Homestead in the making

So long since the last post but I have good reason! We have been BUSY!! Spring is in the air - in fact it's more than in the air. It would almost appear that summer is trying to make an early appearance. Rumor has it we are supposed to hit 95 by next week.

Some highlights from the Maycroft Clan:

• First and foremost, we are happy to announce we have a little one on the way! Baby is expected to arrive mid to late October of this year! 
  
• Apparently something is in the water here in the foothills, as Charlee (introduced here) has blessed us with 4 baby kittens who will be celebrating their one week birthday today! 

• I took a weekend to try something I've been dying to do for quite some time - make homemade bagels. Certainly a time consuming process but YUMMY!! I adapted this recipe. 

  

  Boiling away

  
  

  

  Plain, PepperJack and Parmesan Bagels pre-baking

  
  

  

  Hot and fresh from the oven. 

  
  
• Barry was able to make the Wild Turkey Jerky he's been wanting to make since his hunting adventure earlier this month. Quite the ordeal and overall successful, though next time he promises to monitor it a little closer. It got a bit "charred" in places. 

  

  Getting the coals to the right temperature

  
  

  

  The proud hunter and chef

  
  

  

  Spicy Teriyaki Wild Turkey Jerky smoking away on the grill 

• Best of all, Hubs started working on getting my vegetable beds up and going so we can get the garden planted. I could not be happier with how they are looking. So far only one is complete but the other is under construction in the barn. While he and Ethan were working away, I was able to get some seeds started so I have something to put in the beds!

  

  Grow seeds, grow!

  
  

  

  Construction begins

  
  

  

  Big, heavy and sturdy

  
  

  

  Hubs lining it up to help it lay flat

  
  

  

  The finished product. Beautiful redwood and corrugated roofing

  
  

  

  My cowboy filling the bottom of the beds

  
  

  

  Work until the sun goes down

Our little homestead is slowly coming together. We are so happy and so proud of the progress we have made. I can't wait until the garden is at it's full potential and the cows are out grazing in the pasture. Even better will be showing all of what we have learned to our little one :)

Mama, Daddy and baby. The boots were Hubs' when he was a baby

Peace Out :)

Charlee the Barn Cat

I feel it is fairly evident that I love our animals. I find that I post or talk about them frequently. The good news? I'm posting new pics!

Hubs and I had been discussing getting an outside only cat for a while, however we were fairly adamant that we wanted to adopt or rescue one. It needed to get along with our other animals and have a good personality. That's risky with a cat.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Charlee outside one of the schools sites I work at. I spoke to the secretary about her and found that she (the secretary) had been feeding her for over a week and that Charlee was sleeping up in a tree every night. The secretary was worried about her because she would wander somewhat near the parking lot and of course there are the risks of cars. After speaking to Hubs, we decided to give her a try.

So far so good! She's got quite an interesting personality. She seems resigned to our big dog, Scout. Doesn't love him and sometimes (depending on her mood) will arch her back at him, but mostly she just tolerates him and gives him the evil eye. Scout, on the other hand, is the biggest, goofiest dog ever who just wants to be friends and lick her in the face. 

When Hubs and the boys were out building the fence, she followed them around watching them. Similar to a dog! Quite the chatty little thing when she gets her food, she will run ahead of us and wait patiently until we fill her bowl. I hope that she grows out of that obsession with food, but understand that it's likely left over from her stray-cat days. 

Hanging with the addition

Charlee's shocked expression. I'm not sure if it's because the flash accidentally went off or because she saw Scout sneaking into the barn to say hi. 

Scout just chillin'....He has no idea they aren't best friends

Finally she ventured from the barn to explore the yard

Crazy gold eyes. Oh, and little black mustache much like Charlie Chaplin

The adjustment seems to be going well. I'm enjoying having another cat around. Her formal name is Charlette (NOT Charlotte) Mrow Maycroft. When she's in trouble we pull out the big guns and use the full name. So far that hasn't happened TOO many times.....

Peace Out :)

Fence Construction: Part 1

We're alive! I swear! Life is crazy - but isn't it always? Ok, quick synopsis of the past few weeks. We sold our house in Grass Valley finally (yay!!), we started many of our Spring projects (yay!!) and we adopted a new cat (double yay!!).

Our property is just under 25 acres, and surrounding the house is approximately 1-1.5 acres of "yard space". Beyond the yard is our pasture where our neighbor brings his cows and mules and we get to view our rolling hills. Before Christmas, while our mule friends were on an extended visit, one of them got feisty and decided to kick down our fence separating the pasture and the yard. The fence was old, ugly and decrepit to begin with (gross chain link from a million years ago) but with the added crunch of mule hoof-prints, it was quite atrocious "lovely".

We had been planning to take down the old fence and build newer, more picturesque (and efficient) fencing when time and finances permitted. Along with the yard, we planned to map out our garden (and consequently, fence that as well). We are well underway. Quite the project it has turned into. Hubs and the boys have spent the past two weekends (and weekdays) working on getting this fence project up and going. Still not complete, but pictures of the whole project will follow. Hubs is hopeful that he will get it finished before the weekend. I hope so too!!

The process begins 

Trying to save our plum tree. The tree was growing right through the old fencing 

Mess of concrete posts pulled up by Claude 

Removing the old fencing

Ethan doing his dance moves

That looks like a lot of work.....

Fence-less yard. The biggest it will ever be

Putting Claude to work to remove the old water pressure tank

Barry pouring cement for the corner posts

Corner posts 

Lining up the fencing with string - gotta make sure it's straight!

8 feet in between each t-post....all the way around 

My cowboys working until dusk to get those t-posts into the ground

Almost finished with this line of fencing!

So much work involved and I am thankful to have a husband with the drive, desire and ability to do this. Love this country life we have.

Peace out :)

Ditch digging and tree branch hitting

Hubs was so excited to put Claude the Trackhoe to work this past weekend. We have a large pasture that is boggy due to the lack of draining off excessive water. Since burning the blackberries and the water grass, all he has talked about is helping to allow it to drain properly into the area at the bottom of the hill. This area is where we plan to put a pond. Of course, that is about 43 years down the road, but at least we have plans.

How does tree branch hitting fit into this whole work day? Well, I'm glad you asked. Last week, Hubs had a procedure on his head resulting in a handful of stitches and a quite tender surgery location. Ignoring explicit orders from the doctor to "take it easy for a few days", he got up the next morning and proceeded to excavate the entire property. There are two things I am thankful for right now. Well - three technically. First, I'm thankful he's ok. Let's start with that. Second, I'm thankful he followed directions enough to keep it covered for a few days. And third, I'm thankful I wasn't there to see this. Evidently, whilst traipsing around on Claude, a thick tree branch got caught and swung back. He didn't see this happen as he was watching the tracks to make sure he didn't get stuck. Said branch flung back and with full force hit him directly on his wound. I am certain the colorful words that came from his mouth following this would shame any sailor.

Proud Hubs after some clearing

Good thing Claude can handle that mud!

Creating drainage

Already the water is moving better

Checking it all out 

BUT - he's ok. And wound seems ok too. Believe me, I was VERY careful when changing the dressing. The good news is that he is getting more comfortable on the trackhoe and therefore, more and more pleased with how it works and what it can do. I'm certain he'll go back out there again this weekend and work on the pond. Me? I can't WAIT for that day. With the valley heat, a nice pond will be refreshing.

Peace Out :)

Big burn day

Our pasture is great. About 13 of our 25 acres are in pasture. What wasn't so great? The tremendous amount of blackberries that were starting to take over. That and water grass. The house and property had been neglected for years, so unfortunately, we have a lot of work ahead of us to bring it back to it's former glory.

A few months ago our neighbor (the owner of the cows, mules and horses) sprayed our blackberries with something that would kill them thus allowing for us to burn them in the late winter/early fall. This is something that will have to be repeated for several years, but each year the intrusion of blackberries will be less.

Over the weekend, Hubs and boys spent the day wandering up and down the hill carrying the torch and propane. I had spent the day doing my once/month shopping and prepping so fortunately  unfortunately, I missed the flames in all their glory. I'm not sad about this. I'm sure I would have been hyperventilating. Hubs grabbed the camera, but seeing as he was busy tending the HUGE flames, he only got a few before and after pictures of the property.

Lovely dead blackberries and water grass

No more blackberries! But now ugly patches :(

Waiting on the cows to come over and stomp these spots down

Smoldering 

Water grass before

Looks like we had some sort of accident

Bye bye water grass

Just finishing up

So now I have to remind myself that the patches were intentional and I need to remember what the end goal is. I'm told that the cows (when they come back over) will smash the little blackberries that may come up and they will somewhat turn over the burned portion of the ground. I hope so! Luckily, spring is coming so hopefully the grass will grow back. 

Just another day on the farm!

Peace Out :)

Burn Day

Since we added our fence, we have had a pile of debris. Mind you, the fence was added in June. It's now January. That's a long time for a pile. A second pile joined the first after yard maintenance and clean up from fallen trees in December. Still one more arose after the demolition of our cherry plum tree as well as the hideous bushes that blocked our view. What are you left with? Three big piles of brush.

Fast forward. Lots of rain. Can't burn in the rain.

But last weekend we finally had a few clear days all in a row!! And that meant the dreaded piles finally dried some.

Enter: pyromaniac boys. And Hubs. And Hubs buddy, Michael. There's nothing quite as fun as a huge fire, right?

Or maybe that's just what we do here on the farm.

Hubs stacking the Juniper

Sometimes things need a little extra smashing to burn properly. Bring on Bessie!

Smash!!! 

Gangsta Trackhoe driver

Let's add a little fuel to the fire

Big flames!!

It's raining ash!

This fire isn't big enough. Let's add more!

Mr. Scout enjoying the warmth of the fire AND the sun

Boo tossing more onto the fire

Must. Get. More. Branches. 

The good news? No one burned down. No one burned themselves. No one burned my barn down. AND, no more piles. That equals happy Mama Bear. 

Peace Out :)