The weather being so nice has allowed us to do more outdoor things. We have been putting half the chickens in the garden every day. A friend gave us this chicken tractor and it is wonderful. Michael will make another at some point. The chickens have been laying a lot of eggs. 132 eggs […]
Goat Walk
We thought the does would enjoy getting out and experiencing a little freedom. We didn’t tell them that between the creeks that surround the lower acreage and the fencing Michael has installed in the upper pasture it wasn’t complete freedom. Look at the nice gate Michael put in the upper pasture. They really didn’t understand […]
Luke the Loveable
Yesterday Luke, my brother-in-law’s Rottweiler of over 14 years, died. Luke joined the family in the summer of 2000. Brian (brother-in-law), Michael and Danny (Father-in-law) worked together and Luke would come to work with Brian. Our beagle, Riley, had been going to work with Michael for more than six months. One day the cutest little […]
NWODGA 2015 Goat Conference
Having finished our three Sundays of being out of the house early and heading up to Portland for fruit tree pruning classes, we got up even earlier on Saturday and headed up to Portland for the annual goat conference at Clackamas High School. The NW Oregon Dairy Goat Association hosts a large conference every year […]
Weighing the Goats
When Bryn came to visit on Monday she brought her animal scales. We need to weigh the goats to determine the amount of pour-on insecticide to give them. They have…..lice…..shhhh. Actually it is quite normal this time of year. Talking with other goat people in the area the general thought is that it will be […]
A Visit to Diji Farm
Halle Berry was born at Diji Farm. It is a wonderful farm just about 20 minutes from us. Carol is the owner/breeder/Nigerian Dwarf goat aficionado. We arrived smack in the middle of kidding. They have quite a large barn and have kidding stalls for the goats. Probably seven stalls with either a doe and her […]
Pear and Apple Tree Pruning
What a busy month February has been and will be until the end. I intended on posting what I learned in each of our three pruning classes. I’ve changed my mind and this post will include what I have learned in the last two classes. Both the pear tree and apple tree pruning classes had […]
A Very Large Pond
The flooding of the lower acreage is passé. We expect it when we have many days of rain. We have had MANY days of CONSTANT rain. Here is what the field looked like on Saturday. Notice that field fence by the canoe? That is the fencing Michael and I replaced in December. It sits on […]
Jasper has Left the Love Shack
Michael took Jasper back to his home last Saturday. He had been with us Halle since January 10th. Not much went on in the Love Shack. She might have already been pregnant. If only she was more obvious when she went into heat. I’m just grateful that we have room for a Love Shack and that […]
New Roof for the Chickens
Michael’s big weekend project was to add some metal roofing over the outdoor pen for the chickens. He expected to quickly get the project done on Friday after picking up the roofing. Projects rarely go quickly. The little bit of time he set aside on Friday was taken up with removing rotten posts. Here is […]
Fruit Tree Prunning
One of the coolest things about our new home is our “orchard”. We wanted a place that had enough land to plant fruit trees. God provided a place that already had them. We have 27 fruit trees. Mostly apple, but we also have plums, pears, and a fig. In September I stumbled across “The Home […]
Deep Litter with Goats
Our barn has cement floors. It is really nice for cleaning. The stall floors are covered in straw. In the summer we clean the stalls weekly. All that dirty straw goes into the composts bins and becomes wonderful compost for the garden. As summer came to a close we decided that we would use the […]