Happy Puppy Days and Cranky Cats

 Since my son brought in his new puppy we have been dealing with the era of the land sharks. We almost had Lucy where she wasn't biting and here comes Kira. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the little furballs, but with there being two of them the cats are all crabby and our Husky Baby Boy has started growling when they want to play with him. Not that I blame him. Kira loves biting at his face and feet and tail, something I am sure if I were a dog I would take exception with. The other thing that has happened is Baby Boy's anxiety is back and he whines all night in his crate, making it impossible to sleep. So we got some calming supplements and are trying that, and if it comes down to it, we will go back to the vet for more anxiety meds for the poor boy. 

It's times like this when I remember what it was like having babies at home. Just less fur. I know this will pass and it will all be good again, so it's just a matter of holding on through the storm and wait for it to be over. Life is like this. Ups and downs and chaos and calm, we just need to roll with it. On that note, I wish you..

Peace and calm seas,

Raven

Same Old, Same Old

 Still living on the ranch. The winter here was really mild, which means summer is going to be brutal. Texas heat is no joke, folks. My son's dog passed away on January 1st. On February 22nd he got a new puppy. She's a German Shepherd, not 100%, but really close. Since M got his puppy in late October it has been a puppy fest all over the house. I's puppy is Kira, and M's is Lucy. Lucy is a Cairn Terrier mix and 100% hyperactive, while Kira is calmer but more aggressive. When they are both grown up Kira is going to dwarf poor little Lucy. When I's dog Tigger passed away she was buried out here by I's building. He is planning to build a flower bed over her grave. I got her a cross for her grave with a photo of her on it. She was a really good dog. 

No other news, really. It;s the same old same old here, just like always. 

Peace and dreams of an interesting life,

Raven

Still here

  So, I got the RV and turned it into a studio just in time for DH to get a huge freeze dryer and use up half the RV for it and all the stuff that comes out of it, plus a giant grow tent for garden veggies. 

 In other news, our eldest son has moved out here because M can't do all the work that the ranch requires anymore and he needed help. We had a building built for I, our son, to live in along with his dog, cat, and bearded dragon. 

M's dog Mia passed away a couple of weeks ago and was cremated and is now home in her urn next to my two pups' urns. 

M's health is going downhill. He is now suffering with severe dizziness, falling, and numerous doctor's visits still have no diagnosis. Next is a trip to a neurologist. 

That's about it for now. I feel like all I've done in this entry is complain. Keep it spooky, friends.

Bored out of my wits

 So, the baby chickens have started laying. We get around 18 eggs a day on average. I am up to my ears in eggs. 

M and B built a huge pen for the babies and they are all getting so big! I had to rehome 6 roosters last week because we had too many out of the hatch. We still have 4, plus Napoleon and Lancelot who are with their own hens in the other coops. We also got a stray hen from B that we have named Frances. She's tame and we are looking to catch her sister to put in the pen with her so she isn't alone. 

The past two days we have finally gotten some rain and though it isn't enough to break the drought, it was welcome. We should get more in a few days, I hope.

Still no studio. I have a guy that rebuilds RVs looking to get me one and get that fixed up. It's cheaper than having something built and gives me more room.

Life here is quite boring to me. I need something creative to do or I feel like I will go mad. I have no room to paint right now and it is driving me nuts. I tried to work in the office/laundry room but that doesn't work well. There's no space in this little mobile home and I hate it here. 

 

 We have gotten a lot done since last month. M and B have built a 10x12 building to use for tool storage, they built me an outdoor kitchen, B added on another chicken coop so now we have two. I got 8 more laying hens to add to the ones we brought from Pearsall. They should be laying within a week or so. Fortunately our hens haven't been affected by the stuff that was put in the feed to make them stop laying, so we still get eggs every day. We did switch their feed though and they get kitchen scraps and whatever is on clearance at the store for veggies and fruit. 

My daughter H has been fostering two of the kittens from Pearsall for us so we could get moved before we brought them home. They will be coming home within the next week. I can't wait to see my babies again. I have missed them. Hopefully they get along with the 5 adults here. 

Bun Bun the rabbit has a new space to live in and is doing well. He is a rabbit that B found in Pearsall. We initially got him a hutch from Tractor Supply, but it didn't hold up, so M and B have redone it and now Bun Bun is all good. Just to make the transition easier, I got him some toys and a timothy grass mat and he has torn it all up, so apparently he is happy. 

The dogs are doing well. Mia and Baby Boy and B's dog Everest have large pens in the front yard and spend their days playing and barking at the cows that go by. They also like barking at any vehicles that come on the ranch, so they have been barking a lot. Our neighbor down the road has been bringing in cattle for his ranch and it drives them nuts. 

I got part of my container garden in a couple of days ago. Red bell peppers, basil, oregano, purple tomatoes, and my plants from last year make up 7 large pots. I have more plants I want to get once they come out at the store. I am also putting in two 4'x2' raised beds which will have the squash and cucumbers. Grandma want to get in a larger garden too, so we will be putting in an acre of green beans, more squash, tomatoes, and such soon. 

So, that's about it for now. 

Have a good one folks!

We've Moved Back to the Ranch

 So, after a year in our house in Pearsall we have moved back to the Ranch. M wasn't happy in the city and Grandma is getting too old to handle all the cattle and work involved in running the Ranch, so we have moved back and are helping her. The house was a wreck after my cousin lived here when we left 4 years ago, and it took us months to get it livable again, plus having to build another 10x20 building for M and I to use as a bedroom. We have finally gotten all the stuff out of Pearsall and are planning on renting it out. I miss my house but I realize Grandma needs us more than I needed to be there. At first I didn't want to come back here, but I feel like this is where we need to be for a time. So here we are. Hopefully I will remember to post more often than every 7 months.

Dehydrating madness and Organizing

   It's laundry day today and more dehydrating. I got chickens a few days ago, 7 of the biggest, fattest hens I have ever had. They are gorgeous! Now to get them happy enough to lay. I also have a tiny little chick who goes in with them every night. She was one of a set of 5 that B caught in the neighborhood. She got out of the cage we were keeping her in and ran off, but came back to roost with the big girls when we brought them home. They have accepted her, so I guess I have 8 chickens.  

  We had a really strong storm blow through the other night which tore up the dog kennel and the chicken fence, but M and B got out there and pulled all the panels straight and got new A-frame covers put on, so now no more problems, I hope. 

  My garden is growing slowly, but it is growing. I hope all the rain we got didn't damage my tomato plants. I want a good harvest this year.

  My daughter H and granddaughter T came out yesterday along with I. She helped me get all the dehydrated stuff into vacuum sealed bags and put up. I had over 20 quart jars! Today I am washing them all so they will be ready for this year's stuff. 

  M is taking my MIL to the eye doctor today to get new glasses because she can't see well out of the old ones. She has been living with us since Mother's Day. M and B went up to NC and moved her down here. She really can't live alone since my FIL went to Heaven in February. She has a lot of health problems and needs someone to help her, so naturally we invited her to come live here. M is glad to have his mom here, and she is settling in really well. 

Gotta get back to work now. Those jars won't wash themselves. 

Keto and Renovations

 On March 1st I started on the Keto diet. To date I have lost 16 pounds. M is also on it, as of the 6th of March and he has lost over 24. It's really boring, and coming off of being vegan I miss my veggies and fruit. I really don't like meat, so this is hard. I do love the weight loss though. Only 74 pounds to go. 

Today my daughter and granddaughter are here and we are painting the dining room and living room after my son B installed the insulation and re-did the sheetrock in both those rooms. It's going to be nice having those rooms usable again after 3 weeks. 

My kitchen is almost finished as well, with just some paint and cleaning left to do. I went 2.5 weeks with not being able to cook and I am glad to be able to use the stove again. Keto is difficult when you can't cook and have to eat from just the fridge and cook only in a microwave. 

Gotta get back to the painting. Have a blessed day folks.

We've Moved (again)

 As of October of 2021 we have been living in a small South Texas town called Pearsall. It is a cute little town, and our house is good for me and M. It has needed a lot of work, being older, and we are still working on it, but I think it will all work out for the best. We wanted to move North, but that didn't work out and so we found this place. Our son B and his family live here in Pearsall too, so he is close and can help out with the work we are doing on the house. We have made friends with a few of the neighbors and one of them is helping as well. It's been a change, going from living in the country on acres of land with all the animals, to a town again, but we are adapting.

 On December 10th we lost our puppy Stubbs. He had a stroke and seizures, and passed away at the vet's office. We had him cremated and his ashes are here, sitting next to the ashes of our dog Geronimo that we lost in 2007. Poor Mia misses her buddy. I miss Stubbs horribly.

Well, that's it for now. My studio isn't set up yet so I can paint. Hopefully it will be soon. 

Ch ch ch changes....

 We are moving! We have sold all the animals, and are getting ready to put the house up for sale next week. The boys moved out on us and left us with no help, so the logical step for us is to move into something we can both handle. We are currently looking at houses up in North Texas and around where I went to high school. With the market as it is, I am hoping ours sells quickly and that we can find another house.

Spring is Springing

 Ah, Spring on the farm. I love seeing all the flowers and baby animals. We just got our future bull a few days ago. His name is Abraham. He is 1.5 months old and is about 150 pounds or so. He is so sweet, and even though he is so young, he eats grass and hay and calf starter pellets like a champ, so he will be a big guy in no time. We built him his own enclosure attached to the barn so he has shelter and a place to chill out without the big girls getting his food and hay. He is still missing his mama, but the girls hang out by his pen to keep him happy. He especially likes Minnie. I think she will make an excellent mama, if how she pays attention to Abraham is any indication. So here he is, my baby bull.

Catching Up

 On August 20th we had a house fire. The house was a total loss, but no one was hurt and we didn't lose any animals. From then until last Thursday we were living in a rental house in town and now we are in our new house, just in time for the holidays. My studio is currently a total mess, due to having been used while we were off the property as the home for our 3 indoor cats and my dog. Hopefully we can get it back to usable in a couple of weeks. I really miss being able to create things. The good news out of all this is that I have a dedicated office now, and our house is much roomier than the old one. We are very blessed.

Newest Artwork and News from the Farm

First off, here are some of the newest pieces I have done. I am not going to put all of them on here at this time because it would take too long, but these are a few.

Things here have been going well, except for a few chicken losses. We think they were taken by a predator of some sort. We still have our blind and deaf possum and apparently there are a few hogs and a raccoon living here too as well as a skunk. The cows are all doing well, and the little ones aren't so little anymore. Iris has set her place as matriarch of the herd and Rose and Arya are becoming more tame as the months go by.
My garden was an epic failure, except for the tomatoes. Grasshoppers got the other plants, save the rosemary. I did harvest a few squash but the beans and the cukes were a total loss as was the mint. I am hoping the fall plants do better but I'm not holding my breath. It's not a garden-friendly place here.
Otherwise, life is going on, even in the weird world we live in now.

Why does it feel like a dystopian world?

Looking around the town I live in makes me think we are living in some sort of dystopian alternate universe. Stores closed, low traffic, empty shelves in the stores. All because of Covid-19. How the world has changed in just a few months. Our lives haven't changed a lot because of the life we live, but we do have needs, like feed for our pets and livestock (finally got the cows!), and bits of food here and there for ourselves. People have gone totally nuts, it seems, running stores out of toilet paper, eggs, milk, and other things. On the rare trip to the store there are lines to get in and one door to get out, some stores having lines to get to the meat or severe limits on purchases. It's insane. I get that the virus is deadly when it gets to the right person, and I understand that eventually we all will get it. What I don't understand is what makes this disease any worse than the flu, which kills thousands every singe year and why all of a sudden we have to practice social distancing and wear gloves and masks if we go out and why everything is all of a sudden unnecessary, like parks, or zoos, or craft stores. Don't people deserve to have the materials to use as they are sitting stuck in their houses? Personally, I am tired of television and all the reminders to be a good little compliant sheep. Pardon me while I vent. No one wants to be treated like an idiot, and all the cutsie commercials telling us to stay home and wash our hands are getting on my last nerve. BAAAA! I hear from family and FB friends alike. Flatten the curve, my tail. I have hand sanitizer, I have masks, I am not a child. I am a rancher and a farmer and a mother who knows how to wash my hands without being told to sing "Happy Birthday" twice or some other thing. Every time we think that the government "requested" self quarantine will be lifted, someone comes up with why it should be extended. Just wait, next thing we know the elections will be "postponed". Not that I care if Pres.Trump stays in office, because I am voting for him anyway, but still. It seems more and more of our "rights" are becoming less and less. Maybe I've been stuck at home for too long. Who knows? 
 
 Here are my girls. Iris (the adult), Rose (hiding behind the hay bale), Arya (lying down) and our Holstein, Minnie. 

Early Spring and A New Clothesline

Well folks, it's no surprise that the groundhog didn't see his shadow today and that means an early Spring. We've had spring-like weather here for weeks. Today it's forecast to be in the mid 70's. Tuesday it's going to be in the 80's. So, again, no winter here in South Texas. 
  Yesterday M and I put up my clothesline in the back yard. I have been needing one for a while and we finally got it up. 
 On the 31st we lost a hen, Frick. She was one of my Easter Eggers and only a year old. We don't know what happened, just that M found her lying in the pen when he went to lock them up for the night. Such is life on a farm. Circle of life and all. 
 Today I am working on dehydrating stuff for storage and also will be organizing our food storage. I have been meaning to do this for a while and finally have the motivation to get it done. 
 Well, that's about it for now. Have a great week folks!

Reference photos from when we got our homestead

I promised photos, so here are a few from when we first got our homestead. Just look at those weeds! We didn't have the tractor then so we paid a guy to come and shred all 10 acres.

Here are a couple of "after" photos. It looks a lot better now :)

 Yep, that's a Mexican Eagle in the field. We have them all over.

That pile is barbed wire left from the previous owners. We sent it off due to it being unusable and very rusted.

Here is the beginnings of the chicken coop. It has grown out now and we have a separate coop for our handicapped chickens.

Here is the pen for the handicapped chickens. It's a 10x6 one that fits them well. The one hen in the middle is Henrietta. She's not handicapped, but our rooster attacks her and so we put her with the other two girls so she is safe. She acts like their guard.

Both coops now have covers over them to keep the hawks and such out and to give the chickens shade.

Well, that's it for photos for today. I hope you enjoyed the tour, as it is. Until next time :)

Join me as I become a FARMER!

1/19/20 Saturday
  Welcome to my little South Texas farm on the web! I am Anna, an almost 53 year old wife, mother, grandmother, chicken rancher, and soon to be farmer and cattle rancher. My husband of 24 years, whom I will call M here, and my 26 y/o son I moved here a year ago last November. We have been steadily working to get our 10 acres set up so we can eventually get a few cows and a bull. Currently, we have 11 chickens, 1 rooster (who can be a real jerk to the ladies), 3 dogs, and 6 cats (3 of whom are outdoor "barn" cats, though we have no barn as of yet).
 We came from living in a small town on a ranch belonging to an elderly couple of distant relatives of mine. After he passed away 3 years ago and making sure she was able to do for herself, we have ventured out on our own dream of having a mini farm. My husband is disabled, so my son and I do most of the farm work, though my husband is the builder and planner. I have 4 other children who live in the city about an hour away. My oldest daughter is J, she's 33, followed by my 27 y/o daughter H, her husband SP and my granddaughter T. She's 5 and a real fireball. H homeschools her and she's going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up. I, the son that lives with us is my right hand. He is a hard worker and loves his video games and reading. I spend a lot of time watching him play at night. I probably should be sleeping, but it's fun and helps me relax. My next child is S. He is 23 and works as a general manager for a nationwide pizza chain making a good living and has just bought his first house. Last but not least is B. He's my baby, if you can call a 21 y/o, over 6 foot tall guy a baby :) He is a mechanic, works long and hard, gets injured a lot and is really making his way in the world. His girlfriend is M and her little one is G, who is 4 and a real chatterbox. They live around the corner from H and SP and T. Our family is close, and we see everyone a lot and talk on the phone every day. Holidays are all spent together and I hope it stays that way. Family is the most important thing we have in this world and nothing should change that.
  I have a lot of plans for the future here. I want to get our back 7 acres set up for the eventual purchase of 4 heifers and a bull. That means we need new fencing set up in two paddocks, I need to disk and seed for good grazing grass, and we need a barn. I bought a small tractor last year so I could shred (mow) the front and back acres but now I need a disk and a rototiller to attach to it so I can get all this done. I can't believe that just a few short years ago I was a city girl who had never done anything remotely "country" before other than having a small garden. Speaking of gardens, I am planning one for this year. It is planned out to be a 20ft x 20ft area by my studio building, but will probably get a lot larger than that. I need raised beds due to the soil here being mostly sand, and also due to us having a ton of moles in the yard. Also, sticker burrs (aka sandspurs). I positively HATE those and would burn the whole yard if someone (M) would let me. As it sits, we have to get a bunch of fertilizers and pre-emergent weed killers to get rid of the darn weeds. But, that's life in the country, so we do what we can and keep pulling the stickers out of everything and everyone.
  I've yammered on for a while now, so I will end my post for today. Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon so whoever reads this has some frame of reference. Have a great day y'all!