Around the Homestead

The kids in the neighborhood are on spring break this week. William decided to let them help till and plant their own little garden.
7 kids each planted a row. There are going to be all kinds of things growing. I just hope they will eat them. A few took a break to ride bikes.
Or to have a slice of bunny cake before going back to work in their garden.
Scooter and Harley have some new friends. We have more baby ducklings that have joined the 2 buddies. Scooter seems to fit right in with all of them though he and Harley still stay close to each other.

Don't forget to leave a comment on the post below for my give away. Today William and I have been married a great big 6 years! In some ways it seems like less and other ways it seems like we have been married forever. He will be home tonight so we are grilling steaks and I am hoping we will be able to listen to the rain on the tin roof of the porch if the thunder I hear is a indication. To celebrate our anniversary and his birthday (the 30th)William bought a motorcycle. He isn't home very much now so imagine his bike won't get many miles on it. He is giving me money to go shopping but I am going to enjoy having all day tomorrow by myself. He and the couple who help us are going to pick up the bike and I will be all alone here to just relax and enjoy the day. That will be the best present! I went to my favorite thriftstore today and had my buggy loaded with items (will take pictures later and add). I had several vintage children books from 1940. Fairy Tales, Bedtime Stories, and even some Trixie Belden. Had several mystery books for me, some vintage glass hens on a nest that I collect. Some pots and bowls for my soap shop, some breakfast bowls, couple of serving spoons, a wreath and a picnic basket. When I got up to pay, Donna the manager told me Happy Anniversary and wouldn't let me pay for anything! So with the money I saved I just had to stop by TJ Max and pick up a few things.

I have let the chickens, ducks and guineas out to roam around the yard. The geese refuse to come out. When I went in the pen and herded them out they made such a racket and turned right around and went back in the pen. Guess they don't like freedom. Fred, the turkey is now in the peacock pen. I have a young mate for him and didn't want the chickens and roosters scaring her. She is still too young but Fred is spreading his feathers and strutting his stuff. Since his last mate was Ginger I am going to name this one Ethel. They seem to like being in the pen with the peacock and my polish topper hens.

I really must do something with Dan and Robyn. They are getting all of Diva and Sammi's milk and not leaving me any! I was trying to milk Diva and Dan was reaching through trying to nurse her. They are so tall now that they have to lay on their tummies to nurse. They are as tall as Sammi ! I am going to start locking them in their stall at night so they can't get to the girls and then let them have the milk all day after I get the morning milking.

Hope each of you have a blessed weekend!

Blogaversary Give Away

My 2 year anniversary with blogspot was last month. I blogged for a year before that with typepad so to celebrate my 3 years of blogging I am having a give away. Leave a comment on this post and I will put your name in the drawing. I will draw Sunday, July 29th. Just a few little items but they are all yours if your name is drawn! A big vintage metal tray, a teacup/saucer set from Nevada, The Lumby Lines and Stealing Lumby books. (My favorite books but want to share) a vintage set of salt and pepper shakers and of course a bar of diva's soap and a bottle of goat milk lotion that I haven't even put in my etsy shop yet. So come on and help me celebrate by leaving a comment. You just might be the winner!

I was asked to show a photo of our new back porch. I will just as soon as its finished. Right now Wayne is finishing up the painting and will be putting the screen on soon. If he doesn't get it done in the next couple of days I will take a photo of what it looks like at the moment and then one when its all done.

Pea gave me a couple of blogging awards. Thanks so much Pea! I haven't forgotten just behind as usual. I will post about them and who I have chosen tomorrow.

Dan and Robyn are doing great! I took all 5 of the goats on a walk today so they could graze. I thought they were all settled in the field eating so came back to work in the yard only to hear a stampede. They saw I wasn't there and came looking for me. At least they won't go anywhere without me so won't have to worry about them running away.

Finally got all my weedeating done and all my soap orders out. Still have lots of paperwork to catch up on but can do that at night. The heat and drought has just about done my gardens in so any canning and preserving I do now will come from produce I purchase from the big farm down the road. He has these huge irrigation systems set up in all his fields. I almost stopped and rain through one today it was so hot! My grapes are coming in so will be making grape jelly in the next couple of days. Nothing new or exciting on the homestead. Just enjoying each day and counting my blessings.

Catching Up

Gave the boys their last injections this morning. Brown Robyn cries like he is dying when he gets his shot. Frosty Dan just looks at you with those big eyes as if to say "you don't really want to hurt me do you". Their heads are looking great and they are running and jumping and getting that sparkle back in their eyes. Diva has decided to let them nurse. Only a little and only when she is in the mood but at least they are nursing mom again. Auntie Sammi is filling in the rest of the time. William was home this weekend and was a big help and helping me change bandages and hold them while I give them the injections. We also got alot of work done though we will never get caught up. My cousin Ellen, her husband James and their daughter Josie stopped by Saturday morning for a few minutes. They are on vacation and since they were coming through Fayetteville they got to stop so Josie could see the animals. She got to hold a bunny and the baby kitten. Diva was being Diva and wouldn't eat a carrot or cookie from Josie. We are hoping they can visit again and have more time so Josie can feed and milk with me. The back deck is now a back porch. The tin roof is on and when the painting is finished on it Wayne will put the screen up. It will be so nice to sit in a screened area and enjoy the evening without the flying bugs. I can't wait to be able to sit out there and listen to the rain hitting the tin roof. Its been a week without the grandkids but I have been so busy with the goats and the kittens that I haven't had time to really miss them. In the evening I miss having them talk me into a watching a movie instead of the news. I miss scaring them after they have watched a scary movie but will see them soon. Raigun's birthday party is August 4th and I will be going up for that and stopping by my brothers for more deer meat. I have photos to post of my package from the scavenger hunt and I have a great post about the second Lumby book. This one had even more goats in the story! I will try to catch up tonight and stop by and visit your blogs so I can start the new week without being behind. Hope your weekend was filled with blessings! I will also have my give away for my blog anniverary ready to post tomorrow. Hey its just a month late!

The Babies Are Home!

Frosty Dan and Brown Robyn may have a headache and a little mad at me but they are home. They will get antibiotic and pain injections for a couple of days and keep their bandages on for a few days but well on the way to getting into things again. I cannot say enough good things about NC State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Dr. Jim Floyd. They are wonderful, caring and devoted to giving the best care to all the animals. They are sincere and kind with the owners. I was explained everything before the surgery and given different options, then given updates and choices on their recovery. Dr. Jim stayed till 10pm last night making sure the boys were up and about doing okay. He explained in detail what they had done and how he had even called in 2 other doctors for opinions. He sent me home well informed on how to care for them and with enough medication to help their recovery. Alice and Jennifer and the other students were so gentle with the boys. Dr. Jim said the boys weren't alone because everyone including the maintenance men stopped by to pet them. They were happy to be home but Diva is a little nervous around them as they smell different and they have bandages on their heads. The boys want no part of me at the moment but I am the one that caused everything. Hopefully they will forgive me soon and life at the homestead will get back to "normal"

Dan and Robyn had to stay overnight at the hospital. Dan went right to sleep but Robyn had a hard time so they had to give him a little extra to put him under. He started waking up in the middle of surgery so they gave him gas. What should have been a 3 or 4 hour stay now has Diva here at home crying for her babies and the babies at the hospital without their mom. The surgery went good. The horns were removed and skin pulled over and stitched. The vet just wants to make sure Robyn wakes up okay and they both are able to stand, walk, eat, drink, etc before coming home. I will call in the morning and then drive the hour and half back to pick them up when they are ready. The good thing is I got all the milk tonight! Between Diva and Sammi I got a gallon of milk, but I would much rather have the boys home and no milk. They look so lost when I had to turn them over to the vet. Everyone was having a fit over them though. All the other animals in the livestock part of the hospital were horses so the boys were a nice change for them. I don't think Dan and Robyn are going to want to go for another ride with me anytime soon.
I lost all but one of the baby kittens. I was very sad over that but talking with the vet today made me feel better. He said their body temps being low and their not getting colostrum from their mom in the first few hours made it almost impossible for them to survive. The last one is doing great and the neighbor found the mom. She is very young but when I brought her inside today and showed her the baby she hopped right in the basket and sat down with it so it could nurse. At least now it has a really good chance of making it.
On top of all the above its been a 101F. A hot muggy, miserable day but tomorrow is a new day and I know it will bring many blessings!

We had fun at the flea market but Zack really didn't want to stand that close to his sister.

Lady, Tramp and Sheba think they should be allowed to have a kid for a "pet" all the time! They enjoy the attention and all the walks.Mom whats a bath?Bath?? I want to play in the mud!

After the much needed shower of rain we picked more tomatoes off the vines.

So far only the grands have enjoyed the hammock. I have plans to enjoy one evening real soon.

No photos but we had a busy day. Zack and Julie helped me feed and milk this morning. I am going to have to lock Sammi in her stall at night. Robyn and Dan are robbing her milk! I go to milk each morning and get about 2 quarts from Diva (I go before daylight so I can milk her before the boys get to her) and don't even get a cupful from Sammi. Diva is only letting the boys nurse a little then pushes them away. Auntie Sammi will just stand still forever if they want to nurse her. So tonight Sammi is getting locked away from the boys so I can at least have her morning milk before they get to her. Diva has gone back to her normal Diva self. If she is through eating then I am through milking according to her rules. I end up having to pen her in the corner of her stall and finish milking her out while she is putting on a act of not being able to breathe! I fell for that when I first got her but she needs a new trick. The boys are getting so tall! They still don't want to be around me very much as they are afraid I will hurt them. They haven't forgotten the disbudding yet. After morning chores I took the kids to the flea market. We didn't find any treasures though. We came home and gave the animals a treat and fresh water then went next door so they could swim for awhile. After a fun afternoon of swimming they got ready for vacation bible school. It started tonight and they seemed to have had a good time when I picked them up. Think they are going to enjoy being busy this week. I will post pics of the Diva's babies tomorrow. We will be cleaning the goat pen and I am sure they will be into everything while we are raking. Hope you had a great weekend and your week is filled to the brim with blessings

Not Today, I Have a Headache!

Here is Brown Robyn a day after his traumatic experience.

Frosty Dan's poor little burnt head. He handled the disbudding the best.

The boys seem to be doing okay today. They don't want me to get too close as they are afraid I will hurt them. I had to walk them down to put the salve on their heads and gave them one more dose of the herbal tonic. They are only 3 weeks old but have gotten so tall! It was cooler this evening and they seemed to be feeling well enough to play. Can you believe these are Diva's little babies!

They don't have that sparkle back in their eyes yet or getting into mischief like they normally do but at least they are playing again.

Sister Sister hatched a baby duckling Friday evening. William and I were out feeding and got to see it hatch. At first Sister Sister didn't want anything to do with this strange chick but we left it with her and checked on them during the night. The next morning she had cleaned it a little but was more interested in sitting on the other eggs. I took the little black duckling and put it in with Sister and her baby duckling. Right away she scooted it under her wing and sat on it till I walked away. She cleaned it up really well. She now has 2 baby ducklings she is mothering. I put a pan of water in the pen today and when the oldest duckling tried to get in she clucked at him and made him get away from the water. A few minutes later the little duckling tried to get in the water and the bigger duckling fussed at him and made him get away from the water. They are so cute to watch and Sister has done a good job of teaching them to scratch for food. She just needs to chill out while they learn to swim!

This is the best photo I could get of the ducklings. Sister Sister is very protective of her "chicks" She was standing in front of them clucking at me for being near their pen.

Thank you everyone for the sweet and caring comments from yesterday's post. I try to keep things light and upbeat on the blog so apologise for dumping my stressful weekend on you. Today is the beginning of a new week, new day, new start. Going to make the best I can out of it. I am very blessed in so many many ways.

Brown Robyn and Frosty Dan are past the newborn stage, the baby stage and now into the terrible two week old stage. I already have to sneak to get milk from Sammi and Diva as they are nursing them both. Now when I am milking Sammi they try to drink the milk out of my bucket! When I block them from reaching the bucket they start chewing on my clothes while I milk. They think they will annoy me enough so I will quit and they can have all the milk. Diva is really good about pushing them away if they try to nurse her while I am milking. They get to nurse her all day. All I am asking is one good milking from Diva and the regular two from Sammi. Today I was trying to rake and clean out one of the stalls. They would get right in front of my rake and just stand there. They get that from their dad Nitro. He tries to knock the rake or pitch fork out of my hands. The boys have learned how to climb! Diva and Sammi were standing eating some Alfalfa and the boys tried to climb up on both them. I squatted down to pet and talk to Diva and they tried to climb on my back. I truly have my hands full with these two little bucks! Sister is being such a good mom to her little duckling. The duckling will climb up and sit on her back, but if anyone gets close Sister will cluck and the duckling will run under her wing to hide. I tried all day to get a picture but all I got was Sister cause the duckling was hid from me. It was so hot and humid today after the nice rain yesterday. I cleaned the goat pen and half of one goat stall and will try to do more tomorrow. I had to mail packages this morning so didn't get started early enough in the pen. I need to rake the chicken pen and dog lot plus cut the grass and do some yardwork. William talked to a nice young couple today that live in Nashville, TN. We are hoping they will come work with us. That will give me much needed help with the animals and I will be able to take a day or two break from the homestead. Its hard to find someone I trust to take care of the animals so I can get away. We will see what happens after they visit and see the animals. One of my cabbages was ready to pick today. I am going to cook it with polish sausage, turnips and potatoes in the crockpot for dinner tomorrow. I am also trying my hand at making lotions to go with my soaps. They aren't quite ready yet but soon.. very soon I hope. Hope the start of your week was a great one and don't forget to count your blessings!

Catching Up

Thank you for all your comments, emails, concerns and prayers over Bud's disappearance. I have walked to the swamp everyday a different way and checked all the trees and hiding places but still haven't found him. I thought with all the heat we are having he would be sunbathing somewhere and I would see him. Not yet, but I haven't given up. He will survive being loose until cool weather so I hope we have found him by then. Other updates: Killer is being a fantastic mom to her little chick. She is also watching over 4 preteen chicks that were with Sister Sister. The chicks got on Sister Sisters nerves when they got out of the baby stage and she would chase them away from her. I put her back in the big lot and let Killer keep an eye on them. She doesn't mother them like the little chick but she makes sure they eat and behave themselves. Sister is VERY protective of her duckling. She knows its different but not sure why so will not let anyone take a peek at the little one. She sits on it if anyone comes around and will only bring it out to walk around, eat and drink when no one is anywhere near. I will try to get a photo of her teaching it to scratch but it will be hard. I had a nice chat with Mary from fireflies and frogs last night. I had just came in from feeding chickens when she called. Its always fun talking with her as we never run out of anything to talk about! Hopefully I will be seeing her and her kids next weekend. They want to come visit all the animals. Frosty Dan and Brown Robyn are growing so fast! They are eating alfalfa and drinking water already.Frosty Dan is getting more and more like his daddy. He thinks he is hot stuff and wants to butt heads and play all the time. Brown Robyn has the sweetest attitude, just like his mom. He likes to be petted and talked to. He is content just to relax and sunbathing with the big goats. William made it to Wisconsin and is on his way to Nashville from where he hopes to be heading home. Don't think I will get any gifts like I did from his trip to California and his boat race to Mexico. But here are the pictures of the sterling silver sets he surprised me with when he came home last weekend.

Nine Days Old

Can you believe they are 9 days old already? They still haven't figured out they can each have a side of mom. Poor Diva.

Sammi said it was so hot today she could just die. I actually thought she did till she heard the cookie bag and come running.
Killer has turned out to be a awesome mother hen. She is teaching her little chick all the things it will need to survive. I am very proud of her even if I still have marks from where she bit me while showing our weekend company her chick. She came at me full force but at least our guest know how she got her name!
I have spent the day looking for my AWOL iguana. We put Bud in his summer home but had forgotten we had loosened a board on the back side to get eggs out when we had a hen in there last week. He was sunning in his yard when I left to get goat feed and gone when I returned about 30 minutes later. We have searched the trees, under all the buildings, in the woods, on the neighbors no trespassing property, but no Bud. William thinks he made a run for the swamp and if he did we will never find him. I am hoping he will come back. I have left the board off and his heating pad on and his food and water ready. I have even went out with a flashlight to see if I see eyes shining in the trees. I am just sick he is missing but glad its hot right now so he won't get a chill. The handyman has been searching under the house and under everything he sees . He is afraid Bud will come out and surprise him. Bud knows Wayne is afraid of him so I wouldn't be surprised to hear Wayne scream if he finds him. I promise to take photos of my jewelry tonight. I have been outside all day so haven't had a chance. It has been so hot I have emptied all the water buckets several times today so I could give everyone fresh cold water. The goats drank 3 5 gallon buckets almost empty. Hopefully we will get rain and a cool spell soon instead of this record breaking heat.

Today has been a busy, crazy day. Everytime I started a project I got called away to help someone. I dropped my cellphone in my water tub. Spent alot of time on the road doing errands for everyone but me.William will be home tomorrow. His son and family will be down to see the baby goats Saturday and his niece will be spending Saturday night with us so I am trying to tidy up and fix some meals ahead. I want to enjoy the visits and not be busy.We will be having a couple of cookouts this weekend and eating out on the deck. Its suppose to be hot and sunny.

Worked on my outdoor "bathroom". Got the tub cleaned out and covered my water plant pots with pebbles to keep the soil from dirting the water. Finally got my turtle fountain working and the birdbath fountain going. Now all I need to do is hide the electrical cords.

William got to stop by and visit with Carol and her husband Terry on his way home from CA. Terry did some repairs on Williams truck and they also fed him some really wonderful meals cause I heard how yummy they were from William several times. I am glad William got to meet them since he couldn't be home when they visited here. Carol's granddad has passed away so please stop by and let her know you are thinking of her and her family.

The boys are running around the place like they are grown! Yesterday they couldn't get in and out of the stalls by themselves. Today its as easy as can be for them to go anywhere they want. They run from one end of the pen to the other kicking up their heels. They don't look or act like newborns :(

Below are photos with Brown Robyn in the front. Thought Ms. Robyn might like to see her namesake without Frosty Dan hogging the picture.

And one of Frosty Dan so he won't get his feelings hurt.

Mother's Love

Its finally ready! In honor of Diva becoming a mom I made a new soap. I haven't placed it in my soap shop yet but the 3 ladies that guessed the right date of Diva's delivery will be receiving the first bars in a few days. I have been working on the scent since Diva got pregnant and have finally got it how I wanted it to smell. The mold is of a nubian mother nursing her kid. The scent is a mixture of a butterfly fragrance, amazing grace fragrance, rain fragrance and just a drop of peach blossom fragrance along with ground dried peach peel. I love it! So for the first time ever........ Mother's Love

And The Winners Are

Mary from: http://novaks.blogspot.com/

Rachel from: http://slidingthroughlife.blogspot.com/ and

Lisa from:http://heartofthenest.blogspot.com/ . They all picked the right date and Diva said it didn't matter what time, sex or how many as she was so happy she wanted all 3 of them to have a gift basket of her soaps! So ladies email your mailing addy and Diva and I will get your basket with a bar of "Mother's Love" soap made in a mold of a mother goat with her kid. This soap hasn't been put in the soap shop yet so you will be the first 3 to try it. And to finish off the day with some nicer photos than the last post.

Diva's bag is finally down enough that Brown Robyn can stand and nurse! No his collar isn't pink. Its really red with blue designs on it but the photo makes it look pink.
Frosty Dan was napping till he heard his brother having a snack. He just had to get up and go have a little milk himself.