Calamity Acres Hobby Farm

Another early-post day... I've spent entirely too much time in front of the computer this weekend, but chalk it up to a tiring week, no sleep due to worry about Hannah and a family member, and nerves.  It's just cold enough out that it's uncomfortable to go out and work long... in the low forties, but yes, I'm grateful that we aren't dealing with a foot of snow on the ground and lugging buckets and buckets from the house. 

Yesterday, on a whim, I switched to the "new look" for Blogger for my own blog.  I can't find my way back!  It took me almost ten minutes to figure out that I have to now do the post from the very top of my own Blog page... not from the "inside" as it were.  That's what I get!

The toolbar with all the fonts, etc. etc. etc. is still there, just enlargened across the page... and I can't get clear to the side anymore.  I can't figure out how to go back so I think I am stuck with it.

I had such fun reading all of your blogs yesterday, and finding new ones.  I could not find a way to follow half of these... except for making them favorites, and using Facebook, which I rarely open.

I have been watching YouTube videos, too, about milk goats and other things.  I find lots of interesting information on YouTube. 

This is a website that I signed up for at the first of the year... it is Five Dollar Dinners, and this particular post linked is full of coupon resources.  Keith is very interested in Dave Ramsey, after listening to his show regularly, and has vowed to follow his financial principles and get our debt paid off, and the house paid off, in five years.  I'm with him on that!  I wish one of the couponers would address small households, though, specifically... and help us learn how to turn couponing to our benefit.  We want to start buying things for the food kitchen, too, with coupons, and would like to use them to their best benefit.

I am adding Cherry Menlove's site to my sidebar today.  She is an British mother with a lifestyle blog, and though I am not a huge follower of lifestyle blogs (Dooce, etc.) I like Cherry Menlove... she's beautiful and has two beautiful twins, but she's also real, and is a doer, not just a talker.  In the middle of the year last year, her husband was diagnosed with leukemia, but she kept calm and carried on, and I admire her for that immensely.  She also will have her first book coming out here shortly.

Another website that is actually a sales website but has lots of information is Artisanal Cheese, and I am really getting used to learning about lots of different kinds of cheeses.  I mentioned to Keith today that I would love to have a milking Dexter one day, and was answered with "Find a dairy and buy your milk" retort.  He's right, unfortunately.  There is a dairy (not too close) that sells milk from the dairy and I could start by buying theirs, and that's what I'll do.  More about that later.

This morning after church I went out to fill the nyjer seed feeders, an everyday thing now.  We have more tiny birds eating at them this year than I have ever seen.  As I hung the north feeder back up on it's pole, look what I noticed!

There, behind the feeder, against the bleak sky of this morning... BUDS on the maple tree.  I almost cried out with joy!

And then, when I went over to the big henyard, I went in through the pasture gate, and when I turned around, someone had followed me... but LOOK... there are new shoots on the sapling trees getting big now in the middle of the henyard (the same trees the juveniles roosted in last summer) and you can see the red new growth on them!

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Don't laugh... I've realized that the bird that was the only survivor of last spring's hatch in the little henhouse has GOT to be a rooster.  He has never crowed.. at least I have never seen or heard him, but he has the wattles of a roo.  He never goes outside, he's one of the Cave Dwellers.  I wonder what the little hens are going to think when they are moved to the new henhouse to join the other egg layers?

He's the bird on the left of Fleura the brown hen in this picture.

Here are some HAPPY chickens!  This is part of the big henhouse flock, and I let them out this morning after church.  They have run back and forth all day, and it's now hearly 4 PM.  I always let them free-range before... then last year, when I moved the juveniles to that pen, I was afraid to let the young birds loose.  Then I moved Butch, Reddy, Eagle and Angel to the pasture, and began letting them out, so that meant Rambo and his bunch had to stay locked up.  Now Butch is in the feed room with Reddy, Fancy and April, and the others can be free.  Am I scared we'll get another raptor?  Yes! Am I afraid Lil will find a way to get them?  Yes!  But they are obviously so happy running around in the pasture, it's worth it.  We have commented about it all afternoon.  I only wish I could get the little henhouse side out.  We might be able to do that, but I am afraid Rambo and Rocky would NOT be friends.
And lastly,

here's the Queen of the Resource Guarders.

We suspect Little Red was buried in this corner of the garden, or perhaps someone else is. I couldn't find a carcass when I went over to look.

And with that, I'm outa here and out to do evening chores!

Have a good start to your week, everyone!