I finally did it!!!

 Today is beautiful. So I decided to ride my bike to Mt. Cove, 5 miles from my house. My husband helped me get a basket wired to the front of the bike, so I could bring my camera.

So off I went. Isn't it beautiful?

This is looking back at the Cross Farm. I love that red barn. I've gotten hay here before. It used to be a huge dairy. They sold all their dairy cows and went to raising beef cows.

This is the old Underwood Farm. My friend Susie was raised out here, along with her 4 sisters.

Some of the cows along the way. They all said hello.

And this horse. He came up to the fence when I stopped. I got to pet him. I love horses and they smell amazing!

This is a road that goes way back halfway up the mountain, to a friend's farm. She has Finn sheep too.

Ok, this was a mountain to me. I had to walk up.

At Mt. Cove Farm! This is the barn, where they have events. Like weddings or craft shows. We also have the wild game dinner in February here now.

This is also where the Walker Co. Fair is held now. This is a plane runway, where they put all the rides and games. Pigeon Mt. is in the background here.

This was at the entrance to the big barn on the hill. A wedding today!

This is at the little general store out there. Also a bathroom out back of the pavilion! I needed that.

I saw so many of these little fluffy woolly caterpillars along the way.

On the way back now. This is a fork in the road, at the top of another big hill I had to walk up. To the left is Hog Jowl Rd. I will go that way some day. It makes a big circle back to my house. This is also the way the bike riders went for the Ironman race a few weeks ago.

This was painted on the road right beside Hog Jowl. I thought it was pretty cool.

And another hill I had to walk up. They sure could have done a better job at grading this road when they made it. I just have a Townie bike, not a mountain bike. Plus, the wind was blowing like a flippin' tornado. And right at me too. That just made it all that much harder to get up these hills.

I took lots more pictures. I'll post more later.

I hope you all got to get out today and enjoy it. So many things going on around here this weekend. But I just felt like I needed to get on the bike and ride. So glad I did too. Now off to Mrs. T's for a few hours.

Around the farm...

Sometimes life just gets busy. This week has been one of those busy weeks for me. And it seems like it will be busy for awhile.

I did squeeze in some time to put up some pickled radishes. After going all the way to Hixson to get honey yesterday. I picked the radishes Monday and washed them. I didn't want to use my honey in case they weren't all that good. And I just have a little over a quart left anyway. So I got 7 pints done this morning. Took 2 to my daughter and her husband and 1 to my mom. They have to be kept in the fridge and eaten within a month. If anyone wants the recipe, I'll be glad to post it here. They look good.

I've also gotten some kale in the freezer, along with some Asian greens a friend gave me. Also about 20 qts of bell and banana peppers in the freezer. And about 12 jars of hot peppers canned.  And these pepper plants are still making more!

I went ahead and got a round bale of hay for the sheep and alpacas Monday. I'm having to put them in the South pasture during the day because the silly hens had started laying eggs in the corner of the middle stall. So when all the sheep are packed in there eating hay, the hens didn't lay for a few days. So I thought I'd just put them next door during the day to eat the grass over there, then put them back over here at night, after I put the chickens up for the night. But no eggs for 2 days now. They might have found another spot to lay, I just haven' found it yet.

That little black bird to the right is the youngest chick. It's a hen! Jet black. She stays by herself most of the time now. Poor baby.

These are the 2 older chicks. The one on the left is the hen. She's jet black too and so pretty. The other one is a rooster. They hang out together. I need to find the roo a home soon. He hasn't crowed yet. They're about 6 months old now.

I got the garden area all mowed this afternoon. So had to show off the garden. And the view is so pretty. There's still Mexican sunflowers. The butterflies are all over them still.

Everything is doing great so far. Been eating lettuce, kale, radishes and turnip greens. I pulled up a few turnips for the husband today.

There are flowers on the bean plants! I hope we don't get a frost this weekend. Supposed to get down to 40 or so Sat. night. There's kale coming up to the right of the beans here.

Walking around the yard I saw some clematis flowers blooming. They are so pretty.

                                                                   Mexican sunflowers.

These are some wildflowers blooming in the grape vines next to the bee hive. The bees love them. They are still bringing in pollen. So I haven't started feeding them yet. They are still also all over the buckwheat too.

Here are the sheep in the south pasture. There is still some green down under all this brown. They love it over here. That first tree is a persimmon tree. Every time I let them out here, they all run to the tree and eat the fruit on the ground. I read somewhere that persimmon is poison the sheep. I don't know about that.

And the goats. Good grief that Freja is the noisiest goat ever. I was going to leave her and Olga in with the buck for awhile, but no, I can't. I have to put them both back in with Alva and Inga for the night. It's pitiful. The littles just hang out at the fence watching the others, all day. And when it starts getting dark, they all go crazy. So I put the big girls back in with the littles every night now. When I put them back in with Oden, it's like he's never seen them before. Absence truly does make the heart grow stronger. (I have started milking Freja again. Getting almost a qt. each time. I guess I'll keep milking her til Dec. Good milk is expensive.)

Friday, I am at Mrs. T's all day. Then have to go back Sat. evening for a few hours til the night caretaker comes in. Then back again Sunday morning til 7 that night. This is crazy. I have got to find another person to help fill in here. I am pooped!

I've also decided I'm not going to do the Valley Fest fair Saturday. I just can't get into the idea of going. All the packing up, then unpacking and setting up. Ugh, I just don't want to right now. I hope I can get motivated to go back to the farmer's market soon.

I am going to a fiber fair in Asheville N.C. the end of the month though. SO looking forward to getting away for a few days.

And so it begins...

 Yep, I just put Olga and Freja in with the buck this morning. I thought that would be better for everyone this way. They seem to be doing better with both girls together. And Oden is happy. So here we go. Hopefully the middle of March, there will be kids at Outback Farm again!

The only ones not happy right now are Inga and Alva. I wish I could find somewhere to take them for a few months. They are SO noisy. I really wish I had not gotten them at all. I can't breed them til next year.