And now for May...

It's hard to believe May's already here and well gone! The trees are full of leaves, the spring march of blossoms is well on its way. Our Lilies of the Valley are up, the gooseberries, currants and raspberries have all set fruit. There are cherries on the cherry tree and we're waiting for the first blossoms on the apple trees. The Elderberries are coming on strong, as are the newly planted blueberries and clove(black) currants.

But spring has been odd around here, so the garden is just now getting into motion. We planted garlic last fall and it's growing like mad out there, Mike has cauliflower that is loving the cool spring. At the beginning of this week we had sub-freezing temps, though, and he thinks the parsnips took a hard hit. We're still waiting to see if they come back.

We had a touch of sadness hit Friday though; our doe Blue broke her back Thursday night during a thunderstorm. Rabbits are flighty, jumpy creatures and we've been aware that it's a concern, that we might find a rabbit had leapt up in response to thunder(or any number of the loud noises they make next door). Part of the reason we chose quanset style hutches was for that very reason. So, our dear sweet Blue is gone, leaving behind a litter of 4 week old kits that we're hoping are weaned enough to be okay.

Let's see...what else.

Our mama hen and her two chicks are doing quite well living in the rabbit side of the barn. She's teaching them to scratch and forage and they're just starting to get real feathers :) Soon they'll be ready for her to take them outside and the fun will really start. Mike thinks they might both be roosters *oy* but we'll have to wait and see.

We are finally getting some nicer weather though, the sun is shining, gentle breeze, comfortable temperatures that don't require layers!

Hope everyone's well, and we'll try to update more often! It's just hectic around here!

First Cookout

We had a streak of abnormally warm weather in early April that just begged to be taken advantage of. So, on April 9th we enjoyed our first cookout!

So, we had steaks and grilled veggies...

Though when asked what she wanted Mandon picked a hamsteak...so yes...that's what that is..

Then we made smores! Happy child, yes?

they turned out soooo tasty...

Though Mandon thought she had to rub Mike's head for good luck in order to guarantee a perfect toasted marshmallow..

See? mmmmm...

No pictures please....

Oh, alright...

mmmmmm....

Gorgeous, no?

Can't wait for the next one(hear that Mother Nature? we'd like real spring weather any time instead of the freezing stuff!)

Good People

The nice thing about friends who are farmers is they know just what you need when a hen goes broody. A rooster! And if you don't have a rooster? Then you get lucky to have a friend who does and will send you fertile eggs for that blasted hen to sit on!

My friend, Vanessa, was kind enough to mail us a dozen eggs for our broody hen to sit on. They arrived thoroughly protected and wrapped! What a gal! Our hen managed to hatch out 2 of the dozen...we think we didn't get more because she was chased off the nest a couple of days in. Stay tuned for pics of the adorable little buggers!

It's all egg-citing :)

Okay...so this post is wayyyyy late...

Some how I think it was a bit of a jinx to decorate my Easter egg as Humpty Dumpty...

Easter Morning....Mandy had fun, can ya tell?

Mandon's cute little lamb...that Pollux thought was his for a brief moment!

Look what I did!

Pretty pretty eggs :)

Too old for this?

Oh no....she went back to the toy box...

Are those barrettes?

oh dear...Dad's gonna owe me for this one...

Dad? Why am I in a crown?

you know we wore her out...

when she falls asleep in her pizza.

Changes coming a little early...

We always pick the best weather for things, you know that right? So...when a storm finally threw stuff our way this is what it looked like outside. Gorgeous and thankfully the foot that fell came over the course of three days.

But, that didn't stop the latest event from happening!

Wednesday Mike hopped a Greyhound to Ohio. Life being what it is and disregarding schedules and well thought out plans and the like, Mandy and Mandon's expected move date at the end of March was bumped up to last week.

So, Mike and Mandy picked up a moving truck, packed up her stuff and drove up through snow and wind and white-outs. They pulled into the driveway late Thursday night and by Saturday morning the truck was unloaded and dropped off a few miles away.

Believe it or not everything that's going to be unpacked has been and we're settling in. Mandon's thrilled with her room and having her 'Poppy' around.

The cats love that we have an extra couch and spend a great deal of time on it.

This was taken the evening we unloaded the moving truck...think we wore them out? I think the girls felt she was safe to lie near once she zonked! ;)

You wanna know what!?!?

Hello everyone. This farm update will be a bit different. We recently received a survey from the US Census Bureau entitled "The American Community Survey" - now this is something I had never heard of before but, being it is a Census year, opened it up for a look. This "anonymous" survey starts out with the Census-required number of occupants and quickly delves into some incredibly disturbing questions. Like what, you may ask. In addition to questions (to the anonymous survey, remember) of name, age, address, DOB, phone number, ethnic origin, marital status, and sex, there's:

(Numbers are actual question numbers from the form).

(7a) How many separate rooms are in this house, apartment, or mobile home?
(7b) How many are bedrooms?

(9) How many automobiles are kept at home for use by members of this household?

(11a) What was your electric bill last month?
(11b) What was your gas bill last month?

(16) What do you think this house and lot would sell for if it were for sale?

(18a-c) (Paraphrased) Do you have mental or emotional problems? Have problems with stairs? Difficulty dressing or bathing?

(30) Where did you work last week? With street address.

(31) How did you get to work?

(33) What time did this person usually leave home to go to work last week?

(47a-h) How much money did you make last year? And from what sources?


So, you've asked me questions about my net worth, income, and when I leave for work and how many hours I work (I left that one out, sorry). Isn't this information that burglars need to know? And you want me to give it to temporary employees that make 10 or so dollars an hour?

I won't even go into details about the 243 laptops the Census Bureau has lost and how people have had their personal information "accidentally" posted on government websites repeatedly. Or how Scientific American recently revealed that "confidential" Census information was used to identify Japanese-Americans who were later interred during WWII. Or that Homeland Security has admitted using the (once again, "confidential") information for profiling Americans of Arab ancestry for profiling during Bush's "war on terror."

I also can't help but notice that some of the questions are part of the public record: How much is my house worth? Ask the tax assessor. How many cars do we have? Ask the BMV. How much money did we make? Ask the IRS. Where do we work? Once again, ask the IRS for W-2s. The other information is none of your business.

So, this 28 page form is supposed to be mailed out to 3 million homes annually on a rolling basis (at a cost of $120-$150 million/yr from the GAO). And it will enable (according to the handy-dandy pamphlet that comes along with it) "your community leaders from government, BUSINESS, and non-profit organizations to plan more effectively. Since when is it the American taxpayer's job to subsidize market research for businesses?

And if they are just using this information anonymously, why do they need your name, age, DOB, and PLACE OF BIRTH?

The Constitution (does anyone even remember it exists) allows for a decennial ENUMERATION of the population for congressional redistricting and apportionment. THAT IS ALL.

So, I have a couple of other questions: Why has it been around since 2003 and yet no one seems to have heard about it? Could it be that if they asked all of us these questions at the same time, we would assemble with our family and co-workers and decide that we weren't going to answer such intrusive questions?

And if it such a neighborly questionnaire (American Community Survey certainly seems benign, doesn't it?), why are you threatened with a fine for failure to comply? This is all a bit too "Big Brother" for me, (and yes Dad, I know they know when I brush my teeth, probably and what toothpaste I use) and we refuse to roll over and willingly cede our Right to Privacy. We are not "data sets." We are human beings and American Citizens!

Sunday morning experiment...

These pictures don't need much explanation ;) I've a recipe for refrigerator dough that I use for pizza crusts...well, the recipe also comes with a recipe for the following, using half the batch. So, Friday night I made pizza and with the leftover I made these delicious lovelies. YummmmmY!

Waiting to rise...

Fresh from the oven...

Turned out on a plate...

Ready for serving!

They were absolutely fantastic. Definitely something we'll have in the future!

So I went to collect eggs...

...tonight, just like every other night. Trudge out through the snow(still falling) feed the rabbits and make my way into the hens' side of things. I toss out some food for them, fill the water trough and turn my attention to the nesting boxes.

Peek in the first and EEK! There's a freakin' opossum grubbin' on eggs!! Talk about a nasty surprise!

looked something like this!

So now what do I do? Well, the barn's at least a hundred feet from the house, the wind is howling and, of course, everything's closed up tight. No chance I can yell and get Mike's attention.

Now, picture this, okay? I'm standing in the middle of the hen house, chickens scratching about my feet, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there's a PREDATOR IN THE BARN!

Ok. So I have a water bucket and my egg bucket. No help there. I stand back, keeping an eye on the little bugger. Thankfully it IS a little bugger and it looks like it's hoping like hell I don't realize it's there.

Well, I have to do something. Hoping for some inspiration I go back to the rabbit side of the barn and look around. Finally I decide I'm going to see if I can get the blasted thing into the water bucket so I can take it up to the house and get Mike's help.

With heavy gloves and an empty feed sack in hand I head back to the hen house. The thing's still in the same spot, in fact it looks like it's cowered even further into the back of the nesting box.

Now, I'm really not all that keen on getting bit, and I can't seem to see anyway around that. 'Possums have killer teeth and the gloves I had weren't 100% leather ones.

Okay.

*deep breath*

I turn the feed sack inside out and bunch it together in my hand. Carefully I stuff it in the nesting box, figuring if the thing was going to attack me it could attack the bag instead. Thankfully it didn't! Taking the bull by the horns I reached in and grabbed it with the bag and yanked it out. The front of the box turned the bag back over it and I was able to drop the critter into the bag like some crazy ass Crocodile Hunter.

Well. Phew. Okay, that part at least was dealt with. Holding the bag(with the opossum in it) in one hand I fished the rest of the eggs(the whole ones at any rate) out. With the 'normal' chores handled I made the trek back to the house, water bucket, egg bucket, and 'possum filled sack in hand.

So now what the hell do I do?

Well, thankfully I was now close enough to get help. Mike fetched the .22 and shortly thereafter there was a dead 'possum.

Now how's that for some mid-week excitement?

Spring Fever?

This last weekend Jen and I decided to try something we have both been interested in some time, home brewing. We bought each other kits for Xmas this year and finally got around to playing with them.

This is Jen's kit. It came with instructions (all 5 steps). Just grape juice, yeast, and toasted oak chips (for those of us who don't have wine barrels at home, I presume).

Here is the wine-to-be all mixed up and on it's way to being White Zin. The peat mossy looking stuff on the top is the afore-mentioned oak chips.

Here is Mikey's kit. Notice the number of ingredients. (Beer is much more complicated than vino - as evidenced by the 25 step instructions that accompanied the kit).

Here we are after the grains have been steeped, malt and bittering hops added. Boy did that smell like heaven. Btw, this is a brown porter that I'm working on.

Here we are on Sunday. An hour or so before the Super Bowl, Jen tells me that we have grape juice on the office floor as her wine decided to "explosively ferment" (no shit). So we transferred her brew from the carboy into an extra fermenter (positioned next to mine full of "sweet wort") and both have been bubbling along happily since.

So, after two weeks, Jen has to transfer hers over into the carboy for another 12 to 14 weeks before it can be bottled (and needs to wait for another 3 months to age). Mine will go into bottles with corn sugar (to provide carbonation) for another two weeks before it is ready to drink. I can't wait.

Afternoon...um...visitor?

I do believe there's truth to the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words..."

I'm just not sure which thousand that would be!

Both pictures were taken this afternoon as I stood on the front porch. This was the second pass the chopper made!! The first one had them hovering over directly over the house, then over the neighbor's! Yes...we are wondering "what the hell!?!"

Breeding like rabbits...

Well, if there's one thing owning rabbits has shown us is that there IS truth to the old saying "breed like rabbits". We have a rabbitry full of kits right now, with all four does having litters.

Ready for some cute bunny pics? Oh of course you are!

Lily was the first in the barn to have babies this fall after we took a hiatus from breeding to let the does regain condition and to ease the load for our trip to California. It took a few tries before any of the rabbits finally were bred, and we were beyond thrilled when we went out and found little squirming bodies in Lily's nest box.

These guys are seven weeks old now and will hang around for another three before we butcher.

Blue and Josie were next. Blue had eleven kits while Josie had four, so we ended up fostering three of Blue's with Josie's litter. As the babies were born during a bitter cold snap Blue still lost two of the kits to the cold. They're growing well now and will move into growout cages in a few weeks.

This little one is one of Josie's crew, and was playing peekaboo with Mike! Too freakin' cute!

What a face! (One of Blue's crew)

Josie's crew, I think ;)

Definitely one of Blue's. This little black otter was playing hard to get, but it's one of the cutest faces out there!

Last but not least is our youngest doe, Nestle. She's a chocolate color(duh!) and is Cocoa's daughter. She kindled Thursday before last with nine babies, all alive and well and birthed in the nesting box. One of the things I've always been told is that first time moms are prone to kindling on the floors of their cages, so we are just thrilled with her. On top of that is the sheer size of the litter, which is a good sized litter for a doe of production age, let alone a first timer! She's giving good milk and all of the babies are looking great!

Miss Nestle checking to make sure we covered her babies well after taking pictures.

So little! Their ears have only bee open for a couple of days now, but the fur is coming in great!

This silly oaf is our "backup" buck, Hydro(short for Hydrox...you know...the Oreo knock offs?) He's a trip, and we're still up in the air as to whether or not we'll be keeping him around.

So, there ya have it, an update from the rabbitry. There's more pics of the bunnies, if you want to check out our photobucket album!

Shake your groove thing..

This past weekend was Jen's company xmas party. This is the 3rd one we've been to and it was the best one yet. It was also the first one not accompanied by a snowstorm. The turn out was a little light but that meant more chances of winning door prizes.

Here we are on a very rare occasion that at least one of us (that would be Jen) wasn't on the dance floor.



Jen dancing it up with the girls:



When Jen wasn't on the floor she was either refilling my drink or up requesting songs. She tells me that the caption that should go w/ this is: "No, no play some good stuff not this wedding shit." (That wasn't her saying that, btw).



This is what happens when stiff white guys dance:




This is the stiff white guy's mom, Inez (she and her husband own the company). She was out working it with the ladies.



My turn to help keep the tunes coming.



And just to prove that you can keep the party going with liberal social lubricants (I did mention it was open bar, right?) Here we are tearing up that rug again.


Anyway, we had a great time (and didn't embarrass ourselves, believe it or not) and hey, we even won a couple of those door prizes. How 'bout that?

Take care all. Til next time.