Preparing for rain...

It has been busy lately around the homestead. All this last week the kids have been sick . Fevers, nasty cough, runny nose. Summer cold I guess. Even the baby has had it. That keeps mama busy & lots of time spent on the couch cuddling.

In between that, I have been tackling my lengthy to-do list. Today we were given 7 tomato plants by a friend so I  got those planted tonight. One of them is a Rainbow Cherry tomato. The 'matos will be orange, yellow, green, purple, red or brown! I can't wait. Generous friends are such a blessing. The same friend also has some more starts for us, cukes & broccolli & a few others. I will get those this week. Always wonderful to add to the garden.

We also have been busy, busy, busy with home improvement projects. We are trying to get our homestead ready to be sold or rented. My husband calls it 'preparing for rain.'  Spiritually speaking; not weatherwise. We have felt for some time that the Lord has been calling us elsewhere. We were not looking forward to it but  recent events have made the thought much more appealing. The worst of these was our dog being hit & killed on the road right in front of us. The driver never even took his foot off the gas. And my son was right there. We live right off a highway & although we are completely fenced the dogs still find ways out. I just want off this highway so badly. What if that had been one of my children? So that, coupled with other less traumatic things, has helped prepare us for leaving.

Of course, we still don't know where we are going. We think the most likely place will be  my husbands home town. We are hoping he will be hired as a pastor there come this fall. A few weeks ago we looked at a house there that is our absolute dream house. It could not be more perfect for us if we had built it ourselves. It has everything: a wrap around porch, office for my husband, enough bedrooms for the children, a playroom, a school room, 3 bathrooms , a pantry, the list goes on & on. The only not-perfect thing about it, is it is only on an acre & 1/2.  But, it is a fully usuable acre & 1/2, so we could do quite a bit with it. And as silly as this sounds, since I take care of most things while my husband travels, an acre & 1/2 sounds pretty manageable right now.

But we haven't had a clear 'yes' from the Lord just yet so we are preparing this homestead for the possibility of leaving. It's hard to prepare for leaving while also putting in a garden but that is what we are doing. As much as I love this place I want off the highway more. And a larger house would be such a fabulous thing. We have just over 900 sq ft with 6 people. One bathroom. Small rooms. We are busting out at the seams.

So we are praying & waiting but also 'preparing for the rain' which we trust the Lord to send. Soon we hope.

Blessings.

Happy Boy

Don't you just love happy babies?

Blessings,

Butchering Day

WARNING:   Graphic Photos

We had biology/anatomy/survival class on Thursday--we butchered 2 goats. I had my daughter take pics & we are going to have them developed & then paste them into a book & label them all. I think that will be a fun & thorough science lesson. Also something great for them to save.

I also thought we would share some of the photos on here to give you an idea of what butchering day is like. My daughter took over 200 photos ! I've narrowed them down a little for here .

The goats are let out into a nice patch of clover one at a time. While they are munching away, perfectly happy, my husband shoots them with a .22.  It is instant, painless death. They have no idea what is coming, they are not scared & they usually still have a mouthful of clover. It is important to the quality of the meat to keep them calm. A scared animal produces adrenaline & adrenaline makes yucky meat.

After they drop, my husband slits the throat & bleeds them out. We then hang them to drain & be butchered. At our house the most convenient place to hang them is the swing set . "You might be a redneck if..."

 

After they are hung up, the skinning starts.

A sharp knife is vital to the butchering process

The hide skinned off.

Removing the entrails.

My husband cut them out in one piece & dropped them into a shallow pan so we could go thru & identify everything & what it does.

A nice healthy liver.

Kidneys.

The ribcage with the lungs still intact.

The lungs & the heart.

The kids favorite part: lungs in motion.

Breathe out

Breathe in

The heart.

 The first stomach--rumen

The second stomach--reticulum

The 4th stomach (sorry, we missed one) -- abomasum

The small & large intestines

Ready to be cut & wrapped.

 

I hope this was informative & didn't just gross you out! It is such an awesome learning experience. It also leaves no question as to where your food comes from & how much work it takes to get it. My children raised these animals from birth to butcher--they know exactly what it takes.

Blessings.

Crater Lake

We drove up to Crater Lake for a picnic & a hike today. We were pretty limited on our hike choices as all but 3 trails were still closed--Note to self: wait until July to go to Crater Lake.

We checked out the lake

Had a nice picnic

And went for a walk in the woods

One way to cross a log

And right after this picture was taken my daughter taught everyone a valuable lesson

She and her brother went on ahead, out of sight of us & out of sight of each other & she slipped while crossing a log & fell into the ice cold water . We came upon her just as she was climbing out of the water. Her brother was way ahead & didn't see or hear her. Whoa.

We called everybody back together & had a "what is wrong with this picture" moment. We talked about the buddy system, never leaving your wingman, not getting out of sight of each other & making smart decisions. Then we fast walked back to the car where our freezing daughter stripped out of her soaked clothing & wrapped up in a nice warm blanket. We had a wonderful opportunity to discuss survival skills & what to do if you are lost & get wet. And why it is so important to get dry quickly. So, I thanked her for the learning opportunity but suggested next time she might try a less traumatic way.

Blessings.

Garden In

Finally!

We got the garden in yesterday. We planted the herbs last week: basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, peppermint, chocolate mint, cilantro. The lettuce, spinach & raddishes have been in for 3 weeks. Yesterday we got the bulk of the garden in. Peas, green beans, cabbage, broccolli, cauliflower, onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, zuchinni, cukes, gourds, cantalope & watermelon. Whew!

I am so glad to have it in. Now we water & pray & water & pray. Last year my garden was pathetic. We basically harvested nothing. So this year I am truly hoping & praying for a bountiful harvest. Baskets & baskets of vegies to eat fresh, freeze, can & dehydrate. Lord willing.

The raised beds with the garden behind. Black plastic down for warmth & weed control.

The squash section. Small gourds & cukes are planted around the tipi.

Peas & beans will grow up the panels, the posts will hold down the plastic until the plants grow  thru.

Today we had a few radishes, our first harvest

Blessings.

Petaluma

Last week we all went to Petaluma CA on a working vacation (we vacationed around Daddy's work schedule).

It was chilly & overcast much of the time but that did not stop the kids from swimming everyday! We hiked down to the Point Reyes Lighthouse.

There were over 300 steps to get to the light house--my calves hurt all week!

We had dinner one night at this amazing Italian restaurant Risibisi http://www.risibisirestaurant.com/risibisi-restaurant-press-news.php . The food was sooo yummy. We went there specifically for me to try this

Pumpkin ravioli. Mmmmmm. But everything we had was wonderful

 

Risotto, Linguini with clam sauce, it was all delicious.

The ambience was wonderful. We were served by the smiling owner & his teenage son who is in training. They offered us 3 different types of water .

If you are ever in Petaluma you should absolutely go there!

We rounded out the week with sight seeing, miniature golf, museum going & of course more swimming.

Oh! And our room had a jacuzzi tub--aaahhhhhhh.

Blessings.

aahhh, summer...

Some pictures need no words...

Blessings.

Two yummys...

Here are 2 deliciously yummy pics

Mmmmm. Ice cream pie. Isn't that pretty?

And a different kind of dessert:

Couldn't you just eat him with a spoon?

Blessings.

Poor Claire

Yesterday, when I fed, our Nubian doe, Claire, didn't come to eat. Big red flag. She was just standing in the barnyard looking unhappy. There was a  tennis ball sized lump under her jaw & she couldn't open her mouth. The lump was rock hard & tender to the touch. I really wasn't sure what we were dealing with so we called the vet (who just happens to be a really nice guy who lives a mile down the road).

On first examing her, he thought she had something impaled thru her jaw  ! We put her in the barn & sedated her & on further examination he found it was actually a tooth sticking way up & causing the abscess. He pulled the tooth (which I saved for future science class of course). He lanced the abscess & squished all the yucky stuff out . He also gave her a tetanus shot & some penicillin & squeeed part of a mastitis treatment tube into the abscess. That  will be $65, thank you.

So last night I put more of the mastitis treatment in there. And this morning I did it again & put a hot compress on it to drain some more. It still is big & ugly & Claire does not look happy but hopefully it will go down in the next day or 2. She hasn't eaten since yesterday, but if I had that on my jaw I wouldn't be eating either. Poor Claire.

I don't know about this year. We haven't had to have the vet out for anything other than a preg check in 5 years. So far this year, we've had him out on 3 emergency calls. Oh well. Farm life is never dull.

Blessings.