The month of June here on the farm has been a little unusual. We experienced extreme heat at the beginning of June along with more than a week of cooler temperatures and heavy rain. We were barely keeping up with all the work, but the rain allowed us to catch up on some much needed deep cleaning, bookwork, and weeding. Some of my brocolli plants got confused and thought it was time to seed out, but a few look like they may produce something. We were blessed with an abundance of strawberries and enjoyed strawberry ice cream, yogurt smoothies, and strawberries as a topping for toast and soaked oatmeal. Abigail (the baby) thought the oatmeal with strawberries was “Mmm.” The kids have had some opportunities to earn money through their businesses as well as ours. It’s such a blessing to be working together helping each other out. As I think back at all we were able to accomplish this month I know it was the Lord working through us.
Animal News
Bottle feeding the three lambs, who were more like pets, roaming the yard for a time kept us busy. Annika (my 4 year-old) loved helping me feed the lambs. One day I filled up the bottles, got distracted with something else, and when I came back found that the bottles were gone. I found Annika in the barn feeding all three lambs at once. She was feeding two of the lambs by holding their bottles and she put the third in a bottle holder for the other lamb. I have been very impressed with her initiative at times.
For the first time we had a hen sit on eggs and hatch out baby chicks. We found her deep in a bunk covered with some junk. Kailey brought her food and water without being asked, because she was concerned that the chicks wouldn’t be able to get out. She noticed that the mom taught the newly hatched chicks to start eating right away. This seems like a much easier way to get baby chicks! Aiden and I are hatching out chicks too. We are hopeful they will hatch in spite of the drastic temperature changes in the barn.
Kailey’s Goat Nutmeg, is now with her horse Ace. Ace has always been a very anxious horse, but the goat has really calmed him down. In the past he would get very upset when he was seperated from an animal that was with him. We have tried other horses, cows, and sheep, but he didn’t like being seperated from them when Kailey wanted to ride him. This was the first time we had tried a goat. Kailey noticed that Ace doesn’t care when she takes him away from his new friend. Apparently the goat gets very upset and desperately tries to jump the fence. Maybe she needs another friend for her goat.
Projects
We were blessed with over 7 inches of rain in about a week. I was so thankful for the rain. It saved me a lot of time, since I didn’t have to water anything. After the cotton was done flying, we cleaned all the windows, screens, and screened in porch again. We also took advantage of this time to do some organizing and other needed cleaning. I was able to catch up on my pile of bookwork that my husband said looked “scary,” and most of the gardens are weeded and growing well. We are now enduring some scorching heat again.
In late spring we planted a large patch of Einkorn wheat. Our goal was to see how well it would grow in our area, and we wanted to learn about the process of growing and harvesting wheat. We planned to do most of the work by hand since we do not own any equipment yet. We thought it would be a good reminder of the work that people used to do on a much smaller scale. The wheat sprouted well, but soon was taken over by weeds. If we would have planted it earlier it may have choked out the weeds. We are very excited to try again next year. Some of our family members struggle with wheat allergies, but we are able to tolerate this heirloom variety.
Last year Cory’s dad found a round baler at an auction and we bought it from him. Cory struggled with it and put a lot of time and some money into it, but felt it wasn’t what he wanted. I’m very frugal, and it took some convincing, but we finally decided to look for a different baler. After a lot of prayer and time we found a fairly old baler, in good condition, that was a style Cory liked. We decided to have a date night to look at it. Cory, Asher, Abigail, and I drove about an hour from home to check it out. The little ones slept and allowed us to visit without interuption. After looking at the baler and talking with the owner, we decided to purchase it. After paying for the baler, we learned the family also had some kittens they were giving away, so Asher picked out two to take home. We placed them in a box and headed home. As we were driving home, my husband reminded me of the time we bought our first piglets. We had picked them up in Ceresco and put them in a tall box in the back of the van, but on our way home one of the piglets escaped and ran right under my seat between my legs. I started screaming and quickly put my feet on the dashboard as my husband laughed and said “It’s just a little piglet.” I calmed down pretty quickly and realized how silly I was being. He asked if I could grab it so he could keep going, but I didn’t think I could. He pulled the van to the side of the road, caught the piglet, and put it back in the box. We still have a good laugh about that incident, and Cory always says that I have come a long way.
The Lord provided the baler at just the right time because the next day, after a few minor repairs, it was time to bale hay. We had a long weekend of cutting and baling hay. I rode with Cory a few rounds and realized why this baler was such a good investment. It would have taken him at least three times as long with our old baler (if he could have fixed it again)! We scrapped the old baler at CMI, after removing useful parts, and paid for the baler plus some of our expenses with that check. Praise the Lord!
Kailey loves to drive and is learning how to drive the tractor. Cory has taken her along to teach her how to cut hay and move bales with the tractor. It will be awhile before she’s ready to do this on her own, but she looks forward to it. Everyone except Abigail has taken a turn riding in the tractor with Cory. Asher (age 3) loves riding with him and one day rode 6 hours without complaining once. Cory spent most of the holiday weekend cutting or baling hay. On Monday night as he was finishing his last bale it started to rain. The timing couldn’t have been better.
All of our house projects are still on hold. Cory is planning to take the next week off and we are hoping to work on the house again, along with all the routine work. I have had to learn patience through this process. We all look forward to getting back to seeing progress again.
Family Life
One Sunday afternoon we biked the Dark Island Trail from Marquette to Central City. Cory thought it should be mostly downhill going into the valley, and I stated that it should be a relaxing trip. One quarter mile into the trail my legs were burning. My bike doesn’t pedal very well and the weight of our bike trailer carrying Abigail and Annika added to the struggle. Cory let me ride his bike that is similar to mine, but that wasn’t much better. Alena offered me her bike to try and that was very easy to pedal. I could have done the whole trail without any trouble on her bike. Alena and I took turns with her bike and we made it to the end. Alena is such a generous, kindhearted girl. I was so thankful to be done. It was a fun trail with a lot of fun things to see, but if we do it again, I need to do a little more bike riding before the long trip.
The next Sunday we decided to canoe from Chapman to Central City. The river was up from all the rain and I said,”This should be a relaxing trip since we won’t have to get out and push much.” Getting on the river proved to be more difficult than we had thought since there was no parking by the bridge at Chapman. There was a park close to the bridge, and after talking with a Bader Park worker, he recommened paying the small fee to get into the park and pulling the canoes the short distance from the parking lot to the river. The distance ended up being longer than we expected, but after 3 hours of preparing, we were finally on the river. Abigail immediately started screaming, and I wondered what the rest of the trip was going to be like. After a few minutes she settled down and did very well the rest of the trip. We enjoyed Alena’s homemade granolla, soaked barbequed beans with homemade hot dogs that Caleb and I made, and a lot of water.
In the past we always stopped in the middle of our trip so everyone could stretch their legs and do some swimming. Since we had paid for the park we decided not to stop in the middle, but to swim at the lake at Bader Park. After two hours on the river, we thought “we should be getting close to the end.” Every bend in the river I kept expecting to see the Central City bridge but we didn’t. We enjoyed the new sights and only had one close call when we high centered our canoe on a tree limb. Just as I was starting to feel a little sorry for our situation, we saw a family pushing an inflatable boat down the river. Apparently the water wasn’t high enough for the raft to move with them in it. We wished we could help them, but there wansn’t anything we could do, but keep going. Finally after two more hours we saw the bridge. It was 8:00 pm and if we had stopped to swim it may have been dark by the time we made it to the end. On our drive home, after loading the canoes and picking up the car, we were traveling across the bridge, and as the sun was setting, the family with the raft was getting closer to the bridge. I was so thankful to know that they were okay. I was also thankful that we hadn’t invited another family to go with us like we had considered doing. When we got home and after we finished our chores and unloaded everything, we looked at google maps and learned that the distance we traveled was over ten miles. Our trips in the past were only half that distance. We were reminded again that whatever we do, we should always plan carefully, and no matter what happens we should always give thanks. Before going to bed my husband joked that we biked 10 miles, canoed 10 miles, and next weekend we should hike 10 miles. I said sure (I love to walk) and thought “that sounds a lot more relaxing.” The next two Sunday afternoons we did fun things around home and it really was relaxing!
We had a booth at the Swedish Festival again this year and that went well. Alena, Abigail, and I sat at the booth all day. It was very hot, but there was a nice breeze. Cory brought the other kids up in the middle of the afternoon to ride some rides and see all the sights. We all enjoyed the parade after the craft show. Our kids love to watch the parade and collect candy. Since we no longer eat candy, they each save their bags to decorate a ginger bread house at Christmas time. Everyone makes a house out of cardboard and I make homemade frosting (just to save money), then they decorate their houses with their candy. It surprises me that nobody complains about not being able to eat the candy. After the parade we ate our homemade hot dogs, Kailey’s homemade pasta salad with her famous homemade noodles and mayonaise, and vegetables. Then the kids rode on the rides again.
Conclusion
The Lord has really put it on my heart to empower others about how our food has changed over a short period of time. We are reaching more and more people with our website and newsletter and LOVE to hear your stories about how natural, clean foods have changed your lives. Please help spread the word and keep those stories coming! As summer begins, we look forward to the work that lies ahead and to blessing others with our products. Homesteading and farming are not simple tasks, but when you enjoy the work you are doing and get to feel a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, it is completely worth it. This summer we pray that you are encouraged to grow great food, find and meet a great farmer to buy from, slow down and enjoy each day, and be blessed with abundant health!