new experiences...

NEW experiences! Asher goes hunting this morning, and kills two BEAUTIFUL pheasants.

 

 

I cooked them up with potatoes and onions, and also some squash we were given by our SUPER generous neighbors. And it turned out delicious. :)

 

learning a language . . .

Recently the children have been having fun with languages.  More fun than they had been having trying to "study" a foreign language than before.

 

I started them on the Berlitz Method to study French this year.  For years they have been studying French from a book, not enjoying it, and not really learning much at all year to year.  And with my study of language aquisition, and my Master's study of culture, I found that conversational, real life situational learning works best.  Especially when learning a language.  First comes the verbal, then the book-work grammar, structures, and perfection of the language.  And when people study language rearely do they want to understand the sentence structures first . . . they want to SPEAK it.

 

So with the addition of the tape series Berlitz Method, the children have been using the google translate to help them along with the aquisition of the French language.  And that has morphed at times, to just playing around with noises, phrases, and sentences of ALL SORTS of different languages.  It is hilarious to have them play them while we are all sitting around the family room.  And a great way to get exposure to other languages in a fun way.

 

getting used to school...

Okay, so it’s been a really long time since I posted anything, so I will give a splurge on school.

So the first two weeks I didn’t think I was going to make it through the day, let alone a whole YEAR, I was totally freaked out, about nothing and everything. (We also have to use computers a lot and I don’t like them, they keep doing things like their alive or something.) I also felt like everyone was inwardly laughing at my stupidity in all the things that were so normal to them. About the first time I was asked to put an MLA heading on a paper, or even getting an assigned a paper to write, I was completely at sea. After I got over myself and realized that the work was really easy, the teachers weren't going to eat me if I did something differently, and I was actually really cool because I lived in LA, and now lived on a farm, I started to enjoy school a little more. Now that I know some kids my own age, and it doesn't scare me when people talk to me, I'm ALL HAPPY now :)

 

( and it's BEAUTIFUL outside )

 

 

posted by Macy

 

 

 



tuck it under . . .

Last weekend Asher and I finally did some electrical work that I had wanted to get done since we moved here.  I wanted to put in a motion sensored spotlight by the garage so that when we drove up, it would turn on.  And another great feature of the light would be that we could play basketball at night!

 

About a year ago I dug a fairly deep hole and put this rusty post down in it.  I found the pole in the woods and planned to re-purpose it.  I had Asher take the pole out and dig the hole down 24 inches.

The next step was to run the wire down the pole and then put it back in the hole.  I opted not to drill a hole through a 1/2" thick metal, so the wire just came out of the top and bottom of the pole.  After putting a little clay/dirt in the hole at a time, Asher tapped it down so the post would sit solidly in the ground.

We finished the post part by adding the dirt around the post, and running the wire over to the edge of the concrete where we tucked it under the grass.  I used outdoor gray wire that will not compost even after a LONG time under ground.

I finished the wire up to the garage and used some old pvc piping to attach it to the outside wall.  I started to feel like a real elctrician.

 

Usually I work with electricity "hot" because I don't want to take the time to turn the main line on and off while I work, and most of the time I need the electricity to run a tool that I am using for the job.  But, since I was teaching Asher how to do it, the right way, I worked with the electricity off.  It is far safer and easier to work with wires when there is no chance of getting a jolt.  :)

And Macy came around a few times to let us know what she thought about our electrical work on the light pole.

And the photos . . . Maine is now our resident photographer.  She took all the photos for us on this activity.  I am extremely pleased at her photographer's eye.

the second batch . . .

For such a long time we have been getting tons of milk.  Since Janey has come fresh, it has been anywhere from 4 to 6 gallons of milk a day.  With so much milk, we have been able to have as much as we want, feed the new calf, feed all the dogs and cats, and give some away for other families to enjoy.  And even though the milk has stretched that far, we are still having to pour some out on a regular basis.

 

Two weeks ago I started making yogurt out of the extra milk.  And it has been a fun process to learn.  First I added about two gallons of milk to a large pot.  The cream had already been taken off to make butter.

 I then heated the milk up to 110 degrees.

 Next I added some of the previous batch of yogurt I had made.  It had live active cultures in it which makes the yogurt "yogurt."

 Then Gresham adds a lid, slightly tightening it, and puts it in the oven.  We leave in in there overnight with the pilot light on to culture.

The next day we tighten the lid and put it in the refridgerator.  Presto, we have yogurt!  Since we have been buying some yogurt from the store, we add the one from the store, with all the fruit in it, to ours to make the Fruit on the Bottom yogurt last a LONG TIME.  Yum!

surprise, surprise, surprise . . .

So I was walking in the barn pasture fixing some of the fence wires that came out of the posts, and Maine yells at me from the woods pasture "Hey dad, there's a baby lamb!"  She had been in the woods, and on her way out, she stopped by the pasture to get a look at what was following Clover around.  I walked over to where she was, and sure enough, Clover had a lamb RIGHT NEXT TO HER!  WOW, what a surprise.  We did not even know that she was bred!

 

Not know she was bred?  How could you not know?  Well, first off, she did not LOOK bred, and secondly, we kept the rams away from the ewes EXCEPT for a couple of times they all got mixed up together.  :)  Since we are not all that experienced with handling sheep, those types of things are bound to happen.

 

This is Clover with her new lamb Clementine.  As Maine has named her.

And last week we added a parakeet to the inside RAT that Asher has in his room.  I don't know what I am thinking letting the children keep pets in the house.  Have I gone mad?

 

In fact, it has shocked the children a bit that I have been letting them get and keep household pets.  And it is shocking me as well!  I guess in my older age things aren't as they were when I was younger.  I figure that a few little animals aren't going to hurt me.

 

I purchased this cage years ago (when Pottery Barn had no idea that bird cages were cool) and have only used it for decoration.  Now it was time to put it to use.  And since the bird has been here, only for a few days, it has gotten out of the cage twice.  What fun it is to try to catch a flying bird in the house.  :)

non-traditional . . .

Lately I have been working on a ton of chalkboard orders for menu boards.  It seems they are starting to pick up just as much as the little 3 x 4's have.  And I have also been changing the look of some of them, like the one pictured, to non-traditional black to some other colored boards that you can use ChalkInk markers on.  This one was for a farm down in North Carolina and I used a darker brown as the chalkboard writing surface.  The logo is displayed on both sides.

taking a book look . . .

Stopped by a used book store the other day that my neighbor owns.  The girls wanted to see if he had anything they wanted.  Come to find out, he is closing the store.  :(  However, he has opened a website to buy from.  Check it out here BOOKSBYTHEBUNCH.COM

big barn party . . .

Since I was gone during the month of March, the children decided to celebrate their birthdays when I returned.  And for the celebration of their birthdays, Macy organized a Big Barn Party!  She made a huge batch of chili and cornbread, and a couple of large, chocolate sheet cakes. We cleaned and decorated the Big Barn, and she invited several people to help celebrate the birthdays.  During the day several people came to wish them well.  It was great to be home celebrating my children's birthdays, and have people over as well.

The farm back is back in order now.  Mowing is done. The house, barns, and garage are cleaned out.  And now we are enjoying the later part of the summer.  Yesterday we went swimming in the pond, and since grandma came over, we went to town and all got slushies from the local ice cream shop.  I have a couple of weeks left before school starts, and a little bit of work to do before then.  WOW this summer has gone fast!

now the full story . . .

I'll just jump right in.

Several months ago, February 20th, Gresham and I had been having a little misunderstanding as to whether he had to tell me the truth or not, and that when I asked him a question, whether or not he had to answer it.  On that day, it was a question of where he had gotten a paint brush from in order to paint.

The situation warranted a spanking and I was careful to spank him over his pants, and pause between spankings to give him an opportunity to come clean by asking him where he had gotten it.  He refused to tell me, and even when faced with the consequence of another spanking, he held to his resolve not to.  He acceded to the discipline of being spanked, and I ended up giving him several spankings, one after another, with pauses and questions, thinking at one point he would give in and tell me the truth.  That is when the sheriff was called.

Two sheriff arrived and asked questions concerning me spanking my son.  I told them everything I had done, and they also talked with Gresham.  In addition, they talked with Macy who had witnessed part of the event.  After a little discussion, they asked if I would be willing to go to the sheriff's office to talk and I agreed. While there, I talked with a Child Protective Services worker and then spent the next hour or two waiting for them to decide my fate.  According to the report, I had violated Gresham and was charged with Domestic Violence and taken to jail.  The fact that I used a paint stir stick constituted domestic violence because it was considered a weapon to inflict pain.

I spent the night in jail, and was released the next day on my own recognizance; which meant that I signed that I would show up for a later court appearance, and promised not to do anything else illegal during that time.  With a sheriff escort, I was given twenty minutes to collect whatever clothing I would need, stopped by the farm, got some clothing, and left the property due to a Temporary Protection Order on Gresham.  And, I was not to return to the property until the matter was settled.  The matter was settled July 10th.

I spent 139 days away from the farm, and away from my family.  I did not speak, write to, or receive any correspondance from Gresham the entire time.  I was though able to contact the other children.  I spent the time staying with my mother in her apartment waiting desparately for the case to be dropped.  I missed the end of winter, all of spring, and the first of the summer here on the farm.  And then, like a light being turned on, July 10th the case was dropped!  I was able to come home.  Gresham was with another family for the night so I was unable to see him that day.  But, the following evening, he came home.  He had grown so much, had lost and gained new teeth, and used a whole new slew of vocabulary words!  WOW, was it ever great to be home again.

Tomorrow is the three week mark of my return.  The children have almost forgotten that I had been away for so long, and we are back in the routine of summer here on the farm.  I have a few more weeks before school starts to finish the work around here to get the place back up to speed.

Thanks to all who have prayed for us in this situation.  It has been a rough time, and God has been gracious again. :)