Lakenvalders

We are so excited to have pure bred Registered Lakenvalders.We have Pearl and Margaret
Sadly the rooster got out and was killed but we are currently looking for a new one and this spring we will hopefully be hatching out little babies.
Lakenvalders are show quality birds, they are extremely rare and extremely beautiful and we can't wait to have some little chicks to offer to the public, so stayed tun

Tulip the Explorer

We love Tulip, we definitely love it when we find her awake and can get her out to play. She was extremely curious this particular day, and loved to explore our bookcase (this was taken at the house in Tyler)
Oh, she seems to sense our presence
oh she has found something
it was so much fun to watch her do this. When hedgehogs find a smell they like, they twist and lick their quills whic results in a foam building up on her quills, I can't remember what it is called but it is fun to watch
man, what would it be like to be able to lick your own back?

Our Creative Kitten Hermini

We got the cutest new little kitten last month. Since moving we left behind all of Oreos friends and we felt like he might be lonely so we were thrilled to find this little girl for free. We called her Hermini (After the Harry Potter Character, even though that is probably not how her name is spelled). Hermini is so sweet and loves to jump up into our laps to be cuddled, she is also very playful, it is always fun to see just what will interest her next.

I have to admit though, I was getting rather concerned. We decided we would feed and water her in Little D's Bathroom, which is where we would put her litter box, except she wasn't eating or drinking and her litter box was empty--was she sick?

Turns out, she was being creative. Late one night I snuck into Little D's room to feed Tulip (the hedgehog) and as I walked out I witnessed something I wouldn't have believed had I not seen it myself, at which point I ran to the fetch the Camera cause I knew I needed proof, so here it is:

Hermini wasn't bothering to eat her own food because Tulips (which may I note is the exact same food) tasted better, so she would hop into Tulips cage and share with her. Turns out she has also been using Tulips litter box--who knew?

Look at our State Fair Ribbons

i have to admit, I was kind of excited to turn in some Jars to the East Texas State Fair in September to be judged, and yeah it was kind of disappointing to find that I got an honorable mention on my beans even though I was the only one who submitted them, but after talking to one of the ladies that was over the judges I learned a lot to help me next time when I enter. She also stated that I should have told them I was a first time canner and they wouldn't have been so hard on me, but then again I wanted to learn how to improve and if they weren't hard on me I wouldn't have done that, so here are some pics I took while I was there of the ribbons I got.

This is one of my pinto beans
My Carrots got 3rd place cause I didn't pack them tight enough (which I actually did on purpose so that I don't mind)
of both my carots and pinto beans, they were the only ones entered in either class (not much of a turn out this year for canned goods)
My onions got an honorable mention because I didn't pack them tight enough, but that is alright with me.
My Salsa did win a third place, I was so super thrilled!!!! Again, this was my first year of canning, and I did do most of it by myself (with some help from John, I did also get some help with the pinto beans from friends) it was also my very first time using a pressure caner so I was just excited when all the jars sealed, when it comes down to it, I think that is what matters most. As continue to can I will be able to betterperfect the technique and one day I looked forward to getting a first place ribbon

WE would like you to meet our new 'little' pride and joy 'Cookie'. She is a Nigerian Dwarf (go figure, we like our rabbits big and our goats small).

and this is her pride and joy....C.C. (AKA Chocolate Chip)
and this is their 'temporary' pen that they share with the chickens and guineas, they all seem to get a long just fine
isn't C.C. a cutie

food+babies=good photos

look how big they are getting.and they are starting to act like siblings 'no, my food, you can't have any'
still on the run, and boy it is hard to get them to sit still long enough to get their photos
don't you love Mira's pretty bow

Luckily they do slow down to eat a bit--and that is how the picture to a few of our business cards came to be

New babies

I have to announce that Prince and Snow white had 7 babies, sadly only 4 survived (it is a long story, for some reason they kept getting out of the pen and for that reason the 4 of them and momma ended up spending a month or so in our bedroom so we could keep a better eye on them.momma doesn't know what to think about living in our bedrooms, but I don't think she minded much
the babies sure didn't