Life on the Ranch

   Obama has shocked me, that's for sure. With his decision to legalize horse slaughter on November 18, 2011, he has gained a brownie point in my book. I know some folks out there will be freaking out about eating horse but, think about it for a minute . . . since when did you want the government telling you what you can and cannot eat? FREEDOM is what America is suppose to be about and part of that freedom is being able to live in a country where we have choices in regards to our life. If it tweaks you out to think about eating horse, then don't but, please let those who want to eat it go ahead and do so.       Here is a little article about it from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/horse-slaughter-for-human-consumption-now-legal-in-the-u-s/  :        "The five-year-old ban on horse slaughter for meat in the U.S. has been lifted by members of Congress who dropped a provision in a spending bill that barred fund...

   A few weeks ago my son got a new Boer buck, named - are you ready for this - Buttmaster Rastus!!  Here are a few pics of him for now,  since I need to get off of here and help in the kitchen - it is PRE-THANKSGIVING time in the kitchen!  I am hoping to do the next letter in the Ranch Animal Alphabet tomorrow - the letter T is what I am on next!

     It has been nice to have a few rainy days over the past few weeks. The storm that is going on right now is not that cold of a one.       We had a storm a week or 2 ago that brought with it some temps that were in the 30's. All of these are just a reminder that winter is around the corner. With the storms comes the desire (on my part) to make sure that all of our animals are set-up for the cold. There are a few "winterizing" projects I would like to see get done.       One big blessing that we are aiming for (thanks to Granny!!) is a new 30'x50' barn right out back here behind our house. We are hoping to expand our goat milking area. One of the best parts about it will be the ability to just have more protection for some of our animals. The goats in milk will be able to stay close during the cold storms which will make it way easier to get them on the milkstand. Plus, we have about 60 does and 40 ewes that will begin having babies ar...

T is for Turkeys   We were first introduced to turkeys a few years ago when someone gave us 4 white ones. We learned with those first 4 that turkeys can be difficult to raise - one drowned in the pond, one fell in a bucket and drowned, one died from the summer heat and the last one I sold off.         Well, try number 2 came last year. We were given 4 Bourbon Red turkeys along with their tractor (a portable house for them). They lasted for a while and, we even got some eggs out of the hens. We were able to successfully hatch 2 poults ( turkey babies) in our neighbor's styrofoam incubator. I decided that with all that is going on at our ranch that the turkey breeding program was just a little bit too much for us right now. It is an idea whose time has not come yet. Someday, I would like to raise heritage turkeys so, I'll keep you posted.       Here is a pic of the Tom that I had shortly before we sold him: I can't find the other p...