Changes afoot...

Hi y'all! 

Guess what?!  I am moving my blog!  For reasons I won't get into, I have decided that another format would be a bit, say, user-friendly.  So if you want to keep following me, please head over to my new blog and follow me!  Please!!!

Faulk Farmstead!

STOP! (Or how my daughter is whipping me back into shape)

Happy back to school!
Congrats on surviving the first week!

 

I will be honest with you. I was looking forward to school starting for the sole reason that I need to get a routine back after experiencing my first summer of harvest. Although, my harvesting time is far from over: there is still another bounty of green beans, corn getting close to harvest, potatoes waiting to be dug up - and let's not forget the stuff still attempting to mature - heirloom tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beets, and carrots....

 

So back to the routine thing...  With the kiddos back in school, I will now have a few hours to myself a few days a week, do get things done.  In preparation, I had made a quite lofty list of things to get done this next week: brew kombucha, make crackers, make bread, clean out chicken coop, muck out animal sheds, clean out our spare bedroom, work on my quilt, pick up new meat chicks, clean out playhouse...  Oh, and I also have to work this week, Em's guitar lessons, and her band's concert.  No biggie, right?

 

And then things got put into perspective...
 

Big time.
 

By a nine-year-old...

 

I was putting her to bed after her 2nd day of fourth grade (fourth grade?!  I know, right??), and told her how utterly proud I was to have such a big, smart, wonderful fourth grader.  Her response to me?  "I just wish I was in 3rd grade still."  Huh?  This is my kid who LOVES school, learning, her friends, etc. - and was even blessed enough to have the same, wonderful teacher again this year.  "What??  Why?  I thought you were so excited to start a new grade!" I asked her.

 

 

 

Her response?

 

"Mom, I just really don't want to grow up anymore.

 

I just want to stay this size, with you."

 

*heart-wrenching sniffle*

 

 

Oh Lordy.  These are the moments I wish I could so badly take back those nights when I am too busy to lay down with her, too stressed to take the time to COMPLETELY STOP everything I am doing and focus completely on what she is telling me.   I felt like my heart was literally breaking... 

 

Why is it that our days get so over-filled with measly details that crowd out the things we really need to be doing?   Granted, most of those things on my list are need-to-do's for my family - It's important for me to provide homemade food and goodies for my family; the animals need clean places to thrive, yada yada yada...  But my kid needs me a hell of a lot more..

 

I have a new list for this week...

 

I will still do those need-to-do's that are important to me for my family - but I will do them when Emma is gone at school.   But once she is home, my list will consist of:

 

 

Practicing patience with my family

 

LISTENING, in such a whole-hearted way, to my loved ones

 

When Emma asks me something or has something to show me - I will allow myself to do nothing but focus on her.

 

When stress hits, I will ask myself "Is this really as bad as it feels right this second?"  Stop, and take a step backwards - chances are, when re-looking at the issue, it won't be quite as huge as I had thought. 

 

And lastly,

Remember that Emma wants this moment to last forever - and acknowledge that I feel the same way...
 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Full Circle... (aka how we came to kill our first animal...)

DISCLAIMER:  This post does talk about butchering an animal - if this is not your thing, you've been warned...

So, from the beginning, my plan was to one day come to the point where I could source my food completely from my land.  But not just the "land" being my garden.  I'm talking real meat and potatoes here.  Meat, dairy, veggies.  You know what I mean. 

The vegetables have truly been a thrill.  Being able to harvest bushels of beans multiple times, as well as kale, garlic, and everything else, has been more than rewarding.  The eggs?  Everything I had hoped for.  Meat?  Well, we were thinking that would be awhile - as our ram and ewe have not yet, um, made their union "official".  This week, however, we found that things have changed a bit...

We have this rooster.  For those that know us, I'm not talking about Doris Day - our rooster we thought was a flamboyant hen - but that's another story altogether.  I'm talking 'bout Cockadoo, our sexlink rooster that has ALWAYS made it clear that he is THE rooster here.  Well, Cockadoo has always been a bit... cocky.  When myself or the girls would come out to feed them or collect eggs, he would puff up and do a bit of a charge in our direction, but he kindly reserved the attacking and spur-directing towards the defenseless goats.  Nice guy, right? 



The last known photograph of Cockadoo, the white rooster - back in his smaller days...

So fast-forward to this past week.  When I heard Emma screaming from the pasture.  Screaming.  Here was the rooster - chasing her.  Fast.  By the time I had gotten out there, he had backed off and she was attempting to regain her composure.  Then comes the next day.  Condensed version: I get cornered in the 4-foot tall goat shed by the rooster.  Spurs come flying.  I kick hard.  Repeat.  I feed chickens.  Attacked again.  Kick again.  I am angry.  I tell Micky that the rooster is out of chances and I have already planned his dinner.  I'm sure you can see where this is going.

So after spending the weekend avoiding the chicken pasture - for my safety, of course! - Monday comes.  The determined "day."  Now, keep in mind, while Micky has butchered his share of deer and elk, we haven't done a chicken before.  After a you-tube-ish crash course in chicken butchering, we came up with a game plan:

1. Rig up a traffic cone upside down to place the bird in
2. Knock out the bird before cutting it's throat.  For some reason, the ONE thing I felt bad about was that the damn rooster would be aware of us cutting it's throat.  Go figure.  A blunt blow to the back of the head did the trick.  Kind of. 
3. After chicken bleeds out, remove head and dunk in simmering water to loosen feathers and de-feather the beast.
4. Butcher!  This was in Micky's court. 
5. Clean up bird, let rest for a couple days, then FEAST!

Ok, now here is how it really happened:

1. Traffic cone: Good idea.  Trimmed the skinny part of the cone to help the huge rooster's head fit through.  After we had reached the point of no-return, realized....  We had a big rooster and it didn't quite fit.  But we made it fit. 
2. Thought the bird was knocked out.  After the throat was slit, realized he wasn't quite.  I think Mick got tired of watching him struggle and move around - so the head just got cut off.  Eh. 
3. De-feathering: This actually worked awesome!  Water temp at 175, dunking up and down for 30 seconds.  Perfection.  If any of this could be considered perfection.
4. Butchering:.  My husband truly rocks at this.  Our only road bump was the crop.  This is a sac-like structure partway down the esophagus that holds food, debris, and whatnot before it heads down towards the gizzard.  Our well-intended attempts to avoid puncturing this failed, but clean-up was easy.  Everything else went great, until the wings.  It was the end of the process for us, and after Micky said "You don't really eat the wings anyway, right?", the wings were gone.
5. Clean up went uneventful - aside from the fact that my bird was a little odd looking without wings, but hey!  Our first time pretty much rocked! 

So, moral of the story?  Don't expect it to go as you thought it would - the first time.  Clearly, we have some learning and adjusting to do, but all in all, I think we did pretty damn good.

I then had 2 days to come up with the BEST POSSIBLE way to cook this guy.  The thing with pasture-raised, free-ranging poultry is: this is not the chicken you are buying in your standard market.   These chickens are active, have the ability to forage for their food, and have wide open spaces to develop in.  If you were to cook it up like you would a standard store-bought bird, you could likely end up with something drier and tougher than you would like. 

My conclusion ended up being to cook this bird slow and low.  Our bird ended up being between 3 and 4 pounds.  I was uber excited to finally taste real pasture-raised poultry, so I kept the seasoning to a minimum: Drizzle of EVOO, sea salt, crushed pepper, and a smattering of dried sage.  That's it.  Popped in a stoneware baker and baked at 275 degrees for 3 hours, then upped it to 375 for another 30 minutes, until the internal temp was about 175. 

The result?  Hands down, BEST.  CHICKEN.  EVER.  The meat was much darker and more flavorful than I had expected, literally fall-off-the-bone tender.  And I wasn't the only one that felt this enamored with the food.  Around the table, we were all in awe.  :) 

That crispy, hot, yumminess...

Oh yeah....  Falling off the bone, peeps...

Wait a minute...  I am NOT done.  I have to tell you about the best part of the whole meal!   "Huh?  The chicken wasn't the best part?"  Nope.  This was our FIRST meal that we were able to completely produce:  Mashed taters from the garden, roasted green beans from the garden - oh, and the chicken! 

THIS is what I have been yearning to do. 
THIS is when all the researching, sweating, and hard work has led up to. 
MY CONFIRMATION:  We can do this.  And we will continue to do this.  Finally, I feel like I am meant to do this. 


The Prairie Homestead Barn Hop - Check it out!

Putting Up...

The last couple days have been a bit of "purge" days for me.  After a long work weekend - and an empty belly - I looked in my full fridge, to only find ingredients, but nothing ready to eat.  Bread was down to the last piece + heel, and yogurt down to my last 1/2 cup.  Clearly, I had work to do! 

I had a beautiful bunch of beets in the crisper - no longer looking too crisp.  What to do with them....  My original plan was to make a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, but being that it is just Em and I this week, I knew there would be way too much left over.  Solution?  2 beautiful jars of Ginger Beet Pickles.  Yes, it was a bit of work for only 2 jars, but I am the only one that will eat them in the house.  Score!  :)  I washed up the beet greens and hope to make some pesto with them tomorrow...

I also had a gorgeous bowl of plums from our friends that I had been trying to make a dent in - but the bowl still appears full.  I still had a bit of Roasted Plum butter from last year, so I needed to come up with another solution.  I ended up (sans recipe) concocting a Plummy Lavender Balsamic sauce.  Here was my method - I apologize for the lack of technicality.  I really did just toss everything together....

Plummy Lavender Balsamic Sauce

In a baking dish, I combine a mess of plums, halved, pits removed and skins left on (maybe about 20 little plums), sugar to coat, a squeeze of lemon juice, half a cinnamon stick, and a generous glug or two of Lavender Balsamic Vinegar.  **I have seen Lavender balsamic vinegar in many tasting rooms, but the one I like to use is from Drizzle Tasting Room in Bellingham, WA - you can get it online here.  I stuck the dish, uncovered, in an oven at 275 degrees and let it roast away for oh, 3 or 4 hours - until it has reduced by almost half and the flavors have started to meld nicely.  I ended up adding a touch of honey late in the game, just because it need a LITTLE more sweetness.  When it is done to your liking, pull out and allow to cool slightly.  Use this time to prepare your water bath canner and jars - I used 6 oz jelly jars for mine.  Use an immersion blender right in your baking dish to make everything beautiful and silky, then pack into your jars.  I processed mine in the water bath canner for 10 minutes - they sealed beautifully.  I ended up with only 2 1/2 jars (sensing a trend here), but I think a little will go a long way.  I am hoping to try some out on my vanilla ice cream tonight! 

Yogurt was also on the list to be done.  I use a crockpot method that is really as easy as it gets.  The base recipe I use is from Shaye at The Elliott Homestead - she just put out an AMAZING cookbook that really has been my go-to the last couple weeks.  You can find it here.  ANYHOW, I started it late Sunday night, so by mid-day Monday, it was ready to go.  I usually pop it in the fridge overnight after making it, then strain it the next day to make it a bit firmer.  The added bonus is, I get the leftover whey that drips off the yogurt to use for even MORE goodies!  Last week I used it to make blueberry pom lacto-fermented soda (BIG hit with Emma) and will make bread with it today.  Yay!  Now, this is a plain yogurt, but I use raw cow milk to make mine, which lends a perfect amount of sweetness to it - I usually add a touch of honey to mine when I dish it out, but hubs and kiddos like honey, fruit, and granola in theirs..

Last thing I needed to deal with was a bag of lemons - about 5 or 6.  I had always wanted to make preserved lemons for cooking with, so tossed those into a jar with salt, lemon juice, a cinnamon stick, and about 5 peppercorns - I expect to be staring at those on the counter for the next couple weeks until I can start using them.  So beautiful!  Anxious to dig in, though!  :)

My fridge is looking a bit more under control now - time to go to the store and fill it back up, right?

On the list today?  Need to put my strained yogurt into jars, so they will be ready for the week.  My bread dough has been started, and I just noticed I have a batch of kombucha waiting to be bottled.  Goal?  To be done with it in the next couple hours so I can attack the garden and chicken coop today! 

Brewin' the 'Booch...

Ahhhhh, kombucha...  Just saying it has the ability to
mellow me out... 
 
Komboooocha.... 

In case you can't tell - I LOVE kombucha.  I have never been much of a drinker of anything but water and coffee before.  Oh, and wine.  And a good micro beer.   But then I met kombucha.

Kom-what?   Confused yet? 

Kombucha is basically a fermented sweet tea, full of super amazing fizzy probiotic goodness!  In the store, a single serving bottle of kombucha will cost you a spendy $3 or so.  Making it yourself, however, is cheaper than you can imagine..  Also, think of the health benefits here!  Replace your daily soda crud (full of non-nutriousness and chemicals) with a energizing boost of probiotics and antioxidants - that taste out of this world! 

In our house, I brew a gallon of kombucha a week.  Literally takes me 10 minutes.  Not even 10 consecutive minutes.  Pretty much put water on to boil, walk away, come back, throw in tea bags, walk away, add sugar, walk away, then come back to it in a week.  Then comes the fun part - you can leave it plain, or doctor it up when you bottle it.  Really folks.  Easy stuff here. 

The hardest part will likely be acquiring a SCOBY.  A SCOBY is a "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast".  This is what causes the fermentation process.  Sounds pretty cute before I got into all that detail, huh?  Not as scary as it sounds.  So where do I get one of these?  Lots of options out there...

• Know an acquaintance that brews their own 'booch?  I was lucky enough to score a baby SCOBY from a dear, like-minded friend (Thanks Cara!).  One of the cool things about brewing kombucha - every week after brewing, a new little baby SCOBY has formed on the bottom of my "mother" SCOBY!  I have already brought several in to work for curious co-workers!
• Check out local sites like Craigslist or Freecycle.org - You would be surprised to know that some people actually have an abundance of SCOBYs.  You can also post a request for a SCOBY - I have responded to a cry for help on my local Freecycle from a desperate kombucha drinker.  Gotta help the habit here, people. 
• Finally, you can also purchase one online.  You can get them in a whole, fresh, moist state - or in a dehydrated state.  Some great websites to check out are Cultures for Health and Kombucha Kamp.

 

Once you have your culture, it's time to jump right in!  

Kombucha

What you will need:

• Purified water
• Sugar (or sucanat)
• Tea bags (I usually use a combo of green and black teas, to equal 5 bags - you can really experiment with teas here.  One of my favorites is the Lemon Lavender Mint tea from Choice Organic Teas)
• A SCOBY with 1 cup of starter liquid (saved from previous batch)
• A container to keep it in: I use a 1 gallon glass container from Walmart, of all places - Like 5 bucks.  Can't beat it. 
• Bottles for the 'booch: Here you can use pretty much whatever you have on hand that has a tight lid.  I use these babies and old store-bought kombucha bottles.

Start by bringing 4 cups of your water to  boil.  Remove from heat and add your tea bags - allow to steep for about 10 minutes.  Remove your tea bags and add your sugar - mix until completely dissolved.  I have always used sugar or sucanat when making my kombucha, although I use raw honey for all of my other sweetening needs in the kitchen.  I read somewhere that the culture thrives better and metabolizes the sugars better with the white stuff - and I haven't felt the need to prove that wrong.  It if works, I'm going to stick with it.  After the sugar is dissolved, add 8 more cups of the water.  Your sweet tea mixture should be close to room temperature now.  Go ahead and slide that SCOBY into the warm jug.  Happy SCOBY.... Now cover it up with a square of cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.  Keeping your jug in a warm, dark place is said to encourage better brewing, but I will be honest - my first few batches hung out right on my kitchen counter, and turned out just fine. 

At this point, you just need to sit back and LEAVE IT ALONE for 1-3 weeks, depending on your taste.  If you are wondering if it's ready, just slide a straw under the SCOBY and taste it!  It really is personal preference.  At our house, we like it best at the one week mark.  The longer it is in there, the more of a vinegary taste it can pick up - fine by me, but the hubby and kiddos aren't too fond of the vinegar..  When you are ready to bottle, the fun really starts!  I love to get the kids involved in choosing different flavors to mix in our kombucha.  You can really add anything to the bottles to tweak the flavor: fruit juices, whole fruit, herbs, flowers, etc.  A few things we have tried:

• Bottled pomegranate juice - all flavors! Use the 100% juice please.  Our favorite is the pomegranate blueberry combined with the Lemon Lavender Mint tea - Sassy! 
• Orange Mint leaves - fresh
• Fresh blackberries, quartered
• Plain - because you can always doctor after bottling too!

This is our method, but remember, this is strictly by taste - what works for YOU:  Pull out the SCOBY and set aside in a glass dish; cover with 1 cup of kombucha liquid.  Using a funnel, in my blue bottles, I put about a half an inch of the juice, then fill up the remainder with kombucha - leaving about an inch of head room.  After filling, clean the tops of your bottles, then close securely.  By capping them, carbonation will start to build up.  I leave my bottles on the counter for 3 days - you can do less if you prefer less bubbliness.  Important note: please burp your bottles daily while they are hanging out on the counter - From experience, I can tell you that you will run the risk of a messy explosion upon opening if you don't.  Not really worth the mess - and a bit sad to see your hard work sprayed all over your kitchen. 

After three days, you can stick them in the fridge, halting the fermentation process.  When chilled, you are ready to roll!  I told you.  Easy peasy. 

 

 

This is the end-product of a bottle of kombucha that was brewed with fresh blackberries - only 3 whole berries per bottle!  Check out that color!  And the ahhhhh effervescence! 

 

 

So there you go - kombucha brewing, made easy.  Go forth!  Enjoy!  :)

 

 

Why I am transitioning our family to a Traditional Foods way of eating...

When I started my journey towards self-sufficiency, I took a good look at the food we were putting into our bodies.  Trust me, I have definitely done my share of budget shopping, trying to save money for the family, telling myself that the sacrifices made will pay off in the end. 

As I am finding - NOT TRUE.  Whoops.  For the last couple of years, we have surely been trying to utilize more fresh foods here in the Northwest, especially in the summer months.  Sadly, though, I was still buying the occasional "quick & convenient" foods that seem so necessary after those long shifts working at the hospital.  You know what I'm talking about.  Taquitos, burritos, Top Ramen... What?!  Yes.  Top Ramen - Have you not tried it with eggs and a spicy peanut sauce?  Now that's tasty dollar food!  Ugh.  Ok, so back to where I was heading...

I have always looked forward to my yearly canning of jams, jellies, preserves, pickles, and such - but last year, I became a tad bit fanatical about it.  I became that person - "What?  You have extra (insert ANY fruit/vegetable here)?  I'll take it!  Nope, I don't know what I will do with it - But I will do SOMETHING with it!"  I'm sure you know what happened next.  Zucchini.  Yep, I didn't turn that down either. 20lbs of that green fruit later (yep, it's a fruit!) - zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini cake, zucchini relish, pickled curried zucchini pickles...  YUM!  Ok, I digress once again.  My point being, I had adjusted my perspective on food little by little - and gained such a stronger appreciation of where it came from.  Why would I let it go to waste when there was certainly something I could do with it?  And why would I continue to put that crap food into our bodies when we have such amazing options before us? 

My outlook changed even further after purchasing the book Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.
As the book description on Amazon.com reads:

"This well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods contains a startling message: animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diets, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels.  Sally Fallon dispels the myths of current low-fat fad in this practical, entertaining guide to a can-do diet that is both nutritious and delicious." (Amazon..com)

 

 

Whoa.  Heavy stuff, right?  A tad mind-blowing?  I thought so.  I can finally eat the foods I actually enjoy, look forward to eating.  REAL food.  Trust me, it was quite an adjustment.  That nonfat yogurt I live on for breakfast?  Full of chemicals.  Diet soda?  Crap.  Store-bought processed milk?  Yup, processed.  Zapped of major nutritional value.  Yikes!  Who'd of thunk?!

 

So what did I do?  I'll be honest - we are still working the kinks out.  Since I have still been trying to be budget-conscious, I just couldn't bring myself to toss out my entire kitchen , so I have been slowly purging using up what we have, little by little.  I have also changed my grocery shopping process - I no longer do all of my shopping at Safeway and Costco, only some of it.  I try to purchase the majority of our fruits and veggies locally, until our garden starts producing more (still a bit early for us - it is our garden's first year, you know!).  We have joined our local co-op:  When we were still in Oly, we were members of the Olympia Food Co-Op, but since our move, we changed over to the Yelm Food Co-Op.  There, I purchase raw milk, raw cheeses, produce, bulk grains, eggs, and even wine!  Yes!! Wine!!!   More recently, I have found a great gal down the road from us that sells me eggs - but only until our ladies start laying (soon, we hope!).  And as of last week, I have started purchasing raw (grass-fed) cow milk from the family we bought our cows from - SUPER score!  From this milk, I can now make our own (chemical-free) yogurt, sour cream, butter, etc.  Honestly, my options are endless - I feel so spoiled!   On off-season when it is hard to find fresh organic produce, we use our Thrive foods (freeze-dried, natural, shelf-stable) that Micky and I recently started selling (www.mickandmel.thrivelife.com).  I have also consistently been making our own bread and granola bars once or twice a week - as well as transitioning to a completely homemade, processed-free diet.  I won't lie - it does take more effort - but well worth it!  It simply just takes more planning to squeeze it all in.





As I say, if it is important to you, you will make it happen!

 

I'm not perfect - I can't follow this all of the time.  But I also have enough going on that I can't stress myself out over something like a diet.  I strictly follow the 80/20 rule - or 90/10 or 70/30 rule (it really depends on the day...).  Meaning 80% of the time, I work hard to follow a Traditional Foods way of eating, but understand that 20% of "fluff" isn't going to ruin me - you know, date night out, treats with the kids, etc.  Otherwise, I would drive myself batty with guilt if I have an off-day.  I also don't expect my kids to give up everything they love as well - root beer floats, frozen yogurt shops, cupcakes at birthday parties, etc.  But if we have those treats at home, I just make it from scratch using whole ingredients - Tell me that homemade vanilla ice cream for that root beer float sounds terrible.  Really. 

 

Tomorrow is bread day and kombucha bottling day - two of my favorites.  Happy girl here!  I am hoping to actually get some decent pics this time to share!

 

Take care - and happy eating!  :)


Buy Nourishing Traditions HERE!!!


Welcome to the Faulk Farmstead!

It's official: Today is my fresh start, back into the world of blogging! Sounds so dramatic, eh? In reality, I shoved my blog to the back burner of my very full stove because life had simply become, well, too busy - but oddly enough, it's because of everything I have put on my plate that I feel the urge to get back into it!  Today! 

Let's rewind a bit, shall we?

Almost 1 year ago, to the date, our family was given the opportunity to fulfill a dream I had been pondering for quite some time - to accrue some acreage, have enough room for hubby to get his dream shop, and for me to have a garden, a few chickens, and a milking goat.   Simple requests I have, right?   Well, as they say, if it is meant to happen, it always finds a way....

I suppose it all started when I began thinking of how I could become just a little more sustainable.  Because, ya know, I can't be too lofty with my ideas, right?  I thought, "Hey, I could get a couple chickens one day, have some fresh eggs, and ooh, I do love goat cheese, so, maybe a little milking goat too?  And of course a garden!  Yes!  That would be a great start!"  After coming to that conclusion, even though those things weren't feasible at our current house, I delved into research - online, books, whatever I could get my hands on.  I was that pathetic person that had a bookshelf of homesteading books, living in a small neighborhood lot, no farm animals, and only lettuce thriving in my raised bed out back.  Yup, I was a poser.  And I think that was when my husband started to think I was crazy (Don't worry - I passed that bug on to him as soon as we moved!).

Once we moved to our new home, however, we were full speed ahead (After all, I had to make up for all that research time and my personal library, right?)

So here we are now, on our little 5 acre plot, with the house of our dreams.  Unfortunately, we don't have that dream shop built yet, but what we have accumulated is our own little menagerie of a farm.  Yes!  I said it!  A FARM!!!  (Sorry, I still have to pinch myself sometimes). 

Ready for a Roll Call??

First it was the chickens - we thought 7 was a good number to start with, it IS lucky, after all.  Well, I will tell you from experience - NOT ALWAYS LUCKY.  Our Great Dane/Hound girl, Sage, decided she needed to put 3 of the 2-day-old chicks out of their misery a bit early.  Tragic, yes, but this was when I first saw that my husband had contracted the "bug" - He immediately went out to purchase replacements while I was at work - but not just replacements.  I came home to a grand total of 22 chicks - in my spare bedroom.  22.  (Deep down, this girl was smiling SO BIG) Out of our 22, only one ended up being a rooster - not bad, huh?  We have a nice variety too - Americaunas, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, and some Golden Sexlinks.

Next came the goats.  Yes, I know I said I wanted a milking goat, but apparently they do best with another for company.  We decided on the Nigerian Dwarfs for our farm for a couple reasons - they don't get too big, and they produce a lot of milk for their size - averaging a quart twice daily!  That's a lot for a little squirt!  As I said earlier, if it's meant to be....  We ended up with 2 four-month-old Nigerian Dwarfs doelings - for free!  Ah, the joys of knowing someone who knows someone.  We are beyond grateful.  Totes and Magotes have provided constant entertainment on our farm - they are by far the goofiest animals I have been around!

Then there came the sheep - we purchased a breeding pair of Barbados Black-belly sheep - for the purpose of breeding for meat. They were also youngins, at four and five months of age. 

Our most recent addition (and I swear our last - for awhile!) is our calves.  At 4 and 5 months of age, we acquired a castrated Jersey (for meat) and a Holstein heifer (for milk one day!).  Although I didn't have the chance to thoroughly educate myself on the cattle (as with the other animals), I think we are learning way more as we go along! 

Whew!  And did I mention that all of these animals have been acquired only in the last  months?!  The best part?  It has been just as fun and satisfying as I thought it would be...