We LOVE Snow Our Chickens Not So Much

Hi, I am the youngest baby brother.  This is my first post.  Let me know what you think. Guess what, it snowed today.  We love snow, our chickens don't. Two of them came out on their ramp. When they saw the snow they went right back in. They did not want to play in the snow. I guess there will be no snow chicken for them. We, on the other hand, would like introduce our snowman Bob. The chickens stayed snuggled up in their coop all day. We played in the snow all day, the opposite of the chickens.  Wonder who is smarter us or the chickens?  I'd say us.

Bob the snowman



Good Morning!

What is this white stuff?!

Back inside girls!

The Chicken Coop

Chickens in their coop

Trip to Washington, GA

     A couple of days ago we tried to go to Washington, GA to look at some farms for sale. Grand thought it was a bad idea (It was), but Mom insisted we go. Anyway, my mom picked us up at Grand's house because Grand's car couldn't get out. We all loaded up and tried to go. There was a lot of sleet and ice on the road so Mom had to be careful, but when we got to the second road we almost crashed because of the ice. Mom slipped all over the road (See it was a bad idea). After that, every one's heart was racing. When we started out on the highway I started the G.P.S. and set a route. On the way to Washington, we went through Toccoa, Eastanollee, Avalon, Martin, Lavonia, Bowersville, Canon, Rayston, Bowman, Dewy Rose, and Elberton. Many of these towns we wouldn't have known were there if there wasn't a sign welcoming us or a post office. It didn't look like there was a lot in these little towns, but a number of them had beautiful old homes on their main streets. There were also some local restaurants scattered about. Maybe there's more to them the eye can see. Maybe the people are nice and help their neighbors. All of us were hungry after going through all of the towns and we stopped at the McDonald's to eat. We discussed continuing on to Washington, but it was late, so we decided to call it quits. We finally mad it back to our mountain and then got stuck on the second road. I had to walk all the way up our mountain to my house and call Dad to come get the car unstuck. We did finally make it home, and we aren't going anywhere until the ice melts.

     If you have ever lived in a little town or you know anything about these towns please comment! We would like to know your thoughts!

The Growing Search

     Today we contacted another real-estate agent in the growing search to find our Sweet Summer Farm. We have started looking at the Asheville-Murphy area, just to see what we can find. We have also found some historical farms in north Georgia. We have even started looking in South Carolina because there may be some cheap land there. Our dream farm is a farm with 50 acres, a barn, two houses, and the land must be unrestricted. For our full wishlist visit the Our Dream Farm post (http://sweetsummerfarm.blogspot.com/2015/01/hi-im-sister-sandwich-in-this-family-i.html). One of the historical farms that caught my attention was an old school. It had large classrooms with original blackboards, two spacious hallways, and a separate gymnasium with stage. I was thinking we could change the classrooms into bedrooms, make the cafeteria our dining room/kitchen, and teach farm/herb classes in the gym.

     If you have any suggestions on where to look for our farm, what to look for, or how to get a deal please comment. We really appreciate your opinion.

Goat Butter

        When Grand got some goats milk out of the refrigerator to make some yummy soup. She opened the jar and found that all the cream had risen to the top!!! Grand thought "I'm going to get all that cream out and try to make butter!" She grabbed a spoon and got all the cream out and put it in a pint jar. Then she called our friend Miss Janet who has dairy goats and asked her how you make goat butter. After learning that all you have to do is shake the cream, Grand transferred it to a quart jar. Then she called all three of us kids to come shake it. We all took turns shaking the cream while we watched TV. After shaking, we noticed that the cream was turning into butter! We shook harder! A pint of cream made about a cup of beautiful, soft and creamy butter. After that, I called Miss Janet and told her all about making the butter. She was tickled that our butter turned out so wonderful. Something neat about the goat butter is that it is  pure white instead of pale yellow like cows butter. For supper that night Grand made a rich and creamy beef and barley soup with mushrooms. Grand also makes a really good potato and buttermilk bread except this time she added rosemary and garlic. The soft, rich bread with the soft and creamy butter tasted outstanding! Here are some pictures down below.

Butter forming at the top of the jar 

Squeeze the moisture out of the butter  

Our finished product! 

Rooting cut herbs from the grocery store

     We bought a bundle of fresh thyme from the grocery store to put in our Butternut Squash. Grand put the thyme in a small cup of water to keep it fresh. As Grand picked off bits of it to use in her dishes, it seemed to be growing. We looked at it yesterday and found out that it had rooted, right there on the windowsill! Who knows how long it had been picked? It had to be shipped to the store too. Plants are so wonderful! Below are some pictures of the amazing herb. We are planning on planting it in a pot on the windowsill, that way we can pick it all winter. We will plant the thyme in the garden this spring. We'll keep you posted on how the thyme does.

Our worm farm

     Today I decided to tell you about our worm farm. It is a Worm Factory 360 (http://www.thewormfarm.net/products/205-Worm-Factory-360/) and is an Upwards Migration Composting Worm Bin System. That means that you stack specially made bins on top of each other and the worms migrate up through them. We have two levels on our farm and we will add another when the level gets full. We started out with 1,000 red wigglers and now have at least 10,000 or more. We feed our worms coffee filters, tea bags, potato skins, squash skins, carrot peels, etc. We do NOT feed our worms garlic, onions, high amounts of citrus, or dairy products. Our three girls (look below) have been enjoying the worms too. We sometimes pick out some worms to feed to them. They seem to enjoy that. We can also use the chicken's waste on the worm farm so we have the complete circle of life.

     If you have a worm farm and/or have suggestions please comment below.

Our Three Chickens

                                                                 Our three chickens

Our Dream Farm

     Hi I'm the sister sandwich in this family, I have an older brother and a younger brother. Today I want to tell you guys about what we want on a farm. We want a farm with ten or more acres. We have to have water, like a creek or a pond, and of course lots of room for chickens, goats, bees, worms and maybe a horse. We may also get a donkey or mini donkey. We also need a barn to milk goats in. We need a property that is level, has more pasture than woods and sunny for gardening to plant tomatoes, potatoes, and squash. We also want an orchard to plant apple and pear trees. We need room for blueberry bushes, strawberry beds, raspberry and blackberry vines and a grape arbor (I LOVE grapes!)  

Introduction

     We are a family of six. my mom, my dad, my grand, and three of us kids. I'm the oldest. I like to think I'm in charge, but my parents disagree. Luckily I've convinced my three chickens I'm in charge...well, mostly. I have a sister and a brother. We have two Labradoodles named Magic and Murphy, a Border Collie Mix named Molly and a grumpy old corgi named Merlin. We also have three Buff Orpington Chickens named Arvilla, Marigold, and Sunny. We make our home in the mountains of North Carolina, but that's all about to change!

   My parents and my grand have decided to move to a farm. We have looked at countless farms and are still searching for the perfect one. We are starting this blog to write about this life changing journey.

     If you have any comments, suggestions, or helpful advice please comment. If you have made this journey with your family please let us know.