So, it's been a while... The winter is still here and so is the snow...

So it has been a whlie since you all have seen the babies and all the furry around the farm.  We have been coverd in snow, and if not snow, then rain.  CAN I JUST SAY "I HATE MUD!!!!!!  Yes, my temper is getting flared over the weather but, we will weather the weather, what ever the weather, weather we like it or not.  I must remember "Spring is coming, Spring Is Coming!" 

Meanwhile in the middle of all the chaos I find peace in the barn.  Here are just a few pictures that graps the moments of peace I find.

Water that is not frozen is always welcome.

We like it too!  And, my have we grown over the winter.  These are the yearling Suffolk and Hampshire sheep we kept from last year.  They are all just turning one and have really bloomed here lately.  Emily showed these girls and it looks like some of them might get to be shown this year as well as yearling ewes!

And although blurry this is the veiw I see the most.  Everyone running around looking for me or a bite to eat.  I will be selling a small starter flock of Suffolk/Hampshire sheep.  This encludes a ram and three maybe four ewes.  Would be a great start for someone looking to get into the sheep business to who just wants a clean up crew for the property.  Hope you enjoyed your visit.  Leave a comment or two if you did.

Pictures From Around the Farm......

These first few pictures are of the new property.

A view down the bottom side of the property.

From a top of the first rise looking up.

Now looking down from the top of the line before the woods.

Down the old railroad bed that runs along the base of the proerty.

Wade looking at the pond wondering where to start with the clean up.

Now for the Lamb:  Look at this BlackFace momma nursing two white face lambs that are not hers.  She has turned into a buffet after weaning her own lamb.

We are just too cute running around in the snow.

Me and Mom just chowing down!

Look how sweet this little guy is!

Holly with ince in the sun.  I can take pictures that are not of animals sometimes.

An Old Gate

PrincessFuzzy

Sadie The Mule

The Rake.

I hope that everyone had a good yime looking at the pictures and getting to see what the view is from my backyard!  Stop by and chat if you can!

Dream coming true!...It'd Hard to believe it!

Well, sometime ago, around 3 years my husband and I decided to approach the man who owned the farm bedise us to see if he was willing to sell.  There had been talk in the area that he was going to sell it and someone wanted to put a subdivision in.  We were mortified about a subdivision and would sell and move where we didn't have to deal with lots of people around us.  So we asked and he and my husband drew up and agreement.  We would make a payment each month to him and upon maturation of the terms set aside the deed would be ours.  This had been the gentlemans inhartience and he was not comfortable letting it switch hands until the passing of his grandmother.  She was allowing a cattle farmer to lease it and he would continue it until her passing.  So we were not aloud to do anything with or on the property until then.  So we watch and wait.  Over the Christmas holiday the dear lady passed away.  We were contacted by the gentlemen a week ago and so the papers are signed all we are waiting on is the closing with the bank and the deal is done.  My husband is like a kid in a candy shop.  Today we are going to walk the propery and see where we will begin the clean up.  The boys said "the first thing we needed to do was put up a new fence,"  when asked why their reply was "we need to move our cows over there."  Very practical I must say but, we have two cows and this is a 30 acer farm.  My husband wants to clean the area where the pond is and clean the pond out first so that he can fish anytime he wants.  It connects to out backyard and he will be there all of the time no matter what the temperature is.  (The boys had not thought of that.)  I want to see what part will be best suited for hay and pasture and then decide how we will set it up for rotational grazing.  I will be able to run more sheep and this will be nice as I will not spend all summer with ewes running me over at the barn and less flies around the house.  Needless to say we have our work cut out for us but that is fine as we are looking at this being a production for our retirement.  I will take some pictures today and post them later.Off to get thehouse work done.

So yesterday was....Well... interesting none the less...

Here is a good shot of our cows.  These girls are just big pets.  We bought them three years ago as heifers and raised them to this point.  They will have babies in April or sometime there about.  Sadie and Selma, are just great girls.  I had ran home from work yesterday in a hurry to take my mother chirstmas shoping when, as I pulled up the drive way what did I see?  My momma sheep and her little man running through the barnyard in all that rain and muck.  Momma had decided she did not want to be in a lambing pen anymore and she is so smart that she let herself out.  So off I ran into the house, threw on my coveralls and coat, then the muck boots and off I went through the mud and the muck to put that momma and babyback in the dry.  Well, that was easier said than done.  10 mins. later I had momma and baby up and the sheep eating grain.  I took som grain to the cows and was able to get this picture.  As I finished snapping the photo of the barn my mother drove up.  So, off to the house and shed all the outerwear, changed shoes and headed back out the door to take her to the co-op and Walmart.  The rain had stop for the most part and thinking we were home free off we went.  Shopping at the co-op is one of my favorite things to do regaurdless of the season.  I just love to see whats new!  Buying for three small boys is a lot of fun and we left the co-op with most of christmas covered.  Then to Walmart, where we were going to buy some fabric to make my 82 year old grandmother a no sew fleece blanket as part of her christmas.  She is just a jewel and in good health except for the demintia.  Like most older folk she is always cold and eventhough the snuggie would be easier she would be tanggled up in that and on the floor in no time flat.  So a blanket it is.  What started out as one turned quickly into five.  Some how my mother had a way of multipling things in a hurry.  Now all three little guys are getting one, mammaw, and mother are all getting no sew blankets.  I know what you thinking, "when will I ever have time to ge these things done", cause thats what I was thinking!  Until, about three o'clock this morning when it hit me.  "You teach high school art you big dummy!" So, as part of my fibers projects that my second year students have to do, we will learn the technique of no-sew blankets!  I will show them how, they can help me make the family ones, and I will help thouse who wish tomake their own.  This is a win win situation as they say!  I am going to include pictures of each blanket and some of my students work as well. So I make it home from shopping only to find these two baking cookies.  It is so nice when they get along.  Emily is 15 and Timothy will be seven on the 23 of this month.  He loves to cook as much as she does!  I am vey thankful for the blessings in my life!

Today is just one gloomy day here in Oliver Springs TN.  It has rained so much that I can hardly see straight.  The workers were only able to get the footers poured for our barn yesterday and with all this rain I am sure that they have not been to work today.  I am not complaining aas though it may seem, it is just so dang cold and wet.  I would much rather it be cold and snowing instead.  The Lord does know is best for us all and even though I think that a nice warm breeze and 85 degrees would be nice, he has chosen this.  I did fid anew blog to read today and as soon as I figure out how tolist it as one that I follow I will do so.  For now I will provide the link: http://georgiafarmwoman.blogspot.com/.  They are giving away a nesting box this week and I can not wait to see who is going to win.  I just got 25 baby chicks and in just a matter of months I am going to need one.  Anyway, check out her blog it is very interesting and I really enjoy reading about whats going on in her little neck of the woods.  I have included a picture of the view from my back door, the one out of the back of my classroom.  Yeah, it may not seem like much to you, but, I enjoy looking out of it as the seasons pass.  It is my escape when life with monkeys, the children, get's so much!  Lol!!!  Life really is good when I think about it!  I have so many friends who love to share their time with me, I teach children - how much more rewarding can you get?!  I have a wonderful church and church family and a great personal family! 

I have been working on this baby blanket for my cousin's baby.  He and his wife are missionaries to South Africa.  My prayer is to finish it  by Christmas and mail it tothem.  I only hope that customs doesn't take it.  They are so far away from home and without any family to celebrate the birth of their first child.  I hope that this makes it!  So, for those of you who pray, Pray hard for this to make it.

Psalm 5:3 (King James Version) My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

The Lord has been so good to my family this year and I just want to take the time to thank him for his generosity.  I have food on my table, a wonderful husband, clothes on my families back, and time to tend to the little piece of ground God gave me.  Last week brought a blessing to our barn yard.  I came home from work to find the prettiest little spotted lamb you have ever seen.  He and his momma are doing just fine and he is as pretty as a picture. Cute, Cute, Cute! Need I say more? He shall remain nameless until next wednesday when he will be named.  This is the practice I have used since I started raising sheep.  If they can make it until they are two weeks old then they earn a name.  Usually by then we are out of the woods when it comes to freaky things.  This year all blackface sheep will get a name that starts with the letter "N".  I started this the first year we had lambs and now we are on the letter n, thus providing some very interesting names I am sure.  The construction on the barn began today.  I will post pictures this afternoon once I get home from work.  We have also been blessed with a new stray, yes, Emily finally got a lap dog.  He is a Chihuahua who has won her heart, which let me say doesn't take much, but he has such a nice personality and he sleeps with her every night.  So far, so good.  We also have 25 buff orpington chicks which arrived friday and this will allow us to have all the fresh eggs we will need plus extra to sell when spring gets here.  I am hoping that my father-in-law will build me a nice little chicken house for these girls in the very near future. 

Work on earth is never done....

Work around the farm never seems to cease, for those of us that farm this is an understatement, for those that don't we do it because we love it! Saturday was a day to rejoice and get much needed chores done outside.  I was blessed with good weather and plenty of sunshine.  Something not seen these days in East Tennessee.  I cleaned the summer junk out of the barn, unloaded feed and placed it in barrells, shoveled stalls and moved sheep, trimmed hooves and wormed everything on the hill.  I have started an organic worming process and I will update you on how that goes as we progress toward the next few weeks and I can tell if it has taken care of the parisite program.  Wade also worked hard trimming trees, mowing the grass and weedeating, digging the watering hole out for the cows and the mule and donkeys, and numerous other odd jobs that need done.  We are all geared up for Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for.  Our family, friends, our health, good church, the blessings the good Lord bestows upon us each and everyday. 

The Lord reveals himself in the most simple ways....

This morning I was sitting my truck waiting for the window to defrost and I noticed how beautiful the world is around me. How often do we find something negative to say or comment on “how cold it is”, have I too have been guilty of this very thing? As the ice melted and the sun shone through the window of my old 98 pickup I say the earth warming, the sun shining and a glorious day unfolding! What a amazing way to send me off to work! To the naked eye you may not see the beauty in my little piece of the world; but I remember the not too distant past when we didn't have a fence there and the hard work my husband and father-in-law put in to get this fence up so that our cows and donkeys would have a place to graze. Oh, how blessed I am to serve a master whose hand created 1867 Old Harriman Hwy. and gave it to me!

As the day progressed and I made my way through the day with 120 something high school kids and then rushed home to feed the critters, the check engine light came on in my truck.  This was not the worst of the events that would lead me to the end of my day.  Emily, came in and was a very helpful 15 years old, by cooking dinner for the family while I did the outside chores,this way we could sit down as a family and have supper together. This was a good thing. Because, while I was in the barn,Sorting through the sheep, deciding which ones were going to market, which ones were to be sold as breed stock, and who was close to having lambs, Wade called and said that he was running late due to the fact he had a flat tire.  He had been unable to take the flat tire off due to the fact his lug wrench did not fit.  Luckily, his friend, Stewart Hicks, was on his way home from work and stopped to help him.  So, no mowing the lawn tonight before it gets dark! As I waited for him to come home, and after doing the chores, I sat down and watched the mules eat their hay, listened to the the peaceful sound of the sheep enjoying dinner, and looking at the sun setting, I thanked the good Lord for his many blessings: a loving husband, a respectful daughter, provisions for the winter for my animals, and a moment to enjoy the peace at the end of the day right here in my own back yard.... So, the end of a long day brings a new set of tires, dinner for the animals, and dinner with my family. What more could I have asked for?  Oh, yeah tomorrow we will have to figure out the check engine light!