What's in a name?

We've finally done it! Our farm has a name. After a lot of brainstorming, we've decided on Raven Hill Farm. Here's the story behind the name. One day last fall shortly after haying we went outside there was an enormous flock of Ravens in one of our hill fields, on the ground and in the sky (I'm talking hundreds of birds). The noise from these birds and just the sight of that many was pretty incredible. So, we just thought, Raven Hill and it stuck. We also we have a pair of Ravens nesting in the red pines above the horse pasture, they've been so interesting to watch while they build their nest. I can't wait to see the fledglings later this Spring.

Things are starting to happen here at the farm (albeit slowly). Jackson has been boiling down sap into beautiful Fancy maple syrup. Trudging up and down the steep hillside collecting sap from buckets has been rather tricky but the end result is well worth it. A few weeks ago we welcomed our first new animals, three donkeys, to the farm. We have 8 yr old Twinkle and her 6 month old foal (we're still thinking up a name for her) and then 5 year old Jasmine (who the kids call Jazz Man). They're doing great and have settled in to life here at the farm. We are also planning our chicken order (we'll be raising free range meat birds if anyone wants to order some, let me know by April 10th) and are getting 4 pigs at the beginning of May. I can't wait for Spring to really get started here. It's hard to think that winter will ever end, especially as the heavy snow falls outside.

Back in the Wild Wild West

Let me start off by saying, I hate guns. I have always hated guns. In light of the recent dog attack on our chickens (for those of you who didn't hear, 2 dogs came onto our property about a week ago and killed 2 of our chickens. They ended up terrorizing the neighborhood that day, fatally wounding a sheep and 3 pigs. Both dogs were caught and "destroyed) many locals have told us that we should have a gun to protect our animals and property. It seems like such a casual thing around here...own property....own animals...own a gun. I guess it's all part of living the farm life.

A Lesson in Patience

There are many things in a day that demand patience, a tantruming child, potty training, a one year old that likes to climb everything, cats that leave half eaten mice on the doorstep, chickens that keep trying to get inside the house, dogs that come inside covered in burdocks or turkey droppings, and now, there's one more.....a dial-up internet connection.
We've finally gotten internet but it's so painfully slow. Jackson and I sat here, huddled around the computer, listening to the tell tale screeches, buzzes and hums of the computer connecting to the internet. It was funny, how excited we were to hear those sounds but that excitement quickly wore off when it took nearly 5 minutes to load the first webpage. Oh well, I guess I really shouldn't complain, horribly slow internet is still better than no internet.
I'm looking forward to reconnecting to the rest of the world. My blog updates won't be as frequent as I had wanted them to be, nor will they be filled with photos from our new adventure. Maybe you'll all just have to come here and experience it firsthand rather than through a computer screen.

Anybody out there?

So, we're settling in well but still no internet. I don't think I've ever been "unplugged" this long before. I guess what I'm getting at is a lot is going on and I would love to share our new adventure but until we get our computer up and running, updates will be sporadic. We also just learned that dial-up is about the only way to go in our neck of the woods. Never thought I'd hear the hum of the modem again but I'm sure it will come to be a rather comforting noise. The sound of connecting with the outside world....

Somebody please turn the faucet off!

I swear there are some times I wish I was a less emotional person. Like this week for example. It would really help me with my goodbyes. I might get through them without turning into a tearful, unintelligible, sniffling individual. I guess it's a good thing though. It's making me realize how much I truly love this little city and all the people in it.

I'm already looking forward to the Vergennital Festival, details coming soon.....

Eggs!

Last Thursday I was cleaning the coop and one of our chickens (the Golden Comet) was acting so strange. She was following me around and was desperately trying to sneak out of the coop. I had a feeling she was looking for a place to lay.

When I went out to the coop Friday afternoon, this is what I found waiting for me!

Clearly the nesting boxes Jackson built were not to her liking.

I knew I'd be eggcited (sorry, I couldn't resist) to find that first egg but I was so proud, you'd think I laid it! I yelled at Jackson to bring the camera so I could capture the moment. She's been laying an egg a day and now I'm just waiting for the others to follow her lead

I'll let you know how they taste!

Payment Plans

First off before I forget, we are having the mother of all yard sales this weekend. Come by our place this Saturday (10-5pm) or Sunday (10-2pm) and find everything you've never needed! I promise you will not be disappointed.

So, in a effort to get rid of stuff before our move we are having the above mentioned yard sale and selling some things on Craigslist. I listed our nice dining table about a week ago and got a number of inquiries. My favorite was from a person whom I spoke with who wanted to purchase our table but wanted to make payments on it. Seriously? Payments? I applaud them for even thinking that this would be okay. They offered to make a payment, take the table home and then told us we could just get the rest of the money from them when we needed it. I kid you not. Needless to say we're not selling them the table.

We're now down to 19 days before the scheduled close. Still lots to do around here. I'm hoping that by having the yard sale and clearing things out we'll be able to see what we're really taking with us. Jackson is still in the middle of his huge basement project (have I already whined about that on here? No? Well trust me, you don't want to get me started...all I have to say is it involves cutting holes in our concrete basement floor, a lot of noise, a jackhammer and who knows what else). I'm still trying to figure out how to get anything done here with 3 kids under 3 years. Fortunately I've had a lot of help from our families. I can tell you though that this grey weather doesn't help me feel motivated. I dream of curling up in bed with a cup of tea, a cat and a book (I should just admit that I'm reading the Twilight novels, again). Funny that these day dreams tend to ignore the fact that there are 3 small beings that need to be cared for all day. Hmmm...what is my mind trying to tell me?