February 23, 2009

Busy Weekend

It has been a few days since I have had a chance to post much to this blog, but it was a very busy weekend on the farm. For starters on Friday the fence was not charging as well as it should so it had to be checked. The only way to do this is to start walking the fence line to find the problem. In the far corner of one of the pastures the goats are not in right now some post tops were missing, apparently some deer had been through and damaged the fence. The dogs keep the deer out of any pasture the goats are in, but the deer are not dumb and they know which pastures are empty to cross. It was an easy fix once the problem was finally found.

Then Saturday was spent cleaning out the old hay shed, and it was quite a mess. The old hay that was unfit for animal feed was loaded in the truck and moved to a far corner of the yard to be used in the future for compost. Loose hay bale wires in the shed had to be gathered up and will be recycled the next time a load of metal is taken to town. We only had a few bales of our prairie hay left, so some had to be bought to get us through the rest of the winter until the spring grass comes in good. It was a quick 40 mile round trip to go get more hay. We bought more prairie hay and some alfalfa for the milkers and new moms as well. The goats love their alfalfa hay and treat me like a rock star when they see me carrying it to their feeders.

Since I want to be able to use the hay shed in the Spring for other uses, the new hay was unloaded and stacked in the backyard on pallets and covered with a tarp. Our fenced backyard is in the center of the different goat pastures and behind the feed pen as well as the kidding pens so it is a handy place for the hay to be this time of year.

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent doing some much needed farm spring cleaning on the pastures. There seemed to be a never ending amount of limbs that needed to be picked up. I was very grateful to have DH's help with this chore. We had planned on quitting at sunset, but with so much to do it is hard to keep to a timetable on a farm. There was lots of limbs to burn by the end of the day and so we started a fire, working until well after dark.

Sunset on the farm
As long as it is not too dry, burning is a good way to get rid of excess limbs and branches that are too small for firewood, so that is what we did. The creepy, glowing eyes in the background is just one of our livestock guardian dogs that came up to the goat pasture fence that is there, to see what was going on in the backyard.

The camera did some strange things with the lighting from the fire in this picture I took. I just thought it was a really cool picture and wanted to share.

My husband and I had worked right through suppertime, but watching the limbs burn we got an idea for a quick easy meal. Reason 47 why I love living in the country, you can cook hot dogs over a fire in your backyard late at night and no neighbors complain.

Not the most healthy meal to be eating at 9pm at night for sure, but it was quick, easy and we never had to turn the stove on.

Then Sunday was spent trimming the hooves on half of the goat herd, cleaning out the large goat shed and taking down the old kidding pens so they could be moved to make room for a larger garden this year. All the vegetable seeds and supplies we will need for this years garden was also bought and I got our spring goat supplies ordered online as well. Tomorrow I hope to get some of the early vegetable seeds started indoors and the kidding pens set up again in their new location. The countdown clock at the bottom of this blog reminds me that I better hurry up and not waste time getting that done!

20 comments:

Lanny said...

Hey Rock Star, your sunset and fire pics are nice. I haven't seen bales done with wire for quite a few years. Even our Alfalfa is done with good ol' orange twine. If sumpin doesn't have duct tape or orange twine on it it doesn't belong to us.

ChristyACB said...

Wow is all I have to say! That is just so productive I feel guilty for not getting so much done!

That purple fire is really beautiful and you have my two thumbs up on dinner. Doesn't that food take on a different and far more yummy flavor when cooked around an open fire? To me it does, for sure.

Just a quick question. Could you address hey types and amounts used for goats? Especially for those of us making our plans to move to our homesteads (or those looking for one) it helps to know what to expect. Maybe a whole post on it to use as reference?

As always, I enjoyed your entry :)

Mary Humphrey said...

You have been busy, and it looks like you topped it off with fun.

Melissa ~ Mom to 6 said...

Love the fire photos. The one that is purpish looks like people are dancing in the fire.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a busy weekend and a yummy meal to boot!

Becky said...

I remember working through supper and being to tired to even eat in the spring and summer. That was when we were building our house and first starting fencing the property for horses at that time.

Hope you are not to sore today, it is easy to over do it.

Take Care, Becky

Danielle Barlow said...

wow, you sound like you really earned those hot dogs! Nothing like hard physical work to make you appreciate food and a fire!

Boozy Tooth said...

Beautiful photos as usual. I LOVE the purple fire best! Oh, and the hot dog too (of course).

Unknown said...

Wow - reading about your heavy work weekend made me tired; I think I need a nap. Loved your fire photos!
Nancy in Atlanta

DayPhoto said...

We are about at the same point as you, fixing fence, burning trash and dead trees and branches. We like to eat hot dogs over the fire also.

I liked your purple flames so I think I will take a photo or two when we start of our fire.

Linda

http;//coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Jennifer said...

Lanny - Thank you! We seem to have an easier time keeping the string picked up in the hay shed than the wires, but the wire tied bales are heavier. We have the hay from our land cut on shares, since we don't have the machinery to do it ourselves.

Christy - Sure I will do that. It may take me a few days though. :)

Mary- I have to be busy, but sometimes I don't know where to start on that ever growing old "to do" list!

Melissa - Thank you! I can't see people dancing, but it almost looks like faces to me.

Amy - Thank you!

Becky - Thank you! It was a good, but long weekend for sure.

Danielle- Hopefully I worked hard enough to burn off the calories from those hot dogs!

Alix- Thank you!

Christy said...

What a productive weekend you had! I guess I need to find some alfalfa hay for my goats before they get here.

Jennifer said...

Thank you Nancy and Linda!

Most of the year our goats get prairie hay and do great on it. It is fine hay for wethers and bucks and dry does. I like to have some alfalfa in the spring for the new moms nursing kids and especially the dairy goats I am milking. They produce more milk on it.

Alison said...

You must feel pretty good after a nice productive weekend like that! I want to thank you for all the details about your chores. I'm very curious about what it really takes to keep a farm working, and I know there are lots of things I wouldn't think about--like straightening up the hay shed, or deer repair on fencing. And now I know I need to get serious about starting our indoor seeds, too!

Tonia said...

Nothing better tasting than a roasted hot dog!!! Sounds like a productive weekend!

Anonymous said...

What a busy weekend you had! I got stuck on the chore of cutting the hooves. I don't have as many goats as you, but we just dread that chore!!! Great pictures!!!

Juri

Nancy M. said...

Awesome pictures! Country life is wonderful.

Jennifer said...

Flartus - Thank you!

Tonia - Yes, it was and I was so thankful for some decent and not too cold of weather over the weekend.

Juri - I don't mind trimming hooves on the ones that stand good for it, but the ones that kick and carry on sure make it a hard chore on a person's back!

Nancy - Thank you!

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

Work, but the kinda work I enjoy.

The Silver Age Sara said...

I loved spending time with you doing your farm chores and seeing all the pictures. The pictures of the fire were really cool and I loved your dinner!
That's what I like about living out in the country on a farm. Most of the chores are great exercise and a chance to be outside enjoying nature. There's no better life.