Spring Hay

Today we are back at work, trying to finish up our “Prince” job; painting touch ups, trim, replacing doors, finishing counter tops, and then adding things like curtains etc. that the city asked us to add in preparation of putting the house out to rent.
We were here yesterday too for about half a day, but in the late afternoon/evening we were home.
Hauling 154 40-50lb square bales of hay.

Our farmer friends from down the road brought their equipment and did the baling yesterday afternoon. They did their share in round bales and ours in square. All total there were 11 of the rounds and 154 of the square.

A view f the square and round balers.
We thank Jesus for the clear weather He has given us all through the weekend and Monday and Tuesday.
We try to get our hay cut when it’s at it’s peak for nutrition, but to have it rained on and all the nutrients leached out would defeat the purpose. We’ve had rained-on hay before and our goats didn’t do well on it – or even eat it for the most part.
A little note to all of you who still think goats will eat anything, including tin cans. 🙂 Goats are picky.

A view of the field with the round bales and a few of the square. (We’d picked up over half of them by the time I took this picture.)

Hauling hay – especially with three girls and just one guy – is not the easiest of farm jobs. In fact, though I love having the hay and am so thankful to The Lord that we don’t have to buy it for our herd, haying is one of my most dreaded summer farm jobs.
But I thank The Lord Jesus for His love and Strength.
I was surprised last night, as I scribbled to my silent friend before bed, that I was not so exhausted and aching as the previous seasons.
The Lord truly is our Strength when we know our inability and ask Him to be in us what we cannot be.
Praise His Name!

It was a good time of working with the family, despite the hard work, and I’m my dreading the next cutting quite so much. Our barn is full of fresh, sweet-smelling hay, and our goats are loving their feeder once again being full!

The Lord Jesus is so good!

Work outside and in

Despite the intense heat and the neglect it’s received this busy spring/summer,

the Lord has blessed our garden and we have begun canning,

juicing, making preserves, and pickling. 

Saturday we used all the many, many cherry tomatoes that were ripe,

and turned them into juice.

My precious sister using the juicer.

I thought the juice tasted pretty good – even from those little cherries.

We’ve never made cherries into juice before, but were thankful

it turned out so well – now we know what to do with the over-abundance of little

tomatoes we have every year!

Our first batch of green beans this year (10lbs) became 1 meal and 

17 pints of pickled beans.

Besides this we’ve put up dill and sweet cucumber pickles,

and two small batches of blueberry preserves.

I enjoy canning and pickling.

Its something I think is slipping from society – and which shouldn’t.

Every woman used to know how to preserve food for her family.

Today too many girls grow up not even knowing what it takes to seal a jar!

Much less how to can!

Canning and preserving is also a wonderful link to the Lord’s creation;

just the whole process – picking the fruits,

preparing and cleaning them, then canning/pickling/juicing/preserving them…

its like milking a goat or a cow;

it puts you in touch with nature, and makes you feel so 

peaceful and joyful inside. 

Happy Summer everyone!

(Of course I realize to some of you its actually winter…

happy winter to ya’ll! 🙂

Summer evening – and pictures…finally!

Finally, a few evenings ago, the Lord Jesus blessed me to be able to get 

good pictures of each of our newbies. 🙂

Its hard to get them all to stand still, but….Daddy was running the

lawn mower (something completely new to them!)

so they stood still as statues waiting for the ‘monster’ to go away. 🙂

Thelma Lou

Ida Claire

Clara Belle

Suzanna Lea

Phoebe Anne

Lily Rose

Marshall Dixon

We’re very proud of our little newcommers, and thankful to the Lord for them too!

It’s been very strange though, learning to love them.

It’s so different when goats are born on the farm – they’re just yours, and you love 

everything about them.

But buying them from another place and fitting them in…

they have to sort of ‘earn a place’

and registration papers aren’t enough to do that! 🙂

Mama was down at the barn that evening too…

putting in a new light for our floodlight that had blown. 

Its nice to have light at the barn without having to carry a flashlight.

That was a fun evening, us all together at the barn…

its not usual that happens! 🙂

Growing….growing….grow!

Well… two posts in a day!

But I can't help it, 

the garden just wouldn't fit in my 'farm update' post! 🙂

Yesterday afternoon, after supper and all the housecleaning was finished 

(between taking care of puppies, goats, and chicks….)

the Lord blessed Carra and I to plant several varieties of tomatoes in our special garden plot.

We still have several we want to plant 

(along with other vegetables!).

Turn the Page please…..