When we bought our little Nigerian Dwarf doe back in November, we didn't know that she was already pregnant. She was only five months old at the time, but apparently had found her way to the ND buck at her previous home prior to coming to us.
We have been watching her closely for the past few weeks, knowing that she was close. By Monday evening, I expected her to give birth in the next few days, but her behavior hadn't changed at all so I went to bed. Woke up Tuesday to twins out in the barn!! Our little Hazel had given birth in the early morning hours, with no problems and no assistance, and both babies are healthy. Both are male, and are pure Nigerian Dwarf that will be for sale in 8 weeks. Annie and Silas, our two new Anatolian LGDs. This photo gives a little insight into their personalities; Annie is agile, smart and has boundless energy. Si is completely laid back, and mostly just wants to be loved on. They will make a great pair.
Why, why, WHY do people write programs just to mess computers up??!! This problem has taken me almost two weeks to resolve, but thanks to the folks at www.majorgeeks.com and www.bleepingcomputer.com, my laptop is back up and running.
I do apologize if I have disappointed any of you by not posting for so long. We hope we didn't lose anyone for good. Onward with spring, babies, and lots of photos! If you follow the page on facebook, you might know that my mom's computer has been hi-jacked. She cannot seem to get it fixed, so I am filling in for her right now. I usually write on the Kid's Blog, but right now I am writing for both. She will be back soon! - Grace WELL, there is certainly a lot going on here! We found out that our little Nigerian Dwarf doe, Hazel, is pregnant. I had noticed for about 2 months that she was developing a small udder, which I figured might be a precocious udder, as I didn't know what else to think about it. I figured I would contact Hazel's previous owner to be sure of what was going on, and she answered with a very surprising email! She said that our tiny little Hazel was pregnant! She looks fairly big in pictures, but if you are right next to her, she is very small. I have been thinking about how many kids she will have, and I believe she will have twins (doelings, I hope!). That would be so much easier on her. The buck she is bred to is a Nigerian Dwarf (VERY thankful for that!), AND, he is spotted and polled! We should actually have some neat little babies from her! She IS showing a few signs of impending labor, such as her raised tail-head, sunken hips, and... okay, fine. That's all... BUT, some does show no signs at all and out pops a kid, so I will be going out to check on here in a bit! So, here are some pictures of our little Hazel, who could be due anytime: Gardens are so important to many people, either for aesthetics or for producing food. Working the soil is good for the soul, and years ago I had a gardening epiphany; if I am going to do all this work landscaping, why not put in plants that would give back in the form of food, herbs and medicine?
I've never been much of a tea drinker. I have sampled many times the teas in the little boxes from the grocery store, trying to understand why people seem to like them so much. They were always so bland and tasteless, even if I used three or four bags. I even went so far as to find a local bulk tea shop, and bought several types that appealed to me. Most of them just can't compete with my heavenly dark brewed, packed with flavor, beloved coffee. I gave up, and decided the Brits could have my share. However, when I began to grow my own herbs, a really wonderful thing happened; I found that my homegrown teas were packed with flavor. In addition, if you are using teas as medicine, using fresh plant material is a better way to acess the medicinal qualities. For an even more interesting tea, try adding fruit peels such as apple, lemon or orange. I save my fruit peels for just this purpose. Find some local honey as well, and you can create all sorts of heathful, helpful powerhouses. From wikiHow.com: A tea garden is a delightful hobby that can complement the rest of your herb garden and will provide you with the joy of fresh herbal teas, more properly known as herbal infusions or tisanes, at a moment's notice. Creating a tea garden in a container can also make a perfect gift for somebody. References to "tea" below should be understood to refer to herbal tea. [snip] Peppermint - this is a perennial favorite for many people. Its refreshing taste is uplifting and cleansing, as well as wonderful for stomach troubles of all kinds. Peppermint is generally very easy to grow and enjoys sunny and semi-shaded spots. Grows very, very easily and unless you want it escaping across the garden, keep it pot-bound. The leaves are the part used for making tea. Lavender - a delightful, softly fragrant tisane that is perfect for soothing, especially recommended for reducing tension and soothing headaches. Lavender grows well in full sun, well-drained soil . Lavender buds are the part of the plant used for tea. Lemon Verbena - a refreshing and tangy lemony taste comes packed in these simple but easy-to-grow leaves. It needs full sun and will not tolerate harsh winters, so keep it pot-bound if that's a danger in your area. The leaves are the part used for tea. Rose Hips - rose hips are the seed cases for roses. They are extremely high in vitamin C and are very good for you. Rose hips will form once the rose bush goes to seed. The rose hips should be deep orange-red before harvesting. Clean the rose hips gently before steeping. Marjoram - this herb has a fruity, citrus flavor and an undertone of mint. It grows well in full sun to semi-shade. Leaves and flowers are suitable for steeping. Pick the leaves or flowers. The best time of day for this is just after the dew has dried but before the heat of the sun begins to draw the oils out of the plant. Prepare the leaves. Leaves should be bruised to release their essential oils . Do this by rubbing them together. Make the tea. Add the herbs to a teapot or directly to a mug or cup. For each cup of tea, add approximately 2 to 3 teaspoons of fresh leaves and/or flowers. Slice rose hips in half before adding. Allow to steep for 5 minutes. This will ensure that the flavors are released and the full benefits of the herb's or flower's qualities are available. Read more about teas as gifts, choosing the right soil and/or pots for herb growing, and additional herbs to grow and use at http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-an-Herbal-Tea-Garden. When I had a market garden, I grew 200-foot rows of lettuce. The rows contained my own mixture of lettuce varieties, chosen for taste, color, and leaf shape, and I cut the leaves young for the mesclun mix I sold to local chefs. Twice a week my two young assistants and I knelt in the white clover pathways to shear the baby plants. Most of the dozen or so lettuce varieties were the type described as cutting lettuces, which obligingly and vigorously sprout a fresh crop of leaves when they are snipped off just a couple of inches above the ground. They are often called cut-and-come-again lettuces. Cutting lettuces are mostly non-heading leaf varieties from two groups, Grand Rapids and oakleaf. The Grand Rapids group produces broad, crinkled, and frilly leaves, while the oakleaf varieties have flatter and distinctively lobed leaves. Both groups include red and green varieties and several red-green combinations. All make great garden design elements. Paint the garden with lettuce Whatever else I grow, I always have plenty of ‘Black Seeded Simpson’, an heirloom. I don’t bother with little packets; I buy it by the ounce, about 25,000 seeds. Properly stored, lettuce seed stays viable for three years. ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ is so reliable I use it as the standard for judging the germination success of other varieties. A fast grower, it produces crinkly, juicy, yellowish-green leaves. Its only shortcoming is a tendency to bolt in summer heat; it does best in spring and fall here on Long Island. One of the best summer performers I have found is a romaine: a French cos, ‘Craquerelle du Midi’. When every other lettuce in my garden is getting bitter or defiantly announcing its plans to set seed, this one stays mild and leafy. The red or green lobed leaves of the oakleaf types are pillars of the looseleaf establishment. There are at least half-a-dozen varieties of each color commonly found in seed catalogs. ‘Oakleaf’ is the original old standby that yields crisp, tender, light green leaves and keeps going through moderate heat. Although it has deeply lobed leaves, ‘Salad Bowl’ is not a true oakleaf. But it is an All-America Selections winner that produces rosettes of delicate lime-green leaves and also has good heat tolerance. Tops for reliability, even through a hot summer, is ‘Red Sails’. Another All-America Selections winner, it’s a fast grower with green and reddish-bronze leaves. Read the rest of this article at http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/2961/cut-and-come-again-lettuce-sampler#comment_list Join us on our Facebook page, for more of a conversation, rather than the post of the day format.
You can find us here, https://www.facebook.com/BillyJoesFoodFarm. Don't forget to "like" the page, and click "show in newsfeed" and/or "get notifications" so that you won't miss our Facebook posts. Here in southern Kansas, we got a foot of snow a few days ago. Although it was relatively nice this weekend and some of it melted, we are now expected to get over another foot in the next 48 hours, in blizzard conditions.
It is at times like these that I am so thankful that we have planned ahead. We have sources for water and heat, independent of any power sources. But just as importantly, we have a full pantry. I consider that to be absolutely necessary, especially because we have children. You have insurance for your health, insurance for your house, even insurance on your car; why not carry food insurance? You never know when a crisis will hit, or what it will be when it does. Loss of income, illness or injury, or severe storms can all cause disruption in your ability to keep your kitchen cabinets stocked. The photos below were taken by my daughter's friend who works at a local grocery store. Let's hope anyone who was looking for supplies was able to find what they were looking for somewhere else. Please keep enough food on hand so that a situation like this doesn't affect you and your family. Having farm animals provides many benefits. However, along with the fleece, the milk and the eggs, we also have a LOT of flies. Just sitting on the porch can become a trial. This spring, I am going to try using essential oils as a deterrent. From wikihow.com... Tired of fly sprays and the unwanted chemicals they contain? Are you constantly being bothered or bitten by unwanted pests in your own back yard? There are some very easy solutions to keeping flies away from the outdoor dining area, and you can do them all yourself. Read on for some helpful tips and hints! Clean out a small tin with a lid. This will be the "home," so to speak, for your repellent. Take a clean piece of cloth or a small piece of dish sponge able to fit into the container. Saturate it with one of the following oils (after it has been diluted appropriately, see Tips): Lavender oil - lavender is considered to be particularly effective against flies Citronella oil (dilute with water first) Eucalyptus oil (dilute with water first) Pennyroyal oil (dilute with water first) Peppermint oil (dilute with water first; likely more effective against mosquitoes but also considered to work against horse-flies. Lemongrass oil (dilute with water first) Place the cloth in the tin and shut the lid. Allow to sit for 24 hours. Use as needed. Whenever you need to use the tin, remove the lid and place on the entertaining table. Make as many as you wish to put around the entertaining area to deter flies. Replenish the oil after each use; once open to the air, the strength weakens and needs to be topped up. Read other tips about using herbs and essential oils for insect repellants at WikiHow - How to make natural repellents with essential oils. |