I haven't been avoiding you, I just haven't known what to say after my last blog post.
Things have been moving forward. I guess that's the best way to describe how we are doing. We are exploring housing options for our critters, and pasture options for our beefers. One thing that's both a blessing and a curse is that there is no time at all to be depressed or self pitying when you own a farm.
We have new broiler chicks and some turkey poults, all if which are doing fabulously (aside from one adolescent turkey who is learning to "gobble"...his little vocal experiment terrified himself and all his friends. It was absolutely hilarious). Ben's Dad and a friend built us 3 beautiful chicken tractors, and the chickens and turkeys are currently loving them. Not to mention doing a pretty bang up job of keeping the lawn mowed.
Ben, his Dad, and a friend have put tons of work in the last few weekends getting a chicken coop built for the laying ladies. I thought our last coop was spiffy, but this one is going to put it to shame! The girls will have hand-cut rustic roosts, a variety of nesting boxes, and a small restaurant with snacks and beverages. Ok, so really I mean hanging feeders and stuff, but I'm excited about this coop, and tend to exaggerate a little. The real kicker is that we will be getting eggs again once the gals move in!!
After the fire, we were so lucky to have had as many chickens survive as we did (all but a couple made it actually), but their coop was completely destroyed. Without a coop to call home they've just been roaming about the farm at will, which is ok I guess. They're safe and comfy and have food and water, which is what matters. They're also laying eggs willy nilly everywhere. Like if I find a stash of eggs and pick them up thinking I'll be smart and look there again tomorrow, they will have found some other place to lay their eggs and I won't find them until a week later. The pigs have been thrilled that they get so many scrambled eggs. Ben and I have been not so thrilled about finding surprise eggs everywhere and not being able to sell or eat any!!
This new chicken coop will be great, and I can't wait for the girls to move in and have some structure to their routine again. Not mention delicious eggs. Finishing touches will be done soon and the gals will be vacating the barn! Hurray!
The swine update is that everyone who got a little singed in the fire is doing really well. A couple little girls had some scabs, but after some burn cream and salve, they're pretty nearly gone now. The pigs are also huge. And demanding. And loud. They moved to a temporary pen out in the old wing of the barn. Its way bigger and has all kinds of places for them to dig up, which they have. They have been complaining recently about the lack of a swimming pool (sheesh!!). One young lady decided to very deliberately and carefully fold her hind legs, her bum, her belly and one front leg into her freshly filled water bowl. Think of a buffalo in a bathtub and the scale would be similar. She was pretty proud of this invention, and has since started a trend within her peer group.
I had been wanting to post about our little lamby who made it, but I was afraid to until now. Lambs are so delicate, and this little sweetie had gone through so much. I was worried that after everything that maybe she would pass if I told you about her. At this point though, she is over her fire injuries, and I would like to tell you a little about her.
Her name is Smore (she was a toasty golden color after the fire). She overcame severe burns on her face, ears and back, smoke inhalation and emotional trauma. She is a survivor down to her little core. We bought a little ram lamb to be her friend about a week after the fire. His name is Stinky, and he is the cutest hellion I know. He was a bad influence on her from the get go and taught her all kinds of naughty habits. The two of them were bottle fed, and were very rambunctious. Last month, we got a ewe to supervise them, and now that the ewe lives with them, they are doing excellent. They have some sheep-type supervision and they are growing up really well. Smore was less than 10 pounds when she survived the fire. She is at least 50 pounds now.
She still has some hair loss on her face, ears and back, but is healthy and happy as can be. I was worried that she would be traumatized, but Stinky and Clover have both helped to coax her out of her shell. We are so proud of her.
Ben has been servicing and updating our haying equipment and getting ready for hay season which is sneaking up on us entirely too quickly.
The beef ladies have started calving! We have had 10 calves so far and are expecting a few more still. So far so good there. 5 boys and 5 girls so far, and all Mommas and babies are doing well.
Ben and I want to express our gratitude for all the help, support, kind words and donations following the fire. We are humbled and grateful and thankful from the bottom of our hearts. Your kindness and support made a world of difference to he and I during the hardest part of both of our lives. We miss our calves and we miss our sheep, but they will live in our hearts and memories forever.
Our farm has forced us to move forward. The animals still need to be fed and watered. Fences still need to be checked and hay still needs to be made when the weather is right. Moving forward doesn't mean forgetting or ignoring, it simply means living in the moment. Our animals don't know how to dwell on the past, and they have helped show us how to keep our thoughts in the present as well. I can see our lost sheep every night when the sun sets glowing in the west or when it rises pink and gold in the east. I hear them all calling in unison with Smore, Stinky and Clover when I grain them. I can see our calves in the the first flowers on the apple tree and in my rhubarb plant that survived the firetrucks and fire hoses. I can see our calves in our other calves. We remember them every day.
Thank you all so much for helping us through the worst thing that has every happened to us. We can never express how much it means to us to feel your support. Thank you.