Dreams

Last night I had an odd dream.

Homesteaders were declared a Militia group. And they came for us.

Robbyn (over at The Back Forty) defended herself with a giant plastic Easter Egg

Bob in Athens was eating a pint of ketchup oh and Bob, your code name is now Ernie.

Forget attack dogs, our cattle were on the prowl.

There was more of you, I remember Skippymom, and cpcable, and Stephanie from 100 acre wood.

What did I put in the cherry pie last night?

A Homesteading Neophyte Buys the Farm (stead)

I have been thinking about the end of A Homesteading Neophyte.

Yes, it is coming to an end, soon I will be on 120 acres, that my friends is a Farmstead. The Farmsteading Neophyte, naw. It doesn't have the same ring to it. But I don't plan on changing my name, nor creating another blog for the adventure. This is an electronic diary, it doesn't run out of room like a paper one does.

There will be a problem with updates. I will be lucky to do so once a week. Without electricity there is no computer. What I would like to do it get my camper on solar power. Looks like you can power an RV for around $3,000. However I don't have that much at one go, and I don't need a big RV lit up. Just a small 1970's camper. I will have to look around some more. Maybe find a company that would like me to test out their equipment. hint hint to all those PR companies that visit this blog.

Husband did a lot of work at the homestead. He cleared so much dead wood and brush. With it gone the animal areas look much larger.

Not changing the subject here, it is part of the farmstead thing; I asked the neighbor across the way if she would sell her fiber lambs to me. She said no, that she wanted to hold onto them for awhile. This confuses me as she sells of lambs for butchering. She will have to sell them off because she doesn't have the room for them. Sometimes it feels like she does somethings just to spite m. I don't know why she would, and I'm not entirely sure why I feel that way.

So, if any one in Kansas or Northern OK or even Western MO has fiber sheep for sale, would you mind contacting me. I have been having problems finding ones that are currently or soon to be on sale, online.

We have a beautiful area set aside for sheep. See sometimes I get these romantic notions in my head, and have learned that it is best to set up things in advance. Doesn't matter if I have a line on the item or not. Eventually I find it.

Mama looks like she is about to pop any day now. Which I wasn't expecting a calf this soon. Mama will stay here on the homestead. Mama, Uma and Winnona, and Undies will stay. While Murial and courage, Eddie and Winston, and Urth will be moved to the farmstead. This is only until the lease is up for the 47 acres. Then everyone will be moved out. But the ones going to the farmstead first are my milkers. The Kerries have the better of the attitudes when it comes to milking while Murial's main purpose or function for the homestead has been milk. The other girls have some nasty attitudes when it comes to it all. So beef breeding it will be.

The plan is to sell meats and other things as well as fiber and skins. A CSA is in the works as well. I look forward to that. The sooner everything is up and going, the sooner we are making a profit the soon husband can retire and be with us again.

This is still the biggest thing I fret about this adventure. I am going to miss husband with all my being. Even if it will be filled with physical labor, so much to do out there, the nights will be difficult. I told husband he will have to soak a shirt in solvent and used bike oil just so I can sleep at night. Yes, that would be husband's smell. And I know that many would be turned off by this. But after smelling it for 14 years, it's a smell I cherish. When he went 3 month unemployed, he lost that smell. I didn't like it.

I guess this would be rambling, huh? Bu it is part of the process. The fears and joys of what is to come. And it is coming so fast. Even though in a way it is late, since I was suppose to be out there last year. But some things stood in the way. Things I haven't talked about here because of certain people that read this blog. But let us not dwell on that.

There was some other things I thought about talking about, but they have nothing to do with this subject. So I think that's all I have to say on the subject right now. Maybe. . . but you guys are pretty good about bringing up things, so I will turn it over to you.

April Fool's from Rep Hank Johnson!

It is an April Fool's prank, isn't it?

For those of you that can't watch it, he is worried that with 8,000 troops and their family members move to Guam, it might capsize.

Thanks to Humble Wife for this

I tore his Nipples

Whoa Phelan, TMI! (and for my porn link-ins APRIL FOOL'S!)


We have these heavy duty rubber nursing nipples for Zombie. They have managed to be torn, and will no longer work.

Last night, I managed to destroy two of them. And couldn't find the rest of them. I live with a house full of boys ya know. Farm store was closed, baby bottles wouldn't work, Zombies teeth have cut me open, and those silicone nipples wouldn't last a single feeding. What's a nipple-less surrogate goat mom to do?

Ask husband.

There is something slightly unsettling about a white trash genius.

His solution was a spark plug boot (no worries, it is very clean)

It is pretty much a spill spout, however the rubber makes Zombie more comfortable with it. With a little practice on my part, I was able to feed him without spilling it all over him, and myself.

He actually seems to like it more than the nipples.

Dogs

We spent $1,000 on fencing. Keeping our dogs in, as well as the livestock. We made sure that they couldn't get out and cause any trouble.

We have neighbors with a fenced in yard. They do not put their dogs in it. Instead the dogs run free, chasing their horses out of their rope fencing. A neighbor was lucky one day, I got their 5 year old child out of the way as 3 horses came thundering down the road, pursued by those dogs.

These dogs have harassed Good neighbors goats. Good Neighbor and the neighbor across the way has talked to these neighbors, told them to do something about the dogs. The dogs have been reported to the county. The chase walkers and joggers, have attacked my horse as we rode passed. The county warned them and moved on.

These are untrained cattle dogs. They tend to bite livestock because they have no idea what to do. They have dug up our drive way as we slept, so they can get under the gate. My dogs are worthless if they won't stop them.



One was attacking my goats this morning.

We warned them.

I am more than livid.

Listen. We'll either die free chickens or we die trying

Our newest chicks

And this is the pen that husband built.



It is made from junk laying about. Scrap wood, old fencing and hinges from a burnt door.

We have 50 chicks. Giant Whites, Buff orpingtons, Mottled Hoodans, and Light Brahamas.

A Day at the Farmstead; word addition

We left the homestead yesterday a little later than we wanted to, ok an hour later than we wanted to. The farmstead is an hour drive. Zombie did well on the way up, he didn't pee on a single person.

The farm house was locked up, but that didn't stop husband from getting inside. We got the fire going in the wood burning stove and started our rounds of finding all the things buried in the overgrown grass that could possibly hurt a lawn mower. There was less than I thought there would be.

Husband took us on a tour of the trees he had downed the last time her was out. e managed to clean up the cattle run nicely. I little more work and there will be enough sunlight to get the grass growing in there again. There were so many rat's nest in the run, makes you shiver.

I like rats. I had a pair of twin Blue, but these rats out there are HUGE! Like large chihuahuas . I told Large we had to do something about this, maybe a little rodent hunting. He wondered why. Well. . . you have seen Secret of NIMH and you know full well what those rats are capable of. (Ok mom)

We found a couple of Russian Olives trees and there thorns, as well as a formidable honeylocust, (see picture of thorn tree in previous post) And these long green vines with thousand of little stinging spikes that seem to grip onto you as you walk buy. Those had to go.

Back to work. Not sure how many rocks I pulled out of the pond and creek area. I am dead sore this morning from it. But we ad to make the driveway a little easier to navigate. Most of the rock I found were lime stone or flint rock, but I did find chunks of concrete in the dry creek bed.


That worked out wonderfully. After about 3 hours of hauling rock, I decided to go check in on my mother, ho had shown up 45 minutes after we did. She was working in the house. I Repacked some of our canning jars so I could put the dried storage food up on the shelves. Those thing are heavy. 30 lbs of red wheat feels a lot heavier than the 30lbs it claims to be.
Meanwhile, the boys had found many new places to create hideouts, eyed a tree for the tree house, and cut down bush weeds, because they enjoy swing blunt objects. Husband a Step father worked outside. Husband still playing with his new chainsaw, and stepfather prepping the garden area.

As I took a break I saw a pheasant flying over head. I pointed it out to the boys, and as soon as I did, hit hit a tree, and tumbled to a lower branch. How odd. A few minutes later I heard gunfire, and stupidly put two and two together as another pheasant flew over and hit the ground hard. Look Ma, the birds are falling from the sky. Looks like we eat well tonight.

Around 6 pm (after being there for 8 hours) we women folk were done. Husband however still insisted we had hours of daylight left and he wanted to continue to work. I had to remind him that we did promise the boys that if they did all their chores that they would get to shoot the .22 rifle. And my new rifle that I had been itching to shoot for the first time.

We walked out to a giant fallen cottonwood that was close to the back 40. The boys played on it as we set up the "range"
Large was up first. He has shot before. He actually learned how to in boy scouts. The boy is a good shot. Next up was Medium, this was his first time, and he was a little fearful of it. We didn't pressure him, but I think his brother's might have, just out of their excitement of being allowed to do it. It took Medium a moment to finally take the shot. He missed the target, but became more comfortable with it. Then it was Small's turn. Small amazes me, in the fact that he has no fear. Husband helped him line it up, showing him and telling him how to do this. Small, without blinking, pulled the trigger, and the shot was true. Dead center of the target. I swear you have never seen a daddy so proud. Beginner's luck, with help lining it up from dad, right? Maybe, but the next two shots he took, by himself, were also true. The boy has an eye on him.

Husband got to shoot my new rifle first. Made in 1956 it has never been fired. Still had the shipping wax on it when we pulled it out of the package. I have shot high caliber rifles before. Long ago. And Good neighbor was acting like I couldn't handle it. I kept thinking about the double barreled black powder shotgun I shot back in my youth. The one the left bruises from nipple to shoulder. I knew that it wasn't like that, I never want to feel anything like that again. But I figured if the gun would blow like an Elmer Fudd cartoon, husband should try first. Because I love him.

He is a good shot of course. What isn't this man good at?

My turn. I choked the first time. Not sure how bad the recoil would be on it. It was very little. I got comfortable with it, and then had a ball.

It was great to get in a full day of hard work, and then get to play with my family.

Small told me he needs his own gun, and even Medium agreed he would like his own as well. I told them it all depends on them, and how they treat the one we have, and how they treat each other.

Back to the farmhouse and I couldn't find Zombie! he coyotes were celebrating in the near distance. And I grew concerned. I called for him, and never heard an answer. They boys finally found him in our car. How on earth did he get in there. The doors were shut. Looking at the hood, you could see the marks in the dust. Zombie had jumped on the hood, sliding around, and climbed over the side mirror and through the window.

We headed home as dusk fell. Zombie peed on the boys.