Nike!

That's the one word that an Athenian soldier could gasp out as he came limping into Athens after sprinting 26 miles from the Battle of Marathon. Well, we didn't exactly run a marathon or win a battle, but we did (through much study) pass our Western Civilization 1 CLEP test on Friday. We ended up having to do a bit of cramming on Thursday night. We were trying to memorize 50+ pages (front and back) of notes we had taken from our Western Civ. book by copying them. We didn't finish until about 2 a.m. There's obviously a lot to study when your test covers all the history between 25,000 B.C. : ) and A.D. 1600. We got really tired, but we had fun anyway.

Here are some pictures that Mom took.

~Tricia Ann

Daddy got us some Coke so we could stay awake.

We each used up a whole pad of paper!

After writing about 30 pages, our middle fingers got sore, so we broke out the Band-Aids!

Veggie Towels

Tricia Ann and I made some pretty tea towels using a ribbon embroidery technique that we saw in a Martha Stewart Magazine recently. We thought the little veggies were so cute. I did the machine sewing and Tricia Ann did the hand embroidery.
~Trish

Many Hands, Light Work?

We spent last week helping our dear pastor raise his barn. Well, actually the upper story will be his home! Thanks to the skillful leadership of a builder-friend and the help of the men and boys of Heritage Presbyterian Church, the feat of drying in the entire home was completed in a mere 4 days! By the Lord's Day, the men were exhausted but exultant in the results of their labors.
~Trish


And the evening and the morning were the first day.And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Other Barn Raising Activities...

Of course, the ladies cooked a lot of meals! And we had such fun together.
Mrs. Marcia was such a blessing in the kitchen! Such a servant's heart!

Jacob assists Daniel in clipping his chickens' wings.

Bethy and Camille

Some time for fun...

Boys being boys.

Plum tuckered twinsies!

Gramps about to enjoy a piece of chocolate cake.

Jeremiah

What's that awful smell?

Best friends!

Mrs. Christy and daughter, Miss Caroline - two lovely ladies.

One tired daddy.

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
~Psalm 127:1

Two cuties on the mule.

The Lord blessed us with a MF 240 tractor on Tuesday. I hope it will be useful to us.

-JL

Here At the Funny Farm...

I guess you could say that we're easily entertained. Here Philip and Jacob demonstrate how to move a pastured poultry pen along with a full feed barrell.Pastured Pa? All they need now is a slalom course!

Whoaaaa!

A Visit from Friends

Kathy and her daughter, Jessie, drove up for a visit. We had a pleasant lunch together, a hike around the property, a visit to see the chickens, and a walk to see our neighbors cows. Then they just joined us in the routines of the day such as card-making, washing dishes, and grocery shopping. It's always a pleasure when friends and family drop by.

~TrishBanjo enjoying lot of attention from our guests.

Whenever we say "Chick Check!" Gimli leads the way to the pens!

Preserving the Harvest Together

Tricia Ann and I had a joyful and productive day. We spent our time preserving the strawberries that we were able to pick from a U-Pick-It farm that we visited yesterday. We canned 6 half pints of strawberry jam, froze 4 quarts of plain strawberries, baked a pound cake, and sugared the rest of the berries for topping.

Now, I've heard more than a few folks wonder aloud about why we would ever want to spend all that time and effort to can and freeze our produce rather than simply buying it pre-packaged. I contend that the pleasures of preserving the harvest far outweigh the convenience of purchasing these items at the grocery.

First, there's the delight of enjoying the produce with all of your senses - the beautiful shiny red of the bowl of strawberries, the tart smell and fuzzy softness of the perfectly ripened peach, the crisp snapping of the green bean, the tart crunch of the Granny Smith apple...

And what about the sheer wonder of God's creation, the amazing variety of the fruits and vegetables He gives us? Each season is a new celebration of His bountiful blessings - strawberries in the springtime, green beans, squash, tomatoes, and peppers in the summer, apples and pears in the fall, and a blissful rest in wintertime to enjoy the fruit of our labors.

The most glorious benefit of preserving the harvest, though, is the fellowship that happens as a consequence of spending time together in a shared endeavor. I find that we have the best, most covenantal conversations when we're working together in the garden, planting, hoeing, and picking or in the kitchen peeling, slicing and cooking! Sometimes, we sing silly songs. Sometimes, we make plans for the future. Sometimes, we brainstorm for solutions. Sometimes, we praise the Lord for His goodness. Sometimes, we ponder deep theological questions. And sometimes, we're just together and quiet.

I think that together is the key. I'm so thankful that the Lord has seen fit to allow my family to order our lives so that we can redeem the time together. One of us may not be here tomorrow, but how blessed we are to have been together today. How much richer we are for having spent some time together preserving the harvest!

Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways.

You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots
around your table.

Thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.

May the LORD bless you from Zion
all the days of your life;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

and may you live to see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel.

Psalm 128

~Trish

Plowing with Mules

Last Friday, we went to an old fashioned "farm day" hosted by a local vet, where some farmers were giving plowing demonstrations. It was really neat! There were lots of handsome teams of draught horses and mules pulling plows and disks. One man let Jacob and Daddy try their hands at plowing. After that, we had some barbeque sandwiches for lunch and took a wagon ride. It was a lot of fun.

~Tricia Ann

Nest Boxes, Hens, Water System, etc.

I thought I'd post some pictures of the things Jacob told you about in his last post. He's been too busy caring for chickens and mowing grass to post them. I hope y'all enjoy 'em!

~Tricia Ann

The evening before we picked up our new layers, Daddy and Jacob constructed some nest boxes for them.

Here they are in the "Mini Cooper."

Our new hens enjoying the salad bar

The men had to clip the hens' wings on one side so they wouldn't be able to fly over the poultry net. The most difficult (and amusing) part of the process was catching the birds. After catching one, Jacob held it in his lap, while Daddy spread its wing and cut the 10 long feathers with a pair of scissors. The hens didn't seem to mind much, as clipping the feathers doesn't hurt them. The hens obviously liked sitting in Jacob's lap because they didn't want to hop down when their turn was over. : )

Here is Jacob's clever water system. It is designed to catch rain water in the barrel. He has three valves at different points in the pasture so he has water where he needs it. If you want more details you'll have to ask him about it. I'm just the photographer. : )

We purchased 6 mature laying hens yesterday from our friends. They are RIR/Comet cross...I think. They seem to be happy and at home in the MiniCoop. I'm giving them pulverized oyster shells for extra calcium.

I got my dolly today. It is AWESOME. Much easier to use than my skids.

Dad and I clipped the chickens wings this morning. I was the chicken catcher/holder, Dad was the clipper. For all you city slickers, chicken catchin' may look easy, but it ain't.

We set up a watering system yesterday. It consists of a 55 gal. drum (thanks Stouffers), 300ft of polyethylene pipe, T-connectors, and garden hose ball-valves.

Photographs forthcoming...

-JL

Playing in the Dirt

Yesterday, Pop pop and Maw maw came over and brought a bunch of beautiful flowers to plant in front of the house. Daddy tilled up the dirt for us, and we spent the afternoon arranging and planting. It made the front yard look so much prettier!

~Tricia Ann

Candy Tuft
(We planted lots of these, and I hope they all turn out as pretty as this one.)

Gimli somehow always manages to get in the picture : )