Cleaning Up

Writing the blog has been calling to me, but finding something to write about has been absolutely hard to do. As I said before, I have decided to back down on a lot of stuff simply because the pain in my shoulder limits me.  The chiropractic appointments have helped a great deal for my back and neck, but my shoulder is another thing.  

A few weeks back, Al mowed a neighbor's field for hay for other people, but we personally didn't need it.  The following Sunday, after finding out that one of the people who was going to take hay no longer needed it, we were stuck with two days of work and a desire to bring it in anyway.  So last minute, a few friends came out and helped load it up.  Now, it is all tucked away in the hay shed with the front covered with a tarp to protect it from the rain.  The overflow was kept in the trailer and put into the detached garage until it is all used up. 

We also started paying someone to help out around the place and he has done a fabulous job!  He is a hard worker and has proven to us that he can do whatever we ask.  

Martin has cleared weeds from around the shop, garage, house, and back yard.  He mowed the yards.  He took down all of the trellises from the main garden and put a fence up around the black berries and elderberries.  He started knocking down small trees in order to open up the woods to encourage new growth for pastures. He also put up a temporary structure for the cows to find shelter from the rain.  I am sure there are other things he has done that I don't know about, but my point is we are thankful for his help. 

Thankful as we are, I can't help but feel a bit upset about the fact we took on this lifestyle and have to reach out to others to do the work we are supposed to do.  While it feels good to help a family out with a little income, it feels wrong to not do it ourselves.  

But on to other stuff...

Caleb started his treatment, Neurofeedback, a few weeks ago.  So far, we haven't seen improvement in behavior, but it takes time.  The treatment will last 30 weeks.  I'll let you look it up to see what it is because I could ever explain what it is.  Just look up Braincore Neurofeedback. 

My chiropractic treatment plan is four weeks from being over.  Next week starts four weeks of only one visit, then I will be done.  I told Al that I will not do shots or surgery for my shoulder/arm.  And while it causes me pain, and nights of tears due to not being able to do the things I used to do, I will have to learn to do things differently and change my lifestyle to accommodate the physical disability. 

All the animals are doing well.  

Our new laying hens are still not quite ready to produce eggs, but we did get one "fairy egg" a few days ago.  These are super small eggs compared to a normal sized egg.  The laying hens are on small rations, but are allowed to free range. 

Our old laying hens are still in the front yard, but will soon be moved to the sheep pen in order to expand the front garden. They are laying about 5 - 7 eggs per day which is sufficient for us, especially when we have about 10 dozen in the refrigerator.  

The three turkey poults are growing nicely, but I have to keep them in a cage, which I don't like.  I need to cut back their wing feathers and see what I can put together for a fence they CAN'T get out of.  I don't want to lose more turkeys.  We have lost too many this year.  

Our meat chickens are growing fast and have about 6 more weeks to go.  They are still kept in an electric fence with no free ranging, but I would like to allow them to forage.  Perhaps when the new sheep fence goes up, they can be given access to forage. 

We decided to just allow all the sheep together again.  I don't think Othello is going to allow Lego to breed any of the ewes, but we shall know when lambing takes place.  Othello has Dorper in him, therefore the offspring show black with white. Last year, he sired every single lamb despite having two rams for breeding. 

Our goats are nearly all bred at this point.  I have two or three left to breed, but want to get the dry lot settled.  I plan to take all the bucks, but Napoleon or Prince, back to the buck pasture.  Then we will bring all the young does (and Jersey) and put them in the kid pen.  The remaining buck will be put in with all the does to breed anyone else who was missed.  So far, the only two not bred (that I know of), are Juniper and Kahlua.  After measuring a few other does, I think Almond Joy may be ready after a late summer growth spurt.  We shall see.  I plan to have one more ultrasound session done to confirm pregnancies on all of the goats.  

The leaves have started turning and falling from the trees and the weather has cooled somewhat.  The Feast of Tabernacles is coming up next weekend and the kids are all excited.  I am excited as well because Andrew is set to be down here the day before.  This year, the plan is to camp out on the back deck rather than set up a tent.  We bought mosquito netting and carpets to put back there in order to protect us from mosquitos and creepy crawlies.  We pray the weather will be mild so we don't get too cold or wet.  I try to do all my cooking outside, but do prepare a few things in the house.  So, we are prepared with propane, and will set up a little cooking kitchen out there as well.  Last year, I cooked nearly everything on the grill and side burner. I remember our first year, I cooked almost everything on the campfire, including popcorn.  It was quite fun! 

Our campfire ring might need a few rocks to be restacked, but for the most part it looks as if it held together pretty well.  Al has the tiki torches ready and extra fuel for lighting the area up.  Campfire time at night is always fun.  I printed up some song books with a few adaptations to names in the songs.  

I have several crafts lined up for the kids.  They will be doing tie dye shirts this year.  In previous years we did puff paint (which peels off) and stenciling.  We will be doing a pumpkin craft, pony bead pumpkins and/or Indian corn, decoupage candle jars, and a snack sukkah.  I also considered having the kids work together to build a large sukkah from sticks and such from the property.  I also bought a Fall Feast Activity book for them to work on during the week.  I think I may have them write journals during the week to write about what they feel or have learned.

The menu has been planned and I think the highlight for them is always the smores we make.  This year I plan to make my own graham crackers since organic graham crackers have skyrocketed in price.  I also refuse to support Hershey, so have found a nice clean brand of chocolate to use.  So because the price is higher, the pieces of chocolate on each smore will be smaller.  

Finally, I have plans to read through the whole book of Deuteronomy.  Last year we got through several chapters, but never made it through.  I want to make sure we put effort into getting through the book.  Torah says that the whole book of the law was read during the Feast of Tabernacles, and while I think it would be great to be able to read from Genesis through Deuteronomy, I think a smaller bite might be more attainable with the kids being this age.  

Well, guess I will wrap this post up.  I could take a bunch of photos of the property, but there is no point. Everything is looking dry and crunchy, and even though it is cleaned up, it isn't very "pretty". But I promise I will get a picture soon of the turning leaves in the back yard.  

Blessings...

Rachel