Catching up!!!

After looking at my blog page I realized I have not been doing very well on keeping things current. So this post is to catch up and bring my readers up to speed on the happenings around our lil funny farm!

Lets start with the animals as that is where most changes have occurred. The cashmere goats sadly had to be returned to the sanctuary as they just would not stay in the pasture and out of the neighbors yard! All nine chickens are happy healthy and have started laying like crazy even though its the middle of winter and most peoples egg layers have stopped completely or drastically reduced their production, so I am very pleased with my girls. I believe the move into what was the goat house and free ranging in the pasture all day has made all the difference in the world.

The biggest change around here is we have more rabbits and are in the process of starting a breeding program. I already told ya'll about my REW buck (ruby eyed white boy) French Angora well I also purchased another black baby French Angora from Sarah at Fruhlingskabine Rabbitry in Sonora (fmicrofarm.com) I recommend her whole heartedly for your French Angora needs.  

So I heard about this rabbit show that was going to be in Stockton, CA and turns out Sarah and I have quite a bit in common and though she is significantly younger than I am she is very mature well rounded and down to earth and I wanted someone with rabbit knowledge and experience with me if I was going to buy something. so I emailed her and asked if she wanted to go check it out with me. Thankfully she accepted and we actually had a girls day without the kids it was a lot of fun! By the end of our rounds checking out all the rabbits I ended up with 2 new huge cages and two new English Angora Rabbits to go in those cages!  :) ok so lets break it down and see what residents are here at the funny farm!

Funny Farm "residents" ;)

Randall (Great Husband, Dad and provider)

Terri (Great Wife, Mom, Very Caring Person, Silly and Goofy always making people laugh)

Anthony (Lil Tony) The quieter of the twins more prone to help mom and get involved in the projects and ask questions.

Raymond (Lil Ray Ray) The loud out going twin, would prefer to sit and play video games day and night if allowed to)

Sasha (The 1 yr. old English Cream Golden Retriever, literally cries and gets super excited when we come home or anyone comes over, thinks everyone should pet and love her)

DC (The only cat in the world that does not like to be with Randall! Makes Randall so mad because D.C. stands for "Dads Cat" lol)

Nugget (My Buff Brahma hen that somehow gets out of pasture and follows me everywhere even gets in the car with me)

Fettucinni & Lil Bit (Ray Ray & Tonys Buff Brahma hens)

6 Hens (Egg laying then stewing hens)

Casper (My first rabbit (French Angora)! This is my baby)

Onyx (The lil Black French Angora Doe) 

Pokey Jo (English Angora Buck)

Penny (English Angora Doe) 

Well that is everybody! I have been doing a lot of new projects around here that I will be sharing, things like sour dough starter, water keifer, sprouting seeds for fodder, bread baking, amazing whole wheat cookies oh my...how yummy they are and good for you!!! I will be sharing information on these topics in future posts. 

Have a great day! Thank you for reading and following our adventure!

 

The Dreaded Flu Bug!!!!

We kept it at bay as long as we could but the children managed to bring home the dreaded flu bug! For those of you who have been lucky enough to avoid it thus far I will share with you what you have to look forward too. It begins with a sore throat and quickly progresses to a VERY high fever sweating and chills, an excruciating stomach ache, vomiting, coughing and congestion with a very stuffy nose. This years flu seams to last longer as well, My son became sick on Friday 1/18/13 and was well enough to return to school Tuesday 1/29/13! so about 10 days.

Stick to clear liquids and boil chicken in broth. keep hydrated. and if you can get some try water keifer and/or milk keifer. some stores carry milk keifer by the yogurts or milk area. It is very similiar to a yogurt smoothy but full of great things for your body and tummy! yogurt also seamed to help my sons stomach ache as I did not have access to the keifer at that time. keep the house aired out open window and let the air circulate out and lastly add 3 tablespoons of bleach to your dish water to kill any flu bugs on the dishes and silverware! and wash your and your kids hands often.

Tips to avoid flu bug at grocery store

Try to do your shopping at non peak times so your exposed to less people, always use the antibacterial wipes on the carts  handle, If possible leave the kids at home as they touch everything! also when you get home WASH your fruits and veggies think about how many peoples hands have picked up that piece of fruit or veggie before you bought it, you have seen them the people that touch every piece looking for that perfect one!

Hope these tips help you and your family stay healthy through this years flu season!

Nutrition & Dental Health

Today my children seen the dentist, granted they were past due for their check up as life got busy and I sadly put it on the back burner of things I needed to do. for between their last check up at 3 years old and the dental visit today at 5 years old a lot has happened! and it is NOT good! Sadly I learned that my boys malnutrition and neglect from birth to 18 months old has caused them to have weak teeth, I am sure the biological mothers drug and alcohol use did not help either. Though bringing them in sooner would not have prevented the problems it may have reduced the severity and instead of a baby root canal and four cavities they may have had just cavities we do not know for sure. The point of me adding this to my blog is two fold. one being to share with you the importance of making sure your kids get the proper nutrition to avoid juice in sippy cups etc. My boys drank water from the time I got them but sadly the damage had already been done! A child really does need the vegetables and fruits! and not the ones from the store loaded with pesticides! If you do not have room for a garden or time simply shop at a farmers market and buy chemical free produce! One of my boys loves Veggies and is rarely sick my other son will not eat anything green or vegetables unless I hide them in something which I do a lot! but that still removes a lot of the nutrients then when I just steam them. Needless to say he not only is sick more including now he also is the one with the more severe dental problems!  I have made huge progress on eating more healthy but after learning this I am making a conscious decision and effort to eat vegetables daily! and really make sure each meal is balanced and has all the nutrients they need! This spring will be my first large garden, I want to grow enough produce to be able to preserve my fruits and vegetables to get us through winter as well. until we can build a green house on the new property when we buy it.  The second reason is obviously to keep up on your childrens dental visits. Make your 6 month check up appointment before you leave the dental office that day, then it is scheduled and less likely to be put off! I will be doing this from now on as well!....and of course even on lazy nights make sure they brush especially before bed so much bacteria builds up and sits in their mouths all night!

May you all have happy healthy smiles!

My Husbands 15 minutes of fame

My husband made the papers when he was delivering cars to the New Carmax in Bakersfield when it was about to open, dubbed "The Machine" by his boss at Conyers Auto Transport, my husband is an expert in his field of automotive transportation. and we are so very proud of him!

By Casey Christie / The Californian

Randall Garrett with Conyers Auto Transport, Inc., unloads a big-rig full of autos Wednesday in the CarMax Bakersfield lot off Panama Lane. Garrett is from Stockton; he brought the load from Fresno.

Casper the friendly Bunny

    I am super excited to be picking up my French Angora Bunny from Sarah at frulingskabine micro farm in Sonora, California! www.fmicrofarm.com Super nice lady with a ton of knowledge and great tips on her website and blog. We have found that we have a lot in common and same interests. Casper is all white with red eyes which I am learning this is what they call a REW (red eyed white) I will be spinning his wool into yarn for sale on my etsy.com store front Spun4U! I will also have tons of super soft 100% angora items to choose from. check out my little shop! I try to create and add  something  daily, so you will always find something new, exciting and different each day!http://www.etsy.com/shop/Spun4U

My shop just opened on 1/2/2013 so I am spending crazy amounts of time day and night trying to get all my ducks in a row and still find time to design and create! I will soon have art spun yarns and many different handspun yarns to choose from! Each skein is hand spun by me on my top whorl drop spindle or my mother marion Little Meggie kick spindle (as soon as it arrives, was my christmas gift from a great husband.

The great goat escape

The animal rescue delivered the 3 cashmere goats to us on 12/19/12  They have since escaped 3 times!12/22/2012 The baby girl got out then the mama rammed her head through the fence getting her horns stuck trying to get to her baby, Christmas was spent herding goats that are not yet people friendly back into the pasture and repairing fences. The very next day I got a call from our neighbor that the goats were in her yard! more herding and fence repair.I emailed the rescue to return them as I thought I was unable to keep them safe! they must have known something was up because now there has been no more escapes in the last 2 days and they are starting to let me get closer before they walk away! before if I took I step in their direction they would bolt across the pasture. So I cancelled the return of them to the rescue. 

My first blog ever!!!

Well today I decided to figure out how to make a blog! so here I am! This blog is about my newest adventure Spun4u which is the name of my etsy.com store. Etsy is a website storefront where all items sold are hand made or vintage items! All my items are hand spun and crocheted or woven by me. I try to use all materials from my farm to create my pieces. I will be creating cashmere items soon with the cashmere fiber from my 3 goats Dorthea, Ansel and Annie, I adopted this mama and her 2 babies from a rescue that had saved them from some horrible conditions after the place they were at had a devastating fire. This spring I will be adding Angora Rabbits to the farm so I will also be creating some great angora items. everything I make and sell has a 100% satisfaction guarantee.