Chores

Everyday there are a gazzilion chores to do... feed the horse, feed the goats, move goats to pasture, feed the dog, feed the cats (nevermind the cats - they can take care of themselves), protect dog food from cats, milk the goats, milk the goats again, strain milk, make kefir out of milk, collect the eggs, chase the chickens out of the hay, clean turkey poop out of the barn, water all the animals, kill a chicken...

It never ends. Sometimes we feel like slaves but it is worth it being self-sustaining with so many things even though it makes no sense financially. Chores keep us grounded.


Rope swing in the lower hay barn

Mayday and Brownie - Alpine goats and great milkers...


This is the milking stand Justin and I made. The goats jump up with the snap of a finger.

Max, the barn warrior


The ninja warrior thing continues....


This is Blackie, he thinks he is tough stuff and he is the smallest rooster in the barn... one of those little bantams.

Life on the Farm

Finally getting some paint on the barn...
The egg on the right is a purchased "cage free, all-natural, omega-3 blah-blah" egg. The egg on the left is from our chickens. Color and clarity is no match. I assume it is better for us too.

Reducing the rooster population.

Family Pictures

Justin, JaNae, Noah, Geoff, & Max

My Family: Roger, Jo, Mom, Russell, me (JaNae)

LeiLani, Char
Family with spouses:
Geoff & JaNae, Alex & Jo, Mom, Russ & Carrie, Roger & Larin
Joe & Lani, Char & Brent

One proud mom & lots of kids and grandkids!

Camping with the boys

I'm sure this had something to do with Harry Potter...

Campsite - heard a bunch of coyotes that night.

Heading into the secret hideout...Justin's friend Spencer

And of course... can't go anywhere without Jack.

More Farm Pics again

Lots of Cherry tomatoes...

Harvesting some lettuce seed...
Bella the good looking horse...

Harry Potter in the barn

Some Farm Pics

Jack loves hanging out with the sheep. Often goes out and sleeps with them on colder nights.

This is Brownie, a super cool goat. She has two kids.Feeding time in the chicken coop.

Here are the lovely "Naked Neck" chickens. Sort of a strange breed but they are pretty cool.We stuck golf balls in all the nesting boxes. Supposedly keeps the chickens laying there. So far, so good. Except one chicken is trying really hard to hatch one.

The kittens the kids found in one of the sheds... now part of the clan.

The cover crop before we disc it in.

The layout of the high tunnels for cold weather production.

Tunnels going up...

So we had a little accident. We have microbursts now and then in Idaho and a 20' x 50' greenhouse high tunnel took flight down the highway. This happened the day after it was finished. It bent or broke just about every member and tore up the cover. We had "temporarily" staked it down... not good enough.

And here is the farm maintenance crew...