Always Mix a Little Rest in With Your Work

We have been blessed with beautiful weather.  I call beautiful weather a few days of sunshine followed by a little rain.  The rain has encouraged the fields to grow. We should be able to get two cutting of hay this summer.  We have gone with round bales instead of small bales.  Another experiment on our part.   Ted and I worked on fencing and a new home for a couple of randy bucklings.  Bucks are able to breed does when they are only 3 months old.  It was necessary to have a bachelor pad for these young men.  Edward is a wether and there for adult supervision. We  

The boys made themselves right at home. We took the turkey house and did a little relocation and renovation.  That night there was a bit of complaining.  Well, a lot of complaining.  They actually made a bit of a ruckus.  The boys had always been in the barn at night with their mothers. They now are safe and sound with electric fence to protect them. Edward has a sensitive stomach so I will give him a dose of Probios for a couple of days.  No other goats have problems on fresh pasture but Edward.  He's special.

After hot work there is always time for a little relaxation. Ted found out that the girls will not stay on the ground if there is an occupied hammock around.

Emma and Lucy don't have to wait on us to relax in the shade.

Stay cool. Remember to rest after hot work. Enjoy the sunshine and warm weather.What great advice!

Much Love and Prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly

Summer Work and Fun

With the summer sun and no rain we had a chance to cut, bale and bring in the rest of the hay. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. I kept praying for a break in the rain so we could hay and I got my prayer answered with a resounding YES. Kevin our neighbor taught Alex how to bale using his big CASE tractor. She was grins from ear to ear. Not bad for a newbie.

Chetah taught me how to rake the hay into rows. My rows were not straight by any account but they were baleable. (is that a word?) I love my big green tractor. I sigh and have a silly grin on my face when I look at it.

Kevin has several fields that he hays. We all worked together to get the hay in. All total we put up just over 1,000 bales of hay. It took Kevin, Chetah, Ted, Teddy, Alex, Me, K, and C to bring in all that hay. The barn is full and so beautiful. It smells so good.

Ted and I were able to get the big double doors on the back of our barn open. From what we were told, it has been over 50 years since they were open. Now we can get a breeze through the barn. The hinges are forged iron and still work. The barn is our next summer project. It will look very pretty with new shingles and barn red.

Our big Jumbo Cornish X Rocks were large enough to go to the butcher. We choose not to butcher on our homestead as we know the smell of blood attracts predators. So far we have been very fortunate in that sense. We packed the boys up in their plastic transportation coop. They were left behind by the last owner of the farm and really come in handy. We took in 23 total.

We took the trip to West Gardiner Beef. They do an excellent job and the chickens are clean and put immediately on ice for the trip home. Jasmine went with us for the first time. She now understands how the meat gets on the table. I feel that it is an important lesson and they are less inclined to waste.

It has been so hot and muggy that we needed a trip to the lake. We went to Peaks-Kenny State Park for a nice dip in Lake Sebec. The water was cool and felt so refreshing. First things first. Sun screen must be applied.

It is always good to have help.

Funny face contestant #1....

contestant #2....

It was so hazy that you can barely see Mt. Katahdin in the distance. On a clear day it is so beautiful. It makes you appreciate the beauty of Maine.

Keep cool and take time out from your busy summer to enjoy the good life and make memories for little ones. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly

Working Toward Self Sufficiency

No one says it is easy. It is very difficult. We come from a different climate where everything grows without a second thought. It isn't even necessary to put forth a whole lot of effort to get vegetables to grow in Florida. The growing season is long, hot and humid. Just the environment that plants need to grow and prosper. We had a much bigger garden last year and the harvest was slim to none. The corn was eaten by the myriad of crows we have. The pumpkins never grew. As far as tomatoes go, they weren't ripe until the frost came an made mush out of them. We had a few squash come up last year, wormy brussel sprouts, lots of good peppers and onions. We are thankful for our harvest. This year we planted a smaller garden. Unfortunately we had a late frost that killed all of our tender plants we bought. A new rule that we have made to live by is, no planting until June 1st. The effort is just too much to loose plants. We will start our own plants inside. I see a small greenhouse in our future. We have scarecrows in place. Don't laugh at our giant flying bumblebee. The crows are not around. Those birds are destructive.

This is our small bounty for this afternoon. We weeded and weeded. The swiss chard is next. We are having collard greens for supper tonight before we head off to work. Jasmine has been enjoying herself this summer on the farm. I think all kids are happier and healthier when the can get out of an apartment and run and play all day. They pass out at night and sleep very well.

On the road to being independent we made a trip to Hammond Tractor in Fairfield, Maine. This is our new addition to the farm. We are looking for used hay equipment. We need a mower/ conditioner, a rake and a square baler. All in good time.

This is a good start, it is a John Deere 5055E with 3pt PTO. It will hay our 20+ acres with no complaints. We will use the bucket to install fence post next weekend when we make another pasture for the sheep, goats and llamas. Fence posts here are cedar and one end is pointed. We place the post in the appropriate spot and push down with the bucket. One installed fence post. Only 50 more to go. It will earn its keep here.

We are having a couple of nice days in a row so the haying has begun. The pasture was mowed/conditioned this morning, tedded in the afternoon, and raked late this afternoon. It will be re-tedded and raked tomorrow and we will bale it in the afternoon after we get up from a few hours sleep. Right now we are still depending on Kevin, our neighbor, to get the hay done. We split the hay 50/50 with him for his labor and we assist him with the baleing and moving it into the barn. He will also be able to store some of his hay in our barn over the winter. We all work together. That is the only way to survive here.

It is off to work we go. Have a safe and happy summer evening. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly