Assortment...

I Love this sign hanging in my kitchen, it says it all!

My GIANT pecan tree , very old with some chickens happy to be out of their pen which is under tree canopy in humid, hot summer and inside pen in building behind tree. Yes it produces alot of pecans that I use in baking and snacking of course! The feeder on the right side we made for the goats.

Hi there! I'm a yearling heifer named Gemstone and this dark dude is Johnny. He's LN steer for showing. Sorry we're dirty but those humans won't give me a bath very often since it's cold. They say they will start regular baths when weather cooperates. What's a girl to do with her hair in the meantime I say!

5 very preggers ewes. Reason I get up all night long ;[

Afternoon project- straight ahead is lambing stall w pens, to the left behind tin wall just visible behind cattle panel is stalls to feed market lambs and kids. area with blue barrels needs to stay dry with feed prices so high cant afford wet feed and needs wall to keep horse out and ewes in but don't wanna lose light as this faces south! I didn't take b4 picture but we took down a pc of tin, a few chunks of plexi glass, a old crappy, rusty gate, a skid and million hay strings holding it all up! 

A gate to access stall for cleaning manure would be nice. Now I throw it over fence and hope it lands in wheelbarrow or hump it out in muck bucket! Husband S working on stringers and I put in post and gate.

TaDa! New corrugated panels with uv covering. and new gate with a latch. No more hay strings!

Inside view showing light about 4 pm. Very cool!

Shelf over sink, bad lighting but can you see all the syringes and needles there? Who lives here? Don't you like LN containers? A pair of Levi jeans on right side and tennis shoe on left side. My glass sheep I love between shoe and middle african violet. Wall deviled egg plate is pewter . Love it too!

The Barn. We own and operate a Livestock Feed business out of the white door on the right side. Personal space for our animals is in back 2/3rds. Trailers on right and left of barn hold feed we sell and front 1/3 rd of barn. We fill the loft with hay and straw to sell as well as what I need for animals here.

Well this is a hodge podge of pics but I had camera with me today and figured why not? There's lots more to our place but another day . Off to hopefully finish knitting LN scarf before checking ewes again before bed.

Kids

    Our older nannie Wendy delivered 2 does last night bout 8:00pm. Neither one wanted to suck and 1 didn't like to swallow either when I put my fingers in her mouth. I thought they were gonners. S my husband and I took turns working with them every hour or two all night long. It's 1:00pm now and both are still here so relieve! The 2nd born which was smaller and weaker, has figured out where milk comes from and gets on the teat pretty good. Other one not so much. This doe has teats and bag almost on the ground , when I try to force kid down to reach lower she fights and screams.
     So annoying, try to save lil punks' life but .....I know I should have patience but I DO NOT. I lose it quicker than I should and throw up my hands & say very "creative" words. I had to walk away frequently last night to breath and not commit goatacide. Maybe this is God and Universes way of making me a better person but guess what I"M NOT. I've named this pair Prudence and Perseverance, usually LN names everyone but I think after last night I deserve the task.
     Tonight is L indoor soccer match about an hour away. She is middle school wrestling manager also so she juggles both in the winter. She had to choose soccer tonight as her wrestling match is hour and half in the other direction and won't allow her to do both. She s a jock as all 3 of my kids are. Life is one big game around here but that's what parents do. Travel time is talking time and sometimes spilling the guts time. I like that my kids all confide in me but am not always glad about the contents.

Challenge

at A Home Grown Journal  blog I commented on a contest /challenge she posted. Now I need to offer the same so :  The first 5 people to comment on this post will be recieving a handmade "something" from me. I have a year to fullfill this. Understand by commenting you agree to offer the same challenge on your blog. It'll be fun I think. I sew, quilt, crochet, knit, cook, can, etc. so who knows what you'll recieve. Let the game begin!

Relaxing Sunday?

So much for relaxing Sunday. SIL S2 brought a cow/calf pair up and dropped them off. LN will be breaking and showing the steer calf in our state fair as a feeder. This will be her 1st year showing cattle but she's had plenty of experience with goats, sheep and pigs so she'll adjust fine I'm sure. It's a confidence booster for sure. She struggles with new experiences and we gently push her to try before she decides.
Me and both daughters were in a horrific crash  4 years ago that left terrible scars on our souls not just our bodies. LN was 8 and it sparked alot of issues with her and her sister and me also, hard to admit but true. Trust is hard premium to earn now with us all. We survived and are stronger, just need reminders every so often.
Otherwise baby goat kids are thriving even as triplets. Most goats birth twins but we seem to have lots of unique animals. Now new mama cow is hollering for her herd but hopefully she'll soon bond with ours. No lambs yet . Getting up during the night checking for lambs and kids makes for unrestful few weeks but it'll be worth it later.

Gonna try to go back to knitting for awhile. I'm teaching myself and am struggling but I'll get it by George I will! I'm just knitting 1 side and purling other side so I learn each well. It's a variegated cream to brown with shades of orange between. I haven't got to the relaxing stage knitting is supposed to give me yet.

Oh My Triplets x 2

Triplets x 2! LN 's nannies delivered triplets yesterday. Both moms seem to be handling it fine. Plenty of milk so letting them go, I'll step in if moms look stressed. 2 more to go and 5 ewes. Cows due in spring. Gotta check on everyone soon and shut up ewes i case they deliver tonight. LN is gone to sleep over so Mom on Duty!

Finally !

I said I would and I finally did it! This blog will probably start out as a diary to vent from. I'll see where it goes from there. I live in the 1st state Delaware on a small farm where my husband S and I own and operate a livestock feed store out of our barn. I also breed and raise Boer X goats, crossbred sheep and beef cattle. I have 3 children and 2 step sons. LN is 12 and only child left at home. Z is 21 and lives with his girlfriend and R is 22 and just got married in August and rents house near the beach.