Love, babies and bunnies

Our first little of kits is now 4 weeks old!! We have had so much fun with them and thankfully we never lost even one (all thanks to Erica who stayed up for the first 2 weeks and forced the momma to feed the little white one she refused to care for).

These bunnies will be our fiber bunnies and at first we had planned on selling all but one but alas we have fallen in love with all of them and the kids would probably chain themselves to the rabbit hutch if I attempted it.

These bunnies have been the center focus of my childrens days as of late.  I will often find bunnies being pushed around in dolly prams, carried in baskets and being cuddled all the time.  That is good because they are used to us and being handled which will make them easy to care for.  They have not yet left their nesting box which has a solid wood floor so their little feet get stained but at least I know that they can be be harmed in there by a wire bottom.  They are old enough now to hop out of the nest and eat their momma's food but its still the place they like the best and are usually just one big clump of bunnies all nestled on top of each other.

We are most certainly enjoying all the babies on the farm right now.  They grow fast so it seems that soaking up every minute of love is our best and most important job right now.

As I mentioned there will be no more Stash Bash on Thursdays for a while or forever.  I am really loving the feeling that I do not have to blog about anything and it is actually helping me to come here more often and blog about everything :)

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

Milking time

Good morning!  Lots and lots to do here early in the day.  Come along with me to do the milking chores!

Disclaimer:  This is truth in advertising!!  I milk Matilda in my jammies haha.  Rather than get dressed to look decent in this picture, I am choosing to keep it real (even though my poor momma will probably cry) and let everyone see me in my Santa pajama pants.

Early morning, bringing Matilda from her pen where we keep her nice and safe at night.  She does try to go her own way sometimes but for the most part, she behaves.

We lock in her head so she can't back out and she doesn't mind because she is eating treats and alfalfa which she loves.  We feed only non-gmo grains at milking time.

Eddie and I each tie a back leg to a post so she will stay still and not kick the bucket.  I never knew what this meant until she actually did kick over the bucket full of milk and I wanted to...well you know.  Funny where many of or sayings come from.

Next, I clean her with warm soapy water a few times with 3 different rags.  Cows lay in all sorts of stuff and it is important to clean them off before milking obviously.  At this point she usually starts to let her milk down and it starts dripping all over.

We put coconut oil on our hands to make the milking easier and we milk and milk and milk.  This picture was taken when I was already done milking into the bucket and just getting the last of the milk out into a glass bowl.  My hands would be positioned differently if I was milking her. I am stripping the last of the milk out.  This is important so that she does not get mastitis.

once we are done with the milking, Erica will brush her all down to say thank you for giving us our milk for the day.  She also sprays her down with a fly spray that I make from essential oils.

I then send the milk up to the house and do to clean up her pen.  

she leaves lots and lots of cow patties everynight.  The cow manure mixes with hay and that helps it break down faster in the compost pile.  This will become my compost to grow food in for next season.  There is no waste on a farm

We then tether Tillie out somewhere to eat grass for the day.  We never tether her if we are not around and check on her throughout the day making sure she has enough water.  Erica especially likes to go out to her and take her veggies and lettuces from the garden.

Once it is all done, I will strain the milk, put it into the freezer for an hour to bring down the temp and then transfer it to the refrigerator.  If I am making butter then I will let it sit out for a bit for all the cream to rise to the top.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

All on a Mother's Day

I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday.  Mother's day is my day!!  Everyone around here knows it and they go all out to make sure I feel it.

I spent the last few days working on a plan of what I would do with my day in bed.  Could I use that time to work on this here blog, start a new knitting project, finish up an old one, read one of the many books that are waiting on a stack next to my bed, take a nap????

I did have to get up a bit earlier to milk Matilda.  The kids took care of all other farm chores and then we were all off to morning mass.  Poppa and Nick went to the earlier mass to get home and start on Mother's day breakfast and by the time we got back home, it was all ready.

I was told that I was to march straight upstairs, put on jammies and jump in bed!  Yes Sir!!  I can definitely get on board with that one.  I walked into my room to find a sweet little note from Erica waiting on my pillow followed by all the kids bringing up the cards they made me.  Sweet I tell ya!

A wonderful breakfast in bed followed.  I spent the morning and afternoon just catching up on everyone else's blog that I so dearly love but have not had time to visit in a while.  Hey, you ladies have been very busy!

Alexandra came over in the early evening and we watched 3 episodes of Call the Midwife, we ate dinner in bed, were brought many drinks, ice cream and snacks and all at the behest of a cow bell.  Alexandra them gave me one of the best gifts I have gotten in a long time...a book full of the most amazing pictures that she took of Matthew.  We are affectionately calling it The Book of Matthew.

A beautiful little bouquet of wild flowers picked by Olivia and lots of hugs and "you are the best momma ever" remarks and I was in heaven.

No knitting took place and that is OK but there was a lovely little nap taken with my favorite girl just like in the old days (before she got married).  I also received a great gift!  Poppa purchased my domain name for me as a surprise so the blog name thing has been resolved (more on that soon).

This morning it was all business as usual again which is fine with me since it is the business that I love, watering veggies, taking care of our animals, hanging the diapers on the line, putting up some jam and cooking.  All in a days work.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

Stash Bash - Second Peurperium

Busy mornings and sleepless nights are prevelant in my life right now!  The in betweens are school work, laundry, gardening, cleaning, cooking, canning and knitting before I fall like a block of wood in bed at night.  Unfortunately the knitting is at the end of the list, done in small spurts while the kids pick books at the library, while Matthew sleeps in my arms and late at night after everyone is in bed.

I finally finished Matthew's bigger sized Peurperium.  I didn't realize there was a bigger sized pattern available and figured out how to make it bigger on my own.  It still needs buttons which I am waiting for son Eddie to make with his scroll saw but it feels good to have it done and it will fit him for a good while.

This afternoon will involve making more butter and some ice cream to use up or excess milk and cream and I also need to go and take care of  Alexandra who has not been feeling well.  So back and forth between her house and ours and honestly, I don't ever need an excuse to go and do something for her.  A little secret....I love it when she needs me for anything : )

I think this will be the last Stash Bash for a while...or perhaps forever.  There is so much going on around here that having a specific day when I need to blog about something other than what is in my head is not working out.  I find myself only blogging on this one day and I need to break the rut.

If you want to play along today, just leave your link in the comments : )  See you tomorrow!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

Stash Bash - Nothin but a new milk cow

Yikes!!  Has it been a week since I last talked to you?  My goodness, you wouldn't believe what we have been up to!!  I have had no time to work on anything that I could call a stash bash  (has that ever happened before here?) or than the fact that most of the things that we built this week were done with wood and fencing we already had around for the most part (has that ever happened before here?).  Well,  I am not sure if I have ever told you about my fiasco with milk cows.  Lets just say that I have not had the best luck.

I have been ripped off, had cows sold out from under me right before I buy them and well, it has been a long journey to here.  Last Saturday, I went to visit my friend Peggy at the farmers market.  I had been telling everyone and anyone who would listen that it is time to buy another milk cow.  With the price of raw milk we pay about $250 a month just for milk, that doesn't include the hefty price we pay to buy real, good for you products like butter, cheese etc.

Well, I had found someone selling a milk cow online locally and contacted them.  The next day at the farmers market, Peggy tells me that she knows someone with a Jersey, in milk!! Wouldn't you know that it was the same person??  That seemed like fate to me.

I made a date to go and see the farm and meet the owner and of course the cow : )  It turned out that we had lots in common and ended up talking for quite a long time over a cup of tea.  Lots of cow and milk talk to be had.  Lots of learning too.

A few days later after the boys and I scrambled to build a big cow pen and turn a corner of the barn into a milking stanchion, our cow was being delivered.  I didn't sleep a wink that night, thinking that in the morning I would embark on a milking adventure.

When she got here I was super nervous.  I have only had one cow, Miss Chloe, and she was a beautiful, terrible, aggressive cow who would try to kill me anytime she could.  My beautiful Chloe ended up having to go to the butcher after 7 months of trying to tame her.

I reminded myself as I had to handle this new cow and get her off the trailer that she was not Chloe and she was a nice one.  I had milked her at the farm and she had let me scratch and pet her out in the field.  This was my cow now and I had to put aside my fear and take care of her.  Erica and the boys stood there with me and we led our cow to her new pen.  We gave her hay and water and spent the rest of the afternoon petting her and giving her treats.

The next morning we milked her (that is a story for another day) and had to give half the milk to our piggie because she stuck her foot in the pail. I felt victorious!  I felt like a super hero!!  I made milk shakes for the kids and we have been doing this all week : )

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)