The ladies, Willow and Bluey, have been giving us 4-6 gallons in the morning and 3-4 gallons in the evenings.  It seems like a lot more than that each day as we spend the time, first cooling, then separating (hoping Santa will bring me a seperator), and then either making butter, ice cream, soup, or cooking with it, and washing it all up.  

I have never seen the Northern Lights from my home before.  However we had the opportunity to see them tonight and it was amazing.  Of course, these pictures were with some help from our iPhones.  I hope my girls never forget.  

We had a couple of boys who wanted to get in on chicken butchering.  They had so much fun chasing the chickens around before we scalded them and pulled feathers.  Lydia also had a friend that wanted to know how it was done also, so she came to help.  For those of you that think it is inhumane to butcher, we hatch our own eggs and when the rooster numbers get to high we have to put them in the freezer for the safety and humane treatment of our hens.  Now they will provide nurishment for our family. 

It is time to get the weaning weights on all the calves that we will be keeping at home and/or later selling as bulls or replacement heifers.  We had great help this year with Morgan staying home from school and Elizabeth and I decided to take a day off to help them.   

We sell registered Angus Bulls which requires weaning weights and yearling weights to complete their paper work to get them registered.  We also like to have all of our heifers we are keeping as cows to be branded to help us identify which cows are ours if the stray off.  Angus cattle are all black and most producers in our area are raising black cattle which can make it difficult.  Plus this also helps with theft of cattle as there are brand inspectors at sale barns to make sure everything that goes through belongs to the person who is selling it.  

Willow and Autumn came with us to the Sam's Farm Festival this week.  Elizabeth brought milk to share with kids.  This is the last week of the farm festival and the girls have had fun but are ready to wait another year before we come back.  This year we were able to share dairy cows and calves, baby pigs, and rabbits.  

George came to milk his cow and Angus tagged along.  Both boys were very interested in the process and took it all in.  We can't wait for George to start showing with the girls.  The boys then helped carry in the milk and separate it out.  For some reason both were very surprised the milk that was separated tasted like milk.  Remember what you say sticks with kids for a long time.  

Bluey is the first Jersey to have her calf.  May the milking begin!  She had a backwards calf but is up and cleaning her calf. Now we wait to let the calf eat before we start milking.  We will be saving colostrum for actual calving season. But the bottles are ready.

We went from Watertown to Faulkton for a competitive cheer competition.  The girls didn't score as high as they had hoped but on to practice, one more competition and then state.  

Elizabeth's pet rabbit, Flame, left us a year and a half ago and ever since she has been looking for another Rhinelander.  On Friday morning she heard a whisper in the wind and her face lit up.  So we went and bought a couple bigger cages and wrote the check.  The people we purchased them form said she could show them on Saturday, so entries forms went in.  We had no idea that they were going to be winners. Liz won Best in Show for State Youth Show B and Reserve in Show for the Brookings Rsbbit Club Youth Show B.  Needless to say Liz was estatic!

Elizabeth also earned a 1st Place in the Royalty Contest for 24-25 and that would not have been possible without these two...Reada McConnaughy and Randy Woehl!  These two have answered late night Mini Lop questions, have helped reset our barn for success, answered many breeding questions, judge questions, and worked showmanship with Elizabeth even when she wasn't in the mood.  

Elizabeth had a great weekend earning two Best of Breeds with her purchased Woehl's Majestic WR106 and a home grown junior doe!   All of her rabbits represented her well.   She has some young ones coming up that will be great on the show table but too many to keep.  She will have some bunnies for sale in the next couple weeks.  When we returned home she had to say good-bye to some old timer rabbits. Mike went to the sell line this week, after 3 years of breeding winners.  While Woehl's WR143 will be taking his place. Liz was hoping to have a homegrown buck but her solids are all interesting colors this year and we are little nervous about color genetics if we stray to far from the beaten path.  

We have 10 feeders for sale in about 2 weeks. They are on feed and weigh about 25lb. Let us know if you are interested.  (605)830-5234 or (605)830-1176. 

The girls had a busy week with Homecoming Activities but we have made it through and rabbit shows are around the corner.