And It Was Summer...

I've decided that I'm going to be better about posting, and was happy to see that Katy had done an update recently. Since that time, we've had three kids born. Peace surprised us with a sweet buckling who looks exactly like her. As it was earlier than we'd anticipated, we're now wondering if we were precipitate in naming our breeding buck "Disappointment." Maybe he took care of business after all. At any rate, since Peace is not a good milker we have allowed little "Clone" to remain with her and they do make the cutest couple.

A week after Peace kidded, Katy came up from the barn to tell me that Temerity had just given birth to one kid and she thought there might be a second one in the chute. Sam and I raced down to the barn and saw definite signs that she had another one on the way. We waited and in about fifteen minutes, she delivered the second one. They're both does and look exactly alike. Sam was there with me when the last kid was born so he got to see his first birth. He was pretty unmoved. Later that evening when his daddy was home, I said, "Sam, tell Daddy what you saw in the barn today." And he said, very matter-of-factly, "Temerity had a baby come out of her." Sex-ed on the farm. We've separated mother and babies and are bottle feeding the little ones.

I've been so busy this spring that for the most part I've left the garden in Katy's capable hands. The poor germination of seeds this year and a busy travel schedule prevented me from having my annual plant sale, and the seedling crop was underwhelming. Still, I was able to start an herb bed which I'd prepared in the fall, and I planted a few more perennial flowers in the front. The lilacs we planted two summers ago are all well-established now and had a fairly good showing of blooms this year. It looks like our beloved apple tree won't bear anywhere near its usual crop but that just means we'll have to appreciate each fruit that much more than we have in the past years. It seems that when I have time to work outside, mowing is the job that most needs to be done. Where Sam used to always say, "Grandmommy is cleaning." he has changed it to "Grandmommy needs to mow the grass." Yes, Grandmommy certainly does! But we now have a path to the river and if it ever warms up we'll be able to spend some time at the water. And as the summer progresses I'll try to get some mowing done around all the fir trees, as well as keeping up with the yard.

It's Spring! It's Spring!

The farm continues, though blogging has lagged disgracefully. We are all well, thriving, and utterly thankful for the sunshine that promises to last for a week at least. While spring rain is necessary to get us through the summer, it becomes very trying when all one wants to do is dig in the dirt. Fortunately this spring has allowed a number of sunny opportunities for gardening, in between bouts of rain, and I've planted onions, potatoes, and strawberries. The garlic, planted last fall, is flourishing (although I stuck in another handful of cloves because marauding hens had thinned the crop already), and the asparagus, celery, leeks, and herbs overwintered nicely.

The hoophouse also surprised us, since my mother planted several rows of cole crops and then forgot about them all winter. A couple of months ago, I peeked in and was pleased to find an excellent harvest of kale, some broccoli, and a bit of spinach. We've been enjoying them as a welcome fresh addition to our diet, and a preview of the summer's bounty.

Once again I went crazy with the seed order, especially with a new catalogue that tempted me beyond resistance--Baker Creek in Missouri. It's like an art book! So I got more than I intended to, having planned a more modest attempt this year, but hopefully we'll be able to handle it all. Our big problem this year is that our space has been limited. I had the bright idea of moving half the chickens into the garden area to clean it up last fall, with the intention that Bill and I would then butcher them all as soon as they'd done their jobs. Well... they still run free. And the garden is a mud slick. So we have to get creative and squeeze things in where we can. I think it will be fine, but a little inconvenient. Ah well.

The animals are also grateful for the sunshine. The goats are all fat and happy on the green grass, and I'm hoping that health conditions will improve with the summer. No one's been really sick (except Prue, who has chronic issues and has been retired from breeding), but they're all itchy and dandruffy, and a few have rubbed their coats bare in patches. I've ordered some mineral supplements that I expect will help as well.

We brought Faithful, our little black buck, over from the neighbors' house in January, and watched in disbelief as all four does bulldozed him across the pen. The poor thing took refuge under the feeding trough and wouldn't have anything to do with the girls, so we returned him regretfully and got Samson instead. Owing to an eagerness to get rid of the buck goat smell ASAP, he was returned too soon, and Mercy soon proved not to be pregnant. Temerity is, fortunately, and we're pretty sure Peace is too ( though she's so wide naturally that it's hard to tell!), but Mercy will have to wait until the fall when we breed the little girls. So we're looking forward to a slightly less crazy summer with only one milker. Since a human baby is also on the way (due in late October), I'm glad to have the break!

Baskets

I've always loved baskets and have collected a large number of them over the years. Some time ago I decided it was time to learn to make them myself so I bought a kit and tried it out. Seems I had an aptitude for it so I began making more and eventually selling them.
This summer I've had the opportunity to teach some basketweaving classes at a community center in Vernonia, a small town about 20 miles from here. This, plus regular attendance at an open-air market there, has given me the chance to meet many interesting new people and share my love of basketmaking and other almost-lost arts. This picture is taken in our kitchen which became a makeshift basketry studio when I arrived at the class with everything they needed to make their market baskets but the handles. These gracious ladies were willing to make the trek all the way out to the house to retrieve the missing parts and construct their baskets in a very messy, busy, in-use kitchen. It was great fun and all the water that was slopped on the floor made it very easy for me to mop up later.
Baskets are things that people tend to pick up for very little money with the expectation that they will break easily or fall apart quickly. But making a beautiful basket that will last and be useful is truly an art. In keeping with my business philosophy of creating items which are useful and beautiful, I am trying to instill in my students a similar vision. You can buy a cheap basket at Ross to hold your knitting project on the floor beside a chair and it will serve its purpose. A carefully crafted handmade basket, however, will not only serve the purpose but will bring pleasure to you in its every use. You will admire it as you walk through the room and feel a deep sense of appreciation every time you reach into it, for the beauty of its form and the artistry in its creation. Our society seems to have lost that type of appreciation as it seeks to buy cheap, disposable goods which will find their way quickly to the landfill or second-hand shop. Why not invest in a few truly worthwhile items which will have long usefulness and be treasured possessions? Why not invest a little of yourself and create your own worthwhile items? Instructional books and classes abound, and the sense of satisfaction you gain is enhanced by the bond that can be found in fellowship with other craftspeople.
It has been such a wonderful experience for me to meet the wide variety of people I have this summer, to meet kindred spirits and people whose new ideas open avenues of possibility for my own life. I am grateful for the fledgling acquaintances which could become satisfying friendships and shared enlightenment.

This One's for Margaux

After much cajoling from Margaux (Auntie Margox) I decided now was a good time to take some pictures of the house. There are some flowers blooming in the front yard and everything's been recently mowed so it looks very pristine, making it a perfect photo-op. If only there were more of me and I could really make the place look the way I visualize it! I know it will happen with time (I've only been here for 3 years), but it's frustrating to be unable to create in a short time what I have imprinted so clearly in my brain. Oh - the place will be so beautiful someday...

Katy, Billy, and Sam returned Wednesday night so I've gratefully relinquished chores to them temporarily so that my poor hands can heal. Yesterday, Sharon and I went to Sherwood to collect our new little buckling (with forays to antique stores and a delightful lunch along the way) and he is making himself at home with our dear friends and their 11 children. We have yet to decide on a name - I favor Perseverance or Fortitude, but we agreed we'd put names in a hat and draw for one.

In the meantime, we've decided to free Pru from the burden of motherhood and are separating her from her babies as of tonight. I believe I'll keep a fan going in my bedroom window tonight in case there are despairing cries coming from mother or babies as a result of the separation. It really needs to be done - she is a cranky little thing and is not terribly interested in having little ones following her around wanting to nurse at all times during the day. She's a good milker and we're much better off taking the milk from her directly and feeding it to them in bottles. Bottle-feeding is a pain in a lot of ways, but it's also fun and allows us to form a bond with the kids that we're unable to have with those who stay with their mamas. As of this writing we're still undecided as to which kids we're going to keep. If we could breed them on a timeline where we'd only be milking 2-3 goats at a time I wouldn't have a problem with having 6-8 does. But trying to have that many milking does at one time would be impossible. So there's some discussing that needs to be done. They're all so cute we want to keep every one!

I have to prepare for a basket-weaving class I'll be teaching on Sunday afternoon, and I'm trying desperately to get my studio in order for an interview/photo session with a local newspaper on Monday morning. I'll probably end up with so much stuff that I have to cram into my bedroom in order to make the studio look tidy and inviting that I won't be able to find a path to my bed. Not that I want to give any false impressions, but you know what they say about creative minds and neatness. When I have a lot of projects underway, the last thing I want to do is keep things picked up.

I'm adding some pix of views from the porch - towards the barns and across the road towards the river. FYI - this is all our property! We are so blessed!

Babies, Babies, Babies!

We see to be inundated with new life around here. In the last 3 weeks we've doubled the size of our goat herd. On the 10th of June, Peace, Temerity, and Mercy each had twins - all 6 kids born in a 2-1/2 hour period. I was on hand to put my two cents in (probably unnecessary) and generally get in the way, but when there is any kind of birth taking place I want to be there. Someone called it being a "birth junkie". If the shoe fits...

Peace has turned out to be a great little mother but a terrible milker, so we have turned her into the pasture with her little ones and they all seem to be doing well. The "big guys" treat them with the proper respect and we know they're well looked after. Mercy and Temerity, on the other hand, were indifferent about their offspring so after a week we separated them. We ended up selling Temerity's kids to a family in Scappoose who were very excited to be increasing their livestock and branching out from chickens to goats. The original idea was to keep two does but no decisions were made as to which two since we needed to wait to see what Pru produced.

We assumed all four girls had been bred at the same time, but Pru showed no signs of following the delivery trend and just kept getting bigger and bigger. Yesterday morning she began to exhibit symptoms of impending delivery so we kept an eye on her and I missed the birth by just minutes. She had two beautiful little does, bringing our grand total to 8: 6 does, 2 bucks. Now that the kidding is over we'll need to make our decision - so, maybe we'll be keeping more than two. They're all so cute! How do we decide?

While the goat herd increases, the chicken flock diminishes - in part due to some clever and elusive raccoons, but also as a result of some judicious butchering. Actually, the two causes are tied to each other. The raccoon raids were knocking our numbers down quickly and since we'd planned to butcher the roosters anyway it seemed like a good idea to do it while we still had a few roosters left. The deed was done yesterday and we have 6 petite chickens resting in the freezer. They won't make a huge meal, but I'd rather they be a meal for us than the local marauders.

Things are busy here as we begin canning season (strawberry jam already checked off the list), gather in our hay, and continue to plant and maintain the garden. There isn't a whole lot of produce yet but we have high hopes for this year. It's definitely our largest and most organized garden yet.

There are new flower and herb beds going in, and with luck we'll have some clean and tidy paths as well. Why is it that when you want things to grow quickly it seems like you can't see any progress, but when you try to keep undesirables at bay (i.e., weeds and grass), they seem to be on steroids and grow by leaps and bounds overnight. I feel like all I've been doing lately is mow grass!

After Katy, Billy, and Sam return from their week in Minnesota we're considering getting a shipment of meat chickens to butcher in the fall. That, however, SHOULD be the last of baby world for this year.

March comes in like a lamb, becomes very lionlike, and goes out WITH a lamb!

In Colorado, snow in March is hardly a surprise. Spring break skiing is some of the best, and no one expects green grass and flowers for a good two months yet. But here in Oregon? Well, we love our cheery daffodils and the misty haze of green creeping over the trees, and we are very PUT OUT by snow. Especially days and days of it. After tomorrow a week of sunshine is forecasted, and it can't come any too soon. I have to say I minded the snow much less than my poor mother (I'd rather see white flakes drifting past the window than harsh sheets of rain), but I'm ready to change my muckboots for sneakers--it's just too darn wet out there!

But in other areas it is truly spring. We got baby chicks for Easter and, a week later, a surprise lamb! Though Erin and Tally had a honeymoon back in October, she seemed to want nothing to do with him, and we'd finally given up expecting anything from her (it was not possible to detect pregnancy under six inches of dirty wool). Yesterday my mother went down to the barn and heard little grunting cooing mothering sounds from Erin, and sure enough, there was a little boy lamb just struggling to his feet! So far she seems to be a good mama, which is fortunate because we simply cannot bottle feed an animal that's going to end up in the freezer--and there's nothing else to be done with a wether (except letting him be a lawnmower, and we have plenty of those). So we are all quite pleased, and looking forward to more births in June.

The little chick who hatched out a few weeks ago was joined the following day by another (and another, that died--three chicks out of three eggs! Go roosters!), and then another hen who'd been sporadically warming her two eggs hatched out a couple of chicks as well. I am amazed by the 100% hatching rate, and thrilled to have four chicks that require absolutely no care at all. From now on, we're doing it this way--Henrietta is a fantastic mother, and Moe has at least kept her two alive, with no effort on our part.

The other fifty chicks are also doing well. They arrived, to our surprise, Saturday night (and the post office called at 6:15 on Easter Sunday morning!) instead of the expected Monday or Tuesday, so poor Mommy and Olin had to rush about getting the coop ready before picking them up. One was DOA, and another died the following day, but the rest are perky and cheerful and cute as can be. Unfortunately I can't look at them without thinking of how many more chicken tractors we have to build...

Odious and I have been churning out chicken tractors at a steady rate, and have more than half the chickens corraled within them. It's actually a pretty simple project, and reasonably satisfying, but I'm a little bored now. I'll post more about them, with pictures, and share our design.

Our New Baby

I would love to be able to post a picture of our new little one, but it is hiding underneath its mother/caregiver and giving us barely a peek. One of our unspecified black hens has been diligently setting on 3 eggs for the past several weeks and, while we didn't hold out much hope of new life, we decided to mark the eggs (in case any new ones were laid in the meantime) and see what happened.

When I went out to do chores this morning, I found her in her usual place - firmly ensconced in the farthest nesting box. As I reached under her to see if there were any extra eggs, I heard a peeping noise which was definitely not coming from her throat. It took me a second to realize what it was. Our very first hatchling! We've had so many hens over the years that have been fair-weather setters that I'd given up all ideas of ever actually raising chickens. Most modern hens have had the broodiness bred out of them, but occasionally there will be a mutant who will stick with the task.

We've tried to get a better look at the little one throughout the day, but the hen is keeping it well tucked away. It's a grey and light yellow fluffball with definite ideas about visitors. I guess we need to set up a ramp for it since the nesting boxes are elevated and I don't want any suicidal chicks teetering on ledges when it decides to make a foray into the coop.

There are two more eggs under her, so we'll see if they hatch as well. I guess if she's going to be a reliable setter we'll need to keep her well supplied with eggs. Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to BUY more chicks?