Little piggies all grown up...and more

The piglets are all grown up. Tanner was out helping to feed them, but he wasn't really sure he wanted to be in there with them since they are so much bigger now.

It takes a lot more water than you would think to fill their watering hole.

The first thing the do when we bring them fresh water is roll around in it...can you imagine it...fill the tub, get in all dirty then drink it..so gross.

Tanner is such an eager helper!

Once they both get in there it really doesn't look like enough water anymore.

We finally have steps!!!

One July 2 we put the steps on the front porch. We had been going in the back door all this time. We had cement blocks stacked up as steps to the back door since that porch is closer to the ground. Now we will finally be able to use the front door.

Everything was lined up just right and the nail gun made short work of the whole project.

Aren't they beautiful!

I had a lot of cardboard to burn and once we got it going it all went up really quick. However it did smolder for most of the afternoon.

Violet was put in the pasture right behind the house this month. It is actually really neat to wake up in the morning and go out the back door and say high to her. If I call her name she comes running and I throw her an alfalfa cube as a treat.

I mowed the orchard and there was a lot of grass to be picked up. Madison had a lot of fun driving the 4 wheeler around with the grass catcher on the back picking it all up.

Sheep and lambs

One thing about sheep, especially this breed is that they can have 3 sets of lambs in 2 years...meaning if you don't separate your ram from your ewes you will continue to have babies....

....guess what, we continued to have babies.  I guess you can figure out what we didn't get done this spring.

Summer lamb are cute and adorable just like spring lambs.  There is only one draw back, they end up finishing on hay....not the best way to put on the pounds.  I know some people will say that it is better to get as many lambs as they can and it is worth it.  I personally think it is much better to control when those lambs are born to be most efficient with your resources.  Grass....FREE!!....Hay.....Expensive :(

I would much rather have lots of spring lambs from all of my ewes then have a few summer lambs that just eek by 3 months late and waste those ewes in the spring.  Just my opinion for what it is worth.

Lots of that FREE grass out there

This is the hoop shelter we built for the sheep.  They were scared of it for a long time.  It was so hot this day that they finally decided to use it.  I couldn't get too close of they would get scared and run off again.

Two weeks in this pasture and look how much they have eaten.

They absolutely love the blackberry brambles behind the house.  Sometime I would look for them and not see a single one.  Then I would see the brambles shaking and realized that they were all in the brambles eating.  it amazes me they can eat that thorny stuff.

A close up of the hoop shelter.  Just T posts, cattle panels and a tarp.  The tarps eventually wear out and need to be replaced, but it is a minimal cost.  For winter I buy the tarps that go all the way to the ground and that cuts the wind.

I just LOVE my lawnmowers.  They make short work of this