Friday, January 10, 2014

We made it through!!

Mohawk and Nellie saying hello.



We made it through the coldest spell this winter!! It was tough but we are tough too so we just pushed through and prayed for it to be over soon. 2 days of below zero temps with one day that the wind chill went to -30. Happily the animals made it through amazingly well. We gave the goats some more bedding in the goat barn and they spent every minute in there except when they had to come out to eat hay and when they laid inside they huddled up together to stay nice and warm. They looked so cozy. I put alot of bedding in the rabbit pens and we have tarps around them that we pull down to cover the cages when it is cold. The biggest problems we had were the nozzles on the water bottles were freezing as soon as we put them out there so it was hard to keep water for them, so I made many trips out with warm fresh water. I have a friend that told me about a nice way to keep the bottles from freezing. I need to get the supplies to try it. The pig had so much hay in her den that if you did not know there was a pig out there then you never would have guessed and the walls around her den kept the frigid air out. She was nice and toasty warm in her den she made. The chickens also never came out of the coop, it is about 4 inches thick with bedding right now and the dog also had lots of straw and bedding in her box. All of the animals were out of the wind and keeping warm. We stayed warm when we had to be outside by layering and bundling. I do not think my niece recognized me when she saw me, because I was so completely bundled up you could not even see my face. I also made frequent trips inside to warm up my hands while working outside. It was very cold and alot of work but we made it through.

In 13 days I have 6 goats due to have their babies and on the 28th I have a rabbit due to have babies so soon their will be so much cuteness to post about, it is going to be great! Hopefully my rabbit is pregnant this time. The last 2 times it did not take. I do know that both the buck and doe is in working order because they have had babies before. Hoping this time it took.

Have a blessed day!!

~April 

Shared at the The HomeAcre Hop

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

saying goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014

Today is the beginning of a new year and for me that means starting over in a sense. There are things I wish I would have gotten done in 2013 and didn't and there are new things that I am excited about getting started in 2014. I use the end of the past year to think of all of the things I am proud of and some of the things I am not so proud of. December 31st is a time of recollection while January 1st is excitedly a time to put my past regrets behind me and start a new year with new goals and a sense of excitement. Here is a list of goals for this year. First thing I will do is pray over this list and ask God for guidance to make sure I am doing his will.

1.Spend more time in God's word
2. exercise daily (this is on top of my farm work)
3. Eat more real whole foods (like apples, celery, etc. I am aware that a twinkie is real as in it can be touched and felt and it is a whole item but as you know that is not what I mean by whole real food, nice try though.)
4. Eat no more processed food (this goes in step with number 3)
5. Improve upon the pens for the animals.
6. Pay off debt and improve finances
7. Save some money
8. grow a BIG garden and can the produce with the intention of raising as much of our own food as possible

These are the goals I have for now. I will be adding more goals as the year goes on. I am looking forward to sharing my progress and my set backs with you. 

Wishing you and your family a wonderful and blessed 2014!!

~April