Chickens and yard sales

This week has been busy, we (my mom, my sister, my grandma and I) decided we should have a yard sale. It was fun and we did make some money. Advertising it on facebook groups was so much smarter then putting it in the paper. I do not think anyone looks for them in the newspaper anymore. It was very nice getting to spend so much time with them but I am glad it is over. It was alot of work, cleaning out the storage locker was the hardest and hottest work and I am so glad to get all of my junk out of there but I did learn that if you are just stuffing something into a storage locker then you do not need it. Friday was our busiest day, people were still coming after we were closed but we did not turn anyone away. My grandma was the biggest money maker and I am very happy about that. It made her day. After the sale was over we took the rest of the stuff to the salvation army, hopefully someone who can use it will see it and then it will all be put to good use. I am very glad this morning to have everything back to normal. My poor Nellie girl hadn't been milked in 2 days so she was happy this morning to get our quality time and some feed. Do not worry though, she has babies on her still so she was not suffering except maybe at night because she did not get to enjoy her peaceful time that every mom enjoys while being away from their kids and getting some me time because since I was not milking her I had no need to put them in their stall at night.

Here are our newest additions to our farm. 25 jumbo cornish rock crosses. They are a big meat bird and will be old enough to process at around 8 weeks. The little black one is a free rare breed bird that you get when you order. It is a golden laced wyandotte. If it is a hen I will keep her and raise her with my silver laced wyandottes that I already own. They are really cute at this age but they also can really stink. We planned on having 100 chickens this year to process for our freezer but with the animal attacks that were going on we are a few short of where we wanted to be right now. Hopefully by the end of the year we will be close to what we wanted.

Time to get ready for church, have a blessed Sunday everyone!!

~April

city girl vs. country girl

 Here are some pics of my new buns for you to enjoy.

I was just thinking about how much my life has changed in the last 6 years since we have lived in the country. Actually we now live in the place I grew up in but when I was a kid I did not know how lucky I was and I could not wait to move and get into town. Lucky for me I met and married a wonderful man who happened to live in the city of Weirton. Weirton is not a big city like Pittsburgh but it was big enough to make me happy. I worked and worked and worked to stop saying things like crick and warsh and all of that hillbilly lingo and my grammer became exceptional. I could talk as good as any ole city folk out there. I also made sure that every morning I was up and ready with my hair fixed and nice clothes on. If I was going to be outside I was going to look presentable. If I was going to go out I was going to look magnificent! Heck, if I mowed the grass where any of my hundreds of neighbors might see me I was going to have matching, nice looking clothes on and my hair was going to be fixed. If I needed some milk then Wal Mart was only 5 minutes away, this was the life!! But then after awhile I started realizing this was the life alright, it was the life I did not want. After living in town for 12 years we were finally able to move back to where I grew up and let me tell ya things have changed. I have gone back to warshing clothes and I actually hang the outside where the neighbors might see them. Oh my! I get up every morning still but the last thing on my mind is fixing my hair. I grab a ponytail holder and throw it all up out of my face because all I care is getting it out of the way. Instead of trying to look presentable now I put back on the clothes I had on the day before. I know Gross!! But why go out to the barn in clean clothes, the goats will only leave them clean for approximately 0.25 seconds. That is less then a second. Now, if I need milk I have to go out to the local Nellie (she is one of my milk goats), wrestle her into the milk stand because for some reason that is the last thing on her mind, she would rather mosey around eating the nearby brush. Then I spend the next hour feeding, petting and talking to all my friends that are nearby. AKA my chickens, rabbits, goats, dog and 1 cat. They are such good listeners and I realize I am alot less lonely now then I was when I lived in town. By now I usually look and smell like someone from a horror movie and when I catch a glimpse of myself I realize why the guy in the nice sports car that just drove past sped up a little when I waved at him while walking to the mailbox, so I decide I better get cleaned up a little. Even though there is alot more work to my life now there is also so many things that I cherish. I know where my food comes from and that it had a great life until that time that it is needed. I did not realize when I lived in town just how beautiful the night sky is, it is so nice to be able to walk out and look up at all of those stars. The air is cleaner and I do not have frequent headaches from all of the pollution. Best of all I have the satisfaction of being able to walk outside and say this is truly the life.

Many blessings to you all!

~April

Tired

Tired, that is what I am at the end of a day in this life that they call simple. It is a good kind of tired though, it is the kind of tired that you are when you know that you have gotten alot done and it is all for the benefit of your family. The kind of tired that says well done, now let's do that again tomorrow. I love my life. I love getting up early in the morning when all is quiet and milking the goat listening to the birds sing. I like that before lunch time I have gotten more done then I used to get done all day before I started living this life. It is so amazing seeing how much my garden has changed each and every day and knowing that the food in it is good for my family and will feed them for a long time. It is fun watching the baby goats playing near their mothers and the baby rabbits hopping around their pens and I like knowing that they will all serve a purpose to feed my family knowing that they had a great life before hand. Right now I am learning how to tan the rabbit pelts. They are so soft when they are done and will keep our hands warm when I make some gloves for all of us for winter. I am trying to use all of the animal and not let anymore then necessary go to waste. That also is a good feeling. Well, like I said I am tired and the caramel corn I am making is almost done so I will sign off now. God bless you all!!

~April

House Pig!!

This is Miss Piggie, she is my daughter Caitlyn's pet. Caitlyn had wanted a pig for about 6 years now but we were unable to get her one and then finally we were able to. I will never forget the day we told her we were getting Miss Piggie. My sister  printed some pictures out of some Juliana/potbelly pigs that were for sale and when Caitlyn came home from school I was sitting on the couch looking at the pictures. When Caitlyn came in I showed her the pictures because it was not strange for me to show her pictures of pigs. She collects everything she can find that has pigs on it and showing her cute pictures of piglets was not uncommon. While she was sitting there looking at the pics I asked her which piglet she thought was the cutest and she picked one out and I said "Do you want to go get it when it is old enough?". I thought she was going to pass out, it took a few seconds for it to sink in but when it did she was soooo happy. That was one of the best days I have had ever, making my child so happy is one of the joys in life. We have now had Miss Piggie for almost a month and her and Caitlyn are becoming fast friends. Miss Piggie follows Caitlyn around and will run to catch up with her if Caitlyn leaves the room. It is still a little strange having a pig in the house but seeing Caitlyn this happy makes it worth it.