Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year



I hope you are wonderful blessed this coming year


♥ Kelsie

Friday, December 30, 2011

Cow Sitting and other farmish stuff.

Christmas is finally over at our house, so I guess it is time for a farming related update.


This is Buddy the Bully Calf, he lives around the corner and I have been looking after him while his ppl family went camping for a couple of days...It really was no trouble, just make him a bucket of milk twice a day...He thinks he is a big puppy and is very sweet...Very good practice for when we branch out in this direction of meat raising...I tried to get more photos to share but he would not take his head out of the milk bucket.

Sadly Sally Chicken whom we have been Doctorin' since the 5th of Dec took a turn for the worst on the 28th and yesterday morning I knew she was not going to make it when I took her cat carrier outside and opened the door and she just sat there and looked at me...By 10am she was gone...We gave it our best shot and how many Chickens get to sleep inside for the last 24days of their life.

Happy chicken news...all three of my remaining Easter Eggers are now laying...It really is nice to look out the window and see so many happy hens and Bravo roaming around scratching in the dirt all day.

Goats are looking super fat again...We have had a couple of cold nights so I gave them extra bedding which they promptly ate by the time the sun came up...Silly goats.

The fall garden is looking good, the broccoli had tiny heads starting on it...Hope it continues to do well...The various lettuce and cabbages are showing signs of growth, I need to go and spread around some more cow pooh I think.

Not really farm related but still outside, my sweet inlaws brought us a load of rocks for Christmas...Actually Flagstones to do the path in front of the house...I just know it is going to look gorgeous.

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing today for:
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas 2.0

The Day after Christmas when everyone else was taking down their tree I was putting one up...Why you ask?

Hubby brought me home the new tree I have been wanted for the last couple of yrs...YAY hubby... Courtesy of the 50% after Christmas Sale on all Christmas Decor at Walmart...He also got me more outdoor lights but I did refrain from putting those out this yr.

The Tree is 6.5 ft, 600 tips and pre-strung with 400 white lights...arrrrr bliss...it also looks much more natural than the old tree...and I know ppl are thinking if I want it to look natural, why not go natural...one word ALLERGIES...

And yes I honestly did put this baby up on Dec 26th and with the help of Lil Sara decorated it just so (though I do need to fluff the branches a little more)...Why such madness?? because tonight my MIL and FIL arrive and tomorrow my BIL and his wife and we will be celebrating Christmas 2.0.

So on that note I need to go clean my house and wrap the rest of the Christmas presents lol.


Blessings Kelsie

Monday, December 26, 2011

The big reveal....

In a previous post I hinted at a surprise I was getting for husband that involve 2 women and a truck...I of course could not tell you what it was then because he might read about it here and the surprise would be over.

So this is what happened...After he went to work Saturday morning, I called my friend and she meet me at Walmart...Since hubby also works at Walmart I had to be super stealthy as to not be seen by him or anyone else from the TLE (Tire Lube Express)....While I waiting for the associates to find the bike I wanted I kept an eye open so not to be found out.

As it turned out, they were sold out of the bike I was going to get, so I had to make a decision without being able to read any reviews or anything else about it...So what is a girl to do??...Pick the prettiest one with the closest price to the original choice *grin*

We got the bike back to our house, careful to not drive up to the old trailer where I intended to hide it for the night, because with the lack of rain tire marks show up in the grass and YES hubby does notice new tire marks over there....I even took the time to carry the bike thru the woods so not to leave tell-tale signs in the dirt track also. (what a lot of work)


Christmas morning I set the alarm for super early and snuck out in the dark with a flashlight to retrieve the bike from it's hiding place and placed it under the tree...then waited for the children to wake up and announce Christmas...


My mission was a success because hubby had no idea I had got the bike for him.


Seems Santa was really listening this yr...Big Daughter got her longer for My lil Pony Rarity from lil Sara and a Kindle Fire from us.


Lil Sara got her much asked for Pink Princess Keyboard, new clothes for Alex, a stroller, tea-set, play dough cupcake set (From Big Sister) and other bits to go with existing toys.


 I was spoilt with 3 new dollies...My first LaLaloopsy (how cute is he??) and a Monster High Frankie from Big Daughter and Hubby also got me the 2011 Holiday Barbie designed my Robert Best (My Fave Barbie designer)...




After the unwrapping was over, we headed out to test out the new wheels...


Oh the blessings of country living...no traffic for miles.


Look at those happy faces...I think they enjoyed their new toys.

Blessings Kelsie

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Decor 2011


 Lil Sara is tucked up in bed asleep and look!! Santa has been to our house already...Alex patiently waits in the chair next to the tree for morning, because the big guy in red tells me there are a few things for a good little dolly under the tree as well.


View from the dining area....Please excuse the bear rug on the floor...Oops that would be my lazy old dog.


 Touches of Christmas as you enter thru the front door.



The breakfast bar area and looking into the kitchen.
I love how the small Christmas tree looks behind this lovely chunky vintage frame.



 On the bar my red Transfer-ware tea cups sets and miniature glass balls add a lovely touch to Christmas don't you think?

And one last look at the bookshelf (mantle)...I am so delighted with how this looks...I almost dread Christmas being over because I don't want to take it down.

Blessings to you and your family
Merry Christmas From me and mine.
Kelsie

Tis' the day before Christmas....

This is it, last chance to shop, bake and wrap...Tomorrow is C-DAY.

This morning I have a plan...it involves 2 women and a truck and hopefully tomorrow morning a very surprised husband...Can we pull it off??

I also promised to bake cookies for Santa with lil Sara...Because baking cookies for the neighbors with her help worked out soooooo well...I seriously must be crazy lol.

Finish cleaning the house and just maybe get some photos to give you all a little tour this yr...3yr old permitting...whom btw is already pushing the limits and it is but 8.45am.

I just might get some lights up outside...yer I know leaving it a little late huh...but how will Santa find us out here in the middle of nowhere unless we light the way.

And lastly, but most importantly, I ask you all to pray for all those families that will not be having a Merry Christmas tomorrow...and will just be happy to get a meal...and all those children that are in the Foster Care system that will not get to see their parents tomorrow...I pray they will find love and joy with their foster families.

Blessings Kelsie

Thursday, December 22, 2011

A little Aussie for Christmas

 I got a lovely surprise in my mail box this week, my dear sweet cousin who is currently traveling around Western Australia with her husband sent me a little reminder of home...


I wanted to really enjoy them so instead of hanging them on the tree I put hung them with the Christmas Cards...Which just happen to be hanging in front of the Navigation Chart of my hometown waters Albany Western Australia...Kinda fitting really.


 Two lovely hand crafted metal truly Australian Christmas ornaments...How cute is this ROO (yes ppl this is what we Australians call a roo lol) in his Christmas hat.


The Boab Tree is my favorite, so truly unique to Western Australia. (Click Here to learn more about this Iconic tree)..My Cousin tells me you will not find this one in any shops outside of Kununurra (where they are currently staying) because the Christmas Boabs are made especially for a local business there.

I was so touched that she thought of me and sent me such a lovely gift for Christmas.

Blessings Kelsie

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Thursday Favorite Things @ http://katherinescorner.com/

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Surprises in the winter garden...

  At the end of a hot dry summer here in Florida, the flowers on the clearance rack at Walmart where looking less than appealing...but as a complete sucker for Gerber Daisies and for a bargin...How could I not snap up the 3 pots of dried up wilted leaves marked Gerber for just a $1.50??


We did have a cold snap once a couple of weeks ago and then it warmed up again..Add a little rain, and SURPRISE...My discount gerbers have decided it is time to bloom...


 The colors are quiet different to the bright and rich color Gerber you usually see...I am excited to see what the 3rd color will be...it has budded but not bloomed yet.


 The make shift Greenhouse is doing it's job too...The Banana plant has grown some new leaves...We will need to make half the Greenhouse 2 windows high soon to accommodate this growth.


Look at the lovely peppers that are hidden inside...


Time for a harvest this week I think...


Pretty Kitty AKA Piglet, is also enjoying the winter sunshine in the garden.

Blessings Kelsie

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Mani-Pedi and a New Diet...

Well I did it......I trimmed the goats hooves for the first time ever...Just like the Youtube video showed me...
WELL maybe not quite JUST like the video...

First I don't have a milk stand.

Second my goats did not stand still.

Instead I tethered them to the fence with a dog lead and executed various wrestling moves on them as gently as I could until I could both pin them and access each hoof to trim and file it....

Took about 45minutes to do two little goats...They are surprisingly strong (and good wrestlers) for such small goats...I am exhausted and my legs were wobbly from the experience...BUT they have nice trimmed hooves...well maybe not quite as close a trim as other more experienced ppl might give them...but they are a big improvement on what they were....I will prob try a little touch up in a week or two and maybe they will get used to the idea over time and be more co-operative...

A nice lady from the goat forum suggested that I try handling their feet more when we go and play and pet the goats so they will be less nervous about having them touched...Also I think next time I will have hubby help hold them while I trim...Has got to be easier :)


This photo is over a month old, they are MUCH fatter now
Also turns out if you feed 2 little goats, this much oak leaves a day x2 (morning and night)...and a hay segment twice a day (morning and night) they will still be short goats but they will get rather wide...Boots was looking wider than tall...I should have tried to get a photo of it but well...I did not :(

As of 2 days ago they are on a diet...Just one segment of hay at night and a small oak branch to nibble on as a treat or an enticement to come back into the pen when we leave the gate open and they bolt (as fast as fat little goats can bolt that is) 2 feet outside their yard and nibble the fabled greener grass...

We hope soon the sorghum will be harvested at the back of our property and we will have room to fence another grazing area, then I will prob withdraw the evening hay on the days they are able to graze the new green grass in it.

Blessing Kelsie


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Friday, December 16, 2011

Something is wrong with this picture...

As I mentioned earlier in the week 
Life on a Southern Farm ran a Chicken Nest Box giveaway and *happy chicken dance* I won.
It was delivered on Wednesday...Now that is impressive folks...Winner was announced Sunday...and yup prize in hand by Wed....FarmWoman and FarmMan ROCK!!

Ok so now you are all caught up...So I installed the boxes...By installed I mean I popped it on a couple of bricks inside the pen because our coop is too small and "temporary" until I win lotto (hey could happen, I just won the nesting boxes, I am feeling pretty lucky...and yes I did buy a lotto ticket this week) and build a good size barn/chicken house.


This morning since I had noticed the bedding had been disturbed but no eggs yet, I popped a marked egg into one of the boxes to see if that would entice the ladies to do their thing in the shinny new digs. And this seemed to be working...Lots of interest was being shown to the boxes and my little white Easter Egger even got into the box and was fluffing around etc, but then....



She was chased out and the chaser took over the box.... 


 Have a closer look who is in there....

 Ok, try from this view...

 Yes my STOOPID (too old to kill and even make stock from) rooster Bravo...So I chased his butt out of the box...

and back in she went...Oh joy oh rapture, I am so excited to find me a little green egg in the shiny new Nesting Box today...

Or will I??

Every time I check Mr Gender Confused, Might Be Good for Stock Anyway Bravo is chasing her out again...

Does anyone else have a rooster that does this?

Oh and when the girls are doing their "Chicken Song"...he is right outside the box joining in the chorus...actually he is even louder than they are...I might have to try videoing that one to share.

Blessings Kelsie

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Farm Girl Friday @

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Farm or Zoo??...You tell me

Sally (the not so sick but still comes inside in a cat carrier at night) Chicken, bless her little chicken heart. We tried to put her back out with the flock yesterday but Bravo is just too rough and kept chasing her down, now she is limping again...I think she prefers the backyard...wonder how she would go living with the goats?

The others are laying pretty well for this time of year, we average 3 to 6 eggs a day and I have found ppl willing to buy said eggs...yay for Egg money...I might save up to buy me some new boots.

I finally tracked down some clippers and a rasping tool thingie, to do the goat hooves (3 stores and a week later) and today should hopefully be the day I will get them done...Also have to treat them for lice..ick...fortunately Goat Lice don't like ppl or anything other than goats and sheep...Does not stop my head from itching every time I think about it..*scratch scratch*

Talking of scratching, I have to bath the stinky dog today...no she is not really that stinky, well no more than a 13yr old dog stinks anyway...I was delighted to find out yesterday that I can attach a garden hose directly to the faucet in the utility room sink so at least Nardia will be getting a warm bath out side and not dirty up my bathroom this time.

Speaking of which, yesterday we got a little side tracked (hence why the dog did not get a bath even though I had the hose attached and ready to go) because we discovered the old fish pond at the old house had sprung a leak and 6 little fishes only had 2 inches of super muddy water to swim in...So we scooped them out and put them in an old paint can (as you do) and then spent the rest of our pre-pickup Sara time cleaning out the old bearded Dragon tank and praying it would hold water...cleaning old garden pond rocks that have been in a now broken plastic kitty litter bucket in the sun for 7yrs and a small water pump...and made them a home on my dinning room side board...I am starting to feel like I live in a zoo.

Talking of Zoos...and this is a little weird, but I did in fact see a monkey on the loose a couple of weeks back...It was sitting on the next neighbors fence (and by neighbor I mean the ppl 1/2mile down the road)..looking at me...I thought I was going crazy and from the tone of her voice when I called my neighbor at work, she thought I had lost my mind too...and being as we have spoken just once before at my mail box to exchange phone numbers this was a rather bizarre phone call to make to her at work...

It went like this.
Me - Sherri?
Her - Yes?
Me - Hi, this is Kelsie from down the road in the blue house...Do you have a pet monkey?
Her - Pardon?
Me - Do you have a pet monkey
Her - Ummm no??
Me (very quickly because I can tell from the tone of her voice she is verging on hanging up on this crazy woman from down the road)...I am out the front of you place and there is a monkey sitting on your fence.
Her - Really??...ummm did you call the sheriff??
Me - No..I wanted to make sure it did not belong to you.
Her - Can you? I am at work and have a class of kids right now.

hehe Can you imagine what was going thru her head at this time??...So turns out that I am not the first one to see this monkey in the area...and he has been sighted again since almost a mile away...or could it be we have a pack (do monkeys move in packs??) loose in the middle of no-where North Florida.

But there is more...Last week the sheriff was in the area door knocking, trying to find out if anyone owns the Llama that is running loose just down the road from me....Good golly grief...I hope the neighbors with the Lion and Tiger rescue farm (1 miles as the crow flies to the east of us) is keep their animals locked up tight.

Oh and of COURSE there is another bobcat in the area, has been sighted multipul times and stolen a few turkeys already this yr...

So much for the quiet country life
Blessings Kelsie

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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Christmas in the China Cabinet

I was not going to do it...I was going to do no more to the China Cabinet than add Granny's vintage glass ball and the ceramic pieces from my childhood...
But then today I was in the storage closet in my studio getting out something else, before I knew it 5 dolls had escaped and invaded the china cabinet for Christmas.
Actually it all started with these 3 trouble makers from the Barbie and the Nutcracker Collectors Editions.
Left to Right.
Barbie as The Sugar Plum Fairy
Barbie as Flower Ballerina (my favorite)
Barbie as Marzipan

Middle shelf was left Barbie free, but has Family Treasures such as my Grandmothers Cats, More of Granny's antique glass balls, a ceramic train my mother made me when I was a child.
and an English/Dutch copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens printed in 1931 that belonged to my father when he was a wee little lad at school.
And lastly we have the only 2 Holiday Barbies I own...Why?...Because I am a design snob and hate most of the Holiday Barbies gowns...But these 2 I love and were both gifts from Farmer Brown...Hope I get this yrs doll also since it is stunning and Designed by none other than the Fabulous Robert Best (Subtle Hint or what)

Good thing I can close the door on these treasures because I an not sure Lil Sara could be trusted around mummy's Barbies.

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing For

Chicken Coop To-Do


Part of my to-do for today is to write out to-do's for tomorrow and the next day...Because dispite all the Christmas stuff the "farm" must go on, and after Friday school is out and lil Sara will be home to "help" 24/7 until next yr.

Blessing Kelsie

Monday, December 12, 2011

Our middle girl...

People are always so shocked that our girls are so far apart in age...15.5yrs to be exact, so to make them feel better I tell them we also have a 13yr old...Her name is Nardia and she has the sweet heart you will ever find...We adopted her about a month after I moved to the USA...She had been abandoned in a city park in Charlotte NC and was eating out of the trash cans and begging for food when a sweet family found her.

She had already been a mother once from her condition...She was also in season again and possibly the reason why she was abandoned in the first place...The family that found her was not able to keep her so after weeks of trying to find her owners finally advertised her in the paper "Free to Good Home"



That is how we got her...She was a challenge to keep contained in our yard and that of the Family that rescued her, and how she got her name...They affectionately called her NAUGHTY DOG because of it...They also had very heavy NC country accents and to my Aussie ear it sounded like NARDIA...and seems the dog agreed because she answered to the name instantly .

We took her to the vet and had her "fixed" in more ways than one...Found out she was about a yr old and a Lab/Chow mix...She stayed a city dog for the next 4yrs as we lived in Charlotte...


How far our Girl has come...She now lives the care free country life since 2004...Has freedom to come and go from the house as she wishes...We have no boundary fences here, yet ironically she does not care to go farther than she should...She loves to roll in the grass making silly noises, hang with the chickens, goats and cats...With her "big sister" now grown up, she enjoys playing with her little sister Sara, who calls Nardia her BEST FRIEND.

At 13yrs she is still as stunning as ever...I hope to surprise her in a month or two with a new puppy to mentor...Because the best way to train a puppy to grow up to be a good dog, is to have a GREAT dog to show them the ropes. 


Uh oh, she maybe getting a little hard of hearing these days but her eyes are still good...She spotted me snapping these photos of her from the top of the yard under the cottonwood and came to see what I was up too.

Such a lovely happy smile...How blessed are we to have this girl as our middle child.

Blessings Kelsie

Saturday, December 10, 2011

I won the HenPals Nest Box Give Away

Life on a Southern Farm ran an awesome Chicken Nest Box giveaway...And I woke up this morning to an email from FarmWoman Pam that I have won...I am so excited and can't wait to find my first egg in the new fancy smancy Nest Box that FarmMan built...


If your chickens would like one of these boxes you should go check them out on the website
http://www.henpalsnestboxes.com/

Blessings Kelsie

Friday, December 9, 2011

Inside the Chicken Coop...

I snapped a couple of photos thru the chicken wire with my phone lastnight of Lil Sara. She takes her chores very seriously, as I have mentioned before, these chores include feeding the chickens their nightly scratch, checking the crumble feeder has feed in it and collecting/counting/color identifying the eggs. (me and Daddy keep the water containers cleaned and filled because let's face it...that is not a job for a 3yr old unless you want lots of chicken coop mud all over her)

As you can see my coop is not a pretty thing at the moment...But I do love to dream about the day when we will have the money to build the coop/feed shed and dismantle this converted old carport that sits next to the driveway.



We have rehomed the "new" rooster as he and Bravo just could not agree to get along and kept trying to tear each other to pieces...But the ones that really suffered during this time were the hens...Rotating who got to come out of the coop to forage each day....Now with him gone, all the girls get to range free all over the property all day everyday...We average 4 to 6 eggs a day at the moment...I hope this will increase as time goes on.


We are still nursing Sally Chicken...Though now I think it is simply her leg was injured and she got a little malnurished and dehydrated from not being able to compete for food with the other 11 gals....She currently sleeping in a cat carrier at night in the laundry room because of the cooler weather and has free range of the fenced area outside the back door during the day...We have been giving her "Chick Start" electralite treated water, and a Vitamin supplement drench every couple of days, and just trying to leave her alone to rest as much as possible...She is still limping but is more active now than 2weeks ago...When ever she hears Bravo on the other side of the fence she runs and hides in the cat carrier...Smart girl.


Blessings Kelsie
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