Poultry Adventures

One of the first things most people get when they start their little farm is chickens. A few chickens running around gobbling up bugs and leaving you eggs to eat is just what every homestead needs. Of course you want them to have free range to gobble up the most bugs and to provide you with entertainment. Of course they will obligingly return to the nest boxes you've so lovingly provided so leave their eggs. It is so perfect, isn't it?

We started with three hens that were given to us. They roamed freely and it worked out pretty well. They did scratch the mulch onto Mamaw and Papaw's sidewalk some, and there was a little poo around here and there, but with only three chickens it really wasn't a problem.

Then a friend gave us some ducks. I really enjoy the ducks. For the longest time they made their home under our back deck. They didn't cause any problems. Finding their eggs could be a challenge, but when we did, we were rewarded with large rich eggs. It worked out well, until they got brave and ventured to the front yard.

For some unknown reason the ducks decided to take up residency in our front yard. Fine, except one thing, they decided the front porch was the best sleeping area. Every morning they left large unwanted deposits right in front of the door. Around the same time, another friend gave us more than a dozen chickens. It was time for some fencing.

Papaw and Tim spent quite a bit of time building a fence for the poultry. We still wanted them to free range, but wanted to keep them away from the houses. The solution was to put fencing far enough out that chickens could roam in the forest, clean up under the rabbit hutches, and clean up in the goat barn, but not go around the end of the fencing to the yards. It took awhile to get it poultry proof. Actually it was never quite perfect, as we have a few smaller mixed breed hens that are quite determined to lay and nest away from the rest of the chickens, but for the most part we were happy with the solution. The poultry also seemed happy with the solution. For the better part of last summer, and all winter, they stayed in the pasture.

Then this spring, the ducks starting going on adventures. Our ducks are Rouens. Their bodies are heavy. Their wings are short. They are bred to not fly, and they don't. They barely look like they can walk, but these awkward waddling birds were walking well over a quarter a mile around the fence to feast on the tadpoles in our ditches this spring. Soon they had found their favorite nest spot on my front porch, and then they demolished all the peas in the garden. Time to build more fence.

Instead of adding on or enclosing what was already built for the chickens, we decided it would be easier and work better to duck proof a small bit of pasture that we use as a nursery area for the livestock. It already had a small wallow in it for water. We moved an unused dog house in for shelter, and the wallow was dug out to make a small pond for the ducks. It took many attempts to get all the gaps closed enough to keep the ducks in, but finally they were staying in. At about the same time, we started noticing chickens were missing.

The chickens were perfectly happy in their pasture. They were foraging for bugs, and cleaning up the areas there were supposed to. Not all of them were diligent in returning to the nest box to lay, but for the most part things were working out well. Then the rooster went missing, and a count revealed a couple of hens were also missing.

One afternoon Kellen heard the chickens sound out their alarm. One minute he saw a hen walking along the edge of the ridge. The next he saw a puff of feathers. Tim tried to track it, but only found that puff of feathers and a small bit of remains clear down in the hollow. We suspect a fox was the culprit. We've set out a live trap, but have caught nothing. Maybe this free ranging isn't all it is cracked up to be?

The poor hens spent over a week shut up in their coop. Another fence line has been added around their coop to create a large run, and they finally were let out today. The pullets that are in another location, have also been prey to something. They will soon be joining the hens. The chickens will have a tiny bit of forest to forage in and rabbits to clean up after. They will no longer have access to the goat barn. I guess we will have more flies this year.

Chickens are a staple of the family homestead. They provide meat and eggs, and will clean up after the other animals. They are fairly easy to care for, but certainly do come with their own challenges. I doubt that our poultry adventures are over, but hopefully there will be a lull in the excitement.

A Few Photos to Share

The Secret Clubhouse

Last year Lydia struggled to learn to ride her bike. She took one nasty fall about mid-summer that completely shook her confidence for the rest of the season. This spring she picked up that bike and in a matter of minutes was riding it all over the place. In acquiring that skill she has found a new freedom. 

Her bike rides out the driveway are frequent, and in the beginning often alone. At first she would take off and ride to the Y in our driveway. Then she would go a little further to the little tower, and eventually she was riding all the way to the neighbors, about 3/4 of a mile. 

Soon she was including Nolan on her little adventures. Nolan is not riding yet, but he was perfectly content to run along side while Lydia rode her bike. The amazing thing is how well he could keep up. That boy is fast. 

They began asking for snacks to take with them, and would spend hours on their adventures. When I'd ask them where they had their snacks, they would tell me they went to their secret clubhouse. Later I learned that there were several "secret clubhouses." They had chosen some spots were they could hide away and be alone. One was in the softness of a pine thicket. Another one was in the woods in a place that wasn't exactly hidden, but you had to cross the ditch on a log to get to it. And one was in a small clearing that was behind a patch of blackberry plants. 

After many weeks of using only what nature provided for their clubhouses, they decided they wanted a little something more. The older brother was recruited and a small shelter was planned. They decided to build in the spot behind the blackberries. Even with Kellen's help they were having a difficult time getting something together. Time to let Daddy in on the "secret."

Tim started with a weedeater to clear out their path and their spot a little better. Then he and the kids took some pallets and scrap wood and put together a little shelter. 

It isn't much, but the kids think it is perfect. They have a stump to sit on, and took a small bench out also. They can use the top of the shelter for a leg up to climb the tree. And they took TP out there, just in case.


You can not see it from the driveway. All you see is a little path that winds into what looks like a bramble. It is close enough to the driveway that the kids can hear you call from there. The "secret clubhouse" isn't exactly secret anymore. The first thing the kids do when friends come to visit is to let them in on the secret. But they love to go out there and play. Kellen reports that it is a wonderful spot to go and read a book. 

Yesterday when I went out to take pictures, the goats decided to follow me. They sniffed it out and checked around, and decided there was better eating elsewhere. 

Somtimes living here is hard. It seems there is an endless amount of work to be done. At times it is overwhelming. Watching my little girl set out on her bike, her little brother closely behind, for grand adventures in the woods and their secret clubhouse gives me a whole new perspective, and makes it all worthwhile. 

2 Doctors, 2 Staples and 5 Hours Later

Last night we were up at the neighbor's farm. Tim was helping bale hay. Kellen was helping too. I was working in the garden, and the rest of the kids were supposed to be swinging on the tire swing. They were not. 

Instead, they were playing on the neighbor's porch. She has her porch decorated with lots of interesting antique and flea market type items. One of them is a very large triangle dinner bell. It hangs from the porch ceiling. 

Apparently, Nolan thought the dinner bell looked like a piece of gymnastics equipment. He decided he would hang from it, up side down. Needless to say, the hook in the ceiling was meant to only hold the dinner bell, not the dinner bell and an almost 50 pound boy hanging from it. 

The dinner bell and the boy came crashing down leaving the dinner bell unharmed, but the boy with a large knot on one side of his head, and a couple inch gaping laceration on the other side. Luckily Tim was close enough to see and hear the event, and attend to Nolan right away. The cut was such that we decided we better let a doctor look at it. Tim, Nolan and I headed to the immediate care that is closest to us. The other three kids stayed with Mamaw and Papaw. 

We didn't have wait long to see the doctor at the immediate care. She thought that the cut did need a little something to help it heal properly. Just as Tim and I were congratulating ourselves for taking him to the doctor and our wise choice of choosing immediate care over the ER, she informs us that we will have to go to the ER. Huh?

She thought that the cut need to be closed, but didn't think glue would work well on Nolan's particular cut. She thought he needed stitches or staples. She doesn't do stitches, and the office did not have the tools needed for staples. We would have to go to the ER. Grr.....

At the ER they took us into triage right away and then seated us in their immediate care waiting room, where we waited and waited. Then they took us to an exam room where we waited and waited. In fact we waited so long that Nolan had fallen asleep by the time the doctor came to exam him. He stayed asleep during the exam, but was rudely awakened when receiving two staples in his head. 

He cried and howled and howled and cried while we again waited. Finally the nurse came in with the instructions and paperwork we needed before leaving. It was almost 11:00. Thankfully Nolan quickly fell back asleep once we were in the car. 

This morning he is feeling fine. When his siblings came home from Mamaw and Papaw's he proudly exclaimed, "I have two staples in my head." I'm sure he won't be feeling so happy about it when they to be removed next week. . . 

Incomplete?

Life lately has seemed like one never ending "to do" list. I feel like I'm just treading water trying to keep everything afloat. The busyness combined with the never ending list of tasks to accomplish shuts me down. It seems I can't concentrate long enough to get anything finished. 

As I sit here right now, typing this post, there are two other unfinished posts sitting in my drafts. There is a pile of folded laundry on the table with a basket half full of unfolded laundry next to it. The dishes from lunch are half done. The half that fit in the dishwasher got cleaned. 

If I were to get a grade card right now, the teacher would have to list me as incomplete in all subjects. 

Homeschool - Incomplete

school? Plenty of incomplete text books in the cupboard. Lots of life lessons and unschooling going on around here. 

The Garden - Incomplete

We planted some more this morning. Still have a few tomatoes, peppers, okra, and herbs to plant.

Financial Peace - Incomplete

We've really enjoyed and learned  from the work book and small groups with this class, but we are woefully behind in things like creating the monthly budgets and setting up the cash envelopes. 

Paperwork - Incomplete

A few days ago I began to organize my desk, sorting things into piles that needed to be dealt with. Never got them dealt with or put away, and now they are covered with several more days mail, and various items that get piled on my desk. 

Homemaking  - Incomplete (teetering on the edge of Fail)

Where do I start with all I'm behind in this subject? 

It is all very overwhelming and frustrating especially to a doer personality like mine that likes to check things off the list and complete tasks. No matter what task I begin on, I get distracted or pulled away and nothing is ever quite complete. 

But then I realize that what I need to do most in times like these is to stop. To breathe. To look at the big picture. 

Then and only then do I see that all these tasks and my frustrations at not completing them are temporary. They are not lasting. They are not what matters. In the only "grade card" that matters, I am COMPLETE, in the life of Christ.  

When I take the time to stop. To breathe. To look at the big picture.  I get a small glimpse of that contentment and peace that is ours regardless of our circumstances. And resting in that peace I can now get back up and work on some of those tasks that I need to complete. 

Nolan's 5th Birthday

Yesterday was Nolan's fifth birthday. He ended up sleeping in our bed awhile the night before his birthday. When he woke up in the morning he stretched and said to me, "Today is my birthday. I am five. I think I've grown some."

Kellen could not wait to give him the present he made. Kellen made Nolan a Link shield and sword with items he found around here. The shield is the top of a five gallon bucket, and the sword is a broken walking stick and scrap wood. I think he did an excellent job, and Nolan was thrilled with the present. 

Our homeschool co-op picnic also was yesterday. Since all of Nolan's friends were there, we took a cake and celebrated at the picnic. We even sang happy birthday to him there! 

When we got home we ate cake with Mamaw and Papaw and opened more presents. He was thrilled with a new Wii game that Grandma and Grandpa sent. Of all things he was very excited about the new boxer shorts Mamaw and Papaw gave him. In fact, after all the presents were open, he exclaimed, "I'm going to go change my underwear," and ran off to put his boxers on. Of course, there is a little more to that story. 

Nolan does not like to wear underwear. For months now he would try to get away with out putting underwear on. He told me his underwear were too tight. They were a bit snug so we got some the next size. Still he didn't want to wear underwear. Apparently boxers were what he needed. Now, he is excited to wear underwear. Go figure.

And after that we went to church for our Financial Peace class, and Nolan got to play with his friends some more. Poor kid was already tired. He fell asleep on the way there, but he had fun, and we all slept very soundly last night. 

The Big 2-0

Happy Birthday Martha!

Homeschool Day at the Capitol

Thanks to Betsy  for taking video of the performances at Homeschool Day at the Capitol this year. Below is the video of the band which Tim directs, and Kellen plays in. Not much footage of Kellen, and all you see of Tim is his back side, but you can hear the band, and see the other member of our family who stole the show. 

Green!

Life has been a little crazy around here. Can you tell from the lack of posting? 

School is winding down, well truth be told, it has come to a screeching halt. With me going to work, and the outside work that needs done at this time of year, book work has become practically non existent. Really that doesn't bother me. We are doing lots of educational things. They just aren't in the text books. 

We participated in a Cultures Fair this week. Our country was the Czech Republic. We put together a small presentation and cooked some Czech food. We had a lot of fun with the project and learned a few things too. 

The garden is beginning to look very green. We've been working a lot in our garden. This is the first year that I am really making the kids help in the garden. They have helped before here and there, but this year it isn't an option. There is too much to be done, and they need to help. 

I've been using a little trick that I read over at Owlhaven sometime back. I'm giving the kids specific, quantative amounts of tasks they have to complete in the garden. Instead of saying, "Help me weed the peas." (Well the ones the ducks haven't eaten, but that is another story.) I tell the kids, "Weed two rows of peas." Or for Nolan I say, "Pull two buckets of weeds." The "buckets" were small containers potato salad comes in. They have also helped put onions in the trench, shovel mulch, and put seeds in holes. They aren't exactly enthusiastic, but they really are doing an excellent job of helping.

The last few days the forest has suddenly become very green. We had some hot days followed by some cool rainy days. Apparently that was exactly what the trees and fauna needed. They have come alive, and it is beautiful. 

I've been working quite a bit to try to earn some green, and get things back on track. It has been a huge help. It has not been without it's down side though. We are all tired. It has been an adjustment for everyone, and it hits the kids the hardest. It really hits me when I'm leaving for work and Lydia says to me, "See you tomorrow mom." Tomorrow? 

I have been working five days. Things are caught up and back on track. It isn't time to quit, but perhaps to cut back. I'm thinking three days will help keep the finances where they need to be, and keep the family and homestead work where it needs to be too. 

Tough choices we moms have....

 

Happy Birthday Tim!

Happy Birthday to my multi talented hubby. Here he is playing the wedding singer! Be sure to wish him a happy birthday! He blogs at Applehead.

Love Abounds in this House

The Midwife

World War Two has always been a time period that fascinated me. Though the political and economic changes are interesting enough, what I really enjoy are the stories of people. The experiences of those who lived through this time were not only turning points in their own lives, they were turning points in the whole culture in many respects. 

As a woman and a mother, I also find stories of birth and mothering particularly interesting. So, when I was asked to review a copy of The Midwife, stories of a midwife in London post-WWII, I was pretty certain I would like this book. 

I was not disappointed. The author served the poor population of the London Docklands. Her stories of the people and her experiences make you laugh, make you cry, and sometimes are just outright shocking. 

I was touched and amazed by the woman you birthed twenty-five babies. The twenty-fifth of whom was born at 28 weeks gestation. It survived, with out a hospital stay. The story of the prostitute, and the women she lived with both appalled and saddened me. The antics of one of the older nuns at the convent where the author lived are simply hilarious.  

The Midwife is an entertaining read. It is full of insight into the lives of those living in the slums of London after World War II. There are stories of sadness and loss, but also stories of those who, despite their circumstances were able thrive and create happy homes for their families. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

No More Brace Face

snow? SNOW!

You've got to be kidding me. There are actually flurries flying outside right now. Did I mention how sick of snow I was this winter? A little snow is good. This year I felt like I was living in Northeast Ohio again, too much snow!

It is officially spring, and I have no desire to see that white flaky stuff for another seven months. Go away!

In case you've wondered where I've been the last two weeks, I've been here, just keeping my head above water with the various responsibilities and activities we have right now. Just a few highlights to catch you up. 

-Animals

Two calves have been born. The first one had a little trouble getting started, but Papaw says she is looking good now. The second gave Mamaw and Papaw a scare too, for a different reason. His momma hid him. With the cold weather Papaw wanted to be sure he was doing ok, and searched to whole pasture to no avail. We still don't know where she had him, but he was with momma this morning at feeding time. 

We were supposed to get 50 chicks last week. You know when the weather was warm and nice. The hatchery had a short hatch, so our chicks should be here this week now. You know when it is cold and nasty. 

Desert (goat) had two bucklings last night while I was at work. Don't ask me why, but she had them out in the muddy shed yard instead of three feet away in the nice warm shed. They were still wet and a little cold when I got home. I dried them off and laid them in the hay in the shed. I had forgotten that Desert is a very protective mom. She went in the shed with the kids, gave me the evil eye and started stomping her foot at me. I thought it'd be best to just leave them all alone at that point. 

-Work

I wore a pedometer to work on Sunday. I walked two and half miles while I was at work. I'm hoping that one of the side effects of working will be losing weight. :)

Work really is going fairly well. Most days I can actually say that is enjoyable to be there interacting with adults and making some money. It does make things very busy, and time pressed at home. It has been adjustment for all of us, but over all I think it is worthwhile. 

-The Garden

Peas, lettuce, radish, beets, chard, carrots, strawberries, grapes, and asparagus have been planted. But not by me. I did manage to help with the cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and rhubarb. I'm feeling like a slacker. The seedlings need thinning and the weeds are sprouting up about as fast as the seedlings, but it has been too wet to get into the garden.

I checked my garden notebook and saw that I put beans in mid April the last two years. Just around the corner, if the snow stops. 

- The Family

Jeff and Gail (Tim's parents) are on their way here. The kids are very excited. Other than that the kids have eyes only for the Wii.  

I think that catches you up on the highlights. It is still snowing, and I am pouting, but I have to go fold laundry and get ready for work. 

Nolan age 4 - Self Portrait

Yesterday Nolan drew a picture of himself, as an adult. When asked how old he was in this picture, he responded, "As old as you." I"ll just leave it at that. 

Be sure to notice the colorful pants, (Could you miss those?!) and the earrings.

A Little of This and A Little of That

The last few weeks have been busy! I started a new job. We've been working on getting the garden in, appliances and equipment have been breaking, and Jake and his kids are visiting. We are trying to keep up with everything. It has left my head spinning. Here are few updates and funny things in no particular order. 

Yesterday, while I was at work, Mamaw was watching my kids and Jake's three also. Papaw, Tim and Jake were working on connecting the water lines to the pig barn. First, they had to fix the excavator. 

I did not see this event, I only saw the after effects. They were working on the hydraulic lines. Mamaw and the kids were standing back, at what appeared to be a safe distance, watching the guys work. One of the line connections came loose and sent a hydraulic oil shower on everything below, including Mamaw and the kids. 

When I got home Mamaw had just finished giving five kids a bath. (Thankfully Vivian had been taking her nap, and Kellen was counting his Wii money, or there would have been seven to clean up.) One bath was not enough. Their hair was still greasy. They all got a second bath before bed. 

This week one of our school projects was to make soap carvings. The idea was to carve a figure of a fish and a man to remind us of the story of Jonah. Um... the carvings didn't really turn out all that well, but the kids had a fund time making them. 

It was a little messy, but I'm not complaining. They grated about five bars of soap that I can use for Laundry Detergent.

Vivian (3) has developed this fascination with driving lately. She will ask me if she can drive up to the barn to feed the sheep. Then she will tell me that when she is the mommy she will drive the van. Perhaps I should have mentioned this to Papaw before he took Viv up to the barn with him. 

Vivian rode up to the barn with Papaw to feed the cows. On the way back he stopped to open the gate to drive through the pasture. As he was walking back toward the truck, he sees Vivian in the driver seat. Then the engine revs loudly. She was pushing the accelerator. Luckily,  she does not know how to put the vehicle in gear -  yet. 

Nolan (4) has been quite the character lately. The other day I was trying to put laundry away. It had been a long morning with numerous interruptions. The kids were having a hard time staying on task for school, and I was trying to get a list of things done before work. 

I was in the boy's closet hanging up Nolan's clothes, and he comes in to ask me for a snack (again.) I said, "Isn't it almost time for lunch? What time is it Nolan?" I know full well that Nolan is only beginning to grasp the concept of time, and he does not know how to tell time yet. The question was a blatant attempt to buy me a couple minutes to finish my task while he went and looked at the clock and asked Kellen or Lydia what time it was. It didn't work. He didn't miss a beat, but looked right at me with his mischievous little grin and said, "It is snack time."

Nolan completely adores his older brother, much to Kellen's annoyance. Nolan wants to do everything that Kellen does. Nolan loves and hates everything that Kellen loves and hates. If you ask Nolan what he wants to drink or eat, he asks Kellen what he wants, then asks to have the same as Kellen. It really is very cute, at least from my perspective.  

We got our income tax returns this week. Most of that money is slated to pay off debt, but there are a few things that we've been waiting to buy with it. One of those things is new mattresses for the boy's beds. Thier mattresses are very old and in poor shape. 

Friday, Tim came home with the new mattresses. He and Kellen took the old ones off and put them in the burn pile. A little later we see Nolan crying. It was the hurt feelings cry. He, Lydia and Jude had been playing. I assumed that somehow his feelings had been hurt while they were playing. I was wrong. He was crying because he didn't want a new mattress. 

We tried talking to him about why the new mattress was better. We tried using the fact that he wants to be just like Kellen. Kellen likes the new mattress. Nolan bought that for about five minutes before he was in tears over the old mattress again. 

Nolan literally pouted and cried over that mattress for about 24 hours. Of course it wasn't constant. He would play for awhile, and then out of the blue he'd be crying about the mattress. Who knew a little kid could care so much about a mattress? 

Then for some reason, last night at bed time, Nolan suddenly decided that the new mattress was nice. Relieved, we all went to bed peacefully. 

Vivian isn't with the plan.

The kids have a plan. They are saving their money for a Wii. I posted about it today in The Wii Fund. They are doing really well too, saving money and working together. Well, not all together. There is one who isn't with the plan. 

Whenever we are out running errands Vivian always wants to go out to eat. I wonder where she got that from? Going out to eat is not in our budget right now, and my response usually runs along the lines of, "Do you have any money?" 

This week Vivian got some birthday money, and Lydia got some late birthday money from a neighbor. The kids and I were talking. Lydia and Kellen were talking about adding Lydia's money to the Wii fund. I looked at Vivian and asked, "Do you want to add you birthday money to the Wii Fund?" She replied, "No. Out to eat." The girl knows what she wants. 

The family that gardens together....

eats well. 

It finally feels like spring! The kids are spending the better part of the day playing outside. Lydia has mastered the art of bike riding. She really could ride at the end of the summer last year, but lost her confidence after a wreck. This year she hopped right on, and is riding all over the place. 

The frogs are singing and laying eggs. The daffodils are blooming, and it is warm, gloriously warm. There may yet be cold weather in store for us, but we are enjoying the warmth while it is here. And of course spring means garden!

We've learned with this clay soil if you want to get early vegetables in you have to move fast. The last two springs early plants never were put in. We'd miss the opportunity when it was dry, and then it would rain and the garden would be too wet to work. The past few days the weather had just been perfect. Unfortunately, it did not coincide with my schedule. 

I'm always bugging Papaw to till the garden in the spring. This year I was trying to not be a pest about it. Saturday I was gone all day. When I returned, my little garden had been tilled. The new hillside we are planting was tilled, and there were loud pounding sounds coming from that direction. 

The pounding sounds were these posts being driven in. Do you know what these posts are for? They still need a few rows of wire added to them, and then they will be ready for the grapes that Mamaw ordered! Grapes! Yippee! That new area will also be home to strawberry plants, asparagus, and rhubarb that will be arriving soon.

Yet, another new small spot was tilled for blueberry bushes, and for extra space for corn and other vegetables. Papaw also tilled the big garden. 

I was so excited, but you know what tilling means; planting. I wasn't sure when I was going to plant the early seeds. I was gone all day Sunday, needed to get groceries, and a whole long list of things that I need to get done was weighing down on me. I figured I'd squeeze it in somewhere. 

Sunday when I was gone Tim secured up the chicken fence. (We had a few renegades that were finding their way out. Don't want them to scratch up all the garden seeds.) And when I got home there was this: 

Actually, there was a whole garden full of these markers with different names. Mamaw, Papaw, and Tim filled the whole thing with peas, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, radish, and carrots. What a relief!  There are a few more things to plant like onions and potatoes, that should arrive soon, and some broccoli and Brussels sprout seedlings I need to harden off, but they planted everything that was ready to go! I am so grateful!

My Baby is Three!

Today is little Vivi's birthday. So hard to believe that she is three! 

She sure keeps life interesting around here. She is cute and sweet, and happiest when she is helping. She loves to "help" cook, clean, and feed the animals. She is not afraid to tell you how she feels, and is very independent. (Traits, I'm telling myself, will serve her well later.) She still loves to suck on that knuckle though, and like to play the baby when it suits her. Well, she is my baby! :) We love her to pieces! 

Tonight, we will have a little family celebration with a menu of Vivian's choice. We are having pizza and cake. The cake will be topped with a Blue's Clue's decoration a friend gave us awhile back. She has asked about the cake ever since we were given the decoration. Persistent she is! 

The Bog Beast

Wordless Wednesday

In case you are wondering, this picture was taken a few weeks ago when it actually was warm outside. Currently, all the mud is frozen much to Nolan's dismay. 

We laughed. We cried. We ate a lot of pork.

More drama on the farm. . .

It is now a completely proven fact that I have no idea how to tell when an animal is about to give birth. Part of the problem is that we let our boys run freely with our girls, and nature takes its course. That often leaves me guessing at when breeding occurred. Changing this system is under discussion, but right now we are not really set up to keep the boys separate from the girls and from each other.  So, it is a guessing game. 

So far this season, I've had two that I've put in the nursery pen way before they've needed to be, and counting this morning, I've had two that took me by surprise. I should get the last one right though. We have one goat left to kid, and I know when she was bred. One out of five ain't bad? Geesh!

I've been watching Mini Ewe (our yearling) for a couple of weeks now. In the last couple days her udder had gotten a little larger, but was still small. Her back side was slightly swollen, but no more so than it has been for a couple weeks. There was no discharge. 

This morning Tim and I went out to feed the animals. It was the normal craziness of trying to walk through slick as snot mud on sloping ground to separate the goats, sheep, and donkey to their respective feeders while they all crowd around you begging for their feed. After they all got settled I heard a "Maaaa" that I didn't recognize. A quick glance toward the sheep revealed that all expected animals were accounted for. "Maaaa." 

Where was that coming from? Following the sound to the goat shed, "Maaaa," and there underneath the building I could see four long black legs attached to the mouth making that racket. A single lamb, that part I did expect. It's a ram. He and Mini are doing great, and are now in the nursery.  

Also today the big ram came back home. He went to service a few girls at another farm late last fall. In exchange, he stayed there over the winter. It was a good deal for the farmer. He had been paying what I think is a ridiculous price for stud service. It was a good deal for us. We did not have to feed him all winter, but more importantly, I didn't have to deal with him for several months. 

This ram does not have a name, but I refer to him as Butthead. He is huge, and he likes to butt. He has sent many of us flying down the pasture. He hasn't exactly hurt us, unless you count our pride that is, but you always have to be on your guard with him. 

In addition, he fights with all the other male animals. He has gotten beaten up by our boar. He and our buck goat would fight to the death if we left them together, and we suspect that he had a run in with a buck deer last year also. No, I wasn't real thrilled about him coming home, but he does produce nice lambs. 

All this drama happened before nine-thirty this morning. 

Afterward Kellen and I rushed out of here to make a 10:00 fair goat meeting. While we were gone, Mamaw and Ashley flipped the four wheeler while looking in the pasture for a cow that recently miscarried. Ashley has a little bruising, and I think they are both a bit sore, but no major injuries. 

Since I also flipped the darn thing last summer, (did I neglect to post that? hmm....) the men folk here have decreed that the women folk here are no longer allowed to drive it. Honestly, I have no desire too unless I'm on flat ground, and there is precious little of that here. 

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Papaw and Tim worked on the pig barn. Mamaw took all the kids except Vivian to the movies. I worked on some things in the house. Oh, we did eat a lot of pork.

Though I recently stated elsewhere that we needed to cut back on the consumption of our homegrown pork, I realized afterwards that I have quite a bit of pork already defrosted in the refrigerator. Now, we have to use that up don't we? Wouldn't want it to go to waste now would we? Mmmmm. . . sausage gravy, biscuits and fried potatoes for lunch. Eggs, bacon and toast for dinner. 

Just another day on the farm. 

Flying Goat

Wordless Wednesday

For a Little Perspective

Once upon a time Tim and I were youth group leaders in our church. Those youth are now all grown up, and we have lost contact. Recently, Tim discovered the Facebook page and blog of one of the girls that we were fairly close to, Julianna. Even as a young teen, she was very confident, and level headed. What she is doing now has blown me away. See for yourself, Julianna in Uganda.  

Lately, I've been feeling very overwhelmed by the tasks and responsibilities on my plate. Will somebody define hardship? over at Hot Belly Mama's was a wonderful reminder to me to stop and enjoy what we have here. 

Hope you also enjoy these wonderful blogs. 

New Kids

These were not a surprise.  Poor Sally was huge. Her udder so big she could barely walk. When we went to feed yesterday afternoon, there they were, a boy and a girl. The doeling was very fresh. She is quite a bit smaller, so we will keep an eye on her, but both kids seem healthy and were nursing. Sally is a first time momma. She was busy cleaning up the kids, but we gave her a little help. 

The goats change so fast! In the picture below, the kid Kellen is holding is a month old. Lydia is holding the new doeling. 

In other farm new, most of the fat hogs have been sent to the butcher or the market. We got our fresh pork from the butcher on Tuesday (the smoked portions take a little longer.) I can't remember the last time I've had small farm raised pork. It is excellent!  

The new piglets are almost all sold as 4-H pigs. The two new gilts, including Kellen's Ashes, will be bred soon. Seedlings are started, and garden plans are being made. Chicks will soon be ordered. There will be calves, more kids and lambs this spring yet too. There is always something exciting going on! 

What you learn when the power is out.

Two weeks ago ice took the power out for more than two days. A few days later, the power was out again for the better part of the day when a car hit a pole. This week the power was out, yet again, for two days thanks to extremely high winds. While being without power that many days certainly has its inconveniences, we did learn a few things. 

1. Camping equipment is for more than camping. 

2. The dishwasher makes an excellent drying rack for hand washed dishes. 

3. Who ever invented head lamps is a genius. 

4. An ample supply of firewood, flashlights, and batteries is a household requirement. 

5. Putting the kids to bed with the sun is kind of nice. 

6. A good book is almost as distracting to me as the computer. 

7. Our kids have fantastic imaginations. 

8. Fasting electric is good for the mind, not to mention the electric bill. 

9. Hot showers are one of the most under rated pleasures on earth. 

10. Sometimes what you miss surprises you. One of the things I missed the most was my garbage disposal. 

Though we have learned some lessons, I hope that we don't have to put them into practice again anytime soon! 

Could it be?

Laundry on the clothes line.
Lunch on the back deck.
Birds singing.
Walks in the woods with out jackets.
Could it be spring?

Probably not to stay. Not yet, but we will enjoy it while we can!

None as Scary as This

There once was a time when I had quite the reputation. I was young, fiercely independent, over confident, and inexperienced. All dangerous qualities for someone behind the wheel of a car. 

In high school and college I had many car accidents. No one ever got hurt, but I did put many a ding and bend in several cars. The accidents, though not major, were frequent enough that I spent a good deal of time on high risk insurance. I also spent several months of college without a car when my parents wisely decided that I was not responsible enough to keep my car. Yes, I had a lot of accidents a long time ago, but none were as scary as the one that happened on Wednesday. 

We've had a crazy winter here. Lots of snow, and lots of ice. Those of you who are acquainted with our driveway, may think that it is a little crazy without snow or ice. Wednesday afternoon I had an appointment. I planned to take the kids with me, and drop them off at Tim's office during the appointment. We were all ready, and loaded in the vehicle, and headed out the driveway. 

We do have an alternate driveway that we can use during bad weather. It runs through the neighbors property, and involves opening and closing two gates in the pasture. There was still snow and ice on the ground, but I didn't even think about using the alternate driveway. I had taken our driveway up to the neighbors barn earlier that day in my "farm" van. No problems. 

I headed out the drive in the "family" van.  Apparently, the farm van has much better tires, and the family van could use a couple new ones. I got to the first hill. I got about three quarters up it. My tires were spinning. My first thought was that I hadn't taken a good enough run for the hill. 

It has happened before, and I could simply back down and give it another run. That was my plan. My plan didn't work out so well. 

I put on the brake to change gears. Before I even got the gear changed the van started sliding; backward. And it was sliding to the wrong side of the driveway. The side that drops off down the hollow. 

In hindsight, I realize that had I let off the brake I may have been able to stop the slide and regain control. It happened so fast, and the kids were in the car. All I wanted to do was stop. What do you do when you want to stop? You push the brake with all your might. It was instinctive. The brain didn't have a chance to over ride with logic. 

In the rear view mirror I saw the back of the van go over the edge, and then we stopped. The van was still in drive. My foot was still firmly placed on the brake. 

The three youngest kids really didn't understand what had just happened. Kellen was scared, but he stayed calm. He told Lydia and Nolan, who were in the back seat, to stay still and not to move. He asked me if they should move up to the front of the van. In the meantime, he leaned forward. 

I didn't know what to do. I could not tell exactly how we had stopped, or how much of the van was hanging over the edge. I could not see what was below us. In my mind, I pictured a car teetering on the edge, like in the movies,  about to fall over with the slightest weight change. I asked Kellen if there were any large trees behind us. You know, to stop us in case we went over. 

I reached for my phone, and called my dad. He was here. Tim was at work. Thankfully dad was working where he had cell service. I was half hysterical trying to tell him what had happened. He said he would fire up the Ditch Witch (which doubles as a tow truck around here) and be right out. I called Tim, still half hysterical, told him what had happened, and asked him to call and cancel my appointment. 

It seemed like an eternity until I saw Papaw coming. My leg was cramping. When I did finally see something coming, it was my farm van, not the ditch witch. The ditch witch wouldn't start, and dad had hooked it up to a battery charger. 

He came and gave the situation a good look. We weren't teetering on the edge, but were firmly hung up on the side of the drive way. I put the van in park, and we all got out. I had to climb out the passenger side. 

After I was out, I could see that the van wasn't going anywhere. Though there was a good drop off initially, below there was a fairly level area, and some nice big trees. I could also see that the hill I was trying to get up was a sheet of ice. 

I called Tim's office to let him know what was going on. His co-worker informed me that Tim was already on his way home. We were back home for only a few minutes before he walked in the house. 

By that time the ditch witch was ready to go. Papaw headed out with it down our driveway. Tim and I took the farm van down the neighbors drive way. (They are almost side by side the whole way, but the neighbors is almost completely flat.) Soon the van was out. There was no damage. The spot the dog is standing is where the van had been.  

I've been involved in a lot of accidents, but none were as scary as this. It is sobering to think of other ways this could have ended. I am so very thankful for the safety of my family on that day. 

In case you are wondering, I didn't use that driveway again until yesterday when things started melting. Even then my heart was racing the entire time. 

A trip to Holmes County, Ohio

Join me today at Scribbit for an online tour of my favorite places in Holmes County, Ohio. For those of you who are local, be sure to add your favorites spots in the comments. 

Snow, Ice and Piglets

What a week! It began snowing Tuesday morning. Then it was sleet and freezing rain. Then more snow. The power went off at 4:oo AM that night. It just came on again at 6:00 P.M. This evening. 

In the midst of all this, Papaw was trying hard to get the pig barn done before the sows were ready to farrow. You may notice that much of the building materials for this barn are from that barn we tore down in the fall. 

Thursday we moved the two sows, and all the fat pigs to the the unfinished building because the sows looked to be getting close. If you have never tried to herd pigs, I can only say that is chaos. We aren't set up yet with chutes to move the pigs, so we were leading them with feed and attempting to herd them. At the time it was quite frustrating, but I am sure that the whole thing would have appeared quite comical to anyone looking in from the outside. 

Then tonight, almost simultaneously with the power coming back on, Charcoal started having piglets. The building isn't complete, but she and the new little ones are snug and secure in a pen with a warming lamp. 

It has been an exhausting week. All I can say is thank God it is Friday, and thank God the electric is back on. Word is that another snow storm is headed our way early next week. I do believe this is why I moved away from Northeast Ohio wasn't it?

Her First Sewing Project

Lydia and I both got sewing machines for Christmas. Lydia wants to learn to sew, but she doesn't want me to teach her. She wants Mamaw to teach her. It is just as well. My sewing skills are limited to a middle school home ec class and a couple beginner 4-H projects. Mamaw is a bit more accomplished. 

My machine has been used to mend some items. Lydia, however, has been stealing away to Mamaw's every chance she gets to practice, and create her first project, a skirt. It is a simple, one seam, elastic waist skirt. Lydia did almost all of the sewing by herself. Mamaw added a decorative stitch at the bottom. 

Lydia is so proud. She finished the skirt last week, and has already worn it twice. She is asking to start the next project that is yet to be named. I better get busy, or she will soon be out sewing me! 

Double Take

If you've been reading for awhile, and you have a good memory, you may remember this picture from March of 2007. It was taken during a walk the kids and I took to the creek. I'm re-posting it now as an entry to Five Minutes for Mom's "Just Horsing Around" contest. Entries are being accepted until February 6th. So head over there for the details. 

Surprise!

Bernice, the goat I thought was just in heat about a month ago, the one who was last to kid last year, who I thought was no where near kidding again even though my dad thought she was ready (man, I hate it when he is right!) had twin doelings this afternoon. Meet Evening Star and Mae. 

Is Big Brother Watching?

Today while I was making lunch, Kellen was on the computer. He was supposed to be researching and writing about King Tut and the archaeologist who discovered his tomb. He says, "That is strange." I, thinking he is going to tell me something about ancient Egypt, walk into the office to see what he found. He had gotten distracted checking his blog stats. 

He loves to go into statcounter and see the map where visitors come from. The one he thought was strange was from Charleston WV. The strange part is the IP address is the West Virginia Department of Education. The visitor had been to his blog repeatedly. 

After Kellen got his report done, I checked my stats a little closer than normal. Yep, the WV Department of Education has been watching my blog too. Eighty-one visits and a visit length of four and a half hours today. Crazy. 

I'd like to think that perhaps this is someone who is curious about homeschooling. Who, with no agendas, wants to learn about how we spend our days. Maybe they are trying to understand the growing popularity of homeschooling. Perhaps it is a parent who is considering homeschooling their own child. Or maybe it is even a homeschool advocate in the department looking for some real life homeschooling stories. These were not my first reactions. 

It may reveal my own insecurities, but my first reaction was that I felt we were being graded, judged, and tested. Are they trying to figure out how many days we actually open our books? Do they want to prove that homeschooling just doesn't cut it? Why are they watching me? I haven't been able to get this song out of my mind all day. 

My reactions may be a bit silly. We have nothing to hide. Our kids are well rounded, educated and interact well with others. Kellen's test scores are excellent. Lydia will be testing for the first time this year, and I am sure will also do well. We meet the requirements of the law. Why the paranoid reaction?

Perhaps because I once was part of the public education system, and from that experience learned that most public educators are against homeschooling.  I expect with the growing popularity of homeschooling will come the increased desire by the state to exert more control over it. I take for granted the relative freedom homeschoolers have in this state, and do not want to see it changed. 

To my fellow WV homeschoolers, check your statcounter. I'll bet you will also find the WV Department of Education is checking out your blog. To the visitor from the department, I hope my paranoid reactions are incorrect. I hope you are just curious, or even better, an advocate of homeschooling. Either way, I think you will see that our ways are quite different than traditional school, but that they also are quite effective. Enjoy your visits to our blogs. 

 

And the party. . .

Lydia's party was yesterday. We kept the party smaller this year. She invited four friends. One couldn't come, and there were still 21 people here! How does that work? There is your trick question for the day.

The party was very laid back. We did have a craft activity planned, but the girls just wanted to play. I was fine with that. They ate snacks, played, made ice cream sundaes, played, and played some more. Somehow I only managed to take pictures when she opened gifts. Gift opening is always memorable, but when your siblings are Nolan and Vivian it is extra special. 

Lydia was taking her time to open presents. She carefully read every card and was enjoying reading what her friends had written to her. Vivian grew impatient, and said to Lydia, "No read cards! Me no like cards!"

A few minutes later Nolan pipes up out of the blue, "I farted a lot of times."

Ah, the joys of younger siblings.

One of Lydia's friends spent the night. They ate pizza, played twister and dolls, and fell asleep watching a movie. We made blueberry pancakes this morning. Now we are all lounging around like it is a Saturday. I think we will should all take naps. Think I can talk the kids into it?

To the Birthday Girl!

My little girl is growing up so fast. She is learning to sew and loves to help me in the kitchen. Sweet, sweet Lydia, how can you be seven already? Happy Birthday!

How odd...

I'm surrounded by a millions things I should be doing. A certain little girl will be having a sleepover party on Tuesday to selebrate her seventh birthday. Our guests might appreciate it if the table weren't covered with laundry, and my extremely droopy Christmas tree was put out of its misery. Yet I sit here. Now, that is not all that odd. I often am lured in to the blogs when I should be doing other things. 

My hips hurt. . . from playing a video game. We played Wii Fit last night over at a friend's house. What a blast. It didn't even seem like excercise, but it sure feels like it this morning! I rocked hula hoop, which is odd since I can barely get one going in the real world. 

The weather is crappy and wet. Not all that odd. This winter has been very wet, but what is odd is that there is thunder and lightning. Some of it very close and very loud. One rumble seemed to shake the whole house. Odd for January isn't it?

I need to get to work. Have a good Saturday. 

New Babies!

The newest addition to the farm; two ewe lambs born yesterday! Despite our warnings that both of these may be destined for the freezer, the kids have tentatively named them Spotty and Zelda. Enjoy the pictures of our new lambs, but please pardon our oh so stylish morning chore attire.

Don't you know that answer?

We started back into the normal routine this week. I feel kind of thrown back into it. My tree is still up, and places still need to be found for Christmas gifts. But the world isn't stopping for me to catch up. Lydia's seventh birthday is right around the corner, and she is planning a sleep over. Band started again yesterday, and today was the first day of co-op.

Co-op was a lot of fun. The kids are always excited to get back to that and see all their friends, and meet the new homeschoolers that join us. After all the classes we eat lunch and the kids play. Vivian (2) was being her normal social butterfly and going around the gym to visit. I have my suspicions that she actually is less concerned about the social interaction than she is the snagging of better food than the food I packed. Doesn't seem to matter what I pack, she goes on her wanderings, smiles pretty and ends up with Teddy Grahams or other such treat not found in our lunch box. But I digress....

Today on her rounds she stopped for a bit with one group that often sits together. They must bring really good food, because I've noticed she always spends quite a bit of time there. Later one of the mom's, who has a son close to Vivian's age, related the conversation she had with Vivian.

The mom: Vivian, how old are you?

Vivian: Two.

The mom: Oh I thought you were three already.

Vivian: No, I two.

The mom: When will you be three?

At this point Vivian looks at her a bit strange, and says, " On my birthday." Then she walks away. I guess she thought that the mom should have known that answer already.

What a week!

The last week has gone by so fast. It has been full of friends, family, travel, and lots of food. The holidays went so fast. It is hard to believe that we will be back to the normal schedule on Monday already.

Christmas Eve we went with my parents to a Christmas Eve service. This has been a family tradition for a long time, but had been pushed aside since we moved here. Our church does not do a Christmas Eve service, so we went to a church in a nearby town. We had never been there, but a friend said it was the church she grew up in.

It is a smaller church, and the sanctuary was sparsely filled. We arrived late. Hoping to slip in unnoticed, we quietly slid into the back pew. Do you believe that we could quietly slide in with our four kids? Not a chance. Not only do the children lack any stealth skills, the pew was the squeakiest pew on God's green earth. We all sat down, "Creeee-aaaa-eee-kkkkk," and heads turned to see what the ruckus was all about. Of course there is also no sitting still with young children. The service was punctuated with many a "creak" and "shhhh" from the back row. And let's not forget the several, "I need to pee," declarations. So much for going unnoticed.

The service was fine. It was a candlelight service with lots of Christmas carols. There were other children there too, and no one seemed annoyed by our noisy intrusion. I am glad we went.

Christmas day we stayed home. It is so nice to have a day with no where to run to and no pressing projects. We enjoyed the morning opening presents and playing with the new things. Then we fixed our Christmas dinner and relaxed some more. Later in the afternoon, Tim helped Papaw with some project (the fence?) and we started packing our things to go to Ohio.

Friday morning we headed to Tim's parents for the weekend. Tim's brother Mitch was there with his son most of the weekend. We got to meet the newest nephew, Parker, and see some other family. We played a lot of games, ate a lot of food and had a great time. There is never enough time to do all we want while we are there.

Monday we left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and headed to Akron to do some things to the house we still own there. We worked all day and still didn't get everything done. I am beginning to hate that house, but that is a subject for another post.

A plan was hatched for us to take two of Jake's kids back to WV with us that night, and for Jake and Delilah to pick up our kids from Jeff and Gail on Wednesday on their way here. As Jake and I were working out the details, I get a call from Gail. Vivian was not happy. She had been asking for me the whole day, and saying she wanted to go home. We decided that she should go home with us that night instead of waiting until Wednesday.

By the time all the arrangements were made, and we had all the kids that were going with us, it made for a late start home. It was almost midnight when we finally got home.

Vivian woke up Tuesday morning, and the first thing she did was ask for Lydia. When I told her Lydia was at Grandma's she cried to go to Grandma's house! She and I had a lot of errands to run that day and every so often she would whine for Grandma or Lydia. UGH!

Jake and Delilah arrived with the remaining children Wednesday afternoon. Vivian was very happy to see her sister. We opened presents, ate seafood stew and cheesecake and had fun hanging out. We laid out sleeping bags for the kids that were staying up for the New Year. (Nolan and older.) Kellen, Miles and Ashley played Monopoly and Tim and I watched Cars and fell asleep with Lydia and Nolan in the living room. The older kids finished their game in time to watch the ball drop. Tim and I woke up for the event, then we all promptly crashed.

Yesterday we left Mamaw and Papaw with all the kids and went with Jake and Delilah to see Valkyrie. It was good, definitely worth a rental, but maybe not worth the outrageous prices that the movie theaters are charging now. We went to a matinee, so I didn't feel too bad about the money spent. When we got back we ate the traditional pork and sauerkraut dinner, and it wasn't long until we all crashed.

Tim is back to work today. Tonight we are having a ham dinner with everyone including my Great Aunt Hazel and Terry who came down yesterday afternoon. Tomorrow the guys are going to get hay and working on the pig barn that needs to be completed before the sows farrow at the end of the month. We are expecting lambs any day now. My thoughts have turned to chicks and seeds, and I need to do a little research and order chicks for the spring. I have plans to turn the bathtub in our room to a place to start my seeds. It is back to the normal schedule with band, and co-op next week. Always something to do around here.

Hope you had a great Christmas and happy New Year to everyone.

Merry Christmas

You have made known to me the path of life: you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. - Pslams 16:11 NIV

Image credit: Angel Guide