A little update......

Having time to update a blog is hard to do. Since my last update I have had new baby pigs that are now 3 weeks old, I sold Jack and some sad but good news is that Therby has gone to live on a farm where he will be acting in plays! I am so glad that he has a forever home and will not end up as someone's hamburger. Instead he is being spoiled by many people, acting and then grazing the rest of the time with his new friends! You can view the website where he is at, at snowcampdrama.com. It was sad to sell some of my animals but I still have a plenty and right now with all the ones I have it just seems like there is harmony.

I have made some more soap and we have been using it also, seems to be pretty good stuff. Now that it is looking like Pearl is going to have more kids and BaBa is working of weening I have hardly no milk at the moment but I will soon.

I finally finished my new shelter and it was a job to set beams, by myself when it was a blazing 90 plus degrees outside. Just after the roof was on a thunder storm came up with a down pour and I could not wait to see all the pains of my labor as they all ran to it! Well it didn't work out that way, as the rain poured and I watched from the window inside the house....there they were all grazing in the rain. I was thinking "Please just one of you get under it" but no luck that time. I am happy to say it is used often now for rain and shade. Now all that is left is closing it in and covering the red part with siding once I find a timber person who will fool with me because I have such a small order.

Just before roof was put on

Outside the farm I have taken up kayaking which I love! I have always loved rivers and floating down one is just so peaceful. I took Alston this week down the Dan River and he too loves it! We are ready to go back! I am in search for another Old Town Otter boat but not had any luck so since my birthday is just around the corner I think I will just buy me a new one and Alston can use the one that I have. They, to me are the best boats ever.

Some things around the farm today....

Alston is off to camp today so I had plenty of work to do! First my feeding pans for the donkeys and mule keep getting moved around and I am tired of having to go collect them so I drilled holes in them and wired them to the post, now they can't get away! You might have to look hard to see the wire.

Jack getting a little close!

Check out those spots he has now that he has lost that fuzz.

One of my free range rabbits.

Gross, this is my next project, cleaning out the coop after the turkey hen sat in here for a month.

Ham Bone, couldn't even get picture he wanted to cuddle.

Priscilla, napping as usual.

Beautiful Therby......sunning

Therby and Maybell

Maybell wanting cold water.

My two milkers, I got plenty of milk today!

....milking then freezing it, cleaning, bug spray, snake-away, cleaning porch, painting door and porch furniture, watering flowers and garden, gathering eggs, laundry, dishes, now off to clean to the coops then to pick up Alston and back home to fry some squash.

A few things I love to see....

All of us have things that we enjoy seeing and looking at but here are a few pictures of what I call a beautiful site!

This is the scene from my front porch the other night, you just can't beat that with any ocean or mountain. All these farmers around here all work so hard and work together gathering all this hay.

Then I love to ride around and see all these big open fields when they are mowed down so pretty and have all the bales sitting around.

This is just kind of funny to me but I like to look out my kitchen window and see it but my rabbits, all 3 of them live in the yard just like my dog, chickens, ducks, turkeys, etc. They are not scared, do not run from you and stretch out in the sun and rest. This is them at the driveway where they usually lay under the car like the cat. They have a cage that they sleep in, they just go in and out when they want.

Another cute one is this little piggy rooting!

A slow weekend on the farm....

Alston and I started out the weekend by the pool. This is something that I rarely get the time to do but my chores where caught up, animals fed so why not? Then it was home to milk goats, clean stalls (that for some reason the cows go to when it is time to potty and this is not helping with the fly population), feed, clean water bowls and fill duck pond. Being in the sun so long had zapped me so it was a short evening for me! I was in my pj's by 7:00 and I usually come inside when I can't see what I am doing anymore. Jon said he was thinking something was odd when he seen that I was inside so early but there was plenty of housework waiting. Anyway, a pretty slow Saturday.

Then we have the usual Sunday morning with breakfast then church and today was a special Sunday since Jon, Alston and myself all joined Mt. Ararat where we have attended for nearly 2 years. We all love this church and being that I attended the same church my entire life until this, once I started going to Mt. Ararat, I never wanted to go back! I can just feel God's presence in our church everytime I enter it and I know that I am in the right place. Alston was the first to mention that we were not members and he wanted to be one so I am glad that we got to do that together. Once we got some running done it was time for some goat soap again. I did not have enough molds the last time which is why I had it in the glass dish that Ramze broke so I bought more and stuff to package each bar in. The worse part of this is that it recommends letting it set for at least a month if not 2 to set up good and I am just so ready to wrap it up and give it out! I think I will get Jon to test out one of the first one's tonight just to see what happens. I have attached a few pictures just so that you can see some of the process, it is alot of fun and once I get better at it maybe I can add some different stuff to it.

This is the molds, they have to be greased to make sure that the soaps pop out easy when it hardens.

You can see that this is a gold color and that is what happens to the goats milk once you pour in the lye and mix with mixer. All the other ingredients are added then you mix and mix and let sit and mix some more....finally it is thickend and poured into molds.

Now tomorrow they will be hard enough to take out of molds be still have to lay out to set up.

Nothing much but a few updates....

Last night I used this all natural oils spray to repel flies that Jami made for me and it worked great. Jack (the mule) hates a spray bottle so I hide the bottle and rubbed it on my hands then on his face, ears and body. I then noticed that there were several flies gathered on his front feet, not sure how he was going to like me messing with his feet so I oiled up my hands and he stood like a champ! After 10 minutes or so no flies had returned at all! Then I thought I would work with him some on his letting me lay across his back and then some leading. I have always nicknamed Jon, Clark Griswold and there is a reason for this. As I began to walk off with him he decides to smack ole Jack on the rear!!!!! I thought he was gonna run me over!! Shew, I always have to watch him!!

My poodle Ramze, jerked the towel that my GLASS soap mold was on and ruined nearly 14 bars so Alston and I are going to get some more PLASTIC molds to prevent this from happening again. I have milk ready for another batch of soap this weekend! I will have more milk than I need if I could ever get these babies weened!

Some oldies but goodies of the Rogers family.....

Grandma and Papa (Clara and Carl) - my house in the background.

Grandma, always looked perfect!

Papa and my Mama and her twin brother (Bonnie and Ronnie)

This is Grandma with Leon, Johnny, Linda & Vernice.

Papa and his mule, Pat.

....their later years.

Canning tomatos...........

My friend Tammy ask me today "are you gonna can those tomatoes", since it would make sense to eat these and wait for mine to come in to can but I have never done it before and could not wait. Mama canned when I was young but I paid no attention to details then, later figured it is easier to buy them at the store and now in my old age of 32 I am ready to grow my own food and can it myself. I started out small with only 5 quarts but I learned alot. I don't think I will need the recipe next time. Yes, I know, many people have done this and it has been done for years but it was new and exciting to me so I had to even share my pictures!

The beginning....

the middle...

and the end!

One funny thing is when your almost 13 year old comes in asking "what are you cooking" like I have moved us back to the cave man days but even though he has no interest now, he will remember it just like I did. He did help batter squash and fry it up tonight...not that he was gonna eat it but at least he was cooking.

Oh and a little goat soap update... I was able to break out my molds and it smells so natural, like the oatmeal, not the strong scents in the store bought.