Chicken coop-2.0

Farm Gal here,
Remember the chicken coop?  Well I had only finished half of the job and thought it was about time I get to the rest of it.  So I meandered back out to the coop, loaded up the wheel barrow and that is when it hit me...last time I did this I discovered a semi-flat tire.  I did not fix said tire.  Tire must still be flat.  Rats!  Well since it was already flat I may as well haul it to the compost pile and on my return trip stop at the shop to fill it.  How bad can it be? After all, I had made four trips last time with it a little low.

So I pick up the wheel barrow and start off.  It's actually not as bad as I remember.  In fact, it doesn't feel low at all.  How can that be since I did not fill it, I did not tell SHH about it (he's got enough to worry about) and I know he did not clean out any more than what I had done.  So I put the barrow down go over to the tires and like a good farmer I give them a kick.  What the heck?  They are full!  I mean bouncing, rolling, busting at the seams full.  This can only mean one thing...

I pick up my phone and make a call.
"Do you read my blog?"
"Yes."
"Did you read the part about my tires being flat?"
"Yes"
"Did you fill them for me?"
"Yes."  (He's a man of many words; my SHengineeringH
"You know I'm gonna pay you back for that."
"Looking forward to it."

And that is the kind of man I am married to!  Always thinking of me and never pointing out his good deeds. 

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I'm feeling Sassy!

Or maybe I'm feeling Saucy!  Farm Gal here and I thought I would show you what I, excuse me, WE did on Saturday.  Anyone know what this is?

THAT my friend is Rhubarb!!!  Tart sticks that grow out of control here at the farm.  Well being the good Farm Gal that I am, I just couldn't possibly let a single stalk of it go to waste, so yesterday we jammed!

I had a sinkful, a bowlful

and more that had already been processed by the time I thought of taking photos.

By the time we were done this is what we had...Strawberry Rhubarb, Rhubarb Orange and Rhubarb Rosemary.

When I was a kid my sisters and I would go out to one of our many "forts" (one of which I made a sign for...THE FART oops) and we would take Rhubarb looking stuff along with other weeds, seeds and bits of random stuff and make soup.  Ahhhh those were the days.  Now my kids do this and it brings back such fun memories.  Remind me to tell you about the time twin 2 and I tied twin 1 to a chair and left her there while we went in for lunch.  Funny story!

You know Rhubarb is funny stuff. It looks like a weed, has a stringy consistency and tastes tart.  You would not want to take a big chomp of this stuff just as it is.  Kind of reminds me of me.  I have to be dismantled (chopped), put through the fire (cooked) and I need the Father, Son and Holy Spirit added to my life to make something palatable out of me just like rhubarb needs sugar, lemon juice and pectin to make jam you actually WANT to eat! 

Don't you just love the symbolism life gives to point us to our need for a Great God?

Farm Gal here,
SHH and I went out for burritos (the authentic kind) on Friday and did something very farm-esk.  We took the local farm paper; you know the kind that sells hogs, hay and tractors, and we were pouring over it like it was the JCPenneys catalog at Christmas time!  Guess what we were looking for?  Yep, a tractor.  So we saw an ad for a Farmall M http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/000/2/9/291-farmall-m.html  beautiful isn't she?

That is what our tractor looked like in her "hay-day".

This is what our tractor looks like now.

Before you get all, "what a hunk of junk" on us keep the following things in mind.
1.  We paid cash for it!  So it really is ours.
2.  It runs...really well.
4. We will be scooping manure with it.
3. We all age like this...it's not the tractors fault.

Here is a photo of me driving the tractor...

Here is a photo of me trying to shift the tractor...

And one last photo of me killing the tractor...

So there you go...the new tractor!  Never a dull moment!

Farm Gal here,
Today has been a great day!  SHH took all four kiddos to school so I could get some work done and then head to town to take chicks to PJ's preschool class.  There was much ooohing and aaahing over the cute chicks.  And as an added bonus...no one got pooped on!

Then PJ and I returned home with one of the preschoolers (on purpose) where the boys proceeded to play with puppy, help me move all the chicks to the barn, jump on trampoline (after I fixed it), dig in dirt, find rusty old tools and try to "fix fence" with it and head indoors for some down time (i.e. watching the tube).  After one rousing episode of "Sonic the Hedgehog" PJ and Super Blond Boy are down stairs playing Lego's.

I must mention that I also scooped 5,000 lbs of chicken poop out of the coop and I am not even half finished.  On my fourth trip to the compost pile (chicken poop makes great garden fertilizer) I discovered the wheelbarrow has a semi-flat tire.  No wonder I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.  Now I don't have to blame my being seriously out of shape!  No sirree...it's the flat wheel.


Back to my pile.  I was feeling pretty productive so I thought I would show you the "fruit" of my labor...and for those of you who are concerned about my health...I wore a mask.

Here is what the coop looks like after the removal of said "fruit"...

that's the part that I scooped...

here's the rest waiting for me...

Heavy stuff!!!  It's like 4 inches deep...no joke.

While I was out snapping these photos, look what the bus dragged in...

Dolly and Jeffy arrived home!  Billy is at play practice and you already know what PJ is up to.

Well gotta run.  I am a manure haulin' soccer mom today!

Hey All,

Farm Gal here.  We have a new puppy!  Rocky arrived one week ago today and is in good health.  I think getting a puppy AFTER you have raised babies is a good idea.  I can't imagine having a puppy and a baby.  We have only had a few accidents but he really seems to be getting it now.  I am just hoping no one steps in the poo poo zone!

In other news...the chicks are doing well and we are ready for batch number two...Gunieas!  You have to be careful when you tell others you live on the "farm" because we have people asking us all the time..."do you want a few duckings/chicks/goats" etc.  It seems that young girls go to the farm store, buy a chick because it is sooooo cute, then don't know what to do with it when it becomes an adolescent.  Hummmmm.  So we are going to become the local bird rescue unit.

Still to come...piglets!

Farm Gal here!
Just wanted to update ya'll that we are getting a puppy in T-7 days!  The kids are practically besides themselves with excitement.  The spot is getting prepared...  stay tuned!

In other news...I am feeling very domestic.  I made Caramel rolls and cinnamon rolls yesterday and they were as gooey as you would want them to be! 

What I didn't mention is how last week I washed the sheets and hung them out to dry, just like the "old days", except women in the "old days" did not forget about their fresh clean sheets for three days and have to wash them again because they got "soiled" shall we say.  I gave up, washed them again and threw them in the Maytag...maybe this summer.

PS Piglets in two weeks!!!

PPS Chicks TONIGHT!!!  Holy smokes it's really gonna stink around here.

Let's begin

"Life on the farm keeps a gal on her toes..."  Thus begins one of my favorite books to read to the kiddos and baby, is it true.  Just discovered cow-pie flavored foot prints all the way down the hall.  As it turns out, "Jeffy" (aged 7) lost his balance while trying to do the dutiful thing and switch to his mucker boots from his tennis shoes.  Unfortunatly, he was standing in an "unsavory" place.  Thank heavens for my Shark!  (insert trademark symbol).