6 Puppies and More

We have been puppy sitting for the last week. Only one week left to go until the puppies' family return from vacation. Our kids have enjoyed the experience. I think this is the best way to experience keeping puppies. Keep them two weeks, and send them back home. The first several days the puppies were here, the kids begged to keep one of them. This time I stood firmly on the word "NO". After one week, every child is getting a bit weary in well doing. They still like the puppies, but they aren't so ready to take on a full time responsibility for them. They have now experienced caring for them. Come to think of it, in the last few days nobody has asked if they could keep a puppy. Either they are being wonderfully obedient children, or they have decided that puppies are lots of trouble. (I bet it is the latter)!

Michael and I spent some time this weekend making some farm plans. We walked an area to see if it was suitable for keeping pigs. We....He decided that it was. We had already purchased hog panels last summer so now all that is left to do is install them to make a pig fence. While we were walking on our property, we found a metal box on plywood skids that will make a great pig shelter for quite awhile. The previous owner of our property kept hunting dogs so every now and then we find dog paraphernalia. I was happy because this will give us the pig shelter that we were lacking. I called the local pig farmer. He has pigs for sale at $35 a piece. We will purchase 2 pigs for our pork consumption. We have raised pigs in the past, and we were delighted with the meat. The meat was wonderful, and I was amazed at how much it cut down on our grocery budget.

As soon as the pig project is completed, we will be on the look out to buy a black Angus calf. You better believe I want the calf to be big enough that it can't slip through our neighbor's fence like our Jersey calf does. We spend way too much money at the grocery store these days. I know that having a cow and 2 hogs in the freezer would cut down on that expense greatly.

I was disappointed when I called the local Blueberry farm and discovered that there would be no blueberries this year. I had a suspicion of this, but it was confirmed yesterday. Between the late freeze we had this spring and the drought, the blueberries have not produced this year. I know we lost all of our apples off our June apple tree, and that has been sad as well. However, we trust God no matter the situation, and thank Him for all the things that we have had this year. (I am still going to miss the blueberries, and the homemade blueberry syrup for pancakes, and eating fresh blueberries from the bowl, and homemade blueberry pie, and well you get the picture!

grace and peace,

julie

Sunday Scripture

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Gift Basket of Flowers

Here is a gift basket that I made as a "thank you" gift. Everything in the basket we grew on the farm. The only cost of this gift was the basket itself as well as a piece of fresh flower florist foam.

To assemble: I cut the foam to fit into the basket. I lined the basket with plastic. I soaked the foam until drenched. I then put the foam on top of the plastic liner. I started adding sunflowers until I got the shape that I wanted. Then I took farm vegetables and covered the entire bottom of the basket with them. These included different types of peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. This basket took me less than 2o minutes to assemble not counting picking time.

grace and peace,

julie

Here a few pictures of the different types of Zinnias in our flower garden. The last photo is a new flower that I grew for the first time this year. It is called Gomphrena. It is also a nice cut flower that can be used in fresh arrangements as filler flowers. The leaves are beautiful so they also help in being a base for an arrangement. Sometimes when I make an arrangement I just use all flowers and no greenery. This makes a showy display, but my favorite arrangements are the ones that have greenery in the background and then a few flowers added to it. This allows each individual flower to be showcased, and I think their beauty stands out so much more. I hope today to make some flower arrangements. I have been so busy with other things that the flowers have become last on my list. I am planning on changing that today!

grace and peace,

julie

Old garden plants and veggies make happy chickens

I mentioned in my last post that our squash and zucchini plants are almost finished producing. I take the old plants and throw them in our chicken pen. I also do this with lettuce that has gone to seed or turned bitter due to the heat. The chickens are happy to get the excess. It is a quick and efficient way to "clean up" a mess. We are all happy in the end. The first picture was taken after I threw a bunch of lettuce plants into the pen. The next picture shows several hens fighting over a squash that had become too ripe. And the last picture is of our Bard Rock Hen. I think this type of chicken is the perfect mascot to represent the good life on a farm.

grace and peace,

julie

Pictures from Saturday's Harvest

Here are a few pictures from our garden's harvest last Saturday. We have had enough squash and zucchini. Those plants are just about done producing, and I am not sad to see them go. I have enjoyed the bounty, but I am ready to eat other things for awhile now.

The one thing that I am not tired of is all of our lettuce. I love the fresh lettuce, and we eat it often. I remember the first time I made a salad with fresh garden lettuce. I did not have a salad spinner (pictured in the last picture) so I washed the lettuce quickly and dried it with paper towels. While I was eating my salad, I found a slug on my plate. I just about choked. I am smart enough to know NOT to say anything about bugs in the food in front of the kids. That is something I WOULD NEVER hear the end of. I prayed nobody else had bugs on their plate. After dinner, I told Michael that we needed to make a trip to the kitchen store to purchase a salad spinner. He asked me why...I quickly told him....he quickly agreed for a road trip. Now to wash my salad, I fill our kitchen sink up with cold water. I submerge all of the lettuce in the water. I let it set for a bit. I even slosh it around a bit. I then wash the lettuce under running water, and spin it several times in my salad spinner to dry. I have never again found a bug on my salad plate!

grace and peace,

julie

Tired Farmers

It has been hot around here in East Tenn. Here are two of our farm hands weary from both the heat and work! I think the English Mastiff had a "cooler" idea than the 3 year old for a resting place, but Seth does look quite comfortable.

We had much needed rain yesterday so I am looking forward to getting down to the garden today and seeing what there is to pick. I am amazed at how much money we are saving this summer by eating the garden produce. I plan my meals by what is available from our garden. We have had many meals over the past few weeks that fried zucchini has substituted for meat. However I think I over did that one a bit. My 13 year old informed me the other day that just because I fry a veggie doesn't make it a meat product. All of my men are true carnivores!

grace and peace,
julie

Garden tip from Tnfarmgirl (THANKS, CHERI)!

After bemoaning the fact that we were in such a hurry to assemble two of our beds this year that we didn't even till the grass before adding the dirt, Tnfarmgirl (Cheri) answered I know what you can do about that. (I immediately thought I don't have time to stand out there and pull out all the grass)! She told me to get old newspapers and fold them to be in a least 4 layers. Wet the newspapers, and place them over the grass in the bed. This was going to kill the grass while becoming a great addition to our bed when tilled into it later in the season. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical, but I quickly went to Michael's shop and gathered up enough newspaper to cover the problem bed. Cheri told me this about 3 weeks ago, and all of the grass under the newspaper has turned yellow and died away. My tomato plants are beautiful. Now I am keeping every piece of newspaper that comes my way. She also said to use the newspaper when we are building the beds to help control weeds, and it provides food for the worms!! (imagine that)! After tilling the ground, spread the newspaper over the tilled up ground. Then add the composted dirt and amenities to the bed. Our next beds will be prepared just that way.

grace and peace,

julie

I just finished reading Deliberate Agrarian's new post. His link is at our sidebar. This post was about finding his mother's diary, and how much it touched his heart when he read a passage that she had written concerning him. I wanted to share what I have done for my children. I don't share this so you think I am a creative person. I share this because I know that God instructed me to do this over 16 years ago. It all started when our first baby was born. I received a beautiful baby book, and I was diligent to write in it often. However, there were many things that I wanted to share with this new little being that didn't fit on the pages of his baby book. I started writing notes to each of my children. I do not have any specific time line concerning this. I just wait until I have something special to share with them or a story about them. Over the years, I don't always have time to get a nice clean sheet of paper. I have even been know to scribble a funny moment on a napkin. I then place the napkin in their baby book. I just make sure that I date it, and just to make it easier on me later on I even jot down their age at the time. I have notes and letters of love to each of my children from babyhood to teenage years. My children do not know that I have kept these notes for them. This is something special that they will discover someday. God willing, I plan on turning these notes and letters into a special book and give it to each of their spouse's on their wedding day along with their baby book. This will be my special gift to them that no amount of money could have ever bought.

grace and peace,
julie

Monday Clean Up

Today will be a day full of mundane chores. However, Jacob never views mowing as mundane. It is a task that he enjoys immensely. Matthew and Joshua on the other hand will be weed eating, and they aren't near as enthusiastic about that job. It takes a while to mow and care for a yard as large as ours. It seems as if every time I go out the door there is something that needs to be picked up or cleaned up outside. I am thankful to have a yard to keep up becuase in times past we have not had this pleasure.

While those children will be working outside today, Hope and I will be putting our home back together on the inside. I am still amazed at how quickly a clean home can turn into a messy place. We have a few children that haven't mastered the art of picking up after themselves ALL the time. Just a few of those backsliding moments can cause a house to fall into critical mass destruction if we aren't diligent. Well off to clean I go....hi, ho, hi, ho, hi, ho!

grace and peace,

julie

Sunday Scripture

"He also brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers".

Psalm 78:16

"Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer."

Psalm 78:35

The grass is ALWAYS greener...even for cows

What is wrong with this picture?

At first glance you may think there is nothing wrong. However, there is something VERY wrong. First clue, where is the mother of this calf? She is on the other side of the fence which happens to be our farm. The calf learned early on that she can slip through the fence and join our neighbor's herd of cows. She loves the neighbor's grass as well as cows much more than ours because that is where she is staying for much of her time. She does come back home to drink milk from her Mom. I thought that having the calf next door would upset the Momma cow. I expected her to be bawling her head off. Nope...not our cow. She seems more than happy to let the cows next door watch her baby throughout the day. Everybody likes the situation except for me. I am aggravated to say the least that we have a calf ,who my children named Isabell, that lives on the next farm over!! We did go out last week to repair the part of the fence that she was using to escape. However, we discovered that the entire fence line would have to be repaired. The neighbor is fine with little Isabell joining his herd. I on the other hand am looking for a place to contain her. Our barn is in much need of repair. Our son suggested we just put her in the house. I didn't exactly like that idea, but I did consider putting her in Michael's shop with the black kitty. After all, he isn't doing much wood working right now anyway. Then I remembered that I had agreed to keep a friend's litter of 6 puppies in the shop for the next 2 weeks. I don't think I can store any other animals down there for now so I guess the arrangements that the 2 cows have worked out will have to do for the time being.

grace and peace,

julie

Favorite Cut Flowers

Here are a few of my favorite flowers that I use for cut flower arrangements. The variety of zinnias in the above picture is the California Giant. I enjoy using this variety because the blooms are large, and it takes few blooms to make a nice arrangement. The other picture is a picture of Cosmos. I planted a Sensation mixture which also includes a pretty deep purple color. I love to use Cosmos in flower arrangements because they make a soft arrangement with beautiful foliage. The flowers themselves do not last too long, but you can snip off the individual blossoms that have died. To help the flowers last longer in the water, you should strip off the leaves that will be below the water level. Leaves that are left under the water, tend to go bad very quickly. I have a harder time doing this with the Cosmos, but the Zinnias are easily stripped. I usually do this standing outside while cutting them.

Taking care of a garden bed of flowers doesn't require too much effort either. (Just in case you haven't figured out, I am a person that loves beauty that comes without a lot of effort on my part)! To keep the flowers producing blooms, you should snip off old dead blooms often. I give my daughter this task. After a while, Zinnia's leaves tend to become unattractive in the garden bed. It does mess up the view of the bed, but again just strip all the leaves when using them in an arrangement. To keep fresh flowers all summer, I succession plant all of my flowers. The first bed of Zinnias that I planted this Spring is getting to the end of their beauty. However, I have another bed that is just now coming into its peak season.

The worst enemy of a zinnia bed is Japanese Beetles. This is one bug that I detest. To be quite honest, I hate them. I pick the bugs off the flowers and squash them. However, I cannot keep up with the multitudes of Japanese Beetles so I do lose some flowers to their destructiveness. I sometimes think the flowers keeps the beetles off of my vegetables so I am thankful for that.

grace and peace,

julie

Cucumbers and a Quick Recipe

Our cucumbers are finally coming in for harvest. We planted them later than usual so we have had to wait longer than I really like to enjoy the great taste of fresh cucumbers. In the next few weeks, I will be canning Lime Pickles as well as Dill Pickles. Dill pickles are the easiest thing in the world to can. I always add a garlic clove and a Cayenne pepper to each of my quart jars. The pepper gives the pickles a bit of a bite that our entire family enjoys. For those of us who really like spice, I will replace the Cayenne pepper with a habinero pepper. Those pickles don't bite back, they KICK back!

My mom and grandmother always had cucumbers and vinegar in the frig. during the summer months. This is something that Michael and I love, and it makes a great side dish to just about any meal.

Cucumbers and Vinegar

Slice up several cucumbers. Depending on the size, I use 5 or 6. If small, I use more. Slice approximately half an onion into the cucumbers. Vidallia onions are the best, but I also use green onions from our garden too. In separate bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup water. Stir that mixture up well. Sprinkle with salt and lots of fresh ground pepper. Pour the vinegar solution into the cucumbers. Stir. Let cucumbers set in frig. for several hours before serving. Stir again right before serving. The longer they set, the softer they become. I put this dish together in the morning if I want to serve it at supper time. We also like it the next day even though the cucumbers are softer they have a great flavor. As you eat the cucumbers and onions, just add more sliced cucumbers and onions to the vinegar solution you already have. Use that solution until the vinegar gets weak. I will use it for 2 to 3 times before I discard and make a new solution.

grace and peace,

julie

Pasture Clean-up and Blackberries Galore

We went to the back part of our farm today. We have a pasture there that we haven't taken care of over the past three years. I was amazed at how many trees can grow up in a pasture over what I consider a short period of time. Michael has started mowing and cutting down small trees every evening. He has made good progress over the last few nights. The above picture shows his handy work. While he is doing that, I am out picking blackberries. Our berries are becoming ripe at different stages. This is great for me because I think we will have berries over the next month. I found a great fruit crisp recipe yesterday in our local newspaper. I am including the recipe in this post. While I was picking blackberries, I set the bag down for a moment. Seth accidentally stepped on the bag crushing a portion of the berries. I brought them home, and immediately made this crisp. It was wonderful. I had been looking for a recipe like this to work with blackberries for quite a while.

Fruit Crisp

3 cups fresh fruit

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 1-quart shallow baking pan. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch together and toss with fruit. Place fruit in baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Add butter and blend with pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Add oats and pecans and mix well. Spread evenly on top of fruit. Place pan in oven and bake 25 minutes until fruit is bubbly. I baked mine for about 30 minutes.

Serve warm or cold. I would love this recipe with some homemade vanilla ice cream. YUM

grace and peace,

julie

Beauty from the Creator

I wanted to share some of the beauty of our glorious state of Tn. with you. This picture is very deceiving. It appears as if the mountains are surrounded by water. However, it is really the Smokey Mountains surrounded by fog and clouds. Either way you view it, the picture is a good representation of the beauty all around us here in East Tennessee!

"...the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the Earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength." Isaiah 40:28-29

Happy 4th of July!!!

We are so blessed to live in the country that we do. I know that our country has many problems that need to be addressed, but I still believe with my whole heart that it is the best country out there! I am a very proud American, and I love the 4th of July celebrations. I love celebrating this special holiday with family and friends. This year however we decided to mix things up a bit. Michael and the 3 older boys went on a fishing trip. The rest of us stayed behind today and caught up on some work. Tonight we will be watching the fireworks as usual. We did not do our traditional cook out either this year. Instead we had garden green beans and new potatoes, cooked apples, fried zucchini, and corn fritters served with homemade honey butter, and of course sweet tea.

I am thinking that Hope and I will make some blackberry jam this afternoon. Last night's blackberry picking yielded 5 quarts of beautiful blackberries. I will either freeze them for cobblers or go ahead and make jam. Our farm is loaded with blackberries, and I enjoy picking them. My kids do not really get into picking blackberries because of the thorns, but I see it as a mission. I always loved picking blackberries as a child on my grandmother's farm.

Enjoy the holiday, and remember to continue to pray for our troops that are still in harms way as well as those who are serving here at home.

grace and peace,
julie

Twenty Years and Counting!

Today I went to Ky to pick up two of our children. They have been away for 9 days visiting with grandparents. They had a wonderful time, but I sure am happy to have them back home in our nest once again. It was strange only having three children around our dinner table! It was even more odd taking our car to a baseball game instead of driving our suburban. Our family doesn't all fit in Michael's car, but since we only had three kids we were able to all fit snugly.

Today is also our 20th wedding anniversary. I truly can't believe it has been 20 years already. It just doesn't seem like it should be that long. We have enjoyed the journey very much over the last 20 years. I am so thankful to the Lord for what He has done in our life and our marriage as well as our family. We started out our marriage as best friends, and we still remain best friends. I think that is one of the keys to a happy marriage. Michael and I never dated. In fact I was engaged to be married to someone else. Michael stopped by the bowling alley and asked my boyfriend if he could stop by my place of employment and say "goodbye" to me. He was leaving to go to the Navy in three days. My boyfriend said that it was fine for Michael to see me. (Boy, I bet he was sorry about that decision)! To make a long story short, I reconnected with my best friend, and shared my heart with him once again. He was very honest with me and gave me Godly sound advice. I headed his advice. I broke up with my boyfriend and cancelled the wedding plans. While Michael was in boot camp, we wrote letters back and forth. Again we shared information as best friends not as people who were interested in a relationship. Michael finally had a chance to call me during the 8th week of boot camp. In that phone conversation, he asked me to marry him. I willing and wholeheartedly said "Yes". As soon as boot camp ended, he flew to Ky for our wedding. We got married in my parents' backyard. This was the only house I had ever lived in during my entire 19 years of life. Two days later we were on our journey of married life driving to Orlando, Fl. for his next school. I left a hometown of approximately 3,000 people to live in the city of Orlando. What a shock for a young 19 year old girl!! We used to sit out on our balcony overlooking the parking lot of our little apartment and dream about our life. We dreamed of a large family. We dreamed of a farm in a quiet area of the mountains. We even talked about moving to Tennessee someday. As I look back over the last 20 years, I stand in awe of all that God has done in our life. I am so thankful because He truly has given us the desires of our hearts.

grace and peace,
julie

Sunday Scripture

"Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit." Jeremiah 29:5

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Enjoying Saturday

Today there hasn't been much "have to's" on the list of chores to complete. There are many chores there still remaining, but none too pressing. While we were at a baseball tournament last night, my husband was informed that the fish were biting. This bit of news caused him to rearrange his Saturday. He took 2 of our boys and went to the river today for a little relaxation. I am so glad that they all enjoy fishing. I HATE to fish. I blame this on my dad who never had enough room to take me when I was a child. He always took my two older brothers and that was enough to fill the boat. Now my husband is reaping the benefits of my dad's bad decision. I feel like I have done my job by contributing 5 children to my husband's hobbies of hunting and fishing. Michael asked me one early cold morning while he was getting ready to go hunt deer if I would "just this once come with him". I thought about it....it was very cold outside, the tree stand was very high up in the tree, and if a deer did come in his path I would witness the death....I promptly said "NO"! Thank God that this isn't the only time that he wants me to spend time with him or I guess I would have to muster up the courage to go hunting. I do love to shoot guns, and I think I would really enjoy shooting a bow. However, I like to shoot at targets not animals. I am not opposed to hunting in the least, I just have too big of a heart to participate in it. I will cook whatever meat is brought our way. When he was in the Navy stationed in New York, there was a man that loved to hunt. He was not interested in eating anything he killed so he always brought it to our house. He and Michael worked opposite shifts, so he would bring the squirrels in a bread bag and place them in our refrigerator until Michael got home to clean them. One of Michael's favorite breakfasts is fried squirrel and biscuits and gravy. (Thank God I am not a big breakfast eater)! This same guy knocked on our door around 10:00 p.m. one Sunday night. Michael opened the door and on our front stoop was Greg and a dead salmon. He wanted to clean it, but his wife wouldn't let him use their bath tub. He figured if I could have dead squirrels in my frig then I wouldn't mind a dead salmon in my bath tub. Such is the life of a woman married to a man that enjoys hunting and fishing. I wouldn't have it any other way.

grace and peace,
julie

A Teenager's View of a Little Mess

Teenagers are strange creatures. I heard a joke that goes something like this: Why did God have Abraham offer Issac as a sacrifice when he was 12? If He had waited until he was a teenager it wouldn't have been a sacrifice!

I have had a few of those moments with our teenagers. Our oldest son is 16 and our next son is 13. They see things a bit differently from me at times. Sometimes it is a good thing, but most of the time it isn't. Recently we were out of town for a funeral. We left our oldest son in town to stay with his best friend's family. He came out to the farm twice a day to check on the animals. Due to the fact that the death was unexpected, we had to leave suddenly which did not allow us any time to board our English Mastiff. We made the decision to leave her in Michael's shop with plenty of food and water. Everyday we talked to our son, and he said she was doing great. She had only destroyed one bag of potting soil. Imagine for yourself a clean shop with one bag of potting soil strewn about. That wasn't that big of deal. We came home that evening to the pictures above. Matthew's response to the above mess was that since Missy didn't eat the important stuff...table saw, planer, drill press, he didn't think it was a big deal. He thought he must only report the things of value to us that she had gotten into. I guess a bag of potting soil was valuable in his mind, but two huge trash cans held no significance!!! We all pitched in and got the mess cleaned up fairly quickly. The lesson I learned is to ask questions of teenagers....lots and lots of questions.....very specific questions!!!!

grace and peace,

julie

Let it Rain!!

We have had a very dry summer here so far. I am so thankful that this last week the Lord has sent His rain. My son called me outside the other evening to witness these beautiful rainbows. This picture is nothing compared to the real thing, but I wanted to share a glimpse of their beauty with you. Rainbows are a sign to us as believers from God Himself, and I always feel instantly close to the Lord whenever I see His rainbow. All of my children get equally excited whenever they see a rainbow. I never really cared about the science behind the rainbow, I just know that for me I always felt that a rainbow was like God blowing me a kiss here on Earth.

grace and peace,

julie

Enjoying the Beauty of Flowers

Here are a few arrangements that I made last week with my daughter. Flowers are one of my great pleasures of life. I have always loved them. To grow them myself adds another dimension of pleasure for me. Growing flowers and making flower arrangements is probably the most creative thing that I do. I have flowers all over the house. My favorite flower to grow is by far zinnias, but I do love to grow several different flowers. Several years ago Michael and I thought about growing and selling flowers at the farmer's market. We bought The Flower Farmer by Lynn Byczynski. This is a great book full of all kinds of information. I still think that we could be successful flower farmers, but we also came to the conclusion it just wasn't the right season in our life. That idea has been put on hold until our youngest child grows up just a bit more.

I have a plaque in my kitchen that says "Children are the flowers in the garden of life". Wow, I couldn't agree more!!! Two of our children are off to Ky visiting grandparents. It seems odd without them here, but I know that they need some "Meemaw" time to enjoy. I always loved going to my grandmother's farm when I was a child. I loved having her all to myself, and I know that being on her farm was the catalyst for wanting a farm of my own. Since two of our children are off having fun, I am taking our 3rd child for a special day with just me and him. He loves history and we have some great historical things to do right here in our own town. We are going to do that and enjoy lunch out somewhere together. It should be an enjoyable day.

grace and peace,

julie

Great is Your faithfulness

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul. "Therefore I hope in Him!"

Lamentations 3:22-24

How does your garden grow?

Gardening has become one of my passions in life. I truly enjoy the whole process of having a garden. Perhaps that is because I have a wonderful husband and several sons to help do all the "back breaking" work! Last year began our journey with planting in "beds" rather than the old way of planting in a large field. This has made it even easier and more enjoyable for me. Michael and I will be heading out shortly this morning to get another truck load of the most beautiful composted dirt/horse manure that you ever did see. God has blessed us with friends who clean their stalls out and then dump the manure into a wooded area. After some time, the composted dirt has become a lush growing environment. They allow us to take all the dirt we could ever need. In return, I take them flowers and garden produce. It is a win win situation all around.

We are enjoying an abundance of squash, zucchini, green beans, green onions, many different types of lettuce, broccoli, and many different flowers. Tnfarmgirl (her link is at our sidebar) has taught me so much about gardening. I can't even thank her enough for sharing her ideas and methods with us. She is always willing to help and answer the many questions that we pass along her way. She taught me about succession gardening. We planted green beans earlier this year, and I have already canned 14 quarts of green beans plus we have eaten several meals with a big pot of green beans as the center attraction. I will be planting another bed of green beans soon. I will have beans continuously throughout the summer instead of just in one huge amount for a shorter season. Every week or two, I plant new lettuce seed in the garden. I then harvest the lettuce when it is young and tender, but I have plenty new plants coming on for the next bowl of salad. This whole process has changed the way I approach gardening. I still can and freeze all that is available, but now our family enjoys fresh produce longer in the season.

I have already started planning our fall garden. This is a new concept to me. I used to think a fall garden consisted of pumpkins and collard greens. Boy was I wrong there. There are many vegies that can be grown in the fall with great success, plus you don't have the bugs to contend with as much.

Bugs...that is another passion of mine. They became a passion for me after we planted our first potato plants. Several years ago we had a huge potato plot, and I was so excited about this new adventure. The plants were beautiful. Then one day I went over there for something, and one entire row of potatoes had no leaves left. They were nothing more than just stems poking out of the ground. I quickly learned the ways of potato bugs, and in no time flat the bugs ate all of our potato leaves. Then the bugs went onto our tomato plants! I spent the whole garden season picking bugs off my plants. The problem was that I had let the bugs overtake the garden. Out of ignorance, I didn't know what to look for earlier on to help combat this problem. Now I am out early looking for evidence of bugs. I turn the leaves of my plants over and look for tiny yellow eggs. As soon as any are spotted, I smash them. This helps keep the bug population down before they ever get good and started. I also look for any bugs that might have hatched without us knowing. Now, here is where I enlist the help of our 3 year old. I have him look for bugs and smash them. This has a two-fold purpose. A few bugs are killed, and his little hands are busy and staying out of trouble.

Gardening with little people can be very rewarding, but it also brings many challenges. This year when I was out planting seeds, Seth was very excited to help. (None of my older children had this same passion so I thought I would take what I could get). I showed him how to sprinkle the seeds and cover them up with dirt. He quickly lost all patience with me and decided to move on to his own independent maneuvers. I looked and he was pouring seeds from my well ordered seed box! I was getting very impatient with his latest planting endeavors. I then saw a sack of onion sets. I had already planted many of them so I quickly took the sack and his little fingers and showed him how to plant onions. He enjoyed this job so much that it kept him busy for the rest of the time I was in the garden that day. Now we are enjoying his green onions that he planted. Granted I find green onions in every one of our beds mixed in here and there, but we can still use the most of them, and he had a positive experience in the garden.

Off to the garden I go!!!

grace and peace,

julie

The Rest of the Story

Yesterday was a normal Saturday on our farm. However, Michael was busy working on the computer to meet a deadline for his job. Jacob and Hope each had a friend over for the day. That was were the excitement began. Jacob and his friend came running in the house screaming something about Lizzy the cow. I could not decipher what they were saying because they were so excited and loud. I finally calmed them down enough to hear that Lizzy had her calf. This was very shocking news because we were told by Tnfarmgirl that Lizzy was due in August. We weren't even sure until recently that she was with calf because she didn't look as big as we expected her to be. We all ran outside to find this calf that these boys swore up and down that they had seen. Sure enough...they knew enough to know that it was a calf. They told us it was a boy, and by this time I believed that we had a boy calf. We loaded all the children up in the truck to go take a better look at the new baby. I looked, and I too believed we had a boy calf. After all there was something hanging down that looked like it would be a male part. I was a little sad because Michael had already told me that if it was a boy we would raise him for meat. After much gazing and discussing, Michael determined that this boy calf was very much a girl calf. I still wasn't convinced. What exactly was that thing hanging down that looked like a boy part???? After we came home, Michael called me downstairs to the computer. He had a picture of the calf on the computer, and it was a back end shot. He proceeded to give me an anatomy lesson. Let's just say I now agree that it is a girl calf too. Apparently that thing hanging down had been where her cord was!! Can you believe I am a Mom of 5 kids...and 4 of them are boys!!!!


Of course I called Tnfarmgirl and asked her "What about August?" She was confused until I told her about the calf. She then explained that Lizzy had been a.i. and should have been due in June. However, they didn't think that she conceived so they did the procedure again giving her an August due date. Apparently the first time DID take.

I am so thankful to the Lord for this new addition to our farm. Somehow having a new calf makes it seem more like a "real" farm to me. Sounds crazy I know, but honest none the less.

grace and peace,
julie

New Addition to the Farm

Meet our newest farm family member, born sometime in the last 36 hours. More to follow....

Garden Lessons Learned Daily Here on our Farm

Just a quick note of something I learned today. I have spent much time planting seeds in the shop "greenhouse". I have cared for these seeds and baby plants with much effort and time. I knew from reading that I was to harden off the plants when planting in cool weather. However, I did NOT know that if it was warm outside the plants still needed to be harden off. I learned this lesson well. I had planted little baby plants in the garden beds. After a few days, all of the plants were withered away. I was confused. After some reading and chatting with my husband, I have come to the conclusion that the young plants were too tender just to pop them in the garden beds.

I just wanted to pass along this little garden tip to those of you who may not know!!!

Happy Gardening.

grace and peace,
julie

My Happy Place

After being away from our home for five days, there are many things that need my attention. I have kept my hands busy, but as I was walking out to the garden yesterday I found my happy place. I went to the garden to gather lettuce for dinner. I saw a weed that needed pulling. Two hours later I was still pulling weeds. The funny thing was I had no idea how much time I had spent out in the garden. The time just flew by, and I enjoyed myself more than I could ever imagined. Does this mean I am getting old? I remember my Dad enjoying his garden. I thought that must be what you do when you are old. (That was my thought when I was 16). I pray that my 16 year old logic was flawed because if it isn't that must mean I AM getting OLD!!!

Today has been very productive in the garden. All of my beds have been weeded and spruced up a bit. Michael and sons built a new raised bed. I filled that bed with squash and zucchini plants that I grew from seeds in our "green house". I hope to get back outside to continue to work on planting a few more herbs, flowers, and lettuce plants. We still have the material to complete 5 more beds. I will post pictures soon.

Happy planting!!!
grace and peace,
julie

Good Byes and Thank Yous

On Friday evening while we were getting ready for our daughter's piano recital, we received word that Michael's father passed away unexpectedly. We have been in a whirlwind the last few days as we have been dealing with all the things required of us. Much to our dismay, Michael's father had made no preparation for this day. He had no final wishes for us to carry out, and there was no life insurance policy to help us with the final expenses. This brought much stress to Michael and his brother as they stood face to face with the funeral director requiring a large sum of money to be paid in 30 days. God is so faithful, but the funeral director wanted more than just Biblical promises on his payment. With the help of many different people, most of the needed money was donated. I am so thankful to the Lord that people were willing to help us when we needed it most.
I did not share this part of the story just to tell you of our plight of woes, but it brought some business things to our minds that we need to attend to. I do not want my children to feel undone if an untimely death should occur in our home. We will be making some needed changes to make our wishes legal in the event that something should happen to Michael or myself. It was very disheartening at a time of mourning to be faced with financial issues. We are a typical American family who intends to take care of this type of business soon, but Michael's father felt the same way I am sure. However, his time frame just ran out before he got around to dealing with the business at hand.
Whenever a death of a parent occurs, Michael and I try our best to take away something positive from that situation. We look at our parents', and as grown children we can see their strong points as well as their weak ones. We want to do better than our parents' in some areas of their lives. Just as I am sure that our children will want to do better than us in certain areas in our lives. Death brings a time of honest reflection, and I pray that we can implement the changes in our lives that need to be addressed.
Upon my Dad's death, being able to have some of his earthly possessions brought me some comfort. Shooting his gun made me feel somewhat closer to him. I know that it helped to bring fond memories back of when I was a child being taught by him to shoot. Michael was able to experience this himself this weekend by bringing back some of his dad's woodworking tools. I watched as he looked through jigs that his dad had made for certain jobs, and I understood that it brought a connection to his dad. He was thrilled to find templates that his dad had made of many different kitchen cabinet doors. There is something special about being able to use the tools of the trade that has been handed down from generation to generation. We are truly blessed. I look around our home and see a beautiful cedar gun cabinet built by Michael's grandfather. I look in our shop and see cabinets and benches and tools used and built by Michael's father. I know both his father as well as his grandfather would be very pleased to see Michael's sons so enthusiastic to learn the art of woodworking.
Michael's father was a Vietnam veteran. Due to his military service, we had a 21 gun salute at his burial. It was overwhelming to me to see these men salute and pay tribute to a fellow soldier. As Taps was played on the bugle, I was moved to great emotion. That song stirs up so much in my heart. I am so thankful to all the soldiers who has fought to secure our freedom. Michael served 12 years in the Navy, and I have a very soft place in my heart for soldiers as well as sailors. As we were finishing up dinner at Cracker Barrel on our trip back to Tennessee, a world war 2 veteran came in to eat dinner. I could tell that he was a veteran by the hat he wore. I was pricked in my heart to tell him thank you for all that he gave to serve our country. I understand only a small part of the sacrifice, but I do my best to teach my children that it was real people that gave their lives to serve their country. Unfortunately I did not act upon my conviction. I missed the opportunity to say thank you to this dear man. I was uncertain and embarrassed to tell him the gratitude that was in my heart. I was unsure how he would respond to me. Just seeing this man brought tears to my eyes, and I knew that having a conversation with him would put me into a crying fit. I suggested to Michael that he should take the boys over and thank him, but I guess that the Lord pricked my heart not Michael's heart. I am sad that I did not follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in this situation. My heart is heavy because I did not obey Him. However, I know that God's mercies are new every morning, and I won't make that same mistake again. So to all you veterans out there thank you for the sacrifice that you gave. Words are too shallow to express the gratitude in my heart.

grace and peace,
julie

Hello To All

Wow, I am amazed at how quickly time can get away from me since my last post. All is well here on our beautiful farm. We have been busy doing all the farm things that Spring brings to our chore list. I love this time of year so much! Here is a quick update on the things that we have had our hands to as of lately:

Honey Bees: We were very disappointed this year when Michael checked our 2 hives and found that all of our bees were gone. There were a few dead ones remaining in the hive. We promptly ordered 2 more packages of bees. Upon their arrival, we made up sugar water and placed them in their new home. Michael has checked on them, and the new queens are laying eggs so for the time being we know that all is well there. We have had a lot of trouble with keeping our bees from season to season. Our first attempt at beekeeping came with little bees that did not want to stay home. Every time we turned around it seemed that our bees were swarming!! That lasted for two seasons. We then moved the bees to a new location because we bought a new/old home. The bees continued the swarming mode, but at least some of them were content to stay put. After a year at that location, we once again purchased a new/old home. This is the place that we live now, and it comes complete with wind, wind, and more wind. Our hives have blown over SEVERAL times even though Michael strapped them down with everything known to man. Finally we moved our bees by a neighbor's barn that is located right next to our fence. The bees are on our side of the fence, but we are using his barn as a wind barrier. We would have done this earlier on, but we weren't for sure how our neighbor would feel about this new arrangement. He doesn't live on the property so we felt he wouldn't mind, and we were right about this. Our hives have stayed together this entire windy season!!!

The whole issue with the loss of honey bees in the news has really bothered me lately. I am just as curious as the next person to find out the cause. My mom called the other day and said that she heard Paul Harvey talking about it on his radio show. That particular broadcast suggested cell phones or electrical wires may be causing the problem. I still believe that the Deliberate Agrarian is onto something with his theory of the GMO seeds. Time will tell...

Dairy Cow: Michael and the boys finally finished the fencing so that we could pick up our dairy cow from Tnfarmgirl. She was gracious enough to let Lizzy remain on her property until we could get our fences secured, which took a while. Lizzy has done quite well at her new home. She is a beautiful cow, and I enjoy looking out my kitchen window and seeing her graze in our field. However, she will function as much more than just a lawn ornament. She is scheduled to give birth some time in August so we will also have fresh milk. We have been working with her to get her more gentle for milking. Michael and I were with her the other day, and he wondered out loud if she really was pregnant. (She hasn't been vet checked so we do not have an actual confirmation). I asked him why he was thinking that, and he commented that she wasn't near as big as I was when I was pregnant!! (After almost 20 years of marriage, you would think he would K-N-O-W what not to say,but he was deep in thought). He tried to back peddle and explain that he REALLY meant something lame like "proportionally speaking"!!!! Of course I am still making him pay for his comment on that one, but I did understand his meaning. I am happy to report that since that day, Lizzie is growing a bit broader. I will keep you update on this as it progresses.

Chickens: We installed our new chicken fence which is an electrical netting fence. It is designed to be moved. I can't tell you how happy I am to have our chickens in a large fenced in area that is safe and contained. I so enjoy watching them out my kitchen window too. Sometimes when I am getting stressed, I take a minute to gaze at the chickens. There is something very peaceful about watching them peck and scratch in beautiful lush green grass. They too are much more than just lawn ornaments. We have enjoyed the fresh eggs. At this time, they aren't laying many eggs due to molting. I will be happy when they are back to work once again!

Garden: The garden is perhaps my favorite area of our farm. We have filled our 4 raised beds that we had last year. Michael will be ordering more wood from our local saw mill, and will add 6 more beds to our area. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed gardening in the raised beds. Right now we have a bed full of all different kinds of lettuces, green onions, and a few broccoli plants. We have another bed full of bush beans that haven't sprouted yet. We have a bed full of an early tomato variety, and another bed with flowers and cabbage. In my make shift green house in the basement, I have squash and zucchini coming out my ears. There are many more tomatoes in the early stages of growth along with enough peppers to supply an army. I also have various stages and variety of flowers growing.

Well, this post has turned into a little longer that expected. I need to wrap it up here, and get to our sons' ballgames. I pray you have a wonderful weekend in your neck of the woods.

grace and peace,
julie

recipe for Chocolate Covered Eggs

Here is the recipe for the eggs that I told you about in yesterday's post. We made these eggs today as a family project. They are VERY messy, but they are fun. The eggs remind me of the old fashioned creme filled eggs that I used to eat when I was young. They are very good, but very sweet. Hope you enjoy. For copyright purposes, I found this recipe on the FoodNetwork website. The recipe is one of Paula Deen's and it came from her show Paula's Home Cooking.


Chocolate Covered Potato Eggs

2 medium potatoes (2 cups total when mashed)
1 stick butter
2 (1 pound) boxes confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups melted chocolate

Boil and mash potatoes, then cool to room temperature. Add butter to potatoes. Mix potatoes, sugar and vanilla. Chill in frig. for 1 hour. The mixture should be the consistency of marzipan. Divide the dough into 16 equal shape pieces and roll into egg shapes. Freeze them for 30 minutes. Dip pieces into melted chocolate to cover, transfer to a rack covered with wax paper for drying. Serve cold. Color coconut with green food coloring to make grass for the chocolate eggs to set on if desired.

grace and peace,
julie

He Has Risen INDEED!!

Our family spent many years not celebrating Easter or Christmas due to the fact that the origin of these holidays are pagan. Then one day we realized that we are not celebrating the goddess Ishtar or a make believe santa, but we could enjoy the holiday without worshiping the origin. We could celebrate a holiday AND worship our Lord Jesus Christ as long as our heart was in the right place. (That was a revelation to us and it changed the way our family began to make memories with our children). "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure..." Titus 1:15. As we were seeking the Lord in this matter, we found the above scripture, and we felt released to enjoy the holiday. Our standard is that we still will not lie to our children and tell them there is a santa or easter bunny or tooth fairy. We don't ever want them to think that if we would lie to them about santa perhaps we would lie to them concerning other issues. With all of this personal background being said, I wanted to share with you some great ways that we have made Easter a special time in our home. As with Christmas, I enjoy doing several projects throughout the week with the kids. It gives us time each day to enjoy a special time of being together. I am still amazed at how much my older boys still enjoy what seems to be childish activities.

Today our project was egg dying. As you can see in the above picture, it can create a mess. My oldest son was saying how much he hated messes, but I reminded him memories were more important than messes. We combined all of our eggs into a wire farm basket. My daughter and I cut some dogwood and redbud stems and attached them to the side of the basket. We now have a beautiful table center piece without much cost at all. The best part is that we all had a hand in putting it together and memories were made. Every spring our neighbor blesses us with goose eggs. We always save them to color, and this year I wrote each child's name on the egg with a crayon. I had them color them, and then I placed them in a pretty dish for display.

When I was sick I was "busy" watching the food network. Paula Dean had a great recipe for chocolate eggs. This will be our project for tomorrow. I will post the recipe later. We will also being tinting coconut green to look like grass for our eggs. I plan on putting our green "grass" and eggs on a pretty yellow plate for display.

In times past I have done elaborate Easter baskets for each child. At other times, we just didn't have the money to spend on such things. One mother of a large family said that they purchase each child a chocolate rabbit. In the middle of the kitchen table, they put together a family candy basket for all to share. She says this helps keep the cost down for her. This year I will put together a basket for each of our children. I like to add candy to their baskets, but I also like to add other small things that don't contain so much sugar. Last year I added silly putty to each basket. I was amazed that my kids had never played with silly putty before. Silly putty was a staple in my childhood! I usually find a coloring book and a small box of crayons to add to the basket. For the older children, I splurge and buy them a magazine of interest such as a hunting or fishing magazine. Last year I used cricket buckets for my 2 older boys' baskets. The baskets turned out great, and they were usable when they went fishing with their Dad. It makes the kids feel special when I take some time to think about each of their likes and put that into their basket. My oldest son really enjoys lifting weights. I am trying to come up with something for his basket using that theme. The true challenge is to do this type of thing while staying on a budget! I have also added playdough and bubble making gadgets in the baskets as extras. Hint: When choosing a basket remember the bigger the basket the more stuff it takes to fill the basket. When I am really watching my budget, I buy smaller basekts and it takes less stuff to fill it.

We also try to get together with another family for Easter dinner. Since we have never lived around any of our family, we enjoy having a large dinner with another family in our community. This adds so much more fun to our celebration time.

And most important of all, I want my children to understand that Easter is a celebration of Jesus. On Saturday night, we will have a time of family communion. We celebrate our communion with a large loaf of fresh baked bread and a bottle of sparkling grape juice. We use risen bread intentionally because for us it is symbolic of the fact that Jesus rose again.

I hope that these ideas will help you think about ways that you can share some special time with your own family. Memories are more important than messes so enjoy some messy time with your own children, and make some wonderful memories that will last a life time.

grace and peace,

julie