Fall Updates

Ok, I've already told you that I'm having a wonderful fall, now it's time to fill in the gaps with one of those big updates. Second to spring, I think fall is our most productive time of year.

The girls and I have been harvesting and processing both wild and cultivated treasures. Despite the fact that we've processed and put up numerous bottles, jars and freezer bags this week, our kitchen table is still buried.

We were given the leftovers of a neighbor's garden, which was mostly tons of tomatoes and hot peppers, so the girls and I have been putting up jars of salsa, as well as enjoying hot pepper eating contests in the evening when everybody is in.

(Peeling tomatoes)

(Operation Onion:)

Forty some tomatoes, forty hot peppers and nine onions.
Homemade tortillas, garden fresh salsa, cow fresh sour cream, homemade cheese and uh--purchased olives. Yummy!

We harvested black walnuts and have been making different tinctures from the hulls as well as getting the nuts, too. A few mornings ago, Mom, Mike, John, Liz and I all stained our fingers processing walnuts out on the picnic table.

From the garden, we've been harvesting carrots (did pretty good this year), broccoli, sunflower seeds, corn (did terrible this year!), root veggies (not so good, potatoes need help) and squash (did too well, ack!). Still covering Mom's greens and tomatoes at night.

From the wild, we've been harvesting dandelion roots (once dried and ground, they're a coffee substitute), wild mint (for us ladies winter tea needs), black walnuts, wild mustard, sumac and, of course, apples.

We got our first heavy frost a few nights ago. Time for those strawberries to go to bed! I got one bed put to sleep, three more to go!

I put Frysta (our half Icelandic pony filly) with the Icelandics a few frosty mornings ago. She's been getting to know them over the fence and really seemed to want to get in on the action and play with them in the big pasture. After a good romp, I put her back with Momma again, where she flaunted the fact that she had gotten to go out and play and Momma didn't get to come. When Momma burst her bubble with one of those discipline-type bites on the butt, Frysta settled down and took a long nurse to settle her stomach.

She was really running for awhile there!


Ah, lets see, the kids are still playing in the leaves, still playing on their ponies, still playing football, still enjoying life, um what else is new?

We have our winter supply of round bales being delivered today. We have to get them arranged up on tires, and fenced off from the pasture.

We have a storm blowing in this weekend. Even if the weathermen weren't predicting it online, we'd be able to tell due to these little fellas:

They're called snow birds, but around here we've picked up on Andrew's nick name for them: the prophets of doom. They crowd the roads, fields and parking lots a week or two before the first snow storm. These guys have been buzzing around us for at least a week now.


After two years of apprenticing, I finally did my first hoof trim on Lena a few days ago. It's been getting hard for Mom to bend over my new sibling (lol, she's pregnant!) to do the trimming, so it was the motivation I needed to give hoof trimming a try. Lena can be a spoiled little --ahem-- at times, which made trimming tougher then it should have been, but I was grateful that she was good to my new sibling! (And Mom.)
Here she is giving new baby a kiss.

We've been experiencing gorgeous fall sunrises and sunsets the past few weeks. I actually get treated with some pretty 'moon sets' occasionally. There were a few times last week that I woke at my normal rising time (about 7) to the moon spotlighting in my room and watched it set on one side of the pasture while the sun rose on the other. Camera simply can't capture it (especially when it's owner is still in bed).


Doesn't it just make you want to roll up your sleeves and get to work?

..or relax and kick your feet up after an accomplishing day?


Wheew. If I were more diligent about updating I wouldn't have these monster updates piling up (in picture form) waiting to go on. How'd that slideshow work for you as a way of picture sharing?

Well, I have a Cabin Update and a special Bunny Report (coming from Theresa!) in the works, so those should be up sometime next week.

Until then, enjoy your falls!!

(Can you believe I live here? Neither can I! )

 

A Wonderful Fall

I have been having such a wonderful fall. I feel so much joy, just from one walk around the homestead... It's incredible. Simple joy of the purest kind. The interaction I witness my siblings sharing, (and I share with them), the gorgeous fall scenes we've been privileged with, the oh-so-peaceful animals... it all adds up to what I hope heaven is! When I see something gorgeous, from a leaf to an evening sky, it's instant, living, real proof for me that God exists. Every aspect of the creation seems to glow with the message that He is real. It's easier for me to feel His nearness here, on the homestead, than anywhere else. In the simple slow living, it's so easy to tap into that pulsating peace vibe that runs through the farm. Thank You SO much Lord!!!!! May I never take my vision off Your path! 











Instead of posting the pictures from the last week individually, I decided to try putting up a little pictorial slideshow instead. Let me know how this works for you. These pictures are mainly about the two youngest that I saw marching off into the woods with big rakes the other day, and what they did out there. (Stephen followed them with his camera when they went out the next day, so you can see.) Some other pictures got in there, too . There was just so many pretty ones this week! 

(Make sure your volume is on! )

Stories

A few nights ago, I spent the last few hours before bed in my room stitching. Lizzy and Johnny played, wrestled and giggled late into the evening before Dad told them to go to bed. Lizzy asked if she could tell Johnny a story and Dad gave them 10 minutes. It must have taken Lizzy 5 minutes just to settle Johnny down in her bed after how riled up he was. Her story went something like this:

Lizzy's Story:
"Once, there was a fancy family— (*grin* from behind my stitching) —and they had two children. There was a girl and she was very pretty, actually she was—" (Johnny: "She was ugly?!") "—No, well, yes, she was. And there was a boy, and his name and age was, well, his age was 16, and his name was, um, Jordan, but they called him George. You know, Johnny, 'Jordan and George.'" "Uh huh." "Well, Jordan was very handsome, but his sister— (Johnny: "Was ugly?") —Well, she wasn't ugly, but she was kind of.. plain. Her name was, um, her name was Donna. Donna Corinne. No, actually it was Katrina. And they called her Katrina Serena. And she was 12. No, actually she was 9. Yea, she was 9, like me. And, they lived in a mansion, actually it was a castle. A huge castle, with--they had maids. Maids, but no guards. Then, one day, Jordan and Katrina Serena were out walking, and they were laughing and holding hands and talking. Then, suddenly they, heard a noise in the woods: KABOOSH! It was really loud. Jordan drew his sword: SWOOSH! Suddenly, they were surrounded by a hundred, no, it was like a thousand men. Katrina Serena got knocked down, and Jordan was calling his sister, "Katrina Serena!" He was fighting and fighting, and he ran up a tree. And then, finally, they left. And then he went over to his sister and saw she was knocked out, so he picked her up and carried her to--um.. there was a man in the woods, getting firewood, named--" (sorry I didn't catch his name, at this point there was a distraction downstairs). "He was 20, um 1... 21, and his wife--" (another distraction, sorry, I don't know her name either .

Just about now, the other girls came in with some boys who were looking for Johnny to go to bed so the story broke off here, with promises to finish tomorrow. It was interesting to me, how it reminded me A LOT of Annie's books that the kids love so much.

I'll let you see for yourself. Here's an excerpt from one of Annie's books, where the prissy princess, Priscilla, and the hero's right hand man, Leo, are trying to escape in the woods. The main characters are currently passing the time away in a dingy dungeon where they have been captured, while Leo is trying to get the princess as far as he can from the enemy, who longs to destroy the only other living heir to the Kingdom that they have taken over. In their haste, Leo and the princess are stopped by a strange pursuer who demands to do battle with Leo:

Leo blocked the man’s onslaught quickly, all the hours spent in his training quickly coming back to him. He was on defense now, backing up to avoid the man’s crazy swings. Leo soon realized that the man had had no official or proper training, but was relying only on his broadness and strength, which could prove to be deadly if Leo wasn’t careful. After a few more expert blocks, Leo decided he wanted to be the attacker.
He began swinging in fluent and swift strokes, obviously taking the man by surprise with his hard earned skill. The man flailed his sword heedlessly to defend himself.

“Give it up,” Leo advised. “I don’t want to have to kill you.”
“Do you think I am a coward?” the man hissed. “I do not intend to be the one who ends up dead!”
“Have it your way.” Leo moved forward steadily, forcing the man to retreat. Their blades clashed continuously, moving with blinding flashes whenever they stepped into an area where the sun shone through. Knowing he was better than this man, Leo felt confident that he would not be the loser. He discerned that he’d better get this over with as quickly as possible, however, and not leave Priscilla alone any longer than he had to. But he had to admit that the swordplay was a little thrilling for him, after not having used his beloved sword for nearly two months.
His sword flew at the man countless times, keeping him too busy defending to bother attacking. Glancing past him, Leo noted that a round ring of sunlight lay just beyond the man. An idea came to him suddenly. He moved the man backward a couple more paces until the light surrounded them—perfect. Now to execute the more difficult part.
With a few fast and delicate movements, his sword lifted slightly and turned so the flat side faced the sun, catching a ray of light. Leo wasted no time in flashing that light into the man’s eyes, causing him to curse and turn away. Leo took the opportunity to knock the loose blade from his wrist.
Helpless, the man’s eyes widened as he gazed at his fallen sword. Leo knew he was considering reaching for it, but also knew he might not survive if he did. He slowly lifted his eyes to Leo, glaring.
Leo hesitated, not knowing what to do. Should he strike the man down? That hardly seemed fair, killing a helpless man. But he had won the sword fight—meaning the right to take his life was his. Wasn’t it? He frowned at the man. “You should never have come back,” he said.
The man never answered. A sickening, muffled thud was suddenly heard, and for some reason it caused the man’s eyes to grow round with terror. He gasped in pain, his eyes glazing over. He dropped first to his knees, his face white, and then fell, facedown, at Leo’s feet. Dead. Leo sucked in his breath as he saw an arrow placed firmly in the man’s back. He turned to the princess, his eyes meeting hers.
“I didn’t kill him,” he said quickly, answering the horrified question that was clear in her face. He moved towards her. “But I’d say it’d be a good idea to move out—and fast.”
He sheathed his blade as he walked, grabbing her hand once they were side by side. “We need to run—I’ve no idea who’s back there. And I don’t really want to find out.”
“Could it be Adrian?” Priscilla asked, running by his side.
An arrow suddenly flew overhead, followed by another, and another.
“Nope,” Leo replied, running like he’d never run before, the princess’s hand still securely locked in his.  
They fled as far as they could, but it wasn’t long before hoof beats—lots of them—were heard. Leo glanced at the princess, coming to a halt.
“It’s no use,” he explained, out of breath. “I can’t outrun a horse.”
In moments the riders were upon them. They moved around them, locking the two in a tight circle. There were more men than Leo felt up to counting, knowing full well he was useless against so many.
“Surrender!” the captain demanded. “The girl is to be taken directly to Kingdom Hill for questioning.”
Exasperated, Leo frowned, and was about to answer when he suddenly felt Priscilla slump against him. Grabbing her elbow to keep her from falling, he noticed she was in an all-out faint.
“Oh, this is just great.” Leo lifted his eyes to the treetops, knowing the situation was truly at its worst.

Annie has done a lot of writing. This is near the ending of book #2 in the Land of Cascadia Chronicles (4 books in all). She is now writing a new book (nearly done) and this one takes place on a sea voyage. (I may post an excerpt of that one sometime.)

Likewise, Lizzy is receiving lots of writing assignments in her school right now. Her little stories are so cute. They usually include animals, work and siblings.

We've read that you can tell if a child is happy and at peace, verses disturbed and unsettled, by the pictures they draw. A happy, content child will most likely draw happy peaceful things, such as a cheery home, with smoke curling out of the chimney and curtains in the windows, with maybe a sun and/or flowers, etc. Whereas a child that's maybe dealing with something tragic in his/her life like the death of a parent or divorce will draw frightening dark images. They usually use a lot of red and black and if they draw a house, you will notice things like: no smoke (a sign that nobody is home), no door handle, no sun, etc. Anyway, I always thought that was interesting that you can read a young child through their drawing when (maybe) they can't express what they're feeling any other way.

I was thinking about this when I was doing dishes. Turning around, I saw our fridge where the kids had hung their recent artwork:

Lizzy's 'Life is Good!':

Johnny's version of Lizzy's 'Life is Good!':

Johnny's idea of Jesus:

Lizzy's 'note of love':

They draw these completely by themselves (all the time!) and I swear, we don't pay them anything!


Anyway, I think they're happy enough...

Fall Ramblings

A gorgeous glance out my window. Yes, fall is definitely here...

Well, life is drifting on, like one of those gold leaves floating across our back pasture. The days and nights are getting steadily cooler and trees more bare, reminding us of what's around the corner. We had our first chance for snow on Friday night. "Flurries likely, mixed with rain." They may have gotten it further south from us (and the lake), but we didn't notice any here.

We're having a rainy, cool fall. On rainy days we're sitting in our loft bedroom stitching on the quilted curtains that will (hopefully) be insulating our living room windows, come winter. It's a cozy time to visit, hang out, tell stories and do school while the rain pours down on the windowpane outside.

Dad and Andrew spent the rainy days clearing out the garage so they can continue some of their work out there during the winter. Andrew pulled out the old wood cookstove (that was left in the garage when we bought the place) and took it apart--cleaning and assessing it as he did so. When the sun shone near the end of a rainy day, he climbed up on the garage roof and took down the old chimney. We are going to attempt to use the stove to heat the garage through the winter so Dad and the boys can work out there. It will be interesting to play around with using a wood cookstove. I find them adorable, fascinating and they scream out "self-sufficiency." I would take one over a new car (or something such-like) any day.

The next day was sunny so the poor stove was left, torn apart and alone in the semi-clean garage while Andrew worked on the cabin and Dad and the boys worked on getting another 2 cords of wood for the garage heating.

Andrew's working on the gable ends on the cabin.


It's really peaceful out at the cabin site, especially now with the fall colors. This picture was taken at the cabin site at dusk when the sunlight was just nicking the tops of the trees.

We got our first frost last night, but have been covering the garden the past few nights just to be sure. The kids transplanted some big tomato plants into 5 gallon buckets to (try to) keep inside a little longer. They also got some of Mom's frequently used kitchen herbs and transplanted them.

We're still finding time (and energy!) to play football in the evenings, though we all look forward to Sunday's where we can play in the afternoon without hurrying to beat the darkness. The games get quite... interesting after the sun goes down.

Even though we don't participate with Halloween, we couldn't pass up this cheap Spidey costume at the thrift store. A certain 5yr. would live in it, if I didn't make him take it off every once in awhile and insist he stop 'squirting webbing' and start writing his alphabet for me.

Stephen, (who can be a little too self-congratulatory at times ) said, "I did a good job taking those pictures, they make him look a lot better than he does wearing that suit!"

Mild mannered Peter Parker.

Our horses are getting their winter coats already. They're thick this year, which means a cold winter. Theresa and I went on a pony ride last night, and Lena felt taller with the extra hair between her and me. I love to go and snuggle in Lady's fuzzy, soft, warm back while she eats at the hay ring.


Our wittle bwack bull Buddy graduated into the bigger pasture a few days ago. He is definitely bottom wrung animal out there. Even his own Mama disowned him, and Frysta is mean to him, in a curious kind of way.

We try not to be too friendly to him, because there's nothing more dangerous than a people friendly bull cow. But it's hard...



A few days ago, we were sitting around the table enjoying lunch and somehow the topic of facial hair came up. The menfolk in our family have never been quick to sprout hair on their jaws, but regardless, the younger boys were planning exactly what they would grow. It was decided that Stephen would look best with just a mustache, whereas Johnny wanted a full beard, "like Dad's" and Michael wanted long sideburns with maybe a little something under his nose.  I was having a hard time eating at this point! However, they're going to have to wait awhile... Andrew, almost 19, still hasn't had to shave yet and I prefer it that way.

We're still gathering apples, though the apple pie intake has slowed down. I don't know whether it was the kids getting their fill of them or the girls getting sick of making them, but, regardless, we're just eating them raw, ripe and crisp now! The other day, Theresa, Johnny and I went down into the ravine where Theresa climbed our favorite apple tree. It grows out at an angle slightly over the creek. There were plump yellow apples drifting in the creek, pleasant as you please. Johnny and I had to be careful gathering the windfalls because Theresa was making such a ruckus up in the tree that apples were falling left and right. Eventually, we got our treasure back up the ravine and to the house where we presented Mama with the biggest, prettiest apple in the bushel, a tradition when we go out picking.

Annie has joined me in knitting the boys winter socks. We trade off stitching on our curtain blocks and knitting. Annie was privileged with the honor of our first pure white ball of yarn for her first pair of socks (I'm still on brown balls). These are winter farm chore socks for Stephen (white) and Andrew (brown).

We are getting gorgeous fall evening skies overhead as we're playing our football games. I really feel amazed and spoiled sometimes.


Anyway, this post has gotten away from me again--kind of like Johnny running after a leaf in the driveway and ending up down the road by the creek beds. So, I'll end now, sharing this 'sigh' picture with you:
Sigh....