This space is in dire need of updating. So, here goes…..

KIDS

We are still homeschooling (and loving it).

Kadence (13) wrote a book (buy here) under the pen name Anastasia Thickett. It still amazes me. She amazes me. She devours and then re-devours huge tombs of books like Gone With the Wind and the Harry Potter books and I love it!!

Rylan (11) is obsessed with modifying Nerf guns. Obsessed!! He takes them all down to the screws and pieces and then rebuilds into more powerful guns. He’s also become proficient at feeding hay to the cows, which is no small feat when you weigh 70 pounds.

Bella (10) has always been my shy one. She recently spoke up (unprovoked) at a town meeting! This is nothing short of miraculous for those who know her. She loves her gymnastics class and has made all sorts of progress!

Masen (9) is my sports guy. We are currently in the midst of baseball. This is the first year of kid-pitch so we will see if he can master the art of taking a hit. It really is a skill.

There’s so much more going on in all their little worlds. I need to take the time to write a whole post about each of them. For posterity. Because I always think I will remember and I know from experience I won’t.

FARM

WE GOT WORMS! Ha! A few weeks ago I purchased a ready-to-go red worm composter and 1,000 red wrigglers and now I’m a bonafide worm farmer!! I’m not going into this for the worms, but for the dirt and tea byproducts.

I have way too many chickens and roosters and so I bought more a few months ago. I (think) I’m down to around 30 hens and a handful of roosters. I bought 30 chicks in February and they’re fully feathered now! The breeds I got this time are maran, cinnamon queen and rhode island red. Later in the summer when the new gals start laying I will cull my older ones. Surely then I will be at a reasonable number! hehe

The plan right now is to get some broilers (meat birds) late summer/early fall.

Next week our waterfowl and poults will arrive. I read online that Joel Salatin uses geese to protect his free-ranging birds. So…..I ordered some. (You can’t just order ONE!) And to save money I got a combo pack of geese and ducks. (Matt is SO excited….NOT!) And since I was paying shipping for the waterfowl, I decided to add in some poults! Thanksgiving is just around the corner, you know!

I’ve got a list three miles long for projects for Matt. My poor husband works a full-time job away from the farm, then runs our farm and also is a very hands-on dad. He has ZERO time! But when he can spare some minutes, I want him to build me a mobile chicken tractor.

The cows have been dropping babies left and right! Our new bull has made some of the cutest little creatures known to man! Wish we could keep them all.

HOME

Because we have nothing else going on, I decided it was the perfect time to start milling our own wheat. I’m two-three weeks in and I can tell you it’s an art! Yesterday I made hamburger buns for the first time. The kids are loving it!

If you’re wondering why anybody in their right mind would do this check out this site. I have been so convicted after listening to her C.D.s and then scouring the web for testimonials.

I personally have had lots of digestive problems and am convinced that my poor diet has done significant damage to my gut. The gut, I’m learning, is integral to a healthy life. It’s connected to everything!! Thankfully, there’s ways to heal and then re-introduce grains (fresh-milled). I learned so much by reading this book about the GAPS diet.

We’ve been getting our milk from a local dairy farm, making homemade yogurt to use in smoothies and switching out things like yummy smelling laundry soap for healthy alternatives.

But we still hit up a drive-thru now and then, unfortunately.

I keep telling myself it’s all about balance. Something I’m not very good at doing.

GARDEN

Matt had three dump truck loads of dirt brought in to help replenish anything that was depleted in our garden. There’s an entire corner that hasn’t produced anything the last few years. We are hoping this new dirt will fix that.

We also added a new fence to keep the chickens and other critters out. You can probably see it from space. It’s construction-zone orange. Because it’s for construction zones. Literally. Matt was not too happy. The other day a guy he works with asked him about the pool we were getting installed. Apparently he drove by and saw my new fence. And no person in their right mind would install 300-square-feet of neon orange fence that stands 4 feet tall unless it’s for something temporary. Right?

Last night we worked for several hours and got our green beans, corn, some zucchini and pumpkins planted. We expanded our asparagus patch with 60 new plants. I’m supposed to pick up some tomato and pepper plants today and the peas, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are growing!

I’m praying this will be our best garden yet!

Phew! I think that about wraps it up!

Categories: Animals on the farm Food and gardening on the farm Life on the farm

Tagged as: baseball chickens family GAPS garden gut homeschool raw milk wheat worms

Ginia

My name is Ginia Oehlschlager and I'm a small-town gal from Missouri. Join me as I document my crazy life on the farm with my husband and four kids. I'm always looking for frugal, simple ways to live the life God set before me. Where faith, family and fun come together on the farm.