Looking ahead

In a little over a month, we'll be kidding again. Can't believe it!

I hope all of our friends and loved ones had a great Christmas, blessed with peace. I'm hopeful for the New Year 2009, hoping for more peace and abundance. I'm already dreaming of the garden, what to plant and how to do it even better this coming year. I got out my sprouter and have started some salad sprouts, just because I feel I need to be growing something!

Thinking . . .

Yeah, I know, duck. No, there is nothing burning.

I am thinking of a name change for the farm, the website, etc. The house we live in used to house a gal named Catherine Buxbaum, and she wrote a book called Iowa Outpost. Its out of print, and hard to acquire, but I'm thinking of changing the name to Outpost Nubians. Amon Eruanna is proving to be too strange, too irksome to have to keep explaining, etc.

Here are some pictures of our last smoking adventure. The best batch yet. Very tasty venison summer sausage.


Night before last we had the killing frost. So a new season begins for me, as I can leave the canner put away, at least until after Thanksgiving when there will be venison to can again. We've been making the sausage from last season's venison from the freezer.

The apples are done. I've made over 50 quarts of applesauce, some apple jelly and apple butter, and baked goods here and there . . . Then, this past weekend the hubby and the children took the rest of our apples to a cider press, and we have over 27 gallons of cider in the freezer. Pretty nice!

All my balloons . . .

The above photo was taken on the first day of school. This little green guy, or maybe his brothers and sisters also, has been spotted all over the yard this summer. And now for a tangent jump . . .

Whee! So, I have this little punk imp that lives in the back of my head, and every once in a while she needs appeasment, so that's why my taste in music never seems to mature. Yes, you are shaking your head, and most the time I would agree with you.

So I have stumbled across a band, fairly new I believe, and now this song is stuck in my head, held there by the aforementioned imp.

So google Children 18:3 and listen to that song, or better yet, watch the video. Pretty fun!

first pangs of fall '08

My beloved geek gave me a whole new hard drive just for my photos, so I feel like I'm back in business. There have been a couple of tragedies in my extended family, a couple of funerals, so I'm definitely ready to get back to life here at Amon Eruanna.

Uncounted numbers of folk have waxed poetical about flowers, but have you noticed how they are always there, always able to incorporate some form of delicate beauty into the worst situations, or to celebrate any occasion? Birth, death, sickness, congratulations . . . more than likely you will find a flower of some kind there. Even an ordinary day is set apart when you take a few moments to observe a flower. From just a practical standpoint, they are there to ensure the next season's flowers. From a more abstract one, they remind us of God's diversity, His ability to contain power and emotion in the most delicate petal. Or maybe He just knew that something inside us craves beauty. Our Creator sure knew we needed them, and made them just right.


Ok, and just so you know I haven't been slacking, here is some of our lovely harvest.

aww, applesauce!

We are enjoying, and are very thankful for, a bumper crop of wonderful apples! This past weekend our Des Moines relatives came down, and we spent a lot of Saturday coring and chopping and cooking and milling apples. I was so blessed to have the help! I have a Foley food mill, which is powered by me, and my arm, shoulder and back are quite sore. I ordered the fruit and veg strainer for my kitchen aid today. That, my friends, is powered by electricity, which will be much better on my back, arm and shoulder. But I am glad to report that the applesauce, with 'our secret blend of spices,' turned out pretty good. There is much more to be made. I am also going to can some apple pie filling, and might try making apple jelly. Of course, I will have to make a batch or two of crock pot apple butter.

I picked the last of the grapes today. Last week I made four batches of jelly, so these grapes are going to be made into good old grape juice.

Today my better half tracked down a source for good quality organic pork products to blend with our venison for sausage making. He is really looking forward to firing up that smoker! He loaded the loft in the barn with hay bales today, and the goats had fun nibbling at the bales in the truck bed . . . meals on wheels!

still here

The grapes are ripe. The generous neighbors' peaches are ripe. Our apples are ripening.

The neighbor girl said to me, "No offense, but are you, like, always in the kitchen?"

Well, I did get to get to Knit-n-Wine Friday night, and connected with some dear friends. And got my second blackberry sock started!

Apparently, I've filled up our hard drive with pictures, so I'm waiting until my handy dandy household geek puts the second one in. Then I'll have more pictures up. Until then, you'll find me in the kitchen, canning peaches, applesauce, and grape jelly.

summer is ending

I can't believe the children are back at school, the days are getting cooler, and summer is closing. Time to start planning the late winter/early spring kidding. Thinking about trying to sneak in some late season beets, spinach and radishes. I've canned over 30 quarts of green beans, and I think there still may be a few out there. I'm going to make some homemade catsup, just like my grandma. I've been making some crystal pickles, and Friday I'm going to try my grandma's recipe for lime pickles.

My Uncle Bud has been visiting us, and he picked some wild cherries for me, from which I've made some tasty jelly. He lives in Missouri, but he came up to take us to the Iowa State Fair. We partook in many tasty things on a stick, watched some robots destroy small appliances, and had a lovely time. Pictured is the hackberry butterfly that lit on E4's Iowa State Fair hat. I think one of the big highlights for me was seeing a real live trumpeter swan that was on display at the DNR building! The other was running into some much missed, dear friends.

Jammin' (and Jellyin')

One of the things I really love to do is make jelly and jam. A couple of weeks ago I saw that peaches were priced low at the store, so I made two batches of peach jam and one batch of spiced peach jam, which is so heavenly, its like spreading cobbler on your toast. E1 is responsible for the artistic arrangement above. Maybe we can go into the food styling business when she gets older, huh?

Over the 4th of July weekend I made black raspberry jelly. We ate a little, and now I've hidden the rest of it until the first snowfall this winter. Which is why I made so much peach jam - to keep us out of the b r jelly . . .

This summer I'm also hoping to jelly some blackberries, and we also have some grapes coming. From those I will make jelly and at least one batch of spiced grape jelly, which is a bit different but very good. I'm toying with the idea of making some jalapeño jelly also. That would be good over some of our chevre to serve with crackers, I think. Then later this summer and into fall we will have quite a few apples, so I will make apple butter in the crock pot and put that up into jars as well. And I'm always praying for someone to say, 'we have extra (whatever kind of fruit) , could you use some?' Well my goodness, yes, and I'll start jammin'.

Uncle Frenchy

We had to say goodbye again today. My uncle lost his battle to lung cancer; today his family laid him to rest.

He was very well loved, and many, many friends and family turned out to honor him and love and support his family. I remember staying with my cousin in the summertime as a younger gal, and how welcome he always made me feel. Like my dad was of me and my brother, he was demanding of excellence in his kids, and their biggest supporter, and their biggest fan. They made him so proud, I know.

Well, I have hope that it wasn't necessarily goodbye, more of a 'see you later.' But we miss him here, and the loneliness is painful. I feel for my cousins, losing their dad, and I didn't want to have to see anyone else go through losing their dad, let alone at so young an age.

So we cling to hope, and move on the best we can. My aunt and my cousins are in my prayers. I was always so grateful for the love and support and prayers of all my loved ones when my dad passed away, and I know that's what carries us through. Another encouragement I have is that Jesus doesn't require us to endure anything that He wasn't willing to endure, and even experienced grief at the death of His dear friend Lazarus. There's a promise in there, too: just like Lazarus, there will come a day when our loved ones are raised up again, and we'll all be together again, with Jesus. Now that's something to look forward to!

This photo is sort of unrelated, but I like it so I'm putting it in tonight. Next time there are fireworks, Frenchy gets to see them from above.

Go ahead and drool . . .

The black raspberries are a bit late this year, but what they lack in punctuality, they make up for in abundance.

This morning I made an Independence Day brunch for the six of us, and Mom and Pop in law stopped by to show us their take of black raspberries. Just in time, as it turns out, to join us in our brunch, and so they contributed some black raspberries to have on the whole wheat waffles I made.

Last night Andy and I picked just over six quarts, so I got two quarts of juice from them for making some jelly! One of my most favorite things to do . . .

We gave peas a chance . . .

The other day I picked peas. I planted a bunch in an earthbox on the deck, and then as an afterthought, we stuck in a couple short rows in the garden, in between cucumber plants. So the other day I got maybe a pint, which only seemed like a couple of mouthfuls, so I stored them in the fridge.
So today I picked peas, and got just over another pint, so altogether a generous quart, and we had fresh peas with our spaghetti for supper. Very, very tasty. I'm hoping to get a fall crop in, and plan on planting many, many more rows. Perhaps we can put them in where the green beans are now, and plant them when the beans are done . . . if not, I will FIND SOMEWHERE to plant them.
We have tons of blossoms on our cucumber plants, and our tomato plants are huge. The green beans are setting blossoms and are starting to form teeny little beans. Our potato plants are doing well, and are onions are pretty decent. The spinach is done, and tomorrow I'm going to see if the beets are pickling size.

Friday Suprise

E2 was helping me with chores on Friday. I sent him out to feed the patriarch of our herd, Golly. Golly's first doe born here has been quite the milker this year. Ginger is giving over 8# a day, so we are quite pleased with 'Gollinator the Pollinator.' So back to the story. E2 took Golly's food out to him, but before he could get all the way out to Golly's house, or 'The Love Shack' as we call it sometimes, he came charging back into the barn and said, 'Mom! There are chicks - baby chickens - out under Golly's house!' Sure enough, one of our Silver Spangled Hamburg hens had sneaked off and hatched a brood under Golly's house. With the threats posed by the roosters, the other hens, the one-eyed cat that has been hanging around, the skunk we have been smelling at night, raccoons and other things we are blissfully ignorant of, we adopted them to the mud room. There are a nice dozen chicks, and we are hoping that they are hens. Time will tell . . .

The stormy weather seems to have settled down. The clouds were pretty neat last night, though.

middle of june

You've heard about the flooding already, I'm sure. And the tornadoes and various other severe weather events that have been in our area. My brother-in-law said it best: This weather in 2008 is like an abusive, drunken husband. It beats the living daylights out of us one day, then the next is all repentant and lovey-dovey. The weather this week has been as near to perfect as it can get; small consolation, I'm sure, to the folks who are having to salvage their lives and homes from the muck and the mire in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Columbus Junction and on down the Mississippi.

By God's mercy we have escaped harm from the weather so far at Amon Eruanna. The garden is doing great, and the green beans we had to replant, due to a varmint mole, are all up and growing. A blessing in disguise, as it will extend the season and I will have lots to can.

I'm hoping to wander out to the timber to get some black raspberries here in the next few days. There is not much that is better than black raspberry jelly.

I've been working on some beaded blackberry socks the past few weeks, getting a row or two in now and then. I wasn't going to use the beads, but I can't get the pattern to work without them, and now they are really growing on me. Wish I had more time for them, though. They are made with Tofutsies yarn, which is awesome because its made from soft wool, Soysilk, some other fiber, and chitin, which is derived from the shells of lobster and shrimp and such, and is naturally antibacterial! Not that my feet stink, mind you . . .

and to conclude kidding

Little Ginger kidded this afternoon, a little buck. Since its mom and dad-in-laws anniversary today, they got the privilege of naming him, and so here we have "Doc." He looks really similar to Piper, we think.

I've been learning about cheesemaking, and have made some chevre and also some different flavor combinations to add to the chevre. My favorites have been garlic and chive, and pineapple and walnut. The garden, children, kids, grass and weeds have all been growing. Not much else to add at this point . . .

and just where have you been?

Spring is in full swing at Amon Eruanna. Hubby and I have been busy, he tilling and I planting. We have planted zucchini, tomatoes, peas, radishes, onions, spinach, beets, chinese cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes, green beans, lettuce and carrots. Quite a bit of the cool weather stuff went into earth boxes on the back deck, along with a couple of cherry tomato plants and two jalapeño plants and one habanero plant. Hubby tilled up a patch in the barnyard and put a cattle panel fence around it. E1 planted gourds, watermelon, pumpkins, cantaloupe and let me stick in a few winter squash plants in her patch by Shep's pen.



Also, we removed the landscaping gravel from the little bed south of our front porch and put actual dirt in there, nice barnyard mulch and black dirt . . . the good part being that we were able to preserve and keep that nice climbing rose bush in the process. I want to plant a climbing honeysuckle vine on the opposite side to compliment it, and the children have all picked out a plant from Reha's greenhouse to plant in that bed as well.



Of course, before the past week's flurry of tilling and sowing, there was the call of the timber and the precious morsels to be found there, more valuable than truffles around these here parts. We found some little grays, which we incorporated into a sauce for a tender venison loin that we roasted. The big yellows were dipped in home-cultured buttermilk, flour, and fried in canola oil and butter. Oh, yummy!



All of this pictures in this post are of the wildflowers and choice fungus that can be found in our prairie and woodland here at Amon Eruanna. I took a couple of blissful afternoons to take it all in while 'shrooming.

Keeping busy

Our cousins from Des Moines were over this past weekend, and we kept busy in the kitchen, as well as fit in time to fix a water leak at the rental and problems with the well over there as well. We also managed to fit in some time for knitting and Guitar Hero. There is just never enough time in the day . . .

Here is A's secret blend of spices and good things he used to make his tasty smoked venison sausage. Mmmm, it turned out good!



And here are some of the links drying on the rack before being hung in the smoker:


Then, on Monday we awoke to this crazy pheasant in the neighbors' yard; he spent nearly an hour wandering up and down the fenceline before A went out to get a closer shot of him, then he flew up and away.



Then yesterday, E1 was home sick with a fever. We were in the kitchen and saw a commotion in the front yard. I think this is a broad-winged hawk, that's the best guess I have anyway. Felt kind of bad for the dove, but I figured the hawk needs to eat too. The impressive part was that the dove was nearly the size of the hawk, and yet when I got too close for comfort, the hawk was able to pick that dove up and fly away with it!

movie I'd like to see

Those who really know me won't be shocked by this, but I really want to see the Ben Stein movie that just came out: Expelled

Usually around here there is little time for movies, but this one looks really compelling. The only other things I've been watching lately are the Jane Austen movies on Public Television that I've DVR'd.

I'm late for milking, but I wanted to get that in for the day. I just watched the trailers online for Expelled and they are funny and intriguing.

I also wanted to say that the barn swallows and the house wrens are back. It is truly spring now. The barn swallows are favorites of mine. The house wrens are nice, but are aggressive little buggers. Yesterday was the first that I have seen of the swallows, and this morning I hear a wren singing.

Earthquake

Well, I have to give my account of this morning's earthquake. I figure if Bonnie Lucas on 1040 WHO from Des Moines is able to give a creditable account, so can I.

The epicenter was 240 miles south of Chicago, near West Salem IL. So we are closer to this location than Des Moines is. It was in the range of 5.2 - 5.4.

I awoke to hear Eddie, the pet parakeet, flapping frantically around his cage just shortly after 4:40 our time this morning. Then it sounded like something was running across the roof, or rolling across it. I got Eddie settled back down and went back to bed. Then this morning I read of the earthquake, and it all made sense. It was a relief to realize that there weren't huge raccoons or possums or Heaven knows what else chasing each other across our rooftops!

I wonder what the barn dwellers thought. I wonder how my friends farther south fared, or what my brother and his wife in Chicago experienced. Earthquakes in the Midwest are so rare . . .

It will rain tomorrow, but

We've had two whole days of dry roads! The photo above was from the last round of thunderstorms we had last week; there were even tornado warnings for closeby communities, but we just got a bit of rain and wind. Doesn't sound like there was much damage where funnel clouds were reported either. I just wonder - I never remember this many tornadoes when I was younger growing up in the area. I think maybe there are more sensitive technologies available to detect and track these storms.

I'm feeling blue like the reflection in the road today. No particular reason, I guess. There's plenty to be thankful for, just have the blahs. It was in the mid 70's today at Amon Eruanna, but the wind was terrible. Wind just grates on my nerves! Gentle breezes are tolerable, but this was constant strong wind, rattling everything!

My mom went back to work yesterday, just over a month after having her hip replaced. Isn't that amazing! Proves the power of prayer, something that is proven time and again I know, but its just cool when its reaffirmed in a so tangible and obvious way. She has healed up with no complications, and is moving around better than I've seen in a couple of years.

We now have two milk stands running in the milking parlor, and have cut chore time down considerably. The does like it because they get their udders empties and bellies filled without having to wait as long.

Switchfoot is playing in a nearby city tonight; as nearby as any of my favorite bands have ever come, and we can't go. Maybe that explains my blues. I had the chance to see them in a city a bit farther away this past fall, with my pal Roxanne, and they put on such a good show, and they have the best rapport with the audience as I have ever seen at an event like that. They were touring with Relient K and Ruth, all good, good music. Hopefully they will visit a town near Amon Eruanna again soon.

winter melt, spring sprung

This past Sunday we took a family trip to Galena, IL. One of our favorite places in the whole world is Abe's Spring Street Guest House. We wanted to stop in and say hi to Sandy and Charles, and to show the 4E's where A and I went for our honeymoon. They had a cool marionette exhibit in the Stone House Gallery, and of course we couldn't visit without purchasing some mugs that Charles had crafted.

What better place to encounter spring than on Spring Street? Above is a neat, melty snow tunnel. Below, a melty pumpkin. I wonder if seeds from the pumpkin will wiggle out and leap off, and if Charles will then have a pumpkin plant there this summer, winding its way around the stone bench?A and I had a great time with the 4E's, and after the visit to the Stone House, a peek in the window of the Annex, we went downtown in search of some lunch. A tasty lunch was had, as well as a trip through a few favorite shops and the candy store.

I'll leave you with milkweed and crocus:

Never a dull moment

Goats are smart animals. But are they this smart? DH was heading up to the barn for milking when he called me on the walkie talkie. Mabel the goose is sitting on Sissy's back, he said. Sure enough, I looked out the living room window and there it was.

Look at this picture! Does it not seem that Ginger and Erika are having a good laugh? Doesn't it seem like Baby is coaching the goose? Doesn't it appear that Sissy is fighting to keep a straight face? One could almost believe they were trying to set us up, to mess with us.

The two-legged kids like to watch a show on Nickelodeon called 'Back at the Barnyard,' where the animals act like teenage people when the farmer or other humans aren't looking. I don't like it because they give the male 'cows' functional udders, and that's just wrong. But the antics of our herd sure make you give it a second thought . . .

Ducky

In addition to the hooded mergansers, I've discovered another duck on our pond. Its a ring-necked duck and I did get a photo of it. Also, I've decided that I need a faster zoom lens. But it let me crack off a couple shots before it and the mergansers took off. I crept up on it from the island and had to shoot through the reeds and the willows. I think with time, sun, and no help from the children I could get a little better quality pictures.

We hiked to the timber and found a couple of antler sheds, and a few more signs of spring.

And here's another view of Amon Eruanna:

ice balls

So, yesterday when E4 and I were ready to go out and do chores, it was thundering and pouring down rain. We decided to wait a few minutes to see if we could make it out without getting soaked, and it turned into either sleet or hail, not sure what the deciding distinction is between the two. We ventured out into it, and it hurt! E4 kept whimpering, ow, ow, OW! and I told her to run for it and get up to the barn and out of the weather. By the time the milking was done, so was the weather, for the time being. Today was sunny and warmer. The joys of a temperate climate!

ah, spring!

Yes, its been a while since I've posted. Sorry to all my faithful viewers; we've worked our way out of the muck and mire and are now in spring. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago; its an ice jam on the river nearby. Note the camper behind the trees!

My mom had hip replacement surgery a couple of weeks ago, so I've been trying to maintain two households. Its been fun to help her out, though, and we're so excited to see her getting around better.

The migrating birds have all come back - robins, bluebirds, grackles, herons, and this year a special treat - there have been hooded mergansers on our pond! They are quite striking. I haven't been able to snap a photo yet, but here is a link to what they look like - http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Hooded_Merganser.html

The goat kids are all growing well, and we are settled back into a peaceful routine. Today we are getting new fence around the barnyard!

More to come . . .

In like a . . . ?

Yesterday and today were so gorgeous, weren't they? Very springlike, highs flirting with the 60's . . . we got the goatbabies moved out to the barn, so they have their own pens (Mangus in one, the girls in the other) and lots of room for running, bouncing and frolicking. Of course, the ever inquisitive and adventurous Piper found her way out through a hole in the fencing, and E1 arrived in the barn to feed the babies in time to catch Ginger, a yearling doe from Erika last year, asserting to her little sister who is higher in the chain of command. Hopefully Piper learned a lesson, hubby fixed the hole and all is well.

Tonight the cold front moved in with much wind, lightning and thunder. We lost power for about an hour, so hubby was pleased since he got to run the generator. The temperature has dropped, with the promise of three more inches of snow by morning. The past few days got rid of most of what was there, but since this is Iowa, the land of ever-changing and unpredictable weather, we'll have some more. But we've been hearing robins, bluebirds and killdeer singing, so winter is losing ground. Spring is around the corner.

So is mud. No, in fact mud is here, and there, and in the corners, all over the van and truck, and there is nothing left of our roads but the suggestion of a muddy strip between the ditches. The poor folks who are our new renters are having a challenging acclimation to country life, I'm afraid. But they seem like good people who aren't afraid of a challenge.

You know, I don't have a recent picture per se to post; E4 had a birthday this past week, though, but nothing postable. So I will post a picture of the tufted titmouse who visited us last year. S/he has made a return visit, just like I've been praying for, but I've no new pictures of it. So this is from last year.

and again . . .

Another snow day. My hubby was going to work when he got a call that my fil and mil are stuck in a truck-hood-high drift east of us, so he went to go help them instead. Anyone that has seen my fil's work truck will be impressed with the size of that drift; he is a traveling mechanic and has a heavy equipment repair truck. The east road was the one that was fine last night . . . actually, both the roads out of Amon Eruanna were passable last night, but we got a little more snow and the wind kicked up again. So the 4E's and I are at home together again. At least we got out last night for a bit.

I want to add that it is insanely cold outside. I am NOT looking forward to walking to the barn this morning. Usually it is warmer and a little more protected inside, but getting there will undoubtedly be painfully cold.

The photo above is one my hubby took on the north road on the way to work before the snowplow came through. We've had enough snow that the ditches are full, and now there is no barrier to the blowing snow, so it creeps across the road and drifts. Most cars, vans, buses, and trucks can't take that on. 4WD is a requirement. Which is why we are home. All together. Again.

ssssnnnnoooooowwww dddaaaaazzzzeeeeeuuuhhh

From the snow we had on Sunday, we are still waiting for the roads to be decent enough to get out. So, here we are, no school, getting sick of each other and staring at another potential system coming through on the weekend. At least hubby can get out; he drives his 4WD pickup out. He's brought back supplies for us, and valiantly braved the drifts and made it to work twice and back once. Hopefully he makes it back OK tonight, as he has promised to take us out for supper. OUT! FOR SUPPER!

I know I promised more pictures of the baby goats, but haven't got that done yet. Hubby took the camera today to get pictures of the drifts. The babies are doing fine, still in the mudroom.

I've filled all the birdfeeders and have been enjoying trying out my zoom lens. This poor nuthatch blinked for just a second, but that's all it took to lose that seed. Fortunately, there were plenty more there for him. The feeders are busy with dozens of goldfinches, a pair of hairy woodpeckers, a couple pairs of downy woodpeckers, a red-bellied woodpecker, purple and house finches, several pairs of cardinals, blue jays, juncoes and chickadees. I'm hoping for a return of a couple of rarer visitors, being the red-breasted nuthatch and the tufted titmouse, but time will tell. Haven't seen them yet this year.

Still cold

It is still pretty cold, and we are going to get more snow.

I'm consoling myself with this picture I took of a rainbow over our prairie. Last summer was pretty stormy, and this happened to be one of the tamer showers we had. And it was a morning rainbow, something I haven't witnessed too often myself. It was 'originating' right in the prairie!

The baby goats are doing great, still enjoying the relative warmth of the mud room. Even Mangus, even though he is a month old. But we have yet to construct pens for the babies in the barn, and it seems too cold anyway. We don't keep them toasty warm in the mud room, though; it gets down to 50 F at night in there, but we don't want them to be pansies either!

I'll try to get more pictures up of the babies soon . . .

Piper!

Aunty Shahan suggested Piper, from the Latin name for black pepper, and that's just what we were after. So Erika's does are Nutmeg and Piper. Thanks!

We are home on a snow day again. I'm sending a photo from July . . . Picnics in the park, Kool-Aid . . . ahhhh. I miss July.

Baby's babies

Tell Me Baby, otherwise know as Baby, delivered her kids this afternoon shortly after two. At least she had the decency to deliver in the afternoon! We are grateful.

The one on the left we won't keep. We can't keep them all! But the one on the right we have named Cocoa Bean, after Baby's mom Cocoa, whom we lost last year. We are tickled to have a descendant of Cocoa's that so closely resembles her.

So in addition to two more does, we got around 12" of snow! The two legged kids were home from school today, and we still don't know about tomorrow. The roads are pretty tough to pass right now, and the wind is supposed to blow a bit over night.

We have a name for at least one of Erika's does: The brown one we'd like to call Nutmeg, since her coloring resembles a nutmeg nut. The black one I'd like to call Pepper, and keep with the spice naming theme we have going for Erika's babies (e.g. Ginger from last year), but the rest of us are not sure they like that name. Below is another picture of Baby's babies.

Two new doelings

Two little doelings from our Erika! No names yet, but I'm sure that will come along. The little brown one is really fiesty, as you can tell from the one picture. It was hard to get her to be still for a picture. The bigger black one isn't too far behind. The first one born was a little doe that was born dead, unfortunately. But then came the black one, followed directly by the little brown one. Lil brownie weighs 5 1/2 # and lil blackie 7 1/2#. Momma Erika is doing fine.
The two-legged kids got a snow day home from school today. Can we say cabin fever? The weather is pitiful here today. Yesterday we had heavy snowfall, at least 4". Counties directly north and west got up to 13". This morning we had thunderstorms and fog. Now we are having fog, and tomorrow we are supposed to get more heavy snow. We are wondering if the next big storm system we get our Baby going. She has the same due date as Erika, so any day now . . .
Compared to last year, this has gone so well. If all goes without a hitch with Baby, I think I'll party till I'm purple! Seriously, I know for sure the hardships of last year have taught us to appreciate the blessings of this one so very much!

When its 2:30 AM and Stormy . . .

you can just about bet that one of your pregnant does will decide its her time. Pictures to come later . . .

Blizzard Warning!

They don't heed the weather, though, do they? The wind and the snow roar on over the hill, and around the barn, and they just snuggle in and nap.

It is getting cold, now! The children were dimissed from school three hours early today, due to the potential of 25-35 mph winds (gusts to 45!) and snowfall. Hope my hubby can get home before dark!

Yesterday the good man enclosed the NE corner of our barn and that is now our milking parlor! It will be so great to do the milking in a controlled environment, no sparrows, no chickens. It will be so much easier to keep clean! All that's left to do is install countertops, shelves and cupboards. Hubby spent until after ten last night at it, then left to do some maintenance for work. Isn't he something?