Swedish Blues or Grays-THEY’RE SO FLUFFY!
Well, we think that’s what breed they are … we really don’t know! They are farm store surprises.
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The last 2 weeks we’ve spent our days adjusting our routine. I think I’ve said it before … at least I’ve thought it-vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors make reading aloud SO. HARD. I feel like I am yelling over a toddler the entire time. At this stage everyone fusses over my lap, so we’ve moved our reading aloud to my room, on the big king sized bed where they can spread out and hear me better.
Our new routine involves mama tending to the farm chores before the kids wake, getting her workout in after breakfast ,and brain warm-ups for all the kids! Day light savings really threw me for a loop this year as far as waking early goes. I am finally getting used to it. I strive for my mornings to look like this:
**Some evenings are spent folding laundry as a family while watching Create TV on PBS-Martha Bakes, This old House, Lydia, America’s Test Kitchen, etc. They are our favorites! We have pretty much written off all the mind numbingly ridiculous kids shows on Netflix & Amazon. They truly hurt my brain- We are already very picky about what our kids take in (supposedly targeted for kids … targeted being the key word here) but even the appropriate shows are just stupid. These days our shows consist of Mr. Rogers, Reading Rainbow, and sometimes the book adaptations of If You Give a Mouse, or The Snowy Day, or nature shows. Nothing else seems worth our time or brain cells. (If you have any suggestions for quality kid shows that aren’t “twaddle,” please share in the comments!) The amount of content out there that you really wouldn’t want your kids seeing really seems to be overwhelming these days but at least parents have access to more information than ever on how to combat this harmful material being consumed by their children.
Our studies this week have included:
In between lessons we have planned special plants for our garden, played outside, studied the bees collecting pollen, taken nature walks in the woods, and observed the changes that come with SPRING! (though this morning we have played in SNOW, and made snow cream … Because winter just doesn’t want to leave us!)
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We have tried a few different solutions for keeping chickens, dogs, and escaping cows out of our garden. We finally settled on this as a solution:
My husband used his post hole digger on the tractor to dig holes deep enough for sturdy, hedge posts cut from our land. We did look at getting things from this fencing company, but then we decided that we wanted something a bit different to keep our animals out. So my husband used goat field fencing (4″x4″ wire) for the sides, and a regular cattle panel for the gate. We may even add a strand of hot wire around the top for roosting chickens that may wander into the garden.
This should do the job of keeping chickens out, keeping the dogs from digging cool spots for lounging, and the cows from destroying it all when they get out (which they tend to do if we leave the chain off the gates by mistake).
It is beautiful; my husband and 5 year old son worked so hard for 2 weekends and every night after work to get it completed. I’m proud of my boys and their diligent work!
Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
This winter (Mostly Jan-Feb) has been bitterly cold on the farm. Between the ice and wind, we have been inside with very little nature study in our school days. When My Dad sent the kids a see through, window mounted bird feeder as a little Valentine special, we were all so excited!
We spend our mornings at a big table my husband made, eating breakfast, reading Bible stories, reciting poems, listening to hymns, and singing little finger play songs (surprisingly my oldest 2 enjoy the songs and nursery rhymes along with their youngest sisters). Now, we get watch birds eat right at our big window!
This may be one of my favorite gifts we have ever received, and oooh how it enriches our homeschool days! It will be fun to add in bird watching with our nature studies, right from our breakfast table. We’ve already had a few different visitors perch and enjoy their seed. And the kids are loving the idea of comparing these birds to other ones in other regions. We’ve had a look at some of the more tropical birds like Toucans after deciding to check out Costa Rica Focus, and the burgeoning birdwatchers are keen to see them up close. Maybe one day!
Part of our nature study this spring will include some beautiful field guides I got the kids this fall-I chose guides from the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide series. I could sit and stare at the pictures in these guides all day long. My oldest pours over books like field guides, and her younger siblings are following suit. I plan to rearrange some nature and science books for spring in the coming weeks, so these are moving from our science book shelf, to the science basket near our bird watching window. 🙂
This week I am so thankful to be thawing out, and have birds to watch, I could care less about the formalities of nature study! Haha but, I am excited to get back into the routine of it.
(As a side note, the bird feeder is very well made, sturdy, and we have had No problems with it mounting to the window. Even in crazy high winds, the feeder stays put! I followed the directions that came in the box for cleaning the window, dampening suction cups, etc, before mounting.)
**PLEASE READ: There is an important step missing in this post. This was our first project and we didn’t have these chairs very long before purchasing new ones for a larger table my husband built, so I am unsure of how they turned out long term. I chose not to prime because the paint was dark, but that was still a mistake.
Chalk painting our dining room chairs has been pretty easy, and very enjoyable.
Supplies I’ve been using:
I still haven’t decided which color combo I prefer on the chairs, with my table and open floor plan. Because our cabinets will all be white, and hopefully there will be white bead board on the walls and chair-rail height, I am thinking I don’t want them all painted in white with red seats. It will just be *so* much white, and Im not in the white farmhouse camp. However, this is the prettiest combo at first glance…
I do plan to repaint the white on the one white chair I’ve done; I do NOT like how it looks distressed. I will re-wipe with Krud Kutter, cover with chalk paint, and re polycrylic. It just didn’t turn out how I thought it would distressed.
The red chairs with stained wood seats turned out with a beautiful finish; still debating if I will paint the seats white, or leave them dark wood.
My process for the chairs has been:
The latex paint was peeling in some places, so on those areas I did a quick sanding with my sanding sponge. Not every chair had peeling; the red chair took the chalk paint just beautifully! I am so pleased with how it turned out. Once I finished the bottom, I was able to turn the chair over and begin the top. By the time the top was done, I could start on the 2nd coat of chalk paint on the bottom.
Chalk paint dries SO fast, so finishing a chair doesn’t take long. Polycrylic also dries quickly.
I am not done with the entire project; I still have 2 chairs to complete, and the white one to redo with fresh paint. I think I am opting to NOT distress any of the chairs. I like the smooth, polished, matte finish. They will probably get plenty of distressing from years of use from my 4 children, anyway. haha
I will share pictures of the final product(s) when all the chairs are done. I will probably sit on them a while (pun totally intended!) before I decide to paint the seats white, or leave them.
This is by far my favorite way to do projects! I’d like to try waxing on a nicer piece soon (something that doesn’t get abused, and wiped frequently!)
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Nope, this is no typical (small) tractor coop. This bad boy is currently housing 8 chickens. The run is 60sqft and the coop is 24sqft. We were going to hinge the bottom, but the egg collection door (on the back) is so nice and big, we decided there’s no need. It has two roosts on the inside running along either side with plenty of room for the nest boxes.
We will add the nest boxes once the girls are older- we are expecting eggs from the barred rocks come the end of July/first of August and eggs from my babies the first of September. with 8 chickens we should get 6-8 eggs a day! That’s more than we can eat, so I am hoping to sell a dozen or two a week. If nothing else it can pay for their feed. =)
Scarlet keeps watch over them at all times. We weren’t sure how she would react (since she was raised hunting and kills cats/squirrels/moles when she can catch them), but she just lays by them all day. I think she is more jealous that they have food all day and cabbages to eat! haha Fingers crossed, no opossums or coons will be messing with our feathery girls, thanks to Mama Bear.
This is what happens when your partner in crime, your BFF, is put in prison.
Just kidding … this is what happens when you are an LGD, your family doesn’t want to have you spayed too young (I’ll let my readers google that), and you go into heat.
Heidi is in heat, right on time at 10 months old, and Huck is just devastated that his working buddy is separated from him. (Or his hormones are going haywire, but it’s cuter to think he just misses her). Being that we homeschool, and are home quite a bit most days, I have been able to keep a close eye on her. I am *not* I repeat *not* a dog expert. Or a breeding expert. I honestly know very little about how dog’s cycles work. But I am in some pretty awesome support groups for LGD owners, and they have gotten me this far. Obviously delayed spaying isn’t for every farmer, but it is what we have planned to do from the beginning for Heidi. When we do get spayed, I plan to use a veterinarian that keeps the hormones in tact, to protect her disposition, health, and guarding spirit. =)
We chose to separate Heidi into the cattle trailer during her heat; we can keep her safe from the elements in the shop, Huck can still guard, patrol, and keep an eye on his sweet puppy. She is HIS puppy after all-he helped raise her and I’ve always referred to her as “your puppy” when we talk. Yes. We talk.
Ehum, anyway. In the cattle trailer she is also safe from stray dogs that may catch wind of her, and Huck, of course. She has room to move, eat, drink, and be bored to death. And I know she is bored. Poor girl.
We have about 2 more weeks of this, and then freedom! (insert that cheesy commercial song here)
I really don’t want my puppy to have puppies. She would be an amazing LGD example, she and Huck both. They’re well mannered and good at their jobs for being so young. But obviously, that isn’t what we have planned for her.
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Outside my Window …
The sun is coming up, it is cool and crisp. The dogs are laying in the freshly pulled-up garden, and the chickens are pecking around.
I am thinking…
Today is going to be a good day!
In the kitchen…
Coffee.
I am wearing…
jeans and a shirt with my hair in a towel. Had to get started before getting the kids up today.
I am creating…
well, I started cutting and taping a pattern yesterday, but the actual creating has not yet taken place. =P
I am going…
to snuggle and read to my kids, send them out to play, then get some learning time done. We have violin and vision therapy today, so our afternoon will be spent out of the house.
I am wondering…
how in the world my sweet girl has been able to see to read so well for so long. I can’t even imagine what it has been like for her; so thankful we have found someone to help us get through her vision dysfunction and get both eyes working.
I am reading…
The Wise Woman Knows Bible study.
I am hoping…
to have a calm and fun week.
I am looking forward to…
this beautiful day! Finally clear skies after a week of cold, drizzly, foggy days (which were actually nice to have, but just ready for some sun). I love homeschool because we can spend so much time outdoors, walking, reading, playing, and just being.
Sweet slow days are so meaningful.
I am learning…
how incredibly complex and multifaceted the human body really is.
Around the house…
we are suddenly overflowing with books again! I need to swap some of them out for fall and winter books from my shelves downstairs.
A favorite quote for today…
Credit given HERE
One of my favorite things…
Coffee outside with my husband every morning.
A few plans for the rest of the week:
After today, just focus on reading with the kids, school, and being outside!
A peek into my day…
no pics today. =)
I am writing this on Sunday and back dating for the sake of hitting Friday on the Farm. *insert cheesy face here*
We have spent the last 2 weeks celebrating birthdays … one right after the other. It has been a joy!
The kids got a new play set/fort/swingset/tree house/whatever you want to call it for their combined birthdays. Hopefully it will last for years to come, and will eventually become an actual tree house in the woods, near the pond.
They each got a small little special for their birthdays- the 7yo a field press and the last Narnia book, The 5yo Mister a bug/small animal terrarium for nature studies and a bug field guide, and the 3yo little Miss a fairy garden house.
Each of the kids had their own special birthday cake- all gluten and dairy free. Boy did that require some special grocery store trips … But we managed to do it!
Mister’s “rocket” cake:
Big sister’s Smores ice box cake:
Little Miss’s dirt cake:
The husband smoked up some BBQ for the week:
We spent Wednesday-Saturday camping at a local state park; all 6 of us in the pop up camper and our new caravan (not forgetting to bring out RV battery as that comes in incredibly useful sometimes!) that we finally managed to get finance for (thanks to Auto Finance Online, see this site for more info). It was surprisingly less difficult than expected. More specifically, after the first day and night, we had things figured out. haha. Keeping the caravan safe and secure is definitely a concern for anyone who owns one. Wheel clamps for caravans ensure that your caravan is not going anywhere you don’t want it to!
Just some camping fun:
I woke each morning to my husband making coffee and breakfast over the fire. He is irreplaceable. 
It was a lot of hard work, but one of the best family vacations we have had. My sweet husband did most all of the heavy lifting and hard work, and though I know he enjoys it, it was such a blessing to me. I actually got to chill and not really fret about anything. It was really nice.
Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
