Itty Bitty Hooves

Finally Babies!

The first babies of the year are here. After several weeks of watching and waiting and not knowing exactly when any were due because we pasture bred, the first goat kids of the year finally arrived this afternoon. They made their entrance as eventful as possible too. The first one, a big buckling was stuck and first-time mom was having a heck of a time pushing him out so I helped pull, and boy pull hard! He finally came out and I thought well, he must have been a single because he’s so big, but no, out popped another foot. This time, a little girl, but only ONE foot. She was out of position and not coming out. I had to get down on my belly in the hay and go in after her. After a few minutes of being up to my elbow inside a goat trying to find the other front foot, I finally got a hold of it and was able to bring it up and into the right position. Then she got stuck! This was a biggun too!

Both are doing great and are happily eating. The pictures below were taking the moment they hit the ground, and on my camera phone so they’re not the best quality, but I was just so thrilled. Mom is a half Boer and Spanish cross, and dad is a fullblood Boer. The babies are perfectly Boer marked! I’m just thrilled. Being as big as they are I’m anxious to see how they grow. The little doe might just be a keeper. Hey, being born on leap day has to be lucky right?

Hard Labor

When we moved out here to the rural area of Donovan one of the things I loved most about the house was it’s HUGE country kitchen. I’d had larger kitchens before in the city and suburbs, but never anything this size. It’s 20 x 20 and has tons of counter top and cabinet space. After so many years out here it’s gotten it’s fair share of use, and heavy duty work too I might add. It wasn’t new when we moved in either, so it really needs a major overhaul. We’ve been sanding down the cabinets they’re still in good shape, they just need a fresh coat of varnish. They all need new cabinet pulls, and such though. I’ve considered just rehabing the old ones but something like that would be nice just to replace and it’s an easy job too, especially compared to the sanding and refinishing of the wood cabinets.

After that, a new counter top, a fresh coat of wall paint, and a new floor which we’ve become quite expert in laying, and the kitchen will look like new again. Ready for another 10 or 20 years of hard labor.

Right Life

There are a lot of questions as a homesteader that pop up in my head as I go through the day’s chores. I’ve always wanted to live on a farm. I got that wish, small though it may be, it’s still the life I’ve always dreamed of. Surrounded by animals, growing most of our own food–living off the land. I wanted this type of life, and so did my husband long before the idea of a world-wide catastrophe such as the Y2k bug sproutted in everyone’s mind back in the late 90’s. I have to admit that the idea of such a disaster did prompt us to move faster toward the goal and get the place we have now. Over the past 11 years we’ve done a lot of trial and error type of things but each year we grow more and more comfortable with out decisions and choices, and abilities. Never before moving out here would I have thought of butchering our own chickens, or other animals–I wouldn’t have had the slightest clue how to go about it much less want to do it. Now it’s a regular thing that I don’t even have to think about in regards to how, or when, etc. Still, with all that we do around here growing our gardens each year, raising our own meat animals, creating our own dairy products, collecting the eggs given to us by our small flock of chickens every day… there are items that surround us reminding us that we’re still part of the vast mechanical, technological world. Words that don’t seem to fit with the homestead lifestyle still infiltrate our existance like CAT6, routers, modems, cable, satalite, and more. I really am not sure how to catagorize ourselves since the idea of a ‘homesteader’ seems to be most fitting with those who wish to live ‘off the grid’ and we’re still long long ways away from such a life, and not even sure that’s exactly where we’d want to be. I love our tech stuff. It makes life much easier. We can’t be considered traditional ‘farmer/ranchers’ though since in today’s day and age that rarely means making personal use of the products that are raised for sale, and usually means a much more specific and specialized product as well. Picking one type of animal or produce to raise rather than the diversity needed to provide for one’s own family. Having a little of everything doesn’t make for profit, although it’s the only way to make sure you can supply your family’s needs rather than having to buy outside sources of everything.

I sometimes like to compare ourselves to the more ‘frontier’ type of farmer. They did what most homesteaders are seeking to do. Of course, they were ‘off the grid’ too, but not by choice as much as by necessity. There wasn’t a grid to be hooked up to. In fact, most of those old ‘homestead’ farmers were happy to have electricity come to them, and gas, and telephone, and anything else that the great scientific minds developed to make life easier.

Just as in the old days, getting new technology out here in the rural areas happens at a much slower pace than in the big cities. We still have no access to high-speed internet, although we certainly (and obviously) have dial up access. Even that took longer to acheive than it would if we’d remained at our old place in the suburbs of Chicago.

I waffle over the idea of our conflicting lifestyle trying to decide if it is right, or wrong, and often come to the conclusion that there really is no right or wrong. There’s right for us, and this is it. Certainly, I can rest assured that IF a disaster were to strike, we’d be able to live without the modern technology that would kill others to do without. I also smile knowing that food won’t be an issue like it would be for the city-locked dwellers in their high rises.

I could, like any good homesteader live and support the family off our 10 acres with a smile… and be off grid without much complaint (some would happen, sorry)… but until such a disaster, I’ll happily combine high-tech with low-tech and live the life that’s right… for me.

Changing Times

Being from the midwestern rural areas you grow up with certain ideals and men wearing jewelry isn’t as fashionable as in the bigger cities and metropolitan areas. Still, it’s kind of amazing how over time you see things trickle in that even 10, 20 years ago wouldn’t be commonplace. Even my husband wears an earing. He’s as far from a ‘biker’ type, or thug as you can get. You could even call him a ‘good ole boy’ type to some extent, and yet there he is, looking like a lumber jack only sporting a small stud in one ear. My son, so far, at 22 is devoid of body jewelry, but my daughter’s boyfriends have always had some form of men’s jewelry hanging or pinned to various areas of their bodies. I have grown quite accustomed to seeing it, although I’m still not totally oblivious to her tongue ring. Even the tongue ring though has become more and more something I don’t ’see’ anymore because I’m getting used to it. I guess even rural good ole boys have to change with the times.

Don’t Bet The Farm–Do It Safe

The mortgage industry has taken a real beating lately with the subprime lending industry in a freefall. I think they’ll rebound nicely but it kind of thwarted our plans for this summer of hoping to get refinancing to cover the cost of a new building. Yes, I need another barn. No, it’s not likely to mean I can then use my garages for actually putting cars in. I’ve been seeking out mortgage lenders and kind of getting my feel for what the new loan atmosphere is now. It’s kind of like stepping into uncharted waters. What used to be the rule is not as definable now. We’re still in a good position though and we’ve never made any use of any of the ’strange’ loan arrangements that used to be so popular. We’ve always felt that those types of loans were surefire ways of getting into trouble, and it’s obvious now they were. I think it was always obvious it just got so popular in the late nineties and early 00’s that it snowballed into a catastrophe. That doesn’t mean using the equity in a home is a bad idea, it just has to be done with intelligence and forethought to the possible ramifications. A new barn is great, but it’s not worth losing the whole farm for. On the other hand, if these goats don’t quit giving off false signals making me keep an eye on them all night long because I’m sure they’re going to have their kids finally–maybe losing the farm isn’t such a bad option after all. LOL

When a Garage isn’t a Garage

I don’t have a garage. Or, more truthfully, I don’t have a place for my car, or my husband’s truck out of this crazy weather we have here in Illinois. I do actually have a garage–two in fact. It’s just that never in the thirteen years that we’ve lived here has either held a car. The detached 2 1/2 car garage has been used as a barn, and even after we had the huge 72×36 eight stall, hay storage barn complete with tack room, and office, the little old, battered 2 1/2 car garage still somehow always gets pulled into service as a ‘barn’. Right now it houses two of my pregnant goats, and a goose and a single loan remaining chicken that survived the hawk attacks of late fall (kung fu chicken). The attached one car garage is more of a ‘mud porch’ and storage area for all the ‘off season’ supplies. Things like barbque grills, gardening supplies, and even lumber hibernate there during the winter, and pool covers, stock tank heaters etc spend thier summers there. So the question is always what to do with the cars? They’ve lived in the driveway for as long as I can remember, but that’s kind of hard on them. I’ve been considering a car cover. Something to keep the most severe weather off. I think it would be especially useful for the car that doesn’t get used much during the winter, my son’s sportscar, and even our big trailer/camper would benefit from being kept from exposure to the winter elements. They come in all sizes for all different makes and models so considering the fact that it’s unlikely any of our garages will ever house an acutal automobile, it may be the best alternative.

Help Has Arrived

FEMA finally showed up in town this week. Only four weeks after the first flood, and a week and a half after the second, not that bad, huh? Well at least they are beginning to give relief to the flood victims so that’s a good thing. Community support has been great and lots of money has been raised to help out those devestated by the winter weather we’ve had around here. Maybe FEMA will put all the newly homeless folks up in Condo Hotels while they’re homes are being repaired. They have to put them somewhere. There are families who have been living in the basements of several area churches for over a month now.

Watseka’s Second 2008 Flood

Here are the pics I mentioned below that I took today in when I was in town. The first pic is of Route 24, a major highway used a lot by truckers. They’ve all be rerouted down Route 52 (right by our house) to get around the now impassable town. The other pics are side streets where homes are flooded, and cars half under water in some places.

Flood Waters

I took some pictures today of Watseka. That poor town has been having a horrible time this year. It’s the closest town to us, and where all the shopping is, but it’s almost completely closed off except for the one end with the WalMart (thank heavens for that). Starting in January with the big snows, and then incredible warm front that melted all the snow, and then it rained hard, the Iroquois river overflowed and flooded the town worse than it’s flooded in 100 years! I didn’t get pictures of that one but they were evacuating people in rowboats and canoes. It was all over the news. The governor declared it, and a few other places along the big rivers here in Illinois disaster areas. Then it started to dry up, and all along the streets garbage from inside homes and business lined the curbs in mountainous piles of rubish. Furniture, drywall, insulation, carpeting, and other stuff was just a sad sight. Now, only a few weeks later, once again, a foot of snow that melted last week followed by heavy rain, and more snow and more warm weather to melt it has brought it all right back again. It’s like the second punch to an already dizzy boxer. There’s land for sale Branson and I bet a lot of folks around here are considering a relocation to a more hospitable climate. Illinois winters were never fun to deal with, but this one has been unbelievable. I’ll post the pics in a seperate post.

Be An Angel

Tax time is right around the corner. For some it’s right now. Heck, both of my kids have already done their taxes, and spent their returns. I have a few weeks yet to go because I haven’t gotten all of my w-9’s from the companies I’ve done work for yet. Regardless of when you have them done, you might be wishing now you had more deductions. Donations are a great way to give to others while getting a tax break for yourself.

One really special non-profit organization is Car Angel. You can donate car and they use the money from the sale of the car to create wonderful videos to give to kids and teens

So far Car Angel has given away 2.4 million videos to young people. It’s a fantastic way to give a great gift.

This is just one of the types of videos that Car Angel makes available to kids and teens: