Garden Plans

Yesterday Michael finally got the weather and his schedule to cooperate with his plans. He was able to go to the big garden area and use his new tractor. He borrowed the neighbor's plow so he could turn the ground. Then he hooked up the neighbor's tiller and tilled the area. (One of the neighbors used to do this for us BEFORE Michael put the bee hives in the area. Since then, that neighbor hasn't offered his services. I understand WHOLE HEARTILY)! Now he will take our small walk behind tiller and make hills to plant potatoes. We should have already done this in our area. I think early April is the time frame, but we didn't have the tractor then and it just didn't work out. I purchased Yukon Gold Potatoes and I don't want to just throw them away so we are going to give it a try. I did talk to an older farmer and he said he thought it would be fine especially this year because we have had a very cool spring. His potato plants were very small although he planted on time. This encouraged me! We are also hoping that by planting a bit later that we might avoid the dreaded potato bugs. We will also be using the Earthway seeder to plant corn in the garden area. Raised beds are great, but corn and potatoes take up a lot of space and I like those planted in rows. Here is Michael unloading the tractor the day he brought it home. One of the older kids missed him yesterday evening. They wanted to know where he went. I told him he went to his happy place. The child knew immediately that he was finally on the back of that tractor doing something!
Today I have to get back out to the raised beds and pick. I have broccoli galore to cut. I also have several heads of cabbage to cut. We have had tons of wind the last few days. This is very unusual for us in May. It has broken several of my plants. I have lost about half of our yellow squash and zucchini plants to the wind. I plan on planting a few more of those out in the row garden. I don't want to have them in the raised beds taking up space later in the summer. Something ate the half bed of Roma tomato plants that I planted the other day. I think it was the neighbor's guineas. I love the neighbor's guineas because they spend a lot of time in our yard eating bugs. I will overlook the lost plants and replant today. I still have many tomato plants left to go into the ground. As soon as it warms up a bit, I also have an entire bed of pepper plants to put out in a raised bed. It just has been cooler than usual, but I am not complaining!

grace and peace,
julie

The Boy

There once was a boy who loved to play ball...He had brothers galore to do it all.
He laughed and he played until his eyes crossed...
His older brother was usually the boss!
He loved to hunt and shoot him some guns...He was known to be found fishing under the sun.He was a child that wasn't afraid to work...And he was always willing to hold the little squirt!Then one day the little boy grew... He turned into a fine young man that was so true.
He still had the smile that lit up the room...
And we knew that one day he would be some body's groom.
But for today we are so thankful...That he still is young and keeps our hearts and hands full!!!

Fun Baseball Weekend

Our son's 11 year old Marlin Baseball team had a great weekend. We won the tournament for our bracket. Here is a picture of Jacob before batting. I had posted a few weeks back about some of the reasons that we play baseball, and one of those was to help build character. Jacob had always been a great batter, but at the beginning of this season he struggled terribly. With his decreasing batting average, his attitude also plunged. We worked on his attitude along with his batting. I am happy to say that he has improved BOTH!!!
Here is the picture of Jacob hitting the walk off double that won the ball game to advance us into the championship game!

And here is a picture of his teammates waiting at home plate to celebrate his hit and their victory. It was a great weekend!!!

grace and peace,
julie

Sunday Scripture

"I will lift my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

Spinach Salad Recipe

This salad may just be my new favorite. It was such a tangy sweet combination that Michael and I both really enjoyed. By the way, you may want to let children and especially teenagers know that the strawberries in this salad aren't the normal everyday flavor. Our second son took a bite out of his strawberry and literally spit it right back out with a horrible look on his face. With his nose all wrinkled up, he announced that his strawberry had vinegar on it. At first I was a bit irritated with him, but then I realized what a shock it would be if you thought you were eating a sweet dessert strawberry and instead you got a strawberry covered in salad dressing!

Spinach Salad with Strawberries

A large bowl of fresh baby spinach

Green onions sliced

Sugared almonds or pecans

Fresh Strawberries cut in halves

Dressing

1/2 cup oil

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 to 10 drops of hot sauce

Squeeze a few strawberries to add some juice to the dressing. The dressing will be a light pink color when you get enough strawberry juice in it.

Mix dressing together. I let mine set in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the flavors blend.

Sugared Almonds

melt a few tablespoons of sugar in a stainless steel pan. Stir constantly. When the sugar has melted, add enough almonds (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup) to glaze. Stir quickly just until glazed and pour directly in bowl to cool. When cooled break into pieces.

To serve the salad: Mix the spinach strawberries and green onions in a large glass bowl. Add the almonds, and pour enough of the dressing to cover the salad. Toss. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

grace and peace,

julie

Baby Emu

Josh and Kolin, the great emu egg getters, obviously missed one emu egg. Now we have a grumpy momma emu and a new baby emu running in our field. You know that is just what we needed!!! Perhaps we should have eaten them for breakfast!!!!

grace and peace,

julie

A View Of My Garden

I think cabbage plants are beautiful. While I am willing to admit they aren't as pretty as flowers, they still hold a beauty about them that is hard to beat. Whenever I see a pretty cabbage plant, I am instantly transformed to my childhood. I loved the story books written by Beatrix Potter...with Mr. McGreggor and Peter Rabbit.
Here is just some of the variety of lettuce that our family has been munching on lately. I don't think a day has gone by lately that we haven't had a salad of some sort.
The Broccoli has come in nicely. It isn't as abundant as the lettuce, but we have enjoyed every bite that we have eaten. We add fresh broccoli to salads, and our kids love steamed broccoli with cheddar cheese.
Here is one of the tomato plants that I just planted. I think one of the most rewarding things for me as a gardener is to start a plant from a seed, and then care for it and finally plant it in the garden. This tomato plant got its start in our bathtub.
But here is where my heart lies...this is my true calling in life. As much as I love to garden and be on this farm, I know that plants and animals are just things. My true harvest are these children that the Lord has blessed us with in our family. Some days I do a better job than others with this crop. There are even days that I look at one of the five and wonder if the fruit of the spirit is even in them. Their daddy and I spend enormous amounts of time pulling weeds from their hearts and cultivating their soil. We are teaching them how to tend their own garden/heart. Some days we are so ecstatic because we know they got it, and other days we are just wondering where we went wrong. But we never give up...we know that if we faint not we will receive the reward in the end. Each and every day brings treasures along the way with this crop. Just yesterday morning, Seth crawled in his brother's lap and asked him to hold him. Joshua took a few precious minutes before leaving for the day and held his little brother. I know he had other things to get done before leaving, but he wanted to love on Seth. The other things didn't matter at that moment. This crop that we are raising is well worth the effort. We have given all that we are and all that we have to raise them for the glory of the Lord. It is truly our most precious crop ever.

grace and peace,
julie

Raised Bed Filled

Yesterday was a fun filled afternoon for me. I spent the time planting a raised bed full of tomatoes. We always plant a few Super Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato plants. These are the best cherry tomatoes to eat. I keep a bowl of them on the counter all summer long and we eat them like candy. I also planted 3 of my husband's favorite tomatoes which is Cherokee Purple. They are not the prettiest, but their beauty is in their flavor. I then planted a few Big Boy tomatoes to have for slicing. I had about a half of raised bed left so I filled it with Roma tomatoes. I always plant a bed of romas for making tomato sauce. There is less water in these tomatoes and they make a beautiful sauce. I will also plant a bed of Rutger tomatoes. These are the perfect canning tomato. They are a small tomato so you don't have to cut them to get them to fit into the canning jars.

After I finished planting tomatoes, I planted more lettuce in under our cabbage plants. I have so much lettuce now, but it won't be long and it will start to taste bitter. This way I can keep fresh salad until the major heat hits our area. I also planted some flower seeds in around the cauliflower. Our cauliflower hasn't done much. I intended to pull up the plants yesterday, but they are very healthy. I decided I would wait and give them a bit more time to produce. If I don't see something from them soon, then I will pull them and feed them to the chickens.

I also harvested more lettuce. By the way, I said in one of my posts that lettuce will keep a day or two in the refrigerator. Well, I have kept this last batch for at least 5 days. It was still very good last night. I picked a bunch of green onions. I like to keep a glass of green onions in the refrigerator. I will clean them and cut off the roots. Then I put them in a glass of cold water. They keep a long time like this. We like to eat green onions with many different meals.

I also cut all of my baby spinach. I am going to make a spinach salad tomorrow using spinach, green onions, strawberries, and pecans. I am going to adjust an orange salad dressing recipe by leaving out the oranges and substituting strawberries instead. I think it will be very good.

grace and peace,
julie

Strawberry Butter

Our strawberries that we planted last month are doing wonderful. I am faithfully picking off the blooms during this first growing season. I think that one of the hardest things for me to do in the garden/orchard is to pick off the blooms of young plants/trees. I know it is best for the plant, but it seems counterproductive.

Since our strawberries won't be ready to pick until next year, I purchased a case of strawberries from a local farm. I spent part of the weekend making strawberry jam. I made 18 pints. I also have made several different desserts using strawberries. I have a wonderful looking recipe for a Baptist Pound cake. I may try that this afternoon. If it is as yummy as it looks, I will share the recipe in another post. We have eaten fresh strawberries until we are about to pop! I also made a batch of strawberry syrup to go with pancakes that my son made for Mother's Day Breakfast. I still was looking for something different to do with fresh strawberries and I remembered going to a restaurant in Ky. and eating Strawberry Butter. It was heavenly so I made a batch. This butter keeps well in the refrigerator, and it is great on homemade bread. Enjoy!!

Strawberry Butter
2 sticks of butter (not margarine), softened
1/2 to 3/4 cups of sliced fresh strawberries
1/4- 1/2cup powder sugar (depending on how sweet you want the butter)

Whip butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add strawberries and mix. Add powder sugar. Mix.
Add one more stick of COLD butter cut up into chunks. (This gives the butter a beautiful whipped consistency). Mix again until fluffy. Store in pint jars in the refrigerator. Serve on warm bread, biscuits, or even pancakes!

grace and peace,
julie

Weekend Progress

Our weekend was very productive on several different levels. I spent much time in Michael's shop transplanting all of my plants. I would have planted tomatoes out in our raised beds, but the weather did not cooperate with me on Sunday afternoon. I have filled the shop full of plants. I am having to switch the plants back and forth under the grow lights to get them all some light. We just don't have a large enough space to grow the amount of things that we grow in the shop. This year I have a large table full of plants that are ready to be planted. I am able to move the table in and out of the shop in order for them to get sunshine during the day.

I am now ready to start seeds directly in the beds. I will plant a bed of pole beans in the next few days. I will also be planting cucumber and cantaloupe seeds directly in the garden. I have a few cucumber and cantaloupe plants, but they won't be enough for our needs. This is one way that I like to succession plant. I like planting some plants to get myself a head start on growing, but then I like to plant seeds of the same plant so that I can extend my harvest out a bit longer.

The big news of the weekend is that we are now the proud owners of a tractor! Michael drove to Virginia this weekend to pick up the tractor from a family that we "met" in the blog world. We have read this family's blog for quite awhile. Several months ago, we heard through the grapevine (a mutual friend) that they had a tractor for sale. Michael called about the tractor, but we didn't have the money to do much about it at the time. Michael really wanted the tractor, but we decided that we weren't going to sweat and toil over it. He told them that if the tractor didn't sell in a few months to give us a call. Several months later, the owner called. They were willing to hold the tractor for us until we could get the money together. I knew the hand of the Lord had to be in this one, and we were thrilled. It isn't very often that people whom we have never met are willing to work so graciously with us. We were blessed.

Michael and Jacob left early Friday morning to drive to Virginia. They loaded the tractor up, and drove home in the big red truck. It was going to be about a 13 hour round trip for them. Everything went very well until they were close to Bristol, Virginia. It was about 7:30 p.m. when Michael called. One of the tires on the trailer blew out and he was trying to drive and find help. I called several road side service places, but nobody was able to help. The stores that carried the rims for the trailer were all closed until the morning. He parked the trailer with the tractor at a truck stop, and he headed to Walmart to purchase locks. Our concern was that someone would steal the tractor off the trailer. He bought a lock for the trailer and 2 locks that ensured the ramps on the trailer could not be lowered easily. Michael and Jacob drove home and arrived at our house about midnight. Early the next morning, he headed to the tire store and bought 2 new tires and rims. He only needed one, but he wanted to make sure he wasn't caught in the same position again. He still had close to a 2 hour drive to get home. Michael asked the same guy who came and helped us load pigs up in the middle of the night to come along in the event that he needed help. As usual, Todd was more than willing to help. Michael called me with such excitement when he got there and the tractor was still were he left it. They arrived back home around 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, and this time they had a tractor!!!

grace and peace,
julie

Happy Mother's Day

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."
Proverbs 31:28

To Market To Market to Buy A Fat Pig

We have been busy around here the last few days. I spent one whole afternoon cleaning out our deep freezer and spare refrigerator that are located in Michael's shop. I learned a very valuable lesson during this process. (I will share my ignorance with you in order to perhaps save somebody the trouble that I just endured). Last year when I put away our corn in quart freezer bags, I must have been in a hurry. I knew that you are suppose to let bags of corn or anything for that matter cool down before putting them in the freezer. I guess I thought they were cool enough so I plopped my 60 quart bags of frozen corn in the freezer. When I went to clean the freezer, the bottom was lined with quart bags of corn that had frozen to the bottom of the freezer and to each other. Apparently this is one reason that you should cool down bags sufficiently before placing in the freezer. Who knew?? Not me obviously. It took us forever to get those bags of corn off the bottom of the freezer. We poured hot water on them. We used a bar and tried to pry them apart. We poured more hot water. We waited. We didn't want to wait too long because we didn't want the corn at the top of the bags to thaw too much. We just needed the corn to thaw off the bottom. We finally did get that mess cleaned up, and I am happy to report that we were able to save 35 out of 37 quart bags of corn. We also learned a great freezer lesson.

After getting the freezer in tip top shape, Michael went and picked up our 3 pigs from the butcher. We sold one of the pigs to a friend at cost. He called the other evening and told us that he had just eaten the best pork chop of his life. It came from the pig that we sold him. (I am thinking that this may be a good way to make some farm money. Raise pigs and sell them to people for a profit. My only concern is that until our name got out there for producing good pork, we would get stuck with more pigs than we know what to do with. I guess we could take orders ahead of time...just a thought).

Michael did our final cost summary. To produce our own pork cost us $2.09 per pound. This price included purchase of baby pig ($35 per pig), feed to raise the pig ($120), and fee to slaughter the pig. I was a bit disappointed that it still cost us over $2 per pound. We raised pigs 6 years ago and it cost us about $1.40 per pound then.

We know there are several ways to get the cost down. We could buy a sow to raise our own babies. I don't know if that would be worth the trouble and expense of keeping her unless we were raising enough to sell. We all know a momma pig needs a daddy pig so that would be another expense. We did find a farm that sells feed in large quantities so we were able to cut our cost there compared to the prebagged corn. The biggest cost cutter would be to slaughter the pigs ourselves. (Well, I don't mean ME in that statement. I would probably head off the farm for several days until it was done)! We just aren't set up for that, and when dealing with meat we want to know for sure that it is done properly. So I guess for now knowing that our meat wasn't raised with hormones, antibiotics, and other nasty things is worth paying $2.09 a pound for. I know that it is still cheaper than purchasing it in the grocery store.

Just out of curiosity, please leave a comment and let me know what you'all are paying for your pork per pound at your local grocery store.

grace and peace,
julie

Salad Anyone?

Our lettuce has come in full swing now. We could eat salad for 3 meals a day and still have enough to feed the neighborhood. That is just the way I like it. I always grow a variety of lettuce. I love a spring mescalin mix. Leaf lettuce is also a great addition to any salad. I always add some fresh baby spinach to my salads. This is a great way to get little people to eat spinach.

Dealing with garden lettuce can be a bit of a chore. I have learned to cut my lettuce in the morning. It isn't too hot outside and the lettuce stays nicer. When I bring the lettuce in the house, I clean out one side of my sink and run it full of cold water. I dump my lettuce in the cold water and I let it set for a bit. I swish it often to get more dirt off. If it has just rained and the lettuce is dirtier than usual, I will change out the cold water. I take the time to comb through the lettuce to make sure I pick out any grass or other things that may still be on it. (Nobody wants to eat a worm or other little moving creature with their salad. This is a sure fire way to make sure little people never eat salad again). We purchased a salad spinner that spins the lettuce dry. This is the way to go. I paid about $20, but I have used it for the last 4 years and it should last for many more. After my lettuce is dry, I put it in the refrigerator to enjoy for dinner. This process takes some time so whenever I cut lettuce I always cut more than needed for that day. I don't want to cut too much and have it go limp in the refrigerator, but I have found that I can use lettuce a day or two after cutting and it still is wonderful. This just helps me along for dinner the next day. I have also found that if I already have lettuce cleaned in the refrigerator several of my children will make a salad for their lunch.

I have learned to vary our salads. We loved the Romaine lettuce that I grew this year. It is a heavier lettuce and will stand up to heavier dressings. The Spring Mix that I grow is a softer lettuce and it needs an oil and vinegar type dressing or a light raspberry dressing. Some nights I will throw in a few onions from the garden and a few pepperoncini peppers. My favorite salad is one that has different veggies along with some shredded cheese, homemade croutons, sunflower kernels. Every now and again I will add raisins. Tnfarmgirl taught me this trick along with the sunflower kernels. The raisins add a sweetness and the sunflower kernels add a wonderful flavor and crunch.

To fully enjoy growing lettuce, you need to succession plant. I plant my lettuce in blocks in our raised beds. I make a nice square and then I sprinkle the seeds, cover them slightly, tap down the dirt, water, and then wait. I do this about every 2 weeks. This gives me a constant harvest of lettuce. Lettuce gets bitter during the hot weather so you need to put it in a spot that will remain cooler. I planted some under our broccoli plants. The broccoli will provide shade to help keep the lettuce cooler than just being in full sunshine. Another trick to eating garden fresh lettuce it to cut it young. This helps to keep it from being bitter too. If you plant enough, it doesn't bother you to cut such small plants.

grace and peace,

julie

Mother's Day Just Around the Corner

Mother's Day is just 4 days away, and I am left trying to make up my mind once again about my Mom's gift. I am one of those strange women who like acts of service as gifts. For example, several times I have asked that my Mother's Day gift be a big family day of planting the garden. I always throw the catch in that everybody MUST be smiling while working and there can be NO fighting amongst the children while planting in the garden. Our oldest son who hates working in the garden begged me to let him by me a gift instead. NOPE, I wanted his time and energy complete with a smiling face.

I would love to do something like this for my mom. I would love to put her together a basket of flowers. I would love to have her over for a family dinner on Mother's Day. I would even love to give her something that she can't do for herself like moving out furniture and cleaning behind it or taking down the garden area in her backyard. I would love to plant some beautiful flowers in her yard for her. All of these ideas would be things that my mom would enjoy. However I can't just drive 6 hours to Ky. right now so I am left trying to come up with a gift that she will like and that I can afford. Whenever she wants something, she can buy it so my options are a bit limited. I think I will send her some beautiful spring flowers. She loves cut flowers, but she won't splurge to purchase them for herself. I know they don't last long, but they will be a reminder of a daughter who loves her and is thinking of her.

I think the best Mother's Day gift that I have ever put together came last year. I was at our local feed store. They have added a beautiful section of outdoor things. I happened to ring what looked to be a set of wind chimes. The sound was so sweet and they sounded just like church bells. They are called Corinthian Bells and they had a huge price tag. So I called my siblings and asked if we could all go in together for Mother's Day and our mom's birthday gift They agreed and it made a wonderful gift. So if you are looking for a wonderful gift and have some extra money to put to it or extra people to help then check out a set of Corinthian Bells.

grace and peace,

julie

Feeding the Flock

Our sheep are really enjoying the backyard grass. This picture was taken from our deck. Watching and listening to our sheep has become the most relaxing part of my day.
Our sheep are Katahdin Hair Sheep. They do not require sheering, but they shed like a dog. Well, I have never really seen a dog shed like this, but you get the idea. We see large clumps of hair all over the yard. I can't wait until this sheep in the picture loses all of her hair because she looks like there might be something dreadfully wrong with her. We are noticing people slowing down when driving past our farm. Yesterday I saw one woman drive past several times really slow looking at the sheep. I may need to make a sign explaining that our sheep are suppose to look this way until they shed. Truth be told, they look a bit odd at the moment.
Baxter says the sheep are wearing him out. He is one tired puppy ready for a nap!

grace and peace,
julie

Farm Updates

Michael has been working hard to get our animals taken care of these last few weeks. After taking the pigs off to the market (butcher), he worked on getting the barn put back together. The pigs caused quite a ruckus in there. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust from them rooting, and they also did some damage to the barn itself. Before we get pigs again, we will have to make some other accommodations for their stay here on our farm. He now has made the area accessible to the sheep. The Kathadin sheep do not have to have any facilities unless the temperature is extremely cold, but we wanted a place that they could go if they chose to do so. He put a water trough in the stall and he also was able to put out the sheep minerals without fear of the horses eating them or the wind blowing them away.

We went to a friend's house who also owns sheep. (He is the same man that came to help us load the pigs). He had a great idea that we were quick to copy. He took a single strand of electric fence and roped off sections of his yard. He put the electric fence low to the ground so children could step over it easily. He then set out his new found lawn mowers (his sheep) to mow his grass. He is able to easily move the step in posts and wire as needed so his sheep always have fresh grass and his lawn is kept in tip top shape.

Michael took a row of electric fence and fenced off the front half of our back yard. The sheep are now all around our house in the back yard area, but the garden and fruit trees are safe from them as long as the electric fence is working. I was a bit concerned about our English Mastiff wanting to play with our sheep. We just make sure that when we open the gate for the sheep to come in the yard that we put Missy up inside the house. She wouldn't hurt the sheep, but she would give them a run for their money and I could see all of our money in our sheep running to the next county! We make sure they go back into the field at night and close the yard gate. We know the pasture is more secure than the yard so we want them put up at night. I absolutely LOVE sitting outside on our deck and watching them eat. It always brings a smile to my face when I see our 4 year old up in his favorite tree while all the sheep have gathered around him eating the luscious grass all around the tree.

Now that our animals have everything that they need for the time being we are switching gears to the garden area. I have been diligently tending our garden, but it is time for Michael to focus his attention on that now. He will be working on getting more dirt hauled in as well as preparing more beds. I will be assigning a kid to till 2 more beds, but that will not be enough. We have 3 beds left to use and one bed that has been added. The new bed doesn't have any dirt so I can't do much with that for now. Michael also needs to add our drip work system. For the time being, I am watering by hand which takes up a lot of time and it also waste water. I am ready to plant pole beans, cucumbers, and okra from seeds. I just don't have anywhere to put them. I also have pepper plants and tomatoes that will be ready to go in the beds soon. My plants are still too small. Next year I will be ordering my seeds sooner and starting them sooner so they will be larger when it is time to plant. Each year I learn something new to this whole gardening thing. When I get discouraged, I tell myself that it wasn't too long ago that I couldn't even keep a house plant alive. That always makes me feel better about myself.

grace and peace,
julie

Sunday Scripture

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

A Little of This and That

Emu eggs were found this past week. There were 7 in all. That is just what we need is more of the predator birds running around the farm. Actually it is one of the few animals that I am really scared of. They stalk you just like the raptors in Jurassic Park. It is so odd to have one bird step out to get your attention while the 2 others (that you had know idea were anywhere in sight) get behind and circle you. I have seen my kids come running out of the woods on more than one occasion screaming that an emu was after them. We gathered the eggs for our neighbor who happens to own them. He suggested we eat them for breakfast. NO THANK YOU!!!
Don't let his angelic face sway you into believing he is innocent!! The first picture is one of Joshua's best friends who is always faithful to help out around here. He is the child that left the can lids off the feed cans so when I went to scoop out feed I found a possum. You can only imagine the fun that we have around here with the two of these boys!!!
While I was stopping our 4 year old from banging on the apple tree with a hammer, I noticed that we had apples. We so missed our apples last year due to the drought. Lord willing this year, I will be making a ton of applesauce in just a few short months!
My husband is going to kill me for this one so Cheri if I quit blogging you might want to come over and check on me. This one was just to funny to pass up not posting it. I got up early to take the two boys in the above pictures to a school function. When I came back home, I was stunned to find that there was another woman in my bed and on MY pillow to be exact. Michael and Seth had no idea that I had even left. Seth came crawling in our bed sometime in the middle of the night. You just never know what you might find here on our farm!

grace and peace,
julie

Just A Quicky

Rain is coming today. I am so thankful for every drop of rain that falls in our area. I have several farm updates to post later today. I just don't have time to get to them all right now. We are switching gears a bit on our farm. Our animals are all taken care of nicely so now we are changing our focus to the garden. It is that time once again!!! I love being in the garden especially this time of year when it isn't so hot outside. If I could give just ONE garden tip it would be to succession plant!!! This has been the single greatest thing that I have done to extend my growing season and pleasure from our garden. Until next time...
grace and peace,
julie

A Thankful Heart

Life can be so hectic some times. Even when we purpose to live a more simpler lifestyle, the busyness of life can become consuming. There are days that I find myself thinking only of the next thing on the seemingly never ending chore list. Yesterday evening found Michael and I sitting outside together chatting about the next thing on the list. After a moment, we stopped talking and just sat quietly. A few minutes later he looked at me and with a small smile on his face he said, "I guess just sitting and looking at the farm is all part of farming too". I do believe he is right. We need to take the time to just sit and be still. The longer I sat there the more my mindset started to change from all the things that need to be done to wow, look what has already been accomplished. With those thoughts, my heart was overwhelmed with thanksgiving to the Lord.

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

grace and peace,
julie

Lessons Learned on the Farm

Michael wanted to take the pigs to the butcher this morning. He decided to load them up last night to make this morning a bit easier. He went to a friend's house and loaded his pig to take it off with ours. This little piggy did just fine. Michael and the boys returned to our farm to load up our 4 pigs. Keep in mind that yesterday was our oldest son's birthday so the first lesson learned from the farm is DO NOT LOAD ANIMALS ON YOUR CHILD"S BIRTHDAY NO MATTER HOW QUICK YOU THINK IT WILL BE!

Michael started working with loading our pigs around 7:30 p.m. I decided about 9:00 p.m. to go ahead a grill the hamburgers because I was sure they would be wrapping things up in the barn. (I didn't go help load animals because I don't like the whole thought of knowing that they only have one more night to live. Plus my mother in law was still here, and I didn't want to be rude. I cooked dinner and it was now 9:30. Michael called from the barn asking me to bring out piggy delights to help motivate them into the trailer. I gathered up a bit of this and that to lure them, but I knew we had a problem. I didn't want to mention this to my husband so I decided to keep my mouth shut unless I had to give the information. Around 10:15, the first little pig's owner called to check on everything. Michael informed him we had just loaded up 2 pigs, but the other 2 pigs were being obstinate. We continued to work and a bit later we saw head lights pulling in our yard. Without being asked Todd, the first little pig's owner and the father of the other boy helping us, came to our rescue. After much work, Todd mentioned that the pigs had already been fed too much and they weren't really interested in the tasty piggy morsels that I kept bringing from the house. Then HE had to go and open up his mouth and ask the dreaded question. "When in the world did you last feed these pigs"? Michael assured him that they had been fed early that morning so they would be ready to load tonight. This was the problem that Michael didn't know about. The kids and I along with my mother in law spent the day in downtown playing tourists. We had a wonderful time and all was great until about 4:00 p.m. when I suddenly remembered nobody had fed the animals. I told Jacob to run feed the pigs so they wouldn't revolt. He obeyed. Farm lesson #2 DO NOT OVERFEED ANY ANIMAL THAT YOU WANT TO LOAD. HUNGRY ANIMALS WILL FOLLOW TREATS MUCH BETTER THAN FULL ANIMALS.

Around 11:00 p.m. we decided to just leave the last 2 pigs in the barn. We would try again in the morning to see if we could load them, and if we couldn't we would just take the ones to the butcher that were on the trailer. We ate our son's birthday dinner around 11:30 last night. We did cut his cake before midnight!!!

We started bright and early this morning. We had used some gates to make a loading ramp. Farm lesson #3 IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, USE PROPER EQUIPMENT WHEN DEALING WITH FARM ANIMALS. IT JUST WORKS BETTER!!!! We spent about an hour this morning working with the pigs. The pigs were hungrier this morning so they were more interested in my bag of pretzels. I made lots of noise with the pretzel bag and started throwing one pretzel at a time to get them to follow me. Farm Lesson #4 PIGS LIKE PRETZELS AND NACHO CHIPS. USE THEM WISELY! We did get the pigs in the trailer FINALLY.

By the time the pigs were loaded, I had spent a considerable amount of time with them luring them to their final destination. Farm Lesson #5 IT IS GOOD TO GET FRUSTRATED AND ANGRY WITH THE ANIMALS RIGHT BEFORE HAULING THEM OFF. YOU ARE SO TIRED OF DEALING WITH THEM THAT YOU ARE READY TO EAT THEM!!! I was at the point of wanting to shoot them myself!!! Farm Lesson #6 FRIENDS THAT WILL COME TO HELP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WITHOUT BEING ASKED ARE PRICELESS. KEEP THEM!!!

grace and peace,

julie