Thursday, out in the barn to check due doe, nothing, caught up on blog.  Have much to do, clip

goats, there are four that can be done right now, with two still heavy with pregnacy, so will wait on

them.  Dehorn and castrate seven kids and weigh the first triplets, they are a month old today!  On

top of all that, I need to make bread for us, as well as zucchini bread for the 4H bake sale this

coming Sunday.

Time to get rolling...

Friday, May 29,  Didn't get any of that done!  Did have a set of twins though, one of each in the late

afternoon on Thursday.  Now only one to go.

While I did some dishes this morning, Husband sprayed the fruit trees.

I had my yearly phyiscal and Mamogram today.  So far, all is well, nothing to report.

After my appointment I did some shopping and then came home. 

Saturday, May 30, the doctor wanted me to get a fasting blood test and a bone density done and as

it happened, I was able to schedual it for today.  So, first thing I was on my way back to St. Johns

and the tests.  All is good.

The afternoon was spent baking zucchini bread for the 4H bake sale on Sunday.

All the goats are doing fine.

Saturday, May 30:  The computer was on line all day today.  Husband was downloading what the

new mouse needed to run, it took 10 hours!  How dumb!  Anyway, we now have a new and properly

working mouse.

The afternoon was spent baking zucchini bread for the 4H bake sale on Sunday. Early evening we

were invited to Oldest Son's place to see their new travel trailer.  It is really an old trailer, 1970

something, but it is in really good shape and it is new to them.

Came  home did chores and went to bed.

Sunday, May 31:  Got dishes caught up this morning, did chores and then got ready and left for bake

sale in Owosso for Granddaughter's 4H club.  We had plenty of goodies to sell, plus there were hot

dogs and pop and a petting zoo with sheep, goats, rabbits and a miniture donkey.  Unfortunatly,

people were not interested in buying all our goodies, so the sale wasn't very good.  I didn't get home

until after 6PM.

Had leftovers for dinner, did chores and I am now relaxing and will soon be heading to bed.

Monday, June 1:  Got chores done, went to Old Neighbor's to help him drain his generator.  Then

went to lunch, did some errands, came home, took a nap on the couch, made dinner started chores

and then...the family that bought one of my doelings last year came by for some pointers.  And to

see my babies.  They were here until after 10 PM, the second shift of milkers got milked after that. 

Then Husband got on line and checked mail and so did I, it was a good thing...I have someone who

might be interested in my one Toggenburg Buckling.  I answered her email and told her I would send

out some pictures on Tuesday.  Here's hoping she likes what she sees!

Then to bed.

Tuesday, May 2:  Up and in the barn at 7:15 AM as I have an appointment for my hearing aids at

8:30 AM.  Chores done and gone. Appointment, then grabbed a snack in town picked up a part for

the hay mower and then went and ran Mary Miller's Meals route as she is in Traverse City for the

week.  Home again and spent the rest of the afternoon getting pictures ready to mail out to the

woman interested in the buckling.

Wednesday, May 3:  Just the usual today, chores and then Meals and then Gathering.  Our meeting

today is at Judy's place on Scenic Lake, Laingsburg.  Haven't been in that area in quite some time. 

A few new houses going up, or already up, but pretty much the same.

Judy's place is really nice and we had a wonderful view of the lake while we had great goodies and

fun visit.

After I got  home, before making dinner, I finished mowing the lawn.  Husband had started it, I just

did the finishing.  Then dinner and chores.

We had a campfire to finish off the day.

Thursday, May 4:  Up early, checked email, did the dishes, had breakfast and then headed out for

the day.  First off after milking, we cut and burned all the kids.  That is we disbuded and castrated

those that needed it done.  After we had lunch and then started to do some garden preparation.  I

mowed down all the dry and dead weeds with the brush hog and then did some more mowing in the

tight spaces with the old lawn mower.  Atleast now it looks some better.

Dinner was steak on the grill with aperagus and then chores and another campfire.

 

 

 

May 28:  Playing catch up again.  On the 23rd, I spent the day at Daughter's place planting flowers in their yard. 

The 24th, we went into Owosso to do some errands and made a stop at the goat show to see how it was going.  I would normally be showing, but with goats still due I decided not to.

On Memorial Day the 25, Husband and I spent the day pulling weedings and cleaning up one of our flower gardens.  In the early evening, Daughter, her husband, and Oldest Son and his family came over and we had an impromptu dinner together.  Each family brought whatever they had and we cooked on the grill and ate together. 

Tuesday the 26th, Husband took Daughter to her dental appointment and then when we got the call that she was done, I picked her up and we headed for U of M for another appointment, this was with her Hemotologist. 

Wednesday the 27th, I was up at 4:00 AM, barn time and in the barn by 4:30 AM to get my milking done so that I could go with Daughter again, to U of M.  This time it was for an MRI and a mamogram.  Things were running late at the MRI and we didn't leave the hospital until 3:00PM!  We had spent six and one half hours there for just two tests!  Lots of just sitting around and waiting, long day!  When we got home Husband told me he had to bury one of the goaties, we had been nursing her for about three days and she just couldn't fight any longer.  Not sure really what was wrong, but she wasn't the strongest right from the start.  Also got a call from Old Neighbor, he was checking on Daughter, but he also had an experience to tell...both he and his wife were taken to hospital over the weekend, in an ambulance no less!  Will need to keep in touch with them, just to help out if need be.  He doesn't like the idea of us helping, but I told him he pulled me out of trouble different times, so now I get to help him out.  This is as it should be.

During evening chores, Husband came out and started to clip the milkers.  He roughed them in while I finished milking and washing up, and then I did the final details.  We got three done.  Good job!

Thursday, out in the barn to check due doe, nothing, caught up on blog.  Have much to do, clip goats, there are four that can be done right now, with two still heavy with pregnacy, so will wait on them.  Dehorn and castrate seven kids and weigh the first triplets, they are a month old today!  On top of all that, I need to make bread for us, as well as zucchini bread for the 4H bake sale this coming Sunday.

Time to get rolling...

 

 

May 14, Thursday:  Had some strong storms over night and we lost power for about four hours.  No damage to be seen here.  Hoping for a quiet day today.  Have plans to go into town to get some groceries as we are planning on having Brother in Law and his wife here on Sunday for a cook out.

What a busy week so far!  Still no new babies!

While I was doing chores Husband tried to do some driveway improvement.  When pulling up to the barn door the drive is very curvy, which makes it hard to maneuver with hay wagons and other pieces of equipment.  He is trying to make the drive a bit more straight by removing some of the dirt on the hillsides of the curves.  It will also make mowing easier as well, if the hills are more smooth, instead of sharp drops.

Between feeding shifts, I pulled some weeds out of one of my newer flower gardens.  I am looking forward to seeing how it will look when the Iris are in bloom.  I planted the rizomes last fall so this will be the first time to have flowers there.  They will be seen as you drive up the drive.

After chores, we had our lunch and then went into St. Johns to get some groceries.  After putting everything away we sat down for some R&R, that took the rest of the day!

I made leftover Beef and Barley stew with bread and salad for supper.

Evening chores were done at 8:30 PM, after watching "My Name is Earl".  It was the only thing on TV, so after chores I did some computer time and then went to bed.

Friday, May 15:  By 6:30 AM I was already out in the barn to check the does...Nothing!  Dark Haired Beauty will be here today, as it is a In Service Day for the Teachers.  The weather looks nice right now, clear and sunny with a heavy dew. 

Dishes to be done and house to clean, as well as washing the wool that I sheared last week.  Got most of the Border Leister done already, now just the Suffolk to do.  I have also been working on hand carding the BL from last year.  It seems to be going better then using the drum carder, so I will be doing more of it.  I have one bobbin on the wheel already full and one almost, soon I will be plying them together and I will have myself some new yarn.  I plan on dyeing it and then making a lacy sweater for myself from it.

7:15 AM and time to get some dishes done.

May 16 & 17:  Busy weekend, besides having Brother-in-Law and his wife for dinner on Sunday we also had twins born on Saturday and two sets of twins born on Sunday!  Crazy busy!

18 - 20 Just keeping up with feeding everyone and doing the usual Meals and Fiber Friends.

May 21:  Day started as usual.  Just as I was finishing up the second shift of milking and feeding I noticed that Lita, who is three days past due, decided to kid.  She had a very quiet labor, I didn't have a clue for sure that she was getting ready when she was on the stand.  Much to my surprize she delivered twin bucks!  There are now eleven new kids on the place and my goat count is at 20 for a total!

The Farrier is coming at 4:30 PM and I will be sure to let her see all the newbies.  She will like them because the most of them are LaMancha crosses, so they are at least part the same breed as hers.

I have about a week of peace before the next doe is due.  Last year, this one went eight days past due and then delivered triplet!

Farrier  has come and gone, the last feedings are done, and all is well here.

May 22:  Woke early, so have time to update journal.  Nothing special planned for the day just dishes, chores, and mow if it doesn't rain.   All the farmers  have been busy this week in the fields.  All those around us look really nice now all fitted up and some are planted as well.  We have been eating Asparagus almost every day since last Sunday and have frozen some.  Picked some yesterday and had it for dinner and have some to freeze as well.

Have one goat in the barn now, she is due on the 29th.  She had Triplets last year, and she is an AI Mommy, so here's hoping for Triplet does this year.

6:15 AM, dishes are waiting, time to roll...

Had a quiet day, just the usual feeding, feeding and more feeding and milking.  Did get the lawn mowed and some weeds pulled.  Had another visit from Old Neighbor and his wife.  She really loves the babies!

Also had a short visit from Son-in-Law.  He picked up our tiller to use at their place.

We got a chance to do alittle porch sitting, but really was busy most of the day.

In the evening after chores we watched the Red Wings hockey game and then went to bed.

 

May 9:  The plan for the day today was get an early start and get bread made, wool washed and dust and sweep the house.  All this while Husband was away at an auction and I was home waiting for my milk customer to come to pick up.

Got the early start with all the chores done and Husband off.  Then I did some work in my office on my farm books, balancing the check book and savings.  That took quite a while, as I had some trouble and was trying to figure out why I couldn't get it to balance.  Still don't quite know, will wait until next statement.

While up there Stepson called to wish me Happy Mother's Day.  It is his goal to always be the first one of the kids, most of the time he makes it.  Not long into his call, my customer arrived.

Sixteen gallons of frozen milk are now in someone else's freezer and we have a whole bunch of empty plastic jugs.

I finished up the book work after they left and then I started the bread.  I didn't have any butter, so instead of white bread I made whole wheat.  I hadn't made this recipe before so I only made two loaves.  It turned out really nice, so I will make more the next time.

While doing other things, I had the wool from yesterdays shearing in the washer soaking and spinning.  Plenty of HOT water some soap and soaking with little agitation, twice and the wool will be nice and clean.  Ready to put on the drying rack and when dry card and spin.

About 2:00 PM, Husband came back home.  He had spent $5 on my Mother's Day gift, a vaccume cleaner!  (He also bought me a hanging flower basket, but that wasn't at the auction).  I had been thinking that it was time for a new vaccume, but I didn't want to pay the price for a good one.  This one is a really good one, it is an Electrolux and it is quite new and used very little.  For $5 we weren't even sure it was running until we tried it.  It is great it picks up the nap in the carpet really nice and does a wonderful job on the hardwood as well.  I got the sweeping done all through the main floor!  It is a really good vaccume!

Just as I was finishing up the sweeping, Husband said that Old Neighbor was pulling in the drive.  I thought he was jokeing, as this would make three weeks in a row that we had a visit from them.  Husband wasn't joking!  Old Neighbor's Wife really likes my babies goats and she was ready for another visit with them.  So while she and I went out to the barn and the babies, the husbands visited in the house.  We all had a nice long visit and the kids had plenty of play time.

We went into the house and while we all visited I finished the bread.  It smelled good baking while we visited.

By the time they left it was time to get dinner ready.  Saturday is Husband's day to cook, so that usually means frozen pizza or if we have them Pasties.  Today there is neither in the house, so he decided to order out for pizza.

We had our pizza, did chores watched some TV and then headed to bed.

May 10:  Happy Mother's Day.  Up early to do chores and then we are going to the Owosso Ponderosa resturant for a Mother's Day Buffet with Oldest Son and Family.  No other plans yet for the day.

May 14:  Been a busy week so far, hope I can cover everything...After Brunch at Ponderosa, which included Daughter and her husband as well as Oldest Son and family, we all went our seperate ways.  We headed home and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Got phone calls from Middle Son and Stepson later in the day.  All in all a nice quiet Mother's Day.

Monday: Old Neighbor and his wife arrived around 8 AM, to do some computer work. Their 'puter is on the blink and they need to apply for unemployment as they were just given two weeks layoff.  While the guys were visiting, we girls visited the babies again.

Daughter had a dental appointment at 11:00 AM and had asked me to drive her since she was going to be sedated.  I picked her up and went to St. Johns.  I finished a pair of socks while waiting.  She came back to our place for a while.  Then when she was feeling more herself I took her back to her place.

While we were gone, ON found out that his day to sign up wasn't until Wednesday and her day wasn't until later in the day on Monday.  Since it was Her Birthday, He took her out to lunch and then came back and finished up the computer work.

We recieved a phone call from Oldest Son asking if Dark Haired Beauty could come here on the bus after school and then he would pick her up.  He had an appointment to sell one of his cars and had made arrangements for the people to come here to see it, since it was closer for them.

So, on Monday we saw, our Old Neighbor and wife, Daughter, Oldest Son and his daughter.  Lots of coming and going at our place all day.  The evening was quiet.

Tuesday:  No visitors planned for today, but had some farm work that needed to be done.  First, I moved the horses over to the riding arena to graze for a few hours.  Then after the usual chores I went to work disbuding, castrating and tatooing the triplets.  Nasty but necessary job done.  Then I put the kids up in the corn crib for some outdoor time.

In the afternoon, I mowed the lawn and then went to Spencer's and picked up my Country Life order of five pounds of walnuts.  We had a nice visit there.  Home again and dinner and some TV and bed.

Wednesday:  Another schedualed appointment with Old Neighbor and Wife.  An unshedualed day with DHB, school was canceled because of vandilisium to the buses!  Plus the usual Meals to be delivered.  Wife and DHB were happy to bottle feed the babies, so they had a good time while I did chores.

Route ran and then back home for lunch.  Spent the afternoon entertaining DHB and helping her do her homework.  Shortly after finishing her homework, Mommy came and picked her up.

Dinner was Vegetable Beef Soup that was in the crock pot all day.  Just as I was taking the meat out to cool so I could cut it off the bone, Daughter and her husband showed up.  They stayed for dinner.

Evening was uneventful.

May 7:  Missed a few days, but to bring you up to date...Sunday was a quiet day at

home.  Monday, we finished the goat shed cleaning.  What a job!  We must remember to

clean it once a year at the very least.  Tuesday, my milk customer called to see if we had

any milk to sell, she will be coming on Saturday to pick up 16 gallons we have in the

freezer, I also mowed lawn and moved the goats into the clean shed.  Wednesday was

the usual, Meals and Gathering.  The triplets are doing fine, we weighed them on

Tuesday and each one had gained about four pounds.

Today will be Grandparents Day at Leonard Elementary School with DHB.  Had a nice

Grandparents Day with DHB.  Got to see her classroom and she read several stories to

me.  The whole class sang a couple of songs as well.

When I got home I decided to take the rest of the day off and Husband and I sat on the

porch until it was time to get dinner.  While preparing dinner Oldest Son showed up.  He

had taken DHB to softball practice and stopped by here while waiting for it to be over.

The rest of the evening was the usual, dinner, chores and TV.

There are three does who in ten days will be due, all on the same day.  Things will be

hoping then.

May 8:  Happy Aniversary, Big Brother and Wife.  Forty four years today!

Wow, I got a big job out of the way today, I got the sheep sheared!  There are only two of

them, but it is always quite the job.  We decided to move the sheep to a pasture of their

own, and since we had them on halters we thought we might as well get them sheared

before moving them.  It worked out good and all was done in about an hour.  I have

gotten so I can shear a sheep in about 15 minutes, which is a lot faster then it used to be.

After shearing, I planted another SFG box plus four squares of another.  Husband

finished the forth box while I was planting.

When we had that done we had our lunch and then took a ride to Pittsburg Corners to

look at a hay rake a friend said was for sale there.  It turned out to be not what we

wanted.  We headed back towards home, but first we stopped for an ice cream at the

Blue Moon.  While we were eating our cones, we decided to find where an auction will

be held near by.

When we got home it was time for a porch monkey session.  I took a nap and it was time

to start dinner.  We grilled steaks and had baked potatoes and asparigus from the

garden...yum~!

We had been invited over to Oldest Son's place for a bonfire, but we still hadn't gotten

chores done yet and it was getting late, so we ended up just staying home and watching

TV, then going to bed.

 

April 25:  This is the due date, but nothing happened!

After chores we then worked on pitching poo from the goat shed.  We took four loads to the garden and pitched it out there.  Next years garden will be there.

After that we spent the afternoon relaxing.  Husband watched the NFL Draft and I finished a pair of crocheted slippers for him.  Then I worked on a pair of crocheted socks for myself.

I was also able to watch "Paint Your Wagon" with Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin.  Good movie.

It thundered most of the afternoon and rained 1 1/4 inch of rain.

Evening chores, dinner and more TV time and then bed.

April 26:  Got up and took a long bath.  Old Neighbor and his wife came, just as I was getting out of the tub.  We are showing him how to do our chores, just in case we need an emergency chore person.  We had a nice visit of almost three hours!  Good time.

No grand plans for the day, still waiting for babies!

Worked upstairs with my wool.  Carding some Border Leister so that I can be doing some spinning while watching TV or porch sitting.

Dinner was Lamb Chops and Asperigus with Fruit cocktail for dessert.

Chores are done and now it is time for TV.

April 27:  All the usual was done, still watching Ida.  Another four loads of poo pitched from the goat shed.  Remember this...Clean out shed EVERY year!  Too much work otherwize.  The weather shut us down today.

Husband made a call to the U of M live Liver donor clinic today.  They asked him a mulitude of questions about his health and history as well as blood type.  Then I got on the line and went through the same list of questions.  We are getting things set up to be a Liver donor, when Daughter gets on the Liver Transplant list.  She is in the process of getting the things that she needs to get done before she can be listed.  Her health hasn't been very good lately and it was decided that a Liver transplant should help.  Here is hoping that one of use will be a match.

Evening was spent relaxing.

April 28:  Woke at about 5:30 AM dressed and went right out to the barn.  With the rough weather yesterday I had kept an eye on Ida, but she didn't really look like she was ready.  She was ready this morning, in fact not long before I went out she had delivered triplets!  When I walked in the barn there they were, all but one standing and mostly all dried off.

I grabbed all three and brought them into the house and put them in the half bath just off the kitchen.  Then I went back out to the barn to be sure Ida was doing okay.  All was well.

The rest of the morning was spent getting things in order to keep the kids in the greenhouse for a couple of days.  I also had to make sure that they got their coloustrom as soon as possible.  The first bottle was last years frozen and then the second was from Ida this year after it was heat treated.  I had over a quart from Ida!  Plenty to feed them.

When all was settled we had our breakfast and did the other chores.  By now Ida had passed the plasenta, so while she was on the stand eating I pitched out the stall and rebedded it and gave her fresh water and hay.

Since the weather was still wet we decided today would be a good day to do some errands in Owosso.  Just before we left we fed the kids again.

We made our visits and came home to feed kids again.  Then had our dinner and evening chores.  Another quart of colustrom was collected and treated.  We watched some TV and at 11 PM the kids got their last bottle of the day.  It was bedtime for all.

April 29:  Woke at 7 AM dressed and filled bottles.  Fed and let the kids play some, even took them outside for a bit.  Straightened the greenhouse while they ran around expending energy!  Mommy Dog (Isabeau) did her mommy duties and was quite pleased with herself.  She has a job at this time of the year and she loves it.

Did the rest of my chores and then got ready for Meals and Gathering.  All was well with everyone.

In the evening we went to look at a sickle bar cutter for hay.  It will do our hay just fine, so we bought it.  Very reasonable!  Too heavy to put into the truck, so will drive tractor back tomorrow to pick it up.

The rest of the evening was quiet and then bed.

April 30:  Got up and around early, needed to get the mower before the rain.  We had only 12 miles to go, but at a speed of only 10 mph it took an hour each way.  Our trip was uneventful, a good thing.  We got home just as it started to sprinkle.

I did my milking and then planted the fruit trees that came yesterday.  The rain was light so it wasn't much of a problem.  After the trees, I planted more Lettuce, Peas, and Green Onions in the SFG box.  That box is now compeletely planted. 

With that done I replanted some of the starts that haven't come up.  The Cabbage and Pepper seeds must have been too old.

The kids are now on a 7-3-11 feeding schedual so things are alittle bit less crazy.  They also are taking 8 ounces per feeding.  All are well and getting very active.

After doing all of the above, I then made my first Rubarb pie of the year!  The Rubarb is just now getting to picking size.  What a nice golden brown pie I made, Yummy! 

After the baking came the clean up, Husband and I did the dishes and swept the floors in the back of the house.  All nice and neat now.

A quiet evening is planned.  Dinner is to be homemade Macaroni and Cheese with pie for dessert.  Some TV watching and the usual chores.

WELCOME MAY!

May 1:  Was an off day.  Didn't do much.   Husband worked on the sicklebar mower to free it up while I did chores.  After that we put some chicken wire up in one of the smaller pens so that the kids can go out to the barn.  They like having lots more room to run and play.

Quiet evening.

May 2:  Today will be a busy one, we have an auction to go to in the morning and the evenng will be a dance recital for Dark Haired Beauty.

We got up and around and got to the auction in Owosso.  This was a city auction, so there wasn't any farm equipment, but there were a few things that I could use.  One beleive it or not, is a microwave oven.  I need one in the milking parlor to heat my washing water.  I was also hoping to get a small table and two chairs for the porch.  Wonder of wonders I came home from the auction with both of these items plus a wicker drawer set for the half bath!

Late afternoon was spent taking a bath and getting ready for the recital and dinner.  Because the recital is at 7:00 PM, evening milking will be done after.

Daughter and her husband picked me up to go to St. Johns around 6:15 PM.  We  had front row seats and the evening was nice.  Plenty of children giving it their all!  DHB did a fine job in front of all those people.

After we grabbed some fast food and went back to our place, where I changed and went out to milk while the others ate.

As I was finishing up, DHB and Daddy came out to check out the new babies.  She stayed and played with them for a good while.  Long enough that the little buck finally just laid down in the alley.  They would sleep good tonight!  So would DHB!

Inside eveyone else was watching the NASCAR race on TV.  When that was over they all made their leaves.  A good visit, but not very long.

 

 

 

 

April 19:  Sunday was a nice quiet stay at home day.  Just the necessary chores and meal preparations.

Daughter and her husband dropped by for a short time.  We had a short visit and they left.

Evening was TV time and then to bed.

April 20:   Daughter-in-Law came about 9:00 AM to pick up curling irons.  Dark Haired Beauty is having a dance recital in a couple of weeks and is having pictures taken this coming Saturday.  She wanted her hair curled and Mommy didn't have a curling iron, so they are using mine.

While out in the barn doing my chores our Old Neighbor and his wife showed up.  We had a nice visit out in the barn while I finished, then had to cut it short because I had a Paradontist appointment.

When I got back from my appointment, we had lunch and I set about making bread.  When all done, I had six loaves of regular white bread, two dozen dinner rolls, and three loaves of "artisan" bread, one of which we ate with our supper of Bear round steaks and broccoli.  The Bear was really good.  A friend whose husband hunts traded the Bear for Lamb some time ago.

Then it was chores and TV time again.  Not much on so I read.

April 21:  Things are getting close for kidding.  At about 5:30 AM (slow time), I went out to check on Ida.  She was laying in the straw, quite content with no sign of anything happening.  We are down to four days with her.

Morning chores and breakfast over, I decided it was time to straighten my sewing/craft room.  It was a mess from stamping projects, sewing projects and carding.  It took me until about one to get it in some semblance of order.  Then it was lunch time.

The rest of the day I spent reading, "Haymaking" by Steven R. Hoffbeck.  It is due back to the library soon and I wanted to be sure that I had read it.  I finished it by around 5:30 PM.

Since I had about one half hour until it was time to start dinner, I decided to dust and sweep the livingroom.  What difference that made, didn't realize how dust it was!  Then the flow of dusting and sweeping took me, and Husband, into the parlor and dinningrooms as well.  Much dog hair on floor!  Very productive half hour!

At around 4:00 PM, while reading, Oldest Son called to ask if we could watch Dark Haired Beauty on Wednesday as there was no school.  They some how had missed it on the calendar.  No problem, just a small adjustment in schedual.

Our dinner was leftover bear and broccoli.  Then chores and TV time.  Tonight we had two shows that are worth watching,  "Deadliest Catch" and "The Alaska Experiment".  Then it was bedtime.

April 22:  Three days until the due date and still no sign this morning.  Here's hoping that while granddaughter is here, Ida will decide it is a good day to kid.  That way, granddaughter will get to see a baby goat born.  Her doe isn't due until much later, but we  hope that she can be here for it, if possible.

Best laid plans...no kidding today!  Dark Haired Beauty was here as planned, but no kidding.

We did have a good day though.  We did some baking, two brown sugar tarts, and an Oatmeal pie.  She did her homework.  And we also brushed a horse and did a little work on an embroidery design for a skirt for her.

Husband ran my Meals route and did some errands while out.  I stayed home with granddaughter, skipping Fiber Gals Gathering.

Around 5:00 PM, Mommy came and picked up DHB.  Then it was time to get dinner in the oven and relax a bit.

Evening was quiet, I did some reading with some TV.  All was good.

April 23:  Haven't been out to barn yet...6:00 AM, going out to check now.  Nothing! 

Had the day to myself, Husband went to Daughter's house to help Son-in-Law do some remodeling on their kitchen.  He wasn't home until after three.

I did the chores, watered the critters, pulled the straw off the new strawberry plants(all of them are doing well), scraped the loafing shed, scraped in front of the door to the goat shed, scraped the driveway (to level it a bit), pulled the milking stands out and cleaned them, dusted the cob webs down in the milking parlor and got it cleaned and ready for milking to begin again.  Sure looks nice when you first walk in now.

We had leftover meatloaf and green beans for dinner, then watched some TV.  Husband did all the chores this evening, once milking starts I'll have to do at the very least that part of the chores.  I really do feel like I'm on vacation not doing any thing tonight.

Back was tired and rest of body kind of stiff tonight.  Feels good really, it means I have done alot of constructive work.

April 24:  Out in the barn at 5:30 AM to check on Ida...still just waiting.

Another constructive day, Husband gone to help Son-in-Law.  I did the chores, then planned to put chicken wire around the kid pen.  Have had kids get caught trying to get through the cattle panels, so figured chicken wire would stop that.  I wasn't able to find any of the tools I needed to do the job, so then I decided to mow the lawn.

Started the lawn mower for the first time this year.  No problem, Husband had the battery charged and in place and gas in the tank.  I had just made my first pass around the yard when I saw Husband was back.  They didn't work very long!  Husband had helped as long as he could be of help, they were at a stopping point.  So he came home.

We decided that now was the time to give cleaning the goat shed a shot.  Two years of build up, NOT going to be easy!  All in all we made four loads in the truck, which we spread on the garden area for next year.  Not all done, but we can work on it more tomorrow.  Bones will be sore for the next few days, for sure!

It was still early only about 4:30 PM, so I finished the lawn.  Then cleaned up and made dinner.  We watched the news while we ate and then did evening chores.

After chores, we did our first porch sitting of the year.  It is unseasonably warm...80 degrees plus.  The evening was warm as well.  Bed felt really good!

 

 

April 12:  Our trip to Flint was good.  There was plenty of traffic on the highways, but that

is to be expected on a holiday.  We had a nice visit and our dinner was really good.  We

had fried hominy, which we had never had before, along with ham and mashed potatoes

and my dessert.

We took them the swing set that we had in our yard.  Their little one will get more use out

of it there then everyone put together here.

We didn't leave until afternoon for Flint, so we had some time outside.  I moved some Iris

tubers to around the base of our farm sign and then was able to place the last two SFG

boxes.  Now all that is left is mixing the soil and filling them.  We can even do some

planting then.  It is time for peas to be in the ground.

April 13:  Big plans shot down again.  We were going to mix the soil and get it in the

boxes, then maybe plant some...but it is too windy.  We got the first batch mixed in the

garage, but when we tried to fill the box, alot of the soil just blew away.  Drats!  We will

have to wait to a calmer day.

So we spent the rest of the day doing stuff inside.  I cleaned my drumcarder, by taking it

apart and removing all the misplaced wool.  I also did some research on line about the

carding cloth.  It doesn't seem to be working right with the Border Leister wool I have.  I

even tried calling the people who made my carder.  She wasn't much help.  I will try again

today by going to a yahoo spinning group and asking some questions.  I do know now,

since I took it apart, that I can't just interchange drums.  Another Drats!

I also decided to make an appointment for my yearly physical.  Only I don't have a doctor

right now.  Mine retired and the last one I had left.  I also found out what type of health

insureance we have through Blue Cross.  Makes a difference where we can go.  I made

an appointment only to cancel it when I found that the doctor wasn't a provider.  Several

phone calls and many questions and I still don't have my appointment because between

calls my Daughter called.

Daughter and her husband had been at the University of Michigan Hospital all day for a

consultation.  She is in need of a liver, or atleast part of a liver, as her's hasn't been

working right for some time.  We are now in the process of learning about liver

transplants.

Husband and I are going to be tested to see if one of us can be a donor.  There is plenty

of testing that needs to be done, so my yearly will be put on the back burner for now,

unless I am told that I need to have that done as well to be a donor.

This could be quite a summer with all the transplant things going on.

April 14:  Another day we had hoped to work outside, but can't.  Raining.  So we did the

usual stuff had lunch and decided to make a trip into town to do some window

shoppping.  We want some stepping stones to put between two of the SFG boxes and to

make a path out to the hen house.  So we went looking at stones for ideas.

We also picked up some new seeds.  One of the flats we planted about a month ago

hasn't sprouted, so we reseeded it today with the old seed.  It should have been okay,

two trays of broccoli are doing great, but the rest just didn't.  So, if this time it doesn't

grow then we will know the old seed is no good, then we will just have to plant again with

the new seed.  Plenty of time since it is all Kole crops (cabbage, broccoli, sprouts etc.),
which are cool weather crops, they will be fine even if they don't get into the ground until

late summer.

After we got home, I read some, got dinner ready, did evening chores (which now

morning and night take about an hour, because there are three shifts of goats), and then

settled in for TV.  At last there is something that I enjoy.  "Deadilest Catch"  and "The

Alaska Experiment".  After that was local new and bed.

April 15:  Today being Wednesday was the usual Meals on Wheels day and meeting
with the Fiber Gals.  All went well and I was home by 4:30 PM.  Shortly after I got home I

got a phone call from my Number One Cousin.  He is my Number One Cousin, because

he is the only one of my relatives on my Mother's side that I say in contact with.  That is he

and his brother.  There are plenty of members of that side, but we have never been very

close.  Number One always keeps me informed of things happening in the family that I

should know about.  This time it is to let me know that one of the other cousins has

passed away.

We spent a good hour talking and catching up.  We don't talk often, so when we do it is

always a long talk.  We  had a good visit.  He said he would be going to the furneral on

Thursday.  I won't make any of the visitations as it was already late and I wouldn't be

making the trip up to Flint for the furneral.  I asked him to send my condolensences.

Then it was time for dinner and evening chores.

This evening we watched a new show called "Pitchmen".  It was okay, but some what

irratating.  Then "Time Warp" is back, so I watched that and then the first part of

"Mythbuster", by now it was almost 1:00 AM!  Really time for bed.

April 16:  I didn't wake up until 5:30 AM (slow time).  I slept four and one half hours

straight!  Tomorrow I will have to be up, dressed, and have my breakfast by now!  I need

to leave here by 6:45 AM to be where I need to be!  I am going to MSU Pavillion to judge

the Sales Presenations for the FFA Ag Skills contests.  I have some reading to do today,

to know what is expected of me.

It is suppose to be a nice day today, so the plan is to do some outside work again.

We did do some outside work.  Planted some seeds in the new SFG even though the

Almanac said to do no planting, we will see if it makes a difference.

April 17:  Up and out by 6:45 AM on my way to MSU Pavillion and the FFA Ag Skills

contests to be a judge for the Ag Sales contest.  I have never judged this contest before. 

I have done several others, but not this one.

Arrived on time and met with several old FFA friends and neighbors, then was

introduced to the process of judging Sales.  I met individually with eight students who

were "selling" me an agricultural product.  This could be anything from a dehorning iron

to hydroponic tomatoes or dog food, even local honey or boots.  Some of the

presentations were wonderful and well planned out, well rehearsed and prepared, others

lacked in time and effort.  Even the not so good, were well on their way to having a skill

that could be used in their adult lives.

I was done by noon and back home for lunch and then had a lazy rest of the day.

This will be the last milking I will do until kidding begins again, which should only be about

a week. 

One of the first times is showing a really big bag tonight!  I wasn't sure she was bred until

now!  I don't see how she could be ready since looking back at the records, she wasn't

bred until later.  She must just be bagging up early.  I will keep a close eye on her though.

In the evening after chores, we had the first campfire of the season.  Wow April 17!

April 18:  I got up and started the dishes around 5:00 AM (slow time).  Then when

Husband was up we had breakfast and did quick chores and headed out to an auction in

Morrice.  This one had a haybine and a few other smaller items.  We spent until around

2:00 PM there not bidding on a thing!  I was going to bid on a vaccum pump for a milking

system, but it went out of my price almost from the start.  The haybine started out of our

range as well.  Things seemed to go really high at this auction.  Nothing was all that

good, just people were willing to bid more I guess.

We left there and headed south to see if another auction we knew about was still going

on, the one here still had plenty of things to go yet, so maybe the other one would too.  

We drove to Dansville and found the other auction site.  Things were wrapping up there,

so we just made our way back home.

The weather was wonderful, temp was well into the 70's.  We had a nice ride as well as

an auction, so it was a good day.

When we got home we found that Brother-in-Law and his wife had stopped by.  They left

a gift of a tee shirt from Arizonia, their latest trip.  Husband called them and talked about

our day.  Brother-in-Law and wife had spent some time here.  They sat on the porch and

watched the goats for awhile waiting, incase we came back.  We didn't get home until

three hours later.

We sat outside for a while and then we started a fire in the campfire pit.  It was still early,

but we just felt like a campfire again.  We put pasties in the oven in the house to cook

and relaxed by the fire while they cooked.  I made some gravy later and we had our

dinner by the fire, then did chores and spent the rest of the evening "camping".

I told Husband today that I was on vacation, as I didn't have any milking chores to do. 

That is until Ida kids, which is now down to seven days and counting.  I will be on vacation

until she kids and then I am back.  It could be a couple of days, or if she did what she did

last year and held off for a week after her due date, then a couple of weeks.  Chores are

quick right now that is for sure!

 

April 5:  After yesterday and all the activity we just sorta took Sunday off.  Spent most of the day going through the books that I bought.  Might have a hard time deciding which ones I don't want, so far they all have information that I can use.  There are four for sure that I will keep, one is "Botanica" it is an encyclopdia of landscape plants.  Then there is one all about herbs.  One is "Crocket's Flower Garden", it goes along with one of my most used garden books, "Crocket's Victory Garden".  They are both connected with the PBS program from years ago.  The last one that is a deffinate keeper is called "1001 Hints and Tips for Your Garden".  Lots of good stuff in there.  After taking a count I got 17 books in those two boxes.

April 6:  Had big plans for the day, but woke up to plenty of snow on the ground and more coming.  I had a headache, it seems whenever there is a big change in the weather I get one.  Just didn't feel very good.  I did my chores and Husband went to the library to pick up some books he had reserved about hay making.  When he got back we both sat down and started to read them.

Around noon a car came into the drive and a young man got out.  At first I didn't know who it was, but then I realized it was Garret Chase, a student of mine when I was working at Laingsburg High School.  He stops in every once in a while.  He had been out of state for about six months and now was back.  We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and around 3:00 he left after a good visit.

It was as good a day to waste as any.  More reading, then supper and chores.  I looked for some pictures on the computer for my Daughter and then headed to bed.

April 7:  Good morning, feeling better today.  Hope to make up for lost time yesterday.  Most of the snow is gone.  There are dishes to do, laundry, bread to make, even some cottage cheese to be done, a closet to clean and the front bathroom needs to be cleaned as well.  Let's see if we can make up for yesterday!

Okay, so I didn't get it all done, but I did make three loaves of bread, eight hamburger buns, and two pounds of cottage cheese as well as getting the dishes done and redone.  I did some reading as well.  Much more constructive day.

Husband also started building me some four by four by six boxes for a trial of "Square Foot Gardening".  There is enough lumber in the barn, leftover from a project to build three.  I am not sure where I am going to put all three yet, but I can figure that when I get them.  I am quite excited about this garden idea.  It sounds like it could be a really good way to garden.  We will give it a try and then if it works out like it is suppose to, we might convert our entire garden over.  That would be lots of boxes!

April 8:  I awoke to bright moonlight at about 4:30 AM!  Now at 7:50 AM the sun is pouring in this west window.  It is crisp outside, but with the sun it should warm up some. 

Today is my day out.  Meals on Wheels and then hanging out with the Fiber Gals.  I also have a stop to make at the library to pick up the book "Square Foot Gardening".  I have a soup bone that I am going to put in the crock pot along with some veggies for our supper.

I have one yearling doe who gets her booster shots today, that means she is within a month of kidding.  I don't feel very sure about her being bred.  After examining her very closely, she doesn't have any udder developement and no real tummy.  I am pretty sure that she won't be kidding.  Unless she is hiding it VERY well.  She is just a yearling, so it is no matter.  Her sister on the other hand is a barrel and already has quite the udder, she is still about six weeks from kidding.  This one is a two year old and I wouldn't be able to show her if she isn't in milk.

I got my book from the Library and Husband started reading it.  He had already made three boxes.  They were out on the side yard when I got home.  Now we just have to decide where we want to put them as they are permanet once they are filled with soil.

Quiet evening, chores some TV and some knitting.  I am learning how to carry yarn, without getting it all tangled.  It is taking some practice!  I am hoping to perfect the technique so that I can use it to finish my horse sweater that I started about three years ago.

April 9:  The Poo Pickers are suppose to be here today around 9:00 AM.  Nothing else is planned for the day, but the weather is beautiful, so I hope that we can get some more outside work done.

Let me tell you, the Poo Pickers were here on time and then we did chores and spent the rest of the day working outside.  We started cleaning up our campfire area along with the shade garden that connects to it.  There is a plant that grows there called Meet Me Under the Garden Gate, it reminds me most of Bamboo.  It spreads like crazy!  It has almost taken over the whole area.  We dug alot of it up and moved it to the other side of the garage, where we dug a bunch of holes but didn't plant anything.  If it grows there then fine, I won't have to worry about mowing then.  If it doesn't make it, still no problem.

After spending some time there, we moved to the back patio, which is right off the greenhouse.  There we did some digging and put in some landscape timbers to hold back some soil.  After we leveled the rest of the area, we decided that it would be a good place to put two of our garden boxes.  The fit was perfect.  This way I can plant salad crop right near the house, then when we want fresh salad we can just go out the door and get it.   One of the boxes is also a cold frame, so maybe I can even keep growing stuff well into winter or get an early start in the spring.  That would be great.

Before it was time to start dinner, but after we had finished up outside, we both spent some time reading.  I read the Sqaure Foot Garden book and Husband read his Haymaking book.  Then it was time for dinner prep, I made spaghetti.  We had homemade bread along with it and for dessert we had mandran oranges.

We watched the news and was hoping to watch "My Name is Earl" on TV, but they have messed with the schedual and it wasn't on.  So we went out and did chores.  When I came in I made pop corn and we watched some hockey and other bits of sports until bedtime.

April 10:  Today the plan is to go to town and pick up some groceries and feeds.  I am suppose to be doing the dishes right now, so we can get rolling.  The weather looks nice, so I hope when we get back we can have time to do more outside stuff.

While I was doing some preparation for doing chores, Husband made some phone calls for a supplier for the soil components for the Square Foot Garden.  We need to purchase peat moss and vermiculite.  After a couple of calls he found "All-Par Peat".  They had everything we need in bulk, but we had to get to the factory before noon, as it is Good Friday.

So, while I did chores, Husband got the recycling loaded into the truck since it really needs to be done.  Elsie is on the way to "All-Par", so we will make recycling the first stop, then "All-Par", and then back through Ovid where we can pick up the feeds.

The truck earned it's keep this morning!  Over 1000 pounds in feed and soil.

After unloading, it was lunch time and then we headed out to get the groceries.  This bill was a bit larger then normal, we have both decided to loose some weight, so we are trying to eat more fruits and veggies.  Wrong time of the year to find fresh stuff, so there was lots of canned goods.  Canned fruit should be better then cakes and cookies.  We tried to get fruit in it's own juice.

When the groceries were put away, we did some outside work.  Husband put a second coat of paint on the boxes, while I raked stones from the yard along the driveway.

We had dinner of roasted chicken with a big salad.  Dessert was fruit cocktail.  Then some news, chores, and some TV and then bed.

April 11:  Today I must clean up the scullery and do some baking.  Tomorrow we are heading to Flint to Step Son's for Easter dinner.  I am to bring dessert.  I found a pretty raspberry cream pie thing that I am going to make. 

After baking and chores I hope for more outside time.  This is a really good spring, we are getting lots done in the yard.  In two weeks, I will be busy with kidding then it will be time to plant the garden and I will be mowing lawn too.

April 1:  Okay, so I missed a few days, just busy I guess.  Just the usual here, Meals and Fiber Gals.  Nothing exciting.

April 2:  Went to an auction today looking for hay equipment.  There were three pieces there, but some calf hutches.  Everything else way way to big for us.  We waited around the hutches were up first, they went for more then I wanted to pay so nothing there.  Then the hay equipment same story, too much for what it was.  Pretty beat up equipment and way too many dollars.

We left and headed north to Mt. Pleasant.  There was a flyer we picked up at the auction, it told of a guy named Reid that sells used equipment there.  The partial list looked good, plenty of smaller pieces of hay equipment.  We found his place easlily.  Plenty of equipment all on the smaller side.  Prices higher then we are ready to pay yet, but maybe after some more checking around may decide to go that high.  Just hoping that maybe we can get something $1000 or less each piece.  His stuff looked good, and he was willing to give some helpful information.  He had also been to the auction we had just came from and thought that the stuff there was just too used, he was surprized at how high they went.

We left there and went to a grocery store to pick up some picnic supplies.  It was getting on to lunch time.  The Kroger's in Mt. Pleasant had ready made sandwiches, single salads,and even packages of two pieces of carrot cake and plastic forks too.  We drove out of town and found a dirt road with some traffic, but not bad.  We stopped on the shoulder and ate our lunch with the windows open and the sunshining in.

We took the back roads home, it was a nice day for a ride.

When we got home, we decided it was time to plant the raspberry plants we had gotten earlier in the week.  Along with planting those we transplanted some fall raspberry plants that have been growing in the garden.  Now there are two 14 foot rows of raspberries, one of June berrys and one of fall.  We now have Raspberries, Strawberries, Grapes, and Asperegus in the garden, atleast if they grow, they will be there every year for some time, even if I don't plant anything else.

April 3:  Today the plan is to bake bread and english muffins.  The weather is wet and temperatures are suppose to be falling, so it will be a good day for baking.  It is also listed as a "Best Day" to bake in the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Managed to get four loaves of bread and two dozen english muffins made.  Took most of the day for that with all the proofing and shaping and then the muffins get cooked on a gridle, two at a time.

While the proofing was going on, Husband and I worked in the greenhouse.  We got our Tomatoe and Pepper plants started.  Along with a full flat of Zinnia seeds as well.  The greenhouse is getting full of starter flats!

We got a call from Middle Son, who was hoping to come up on Saturday for a visit.  Even though we are not going to be here because of an auction, he is going to stop here anyway.  Daughter is going to be here so the Farrier can get the horses trimmed.  Son figured that his oldest will enjoy the horse activity!  She is quite a horse nut!  Then, too, if the auction doesn't go very long, we will be back here to visit.

Oldest Son has planned a BBQ at his place, so sometime late afternoon early evening, we will all be meeting at his house.  So after chores, I made an Angel Food cake to add to the BBQ menu.

April 4:  What a day!  First after chores we headed to an auction.  The people were moving to Arizona and had to get rid of most of their stuff.  They had a wonderful yard full of plants and a really cute greenhouse made from old barn wood and recycled glass.  The wife was an Advanced Master Gardener and really had some wonderful ideas.  I talked with her about one area that had three raised beds that were 4'X4'X6".  There was a grid made of lathing in each, that left 12"X12" squares.  She said that they had tried "Square Foot Gardening" there and was very pleased with the results.  I want to look it up for myself now.

Because of all the growing stuff there was plenty of garden tools and other supplies.  As well as the usual household things.  I spent $80 altogether on two boxes of books about gardening, a strawberry pot and plant markers, candles making supplies,  and assorted fertilizers and weed killers.  There is one book that is marked at $50, itself!

After the auction we went to St. Johns for a quick bite and then home to meet up with Middle Son and Grandchildren.  We spent some time at home just relaxing and riding one of the horses.  Then we loaded up and went to Oldest Son's home for our BBQ.  The weather wasn't bad, except for the wind which was chilly.  We spent some time outside and then moved into the house to eat.  Nice spread of burger, dogs, salads, fruit, veggies, Rice Krispie Treats, and the Angel Food cake I made.

What was really nice was the fact that ALL our kids and Grandkids where together!  That doesn't happen very often, so it was surly a special day!

We didn't get home until after nine, and then it was chores some TV and bed.