What We've Been Doing

Things are a little hectic on the farm these days. Winter would not let go when we wanted it to and the chicks arrived before the snow was gone. Half of the birds are not where we want them to be. The ducks are in a tote in the kitchen and the new layers are in the broilers "new" coop.

We started the spring the six new layers in a box in the kitchen. We purchased six new ones because we lost a few chickens over the winter; one due to illness and another due to what we think was a birth defect, plus the original Rhode Island Reds are not laying as well. Recently we put the six new chicks where the broilers will be. 

The Broilers also arrived (and spent a brief two weeks in the kitchen) but have since been moved out the brood box in the barn. They will be ready for processing in less than two months.

The Coop Plan for this year: last years turkey coop will become this years layer coop. There are a few modifications that need to be made to the coop. Dad will make a man door and devise a way to add boxes for the chickens to lay eggs in. The fencing will be re-organized to make the turkey yard and most of the current chicken yard into one large yard. Moving the fencing will make the old chicken yard smaller so that the broilers can have a small outdoor space, but not so large that they won't gain the muscle weight required for a meat bird. We are hoping that with an outdoor space to run in the broilers will have larger drumsticks and thighs.

We have ducklings in the kitchen that will hopefully be moved to the blueberry bushes (so they are fenced in) before they are moved to the brood pen in preparation for taking over the pond. And what will happen to the current ducks? We are replacing them. We want friendly ducks, and the two in the pond are not friendly. We've been handling the ducklings a lot and it seems to be working. 

Thankfully we are waiting to get turkeys until summer, because some fencing still needs to repaired, purchased, and put up. 

In addition to all that going on. Dad bred two rabbits and a bunny (for those who don't know around here rabbits are food and bunnies are pets) so in a few short weeks we should have cute fuzzy things!

Not to mention that the garden is finally free of snow!

I have been knitting like a woman possessed. I decided that I would knit Stomper and Our Sweetie matching vests for Easter. The Saturday night before Easter found me weaving in ends. I cannot believe I finished them! In between knitting the two vests I've been working on a test knit. They are this really beautiful pair of fingerless gloves The gloves feature a cable that starts on the forearm and winds around to the top of the wrist. It's really neat. I was able to knit one before I had to set them aside to finish the vests. I will post pictures as soon as I can find a model.

For April vacation we have the teenagers. It was great to have them around for Mimi's annual Easter Egg Hunt. This year she prepared, and Jason and his brother-in-law hid, 300 eggs. The kids had a blast finding them.

Hope your spring is going well too!

Like a Lion

"March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb", that's what the old proverb says. I am hoping that it is true. About a foot fell over the past twenty-four hours. The snow covers most of the blueberry bushes and the five foot fence. We didn't last long outside. The snow is too deep and fluffy to do much with it and the wind turned our cheeks rosy. Stomper got a kick out of touching the roof of the house. The snow falling off the roof has made quite a pile.

Saturday we are hosting an Open House at the Farm. If you live local, stop by!

Around Here

The camera batteries died and I refuse to buy more when I know that the charger for them is somewhere in the mess I call my room. So, I have no "proof" of what we've been up to, you'll just have to take my word for it.

I finished a sweater for Stomper's Build-A-Bear puppy he named Charlie. His response: "No like it Mommy. Too little." Which it wasn't, the sweater was actually a little too big. It looks really cute on Charlie, but Stomper doesn't like it. (As I was writing this he came downstairs with Charlie and the sweater and told me that Charlie was cold and asked that I put it on. Made this Mommy very happy)

Finished a sweater for Our Sweetie too. A small shrug for this spring and summer. It's very cute. I don't really like the yarn though. It's knit picks swish and find that the yarn is too stretchy. It doesn't make a firm fabric. I'm trying out Cascade 220 sport weight to see if I like that better.

For Easter I am making Stomper and Our Sweetie Milo vests. His will be blue and hers will be green. I have wanted to make this vest for a long time and I am very excited. I am also going to be starting a test knit soon, not sure how much I will be allowed to tell you about it. The test knit is something for me.

Our Sweetie just keep growing! It's hard to believe that she's five months already! Still no word on how long we will have her. We have been greatly enjoying all the smiles and belly laughs she gives us.

Stomper is a great big brother and wants to help more than he is able. He likes listening to music, dancing, reading, and playing with his new Jake and the Neverland Pirates "Tree House" that he bought with his own money. He had some Christmas money and a piggy bank full of change that he has been collecting off of Jason. When we took it to the bank to have it counted I thought it would be $20.00 or so. Nope. He had over $40.00 saved up (he had been saving for over a year) so he was able to buy the "Tree House" and two packages of friends. He's been playing with it every day for a week, so it was a good purchase for him.

We have a busy week-end ahead of us. We have an open house at the farm and hopefully some sap boiling. Before the open house we are going to get dumped on with about a foot of snow. Should make things interesting. My parents will be picking up a few chicks (assuming they come in to Tractor Supply) to have for the open house. They will be living in our part of the house until the coop is free. Should prove to be interesting.

I've been hit with a cold and/or allergies. Either way I find myself sitting down with my "Dragon" often to receive nebulizer treatments. Which means that I've been reading quite a bit. I just finished off Unsouled. I don't like how the author left the book, it wraps everything up in a bow, but one that could open up a whole new book. I hope he writes another one. As soon as I can get to the library I will be finishing the Maze Runner series. After that I don't know what to read. 

Other than pining for green grass that's what we've been up to.

Hamberg Family Farm Open House

March 15 11am-4pm

Hamberg Family Farm Open House

* Bonfire * 

* Sap Boiling * 

* Coop Tours *

Bring the whole Family

Come and learn how we feed and handle our poultry. Tour our coop and discover why small scale flocks produce better tasting meat and eggs. 

Taste test the difference! We will be making soup out of a store chicken and one from our farm.

We have a big back yard to play in, so bring your snow gear kids!

Reserve Whole Chickens (ready early summer) and Fall Turkeys with deposit. For more information contact us through facebook: Hambergfamilyfarm

In this Moment :: Love

I've been thinking a lot about love and mothering lately. I don't have any concrete thoughts that would translate well, so I've made a list. 

This is what I have been trying to do

• Get up before them
• That means I set my alarm for 6:30, get up to it, and take a shower. If I'm lucky I might even be able to start the coffee (or warm up yesterdays). If I'm really, really lucky I might be able to have a morning chat with my mom with no little ones hanging off me.
• Remember to love them with God's love
• This means my agenda is their agenda. My children are more important than: laundry, dishes, clean laundry, made beds, folded laundry, and my knitting. 
• This also means I often chant "He's only three. He's only three."
• Lower my expectations for his behavior. He's had a rough winter with teenagers living in his house for a couple of months and now a little sister that takes up all of Mommy's time.
• Remember that God sacrificed everything to me and loves me unconditionally.
• Shut off the screen
• We have a new rule since the beginning of the year. TV's and computers are for "dark" in this house. Unless we are watching something together.
• Shutting off the screen has been a tremendous help. I still slip up sometimes, but I'm getting better.

These are things I want to do more 

• Read my Bible.
• Seriously, I can spend how many hours playing stupid games on Facebook, but have no time for God? How lame am I?
• Listen to the Sermon on-line. (Bean's Corner Sunday Morning Sermon)
• Often on Sunday morning I am busy chasing Stomper, teaching in a class, or caring for Our Sweetie so I don't often hear the sermon. 
• Especially right now I think this is important because Ira is teaching on love, I need to hear these messages!
• Spend time one-on-one with Stomper -- every day
• I miss him sometimes. Tuesday we have visits locally and I leave in the morning, but I don't see him until after nap. Then he goes to his Mimi's on Wednesday nights so I don't see him until supper on Thursday. I miss my boy.
• Include Stomper in my daily activities
• Yes, having a three year old do your dishes is effective, but time consuming. I think if I let him help me more we'd have better weeks.

That's what's been rolling around in my head.

All-in-all what I want is to know that my children feel loved. Jason assures me that I am a wonderful mother, the best actually, but I always feel like I've really blown it at times. I know that feeling like you're failing is natural and normal, but I'd like to feel it less often. I'd like to know that I am doing my best, and I don't feel like I am.

I do know that mothering is a learning process and I won't ever be perfect.

Thankfully God loves me despite my imperfections.

Snow

I snuck these photos of Stomper playing with Grandma through the window of the kitchen. The window you can see him standing in is at least four feet off the ground, probably more. Some of the snow is from off the roof. Its a lot of snow. The five foot picketed fence is buried and we can step over the five foot turkey fence easily.

Every time I send him out to play with the school kids he fights me. Every time. In the third photo I put my cowl on him and told him "I am wrapping you in this, its like I'm wrapping you up in my love and I will be out there with you." He still continued to cry while I dressed him, so my ploy didn't work. However, the next time he went out while our Sweetie and I had an appointment I was told  he insisted on wearing it again, so maybe he liked the thought of me being with him after all. Who knows? I certainly can't figure him out. It should be noted that he ALSO fights coming back inside. I think he just hates getting dressed. I don't blame him, its a lot of bulk!

We are trying to enjoy the snow, but wouldn't hate the spring if it came a bit early.

Tweedy Owl to Pink Bunny

I started with the pattern that made Stomper's Owl Hat and wound up with a cute little Bunny Hat for Our Sweetie.

The first noticeable mods I made were to knit it flat in garter stitch and omit the ear flaps. I have found that attempting to tie anything under her double chin is impossible and not worth the effort. Instead of ear flaps I knit five rows of rib. In retrospect I should have knit it from the bottom up, but hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it? Here is the list of mods I made if you too want to make your little one a Bunny Hat like Our Sweeties.

1. Knit in garter stitch either by knitting it flat or in the round by knitting one row and purling the next for the same length as given in the pattern.
2. Knit a 1x1 rib in one needle size smaller than you use for the garter and knit it for five rows (either knit the rib first or last, but do not include the rib when you measure for the inches to knit)
3. Omit the ear flaps.

Ears: (The ears in Tumble Bunnies was my inspiration)

This is where I get a little tricky.

1. Fold hat in half.
2. On either side --both front and back --  slip six stitches on to waste yarn for 12 stitches total on each side.
3. Stitch hat closed.
4. [Use US Size 4 DPN] With hat flat split the six stitches on the left hand side in the middle, the slip the right hand three on to one needle (needle #1) and the left hand three onto another (needle #2). Slip the next three stitches from the back six on to the right hand needle  (needle #1) and the other three to the left hand needle (needle #2) Totally confused? Your needles should be going across the hat forming a T at the very end.
5. With needles parallel get ready to start you ear.
6. Knit the first stitch off the needle closest to you (needle #1) then the first stitch off needle #2. [The object here is to close the hole]. Continue to knit a stitch off needle #1 and then needle #2 until all 12 stitches are on one needle.
7. Start the Ear Pattern

Ear Pattern (use US Size 4 needle)

Knit across 12 stitches
Row 1: sl1, k1, kfb, knit to last three stitches, kfb, k2 sts (14 stitches)
Row 2: Repeat Row 1 (16 stitches)
Knit until Ear is 2.5 inches long (or desired length)
*sl1, k1, k2tog, knit to end* repeat this row until 4 stitches remain
k2tog, k2tog
cut yarn leaving 6inch tail, thread unto needle and run needle through last two stitches and pull tight. Tie knot, fray ends of yarn and trim to desired length. [I tied a knot by making one end a loop so that I wound up with three ends]

Sew bottom sides of ear together.

Make eyes as explained in hat pattern and turn beak upside down to make a nose. Or get lazy and cut them out of felt like I did.

Questions? Feel free to ask!

Yarn Along :: Nearly Finished

~Knitting and reading two of my favorite activities. Today I join Ginny and a host of other knitters and readers to share what we have been reading and knitting. How about you? Care to join us?~

Finished (or will be soon)

Slippers for Stomper - these have been a labor of love. As I said on my projects page, I am blaming the yarn. And not because I'm a bad carpenter. I really do believe that the yarn doesn't have enough give. Live and learn. I will knit these slippers again, but with the correct yarn. I finished the cuff in a 2x2 rib. The foot construction was really interesting and I like how it looks.

Ribbed Hat for my brother - I used up a whole skein of yarn for the body of the hat (I held the yarn double) I wanted to make sure that he had plenty to fold over and keep his ears warm. I think it might be a wee bit too big, but he can fold it up and no one will know.

With some major modifications I turned an Owl Hat into a Bunny Hat for Our Sweetie. I wish I could show you how super cute she looks in it! I think I will add some whiskers just to give it a final touch. I will post better run down of the mods tomorrow.

Odd Thomas - Forever Odd - This book series is amazing. I love the voice of the main character. The story is told from first person point of view and the way it is written holds my attention and makes me chuckle.

"I shrugged out of my backpack and rummaged in it for an Evian bottle. the water wasn't cold but tasted delicious.

The plastic bottle did not actually contain Evian. I had filled it at the tap in my kitchen." Odd Thomas in Forever Odd  by Dean Koontz

In Progress

Last night I started The Scorch Trials the second book in the Maze Runner series and almost stayed up too late reading it.

Jason and Stomper started the Children's Illustrated Classic: The Three Musketeers. They read a few pages first thing in the morning all snuggled up together. Made this Mama's heart melt!

Stomper has us reading and rereading toddler how-to and self-help books: Manner Time, Sharing Time, Germs are Not for Sharing,  and Tails are Not for Pulling by Elizabeth Verdick.

Next up for me to knit is a pair of fingerless gloves for my SIL and a test knit that I will probably need to keep secret.

Yarn Along :: Outside

~Joining Ginny for another Yarn Along.~

This is not a true Yarn Along post as there are no book or "In Progress" photos. However, I did knit the hat on his head, the mittens on his hands, and the socks in his boots. All of which work so well he refused to come inside!

I am still working on the book, the slippers, the hat, and shawl from last week. Maybe some finished photos soon!

Before the Storm

When it is warm enough we have afternoon snack outside. We see no sense in being in when it is nice out!

The season may be over, but football training never ends.

I took a few "before" shots, before the next series of snow rolls through.

No, we don't cage the cat. My Mom opened the bunny's cage door (she's wintering in the barn) to give the cats someplace snow free to hang out. Apparently the cat (Hinata) likes pretending to be a bunny.