Suzie's Craft Show #TBT 5/9/15

This past spring we participated in our first craft show outside of the farm! 

A friend we met at the Farmer's Market was holding her 3rd annual craft fair and we went with all of the pens the Guys have been working on.

It was a long day, but it was a lot of fun!

Firewood from Friends 5/2/15

Some friends down the road have about 7 acres of land, and a lot of trees down. (We started looking for firewood for the winter very early this year after last year's harsh winter).  Our friends invited us over to cut wood to add to our woodpile.  

After working with his birthday chainsaw that he got last year, Boy was beyond frustrated because it wouldn't stay going.  Dad to the rescue!  Since Man wasn't allowed to do any really heavy labor, he went to Rural King and got Boy a chainsaw!  He loves his machinery!!

Our friends also have this awesome John Deere tractor.  Boy asked lots and lots of questions about it~  Our friends let both of us drive it around their farm.  It is NICE!!

We are truly blessed to have friends that are neighbors who blessed us with firewood and help!

Tilling the Spring Garden #TBT 5/1/15

Here I am looking at my poor garden all dying and finished and waiting on winter....however here are the promising pictures from spring!  I am so blessed to have my big Boy who LOVES machinery and likes to do things like till up my garden!

You can see the big Tom Turkey in the background 

watching what is going on..his name is Stuffing

Turning the tiller is hard work!

Sadly, we did not do the CSA this year. Our garden ended up not doing very well due to the excessive spring rains and cool temperatures.  The tomatoes all drowned, and the later ones we put in just started turning red as the leave started changing. I missed doing my CSA and having a bigger reason to garden.  I'm hopeful that next year will be better!

Spring #TBT 4/29/15

Ah, Spring!  The warm sunny days of spring are so wonderful!

Here my Man took a picture of me gathering our first "crop" Violets for  Violet jelly!

We noticed an abundance of honeybees on our pear tree.  Having "lost" our bees last year, we moved the hive under the tree hoping that a scout bee would see it and bring his swarm over.  I even slathered it up with essential oil:Lemon Grass (101 list) because it says on the internet that Lemon Grass is one on the favorite scents of honey bees.

We ended up not catching any :(

Making Pens

Man and Boy have always enjoyed their time in the woodshop.  

Back when Boy was six, he turned his first pen at an event at a woodworking store where Man was the manager.

Since then, they go in cycles of working on the wood lathe and not.  Since Man's surgery, he's been trying to find more "little" things to work on.  

The guys had a father / son weekend and now all the lathes and equipment is out and they've been going to town making some beautiful stuff.

SteamPunk Pen

Sometimes the night...is just beautiful #TBT 4/9/15

View out our front door after the rain.

Rich Mullins: Beautiful by Step

Take a Bite out of Lymes #TBT 3/24/15

I have been blessed with a "Friend of a friend" that has become so dear to me! My friend, Erin, has Lyme's disease, but is one of the most uplifting people I've "met".  She has such a love for the Lord and sweet disposition, that everytime we "talk" I am immensely blessed.  March  was Lyme's disease awareness month, and to raise awareness, you needed to take a "bite out of Lyme's" and then post a picture.....here's ours:

And my Man turned a pen out of the Lyme's color for me to send to Erin:

Isn't it gorgeous.

Here's some facts about Lyme's Disease:

http://www.ilads.org/lyme/lyme-quickfacts.php

1. Lyme disease is a world-wide infectious disease and has been reported in all 50 states, 25% of the reported cases are children. Lyme disease had been found on every continent but Antarctica.
2. Typically Lyme disease is transmitted through a bite from an infected deer tick. These ticks, often the size of a poppy seed, can leave an undetectable bite.
3. Fewer than 50% of people infected get the bull’s eye rash. Some develop flu-like symptoms a week or so after becoming infected, however, many people are asymptomatic but can develop Lyme symptoms months, years or decades later.
4. Common Symptoms include: fatigue, neck stiffness or pain, jaw discomfort, muscle pain, joint aches like arthritis- typically in the knees, swollen glands, memory loss, cognitive confusion, vision problems, digestive issues, headaches and fainting.
5. The Lyme spirochete bacteria is hard to detect and hard to kill. Lyme disease is growing at epidemic proportions in the United States.
6. It is called the great imitator; looking like many other health problems (Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Bells Palsy, ADD, MS and Lupus).
7. The medical community is divided over the diagnosis and treatment guidelines. Health insurance often doesn’t cover the treatment for Chronic Lyme disease.
8. The standard and most commonly prescribed for diagnosing Lyme test is the ELISA test. This test, often not sensitive enough to detect Lyme, can produce a false negative. The more sensitive test is called the IgG and IgM Western Blots test. The preferred testing lab is IGeneX Lab in Palo Alto. www.igenex.com.

I'm back....REPOST!

Hello my beautiful bloggy readers....

I've been long absent, for that I am sorry.
I don't have a good excuse (oh, I have a zillion excuses, just not a good one!)

I've been overwhelmed with trying to get all the posts "caught up" and doing them in past order so you didn't have to scroll backwards.  But life goes on and I am just getting further and further behind.  Add to that, the mild midlife crisis ("Why am I doing ANY of this anyway?"), an unexpected epic trip, and the mundane of keeping animals feed and watered in extreme temperatures,
 and well, you get the idea.

It's been an adjustment figuring out "what next" for man since his health issues and surgery.  And now that it seems he's come up with something, I've been trying to figure out if this is the path I want for my "what next"  Don't get me wrong, I love the farm.  I love my critters.  But I also have a debilitating disease that is progressing, as well...and I'm not as young as I think I am!  

Until I come up with another plan, though,
 I'm going to keep on doing what I am doing...and doing my best. 

I also need to kick my 101 into gear.  And that means...consistent blogging.  Including new theme days!  New classes for friends (and strangers) at the farm.  4H and animal adventures.

Thanks for sticking around!
Oh, and if you would do me a favor? Could you comment so I actually know that there is more than one of you out there.  If no one is reading, then it might make my decision about the blogging easier!

So be sure to check back often!
 I have 6 months of posts to get caught up and am determined to do it in record time!

Originally posted 3/24/15

Smokey

9 days old

This is Smokey (AKA Quarter Pounder)  She was the only kit born from Mopsy on July 4th.  Because she is a "Lonely Only" she has been gaining weight at a quick rate (hence the AKA name) She has a wonderful demeanor and will become one of our breeders. (And likely Boy's "Showmanship" Bunny for Fair next year.)