Getting Ready for Winter

I hope you had a fun Fall Break!

We got some work done around the farm during Fall Break. We have to clean the barn every fall. Barns always get messy and dusty. We bought 200 bales of hay, which should last us most of the winter. We use about 35-40 bales every month. 200 bales is about 5 months worth of hay.

What month will it be 5 months from now?

There are 84 bales of hay on the trailer.
There are more hay bales inside the barn.

Mice always live in barns. I usually don't see many until we clean.
The places where the mice like to hide are disturbed when we move boxes,
throw away trash, sweep, and tidy up the barn.
Then they come out of their hiding places and I see them.
Mice are cute, but they carry disease, they chew holes in things, and they make a big mess.

We also use people's old food storage to feed the animals. Goats and other farm animals are a little bit like people. Some food they like, and some foods they don't like.


They love old noodles! It was so much fun to hear all their crunchings and munchings!

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Quin and Xander were here last weekend. Their dad built us a nice wood shed on the side of our storage shed. They also got to sleep overnight, which is always fun for me!

We have a very big wood pile from a few weeks ago when we cut down the trees.
We'll burn the wood in our wood stove when it's very cold outside, and we'll use it when we go camping next year.

It's all done and we moved some of the wood into the shed.

You might think that since it's open on one side it will get full of snow so the wood will get wet. The wind and snow blow from the north. The shed opens on the south so the wind and snow will hit the other side of the shed. This side should stay out of the wind and weather.

We stack the wood on pallets so the logs stay off the ground. Wood gets wet and attracts bugs if it sits on dirt. Wood doesn't burn well if it's wet. I don't want to bring bugs in the house, either.

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The boys help with chores when they sleep overnight.
Xander isn't afraid of Loki so he helps feed the calf.

Quin loves Lucy, the chicken.

Lucy is one patient hen!
She lets everyone hold her.

Quin and Xander help feed the chickens, too.
Look closely at the chicken's back.

This chicken's back looks almost the same.
It looks like someone cut her feathers off with a pair of clippers!

A few weeks ago I told you the chickens were molting. They were loosing their summer feathers and getting new feathers for winter. These chickens lost a lot of their feathers! This is what it looks like when their new feathers are growing in.

We were given some new chickens.
They will live in the back of the cage for a few days until they
realize that this is their new home.

The other chickens have to get used to them, too. The chickens can get to know each other through the cage wall, then when they recognize each other as friends I can let the new chickens out to run around the barnyard.

Our friends also gave us their turkey hen.
She is very friendly so we will keep her for a long time.

Sometimes I put eggs in my pocket when I'm doing chores.
My head gets thinking about other things and then I forget there are eggs in my pocket.
Time to wash my coat!

I'm so happy to show you that the geese like me!



The geese aren't afraid of people unless someone runs after them. If you run after an animal, they run away.

There are always snacks on the farm.
Quin likes cookies and cocoa after he helps with chores.

Do you help with chores at your house?

What things are you doing in your yard and house to get ready for winter?

Do you think you could work hard enough to live on a farm?

Remember to 

Do something kind 

for someone else

every day!