Garden Tilling

After spending hours planning and plotting, I finally decided on the garden layout. And the hard part was left for Handy Husband... tilling.

My little farmer-in-training oversaw the garden tilling:



Preparing for Horses!

Handy Husband and I spent the weekend working on fences to prepare for the arrival of Zander and Zorro. Our main job was reinforcing some old wooden posts that had rotted off at the ground. We also patched some areas in the fence where the neighbor's cows were getting in.

Rather than buy new posts, we took out a fence line that was laying down and no longer in use for anything. The posts were so deep in some places we had to dig them out! It was lots of work, but it beats having to buy new, and it helped clean up the property a bit.





Evening walk...

Handy Husband and I took a walk through some of the pastures tonight, checking on fence-lines, taking inventory of what needs fixing and where. The above photo is taken from the hay pasture in the back of the property, looking up to the farmstead. From left to right, the buildings are: haybarn, milkbarn, chicken/rabbit barn, horse barn.

The sun cast some beautiful rays through the aisle of the horse barn:



The Fate of the Spa Room

As it turns out, my "spa room" is destined to become something more.

Much more.

Note: picture was taken before we moved in and cleaned up, so disregard all the dirt.

None of us are really big "bath" people, but the jacuzzi tub might have been a nice treat to enjoy once in a while. And with this room being so beautiful, with the windows and all, I *HAD* planned on making it my Spa Room Getaway... complete with hanging plants, a vanity/makeup table, a sitting chair. You know- stuff only I would enjoy. And I might use the jacuzzi tub occasionally.

 

 

HOWEVER...

 

 

With the news of our little one on the way, it's come to my attention that we really don't have a "room" for the baby. Naturally, the baby will share our room for the first few months, but after that... it looks like the only option is to convert the spa room to a bedroom for the baby. It's not a huge room, roughly measuring 8x11- which is small compared to the other bedrooms in this house- but should be adequate.

 

 

It will be a big job to take out the tub and all the tile, and then to install new flooring and do all the painting and such, but I think it will be a beautiful room for the baby.

The View

Spring Came in Like a Lion!

Are these chickens or ducks?

Our wet-weather creek finally got some wet weather!



Exciting news!

Yes, you read that right! I'm pregnant! This will be my fifth child; my handy husband's first. We are all beyond excited and are looking forward to the birth in November! 



The Old and the New

It seems as though every trip outside or to one of the barns results in the finding of interesting old "treasures." Whether it be an old door hinge, window frame, or someone's name written into a concrete slab, there are constant reminders all around us that we are the "new people."

There were others who came before us who knew this place inside and out like the back of their hand.

One reminder of that is this old clothes-line. I have no idea how old it is, or when it was last used. But the evidence of age is found in the old oak tree the wire is embedded into. This is a massive tree and I can only guess as to how old it must be.  

As I go through my day to day here on the farm, I always try to keep the previous owners in mind. They all had hopes and dreams for this place, as we do, and I admire them for what they did on this land. I have the utmost respect for all people, past, present and future, who work the land and care for animals.



The View

The view this morning as the sun was just starting to peek out.

I love the bright green grass of spring!

Gym Project

My handy husband's gym is coming along nicely.

He framed in a 12x15 area in his shop building, and added electrical outlets and recessed lighting. We haven't finished the walls and ceiling yet, but went ahead and laid down the flooring and set up all his weights and equipment so he could use the room.

It's a great space! The two of us can work-out simultaneously with PLENTY of room! 

Our current program is P90x. The foam gym floor tiles give good cushioning for the plyo segments.

He also installed a home-made pull-up bar, which works great!

Belated Baby Face/Critter of the Week

I am running behind this week so I'm combining Baby Face Tuesday with Critter of the Week and posting them both a day late.

This week we're honoring Lucky, our purebred Nubian doe, born February 8th, 2009. Lucky was the only surviving kid out of triplets. Her mother, Princess, had difficulty birthing due to the first kid being mal-presented. All three kids were pulled, but only the tiniest one of the three, Lucky, was alive. She weighed a mere 4 1/2 pounds.

Due to the traumatic birth, Princess rejected Lucky, and raising her became our responsibility.

She was such a joy to care for!

With it being early February, and having no mother to snuggle with in the cold, Lucky spent the first weeks of her life living in the house with us. We would take her outside on nice days as often as we could so she could socialize with the other goats.

Having a goat in the house sure was a fun experience and she gave us SO many photo ops!

Here's a video of one of Lucky's romps with her half-brother Willy:

But as the weather became milder and she grew more self-sufficient, her time spent outdoors with the herd became more frequent and for longer lengths of time, until she was no longer coming inside at all.

Here she is, above, at four months old, and below, here she is now (sorry about the bad picture quality- my camera thought I was taking pictures of the thorny twig, instead of the goats!).

The View