I'm Exhausted But Farm Life Continues

LOL

I started making an outline for this post to catch you up on my goings ons.... It is CRAZY!

Hatching
Chickens

Ducks

Freebie Turkey

Baby Birthday

Canning

 Corned Beef

 Corned Beef and Cabbage

 Pork

 BBQd Pork
Dehydrating Food

Dog

Loss of a Flock
Poultry Auction
Researching upcoming Passover

If I don't get this done NOW, I know the list will only grow.

I have been SO tired, with my first trimester exhaustion and morning (they should call it constant) sickness.  But I try to get to bed at a decent time and get a nap in every now and then, so I can't complain.

Our first big hatch happened on the first of March.  It was a little disappointing after we had two power outages that severely effected our numbers.  But the chicks that did hatch are healthy and growing well.   Since we didn't get the numbers we were hoping for, we ordered another 200 hatching eggs and are trying one more time.  We also had some ducks hatch from our own eggs and a nearby farmers.  They are terribly cute.

Of course, I look forward to WARM spring weather when I can get all these birds out of their makeshift brooder boxes in my house.  The constant racket, and the smell, is hard to deal with, especially in my 'delicate' state. LOL

We also got a free turkey on freecycle.  It was just a young chick, but was more aggressive than the others and had attacked others in her little brood.  He is cute and alot of fun.  He may be a pain as he gets older, but if we can keep control of him for four to six months, we could end up with a good sized turkey dinner.

My youngest turned one.  We invited a friend to dinner and had cake.  Then we had some fun!  We got out the glow sticks, broke the ends, turned out the lights and sprayed it all over everything and everyone.  For some AMAZING fun for grown ups and kids that really fills that last hour before bed, it is awesome.

I also was able to get some canning done on a couple of weekends.  The local Cash & Carry had a sale on some meat products.  I canned some quarts of straight Corned Beef, some pints of Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup, and pints of shredded pork and BBQ'd pork.  The meat will be a great addition to some quick meals.  And the pints of Corned Beef & Cabbage soup will be an excellent addition to my husband's lunch every now and then.

I also dehydrated slices of lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit.  I had gotten the idea from pinterest of course.  It seemed like a great idea to me.  Perfect for teas, simmering pots, and even grated a little in sauces or desserts.  And of course they are beautiful in their jars.

During this same time we were in the middle of getting accustomed to a new dog in our home.  He was a year old German Shepherd.  We had some bad experiences last year with two dogs that bit.  My children were afraid.  I was leery.  But my husband was so sure that a good dog experience was possible.

And he was a good dog.  Very sweet and loving with the kids.  My babe loved to crawl ALLLLLLLL over him, and especially when he was trying to sleep.  The dog sighed heavily and took it.

But he was addicted to the chase.  And my chicken flock suffered.  My cats began living on the roof of my home.  And my duck flock fled the property and never returned.  We debated our choices.... costly training that may work vs finding him a new home.  Our birds are so integral to our home here.  We love them.  We cared for the dog also, but we also realized that maybe..... somebody could love him more.  So we found him a good home with a family with kids, and NO birds.  We hope he is VERY happy there.

My husband, in particular, is VERY fond of our ducks.  And the loss of the entire flock weighed heavily on him.  So last weekend we went to a local Poultry Auction.  It was AWESOME!  We had so much fun.  We got a few chickens, and several ducklings, and a few adult ducks as well.  Our pond is a home again, and the future holds a strong flock now.  We also paid close attention to the process and the prices for the various animals.  We are now considering this new method to get rid of some excess roosters and even hens, that would assist in feed costs for our entire flocks.

This next weekend brings the Passover.  We are eager to celebrate this biblical feast, to delve into the word and history of it, and to see how it illustrates and prophesies about the Messiah of our souls, sweet Yeshua.

So I apologize about the long silence.  I look forward to the second trimester and no more *constant* sickness.  I smile just at the hope of it.