Eggs

We got our first egg from the chicks we bought this spring!! Isn’t it cute? I thought I would show you the difference in sizes. The one on left is the pullet egg, the middle one is our regular size and the one on the right is our extra large. We have a few white hens that were gave to us last year. They are the ones who lay the extra large white ones. Anyway, I guess it doesn’t take a lot to get us excited.

Here’s a picture of Chuck and Hubby working on the car Sunday. They replaced several things. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if that fixed it or not. The girls and I have been busy this morning doing laundry and some house cleaning. Our Pastor brought us a 5 gal. bucket of peaches Sunday night. We are going to work those up after lunch.

Not much else going on that I can think of. I hope you all have a great 4th of July and God bless.

July 3, 2012 4

New Home

The little chicks new home is ready!! We worked on it all day today-running the fence and putting up the gate. Hubby helped or we would not have finished it. They have 150 feet of fenced in area to run in.

Check out their gate. It was an old baby crib spring.

They seem very happy to have more room. We are planning on leaving them in the building part tonight to give them time to adjust. Tomorrow we will open the door and see how they do in the fenced in lot. Needless to say, we are all tired but SO happy to get this big job done.

I hope you all have a great evening and God bless.

May 7, 2012 6

Irises

Our irises are in full bloom! These were given to us several years ago by a friend from church. It has taken them a while to get going but I think they are looking pretty good this year.

We have been busy this week. Does any one think this is becoming the norm? Seems like spring is a busy time. Anyway, we went to the dentist on Tuesday. Both girls got a good report. Then on Wednesday, we went to Sam’s club and bought our bulk items. Yesterday, we went down to Jessica’s. Today is full as well. Our church is doing a Mother/Daughter banquet this evening. I am bringing rolls. I also have to take Hubby’s van in to Little Town to get 2 tires put on. I was hoping the girls and I could get the nests made today for the little chicks. Hubby also wants to work on the floor for the new boxed in part of the back porch when he gets in from the job site. We’ll see.

School has taken a back burner this week with all that has been going on. We only lack 15 more lessons in math and we’ll be finished with it for the summer. We are calling quits to language when math is finished. Then we plan on doing history and science during June and July and taking August and September off. These two months are so busy here with canning. It is much easier for us to take those months off.

I also hope to make strawberry jam today. Yesterday, while down at Jessica’s we got 2 gal. of strawberries. I put one gallon in the freezer yesterday evening and hope to make jam with the other gallon today. I think Jessica is planning on making jam tomorrow. I am going to try using the liquid certo this time. I just haven’t been having success with the powdered sure jell.

Well, that’s about it for now. I better get busy if I am going to get anything done. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

May 4, 2012 5

Little Chicks New Home

We’ve been busy getting the little chicks new home ready for them. They are growing so fast. They have outgrown their little coup and are in need of a bigger home. We decided this building would work great for them. It was a metal shed we built several years ago to store the lawn mower in. It needed planks on the inside to keep it warm in the winter. The girls and I put them up Friday evening. Then this morning, we all went out and got started fixing the front. It now has a nice door and a window and is fully enclosed. All we lack now is making some nests for them and putting up the fence and building the gate. Okay, so that sounds like we lack quite a bit but we are one step closer now than we were yesterday. You can see one of the old hens in front of the house. They were so curious as to why we were blocking off the shed as it is one of their favorite places to take a dust bath.

Today was cool here. Temperatures were in the high 40’s-lower 50’s. We wore light jackets all day while we were working. We came in and ate supper. I knew today would be a long day outside working so this morning I put some pork in the crockpot and some pinto beans in another crockpot. All I had to do when we came in was fry some potatoes and make cornbread. I then decided to build a fire as it was about 60 degrees in the house. We are nice and warm now. There is just something very comforting about a wood fire. So relaxing.

I hope you all have a great evening and God bless.

April 28, 2012 4

Rainbow

I thought I would share with you this rainbow. Isn’t it beautiful? We love rainbows. In Grundy, where I was raised, we very seldom ever saw a rainbow. Here in Floyd, we see them much more often but they never fail to amaze us. Today, Julie was finishes up her outside chores and had taken a few minutes to spend time with the new chicks. She loves to do this. She pets them and gets them all tamed up. Anyway, it started to sprinkle rain and the sun was shining. She turned around to look for a rainbow and they it was! She came running in to get us so we could all see it. Then, of course, we stood out in the yard (in the rain) looking at it. God is good!

Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 16, 2012 6

Thursday

I took this picture this morning as Hubby and I were sharing our morning coffee on the front porch. You all remember our glassed in front porch we worked so hard to redo not too long ago. It definitely gets lots of use. We have our morning coffee on it, the girls and I do school out there, we love it.

The Horn’s came over for a visit today. I had to show Vicki our new chicks. They are doing very well. We were a little concerned the other morning when we got up our temperature was 17 degrees. That was the actual temperature not the wind chill. I went to check on them but they were all nice and warm under the heat lamp. So I am hoping this means they are hardy little ladies.

Yesterday was beautiful here. Sunshine and temperatures in the upper 50’s. Today we are getting some rain. It is still warm though- upper 40’s. I tried a new recipe for supper last night. It is called Crockpot Teriyaki Pork. I got the recipe from http://homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.com/ It was very good. I will definitely be making it again. Sorry about the print being different. I’m not sure what is going on.

Lunch is over and time for school to start. Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 8, 2012 2

Chicks Coming Soon

The girls and I have been busy today getting Mr. Rooster’s coop converted to a chick house. We have been planning on getting new chicks this spring. Jess and David are going in with us to get them. The girls and I went over to Tractor Supply the other day to get a new wheelbarrow tire. The breed of chicks we wanted to get were already there. We are getting Buff Orpingtons (not sure I spelled that right). We also are getting a few black chickens which I have forgotten the name of. I thought they would give the chicken house a little different color. We plan on putting them in Mr. Rooster’s coop for temporary.

The inside of the coop.

This is the area the chickens from last year are in. They will soon be moving into another house and lot area. (As soon as we get it ready.) Then the new chicks will move into this house and lot. When they get old enough we will combine them all together.

The day was absolutely beautiful here. Lots of sunshine and temperatures in the low 60’s. While we worked, as you could see from the previous pictures, we had lots of help from the chickens. Sometimes even jumping up into the new coop. Our ladies are very curious. We also had these visitors. They did not come very close though. We hope they decide to nest on the island again. The mallard ducks have also been checking the island out. Spring-I think- is definitely on its way.

We hope to get the new chicks tomorrow!! Enjoy your day and God bless.

March 1, 2012 4

Sunset

Monday evening Julie and I were outside letting the chicks run free for a while and this is what we saw. God is so good to show us glimpses of His glory.

Sorry I did not make a post yesterday. As you know we went down to Jessica’s on Monday for her ultrasound appointment. Well, this baby did not cooperate. He or she decided no one was going to look that day. All kinds of movement but legs crossed. They told her they would do one more a little later on. I guess this is a shy one or stubborn-not sure which.

Yesterday the girls and I went with Hubby to help him work. He is doing the sheetrock on a remodeling job. He can do it all by himself except hang ceilings. That is just too hard to do alone. The house is in a beautiful location. If we go back with him another day, I’ll try to remember to take the camera so you all can see some pictures of it.

Today we’ll work on catching up here at home. How can a house get so dirty when no one is home? This morning was very chilly here-42 degrees when we got up this morning. Yesterday was really nice. Hubby’s van tells the outside temperature and it was 70 degrees when we left the job site yesterday around 3:00.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

June 15, 2011 3

Mr. Frog

Check out the size of this frog. He is huge! He was soaking up the sun yesterday afternoon in front of our car when we were leaving for piano practice. We, of course, could not resist taking a picture of him.

Yesterday was a nice day. Temperatures were in the lower 70’s with sunshine. My plants looks (maybe) just a little better but I do not think they will make it. The tomatoes look strong but the cucumbers look the worst. The squash may be okay-not sure yet. Lesson well learned. I suppose it was too hot when I transplanted them. Maybe if we had waited until the sun went down to transplant them, it would have made a difference. Not sure.

We had a nice visit with the Horn’s yesterday. We ate pizza and a strawberry crisp she had made from her fresh strawberries. It was delicious. We walked around her yard looking at all her flowers that were up. Her chicks and ducks. Everything. I love doing that. Just walking around with her looking and talking. I am so thankful she is my friend.

We hope to finish science this weekend. We are on our last definitions. Today looks to be nice. The sun is shining. The garden is still too wet to work in but we have plenty of other things to do. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 24, 2011 4

A Good Day

Yesterday was such a fun day. Daniel and Sam spend the day with us. We went riding in the “bumpy truck.” When we came back Daniel told me “That SURE was a fun ride, MawMaw.” I love it. Children are so easy to please. Just simple things make them so happy.

Wild strawberries we saw blooming on our ride.

PawPaw, of course, pointed out the deer trials. It was a very nice day here yesterday, warm with lots of sunshine. This allowed for lots of outside playing. They saw the chicks, the new kitties, the baby calves and the goslings. A full day in little boy world.

We had a storm pass through last night with thunder, lightning and lots of rain. I’m not sure what the day will hold. Right now it is cloudy and everything is soaked. Maybe not a good day for hanging clothes on the line. We’ll see.

This rosebush came up on its own at the fence line. It has had a tough time getting started. The cows keep wanting to eat it. This year though it is huge and full of buds. It has never bloomed before so we are excited to see what it looks like. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

May 11, 2011 4