With kidding season upon us, THIS is what goes on in our house.
Daphne’s Holes
Miss Daphne dug these holes last spring. She couldn’t tell me why she did it at the time. These holes are still there. We ended up sinking a fence post in to one of them for our new permanent poultry pen. The other two holes she proudly points out to me whenever we are near them. They were her decision on her farm, and though I don’t understand the practical use of them, she’s got it all worked out–and she’s proud of them.
Cyprus Helps with Bunnies
We sell a litter or two of angora rabbits every year. This improves our bloodlines and our fiber production. I like to sell rabbits to new rabbit owners that are looking at getting a fiber animal that will double as a pet. I know people are going to want to hold their bunnies. Whenever we have a litter of bunnies, the kids are on rabbit duty. They are in charge of playing with them frequently so that they are used to being held and handled. That way, when the rabbits are weaned and go to their new homes, they don’t have to be “tamed” or “calmed.”
Here is Cyprus working on his rabbit duty. He had just had an upset with his sister, and you can see how comforting the bunny is to him.
The Dark of Winter
Not much from me on the blog front lately. I’ve been at home, playing with my kids, cooking and knitting in front of the fire. These dark days of winter seemed to be designed for just this kind of activity. Leaving the house turns out to be really hard, because abandoning the warmth of the fire proves difficult indeed. Even the kids are drawn to it, and most days they bring their toys out of their perfectly warm playroom to sit on the floor by the fire and play trains or build Lego towers.
I spend just enough time outside in the barn to make sure that everyone is fed, warm and cozy. None of the livestock venture from their shelters these days. Except of course the geese and the ducks. The more rain and mud we have, the happier they are. They love to paddle around outside in the muck. Those of us without oil glands sit and watch the winter weather go by from the comfort of our cover. New life is just around the corner. The night temperature are creeping up into the 40’s, which is a sign that the grass is ready to get busy on the important business of growing. New lambs and kids are in the bellies of their mamas getting a last few weeks of growth in before they are to be evicted into the cold February. Daisee is enjoying her 60 days off from the milk shed. She’s preparing to give us a calf (hopefully a bull calf) in the cold February as well. All the new life is exciting, and I enjoy giving out extra handfuls of grain to these mamas and unborn babes.
Speaking of babies, the rabbits LOVE this time of year for breeding, so we’ve got one litter of rabbits just weaned and two more on the way. We are picking up our new double color dominant angora buck this weekend, so we will have angora babies just in time for spring and Easter!
My big horse Pearl is really enjoying her new place. We rescued her, so she spent the first month being worried about if she was going to be fed a next meal. A hundred pounds later and a constantly full hay feeder has convinced her that she really would like to stay. That, and I think we own the only horse that really enjoys a good roll in the mud. She must be part pig because she waits until just after a REALLY good rain before going out for a nice roll in the mud. She has started to feel like I’m her person. We even managed to get her saddled up yesterday. Just a test, I didn’t manage to ride her, but getting the saddle on her was one step closer to that exciting goal.
And so, I continue to clean and bed and clean and feed out in the barn. I enjoy the greetings of everyone as I close the door and make the trek out to them in the cold and wet.
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Happy Holidays!
What a year we have had! For sure, 2011, was full of twists and turns and adventures! We have so many things we are thankful for this year.
Miss Daphne is growing up so quickly! She celebrated her 4th birthday in March. She is very proud to be 4, and she proves how grown up she is every day. She has taken on many different chores around the house. She especially loves to be involved in the growing and preparing of food. She spent countless hours helping plant, weed, water and harvest the garden. She’s even got a very big garlic patch growing that promises some delicious 2012 eating.
Daphne started her study of ballet this year. This is something she has always expressed interest in. She takes her study very seriously, and decided to perform in the Nutcracker! We are grateful for the patience of Miss Emma and the willingness to include such small children in this production. Daphne was a trooper. She practiced hard and did a great job when it came time to shine on stage.
This September, Daphne started school. She is home schooling with mom, and is doing a great job. She is working hard on her writing and math skills, and Jared has been working hard with her on her reading. She can now read many chapters from Dick and Jane. We are really excited to see her grow through her education.
Master Cyprus is also growing up. He turned two this year, and we celebrated with a pie picnic in our orchard. Somehow, our baby turned into a cowboy! She has a miniature horse that he rides and rides and rides. He even went through a period when if you asked him his name he would say, “I’m not Cyprus, I’m a cowboy.” Our little cowboy loves the farm, and he can be seen outside helping with chores even in the rain and the freezing temperatures. He is very helpful to his mama, and he helped pick hundreds of pounds of strawberries, blueberries, cherries, blackberries, peaches, pears, figs and apples.
Jared has been working hard, and he expanded his company and hired two new employees. We are grateful for the work and dedication of the Expansion Computers staff. Jared got to fulfill a long standing dream this year. After 5 years of working out of tiny corners in our house, he has renovated and moved in to his own office space! The farm’s old dairy make room now houses the world headquarters of Expansion Computers! Jared revels in the peace and quiet at having his own space. He has plenty of windows to watch out over the farm. Perhaps the best feature of his office is the heated floor. Jared has finally beat the cold!
Christine has been working and farming away. The kids and her managed to raise enough food that we now have 5 freezers full of our own delicious bounty! She is enjoying being a farmer, a mother, a teacher, a chef, a textile designer, a bookkeeper or whatever other job she needs to be on any given day.
We completed the total renovation of the play room this year. It took over 400 hours of careful work. Christine made the paint herself, and the room now rings of its 100 year old past.
This was our first full year on our farm. We finalized the sale of our property, and it is now ours for good! Even though there were some tough moments this year, we have had a lot of fun and joy as well. Spring time brought Easter egg hunts in the orchard and plenty of green grass for the cows. Summer was passed with many lazy days in the hammock and plenty of bouncing and goofing around on the trampoline. Fall brought us many, many, many bushels of apples and pears. We watched the leaves on OUR trees turn colors and fall as the cool breeze chased off the heat of summer. This winter has been passed with lots of cooking (and eating!) hearty meals and some knitting in front of the fire.
So many momentous things happened in 2011. We made some wonderful new friends and celebrated, births and weddings with old friends. We wish you a warm and joyous holiday season. We hope that this dark season bring you light . May your pantries be full, your food be delicious and your fires be warm.
Warmly,
Jared, Christine, Daphne and Cyprus
We are thankful for:
kisses from my boy | brussels sprouts | home grown chicken dinners | high speed internet | childrens peaceful sleeping faces | strawberries freshly picked still warm from the sun | baby bunnies | cozy warm beds | a barn full of hay | a large home garden | shelves full of canned goods |a husband who is always willing to wear his farmers hat | 3 family meals each day | Jared’s new office with a heated floor | 5 freezers full of nourishing food | owning property free and clear | owning our farm officially! | new fencing | soft, slippery mohair | baby animals | our cozy wood stove | sheepskins | calla lilies | ratatouille | a remodeled playroom | our trusty little car | huckleberries | the Carlton house sale | fresh cheese curds | Community Plate | raw milk | 2 happy cows | grits | Jerry Ripp | reclaimed wood floors | knitting | farm tours | potlucks | feeding Corey and Armen | food from other farmers | bead board | new babies | buckets full of blueberries | our trusty tractor | Thanksgiving dinner | Miss Emma | ballet shoes | family and friends
Farm Help
My son, Mr. Cyprus is reporting for duty to clean the wet, sloppy barn this morning!
