Billy Talk

My neighbor has a nice small  herd of Boer goats. He recently added two billy goats or males.

They make unusual noises like sneezes and belches combined. It is all about the sounds and the smells with boy goats.

Young buck talking to a doe.

Eating your farm

Now that we have a farm we raise livestock that we can eat. We raise poultry and our neighbors raise, pigs, goats and cows. Our poultry provides eggs and meat when needed. Poultry is traded for other goods when needed. I do not name my poultry as they will end up on the dinner table at some point. I care for them, feed them, mend their wounds, but do not become attached. Just like I care for my cabbage and tomatoes. No one cares nor gets upset when I eat a cabbage I raise, but if I eat my livestock I get the bleeding hearts.

This is so pointless. No one cries over supermarket beef, pig  or chicken, but if you raise it yourself, "Oh.. how could you!" I hear this a lot from non farmers. This attitude is what is wrong with our way of life these days. Our ancestors ate and lived with the animals they raised . Modern man eats the animals some factory raises. This removes us from what we eat. I raise very happy healthy animals and not drugged up factory animals. And when it is their time, yes I am sad. But I am happy I raised animals that can feed me without all the extra stuff factory farms use.

And I get to live with an animal from birth to death, a gift non farmers never experience. I get to see how the animals grows and lives its life on my farm. I respect the animals and its welfare in my hands. And when the end comes for it, I say a prayer of thanksgiving and rejoice in the gift of its tasty life. 

mmm ... bacon

mmmm cabbage.

Soup stock, so tasty.

Raccoon Tree

On the drive home we spotted these young ones in the road. They saw us and ran up the tree. Their mom was in the field watching us.

So cute to see during the day. However, they are thirsty, hungry and are nocturnal. All the animals are acting out of character in this drought. Food and water are hard to find even in these woods. We have deer, turkey, and snakes all visiting our ponds at all hours of the day and night.

We hope we get more rain to take care of these wild ones for the fall and winter.

Maive Quilt

I was invited to a baby shower and needed to make a nice heirloom for the family. Since it is the end of summer and will soon be getting cooler in the Ozarks. I chose summer colors with oranges and yellows for fall. The mommy wanted pinks and yellows for her baby's room.

 This quilt is lap sized with a flannel backing. The center blocks were donated by 

another crafter's UFO (Un Finished Object).

I added a matching strip for the boarders.

Closeup of my machine quilting

I added the orange binding to finish off the quilt edges.