I'm In The Weeds!!!

Is that phrase used anymore? As a waitress, in my younger days, it meant that I was swamped! Too many tables, food orders coming up all at once, a party of 10 just being seated...crazy busy. Well, lemme tell you, right now..."I'M IN THE WEEDS!"
  Here's a little of what we've been doing since Friday..

Bess Darrow came on Friday to float Dixie's teeth and give the dogs their rabies shots. More to come.

Then we raced into town to pick up my son and friend from school.
A quick linner (lunch AND dinner - "eat up kids cause I'm not cookin' tonight!") and then off to the strawberry fields.

mmmm.. I do believe I'll be making jam today! Again, more to come.

Home to do the evening chores: feed the horses, feed the chickens, fill a wheelbarrow of manure, bottle feed 7 baby goats, gather eggs, check waters, milk 6 does, separate moms and babies for the night, strain and chill milk, clean utensils. 

Our mornings begin at 5. With coffee. Then we're out the door to feed horses, feed chickens, fill waters, throw hay and grain for goats, bottle feed babies, milk 5 moms, release babies (my favorite part of the morning routine) milk 7 more, bring milk in and strain and chill, water garden, and greenhouse, and blueberries...

Saturday we dropped  my son and a couple friends at Blue Springs to camp. Our Boy Scout troop had reserved the facility, but because the Camporee was last weekend,opted not to camp officially so they offered it to scout families for the weekend. Only one other family took advantage of the offer.
I love Blue Springs! It's one of my favorite "treasures".  We loaded up the canoes and spent a few hours in the woods and on the water.

   We left the boys and on the way back to the farm took a detour to visit a new friend

 and helped him pick blueberries. What a neat guy! I'll introduce you to him soon!

On Sunday, our nephew and his family came to visit. They hadn't been here long; we had fed the babies, pet the horses and were showing them around when I heard a sound I have become quite familiar with. It seems that when a doe is kidding the billy goats get riled up and make a distinct noise. My heart sank. We walked over to the "Elvis pen" and found this.

 Now, don't get me wrong, I love the sweet little darlings, but, as I said earlier, "I'M IN THE WEEDS!" - swamped - overwhelmed!  We cleaned her off and decided we'd leave her with her mom and check back in a little while to be sure she was nursing. I packed a quick lunch to have at Blue Springs when we went to get the boys, and as we were driving out we stopped to check ...

 ...and found this!

Had to make a quick stop to re-queen a beehive

Lunch, and a little more play at Blue Springs before we loaded up canoes to head home

the minute the tires hit the pavement!

We dropped one boy off in town and then back to the farm (it's about a 40 minute drive from the farm to town) to drop the other and to see his mom's new mule - Wyatt Erp.

Then homestead chores. I usually don't finish milking until 9:00 pm.

Monday brought this

and this

So my total count right now, Thursday, May 3rd 2012:

21 baby goats from 3 days old - 4 months.
8 babies bottle feeding 3-4 times/day
14 does milking in the am
7 does milking at night
8 week old chicks in the house
5  day old turkeys also in the house

We haven't had rain in some time so gardens, orchards, blueberries, greenhouse, grapes and fig trees all need water.
And of course the horses, chickens, dogs, cats, guineas and goats all need food and water and various assorted other things.
Yup, I'M IN THE WEEDS!
But I love it!

Can't wait to see what today has in store!