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

June

Orchard plants are finally mulched

One of many 'foot baths' for the sheep.  After trimming the hooves they had to stand in this solution to kill the bacteria that causes hoof rot.

We decided after making 2 of those cages for the garden boxes that it would just be easier to fence the garden.  Madison is such a good helper.

Garden gate

Fenced garden is all finished.  No critters eating our veggies now.

Tanner just loves the black raspberries.  We couldn't keep him out of them.  We decided to let him have all he wanted before the sheep got in there to trim down the plants.

Time to trim the fence line

Lots...and lots...and lots of grass

The sheep are going to love all this grass...I am just glad the trimming is almost finished.

A view from near the orchard and the last line to be trimmed.

Late June is peach canning time.  I had 5 bushels of peaches (that is 10 boxes)

We ran 2 canners all morning and into the late afternoon.  We didn't have air conditioning in the house yet so it was 97 by the front door...102 in the dining room where the peeling was taking place and 110 at the stove (I think, the digital thermometer just read 'hot' but I know it goes to 109 at least).

All total we canned 147 quarts of peaches...aren't they beautiful!

Garden Time

I decided to do square foot gardening this year.  I have heard really great things about it and I really hate to weed (and don't have time) so this seemed like a good fit for me.

The soil is a mixture of 1/3 composed manure, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 vermiculite. 

Tanner really loves to help and he is a really hard worker.

We also made cages to keep the critters out of the garden.  After making these 2 though I decided not to make anymore.  Chicken wire is not easy to use and I was really happy when these were finished.

Morgan is my dirt girl.  She doesn't normally like the outdoor stuff, but she likes to dig in the dirt.  She took over the mixing of the dirt and she did a fantastic job.

Getting ready to load a box

 While Morgan was filling the last 2 boxes Madison was putting on the string

 Time to plant.  Tanner really likes to plant he had to be involved in planting everything

Tanner still planting

Almost finished, just the watering left to do.

  Beautiful plants.  Green beans, peppers and tomatoes

Early May

 

A view from the creek line on a beautiful clear spring day.  All those white dots out there...sheep

This is one of my least favorite jobs...trimming/cleaning hooves.  I spent a lot of time this spring doing this.

This one decided to just give up and get it over.

Sammy was always stealing my hat.

Morgan was the Garden box builder this year.  I showed her what to do and she took over.  She built all of the garden boxes and did a great job.

This is a view from the street.  The house is behind the woods to the left of the driveway.

Three little piggies in their new straw house.  Luckily no wolves to come blow it down.