Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving is Here.

It's so hard to believe that we are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving in one more week! It seems just like yesterday we were worrying about costumes for Halloween. The older I get the faster it seems, the year goes. 

Inside and out of our home is decorated for the upcoming Holiday. Our tradition is, letting each Holiday have it's day in the sun. They are here for a reason, so let's enjoy them. The world seems to focus on a few and not the many and gets caught up in the rush of it all; forgetting the enjoyment they each bring. We here at Cranberry Acre, try not to rush a thing if we don't have to.

We are finally getting the edition to the barn done. That old barn we took down to reuse, is finally being put to use.

Since the wood set for a year unprotected we needed to separate it for what we could use for the barn and what might be useful in making things to sell. Took a couple of days but we got it done.

The roofing we also separated so we could figure out what we had and what needed to be repaired before we used it as a roof.

It is now coming along very nicely. I will say we are going to use almost all the wood from the old barn. Been nice to know that we could reuse that lumber for this new barn edition. Recycling the old to make it new!

There are going to be 6 stalls for the goats now. No more worrying about everyone getting the right amount of hay or grain. No more bullies pushing someone out of the barn during the rain and snow!

We now have an equipment shed, that will be attached to the barn. For years we have been moving stuff from the garage, to the wood shed, and back to the garage. Been a pain, it will be so nice to have a permanent place for everything. 

Each stall will have a nice metal gate! Can't wait to use these stalls.

For the time being, we had to take our barn quilt down while we remodeled the barn. Gives me time to clean it up and retouch the paint a little before it goes back up on the barn.

This will probably be the last flower to bloom here on the farm. They are calling for temps in the 20's at night for the next few days. I will miss my roses.

My two crazy girls. Larry and Curly are still hanging out with the blind duck, Ms. Lovey, and still are the comedians on Cranberry Acre. You want to laugh just try to watch these two navigate the farm. 

Hopefully next Spring we will be breeding Ms. Griffon. We are planning on breeding her and her mother. 

It is always a game of hide and seek with chickens, on where the nest will be. I found it today while Ms. Sunshine was laying her egg. Gotcha you silly bird!

My Rat killer, Mr. Bayne took a break today to just sit and sleep inside. He had no real urgency about going outside today. I think it was the gloomy morning we had with the rain.

A Big Kiss From Ms. Sparkles.

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. 

Best wishes from 

Cranberry Acre.

Fall is at Cranberry Acre!

Seems like this year has flown by. Here we are only a couple days from our first frost and a couple of weeks for Halloween.

Fall happens to be my favorite time of year, with all the smells and colors, it's just beautiful. Been pretty busy here on Cranberry Acre, with fixing fences and trying to get the addition up on the barn. Not to mention craft shows and canning. Things are slowing down for us and I now have time to go out and enjoy our little farm.

This year at Farmer's Market I bought some plants from Grayson LandCare and they are now blooming. 

Love this little guy. 

All of the rain fro the past few weeks has caused our little Spring to become a little creek. Everyone is enjoying the fresh water and Lovey duck is back to taking her morning baths.

Ms. Lovey

Our Maple tree is so pretty this time of year. Never seems to last as long as I woulf like it but I'll take it.

The view from the side of our little farm house.

Ms. Snowball has fit right in and I have found out really like to have her picture taken. She almost posses for each picture.

Ms. Jojo ( aka. Ms. Trouble) Will eat and has eaten things I never thought a goat would eat. 

She is a real mess at times, but I love her.

One of our stepping stones.

Sparkles and Mr. Luther have been fighting for a couple of days so I couldn't resist getting a picture of them being peaceful with each other.

Poor Ms. Silver, she is molting and very mad at the world right now. I don't think she has had a nice thing to say to me at all in the morning.

Last night after dinner all the rest of the goats went to graze, but Sparkles fell asleep while the flock ate around her. Was to funny when she woke she was all confused and seemed to be embarrassed about it.

The ever so pretty Ms. Beauty

Ms Bella

Oh yo be a cat. Look how relaxed he is.

Ms. Short stuff trucking along. Love this little bird. Such a small package for such a large attitude.

Sn ever so rare picture of Ms. Curly. She never seems to sit still long enough to get a picture, I think she was sleepy.

So this is the Farm in the Fall. We have been very busy this year and are proud to announce that we now have a booth in one of our local store "Briar Patch Mountain Marketplace, in Galax, VA. We are trying to improve our Etsy store and are learning so much. We do hope soon to have the addition done to the barn before the first snow, but we will see. Finding time is a hard thing to do. 

With things slowing down I do hope to have more time to dedicate to the Blog. There is so much to share. Until then Everyone have a safe Halloween!!!

The pace never changes here on the Farm

Canning, Baking and Everything else.

It again has been awhile to write on here but as any person who has a farm, even a small one, this time is year is very busy. The only one who seems to be calm about things here on Cranberry Acre is Mr. Bayne. 

I have been busy with getting ready for craft shows and the Farmer's Market. Business has been good and that means I'm busy in the sewing room and the garage. 4th of July is a blur for me, seems like it was here and gone in a matter of min.

I decided that I needed to get away for a bit and we went to the Smokey Mountains to visit friends. It was a much needed break from everything here at the farm. Finding balance between being a mom, a farmer, a wife, a friend and a business owner has been hard for me. I realized that I needed a break just as much as the kids and we left to go see a friend who was home for a week or so.

If you have never been to the Smokey's you need to try. The visitor center at the park is a must see and we even found......

A chicken!!!!

We took time to play in the river at the park in Cherokee. What a fun place, the water was so chilly but after a day of 90 degree weather it was nice.

Coming back to Cranberry Acre was both a nice thing but also a hassle of getting things ready for market in one day. I had to try and remember that you can only do so much, but still wanting to be Super Woman. It had also been pretty hot and humid here so the Mystery Squash from last year decided to grow again and boy has it grown.

It is all in the chicken coop and has become a refuge from the sun for them.

Well sad news is we will not be getting grape jelly this year. Everything looked good until this beetle came to the vine and ruined the crop. Was so promising but what are you going to do? We may get a jar or two but not as much as I had hoped.

Everything else is doing good. My rose that we transplanted is doing great and has been blooming since the beginning of the month. Apparently she likes here new flower box.

Sunflowers are in full bloom in the garden and are so beautiful.

Been so hot that the girls are going to the Spring to drink and wade in it. I guess I would do the same thing if I was a chicken or even a goat, but God forbid if a goat got in the water.

Ms. Griffin showing her brother where he stands in the herd. Didn't want to tell her she was pushing her luck, but she was.

My 3 crazy goats. 

Mr. Dingo was so upset with me. He ran to the pantry window to watch me as I took pictures. Such a silly dog. Wish he could come with me but the goats are not fond with his puppy attitude.

These birds eat like Queens! Scrap time for the girls in the pasture is a great gathering. Everyone gets a long and no one fights. That's not to say that when the scraps are gone they don't start fighting about stuff again, but for at least 15 min, no one is boss and everyone gets a long.

Ms. Sparkles loving her photo opt. 

Ms. Fudge is still limping around but seems to be doing a lot better with it. She is still able to follow me around the pasture when I go out to take pictures. Such a sweet little bird with such a grumpy face.

Ms. Kiwi has decided she may try being a guinea fowl. For the past few weeks she has been out with them forging for food.

As I said it's been busy here. I have been canning green beans and baking quick breads. Been sewing and also making bird feeders, work never seems to be done. In the end it is all worth the hassle. Now that I have my new camera and it is working properly, I do hope to be on here at least once a week with new recipes and canning tips. Maybe even some sewing tips. We will see how it all pans out in the next week or two.