Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[Wannabefree]

Hi FEM! Sounds like you have been busy busy! Me too. I'm goin crazy these days Today was housework and finding our winter gear and getting everything clean. I was waiting, but old man winter snuck up on me and kicked me into high gear this week. It was 27 this morning! BRRRRRRR!!!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I tell ya - it never ends! I had to dig out the winter clothes too - ugh. Now it takes me twice as long to do my morning chores, cuz it takes me twice as long to get dressed and I move lots slower with several layers of clothes on, lol. Thankfully, we'll be topping out back in the low 80's by the weekend! Gotta love this Texas weather!

 

[Wannabefree]

Yep...pretty much the same as Tennessee weather....

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Craziness, isn't it? We'll be 85 degrees by tomorrow. Today started out cool, but in between rain showers it's getting warm... 80ish already.

We butchered this morning - I really do NOT enjoy doing chickens. We did 4 roosters and they were all at least 18 months old and they were HARD...ugh. On the other hand however..... I butchered 10 quail and they were the simplest thing EVER to do.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh...... I GOT EGGS! Six weeks old to the day and I've got eggs... Two of 'em in one pen so I don't know if one quail laid them both, or if two of 'em are laying already. Yippee! I'm about to go cook 'em ....

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I love weekends, and the only reason I'm glad to see them end is so I can go to work on Monday and get some rest, lol!

We butchred roosters and quail, built new nestboxes, cleaned pens, rearranged birds, milked goats, weeded the garden, made cajeta and fresh pesto, ran errands, and managed to work in a soak in the hot tub. DH is nursing a sore back this morning and I just want about 12 more hours of sleep! I finished up the cajeta about 9:30 last night, dropped in to bed and was up at 4:57 this morning... geeze... this farming life definitely AIN'T for sissies!

These winter-ish months will be spent with an emphasis on making life easier. Getting the barn and the new driveway set up for more efficient feed unloading and feeding of goats will be a big help. We need to get some more panels for extra fencing and some pallets for hay/feed storage, but it's all coming together ... s....l...o...w...l...y....

I cooked quail last night and OMG I can't even explain how superdeliciouso it was. I made a sauce of sauteed garlic, cumin and chili powders, honey and soy sauce that I drizzled over the quail, wrapped 'em in bacon and roasted in the oven. I kept drizzling that sauce over 'em as they cooked and ... wow...just wow. DH was quite impressed! Sauteed some kale in garlic as a side dish - so we had quail and kale! After all that, I made Pesto from the basil in the garden and dang - it was just a good eatin' weekend at my house, lol.

If you can't tell - I'm impressed with this quail venture. I got 7 eggs on Saturday and 8 on Sunday. I expect production to do nothing but go up from here. I think I've got 30 hens who are coming of age right now - so I should have plenty to start hatching again in a couple weeks. As soon as I build some more brooder pens we'll be ready to start the next batch.

 

[Wannabefree]

YOU GOT EGGS! Told ya them little suckers lay fast You'll be overrun shortly..you're welcome

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I did , I did, I did get eggs! Nine today. Thank-you, thank- you, thank you!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Huuuuummmmp day!

Not really looking forward to the weekend - supposed to be cold and wet. But any weekend is better than no weekend!

My DD called me this morning and told me she's made an important life decision. My first question is "how much is this gonna cost me?" LOL

And, it is gonna cost me.... she wants to go to law school. Actually, I've been encouraging her to do it forEVER! I guess when you work for lawyers long enough - you get tired of taking orders and want to give them! She'll do great - she's bright, intense, and stubborn - and a GREAT arguer... what else you need to know how to do to be a lawyer?

I got 13 quail eggs yesterday! Whoop, whoop! I've got 30 hens, so they're not quite up to full production yet. But, I'm getting more eggs every day so it's all good. I'm gonna wait a couple weeks and then put some in the incubator. (Don't want to have babies to take care of over Christmas holidays.) I've got about 9 extra males that I'll dispatch this weekend and that'll free up one grow out cage, but I need to build another one or two since my breeding pens are full now.

Still need to butcher a few more chickens, but I think I'm gonna use 'em mostly for dog food, so I'm not gonna be real particular. Next spring I'll need to get some meaties for the freezer. Nice young meaties are sooo much easier to skin and/or pluck than some old yard roo, lol!

I'm still on my 'livestock reduction' kick so I need to run an ad to move a few more goats and maybe an extra goose. Probably should move out at least one of the mini horses....but geeze... how would I ever pick which one? Tough decision there... I've got a mama and two of her babies. Mama and one of the babies have ongoing hoof issues and I don't believe in passing on a problem to someone else. Most of the time they're good, but they have a day or so here and there where they're gimpy...

I'll be cutting broccoli tonight - yea garden! I picked a bunch of basil a couple days ago and made a PRIMO batch of pesto.... extra garlic please. It was sooo good on a chicken sammich.

I've got some Napa cabbage that's ready too... I really, really need to make a big ol batch of Kimchi. Maybe I can do that this weekend when it's cold and rainy. I've been saying I need one of those miserable outside kind of weekends so I can catch up on some inside work.

Gonna have to dig out the dog sweater for ol' Baldy...(real name Turbo). Actually he didn't lose as much hair this summer as he usually does, but his undercoat has never come back in well so he doesn't have much insulation. Poor ol' thing. Almost blind, practically deaf, and only half a coat, lol. But he still loves life and is active as he can be. He even helped his daughter kill a rat the other day. She had already mostly dispatched it and tossed it aside, but it was still breathing...slowly...so Turbo finished it off and he was so proud of himself! He looked at me like "see mama, I still got it - I'm still useful" Ahhhhhhh - yes you are! Gonna be hard to lose that one...

Check Engine light came on in my car yesterday - GRRRRRR. Took it to the dealership and thankfully, it only needed a new gas cap, lol. But, of course while I was there they tried to sell me a new timing belt and water pump to the tune of $700.... I don't think so... When its time for it's 100K tuneup I'll probably have it done, if I still have the car then. It's 7 years old and has 75K miles and I still love it....but I really need a truck. Hmmmm, truth is, I have a truck, but my son has custody and won't give it back, lol! He's such a brat - but he loves that old truck and keeps it in tip top condition. And, I can always 'borrow' it back when I need to haul something so it works out fairly well.

DH will be home tonight - he's only been gone a day and I miss him! So, tonight will be steaks and fresh broccoli and a nice long foot rub...for me!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I've been waiting all week for THIS? LOL! Gonna be cold and wet pretty much all weekend - but it's like I say - any weekend is better than no weekend. I'll try (ugh) to make this a house cleaning weekend. You know - that kinda stuff you've gotta do a couple times a year whether you want to or not... Gotta go through my closet and re-arrange my seasonal clothes... needa pull out my 'work outside in the crud' clothes along with some sweaters and heavier tops for work. I'd rather rake poo outta the barn all day long than work inside...UGH!

AND - I've got a couple huge heads of Napa cabbage in the garden that are ready for harvest. I'm thinkng of making a big ol' pot of soup today that'll use up maybe half of one head - and make some kimchi with some more. Might have to take another head to the neighbors.

THEN - I needa make up a big ol batch of goatmilk, tuna, rice and eggs that'll be part of the dogs menu this week. I cook the rice in half goat milk, half water and when it's cooked and starting to cool a bit, I start throwing raw eggs into it. The heat of the rice will partially cook some of the eggs and some of 'em stay pretty raw. I even throw some of the shells in it too. Next comes a can or two of tuna and a few fish oil capsules. They absolutely KILL for that - they love it. They'll get it this evening (topped with some goat milk) and then raw food for a couple days, and then another day of goat milk, fishy rice and eggs. I also keep some super-premium kibble on hand that I'll pour goat milk over at least one a week...just in case there's some vitamins or minerals or summpin' in there that they need. So, they get raw about 4 days a week, tuna rice and eggs two days a week and goat milk and kibble once a week and sometimes, about once a month or so, they 'get' to fast. I think it's good for 'em and it makes 'em appreciate me a lot more the next day, lol! I started this feed schedule a year or so ago cuz the dogs just didn't seem to be at their best. At that time they had kibble in self-feeders 24/7 and they would just barely eat it. And, this was NOT the cheap grocery store kibble either. Since starting this the GP has probably put on about at least 15 lbs and Turbo - my health challenged boy - has just blossomed. It may or may not be very scientific - but its working well for them. Kind of a PIA, but they're worth it.

Spooky ( the doe that I'm milking full time right now )is out there bellowing for me... I swear the minute she sees the first light come on in the house she thiks I should be out there, milk bucket in hand. She's so demanding....

 

[Denim Deb]

Sounds like a typical goat. As soon as I pull in the driveway-even if I've already fed the goats, they start yelling to be fed. If it's not feeding time, I ignore them.