Where has the summer gone? It's hard to believe it's already August- and even harder to believe I haven't posted in 2 weeks! Time has really gotten away from me lately... but the garden is officially finished and I have pickles and preserves in the pantry and sweet corn in the freezer. Our pumpkins look to be right on time, despite all the rain we've had. (And are still having.) Hopefully with all the moisture in the ground we will have a gorgeous Fall this year.
For a while there was hardly anything new to tell on my blog, but so much is going on right now, I don't know where to start!
For a while there was hardly anything new to tell on my blog, but so much is going on right now, I don't know where to start!
How about I start at the chicken coop... (does that surprise you? LOL)
Two of my Silkie girls are on the fast track to motherhood- Gertie's eggs should start hatching at any time now....
..... and Clementine's should hatch this weekend.
Gertie has 9 eggs under her, and Clementine? Well... uh... 15. There's a story behind that- she started out on 8 eggs- I checked her nest at 2 weeks and found 12. This was very puzzling to me since normally a broody hen stops laying. I watched a lot closer for the next couple of days and found the problem- my sweet (but ditsy) little Sadie had been climbing into the nest with Clementine and laying her eggs while poor Clementine had to just sit there and take it! Needless to say, Sadie has been moved to give Clementine her space. How many of the 15 will hatch? Who knows! She's having a hard time trying to cover all of the eggs with her little fuzzy bottom (*squeal*) but somehow she manages. To add further drama, Belle has decided to be broody again, but how many eggs do you think she's on?
Baby is a year-old ewe...
.... but they're slowly warming up to the newbies. And since we are still keeping them in separate pastures for right now, they are not having to share any of their meals, so for now all is well.
You guessed it- zero.
She just can't get this thing figured out....*sigh*...
And if that's not enough cuteness for one day, feast your eyes on these sweethearts-
Meet Baby, Molly and Dolly, our new woollies!
Baby is a year-old ewe...
and Molly and Dolly are 5 month-old ewes....
Daisy and Edie are not really happy about sharing the sheepie spotlight around here...
.... but they're slowly warming up to the newbies. And since we are still keeping them in separate pastures for right now, they are not having to share any of their meals, so for now all is well.Several of you asked about my pickle preserving and the recipe I used- I actually bought some bags of spice mixes at Walmart called Mrs. Wages. Hubby likes the dill but the bread and butter are my favorite, and although it called for a lot of sugar, the pickles have a really good flavor.
I have so much more to show and tell, but right now I'm off to try and catch up with all my blog friends.... I've missed you and can't wait to see what you've been up to!
Paula,
ReplyDeleteThe silkies are so cute! I can't wait to see the chicks. I love the first photo with the beautiful green grass! Everything looks so lush. We are in the midst of an extreme drought. All the pastures around here are brown!
Blessings,
Lorilee
Your silkies are cute hens. The farm looks so green and vibrant! Have fun with your little sheepies. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's to lots of chicks and lambs! So glad you're back and that your garden turned out great.
ReplyDeleteThe sheep are so sweet and I love the seeing the silkies. Your farm looks so green and pretty. That must be a good feeling to have pickles and corn put up and pumpkins in the patch. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteThe new sheep are so precious!!! They just look so soft. The silkies are so funny on their eggs. You are so lucky to be getting rain....everything looks so green.
ReplyDeleteOh, Sweetie, those lambs are adorable!!!!! I just love them. I bet Daisy and Edie will warm up to them soon. They are too cute....
ReplyDeleteHow does that work with brooding hens? Will she continue to sit until they all hatch if they don't all hatch the same day? Will she move those chicks out if the other eggs don't hatch? Should the poor little gal-I think of her as Prissy from Warner Bros. cartoons-move her little silky bottom over and sit on those real eggs? You really do have a lot of drama there in the coop! Thanks for sharing this today. You really brought a smile to my face! :)
Next year--pumpkins for me, too. Moving our zucchini and squash out to the lagoon site has proven to be successful so Mike says yes to pumpkins. The grands will be thrilled! Sounds like your garden rebounded well. How did the tomatoes turn out? Our cukes died out--I think too much rain--so no refridgerator pickles for us. *sigh*
OMGoodness! So glad to see a post from you! Your little cinnamon Silkie makes me want more fuzzy bottoms!
ReplyDeleteSo funny to hear you say that your garden is done. Mine is just getting started.
Hi Paula, I LOVE your new woolies! Oh I could just snuggle up and kiss them on those precious faces, lol!!!! The mommas are so cute on the eggs too, I always love coming to visit your farm:)Hope you have a great day!!!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, the summer is almost over. Time flies when you are having fun!
ReplyDeleteYou new sheep look very cute. And the chicks are as cute as ever.
Hey Paula,
ReplyDeleteI see you have broody girls too.
Your farm picture is beautiful.
I use the Mrs. Wages kosher dill pickle mix. It is easy and fast and has just the right amount of spices.
I also pickle okra using it,but not as much pickle mix in it. The men folks around here like it, I haven't developed a taste for the pickled okra yet.
Good luck to Gertie and Clementine's new brood.
Have a great day.
Pam
Daisy and Eddie you'll always be the boss but Molly and Dolly are so very cute.
ReplyDeleteWe're sure to have a lovely with all the rain we've had this year. I'm so excited!!
Paula, I am so happy to see your post. Like you, I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks. Busy time and not much to blog about, but I hope to get a post in today. I hope you have good luck with your silkies' hatches. Baby, Dolly, and Molly are so cute. Daisy and Edie will soon accept them, then you will have a nice little herd. Are there any plans for a ram in the works? (grin) Sounds like you had a nice garden even with all the rain. I have used Mrs. Wages lots of times. Be sure and share pictures of the new chickies when they hatch. Have a good day. Winona
ReplyDeleteI see from the comment count that I was not the only one that missed seeing you post! I love the Silkies. I don't know one chicken from another so I am getting an education about chickens and just how cute they are at the same time! Those B&B pickles are mine if you ever want to do a giveaway. Can you mail those things?? Is your garden done? We are just getting geared up with our snap beans. Zucchini and squash petered out a while ago but basil is just not starting to bolt. Tomatoes are heirlooms and are going full guns right now. It's our best year ever for our little city garden. Wahoo. Glad you are alive and doing well even if you are too busy to blog!
ReplyDeletePaula, the farm is looking so beautiful, just love that picture.
ReplyDeleteMy chickens are just starting to lay eggs, but I can't catch them in the act, so how do I know which hen is laying? All the eggs look the same and I am thinking it's just one chick laying, but don't know.
We're sure missed you, Paula! Now, just one question...can I move in with you? Country living is calling my name!
ReplyDeleteBaby, Molly, and Dolly are so cute! I love that one is named Baby. We had a goat named Baby and she was so sweet.
ReplyDeleteWe have two new chicks. Yes, only two. She had a nest of 8 eggs, but a rat snake got in and ate four, and then only two of the four that were left hatched:( She's a proud mama.
After this summer of rain, my cucumbers are just starting to produce. Guess we planted in the spring but will have a fall garden!
Those Silkies are the cutest things ever!!!!
ReplyDeletehi...just found you and love your blog! i signed on to follow. you might want to have a look at mine too!
ReplyDeleteI hope your hens have good luck with their hatches! The sheep are pretty too!
ReplyDeleteoh paula-
ReplyDeleteI've never tagged before, but I wanted to try it with some of the awesome people I read about on blogs.. I think you do some pretty awesome stuff, which do you think are the best??
Karen
http://justtwiddlin.blogspot.com/2009/08/ive-been-tagged.html
I am just trying to get some tomatoes to go red and you are all done!! Please don't mention fall yet. I love it, but I'm not ready! Can't wait to see what your chick total is when the nests are empty.
Just stopping by to say HI! Things are busy here as well. Hope you can stop by for a visit soon. :)
ReplyDeleteMy silkies actually steal eggs from each other.I have seen them rolling eggs out of another hen's nest into their own. They are so desperate to hatch out and tend chicks, and they are the BEST at being mama hens.You will be having so much fun and so many more fuzzy bottoms pretty soon.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on getting all your harvesting and preserving done. Our season for that is just beginning, isn't it wonderful? Tiring, but wonderful.
Love the pictures and I can't wait to see more of the new chicks when they are hatched. Your new woolies are adorable. Take Care :)
ReplyDeleteThose lambs are so sweet! How lucky you are to have the space for them. I'm glad to see you back. I've missed your posts.
ReplyDeleteHahahaaaa....I love the chicken stories!!!hahahahaa...hughugs
ReplyDeleteOh, I've been behind too, Paula, so don't feel bad!
ReplyDeleteAlot has been going on at the farm, hasn't it? Your woolies are SO cute! The two sticking their heads through the fence just look like they should be talking to us or something!
It sounds like your garden has rewarded you well!
Have a great evening, Paula!
Tammy
You have a beautiful farm with lots of cuties.I wish, I could have a few sheep, just look at those cute little faces and big dark eyes.
ReplyDeleteThe rain has really been an issue this year, hard to get the hay cut and baled. The pastures are muddy and keep pulling off the horses shoes, however, everything is blanketed in green. The gardens are growing, and so are the weeds, LOL.
We have a little bit until we can start to harvest our crops, but I enjoy early evening weedings inside the garden fence, where all is quiet, except the songs of the birds overhead.
Ya know, we have one broody chicken who has been laying on eggs all summer long, but no babies ;( not sure what to make of this.) She always has at least 10 eggs under her, wonder, if one of the other hens isn't eating the eggs...?
Hi Paula, when you don't post in a bit of time, I can always bet you are up to your ears working! What's the lastest buzz on the bees? Your little hens are so cute. I love the collection of sheep you are getting! Blessings,Kathleen
ReplyDeleteSweet farm critters! Darling pictures!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Maryjane
Hi Paula,
ReplyDeleteThe photo of your homestead is beautiful....you have such a pretty little corner of the world!! The chickens are so cute, you had me chuckling with their stories....can't wait to see the biddies. Welcome to Molly and Dolly. They are so pretty!!
The pickles sound yummy!!!!
Take care :)
Tracey
Love the photos! I agree-the summer has gone by too fast!
ReplyDeletePaula I have missed your posts!! I am so happy to see your new sheep, they are sooo sweet. And I use the Mrs. Wages too. YUMMY!!!! I haven't used it for pickles yet but I do love the salsa mix.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see all those little Fraker chicklets, and to find out how many of the 15 actually hatch. Silly hens!
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with Molly and Dolly. Adorable little girls. Sounds like you have been incredibly busy, getting the garden all in and pickled up. I was just saying that in August every year all my flower baskets and pots tend to start looking a bit weary. Maybe they're tired of the long days and are looking forward to fall as well....
WONDERFUL post! I loved the hen stories and those little ewes are precious. I haven't been able to visit or post much this summer....was gone for two months (daughter's house in AZ--and no computer) and then when I returned I had my grandson here. I am way behind with everyone! Just visited Floyd Co Va for a wonderful three days and will be posting those pics soon...keep checking my blog over the next couple of weeks for that! Glad all is well at Fraker Farm!
ReplyDeleteMarie
Aww... it sounds like I need to get some silkies so they'll hatch me out some more chicks!!
ReplyDeleteI love the new sheep babies! They are too cute!!
I hear ya on where in the world has the summer gone. I can't believe it's August. July around here didn't even reach a 90 degree day!!
Our chickens have evidently paid attention to my reminders "casserole, fricassee, soup" when they were not laying eggs. Got 7 today so only one slacker left in our coop. Your broody silkies are so fluffy and taking care of their eggs - will be interesting to see how many chickies are hatched. The new sheep are beauties - I love my goats but can appreciate a nice sheep from afar! Glad you got so much done - much of my summer To Do is now on a list saying Not Done
ReplyDeleteHi Paula, I love your chickens and those lambs are so cute! Glad to hear your garden turned out good this year!
ReplyDelete~Ann
Ahhhh,those fluffy bottoms!!!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted you to know-you have made my day by your comments and your posts. I just love you right to pieces.
Debra
I just love your pictures! We just got five new chicks and are having such fun watching them! Two of our older hens have retired from egg laying and are now enjoying their retirement! They have worked so hard for us, they deserve it! Your sheep are beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteYour farm is "picture Perfect"!
ReplyDeleteWell Miss Paula your little hens still think it's spring now don't they? LOL!! They are sooooo cute with their fuzzy little bottoms all acting like little mothers!!!
ReplyDeleteI too have been so busy with stuff that I can't even begin to keep up with life let alone my blogging friends! Your babies are sure to be here by now!
I love the photos of your place it is immaculate and so perfectly manicured. My father keeps his like that, somehow??? I can't seem to ever get that mowing thing down. LOL!! My Mother is coming today and she will see the knee high weeds that have suddenly appeared in the driveway...yes in the driveway!!She will freak out!! All the rain has made it very hard to keep under control. At least I have the weather to blame it on.
The new girls are lovely too! I want some sheep, oh honey???
My hens are just starting to lay. We hadn't made boxes for them yet. We thought it would be another month. They won't lay in the cardboard box with straw that my son put out. They insist on laying them on the little cabinet rack that we put in to help them get up off the floor!
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, I'm a first timer!
Your silkies are darling! They are such good mommas. Can't wait to see the babies. You new woolies are adorable! They look so soft. You have been busy.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Just the cutest hens ever!! And the woolies are so sweet! Can't wait to see the chicks when they hatch. So glad that you've got the garden done and are posting again. I've missed you!
ReplyDeleteHi, Paula...haven't checked your blog lately so was delighted to read your post....your silkies are so sweet.....and everyone is right, how green does your farm look or what!
ReplyDeletePaula,
ReplyDeleteYou have such a lovely farm. I love the chicks and lambs. I just adore farm animals. I wish I could live on a farm and raise chickens, goats, lambs, and have some horses. It sounds as though you are living the kind of life I would like to live, too. Have a great weekend.
What great pictures -- life at its best! I was raised on a farm in Maine and made sure my children spent summers there, but they have all become city kids and my grandkids have no idea what a farm is since, alas, our family farm has been sold now that my mother is too old to take care of it. People have no idea how much work farming is although it is a clean and pleasant way to live.
ReplyDeleteI want to give your woolies a big ole smooch on their snouts!!! They are precious!! All we have a re dog snouts to smooch on....they tolerate it but prefer a good tooshy scratch.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I want a woolie too. I'm in love!
ReplyDeleteDropping by from FarmChick's blog. Your silkie's are very cute! My grandpa raises poultry too! Off to check out more of your blog!
ReplyDeleteHow are the new silkies doin Paula? Are Molly and Dolly fittin in well now?
ReplyDeleteSo your fair starts soon. I think it's better when they are closer to thee end of Sept coz it's alot more fun and easier on the animals and poultry when it's cooler.
Hey; have an awesome night!
Btw: your place is neat as a PIN. SO BEAUTIFUL! I've been scrolling through lots of pictures!!