Saturday, October 8, 2011

Saturday Already

We've been puttering around here working on a few of projects, one of which of course, is the barn.  It's slow going but it IS going!  Since it's basically only one person working on it sometimes the work seems to be going slow.  But it is coming along just fine. One last section and the roof will be done!  It just needs the tin on it now.  The problem is that wind and those big sheets of tin don't really go well together.  The tin just want's to take off sailing!  I'm not sure but I think the wind is supposed to die down in the next few days.  Until then, there are plenty of other things to get done around here.

Part of the plan is to use some of the old cedar trees that need to be cut down for poles for the corners of the chicken coop. It's time to get them cut now since coop building time is coming soon!  The coop will be built on the right side of the barn, using the side wall as part of it.  I'll take pictures of it as it goes up.  Hopefully I can get them posted here eventually...

There was a sale last week on arm roasts at one of the local stores here.  Nice looking roasts for $1.99 a pound.  Now I don't know about where you live, but around here beef has been over $3.00 a lb all summer so to see some at that price was great. I picked up 10 of them and wish I had been able to afford another 10.  I'll use these for all sorts of things, besides your standard roast.  Stew meat, chili meat, stir-frys, etc all come to mind.  I do know that I feel better having it in the freezer.  Beef is going to be a real treat soon with the rising prices in the not so distant future. I've really been trying to get our freezer full before that happens.  It makes going into the winter feel much more comfortable!  


I am hoping that by this time next year we will have vegetables from the garden dried and canned for the winter, rabbits and chickens in the freezer (and maybe goat too) and eggs from the chickens as well.  Wouldn't that be an amazing thing! 

Speaking of goats, it seems the more I read about and research them it seems the less I know.  Seems they can be as complicated or as easy as the persons writing the articles. It almost makes me nervous to attempt to raise them. But I really want to be able to have access to fresh milk and to learn to make goat cheeses.  Cow's are out of the question here as we just don't have the room or resources to raise them and so goats just seem to be the natural choice.


I'll keep reading and Mars will keep working on a place for them.  We were able to get some field fence for the pen area that is in the plans.  I sure wish I knew how to show you all what we have planned as far as the lay out of it all.  Maybe I should have tried learning how to use "Paint" so I could "draw" it for you.  Oh well, another skill that probably won't really be necessary in the coming days.... LOL !!!

There is so much going on in the world right now.  Things that should have us all concerned. It seems to me that things are starting to get more heated up and more ready to spill over into some sort of sticky mess.  Like when you are making jam and it starts to get hot and the bubbles start creeping to the top of the pan, threatening to boil over on your stove and leave a mess that takes much hard work and elbow grease to clean up.  Yeah, that's the feeling I'm getting from the overabundance of bad things going on all around us.  The list is much to long to go into it all but folks, things are getting ready to become interesting and getting closer and closer to home. Stay alert, pay attention and prep like you have never done so before. 
      ~~~~~~  Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ...  ~~~~~~

8 comments:

  1. All your plans sound great, Sci. I hope the winds die down for a few days so Mars can get the roof finished on the barn. An overnight windstorm when we lived in Alvin tore the sheet tin roofing off of a stall in our stud paddock and I found the sheets fifty feet from the stall ...the ends embedded a foot or so into the dirt where they landed. Airborne sheet tin is a very dangerous thing. You guys be careful!

    Suggestion for sharing your plans: DRAW them on paper, then take a picture of your drawing and upload it. Easy peezy.

    : )

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  2. I haven't had any red meat in ages. Be careful handling those roofing sheets in the wind. They can be quite dangerous.

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  3. Putting tin on is a hard job. Hope the wind dies down for you. We only live on 2 and a half acres and have had goats for years. Love having goats milk, cheese, and soaps. I say it is very easy raising and caring for them. My favorite is Nubian but we have a nubian/alpine cross that gives a gallon of milk a day. We milk her once a day. Also have a half Nigerian dwarf/nubian that gives about a quart a day. All of our goats are gentle and love to be petted and loved on but I do spend time with them so that helps a lot. If I can help with any questions or sites to read will be glad to.

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  4. Go for the goats! The best fencing IMO is cattle panels, but that is very expensive and we only have a small area done like that (the kids can also get through that when they are young). We are going to make about an acre pen using "goat fencing" with smaller holes so they can't fit their heads through, then a hot wire to discourage them from stepping on the fence, which they WILL do.

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  5. The winds are bad here too. I was painting today and could feel the ladder shaking. Thought I was gonna get blown into the pond.

    We decided on raising goats as well. They haven't been a whole lot of trouble. We used the no climb horse fencing. I don't know if it is any better than anything else. Goats are just rough on fences.

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  6. sounds like things are going great. The same things go on hee with just the 2 of us to work on things 97%. We do get some help once in a great while and somehting will get done faster lol.
    Great on the roasts.

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  7. Sounds like a good score on the roast! Wish I could find some here at that price!

    Looking forward to seeing some pictures of the barn soon!

    If I were closer, I'd come help with the roof. Not sure what use I would be, but I could offer moral support!

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  8. Wow HB, that was some wind! One of the reason's I moved from there early on! Thanks for the idea about drawing out the picture... Now if I could just find that dang camera cord!!

    Dizzy, we haven't kicked the "red meat" habit yet! And you can bet we are being as careful as we can, I tend to be a bit accident prone anyway!

    Peggy, thanks! You are one of the "reasons" I started thinking about getting goats in the first place. And don't be surprised if I take you up on your offer...

    Carolyn, LOL you are one of the reason's (well your billy goat) that I've been wondering if I really DO want goats! LOL!!!!

    MamaBear, you be careful up there on that dang ladder! I'm guessing you are right about the fence... goats are gonna be tough on any of it.

    Sara, you guys work so hard up there, you are truly an inspiration to me. And yeah.... I couldn't believe I was able to get such a good deal on the roasts!

    Jim, we would love to have you AND your moral support anytime ya feel the urge!

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