Outstanding In My Field

Busy Barnyards

Blessings!

   This past couple weeks has been so very busy that I'm often surprised that I have time for anything else:P In fact, I woke up this morning with my arms aching something awful. As usual, I never think about the day before (or even several days before) to figure out why. Well, today I know why without even thinking about it...24 chickens! :P

   I have other news on our baby count in the barn but this post isn't about that. This post is about being a chicken plucker:)

   Our dear friends CaraDD and her family were having a mass butchering day yesterday. We had planned on helping beforehand but it didn't look like they would need us. Then things changed a little and her sweet husband phoned and said they could use some extra hands and we excitedly agreed:)

   This wasnt my first time of butchering but it was the first time I'd be involved in HOW the butchering was done. Actually I didn't end up doing ANY of the butchering but I did get to see how it was done and I'm thinking it's a cleaner way of doing it that we've always done it and we'll be doing it with out own (which will be another post entirely:P)

   The whole thing went in an assembly line sort of way. Mrs. D would calm the chicken. As soon as chicken was calm and still she would turn it head down into what they call a killing cone. This cone was made by a friend of theirs to Mr. D's specs. Anyway, then Mr. D would cut the artery on both sides of the neck. Very little thrashing, which means less mess, no broken bones, no bruised meat and very little trauma. It went so smoothly.

   As soon as chicken bleeds out, Mrs. D would then take it out of the cone and hang it on the fence to finish up (hardly any blood at this point) and returns to the pen to grab another chicken to calm. She was our chicken whisperer:)

   Once the chickens had hung long enough (about 10 minutes or so), Mrs. D would measure the temperature of the scalding water and when it was at around 140*F she would dip the chicken in it making sure to douse it completely for approximately 45 seconds. Once the chicken was good and wet she would then lay it on the plucking table where me, Miss Sarah, and another couple (friends of theirs) were waiting. Mrs. D switched around on her jobs as we didn't want to get too backed up on chickens so she would become a plucker too:)

   Once the chickens are scalded the feathers come out really easily. The pin feathers, on the other hand, can be a problem. We noticed that some of them had yellow skin and some had white. Some had more pin feathers than others. And SOME had areas that had no feathers at all...EVER! No follicles for the feathers to grow from. I had never seen that but it made it a little quicker when we came across those:)

   Once the chicken was plucked as clean as it could be, Mrs. D would rinse them real well and place them in a tub of ice water to keep them fresh until the gutter could do his work.

   The gutter happened to be their landlord (these were HIS chickens, we'll be going back to do theirs and ours in the next couple weeks). Anyway, he would gut and clean the chicken and package it with a foodsaver type machine. Industrial rather than the little kitchen table type I have:) And then throw that into the freezer or icebox and on to the next.

   It was quite the production and efficient. It went smoothly and everyone had a hand in it. The smaller children would catch up the chickens and hand them to mom, mom calmed and loaded, dad cut and waited, mom hung and dipped, hands plucked and mom rinsed, landlord cleaned and packaged and so it went. Many hands made light work:)

   Now today...my arms feel like I was weightlifting:P At least I can still itch my nose8^D Miss Mary-Ann hurt her arm and was in a splint so she was the offical photographer which I"ll post after we get them off the camera and onto the computer:)

   Today? We are waiting for two more does to kid and our barn will be filled and our season over:)

   Praying each of you has a safe and blessed Sabbath!

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Daily Devotion 188

Daily Devotion 187

July 5

When Things Go Wrong

And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.

Romans 5:3

Most of us are acquainted with adversity. And most of us don’t appreciate it. We regard it as an enemy as old as Job, who lamented, “Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1).

There is, however, a positive side to trouble. It was Thomas Edison, standing in the ashes of the fire that destroyed his laboratory, who spoke these inspiring words, “Wonderful! All our mistakes have been burned up and we can start over.”

Even in nature, life depends on resistance. A fish, without the buoyancy of water or the thrust of the current, would be unable to swim. Birds, without the lift provided by the air against their wings, would remain earthbound.

In its metamorphosis from larvae to caterpillar and finally into the beautiful creature we call a swallowtail butterfly, the vital principle of struggle and resistance is striking. In its final stage, there is so much visible effort as the fully developed butterfly struggles to emerge from the chrysalis, that a sympathetic observer is tempted to come to its aid and slit the cocoon open with a sharp knife. This, however, would be a good deed gone awry. Without the benefit of the effort involved, its wings, which were intended for flight, would be mere appendages. The poor little creature, deprived of the life supporting benefit of struggle, would be doomed.

“When things go wrong.” How dare I entertain such a thought? The Word says, “All things work together for good.”

Jerry Yoder, Auburn, KY

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

—Psalm 34:19

Bible Reading: Job 5:1–7

One Year Bible Reading Plan:

Acts 13:1–24

Job 31, 32

Used by Permission of Vision Publishers

PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA  22803

Phone:  877-488-0901

E-Mail:  [cs@vision-publishers.com]

From My Inbox #!

Just Stay





A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

'Your son is here,' she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.


Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.


The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile..





He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.


Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.


Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.


Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.


'Who was that man?' he asked.


The nurse was startled, 'He was your father,' she answered.







'No, he wasn't,' the Marine replied. 'I never saw him before in my life.'


'Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?'


'I knew right away there had been a mistake,





but I also knew he needed his son, and his

son just wasn't here.





When I realized that he was too sick to tell





whether or not I was his son,





knowing how much he needed me, I stayed.'


The next time someone needs you ...... just be there. Stay.





*************





WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A

TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

(love this line)


PLEASE PASS THIS ONE ON AND GOD WILL BLESS YOU!

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PUT ON THIS EARTH TO DO ANYWAY. RIGHT ?

Great Learning website!!!

I have not been blogging - more like lame blogging.  Life has a way of whirling past us.  Soooo I have been trying to practice the No word more and concentrate on the things and people that matter most.

I have a great website that I came across the other day.  The kids and I have been enjoying it! 

http://www.thefutureschannel.com/index.php

There are videos and lessons that relate math and science to real life.  Check it out.  There is a yearly subscription but you can use it for free each week - I am guessing that the videos may change weekly.

Not much else,

Blessings,

Flossie

Blessings abound:)

Blessings!

   These past couple weeks have been so very busy and it shows no signs of stopping. I give thanks to the Lord for the blessings that He has showered us with throughout this year.

   Another bit of exciting news for us...day before yesterday we had done our normal daily stuffs around here. You know, cleaning pens, rearranging the barn, feeding, checking on our expectant mommies etc.

   That night we did our normal nighttime check and locking up chickens (coon troubles) and making sure everything was...well...normal:P Nothing happening, nothing strange. At around 9pm we hear something out in the barn. I go out and see nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, all the does were laying together and seemed quite annoyed that I had interupted their slumber:P

   We are all in bed when around midnight we hear something again. Louder this time. ALL of us, including brother Craig, (armed in case of predators) head out to see what is going on. At first we see Sparky laying down near the fence. It looked like she had gotten out and couldn't get back into the pen. We figured this was the cause for all the commotion.  As we get closer we see that she is indeed inside the fencing but cuddled up with Twister who is pitching a fit...noisy noisy noisy. Just as we round the corner of the stall, up pop TWO LITTLE HEADS! TWINS!:)

   It seems that Miss Sweet Brandy had done the quiet deed just like Twister had:P The babies were nearly dry which meant she had delivered them sometime soon after we had left them at 9pm:P Silly things...

   Upon closer inspection...they are BOTH BUCKS! Ugh:P So now we have 3 bucklings! Yikes. That is it for our Nubian does this year. I had hoped for at least one doe to hold back. Not this year:( And unless Sparky is pregnant and not just fat, then it's done.

   Now our Nigers are due from the middle to the end of July. Knowing our luck we'll end up with all does from them and we aren't KEEPING any of those:P Well, we'll keep ONE from our Blackberry if she gives us a doe. This is her last breeding as she's 9 years old now. She's our matriarch and a real sweetheart so she'll be kept for a companion when we have more babies and such.

   I have a couple pictures of them but haven't loaded them to the computer yet. I'll post them as soon as I do which will hopefully be tonight:)

   The good Lord has blessed us again and we are truly thankful. Healthy does, lots of fresh milk (well after the colostrum is finished), healthy babies. All is right with our world:)

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Ladies in Waiting:)

Blesings!

  As our days slowly warm up to normal temperatures for this time of year and we are readying our gardens, cleaning out homes and outbuildings, mowing, weeding, maintaining, preparing for outdoor life, so too is our farm bursting with activity.

   Our choice to farmstead came with it's sacrifices and hard decisions. We spent many many years helping our children to understand and experience the realities of living a life of self provision. We all know that God is our great provider and through Him this is possible. With that comes disappointments, and sorrow. There are also great joys:) It all balances out in the end but getting there strengthens our resolve and our hearts to a clear understanding of being self sufficient.

   As a farmsteader we know, through experience (trial and error and successes) what we need and what we don't. I think the hardest thing is the "dwindling family" syndrome:P It's like going through your kitchen and pulling out VATS to make your family that pot of spaghetti and sauce and realizing that you no longer have 11 people sitting around your table on a daily basis anymore. That vat works for awhile and so you forget until suddenly you only have 6. It's time to downsize:P Your children are cast to the winds in different directions. Some still come home and some don't. Whatever the matrix, you make consessions. Suddenly you trade your vat space in your cupboards for a stock pot. Over time your daily meals become smaller and smaller. Our once bustling family is now 4. We have graduated to saucepans:P Right where we started:P I can now cook our meals in 4 quart saucepans! The dishes take moments. It's fun to have placemats again:P The table actually FITS in the kitchen:P

   Have I gotten rid of those vats? Well...most of them:P I do keep a couple of the big things in our shed. For family and friends so I am not having to make huge meals in our little saucepans:) But mostly they are out of the way and stored. Not nearly as many as I once had but enough to get us through a large meal if needed:)

   Just as we downsize INside our home we also must keep a watchful eye on the OUTside. I'm referring to our animals, of course:P We keep a certain amount of chickens because they are part of our livlihood as well as for our own sustenance. Some are eaten, some provide eggs, and some get broody and help to replenish our little flock:)

   Just as we maintain those numbers so to must we maintain all the others. We raise dairy goats. These are not pets, although they do provide us with companionship and entertainment, their most important job is to provide us with milk. In order to do this they must be bred. As you all know, breeding means....MORE GOATS! Our needs for our family once called for a larger number of goats to provide the needed milk for cheeses, yogurts, kefirs, soaps and of course drinking:) Now that we are a family of 4 our needs have changed and we keep only 2 real milkers. This means that babies, although necessary to get those milkers started, must be sold.

   We cannot keep them just because they are cute. They will consume feed and time and therefore are not beneficial to our farmstead. They become a liability and a drain on our resources. If these animals cannot be sold, they are butchered for meat. It's simply one of those choices that must be made that might not seem very popular and fun (and is often sad) but very necessary to maintain the balance of our farmsteading lifestyle. 

   As you all know, our elderly BARREN dog surprised us with a litter just 6 short weeks ago. Those puppies, though adorable and fun, already have buyers. We cannot keep them! Another sad little moment on the farmstead but a necessary one. Our children know that, it's not just because we are renters here, it's truly because we cannot afford to fill their tummies and still maintain a balance here. When our dog dies then we will consider another, but until then one dog is more than sufficient for our needs. She helps to herd the goats and the chickens and ducks. She gives us warning when someone arrives or something is amiss on the farmstead. She alerts us when the goats are kidding, when coons are after our birds and when company arrives.

   I've been approached on several occasions about having "barn cats". We have ONE cat. She's the greatest mouser we've ever had. Thankfully she CAN'T reproduce:P (and now neither can the dog:P) She keeps the house relatively mouse free. She keeps the mole population down outside, We taught her long ago NOT to kill birds. However, this hasn't stopped her from bringing me live ones! They are never injured, just frightened. A gift:) (good kitty) She keeps the barn mostly rodent free and snakes out of the yard:) We have no need to add to her and don't want to. When she's gone THEN we'll get another but not until.

   Our goats have started freshening (I prefer summer babies) and will continue until middle to end of July. THOSE babies will not stay. With the exception of possibly keeping a single doeling from our elderly Blackberry (she's almost 9). This will be her last freshening and the ONLY pet goat we have ever had. She's also a Nigerian Dwarf and doesn't take up a lot of room OR feed:)

   Our girls raise Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. The babies are of decent value and the sale of those babies provide their necessary feed for the year. We use their milk in icecreams and lotions and soaps. They are companions for our larger does and as I said about all others...we don't keep the babies because we can't afford to feed them and we have no use for them. We can only use so much milk. After our needs and what we sell, it would got to waste and we cannot abide waste:)

   Having said all this I wanted to share pictures of our additions and surprises. All of which will be leaving us as soon as they are weaned. The goat's are often sold before they are weaned as we will start them on the bottle, disbud and whether the boys (if needed or desired by the buyer).

This is little JimBob. He looks just like his sire Manny. If you remember we lost Manny to bloat on January 31. Although a beautiful boy, we will not and cannot keep him. I could only breed him to one of our does and would have to keep him away from his mother so he can't stay. Notice our Miss Sarah, cuddling one of the puppies.

This is Sweet Brandy. She's the next to freshen. As you can see, it will be any day now. Again, her babies will be sold as we have no use for them here. In the background you can see our little Nigerian Dwarf, Platinum...she's due in July.

This is Sparky. We still aren't sure she's actually pregnant...believe it or not:P She has not had a successful delivery ever so if she does freshen by mid July, she will be sold at auction. We have feed her for almost two years now with no milk since just after we got her. She tends to be very aggressive and has a one track mind. What she wants to do or where she wants to go, there is no stopping her. That makes her a liability and it's no fun trying to strongarm a determined goat.

That wide little beast is our Blackberry:) The picture just doesn't do her justice. She is so huge for her little size:P She has never had less than three kids and has had as many as five! She is our only farmpet:P And little Twinkie just behind her (the white one), is having her first freshening this year. All these babies will be sold except for one doeling from Blackberry. IF she has any does:) (she had quad bucklings one year:P)

This is one of our little puppies. As I said, even though they are just stinkin' cute, they cannot stay. Simply put, we cannot afford to keep animals that do not contribute and we do not keep babies unless it's a replacement. Our son is taking one of the puppies so we'll have visitation rights:) This appeases the girls, our son was thrilled because he's wanted a puppy from our beloved Yoncalla Patch since he was 12 years old:) He and his wife are tickled:) They've already chosen the one they want and the rest are sold.

   It's a hard and sometimes sad decision that must be made here on our little farmstead. But the rewards are so great and the lessons learned help us all to trust our Lord and accept our limitations.

   Farmsteading isn't an easy life, but it's fulfilling in so many ways they far outweigh the trials.

   Praying you all have a wonderful and blessed weekend!

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Canopy of Grace:)

Blessings!

   I have been enjoying our warmer days this past week under a beautiful canopy of trees behind our home.Sitting at our garden table with it's own little umbrella mostly to keep the leaves and such from dropping onto the table and subsequently into our food:)

From this table I can enjoy our little bucklings and the beginnings of our garden that will sustain us through winter once it is harvested and put up for human use:)

After a stroll to the barn to check on our Nubian does who are due any day now. You can see our table in the distance where many an idea has been shared. Mornings spent in quiet devotion. Listening to the rush of the river just beyond the stand of trees. Hearing the song of the crickets, cicadae, chirping and rejoicing of the myriad of feathered friends.

   I find a sense of peace and contentment in this canopy of God's nature. I can't help but wonder at the awe of the Lord's amazing Grace. Grace that He offers as a canopy of love over us all. Chances given to hear HIS song, HIS touch, HIS rejoicing. I am humbled.

   I ponder the reality that we are only renters of this splendid land and are blessed with Christian landlords who trust strangers like ourselves to care for their home in this land of wonder and amazement. It simply reminds me that, just like being temporary tenants of this home, so too are we temporary tenants of this God created wonder. As He trusts us to care for it and rejoice in it's splendor.

   Thank you Father for all that You have given to us in our breath of a life here on this beautiful earth. Giving us hope for an eternal future with You. I can't help but wonder...how much more beautiful is heaven? You have given me such an amazing gift here on this earth and I am so undeserving of anything more. Thank You!

   Enjoy your temporariness. Be blessed in His daily presence in the wonderful quiet moments when His creation whispers His love for you under His Canopy of Grace.

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Fair!!

Well, we havea white silkie, bantam to show this morning.  Thanks to all who gave me info :)  We learned that they do have different earlobes.  Also, learned that on hens, it is believed you can tell what color - not sure about that... but I am glad to know he is not sick.  Yes, they do have earlobes.  They are round circles on the side of their heads....

My youngest is showing the rooster - he is 6 and very nervous!

Off we go!

God is so good all the time!

Ah my dear friends, I wish I could tell in better words than this how great God is.   I hear people refer to him or following him, as being spiritual.  It is so much more than that!  Lay aside rules, protocol and just bask in the glory of God.  He made you and he made all the beautiful things around you.  He delights in you and he loves you.  He created you and knows what his purpose for you is.  Do you have a favorite craft?  Do you know the feeling of making something - first it's in the mind and then when it comes to fruition... oh the feeling.  I love to step back and look and marvel because I can't believe I did it.  Can you imagine how God must have felt when he made you.  He designed you - your eye coloring, your hair, your nose, etc.  Then he gave you talents and a personailty.  How he delighted on the day He created you!

Have you ever made something and you are just thrilled with it?  Then someone comes along and they misuse it for the wrong purpose?  What about when you cherish something and someone ridicules it?  Can you imagine how God must feel when we do that?

This is not a soap box but thoughts running through my head.  Someone will read this and I know you needed to hear this.  God loves you!  Pure and simple!  you can never work hard enough or achieve enough to have Him love you.  He already does.  He loves you, He created you and He made you special for Him.  He delights in you.  You please him.  go look in that mirror and remember you are a creation of God.  Don't let the world tell you who you are but marvel at the Creator's creation - You!

****************************************************************************

Wonderful day - learning to slow down and God blesses me!  The kids got their chickens in the fair.  They were small this year and just made weight.  It was fun to walk around and see other friends I have not seen in a long time!

Have a Blessed Day or Night - whereever you are in this world!

Blessings,

Flossies