Winter Storm Updates

I made a mad dash to Ky to pick up my mom and nephew who are still without power. They have been told that it could take up to a month to restore the power. We are tucked away safe and sound here in our home, but guess what... We are due to have a snow/ice storm starting this Monday. Michael promptly made a purchase of firewood and he also bought kerosene. We also filled up the car with gas. A good start for the just in case emergency!!!

I am looking forward to looking at the comments that you left about being prepared. I will get to that later this evening or tomorrow!! Thanks for the ideas. Keep them coming!!!

grace and peace,

julie

Winter Storm Makes Me Think

Most of our family lives in Kentucky and they have been hard hit with a winter storm. It has knocked out power and one of the counties doesn't even have water service. It is estimated that it may take up to a month to get the power restored. My mom is tucked away with my brother and his family. We have had very little communication with them due to the fact that phone service has been out of order. Cell phones have not been working either. Apparently the cell phone towers have been frozen with the ice. We did get a phone call today and I was told that they were fine, but they were cold and starting to run low on food. The good thing is that the roads are passable so if they get too cold or hungry they could head to our house...that is if they have enough gas in their cars. There are very few places that are able to sell gas. Apparently without power the gas pumps won't work. We don't think of these things until it is too late.

This whole winter storm has helped me to see some of the holes in our own emergency plan. I always figured we would be able to take care of ourselves in the event of a catastrophe. While we would be far ahead of many people, there are still things that we need to improve. Here are the areas that have come to mind these last few days:

First, water would be our main issue. We do not have a well so we are at the mercy of our city to provide us water. I have wanted to buy a Berkey water filter system for some time, but today I realize that it isn't a luxury. It could fill a great need by turning nasty pond water into fresh drinking water. While drilling a well would be wonderful, it is very costly. So instead of that, we will be purchasing a Berkey very soon. It still costs several hundred dollars, but it could be a life saver.

Second, I want to make sure that we keep our gas tanks filled. We are the world's worst about believing that "E" on the gas gauge in our car stands for "enough". While I am sure that most of you realized that you couldn't get gas without power, I never knew that until today. I would like to commit to keeping at least one of our vehicles filled to the top at all times. I also realized that having two propane tanks for the gas grill is great, but neither one will help if they are empty! I have decided that we need to keep one of the propane tanks filled to the top.

Third, I have decided that I will be ordering Carla Emery's Country Living book. We have always meant to order that book, but with the Internet and all the information we just never did. No power would mean no Internet service. Which for us would mean that we would lose the instant access to information. A book can be on the shelf to be used at will.

Fourth, I am a frugal shopper. I always buy what we need and no more. This storm has helped me to see that attitude could leave us undone. I am planning on renewing our Sam's Club membership and purchasing larger quantities of things to tuck away in case of an emergency. I would like to have extra batteries, candles, and Tylenol on hand. Simple things that could save the day if needed.

These are just a few small steps that I plan on taking to make sure that our family is covered in the event of an emergency. We have lots of food in the pantry and we still have a freezer full of food. My family may get tired of applesauce and tomatoes, but at least we wouldn't starve! I have another list of things that I would like to see us do over the next few years to make us even more self sustainable. These things cost a considerable amount more money. I would love to have a well dug here on our property. I would also like to purchase a propane tank and a gas stove so I could still cook in the event of a power outage. A gas water heater would be nice too. Michael would like to invest in a generator to at least run our freezers if need be. We also need to have large amounts of firewood stocked up just in case. I also will be purchasing some Aladdin oil lamps and a good amount of oil for light.

The last thing that I have taken away from this storm has been the importance of communication. We have one teenage driver and one soon to be driving. We have never even thought of the importance of having a plan in the event of a catastrophe. We have just always relied on cell phones to communicate. We will be sitting our children down and giving specific details of what we expect of them in an emergency. For instance, if the roads are passable then they should get home immediately. If the roads are not passable, they should stay put and come back to our farm as soon as possible. One would think that these kids would know this, but as I have learned over the years with teenagers one should never assume anything!!! If you have any ideas to add to my list, please leave a comment. We can all help each other get to thinking about what needs we may have in the case of an emergency!

grace and peace,
julie

Mexican Cornbread

1 cup Self Rising Cornmeal

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup veg oil

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 (8 oz) canned creamed corn

small amount of chillies

1/4 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased iron skillet or a brownie pan. Bake at 400 for 25 to 35 minutes.

(I used corn from the garden instead of canned corn. I also use my canned garden jalapenos instead of chillies. We like things spicy)!

grace and peace,

julie

Getting Down to Business

This weekend has ushered in the conclusion of our daughter's ballet. It was wonderful and now our real life can return to normal. (No more late nights sitting in the theater for rehearsals)!

Over the years, I have learned that to have a successful summer garden you need to start early. I have already prepared my seed order. With the extra seeds that we purchased last year, our order will be small this year. I still want to make sure I have enough to make it an extra year if need be. By using heirloom seeds, I could save seeds if for some reason it was needed. As intrigued with seed saving as I have been over the last few years, I have never gotten around to giving it a try.

I will be starting my broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower seeds this week. It won't be long and we will be able to plant these early crops here in our area. I want to make sure my plants are big enough and strong enough when the time comes. I am also planning on starting some Romaine lettuce in the make shift greenhouse. This year I plan on cutting my cabbage plants down to half the amount I planted last year. I will increase the broccoli production though. EVERYBODY in our family loves broccoli and only a few eat cabbage. I still have a good batch of frozen cabbage in the freezer for our winter soups. I have never managed to grow enough broccoli to have any extra to freeze. We eat every morsel fresh from the garden. I may still not produce enough to freeze this year, but I want enough broccoli for every person to get their fill!

grace and peace,
julie

Prince Caspian Ballet

It is ballet time here in our area. This year her ballet company is doing an original Prince Caspian ballet. Not that I am partial or anything, but this is the best ballet I have ever seen!

I have to be honest and this might just catch you by surprise, but I am not a ballet person. I never really appreciated the beauty of the whole ballet experience. I am slowly being converted, and I am learning just how beautiful of an art form ballet can be. It also helps that our ballet company chooses to do performances that real people can understand!!!

grace and peace,

julie

Morning Routines ReEstablished

I usually wear make-up everyday. I started this early on in my marriage because I felt more together if I took the time to get cleaned up everyday. Even when my husband was away at sea, I still tried my best to shower, put on make-up and put on decent clothes. For me as a stay at home mom, I always feel more together if I do theses simple steps. The past week I have abandoned the whole make-up thing. I still got cleaned up, but I didn't go into the other bathroom and apply my make-up. I noticed my husband and older boys were asking me if I was o.k. I wasn't totally putting two and two together. I then realized that they were just used to seeing me with make-up and my hair fixed. Then I started thinking why wasn't I doing those things. Then I remembered... for some odd reason the thought of having to step over lamb droppings to get to my make-up seemed to discourage me from that chore. Just so you know...the lamb has moved to the shop so for all of those who care... I am now once again fixing my hair and doing my make-up!!! It is amazing how a clean bathroom floor will inspire me to get back to my regular scheduled routine!

grace and peace,
julie

I was walking this morning and I couldn't believe what happened to me. I was walking past a neighbor's fence, and I started admiring the fence. I mean really admiring it...the straight lines and all the taut barb wire. As if a bell had gone off in my head, I all of the sudden realized that this fence was beautiful. Then I came back to my senses and realized that I must have been living out in the country too long. I mean, who in their right mind dubs fences beautiful?

I used to think that shoes and dresses were beautiful...not fences! Perhaps my husband should take me out to a nice dinner so I can reacquaint myself with beautiful things. Maybe I have just been stuck out in them there hills too long!! That was what I was thinking when I came to our farm. I stopped for a moment to love on the horses. As I was walking into the front yard, I realized that there were sheep right out front. Ughh...I quickly called for help from my boys. We managed to get the sheep back into the backyard and to do some quick fence repairs.

Perhaps this is why that when I walk past a nice fence I think it is beautiful!! I noticed that the man who owned the beautiful fence didn't have any livestock out in his front yard. Maybe I haven't been out in the country too long. Maybe now I just value different things...things that happen to keep the sheep in the backyard!!

grace and peace,
julie

Just a Thought

"Gardening is a way of showing you believe in tomorrow." anonymous

Change

As I ponder the inauguration of a new president today, I find myself watching from afar. I have reservations concerning the new man at the helm, but I want to honor the office of the president. My heart is heavy because I truly believe that this man doesn't value our Constitution and the fundamentals that made our country great. Other than the Bible, I believe the Constitution is the greatest document ever written in history. I am no fool...I know our history holds both good and bad. While I do not advocate the bad in our history, I do not want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I still want to uphold the Constitution and I wonder how much our new President will want that too.

Truth be told, I don't like change much. There is always an uncertainty with change. Not all change is good while not all change is bad. It is just different. I know one thing for certain. I know where my trust lies, and it isn't in man. "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7)

grace and peace,
julie

Weekend Moments

A cold week brings little ones to the warmth of the fire. And as my body is warmed by the flame's heat,

my heart is also warmed by the love of a sister reading and playing with a little one.

grace and peace,

julie

Still Lambing

Each new day seems to bring a new lamb to our little farm. Of course, the little lambs decided to come at the coldest time we have had in the last several years. It has been down to 4 degrees for several nights. I don't know how we always have such great timing!!! We have had a hard time keeping the twins alive. We rescued the little "house" lamb and we have lost 2 twins. With each twin birth, one lamb is strong and one lamb seems to be weak. We have had one successful twin birth this year. By successful, I mean that both the lambs are still alive and still outside. Our little house lamb may be come a little shop lamb. We are letting her go out and play during the sunny part of the day. She seems to do fine with the flock. She did tried to get milk from our ram. Apparently that didn't go over too well. Perhaps it is confusing to her having both the boys and girls in our family giver her the bottles! Then she tried to see if our Black Angus calf had any milk to offer her. This calf is usually pretty calm, but she wasn't at all happy about being violated by a little sheep.

grace and peace,

julie

One of These Things Doesn't Belong

At our house, it doesn't seem to matter what we are doing we always end up with some extra help. Let me explain. Michael and Josh were working on fences so Sully and Violet decided to offer their expertise on fencing.

They have to make sure that the crimps are done properly. Sully is so bad about his inspection that he will lay his head on Michael's shoulders while Michael is working. You know a horse can't be too picky about fencing!

This is what I found when I went in the living room this morning. The obvious question is "why is Missy on the love seat?", but the next question is "why did Jacob not get started on his school?" My guess is that he stopped to love on Missy and was lulled back to sleep with her warmth and snuggles.

grace and peace,

julie

Jacob Had a Little Lamb

Here is our little Angel this morning taking her second bottle. It has been a long time since I had to get up in the middle of the night and give a bottle to a little one.

I know there are other things going on at our house other than sheep and lambs, but for the life of me I can't think of them right now. Our hands are just so busy with this new little one. We are in for a cold spell the next few nights. Michael is trying to get the doors built for our shelter that is located on the side of the barn. We never intended all of our sheep using the shelter. They were built as a chicken pen and two small ram pens. However, with the low temperatures headed our way, we figured we needed to give our sheep some extra warmth. He is also going to pick up a heat lamp that would be used for baby chicks. We feel that having the sheep and lambs contained in the shelter will keep them warm enough. The plus side is that once this cold spell is past, the chicken pen will be up and running so I will be able to order my chicks. I just got a catalog and I think I know just the combo that I want. (Jerry R, I will remember to get the ones that we owe you). We did a barter...apples for chicks!!!!

grace and peace,

julie

Lessons Learned on the Farm

Here is our little twin that the mother rejected. She weighed in at 4 pounds 2 ounces. She is the smallest one we have ever had born. Michael made sure she nursed well last night by holding the momma sheep and letting the baby get her fill. He thought that by locking them together in the barn that they would perhaps become bonded. Of course that would have been tooo easy!!! Instead this morning, we found a lamb that was almost frozen to death. We quickly brought her into the house. Michael spent some time massaging her and bringing her back to life. We wrapped a heating pad around her and I went off to Tractor Supply to buy some milk replacer and a bottle.

These pictures were taken this morning around 10:00. We still weren't for sure that she would come out of it, but she was able to drink a bit. Michael did have to leave and go to his real job that pays all the bills. I was left to watch after the little one.

Here is what we had just a few hours later. She has drank some milk and now she is walking around a bit. She went from not being able to hold up her head to standing up on her own. This afternoon as I write, she is going all over the living room. I am so thankful that we no longer have carpet in our home!! I never dreamed I would have to clean up lamb messes out of my living room floor. Boy, have I come along way!!!!

Here are the lessons learned from this experience: First, we waited to long for the mom to take to the baby. We could have skipped this whole process had we just gone and gotten the milk replacer last night. We should have brought her into Michael's shop and let her spend the night.

Second, there are certain supplies that we should keep on hand at all times. During lambing season, a small bag of milk replacer and a bottle should be here in our home. It took me over an hour to drive to town and back this morning. That hour could have cost her her life.

We still aren't for sure if she will make it. I pray that she does. We all have some time and love invested into her now. I'll keep you posted!!!

grace and peace,

julie

More Sheep Information

Having the sheep in the backyard has been good and bad. Saturday was bad, but today has been good. Saturday night I went to bed on time to make sure I had significant rest for the next day. About 1:00 a.m. I was woke up by the sound of a sheep baaing VERY loudly. Earlier that night, we had a severe rain. However, by this time, the rain had moved on to another location. I told Michael that sheep was sounding like she was looking for her baby. His response was that she might be having a baby. He crawled out of bed and slipped into his clothes. It was cold outside and he was out there for awhile. When he came back into the house, I heard him washing his hands. I also heard the sheep still bleating. As he was undressing to get back in bed, he told me that he found the lamb in the barn. She was dead. Apparently when the downpour came earlier that night, she had been suffocated or stepped on by the rest of the sheep. The rest of the night was spent listening to the momma cry. A heartbreaking night for sure.

This morning was a good day. Having the sheep in the backyard allows me to watch them throughout the day. This morning I knew that we had twins right away and I knew that the mom wasn't doing a great job with them. I could see this from the comfort of my kitchen window. Now, we are watching even more closely to see if the mom will take to both babies. If she doesn't, then we are going to try to give the mom with the dead lamb the new twin to see if we can get them used to to one another. If not, I am afraid we will perhaps be bottle feeding the twin that appears to be unwanted. My daughter is thrilled with the prospect. I on the other hand understand what all that entails!!!

grace and peace,
julie

And Then There Were Twins!!!

We had our first set of twins born today!!! We were thrilled to say the least. Both babies are girls so that will increase our breeding flock. We have had four births this time and four babies. This takes into account the dead one that we found the other day.

grace and peace,
julie

Quick Updates

We had another lamb born last night. She was a nice size girl and all seems to being going well for both her and the mom. This puts our total sheep count at 22.

Missy is getting along great with her broken foot. She has enjoyed lots of down time with her boys and she is now able to hop up and down the stairs. She won't do this unless she just really wants to be downstairs. If all the boys are downstairs watching a movie, she will be motivated enough to make the trek down to the basement. She is still sleeping upstairs. Now that she has only three good legs to work with, she hasn't stolen any food off the counter, and she hasn't scratched any more doors. She has learned to bark for someone to let her out so I am hoping that this will break her habit of scratching our doors. I can't tell you how much I would like to replace all the interior doors in our home. They were bad before we ever got Missy, and they are much worse now! Who knows, with the prospect of new doors I might even finish painting the trim!

grace and peace,

julie

Rain Rain Come Again and Turn Into Snow!!

We have had so much rain for the last few weeks. Our pond is finally almost full once again. We haven't seen our pond this high in the last two years! We have been in such a serious drought here in our area that precipitation in any form is well received. This morning it just started snowing! I don't think we will get much accumulation, but it sure is beautiful.

Jacob is out checking his sheep. He wanted to make sure that there weren't any new lambs born last night that might be cold this morning. He is a good little shepherd. It sure makes my life easier that he is the one out and about checking on the animals instead of me! Remember, I am a fair weather farmer!!!!

grace and peace,

julie

A Sad Day

We lost our first baby animal here on our farm sometime today. One of our ewes had her lamb in the hay, but it did not survive. According to the account of my boys, it looked as if it might have been stepped on by a cow. We will now have to pen the sheep back up in the little pen area until the lambing season is completed. They have access to the barn from the pen area so perhaps it will also help keep the new lambs a bit warmer. I am thinking we will keep the Peter the Great and the cows in the backyard. We may go ahead and put them back out in the pasture, but not quite for sure of all the logistics.

grace and peace,
julie

Creature of Habit

I am a creature of habit. I find comfort in routines. I am flexible, but I operate best when things are pretty much the same. I have loved the holidays, but at last, we are back into our schedule once again. Michael has returned to work and the children have all returned to school. I am excited about our home school this next semester. I gave my children the opportunity to pick what they want to learn about in History. They both quickly chose the Civil War. I have lots of great reading material picked out for us to devour.

I find my habits and patterns to bring peace to my everyday world. I flow well when I know what is expected of me and when I know what needs to be accomplished. I used to fight this part of my personality...I wanted to live more on the edge, but now I embrace the way the Lord has made me. I realize that there isn't anything wrong with enjoying the simple daily happenings of life.

grace and peace,
julie

EPA Cow Tax???!!!!

Thought you might want to read this. I am so perplexed about all of this. I still can't believe that they are wanting to tax our animals based on their output of gas!! Just click on the link below to get the information.

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20081230165231.aspx

grace and peace,
julie

Sheep

This little guy's momma walked off and left him napping so Jacob decided to go and spend a little time with him. The lambs are so soft and sweet when they are new.

Jacob made sure to return him back to his momma after taking a few minutes to enjoy the new little one.

Michael spent a good portion of Saturday working with the sheep. We raise the sheep for meat production. They have to be at a certain weight in order to sell them. Since we are raising our first batch of meat lambs, we were uncertain about judging the weight of the lambs. We went to a farm store that rents out farm scales. We brought the scales back to our farm to weigh our sheep. We were utterly surprised to find that our largest meat sheep weighed in at 80 pounds. They have to be over 100 pounds live weight so we have missed our mark for sure. We need to figure out a way to separate them from the rest of the flock in order to feed them so they will grow quicker. My backyard wasn't designed with keeping live stock on hand so I am not for sure how Michael will combat this issue.

Michael has designed our fences with the sheep being the priority. It will be more trouble in the beginning, but it will give us exactly what we need to raise the sheep. We have spent the last five years trying to make do with makeshift and temporary things for the farm with the hopes of "doing it right" later. This makes for so much more work on a daily basis. It is time to do it right now. I am looking forward to the end results, but I know full well that it will take some time.

I would recommend that people buying farms need to take some time to walk through everyday life before doing major projects. By this I mean, that what looks good on paper may not work so well in the real life. We have spent much time working on fences that really don't provide what we need. Now that we have had our sheep longer, we have a better understanding of what would work best for us. We have spent time looking at other people's set ups. We have asked questions by the dozen and then Michael has spent a great deal of time planning. He will come to me and ask me what I think. When we first started this whole adventure, Michael said something about spending extra money and putting our electric wire underground so we can operate our gates without worrying about the electric fence. I was so busy counting every penny that we were spending that I told him that we could do it the old fashion way and just disconnect the electric wire when we wanted to go through the gate. What I didn't realize was just how scared of the electric fence I really was. When it came time for me or some of my children to handle the wire with the plastic connector, I always just turned the entire fence off instead. I can't tell you how many times I FORGOT to reconnect the fence. It was a irritation that we could overcome by spending just a bit more time and money. In his new plan, we will make it where the electric fence won't be an issue at the gates. While we strive to use what we have on the farm without spending extra money, there are times that spending a little money ends up saving a lot of money in the long run!

grace and peace,

julie

Come and Take a Walk With Me

Michael and I took a Sunday afternoon walk. The weather was warm and sunny this afternoon. It was warm enough that I opened up the dining room door while we ate dinner to let the breeze blow through our house. Robert spent yesterday continuing the clearing process on our woods. He is well over half way done now. I almost feel like we have purchased new land now that the old dead trees have been removed.

There is still A LOT of clean up required before these woods can become pastures for our animals. This is one of the brush piles that Robert will be burning. He still has to finish the hill side to the right of the road.

This picture was taken from our upper pasture. You can see how thin the tree line has become. We now have a view of the mountains. I prefer the hedged in feeling of being hidden by the trees, but that was one thing I had to give up for new pastures.

Here are some logs that Robert is saving to turn into lumber. We will keep some of them for our own building projects and Robert will take some for himself. I believe that we will use ours on the barn addition that is scheduled to take place soon.

Here are more logs waiting to be removed for other projects. I think we are going to use a portable saw mill to cut them for our use. Sounds like a lot of work to me, but I am looking forward to the end results.

I can't wait until we have this farm in a better working condition. We have the plan now we just need the time and money to execute it. I am ready for the animals to move out of our backyard. I miss my children being able to go outside and run and romp in the backyard. It won't be long now and we will have the animals moved to their designated areas (I hope).

We also spent some time this weekend working with the sheep. I will post about that tomorrow, and I will also include some pictures.

grace and peace,

julie

Look What We Have At Our House

Missy did get to come home from the vet today. I have to take her back Monday morning to get another splint. I guess we will be making several trips a week to visit the vet. It is a good thing we like him!

She was happy to see her boys. She can't go downstairs and sleep in the boys room so we have made her a bed in Jacob and Seth's room. She is pretty content, but we are having to be diligent to keep the basement door shut so she doesn't try to go downstairs.

A surprise visitor showed up at our house today. We were at the farm supply store purchasing some things when our son called to tell us that we had a new sheep. Michael was sure that they were due in February, but apparently we were off by a few weeks. This little lamb is just a few hours old. He weighed in at a little over 6 pounds.

grace and peace,

julie

I CAN'T Wait Until Tomorrow!!

Last Sunday I drove my mom back to Kentucky after her week long visit with us. After getting back home, I let Missy outside to play with two of our boys. I sat down for just a minute and Jacob came running in the house saying that Missy had been hit by a car. He was rather calm, and I wasn't for sure that he was serious. Before I could question him, Missy came hobbling into our home with blood everywhere. I nearly passed out because I just don't do the whole blood thing. It was our daughter that got a towel and started trying to find the source of the blood. I stood at the top of the stairs screaming my head off at my husband to come and help us. His training in the Navy always helps him to be the calm in any storm in our life and he once again rose to the challenge. He calmly stopped the bleeding and decided that she did need vet care. We called the vet and loaded her up in the Suburban with Seth. He was so upset about Missy being hurt that we wanted him to come and see that she was getting good care.

Missy has remained at the vet's office every since then. Both of her back feet were run over, but one was really damaged. She has broken toes and a broken foot. Her leg has 2 deep holes that are causing the problem. There isn't enough meat left to stitch the holes back together. This has been the issue. Of course we are praying that infection won't come from this incident.

We are hoping to pick Missy up tomorrow. The vet told us that we would have to bring her in weekly for the next 6 weeks in order to put new splints on her foot. I can only imagine what this will all cost, but I am ready to get that big old dog back in our home. I pray that she has learned a lesson about chasing cars. Hopefully she will decide that car chasing just ain't worth the risk involved! The house has stayed so MUCH cleaner without her. It is amazing at how much work one dog can create. I guess it is because she weighs 177 pounds, but that isn't the point. The English Mastiff is by far my favorite breed of dog EVER, but I will never have another one after Missy. I am just glad I still have a few more years left to enjoy her...as long as she stays out of the road!!

grace and peace,

julie

Garden Goals

Today the house has been cleaned from top to bottom, the dinner is well on its way to being finished, and I have a few extra minutes on my hands. I decided to start an inventory on my seeds and make my list for my seed order. I want to place the order in the next few weeks. I know I have enough broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower seeds to get started planting. I am so missing my fresh veggies. I had no idea how much I really depended on them to round out our meals. I also am going to start more lettuce in our makeshift greenhouse. I want to be ready to plant when the weather is ready. I have set a few garden goals for our little farm this year. First is that I want to plant potatoes. I want a large patch of Yukon Golds. This doesn't sound difficult, but I always manage to miss the planting season. The other goal is that I want to plant Sweet Potatoes. We have never grown sweet potatoes before, but I figure that they can't be that hard. I also want to grow our own corn this year. We have done this in times past, but the last few years we have bought corn from a local farmer. His corn is grown organically and it is wonderful, but it does cost a lot of money. I could plant a lot of corn for what I pay him to raise it for us!

grace and peace,
julie