New additions at the farm

On Saturday, I went out to the barn and remembered I better check on Hazel. Hazel is one of the chickens that the previous owner of our house left for us. She had been sitting on eggs and I didn't think any would hatch. Travis, our tiny little Serama rooster really likes she and her sister, Agnes, but I never dreamed we would have babies. I was wrong!

In all her glory! Four new little babies! There were five that hatched, but one didn't make it. I decided since it is so hot, that I didn't want her to have to take care of them, plus I didn't want to risk losing any. I brought them into the house for a few weeks until they are bigger. Then they will go back outside. Our suspicions are that the eggs in the nest are Hazel and Agnes' only, since it's their nest. So now we have *mutt* chickens but that is fine with us.

Today we added two new dairy does to our herd of goats. This makes three milking does for next spring. The two that we got today are in milk, though are not huge producers, but a good start for us. We will likely add a couple more, as well.

This is Tootsie. She was a year old in March. She's so sweet!!

This is CindyLou. Not her *real* registered name, but it's what we are calling her. It sounds very similar to her registered name, so it works. She is three years old.

This is Sandy. She is the baby we got a week and a half ago. She is four months old. She ADORES Felicity.

Starting tomorrow, no more store bought milk for our family!!

All is well and a cow

While it does take adjustment having another child in the house, we are all adjusting well.  Each of us has our *moments*, but things are much better with Timothy than we anticipated, and that's a great thing!

It's so hot and dry here in Amarillo. The flower above is Lantana. It's a native Texas plant and loves the hot, dry climate. This is by far the worst summer since we  moved here five years ago.  During the heat of the day, we are stuck indoors watching TV or playing games. I just read this morning, the La Nina has moved (or dissolved?) and that leaves us open with the possibility of record rains in July and August. I'm sure there's not a person up here that would complain about record rainfall.

The chickens and goats are all doing well. The goats are absolutely wonderful to have as pets! Although it's almost like having two more children, but that live outdoors. Buddy even comes up to the back door and *knocks* with his hooves. It's really funny.  Eleanor hatched two more Serama babies last week and I'm so excited. I am working on growing a pretty large Serama flock because we love them oh so much!

We've discovered that Timothy fits right in with our family and his love of milk. We have been discussing buying a milk goat or a milk cow in the past. Now we are REALLY considering it.  While a goat is smaller than a cow and easier to handle, I can't make all of the products from goat milk that I can from cow milk. That's our big issue with making a decision. So soon, we may own one of these beauties! We are looking only at Jersey cows for milk and I've found some for sale locally.
I'm pretty excited. It's been a joke in our home for years that "we need to buy a cow" because, to begin with, Katie and I drank LOTS of milk. Then, after Mike and I married and had Felicity, she followed in our tracks and LOVES milk. So we often times have commented that we needed to buy a cow. Now toss Timothy in the mix. It looks as if we just might own a milk cow soon.

We are going in a week and a half to meet and visit with another prospective foster-to-adopt son. So exciting! I will post how it goes afterward. If it goes well, he will come and spend the 4th of July weekend with our family as a trial. I never imagined myself surrounded by male children before. It must be what God had intended for us, though.

Have a great day!