Here on the Farm: Additional Updates

Over the past 2 months of silence, our farm has been expanding, and we have had quite a few additions.

If you remember, I introduced you to Pansy and Phlox earlier. Well, we decided that 2 goats was not enough...

So we multiplied to 5!! :)

Please meet, Red-Maple Bud (She just goes by Red),

Pennyroyal (again, simply called Penny)..

And..... Buck Hawthorn! (Bucky for short) Penny's sweet little baby boy!

Bucky made quick friends with "Aunt Pansy" who is the gentlest sweetest goat around. (a little bit of a pushover and wimp.... but very sweet. :) )

Handsome little man! Currently Mom and Faith are working on setting up the third pasture for the goats since their arrival. Goats are GREAT at clearing land and helping prepare for other animals that need more graze than brush!

The next animals added to our menagerie, were Turkeys. These actually came in several different groups. Some we hatched out from some friend's eggs, and some we ordered.

Turkey's are pretty odd little creatures, but super personable. They love people's voices, and would respond whenever you whistled or talked to them! The downside is that they can get really loud and obnoxious when you leave them. :) Dependent little birdies..

Sadie Rose is the best farm dog ever!! She is so good with all our little animals.. she might be tempted but she never harms anything, and is actually a very good protector for them. For instance chasing away the not-so-good Kitten who likes to stalk them.. :P

Sadie is also very patient with us when we want to do crazy things like take pictures of Turkeys on her head.. :P Love the look on her face in the second photo... "Ummm guys.. whats going on here?"

  

Turkeys grow up fast, and so we moved them outside, where they loved to strut around and poke at bugs in the grass. 

 It's pretty funny how these 4 inch tall tiny baby boys poof all up and strut around like big ole Toms.. :)

 But they're not so little anymore! Here's a photo of them just the other day! Gettin' big!

 The last current addition... (and who knows, we could be adding something else any day now!) is 6 meat Ducks!

 Cute funny little Pekins. One of the nice things about ducks, is they don't fly very well, and don't tend to push boundaries, so using twine, old heavy fence pieces we picked up off the side of the road, and a gate that was left in the middle of no-where from the first goat pen, we created a Duck pen!

So there you go! You are now updated on all the current additions here at the farm! :) But I am sure there will be more to add soon!

~Chs

Thankful Thursday

I am here to solve 2 problems in 1 blog post. First, I have too many random pictures of beautiful things that catch my eye in this place called earth. The second problem is more serious. We as humans, and Christians, should be much more aware of our blessings, and in response more grateful.

So, I have decided to start "Thankful Thursday" posts (yes I know it's cheesy... sorry) where I'll combine the 2, by posting a photo of something I am thankful for.

Thankful for: 

{Beautiful Mother}

{Bouquets of Lilac}

{Window Light}

{Black and White Beauty}

Spring Visited

 It's been a couple months since Spring visited our little "Castle," but even though it was a brief visit, it was one to remember!!

Full of blooms, and beauty!

Here is a glimpse of our little visit with Spring!
(Warning: this post is picture-full)

{Birthday Tulips brought Spring inside, before winter had quite opened the door to it outside}

 One of the first signs of Spring's visit outside were found hidden in the bushes along our driveway - Pussy Willow.

 {Maple Buds}

 {Spring Green}

 I was thrilled to find that we actually had Daffodils here at the new house!! Only a few, but still a balm to this Daffodil lovers heart!

 The Moss in the woods picked up their little heads with the warming weather...

{May Apple peaking up}

{Tulips arrived outside}

{Cheery Daffodils}

The fun about living in a new place when spring visits, is getting to discover all the little secrets and surprises - like the Orchard floor being covered with sweet little Violets.

{Trout Lilly}

{Barefoot Swinging}

{Buds beginning to swell}

The birds accompanied Spring on it's visit. It was thrilling to hear the air swelling with different bird songs every morning.

{Flycatcher}

{Wren}

{Bursting Blossoms}

The Lilacs sent spirals of perfume into the yard.

{Robin's Eggs}

{Cute little Froggy}

{Happy Dandelions}

{In full Blossom}

The smell of the Apple Blossoms in the Orchard was incredibly beautiful!

We even found some Morel Mushroom in the woods! (yuck!!)

{Wild Flowers}

So there is a brief glimpse into what our "Castle" and it's surroundings looked like when Spring came to visit.

~Chs

The Mighty Huntress

 I honestly am trying to get caught up on this blog... but life keeps on interfering! :) I have so many random photos as well as big events from the past few months, I really have a hard time knowing where to start!

Well, lets start here.

Sadie Rose is the best farm dog ever! Not only is she great with our farm animals, she also keeps vicious predators away.. like this small bear that was creeping through the woods!!

 Ok ok.. so it's a ground hog, and no they aren't a threat to the chickens directly. But he was undermining our shack back in the woods, and Sadie decided it was time for him to go!

Nice job Tadie Wose! :)

~Chs

Fluffies!

It happens every spring... the promising of "not too many chicks mom," the dragging out and cleaning of the incubators (since the Broody Mom's aren't starting early enough), the ordering of eggs of special breeds, and the watching, collecting and setting of our own eggs. 

Then comes the 21 day wait.

But it's all worth it when these cute little fluff balls hatched out!!

At first the little cuties lived in our house, but, thankfully Charity had 2 broody hens who with some slick moving, excepted the babies as their own!!! (Hey, those hens had the shortest sitting time ever! :P)

It's always best the way God made it to be.. raised by a Momma!! 

Learning how to find bugs... Mmmmm Yummy!

I love how the Hens find little bits of grain and pick them up and drop them over and over in front of the chickies.. to teach them.. Good Momma!

Hello!

All the blondies.. The Hen actually rejected some of the darker chicks... so biased.

Thankfully Olivia, the rock hen, wasn't so picky. :)

Charity also had a Silkie Hen that went broody, and combined with some she put in the incubator she ended up with 11 little puffy chickies. Silkies kind of look like half rabbits half chickens.. :) 

(above photo, A natural egg picture, Josiah made for a contest this spring)

So, there is a peak at the fluffies that have been invading our farm. And believe me, these were just the beginning batches.. I've lost track of how many we have now.. 

~Chs