Critter of the Week

Lil' Ann!

We got Lil' Ann in February of 2007. She was just six weeks old, and oh, so cute with all her wrinkles and folds of skin. Lil' Ann is the only dog we ever paid money for-

she is a purebred Red Bone Coonhound and is one of the sweetest dogs I know.

Here are the two girls with Lil' Ann and yawning Buddy, our now-deceased Chihuahua. It's amazing to see how close in size the two were and to see how HUGE Lil' Ann is now.



Lil' Ann claimed the front seat on our move to the new farm.

Baby Face Tuesday

Jasmine!

Here's Jasmine shortly after we found her rummaging around a dumpster.



Stairwell Revisited

We finished painting the stairs in the stairwell this past weekend. We went with a sage green color, and I think it turned out very nice. Fresh and farmy!

Check out the before and after pictures:

Before on left; After on right.

Again, before on left, after on right. See the big difference? Note, the original paint actually is quite "grey" if you see it in person... the pictures don't pick up the actual color very well.

Fresh & Farmy! :-)

First Signs of Spring

Our first daffodil has bloomed!



Furry Friday Picture

Willie!

Critter of the Week

Brownie!

Our spring order of chicks last year ended up being short due to the feedstore cat, so they threw in some random chicks, including this little bantam. He was the friendliest chick out of the whole bunch, and my youngest son's favorite. He named him Brownie.



Here he is shown with Caramel (background), another bantam rooster that was thrown into our order. So much for paying extra to get all pullets! Haha! But these guys are so cute and fun to watch.



Homemade Incubator

My Handy Husband designed and built our homemade incubator and it has worked great!

He built it using recycled 2x4s and wood paneling, added 2 normal lights for heat, and we put an old window pane over the top that can be vented to let extra heat out. The eggs sit on an old window screen that is held off the floor by the 2x4 frame. Beneath the eggs is a bowl of water, to add the necessary moisture needed for growing and hatching healthy babies. By no means was this incubator scientifically built, but I think we did a pretty good job of it!

Watching and waiting for signs of life within the eggs gave the family HOURS of entertainment. My spa room served as a temporary storage room, incubating room and, later, the brooder.

And after 21 days of waiting....

...new life emerged!

Our initial hatching resulted in ten out of twelve aggs hatching successfully. It amazes me SO much to watch these tiny, fragile little creatures hatch completely by themselves with no outside help whatsoever. To see how they are acting entirely on instinct and just KNOW when, where and how to crack that egg open from the inside is just miraculous.





Bathroom Project

We started on the kids' bathroom a couple weeks ago, by sanding and painting the cabinet. I painted the ceiling yesterday. We need to trim out the walls and door yet, install a new toilet, and put some kind of flooring in, but I'm glad to see some progress.  

Cabinet, before.

Cabinet, after.

Hidden Treasures

While working in the "spa room," I unearthed more treasures hidden in the closet... 

vintage wallpaper and beautiful wood floors.

Furry Friday

Daisy, having fun in the snow.

Critter of the Week

Jasper!

We found young Jasper, hungry and homeless, in August of 2010. He immediately became a part of the family. Unfortunately, his life was about to take a very traumatic turn....

...when he was hit by a car and broke his pelvis. Miraculously, he somehow managed to drag himself from the road, all the way through our front pasture, and into our yard where we immediately took him to the vet. He had pins put into place and his tail was removed due to having no circulation to it. The veterinarian informed us that he may never be able to do all the "cat" things that a normal, healthy cat can do.    

Jasper found a best friend in another stray that came to us, little Lizzie:

And Jasper endeavored to show us just how "normal" he could be:

He has an infinity for water that you would not believe! Any running or dripping water he hears draws his attention, and if you ever leave your drink setting around, you better be prepared to clean up a big mess!

Jasper is one of the friendliest cats I've ever known, and his striking "tuxedo" coloring adds such a gentlemanly look to him. He's a very special cat who is loved very much.







Weekend painting...

Our weekend was spent almost entirely in one paint project or another. Our biggest project was the stairwell. We only got the walls and ceiling finished, and will have to wait to paint the actual stairs another weekend when the kids are gone, as the girls' bedrooms are upstairs. We also will be replacing some missing trim around the window and door frame. Here are a couple before and after pictures:

Before on left; After on right.

Here you can see an old water leak stain in the upper part of the stairwell. It was pretty hard to cover and we may decide to go over it one more time.

Our other paint project was the kids' bathroom cabinet. Stay tuned for pictures of that!

Furry Friday Picture

Isabelle

Critter of the Week

Billy Bob!

Billy Bob, an eight-month old Nubian buck came to us in January of this year. He is a super sweet guy and has fit right into our little farm. The ladies LOVE him, and he will become a daddy in a few short months! 

Baby Face Tuesday

The View

Furry Friday Picture

Lucky- one of our Shih Tzus.

Things I Love

What I love about our house, and ALL old houses is what makes them so unique. It's the little things that canNOT be replicated in modern times. And perhaps what makes these things so enchanting to me is just the simple fact that they were a part of someone else's life... another family... another time. Imagining what that family may have been like- how they lived, what they did in their day-to-day lives. It's all so fascinating to me.  

For starters, the door-knob and lock on one of the bedroom doors upstairs:

The design and "look" alone is simply beautiful.

And then I wonder about the paint scheme... and how they must have really LOVED blue to have painted the entire room- walls, floor, ceiling- all a solid blue.
These are the things that I love. :-)

The View

Critter of the Week: Princess

This week we honor Princess, our purebred spotted Nubian doe born in 2006. We acquired Princess and her half-sister, Dolly, as kids still on the bottle. They were our very first venture into the world of goats. Having Princess and Dolly was such a wonderful experience! We could spend HOURS just watching them run, jump and play. Even watching them sleep brought a smile to my face:

They soon grew into sleek and dainty little ladies:

Princess turned out to be a superb mother and milker. After having a difficult first birth, in which only one of her triplets survived, her second birth went quick and smooth, producing very colorful twins:

We look forward to this coming spring, when Princess is due to kid once again. She is also going to become a grandma this year!