While showing my uncle Russel around today I took a few pictures of the highlights to share with you so you wouldn’t feel too left out. And seriously if you are ever around Rush City, MN drop us a line.
 

Cherries just starting to form on our new cherry tree. We have yet to figure out deer fencing so they are still waiting for their permanent place.
 

The last of our really big projects for this year–the packing shed. Here is phase one.

Our free ranging chickens are really getting bold. While I love seeing them roam around the property figuring out the best way to protect them has been a bit of an issue but they seem very happy with their freedom.

Right after lunch they were once again in the barn. I hadn’t even started the dishes when Two ran back to tell us the nose of the first baby had appeared. I tried to get Mavis and Effie and camera together but we missed both births.

I was quite proud of the older children though who acted as midwives at their first goat birth. Two says, “I saw something black coming out of her but and I thought it looked like poop but when I looked closer there were nostrils.” Then the head came and the rest of the body and he ran to grab the towels while the 2nd one was born in Avril’s presence.
 

Raven with Blackie (kids named them).

Blackie and Jimmy in the background.

Blackie and Jimmy with Avril and Mavis looking on.
 

Two trying to help them nurse for the first time.
 

Effie, our little animal lover, trying to pick up Blackie. She actually succeeded at one point and wasn’t happy when we took him away.
 

Avril holding Jimmy.

It was a great day for the children. A bittersweet one in all honestly for me. After all we are striving towards a working farm and hoped that at least one of these babies would add to our milk production in coming years, but I guess it was not to be. Yes we were given twin bucks.

Well the good news is that we won’t have to water our plants for probably a month, and we did get all the seeds and transplants in the ground we wanted to (hopefully some of the seeds didn’t wash away though!). Also good is the fact that 24 hours of rain gave me time to get some much needed housework and relaxation done and it’s still continuing, for though the rain has stopped it is still way too soggy to even think of working in the fields let alone walking through the fields. Even the greenhouse is pretty soggy and I have made a few ruts just walking.

Plants getting ready to go out to the field. Proeun designed and built the tables, aren’t they great?

Thanks to the sellers for leaving this beautiful garden.

Shadrach, one of the wild cats that just showed up one day and that has become part of the family chilling in the crabapple tree.
 

We are just coming off a long weekend. Proeun has to request days off far in advance and our intention was to get alot of work done, then it rained all week. So as life goes we are repriortizing and replanning. One task that we had scheduled was finishing the chicken tractor (mobile chicken house) in the field. Our chickens haven’t been out much yet and they were so ready. But we got rained out and one storm blew the roof off the tractor, more replanning. So now the chickens are free ranging in the woods around their winter home. We will eventually move them to the field as we also wanted their fertilizer but it is really fun to watch them roaming around the woods. We our having to train our black lab puppy that though these are birds they are not to be hunted or played with, even when they run. We’ll get, there, I know we will. I do love the entertainment of watching them though.

He was a wonderful man who went through some very tough times, like famine, war, genocide, refugee camps and learning to live in a new country all while supporting a wife and 5 daughters. I sadly did not know him well.

Three years ago when he was 87 he began to experience heart problems. The doctors recommended open heart surgery but for a man already aged in years the family asked what the alternatives were and the doctors said with proper medication he would probably live another 3 years. He did and he made it to 90 years old. He became a Christian in 1981 and devoted himself to his new religion. In the end he wasn’t worried and he passed away surrounded by family.

Always a death reminds me that time is the most important thing we have. It reminds me that I am so thankful to be home with my children, that we go through great efforts to stay together as a family when Proeun is home and that try to visit extended family often. I really wish I would have known Tha better. My excuse is time and language barrier but you know in the end I missed out on an amazing opportunity to know and amazing man. I am somewhat comforted to know that he was watching our work getting the farm with interest and felt that we were headed in the right direction. Unfortunately he became ill the day before he and his family was to come for a visit.

He will be missed but I know he wasn’t worried and he shouldn’t be either. Just remember–Time and use it well.

This tree to be exact. And they were so excited because we are first time bee keepers. We started this year with 2 packages of bees and two hives. It’s a little nerve racking to be quite honest, not because they are dangerous but because they see so delicate. I am mean lets face it, we have all heard the rumors and facts–bees are in trouble. And they are in trouble on many fronts. One of course is the environmental affects they no one seems to be quite able to pinpoint but there is also the problem of perception.

Many many Americans have little to no connection to the outdoors and anything related to it is scary. Bugs are one very scary element of the outdoors and ones that have the potential to sting even more so. Let me illustrate, we were at a family gathering and I was telling one of the aunts about our new hives. She said, “aren’t you worried about the children?” I am worried about the children I am worried they will grow up in a world without bees to be quite honest. 

When we were still residents of St. Paul we discovered that you could legally keep bees inside the city limits. But after going through all the paperwork for our chicken permit (which included going door to door to ask our neighbors permission to keep chickens) we knew it was very unlikely we would actually be able to get bees. So we are learning about them now.

I admit I was one of those bug haters. Then one day I was working weeding the vegetables and I heard the familiar buzzing that used to bring fear, but now I understood without those bees I wouldn’t have tomatoes or cucumbers, or eggplant or you name it. That doesn’t even get into a world without honey.

Still Proeun is the beekeeper in the family, though Two is begging for a suit and I would actually like one as well, or at least the hat and gloves like Proeun is wearing. Here he checks the entrance to the hive to make sure it is clear while some bees hitch a ride. I told him, make sure you take your hat off before you go inside.

So we loaded to 2 metal wire containers in the back and were serenaded by a pleasant buzzing for the next 2.5 hours as we continued driving to southern Minnesota’s Wren Hill Farm where we picked up Margaret, Pearl and Kojo (sorry I couldn’t link directly to their individual page but you can look at them under “Kid’s and Kidding.”

It was such a joy to visit this farm. The owner Allan Weinand really has a passion for goats and in a few years has gotten quite the herd going.

Then we drove home 3.5 hours and arrived just in time for bottles for the kids (goats) and bed. There are 2 ways that you can raise your goats–dam raising meaning they stay with their mother until they wean about 8 weeks and then you milk or bottle raising where they are removed from their mothers and raised by humans on bottles from the beginning. There are goods and bads for both. One good for bottle raising is disease prevention that can be passed from mother to kids.

So when you buy goats it depends on what the farm you are buying from does. Some will dam raise and wean at 8 weeks and then you can pick up your goats. Some will sell mother and kids together as in the case with our Ginger and some will sell bottle babies.

So now for a mom that has never mixed a bottle I am mixing 3 bottles 2 times a day for 3 baby goats.

Luckily I have lots of help. Two with Kojo (our new B* buck I am so excited about) and Mavis and grandma with Pearl.
 

And Avril with Margaret (my favorite little lady).

They are such a joy. At first I didn’t think I would bottle raise any but I am realizing I may not have any choice. Allan was telling me about a goat he had that had 6 babies in one litter a few years back. Even with help only 4 surrived but without the human help I am sure that number would have been lower. Ginger had triplets but could only handle twins so one was taken off and put on a bottle. So at least now I am learning the ins and outs of bottle feeding before we are in an emergency situation where we may loose a goat.

In May Raven, our adult female is set to kid, now I know how to bottle feed should the need arise. The hardest thing I think about bottle feeding is the goats get really attached to you which is good but when you leave them they cry something fierce. And I really believe nature made the cries of babies so that mother’s physically could not ignore it. Even though I am not the same species I am finding the crying really difficult to deal with. Hopefully in a couple days it will get better. At least we have 3 of them so they have each other and are kept together.