Getting past the Thanksgiving holiday..

Thanksgiving has came and gone..I didn't blog about it for several reasons.. 1 being that everyone  blogs about it.. Posting pictures of their turkey and side dishes and even of the fancy desserts.. Second reason is I was so busy I didn't have time.. I can think of several more but will just leave it at that.. Christmas is next so I'll be better prepared.

Pictured is of some mini cherry pies I made for my daughter's birthday.. She loves cherry pie but I did have a pie plate so I made mini ones in a muffin pan.. Cut out the hearts with a cookie cutter.. She just absolutely love them..

Here's my little Harley waiting till I get done with my feeding because she knows I'm going to town.

She won't be left.. 

Fall babies and yummy pumpkin seeds..

Last week was awesome.. I was given a sweet surprise.. My silkie hen hatched out some chicks.. It was early in the morning when I went to feed the chickens.. I heard a peep peep.. and seen one baby but she was still sitting on eggs so I knew she wasn't done.. During the day 4 more hatched..but by next morning there were 9 total.. I thought about letting her raise them.

But after a run to town I discovered that 5 were gone.. I thinking the young tomcat waited and snatched them.. So I scooped up what was left and placed in a box in spare room.. I was pretty up set.. Aleast I have the 4.. I'm thinking the black ones are pullets and the light colored one is a roo.

On a more happier note it's fall and that brings more than cooler weather and pretty leaves.. It brings pumkins.. I love pumpkins and always ready when they hit the stores.. I usually carve them and put on the porch with tealights inside. But when you have chickens the run loose that's not an option.. So I open them up and scrape the seeds out and cut the pumpkin into several pieces and give it to all the chickens..

Now what about the seeds... I roast them.. They are such an awesome treat... Salty, crunchy, and healthy..

Here's how I made them..

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

• 2 cups Pumpkin Seeds from 1 Large Pumpkin approx.
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt to taste
• Pepper - optional to taste

Instructions

1. Clean your seeds and rinse them with water
2. Place them in a bowl covered with water and 1 Teaspoon of salt overnight
3. The next day, drain your seeds and dry them up with a paper towel
4. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit
5. Place them in a bowl and add the olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix
6. Place seeds in a sheet pan in one layer
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Mix them every 10 minutes..

Enjoy...

• I give pumpkin to the chickens because they like it and it's a great dewormer..

Molting season for chickens.. Hidden treasures..

November is here and fall is officially showing the beauty it beholds. Even though we are still having warm days with temps near 80, we are have cold enough nights to change leaves from Green to red and gold.. Its makes it nice when you have lots to do outside.                                                                     

Another thing that happens in the late summer and early fall, the molting process of chickens..              

The picture above is borrowed from Pinterest because my hens never looked this rough.. Think it's due to high protein year round.. Not sure.. Never tested the theory..
Have you ever went out to the chicken yard, coop or pens and see enough feathers on the ground that it looked like a major  war happened.. Did you run to count all the hens and roosters to see if any were missing..

 Chickens losing their feathers

Is a natural occurrence.. Its when chickens lose feathers so new ones can grow in..and it happens as days get shorter.. It can be painful and most hens stop laying during molting season..              

An empty nest box. 

That's what I thought was happing to my hens.. I haven't gathered any eggs in a week..                   

This what discovered today... This is where the hens decided to lay..an old wooden carry box.. 21 eggs from 4 hens.. Eggs are at least 5 days old,Im glad I'm still getting eggs..

What can you do to help your chickens during molting season, higher protein, fresh water, and poultry snacks.. Because there are less bugs, mealworms are a helpful sorce.

Little storm damage and pretty escapees..

Life on my farm is awesome.. It has its rewards, it's ups and downs.. Love the way you can smell the rain before it hits... Storms don't scare me and usually sleep thru them.. And I did sleep through the one we had last night..
I went to feed this morning like I always do, and to my surprise all my pretty Orpingtons come running towards me..

I realized that they hadn't escaped their own but the pen was gone.. If was a temporary one so now I really have to get busy on permanent one..

Silver lace Orpington... They are so pretty..

Chocolate cuckoo Orpington.. Love them as well..

New temporary pens.. Maybe these won't blow away.. Wish they could range free but Hawks and coons would get them...

One never knows how bad a storm will be..especially in Oklahoma..

Animals, Animals, Animals...

I really like my animals.. It would be so hard  to sell and I hope I never have to..I have worked hard for them and work even harder to make sure they get the best care..

A white leghorn took over an empty rabbits nest box.. I thought they stopped laying..they just decided to move to new box.

Here is one of my lops bucks..he is the sweetest rabbit.. Love to have the top of his head petted and scratched....

 Good ole munchkin.. Awesome tom cat..likes using my pallets as a scratching post. Munchkin is not afraid of the 3 large.        Pyrenees or or roosters.                                       

Just chilling while I'm a working..this is Daisy, my oldest of the 3 Pyrenees we have as guars dogs.. Very mean at night.. So I don't dare investigate..

This is a very sweet dog too.. This is Piper.. She belongs to my son Christian and at 10 months she thinks she can woop up on anything..pretty sure she was after a skunk last night.. And the she wouldn't give till it was gone..
Fortunely Piper did not get sprayed...

Can't forget my baby..Her name is Harley and yes 

it is an odd name for a girl but I didn't get to bane her.. She was more like a rescue dog and that was already her name.. She was 4 when I was given her and now she is 7. She goes every where I go..          

Thats is some of the animals we have here on the farm. There are lots more but will save them for another story.. Hope you enjoy the pictures and reading about my babies..

Cooler temps, clean rabbit cages, and homemade chili

90s on Monday and 60s on Tuesday, what a temperature change. Guess it's expected in the fall.. I remember wearing a hoodie and still wrapping in a blanket while watching my daughter do her color gaurd routine during half time at the school football game..
Cooler temps also gets me in the mood for homemade chili.. So I'd like to share my recipe..

The ingredients are simple.    

2 lbs hamburger meat.                                    

1 pkg of Williams chili seasoning.                 

1 small yellow onion.                                        

1 can rotel diced tomatoe and green chillies

2 cans of tomato sauce.                                  

Brown the hamburger meat with onion..( chopped)
Drain..
Mix the diced tomatoes and green chillies and
Seasoning..
Pour the cans of tomatoe sauce in then fill each tomato sauce cans with water and pour in the pan.. Simmer on medium for about 30 min.. Use a laddle and dip some into big bowls and enjoy.. You can add cheese, sour cream, or crackers..


Now I'll move on to my next project from outside..
Cleaning the rabbit cages .. It's a nasty job but someone has to do it.. My cages were stacked 3 high with tarp in between to catch the manure.. I separated them and removed the tarp, while trying not to dump it on me..lol. I still manage to get rabbit poop on me.. It's a given not to wear good clothes while working in animal area..
I managed to get tarps in wheelbarrow and getting it dumped on the spot I plan to till for spring.

Clean cages.. 

Tarps are also use as protection from wind and rain.. I am working on more solid shelter before winter. Temps are still to warm for them to be indoors..                                                                      

Now the cages are clean, I'll begin my breeding of the rabbits..
Next I'll make a temporary chicken coop for the free range hens..
Hope you enjoy my story and let me know if you make the chili... How's the weather where y'all are.

Projects getting done on the farm

What an awesome day.. We worked on several projects that needed done.. Since my stud Muffin, Chris, is only home Saturday night and Sunday, he tries to work on the house.. Here he is finishing the ceiling in the closet.. It will be a large walk-in closet..

while he is working on the house, me and Christian is working on the fence.. Every night the Pyrenees get out of the fence and I need them to guard the poultry and rabbits from the coons and possums.. And living in the country, there are a lot of them..   So we are installing a hot wire to keep them in and critters out..                                             

 The Pyrenees know something is up..They are being so good and not even trying to get out...

My son is acting goofy..I told him to smile for the camera.. He does so much for me.

we had a good day.. I have more projects scheduled for this week..little by little we will get them done...                                                

Autumn time on the farm

Well it's Autumn here at the farm.. Autumn is my favorite time of the year, but it's also a busy time too.. 
Since we just move back here, we have no buildings set up for the rabbits and chickens.. They have housing but only the kind that is good for summer.. That's what I will be working on next week..
It's also time to start breeding the rabbits.. Meat rabbits for food and lops and lionheads for sale.. Takes 28 days to have kits.. That's what baby rabbits are called.. 
I'm also expanding my garden.. 3 times the size it is now.. I'll be able to can and freeze more next year plus sell extra in a roadside stand.
So besides thinking of the fun work ahead of me this fall, guess I'll think of the other fun things I like..
I love the cooler weather. I like summer but there nothing like curling up with a blanket and watching a chic flick..  Ready for cute sweater weather.. I love the way the leaves Change colors.. It's not doing that here yet but they are trying..

Below is my son...This was taken last fall.. He would probably kill me for posting this...(we wont tell him)

Yes this are my favorite Fall things..

 I'm still harvesting cherry tomatoes...Still making sauces..

Oh almost forgot the sweet potatoes I harvested.. Yummy                                                            

Saving these for special dinners and Thanksgiving... If I can wait that long...

 Now that its October,I start looking for Pumpkin Patches.. I love roasted pumpkin seeds and carving funny faces in the pumpkins

Why I love living on my small farm

Why do I love living on my small 20 acre farm? That's easy to answer... I love animals, and growing fresh veggies..I love the fresh air and quiet evenings. Some times you can here a black panther holler from the river.. I live about a half mile from a large river, so there is several different types of wild life here. We have deer, ferrel hogs, large wild cats, coyotes, and others, but they dont mess with us although they cross the back pasture.

Here are some of the animals I raise. Rabbits, Chickens, Cats, and Dogs..

I do like the lionheads but they don't to be petted like the hollands do. I also have meat rabbits but will save them for another post.. Same with the other breeds of chickens i have. I will also save my garden for other post..
There is so much i do on the farm that i can't fit into one story...So please follow me as I share my story of my 20 acre farm.

Little about me..

I've all ready posted a few posts of the farm but I thought I'd tell you about this country girl.. Unlike Rea Drummond{A.K.A. the Pioneer Woman, by the way I love her show..) , I'm not an accidental country girl.. I'm a 4th generation farm girl. I didn't grow up on this small farm but I'll live the rest of my days here. I grew up in a very small country town, population of 800, I think.. I spent every weekend, holidays, and summer here on the farm with my 2 brothers and 5 cousins and always had someone to play with. 
My kids have even played with their cousins here.
And I can't wait for their kids to do the same..

farm update

Good morning..
Its been a while since I posted last.. A lot has been happening here on the farm.. We haven't finished the house yet but still working on it.. Added new babies. Brought home 3 more Pyrenees pups abs a dairy barn kitten..