The Goat Barn

Wayne, Jonathan, and I took a quick trip up to Maine this week. (check out our friend's blog for pics: http://www.sweetgrassfarmkennel.blogspot.com ) We stayed in a beautiful camp on a lake--thanks to our dear friends the Walshes. The loons would sing and we would marvel at the view and peacefulness. We hated to leave, but we knew that things on the farm needed our attention. So today it's back to reality...freezing beans, harvesting squash, cucumbers, and corn, and canning peaches.

The goat barn has come a long way over the last few weeks... On the day we celebrated Nathanial's 18th birthday we took advantage of the extra hands available. Everybody pitched in and helped roll the tin roof (which had been selvaged from a building being torn down) up the ladders and then unrolling it on the roof beams. We couldn't have done it without them and it looks great.

Will helped out on another day and decided to take a break. Jonathan was only too ready to take one with him.

And here's the most recent picture of the barn...There's still some minor touches needed, but it's just about ready for Twilight the goat and her kid. You can be sure there will be pictures on the blog when that happens!

Swinging in the Rain

Katelyn is our family 'swinger'. In rain, sun, sleet, or snow you'll find our girl taking a few minutes to enjoy the swing. She gets the swing going to the point where she's even with the cross beam of the swing set. I tried to get a picture of that, but by the time the camera focused and took the shot, she'd be down low again.

I'm so thankful that we have the room for the kids to be outside and active. They wore out a pipe on the trampoline so we're anxious to get that back from the welder this week. Ian keeps asking to go jump. Since he's not able to use the trampoline, he substitutes furniture which gets him in trouble.

The Hazy Days of Summer

It may be hot and hazy, but the days are certainly not lazy! The projects continue to keep all of us busy. The garden is producing well and I've frozen a few packages of green beans and peas. We've had lots of lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes. The zucchini/summer squash and beets are in full swing. Wayne even harvested some potatoes from a 'rogue' plant the other day. Here's a picture of today's harvest from the garden.

My flower/herb gardens have gotten away from me this year. My dill self-seeded and I've been pulling it out of the sidewalk. We had to cut back the bleeding heart by the steps because it was taking over the sidewalk! The butterflies and bees are busy all day in my flower/herb garden and I do enjoy all the sights and smells. We may try to make horehound candy this year since the horehound has also spread profusely. What a difference from the patch of grass that was here when we first moved in.

A couple more pics

In addition to the vegetable and flower crops we also are going to have quite an apple crop again this year. Here's just one branch of a very big tree.

Here are the alpaca boys enjoying their new sand floor. It was so warm today that Nathanial sprayed them down with a hose and filled their wading pool. Jonathan was right there with them getting sprayed and cooled off. I didn't have the camera or I would have gotten that picture posted...it was quite the sight!

After they got all wet, they went and got very dirty by rolling in the sand. They were so happy, but they were far from pretty.

The latest building project

Marc's goats should be here in a month or so. The goat barn has been a topic of discussion and planning for weeks. It's been a long process, but we're finally seeing some progress. The site required a tree cut down and old 'sheds' torn off of the back of the workshop. Then there were the post holes to be dug...then they discovered the old septic tank--the one we couldn't find 4 years ago when we needed to find it! All the kids have had a hand in getting this project underway. It's been a big challenge for Wayne NOT to do what needs to be done and to explain to the kids how to do it. Yesterday a load of sand and gravel arrived so the little guys had fun pretending to be bulldozers and spreading the dirt inside the new barn. Today a friend with a bucket on his tractor came and moved some of the dirt to the alpaca barn...they needed fresh flooring since they decided to use the inside of the barn as a waste site. The sand will keep them cooler for the rest of the summer, too.

Celebrating the 4th

This year we celebrated the 4th of July at home. Friends from church came 'down the hill' (actually about 4 miles over country roads) for a cookout with chicken, hamburgers, and hotdogs. Then the fun began...the Moomaws brought all the fixings for homemade ice cream and we all took a turn at cranking. What a treat to have homechurned ice cream with fresh strawberries from our garden.

The rest of the evening was spent around the campfire while the kids toasted marshmallows. The little guys would pick up any stick they could find...even the ones that were only about 4 inches long... and ask us to help them 'burn the marshmallow'. They didn't want to eat them...they just wanted to burn them.

Some fireworks set off up on the hill above us completed the evening and we all agreed...it was the perfect way to celebrate and we'll have to do it again next year.

Shearing Day #2

Summer weather brings about a second

shearing on the farm each year...the "shearing" of the youngest 2 boys! Wayne gets out the electric clippers and goes to work. The result is 2 boys who are much cooler and who are much easier to clean...especially when sand in the hair is involved!

Nathanial also got a haircut that day, but he went to the barber shop...he's not into the buzz cut!

We have a theory with haircuts and the little boys. It seems that the shorter their hair, the more the mischief runs. So-o-o for the first couple days after a haircut, we tend to expect them to get into more things than normal...and they never let us down.