Where has time gone?

Oh my...I didn't realize how long it has been since I last published in my blog.  The last date I see is 2010!!!!  It is now 2017!!!!  Where has time gone?  Where have I gone? What has happened?!?!?!!

So much has changed...a new baby in 2013, an angel in 2016. Hubby started traveling for his job and is gone quite a bit. Our older 2 children have graduated high school (one is 2014 the other in 2016)...the oldest moved out and he is living on his own (insert tears here).  Five "rats" (as I love to refer to them from our favorite tv show "Rugrats" which we still watch!) are still living at home. I started selling with 3 direct sales companies...still sell with 2, but don't promote.

Home...now that is the BIGGEST change for us.  We have moved!!!!  In 2013 my mother unexpectedly passed away, devastating us.  We realized that our children didn't know their grandparents at all.  So, hubby and I decided that it was time to leave California and move to West Virginia to be closer to family. We left California June 2014.

My sister and her family opened their arms and home to us for a year while we did upgrades and placed our old place on the market.  It finally sold in August 2015 and we purchased our new home (along with 105 acres of land) a few days later!  It was all in the timing...and boy did it work out!!!!!  Our place is amazing!!!!  Close enough to get to town (15 min drive)...but far enough out that no one can hear you scream.  Well, one neighbor can...they live right across the road, up the hill...and sound echo's.  But hey...I can't reach out and touch someone any more.

Front of house from road

Sorry, now I'm just rambling....

Anyway, we are trying to grow our little farmstead.  We started with a small garden last year that didn't produce to much.  It was our fault really.  It had been a while since I attempted a garden with more than just a few plant varieties.  But, I had a very high pregnancy at the start of the gardening season, after we lost the baby ...well, it was just to much for me as the summer went on.

Our back yard...perfect for sledding

We also started raising the first of our chickens.  We started the year with 5 hens and a rooster (he was a oopsie).  Purchased 6 more hens a few months later.  We lost the rooster and 5 hens over the summer due to wild critters.  Apparently raccoons and opossums love fresh eggs and chickens as much as we do! We finished the year with 2 roosters (one was given to us by a neighbor and one was hatched by a broody hen) and 7 hens (2 were hatched by our broody now known as Mrs. B).

Baby #1 hatching

At the beginning of February this year we purchased an incubator and started incubating 7 eggs.  We discovered at 1 week incubation that 1 was infertile.  At 2 weeks incubation we had what appeared to be 6 healthy eggs.  On day 20 (average of 21 days incubation time) our first 2 babies hatched.  It was an internet sensation!  I live streamed it via Facebook and several friends (and their kids) enjoyed the show.  We have been anxiously waiting for the other 4 to hatch...but we are now at day 28 and it appears that the others will not be hatching.  Which is a bummer...but it's how it goes sometimes.

New babies in the brooder

Now, I should share that my husband has been getting excited about having new chickens.  He was reluctant last year about purchasing more.  However this year when we found a local farm selling straight chicks (unsexed) for just a couple of dollars each he suggested we go out there. So, we went out to meet them and we purchased 7 new chicks for my brooder!  While I don't know off hand what breed the 2 babies we hatched are I do know that I purchased 4 Silver Laced Wyandotte's and 3 Red Cross.  They are 2 weeks old and doing well.  They are enjoying the occasional live streaming I do.

Meanwhile...we rehomed our youngest rooster "Jack".  We have a friend who needed to replace their very, very aggressive rooster and since "Papa" (our older rooster) was now attacking "Jack" when he got to close to the ladies...it was time for one to go.  So, "Jack" now has a coop full of ladies just for him!  On a sad note...a few days after rehoming "Jack" one of our hens jumped off a hill and landed right in front of a truck.  She was killed instantly.  Of course tears were shed because she was one of our original chicks and a favorite of the rats.  But that is the hazards of raising free ranged chickens.

Jack in his new home

Tomorrow we will start incubating aprox 30 eggs.  We are so excited.  Most of these chickens will be slaughtered for meat when they are big enough (what? 3-5 months ish?) We also have a lot more interesting things going on and more animals to add and shelters to build...  But, I'm going to end this here for now.  It has been an interesting few years...and the last few days have been busy.  Hopefully I will be able to keep up with things a bit better and...well, I don't know.  Who knows what will show up here! 

Until next time folks!!!!!