We Give Thanks

We are grateful for all God has provided for us. 

We are grateful for our family's health and well being.

We are thankful for the animals:  the dog, rabbit, and chickens.   And all the critters and varmints that roam our acres!

We are thankful that our freezer is filled with fruits, veggies, fish, venison, and elk.  And probably more bacon than is healthy or advisable.

We are thankful for a warm home, hard work, and soul-drenching contentment.

But most of all, we are grateful for our Savior.  For the One True God who offers forgiveness, and salvation as a free gift. 

Do you know my Jesus?  If not, I'd love to introduce you.  In Him is found compassion, joy, and life everlasting.  And that is something to be thankful for.

Today, and every day, we praise God, from whom all blessings flow!

The Poultry Palace, Part One: Let it Begin!

One of the first major projects we wanted to tackle when we arrived at Four Fruitcake Farm was to build a chicken coop and get some laying hens.

We began the project in late July.  When the ground was at its driest.  And hardest.  And most pick axe unfriendly.  Good times...

Mr. Farmer Man and The Farm Boy started out by leveling the area we'd designated as the premier spot for the coop.  Using an axe, hose, and shovel, they dug through the natural grasses to the hard packed earth below.  It was a slow, laborious process. 

Seeing the long grasses with their even longer roots made me have more respect for those brave, strong pioneers who "busted sod" in order to forge a new way of life for generations to come.  In fact, there have been many things we've done on our homestead that make me very grateful for the technologies we have today that those who came before us did not have.  Even if that technology comes in the form of a pick axe.  Dreaded, nasty thing!!

After leveling the ground, Mr. Man began to mill the wood he'd felled in the forest.  He was able to use the logs to make enough 2x4s to frame out the coop walls.  

There was also some scrap lumber around the property when we bought it, so we used some of that in the project too.  Have you ever tried to nail into weather beaten, old, decrepit boards that seem to have petrified?  No?  You should try it some time.  It's a true test in patience.  And perseverance.  And attention.  Take your eye off that nail for a millisecond, and that hammer will hit your fingers.  Every.  Single.  Time.  True story!

Everybody "helped" in some way.  Brother helped hold up the framework.  Sister took photos.  The dog... well, he checked our work frequently.

And at the end of the day, the building was beginning to take shape.  We had a building with wood that Husband had retrieved from the forest, milled, and hammered together into the frame.  We had a door and window that were given to us free of charge.  And we had sore muscles.  Oh, boy!  Did we have sore muscles! 

Coming up next:  The Poultry Palace, Part Two:  Varmint Precautions

P.S... Please do not gag at my choice of work clothing.  While they don't fit well any longer (hello, Clean eating!) and are so unshapely and lack any style whatsoever, these have been the clothes I've worn for any major house project for the last 10 years.  They have paint from two different South Carolina houses (babies' rooms!), cement from a Florida house, and they're just nostalgic.  Okay?  'Nuf said...

Catching Up

 As I type, it is blowing snow outside.  However, I am cozy in our home warmed by a fireplace stocked with wood my husband felled and chopped, and that was stacked by the Farm Kids.  The elk roast, harvested by said husband, and complimented by root veggies from several friends' gardens, smells delicious.  I'm sure it will taste divine.

There is just something about being able to enjoy the fruits of your labors.  There is a soul-drenching contentment in working hard and enjoying all that God has graciously provided. 

In our short time homesteading, it didn't take long to learn a few things:  The work is hard.  It is usually unending.  Just when you think you've finished projects or chores, something else pops up.  

The work is hard.  Much harder and more time consuming than I'd expected.    

But the rewards are limitless.
And my soul is drenched in contentment and my heart is happy.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!

Now that the weather has turned cold, I find that, while the chores have not slowed down, I am spending more time indoors.  That's good news for you!  I will have time to get to all the posts and pictures and updates for this blog I've been planning to share for the last five months!

So, hold on to your cowboy hats.  Or your snow hats.
We're gonna get caught up, you and me!

The First of the Farm Critters

We've been patiently awaiting the arrival of our first babies.

Well, maybe not so patiently.

We have had a hard time finding laying hens or chicks.  Seem as if hatcheries stop hatching and selling in early summer and don't start again until early spring.  Go figure.

We thought we'd have to wait until Spring.

But, God provided us with four little balls of fluff.  We think we have three hens and one roo.  

We call them Fluffy, Fluffy Junior, Fluffy Senior, and Jeff.
(If you haven't seen The Lego Movie, these names will seem exceedingly strange to you, I'm sure.)

Guess we'd better get moving on the chicken coop, huh?

(Chicken coop post coming soon!)

Where there's smoke...

 Wildfires are a very real and consistent danger living where we do.

Many fires are started by lightning, but some have a human origin.

We are very grateful that we've only had smoke in our valley, and no fires.

"When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze."

Isaiah 43:2

Meet Buddy -- post and pictures by CraftyGirl

Buddy is my sweet, sweet, bunny.

on the day we got him, we drove 2 hours to a lady who was selling him because she couldn't care for him anymore.  we found him on craigslist and decided to go take a look. 
lucky for me, We came back with him!  he is as sweet as can be, and he loves his new home!

buddy was an early birthday present from  my momma, my daddy, and my brother.  

i am currently working on picking him up, although, i know it will take time. 

he loves to eat carrots, lettuce, and he loves strawberries!

i am so happy to have him as my buddy!

Homestead Happenings

When I decided to start this blog, I had great intentions of writing from the moment our feet hit the ground in Idaho.  However, as you can see, that didn't happen.  So, what has been happening in the 5 weeks since we've landed at F3?

The first few weeks we were here were spent unpacking.  While our new home is about the same square footage as the one we left, the space is much different, making moving in a bit more challenging.  Our bedrooms are of different dimensions, so we've had to get clever with our furniture and storage spaces.  We currently do not have any outbuildings, and so all the garage and attic items are either on our porch or in our storage/pantry room.   My OCD is constantly twitching with dreams of barns, garages, and abundant space in which to store and organize our junk.   Eventually, those things will happen...

We've also had time to explore some of the surrounding areas.  We were quite pleasantly surprised to find that a small reservoir is only 5 minutes from our home.  We've spent time there swimming (GASP! It's COOOOOLD!), and Mr. Farmer Man and the Farm Kids have also been fishing there with much luck with the Rainbow Trout.  YUM!

We've found our new church home, and met many, many kind and helpful people.  We've also already made some great friends, as well as met many other homeschoolers.  We've found fun new things to do, and outdoorsy ways to keep ourselves busy.  

We have several projects that need to get accomplished before winter comes, and while it's hard to think of those things when it's 99 degrees outside, we know that the snow will fly sooner than we're ready for it.

Until next time, my friends, be blessed!