Where did summer go?

Here I am back to my woefully neglected blog. Last time I posted was the middle of summer. My husband wonders why I even have any followers left. Didn't bother explaining to him that it would probably take more effort to remove somebody than to let them just sit there doing nothing. But nevertheless, I'm happy to see that nobody removed me from their blogroll. So I'm back now and will try to make my posting more regular again.

Here's a quick (thought I could be quick, but turned out, I couldn't) re-cap. We did our first real garden this year, and it did surprisingly well! We canned potatoes, salsa, hot pepper butter, and pizza sauce--maybe some other things too, but that's all I can think of right off the top of my head. Oh, pickles! We had yummy fresh cucumbers for weeks. I miss them already. I have never loved a cucumber like I loved those! And my picky boy, Finn, would just gobble them up.

We sold Bambi's boys (above) and because of several issues, I didn't manage to ever get her milking. Hopefully next year. We kept Betty Bob's doeling, Star (on the right below). I am milking Betty Bob and Bella and getting a little over half a gallon most days just milking once a day. Plenty for our family, and it leaves us enough to try cheese making and plenty of puddings and yummy stuff.

We sold half a dozen of our pullets, but we are still getting around a dozen eggs a day. The guineas are all grown up, and I'm pretty sure they are both females. Kind of bummed about that as I was hoping we would get a pair so we could have little keets next year. We hatched a duck out over the summer that I called Uno because it was the only egg that hatched and Ivy called Sparkle because I think she wanted to embarrass it, but one day it just disappeared. (I think this may be the only picture I got of it because my camera apparently decided to take the summer off with my blog--see it right in the middle?) No clue what happened to it--just totally gone without a trace. Also down one chicken like that. I managed to convince myself we were down another chicken and spent a few days counting and recounting chickens until it finally dawned on me that the one I was looking for was one of the ones we sold. Feel free to share the long laugh I had at my own expense.

We have two pigs that are ready to head to market. I don't think I have any pictures of them. Sorry, will take the camera up there in the next couple days. Along the lines of not naming your food, these two never did acquire names. We put them far, far from the house because we had many, many people telling us how they would smell, but they really aren't that bad. Yeah, you can smell them when you stand outside their pen, but they weren't all that people made them out to be.

I've been doing a bit of sewing lately and have some things to share over the next few days. But here's a little peek at a pattern I was delighted to be given an opportunity to test for Whimsy Couture. I am really liking her patterns. This is the third one I have made up and have more to try. I'll post a bit more about this pattern in the next few days.

So to end things up, here's a shot of Holly and Finn that I really love. They were sitting together on the couch like this the other day, and I actually managed to get to the camera in time. Nobody told them to sit like that. I was doing things in the kitchen and looked over and there they were. So cute! Can't believe how big they are getting.

Giveaway Week at Bit of Whimsy Dolls!

Sarah over at Bit of Whimsy Dolls is hosting a week of giveaways this week! I know I've mentioned (more than once!) before how much I enjoy her patterns. She's started the week with a three pattern giveaway. Although I have a lot of her patterns already, far be it from me to say no to more. She's got a new and very cute kitten pattern, and I think I'd have to also choose the pig pattern and probably Finnegan the fox for my little Finn. Keep checking back through the week to see what else she is giving away--I know I will be!

I don't think I ever posted a picture of the above cutie. She's Millie Monkey made from the Little Peanut pattern, in case you were wondering. Millie's a little something I won from another giveaway on the Bit of Whimsy blog. Sarah made her from a shirt in recognition of Earth Day--wasn't that a cute way to repurpose some clothing that might not have been worn again? Ivy tried to claim her, but she made it safely to my sewing room where she graces a top shelf and smiles down on me whenever I have a chance to work in there.

Wordless Wednesday #12

"At the 'goat-eo'"

She's a Keeper!

Betty Bob suprised me with a middle of the night delivery. The goat pen is right outside our bedroom window, and I woke up to hear grunting. I sat up while I was trying to wake up and process what was happening. I realized it must be Betty Bob in labor since it was the same sounds Bambi made and different than I've ever heard them make before. So I pulled on clothes, grabbed towels and gloves and a flashlight and headed out. She was in labor and pushing some, but the baby didn't seem to be coming quite out. I waited a while and she would push and you could see hooves and nose--so the presentation was normal--but the baby didn't seem to be coming along. Finally I applied a little pressure to the head as she pushed and the baby slid right out.

Since Bambi had twin boys, I kept telling Ivy she'd better have some serious talks with Betty Bob before she kidded. It must have worked because Ivy got what she ordered! She wanted a little elf-eared, blue-eyed doeling and that's what Betty Bob delivered. Momma and baby are both doing well. Unfortunately, Ivy is over at a friend's house and missed the delivery and doesn't actually know she got her order yet. I doubted they would appreciate a 5 am call...

Kidding time!

We have kids!

Bambi kidded this afternoon with two adorable bucklings. The birth was simple and unassisted, although we were there with her. She pushed those two little boys out within a couple minutes of each other, and they were nursing very shortly after. She’s a great mother so far and has taken right to them. They are little and sweet and soft and shall I go on? They are both colored very similarly to Bambi. One has more white on him and blue eyes like his dad, Cowboy.

Ivy was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a doeling for her to raise, but she is counting on Betty Bob to have one for her. I know there is going to be one unhappy little girl if Betty Bob only has a boy. I really think Betty Bob will just have one when I compare her size to Bambi’s size before kidding. Bambi looked so large when I saw those tiny babies come out, I thought there was a good possibility there could be at least another, but she stopped at two. I’m thinking that Betty Bob is about a week behind Bambi, but with the range in delivery dates, it could be two weeks or so before she kids. Her udder is full and tight, but other signs seem to be lacking still. Of course that can all change very quickly as we witnessed today.

When I went out to check the kids around 8:30 this evening, they were actually playing a little with each other. It was such a cute thing to see. They were on very wobbly feet within an hour of birth. And they knew about looking for milk, they just didn’t always know where to look. They spent a good amount of time nudging around Bambi’s chest and one managed to get a little suck on her ear. She talks to them if she feels like they get too far away from her, but it didn’t bother her for me to take them. She was willing to leave them in the stall with me while she went to get something to eat. They, on the other hand, scream quite loudly if removed from her presence. There is already a bond there. So far, they are unnamed, but hopefully we'll figure some names out soon.

Wordless Wednesday #11

"Hey... err...hay!"

What would you make?

Heads up for a scrap bag giveaway from Sevi Designs. She's divvied up all manners of scraps into 5 bags and is giving them away. Just stop by her blog and let her know what you'd make if you won. I'm thinking little pincushions and little pouches.