One Year Anniversary at the Farm

One Year ago we got the keys for the farm.  It has been a wonderful year with many blessings.  We have learned many things and I have recently been thinking about the things I have learned this year.

I have really come to appreciate my family. Our new farmhouse is very peaceful.  The children have learned a lot of new skills both in animal husbandry and carpentry as well as machinery and landscaping.  My husband has worked very hard getting this house and my office ready to be moved into and then turned his energy to getting the old house ready to sell.  He has been working a lot of 80 hour weeks.  We praise God for the good health we have enjoyed.

Our animal menagerie  now includes pigs. We have realized that if you move the pigs daily that there is no odor.  You also don't have to shovel out manure as it doesn't build up.  Pigs love to munch on the salad of a mixed pasture field.  We have learned that if you pasture the chickens after the pigs the chickens clean up the feed and you don't have rodent issues. We learned to our great sadness that small young pigs don't do well in cold wet weather.  They can quickly develop pneumonia and die.  Pigs are friendly and like to have their heads scratched.

I have learned that turkeys stick together.  They will stand and defend their weakest members against attackers.  They are also very friendly and will follow you around.  They like to visit the other animals on the farm.  We also learned to our sadness that it is very important to label your feed bags from the mill.  It is very bad to mix up pullet grower (16% protein) with turkey grower (28% protein). They are definitely not the same and will result in dead turkeys (At least half of them) .  Otherwise we had good success in raising our turkey poults.  The bourbon reds are a heritage breed that free range nicely and are healthy.

We have learned a lot about chickens this year.  We currently have about 220 birds, including 99 broilers, on the farm.  By the end of November there should only be about 85.  Yes, this year we have learned how to butcher birds.  We have also learned that our free range, raised on pasture birds taste delicious!  We have learned that different breeds of birds have different temperments. We have seen good roosters and stupid roosters.  The stupid ones don't last long, but they taste just as good.  We are learning to see that you have to choose whether you are going to be a city farmer or whether you are running a business. We have made some good decisions and learned lessons from the mistakes.  

Animal confab- Chickens, turkeys and pigs

It has been good to learn the responsibility and discipline needed to raise animals.  We have learned that neither plants or animals wait until it is convenient for you to meet their needs.  One can't be lazy or too busy to meet their needs as bad things happen when you do.  We have also learned that taking care of animals is enjoyable!

We have learned that starting a garden from scratch takes time!  That a lot of the ideas in permaculture work great and will be pursued even more vigorously by us in the future.  We love our herb spiral!  We like having very little weeding to do!  We have learned that you never have enough mulch or manure!

We enjoyed the rewards of our labors! 

The kids have learned that a farm is a great place to bring friends.  There is a lot of room to run and many different backgrounds for dress-up photo shoots!  A pond is a wonderful thing to have as well, whether it is used for fishing, swimming, ice skating or just relaxing.

We have learned that having good neighbors is worth a lot, but having great neighbors is priceless! We have great neighbors.  They are willing to pitch in and help in a crises or to give us newbies advice.  They have loaned us tools and tractors.  They have made this first year so much easier.

We have learned to always take time and enjoy a sunset!  I think they are God's way of saying good-night and that He loves us!  We are looking forward to many more years here on the farm.

25 Years of Marriage

25 Wonderful Years of Marriage

25 years ago, August 27th, 1988 my sweetheart and I were married.  It was a warm summer day.  Both of our families and many guests were present.  It was a real special time.  For our honeymoon, we drove out to the Maine coast.  It probably wasn't a trip like you're thinking.  We spent our second night at Niagra Falls.  I had always wanted to see the falls at night.  We left there and got up every morning and decided where we were going that day.  (Remember, this was in the days before the internet and cell phones)  We used the Mobile travel guides.  We never travelled on highways and we only travelled 3 hours or less.  We got to see many things.  We made Rome 'fore six o' clock.  We visited the Finger Lakes, canoed on Lake Placid and stopped in Vermont and New Hampshire.  We spent a week driving out to Maine.

We stopped at the L.L. Beane outlet store.  We had lobster for dinner. Spent one night on the coast and then turned around and headed home.  Our trip home was a little quicker, but we did take the time to spend a day at the Baseball Hall of Fame, We did camp out in a tent two nights.  We just relaxed and had a nice trip.  We got back to Cleveland packed up our wedding gifts and drove to Chicago.
I was already over a week late for the start of school.

Our first apartment was a 2 bedroom flat in a three story walk-up.  It was very nice, although very short on furniture.  We found 2 chairs on the tree lawn, We bought a dresser at a garage sale.  After a couple weeks we got a mattress, so we know longer had to sleep on the living room floor.  We paid $500 a month for rent.  Prices were pretty expensive in that area of Chicago.  My DH got a job working with a fellow who did remodeling.  He made $8/hour but only got about 25 hours per week of work.  Life was much simpler then.  Hard to believe that all this happened 25 years ago.

Now, 25 years later, 6 children and 3 houses later.  We are celebrating God's goodness to us.  We have been blessed so richly.  We have grown together as a couple and in the Lord.  It is worth celebrating!  We had thought about taking a trip or cruise together.  Instead, we took a trip out West in April to celebrate our birthdays.  We thought about going out to a special restaurant or something else.

But we ended up staying home and celebrating with our family.   We decided that buying a farm would be plenty of celebration.  We are only waiting for the final loan underwriting to go through and then we can close the deal.  That should happen in the next day or two.  Our children have become really great cooks.  Michelle took over the menu and she and Elizabeth worked together putting together a fantastic meal.  We dug out some filet mignon from the freezer (we buy a steer every fall and save the steaks for special occasions) picked some beans from the garden, and had some special mashed potatoes.  There were fresh sliced tomatoes from the garden with feta cheese.  Everything was so yummy!

They ended the meal with two pies.  One peach and one apple with homemade ice cream.  Now you understand why we decided that home was better than even a fancy restaurant.

Life is going by so fast.  It is hard to believe that our eldest is 22 and the youngest is 8.  So much has happened, most of it good. We are hoping for at least another 25 years together and many grandchildren!

Gooo Tribe!!

My DH and I decided to go to the city and catch an Indian's game for our anniversary. We hadn't planned ahead so we decided to get the tickets there. We actually bought them from a 'scalper'. We were able to get good tickets for about half price. We were down the first base line and in the tenth row back.

The last time we had come to a game was 2 years ago, also for our anniversary. We saw a very rare triple play in that game. The Indians won also.

This year the Indians stink!! I don't even know the names of the players. Most of their better players are on the injury list. The only reason we follow them at all is because of tradition and they have great radio announcers. They crack me up. I would listen to them if they were talking about keeping deer from eating your flowers or ice cream (And they have, when the game gets really bad.) The Indians current first base coach is Sandy Alomar (see above picture) who was one of my favorite players in the 1990's.

The best thing about the game was the company!

Sorry for the blurry picture, but this is a picture of Tribe living heritage. The drummer is a fella named John who every season buys two season tickets, one for himself and one for his drum. He plays his drum to get the crowd going. Even if you listen to the radio you hear the drum.

We had a great game to go to. The Indians won in a big way. There was three three-run homers. The final score was 15-4 over the KC Royals. The only down side of the game was that I had to sit next to a Yankee fan. Yuk! He was friendly, but still, the Yankees?!!

Friday nights the Tribe always puts on a real nice fireworks show. It was pretty big and dramatic.

The whole show was done to the music of the Beetles. When they did the 'We all Live in a Yellow Submarine' song all the fireworks were yellow. It was a really nice evening!!

Thanks honey! I hope we have at least another 22 years together!

~Mom

Happy Anniversary Darling!

Now Friends, Don't get jealous, but I believe that I am one of the most blessed women on the planet. I get to spend my life with this man.

He is tall and handsome.

Gentle and Generous

He enjoys reading and studying the Word of God.

He encourages me in my addiction of collecting books!

He enjoys children and is a good dad.
(That's not our baby)

I have known him since he was a boy of 18. I have watched him grow spiritually and in character. I remember his very first sermon. He preached at Lake Geneva Chapel. He was so nervous. He held on to the stand tightly. Now he is relaxed when he preaches. He does an excellent job.
He serves as an elder at our church and I have seen him grow into those qualifications.


As a young man he was VERY quiet. He is still young, but now he is much more outgoing and is 'Mr. Hospitality'.

He is a good friend. He works at his friendships and maintains them for years. He stays connected to friends from his past. He is very loyal.

He is a good sport. He doesn't have to win at a game to be happy. The hair may be red, but he rarely loses his temper.

I thank God for my husband. I am truly blessed to be his wife.

Love you darling!

~Mom

Just the Two of Us- after 21 years

We recently celebrated (last week) our 21st anniversary. I am blessed to have a godly man for a husband, and I love him very much!

He made arrangements for us to go away for two days to a house at 'Lakeside, the Chatauqua of Lake Erie'. One of his clients has a home there that they were willing to let us use for a nominal fee. What a blessing! It was wonderful. No responsibilities and no chaperones for 48 hours! This is a painting of the house we stayed at. It is a more complete representation than any camera shot I got of it.

This is the view from the front side window. You see some tennis court and then the lake. It was really calm and peaceful. The first day the lake was absolutely flat.


At Lakeside everyone gets around by either bike or golf carts. The house we used had two bikes. It was a lot of fun to cruise around this quaint little town.

Part of the charm of Lakeside is their daily cultural presentations. We were there for Civil War Week. They had a woman (Dr. Smith) come in and do a portrayal of Nurse Nellie Noye, a civil war nurse at age 23. Her letters have been recently discovered and also a photo album she had put together. Dr. Smith has transcribed them and uses that information in her portrayal.

Here is Dr. Smith portraying Nurse Nellie as a 60 year old civil war veteran reminiscing and telling the story of her days in the military. She was a widow at this point. She had married one of the young men she had taken care of. She lived into her 90's. Her home is still standing in Grand Rapids MI. This information tied in so well, after visiting Gettysburg the week before.

Lakeside has many beautiful flower gardens. All the downtown area is well maintained and landscaped.

It was so nice to sit and relax down by the lake. Hubby enjoyed the fact that they provided shade. Lots of quiet time to talk.

We enjoyed a round of miniature golf. I was winning handily until he got a hole-in-one on the last hole and I choked. It ended up tied. He actually got a hole-in-one on the first hole as well. I was more consistent, he was more spectacular. We both had fun!

For dinner that night we went out to the Crow's Nest. A very nice restaurant off the grounds. We got there by 5:45 so we were able to take advantage of the Early bird Menu. Roger had the lake perch and I had chicken oscar. Both were very good!

We checked out a nearby state park after dinner. It had a very nice beach. This is a picture of Lakeside from across the bay. It was so nice to be able to relax and talk together without constant interruptions.

Here's my handsome hubby at the door of the house we stayed at. We stopped in briefly before we headed out for the evening's entertainment.

They have an OLD concert hall. I am not sure how old, but it was fascinating. They passed out old fashioned hand fans and kept the large windows totally wide open to let in the night breezes. In some ways it felt like my Grandpa Reader's old airplane hanger, because of the shape.

My honey was fascinated by the all wood ceiling and trusses. There were no posts inside. It was really pretty in a structural sort of way.

The group that played was 'Shepherd's Folly'. A traditional Celtic group. They were from MI. They did an excellent job.

This was our breakfast on Wednesday morning. We had gone to a farmer's market on Tuesday morning and bought strawberries, peaches, raspberries and a cantaloupe. We ate it with homemade granola that we brought with us and milk. It was a totally yummy breakfast!

We enjoyed shuffle board again. Lakeside has about 30 courts. We played a couple games, one before and one after lunch. The weather was starting to cloud up and there were a few rain drops, but nothing that slowed us down.

We had lunch at Sloopy's. They had really good pizza! Everything was homemade. We ate it outside on a park bench. After lunch we rented a golf cart and toured the whole compound. I think there were about 800 houses and condos. Some of the really old houses were pretty neat. It was fun to cruise up and down the hills. A strong breeze started blowing of the lake out of the North East and there was a definite change in temperature. I really like the cooler air of fall. It makes me feel so alive!

We went back down to the lake and watched some small sail boats in the harbor race back and forth int he stiff breeze. It looked like fun to me.

We did take time to walk about the hotel there by the beach. It was built in the 1870's. I heard a bit about it when the tour guide was talking about it to her tour. They had a two story outhouse when it was built. Who would want to use the first floor? The porch is all screened in and they have lovely rocking chairs and checker boards. No one else was out there because of the wind. I loved it!

We walked around on the inside. They say every guest room is different in this hotel. I can tell you that the stairway is most unsafe. It is so old that all the stairs lean in to the center. Also the railing is way too low. I would have to bend over to reach the railing. Not real useful. There was also about 10 inches between the spindles. A small child could easily slip between them. It was about three stories down. They must not have to follow safety rules. It would make me nervous to have children there and I am not an old fuddy-duddy.

We spent the last part of our time there walking along the lake and sitting and watching the waves crashing. It was really relaxing. We only moved on when the rain started.

The lake may have been rough but it was peaceful with us. We thank God for the 21 years He has blessed us with. There have been rough times, but God has always given us 'more grace than we deserve'. (one of my DH most used quotes). It has been so neat to see the spiritual growth in my husband through the years. A good marriage truly does get better as the years go by.

Thanks sweetheart for planning a real special time.

~Mom