Hinds Feet on High Places

A typical day

A typical day on our farmstead begins with my 6 month old boy waking up to be nursed around 5:30 a.m. After snuggling in bed with him for about 30 more minutes, I slip out of bed, leaving him to sleep for another hour. My dh and I dress and I head down to the kitchen to pack his lunch and make his coffee and toast something for his breakfast on the road. Then I fix myself some hot tea and head back upstairs to check my email and updates on my favorite forums.(Homesteading Today and Dairy Goats Plus)

After tea, I put on my boots and head out back to milk and feed the goats. The routine isn't always the same as my oldest daughter always pitches in and we share the work. Usually we let the goats out of their shelter and sweep out the pen, fill the hay racks and replace bedding, and fill water buckets. Then the two horned goats which stay in another enclosure (where we milk) are fed and the milking doe is milked. We put them out to browse and bring in the next two milking does-usually my daughter and each milk one of those. While they feed and are milked we also feed the two adult does not in milk and four kids back at the stable/pasture area. Then the milking does are put back with the others and they stay out to browse or eat hay and hang out for the rest of the day, until evening chores at 6:00, which is an identical routine. We get the milk in a cold fridge as soon as we are finished milking and then filter and put in in jars. Stainless milking pails are washed. Second dd feeds the hens and each of the girls feeds her own rabbit. Morning chores take about 1 1/4 hrs. (We aren't usually in a hurry and take time to enjoy the goats

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

My second dd and ds are helping the younger ones get their breakfast, washing dishes and starting their DIVE Saxon math lessons. I get cleaned up and tackle whatever needs to be done-laundry, straightening up the kitchen, making bread, starting school lessons...this morning I made a batch of plum jam.

Lunch is about 11:00, and a couple of the kids wash dishes. They all like to play loud music at this time, so I escape to blog for a couple minutes or something.  Sounds like Jerry Lee again today... Usually Levi wakes up from am nap to nurse about right NOW

After lunch is more serious teaching for me...I go over all their homework and give them each their next English lesson. The older two in 8th and 9th grade do most studies independantly, and I check those things daily. The younger ones are going through the Prairie Primer in addition to regular studies. They all do Bible (reading and workbooks), spelling/vocabulary, penmanship, and math in the morning and English, Literature, Science, Civics, History, etc. in the afternoon. I also work inmath, phonics, and reading lessons with my 5 and 6 yo sons...the 3 yo has to join in as well. He loves to participate! 2yo and 6 mo boys take a nap.

About 3:00 I run Elizabeth over for soccer practice at the local H.S., and Rachel goes along sometimes as she is their ball girl at the games. Everyone has a few chores around the house to help keep things clean and maintain some sense of order.  Then it is time to think about what's for dinner, which I usually start around 4:00 and we eat around 5:00. At 6:00 it is chore time again. My son brings in and washes all the eggs-we average anywhere from 12-30 eggs a day-it runs in cycles. Oldest and youngest daughters do the dishes.

It is getting dark earlier these days, so we come in from chores around 7:00 and have stories earlier than we did during the longer summer days. We read a Bible devotional to the children and then read another story. Currently we are starting the Little House series again as that is our theme for the younger three girls in 4th-6th grade this year. Everyone enjoys that. Roy helps his 4 little brothers brush their teeth, and we get them tucked in bed first. The older children read in their rooms, work on a game or project, or help fold laundry (laundry is an all day process here-lots of laundry) and clean up the house a bit before bed. Later my dh and I head to our room with baby for some together time-reading, working online, playing with baby, etc. until we head to bed around 10 pm. (No TV in this house...we left that behind when we moved and don't miss it one bit!

Having to go shopping tends to throw off the normal routine, as we have to travel 25 minutes to a store, plus the time spent there-so trips can take a few hours once all the errands are run. I shop for groceries every 10-14 days, but try to stock up as much as possible. I make whole wheat honey bread once or twice a week, and that tends to interrupt my routine, so I have to plan around that because of the time involved. Soccer games rearrange our routines as well as hunting, which several of us participate in from October through January.

I almost never work in a nap-used to during pregnancy, but there is just no quiet time with little ones. I don't get so exhausted as I used to, though because I have so much WONDERFUL voluntary help. I can't say enough about how much my children help with the work and watching the younger ones.  Most days are routine during the school year- but they are not always the same. Mondays are the worst...seems like there is extra work to catch up from the weekend.  I like routine to a point. In the summer I get lost without it.

Of course, there are a lot of details I left out...we DO take showers and garden (as time permits)...but this should give a general idea.

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12:43, 2006-Sep-14 .. Posted by HSBFrontPorch

Thank you for posting and contributing to this - WOW! you have a wonderful (while busy) life full of great memory making ~ I couldn't help giggling over the music during dishwashing - how fun is that!!! I could just picture that scene ~
:)
Blessings,
Harriette

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04:28, 2006-Sep-14 .. Posted by mc2rwe

I love your days! I miss all of that activity and noise. I loved the part where you said that you DO shower!!! That was the one part of the day that was most chaotic for us... the boys were as bad as the girls. Thanks for sharing

Kat

Wonderful memories!

04:19, 2006-Sep-17 .. Posted by Hisirishgem

What wonderful time spent!

Can you tell me, how many goats should one have for milking? Is there a certain amount of milk per milking goat?

milk

01:41, 2006-Sep-17 .. Posted by tioga12

It depends on the goat and how many kiddings she has had. Generally dairy goats reach peak production after their 2nd or 3rd kidding and during the first few months after kidding. At this time you can get 9# a day from one goat. We are averaging about 14# a day from three goats-one is a first freshener and all three of them kidded last fall or very early spring. During lactation the production does drop off over time. You can milk them for a year or more if you don't breed them. They should be dried off about 2 months before kidding so the nourishment can go into building the kids.