Sheep Do Not Care

So, since we got into the sheep farming thing we've learned a few things.  When we got these guys, they were tiny.

But like all baby creatures... sheep grow. From cute, cuddly little lambs, into... well sheep. 

Some of the things we've learned along the way: 

1. Sheep are curious. 

2. Sheep like companionship. 

3. Sheep express their curiosity with their mouths. 

4. Sheep are curious. 

5. Sheep like to taste everything you are holding/carrying. 

6. Sheep love to be where you don't want them and do what you don't want them to do. 

7. Sheep are curious. 

Yeah... these two have helped do lots of things. They help feed all the other animals every morning - if by helping you mean ramming the bucket of food with their heads repeatedly until you drop it and spill food everywhere... food they're not supposed to eat because it's for chickens and you don't want them to - see #6.

They love to help "dad" in the barn with his nest box project. If by helping you mean take the knife out of his pocket while he's drilling, eat the drill after he takes the knife away, attempt to eat the hammer while he's nailing, and standing in the middle of whatever he's doing... see #5

Sheep love to be near you. If by being near you means sneaking up behind you to head butt you... in the butt. See #2. 

Sheep just want to help. If by helping you mean standing in the trailer of the tractor so nobody can go anywhere... 

Yes, sheep are a handful, that's for sure. So, when the neigbor calls next spring for us to come get a baby... I'm sure we'll say yes, without thinking twice. 

Bees Love Water

I never truly realized how attracted to water bees are. We installed a water collection system on the garage. It allows the water to be funneled into the collection barrels. Sometimes, there is water standing on the tops of these barrels.
Yesterday, our bees discovered this water source... and made FULL use of it.
It was pretty awesome to be able to get so close to them, since bees that are not near the hive are not at all aggressive. I was able to get up close and personal for a few shots. Enjoy!

Growing

It's growth time! Everything around here seems to be getting bigger every day. We're expanding the rabbitry today, just to provide more room for our rabbits! The babies are all growing so fast, and they're now ready to leave their mammas. Something I'm sure the moms are ready for! Just imagine 8 little furballs constantly sitting on your head in 80 degree weather... no thanks!

The gardens are also growing well, I actually have been harvesting kale for the rabbits, shallots, lettuce and some other things. It is truly lovely to be able to munch on a salad from your own yard.

Today's projects also include putting turnips, okra, cabbage, and more tomatoes in the ground. Lots going on, lots to do!

Southern Fried Porkchop Omelette

Yesterday was one of those mornings where I really didn't want to do much in the way of breakfast. However, the girls have been giving me a half dozen eggs a day, and I'm running out of places to put them...so I figured omelettes might be in order.

I rummaged about in the fridge looking for meat, because you know and omelette isn't the same without some meaty goodness... I found some pork chops I had made for dinner, score! 

For each omelette: 

1/3 med boneless pork chop, chopped into bite sized pieces (whole chop divided into three portions)

2-3 large eggs (depending on the appetite) PER omelette

1 tbsp milk

Garlic powder (home dehydrated/ground) to taste

Onion powder (home dehydrated/ground) to taste

Salt & Pepper to taste (freshly ground is best) 

Chives - fresh is best, mine are dehydrated from last year's garden as this years crop just won't grow. 

Shredded cheese of your choice - I used Extra Sharp Cheddar this time

1-2 Tbsp bacon grease for cooking

To start I added just a bit of the bacon grease to a non-stick pan.  I fried the pork chop bits until they browned a bit. 

Who doesn't love pork fried in bacon grease? 

 Next I mixed the eggs, spices, and milk together in a bowl, just like scrambled eggs.

Make sure to mix well! 

 Pour your egg mixture gently into the pan over the pork bits. Swirl your pan, or shake to make sure the pork is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Look at the yummy, just look at it!!!

Shred your cheese (or use preshredded) onto the omelette once it is cooked nearly through. If it looks like the photo above, you're just about ready for cheese. You want your egg to be moveable, but not liquid when you add the cheese. Continue cooking like this just until cheese melts. Then, flip one side of the omelette onto the other.

This doesn't have to be perfect... notice the holes in mine?

Now, this is where I sometimes mess up, and wind up with cheesy, meaty, scrambled eggs... but aside from a couple of holes, this one turned out just fine. Shred shome cheese on top, and a sprinkle of chives and cook just until cheese melts.

Oh I wish you could taste this! 

Plate up and serve immediately! Enjoy the yum, and prepare for compliments! 

You can use any combination of meats/veggies you choose. Just be sure that for raw/cold meat you cook or heat thoroughly before adding your eggs. I love using leftover veggies too, like sauteed mushrooms, broccoli, or even tomatoes. Make your own combos. Let me know in the comments what your favorite combinations are - so I can try them myself!! 

Honey Harvest 2016

We harvested our honey for the first time this weekend. It was certainly an experience. We've learned a lot about bees in the process too. Roger spent hours researching before he ever cracked the hive.

Once the hive is opened up, there's the removal of the frames. A hive tool is essential for doing this as the bees like to glue those things down nice and tight. 

Then of course you have to get the girls to stop working and drop off the frame.

This is easier said than done. They really like to work, and they're pretty possessive of these frames full of honey. 

A bee brush is a wonderful thing, it helps to move the girls along without harming anyone.

Of course, even after all of that we still had to brush a few off the frames we harvested and cover it all with a towel before they could come inside. I'm just not a fan of honeybees in the kitchen. 

I remember when I was a kid you used to be able to get honey with the comb in it. It was sweet and sticky, and chewy. There was nothing better on a hot summer day than a chunk of comb honey and a tall glass of iced lemonade!

These days all you can find outside of the farmers market or state fair booth is extracted, processed, bland commercial honey. It's nothing like the real thing. For instance, our honey isn't that golden brown color. Nope, this stuff is clear as crystal. Some of the comb is dark, and there are plenty of pollen cells to add color to the mix.

We pulled three frames from the hive, from them we were able to get nearly 12 pounds of pure, sweet, tasty comb honey.

No processing, all we did was scrape the comb from the frame and drop it in the jars.

Once we were finished gathering the frames, we were able to set the hive on the new stand Roger and Charlie made for it.

It was an exciting experience and we learned a lot about how it's going to work here on our farm. We also managed to sell two jars of the stuff before it'd even been out of the hive three hours. Talk about fresh honey!

It seems our little farm has found a way to earn some money, and help us become more sustainable that we were before.

Bunny Explosion!

It's definitely Spring! Two of our lovely rabbit moms have blessed us with great litters.
One of them, Zoe was a test litter just to see if we could add some color to the rabbitry.
We have a lovely little holland lop boy that was purchased as a pet, and then left with us for safe keeping... sooo, since nobody around here eats for free - we put him to work.

So what happens when you cross this guy, with an New Zealand/Californian Mix like this girl?

Sorry for the blur... she was not a willing model when she noticed I was in the next box. 

This is the result of their mating... I'm so amazed/impressed with the beautiful colors. I'm going to gain some lovely pelts from this line!

We've never had a "broken"before, and in this litter we got two!  And just look at those reds?!

Broken gray/black

I'm so excited! 

We even got what I think may be otter colored... 

I love my bunnies!!! 

Farm Happenings

April is always busy around here. We typically have four or five projects going on at the same time.
When we first embarked on this endeavor two years ago, we decided that we preferred to grow food, not lawn. Our plan all along has been to uproot our spacious lawn, and replace it with food for the humans and the bees. For the last two days, Roger has been tilling up two very large garden plots that will be fertilized with rabbit droppings and planted with lots of great food for us and beautiful flowers for the bees.
I've got an entire garden bed dedicated to sunflowers for the beauty, and the ability to feed the whole plant to the rabbits. They basically provide me with free seeds for replanting each year, so it's a true win-win.
Our greenhouse is completely packed with seedlings ready to find homes in the ground... carrots, kale, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, and a half dozen different kinds of herbs! I'm excited for the garden this year as everything is going in the ground on time, and we'll take advantage of the full growing season this year. Last year, we didn't really get started growing until the end of May and didn't have great luck with some of the stuff.

In other news, we had two brand new litters of rabbits this morning, at least 20 babies. I've got one more doe ready to breed in a couple of weeks and then we'll do one more round of all three girls before summer hits us too hard. We should have our last litter of babies mid July, then nothing more until November. Its just too hot for bunnies to be having babies in the summer around here!

We also welcomed two sheep to the farm... never in a million years did I see myself as a sheep farmer, but here we are... lol They're fiber sheep, and cute as they can be! Pappy (the black) and Patches.

So that's about all for updates right now. Hopefully, we'll post more soon! 

Our New Home

Hey! Yes, we've been MIA for a bit - but we're back. Just in time for spring.
Give us a few days to dust off the keyboard and get some content rolling!
Thanks!!!