Someone's been eating my eggs and it's not Goldilocks

Once upon a time a young couple (this is my story so I can call them anything I want) James and Karen spent a few hours on a very lovely day sitting on the deck by the James River catching some rays and waving to friendly kayakers as they passed.  Feeling rested, they decided it was time to return home. They hummed and smiled and skipped their way back.

BUT, while they were away from the house someones (yes, ones) came slithering in to the chicken barn to taste the "porridge".  Karen decided to check for eggs before returning to the house.  She reached into the nest but just in time saw the black snake before she touched him.  One year she did touch the snake because she didn't look first.  She may be a slow learner but it appears there's hope for her.

I don't know if she screamed but there was some noise coming from the barn. She hollered to James there was a snake.  Two minutes later the courageous warrior appeared with gloves on and ever-so-swiftly removed the snake and took him to his garden, in hopes it would help control the mole/vole population that has been wreaking havoc on his sweet potato garden.  My hero!

Feeling relieved, Karen went back in the barn to see if any eggs were left and, I'm not kidding you, there was a second snake making it's claim to the one remaining egg.  NO WAY!  I think I heard him saying something like, "ahhh, this egg is just right".

"Not so fast you slithering-black-breakfast stealing-marauder.  The brave warrior's work isn't done." Karen exclaimed.

She tried calling said warrior on his cell phone but he never has it on him so she went into the house to tell him of the second intruder.    Up for the challenge he put his gloves back on.  After missing at first swipe, and a quick escape by the egg thief, James' quick hands deftly removed him and took him for a hike.

Karen returned to the barn, scanned the rafters and checked every nook and cranny before declaring, "All is well.  Rest easy my little chickens.  You can sleep safely in your beds tonight."

                                                                THE END

I went back to look at the photo I took of the first snake in the nest and saw what I hadn't seen at first glance.  The second snake was waiting in line behind the copper barn art.

Locks of love from donkeys

It's too bad someone can't use donkey hair to make wigs for folks who need them.

I've already brushed at least 3 times as much hair from them but they still have lots more to shed.  Windsor wanted in on the action too but he's not ready to let go of his fluffy baby fur yet.

It's a shame for all this hair to go to waste.  I suppose someone could make it into yarn but I don't know how to do that, nor do I want to take the time to learn.

Back when we were beautiful

Emmylou Harris sang a song called Back When We Were Beautiful.
"Back When We Were Beautiful"
(with Rodney Crowell)

I guess you had to be there, she said,
You had to be
She handed me a yellowed photograph
And then said, see
This was my greatest love, my one and only love
And this is me
Back when we were beautiful, see

I don't feel very different, she said,
I know it's strange
I guess I've gotten used to these little aches and pains
But I still love to dance, you know we used to dance
The night away
Back when we were beautiful, beautiful, yes

I hate it when they say
I'm aging gracefully
I fight it every day
I guess they never see
I don't like this at all
What's happening to me

But I really love my grandkids, she said,
They're sweet to hold
They would have loved their grandpa
Those awful jokes he told
You know sometimes for a laugh, the two of us would act
Like we were old
Back when we were beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, yes

But I guess you had to be there...

And here's the song.

This song comes to mind after a weekend spent with dear friends we've known for 20 years. They visit once or twice a year. My favorite part of the visit is when James and Bob play piano and sax together while the rest of us sing and dance and act silly.

  

It was a beautiful weekend in many ways.  The weather cooperated so Bob and Judy could show us how they pretend to fly fish.  Um, yeah, they looked good in their gear but we didn't have any trout or bass for dinner.  That's ok.  We know it takes time.

This was our first river weekend of the season.  James and Molly kayaked and I got too much sun, as evidenced by my legs.   Here's James communing with the river.  A moment of Zen.

We used to call this group of friends the running group because we all met through our Salisbury running club when we lived in NC. Most of us don't run anymore.  We're heavier, greyer and we probably tell the same stories year after year but I love our history and our love for each other.  I have to admit I love growing older.

Yes, we used to be more beautiful, but I wouldn't trade this for my youth any day.

Those sweet boys

I don't know what it is about boys on this farm that I find so special.  If I don't make an appointment at the butcher for Windsor in the next 4 or 5 months he may just have to stay.  He's about as darling as a steer could possibly be.  Today I was mucking out the barn.  He stood close by waiting for each time my back would get sore and I'd hug him or give him a rub down.  I put Pandora on and set my phone on the barn rail.  He walked over and stood by it like he was listening to the music.  He probably stayed there for half an hour.  I need to get a radio down there so I can play music louder for him.  Papa and Raisa have already shedded out most of their winter coats but Windsor is still very fluffy.  Maybe it's his baby coat.  He turned one year old this month.

Rex is my other really sweet boy.  He's getting close to 8 months old and I finally have an appointment for him to be neutered tomorrow. Where did the time go?  He's not as heavy as Keri yet but he's just about as tall and it's hard to tell them apart.  His goofiness usually gives him away.  I have to admit he's been much easier to raise than Keri.  Maybe because he had Keri to help raise him.  We've had 3 babies (humans) visit in the last week and a half.  Rex behaved beautifully with them except for the fact that he wanted to lick their faces and sniff them all over.  

All this little girl wanted to do was look at buttercups.  All Rex wanted to do was be on top of her while she looked at buttercups.  Can you blame him?

Poor Rex, didn't have a chance with this little boy.  He was out of reach.  Darn those baby bjorns.

Ok, this next boy isn't quite as cuddly as Rex and Windsor but he's still a pretty cool guy.  Wendell is beginning to seem more and more like Roxie in nature.  It takes very little coaxing to get him to roll over for a tummy rub.  He'll stay there until you quit.

Yes, the little kids are cute but I still love old Cooper more.  The girls love him too.

He may be stinky, old, arthritic and crusty but there's still something about him that holds a special place in my heart.  I worry he may not make it through another winter.  He's moving slower and slower and this last winter really took its toll on him .  He shivers unless it's in the 50s or above and he spends more time alone than he used to.  I think it's because he can't keep up with the others so he doesn't try.  

I haven't gotten attached to a rooster in a while.  Not since Foggy, I think.  I have one friendly little rooster but I guess I don't spend enough time with him to get to know him.  If only they had fur instead of feathers.

It's getting crowded in the barn

So much has been happening here lately.  Such is spring.

Darla had 2 kids (males) 3 days ago.  I sat with her for 7 hours waiting on these kids.  I think she held off because she wanted me to spend the day with her.  They were worth the wait.  They're so cute and have hilarious ears.  Darla is 1/2 Nigerian Dwarf and her ears stick out.  Cato (the dad) is full nubian and has long pendulous ears.  Lenny and Miles  have a combination.  This first one is Lenny.  The second, Miles.

Lenny was bouncing before his mom even passed the afterbirth.  It's like he couldn't wait to be out of there.

All the kids are rambunctious.  Mrs. Butterworth's daughter, Macy, is especially busy climbing on things.  She loves sleeping on her mom and grandmom, Pessa.

She also loves dancing on Windsor, who seems to like the attention.  Papa does too but I don't have a video of him with kids hopping on him.

Windsor sometimes hangs out in the small trailer which was built for chickens but then converted to goats.  I guess I should have considered cows going in there too.  The goat kids don't seem to mind sharing space.  He hasn't destroyed it yet.

Jaz and Willo are happy for any attention they can get, even if it's just kids nibbling on their tails or underbellies.

There's another shelter and lots more field to roam but they all want to hang out together.  I'm sure the pigs would be right here too if they could.

The grass is growing like crazy, which I should be happy about, but it means more work and I have less time to sit around watching the animals interact.

Black Olive moved to West Virginia today.  She was such a good sport as we figured out how to load her into the back of a pickup.  Like Roxie and Kevin, she walked where we led her and made it easy for us.  I hope she makes nice babies for her new owners.

Shake it off

I'm just gonna shake shake shake shake shake shake, shake it off, shake it off.

I thought about scaring all my readers off by having James video me dancing to Taylor Swift's video but I'm kind of shy so you'll just have to imagine me shaking it off.  It's not pretty anywhere except in my mind.

It's been that kind of day.  You know the kind.  The day when you get a phone call from your neighbor friend telling you your 7 piglets are in the road stopping traffic and you have to put your cup of coffee down and race out only to find them squeezing back through the fence.  After returning from milking you realize you forgot to let your chickens out of their barn because you were so stressed out about how you were going to keep the pigs in, only to find one of your 2 only laying hens dead on the floor.  No bites, no evidence of foul play.   I felt like throwing a tantrum and then curling up on the floor and crying.  Very mature, I know.  I can be like that.

Also, my best milker/herd queen/sweetest girl, Luti, has been limping for a few months.  I thought it was from carrying so many kids and a huge udder.  Today I discovered she has an abscess on her hoof.  At least I now know what to treat.  For a while I didn't know if it was her hip, leg or hoof.

This weekend was an idyllic weekend really. (enter the butterflies and singing birds).  We went to a few parties and had some great laughs.  We hunted for morels then sat on the deck with good friends having drinks and a  thrown-together dinner.  Perfect.  It had to end, right?  Why did it have to end?

I spent today closing off a smaller space of a few acres for the pigs, like I always do this time of year, with electric ribbon.  This way they have to stay on just a few acres so I can plant the rest of the field with greens, pumpkins and melons.  Unfortunately I discovered piglets chewing on the electric wire and ribbon shortly after I installed it.  Maybe the solar battery didn't have enough charge to shock them, I don't know. It doesn't stop them from walking through the outer fencing.  A few more pounds and they won't be able to fit through.


After fretting about the pigs, I sat on my tractor, Betty, and cut grass for a while.  This may have been what I needed to put things in perspective.  Breathing in diesel fumes will do that to you.  In with the diesel - out with the diesel.  Betty made me better.

Nothing has changed really.  I saw the pigs have escaped the electric ribboned in area but I'm in a different frame of mind.  Sometimes I just need to sit and be still with the animals.  Watching Windsor drink from a leak in the hose is soothing to me.


Sometimes days like this I need to remember to count my blessings.  Here are 4 little blessings prancing through the field.

No one can resist the babies

Two more babies arrived today.  Lily gave birth to a pair of giant boys.  Last year (her first time) she had 2 tiny kids which didn't survive and she had a prolapsed uterus.  You can imagine I was a bit nervous about her kidding this year.  And then to have such huge kids!  I'm pleased to report it all went

as smoothly as I could have hoped for.  She did let out a big scream as the first mammoth goat found its way out though.  They were up walking in minutes.  They seem mature for newborns.  They figured out how to nurse very quickly.  I put one of Luti's week old kids next to Lily's and the newborns are bigger than the week olds.  Check out this face.

He looks very much like Lily except he has more black on him.  His brother is dark brown.

Raisa and Papa were fascinated with them.  Papa and one of the kids were nose-to-nose but Keri chased Papa away before I got the picture.  

Keri really takes ownership of the kids.  It's funny how the goat mamas won't let other goats near their kids but they'll allow Keri to lick them.  I don't get it.  Keri laid next to Lily as she was pushing the first kid out.  It didn't bother Lily at all.

No babies are more popular with the other animals than the piglets.  I think everyone loves these little guys.  They walk back and forth through the fence so sometimes they're with Keri and sometimes they're with Rex.  One day I saw all 7 piglets following Rex like he was the Pied Piper.  It was so cute.

I've seen them sleeping next to Windsor, my steer, too but I don't have a picture of that.  

More babies soon.  It looks like Darla is next.  I hope her kids are much smaller than Lily's.

Our numbers are increasing quickly

It's amazing how quickly we can go from 7 goats to 11.  Luti proved to be her prolific self again this year giving us 3 girls and 1 boy.  She waited for me to arrive at the barn before pushing.  They're adorable, of course.  I hope she can feed all 4 because I prefer not to bottle feed if I can help it.  I'll know by tomorrow if they're all getting fed.  It's not as if Luti doesn't have enough milk.  It's more about who gets to the teats first before she walks away.   Here's a picture of Luti a few days before kidding.  As you can see she could probably raise 6 kids on what she produces if only she had 6 teats.

They're very different looking so it's easy to tell them apart.  I should give Cooper a little credit for these babies too since he's the daddy.

Anyone need a bottle baby?  I can easily put one or 2 on a bottle and send them home with you.  They're cheaper if I don't have to raise them.

I'm glad I moved Rex over to the pigs' side of the field because I'm afraid he'd hurt the baby goats.  As it is he's a little too playful with the piglets but Mickey keeps an eye on him and corrects him if she disapproves.  He loves these little pigs and is almost always near them.

We had another arrival at the farm today.  I got the truck stuck in the mud once again and had to walk back to the house.  On my way back I heard a loud meowing by the side of the road.  A sweet kitty practically begged me to pick her up and take her back to the house for breakfast.  I don't know where she belongs but she has to have been handled because she's way too friendly to be a feral cat.  She's a youngster but not tiny like Willy was when she showed up.  One of her eyes is green and the other blue but we're not sure if the blue is a cataract or a true blue.  We're calling her Willy 2 Eye Of Blue.  It took no time at all for Baxter to adopt her.  She adores him.


More kids to come.  I think Lily is due tomorrow.  Cato is the sire so it will be fun to see what the 2 of them produce.  I'm hoping she'll have a single or twins.  She's the doe who prolapsed after kidding last year and had a trip to the vet to put her back together.   I'm hoping she has an easy time of it this year.

What could be sweeter than new piglets and spring?

While I was in PA Mickey had seven adorable piglets - four girls and 3 boys.

 At the end of the video she's snapping at Baxter for getting too close to her face.  I was amazed most of the time she didn't mind him licking and sniffing the babies.

Baxter thought this was the greatest thing ever. I was afraid we weren't going to be able to get him out of there.

These are some sturdy piglets.  Mickey is a great mom.  This is her second litter.

It's beginning to look and feel like spring finally. The daffodils are in bloom and the grass is greening up.

Remember those tiny chicks that arrived a month ago?  They're no longer tiny.  They have enough feathers to keep them warm so I let them outside to hunt for bugs, eat grass and explore the great outdoors.  They were pretty excited about it.

The green house is still pretty empty but James seems to be excited about what has sprouted so far.  It won't be long before all the shelves and planters are overflowing.

 I uncovered the roots of the pomegranates so they could bask in the sunshine and warmth and to see if they survived the bitter temperatures.  It appears they did.  Hopefully one day they'll produce.

The bright green grass you see in the background is wheat.  It's growing really well.  There must be 4 or 5 large beds planted in wheat as a cover crop.  It's way too much for us to harvest so some will just be pulled.  I wish everything grew as well as wheat.

I'm guessing I'll be able to post pictures of baby goats by the weekend.  Udders are developing and ligaments are loosening.  Yay spring!!!

A portrait of Dad

I love this picture of my dad.  He rarely smiled for photos so I'm glad we were able to capture this one.
This next shot is also a great portrait of the dad I knew and loved.

More often than not though, this is the face he'd show when  a camera appeared on the scene.  He didn't like to show his teeth or be the center of attention.  This is a recent photo of my parents.  A handsome couple, I think, though I may be a bit prejudice.

Here's the younger version with me and my 2 sisters.  I'm the cute one....ok, I'm the one with the extremely short bangs.  My sisters are kind of cute too.  It's nice to see my dad smiling in this picture also.

Dad passed away at 3:00 this morning.  It happened way too fast.  When I saw him at Christmastime he seemed just fine, then 3 months later my family was crying at his hospital bedside.  I imagine that's how it is with most deaths - there's not enough time to comprehend the loss before having to say goodbye.  Dad's heart and kidney had had more than they could take and he needed to rest.

While we shed many tears in that sterile, disturbing and uncomfortable environment, I have to admit our 24 hours spent together in the hospital as a family (parents, children, grandchildren and friends), was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.

We may have done a lot of crying but I'd like to think we shared stories and laughed even more.  Dad rallied for a while about 12 hours before his final rest.  He became chatty (for Dad) and that comforted us, knowing he wasn't in pain.  I hope he enjoyed the bantering, chiding and silliness going on around him as much as we loved reminiscing and being in each others' presence - in other words,  celebrating family.

His passing was very fitting for a quiet man of few words.  His breaths became more and more shallow, his face peaceful and he left this world just as quietly as he moved about in it.   Quiet, modest and a loved man.

Killer Karen

That's the nickname my 5th grade teacher, Mr. Hunter, gave me.  I don't know where it came from but 5 or 6 of us in his class had nicknames and I felt honored to be one of them.  Bear with me and I'll come back to this.

Today I'm having mixed feelings about my "growth" as a farmer.  It's been 6 years since we got our first chickens and goats - the gateway animals to our homesteading/farming experience.  James began with the first garden beds in 2004 but I feel like we began working toward a more self-sustainable lifestyle in 2009 when we introduced animals to Elk Cliff Farm.  Back then my excuse to raise animals was to provide eggs and milk.  In all honesty,  I just wanted to own goats for pets, but felt I needed to justify them somehow.  That first year I had a mean rooster and I took his life because I couldn't have him attacking people.  I felt a little bad about that but because he was so mean it wasn't as hard as I would have thought.  I've gone back over my blog posts and read one where I said I'd never be able to eat one of my goats.  I think it was only a year or 2 later I wrote that we ate our first goat meat.  Yes, I cried my eyes out as I arrived home after James took them to the butcher (I wanted no part of delivering them to their death) and then again when we picked up their meat.  The next year I helped take them to the butcher.  The woman who handled the order waited very patiently as I sobbed and told her what cuts I wanted.  I still cry when we take goats to the butcher but it has definitely gotten easier because I recognize there's no way to keep all the male goats or find them good homes.  Also, we love goat meat and knowing our meat is raised humanely makes it taste even better.

Turkeys came next, then pigs.  I had no other excuse for raising them than for meat.   I can't remember if I cried over the turkeys but I know I've shed tears over pigs.  Our steer, Windsor, is going to be another emotional trip to the butcher.  I couldn't have asked for a better experience raising our first calf. He's a gentle, adorable boy.

This brings me back to my thoughts on my growth as a farmer and my 5th grade nickname.  Yesterday I did something I wouldn't have thought possible 6 years ago - maybe even 3 years.  Adam and I butchered a pig by ourselves.  I've prepared for this in my mind many times and am pleased to say the whole process went just as well, or maybe even better, than I expected.  Adam did the shooting and I did the cutting for the bleed-out.   The taking of life was quick and I felt good about him never knowing fear or stress.  It couldn't have gone more smoothly.  It's how all meat should come to our table.  After the kill we skinned and gutted him.  I'm hesitant and maybe embarrassed to type this for fear it sounds unfeeling, but we were a bit giddy and excited with how well it all went.  It was also an amazing experience and anatomy lesson.  Today I'm smoking pork we'll put in our freezer for many meals.   I'm even looking forward to butchering another hog for a pig roast this summer.

On a very sad note, this morning I found our cat, Willy, dead in the road.  When I went out to feed the chickens this morning Willy didn't greet me in the driveway.  I just knew she was dead.  We had talked yesterday about cats and dogs being hit by cars so it was already on my mind.  It didn't take long to feel guilt about taking a life and losing a life.  The word karma came to mind.  I know one thing probably had nothing to do with the other but still I can't help but feel I enjoyed the butchering yesterday too much and that was the reason Willy was taken away.

So that's how I'm feeling today.  I wonder what nickname one might give me in 6 more years.

Remembering Pop Pop

Four days ago I lost the last of my grandparents.  I've found it sadder than I expected.  As some of you may remember I blogged about Pop Pop's 100th birthday we celebrated last year.  What an awesome occasion that was.  Lots of smiles and laughter that day.  So how can I be sad when he lived such a full life and died a peaceful death?  I can't explain it.  My grandparents played a big part in my childhood because they lived just a mile from us.  Pop Pop built the house I grew up in - the house my parents still live in.  Perhaps his death makes me feel like part of my childhood is gone.  I'm no longer anyone's grandchild.  I know that sounds silly.  I mean, how many people in their 50s have grandparents?

Mom Mom and Pop Pop raised 10 children.  They had 25 grandchildren.  Pretty incredible, isn't it?  Many of these cousins also grew up spending just as much time at my grandparents' house as my sisters and I.  I keep in touch with some of them on Facebook.  I've enjoyed reading the stories everyone's been sharing about Pop Pop these past 4 days.  What I find most interesting is the stories we all have to share are funny ones.  There's no denying, we had a really funny grandfather.   I have other pictures of him but I think the one above shows the true character that we all knew and loved.

This is the man who would send someone to the hardware store to get him a wood stretcher or a left handed screw driver.  The clerk always knew who sent them.  My aunt reminded me of how he could keep me staring at a painting of a stream in the woods, convinced a deer would come get a drink if I waited long enough.

Every Christmas Eve. family would file in and out of Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house and visit.  No where was Santa more real than there.  I was so sure he'd come down their chimney.  We had no fireplace or chimney at our house but I was certain we heard Santa and the reindeer on their roof. Pop Pop also tortured us by giving us reasons Santa couldn't make it down the chimney.

He was a sweet man who loved his sweets.  Even in his last week of life he was eating marshmallow peeps.  Circus peanuts?  He was a fan.  One of my cousins shared how he ate 2 blueberry ice cream cones and then was up all night vomiting.  If he ate butter pecan ice cream he'd suck the ice cream off the pecans then spit them out.  His children had to hide their Halloween candy because he'd get into it and pick out his favorites.  When he had a box of chocolates you'd know he'd been into them because each one would be smooshed so he could see what was inside.   If you think eating sugar is going to kill you just remember my grandfather and how he lived to 100. 

His daughters should have been as curious as he to look inside things.  It wasn't an odd occurrence for one of them to arrive at school with a rotten apple he'd put in her purse.  Why would he do that?  Because he was a prankster.  We all knew that but still fell for his shenanigans.  Don't all grandfathers put cardboard in his children or grandchildrens' sandwiches?  Or fruit in the hoods of their jackets?

More cousins shared stories I'd never heard.  One was told a small tree would grow faster if she pumped it up.  She stood outside pumping her foot on the ground next to the tree to no avail.  The other was told she should squat down to walk up the steep hills, thus making them twice as hard to get up.  He also pretended his car was stuck in ruts on the side of the road.  Truly, he wanted to entertain his grandchildren.

Sometimes his escapades weren't intended to get a rise out of someone.  He was trying to help, much to someone's dismay.  Mom Mom had a pattern pinned to some fabric.  He "helped" by cutting it out - not on the solid cutting line but on the dotted stitching line.  I can almost hear Mom Mom screaming at him.  He didn't make things easy on her.

My mom told me how she had put her babysitting money in the drawer of her dresser.  When she came home one day he'd stapled the money to the ceiling of her room.  One has to wonder what made him do that.  She also shared how she got a new dress (new to her. Remember she was one of 10.  They didn't get new things often).  It was brown and silky and she must have loved it.  Pop Pop decided to paint her closet.  Apparently he didn't take her dress out and got paint on it.  Ok, so he wasn't always loved every minute of every day :)  Page back up to the top and look again at his face.  Can you see the prankster now?

There must be hundreds more stories to tell.  Like Pop Pop's life, I hate for them to end.

I told one of my cousins, if I'm lucky enough to one day become a grandparent I want my grandchildren to think I'm funny.  I'd be proud to have my grandkids remember me like I remember Pop Pop.