Spring Morning

     Yesterday morning I was blessed to just enjoy the moment and my two youngest siblings. Frank and Anna Frances went out with me to do the chores and we had a great time. (Sorry for the poor phone picture quality.)

Frankie informed me when we first went out that he was "Frankie Farmer." I changed his name to Farmer Frank and in that role, he fed Buttercup...

Hurricane Irma: The Weekend I Took 9 Dogs to Church

I'm sure everyone reading this blog has either experienced hurricane Irma or seen it on the news.  Just for the record though, I will mention that it was the largest recorded storm in the Atlantic (outside of the Carribean) with peak sustained wind speeds of about 185 mph.  It was larger than the state of Florida, and predicted to travel right up the middle of the state after making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane.  That's a strong storm!

Because it was so strong and we live in a mobile home, we deemed it would be prudent for us to get out of the way, so we evacuated to church.  A number of other families had the same idea, so we all got to camp out Sunday afternoon - Monday morning.  It was so much fun!

For those who are wondering about the title:  I have a litter of 6 Border Collie puppies right now, plus my three breeding dogs.  I couldn't exactly leave them behind, so they got to come along.

Raining, Cats and Dogs

Originally written and posted on a very rainy day last week...

Ever since we got our first dog, Mama has periodically wished for a cat which would like dogs.  I used to have a hard time believing all she said about how her cats and dogs loved each other because my only experiences in that line involved excited Schnauzers, my stressed out, deaf kitty, and (later on) our whip-thin black cat, Flavia, who hates dogs, and Kep, who loves chasing cats.

Then Flavia retired from working and the rats (which are always more or less present on a farm) began multiplying way too fast, so we finally got two young kittens.  They were six week old brothers from Shepherd's Hill Farm and are the most wonderful cats.  They are sweet to each other and people, and I think they will be great ratters.  (BTW, there is one kitten left from this litter who needs a home!  Contact me if you are interested in adopting him.)

Dickon (left) and Chauncey (right)

The first time one of the dogs (Flossy, I think) walked up and sniffed the new kittens, they both totally panicked, as several scratches on my hands testified.  For a while they would spit and fluff up every time one of the dogs came nearby, but Flossy has the gentle-giant nature of her Great Pyrenees mama (Inez) and the curiosity of her Border collie sire, Duncan, so she didn't mind the fluffing, hissing, spitting, and swatting, and would just walk over to the kittens lick them until they were too soggy to spit and fluff.

So eventually, they gave it up.

I think Flossy thinks the kittens are her personal pets.  At any rate, she has trained them to be friendly with dogs, and because we never allowed the dogs to chase them at all, they have all accepted them as part of the family.

Even Kep seems to have been finally cured of his cat-chasing proclivities and has fully subsided into his role as Farm Grandpa, even providing entertainment and exercise for the kittens by wagging his tail obligingly.

"Well, what are you staring at?  Haven't you ever seen a cat hone its pouncing skills?"

But, though all the dogs are fine with the cats, Flossie is the one who really enjoys them, and they even seem to enjoy her (well, most of the time.)

Today it is raining, and everyone knows that rainy days are the best for napping.  Apparently Dickon and Flossie agree.

"See you later!"

Hello Again!

A word of clarification:  This is a really long post because it is a compilation of several posts on my farm blog, hence the emphasis on farmy subjects.  Still, I hope it is fun to skim through the pictures and get an idea of what we've been up to.

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I have been away from blogging for so long.  It seems like over the course of the last few months I've been so busy doing things that I haven't had time to write about all I've been doing.  Well, it's good to stay busy, but it is also good to keep up with my blogs, so this week I have tried to focus on sewing and computer work.  So far, this is the first computer work I've done, except for a little writing on my current book, but hopefully I will be able to pile quite a few more languishing computer projects into the next few days.

If you have subscribed to my newsletter, you are already aware of what has been going on in our lives; it's been a lot!  Two siblings have been married, two calves have been born, one goat is due to kid soon, and Cleone is ready to be bred for her first litter of puppies, to name a few!  If you are not subscribed to the newsletter, you can sign up now via the form on the right hand side of this blog.

Below are a few pictures of life on the farm.  Enjoy the update!
Warning:  There are a ton of pictures in this blog post, so if you are not interested in looking at a long pictorial record of our year, then you may want to stop reading here.

If you are game for an update:  Welcome to January!

The sun rises on a new year...

My New Puppy

Well, the title isn't really accurate...  It should have been "My dog that was a new puppy last year", but that would sound silly.  This blog post is a bit late, but now it will be more informative.  :)

In July, when we took a family vacation, we also picked up Cleone, my first registered Border collie.

I have been wanting for some time to begin breeding Border collies, and finally my hope is on the way to becoming a reality.  Our family vacation was the perfect opportunity to research a wider range of breeders, and find just the right puppy.

A Derby Day Surprise: Fannie's Filly!

After supper tonight, I went outside to do the last few chores.  LilyAnn and Emaline tagged along, wanting to check on some new goats we bought today.  When we got to the barn though, I was immediately distracted from the goats as I noticed that Fannie was lying down on the other side, looking at me around the corner.  "That's funny", I thought.  "She always stands up when I come out.  Maybe I'd better check on her."

Well, when I came around the corner, look what I found!

Our New Farm Website: Feldman Family Farm

I have recently discovered the joy of building a website; even if it is just a humble Weebly subdomain website!  When a friend asked me to work on one for their farm, I began researching and putting together a rough draft for them without any great expectations.  But very soon I discovered that building websites is great fun, and decided to make one for our family farm.  It includes my ChickenScrapsBlog, my Chicken Scraps Etsy Shop, and individual pages for a more streamlined and organized description of our little farm.

Here is the link to our brand new website:

Feldman Family Farm website

Enjoy!

Snapshots of Family Life on the Feldman Farm

It's beginning to feel like spring outside, and we are all catching spring fever!  Farrah and LilyAnn have quite a few vegetables planted in their gardens, and the grass is starting to grow again in the pastures (very important when you have animals).  I have been taking the younger ones outside and doing some farm work lately:  cleaning the stall, spreading manure in the pastures, raking leaves for the pig, etc.

Yesterday I took Emaline, Russell and Anna-Frances outside to rake leaves.  We were putting them in the pig pen for our new piglet to root in, mulch up, and compost.  (Pigs make the best compost machines.)

This Big Piggy Stayed Home: Pt. 2

Well, after our pig was slaughtered, here on our farm, it was time to cut up, package, and freeze all that meat.

We hung it overnight in the outdoor shower.  Since the temperature was in the 20's, it was a perfect cooler.

This Big Piggy Stayed Home...

Yesterday, we slaughtered our first pig on the farm.

We've sent a few pigs to the butcher before, but this time we decided to try it ourselves.  And it was worth it!

Butchering Day

I have always liked the idea of a self-sufficient lifestyle.  (Sufficient as regards food; we will always be dependent upon God!)  Saturday, we made another step towards supplying our own food.

LilyAnn and Justice helped me butcher a sheep.

He was an extra mouth to feed, kind of mean, and very healthy, so we decided it was time for him to go to the freezer.  And rather than paying someone else to butcher him, and having to cart him over there, we decided to just do it ourselves.

This photo was taken several months ago.

(WARNING:  Images include a (dead) sheep being processed, and children helping with the work.  With that said, I will add that I have intentionally omitted any very shocking photos.  And, for the record, the sheep died instantly and painlessly.)

A Sad Day on the Feldman Farm

There are good days and bad days on the farm.  Good days are when things are going well- the animals are all healthy, kids were born, or the garden is producing lots of veggies.

Sad days are when the calf someone is waiting to pick up gets worms; the goats eat all Mama's rose bushes, plus the garden, and we run out of feed; or worst of all, when one of the animals dies.

Monday was a sad day.

The Chicken Butchering Brigade!

This morning, we butchered two roosters who were about to become a problem on the farm.  

LilyAnn, Justice, Emaline and Russell were my helpers.  Oh, and Kep helped too, when one of the roosters got away.  He later supervised operations from under the table.

A New Addition...

Ever since I got Fannie, we have thought it would be great to have another horse so that I wouldn't have to ride alone.  I always said that a large pony would be best- one big enough for any of us to ride, yet smaller than an average horse so he would be less intimidating for the younger ones to ride.
Well...  It seemed a little bit impossible for us to get another, but the Lord provided one.

In the Garden...

We have been working outside for about an hour every day before it gets too hot.

May with the Feldmans

It seems that I live in a constant state of trying to catch up on blogging.  We have been so busy for so long, and I'm beginning to realize that this is a new way of life for us now.  May is usually a busy month for us anyway though, since we have four birthdays to celebrate:  Evan's & Justice's, Anna-Frances', and Farrah's.

For Evan's and Justice's birthday, we canoed down the Waccasassa  river.  It was a lot of fun, and wonderful exercise.  It was also interesting fitting 11 people into three canoes.  Daddy and Anna-Frances took the van around to the finish point, and waited for us there.

Evan and Justice are twins- 11 years apart!

Surprise, surprise! (Or, "Woohoo! We have triplets!)

I thought I was so well prepared for Nelly this time.  No way was that sneaky ol' goat going to kid without me there by her.  But...  I was so convinced I had her figured out that I missed it again.  That's right- while I thought I was waiting on her, she quietly kidded out in the barn with Mabel and Freda.  I went out to feed her a carrot, and discovered that she had three kids with her.  Talk about surprised...

Sometimes I thought this day would never come...

There were times when I thought this day would never come.  Some days the longing would be as much as I could stand; on other days, I would almost forget about it.  But never completely.

To feel the wind whistling by,

To hear the rhythmic pounding of hooves,

The feel of powerful muscles surging and rippling under you,

To have the full control over, love and respect of an 800-lb animal that could easily overpower you, but instead obeys your wishes willingly...

A Busy (And Exciting) Few Days

Well, it looks like my resolution to blog once a week has gone down the drain already, at least, for a while.  The last few days have been very busy.  First, we finally have a new, and good, schedule.  That's great, the one difficulty for me is the manager.  Since Mama will be resting a lot after having the baby, someone else has to keep things moving, and it's not Daddy; he will be working.  So, guess who will be doing it- that's right- yours truly!  Actually I am glad for the experience and good education it gives me, but I'm not sure my siblings are.  :-)

What We've Been Up To...

I know it's been a while since I've posted... Once more I have to apologize for not being more consistent with this poor little blog.  We have been very busy (when are we not!) and have made quite a bit of progress.  We are fully moved into our new house now!

Here are a few pictures that Savana took, showing some of our recent activities.

This was a great accomplishment for Bo- chopping down a tree, by himself, with his ax!

He and William cut it up with some help from Colin, a friend from Canada who's down for the winter with his family (they go to our church when they are down here).