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Goats are not endearing animals. Everything was a fight with the goat- everything. If it didn’t want to come it would just fall flat on the ground in protest. It would watch for an opportunity to escape and then head for the hills. If the dog took more than three steps away the goat would bawl and scream the most horrid sound on the farm. I hate goats! Yesterday our goat went to live at a neighbors house and I’m so happy about it. We are trading my nanny goat for a wither (not sure on this spelling, but it’s a goat eunuch) which I will butcher in the fall. We are also going to trade some baby chicks for rabbits. My chickens have hatched about 30 chicks this summer. I’ve lost several, but I still have twice as many chicks as hens. I have another hen sitting on a nest of about 15 eggs now. So I’m going to swap some chicks for some rabbits. Rabbits are much more endearing than goats.

There are a lot of people around here that raise rabbit for meat. I’ve never done it, but I’m going to give it a go. They reproduce well, like rabbits and they mature quickly. It’s also tasty, healthy, and easy to prepare. The problem is they are just so stinking cute and pretty and fuzzy and adorable! I just love them. I always prepare the kids before we get an animal. I know it’s cute, but it’s meat and remember we’re going to eat this… This time I’m having to talk to myself.

My husband has to build the hutch so I have a little time. I’m looking around for some used ones that may hurry my next little venture along. I really think I may be able to get the cages for free or almost free. I hate to pay for something that I could have gotten for free or made myself for less. He drew up plans for the hen house and estimated the cost at $350 but I said no and it was less than 13.00 and it’s 8x10. I say we just need to use our imagination. Chicken don’t need new tin and they have never complained about their living quarters. Now he’s also building me a cold frame for a winter garden. I’ve been wanting one of these for a year or two. The delay is that I think he should be able to build these things with little or no money- he disagrees. But in the end he manages to come through for little or nothing. He says that the Plexiglas to build one of these will cost a little money and I say no just watch for some old shower doors at yard sales or junk stores. Well, he finally found some old shower doors for nothing and now I’m ready for my cold frame!

(I tried to post a picture here but it didn't work)

I’ve put up almost 450 jars of food so far. I’m about ready to slow down on my canning, but I need more tomatoes and I have more apples to do. Then there are the stews, soups and things like that. I’ve given away several (50-75) of these jars. I’ve also frozen more than I ever have before. I feel ready for winter. And the weather feels like fall. I had to wear a jacket today! All of my windows are opened and I have apples and cinnamon cooking on the stove! I love this kind of weather. I just know it’s going to be hot again next week .

I ran out of jars this year. Well, I ran out of pints and half pints. I still have about two dozen half gallons and 5 dozen quarts. That’s not very many when you consider that it’s only August and veggies grow right up till frost. When I went to town to get more jars everyone was sold out. The clerks at the different shops all said that they had never seen anything like it and that they just couldn’t keep jars or lids in stock. Several said that for the past month they hadn’t even been able to get the jars on the shelf before they sold out. I think that people are planning for economic difficulty. This region knows how to face recession, this area is almost always on the brink of it anyway.