My First Test

Tuesday of last week was the first day of Autumn. I had every intention of sharing photos of the newly, decorated porch, an autumn inspired dinner, and pumpkins. But that all changed when we came home from our Tuesday afternoon errands in town.
As I was driving down the driveway, I noticed one of the rams lying with his head down in the middle of our barn. That was odd, so I stopped the car and hopped out. I started yelling his name (George) and clapping. No movement. Then I started sprinting into the barn paddock. He was dead! This wasn't our first dead animal on the homestead, but the most substantial and he was just here visiting for a while. After feeling on the dead ram (lifting eyelids, etc.) to check for several things, I moved the rest of the sheep to a new pasture. It would still need to be secured with electric line, but that was going to have to wait until the next morning.  Our friends (and his owners) came after it was dark to salvage any wool and help me start a fire to burn him. (We didn't need coyotes to be attracted to the homestead. Mabel is still a little young to fend off coyotes.) The next day the fire would need to be stoked again and tended to so that all of the ram would burn. That night I couldn't sleep because of all the adrenaline and fear of predators, I guess, so I canned grape jelly.
Did I mention that Bryan had left for a work related training in Chicago!!! on Monday? He wasn't due to return until the end of the week. So I feel like this was my first true farmer test.
To make the new pasture secure, I had to trim around it with the trimmer and restring electric line around the bottom perimeter. I had only done this with Bryan three times. Now I had to do it alone and do it correctly. I broke the line on the trimmer seven times while trimming the pasture. Thankfully, I knew how to restring the trimmer and it is relatively easy. Then I had to restring the pasture. I was confident about everything except the corners. After I had the whole pasture strung, it was time to flip the switch. I'm not sure why I doubted myself so much but I just reached out and touched the line. It was the first time I had done that and yep, it was blazing, hot. After I danced around for a few seconds, all I could do was smile. It wasn't easy and it took me nearly 5 hours, but I did it all by myself. I had a quick cry, checked on all of the rest of the animals, and then the boys and I went inside to start our homeschooling day. Later that night (in the dark) our friends came over to de-worm the rest of the sheep. The ram had died of worms and there were two others that had worms and they needed to be treated.
That night I could finally sleep because I was exhausted!
Things are calmer this week, Bryan is back home, and I feel a bit more like a farmer. I have a long way to go, but I kind of love this whole farming thing. Good and bad.

Ducks!

This past weekend we welcomed three 3-week old Muscovy ducklings to the homestead. We're hoping we have two hens (females) and a drake (male) that will become our breeding stock. (It's a little too early to be certain.) So since Saturday, the boys and I have been busy holding and loving on these little ones. We're absolutely smitten with them!

Seth is 5!

 Today Seth is 5!

We had a birthday celebration on Saturday for him that included homemade strawberry cake, scooter riding, lunch at Chuck E. Cheese (they have gluten-free pizza!), a laid-back party at home, and playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The day was filled with family and friends and our boy had such a good time!

{Gratitude} Lately

Every day I look around in amazement at all the 

beautiful, yet simple, things that I'm so thankful for.

Lately I've been grateful for...

 little beekeepers in-training

 

 baskets full of pine cones

 

milking lessons at Peacefield Farm

 

 delicious stew in a pretty little dish

 passion flowers growing on fences

 

and field trips to Jackson's Orchard

 

 

HOME Sweet Homestead: The Schoolroom

Y'all we've been so busy around here. Just when I thought progress was slowing down, we got a call from the contractor that we wanted to repair our living room ceiling. So our whole house became a dust zone and total mess as soon as we finished our schoolroom and started Kindergarten! But the hole in our living room ceiling has been repaired, the dust has been cleaned up, and things are calm until the next project comes. 

So here's a look at the schoolroom that's just to the left as soon as you walk in the front door, the place where the majority of our learning inside takes place, and my new favorite room in the house....

The map still needs a frame and this wall will 

one day (probably years from now) have floor to ceiling bookcases.

Here you can see my vintage fire escape ladder, our hundreds number chart and calendar, and

 our new Kentucky Icons print from Kentucky for Kentucky.

 

On the other side of the room we have our reading chair and 

the closet that holds all of our supplies. 

The closet already had this shelving and huge drawers in it. 

  

This the view from the reading chair.

Then we have our chalk board, our clock,

 pencil sharpener, hanging clipboards, and a mailbox on the other wall.

I knew from the moment I walked into this house this would be the most perfect schoolroom. It turned out better than the room I had in my dreams. We absolutely love it!

Labor Day Weekend!

Labor Day weekend was filled with ...painting, painting, and more painting. 

But we also were able to have...

a date night at the Boyce General Store

 eat breakfast at a new restaurant in town

 celebrate an important birthday (a few days early)

 and give the rams a manicure

Did I already mention that we did some painting? 

Paint and all, it was one glorious weekend!