Innocent Goats

Last night as I was bottle feeding our two new baby goats, the thought crossed my mind how wonderful it would be to be as innocent as these two.  They have no idea what is going on in the world around them.

Nor do they care if Trump is President and not Hillary.  I have two sisters who have stopped talking to me because I am one of the "Deplorables."  How sad!!  These two little ones know nothing about a shooter being so mad at the world that he takes his shot gun and opens fire on innocent people in a Florida airport.  Or about 4 Chicago teenagers that kidnap a disabled white teenager and torture him while streaming live on Facebook.

Their only concern is when will I show up with the next bottle.  Don't worry girls, I'm coming!!  I just wish our lives were that easy!

Resolutions?

Well, 2017 finally made it here.  And, of course, everyone makes these lofty resolutions.  My husband's niece wrote on Facebook the other day that she wants to lose 120 pounds by 2018 and she is going to live on water, fruit and vegetables for the next 365 days.  Can't wait to see how long that diet is going to last!!  Then in her next message . . . she posted that she is not sure she can give up soda pop.  The diet is DOOMED!!!  I give her half a day at most!!!

If you are going to make resolutions for the new year, at least, make realistic ones!!  I saw one on Facebook the other day that sound pretty neat.  It was a way to save money.  It said that every time you get a $5 bill, save it - use a baggie or something to save the $5 bills in.  Don't count it, just keep putting your $5 bills in.  Don't "borrow" from it.  And at the end of the year, you should have a nice little bit of "pocket" change!  I thought that was a great idea!!!

Anyway, my "resolutions" for this year are to try to get healthy again, to spend less money and to save money.

2016 was an eye opener for me healthwise.  I had several health issues that I wasn't quite expecting.  In August, a blood test revealed that I was "pre-diabetic" and was told to lose some weight, which I did.  A second blood test, showed that my A1C value inched closer to the "diabetic" range despite losing 21 pounds.   Another blood test showed that I have Celiac Disease - e.g. I need to go gluten free.  

A stress test revealed a possible blocked artery in my heart - I am off to see a cardiologist this month and will probably be having an angiogram.  A CT Scan showed my Bronchiectasis (damage to the airway tubes in your lungs) has gotten worse and there might be a lung infection - oh joy!! 
So there might be a visit to a pulmonary doctor in the near future.  

So other than that, I'm fine - LOL!!  Getting old is a bitch!!!

But, we are eating better.  When I was told to lose weight, the first place I headed was Amazon and I bought several Weight Watcher cookbooks.  Like Oprah has said recently, the recipes are excellent and you really don't know you are on a "diet."  My husband and son love the recipes and have said this is the best they have eaten in a long time (not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not!)

I think 2017 is going to be a good year.  I just have a good feeling about it.

2016 - What a year!!

As the new year approaches, everyone always likes to take a look at the year that was.  And what an eventful year it was.

It begun with my sailor finally coming home!!

And we got to spend every holiday and birthday together without him having to leave to go back to base the next day!!

It was a year where an invited guest moved in . . .

a  5 foot back snake moved in under my front porch.  That is him/her peeking out to make sure the "coast" is clear!!  The snake is literally a few feet from my front door!!!  My husband sealed up the "hole" making sure Mr/Ms Snake was not "in residence."  We are assuming Mr/Ms Snake moved elsewhere.

We decided it was time to move on from the Farmer's Market.   That was a very hard decision to make.  I love my customers and the vendors, but I'm tired.  And my insurance kept increasing by $100 each year and my license to sell eggs increased up to $268 a year.  It was getting to the point that it was hard to make a profit.  My last year's sales at the market was down, so it felt like a good time to call it quits.  I thought for sure that I had just killed my business, but God had other plans . . . because here I am a year later and my business is still going strong!  AND, we were just accredited by the Greater Cincinnati Better Business Bureau!!!

For the first time in a long time, my garden was WONDERFUL!!!  I had the most beautiful tomatoes!!  And we are now enjoying those tomatoes this winter!  I spend a lot of the summer canning up my produce.  I had so much fun!!  Without doing the farmer's market, I had more free time to do things like canning and working in my garden, so I thoroughly enjoyed the summer!!

It was a  year of surprises with my health.  I have always prided myself on how healthy I was for a 63 year old.  Well, I think it finally caught up with me.  Two years ago I was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 2, which sounds worst than it is.  So this past August, a blood test (A1C) revealed that I was "pre-diabetic."  Hmmm, hadn't planned on that!!  Was told by the doctor that I needed to lose some weight, about 10 pounds.

My very first thought was, who is the expert on losing weight . . . WEIGHT WATCHERS!!  So off to Amazon I went and bought several of the Weight Watcher cookbooks.   I lost 15 pounds!!   Had another blood test done, this time my A1C rose to 5.9!! One more.1 and I would be diabetic.  Thank God for husbands!  He said this is not a death sentence.  We can deal with this.  The Doctor told me not to worry, sometimes it takes 6 months for these things to turn around.

I did lost a bunch of weight that I have been trying to lose for a long time.  And I think we are eating healthier than we have.  The Weight Watcher recipes are really good much to my surprise and my family (two males) are thoroughly enjoying the meals.  At least, there hasn't been any complaints (well, they weren't too thrilled with the turkey burgers!!!)

I will admit here!! I am a deplorable!!!

I was one from the start!  I voted for him in the primaries and I voted for him on November  8!  I am so thrilled about President-Elect Trump.  I am so tried of politicians and dealing with the government!!  I have had to fight with the City Health Dept, the County Health Dept, and the Ohio State Dept of Agriculture.  I am hoping that now we have a real businessman leading the country, he will turn this country around.  My two Democratic sisters won't have anything to do with me now.

To 2016, thank you!!  You have been interesting!  And to 2017,  I am putting you into God's Hands and I know He will lead me in the way He wants me to go.  God Bless you all!

Amazing!

Who would have thought I would still be up and running now?  I was so sure I killed by business when I decided to drop out the farmer's market scene.  But here I am busy as ever!!  All thanks to my many loyal customers!!  And I think God had a lot to do with this.  I constantly talk to Him asking Him to lead me in the way He wants me to go.  So far, He hasn't closed this door and, in fact, He has opened many new doors.

I had a call last week from the Cincinnati Better Business Bureau.  They want to accredit my business!!  And they only do this by invitation.  How on earth did they get the name of my little goat farm???

So I just want to thank all my loyal customers for hanging in there with me!!  God Bless you all!  I love you all!!  Looking forward to another great year in 2017!!!

Breeding Season

It is looking like we will be having late January/early February babies in 2017.  From what I can tell, I think everyone went into heat either last week or this week.  The girls sure kept that poor buck busy!!

Uh OH!!! It is THAT time of year!

Sigh!  It is THAT time of year when my buck (the first goat in the picture) starts peeing on himself.  I know that sounds gross AND it is!!!  He does this about 25 times a day (I am not exaggerating!!).  And this goes on until late November/early December.  By that time, he is REALLY "ripe."

He does that to "attract" the female goats.  Personally, flowers and dining at the fancy restaurant work for me!!

Babies!

Had 4 baby chicks hatch this weekend!  I let 3 of the hens in one of the chicken houses set on eggs.  Usually 75% of the eggs aren't any good.  I always pleasantly surprised when I find baby chicks.  This brings our total of baby chicks hatched this summer up to 8.

Butternut Squash

A baby Butternut squash!  My first!!  Did you know these make the best pumpkin pies?  Many years ago when my son was in Kindergarten, the class went on a field trip to a local pumpkin farm.  The farmer told me if I wanted to make the best pumpkin pie, do not use pumpkins, but use a butternut squash.  So I did that year and have been doing it ever since.  It is so simple.  You cook the squash like you normally do.  When it has cooled down, scoop all the insides out (minus the seeds!) and process it either in a blender or your food processor - Viola!!  And use this in place of the pumpkin puree in your recipe!  No one will know the difference.

Sprouted Onions - What to do?

I am sure you have found your onions have "sprouted."    Of course, your first thought is "oh darn" and you throw it out because the onion is now no good.  I did the same thing until now.  I was reading somewhere on the Internet that you can plant these!!!  So I figured what the heck.  Let's give this a try. 

Dig a hole deep and wide enough to fit the onion.

 Cover it with dirt so just the top of the "sprout" is showing.

Add some water and wait to see what happens.  Stay tune!!

What a strange year this has been

I don't think I have ever remember a year quite like this year, at least, one so eventful.  Goats drowning in water troughs followed by another goat delivering 3 stillborn babies, a month of "monsoons" in July, followed by an air conditioner and the power steering in my truck both dying at the same time, a recent storm damaging our house . . .

and on and on and on.  Plus the emotions of an only child being deployed on the other side of the world.

BUT, somehow God gets you through this, don't know how HE does it but He does.  Yes, the rains pretty much wiped out my gardens, but I have a lot of friends at the farmer's markets that keep me supplied in wonderful vegetables from their gardens.  As for the goat I lost this winter . . . well, a customer who bought one of my dairy baby goats about a year ago, brought her back because she has decided not to raise goats anymore.  Noelle (the goat) will make up for the one I lost. 

As for the damage to the house, it could have been a lot worse!!  BUT, we didn't lose power and the damage is very minimal.  The carpenter we thought we had hired bailed on us.  So we are going to do it ourselves. 

Amazingly, for some reason, my products are in high demand!!  New opportunites have opened up.  You can't convince me that God didn't have a hand in this.

AND, my son has decided not to re-enlist and will be coming home this year!!  Needless to say, I am a VERY excited Navy Mom. 

It is going to be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out.  Stay tuned!

Baby Chicks

The last couple of weeks I have had two hens setting on nests with about a dozen eggs in each nest.  So far, we have hatched out 8 baby chicks.   Seven of the chicks were hatched about a week and a half ago.

 

Well, last week, baby chick #8 was hatched.  He/she was about a week or so younger than the other chicks.

I have had this situation before.  The older chicks will peck at it briefly to let it know the "pecking" order but eventually leave it alone. 

Unfortunately, that didn't happen in this case.  I found the poor chick in a corner the next morning almost pecked to death.  I immediately took it out of the pen and placed it in a pen by itself.  It died later that afternoon.  I was so upset as this has never happened before. 

I have learned my lesson.  Found another baby chick yesterday morning.  He/she is now in a separate box where the others can't hurt it.

Life on a farm!!

62

Today I turn 62.  Amazing!!  I can't be THAT old.  I certainly don't feel THAT old and it always amazes me when I go to the store and they give me a "senior  citizen" discount.  My husband tells me that I should be happy to get a discount, but, somehow, I'm not.  I don't think of myself as a "senior." 

I guess that is part of the problem - I don't feel old.  Of course, I am reminded every time I look in the mirror and see more gray appearing in my hair.  And, I don't have the "youthful" body that I once had - no more bikinis for me  (now that won't be a pretty sight - LOL!).  And to be quite honest, I think I am more active now than I was 20 years ago.

For some reason, on my birthdays, my thoughts always turn to my Mom.  A lot of what I do today are because of her.  She taught me to cook, sew and how to can fruits and vegetables.  I also got my love for animals from her.  I think she would be very pleased with how my life turned out.  She probably would have crocheted sweaters for all the baby goats - LOL!

So, here's to you, Mom - I raise my cup of coffee - (she was also a coffee drinker - so I got that from her, too - LOL!).   Thank you for all that you taught me and for you love!!  I hope I have done you proud!

Blessings

Sometimes I get so caught up in life events that I miss so many of the blessings that God has given me.  What is the saying . . . take time and smell the roses.  The worries of everyday life seem to take precedent and we fail to notice all the many blessings we have.  I am guilty as charged!!  When I take time to look at my many blessings, I am so overwhelmed by God's love.

The birth of a baby goat.

The wonderful milk provided by my goats that I use to make delicious cheese for my family to enjoy weekly.  And not to mention the soap, fudge and ice cream!!  And the skill that God has given me to make these.

All the beautiful eggs that my chickens lay that I can sell at the market or make pies, cakes, cookies,  etc.

The beautiful seasons - each one more beautiful than that last.

My gardens and the wonderful vegetables, berries and herbs I grow in them.

 

Everyday I look out my windows and this is what I see.  And the beautiful songs of all the birds.  Words just can't describe it.

 

 

And the most important blessings are these two:

 

These two give meaning to my life.  I am forever thankful to God for letting me be a part of their lives.

So many blessings . . . more than I could possibly deserve.  Just saying Thank You doesn't even begin to express my feelings.  So richly blessed by God's Love.

 

Baby time on the farm again!

This time it is baby chicks!!  Little puff balls on legs.  Since this picture was taken, we have added two more little puff balls and I have two hens setting on roughly a dozen and a half eggs.  Whether or not the eggs are fertile remains to be seen.  Stay tune!!

The goat babies are now 5 months old!! And they are growing like weeds!!  Little Slugger is no longer little and he will probably be our next "stud."  Butch, I fear, will end up in "freezer camp" unless I can find a home for him.  Shrek, for some reason, has become very standoffish - not sure why.  Maybe it is because she is now a teenager and you know how teenagers are!!

And life goes on at the farm!

Who says animals don't have feelings?

Now this picture doesn't look that special - just an orange cat sitting on a box.  BUT I will tell you why that cat is sitting on the box.

Two days earlier, our cat, Muff, died.

Muff and Gus (the orange cat) were best buddies.  They sleep together outside on the back deck.  If you saw one, you didn't see the other one far behind.  We couldn't bury Muff right away because it was rainy so we put her in a box.  We did finally bury her 2 days later.  Our ground is so hard - mostly clay, so my husband only dug a hole deep and wide enough for just the cat and not the box.

After we got done burying Muff, I set the box down on the deck before putting away the shovel.  When I came back, I found Gus sitting on the box. He won't leave that box for 2 days.  We think he could smell Muff on it.  Who says animals don't have feelings?  We think this was his way of grieving for his friend.  So, I think the picture of Gus on the box is a very sad picture.  

Working in My Garden

Yesterday was so beautiful, so I spent the majority of the day working in my gardens.  Oh, how I love working my gardens.  My lettuce that I planted several weeks ago is coming up nicely and I see lots of fresh salads in my future! 

My asparagus is just starting to come up.  If you have never had fresh asparagus right from the garden, you are missing a special treat!!

Our very first asparagus of the year!!  We love asparagus so much that we decided to dedicated this one garden to be all asparagus and I ordered more asparagus roots! 

My green beans are just being to sprout.   I didn't plant a lot this year.  Waiting on my husband to build me two more raised beds for that. 

Despite the terribly cold winter, all my berry bushes survived!!   Unfortunately, it looks like I lost my two peach trees and several of my lavender plants.  Oh well.  But, I did order some apple trees and those are looking good.

I hope you were able to get out enjoy the beautiful weather, also

FINALLY, Spring!!!!

Thought it would NEVER come, but it always does . . . Spring is FINALLY here.  Whew!!

After a miserable winter and a very, very rough kidding season, I am so ready for Spring. 

We did have 3 goats that gave us 3 healthy baby goats.  BUT, I had one goat drown in the water trough.  This will always be a mystery to us.  The trough is only 24 inches deep and we found her sitting in the trough.  All she had to do was stand up!  I have NO clue how or why or what happened.  We think she might have gone into labor.  And then, the next day, another goat gave birth to 3 stillborn babies - double whammy!  That is when you want to throw in the towel and say "I QUIT!!!"  But, you don't.  You embrace the ones that you still have and you look forward to next year.

Besides, Spring is here and the birds are singing!!

Kidding Season Starts!

Holly couldn't have picked a colder or snower (is there such a word as "snower") night than last night to have her baby??  Why do they do that??  This past weekend would have been perfect.  It wasn't too horribly cold.  NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  We have to wait to the coldest, snowest, worst night of the year to have our baby!!  Oh well, that is farming for you!!

Anyway, the good news is the baby is doing fine and it is a little girl!!  My husband named her Martha for Martha Washington since the baby goat was born on President's Day.  Martha Washington was the very First Lady of our country.  Welcome to the world, Martha!

Desperately Seeking Spring!!

Really it hasn't been that bad of a Winter - at least, compared to last year.  We have only had a few days of snow flurries which usually melt by noon.  Yes, the temperature could be a tad bit warmer but it is Winter after all!!

BUT with the shorter days of sun does take its toll.  My 60 some chickens aren't laying.  I am lucky if I can find 8 or 9 eggs.  Doesn't help when you have customers ordering two or three dozen eggs daily.  And fellow farmers are in the same situation!  How to kill an egg business in one easy step!!

And now I am playing the waiting game - when, oh when, will the baby goats be born???  AND please don't let it happen on a cold, nasty day!!  But, it usually does and, somehow, they do survive!!

Goals Instead of Resolutions

I was reading somewhere today on another blog the writer said instead of new resolutions she was going to set some goals for the new year.  What a great idea!  Sort of like my wish list. 

Got me to thinking . . . what would I like to accomplish in 2015 - what are my goals?

1.  I would like to become more self-sufficient and grow or make our own food  and rely less on the grocery store.

2.  I have been reading the Dave Ramsey book and really want to get out of debt - half way there!  Paid off all our credit cards - Yeah baby!!

3.  I want to be more organized.  Both Findlay and Hyde Park Markets are excellent markets for me.  So I need really to get my act together to be prepared for them this year.  I was totally taken by surprised at how well I did at Findlay Market.  So a lot of organization and a lot of hard work!!

4.  I want to worry less and have more faith that God will take care of me.

Those are my 4 biggest goals.  I am sure I will come up with more as the year goes on.  What are your goals for 2015?