Happy Birthday to Abby

While I sit here, I am pondering how fast eight years can pass.  Eight years ago Abigail Renee was born.  She was the first of two children born during our short time living in Georgia and she was our 6th daughter.  Hannah picked out her first name (she was named after Hannah's American Girl doll) and her middle name is from her Auntie Renee.  Some fun facts about Abby:

 

• She loves cheeseburgers now, but at first it was "hangabers"
• She has very wavy long brown hair that she HATES to brush
• She loves to wear hats, especially her one-eyed yellow minion hat (in fact one Sunday she didn't wear it to church and Pastor Dan didn't know who she was without it)
• She can keep up with George and that's sometimes hard to do
• She loves ballet and tap dancing
• Her best friend is Madelyn and they Skype at least once a week
• She hates having her birthday at the end of the year even though she shares her special day with her Grandma
• Oftentimes we'll find her curled up in her bed, all by herself listening to her sister's music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 8th Birthday Sweetheart!  We love you.

Catching Up (Summer photos)

 

 

Today I find myself enjoying the simple moments of the summer season. . . . . .

*     a growing garden, due solely to my amazing husband who moved raised beds, trapped gophers with George, tilled under all of our existing compost and planted an amazing amount of flowers, bulbs and seeds (I am so sorry that all of your gladiolas came up burgundy, but they are gorgeous!)

*     a birthday celebration with our little man, George, who turned six this year

*     a special visit from my Mom on her birthday.  We got to treat her to a birthday dinner, in which the kids absolutely loved having the food cooked right in front of them and flipped into their mouths (well, no one actually caught any pieces, but they did give it a good try)

*     the most restful and relaxing four day vacation that I have ever been on.....at the Grey Eagle Lodge in Grey Eagle, California.. . . . did I mention they cooked us breakfast and dinner at the lodge and that I didn't have to do dishes once?  My body still goes numb thinking about how my kids loved swimming in 45 degree mountain snow water while there, but they did have the best swimming hole I've seen in a long time.  Even though my ankle was under wraps that didn't stop Dad and the kids from taking a couple of hikes up the mountain side and getting ice cream in town not once but twice!  Even better was that we got a few moments to meet up with our second oldest daughter and her family and meet our newest grandson Grayson.  He was a favorite among all that got to hold him.

*    Fourth of July celebration in our town is a big thing and this year our chickens were featured at the Chicken Pooping Bingo contest on Main Street.  Coupled with a parade, a rather large fire, smores and fireworks, the day couldn't have been better.

 

How is your summer going?

Every homestead needs a dog

One morning, the General Manager on the way out the door to work, casually says, "Umm, by the way, I might be bringing a dog home tonight."  "Okay," I said, but in my mind I was thinking (rather screaming loudly), "WAIT, we had this conversation over Christmas and we decided that we weren't ready for a dog."

What tumbled out of the truck back seat later that night was 69 pounds of white fluff; a six month old, male Great Pyrenees.  He was scared and unsure of where he was.  Being born on a farm, in a chicken coop and having lived there for the past six months of his life, it's no wonder seven pairs of eyes staring at him was a little nerve wracking.

 

He finally made it out of the truck.  Make a mental note to self, FIRST, put a collar on the dog and  THEN, attach a lease before releasing said dog from the truck.  He bolted out into the cow pasture behind our house where he was stopped, from his trek back to his original home in Crescent City, by a bunch of cows surrounding him.  The General Manager had to pick him up and carry him back into the house where we QUICKLY decided on a game plan for how we were going to get him accustomed to his new home.

 

First things first, DOG, YOU NEED A BATH!  So into the tub he scrub a dub dubbed!  He still smelled like wet dog, but was a whole lot less muddy.

 

In the last few weeks we have managed to spend a small fortune on chewing toys, dog bones, dog biscuits, feed bowls, and dog food (who would have thought a puppy could eat so much food?)  It's a good thing we have a freezer full of soup bones from the cow we purchased earlier this year!

 

But, when you see that smiling dog face and feel the wet, snotty kisses on your face, it's no wonder that all the preciouspeas at this farm have fallen in love with KEVIN.  And now, it's official because he has his own name collar.

December News from the Homestead

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Every year December sneaks up on me and I wonder how did we get to the end of the year again.  The days are shorter, the nights longer, the chores a little lighter, but there still seems so much to be done.  December is a typically busy month for our family, mostly because of the activities that go on in our little town.  We have an annual Christmas Tree Lighting. . . .



A Lighted Tractor Parade. .

 

 

And the kids' favorite, the annual Rotary Christmas party, put on by the General Manager's Rotary Club.  We love that Santa is played by one of the employees at Fernbridge Tractor.  All the kids know who it is and just giggle away when "sitting on his knee" and telling him what they want for Christmas.

 

 

But, December should be a month to slow down and enjoy some of the simple pleasures life brings us. . . . . quiet evenings playing games with the kids, quilting projects for the new year being cut out and pieced together, lots and lots of baking, and drawing some amazing pictures of Lego people (okay, that one was for George).

My friend, Heather and I are working on a Civil War Quilt this year as our annual quilty project.  The pattern is by Barbara Brackman and it is called Threads of Memory.

 

I just love the "Quilty Cake"  I made Heather for her birthday!  It's more fun quilting for friends.

One of my big projects this year was a quilt I did for my sister for Christmas.  The pattern is called Old Glory by Barb Johnson and I used Riley Blake Splendor fabric line.

Even Lindsay is getting hooked by the sewing bug and has begun Lori Holt's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" quilt along.  I just love the whimsical blocks and fabrics she is choosing.

Here on our homestead we've been busy too with some simple farm chores.  The garden is getting a complete overhaul due to the abundance of gophers we dealt with this year.  All the boxes are being pulled up, the dirt moved, the plastic sheeting underneath removed, everything tilled under and then in the spring we'll start anew with fresh boxes (lined with more chicken wire) and a new layout so that a lawn mower can get between the rows for easier maintenance.  In our haste to get the garden in, we forgot to plan for maintenance in-between the beds.  Sometimes, we have to learn lessons the hard way.  It's nice to know that it's still possible to regroup, rethink and fix things for the better.

We also had our house painted in November. . .right before our rainy season starts!  It is a brand new color called, "Shopping Bag," which is definitely appropriate for a house full of women.  It is just a light enough tan color that it makes the whole house stand out, rather than blend into the background as it did when it was a grey-blue color.

I hope and pray that your December was filled with love, laughter and happiness.  Thank you for continuing to follow our family on our homesteading journey.

New Goat Collars

 

Call me crazy but I love our goats;  Milkdud and Skittles (and yes, I know they are named after candy - their mother was Kit Kat)

 

We had our first successful breeding this June, when Milkdud became a momma to two healthy kids; a doe named Hershey and a buck named Starburst.  I am not sure we will continue on with the candy names, but it's probably better than some of our chickens who are named after family members.

 

 





The doe went to a dairy farm about an hour from us.  Now, after waiting for another two months to pass the buck onto his new home, our milking twice daily has just begun.  It has been an uphill learning curve, including learning to get her on the milk stand, teaching her to stand still, teaching her not to kick the bucket, and learning about additional feeding and watering issues.

Since milking, I have had to learn (and quite quickly) what to do with all of this extra milk, besides drinking it.  So, we start with the really yummy stuff first - ice cream.  We bought a new ice cream maker and several batches later, the kids have decided that goat milk makes the absolute best milkshake.  I have also experimented with yogurt, chevre cheese, kefir, goat soap and lotion and soaking grains for bread.

Since we love our goats, I was so excited when I saw these collars on a blog that I read called, "Goat Milk Stuff."  PJ told me that she got the collars from a company called Hot Dog Collars.  They are personalized so that anyone visiting One Blessed Acre can now identify each of our goats by their name (what animal doesn't like to hear their name called?).

Here is Skittles sporting her new collar.....

 

 

And Milkdud sporting hers. . . . .

 

 



We just love our goats!  They have been a great addition to our farm, One Blessed Acre.

Blackberries!

With our hot, dry summer this year, the blackberries are ripe about a month early.  So, yesterday we went for a playtime with our friends to pick blackberries which were not far from their house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are you doing this summer?