Monday, November 9, 2015

MAY I Say I'm Sorry? :(





WOW I think this is the longest I've gone between posts. We've been so crazy busy with so many unexpected challenges that taking the time to sit down and post has just been a no go. I will try to back up to were I left off in mid may and hit a few of the highlights month to month.


MAY 2015

The kids entered the Science fair at the Gladys Dart School in Manley with their smoke bomb experiment.
The won second place for their age group.

The school kids hatched some eggs from our flock that they had displayed at the science fair.

Heavy truck traffic from Eureka to Manley to haul gravel for the new road to Nome took a heavy toll on our road and made travel a huge pain.


We got our first ever wiener pigs to raise.

Ken gave the 4-H group a lesson on gun cleaning and safety.

One of our biggest projects was putting up our new 30'x96' high tunnel.






Lilly gave birth to a single doeling that we named Sitka Sue.

Dr. Watson and Rover investigate the new baby.

Piglets are growing so fast.
Putting the plastic on the high tunnel.



Incubating our first turkey eggs.

JUNE

Planting Begins



Iris gives birth to twin doelings Abby and Zeva. They are sooo tiny but very strong.

The cats Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson watched the birth from their perch.


Potatoes have started comming up!

Progress in the high tunnel.
First baby Turkey to hatch!

Everything is Growing
.



Enter the FIRE! The Beauty and Baker fires were burning just a couple of miles from our homes. After smoke jumpers landed in our front yard we were told to evacuate to the gravel pit across the road. Here are the animals during the evacuation. We were only evacuated for a few days but it wreaked havoc on the farm. The high tunnel got over grown out of control and we lost most of the baby turkeys that were still hatching in the incubator.






Fire Fighters set up camp on the runway in front of the house. The head people camped in our yard. They allowed us to move back home and used the pit to house additional groups of fire fighters.


My mini broody hen doing her part to help save the chicks that came out of the brooder during the evacuation. 



JULY

The fire gave us a small reprieve to enjoy our 4th of July. Oak won the bike parade with his Eagle Bike.



Then the fire blew back up again. The weather was HOT, WINDY and DRY.





Cooling off while the smoke was clear.


When the wind would calm the smoke settled in turning day to night and making it hard to breath. The light specks in the pictures are falling ash.



The kids became friends with some of the fire fighters that were camped by the house. Here they are trying on fire fighter Brian's gear.




They started a back burn from the fire break to the fire line.








You can see the flames through the trees.

To spite the fire things kept on growing.












Finally the threat of Fire was pretty much over.


AUGUST

We finally got to hatch some chicks.


Harvest Begins






potato patch



SEPTEMBER



Were September went I have no idea. I didn't even take any pictures. 
Too busy harvesting and preserving. 

OCTOBER

Temps are Dropping 
We started construction on our new Fodder and Bath House. 




Sherlock Holmes guarding the barn from voles.

Chicks are Growing up Fast and some handsome new roosters.



You think these goats know that there food will be grown in here?

Well that pretty much sums it up to were we are now. Hopefully I can do some better updating over these cooler months. Again I am very sorry for the lack of updates and hope that these pictures will help you to catch up.

Blessings to you all and special thanks to our friends and family who kept us lifted up in prayer during the fires.

Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.