Fun on the Farm

Now the kids probably don't see it as "fun" but seeing all my gang out in the garden working together was such a great sight that I couldn't let it pass without taking a picture to share. You can't see all of them (our garden is too big!) but they are out there weeding diligently. The lettuce is keeping us well supplied with salads (which is a good thing since Wayne and I are on a 21-day detoxification diet which allows only veggies and fruits) and the peas are filling out. Now if I could only keep the 2 legged 'critters' from munching on them before they are ready to pick!

On Marc's birthday his friends (the Edwards boys) came for the afternoon and evening. They had a great time canoeing up the river and then having a paintball adventure out in the field. They ended the evening by playing a game of the British version of Monopoly.

Today is Matthew's and Katelyn's birthday. Matt celebrated his yesterday since he had to work today, but we ended the day with cake and ice cream and now the birthday twosome are watching the Apple Dumpling Gang.

Jonathan's favorite activity these days is playing fireman. He insists that this coat is NOT too small and walks around singing the theme song to Fireman Sam (a British children's show). He was thrilled the other day when he and Katelyn sprayed out the alpaca barn with the garden hose...he was pretending it was on fire and they were putting the fire out. With this little boy's love for adventure I wouldn't be surprised if he does grow up to be a firefighter some day.

Night visitors

To say there is never a dull moment around here is an understatement. The other night we had a visitor that wasn't invited...a bat woke me up as it fluttered around our room and by the time Wayne realized what was going on, it had flown into Nathanial and Marc's room. After discovering it wedged behind a bureau amongst some curtain rods they were able to get it dragged into a box to return it to the great outdoors. The next night as I sat on the back porch and enjoyed the deepening twilight, I noticed quite a few bats flying around...and they were all coming from the direction of the house. I sat watching as 18 bats within 10 minutes came out from under the tin roof on the main part of the house and started flying around. Wayne and Jonathan watched from the backyard the other night and counted 26. I don't mind bats as long as they stay out of the house--especially when I read that they can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. We decided to try an electronic signal device that repels bats and rodents (2 for 1! What a deal!) and hope that they'll at least move to one of the outbuildings instead of the house. It hasn't arrived yet, but hopefully, we won't have anymore unwelcomed night visitors.

Graduation Day!

Today was a special day on the farm...Nathanial received his high school diploma. He is planning on attending Davis College in the fall as a pastoral ministries major.

We had an open house with approximately 60 people attending. A thunder storm pushed through about an hour before the event was scheduled to begin. Thankfully, the weather cleared and cooled the temps down a bit before the guests arrived. It was a great time of sharing with friends and family our joy and thankfulness for the gift of schooling Nathanial for the past 13 years (officially, but 17...almost 18 years total)

By looking at this young man you would never imagine the rough start he had in life when at one point the doctors gave him less than a 20% chance of survival. It's been quite a journey and he has blessed our family and so many others with his compassion and convictions. He has a real heart for ministering to others and we look forward to seeing what God has planned for his life.

We had a special surprise arrive last night. Wayne's Mom from Georgia and Aunt Millie from Western PA walked in the door and gave Nathanial the 'best graduation gift!' Mom J. had talked about trying to get an airplane ticket up for the weekend, but the cost was too high. When she found out friends in GA were driving up to attend their grandson's graduation in PA, she jumped at the chance to ride along with them. Aunt Millie met her and they drove up yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, they had to leave this afternoon so Mom could be ready to head back to GA in the morning, but we were so happy that both of them could share in Nathanial's big day.

Twenty-three and counting

Twenty-three years ago today Wayne and I exchanged wedding vows in Portsmouth, NH. Today we pulled out the photos and memory album and remembered that joy-filled day. Wayne surprised me and played the music to El Shaddai (which Twila R. & Nancy Z. sang as a duet during our ceremony) for the offering at church today.

Tonight at dinner Wayne asked me what we had done in those 23 years that was the most unexpected. My response was, "I have to pick just one thing?!" What an amazing 23 years it has been...with lots of unexpected events. I knew when I married this man that life would never be the same...it's been better than I ever dreamed possible. I am truly blessed to be "Mrs. Wayne Jackson". I pray that we will fill many more years with unexpected adventures!

Oops...

There's one thing we can always count on with Jonathan...He's always willing to take the blame for any mishaps that might occur. Maybe it's because he usually has a part in them! But I have to 'fess up...I am the one who got the fencing caught up in the rototiller. The goal was to get the garden planted (all except for the plants in the greenhouse) and the area behind the chicken house needed tilling. Everything was going fine...after I ran out of gas and Wayne had to run and get more...and after I couldn't get it started again when I put it in neutral to get some sticks out of the way...like I said, everything was going fine. One of the chickens was trying so-o-o hard to get her head through the fence openings to get some of the tasty worms in the newly tilled soil that I thought I could get a bit closer to the fence line for her. I was wrong. By the time I got the machine shut off, it was quite a tangled mess. I sheepishly came around from the back of the chicken house and told Wayne that I had 'messed up big time.' He laughed when he saw what I had done...I am so-o-o blessed to have such a patient husband! In the meantime, the chickens had discovered their chance to escape into the newly tilled garden. Rachael, Wayne and I got the chickens back inside the fence and Wayne cut the fence so we could pull the rototiller back and re-fence the chicken yard. The chickens benefitted by getting a new 'layout' to their yard--complete with fresh grass and bugs. I got back to my tilling and this is the end result of a day's work in the garden. The corn is planted and the other raised beds are waiting for the plants in the greenhouse. Oh yes, the rototiller is fine...though that bit of fencing will never be the same.

Field 'work'

While the guys were busy working, the animals looked on. The alpacas have adjusted to their new haircuts and spent most of the day basking in the sunshine.

When we purchased this play yard for Jonathan five years ago I never imagined that we would use if for rabbits! It has become quite handy for giving the 'guys' a place to hang out in the nice weather. We used the 'alpaca pool' as a shade from the sun and they happily nibbled on the lawn and dug a few holes.

When the rain returned the boys reluctantly returned to their 'bunny barn' cages and the alpacas decided that they'd continue to stay in the field and soak up some 'liquid sunshine'.

A Busy Day

This a.m. the sun started breaking through the clouds and encouraged the guys to get outside and do a couple of the tasks on our "to do" list...

Last winter a strong wind tour off some of the siding on the end of the garage. Today the rest of the siding was taken off and newer boards put up so the replacement siding would have something to be fastened to. We also had some storm windows that used to be on our front porch that Wayne thought would be a good addition to the end wall (it's south facing). As Matt and Nathanial worked the wind picked up and the black clouds started filling the sky. They pounded in the last board as the first sprinkles started and the 3 storm windows were screwed in place just as the rain picked up. There's no "after" picture yet, but you can be sure it looked a lot better than it did when the guys first started.

Marc worked in the garden. He helped fill in the raised beds that he, Rachael, and Wayne put together Thursday.

And here's the latest picture of 'the flock'...currently 37 chicks. They can get quite noisy in the mudroom. Wayne and I are looking forward to them 'graduating' to the workshop...hopefully within the week the brooder can be moved. Jonathan says they are whistling. He also calls them "chicken children".