Life on the farm

Better Late Than Never

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I had said that I wanted the potatoes dug before the baby arrived. I shouldn’t have. She was a week late and the potatoes were still in the ground. I had been busy getting other work done but it was becoming obvious that she was waiting for me to get to work in the garden. Forty one weeks and I was digging potatoes. Mike was busy prepping the wheat field for next spring and the kids were taking turns riding the tractor and playing with the worms unearthed as I dug. I finished the red potatoes at the same time that Mike had finished the field, also the same time the kids were ready for lunch. We called it a day in the garden, loaded the potatoes and headed home.

41 Weeks and Digging Potatoes

It would be another week before baby arrived and needless to say I was more than ready to lose the extra girth. It’s surprising how much more difficult daily tasks are when you belly is “out to here”.

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Life on the farm

Tales of the Pregnant Farmer: A Lesson From Matthew 6:10

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“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21

Don’t I know it! The amount of plans that I have carefully or carelessly put together that have gone up in smoke are endless. I plan all the time and most the time God says “Nope turn left” when I’m stepping right. For a great many years the change of plans that took me a direction I had not planned to go was quite frustrating. I had things to do, it says so on my list.

I pray all day long for what I would like to see happen and so far I’m not seeing the progress that I would hope. It’s discouraging. I’ve been putting in the prayer and the work that I think will make a difference and still I feel no closer to my goal than I did before. Which brings me to “Thy will be done.” Matthew 6:10

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Barnyard

Twins!

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Mike read the most tell-tale sign of when a goat is due to kid is when the tendons on either side of the tail disappear. Scarlet was huge and looking so uncomfortable so we were checking her tendons daily. Really simple check just put your thumb on one side of her spine at just above the start of her tail and your first finger on the other side, there they are. In the last few days I could feel the tendons feeling thinner and more string-like until Sunday; they were gone. Mike checked. I checked. They were gone.

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Barnyard, Life on the farm

Sweet Caroline’s Spring Run

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“Sweet Care-wa-wine!” and Little Miss

I’ve got the baby in the high chair feeding him his second lunch when the phone rings.

“Hey, uh, can you come out here for a minute?”

It was Mike and it seems a fair amount of stories start this way on the farm. So I moved Boy 2 to his play seat so he won’t get into anything while I’m out, throw my boots on, grab some gloves and run out the door.

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Barnyard, Life on the farm

Goat Poop is Not Raisins

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I turned around just in time to see the Little Boy slide out of the wheel barrow, barefoot on the gravel driveway. The wheel barrow was clean according the wheel barrow standards; it hadn’t carried manure in a few months and had been used elsewhere in the meantime. His jeans would need to be removed before he goes into the house, mud dried between his fingers and dirt from ear to ear. “Thank God we are able to raise our children out here.” I thought as I turned back to the Little Miss who was sitting on the tractor. She’s all about cows, tractors and baby dolls right now. There she was clothes speckled with dried mud from the duck pen, sand in her ponytail that was already falling apart (again) and a face that was looks like she was eating dirt not too long ago.

I know it’s crazy to be thankful for dirt behind the ears but we are. Did you know that most people forget to wash behind their ears? Not at our house! Our kids are very involved with our outdoor work. It starts with the baby carrier in the stroller and once they can walk they are on our heels… or somewhere close by. They are always encouraged to help even when their helping is not so helpful. I’m already talking up how much fun it is to stack square bales on the hay wagon in July. They are so excited to be big enough to help with that! Yes!! They really do enjoy helping with any task at hand. Especially tasks that require a hose and/or water, the ones that can get really messy. The trick is to keep them busy allowing them to explore but not too much (if that’s possible).

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