Back Again

A tangle of yellow.

It has been a long, difficult winter and I am so looking forward to Spring!  

After a long hiatus I am ready to refurbish, and restart, this poor neglected blog. I have updated the Blogs I Read sidebar. Many of the blogs I had listed are defunct so they are gone and a few new ones have been listed. I am planning a new Header with farm photos so that will be fun. 

Choose Joy!

Thinking About Next Spring

I've been thinking about adding 8 or 10 turkeys to the farm next Spring. 

Considering either Beltsville Small Whites (photo to the left) or Midget Whites (photo to the right). Both are on the American Livestock Breed Conservancy list. Having a few birds for my family's table and a few to sell wouldn't take up much available space. I'm still mulling it over and figuring out the logistics. If I use some type of temporary fencing and housing a pen could be set up then removed when not needed any more. 

One of my co-workers has already told me she wants to buy a bird for her family's Thanksgiving. She had a dreadful time trying to find a fresh bird last year and finally had to settle for a frozen one.

A market friend uses a USDA approved slaughter house so I'll be asking Tye for more information on it. I'm thinking about having three turkeys to sell, three turkeys for family then whatever is left to be ground up in one pound packages. Maybe saving the drumsticks and offering them for sell.

Good News & Bad News

Good News :
I now know how to send photos from my phone to my email. My co-worker Nina taught me how ... a trick she learned from her teenage granddaughter. =)

Bad news :
The first photo I send is of my car after a lady hit me Thursday evening on my way home from work. No one was injured but my poor little car. If I hadn't been paying attention to the traffic it would of been much worse. She would have T-boned me and I most likely would have been injured.

More Good News :
The plants I added near the end of last Summer are putting out leaves! I was concerned about the Grapes and Figs but they are coming right along. The Blackberry bushes kept their leaves all Winter and I was pretty confident they would be fine. Now if the Blueberry bushes perk up my investment of last Summer will be well worth the money spent.

My lil greenhouse-a-box is now set up and waiting for me to start my seeds. Daddy helped me put the cover on it yesterday. That cover requires two people when one of the people involved is "vertically challenged" at five foot and one inch. lol

Daddy and I have the new coop framed up and part of the rafters built. Can't wait to get it finished and move the girls into their new digs. Although it is only 6' x 7.5' x 8', after spending nights in the little Chicken n' Hutch for two years, the new coop will be so much more spacious . With it being eight foot tall we are adding a half loft so I can store straw. This will be sooo much better than keeping the straw on my backporch. The feed barrel will also be going into the coop getting one more thing off the porch. Yay!

Better get a wiggle on there are seeds awaiting me!

Happy Spring!!
~ Penny ~

February has been amazing.

This month in southern Indiana, like many other areas, has had everything from snow & ice storms to 70 degree days. Such strange and amazing weather.

Thanks for the comments on Sebastian. He is such a sweetie.

My niece Heather stopped by last evening. She is my assistant chicken farmer. lol Heather takes care of my "farm" when I am out of town. She loves the new baby and spent quite a bit of time finding fresh grass for the chickens. I gave the grapes Roni, a co-worker, sent the girls. The girls love grapes .. especially Cicely! Sweet Cicely will steal the grapes out of the beak of the other girls and run. I keep expecting to have to apply a chickie Heimlich on her when she chokes because she is such a greedy girl.

I was told on Thursday the Tractor Supply will be getting the new chicks in early next month. Orschlens are getting theirs at the end of this month. I'm still planning on adding 4 or 5 more hens to my flock this Spring. I'll be looking for Black Stars and Ameraucanas. If the Black Stars aren't available I'll get more Red Stars. My Rosemary and Cicely lay extra large brown eggs .. they are huge!

Better get a wiggle on. I have to go back to Bloomington and exchange my chicken feed. The Co-op guy gave me broiler feed instead of layer feed and that won't do. The White River Co-op is the closest place to purchase organic chicken feed. [sigh]

After the feed store I'm making a yarn run to Joann Fabric Store and maybe Michaels too. I have some great coupons. ;^)

Groundhogs, Robins and a Birthday.

Groundhog's Day was my Mom's 73 rd birthday. We waited until the 5th to celebrate with lunch at her favorite restaurant, the Asian Pearl. Lunch was followed by dessert and pressies at Angela's house. Mom had gifted Angela with the cupcake stand so she filled it with pretty lil cupcakes for our dessert. Notice the single candle on the topmost cupcake .. Jaidy "helped" her granny blow out the flame. That was her cupcake. Jaidy likes her a good cuppy cake. =)

My sisters and I are very blessed to still have our Mom and Daddy with us.

As I was going to the car I saw my first robin of the year. Poor bird. It is still freakishly cold here in southern Indiana. According to the official groundhog we are suppose to have an early Spring. I so hope he is right!

News Flash!

On the drive to work I saw my first crocus blooms of the season! Gorgeous gold blooms. They made my day. =) If the crocus are blooming surely Spring can not be too far away??

Hope you are all having a blessed and sunny Monday!

Still plugging away!

I'm still working on my Spring Lists and checking off ideas as they come along.

* Ask someone at the Tractor Supply about chicks. Check!
They really don't know too much at this point other than chicks will be arriving in a month or so. It's a new store so I'm cutting them some slack.

* Call local feed stores and the other farm store about possibilities of chicks. Will do this week.

* Find nearby source of organic chick/chicken feeds. Will ask when I call about chicks.

* Ask Daddy about the ETA of my bunny hutch. Will do this afternoon. Have a real possibility of getting a bunny soon! A two year old black tort English Angora buck!

I found a copy of Urban Farm !! It was suppose to be out by January 12th but after searching for weeks it finally showed up at the Tractor Supply. I love that store. Angela is always teasing me because it is my new favorite store.

I bought seeds and soil mix today. I have spinach and a lettuce mix for greens and I thought I would start some snow pea seeds too. I need to ask Daddy to look at my light situation on my grow stand. I could not get the lights to work last spring. I replaced the fixtures and bought new bulbs all to no avail. We WILL have seedlings this spring!!

I would appreciate it, if you feel led, to include my sister Angela in your prayers this week. She is suppose to have surgery on Friday morning at 11:40 to have one, possibly two, lymph nodes removed from her neck. As always we covet those prayers from all the prayer warriors.

Better get moving if I want to play in the dirt, read my new magazine and do some laundry too this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a great week!
~ Penny ~