Living Farm

Bought 3 rabbits at the small animal swap Saturday.  A 3 month old buck, a bred doe (due 10/26 *crossing fingers*) and a 7 week old doe for future breeding.  We are officially going to be breeding our own meat!  They are New Zealands, unpapered, but basically the meat breed. 

Also the chicks shipped today.  I should be getting a call from the post office in the next couple of days to pick them up.

Things are really picking up.  October will be a super busy month.  We are also moving down the last of our things at the end of the month.  Well I will post pictures later of all the new critters, but now I need to get back to work.

sunset

Took this off the back deck when Mom and Dad were down.

Changed my mind

So I started out making the brick brooder but it wasn't looking to be as sturdy as I would like.

Then I remembered someone posting about useing a dog crate and it looked like a much better idea with about the same room.  So I pulled out my dog crate which my dogs don't use anymore and cleaned it up.  Some zip ties and left over plastic fencing for the top and voila : chick brooder.

 

All that is left is to get the feeder and waterer and the bulb for the heat.  I plan on getting that saturday at the small animal swap.  I will probably make my own bedding with the chipper.

Next step will be making the chicken tractor.

Also the persimmons are ripening nicely and taste wonderful!

progress

Mom and Dad came up and brought the Case tractor for me.  It also has a six foot brush hog so I can start clearing some of the land.  Dad helped fix the blade on the lawn tractor so now all three blades will spin and not just two.  He also sharpened the blades, they were in a sorry state.
We got the drywall up in the bedroom in the basement so now all I have to do is mud and paint.  I plan on doing that when the weather is bad.

Went to the family reunion and saw all the cousins and aunts, uncles, and relations I don't remember.

Oh and Mom and Dad bought a car while they were here.  Cause Dad wanted a Durango.  I am still baffled at them just up and deciding to buy a car.  But I am used to it being a bigger decision.

Going to lay out a brick chick brooder in the garage.  That should keep critters from coming at them from the sides.  I need to frame a wire lid that I can weigh down with bricks to keep them safe from the top.

Some people are concerned about me rushing in to getting animals.  But if we all waited for the perfect time to get something then hardly anything would be done.  I need to start some time.  Now seems as good as any.

Next spring I want to get a couple of feeder pigs and fatten them up.  I am not sure when I will get my goat, I guess when one comes up that is the right price.  Spring at the latest.

I will get pictures of the tractor and chick brooder up soon.

Parents

We can't live without parents.  Literally.  We wouldn't be born without them.  We couldn't make it through those squalling years and diaper changes without them.  In modern days they get us off to school, and still teach us things at home.  They provide shelter, food, love, and entertainment.  They are there for all of life's challenges and for helping us out of their home.  They are there when we reach adulthood and begin our own lives, to cheer us on, hear our complaints and somtimes help with lawn mowers.

So thanks parents.  The good ones are special gifts.

So old I can't remember my own age

So I am 34 years old.... not 32.  Or so my Mom says.  Not sure if I believe her.

Rob came down and we went and got some drywall for the room downstairs we want to make our bedroom.  We were about to put the drywall up on the ceiling when I decided we should wait.  I want to put in some wiring for a ceiling fan.  We also found some lick'n'stick fake wood floor which should look nice.  Cheap too - .50 a square foot.

We worked on taking apart some of the weak plywood floor in the 'garage'.  I thought I could turn that area of it into an animal shelter but the one I beam that was across the front has cross members through more of that area.  We went ahead with tearing up the plywood anyway because it would need to be replaced either way.  If I do end up putting some new flooring in there I would need to put down some plastic too keep the ground moisture from weakening it.

Khain is still doing well.  His growth has stopped growing and he is still doing stairs well and running around when it is cool.

Tomorrow I wash the bedsheets for when Mom and Dad get here Tuesday.  Dad is bringing up some belts for the lawn tractor.  The blades need them and they probably should be sharpened.  They are also bringing up the big tractor.  That will be interesting.

I do need to get on the ball about the chicken coop though.

Break in the heat

Finally got a break in the 100 degree heat and did some more work outside.  Starting to get wood for the chicken tractor.  I am 32 years old and have officially chopped down my first tree with an ax.  I had always used a chainsaw before.  It was a nice straight 12 foot cedar tree that will be one of the runners for the chicken tractor.  Cedars have a natural resistance to rot and bugs.  I will cut down one more and then the rest of the tractor will be recycled lumber and smaller branches.  I will post picks of the tractor once it is done (maybe the construction if I think of it.

In other news: Coyotes sang outside the window last night.  They sounded very close and it was a cool experience.  ... Must build strong chicken tractor.

Got MORE cucumbers in.  Most of them are pretty sad but there was one that actually looks like a proper cucumber.

 I will harvest the seeds from this one to plant next year.  I harvested the seeds from a store bought cantelope too.  I hope they don't mold on me.  I tried it once last year and failed.  I don't think I let them dry enough.

I think they will be my only harvest from the garden in Union this year. The few tomatoes and watermelons quit growing, not enough water. I will need to keep a better eye on that next year. The sunflowers are wilting too. Not sure homw many seeds I will be able to get from them.

 In the front yard what I thought was just a big bush has produced two apples!  One was pretty scrawny but the other looks like a proper apple.  I had wanted to plant an apple tree but maybe I won't have to.  Very excited.  I will have to trim back all the suckers and see if I can't make a proper tree from it.