ozarks homestead

Right frosty on the farm and it will only get colder...  Highs in the single digits??!!  What is this?  Buffalo, NY??  Good news is that we will have a couple days above freezing later next wee, then by 10 days it will be in the 40's again.

Unfortunately, the much used yard hydrant froze.  Acorn thinks she knows how that happened.  A hot box of beehive boxes has been made around it to thaw the pipe as well as its drain field.

Animals are all fine, Sam got to stay inside last night and will do so for a few more nights at least.  Bags the old cat has taken over his doghouse with the heated kennel pad...

What little snow on the ground is melting, up to 26F already! 

Acorn is back from a 3 nighter in Texas, fun fun!  Back home to the farm in time for Blind Hog's birthday!  Huzzah!!!  All the partying!

Just a few odds and ends to tend to on the farm- miscellaneous things to get done here and there but nothing drastic.

Acorn is planning for an improved winter exercise program which necessitated the need for a 43" tv to hang in front of the treadmill.  Will that be a big enough carrot on a stick to get the farmers exercising?

Besides setting record lows and highs in a matter of 2 weeks, all is swell at Steelmeadow.

Triple digit highs next week?  Not looking forward to it!

Blind Hog and Acorn had a grand time with company- Dave, our former neighbor.  Had a fun-filled few days and even managed a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Acorn DID get the littlest kids dosed with dewormer- tapeworms have shown up again.  Only kids get them, not so much with adult goats.

Will Blind Hog spend a few hours next week in the workshop, getting it straightened out?  Only time will tell!

As work on the Springfield House comes to a close, Blind Hog and Acorn can focus their attention to the farm.  

Two trips to different IKEAs, assorted trips moving furniture and soon the job will be "mostly" done...

Geese are acting all cliquish- Alpha gander is bullying Bravo gander something awful, but geese will be geese.

Goats are getting caught not only in the fence, but sinking in the mud as the ponds dry up.

Acorn has been a baking fool- three different items today and most are in the freezer, all portioned out.  Goat milk yogurt making continues- won't be long till that little chore is over.

The final kidding of the season happened and wouldn't you know, TRIPLETS! Momma is a trained professional, and the three should do just fine.

Lil' Honkers are growing and took their first bath today- one was acting just like an adult goose in the water- head down, water up over the back and flapping of wings.

Sam caught a squirrel this morning and ate it for "first breakfast..."  Came in later and had "second breakfast" that was already poured for him...

Grass is so green.  Lilacs so lovely. Happy April...

Alpha Goose sat on 9 eggs and 8 hatched.  The unhatched egg was a stink bomb, we see this.  Now to see if Bravo and Charlie gooses are ready to incubate their nests or were they just giving Acorn a cruel "April Fool's" prank when she found both on their nests ...  23 eggs in two incubators, Bravo and Charlie both have 5-7 eggs in their nests.

Work continues on the city house- appliances delivered and Blind Hog and Acorn got them installed.  Nothing is easy/simple save the fridge- attach the water line and wait for magic ice to flow...

Farm chores have been thankfully under control- goats are doing well, geese are "a-laying..."  Plumbing work at the Springfield house has been an adventure, to say the least...

Good news with that is everything will eventually be taken care of...  Eventually...

Cold snaps are in the future but moderate temperatures continue for now.  Snow next Saturday?  A definite possibility.  May hold off putting out hay for a couple more days, Tuesday sounds good to me. Rain and colder temps to arrive on Wednesday.

Blind Hog has asked for yet another pan of brownies- heaven forbid the kitchen runs out!

Blind Hog and Acorn just don't have enough to do...  They began to look for a house in the Big City to buy, fix up, and rent as a modest investment back in November of last year, and the Badger will be the tenant.  Why pay rent to a stranger when rent can be paid to parents??  Win-win if you ask the Acorn...

A house was found and while some places linger on the market, others go fast- this was one of those listings.  15 hours after listing and the offer was accepted.  1954 ranch model in a quiet neighborhood- median age 46 yrs old with majority of the folks homeowners (86%) vs. renters (14%).

So, while the farm is in winter hibernation mode, Blind Hog and Acorn get to dust off their plumbing-carpentry-electrical skills.  First project was to reconnect the drain line from the tub/shower which has been dumping water under the house for who knows how long??!!  Acorn was just gobsmacked how this could be, but later decided whoever replaced that drain simply forgot to tighten the compression screw fitting that held the drain and trap up onto the tub fitting's "tail" pipe. Over time, the weight of water in the trap allowed the whole thing to gradually slide on off...

Next up will be reworking the drain under the kitchen sink.  Galvanized water pipes, cast iron drain lines, 2-wire electrical wiring.  Will be a few months to get things repaired to satisfaction, but no hurry.  Acorn saw a video on "how easy" it can be to cut cast iron pape, so now she totally feels confident the kitchen sink issues can also be fixed.  Hot damn.

Orphan goat kid #438 has totally adjusted to a bottle 2x a day.  NO clue why his momma died- figured she took a lick from another goat and had internal injuries. Goats do that... Plain red-top milk is all he needs, besides grazing with his herd. No need to buy livestock milk replacer.

Weather looking like it will be moders, full moon obscuring the green comet.  Acorn tried with the telescope to no avail.

Back to chores!

Ain't telling a goat what to do, that is for sure.  No kids yet!

Blind Hog and Acorn are still making cold weather preparations.  Closed in the north gable end of the old goat barn- Acorn maintains she is NOT a hoarder, as that stack of old rusty sheet metal has come in handy for more than one project...  Hay has been covered, all arrangements ready.  Will the goats hold out till after the single digit cold snap?  Time will tell...

Found out who is eating cat food in the hay barn...  Hint- it is NOT the Acorn...

Prepping of many kinds at SteelMeadow Farm...  Cooking, baking, cleaning.  Getting all the little fiddly bits done.  Fruitcakes...  Cinnamon rolls... Turkey...

Blind Hog's firewood is no longer growing oyster mushrooms, those logs went into the woodstove.  Those logs were also very light, weight-wise, for their size. Guess the fungi have been taking care of that.

Goats are happy enough, cows too.  If the cows were not getting enough to eat or drink they would holler and so far all is quiet in the east field.

A trace of snow at the farm- nothing like the lake effect snow that is supposed to hit New York tomorrow. Oy.  Been there, done that.

Be safe this holiday week!

Busy enough week for Blind Hog and Acorn- cutting down dead trees for firewood, cleaning up the sewing room and culling through boxes and boxes of "stuffs..."  A carload of recycling and thrift store drop offs...

Blind Hog had a great 81st birthday, even got some work in while the weather was in the upper 70's.  Now, it barely got above freezing for the high.  PLUS SNOW FLURRIES!

Oyster mushrooms have begun to fruit on firewood cut from a dead oak- it did have mushrooms before, but the last "fruiting" was pretty poor, Acorn thought it was all over.  NOPE!  May have to cook up something just to show off the  delicious fungi!

This week the farm brought in 4 adult Spanish nannies, one who was born on the farm 5 years ago. These were the last four goats of folks who started with SteelMeadow goats and got their herd up to 40, but they have decided to focus on cattle and making hay. The goats are calm, healthy, and will make great additions.

To end the week, Acorn sold the two Flappy sisters who were not suited as commercial, range goats- these two need to be pets.  Happily, a couple from 2 hrs away needed companions for their two little goats, so the Flappy Sisters lucked out big time.

Major roof issue discovered in the workshop- going to take a bit of engineering though to figure it out. A roof purlin has rotted out but only where some screws have been loose for 15 years or is it a condensation-drainage issue? Will have to find out more when it next rains.

Speaking of rain, the farm has received over 3.5" of rain this month!  Pastures are greening up!

Old Frank and Brian are coming back tomorrow, their last visit was Thanksgiving. Fun times ahead!

Acorn spent a few days at the Florida house repainting a couple rooms, fixing a few things, and being a general-all-around-handyman. Back at the farm, she and Blind Hog are back in the attic preparing to install a louvered gable vent and attic fan.  So exciting!

Was unusually cool today (upper 60's) at the farm but the farmers did not complain. Being up in the attic was quite bearable!  Fingers crossed they can complete the project tomorrow.

Our favorite farmers turned into roof repair techs this past week- hard to turn down an opportunity to save cash.  $1,400 repair estimate from one company, but when Blind Hog and Acorn could score the materials for $300?  Of course!  They did it themselves!  Good news is that the roof ridge has been replaced and should be (knock wood) waterproofed and leak proofed.

The bull Fintan, cow Sorcha and her bull calf went to Tennessee on Monday morning, happy that they will be well taken care of at their new home. That leaves SteelMeadow with three cow-calf pairs, the fewest head of Irish Dexters ever.

Bucklings born in March went to market today. Nice looking group of kids. Very pleased with these Savanna cross breeds- no matter the color or breed of the momma goat, all the kids look alike.

Sam nabbed a huge groundhog- this was not discussed in the podcast. What was discussed in detail was surgical castration of the two bull calves.

Can it get any hotter?  Why yes- yes it can! Drier too as well!

Livestock plans are being altered to accommodate the best interest of the livestock during the drought, not necessarily that of the farmers. Two separate breeding groups of goats are now combined into one big herd.  Get get'm, boys.

Next weekend is the local monthly sheep and goat sale, no doubt volume will be high and prices low.  Cannot help that. Blind Hog and Acorn will load up all the bucklings and drop them off.  A couple Dexter cattle are heading to Tennessee at the start of the week, will take those two off our herd-hands. So, downsizing is always helpful in trying times like these, but overall the farm is in good shape.

Acorn had a week in Florida to pack up papers and personal belongings in the house, had a couple showings and even an offer.  That first offer was exciting, but too low- is the slow season there and demand will spike come "snowbird season."  Acorn will go back down in a week and a half for "curb appeal" upgrades then should be good to stay home for a while.

Hot hot hot, dry dry dry. Wah. Wah. Wah...

Another project completed!  Blind Hog and Acorn dismantled the former "chicken tractor" and turned it into a sweet looking AND functional pellet feeder for the goat kids!  No jumping in the troughs, fouling the feeding area with goat pebbles or mud.  Is a bit crowded at feeding time, however half of the kids will be going to market at the end of the month-  the doelings will remain until they are sold when they have grown a bit more.

Acorn will once again be leaving Blind Hog to man the conn while she is gone to Florida to do estate things, namely selling the car.  He and Sam will be left with a fridge full of goodies, but NO black rice ramen noodles with crispy broccoli and ham.  Apparently Blind Hog was not impressed with that lunch...

Weather is hot and dry at the farm, garden requires watering.  Been three weeks since the last time the lawn was mowed.  pastures now getting a bit brown and crispy.  Like uncut hay out there...

Your favorite podcasting farmers will be back on the air on the 18th.

Company from Baton Rouge have come and gone but in between Blind Hog and Acorn had a grand time.  Much fun was had by all, including a day trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, as well as their sister facility, The Momentary.

Goat kids have been weaned, with the exception of Little Helper's 6 week old doeling.  Little Helper is in with the mob of kids, will act as a "trainer" for us, teaching the rest to come when we call.  The farmer s are working on dismantling the chicken tractor/mobile coop to transform it into a mobile goat feeder.

0.80" of rain for the month, and it was 100F when we left to go to the Post Office.  Ground is powdery dry.  Boots throw up "poofs" of dust when you walk.

Cotton Patch geese are very happy, about adult size already. And look WHOOOOOO was watching when Blind Hog and Acorn went to the Post Office!

Blind Hog and Acorn have a most excellent reason for cleaning up the house and grounds- COMPANY IS COMING! Good friends from Baton Rouge on a road trip with a stop at SteelMeadow.

Otherwise, the garden is all planted, irrigation lines reset and all is good out there.

Yummy things have been baked (rhubarb pie and a quiche) and a pot of chicken soup is simmering.

Acorn made an awning for a couple windows, turned out pretty good. Back top last minute chores before the guests arrive!

National Weather Service forecast for the next two weeks will be above  average temps and below average rain.  WAY above and WAY below...  Blind Hog and Acorn are not amused.

Calves are selling, goats are grazing and the bees need to be worked.

Blind Hog changed the oil in the big Mahindra, Acorn tended the goose yard and garden.  Both were soaked with sweat today, and more to come!

At least the HVAC guy came last week and recharged the air conditioner.  It is a geothermal unit, but still needs a bit of refrigerant.  A bit...