We are FINALLY moving into the old farmhouse. REALLY!!!
I had taken a week off from work so that we could do the majority of our move-in the first week or so of July. As luck would have it, I broke my wrist on the 28th of June and have been pretty useless on the whole helping-move-in department.
Judy Show's Hattie her Cast
Still, we are getting there. Joe has been laying out rugs, moving in furniture, hanging pictures, etc. etc. etc. No complete move-in will occur, though, until the TV's have been relocated from the garage apartment, and there are still cable runs to complete before that can happen. However, I am now cooking in my kitchen (finally) on a regular basis and we have been able to entertain family and friends in the house that is now becoming our home.
Boxes Staged for Unpacking
Tractor Helps with Moving Furniture from Storage
Moving Heavy Furniture Up the Stairs
Living Room Couches and Chairs in Place
Judy can wash one-handed!
Joe moves furniture into place
Judy's Sewing Room/Office
Judy's Sewing Room/Office
Joe pressure washing furniture
Judy staining furniture
Joe hanging pictures
Kitchen
Dining Room
Around the farm the animals are multiplying and, despite my infirm wrist, continue to demand a fair amount of work on a daily basis. Our rabbit experiment has been hugely successful. Starting with the unplanned mating that resulted in our first litter of 6 kits, and adding the successful mating of our three other does, we have had four litters of kits born, for a current live count of baby rabbits at 31....plus the 8 adults, for a total of 39 rabbits.
Bonnie's Babies
Dolly's Babies
Elsie's Babies
Annie's babies -- all grown up!
Our pair of broody hens managed to hatch 12 chicks between them, and, hard as it is for me to believe, the first four chicks, born on 6/16 are now over six weeks old! One of the hens has gone back to laying eggs, while the other has taken charge of the dozen chicks, teaching them how to be top-notch free rangers. They are quite a sight to see as she leads them around the yard. My gardens are suffering from their attention, but I don't really mind this year. It's fun to watch them as they learn from mama. With these new chicks, we are now maintaining a total of 42 chickens.
Lacy and her chicks
Lacy and her last hatched chick
Thankfully, our four goats, though they make enough noise for a dozen goats, are NOT increasing in numbers. Nevertheless, they require a LOT of food every day and have really cleared the brush in the pen we erected only a short while ago. So Joe and I have spent this week erecting another pen for their eating pleasure. We finished this afternoon, and they happily started their brushing.
Sally and her babies
Whitey smiling for the camera
Joe working on the new goat pen
The dogs would like to eat the chickens. We are TRYING to train them to NOT want to eat the chickens, but I don't think we can trust them yet. Of course, it doesn't help that a few of the chickens are silly enough to fly into the dogs' pen to "share" the dogs' food.... But we are making headway and will continue in our endeavor. They are looking like adult dogs now, though they are not yet eight months old.
Dogs at play in the pond after heavy rain
They love the water
And the poor little cat, Miah, once the queen of her palace, has been relegated to last in line at feeding time (it's for her own good, as the chickens make a beeline for her food if they are not busy eating their own). So she follows me around to every feeding stop -- dogs, rabbits, chickens and goats, and FINALLY all the way back to her feeding spot. She may be almost 15 years old, but she keeps her trim figure by following me everywhere I go, and then some!
July also brought us an abundance of ripe peaches and plums. Sadly, the majority of them had some worm activity and, with my gimpy arm, I was unable to pare and keep the good portions of the fruit for canning. However, the chickens were VERY happy to process somewhere in the vicinity of 300 pounds of fresh, ripe, wormy fruit! Blackberries are in full swing right now, and I have been successful in canning some jars of blackberry syrup.
Many, Many Peaches
Many, Many Plums
Blackberries coming in right now
Grapes coming in soon
Despite the farm chores, I was able to make a couple of short trips to Maryland, one for work and to help my Mom for a day, and the other to enjoy a family get together with my brothers, sister, our kids, my granddaughter, my cousin, and my Dad and stepmom. As always, the visits were too short!
My son and daughter-in-law came over to the farm to celebrate my birthday with us. We had a nice time, eating pizza, playing guitar, accordion, drum and singing. I look forward to more family get togethers here, now that we are more or less finished with the construction phase of the house itself.
Joe and Steve
Joe, Steve and Kristen
Tonight, after helping Joe complete the goat pen, I cleaned up and headed over to Newport News to watch Stephen perform in Les Miserables with the Peninsula Community Theatre. The show was AWESOME! It was "invited guests night," and I was thrilled to be invited. I have seen this show at least twice before, on Broadway and off Broadway professional, and can honestly say this community theater group did a top notch job! My favorite parts are the male chorus singing.... Red and Black literally brought tears to my eyes. All of the roles were well cast and the voices were all good and strong. BRAVO!!
And with July wrapped up, I am curious to see what August has in store for us. I know I am looking forward to a few visitors this month, and I am VERY much looking forward to getting my cast (cast number two) off on Wednesday!
This will be short post, word-wise. I am limited to a single hand for typing, and, though my typing is never great, one handed typing is particularly ugly! Still, I think the pictures will tell the story.
Loading hay into the barn
Building new goat pen
Installing new goat sheds
Installing rain gutters in barns
Surprise baby rabbits born June 4
Many days of burning brush piles
Blackberries
Blueberries
Two hens going broody together
Gooseberries
Ripe gooseberries
Yucca in bloom
Grapes -- the vines are loaded
Spinach going to seed, kohlrabi growing
Judy picking berries
Lily
First baby chicks hatched June 16
Mamas and babies
Babies digging along with Mamas
Eggs still incubating
Installed newly made mantle and hearth
Puppies -- Almost 6 months old
Joe finished -- yes FINISHED the trim painting and caulking
Volunteer sunflowers
Old high school friend and her husband
came to the farm to visit
Fresh fruit cobbler
Mean looking lizard -- he bites!
Peach
9 day old baby bunnies
Lilies
18 day old bunnies
Raspberries
Finished stairs in old farmhouse
First planned pregnancy was successful --
11 baby rabbits born June 28
Jenn on her 30th birthday,
with the delightful Miss Eloise
Yes, I broke my wrist on Friday
So, now for a little explanation and a cool story.
Friday, late afternoon, when I had the puppies out for their evening run, one of them plowed into me as she
was obediently returning to their yard... a quick trip to the ER later
and the broken left wrist was confirmed.
God works in mysterious ways, indeed.
Splinted and awaiting my Monday
appointment with the orthopedic doctor, I have been dealing with a fair
amount of pain, but have been dealing with even more frustration. One
handed cooking, cleaning, bathing, changing clothes, putting long hair
up, feeding dozens of farm animals.... well, suffice to say that by Saturday afternoon I had determined that attendance at church today, much less singing with the choir, was out of the question.
I called my choir director to let her know my decision (translated --
to whine and garner sympathy) and she assured me they'd survive without
me, and encouraged me to return when I was ready.
This morning I
awoke after a rather restless night. I decided to try to do as much as
I could one handed. Amazingly, I was able to do EVERYTHING I needed to
do, including putting up my long hair. After I finished feeding all of
the critters, I decided God was sending me a message that not only
COULD I drive to church but I SHOULD do so.
As I sang with the
choir, unable to play the guitar, I took the opportunity to actually
look out into the congregation. I spied a lady standing in the pews
farthest from me. She reminded me of one of my friends dating back to
elementary school. Long story shorter.... the lady I saw was my grade
school friend. She, her husband and her mother were in town visiting
her brother who is building a house nearby.
To put things in
perspective, I don't think I've seen Debbie since we graduated high
school in 1976 in Bowie, MD. She and her husband now live in New
Jersey. They had no way of knowing I go to the church they decided to
visit this morning, and it was even more interesting that they opted for
the 10:30 Mass, rather than the 8AM one.
It was a true
delight to meet again as adults and we look forward to visiting with
them at our farmette when they return to the area for a vacation at the
end of July....
I say it was a marvelous day.
And so, though I have taken the week off from work so we can FINALLY move into the now completed rehabbed old farmhouse, operating with a broken wrist will likely delay our move, beyond the week....
