10 years later . . .

MANY years ago, Miss Leisa came on one of her many visits to the US.  That year was 2004.  And since she is here now, EXACTLY 10 years later, it was only appropriate to take another photo just like the one back then.  This photo is the one now, with some of the children grown, some a lot older, and a new addition to the family.  

ice skating . . .

Over the Christmas break this year I took the children ice skating. This is the seven year old at it!

Let it snow. . .

The weekend has brought another surprise, snow! Actually not a surprise at all, being that we have had PLENTY of snow these past couple weeks. Nevertheless, the aftereffect of the latest snowfall was BEAUTIFUL . . .

Our beautiful foal. . .

We now have an official "flock" of sheep!

These past couple days have been those of enjoying the snow, from the comfort of right next to the stove :)

Post by MacyAnne

Christmas break 2013 . . .

Christmas 2013 has come and gone . . . even though I am STILL on Christmas break!  The weather has been so cold here that school has been cancelled for now the THIRD day in a row.  Certainly no complaints from me.  In fact, it has given me a few days to do all the projects I have wanted to do over the break, but didn't do because I spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME watching online television shows.  :)

This past break started out with all of us sick for two to three days.  And then just about a day or two before Christmas we all got our "sorts" back and started watching the television series of ALIAS.  Three to four episodes a day, with some food and chores intermingled, made up most of the days.  We did do a couple of outings, like ice skating, and visiting friends, but most of the time was spent watching shows.  (now we are on the first series of LOST)

For Christmas this year I got the children the types of things they wanted/needed.  It seems the older they get, the harder it is to find things that they will enjoy and use.  I spend most of the year listening to the types of things they talk about, then try to use the information I gather to get them items the really want.  It is always a guessing game for parents, and I am glad that I have the type of children that are content with whatever I give them.  And this year was no different.  It seemed that they all were elated with what I got for them, and what they got/made for each other.

And we also made some newer updates to the house this season as well.  Since our oven went out several months ago, (we do have a basement kitchen with an oven/and a wood cook oven as well) I replaced the old oven with a new scratch/dent buy that I got a GREAT deal on.  And it was the EXACT same size as the hole in the cabinet.

 And since I replaced the oven with stainless steel, I sold the fairly new white refrigerator to a friend, and got the matching Frigidaire side by side refrigerator.  Something that I had originally wanted anyway.

 And then there was the white dish washer that we never used.  We always hand wash the dishes, so I removed the unit and replaced it with a storage barrel and our old style ice cream maker.  I plan to have a cabinet built in it that matches the rest of the kitchen.

 And since the children were young, we always had the same chairs/love seat that we used in the music room.  They are all older now and often spend time in that room playing music with friends.  I wanted to create a more comfortable place for them to "be," so I replaced the older pieces with a couple of gently used items.  A friend from town that owns a used furniture store gave me a great deal on some used Ashley Furniture pieces that now complete the music/living room.

 And today was the day to take all the decorations down.  :(  I LOVE having Christmas decor for the holiday time.  Down came the tree, and the snowflakes that the children cut and taped to the door.

I am jazzed that I have another day of this break time tomorrow.  I'll probably spend the time shoveling so I can drive the car down the lane for school on Thursday.  That's IF we have it!

just a farmer . . .

So today I am taking in some of the scrap metal that we have in our woods.  It has been three years that I have wanted to get it out, and this summer is the time.

As I am on the way to the metal recycle plant, the phone company men that are working on the new poles slow me down and have me drive on the side of the road so as not to get hit by a loose pole, or their truck.  I recognized the guy who was waving me to the side because he had been to the farm to buy eggs a few weeks earlier.  He lives in Toledo, Ohio, a large city on the north part of the state.  To him, I am just a guy that sold him eggs from my farm.  He has no idea that I spent most of my life in a large city.  In fact, several times larger than the one he now lives in.

So as I pass slowly by, I lean a little out of the window and say "hey boss" and wave a little.  He responds with a nod and a "hey" back.  And after passing, I look in the rear view mirror and hear him say "hey, you are that farmer guy . . ." as he remembered that he had bought eggs at my farm.  To him, I am a farmer.  I am not a teacher.  Not a professional in any way.  To him, just a plain farmer.

And I drove on down the road a little honored.  :)

hot days . . .

Since it has been really hot the past several days, I moved the cooking to the basement kitchen.  A few nights ago we had deep fried zucchini, onion rings, and bass fish.  It was great to be in a somewhat cool room while the deep fryer was on.

And deep fried zucchini is one of my ALL TIME favorite fried foods.  I sliced them in a french fry cutter and used a light batter of flour, milk, garlic, salt and pepper.  I fried them crispy (because we all like them that way) in a deep fryer full of peanut oil.  Dipped in a little ranch style dressing . . . OOH they are good!

And to break the evening heat, a couple of days ago I sat out front with some great neighbors/friends enjoying some Redd's Apple Ale.  Dar and Darlene live a few miles down the road and have been a wonderful couple that have made all of us feel welcome in our home in NW Ohio.  They are not only kind/welcoming people, but they are also very giving people.  That evening they brought over some extra zucchini and cucumbers from their garden to share with us.

in the wind . . .

 Call me crazy, but I love doing laundry.  Especially the line drying part.  There is something wonderful about air-fresh smelling sheets, towels, and clothes.  And I enjoy the stiffness that comes with it as well.

 Last year in July,  I taught Maine and Asher how to sort clothes, and how to use the washer.  The older three had already learned how to wash their own clothes.  The next step on the country venture was to make use of the natural dryer.

We had two makeshift clothes lines and I required all of the children (except Gresham) to line dry their clothes.  I was hoping to transfer my laundry passion and they too would be hooked on clothes that smelled and felt FRESH.  We were using natural Charlie's Soap for all the washing and trying to use as many natural products in the house as possible.  And as of two days ago, it has been a year since we have used the basement dryer (minus a couple of emergency situations).

I had the poles made three years ago our first summer here.  They just sat in the machine barn until a month ago.  Each of the children spent a little time digging holes for me and Asher and I set the poles in concrete.  It took me so long to get them in the ground because I wanted to make sure the line was put in an efficient, assessable place.  It had to be running north and south, and somewhat close to the basement door.  And it looks like I found a great spot for it!  The clothes WHIP in the wind, and when it is warm out, they dry in minutes.

In addition, Macy and I started on the second pergola last weekend.  I had her help me erect the uprights and attach one of the cross beams.  I had the wood purchased from the first one I built and so it was a matter of just putting it together.  Once I am finished I will be able to plant some trumpet vines along the bottom of it like I did the other.  My goal is to have the vines take over the structure so it creates a shady spot to rest in while working in the garden areas.

only on a farm . . .

Butterscotch has a new little baby to tend to now.  One that does not look like the rest!  But certainly has joined the rest in getting some of mother's milk.

Our retriever is an avid hunter.  She captures and brings back all sorts of animals for us to see.  Most of the time she just plays with them.  If she is hungry, she eats them.  The other day she brought up a little baby bunny for us to check out.  Gresham noticed that she had brought her up to the house, and brought the little animal in the house to show me.  WHILE I WAS STILL IN BED.  :)

The children decided to let the cat mother her since she was so small.  So far so good.  She licks her, nurses her, and carries her around like she does all the other kittens.  Fascinating how all that works.

So now all we are waiting on here on the farm is our milk cow Janey to calve.  She is due any time now.  And it will be nice to be back in milk at the house.

This spring we have had:  10 puppies, 5 kittens, 2 sheep, 1 foal, and our soon-to-be calf.  Yeah for farm life.

future talks . . .

I am more and more fascinated with living on a farm. There is SO much work to do.  And it never ends.  I knew a few years ago that it was going to take tons of work to run a place like this.  I don't think I knew how constant the work was going to be.  Just the daily upkeep can be daunting!  And I wondered why, as I am getting older, that I would want to add more work to my life.

 

Most men who arrive at my age have settled into their favorite chair, ritually, and developed a long term relationship with a professional sports team.  Others bury themselves in work and only have relationship with family members at dinner time.  And some are just plain absent.

 

I bought into the idea of this farm thing because my children wanted to move from the city to a farm.  They wanted animals, woods, pastures, open spaces to play, enjoy, and learn from.  They wanted to be INVOLVED with nature.  Not just watch it on television.  And now it is great to see them involved.  Interacting with the world God has created.  Finding joy in just BEING outside, soaking up the beauty in the simplest things;  Like the moonlight on a summer night.



 Yesterday we went to pick up a new/used canoe.  I sold this one on craigslist and got a sturdier one for the children since they are all getting bigger now.  I was afraid that they were going to put their foot through the thin layer of fiberglass on this one.

During our trip to pick up the canoe, Macy and I were having one of our "future" talks again.  The kind of talk that speculates what the future may look like for our family.  It is great to hear young teenagers talk about growing up, getting married, staying close to home, and wanting their children to be friends with their sibling's children.  Her vision consisted of her and her siblings owning a few of the home that are close here to the farm.  Them and their children keeping animals here, and always being part of "grandpa's" farm.  The children floating from aunt/uncle/cousin houses staying with each other, coming down to the farm to help grandpa out with chores, and spending our lives working together to create a wonderful place for all of them to enjoy, learn from, and be connected to.

 I LOVE hearing vision like that.  Especially from my own children!  Vision like that is full of care.  Full of what God intended for families to think and believe.

 

What are the chances that will happen?  Probably slim to none.  I'm not a doomsday believer, but chances are they will all get on with their lives, scatter themselves across the country, and come to visit me once in awhile here at the farm.  That's OK.  That's part of life.  Part of becoming independent.  And my grandpa days are not here for a little while longer.  We still have some time to mill things over.  :)

 

So, all that to say that I am doing it for them.  I am creating more work now for myself so that potentially they will have a place for their children to be part of.  And along the way, I REALLY ENJOY living here and doing the work.  It beats watching TV in my book.

 

And on a side note, we now have 12 gallons of cherries in the freezer for this winter when fruit runs scarce.  I just washed and froze them pits and all!

sun setting . . .

Yesterday late morning, as I stared out of the kitchen window, I noticed a new foal had joined our farm.  At first I was not thinking that Lady had her foal.  But a second later, I yelled for the others to come and see the new addition to our farm!

 She is a Full Quarter Horse and has a lovely white marking on her head.  We are all hoping that she "grays out" as she gets older since the Sire is a full gray stallion.

 And it is hard to pass up taking great shots of Gresham with such a BEAUTIFUL sunset happening.  The other night it seemed almost magical outside the way the sun was setting in the sky.  God has a great sense of "live" painting here on the farm.