Farm Update

September is quickly coming to a close.  Things will hopefully start slowing down. Most of the garden stuff is fading, although I planted zucchini and other summer squash at the end of July and it is coming on really well.  I hadn't had time to get to it earlier.  I also have a wonderful late crop of green beans to eat and harvest.  I may even have enough to freeze.  

One project that hasn't made the blog yet, is our broiler chicks.  We have about 100 freedom ranger broilers and they should be finished up in November.  It is amazing how much heavier they are than our other birds at the same age.  We moved them out on grass at 3 weeks.  

They are currently in a broiler pen that Joan and I made with Paul's supervision.  He is bound and determined to teach us how to make our own projects and how to use the tools.  The broilers are on grass but still need a heat lamp at night and a tarp.  Starting them later in the year has its challenges.

I like this picture of them as shadows.

Michelle and Elizabeth finished their quilt.  They have another one going already.  It really turned out nicely. It is neat to see them working together.  Now they need to get their projects cleaned up, together.  It is always seems more fun to do a project than it is to clean it up.

The turkeys supervising the unloading of the trailer.

Saturday our amazing neighbor came through again.  The guys took the chicken coop apart from the old house and moved it on a trailer to the farm.  This will give us a third coop for our laying hens.  We need them close to the barn for the winter.  

The broilers are now 4.5 weeks old and they are growing like crazy.  We got the door on the broiler and so now they can go out on the grass.  For now they are staying inside the electric fence.  In time, we hope to get them out in the field, so they can really free range.  They just have to finish feathering out for the cold nights.

The broilers can really pack the food away.

T-Bob is not a big fan of holding chickens.  He much prefers the pigs.

We see a lot of Car.  He is at the farm 3 or 4 days a week.  He really enjoys playing with the big kids.  He is learning to play soccer.

We got our fields mowed on Friday.  This is what they look like.

Here is more of a close-up.  The problem is that it is supposed to rain on Tuesday and it probably won't be dry enough to bale until Wednesday, without the rain.  We are learning the emotional ups and downs of farming. Sometimes you pray for rain and then others you pray that it holds off.

This is what the fields looked like before they were cut. This 'hay' will be very high in protein as there is lots of grain and such in it.  We are hoping to use it for the pigs when the winter comes and until they are big enough to 'harvest'.

  

The pigs are getting bigger all the time. They are also getting friendlier.  At first they weren't sure about getting near anyone.  Then, they decided that it was ok to have their snouts rubbed. Now, they love it when I come over and pet them for real.  They will stand there by the fence until I get tired.  They have the good life for a pig.

Car has been learning to be a big helper.

He pitches in to help T-Bob with his Saturday chores.  T-Bob has to clean out the cars.  Car helped with all the vacuuming.  He is a good kid!

Autumn is setting in and summer is gone.  The trees are starting to change colors and the gardens are needing to be gotten ready for next spring.  The kids were discouraged to see the leaves starting to drop.  Raking leaves is a big job here on the farm!  We are enjoying the nice warm days and the crisp cool nights of the fall.  Spend some time outside enjoying the weather wherever you are.

Catching up!!

Merry Christmas ans a Happy New Year Dear Friends!

I am going to update the blog for the fall and holiday season. I tried to download the pictures in chronological order, but that was a fail! Thanks for being patient with me and now see what has been going on in our lives. Fasten your seat belts we are going to move fast!!!

I love snow on Christmas lights. This is a house that is close to our home that really does a bang up job with their lights.

Some of the children and I went over to admire them when we had a spontaneous snow storm. Why do I use the term spontaneous? Well, the rest of the area only had a scant one inch of snow, but the cloud parked over our town and deposited about 7 inches of beautiful snow.

We did have a green Christmas this year. We had to select and fetch our tree in deep puddles and a lot of mud. Do you know how hard it is to get eight people to agree that we had found the 'perfect' tree? Well, this tree may not have had the perfect tree, but it was at least acceptable.

Elizabeth enjoyed her seventh birthday! She is growing up into a fine young lady. She enjoys helping out in the kitchen and has learned to love reading. She is getting a grasp on multiplication and doing very well with her homeschooling. She is a lot of fun. She will be doing the poem 'The Highwayman" for her poetic Interpretation for tournament. She has it memorized, we just need to polish her presentation.

In Octorber the girls and I went to a camp in NC for Home-schooled teenage girls called 'Daughters of Destiny' JoAn was a counselor this year, Michelle was a camper and Elizabeth was my helper. I taught classes in Herbs and Nutrition as well as one on Building a Heritage Library. We had a great time. This picture was taken at the banquet on the last day.

These are our friends Chrissi and Steve. They have eleven children and our families really enjoy getting together and playing. The kids play soccer and Kick the can and other traditional kids games. I love watching them all play together. They returned the favor and came and visited us in December. Chrissi has her own blog at www.sewsowso.wordpress.com and you would probably enjoy her writing. She and her older girls have a business of custom sewing. Actually, they make most of Michelle's clothing for us, since she is so tall. She writes about how to do different sewing projects and technics, about their family and also Chrissi's thoughts. I love Chrissi because she is so 'real'.

Thomas loves to read on the roof whenever the weather permits. I think it is because it is so quiet out there and he doesn't get as distracted. This spot is the warmest in the early spring and late fall than any other outdoor spot. It is protected from the north and west from the wind, and it gets the morning sunshine. My children all love to be on roofs. Their daddy takes them up from the time they are little. There is no fear of heights among our children. Mommy does get a little nervous, but I try to not interfere.

This is our latest wall of books. The family room has floor to ceiling bookshelves. The upstairs hallway is lined with bookshelves, and all the bedrooms have multiple bookshelves - all full. These shelves are filling in too fast. There is no such thing as too many books, just insufficient bookshelves. We did buy three tall bookshelves when Boarders went out of business this fall, but alas, those too are almost full. I don't know where I am going to put the books I bought on Saturday from the last book sale I went to. Hmmmm. There's got to be room for another bookshelf somewhere.

We cleaned out our garden in late October and we found this melon hiding in the weeds. We cut it up and it was still sweet and good. It was a bit overripe, but still very edible. The garden is empty now except for some turnips, parsnips, red cabbage, kale and brussel sprouts. We had a good garden this year.

Michelle has been doing art classes with T-Bob and Elizabeth. This is Elizabeth's still life in pastels. I am glad that Elizabeth will help me out with this. It is not my strength, and she is quite artistic.

This infamous moment was captured by the children on the camera. Please note that it is 11/11/11 at 11:11:11. They captured it right to the second on the atomic clock. Way to go!!

Michelle made caramel apples this fall for a party. They look so yummy and good. We had to document it with a picture!

We enjoyed our traditional thanksgiving brunch at church. THis tradition has been ongoing for over 40 years! We all gather together for a big breakfast about 9:30 we eat and fellowship and then about 10:15 we gather together for a time of prayer, singing and reflection of things we are thankful for. It is always special.

My family and our friends the Morrises joined together for a big Thanksgiving dinner at our house. The little girls enjoyed mothering their babies.

Dad did his traditional job if official turkey carver. He always does a nice job.

In the very beginning of December I did the official family photo shoot. It is always a challenge to get everybody looking the same way and smiling simultaneously. There were a couple good ones. I also got the family Christmas letter written. If you would like a copy let me know and I will get it to you.
JoAn decided to get about 12 inches cut off her hair. She donated it to Locks of Love. It really does still come below her shoulders, but it looks a lot shorter when it is all 'sproinged'. up.

It is hard for me to believe, but our first baby is now 21 years old! Where has the time gone? I look around our table and it seems like only a short time ago that toddlers once sat where there are now adults. I thank the Lord for His faithfulness to us in blessing us with these children.

New Years Day was again another big party at the Mangos. It was good to see our friends again. Mom and Dad enjoyed the grandchildren before they left to go spend some time in Florida. Isaiah is getting so big. He is starting to crawl all over.

These babies don't belong to our family, they are some of the children that JoAn watches in her work as a mother's helper. They came over to our house so she could watch them so their Mom and Dad could go out and have a date alone. The children ALL really enjoyed having babies around to hold and love on. I love the way even my boys really love to take care of babies. They will be good Daddies some day.

Well, that's our fall and winter wrap up. I hope you enjoyed it and feel like you are caught up on the news. I'll try and do a better job of keeping up to date.

~Mom

Frost on the pumpkin

James Whitcomb Riley. 1853–1916

"When the Frost is on the Punkin"

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,

And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,

And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,

And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;

O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,

With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,

As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.


They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere

When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—

Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,

And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;

But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.


The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,

And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;

The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still

A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;

The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;

The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—

O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.


Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps

Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;

And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through

With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...

I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be

As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—

I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

This post is here in honor of my friend Carol Tater who also has her pumpkin still out on the porch.

The children memorized this poem our first semester of school.

Autumn Gardening

This post is to show you what is still growing in our garden in the middle of November after several hard frosts. The brussel sprouts are doing dandy. We leave them in the garden until we are ready to eat them or until freezing weather comes.

Some late broccoli will continue to grow until it matures or until the deep snow comes. Whichever happens first

The red cabbage is ready, but this is another one we leave out in the garden until we need it. Today we made a very yummy sweet and sour red cabbage dish to go with our roast beef. I shredded the cabbage and added chopped apple, chopped onion and cooked it in apple cider. I then added some clove and apple cider vinegar and maple syrup and let it simmer. Delicious!

The turnips are still forming up, but we can always just use the greens if we want to. They like cool weather.

Parsley will keep growing and you can pick it right through the snow. Some of the other herbs are still producing (thyme and sage). Like to have those fresh herbs to use in the kitchen.

Now these peas were planted too late and won't produce anything. I left them there because I like the spring green of peas against the autumn brown. Plus, I want to see how far they will grow. More simple things that please me.

~Mom

Brussel Sprouts

This our first year growing brussel sprouts and they did really well. You are not supposed to pick them until after the first frost. They grew about 3 and a half feet tall. A lot bigger than I expected.

The sprouts form on the inside of each big leaf that grows off the stem.

The stem is so hard that I could not cut it with a big knife. You almost need a saw. The leaves fall off easily. The sprouts spiral around the stalk. They break off easily. They were DELICIOUS! We all really enjoyed them. Our children really like them. 'Baby cabbages' are so good.

I forgot to take a picture of the big bowl of brussel sprouts we had for lunch.
~Mom

November Saturday

Mr. Meehling is staying with us for the month of November. We are so happy to have him here with us. He is a great example of godly living and staying the course. He is 91 now and lives in Seattle, but he likes to come visit. He was our neighbor until 18 months ago, but he has known our family for years and years. I think he even attended my parents wedding. He does calisthenics and takes long walks (3-5 miles) every day. His mind is real sharp too.

Saturday was really nice and warm. The high was about 70 degrees. We used the beautiful weather to clean out the garden. We pulled all the beans, tomato, and dead basil plants. I will do a garden Post soon and show you what we still have growing.

Mr. Boots did bicycle maintenance. We need to have a few more bikes going.

Thomas was giving Dallas some attention.

Elizabeth was enjoying wearing just a short sleeve shirt without a sweater being needed.

We had a late fall picnic. It was great! No bugs. They have all been frosted. What a great day.

Our woodpile hasn't started shrinking yet. We are enjoying hearing Mr. M's stories. He can tell stories about his dad and the civil war. He remembers, and not with fondness, all the antics of FDR. His attempts to federalize all the utilities ( Starting with the Tennessee Valley Authority), His increase of the Supreme Court to get his own way, and the large amount of socialists/communists he included in his administration. Sound familiar?

Here's a picture of Mr. Boots, not wearing boots. It does happen on occasion. We are enjoying our Indian Summer. Do you know why they call it that?

~Mom