It's 5:30 am and me and the roosters seem to be the only ones who cannot sleep. Farm life has become very time consuming especially with working full time in Alabama. It seems I get home from work, make my rounds checking in on everyone, throw something together for dinner, eat and cleanup, sit on the sofa and fall asleep. That is pretty much the norm for me around here. I still love it. There is just something special about a farm. I can't put my finger on it, but aside from all the poop and grossness, it's pretty amazing. Paul was gone for 3 weeks back in October, it wasn't the same without him here. I think part of that specialness is having a husband that you are working with to create a life that neither of you were familiar with, but working, learning and trying to be successful at it.... together.
The Farmhouse
The farm house is still a work in progress. I think we will always have something to be working on in this house. Paul has mostly been working on trim. He has completed the following:- All windows are trimmed out!!!! 🙌 whoop whoop
- Stair case door is trimmed on both sides
- Wainscoting in the dinning room and behind the kitchen table is complete and painted!!
- Installed and trimmed out a dutch door in the laundry room. Paul, with my support, cut this perfectly good door in half. Those are his words not mine.😂. But, baby wanted a Dutch Door and he also says, "Baby gets what baby wants!!"😂😂😂 (not true, by the way!!)
- Trimmed around the powder room door and installed the transom above it. (finding the antique glass that is the correct size and affordable has been the hold up on all the transoms). Paul says it's a treasure hunt to find the glass that is just right for each door.
- Built a Deck off the kitchen
Now, I just have to get in there and paint everything😩.
The deck looks great, but it really has not turned out to be what I was imagining. We have a Crepe myrtle beside the deck and it keeps everything a mess. It seems to stay damp back there so mold is already growing on the walls. Bugs and cobwebs are awful, I can't keep the dogs, cats, and chickens off of it, so it has paw prints and chicken poop on it most of the time. So I'm trying to rethink that and figure out how I can make it more like what I want with all the X factors taken into consideration now. The biggest project left to do is the master bathroom. Still have a tub to install, doors to install, mirrors to hang, and lots of painting. We still have some baseboards that need to go down throughout the house as well.
Paul has put a lot of work into his smokehouse/workshop/man cave. He is obsessed with Ryobi tools and has a pretty good collection started. He made all the kids a really special Christmas present in his little workshop. He plays his tunes on his old turn table, stokes a fire in his old wood burning stove and sometimes even perks himself a cup of coffee. He has reworked the old spring box and now has all the cows on Spring water and spring water coming into his smokehouse sink. A neighbor told us that there was a mineral in the water that kept you looking young...yep, we are drinking it!!!
The Farm
Chickens are everywhere. Last Christmas, Paul got me an incubator and I have hatched a ton of chicks. I actually hatched some of my very own eggs that I collected. That was a pretty neat feeling. I even let some broody hens hatch eggs. There was definitely a learning curve with that!!! We now have a chicken maturity ward/infirmary. This has been a life saver....literally for the baby chicks. 
There is absolutely nothing sweeter than a hen with baby chicks!! It is the neatest thing to watch. Baby chicks are the cutest!! I hope to start hatching a bunch in February to sale early Spring. Paul has built me some coops as a lean on the implement shed. We have done some rearranging. The little silkie house has been taken down. They were upgraded to the coop built on the back of the smokehouse. They did get some upgrades added. Like.... a chandlier was hung, a little house for them to get in (& by that I mean, a little house for me to put them in at night🙄), and a cute little courtyard for them to enjoy during the day while we are there. Silkies are special and they typically don't like walking up tall ramps. Therefore, since this coop had nesting boxes that were really high, I searched high and low for a set of old school metal nesting boxes. I drove over an hour to pick up a set in Lawrenceburg. Got home, cleaned them up, sanitized them, added fluffy little green nesting pads and got it set low on the ground for them to lay their eggs in. No surprise, that after 2 weeks they have refused to use the new nesting boxes and, in fact, are climbing the ramp and laying eggs in the high nesting boxes or pretty much anywhere the urge hits.🤦🏼♀️
There is absolutely nothing sweeter than a hen with baby chicks!! It is the neatest thing to watch. Baby chicks are the cutest!! I hope to start hatching a bunch in February to sale early Spring. Paul has built me some coops as a lean on the implement shed. We have done some rearranging. The little silkie house has been taken down. They were upgraded to the coop built on the back of the smokehouse. They did get some upgrades added. Like.... a chandlier was hung, a little house for them to get in (& by that I mean, a little house for me to put them in at night🙄), and a cute little courtyard for them to enjoy during the day while we are there. Silkies are special and they typically don't like walking up tall ramps. Therefore, since this coop had nesting boxes that were really high, I searched high and low for a set of old school metal nesting boxes. I drove over an hour to pick up a set in Lawrenceburg. Got home, cleaned them up, sanitized them, added fluffy little green nesting pads and got it set low on the ground for them to lay their eggs in. No surprise, that after 2 weeks they have refused to use the new nesting boxes and, in fact, are climbing the ramp and laying eggs in the high nesting boxes or pretty much anywhere the urge hits.🤦🏼♀️
In the big coop, Cruella has decided she likes sleeping in the nesting boxes. I have thrown her out so many times and she just keeps coming back...within seconds!!! I noticed a week or so ago, when I went in the coop that she was roosting again. I was so happy that the next day I cleanup up the coop and cleaned out the nesting boxes. The next day, I went in there and there she was, back in the nesting box. So frustrating, but we are going to get this corrected. I cannot stand poop in the nesting boxes!!!!!
Oh and I almost forgot, this summer we entered our eggs in the Maury County Fair. We placed 2nd!!! It was so much fun and we got some other ideas of things we might enter next time, especially if we can get our garden going in the right direction.
We have a huge black walnut tree right behind the smokehouse. I never knew a walnut tree could be deadly, until one falls off and hits you in the head!!! It's like baseballs randomly falling from the sky. Then its like walking on marbles everywhere they land. It sounds like a machine gun going off when it hits that tin roof in the late summer. For 2 years we could not figure out how to harvest those. The green shell is impossible to get off. This year we discovered it has to basically rot off and then you pick up the walnuts, We have collect a big bucket of walnuts. We still have to wash them off and let them dry out, but we are anxious to see how they taste!!!
Barry White got his very own private pen with an electric fence. He has been making a habit of changing fields whenever the notion struck him or getting out of the fence all together. Needless to say, he is not a happy camper most of the time, but he is staying in the fence now. Barry is great at his job, but we are trying to give Si an opportunity to work a little. Hopefully one day we can have a small herd for both of them.
The Family
Aside from the farm and farmhouse, family life has been pretty hectic as well. In March, Bentley had a FCE, which is basically a spinal stroke. He lost the use of his hind legs. He spent a few nights in the hospital and had about 3 months of therapy. He improved, but not enough to continue working. Bentley was retired on September 8th. Bentley is the best dog and was such a good partner for Paul. He was super easy to work with and very reliable with his behavior and cues for finding bombs. We adopted Bentley, so he is officially ours now and is living his best life on the farm. In the meantime, Brantlee turned 16 in April and got her Driving License's in June. She just cannot understand the worry I have every time she pulls out of the driveway. She is growing up so fast and turning into an amazing young lady. I am so proud of her. She normally has the best attitude and if she does get sideways with you, she gets over it fairly quick. In September, Paul got word he would be going to Texas to get a new work dog. He was told he would fly in to Texas and the dog would go back with him on the plane. They would medicate the dog and everything would be fine....famous last words!!!
Brantlee and I did get to go visit Paul during Fall break. Aside from our 7 hour flight delay, it was a lot of fun and great to see Paul.
Paul is great with Bronco and has worked hard teaching him the ropes to his new job. He has made so much progress in finding bombs, becoming more reliable, but behavior is still a major work in progress. It's like bringing a bull into a china shop. Devastation and disaster follows when he goes indoors. Potty training doesn't seem to be a possibility either. He goes whenever the feeling hits...even if he is walking. He doesn't seem to care about keeping his living quarters clean either!! All in all, he is a sweet dog with lots of room for improvements, in several areas. I will say though, he LOOOOOVES him some Paul!!
In the late summer, I found out I was going to need a little surgery. I planned it around Christmas Break, so this is why I am finally getting around to writing. I actually have some time at the moment and not a whole lot going on, which is kind of nice!!
I love Christmas❤️❤️. I love the tree, the lights, the music, the wreaths, the decorations, the happiness and joy it brings, buying presents to give to others, and setting aside time to be with family. However, the world has so much going on, it is so easy to loose sight of the actual meaning of Christmas. It all started back with Adam and Eve. They were allowed to live in harmony with a very personal relationship with God. However, they chose to disobey God and allowed sin to enter the world. Now, life would be lived in an eternal separation from God and end in death. As descendants of Adam and Eve, we inherited their sinful nature. God did not leave Adam and Eve, nor does he ever leave us. Instead he put a plan in motion to save and rescue us all. Jesus left his throne and glory to come to earth as a helpless baby. He was born to common parents from a small town in a very humble way—"...She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn”. Luke 2:7 God's Holiness demanded a perfect sacrifice to atone us. Only Jesus could live a perfect life on earth. So God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to live a sinless life and to die the death our sins deserved. The cross was the penalty for criminals, but the sinless Lord of the universe allowed Himself to be crucified there in our place!! He willingly bore the sin of the world upon Himself. He shed His blood so that our relationship with Him could be restored, should we choose to accept His gift. The evilness of sin and its destruction could not stop our Savior from providing a way to save His people. This Christmas season, let's remember to thank our Lord and Savior for His awesome gift of atonement, love, amazing grace, mercy and forgiveness. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." John 3:17
Tricia you and Paul have accomplished so much. The place looks amazing and y’all are having so much fun. All the little calfs are so cute. You do a great job with your blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
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