps on to dry. The top is the pumpkin spice, then patchouli, then the chamomile, then the peppermint and then on the bottom is the coffee-oatmeal.

The re milled soap I made is still soft. So IF it ever gets hard enough to take out of the mold, it could take months to get hard enough to use.

More soaps being made

  This morning, I went over to the studio. I got 2 more soaps made. A coffee-oatmeal for taking odors off hands. Good for the kitchen. And a peppermint. I love this recipe. It only takes a few hours to harden and can be taken out of the mold and cut. I used an ounce of peppermint EO and dried crushed mint leaves. It's really pretty. The other soap recipe has to stay in the mold 2 days.

  I also got all the ingredients to make an activated charcoal-clay facial soap. I am so excited to try this soap. I get to do swirls! I've been watching videos on how to do this. So hopefully either Wed. when I get back from Mrs. T's or Thursday, I can make it.

  I am also hand picking all the wool I got washed the other day to get it ready for carding. I'll make wool dryer balls with it. I need to start getting some needle felting started too. So much to do and not so much time to do it all!

Change of plans

Well, today did not start the way I had planned. I got a call from Betty, one of the caretakers for Mrs. T. She's not feeling too good. She'd only been there a few hours and felt like she needed to go home, then go to her doctor. I normally stay home all day on Mondays. I was going to be in my studio all day making wool dryer balls and  doing some needle felting. But had to go sit with Mrs. T til 5. I like to bring my bag of yarns with me and work on knitting or crocheting while I'm there.

So had to find someone to come in for tonight and tomorrow. Betty stays Monday morning til Tuesday night. Then Emily comes in Tuesday night til Thursday morning, then Betty comes back til Friday morning, then I come for the day til 5. Then Mary comes in Friday at 5 and works til Monday morning.  This works great most of the time. Til someone gets sick. But when 2 of the caretakers are sick? UGH!

I had sent a text to Emily but she never got back to me til later. Mary came in at 5 for me. Emily has had a migraine since Sunday and was going to the doctor tomorrow and isn't even sure if she'll be there tomorrow night. So I need to find someone for her now. I have another lady who comes in on Sat. (Darlene) to give Mrs. T a bath and do her nails. (And she said she's going out of town this weekend, so won't be coming this Sat. SEE?) She's so sweet. So she said she could come in tomorrow night but has to leave at 7 AM because she has another job during the day. Can this get more complicated? Why yes, I think it can.

So I called Mary back and she said she'd get there at 7 Wed. morning and then I'll come as soon as I can get everything done here. I'll stay til 5 or so. And that's all I know so far. I am hoping Emily is better so she can work Wed. night at least. And then hopefully Betty will be better so she can work Thursday. And this is crazy!

Then Mary wanted the next 3 Friday nights off. Darlene said she could work for Mary but not THIS Friday. UGH again! How did I end up with this job??? I don't know! And then, the MOST complicated part of the whole thing, when it's crazy like this, is paying everyone. UGH! I hate math! I have everyone's NORMAL pay week already written down, so all I have to do is look at my check register. But now, I have to figure all their hours. And they all make a different amount, which is crazy. Oh, this is not fun at all. It's a good thing I am taking a few weeks off from markets.

So this will help me writing all this down so I can see it. I have also written down everything so far, on paper, as far as who worked when and for how long. Otherwise, I would be a basket case for sure.

 I got a lot of knitting done today. Mrs. T. reads some articles from the paper out loud. She reads the same story, over and over. When it comes to having to turn the page to continue reading one story, she forgets and starts all over again. It gets to where I can read along with her. I'll tell her she just read that part and she says no, she just started. So I start saying everything she's saying as she's reading. It's kind of fun. Keeps my brain working. And the day went by pretty fast. Had a call from Linda this afternoon. I met her from Mary Jane's Farm forum and we talk about once a month. I really like talking with her. She can't post comments here for some reason, but she lets me know she reads my blog. Thank you Linda! And hope you feel better soon.

I got home and got the husband to get his gun and come out to the chicken yard with me. I wanted to hook the nester up to the mower and drag it out of the stall and he could shoot that darn snake when it came out. But we never saw it. And only got 1 egg. It was up under the dog crate in the driveway. I keep seeing the chickens come out of my flower jungle. They may be laying in there. We WILL get that darn snake! One day. And I melted his brand new nylon strap. It got wrapped up on the back wheel and on a pipe. Melted the end off. I told him I hoped he wouldn't get mad at me and call me stupid or something. He said "no, you're just a woman." Ouch. I thought that was pretty darn funny! I'll get him! But I love him anyway.

So I just finished up the mowing. Looked like rain. But it never did. A long day tomorrow too. So going to bed now. Have a good Tuesday y'all!

Making progress, a little at a time.

Yesterday, I got up wanting to do something. Didn't really have a plan. I just grabbed a bag of wool out of the cat room. Took it to the studio and started washing it. It was Annabelle's wool. Some was really good but most was 2nds. Which is fine, because I need to make lots more dryer balls. So did this most of the day. It rained off and on all day too, so had to bring the drying racks inside. I had both of them filled with clean pretty wool.

This is Annabelle. She's probably 95% Finn. Her mother, Lucinda, was full Finn and so beautiful. I miss that ewe. Had the prettiest black wool. Annabelle was a single lamb. And she has only had one ewe lamb, Buttercup. Buttercup was sheared this year and has some really nice wool.

The finished wool, drying. I also had another full one like this when I was done. I started carding it today. I'll be doing that for a long time. And this was just 1 paper grocery bag full. I still have big garbage bags full of sheep and alpaca to wash.

This is the soap I made a few weeks ago. On the left is ginger-coconut. With fresh grated ginger and ginger EO, with coconut on top. In the middle is the lemongrass made with lard. I love this lard soap. I used a yellow vegetable dyt for some color. Smells so good. On the left is the lavender-oatmeal I found in an on-line magazine, I think. I need to make some more because I only got 8 bars.

Also yesterday, in between washing wool, I made 4 batches of soap. In the blanket is my pumpkin spice soap. I had gotten a small pumpkin from one of the farmers at the market last week. Cut it up, put it in the food processor and added cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg and some pure maple syrup and pureed it. This recipe has castor oil in it too. Then I sprinkled cinnamon and fresh nutmeg on top. Also used cinnamon and clove EO. The uncovered soap is Patchouli. I love this one. And also made a chamomile soap. I used Roman chamomile and Bergamot EO plus paprika for color.  Got these all cut today and are drying on the racks.

I also re milled some soap I had made last fall that just didn't smell. Grated 3 pounds and added Spiced Mahogany FO. Tried to make some swirls too. But I don't know if it's going to get hard. It was still soft today.

It's been quite hot here this month. The alpacas do not like this heat and humidity at all. I try to go out every day and spray them with the hose. They LOVE it! But apparently Misha was a little impatient and got in the water trough to cool off. I have a small kiddie pool in this yard, but it's a tadpole nursery right now. Plus my honey bees use it to drink from too. So I hate to move it. Might have to get another one just for the alpacas.

Today, I went to the studio and made calendula lip balm. I had ordered 30 lip balm tubes a few weeks ago. And I had gotten some flowers from my garden and dried them. Then infused them in olive oil for several weeks. Also had some bees wax from my garden hive that I had to take out. It was burr comb. And really clean. So got 25 tubes of calendula lip balm. Plus made 11 small jars of calendula salve. That's a pretty good seller at markets.

So I feel like I was pretty productive this weekend. It feels good to know I actually made some progress in the studio. I'll be making wool dryer balls this week. Plus some needle felting too. And probably more soap too.

I also have had a run-in with a snake in my chicken nesters this weekend. D*** snake! Caught it in the act too. Eating my eggs. That's just not going to happen here! I got a shovel and take it with me when I check. I saw it yesterday with an egg in it's mouth. I got as close as I could make myself get to it and tried my darnedest to kill it. It got away.It's staying behind the wire nester, under all that hay. It was in the far right nest box when I saw it with the eggs. So I took a green feeder box and shoved it in the nest box to keep hens out. And while the snake was in that one, eating eggs, a hen was in the nest box at the other end. So I guess the hens don't mind snakes?

So I have been going out every hour or so to check on the eggs. I saw the snake a few times today, too. It was going to the nest box on the other side. I saw it's head sticking out. It went back behind the nester when it saw me. I saw it later, but it didn't come all the way out. It got all the eggs. There's a dog crate that's been on the side of the driveway for awhile now. A hen lays an eggs every day in it. Well, today, there were 3 eggs! I guess maybe the hens were not liking the snake after all. Smart girls! My husband went out this afternoon with his rifle. He waited about a half hour and never saw it. Darn snake. We will get it. One way or another, we will get it. I still hate snakes. Especially snakes that eat my eggs.

So what's been going on at your house lately? Care to share?

Ok, it's official...

I AM A SLACKER!

There's just no other word for it. Well, maybe LAZY! I cannot get motivated to do a thing around here. It's because I have so much time. Not a good thing for me to have. I need help! I need a kick in the a** bad.


Ok, that's enough of that. Here's something growing behind the wood shed. It's really pretty. Some kind of morning glory I think.

And did y'all see my new metal antique lawn furniture? I just love them. The 2 round tables came with the house when we bought it. They need painted too. But they go perfect with the chair and glider. One day I'll sit in them and watch the garden grow stuff.

And here's Louise, outstanding in her field. She's doing great here so far. It's still funny when the sheep see her, how they freak out! But the alpacas are crazy when she even moves. They make this horrible loud high pitched noise like one of those big birds that fans their tail feathers. LOUD! And then they run. They are terrified of this poor big cow. Who does nothing but ambles around the pasture. Wondering what all the fuss is about. Maybe she thinks she should run and hide too? It's so funny. But she already had more solid poop than when she first came. It was nasty. It's lots better now, as far as cow poop goes.

So maybe I might do something tomorrow. I know I have to make zucchini bread for my friend to take to market Saturday. And pick okra again. Geeze, this is bad y'all.

I should know by now...

 to be careful what I post on this here computer.

  A few days ago, I posted pictures of Louise, the new cow. Of course, a few people stated that she was awfully thin and I should be grain feeding her to get her conditioned for winter. Well, good grief, for one thing, she's a huge Jersey. They are thin! And she came from a pretty small pasture with no grass. She just got hay and grain when milked. Then we think she had a miscarriage not too long ago. And is a little depressed. She didn't eat for awhile after that. So we thought this would do her good to be here, eating all this grass and helping me out.

  Then I posted the pics of Bubba eating grapes. Oh my, you'd think I was trying to kill my dog, the way some people reacted! Grapes are SO poisonous to dogs! Do not give dogs grapes! It could kill them! And, also onions and garlic too? I have given my dogs raw garlic in their raw dog food for years now. They are still alive.

  That's another thing to not mention. That I actually give my dogs RAW meat! People just about go ballistic. RAW meat? You feed your dogs RAW meat? How could you? They're DOGS! They need vegetables and fruits and grains and wheat germ and and and... Good grief people. Dogs eat raw meat all the time. And have for years. SHoot, they've even gone out back and brought a deer leg or two home to munch on.  My dogs are pretty healthy. I also give them raw bones. But please don't tell anyone.

  And Heaven forbid I should ask advice on anything farm animal related. Or honey bees either. I can ask 50 people the same question and get 50 totally different responses.

  I will learn some day to not say anything about sheep and worms. Or sheep and castrating. Or anything sheep. Just post happy sheep, munching on grass in the beautiful  lush green pastures. Happy animals are what people want to see, right?

  And while I am saying all this, I'll say that people who kiss chickens and let them sleep with them are CRAZY! My chickens are not pets! I don't even really like chickens. I like eggs. That's about it on the chicken liking. Well, I like eating chicken too. But chickens are nasty. They stink. They carry all kinds of nasty things around on them. And have you ever butchered one? Yuck! They are gross! That's all.

  And I hate bottle feeding lambs and goat kids too. I like it fine for the first few days, then that's all. I've had enough. That's why I am not going to breed my sheep this year.

  Oh goodness, this internet. It's gotten a little out of hand, don't ya think? It's made people think they can say or do anything now. So I will have to be careful what I post. But I do like to stir things up, just a little. It's kind of fun to see what happens! Some people are funny.

Rainy Monday...

 It's just a wet day today. We sure do need it. I sure wish I had found some kale seeds though. I'll just have to wait awhile now to get anything planted. A late fall garden, I guess.

  Went out to check on the animals. Saw the sheep and alpacas, but no cow. I thought maybe she was over in the little barn across the field. Some of the sheep were under the shelter on the garden shed. And some were under the eave of the studio. So walked over and peeked inside the barn stall. There was Louise, laying down. She just about took up that whole stall! She's pretty big. It's probably 20x20 and she was in the middle.

  The 3 lambs look so much better today. Cara has just a little bit of puffiness under her jaw. The other 2 don;t have any. I'll not use any more worm meds and see what happens. But to me, they look good. And have more energy.

  Hubby got back last night from going to Indiana to get the grands. They had spent about 2 weeks with cousins in Wisconsin. They met husband in Indiana and they spent the night with his son and kids. On the way back home, they stopped off in Knob Lick, Kentucky, to pick up my antique lawn furniture from Miss Wilma. It's raining or I'd get a picture. It's a metal chair and a glider. Painted yellow and white. I'll put them out in the garden, in front of the garden shed. So I can sit and rest after working in the garden.

  It's just a nice day to stay inside and do nothing. But I need to go take my oldest grand, Chloe, to her school to see why she hasn't gotten her report card yet. I think she said she owed some lunch money. Then I want to go to get some activated charcoal so I can make a facial soap. Can't wait to make some. Also want to make some pumpkin spice. I got a little pumpkin from the farmer's market Sat. to use.

  I was making some chicken salad the other day. The dogs are right there in the kitchen every time I am. Waiting for something to fall or land in their mouths. I was cutting grapes and gave one to Bubba to see what he'd do. He ate it. So gave him some more. He likes to catch food too. He's good at it. Stella didn't like the grapes. I was cutting up some cantaloupe yesterday and he ate some of that too. Silly dog!

Happy Monday, y'all!!

I hope this works.

 I asked my friend Sarah a few days ago if she had a dry cow that I could borrow awhile. I had read that cows and horses don't carry the same worms as sheep and goats and were good together. Sarah has 3 Jersey cows she's been milking. But Louise must have had a miscarriage a month or so ago. So she needs to dry up. So her husband just brought her out here to stay awhile. I forgot how BIG cows are! And how stinkin' messy they are too. Yuck!

The sheep and alpacas are NOT too happy about these plans. Not at all. No siree. Not happy.

                                     They all had a little private meeting way over in the little yard.

But Louise didn't care at all. She was munching away on their mineral block. They also had a few things to say about that!

Still trying to decide on a plan of action. Haven't come up with anything good yet. I did put a board across the smaller gate, so the cow can't get in this yard, but the sheep can go in and out, to the field. When they think she's not looking. They'll get used to her, I suppose. Some day.

Meanwhile, Louise is going to eat. She sure has plenty to keep her busy. She didn't have anything like this where she was.  I hope she doesn't get sick.

So life on the farm is constantly changing. Still thinking about some pigs too. I have that electric netting fence I think I'll use to move the pigs around, following the sheep and cows. When they are over in the other pasture. This one isn't mine. Just borrowing it. So don't want to put pigs out there. But I also heard pigs will take care of the worm load as well. So between Miss Louise and a few pigs, these sheep should be ok. And Mel is coming tomorrow to get Charlotte and Claire, the 2 lambs I wanted to sell. This will leave me with 12 Finn sheep and 2 alpacas. But I have a big ole cow now.

Worms and bees...

I went to the farmer's market this morning. I had a soap sale this week at both markets, trying to make room for all my new soaps. I am going to take a short break from both markets, so I can make more soaps and salves and also lip balms. And wash wool for more dryer balls and needle felted animals. I need to build up my fall and Christmas inventory. Now to just get motivated. I am such a procrastinator though. I'll wait til the very last few days and then get busy. If I have so much time, I think I have SO MUCH TIME and will get to it later. Then later comes, and I have to work, work, work! But I think I do better like this. I just need to change my way of thinking.

And I am very discouraged and upset about my lambs. Poor little Cara barely made it up with the rest of the flock this morning when I went out to check on them. Poor baby. So I gave her another B complex shot and went ahead and wormed all 3 of the bottle lambs with more Dectomax. And gave them all sheep nutri drench.

Today, after market, I went to Tractor Supple to get some Safegaurd, which I read kills tape worms. That's what I saw in Cassidy's fecal the other day. There were 4 wormers that specifically worked on tape worms and that's all they had. I also got a 40# bag of Diotemacious Earth to sprinkle around where they take their siestas. I'll do that every day. Also put some in their feed trough. I so hate this.

I talked to my friend Sarah, who has 3 milk cows. I asked her if she had any that were dry now. I had read that cows and horses don't get the same parasites as sheep and goats and work well together. I think cows like the taller grass , where sheep like the lower grass. So she has 1 dry cow that is really not feasible for her to be feeding like for a whole year, so she's going to see if they can get her out here. That will be a good thing to help with all the horrible worms we are plagued with. I hope, anyway. Has anyone else had luck doing this? I'd love to hear about it. I just feel like I'm such a horrible shepherd right now. I wish I had a dry lot and a load of hay. I will be getting some hay and will try to keep them in for awhile. See if that helps.

I am so happy that I still have 2 hives of happy busy honey bees in the middle of August!!! My 1st hive last year lasted about 2 months, and was invaded by wax moths. Bees all left. So I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing right now for them. I have a friend coming Monday to get the last 2 lambs I wanted to sell. He has bees and said he'd check them while he's here. See if I can harvest a few frames of honey maybe? We shall see. I hope I can take at least 2 from each hive. But they are the busiest girls. They are coming and going all day. They are drinking water from the sheep's trough. I have bits of wood in there so they don't drown. But there is always some that do. I hate that. I also have a small kiddie pool in the side yard that is a tadpole nursery. The bees drink from there as well. I have a big piece of wood in that pool so they can drink from that. I love these bees.

I read somewhere that an older man, who'd had a few hives for a few years now in Missouri I think, was attacked by his bees while he was mowing. He died. They said he had a heart attack, that's what killed him. But he was covered in bees. So sad. It makes me think I better be careful and more aware of my bees when I mow around their hives. Anything could happen, I guess. You never know about wild creatures.

I don't know if you can zoom in on this pic or not, but these bees coming in are just loaded with bright orange, almost red, pollen. All on their little tiny legs. So cool!

But I am so happy both my hives are doing so well. Now to just get them through winter.

So I have THE WHOLE WEEKEND to myself!!!! Husband went to Indiana to get grand kids. What shall I do? It just feels good to have TOTAL quiet right now. No TV! Seems like he's constantly got that darn TV on.  There is so much to do. But there's always tomorrow, right?