Meet Taz!

The Moo girls here on the Backwards Homestead are very happy these days! They are entertaining a handsome bull and they are all trying to catch his eye!. We were a bit nervous about having a bull here on the farm after the craziness that was MooGurgles! He kept us all wondering when he was going to break out and chase us across the farm! Buckets died, and fences suffered under his tyranny! He made beautiful babies, but he was ruthless!
But when we went to pick up Renee and SweetPea we talked to Sara and Earl about their bull Taz. He is beautiful, and seemed to be much calmer than our last experience. I was still nervous..But, we have several girls, who need a man..
So, what do we do? We borrowed them a man. Meet Taz!

Sara and Earl delivered him yesterday, and the girls were so excited. Especially Ellie, although I am not sure how it went since she was actually AI'd on Wednesday. but, then came in full bellowing, standing heat on Friday morning. So, we shall see! Either way, Flossie, and SweetPea are still open and he looks like he is just the bull to do the job! WooHoo! Let there be calves!

Taz and Ellie

 Here is is with Ellie, they  seemed to hit it off, even if they did have to engage in a bit of head butting at first!
Of course, as calm as he seems, we must remember, as we do with ALL livestock, to be very careful. Always respect the fact that they can change in an instant, and are very large! Luckily, Taz is very calm tempered, and has been a wonderful guest! We are really enjoying having him here on the Backwards Homestead.

Taz Keeping watch over the girls

He sure looks smug here in this picture! Even though he is usually with way more girls, he seemed really happy to be here!







Bae was a bit unsure about the new visitor, lol At first he was trying to run him off, but Taz was unfazed..He was like what'ev!

Bae says "WHAT?!?!"

" HELLO!!! We have ENOUGH cows!!"







 But since he actually likes the cows, it wasn't long before they were all grazing together. I guess he thought he had to check him out, and Taz wanted no part of the whole deal! He had a job to do!

Pigs...are unconcerned

Wilbur and Charlotte were not the least bit impressed. Wilbur was too busy trying to get through the fence to visit with Charlotte..She was busy laying by the fence to give him inspiration. Ugh..Pigs!
As an ending note, here is a video of Sweet Pea and Renee running to supper. Not the best, and ignore the constant clanging of the gate, lol I initially made the video to show Sweet Peas LONG moo that she belts out when you call her to supper!

So, there you go, that was my yesterday. Today...I have 10 dozen ears of corn I need to do, plus grapes to pick! So I better get busy! Leave a comment to let me know you were here if you like! :)
**Again, Shout out to Sara and Earl for loaning us their amazing bull! You guys are the best!**

Farm Living Is The Life For Me!

Spring has finally sprung here on the backwards Homestead! Goodness know we are SO ready to put all the winter garb away and have a little green instead of snowy white! Even the animals are Happy Happy Happy!

YIPEEE!

Sun!!

Miley says spring calls for belly rubs!

Brandy must be thinking about something serious!

Loving this warmer weather!

Kitty darts out the door every chance she gets to come out with me and lay in the grass, lol She absolutely loves the outdoors. I think I am the same way! Doing my inside chores is way more boring than being outside any day!  I mean, dishes....or go plant something?!?!  We all know what is going to win, right?

King Blu!

Blu thinks sun is just the bestest! This was before his spring trim, and he was looking pretty shaggy!

What is going ON over there!?

 Clara Belle is such a pretty girl! Her ears say something has her interest, and I bet she goes to check it out! I figure she is looking for Flossie! She has NOT been happy that her friend has been on maternity leave!

This water really hits the spot!

Baelfire is growing So much! Here he is taking his long peaceful drink after his breakfast. He REALLY savors his water, lol We are all making bets about the color that is hiding under all that baby fuzz! Any guesses?

Hey! Mom! Mom! What are you eating over there?

Here is ELMER! He is so cute! I love this picture, even if there is a poo pile in the back there, but you know, such is the farm life! This little guy, is a fireball! He is never still, and has an attitude way bigger than he needs! I mean, look! Can you see all that majesty and self confidence stuffed into one little calf body!

YUMMY!

Here chicky chicky! This is part of our clean up crew. They go behind all the messy eaters and cut down on the waste ratio, LOL!

Hey! Scoot OVER!!

Here is Charlotte and her latest crew! These guys are just adorable! They are also quite piggy! They are 8 weeks old and ready to be weaned and move on to a pig pen of their very own!
The trees and flowers are also blooming and it smells so nice! I LOVE the smell of an apple tree in full bloom! Amazing! Here is one of our trees that is loaded with blossoms. I sure how we do NOT have a late freeze! The last two years we have not had any apples as the blooms were killed by freezy weather!

Lets hope we have a great apple year!

Wisteria

My wisteria is starting to reach for the sky! These are one of my favorite flowers and I am hoping it will travel along this fence and cover it with beautiful cascades of flowers! This is the third year it has been here on the farm, so hopefully this will be a big growth year!

Yep! Spring is HERE!

Grape Hyacinths! They are the sure sign that spring has finally arrived! So pretty! And LOOK! The lilacs are blooming too! Oh me! I LOVE LOVE LOVE lilacs!

You see it? Up there, in the top of the bush! Blooms!

I swear I absolutely love my life here in the boonies. It is just the perfect place for me. I love the lifestyle, as frustrating as it can be to maintain. I cannot imagine my life being any different than what I have right now. We still have some hard decisions to make, and some serious changes will have to happen so we can return our farm to the contributing asset that it is meant to be! We have let things get away from us, and it is time to buckle down and make our original vision a reality! 

Sometimes life happens. Sometimes we have a moment where we lose sight of what is important. Emotionally things have been tough, and I have been tested. My faith, my strength and my courage have all taken a beating. Between the farm, the kids moving, and the decline of my Mom with Alzheimers, the year has been a rough one. But with all of that, I choose to try and look upward, and forward. Many many blessings have been given to me and my family as well! So many things that I look to God with sincere thanks!  I pray that I can look to the positive, and pull myself out of this funk! As they say, it is all in the perspective! 

With that said, I promise that big things are going to happen here on the Backwards Homestead! Just wait and see! 

Of course I will be putting it all on here so you guys can take the journey with us! So keep checking back, and leave a comment or two so I know you have stopped by!

We Are Still Here!

Whew!! Things have been so busy here at the Backwards Homestead! I thought when summer came to a close that things would be slower. It seems that it has not been like that at all! If anything it has been even crazier!
First off, Lee and Cayce bought a home of their very own! I know right? When did Lee even get old enough to do such a thing? The house is only a very short distance from ours, it even connects to our property. I will say that it was quite the ordeal as there were many hurtles to jump, and several issues that needed to be unraveled. But, it finally happened and with a little elbow grease, and a lot of teamwork it has come together.  Now they are moved in and happy as two bugs in a rug! Here are a few pictures, Yay! These are Cayces' pictures, which I snitched off her facebook, lol THAT is why there are none of her included. I MUST make them take a good picture in front of the house soon!

Here is the house!

Beautiful painting done by Lee and Cayce,

First supper in their new home! Yummy!!

Jayne is feeling right at home!

 We even captured a very rare picture. I think it is called: "Man Mopping" 

Look at Lee go!

We have also gotten a new addition to the Backwards Homestead! Katrina and Joy now have a new little colt named Baelfire. We call him Bae, and he is a real sweetheart. He is about 6 months old, so just a little sprout!

Yummy Grass!

Ciskgo is not too sure about the new baby!

Bae was trying to be friendly, but they were having no part of it!

He has already grown a lot, and is doing great. I think he will make an awesome addition to the farm. I know the girls are just crazy about him already. He has even captured my heart with his big brown eyes and total fuzziness!
As a quick catch up we have also:

Bought some turkeys!

Gotta Love a sale!

Made delicious ham broth and turkey stock!

So pretty!

Canned some Cabbage soup! Which I might say, was not a good idea. After canning it tastes SOO strong..Boo!! Very disappointed!

Soup!

And even canned some venison!

Mmmm!

Well, not too much of an update, but I hope that it at least fills in some of the blanks of how things have been going here on the farm.
I am planning a few posts in the near future that will be a bit longer, lol  Please, comment below with any comments, or just a note to let me know you were here!