What?

Can you see this? Click on and enlarge this picture. It's a woolie worm. This is July 25 th. A woolie worm that is ALL black. What is an all black woolie worm doing out on July 25 th? Really weird. It wasn't moving very fast either. I guess it was too hot with all that black wool on.

Wrong one, Sophie

I told Stella to go to her crate. She said "But someone's sleeping in my bed." Sure enough, there was the bad old dog, Sophie. She has done this before. And Stella will not go in when Sophie is in there.

Yes, you are a bad old dog, Sophie. "But I like this crate better."

This is her crate. Nice soft quilt for an old dog to lay on. Hmmm.... She's only 15. So she should get her way, right? Stella doesn't think so though.

He's back

I went to check on Abraham this morning. Brought the bottle of Valbazen with me. And more minerals. He still has the knot under his jaw. I wonder if I am giving him enough.

Then I had to go to Tractor Supply. Found some electrolytes with vitamins and minerals. Got some. While I was standing in line, the guy behind me asked how my sheep were. It was the guy I got my 1st three ewes from. The Katahdin-Dorper ewes last June. I asked him if they were having problems with worms. He said no, that they rotate pastures. I said I did too. But am having such a hard time getting them under control.

Then it hit me. They only have hair sheep. My hair sheep are fine. The only sheep having a hard time with the worms are the Finn sheep. The wool sheep. I hadn't even thought about that til just then. It's Lucinda, the black ewe, and Darla, who is Abraham's mother. She is half Finn and half Suffolk. And Abraham, who is mostly Finn. And I got both Darla and Lucinda from the same place. Hmmm.

So now I am wondering if I want to just use the 2 hair sheep rams to breed the ewes next. And not use Abraham at all. I don't want to pass down his bad genes. I need to go ahead and just butcher him in the fall-winter. And maybe not have any more wool sheep. Just the ones I have now. But not breed for wool, just meat.

I brought Abraham back home with me. He's in the back yard with my buck, John Henry. I mixed up a pail of electrolyte water for him. And I'll go ahead and  give hime a little more wormer tonight. He seems to do better in the mornings and nights. These wool sheep don't like this heat at all.

I have a lot to think about. But that has hit me like a ton of bricks.

Abraham #0001

                             This is Abraham when he was just a few weeks old. He was so black.

                                This is him now. All reddish and huge with the black face and legs.

And he's sick. I took the 3 ram lambs to a friend's   place to eat down her garden area. They have eaten most everything in a little over 2 weeks. So I brought them some sheep feed and sunflower seeds and alfalfa pellets. She's been giving them minerals too. But I thought they might need something else. I noticed Abraham was a little droopy and hanging back from the others. Not his usual friendly self. Then I noticed the lump under his jaw. Again. I had wormed them all before I took them there. The other 2 look fine.

So today I made a list of what all to take to them. I stopped and got penicillan since mine was way out dated. Some syringes. Some thiamine. I have Valbazen and some Ivermectin. But didn't have any Cydectin. So stopped at the feed store to get that. Plus some ACV for their water. Got there and we fed them and I got Abraham and gave him Ivermectin and Cydectin orally. Then gave him a shot of pen. and thiamine. She also made a bucket of molasses, salt and baking soda and he drank a lot of that.

I called just now to check on him and she said he was up and eating and drank a lot of the molasses water. I'm going back to town in the morning and i'll go by and check on him again. I left 2 syringes of penicillan for my friend to give him every other day. I hope he makes it.

Any of you with sheep, have you been dealing with lots of worms and mineral deficiancies? It's been abd here. And with the goats. If you have any idea of what else to do for him, please tell me. I am open to any suggestions. I just want him to be ok. And why aren't the other 2 rams doing this as well? I went ahead and wormed them too with Cydectin. So it's been a little over 2 weeks when I wormed them before. Maybe too late?

Going out for dinner

Out to the garden, that is! I picked squash, red and purple peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, peas. And that's dinner for tonight. Plus some cantaloupe from my friend's garden. It's so nice just to go outside and pick dinner. Or lunch. And so much better than store bought. I just wish everyone could go out for dinner like this.

Storms

 

    Last night my dog Bubba came in to my bedroom. He stuck his nose in my face. He was shaking. We had another night time storm. With thunder and fireworks. The power went out for a little bit. And he was nervous. He isn't usually this way. But it was pretty intense. Stella and Sophie are in crates. And Sophie can hardly hear anymore. But the silly dog started yipping like she wanted to go outside. So I let her. And she stayed out. It was about 1 am. The storm finally went away and we all went back to sleep. But we have had several night time storms lately. I know we need this rain so much. But the thunder and lightening sure do make animals nervous.

    There are other kinds of storms in my life as well. Family storms. Money storms. Worry storms. Big storms and little storms. Some I can deal with and fix and they go away. But others seem to stick around and get bigger and bigger. And worse and worse. And I let them.

    But I know that there is someone who can help me. Someone who can make the winds stop and the thunder and lightening go away. Someone I can go to and stick my nose in His face. And He will comfort me and tell me it will all be ok. That things will get better and the sun will come up again. And shine bright. And things will keep on growing. And I will be ok. And my family will be ok. And we will have enough money to get by. We always have. Because of Him. My Protector and Counselor and Provider. My Friend and Father. I am so thankful I have someone I can run to when I am afraid. And He will never turn me away. Ever. 

I think I need to relocate the clothes line to the front yard.

Goats and Clothes Lines

 Those 2 things don't go together too well. Things happen while you're away and they don't look the same way as when you left.

                                             
                                               BAD GOAT!                       

                                         
                                     Even the girls are telling him he's a bad goat. Shame on you, John Henry!

  And he hangs his head in shame. He's also been jumping up on the back door ripping the screen to pieces.

       But I do love the bog bad buck. He's pretty good most of the time. And he'll have company soon again.                        

The Rams

I took my 3 ram lambs to my friend's place to eat down her garden area. That was 2 weeks ago this Thursday. It looked like a jungle then. Not now. They have eaten all the bamboo. All the weeds. All the little bushes. All that's left is the middle area with tough grass and English ivy. And those clumps of weedy grass even horses won't eat. We were thinking they were going to stay there at least a month or so. I am thinking I may need to get them back home sooner.


Abraham, the black ram, is always like this. With his head through the fence posts. I called him several times and he never even looked at me. I miss these guys. When I bring them back I'll put them in the back yard with John Henry, the buck. He's a bit lonely back there by himself. He was getting a little too fresh with the little does so he had to go to the back yard til Fall. He can still see and talk to the girls. Just can't be in woth them anymore. So this will be the buck and ram yard for awhile. Til we're all ready to breed.

I need a trailer bad.

What's wrong with this picture?

                                       

                                          And this one?

 

                                           And this one?

  

                                           And this one?

I'm sure you've all figured it out by now. There is a loose chickie. Yes, another loose chickie. Well, it hasn't happened in quite awhile. And I don't want it to happen again. I THINK I found her spot. And I fixed it. But she got out twice today. I will see if she's out again tomorrow and check more thoroughly. She's a sweetie though.

Corn On The Cob

This is probably all the corn I'll get. But isn't it pretty? It had come up here and there so I mowed all but these few stalks down. They aren't full yet so I'll wait a little longer. It's Silver Queen. I can still see my grandmother sitting at her little kitchen table with a pile of shucked corn and a sharp knife. She'd cut off the kernels from each ear then scrape the cob. I loved that. I'd get splashed with corn milk every time! Such good memories. I think of that every time I do corn.

Making Marinated Feta Cheese

Wednesday I made a batch of goat's milk feta cheese. It's about the easiest cheese to make.  You just take a gallon of fresh milk, heat to 86 degrees, add 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Let sit an hour. Then add 1/2 teaspoon of rennet to a 1/4 cup of cool water. Add to milk, cover and let sit another hour. Then cut the huge pot of curds that have formed. I use a long serrated knife and cut down the middle and then the other way, then sideways. You want about 1" cubes. Let it rest 5 minutes. Then get the milk back to 86 degrees and stir gently for 15 minutes. That's the hardest part for me. I usually go sit down to do this. It's very boring. Then you line a colander with cheesecloth and pour curds and whey in. That's what the first picture is.

Then you hang the cheese for 4-6 hours. After it's hung and drained real good, toy take it out of the cheesecloth and cut the ball in half. Put in a bowl. Then I use kosher salt to sprinkle all over the cheese. Cover it with a thin cloth and let sit on counter for 24 hours at room temp. After 24 hours, sprinkle with more salt and let sit another 2 hours. Then refrigerate for 5 days. After that you can eat it like this or do the next step.

Go out to your herb garden and cut some fresh herbs. I love rosemary, basil, thyme and oregano. So I cut some of those. How do you like my cattle feeder herb garden? It's so pretty and so easy to get to.

 Wash them good and lay on a paper towel. Put another one over the herbs and kind of crush them to let out all the goodness.

 Then get your little jars, olive oil and cheese ready.

I cut my cheese into nice little cubes. Then put a layer in each jar, then a layer of herbs and a head of crushed garlic. Add another layer and more herbs.

 When done, add olive oil to cover cheese. There, all done! As long as cheese is covered in oil, it can sit out on the counter as long as you have some. It really doesn't last very long.

 I have some cute little labels someone gave me so I write down what is in that particular cheese jar and add that. And the date. And there ya go. Marinated feta cheese with fresh herbs in olive oil.

Now y'all go make some for yourselves while I have an omelet with feta cheese and yummy roasted garlic bruschetta poured all over it!

Check this out

I just went over to www.homesteadrevival.blogspot.com and they are having a great giveaway. If you enjoy cooking over a campfire, then this is for you. I would love to win this myself. So good luck!

Notes to self

These are just a few of my lists. I am constantly writing notes. If I am talking to someone and they have something I need to do for them, I write it down as soon as I hear it. Or I will forget right away. I have little note pads all over. Lots in the car. And beside my bed. SO if I think of something I'm supposed to do during the night, I can write it down. My car is full of these lists. I clean it out all the time and there are usually 5 or 6 lists on the floor. All crossed off or checked off. Sometimes I don't get everything done that's on the list. I might add it to the next one. If I didn't make lists, I don't know how I would function.

And I don't go to town every day either. When I do, I make a list of everything I have to do in the order that it has to be done. And it all has to be listed so that all places are on my right. And going to town and then back home. I don't go willy nilly all over the place. No. I have an order to things I do. I hardly ever turn left to go anywhere. Those places that are on the left are saved for the way home so they are on the right then. Saves so much time and gas. I'm not sitting there waiting for traffic to clear or a light to change. This is probably the only time I am organized doing anything.

There have been times where I have had a note in my hand and completely forget what I was doing. Or be thinking and go right past the place I was supposed to go to. So sometimes the lists don't help. I'm sure I am not the only one who has done that, right?

Chickens and Rainy days

    I ordered 50 Freedom Ranger chicks today from www.freedomrangerhatchery.com in Pennsylvania. I spoke with Lisa. She was so nice and helped with a lot of questions. The chicks will be shipped July 25th and will be here probably the 27th. I went to the co-op while I was in town to see if the had unmedicated chick starter and vitamins for their water. They do sell Purina feed that is not medicated so I can keep all that junk away from them. I want basically a free range bird that can feed itself and only need a little supplemental feed. I have a whole yard for them to range in that's fenced in. It sure needs some chickens over there because the sheep have been in that yard. Lots of poop that needs to be spread around!

    I have a friend who gave us a wooden box that will be perfect for a brooder. I hope all 50 will fit. It's about 5x4. I'll be getting another one so I can put them both together. And then use them outside too. I plan to keep them in for about 2-3 weeks. So we'll have at least 4 weeks to make a chicken tractor for when they are small. I want them big enough before I let them loose so they won't go through fencing.

    So I am excited to be getting these chickens. I have heard a lot of good things about them. We shall see how good they are about the end of October.

    It's been raining for the past 2 days now!  It's been so nice. And cool too. I can actually see the trees and grass turning green again and looking very happy. We so needed this rain.I am very thankful for it. I only wish I could have gotten the garden tilled and planted with more things. This would have been perfect. But I still have plenty of time to do that.

Got Milk?

 This is what goes on here every morning and evening. Usually there are about 4 cats in here too but I made feta cheese yesterday so the cats and chickens got whey this morning. This is how the dogs get their milk. Stella, as you can see in this video, likes her straight from the goat's udder, please! They are so funny. And you can see Bubba looking at the teat, like he's saying he's finished and needs some more, please.

 Sophie is a lady and will have hers in a bowl. Plus she's too small and old to get up on the stanchion.

These 2 dogs are great at cleaning the stanchion, too.

 They all say thank you when they are done.

 Abby, finishing up her breakfast. She's such a good old goat. 10 years old and still the best milker ever. She's been a little droopy with this heat so I gave her a shot of Thiamine yesterday. Also mixing the goats up a bucket of brown sugar, mineral salt and baking soda in water. They suck that stuff up. I'm sure it helps them in this heat.

I tried to get a good shot of Sandy, but she's more interested in eating here.



Just a typical morning here at Outback Farm. What's it like at your farms in the morning?

Rain!!

 This is from the front porch. You can see the water coming off the roof. I think our gutters need fixed or cleaned out, ya think?

 Looking towards Pigeon Mt. Where is it? Behind the clouds and rain!

 Looking North from the front porch. Water just pouring off the roof to water the bushes and flowers.

 Looking out the kitchen door. Nice and wet out there. And it cooled off so much. I am so thankful for this little bit of rain. It has stopped but what we did get was much needed and very appreciated for sure. My sheep are happy!

I hope everyone who needs rain gets some soon. This was wonderful, if only for 15 minutes. It helped. It's been about a month since we have had rain here. All around us has had rain at some time but it's missed up by about a mile each time.

Lucinda. Again.

This morning while feeding and doing chores outside, I noticed Lucinda's jaw was swollen. Again. So I got 2 syringes and filled them with Cydectin and Ivermec. Grabbed the shepherds crook and some feed. Went out there amongst the sheep and proceeded to catch Lucinda. She has been letting me pet her just a little lately. But sheep know when something's up. And something very serious was up. With her. So Lucinda and a few others went into the little place that has a gate and I went in and shut it.  Gave them some feed and waited. I grabbed her with the crook and she let me give her both wormers and was so good. She knows I am not going to hurt her. I am just trying to help her.

It has been so hot and very dry here for the past month. The grass is all crispy and brown. So not much good stuff out there for the sheep and goats to eat. But the worms love this. They are thriving. I was talking a someone up in middle Tn. who has about 130 sheep and he said they have been going through the worm meds like crazy lately. In fact, he said that they have had 5 sheep die from this. I hope they can get theirs under control soon. If we could get some good rain and cooler temps, I think we can.

So lets all do the nekked rain dance!

Happy 15th birthday, Sophie!

 Sophie will be 15 years old tomorrow, the 7th. We got her and her sister Zoe when they were just 6 weeks old. So long ago. Zoe died 1 1/2 years ago in Jan. Sophie is doing pretty good for 15. She's a Rat Terrier. I have heard these little dogs can live to be over 20. She is so much like a little old lady. She has to take a running start to get up the 2 steps to the living room. She lays in the sun when it's 100 outside. I kid her and tell her she needs her sweater on. I have a friend who is 95 next week and she wears a sweater all the time.

 This is my husband. I got the 2 dogs for him way back when. She loves him.

 And she's had enough fun for the night. She's going to bed. She's old, she goes to bed early. And she will sleep all night til about 6 in the morning and wake me up with a few yips. I don't need an alarm clock. She's a good ole dog. I hope she has many more birthdays. As long as she can get up those steps on her own. I told her she's going to the doggy nursing home if I have to carry her in and out. That ain't happenin"!