Tuesday morning

 This child! We have had Kansas since Sunday. School was out yesterday and again today. And her mom has been sick. And has to work. This child will NOT be quiet! Ever. She is constantly talking or singing or mumbling. Her mouth is always moving. But she's the sweetest child. She loves everyone. And we love her. But man, is this child messy! Seems like everywhere she's been, there is a pile of something.

It was about 4 degrees last night. The thermostat said 66 all night. This morning, the central heater was on. The woos stove can't get the house up to 92 like it did that one time when it's so cold. I will not complain again about that! But it's finally warmed up to 71 now. And the wood stove is FULL of wood and going strong.

This is what we have for breakfast when it's freezing outside. Biscuits, gravy, fried potatoes with onions and eggs. Now that'll fill ya up and get ya going on a morning like this.

Last night, we had gone over to the little house-barn to turn on some heat so the pipes over there won't freeze. This morning it was nice and warn inside the house. But when I went to feed my poor cats, Sybil wouldn't even jump up to her bowl. She's sick. Poor kitty. I had gotten the cay room all nice for all the cats with boxes with blankets and there are 2 kid's chairs with fabric seats they lay in. I thought they's be fine in there. They've always been outside cats. I didn't think a thing about them not being ok. I wish I had put them all over next door for the night. Well, they are all over there now. With food and water and they are all warm. They have hay bales galore to lay on. That's where they will all stay for a few days, till it warms back up. And it's supposed to get to around 50 or so after tomorrow. Nearly 60 for Saturday. I sure am looking forward to that.

I have been filling up water buckets for days now. As soon as I put water in the buckets, it starts getting ice in them. So I am constantly putting more water in them all day. I am even putting warm water and sunflower seeds out for the birds. Apparently, birds around here don't care for sunflower seeds too much. Or maybe they're just afraid of all the cats? They sure are twittering out there today.

How about y'all. What is your favorite things to eat when it's so cold? How do you stay warm when you're outside doing chores? My mom gave me a really warm hat and I am usually sweating by the time I'm done out there. It's really warm.

The Frozen Tundra

Do you think Zeeboo might be a bit pregnant? Geeze. I put John Henry in with the girls Oct. 28th. He must have got her right away. She's huge already, at only a little over 2 months. I wonder if she'll have triplets? I am SO glad I didn't breed for Feb. or March kids. I did take John Henry up to my friend's does back in Sept. And they are both really wide. I got Zeeboo last year the end of Dec. and she never did get pregnant. I hope she has some cute little kids.

So, we are a big ole frozen mess here in N. Ga. right now. Last night it was windy like crazy. Lights flickered a few times. Some people lost power for awhile. It did start raining. Then turned to sleet then snow. Got to about 17 degrees. And tonight, 4 degrees people!  4 degrees.

This is what we woke up too. So pretty. But OH SO COLD!!

See that silly rooster on the fence to the left? I have no idea how long he'd been out there. Must have gotten out earlier this morning, because they were all in last night.

Isn't he a handsome roo? I have 2 more of these guys. And they have to go. I'll keep the biggest one, Black Bart. That's all I want. They just started crowing a few weeks ago. And now they've all realized they are GUYS and are all over the hens. Like ALL the time. They really are nice looking birds. But I don't need 3 for just 30 hens. They don't stand a chance with 3 roosters.

I let the chickens out this morning. And they did not want to go outside at all. They did finally go out, but went right into the 2 stalls to the left. Stayed there all day, scratching in the hay from the sheep. This is where the sheep stay at night now.

                                      More coldness. Icicles hanging from the garage. So pretty.

                      And a pretty little snow filled heart leaf on the ground at our daughter's. So pretty.

I have to tell a little story about my husband.  I am still laughing. We have a big hole, about 8 feet long and maybe 3 feet wide, where we are always having to dig up the water pipes between our 2 houses. So we finally just left the hole open. Well, right now, it's a big frozen pond. So this evening, Tiny wanted to put some old hay on the frozen hole. Don't ask me why. He just did. So we scatter hay on top. I said it would be pretty funny if the sheep got over there and ran to eat that hay and fell through the ice into the "pond". About that time, Tiny got a little too close to the edge and started falling. Like slow motion. I am laughing again right now. Is that wrong? I can't help it. He kind of fell to his left and oh my gosh, I can't stop laughing. Anyway, there's this metal tub I use to put the chicken feathers in when I butcher meat birds. It was right there. He could have been killed, probably. If he'd hit his head or something. But he didn't. He went to his left and just rolled over. Stop laughing already. Ok, he was even laughing by then. I was laughing so darn hard I almost had an accident myself. I am just that way though. When someone gets hurt, I laugh. I can't help it. We got him up and laughed all the way back to the house. I am thankful the man could walk, really.  But when he went to the bathroom, he saw blood. His left forearm was scratched a little. And his left knee. I am also thankful he hasn't bled to death, being on Coumadin. But it's all good. And it's still funny.

A typical morning? We'll see about that.

This morning started out pretty good for me. It was freezing outside. Everything frozen solid. About 20 degrees. I got my Carhart jacket, leather gloves, boots and the hat my mom got me for Christmas. Makes my head sweat, it's so warm. Got the dogs and cats all fed. Went to the milk-feed room to get all the other critter's feed ready. Go out to get the sheep back next door to their feed bowls.

Here they are, at the starting gate. 1,2,3 GO!

And they're off! Tails flying, leaping in the air in excitement. Who will get there first?

I give all the animals bread that I get free from a bread store in Chattanooga. They love it. So the sheep get their feed and bread and hay in the mornings.

Then I go feed the chickens and let them out for the day. Sometimes they get impatient waiting on me and lay eggs in the coop. They'd all rather lay in the other nest boxes next door though. Got 10 eggs today! They are picking back up again. I had to go get them all fresh warm water too. I heard that a friend up the road had a frozen hen this morning. That's sad.

The dogs are full and happy. Ready to play. They love each other. Stella always wins. I think Bubba lets her.

I go to feed the goats and left the bucket in this little holding area. The sheep managed to get it there and one of them, I think it was Bridgette, wanted to see if there was anything left in the bucket. And ended up with it stuck on her head! I laughed so hard I could hardly see! And the other sheep couldn't figure out what this strange thing was and all started running from her. She of course ran too and hit the fence. Twice! It finally fell off and all was well again in the sheep kingdom. No one was hurt. Just embarrassed.

 Sandy and Penelope wouldn't come out to eat this morning. It was TOO cold for them. I wish you could see how fluffy they get when it's cold like this. They are almost doubled in size.  And they are getting bigger every day. I couldn't get the gate open to go inside the goat yard this morning. It was frozen.

Then I go feed the alpaca boys. Misha will eat out of the bucket. He lets me pet him now. He's a sweetie.

Then, I saw this happening. Leelah was the only one at the fence. The others were all eating hay like good sheep are supposed to, under the shed on the other side of the yard.  But not Leelah. She leapt right over the fence, just so pretty like. Out into the wide pretty green yard. Off she went, happy as a, well, loose sheep.

So I ran as fast as I could on frozen solid ice to get to the gate across the yard before the others realized that they could do this too. Nipped that in the bud right quick!

Finally got Leelah back to where she was supposed to be, after much running and cursing. I just never know what's going to happen around here from one minute to the next. One minute I'm laughing at the darn sheep, the next I want to kill them.

So this is what I got to walk on today. See my nice dry boots? Isn't that cool? I would so much rather walk on this solidly frozen poopy mud than wet poopy mud any day. But it sure is cold out there y'all.

I hope everyone is staying nice and warm out there. It's going to stay like this for awhile. But ya know what? It's winter. And it's supposed to be cold. Right?

Oh, forgot to say that this is just the morning routine. I have to do it all again in the evening, except backwards. And haul lots of water during the day too. Frozen hoses and all.

I just have to say...

That farming in winter SUCKS!!! Really BIG! I just have to be honest here. If no one wants to see an honest blog post, then go elsewhere please.

I used to love winter. When I was younger. But now I just don't like it. All the mud and mucky mess everywhere.I guess if I didn't have animals, it would be a whole different world here. But I have 18 sheep. 5 goats. 2 alpacas. 35 chickens. 6 cats. And 2 dogs. The 2 dogs live inside, most of the time. So when it rains, they go outside for a few minutes to do their thing. Long enough to come back in sopping wet. So they know the drill. Sit on the kitchen rug so I can wipe them down with a towel. Which I really don't mind too much. It gives me some time to really love on them. Which most of the time I'm just too busy to do. Because of all these other animals.

Now I have some favorite blogs I go to almost every day. Most of them have goats and sheep and chickens too. Most all are farm blogs. Some have dairy cows too. And donkeys. I don't think I have ever seen or read about the crappy parts. And I'll give some examples here.

Like a few of them feed their sweet clean little goats cookies. I do that too. But I have never seen a picture of them covered in mud from when the goats jump all over them. Or when they are knocked down by those precious little kids., trying to get to that cookie before another goat gets it. And taking turns? HAH! Ever seen a goat be nice and give a cookie to another goat? Mine would kill the other goat first. There is NO sharing among goats. Or sheep either. It's all for one. That's it.

Or when the sheep almost knock them down trying to get to their feed bowls. Like when the gate is opened and they all try to get through all at once. It really is funny. But not when you're in front of that gate. I have come pretty darn close to having some broken knees.  I'm not saying it'll never happen either. And I have been knocked down several times by sheep, crazed by fear because I am giving them a drench of wormer or something. Sheep are crazy. Yeah, I said it. Sheep are CRAZY! I have seen them leap 10' in the air to get away from a human who's only trying to help them. Never seen that on a farm blog.

And I love the blogs where there are children. I have never heard anyone say how many times a child has been head butted by a goat. My grand daughter was. Right in the belly. Knocked her 3' away, on her back. And I have been rammed by a ram. NOT fun. It hurt really bad. The ram was gone a few days later.

Or people being spit on by Llamas or kicked by donkeys. Why don't people just be honest and tell the world how it really is on their perfect little farms, in winter.

And, in winter, while I'm not milking, my milk room looks like a tornado went through it. It's a mess! I don't care either. Not right now. I will get it all cleaned up soon enough. There's no goats going in right now, so they don't see it. They'd probably roll their eyes at me and call me lazy.

Yes, it's raining again here at Outback Farm. Like we need more rain, right? I can hardly walk out there for all the wet clay. Did you know when clay is wet, it's like skating on ice? I slide all over the place. I just want a few concrete trucks to come in and concrete this whole place right now.

My personal weather man just informed me it's going to RAIN ALL DAY! And we have to go to a doctor and run some errands. Yay!

I would just love to see the crappy parts of winter farming on some of these pretty blogs. Just to know I am not the only one who hates farming in winter. And farming in winter SICK? Even worse.

But, we're on the downhill slope now toward spring! It's just not like this in spring, summer or fall. And I do apologize for being so negative. But really, all these perfect farms with red barns and wreaths on the barn doors and perfectly clean nice little goats that wait their turn for cookies. It just makes me want a farm like that. And it ain't gonna happen.

Reflections: last half of 2013

 This is full of pictures. Lots of things happened from May til now.

My step dad, Gary, went into the hospital the 2nd week of May. And he died 3 weeks later. On my husband's 65th birthday. I had no idea that he wouldn't ever get out of the hospital. He'd have good days then more bad days. Mom was there all day, from before sun-up to after dark. We all miss him.

We had Gary's memorial service at their home, the end of June.  Most of the family came. It was like a little family reunion.

The 1st weekend in Ausgust is the Sherrill family reunion up in Crossville, tn. Lots of Indiana people come for this. We have been meeting at my husband's sister's house on the lake in Spring City, Tn. on Saturday. The kids love it. There's usually a boat on the water with the jet skies going. Lots of fun. Then on Sunday, we all meet at the park in Crossville. Lots of good food and family.

I got a bunch of young, very expensive laying hens. They are all finally laying now. I was so happy to see eggs here again!

Then later in Aug. me and Mom went to Colorado Springs to visit my brother and sister and all their kids and grand kids. We stayed a week. Went to the Garden of the God's and Manitou Springs. Had lots of good get togethers with all the family. Lots of fun.

In September, right up the road from me, was the 150th Civil War re-enactment. Thousands of people, from all over the world, came here to be a part of this.

I also acquired 2 male Alpacas. A friend owns Little Darlings Alpaca farm and she talked me into getting these 2 boys. The red one is Misha and the white one is Gandolf. They are half brothers. Can't wait to get all that wool to spin.

I also learned to skirt and wash wool. Also card it. I bought brand new carder and spinning wheel. I finally got the carder to work for me but still haven't gotten the wheel to work. I'll take it to my friend to see if she can get it going for me. So I can spin up all this wool I've been carding.

I got a new hair ram for my hair sheep too. His name is Bilbo Baggins. he's really small though, next to my big huge ewes. I hope he grows a lot more! He sure is a fat one though.

 Took 2 of the ram lambs to the slaughterhouse. I had all 4 halves sold. I took them up on the mountain because there is no waiting there. I found out why. At the cost of the other ram lamb. They just do not know how to cut up lamb. I'll never ever take anything up there again. Big costly mistake.

 And, in Nov. my husband got really sick. Could have lost both feet. Somehow, he burned both ankles on the heater in his new truck. He has neuropothy, so cannot feel anything below his knees. So he didn't know he was burning his ankles. Ended up really sick and in the hospital for a week. He's been home ever since, on sick leave. He'll officially retire when his benefits run out.

                                              And it looks like 2013 will end like it started. WET.

Here is my very relaxed happy husband, in his recliner. Trying to look like a wise old guy. He's doing SO much better now than when he first got back home. We really don't know where this new year will take us. It'll be an adventure for sure. He's going to help with the farming when he's able to wear boots again. And he may do some part time driving. We'll just see.

So that's my year. I think I'll have to make some changes in the animals and maybe downsize the sheep and up size the goats. I don't know how the Alpacas will fit into the farm either. But things will happen the way they should, I guess. I just never know what I'll be doing really. Til it happens. And that's the fun of it all.

Reflections: 1st half of 2013

2013 started off wet. We had rain every day here. Floods all over. It was messy. And cold too. Not a good way to start a new year. And it flooded the gardens every time I'd plant them. Never did get a good garden to grow. The fall garden did the best.

I had bought 2 new does in December. One was pregnant. Very pregnant. Trudy had twin kids in Jan. A boy and a girl. She was the first of many to kid and lamb here at Outback Farm this year.

Next was Abby and Penelope. They were in the same stall and had theirs the same morning. I could tell right away who's was who's. So I took Penelope and her twin doe kids to the other stall. Got them all situated and fed. Penelope was a first freshener. I sold her kids at just a few weeks old and milked her every day til last month.

 Abby had twin buck kids. Looked just like her. She was 12 years old when she had them. She had trouble before they were born. And she went down hill after. She never did get better. I put an ad on CL, trying to sell the kids and take some stress off her. They sold that day. But she kept getting worse and worse. I had her put down late on a Sunday night. The saddest day ever. First goat I ever lost. I had her 9 years. I miss her still. She was  the best milker I have ever had.

Then the sheep started lambing. It was wet and so cold. The ewes got sick, one after the other, right after lambing. Had the vet out and got them all straightened out. We had 8 new lambs.

  Fiona didn't want her little red lamb. I found her outside that morning, trying to find her mommy. I had to go get matching sweaters and put them on the girls. She finally would let little Bonnie Belle nurse without trying to kill her. But she could only nurse from the back. She's the prettiest sweetest lamb ever.

I also got pigs. I had them about 3 months. Then sold them to a friend up the road. Didn't miss them at all.

  Got 2 doe rabbits too. I kept them several months. Then after they kept digging out from under the pen too many times, I sold them too. I guess certain things are just not meant to be  for me.

 And I got a hive of bees. I loved those bees. Had them a few months. Then wax moths got in and took over. Lost all the bees. They just left. I will have more in the spring.

That's the first half of 2013. I'll try ti get the last half up tomorrow. It sure was a busy full year here. Lots of good times. And lots of sad times too.

Wishing you all a very happy new year!

I don't feel too good.

I don't normally get sick. But when I do, it's good. My throat hurts SO bad right now. And I have a fever. Stuffy. Feel like crap. All over.

So I found a recipe for a hot rum toddy. I have everything I need to make it. But I'll wait til I'm all done with the animals. I've been taking care of my friend's goats and chickens while they're off in sunny Florida for a week. I think some of them will be back tonight. So I'll have a nice hot shower and get warm jammies on and my big thick comfy robe and socks. Then boil the water and have a hot toddy. Might watch a movie if I can find a good one.

I also made some chicken pot pie with one of my Freedom Rangers. I have already had a cup of broth. It's so good. So I'll have that some more too.

And the sheep. I got some Nutri-Drench at the co-op a few days ago. And while at Walgreens. waiting on Tiny's prescription to be filled, I found some Vit. E oil. On sale. BYGO. So I have been mixing them together and giving this to Buttercup and Abraham. And I am seeing a difference in their walking. Not stiff legged so much now. I am also adding more sunflower seeds to their feed. And lots of kelp and loose minerals.

I've been making these ear warmers for Christmas gifts. And now am trying to sell some. My daughter Abby has already sold these 2 to a friend at work. I hope to make a bunch more and try to sell them on line. They are just $10 each. And I can make kids sizes too for $7. I also have some hand spun Alpaca in a light brown and also a dark brown with cream.I'll sell these for $15. So if anyone needs some nice warm ears in this crazy cold weather, I can mail them to you for a small postage fee. They don't weight hardly anything, so it shouldn't be much. I can stick them in a long envelope probably.

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was nice.A little sad because my step dad was not here. It will take some getting used to. We all miss him a lot. Mom is now volunteering at the hospital and she loves it. She brings goodies in for everyone and they gobble them up! She is the baker in this family. I just didn't feel like it at all. And my kids don't bake either. Mom makes the best pound cake too.

So if I don't get back on here for a few days, I wish you all a very happy, healthy new year, with lots of sweet healthy pretty lambs and goat kids and calves and chickies!