Which one would you rather lay?

One of my poor sweet chickens had to lay this monster egg!  Actually, they do on a regular basis.  I don't hear much squawking though, so I guess she's ok.  And the one on the left is actually good news, because it means that one of the chickens that hasn't been laying has started up again. Yay!  Since I now have about 3 customers that routinely want 2 dozen or a dozen and 1/2.  

This was another great weekend!  I got to take Christian and Alaina and my mom to the movies, again to see "How to Train Your Dragon".  It was worth it to hear them laugh to see it for a second time.  I love the movie though, so it wasn't a problem anyway.  

Then today I tilled more of the garden and we put the hops lines up the pole.

The hops are doing really well and we're hoping for a great yield this year.  Jason also built a new planter box.  I'm so excited!  I really didn't think I was going to get the new planter boxes this year, but he's going gang busters on them.  He just built one today.  I'll post a picture of it soon.  Right now it's just a frame.  I also bought a few new trees from the Kiwanis tree sale.  Two Santa Rosa Plums and I can't remember the name of the apple tree I bought.  They always have great deals, so it's worth it to watch for the sale to come around.  

Look at the lovely little surprise I found in the grass today.  I can't remember the name of the catepiller, so I'll have to look it up later.  They're so determined, just inching through the grass.  I wonder how far they can travel?

Emma joined me by the barn today during my morning chores.  

She was also witness to my ridiculous frustration with Maude when I couldn't get her to go into the pasture this morning.   She doesn't even care that I have grain; she'll have none of it!  Harold, the fatty, however, doesn't hesitate.  Oh well, someday we'll have shelter for them in the pasture and I won't have to endure this silly routine!

Think this looks scrumptious?  Me neither, It's just a little bit of scrambled egg, broccoli and egg shell

but the girls loved it!.  In case you're wondering about the egg shell... No, I'm not crazy.  Chickens actually benefit from eating shell because of the calcium it contains.  It helps make their egg shells stronger.  It's the same with oyster shell you free-feed them.  Anyway, they finished off every last little morsel!

Hope you have a great week!

Simple Pleasures

I am so excited!  Due to my wonderful husband's hard work on the deer fence last year, I am finally seeing blooms on my strawberries and apple trees.  Aren't they beautiful?  Even more beautiful is that these flowers hold the possibility of actually yielding fruit.  I say possibility because there are a multitude of pests and trials that stand in the way of us and our first apples, but for now, there is the promise!  :)

My wonderful husband also had a great idea today.  He said "Isn't there a way we could combine the compost pile and the chicken yard?  That way they could scratch through it and deposit their "contribution" and it would break down faster.  I thought it was a fabulous idea and apparently so do the girls!

One more thing and then I'll leave you for the evening...
Is this what it feels like to be hunted? 

 I decided to lie down in the grass and watch Emma hunt and before I knew it, I was her target. :)


Have a wonderful week...

Precious Cargo

Today was a day of precious cargo.   The day started out bright and early with a delivery of 24 potted plants to the Oregon Escrow Council seminar.  The president ordered them from me when he learned that I have a floral design business.  I was scheduled to attend the seminar anyway, so it was nice to be able to make some money at the same time.

Then tonight, I took my friend Ryan to dinner and the movies, we saw "How to Train Your Dragon".  It was wonderful!  Ryan declared it the best movie he's seen yet, but admitted that each one seems to take that title.  He's such a great kid.  It occurred to me tonight that he will soon outgrow me, in height.  I don't know why I didn't notice it until we were walking out of the movie, but I suddenly realized, He only has a couple of inches to go before he passes me up.  It's amazing how quickly they grow up.  I'm so happy he isn't outgrowing  me yet.  :)

Then I ended the day grabbing eggs from the barn, in the dark without a basket.  Well, that's not totally true, I had the headlights from my car.  I had moved the goats to the barn and used the headlights to light the way for them, so I just went ahead and grabbed the eggs while I was in there.

Now I'm enjoying some quiet time on the porch wrapped in blankets. Hobbes is out here enjoying it with me and I'm sure with all the froggy songs, Emma is by the creek trying to spot one.

 I stopped to give Kelly a hug on the way up the drive and when I hugged her goodbye we realized how great it smells outside, so I decided to ditch the housework (it is 10:30 after all) and hang out here.  Everything smells so wonderfully fresh and sweet.  We guessed that it's the lilacs and maybe honeysuckle.  Another amazing thing I've noticed is how wonderfully bright it is outside, without any help from us at all.  We think we need to illuminate everything, but it's really amazing without any help at all.  I wish I could post a picture, but it's something you just have to see for yourself.  Have a wonderful Sunday...

Friday Night

Even a farm girl likes to have her toes painted every once in a while.

My friend Emily and I went out for a pedicure after work tonight.  It was so nice to just relax and visit.  I had a nice visit with my neighbor when I got home tonight too.  We just sat and talked about the demands of life and how we know we wonderful lives, but we still get tired and worn out. It's always nice to have someone to share your worries and cares with.  :)

On a good note, check it out...  One of the new girls has the whole "roost" thing figured out.  I found her sitting up there tonight.  I'm so proud!  Snif' Snif', my little girls are growing up! :)

Sunny Sunday

Today was wonderful!  Jason's mom and dad came up to help me get some work done around the property.  Jason is still suffering from gout, so we called in reinforcements.  Dad has experience with fencing too, so he's just the right person to help.  Mandy was even there as a spectator.

We got a lot of stuff done!   He gave me some advice on a couple of projects I've been wondering about then we got to work.  We got the fencing for the new NE pasture done.  We found out that gate opening is too small, so we'll need to go get a new gate, but we've got the wiring done.  AND, we got the gate to the neighbor's house put in.  I'm so excited about that!  We had wanted to have easier access to the neighbors and also easier access for their goats to get to the back pasture.  There are a ton of blackberries back there and I think they'll be great at getting those under control before they take off again like they did last year.  We worked so hard to clear them out, it's discouraging having them all come back!  I'm just not willing to go the chemical route.

Dad and I had fun working together.  He always loves to give me a hard time about, well, just about anything.

    Oh well, at least he knows I'm willing to work hard.  I even got a picture of mom swinging a hammer!

We had a nice lunch break and I made my friend Jeanne's sun dried tomato and basil pesto pasta.  They loved it! Then for dinner I made Jason and I homemade pizza.  I wish I could say I made the pizza dough... someday!

Spring Evenings

I don't know if there is a time of the year that I value the waning sun more than these sunny spring evenings.  They are just so few and far between.  This spring seems wetter an colder than last year, so any evening that it's not raining is a night rush home, to change into work clothes and head outside.  I let the goats out to enjoy some fresh grass and a little exercise for a few hours while I get to work.  Tonight that included cleaning up some brush and mowing the grass along the neighbors driveway, which is actually on our property. (Just so you don't think I'm crazy)  I got the mower stuck, just high-centered basically, and had to pull it out by hand.  That was interesting.  But I did it; which was a huge victory.  I was having terrible thoughts of having to drive Jason up there to help me get it out.  Phew, bullet dodged.
I talked to my neighbor about tilling the pasture for the pumpkin patch for me yesterday.  He said he'll be happy to help.  We probably won't be able to do it until May, however, due to the amount of rain we've had lately.
This weekend will be a big weekend for the chicks.  I'm going to let them out of their brooder for the first time.  They have all their feathers and they're getting really big.  They're still trying to sleep under Paula, and they're about 1/3 of her size now.  It's pretty funny looking.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post soon.

Easter Eggs

Sometimes we do things for recognition, sometimes we do things to make people smile, and sometimes we do things just because we love to do them.  The last two were the case today.  I had a little extra time, since Jason stayed up until 5:30 am trying to fix our server... I wanted to let him sleep in to catch up.  So, here's what I did with the time...

And here is what I got for it.  Not, just for the cards of course, the packs of gum contained inside didn't hurt.  :)

 I also got some nice quality time with Chase.  I got him to sit with me for a little bit and scratched his back... turns out that's a sure fire way to make him fall asleep.  Especially after an afternoon of running around with your cousins.  Either way, I got some good cuddle time and I loved it.

April Showers

 So, a 4 year dream came true today!!! I finally have my goat stanchion.  It looks great; Jason did a beautiful job.  :)    I got the goats hooves trimmed in about 1/2 the time it normally takes.  The goats weren't too jazzed about it at first, but they calmed down after a bit.    They never really like you picking up their feet, but they stopped jerking them back after a while.  Maude actually did much better than Harold.  It's just so much better than laying them on their side to trim their hooves.  They just never relax when we do it that way.

I also picked up warming trays for my seeds.  I planted a few trays, but I have a several more to plant.  I planted   Zinnias, Polar Bear and Orange King, I also planted some Cuphea, Purple Passion.  I hope those do well in this area; I'm not sure if they're suited to our environment.  I ordered them from Bakercreekheirloomseeds.com.  That's one nice thing about Territorial; you know they will do well in our area.  Baker has a great selection though, so I love to order from them.  I'll post more pictures as soon as they start to sprout.  :)

I also thought I'd post some pictures from the bridal shower flowers I did a couple of weeks ago.  I wish the pink was a little brighter, but sometimes you have to just take what's available.