Anyone else getting excited for 2017??

Now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over I have been slowly writing down all the ideas I want to improve our little homestead. Hubbs and I are trying to decide if we will keep the homestead where we are currently located or if we are going to find a little place with 5-10 acres minimum to expand it.
I have started receiving more seed catalogs in the mail and am writing in my Farm Journal everything I want to plant then I will make a final decision of what exactly I am going to plant. I have 2 new Gurney's Cat a logs and a Burpee one. I also have been receiving livestock catalogs. I'm trying to decide what we want for fencing for ou goats and pigs when we add them to the farm.  I am looking forward to raising our own meat. I know it will not be an easy endeavor but, I'm up for the challenge.
I received my first Farm Magazine in the mail this past week.  I received my copy of Hobby Farm. I'm looking forward to reading it cover to cover this week while the kids are on Vacation.
I'm also going to read Country Sampler.  That subscription is almost done so I will end up renewing that in the next couple of months!!
I am teaching myself to crochet dishcloths.  YouTube will come my go to friend of learning. I made one that was ok but not quite even. The second one I made last night had one side even and the second side had a little bit of a wave to it.  I am completely determined to learn. Once I get that maybe I can get the hang of knitting!
Time to fix lunch for the fam and give the animals a little treat.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas. Here are some photos. Also I'm posting what I received for agift. My very first pair of Muck Boots!
All the farm animas had some veggies for Christmas Dinner like the rest of us.

Thankful for warmer temps

Today I had to bring one of my roosters inside as he got into a scuffle with the other rooster. This is the first time they have actually squabbled with one another.
I learned a tip of putting vaseline on their combs for colder weather.  It helps prevent frost bite.  Also I learned put a 20 ounce soda bottle filled with salt water in the chickens and goats water dishes helps them not freeze as bad. Homesteading groups online have been great!
This weekend I plan on getting a couple more bales of hay for the barn so the animals feel a little warmer. My poor goats were shivering a little tonight when I fed them.
Here are some photos of poor Popcorn. He's being nursed in my bathroom. (Hopefully he doesn't start crowing at daylight)

Brrr

It's amazing how much of the US is in a deep freeze right now.  It has been below zero often. I feel bad for all of my outdoor critters. I want to bring them all inside but the dogs and cat would bother them too much. (I'm a big softie)
I've been trying to find baby doll sheep breeders in Maine but have had no luck yet. The closest breeder is in Mass. But I will have a few more months to keep searching.
We will be raising pigs in the spring for meat for my family. I'm on a few homesteading pages on Facebook and have enjoyed seeing people's posts of their full freezers of farm raised meat. Hubby thinks he would have a hard time eating it, but I think I would be ok as long as someone else butchered it. Plus I know the meat I raise will be from an animal well taken care of.
Tomorrow we are putting our tree up and after school my kiddos will be decorating it. I have been lax about putting it up this year for some reason.
I plan on making some special treas for all of our critters for Christmas. I also need to make some homemade dog treats. Tomorrow I also need to clean the beta fish tank. His tank gets dirty quickly. Then after that the holiday baking will begin.
Hope you are staying warm!!

Birdwarltching

Morning doves, blue jays and cardinals outside our windows every morning.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This morning the youngest 2 boys and I went out to feed the chickens, goats and ducks  and they were a little chilly. The goats and ducks were shivering so off we went to tractor Supply to get some more shavings and some clearance coats for the goats. Then we went to blue Seal to buy a couple of bales of hay.
After that, we spent the afternoon decorating for Christmas and even decorated the barn.

Oreo is wearing brown and Milkshake is wearing blue.

Here is part of our village on the buffet. I need to put the other half of it out tomorrow.

What do you do when you drop socks behind the dryer?? You have one of the youngest 2 boys become Spider Man.

Cold Weather is coming

It's been chilly here and we have had our first snow although now it has melted.
I found my absolute dream home online today. It would need a little bit of updating to fit my family but it's a 4 br 1 ba farmhouse on 110 acres of land with a barn, silo and established gardening area. Another bonus is it is beside my cousin who loves farming as much as I do. Sometime in the future I really want to sell this place andbuy something that has more land.
I sold my first 2 dozen of eggs this past week but the girls have started slowing down laying. I do not think they are very impressed with the colder weather .
I am making some Christmas gifts this year and will post pics of them after Christmas so I don't ruin my family's surprise!
This week I lost 2 people I loved .  When you are  a child you don't realize how much losing people affects you like it does as an adult. I'm very thankful for the memories I have of both people. Also my parents had an answer to prayer and their house officially closes this week. I'm happy for my parents ♡♡
I put my grandfather's radio he had in his garage in my kitchen and it's turned on our local radio station that plays continuous Christmas music. It's sweet hearing the kids sing along while they are doing something in the kitchen .
I starting putting up some if my grandparents Christmas decorations that I picked up from their house while finishing cleaning it out this summer.  I have a long ways to go to decorate but I enjoy decorating with their decorations as well as one of my friends decorations that she gave to me before she moved to FL.
I bought a magnetic penguin decorating set as my mom really loves penguins. there may be thousands of miles between us, but I always feel closer to mom with penguins and when I see owls I think of dad.
Tomorrow I need to find my grandmother's wreaths to put on our door and think I'm going to put some on our barn 😉