Surprise...Milk!

I am a goat 'newbie'.  Several months ago, out of the blue, my husband called and asked if I wanted some goats.  I thought to myself, "Yes, next spring...", but strangely I found myself asking 'why?'.  He said he had a patient who bought these three goats and now didn't want them.  There mother was supposedly a great milker.  They were a great price so I (surprisingly) said sure.  We had our 3 Nubian-Alpine girls (Jewels, Heather and Elizabeth) delivered to our home in May.  The gentleman told me their mother and grandmother "always" had triplets.  He said our girls were, in fact, a group of triplets.  I have to admit, I was excited. 

We took the water hose and gave them a good bath the first day.  The light brown color I thought they were changed to the purest white I have ever seen.   They were lovely in every way you can imagine.   All my fears about their temperament were quickly set aside.  We discovered they had the sweetest personalities. They were loving and social.   They seem like they were made to come and live with us.  It has been a fun summer watching them grow and play together.

A couple of weeks ago I had our youngest girl, our future veterinarian, take the ladies out of the field to get them use to being walked.  I was starting to think about the spring, when we would be having babies and start milking the goats.  I knew the goats would need to be able to walk on a leash to be milked everyday.  Our daughter noticed Jewels udder was getting bigger.  I looked at her, pushed on the teat and out squirts milk.  I was shocked.

I did some research and found out that Jewels is a "precocious" milker.  Even though she has never had a kid, she is in milk.  This is a great opportunity for me to practice milking and to see if I even want milk goats before we breed our girls.  We milked for the first time this morning.  I had about 1 cup of milk once we finished straining it.  And yes, it tastes just like 'real' milk!

A new school year at Hagan Academy.

I can't believe we just started our 5th year of homeschooling.  When we removed our youngest daughter from public school, I really wondered if we were making the right decision.  When I tested her to see what level she was on we were shocked.  She should have been going into the 6th grade but she tested at the 4th grade level in EVERY subject.  She was so embarrassed.  I reassured her that we would get her caught up and by the end of the first year she was right on track.  Her reading ability increased by leaps and bounds.

The second year everyone was telling me that "if you homeschool one, you might as well homeschool them all."  My son's teacher had completely destroyed his self-confidence by the end of 2nd grade with a few cutting remarks and I was very upset.  I thought it was a wonderful time to pull him out of public school and bring him home. 

Last year, when we moved to Oklahoma, our oldest daughter decided to be homeschooled for her senior year. What a joy to be able to hand her the diploma ourselves. It was a beautiful day.


Now, here we are in our 5th year and going strong.  This is the first time I have had little ones to teach.  Our twins started kindergarten a few weeks ago.  I can't believe how much their hand writing has improved.  Our youngest daughter is taking Latin this year.  She has taught our kindergartners a Latin prayer.

I am hoping that this year will be the best year ever.  I am more confident as an overseeer and teacher to the kids.  They are confident in their studies and seem to be having fun with their classes.  We are team teaching our littlest students and that is a great joy.  Not to mention, we have only blown up one science experiment this year....so far, anyway.

What's the buzz on the bees?

It is official, we will not be getting any honey this summer.  I am sad but not surprised.  We did not bring our hives home until well into the spring nectar flow.  We brought home two, 9 frame hives (10th frame was a feeder).  The first hive was a new start-up so they had about 3 frames going when they came home.  Our second hive had seven or eight nice frames of bees but we immediately added a second hive body. 

My son working our first hive in May

To put it simply, there was too much work to expect them to make excess honey for us.  The important thing will be that they have enough honey for themselves to get through the winter.  We will be heading out to pull the empty suppers off them in a week or so and need to do a full inspection.  We will be feeding them this fall just to be sure.

Now my attention can shift to the other animals on the farm and getting ready for fall pest treatments for the bees. Not much else to do with them except wait for spring.  Thanks for trying ladies!

Salsa (Or what to do with all those veggies...)

Can anyone really plant too many tomatoes?

I don't think so! I can always find friends and family to "help me" unload some of the bounty from our garden. Another fun thing to do with all those red beauties is make salsa.

Here is what you will need:
10c firm lg. tomatoes, peeled
3c chopped onions
2c chopped sweet peppers
1/4c finely chopped hot peppers


To peel the tomatoes: Cut the tops off the tomatoes. Drop into low boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and place in cold water. Peel off skins.

I like to have the kids help me chop the veggies. We have had a lot of good laughs and it is more fun for them to eat something that they helped make.

Place everything that is chopped in a large pot. Add 1Tbsp red peppers, 3Tbsp salt, 2Tbsp sugar, 1Tbsp mustard seeds, 1Tbsp garlic powder, 1c of vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer 45 min to 1 hour.  After the salsa is cooked you might want to thicken it a little.  Mix a small amount of cornstarch with water and add to salsa.  Remember, it may thinken more as it cools.  It is better to be a little runny then too thick.

Prepare jars while the salsa is cooking. Make sure the jars are very clean (run them through the dishwasher with bleach). Heat your lids and jars in a hot water bath.

Once the salsa is cooked place in hot jars and seal. After an hour or two, check to make sure the jars have sealed by pushing on the top of the lid (It should not "pop" when pressed). It should last at least a year...maybe more if it is canned properly.

This is how your finished product should look. The salsa is ready to eat immediately. It is fast, easy and your friends will be amazed that it is "home-made". Have fun!

Goodbye, Sweet Harley

We lost our beloved Mastiff a few weeks ago. Harley was a "big oaf" but we sure miss him.

We named him Harley because my husband always wanted one...a motorcycle actually but "wasn't this close enough," I asked? He grew fast, as all giant breeds do and before we knew it he was a 135lb lap puppy.

When we adopted our little boys from Korea, Harley allowed the new little men to crawl all over him. I was nervous but he was gentle and patient with them.

I knew the end was coming last year when Harley became very sick. We nursed him through that episode but the vet gently told me we didn't have much time with him. His hips were broken down and the move from Kansas to Oklahoma had been hard on him. Not long after that we brought home our beagle, Cooper. Harley started acting like a new dog, playing and running with the new puppy. I truly believe that Cooper extended Harley's life.

A few weeks ago Harley just laid down and didn't get up. He died peacefully in his sleep. The house feels a little emptier and much quieter without him lumbering about.

Harley, thanks for being a good friend. We miss you.

Our 1st year on the farm

We have now been on the farm a full year. The last year has been full of beginnings and endings. We have left friends and our church family to embark on this journey to the country. This is the last year in review.

One of the things I remember about moving in was the heat. I forgot how hot Oklahoma can be in June. I am not sure I prepared the kids for the heat either. We spent a lot of time that summer at the lake or in the house.

When we moved in we had the neighbors horses on our land. I loved to look out the window and see them munching on grass or running together. I also enjoyed the beautiful wild flowers that grew in our fields. I remember one day looking out and we had the most beautiful sunflower growing by the back fence. I looked forward to doing dishes and looking at my flower. One day I looked out and Patrick, a large white stallion, had my lovely flower hanging out of his mouth, eating it.
 

In the fall, we built a compost bin. I did some research on the Internet to figure out how to get the process started. We mowed the yard and planned to put the grass clippings in the bin for our first contribution. About an hour later I looked out and the horses were eating my compost. Apparently, they though I built them a new feed trough. We tried to put chicken wire over the top to keep them out but they just pushed through it.

Our youngest son with the new calves

In November we got our first baby chicks. In January, we acquired 3 Holstein calves. By the beginning of 2010 it felt like we had a real farm. I really thought that would be all the animals we would get until spring 2011. I was happy to learn how to care for the animals and get to watch them grow. Then in March, Matthew suggested that we get bees. He was so excited that he read books without being asked (that is a big achievement for an 11-year old boy). Consequently, in the spring we ordered two hives to start our aviary. In April, Jim had a patient who had 3 Alpine-Nubian cross doelings. He wanted to sell them and knew we had a farm. I felt a little overwhelmed having so many animals come so quickly. So far, all our babies are doing well and growing.

Our new baby goats

We have had more then our share of problems with our house. It seems like every time we get one problem fixed two more pop up. We are on first name basis with our plumber. My kids run up and give them hugs when they pull in...they are just like family now.

Our older kids, hard at work building fence

We have our land fenced now. The horses are on their own property and we have our steers and goats in their own areas. We got out and worked together to get the building done and had a lot of fun as a family in the process.

We have had many adventures this first year. I am hoping year two is a little more quiet but I am not holding my breath. With five children and acres full of farm animals there will always be some comic relief somewhere.

Homestead ideas for the suburbs

Long before we ever moved on to our own land we were starting to implement some homestead ideals. Basically, these ideals center on being more self-sufficient. I thought I would pass on some things we started doing when we were still in the suburbs.

1. Grow a garden: Anyone with the smallest piece of land can grow a garden. We started in a flower bed that was unused and put a few tomato plants in. Our garden this year is in a small spot that use to be a dog run. We have peppers, tomatoes, green beans, watermelon, cantaloupe and okra. You can borrow or rent a tiller and start today.

2. Hang out your clothes: Not only will this save money ($30 or more a month for us) but it is better for the environment. Plus, you will love how your clothes smell. We bought a small umbrella-style clothes line for $50 at a local hardware store. I love it, it is easy to use and doesn't take up a lot of space. Even if you only used it a couple of times a week, you will notice a savings.

3. Have a chicken in your backyard: Perhaps even 3 or 4 hens would be nice. They help keep your yard free of pests and provide you with eggs. If you had 4 chickens you could have 20 eggs a week. Check local codes and talk to your neighbors. More and more cities are starting to allow small flocks.

4. Get out of debt: This is the real secret to self-sufficiency. It might take some time but sit down and work up a plan to real financial freedom. You will never regret it.

City girl turns country

Showing off our new "cowgirl" look.

A year ago I would not have thought I would be writing this declaration, but here it is...I am now a country girl. I love to hear the rooster crow and I don't care what time it is. I have found great amusement in watching animals. I like hanging clothes out on a line. I enjoy being in the garden in the cool of the morning and picking the bounty of what is to be found there. I even enjoy hearing the bees buzzing in the distance.

Last year at this time, we were moving from Kansas City looking for a quieter, simpler life. We were shocked when we moved into our "new" house. What a mess it was. It was left dirty and uncared for. Once I recovered from the shock, I set into making this house a home. I cleaned for two days before I felt comfortable unpacking. We went through our belongings to weed out what was unnecessary, to move us closer to that "simpler life". It was healing to be able to live with a little less.

This whole adventure started as my husband's dream. He was a farm boy and had spent our whole married life trying to get back to the country. I have to admit, I didn't embrace this dream for a long time. I wasn't apposed to living in the country but it wasn't a burning desire in me like it was in my husband.

Now, here I am, a reformed, former suburbanite. A city girl who loved going to dinner theater and having every form of entertainment right around the block. I have traded the convenience of close shopping for the peace we have on our little homestead. I have exchanged Starbucks for Folgers. There are usually many days in a row that I never leave our property. I am happy with that. What I get in exchange is worth it...a simpler, quieter life.