It's Mom and Dad's anniversary tomorrow--if you'd like, leave a comment of congratulations.
Jonathan
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Busy Weeks
Harvest season has finally arrived. We've been swamped with green beans for quite a while now, and I'm just not sure what to do with all of them. I think I've canned about 200 quarts of the things! Some of them will go to a friend whose baby is due any day now.
Last Sat. Jim and the boys headed down to town for the farmer's market. The local farmers decided they didn't want to organize, so people just show up whenever and sell whatever they want. I guess some started selling at 7 a.m., but our family didn't set up until 8:30 or so. I am recounting this from what the guys have told me, since I was filling in for someone at the retreat center and worked there instead of going to the market. My contribution to the market was homemade raspberry jam. This was our very first farmer's market, and we were all anxious to see how it would go.
The boys brought their instruments along and played a bit of bluegrass. Our produce consisted of green beans, onions, celery, rhubarb, green peppers, carrots and a small amount of potatoes. I think everyone was pleased with what sold. I even made some money from the raspberry jam. We'll be doing it again this Sat. morning, and I just finished cleaning up the kitchen after cooking up a couple of batches of strawberry jam for the next farmer's market. Hopefully there will also be time to bake some yeast breads and also quick breads to see if they will sell. Maybe we should bring our not so little kittens back to try to give them away again this week. These 4 kittens were born in March, and so far no one has been interested in taking them. Now their mama is due again any day, and we will be taken over by cats! Unfortunately all 4 kittens are females, and with our one male cat we will be overloaded. I guess we need to work harder to find homes for them.
A week ago last Tues. the Turtle Mountain Boys played for a group of bicycle riders that settled into the local state park for the night. Every summer over 400 riders bike various parts of North Dakota, and this year they came through our scenic area. The boys were asked to perform their bluegrass music for an hour as after dinner entertainment. It was great they had the freedom to play both secular as well as gospel music. About a half hour into the concert the sound system died -- there was smoke coming out of the controls! The system belonged to a friend of ours and thankfully he was the one working the controls. I know he felt badly, but there was nothing that could be done. The boys just had to play a bit softer and try to sing a lot louder! This group of people were very attentive, and it was good exposure for the Turtle Mountain Boys. Afterward someone told us there is another group from the area that call themselves the same name, so I guess we'll have to figure out something else for the name of our group.
There's been quite a few people asking if we have chickens to sell. That has gotten Jonathan interested in working with broilers once again, so in the spring we will make another attempt to raise them for selling to area customers. Hopefully our raspberry bushes will do better next year as well.
Last Sat. Jim and the boys headed down to town for the farmer's market. The local farmers decided they didn't want to organize, so people just show up whenever and sell whatever they want. I guess some started selling at 7 a.m., but our family didn't set up until 8:30 or so. I am recounting this from what the guys have told me, since I was filling in for someone at the retreat center and worked there instead of going to the market. My contribution to the market was homemade raspberry jam. This was our very first farmer's market, and we were all anxious to see how it would go.
The boys brought their instruments along and played a bit of bluegrass. Our produce consisted of green beans, onions, celery, rhubarb, green peppers, carrots and a small amount of potatoes. I think everyone was pleased with what sold. I even made some money from the raspberry jam. We'll be doing it again this Sat. morning, and I just finished cleaning up the kitchen after cooking up a couple of batches of strawberry jam for the next farmer's market. Hopefully there will also be time to bake some yeast breads and also quick breads to see if they will sell. Maybe we should bring our not so little kittens back to try to give them away again this week. These 4 kittens were born in March, and so far no one has been interested in taking them. Now their mama is due again any day, and we will be taken over by cats! Unfortunately all 4 kittens are females, and with our one male cat we will be overloaded. I guess we need to work harder to find homes for them.
A week ago last Tues. the Turtle Mountain Boys played for a group of bicycle riders that settled into the local state park for the night. Every summer over 400 riders bike various parts of North Dakota, and this year they came through our scenic area. The boys were asked to perform their bluegrass music for an hour as after dinner entertainment. It was great they had the freedom to play both secular as well as gospel music. About a half hour into the concert the sound system died -- there was smoke coming out of the controls! The system belonged to a friend of ours and thankfully he was the one working the controls. I know he felt badly, but there was nothing that could be done. The boys just had to play a bit softer and try to sing a lot louder! This group of people were very attentive, and it was good exposure for the Turtle Mountain Boys. Afterward someone told us there is another group from the area that call themselves the same name, so I guess we'll have to figure out something else for the name of our group.
There's been quite a few people asking if we have chickens to sell. That has gotten Jonathan interested in working with broilers once again, so in the spring we will make another attempt to raise them for selling to area customers. Hopefully our raspberry bushes will do better next year as well.
A Scary Thought
I had to put on a sweater tonight, since it was becoming a bit chilly in here. I checked the local forecast, and this is what I discovered:
Tonight
Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.
I do believe there's a touch of fall in the air.
Tonight
Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.
I do believe there's a touch of fall in the air.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Canning Season Has Begun!
It may be a late night tonight. This afternoon we discovered our bean patch had really popped with the hot, muggy weather, so we picked a ton of green beans and got started with the processing. By the time I go to bed tonight, we will have processed 42 quarts of beans! We still have canned beans from last year, but if our corn doesn't mature before our first frost we will be eating more beans, and I want to make sure we have enough for ourselves and company before we attempt to sell the rest.
I had my first jar casualty in the last batch ... Most of my jars have been purchased from local elderly ladies, and I must have used a jar that was past its prime. At least the bottom broke cleanly away from the rest of the jar and I didn't have shards of glass floating inside the canner along with beans. It has been so much fun to talk canning with the elderly ladies that answered my ad for jars; they are actually excited that someone would take up doing something like that. Most of them have asked me how large our garden is and what I plan to can. I also advertised for another gauge style pressure canner, and a lady that used to live up here in the hills called to say I could have hers for free. She said it probably needed a new seal and for the gauge to be recalibrated, since she hadn't used it since they moved to town about 10 years ago. This lady is 86 and her husband 92. I'm hoping to go visit her some day, but it may be after I find some breathing room in between canning sessions.
It's hard to believe that before moving to the country I hadn't canned anything but raspberry jam. The Lord has been so gracious in providing wonderful mentors from which to learn the various processes. Last year I asked Jim to help me through my first experience in pressure canning. He was very gracious and read the directions and walked me through the process. We learned together!
How wonderful it has been to just walk into the garden and pick out enough items to have a salad: Lettuce, cucumbers, a few tomatoes (if I get them before the chickens do!), green pepper, broccoli and zucchini. I must admit that during the Y2k time I attempted to grow a few items in the city, and one of those things was strawberries. I planted them in my front flower garden. The strange thing was once they started producing a few berries I decided I didn't want to eat them because they hadn't come from the store! In my mind, store bought items were superior to what I could grow. I think I figured my home grown produce might have bugs in them or something. What a change it has been for me! I am constantly amazed at how a small seed can produce so much. I was thinking about that this afternoon when picking green beans, because I noted how one seed produces a stalk that grows into a bush and ultimately produces a lot more seeds inside the bean pods.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Garden Flowers
Last spring Andrew and Peter went to work and created a picket fence for a backdrop for my rock garden, and it sure is a wonderful addition. All the flowers were grown from seed, which was done at our friend Paulette's place. She has southern facing windows, and plants thrive over there. I didn't grown many petunias this year, but it's probably just as well since it's been so hot and dry. The marigolds are doing just great.
This view shows how the garden is situated in relation to the house. Just around the corner is the door to our walk-in basement. We are still living down there. I am so thankful for the main part of the house that is shelled in but not insulated yet, because last year there was nothing up there and we almost cooked in the basement. All we had between us and the hot sun was plywood and rolled roofing. At least this year the structure above gives us great insulation.
This view shows how the garden is situated in relation to the house. Just around the corner is the door to our walk-in basement. We are still living down there. I am so thankful for the main part of the house that is shelled in but not insulated yet, because last year there was nothing up there and we almost cooked in the basement. All we had between us and the hot sun was plywood and rolled roofing. At least this year the structure above gives us great insulation.Our Weather for Today
We aren't used to typical southern weather, but I guess we'll experience it whether we want to or not. Yesterday we closed up the house and lived like cave dwellers, and looks like today we'll do more of the same.
From the weather service:
HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING. THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY, WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING. EXPECT THE HEAT INDEX TO RANGE FROM 105 TO AROUND 115 DEGREES. TEMPS IN EXCESS OF 100 DEGREES & HIGH HUMIDITY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DANGEROUS HEAT. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE THIS EVENING. A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPS IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPS & HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM. STAY OUT OF THE SUN & CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.
From the weather service:
HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING. THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY, WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING. EXPECT THE HEAT INDEX TO RANGE FROM 105 TO AROUND 115 DEGREES. TEMPS IN EXCESS OF 100 DEGREES & HIGH HUMIDITY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DANGEROUS HEAT. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE THIS EVENING. A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPS IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPS & HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM. STAY OUT OF THE SUN & CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Taking a Break
I'm taking a break while waiting for some buns to raise. Won't take long, since it's very hot and humid today. No air conditioning for us, but just whatever breeze happens in through the window.
Jonathan, Peter and Andrew are over at our friend Paulette's, helping Steve with landscaping projects. This has been a tough day for David, since his best buddies aren't here for him to hang around with. Needless to say, Jim and I have been his source of excitement. I can hardly remember when we only had one son, and it must have been a different set of circumstances since David has had companionship his entire life, vs. what Jonathan knew as an only child. I kept David busy with picking raspberries, which is not his favorite job.
We may not be able to sell our raspberries after all, as we discovered they have what we think is gray mold. I checked the internet yesterday and that is what it looks like to me. The information stated the condition is a result of cool, wet conditions as the berries were forming. Well, we've had plenty of cool, cloudy, wet weather lately, so it doesn't surprise me. Our raspberries still taste great to me, and even if we don't sell them, we'll certainly enjoy plenty of homemade raspberry jam.
About a week ago the boys discovered our potato plants were infested with potato bugs! Yuck! Since then we've been trying different natural remedies, in the hopes we'll have a great potato crop in the fall. We've already dug up some very tasty new potatoes, and I have the boys hooked on their wonderful flavor. Last year almost all of our 1200 lbs. of potatoes were afflicted with scab, so this is a new twist. Hopefully the plants are far enough along that they will still produce for us.
We have been harvesting broccoli; I wasn't in favor of planting them since 2 years ago they ended up with lots of worms, but this year was a great year for the plant and we have really (at least I have!) enjoyed fresh broccoli. So far we've picked 4 ripe tomatoes, lots of peas, and the green beans are producing as well. Carrots are getting close to needing some thinning out. I didn't get much lettuce this year; it just didn't want to grow very well. I'm going to try planting a bit more before too long. I did pick 2 small zucchini this morning, and the boys thinned out our crop of mangle beets. The animals sure liked feasting on those things!
It looks like Jim did a good job with his air layering in some of the trees, as the branches turned into saplings are taking root. There are also branches that have been grafted onto crab apple root stock which will become apricot and other types of trees. These are also doing well. We discovered the deer (in spite of having 2 dogs) are eating what they can of our new cherry trees. Jonathan has been tenting near them, in the hopes the deer will stay away. Wish I could show you some photos, but we need to purchase a cleaner for the camera before we can do too much with it. My rose bushes are flowering, and they are beautiful! Maybe some day they can be transplanted to an area closer to the house. I didn't want anything in near proximity until construction is over.
Looks like I better get back to my dough. We have had company the past 2 weekends, and this weekend will make it 3 in a row. Sunday is the Bottineau Gospel Music Festival, and plenty of our friends will be attending. Hopefully our camera will be whipped into shape and I can include photos of the Turtle Mountain Boys and others who will be playing and singing.
Jonathan, Peter and Andrew are over at our friend Paulette's, helping Steve with landscaping projects. This has been a tough day for David, since his best buddies aren't here for him to hang around with. Needless to say, Jim and I have been his source of excitement. I can hardly remember when we only had one son, and it must have been a different set of circumstances since David has had companionship his entire life, vs. what Jonathan knew as an only child. I kept David busy with picking raspberries, which is not his favorite job.
We may not be able to sell our raspberries after all, as we discovered they have what we think is gray mold. I checked the internet yesterday and that is what it looks like to me. The information stated the condition is a result of cool, wet conditions as the berries were forming. Well, we've had plenty of cool, cloudy, wet weather lately, so it doesn't surprise me. Our raspberries still taste great to me, and even if we don't sell them, we'll certainly enjoy plenty of homemade raspberry jam.
About a week ago the boys discovered our potato plants were infested with potato bugs! Yuck! Since then we've been trying different natural remedies, in the hopes we'll have a great potato crop in the fall. We've already dug up some very tasty new potatoes, and I have the boys hooked on their wonderful flavor. Last year almost all of our 1200 lbs. of potatoes were afflicted with scab, so this is a new twist. Hopefully the plants are far enough along that they will still produce for us.
We have been harvesting broccoli; I wasn't in favor of planting them since 2 years ago they ended up with lots of worms, but this year was a great year for the plant and we have really (at least I have!) enjoyed fresh broccoli. So far we've picked 4 ripe tomatoes, lots of peas, and the green beans are producing as well. Carrots are getting close to needing some thinning out. I didn't get much lettuce this year; it just didn't want to grow very well. I'm going to try planting a bit more before too long. I did pick 2 small zucchini this morning, and the boys thinned out our crop of mangle beets. The animals sure liked feasting on those things!
It looks like Jim did a good job with his air layering in some of the trees, as the branches turned into saplings are taking root. There are also branches that have been grafted onto crab apple root stock which will become apricot and other types of trees. These are also doing well. We discovered the deer (in spite of having 2 dogs) are eating what they can of our new cherry trees. Jonathan has been tenting near them, in the hopes the deer will stay away. Wish I could show you some photos, but we need to purchase a cleaner for the camera before we can do too much with it. My rose bushes are flowering, and they are beautiful! Maybe some day they can be transplanted to an area closer to the house. I didn't want anything in near proximity until construction is over.
Looks like I better get back to my dough. We have had company the past 2 weekends, and this weekend will make it 3 in a row. Sunday is the Bottineau Gospel Music Festival, and plenty of our friends will be attending. Hopefully our camera will be whipped into shape and I can include photos of the Turtle Mountain Boys and others who will be playing and singing.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Wonderful Story of God's Faithfulness
I just received an email from friends that I knew in my single days, when I was a part of a Christian ministry back in the 70's. It is so special that I thought I would share it with you.
------------------------------------------------
Dear friends,
I am pleased to pass on a very special announcement to all of you.
Helen Arnseth, missionary to Madagascar and long-time staff member of Daystar is engaged to be married on September 8, 2007 to Olav Torvik in San Antonio, Texas!
She was engaged on June 28, 2007 to Olav, whom she has known since September 13, 1948. Olav and his wife Eunice served in Madagascar as missionaries along with Helen and Eunice was Helen's best friend during their years of ministry there.
Eunice passed away earlier this year after a 10 years struggle with several health issues. Olav voiced his loneliness to one of his daughters after Eunice passed away and she suggested that he consider getting married again. His daughter asked him who he would consider if he was to remarry and he said he would consider Helen first of all. So the rest is, as they say, history. Olav called Helen shortly after this conversation with his daughter and they have developed their relationship over the phone. It culminated when Helen went to San Antonio on June 20th to visit him and his children for 10 days.
Helen and Olav both speak Norwegian, French, English and Malagasy and Helen knows all five of his children well because of their time together in Madagascar.
As most of you may know, marriage has been a dream for Helen all her life so she is more than overjoyed at this unexpected turn of events. Olav is 88 years old and Helen is 85.
There will be a reception in the Minneapolis area for the newly weds in October for those who wish to rejoice with them ...
What an amazing and exciting story this has been. Rejoice with us and with Helen as she enters into the fulfillment of a life-long dream.
Blessings to you all
Larry Ballard
------------------------------------------------
Dear friends,
I am pleased to pass on a very special announcement to all of you.
Helen Arnseth, missionary to Madagascar and long-time staff member of Daystar is engaged to be married on September 8, 2007 to Olav Torvik in San Antonio, Texas!
She was engaged on June 28, 2007 to Olav, whom she has known since September 13, 1948. Olav and his wife Eunice served in Madagascar as missionaries along with Helen and Eunice was Helen's best friend during their years of ministry there.
Eunice passed away earlier this year after a 10 years struggle with several health issues. Olav voiced his loneliness to one of his daughters after Eunice passed away and she suggested that he consider getting married again. His daughter asked him who he would consider if he was to remarry and he said he would consider Helen first of all. So the rest is, as they say, history. Olav called Helen shortly after this conversation with his daughter and they have developed their relationship over the phone. It culminated when Helen went to San Antonio on June 20th to visit him and his children for 10 days.
Helen and Olav both speak Norwegian, French, English and Malagasy and Helen knows all five of his children well because of their time together in Madagascar.
As most of you may know, marriage has been a dream for Helen all her life so she is more than overjoyed at this unexpected turn of events. Olav is 88 years old and Helen is 85.
There will be a reception in the Minneapolis area for the newly weds in October for those who wish to rejoice with them ...
What an amazing and exciting story this has been. Rejoice with us and with Helen as she enters into the fulfillment of a life-long dream.
Blessings to you all
Larry Ballard
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Picture Post III
Dad and a kitty...
The barn, which is half painted as you see...
Andrew and David...
Peter with his homemade belt buckle
One of the moveable chicken coops...
the buckwheat
Tobacco, to be made into an herbal pesticide...
Our tallest corn...
Whooops, another Andrew and David picture. I know from experience that if I delete it, blogger will delete the rest of this post's pictures and I'll have to redo so I will leave it up.Jonathan, for Lynn, until she posts :-)
Picture Post II
Hoop house...
Corn
beans
Strawberries, and the asparagus to the left
Some of the raspberriesPicture Post
Herb/flower garden
carrots, peas, tomatoes, peppers, celery, beans in the background...
Another angle.
Another....
the corn and potatoes.Sunday, July 01, 2007
Sunday Night Post
Well, I've had plenty of blogs written in my mind, but not on a screen. The days have just been flying by. Even our 10-year-old has commented on how fast this year is going. Wow, July 1 already. To me, that means summer is almost half over!
Last weekend I had my first real experience with farming. Jim and the boys left Saturday morning to attend the wedding of friends of our family, which took place on a ranch about 4 hours from here. The Turtle Mountain Boys had been asked to play their bluegrass music for the next day's doings, which was Prairie Days -- a time of fun and fellowship for homeschooling families. Since I am not a member of the group it was my job to stay behind and do the chores. I was looking forward to some peace and quiet, after a very busy week of finally getting around to canning the remaining 60 of the 200 chickens we purchased with our friend Steve from a Hutterite community.
I must say I have a new appreciation for all the chores the boys do every morning with the animals. I spent mornings having Peter coach me in the fine art of milking goats. We have 2 we are currently milking in the mornings, so they are separated overnight from their kids. It looked so easy when Peter milked, but I found myself a little nervous at giving it a try. I think I have been a bit scared of the goats, but the more I worked with them the more relaxed I felt. They were no longer foreign objects to me! Even though goats aren't as large as a cow they still can pack a punch if they decide to kick or butt. We have them climb onto a milking stand, and then I would kneel on the floor and milk. There is no telling what a person would kneel on in the shed, so I furnished myself with a piece of cardboard for the job. I wasn't too excited about having my head at the level of the goats' hooves, but everything went okay. As long as the goats had their grain they were happy.
A couple of hours after everyone left I decided I'd better go check on the animals. We stake out the 2 milking does and the rest of the goats are in portable pens. As I rounded the shed I came face to face with John, our billy goat. He has always looked nasty to me, since he has the traditional beard and horns. The name he was given before we bought him was "Big Bad John," and he certainly looked the part! John was in a portable pen all his own, which was constructed of cattle panels. Before the boys left they moved his pen to a new location, but it was on the slant of a hill. I don't know how he got out of there with the pen still standing, but he did. I knew if I got him back in there he would just get out the way he did the first time, so I decided I'd better move it to a level area. The only way to do that with just me (takes 2 normally to move the pens around) was to take the thing apart and drag it flat along the ground. It turned out not to be as hard as I thought it would be, and got it set up next to our oldest goat, Mustard Seed. She has had some skin problems and lost most of her hair, so they have kept her separate from the rest of the herd until she is healed up. (Thankfully, a product from Crystal Creek has helped her to start growing her hair back.) I didn't know how to get John back into his pen's new location, but shaking a bucket with grain helped immensely. I gave him grain here and there to be sure he would follow me, and he did. He wasn't nasty at all! Whew!
A couple more hours later I went back down to check on the pig's water, and found one of the does wandering around pulling her stake behind her, so I had to get that back into place. The pigs were very glad to see me, since it was a hot day and they needed more water. Anyway, the animals kept me very busy. Later in the afternoon I checked the weather forecast and found the real possibility of a thunderstorm, so I had to play musical goats to get everyone shelter in the event it did rain. I think it took me close to an hour to get everyone settled down for the night. Thankfully there were no storms.
Got up and going right on schedule Sunday morning, but when I got to the goat shed I discovered one of the kids had somehow gotten out of his pen between the hours of bedtime and morning chores. He was laying next to the fence where his mother was held, and mama was pretty irate that she was so close, yet so far away. She did not want to cooperate with milking, so I didn't do too well with her. I think I managed to get about half of what Peter normally gets, and thankfully the kids would probably take the rest. I think it took me 3 hours to get all the chores done! My reward was to pick strawberries from our patch for breakfast.
I was very glad to have Jim and the boys return about 10:00 that night. There were storm warnings all around, and I needed help getting the kids separated from their moms. The trick of feeding a bit of grain to Big Bad John kind of backfired on me, since the 3 kids needed to go in with him for the night and he kept jumping up on the fence any time I tried to unlatch the clamps to get the kids in. It was either drop the kid I was carrying to get John off the fence (I did that the first time and the kid ran back to his mom!), or unintentionally let John out as I tried to get the kid in! I gave up and waited for reinforcements. We did have a storm that night, and received 3-1/2 inches of rain in 45 minutes. I was sure glad everyone was home and in their beds. What I do feel very badly about is that night friends of ours lost crops to hail in 7 of the 12 quarters of land they planted. Our hearts go out to them, and we are asking the Lord to give them wisdom in what their next step is going to be.
Last weekend I had my first real experience with farming. Jim and the boys left Saturday morning to attend the wedding of friends of our family, which took place on a ranch about 4 hours from here. The Turtle Mountain Boys had been asked to play their bluegrass music for the next day's doings, which was Prairie Days -- a time of fun and fellowship for homeschooling families. Since I am not a member of the group it was my job to stay behind and do the chores. I was looking forward to some peace and quiet, after a very busy week of finally getting around to canning the remaining 60 of the 200 chickens we purchased with our friend Steve from a Hutterite community.
I must say I have a new appreciation for all the chores the boys do every morning with the animals. I spent mornings having Peter coach me in the fine art of milking goats. We have 2 we are currently milking in the mornings, so they are separated overnight from their kids. It looked so easy when Peter milked, but I found myself a little nervous at giving it a try. I think I have been a bit scared of the goats, but the more I worked with them the more relaxed I felt. They were no longer foreign objects to me! Even though goats aren't as large as a cow they still can pack a punch if they decide to kick or butt. We have them climb onto a milking stand, and then I would kneel on the floor and milk. There is no telling what a person would kneel on in the shed, so I furnished myself with a piece of cardboard for the job. I wasn't too excited about having my head at the level of the goats' hooves, but everything went okay. As long as the goats had their grain they were happy.
A couple of hours after everyone left I decided I'd better go check on the animals. We stake out the 2 milking does and the rest of the goats are in portable pens. As I rounded the shed I came face to face with John, our billy goat. He has always looked nasty to me, since he has the traditional beard and horns. The name he was given before we bought him was "Big Bad John," and he certainly looked the part! John was in a portable pen all his own, which was constructed of cattle panels. Before the boys left they moved his pen to a new location, but it was on the slant of a hill. I don't know how he got out of there with the pen still standing, but he did. I knew if I got him back in there he would just get out the way he did the first time, so I decided I'd better move it to a level area. The only way to do that with just me (takes 2 normally to move the pens around) was to take the thing apart and drag it flat along the ground. It turned out not to be as hard as I thought it would be, and got it set up next to our oldest goat, Mustard Seed. She has had some skin problems and lost most of her hair, so they have kept her separate from the rest of the herd until she is healed up. (Thankfully, a product from Crystal Creek has helped her to start growing her hair back.) I didn't know how to get John back into his pen's new location, but shaking a bucket with grain helped immensely. I gave him grain here and there to be sure he would follow me, and he did. He wasn't nasty at all! Whew!
A couple more hours later I went back down to check on the pig's water, and found one of the does wandering around pulling her stake behind her, so I had to get that back into place. The pigs were very glad to see me, since it was a hot day and they needed more water. Anyway, the animals kept me very busy. Later in the afternoon I checked the weather forecast and found the real possibility of a thunderstorm, so I had to play musical goats to get everyone shelter in the event it did rain. I think it took me close to an hour to get everyone settled down for the night. Thankfully there were no storms.
Got up and going right on schedule Sunday morning, but when I got to the goat shed I discovered one of the kids had somehow gotten out of his pen between the hours of bedtime and morning chores. He was laying next to the fence where his mother was held, and mama was pretty irate that she was so close, yet so far away. She did not want to cooperate with milking, so I didn't do too well with her. I think I managed to get about half of what Peter normally gets, and thankfully the kids would probably take the rest. I think it took me 3 hours to get all the chores done! My reward was to pick strawberries from our patch for breakfast.
I was very glad to have Jim and the boys return about 10:00 that night. There were storm warnings all around, and I needed help getting the kids separated from their moms. The trick of feeding a bit of grain to Big Bad John kind of backfired on me, since the 3 kids needed to go in with him for the night and he kept jumping up on the fence any time I tried to unlatch the clamps to get the kids in. It was either drop the kid I was carrying to get John off the fence (I did that the first time and the kid ran back to his mom!), or unintentionally let John out as I tried to get the kid in! I gave up and waited for reinforcements. We did have a storm that night, and received 3-1/2 inches of rain in 45 minutes. I was sure glad everyone was home and in their beds. What I do feel very badly about is that night friends of ours lost crops to hail in 7 of the 12 quarters of land they planted. Our hearts go out to them, and we are asking the Lord to give them wisdom in what their next step is going to be.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Future of Food DVD
Last week our family was able to view the DVD, "Future of Food," which we borrowed from Herrick Kimball (The Deliberate Agrarian). Some of our family had already seen part of this movie, but it was a first time for me.
What an eye opener. I had heard bits and pieces of the information that was presented before, but seeing it all for myself was important. This movie reveals how big agricultural corporations such as Monsanto have corrupted our food, through developing genetically modified corn, soybeans, etc., and then patenting the seed. I get angry all over again as I remember what I saw on the movie.
What brought it even closer to home for us was that a man named Rodney Nelson from Amenia, ND was featured on the film. His family was prosecuted by Monsanto. The Nelsons chose not to use genetically modified seed from Monsanto, but somehow some of that seed found its way into at least one of his fields. The seed was found growing in an area close to a roadway, and a neighbor told Nelsons some of his seed may have spilled from his truck as it was going by and could have contaminated the field. Apparently people from Monsanto went into the Nelson's field without their permission or knowledge and tested his crops. Unfortunately there is not "and they lived happily ever after" ending to that story. Please get a copy of the DVD and watch it for yourself.
The evening after we watched "The Future of Food" we heard an airplane overhead. Of course the boys had to run out and see what it was doing. Well, it was an aerial spray plane, and spraying the fields across the lake from us, to the southwest. Makes me wonder how much of that spray ended up in the lake, and how much drifted over to our fields. Today I again heard the plane, and watched it spraying a field to the northeast of our property.
We have seen billboards within the state sponsored by some aerial spray association, with the slogan, "AERIAL APPLICATORS: HELPING PROVIDE SAFE FOOD FOR AMERICA'S TABLES." To that I say: HOGWASH!!
What an eye opener. I had heard bits and pieces of the information that was presented before, but seeing it all for myself was important. This movie reveals how big agricultural corporations such as Monsanto have corrupted our food, through developing genetically modified corn, soybeans, etc., and then patenting the seed. I get angry all over again as I remember what I saw on the movie.
What brought it even closer to home for us was that a man named Rodney Nelson from Amenia, ND was featured on the film. His family was prosecuted by Monsanto. The Nelsons chose not to use genetically modified seed from Monsanto, but somehow some of that seed found its way into at least one of his fields. The seed was found growing in an area close to a roadway, and a neighbor told Nelsons some of his seed may have spilled from his truck as it was going by and could have contaminated the field. Apparently people from Monsanto went into the Nelson's field without their permission or knowledge and tested his crops. Unfortunately there is not "and they lived happily ever after" ending to that story. Please get a copy of the DVD and watch it for yourself.
The evening after we watched "The Future of Food" we heard an airplane overhead. Of course the boys had to run out and see what it was doing. Well, it was an aerial spray plane, and spraying the fields across the lake from us, to the southwest. Makes me wonder how much of that spray ended up in the lake, and how much drifted over to our fields. Today I again heard the plane, and watched it spraying a field to the northeast of our property.
We have seen billboards within the state sponsored by some aerial spray association, with the slogan, "AERIAL APPLICATORS: HELPING PROVIDE SAFE FOOD FOR AMERICA'S TABLES." To that I say: HOGWASH!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Checking In Again
It's hard to believe that at 11:00 p.m. we are still experiencing twilight outside. I remember making a trip to Fargo (5 hours away) one time with a friend, and at 1:00 a.m. it was twilight just like this. Wonder if it goes on all night, and then dawn begins ... Guess I'm too old to want to check it out!
I had our very first strawberry of the season this afternoon, and it sure was good! That was sort of a fluke, because there are plenty of blossoms on the plants but no other pieces of fruit. I can't wait for the strawberries and raspberries to be ready for harvesting.
We were thrilled to have 2-1/2 inches of rain yesterday. It's amazing how quickly things green up after a bout of moisture. Our friend Steve just got back from his trip out west and toured the gardens with the boys and I this morning; he was just as excited as we are to see how well the gardens and new trees are doing.
Jim and Jonathan got back on Monday after a 6 day trip to Des Moines, IA for the Iowa home educator's conference. Jim had been asked to give 2 workshops concerning the Biblical Concourse , and joining him were Dan Smithwick of the Nehemiah Institute and John Mesko of Lighthouse Farm. Dan and John are mentors through the Concourse to encourage and help students in the areas of Biblical worldview topics and also agriculture. Jim had Zach Engelhart discuss how he is studying constitutional law by doing college at home. In one of the workshops Joe Bailey from Iowa explained how he and his parents compared the different options for becoming a mechanical engineer, and how they ultimately chose home college as the best route for him to obtain his goals. I was able to listen to the CD's of the workshops yesterday as I was working about the kitchen.
I thought the 6 days Jim and Jonathan were going to be gone would be slow moving for the rest of us, but the days just flew by. The only time we were off our property was on Sunday, when we biked about 5 miles to the local drive-in for ice cream cones. I must admit my biking skills need to be worked on a bit, since I was always bringing up the rear of the pack. Andrew wasn't feeling well for a few days and I attributed it to being tired and missing Dad, but then about midnight Sunday night David came down with flu symptoms, so we must have picked up a bug somewhere. I was glad it rained off and on during those days so we could read a book together. We read book 5 of the "Little Britches" series by Ralph Moody, called "Fields of Home." These books have some language that I don't care for, but what's nice about reading them out loud is I can skip those sections. The boys and I also did weeding in the gardens, and worked on various other projects. It was very nice to have Jim and Jonathan arrive home on Monday afternoon.
I had our very first strawberry of the season this afternoon, and it sure was good! That was sort of a fluke, because there are plenty of blossoms on the plants but no other pieces of fruit. I can't wait for the strawberries and raspberries to be ready for harvesting.
We were thrilled to have 2-1/2 inches of rain yesterday. It's amazing how quickly things green up after a bout of moisture. Our friend Steve just got back from his trip out west and toured the gardens with the boys and I this morning; he was just as excited as we are to see how well the gardens and new trees are doing.
Jim and Jonathan got back on Monday after a 6 day trip to Des Moines, IA for the Iowa home educator's conference. Jim had been asked to give 2 workshops concerning the Biblical Concourse , and joining him were Dan Smithwick of the Nehemiah Institute and John Mesko of Lighthouse Farm. Dan and John are mentors through the Concourse to encourage and help students in the areas of Biblical worldview topics and also agriculture. Jim had Zach Engelhart discuss how he is studying constitutional law by doing college at home. In one of the workshops Joe Bailey from Iowa explained how he and his parents compared the different options for becoming a mechanical engineer, and how they ultimately chose home college as the best route for him to obtain his goals. I was able to listen to the CD's of the workshops yesterday as I was working about the kitchen.
I thought the 6 days Jim and Jonathan were going to be gone would be slow moving for the rest of us, but the days just flew by. The only time we were off our property was on Sunday, when we biked about 5 miles to the local drive-in for ice cream cones. I must admit my biking skills need to be worked on a bit, since I was always bringing up the rear of the pack. Andrew wasn't feeling well for a few days and I attributed it to being tired and missing Dad, but then about midnight Sunday night David came down with flu symptoms, so we must have picked up a bug somewhere. I was glad it rained off and on during those days so we could read a book together. We read book 5 of the "Little Britches" series by Ralph Moody, called "Fields of Home." These books have some language that I don't care for, but what's nice about reading them out loud is I can skip those sections. The boys and I also did weeding in the gardens, and worked on various other projects. It was very nice to have Jim and Jonathan arrive home on Monday afternoon.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Learning My Lessons
Last week was kind of a blur. I was asked to fill in at a local Bible camp, cooking for 50 people that gathered to build a gazebo in memory of a high school girl who died in March during a car accident. It was a good experience for me in that nothing terrible happened and I managed to get every meal on the table in time, but I learned some good lessons along the way.
One thing I learned was that I am a homekeeper at heart. It was hard for me to leave my family and go off to work -- even if it was only for 3 days. It is so much better to be home working with the family than off working alone.
One thing I learned was that I am a homekeeper at heart. It was hard for me to leave my family and go off to work -- even if it was only for 3 days. It is so much better to be home working with the family than off working alone.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Rain and Cold
We are so thankful for the rain that came this week ... Many of the storm clouds passed us by, but we did manage to squeak out a good start for precipitation. I didn't even complain (much) when the mud started to find its way into the house.
Today there was a break in the weather, and we all trooped out to the raspberry field to start weeding. The farthest end of the field seems to be the toughest to get to when it comes to weeding, so we started over there. I think it took me 2-1/2 hours just to weed and clean out one row of raspberry bushes! The boys assured me all of the rows aren't that bad. We uprooted quite a bit of stinging nettle, and didn't even think about saving it to eat. I guess I'm not yet a die hard homesteader.
It was great for all of us to be out there in the garden. All 4 of the boys have been sick this week with varying degrees of flu/cold symptoms. Thankfully, Jim and I have been spared. The longer we worked out there the colder it became, and soon it felt more like fall than spring. Now I find out the weather forecasters are predicting snow flurries for after midnight! I am very thankful we were too busy to plant all of our vegetables when the weather was balmy, or we would really be in trouble now.
Jim purchased another queen bee and workers, and they arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, the cold weather last night did them in. I just shake my head sometimes at how much we have to learn about farming, gardening, bees, animals, building, canning, etc., etc. I keep reminding myself how each incident is a learning experience, and some day we will look back and marvel at how much we have gained in knowledge.
Today there was a break in the weather, and we all trooped out to the raspberry field to start weeding. The farthest end of the field seems to be the toughest to get to when it comes to weeding, so we started over there. I think it took me 2-1/2 hours just to weed and clean out one row of raspberry bushes! The boys assured me all of the rows aren't that bad. We uprooted quite a bit of stinging nettle, and didn't even think about saving it to eat. I guess I'm not yet a die hard homesteader.
It was great for all of us to be out there in the garden. All 4 of the boys have been sick this week with varying degrees of flu/cold symptoms. Thankfully, Jim and I have been spared. The longer we worked out there the colder it became, and soon it felt more like fall than spring. Now I find out the weather forecasters are predicting snow flurries for after midnight! I am very thankful we were too busy to plant all of our vegetables when the weather was balmy, or we would really be in trouble now.
Jim purchased another queen bee and workers, and they arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, the cold weather last night did them in. I just shake my head sometimes at how much we have to learn about farming, gardening, bees, animals, building, canning, etc., etc. I keep reminding myself how each incident is a learning experience, and some day we will look back and marvel at how much we have gained in knowledge.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Another Catching Up Post
I know I'm supposed to be writing about our first experiences with homesteading, but so much is going on in the present that I need to write those things down as well. I must admit to incorrectly thinking before we moved that country life was going to be a slower pace of living, but I was very wrong. I feel like sometimes I can hardly catch my breath!
Our friend Steve had organized a Country Living Skills Workshop for Sunday, May 13. This time the topic was planting, pruning, and general care of trees and bushes. The whole event was taped, so if you are interested, I'm sure Steve could eventually get you a copy. Our family has obtained a state nursery license, and Steve traveled to Minneapolis to pick up this year's trees, bushes and flowers that had been ordered. Friends had purchased some of the trees and planned to come up to attend the workshop, and decided to come a day early so we could have some great fellowship. Seven families and some singles got together for a shared meal and Bible study.
On Sunday our friends the Dagleys came over before lunch to help transplant some strawberry and raspberry plants. Many hands definitely make the work load lighter! The guys also worked on planting trees and bushes that hadn't sold, but would be used later on to create more trees and bushes. I don't remember all the things that are now in a part of our gardens, but they include roses, lilacs, hazelnut bushes, juneberry bushes, and different varieties of apple trees. Steve did a good job of showing us the proper way of planting trees, and Jim did a section on air layering. This part of the workshop was done down by our old Norwegian cabin; there is a crab apple tree over there that was planted by the people who once lived in the cabin. The trouble was the tree was surrounded by overgrown caragana bushes, so we had to climb through them in order to see what Jim was going to do with air layering. Needless to say, I lost count at how many wood ticks I removed from my clothes and skin! They seem to be the worst they have been since moving up here. (For some reason, even after removing the tick our family has been experiencing the bite area swelling and becoming very itchy, and it takes a few days for it to go back to normal. Our youngest looks like his legs are covered with mosquito bites, when in reality it is from the ticks.)
We had one more incident that day which made it very memorable. Our boys thought it would be a good time to play something called "Prison Ball," so one of our boys decided the hose that was wrapped around the pump's tank in the bathroom area would make a good boundary line. The hose was a bit tangled and he was in a hurry, so he gave the hose a jerk. Unfortunately, the hose was attached to a fitting and when it was pulled it snapped off the pump's pressure switch! I was in the house at the time in the kitchen area, and heard a very large WHOOSH! sound, so I ran back and found my son trying to hold back a geyser of water! The water was shooting upward, soaking everything in the bathroom area. If it weren't for the quilts that make up the walls, the entire basement and its contents would have been soaked as well. I didn't know how to shut the thing off, so I ran out to get Jim, and he managed to pull the breaker switch. What a mess! Since it was a Sunday afternoon we couldn't get a new pressure switch, so we were without water until later Monday morning. I certainly had a mound of dishes to do after the water came back on!
I spent last Tuesday and Wednesday helping to open up Metigoshe Ministries' summer camp. Another lady and I spent our time cleaning up the kitchen and walk-in cooler areas. Their dishwasher was having problems, so after a morning of "wash, rinse, sanitize," we hauled the remaining dishes to their ministry center and finished the job in the big dishwasher. Hopefully by now they have the problem solved.
On Thursday morning we had an early call from the post office, asking us to come down and pick up our chicks. Along with the 20 or so hatched from our own eggs, we added another 65 to the bunch. No Cornish Cross this year, but the boys chose more of the traditional varieties of chicken to raise. So far so good, with only 2 deaths.
I had an enjoyable time on Friday, taking Andrew downtown with me to pick up groceries and other necessities. I hadn't been to town for ages, and it felt good to get away for a couple of hours. One of our stops was the local hardware store to buy a 3/4 inch dowel. Well, we found everything but 3/4 inch dowels! The store is located in a very old building, and the basement is full of lots of interesting things for a young boy to check out. We must have been down there for 45 minutes, and not once did a clerk come down to see what we were doing. Didn't buy anything, but had fun looking.
We had more company on Saturday, when the Hendersons brought back our trailer after using it to haul their new apple trees home. We had a very cold weekend with not much rain (not complaining, though we really need rain). There sure was a lot of thunder, but not much rain. Someone told us it is good to have thunder and lightning in the spring since it promotes growth, and I hope that makes up for the small amount of rain we received. The men and boys still managed to get in some interesting target practice -- dangling eggs by a string and attempting to shoot them. What a way to check for rotten eggs! Hendersons have 5 boys with a baby on the way, and we have 4 boys, so there was a lot of camouflage running around the farmstead.
Today was a quiet day, so there was time to finally get a post done.
Our friend Steve had organized a Country Living Skills Workshop for Sunday, May 13. This time the topic was planting, pruning, and general care of trees and bushes. The whole event was taped, so if you are interested, I'm sure Steve could eventually get you a copy. Our family has obtained a state nursery license, and Steve traveled to Minneapolis to pick up this year's trees, bushes and flowers that had been ordered. Friends had purchased some of the trees and planned to come up to attend the workshop, and decided to come a day early so we could have some great fellowship. Seven families and some singles got together for a shared meal and Bible study.
On Sunday our friends the Dagleys came over before lunch to help transplant some strawberry and raspberry plants. Many hands definitely make the work load lighter! The guys also worked on planting trees and bushes that hadn't sold, but would be used later on to create more trees and bushes. I don't remember all the things that are now in a part of our gardens, but they include roses, lilacs, hazelnut bushes, juneberry bushes, and different varieties of apple trees. Steve did a good job of showing us the proper way of planting trees, and Jim did a section on air layering. This part of the workshop was done down by our old Norwegian cabin; there is a crab apple tree over there that was planted by the people who once lived in the cabin. The trouble was the tree was surrounded by overgrown caragana bushes, so we had to climb through them in order to see what Jim was going to do with air layering. Needless to say, I lost count at how many wood ticks I removed from my clothes and skin! They seem to be the worst they have been since moving up here. (For some reason, even after removing the tick our family has been experiencing the bite area swelling and becoming very itchy, and it takes a few days for it to go back to normal. Our youngest looks like his legs are covered with mosquito bites, when in reality it is from the ticks.)
We had one more incident that day which made it very memorable. Our boys thought it would be a good time to play something called "Prison Ball," so one of our boys decided the hose that was wrapped around the pump's tank in the bathroom area would make a good boundary line. The hose was a bit tangled and he was in a hurry, so he gave the hose a jerk. Unfortunately, the hose was attached to a fitting and when it was pulled it snapped off the pump's pressure switch! I was in the house at the time in the kitchen area, and heard a very large WHOOSH! sound, so I ran back and found my son trying to hold back a geyser of water! The water was shooting upward, soaking everything in the bathroom area. If it weren't for the quilts that make up the walls, the entire basement and its contents would have been soaked as well. I didn't know how to shut the thing off, so I ran out to get Jim, and he managed to pull the breaker switch. What a mess! Since it was a Sunday afternoon we couldn't get a new pressure switch, so we were without water until later Monday morning. I certainly had a mound of dishes to do after the water came back on!
I spent last Tuesday and Wednesday helping to open up Metigoshe Ministries' summer camp. Another lady and I spent our time cleaning up the kitchen and walk-in cooler areas. Their dishwasher was having problems, so after a morning of "wash, rinse, sanitize," we hauled the remaining dishes to their ministry center and finished the job in the big dishwasher. Hopefully by now they have the problem solved.
On Thursday morning we had an early call from the post office, asking us to come down and pick up our chicks. Along with the 20 or so hatched from our own eggs, we added another 65 to the bunch. No Cornish Cross this year, but the boys chose more of the traditional varieties of chicken to raise. So far so good, with only 2 deaths.
I had an enjoyable time on Friday, taking Andrew downtown with me to pick up groceries and other necessities. I hadn't been to town for ages, and it felt good to get away for a couple of hours. One of our stops was the local hardware store to buy a 3/4 inch dowel. Well, we found everything but 3/4 inch dowels! The store is located in a very old building, and the basement is full of lots of interesting things for a young boy to check out. We must have been down there for 45 minutes, and not once did a clerk come down to see what we were doing. Didn't buy anything, but had fun looking.
We had more company on Saturday, when the Hendersons brought back our trailer after using it to haul their new apple trees home. We had a very cold weekend with not much rain (not complaining, though we really need rain). There sure was a lot of thunder, but not much rain. Someone told us it is good to have thunder and lightning in the spring since it promotes growth, and I hope that makes up for the small amount of rain we received. The men and boys still managed to get in some interesting target practice -- dangling eggs by a string and attempting to shoot them. What a way to check for rotten eggs! Hendersons have 5 boys with a baby on the way, and we have 4 boys, so there was a lot of camouflage running around the farmstead.
Today was a quiet day, so there was time to finally get a post done.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Read This Before Deciding to Homestead
We had one of those interesting days today ... I am pulling wood ticks from my clothes as I write, so you know it's been "one of those days."
The day started out fairly normal for everyone. We had a call from town to let us know the trees we ordered were in, so Jim and Peter headed to town to pick up our trees and bushes that we purchased for a dollar each. Jonathan planted onions, garlic and carrots and vacuumed at the ministry center. I spent my time doing washing clothes, hanging them on the clotheslines and making meals. The interesting part of the day began close to suppertime.
A family stopped by to pick up our only male puppy (still looking for homes for 3 more), and I had just gotten back into the house when we heard a big POP! I thought I smelled something weird, so immediately thought about a problem with electricity and the incubator. Sure enough it was the incubator -- but AN EGG HAD EXPLODED!! I haven't smelled that since chemistry class in high school! We got that thing cleaned out, aired out the house, and proceeded with supper.
All of a sudden our chicken killing dog named Selah started barking like crazy, so we knew something was afoot. Sure enough, one of the piglets Jim and the boys brought home last night had gotten out. I didn't think that was worthy of going down to chase, so I went out to get my towels off the line. Our oldest cat ambled over, rubbed on my laundry basket full of clean linens -- and sprayed it! Now that made me mad, and he knew it! He may not be around much longer.
It was quite interesting to watch the pig chase. After a couple of misses, Jim was able to dive for her and grabbed her before she got away again. Then we realized the other piglet had disappeared while we were concentrating on the other one! Since no one had watched her escape, we didn't know where to look. Jim unleashed our dog Selah, and she went to work. Turns out the 2nd piglet hadn't gone too far, and the boys were able to grab that one as well. They sure can squeal! Instead of helping to catch the 2nd piglet, I grabbed the chicken killer dog and had her collar in one hand while holding 2 fresh chicken eggs in the other and headed for the house. Needless to say, by the time we got everyone settled down we were all covered in wood ticks. Thankfully the mosquitoes haven't been out in full force as of yet.
Life can get rather exciting on the farm.
The day started out fairly normal for everyone. We had a call from town to let us know the trees we ordered were in, so Jim and Peter headed to town to pick up our trees and bushes that we purchased for a dollar each. Jonathan planted onions, garlic and carrots and vacuumed at the ministry center. I spent my time doing washing clothes, hanging them on the clotheslines and making meals. The interesting part of the day began close to suppertime.
A family stopped by to pick up our only male puppy (still looking for homes for 3 more), and I had just gotten back into the house when we heard a big POP! I thought I smelled something weird, so immediately thought about a problem with electricity and the incubator. Sure enough it was the incubator -- but AN EGG HAD EXPLODED!! I haven't smelled that since chemistry class in high school! We got that thing cleaned out, aired out the house, and proceeded with supper.
All of a sudden our chicken killing dog named Selah started barking like crazy, so we knew something was afoot. Sure enough, one of the piglets Jim and the boys brought home last night had gotten out. I didn't think that was worthy of going down to chase, so I went out to get my towels off the line. Our oldest cat ambled over, rubbed on my laundry basket full of clean linens -- and sprayed it! Now that made me mad, and he knew it! He may not be around much longer.
It was quite interesting to watch the pig chase. After a couple of misses, Jim was able to dive for her and grabbed her before she got away again. Then we realized the other piglet had disappeared while we were concentrating on the other one! Since no one had watched her escape, we didn't know where to look. Jim unleashed our dog Selah, and she went to work. Turns out the 2nd piglet hadn't gone too far, and the boys were able to grab that one as well. They sure can squeal! Instead of helping to catch the 2nd piglet, I grabbed the chicken killer dog and had her collar in one hand while holding 2 fresh chicken eggs in the other and headed for the house. Needless to say, by the time we got everyone settled down we were all covered in wood ticks. Thankfully the mosquitoes haven't been out in full force as of yet.
Life can get rather exciting on the farm.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
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