~ Goat Fodder ~

The girls have found a new play toy , each afternoon I let the chickens and goats out for about an hour to free range while I keep an eye on them. One day last week I let the chickens out to free range for the day , that afternoon I realized I had a hen missing , Buttercup was gone. I think we have a fox sneaking around , about three weeks ago there was another guinea attack. It was the first night she stayed on her nest , whatever got her , also took all the eggs. The nest had about 50 eggs in it , there wasn't a shell or anything left. It's hard to believe a fox would take all those eggs , but from what I've read they're the only animal that would carry their kill back to the den , so I believe that's what happen.

A part of trying to be self -sufficient not only includes growing your own food , but providing food for the animals that provide food for you. I've been busy gathering red clover and other fodder for the goats. I had red clover dried from last year that I had dried for the rabbit , the goats loved it. I just gather bundles and hang it to dry.

The goats enjoy following me around when I'm gathering clover. I only gather the red clover , Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats says white clover is toxic to them , although I wonder why.

This burlap bag contains dried turnip green stalks , the goats love them. When hubby plowed the greens down and they dried out , the goats would munch on them when I let them out in the evenings.

I have comfrey starting to grow , it will be part of the winter feed and used for its medicinal purposes. Living the Frugal Life has a great post about drying comfrey , you can click here to read ~ http://livingthefrugallife.blogspot.com/2010/05/drying-comfrey.html .

What wild forages do you feed your goats ?

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ ~ Mother's Day Herbal Hike ~ ~

My gift to myself on Mother's Day was a hike through the woods and nature was feeling the " Love ". I saw a tree with this heart shaped hole , although it was upside down , with a little rotating of the photo , you can see it's form. If you look below the hole , you can see what appears to look like another heart etched into the tree.

As I strolled on I found this vine with heart shaped leaves , I believe it is a wild potato-vine. I'll be watching for the blooms to see if I can make a positive i.d. soon.

Shadow went along with me on the hike , he enjoyed the stream and found an herb to enjoy himself. He's eating some grass that grows along the bank of the stream.

The Jack-in-the pulpits are blooming , I found several patches of them.


Shadow got a whiff of something and started digging in this spot , but he gave up and moved on quickly.

The Oregon grape has fruits that are ripening. You can read about this plant here , if you're interested ~ http://herbalspirits.blogspot.com/2010/03/oregon-grape-holly.html ~ .

I'm not sure what this plant is , plan to watch it and see if it blooms.

Does anyone else know what it is ?

False Solomon Seal


A beautiful Jack-in-the-Pulpit , this plant was in a sunny location and about knee high tall.

This is why it smells so delightful around here , the blackberries , honeysuckle and multiflora roses are blooming.

And remember this plant ..............................

Thanks to Flassie , the plant has been identified , it's a Carolina Geranium also known as Crane's Bill because of it's fruit.

~ http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/gerca.htm ~

This photo shows the Crane's Bill , Thanks Flassie !!

Hope Everyone had a Great Mother's Day !

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ ~ Happy Mother's Day ~ ~

Hope Your Day is Filled with Laughter , Love and To Much Happiness !!

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

Guess who's .......................................

guarding the garden , no worry about rabbits getting the broccoli and cabbage :0)

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ The Wilds of Spring ~

One day last week I made a green salad straight from the yard , it included chickweed , dandelion greens , red clover buds , yellow wood -sorrel leaves , violet leaves and wild onion. I fried up some dandelion flowers and made red clover tea with local honey , then I added some sunflower seeds and ranch dressing to the salad , the lunch was delicious.

Thanks to a couple of blogging friends the lily above has been identified , it's an Atamasco Lily. It has no medicinal properties and my field guide said the leaves are quite toxic. But , it makes the heart smile with it's lovely beauty. Thank-you Callie and Flassie for helping i.d. this flower.


I've been busy yesterday and today harvesting red clover. I'm drying lots of buds for tea infusions and I'll be drying some of the buds and vines for the goats.

Here's another plant I'm trying to i.d. , it has small light pink blooms

and this is a picture of it's leaves , the next photo below

shows how it spreads out and has reddish colored stems. Does anyone know what this plant is ?

The Blackberries are blooming , it smells heavenly around here with all the wildflowers blooming.

What are you enjoying about the " Wilds of Spring " ?

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Happenings Around The Farmette ~

Jazz and Jo are doing well , eating and playing all day just like kids. Joy has became known as Jo , the name just flows better.

We decided to build the goat shed off the backside of the chicken coop.


We used recycled boards for the siding.


The goat shed is completed , we haven't started the fencing since we've had so much going on. Hope to get the fencing completed this weekend.

The hens are laying well , we're getting 8 or 9 eggs almost everyday.


The herb bed has been cleaned and I planted several new herbs , some of the plants growing outside the bed are wild herbs , so I let them continue growing.

I've been gathering , cooking and drying several wild herbs. Also trying to i.d. new plants I've discovered , more about this tomorrow.

Hope everyone is enjoying Spring's bounty !



~ Green Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

~ ~ Nature's Peaceful Presence ~ ~

Last week was a very stressful , most of you know that a friend of mine was found murdered. a week ago this past Sunday. His memorial service was held Saturday , they haven't made an arrest or told the family much about what happened yet. I hope they make an arrest soon , his family needs closure.

Sunday I found myself needing to get away from everything , so I took a hike through the woods. Nature always brings me comfort , calmness and peace. Everything is so green and lush , the quietness gave time for reflections and prayers. I saw a beautiful white lily flower in bloom and a plant with purple blooms. I took my camera with me , but the batteries were almost dead , so I didn't get many pics. They did work long enough to get a pic of the lily , I'm trying to i.d. this plant. Does anyone know what this plant is called ( click on pic for a better view ) ?

Hope you had a great weekend !!

~ Beautiful Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Sunday Blessing

May this day bring you Blessings of Calmness and Clarity.

~ Be Blessed My Dear Friends ~

JoyceAnn

You'll be missed , but ............................

They are not dead who live in the hearts left behind.

( Tuscarora )

Rest in Peace my Friend !

JoyceAnn

~ Mourning ~

We lost a dear friend this past weekend to murder , please keep his family and our family in your Prayers and Thoughts.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Always Remember ................................

When man moves away from nature , his heart becomes hard.

( Lakota )

~ Bee Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

~ A Story and a Drawing to Share on this Earth Day ~

~ Mother Earth Blessings ~

A few weeks ago my youngest daughter came over and as she was coming down the driveway , Curious J said " Awwww , Nana and Pawl's ( with his cute southern drawl ) tree broke , look they taped it back together (LOL). Hubby has the trees flagged for the power company to cut down , pine beetles have killed them unfortunately. It was such a cute tree hugger story , thought I would share it and bring a smile to you on this " Earth Day ".




Hope You have a Wonderful Earth Day !!



~ Bee Blessed ~
JoyceAnn

~ Around the Farmette ~

The irises are in full bloom , they're gorgeous this year.

Little Froggy and I gathered dandelions Saturday , he enjoyed gathering the blooms and loved the dandelion fritters.


I still haven't found the other guinea nest , but I know there's one somewhere. One of the guinea hens disappears each day , but she has been coming to roost each night. The others continue to lay eggs in the nest I have found.


Mr. Sneaky Snake is still hanging out in the old oak tree.


The chickens have found a nice cool place to hangout during the heat of the day.

Dh and I got started on the goat shed this past weekend , hope to finish it this weekend.


My Tommy Toe tomatoes are almost ready to transplant.

I'm getting lettuce and spinach now.

The garlic looks great , but we really need some rain. Hopefully we'll be getting rain tomorrow. I need to fertilize with fish emulsion this afternoon.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Need a Fun Earth Day Project ~

Hi Everyone ~ I'm busy today getting things done on the farmette , but I found a wonderful project called " The Fundred Dollar Bill Project " that is taking place right now and thought I would share the information with my readers. This would be a great activity for " Earth Day " , I plan to host a small " Earth Day Party " for the grands. We'll make some fundred bills for this project , discuss why we need clean soil and eat foods that our earth provides us naturally. I hope you'll read about this project , share it with your readers and make a fundred bill to send to the project.

~ ~ The Fundred Dollar Bill Project ~ ~

Did you know that lead contaminated soil is a problem in many cities in the U.S. and is a condition that often significantly impacts the health of our children? Studies demonstrate that lead-poisoning can affect nearly every system in the body, compromising healthy brain development and leading to poor performance in the schools, attention deficit disorder and even juvenile delinquency. The good news is that there is a solution, and it is why I encourage you to participate in The Fundred Dollar Bill Project, a simple, fun and important project supporting a solution to lead-contaminated soil in New Orleans as a model for other cities across the United States with the same devastating problem.
Don’t miss out! In as little as 20 minutes you can create and donate a unique Fundred Dollar Bill artwork that will be picked up by a special armored truck and carried to Washington D.C. where a request will be made to our legislators for real change. Your creative contribution, along with 3,000,000 other individuals, will send a powerful message to Congress that we care about the health of future generations. This is a cool project, a great learning opportunity for all ages, with profound implications for the health of our planet and children.
To learn more about getting involved, visit the website: http://www.fundred.org/ and spread the word to your family, friends and colleagues!

~ Greenest Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Sunday's Blessing ~

~ May This Day Bring You Tranquility

& Sweet Blessings ~

JoyceAnn