Big Game Hunter

I am thrilled that our second son, Peter, shot a large doe tonight. North Dakota has a youth season in September for 14-15 year olds. This was Peter's first hunt.

This was quite different from our older son Jonathan's first hunt. My husband Jim is not a hunter, and was not able to to coach Jonathan on how to take care of the deer after it was shot.


Our younger son Andrew reminded me tonight that Jonathan took much longer to dress his first deer since he had to read each step from a book. This time Jonathan was able to coach his younger brother on how to do things. What a blessing he was to Peter.


The deer had to be quartered and stored in our freezer, as tonight will be in the 50's and tomorrow the lower 80's.

I love watching the interactions of our four boys. They are definitely best friends, and our desire is for them to settle down and have families close by to each other, so they could continue to foster their close relationships.

Andrew's Jeep

Today is Andrew's 12th birthday! He was visiting with both Grandfathers on the phone today, and told them about his jeep that he made from two garden tractors. This is his creation:

Andrew also used parts from a very old snowmobile (lights and switches). I am constantly amazed at the boys' creativity when given time and junk to make something useful.

We haven't downloaded any photos of the big day yet, and hopefully I can post something about Andrew tomorrow.

Our Newest Addition

There's been a lot happening on our farmstead, but I first wanted to introduce you to our newest addition:

We haven't come up with a name yet, but she is a purebred Jersey cow. She is 11 months old, so it will be a while before we enjoy milk from her.

On Friday we received a call from her owner (friends of ours) to let us know they had just gotten a bull and wanted us to pick up our cow as soon as possible, since she is too young to be bred. Another family that had a stock trailer we could use didn't get home until early Sat. morning, so by the time details were worked out it was close to 3:00 p.m. Jim, Jonathan and David drove the hour and a half down to get her, arriving back home close to midnight. While they were gone, Peter and Andrew diligently worked to install a makeshift fence for her until our fencing materials arrive this week. Needless to say, the fence didn't hold, and we were all afraid she would disappear into the state land adjacent to our property. One of the guys took the truck and stock trailer into the field where she was headed, and thankfully she made a beeline for the trailer. The first thing we need to do tomorrow is purchase a halter!

We are all working on making our cow feel comfortable around us, and hopefully she will soon adjust to her new home. She already likes our German Shepherd; the friends we purchased her from have one of our puppies, and she must be used to dogs.

In the News

I've been having trouble lately finding the time to post something about the goings on of our family. Last week a reporter and photographer came for a visit from our old city of Fargo, and the following is how they saw our life.
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[David Samson / The Forum David Bartlett cuts a yarrow plant while gathering them for use as a medicinal remedy at the family’s property near Bottineau.]


Nature lights way for farmers of faith
Mila Koumpilova
The Forum - 08/10/2008

Bottineau, N.D.

The Bartletts started out with 150 weed-covered acres, a pop-up camper and a thatched-roof outhouse where, to the sound of coyote howls her first night, Lynn Bartlett wept with fear and qualms about abandoning city life.

Lynn, her husband, Jim, and their four home-schooled sons moved from Fargo to a remote homestead in the Turtle Mountains four years ago. They didn’t make the transition easy on themselves: They plucked weeds by hand. They squished pesky potato bugs with their fingers. They let some chickens roam free.

[Jonathan Bartlett feeds chickens as part of his morning chores on the family homestead near Bottineau. David Samson / The Forum]

Jim Bartlett, who heads the North Dakota Home School Association, half-jokingly calls his breed of Christian home-schooler “the new hippies” – a growing group of converts to organic farming and the simple life that defies political labels.

[Jim Bartlett works in one of the gardens on his property near Bottineau. David Samson / The Forum]

They put up solar panels, choose home births and concoct herbal remedies. But rubbing shoulders with new agers at farmers markets doesn’t diminish their conservative credentials. They embrace environmentally friendly farming in a bid to become better stewards of God’s creation, to keep their families together and to follow a quintessentially right-wing ideal of self-reliance.

“The hippies live like this because they’re trying to protect Mother Earth,” says the Bartletts’ friend Sid Hughes. “We live like this because it gives us an opportunity to be in communion with God in nature.”

The Barletts moved west with two Fargo chickens named Lewis and Cluck. Expanding their operation was a humbling experience.

“We knew exactly why we were doing this; as far as knowing how to butcher a chicken or a pig, that’s a different story,” says Jim Bartlett, a former North Dakota State University engineering professor, adding, “I took engineering so I wouldn’t have to deal with blood.”

[Andrew Bartlett, 11, gives pigs a morning feeding on the family homestead. David Samson / The Forum]

They use sheep manure and crop rotation instead of chemical fertilizer. They avoid pesticides, spraying their potatoes with rhubarb juice instead. They keep their goats and chickens in movable pens so they can nibble on fresh grass every day. They add goat’s milk to the chickens’ water instead of pumping them with hormones.

[Peter, Jonathan, David and Andrew Bartlett move a goat pen to a new location with fresh grass on their family farmstead. The pens are moved daily to provide the animals with clean living spaces. David Samson / The Forum]

[Jonathan, David, Peter and Andrew Bartlett close a goat pen after moving it to a location with fresh grass for the animals. The pens are moved daily to give the animals clean living spaces. David Samson / The Forum]

“We learned by trial and mostly error,” says Bartlett’s son Jonathan, 17.

Like other fledgling organic farmers, the Bartletts, who have cut out processed food almost completely, believe commercial farming methods make Americans sick.

Two years ago, John Mesko moved to his family farm near Princeton, Minn., where he raises grass-fed beef and lamb and pastured pigs. A one-time field agronomist for Dow Chemical, the pesticide-making giant, Mesko came to believe companies such as his employer contribute to Americans’ declining health.

Also, Mesko says, his family is farming “the God-honoring way.”

“God didn’t create pesticides,” he says. “He created all plants – including weeds – for a purpose.”

The God-honoring way, of course, is more work, and temptation can set in.

In the winter of 2005, Sid and Twilla Hughes moved to the 52-acre Valley Vegetables farm outside Minot with their 10 home-schooled children. When the snow melted, they found waist-high weeds and a scrap-metal dumping ground. The family tackled the weeds with bare hands.

[Sid Hughes chops lettuce while family members, from left, Twyla, Lexi, Josiah, Alicia and Joshua take a break from picking crops on their farmstead near Minot, N.D. David Samson / The Forum]

[Joshua Hughes carries an armful of fresh picked broccoli on the family farmstead near Minot, N.D. David Samson / The Forum]

Last year, cockleburs exploded in their pumpkin patch. Carson, the Hughes’ 17-old-son, reasoned with his dad to resort to chemicals this one time. Sid bought some, but then he thought about his kids running barefoot in the field and munching on freshly picked carrots. He couldn’t bring himself to spray.

Lure of the land

Home-schoolers say it’s no coincidence they’re fueling what some call a Christian agrarian movement – a hands-on, back-to-the-land extension of the wider push for environmental stewardship within evangelicalism.

“The public school system is so omnipresent in our society that once as a home-schooling family you decide you don’t want to go down this road, all of a sudden you see all these other roads you don’t have to follow,” Mesko says. “If I can teach your own kids, maybe I can grow my own food.”

Farming allows dads such as Bartlett, who once plodded through traffic for two hours to his General Motors office in Detroit, to be more involved in raising their kids. It allows children to stay close rather than scattering off to college and corporate jobs.

The Bartletts appear to be in growing company. They’ve met about 30 North Dakota Christian agrarian families since moving west. Mesko, whose Lighthouse Farm offers workshops on anything from how to butcher a hog to how to make hay, says he fields inquiries each month from several religious families contemplating farm life.

Christian agrarians were the subject of a recent story in Christianity Today, the evangelical magazine. The trend spawned books from 2004’s “The Maker’s Diet” (on healing through organic food and prayer) to 2006’s “Crunchy Cons” (on the challenge to conventional-wisdom conservatism from “gun-loving organic gardeners” and “evangelical free-range farmers,” to quote its subtitle.)

“I know a lot of organic farmers who see that as part of their faith,” says Britt Jacobson, project coordinator at the Medina-based Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Resources Management and Sustainability. “Independent thinkers is the best way I can think to classify them.”

Beyond the labels

Two years ago, Linda and Dick Grotberg, longtime owners of a large confinement hog operation in Wimbledon, went organic. They now raise free-range antibiotic- and hormone-free cattle, and press sunflower seeds into biodiesel for their tractors.

The Grotbergs are devout Christians who once battled their school district in court over the right to home-school their now-grown children. They had an epiphany that organic farming helps them fit more seamlessly in God’s intricate design.

The changes have baffled some conservative neighbors.

“It’s amazing how many of my peers have a problem with my saying I am green,” says Linda, who sometimes jokes she’s “just barely chartreuse.” “You’re something that doesn’t fit your group at all.”

Jim Bartlett can relate. He is running for the state Senate as a Republican, a label he wears with a measure of ambivalence. He calls for a ban on abortion and blames environmental regulation for high gas prices. But he’s also uncomfortable with this administration’s sometimes cushy relationship with big business and the scale-down of civil liberties post-Sept. 11.

“The Republicans endorsed me, but I didn’t endorse them,” he says.

Flouting neat ideological boxes, agrarians share contempt for the suburban rat race and reverence for the scriptural principles of simplicity and frugality.

[Lynn Bartlett collects plants from one of the family gardens to use for medicinal purposes. David Samson / The Forum]

The Bartletts grow lavender for headaches and pick wild yarrow for upset stomachs, happy to boycott big drug makers. Several of the Hughes’ younger children were born at home; Sid delivered one when the midwife ran late. They exchange handmade gifts for Christmas.

Says Twilla Hughes, “We want our kids to recognize that there’s more to life than the view that whoever dies with the most toys is the winner.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter Mila Koumpilova at (701) 241-5529

[Jim Bartlett, along with sons, Peter, Jonathan and Andrew practice bluegrass music during an afternoon break from gardening and caring for the animals on their farm near Bottineau, N.D. David Samson / The Forum]

Tornado!

Yesterday Jonathan, Andrew, David and I drove over to Metigoshe Ministries, as Jonathan needed to vacuum. The younger boys and I helped him, so we could get back home to finish our various projects for the day. Just as I was scrubbing the kitchen floor, one of the staff members came into the kitchen to announce the Sheriff's office had just called to say a tornado had just been spotted at Lake Metigoshe; the center is on the shores of the lake. Susie the cook and I had seen a very strange looking black cloud only minutes before, but did not see a funnel cloud.

By the time they received the call the danger was over, and it was only later we received the news that at least one tornado had touched down in the area. Thankfully, there was no damage to our farmstead.

Below is an article published in the Minot Daily News. Rolette County is only a couple of miles from our farmstead, and the International Peace Gardens 15 miles away. Rolla is about an hour away from us. (North Dakotans measure distance by the time it takes to get somewhere, not very often by actual miles.)


Submitted Photo --
A tornado touches down northeast of Rolla as seen in this submitted photo taken by Sherie Zupan in the parking lot of the C-Store Monday.

Twisters tear through Rolla

Four homes destroyed, eight damaged

By DAN FELDNER, Staff Writer, dfeldner@minotdailynews.com

POSTED: July 8, 2008

Email: "Twisters tear through Rolla"
*To:		<--TO Email REQUIRED!
*From:		<--FROM Email REQUIRED!

ROLLA - A series of tornadoes skipped across Rolette County Monday afternoon causing property damage and at least two injuries.

According to a press release from the Rolette County Sheriff's Department, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning in northern Rolette County at 2:30 p.m. Initial indications were that a tornado touched down at the International Peace Garden on the Canadian side.

The storm then moved southeast to Belcourt, where a tornado or tornadoes skirted around the northern edge of the town shortly after 3 p.m. Dr. Richard Larson, medical director of the ambulance service at Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Health in Belcourt, said a tornado was one-half to one mile to the north of town when it moved by the hospital.

"Our employees stepped out of the hospital and shot pictures with their cell phones," Larson said.

There is no count on exactly how many tornadoes might have touched down, but Larson stated one of the nurses at the hospital saw up to four tornadoes, with two of them dropping down side-by-side at the same time near her house.

Although Belcourt was spared the brunt of the storm's power, Larson said a house northeast of Belcourt was demolished and a man seeking shelter in the basement was seriously injured, while a puppy at the house was killed. Larson said the man was injured by a falling wall of bricks. The man, whose identity is not being released at this time, was transported to the Belcourt hospital and then air-lifted to Trinity Hospital in Minot.

Larson said that was the only tornado-related injury the hospital treated. While he didn't know what tornado-related injuries other hospitals might have treated, he did say no other agencies asked for help from the hospital's EMS service.

The storm then moved east to Rolla, which wasn't as fortunate as Belcourt. The sheriff's department reported a tornado touched down on the northwest side of Rolla at approximately 3:15 p.m. and then continued east, causing damage to residential and commercial structures on the north side of town.

According to a press release from Gov. John Hoeven, the tornado affected a roughly three-block area, and Rolette County acting emergency manager Eldon Moors reported that four homes were destroyed and eight were damaged. Otter Tail Power Cooperative also turned off power to the area to ensure safety. The press release said preliminary reports from Belcourt indicate at least one home was heavily damaged while several others suffered lesser damage.

While there were no serious injuries reported in Rolla, a city firefighter did sustain minor injuries when his vehicle was struck by a tornado as he was observing the storm approach the city.

For those displaced from their homes in Rolla by the storm, the American Red Cross provided relief at Our Savior's Lutheran Church.

"We extend our sympathy to those who were injured and to the families whose homes were destroyed or damaged," Hoeven said in the statement. "I've asked the Department of Emergency Services to respond with any state resources the communities feel are necessary to help in the aftermath of this destructive storm."

Hoeven will meet with local officials in Rolla today at 8 a.m. A news conference will then be held at the Rolette County Courthouse at 9 a.m. Hoeven will also be in Belcourt to meet with Doc Brien, tribal chairman, at 10:30 a.m. at the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters.

Sherie and Randy Zupan, who live about two miles southwest of Belcourt, were at a store in Rolla when the tornadoes touched down.

"My husband yelled at me to come out and look at this," Sherie Zupan said.

Randy Zupan wanted to get a better look, so the two jumped into their vehicle and drove to the C-Store.

"Like a crazy person, we stayed out and took pictures on our phone," Sherie Zupan said. "It was pretty devastating."

The Zupans reported seeing three or four tornadoes touch down, and also saw two touch down at the same time. After the storm moved away, they drove around the city to see the damage. The Zupans said there were several houses destroyed about a mile south of Rolla's airport, which is north of the city.

"When we went out to look at it, there were roofs off, shingles, trees pulled right out, the roots and all," she said.

They then left Rolla as rescue efforts intensified and drove north to St. John. They saw the wreckage of a red four-door truck that had been thrown into a telephone pole. They also discovered the straw-insulated building at the Anishinabe Learning, Cultural & Wellness Center a few miles north of Belcourt had one side of the roof pulled off. A family that lived in the area had their house damaged and their pontoon was sitting in a tree.

"It was a pretty good-sized pontoon, so it was a pretty strong tornado," Sherie Zupan said.

Zupan says she's seen tornadoes before, but this is the first time she's experienced their power first hand.

"I've seen tornadoes, never this close," she said. "I never want to go through this again. It was pretty scary."

What a Night!

We are all exhausted, and I hope to get Andrew, David and Jonathan to bed early -- myself included. Last night was almost comical.

Before bed, I told Jonathan there were storm warnings, and he should probably place the goat kids back in with their moms, since the kids didn't have a shelter in their pen. This was the first night they were separated from their moms, so the boys could begin milking twice a day. Jonathan said he would get up if it rained. Well, by the time I went to bed about midnight (I was taking the tops off from two gallons of strawberries), they were showing a storm on the weather radar. Sure enough, at 1:30 a.m. the thunder and lightning began, so I woke Jonathan up. He went out to do the deed, and I got dressed and followed him in the car since the pens are way behind the raspberry bushes and close to 1/4 mile away. I thought the headlights would be beneficial instead of working in the dark. Jonathan had to drag one mom down to the barn, since she had a cyst on her jaw which recently opened up and was draining, so he didn't want her with the rest of the goats. By the time he did that we were both soaked.


Before I went to bed I discovered the younger boys hadn't taken the kittens down to the barn, so I brought them in the house for the night. For some reason, our cat brings them up from the barn every day, and has them stay in the front of the house. That was a huge mistake. By 2:00 a.m., Jim was really wheezing. Peter then got up to tell me we needed to move the goat kids (where was he at 1:30?!), so I sent him down to the barn with the kittens. It was thundering and lightning quite fiercely. Jim got up and could hardly breathe, so he went outside to get some air. By then David woke up and crawled in bed with me, so I thought Jim would do better in David's top bunk by the window where he could get some fresh air. Jim had just crawled up there when we heard the rain coming in upstairs, so he had to get up again to stuff blankets, etc. in the areas around our temporary door. By the time he returned, we were all able to get some sleep.


Jim and Peter left about 10:00 this morning for legislative meetings for the home school association. I hope they were able to stay awake! I guess I won't bring kittens in the house again, it is too hard on Jim.

A Taste of Summer

Our weather is just starting to resemble summer. The boys were complaining how hot it was today, when the temperature was only about 80 degrees. Jim allowed three of them to take a canoe ride and cool off, and from my vantage point weeding in the gardens, it sounded like they had a great time. We are thankful that our friend Steve has loaned us his canoe.

Our raspberries and strawberries so far are doing well. There are a lot of runners in between the rows of raspberry bushes, and I mentioned to a friend that we planned to till them in. She suggested we place an ad in the local paper and see if anyone would want them. We were pleasantly surprised when yesterday we had three callers inquire and purchase some of them. Great! The boys are thrilled to make a little bit of money. Jim and the younger boys spent time today transplanting some of the strawberry runners into a recently tilled garden area, which will greatly increase our future strawberry crop.

One thing we were concerned about is the lack of bees in the area. How are things going to be pollinated? Jim lost out on getting more bees this year, and it seemed there were no wild pollinators in the area. I was glad to have a bumblebee check out my weeding this afternoon, so maybe they are beginning to come around. Last year a man summered his bees on our land, and we were hoping he would get them in place this year before we were in desperate straits. They haven't shown up yet, and I wonder when that will take place. It's interesting how we forget from year to year when events happen -- unless we keep a farming journal. Jonathan has been keeping better track this year, so next year we'll know exactly when we did what.

The Bottineau County Fair was held last Thursday through Sunday. I still can't figure out why they hold the fair in June, as that means 4-H'rs and the rest can't show their garden produce. Even the state fair is early -- in July. The weather was cold and rainy, but people still came out to see the exhibits. This was the first year they didn't offer carnival rides (fine with us). It was also the first year we attended the event, as we aren't much for that type of entertainment. I helped out in the kitchen once again on Saturday and Sunday at Metigoshe Ministries, so I didn't make it to the actual fair. Jim had to help man the Republican booth, so each day he took along one or more of the boys to help out. This was the first county fair they have ever attended.

It was also their first time viewing a demolition derby, and I guess they had a great time there.

Blogging Produces Blessings

Last March we received an email from a lady named Colleen, who said their family found ours through our son's Peter's blog. Apparently they had Googled a particular song, and one of the sites listed was Peter's, where he was playing that song. They were missionaries living off the coast of Quebec, and could they possibly stop by for a brief visit on their way to California? We said yes, please come for a visit. I am always surprised when someone wants to stop by, as we are definitely off the beaten path.

Well, we didn't hear from their family again until last week, when Colleen wrote that they were going to be in North Dakota this week. Some phone conversations followed, and we had them as our visitors yesterday morning.


It's always such a blessing to meet like-minded people, with many of the same interests. Our boys played music with their boys, and an enjoyable time was hopefully had by all. We certainly hope they will be able to stop by again some day.

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!