The Fraker Farm

Friday Farm Fotos: Good Morning!

2012-02-03T06:43:00.014-05:00

Good morning, Sun!

Good morning, Barn Boots!

Good morning, Edie!

Good morning, Shadow! (I wish I were as thin as you...)

Good morning, Silkies!

Good morning, Li... oh, nevermind...

Good morning, world..... I hope it's a wonderful day wherever you are!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: A Little Corner of my Home

2012-02-01T07:02:00.009-05:00

Spotlight on Hubby

2012-01-24T07:00:00.213-05:00

Since tomorrow is our wedding anniversary, I thought I would do a little post about my Hubby.....

I feel so blessed to be married to my best friend- who also just happens to be the sweetest person I know-but even better for me, he's hardworking and pretty talented as well. One thing that impresses me about him is that he always puts his best into every project, and if he doesn't know how to do something, he is always willing to learn or try something new.

Among other things, he built the sheep barn, chicken coop, and his tractor shed all by himself (well, I rendered as much help as I could...) along with some beautiful things for inside the house,

like my kitchen island-

Last summer, he dug an old hay wagon out of the weeds and restored it... I really wish I had taken some "before" pictures because it was literally nothing but a rusted hunk of metal but he turned it into a beautiful working piece of equipment-

After his surgery last month, he was pretty much out of commission as far as doing anything around here.... he was getting restless just sitting in the house so he started passing the days

cleaning and organizing his little workshop.

Here he is in his shop, along with one very nosy bulldog.

I have a special place in my heart for beautiful woodwork because my Daddy was a master carpenter...

as a little girl I can remember seeing all the gorgeous cabinets, tables, bookcases that came out of his little shop, as well as two of my most prized possessions-

when I was a teenager he made Mother and I matching jewelry boxes out of walnut wood,

a little one for me and a big one for her.

In the last few years Hubby has tried to learn as much as he could about woodworking from Dad,

and all of a sudden, it must be sinking in because he has really gotten into working in his little shop.

I think he's been bitten by the creative bug.....

He's spent the last couple of weeks working on some really neat little projects,

like this box for Lily's toys-

Look at these gorgeous box joints that Hubby cut on his router- and they fit together perfectly!

This was his very first attempt at making these....I'm so proud of him.

Lily is checking to make sure it's big enough to hold all of her toys.

(And probably making sure there's room for more if need be...)

The box isn't finished yet- it still needs to be sanded and stained... but once it's done I'll post some more pictures of it, and maybe by then he'll be working on his next masterpiece. *grin*

Happy Anniversary, Sweetie... and Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: Mr. Bluebird stops by for a drink

2012-01-18T08:52:00.001-05:00

Slowly getting back to normal

2012-01-12T06:50:00.018-05:00

Lily and Tiny passing along some barnyard gossip.

January is rolling along and I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks... I just can't seem to get caught up! Christmas and New Year came and went rather quickly for me this year... actually everything has been a blur to me lately. Once again, thanks so much for your prayers and well-wishes.... Hubby is doing very well since his surgery. He is still having some discomfort from the incision but hardly any pain in his leg or back at all now.

Hubby and I had been talking for some time about exercising more and getting back into shape, and since we live close to several state parks and trails we even talked about doing some fun things like hiking or riding bicycles.
I was very excited about this back in the fall and had big plans to surprise Hubby with two new bikes for Christmas, but the surprise was on me when we found out in early December that he would need surgery to repair the disc in his back.
By then it was too late to send the bikes back, so I had to go ahead and tell Hubby that there would be no presents under the tree other than my ~~bonehead~~ premature purchase.

So, our shiny new Christmas presents are in the spare bedroom on their shiny new bike rack where they will have to stay until Hubby gets the O.K. from the doctor to be able to start riding.... we are walking a little bit each day and hopefully he will get the go-ahead soon. I used to love to ride bikes but I haven't been on one in a long time and I'm a little scared- I have a feeling my leg muscles are in pretty sad shape right now.

However, Lily has already been enjoying her Christmas present-

she now has something to ride in right along with us when we start biking...

her very own "car"!

Actually it's a bike trailer for pets that doubles as a stroller -

Here she is checking it our for the first time....

(This is with the stroller wheel on the front.)

I think she liked it...

In fact, we brought her "car" back inside the house and a short time later I couldn't find Lily...

I looked everywhere and here's where I finally found her-

Sitting in her new ride.

And she wouldn't come out...

not even for a treat.

Do you think she's trying to tell me something?

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Even though the chores around here have been keeping me busy,

I've found time to get some sewing done.....

it's been nice working at my machine while Hubby naps in his chair in the living room.

I'll be showing you in an upcoming post what I've been working on but right now

I wanted to share some pictures of the fabric I bought a few weeks ago.

This was my first online fabric purchase- I was very unsure about buying fabric sight-unseen because I like to put my hands on it (I know that sounds nutty...) but once it arrived I was very pleased, especially since I live a pretty good distance away from any place that sells fabric. Now I'm excited about the idea of being able to pick out fabric from home and have it delivered to my door, and I've been spending most of my computer time adding more fabric and notions to my online "wish list".

I'm not really a cat person, but when I saw this fabric called "Parlor Pets" I thought it was too cute not to buy to make an apron or something for a cat lover...

I just love the honeybees in this next fabric- see if you can spot them.

And of course I had to find something chickie".... *grin*

Well, I'm off to run errands today instead of Friday- snow is in the forecast for tonight and even though I don't think it will do anything, I want to be the first one in the grocery store.

*haha*

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Final Farm Fotos of 2011: No party animals here

2011-12-31T06:55:00.010-05:00

As the sun sets on another year, we get ready to welcome in the new......

Thanks to the new lights that were put in a few weeks ago by Hubby and his brother (who just happens to be a great electrician), it looks like a festive party might be taking place in the sheep barn.

In reality, once the sheep come inside the barn for the night

and fill their bellies at the feed troughs, they will probably pass out until morning.

No big celebration for the chickens either,

who will have been asleep for nearly 6 hours by the time midnight rolls around.

There probably won't be much of a party inside the house....

just Hubby and I sipping coffee and sharing a box of these.

(Which for me beats being at Times Square on New Year's Eve any day.)

After stuffing ourselves with the worlds' best doughnuts,

me, Hubby, and Lily will snuggle by the fire and watch the festivities on TV.

Actually, we will probably start out watching a football game

then fall asleep halfway through the second quarter.

*Sigh*

We're such party animals around here...

So long, 2011.....

And hello, 2012!

Happy New Year, everyone!

We're home!

2011-12-23T16:28:00.006-05:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Hubby came through his surgery just fine,

and now we're home resting and recuperating.

And there was one mighty sad little bulldog who had to stay home all alone that was really happy to see us when we got back. In fact, she hasn't let hubby out of her sight all day today....

Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes, dear blog friends.... they mean so much to me.

Be back next week- Merry Christmas, everyone!

My wish...

2011-12-20T06:19:00.067-05:00

This will probably be my last post until after Christmas-

Hubby is having surgery this week to repair a herniated disc in his back

and we will be spending a quiet holiday at home while he recuperates.

In between taking care of everything

(and everyone) around here, I will still be visiting my blog friends ....

My wish for all who reads this is that you have the most wonderful Christmas ever,

with plenty of joy and laughter and time spent with the ones you love.

"And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you:

ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

Wordless Wednesday: Lily's first Christmas card

2011-12-14T06:42:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin seeds and Decorations

2011-12-08T07:45:00.004-05:00

December Sunrise

This morning I'm toasting the last of the pumpkin seeds I saved from our fall decorations.... I had planned on saving some for adding a tasty little crunch to our tossed salads from time to time, but I doubt very seriously if they will last that long. I ate most of the first batch as soon as they came out of the oven and this time I had to try and control myself to keep it from happening again.

I seem to have acquired a taste tester in the kitchen.... I don't even want to think about what pumpkin seeds would do to her digestive system, so she'll just have to settle for something else to sample.
(And preferably something that won't give her any more gas than she already has....)

Mmmmmmm... they're still sizzling....
Can you hear them?

They're saying, "Don't wait until we cool off... savor the flavor NOW."
*Sigh*

"Please?"
"Just one little taste won't hurt me..."

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Hubby got the Christmas wreath up on the barn last week.....

The sheep are happy with it... but the Silkies? Not so sure...

Their coop is right next door to the barn and every time the ribbon flaps in the wind,

they think the world's largest hawk is coming in for a landing.

One of my goals is to some day have all handmade ornaments on our Christmas tree. I only have just a handful right now, but I'm getting there by adding a few more every year.

I'm still working on my new ones for this year- I ordered this pattern from a website called Connecting Threads... my good blog friend and quilter Charlotte told me about them and said she had ordered fabric from them before. I saw the kit for these tiny little mitten ornaments in their online catalog and I just had to have it- the pattern came with everything you need to make all six of them including the felt and floss.

I know some of you probably like to collect certain type of Christmas decorations, like Santas or angels... my thing is snowmen. I just love all sizes and shapes, and especially their sweet faces. These are my caroling snowmen- aren't they cute?

I also love making the table look festive this time of year...

is it just me or do the meals seem cozier when the table is decorated? ;)

Well, I'm off to put some more wood on the fire,

then work on my little mittens and to do some blog visiting.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: Frosty

2011-11-30T06:55:00.000-05:00

Orchard trip

2011-11-22T06:59:00.002-05:00

The "fruits" of a wonderful day-
but I was beginning to wonder if the car would hold everything.

Quick picture post today- I'm having fun in the kitchen this week drying apples, toasting pumpkin seeds, and making preparations for the upcoming holidays, but I just wanted to share a few pictures of our recent trip to the apple orchard.
Hubby and I usually head toward middle Tennessee to make our fall apple run but this year we decided to take a different route.... my wonderful friend Tammy from the blog Simple Southern Happiness posted last month about her trip to a place in North Georgia called Mercier Orchards, and her pictures looked so wonderful I had to see it for myself. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take any pictures while we were there because a certain bulldog had a very full bladder by the time we arrived, and in our haste to find a potty spot I left my camera in the car. I did take some pictures of the view on our way home, however....

This is part of the North Georgia mountains......

And this is looking back toward Tennessee.... Chattanooga is way off in the distance.

This was about a 3 hour drive for us, but well worth it because the drive is so beautiful this time of year.

Once Lily emptied her bladder and had a snack, she pretty much slept the rest of the way home. (Except for when we stopped at Chik-Fil-A....)

When we got back home and unloaded the car, I took some pictures of my goodies....

Apples, of course- a bag of Arkansas Blacks for my daddy and for Hubby, and a large bag of cooking apples for me.

A bag of yummy sweet potatoes....

Some homemade fried pies from their bakery...

These next items made me squeal when I put them in the shopping cart- harvest nut and grain pancake mix and real maple syrup. *SQUEEEAL* Oh, sorry.. I did it again....

This stuff is out of this world- muscadine cider. It's so much better than grape juice- it's not too sweet but has a wonderful fruity flavor.

This was Hubby's favorite part of the stash- grape jelly and pumpkin butter for his toast and biscuits plus yummy zucchini pickles and black bean salsa for snacking.

It was neat to see some items in their cold storage that we are very familiar with- fresh sliced bacon from Benton's Country Ham and cheese from Sweetwater Valley Farm- both of them local products from East Tennessee.

And lastly- there was no way I was leaving there without this....

Now my biggest dilemma is... where do I start? *YUMMY*

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I just want to say how thankful I am to have such wonderful blog friends who visit here
and take the time to read about the little everyday happenings in my life....

I hope everyone has a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Friday Farm Funny: I see London, I see France.....

2011-11-18T06:03:00.012-05:00

Around here we try to recycle things as much as possible, and that includes worn-out clothing that has reached the unwearable stage. I have a little container in the laundry room that we call the "rag box" where all the ragged socks, t shirts- and yes, undies- are washed and placed in to be used for everything from dusting ceiling fans and waxing cars to cleaning up greasy hands and dirty shoes.
This garment was used for the messy task of cleaning up our paintbrushes (and our hands) while we were staining the house, but I forgot to throw it away and didn't realize it was still hanging around until I went looking for my scrub brush.
Now, I'm not going to tell you who these belonged to, but I will say this much- I would love to think I owned a pair of undies that could be used to clean a paintbrush and the elastic still hold up this good on them.
But I don't.
And that's all I'm gonna say.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Looking at the world through a phone

2011-11-15T10:20:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had bought an external hard drive to store all my pictures and videos from my computer, and I forgot all about all the pictures I had taken with my phone's camera....
*sigh* (More pictures?)

Hubby and I bought our new cell phones in the summer of 2010 and we weren't really that hung up on having ones with built-in cameras; but since then I've found out that I like having the camera feature. (And so does he, surprisingly.)
These pictures are not nearly as good as my "real" camera, but they're little random snapshots in time of our life over the past year.

12/20/10- The day we brought Lily home. (She was 10 weeks old.)

Another one of Lily as a pup.

My special girls- Daisy and Edie.

Cecil crowing.

Meatball peeks through the gate.....

A cotton field in Georgia.

Lily watching something educational on TV.

Tiny little bluebird eggs in the spring.

Pola after her brush with death back in the summer.

A huge Luna Moth.

Road trip- Lily checks to see if Hubby brought her back anything to eat.

On the road again....

Following Hubby into the hayfield.

Our first frost in October.

Lily riding shotgun.

Hubby took this one from his tractor seat.

I took this one from my car seat.

Thanks for letting me share some more random pictures!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Friday Farm Fotos: Fall Happenings

2011-11-11T08:32:00.000-05:00

Shy Mr. Redbird waits for me to move so he can land on the feeder.

For some reason time has just flown by these past few weeks.... I can hardly believe it's almost the middle of November and Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away! I've been busier than an ant in a picnic basket lately but it seems like there just haven't been enough hours in the day to get everything done. I also can't believe it's been over two weeks since I posted anything....

Things are finally starting to slow down around here, especially since the time changed and the days are getting shorter..... *ugh*... but at least now I can get back in the swing of being on here a little more regularly and stay caught up with all my bloggy friends.

Thanks for all your sweet birthday wishes- I had a wonderful day.
In case you were wondering what my sweet Hubby gave me-

A barn star! *SQUEEEAL*

I also enjoyed a wonderful day trip with Hubby and Lily to the apple orchard and saw some
beautiful fall colors and cute decorations along the way.

Speaking of fall decorations, it won't be long until my cute little pumpkins will have to go in order to make room for Christmas decorations....
*sigh*
But at least I'll have some yummy pies and toasted pumpkin seeds to enjoy from them. (Yay!)

We've had some gorgeous warm weather this week and I know it won't last, so I've found any excuse I could to be outside in the sunshine.

Lily is loving it too.... here she is taking a walk to ponder the meaning of life.

(Actually she's looking for a place to potty.)

"I heard that."

The pasture is pretty much gone until spring so the sheep are now enjoying the fruits of our summer labor- they've been dining on the hay we put up this year, although that doesn't stop them from trying to snatch up every last little green sprig they see in the field.....

After a bumper crop of baby chicks this year, (I stopped counting at 42... *whew*)

I sold most of them so I wouldn't have to feed them all winter

but kept a few of my "favorites" from August's unexpected hatching.

They are now in the company of a lonely little Silkie roo from the first batch in June.

(Yep, he's pretty happy about that arrangement.)

Here is one of the girls I kept- she is already starting to get a beautiful silky "hairdo".

After we finally got the house washed and applied a new coat of stain, Hubby built a beautiful new railing for the front porch.....

Here it is from the front.... we will have to wait until the wood dries before we can paint it to match the porch- probably not until spring.

Well, that's about all the latest news from around the farm- at least now you know I am still around and haven't been abducted by aliens or something....

*grin*

And finally- I want to say how proud I am of the veterans in my family, including my daddy.....I am so thankful for all who have served our country past and present. May we never forget that freedom is NOT free.....

Happy Veterans Day, everyone!

Like I need an excuse to eat cake...

2011-10-27T08:40:00.002-04:00

I didn't feel any different when I woke up this morning, but according to the calender I'm now 42.

*Sigh*

Funny..... this one kinda crept up on me. Do birthdays get sneakier the more you have of them? Hmmm...
Oh well, there aren't any wrinkles a little piece of cake won't smooth over. :)

I'll be spending the day drying some apples and cleaning up my sewing room... as for a celebration, that will have to wait until tomorrow- Hubby is taking off from work and we're taking a little day trip with Lily to enjoy the fall colors and do some shopping along the way.

Speaking of Lily, I think she's finally recovered from her Birthday celebration a couple of weekends ago... Here is a picture of her right before her big night began-

The tiara didn't even make it to the car, but once we got into town she had a couple of chicken nuggets from Chik-Fil-A, her favorite restaurant.... (okay, actually it's mine but I'm pretty sure she likes it too...)
And gots lots of love and affection from everybody in the pet store plus two new toys, so it was a pretty big night for a 1-year-old.

I'll be back next week- have a great weekend, everybody!

Friday Funny: Farm Fotos that didn't make the cut

2011-10-21T06:41:00.075-04:00

Last week I bought a new external hard drive to store all the important files on my computer... it was something I have been needing to do for a while. The last time I tried to back-up my computer, it said the drive I was using didn't have enough memory- in other words, the folders containing all my pictures, videos and documents are too big to fit on there now. This could be because while going through some of my files I had no idea how many pictures I've saved over the last 5 years....
The camera I am using now was a Christmas present back in 2006 and I have taken literally thousands of pictures with it. Not to mention the pictures I haven't kept- for every good picture I take, I've probably taken 15 not-so-good-ones. I usually delete the dark, blurry, or random ones off the card before they ever get to the computer.

Some have fallen through the cracks along the way, though...

For example-

Silkie, exit stage left.

Mockingbird, exit stage right.

Apparently I saved this rare photo of a headless bird for a reason.

(I think it's head was turned. I hope.)

This next picture defies any logical explanation I have.

In the first place, why was I holding a dead snake on a pitchfork.

In the second place, Why did I take a picture of it?

Do I have issues?

It always helps to move the screen door out of the way before taking a picture.

Much better.

Here are some random pictures that need to be filed under something.

Wool.

Wabbit.

Wainbow.

I'll just file them under... "W".

This picture of little Edie when she was just 6 months old has a funny story behind it- I grabbed my camera to take this because she was standing so still I thought she was posing for me. Turns out, her head is stuck in the fence. (Look closely and you'll see the little square around her neck.) The sad thing is, I snapped about 10 pictures before I finally started wondering why she wasn't moving.

Speaking of Edie and Daisy, you sure can't say Daisy is camera shy. In fact, every time I have my camera outside trying to take a pretty picture, she always winds up in it somehow.

*Sigh*

"Yoo-hoo! I'm ready for my close-up!"

There are times when you take a picture but you don't see everything through the tiny little lens....

While posting about how cold it was last winter,

I took this next picture of me breaking the ice out of the sheep's water.

Once I saw it on the big computer screen, I decided it would be best not to include this one.

Although I've taken lots and lots of bad or random pictures, each one has a little special memory attached to them- and I guess that's why I take them in the first place.....

Even if it's of somebody's rear!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Honey crop 2011

2011-10-19T14:26:00.004-04:00

I've been working in a sticky (but sweet) situation for the past couple of days- we helped dad with his bees and now I'm in the process of draining the honey from two large containers into quart and pint jars. In between fillings I've been trying to make the rounds and catch up on my blog friends...

This years' honey crop is about half of last years- 5 gallons compared to 9 last year. Dad seemed to think the dry hot summer left the bees with little to work with.

But I still think it's beautiful... *Sigh*

If you are as fascinated by the interesting little honey bee as much I am, or know nothing about them and would like to know more- click on these links to go to some of my older honey bee posts.

Want to see a video of me "feeding" a honey bee some sugar water? Click here.
Want to learn some interesting and cool facts about bees you might not know? Click here.
Want to learn more about the process of "taking off" the honey from the hive? Click here.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Friday Farm Fotos: Whole lotta paintin' goin' on

2011-10-14T10:04:00.000-04:00

After several rainy days in a row, it's nice to see the sunrise this morning!

And then of course, the fog moves in...

Instead of "Gorillas in the Mist", this is "Sheep in the Fog."

Lily poses in front of my Fall decorations.

The pumpkins have now been test-licked for freshness.

Remember back in the March when we built the bovine barrier?

We finally got around to painting it.

We liked the color so much, we got a few more gallons and...

Painted the big barn....

Painted the sheep barn.....

Painted Hubby's tractor shed....

And painted the chicken coop.

The Silkies are especially thrilled with the new paint job!

Really, they are.... they just have a funny way of showing it...

The house is next, but we won't be painting it- it just needs a fresh coat of stain and we're using same color that's on it now.

But before we do that, we are going to celebrate Lily's birthday, which was yesterday...

Look out PetSmart- here we come!

(And Chik-fil-A... her favorite restaurant...*grin*)

Happy Friday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: The grass is always greener.....

2011-10-12T06:09:00.009-04:00

The Wedding and the Winner

2011-10-04T08:24:00.000-04:00

The winner of my pumpkin giveaway will be announced at the bottom of this post, but first I wanted to share some pictures of my nephew's wedding, which was this past Saturday. The setting was a wonderful farm with a gorgeous view of the Smoky Mountains in the background, and even though it was a chilly fall-like day, an outdoor wedding in a place like this couldn't have been more perfect.

This is the building where the reception was held.... isn't it beautiful?

Down the hill from the reception hall is where the ceremony would take place....

Here come the guys.....

The parents, grandparents, and bridesmaids were brought down the hill by carriage.

My brother walking my sister-in-law to her seat...

My cousin's precious little boy, Aiden, waiting for the girls to arrive from their carriage.

This is Georgia, the adorable little flower girl.

The bride and her Dad also arrived in a beautiful carriage......

As soon as Shelby and her Dad started their walk down the aisle, the sun came out from behind the clouds.

The vows....

Mr. and Mrs. Nick Young!

And for a moment, I couldn't help a couple of tears that fell....

One for all the years that have flown by so quickly since Nick was a little boy, and one for my Mother who didn't get to see her beloved grandson get married....

*Sigh*

Then it was back up the hill for the reception.....

The inside of the reception hall was so cozy inside with it's beautiful barn lights on the walls.

My two precious aunts- my mom's sisters- having a good time.

Late into the night everyone ate lots of delicious barbecue and laughed and danced and had such a wonderful time...

Beautiful festive candles burned everywhere and a fire outside for the children to make s'mores made the evening complete.

Congratulations, Nick and Shelby- may God bless you with many wonderful years together!

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And now- for the winner of my fabric pumpkin......

I assigned every comment a number in the order they were left on the last post, then used a random number generator from CalculatorPro.com to pick for me:

My Random Number is

24.00

Random Number Calculator

Comment #24 belongs to... Dawn! (Blogger user name dsblanchard.)

Congratulations, Dawn- email me your address and the pumpkin will be on it's way to you!

Happy Tuesday, everyone... thanks for letting me share my nephew's special day with you!

No pie in this punkin's future, just a new home!

2011-09-27T06:20:00.007-04:00

My poor little blog has been neglected lately and I've sure missed keeping up with all my blog friends- but I've been so busy with some projects in and around the house for the past couple of weeks I haven't had much time for my computer.
One of the more enjoyable projects I've been working on was making a few more fabric pumpkins to add with my other fall decor. It's a really cute pattern and very easy to make. I've enjoyed sharing a few of them with my blog friends every Fall and this year will be no different- I'm giving away the pumpkin in the picture above and all you have to do to be entered into the drawing is leave a comment. Oh, and in your comment- tell me what you like best about Fall... a visit to an apple orchard? Pumpkin patches and corn mazes? Cool crisp mornings and the changing of the leaves? The drawing is open to everyone, even if you've never left a comment before. I would love to hear from you, too! Just be sure to leave an email address in your comment if you don't have a Blogger or Wordpress profile.

The winner will be announced on next Tuesday's post and hopefully I'll also have some pictures of my nephew's wedding- which is this Saturday- to share with you then, too. On the other hand, I may be so caught up in the moment I forget to take a single picture. (Which is highly possible when it comes to things like that...)

And just for a laugh, I wanted to share some pictures someone sent me in an email... I'm sure some of you have already seen them but I wanted to share it with everyone because I think they're really cute.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Friday Farm Fotos: Ode to Charlotte

2011-09-16T08:26:00.001-04:00

My all-time favorite book as a child was Charlotte's Web..... I loved the story of cunning little spider Charlotte and her friend Wilbur the pig. To this day I remember certain parts of the book even though it's been years since I've read it- like Fern pleading for her dad to spare the little runt piglet because "he couldn't help being born small!" and Wilbur getting his "buttermilk bath" for the county fair. I especially identified with Fern because at the time I was introduced to the book, she and I were the same age.
(8 years old.)

I was out with my camera one morning this week trying to get some pictures of the sunrise and happened upon some amazing webs draped with mist from the morning's fog. I stopped for a minute to snap a few pictures, and then smiled.... I never see a spider web (or walk into one.... *ugh*) that I don't think about Charlotte writing the words "Some Pig" and "Terrific" in her web. And even though I've never been a big fan of spiders (other than Charlotte), I can't help but be fascinated by their delicate, silky masterpieces.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Friday Funny: Waking up is hard to do, Part III

2011-09-09T09:36:00.001-04:00

Lily doesn't do mornings.... can you tell?

In case you missed them, Parts I and II can be found here and here.

We've had some heavy rains for most of this week which made it impossible to do anything outside- so it seemed like a good time to get my fall decorations out and get them ready to put up when the weather improved. I decided that since I was in the closet moving things around I would go ahead and clean it out and donate some unused items.
Well, you know how that goes.... one closet leads to another.... then another....
I'll be back in a few days, providing I'm not buried under by a closet avalanche- until then, I'll be catching up with all my blog friends to see what I've missed this week.
Happy Friday, everyone!

Ducky and her orthopedic shoes

2011-08-31T06:12:00.008-04:00

This is Ducky.

These are Ducky's feet.

Notice how they curl?
Ducky can't straighten her toes.

In all my years of raising baby chicks, this is the first time I've encountered this.

I first noticed Ducky's feet when she was 2 days old..... I could tell she wasn't able to walk or stand very steady like the other chicks, so I picked her up and was shocked at what I saw. She also seemed to have some other problems- she was not interested in food or water and she was a lot smaller than any of the other chicks. I swallowed hard and thought maybe it was best to let nature take it's course, if you know what I mean....

But you know me- I couldn't let go without at least giving Ducky a fighting chance.

She was at once put on some drops of some special liquid baby formula (powdered vitamins and sugar water) and after spending several hours on the internet researching chicks with curled or deformed feet I found what I had been looking for. Apparently this is not an uncommon occurrence, and frankly I was a little surprised that I had never had this happen before. I'm still not sure what caused Ducky's problem, but according to some of the helpful websites I found it could have been caused by several different things. I also found the directions for making splints for the toes to correct the problem using cardboard and tape- but only if it was caught in time. I was optimistic that Ducky was young enough that her feet could be fixed- that is, if she survived the next few days.

A day passed, then another... then another...

After three days of giving her my special formula, she seemed to be getting a little stronger.

Ducky was.... well, plucky!

I brought her into the house to fit her for her special booties to correct the toes, and had to get out my magnifying glasses because her feet were so tiny. To make matters worse, Silkies have 5 toes instead of 4 like other chickens do, and trying to cram the little toes of a squirmy baby chick onto a tiny piece of cardboard was going to be a real test of my patience. (Not to mention eyesight.)
But if Ducky was going to have a chance for normal feet it was now or never.

Lily, meet Ducky.
Ducky, Lily.

Here are the "soles" of her booties....

Here we are with one shoe on, one to go; then it's just a matter of trimming off the excess tape and cardboard without cutting Ducky's feet. (As if this hasn't been nerve-wracking enough already...)

And here she is with her new shoes! Maybe this will help explain why I named her Ducky- she looks like she has webbed feet.

She continued getting her daily formula to build up her strength.

I waited for 3 days before taking off the booties.....

Here are Ducky's feet now!

Unfortunately, she lost the left shoe at some point without me noticing and it didn't have time to work like the other one did. You can see the middle toe is still curled some, but the right foot- which was actually worse than the left one anyway- looks great. The best part is she can walk and stand just like normal! I could splint the left one again, but Ducky seems to be glad to be rid of her special shoes and for now she is walking great so I may just leave it be.

Ducky still has along way to go... she is so much smaller than the other chicks. But she is back with the others and doing good, and I'll continue to give her formula until I'm satisfied she is eating and drinking like she should. Ducky has proven to be a tough little gal so far, so I'm hoping for the best!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Friday Farm Fotos: A little "Biddy" surprise....

2011-08-26T06:23:00.036-04:00

If you've read this blog for any time at all, you know my love for baby chicks borders on insanity.
However, I try to contain myself so I won't become one of those people on that Animal Hoarders show that has 800 chickens running around.
I keep the Silkie population down by gathering the eggs as soon as I can because there is nothing those hens love more than to go broody and hatch babies.

But I think I've been outsmarted.

One day while cleaning weeds out around the coop I heard some familiar peeping noises coming from nest box # 3......

Surprise.

Yep, definitely outsmaah-ted.

Apparently, one of those sneaky little hens had an egg tucked under her so tightly that the egg went unnoticed during my nightly inspection of the nest boxes- even after I stuck my hand under her and felt around.

(Which I'm sure she enjoyed very much...)

*Sigh*

Well, you know me- I wouldn't want a baby chick to have to grow up all alone...

*snicker snort*

So, I let a few eggs lay around until someone got in the mood to sit on them.

(which of course took about 5 minutes....)

And a couple of weeks later-

You know what they say- chickens are like potato chips, you can't have just one.

Or twenty.

Happy Friday, everyone!

(peep!)

From my sewing room: A Special Gift

2011-08-23T06:21:00.072-04:00

My nephew Nick, 1989

There are milestones in my life from a few years ago that I can recall very well; graduation from college, buying a car on my own for the first time, my first "real" job.....

and all these events took place around the time my nephew Nick was born.

Nick and Shelby, 2011

And now the little baby boy that was born to my brother and sister-in-law 22 years ago is a wonderful and handsome young man with a bright future and an adorable fiancé to whom he is engaged to be married to this October.

(And he'll be sure to tell you he is my favorite nephew, too, and he is....
but he is also my only nephew. *grin*)

For their wedding I wanted to give them a special gift, and once I saw they had black towels on their wish list I thought personalizing them with a simple white monogram with their last initial (Y) would be just the thing. (Nuthin' fancy, because they're not into the "fru-fru" stuff. *grin*)

I got to work by first digitizing a monogram on the computer..... this is actually the hardest part because the computer design has to be "clean" enough for the stitches to look neat once it's ready to embroider. Once I'm happy with the design, it's as simple as transferring the design to the computer card and popping it into the machine.

Next comes the most nerve-wracking part for me: placement of the design. I have to carefully measure to make sure it's centered perfectly in the middle and not off to one side.

After I mark where the design will be, the hoop is placed over the top along with an embroidery "topper" to keep the stitches from sinking into the nap of the towels so the design will look nice and smooth. Once the machine has finished sewing, you just tear it away, leaving nothing but the design. It looks and feels a lot like cellophane, but is a lot thinner and is also water soluble in case it doesn't all tear off at first try.

The machine takes over from there....

And....

Ta-da!

This is how the design looks on the bath towel;

I just had to resize the design to make it smaller for the hand towels and washcloths.

I also commissioned my friend Dani, who has a wonderful new ETSY shop, to make a special stitchery for their bathroom- done in black work with a black frame.

Thanks, Dani- I know they're going to love it.

Now if I can just convince myself he's all grown up and soon-to-be married...

*SIGH*

Time passes so quickly, doesn't it?

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Corners of my Home: Cock-a-doodle-doo!

2011-08-17T09:45:00.002-04:00

Lily wants to ride

2011-08-10T11:15:00.001-04:00

Which do you think Lily would rather do-

eat or ride in the car?

Friday Farm Fotos: Summer Evening

2011-08-05T07:40:00.000-04:00

It's a warm summer evening around the farm....

Lily is tired of being inside all day and is on the move.

"You talking about me again?"

The time for cleaning out the fence row is after the sun goes down.

Instead of picking grass, the sheep are enjoying their fan before it's turned off for the night.

Big Bird has been going to bed early since her partner in crime, Sarge, is no longer here to keep her out late chasing bugs.....

Lily wants to take a ride on the 4-wheeler.

Across the ridge you can almost see the humidity in the air.

79 degrees at sunset- a little cooler than last night's 86.

I think I'll grab a jacket.

*grin*

Across the road someone's dogs are barking... probably at deer.

The moon slowly appears as the sun disappears....

And the barn light that comes on automatically at dark means it's time to call it a day.

Goodnight, world....

Happy Friday, everyone!

Goodbye Sarge

2011-08-02T13:56:00.001-04:00

Sunset over the barn

It's a feeling I never get used to... the feeling that comes over me whenever I lose a member of my farm family. No matter how many animals I've lost (and believe me, it's been a bunch...) I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that they're gone.
Gone.
Even days afterwards I'm still counting heads and missing one....

Yesterday I lost one of my favorite hens in the whole world... Sarge.
Now just for the record, Sarge was no sweet cuddly chicken who loved to be picked up and held or made on over... but she was so unique and quirky it was laughable and this endeared her to me. She was odd-looking from the beginning; she had a huge comb that made you swear at first glance she was a rooster, and beautiful dark plumage around her head and neck that gave way to golden mottled feathers on her back and bottom. But it was her personality that made her such a hoot... almost like a drill sargent she made the other hens walk the line. There was no question who was at the top of the pecking order in her coop, and if you tried to buck the system you were rewarded with a swift peck on the head. And when I came to the coop with treats, the other hens would gleefully come running while Sarge would cock her head to the side and glance at me with one eye as if to say, "this better be good."

I was so very sad when I found the pile of beautiful feathers she had left behind in her struggle with the predator, but I had to smile when I saw another pile... then another pile... I have no doubt she put up some kind of fight, and I had to chuckle when I pictured the predator thinking to itself that she was probably the toughest piece of meat it had ever tried to devour.
Her sister and constant companion Big Bird is very silent and still today... almost as if she is missing her and waiting for her to come back.

I started to post a picture of the feathers that were left behind, but then I thought, "no, that's not fitting enough for Sarge".... so instead I'll post my favorite picture of her- the way I will always remember her, with her head tilted and giving me the "look".

Sleep tight, Sarge..... you will be missed.

Taking it easy

2011-07-27T03:51:00.005-04:00

I've been out of commission for a couple of days this week after receiving some kind of nasty insect bite- I'm not sure what it was since I didn't see the culprit but I'm thinking possibly a spider.

The grass needs cutting and the chicken coops need cleaning, but I still don't feel like being outside much right now... so I'll be taking it easy like Lily is in the picture above and visiting my blog friends today.

Happy Wednesday, everyone...

Friday Farm Funny: Chickie Puberty

2011-07-22T01:16:00.010-04:00

Remember these cute, fuzzy little chickies from just a couple of months ago?

Well, that has given way to this:

TEEN-AGED CHICKIE PUNK ROCKERS!

Okay, so maybe it's not that bad....

Happy Friday, everyone!

A finished project (Finally!)

2011-07-19T05:50:00.012-04:00

"Rollin', rollin', rollin',

Keep those feed dogs rollin'...."

A few months ago (March, to be exact...) I shared a really cute pattern I found online for a reversible bag. Here is the picture from the website-

(If you missed that post and would like the pattern you can find it here.)

I've tried to stay out of the heat as much as possible lately, so while indoors I got busy sewing and finally finished my bag:

Although it looks navy blue in the picture, it's actually black.

But the lining/ reverse side?

Hang on to your hats:

Here is the close-up:

Is this not the custest fabric you've ever seen?

*squeeeal*

It makes me smile every time I look at it.

As for the plain black side, I dressed it up with some sunny yellow topstitching.

I've always been intimidated by topstitching although I love the way it looks when it's done right... my topstitch seams always wound up crooked and I had to tear them out and redo them 5 or 6 times before I usually just gave up. Last year I bought a topstitch foot with my birthday money... I never knew this beautiful thing existed but I will never attempt to topstitch without it again. Some of you sewers may already have one of these and know how they work- if not, you can see the little stitch guide to one side that actually fits over the edge of the fabric and guides you while you sew.

Whoever thought of this brilliant idea- I love you.

I also put a snap on my bag to close the top.

I can still reverse it, though- the snap doesn't really show up much on the chickie side.

My chickie bag is done!

*********************************

I received some handmade goodies in the mail last week from my good friend Vickie from the blog The Virginia Purl- she made a bunch of knitted dishcloths for me in blue to match my kitchen colors! And they are so soft, too.

Thanks, Vickie- they're perfect!

Wait- Lily has to inspect them.....

They are now "Lily-tested" and "Lily-approved"!

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

Friday Farm Fotos: JUMP!

2011-07-15T05:45:00.010-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: Cold or Hot?

2011-07-13T04:43:00.004-04:00

2/1/11, 5:52 p.m.: 22° F

7/9/11, 8:45 p.m.: 92° F

Friday Farm Fotos: I love......

2011-07-08T07:15:00.001-04:00

Unexpected rainbows....

A tree full of pears.

A hubby that likes to landscape.

Making homemade ice cream.

Tiki lamps!

Old hens......

Nature's surprises- like these corn stalks growing behind the barn.

(Which we didn't plant, but apparently the birds did... indirectly.)

*grin*

BLT's for supper.

(With fried bologna instead of bacon- YUMMY!)

Chicks when they start to get their feathers....

Sheep lookin' for a treat!

The manure spreader my daddy gave me for my birthday last year, because you should "never let good fertilizer go to waste."

A front porch with rocking chairs in the afternoon shade.

Happy Friday, everybody....

What are some things you love?

And she lives to cluck again

2011-07-05T09:01:00.007-04:00

If you live off the beaten path and have animals of any kind, predators are simply a part of life. They don't care that your animals have names, or that you raised them from babies... predators have babies of their own to feed and a meal is a meal.

And when you have chickens, this is the last thing you want to see...

Most days I turn my silkies out for a little 20-30 minute "recess" in the afternoon while I sit nearby underneath a shade tree with a book, keeping a watchful eye out for danger.
Friday was different- I had just arrived home from running errands and had a million things to do, so I decided to turn them out for just a few minutes while I unloaded the bags of chicken feed from the back of the car.

Then I heard it.

The awful noise of chickens under attack.... and knowing I wasn't fast enough to run up the hill in time. Smokey, however, is quick like lightning when "his birds" are in trouble, so he ran up the hill and into the woods with me huffing and puffing right behind him. In all the confusion I was trying to sort out if everyone was accounted for- the birds were upset and running for cover- but I knew from the knot in my stomach someone was missing. After doing a head count, I realized it was Pola, one of my splash silkies. Pola is named after the Marilyn Monroe character in "How to Marry a Millionaire" who was always bumping into things because of her terrible eyesight... Pola's feathers completely cover her eyes and she's been known to bump into the door of the coop and walk past the feeder three or four times before she finds it. Apparently, Pola also never saw the danger approaching until it was too late.
I followed the trail of feathers left behind and it looked like she put up a pretty good fight... and a couple of times I thought I heard her still moving around in the thick woods behind the coop, but after almost an hour of searching, Smokey and I turned and sadly walked back down the hill.

Hubby and I had plans for the evening and were gone until almost dark. We pulled up the driveway and something in the headlights caught my attention.... something was moving around the chicken coop.
I could not believe my eyes when we jumped out the car for a better look- it was Pola trying to find a way to get into the coop! She was filthy and very thirsty but seemed to be unharmed, except for a big bald spot where her little fuzzy bottom feathers used to be...*grin*...
Hubby and I both agreed it was Smokey who saved her life- when he ran through the woods it must have scared the predator enough that it dropped her and took off.

Way to go, little buddy. You're our Hero!

That night I started thinking about the conversation that could have been taking place in the chicken coop... the other hens might have noticed Pola's dirty feathers and bald spot and asked,

"what happened to you?"

I could almost imagine Pola telling the others,

"you wouldn't believe what kind of bad hair day this has been...."

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

Too much fun in the sun

2011-06-28T18:46:00.001-04:00

Lily loves to lay in the sunshine... but the 90-degree temperatures we're having (not to mention the 100% humidity)are making her outside trips a whole lot shorter these days, much to her dismay.

1:05 p.m.
"I don't need no stinkin' sunscreen..."

1:07 p.m.

"Ahhh... this is the life."

1:10 p.m.

"Whew, the sun sure is bright... should have worn my shades."

1:12 p.m.

"....wish my water dish wasn't so far away..."

1:15 p.m.
"Okay, this isn't fun anymore... can we go back inside now?"

Happy Tuesday, everybody- hope you're staying cool!

Mother of the Year and a new "Do"

2011-06-21T06:34:00.072-04:00

The final count on my Silkie baby hatchlings is... 25!

Or is it 24.... or 26?

(Whoever said not to count your chickens before they hatch obviously never tried to count them after they hatched....)

The "Fraker Farm Mother of the Year" award has to go to my splash Silkie hen, Freida- who has been given the monumental task of raising all these babies. The eggs were incubated the "natural" way (by hens instead of an incubator), so the chicks all hatched out at different times. They range in age from 2 weeks to 2 days.... every time one hatched I gave it a few hours to dry and fluff up, then it was off to the "maternity ward" with Freida so the chickie's mother could stay put on any unhatched eggs she was sitting on.
Freida herself hatched out 8 babies, and the other chicks were from three different hens. Why didn't I let them each raise their own, you ask? Well, I only have one coop set aside for raising chicks, and since Freida seemed to be the most "motherly" by gladly taking in each chick I handed her, she got the job.

And even though she seems to have all the right instincts, raising 25 young-uns' ain't no small feat.

If you think about it, that is a lot of Happy Meals....

**********************************

After the recent heat wave we had, I decided to go for a cooler haircut this summer... most of the year I keep my hair a little below the shoulder or even longer, but I realized it was just way too hot right now, especially when we were in the middle of putting up hay.

Here it is from the back..... still not real short, but the shortest it's been in a long time.

There is a down side to my new "do", however....

A lot more of the silvery-looking stuff is showing through now... YIKES!

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

For my Daddy...

2011-06-17T06:12:00.103-04:00

Dear Daddy,

I'm thankful to have the opportunity to wish you another Father's Day, and I will when I see you on Sunday.... but I don't think one day out of the year could ever be enough to express my love and gratitude for you. Of course I appreciate all you've done for me, but I also appreciate now more than ever all the many qualities about you that make you special.

Even though you had a pretty tough life growing up and your earliest memories were not of a loving and peaceful home, you were determined to make things different for me and Tim. You and Mother always made sure ours was a happy home where God was first and music was a big part of our lives. You took the time to encourage us and tell us we could do anything we set our mind to do.... and thanks to you to I still feel like I can tackle any obstacle because you told me "can't never could do anything."

Not many girls my age were fortunate enough to have a father who taught them how to change the oil in her car, sharpen a knife, and use a level and a hammer.... but these were things you thought were important enough for me to learn because you said "I might not always be around to show you how." I also remember you saying "Hard work never killed anybody, but laying around on the couch all day will"- although as a 10 year-old girl toting buckets of rocks out of the garden for you, that couch seemed mighty inviting at the time. But I understand now what you meant and I'm thankful for the work ethic those words instilled in me.

I'm also thankful you shared your love of animals with me... it's true that Mother loved animals too, although she was not very fond of the goats, especially after one got loose and jumped on the trunk of her new car. But you were the one who taught me that every living thing has value, and should be treated as such. You've spent so much time down through the years teaching me everything you know about chickens and honeybees.... and oh, how I've loved every minute of it- because the bees not only give us glorious honey, but also pollinate our gardens and fruit trees, not to mention how downright fascinating they are... and chickens? I can't count how many times I heard you say "to us it's just an egg; but to a hen, it's a full day's work." That's one saying I'll always remember and the reason I feel like crying when I accidentally break an egg...

Thank you for being my protector... like the time a boy who I did not want to have anything to do with wouldn't leave me alone (today it's called "stalking") and you went and found him and had a "talk" with him.... this boy was well over 6 feet tall, and you, all of 5 feet 7.... but after that, he never bothered me anymore. *grin*
Of course, I know how scary your stern little talks could be, too- you gave me more than one or two growing up.

Thanks for showing me what true love was as you cared for Mother while she was sick; I know some days you must be so lonely without her..... Tim and I miss her too but I can't imagine how you must feel with your companion of almost 50 years no longer by your side.

Most of all, Daddy- thanks for not trying to be perfect; or always expecting perfection from me only to be disappointed when I'm not, but being instead the perfect example of what a Father should be. Happy Father's Day.... I know I don't say it enough, but I'm proud that you're my father.
Love,
Your Daughter

Scenes from a hayfield

2011-06-14T07:40:00.001-04:00

Hubby mowing the hay

Wouldn't you know the time to work in the hay just happened to be right in the middle of the heatwave we've had for the last couple of weeks....

But now we have enough square bales in the barn to last our sheep for the winter and all of the rolls are sold- which is nice because we have a little extra jingle in our pockets.

Heading out into the field, Hubby in front with the baler and me behind with the rake.

The large scary-looking spear on the front of the tractor makes me wish I had one on my car sometimes.... I have a feeling no one would pull out in front of me with that on there.

Looking over my shoulder to make sure the rake isn't too close to the tire...

(BIG no-no.)

That's hubby with the baler in action... and no, he's not on fire- that's dust.

*cough cough*

Rolling it up.....

It's getting dark and there is still lots of hay left.... *sigh*...

Even though it's hard work, the real reward comes in the dead of winter when I can take comfort in knowing I have plenty for the sheep to eat.

Happy Tuesday, everybody!

It's a good thing she doesn't have to diaper all these babies....

2011-06-09T07:14:00.004-04:00

Still in the hay... our barn is full but there are still more bales in the field to pick up.

(But we're almost finished! YAY!)

Have a great weekend!

Friday Farm Foto: Hello, world!

2011-06-03T14:07:00.000-04:00

Today is not only errand day around here, but also the end of a long HOT week with record temperatures in the upper 90's. When I got back home I went up to the barn unload the feed bags and heard chirping coming from the chicken coop- I had the calender marked and thought my Silkie hens weren't supposed to start hatching for a couple more days, but looks like Sadie fooled me and got a jump on the other hens. (There are some bragging rights in the hen house for that, I'm sure. "Mine hatched first! Na-na-na!")

Thanks for your well-wishes for Lily- she is doing fine after her surgery, although this heat has been hard on her... she's been inside all the time except when bathroom breaks are necessary.

Thanks to the heat, the barn fans are going full blast right now...

(Edie likes to have her ears laid back from the fan.)

Looks like we're in for an early hot summer.

Short post today- I'm off to visit all my bloggy friends!

Happy weekend everybody!

Busy, busy...

2011-05-27T06:13:00.020-04:00

"I'm not sure what "fixed" means, but whatever it is,

I hope they never have to do that again."

I'll be spending the weekend taking care of Lily as she recuperates from some minor surgery.... once she's well enough that I can feel good about leaving her alone for a while, I'll be off helping Hubby in the hay field.

Hopefully things will slow down around here soon and I'll get my blogging mojo back.

Happy Memorial Day, everybody!

Dear computer, I have missed you.

2011-05-18T06:59:00.002-04:00

Sweet-smelling honeysuckle blooming in the fence row

Since I've worked my fingers to the bone the last week or so, I thought I would reward myself with a relaxing day of my favorite cuppa and some computer time. Besides, it looks like it's going to be a cold rainy Wednesday so there is nothing outside for me to do.... *grin*
I thought I would write just a short post to say "howdy" and to show you some of the things that have been going on around here lately, then I'm off to catch up with my blog friends....

Remember a few weeks ago when Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird had 5 sweet little eggs in their nest?

This is what they have in their house now...

Daisy and Edie got their spring haircuts last week....

Here is a very short video of me shearing a years' worth of wool off sweet little Edie:

It wasn't all work last week; Hubby and I took Lily on a shopping trip to PetSmart, where we bought her a pretty pink collar and a spiffy personalized name tag.

(We won't talk about all the new toys she came home with...)

As you can tell by this next picture, she thinks she's hot stuff with her new accessories.

And finally, Happy 5th Birthday to Sarge and Big Bird!

Once upon a time we ordered chicks from McMurray Hatchery and they were 2 days old when we picked them up from the post office; that was on May 15th, 2006. Sarge and Big Bird are the last survivors of that batch. It's a pretty big deal around here to turn 5 if you're a chicken, because thanks to all the predators and varmints running around the life expectancy of our chickens is not very long. These two even lived through the raccoon attacks that killed Hamburger and several of our green-egger hens, but somehow managed to survive.

Even though neither of them lay eggs anymore, they still have a job to do around here as resident bug catchers, but most of their days are spent finding a sunny spot to take a leisurely dust bath.

I have a lot of catching up to do, so I'm off to visit my blog friends.

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

Friday Funny: Waking up is hard to do, Part II

2011-05-06T06:46:00.041-04:00

I'm taking a short blog break to get caught up on some spring cleaning and outdoor chores, but I'll be back in a few days.....

In the meantime, Happy Mother's Day, dear friends- and if you are blessed to still have your mother, give her a big hug and tell her how much you love and appreciate her....

Friday Farm Photos: A good day for plowing

2011-04-29T06:16:00.046-04:00

This week's edition of Friday Farm Fotos was taken last Saturday at the annual Spring Plow Day in Crossville, TN.... Hubby's favorite day of the year.

(With the exception of the Fall Plow Day, his other favorite day of the year.)

They had a wonderful turnout this time with over 20 antique tractors and plows. The horse and mule teams were a bit of a disappointment with only 3 teams showing up.
However, the weather was nice and cool, the fields were rolling and beautiful, and the homemade country ham biscuits from Mr. Kirtley's Chuck Wagon were out of this world. (Sorry there is no picture of the biscuits in this post- Hubby and I ate them so fast, we nearly chewed our fingers off trying to eat them they were so good.)

"Someone better have saved me a country ham biscuit...."

You know it's going to be a good day when the heavens open up with rays of light when you start to plow.

That's a pretty good omen, I think.

Mr. Booker checks to see how deep he's plowing.

Beautiful mule team, ready to work.

Mr. Rowell, who runs his family's apple orchard not too far from here, takes a laid-back approach to plowing.

Okay, how many of them does it take to figure things out?

Another red tractor! Yay!

I love this old plow... look at those neat steel wheels.

Hmmm... this next guy's kinda cute.....

*swooooon*

Purty hosses. (Purty BIG hosses.)

Another neat old plow. Sometimes rusty stuff is cool.

A nice man who stopped to chat on a nicely restored tractor.

Sometimes new paint is cool, too.

Across the field and out of sight....

And back around they come.

When you get to the end of a row, you pull the rope to "trip" the plow, pulling it out of the ground until you're ready to start the next row.

Sometimes, this takes teamwork.

At the end of the day, we were all pretty much worn out

from all the excitement.

(Some of us more than others....)

Another plow day in the memory books.

Goodbye, Crossville..... see you again in the fall!

So thankful.....

2011-04-28T10:06:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know we are O.K..... just a little wind damage and flooding of the barns, but we are safe, thank God. Yesterday was a very nerve-wracking day to say the least; all day long I watched the destructive storms on the radar barreling up the Tennessee Valley toward us, only to see them weaken before they got here.

To my blog friends in Alabama, Georgia, and other parts of Tennessee, I'm whispering prayers and hoping you are safe....

Wordless Wednesday: Birdwatching

2011-04-20T06:44:00.012-04:00

Friday Farm Fotos: Spring has sprung!

2011-04-15T06:16:00.005-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone!

Friday Farm Fotos: Breakfast

2011-04-08T08:09:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone!

Woody

2011-04-05T01:33:00.002-04:00

Good morning, all... it's actually 1:00 a.m.while I'm typing this...

We are having bad storms tonight and I'm not sure if the power will be on or off in a minute so I'll have to make this a quick post.

Just wanted to share some pictures I took over the weekend of a rare sight around here: a pileated woodpecker!

(Sorry for the poor picture quality... it's times like these I would really love to have a camera with a BIG zoom... *sigh*)

I took this quickly because I was afraid he would fly away when he saw me....

But after a minute or two, he looked down as if he was trying to figure out why the chickens below him were making such a fuss.

(He was HUGE... no doubt they thought he was a hawk. Or a 747...)

One more shot... the best close-up I could get....

And then he was gone....

Mr. Woody, thanks for dropping by and staying a few minutes- you made my day!

Wordless Wednesday-Waking up is hard to do.

2011-03-30T07:55:00.000-04:00

Friday Farm Fotos: Broody

2011-03-25T06:52:00.021-04:00

It's springtime on the farm.

To a banty (or bantam) hen that means only one thing-

time to hatch some babies.

It doesn't matter if they are sitting on their eggs, someone else's eggs, eggs that are bigger than their bums can possibly cover,
NO eggs.....

These broody girls are dedicated to the cause of motherhood.

Quick- snatch that egg before someone puts their bum on it!

Of course, it's not always such a bad thing...

there is a perk that comes from all this madness.

*SQUEEEEEAL*

Happy Friday, everyone!

Welcome to the Poor House

2011-03-21T14:34:00.008-04:00

I usually don't discuss current events in my posts because I like for my blog to be a happy place to visit.... but we're feeling the pinch of the bad economy around the farm these days. Those of you who have any kind of animals, whether it be cats, dogs, or farm critters know feeding them is not cheap- and getting more expensive all the time. Our feed bill is becoming higher than our grocery bill and it's not that our animals are eating more because we carefully ration everyone's feed to eliminate waste- but the price of feed is going through the roof. Grain prices have almost doubled in the last year.... a bag of scratch feed for the chickens was around $7.50 just a year ago- now we're paying over $11 a bag and layer mash (which is vital to the hens egg-laying parts) is an unbelievable $14 a bag. The sheep feed is also higher than it was just a few months ago, but thank goodness the pasture is starting to green up which means the sheep will be eating mostly grass now.

But even that isn't free- we need to put down a bag or two of seed mix in order to have quality pasture.
At $40 a bag. *Sigh*

I had high hopes last year when I bought some new laying-breed chicks to raise that by now I would be selling fresh eggs on a regular basis to help with the feed bill, but it hasn't worked out the way I had hoped. The local farmer's market wanted so much commission off what was sold I wouldn't have made enough to break even. I also thought about trying a "fresh eggs" sign at the end of the driveway, but since we live off the beaten path I'm a little afraid of strangers driving up to the house with me here alone during the day.
So, it was with a heavy heart I decided over the weekend to sell off my 6 Rhode Island Red hens to help cut back on feed..... it was not an easy decision, but one I felt was for the best. I still have my green-eggers and the 4 young New Hampshire Red girls from last year, and that will be enough to keep us in eggs with a little left over to give to some of the elderly ladies at our church.
And of course I still have my fuzzy-bottomed Silkies who I love having around just for the entertainment value, and they don't eat much so they're not expensive to keep. (Although they would like to think they are...)
We are also hoping gas prices don't skyrocket any more than they already have... we have to fill up the diesel barrel for Hubby's tractor to cut and bale hay this summer. Yikes!

What about you.....
Are you feeling the pinch more than usual these days?

Sorry for the downer post today...
I promise this week's Friday Farm Fotos will be a happier place to visit!

Wordless Wednesday: Sweet sunshine

2011-03-16T06:07:00.006-04:00