Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Nothin' Much....



That sums it up - nothin' much goin' on here that's too exciting.  Other than we are crossing a few jobs off the list.  The irises are in full bloom right now, but I may have to thin them out next spring.


The chicken wire we bought years ago, finally made it's way to the back of the chicken/goat barn.  It was to be a one hour job, but ended up an all day job.  You know that poem "If you give a Mom a Muffin?"  Well, yesterday should have been "if you give your husband wire cutters."  Enough said. 

Before we could start on the outside chicken run (so my ladies won't tear up my gardens), we had some work to do.  We first had to haul an old truck cap out of the way, and to the roadside for "FREE."  But, before that could happen we had to clean up the glass from the broken window that Hubby accidentally broke with the lawnmower.

The fencing is up, but now we have to repair the two sliding doors on the north side of that barn.  This will be our next job, and we'll use barn wood from the old big barn to do that.  That could take a few more days.  Tuesday was a "three pair underwear day."  One year Mom asked me how I got it all done.  I told her I sweat through three pairs of underwear.

If you are wondering.  The strike is still on.  More negotiations were talked through yesterday, but no word yet.  They were still talking late into the night.

Rain finally arrived late afternoon Tuesday, and in full force.  I'm surprised we did not have wind damage.   

We have more delays on selling the kids.  The white doeling has one horn growing back, and the two bucklings have horn issues.  Never in my entire goat owning life, did we have this problem.  Our black and white buckling has been under the iron twice now, and the poor thing has another horn growing back.  We don't disbud ourselves, as we do not have the knowledge nor the equipment.  As you can imagine, I am not happy.  The vet's office asked me, "are these fair goats" when I called in to bring them all back again.  They are purebreds, and the last thing I want is for them to have scurs.  What a mess. 

We have built up our goat milk again, so I'll most likely be making some sort of cheese tonight.  

More rain is in the forecast, so it's back out to the chicken run, for more work.  I'm cooking up a batch of my first organic bug spray (for the garden) too.  I'll have more on that later.  In the past, I've sprinkled flour mixed with pepper, which worked pretty well, except on squash bugs.  As for the potato bugs, I simply hand pick them off and feed them to the chickens.  Same with the tomato worms.

8 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Yupper, it's always those "little" jobs that you think will take an hour that keep you going all day.

I like your "three pair of underwear" work day. Kinda like our cold winter temps that are "three dog nights!" (You need three dogs on the bed with you to stay warm!)

Good thing we've rarely seen a tomato worm up here 'cause you couldn't pay me to pick one of 'em up. EEEEUUUUUWW! I can hardly stand to look at them!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, I have to tell you a story. I went tomato picking in flip flops one year. I accidentally stepped on a tomato worm and it squished between my toes. Talk about Eeeuuuww! Nasty, nasty, nasty.

Mama Pea said...

That, m'dear, would be enough to make me put on combat boots every time I went into the garden! Oh, ISH!!!!!!!!!!

Debby Flowers said...

Strangely, we are having the same problem with our kids and their dis-budding. We do it ourselves and this year has been just as you described ... we did two of the kids twice and they are still growing! I won't subject them to another go, it's just too much torture.

I have to ask... your chickens eat potato bugs??? I have had chickesn for many years and I have never met a chicken that will touch them. I wish they would!

Have a great day Kristina!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Debby, I do think one time under the iron is enough.

I hand pick the potato worms, and put them in a bowl, and give the bowl to the chickens. They go nuts and fight over them. They are much smaller of course than a tomato worm, but they do the same with those too. I do use gloves.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, it did put the kabosh on me wearing flip flops out there. I should have learned it first when I almost stepped on a snake in the tomatoes. I just about threw the basket of tomatoes that day.

RB said...

This sentence, "We have more delays on selling the kids." made me laugh and laugh. I know it meant goat kids, but just sounded kinda funny, and final. LOL
God bless.
RB
<><

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

RB, I guess I should have clarified that, ha ha ha!