Spring Has Sprung!

Our little homestead is growing.

constructing the new chicken tractor

Little by little, day by day, we are making progress and things are starting to take shape. 

Here it is filled with chicks! They LOVE it.

The farmbabies are all growing.

Joyful Hearts CB Adelaide is my little diva.  She just came back from the Chino Goat Show.

It won't be long before the young chickens go off to their new homes

Eight week old hens are in the kennel above

 Though my garden this year is small, it is steadily growing; in spite of lots of furry predators.   

 I am still picking strawberries and green beans. Tomatoes will be ripening soon, and then the dahlias and peonies too. 

Jerry and I are both working hard to shore up a few indoor projects and keep on target for a few big outdoor ones too. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, though I'm not sure how long this journey will take.  I feel blessed to have been granted the privilege to work the land and learn how to run my small farm.  I have big plans for the future,  I just hope my back holds out long enough to see them through. Lol.

I hope you have a blessed week ahead.

Heidi

The Country Homemaker Hop #62

Happy Wednesday!  I hope your Mother's Day was full of hugs and time spent with loved ones.  My day was great.  While traveling back home from the Chino Goat Show I managed to sneak in a few short visits with my Mom-in-law and my own Mother and sisters.  Everyone is well and my entire family fell in love with my baby goats.

California, like much of the country, has been experiencing strange weather again this year.  Our temperatures have been hovering near twenty degrees above average every day, near the century mark. Gasp.

Around the homestead lately, things have been buzzing.  My NWC honeybees threw off a swarm that appear to have killed/taken over the small hive of feral italian bees that I pulled from the house wall a few weeks ago.  I am sad about the loss of the feral bees especially since they were so gentle compared to my carniolans, but I do now have a thriving second hive.

My baby dairy goats are thriving.  I recently cut them back to two milk bottles per day since they've been eating alfalfa and minerals really well for a while now.  I introduced a grain mix (just a bit) to expand their palette.

My shih tzu dogs think they're little lords.  They'd run wild up and down the mountainside if I did not kennel them.  Unfortunately, they are on the menu of some of our large predators so until the main front yard fence is finished, they're imprisoned.

My garden is growing well in spite of the countless gophers and even moles. Ick!  I have lost count of how many I have killed this month, but I know it's now more than 15.  These last few are pretty smart though.  I am going to have to figure out how to outfox them soon.

Yesterday, we found a bird nest full of chicks under a wall mounted air conditioner unit.  I am not sure what kind of bird they are yet, but the mother bird is nearly as tiny as they are.  Amazing.  Just a hair larger than hummingbirds.

We had to move them gently and thankfully Mama has been tending them still.  I just saw her bring back another flying insect critter to feed her hungry brood.

Well, I am off to weed whack.  I have 5 acres of pasture to knock down this week.  My hubby got me a neat contraption.  It's like a weed whacker built onto the wheels of a lawn mower.  It really speeds things up for me and it seems to find all the downed, long lost barbed wire...  it sure is a blessing.

Have a great week on the homestead!  

Please link up and share!

 

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #108

This week has been a whirlwind of activity in preparation for the ADGA/AGS dairy goat show in Chino, California tomorrow.  

I will be showing my little Adelaide for the first time tomorrow.  I am very excited, and a bit nervous too.  It's a long drive to take with bottle babies... but the show must go on and things will all work out.  

Jerry completed the new chicken coop/tractor for the baby chicks and we set it up and moved in the three week old chicks.  It's a hit!  They are really enjoying.  

The six week old chicks will move into the coop later in the week.  Two days ago my suspicions were confirmed when I heard the first attempts to crow from a baby rooster among this group.  I suspect I have three roos among the younger group.  Time will tell.

The carniolan beehive that I brought from Tehachapi has been flourishing, even among so many California buckeye trees. Thankfully.  The queen threw off her first 2013 swarm this week, and they took up residence in a spare hivebox. Hooray!  That was a miracle.

Mother Nature has been keeping us guessing lately.  We had torrential downpours over a few days that washed out the center of my veggie garden, though today the sun is shining again and it's HOT!  

I am heading out now to check on the chicks in their new home, then I will be off to shear my little Adelaide for her sow tomorrow.  I will post about the show on Monday.  

Your Farmgirl Friday Hostesses~  

Deb of Deborah Jean's Dandelion House and founder of our little Farmgirl Friday blog hop. 

Dolly of Hibiscus House and Dolly is Cooking, and me of course!

 Now, it's your turn to link up for your weekly dose of farmgirl soul food!

Here are the rules for the Farmgirl/guy Blog Hop! 

1.) Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals,  quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!

2). Leave your entry in the  Linky tools space to your  Farmgirl Friday post.

3). Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!

4.) Enter up to three entries per hop! 

 DON'T BE SHY~  

Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop! If you haven't clicked that follow button yet, please join us and be sure to stop by our FACEBOOK page and like us there too! 
As always, thank you for your continued participation and welcome new friends and followers!

Don't forget to grab your FEATURED FARMGIRL BUTTON if you've been featured!

Have a GREAT weekend and to all you Moms out there... Happy Mother's Day!

  

Lily of the Valley

This is Joyful Hearts Lily of The Valley.  She's a nigerian dwarf dairy goat.  

We met Lily last year when she was just a few months old.  

I got to show her for her owner/breeder Fern at the Chino Dairy Goat Show.  (Picture above) 

Jerry and I both fell in love with her.  I never thought we'd be able to get a girl as pretty and sweet as her, but her breeder Fern surprised me last week and we will be bringing her home in about a month.  Woohoo!

Here she is this week pictured with her baby buckling.  

http://www.joyfulheartsfarm.com/

She is a very gentle doe and a great mommy.  We are excited to bring her home and begin milking her.

Thank you to Fern and Jeff of Joyful Hearts Farm.

The Country Homemaker Hop #61

What's Up?

Things have been humming right along over here in our lil neck of the woods.  I am up to my elbows with farm babies this spring and loving every minute of it.

What have YOU been doing this week???  Please do share.  The Country Homemaker Blog Hop is a great place to share anything homemaking related.  We all enjoy sharing and collecting favorite recipes, learning about you by following your homesteading dreams/lifestyle, and I for one like to relax at night and read links about your favorite crafts and hobbies.  I get inspired by them all.  Please don't be afraid to ask a question either, there are so many talented men and women in the blogosphere ready and willing to help solve your homemaking dilemmas.  You won't know just how welcoming and helpful this online community is though unless you delve in and participate.  I encourage you to do so today.   

I am wishing you a happy and productive week on your homestead. 

Let's get Hopping!

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #106

Happy Friday

Welcome back for another week loaded with great ideas.  Simply follow the links below to learn how to do just about anything farmgirl related.  It would be even better if YOU link up and share your knowledge and adventures here as well.  There's always room for more.  

I am mid way through week number two with my new baby dairy goats Adelaide and Moonbeam.  They're four and five week old bottle babies and taking care of them has been a great blessing to me.  I love to nurture and mother things.  Thankfully, these two enjoy it.  So far so good.  No signs of distress or illness, but there's much more to learn I know.  

My shih tzu are loving the new babies too.  My two boys Chocolate and Coco are convinced that the goats need protection and they seem to think they're their guardians...  

Here Coco is taking his job seriously. Hiding under the hay bale watching the goats from outside their fence...

It's comical to think since they're on the menu for wildlife here too.  We generally must keep everyone indoors or confined to kennels with roofs around here, unless we're outside with them.  Here's a shot of the whole brood playing yesterday under my supervison.

Our homegrown chicks and growing FAST.  The first batch of five girls were moved into a 5x10 dog kennel inside the chicken run to get acclimated to the other birds before they're eventually added to the flock.  They go into a portable kennel inside the coop at night.  

The little gal above is so pretty I think.  The others all resemble their daddy.  He's a plymouth barred rock rooster.  She looks a little more unique.  Can you see her Easter Egger legs?  They're green like her Mama. I hope she lays the green eggs too eventually.    

This batch (three weeks old) are much harder to take pictures of.  Their mama does not like anyone getting near them...

I'll try to get a few better shots before next week's hop.  

I have been working in the garden some.  It's been in the 90s this week every day. I am NOT used to this kind of heat. My body has been fighting me every step of the way.  I did manage to transplant bush beans and peas, a few hundred onion starts, potatoes, more strawberries, japanese and pickling cucumbers, basil, and some summer squash this week.  

I also completed the last of two cutting flower raised beds.  They're full of giant dahlias in all sorts of bright colors.  (You can thank Deborah Jean for that one, she got me addicted to dahlias via her own garden images last summer. Thank you Deb!)

That's what I've been working on this week.  What about YOU?  

Wishing you all a great weekend doin' what you love,what needs doin' or BOTH!

 Farmgirls love anything to do with homesteading, keeping chicken's, embroidering, sewing, knitting, spinning, quilting, natural home remedies for health care and cleaning, horses, goats, cows, organic gardening and cooking, caring for their loved ones and friends and are community minded. Re-purposing and UP-cycling are high on their list of " fun things to do too! Our resident "FARM-BOYS ' ( Clint the Redeemed Gardner and Rob of Bepa's Garden ) bring wheelbarrow's full of good organic gardening tips to this hop and we are honored to have them join in the fun each week!   

Your Farmgirl Friday Hostesses~ 

 Deb of Deborah Jean's Dandelion House, she's also the founder of our little blog party. Dolly of Hibiscus House and Dolly is Cooking, and me of course!

 Now, it's your turn to link up for your weekly dose of farmgirl soul food!
 Here are the rules for the Farmgirl/guy Blog Hop! 

1.) Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals,  quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!

2). Leave your entry in the  Linky tools space to your  Farmgirl Friday post.

3). Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!

4.) Enter up to three entries per hop! 
 DON'T BE SHY~  

Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop! If you haven't clicked that follow button yet, please join us and be sure to stop by our FACEBOOK page and like us there too! 
As always, thank you for your continued participation and welcome new friends and followers!

Don't forget to grab your FEATURED FARMGIRL BUTTON if you've been featured!

The Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #105

Got Goats???  

After more than a year of waiting, we finally brought home our first two baby nigerian dwarf dairy goats last weekend.  They are very young, bottle babies in fact.  I am enjoying them and learning so much every day.

Their names are Moonbeam and Adelaide.  Adelaide (chocolate brown and white colored) will someday be my little milker.  I will be taking her to her first dairy goat show next month in Chino.  Moonbeam (black, white, and fawn colored) is my little wether/companion for Addy.  He is such a sweet little guy.

I am over the moon with joy.  It has been a long wait with a few heartbreaks along the way, but I can see a bright future ahead.  Jerry is building a larger compound for them, but for now (since they're so young) they spend their days in the sunshine in this lucky dog kennel with a chain link roof, and their morning and nights indoors with us.

What's been going on at your farm lately???

Your Farmgirl Friday Hostesses are-

Deb of Deborah Jean's Dandelion House, she's also the founder of our little blog party. Dolly of Hibiscus House and Dolly is Cooking, and me of course!

Farmgirls love anything to do with homesteading, keeping chicken's, embroidering, sewing, knitting, spinning, quilting, natural home remedies for health care and cleaning, horses, goats, cows, organic gardening and cooking, caring for their loved ones and friends and are community minded. Re-purposing and UP-cycling are high on their list of " fun things to do too! Our resident "FARM-BOYS" ( Clint the Redeemed Gardener and Rob of Bepa's Garden ) bring wheelbarrow's full of good organic gardening tips to this hop and we are honored to have them join in the fun each week! 

Now, it's your turn to link up for your weekly dose of farmgirl soul food!

Here are the rules for the Farmgirl/guy Blog Hop! 1.) Write a post about your farmgirl lifestyle and brag a little about your farmgirl talents while your at it! Share what being a farmgirl means to you. Include lots of photos of your farm, crafts, animals, quilts, home decor projects and thrifty make overs, your backyard garden, chicken coop, recipes, studio or workshop. You get the idea!
2). Leave your entry in the Linky tools space to your Farmgirl Friday post.
3). Please include the Farmgirl Friday button ( or link back here ) in your post and remember to share this hop with all of your blogging friends!
4.) Enter up to three entries per hop! 

DON'T BE SHY~ Be sure to leave a note if you're new to the hop! If you haven't clicked that follow button yet, please join us and be sure to stop by our FACEBOOK  page and like us there too! 

As always, thank you for your continued participation and welcome new friends and followers!

Don't forget to grab your FEATURED FARMGIRL BUTTON if you've been featured!

Let's get HOPPING!