Sloppy Seconds

For those of you that have ever owned chicks,
you know that they're messy eaters.

And for those of you that haven't, now you know.

They're messy.
Like hopping in the feed trough, spilling more feed
than what they eat kind of messy. 

And when you have more than one feathered friend 
eating from the same trough, the messiness just gets multiplied.

We feed our chicks scratch feed once they lose their "fluff."

It has sunflower and corn seeds in it, among other things.

And when you have messy eaters, these seeds get all over the place.

And sometimes, they plant themselves.

We currently have three corn stalks and four sunflower plants
growing in our backyard.

I guess the chickens wanted a little more "character" to their yard.
It's been a nice little summer surprise!

She's a Layin'

We had a bit of excitement yesterday. 

Dad came running in the house at dusk saying, 

"Ahna, grab your camera and come look!" 

I didn't know what was going on, but grabbed my camera anyway 

and went outside to see what all the fuss was about. 

Dad was standing by the Pheonix pen pointing at the ground.

So I walked over, went inside, and found this. 

Our very first Pheonix egg! 

It's so tiny, but absolutely perfect for pickling.

When Dad checked the Dominique house they had an extra egg too.
Look what beautifully brown eggs our Dominique is laying! 

That means we have two new egg layers on the farm. 

That's five eggs a day y'all, in a range of sizes.

Our girls weren't supposed to start laying until August. 

I guess my calculations were a little off, but that's alright with me!

Post-It

 

My life is a series of Post-It notes right now.

They're making millions off of me, honestly.

 

Go buy more books.

Label my books.

Organize my library.

Build bookshelves.

Paint the bookshelves.

Book the florist. 

Pay the jeweler.

Call the trailer guy.

Order save the dates.

Decide on invitations.

 

And the list goes on...

 

I'm getting a little overwhelmed by all the things I have to do this summer. My brain is in constant motion thinking about what is to be done, bought, or paid for. I seriously have about 12 different to-do lists in three different notebooks. And some where in the middle of all those lists, normal life has to continue. I'm beginning to question whether or not I can get everything done in the next two months, and more importantly if I will have the funds to do so. But I know that no matter what, My God will provide.

 

Philippians 4:19

"And my God will meet all your needs according

to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus."

 

 

Jaquarium

I have always wanted to hatch chicks in my classroom.

 

I can remember this being a topic of discussion during Easter dinner several years ago. My family and I sat around my grandmother's dining room table debating the type of incubator I would need and how many I could hatch.

 

While I haven't had the chance to hatch eggs in a classroom of my own yet, I was able to help another classroom full of kids experience the miracle of eggs hatching.

 

A month ago one of my coworkers asked if I could provide her with fertilized eggs. She admitted that she knew nothing about incubating eggs, but she wanted to try because it's something she remembers her teacher doing for her class as a kid.

 

We ordered her an incubator off of EBay since ours was occupied at the time.

It was only $20, and was most definitely a to-go container with a Christmas light stuck in the side. We both laughed hysterically when it arrived because we could have made the same thing ourselves.

(Genius marketing by the company, I should take notes.)  

 

So we set the incubator up, and began the 21 day count down to the hatch date.

Sarah and her "hall buddy" Karri rotated their roles as "momma bird," turning the eggs daily, twice a day, at the same time each day. Incase you didn't know, incubating eggs is truly a science.

 

Yesterday was the 21st day, and we had absolutely no activity. I was preparing Sarah for the reality that our babies may not make it. Then, when I arrived at school this morning Sarah came running down to my door ecstatic because there was a crack in one of the eggs.

 

I checked in on the egg periodically throughout the day, monitoring its progress. I was truly hoping that it would make it so these sweet babies could experience the miracle it truly is. When I left school there was still but a small hole in the top of the egg. Then, not an hour after leaving, I got a phone call from Sarah.

 

I'm pretty sure the conversation went something like this:


"Ahna! It's Sarah. We have a baby chick! He just hatched and he's flopping all over the place! I think he wants out. What do I do? I think he wants to walk on the ground." While trying not to laugh I responded with, "He's fine. He needs to stay in the incubator so that he can dry off. Does he have enough room to lay in the incubator?" To which Sarah said, "Yeah, but he can't stand up. I think he really wants to get out."

 

After reassuring her that the chick would be fine, I hung up the phone.

Ten minutes later I got a picture of the little guy.

 

 

Precious right?

And they've named him Jaquarium.

 

Wait until I tell Daddy that one...

 

Here Comes the Bride

I bought my wedding dress.

Let me say that again.

I BOUGHT MY WEDDING DRESS!

Last Saturday some of my family and I went wedding dress shopping. My mom and I had already "pre-shopped" on Valentine's Day to get an idea of what I liked and didn't like. I wanted to save everyone the hassle of traveling place to place if I didn't find "the one" on our first outing.

So back in February we went to Divine Design Formalwear in Trussville. They were very friendly and so helpful! I had a specific dress in mind, but it had since been discontinued. I tried on several dresses anyway and ended up absolutely falling in love with one. It was nothing like what I originally wanted, but it was absolutely perfect. I wanted my family to help me a make a final decision though, so I chose three dresses that I liked, the one I loved, and told the clerk that I would be back soon with everyone.

And, two months later, we purchased my wedding gown!
  

Surprisingly, no one cried.
Although I suspect there were a few tears shed behind closed doors.

While I can't share a picture of my wedding dress with you, I can share a picture of us from lunch after we purchased my gown.

I am so grateful I was able to share this special day with my mom, my aunt, both my grandmother's, my future mother in law, and my best friend (not pictured). These ladies have watched me grow and have supported me every step of the way.

I am so excited to have them alongside me on the day they play

"Here Comes the Bride."

Oh Baby Baby

Back in March we lost our beloved Wendy to a hawk.

My mom was devastated. My dad was disappointed.

And I was mad.

After losing one of our main egg layers, we decided to incubate some eggs.

About four weeks ago these sweet babies were born.
This picture was taken when they were just four days old.

My cousin is the incubating champ! He incubated six eggs for us with some of my aunt's Swedish eggs as a "trial run" for our Dominickers. Three out of the six eggs made it, and all three hatched!

This next week I plan on incubating a dozen or so more eggs to hatch and sell.

Here's to new babies and new life on the farm!

Busy As a Bee

Wednesday the power at work went out. While this may not affect most businesses, everything we do is based off the internet. Even the phone I answer.
So we shut down for the night.

Which was nice, because for once I was at home with my family on a week night.  

And what better thing to do when you're home than check on the livestock?

My aunt and cousin bought two bee hives last year.

I don't know too much about them yet, but I do know that they don't sting you every chance they get like most people think. They're fairly calm, and a marvel to watch. 

But, sadly, the hives from last year both died. We're not sure exactly what happened, but we're pretty sure it had a lot to do with the wet weather. My cousin was heart broken. And mad. Very mad. He cleaned the hives of what little honey they had created over the summer, and left their empty shells sitting in the yard.

Until about two weeks ago, when he and my aunt bought two more bee colonies.
   

So, since I was off work, Cam and I were able to go out with my cousin to check on the bees. Monday's storms knocked the hive tops off, disturbing the colonies. We thought we had lost our queen bee. Which is pretty serious. Apparently if the queen moves off or dies, the entire colony goes with her. So you need a queen to survive. And a replacement queen is expensive.

So off the hive top went, and out came the combs. Pretty neat, huh? All those little guys are taking pollen off our property to provide enough good stuff for our queen bee to live off of. And to produce the yummy thing we call honey.

I told you they were a marvel to watch.

And good news too! We found both the queens. One in each hive. So no more worries about buying an expensive replacement or losing these new hives.

All is right on Payne Family Farms.

We're just keeping on keeping on, busy as the bees.