Matilda

Meet Matilda.

She is our new farm cat. 

Walter was a very sad boy after Henry passed, so we decided to get him companion. Lets see how their introduction went...

Matilda is released from her travel kennel and begins exploring.

I call for Walter.

He comes running because I am his favorite. Even over Daddy.

He spots an intruder.

He cautiously approaches the trespasser.

She is clearly unimpressed,

Walter doesn't care. He just wanted to play.

One thing we have learned about our Matilda is that she can often be found in some strange places. 

Exhibit A

Now, I may not have owned many cats, but Im pretty sure they shouldnt be on the counters.

Exhibit B

Its cool, Matilda. I wasnt trying to watch a show or anything.

Exhibit C

Pardon the messy linen closet.. Wait.. What IS that?!

Exhibit D

Naughty Cat.

Exhibit E

NAUGHTIER CAT! 

Yes, folks. That would be hamburger that she is eating. You will be interested to know that following the taking of this photo, we found an empty hamburger wrapper.  Hmm.. I sense some cat/dog cooperation.

Exhibit F

She is fearless!

Exhibit G

Is it a cat thing to want to get into the dryer? Henry used to do that too.

Silly cats.

A cat bed: Halpern Homestead style.

Henry is a crazy cat. Exhibit #1

He sleeps in the bathtub too!

This is becoming a regular thing for him. 

It's hard being a cat at The Halpern Homestead. Wake up. Play outside. Take a nap. Catch a couple mice. Take a nap. Chase the chickens. Take a nap. Eat dinner. Go to sleep.

Thanks for reading!

Our dog, Juliette, is very ill.

We have had Juliette for nearly 4 years now. She just turned 4 on the 9th of March. We have known that Juliette has kidney disease since she was very young. We were told she may live for "several years". Juliette has recently taken a turn for the worst.  She started out not eating a few days ago which was ok for her, since somedays she just doesn't want to eat. Then she became very fatigued and tired. Yesterday she developed a cough so we decided it was time to get to the vet. When we got there she was running a high fever so they ran some blood tests and discovered her kidneys are failing because her kidney enzymes are very high, her blood cells are low which causes fatigue, and she has developed leukopenia (fancy term for: her immune system is weakened and she can't fight infections as well). The doctor starter her on IV fluids and we rushed her over to the pet emergency clinic with the IV running.

The emergency clinic held her all night, kept the fluids running and gave her antibiotics. Her temperature was up and down all night and into today. She appeared more lively this morning when Kelsi picked her up from the Pet ER. Then Kelsi had to take Juliette to the regular vet for her daytime fluids and monitoring.

I visited her this afternoon after my nursing school clinicals. We went on a short walk and she appeared to be more like herself. More smiles and wags. Just not quite herself yet. This afternoon the vet ran her blood work again and she is still abnormal in the same areas but, she has improved somewhat. They said we could take her home for the night.

She was happy to see us but, still very tired. She just laid around while we got our discharge instructions. We were allowed to continue the IV therapy at home because of my work and school training. So now Julies is resting on the couch while her IV infuses.

I think she is happy to be home. She is very sleepy still and we are hoping for the best. It has not been "several years" in my opinion and I am not ready to lose my best friend. I really hope that she pulls through. She is the best dog a small homestead could ever hope for. She protects her chickens, she protects her little sister, she eats all the leftover vegetables, and helps the cat hunt mice in the field. What more could you want in a dog?

Thanks for reading

 It hasn't been several years

Happy Birthday to My Daughter!

It's Juliette's birthday!

She turns four today.

For her birthday, she got a split elk antler that was shed naturally.

If you can't tell, she digs it.

She won't even hold still long enough for me to take a decent picture.

But, I suppose, it is her birthday.

♥

Baby Chicks by the Handfull!

Cute chicks huh? Now focus. We will get back to them again soon....

The Halpern Homestead acquired a small stream this weekend. On Saturday we noticed a small leak coming from the ground around the water faucet outside the chicken coops. We didn't think much of it since much of the "workings" around here seem to be faulty. This leak ended up being extra faulty. That small leak turned into The Halpern Homestead Creak. 

This is where it started. Looks innocent enough, right? Just a small puddle. Follow me please.

It's hard to tell by the picture, but the water is flowing gallons per minute. It had flooded part of the meater's coop before I noticed it. 

After some careful trench work, the water was redirected into the meater's pasture field. It could use a little perking up. The grass was looking a little brown.

The webbed footed gang found the stream and a little pond that formed at the end. They were all having a nice swim until I showed up with the camera. I think they have a sonar detecter for 'puddles forming'. They responded faster than the fire station down the street would have, if we had a house fire. This stream was complicated by the fact that we are renting our home. We therefore cannot fix things that are broken or we could be held responsible. So we had to wait two days for the people to come out and fix it. They came out this morning while we were gone. Looks like they dug a pretty big hole, lots of tractor marks too. I would have liked to see what machinery they used to dig a hole that big.

Ready for some baby chicks?

We took pictures of each of them right after they hatched.

Chick 1

Chick 2

Chick 3

Chick 4

Chick 5

Now just some cute chick pics

It's amazing how different they all look considering they came from the same rooster and the hen.

That's it for now!

Thanks for Reading.

A long post before we tie the knot and go on vacation!

Hello All! Sorry for the long time without any posts. Last most of you heard Lois was missing, we believe she was eaten by a coyote. We found a lot of feathers but no carcass. RIP Lois, you were a good chicken and thanks for providing us with wholesome and healthy eggs. you will be missed.

As most of you guys know, Kelsi and I are getting married on July 11th. We have been very busy. We have both been putting in lots of extra hours at work to help cover for us taking 3 weeks off together. It has been hard keeping up with all the wedding stuff, the farm, and work. This will be our last post until we get back from our honeymoon in Jamaica. So for that we are sorry. Thanks!

How about some pics?

We have had some naughty layers going where they shouldn't. The top nest is Dori's(She is broody right now and we are letting her sit on some fertile eggs) she was laying behind an above ground pond we have for the waterfowl. The bottom nest belongs to one of our pullets who just reached maturity. She was and still is laying under a utility trailer in the weeds.

Now to the garden....

Kelsi and I have a great lettuce crop this year, which is great because it's our first time growing lettuce.

Holy lettuce patch!

First ever harvest of garlic! Kelsi made a nice braid and hung it in the kitchen to dry.

The greenhouse is doing so well. There is a lot of growing happening in there right now.

First cucumber, as long as my hand

Pickler cucumber plant covered in blooms.

Another cuc, nearly ready to eat

Long season crops that don't do so well in our short growing season are thriving in the greenhouse.

For the wedding Kelsi and I are using mason jars with strawberry plants in them. They are growing so well. Even fruiting!

This Box is bursting with strawberry goodness!

Yumm!

In the end of the greenhouse we built a raised bed for tomatoes and they are doing very well. If you click the picture you can see how tall they are. For reference I am 6'0. 

Our ten tomato plants outside. Not nearly as tall. But they are coming along.

Corn patch. Knee high by the forth of July right? They look pretty darn good!

Our sugar snap peas are just coming into season.

She selects the best pea.

Tasty.

Such amazing growth, all without the use of fertilizers and pesticides! 

Broad beans(Fava Beans) that we got from the USDA

Sun setting on another day in the garden

Pole beans.

How about some Birds? 

Sophie and Willis in for a swim before bed.

The waterfowl have finally let Pierre into their group.

Sophie has become quite the mother for him. She will guide him to her when he is crying with her loud honking noises that she makes

The webbed foot gang, clearly on a mission

Sophie!

Pierre!

We recently acquired a baby wild turkey. Kelsi's sister crystal found him all alone and cold so she called Kelsi and we gladly accepted, Kelsi's sister named him gravy. We may or may not eat him, it hasn't been decided yet. He is pretty darn cute though!

He is very shy.

This was not a fun time for him. He doesn't like being held.

The meaters are growing so fast. We started with 41 and still have 41 as of tonight when we put them to bed. We had lost 20% of our cornish cross in the first two weeks we had them, so these results are welcomed!

Dinner time.

Kelsi and her dinner.

Well, thanks for reading. It was a long one. We will be married in 8 days and then are off to Jamaica for a week. Lots of out of town family coming into town, so we will be very busy. 

Thanks for reading!