(The following is some of my private correspondance with another homesteadblogger.)
Original message from DuncanFarm:
Hello, Purewater: Thank you for the welcoming message and taking the time to comment. I enjoyed reviewing your blog and the photos of your new goat. We were blessed by the patient assistance of several goat owners along the way who taught and showed us the ’ropes’ as we encountered the various problems; I always enjoy trying to share what we learned along the way when it might be of assistance to someone else. If it will not offend you, I would like to offer a caution regarding the horns on your new Nubian (or Nubian-mix) wether. It is not uncommon in a meeting of goat owners to have several there who have been severely injured by Nubian horns; either by a broken cheek bone, a damaged eye or a puncture wound. Your goat will double his size, and so will his horns. They have significant neck strength and the horns can be quite damaging when they suddenly throw their head back; and, they can use the horns offensively as well. Children hugging alongside the neck of the goat can inadvertantly be injured by those horns. Especially because of my children, I long ago decided not to have any horned goats on the premises. We disbud all our kids within the first 7-10 days. I’m not trying to be an alarmist, but I would ask you to please advise all your children to be cautious around those horns. If you don’t feel that I’m sticking my nose in your business, feel free to ask me any questions you might have regarding the goat’s health or any disease indications. The link I added to my blog is to one of the best websites on the Internet for goat raising and health info. How are your goat’s hooves? Have they been trimmed? Has anyone shown you how to trim their hooves? Okay; I’ll leave you alone now …….. Yah bless…….George
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George,
Thanks for the advice about the horns. So far he has not seemed aggressive at all, but I’ve told the children to be very careful. I hate the thought of sawing his horns off at this point in his life(seems that it would be painful for the goat), but we will do it if it becomes a problem.
Do you think it looks like he has some Nubian blood in him? All I know is that he is just a scrub goat. The goats he came from were just used to clear the hillsides and, on occaison, for meat.
I’m glad you mentioned the hooves. We hadn’t put any thought into that. I’m not even sure what to be on the look out for or how to trim them if they need it. I’ll have to do some research in that area.
You wrote an interesting post today. I’ve never heard of basing the Sabboth on a solar calendar, but it sounds like it would make more sense than arguing about whether it should be Saturday or Sunday! Personally, my family has always worshipped on Sunday, the first day of the week (based on our calendar), and try to keep it as a separated day unto the Lord. I’ll have to look into the solar calendar sometime when I get a chance!
Have a great day and God bless.
Eric
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Changing Kentucky Weather
There is a saying many folks hold to here in Kentucky: “If you don't like the weather, stick around a day or so and it will change.”
We got almost 3 inches of snow yesterday. Quoting from weather.com, For tonight, 2/18: “Some evening flurries with clearing conditions expected after midnight. Cold. Low 8F(that's cold). Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.”
For tomorrow, 2-19: “Plentiful sunshine. Turning warmer. High around 45F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.” I like that word “plentiful” when it describes sunshine.
We have not gotten much above freezing for all of February, so we're looking forward to tomorrow! Perhaps a good day to prune some fruit trees…
Added on Feb. 20th:
I thought I would go ahead and tell the rest of the story about our change in temperature. Weather.com predicted our day would be 45 degrees here in eastern Kentucky, but I saw 56 on our thermometer!
It raised from 10 degrees at 7:30am when I fed the chickens in 2 1/2 inches of snow, to 56 degrees at 3:00 when we fed the pigs in plenty of mud!
The children went from very bundled up sled riding this morning, to not as bundled up snowman making around noon, to wearing a light jacket or flannel shirt at the barn this afternoon.
A 46 degree rise in temperature in just 7 hours is some pretty crazy Kentucky weather!
This morning it was 50 degrees at 7:30am. The chickens seem to like it!
I ended up going to town yesterday and not doing anything with the fruit trees. Maybe sometime this week…
Added on February 21: Last night we had a big thunder storm with a lot of lightning!
5 comments
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Crooked Creek Farm on February 18, 2007 at 11:58 am
the weather is pretty crazy around her, isn't it? We can't wait for spring here. Our spring bulbs are up, so there is hope, even if they are covered with snow right now!
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sheryl on February 18, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Did you all get ice last week? The ice was just starting to melt and then it snowed last night. We got 2inches if not a little more. I want Spring. Sheryl
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Purewater on February 18, 2007 at 2:20 pm
We did get a little ice last week, especially on Wednesday, but we also had plain rain, although it never got much above freezing.
The week before was, of course, our other 3 inch snow!
The county school system here has only been in session for 4 days so far in February! I know yours has missed alot also, Sheryl.
Stay warm and enjoy this coming week. After 45 degrees tomorrow we can expect a week in the 50s! They say next Saturday will even be in the 60s so spring is near! (Or maybe we are just returning to our January weather?)
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Lynn on February 18, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Okay, I don't like to see those temps. this week, because personally, my kids and I have waited ALL winter long for this. We got 4 inches of snow. And we are loving it. I was afraid we wouldn't get any! Now, I don't want it to leave. We didn't get much ice. The main part of it missed us.
My grandfather used to say that all the time about the Kentucky weather. Its just grand to live in Kentucky where you just don't know what to really expect. Now, I dread summer!! I don't like it at all.
Stay warm!!
Blessings from this Kentucky winter girl,
Lynn
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The Unlikely Homesteader on February 18, 2007 at 6:44 pm
I think we're about to see ours change. We've had really cold temps, a little snow, and some ice and now I think they are calling for 50's all week. Go figure. Up and down, up and down….
We got almost 3 inches of snow yesterday. Quoting from weather.com, For tonight, 2/18: “Some evening flurries with clearing conditions expected after midnight. Cold. Low 8F(that's cold). Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.”
For tomorrow, 2-19: “Plentiful sunshine. Turning warmer. High around 45F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.” I like that word “plentiful” when it describes sunshine.
We have not gotten much above freezing for all of February, so we're looking forward to tomorrow! Perhaps a good day to prune some fruit trees…
Added on Feb. 20th:
I thought I would go ahead and tell the rest of the story about our change in temperature. Weather.com predicted our day would be 45 degrees here in eastern Kentucky, but I saw 56 on our thermometer!
It raised from 10 degrees at 7:30am when I fed the chickens in 2 1/2 inches of snow, to 56 degrees at 3:00 when we fed the pigs in plenty of mud!
The children went from very bundled up sled riding this morning, to not as bundled up snowman making around noon, to wearing a light jacket or flannel shirt at the barn this afternoon.
A 46 degree rise in temperature in just 7 hours is some pretty crazy Kentucky weather!
This morning it was 50 degrees at 7:30am. The chickens seem to like it!
I ended up going to town yesterday and not doing anything with the fruit trees. Maybe sometime this week…
Added on February 21: Last night we had a big thunder storm with a lot of lightning!
5 comments
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Crooked Creek Farm on February 18, 2007 at 11:58 am
the weather is pretty crazy around her, isn't it? We can't wait for spring here. Our spring bulbs are up, so there is hope, even if they are covered with snow right now!
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sheryl on February 18, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Did you all get ice last week? The ice was just starting to melt and then it snowed last night. We got 2inches if not a little more. I want Spring. Sheryl
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Purewater on February 18, 2007 at 2:20 pm
We did get a little ice last week, especially on Wednesday, but we also had plain rain, although it never got much above freezing.
The week before was, of course, our other 3 inch snow!
The county school system here has only been in session for 4 days so far in February! I know yours has missed alot also, Sheryl.
Stay warm and enjoy this coming week. After 45 degrees tomorrow we can expect a week in the 50s! They say next Saturday will even be in the 60s so spring is near! (Or maybe we are just returning to our January weather?)
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Lynn on February 18, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Okay, I don't like to see those temps. this week, because personally, my kids and I have waited ALL winter long for this. We got 4 inches of snow. And we are loving it. I was afraid we wouldn't get any! Now, I don't want it to leave. We didn't get much ice. The main part of it missed us.
My grandfather used to say that all the time about the Kentucky weather. Its just grand to live in Kentucky where you just don't know what to really expect. Now, I dread summer!! I don't like it at all.
Stay warm!!
Blessings from this Kentucky winter girl,
Lynn
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The Unlikely Homesteader on February 18, 2007 at 6:44 pm
I think we're about to see ours change. We've had really cold temps, a little snow, and some ice and now I think they are calling for 50's all week. Go figure. Up and down, up and down….
Friday, February 16, 2007
Some Thoughts On Homeschooling
(The following is my reply to a private message concerning homeschooling.)
Hello _______,
Here I am in 3rd period. I have only 2 students out of 7 here today, so they are just watching a movie. We missed Wed & Thurs and then came today and we are off Mon for Presidents Day. Not many showed up today.
I said all that to show that there are many, many days in the public school when the students do not get much education. I am convinced that more good gets done on a homeschooler’s ”off” day than the public school’s ”on” day. Even if the academics don’t all come together, that is not always the most important thing.
The important thing is that they are in a safe place where they are loved and will be able to learn lessons in life when the bookwork doesn’t go well.
Bookwork is important, but it’s just a small part of homeschooling, I think. For us, it has been a very rare thing for the children to go all the way through any text book from start to finish in one regular 170 day public school year. Lisa has come to the point where she picks and chooses what parts of the books to go through completely and carefully and what parts to just skim and not spend much time on, and what parts she can skip all together.
And then there are all the other life lessons that happen all the time without planning for them. We feel that those times more than makes up for anything lacking in the ”official classroom”.
For us, academics are not the most important motivation to homeschool, even though the academics are usually better in the long run. Helping to guide them into being the servants God wants them to be, knowing and loving His ways, is our main job.
Did you notice the post on skylarks blog a day or so ago. It is rather interesting especially considering how you are feeling right now. It is at
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/muddyboots/45476/Even+%22Real%22+Teachers+Have+Doubts%21.html
Here is a quote from a public school teacher from that post:
"And once again I become depressed, convinced that the other teachers are better than I am, that my kids aren’t really learning anything, that I’m not really doing my job, that all my plans and excitement never end up actually happening, that I am a failure and I am failing my kids."
I felt compelled to comment on the blog. If you did not see it, you ought to take a minute to check it out. It’s not very long.
Lisa has been doing better in her back, but she still has to sit down regularly when she would rather be up and about. I will show her your message when I get home. She may have some other words of wisdom to give you.
Keep your head up, and realize that you don’t have to stress about homeschooling. Put it in God’s hand and relax. I will be praying for you the rest of today and we will continue to pray for you. We are so happy that you are homeschooling!
Love,
Eric
Hello _______,
Here I am in 3rd period. I have only 2 students out of 7 here today, so they are just watching a movie. We missed Wed & Thurs and then came today and we are off Mon for Presidents Day. Not many showed up today.
I said all that to show that there are many, many days in the public school when the students do not get much education. I am convinced that more good gets done on a homeschooler’s ”off” day than the public school’s ”on” day. Even if the academics don’t all come together, that is not always the most important thing.
The important thing is that they are in a safe place where they are loved and will be able to learn lessons in life when the bookwork doesn’t go well.
Bookwork is important, but it’s just a small part of homeschooling, I think. For us, it has been a very rare thing for the children to go all the way through any text book from start to finish in one regular 170 day public school year. Lisa has come to the point where she picks and chooses what parts of the books to go through completely and carefully and what parts to just skim and not spend much time on, and what parts she can skip all together.
And then there are all the other life lessons that happen all the time without planning for them. We feel that those times more than makes up for anything lacking in the ”official classroom”.
For us, academics are not the most important motivation to homeschool, even though the academics are usually better in the long run. Helping to guide them into being the servants God wants them to be, knowing and loving His ways, is our main job.
Did you notice the post on skylarks blog a day or so ago. It is rather interesting especially considering how you are feeling right now. It is at
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/muddyboots/45476/Even+%22Real%22+Teachers+Have+Doubts%21.html
Here is a quote from a public school teacher from that post:
"And once again I become depressed, convinced that the other teachers are better than I am, that my kids aren’t really learning anything, that I’m not really doing my job, that all my plans and excitement never end up actually happening, that I am a failure and I am failing my kids."
I felt compelled to comment on the blog. If you did not see it, you ought to take a minute to check it out. It’s not very long.
Lisa has been doing better in her back, but she still has to sit down regularly when she would rather be up and about. I will show her your message when I get home. She may have some other words of wisdom to give you.
Keep your head up, and realize that you don’t have to stress about homeschooling. Put it in God’s hand and relax. I will be praying for you the rest of today and we will continue to pray for you. We are so happy that you are homeschooling!
Love,
Eric
The First Goat of Pure Water Hollow
It was a charity auction for a cause we were already supporting, and they had a cute little wether there, and we wanted to get goats sooner or later, and, well, I just couldn't resist.
We let him stay at his farm through all this recent cold and snow, but yesterday we decided to go get him. If we waited until the cold and snow is over the previous owner would have to keep him until spring, and we didn't think that would be right. So even though yesterday stayed in the 20s all day, we brought him home. At least it was sunny.
Here he is:
We have named him “Little Joe” after his previous owner, who is a friend of ours and his name is Joe. Little Joe is 11 months old right now and is expected to grow to be twice the size he is now, so he won't be little for long!
The children like him, but he is not very used to people yet. Hopefully he will warm up to us. These pictures were taken just after we got him to our home.
We are working on a small pasture for him up at the kudzu hill. Matthew spent several hours diggin up around 20 metal posts one day that were around the hills from years gone by, and we have already got them placed. I have bought the fence we are going to try to use but we still need to attach it to the posts and we have to build a shelter for him up there.
Here is a picture of what his little pasture looks like right now:
It will be interesting to watch him clean it up and see if he can keep up with the kudzu.
In the meantime, we have him chained to a doghouse full of straw. When I fed and watered the chickens this morning before I left for work he did not come out of the dog house. (It was 10 degrees so I guess I don't blame him.)
Lisa made a funny that did not hit me until after I was driving away. I said something about hoping Little Joe was still in the dog house and did not get loose sometime in the night. She said that she thought he was still there because he probably would not have gone to the trouble to put the chain back in the dog house! I started to laugh about a half mile down the road!
We hope to get more goats in the future to keep Little Joe company and help us with our kudzu problem. For now, we will have fun adjusting to being goat owners.
7 comments
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Mom on February 16, 2007 at 8:51 am
Little Joe is very cute!!!! I love his name.
Belle~homesteadgirls
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1 on February 16, 2007 at 9:41 am
I know very little about kudzu but I was thinking a good freeze would kill it?
Do the goats like kudzu? BTW that is a good looking goat.
I was also reading that they were going to try to make an alternative fuel out of it, something like what they do with corn.
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OklahomaJamie on February 16, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I love your new wether! He's so cute on that leash. I will have to get a collar and leash and train my goats to walk with me.
What kind of fencing are you using? I've got to get a pen built too.
Jamie
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LittleHouse on February 16, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Hello! I love your goat he is so cute, and I like the name! It will be so much fun, if we come to your house this year, and see all your animals! Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Mary
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mom2ahousefull on February 17, 2007 at 10:36 am
Cute goat! I think you'll like having goats
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sheryl on February 18, 2007 at 12:34 pm
He is cute. Do you have anyway of keeping stray dogs and coyotoes away? When I got my pygmy that is the one thing the lady said to me. She says coyotoes love goats and will attack them. We have coyotoes here on the farm. They are a lot of coyotoes in my neck of the woods. I want to get my goats and that is one of my biggest worries about them. I keep mine close to the house and put her up in a barnstall at night. How many more are you planning on getting? Sams cousin has 9 breed meat goats for sale. 7 are register. If I had the money I would buy them because is great deal. If you know anyone or yourself that is interested, send a me message and I will tell you more about them. Good luck with Little Joe. Sheryl
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Lynn on February 18, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Cute name, I love it. Is he an alpine? I can't tell from the pictures. He kinda looks like that, but its hard to tell. Those collars are great for goats. My goats each have their own collars, they wear them all the time. And they are use to the leash, except for Jake(Nubian billy).
Good luck with the goats. If your family is like mine, they will really enjoy the goat. They are great pets.
Many Blessings,
Lynn
We let him stay at his farm through all this recent cold and snow, but yesterday we decided to go get him. If we waited until the cold and snow is over the previous owner would have to keep him until spring, and we didn't think that would be right. So even though yesterday stayed in the 20s all day, we brought him home. At least it was sunny.
Here he is:
We have named him “Little Joe” after his previous owner, who is a friend of ours and his name is Joe. Little Joe is 11 months old right now and is expected to grow to be twice the size he is now, so he won't be little for long!
The children like him, but he is not very used to people yet. Hopefully he will warm up to us. These pictures were taken just after we got him to our home.
We are working on a small pasture for him up at the kudzu hill. Matthew spent several hours diggin up around 20 metal posts one day that were around the hills from years gone by, and we have already got them placed. I have bought the fence we are going to try to use but we still need to attach it to the posts and we have to build a shelter for him up there.
Here is a picture of what his little pasture looks like right now:
It will be interesting to watch him clean it up and see if he can keep up with the kudzu.
In the meantime, we have him chained to a doghouse full of straw. When I fed and watered the chickens this morning before I left for work he did not come out of the dog house. (It was 10 degrees so I guess I don't blame him.)
Lisa made a funny that did not hit me until after I was driving away. I said something about hoping Little Joe was still in the dog house and did not get loose sometime in the night. She said that she thought he was still there because he probably would not have gone to the trouble to put the chain back in the dog house! I started to laugh about a half mile down the road!
We hope to get more goats in the future to keep Little Joe company and help us with our kudzu problem. For now, we will have fun adjusting to being goat owners.
7 comments
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Mom on February 16, 2007 at 8:51 am
Little Joe is very cute!!!! I love his name.
Belle~homesteadgirls
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1 on February 16, 2007 at 9:41 am
I know very little about kudzu but I was thinking a good freeze would kill it?
Do the goats like kudzu? BTW that is a good looking goat.
I was also reading that they were going to try to make an alternative fuel out of it, something like what they do with corn.
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OklahomaJamie on February 16, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I love your new wether! He's so cute on that leash. I will have to get a collar and leash and train my goats to walk with me.
What kind of fencing are you using? I've got to get a pen built too.
Jamie
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LittleHouse on February 16, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Hello! I love your goat he is so cute, and I like the name! It will be so much fun, if we come to your house this year, and see all your animals! Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Mary
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mom2ahousefull on February 17, 2007 at 10:36 am
Cute goat! I think you'll like having goats
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sheryl on February 18, 2007 at 12:34 pm
He is cute. Do you have anyway of keeping stray dogs and coyotoes away? When I got my pygmy that is the one thing the lady said to me. She says coyotoes love goats and will attack them. We have coyotoes here on the farm. They are a lot of coyotoes in my neck of the woods. I want to get my goats and that is one of my biggest worries about them. I keep mine close to the house and put her up in a barnstall at night. How many more are you planning on getting? Sams cousin has 9 breed meat goats for sale. 7 are register. If I had the money I would buy them because is great deal. If you know anyone or yourself that is interested, send a me message and I will tell you more about them. Good luck with Little Joe. Sheryl
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Lynn on February 18, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Cute name, I love it. Is he an alpine? I can't tell from the pictures. He kinda looks like that, but its hard to tell. Those collars are great for goats. My goats each have their own collars, they wear them all the time. And they are use to the leash, except for Jake(Nubian billy).
Good luck with the goats. If your family is like mine, they will really enjoy the goat. They are great pets.
Many Blessings,
Lynn
Friday, February 09, 2007
A Walk Through Snowy Woods
On Wednesday, February 7th, Matthew, Erica, and myself took a long walk along our east ridge to admire the wonderful snow scenes in the woods that God had created. We only had about 3 inches of snow on the ground, but it was beautiful none the less.
I thought I would share a few of the pictures Erica took on our walk.
Here is a small holly bush covered in snow:
There were all kinds of animal tracks in the snow. We found an unusual deer print in which the deer evidently threw the snow off it's hoof like we might kick snow off a boot. You could actually pick up the indention of the deer print in your hand!
Erica took a couple of pictures of it:
She also liked this little beech tree, with it's leaves still on, shivering in the snow:
And she took a picture of Matthew and me at our overlook:
And then I took one of her, writing in the snow on the cliff.
(It wasn't as dangerous as it looks, Mom.)
And here's Erica:
Since I now had the camera in my hand, I started taking pictures of the river valley we were overlooking. The pictures I took are not much different from the ones that Matthew took last week when we had less than an inch of snow. Maybe I will post them sometime later next week.
Walking through snow covered woods on a sunny day is a good way to see the hand of God. His touch is all around us, if we will only look.
1 comment
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LittleHouse on February 9, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Those pictures that Erica and you took are very nice! The deer print you could pick up was amazing! Also your pig pictures are neat too! They are not babies anymore! You have done a wonderful job on all of your posts! I can't wait to see more of what interesting things happen at Pure Water Hollow! Bye!
~Mary
I thought I would share a few of the pictures Erica took on our walk.
Here is a small holly bush covered in snow:
There were all kinds of animal tracks in the snow. We found an unusual deer print in which the deer evidently threw the snow off it's hoof like we might kick snow off a boot. You could actually pick up the indention of the deer print in your hand!
Erica took a couple of pictures of it:
She also liked this little beech tree, with it's leaves still on, shivering in the snow:
And she took a picture of Matthew and me at our overlook:
And then I took one of her, writing in the snow on the cliff.
(It wasn't as dangerous as it looks, Mom.)
And here's Erica:
Since I now had the camera in my hand, I started taking pictures of the river valley we were overlooking. The pictures I took are not much different from the ones that Matthew took last week when we had less than an inch of snow. Maybe I will post them sometime later next week.
Walking through snow covered woods on a sunny day is a good way to see the hand of God. His touch is all around us, if we will only look.
1 comment
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LittleHouse on February 9, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Those pictures that Erica and you took are very nice! The deer print you could pick up was amazing! Also your pig pictures are neat too! They are not babies anymore! You have done a wonderful job on all of your posts! I can't wait to see more of what interesting things happen at Pure Water Hollow! Bye!
~Mary
Our Pigs Do Not Mind Snow
The snow this week did not seem to bother our four pigs at all! If anything they seemed more frisky and playful because of it! I have given them ample straw to keep warm in so the cold has not had a negative impact on them. They have behaved quite differently from our chickens.
I haven't shown you any pictures of our pigs for a couple of months now, so you might be able to tell how they have grown. I didn't wait to get great pictures of the pigs since it was so cold and we had to feed and water them, but I did manage to get some individual shots of each of them.
Here's Porky, the one we are raising for meat:
And that's Rufus in the middle, our soon to be boar:
The black one is Nellie, one of our future mamas:
And Sally is our other future mama:
They are all still very friendly and playful, although they are more work in freezing temperatures.
In the picture with Sally you can see the trough we built for them a couple of months ago out of free wood slabs and the water pail we are using in their lot. (I am planning to post later about our feeding and watering systems.)
Since the temperatures have been below freezing all week we have been having to carry water for them from the house. (The pond is frozen too) We are also still giving them milk mixed with corn meal, but we have to carry the milk down to the house to thaw it out and then we pour the milk in five gallon buckets to take back up to the barn. We then load the buckets of water and milk into our old truck and drive up to the barn. The four wheel drive has had no problem driving up there, even with the snow on the ground!
We humans enjoy snow and the pigs don't seem to mind it.
On the other hand, we humans will be glad to see warmer temperatures to let their milk and water thaw out, if nothing else!
2 comments
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Jewel on February 9, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Of course the pigs like it better…chickens are more refined you know.
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sheryl on February 9, 2007 at 2:43 pm
your pigs are getting big. Love the photos. sheryl
I haven't shown you any pictures of our pigs for a couple of months now, so you might be able to tell how they have grown. I didn't wait to get great pictures of the pigs since it was so cold and we had to feed and water them, but I did manage to get some individual shots of each of them.
Here's Porky, the one we are raising for meat:
And that's Rufus in the middle, our soon to be boar:
The black one is Nellie, one of our future mamas:
And Sally is our other future mama:
They are all still very friendly and playful, although they are more work in freezing temperatures.
In the picture with Sally you can see the trough we built for them a couple of months ago out of free wood slabs and the water pail we are using in their lot. (I am planning to post later about our feeding and watering systems.)
Since the temperatures have been below freezing all week we have been having to carry water for them from the house. (The pond is frozen too) We are also still giving them milk mixed with corn meal, but we have to carry the milk down to the house to thaw it out and then we pour the milk in five gallon buckets to take back up to the barn. We then load the buckets of water and milk into our old truck and drive up to the barn. The four wheel drive has had no problem driving up there, even with the snow on the ground!
We humans enjoy snow and the pigs don't seem to mind it.
On the other hand, we humans will be glad to see warmer temperatures to let their milk and water thaw out, if nothing else!
2 comments
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Jewel on February 9, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Of course the pigs like it better…chickens are more refined you know.
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sheryl on February 9, 2007 at 2:43 pm
your pigs are getting big. Love the photos. sheryl
Our Chickens Do Not Like Snow
We have had snow and below freezing temperatures all week. Wednesday the chickens woke up to 3 inches of snow in their lot, and they were not happy!
They very slowly emerged from their coop to get their morning drink of water, which was frozen solid. We have been taking boiling water out to them to melt the ice so they can have water. I've read that it is important to keep clean water for chickens, which is not always easy!
I have three automatic waterers positioned around their lot with the bowl through the fence where I can fill up the bottle without going into the lot. On these freezing nights I can take the bottle in the house if I think about it, but the water in the bowl is still frozen if I forgot to dump it out.
Here are a couple of pictures of some of our chickens at one of the waterers:
Later in the day, when it was time to let them free range, I only had a few reluctant volunteers. Most of the chickens wanted to stay in the coop, or under the coop where it was dry! It was funny watching the ones that did come out stepping through the snow, and then jumping back to where it was already packed down.
The snow seemed to disorient the chickens, also. I did eventually get all of them out of the coop as the week progressed, but I noticed that some of them had trouble figuring out where the door to their lot was! They paced back and forth, trying to get back in the lot, on the wrong side where there is not a gate!
They sure did not like the snow as much as we did! The next time a big snow is predicted I think I should put a tarp down over their lot so I can take the snow up and leave them with more of a dirt lot the way they like it!
Each to his own…
(or her own if we are talking about hens).
They very slowly emerged from their coop to get their morning drink of water, which was frozen solid. We have been taking boiling water out to them to melt the ice so they can have water. I've read that it is important to keep clean water for chickens, which is not always easy!
I have three automatic waterers positioned around their lot with the bowl through the fence where I can fill up the bottle without going into the lot. On these freezing nights I can take the bottle in the house if I think about it, but the water in the bowl is still frozen if I forgot to dump it out.
Here are a couple of pictures of some of our chickens at one of the waterers:
Later in the day, when it was time to let them free range, I only had a few reluctant volunteers. Most of the chickens wanted to stay in the coop, or under the coop where it was dry! It was funny watching the ones that did come out stepping through the snow, and then jumping back to where it was already packed down.
The snow seemed to disorient the chickens, also. I did eventually get all of them out of the coop as the week progressed, but I noticed that some of them had trouble figuring out where the door to their lot was! They paced back and forth, trying to get back in the lot, on the wrong side where there is not a gate!
They sure did not like the snow as much as we did! The next time a big snow is predicted I think I should put a tarp down over their lot so I can take the snow up and leave them with more of a dirt lot the way they like it!
Each to his own…
(or her own if we are talking about hens).
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Snow! The First Evening
We finally got a nice little snow this past Tuesday(Feb. 6th). It was not the 6 to 10 inches that I am still hoping for, but we did get 3 inches! Other areas in Kentucky got considerably more than we did. At this point, we will take whatever snow we can get!
It began snowing here at 1:00 in the afternoon and by the time evening was setting in our road was covered!
We did not mind being snowed in! We even hit the hills to sled before we went to bed!
We took many more pictures of our critters in the snow as well as another hike to our East Ridge Overlook, but I don't have the time to put them up right now.
We will stretch this snow event out over several posts and savor each moment, since it may be the only snow Pure Water Hollow will see this winter!
God bless!
1 comment
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sheryl on February 8, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Lucky you only have 3 inches. We got 5 inches, I think. The kids have been out of school here for week and a half now. Have fun and enjoy the snow. sheryl
It began snowing here at 1:00 in the afternoon and by the time evening was setting in our road was covered!
We did not mind being snowed in! We even hit the hills to sled before we went to bed!
We took many more pictures of our critters in the snow as well as another hike to our East Ridge Overlook, but I don't have the time to put them up right now.
We will stretch this snow event out over several posts and savor each moment, since it may be the only snow Pure Water Hollow will see this winter!
God bless!
1 comment
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sheryl on February 8, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Lucky you only have 3 inches. We got 5 inches, I think. The kids have been out of school here for week and a half now. Have fun and enjoy the snow. sheryl
Saturday, February 03, 2007
So, That's What Snow Looks Like! (From Our East Ridge)
Yesterday we finally got a good 1 inch of snow at Pure Water Hollow! It was a welcome sight. It stayed around for today, too, although most of it has melted now.
I was curious what the valley would like from our east ridge with snow. Just last week we had discovered our beautiful overlook. Yesterday was cold, and to be honest, I did not really feel like climbing up to the east ridge. My mountain hopping son, Matthew, volunteered to run on up there and take some pictures for us. He got some beautiful shots of the river valley below with a nice dusting of snow. Here are some of my favorites:
Matthew got pretty artistic with some of the pictures. I had mentioned that it would be pretty if we had a shot of a cardinal on a snow covered pine branch with the valleyin the distance. A cardinal did not pose for him, but he got some pretty shots anyway:
He may have gotten too close to the edge for these next ones. I'm very thankful he was careful! I had a queasy stomach when I got close to the edge the other day, but Matthew wanted to get some more artistic photos, and found a way to look downward.
The ledge looks slippery, doesn't it:
Looking dooowwwnn…
Thank you, Matthew, for galloping way up there on such a cold day just to take pictures for us! Now if we can get a good snow of like 6 to 10 inches…
Here is a picture of the hero of this post, taken last week when it was sunny:
1 comment
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farmgal35 February 3, 2007 at 7:11 pm
We all enjoyed the pics. Thanks for sharing them. Really Beautiful
I was curious what the valley would like from our east ridge with snow. Just last week we had discovered our beautiful overlook. Yesterday was cold, and to be honest, I did not really feel like climbing up to the east ridge. My mountain hopping son, Matthew, volunteered to run on up there and take some pictures for us. He got some beautiful shots of the river valley below with a nice dusting of snow. Here are some of my favorites:
Matthew got pretty artistic with some of the pictures. I had mentioned that it would be pretty if we had a shot of a cardinal on a snow covered pine branch with the valleyin the distance. A cardinal did not pose for him, but he got some pretty shots anyway:
He may have gotten too close to the edge for these next ones. I'm very thankful he was careful! I had a queasy stomach when I got close to the edge the other day, but Matthew wanted to get some more artistic photos, and found a way to look downward.
The ledge looks slippery, doesn't it:
Looking dooowwwnn…
Thank you, Matthew, for galloping way up there on such a cold day just to take pictures for us! Now if we can get a good snow of like 6 to 10 inches…
Here is a picture of the hero of this post, taken last week when it was sunny:
1 comment
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farmgal35 February 3, 2007 at 7:11 pm
We all enjoyed the pics. Thanks for sharing them. Really Beautiful
Montana Cowboy
We received this in our email from a friend and I immediately thought about all of my friends out here on homesteadblogger. If you have not seen this before, I think you will really enjoy it.
A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban Sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, “If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?”
The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, “Sure, why not?”
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, Connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA Page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation System to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel Spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, “You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.”
“That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,” says the Cowboy. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car!
Then the cowboy says to the young man, “Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?”
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, “Okay, why not?”
You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government”, says the cowboy.
“Wow! That's correct,” says the yuppie, “but how did you guess that?”
“No guessing was required.” answered the cowboy. “You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows…this is a herd of sheep. Now give me back my dog.”
1 comment
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Copper on February 6, 2007 at 11:42 am
The pictures are beautiful. Your son must be a budding photographer. There is now diet coke sprayed on my screen because I wasn't ready for the end of the cowboy story. That's a good 'n that I'll pass on to my brother, if you don't mind.
A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban Sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, “If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?”
The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, “Sure, why not?”
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, Connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA Page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation System to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel Spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, “You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.”
“That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,” says the Cowboy. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car!
Then the cowboy says to the young man, “Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?”
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, “Okay, why not?”
You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government”, says the cowboy.
“Wow! That's correct,” says the yuppie, “but how did you guess that?”
“No guessing was required.” answered the cowboy. “You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows…this is a herd of sheep. Now give me back my dog.”
1 comment
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Copper on February 6, 2007 at 11:42 am
The pictures are beautiful. Your son must be a budding photographer. There is now diet coke sprayed on my screen because I wasn't ready for the end of the cowboy story. That's a good 'n that I'll pass on to my brother, if you don't mind.
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