what do you do?

What do you do when a moment comes in your life that punches you in the stomach, and knocks the wind out of you? How do you react? What do you say to the person that gave you the news is someone you know and love? What if the news is about the kids?
What if the words are I have breast cancer from your mother in law? Your very dear friend has had a miscarriage, and you have never had to go through that? Your brother and sister in law tell you they are pregnant, but the baby is not going to live much longer after she is born because her brain never formed correctly? A family member wants children, but it could possibly kill her if she has children? You read on your friends blog, that you have never met, but have been pen pals with for about 8 years, and are certain that if you do meet in this life you would be friends, finds out their 5 year old son has stage four cancer, and they are now fighting for his life? What if someone you love had been raped?
What do you do? How do you react?
My mind is a changing range of emotion this season. All of these things have happened in my life. The words "I'm sorry." Sound so hollow and impersonal. "I'm praying for you." Do you mean it? Do you actually pray for them? Who are you praying to? Do you believe in the power of praying?
When your child is sick and their little heads are heaving over the toilet, or their body is being ravaged by a high fever, and just lay on you all day, don't you wish you were the one that was sick? Don't we all try to keep them safe and healthy? Don't we try to do what is best for them?
Are you thankful that it's not you or your kids, and then are filled with guilt because you thought that? Do you hold your kids closer and kiss them and love on them a little more, and let little things that maybe bothered you, like that loud annoying toy, go?  Do you get down on your knees and bury your face in your hands and cry out to God to bring your loved one comfort and healing? The words to say to try to give comfort to the hurting one? A warm meal to the family in need? Sit quietly with them as you both cry? Clean their house, watch the kids? Does it ever feel like it's enough, or that there should be something more that you could do? Do you hurt when your loved ones or friends hurt? Do you pray for them all day every time you think of them? Are you there for them no matter what?
What do you do? How do you react when life punches you in the stomach and leaves you breathless?

how 'bout some country livin...

Alright, so all day yesterday it snowed. And the wind blew and I mean it was angry wind. I wondered if the roof would blow off. hahah, no really I did! Thankfully it didn't! In the evening after barn chores Matthew comes in the house and wanted me to go outside for a minute so he could show me something. So silly me, I grab a coat and throw it on, in my sneakers no less, no mittens, or hat even, and trudge outside. I couldn't see Matthew, and as I walk out of the shed he grabs me and throws me over his shoulder and throws me into a nice soft snow bank, oops rather snow drift. I shrieked and laughed at the same time as I landed in the snow! Oh it was cold, soft snow! Matthew laughed and helped me up and we went in the house together. I love it when he plays with me like that!
Then this morning is the clean up after the storm! It's chill you to the bone cold this morning with the wind still howling abound the buildings. Your hands freeze the minute you step out into the cold, as do your feet and nose. The animals need to eat and the cow needs to be milked, so you trudge out and do it! I went out to snap some pictures and help feed the animals as Matthew starts plowing the yard. Before I did I put on my oh so feminine carhart suit, OK so it's really Matthews but I wear one too I like to be as warm as possible on a morning like this, hat, gloves and rubber boots, and  go feed the horses. As I start out to the barn it's bare ground, then I hit the snow drift, and it's a whooper of one too! Glad I didn't have the water buckets in hand yet, 10 gallons of water down my legs, and a face full of snow, in this weather would NOT be fun! Been there done that, and will probably happen again too! I fed the horses and the sheep then made my way back into the house caring their frozen solid water buckets, 10 gallons of frozen water! Now the buckets are sitting by the fire place thawing so I can go back out. FUN! Hopefully by then there will be a path to the barn and no snow drifts! Our snow blower would not do the job of snow blowing the drifts. It's like trying to move a rock they get so hard, so Matthew pulled out the big boy! Our tractor! Oh they are so much fun to drive! Our neighbors driveway is very long (I have a picture), and the man that plows his drive is a man that lives over the river and through the woods from us, and he had to get another neighbor to come over with his tractor to go in front of him to plow a path! Oh I just LOVE country living. Neighbors helping out, snow drifts the size of SUVs, my man on our tractor, the fire going to get out that bone chilling coldness! After coming in and warming up with a warm cup of tea Matthew goes back out and finishes up with the snow. All the animals fed, and watered and done until lunch time when they need more food and water, then supper and so on!

Looking out back. I think it looks cold, and it was! burrrrr

This is right out front of our shed. I was on my knees to get this picture. You can see our snow covered  sap house, and buried truck in the drift!

Our neighbors driveway. The man that  plows decided after this and got stuck he better go get a tractor  to finish this job!

The tractor in front, and the plow truck behind! Gotta love country living with a driveway like that!

When is it going to stop?! You can see part of a drift there too! Ever feel like this?

She thinks my tractors sexy...!!! Yup I do! My man!!

I went in Abby's stall and took this picture. That snow drift is right in front of her door!!You can see her hoof marks in the snow! Yikes! Shes happily munching on hay beside me, thats her head! Time Out is still in her stall beside Abby's.

Christmas face????

Well, now that Christmas is over I'm glad. I love Christmas, but at the same time, it's tiring. I feel like I'm in a brain fog, and the past week is kinda a blurrrrr. I'm glad that we are on home school break. The kids are exhausted and have what my family refers to as "Christmas face". I wanted a nice family picture at my parents, but it didn't happen. Are you kidding me?? The kids are all in a daze and I don't know how it would have turned out! Funny thing I guess that is why people have their picture before Christmas, before all the... you fill in the blanks! My living room looks like Santa's work shop gifts everywhere, no furniture to sit on, and well basically a mess! Tomorrow it's time to get things back in order! The kids love all their new stuff, and have been enjoying them today, after church. I don't think they ate very much today, I think they are still full of all the "food" they ate yesterday. Emma and Rachel have the sniffles, and lets hope that it doesn't get any worse. I bought some more of the worlds best orange juice (it's Florida Natural No Pulp, if you were wondering) today and need to stock up on some vitamin c! Every once in a while I'll call my sister (OK, so almost everyday) and say hey, have you ever tried..... and she'll say no and I'll tell her to go get some next time she goes shopping, and then a few days later she'll call me back and say thank you very much for my new obsession. I giggle and say your welcome. But in all fairness she now returns the favor to me!! We enjoy increasing each others grocery budget! Matthew, myself and a brother in law went to Massachusetts last January to see Joel Salatin at a conference (totally worth EVERY penny we spent to go) and on the way back I wanted to stop at the Cracker Barrel, well it was late and I saw they had Florida Natural OJ on the menu. I ordered a glass and as I gulped some down I almost spit it out in my brother in laws face! It was all pulp! In case you haven't guessed I hate the pulp. Oh I was sooooo disappointed. Matthew tried it and he couldn't even drink it. It must have been most pulp. Sigh. Needless to say when I got home I had a big tall glass of it, no pulp and was a happy girl again! I usually always have oj in my fridge! I know that was kinda "ping" on my part, but that is where my brain is tonight.....
My grandmother gave me some nice yarn and some new knitting needles for a gift this year! I was pleased, now I can maybe try my hand at following a pattern, and have some yarn to do it with. Maybe. You know those winter projects I want to do? I'll carve out some time and make myself do it. I'll have to get some face time with my grandmother and have her show me. I think I might stress her out though! We'll see!
I was a little surprised when Matthew came flying in the house and said I needed to milk Maggie tonight, because he was going to help someone get out of the field, (yup some smuck drove their car into the field and got stuck. Big surprise!)  I got all the stuff together and went out, feeling rushed, and when I  sat down on the stool to milk, Maggie sensed I was tense, and she proceeded to step on my foot and flick her tail in my face. She turned her head back and looked at me with her big brown doe eyes and blinked. Then we both sighed. I needed to chill out and Maggie knew it. I guess that is why she stepped on my freezing foot and hit me in the face with her tail. I started milking and got into the rhythm of it and felt my body relax and the tension leave my body. By the time I was done milking I was enjoying the sounds I was hearing in the cold winter night. Matthew and some other neighbors got the person out of the field and all was well, again.
Well, I've put up some pictures and maybe your mouth will water, or not. Maybe you'll be thankful it's at my house instead of yours. Sometimes while I'm in the midst of all this cooking and baking I wonder why do I do this to myself? Lets call it tradition, and I love it!

My second attempt at fudge. It came out smooth and creamy the way fudge is supposed to be! Yay!

These are the donuts I usually make. More of a cake donut.  Love this recipe, they are so good! I got the recipe from my mother in law. Makes my mouth water just looking at them! 

Some of the holiday treats. Cheesecake, pumpkin bread, fudge,  Reese squares, peanut butter balls, and needhams!

New donuts I tried for Christmas breakfast! Gasp! I broke a long time family  tradition of sticky buns and had yeast donuts, with a glaze instead!! They were a big hit!  I'd never made a yeast donut before and found out just how much they rise, all down the side of the bowl and onto the shelf in the fridge! They popped the cover right off the container! Oops, guess I better split the recipe before I put it in the fridge, or get a bigger bowl!! Oh well, chalk it up to a lesson learned, and a laugh!

Merry Christmas everyone!

aahhh some chocolate fun...

DaLaney adding some peanut butter to the mixture. Emma making sure she got it all!

Packing down the Reese squares!

Some silly fun on the floor!

Matthew adding some more peanut butter! Emma peeking again. She tried her hand at getting the peanut butter out of the cup, and decided she didn't like that job!

Emma adding some powdered sugar to the bowl! DaLaney looking on!

DaLaney getting chocolate on the peanut butter balls!

The kiddos mixing!

Rachel getting chocolate on the Needhams!

Every Christmas season we make chocolates. I've let the kids help me too, lets call it a tradition in our family. They love to be in the kitchen with me, helping me cook. It's good practice for them so when they get older they will feel comfortable in the kitchen, and be confident chefs! Sometimes they argue about who gets to help wipe the dishes! Ah to have such a problem! I got these recipes from my Grandmother who still makes chocolates for everyone in the family. That's a lot of chocolate! She does it throughout the though. She always asks me on Christmas if I've made chocolates.Then wonders how I find the time with all the other stuff going on in my life! I have tried to do different ones every year and some of the same, but this year I've only made our favorites. So far we have had a blast making them. I managed to get a large blob of chocolate on my finger and Emma said "Mommy, I would really love to lick your finger right now!" I laughed and let her have the chocolate blob off my finger! She smacked her lips and smiled as she swallowed it, savoring the taste! I'll have some more pictures to share later on and the end result. Can't wait! And the dreaded fudge too. I'm gonna try it, again!  The kids are wanting to finish up and so am I!

hahahahahahahaha.....

Beware of the sheep! If you look close you can see the black sheep, Daisy, inside the shed! Not to mention the kids bikes in front of the doorway and a displaced dog peaking around the truck!

What's wrong with this picture???

OK, so I couldn't resist the urge to put up a couple funny pictures! The guard sheep in the shed, and our Christmas tree with half the lights out! I noticed that this afternoon when I turned the lights on and the tree didn't look as bright! Will be fun taking them off and putting up new ones, lets see how many decorations I can knock off in the meantime! 

random thoughts or soapbox?

As I sit here and munch on chex party mix, drinking some yummy blueberry lemonade, and watching the fire burn out of the corner of my eye, the house is quiet, the kids are in bed and happily snoring in their dream worlds getting a good night sleep I find myself thinking about Christmas. I think that sometimes people get too caught up on the gifts, and not the thought of what they are giving. "Oh lets just get something because it's a good deal", ie (black Friday). One of my many sister in laws went shopping on that particular day and told me some pretty funny, err crazy stories about what she saw. I wonder if any got put on you tube, haha. All the hype, and what a let down. I've never been shopping on black Friday, and don't think I will either. Personally I'd rather not get caught up in all the hype.  I'd rather buy someone, that I love, something nice, that I put thought into, and actually thought about the person I bought the gift for. If someone is to buy me a gift, and I don't expect any, I want thought put into it, not a price tag. To me that is what matters when buying a gift, the thought, not the cost.

I went shopping the other day, Saturday actually, was not looking forward to it because it was the last Saturday before Christmas, and well, it was Saturday. I was actually surprised it wasn't that bad. The traffic was heavy, but I think overall the people were not screaming at each other! I was able to get my shopping done, but the line for the checkout was very long. I only got one dirty look from a woman in front of me about how long it was taking. The cashier was not very friendly, but neither was she rude, ( you know, like I was interrupting her). I overheard someone in front of me ask if it was OK to say Merry Christmas in that store to their customers. How sad.

I bought some stuff to make fudge, and actually made it, and it was a disaster! I've only made fudge a few times, and  I followed the recipe, something I don't always do, to the letter, and it was not a good result. It didn't come out smooth and creamy, but rather clumpy and flaky. The marshmallows didn't melt, and the chocolate must have burnt! I'm not really sure, but it's not good. Guess I'll toss it and try again. Chalk it up to a fudge learning experience!! Oh well!

Christmas tree o Christmas tree!!

With the lights on. OK so not the best pictures, but you get the idea. See all the Christmas books to the left of the tree? Great books! The craziness of the ornaments, and the carousel horses under the tree. Emma always asks for the carousel, and she sets it up under the tree!

With the lights off... wonder who knocked off the lights on the bottom??

Yesterday Matthew and Little Matt went out in the woods and cut down our  tree! I wish I had a picture of Little Matt's face when he dragged that big 'ol tree through the front door, and the huge grin on his face his blue eyes sparkling with excitement! What a wonderful surprise for the end of the day!  It's big and full and I love it! For a wild tree it really looks nice, and with the lights and decorations the kids put on, it's great! Matthew and I put the lights on it first. Every time we put the lights on I think of that very funny song that I love about the lights on the tree. Not sure what it's called, but the man is trying to get the lights on his house and then he's yelling by the end of it "Oh when one blinks they all blink, if your so smart, do it yourself!" I laugh and holler at Matthew, in a teasing way, every year those lines as we untangle the lights! We both laugh, and the kids think I'm crazy! It's moments like that, that I enjoy being able to be silly with my family, and just enjoy their company. Every year we buy a new ornament for the kids to put on the tree. Then when they have their own trees in their own homes they will have some decorations to put on it, and maybe carry on that family tradition. My parents did that for us girls, and now that we are grown and have kids of our own we all do it for our kids. Actually Mom still gets us a tree ornament.

My Christmas blanket. I'd like to knit this well, someday!

I love the Christmas season! It's such a joy even more so with the kids getting older and really feeling the excitement of the holiday and the true meaning of Christmas. My grandmother made me a Christmas blanket that I put over the couch, and it's so pretty, and festive. It keeps me warm as I sit on the couch curled up with it, hot coco in hand, the fire going in the wood stove, and my favorite Christmas movie on, Irving Berlins White Christmas! Oh I just love that movie! Or with the kids piled on me reading one of our wonderful Christmas books! Just to name a few, Rocking Horse Christmas, The Crippled Lamb, The Legend of the Candy Cane, Stranger in the Woods, I could list more, but I think you get the picture! We all look forward to digging out the holiday movies, books and music, to enjoy all month!

fellow canners!!!

I was very pleased the other day when Matthew put an envelope in front of me and I opened it up and found some Tattler canning lids! BPA (Bisphenol A) FREE!! A sample and some information about them and an order form!

This past summer we went to the MOFGA fair to a root cellering discussion and the woman mentioned that BPA was in the canner lids. Honestly I never thought about it. Horrors! I thought! Not that I was surprised, disgusted more like it. So that set us on a new hunt, no, we did not get any BPA free lids this year, but next year we hope to get some. The woman also mentioned she had not used them, but some people she knew had, and they had mentioned that they had, had a hard time getting them to seal. Well, now I was wondering if any of you had used BPA free lids and what your opinion of them was, and if there were other brands that you liked better or what have you! Being what some would say an avid canner, I would hate to have to re-can my stuff, it's a lot of work, but on the flip side, the health of my family is worth the effort. Even if it means canning all my goods, again! 

This rain is making a mess of everything here. The kids were so disappointed this morning when they woke up and the snow was gone, along with the little forts they had built, and spent hours playing in! We can't get the tractor in the fields to spread some horse manure, or we could but that is one adventure I would rather not try! Imagine the pictures! Seeings how I'm on the subject of, no not manure, but the farm, Maggie is in heat. We may have missed it by morning. The AI  tech never called us back, so now that would set us back even more. But we have been keeping a very close eye on her and looking for "the signs" and she was bellowing this afternoon, hanging out where the meat birds chicken tractor is. Gotta tell you Matthew and I were out in the horse barn this afternoon fixing Time Outs stall and he was singing and whistling away, and Maggie started bellowing at him! She was standing at the edge of the fence looking at the barn!! Oh my was that funny! I guess they were having a duet! Matthew thought that was funny too and kept on singing! Anyways now we shall see about tomorrow and maybe the AI tech will get back to us and we can get her bred, again. I know we only have an 18 hour window, so... 

ahh garden work...

Do you remember when I blogged about all my tomatoes? Well here they are, a few pictures anyways! We had 18 tomato plants this year and they produced lots of tomatoes! I think I had 5-6 bushels of them over the course of the summer! I was very pleased with that too. I had to buy spaghetti sauce last winter when my supply ran out, boy I hated to do that! If I can do it myself, I'd rather do it, and with the food we eat, I like to know where it's coming from. Besides, my husband loves my sauce, and he hates pasta! So I get to eat pasta and he likes the flavor of it!! Win win for both I think! My mouth just waters looking at these beautiful tomatoes, all warm and juicy from the summer heat, just begging to be picked and turned into a tomato sandwich, grilled cheese and tomato,  mozzarella cheese, oh the list goes on and on!! I think you get the picture! We had enough tomatoes for pasta sauce, pizza sauce, and some stewed tomatoes for soups this winter! I'd like to try ketchup, and salsa next year. I think my supply will last until next summer too! I like that, knowing I have a beautiful cubbord, made by my husband, filled with our canned goods to eat and enjoy the fruit of our hands this winter! I find something very satisfying about working in the garden, getting my hands brown with dirt, sweat dripping down my back, the kids happily picking right along beside me. Knowing all the hard work of gardening and canning will be worth it come winter. Something in Maine we are always preparing for! Speaking of winter I better go and get some wood on the fire before it goes out!

One of 18 tomato plants loaded with tomatoes! If you look close you can see the green ones!

I love the way the sun was hitting this tomato cluster! 

This is one of the many bushels of tomatoes I canned this summer!

The final products! The small one is pizza sauce, then pasta sauce, then stewed tomatoes! Yummy!

winter projects...

Well I guess now that the snow is now here, probably to stay I have a little more time to do some other non-farm projects. No hay to get in before it rains, you know the typical farm things. I am working on a baby blanket for a friend of mine, who is having a girl, in case you couldn't tell from the wonderful color of the blanket. I don't think the camera did the color justice, it's called strawberry, by Simply Soft and I love it! The stitch is a seed stitch, what a pain, but I love the way the patten comes out. One of my sisters tells me I'm crazy to make another blanket in the seed stitch, but... what can I say I'm a glutton for punishment!! haha!! I think maybe I'll step outside my comfort zone of my limited ability of knitting and actually get and follow a pattern! (There is one that I want to try, and was going to for this blanket, but procrastinated, and didn't get it done). My grandmother would be proud to here that. She shutters every time I call with a knitting question, and she asks what pattern I'm using, and I say "Oh I'm just winging it!" I can see her shuddering now as I type that! So I think I'll try a pattern with some left over yarn, this winter and count the stitches and all!! Yeah! Maybe I'll keep you posted, if I actually do that. I  know of a few more friends that are expecting babies next year so maybe..... I should go and finish the blanket, the baby shower is on Saturday, and I have some knitting left to do to finish her gift!! But before you go check out the blanket!!

check out my view!

I can see the flickering of the fire in our wood stove, yellow and red out of the corner of my eye and feel it's warmth spreading all over me and the house keeping out the cold, almost winter night air. I though of the beautiful sunsets that I get to enjoy almost all year long here on the farm, and wanted to share two of the sunsets we had this year. They are all different and breathtakingly beautiful, like a painter that turns the plain white canvas into something spectacular with the colors coming off the canvas and screaming "here I am!" I never tire of looking at the sunsets. Even when we are crazy busy on the farm I am sometimes shocked to see the time slipping into darkness and the sun peeks out from behind a cloud and sets it on fire with it's beauty. Both of these pictures were taken from across the street from our farm. I can see the sunset from my large kitchen window, but sometimes wonder outside with the camera to try to capture it's beauty, or just enjoy watching the sun fade down behind the mountains. I feel blessed with such a view and have enjoyed it for 11 years! Matthew and I have often said that one of the hardest things to leave behind when we settle our own land will be the sunsets that we have enjoyed here! We hopefully will have a spectacular view from our farm and will become native to that land! I hope you enjoy them too! 

This has to be my favorite picture of the sunset! I never get tired of looking at it.  It reminds me of my Creator that His art work is timeless.

Ahhh the beauty of life!

meet the crew...

Well this is us!!

Abby & Time Out

 

                                                                 Minty, DaLaney & Daisy
                                      DaLaney loves her sheep, and as you can see they love her too!

The great mousers Laural and Hardy! They are great cats and are fun to watch too. We are very pleased that they are such good hunters and best buddies!

Back Row: Little Matt, & DaLaney
Front Row: Emma & Rachel 

Amy & Matthew

Magnolia aka Maggie
This is not at our farm, it is where we bought her. She was dry and going to calve in the middle of July!

Welcome high speed!! Very excited to have it, now I can share pictures! I don't have any pictures of the chickens that we have left, so I'll have to get one!! We put a heat light in the chicken coop, on a timer, so maybe they will lay eggs. I hate buying eggs at the store. I only use them for cooking, and I have a craving for egg mcmuffins and bacon too!! Oh well, we'll see!

update on time out...

We have been continuing Time Outs driving training. Say that fast! It's a mouthful! She's doing well with it too. She still gags and chews on the bit, but it gives her something to think about. We put the driving reins on her this afternoon, and I was the lucky one to walk behind her. Matthew walked beside her, and would signal me when he wanted me to gently pull back on the reins to get her to "whoa." Matthew would say whoa and I would gently put pressure on her mouth, to get her used to the feel of pressure on her mouth and link that to stopping. She did well. Abby was in the barn eating hay, and didn't seem to care, this time. Last time we worked with Time Out, Abby threw a fit! Running around bucking, kicking and neighing with great effort!  (I think she was wanting to be part of it too. I used to drive her.) We will continue to work with Time Out with the driving reins and see how she goes.  She once in a while she will dance sideways and throw her head, but with a quick snap of the lead and a firm "no" she settles down .She's very willing to learn and work. She is still young and there is still a good space in her knees, so we can't work her too hard, or we could damage her legs, and we don't want to do that. We are just taking it slow and easy, Time Out likes it like that. Matthew has a comforting voice and is slow and quiet with her, and she responds well to him.
We have acquired a "new" sleigh, and Matthew and some friends are out getting it now, and now we hope to be literally singing "oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh!!!" this winter! We had a delivery to make earlier this summer to a farm, and we saw it out and thought hhuuummmm... Well anyone that knows Matthew knows he's not one to let that sort of thing just go. He looked at me, looked at the sleigh, looked at me again, and got back out of the van. The kids and I just sat in the van and waited. Well, the owner of said sleigh was not home but the people that worked there said call him, so that night Matthew called him. The man never got back to him, so we figured it was a no go, but yesterday he (Matthew) ran into him and the guy was like just come get it, and get it outta there!! OK! So that is where he is now! Very excited about that. Now with the fore cart, and the sleigh we are all set to go for rides. And with Time Out in training we are praying things continue to go well and can enjoy it all!! I will keep you posted in our progress, and any rides we take, good or bad!

good quote

"Take the time to enjoy the humor of the farm. Watch the calves run across the field, kicking up their heels. Tussle with your children in the hay mow after the last bale is in. Enjoy the sunset." Joel Salatin, Family Friendly Farming (book)
Reminds me of the day Time Out jumped over a 3 foot snow drift last year! She was feeling frisky after the snow storm, her first winter and she loved it! Just running, jumping, kicking and rolling around in the snow, being a baby in her first winter here on the farm!

testing...

The sap evaporator, "saperator" is home and almost all set up for this spring! In with the new, out with the old, it's in the sap house and looks good. Matthew, Little Matt and one of Matthew's brothers came over to help set it up. Needs a few tweaks and a few more things and it will be finished and will be ready for boiling! Can't wait!
The rest of Thanksgiving week was well, horrible to say the least. I found out that something on the sawmill broke as well. Not sure if it's been fixed or not. The insurance company still has not even looked at the van, and we've been using my in-laws cars, and then last Sunday we lost the heater core, again! So it's back at the garage. The garage that has fixed it has been great to deal with too. Hopefully they will continue to be that way! And today Matthew found a hole in the tractor tent! And if it continues it will rip out the top and the tractor will not be covered! Aaaaaahhhhghggg. But the good news is it can be fixed. Called the company and it's only 20$ to get a patch kit, and he'll eat the shipping charge. Maggie should be coming into heat in the next few weeks as well.

The other day we went up into the back field, behind our neighbors house and cut some hay, that would have been second crop had we gotten to it, and piled it on the hay wagon loose and are feeding it to the horses. They like it and have been eating it right up! Little Matt drove the tractor, I pitched it on the wagon, Matthew tromped it down on the wagon, and the girls ran around giggling. DaLaney wanted to drive the tractor, but Daddy said not yet. Maybe next summer. Was fun!