Leaves, Glorious Leaves

I read somewhere that lots of leaves will help Trixie get the kind of nutrition she needs, so I went and pruned some water sprouts off the peaches and apple and chopped down some unwanted cedars and privet.

She happily chowed some apple and a pine bough (which she had to share with Asher-he's convinced he's a goat). Her back feet don't look so swollen today. The front still are a little bit. I'm thinking since she's getting up and eating well, I shouldn't worry too much.

Pregnancy Problems

I am a nervous wreck over these pregnant goats. Trixie is due on March 30. I noticed yesterday that her feet looked a little swollen and she was walking like they hurt her. I googled it and came up with all this stuff on pregnancy toxemia.

I've been feeding her free choice hay, alfalfa every day or two, about a pound and a half of ADM dairy goat feed/day, and veggie peelings from the kitchen, but I guess I've messed something up. I gave her a little molasses and karo syrup yesterday (against the recommendations of a breeder friend).

She was up and about yesterday afternoon to get acorns with the other does. I felt encouraged that she was better until I checked my post on a goat forum and had two people say toxemia.

She's as big as a house! She must have triplets in there. Any suggestions on what to do for her?

War on Children

We were teaching the boys how to tool a belt in art class last Thursday. Chase wanted our name on the back, so we showed him how to find the center of the belt, find the middle letter of our name and work out from either direction. The result? After completing the first four stamps, his belt said "AMMO".

We all got a good laugh about how he's going to get expelled from Hammock Homeschool for his threatening piece of art work, but the truth is, it's not funny.

It's not funny to call a five year old a murderer for talking about her Hello Kitty bubble gun or to suspend a 7 year old for biting his Pop Tart into a shape that could, possibly, I guess, look like a gun. The following article sites example after example of this war on our kids and it is hardly the only war being waged. I will save CSCOPE, revisionist history, feminization of our boys, medicating our children, attack on Christianity, sex education for Kindergarteners, etc. another time.

Schools Jump the Shark 
Michael Geer

Around the ranch we usually mutter and shake our heads, but now they've gone too far.
Public school officials at Heritage Middle School in Meridian, Idaho put the school on 'lockdown' because a teenage boy was seen 'roaming the halls' with a ... ready? ... a folding military style ... shovel.
A shovel.
No report filed on whether it was a high capacity shovel. Might have been high capacity in the hands of Big John, loading sixteen tons. Certainly not in the soft un-calloused hands of a school bureaucrat.
A middle school teenage boy was spotted in the halls with a 'suspicious' object and the school "resource officer" leapt into action. Only trouble was the boy was on an errand for a teacher who had forgotten the folding entrenching tool, meaning shovel. A prop for a history lesson on WWII.
Local police said no charges would be filed. So the kid's got that going for him, which is nice."
Continue Reading....

We need to wake up, take notice, and stop what is being done to our children.


“The schools cannot allow parents to influence the kind of values-education their children receive in school; … that is what is wrong with those who say there is a universal system of values. Our [humanistic] goals are incompatible with theirs. We must change their values.” Paul Haubner, specialist for the N.E.A.

“Give me your four year olds, and in a generation I will build a socialist state.” Vladimir Lenin

Wilbanks Apiary

This is where I'm getting my new packages in May.

Busy Like a Bee

It's been busy busy around here since I got back from Utah. I can't seem to get caught up or get my act completely together (I missed the kids' guitar lessons 2 weeks in a row which is really not like me).

Last week, I redid the kids' rooms. They were a mess. Same baby green paint from when the rooms were nurseries and if you have had boys, you know what they can do to a place. So we cleaned, we painted, we rearranged furniture, and got them new bedding, lamps, and pictures. They look like young men's rooms now. The boys are very proud and taking excellent care of their new digs.

I bottled the beer and Skeeter Pee (hard lemonade). It really came out good. Tastes like a nice white wine! I'm going to get another batch started. I really hate sterilizing bottles though.

Friday, I saw an ad on CraigsList for silkie roosters about an hour away from us. My son has 3 hens and ordered 2 roosters from an auction on Backyard Chickens back in December! We sent the seller $35 for the birds and shipping and still have not received them. The only thing keeping me from being steaming mad is that he hasn't cashed the check.

This is Oreo:

And Mist:

After getting these boys, I asked the BYC seller to send my check back or send me a picture of it ripped up. I still haven't heard from him. Cole is looking forward to selling chicks to earn a little money. We just need the hens to start laying again!

Last weekend was bitterly cold here. So what did we do? Ate raw oysters and pretended we were at the beach. Mom and Hubby are expert shuckers!

This cold snap has me down to the dregs of my seasoned firewood. I have about 3 days worth left. The weather had better change soon! Sunday, we bundled up and split and picked up the tree we felled at my friend's farm. Then went next door and got a load of odds and ends our next door neighbor didn't want. He likes his wood uniform to stack in his wood sheds. I'm not so picky. Odds and ends burn well and do just fine under our upcycled redneck pool "tarp".

Monday I planted the tomato and pepper seeds. I'm a little late getting them started. Like I said, I can't get my act together after being gone for a week.

Yesterday, the kids talked me into some chicks from TSC Chick Days. We have enough chickens, but most of my original Red Sex Links have died. They are the sweetest birds and the best layers, so I don't suppose it will hurt to have a few more.

Cole has a Spelling Bee on Friday. At 9:00am! Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to get anywhere by 9:00am? I am not much of a morning person and I'm going to have to get up by 6:30 to get ready and finish my chores in time. The next 2 days are devoted to getting through his lists of words.

And speaking of bees. Yesterday I ordered two 4# packages of bees from Wilbanks Apiary in Claxton, GA. I'm going to have to go pick the bees up in May. I am determined to get at least 2 strong hives going! Beekeeping is such a challenge (and so expensive) with all the imported pests and environmental hazards the bees face today. Honestly, to make any money on it, I'd have to charge $50 a quart for honey (which I'm not going to do). And people wonder why they can't find local honey. It's so precious, I don't want to sell it.

Aspartame in Milk!?

I just read this article stating that the dairy industry is petitioning the FDA to allow it to put aspartame in milk and milk products without having to list it on the label.

I find that outrageous! It didn't come out of the cow (goat, sheep, waterbuffalo etc.) with artificially sweetener in it, so it's not milk and should be listed as an ingredient.

I'll admit, I haven't done a lot of research on the effects of artificial sweeteners- I just try to avoid anything that wasn't food 100 years ago. Milk sweetened with aspartame would not pass my litmus test.

Night Bird

I love mockingbirds. Really I do. I once heard one mock a seagull. I love how they display their white wing flashes to other mockingbirds. I love that they eat lots of insects. I love watching them chase crows away.

I don't, however, love the mockingbird that has taken up residence in the tea olive outside my bedroom window and wakes me up singing every morning at 5:45.