Grinding corn.....

I noticed that the feed bin I have for my chickens was running a little low, so I decided to grind some to fill it. I wanted to get it done this week because, for the next couple of weeks, the high temperatures are supposed to get only into the mid twenties. I hooked up the Letz Burr Grinder I have, to the PTO of my 8N and ground away! It only takes us about 1/2 hour to grind enough feed for the bin. A neighbor had also given me some wheat last week, so I decide that it would be a good time to mix it in as I ground. He had four bags of wheat that he had swept out of his grain bins. It worked like a charm! The 8N chugged right along, without any problems! The Letz grinder is probably the most important item I have gotten for the farm - after the 8N! I can grind my own feed for the chickens and save money on feed.

On the animal front - I went to check the goats this morning (about 10:30) and heard all kinds of noises coming from the barn! The goats were grumbling, cats were calling, chickens were clucking and crowing, and there were "monkey" sounds coming from inside! We have a couple of does that are coming in heat and the Billy was making his normal "barks". The tin in the barn was echoing and distorting his sounds, and those of the other animals, to the point that it sounded like a jungle in there! This means that these two does will kid late, but at least they won't be having them in the snow!

I've figured out that we may have one cat to many! We have an older Tomcat, and a younger one. The younger one has decided that he is "man" enough to start challenging the older one. He has also taken a couple of swipes at me (but soon learns he's not gonna get very far!). We don't need two Toms, and the older one has a better temperment, so the younger one has got to go! Anyone need a barncat (maybe I should invite Idiot and Buster out.......LOL)?

My wife's parents FINALLY got DSL this week! I haven't had a chance to see how they like it yet, but I am sure it is a big improvement after spending so much time on dial-up!They have two computers, so they can both be online at the same time now! Hope they enjoy it!

I have also been trying to sort through a few things in my sheds here and there. I have been going through boxes, buckets, cans, etc, of "stuff" and trying to get it organised (so I can bring home MORE!). I have found that old bread loaf baking pans make EXTREMELY good drawers to store fasteners and other small items in. I have started to look for them at every farm sale, auction or garage sale I go to. If they go for cheap, I try to get them.

I recently received over 200 new electrical boxes for free and have started to use a few. I finally got power to the barn and installed a couple of outlets and lights. It sure is a LOT nicer to flip a switch instead of using a flash light or running extension cords! I was also given 250' feet of outdoor 12-3 Romex. That stuff is EXPENSIVE! I was MORE than happy to get it, and it was GREATLY apreciated!

We still haven't had any snow this winter, except that 4 1/2" which came on New Year's weekend, but we did get some nice rain. I don't mind the lack of snow, but we need the moisture. It is supposed to have a chance for freezing rain and snow this weekend - we will wait and see!