Applegarth Farm: a sad farewell to the kittens

Sunday, May 29, 2011

a sad farewell to the kittens

Last Thursday was the day I took the kittens in to Purrfect Pals, a non-profit cat organization that was having a shortage of kittens for this time of year. They have adoptive families waiting for kittens, willing to pay $150. I figure if someone is willing to pay that much, they will take good care of their new baby. It was hard giving them up, we loved watching their playful antics, wrestling matches, races and especially their sweetness towards their mothers and us. They have been a delight to have around.

We kept the kittens until they were 11 weeks old, so they had plenty of time to play in the woods and learn from their mothers. We found homes for 4 of the kittens, and took the other 7 in to be adopted. In exchange for bringing them the kittens, they spayed both of my mother cats, and the little one we're keeping. So we won't be having kittens in our life for many years. This was a fun experience we will all remember with fond memories of them, and the miracle of their birth, the mothers faithfulness in raising them, and the tenderness we witnessed, watching them with their babies.

The little one we ended up keeping below turned out to be a girl, we are still narrowing down our name choices for her. She is sweet and friendly, and is lucky to stay here, and have both mom's to nurse from and be with.

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Our goal here at Applegarth Farm is to raise children that play in the woods and gardens, and know where their food comes from. To feed the animals and care for their young, to gather eggs, and milk goats, to eat fruit off of trees, and berries from the bushes that we grow, and to eat from the gardens. We are working towards, and teaching them to be as self sufficient as best we can.

With the economy in the state it is, our plan has become even more important. Being able to live on less is one of our goals. Working from home, or close to home is another goal, and growing and harvesting most of our food is a big goal we've been working towards.

We live in a handbuilt home, our heat comes from the firewood we cut, and cooking is often done right on our woodstove. We grow a lot of our own food, and are building our home slowly with cash for materials, and the time to work on it. All of the buildings have been built over the years by my husband from trees grown and milled right on our farm, or from salvaged lumber.

The beginning years started here with no electricity or running water, and were lived in a small cabin, slowy building and clearing land. We are still trying to live as self sufficiently as we can. I am a homemaker and work part time in the nursery (plants and trees) business. We are raising children, tending animals, gardening and cooking from scratch.

Some of the topics you will hear about are; gardening, cooking, beekeeping, chickens, rabbits, building and timberframing. Along with some of my adventures in soapmaking, candlemaking, animal husbandry, plus the everyday of what's going on around the farm. Future building projects include a goat barn, a root cellar, and a pizza/bread wood fired oven. Come learn along with us, and share homesteading skills you are learning. I'm looking forward to meeting others that share a similar path that we're on, or simply others who dream of homesteading.