thinking it through . . .

Contemplative . . .

So many times in our lives we think that our "little worlds" will never change.  The way things are will always be "the ways things are."  Sure, children grow up, the living room gets a new facelift, and the way we perceive something takes on a new perspective.  But, the way we live and the circumstances we are in, seems to stay mostly the same.

I, and we as a family, are currently NOT in one of those places in our lives.  The past few months has beckoned a new way of relating to one another.  This past time together has afforded a doorway for each of us in the family to walk through and make decisions on what we value, what we hope for, and what we stand for.  It is definitley a time of HUGE change.  A contemplative time to stay focused on God's plan for our lives.  A decision making time that will alter our lives together, forever.  May God be glorified and honored in our words and our actions. 

what we've been looking for . . .

Lady is the newest addition to our family of animals. We got her today, after I came home from looking at the house/farm I am going to put an offer on at 5:00 pm today. What a day of excitement!

Earlier this week Ildi found a house on the market that I later called on. We went to visit it, and both Ildi and I felt like it the house that we have been looking for. The children all said they really liked it as well. It is on a busier road than what we want, but has all the other things we have been looking for in a homestead. 31 acres, fenced pasture, open pasture, large barns, 5 bedrooms, and three bathrooms. Hopefully this one will be the one that we actually purchase, move into, and settle our lives into an area of this world. And hopefully for a LONG while!

As well, I told the children if they cleaned out the barn here at the farm, I would buy them a horse. Well, they worked hard cleaning out all the junk, shoveling out the dirt/glass/and trash, and so I made good on my word and picked her up today. Today we rode her a bit and all were excited to take turns riding her around the place.

a good experience . . .

Several changes have happened over the last few days. The biggest being that our first born is now DRIVING! What a trip.

Saturday we went to the BMV and Nolan did well on his written test. I told him if he passed, I would take him on a drive with me that day and have him drive the entire time. Since he passed, he drove us to a small town about an hour from where we live. We dropped off an amish lady so she could visit her family. It was a good experience for him to not only drive on the country roads, but also to drive through the center of some towns.. I am also excited because this means when I need someone else to drive besides Ildi or I, we have someone to call on. :)

Our chickens started laying this week. The children found 3 eggs in the barn (a place they should not be laying them) and were shocked that they found a different spot to put them. Over the next few weeks we have to be diligent to keep the hens in during the day so they will get the idea that we want them to put their eggs in the nesting boxes. All this so we don't have to run around the property trying to do the fall version of an Easter egg hunt.

training time for everyone . . .

Officially her name is Intercept Golden Jana (American Jersey Cattle Association) and she is a Registered Jersey. The previous owner called her Baby Jane, but since she has had a couple of calves, we decided to call her Janey.

It seems that what we have been doing is working. And we are learning quite a bit about her. The first few days were a little rough being new at the milking thing, and the whole cow thing, however, after a week of it, it's running pretty sMOOth.

The children are taking turns, like everything else, by milking on their day of the week. Years ago we assigned a day to each child to have for their day to pray, get the mail, and things like that. Well, it was only natural to let them milk on their day as well. Nolan is taking on most of the work and he is the constant milker along with me. In the evenings, the others join in to get the practice to be able to milk her by themselves. It's a training time for everyone.

The first few times Janey moved around ALOT and it was like milking in a moving van. She wanted lots of feed (which is like candy for her) and was ready to move on real quickly. Now she is eating her small cup of grain we give her, and patiently standing and waiting for us to get our work done. And currently, she is giving us about a gallon and a half per milking. We are almost swimming in milk! The benefit of having her as well is that we are able to have cream regularly for our coffee without going to the store, and the children have been making really rich BUTTER from the cream as well. What a treat.

right on top . . .

Today we had our first chicken tragedy. It was one of those situations that had we been a little more prepared it wouldn’t have happened. Since we've been raising chickens, we have only lost a few to inexperience; splayed legs, accidents, and a few things we don't understand about birds. But last night we had a situation that caused the loss of 4 of our meat birds. Not a good thing.

I bought a new tarp to cover the birds and to keep the elements away from them. Elements like ripping winds and rain that is harsh at times. The wind and rain out here is vicious! The tarp I bought big, and was very sturdy. I was really happy about my purchase and was excited to show Nolan . I brought it home, and Nolan fitted it perfectly onto the chicken “play yard.” Last night we had quite a bit of rain, and the tarp collected a whole bunch of it. RIGHT ON TOP! It probably collected it because it had a flat roof. Duh! When Nolan went out to check on the birds this morning, the top of the structure was broken in and the birds were all huddled in the corner and were wet and cold. One of them had died. (the fact that it was 45° and rainy didn’t help the situation) We spent about a half hour changing the structure to another one we had and trying to get the birds under the lights and sheltered from the rain. What a mess!

When I got home from school today Nolan told me that three more had died. :(

as a family . . .

Another weekend to rest around the farm. :)

Yesterday my mother came out to visit AGAIN! I am pretty excited that she takes the time to come and visit. When we lived in Los Angeles, she came to visit a total of 8 times during the 21 years I lived there. Seems like such a small time to spend. And it was. However, since we are now local, she has made it a point to come and visit several times so far. I like it for many reasons. The children have never really spent any time with relatives at ALL. Ildi's brother and sister don't have children and never visit so that means no cousins or aunts and uncles to rub elbows with. And since my family lived so far away, we rarely made it across the nation as a family. The last few years Ildi's mom visited us more often, and we have all not met her dad due to an early car accident death. So, having grandma here is really a treat for them. It is good for them to hear the stories of my youth. My mother tells them of when I was young and the types of things I did. For good and bad. It is great for them to hear about me being just like them! I also like that they get to learn new things from grandma. As well as learn how to treat elderly people. There is such a benefit to having older people in and around your life.

As well, yesterday we went to pick up around 300 pounds of feed for the chickens. We had been getting the feed from our neighbor, but I decided that I would save him from picking it up for me and go to the source myself. We are getting feed from a local "natural" farmer who is growing and grinding his own feed. It is extremely interested to get involved with the processes involved and learn as much as possible about this whole thing called HOMESTEADING.

Today I am going to be doing a little plumbing work in this old house, and then we will probably spend a relaxing day outside by the fire. Hope your Lord's Day is restful, contemplative, and honoring.

what to do . . .

Yesterday was an interesting day mostly because it was really cold outside, and it felt like camping weather. The sun was shining brightly, the breeze was blowing, and there was a chill of fall coming right across the fields. So on a day like that, what is one to do in the country?

Well, to begin with, for such a cool day I built a fire. After it was tended to a bit, I altered and added some details to our butchering station. Seems like I got the "chicken" fever now! I stained the wood a dark walnut oil to help diffuse the red color and to make the drippings a little easier to clean up. In addition, I added a wooden decorative finial, some burnt coffee cans to catch the drips, and some more wood for the footing to make it more stable (and give it a Frank Lloyd Wright design look) As an artist, it's hard just to make things functional without making it aesthetically nice as well. Beauty and function is my motto.

After that project, I decided to butcher another chicken to practice cutting the bird into parts. Here's the result of my work. Two legs, two wings, two boneless breasts, two tenders, and a neck. Looks like it came right out of the store!

I had to take it one step further and grill the fresh chicken on the open fire. I had a make-shift grill on the fire I started in the morning, and the embers were ready to cook the meat. Ildi decided that she also wanted me to cook some steak.

While I was cooking and tending to the dinner, I let the boys practice a little before this upcoming hunting season. It is fun to watch them them scope in their rifles and work at hitting their targets.


We had a short visit from the neighbors after supper to make this one of the most pleasant days I have had. As we were sitting out by the fire while the sun went down, both my neighbor and I thought "It doesn't get much better than this!"

all together . . .

The mad rush was on yesterday. Since I moved schools this year, and went down to teaching the elementary students instead of teaching at the middle school. Instead of teaching at one school full time, I am teaching at two schools part time to make a full time position. What that means, is that I have to set up two rooms for art. For the past few days I have been working on making two sets of everything, like procedures and rules, and today need to split up all my materials to accommodate each school. I am almost done with one school, and on Monday I need to set up the other classroom. School starts the following day so I need to get a move on it!

On the home front we have been gleaning lots of vegetables from the garden. Notice the family collecting the potatoes we harvested this year. All together we probably grew three bushel of them. Next year we will have to plant way more than that to create a surplus for winter, and to keep some for seed.


And Macy celebrated her twelfth birthday this year. Lemon pie was the "cake." We had the neighbors over for supper and desert to commemorate the event. Small event celebration. . . but nice!


I'll upload a few more pictures on my FB account of the things here around the farm.

a few new things . . .

A few new things to post about this late Saturday morning.

Grandma's visit for a few days was pleasant. She was also surprised how nice it was to be in the country! When we talked, she said she was not sure how she would like being in a place that was so quiet. For example, only a few cars go down our road a day. She is used to traffic noise all day, and most of the night. She also falls asleep to the sound of the television. She is a news junkie, and like most people, has the TV on all day for background noise. Well, at our house, we haven't had a television for several years. No background noise happens here except the cicadas, occasional birds, and children. The first night she said it was difficult to fall asleep. After the first two days, she started to acclimate to the "no noise" sound of the country.


The chickens (meat birds) are getting close to butchering. I have three weeks to solidify the process of dressing out the entire bird. Two weeks ago, I visited a new friend's home while he was butchering. After he dressed out the first one, he walked me through the process of going from start to finish on butchering. It wasn't difficult at all, and I feel somewhat confident about butchering my own now. I do want to spend some time learning all the part of the insides so I can use it as a biology lesson for the children.

Schools about ready to start. Next week I will report for the teacher in-service days and then the students come the following Monday. This year my time is split between two schools, and I will be working with the kindergarten through fourth grade students. I am glad that I won't have as much of the attitude the junior high students had last year.

This summer has been full of making and shipping art. In addition, I started "hauling" for the first time. By "hauling," (the term the Amish use to describe driving them places) I have visited Indiana and several areas of Ohio that I had not previously seen before. Not only have I visited new places, but I have also learned a lot more about the Amish culture. Years ago, I knew quite a bit about the Amish folks, but now after being friends with so many families, I feel like I know more about who and what they are, because I know them personally, and have had long conversations about their lifestyle and belief systems.


And lastly, I finally hired a property management company to rent my California house. It is so hard finding and dealing with renters so far away that I decided to give someone a chance to do it for me. Last year, it sat empty for most of the year, and then a family needing a "quick fix" rented it for a few months. Hopefully the company can get a family in it that is willing to stay for a few years until the market for homes changes a bit. I intend on keeping it for awhile longer, and then completely cutting the ties with banks and properties in CA. Being a landlord from afar is not going to work for me. :)

grandma's visit . . .

The last couple of days has been a nice treat for us out here in the country. Grandma came to visit!

On Thursday afternoon, we went to Columbus to pick Grandma up. She flew in from Los Angeles, and will be staying until Tuesday. This is her first trip out here to visit, and her first experience with us living on the farm.

spending time . . .

Years ago I used to volunteer to do a lot of the extra-curricular things at school. The Yearbook was one of those jobs. One of the great pains of doing the yearbook for a school is that it was due right around Spring Break time. So inevitably, I would spend some of my break time finishing the yearbook before going back to school. At times, if I didn't finish the page layouts then, I would mentally punish myself saying that "I need to get them done" and then drag them back to school when break was over only to finish them for the next two weeks AFTER SCHOOL! Meanwhile, my break time was not mentally relaxing at all.

In another snippet, Christmas break was always fun except for the part where I would count the days of break I had left dreading that as each day passed, I was one day closer to going back to work.

Summer break was the same. Time off, relaxing, going places, doing things, and the nagging notion that it would one day end and I would have to be back at my post at school.

I am writing about these mental gymnastic ideas to talk about a change that happened in my thinking years ago. It has been extremely helpful, and after you experience the same change, you to will find that your time spent "at work" and "at home" will be much more meaningful, pleasurable and productive.

The first change came with a change of phrases. When I worked in the restaurant industry, people used to say "I have to work" when talking about what shift they were working. I decided to change my phrase to "I get to work." Seems small and insignificant, but it sure did change my attitude about going to work. I no longer wasted my off work time by dreading the fact that in a few hours I needed to go to work. Simple action with huge results. I used the time I had off instead of wasting it thinking and dreading about going to work.

The second change came with taking work home from school on my off time to "catch up" on. The yearbook example above is a great illustration. I spent most of my break time badgering myself about what I needed to get done instead of spending time relaxing and getting refreshed to go back and teach again. And then there was the paper grading guilt. I took papers home each evening to grade thinking that I was going to grade them after the children went to bed. By that time, I was tired too, and should have been going to bed as well. Instead, I spent time punishing myself that I again did not do it, and then added the EXTRA work of hauling the papers back and forth to school. Undone. Now I don't take any work home from school. School work stays at school, and home work is at home. What I don't get done at school simply waits until the next day. It has helped me to be more productive at school, and instead of choosing to relax and talk with colleagues, I do some of that work knowing that my time spent there affects my time spent at home.

I could give you several other examples that detail how thinking affects the physical circumstances of your life. I think though, the point has been made. In summary, the way we choose to THINK about our time, directly affects the way we SPEND our time. We all have the same 24 hour period. It doesn't slow down, or speed up for anyone. Each of us "has" time to do the things we want to do. The question is . . . "Are we doing what we want to do?" If not, it is time for a change.

re-connecting . . .

A portrait that I am working on for a friend. It is fun to re-connect with the ole pencil again . . . I haven't done portraiture in a long time. It's nice to be back struggling to get the likeness and the "sense" of a person on paper!

five chickens later . . .

I think that we are finally done with the Eggmobile. We have made some minor, and somewhat major, adjustments. Tweaking it every other day to help save our little chickens has been the goal.

Two nights ago two chickens lost one of their legs. In the morning when I went to move the eggmobile, they were dead, with their whole thighs ripped off their bodies. From what I gather, an animal (probably a raccoon) is digging under the skid and yanking on the legs of the chickens to have them for a late night snack. I've heard of frog legs . . . but CHICKEN LEGS?

Yesterday, I spent some time building a sub floor for the coop. I ran some studs framing it in and laid some hardboard down as a floor separating the chickens from the ground. This morning, we had all the chickens we had last night so I hope this will solve the problem.

Another addition to the farm is the go-cart. My sister, who lives in the city, gave us the cart to store at our farm. It was the kind of "toy" that sat in her garage without being used. Around a week ago, she offered to let us "store it" out here and let the children use it. Really, it is her just cleaning house. For our children, and those that visit, it has been blast! Nolan mowed a path through lots of the tall grasses around the place making a track of sorts to drive around. Three acres of land helps when you have a go-cart.

not a sound . . .

Here's how I spent my late morning.

For those who live in California, think . . . at the beach, warm and very windy, blue sky and a hint of moisture in the air. In addition, pretend that no one went the beach except for you, and that there was not even a noise from another living soul. (I did have an one ATV and one car drive down our rode during the hours I spent there)

For those that think I am lazy . . . go ahead. And I am a huge fat sinner as well . . . comfortable in my Brazilian hammock. :)

having guests . . .

We've started harvesting from our garden already. Small pieces so far, but still harvesting!


My lunch sandwich yesterday consisted of a couple of radishes that were ripe for picking. Macy plucked them from the dirt, and I had a great time washing, cutting, and gingerly placing them on by butter smattered, homemade (and ground) whole wheat bread. As I was eating it I thought this small sandwich, cut a little more decoratively, might make a great finger food at a wedding reception before the main meal. I can see it now, maybe a farm wedding in Ohio . . . including the picturesque farm scenery, the wholesome good food, the quietness of the expanse . . .

Lately, like the last three years, I have had vision for turning our homestead into a visitors center of sorts. A place where people come to retreat, enjoy, and get refreshed to go back to their world. The bug in me started a few years ago when I was introduced to what Mary Jane Butters does on her farm out in Idaho. Since I read about her and visited her site I can't help but think about the many times we have have visitors in our home over the years, and how enjoyable it is to host people. In recollection, we have had people from all over the world stay with us. Che and Justin, two single men from Australia, stayed for a week while attending a conference in Los Angeles. Also from Australia, we had Lisa who stayed for a month while studying American culture. The nice thing about her stay was that we have stayed in touch and 10 years after her first visit, she came and stayed again. Our dear friends the Unfreids, came to live with us for 6 months while they looked for a home to purchase. And then there was Fiona, and later two men from South Africa who stayed as well. In addition, we have had Grandma Fout every other summer come to stay for a week, my sister, and Deb Allen came and stayed for a visit as well.

It seems that in hindsight we have always had people come and stay with us. I think I want to continue the pattern. For those that follow us here on FOUTFOLK . . . call to set up a reservation. :)

following our journey . . .

Did I mention that it is EXTREMELY nice to wake early, sit here on the sofa half awake/half asleep, and leisurely check emails and post the daily lives of our FOUTFOLK adventures. :)

A few days ago, a former student left a message on my Facebook wall that he was reading my "farm blog." "My farm blog" I thought? I never thought of this blog as a farm blog, but I guess I do live on a farm, and I do farm kinds of things. Like yesterday, Nolan and I spend the last half of the day helping the neighbor bail hay and put it up in the barn. Baling hay is a GOOD honest, days work. It requires a LOT of muscle, and a little finesse as well, using your body weight to throw a 50 lb bale around, stacking them on the wagon. As I was pulling the bails off the binder, dragging it to the back of the wagon, tossing it up to criss cross stack it, I had lots of time to think about my life and the direction it is going. (maybe a little too much time :)

It has been a long time coming for us as a family to live this more agrarian lifestyle, this farm life. A few years ago in Los Angeles, when we told friends we were moving to make a change in our lives toward a more sustainable life, this was what we were talking about. In my mind it certainly didn't look anything like this, but now that we are here, doing what we are doing, it is exactly this that I was thinking about. Time spend together, working on things together, making most of the things we use, developing friendships with like-minded people, and slowing the pace of life that helps us to stop and enjoy the process as well as the product.

In addition, I am appreciative to those that have followed our journey these past two years through reading this farm blog. It has been fun for me to write and post pictures of our journey and to keep distant friends "still close." Thanks for the comments, encouragement, and friendships. (now is the time I say that I will no longer be blogging . . . :) Just kidding, I am not thinking about stopping this blog.

a timeless message . . .

I am always torn when sitting down to write something. Partly because I feel like writing about our lives seems indulgent, and partly because I feel like I need to express a greater truth for the benefit of mankind.

Both seemed to be prescriptive, a format that I need to follow and a mode that I am not sure I am wanting to stay in. In reading countless other blogs, I value the differing styles of personal accounts, and appreciate those that write for a greater audience the timeless messages. And sometimes, this "gobbledygook," that I started with today, helps me to solidify what it is that I am trying to say, what I want to communicate, what I want to express. And in this case, it's nothing! I have NO purpose in writing today, I have nothing profound to say, no experiences to share, I am wasting my time.

But, in any event, God is good. Family relationship is paramount. And a rolling stone gathers no moss. . . . . . . . I REALLY like moss. (that statement is not an analogy of my life :)

ordered steps . . .

Spring is here, and it could not have come SOONER! Wow, our first winter in Ohio was atrocious! I am glad now that it is over. (even though we WILL have a few more cold days before it's over)

Even though spring is here, the thoughts of planting, getting chickens and a cow are in our minds, we are struggling a little with the vision/mission/direction of our family. For a couple years now we have been working toward buying a farm and planting ourselves into a community. That time is now, but there are a couple of components that are up in the air. First, we have not been able to find a farm in the area that suites us. We have looked and looked, and it seems each place we visit we still have the resounding "not this one". We are getting a little worn down having our hope deferred each time we visit a place and it is not the place we can call home. Secondly, I have decided that I will not be returning to the school I am working at this year. Long story short, I am getting off at the next port and will be getting on a different ship in the fall. That decision affects the possibility of moving out of this area. We have decided that we are going to stay in Ohio though. That's comforting to know. No more moves across the nation. :)

As always, we are trusting that God has our plans in His hands, and we are open to His leading us and planting us where He wants us. Navigating around work and property, I am sure that we will look back and see that He has ordered are steps. Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Thank you all for your continued support through friendship and prayer. One day, and hopefully soon, you will be able to come and stay "on the farm" and will reap the benefits of His blessings on us.

collecting in buckets . . .

This, my friends, is a science fair project in the making!

It's not actually a science fair project, but when I was constructing it the other day when it was raining in the HALLWAY, it seemed certainly to be just like what one would be.

Here's the deal. Because the wind was so vicious last week, several shingles blew off the roof and into the neighboring field, along with things like the BBQ cover, the worm bin lid, and a few other "this, that, and what have yous". As a result, there were several leaks in the hallway ceiling upstairs. I had put several buckets and trash cans out to catch the rain, but was unable to capture it all because it kept finding new ways to leak. That's when I resorted to the Ohio Handbook on Dealing with Elements. Actually it is not a handbook at all, it was a conversation I had with my mother who has delt with leaky roofs all her life. (I remember as a child seeing buckets strategically placed in our home to catch the rain) This time she told me of a new way of channeling the water so it collects in one bucket, and makes NO dripping noise at all. Taping plastic trash bags to funnel the rain to one area, poking a hole in the lowest point, then running a string down to the bucket did the trick! I also took a little creative liscence and poked string into the plaster and tied it to the main artery as pictured above. I LOVED IT.

feeling like spring . . .

It is beginning to feel like spring! Today was a warm 63 and I felt like it was summer compared to the weather we have been having. It is crazy how a few degrees changes the whole outlook of the day. Spring feels like it is right around the corner.

We are beginning to make some plans about how we are going to plant and get animals this spring not having our farm home yet. Some friends have offered some land to "borrow" to plant some crops, and we are thinking of boarding a cow at the neighbors house. SOUNDS CRAZY but we need to start now.

The children are all getting over HORRIBLE colds and coughs and the younger ones are on the tale end of the Whooping Cough. This has been our first "real" winter season so I am hoping that next year we will have built up some immunity to the freezing, cold weather.