Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

To be honest, gardening is not my favorite "chore" or hobby. I have definitely gotten better at it over time as I do more research and have found easy methods to get much larger veggies for the time I put in.

When I married my husband, someone gave us a house plant as a wedding gift and it really pissed me off. I really did NOT like plants and I gave it to my sister-in-law as I did not want the responsibility of watering an ugly thing I didn't want.

When we moved out to our neighborhood we live in now we lived in an apartment above the garage of a woman with a very green thumb. She had been my kindergarten teacher when I was little and now was enjoying their "retirement home" with a very large garden, a nice "medium" greenhouse, compost piles, meat chickens, meat rabbits, and dual garage freezers for keeping all of their game and fish. She also had a very large sewing room upstairs in her home where she would homeschool her last boy through his high school years and sew while he would do his work...I'll have to talk about that another day. Her name is, Gloria.

I did not think much of her garden hobby. To me it looked like a lot of work and a lot of dirty dirt.

The first summer we lived there she informed me one day that they had prepared me my own spot in the garden. I said something like, "Oh, no, that's ok, I don't need to plant a garden."

She said something like, "Oh, no, that's ok, Wilbur got it all ready for you."

I replied something like, "Oh, no, really. I don't really want to plant a garden."

She responded something like, "No, really, he already rototilled rabbit manure into it for you, and I have all the starts you need. It won't be hard, I'll help you."

I was trapped, I mean, the man put manure into dirt for me...and how do I refuse?!

That was the begging of the end for me. That city girl had to get her hands dirty and put some plants into the ground. I planted my favorite flower, pansies, at the end of each of my little 4' rows. It was beautiful and I loved it.

Gloria taught me a lot during the four years we lived there. She had raised five boys and no girls. I like to think she enjoyed my company and teaching me how to garden, how to can, how to quilt, how to make the fastest pies, how to make delicious sweet tea and how to sit and visit.

I had a garden every year there after that and when I moved to our new house I built a few garden boxes and put dirt into them. I was NOT going to do a giant "Gloria" garden, but would have my own little "Martha Stewart" garden instead...in pretty boxes in the lawn. I would mow between them and they would look pretty. What I did not have was large vegetables. That was ok, right? We don't like vegetables that much anyway...

A year later we brought in some horse manure, and introduced some naughty weeds that came along with it! The garden boxes did a bit better, but really, not that much. My cabbages were the size of my fist. Gloria's were the size of my head...

Some time after we lived here we got laying hens. After we moved the hens closer to the house, I decided to use their old run as my potato patch. I grew ENORMOUS potato plants and a TON of potatoes. (not literal ton, but a lot!) I was quite excited and realized what I had really known all along but didn't want to face...my dirt NEEDS manure or nutrients to produce large crops.

2008 potato harvest. Great year for potatoes.

2008 picking potatoes in the old chicken run.

I had to get my motivation in order and figure out a way to make this manure hauling thing easier...that's when I went online and found my dream set up. I was determined to build it and I did.

2013 we have the chickens on the left and garden on right.

My dream set up was to place the chicken house in the middle and to build two chicken runs. One for the chickens and one for the garden, then they trade each year. Thus eliminating the need to shovel and amend the soil year after year. The chickens could do it for me. It was much more work to build but oh, so worth it.

I was nervous at first. I had planted sunflowers into straight chicken manure once and discovered that when people say that fresh chicken manure burns plants, they really do get burned. They were GIANT however and I have never since grown such wonderful sunflowers. They did have large brown patches on their leaves. They looked like it hurt.

Here it is in 2010, the year I built it, from behind. I still had a lot of sod to pull (by hand) one side at a time. The first year was the hardest for sure.

Basically the rule of thumb on chicken manure is that it needs to sit at least one year before putting it on plants. I think this is for Alaska, because it's so "hot". The first year I switched them I was nervous for my plants safety, but they did just fine, in fact, they did great! No burn marks and the chickens had only been out of that side for 9 months. I let them into the garden side as soon as I harvest what I want and they clean up the rest. Then that becomes their run the next summer.

Now we even clean out the winter's worth of manure into the run the chickens are in. This year I cleaned it myself and used my little Radio Flyer wagon to bring the manure to different spots all over the 2014's garden (current chicken run). The chickens thought it was Christmas and I felt bad that I didn't see any maggots for them to dig out of the manure like I have found in years past. In only a couple hours they had flattened all of the piles around their run. Warning: the smell is bad, don't do what we did and try to have a bbq with company the next day.

Here are our pullets in their area. the back section between runs we have our pullet house, we raise new hens every year now.

Broccoli down the main row, cabbage on the left. June 23, 2013.

Earlier today: July 25, 2013. Before weeding.

After some weeding later in the day.

I don't remember having cabbages this large before. I bought the starts, maybe it's a giant kind.

The zucchini plants are GIANT this year. We have had a lot of sun and they love the sun and the rich soil.

My garden does not get a lot of my time these days. My sister seems to help me get it planted every year, but I really enjoy when I get to spend time in it and finally weed my carrots. The chickens and goats each got a large sled full of weeds tonight.

Something else I have noticed with doing this flip-flop method is that it has really cut down on our slugs. Last year was a heavy rain year and many people lost much of their garden to slugs. Mine fared very well, and the cold hardy crops did nicely.

Happy chickens earlier today after giving them some buckets of weeds.

At first I was resistant to putting in so much work to TWO chicken runs that they would only use half of. But I realized that a garden really needs a fence to protect it from roaming dogs trampling it, keeping kids out, keeping chickens out (they are the worst nemesis when first planted), goats out and moose out. I get moose in my yard plenty, but they have never jumped into my garden, and I know they can, it's only a 5 1/2 foot tall fence...but apparently if the fenced in space is small enough moose won't jump in for fear of getting trapped, probably need a running jump? Anyway, I figure my garden size is just right, not too big, not too small. I think its about 24x24. There are definitely times I wish it were bigger, but it would take up more time that I don't have now. That is one reason I still don't have a greenhouse.

Giant spinach.

After a day like today where I spent much needed time weeding my garden and putting myself on vacation from my business, it proved for a relaxing evening. I love how gratifying this sort of work is and how non-stressful it is. I wish I had time for less stressing and more weeding.

I'm cheating and adding back in some pics I took in September but never posted. Sep 2013, part of the harvest.

The only picture I can find of our new pasture. Our LaMancha goat chasing after a yummy bush. Sep 2013.

Silly Saturday

My kids are funny and they say or do amazing or silly things. Sometimes I write them down on facebook or here...

As you may know we are homeschoolers. Spring is the hardest time for school for any child and that does not exclude mine. Math seems to get harder this time of year as well and they loose their focus more than usual. I decided to declare a contest on Thursday and to let the kids race through the rest of their math books and see who could win a promised "large bag" of candy. Well the boys were ok with that but were convinced that their little 9-yr-old sister would be the clear winner. She was already 10 lessons ahead of the 11-yr-old and 16 lessons ahead of the 12-yr-old. Well little miss 9-yr-old decided that she was going to win and the first day did 3 lessons total and on Friday morning got up and did 3 more lessons before I even got out of bed! I asked her if she was even going to give her brothers a chance. She giggled, "No!" The boys gave up so I decided to offer a boy reward of the video game that they have been wanting. Yep, I'm desperate.

little miss stinker doing her math

Yesterday was garbage pick up day. I asked the kids if the trash man had come yet. My 4-year-old daughter responded. "Yes, he came and we talked and talked. Oh, mama, I have to whisper you something." "Ok."  I said and bent over. "I think the trash man and I are in love with each other." Hopefully my daughter will grow out of the extra tall, much older, really creepy men stage.

the girl who loves the trash man

My 11-year-old son has now read all of the Brothers Grimm stories he also had his own chicken job this week and his brothers as well. On Tuesday he wrote this story:

The Two Chickens

Once there were two chickens. One of the chickens ate eggs and the other was simple and stupid. One day the evil chicken overheard the farmer talking with his wife, "One of the chickens is eating our eggs! When I find out which one eats the eggs I will kill it!" When the hen heard that, she became frightened and then she remembered the simple one and thought of something evil. The next day the farmer came out with a hatchet and put an egg in front of both the hens. Then the evil hen said to the simple hen, "Hey guess what? There is a treasure inside the eggs, just peck them out." When the simple hen heard that she looked at the evil one and answered, "But I don't know how to do it. I have never done it before." When the evil hen heard that she became angry and yelled, "Why are you so stupid" Do I have to show you how to do everything? Look, you do it like this." Then the evil chicken pecked the yolk out of her egg. But no sooner had she done this her head was cut off. And the stupid hen lived happily ever after. Then end.

My writer man on his birthday. I had to go with the Instagram 1977 look because of his vintage
Star Warst-shirt and his Star Wars cake his sister made for him.

Wal-Mart

For a few years now I have had a strange aversion to Wal-Mart.

Perhaps it was when they moved into their now “SUPER WALMART” gigantor store, I really dis-like having to re-find all of my favorite things.

Perhaps it is the realization that every shirt I bought there would shrink from top to bottom but widen from side to side.

Perhaps it was the fact I finally learned that when I go there to save $5 on diapers I still come out spending at least $100 on “great deals” AKA a bunch of crap to unload from the car and then find a place for at my house.

Perhaps I simply don’t like walking 5 miles to overfill my cart and then when my little ones start screaming I get in line for check out, THEN wait in line for another 30 minutes before I get to actually leave the store.

Perhaps it was the time my husband went to buy cigars for a hunting trip and the checker (behind the cigarette counter) almost wouldn't sell him any, claiming they were bad for him and he really shouldn't smoke them. Good thing she was there to educate him, I don't think he'd ever heard that before. 

Suffice to say, It’s not the, “Let’s-boycott-the-big-box-stores-to-make-ourselves-feel-better.” reason that regular people like to toss around. I have my own special list of reasons.

My husband likes Wal-Mart. Well, let’s say, my husband has a pretty good grip on our spending and doesn’t mind walking 5 miles for chicken feed when he will save $5 per bag, that is $20 when you buy 4 at a time. He's also smart enough to not take the little kids with him. My husband is a man, after all, and has a practical mind. A gift I would love to have.

For our “date night” on Sunday we left our younger kids in our older kids most capable hands and ventured out for a night on the town. We stopped by Silly Sister’s house to drop off some whey left over from Husband’s cheese making that day. Our pigs (that dear Sister is caring for) love that stuff and it’s nice to see it put to good use. We then ventured over to Town where we decided to grab a bite at Red Robin. They have delicious onion rings and “mama” drinks there.

We then did what we had gone to town to do, and that was a Wal-Mart run. I only go there with Husband as he is strong enough to push the cart loaded with 200 (sometimes more) pounds of grain from the WAY back of the VERY big store up to the registers. While he got the chicken feed I got our typical bananas, apples and Cheerios, then stopped off at the kids clothes section to get my son 2 new t-shirts and my DD a tank top that she had specifically requested for these few hot days we have had.

Up at the check out line, we only waited about 7 minutes that evening as it was about 10pm and was greeted by a young man checker, maybe 19 or so. When he rang up the first bag of chicken feed he exclaimed, “Wow, that’s so expensive!” It was funny in my mind because when I was trained at Safeway we were taught not to tell customers that we thought our store prices on things were expensive as we don’t want to discourage them from spending their money with us. While the young man was ringing up our groceries he noticed my husband’s work jacket and asked him if he worked for "that company", to witch he replied, “yes.” The young man says, “I hate "that company" they ripped me off!” and proceed to tell us the story of how my husband’s employer he has worked for for 20 years, has provided very good health benefits, has paid him faithfully so that we can pay our mortgage and buy expensive chicken food; completely ripped him off. I feel bad for the fellow that he felt this way, I also know that if you talk to someone there about these sorts of problems they typically can reconcile it with you. And, wait, aren’t we his customer tonight??

I paid for the groceries with cash and he gave me back the one dollar bill and then proceeded to count out the change into my hand. I’m very un-familiar with this method of giving change, and then he dropped a bunch of it on the ground and hopefully found it all.

After Husband went to the car to load the chicken food; I bought the kids clothes. The fellow was placing the clothes into the grocery bag and asks, “So are these for your grandkids…………….(long silence where I had no idea what to say)………..or your kids?” Wow, this is a totally shocker for me. I am only 35. My oldest is 14. I felt so sorry for the guy and so indigent all at the same time… I said, “Soon enough, soon enough. It goes by so fast you don’t even know.”

What a dumbass.

As we drove home that night we enjoyed the chuckle we got out that memorable experience. An even better horror story to add to the other Wal-Mart stories under our belt.

Thanks, Wal-Mart, you make memories that last a lifetime.

Broody Hen

Have you ever seen a broody hen who hatches out her own chicks and then cares for them? Well this is my first year to see such a thing (another farm had some) and so I had to have one. I found a hen available and I found some of the Easter Egger chicks that I wanted to get some pretty colored eggs from and went farm hopping.

First I picked up the hen who is a Cochin x Silkie, the lady I got her from calls her a "Frobbit". She's white and very silky smooth. She didn't like being pulled off of her clutch, but into the box she went and on we drove to the other farm.

The woman at the other farm had all sorts of animals: sheep, bunnies, geese, ducks, chickens and quail. Lots of chicks, and 3 incubators full of eggs. She picked out 5 hopefully girl chicks (she even showed me how to tell by their tail feathers if they're girls or boys). She suggested putting them into the same box with the Frobbit, as she has at least 4 Frobbits that I saw all with their own following of chicks. Sure enough she settled right down and was a gracious mama to the new chicks.

When we got home we put them into our large dog kennel so the cat couldn't get at the chicks and the mama and babies could bond. They are so quiet compared to the chicks in the brooder box under the heat lamp. I forget they are there then I freak out and go check on them and they're all just quietly sitting there looking around. SO CUTE!!!

kids named her Dutchess and her 5 chicks

When it's springtime in Alaska, it's 40 below.

boys laughing

cat prowling

chicken chasing

rooster strutting

hens digging

moose lurking

eggs opening



chicks chirping

fun swinging




girls hanging



skirt sewing



goats resting



Just what will chickens eat?

The kids were helping me unload some groceries tonight and I asked two of the older kids to bring in the 50lb bag of rice. It was taking them a while and then my husband hollered, "Anna! NOW!" So I ran up to see what the fuss was and they'd dropped it out in the drifted snow on the way in. It ripped clean up one whole side and half of the rice was on the ground. I gave him a big pot and he scooped up most of the good stuff off the top.

He asked me if the chickens eat uncooked rice, I figured sure, but I'd better check.

Thank God for the Internet.

Turns out that's what chickens in China eat, so if it's good enough for Chinese chickens it should be good enough for ours.

Here are 2 of our girls.

Winter is here, let's buy furniture, cook chickens & dream of sewing!

It snowed yesterday right as I was leaving to run errands in Wasilla.  It inspired me to buy a desk at Fred Meyer so that I can hopefully set up my sewing machine and get back into sewing this winter.  I know I won't have as much time as I'd like, but something is definitely better than nothing.



Children outside before the snow melts.

 After the kids convinced me (not hard to do) that they REALLY wanted to play in the snow, out they went instead of doing math.  Fran, in the meantime, convinced me that she REALLY wanted some pound cake with cream cheese and powdered sugar on it (her idea not mine) this idea sounded pretty awesome, so I made myself two pieces and her one before I got busy in the kitchen.

Fran modeling our snack.

I'd decided yesterday that I would bake some chickens today.  We have a huge freezer now, but it can only hold so much.  We had 20something birds from this summers chicken harvest, so that takes up a lot of room and I need to use more chicken!  My friend, Steph inspired me to do bake them this way couple months ago...roast 4-6 chickens all at once, then eat chicken for dinner and then shred the rest and freeze it for future dinners (like chicken pot pie!) and make chicken stock.  I forgot that it's time consuming to stand there shredding, but I think it's worth it in the end.  Here are my somewhat frozen birds going into the oven for a couple of hours.

Then I got busy on my new sewing area.  I have had plenty of sewing areas in the past, but ever since my business took over the school room and office last fall, I decided that it had to be my "hobby" for the winter so that I could get it back-on-track.  Well, it's in good shape, and I still work more than I'd like, but my paychecks pay for the kids music, art, and various sports.  I'm happy to be able to pay for those things with out flinching and thinking "well maybe we can't afford it"...that's why I work, to pay for those classes that I don't know or give a hoot about.  Anyway, K cleared out the corner by the piano for me and then I could get busy assembling the new desk while their Papa taught them some history.



My littlest ones enjoying the peace & quiet during history. 

In the meantime we had a brief visit from Steph (from Up North, Over Yonder & Out of my mind.) & her DH when they came drop something off and then their car decided not to start.  It was quite enjoyable since we don't get to visit that often.  They were eventually rescued by their daughter but I do believe I have inherited a pretty sweet non-running Volvo with many Libertarian, Republican and Progressive crazy person bumper stickers on the rear.  Sometimes I wish I didn't care what others thought as much as Steph...I'm working on it.  While they visited the 4-yr-old was invited to her friends to enjoy the snow and then my 4 older ones made their way over to their new music lessons that they adore.  I am stupid for not starting these sooner...but I'm spoiled that I have a music teacher as a next-door-neighbor, so she's ready to give my kids private lessons this year.  (Yay me!)  I got the sewing area somewhat set up, but not enough where I have to dive in just yet.  Still have chickens to de-bone.

While de-boning the birds we played the "what now mama game...with M&Ms"  This is the version with actual treats added so that there is not as much whining and moaning.  It's much more enjoyable.  They have to say, "What now mama?" and I give them a job and when they come back and say "What now mama?" they get a treat and and another job.  The house went from utter disaster to somewhat picked up & K went and milked the goats.  We also started clearing out a corner in the school room for the book case and table I got last night too.  Em's desk this year has been 3 boxes stacked up next to a bunch of other boxes...um, so, yeah.  Needed something there. 



Chicken stock.



I thought about doing the bookcase tonight but I'm so tired!  The chicken stock is cooking and Papa is watching a VERY LATE "coy boy night" with the kids.  My sewing area is all pretty and waiting for me now.  Don't worry, be patient.  I'll be there eventually.

My wonderful old machine on my new desk.

*Pictures taken with my new Blackberry phone that GCI "gave" me (along with a 2 year contract).  Picture quality isn't bad for a cell phone and it's so handy to get pics onto the internet.

"Common Sense" Food

No offence to you real food ladies, but c'mon!!!

I'm cooking "common sense" food around here. ATM I'm eating Doritos and drinking my #1 favorite beer, Black Butte Porter from Deschutes Brewery (I love you guys)...I love my chemicals, what can I say?

Common Sense food to me is just that. Cook what you have, gradually move forward with what you can. I can NOT go overnight and just quit buying cereal and bread and cheese and yogurt and chips and and and and and...... However, I can take baby steps. I'm good at baby steps.

Start with one thing, for me, well, I don't remember what it was. My mom raised me to cook. God bless that woman, I whined and complained and hid (a lot) so that I would not have to do "womanly duties" as a kid, but she set such a good example for meals. Salad, bread, veggies and main course. Every day! I didn't like doing that or any chores, now look at me..I'm a wife, mom to 6 and then I go and plant a garden and get animals...what was I thinking??

Anyway, back to the beginning of my baby steps. First step: have kids=must cook. You can make mac & cheese, a lot, but really you have to move on.....to spaghetti! and then.....Mother-in-law's lasagna! and then......good goulash! (notice a pattern?)

Then one day I decided to be "cool" (what can I say, I had "real food" kind of friends) and place an order with "the grain lady" and silly me when I ordered a 45lb pail of wheat flour it turned out that it was indeed wheat berries. Yes. Those. Like the kind that you have to put through a GRINDER that I didn't have. Fortunately I live next door to the burliest Alaskan pioneer woman you have ever known...I mean that....EVER. And of course she owns a really old fashioned grain mill. I borrowed it (after a year of letting my berries sit because I was mad at them) and ground 1/2 the bucket. Then I used my wheat in some bread and then I made it every week and my family loved me.

Around the same time I dabbled in a garden... See, I don't like gardening. At least that's what I told myself when I was young. When we got 3 house plants as wedding gifts I was quite perturbed. Really? Who buys plants?? Anyway. After we were married and moved over the garage of the OTHER burliest Alaskan woman you have ever meet (my mentor) they insisted that I take a part of their garden as my own. I tried to get out of it, really. But they were offering to till in real rabbit manure! I mean, how can you pass that up? (I really tried to think of some good reasons) but alas, I could not think of any, besides that I was pretty lazy and just didn't want to deal with stupid plants. I had to think of some things that I wanted to grow.....hmmm.......nothing really. So she gave me some seedlings that she'd started and some beet seeds (beets? who eats beets?) Needless to say, after only one summer of tending my little patch, I was hooked. I can't say that gardening is my specialty, or that I love it, but I certainly enjoy starting one each year and I enjoy knowing at the end of the season when they are in their beautiful jars....I made that (with a little help from Him, of course).

Canning is something that naturally followed the gardening. I had these beets that I didn't know what to do with and my mentor taught me to make pickled beets (I'd had and loved hers) and if you have canned anything, you know that feeling of looking at your beautiful jars full of goodness and that incredible satisfied feeling you get....that's an addicting feeling.

We were having more kids, so getting egg laying chickens only seemed natural. We have 2 acers of land and no limits on what we can do with it...so we bought chickens and started collecting our own eggs.

Meat? Well, again. My mentor only raised meat chickens, so we followed her lead and got some Cornish cross chicks a few years ago and they helped us raise them and then butcher them. The joy of eating a bird you raised is outstanding!

Milk? Why stop with meat and eggs? The kids are getting older and my oldest has been begging for years for goats. I had enough fencing and upon more research I found that goats need actually less shelter (kind of) than chickens. They only need a roof and protection from wind...not so bad. So, feeling an urgency this year to be even more self-sufficient we bought already milking goats (they need company so we got 2) and began our journey with them. I never really thought about all the things made from milk, but we're both learning to make many dairy products. I feel that at the moment we have almost too much milk, but at the same time, it forces us to make cheese regularly and then that forces us to force our kids to eat the cheese and not buy the store bought kind, which forces them to like what we have made. So, it's a win win. And again, the joy of drinking the milk and eating the cheese you made, simply can't be beat.

For some reason I realized only after we had goats that I could make my own mayonnaise...I could have at any point in my life, but I realized it this summer. It's fun and good.

I still buy chips for treats. I still buy cereal mostly because I'm not a morning person and it's easy. I figure I'll get there (or not) some day, but for me if it's not baby steps...I just won't do it regularly. And I'd like to. In becoming more self sufficient we're by default eating better. We're spending the grocery money on hay and feed and chips and pickling spices. I'm good with that.

Where ever you are on your "food journey" there you are. You don't have to run out and buy chickens or goats... Old habits die hard, so just make one new one. Try making something from outside of your box and you will be surprised with the results. Weather it's making some yogurt from the store bought milk, or making mayo, or canning some beets, or making a ton of zucchini bread 'cause your neighbor gave you too much... Enjoy that day in the kitchen and be proud of what you made. But be careful, it's addictive.

2010 Projects

I said on the side-bar that I would write about some of my/our projects. I figured I have more space here to write. I realized this blog could be handy when it comes to Christmas time and I have to recall what we have done that year.

January: Majong, it should be outlawed, but I'm pretty sure that's about all I did was play this on facebook in any free or not free time I had this month.

February: It's hard to remember this far back, but I believe that it was at the beginning of Lent that I decided to get obsessed with different foods. This is good for me because I normally don't like to cook and will find that some days it's fun to cook, this month and March were like that. My family was happy. First it was grains, namely millet, then I purchased a cast iron pan and flat breads became my new past time.

March: I found a cool YouTube website called Manjula's Kitchen http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/ and fell in love with her and her food. Became pretty much obsessed with Indian vegetarian food. Start flower seeds, school, canning beans, grinding flour, baking bread, getting ready for Pascha.

Fran is a serious painter, even naps right there to save time.

April: This month was primarily spent finishing up the kid's school and getting antsy to get back outside. I came to realize that all of the white fence posts that we put up 2 summers ago could not all be used where they were placed. I took a good day or two to mourn the loss of my time and future time and got to work digging up posts. We started painting our boards white. I marked out many of the "out of line" posts and had the kids start pulling posts for their outside jobs as they finished their math year. Now on the chore chart it says "math or outside job" so that in the summer they can work outside or do math if they like. I also built a new gate for the garden side of the chicken house (they will swap runs, one year chickens, next year garden.) I also put removable boards on the back of the chicken run side of the house and in May I finally put the wire mesh onto them. This way I can (and did) take them off if I want to unload some manure or "let" my neighbor rototill with his tractor. 

May: I spent some time re-digging only 4 or 5 post holes and re-placing my posts. Then I attached the boards to those shorter sections around the back yard. I also did this around the chicken coop/garden. The boards aren't needed there as I have wire fencing, but it looks so much nicer now. I still have to finish the back side of the garden, it only has temporary wire there now, but I'll save that for a rainy day....or one of the last days of fall before it just gets too darn cold. Papa Stud butchered and froze the chickens we'd gotten in late March. I realized a week or two before June that I needed to plant a garden SOON, so I rushed to go pick up free goat manure where the nice lady loads your truck for only $5. I went back for 2 more loads of that stuff. The last time I picked it up I asked her about her goats................

Terrible picture of the girls.

June: Beginning of June involved getting the rest of the stupid sod out of the new garden area. That stuff is a pain in the booty. Mixed in the manure, well threw it around, literally, hoed up some rows and threw in some seeds. This, of course, was the only hot time we have had this whole summer so they had to be kept watered (kids are helpful for these things). I then obsessed about getting goats, made a decision and paid a small fortune for 2 Nubian Queens as I like to call them. They were in milk but I didn't want them 'till the first of July which gave me one month to prepare. In that time we purchased a small Rubbermaid shed for them off Craigslist, I built a milk stand (too small for these ladys), purchased a new commercial size fridge for our new plethora of milk we were going to have (off Craigslist), cut a hole in the back door of our existing shed so we can milk them in there and get them in through the back, put up the 6' high chain link fence panels I bought 2 years ago in case we got goats, bought a book on goats and how to build animal shelter (I even got sick for a day so I had time to read it.) This month was also VERY busy baseball season, we had two kids on two different teams with 2 practices or games every week - EACH. It was SO nice when we had a night off. K also started her horse lessons again and wants to be in competition in the State Fair this year. She also is in a youth shot gun club, so that's once a week.

July: Here come the goats. Time for me, Papa and K to learn to milk. It's been K's dream to have a horse for years, hehe, goats too, so we are starting with a producer not just an animal that eats you out of house and home. We also had wonderful friends who gave us some lumber and another wonderful friend who came and enclosed our lean-to and turned it into our hay shed. Then to fill it up with hay. And the shed with grain. And now to learn how to make cheese (that was Papa's job, but I learned too) and sour cream, and yogurt, and pudding. I even learned to make mayonnaise with our chickens eggs in there too, it's pretty easy. This month also included quite a few trips to the doctor for my silly ankle that started hurting this winter. I had an MRI, then got hard plastic orthopedics to put into each shoe. Not fun at all, but my arches are collapsing and it's this or surgery. I miss my bare feet and slip ons. Give me a pregnancy any day.

The yellow we ended up with was cut with white paint...better now.

August: This month will consist of painting our green house yellow (started that yesterday), replacing the back patio door (my dad, the glazier, will do that), *crossing fingers* having our old crappy porch/deck torn down and getting a new one built with the lumber I had purchased for the fence that will take much longer than expected. Papa Stud also has his hunt to Adak planned for the end of August, and then there's always the fair (YAY) I love the fair.