Willow Farm

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I have a teenager...

Elle (standing at the TV): "Mama, can I watch a movie?"
Me (sitting in chair with laptop, emailing): "Sure, just a second."
Elle: "sigh... I just reeaaallllly want someone to watch a movie with me."
Me: "I'm almost done, just a minute."
Elle: (very audible sigh, now with a movie picked out in hand) "I just REALLLLY want to watch this movie"
Me: (with a bit of agitation in voice) "Elle, I said you could, just wait a minute..."
Elle: (with back turned to me, under her breath...) "Okay....stop freaking out..."

ARGHHHH!!!! She is barely THREE years old! =) Maybe she is just getting this out of the way early and when she's a teenager she'll be super respectful and agreeable.... =)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Accidental Chicken Integration

We accidently integrated the pullets (sort of like teenage chickens) with the full grown chickens this weekend. (ie: the door fell off! Yet another repair project...) It was a major concern at first because the bigger chickens will literally try and peck the littler ones to death. It worked out okay though, I think because 1. the pullets haven't had their wings clipped yet and can fly. 2. there are 26 pullets and only 13 hens. and 3. they have the whole yard to roam and have their own space... it seems to be a much bigger problem when they are confined in an area or chicken house when the integration occurs.

It was clear to see that there is one Road Island Red hen that is the "rule of the roost", she immediately sough out each of those pullets to show them who was boss and they all learned well to stay out of her way IMMEDIATELY.. Now they are all happily getting to be outside together, which makes my job SO much easier... I was having to let one group out for the first part of the day and then round them all up and let the second group out for the last part of the day...

The lighting in these pic's sort of makes them look old fashioned... I like it...

Ode to Goggles..May these pictures make your day...

Burfoot Park, Olympia WA

What a gorgeous day! I took the kids via bike trailor to Burfoot Park. It was so nice and warm, hardley anyone was there since it was early afternoon.

Didn't take long for Elle to get in the water.

Much better than the sand and rocks he was just

"chewing on"!

Picinic lunch...

I just liked this photo... =)

I LOVE warm days in Washington!!!

Widening the bridge

Our driveway has a really narrow "bridge" (really a culvert) over a ceek to get to our house. It was a TIGHT squeeze for all the big trucks when we were building our house. We thought we were in the clear, not having to cut/remove any fencing along the sides of it...until the VERY LAST truck that brought our flooring! He couldn't make it through so we had to cut and lay 4x12s for him to get accross... so anyway... Here is Michael and Elle putting in an I beam to widen the crossing and make it a much easier manouver to get to our house... which I am sure if a fire truck were ever needed...is a very good thing!

A man and his shovel....

Play time with cousin Bella

Elle: "Do you want to dance with me?"

Bella danceing...perfect form...

Nice arm spread... good focus...

Elle dancing... rolling on the floor...

Snorting like a pig...

oh... the little angel....

Monday, May 3, 2010

Egg Info

The difference between eggs from pasture raised chickens and factory raised chickens? See this article.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The shanty shack!

We moved the meat chickens into the field today. Just one month until butchering! They need to get their fill of yummy grass! I really have no idea what I am doing, I hope they are warm enough, I put the heat lamp in there and a box, we made a wind barrior and roof over part of it. Plus the grass is so tall, it should act as a wind barrior and insulation too...maybe??? anyway, we'll see how huddled together they are in a bit. We used all scap wood we had laying around...not the most cosmetically appealing thing we've ever built, but as long as it keeps them in and predators out and keeps them warm enough (out of the wind), it should be fine. =)

I really hope the butchering works out (ie: I am not tramatized by it!) because we have done all the work of getting things set up for these 25 birds (well 23 now, we lost two) it will be much easier to do again. It is a lot of time though...feeding twice a day, new water in two waterers twice a day, new sawdust when they were in the stall in the barn...etc... But if we started later in the summer when it was warmer out, we could probably just have them in the field the whole time and that would be way easier...a great experiance if nothing else! =)

Friday, April 30, 2010

Homemade Lotion

I have been searching and experimenting with a lot of different homemade lotion recipes and finally tweaked enough of them to create one that I like the best and is really easy to make with things I regularly already have.
First I will tell you how I made mine and then if you want to read below about some other options/info/what I learned by default etc... continue on below...

Ingrediants:

2 Tablespoons of small peices of beeswax

1/3 Cup of Sunflower Oil

1/8 teaspoon Borax

1/4 Cup distilled water

8+/- drops of essential oil (I love using Organic Peppermint.)

Directions:

Pour the oil into a microwave safe container (I use the Pyrex liquid measureing cup) and add the beeswax. Heat in the microwave for about 35 seconds, stir, heat 35 seconds, stir, etc.. until wax is all disolved. You will have a yellowish liquid that is HOT but not boiling.

Then in a SEPARATE microwave safe container combine the borax and water. Heat in microwave to boiling. (it's not much so about a minute)

Then while stiring the oil mix with a wisk, or fork, pour the water mixture into the oil/beeswax. (This is fun for kids...maybe a good chemistry lesson... the clear water and yellowish oil, turn white as they mix)

Continue stiring until it is all combined. It will thicken as it cools. When it is cool to the touch you can add your essential oil and transfer it to a container. The Borax acts as a preservative, so it should keep well. Mine has never not been used before 2 months end, so I can't personally atest to how long it will keep, but I have read about a year.

To make the container above it took about 5 minutes to make and about 5 to cool before putting it in the container, and my hands are OILY! Elle is covered in head to toe... she enjoys "cleaning the bowl" when we make lotion just about as much as she does when we make cookies!

Okay... so here are some things I learned and experimented with...
1. If you want more of a salve (like what you may want to keep in a tin...won't work in a pump bottle) use more beeswax.
2. Of all the oils I tried I liked sunflower the best for 2 reasons... it was less oily on my skin (rubbed in better) and didn't have a strong sent that overpowered the oil scent I was actually wanting it to smell like. But you can use any kind of cooking oil. I tried Olive oil, Avacodo Oil (VERY oily!), Grapeseed Oil (strong smell), and Seasame Oil (also strong smell and more oily). I didn't have Canola Oil, but that would work too and probably be your cheapest option. (Probably a little more oily that Olive oil). If you or someone who will be using the lotion is alergic to nuts, don't use a nut based oil... like peanut, seaseme, etc...
3. If you don't have a container you can just put it in a ziplock bag. And if you do have a container but no funnel small enough to get the mixture into it, I use a plastic sandwhich bag and put it in there and cut a bottom corner off and squeeze it through there into the container. (This also works great for homemade frosting decorating cookies or cakes or gingerbread houses!)
4. Vitamin E is also a preservative rather than the Borax and you could mix it at the time you mix the essential oil in.
5. Instead of essential oil, you can use cooking extract... like vanilla extract... This would be considerably cheaper...but just keep in mind that you will end up with a vanilla scent.
6. Cocoa butter or coconut oil can be used as half of your oil (ex: 1/4 cup sunflower oil, 1/4 cup cocoa butter). I tried with the coconut oil and it was more oily and again, I LOVE my peppermint and that scent didn't mix well with coconut. But this would be great if you wanted a more tropical scent... it really wasn't too much more oily. This would be my #2 choice.
7. I tried using some powdered goat milk in a batch... I tried adding it after the water and oil was blended and it separated the two. Then I made another batch and added it with the oil and beeswax part way through the microwave process and it worked well. This made it a bit thicker...may not work through a pump bottle... also slighly changed the smell...needed a bit more scented oil to cover it up.
8. DO NOT use fragrances designed for candel making! These are not designed to be absorbed by the skin and may contain harmful ingrediants!
9. You can add colorant if you wish. I never did... if you want to, add it when you add the essential oil.
10. You can also do these steps on a stove top if you don't have/want to use a microwave... it will take longer.

I purchased my bottles and powdered goat milk from http://www.soapgoods.com/. It's a really great site for buying stuff for soap making/lotions, etc..( I have no affilation with them...) The Borax is in the laundry soap isle in the grocery store... and you'll already have it if you've made my homemade laundry soap recipe! =) (see penny pinching section for that recipe) I think that's it! Feel free to ask if you have any quesitons. Or SHARE if you have helpful hints/tips or a better recipe you've discovered!
I enjoy knowing what is in what goes on my/my kids skin (and absorbed into our bodies) daily and it is also certainly a cheaper alternative than store bought lotions. Enjoy!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Gone Fishing

Elle went fishing for the first time today. We went with Lindsey and Sammy at Benson Lake (near Mason Lake in Shelton). They didn't catch anything, but what a great way to teach being quiet and patient! She said she really liked it. We'll need to find some good spots around Olympia...anyone know any??