Meet "Baby-Face"

Since the weather has been so nice, we have done some catching up on spring chores. Early Monday evening I was just about done weeding the herb bed and thought, "now I can get to the chicken fence", when hubby came up out of the bottom field where the cows were. Long story short, we had a first-calving heifer that had abandoned her calf, so it was brought up out of the field and would have to be bottle fed.

While at the auction a few weeks ago I had talked with an Amish neighbor and remembered she told me their milk cow had just calved, so I knew where to go for milk. I made the trip quickly as I could and fortunately they were still up and did have extra milk. When I got back Hubby had made a make-shift pen out of the wind that was starting to blow up pretty strong, and had bedded it with the wood chips we use for the rabbits. We got a quart of milk mixed with one raw egg down her and I gave her a B-Plus shot and nutri-drench. She was a little wobbly but still well enough to drink.

Day2 We gave electrolytes but had to tube that down her because she wouldn't drink, and that seemed to perk her up some. She drank the milk later in the day but we had to get her up to feed her.

Day 3 This morning I heard what could have been the start of pnuemonia in her breathing, so another B shot and Nuflor antibiotic. This afternoon she is able to get up by herself with a little coaxing and willingly drink her milk. When I leave she tries to follow me out the door, which is a good sign. If we can keep the pnuemonia at bay she has a good chance of making it. She was born very healthy, just having a rough start. If anyone has other suggestions I would be glad to hear them.......

Ever heard of Chicken Fever?

We had to stop in town over the week-end for some layer crumbles for the chickens and a couple other items. Our favorite haunt is the local TSC. I went right to the section in mind and was looking at a larger feeder and waterer for the chicks I had bought at the auction. They were out-growing their peep-box.

...............when hubby comes up to me and says "Hey, Hon, they have chicks over here....."

(wondering... what do we need more chicks for??) well... because what we got will be at least half roosters (spelled r-o-a-s-t-e-r-s) so, yes... came home with a dozen more chicks. We think these might be Plymouth Barred Rocks. People at the store said some white ones were Cornish X and others were "Rocks". Anyway, we may as well make a day of it when we 'process'. I will keep some hens from these also if there are any.

Hen-House Extreme Make-over beginning .... part 1

ah, no ........... we are not going to bulldoze it down..... but are doing some real neat changes to make it better.

Ms Frizz complained that since she had been here she had not seen the light of day! Oh sure, the electric lights were on during the day, but it was not the same, mind you ..... and soooo wasteful! And no door sign: not even a number.... How would cousins Gertrude and Sylvia and the rest ever find them if they should decide to visit! (enter Mr Carpenter...... )

Take a closer look.....

Oh, my..... a WINDOW....... oh joy!

Fairview Auction - Part Two; what I brought home

One dozen New Hampshire Red chicks......

Two black banties.......

Three White Silkies ( 2 hens and a rooster).....

One very tame Dutch rabbit looking for a little child to love.........

A large GREEN speckle-ware roasting pan, like new!

Big enough for a large rabbit or small turkey.

....and a present for my dear hubby!

Fairview Bi-Annual Farm Auction - My Day Out

I always look forward to going to this event, put on by the local Amish and Menonite communities twice a year. I was up early and on my way, very much looking forward to this day of relaxation and fun. Be sure to view the pictures to the end so you don't miss anything....... (click on the pics to enlarge)

You can see the Jefferson Davis Monument at Fairview KY in the background. People came from all over, some from many hours away, seeking their own specific treasure. They milled around , waiting in anticipation for the auction to start......

Rows and rows of farm machinery, horse and tractor drawn, ground-driven and pto. Rakes and spray units, riding lawn mowers and old-fashion reel mowers. Tractor of all shapes and sizes, rubber-tired and steel-wheeled, hay and grain wagons, manure spreaders and lime spreaders,

Piles of lumber, doors and windows, frame-work for a huge green -house, fencing wire and posts, plastic tubing by the rolls, wheel-barrows and carts, farm tools, and on and on it went, all that you could inagine ......

After I had walked around the machinery areas ( I was instructed to keep an eye on one of 3 manure spreaders) I headed toward the poultry and rabbit tent where my interest was.

On the way I passed ...... trays of garden vegetable plants .... flowers .... and fruit trees already budding out! In turning back to my path, I could not resist going up onto the dock and taking another picture of all the people ......

The auction is about to begin..........

The poultry tent .....

Potential buyers ...... and sellers...

Chickens and turkeys, pheasants and pigeons, peacocks , and ducks and geese. Rabbits and guinea pigs and a baby lamb. Four long rows stretched clear to the end of the tent and way beyond!

The "Three Little Pigs" were there also ....

After 2hrs this is what had been sold of the poultry and rabbits, and so very many more to go.....

If you needed a cage for the critter(s) you bought, there were some being auctioned also...

But I had to leave for now... I had other business to tend to.......

I got a small sub sandwich in the huge "lunch-room" where the Amish and Menonite women served everything from subs and burgers with FFries toa full course meal with BBQ chicken ! They also had a table set up where all the ladies had brought in home-baked pies, cakes and cookies and bread to sell to support their school.

After lunch I walked through the used furniture sales under the roofed in area on the dock. There were mattresses (new) and bedroom sets, dining sets, Amish made furniture, old and new items filled the space. I found several items of interest there.....

.......such as this old "ice-box", and the treadle sewing machine behind it, and even a guitar for those musically inclined.

A nice wood-heating stove, with plenty of surface on top to cook on....

..... an elderly gentleman taking advantage of the recliner for sale, and the old Maytag wringer washers. Birdhouses in the back right, and a child's play desk top left.

I think this old wood cook-stove has seen better days..... Oh what stories it could tell!

Okay, back to the poultry tent where I was sooooo enjoying all the diverse breeds and colors!

Golden Pheasants, Barred rocks, Guineas, Astrolorpes, Rhode Island Reds

Toulouse Geese (sp?)

Royal Palm, Slate Blue, and Bourbon Red turkeys

Fawn Runner ducks (?)

Self-Blue Old English Bantys

By 5:30 I had paid my bill, loaded up my few purchases and went home. My husband took one look at my beaming face and said, "You really enjoyed yourself today, didn't you?" with a knowing grin. I handed him the PTO unit I had "found" for him, smiled, and told him he could have the machine it fit into, but he would have to go get it. I got a really big hug for that!

My clothesline.....present and past.

I had had a clothesline strung in the back yard between 3 maple trees for the last couple years, but when the ice storm hit it was torn down by the falling trees branches. Out of nessessity during the resulting power outage, Hubby proceeded to put one up for me in the carport.

I enjoy hanging out a wash ....... maybe because it slows a person down enough to relax, and take a deep breath of fresh air, look up into the sky and watch the birds, or the wind blowing through the leaves, or notice the first wildflowers starting to bloom......

Then there is also the fact that we are not "burning up" electricity for that 45 minutes it takes to run that dryer load. It used to be that it took about $.17 per load to run the dryer on medium heat. Now.... with the increase of electricity costing us 25% more, it is more like $.22-.23 per load, x's 8/wk, x's 52wks per yr, well that adds up to $92/yr at the low end. And that is just for 2 people. Now I am not saying everyone should hang out their wash...

But I do remember the time I didn't have a dryer ........ when my children were little ...... I took my 4th child out in the stroller one day in the fall time of year, while I hung out the wash. It was a warm day... breezy, and the fall leaves were scattered all over the ground. As I hung the clothes to dry, I heard this chuckling belly laugh behind me. Turning around I saw my daughter laughing at the wind blowing the leaves, making them dance as they scurried along across the ground. She laughed and laughed at the sight of them going this way, then that. THAT memory, my friends, is a PRICELESS gift that I would not trade for any dryer.

Recession Ended

There has been so much talk about recession these days..... and harder times coming. Production had slowed down in the summer and dwindled to almost nothing about the time the new president was elected. No reflection on him, of course. It was the fault of the last administration :) Rumors and speculations flew around the farm as well as in the big metropolis. Every one was cutting back, afraid of what was coming. It seems as though even the farm critters sensed something was amiss.....

Miss Matilda from TGASK, was the spokes-person in the hen-house; and encouraged the others to try to come up with a Bail-Out plan before everyone lost their heads! I overheard them discussing among themselves one day soon afterward, and telling the rooster that maybe they should just quit being afraid of what was going to happen and go back to work,

using whatever talents and resources they had.

Well I would like to announce a glimmer of hope. If this is any sign of things turning around ..... I found 4 eggs this morning in the hen-house! My banty chickens are hard back to work after a 2 month "lay-off".