This winter, we sold the last of the goats. We just didn’t have the time to devote them like we should have been. We also sold off the pigs; we have just one piggly wiggly right now.
We do have rabbits yet. We have a dozen breeding does, which give us enough bunnies to sell every couple of weeks. That has been a nice boost. Tanner, Dane, and Abbey sold sixteen bunnies this morning and got enough to pay for the week’s groceries. That’s pretty neat. I think we have around twenty-five bitty bunnies right now.
Besides the rabbits and a few chickens, we do still have a dozen bulls we are fattening to sell. My goal is to start selling them off around the beginning of next year, probably one a month. I also have two milk cows. I should be drying off Estrella in October, and she should calve in February, I think. Having daily milk is something that we just love, and I’m so thankful that Estrella has been such a great cow (Thanks, Lamar!).
We have seeded the middle field out in front of the barn. We are wanting more silage for next winter. It is also the year to reseed the upper field, which we hope to begin in October. A few months ago, I reached out to some supporters to let them know about the cost of seeding the middle field, and we were blessed to have help from various ones (including the Strasburg congregation) to help with that large cost!
Steph and I had just gotten back from the States last month when Alicia called, wanting help with her cow that had been in labor for two days, she said. The calf was too big, but I managed to get its legs up and out, and then Tanner and Dane helped me pull it. I went back the next day to administer some medicine to the cow.
Coming back from Alicia’s, I noticed smoke in the direction of our house. As I came around the corner, one of the big pine trees near the upper house burst into flame. Tanner had been burning off some thistles in the ditches, and the fire got away from him.
I left Tanner and our neighbor Oscar dealing with the fire in the upper field and raced down to the ditch behind the barn to stop the fire there. Fire in the dry season is a dangerous thing to deal with, especially with the windy day we had. I got the fire to stop advancing into the field, but then Abbey started shrieking that the barn was on fire. Some sparks had gotten up under the eaves and into the hay.
Everyone available, including Robyn and Evelina, came out to haul buckets of water to put out the various fires. We started hauling hay out while also throwing water and then using a hose to put the flames out. We lost quite a lot of hay, sadly. The barn was damaged a good bit, with the wiring and skylight being melted and the rafters and metal damaged by the flames.
A few people learned about the fire, and a couple people sent some gifts to put toward the repair. I’m still saving up a bit before I have enough to do the project. I think Tanner and Caleb might be able to get it down before Tanner leaves next month.
The fire was a pretty frightening event for me. Having just returned to high elevation, I nearly blacked out a couple of times before we got ahead of the blaze. I was thankful for so much help! And I also praise the Lord that none of us got sick from all the smoke inhalation. God took good care of us.
Juan David 