Fresh Garden Potatoes!

I decided that it's about time for me to start walking once again.  I've let my life get a little bit out of order in so many ways that it's time to get back on track and stop neglecting myself.  I know when I take care of myself, I have more time to take care of others. 

 

I woke up at 7 o'clock this morning, a little later than I would like to get up, but that's better than what I've been doing.  I'm working on not staying up so late so I can get up earlier.  The day seems to be so much longer when I get up early.

Our garden is pretty much done for the summer but we still have a lot of potatoes in the ground.  On my way back home from my walk, I stopped in the garden to "dig" up as many as I could carry in my shirt that I turned into a little "pouch".   

The only things to fall upon these Kennebec potatoes were rain and sunshine; nothing else.

So far, out of all of the things that we grew in the garden this year, potatoes have been my favorite thing to harvest.

It's almost like magic!

I pull away the hay that we used for mulch, and there, just under the dirt, these amazing treasures sit.  

 Everyday is a gift!  

And so is the ability to garden.  

I look forward to getting another chance in the future to see what it is that we can harvest. 

Happy Gardening!

September 2015

Sandy

 

Barnyard Clean-Up -- "Clearing Land" for..............................

Coming Soon!!

Fresh milk, homemade ice cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, and cheese.

Plans are underway for the new milking barn that we're going to build.  

Landon has a Jersey heifer that's due in a month or so and we'll need a place to milk her.  

Then soon after that, if all goes well, we'll have 2 more Jersey's following suit.  

 

This is the first phase to prepare the site for the new barn. 

 

These are our "spooky" trees that we had to cut down!

No really, these trees have never had very many leaves since we moved here, so instead of thinking that they'll come back "full and bushy", we assumed they were dead.  

So down they came.  

It would have been nice to keep them because they looked really interesting, but a dead tree can be a dangerous thing.  Even so, it was hard to see them go, especially now since the road out to the pasture looks so bare--but hopefully not for too long because......................... 

...............................I was thinking that a few sugar maple trees lining the road would look

 really nice planted close to where these trees came down, so we'll see.

The limbs of the trees all but fell apart as we were moving them to the fire.

This tree was so stubborn!  

Oh, and not the best way to take a tree down.  Thankfully no one was hurt!

 

I know you can't tell from this picture, but these little fire piles are from the old barn that was left by the previous owner before we got here.  Unfortunately, most of this wood was rotten so we just burned it where it was instead of trying to move it.  Once this is cleaned up, nails and all, we'll have a little more work to do before we can start building the new barn.

We're going to try and use as many natural resources here on the farm as we possibly can.  So that means lot's of trees and rocks, and mostly, lots and lots of muscle and sweat.

Roast Beef Anyone?

Kuzco, our Jersey bull, came over to check out the fire.  

Now don't you think he would have known it was hot and walked away?  Oh, No!!  

Barrett had to shoo him away a few times before he became roast beef!

As soon as we start moving forward with the barn, we'll post some more pictures.
Until then, enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!!
 

Smiles!!

Sandy

September 2015 

 

I'm in Love, I'm in Love, and I Don't Care Who Knows It!!!

Albuquerque, NM from the top of the Sandia Crest Mountain.

Trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico

Last week Landon, Tanner, Emma, and I returned from our almost two week trip to New Mexico for the  *ABQ Fashion Incubator "Boot Camp".  (More about that in another post.)

We've never been that far southwest, and it seemed to me that we were in a foreign country; not so much by the people we met, but by the terrain of the state.  Once we left the plains of Texas, all the "greenness" soon disappeared from our view.

The clouds are amazing in New Mexico!

New Mexico

I've heard very little, if really anything at all of adobe/cob houses.
(The link above will take you to some ideas of the endless possibilities one can create.)

My only exposure to them has either been through movies, pictures, or from a girl from our church who recently gave a missionary report. There, they built an earth home of some sort.  Quite honestly, I didn't really like the look of those earthy houses from what I had seen.  To me, they either looked very warm or just plain, hot! 

A quick driveby snap shot of some adobe houses in Albuquerque.
(I am so fascinated at the fact that these houses have been built all over the world!  
Oh, if I could only go and visit them!! ) 

 One of the first places we stopped, in Albuquerque, was a little coffee shop that was an adobe.  As soon as we walked inside, I was instantly "in love" with this building.  It's hard to describe the "feeling" that it had on me; but, instantly, I felt the warmth of this place.  Oh, how I wish I had the words to tell you!

The house was over a hundred years old and it was made with adobe bricks.  The owners showed us around the house-turned-coffee-shop, and told us what was original to the building and where the addition had started.

In the backyard, towards the back of the yard, they had--"built" into their landscape--the hundred year old wooden frames that were used to build the adobe bricks for the house.  Off to the side of the frames, were some extra adobe bricks sitting in an organized pile that looked to be part of the fence.

My world just exploded!!

I was in LOVE!!

You know, sometimes I just wonder, what. is. wrong. with. Me?  I'm not normal!!  

Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated with the making of things and how they are put together.  Since I'm not afraid to try something new, I'm always putting things together and creating.  Of course, there are some things I enjoy doing more than others; but when it comes to purchasing things, my first thought is--"I can make that so why buy it?!"

If you ask my family, I'm sure they will tell you that I drive them crazy at times because I'm constantly coming up with news ideas for us to do.

If I was normal, I think I would find different ways to use my time and not waste so much of my mental energy thinking of what I/we can do next.  I don't like to just sit around and be idle; and when I say idle, I mean wasting time.  What I really mean is, I like things to be a certain way and when I'm happy with the way things are then I'll leave them alone, but until then, I'm always wanting to, "Just make it right, pretty, comfortable, and homey, etc." (you know what I mean).

Oh, if could only wake up every day and just do life and be happy, I would.  I'm just not that way and don't think I ever will be.  I've even prayed that the Lord would make me "normal" and take this crazy creative side away from me!

Now don't get me wrong, I love to be home and do things around the house!  I love being a wife, mom, and a home maker!  I just can't only do that!  I need to be creative.   

I love people!  But not cyber people, real people that I can touch, laugh and cry with.  I need to be able to read their expressions and really get to know them!

Whew!..................
I was really going off on an tangent, wasn't I?  Alright, I'm going back to the reason for this post.

This trip has really opened up my and my families eyes to what is possible in the world of "natural" building.  There is no limit to what we can do if we put our minds to it.

   Even if I had all the money in the world, (which I never will and that's more than fine) I would still do things myself--there is so much satisfaction in getting your hands dirty and completing a project!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We now have some plans to do some natural building here on the farm.  We'll see where those ideas take us--so keep in touch.

Here is a quote from the MaryJane'sFarm magazine that I just brought home.   

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass 
under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the 
murmur of water or watching the clouds 
float across the blue sky, is by no means a waste of time." 
 John Lubbock, 1894

Oh, and, just so you know; as much as I love people, I also have a very strong need to be by myself reading a good book or spending time alone with the Lord so I can rejuvenate myself--
I just couldn't function without my down time.
Happy Dreaming!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*Yes, we know that Landon is called Tanner in the photo.  He didn't want me to let Kathleen know.  Funny!  I should really tell her, I think.  Kathleen called the boys by different names because we didn't know at the time we signed up for the class, which two of the six boys were going to be able to go to the "Boot Camp" and she needed to get the dog tags printed.

Our official dog tags from "Boot Camp".

Sandy

September 2015