I made my first chicken sale yesterday, it was bittersweet but a small victory nonetheless. A local rancher called and ordered 7 heritage hens and a ,"big ole rooster-that crows". I wanted to say no,but we definately needed the money for feed and gas. So, Edd & I loaded up the hens and Joey the rooster, and ff w rove to collect our money. He paid better than premium (we made over a $100 on the sale) and now Joey is king of his own barn with his very own stable of lovely ladies to service his every whim. No more jail house rape and ass whippings from Steven, Joey is now THE BOSS.
The parents of one of Layla's friends owns a restaraunt downtown. She is very organic and picky about her produce and has recently asked us to supply her with eggs and veggies from our garden. She also wants us to deliver goat milk and cheese as well as baked goods regularly for them to use in the restaruant.I am so excited. It is nice to have the farm start bringing in some money-we are a long way from turning a profit, but it is starting to pay for it's maintenance and upkeep and that is a very good thing.
We lucked out and found baby african geese for $3 each-so now we have 3 baby african geese added to our yard fowl collection. Goose is delicious and their eggs are huge-much larger than duck eggs even. Their eggs are favored by crafters for art work and can be profitable to sell if you find the right market. Besides that, my son Kieren has been dying to get some since we started talking about moving here so he is very very pleased. They are adorable and heavy bodied little birds. They are trying to honk, it' a sad little squonking sound combined with a chirping. Too cute. We also purchased 10 replacement chickens to keep egg production up for our egg sales. They are mutts-mixed polish/leghorn/aracuana they will not be able to be sold but will supplement egg production nicely.
Kids are done with school for the year. We are planning to do refresher courses over the summer to keep everyone on track and I have sent out emails to P.A.L. (police athletic league) about cheerleading for Owyn and Kieren plans to spend all summer at the skatepark. Layla has no set plans other than sleeping in every day and taking drivers education. Our extra house guests will not be summering with us after all. It's oplicate daccording to Mom & Dad and they feel like the kids need some extra attention and family time s thy are staying home. I would agree that if they feel that way then that is the correct thing to do. We will miss them but I pray for their family that they reach a place where they can be comfortable together.
Edd is out of school Friday and seeking a second job to help support our little family. I am very proud of him. He has grown up so much over the last 3 yrs. I have been working pretty steadily over the last 2 weeks. It feels very good to be working regularly again. Yes, I do work on the farm and yes, it does require a great deal of my time and energy, but it feels good to be paying off some bills instead of having to borrow from my in-laws again. Gardens are beginng to produce regularly and I am looking forward to canning a fair amount for storing this year. Rabbits are getting "randy" so it shouldn't be too long before we get a litter or 2. Already have buyers for meat. Found some beautiful Saanens goats (dairy producers) being bottle fed. Going to try to put depostis down on a couple next week.
It's not the life for everyone, but it's the life for us. We work hard, we are sore and tired and ofeten frustrated. But we are deeply in love, with each other, with our kids, with our lives-that we have chosen to live. It's not easy, it's work. It's rewarding.
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