At market

Yesterday at the farmer's market, these wonderful kids played for us! It was so nice to hear. The weather was nice. The people were out shopping and buying all the goodies at the market. And we had music! The guy in the green shirt is the leader. He has a few kids. Then some neighborhood kids were there too. They just live up the road from the market. Bill, in the blue jeans, is a fellow farmer, joining in with his guitar. It was fun. Music and good food. What could be better than that?

Flowers and cats

 This is Cosmo on the left with her son Alex, on the chair with the pot of bee balm. I love this picture. I had to run back in the house for my camera, thinking they'd not be there when I came back out. But they were. I got several shots of them before they got tired of all the flashes, I guess.

Then Sybil had to come see what was going on. And eat some grass. Silly cats!

Clouds today

 I went to the Main St. farmer's market this afternoon. It was really hot today. I started seeing these awesome clouds rolling in from the North heading South. They were so beautiful.

                     I have never seen a cloud like this before. Look at the top. It's smooth. So cool.

   

                                                  I had to get a closer view if this cloud.

And this one. They were changing so fast. I just love clouds. Then as I was leaving, I could see lightening in some of them. On the way home, there were a few sprinkles. But that was all. So amazing, these big huge clouds.

Fermented grains

I haven't talked about the fermented grain in a long time. So thought I'd do a post about how I do it.

I am using cracked corn, or 3 way chicken scratch, which is what I have now, whole wheat, whole oats and steamed barley. I use the big coffee can and take 1 1/2 half of each grain and dump into a 5 gallon bucket til it'a almost 3/4 full.

Then take some good apple cider vinegar with the mother and I pour maybe 1-2 cups in.

Then fill it up with HOT water. I find hot water makes it plump up faster. Then give it a stir and put a lid on loosely. In the morning, the grain will be to the top of the bucket. I usually make a bucket every other day.

I always drain 2 colanders full every morning and night since the goats don't like theirs wet. For the goats, the milk does get a few qts. mixed with alfalfa pellets, sunflower seeds and kelp during milking.

The chickens get 2 colanders plus 2 big coffee cans full of grower-finisher feed mixed together with kelp too. The chickens get this twice a day. I have 26 Freedom Rangers and about 40 Cornish Cross left. So when all these birds are butchered, I'll just be feeding goats and some laying hens.

I don't know if it's the  fermented grains mixed with the kelp, but my goats are looking great. Nice shiny coats and very healthy.

I did leave a coffee can half full of grains and forgot about it. One day I saw the can and looked in and the grains had sprouted. Lots of sprouts in there. I gave it to the Barred Rock chicks and they loved it. So I may start doing this for them, since they are in the coop right now til I get their run done.

Freedom Rangers at 2 months old

Yesterday, I put the Premier electric net fence around the Freedom Rangers. I thought that might help them to grow, since they are still so darn little. And they are almost 2 months old now.

                  Some of them don't mind getting electrocuted. Then they go back in again. Silly birds.

                                                       I hope this will make them happy!

Some John Henry

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.487380511336949&type=1 (If you go to Open Group at Bedlam Farm on FB, you can see these. For some reason, I can't get links on here..)

I posted all these on FB this morning. He's such a ham, this buck!

Y'all have a great weekend. I'm going to the farmer's market in the morning. Haven't been in a few weeks.

What's not right here?