The next project GOAT BARN!

Step 1- create a wall from your head

This is the next phase in getting this place to really resemble a farm! Not sure if we will end up getting goats or not, but I know it will happen eventually so I decided to start building their home. You never know when that cute lil' baby goat is offered to you for cheap or even better, free... need a place to keep it if those adorable little faces beg you to take them home.

Step 2- create a duplicate wall

Step 3- nail them together at the space you want apart

So, I looked around and calculated what I could make with the wood on site so we can save as much money as possible. So far, it looks like I will need to buy a whopping 3 pieces of wood for some roof support, other than that I believe we have enough materials (including pieces of metal roof I found on the wood pile) to complete their brand spanking new home! With the chicken coop, I raised the foundation and also created a pretty sturdy floor. Goats are a lot easier to house, they just want three walls and a roof. I am doing one better, giving them four walls and a roof with a big open door. So yeah, that's what I have been doing. I got the frame completed and also put the siding up on the sides where the roof slants off (cause they are a pain to cut right). All in all, this project is going much smoother than the coop did, mostly because it doesn't have a floor and it is smaller, but at the end of the day, I believe it is because my carpentry skills are getting better, I mean, it is square, which was a lot easier to do this time around. So, here is a photo story of where I began, to where I am now, including a nice little side section where I tried to be "Heman" and hurt myself... again, I am good at doing that kind of stuff.

Step 4- Have Cheyenne sit inside the lil goat house for size gauging

Step 5- Reinforce like crazy, and make as sturdy as possible

Step 6- Add the siding that is a pain in the butt to do out in the field.

Step 7- Don't call on your neighbors for help and try to move it by yourself

Step 8- fall down and hurt yourself on the way out to the field.

Step 9 and 10- Document your "injuries". The worst injury your not going to see... but imagine someone taking an ugly 2x4 and hitting you as hard as they can across your lap, leaving you with the BIGGEST bruise in a weird place... yeah, it hurt, these leg "injuries" are nothing compared to that!

This is where one of the foundation boards landed on my ankle, the weight of the structure created a nice line bruise and cut in the shape of a 2x4. Best part was I took my phone out of my pocket (because I did not want to damage it by the wood that was across my lap when dragging it out)... so if my ankle broke and the structure got stuck on there, it could have been up to two days until my roomie came back to town to find me! Talk about adrenaline, the thing weighs over 200 pounds easy, it lands on my ankle, and I pull it off with no problem while laying on the ground. (but it was hard to lift to just pick up standing bending with the knees... when the adrenaline wasn't pumping!!) Other than some hurt pride and some big ol' bruises, I am alright. :)

Secret ingredient... TOMATO! (and a pepper I ate during the prepping...lol)

The other night, I watched too much Iron Chef and decided to try to make dinner using the secret ingredient of "Tomato's" from the garden to make a meal... well, it turned out I only used them as a topping to my chicken dish... but it still was really yummy in the end, so I am not complaining and deemed it good enough to take photos of my process... in other words, I was bored.

Big Dave's "other" secret ingredients... thank the Lord you can't read the labels! :P

Prepped and ready for the grill!

Coming off the grill... look at those tomato's oozing flavor into the chicken!

Finished product. Tomato Chicken on a bed of Rice and cubed potato's from the garden. Your seeing it right, 2 starches and 1 protein.. What? I'm IRISH!

The super glue really worked on the cut on my Thumb from the other week. The glue is all off now and I really cant even see much of a scar anymore either, the only evidence is a small depression where I pulled the dead skin from. So, again... Super Glue for cuts does actually work!

Barely even see the cut anymore!

Hoo-ray for Superglue!

OPOSSUM Eating a RAT! That was my surprise when letting the dogs out one last time for the evening! (I turned out all the outside lights, so I could see the stars really well... joke was on me! That thing scared the crap out of me! And the dogs went bonkers)

Everyday farm life

Might try this style of blogging out from time to time since my pics NEVER line up with my stupid story and I tend to ramble and ramble and ramble. :P

Enjoy some pictures from the farm. :)

Chickens want some camera time, so here ya go.

A Chickens perspective

Freedom lies beyond the light... or maybe a Hawk...

First came the  "Pig Butts" painting from Big Dave, I think this might be the next one. "Chicken butts" What? you don't know about "Pig Butts"? Then you don't know the art side of Big Dave... and that's unfortunate.

Coming up for air!!! The two chicks on the left were just eating away the whole entire time I was taking shots, seriously scroll up and see for yourself... THIS IS PROOF WORLD!!! I provide photographic evidence, if you eat all day, every day, you will get fat, and unfortunately will have a short life.

I predict that the Guineas are going to die from either exhaustion or concussions... definitely not hawks. They are the FASTEST little creatures on feet in the bird land it seems.. and they are only four days old! They run around so fast and in random, zig zag, and circular mayhem filled patterns, which is hilarious because its not synchronized... meaning.. they run into each other all the time and fall over, like little kids on the playground, and then just get back right up and take off again... its just funny watching them. Of course after all that running, they were down for the count!

Look its another sunset! How original!

Lets take a shot with the sun next to the tree now... that may be a keeper...

Now another meshed together... that's the one.. yep. :P

So I thought this was a really long night crawler, but when I picked it up to get it out of the driveway, it totally had a belly of a snake!  It was really wriggling around so I couldn't get a good look at it or another picture before it literally slid itself right out of my hands and into the woods... weird night crawler/snake hybrid thingamajig.

I come back from walking down to get the mail and thought my coop was on fire for a split second! I had just put hay down on the floor. But it was just the heat light for the baby Guineas... phew!

From the front, it looked like a ghost was wondering around the chicken coop!

Oh the genius of Dave! :P  Hopefully, this is a home made chicken plucker. Insert it into a drill and turn it on, supposedly the rubber will grab the scalded feathers of the chicken and pull them out with ease! Or so Youtube says... Hopefully it'll work and I won't look like a fool, considering I already told my neighbors I was building one, now the pressure is on! (Patent pending)

Newest addition to the farm life! 4 or 5 little birds... should have been 3 lil' birds for a sweet Bob Marley reference, but I wont alter nature, but regardless, they remind me that everything is going to be alright in the world! They have the BIGGEST mouths always either open waiting for food, or chirping... right on the front porch where I sit. Only a matter of time before I start getting dive bombed by mom:)

The Guineas have arrived!

They have blue hints and some blue feathers!

Went into town today and got the mail... a nice little chirping package of 16 Guinea Keats!

Before I went home I went to the feed store and bought two more bags of feed (50# of Chick starter costs around $12) and also a new high capacity water dispenser for the rest of the chicks ($33). I had bought an old feeder at a garage sell for $12, they sell them new for around $35 so I think I did alright on that purchase. Also went and got two bails of straw ($4.50 a piece), its about a buck or two more than getting it from a farmer right out of the field, but I am still trying to make a connection on that right now, so I bought two just to get us going.

Cute now, but ugly when they get older...

Went home and set up the brood, and also re-arranged and decorated the coop with a layer of straw and put out the new feeder and water dispenser. I don't know if the chicks like it or not, because they have decided to just stay outside, (except when I am walking around, then for some reason, they ALWAYS want to be right under your foot where your trying to step <--- just like every other animal when you have your hands full and can't really look down... yup. )

I finally saw the first chick roll around in dirt, giving itself a dirt bath this morning! Of course when I went to take a pic, she stopped.... typical.

They don't hold still for photos very well!

Eating chick starter now, but soon, these guys will eat the bugs!!

New water and feeder! (my designer nesting boxes are being used to store food and straw on!)

Put the brood in the coop so these gals are all used to each other.. NO FIGHTING!!

The Rhodey in the bottom left was the one dust bathing... till I took a photo.

Scorpions again...

He was about three feet away from my bed.

I was too tired to post this last night, but what are the chances of this actually happening the same day I post a story about scorpions!

To start off, the Scorpion story is about four or five days old now, so I have been living with that scorpion for that amount of time. And obvious to me now, Diatomaceous  earth doesn't do to much as far as scorpions are concerned (with Ants though... literally that stuff will wipe out an entire colony!). Last night,  I was sitting in my room reading a book on how to raise goats (thank you Allen for the books!!) when all of the sudden the three dogs start going a little crazy. I thought they were fighting over a chew toy or something, so I got up and looked down right when Cheyenne was about to get stung in the nose by (what I am hoping was) the same scorpion that got in a few days ago! Luckily I barked an order to get the dogs to back away just in time. This time, I didn't let the scorpion get away, I scooped him up with a glass jar lid, took a few pics of the awesome creature, then walked directly outside and threw his butt off the cliff and into the woods!

Imagine, waking up to this on your nose!!

Moral of this story? Don't brag about how you have only seen two scorpions this entire trip... then the Matrix will throw more in your way.
Hmmm, I wonder... "I have only seen a few 20 dollar bills since I got here...."  :)


**ADDED NOTE** Guineas shipped yesterday. So, should be picking them up at the post office first thing tomorrow morning!!!! :) :) :) Next chapter!

Just some pics from the farm...

See my ex-pet scorpion?

So, the other day, I finally let my Scorpion go that I caught over a month ago. I was doing a nice thing, knowing this poor creature was probably really bored sitting in a glass jar all day and all night. So, I took him to the furthest end of the property and I let him go. First thing I want to point out is its natural camouflage... I have now wondered how many times I have waltzed right by one with my bare feet and didn't even know! Anyway, I was feeling good about myself and thinking I did the right thing. Well the very next morning, I open up the door to let my dog out and a smaller scorpion scampers (I should say ran) right in the house and under the closet door before I can even react, I then spend a while cleaning out the closet trying to find the guy, but alas, he went into the wall through a crack (I assume). Good news is, we have diatomaceous dirt put down by Terminex (and a little bit more by me too after I saw this happen). This diatomaceous dirt is really fine, and abrasive, so it gets in the nooks and cracks of a insects exoskeleton and literally kills them through aggravation and drying out their insides... great stuff.. literally great stuff, I have done research and seen first hand what this can do. If you have ant issues... this is the stuff to get. But the whole point of me telling you is why do I get rid of a scorpion that is a pet, just to get another one the very next day as a pest?I sure don't want to wake up with a scorpion on my face! So much for doing good deeds, I still get punished. :P By the way, I have only seen two scorpions this entire trip here... my pet one, and the pest.

This particular one loves your feet, comes right up and pecks em

My buff opringtons starting to show their beauty a bit!

The Chickens are finally going in and out of the coop on their own free will, and seem to be having a good time. They are officially 4 weeks old today. On top of that, I should be getting a call soon saying my Guinea Keats are born and ready to pick up at the local post office! So stay tuned for that! I for the life of me, can not see why they had to be shipped out at such a different date, I was hoping they would all be raised together so the pecking order wouldn't be such a big issue. But, I look at it this way, that I get the opportunity to introduce new stock to the flock, so that will be one more trial by error learning experience for me on my farming journey. Now, I get to re-set the brood area and do it all over again! :)

My baby chicks actually using the ramp I made them! :)

 I have noticed that at least for right now, I am enjoying animal raising much more than I am enjoying gardening! It has just been struggle after struggle with the garden. And with gardening, you can lose an entire growing season to one major storm or drought... seems like a big gamble! But, again, next year, the garden will be amazing, and my buddy will take over and be like, "I don't know what your problem was man... its easy.." As he inherits a fully fertilized and turned over numerous times, soil enriched, with the big rocks pulled out of the soil, with months of manure and composting added into it, garden. I have decided to not improve one section and tell him to try to grow carrots in it next year and then get back to me on how easy it is...lol.

I lost three potato plants due to the sprinkler not really reaching them, I decided to pull them up and was surprised that these six inch high potato plants already had 1-2 small potatoes growing on them ! So, last night I had a potato appetizer, and it was delicious!!

Potato box going insane! (only crop doing very well!)

Potato tire doing pretty good, think I might have lost one or two in the dirt though

The old property owners made it so some flower is always blooming here. Its nice, but I have no idea on how to keep that going, my horticulture skills are in veggies and fruit, not bulb flowers. But they are nice to look at!

 Well, as usual, my camera just kept taking pics of the sunset, so here is last nights special sunset. :)

Looking at the entire barn yard

Chickens here, Garden in the middle, Goats one day on the far side!

Amazing seeing the transformation from day one to now.