Shalali Infante and Pint-Size Farm, located in New Mexico, breeds miniature jerseys, Nigerian dwarf goats, and American Guinea Hogs shipping animals all over the U.S.

I’ll update more after the day is over. Obviously I don’t have milk totals yet. DS2 and I reseeded the pasture and then let the ruminant animals out (not the pigs or chickens) to graze it down and hopefully mash the seeds into the field. We irrigate tomorrow again, and we’ll keep them off for another month, but then I think we’ll be able to start letting them rotate through it. I need to get the electric fence up and the chicken wagon coop built one way or another.

I may try to get in more garden fence posts today. This evening DH, DSs, & I are going to work on the berm of the pasture, so I probably won’t have time to work in the garden today. It seems the only bearable time to work in the garden is before noon or after 7:00 as it is so hot these days. We CLs are also supposed to move some chickens tonight. ARGH. I need a clone.

If as you read my catching up posts and wonder why this time my memory seems to be so much better than before, I have a secret.  I started keep a little notebook that I jot down the details of the day so when I go to post, I don’t have to scratch my head and wonder what I did this morning or a week ago.  It is really nice actually.

Sally gave 10.3 pounds (1.23 gallons but we only got 0.98 gallons), Janie gave 28.4 pounds (3.39 gallons, but we only got 2.71 gallons), we got 17 eggs, and Oreo gave her usual amount. We got less than we should have because DS2 tripped while stepping out of the barn with the milk tote. He fell very hard and spilled almost a gallon. I am glad he is okay, as he landed on his knee and had a hard time putting weight on it for a couple of minutes. He felt really bad about the milk, but I told him not to worry, we had more where that came from. I was just very relieved that he didn’t have a serious injury. The milk tote had a very big dent in it. We are not sure if he landed on it or what. But whatever the way it happened, it took a lot of force to dent that tote, so I know his knee took a lot of force too.

I churned the butter and put in the kombucha mushrooms. The clabber took up most of the bottom shelf of the fridge.

DS1 woke with the tail end of a migraine. Fortunately, he slept through most of it. He was able to go to class. He was interviewed by Channel 4 News about biking and bussing in Albuquerque. He also re-took the placement test and was able to test out of the class he was in and out of the next class, and was only 5 points away from testing into College Algebra. Then, he had to wait for a long time for his bus, so he decided to follow the bus route on his bike to get to his next stop. It worked, and he stopped off at the Library for a while and made it home. He was very proud of himself and I am glad I didn’t know of his adventures until they were over, or I would have been worried. I’m very proud of him too!

I put in 3 more fence posts. DS2 had to help with the last one, as the dirt was very HARD and/or it went through a tree root. I used a string to keep the lines of the fence straight so I would know where to put in the posts.

I ran the milk jar dishwasher twice, as I had so many jars from returns and from skimming the milk the day before.

I actually got to take a nap during the hottest part of the day. I remember when I could not ever sleep during the day. I am glad that I can now, as I have to get up at 5:45 every morning for the chicken tractor moving chore. Believe me, they know when it is feeding time.

After dinner, I got 24 tomatoes planted. I finished in the dark. We watered for about an hour last night. I need to get my garden fence up, as the ducks and goose like to eat garden plants. I think I’m okay for a couple of days.

Sally gave 10.9 pounds (1.31 gallons), Janie gave 29 pounds (3.48 gallons), we got 16 eggs, and Oreo gave her usual.

I made the Kombucha Tea and skimmed 9.5 gallons of milk. I washed and folded the kitchen laundry finally! The AI tech I had spoken with last week called to check on my progress with the vet and see how Janie was doing now. He really recommended getting that test done, and then vaccinating her before proceeding to breed again. The vaccines need a booster 3 weeks apart, so I should not breed her on this next cycle and just breed her the time after that to give me time enough to get all of this done. I need to find a lab I can send the sample to for the Lepto-Harjo test.

The load of dirt I had ordered almost 2 weeks ago finally arrived.

For lunch we had the rest of our Chinese food. There were a few chiles that didn’t get eaten so they went into the piggies scrap bucket. After they had eaten all their food, while I was milking Sally, they started whimpering at me. They kept drinking water and just whimpering. I figured they ate the chile and it was burning them. I called DS2 and asked him to bring them some milk. They lapped it up and appeared to feel better. Poor babies!

After dinner DH used some of the dirt to fix one of the berms for irrigating. The CLs came over to help me finish digging my garden bed. Yippee! We also cleaned the rest of the grub buckets as we were planning to use them to collect manure in to give to the meat birds to scratch through after it has been sitting around for 3 days collecting fly eggs. It is working great, but the buckets are too cumbersome, so we are just using a big container and a pitch fork. This is also really fertilizing the areas they are on along with their manure. They are growing much faster now that they are getting the meat scraps.

We didn’t take the girls across the street today, as the pasture is done for. We need to get the fence all picked up and cleared away now. It has been so hot that we want to do it in the evening, but I’ve been working in the garden in the evenings. I’ll have to set aside some time for that soon!

Sally gave 11.7 pounds (1.4 gallons), Janie gave 29.5 pounds (3.57 gallons), we got 12 eggs and Oreo gave her usual.

I took Janie to have her hooves trimmed after milking. Right before I left, NCL’s DH came over to get measurements and ideas for giving me an estimate on making the chicken coop on the wagon and a feeder I designed, but don’t seem to have time to do anything about. Janie’s hooves look wonderful. She looks like she is wearing ballet slippers. If only he had given her a coat of pink polish, she would have been perfect ;wink;

DS2 & I washed the kombucha bottles and then bottled it. I had made extra in case NCL helped me again, and I would have enough to share with her, but…she didn’t so I got DS2 to help.

We went to P. F. Chang’s for dinner for our anniversary. It was a nice dinner. We all got something we could share. When we got home, we got the girls from across the street. OCL was here for the chicks and she took her share of the plants.

Sally gave 9.4 pounds (1.09 gallons), Janie gave 29.2 pounds (3.39 gallons), we got 9 eggs, and Oreo gave her usual.

OCL & I went to Keller’s for meat scraps for the birds. We decided to be picky and choose only meaty scraps and feed this directly to birds, instead of using the grub buckets. There was too much fat, and it clogged up the holes in the bottom of the buckets with greasy leaves.

I cleaned out the chicken coop and brought that to my garden area to use for composting the horse meat. It took 3 large wheelbarrow loads to empty the coop. I then laid down a layer of straw in the coop. I was able to put in 2 fence posts in the garden. Geeze it was difficult. I ended up with 2 blisters on my left hand, one broke open and the other stayed intact.

When OCL came to take care of the chickies, we composted the horse meat. It turned into a very nice compost pile. We used leaves and dry grass clippings for the carbon. We also separated out the meat for the meat birds into daily bundles so that it will be easier to thaw and feed to them daily.

With my help, the boys gave DH some peanut patties and a card for Father’s Day. A few days earlier (when they were helping with the pump and sprinklers) I gave my dad and my mom bee veils for Father’s Day and late Mother’s Day.

Sally gave 11.1 pounds (1.33 gallons), Janie gave 29.7 pounds (3.55 gallons), we got 9 eggs, and Oreo gave her usual.

OCL came to help with chicken tractor chore at 6:30 AM, as NCL is out of town for Father’s Day. I made a strawberry cheese cake with strawberry glaze for DS1’s party. I reduced the pureed strawberries all day long for the glaze. I cleaned up the kitchen. DH & I went to Keller’s for meat for the BBQ for the party. I made beans, baked Mac & Cheese, and my mom brought salad. We had chips, dip, brauts, sausage, hot dogs, & hamburgers. It was a nice party, only a couple of his friends, his god parents, my parents, and the parents of one of his friends. They had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and made S’mores. I went to bed after midnight!

Sally gave 11.5 pounds (1.38 gallons), Janie gave 31.4 pounds (3.77 gallons), we got 11 eggs and Oreo gave her usual.

I woke up with heart pounding, realizing I forgot to get the girls from across the street. They did not seem too worse for wear. In the morning during chicken chores, NCL & I moved 10 birds from the tractor at my house to the 2 at hers, 4 into one and 6 into the other. I also decided to open up the chicks to going outside in the brooder.

We unloaded the hay, after which I got a massage. She discovered that the pain in my hip is caused by a spasm of the ileopsoas muscle group and it is pinching my sciatic nerve! That is why the pain is a little different. It is still pretty painful.

My new phone arrived. It has a slide out keyboard. My old one was dying and I think had too much hay in the circuit board.

I made an appointment for Monday to trim Janie’s hooves.

I had the boys take the girls across the street for me. My sister’s DH had a heart-attack today. We went to the hospital to see him. He looked really good. They were able to immediately put in a stent and clear the blockage. He only had one area in all of his arteries that was clogged; all the rest looked really good with little to no plaque. AFter the hospital we went out for burgers and got party supplies for DS1’s 16th birthday party a couple of weeks late.

Sally gave 11.8 pounds (1.41 gallons), Janie gave 29.6 pounds (3.53 gallons), we got 16 eggs, and Oreo gave her usual. We went and got alfalfa hay. This was the first time I picked hay from the field. It worked pretty well. We drove out onto the field and would load up hay onto the trailer from around it, and then we would drive on and grab the next section. The boys helped me. It also helped that we only got 50 bales, all I could afford this time. Plus it was first cut and not my favorite. Second or third cuttings have more leaves and less stems, but we were out and whatchagonna do? This hay was “organic” with no fertilizers other than cows, goats, and horses on the fields in the winter and no herbicides. The animals apparently eat down the weeds. It is nice hay that fall apart easily when put into the feeder. This farm also has milk cows. They had some pretty girls, mostly Holsteins with a couple of Jerseys and Guernseys.

While we were loading hay, the electrical shop called and the pump was definitely ready. After we got home, I painfully backed the trailer up to the hay-port (used to be a carport, but now it is for hay, so I think we should re-name it). We decided to wait until the next day to unload it. I went to get the pump. They had found 5 fried and smoked dead mice in the pump, which may have been the cause of the failure- ARGH! They welded some grating over the areas where the varmints were getting in. They also painted it. It looked almost brand new. I helped to load it into the trunk of my car and it rested on my pinkie finger on my left hand. OUCH! It split the finger open and caused a huge swelling in it. I was just a few minutes from my parents, so I went there for some ice. The ice helped the swelling. It ended up being extremely tender and bruised all the way around it. I’m lucky we just rested on my finger. If we had dropped it slightly, I think it would have taken the fingertip off. I stopped and got some parts for the broken sprinklers from the local plumbing shop, Martin Bros.

DH got the pump hooked up that evening. With my parent’s help we set up some new sprinklers, and we watered our crunchy grass and chicken pastures and fruit trees.

The new vet returned my call. He seemed to think that she just needed another chance, with maybe a different bull if that were possible. He said he could help me out from time to time, but he travels a lot and so could not necessarily be here for an emergency, but could come out for scheduled things. I did seem to like him better than my other vet. We’ll see.

We moved NCL’s mama and baby birds out of one of the chicken tractors and separated the tractor with all the bigger birds into two of them for more room.

Sally gave 9.9 pounds (1.2 gallons), Janie gave 31.7 pounds (3.86 gallons), we got 13 eggs (2 were broken), and Oreo gave her usual.

UGH!!!! A mouse was swimming in the goat milk set out to clabber for the chickies. I took that batch and gave it to my laying hens. They love mice! There was quite a squabble over it.

We started giving Oreo a little sprouted grain with her nutritional yeast and sucanat. She likes it now. Funny when first offered to her, she did not want it (just like all the other animals). We had to get her hooked on the nutritional yeast and sucanat and then introduce the grain. It is easier to feed them the nutritional yeast and sucanat with the grain, as it sticks to it. She got about 1/4 cup of grain. I am giving the cows a little more grain, maybe 1/2 cup more. All of this grain is sprouted wheat and rye.

I washed the butter and was planning on skimming the milk but got a call from the electrical shop saying the pump was just about ready and could I come down to get it. When I got there, they were having trouble, so I ended up leaving without it. Since I was out and about, I met DS1 at his bus stop and brought him home so he would not have to wait for another half an hour for the bus.

At afternoon milking Sally held up big time.

For dinner we had roast chicken, baked mac & cheese, salad and leftover fried potatoes for DS2 who does not like melted cheese.

In the paper I found organic hay and made arrangements to get some tomorrow. I also talked to an AI tech who gave me the name of another vet, an exclusively dairy vet. He also recommended testing her for Lepto-Harjo (a common bug that causes early abortions) and if she is positive treating her with a round of antibiotics and then immunizing her for it. If it is a viral thing, I’m not sure an antibiotic is called for, so I need to do more research on it. He said it is a simple blood test.

After dinner I skimmed the milk.

June 10, 2008- Sally gave 12.5 pounds (1.52 gallons), Janie gave 29.7 pounds (3.61 gallons), we got 10 eggs, and Oreo gave her usual amount.

When NCL & I were moving the chicken tractors, we found 1 dead chicken in one of the chicken tractors.  Not sure what happened.  This morning Janie was still in standing heat.  We had hoped that the mounting business would be over.

After milking, I took the trailer over to my DF’s house (the owners of Fin, the bull) to load him up and take him to the vet for his reproductive check up.  When I was attempting to back the trailer into their driveway, I noticed a flat on the trailer.  I had no spare, so…we were almost shut down.  Her DH arrived then and lucked into finding a tire that fit the trailer and held air!  We managed to get the trailer tired changed and on the road.  We ended up being only about 5 minutes late.  They did a sperm analysis on him and a venereal disease culture.  His analysis showed that he had a bunch of dead sperm and low-motility sperm.  This could be the result of the stress of the trip to the vet and the fact that he has not seen much action lately (needs to keep his pipes clear).  The vet also told me that Janie’s culture came back negative.  So…I think we are going to bring Fin over again, assuming his cultures are normal, and try again.  After Janie is 10 days bred, the vet wants to see her again.  I’m going to have him make a house-call for this one, as I want to rule out possible causes of abortion if she does it again.  I don’t want to wonder if it was due to our trailering her over to the vet in the heat of summer.

While I was at the vet’s, my mom came and got the boys and took them swimming at my cousin’s.  I got home just before they did.  I had time to grab a bite to eat and then it was time to milk.  I actually got out there on time, and was back in the house with the milk filtered by 4:30 PM.  That is my goal every day, but I rarely make it.  Maybe I can start a new trend.

After milking, I took the dough and supplies to Nicole’s to start the breads, sweet rolls, and donuts for the presentation.  I got the sweet rolls, rolled, sliced and rising- followed by the donuts rolled out, cut and rising.  I made half a batch of each so that I could demonstrate the process with the other half batch, but so that we would have some ready to cook during the meeting.  It turned out well.  The evening was topped with cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven and then donuts fresh from the fryer with a honey butter glaze.  I also demonstrated the rustic (artisan) loaf and a sandwich loaf.  This is all from the No Knead Bread dough.

I got home about 10:00 PM and DS2 was putting on his boots so we could go get the cows.  DS2 and DS1 had taken the cows across the street after I left for the Nutrition Meeting.  We got them haltered and were heading back when we saw a slinky SKUNK in the moonlight.  Janie had been balking about walking that way, and I guess that was why.  The skunk went past us and we continued the other way without a whiff of disaster.  WHEW!

Finally, I took a bath and went to bed.  It was nice to lie down, as my right hip had been bothering me all day long.  I don’t know if it sciatica, as it feels a little different.  I am getting a massage Friday, so hopefully it can get worked out.   Time to go move the chicken tractors this morning.