Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Cold Frame
Cant wait to put my new cold frame outside to try getting a jump start on the planting season for my soon to be Vegetable garden.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Day before Court.
Our court case in regards to custody and staying in Ohio is tomorrow. Wish us luck! Its a nerve racking process and Ill be glad when its finally over.
Secondly..... As of yesterday morning, Matt officially has a job working for an alcohol distributor here in Ohio. He starts next Wednesday. He's very excited and we will make sure to keep everyone updated when he starts.
For all of you that guessed on those last pictures. Yes they are Nigerian dwarf goats =) yes.... I'm sure most of you being from California must think we are absolutely insane, but Matt and I decided awhile ago after reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and watching the two documentaries "FoodMatters" and "Food inc," that we wanted to produce most of our own food. We were tired of finding out how unhealthy the food that we currently buy from the store is for us and wanted to change our diets. After researching many, many animals, we decided on three that we would raise ourselves:
1) Chickens (for both eggs and meat)- we chose Delaware Chickens as the breed we would raise
2) Turkeys (For meat)- we chose Bourbon Red as the Turkeys we were going to raise
3) and Goats (for milk)- we chose Nigerian Dwarf goats as the breed we were going to raise
Nigerian Dwarf goats are a miniature breed of milking goats and many people keep there's inside as if they were dogs. They only get a couple ft tall. We got two baby goats from a breeder three days ago and they have got to be the cutest things that I have ever seen. They are actually very similar to dogs in their demeanor but I have to admit, they may be smarter than the dogs already. My dogs are having allot of fun with their new "weird looking" brother and sister and they all seem to be getting along beautifully. We got one Dow (A girl that we will someday use for milking), and a Wether (a fixed male) as a companion. Goats are very much pack animals and we were told that even with dogs around that the baby goat would have been very lonely if we hadn't gotten two of them. So two of them is what we got. Two girls were not available in this particular litter.
I have many pictures but until I find the chord to my phone i wont be able to post them just yet. Thanks for reading our blog. We love you all!
Secondly..... As of yesterday morning, Matt officially has a job working for an alcohol distributor here in Ohio. He starts next Wednesday. He's very excited and we will make sure to keep everyone updated when he starts.
For all of you that guessed on those last pictures. Yes they are Nigerian dwarf goats =) yes.... I'm sure most of you being from California must think we are absolutely insane, but Matt and I decided awhile ago after reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and watching the two documentaries "FoodMatters" and "Food inc," that we wanted to produce most of our own food. We were tired of finding out how unhealthy the food that we currently buy from the store is for us and wanted to change our diets. After researching many, many animals, we decided on three that we would raise ourselves:
1) Chickens (for both eggs and meat)- we chose Delaware Chickens as the breed we would raise
2) Turkeys (For meat)- we chose Bourbon Red as the Turkeys we were going to raise
3) and Goats (for milk)- we chose Nigerian Dwarf goats as the breed we were going to raise
Nigerian Dwarf goats are a miniature breed of milking goats and many people keep there's inside as if they were dogs. They only get a couple ft tall. We got two baby goats from a breeder three days ago and they have got to be the cutest things that I have ever seen. They are actually very similar to dogs in their demeanor but I have to admit, they may be smarter than the dogs already. My dogs are having allot of fun with their new "weird looking" brother and sister and they all seem to be getting along beautifully. We got one Dow (A girl that we will someday use for milking), and a Wether (a fixed male) as a companion. Goats are very much pack animals and we were told that even with dogs around that the baby goat would have been very lonely if we hadn't gotten two of them. So two of them is what we got. Two girls were not available in this particular litter.
I have many pictures but until I find the chord to my phone i wont be able to post them just yet. Thanks for reading our blog. We love you all!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Introducing the Fam!
Thought I would take a second to introduce my amazing family here in Ohio. At least the ones that I have been spending the most time with since we got here.
(Ill probably have to steal a bunch of pictures off of facebook for this one)
I never really knew Carrie when I was growing up so it has been allot of fun getting to know her and her family. Her husband Paul is allot like Matt. personality wise, so hanging out with them is always a blast. We finally got a chance to introduce Matt's boys to her boys about a week ago and it was like they have known each other for years. It was nice letting the boys play with other kids their age and I'm sure we will be hanging out with them as much as humanly possible in the future.
I'll have to start getting better at taking pictures when we are all hanging out.....
Watch out Susan! Even you aren't safe with the camera in my hands! LOVE YOU ALL!
(Ill probably have to steal a bunch of pictures off of facebook for this one)
My cousin Carrie and her family.
I never really knew Carrie when I was growing up so it has been allot of fun getting to know her and her family. Her husband Paul is allot like Matt. personality wise, so hanging out with them is always a blast. We finally got a chance to introduce Matt's boys to her boys about a week ago and it was like they have known each other for years. It was nice letting the boys play with other kids their age and I'm sure we will be hanging out with them as much as humanly possible in the future.
The Rose family =)
So....... it occured to me after searching for a very, very long while on my Aunt Susan's facebook page, that finding a picture of her is kind of along the lines of pulling teeth =) she has 100's of pictures of the kids but VERY few pictures of her self and my Uncle Tracy....... lol! This is what you get Susan for not letting us see pictures of your beautiful face on Facebook =) LOVE YOU! Susan has got to be one of my favorite people on the face of this planet!
My Amazing little cousins!
Sarah
I also had to add a picture of her dancing..... why? because I think she's the most talented person on the face of this planet..... THATS WHY!
Tommy
Two peas in a pod!
Allayna
Allayna and I.
Allayna and Jax
I'll have to start getting better at taking pictures when we are all hanging out.....
Watch out Susan! Even you aren't safe with the camera in my hands! LOVE YOU ALL!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Just another day in Ohio.
Hanging out inside trying to stay warm. Today was the first day in awhile that it has been cold outside and sometimes its just nice to curl up on the couch and watch TV. Matt and I spent most of the day planning for our upcoming garden. Keeping plants alive in Ohio is an entirely different animal than trying to keep plants alive in California. Who would have thought that watering new seedlings every four days or so would still be too much for them, darn humidity. Good thing ALL of our neighbors are big vegetable garden people. We are going to need allot of advice getting started. The weather is so ridiculously different from the weather in California.
Matt has been working on cutting down the Apple and Pear trees in our backyard to workable heights. I swear those things were 30+ feet tall and the people who lived here before us were retarded enough to trim the lower branches instead of the higher ones when the next door neighbor told them that they needed to keep the trees trimmed..... rookies!
Here are a couple videos that we have taken sense coming to Ohio. I figured it was about time I got them off of my cell phone and onto the computer where I could share them with you guys.
Here is one with the dogs playing in the snow the first day we got here. It was Mia's first time ever seeing snow on the ground. She was pretty excited.
Here is another one of the boys playing on their scooters at the park
I have a couple more.... but my phone is currently being difficult..... so the video section of this blog is going to have to be continued for a later date.
Here are a couple pictures from the latest events in our life.... lol! (yes I know..... I dont have much of a life)
Jax lost his first tooth! he was very excited to show it off to everyone. Although I'm pretty sure we got tricked out of $5 from the tooth fairy thing. The night before, the boys were telling us that the tooth fairy usually brings 5 dollars and come morning they were all amazed at how much money she brought because she normally only leaves a dollar. Those kids are too smart for their own good I tell you.
We were also told that putting the tooth in a bag under their pillow probably wasn't a good idea because the tooth fairy might have a hard time opening up the bag..... Little Hands!.... lol. Kids crack me up.
Jaythen had his birthday on the 21st! He is now officially 8 years old.
No, I did not take this picture and No, I did not make the cake. I'm not that creative..... Their mother did and sent us the picture but I thought it was cute so we included it. Jaythen was very excited about the over abundance of Star Wars toys that he got for his birthday.
Matt and I are awaiting the upcoming court date on the 30th with the boys mother, hopefully disallowing her to move back to California with the boys. We both made a lot of sacrifices so that he could move across country and be closer to his boys and we are hoping that she is not allowed to just pick up and move again. After living here over a month, we are both 100% convinced that the boys are better off growing up in Ohio than in California and plan to do everything within our powers to give them that better life. Wish us luck and we will keep everyone updated.
- Kelly
Matt has been working on cutting down the Apple and Pear trees in our backyard to workable heights. I swear those things were 30+ feet tall and the people who lived here before us were retarded enough to trim the lower branches instead of the higher ones when the next door neighbor told them that they needed to keep the trees trimmed..... rookies!
Here are a couple videos that we have taken sense coming to Ohio. I figured it was about time I got them off of my cell phone and onto the computer where I could share them with you guys.
Here is one with the dogs playing in the snow the first day we got here. It was Mia's first time ever seeing snow on the ground. She was pretty excited.
Here is another one of the boys playing on their scooters at the park
I have a couple more.... but my phone is currently being difficult..... so the video section of this blog is going to have to be continued for a later date.
Here are a couple pictures from the latest events in our life.... lol! (yes I know..... I dont have much of a life)
Jax lost his first tooth! he was very excited to show it off to everyone. Although I'm pretty sure we got tricked out of $5 from the tooth fairy thing. The night before, the boys were telling us that the tooth fairy usually brings 5 dollars and come morning they were all amazed at how much money she brought because she normally only leaves a dollar. Those kids are too smart for their own good I tell you.
We were also told that putting the tooth in a bag under their pillow probably wasn't a good idea because the tooth fairy might have a hard time opening up the bag..... Little Hands!.... lol. Kids crack me up.
Jaythen had his birthday on the 21st! He is now officially 8 years old.
No, I did not take this picture and No, I did not make the cake. I'm not that creative..... Their mother did and sent us the picture but I thought it was cute so we included it. Jaythen was very excited about the over abundance of Star Wars toys that he got for his birthday.
Matt and I are awaiting the upcoming court date on the 30th with the boys mother, hopefully disallowing her to move back to California with the boys. We both made a lot of sacrifices so that he could move across country and be closer to his boys and we are hoping that she is not allowed to just pick up and move again. After living here over a month, we are both 100% convinced that the boys are better off growing up in Ohio than in California and plan to do everything within our powers to give them that better life. Wish us luck and we will keep everyone updated.
- Kelly
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Kelly
First day off in awhile so I thought I would sit down and write something in our blog. (I cant let Matt have all the fun)
Here's our update:
I'm currently working as a waitress at Applebees in Marion Ohio. Next week I should be training for bartender. Waitressing is tiring I have to admit. hopefully they dont have me working 6 days a week for long.
We found a little house on the outskirts of the city with a fenced in acre for the dogs and boys to run around and they are absolutely loving it. The dogs absolutely LOVE the snow. I cant believe it. Ill post a couple pictures and videos for sure.
The snow is gone for now but it seems to resurface about once a week for a day or two.
Matt and I are really enjoying being closer to my family and his boys. They are allot of fun. We don't have much time to get out but when we do we really appreciate being so close.
We are currently working on a star wars room for the boys..... blue walls, white trim and a black ceiling covered in little glow in the dark plastic stars. They are going to love it, they are HUGE star wars fans. We ordered the bedding from JCPenney and it just came in the mail yesterday. Complete with Yoda Doll.
Our next project is to make a bunk bed for them.
Our Turkeys are now down to 4 from the 6 that we originally bought. I have a feeling that our 4 bigger ones are kind of bullys. Both of our little ones died on us. which is really sad because they were so cute.
We also picked up 5 chickens at the hatchery yesterday. They are adorable, and although they are much smaller than the Turkeys they are VERY feisty. I have a feeling they will be just fine in with the bigger birds.
Matt and I are kind of on a self sustaining kick right now and are really excited about it. For myself, more about the gigantic vegetable garden that I am planning for this summer, complete with a soon to be greenhouse. And Matt with his animals. He is so cute and excited about them. I love watching him taking care of them and building them stuff. His enthusiasm about life is really rubbing off on me.
Ohio is allot of fun. We are really enjoying it here. The people seem nicer, there is no smog, very little traffic, you don't have to water your plants to keep them alive. We love and miss everyone back home terribly but are really hoping we get to stay here for awhile. Keep reading our blog, We will keep it current with updates.
Here's our update:
I'm currently working as a waitress at Applebees in Marion Ohio. Next week I should be training for bartender. Waitressing is tiring I have to admit. hopefully they dont have me working 6 days a week for long.
We found a little house on the outskirts of the city with a fenced in acre for the dogs and boys to run around and they are absolutely loving it. The dogs absolutely LOVE the snow. I cant believe it. Ill post a couple pictures and videos for sure.
The snow is gone for now but it seems to resurface about once a week for a day or two.
Matt and I are really enjoying being closer to my family and his boys. They are allot of fun. We don't have much time to get out but when we do we really appreciate being so close.
We are currently working on a star wars room for the boys..... blue walls, white trim and a black ceiling covered in little glow in the dark plastic stars. They are going to love it, they are HUGE star wars fans. We ordered the bedding from JCPenney and it just came in the mail yesterday. Complete with Yoda Doll.
Our Turkeys are now down to 4 from the 6 that we originally bought. I have a feeling that our 4 bigger ones are kind of bullys. Both of our little ones died on us. which is really sad because they were so cute.
We also picked up 5 chickens at the hatchery yesterday. They are adorable, and although they are much smaller than the Turkeys they are VERY feisty. I have a feeling they will be just fine in with the bigger birds.
Matt and I are kind of on a self sustaining kick right now and are really excited about it. For myself, more about the gigantic vegetable garden that I am planning for this summer, complete with a soon to be greenhouse. And Matt with his animals. He is so cute and excited about them. I love watching him taking care of them and building them stuff. His enthusiasm about life is really rubbing off on me.
Ohio is allot of fun. We are really enjoying it here. The people seem nicer, there is no smog, very little traffic, you don't have to water your plants to keep them alive. We love and miss everyone back home terribly but are really hoping we get to stay here for awhile. Keep reading our blog, We will keep it current with updates.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Day two
Well, the turkeys are still doing good. All except for one of them. Last night before I went to bed I went in to check on them and saw that one of the really little ones was just laying there limp. Sometimes this will happen because they do not know where the water is. I gently picked it up and held its beak to the water. It took a sip or two and had enough. It was having a hard time breathing and could barely lift its head. I separated it and left it to "do or die".
When I got up early this morning I saw that it had passed away during the night. This means we are down to only 5 pullets now. All are doing remarkably good though and are even slowly approaching our hands when we hold them in their pen. They are very curious birds.
Here are a couple of the latest pictures from today including their new pen that I built for them. I happened to come across a couple of pallets so their new pen is quite spacious with room to roam. This will also be the holding place for our 5 chickens that we get on Tuesday.
When I got up early this morning I saw that it had passed away during the night. This means we are down to only 5 pullets now. All are doing remarkably good though and are even slowly approaching our hands when we hold them in their pen. They are very curious birds.
Here are a couple of the latest pictures from today including their new pen that I built for them. I happened to come across a couple of pallets so their new pen is quite spacious with room to roam. This will also be the holding place for our 5 chickens that we get on Tuesday.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Pullets - Matt
Here they are, the Bourbon Red Pullets!!!!
They hatched just yesterday at Hillview Exotics (http://hillviewexotics.net/index.html) and are now resting quietly in our spare bedroom. They are inside because we do need to keep them at a temperature of around 90-95 degrees for the first couple weeks.
The dogs think that we brought them new toys to play with and are going nuts trying to get in there and "play" with them. Looks like it will be a while till we can have them free running the yard together. One day at a time I guess.
So now we have a couple days till we get our Delaware Chicks. Tuesday we are driving up to Ashland to the hatchery to get 5 of those. I am so excited about all of these animals. You have no idea.......
They hatched just yesterday at Hillview Exotics (http://hillviewexotics.net/index.html) and are now resting quietly in our spare bedroom. They are inside because we do need to keep them at a temperature of around 90-95 degrees for the first couple weeks.
The dogs think that we brought them new toys to play with and are going nuts trying to get in there and "play" with them. Looks like it will be a while till we can have them free running the yard together. One day at a time I guess.
So now we have a couple days till we get our Delaware Chicks. Tuesday we are driving up to Ashland to the hatchery to get 5 of those. I am so excited about all of these animals. You have no idea.......
Today is the day!!!! - Matt
The day has finally come!!!! Weeks in the making have all led up to this moment. We are going to pick up our baby Turkeys today. Farmers refer to them as pullets, so I guess I will too. It took Kelly and I a while of researching what type we wanted to raise, with all the breeds and types out there, and we have decided on a breed called the Bourbon Red. It is a rare game-bird on the endangered watch-list.
This is what The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has to say about this breed:
"Bourbon Red turkeys are handsome. They have brownish to dark red plumage with white flight and tail feathers. Tail feathers have soft red bars crossing them near the end. Body feathers on the toms may be edged in black. Neck and breast feathers are chestnut mahogany, and the undercolor feathers are light buff to almost white. Standard weights for Bourbon Reds are 23 pounds for young toms and 14 pounds for young hens."
Here is what a typical Bourbon Red tom and hen will look like.
Why are we doing this you might ask? Well, we are tired of now knowing all the crap that goes into our store bought turkey. We don't believe in the conditions they are forced to live in as well as all the growth hormones and antibiotics they are injected with. This is why we have invested in our small flock of 6 turkeys.
Besides, we now live in Ohio.... why not?
This is what The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has to say about this breed:
"Bourbon Red turkeys are handsome. They have brownish to dark red plumage with white flight and tail feathers. Tail feathers have soft red bars crossing them near the end. Body feathers on the toms may be edged in black. Neck and breast feathers are chestnut mahogany, and the undercolor feathers are light buff to almost white. Standard weights for Bourbon Reds are 23 pounds for young toms and 14 pounds for young hens."
Here is what a typical Bourbon Red tom and hen will look like.
Why are we doing this you might ask? Well, we are tired of now knowing all the crap that goes into our store bought turkey. We don't believe in the conditions they are forced to live in as well as all the growth hormones and antibiotics they are injected with. This is why we have invested in our small flock of 6 turkeys.
Besides, we now live in Ohio.... why not?
Friday, March 11, 2011
Introducing us!
Introducing us!
This is our first attempt at keeping a blog. Lets see how long we can keep it up.
Matt and I moved to the State of Ohio (Marion County) from sunny California to be with his two children, Jaythen and Jax a little over a month ago and we LOVE it! Go figure!
This is our ongoing attempt at setting up our new life together in a new place and this blog is easiest way we can think of to keep our love ones back in California updated on our progress.
Our Family!
The Boys!
The dogs!
To be continued.....
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