Desolate

That's how things feel around our homestead. After much deliberation, we decided to downsize our livestock.

First it was chickens. A couple weeks ago I sold some hens to Megan at A Blossoming Homestead. I had thought I would sell even more of our chickens than I did, but just by selling a dozen hens (all less than one year old) our flock seems small now!

I am also looking for a home for our ducks. I was SO tickled to get my hands on the five Khaki Campbell ducklings in June. We raised them with excitement and have been entertained daily by their ducky antics. However, it appears I am allergic to duck eggs. Each time I eat them I get violently ill. After doing some research I am pretty sure that it's an allergy, and I am fearful that trying them again would invoke anaphylactic shock. Our ducks lay white eggs, and they are very hard to discern from the chicken eggs, and so we have agreed that the safest plan is to sell them, too.

Finally, a week ago today I sold my Nigerian Dwarfs all in one fell swoop. I couldn't believe it happened that way. I've listed things on Craig's List several times with mixed success. I expected to sell one here and one there until we were down to a few goats. Instead, a lovely lady came to see them, fell in love with the whole herd, and came back two days later to buy them all! Now I just have my LaMancha doe, Miracle, and her daughter, Baby, who was born in June. Things are feeling rather empty around the place. I'm not emotionally sad like I expected it to be. I thought it would be really hard to sell my very first dairy goat that I worked so long to get, her daughter, their companion, and my favorite, no nonsense milker. Instead my main emotion is relief. They no longer have to endure the constant fighting that goes along with having a herd of mixed sizes of goats. I am able to keep up with deworming, hoof trimming, and other maintenance needs with ease. It is peaceful now. It doesn't hurt that our feed bill just dropped by at least half!

All in all I think things are better. We still have enough chickens and goats to supply our needs for eggs and milk, and their care is much more manageable.

Greatest Cookbook Ever

One of my top three all time favorite bloggers has published a cookbook. Months ago she did a survey of her readers asking if they thought anyone would buy it if she took on this massive project compiling all her favorite recipes into a cookbook. I responded to her survey and said, "Why would anyone buy what you have already provided us for free on your blog? I think you'd be wasting a lot of time and effort." However, I am THRILLED to announce that she did not listen to (or, at least heed) my advice. After nine months of hard labor she has given birth to her fourth "baby." She has managed to keep the price very reasonable at just $15.99. This is an extraordinarily good value! I have never, ever tried one of her recipes without thoroughly enjoying it. Her recipes are made with wholesome, nutritious ingredients, not the, "open a can of this an a box of that, dump them together, bake for 20 minutes and pretend you cooked" that is typical of the cookbooks I see in the retail market today. I sincerely hope you will head on over to Jane's Blog and see for yourself. You can try some of her recipes for free before committing to the cookbook, but I am certain you will love it! I can not wait for my copy to arrive!