Who's Ready For Summer Camp 2015?

Recently, a friend shared this awesome post and it made me so happy!  I encourage you to read it. http://wellfesto.com/2013/06/13/if-our-daily-lives-were-more-like-summer-camp/

This post is truly relatable to me. I absolutely support and agree with everything stated here. The bonds really do come quickly. The friendships are magic and every one of them is important, from the past to the future. Exercise is better at camp. No one would care how you sound when you sing. Eating as a group is a cool deal. Written letters are treasures. The warmth of the sun is a great feeling. Friendly competition is the most amazing form of competition. Being ourselves is the best thing we can do. Money shouldn’t disrupt the amazing moments. Making stuff in arts and crafts should be enjoyed. The stars in the sky are worth looking at. Warm fuzzies would be a common occurrence, and that would be joyous. Hugs should be given, warm and heartwarming. We’d live out the Raggers Creed.

 But I believe there’s more to it.

1. We’d get to know one another and trust one another quicker.
2. We would embrace emotional moments.
3. We would graciously include new people, new cultures, and new possibilities.
4. We wouldn’t dress to impress.
5. We would take each other into consideration at every turn.
6. We would become comfortable in our personality and quirks.
7. We would challenge each other to become better.
8. We would help each other get past our fears.
9. We would encourage open conversation.
10. Resolutions to interpersonal issues wouldn’t be drawn out, but quickly and constructively.
11. We’d show compassion constantly.
12. We’d encourage and support one another’s choices.
13. We’d encourage each person to speak up and be leaders.
14. Appearance wouldn’t matter, but our attitude and intent.
15. We would enjoy one another’s crazy laughter.
16. We would compliment others sincerely.
17. Random dancing wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
18. We would enjoy children’s stories.
19. We wouldn’t rely on technology to feel connected.
20. We would use pranks as a form of appreciation.

There are so many things camp does for us that the real world would be enhanced by introducing. Camp builds people up and supports who people plan to be.

Camp is my safe haven. Three summers ago, I wouldn't speak. I didn't have the trust and friendliness to open up and be part of my cabin. Throughout the week, I went from not speaking to anyone to speaking to one camper and one counselor. That summer, I made goals and got my first rag. Two summers ago, I came back and I had trouble talking to my cabin mates and two new counselors. Eventually, the discomfort became friendship. Those counselors became more like mentors and I trusted them. Making more goals and getting my second rag, I went home changed and all the beauty of camp made everything better. This last summer, I went from being the shy and antisocial camper to the one that was invited back as a Counselor in Training. Staying 6 weeks instead of 1, I became someone those counselors could make use of. I hope I made them proud. Camp saved me from many situations that could have unfolded just by being safe and encouraging. I went home impatient for summer to come again, and I'm still waiting to go back to grow some more.

Last spring, I would go to girls’ group with my church and sit under a table or behind a chair during our movie time and now, after camp, I speak with a newfound confidence and in comfort with the people around me. Camp is what took the shy and uncomfortable person I had been, and transformed me into someone with no reservation in being myself.

For me, camp will always be my home away from home. I think of my favorite people I met there, and I smile. I can’t wait to go back and experience each special thing all over again countless times. Camp has been my life saver. I think the opportunities presented by camp are the best to learn from.  Camp gives independence in an open and accepting environment that provides room to grow and mature while still keeping the childlike nature that is important.

What’s your camp moment?

Reach Out and Find a Friend...

Late last December, I was perusing a local Facebook page for poultry folks. I look around frequently, but understand that my heritage poultry preference and soy-free, corn-free organic feed standards are not those of the typical backyard poultry enthusiast, so I am rather selective about what I post on, preferring to not get into debates where I am glad to agree to disagree. Still, there are so many places where we agree, and where we are able to support one another. Then one caught my eye.

There was a woman from my town who had a very small mixed flock, including a few bantams. The bantams were living separately from the standard hens, as they had been pushed around by the larger hens, and then of the bantams, one had begun to pick on the other. One little Sebright was being bullied, and then her companion bantam had passed away. Long story short, the Sebright was now very sad. Flock animals are meant to have friends!

As the little Sebright's owner was looking for advice for finding a suitable friend for her, I considered our own situation...

As breeders, we often have a wide variety of birds and ages in the grow out bantam or grow out standard pens. One of the little ones from this past year's bantam Cochin hatch had a cross beak. Not a true scissor beak, but her head and beak weren't truly in correct alignment.  This just happens sometimes, even though our poultry are bred to the Standard of Perfection, and many of the offspring do quite well at shows. I will never know if something went wrong in the egg, putting it in the incubator, or what really happened. Still, with the issue, the little one had not gotten along with the other bantam Cochins, and had moved over with the Silkies for some time. There were also a few other mismatched ones growing out in the group, but as they were growing and the Silkies and others gradually were moving out to their long term homes, we found ourselves debating the future of the little hen.

She would be fine for breeding, that isn't something she will pass on with young, and she is clearly healthy and eating and drinking and getting around just fine. She was due to begin laying once the light increased again. Yet, we are not only a little pressed for space in the Silkie pen, but also collect eggs there for hatching, and don't wish to have cross-bred bantam birds. The children and I had been debating the best place for her, and she deserves a happy life. So what to do?

I commented on the post that I had a little pullet who was not perfect, but was thriving, and who didn't seem to be finding her place here. A little bit later, I found a message from a sweet person named Jade, who surprisingly lived only about ten miles or so from me. We offered that perhaps due to the fact that the little pullet was different, she hadn't found her place yet in our home, and if Jade thought she would like to try, she was welcome to have her as a friend for her little Sebright. I stressed that she could not be shown, and her beak was not right. Jade thought it could be a good fit, as their chickens are pets, not show birds.

I was so excited that Jade and her husband were coming to get her the next day! Bailey gave the little one a bath to get ready, and she sat in the living room with her by the heater, with farm puppy Shadow watching over them as she dried. Within a few days, Jade sent me the photo above, of the lonely little one with the pullet they had brought home. She told me that initially that pullet from our place had definitely been in charge, but they were becoming friends and exploring together.

Then later, another message saying they were getting to be good friends! This is where the two sleep at night. I feel so tremendously blessed that Jade has let me know that this has been such a great move, and so blessed that the little pullet has found the place where she always belonged, we just had to give her the chance to grow and thrive and to reach out and help her find it. What a great chance for her to have a flock family! They are nestled so sweetly in this photo.

Then, earlier this week, there was another message... she laid her first egg! For any of you who also own chickens, you know the excitement of the first egg, and of the feeling like it is all working out. Honestly, I had the feeling that it would work out as soon as I had met Jade. And Bailey was glad that a little one from her breeding program would have a great place to be. Wyatt was not only thrilled to not have to figure out how to manage the egg situation in his Silkie breeding pen, but he got a little spoiled as well when Jade brought him lemons! (Many thanks, he feels he has now perfected lemonade!)

I reached out to Jade, and asked whether she felt okay about me sharing this story. I feel like it is important to see that the backyard pet chicken person and the egg and meat producing (and showing and breeding) folks can work together to enable a truly organic and humane industry on the producer side and great family flock on the backyard pet poultry side. 

The little bantam Cochin pullet and her new family sent us this video to share as well. Thanks so much! I think you all likely can also see that she continues to eat just fine!

Well folks, now it is your turn. How do you partner between small farms and backyard flocks? And between different herds of goats? Share your ideas and success and help inspire and educate. All the best to you!

The Shower Project, Day One

This is my big project for the semester break. A long time in the making

Over ten years ago (I am thinking more like twelve...), we renovated our bedroom and bathroom. We hired a handyman to come out, put up drywall and completely redo the bathroom. Among several little mishaps, the shower never was quite right.  We had to take it out immediately and fix plumbing. We tried to maintain as much of what had been done as possible. It turns out that was a mistake.

All of this time later, I had been fighting with caulking that would not stay adhered for more than a few months along the base. The walls weren't holding up to my constant interventions, so last year I purchased an entirely new shower to put in. I was going to do it while Charlie was away for hunting season, but he never managed to stay gone for very long at any of the times, so it went on the list for my break between semesters! Therefore, yesterday I got busy tearing the old one out!

As of last night, the walls from the shower came out, the handles are off,  The handles are a bit of a funny story, somehow the decorative housing was filled with caulking when we re-put it up all those years ago. I won't say how that happened, but it was the most difficult part of the tear down to this point! I also discovered that only about one inch at the bottom of the wall board was concrete backer board, the rest was green board. The concrete board had apparently gotten wet early on, and had just been degrading all of this time, hence the caulk wasn't staying adhered due to moisture behind the shower wall.

I pulled that stuff out and threw it away, then cleaned up after myself for the night. Wednesday, around my to do list for the day, I will be pulling out that green board tot he ceiling, then removing the pan. Charlie will pick up the backer board on his way home from work, since it will not fit in my little car! The scariest part for me will be removing the pan, as I want to preserve all of the tile if I can and only redo the grout at the edge of the shower pan (keep your fingers crossed for me on that one, please, will you? That part is the scariest for me!)

At the end of the night, I tidied up as best I could and put a tarp over the walls. Hopefully, the next update will look far different and have good news! Have you ever done one like this? Any input for me on the project?

A Day in the Unfolding of the New Year

Trying to take on a few major projects while my work schedule is lighter, as well as help the kids with homeschooling and their own projects has kept me on my toes, but it has been quite rewarding. I will share more about the projects going on around here in the next few days. Okay, seeing how often I am too tired for blogging lately, how about I promise to do my best, but acknowledge they might be a bit late?

This blue Silkie pullet is one of a few new layers who have been contributing their first few eggs to the family here lately. This morning, she seemed bent on being broody, though she wasn't actually sitting ON the egg. Wyatt wasn't sure whether to be thankful she was making the collecting easy or explain how the whole broody thing worked, but since he was trying to get pens cleaned between storms, I think he was just happy for anything simple he could get!

Shine got to hang out in the house for a while with his buddy Shadow this morning. They haven't had as much of this time lately, since the rain and mud has led to some rather muddy hooves! On the flip side, at least the rain has the barrels mostly full again! Shine and Shadow sure enjoy the companionship, though, they were great friends when Shine was a house goat.

Later, Shine got to head down to visit friends at another 4-H club we compete with sometimes. A number of the youth are brand new to the group, but a few have grown up together showing as a group for several yers now. It is amazing to me to see them so grown up!

The older youth were examples and teachers, as they should be as Senior showmen. They also enjoyed laughing with each other and at themselves, I think!

Shine seems to be settling in to the showing thing, though he seemed to like raiding cookies from Bailey's pocket the best!

I think it is funny that after each trip off to training sessions, meetings and community outreach, both Shine and Shadow stop in the front yard to check all of the statues. 

I am not sure what they expect, but they are usually the only ones who move them!

FOr those of you following the saga of the lonely chick, I gave in this week and arranged for the little one to have some friends. A big thank you to Melanie for sharing some of her purebred Black Ameraucana stock with us, these will likely be te only new poultry stock until after county fair.The four little chicks have taken well to their new surroundings, and the slightly older Java of ours seems to also be taking well to having young charges to look after.

Some of the biggest news these days is that Miss Versie seems to be getting ready to kid. Bailey is spending lots of time out there, and we are tracking her progress. One interesting thing about her, Verse has taken in the last day to stretching out by climbing the fences of the maternity ward with her front hooves. I sure hope that means that the babies are settling well into proper position.

You can barely see Verse in this photo, she was in the corner of the pen after our last check. She really is a sweetheart. While I don't think kidding is truly imminent, I will head out there again in another hour and let Bailey sleep a bit. It never hurts to be on the safe side, these will be her first kids. 

On that note, I think I will squeeze in a short nap. While moping the kitchen is calling my name, I think it can wait a coupl eof hours and help me warm up after I traipse back out to the goat area in a spell. Hope you all have a wonderful night, I will share again when I can! Love to all.

My New Purse

I have been needing a new purse.  But being who I am,  I carry a good bit of stuff with me most days.  Things like batteries for the aerobics microphone and a water bottle and lots of little things like that, to help me attempt to keep up with this crazy life. 

A couple of years ago,  Charlie's unit switched to the new style of BDUs.  When he could no longer wear the style he had worn when I first met him,  I asked Charlie to pack the old uniforms away for future projects, and just in case the kids wanted them.  And I rather thought this project would come along. 

I made a similar purse for my niece last year, and about a month ago, I asked Charlie to sit out a few sets for me to work on some projects with.  As I began to cut this out, We made a few camouflage stockings, and Wyatt even learned to use the sewing machine while making one. 

As luck would have it, the uniform which would become my new purse was one of his favorites, sporting some random paint for character. The outside reveals four pockets,  including two with unit insignia. The inside has six, formed from material from the jacket back and arm, just for fun. 

So here is the finished product, complete with handles found on after Christmas sale at the fabric store!

Here it is,  almost completely loaded,  and with room to spare! Next up? Making one specifically designed for and by Bailey.  AND this next one will have goat patches,  too!  Stay tuned for that design,  coming soon!  Though for now, this edition got Charlie's seal of approval,  telling me that it looked good enough to make for sale. 

It is pretty exciting when he likes my work! But for now, I will be doing most of my work on a by request basis, so that my time is focused on what matters. So I have to ask, if you could design your own purse, what fabric would you choose, and what features would you want?

Obediah's Adventure

One of the things about being a farmer is cultivating and growing things, only to let them go. This is certainly true about breeding livestock. We work with the best livestock we can find, and do our best to match them with others who will complement them in the best interests of the breed standard and future generations.  Some, we train to visit nursing homes and schools, some are show animals who are also breeding stock. Some of the little ones are sold as show animal projects for 4Hers, or as breeding stock for other farms.

One of the hardest things we do is to say goodbye to these friends who are certainly a part of our farm family, but in order to move forward with our breeding goals, or to function as a farm, we have to say goodbye and let them move on. Some animals will grow old with us, like the rather senile and goofy Treasure, or Huey who happily lived out his years with us. This fall, Obediah moved on to another 4-H family.

Obediah loved being an uncle and cousin at Patriot’s Dream, but he loves to go to shows and meet people, too. Since Bailey has been working more with the therapy animal program, he wasn't getting to do as much of the travelling and visiting and showing that he loves.   Obediah moved on to live with friends of ours, where he will be shown in 4-H and is doted on by four youth and their parents. He has also become buddies with a miniature horse named Frankie.

When Obediah first moved, it was a big change for him. He had never seen a miniature horse before! Within a week, though, they were teaming up to pull pranks and sneak into the chicken feed. While this sounds crazy, pranks are a hallmark of the pygmy goat personality, and let us know he was settling in just fine. The family’s neighbors had somehow no idea that a goat and horse lived there.  I find this quite surprising, since Obediah had long known to come running when called\. This means that anytime we stop by. or anyone comes through the yard and says Obediah, he runs to the gate of their pen talking and demanding an ear scratch!

At Patriot’s Dream, we free feed alfalfa pellets, so that there is always food available. So Obediah has never worried for food, he would just go get a mouthful when hungry, then go back to playing with his buddies. Some of you likely know that this doesn’t always work with horses, and Frankie gained weight having Obediah around. So he new family put the boys on a feeding schedule.

Frankie takes his food very seriously, and Obediah takes fun pretty seriously, so he started dragging the feed bucket while Frankie was trying to dig in! Obe’s new mama asked whether he was being a bully, or something was going on. They had already asked that anytime we were by, Bailey check and make sure he wasn’t getting too chubby or skinny with the adjustment to life in his new home.

It turns out Obediah had lost a little weight with this feeding schedule thing, so how were they to up Obe’s feed without letting Frankie get too fat? These are the moments that my friend Kate talks about being a flock or herd social director! We came up with a plan of stashing some pellets in a spot where Frankie could not get tot hem, but Obediah could get them anytime. Unfortunately, either Obediah was helping Frankie get tot hem, or something else was off kilter there, so Obediah’s new family as giving him extra a couple of times a day by himself. Frankie isn't too sure about this notion, but Obediah loves the extra attention, so there is a good bit of attention for the animals to keep everyone happy!

Another thing Obediah is loving about his new home is that there are several chickens who wander his pen every day. He and Huey used to let chickens ride around on their heads. After hawks moved in to the field down the road from us, we had to keep the chickens under a much closer guard, where they are only free ranging under supervision. So Obediah is enjoying have chickens around again, he loves anyone to play with. Before he left our house, he gave some young Polish pullets a ride...

So as much as we would love to have our animals with us forever, for others to enjoy the love and fun of goats, there have to be breeders, and for the animals to have full lives, they need homes with devoted families. And we are glad that Obediah has found a special one. I heard someone talking that they will be looking for a friend for him, too…

What Have We Been Up To?

And the farm animals take over the blog! Clearly, the humans have been too busy to blog lately, with their homeschooling and church and cleaning pens and stuff, so we thought we animals would share a few words on what we have been up to around here!

We finally got some rain around here, and the "goosies on the loosies" as that house mama calls us like rain better than any of the other animals! Why? To play in, of course! But also, because weeds mean that we eat fresh greens that the other animals don't reach. Mama says that means we are brats telling everyone else about it, but we are the guard geese after all, so we should get some perks!

House mama, also known as the feed lady, she tried to pull some weeds down by her garden recently. We told her this was unacceptable, as they were the salad bar we hadn't gotten to yet. Finally, we got her to leave the piles for a couple days so that we could munch a bit before she did more work.

She still has more to prep for our eating. We are done with the other piles, so she had best get busy!

Just because the geese roam all the time doesn't mean they are the only ones with good treats! Despite getting our own salad bar in our pen that Wyatt keeps stocked and growing for us, we still get baskets of sprouts!

It is like a party when the red baskets come out in the middle of the day!

We even share with the guineas! (Well, most of the time, anyway!)

Breakfast time is the best time in our pen! Okay, well, we think we get the best dinner, too! We have the house mama and our Bailey trained to bring us bottles twice a day, and then Daddy Powerstroke lets us have the feeder . This is our look that says, "We are cute!" We know you agree, and the Brahmas that share a fence with us in the grow out pen sing along with us.

The house mama is always excited to see melons doing well. What we like about melons, is that the chickens get lots of melon and then they are in better moods!  They complain less about us singing at night when they are in good moods, and I think I heard this kind of melon called a honeydew...

Just in case you were missing out on some of my cuteness, I am Freedom's Prayer!  I am pretty sure the world is here to cuddle me!

Did we mention we are masters as coexistence? The goats might say we complain about them singing, but we keep our rooster in line, and also have a pet snake in our pen. If you look closely, you will see his tail over by the old feeder we like to stand on.

This guy doesn't bother us hens, and our nesting boxes and new feeder are up off the ground. The desert comes with mice, so we let this guy wander around so the mice don't bother our nests, and in turn we nest up high and only try to sit on eggs up in the loft where Wyatt keeps our straw. The added bonus- the bigger our Wyatt gets, the funnier it is when he tries to get eggs from us up there! Then we all stand around in the door to our hen house and watch him... Did I mention bonus points for anyone who can get him stuck up there so he has to call for help?

Why yes, the chickens tried to take over! But guess what! We are just too cute to ignore!

My brother was being silly and trying to wrestle with our Dad, so I decided to play peekaboo from my favorite house. Dad also likes to pose. Don'e tell the house mama, but he leaves a pile of poop near where he poses on purpose. She says he wasn't well socialized before our Bailey brought him home, but Bailey says that means he will do just fine in our family of homeschool goofballs. Not sure what that means, but she always scratches our ears and brings us food. And, if we cry really loud, she will come out over and over to check on us!

Well, that is the world according to the bucks, the geese and the Big Pen. We dare the does and the others to outdo us!