New arrivals in the storm

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Ned Newby

Annie gave us two little ones in the storm last night. Sure glad it wasn’t the night before because we received 5+ inches of water out of that flood. The white one is a doe and the black one that looks like it’s mother is a little buck.

On another note about kids, we are going to pick up Jenna and Sebastian tomorrow. Everyone is so excited. If all goes well and Sebastian has all of his school work caught up we won’t have to take them back and we will start the 90 day placement tomorrow. Then adoption in September.

Bee Struggles

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Ned Newby

Well the bees have gone again. All started out well but the last couple of weeks I have been struggling to control small hive beetles. The bees finally had enough and both hives left for better surroundings. I had moved the hives closer to the house so I could keep a better eye on them. The problem might have been that the location had more shade than I realized. I’ll just move the hives again and see if I can catch a late swarm or two. If not I’ll buy more next year and start over again.

On a better note, when I checked on Bobby Jo after work Friday she had a brand new heifer calf. The last four calves have been heifers. Lets hope that continues.

Even with all the rain and the weeds trying to take over the garden it is producing well. At least the green beans are producing. Squash, not so much and the peas are just starting to come in. I dug a few potatoes. Most are small but they will be good in soups and stews. It’s still too early for the sweet potatoes.

And then there are the egg eaters. I usually catch two to four of these a year. Caught this one last week and it was the first for this year. Lisa called me today to let me know there was another one on the porch that needed to be rehomed If it was still there when I got home. It will probably be gone because she said the cats were keeping a close eye on it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Ned Newby

We had a very nice day yesterday visiting with family at two separate gatherings. My niece Ashley and her husband hosted Thanksgiving dinner for my side of the family. Then we went to Lisa’s moms house to visit with her side of the family. Good food and company all day.

It’s been a while so a little catching up is in order.

I don’t think that I mentioned the last hive swarmed late this summer. I don’t know what caused it but my guess is it was a combination of ants and the drought. So, I’ll buy some more bees and start over in the spring. Maybe I can catch another swarm or two. I didn’t get any last summer.

With the drought still in full swing and the unusually warm weather I never did plant a fall garden. I placed the last two sows and their oops piglets in the garden area for now. The plan is to castrate the males this weekend and move them all back with all the rest. Then I can plant my garlic and onions. The weatherman is saying that we have a good chance of some rain in about a week. We’ll see. A lot can happen in a week.

A couple of weeks ago my cousin, his girlfriend and her daughter came to visit the farm. The piglets were a hit but nothing like Ava. We have gotten used to Ava stealing the show.

Everyone waiting for breakfast.

Something you don’t expect to see at Tractor Supply. I stopped in for a few items and had to get a picture of what was in the trailer next to me. Lisa wouldn’t have believed me without proof. It might be a little hard to tell but there are two camels in the trailer. A large one on the left and a much smaller one on the right.

Found this little guy in the basement when I was feeding the cats. He was small and cooperative so he lived and went for a ride to a new location away from houses. I was able to slide a pet carrier up to him and he went right in. He must have know what the alternative would be.

Here we are torturing Ava with pecan pie. She wanted out badly. I missed getting a picture of her head upside down looking through the mesh. She is just too quick.

Due to other commitments Lisa’s younger brother Greg and his family wouldn’t be able to attend Thanksgiving so they came down a day early. We had a nice visit and as usual the animals were a hit. Especially for little Cooper.

The only remaining registered boar for sale may have gotten a stay of execution. If the weather would have stayed cool this week he would have made it into the freezer this weekend. I just got a call from someone who wants a pair of American Guinea Hogs. If he takes the offer he will be getting a deal. I’m over run with hogs and need to move them.

The aquariums in the basement are full of fish and I noticed tilapia fry in the outside tank. I will have to try and move them this weekend or they may not last if the temperature drops again. The heater will keep the water warm enough for adult fish but I don’t know about fry.

At least it missed the tractor

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Ned Newby

As if I didn’t have enough going on we had a tree go down over night. It just missed the tractor.

All the chicks are now hatched from the incubator that are going to hatch. Very low percentage of success this time around. I had a hard time maintaining a constant temperature. It never got off to much but maybe enough to prevent a good hatch. We ended up with two turkey chicks. Praying they are hens because Lisa is already making pets out of them. We also got five easter egg chicks from blue eggs. There is still 3 goose eggs in the incubator that I don’t think will do anything but I will give them a few more days just in case. Goose eggs take a few more days and since the temp was bouncing around it might even take them longer than normal. Everything else was a day or so off.

We fought to save one little turkey chick but lost that battle. It had trouble freeing itself from the shell and never stood up even when we were hand feeding it medicated water. It finally lost it battle some time after 11:00 last night. I was staying up late to feed it and Lisa was getting up a couple times at night and even took it to work so she could feed it over the last couple days. Most wouldn’t have spent that much effort for one chick but if nothing else we can honestly say that everything gets a fighting chance on the farm. Most of the time at the expense of money, time and sleep. I feel like a zombie today. I’ll be calling it an early night tonight.

The puppies are growing fast. All are spoken for except for two white males and one gray male and someone is interested in two of them. Born on March 19th they all will be ready to go to to new homes after the first week in May.

We don’t need another dog but have decided to keep one of the gray males. His name will be Teddy. We took him for a visit and he got to play in the grass for the first time. He dove into it and swam through it like it was water.

Last Saturday, April 14^th, Rosie gave us a little heifer calf. I knew she was due any day and last Friday right at dark I saw her heading for the back of the property when everyone else was coming to the barn. Saturday morning I found them safe and healthy.

We got some unusual eggs from the hens last week. One was from a very young hen and was not much bigger than a nickel if that. The other didn’t have a shell.

Here is a good picture of Mike next to the water tank. He is a good bull. We got lucky with him. If Bobbie Jo has a heifer in another month Mike will have sired four heifers and two bulls in two years. I’ll take anything 50% or better any day. The fact that he is also nice doesn’t hurt either. I’ve never been afraid of him. I don’t let my guard down either because he could still hurt me if he ever took a mind to. At which point he would probably be burger.

A hen with nine chicks helping me milk. Olive spills a lot and they clean up.

Puppies! and more

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Ned Newby

Winnie had her puppies last Thursday 3/18. 6 male and 2 female. The 2 females are gray. She only had 3 white with dark markings. I don’t know where the gray comes from. Either the grandmother or grandfather on Winnie’s side. All of those litters had gray in them.

The puppies are ¾ Great Pyrenees and ¼ Anatoli Shepherd. They will be ready for new homes in early May. We are asking $100.

My mom, Lisa and great aunt holding puppies.

Billie Jo will be going to a new home in Arkansas in a couple of weeks.

The horses have a new building to get out of the weather. It also has a place to store hay so it is closer to where I need it. This will cut the distance I am hauling hay in half.

This is our favorite feed man planting a few more onions in front of the store. Mr. Jim from Shady Grove Feed is one of the finest men you will ever meet and if you want to know about farming or livestock he “has been there and done that” and can get you started on the right track.

And Sunday was bath time for the inside dogs.

Just some pictures from the last weekend in January

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Ned Newby

I finally got the new gate up for the milking area. The old one was too big and will be used on a section of fence I am rerunning.

Everyone is lounging around soaking up the sun before the coming rain.

Bobbie Jo wondering if this muck is ever going to dry up.

Calves watching to see if I am going to put ropes on them again.

Lazy mouse catcher. Tux is catching a few rays like all the rest.

Bobbie Jo getting a chin and nose scratch. She should be giving us a 1/2 Jersey calf this spring.

Otis is still all puppy but he is also the biggest dog on the place.

Bees sucking up some sugar water.

Hen setting on a nest in the barn. She doesn’t know it is still January.

Olive washing Billie Jo’s face. She’s a good mama.

New batch of muscadine/ elderberry wine bubbling on the counter. The first batch went so fast I’ll have to ration this.

Winnie letting me know her bowl is empty. She should be giving us a litter of puppies in late March.

Even in January you need to watch where you put your hands. On this day the ground was frozen in the morning but the temperature had risen significantly by the time I found her. She was quite active and could have ruined my day had I not been paying attention.

New Tractor

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Ned Newby

We finally have a tractor that we can work with. I have an old (1970 something) International 260 TLB. More backhoe than tractor and it has had more issues than I have been able to work out. It will be moving to a new home with someone who has more time and knowledge to take care of it.

We bought a John Deer 3038. Not the biggest tractor but it will do everything we need for now. The biggest need was for something to move large round bails of hay. So far so good on that front. It has also allowed me to clean up around the barn much easier than using a shovel and the 4wheeler with trailer.

This is the easiest thing to drive and swapping implements on the front is a snap. We have only had it a week but I am a happy homesteader with my new work horse.

Bulls and dog doors don’t mix

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Ned Newby

Last Thursday when I got to the barn to feed the animals I found our bull staring at me through the wall. Several years ago I had placed a dog door in the side so Sadie our Great Pyrenees mama dog could have her pups in the barn. Since then I usually just keep something stacked up against it because it is big enough that a few of the goats have used it.

The hay stack had moved beyond the dog door and I still had a trash can against it but that wasn’t enough to keep a hungry bull from making an even bigger door to get to the hay. I wish I would have had my phone with me to get a picture but all I could do was swat him on the nose and start feeding.

Fortunately I had some hardie board left over from the shower project. One piece had a hole in it that made for a good cat door. It was a quick patch job so I wasn’t too late for work.

Rosie still has her heifer calf Ruby but she has also taken up with a Guinea Hog piglet. They are together more than her and the calf. Rosie does love her little piggies.

Otis, out Great Pyrenees Anatolian Shepherd cross, is growing like a weed. He is 16 weeks old and is already the size of our hounds. He is going to be a big boy once he fills out. I don’t think he will be as heavy or thick as Shep was. Time will tell.

Sunday I was going out to walk the fence because one of the dogs had been getting out. I expected to find a place where she had dug out or maybe a limb on the fence. What I found took up the rest of the afternoon and killed the rest of my plans. A dead tree had fallen on the fence and taken it to the ground. My first sign was the goats happily browsing in the woods on the other side of the fence. They were a good 100 yards from the tree and from the look of the brush, the fence had been down for a couple of days at least. It’s a wonder that all the animals were not roaming the countryside.

No more rabbit

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Ned Newby

Harvey the rabbit took his last breath last night. He was named for the big white rabbit in the Jimmy Stewart movie. Several weeks ago we found an open sore on his leg. A visit to the vet discovered that he had several tumors and the sore was actually a tumor that had opened up. We took him home knowing his time was short but he didn’t appear to be in any pain. We started treating the sore with antibiotic salve and antibiotic added to his water. It was just about cleared up but there was nothing we could do for the tumors themselves. It looked like he laid down and went to sleep and didn’t wake up. Don’t we all wish we could go so quietly?

He was a funny little guy and he will be missed. It won’t be the same not seeing him sitting in his cage with that silly stuffed animal (his baby) resting on his head or watching him toss it up in the air.

Flipping gates and sagging fences

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Ned Newby

Sunday while I was enjoying a fresh cup of morning coffee I heard Jake and the other dogs barking in the front yard. Normally I wouldn’t have even gotten up but Jake is the new kid on the block and doesn’t bark at much of anything. I expected to see my mother in the driveway but no, both of the boars were in the front yard. The electric fence that was keeping them from going under a low spot in the fence was off and they had gotten into an area they normally can’t get to. This area has access to the yard and trash cans full of chicken feed through a small gate. This gate wasn’t modified for pigs because they can’t get to it. They flipped it off the hinges and turned over both cans full of feed. Thankfully only one was full. They ate the little that was left in one can and several pounds from the other before wandering over by the front door.

After getting them back where they were supposed to be and cleaning up the feed I went around and modified all the gates so the pigs couldn’t lift them off.

Tuesday when I got home from work Lisa informed me that she had not seen Jake. Everyone else was there but not him. Usually he is all over you before anyone else. Still too much puppy in him. I have been working on stopping the jumping and mouthing you but it is still an issue. Anyway, I went out to look around and noticed that Sadie wasn’t around either but Lisa assured me she was earlier. By now it’s starting to get dark so I went to get a light and start my search. By the time I got back to the barn Sadie was back but still no Jake. I started walking the fence and calling for him.

I found a place in the fence where the goats had walked it down and it looks like them and the dogs had been coming and going for a while. There was a trail leading right to the spot that you could see in the dark by flashlight. I don’t know why the cows weren’t getting out. I could have stepped over without brushing my pants on the wire. Since everyone was at the barn and not going anywhere until daylight I left it so Jake could come back through it if he would. I then went for a drive hoping not to see him on the road. Luckily I didn’t but I didn’t find him anywhere else either. I spoke to one lady who asked if I was lost when I turned around in her neighbors drive way. I told her about Jake and gave her a description so she could keep an eye out for him. I went home hoping, expecting to see him when I got up this morning.

Still no Jake. After milking the cow and feeding everyone I fixed the fence. After that I walked the rest of the fence and found a couple of other places that needed attention. They were not as bad as the place I had just taken care of but I tightened them up to keep the goats from finding them next.

It figures that he would run away after I started getting attached to him. I got him his shots last weekend and he has an appointment this Friday to get fixed. Maybe he new and will show back up Saturday morning. Lol I didn’t really need another dog so if he takes up with someone else that is ok as long as he stays off the road and doesn’t get into trouble. I’d hate for someone to shoot him because he gets into their trash or plays too rough. Both are always a possibility around here.

Maybe I will find him today when I get home and it’s still daylight.

Newby's Homestead Hideaway Farm

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