Farm Update

Life around here has been busy and wonderful. Seth is swamped with work right now, which is a blessing, but can also make for some l-o-n-g days. Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to cooler weather and eventually winter. It's not that I like winter all that much, but there is hope for a huge storm to roll in and my hubby possibly getting to stay home. One can hope can't she?

Our garden this year was a major dud. Anyone following for a while would remember my beautiful seedlings, they'd remember that we planted them with great anticipation, and they'd remember the garden getting flooded for days and the whole thing going to pot. There are a few stragglers however...

The spaghetti squash is thriving and I'm thrilled! I'm not a huge fan of regular squash, but I LOVE this stuff. I heard it freezes well too, so I'm pretty happy about the prospects. 

I went out last week to check on the chickens and I always, always look at the garden and sigh. I think about next year and the lessons we've learned this year. My hubby and I plan on doing some raised beds for next year in hopes that if it floods again, my plants won't be submerged...again. Anyway, I looked at the garden and my eyes about popped out of my head. I saw two tomato plants! Not that they'll ever produce, but the fact that they were there was amazing! I just squatted down and stared at them, so happy for their existence. I am no gardener and indeed, I have a very black thumb. Anything that grows amazes me. I better start expecting more of my garden than just plants, but this year I'll be thankful for a un-producing tomato plants. 

Our lone pomegranate seems happy. We've had three others on the tree, but the birds thought they were too pretty to leave alone. What amazes me is that when they first grow on the tree, they are that gorgeous burgundy color. Then as they start to grow they turn green and as you can see in the picture, once they get closer to the desired size they start to turn color again. God has truly made everything so unique!

Chickens are fantastic and fun as ever. We have an abundance of eggs to say the least. 12-16 eggs a day is what we're collecting and so thankful for the goodness they provide.

Cows are growing and thriving. One of our new heifers however got pink eye and so we had to doctor her up a bit. She was a high-headed thing and very high strung. Of course she's the one to have the problem...

Just a note if you are unfamiliar with working cows- It's not a glorious thing or a pleasant thing to have to doctor a cow, especially a spirited one. She wasn't hurt by the rope, but in order to work on her eye we had to have control of her head. As you can see, if we didn't try to help her, she'd lose an eye. I understand this could be shocking to some, but this is the reality of life on a farm.

As you can see, happy cows. Gus is going to be butchered in about a month and I'm looking forward to it. A freezer full of meat is a blessing and not to be taken for granted for. Our farm's purpose is to raise animals in a healthy way, care for them as we should, and harvest them when the time is right. We are making an effort to feed ourselves well and we want to be able to help feed others as well. Thankful for where the Lord has placed us and trying to give Him the glory for it all. After all this farm is His, not ours.