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Our little farm is growing.

Oxley saying good morning

 Texas is August is hot! It has been dry and very hot this summer, around 100 most days since the first of August. This week we have had a bit of a cool down.  We have taken advantage of it in a big way. We finished some fencing and moved our chickens from a smaller coop into a larger coop, where they can free range during the day.
 As we finished up the last of it yesterday evening my husband asked me to go let Oxley, our daughters FFA goat, out into the main pasture to explore. He had a blast! and enjoyed meeting the chickens and ducks and even the rabbit he had only seen from a far. He followed us around like a puppy and even played with Remington our Texas Heeler.
 I think Remington thinks Oxley is a weird dog and visa versa!  They are a lot of fun to watch together and think they became fast friends on their exploits
 Last summer Tim started a pond in the pasture and it is still holding water, Not much though, a little over 2 foot in the deepest. We have had a ton of frogs born in it though. Our ducks seem to think they are made for deeper, larger ponds and until we finished this fence we had no way of making sure they didn't wonder. We sadly, even lost two. But now that the fencing is complete we trimmed their wings and now they can either play in the pond of we have a couple of small kiddie pools for them to splash around it. They are not sure about being kept from the woods but love the pool and treats we toss them to keep them happy! One of our roosters even seems to pal around with them more than the hens. We are happy that they are safer.

Stevie, Dot. Squeaks and Clover exploring

An egg laid during the move

 When we first got chickens I had eight total, We are now up to 15 with plans to get more when it cools down. We are hoping to have around 30 at all times.  We eat the eggs and despatch them for our food. We did have the original chickens in a coop behind our house and the others in a coop in the pasture which was larger. We wanted them all in the larger pasture coop and want the one behind the house to be a nursery/hospital for a few at a time. So we started the migration yesterday, as the sun came up we let all of the chickens loose in the pasture, letting them spend the day together. They had all met before, some of the ones in the newer coop being from the first chickens. but after becoming moms, moved with their chicks. Since the day went well we moved most into the larger coop for roosting. All but 5 were happy with the change. They slept on the tractor! Even the horse that lives in the pasture next to us was excited to watch the changes.

Watermelon shoots ( I think!)

Daredevil the Rooster and our neighbor the horse

All in all it was hot, we worked hard but we really enjoyed watching the live here on our little farm! Now to get to work on the garden. I did notice that even though Tim has tilled under the watermelon, we have some trying to come back I sure hope they make it. We didn't get but a couple before they got choked out by weeds and the drought killed off the first vines. We need to get started on a few fall crops though.

Tea Time Spotlight

Today I got the first Par Avion tea club packet which was these 3 samples and cost 4.95 for shipping. I will be honest, that seems a bit high for the amount of tea you receive. Each month after that, if you choose to get it, the tea will be 19.95.
I was instantly excited by the flavors though, Root beer float, Chocolate Chai, and Carrot Cake. I brewed the root beer float in my perfect tea maker following the directions on the packet. With a tablespoon of Agave and iced it. It smells just like root beer! The flavor is good and does have a nice root beer flavor.  I am excited to try the carrot cake next. I think, hot as a latte it will be great!
All in all, I want to see what comes in the next full shipment before I decide about this tea club, pricewise. But I am enjoying my iced rootbeer float tea.

Learning to quilt

On Instagram, you can see all kinds of beautiful quilts, it seems quilting is becoming popular again. There is something so cozy and homey feeling about a quilt on a bed, no matter what time of year.
  I decided  to make one myself and found the hexi quilts that are english paper pieced interesting. I am making a 2 1/2" hexi that I plan to stitch into a light/medium/dark diagonal stripe pattern.
  Right now though, it is well over 100° each day. So along with the many reasons I am excited  about fall now I have my quilt. There is something so relaxing about fixing a cup of tea, finding a good TV show or podcast to watch and just cranking out little hexi blocks.

Strange readings

Last week Bailey and I cleaned out closets and purged bookshleves for a yard sale. I came across the book The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I remember being both scared and fascinated by the author  around the age of 12. I did not remember reading this book by her, so I couldn't  let it go into the junk were we getting rid of without a trip down  memory  lane.
This was DARK, I mean D-A-R-K for a book written for 9 to 13 year olds! This was the story of a neglected, jealous young girl named Jessica who finds a kitten,but not just any kitten. A witches cat. The story that unfolds is moral  and depressing.
I did not enjoy this one at all, but the writing was very well done. I found myself wondering more about the author, since  this was a memory  trip for me.
Now, onto what I started next. Blood Lite by a multitude  of famous horror genre authors, I am just 3 stories in so far. I remeber being excited about this when it came out and being shocked at the poor reviews I saw on Booktube. So far, I have to agree though. Not loving it as much as I had hoped. We will see.

Tithe by Holly Black

This morning as I drank my coffee I finished  Tithe by Holly Black. I don't  know how I feel about this book, it is so dark. The worlds are so raw and grusome.  That being said, this book was very well written. You found yourself in those worlds,afraid and waiting to see what was next to come. I am sure that I will read the next book.
This one is about sixteen  year old Kaye who knows faeries are real, not the stuff of faerie tales, and how in a short time, her life is changed forever.

Looking forward to spring,

  We decided to try our hardest to grow an organic, non GMO garden this year. This will be a new experience for us. Tim and I have the garden spot tilled and have started adding composted duck and chicken poo to the soil.
  Today we put together a prefab green house to start seeds in. Bailey came out and filled seedling trays with the compost mix while I planted tomato seeds. Lets hope this is a success after all the hard work!
  I really do believe this is the best veggies my family can possible get. I love our little homestead!