Our first strawberry harvest of the year:

Pretty peonies:

And the pitfalls of having an older sister...

Blessings.

It has been busy lately around the homestead. All this last week the kids have been sick . Fevers, nasty cough, runny nose. Summer cold I guess. Even the baby has had it. That keeps mama busy & lots of time spent on the couch cuddling.

In between that, I have been tackling my lengthy to-do list. Today we were given 7 tomato plants by a friend so I  got those planted tonight. One of them is a Rainbow Cherry tomato. The 'matos will be orange, yellow, green, purple, red or brown! I can't wait. Generous friends are such a blessing. The same friend also has some more starts for us, cukes & broccolli & a few others. I will get those this week. Always wonderful to add to the garden.

We also have been busy, busy, busy with home improvement projects. We are trying to get our homestead ready to be sold or rented. My husband calls it 'preparing for rain.'  Spiritually speaking; not weatherwise. We have felt for some time that the Lord has been calling us elsewhere. We were not looking forward to it but  recent events have made the thought much more appealing. The worst of these was our dog being hit & killed on the road right in front of us. The driver never even took his foot off the gas. And my son was right there. We live right off a highway & although we are completely fenced the dogs still find ways out. I just want off this highway so badly. What if that had been one of my children? So that, coupled with other less traumatic things, has helped prepare us for leaving.

Of course, we still don't know where we are going. We think the most likely place will be  my husbands home town. We are hoping he will be hired as a pastor there come this fall. A few weeks ago we looked at a house there that is our absolute dream house. It could not be more perfect for us if we had built it ourselves. It has everything: a wrap around porch, office for my husband, enough bedrooms for the children, a playroom, a school room, 3 bathrooms , a pantry, the list goes on & on. The only not-perfect thing about it, is it is only on an acre & 1/2.  But, it is a fully usuable acre & 1/2, so we could do quite a bit with it. And as silly as this sounds, since I take care of most things while my husband travels, an acre & 1/2 sounds pretty manageable right now.

But we haven't had a clear 'yes' from the Lord just yet so we are preparing this homestead for the possibility of leaving. It's hard to prepare for leaving while also putting in a garden but that is what we are doing. As much as I love this place I want off the highway more. And a larger house would be such a fabulous thing. We have just over 900 sq ft with 6 people. One bathroom. Small rooms. We are busting out at the seams.

So we are praying & waiting but also 'preparing for the rain' which we trust the Lord to send. Soon we hope.

Blessings.

Don't you just love happy babies?

Blessings,

WARNING:   Graphic Photos

We had biology/anatomy/survival class on Thursday--we butchered 2 goats. I had my daughter take pics & we are going to have them developed & then paste them into a book & label them all. I think that will be a fun & thorough science lesson. Also something great for them to save.

I also thought we would share some of the photos on here to give you an idea of what butchering day is like. My daughter took over 200 photos ! I've narrowed them down a little for here .

The goats are let out into a nice patch of clover one at a time. While they are munching away, perfectly happy, my husband shoots them with a .22.  It is instant, painless death. They have no idea what is coming, they are not scared & they usually still have a mouthful of clover. It is important to the quality of the meat to keep them calm. A scared animal produces adrenaline & adrenaline makes yucky meat.

After they drop, my husband slits the throat & bleeds them out. We then hang them to drain & be butchered. At our house the most convenient place to hang them is the swing set . "You might be a redneck if..."

After they are hung up, the skinning starts.

A sharp knife is vital to the butchering process

The hide skinned off.

Removing the entrails.

My husband cut them out in one piece & dropped them into a shallow pan so we could go thru & identify everything & what it does.

A nice healthy liver.

Kidneys.

The ribcage with the lungs still intact.

The lungs & the heart.

The kids favorite part: lungs in motion.

Breathe out

Breathe in

The heart.

 The first stomach--rumen

The second stomach--reticulum

The 4th stomach (sorry, we missed one) -- abomasum

The small & large intestines

Ready to be cut & wrapped.

I hope this was informative & didn't just gross you out! It is such an awesome learning experience. It also leaves no question as to where your food comes from & how much work it takes to get it. My children raised these animals from birth to butcher--they know exactly what it takes.

Blessings.

We drove up to Crater Lake for a picnic & a hike today. We were pretty limited on our hike choices as all but 3 trails were still closed--Note to self: wait until July to go to Crater Lake.

We checked out the lake

Had a nice picnic

And went for a walk in the woods

One way to cross a log

And right after this picture was taken my daughter taught everyone a valuable lesson

She and her brother went on ahead, out of sight of us & out of sight of each other & she slipped while crossing a log & fell into the ice cold water . We came upon her just as she was climbing out of the water. Her brother was way ahead & didn't see or hear her. Whoa.

We called everybody back together & had a "what is wrong with this picture" moment. We talked about the buddy system, never leaving your wingman, not getting out of sight of each other & making smart decisions. Then we fast walked back to the car where our freezing daughter stripped out of her soaked clothing & wrapped up in a nice warm blanket. We had a wonderful opportunity to discuss survival skills & what to do if you are lost & get wet. And why it is so important to get dry quickly. So, I thanked her for the learning opportunity but suggested next time she might try a less traumatic way.

Blessings.