Sunday, September 14, 2008

Just Another Sunday


Waking up this morning knowing I had time for a cup of hot cocoa and to read my devotion for the day was nice. Usually I jump up get dressed and head outdoors for chores. That extra 30 or so minutes is nice. Starting the day without talking to God on the go is nice. Doing chores in the daylight is nice too. The animals still aren't happy about the change but they will get use to it eventually. I wanted to sit on the back porch while I drank my hot chocolate but Whiskers was sitting at the door meowing to be fed and the ducks, chickens and young goats start making lots of noise when they see the kitchen light come on much less see me outside. So I enjoyed my cup while I sat in the living room reading. Nice, quiet and peaceful. Then it was time to start chores. Sundays are the days our hired hand has off and I get to take care of things myself. Whiskers has to have his can of cat food as I go out the door. The dogs have automatic feeders but have to have their cookie before I feed the others. Diva and the girls hate Sundays. They stand at the fence and give me dirty looks while I feed the chickens their grain. Then I feed the Diva and the girls, who are absolutely starved to death by then and almost knock me down while I fill their feeders. The young ones are crying so I walk down to their pen and try not to get stepped on when they rush to their feeders. Brown Robyn and the big boys see me and start their loud crying for breakfast. I speak to them and let them know I am on my way. Opening the door to their pen and feeders I have to brace myself . They come charging and almost knock the scoop of grain out of my hand as I fill a feeder. I finally get all their feeders filled and its time to finish feeding the chickens, geese, ducks and rabbits. They get grain or rabbit feed along with crumbled up bread. I buy a rack of bread from the bread store for $5.00 and it lasts a couple of weeks or longer. I also give carrots and lettuce as treats. After I finish feeding them I take hay to all the goats. By the time I am filling Diva and the girls hay rack they are standing in line waiting to be milked. I grab a bucket of feed and the milk buckets and head for the milking stall. Sammi is first. If for some reason you let one of the others go first she will go to the other end of the pasture and pout till you go get her. We have a shelf with baby wipes (for udders) and hand sanitizer so we can keep our milk clean. After putting a cup of grain in the feeder for Sammi I have to give some to Princess Diva who is still small enough to crawl under the gate into the milk stall. She won't be doing that much longer as she is getting fat. Diva is trying to open the latch on the gate but I secured it with a bungee cord. I get another of her cold stares and am glad I can't read her mind. Letting Sammi out Diva rushes in and jumps on the milk stanchion and stares at me for her cup of feed. I milk and talk to her. With Diva you milk fast cause if she finishes eating before you finishing milking you are in for a fight. I finish first and have to drag her away from the feeder to let her out and Bridie in. Bridie is such a good milker it takes 2 cups of feed so I can get all her milk. She is patient and will left her leg out of my way if I happen to touch it. She will hop down on her own and wait for me to open the gate. Sonya is trying to act like she doesn't want to come next but when she sees me reaching for BossyToes she rushes in the gate. She is a easy milker but likes the security of having her head locked in. None of the others have to be. While milking her I call to ViVi who stand quietly under the tree waiting. When I call her name she slowly eases toward the gate but not all the way. She waits till Bridie comes out and I tell her its her turn before she comes in the stall. She is so sweet and the easiest milker we have. BossyToes likes being last. She knows that when I finish milking her she can stay there and eat the feed that's left. Of course I leave the gate open when I finish and the others rush in to see what goodies they can find. I put away the feed bucket,grab my full milk buckets and head for the house. After straining and putting the milk away I feed Bud (iguana) on my way out to water all the animals. The girls are waiting to see if they get a cookie while their water buckets are filled. The rabbits attack their water bottles like they haven't had water in days. They just love the fresh water. The geese and ducks see how fast they can dirty their water while the chickens could care less about theirs at the moment. The young boys stick their nose in the bucket while I am filling it and jump back as the water hose scares them. The bigger boys look to see if I have cookies in my hand and happily chew on them while I fill their bucket. After all have fresh water its time to rake the goat pens. We rake them every day to keep them as free of poop as possible. Its a big help in keeping the goat hooves in good shape. With all the pens raked its time for my breakfast. I usually have a bowl of cereal or egg sandwich while I check my email and watch news on the TV. I check on the forums I read and read a few blogs then its time to wash dishes and bleach milk buckets. After straightening up a little I decide to head out to the flea market. I enjoyed walking around but only ended up buying some MRE's (military dried food packets) that William has been wanting for forever. I stop at the dollar tree on the way home for a couple of things. Talk to William while driving home and then its time to do more paperwork. After almost finishing I take a break for lunch and talk to my daughter Maggie. Got some soap orders together, listed more soaps and then it was time for afternoon chores. Afternoon chores are a repeat of morning ones except add gathering eggs. Talked to my other 2 daughters for a few minutes then made some goat milk garlic cheese spread and finished packaging the fetta I made yesterday. In between I have checked on some blogs I read daily and looked up a couple of things on the computer. Fixed myself a baked potato for supper, had my shower and now I am going to settle down for the evening. Finish up the paperwork is my plan for tonight while I watch a little TV. I have a book I want to finish reading when I go to bed and that will be my day. It might sound busy but it was actually a nice quiet day. There is laundry waiting for tomorrow along with many other things on the to do list. That's ok because tomorrow is a new day of a new week and what a blessing to have had today and to have tomorrow to look forward to. Have a blessed week everyone!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peggy, I loved reading about your day. It did seem busy, but serene at the same time, especially when you started off with reflecting on God with your devotional. May God continue to bless you, your family adn your farm. I appreciate all that you do for your customers. My family and I are still enjoying our last order of soaps!

Anonymous said...

Hi Peggy, have you ever considered writing a book about your journey with Hidden Haven?
It would be a best seller.. that's for sure!
Thankyou for sharing your day. It was wonderful to be apart of your life and feel the love.
xox Nicole

peppylady (Dora) said...

Sound like you had a great day.
So glad to hear about it.

The coffee is on.

Anonymous said...

sounds like a busy day. I know what you mean about the animals,but I just have cats and dogs. I try to get my coffee and they trip me before I get to the pot to be fed . Then when the outside animals hear them I have to go feed them. I wonder if i will ever get my coffee.

Baba said...

Wow... Peggy, how can you do all of these choices and not eat much during the day??... I can see why... no time for yourself...The peaceful early morning is a blessing for you..

If I ever get to N.C., I want to visit you and your family of animals..Maybe I could milk a goat..being around you would be a trip...take care ...hugs, Baba

Mama said...

I love reading about the activities on your homestead! Your day is blessed with God's greatest and finest!

Lib said...

Hi Peggy,
Sounds like you had a full day!
I stitched alot this past wk. so tomorrow I need to get back on track of major decluttering, so I can have more free time and not washing things and dusting so much!
Hope you have Wonderful wk.
Blessins',Lib

JoyceAnn said...

I loved hearing about your milking order with the goats. They do have their own personalities just like people , all animals do.



~ Fall Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

amelia said...

As always, you make me tired...

I don't know how you do it day after day with no break at all!!!

Phill said...

What nice entry! I find that I feel closer to The Deity when I am in the country, especially in the mornings. Just seems like the perfect time for a chat.

As for the pic - Scary Goats!!

Anonymous said...

Wow you make me feel super lazy! I am a suburburan woman...I doubt my love for animals will ever extend to having a farm and being as busy as you.

What do you do with all the goat's milk on hand? You only milk them once a day, or twice? Do you feed the animals twice a day or just give them fresh water twice daily?

Here I was whining about my 2 kids, 2 cats and 2 dogs.... geesh!

Years ago I got tired of animals waking up on demand for food in the mornings. Now I feed the animals in the evening ~ heh heh, they just act as crazy then but at least I'm up and about!

Anonymous said...

Wow you make me feel super lazy! I am a suburburan woman...I doubt my love for animals will ever extend to having a farm and being as busy as you.

What do you do with all the goat's milk on hand? You only milk them once a day, or twice? Do you feed the animals twice a day or just give them fresh water twice daily?

Here I was whining about my 2 kids, 2 cats and 2 dogs.... geesh!

Years ago I got tired of animals waking up on demand for food in the mornings. Now I feed the animals in the evening ~ heh heh, they just act as crazy then but at least I'm up and about!

Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess said...

WHEW!! As always even if I am not tired when I sit down here to read your blog...Well I am after I am finished! You know I "think" I am busy!! WHEW!! You run around all of the time. But you have so many to take care of!! What a blog today!! Sandy

Juli said...

I came in to take a break with a slice of banana bread and glass of iced tea, and visit with my friends a bit.

What a very nice thing to read while relaxing.

Interesting that we wrote about similar things :)

Heidi said...

Sounds like a very pleasant day in deed!! The hot coco did me in right away! LOL

Carole Burant said...

That was a quiet day???? Wow, I got exhausted just reading everything that you do on a "quiet" day! lol You love it all so much, though, don't you sis:-) Love ya! xoxo

Joan@CopperCreeker said...

Spooky pic *snicker snort*
Whew *wipes sweat from forehead* You wore me out just reading your 'quiet' day.

Connie said...

Dear Peggy,
I found your blog through Tina at Cherry Hill Cottage.
Your blog is so special! I love your goats, your stories, your daily chores that you post. You are one special lady.!The pictures/stories about your goats really touch my heart. In the last few years, I have been enchanted with goats - especialy Nubian goats. Yours are so precious and those little babies are so sweet. I imagine it is hard to sell one. I am afraid mine would die of old age.
Thanks for allowing us to be apart of your special life and the wonderful animals you have. I am sure each one is unique and special.
Hugs,
Connie

Eve said...

Some days there is so much beauty around, you just have to look up to Heaven and say Thank you.
You have a wonderful, busy life and I know you know how blessed you are.
I always wanted goats when we lived in the country but Billy said he just couldn't imagine milking goats. I don't know what that means and I decided to drop it. LOL
I always get an old fashioned feeling everytime I read your blog. It is a treat.

Tonia said...

Hi You left a comment on my blog so I came to visit yours!! Very good blog! I like it! Of course I am interested in anything with goats!! LOL I know what a busy day looks like!! Yours is for sure! I am only milking 2 goats right now but could possibly be milking 6 next year along with a dexter cow this fall when she has her calf soon.. Thanks for stopping by and I plan on coming back!! Good night!

Unknown said...

I love it here.
Thank you for sharing.