A special sign for a special friend

After processing our first batch of meat chickens at Sweet dog farm we created this sign for Tom and Kelly. Thanks for all you help and support. We would be very happy to make similar type of signs for anyone who might need one

georgie

Georgie the wonder goat was born on April 27 while Martha and Whitt were down in Norfolk picking up the "Tundra" and Gretchen and Myra oversaw the birthing. We castrated and dehorned him which was not much fun but necessary. We kept him for 8 weeks and then found a wonderful new home for him in Gordonsville.

I do not know how to work this thing

Sorry I have no idea what to do to upload the photos. I hope you enjoy the lack of photos. Just close your eyes and imagine. :)

Photos of the Farm

This past weekend I had the ability to come up to the farm. We planted potatoes and I pretended to help papa with the prep for the Yurt. Unfortunately, my attention span it not made for tedious tasks so I went for a walk. Anyways, I hope to see you all soon for the Yurt raising!!! Should be a blast!

Poultry-a-Plenty!

The new chicks from McMurry's arrived today! I always imagine how entertaining it must be to be a postal worker in a rural enough area that in the spring peeping (chicks) or buzzing (bees) boxes are coming in daily.Brendan, Mia's fiance, has been staying up at the farm to help out over the last few weeks, and has resolved to convince the chicks to imprint on him. This should be GOOD.

Wow, weather.

Unfortunately, many of the weather photos from the farm have been deleted, but this has been quite the winter!

Remember when we were excited about 4-6 inches of snow? You know, in November and early December?

Then came the week before Christmas and a HUGE dump of snow, like the ones you remember from childhood. There were almost 2 feet of snow...fluffy, deep snow.

There was more snow, a few small storms of you know, 4-6 inches...but the next remarkable weather was a sudden deluge of rain on January 25th. The rate of rainfall was a remarkable 2 inches per hour, which resulted in rivers flooding into roadways, the mountain road got completely washed-out, and water collected in unexpected locations. (Photos courtesy of Dad's cellphone)














Then, just when we thought it was all over, there was a measly 8" snowfall...followed by nearly another 2 feet and blizzarding conditions on February 5-7th! The drifts on the road were taller than Dad, and swamped the tractor.

The snow is starting to melt now...which means that the road is a morass of mud and well-intentioned gravel. The snowdrops are blooming and spring birds are starting to show up...

But I won't believe that Spring is on its way until I hear the peepers.

Solar Panels Installed!!!

Well, it's installed! Our solar panel project started with significant thinning of the trees around the house this autumn. This has increased airflow around the house (which will be great for the garden this summer, but has been pretty interesting with the winter weather!), and has opened up our southern exposure to a lot of sunlight. This will not only be good for the garden, but has allowed us to explore solar power.

We got an estimate from Altenergy in time for the end of the fiscal year (Huzzah tax incentives), and over the last few weeks, the guys have been installing the panels. The final adjustments have been made, all we're waiting on now is inspection and trial!

Based on the estimate and projections from last year, we should cover around 70% of our electricity use. If we generate more than we use, we even get to sell back to Allegheny Power!

We have GOATS!

AH- the JOYS of Craiglist! I had been researching the various breeds of goats and was trying to decide between Alpines and Nubians when this posting appeared on Craigslist: "Downsizing herd" I responded to the posting and was able to talk to Barbara about the ladies she had available- an Alpine and her daughter- an Alpine/Nubian cross. Oh boy!

Early in the morning we covered the Murano cargo area with plastic and loaded a large dog crate. Hopefully the girls would fit in the crate- or we would disassemble it to make a barrier. Lil, Whitt (my husband), and I set out in the pouring rain to see and perhaps bring home the girls. The rain was puddling on the road. The wipers were struggling to keep up with the deluge as we made our way to Barbara's farm.

The barn was perched on the top of a knoll and our walk up the path was slippery. I felt like the snail in all of those algebra problems- you know the one that climbs up the wall of the well but keeps sliding back? Barbara opened the barn door and we were greeted with a chorus of baas, bleats, neighs, meows, and the smell of billy goat.

The fainting goats were clustered in one pen. Some of the fellows really looked like Dr. Seuss models- top knotted hair and curious splotches. The dairy goats were clustered in another- dainty and demure. The fellows surged to the sides of the enclosure and begged for scratching. Lil immediately complied. The ladies reservedly evaluated the visitors before approaching the gate.

Harvest, the momma, decided that all was good and accepted scratches and loving. Her daughter, Rose, however remained aloof. Barbara mentioned that Rose had been plagued by the attention of the bucks earlier in the morning and was just calming down.

We spent some time chatting with Barbara, asking questions about the history and care of the girls. Meanwhile, we met the rest of the herd, a rescue horse, and the rest of her menagerie (which greatly resembled ours). Though we had arrived swearing up and down that we were just looking, and would make a carefully considered decision...half hour later we were rolling away the proud owners of two does.