Lamplight

Brrrr...it really is cold outside today! Almost like the "brain-freeze" you get when eating ice cream, the wind hits you in the face when you step out the door no matter how bundled in layers of wool and carhartt's and boots you might be.



I am thankful that we didn't lose power in this storm. I suppose we still could, the wind is gusting. I have water drawn in the house and hot coffee in the thermos and laundry and dishes are all done up. The other thing I have is plenty of oil in the oil lamps and extra candles on hand if we should need them. A few weeks ago we lost power unexpectedly right before dark fell. Luckily I had finished chores and supper, so Bill and I settled in for a time of him reading and me knitting. Reading only requires light from the oil lamp and spinning and knitting don't really require light at all. It was peaceful and refreshing and quiet.

Since then, I have been reminded of how much less we really need to exist than what we have (and those of you who know us, know we live pretty simply!) I have even been enjoying some evenings with oil lamp light just because of the mood it puts me in. I have spent several lovely evenings reading or spinning or knitting or even doing some housework by this light. I was dusting the mantel a few nights ago and the soft light on these old books (some of our favorites) seemed beautiful to me:


(Okay, my family and friends who know me can stop laughing now and pick yourselves up off the floor at the thought of me doing any kind of housework, let alone dusting!)

When the electric bill comes in the mail or the propane truck delivers fuel for the furnace and hot water heater and leaves a bill that takes nearly one-quarter of our current monthly income, I get even more serious about wondering how much more we can live without!!! Now of course, we need heat and water...but what do we need beyond the basics we already have?

I am grateful for all that we have...all of the needs that God supplies. But I have been spending considerable time in thought and prayer about how we could live more frugally and self-sufficiently. Even in our already simple life here at Serenity Farms, we are wasteful. And that could change. It will change, in both big and small ways, over the coming year. Maybe you would like to follow along here at our blog to watch our changes, struggles and joys?

I have been inspired by a new friend and her family for most of this past year. If you have never visited the Maple Valley Farm blog, you really should! You don't have to aspire to be a farmer, or to live more simply, or go off grid as this family has to enjoy their love of God, family and farm. In our time, Bill and I have come across lots of folks striving to change their lives in a similar way. Sadly, sometimes it is as much a marketing plan as it is a life plan. Matt and Angie are not that way at all. They are honest, hard-working, humble, gracious and real in what they are doing! Most likely their successes are due to their love and faith in God and belief in their family. I am so blessed to have been able to spend some time with them and if you are ever able to, please do so. You won't be disappointed I'm sure! Stop by their blog or facebook and say hello. Angie had a funny post about losing power that actually inspired me to write this post.

Jesus said "I am the Light of the world"...John 8:12

Now we aren't planning to go as far off grid as the Maple Valley Farm family has, lol! But I really would like a working windmill (the old fashioned ones, not those airplane propeller looking modern ones!) to supply water. That part is probably a dream, but it does seem like this old farm could supply a lot of wood for a wood burning fireplace, and maybe even make use of the wood cook stove at the Round House? What about utilizing the gravity fed cistern and connected water lines at the barn? Hmmm...lots of ideas! Do you and your family have any ways you are changing or hoping to change to be more self-sufficient? I'd love to hear them!

It's Finally Here

The snow I wished for arrived over the weekend!


We didn't get walloped with the blizzards that hit all around us, but we got a few inches of the white stuff followed by howling winds and bitter wind chill temperatures. Still, the sun is shining this morning and the snow is fresh and bright. The house is warm and the coffee is hot ;)

Yesterday, in the midst of the storm hitting, I had help from the kids and grandkids putting the finishing touches on the winter barn preparations. LOL...Bill said we were about a week late getting it done, but we had to plan around work and school schedules. So with the teenager, the daughter and son-in-law and both little grandsons we got sheep moved (rams seperated from the breeding ewes and ewe lambs brought down to the big barn to join the ewe flock for winter); changed a few sheep coats that needed to be sized up; set up hay feeders for the winter months and put the windows in the barn to keep cold winds out. Oh, and Charlotte's foot is all healed up so she rejoined the flock after the ram was pulled out. The two rams are in tight quarters for a time so they can't injure or kill one another while they learn to deal with the fact that they are bachelors again for another year. Their winter living quarters are all ready for them, and I will run them outside in a few days.

The only thing left to do now is catch up some of the free ranging chickens and put them in their winter living quarters to keep them from pooping all over the sheep feeders and hiding their eggs where they will freeze before I can gather them.

After all the work outside, we came in and enjoyed a fine winter meal of roast pork and red skinned potatoes (thanks, Uncle Mike!) cooked up with onions and garlic, baked winter squash (oh my, this was as good as desert!), lima beans and then blueberry crisp for the actual dessert. What a joy and a priviledge to have family to share the work and the blessings! Bill and I truly are blessed.

I hope you all are tucked in snug and warm this December morning! I have water buckets to thaw out, but even in that I can be thankful. Thankful that I have water at hand...

Queen Charlotte the sheep

Charlotte, queen of our Corriedale flock, turned ten years old this week. She is our lead sheep in the flock, boss of the pack, and her bloodlines are in a good bit of our ewes. She has a finer than usual fleece, but thats okay with us! I took this picture in the barn, where she is having some R&R time. I noticed her limping the other day and when I checked her feet, found the outer pad on her left front was broken right off! Charlotte has shiny black hooves that are tough as nails and usually give her no problems but on the rough frozen ground she was having difficulty walking and is needing a little "coddling". She is not to happy about being away from the flock but she is in a pen where she can see them and some extra helpings of her favorite treats (think sheep cookies) help her accept the situation! In the photo below, she seems to be asking for more ;)



In an earlier post, I promised pictures of the Light Brahma chickens. I think they are even more beautiful than the Golden Lace Wyandottes. It doesn't really show here, but the black in their tail feathers shine green in the sunlight!




Isn't the rooster gorgeous? You might wonder why we would want to have so many roosters at Serenity Farms...we don't. We have a wonderful "senior" rooster, a Black Orpington that we are perfectly happy with. My laying hens were getting older and I wanted to replentish the flock with some younger girls so purchased the Golden Lace and Light Brahmas. Paid extra to get females...three of each breed. And got two hens and one rooster in each set! I understand that mistakes in sexing poultry can be made, but that seems like pretty high odds to me. So here we are with three distinct mini flocks. Anyway...

Oh and Amy asked about the ducks eggs, so I thought I would share this picture from a nest I found hidden last week. Along with being smart, the ducks seem really good at hiding their nest.

I hope you are enjoying seeing photos of some of our animals around the farm as much I am enjoying showing them to you!

The East and The West

Just a few days ago, I was able to capture these shots of the sun rising in the east over the pasture fields while looking to the west, over the big barn, the moon was setting. It was a beautiful testiment to God's majesty!





We remain basically "snowless" here in Michigan while all around us other northern states are up to their ears in the white stuff! These clouds produced a few flurries, but nothing lasting:

I know I'm different, but the lyrics of "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" keep running through my head!

Turkey or trimmings?

Sometimes there is more in the roaster than Thanksgiving dinner....

(Note: No food is ever cooked in this roaster for safety sake. It is dedicated to dyeing)

Serenity Farms Critters

I haven't posted many sheep photos this year, have I? Here are a few:






That third photo is of our new registered CVM/Romeldale ram lamb, Graham (the moorit with the blazed face) and his buddy, this years special bottle lamb Gordon (the white Corriedale) They are quite the pair! (Gordon would like to say hello to his special friend, Eva and her grandma)

And how about some other critters from around the farm? We have new chickens (Golden Lace Wyandottes, two hens and a rooster) These were the ugliest chicks but are beautiful as adults...



and we have ducks (Indian Runners). These ducks are constant entertainment, very smart (smarter than chickens, I think) plus are already giving us lovely bluish green eggs that are wonderful for cooking!:



Finally, our ever faithful mouse patrol, Christy the calico cat! She certainly has that fall color thing going, doesn't she?



We also have some new Light Brahma chickens and they are gorgeous and very, very personable. I need to get some pictures of them, too. Maybe when grandson Dylan comes for a visit. They are his chickens ;) I would definately recommend the breed to anyone thinking of trying chickens...at least I say so now. We will see how they are at laying time, how they do through the winter. We have been so pleased with the Wyandottes in the past.

Faith

"Though the rain may fall and the wind be blowing,
And old and chill is the wintry blast;
Though the cloudy sky is still cloudier growing,
And the dead leaves tell that the summer has passed;

My face I hold to the stormy heaven,
My heart is as calm as the summer sea,
Glad to receive what my God has given,
Whate'er it be.

When I feel the cold, I can say, 'He sends it,'
And His winds blow blessing, I surely know;
For I've never a want but that He attends it;
And my heart beats warm, though the winds may blow"...Author Unknown

God and I

(A quiet place in my room, with early morning sunlight..)

Getting ready to face a busy day and busy weekend...all in a good way, though, with family and friends gathering for a work day here at Serenity Farms. Good food and fun will be consumed and enjoyed. There is a welcome relief of cool fall air in the bright morning sunlight and as I gather myself for the day, I feel the call of God to my heart for some quiet time over a cup of coffee. Then a reminder from my morning devotional...

"Has thou ever pictured thyself the one remaining creature in the earth, the one remaining creature in all the starry worlds?....In such a universe thine every thought would be "God and I! God and I!" And yet He is as near to thee as that--as near as if in the boundless spaces there throbbed no heart but His and thine. Practice that solitude, O my soul.....Practice the stillness of thine own heart! Practice the solemn refrain "God and I! God and I!" Let none interpose between thee and thy wrestling angel! Thou shalt be both condemned and pardoned when thou shalt meet Jesus alone!" --George Matheson

And so my soul takes time to fill and refresh with God this morning and I am ready for the day. How about you?

I read this devotional online here - a wonderful resource!


(Green pastures at the farm, quiet woods and waiting cornfields....)

Prettiest Place...

This post is for any of my new friends from the farm tour who might be checking in to the blog. I talked about the Round House and the sheep and and my husband and his horses....some of these photos have appeared before here at the blog, but I thought it would be nice if you were able to just look real easily on your first visit ;)





The first photo is the Round House with just a glimpse of the big Burnham barn in the background. In the next picture you see my husband, taken a few years ago, driving out of the woods and into the lane with a team of Percheron draft horse mares (and notice the wagon loaded with fence building supplies near by!) You see what I see when I step out the back door at our house in the spring time...ewes and lambs on green grass! And then another photo of the Round House and Burnham barn in winter.

What do you think? Aren't these places beautiful to look at? They are a certainly a blessing and a joy for us to live...We hope you can all visit us in person one day soon! I hope to post some photos from our trip to West Michigan here in the next day or two. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting each and everyone along the way...now we all need to get some sleep ;)

Brother

Last Friday, with the greatest of joy, I attended a Relay For Life event. To celebrate the survival of a very special person that I have known most of my life and all of his...one of my "little" brothers (I am lucky enough to have three). That is him, of course, being silly for the camera ;)

I never think of him as being a younger sibling, he really is more like an older brother to me...the one you turn to and rely on and ask advice of. That is what my brother Darin is for me. We were cohorts as children, and I don't remember ever fighting, although I'll bet my folks would remember differently ;D


This picture is of him with his wife, truly his partner for many many years now. They have two wonderful boys, young men. All were there in full support (as they have been each step of the way)

The emotions you feel at one of these events are so huge they are hard to explain. Different for me, as a sibling, then they are for each other person there I'm sure. Like I said, very hard to explain and still with me nearly a week later. I will never forget it, and I shouldn't. I took other photos with some of the other family and friends but they didn't turn out (I wish they would have...maybe my hands and heart were shaking to much)

Congratulations, brother of mine. We love you so much...

His first horse ~

Thanks to a collaborative effort between his Mama and his Alaska Aunt, we once again have a saddle horse here at Serenity Farms.

Getting Familiar ~


First Lessons ~



Still grinning, and looking with amazement at the tracks he and his horse made in the sand ~


Isn't that smile, from a shy little boy with a big heart, worth it all?


What an inspired idea his Mama had! Here's to all the life lessons and joys that can only be learned from time with your horse ~

A Short Study of Wool

CVM wool, as a matter of fact, along with other wool junkies at The Knitters Book of Wool group over on Ravelry. By the way, if you don't already own The Knitters Book of Wool by Clara Parkes, run right out now and purchase it for your fiber/knitting library...it is fantastic!

CVM (or California Variegated Mutant) wool was an easy one for me, as I have several Corriedale/CVM cross sheep in my flock, including one of our rams, Derek:

Handsome Derek, with his cool hair-do, was officially chosen as the June mascot for the group...a title he carries with honor ;)

Anyway, I knew I could use Derek's wool for my project and I am very familiar with it but I wanted to do more and realized that I had never worked with 100% CVM or Romeldale from the raw stage to yarn. A call to my friend Bonnie at Sheepy Thyme Farm confirmed that she did have some raw fleece available (as well as several new lambs on the ground) so a "field trip" was arranged! Now, two trips later ~ LOL ~ not only do I have some raw fleece, but I also have planned some new additions to the sheep flock! How does this happen? Well, its almost as easy to collect sheep as it is to collect wool and yarn, especially when they are so lovely.

Here are some of the fleeces I came home with:


That gorgeous moorit, above on the right is from a lovely new ram. And below are a few of the ones I have already washed sample locks of (on the left are unwashed locks and on the right, washed:



Below is some of Derek's fleece to sample:

I am having so much fun and trying to take good notes...look for more here in the next week or so as I comb and spin the samples ~ oh my!

Is it Spring or Summer?

Some recent images from our gardens ~






(An old green bench, a recent find at a yard sale for only $5 dollars!)
How are your gardens growing these days?