Changes

Life at our house has been nothing short of crazed lately, which is why I haven't done much blogging. Our garden has exploded with veggies and I'm trying to can, pickle, or sell to make room for more.

Cocoa kidded on the 20th with a gorgeous buckling, who I think looks like a little cow.

In only a week, we have found a buyer for him. They specifically requested a bottle baby so at a week old, he is leaving us today to travel to his new home in the NC Mountains. We also sold all of the Silkie chicks that we hatched out for Miss Mudpie, brought in 3 more hens, one being a special needs crossbeaked Americauna. And tomorrow, we are adopting a special needs Manx kitty named Diamond, who will be our official farm cat. In the midst off all this, we managed to put in a new pool liner next door at my father-in-laws, just in time to help our youngest celebrate her 5th birthday. We are traveling to Black Mountain today to visit Round Mountain Creamery, NC's only Grade A Goat Dairy. I'm hoping to learn some tidbits of info to use with my dairy goats here. I'm off from my full time job all week and intend to relax a bit and spend time with my kiddos. Til next time.....

Trying To Catch My Breath

I'm trying to come up for air here but goodness it's hard!!! We've had so much going on at the farm and there is still so much to do. Some days I feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm hard-headed and determined. I refused to say that I can't do something. So....where to start? These past few weeks since my last post have been non-stop. On top of family and farm life, I've started a new part time job at a Crisis/Detox facility, which is very different from my world of working with juvenile delinquents. I'm still adjusting, learning, and finding my way. On the farm, we have continued tending to our garden, which has begun giving us gifts.I enjoy going out to the garden after work each day to see how things have changed in such a short amount of time.

We have cut and baled hay and gotten it loaded into the barn loft. We will have to do it again in the fall. This provides the main food source for the goats and the rabbit. Considering it's free, that's an awesome thing. The kids were a huge help in the process and our oldest learned to drive the tractor while we loaded up the trailer with the bales in the field. He's learning that getting older means more responsibilities on the farm.

Given the increased number of animals on our homestead, we've begun learning some basic veterinary care that we can do ourselves at home versus taking the animals somewhere or calling a vet out to the house. You Tube is a wonderful learning tool in that regard....ie. giving a goat a vaccine, The hubby did it like a pro. Last night was treating the rabbit for ear mites. A week ago, it was a chicken who got pecked in the eye by another chicken. It's a never ending saga when you have farm animals.

We are prepping for Cocoa to have her babies (I swear there has to be more than one in there as big as she is.) I am assembling a birthing/kidding kit based on what I've gathered reading online, books, and from other goat owners.

We are very excited to have our first dairy goats born on the farm. Yesterday I ordered a Cheesemaker's kit from Hoegger Supply Company. It has everything that I need to get started. I'm anxious to learn to make goat cheese in different ways.

Now...on top of everything else we have going on, we did manage to have a little fun on the farm these last few weeks. We hosted a local photographer who came out to do family photo sessions. We had hay bales, tractors, the barn, and a rustic bench that were used as backdrops for some really great shots. You can check these out here Family Photo Sessions At Ellis Farms. Here is one of my favorites of us. We are planning to do this again in the Fall. I'm hoping we can make it a regular event. Til next time!

Getting Trashy On The Farm

Recently at Ellis Farms, we "acquired" a Rubbermaid tote full of worms and worm dirt. I say "acquired" because it was essentially given to us from the local 4-H Office. I have been involved in the 4-H program here since I was 5 years old, first as a 4-H'er then as a volunteer. I currently serve on the 4-H Advisory Board. At the last board meeting, I was asked, "Hey! Do you want our worms?" And I was like, "Huh?" It was then I was quickly educated on the world of Vermiculture. According to Wikipedia, "Vermicompost is the product or process of composting using various worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast, also called worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by an earthworm.^[1] These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than do organic materials before vermicomposting.^[2] Containing water-soluble nutrients, vermicompost is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.^[3] This process of producing vermicompost is called vermicomposting."

And so, this tote of worms made it's way to our upstairs office where, for the past few months, I have fed them veggie scraps and left them alone. Easiest pet you'll ever have! Haha

This past weekend, I decided the worms needed to make their way from the office to a REAL compost bin. So I did some quick research, finding a great helpful article Composing- A Guide To Making Compost At Home. Using scrap wood from the family sawmill, and in no more than an hour, our household compost bin was complete.

My plan, is to use the compost for planting flowers mainly, but I'm sure it will be used in the garden. It's a great way to make natural fertilizer from things that you'd normal throw out with the trash. The next thing I did was order a kitchen composter that will fit under the kitchen cabinet so I can collect the food scraps and then, when it's full, dump it into the outside bin. I found a cute one online for $19.00 plus free shipping at Hayneedle.

Rainwater Harvesting

Recently we began harvesting rainwater at Ellis Farms. Now....before you look into doing this at your own home or farm, make sure you are aware of what the law is in your particular area. In some states, it is illegal to harvest rainwater. In North Carolina, former Gov. Purdue signed a bill into law in 2009 which allowed residents here to be able to collect and use rainwater North Carolina To Allow Rainwater Harvesting (news article).
We were able to purchase five used 55-gallon barrels for $40 out of Rock Hill, SC from a posting on a farm sales site on Facebook. One barrel we re-purposed to hold feed for the goats and the rabbit and the rest we decided to use for a rainwater collection system. The system has now been installed at the back of the barn and we are using it as drinking water for the chickens, goats, and the rabbit. So far it's working well. We have had a huge amount of rain over the past several days, so we've been able to test it out and work out some of the kinks along the way.

The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service through N.C. State University has an good document with pictures, diagrams, and other helpful information if you are interested in doing something like this on your own homestead. Urban Waterways- Rainwater Harvesting: Guidance For Homeowners

What's Got Your Goat?

Wow! What an exciting weekend we have had at the farm! We welcomed Sophie and Ellie, three month old pygmy goats for our kiddos. And we started our dairy goat venture by bringing in Cocoa, a three year old Nigerian Dwarf. She is bred and due in July.
Within 30 minutes of being here, Sophie took off and busted right through the electric fence. She was so nervous and scared. Who could blame her since we took her from her Mama?! It took us almost an hour to get her contained and in the barn. Ellie is a little calmer. Our goal is to train them to be on leads. We are going to work with them every day so they can get used to us and not be afraid. Miss Cocoa has discovered all the green leafy goodies that she can handle. She does great on a lead but sure did take Drew for a ride when she first hit the pasture area. Hopefully, by the weekend, everyone can leave the barn for good and be comfortable in their new home.
We still have so much to learn, especially with Cocoa expecting her babies in July. I'm excited to milk her and learn to make different things with her milk. I'm nervous...but I gotta start somewhere and just get my feet wet.

Stopping To Take A Breath....Busy Times On The Farm

The past couple of weeks at Ellis Farms have been a whirlwind of activity. We are busy prepping our garden, bringing more chickens onto the farm, putting up cedar fencing and learning all about DAIRY GOATS! In about 3 weeks, we will be bringing a registered Nigerian Dwarf named Cocoa to the farm. She is pregnant, due in July. Our kids are super excited for these new additions. I'm self-educating myself and learning all I can about dairy goats before she gets here. Our goal is to milk her, help her raise her babies, and hopefully grow a dairy herd from there. I'd like to learn how to make cheese and soap once we get the hang of things.

 I have to brag on the hubby and my father-in-law. He has worked his rear off building the goat barn, putting up the fencing, and getting our garden ready. All that while working 40-50 hours a week at his full time job. He even built the most beautiful cedar gate leading to the chicken coop. I'm so proud of it. He did a wonderful job!

Our next goal, once the veggies get going is to sign up to be vendors at our local farmers market. I'm so excited about this!!! I think it will be fun dealing with the public in a very different want than I do during the "8-5". Stay tuned!

Growing Pains

Lately, as a parent, I look at myself and I think....What the hell are you doing? I hear from friends that it's normal to question yourself in terms of "Am I doing this right? Am I saying the right thing? Did I handle this correctly?" But sometimes, especially now, I feel like I walk around with a big DUNCE cap on my head.

Our oldest is 11. He starts middle school in 4 months. I AM NOT READY!!!!! He's my baby boy. Yes he hates when I refer to him as this (only at home, not in public). But that's how I feel. I'm not ready for him to grow up. I'm not ready for him to be exposed to what's coming. I am a control freak. I am self-diagnosed as OCD....haha. And I hate, with a passion, that I don't have control over this. I like him being naive. I like him not knowing about alot of things.

Drew has been a Cub Scout for the past two years. Last week, he "crossed over" to the Boy Scout program......a big ceremony to symbolize going from a boy to a man. Last week, the "sex" video was shown to the 5th graders so that was Drew's first exposure (or at least I prefer to think it was) to the topic in any great detail. That night, I went to him and talked to him about it. I asked him if he had any questions or if there was anything he wanted to talk to his Dad or I about. In typical boy fashion, his answer was "Nope". So now I'm left to wonder what the heck is going on in his head?

But...I'm realistic. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I'm scared. Deep down, I'm scared as hell for him and society as it stands now. Working with juvenile delinquents, I see and hear all kinds of things. I don't want my son to even remotely know what being a juvenile delinquent might be like. My niece started middle school this year and as a pre-teen female...it has flipped her for a loop!!!!

The changes are happening. I see it. His moods are bonkers. He's testing his limits with us more. Most days I want to kill him. 

I just pray that we can lead him in the right direction, help him to make the right choices, and pray to God that we don't screw up too bad.