Summer Days

I have survived my week of Girls' Camp and am now enjoying the easy summer days at home.  The kids and I have been going to the pool in Albany a lot.  They enjoy seeing friends from church and school there.  And I enjoy being able to sit back and observe without being in the water (its cold!!!) the whole time. 

Our animals are growing steadily and thriving.  Bella is still scrawny next to her new sister, Meadow.  But she is growing and seems happy enough.  Bella has been shedding, and now that much of her longer hair has shed, she looks much better. 

The twins are happy as ever.  They were recently weaned, and did  NOT like missing babas.  But they are doing fine without them.  They enjoy all things mischievous, including climbing into our vehicles and on the lawn mower, escaping their pen, and head-butting cats.  That is so funny to watch!  Thank heavens they have yet to attack our garden... knock on wood!

The chickens look like adults already!  I know I need to begin looking for eggs soon.  Wow!  Our roosters are starting to "crow", although it sounds kinda pathetic.  They are NOT quite fully developed yet.  Almost!

Our fruits are growing, although it has rained seldom and they need a good rain.  We have squash that can be eaten any day now and have our first cucumber.  Yeah!  We need to get the knack of gardening here.  The soil is rich and absorbs water, but we have little vermin to deal with (moles, field mice, rabbits, raccoons...).  We are still learning!

Tomorrow is Cole's 7th Birthday!  He is so excited!  We need to make it fun!  ;)

Next week:  My best friend Tasha is coming with her kids to visit!  I am SO EXCITED!  I miss her and the kids SO BADLY!  And Cole and Emma miss their best friends Scott and Brooklyn.  Aubree cannot wait to see her sweet baby, Tayven (neither can I)!  Happy dance, happy dance!

Summer Break On the Farm

I haven't posted in awhile.  Whoops!  I have been busy with end of the school year stuff and the first week of summer vacation.  And my husband is officially living here, so I have been enjoying that immensely!  I kinda like having him around for some reason... ;)

Farm News:  We now have 2 little ewes (female sheep), Bella and her new "sister" Meadow.  Meadow has been here for nearly 2 weeks and is adjusting fine.  At first she was a bit freaky.  Not only is she HUGE next to Bella (momma milk, I suppose), but she had been out to pasture all her life and was NOT tame.  At all!  She would go barreling through, ramming her head against fences, to get away from us, etc.  Thank heavens for Bella!  Meadow has been used to being a part of the flock and follwing all they did.  Bella is very tame and lovey, so Meadow has learned to tolerate me and follow me into her pens.  I still am not allowed to touch her, but she doesn't freak out when I am nearby.

Bella and Meadow

Meadow being shy

All of the other animals are doing well.  They are growing quickly!  Our chickens look like adults.  The roosters (there are 3, oh heavens!) are starting to crow a bit, fight a bit, and one is even "acting his part".  Blech!  We will keep one, maybe two.

Our chickens are growing up nicely

Capt'n Dudley Haddock (Cole named him) is watching over his ladies

The twins are so cute and fun!  They are into everything and are little Houdinis!  We have to make sure their enclosures are VERY secure!  They love playing around, climbing on everything, and head-butting anything.  Emma made the mistake of playing "head-butt" with the twins one afternoon.  She ended up regretting it (sore bum and forehead)!

Cheese & Sprinkles are growing quickly and loving life

The twins love torturing the cats (head butting them), and Ruby is ever vigilant

Fun stuff:  We got are garden going with tomatoes, swiss chard, green beans, yellow squash, zuchini, cucumbers, and watermelons.  Yum!  It was HARD WORK (especially when the ground hasn't been worked in a few years)!  We had to till several times, hoe into into rows, plant, and mulch it (straw).  But it looks nice.  We cannot wait to get some veggies!



We now officially have baby grapes!  We have 3-4 old Concord grape vines going strong.  How awesome will it be to have fresh juice and jam?!

A nice close up, the bunch is about 2 1/2 inches long

Glorious, glorious grapes!

The coolest thing...

We have a PEAR TREE that is producing highly!  We didn't even know we had a pear tree!

AND we have TWO.... drum roll, please... APPLE TREES!  Woohoo!  I am just a bit excited.  Can't you tell?

Okay, okay.  The fuits are only about 1 inch long right now.  But how cool is that?!

I should probably say something about my kids... they love summer!!!

I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See?!

Oh, the beauty of Spring!



Since Dan arrived on Friday afternoon, we have been working hard on preparing our gardens. We rented a tiller and got down to work! Here is a pic of the awesome work. (The color is a bit off, it is actually a lot darker in color than this. Its black!)



We pruned our fruit trees. Here is our favorite. It's an apricot tree. Thus, the corny title...



Now, we need to figure out what to do with our grape vines...

Spring Is Here!

I am so excited to see green grass coming in, buds beginning to form, and birds singing so sweetly. It has really been warming up and the world is awakening outside. Its so nice to be out in the middle of all this beauty. I love it!

Bella has been doing so well! She scared us there for awhile, but she is fully recovered from her scours and growing in strength and size. She is eating well, always hungry, and always "smiling". I love to watch her run after the kids to play or nibble on the fresh green grasses. So cute!

Bella still follows me everywhere I go and waits for me when I am not around. When she is out of her pen, she is my shadow and even waits at the door when I go inside briefly. You'd think she just hang out with my mom or the kids while I was inside. Apparently I am every one's mother, my own children, the dog, the cat, and the lamb. Oh yeah, we have a barn cat named Tinkerbell (Tink) that is so very affectionate with everyone, except Chester.

Today Mom and I had a productive afternoon. We cut away a seriously fierce looking gooseberry bush. I know, I know. I shouldn't have nearly taken it out, just cut it back. But it was seriously dangerous and in a weird spot (too close to the hen house). So now it is toast. We started to burn the cuttings, but they were too green. We did, however, take out some old grasses taking over the hen house and trim back some roses, etc. They are now burned and the area looks so much better.

I did a serious mucking of the lamb stall, secured it with some chicken wire near the front for protection against coyotes, and added the poop mix to the compost pile. I know you are all just so jealous! Really it is not gross at all. Sheep are relatively easy to clean up after.

I am super excited about tilling and planting! I have been making drawings of what I'll do and where it'll all go. Fun! I hope that I am not too late starting it all. It will definitely be a learning experience.

I admit I have been super lazy the last few days. Hence, no blogging. I LOVE to read and was completely engrossed in the Hunger Games Trilogy. If you haven't read them, you should! SO GOOD!

Baby Lamb Blues

Our little lamby lady has yet to get over the scours. She has been getting really dehydrated. If we do not feed her every 3 hours or less, she starts to sound badly (baaas are weakened) and looks a little lethargic. I am worried about her. But, I hope she recovers! And I am certainly trying my best.

I will need to get up at midnight and 3am to feed her. Last night I was so exhausted and I did not feed her in the night. She went 7 hours without eating. Its my fault that she is as bad off right now as she is. I feel like such a jerk. Right now she is her pen with a heat lamp and a full tummy. And the good thing is that she is peeing a ton again and the scours are not as bad right now. She is still growing and seems mostly happy. Let's keep it up!

I really love this little sweetie. I knew lambs were gentle and sweet. But they are so loving and trusting. She follows me everywhere and "waits" for me by the door. She loves my mom and the kids also. But she thinks I am her mama and is the most attached to me. She even always looks like she is smiling, with bright eyes. I think it is the cutest thing when she scampers and she tries to nurse on my pant legs. She is so precious!

About the kids: They love school here. They ride the bus and have a very long day at school. They get on the bus at 6:45a and off at 4:45p! They have school 4 days a week, Tuesday thru Friday. And today the Elementary kids went to the CIRCUS! Cool! Emma and Dallin did not get to go, so I am taking them tomorrow. The other kids will spend some time with Grammie in St. Joe's (St. Joseph, MO).




About the unpacking: It is nearly done. I have done little of it the last 2 days because I am so sick of it. But I am getting there. Next week will be devoted to obtaining seeds and planning out my garden areas. I want a "kitchen garden" closer to the house for herbs and tomatoes, etc. I want a larger garden further out, for everything else. I still need to cut back my grape vines, blackberries, asparagus, and fruit trees. I am getting there.

Okay, so I have Skype now. So if you want to video conference or just chat, my profile name is amie.haddock . Just so you know...

Our First Sunday

Its the end of our busy week. We attended church for the first time in our new branch. It was a very pleasant visit. It is nice to have so many welcoming and warm saints. Not surprising, my kids made themselves right at home and were anything but shy. At least they do not have issues with new situations.

I am excited to get a calling and be put to work. The branch is so small. It is different from what we are accustomed to. All the kids have Sunday School first and a joint Primary. There are only 3 people in Primary during Sharing Time! (A pianist, a reverence advisor, and someone to lead Sharing and Music Time.) I cannot believe there is not a chorister! Many of the organizations only have a President and First Counselor. And the active members often have 2 or more callings. It will be interesting to see where I end up. Please be YW or Primary!

Bella is still ill, although she seems much better. We have her out on the porch in a dog crate with a heating lamp. She is not happy to be out of the house. Afterall, she thinks she is a human. But she needs to start acting like a lamb. She is constantly baaa-ing at me, saying, "Mom! Hello! I am waiting...". The little lady has no intentions of living in a barn!

I feel a little overwhelmed. Dan is leaving tomorrow and I will not see him for awhile. He will be in SLC for 2 weeks before heading back to Texas. He still has more job training to do. While he is gone, I need to get our family on a good routine with scripture study, prayer, FHE, and chores. I need to work on getting these kids used to working harder and watching media less often. I also need to work on my own prayer and scripture study. And I also need to prepare our garden by tilling and buying more seeds.