from my window

We are back at it after a wonderfully busy holiday week. As I sit at my window, catching up on work and outlining a few new projects, the yard is covered with fallen leaves; an unexpected gift from a short wind storm earlier in the week. The scene is peaceful and sublime, a sharp contrast to last weeks activities. There’s a roaring fire, pushing back winter’s chill and Dakota is sacked out on his bed. Not much company for a working girl, but at least he’s quiet. Days like this give me a chance to reflect on all that we are able to do and all I have to be thankful for – sometimes even more so than I acknowledge in the moment.

I spent a few days working on my latest quilt. It’s a small farm scene (no surprise), about 40”x40”, a practice quilt for new skills like piecing triangles, blanket stitching and hand-quilting. Much to my surprise the triangles actually came out with all points meeting. My neighbor laughed at my proud accomplishment when I told her. She’s a seasoned quilter, but can still enjoy the enthusiasm of a beginner.

Her husband delivered the piece of plywood I asked him to cut for my next project. But, that’s a surprise so I’ll write about it later. I’m very handy with power tools, but this particular project need some precision sawing that my hand-held circular saw and my shaky hand wouldn’t be able to pull off.

Thank God for good, generous, handy neighbors.

Normally I steer clear of holiday weekend shopping,but we braved the mall on Saturday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The crowd was manageable. I guess all the 4:00am shoppers had gone home for a nap. We didn't buy anything, just enjoyed the decorations and sighed with contentment that we were long past this materialistic ritual.

On Wednesday I found a vintage trailer that I was interested in buying, so Sunday I drove north to check it out. No luck though, the owner wasn’t interested in negotiating and I thought the price was high for all the work that needed to be done. No loss though, the drive was beautiful and clear, and it was nice to get out-of-town, if only for a few hours. As for the trailer thing – I’ll keep looking.

Well – dinner’s ready, so I’ve gotta run. Hope all of you had a happy and thankful holiday!

happy thanksgiving, happy birthday!

Just wanted to shoot off a quick note and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! This is a busy one for us this year as my daughter’s birthday falls on turkey day as well. Actually, she was born on Thanksgiving evening, just as most families were finishing their pumpkin pie, I was receiving the best holiday gift ever – a healthy baby girl.

Tuesday night we had a house full of teens helping her celebrate. It was crazy, noisy, chaotic and a whole lot of fun. It’s so great to watch your kids grow into wonderful young adults; and equally wonderful to see that they have surrounded themselves with a great group of friends. After they all departed on Wednesday morning, Brianne and I had time to ourselves and continued the celebration.

Today is going to be a different day for me. Brianne will be with her dad and his side of the family, while I will spend time with a close friend that has flown out from Virginia for the week.

Over the weekend Brianne and I will cook our own version of Thanksgiving dinner so we too can enjoy some fabulous leftovers. We’ll watch our favorite holiday movies (like we have in past years), we’ll take a hike with the dogs, enjoying the fresh autumn air, we’ll sit by the fire, all the while savoring more slices of pumpkin pie than is good for us. It may not be a traditional Thanksgiving for us, but we'll enjoy it just the same.

Life is ever changing, I have learned. We must be open to those changes in order to enjoy life more fully, and to be ready for what ever goodness life wants to bring us.

Yes, this will be a different day for me, but I have no doubt it will be a good day.

Enjoy your holiday, no matter how you spend it!

life is not all about work...

…and neither is homesteading. It’s a point I try to make often to my more skeptical town friends. Sometimes even we homesteaders have those quiet lazy days where little is thought about and even less is accomplished. Yesterday was one of those days. We woke up late, about 7:30 (a luxury that is not afforded us when there are sheep in the barn). I could hear a young rooster trying to master his crow. The hens were scratching, and fluffing themselves in the dirt, chattering as hens always do. The dogs were on patrol. I could hear them in the bushes, sniffing and prowling about, looking for treasures. These are the kinds of mornings that beg you to stay in bed and quietly listen to the sounds of the farm. You can learn so much by just listening.

By the time I stumbled through the house, Brianne was already laid out on the sofa, buried under a mound of quilts making friendship bracelets and watching a movie I found at a local book sale a few weeks ago. Dakota was at her feet begging for more room to stretch out. Last nights fire was gone, but you could still hear crackles and pops as the embers cooled and died. It was dark and lonely, but could easily be revived with a little encouragement and a few pieces of kindling.

Breakfast was a steaming bowl of porridge, topped with nuts and brown sugar, bananas and milk. By the time it’s ready I’m on my second cup of tea (i’m not a coffee person...so not a coffee person), Earl Gray with a splash of milk and a bit of sugar. From the kitchen I can hear the twitter of birds. I don’t know what type; we have become a kind of way station for passersby’s. Some have a sharp trill in their voice, while others chirp on and on for quite awhile. The crows are back, I can hear their caw, caw, caw, but no sight of the red tailed hawk that perches himself on the arbor.

No – life is not always about work. Sometimes it’s about quiet, easy mornings, warm and safe in a simple home. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there will be work done this weekend, but it will be slower, less rushed, with less urgency for completion than other days. I have a few errands to run in town, the truck needs gas for the coming week, Brianne’s birthday is next week and I need a card, the nesting boxes in the coop need to be refilled and the floor raked out. There’s mulch to lie out in the garden and I want to finish the quilt I’ve been working on. Yes, there will be lots of work this weekend. But there will also be time for sitting back and listening to the sounds of this farm. Time for a second (or third) cup of tea, time for snuggling with a mangy dog trying to hog the sofa and time to just relish what we’ve built with our own two hands. No – life isn’t all about work. A lot of life is about paying attention and enjoying what comes our way, the fruits of our labor. And, if we get a few bumps and bruises or have to tend animals in the rain so be it.

starry sky

The night sky was so still and clear you could almost reach up and pluck out a star. Our weather has started to change. Finally! The warm days and high winds are gone. It's cool and crisp. Perfect for a warm fire. Leaves are turning color now. It's the way November should be.

seed catalogs!

I'm doing the happy dance!

New seed catalogs have started to arrive. Opening the mailbox is like peeking inside Santa's red velvet bag. There's excitement in the air. Gardeners and homesteaders know the feeling. A new season is on the horizon. I'm planning and plotting. With circles and turned down pages, my spring garden starts to take shape on a blustery November day.

It'll be months before we can plant. The wait will be long, but it will be worth it. Fresh homegrown veggies will be our reward.

I love this homesteading life, always something to look forward to, even if it is months away.

truck dog

Meet “Dakota” - a tri-colored Springer Spaniel we adopted from a local shelter, three years ago. He’s my companion when I’m alone, my protector from harm, my partner when I go hiking, my foot warmer on cold nights.

He’s my all around truck dog. He loves to “go” anywhere in the truck. His favorite spot is the front seat where he can look out the window, raise a paw for me to shake or rest his tired head on the console. On long trips he keeps me company and waits for me anxiously anytime I stop for gas or nibbles.

On the farm, he’s fine around the sheep, but not so good with the chickens. What can I say, he’s a bird dog.

lambs and livestock shows

This past weekend was our last show of the season. We have a few months off before we start showing all over again. But, it’s not a time for leisure. There are breeders to be visited, lambs to sort through, plans to talk about and deals to be made. When everything is said and done we’ll start the new season with at least four new critters in our barn. Some people think we’re nuts to spend so much time going from show to show. But, it’s what we do; it’s where our friends are; it’s where we have fun and it’s where our passions lie. I don’t think it’s any different than sitting on a soccer field every Sunday morning for months on end. It’s just what we do as a family, to stay on the right track and out of trouble.

I think it was inevitable that Brianne would raise sheep. After all she was in the barn with me when she was just a few weeks old and attended her very first sheep auction before she was 6 months old. We propped her up in her car seat on a stack of bailed straw and two darling, crotchety old sheep breeders watched her intently as I took my consignment of yearling rams across the auction block.

The barn is where she learned to climb fences without falling off; where she learned to feed and water; and where she learned the facts of life, both the birds and bees kind and the life and death kind. It’s where she got her passion for animals and her love of country living and farming.

She showed her first lamb at our county fair when she was nine. From that summer of working and feeding and practicing showmanship, and attending the county fair she was hooked. Now she raises five or six lambs a year and shows at a dozen or more weekend, county and state fairs each year.

I don’t think there’s any better combination than kids raising livestock – no matter what the species is. Kids learn how to care for another living creature. They learn responsibility through feeding, watering and cleaning their animals. They learn patients because animals, especially farm animals, don’t always do what you want them to do. And, they learn the difference between animals that are on our farms to produce and those that are here to feed us. Sometimes the lessons are tough. But, there is also a lot of joy in raising animals.

We’ve made a lot of really great friends through showing livestock and not just people who show sheep. The kids who show are wonderful. They’re polite and respectful. The kind of young people every parent wishes their teen would hang around with. They keep in touch through the internet and will likely end up at the same college’s together, becoming life long friends.

Kids, critters and competitions – it’s a great life!!

At the show Brianne won 4th and 5th in the market division and 2nd in showmanship. Pretty good end to the season.

i'm back again

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. But, you know how the saying goes, “Life comes at you fast.” And, boy! Can it ever, so I’ll backtrack a bit to get caught up.

As October was coming to a close, I spent the 30th with a good friend of mine who is teaching me to quilt. Actually, we started my quilt a year ago. Friday’s task was to pin the quilt top, batting and backing together. The quilt is a flannel rail fence pattern to fit my daughter’s full sized bed; something warm and snuggly for cold winter nights. I have no doubt it will also end up keeping her warm at football games and livestock shows this coming winter. Its funny how kids think their parents are so nutty with their likes and dislikes and new projects, but in reality they secretly appreciate the love and caring that goes into such projects.

My project was a little ambitious for a first-timer and it’s taken me almost a full year to complete my very first quilt. But, we did it!!! And, wanting some instant gratification – or almost instant – I sent the quilt off today to a quilter that my neighbor uses. It should be back by Christmas. In a few weeks my daughter will have something homemade to keep her toasty at night. I’m excited and hooked – on quilting. The next one is already started.

I don’t think, though, I’ll be an art quilter because I love the thought of taking something old and used and making it into something useful. Like the homesteaders of old used feed bags and flour sacks to keep their family warm. It’s just one more homesteading skill I’m learning.

Years ago I decided made a list actually, of the homesteading skills I’d like to learn. Each season I choose one to work on. Quilting was something I’ve been wanting to learn and I spent most of the summer on my project. There are so many aspects to homesteading, whether it’s suburban or country, that to try and learn everything at once would be overwhelming and a bit discouraging. Breaking it up by seasons has helped me make steady progress with the learning curve. I like to save home type project – sewing, knitting, and cooking, for the colder months when we spend a lot more time in doors. Building, gardening and animal skills are undertaken in the warmer months when much of our time is spent outside.

During my little hiatus this past week, I also received the cheese making kit I sent away for. We’ve had such a great time making homemade pizza dough for our Friday Movie Nights that I thought it would be fun to make our own cheese (and, something on my skills list). This will have to wait though because we have been madly getting ready for Brianne’s next sheep show. We leave on Wednesday.

After all the years I raised and showed sheep you’d think I could do this in my sleep, but no. There is so much to think about, not only getting animals ready, but getting ready to leave the farm for several days. Dogs, chickens and rabbits have to be cared for, veggies and fruit trees have to be watered, and I need to find people to do it. It’s not easy finding someone who is comfortable around strange dogs or farm animals for that matter, no matter how small they are. Some of my neighbors are afraid of the banties. But, I am lucky enough to have one neighbor and his kids, who love to come over and play with the chickens and especially collect eggs.

Halloween night turned crisp and cool, just the way it should be. I tried a new chicken and dumpling recipe that was a hit with everyone. Definitely a keeper. We had few trick-or-treaters, most people stay clear of our little street because it doesn’t have sidewalks or streetlights, but that’s what makes it unique and fun to live here. Even though we are considered part of the city we are so much different than the rest of it, we have the feeling of not being in the city at all.

I won’t bore you with the three days I was under the weather. But, I’m glad it didn’t turn out to be the flu. By Friday I was back to my old self and just in time too. Friday was the day of the library book sale. I live for small events like these. I don’t know why – maybe it’s mingling with people who like to collect books as much as I do, maybe it’s the bargain prices or maybe it standing outside on a cool autumn night anxiously waiting for the doors to open like a child waits for Christmas day, rushing to your favorite section hoping with anticipation that treasures, only known to us will be stacked on the tables waiting to be rescued, taken home, read and loved.

We book sale junkies are an interesting lot. We stand in line for almost an hour chatting about events of the day, issues of the town, what kinds of books we are looking for; we run into old friends and see people that we only come across at the book sales. We greet like long lost friends and for a few hours that night we are friends, comrades in literary pursuits. We compare notes on our latest finds or the hunt for certain books. But, when the doors open we are singularly minded in our race to reach our coveted section. It’s like a Harrods’s after Christmas sale.

I make my way through the crowd to the gardening and home section (thankfully these are together). I eagerly look through the stack of books; some I already own, conquests of previous book sales, I’m looking for new titles, new skills or just new additions to my growing collection. I strike pay dirt with books on farm devices, cabin building, root cellaring, sheep and ducks. I quickly put my treasures in my bag and move on to the nature section where I find titles by Emerson and Thoreau and a misplaced book of poetry by Keats. In the classics section I find more books of Thoreau. My last stop is movies and CD’s, but with CD’s priced at $3.00 each I let them go in favor of the books I’ve found. The movies section brings success in the form of period movies I’ve been looking for, but are no longer available.

Once I’ve made it through all the tables I find a quiet place to meet up with friends and we go through our finds like kids sorting through Halloween candy. We compare notes and trade titles or show off our favorite find. We hand over books we found for someone else in the group. It’s nice to have many pairs of eyes looking for you.

After the sort we make a last run through the tables. Many booksellers attend and grab up all they can. They sort them and then return the titles they can’t sell. In these I find a great book on fly fishing (next spring’s skill of choice) and an old Boy Scout handbook, written back when Scouting was all about survival skills.

We leave at 8:30pm, literarily sated and with enough words to keep us going long past winter. A good night of fun, with friends and new found treasures.

This past week has had its ups and downs. It’s been hectic, I’ve been sick and recovered in time to have a fun evening. These are the times that make me appreciate my life and the simplicity I’m striving to achieve all the more.

Stay safe and well folks. And, don’t pass up the chance to revel in simple pleasures.

(the picture at the top is of a river bridge we walked over on a recent apple picking trip)