Not a farming week.

What a week. Some weeks are great farming weeks. Others are great family weeks, and yet others are great cleaning weeks. Some weeks are nothing great weeks and others are everything great weeks. Great meaning that this is what happens. This week is not a farming week. It may be a cleaning week but I'd really rather not. LOL. But it seems everything is going crazy with the critters. And it's only the middle of the week. I moved the chickens a few days ago. Got the electric netting all figured out around some trees and opened it up to move and BOOM. Every blasted laying hen we have except 1 was OUT. I swear they heard the fence rustle and ran for the hole. Good thing there are only about 25. Our 1 and only turkey actually did stay in. Anyway I put the pen where I wanted it and went to go find some chickens. Sure enough they'd all run right to their barn. They seem to miss their barn come fall and can't wait to leave it come spring. So I got as many as I could in there and closed the door and proceeded to CATCH everyone, including our rooster, and haul them across the yard to the new pen. I didn't get them all, but had to go out after milking and got a few more. It was a bright night so they could see me, so I couldn't get them all. There are at least 5 still out. At least I have not found chicken poop on the porch...yet. Tomorrow the kids and I will have to go on a egg hunt. One fun thing about having hens out.


Then today I had the kids outside for a bit and when it was time to come in I got them all in then looked out the window and what do I see... My cow and the bull BOTH out, munching on the lawn. Not 20 feet from where the kids had just been. I set the kids down to lunch and ran outside to get them in. They had pushed over a board by the stanchion and hopped out. So I adjusted some fences so they had to go back in and got me a big stick and in they went. So I put some pallets in front of the hole and a board and went back in to put the kids to bed. (They had soup for lunch, which they drink out of a big bowl with a straw each, so it takes no time at all) Then I had just sat down with my own soup and a hear a weird noise. Look out the window and here is Bindy back in the yard. This time I had to catch her and drag her around the layer pen, then thru a small hallway between the house and the firewood wall (I was amazed she fit, and that she would go. Both of her sides were rubbing on the 'walls'), though the milking area and back in the pen. Then while I was re fixing the hole she tried it again so I couldn't go get stuff to fix the hole. But I fixed her. Tied the pallets to the fence and put our ladder, which was nearby, across the top. With the large wheelbarrow full of wood (also nearby) holding the ladder and one side of the pallet up. The only bad part about this was that the wheelbarrow had been empty so I had to refill it from the stack. It looks like crap but it works. :):) Tomorrow I'll have to go find some long nails and a 2x6 and fix it up right and proper. By the time I got back inside my soup was cold, nap time half over and I was cranky from the whole mess. Thankfully though the soup and the rest of nap time did wonders for my mood and I'd pretty much forgotten the whole mess by the time Papa got home from work. One nice thing about it was that I actually touched the Bull and he didn't even mind. I sort of pet him over the fence after I put them in the 1st time. He almost let me, then I think he remembered I was a HUMAN. ACK. Chickens, cattle, lets hope it's not the pigs tomorrow. I hate chasing pigs. (Actually I have a great way of chasing pigs. :) I use our pellet gun. It stings just enough that they all turn when one gets hit. Well this is the best way to get them out of places you'd rather not go.. like under the floor or in the garden or when they try and head for the road. I had this problem a month or more ago. My fence was shorting out on a rebar pole and I couldn't find it. Turned out it was on a part of the fence I didn't know was hot. Anyway our 6 pigs got out 6 times in less then 4 hours. I learned I'm a pretty good shot!! Now the fence is nice and hot and the last time we moved them they wouldn't even cross the fence line with the fence down. :)

Converstation stoppers.

LOL. Yesterday while waiting to get in for Baby R's immunizations a lady who was in the waiting room started asking me about my kids. Are they all yours? Are there twins?? ( I guess that somehow makes it more understandable then just having 4 children in 5 years) Two boys then a girl and then a boy?? I was nursing Baby R so I explained. No 2 boys and then 2 girls. She was nice and polite. Curious mostly I think. Then she asked me the question we get constantly. From everyone, strangers in the stores, people walking their dogs, family, friends. Everyone. She asked me if we were done now. Now I'm not sure why people ask. Probably they are just curious, maybe a bit nosy, some of them are down right horrified with the # we have now and just speak before thinking. Those last ones really get on my nerves, I'd rather have my 4 well behaved children then their 1 or 2 spoiled rotten little brats. I often get asked how I do it with 4 gasp gasp active children. As they try to hold their child in their arms or even keep them in the same room/area as they are. Often with the child screaming and fighting or just plain taking off. I just smile at them and look at my 4 holding hands or standing quietly waiting for me. And tell them, not what I do because they really don't want to know. I know. I have told them and they have all kinds of reasons why that couldn't possibly work for their precious wonderful expressive child. "They are just expressing themselves..." I've heard it while buying groceries, while in the library, while at the park, while in a church. No one was listening anyway so I stopped saying it. Now I just tell them that we practice at home. We practice being good, we practice sitting quietly, we practice listening. We practice, practice, practice. This seems to be something people can understand. Of course there is more to it then that. But the people who ask us if we are done having kids are normally just curious.. they aren't looking for answers but to fulfill their curiosity. With these people I just smile, look them right in the eyes and say. "My husband would like 12 children." Now sometimes they gap like fish out of water, a few smile and say go for it, most gap like fish. Now depending on the person I often add... "but I told him we'd take them one at a time." Because that question is often the next, "Well... what about you??" I wonder if they really think I would have married Papa knowing that he wanted 12 children if I did not also want a large family. I just keep smiling and keep practicing!!!

Immunizations!!

Yesterday Baby R got her 6 month shots. I know we started a bit late but I kinda like it better that way. She was really good and didn't even cry for the 1st one. The 2ND one hurt though. Well I imagine they both hurt. All my kids act differently after their shots. J used to want to eat/nurse constantly, L screamed... then again he did a lot of that anyway. E got a fever but was still mostly happy and Baby R seems to barely notice. Which is fine with me. Papa told me last night that last time it took a few days and then she got cranky for a day or two. Must not have been that bad as I cannot recall it. She did really well yesterday afternoon and last night she slept 8pm to 6:30am. Which is nice. :) Really nice. :) What is also very nice is that now we are done with immunizations until she is a year old!!