Last night, Sarah and I went to the Monday night poultry auction in Culpeper. Lately we have been using the Saturday and Monday auctions as much as a social gathering than buying/selling animals or equipment,

One of our friend Rich, came to Sarah and I and proposed a future project that sounds very promising. He has a neighbor with 20 acres near his farm that is sitting empty at the moment, The owner has even stopped bush hogging the property, Seem (from first view) that at least two or three of the property lines are already fenced, He was proposing that if he can talk his neighbor into letting us use the property (in order for the owner to get the farming property tax break) we would get some feeder calves, pasture raising them and selling them for butcher next spring/summer.  Sarah and I have been toying with the idea of getting a couple calves and possibly a heifer for additional  milk here on the farm. This proposal I think has great opportunity (if we can get permission from the owner) to make us some good additional income. We would just have to evaluate the fencing (cows can be contained with just 2 strands of barbed wire) and with the cost of beef starting to go through the roof, this is very promising. Our friend and I both know a few people that have some decent prices on feeder calves and even bottle babies and those are a good place to start looking at stock.

We are also getting the materials together to get our wood-burning stoves hooked up before winter sets in. Rich also said he needed help cutting up what he called a "wood slab" and is willing to split the amount of wood we process (strip, cut and haul) if I wanted to help. Told him I would be VERY interested in helping. IF the Farmers Almanac is even close to what they are predicting, we are looking at a rather harsh winter this year and all the extra firewood I can get my hands on I'm going to do what I can to get it.

Speaking of a harsh winter, by this weekend I will have laid in around 200-250 square bales of hay for the critters. I'm thinking with all the squares (much easier to manhandle than the 1/4 ton round bales), I should only need 2 perhaps 3 of the round bales,

We recently found an almost endless supply of styrofoam coolers from the Warrenton Free Clinic. They get their medicines shipped to them in these one foot by one foot coolers and they normally just send them to the landfill.  When I approached them about what they do with the coolers they told me just that. When I asked if I could take a few of them (was originally thinking about them for shipping eggs/meats) they said I could have as many as I could haul away. SCORE! I now have a decent amount stacked up and Sarah and I were thinking that over the winter we could stack them against the concrete basement walls as a simple form of insulation. Also keeps the critters from trying to nibble on them. The goats have taken a keen interest in them, Just more proof that goats will try to eat just about anything.

We have also been looking around the internet stealing (I'm sorry, borrowing) other farmers ideas about temporary/portable shelters for our various livestock. We saw where one farmer who had a good supply of pallets who broke them down into their slats and cross-pieces and built run-in sheds out of them. BRILLIANT! We have several local business' that get their products shipped in on pallets and one of them said when they had extras they they were not going to use themselves they would let me know and I could come take all I could. There is a local guy that builds chicken coops and stationary shelters and has been selling them periodically at the poultry auction. They have been going for roughly $200 a piece but the auctioneer has been having problems with him being consistent about bringing them to auction. Hmmmmm. I wonder if that is another possible avenue income (especially during the winter months when production is low)?