getting colder

Well, it is getting colder out but that does not mean less work it just means different work. Like today I am drying out leaves from the corn staulks to use for firestarters in teh woodburner. Also means it is time for the goats to breed so that we can have babies in the spring. That means that they will be eating more because it is winter and because they are pregnant. More food means more money. I have been reading a magazine I really like. It is about homesteading, I would love to live that way. Living off the land, the way God intended. I have been starting a little at a time. I am thinking about getting bees now to have my own honey. I think life is so much better when you work for what you have and dont just go buy everything. Also, better for the earth and more cost efficient.

popping

I love the popping sound that the jars make whenever they are sealing. It means that I did a good job and that the jars are sealed and we will have stuff to eat into the winter. I am having a very good season with my garden.

peaches

I am so tired of peaches. I peeled, sliced and canned a bushel of them yesterday. Ended up with 20 quarts of peaches though. Will be great in the winter whenever I want some peaches and all I have to do is go into the kitchen and open a jar. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century. I think the way they used to do stuff is the way to go. Cannot wait until the day that I only have to go to the grocery store to buy the stuff that it is impossible to raise for myself. Likd sugar and flour. We are getting close.
On Sunday my bunny Freida had her babies. I stayed up all night Saturday because she was building her nest on the floor of the cage instead of in the nesting box and I wanted to be able to put the babies in the box after she had them because in my experience so far the babies die if they are born out of the nesting box. Well, she finally had them Sunday afternoon while I was eating lunch, lol. She did have them on the floor so I put them in the box and the bratty bunny started taking them out of the box so I put them back on the floor of the cage, on a piece of paneling and put some of her fur over top of them. I was afraid she was gonna hurt them while taking them out of the box. Well, the babies are still looking healthy today. The only problem is that it looks like all 5 of them are gonna be white and I am tired of white rabbits.

lazy day

I decided to take it easy and take a day off today but after taking a nap after Doug went to work today I realized I was bored and that having a day off isn't all it is cracked up to be, lol. I do not know how I survived when we lived in Weirton and I didn't have any animals to take care of. We lived in town and I didn't realize until recently just how lonely I must have been. After Doug would go to work I would spend the rest of the day alone with not much to do. Even after the kids came home from school they were busy with friends and such and wouldn't come home until evening. Caitlyn is gone to her grandmothers for almost 3 weeks right now and I am here alone after Doug goes to work and he is working early this week so I am getting pretty lonely. I spend the majority of my days alone right now and it is miserable at times. At times it is also nice to be alone but I am ready to have it over with. I really miss Caitlyn. But, I always have my goats to keep me company. Gotta love my goats!!!!!!!

allergies

I do not understand why God makes things like poison ivy and then makes people allergic to it. I have spent more time this summer with a poison ivy rash then I have spent without one. Why would God want there to be things that make people suffer? I am so sick and tired of itching. First, I had poison ivy, then I had an allergic reaction to a soap I was using, and now I have poison ivy again. I want to stop itching!!!!!

My son has been texting me everyday lately, it is so nice to hear from him. I was so worried about him when he moved away but I think it is good for both of us. I am really hoping to get to go up where he lives and visit him and see the beautiful place he lives in. He texts me pics of the beach and it looks amazing.

Heat wave

I am so sick of this heat. I can hardly get anything done. It is so hot that I have to take so many breaks cause the heat is making me sick. My poor garden is wilting so I have to water the whole thing every other day and I water my peppers and tomatoes every day. I pray that God sends us some rain and cooler weather really really soon. I can't take this much longer.

strange sights

This is the kind of things you will see if you come to my house. Chickens jumping on the trampoline, lol. I think my chickens are taking over my farm. I cannot feed anything while they are out. They chase my goats out of their food and my dogs. These small little birds are chasing away animals that weigh over 100 pounds, lol.

I have decided to take a break from picking berries. I am tired of getting poison ivy all over me. I am thinking of letting the birds have the rest of the berries anyway. Not enough left to be worth the trip to get them. Only getting one or two off each bush now.

Finally finished a blanket I was crocheting today. First one I have made to sell. I am so excited. I hope I can find people who are interested in buying homemade afghans and baby blankets.

Made some fudge today also. Peanut butter, mmm mmmm. It is yummy.

children

I still remember when my kids were young and I felt like I couldn't wait until they were grown. Well, now my children are both almost grown and sometimes I wish I could go back to when they were small. Things were much simpler then. I made all their decisions, lol.

I have learned through the years that I need to enjoy my kids at whatever age they are at. Whether it is the cranky toddler or the moody teen, both ages have something to enjoy. I used to love when my daughter would crawl up into my lap and sit with me and now I get to enjoy talking to her as a teen. Talking about school and different things going on in her life. I love that she talks to me about that stuff. I want her to always want to include me in what is going on. I am so proud of her. She is the sunshine in my day.

One of the hardest things is to let a child go before you think they are ready and to let him make his own choices. Watching him go down the wrong path is heartbreaking but sometimes that is exactly what you have to do and just wait for God to lead him back. I firmly believe that God will lead my son back to him and to us, it is just that the waiting is so hard and can be so painful at times. I also believe that God has given me the strength to endure all of this. God will not give me more then I can bear. I can always lean on him.

The timer just beeped on my oven so that means my raspberry muffins are ready, yippee!!

no electricity

Ruth and Nellie being silly looking at me through fence

Isn't it a shame that we are helpless if we lose something like our electricity? Last night our power went out because of a storm and we were miserable. My daughter and I were bored out of our minds. I should have found something to do instead of sitting around moaning about the things we did not have. The worst part was the heat. We could not run fans or air conditioners. I do not know how they did it in the olden days when they did not have such things. We could have played games, even checkers but instead we just sat and waited for them to fix the power

lines. Hopefully there isn't a next time anytime soon but when there is I am determined to make the most out of it.

On a good note, none of my animals are any worse for wear. There was alot of stuff on the fence but I cleaned it all off and everything is fine now.

Hot and humid

This is my dear husband by one of our pear trees

The summer days seem so humid this year. Either that or I am just getting old. I can hardly tolerate the heat this year. My mom took my daughter and I out for ice cream and wow did the cool treat hit the spot. The heat is making it hard for me to sleep tonight so I am trying to get the air conditioners to reach our bedroom. Doug will probably like that also.

It rained and stormed this morning so I was not able to pick any raspberries but looking forward to getting some in the morning. It is so nice when I can go out and harvest my own food. I cannot wait until our fruit trees are big enough to produce fruit. We have apple and pear trees. I also planted some blueberry bushes and strawberries this year but I do not expect any produce from any of the trees or bushes until at least next year. My cucumbers, zucchini, and corn are doing wonderful. My pepper plants seem to be struggling though. Hoping that giving them some more water helps. I also have carrots, beans, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, and tomatoes this year. Garden is doing wonderful. I don't know if Doug knows it or not but I see him out there taking pics of my garden all the time. I guess he is proud also. It is alot of hard work but it is so rewarding. I am so happy with my life. I am also trying to grow my own herbs.

day off

This is a picture of Mohawk

Sundays are supposed to be my day off. For one thing God gave it as a day of rest and I believe that everyone needs to take one day each week off to rest and reflect on all the things that God has given us. It seems hard for me though to just relax for a day. It started out well. I went to church and then went to a farmer's market and to get ice cream with my mom. But then I got back to the farm lol and after I made lunch I decided to go for a little walk and check the raspberries. Ended up walking for 2 or 3 hours picking berries. I got a good many but was definitely not what I would call resting, lol. Then we decided to trim the goats hooves and for some reason them little bratts decided they were gonna fight me about it. I literally had to hold Mohawk in a standing position while I trimmed her hooves. By the time I was finished with all 3 girls I thought I was gonna collapse. One funny thing happened though. We could not convince them to jump up on the stand to get their hooves done we were having to lift them up on, which is no easy task cause they each weigh over 100 pounds. Well, by the time we go to the third one I asked Doug to go get one of the car ramps and I would try walking her up it and as soon as Doug left the bar the ornery goat jumped right up onto the stand and let me trim her hooves, lol. Goats, who knew.

putting up hay

My husband bailed hay for the first time today.

He found out it is alot harder then he thought it would be. He must have told me about a million times today that he was beat, lol. He also took an hour and a half nap earlier and he is still wiped out. He is a wonderful man and loves to work hard and I am so proud of him for trying this new experience. I just hope he isn't so wiped out that he never does it again because the bales of hay they paid him with came in so handy for my goats.

Samson and me

Took Samson for a walk today by himself. I am hoping to teach him to pull a cart so I need to get him to go out without his bff Smallz. It went pretty good. I could tell he wanted to go back but he was a good boy. I love raising goats, I think they are the most affectionate loving animal. I would love to have every breed there is, lol. I gave Samson, Smallz, and my three does a good brushing cause they were getting kind of dirty and they all look lovely now.

While we were walking I noticed that all of the raspberry bushes were getting ripe berries on them so tomorrow morning I will be picking berries. I am getting low on the raspberry jelly I made last spring so that is definitely one of the things I will be making. Also looking forward to cobblers, pies, cakes, and anything else I can think of. Maybe I will try a raspberry ice cream, yummy.

I am trying hard lately to find things to entertain myself besides tv and computer games. I am kinda hooked on them and I think there are so many better ways to spend my time. Like sitting outside and just relaxing. It is nice to sometimes just sit outside and not do anything except enjoy the sunshine. My mom says I live in the olden days lol. She teases me sometimes and says that we dont even use a fridge to keep our stuff cold that we use an ice box which isn't true of course. We have a refrigerator and a chest freezer in our kitchen, both run by electric I might add. I might be considered old fashioned in most of my ways that I do stuff but I am also happy and that is what matters the most. I believe I am leading the life that God wants me to lead and I feel wonderful and content.

Today was a busy day on the farm. I baked bread this morning. Mmmmm.....I always make a

loaf of cinnamon bread along with the white bread. Homemade bread is so much better then store bought. It tastes better and if you make something yourself then you know for sure what is in it. I am a firm believer in that.

Cleaned fridge today, can't believe we were eating food out of it, lol.

Weeded the garden today and found 3 tomato plants that I didn't plant. I think that makes about 13 tomato plants total. We should not be lacking tomatoes this year. Hopefully have some produce to sell once I start harvesting. My garden looks so much better this year. I am so proud of it. Maybe I can get some pics posted on here.

Had to put up a fence between our yard and my neighbors yard today because my babies (kid goats) wouldn't stop wondering next door for fresher stuff to eat. Think they are getting tired of the same stuff in our yard. Guess there is some frest poison ivy over there for them to eat and get on me. As if I don't have enough poison ivy rash on me as is.

I wish everyone knew how wonderful I think my life is. There is something gratifying about raising your own food and working hard at it. When my husband or I come up with something new and creative to do to improve our lives it is so rewarding and satisfying. Even the unexpected things that happen can be wonderful.

I am trying to convince my husband right now that I need a couple fainting goats. I sooo hope we get them. I was researching them on the internet and I think they are really cool. I want some so bad. Can't wait to get them.

Time now to go work on a blanket I am crocheting. Talk to you later.

intro

I have never done this before so please bear with me. I am a 36 year old housewife and a couple years ago my husband and I decided to move to PA and start a farm. It isn't a huge one but gets bigger by the day. We raise goats, and chickens. We also have a couple bunnies and way too many dogs, seeing as how my daughters dog just had 7 puppies a couple months ago. We try to raise as much of our own food as possible. We have a small garden that I try to make bigger every year, hopefully some day it will be big enough that I can can enough of it to last until the next harvest. I will be breeding my goats in September and then after they go into milk I will be able to make cheese, soap, etc. I would not say that I have an easy life but I would say that I have a very good one. I believe that being self sufficient is the best way to go and we are definitely headed that way.