May/June Activities

Below are a few of the activities the Bartletts participated in over May and the early part of June. I thought when we moved to the country we would have a bit slower lifestyle, but it's been anything but that. In mid May we traveled about three hours to attend the wedding of friends of ours. We are good friends with both families, and it was such a blessing to see their children marry. Both of them were homeschooled from the very beginning. When Jim and I were married, we moved into married student housing at NDSU, and many times I saw Louisa's mom walking her round and round the tar walkway that separated the different areas of the complex. We even attended her dedication service! We lost touch with the family after her dad graduated from NDSU, and then about ten years later we met Timothy's older brother when he was attending NDSU. We were very surprised to discover that Louisa's family fellowshipped with Timothy's family, and then we became reacquainted with them. The wedding was such a blessing. Yesterday I helped with a wedding reception at the local retreat center, and marveled at the difference between a Christ filled wedding, and what I witnessed yesterday. That wedding lasted all of 25 minutes, and then it was on to the reception activities and later a wedding dance. I was very thankful that the retreat center has a policy of no alcohol on the premises. Can't imagine what went on at the wedding dance.

Andrew has been busy with working on his garden tractor that he received from friends. We had another older one that he took apart and added to the first one. Since this photo, he has added a dump box and painted the whole thing camouflage green. He told me tonight that someone may be giving him some hydraulics to make the box part dump. He is thrilled.

This is a photo of my favorite candidate for State Senate. Our family has been working on the creation of these signs, and whenever Jim travels, he takes one along to set up in whatever town he is visiting. You can visit his website to see what he is up to.

Andrew has been very diligent to help Jim with his campaign, and David loves to travel with Jim everywhere he goes. Our sign shop is located in what will some day be the main floor of our house.

Bottineau had their annual Memorial Day parade. A friend our ours volunteered to add a sign to his dune buggy, and asked David to ride along with him. David had to wear earplugs, though!

What a cold day ... I wore a sweater and as well as a warm jacket to keep me from freezing while distributing brochures to people in the crowd.


Andrew had planned to drive his own garden tractor in the parade, but at the last minute had trouble getting it to start. He opted instead to use one that belongs to our friend Steve. Andrew made his own sign, and installed in in a little trailer that looks kind of like a bathtub!



Jonathan and Peter rode in the back of our pickup truck to play some music. As you can see, it was a bit chilly back there. Our friend Paulette drove the truck (I was afraid I would pop the clutch if I did it), and friends rode along with her to throw candy to the children along the route.

This is one of our goat kids, a product of the boys' favorite goat. When the boys did the evening chores on Memorial Day they discovered that one of the goat kids was missing. We had no idea what happened to her. The goats are in movable pens made with cattle panels, and the kids are able to squeeze in between the wires and move around. A couple of days later, Samson found a lower leg of the kid. We concluded that a coyote must have gotten her. Hopefully that will never happen again.


Peter and Jonathan constructed these movable pens for the goats, and Peter then created a milking stand that folds up when not in use. I guess it works much better than having to take each goat to the barn for milking.

Last week I managed to squeeze in two days of working in the garden areas. David and Andrew helped me plant quite a few flowers in my rock garden and along our rock wall, and then we moved to an area by the hoop house that is reserved for whatever I want to plant. It will be interesting to see what that area looks like later in the season, when the flowers start blooming! All of our flowers, herbs and vegetables were started from open pollinated seeds, and we are working towards saving as many varieties of seeds as we can.

I also planted my herbs into my herb garden. This year my catnip, spearmint, and lavender did not come up. My echinacea didn't winter well, either, so next year I'll have to grow more of them. I tried a few new herbs this summer, so we'll see how the garden develops.

Samson was my constant companion the days I spent in the garden. For some reason, he loves it whenever someone throws rocks for him. He doesn't want to catch them in his mouth, but loves to pounce on them as they are bouncing and rolling -- kind of like a cat. When I would go back to my planting, he would set a rock as close to me as he could so I would hopefully throw another one for him.


We are terribly dry up here. Last Thursday we did have rain, but need a whole lot more. I have already seen grasshoppers and crickets, and they usually do not show up until later in August. Thankfully, Jim has been working on a pump system to bring water up from the lake, and so far it has been working well to water the garden areas. The next step is to set up a sprinkler system, but that may not happen until next year.


Today we had very dark clouds rolling past, but no rain. Everything went to the northeast of us. There's a chance of rain every day this week, and we'll see how things go.

Just a Note

This spring has been a very busy time for us; not only with activities related to the farm, but with Jim's campaign for the state senate position. I have also been helping out at the local retreat center, and will be working again today to help another lady with a wedding reception for 300 people. I keep hoping things will settle down soon, but our list of activities seems to be accelerating. I guess we are all being stretched.

I woke up yesterday morning with water dripping on me -- it was raining! We were so thankful to have a day of nice, steady rain. This is really the first rains we've had since the snow melted, and local farmers are wondering if it came too late for the growth of hay. At least there will be one cutting this summer, instead of the usual two harvests. I didn't mind donning my rubber boots to head out to the car, or trying to guide the car as it slid down the greasy driveway.

Hopefully after the weekend is over I will have time to post some photos of our recent activities.

New Babies

I walked over to the clotheslines this morning, and discovered another goose egg. For the past few days we've found our goose's eggs in various areas around the house. This goose lost her mate over the winter, and then attached herself to our dog, Samson.

A couple of weeks ago she managed to break one of her wings, and then disappeared. We thought she was dead for sure, until our youngest decided to check out why Samson was looking at something in the brush by the clotheslines. There was the goose! We've left her alone, but apparently during the night she comes out of hiding and deposits eggs for us. We now have five in the refrigerator, and it's time for some scrambled eggs. I'm thinking I better crack them outside, in case she pushed the ones she was sitting on out of the nest and by the clotheslines.

Our house has become a nursery for other things as well. Jonathan loaded up the incubator, and so far it's hatched approximately thirty chicks. During the night last week we had fifteen hatch, and was it ever smelly in here!


About 4:00 p.m. Jonathan decided that since it was a warm day he would take the chicks to the barn and place them under the heater so we could air out the house. We then left to do our neighbor's chores, and when we returned two hours later, we discovered fourteen of the chicks in the barn had died, leaving only one. The lesson we learned: Pay attention to what the directions state regarding farming matters, even if they don't list the reason why you should do something. Now we know why they need to be in the incubator for at least an entire day. We won't do that again! Since then another batch of ten has hatched, and we were much more careful with them. They were added to the bunch in the barn that we ordered -- all 120 of them. So far so good.

Two days ago we knew our favorite cat, Funny Face, was in labor and about to deliver. We had thought she would deliver at least two weeks ago, since she was so big. We decided to let her labor in peace, and left her to her own devices.

Well, she didn't deliver in her usual box, but decided to have them on top of Jim's garment bag that he uses when on trips! She was busy cleaning up four tiny black and white kittens. Later, when she was resting, we deposited them into her box that is located in the bathroom area.


A little while later, Andrew came out of the bathroom to announce Funny Face had just had three more kittens! No wonder she was so big. That made a total of seven babies. The most she has ever had was five, so she topped her previous record. We'll take some photos when they start looking like kittens.

What We've Been Up To

There are lots of things going on over here as usual, and maybe I can give you an update of what's been happening.

I had the opportunity to make a very quick trip back to Minnesota to visit my family. This time it was only me traveling with a friend, and it seemed so strange not to have at least the boys along. We headed out on Saturday, and returned on Tuesday. Quick trip, but a very enjoyable one. I miss my family.

Our goats started kidding about two weeks ago, and the last one had twins on Saturday. There were ten kids born to six goats, but we lost one of them. The poor thing was weak from birth, but we thought she was going to be okay until one morning Jonathan found her laying outside in a very weakened condition. The boys brought her in the house and worked hard to keep her alive, but she ended up dying. The boys are more matter of fact about death than I am, as it still bothers me when an animal doesn't make it.

Even though the weather has not been the best, it must be okay for wood ticks. We have been inundated with the creepy little things, and it's irritating to have to deal with them. I don't even go into the woods, but still find them on me. The older I get, the more their bite causes swelling and itching, so I try to check often to make sure none of them has found a home. If I leave an empty laundry basket outside for the clothes that dry on the line I have to bang it on the ground before filling it, to get rid of any would be hitchhikers. Poor Samson has had more than his share of them, and I usually grab one of the boys to pick off the ones that are full of blood.

We have terrible drought conditions this spring. Yesterday there was an article in the Fargo newspaper that interviewed a farmer from Willow City, which isn't too far from us. He said he had planted his fields a month ago, and nothing has yet come up. We have our plants sitting in cell packs in the hoop house, but our nights are still in the lower 30's and the heat from a barrel stove is necessary to keep them going. Last week the boys planted onions, peas, potatoes and carrots, but are waiting to water them in the hopes that it will soon rain.

On Saturday we picked up 175 evergreen tree seedlings from the conservation office, and they are now in the ground. Thankfully we have a water tank that is able to be filled from the lake and hauled around on our trailer to keep the trees watered. Jim purchased some cedar trees and planted them on Saturday; then on Sunday our friend Steve Schadler (aka Mountain Fire Keeper; it sure is great to have him back up here again) came by and told us we should probably take them out, since cedar can transmit a disease to our fruit trees, called cedar apple rust. Nothing like learning the hard way. Apparently this disease can be transmitted to fruit trees from even as far away as two miles.

Grandpa Bartlett met a man down in Florida this winter while they were wintering there who is retired from a blueberry business in Michigan. GpB (as Grandpa is affectionately known) told him of our efforts in raising raspberries and strawberries, and he offered to send us some blueberry plants to try out in our area. I guess they may arrive later this week. Jim has been studying what is necessary for the soil, etc. for blueberries, and it will be interesting to see how they fare in our area. There is also the possibility of trying some kiwi up here from the same man as well.

This week I am spending three days helping a local ministry to open up their summer camp. We started in the kitchen, taking everything out of cupboards and sending them through the dishwasher. Makes me very thankful that I have never found a trace of mice in our house. The camp has just installed one of those high ropes courses, and when we were done for the day went down to see how the training was going. I don't mind climbing, but wouldn't be too excited to have to stand on a platform that is on top of a telephone pole with nothing to hang on to! And then, to jump off!

New Farm Babies

David and his new friend.

Our new piglets. No names yet!

Our delivery of chicks.

Andrew and one of the new kids.

Another Catching Up Post

It's already been two weeks since our family made a trip to see my family in northern Minnesota. We made the almost 8 hour trip in good time, arriving just a few hours before a blizzard hit. By the time the storm was over a day later, the area accumulated about 12 inches of snow and had clocked winds at 53 mph. By the time we left for home just four days later, the snow had almost completely melted. This is typical for the area's spring weather.


We had a great time with everyone. Our family stayed with my oldest brother and his wife, and then drove the few miles down every day to visit with my Mom and Dad, and anyone else that happened to stop by to visit. We learned a new game called Mexican Train, and enjoyed trying to beat Grandpa Wagman. The boys learned quite a few tricks from him, and made for a very fun time for all of us.

Grandma W had a few tricks up her sleeve as well!

Our older boys were given a 1984 Ford F150 by one of my brothers, and now it was time to drive it home. What a surprise to discover the truck had less than 50,000 actual miles on it! The body is a bit rusted (due to all the deicing materials used during a Minnesota winter), but it certainly doesn't affect its potential for use on the farm. Jim and Jonathan left Sunday morning to head back, and Jim used the time to teach Jonathan how to drive a vehicle with a stick shift. All went well on the way back.

Our family all got together at my older brother's for pizza and all the trimmings. I was thrilled to finally meet my niece and her husband's little girl, who was born in November. Here is a four generation photo, consisting of my brother Mike, his daughter Kate, granddaughter Maddie, and our Dad.


On Sunday the boys and I were planning to meet my sister-in-law in Duluth to visit the Omnimax theater; however, my memory wasn't as good as I thought it was, and I got lost! We ended up driving to the observation area at the top of Thompson Hill, and enjoyed the view. We noticed the aerial bridge was going up, so we headed down to the lake front and watched a ship heading out of the harbor. The day was so clear and nice.


The rest of the boys and I stayed until Tues. morning, when we headed to Moorhead, MN to stay with a good friend. Along the way we managed to make stops at two Fleet Farms -- one of our favorite stores. We finally made it home in early evening on Wed.


We are into goat kidding, and so far one goat delivered twins two days ago. Thankfully everything went well, and Jonathan discovered them when he went out to collect eggs. Last night Jim, Peter and Jonathan drove to town to meet for a class with another friend; I sent Andrew down to the shed to check the goats before it was too dark, and he came running back to say our youngest goat had just kidded and she wasn't taking care of it. All 3 of us got busy. The poor mama is so young herself that she was scared and stayed away from the kid, so we brought the kid up to the house, cleaned it off and kept it warm. Andrew brought in the bottom of one of our dog houses and placed her in there, and I called a friend in town to see if she would drive over to the church where the guys were meeting to get help. We tried to milk the doe with the 2 little ones, but thought it was because her teats were so small that we couldn't produce any milk. Thankfully, Jim and the older boys returned and they were able to milk out the colostrum from the mama and Peter fed it to the kid with a pop bottle and nipple. Peter told us later the reason we couldn't get any milk from the other goat was because her twins had taken it all!

Here is the new little one, all cleaned up and ready to go!

The new mama's name is Agnes, and even today she would not allow her kid to nurse. So, every two hours or so the boys go down to hold her so her kid can nurse. I guess it will be another short night. We still have four goats to kid, and that could happen any time.

Below is a photo of You Two (there's a story behind her name) and her two kids:


Funny Face, our usually indoors cat, is getting bigger than a house and should deliver any day now. We are interested in checking out what the kittens look like, since our two male cats died over the winter. Funny Face disappeared while we were at the homeschool convention and finally returned three days after we got back. Lots of babies on the farm to anticipate.

Life has been a blur ever since we returned. In the spirit of Dr. Ron Paul, Jim was nominated to run by the local Republicans for State Senate in our district, and that has kept everyone busy. It will be very interesting to see what develops in that area. Jim's website isn't fully developed yet, but you can check it out here.

Today is the birthday of a very special lady in our lives. Eiline Nelson was our neighbor when we lived in Fargo, and had become a very close friend. Jim lived in their apartment building (and they lived in the building as well) when he first moved to Fargo, and after we were married we rented an upstairs apartment in the same building. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were references for us when we ended up purchasing the house across the street. Mrs. Nelson has always been such a spry, mentally sharp and interesting person, with a wonderful sense of humor and outlook on life. When we moved up here she even had her own email address and sent us a couple of notes! I wish everyone could have such a neat lady in their lives. Mrs. Nelson turned 101 today, yet she has a better memory than I do. Peter, Andrew, David and I were able to visit with her for a couple of hours before leaving Fargo on our way back to Bottineau, and it was such a treat for us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MRS. NELSON, WE LOVE AND MISS YOU!

Spring Activities

Today we drove over to our friend Paulette's, so we could transplant some seedlings that were getting too big for the cell packs they were in. I happened to take our digital camera because I wanted to take some shots of how big the plants are now. My son Jonathan was driving, and on our road we happened to see a moose! The calf (probably a year old) ran to the right side of the road, and its mom to the left. Jonathan stopped the car, and the boys were able to take a few photos of the cow. I was a bit nervous, since I knew our car was in between the cow and her calf, but she didn't move a bit. She just watched us as we watched her! It's amazing how big they are. We have state forest across the road from us, and she was just behind the gate. We were the ones that drove off, leaving her behind. I suppose as soon as we were out of sight she checked on her calf. Someone told us later that she was probably trying to get rid of the calf, since it won't be long before she delivers another one.

Just before we turned on to Paulette's road we also encountered three wild turkeys running across the road. That is good news, as a friend has a turkey license, and the season opens very soon. No one in our family has a license this year to hunt them, so they are safe with us!

Here is a photo of the plants we are watching grow. Paulette has a wonderful solar cement wall, and it's perfect for letting the seedlings grow. The plants receive sunlight all day long. Hopefully once we get our upstairs finished we will figure out how to get them to grow at our place, so we don't have to make a mess at Paulette's.

We had beautiful weather today, warm enough for Paulette to work in short sleeves! However, the city we lived in just 4 hours away received about 12 inches of snow today! We sure could have used the precipitation, as our area is very dry. It won't be long before all the snow has melted. I guess until this last snowstorm the Turtle Mountains had the only snow in the state.

Gardening, North Dakota Style

It's still a bit chilly out, but time for us to get our hoop house ready for planting. This winter the guys used a heavier tarp to cover half of the hoop house, and it was used to house half of our chickens since the shed couldn't hold any more. Yesterday the boys dug one of our portable chicken pens out of the snow and hauled to it to a part of the field where the snow has already melted, and loaded it with the chickens from the hoop house. I should have been out there taking photos, as it sounded like an interesting time when trying to catch them. The boys then hauled out the hay.

Jonathan and Peter built a permanent back wall, and will soon set up the small wood stove that someone gave us, to use it to heat the hoop house on our still chilly nights.

Here is a photo of the spring plastic we use on the hoop house, and the green tarp was the one we had over the portion that held the chickens for the winter. Now to find a place to store it until we need it again.

An interesting relationship is developing between our lone goose and our German Shepherd named Samson. A year ago, friends that sold us some goats also gave us their ducks and two geese, saying they would probably enjoy our lake over their pond that dries up over the summer. As time went on, the duck population diminished, and by spring we lost all the ducks and one of the geese.

Well, this goose has taken a great liking to Samson. She will preen him, and snuggle next to him. He is a great sport, and allows her to stay close. We have caught her taking baths in Samson's water dish, and she seems to have acquired a taste for dog food. One problem is that Samson likes to lay on the rug in front of the the door to the basement, so the goose spends her time on the patio in front of the house as well. That adds another dimension to the already muddy front. Geese can make a real mess.

Yesterday we discovered a goose egg next to Samson's softball that he likes us to throw for him, so I guess the goose is a female! All this time we thought she was a male. David had it for breakfast this morning, and he only needed one to feel very full.

Samson is quite a dog!

One of Those Days

My day actually began about 2 a.m., when my youngest woke me up with the statement that he couldn't breathe. David had an eventful day on Thursday, when he threw up 11 times (we counted). The next day the flu symptoms turned into cold symptoms, and he was stuffy and had lots of mucus in his throat. Somewhere along the way I came down with the same thing, and now Jim has the same symptoms. I was hoping for an uneventful day.

Right after lunch I was folding towels when our son Jonathan came in with a "Mom, we have company!" Friends stopped by on their way to visit the husband's parents, who live at Lake Metigoshe. It was nice to see them, although I had a little trouble talking since I was so plugged up. At least being sick gave me an excuse for the mud that had been tracked in and not cleaned up, as well as other things sitting around. Right after they left the boys informed us they had discovered the big chest freezer we have upstairs must have quit working somewhere along the way, as everything in there had thawed. Oh no!

Samson our dog thought it was the neatest thing, since he was the recipient of some of the thawed food. We all sorted what was okay to keep and what was to be tossed. I got busy and pulled out the pressure canner, as the raw pork and venison was thawed but still cold. I think I should have raw packed the meat, as the finished product looks a bit mushy, but I'm sure we will use it. I'm very thankful for the experience of almost 2 years ago, when our friend Steve, along with our family purchased 200 former laying hens from a Hutterite community about 3 hours from here, and we spent quite a few days canning the meat. I sure was tired of the odor of chicken fat by the time we were done! That canning marathon helped prepare me to do this meat canning on my own.

We left some chicken and other mostly frozen meat in a couple of coolers outside, but the weather forecast calls for temps in the low 40's tomorrow, so we'll have to do something with it in the morning. I sure hope whatever Jim did to the freezer worked, and it works, so I won't have to do any more canning.

It's Official: Some of Us Must Now Be Farmers

I think we have crossed the threshold of officially being considered farmers. (At least my 11-year-old son Andrew must have crossed over!) Here is a comment I received from friends who live the city we used to live in; we caught up with them at the homeschool convention:

It was great to get a chance to talk and catch up on your life and the happenings in your family. I know your boys are getting a great education because when Andrea showed Andrew the juggling balls she bought he said, “They feel like a chicken gizzard when it’s full of grain.” I must admit my kids will probably never know what that actually feels like, but now they have some idea!!

We're Back

Our family returned on Sunday evening, after attending the North Dakota homeschool convention. It was very strange to be gone for 4 days, and during that time, we lost a lot of snow. Mud season is now upon us, but we still have snow in the fields. Maybe our septic system will finally thaw out!

We were packed like sardines as we traveled the 4 hours to Grand Forks. After unpacking we headed out to do some errands. I must admit I felt like I was in Heaven to have had the opportunity to visit 3 thrift stores on our way to the city! I just don't understand how people can pay full price for the clothes we were able to purchase for such inexpensive prices. We even managed to hit the Salvation Army thrift store on a day that gave us half off on any clothes we purchased. That was wonderful, since our second son has grown over the winter to just 1/4 inch shy of 6 feet tall, and was in dire need of jeans and shirts.

It didn't take us long to become very tired of shopping, with all the noisy, irritating music, too many selections, and too many people.

It's amazing how the homestead spirit can also be used while in the city; on Thursday another lady and I managed to serve 50 people out of our hotel room for both lunch and supper. The group consisted of convention volunteers and their families, and it went very well. I remember when our family made a trip out to Montreal back in 2002 and I carried along everything but the kitchen sink; I have since moving up here learned that "making do" is actually less stressful than trying to pack too much and then dealing with where to put it all.

We were blessed to have "Farmer John" Mesko and his wife Lisa and girls of Lighthouse Farm and Authentic Agriculture participate at the convention. John gave a workshop and had a booth, where they visited with many farm families and agrarian hopefuls. Meskos just completed a new instructional DVD concerning fencing, and we were happy to receive a copy. The boys and I also tasted some of their cheese sausage, and it was great!

Conventions are a lot of work, but so worth it. The keynotes were Reb and Bev Bradley of Family Ministries. Steve Demme of Math-U-See was also in attendance, and gave a couple of workshops. Jim did workshops regarding college at home and ND legislative action. Our oldest son Jonathan did a workshop on evaluating a political candidate. I spent most of my time manning the homeschool association's booth, and really enjoyed visiting with people. Compared to other states, North Dakota has a small convention, but we encourage parents to bring their children and make it a family time together. It was so enjoyable to meet a lot of new people, and I even met a new friend who reads my blog! Thanks, Janice, for introducing yourself to me!

This week we are trying to pick up the pieces of everything we let slide until after convention, and looking forward to warmer weather and more time outside. Spring can't be too far away, since we've already spotted Canadian geese overhead.

Can't Wait for Spring

I have spring fever, and can't wait for the snow to melt. It seems like this winter has been dragging on and on. I think it was a month ago when our toilet stopped flushing ... Not a good sign, when we are so new to all of these things. Jim and the boys did all kinds of things to figure out what was wrong, using a snake, garden hose -- you name it -- to see if something was blocking the pipe to the tank. We had the tank pumped out last May, so we didn't think that could be the problem.

Friends came over to see if they could think of anything that could be wrong. They brought over some type of equipment that is used for blockages, and it seemed to help. However, when one of the guys went out to open the cover in the area where the sewage would head to the drain field, they discovered that it was frozen! Now what? Jim contacted a guy that pumps out septic tanks, and he said he would come out the next day and do the job. I guess there have been other places out here with the same problem. We've had some very cold nights (with wind chills of -40 degrees) and the days not being much better, with not enough snow cover. I guess that makes the frost go deeper than we would like. We also should have laid more hay across the drain field last fall, as it probably mulched into the ground.

Andrew had to use the snowblower to blow enough snow out of the way so the man's truck could get to the cleanout (sorry, I'm not good with proper names of things), and after about 3 tries the truck made it up the slight incline. I find it interesting that out here it's okay to take the stuff and spread it onto any available field. We had to make sure the guy wouldn't get stuck wherever we wanted the sewage spread, so Jim had to drive around a bit to find a good spot for the deed. After all that, we were charged $95.00 -- his winter rate. We breathed a sigh of relief, and hoped for an early spring to thaw things up and get the septic system running again like it should.

Well, this weekend the toilet once again stopped flushing. There's a pipe opening just outside the bathroom window (we are still living in the basement), and we've discovered that if we take the cap off and pour some hot water down there, it will help to get the toilet flushing again. Jim went through all kinds of contortions to figure out how to do our own pumping, and got some equipment all set up. However, whatever he did wouldn't siphon anything out. His next thought was to use an extra sump pump we have, but decided to wait it out a few days and see if something would resolve itself. At least the toilet is flushing again, but we are being careful with it.

I have discovered that one very important personality trait to have when living in the country is flexibility, and the ability to roll with the punches. Another important trait to develop is a good sense of humor.

Morning Visitors

Last Friday morning Jonathan and I were the first ones up, and when I let the dog out, he started barking. Jonathan looked out the kitchen window, and the above photo is what he saw. There were two moose in the valley! The white area in between them is our cow path that leads up to what we call our big field.
By then, everyone else was up, wanting to know what was going on. The boys snapped a couple of photos, but by the time the moose stood up and walked away, there was no more room on the digital camera's card. I guess our object lesson for that day was to always make sure the card is empty!
On the bottom right side of this photo you can see something that is made of poles and standing tipi fashion; that is my clothesline. The 2nd winter we were here we had a cow moose staying close to that area for three whole days during hunting season. I guess these moose like our area, as we discourage snowmobilers from utilizing our land, and they are less bothered here. A friend came by on Saturday, and said he had just seen a moose down in our bog area.

Guess we never know what we will see next in this beautiful Turtle Mountain area!

Sheetrocking

Whenever the weather has been warm enough, Jim and the boys have been working on the upstairs. They are doing a very good job of installing sheetrock, and what difference it makes! I have trouble visualizing things, but now that the sheetrock is up I can easily see how large the rooms will be. It's getting more exciting all the time! We still need to purchase windows and an inside door, but things are really taking shape.

The men are using part of my new cupboards as a table; sort of like them using my refrigerator and freezer to hold their tools when we first moved up here!

Once spring is officially here and the temperatures are favorable, we'll be taping and whatever else is needed to finish up the sheetrock. This is all new to me, so it's just another one of those things I have yet to learn to do. There will be lots of areas to practice on!

For the winter, the second floor has sort of been sealed off to try to keep what heat is in the main floor from escaping. The eaves are still open to the elements, although they did use insulation to sort of plug them up. That is good, as last year we had some trouble with birds checking out the house. Hopefully this summer we can close them up and side the house. House wrap isn't very exciting to look at.

Last fall Jim cut a hole above the wood stove in our basement to help bring some heat to their construction area. There are times when the boys forget to latch the outside door up there, and one or more of the cats manage to get in. They all know about the hole, so there are many times when I catch a glimpse of a cat climbing through, jumping onto the wood stove, and onto the floor. I don't have any photos of their antics, though!

Special Blessings

No, this isn't my kitchen, but it could be some day! Friends of ours have daughters that clean house for another family, and the house they clean had these cabinets in the kitchen. Apparently the owners have decided to add onto their kitchen, and wanted to have all new cabinets, etc. installed. So, our friends called to see if we wanted these people's cabinets! Of course we said, Yes! They even went so far as to take them down for us and store them at their farm.

Another set of friends from up here took a trip down to where these cabinets were stored, and taking our trailer, loaded the trailer with as many of the cabinets as they could. Apparently the cabinets come in 12 foot lengths, so only one set would fit on the trailer. The reason for that is they also included their dishwasher! This is all so amazing, since never in my wildest imaginations did I dream we would have beautiful oak cabinets in my kitchen to be! I'm not sure if the dishwasher will ever be installed, but it's so great to know we have one if we decided to do it. I thought I would be utilizing old workbenches and Rubbermaid containers for the rest of my life! That goes to show me how much I underestimated my Heavenly Father, and the surprising gifts He has for us.

Our friend that is bringing the cabinets up called yesterday and commented that I am getting a beautiful set of cabinets, with a very nice sink and very fancy faucet.

There are advantages to living in the north and having very cold weather ... Peter took this photo a few days ago of the sun rising. Notice the dome of light around the sun. We call those sundogs.

I've Been Tagged!

Cheri the TN Farmgirl gave me an assignment, which is to:

*Link to the person that tagged you.
*Post the rules on your blog.
*Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
*Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

The last time someone did this to me I didn't do it, so I thought I better do it this time! The boys were giving me all sorts of things to list, such as learning to repel off the side of a fire station building, and the fact that we have 4 children in Heaven; but I thought it better to list things that have happened since moving to our farmstead. Here goes:

1. When we moved to our farmstead we lived in a pop-up camper for five weeks, without the benefit of electricity, water or sewer. Talk about culture shock!

2. During hunting season the second fall we were here we had a cow moose live close to my clotheslines for 3 whole days.

3. The lady that we bought our property from is 80 years old, and came to visit us that first winter by riding over in her snowmobile.

4. In the winter of 2005, our son Jonathan walked down to the mailbox through the woods, and discovered cougar tracks. We have photos of the cat's footprints to prove it.

5. I canned raspberry jam before moving to the country, but had never touched or even watched a pressure canner being used. Now I wonder why I was so afraid to try canning that way.

6. While roughing in our house (which is a two story structure and we currently live in the basement) we had scaffolding set up so we could reach up to the roof. We kept catching our turkeys climbing the scaffolding and roosting on the roof! It wasn't much fun for the boys to clean off the scaffolding before they got to work each day.


7. Our cat had a litter of four kittens, all of which were female. Our sons named Jonathan, Peter, Andrew and David named the new kittens Jonathan, Peter, Andrew and David. Unfortunately, David met an untimely death by putting her head in the hinged side of the car door just as someone was slamming it shut.

Now it's my turn to tag 7 people: Katie, Susan, Jonathan, Peter, Andrew, Karisa, and Bonnie.

I Feel Like a Greased Pig

We butchered our pigs a few weeks ago, and I thought I was done rendering lard. I guess I've never been too excited about touching greasy things, because it's so hard to get off my hands afterwards. Well, we discovered a few packages of fat from the pig we butchered back in December of 2006, and I thought I'd better take care of that as well. At first I was just going to throw it away, but our son Jonathan has decided we are going to make soap, so we will use it for that purpose.

We were planning on watching the Republican debate tonight via the internet, so I decided a popcorn supper was appropriate. I also had the big idea I would make donuts, so at the same time I was rendering lard I was making and frying donuts! That was a bit too greasy for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how light and nongreasy the donuts were. They were quite delicious. I thought since lard tends to be absorbed in the donuts as they are being fried they would be fairly greasy and leave an aftertaste, but they were great! Maybe there is something to this animal fat thing! I've been planning to read a book entitled, Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig, and another book they wrote, Eat Fat Lose Fat. Guess now is the time to do just that.

Another Cold Day

We had another very cold day today, so everyone stayed indoors as much as possible. Jonathan needed to head to his vacuuming job yesterday but the car wouldn't start, so we really needed to get it running today to get him to work. Someone found an inconvenient place to store our portable heater thing for under the car, so instead Jim used a small space heater to place under there. After doing that for an hour or so, the car finally started. It was a very good thing, because friends called to ask Jim if he would go down to town to help their daughter get her car started. Someone passed along one of those "forwards" that has been altered to make it appropriate to our state:

If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord,
You might live in North Dakota.

If you're proud that your state makes the national
news primarily because it houses the coldest spot in the nation,
You might live in North Dakota.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March,
You might live in North Dakota.

If you know how to correctly pronounce Minot ,
Bottineau, Ypsilanti , or Glen Ullin,
You might live in North Dakota.

If you measure distance in hours,
You might live in North Dakota.

If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, You might live in North Dakota.

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your daughter knows how to use them,
You might live in North Dakota.

If there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the grocery store at any given time,
You might live in North Dakota.

If your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your cottonwood,
You might live in North Dakota.

If you find 0 degrees 'a little
chilly,'
You might live in North Dakota.

We are Still Here

Just to let you know, we haven't frozen over yet! Here is the weather for today (hopefully I can get a post in soon):

.WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST /5 AM MST/
WEDNESDAY.

A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST /5 AM MST/
WEDNESDAY.

EXPECT WIND CHILLS OF 40 TO 50 BELOW TODAY.

A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND
STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES. THIS
WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE & LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA OR DEATH IF
PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.

National Geographic Does Great Advertising

Our family was amused with an article recently published by the National Geographic. The article is entitled, The Emptied Prairie.

According to this very depressing article, North Dakota is a terrible place to live. If that's the case, why does our family love it so much?

Neither Jim or I were raised here, yet when we felt led to move to the country, the first state we really investigated was North Dakota. I hope to start up again with the account of our move to the Turtle Mountains, and hopefully you will see that it truly isn't as bad of a state as National Geographic paints it to be.

Thoughts on 2007/2008

I can hardly believe that 2008 has begun, and we've already been living up here for over 3 years. So much has happened, and it's been a lot of things that I could have never expected.

December ended with a flurry of activity; not in Christmas activities, but in preparation for the state's homeschool convention and then in helping another ministry prepare for their yearly fund raiser. Our annual newsletter is yet to be written, thank you's sent, pigs butchered, and more. Jim and the boys are over at a friend's for the afternoon/evening, sliding and visiting with others. I asked if I could stay home, as I feel quite worn out from everything that has been going on. I've had a tendency most of my life of filling my days with many things, then all of a sudden feeling the need to pull back and rest -- not only physically, but spiritually and mentally as well. Those times of rest are few and far in between, especially after marrying and having 4 boys. And those time are even fewer now, since it seems our life this past year has been exceptionally busy.

Farm life has the potential to really wear a person out, and I am learning that I need to pace myself and not try to do everything that I want to accomplish in one day. I have read Northern Farmer's blog,
where he states matter of factly that farm work never ends, and what you don't accomplish one day will be waiting for you the next. My personality tends to be more like Martha, when I need to be more like Mary. My desire for 2008 is to learn to be more like Mary, learning to sit at the feet of Jesus to receive direction instead of rushing to and fro, trying to do everything and yet getting nothing done. (At least it seems that way!)

Looking back to our first few months living in the Turtle Mountains, I am amazed at how much we have learned about homesteading and farm operations. I had been agreeable and then anxious to move to the country, but had way too many romantic notions about what it would actually be like. Don't subscribe to magazines like Country Woman if you want to homestead! We moved to land that had no improvements (other than a tractor path to get into the property), and yet I was constantly upset at how hard it was to clean filthy clothes and keep the dirt out of the basement we later moved into after it was barely inhabitable. I must admit my attitude at times -- more than I want to remember, actually -- was terrible, but through the grace of God I made it, and certainly hope I will never have to go around that mountain again.

I have a feeling that 2008 will be another year of challenges and blessings, and it's my desire to travel through this year with the Lord's bigger picture in mind for me and also our family.

Recapping the Week

This time of year is busier than I want it to be; I'd much rather be snowed in and working on all the projects that have accumulated during the spring/summer/fall. We've been busy doing good things, but it sure makes me tired! We have enough snow to be snowed in, but the township plow has been in here and are able get in and out once again.

Last Sat. we traveled to a city a little over an hour from here at a pastor friend's invitation so the boys could play at their church's special services. It was a very small church, but we certainly enjoyed all the fellowship with fellow homeschooling families. The visiting pastor is traveling around the country with a home base in Indiana, and it turns out he pastored a bit in the small town there where I had lived back in the 70's. I reminisced with him about what the town used to be like, as back then it was a hotbed for Klu Klux Klan activity. We finally stumbled into our house about 1 the next morning, but the fellowship had been worth the lack of sleep. Jim drove home in the middle of a snowstorm.

This past week was very busy for me, as we are trying to process the homeschool association's convention booklet. My unofficial title is "Office Support," so I am doing all the production, with a little help from the boys. Our goal is to get them to the post office by Monday, so everything else has been placed on the shelf until I am done. I am hoping no one shows up and sees the condition of the house!

Thursday night Jim and the boys played for the county employees Christmas party at a very nice restaurant on Lake Metigoshe. It was a very cold night, and the car almost didn't make it up there for setting up the equipment. The car has been acting up since we traveled through Minnesota in October for my niece's wedding, but Jim couldn't pinpoint the problem. Well, we now think we know what it is, so hopefully the car will be repaired on Wed. That's a relief for me, as without a cell phone (there's poor reception up here, anyway) and sparse population I was more than a bit hesitant to drive.

This particular invitation to play was a very interesting one for us, since the man doing the asking was the County Superintendent of Schools -- and we homeschool! Jim has had dealings with him off and on since moving up here, as he also has his fingers in other things around here: he is the local auctioneer and also owns and operates the drive in restaurant at Lake Metigoshe. He also sells fireworks around Independence Day. This was my first time meeting him, and I found it interesting that he was walking around the night of the party with a can of Skoal in his back pocket. Wonder if he chews on the job!

The boys did very well in their playing. I am thankful that up this way they are still allowed to play what they want to, and most of what they did was gospel bluegrass. We had to wait until the party was over to tear down the equipment, and they were called back to play one more song at the end. Jim chose "House of Gold," which is evangelistic in nature. No one complained.