News from around the farm

Taken after an evening storm on Tuesday, May 26th

After a week of no internet, I'm finally up and running again! Woo hoo! I received a new DSL modem today from the phone company to replace the old one that quit working. It's been tough not to be able to visit all my blog friends, but so much has been going on around here the last week I've hardly had time to dwell on it for too long. Hubby has been off from work this week and we've been busy building animal housing again, this time for the two newest residents of the farm....

I bring you-

Elvis and Priscilla!

These sweet little Boer-crossed goats took up residence here just a few days ago, and have already been keeping us entertained with their funny antics. They are brother and sister twins- Elvis has been fixed so he is very calm, but Priscilla (with the blue collar on) is very rambunctious and at times, pesky. She untied Hubby's nail apron while he was working on their little house and carried his hammer away on several occasions, too.

Dad came by this weekend to help us check our hives and said we were ready for hive #1 to have another "brood box" added, which simply means the queen is doing her job laying eggs and the hive is growing rapidly. (All good signs.) Hive #2 is a little slower and fewer in number, but Dad says they are coming along and will do just fine.

Here is a short little video I took of Hive #1 and thought it was interesting- these are the young worker bees cleaning the "flight deck" of the hive. if you watch very closely and focus on one bee at a time, you will see them going back and forth, back and forth- almost like they're mopping the floor!

And as usual, some news around here is OLD news..... and getting OLDER every day.

*Sigh*

Well, I'm off to make my rounds and find out what's new with you- It's great to be back in BlogLand!

A day full of surprises

It's very unusual for East Tennessee to have low humidity and crystal clear skies near the end of May, but that's exactly what we're having right now... in fact, we've had three days of the most gorgeous blue skies I can remember in a long time. It's such a wonderful and welcome surprise after all the rain we've had lately.

Surprise #2 came from the hen house this morning....

A mini-egg!

One of my green-eggers must have had an off day yesterday.... look at the size of it compared to one of my Rhode Island Red eggs.....

While I was mowing today, I got surprise #3- Can you see the baby rabbit in this picture?

Well, I didn't when I mowed over it's nest but fortunately I saw it before I made another pass with the blades going.

I carefully picked it up- trying to handle it as little as possible- and put it back down into it's cozy nest.

Surprise #4 came in the mail... wonderful Christine from a cute little blog called the Tin Can Cottage sent me a "Blog Gal" for no reason other than just leaving her comments! Isn't she precious- I just love her little gingham dress and cherry apron.... she is now in my sewing room watching out the window for me. Thank you Christine for the sweet thought!

And surprise #5-

Just when I think I've seen it all........

*Sigh*....

I'm not sure, but the one to left and closest to the camera looks like she might be being held against her will..... what do you think?

A garden re-do, and a grateful heart

After nearly 2 weeks of rain and very little sun, Hubby turned under the entire garden with the plow and we re-planted everything. I had hoped things might look better after a couple of days of sunshine but what little bit of corn was trying to survive, the crows found it. Even though we are getting a very late start, I'm still praying for a bountiful harvest of beans, corn, cucumbers, and cantaloupe.

My tomato plants did not fare much better, although for each one I'm losing another one shows a ray of hope in the form of a tiny bloom...

The hot, dry season is just ahead for us, but I will try to have an optimistic attitude and not be discouraged. Looking over the garden again this morning after a fresh start I decided to make this a show-and-tell for some things I'm thankful for....

I am thankful for a wonderful Husband who loved me enough to buy me a little red wagon- just because I thought it was cute....

I am thankful for a faithful companion who goes up to the barn with me every morning at 6:00 AM, and still loves me even if I'm a little cranky...

I am thankful for a Dad who not only took the time to build and set up hives so we could have honey from our very own bees but, most importantly, pass along some of his wisdom so I can carry it with me the rest of my life.....

I am thankful for the hens who produce mine and Hubby's breakfast every morning, and for a rooster named Hamburger who keeps us entertained for hours on end.

I am thankful for red tractors...

(these were Hubby's words...)

I am thankful for a barn for our sheep to stay dry in bad weather......

I am thankful for the smile I get from seeing fuzzy bottoms.....

Fuzzy bottoms.....

Fuzzy bottoms......

I am thankful for eyes to see and ears to hear the wonders of nature....

I am thankful for a warm, cozy home when the rest of the world seems cold.....

What are you thankful for today?

Rain, Rain....

Last Saturday was to be the "Plow Day" Hubby looks forward to all year where we should have seen things like this going on...

Instead, it looked like this....

Hubby was not happy.

Poor Hubby.

We have had 11 days of rain and very little sunshine. The garden has flooded twice- looks like we will be re-planting our beans. My tomato plants have started wilting, too- too much water around the roots and not enough sunshine.

Farm Chick Paula is not happy either.

On a happier note, we are out of the drought we've been in for three years, so I'll not complain. (Too much.) And I'm really excited about my little apple and pear trees- this is what I found this morning....

Several of you commented on my last post about Daisy and Edie's wool and asked what I did with it- and to be perfectly honest, I've never done anything with it... until now. I've always wanted to try felting, so with some careful shearing this time, (I'm getting better at it, just still VERY SLOW) and some wonderful advice from my friend Kathy from Cedar Pond, I'm going to attempt to clean and felt their beautiful grayish-black colored wool. I'll let you know how I do for my first attempt.

Oh, and it seems the little one-egg game is still going on up at the banty coop. Apparently, whoever's bottom touches the egg last before it hatches will be the winner. (And the momma.)

These two are daughters of the Little Terrorist, by the way.... can you see the resemblance?

Scary, isn't it?