A few weeks ago I found a great blog that you may enjoy. It is called littlefarminthebigcity.blogspot.com. She currently has a give away for some great books and I would love to have them all! She has many interesting posts on there from taking care of your animals, to fixing things like yogurt from scratch to making your own deodorant.

Check it out!  littlefarminthebigcity.blogspot.com

Do Goats Have Opposing Thumbs?

I have seriously begun to wonder if goats have opposing thumbs. How else do they manage to open every door on the property! Bobbie Socks has amazing lips I guess.  The truly amazing thing is that she was able to open latches that were difficult for me to open. I swear I would just put her in an area and the next thing I knew I would hear the clippity-clop of hooves on my porch and her trying to open the door to come inside!

I sat and watched her the other day as she tried to figure out the new locks I put on the inside of her stall door. She was quite diligent as she slowly played with it over and over thinking for sure that she could break the code. I think I finally have success! I am so thankful for "D" rings and you can now find them all over the property! Let's just hope that Cocoa doesn't decide to help her by holding the ring in place while Bobbie pushes the pin in & off!

We lost a bunny...

There is one thing to be said about living on a farm and having lots of animals, it is a wonderful opportunity to learn about life's lessons. This morning Jacob went outside to feed the rabbits and came in very upset because Ginger was "not a good mom". I was a little confused as she is actually a very good bunny mommy. He then explained that one of her babies was dead in the cage. They are quite old now (born on the Monday after Easter) so I was surprised that we would loose one so late, but alas we did.

Adam cried a little because it looked a lot like his rabbit in miniture, but after a quick discussion about heaven, he was off to play "pioneers" in the back yard!

Cake Auction Purse

We participated in a cake auction Friday to help raise money for our church young women's summer camp. I decided that I wanted to step out of my comfort zone this year and try a few new techniques. I don't care for the taste of fondant so I decided to try modeling chocolate instead - much better! I really enjoyed breaking out brushes and sweeping the cobwebs off my creativity - it has been too long!  This is all new to me (I really don't decorate cakes, I buy them) and the first time I have ever done anything like it, so although it is not "perfect" I am really happy with the end result & the process of getting there!

Visiting our Family Ranch in Oregon

Last weekend, Mikayla, Adam & I went to Joseph to pick up the grass fed beef that we harvested. We have a family ranch on about 200 acres. This last year we started raising grass fed beef. This was because we wanted a healthier option for our families. These cows were only wormed (to ensure we didn't have a problem with the meat) and given no other medication. They were raised and finished on the incredible grass in Eastern Oregon.

We have started increasing our herd size and are excited to see what the next year brings for us! My dad has decided that he wants to try adding Scottish Highlander Beef to the ranch this year in addition to the Angus cross we already have. I am anxious to see how those turn out, they are very interesting looking animals and remind me of small mammoths with Texas Long Horn horns!

We had a great time there with two of my sister's girls. The kids loved being out with all the animals!

This cow would not stop following us around! She loves the kids and just wants to be with people! There was a thunderstorm later that day and this silly heifer came up to the porch and put her head under it so that she was covered! Never mind that the rest of her body was getting pelted by rain, her head was protected from it and she could not hear as much or see the lightning! Crazy cow!

We lost a kitten....

Every day I check on the kittens multiple times a day. Last night when I went in to do my before bed routine, I immediately noticed that one of Shyanne's babies was dead. Our best guess is that she smothered it. She is not a very good mom. In fact, I very rarely see her in with her babies. Because of this, I keep a close eye on those babies to ensure they are getting enough food. Thankfully she is a GREAT mouser and is very friendly.  It is a good thing we are going to spay her!

These pictures are from Cami's litter. They are 15 days old today and are starting to walk a little bit. It is really cute to see them stumbling around! Cami continues to be an AMAZING mom! She uses her arms to keep her babies snuggled in close to her and looks on anxiously whenever she hears her babies cry. She is definately a keeper!

The bunnies are getting big!

Ginger's babies are getting so big! It is amazing how quickly rabbits grow! They are now eating real food and are nursing just a little until they get better at drinking out of the water bottle.  Soon, it will be time to say good-bye to the ones we are not keeping. We have tried not to handle them too much because a few of them are going to grow to be dinner while the rest will find new homes. I don't want the kids to get too attached as I know it is going to be a sad day around this place without being attached.