And The Winners Are

Amelia and Debbi! I ask William to draw the names and you two ladies are the lucky winners. I have Debbi's mailing addy but Amelia I need yours please. Hope you like the book as much as I did. I will be giving more books away so stayed tuned.

Crackers had baby ducklings!! This is the duck that was hatched and raised by a chicken. Who ended up hatching and raising a chicken herself because her duck eggs didn't hatch the first year. I never thought she would ever have a baby duck to raise but at the moment she has 2. Tessa, the turkey is still being mom to 2 baby chicks. Hopefully she will hatch baby turkeys one day. Bonnie and Clyde (the geese) didn't hatch eggs this year. The rain flooded out her nest so the eggs went bad. She is very very jealous of Crackers and went so far as to fight Crackers and tear up her nest. We gave her a few of the duck eggs to hatch but she destroyed them. She keeps trying to get at Crackers and her ducklings but we have them where she can't. Bonnie is usually a happy, sweet goose so maybe she will lay more eggs this year to hatch. The baby starling Isabella is growing and eating ALL the time. I feed her and try to get things done and she starts screaming at me to feed her again. I took her outside today and let her sit on a small tree branch next to me while I worked. She was so cute. She kept looking all around her and watching my every move. Then she got hungry again and the whole neighborhood could hear her screaming. She is flying a tiny bit but not much yet. I let her stay free in the house and on the screened in porch but she mostly sits watching the world go by or sleeping for a few minutes and eating the rest of the time. I will take a picture tomorrow to show how much she has grown. Rusty loves her until she starts screaming for food. Then he barks at her till he sees that won't work and goes to hide under the sofa. He loves to watch me feed her. He and Troubles the cat just sit and watch. When Isabella flew to the floor Rusty stood over her and barked till I came to pick her up. Troubles doesn't even think of her as food. He sleeps by her when she is sitting on my lap but I am still keeping my eye on him around Isabella. He likes his food delivered to him on a plate instead of having to catch it himself I think. He goes with me to feed the chickens morning and evening and has never tried to chase or catch a baby chick or bunny. He just walks with me and Rusty as I feed. I think because I raised him like a puppy he thinks he is like Rusty. I am a bad influence on animals as they always do things different than whats expected of them.
Gardens are doing wonderful after the rain except for the worms that ate the leaves on my broccoli and brussel sprouts. I mixed up some dawn dish soap and a little salt in water to spray on them and think they will be okay now. I have tiny squash and tomatoes so it won't be long. The radishes are about all gone but still have plenty of lettuce and spinach. Will pick the last of the peas tomorrow. Have picked 2 bowls of strawberries the past couple of days. They are just now ripening good. Working hard on my herb garden. I have a picture in my head how I want it to look I just need figure out how to get it to actually look that way. Precious is getting use to being here at the homestead but still a little shy. Hopefully the animal crackers will bring her around. Wizard the turkey along with the hens and ducks are loving it here. Wizard comes up to me every feeding time for bread. I put the feed in the feeders and then crumble up bread for the chickens, ducks and geese. Wizard loves the bread and stands there waiting for me to crumble up some for him. He even stands and lets me pet and talk to him while he eats it. The rooster that we thought had a hurt foot before we brought him home has a sore where his leg meets his body. I found it the other day so have been cleaning it each day with peroxide and then putting neosporin on it. He isn't limping now but am still not happy with the way its healing. Hopefully it will mend soon. I am always told I need help with feeding and caring for the animals but I love doing it and when I am feeding and watering them I am watching and checking to make sure they are okay, eating, drinking, pooping, etc and not injured or sick. By being right there with them I can catch or prevent things early on. Besides, there would be no fun animal stories to tell if I wasn't around them all the time! LOL Rusty is letting me know its time for his potty break before bed so have a wonderful night and don't forget to count those blessings.... no matter how small.

Look Who Moved To Hidden Haven

A very sweet and kind lady let us bring her farm animal family to Hidden Haven. Wizard, the big, HEAVY turkey along with a big beautiful rooster and his 3 hens now have the job of being house parents to the teen chicks. At least for now. After they have adjusted to their new home we will let them retire from their house parent job, roam around and enjoy the homestead. They seem to like their new home and came right up for breakfast and Wizard even allowed me to pet him. We also brought Daniel and Ms. Oreo Duck to Hidden Haven. They are enjoying their pool and sharing a pen with our white rocks for now. They too will be free to roam and enjoy the homestead with the other ducks once they have gotten use to living here. Fred doesn't quite know what to do with Tessa making goo goo eyes at Wizard. Wizard is 3 pens down but Tessa stands at the fence looking at him and drooling. I think Fred is jealous but shouldn't worry as we are in the process of finding a wife for Wizard. So say hi to our new homestead family members. You will be seeing lots of stories and photos as they settle in and enjoy their new home. What a wonderful blessing to be able to have these beautiful animals to share the homestead. You never know who you will see next around here!

Around The Homestead

Isabella the baby wild bird is doing wonderfully. She has a temper though and if you don't feed her as soon as she chirps the first time you are in for a earful! She screams very loudly without stopping until she gets that first mouthful of food. Isabella eats baby food rice cereal and beef mixed together and fed from a dropper. She even lets me wash her face after she eats. She can get messy when she is really hungry. Feeding her every two hours is sometimes a pain but at bedtime I put a washcloth over her to feel like her mommy is sitting over her and she sleeps all night. First thing in the morning when she hears me get up she starts chirping then screaming for her breakfast. Several times during the day I let her sit on my shoulder while I do chores outside. She loves it and I enjoy it until she starts chirping in my ear when she talks to other birds.
Things have been very busy around the homestead. No rain means watering the gardens. Trying to get more items together for another yard sale. Cleaning up around the homestead is never ending. Men tend to think having tools all over the property, in the house and on the porch is fine. Even parts, wood, projects are left everywhere. I am slowly getting everything in its rightful place and get my yard and home back to what it was. I haven't blogged everyday but I have read your posts and love keeping up with all that's going on with you. Have a great day and don't forget to count those blessings!

Meet Mr. Stanford. He is our new Angora buck and such a gentle sweet cutie pie. Thank you Christina and Jim for letting us bring Mr. Stanford home for Bashful and Happy.

This is Happy. She is waiting for her haircut. She also had a visit from Mr. Stanford the past couple of nights so is a tired but content bunny.

This is Bashful. She had her hair appointment with my clippers and scissors two days ago. She has small babies at the moment so will not be meeting Mr. Stanford personally for a while.
This is Otis. He is still too small to release but it won't be long. He is eating good and we no longer have to stimulate him to poo or pee. Yes, you have to do that to baby possums.... yuck!

Here are two of the baby birds from Momma Chickadee. There was another off to the other side I didn't get in the photo. I didn't realize it until I came inside and didn't want to disturb them again.

Good Night

The moon is hiding behind the clouds as the weatherman calls for rain. I sneak out to see Fred and he says no rain tonight. Good night Fred.

John Henry and the ladies have said their good nights and settled down.

Good night Huey, Duey and Luey. Sorry you don't like your new pen

There is a nice cool breeze as I walk in the dark to check on my girls. Sorry Blinkin. I didn't mean to make Bossy Toes and Bridie wake you up.

Good night ViVi and Blanche.

Good night girls. Girls????? Sammi, Diva, Princess Diva, DiDi, Sonya why are all of you in here

And none of you are in here?Oh well, sweet dreams.

Don't stay up too late Bonnie and Clyde.

Good night little ones

Good night Sheba.Good night Lady and Tramp
Good night Donald, Daffy and SallyTime for bed Quackers!Sleep well my little chicks

Good night Molene, Larry and Curly. Time to put those young ones to bed.

Whiskers, its bedtime. Good night.

Boys, time to settle down and go to sleep

And as for you, shhhhhh Bud is sleeping, so good night. See you in the morning!

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!

Just Another Saturday at Hidden Haven

Eggplants are finally growing! I have been checking daily to see if any eggplants would form and look what I found! I just love it when all the planting and weeding pays off. I have been getting cucumbers for the past few days but there are still tons of blooms and tiny cukes promising to keep us plenty to eat and for making pickles.

I ate a fresh tomato sandwich for supper tonight. Nothing beats a fresh tomato right out of the garden!

Squash and zucchini are growing and producing like crazy!

I have onions and jalapeno peppers hanging on the porch to dry.

If the birds will leave them alone I hope to have enough concord grapes to make some jelly later this summer

If not then we can always pick the wild muscadine grapes that grow all around the homestead.

Baby enjoyed a nice drink of fresh cold water while her mom Mandy joined Diva for a bite of hay.

Larry and Molene were taking the babies for a walk while Curly sat on her nest. Curly hopes she will hatch her own babies soon.

The babies are in the nursery relaxing and having a snack.

Yeah, just another Saturday at Hidden Haven and I love it!

Down On The Farm

We have had rain ALL DAY! I love it, the animals love it and we sure needed it. The only ones not wanting to get wet were the goats. They wouldn't even go in different stalls, instead they all stayed in one stall together all day. I went to milk Diva and Frosty Dan came back in as he thought mommas food tasted better. Kinda hard milking Diva while Frosty Dan is standing on my back while eating.

Sister and her baby chicks enjoyed the rain. She let me take a couple of photos then started spreading her feathers and fussing at me.

Bud didn't mind how many pictures I took of him as long as he could stay on his heating pad.

While I am milking I have these little ones wanting to know if I am done yet.

They are wanting me to put some milk in their bowls. But let me try to touch them and they are gone in a flash. Wild kitties but cute.

Bonnie and Clyde along with Molene, Larry and Curly come running to the porch everytime they see me. They think its time to eat.

When they see me walking toward the chicken pen and feed can they take flying to be the first ones to eat. Would sure love to have a generator hooked to the wind power they produce. Will leave you with a sneak peek of part of the photo on my new business cards and tags. My daughter (very talented lady) took this photo and one of Diva and with a little magic has Diva holding the basket in her mouth. She designed the new look. Will show the finished product later. You can see the lotions and candles that I will be adding to my etsy shop. Going to wait till I get my new labels and tags before listing them so you will have to wait a few days.