Progress is progressing

The chickens are enjoying the lack of cold and have spent most afternoons pecking and scratching about the place. As you can see the flock is well integrated now.

Honey's a bit wider and starting to waddle a little but not much. When the goats are laying around in the afternoon sun, it just looks like she's had a good meal. The vet will be by in a couple weeks to give both goats their annual vaccines. Giving Honey her vaccine 4 weeks before kidding means the babies get a free ride on her antibodies until they're old enough for their first shots at two months old.

I've been trying to keep track of everything for the farm and house on paper and that just was NOT working, especially for the things that have to happen more than once. It's sometimes hard to keep track of the last time the filter on the cat's water was changed (for example) and it's even harder when there's two people who might have done it; which is why Hugslut and I have been developing our household systems so that the little things don't fall through the cracks. 

We're using a project management program now and it seems to be helping because we can mark tasks with any combination of start dates, due dates, sub-tasks, tags, and even mark a task as "waiting on"/"blocked by" another task that has to be done first. I've also found that with a little tweaking, we can now even use it as our meal planning and grocery list app.

Getting organized like this has been on both of our mental lists for a while and I'm feeling less stressed out knowing that everything is in one place and if I'm not sure what to do next, I can confidently just look there. 

We're also looking into getting a whole home battery backup for the times when the power goes out. Much quieter and more convenient than a generator, especially since the outages here rarely seem to last a whole day. This will let us run the well pump and water UV system as well as keep the fridges and freezers cold. The system we're looking at should even allow us to run The a heatpump to keep the pipes from freezing in the middle of winter (But not both heatpumps let alone the baseboard heaters, so a long outage in the winter would still mean bundling up).

The spring sunshine is finally strong enough, and the nights are above zero for over a week straight at a time which has allowed the greens I planted in the fall to actually start growing! I harvested a bunch of salad greens and planted some other seeds like peas and carrots.

It was SO good to have fresh greens from our own greenhouse again. :-) I found a deal on beef at the grocery store to slowcook in the crockpot, and made a goat cheese and basil dressing for the salad greens.

It's not all been lovely. I've been trying for weeks now to get Samsung to send me a replacement part for our fridge. It's not the end of the world but it's just so frustrating that they've sent me the wrong part TWICE now and if I were to buy the correct part directly it would make my entire fridge out of warranty.

The broken original with the first wrong part.

I got them on the phone and after a BUNCH of time we figured out the first person wrote down my fridge's model number with a letter O instead of a zero... okay well mistakes happen. He sent me a link and I confirmed that the one he was showing me was the right part... and then they sent me this.

The broken original with the second wrong part.

I already got back in touch and got it escalated to a supervisor and all that and HOPEFULLY they'll be sending the right part now. I also asked that they look into how on earth they sent me the right part for the wrong fridge and then the wrong part for the right fridge... but I don't hold out much hope.

Thankfully the fridge isn't missing an essential part and it's just the thing that helps keep the door shut snug but damn. I'm also trying to get a replacement part for one of our windows. So there's been a BUNCH of back and forth with folks who MIGHT be able to help. I was supposed to get a call back on that one last Wednesday but... **shrug** Guess I'm calling them again this week.

I made a "deer resistant" flower bed along the driveway this past Friday, and nature decided to have one more snow the next morning. It all melted by the end of Sunday (which was yesterday) so it seems mother nature played her April Fools Joke a couple days early.

Here's a little drawing by The Latest Kate that I ran into the other day when I needed it. Hope it helps someone else.

Spring a leak

The last snow of our season came through and of course it was a week AFTER that melted away that the snowblower I ordered actually arrived. Oh well. Just means that we're prepared for the two or three storms we'll get next year.

At the end of February I spotted a tiny puddle by the hot water heater and by the end of the day it was a significant puddle. I made sure it wasn't coming from the tap and unfortunately it definitely was dripping from a screw in the bottom pan, and on top of that it was rusty water. I called a plumber to be sure but it was definitely rusted out. One year after the warranty ran out too. Well, replacing a water heater isn't rocket science so we got a new one and I installed it. I'm pretty sure the previous owners didn't bother with maintenance so our new one should last longer.

Spring has returned and the goats are enjoying being able to lie around in the sun again. I really love watching them run and prance about. They were very cautious with the snow and ice (thank goodness) but they can get solid traction on the turf. We went for a hike through the woods again. It was too muddy to go far but they love chomping on new bushes.

I've designed the Kid Corner for the barn. It'll fold out of the way for the off season. We got the lumber and hardware and now I've got a month to get it built and installed so it's ready a few weeks before Honey kidding. Having everything ready 2 weeks early not only gives some safety window, but also allows the goats to get used to the new setup.

All the chickens are laying again and I decided it's time they start earning their keep. I'm selling the eggs on the farm here so there's not really any regulations I have to worry about.

They're labelled as "farm fresh" and "wash before use" mostly as a precaution. I would be quite upset if someone get sick over improper handling. Hopefully in a few months I'll have some veggies to sell as well.

Winter Hibernation Leading to Spring Expansion

If you know what you're looking for, Honey is definitely pregnant! We're at the end of the second month and the way goat pregnancy progresses, she won't "show" much at all until she gets BIG at the end of the fourth month and HUGE in the fifth month.

I'm working on building a "kid corner" for the barn. The idea will be that it can be set up for kidding season and folded up for the other half of the year. It's gonna be a bit before I have anything to show you but I'm working on the blueprints.

I've also been working on curtains for the chickens. I've finished the ones separating the nest boxes (it keeps them from fighting),but I also want to sew a roll up curtain for the wall between the goats and chickens. This will provide them with a nice dark area to roost even if I need lights in the goat area at night. They're made out of old feed bags which are a kind of woven plastic fabric, so they're not going to mildew or anything but I can also take them down and wash them in the washing machine when they do get dusty/dirty.

Kelly and Isabella are laying again. I spotted Jennifer on a nest today and Marsha hiding under the nests the past few days so we might have them all laying again soon! That said, even with just the new girls laying over winter, we had lots of extra eggs to give to neighbours and this past week we dropped off 5 half-dozen at the community food pantry.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to send Hugslut some nasty weather for her birthday so we didn't get to go to Yarmouth for dinner. We planned ahead and hunkered down but those two trips out to the barn each day were not fun. The animals complained on day one when I wouldn't let them out but by that night when the wind had kicked up and howled they understood and just relaxed in the barn for the next couple days.

It's tax season of course so among all the rest we're getting our tax documents together for Hugslut's work-from-home office job and I realized that if I ever plan to sell, I really should start keeping farm records instead of just treating it as an expensive hobby. This means that I've of course given myself yet another new project, "learn what sort of expenses can be partially written off of farm income". Not that I have any farm income yet but it'll be good to get into the record keeping.

Gardening won't be an issue for a few more weeks at least. ;-)

Happy Holidays

The seeds I planted at the beginning of December are sprouted and are existing in a state of limbo waiting for the days to get longet before growing any more. This is fine and good. They can develop roots with the amounts of light they're getting and should be all the healthier for it. It's also going to give me a better idea about when the plants prefer to grow for future reference.

Honey came into heat Dec 15th which means the first time didn't take. We took her back to the buck and she was much less shy which means we were probably a day early last time. Jan 8th there was no signs of another heat which means she's likely preggers and due mid May.

There's a slight chance she didn't catch and just naturally didn't cycle again due to being done for the year, but I'm hopeful. Honey now more vocal about things these days. She used to be Star's silent partner but now is happy to tell you when she's unhappy.

 

On Dec 9th I was just eating lunch and one molar just cracked a chunk right off. Thankfully it wasn't deep and it doesn't hurt. I'm on the cancellation list at the dentist as they're booking into the summer. My intake appointment on Dec 18th went well. I like the dentist and they're pretty high tech. In addition to xrays they used a little pencil sized camera to take photos and the records are all digitized. It was pretty neat. :-)

I've had two cleaning appointments because I've not been to a dentist since getting my wisdom teeth out in 2021 but I'm still waiting on a fix for chipped tooth. The dental hygienist gets more cancellations it seems.

Hugslut quit nicotine all together in December which had a drastic withdrawal effect on her causing her to be super sleepy and brain-foggy. It's easing up now but wow that was harsh.

My arm is still giving me troubles off and on, but less so and now with the milking machine I'm not re-aggravating it every day. I ran the machine without attaching it a few times so they'd learn it wasn't a dangerous noise, and after that it only took Star just a day or two to get used to the new routine.

A big snow storm rolled in right before Christmas so we got in some extra food and did our usual on Christmas day of staying in with lots of snacks and watching movies which was nice. I also baked some cookies and bread and after a week of rest and recuperation, we rang in the new year quietly at home.

Even in winter the goats love a hike through the woods. I've been spending the last week or so doing some work planning this year's garden.

Goat breeding and more

 

I mentioned flat-pack cabinets waiting for me to assemble them in the last post, but although they're on the list, they're not at the top; so I only got one of the boxes out of the living room over the past two weeks. There were things that were more time sensitive that needed my attention, such as: 

The bathtub taps. There was some fuss because apparently tub tap cartridges are NOT standardized so we had to order in the replacement parts. Thankfully they were delivered to the store within a week of ordering which was super nice. I got them installed right away and we were able to have showers again.

I've also done the seasonal well filter replacement and flush of the hot water tank so water pressure and clarity are **chefs kiss**.

- - -

As I mentioned before, I've been tracking my goats cycles in order to get Honey bred this year. We also bought a hard-body "dog travel crate" in order to transport the goats safely. Asking around I found a local goat guy who had a buck that would work well for my needs (Dairy breed, not 2 hours away) and I managed to figure out Honey's cycle well enough when they met Nov.22 it was clear he could smell she was ready.

She was shy because she's a first timer but she eventually lifted her tail out of the way so he could get the job done. This means that since she didn't come back into heat 3 weeks later, she's knocked up and we should expect kids April 21st!

Star could smell the Buck on Honey and pouted for a few days but I want her to keep producing into next year. We've dropped down to milking once a day and we're still getting a litre a day which is is plenty for drinking/coffee but not enough for cheese/yogurt/etc experiments.

This is a weird year since we're just starting out. If I bred Star too we'd have to stop milking for 2 months before her kids were born and couldn't take any of the new stuff for a month after which means 3 months of no milk. We should be able to breed both of them next autumn about 3 months apart so there's no weeks without milk.

- - - 

I got back into my coding project and, looking at the mess I left myself trying to do everything at once, I decided to restart with a "Minimum Viable Product". Literally it's just a basic form that would digitize the notes I've been keeping on paper. That was fairly easy with my current programming knowledge.

Now, I'm working on what I'm calling "Minimum Viable Pretty". :-) 

I'm learning what I need to make stuff look good. (Javascript, & CSS to make the HTML fancy) For example, I'm turning that basic form into a "wizard" which just means I can see one question at a time with next and back buttons. This will make it easier to fill out the form on my phone (I can have big inputs instead of trying to zoom) while I'm out at the barn instead of remembering everything to write it down when I get back in the house.

After I get that done I can slowly, one at a time, add the other features I had been trying to do all at once.

- - -

My left wrist/elbow was hurting so I tried to stretch it but wound up needing a brace for basic tasks like dishes. Now my elbow hurts if I were to do something like lift a dinner plate "wrong" without the brace with a general feeling of over-use, so I'm being very careful not to make it worse. (Kinda hard when something as simple as pulling up your pants in the morning might twinge the tendons.) I'm not 100% sure if it's just RSI (from milking/powertools) or if I damaged myself hauling hay or bumping onto something some day and just didn't notice until it caused problems later.

I've changed how I milk Star (sitting beside for a direct angle instead of standing and reaching under) but I can't switch sides or milk from behind because her entire career they milked her from the one side and she developed a significant tilt so if you try to milk from the other side, you can NOT aim at all and the teat just kinda squirts on your hand instead. 

Pretty sure it's (golfer's/tennis elbow) tendinitis because I've had wrist tendinitis from office work before and I know a doc is gonna say ice, elevate, rest, and wait (which DOES work) so I'm going to do that but... "With proper treatment, acute tendinitis caused by overuse will usually resolve within three months, although complete recovery can take up to six months before you can return to sports."  Even if I restricted myself to milking awkwardly with only my right hand (which I have done the past two days), can I really stop using my entire left arm for 3-6 months? Maybe? Probably not. 

As of yesterday, I'm currently giving my left arm 98% of the week off by only using my hand to hold something light such as bread while I butter it, or gently hold a jar on a counter while I use my other hand to dig out the peanut butter. I had my arm in a sling yesterday but that just wound up hurting my neck so today I'm just using the sling when I'm up and doing stuff (like feeding the critters) as a reminder to not use it.

- - -

We had some snow Dec 1 but it quickly melted, and that "weather bomb" that everyone was worried about was only two days of rain with overnight high winds for us. Currently partly cloudy, no snow, and just above freezing. Here's a quick clip of the girls playing next to the barn on Dec 6th.

Two Months! Whoops!

Here's the rundown:

Met the local farmers I was telling you about. We had a lovely evening of food and conversation... and then they had to disappear into one of their busy seasons for several weeks.

Honey took forever to heal that rat bite because she kept scratching at the scab but she's fully healed now and re-furring the area she nibbled bare.

October we got some more hens and I finished the barn wall so the chickens could co-habitate safely.

Isabella and Jennifer had their usual drastic moulting, but thanks to barn, the naked chickens seem to be coping well.

I canned up some chicken and pork when I could find sales to easily add meat to soups and pasta dishes. Defrosting and cooking meat is usually the most annoying part of making dinner.

I've started buying some "easy" food for the days I just want a hot meal without fuss. (Eg: Tin of split pea soup, frozen stirfry microwave dinner, 5 min to heat precooked roast in sauce) It's a lil more expensive but I figure it's worth it for the twice a week or so that I can NOT wait 30 min for food.

Also bought some cranberries on sale after Thanksgiving so I can make some preserves with them. They're frozen until I have time.

When I closed down the summer greenhouse mid October, I couldn't find a good recipe for making shelf stable sauce that didn't involve removing the skins so I dried some and froze some cherry tomatoes. Also made some pickled tomatoes.

Some beefsteak tomatoes and peppers were large but not ripe so I brought them in to ripen.

Hugslut and I were sick with a cold for about 2 weeks. It sucked but we took care of ourselves and it didn't get too bad.

Got the Garlic planted Nov 1st-ish and replanted some cold weather crops. They're likely too late for a harvest before solstice, but definitely a head start on spring.

Gathered a bunch of Rowan "Berries". They're very RED this year instead of orangish. The neighbours say this means a very cold winter is comming.

They're best if harvested after at least one good frost so I waited and now there's a FULL folgers tub in the freezer waiting for me to have time and spoons to turn into preserves.

Hugslut said she's looking forward to Advent of code. It's a programmer puzzle event where there's a new puzzle every day and the programmers use all their skills to solve each puzzle fastest, or just use the puzzles to test and stretch their skills in a new language.

The other day, Hugslut was in the shower and when she got out the hot water would NOT turn off. I turned it off at the shutoff valve and took apart the tap to confirm the cartridge had worn out. We ordered the parts and we pick them up tomorrow.

We've also been working on improving our house by making plans and buying parts. I haven't installed any of the parts yet, but we have replacement faucet for the kitchen sink, cabinets for storing kitchen gadgets and other bits and pieces for rewiring the barn to be safer and more useful (split lighting and gfi outlets).

That's it for this one. I'll write more soon.
 

I smell a rat...

We finally found a rug and coffee table we liked to round out the living room!

before

after

I took to the greenhouse and gave it a heavy pruning. I should have been keeping it pruned all year but the goats and house upgrades and and and... kept stealing my attention. 

I learned a lot this year, and since I already told Hugslut I'm not getting new animals next spring because I'm going to focus on the greenhouse and garden, next year, I should have the time to put into properly pruning and trellising to prevent the manic jungle mess I got this year. I am bringing in lots of golden cherry tomatoes and plenty of cucumbers. Soon it will be time to tear it all out and plant a fall garden of spinach, carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, and green onions.

I had noticed a rat around the barn occasionally and then one morning about two weeks ago Honey had a BITE on her! Best I can figure, it got rolled over on in the middle of the night and bit her in self-defense because it is just the one bite, but... well now, I didn't mind a woodland creature sneaking in to finish off some spilled goat feed while they were out playing but I will NOT stand for injuries to my livestock. Honey is healing up with no infection thanks to twice a day first aid, but she keeps scratching the scab back open so it's taking longer than I'd like.

If you watch the top left corner at the beginning of the clip you see the rat dive into the hole as Star hops down off the milk stand. I had no clue it had been hanging out in there when the goats were around because it ran whenever we were headed to the barn.

hole	template	wooden plate
patched

In addition to patching the hole it was using as a door, I put out a trap under where the hole used to be (which did catch the rat in just a few days). To make sure no future rats could make their way through the patch I put a layer of old screen to hold everything in place, a bunch of bent iron wire from cutting fencing for the barn wall, doused it with spray-foam, and quickly capped it off with a custom cut piece of wood held in place with 3 screws. That's not going anywhere. And as a bonus, the barn is going to be less drafty in the winter. :-)

Speaking of less drafty, today we had the followup Home Energy Assessment and we'll know in about a week or two how much money the government's gonna give back on the upgrades. We would have done it either way because solar + insulation + draft filling means our next winter power bills should be drastically less... but the rebates mean we got our butts in gear to get it all done this year instead of dawdling.

Unfortunately the window replacement doesn't count because we only replaced the part that was broken (the sealed, argon filled glass), which was the part that makes it energy efficient, but because it wasn't a full, new, energy star window..... well, I'm starting to wonder who lobbied to make the rebates that way.

We've been in touch with some other local farmers who might be interested in an RPG game. Keep you fingers crossed for us. It seems everyone's always so busy but I'd really love to get to know some more people.

I suppose that's all for now. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to hear more about or if you have any random questions. I love chatting about our little farm.

Star and Honey reaching and wrestling for the tastiest leaves on a hike.