The Old Cotton FIeld: Fall down here.

The Old Cotton FIeld: Fall down here.: Wow how time flies! I never seem to have enough of it. I haven't posted on here for quite a while so   I will update some things. We had a g...

Fall down here.

Wow how time flies! I never seem to have enough of it. I haven't posted on here for quite a while so I will update some things. We had a great spring for baby goats and aside from a bout with ringworm they did wonderfully.  We sold a bunch of guineas then hatched some more out....... they did well too. Only 2 new geese and are now growing some Muscovy ducks. This was our first year trying our hand at milking and it was pretty successful. ( after we purchased a milking machine!) The garden did GREAT thanks to my husband& grandson's sprinkler invention. We needed it since we barely had any rain. It has rained a handful of times this fall so the trees and grass got a good soaking a couple of times before going dormant. It is actually starting to feel like fall with temperatures close to freezing at night. I like the cool crisp air of fall much better than the hot heavy humid air of summer.
  We are looking at our winter projects now. Expanding the pasture for our expanding goat herd. Expanding the goat barn for our expanding goat herd. Improving the watering system (especially for the rabbits) Cutting some wood, we have had a lot of trees break and a number of tops dropping out of trees. There have been some really strong winds this year that weakened them.  Our oldest daughter has had a good year too. Graduated college, got married and found her lost dog! Our youngest daughter has had a good year too because she has such an awesome family that she takes care of!
  I am looking forward to the upcoming holidays when I am able to share some decent cooking and time with my husband, my girls and their families. Great times. I will miss my sister this year since she had to make other arrangements this year, however she has assured me she will be visiting soon so we will just have an extra celebration to look forward to.
 Remember to be thankful for whatever you have now and the good memories you have to look back on. I know I am.
 

Still here!

I know it may be hard to believe but ......... we are still here! Haven't disappeared or been abducted for long periods of time by aliens.
 We have been pretty busy though. 16 new baby kids this year some look really nice. hatched out geese and chickens too. The garden has been expanded (no surprise there) and the corn has been blown down (no surprise there either). It will recover and we sure needed the rain it has been hot and dry here. Had a number of weeks of beautiful weather and then bang, hot and hotter!
 We have done some improvements this spring too. New door for the chicken pen makes it so much easier to get in and get eggs. New automatic waterers for the dog, kid pen and one pasture now they always have water and cant tip the bucket. We also ran a waterline closer to the garden to keep from having so much hose in the hot sun all summer. Speaking of watering the garden Bob and Noah came up with a great sprinkler system. Using PVC they raised the sprinklers up about 10 feet in the air allowing for broader distribution of water and easier watering of the corn as it gets taller. Really effective solution. I think there are some pics on the website www.possumridgefarms.com check it out.
 If you know anyone that is looking for some nice lamancha goat kids send them our way!

Spring is here (and so are the kids!)

WOW...... it has been crazy here. We have a dozen new baby goats and as if that weren't enough we drove up to Michigan to get 3 more ...and....... returned with 4! Beautiful does though. Only had 1 goose hatch so don't know what's going on there....we are trying to hatch chicken eggs now.               
Sorry but I am too tired to write anything else on here right now. Busy time of year.........................                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

It MUST be spring!

Ok , I know this will jinx us weather wise but here goes ............ our first kid of the year was born this morning at 4:30. A nice little buck. He is just the beginning we have another 8 does due within the next week or two. This is the first attempt to bottle raise our own kids and get the milk from the does. A new journey, a new adventure I'll keep you posted.
 We also have some goose eggs in the incubator, only 3 so far but hopefully there will be many more. It is so great to see the grand kids interacting with the babies just another perk to this crazy life on the farm!

  Oh yeah................... bring on the snow!!

Ok so I'm not good at that!

Ok so now everyone knows............................ I AM A POOR communicator!
The idea was to write this blog every few days just something simple. Well.... I haven't been too good at that, obviously.
We are starting to gear up for what we hope will be a good year for goats. The does are due in February. The plan is to milk the does and bottle feed the kids. It will let us keep a better eye on how well they are eating and acting. We have always left them with their mothers before so this will be at least interesting. Anyway I will try to keep a better blog detail going.

Things I have learned.

This summer has been a learning experience. I guess they should all be learning experiences so I won't complain too much. It has been extremely hot as it has in most of the country. The humidity has been brutal ...but that's what you get in this area.

 I have learned that wilting pumpkins don't mean more water but more bugs (arrugh)
 I have learned that it is great to finally have a water supply closer to the melon patch. (we installed a water hydrant there this spring.)
 I have learned (again) that purchased eggs for incubation are VERY iffy. We had basically no luck with this endeavor. (1 survivor)
 I have learned that Guineas can be very friendly if you work at it. Guineas also love cucumbers!
 I have learned that goats bottle raised are indeed more people friendly. They even come when you call them which is useful when they have gotten out of the pen.
 Roosters that strut around all cocky become too cocky and need to be kept penned up for their safety.
 Little kids will actually OFFER to help in the garden and be disappointed when they can't always be there to help.
 AND When you don't have a drought the chances are far less that your pasture will catch on fire due to the electric fence so you will have pasture into the winter.

 By the way we have another guinea sitting on a nest. Of course it is in the middle of the beans but that's OK. We will see if this one goes as well as the earlier hatch.

I will keep you informed of other things I HAVE LEARNED.