A New Baby!

Meet Pearl!  She was born on Tuesday, December 3rd in the evening.  She is a purebred Charolais heifer :) I was sorta hoping for a boy, so we could butcher him in a year or so, but I am okay with a girl.  We can breed her as well, and have the potential for more beef :)

So excited!

The weather has turned cold (in the low 30s last night and for the next few days).  Her mama Molly is a smart one, and has brought her baby to the barn out of the cold and wind.  Pearl is FEISTY! Loves to run, jump, twist and is constantly trying to get the goats to play with her.

We are hunkering down trying to keep warm.  Wood is stacked on the porch, chicken soup bubbling on the stove.  I am washing blankets and warm clothing FAST.

I know it probably sounds like a lot, but in south Texas extreme cold is not the norm, so while I am prepared, for the most part, there are still those last minutes chores (hay for the animals, wood for the house, water pipes, and fuel for the generator) to complete.

Thanksgiving 2013

November here on the farm has been busy.  We are awaiting the birth of our first calf, as well as, several of our goats to kid.  We recently butchered 37 black broilers.  We did miss catching two hens and a rooster, but they can fatten up some more.  The pigs, Wilbur and Fern, have been penned back up to fatten up for Winter, and hopefully another round of breeding.  The two babies from this year, are being fattened in a separate pen, in preparation of butchering time.  Hopefully soon!?

The weather has been very cold lately.  The past four days, temperatures topped out around 43 degrees, with a low in the mid 30s.  We are going through plenty of fire wood to keep the house warm, but the kitchen stays cool, hovering around 60 degrees.  The living room and bedrooms are plenty warm.  We even manage to set off the smoke detector when opening the door to add more wood.  That's always an eye-opener!

PH has spent a lot of time lately hugging the wood stove, scared to go out in the cold.  He REALLY does not like cold weather.  Can you tell he was born in Florida, and grew up in TEXAS? He can't handle the cold spells without complaint.  I get cold, but he is a big ole BABY!

PD#1 is excelling in Civil Air Patrol.  She is already up to SrA (Senior Airmen) rank, and is working hard towards becoming an officer in the next couple of years.  She recently attended a leadership weekend, and is registered for a week long training camp the end of this year.  She has her heart set on a major training program next Summer, OUT-OF-STATE.  This mama is thinking HARD about that one.

PD#2 is doing wonderfully with her piano lessons.  She is learning a few Christmas pieces, as well as, Church Music.  I am very excited for her.  She really loves playing.  She is also learning to sew on the sewing machine, and is whipping out presents left and right.

PS#1 recently found a position with a MAJOR company in town.  We are thankful and in prayer that he will be a star employee.

PS#2 is becoming more and more ornery, and need of correction.  He sits in time out a lot, and gets lots of chores carrying in fire wood.  Being almost five means he is very sure of what he wants and DOES NOT want to do.  Many "discussions" have been taken place between father and son.  I am convinced one good whipping might help, but PH is more of a "talker".  Talking won't help this one though.  Definitely a "strong willed child" in the works. On a positive note, he is a cutie.  He is very helpful to me, and especially loving.  He wants to sit beside me all the time, and show me his LEGO creations.  He loves building things.  I think he should be an Engineer!

Canning is about over for the season, unless I stumble across some find at the monthly Farmer's Market.  The kids and I are preparing items to sell at December's gathering, hoping to make a little Christmas money.

Praying you all stay warm, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

The pickings were slim for me to take to Barter in September.  I had not had the opportunity to distill or make any tinctures.  PD#1 took some crocheted items, PD#2 baked cookies (see little white bags) and made tin can lanterns.  PS#2 took candles and seeds.  My offerings were home made cheese, beef bones, beef liver, dried rosemary, basil and Bee Balm tea (in little brown cup).

We traded for a pair of hand made moccasins, a few cook books, fabric, fresh herbs (which I will dry), baked goods, laundry soap, lamb meat, and honey.

Our duck flock is up to 12 now, and a few need to be butchered for the freezer, as well as, the 40 broilers that are just about ready.  I'd like to butcher a goat for ground meat, but not sure if we will get to that...have to check PH's schedule.  Maybe the first cold spell?

We are working on stacking the wood pile this weekend, general clean up, laundry and cleaning the wood stove.  Also, need to purchase another 5 gallons of Kerosene for the lamps.  We lost power last weekend, and coming home to darkness was not fun, especially, as we were hauling a load of "stuff" in from PD#1's 16th birthday party.  I had ONE lamp filled with kerosene.  Not very well prepared.  I lit the candles, the lamp, and then found the big battery-operated light.  I was able to get the refrigerated items put away, then we went to bed.  Left everything else for the morning, when I could SEE!

We have been receiving plenty of rain, and the pastures are beautiful.  I need to remember to get a picture to post.  PH has been cutting in front of the property and from the road it looks like a park.  PH also cut the weeds down in the South Pasture, so that the grass could go through after the rain.  Looks SO much better, and the grass is growing.  Yeah!

Going to the Farmer's Market in town tomorrow.  I'd love to be able to take cheese to sell, but quite sure someone would turn me in :/ just how people are...the nuts.

We have been pretty bush with school work, church programs, and PD#1 has been promoted to A1C in the Civil Air Patrol.  She is also working on her private pilot's license.  The class is offered for free by one of the Senior Members of the Civil Air Patrol.  She recently went on a Glider Flight and greatly enjoyed it.  How exciting to be towed to 3,000 feet, then glide back down to the ground.  She forgot to take pictures though :(
Well, it looks like it will be a busy weekend, as we start our Cold Weather Preps.  Here is a list we plan on, so I won't forget:

1) stack woodpile
2) clean wood stove
3) hang winter curtains/winter window quilts
4) wash all bedding
5) unpack winter clothing-pack away summer clothing
6) place flannel sheets on beds, blankets and comforters.
7) put sides on chicken coop to prevent wind/cold from blowing through
8) clean out barn and throw hay in pens, so the animals will have a place to get out of the rain/wind.

Have a good weekend! :)

Canning in full swing

Basil-Garlic Tomato Sauce

Pear Preserves

Red Peppers and Onions Waiting to be roasted

Spiced Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Pear Preserves

Zucchini-Onion Bread and Butter Pickles

*just some of what I have been working on this week :)

August Barter

Our table on Barter Day, and what we had to trade

Okay, here is my haul for the day from the Barter:

Introduction to Maternity and Pediatric Nursing text (for my midwife studies), a historical fiction novel, a dozen eggs, herbs to dehydrate (sage, basil, purple basil, rosemary), granola bars, blueberry scones, cinnamon-apple scones, sourdough pretzels, 2 bars of soap, a corn whiskey jug, a really good knife (thanks to my nephew), a small jar of Japanese plum jam, Fig and Apple Jam, Fig and Fredericks-burg Peach jam, laundry soap, a stuffed, sock-monster doll, homemade Vicks Vapor Rub, Calendula Salve with Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Lavendar Vapor Rub, Passion Flower Tincture, Red Clover Tincture, Salsa, home made deodorant, and a hand-made, leather bound journal, raw honey, two vintage pie plates, and a small, brown, paper sack of dried Cassia (Cinnamon) from Mountain Rose Herbs.  

The Dog Days of Summer

I never really understood what that means.  What are the dog days of summer?  The days when it is so hot, you just want to lay under the house in the shade, hoping to catch a breeze?  No idea.

We have been really busy, as evidenced by the length of time between posts.  Plus, with spotty computer service, it has been hard to get online.

My garden did squat.  54 tomato plants and I received a hand full.  Ended up purchasing 25 lbs of organic Roma tomatoes and will be making sauce this weekend.  I need an additional 25 lbs, plus I'll be making pear sauce, pear butter and additional pear products.

Let me see if I can catch everyone up :) If I repeat anything, please excuse me.  In May, I attended a Wild Edibles class.  My friend (Lady Tutor) and I drove into the big city for this class.  Learned how to spot a few wild plants (some good to eat, some a big "no-no".)  We also had snacks made from wild edibles.  One was a lasagna type dish using nopalitos (cactus pads) as the noodle.  Also, had a great tea drink made from a plant the Indians used for Tea.  (I'd have to check my notes to remember the name of it, though I would recognize it again.)  I'd really like a more in-depth class session revolving around what is on my land and around me.

We also attended the home school convention which was a lot of fun. We look forward to this every year.  I was able to get the majority of the curriculum for the kids for the Fall.

We attended a local flag day ceremony, and my daughter was able to represent her Civil Air Patrol Group.  It was a really wonderful ceremony.  It was in commemoration of the TET offensive, and there was a large contingent of Vietnamese that participated.  The group was from Austin, and presented the families of those in our county that lost loved ones during the Vietnam War.  Very moving.  The little Vietnamese men were so captivated by my daughter in her uniform and snapped pictures of her.  No idea what they were saying, but it was funny.

We've been cleaning up the land (always).  Removing trash, organizing, assessing the wood for the Winter (I know it's 105 today and I am talking about stove wood), cleaning the barn, pens and stacking our Winter Hay.

We had time to take a mini vacation to the Frio River.  It was a great break, and a wonderful time spent with one of my sisters and her husband.  We stayed in the cabin with them that they rented. Really nice.

We were able to sell 7 of the baby piglets, and still have two to raise and butcher.  They are so cute when they are little!  They love to run around, play in the pond, and scatter the ducks and chickens when I throw feed out for the birds.  They run the birds off to eat the corn.  They are true PIGS.

We have been having a great time at the monthly Barter Days.  Trading for wonderful things, and coming up with great ideas for items to trade.  PS#2 LOVES Barter Days and is in a flurry to paint rocks to trade with..he has managed to trade for a good water bottle, tea light candles (a box full), a dog leash, and some Rosemary.  He LOVES Rosemary, and came home and promptly had me show him how to make medicine with the Rosemary.  :)

In July, we went to the Coast for a quick trip (left one day, came back the next).  Originally, PD#1 and I were going down to attend a 4H Floating Classroom trip, but PH decided to go down a day early.  We stayed in a hotel, went to the Aquarium, ate at Joe's Crab Shack at the Marina, went out on the boat in the Bay, and then played on the beach before making the LONG drive back home.  It was a nice break for PH.  He rarely takes off of work.  The boat trip was AMAZING!  PD#1 and I were able to help catch marine specimens (plankton, sting ray, puffer fish, sea horses, flounder, shrimp and more!) and touch them.  There were even a few squid that were dead, and we were allowed to dissect them.  I was also able to view plankton, shrimp and crab larvae under the microscope.  Which was cool in itself!  The microscope was attached to a large monitor over head, so the pictures were really up close and detailed.  I really enjoyed that trip.

Shadow, Bottle Nose Dolphin
Texas Aquarium

Palm Tree at Corpus Christi Beach
(PS#2 is convinced it is a coconut tree, thanks Spongebob!)

PS#2 - first time on a beach
So excited!

A Ship in the Bay being pulled by tug boats
Called the Pennsylvania I believe.

A 1/8 replica of the Nina.  Built by Spain and
donated to the City of Corpus

Baby Stingrays!
We saw these BORN! So cool!

The touch tank on board the KARMA

My mom recently came down to visit (this past weekend).  We attended the baby shower up near Austin for my brother and his wife.  Their first child will be making an appearance in a couple of weeks.  Another granddaughter for the family!

I have also recently purchased a HAM radio, and am busy studying for the licensing test.  We have had numerous wild fires, tornadoes, train derailments, flooding and such the past few years, that having another way of communicating is turning into a "must have".

The kitchen in the house has been installed.  I will try to get pictures posted, now that I have FINALLY located my camera and charger.  It's been over a year!

We are in Stage IV water restrictions here, which doesn't really affect us too much in the way of ordinances.  We live in the county.  But we are still taking measures to conserve water, as much as, possible.  My rain barrel at the barn is empty, even though we did get significant rain a couple of weeks ago.  Since then it has been DRY, and the pond is decreasing.  I am really worried about the fish.  I believe we need to top it off with the well, but PH is not in agreement.  We will have to do something soon to prevent one of our food sources from dying off.  I may have to covertly turn the water on, if he doesn't respond to the urgency soon.

Other than days spent canning, making cheese, and caring for the livestock, we have been trying to keep our heads down, and keeping cool in this heat.  Looking forward to a little cooler Autumn weather :)

They are here!

Fern and her new babies!

Fern started rooting around and making a nest last night.  She was due on Monday by my figuring, but I guess I was off by a couple of days :) 

I went out this morning to feed the chicks in the chicken tractor, and saw she had one dead piglet and one that had only been born, and was struggling to stand.  This was at 8 a.m. I had to leave a little later, and was worried about while I was at work.  I prayed during the day for her to not have any problems.  PH arrived home and then called me at the library to let me know we have 11 living piglets!  I was so excited!  Only one has an all black head like the mama, the others resemble Wilbur more.  With care, we are hoping a large majority make it.  We plan to butcher two in the Fall/Winter and sell the others in about a month.

Barter Days

We have recently joined some old friends and new friends in learning how to barter and trade in a cash less society.  This past weekend was our second month participating.  It is pretty fun :) It is about 1 1/2 hour away from home, and takes some preparation to figure out what your specialty actually is, and what is a a popular trade. PS#2 painted rocks and traded for soap, a plastic axe and a box of pencils.  Everyone's kids seem to love getting in on the action. It is really cute! A great social studies and economics lesson in living color.

We took dried herbs (culinary and medicinal).  I was able to actually wild craft horse mint, which I dehydrated, then placed in jelly jars.  I also made cheese, cookies, rosemary infused olive oil and rosemary infused organic apple Cider vinegar (for a marinade).  I had two dozen eggs, 5. lbs of wheat, bread, 2 lbs of ground meat that we harvested and packaged this past November.  I was able to trade for some really cool items, such as:  home made vanilla extract, 3 bars of soap, oolong loose tea, dried licorice root, two mint plants, one aloe, one spilanthes, and two lamb's quarters plants, goat milk, a Californian bunny 8 weeks old, chile pequin jelly, an antique bellows (for the fire), organic smoked paprika, an herbal extract book, one large soy candle, two smaller soy candles, a dozen pint sized canning jars,a wild crafted tincture made with Echinacea, bonset, and a few other herbs I can't remember.  I traded for some Swiss chard, fresh dill, and fresh mint too.  We are already planning what we will take next month.  (Here is a link to 27 useful medicinal plants http://odyb.net/discoveries/27-medicinal-plants-worth-your-garden-space/ )

I am planning to make marinated feta, more medicinal herbs, lemon-honey cough syrup, and apple mint starts.  Probably more items, but they will come to me :)

We are in the process of selling some of our doelings.  Too many to feed, and not enough grass.  So about six will be finding new homes soon, for either breeding or butchering.  We have made arrangements to trade 1-2 goats for chickens and ducks.

Fern, our sow, will be delivering soon.  Her due date was yesterday, but nothing, though her teats are almost dragging the ground and she is HUGE.  Very excited!

Harvested our first green beans the other day, which we had for dinner.  They were really good, though not enough for every one to have any, but the kids seemed okay with that :)

Yesterday, I worked in the garden for three hours (I am feeling it this morning, let me tell you).  I didn't finish weeding, too much to do, but I did get the tomatoes staked up, a few more seeds planted (more green beans and okra).  Watered everything well, this heat is hard on the plants.  We were having such cool temps, then BAM! the past week 100 degrees.

The nights are pretty cool, though a tad humid.  I wake up to the bed covers feeling damp, and even the couch feels damp.  We did end up putting the small AC in our bedroom.  It is a cool respite during the day, so if anyone gets too hot, they go rest in the bedroom.  We are keeping the bunny in there, to help keep it alive.  We lost all our rabbits several years ago to the heat.

We are expecting severe storms, and after that F5 in Oklahoma, I am very nervous about it.  I asked PH to rent a back hoe this coming weekend and get the hole dug for our storm shelter.  I hope he will do so soon.

Well, off to pick up around the place before the storm hits, and to head to work at the library.  Keep your eyes open everyone, keep safe and be prepared!

It's been awhile, and lot as happened

Well, we have had a lot happen since I last posted.  Nothing earth shattering.
Poppy (goat) and her little guy that survived are doing wonderful.  PS#2 named him Tarzan.  We were also given a young tarantula (that was found locally).  He was named Hercules, but we have since let it go, after studying it for a couple of days.

The weather here has been crazy for late April and early May.  It has been pretty mild, and last night the temps were in the low 40s, and again tonight.  Normally by this time temps are edging up toward the 90s, giving us a dreaded feel of what the summer has in mind for us.  Not so this year.

I had already packed away the Winter clothing, cleaned out the woodstove, and put a basket on top of it.  We had no plans to have to heat the house again.  While, we haven't fired the woodstove back up, we have been using the kerosene heater to take the edge of the place during the late night and early mornings.

It has rained a little bit as well, the past few weeks.  We received a couple of days of really good rain, so here's hoping the pastures green up.  

I had bought 10 Americauna chicks to help go towards replacing all the chickens that the pigs ate.  Very frustrating to start out with over 30 chickens this year, and now only have four hens, one rooster and a guinea hen.  Unfortunately, one of the little chicks died last week during a thunderstorm.  Not sure what killed it, but the next morning it was dead in the chicken tractor.

Molly (heifer) has been bred (did I mention that?) I may have, not sure. I'll have to check back posts :) I am trying to not be redundant in my news.  Haven't noticed that she has come back into heat any, so I am praying she has a bull calf.  Please Lord!

Fern (our sow) was bred, and she should also be farrowing soon.  We weren't sure, and were making plans to butcher her, but we noticed her belly sagging this week, and her teats are elongated.  It should be soon, IF she is pregnant.

We went to our first Old Fashioned Barter Days in April.  A get together in a nearby town, where we all brought items to barter/trade.  I took several jars of a Kosher Dill Condiment (onions, garlic, jalapeños).  PH doesn't like the Kosher Dill we discovered, so these jars were a good thing to trade.  They were small, jelly jars, but I managed to trade for the following:  pure maple syrup (which I traded for an herbal cough syrup made by an herbalist friend), two bars of home made soap, a loaf of dutch oven bread, a jar of chocolate syrup, a really cool bread knife, a trash bag full of rosemary (which I have dehydrated and turned into rosemary infused olive oil and rosemary infused apple cider vinegar.

The kids and I are working fast and furious to put together items to trade this month.  I plan to take two doelings (one a milk goat 1/2 Saanen-1/2 Nubian).  Also my infused oils/vinegars, home made cheese, apple mint plants, dehydrated herbs, cutting boards (made by PH), canned food items, ground pork (from the wild hog we processed in November) and a few other items.

The girls are crocheting, doing bead work (necklaces, bracelets, earrings, key chains), and PS#2 has painted rocks to trade. Not much for a little guy to make I guess.  He wants to trade for seeds to plant his own garden.

Construction on the house continues, and PH will be putting sheet rock in the Master Bedroom soon.

The garden is coming along well, and I pray it will warm up a bit soon, so that my tomatoes might be spared.  I have a bunch of little tomatoes already growing, now I need them to just ripen, and the canning will begin :)

There have been a lot of burglaries around here lately. Our nearest neighbors was robbed recently.  He doesn't live on his property but stores his tractor and 16 foot utility trailer on the land.  Well, someone cut the barbed wire and stole the trailer.  We had no idea!  That is scary.  Three other homes were robbed this past Monday.  We are making plans to be extra diligent, and pray we (and others) will be spared.  I really do not want to have to shoot someone who comes onto my property either during the night or day.  I will, but would prefer them to move along.  We have Rottweilers, and gun signs posted, so maybe this will be a deterrent.  PD#1 has been given instructions to "shoot to kill" if necessary to protect herself.  I know this sounds harsh, but in todays society we cannot be too careful.  We have been having long discussions about personal safety, gun safety, and drills (home invasion, tornado, etc.)

I celebrated my 44th birthday in April.  (sigh) My life has gone by so fast. I am not ready.  I still feel young, but my body doesn't always agree with me.

We are keeping an eye on the economy, and government situation and are praying we are as ready as we can be for what could/will be happening. 

PH is job hunting, and will be starting college this summer to work towards a degree in Management.  Prayerfully, with his management experience, and starting management classes, it will give him the necessary qualifications to be placed in a great position. This is BIG, because PH has always maintained that a degree is a waste of time.  Yes and no.  For the most part, people do not need a degree to obtain a job to support them, but to qualify for higher level management jobs, it helps.

Time to get ready for bed, we have church and a funeral to attend tomorrow.

Keep safe and be ready.

It's "almost" Spring Time

I love this weather.  Not too hot, not too cold.  Trying to imprint it on my memory, to bring out on those looming 115 degree days that are in my near future.

Please keep an eye out on the political horizon, especially towards the end of this month.  Please try and put some food/water to the side, I expect we are going to be needing it soon.  I've been in serious contemplation and spending much time in prayer, seeking guidance.  I've basically given up on encouraging family to wake up.  I have a couple that are more aware then others, and am thankful, but worry about the others.  I've done what I've been tasked to do, and am now concentrating on each day.  Learning new skills, loving my kids, trying to be obedient to what I am commanded to do, which is often quite difficult, surprisingly.

I do not remember mentioning that we have three surprise bucklings.  Only a week old.  So cute! A set of scrawny twins born to a first time mother.  We finally let them out in the morning to run with the mom, but they are all cooped back up at night with the heat lamp, as it gets quite cold still in the evenings.  The other little guy is strong and feisty, doing flips and kicks, and keeping up with his mama.  Please pray for two of our goats.  Mariama (milk goat) has scours.  We've wormed her, but while she is still eating and getting around great, the scours hasn't stopped.  Maybe it's all the fresh green plants?  Chamomile, is in worst shape.  Cannot figure it out.  Her face is swollen, she still eats and follows the herd, but she lay downs quite a lot, and isn't "herself".

No new chicks to report.  Not ONE egg hatched from the incubator, and I am very sad :(
I am going to have to buy some new chicks (big sigh), and I was hoping to save some money.

Our new Barbado Ram is STILL a SPAZ!  He runs around like he is a wild deer, and does not even stay with the goats.  He prefers to be by himself, running all over the land, looking crazy.

Still working on the house, the downstairs paneling is just about done.  I love coming home, and walking into my wonderful house.  I know many think we are crazy for the way we live, and believe that they could not live the way we do.  I do not see anything wrong with our lifestyle.  I have eschewed materialism over necessities.  Preferring Comfort to Convenience.

Everyone keep up your preparations!

Some Serious Gardening Time

This week marks the last frost time for us, and full scale gardening is moving into action!  We have been diligently preparing for gardening this Spring.  We did have the fall/winter garden, but this year we feel more urgency to have a larger garden, that will produce the bulk of our diet and storage needs.

PH and I have been working on the garden plan, what will be planted where, and readying the different beds, and planter boxes.  I started tomato seeds inside this week (a little late).  I will be scoping out potting soil and seedlings this week, to add to my store of seeds.

We also added a new male guinea to our flock.  I hope our little guinea girl will transfer her affections from our beautiful Freedom Ranger rooster to Tux, because he is working overtime for her attention.

Our coop needs some attention as well.  I think a coat of paint, removing of tin from the screen, and de-fleaing is on the agenda for this weekend.

Preparations continue around our little, prairie homestead.  PH is almost finished with paneling the downstairs, and it looks wonderful with the cedar planks in place.  I am hoping for the kitchen to be worked on yet, but PH often has his own plans :)

There are so many "Now Hiring" signs in our little town.  I am taking that as a positive sign for the economy in our area.  We do our best to boost the local economy, by shopping local.  I am a little distressed that a Walmart will be built in our little town soon, but I will still frequent the local business owners.  I am not a fan of Walmart, and make every endeavor to stay out of their stores.

We are fortunate to have many produce stands and farmer's markets, bee keepers, local butchers, and a dairy in our area.  It makes shopping so much easier, and healthier as well.

We have also purchased a Barbado Ram, and will be looking for a Barbado Ewe soon to add to our growing livestock herd/flock.  PH really likes lamb/mutton much better than chevon (goat meat), and it will gives us another food resource.

We have also been learning how to make debris and tarp shelters, finding water in sources where you wouldn't normally expect, as well as, scoping out the wild edibles selection.

If there is a rally near you, please consider participating in the Day of Resistance that is scheduled for tomorrow.

Keep preparing for those emergencies!

The Bees are B-U-Z-Z-I-N-G!

The weather has been beautiful lately, allowing us to get a lot of work done around the homestead.  We have been cleaning up trash, burning debris, splitting wood, and re-working the pig pen.  Since warmer weather is looming, we desperately needed some sort of shade for the pigs.  If Fern (female) does not have any piglets by May, we plan on butchering her.  She is already 14 months old, and should have had some by now.  It's not because Wilbur is not trying, she just does not appear cooperative.

PS#1 and #2 recently celebrated their birthdays.  #1 is 24 and #2 turned 4.  We had a birthday party for #2 and many friends, church family and family attended.  It was so much fun.  We had water guns, water balloons, a moon bounce, and we played kick ball (even the adults).  I was very sore the next day, after sliding into first base, and tripping over the person guarding the base.  We both ended up rolling in the stickers.

Seed sorting and garden planning continues.  I am trying to be smart and wait until the end of February when the threat of freeze will be gone.  It is hard though, I want to get out there and PLANT!

The Huisache trees are in bloom, and the loud of drone of honeybees can be heard while we work outside.  I am praying that PH use of the table saw, and other tools does not spark any Africanized variety to attack.  I am always happy to see the honeybees, but do worry about the danger of the Africanized ones, because you do not know until it is too late, which ones they are.  With the activity going on, there is sure to be a swarm again this year.  That many, and out so early on the flowers, they are hungry, and there are probably a lot of them needing a home.

PH has been adding the cedar 1 X 6 boards inside the house for the wall paneling.  Looks nice!

We will be hosting a First Aid class in February that will focus on field dressing, caring for snake bite, gun shot wounds, breaks and other serious trauma.  My wonderful nephew (who was an Army medic) will be teaching the class.  He has turned out to be a good boy (man) :)

Have a good week, and keep on going.  Never give up.

A Cold Spell

I think we have used more wood this year to heat the house, than in the five years combined.  Normally, we do not use the wood stove day in/day out, but this year...wow!  We are flying through the wood, and we were getting worried about not having enough.  Thankfully, my FIL gave us two large oak trees, and I mean trees.  The trunks are HUGE.  They were loaded on the trailer with the front end loader, and PH will have to cut and split them on the trailer, because we have no other way to get them off the trailer.

We like to have a two year supply, but we will be lucky to have enough to finish this season, which is shocking to me. Living on the prairie, trees are not in abundance.  We have rather spindly trees out here, and we aren't one of the lucky ones to have Live Oak on our property.  We have a few Mesquite and some Huisache.

The high for today is 45, and before I left the property, I made sure to put a large oak block in the stove (hoping to keep the house above 60 at least).  It will be burned out by now, but there should still be some embers left for PH to get the fire going pretty fast once he gets home with the kids.

The pantry is TOTALLY finished.  All walls insulated, hardi plank paneling in place AND painted, with trim. I am so excited! I moved in a large shelving unit that the library was throwing away, and with my other two metal shelving units, it looks like a mini grocery store.  I now have shelving for my medical supplies, and odds and ends (twine, candles, wicks, etc.) Next will be to get my wheat grinder from the library (still hear since Heritage Skills Day) and put it in it's place in the pantry.  Can't wait to be able to use it again.

PH started paneling the living room wall.  He has finished the small wall by the stairway, and the walls leading into the master bedroom (our room is completely enclosed now), plus the south wall of the living room.  Half of the wall is 1 X 6 tongue and groove planks, and the other half cement board for the future rock wall behind the wood stove.  PH actually hung my two prized pictures on the wall.  I say prized, because I do not have any others.  I normally subscribe to the Shaker theory of home decoration.  It has to be plain and useful :)

We are on our last ground venison, and I am praying that PH will get out there soon and harvest another deer before the season is over, or is it already? I'll have to check...

Have a good night and keep warm!

January Happenings

We are into our second week of January, and have warmed up a tad.  It has been in the 40s at night instead of the high 20s and 30s.  Yesterday, we received about 3 inches of much-needed rain.  The pond is filled to the tippy top again, and my garden is going good still.  Cabbage sure takes a long time to grow. The plans are healthy and green, but aren't growing very fast.  We will be having some warm days (in the 70s) this weekend, so hopefully that will spur some growth around here.  The grass needs to grow, the trees need to leaf out, and the garden needs to start producing some veggies!

We started back into schoolwork this week, after a two week Christmas break.  The girls are less than excited.  Our home school co-op will be starting up in about a month, and I need to get my class planning complete.  I would love to stay home this semester and not attend, but I will grit my teeth and endure the 8 weeks of classes.

The pantry is done! Insulation, wall boards and trim up, and PAINTED! Yeah!  I can now get another shelving unit in there, organize and inventory my supplies, and really SEE where I need to work.  The long term storage items (#10 cans of dried goods from the LDS cannery) will be stacked in the now empty, container bedroom.  The container, now shaded by the house, is cooler inside (even in Summer).  I hope by having my food storage on the North Wall, in the shade, things will be kept in good shape. The bedroom will be our bulk storage location, as well as, my sewing room.  Once I have finished cleaning and organizing the pantry, I'll move back to the container to get things sorted, remove the loft bed, and get the sewing table, fabric and notions set up.  Cannot wait!  I haven't been able to sit and sew in over four years since moving to the "cabin-tainer".

Items to store in the container:

Cases of canning jars
Buckets
Rubber Maid totes with clothing store (according to size) - I don't throw out all the clothes, I might need them someday.  I keep the best, and get rid of the rest.
LDS food storage

Also, making plans for a root cellar type of set up for between the house and the container.  It is shaded ALL the time, and gets quite cold in there..We just need to fence off the bottom, and put gates on either end (to keep the goats and pigs out), and we can store root vegetables in the area.  A shed roof will be nice, but I won't push my luck right now :) PH is getting stressed out with the housing construction, and is fixing the well pipes today.  We stacked hay bales around the well head/pump to keep pipes from freezing.  It works! But....the livestock likes the hay, which is covered by a tarp, but they managed to stomp all through there and keep breaking the pipes.  A well house is on the list now.  Poor PH, he was M-A-D last night, and muttering expletives on what he wanted to do to goats.  So, we didn't have water last night.  Why is it, that you never drink water, but when the water isn't working, you feel like you are going to die from dehydration?

Happy New Year!

It's the third already, so I am a little late with the well wishes, but I've been off of work, and I do not have a computer at home, so cut me a little slack please.

The weather here has been decidedly chilly lately, primarily overnight.  Since we heat with wood it has been a chore to get up every 2 hours or so to keep the fire going.  Fortunately, we have started using large oak  blocks, which can mean I only have to get up every 3 1/2 to 4 hours, which is a plus.  PH RARELY gets up and stokes the fire during the night.  For some unknown reason he believe it is my job to do so.  I have no idea why??

Christmas Eve we spent the time with my mom and family at my sister's.  It was nice, though a long, squished drive.  Six of us squeezed into a pickup cab (front and back) along with gifts, doesn't make for a comfortable hour or so ride home.  Plus, we picked up two motorbikes from her.  Her boys (now young men) were too big for them, and my kids just love zooming all over the land.  PH was able to spend a couple of hours tuning them up and getting them running, though this chilly weather isn't exactly conducive to keep them running great.

Along with the fellowship and gift giving, we exchanged a rather nasty cold.  I came down sick the day after Christmas, and was in bed for two days.  On the third day I had to drag myself out of bed because people had to eat and such.  I feel recovered now, though I have a nagging cough, especially in the evening when I lay down to sleep (sigh).  So far, PD#1 and PS#2 have fallen ill.  PH and PD#2 have managed to escape (so far).  PD#2 is diligently taking the Watkins Rezist Immune Booster herbal caplets.  She has to break them in four pieces to get it down (it's a horse pill for sure!)  PD#1 is not recovering well, though I am beginning to suspect she is milking it.  In my opinion, if you are well enough to argue with your siblings, then you are good enough to get out of the bed and get your own food/drink.  So, to her sad dismay, she is up and dressed today.

The house, barn, and land is in sad shape.  This cold weather forces me to stay inside more than I'd like, which means maintenance suffers.  Laundry needs to be done, as well as, dishes.  Oh boy! do the dishes need to be done.  PH has been hunting an adapter for our kitchen faucet, to try and connect the dishwasher we were given.  We have about figured out, we will be washing dishes by hand forever.  Which is fine, I've only had a dishwasher once for a year, so am used to manual washing.  I just had these hopes you know??

PH has been s-l-o-w-l-y working on the house.  A few boards here, some insulation there.  We have a bad case of the blahs lately.  I am stuck on where to continue to stock up.  It is overwhelming.  So much to be done, so little time and money to get it accomplished.  Some days I feel like throwing in the towel, though I know it isn't the thing to do.

We didn't go over board on the gifts this year, trying to keep the focus of the day where it belongs.  We did receive a few really good useful gifts.  $100.00 gift card to Home Depot, a LARGE cast iron dutch oven (w/legs), candles, socks, coins, tools, new jeans and such.  I think next year, we will strive for an entire homemade holiday.  We didn't spend a lot, but all that we did could have gone towards more preparations.

A few areas to concentrate this next year are:

completing pantry
purchasing canning jar lids
water filter(s)
ammunition
gardening
canning more - 600 quart goal
organizing storage container
setting up sewing area
clean up land
increase wood pile