It’s well over a month since our last blog. We’ve got lots to catch you up on.
Like Homestead births
Kiki, our most air-headed coop resident, decided it was time to bust the stigma and do the Mum thing for real. Studiously, she stockpiled seven eggs, protecting them fiercely and barely moved off the nest for the three week gestation. We were all becoming a little concerned for her as she became more and more bedraggled in her efforts to incubate herself a family. Sadly, once number one child (who we think may be a hen but the jury’s still out) emerged she was so besotted she lost all big picture thoughts, moved her chick and herself to a swankier address and forgot the other six who never saw the light of day.
On the other side of the driveway, just when we began to wonder whether it was ever going to happen, Miss Marilyn very quietly and unceremoniously delivered Homestead babies three and four. Her mothering techniques are a little haphazard. but Aunties Leia and Geraldine are happy to step in with all bar feeding duties. Speaking of which, we once again have goat milk in our morning coffee…but not too much as Juliet and her unnamed brother still have first dibs.
and Homesteader birthdays
A Disney themed party for The Farmer, complete with a birthday balloon as he so coveted Farm Girl’s one, and a ladies morning tea with pink, flowery cog cake because, at the end of the day, The Goat Herd is an engineer 🙂
The weather has picked up, and with that the seasonal chores just keep popping up. We’re now on the list for the local hay maker (baleage was just a little scary to tackle first up), we’re half way through another round of the perpetual garden clock, the vegetable garden is looking like it may produce something useful soon, we’re exploring affordable house insulation ideas for next winter, and we finally sorted out having the septic tank emptied. How rural-folk are we?!
We even set aside some time to ponder some Sage Words,
a rather hurried affair as our lives have become very busy and our Sage had an overseas jaunt planned.
To Rarotonga, Cook Islands, with the residents of The Kingdom of Melton (West) to celebrate their Queen’s landmark birthday.
A Belated Happy Birthday to our favourite landlady and undisputed monarch
The words mark a collective mindshift for us. No longer are we socially challenged! The way we see it, the word “friends” has become a little sullied. Real friends aren’t measured in facebook likes or party invitations; it’s a quality rather than a quantity thing and just lately it’s become very apparent that we on the Homestead are hugely blessed with that select bunch of folk we move through our lives with.
Union Homestead 
Excellent Sage Words, thank you for the catch up.
Thank you for always taking the time to comment – and so kindly 😊
Hear, hear for your definition of friends! Lovely birthday celebrations. And did I spy a Tardis t-shirt? 😉
The Doctor is never far away …s/he’s a closet Homesteader😁
Tee-hee!
I liked the look of those goats. What charmers.
We’re very happy to have a little colour in the flock now 🐃
Congrats on all the new life springing up in your neck of the woods! Too bad about the hen leaving her clutch so quickly like that, maybe she’ll do better another time? I dunno though, seems to me some are good at the mothering thing and some aren’t.
Glad Farmer got his balloon, and I love the cog cake for the Engineer/Goat Herd. And the new Doctor is a she isn’t she? I will have to whisper this very quietly but (I have only ever watched one episode of Dr Who).
What or who was baby #2? Do any of the sheep have expectations? Speaking of…
I have just finished a book that I think you would rather enjoy, though with spring and summer upon you with all the outside work that entails, perhaps you’ll need to put this on your list for the winter…Sheepish- by Catherine Friend. https://www.catherinefriend.com/books_adults/bk_sheepish.html. Probaby a bit coals to Newcastle suggesting a book about sheep to someone who lives in farming country in NZ, but small scale women farmers, that’s a different “spin”, right?
Will definitely seek out the book for when the nights get a bit longer. The number one thing I do know about sheep is how different they are to goats! Number 1 baby was our sheep Eleanor’s lamb, two was Kiki’s chick, and then the goats.
I think Kiki is just not the motherly type. She is the lady who begun the incubation of every Homestead clutch, but quickly lost interest and another hen would step in. This time she almost made it!
Yes, the new Doctor us a lady…divided opinion about this on the Homestead…hmmm…😊
Belated happy Birthdays all round from me! So glad for the catch-up. I missed you but assumed you were a little busy!
Thanks, its nice to be missed😊
🙂
Hi, Yes, you know you are growing in social confidence when you are no longer worried about what others think of you.
I look forward to more young offspring images over the next few months.
Social confidence is so closely linked with self confidence, though, and that can be fragile at times 😊