Boys Becoming Men

Lately all of the boys have had to pitch in and do more than their fair share of the work around out little farm. With their Dad's back being out, many projects have been put on hold. However, some things just can't wait. Most days the older guys are either at school or work which puts a lot of responsibility on Brandon and Bryce. They have been great about it and Monroe and I are very proud of them.

On this particular day, we had two rolls of hay that needed to be put out in the field. The two youngest had to hook up to the trailer, pull it out in the field and unload the hay. I decided to grab my camera and watch.

Bryce helped Bran hook up to the trailer. Brandon is in the truck

That didn't work very well so Bryce backed the truck up to the trailer while Brandon guided him.

With the trailer hooked up to the truck Brandon drove out to the field. The next problem....how to unload two rolls of hay with no dad or big brothers to help. I watched and waited to see how these two would solve this problem.

Now when I saw them attempting this maneuver I thought to myself, "There's no way that will work. Those rolls of hay are way too heavy." I'm glad they couldn't read my thoughts because I probably would have discouraged them. After a couple of minutes of pushing and rocking that hay actually began to move!

Later on that day, after Bradley (the artistic one) got home he gave our rolls of hay a happy face to welcome our family and friends.

Mission accomplished!!

Preparing For Winter

My husband is just about the most handy, creative guy I know. Really. He never ceases to amaze me. When things are broken or in need of repair in and around our home it seems he can always fix it. There are very few times we ever have to call a repairman out. You know how much money that saves us?

So, I decided to brag on him a little today. Can you tell what this invention is? I looked out my front window one morning and saw my man outside with this "thing" behind his truck. Out the door we came to see what he had created. This, my dear friends, is a log splitter!

Last winter Monroe borrowed a store bought log splitter from a friend. We use a lot of wood during the winter. It is our main source of heat for our home. We have a large fireplace in our living room that keeps us nice and warm but it surely likes to devour wood. So, using that borrowed log splitter set my hubby's imagination spinning. He had been pondering about building one for a few days because we talked about it several times. Work has been very slow over at the shop so that gave him some extra time to put his thoughts into action.

He used all scrap pieces of metal, parts from a wrecked truck and a lawn mower motor that were of no use at the shop and TAAAH...DAAAH....a log splitter!!

The axe or blade thingy that splits the wood is just a flat piece of metal that he bent and welded together. Then he used a grinder to put the edge on the blade. Pretty nifty don't you think?

The trailer was an old road sign trailer that is used on the highway to hold the flashing signs.

I looked in the Tractor Supply flyer that came this week and they were advertising what else but log splitters! Guess how much they cost???? They cost from $1,000 to $1,800!! Talk about a savings!

It makes me happy to know that my boys can learn from their Dad. They are watching and learning. One day when they are in charge of their own household I hope they will look back and remember all the things their Dad made and repaired at our home. I have a feeling he will be getting some phone calls in the future for some advice which he will not mind at all :-)

They are already excited about the new log splitter because splitting logs is a chore they must take a turn doing during the winter months. Now they just have to stack, stack, stack!

And Like A Good Neighbor...

Our little town has changed so much in the past ten years. Being born and raised in this area, I can tell you that it has gone from a small, quaint little community where everyone knew everyone (well almost) to a place where I can be uptown all day and never see a person I know! This can be somewhat depressing to me and some days I really dislike where we live and I allow myself to become discouraged.

Now let me clarify, I absolutely love where the Lord has allowed us to raise our children, out in the country (well, as much "out in the country" as one can get in our town) with lots of room to let four boys roam. This home has truly been a blessing and answer to prayer for us. If I could just pick up my house and move it somewhere that is so far out that, as my dear friend, Kay, would say, " you have to pump sunshine in" that would be the place for me!

Well, one particular morning a few days ago, I was out doing my morning chores and thinking about how things have changed so around here. I was trying to be content but at the same time I was daydreaming about going out to feed our farm animals and then working in my vegetable garden in perfect 72 degree weather while seeing our cows grazing contentedly on the rolling hills of our "property". After being outside a FEW minutes and wiping sweat from my forehead in the humid 95 degree weather, I noticed that I kept hearing someone yelling "Hey, Hey!". The calling would stop and then a few minutes later I would hear it again. I didn't think much of it and just dismissed it as the road crew that had been working out on the highway in front of our house several days earlier. I just assumed that they were back.

While I was in the goat pen, my dear husband suddenly appeared. He was talking on his phone and promptly let the person on the other end know that I was okay. He then explained to me that our neighbor that lives across the pasture that is behind our house (it is probably 4 or 5 acres across) heard someone yelling and called my hubby to make sure that we were okay. See the tin roof in the middle of this picture? That is his barn. He had pulled his truck all the way up to the edge of the pond that is in his backyard and had his binoculars out looking to make sure we were all safe. That is when I felt the Lord gently reminding me that He had provided this place for us and that He is still in control. I was feeling pretty humbled when suddenly I remembered our other precious neighbor, a.k.a. the gardening guru. He is an elderly gentleman and like a second grandfather to my boys. He lives next door to us and Monroe has seen him fall out in his garden and rescued him on more than one occasion. This is where he lives. Note the rows of corn..beautiful garden ;-)

"Quick, call Mr. Willie's house and make sure he has not fallen out in the garden!" I said. My hubby didn't wait to make a call but ran down the fenceline and through the little gate we put in for visiting. He went down the garden rows looking but thankfully, our dear neighbor was inside his house.

Next, Monroe called our neighbor across the highway. They have a farm with many animals and citrus groves. After talking to this neighbor our mystery voice was solved and no one was needing help. It turns out that this neighbor was yelling at his hunting dogs! I'm not sure what he was trying to get them to do, or not do, but he had stirred up all of his neighbors in the process!

Now this may seem like an unimportant story to you but for me it was huge! I felt like the Lord knew I needed to be reminded of His perfect will and peace. It is not unusual for us to hear police sirens going by in front of our house day and night several times a week, sometimes several times a day. This is not the same neighborhood!

However, I am keeping my trust in Him. I love Psalm 91! It is about God's protection over His own. Yep, been reading that over and over lately!!

I just had to share one more picture. Each morning when I go out to feed the goats all of our cows are standing outside the goat pen with a pitiful look on their faces. They stand around patiently waiting. Then when they hear the grain hitting the bottom of the goat's feed bucket they can take it no longer! This is what I see almost every morning. A big snout sticking through the fence and this long tongue just barely able to reach a few pieces of grain, but oh how delicious it must be. So, I must assume that not only is the grass greener on the other side of the fence but the feed must be better too! What a hoot!! Have a blessed day!!

What Would You Do??

I was alone outside one morning recently doing my chores. On my way out to feed the chickens everything was normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. Now mind you I am ALWAYS on the look out for my two worst phobias....snakes and flying roaches. The roaches are the big brown ones that can be a couple of inches long and they ALWAYS want to fly on me!!!! EWWWWW!!! For those of you who do not live in Florida you may not know what I am talking about-be thankful!

So, after feeding the chickens I was on my way back up to the house and suddenly I froze in my tracks! This is what I saw! Now that guy was NOT there on my way out to the chicken pen. Hmmmm....... I quickly ran through my options in my head. Do I turn and run? Where would I run, back to the chicken pen? No, that won't work. I could run around the house to the front door but it would be locked. By the way, were my boys awake yet to help me???? I decided to begin yelling for some help while keeping my eyes fixed on this little beast in case my screams startled him and he decided to "spray". I had visions of sitting in tomato juice. Oh no, this just can't be happening!

Thankfully we had not turned on the house air-conditioning yet so my windows were open. Now if I could just get the boys to hear my cries for help.

It didn't take long for Brandon to come to my rescue. He was brave enough to walk right up to this skunk. And boy did we have a good laugh. Here is my "skunk". It actually IS a real skunk skin. It had been in the shed for quite some time and I had forgotten about it.

The boys have a new puppy and that mischievous little thing is always into something. Turns out she found this skunk hat while I was busy with my chores. She drug it out to play with and left it in the grass, right in my path. Whew. What a happy ending!

Welcome Jack

We have a new face on our farm!! Our Nubian goat, Isannah, finally had her kid on Thursday. We were hoping for twins but we are happy for a healthy new baby and a birth with no complications. Whew! This is our first experience with goats and I was praying for an easy birth. We named him Jack.

Here is the proud momma and Jack looking for his first meal. We are enjoying little Jack so much. He is very soft and cuddly. Mom and baby haven't ventured out of their stall yet. It must take a few days for the kid to get enough strength to go out to pasture. We are learning.

Isannah has become an extremely protective mother. She is always on the look out for danger and becomes very aggressive if she feels her little one is in harm's way which is so out of character for her. Kinda reminds me of human moms!

We are looking forward to some goat milk soon. My boys have milk allergies so they can finally have dairy products in their foods again. I was fortunate to find a yogurt maker at a yard sale recently and I can't wait to try it out. Hopefully I can get the hang of milking. Brandon is excited to give it a try. He will think it is fun for a few days then I am sure it will become just another chore. Oh well, such is farm life!

Farm Chores Make Strong Boys

My boys don't get to go to the gym to work out but that doesn't mean they don't get a work out!



I am sure they would RATHER be at the gym but this work out builds character as well as muscle. I have seen a difference in them (character and muscle!) since we have moved here. There are times they tend to get lazy but that can't last for long. There is always a chore to be done! Don't get me wrong, I do have a battle on my hands some days getting them motivated. They know, however, that we can't afford to leave things undone.

One late afternoon, Dad brought home our hay for the winter. We use the hay for bedding in the goat pen until it gets all soiled. Then it goes in the hog pen. I know that's gross but let's face it-hogs are not very clean animals and they don't seem to mind a bit. We also put the hay in the cow pen. On very cold snaps the hogs get fresh hay as well. The chickens need hay for their laying baskets. As you can tell, it is a much needed item on a farm.

Anyway, the older guys had to unload the hay from the trailer and put it in the loft of the barn.



Here they are, so happy to be working at night loading hay. Can't you just see it in their darling faces???

I am very proud of my guys. They have learned many skills that will help them later on when they have a family of their own. Those firm biceps and abs are just an added bonus!!

Have a great day!

Pam