5.5+ inches of rain in 48 hours- THAT got the farm right soggy!
Goose pens were flooded, needed trenching to divert the drainage but even better news? The county road held!
Blind Hog and Acorn had a productive week at the Springfield house, ready for appliances to be delivered. They even took a couple days off to stay at the farm. Well, ok- they HAD to stay due to the rains but it was a nice change of pace!
Another busy week at the Springfield house, but things are coming along.
Blind Hog and Acorn came back to the farm at noon, ate lunch, took a nap and off to evening chores. Tomorrow is a “stay at the farm day,” so that is sweeeeeet.
Goats are growing, geese continue to lay, extra goose eggs in an incubator.
Farmers have about had it with “house renovation” work, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and things will calm back down. THEN they can concentrate on FARMWORK…
Daffodils might be blooming, but Blind Hog and Acorn are hunkered in this morning, feeding wood to the woodstove. Baked goods of many kinds being made, but not to have the farmers “baked” themselves- lol…
Goats are doing well, Sam is enjoying the egg-bounty while it lasts. Speaking of eggs, Acorn brought in the goose eggs from the two pair who have not yet decided to sit-fast upon the nests. Once the lows get back above freezing, the eggs will be replaced. Might be another week and a half for that to happen though. They will be turned 2x a day, and are in a seed tray in the workshop. 55F is perfect temperature for “holding.”
Farm chores have been thankfully under control- goats are doing well, geese are “a-laying…” Plumbing work at the Springfield house has been an adventure, to say the least…
Good news with that is everything will eventually be taken care of… Eventually…
Cold snaps are in the future but moderate temperatures continue for now. Snow next Saturday? A definite possibility. May hold off putting out hay for a couple more days, Tuesday sounds good to me. Rain and colder temps to arrive on Wednesday.
Blind Hog has asked for yet another pan of brownies- heaven forbid the kitchen runs out!
Wellllllllll, Acorn is rather tickled that she has not had to get out of bed in the wee hours of the morning. Blind Hog said he was also relieved, but we all know he falls back to sleep.
Farm Visitors have broken up the day-to-day routines, is always nice to see friends. Not only do the farmers get to have fun, but the house gets cleaned as well!
The “city house” has had the electric wiring totally redone. Five days with workers in the attic and the skinny ones in the crawlspace. Plumbers start Monday.
The little wigglers are running around in the field like a white tidal wave. Cows getting jumped on now as they lie to chew their cud. If they could, they’d be rolling their eyes…
Been a busy week on the farm- in contrast to the past few when nothing much was going on. Acorn has been a busy midwife- finding kids, assisting with towels and blow dryer to dry off kids before they freeze. This morning’s arrival in 14F temps was no different. Mostly good outcomes with only one death, and a puzzler at that. We will never know. The kid below was snoozing when the goats left the field- thank goodness there is no snow on the ground!
Big decisions made on the Springfield house- namely, going to get trained professionals to that which needs doing, and not doing it ourselves… So it goes.
A bit windy tonight, but there is always wind blowing from the west it seems. Bells are a’ringin’!
Freeze, thaw, frost, mud... And kidding resumes on top of everything. Twins born yesterday were very appreciative of the heat lamp last night- temps got down to 16F.
Blind Hog and Acorn had a couple days to hunker in while it was raining with flood warnings posted. Tax return papers to be organized, magazine articles to read, baking, cooking, all the usual farm chores… Obviously, was NOT good weather to look for the comet.
About time for Acorn to do a pasture walk- see if any newborns have popped into the world. Some nannies are waddling around…
Blind Hog and Acorn just don’t have enough to do… They began to look for a house in the Big City to buy, fix up, and rent as a modest investment back in November of last year, and the Badger will be the tenant. Why pay rent to a stranger when rent can be paid to parents?? Win-win if you ask the Acorn…
A house was found and while some places linger on the market, others go fast- this was one of those listings. 15 hours after listing and the offer was accepted. 1954 ranch model in a quiet neighborhood- median age 46 yrs old with majority of the folks homeowners (86%) vs. renters (14%).
So, while the farm is in winter hibernation mode, Blind Hog and Acorn get to dust off their plumbing-carpentry-electrical skills. First project was to reconnect the drain line from the tub/shower which has been dumping water under the house for who knows how long??!! Acorn was just gobsmacked how this could be, but later decided whoever replaced that drain simply forgot to tighten the compression screw fitting that held the drain and trap up onto the tub fitting’s “tail” pipe. Over time, the weight of water in the trap allowed the whole thing to gradually slide on off…
Next up will be reworking the drain under the kitchen sink. Galvanized water pipes, cast iron drain lines, 2-wire electrical wiring. Will be a few months to get things repaired to satisfaction, but no hurry. Acorn saw a video on “how easy” it can be to cut cast iron pape, so now she totally feels confident the kitchen sink issues can also be fixed. Hot damn.
Orphan goat kid #438 has totally adjusted to a bottle 2x a day. NO clue why his momma died- figured she took a lick from another goat and had internal injuries. Goats do that… Plain red-top milk is all he needs, besides grazing with his herd. No need to buy livestock milk replacer.
Weather looking like it will be moders, full moon obscuring the green comet. Acorn tried with the telescope to no avail.
Back to chores!
Snowmageddon avoided, thanks to Cedar Gap splitting the snow as it approached from the Southwest. SteelMeadow only received just under 4″ whilst areas to the north and south had almost double!
Blind Hog and Acorn have been doing the usual farm chores in winter, which means one or two major tasks during the day and catching up on TV series for a couple hours at night.
The green comet was spotted, but Acorn will try next week for a better look, perhaps even a photo!
No big earth-shattering news from Missouri- ya’ll be safe out there!
Snow and below average temperatures are on the way, Blind Hog and Acorn have hay chores to get done today- will be the first time in a month the Mahindra has been asked to work! Will the tractor remember how to start? Ha!
Blind Hog and Acorn are thinking about the garden, upcoming appointments. Acorn has finally had enough of the “chronic coff-coff” and NP says is probably nothing more than stubborn allergies. No problem with that diagnosis, considering the alternatives!
Hay feeding, pizza and ice cream making, and enjoyable afternoon football while Dry January continues. Fizzy water maker ($59 Sodastream deal at Costco) continues to delight.
Blind Hog and Acorn