Yesterday was a chicken moving day at Pure Water Hollow.
First we moved 7 cockerels. They moved from their lot to the pot, you could say. We had never butchered so many all at once before, but it went pretty well. Matthew did most of the slaughtering and we all helped with the plucking. Matthew also did one of the eviscerations all by himself, with Lisa’s guidance. He also de-boned and fixed three of them for dinner with stuffing and potatoes. (That is one boy who is never going to starve with the skills he is learning!) It was a delicious meal! The other four are for the freezer.
We also moved 6 Australorp hens and 5 Dominique hens from the main coop out to the ravine lot. They have started some feather picking again. De-beaking them seemed to solve the problem before, but I think their beaks are starting to grow back out now. We are either going to sell them or butcher them, but for the time being we will keep them down in the ravine lot. By the way, I caught a mama and baby raccoon on Father’s Day morning down at the ravine lot. I think they have been part of the predator problem. They are now out of the way but I decided to reinforce the ravine lot anyway. The coons were reaching through the 2 x 4 welded wire fence and killing chickens so I have put chicken wire around the bottom three feet of the lot.
By moving the Australorps and Dominiques out of the main coop, that made room for our surviving pullets. We moved 8 pullets from their small duplex to the coop after the sun went down. They are all around 11 weeks old, so I hope they are big enough to be with the mature chickens. They seemed to be doing fine this morning. Two of them are full-blooded Buff Orpington pullets. It is sad that only 2 out of 9 chicks survived, but I am thankful for these 2 anyway. Another two are from Black Giant hens. One appears to be a full Black Giant and the other is clearly half Black Giant and half Buff Orpington. The other four are Rhode Island Reds. One or two of them may be cockerels. I’m still not sure yet. 8 other of the chicks are definitely cockerels, so I have kept them in the duplex to await their sale or their butchering day.
Today is the one-year anniversary of getting our chicks from Murray McMurray hatchery. We have enjoyed switching out our old game mixed chickens with chickens of definite breeds. We still have 5 Light Brahma hens, 4 Black Giant hens, 3 Buff Orpington hens, and 3 Partridge Rock hens. Currently 2 of the Black Giant hens have chicks and one of the Partridge Rock hens has chicks. On June 21st we set eggs under another broody Partridge Rock hen and also under good old One Feather. She hatched and raised the Black Giant chicks and raised the Rhode Island Red chicks that we just put in the coop, but she was ready to try and hatch out another clutch. She is the only game hen we still have. We have set the timer for the new chicks to hatch on July 13th.
So, you can see, our chickens have been a big part of our summer activities so far, and it looks like a trend that will continue. We still have several more that we will be butchering before too long, and there is more work to do on the chicken lot, etc. I believe that they are worth the time and effort we put into them, however. Chickens are fun to raise and we enjoy the eggs and meat they provide!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Please Pray For Our Town
Believe it or not, there are still places where the evils of alcohol sales are not present. Pure Water Hollow is placed amidst one of those rare locations.
We are thankful for the tri-county area of Lawrence, Martin, and Johnson counties where you will not see any type of alcohol in any store or restuarant anywhere! We have no liquor stores or bars and beer cannot be gotten in any of our gas stations or convenience stores. You can not sit down in any restuarant in any of the surrounding towns and see or smell the alcholic drink from the table next to you.
Please pray today, 6-9-09, for the future of one Eastern Kentucky town. The small town of Paintsville, Kentucky, is voting today about whether or not to allow alcohol sales. The town and county has been "dry" since 1944, but the pro-alcohol forces have been going strong. Every 5 or 6 years the issue has come up and it has been voted down each time. The last time it was up for a vote was very close, however, with the "dry" side winning by only 70 votes. The paper said that there are about 1600 eligible voters in the city limits.
We often do business in Paintsville, and do not want to see the alcohol displays in Wal-Mart and would hate to see liquor stores or bars there. We don’t want the children of the community, or our own children, to have that in their faces to tempt them. If alcohol is allowed, the message to the young people would be that there is no harm in drinking, when that just is not the case.
The polls are open until 6:00 tonight and I would appreciate folks praying for this small community.
Here is a brief article about it if you would like to check it out:
http://www.dailyindependent.com/local/local_story_158234230.html
Thanks, and God bless.
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6 comments
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Purewater on June 9, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Thank you to all who prayed today, but I just heard the disappointing news that more voters in Paintsville favored alcohol by a 650 to 594 margin.
I don't know if there will be a re-count or if those numbers are final. It seems like some fishy business went on, and maybe there will be more to this story in the future.
It is hard to believe that so many voted "wet" because there were no locals doing any active campaigning for alcohol. Somehow groups of folks from Lexington were in town to canvas the area door to door, but I did not hear of any local group activly supporting it.
We are saddened by this news here at Pure Water Hollow, but God is still on the throne. I believe He is saddened as well, but He can work even in this.
We will keep praying, and I would ask any of you who know the word of prayer to continue praying for Paintsville.
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Schatzi on June 15, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I will be praying. Here in Canada you are not permitted to sell any kind of alcohol/liquor unless it's from a licenced liquor store. I cannot believe you can buy liquor in Wal-mart or a ocnvenience store…that just blows me away.
God will still have victory.
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canadaroxieg9 on June 17, 2009 at 8:42 am
That is too sad that the "WET" side won. I enjoyed reading your postings~~I too am from Canada and cannot believe you can buy beer at the gas station!!?? Do they not have a big thing about drinking and driving down there? I would think that would be the last place there would be alcohol. Craziness
But it was fun to read the things on the farm. God Bless Roxanne
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jrejhkids on June 17, 2009 at 9:41 am
I was interested in your comment. My son is going to Berea College this fall. They advertised that that is a dry county. Is it still a dry county?
I have enjoyed reading your blog.
~jrejhkids
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Purewater on June 17, 2009 at 4:44 pm
This is in response to the above comment by jrejhkids.
It is interesting that you mentioned Berea because we used to live there way back in 1988/89. We did not go to college there, but lived just a half mile from campus. It was a very nice community and I believe that it still is.
Berea is located in Madison County, which is a dry county. The county seat, Richmond, is a wet city however, the same way Paintsville just went wet. In Richmond there are numerous bars and liquor stores which gave it a "dirty" feel in my opinion. We are much removed from the situation there now, but I have no reason to believe that Richmond has gotten any better.
Berea is about 15 minutes from the bars in Richmond. The drinking atmosphere was a hugh temptation for the students at Eastern Ky University in Richmond because the bars are just a few minutes walk away. At least at Berea the students have to drive, and I believe that most of the students that go to Berea are not as tempted to drink.
I did hear of Berea college students going to Richmond to "party" from time to time, however. I guess that is a temptation at most colleges no matter how conservative. If your son knows anyone at EKU it will be very likely that he will get invited to a party where alchohol is involved.
It is good to know about these types of things ahead of time in order to be prepared. In conclusion about Berea College, if one of my children feel led to attend there in the future, I would not hesitate to send them. It is not exactly an overtly "Christian" atmosphere, but it is not an altogether ungodly place, either. (Neighboring EKU, on the other hand, would be another story. I would have to pray long and hard about sending one of my children there.)
Continue to pray for Paintsville. I doubt if many bars would be able to make a go of it here the way they have in Richmond. Perhaps there will not be too many stores that decide to sell alcohol, even though it is legal now. I'm praying that many store owners will view it as a bad business decision to sell alcohol, instead of a get rich scheme.
God Bless,
Eric
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jrejhkids on June 17, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Thank you for your comments. That gives me a better idea of what it is like back there. We are out west and have not visited the area yet. My sister lives 1 1/2 hours north, and my parents 3 hours south. They have sent us pictures, and giving us a little idea what it is like. I did not know there were "dry" and "wet" counties.
Thank you again for your information. It was very helpful to me as a mother sending my oldest off into the world to college.
~jrejhkids
We are thankful for the tri-county area of Lawrence, Martin, and Johnson counties where you will not see any type of alcohol in any store or restuarant anywhere! We have no liquor stores or bars and beer cannot be gotten in any of our gas stations or convenience stores. You can not sit down in any restuarant in any of the surrounding towns and see or smell the alcholic drink from the table next to you.
Please pray today, 6-9-09, for the future of one Eastern Kentucky town. The small town of Paintsville, Kentucky, is voting today about whether or not to allow alcohol sales. The town and county has been "dry" since 1944, but the pro-alcohol forces have been going strong. Every 5 or 6 years the issue has come up and it has been voted down each time. The last time it was up for a vote was very close, however, with the "dry" side winning by only 70 votes. The paper said that there are about 1600 eligible voters in the city limits.
We often do business in Paintsville, and do not want to see the alcohol displays in Wal-Mart and would hate to see liquor stores or bars there. We don’t want the children of the community, or our own children, to have that in their faces to tempt them. If alcohol is allowed, the message to the young people would be that there is no harm in drinking, when that just is not the case.
The polls are open until 6:00 tonight and I would appreciate folks praying for this small community.
Here is a brief article about it if you would like to check it out:
http://www.dailyindependent.com/local/local_story_158234230.html
Thanks, and God bless.
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6 comments
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Purewater on June 9, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Thank you to all who prayed today, but I just heard the disappointing news that more voters in Paintsville favored alcohol by a 650 to 594 margin.
I don't know if there will be a re-count or if those numbers are final. It seems like some fishy business went on, and maybe there will be more to this story in the future.
It is hard to believe that so many voted "wet" because there were no locals doing any active campaigning for alcohol. Somehow groups of folks from Lexington were in town to canvas the area door to door, but I did not hear of any local group activly supporting it.
We are saddened by this news here at Pure Water Hollow, but God is still on the throne. I believe He is saddened as well, but He can work even in this.
We will keep praying, and I would ask any of you who know the word of prayer to continue praying for Paintsville.
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Schatzi on June 15, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I will be praying. Here in Canada you are not permitted to sell any kind of alcohol/liquor unless it's from a licenced liquor store. I cannot believe you can buy liquor in Wal-mart or a ocnvenience store…that just blows me away.
God will still have victory.
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canadaroxieg9 on June 17, 2009 at 8:42 am
That is too sad that the "WET" side won. I enjoyed reading your postings~~I too am from Canada and cannot believe you can buy beer at the gas station!!?? Do they not have a big thing about drinking and driving down there? I would think that would be the last place there would be alcohol. Craziness
But it was fun to read the things on the farm. God Bless Roxanne
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jrejhkids on June 17, 2009 at 9:41 am
I was interested in your comment. My son is going to Berea College this fall. They advertised that that is a dry county. Is it still a dry county?
I have enjoyed reading your blog.
~jrejhkids
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Purewater on June 17, 2009 at 4:44 pm
This is in response to the above comment by jrejhkids.
It is interesting that you mentioned Berea because we used to live there way back in 1988/89. We did not go to college there, but lived just a half mile from campus. It was a very nice community and I believe that it still is.
Berea is located in Madison County, which is a dry county. The county seat, Richmond, is a wet city however, the same way Paintsville just went wet. In Richmond there are numerous bars and liquor stores which gave it a "dirty" feel in my opinion. We are much removed from the situation there now, but I have no reason to believe that Richmond has gotten any better.
Berea is about 15 minutes from the bars in Richmond. The drinking atmosphere was a hugh temptation for the students at Eastern Ky University in Richmond because the bars are just a few minutes walk away. At least at Berea the students have to drive, and I believe that most of the students that go to Berea are not as tempted to drink.
I did hear of Berea college students going to Richmond to "party" from time to time, however. I guess that is a temptation at most colleges no matter how conservative. If your son knows anyone at EKU it will be very likely that he will get invited to a party where alchohol is involved.
It is good to know about these types of things ahead of time in order to be prepared. In conclusion about Berea College, if one of my children feel led to attend there in the future, I would not hesitate to send them. It is not exactly an overtly "Christian" atmosphere, but it is not an altogether ungodly place, either. (Neighboring EKU, on the other hand, would be another story. I would have to pray long and hard about sending one of my children there.)
Continue to pray for Paintsville. I doubt if many bars would be able to make a go of it here the way they have in Richmond. Perhaps there will not be too many stores that decide to sell alcohol, even though it is legal now. I'm praying that many store owners will view it as a bad business decision to sell alcohol, instead of a get rich scheme.
God Bless,
Eric
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jrejhkids on June 17, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Thank you for your comments. That gives me a better idea of what it is like back there. We are out west and have not visited the area yet. My sister lives 1 1/2 hours north, and my parents 3 hours south. They have sent us pictures, and giving us a little idea what it is like. I did not know there were "dry" and "wet" counties.
Thank you again for your information. It was very helpful to me as a mother sending my oldest off into the world to college.
~jrejhkids
Monday, June 08, 2009
Pure Water Hollow Chick Days
On June 3rd, 4th and 5th we had 15 new chicks hatch, and they are adorable!
We had two hens go broody about the same time, and I was curious to see if these hatchery hens would be good setters and good mama hens, so we put some eggs under them.
As far as the eggs that are being laid by our flock goes, I like the largest ones I can get, and also the ones that are dark brown in color. The eggs we get tend to range from small to large and also from off-white to pink to light brown to dark brown.
These eggs could have been fertilized by either a Buff Orpington Rooster, a Black Giant Rooster, or a Light Brahma rooster. The eggs also have a variety of possible hen breeds. They could have been laid by Buff Orpington, Black Giant, or Light Brahma hens, or by Partridge Rock, Dominique, or Black Australorp hens. So there are quite a few differerent possible combinations.
I first chose the 8 darkest brown eggs we got over a couple day period, regardless of it’s size, to set under the broody Black Giant hen. 7 of the 8 hatched and she now has 4 dark chicks, 2 buff chicks, and 1 white chick. Black Giants, Black Australorps, Dominique, Light Brahmas, and Partridge Rock breeds all have dark chicks. The two buff ones look just like the Buff Orpingtons are supposed to, but I have no idea about the white chick. It is not yellow, like the buffs, but completely white. We have no breed that should give us a white chick, unless one of the wild game roosters somehow fertilized that particular egg, which is unlikely since they don’t hang out together much. Perhaps there was some White Rock back in one of our birds lineage?
I also collected the 10 biggest eggs we got over a couple day period, without regard to color, to put under the broody Partridge Rock hen. One of them hatched prematurely and I removed a dead chick almost a week before they were supposed to hatch. Of the remaining 9 eggs, 8 hatched out fine. She now has 6 buff chicks and 2 dark ones! The buff ones look like pure Buff Orpington, but who knows about the dark ones?
I don’t know if I can really tell anything about large eggs or brown eggs by this experiment, since I didn’t keep all the variables the same. It would appear that the large eggs are more likely to hatch out looking like Buff Orpington. I wonder if the 2 buffs from the dark brown nest were also larger eggs? I wonder if the two dark chicks from the large egg nest came from brown eggs? (I have been surprised that the Buff Orpington hens have laid eggs of all different sizes and colors, so I can’t tell by that.) Oh well, I like all the chicks anyway!
So far, both hens seem like they will be great mamas and I am pleased how they stayed with the setting job, even though they sat on plastic eggs for 3 or 4 days before we let them have the real eggs. (I also had an Australorp hen go broody at the same time as these and we gave her some eggs to sit on. She, on the other hand, broke her eggs and destroyed her nest. We know not to keep her for breeding, and we are planning on getting rid of her altogether.)
I have 5 eggs from Buff Orpington hens set to hatch under another Black Giant hen in 9 more days, so "Chick Days" at Pure Water Hollow should continue all summer long!
God is good!
(PS: We haven’t lost any more birds to our predator for the past week, but I’ve kept the pullets and cockerals penned up for most of the time.)
We had two hens go broody about the same time, and I was curious to see if these hatchery hens would be good setters and good mama hens, so we put some eggs under them.
As far as the eggs that are being laid by our flock goes, I like the largest ones I can get, and also the ones that are dark brown in color. The eggs we get tend to range from small to large and also from off-white to pink to light brown to dark brown.
These eggs could have been fertilized by either a Buff Orpington Rooster, a Black Giant Rooster, or a Light Brahma rooster. The eggs also have a variety of possible hen breeds. They could have been laid by Buff Orpington, Black Giant, or Light Brahma hens, or by Partridge Rock, Dominique, or Black Australorp hens. So there are quite a few differerent possible combinations.
I first chose the 8 darkest brown eggs we got over a couple day period, regardless of it’s size, to set under the broody Black Giant hen. 7 of the 8 hatched and she now has 4 dark chicks, 2 buff chicks, and 1 white chick. Black Giants, Black Australorps, Dominique, Light Brahmas, and Partridge Rock breeds all have dark chicks. The two buff ones look just like the Buff Orpingtons are supposed to, but I have no idea about the white chick. It is not yellow, like the buffs, but completely white. We have no breed that should give us a white chick, unless one of the wild game roosters somehow fertilized that particular egg, which is unlikely since they don’t hang out together much. Perhaps there was some White Rock back in one of our birds lineage?
I also collected the 10 biggest eggs we got over a couple day period, without regard to color, to put under the broody Partridge Rock hen. One of them hatched prematurely and I removed a dead chick almost a week before they were supposed to hatch. Of the remaining 9 eggs, 8 hatched out fine. She now has 6 buff chicks and 2 dark ones! The buff ones look like pure Buff Orpington, but who knows about the dark ones?
I don’t know if I can really tell anything about large eggs or brown eggs by this experiment, since I didn’t keep all the variables the same. It would appear that the large eggs are more likely to hatch out looking like Buff Orpington. I wonder if the 2 buffs from the dark brown nest were also larger eggs? I wonder if the two dark chicks from the large egg nest came from brown eggs? (I have been surprised that the Buff Orpington hens have laid eggs of all different sizes and colors, so I can’t tell by that.) Oh well, I like all the chicks anyway!
So far, both hens seem like they will be great mamas and I am pleased how they stayed with the setting job, even though they sat on plastic eggs for 3 or 4 days before we let them have the real eggs. (I also had an Australorp hen go broody at the same time as these and we gave her some eggs to sit on. She, on the other hand, broke her eggs and destroyed her nest. We know not to keep her for breeding, and we are planning on getting rid of her altogether.)
I have 5 eggs from Buff Orpington hens set to hatch under another Black Giant hen in 9 more days, so "Chick Days" at Pure Water Hollow should continue all summer long!
God is good!
(PS: We haven’t lost any more birds to our predator for the past week, but I’ve kept the pullets and cockerals penned up for most of the time.)
Friday, June 05, 2009
Sally Has Finally Delivered After Unusual Pregnancy
This labor and delivery has been very unusual compared to Sally’s previous pregnancies. I am pleased to report that she gave birth to her 5th litter of piglets this evening!
We knew things were going to be different a week or so after April 21st, which was the date I was expecting the sows to deliver. We put Sally and Nellie in the stalls to await the piglets back then, but it soon became apparent that they were not, in fact, pregnant! Back to their pig lot they went.
Last Sunday, we noticed that Sally had filled up with milk and there were actually drops of milk when you squeezed her teats! I thought it would be within a day or two of that sign, but I must note now that milk in teats mean that the sow will deliver within 5 days, instead of 2. Finally, 5 days later, the piglets are here!
The past 5 days, Sally has been acting strangely. Sometimes she seemed that she was in labor, but at other times she wanted to wreck her stall, acted like she was starving, and was all around wild acting! This morning I found that she busted through the stall wall last night and gotten into the junk that I had stored in the other stall. She was carrying everything she could into her nest! The empty feed sacks I could understand, but all the old bailing wires I could not understand.
At 5:20 this evening she delivered the first piglet! Matthew, Erica, Christina, and Simon were there to see it happen, and Lisa, Timothy and I got up there in time for the 3rd piglet to be born. A big suprise was that she only gave birth to 6 piglets this time!
6 is very much fewer than the 14 she gave us last December, the 13 she birthed last July, and the 11 she had last February! Her first pregnancy she gave birth to 8 piglets when she was just 10 months old, which is closer to today’s number, but it was still more. The number of piglets was just another strange factor in this unusual pregnancy.
Another unusual thing this time was that Sally is the only sow with piglets. Each of the four other times, her sister Nellie gave birth on the same day or within 5 days as Sally. This time, I don’t think Nellie is pregnant at all, even though she looked it back in April!
I am thankful for the 6 God has given her. My concern now is that they will survive. This will likely be the last litter we try with Sally or Nellie because they have gotten to be so huge. They are so large that they may not be able to help but crush some of their piglets laying down! We lost too many that way when Sally had those 14 and Nellie had her 13 back in December. My plan is to sell Nellie, Sally, and Rufus and continue raising hogs with new stock. We will keep some from this 6 to start over with. I would like to keep 2 females and get a new boar from another farm somewhere, but Christina thinks that 5 of these 6 are male! I may keep one as our new boar and get a couple of gilts from somewhere else.
Whatever the case, I will give God the thanks for all He provides!
(I will try to post the pictures taken this evening some day in the future. It may be a while. My computer situation is now such that I cannot put up pictures. I will likely be able to dress up anything I post sometime toward the end of summer, but for the next couple of months, my posts won’t have any pictures. I do intend to keep on journaling, however, and taking pictures to add later.)
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1 comment
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Call of the Land on January 18, 2010 at 11:53 am
how exciting!
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We knew things were going to be different a week or so after April 21st, which was the date I was expecting the sows to deliver. We put Sally and Nellie in the stalls to await the piglets back then, but it soon became apparent that they were not, in fact, pregnant! Back to their pig lot they went.
Last Sunday, we noticed that Sally had filled up with milk and there were actually drops of milk when you squeezed her teats! I thought it would be within a day or two of that sign, but I must note now that milk in teats mean that the sow will deliver within 5 days, instead of 2. Finally, 5 days later, the piglets are here!
The past 5 days, Sally has been acting strangely. Sometimes she seemed that she was in labor, but at other times she wanted to wreck her stall, acted like she was starving, and was all around wild acting! This morning I found that she busted through the stall wall last night and gotten into the junk that I had stored in the other stall. She was carrying everything she could into her nest! The empty feed sacks I could understand, but all the old bailing wires I could not understand.
At 5:20 this evening she delivered the first piglet! Matthew, Erica, Christina, and Simon were there to see it happen, and Lisa, Timothy and I got up there in time for the 3rd piglet to be born. A big suprise was that she only gave birth to 6 piglets this time!
6 is very much fewer than the 14 she gave us last December, the 13 she birthed last July, and the 11 she had last February! Her first pregnancy she gave birth to 8 piglets when she was just 10 months old, which is closer to today’s number, but it was still more. The number of piglets was just another strange factor in this unusual pregnancy.
Another unusual thing this time was that Sally is the only sow with piglets. Each of the four other times, her sister Nellie gave birth on the same day or within 5 days as Sally. This time, I don’t think Nellie is pregnant at all, even though she looked it back in April!
I am thankful for the 6 God has given her. My concern now is that they will survive. This will likely be the last litter we try with Sally or Nellie because they have gotten to be so huge. They are so large that they may not be able to help but crush some of their piglets laying down! We lost too many that way when Sally had those 14 and Nellie had her 13 back in December. My plan is to sell Nellie, Sally, and Rufus and continue raising hogs with new stock. We will keep some from this 6 to start over with. I would like to keep 2 females and get a new boar from another farm somewhere, but Christina thinks that 5 of these 6 are male! I may keep one as our new boar and get a couple of gilts from somewhere else.
Whatever the case, I will give God the thanks for all He provides!
(I will try to post the pictures taken this evening some day in the future. It may be a while. My computer situation is now such that I cannot put up pictures. I will likely be able to dress up anything I post sometime toward the end of summer, but for the next couple of months, my posts won’t have any pictures. I do intend to keep on journaling, however, and taking pictures to add later.)
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1 comment
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Call of the Land on January 18, 2010 at 11:53 am
how exciting!
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
Some More Conversation
(The following is some more private conversation had between myself and another homesteadblogger concerning spiritual matters.)
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Original message from janaeel:
Hi Eric,
Just wanting to let you know I appreciated the message you sent. What I got most from it was I need to lead by example with hope others will see how it is working for me and want to follow along. I fear this will be a long process not only with others but with myself because i've many bad habits to improve on. It is hard to take advice from someone who wont follow there own. My dad is an alcoholic and a heavy smoker. Us kids grew up with him telling us not to drink or smoke or there would be trouble. His words fell on deaf ears.
I am so looking forward to being at peace rather than self inflicted turmoil. I want you to know your words were not skimmed over but read and reread.
Hope you sabbath was wonderful,
Bill
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Original message from Purewater:
I had a blessed Lord's Day, even though it started out in distress.
Our 900 pound boar chose to visit our house just a half hour before church time, so I had to change back into work clothes and try to herd him back up the hill to his lot. There is not much man-handling an animal of that size. Whe he wants to move, he moves, and when he wants to lay down in the creek next to our house, he is staying there until he wants to get up! I knew the gate was broken, but as long as he stayed up there everything was fine. But we can't have him rooting up our front yard or getting out into the road!
Long story short, Simon (9 year old) and I was able to lead him up the hill, get him in his lot, fix the gate, get washed up, and was able to get to church to participate in the last half hour of the service! God is great!
About "bad habits" you need to improve on. If you were already "perfect" you likely would not see much need of God. Jesus wants us just as we are, and then He works out the miracles of improving us and taking away our destructive habits. He doesn't ask us to change on our own. You know, he picked 12 men with terrible bad habits to be his apostles! He worked in their lives and used them despite their imperfections. He didn't tell them they had to improve before they could come to Him, he just said, "Follow me." It doesn't have to be a long process.
God bless, you, my friend.
Eric
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Original message from janaeel:
Hi Eric,
Wow 900 lbs!! What can you do with a hog that size, Is he still able to breed? Are your sows large? I dont envy you in the task of moving him around as i have moved hogs myself but they were not quite that large. I'm glad you still had a great Sunday. Your 9 yr old must be quite the trooper to work around that big ole hog. Once again thank you for your words. They keep me thinking and have me ever so slightly leaning in a better direction.
Have a great week Eric
Bill
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Hey Bill,
I just noticed that I had not replied to your last message yet.
The 900 pounds is just an estimate by measuring his heart girth and length and putting it into a formula we got from a book. It works very well getting the weight of market hogs of 200 -250 pounds, but I'm not sure how accurate it is with giant hogs. One of our sows measured to be about 800 pounds and the other a bit over 700 pounds.
I'm glad to hear that you feel like you are leaning in a better direction, even if it is ever so slightly! I was wondering what kinds of experiences have you had with local churches, if any? I'm just curious.
Hope you are doing well.
God bless,
Eric
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Original message from janaeel:
Hi Eric,
Just wanting to let you know I appreciated the message you sent. What I got most from it was I need to lead by example with hope others will see how it is working for me and want to follow along. I fear this will be a long process not only with others but with myself because i've many bad habits to improve on. It is hard to take advice from someone who wont follow there own. My dad is an alcoholic and a heavy smoker. Us kids grew up with him telling us not to drink or smoke or there would be trouble. His words fell on deaf ears.
I am so looking forward to being at peace rather than self inflicted turmoil. I want you to know your words were not skimmed over but read and reread.
Hope you sabbath was wonderful,
Bill
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Original message from Purewater:
I had a blessed Lord's Day, even though it started out in distress.
Our 900 pound boar chose to visit our house just a half hour before church time, so I had to change back into work clothes and try to herd him back up the hill to his lot. There is not much man-handling an animal of that size. Whe he wants to move, he moves, and when he wants to lay down in the creek next to our house, he is staying there until he wants to get up! I knew the gate was broken, but as long as he stayed up there everything was fine. But we can't have him rooting up our front yard or getting out into the road!
Long story short, Simon (9 year old) and I was able to lead him up the hill, get him in his lot, fix the gate, get washed up, and was able to get to church to participate in the last half hour of the service! God is great!
About "bad habits" you need to improve on. If you were already "perfect" you likely would not see much need of God. Jesus wants us just as we are, and then He works out the miracles of improving us and taking away our destructive habits. He doesn't ask us to change on our own. You know, he picked 12 men with terrible bad habits to be his apostles! He worked in their lives and used them despite their imperfections. He didn't tell them they had to improve before they could come to Him, he just said, "Follow me." It doesn't have to be a long process.
God bless, you, my friend.
Eric
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Original message from janaeel:
Hi Eric,
Wow 900 lbs!! What can you do with a hog that size, Is he still able to breed? Are your sows large? I dont envy you in the task of moving him around as i have moved hogs myself but they were not quite that large. I'm glad you still had a great Sunday. Your 9 yr old must be quite the trooper to work around that big ole hog. Once again thank you for your words. They keep me thinking and have me ever so slightly leaning in a better direction.
Have a great week Eric
Bill
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Hey Bill,
I just noticed that I had not replied to your last message yet.
The 900 pounds is just an estimate by measuring his heart girth and length and putting it into a formula we got from a book. It works very well getting the weight of market hogs of 200 -250 pounds, but I'm not sure how accurate it is with giant hogs. One of our sows measured to be about 800 pounds and the other a bit over 700 pounds.
I'm glad to hear that you feel like you are leaning in a better direction, even if it is ever so slightly! I was wondering what kinds of experiences have you had with local churches, if any? I'm just curious.
Hope you are doing well.
God bless,
Eric
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Our Chicken Predator Is Still Loose / Current Chicken Count
I have not updated about our chicken tragedies lately, but this morning’s sad incident losing the new kid has gotten me thinking about our other losses.
I have already posted about the Black Giant hen disappearing on May 15th and of Wingleg, 5 Buff Orpington chicks, and 2 White Rock chicks turning up gone on May 20th.
On May 24th I decided to put our 4 Buff Orpington hens along with Sir Lancelot back into the enclosed lot in the ravine in order to get some more pure Buff Orpington eggs. On May 28th, Matthew saw a raccoon next to the lot at 9:00 in the morning. This was the middle of the day, so maybe this coon is the one that got the Black Giant and Wingleg and the chicks. The Black Giant hen was fond of going to the ravine and Wingleg’s feathers were at the top of the ravine road. That evening, of the 28th, the dogs caught a raccoon after dark in front of our house. The dogs gave it up when we went out and I thought it was pretty much dead, even though it was still breathing. I went in to get the shotgun to put the coon down, but when I returned it had disappeared! It apparently wasn’t hurt as badly as we thought!
Well, on May 30th I found a half eaten carcass of one ot the Buff Orpington hens in the ravine lot! This lot is made with fence that has 2×4 inch rectangles, so a coon could easily reach it’s paw in. The body of the chicken was still in the lot, next to the fence, with the feet resting on the other side of the fence, still attached. Sir Lancelot and the other 3 Buff Orpington hens were still in the lot and everything looked normal. They were just wanting to be fed like nothing had happened.
I decided to move the Buff Orpingtons back to the main coop, and we set 5 of their eggs under a broody Black Giant hen. Meanwhile, One Feather decided to roost in the tree with all of the chicks. On the 31st we were missing one of the remaining Buff Orpington chicks and also one of the Rhode Island Red Chicks!
I have put One Feather in the coop, now and am keeping the chicks in the duplex full time, for their own safety. Currently we have 4 White Rock cockerals that are about 9 weeks old, 2 Buff Orpington chicks 8 weeks old, 5 Rhode Island Red chicks 7 weeks old, 3 Black Giant chicks 7 weeks old, and 3 Black Giant/Buff Orpington mixed chicks that are 7 weeks old. For time reference, those Black Giant and Buff Giant chicks all hatched over Easter weekend this year and the Buff Orpingtons hatched a week before Easter. I pray we can keep the remaining chicks safe.
I have 8 mixed eggs under a Black Giant hen that should hatch this Thursday, June 4th and 10 mixed eggs under a Partridge Rock hen that should hatch on Friday the 5th. They are in small cages, so I will probably have to risk letting them out a big part of the day once they start growing. The 5 Buff Orpington eggs I put under the other Black Giant hen are due on June 17th, but they may be Buff Orpington mix depending on which rooster fertilized the eggs.
While I’m counting chicks and eggs, I guess I should record the rest of the chicken numbers as they stand on June 2nd. I have 7 Black Australorp hens (one is going to the freezer due to her destroying eggs), 5 pretty Light Brahma hens, 5 Dominique hens, 4 Black Giant hens (2 are currently setting), 3 Partidge Rock hens (1 is currently setting) and 3 Buff Orpington hens, and 1 game hen, (One Feather). In the rooster department we have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Black Giant, and 3 Light Brahmas (2 of them are for the freezer). So that’s 29 grown birds that roost in the coop, 3 in nesting cages, and 3 in fattening up cages, along with the 17 growing chicks in the duplex. (I almost forgot about those 7 game cocks that we still have not butchered in another lot. Their time is short.)
We have more chickens than we need right now, but I still hate to loose any of them for no reason. I would rather thin down the flock by selling some for a profit and butchering some for the freezer. I am not raising them as food for coons, foxes, or hawks. We will have to stay diligent and do the best we can to keep them all safe.
I have already posted about the Black Giant hen disappearing on May 15th and of Wingleg, 5 Buff Orpington chicks, and 2 White Rock chicks turning up gone on May 20th.
On May 24th I decided to put our 4 Buff Orpington hens along with Sir Lancelot back into the enclosed lot in the ravine in order to get some more pure Buff Orpington eggs. On May 28th, Matthew saw a raccoon next to the lot at 9:00 in the morning. This was the middle of the day, so maybe this coon is the one that got the Black Giant and Wingleg and the chicks. The Black Giant hen was fond of going to the ravine and Wingleg’s feathers were at the top of the ravine road. That evening, of the 28th, the dogs caught a raccoon after dark in front of our house. The dogs gave it up when we went out and I thought it was pretty much dead, even though it was still breathing. I went in to get the shotgun to put the coon down, but when I returned it had disappeared! It apparently wasn’t hurt as badly as we thought!
Well, on May 30th I found a half eaten carcass of one ot the Buff Orpington hens in the ravine lot! This lot is made with fence that has 2×4 inch rectangles, so a coon could easily reach it’s paw in. The body of the chicken was still in the lot, next to the fence, with the feet resting on the other side of the fence, still attached. Sir Lancelot and the other 3 Buff Orpington hens were still in the lot and everything looked normal. They were just wanting to be fed like nothing had happened.
I decided to move the Buff Orpingtons back to the main coop, and we set 5 of their eggs under a broody Black Giant hen. Meanwhile, One Feather decided to roost in the tree with all of the chicks. On the 31st we were missing one of the remaining Buff Orpington chicks and also one of the Rhode Island Red Chicks!
I have put One Feather in the coop, now and am keeping the chicks in the duplex full time, for their own safety. Currently we have 4 White Rock cockerals that are about 9 weeks old, 2 Buff Orpington chicks 8 weeks old, 5 Rhode Island Red chicks 7 weeks old, 3 Black Giant chicks 7 weeks old, and 3 Black Giant/Buff Orpington mixed chicks that are 7 weeks old. For time reference, those Black Giant and Buff Giant chicks all hatched over Easter weekend this year and the Buff Orpingtons hatched a week before Easter. I pray we can keep the remaining chicks safe.
I have 8 mixed eggs under a Black Giant hen that should hatch this Thursday, June 4th and 10 mixed eggs under a Partridge Rock hen that should hatch on Friday the 5th. They are in small cages, so I will probably have to risk letting them out a big part of the day once they start growing. The 5 Buff Orpington eggs I put under the other Black Giant hen are due on June 17th, but they may be Buff Orpington mix depending on which rooster fertilized the eggs.
While I’m counting chicks and eggs, I guess I should record the rest of the chicken numbers as they stand on June 2nd. I have 7 Black Australorp hens (one is going to the freezer due to her destroying eggs), 5 pretty Light Brahma hens, 5 Dominique hens, 4 Black Giant hens (2 are currently setting), 3 Partidge Rock hens (1 is currently setting) and 3 Buff Orpington hens, and 1 game hen, (One Feather). In the rooster department we have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Black Giant, and 3 Light Brahmas (2 of them are for the freezer). So that’s 29 grown birds that roost in the coop, 3 in nesting cages, and 3 in fattening up cages, along with the 17 growing chicks in the duplex. (I almost forgot about those 7 game cocks that we still have not butchered in another lot. Their time is short.)
We have more chickens than we need right now, but I still hate to loose any of them for no reason. I would rather thin down the flock by selling some for a profit and butchering some for the freezer. I am not raising them as food for coons, foxes, or hawks. We will have to stay diligent and do the best we can to keep them all safe.
Amazing Pictures of Brand New Blue Jays
While looking around at the pictures on Erica’s card, I came across some really amazing pictures. I knew she had found a bird’s nest in the play tree that she was keeping an eye on, but I had no idea that she was getting such awesome pictures!
Perhaps she will write some of her thoughts about this experience some time for the blog. She has already written all about it in her personal journal. All I want to do with this post is share a miracle of God with everyone, through Erica’s photography.
I like how this first one shows the nest as we approach the miracle:
Here is the scene the first day after one of the eggs had hatched, on April 27:
A bit closer up:
Erica came back to record their progress periodically. This is what the nest looked like the very next day:
Wow! They all have hatched! Amazing!
Here they are on day 3, still no feathers visable:
We had over a week of rain and dreary weather, so there were not many good picture oppourtunities. But 10 days later, what do you think they looked like?
They are feathered and even opening their eyes!
Here the adorable creatures are two days later:
Lets see one even closer:
The next day was the 16th day since the first one hatched:
By the 19th day you can see the colors God is painting on them:
And at 3 weeks they are ready to try flying on their own. Erica had to help one of them back to the nest:
They sure are beautiful little creations of our Lord!
This little nature exercise really demonstrated another difference between home school and public school. For one, public school students don’t get many learning opportunities like this. For another, most don’t want to learn about things like this! When I found these pictures I was so excited and I showed them to numerous public school girls, about the same age as Erica. The overwhelming response was a scrunched up nose and, "Eewwww. That’s gross!"
How dissappointing and sad, to not be in awe of all the little miracles our Lord and Savior performs everyday! But our government does not want students to think about that!
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6 comments
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Ginger on June 2, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Absolutely beautiful! I'll be showing my kids these photos!!!
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Amy Jo on June 2, 2009 at 3:18 pm (edit)
I was public schooled and all the videos, school books, nature movies, etc. I have ever seen didn't get such great pictures!!! I loved looking at these and seeing how they developed into feathery little creatures!!! What a wonderful blessing!!!
Tell your daughter I loved her photography and think she is very tatlented!
God's Blessings,
Amy Jo
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Becky on June 2, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Amazing!!!!!!! Your daughter is very talented – what a wonderful opportunity that was presented to her, and such a blessing to be able to share in it.
Thanks for sharing these pictures with us. ˚Ü˚
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sassyfras on June 3, 2009 at 3:47 am
I don't think I have ever ran across a bluejay nest. How wonderful to watch them grow. She done a wonderful job taking the pictures..
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The Kings on June 4, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Thanks for your kind words on my blog Covenant Family Farm. I took a moment to review some of your post and I was encouraged. I will be adding you to my list of friends and keeping up with you as well. I look forward to getting to know you! Also, the vs. you have posted today (3 John 4) is our family verse.
God's Blessings – Tony
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Schatzi on June 5, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Beautiful pictures…I have never seen anything quite like it. We have birds nests all over the property but have never been able to get that close.
Have a great weekend.
Connie
Perhaps she will write some of her thoughts about this experience some time for the blog. She has already written all about it in her personal journal. All I want to do with this post is share a miracle of God with everyone, through Erica’s photography.
I like how this first one shows the nest as we approach the miracle:
Here is the scene the first day after one of the eggs had hatched, on April 27:
A bit closer up:
Erica came back to record their progress periodically. This is what the nest looked like the very next day:
Wow! They all have hatched! Amazing!
Here they are on day 3, still no feathers visable:
We had over a week of rain and dreary weather, so there were not many good picture oppourtunities. But 10 days later, what do you think they looked like?
They are feathered and even opening their eyes!
Here the adorable creatures are two days later:
Lets see one even closer:
The next day was the 16th day since the first one hatched:
By the 19th day you can see the colors God is painting on them:
And at 3 weeks they are ready to try flying on their own. Erica had to help one of them back to the nest:
They sure are beautiful little creations of our Lord!
This little nature exercise really demonstrated another difference between home school and public school. For one, public school students don’t get many learning opportunities like this. For another, most don’t want to learn about things like this! When I found these pictures I was so excited and I showed them to numerous public school girls, about the same age as Erica. The overwhelming response was a scrunched up nose and, "Eewwww. That’s gross!"
How dissappointing and sad, to not be in awe of all the little miracles our Lord and Savior performs everyday! But our government does not want students to think about that!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ginger on June 2, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Absolutely beautiful! I'll be showing my kids these photos!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy Jo on June 2, 2009 at 3:18 pm (edit)
I was public schooled and all the videos, school books, nature movies, etc. I have ever seen didn't get such great pictures!!! I loved looking at these and seeing how they developed into feathery little creatures!!! What a wonderful blessing!!!
Tell your daughter I loved her photography and think she is very tatlented!
God's Blessings,
Amy Jo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Becky on June 2, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Amazing!!!!!!! Your daughter is very talented – what a wonderful opportunity that was presented to her, and such a blessing to be able to share in it.
Thanks for sharing these pictures with us. ˚Ü˚
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sassyfras on June 3, 2009 at 3:47 am
I don't think I have ever ran across a bluejay nest. How wonderful to watch them grow. She done a wonderful job taking the pictures..
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Kings on June 4, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Thanks for your kind words on my blog Covenant Family Farm. I took a moment to review some of your post and I was encouraged. I will be adding you to my list of friends and keeping up with you as well. I look forward to getting to know you! Also, the vs. you have posted today (3 John 4) is our family verse.
God's Blessings – Tony
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Schatzi on June 5, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Beautiful pictures…I have never seen anything quite like it. We have birds nests all over the property but have never been able to get that close.
Have a great weekend.
Connie
So Sad … Blaming Myself
One of LuLu’s kids was dead this morning! I can’t understand it. Yesterday evening around 6:30, everything was fine. All the goats were just like I posted yesterday. The kids were prancing and playing and the adults were minding their own business.
And then this morning, at 6:15, I went out to open up the coop like I usually do. All the dogs were at the house when I came out, but Champ followed me to the coop like he always does. I didn’t even notice the small body of the little kid on the mulch pile in front of the coop until Champ laid down next to it. The body was still limp, and was not messed up at all, but the poor little kid’s head was missing! I kicked Champ away from it, even though he was not doing anything but laying there.
If I knew for sure that Champ killed it, I would take him to the pound today! I don’t know what happened? Were the dogs playing with him, and inadvertedly killed him? I can imagine the horrid sight of them playing tug-of-war with the little guy. For some reason, one of the dogs must have brought the body down to the coop. It is a good tenth of a mile up to the barn area, and the goats have never come down to the coop before.
Well, even though I was just in my sandels and sweats, I marched on up to the barn to make sure the others were ok. I imagined all of the goats being masacred by some mysterious predator. Thankfully all was peaceful and all the goats were accounted for. The three remaining kids were running around and playing and the grownup goats came over to me to see if I had a treat for them.
Just yesterday, I thought about putting LuLu and her kids back in a stall. When I first went up to feed them, her two kids were not around, but they showed up about a half hour later. I figured they were just asleep somewhere. But they were only 8 days old, and we would not have let them out of the stall yet if LuLu had not just kept getting out on her own! Now I am blaming myself a bit for not going ahead and putting them back up last night. Was God trying to tell me to put them up, and I just did not listen clearly enough? They were just having such a good time when I was ready to leave yesterday that I did not have the heart to pen them up. But, obviously, had I done so, this poor little kid would still be playing today.
Sigh…
Does anyone out there want a nice Chocolate Lab?
But then again, it is hard to say for sure that Champ is to blame. He usually sleeps at the house all night. Luna and Mamoo are the ones who usually roam the hills at night.
I am just rambling, I guess. I will continue to think and pray about this.
What lesson do you want me to learn through this, God?
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2 comments
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Mama on June 2, 2009 at 7:37 am
Hi ,
Don't blame yourself (easier siad than done I know) and don't jump to conclusions about your dog. Since you don't know if that dog ahs never hurt kids before he most likely didn't. I would be on the look out for how the dogs act around the kids. Like you said learn from this and be careful about kids running around! I have a yearling doe who is having some leg trouble and I think it is becasue I haven't gotten the winter hay layer out of there. And it is a very big job so I don't know how fast it will happen. Oh the many things our goaties teach us and suffer for it too.
I lost my first born kid here this winter because I got too cold at 2 am and too tired, who was a first time freshner and a bottle baby herself. I shoudn't have left her. She suffered ( longing for her baby) and I did because I left.
Blessings,
Mama
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Sandra on June 2, 2009 at 11:03 am
Don't beat yourself up about this – things just sometimes happen. I don't know a lot about goats but I do about labs – and they are usually a gentle breed I don't think Champ is responsible – more so I thing his sense of smell made him notice it and he laid down to call your attention to it.
Also, don't dogs usually bring their master's their kills? I know cats do – growing up my cat would leave mice and moles on our front porch. If it had been one of the dogs I think they would have brought it up to the house. Maybe there is something else in your area?
Sandra
And then this morning, at 6:15, I went out to open up the coop like I usually do. All the dogs were at the house when I came out, but Champ followed me to the coop like he always does. I didn’t even notice the small body of the little kid on the mulch pile in front of the coop until Champ laid down next to it. The body was still limp, and was not messed up at all, but the poor little kid’s head was missing! I kicked Champ away from it, even though he was not doing anything but laying there.
If I knew for sure that Champ killed it, I would take him to the pound today! I don’t know what happened? Were the dogs playing with him, and inadvertedly killed him? I can imagine the horrid sight of them playing tug-of-war with the little guy. For some reason, one of the dogs must have brought the body down to the coop. It is a good tenth of a mile up to the barn area, and the goats have never come down to the coop before.
Well, even though I was just in my sandels and sweats, I marched on up to the barn to make sure the others were ok. I imagined all of the goats being masacred by some mysterious predator. Thankfully all was peaceful and all the goats were accounted for. The three remaining kids were running around and playing and the grownup goats came over to me to see if I had a treat for them.
Just yesterday, I thought about putting LuLu and her kids back in a stall. When I first went up to feed them, her two kids were not around, but they showed up about a half hour later. I figured they were just asleep somewhere. But they were only 8 days old, and we would not have let them out of the stall yet if LuLu had not just kept getting out on her own! Now I am blaming myself a bit for not going ahead and putting them back up last night. Was God trying to tell me to put them up, and I just did not listen clearly enough? They were just having such a good time when I was ready to leave yesterday that I did not have the heart to pen them up. But, obviously, had I done so, this poor little kid would still be playing today.
Sigh…
Does anyone out there want a nice Chocolate Lab?
But then again, it is hard to say for sure that Champ is to blame. He usually sleeps at the house all night. Luna and Mamoo are the ones who usually roam the hills at night.
I am just rambling, I guess. I will continue to think and pray about this.
What lesson do you want me to learn through this, God?
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2 comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mama on June 2, 2009 at 7:37 am
Hi ,
Don't blame yourself (easier siad than done I know) and don't jump to conclusions about your dog. Since you don't know if that dog ahs never hurt kids before he most likely didn't. I would be on the look out for how the dogs act around the kids. Like you said learn from this and be careful about kids running around! I have a yearling doe who is having some leg trouble and I think it is becasue I haven't gotten the winter hay layer out of there. And it is a very big job so I don't know how fast it will happen. Oh the many things our goaties teach us and suffer for it too.
I lost my first born kid here this winter because I got too cold at 2 am and too tired, who was a first time freshner and a bottle baby herself. I shoudn't have left her. She suffered ( longing for her baby) and I did because I left.
Blessings,
Mama
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Sandra on June 2, 2009 at 11:03 am
Don't beat yourself up about this – things just sometimes happen. I don't know a lot about goats but I do about labs – and they are usually a gentle breed I don't think Champ is responsible – more so I thing his sense of smell made him notice it and he laid down to call your attention to it.
Also, don't dogs usually bring their master's their kills? I know cats do – growing up my cat would leave mice and moles on our front porch. If it had been one of the dogs I think they would have brought it up to the house. Maybe there is something else in your area?
Sandra
Monday, June 01, 2009
The New Kids On The Block
OK, that title just popped into my head, and instead of pushing it back into the dark recesses of my consciousness where it belongs, I went with it. Of course, I’m not talking about a 90s pop group, but instead I’m talking about real kids!
Our does Little LuLu and Mama Belle have each kidded for us this spring. Since they are the first kids on our homestead, I wanted to post a few more pictures of them before they get much bigger. I expect they will grow quickly.
Belle’s kids were 18 days old and LuLu’s were 7 days yesterday when these were taken.
Here they are, all together in the goat barn. LuLu’s are on the steps while Belle’s are laying on the board:
The names have stuck for Glady and Tom. They are named after the LOTR charachters Galadriel and Tom Bomadill:
They jump and prance and play, but it is easier to take their picture when they are relaxing:
We still do not have names for LuLu’s. It is difficult because they have identical markings, and we haven’t had a chance to be with them much. Here is LuLu with one of them: (if you’ve seen one, you’ve them both)
Speaking of both you can see how identical they look in the next picture. It is interesting that they are almost the identical markings that Tom Bomadill has. I like this shot because you can see the same side of all three:
Just a couple more before we leave the goat barn. I like getting the feed bucket in the pictures so we can get a size comparison. You also get to see Mama Belle:
Here is the herd on the hill next to the goat barn. If you look closely, you can see all 9 of the goats. Little Joe is almost invisible in the upper left.
These are the proud uncles, Tiny Tim and Big Jim. (They have very similar marking to the new kids) Big Jim is a very large goat, and I was hoping to get him standing up straight so we could compare his size to Tiny’s. Tiny has actually grown quite a bit, and is doing very well now. He was the one the vet told us to expect to die:
So there we have it. Our new kids on the block along with some pictures of the other goats. I didn’t get any good pictures of Little Joe this time, but he has not changed much.
I like our New Kids much better than that other group of New Kids.
Ours even sing better.
Maaa, Maaa…….
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2 comments
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sassyfras on June 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Now thats a set of cute kids……….lol….
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Kathy on June 1, 2009 at 7:54 pm
They're so precious. Even the grownups! Thanks for sharing.
Our does Little LuLu and Mama Belle have each kidded for us this spring. Since they are the first kids on our homestead, I wanted to post a few more pictures of them before they get much bigger. I expect they will grow quickly.
Belle’s kids were 18 days old and LuLu’s were 7 days yesterday when these were taken.
Here they are, all together in the goat barn. LuLu’s are on the steps while Belle’s are laying on the board:
The names have stuck for Glady and Tom. They are named after the LOTR charachters Galadriel and Tom Bomadill:
They jump and prance and play, but it is easier to take their picture when they are relaxing:
We still do not have names for LuLu’s. It is difficult because they have identical markings, and we haven’t had a chance to be with them much. Here is LuLu with one of them: (if you’ve seen one, you’ve them both)
Speaking of both you can see how identical they look in the next picture. It is interesting that they are almost the identical markings that Tom Bomadill has. I like this shot because you can see the same side of all three:
Just a couple more before we leave the goat barn. I like getting the feed bucket in the pictures so we can get a size comparison. You also get to see Mama Belle:
Here is the herd on the hill next to the goat barn. If you look closely, you can see all 9 of the goats. Little Joe is almost invisible in the upper left.
These are the proud uncles, Tiny Tim and Big Jim. (They have very similar marking to the new kids) Big Jim is a very large goat, and I was hoping to get him standing up straight so we could compare his size to Tiny’s. Tiny has actually grown quite a bit, and is doing very well now. He was the one the vet told us to expect to die:
So there we have it. Our new kids on the block along with some pictures of the other goats. I didn’t get any good pictures of Little Joe this time, but he has not changed much.
I like our New Kids much better than that other group of New Kids.
Ours even sing better.
Maaa, Maaa…….
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2 comments
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sassyfras on June 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Now thats a set of cute kids……….lol….
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Kathy on June 1, 2009 at 7:54 pm
They're so precious. Even the grownups! Thanks for sharing.
Rufus Visits the House
Just before church, Sunday, Rufus decided to visit our front yard. He especially liked the old chesnuts that never got picked up in our side yard. Simon and I changed into work clothes and sent the rest of the family off to church.
I got a stick, and Simon got the four-wheeler, to try to prod him back up the hill to the barn area. When Rufus laid down in the middle of the creek by the swing-set, I thought we would be in for a long afternoon. Simon is a pretty strong boy, for just 9 years old, but even he would have trouble lifting up a 900 pound boar out of a cool stream of water if said boar wants to stay put!
I went back in the house to get a different shirt on, and to my amazement, Simon and Rufus were gone when I returned! Somehow, Simon persuaded that giant hog to go back up to his lot. By the time I got on the four-wheeler and drove up to the barn, they were already there! It still took some time to fix the gate that the pigs had tried to destroy some time ago, and I had to fix a hole in the fence, but all in all I was pleased at how quickly we had remedied the situation.
We were able to get cleaned up and still make it to church for the last 30 minutes of the sermon and the 30 minutes of visiting time that we always seem to do after church!
Meanwhile, we also moved Sally to a barn stall because we noticed she has milk dripping out her teats. It looks like she should be delivering piglets sometime today! Maybe Rufus just wanted to come down to the house to tell us we should get ready to take care of Sally!
Here is Rufus in front of our house:
God is so good!
I got a stick, and Simon got the four-wheeler, to try to prod him back up the hill to the barn area. When Rufus laid down in the middle of the creek by the swing-set, I thought we would be in for a long afternoon. Simon is a pretty strong boy, for just 9 years old, but even he would have trouble lifting up a 900 pound boar out of a cool stream of water if said boar wants to stay put!
I went back in the house to get a different shirt on, and to my amazement, Simon and Rufus were gone when I returned! Somehow, Simon persuaded that giant hog to go back up to his lot. By the time I got on the four-wheeler and drove up to the barn, they were already there! It still took some time to fix the gate that the pigs had tried to destroy some time ago, and I had to fix a hole in the fence, but all in all I was pleased at how quickly we had remedied the situation.
We were able to get cleaned up and still make it to church for the last 30 minutes of the sermon and the 30 minutes of visiting time that we always seem to do after church!
Meanwhile, we also moved Sally to a barn stall because we noticed she has milk dripping out her teats. It looks like she should be delivering piglets sometime today! Maybe Rufus just wanted to come down to the house to tell us we should get ready to take care of Sally!
Here is Rufus in front of our house:
God is so good!
I am blessed
I am blessed. You could say "lucky", but I don’t believe in luck. I believe that God is in control of everything, and many times He finds unusual ways to speak to us.
I stopped at a gas station before work and a local bank had a table set up out front. A representative was trying to get folks to open up a checking account with them. I first said "no thanks" because I was running a bit late, but the lady explained it would only take a few minutes. It was a free interest bearing checking account , no minimum balance, with free checks, and they would even make the first deposit to open the account!
That’s right, free money. She had a big wheel of fortune type spinner with various amounts of money sectioned off. Only one was the big amount of $50, with the rest being just $5, $10, $15, or $20. I saw the $50 section and told the lady that I was going to land on that one. I can’t explain it, but I really seemed to know that I was going to hit it. I would have been suprised if it landed on anything else!
I took a spin of medium force. Round and round it went and… it stopped on the $50 mark!
So I now have a new checking account with $50 earning interest!
I felt like God was telling me that His desire is to open up the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings on us. We just need to be faithful to Him and put our faith and trust in Him.
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1 comment
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amanda on June 1, 2009 at 10:25 am
I too don't believe in "luck." The world and all that are in it belong to HIM.
THE LORD has answered so many prayers for me lately. I don't feel deserving. It is HE that gets the glory though:- )
Thought I'd share.
PS-How blessed you are.
Ammanda <><
Matthew 6:33
I stopped at a gas station before work and a local bank had a table set up out front. A representative was trying to get folks to open up a checking account with them. I first said "no thanks" because I was running a bit late, but the lady explained it would only take a few minutes. It was a free interest bearing checking account , no minimum balance, with free checks, and they would even make the first deposit to open the account!
That’s right, free money. She had a big wheel of fortune type spinner with various amounts of money sectioned off. Only one was the big amount of $50, with the rest being just $5, $10, $15, or $20. I saw the $50 section and told the lady that I was going to land on that one. I can’t explain it, but I really seemed to know that I was going to hit it. I would have been suprised if it landed on anything else!
I took a spin of medium force. Round and round it went and… it stopped on the $50 mark!
So I now have a new checking account with $50 earning interest!
I felt like God was telling me that His desire is to open up the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings on us. We just need to be faithful to Him and put our faith and trust in Him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 comment
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
amanda on June 1, 2009 at 10:25 am
I too don't believe in "luck." The world and all that are in it belong to HIM.
THE LORD has answered so many prayers for me lately. I don't feel deserving. It is HE that gets the glory though:- )
Thought I'd share.
PS-How blessed you are.
Ammanda <><
Matthew 6:33
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