More Basement Progress

We are still busy working on the Basement, Here are some pictures of that progress!

This is that back wall, I was talking about in my last post

This is a before picture of the wall across the room

And this is after painting!

We are going to try to work on the ceiling and frame out a few rooms down in the basement a little later, but we are going to have to focus our attention on the horses and the barn again real soon, we are getting closer to having baby horses and we need to prepare for them!

I will post more pictures of our progress around the house and barn as we get the chance.... Things are a bit busy here for now!!

Blog Header

My New Blog Header is compliments of my friend Robin of Robins Rest
Thank You Robin, I Love it, I will have to learn to do that someday!

A Needed Improvement

I have started to finally paint the basement! We have a very small house and use every inch of the space we have, The Basement seems to have been chosen as the Family room, Ryan's toys are all down there and the computer is in the basement, so we find ourselves spending a lot of time there, I couldn't take the dingy block walls any longer so I decided to paint!

Here is a before picture

And and After

We are hoping to frame in and finish that back wall too!

I have a lot more painting to get done and I cant wait!

it made a world of difference in the look and feel of that space, next I want to decorate and hang some pictures!

Then this space will really feel like a family room!!!

Winter is NOT for butchering!

What do we do when it is 25 degrees outside with 14 mph winds?

We butchered, not that we really wanted to but, we had to, we butchered 6 chickens and 2 rabbits today for a total of 47 lbs 10 oz. of meat,
I would rather accomplish this in milder weather but we were low on meat in the freezer and these animals were way past the time for butchering.
It is very expensive to feed so many animals in the winter, not to mention the hardship that cold weather brings to both man and beast.
We had intended to have this done way back in November and not have to worry about it at this time of year but, a series of events had taken our time away from those chores. so now we are left to do our butchering in the middle of winter, we have 19 more chickens and 6 more rabbits to do before we are done.... not a chore I look forward to doing in warm or cold weather, but enjoy the benefits once it is all done!

Happy Birthday Badger!

Today is Badgers Birthday!

Happy Birthday to such a sweet girl, We Love you Badger!!

Badgers Pregnant Belly

This is Badgers pregnant belly!

It wont be long, she is due in April and Willow is due in March!

Taking care of the Animals on a winter day

Robin and Willow

This morning is cold, its the kind of cold that chills you to the bone as soon as you walk outside. I greeted the Horses who are always glad to see us come down because they know they are going to get their sweet grain, Badger will whinny in excitement and then bite at her gate until she gets her grain, Willow whinnies and then gets aggravated with Badger biting at her gate. While the horses eat their grain, we feed and water the Chickens, Turkeys and our flock of Meat chickens and open the door to the coop to let everyone outside. The Rabbits are next, we fill their feeders and collect the water bottles to take up to the house to thaw by the wood stove, we will take the water bottles back down to them after they thaw out later. We put the Halters on the Horses and let them out, Willow has to go first, then Badger. They get fresh hay thrown to them because there's no good grazing right now, everything is frozen.

We of course spend a little time loving the horses before we return to the warmth of the house.

In the evening we return to the barn to feed and water again, Brush the horses ( I have learned to do this in the evening because they usually like to roll during the day) We clean out their hooves and muck their stalls, then they go in the stalls and impatiently wait for us to bring them more grain and throw hay into the hay racks. We collect the eggs from the chickens and close them in the coop for the night. When it is really cold out the chickens and Turkeys get some scratch grains before roosting to help keep them warmer through the night. We give the rabbits each a little hay and say good night to all the animals.

Sometimes going to the barn feels like a drudgery to get myself motivated this time of the year ( I am not a cold weather type of girl)but, Once I get down there, I actually enjoy it, I love being with the animals, petting and holding the rabbits or hugging the horses and watching the antics of the chickens. The animals provide me with a sense of calm and help me forget the stresses of the day and they always do something that will amuse me and make me laugh, Its then that I forget, for a little while that its cold out side!

Home Made Bread!

There is something about homemade bread that is just so satisfying to your whole body! With just a few ingredients and some kneading mixed with a little patience you get something wonderful, oh and the smell that wafts through the air as you bake your freshly risen bread is just as rewarding to the senses!
and last but not least is the taste.... no store bought bread can stand next to home made in flavor and texture!

I enjoy baking bread and look forward to that fist slice, still warm from the oven with a little butter and home made apple sauce... it just doesn't get any better!
If you have never baked bread, I would recommend you try!
it really isn't as hard as you think but, I will warn you,
there wont be any left overs to go stale!

First Ice Storm for 2009

These are some pictures of the Ice Storm we got on Wednesday and Thursday early Morning, this was what we woke up too!

Ice on one of our bushes

Icy cold view from the back yard

This picture looks out of focus but, it was actually Fog!

Several people in our area had power outages due to the trees falling over onto the power lines from the weight of the Ice, we were fortunate that we maintained our electric!

The horses were upset about staying in the barn, I just didn't want to take the chance of them slipping on the ice in their current state of pregnancy, Today they are out and about but it is windy and I think they will opt to return to the barn!

We are in store for very cold temperatures this weekend and the possibility for more Ice on Saturday........ Hurry Spring!!!!!

Horse Love

The Horses have really settled in at their new home and we are all enjoying them very much!

Ryan and Willow

Ryan and Badger

They are both very healthy and the time is getting closer to them foaling, we are learning as much as we can about pregnant horses and preparing the birthing kits, Willow is the first expected to foal in March and Badgers due in April.

We have been very busy with all the animals and preparations for winter.

We also were having computer issues but now we are back and I hope to blog regularly again, I will post pictures of the horses growing belly's soon!