Dear Family & Friends,
I hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying the
Holiday Season. We are doing great and
enjoying life in Boerne. We have been
living here over 5 years and still staying very busy with the DIY home
improvement projects, farming and gardening.
Pets: First, the sad
news – our 17 year old dog, Bogey, died in August. He outlived his sister by over 1-1/2
years. He was a much loved ‘housedog’
and is greatly missed. It is still hard to
not have any house pets; but I am adjusting.
Hoss, the farm dog (Great Pyrenees); is really a good dog. He learned quickly to stay with “his” goats
and he guards over the chickens. Knock on wood; Since we got him, we haven’t lost a chicken
to any predator. He’s a big lovable bear.
Just a month ago we acquired a couple of cats; only to have another one
show up. Two are scarce; rarely seen
during the day and the youngest is finally coming close enough to pet and get
acquainted. Too cute to see the 100# dog
and 1# kitten; nose to nose.
Farming: 2012 has
been an exciting one for us on Rucka Farms.
I honestly have experienced many things that I thought I would never
experience. February I kidded our first
goat. It was the coldest night of the
year (14 degrees). I braved the weather
and sat with the baby and mom in the barn until we were assured she would
survive. That’s when we learned to
“plan” the births instead of just letting them happen. The next fun came in
June, with two more kids. This mom did
it all on her own. Fortunately, all the
kids were girls so we get to keep them.
I’ve tried my hand at milking them; not too good at it yet; but still
learning. Want to learn to make goat
milk ‘stuff’ (in my spare time HA!). The
chicken egg production has been slow this year, at least that is what we
thought. But what we learned is mice and rats will steal them. When rat shot
and traps didn’t work, we increased our search for the cats. Now, we are getting more eggs and not even
seeing the rodents around. Yea!
Hopefully, the cats will win!.
Gardening: We
installed gutters on the house and a rain catchment system to supplement the
water for the garden. Ironically, we
haven’t gotten much rain to collect the water.
This year’s drought and heat played havoc on any attempt to have a garden. We did harvest peaches, jalapenos, garlic,
swiss chard, basil, lettuce, but very “few” tomatoes.
Home Improvements:
On-Going!!! The most recent project started July 4th weekend
when Ben purchased trusses off Craigslist. It was just suppose to be a pole
barn and has evolved into a fully enclosed garage. No, we still aren’t through and are still
married. We also gutted the fireplace
and re-stoned the façade with rocks from our property. Replace the firebox with a wood stove. This heats the house so well, when lit, we
definitely don’t need fire up the furnace.
Absolutely too many projects started; and very few getting finished; but
it all is fun.
May you be blessed thru this Holiday Season and into 2012.
With Love, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,
Ben & Darla Rucka
