It's been a very busy summer here at the farm in Annadale. A happy summer for sure!
We have some new additions. Six new kittens. Four of which we had to rescue and take away from a first time mama cat. They were all sick and all crying when we found them. So a little TLC and feedings around the clock for a few weeks brought them all back to health.
I've found myself getting very attached to the kittens. It filled a void in my life upon reflection. I've missed my kids so much and my grandsons as well. There has been no one to nurture for the most part. A gift Father gave me and I now shower my husband with more. Poor guy! ha ha!
We also adopted a goat named Ruby. She's a very needy goat. She cries when we are not around and she won't eat unless she can see us. So now she has a herd of cattle to talk to through the fence. It's been good for her to have someone nearby. She's finally settling down now--much to our relief! We are re-thinking my need to have a goat. They are a tremendous amount of work. Time will tell if we sell Ruby in the near future.
Someone dumped their pretty orange tabby cat at our house. She was older and sweet and was rejected by the barn cats. So she camped out by our chicken pen waiting for someone to pet her and help her get the burrs out of her long fur. Well, I had to help her. She is such a sweetie. Of course then she got pregnant right off the bat. We had a tom cat from across the street take up residence in our barn. Einstein was his name . Odd isnt' it? He was that smart. Anyway he fathered all of our kittens and though he's gone now, his genetics live on. He was a Maine Coon breed of cat. A big long haired beauty of a cat. His kittens are adorable!
We've been raising broiler hens for some farm income. It's been a battle from day one. The elements are tough on chickens and we had to go to such lengths to keep them all alive. Out of the first clutch we had 43 of the 50 survive. The second batch we have only lost two. The difference was the weather. We learned the hard way to start raising them in late June and no sooner. The power bills with the heat lamps was just too much. Then you have the USDA approved butcher to pay....Feed costs for organic feed is out of this world. So all we did was break even until Elisabeth (our partner with the chickens) started grinding our own feed! VIOLA! We may even make some money off of this batch! There is a learning curve when it comes to farming.
The garden is doing fantastic! We get a gallon of strawberries every other day now. I love the fresh organic veggies!
My health has returned. I had a health scare recently with my heart. I'd given a talk in church on helping others, when during the talk suddenly my vision became impared. I had to put my talk aside and pull my thoughts out of my head under pressure. When I sat down I realized it was becoming increasingly harder to breath.
After the closing prayer I mouthed to Terry, my husband to come and help me! I asked the boy beside me to get the Bishop to call 911. It all became a blur after I heard Brother Esquimia (sorry, can't spell his name yet) ask the congregation to "evacuate the chapel!" due to his flustered state and English being a second language. He's so sweet!
The paramedics arrived....Talk about the abilty to clear a room! ha ha! No seriously I was glad they did. I didn't want to worry so many people, but I did. Before they arrived though, three sweet sisters who were nurses came to my aid. I'll never forget their kindness. I'll also never forget the very tall, well muscled cop that showed up with the paramedics. He so looked like superman! No joke! He' was well over 6 feet tall and dark and Clark Kentish! What a strange thing to remember eh?
Well, my potassium had bottomed out again. It happens to me on occasion. My apnea had come back and my blood sugar was off. I'm doing great now and breathing much better. All is well and thank goodness to nitro! I sure had a lot of that in the ambulance and a two day stay in the hospital. Yes, the bills are now rolling in!
We are selling free range farm fresh chicken and giving away adorable kittens. Next we'll be selling veggies! I love this farm life. There is nothing better, exept see my grandsons and kids.
We have some new additions. Six new kittens. Four of which we had to rescue and take away from a first time mama cat. They were all sick and all crying when we found them. So a little TLC and feedings around the clock for a few weeks brought them all back to health.
I've found myself getting very attached to the kittens. It filled a void in my life upon reflection. I've missed my kids so much and my grandsons as well. There has been no one to nurture for the most part. A gift Father gave me and I now shower my husband with more. Poor guy! ha ha!
We also adopted a goat named Ruby. She's a very needy goat. She cries when we are not around and she won't eat unless she can see us. So now she has a herd of cattle to talk to through the fence. It's been good for her to have someone nearby. She's finally settling down now--much to our relief! We are re-thinking my need to have a goat. They are a tremendous amount of work. Time will tell if we sell Ruby in the near future.
Someone dumped their pretty orange tabby cat at our house. She was older and sweet and was rejected by the barn cats. So she camped out by our chicken pen waiting for someone to pet her and help her get the burrs out of her long fur. Well, I had to help her. She is such a sweetie. Of course then she got pregnant right off the bat. We had a tom cat from across the street take up residence in our barn. Einstein was his name . Odd isnt' it? He was that smart. Anyway he fathered all of our kittens and though he's gone now, his genetics live on. He was a Maine Coon breed of cat. A big long haired beauty of a cat. His kittens are adorable!
We've been raising broiler hens for some farm income. It's been a battle from day one. The elements are tough on chickens and we had to go to such lengths to keep them all alive. Out of the first clutch we had 43 of the 50 survive. The second batch we have only lost two. The difference was the weather. We learned the hard way to start raising them in late June and no sooner. The power bills with the heat lamps was just too much. Then you have the USDA approved butcher to pay....Feed costs for organic feed is out of this world. So all we did was break even until Elisabeth (our partner with the chickens) started grinding our own feed! VIOLA! We may even make some money off of this batch! There is a learning curve when it comes to farming.
The garden is doing fantastic! We get a gallon of strawberries every other day now. I love the fresh organic veggies!
My health has returned. I had a health scare recently with my heart. I'd given a talk in church on helping others, when during the talk suddenly my vision became impared. I had to put my talk aside and pull my thoughts out of my head under pressure. When I sat down I realized it was becoming increasingly harder to breath.
After the closing prayer I mouthed to Terry, my husband to come and help me! I asked the boy beside me to get the Bishop to call 911. It all became a blur after I heard Brother Esquimia (sorry, can't spell his name yet) ask the congregation to "evacuate the chapel!" due to his flustered state and English being a second language. He's so sweet!
The paramedics arrived....Talk about the abilty to clear a room! ha ha! No seriously I was glad they did. I didn't want to worry so many people, but I did. Before they arrived though, three sweet sisters who were nurses came to my aid. I'll never forget their kindness. I'll also never forget the very tall, well muscled cop that showed up with the paramedics. He so looked like superman! No joke! He' was well over 6 feet tall and dark and Clark Kentish! What a strange thing to remember eh?
Well, my potassium had bottomed out again. It happens to me on occasion. My apnea had come back and my blood sugar was off. I'm doing great now and breathing much better. All is well and thank goodness to nitro! I sure had a lot of that in the ambulance and a two day stay in the hospital. Yes, the bills are now rolling in!
We are selling free range farm fresh chicken and giving away adorable kittens. Next we'll be selling veggies! I love this farm life. There is nothing better, exept see my grandsons and kids.
