Being busy

Why is there always so much to do?

While I was in Colorado last week, I had nothing to do. Except drive and wait on people. Absolutely nothing to do. We did a lot of shopping and driving and eating there. But nothing like what I do here.

I have such a long list of things that HAVE got to get done. Or started. And yesterday we went and got this load of hay. 70 bales. Well, 4 must of fell off somewhere along the way. It was way up on Sand Mt. where we went to get the hay. On a very hilly field. They could of fallen off there. Anyway, so this is priority this morning. I was going to butcher 25 Freedom Ranger meat birds. But that will have to wait til tomorrow.

And I have at least 5 batches of soap to make. I'm running low for the market. And it's supposed to be nice and sunny this week, so was going to get out in the garden to til some rows for fall crops. Plus Wednesday market, which takes me about all day to pack up and pick veggies and get to market by 3.So Wed. is only about market. Tuesdays I run errands and pay bills and go to the bread store and go have lunch with my mother. I need to take my youngest grand daughter school clothes shopping. She starts school tomorrow.

And here I sit. I don't want to do a single thing. But I have to. I had to unload that trailer so we could get the truck over to the barn. And the top bales are still wet with dew. So they need to dry first. At least I don't have to haul all this hay across the yard like I usually have to do. That wears me out. Now the truck is backed right up to the porch, so all I have to do is walk onto the truck and take it inside. And those bales on the truck weigh at least 80 pounds each. Really heavy hay.

This is some of the veggies I picked yesterday for dinner. We had the whole family here for a home cooked, fresh from the garden dinner. I had roasted one of my chickens with some kale and garlic and rosemary. Also roasted some red potatoes with garlic, rosemary and lots of butter. Then had fresh green beans, field peas, fried okra, rice and tomatoes. And I made a blueberry cobbler from berries I picked up the road at my friend's place. A very good meal for sure. And filling. It lasted til we got home last night with this load of hay at 9:30.

So, I need to go and unload hay. Or make soap. Or til some rows.... Happy Monday, y'all!

Mornings. Smells and sounds.

I love mornings. I love the freshness, the clearness. Everything is cleaner in the morning. Like everything has had a good night's sleep and is ready for a brand new day. I can hear the happy birds chirping. The goats are ready to be milked and are calling for me. The cats are at the door waiting for their breakfast. The chickens are scrambling to be the first out the door to catch all the juiciest bugs. The sheep are out in their pasture, munching on the nice juicy grasses. I can hear them munching too. They see me and baaaa and come running to say good morning to me and I get some sheep love.Then a little later, I hear the hens singing their egg laying songs, one after another. I love that sound!

Then I come inside, after doing all my morning chores. I make coffee for my husband and it smells so good. I don't drink much coffee anymore, but still love the smell. I love how it makes my house smell in the mornings. Then I start on breakfast. Bacon, eggs, apples from the tree earlier this spring, fresh tomatoes from the garden, toast in the toaster. I love breakfast smells. Makes the house smell even better now!

I like to wash a load of clothes or towels and sheets and hang them out to dry in the sun all day. That's one of the best smells. Then fall into bed at night from a long day of work, onto fresh smelling sheets. Ah, that is pure bliss right there!

There is a hint of fall in the morning air now. Days are getting a little shorter. Leaves are starting to get a bit of color and are starting to litter the yards and roads, fluttering all around as we drive by. Such a pretty sight. It doesn't seem so hot anymore. Fall is fast approaching.

I'll be going this afternoon to get a few loads of fresh cut and baled hay for the sheep and goats this winter. That's another wonderful smell. Although I hate going to the fields and loading truck load after truck load, then unloading and hauling and stacking it, I do love that hay smell. And I love the satisfaction knowing the barn is full of hay for my animals this winter.

And the smells of canning and putting fresh home grown food away for a nice long winter of good eating! That's a great smell. And the sound of the "pings" that happen almost as soon as the jars come out of the canner! I love it.

These are just a few of my favorite smells and sounds of mornings around here. Another nice sound is my husband, outside in his garage. Getting the weed eater ready to cut down all those tall grasses and weeds around the electric fence out back around the goat pasture. The goats have been getting out into the hay field next door because the fence is not charging right now.

I hope you all have a great day. And enjoy all the smells and sounds in your neck of the woods today!

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

I am back home!!!! I missed all my animals so much. I never saw the first sheep and only a few goats. And NO home gardens. My brother and sister live in Colorado Springs. There is nothing but wall to wall houses there. And freeways and traffic like I have never seen. Everywhere we went, waiting, waiting and more waiting.

BUT, they have some of the best thrift stores! We went to every one of them I think. There was Goodwill of course. But they have an Arc, which is HUGE, and there are a lot of them, all over. And we went to every one of them, I do believe. Such fun!

My brother and his girl friend took me to the Garden of the Gods. I had been there back in 2001, but things seemed different. It was amazing and so beautiful. The day was perfect. Blue sky with big billowing white clouds. The mountains were beautiful. Every turn, there was a more awesome view than the one before.

This is the Kissing Camels rock. There is a gated community named after this rock.

And the colors! Oh my goodness. So many different colors and contrasts.

This is my brother Mark and his girlfriend Susan. Look at that view!

This is a beautiful scene here. These 2 huge rocks with the peaks in the back ground.

And there were several rock climbers too. Something I am glad I have no interest in.

And I saw faces in all the rocks there. These are so plain to see. Like they were giants frozen in stone, looking up at the sky.

 
On the way back to the parking lot, I saw these silhouettes on the top of these rocks. I thought they looked like some kind of animals. The closer we got, we could see their horns. It was a small flock of Bighorn sheep! There are 6 here that were visible. Then we saw a 7th over to the right a little lower. They were all just looking at all the people looking at them! It was so amazing to see them way up there. There was also a huge buck up at the welcome center. Not but a few feet from all the people watching him. And he just laid down under a bush. Then we also saw a pretty doe under one of the rocks.

These are just a few shots from my trip. I'll post more later. I took over 300. Not hard to do out there. But I am SO glad to be back home. In my very quiet little peaceful valley.

I hope you all have had a great week too.

Vacation

In the middle of August. A vacation. A week in Colorado Springs with my mother, brother and sister and their families. Me and my mother will be driving 1200 miles. I am not looking forward to the drive. That's like 4 days of driving. Geeze, I get tired driving from my house to Chattanooga. And that's just 30 miles.  Ugh. My mom will have to drive most of it, I can tell already. And it's BORING. Just plain b.o.r.i.n.g. And Manitou Springs flooded again. I liked it there.

I think I do need to get away from here though. These animals are driving me crazy. I just need a change of scenery. And to not have to get up in the morning and have 5000 animals that need me right away. I hope I am feeling better when I get back. Ready to start a new chapter.

 I will be away from a computer too. Which I need a break from as well. So I will be back next Friday. I so hope you all have a great week and I'll see you later!

Lookout Mountain art

I saw this truck when I got to the top of the mountain to go get my grands yesterday. I had to turn around and go back to take some pictures. It is so cool! I just love it. It's amazing what some people come up with.

Just awesomeness

I went out this morning at 7 to feed the animals and saw this. I had to just stand there and watch it progress over the hill. If you click on the pictures, you can see 2 little birds on the wire, just sitting there, waiting for the sun to come up. I can just imagine them singing praises to their Lord. Just beautiful! And it was so quiet. Even the sheep and goats weren't making a sound.

 My mother and I are heading out to Colorado Springs Thursday morning to visit my brother and sister and their kids for a week. I haven't been anywhere for a long time. Last time was to Savannah for my nieces wedding in Oct a few years ago. I have been saving all my farmer's market and chicken money for the trip. I also just sold the 3 diva kids yesterday! I had just put an ad on CL and got a call a little later asking if I had an ad on CL. I said yes. He said I had put too many 0's in and he and his wife tried all different ways and got me. He said they wanted all 3 of them but couldn't get them til next week but would come out and pay for them. Sometimes it's hard for me to see how God works. But this is just perfect because my friend who'll be coming to take care of the animals would have had to milk Sandy twice a day if they had taken them now. So they will come back when I get back home. They have just bought a huge farm in Alabama but are living in Chattanooga til the place it ready. Which will be next week. They have 2 young ND bucklings too. So it all worked out great and I have more money for the trip! Too cool.

I hope you all have a great week. And enjoy all your beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

A whole dozen eggs today!

I'm sorry for so many chicken pictures here. But I am so proud of these girls! I mean, they just did start laying and now they're up to a WHOLE DOZEN! All 6 White Leghorns and now 6 of the Red Stars. That just leaves 2 more RS to start laying. Then the 7 Barred Rocks in about a month. Then I'll get  nearly 2 dozen a day! Too cool.

I helps to take a break from certain animals to appreciate them when you get them again. There are certain animals I will NEVER have, like alpacas, donkeys or llamas, which scare the crap out of me for some reason. Who wants an animal that looks like a furry dinosaur to spit green nasty stuff in your face? Not this farm gal. Nope, so none of those animals will ever live here.

Then there are those I have had and will NEVER have again, as far as I can tell right this moment. Like turkeys, ducks, guineas, more than likely pigs. And maybe not a horse. But maybe a working pony in the future. And a few more beef cows. I miss cows for some reason.

But chickens? I will probably always have chickens. And goats and sheep. Chickens are just fun. And so funny. And ya get eggs! For not really much either. And they love eating trash and bugs. Can't go wrong with a chicken.

This little lady, who my little visitors yesterday named Mary, just laid an egg here. Actually, Ally named all 6 white hens Mary. She said it would be easier that way. I think this is so interesting to see a hen right before and after laying an egg. They will stand up and start grunting and push several times. Then out comes the egg. Then she'll stand there for awhile, like she's in a daze. Or in shock, not sure which. I guess I'd be in shock, having to lay a large egg every day!

She apparently was taking a little too long after laying her egg for this other hen waiting in line. Even though there were a few other empty nests, she thought this one was the better one.

 And this is what I got today. A whole dozen eggs!

 And a nice even amount of each color, which makes it so nice for an OCD type person like me, who likes to put them in the carton all nice and pretty like this. Isn't that way cool? I think so.

So all these dozens of eggs will be going to the Main St. market with me this Wednesday to sell. I am so excited to be bringing eggs again. A little bit more money for my Colorado trip this week.