Doing Chores

Jim and the boys left this morning to head to some friends' farm about 3-1/2 hours from here. They will be back tomorrow, and their main reason for going was to pick up more goats. I guess they will bring back 2 pregnant does and a buck. We lost our buck in January, and also lost a doe. I sure hope our remaining adult doe and 2 kids will remain healthy and not pass anything to the new goats.

Since I am the only one home, I am holding down the fort with taking care of the puppies (actually I am keeping Selah the mom from getting into trouble while in the house) and doing the chores. This has been good for me, since I am usually doing something else while the boys are out taking care of the animals. It felt great to get out early this morning to receive directions from our very capable sons, and then in the afternoon to check on the egg laying business.

I found 6 eggs in and under the nesting boxes. However, our rooster has decided to become ornery and seems bent on attacking me! The other day I collected eggs and was surprised when he jumped on my leg. This time it was out and out warfare on both of our parts. I don't know what one is supposed to do with an attacking rooster, but I hit him with a branch until he quit. I guess this means we've become enemies, since he did it again tonight when I was checking everything in the shed and putting the turkeys away for the night. He leaves the cats and goats alone, but apparently I am a threat to him. Our poor hens are also taking a beating, since at least 3 of them have feathers on their backs pulled out. I would gladly push for butchering him, but he is the only rooster we have and are hoping they will produce chicks later in the spring. I guess doing chores tomorrow will be another "wonderful" experience.

Even though it was rather cool and windy today, it was nice to be outside instead of working on things in the house. Our German Shepherd named Samson walked me down the 1/4 mile of very muddy driveway and begged me to throw rocks so he could go retrieve them. Whenever our son Peter is gone he becomes my buddy and does everything he can to get me to play with him. I love dogs, so it doesn't take much!We saw lots and lots of geese heading back into Canada, and noted that it won't be long before the ice is off the lake.

Our dog Selah is the one that just had 5 puppies. She reminds me so much of what I was like as a first time mom: very uptight and nervous. I never knew puppies this young could make so much noise ... All she has to do is step out of her whelping box and they immediately start whining and yelping for her. She then is so torn about going outside or even to get a drink of water. I hope she learns to relax soon, or she will wear herself out. That crazy dog still has her intense desire to go for our chickens and turkeys, so I have to stand outside any time she goes out and make sure she leaves them alone. Maybe she could take that rooster and knock him down a few pegs! Just kidding, I think we still need him.

I am looking forward to sunny, warm days, and planting in the garden. I was offered a parttime job recently, and it was very tempting to take it. However, it is my desire to work with our family here on our homestead instead of spending hours away from everyone. There are a lot of things afoot on our farm, and I want to be a part of it. Our older boys are talking about using a garden plot to grow vegetables for sale. That will take up quite a bit of their time, so I will be needed to work in our areas of the garden. I can't imagine what it will be like to be picking raspberries from 600 plants! At the rate the boys eat homemade raspberry jam, we'll need every berry we produce! I have a feeling, though, there will be plenty left over for others.