Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Hen House Cleanup of 2014

Courtesy of WeeTeen as part of an agriculture project for school...
She had to do 18 hours of some kind of agricultural work.  So far she has helped a friend build and plant an herb spiral, helped plant our small raised garden bed, and totally clean out the hen house on her own.

Scoopin' the poop...and shavings

4 wheelbarrow loads

Scoopin' and scrapin'

Sweepin' too!

Clean nesting boxes...that never get used anyway

CLEAN!

Waitin' for the crew to move in for the night.
Thanks, WeeTeen!  You rock!




Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Farm Update - April 30,2014

Happy almost May Day. Lots to update soon, but for now, here are some recent pictures.


Empty raised garden bed


WeeTeen working on an agriculture project for school


5 out of 6 of the chickens...we had 7 but lost Alice the Barred Rock to a hawk


Materials for the garden


basil, rosemary, thyme, Greek oregano, sage, lavender
green bell peppers, okra, heirloom tomatoes - homesteads, zucchini, and pole bean seeds


Saturday, June 15, 2013

Summer clean out

We finally got around to cleaning out the coop. We scooped everything out, swept, turned the bottom over, refilled with new shavings, and then raked the coop yard. Alice supervised...loudly.



Thursday, May 30, 2013

Whoops! Was supposed to be Wordless Wednesday!

Guess it can be Thoughtless Thursday, but I'll add my thoughts for free!



Wee Teen got Most Outstanding Woodwind for 8th grade


Botanical Gardens


Botanical Gardens


Wee Teen at the Bot Gardens


Bot Gardens


Looking bad at the Bot Gardens



Sibling handstands at the Bot Gardens




Downtown


Downtown


Change purse


Sparky at the farm


Paleo shrimp and "grits"
RECIPE


"Brood Buster" - Hope it only takes a couple of days!


Fort Nugget is clean...on the outside.  The inside will be cleaned this weekend!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Long overdue farm update

A lot of stuff has been going on here at the NonSensical Farm.  PreMan/Big Son graduated from high school on Saturday, which meant a whirlwind weekend of family activities - my mom came to visit, we went out to eat several times, and we even went to the Botanical Gardens.  Now that we have officially made it through, I can finally say...

School's out for summer!  

And around here that means cleaning and organizing and doing all the things that got put off during the school year.  The deep cleaning has begun.  Big Son and Wee Teen are cleaning and organizing their bedrooms.  Big Son is doing his in prep for college.  Wee Teen is doing hers so we don't have to excavate her in case of an emergency.  So far so good.  I've set a deadline and they seem to be rising to the challenge.  There is also the promise that once it is done CORRECTLY, they will not have to do it again this summer as long as they maintain it.

Summer also means other domestic projects.  This summer I plan to do more canning.  I've already picked strawberries from a local farm and frozen them to make strawberry jam later.  Peaches, blueberries and blackberries should be ripening soon so we can get those too.  I have plans to work on embroidery and sewing projects.  Wee Teen wants some simple summer dresses (you could knock me over with a feather).  Then there is the painting.  I have been bitten by the painting bug.  Big Son needs some touch up done in his room and I am ready to update Wee Teen's room.  We're thinking green walls and blue curtains.  Her bathroom is a light purple.  Could be interesting!

On the animal side of the farm, we gained a new member.  Wee Teen now has a leopard gecko named Lilo. Totally her own responsibility.  We have a brooding hen, which means a daily tossing her out of the hen house (and no eggs from her either).  Sparky is having hoof wall separation.  Our friends with good horse sense think it is because of the damp ground (we've had a lot of rain lately) and the super sugary grass.  There are plans to move him to less greener (and dryer) pastures soon to see if that helps.

Soooo...lots to do!  I have plans written every where...plans for the house, plans for school, and plans for projects!  I'm excited and hope I can get through some of it.  What's on your to-do list?

Tomorrow will be a "Wordless Wednesday" of pictures taken recently.  Until then, here are a few as a teaser.  :)

Sparky and Mom at the farm


Hus-Man working on fences at a friend's farm


Big Son's senior picture

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

And I shall call it...

Pizzaroni noodly stuff


Pasta of some kind (cooked until almost done), cooked and chopped mild Italian pork sausage, turkey pepperoni, fresh mozzarella - cubed, fresh parmesan, pizza sauce, and diced tomatoes...mix it all together and bake at 375 for about 30-45 minutes.  The kids approved!  Next time I'll serve it with a salad and garlic bread.  :)

5 Hens-a-laying

All the girls are laying! We now have enough eggs to share. In fact, as payment for helping the HusMan put a new starter on the car, we gave Tom (the Hus-Man's boss and buddy) a dozen eggs. This is a pic of our first batch of 5 eggs!



The smallest egg...from the newest layer.  Not sure which Golden Comet.