Happy Hearts Homeschool

Maple Syrple

I think today is the day I pull the taps.  The sap has slowed down and it didn't freeze out last night!  Time to start thinking about working the garden up and spreading manure and disking the field, planting the field, oh I"m getting overwhelmed just thinking about it.  Thought I'd post some pics my daughter took of making syrup.  She did the batch yesterday, by herself.  Now she has something more to enter into the county fair next summer.

One of our taps-

Cooking it over the fire.

When it boils down to about a gallon, we bring it in and finish it on the stove.

Good Morning Farm

That's what I say

Every morning of every day.

Good morning rooster

How doodle you do?

Nobody's wider awake than  you.

This is from a book my mom used to read to me until she couldn't take it anymore.  I have more memorized, but I won't go on.  Thinking back, this is probably how it all started.  The farming, gardening, animals, etc.  My mom has big shoulders and consented to take the blame.

I wanted to introduce you to......Esther.  OUr brand new Angora doeling.

Syrup is done.

I think  our sap collecting is coming to an end.  I've put up a gallon and a half so far.  This isn't as hard as I originally thought.  Even I can do it. 

I started shearing this week.  I have seven left to go.  Three goats and four sheep.  I still have a lot of hoof trimming left, also.  Today I have the children home, so I think I'll see if I can round up some help.  I'm still learning to shear.  This will be an ongoing education for quite some time.

There's the van to wash, bathroom to clean, floors to sweep, hay to move, sap to boil, yard to clean, paperwork to do, birthday cake to bake, hotdish to cook , get ready for Easter dinner,  "Get Everything Done" day.  I'll check back this evening and let you know how it went.

Life is busy, but life is good.  When we go to "Simplify" our lives, is this what happens?  We, as in I, take on more and more learning experiences and create a life that is so full its ready to burst.  Teach me to work hard and rest in You, oh Lord.  Help me to hear your voice in the din I've created.

So off I go.

From Glory Farm 

We did---wash the van, bake the cake, make the hotdish, sweep the floors, get the sap, move the hay... we didn't clean the bathroom, vacuum the livingroom, do the paperwork, or clean the yard, but.....we peeled some fenceposts and trimmed the hooves on three goats and got one more goat sheared.

Easter dawned this morning with new life in the barn. We have a new kid, a doeling, an Angora.  She is the cutest.  Pictures coming soon.

Homemade Buttermilk

I love to make anything and everything homemade if I can!  So when it comes to the kitchen, homemade is definitely a priority!  I just love to ‘create’ my own buttermilk!  This makes SUPERB pancakes, salad dressings, biscuits and so much more!  This is so easily done. 

I grab a quart of organic, raw buttermilk from my local Natural Foods Co-Op (you can use regular store buttermilk too!)  I take 2 cups, I then pour this in one of my (very clean) half gallon glass milk jugs and fill the rest of the way up with raw goats milk (You can use store bought milk here too if you wish).  I set this out on the kitchen counter for 12 hours. I give it a little shake, and put in the fridge. Voila!

Use clean containers, and fresh buttermilk and milk to start.  It should smell ‘buttermilk-ish’ not ‘bad’.  I’ve yet to have a bad batch.  I use a good amount of buttermilk and if you always keep it FRESH, and keep 2 cups to make a new batch…you’ve got your own homemade buttermilk! (This is akin to a ‘starter’) If you don’t use so much buttermilk, just cut this recipe in half!

Lisa

www.HomesteadOriginals.com

Sap, sewing and the soup kitchen

The sap is running.  We're getting measurable amounts now and we can start boiling it down tomorrow.  We are also under a winter storm warning until Wednesday morning.  My children threaten to cry when they hear the weather report, but then so does my mother.  Spring will come.  It always does.

I'm also going to start shearing as soon as the snow lets up.  I still have mohair from the last shearing to card and spin.  I'm carding up a bunch of white right now and dyeing it blue.  I told dd2 that I would ply it and knit her a mohair sweater.  This might be done by Christmas.

I have a dress cut out to sew and a purse in the works.  I'm in a crafting mood, to be sure.

Today its off to town to get ds's stitches out.  He had 14 in his leg.  Then groceries, then to work at the soup kitchen.  Home and then sap collecting.  I'm not trying to sound busy.  I really don't feel that way right now.  I'm feeling totally blessed.

Praying that the Lord makes opportunities for you and I to minister to others today and shine forth His glory.

From Glory Farm

He will handle things.......in His timing....

If you give a Mom a Muffin...

Fargo Flood 2009

Have you been keeping up on the flooding along the Red River here in Minnesota and North Dakota?  We received an e-mail on Tuesday asking us to come and help sandbagging and making dikes.  We lefrt Wednesday morning and got back today at noon.  What an awesome experience.  Hard work, I'm sore all over, but the girls want to go back again tomorrow. The people were so kind and so thankful.  These people are doing a wonderful job, all pulling together and getting things done. Just regular citizens volunteering time, money, equipment. There are people out there right now from all over the U.S.  We helped to make 500,000 sandbags yesterday!  More help is needed.  They're not giving up the fight.  The predictied cresting level was 41 feet when we left there this morning and now they're saying maybe 42.  People are being evacuated. 

It makes you stop and remember who is in charge.  We tend to get lulled into a false sense of security.  The government will take care of it, technology will take care of it, we'll all be fine, but truth is there is only One that you can count on.  This flood is a good reminder of that. 

If you'd like to help, call 701-476-4000.  They will tell you where the volunteers are needed most and what you can do.  Log on to www.kfgo.com for updates and continual information.

Please keep everyone involved in your prayers.  Thank you.

Muscovy Ducks

We (I) decided on Muscovy ducks this year.  We were given two hens and two drakes by some friends of ours.  After reading, the Muscovy sounds like the perfect duck.  They are known for their ability to make a noticable difference in the amount of flies and mosquitoes.  This was the big selling point for me.  We fight with flies every summer.  The drakes can get 10-12 pounds.  Our drakes are much larger than our hens.  The hens are also good setters.  They are quite prolific as our friends can attest to.  They are up to somewhere between 30 and 40 Muscoveys.  I guess they are also very good tasting without all of the fat of most ducks.  I don't plan on butchering, but still, it's good to know.  They don't have to have water to play in, but I'll get them some when it warms up, anyways.  My son read that they are roosting ducks, so I shouldn't be surprised to see them sleeping in the trees.  I go out to the barn looking for duck eggs, now.  So far, I haven't found any.  Let you know when they start to set.

From Glory Farm

Neat FREE Homeschool Resource!

I love Tapestry of Grace and they have a VERY NEAT resource that is FREE!  Check out these amazing maps!

Happy Homeschoolin'

Lisa