The sheep got out today. There was a washed out area under the fence behind the pond. I didn't realize it was so easy for them to travel under. I got them back in with a bucket of feed. I like the fact that sheep like to flock together. It makes them easy to move from one place to another.

The chickens are doing fine...I also went to see Gauge (the Pyr I bought). He is a really good dog--very friendly. I hope he works out well for me.

The chickens are here!

The new chicken coop...

Part of being a farmer is being resourceful...sooo I decided to make a chicken coop out of the goat panels and some tarp for the chickens I bought today. It actually was pretty easy--it is a little smaller than I would like but incredibly easy to put together. I built a nest out of milk crate and used bungee cords to hold done the tarp. The good thing about this coop is that I can move it anytime I want to. We'll see how it works...

Update on my progress and dealing with the great aunts...

Not much has happened since I was last here. It has been really dry and I am having to move the sheep more often in order to make sure they have enough grazing. Ms. J still doesn't like them much so I have decided to get a least one dog. I found one on craigslist named Gauge who has been raised with chickens and the like. That is very important because next week I am picking up a few chickens (from craigslist again). I set up a water meter in my name so that I don't have to depend on the meter dedicated to the house. Hopefully, I can get the water line constructed next week sometime. My co-worker will come out to the farm with his well camera to see with the deal is with our well. So far--we have not been able to get it to work.

On another note--it is very interesting trying to work with older folks sometimes. My time is very limited so I sometimes need to work well into the night on the farm to get stuff done. The problem with that is that if my great aunts (who live on the farm) know I am out there--they will sit and worry about me the whole time. Yesterday, at dusk, I heard a faint voice screaming every so often. I was kinda far away trying to move my temporary fence but decided to head to the house to investigate just in case there was an emergency. Turns out--Aunt Annie thought something happened to me so she got frightened. *sigh* Sometimes--I think it's better to just sneek onto the farm to do what I have to do. I worry far more about them being worried about me and getting worked up at their ages(in their nineties) than I am worried about something happening to me in the field. This is going to be a ongoing challenge...hopefully they will trust me more.

This is officially my first day of chronicling my experiences as a beginning farmer. I have actually been "farming" or preparing to farm for the past two years (purchasing equipment and attending workshops/field days, etc). Now that I am officially finished with grad school, I have begun the process of adding animals to my place.

Phase one was getting protection. My main goal initially was to raise strictly cattle. However, over time, I discovered that other farm animals would make life even more interesting. Plus, I have two young boys and I feel more comfortable having them around animals that are less threatening size-wise. So I decided to raise goats, sheep, and chickens.

Unfortunately, small animals are more prone to become prey. So I decided that I needed a donkey. I purchased a 8 yr old female jenny named Ms. J. A day later, I brought in 16 Dorper sheep--10 ewes and 6 ewe lambs. I hope to get them bonded to each other within a few weeks.