Farm follies

Here at the farm I have been trying to stay busy. I have been mucking out the barn and it is beginning to look better. Nine wheel barrow loads of horse manure and I can see the floor of the barn. I have planted lots of stuff in the garden even if it doesn't look it yet. In the garden are potatoes, onions, peas, tomatoes, cukes, melons, gourds, pumpkins, squash, three kinds of beans, cabbage, brocolli, watermelon. I still have a lot to put in but the soil is hard to work it is mostly clay so I have built some raised beds and loaded them with soil, rotted manure, compost and peatmoss, I will be planting stuff in them also. I have planted trees; ten fruit trees and it looks like they might survive, they all have leaves on them now.

The gourd bird houses now have purple martins as residents and there are barn swallows in the barn as well as the darn pigeons. The geese are sitting on five eggs it is a gamble if they will hatch or not, but the geese are grumpy so and so's and their offspring might have their traits, Oy!! (as she slaps self in the head)!

I pulled the old fence line out by the road took me about ten hours of hard work to do it, but it is done. Now to get a new fence in before the stock arrives. I have four Icelandic Sheep on order; two ewes and two rams. These will be my first sheep. I sure hope they are good survivors cause I am new at this. If all works out like its supposed to next year there will be seven or even eight sheep-that's a flock of sheep!

I am also looking for a cow I don't know which kind of cow but one I can milk of course maybe a Jersey cow. Ha, that ought to be a great picture me milking a cow, even I would get a chuckle out of that.
Before any of this can happen the fencing has to be in place or I will be chasing live stock all over the county....

I bought window shades for the the upstairs bedroom windows. Now the house has a lived in look not that empty nobody lives here look. I get a little dispondent going upstairs I have done nothing with the second floor and it needs so much. Oh well, all in good time.

It got a little chilly here this afternoon so I lit the stove in the kitchen and suddenly it started smoking, I opened all the windows and doors and waited for the smoke to clear and I checked the flue and as I expected the whole thing needs to be cleaned. I cleaned part of it and started the fire again the fire is drawing nicely now. Well, going to have to move the "clean the flue" job up the list, I don't want to get to meet the volunteer firemen at my house I would rather meet them at their house over pancakes...

Speaking of local event there are big do'ns this coming Saturday morning the annual Amish School benefit Auction !!! Yahoo, another chance to spend money on something :) This auction helps pay for the school as the Amish don't attend public school and they pay out of pocket for the teacher, supplies and wood for the stove. Yup, wood stove and an outhouse for the kids...like little house on the prairie.....