camp out

About a week or so ago my boy went on an overnight camp out with the cub scouts, and some boy scouts. They were in a cow pasture on one of the cub scout leaders back yard. How cool is that for a boy?! They got to camp out with no adults in the tent with them and they even had a camp fire, but had some supervision with that. They had to bring food and cook it on the camp fire too. Yup they had to do their own cooking and washing their own plates. We were so thankful that the rain held off on that Saturday mid morning when he left. They went on a nature hike as well. It did rain during the night, but they managed to stay mostly dry! Then Sunday morning it was drizzly. He had lots of fun and the experience and responsibility for him was a good one! My man went and got him early Sunday morning and on their way home he called and asked if I could make some hot tea for them. They were a little damp from the clean up. I did. Once home he told me all about the fun he'd had. I was so pleased he was able to go and had fun!

Have a great night all!

seedling update

So we had a relatively quiet weekend. Thankfully. No more blowing away buildings. Got the tractor tent set back up too. I didn't do it though. hahaha
Been a busy few days for me. And rain. Only Monday so far has been nice, and not so windy it chills you to the bone. Had the fire going to keep the chill out!  The grass and leaves on the trees are coming along beautifully. Almost time to mow the lawn!
Here are the seedlings! They are doing well I think. We have been putting fish fertilizer on them once a week, and they seem to really like it! Praying for a better harvest of tomatoes this year then last. They got the blight late and rotted on the vine :-( So I had to buy tomatoes.

tomatoes!!!!

tomatoes!!!!

peppers

melons. they are kinda hawk eyed due to one of the kiddos running into them and knocking them on the floor. thankfully they didn't die!

Thats about it! Have a great day.

good quote

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Theodore Roosevelt

"Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them."
W. Clement Stone

just when you think all is well

it's not!!!
 We had down pours of rain yesterday. Got about 4 inches. My earth worms are now water logged. There were tons on top of the soil trying to dry out!! hahaha. Seriously. That was quite a day, slopping around in the rain and wind to get chores done. Made it though.
Then today we've had wind. I know I've told ya all about the wind we get on this hill, and open spaces. Mostly I love the wind. But on occasion we loose things. The door to the sap house, the wall to the barn, buckets, clothes. You get the picture. Well today the kiddos and I are sitting around the table doing home school. Then Maggie starts mooing loudly and running around her pasture. I look out the window and the tractor tent is GONE! We have a portable tent for one of the tractors, not really what we want, but due to our current situation that is what we have. It's blown down the road right into the telephone poles! OH GREAT! I grab my jacket, and camera, and run down the road to assess the situation. Oh and my husband is currently working WAY out of town, you know like New Hampshire. Ya.

 Once seeing that it's not going to kill me or anyone else I run back to the house and call my beloved. I need some help. The kiddos and I are not going to be able to pull this sucker safely with all this wind. Our tractor is currently broken down. Poo. The hydraulic hose broke, just need to get the part to fix it. I called my neighbor, but he's not home, the other neighbor is still in high school and his parents are not home either. My husband made some calls. His dad is gone, his brother is at work. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm praying that it doesn't blow up into the wires and really cause damage or worse. I put the cow in the barn. She was really bothered by this whole thing and I didn't need to be chasing her on top of the tent!! I didn't want the kiddos out anywhere near this. Who knows with all this wind if it will pick up and blow the tent away into the lines.

Then I'm in the house waiting to hear back from my husband. The power goes out. AWESOME!! I sprint to get the "old fashioned" phone, you know the kind you are actually attached to the base of it! I was thinking the tent had somehow knocked the lines. And look out the window. It's still there. Suddenly everyone has to go to the bathroom, ahem, present company excused, of course. Why is it 30 seconds after the power goes out everyone had to go?! Well come to find out a tree has fallen on the power lines and knocked them clear off the lines and the power to three towns! Not my tent! Phew! My husband told me to leave it alone and his brother and a friend will come over when they get outta work and help me. Oh good. One of the other neighbors ends up coming over and helps to drag it across the field and I tied it down, three corners of it. Tied it down to secure equipment. Now it won't fly away or hit the power lines! My father, mother, brother in law, along with a friend of ours, came over late this afternoon to help me more if I needed it. I wanted them to check it and make sure it wasn't going anywhere. I guess it was secure enough. I was grateful to them for stopping by to help me out. They all got a good chuckle out of it. I guess in the big picture it was kinda funny.  I'm kinda glad the poles were there because who knows how far the wind would have taken it and what damage would have been done. I'm just glad no one got hurt.

This is how far it blew. I'm standing where the tent is supposed to be. Yup.
Oh and we got our power back two hours after it went out.
Have a great evening all!

monday confessions

I'm not a big fan of PBJ's. Nope not at all. I'll eat them, but I'd rather not.

I have days I'd rather stay in the house and not go out and do the chores. Like today...

If you look really closely you can see that it is POURING outside today. I zoomed it in.This is part of my driveway. It's a little pool. My kiddos wanna go swimming in the driveway! We do need this rain, really badly, it's so dry here. I can't wait to see how the rain and then the heat later in the week will improve the grass and the tree buds!!! They will surely come out!!!!

This is what happens when I collect the eggs and don't have the basket. It's one of the kiddos jobs, but they "forgot". In the shirt they go. At least they were fairly clean.

 I don't always remember to make laundry soap in time and it has to sit for 24 hours before you use it, and the monster of laundry gets bigger. Then you miss out on perfect, free solar power to dry your clothes and have to use the dryer, because it's raining. Ugh. I've been making my own laundry soap for probably a year now. Most people who know me don't know that. I'm not one for sharing, unless it's on this blog, and even then it's thought over and rewritten to share only what I want. Kinda like pictures. I love the edit button. Which I need to download on this computer to do a better job of editing my pics!! Some things are better left unsaid!! Besides who wants to see all my dirty dishes?!!

I've been asked how do you DO all that you do? I smile, and think to myself, I don't know. It's my life, I just live my life.
Not many people that I know do what I do, and that's fine. Each to their own. Maybe that's why I get asked. Maybe it seems like a lot to them, and to me it's just another day in the life of me. It didn't happen overnight. Thankfully! I guess you could say I'm determined. I love a challenge. Farming has it's share of challenges;-) Working with my kiddos and husband present problems of there own, but we do it together and learn. It's us. The dance of life and farm life together. I just take it one day at a time, and with the grace of the Lord I get done what I can!

Well that's enough sharing for one rainy Monday! Have a good one!!

beautiful site

Oh how I love this site!! So beautiful. Our Jersey cow happily outside munching on any blade of grass she can find. Can't wait to put her out on a bigger pasture, and see how our milk changes along with the amount of cream!!! Oh yummy!!

Yup ole Maggie moo out eating grass. Such a wonderful day. Such a perty cow too!
Have a fabulous weekend all!

{this moment}

My version of this moment!!