Greener Grass

I have found Fridays to be my one day to sit and enjoy the morning. Because of the many projects I am wrapping up before starting school and having this baby, I have been extremely busy.

One major project I started was to write up a junior entomology curriculum for the younger kids. I searched high and low for a bug program for the boys to no avail. Everything was geared for much younger kids, and Zeb is especially ready for something with more detail. I will post an update once I am finished.

                        ****One of many bugs Zeb has found around the farm and admired****



This was also a summer of no rain. It was very dry and hot until late July. We finally started getting some rain and the grass finally decided to grow.

In fact, it was too dry for a cutting of hay in June, but we should get a good cutting in a week or so. This should, along with all of the pastures, give us enough food for the cattle this winter.

A couple of days ago we moved all of the cows into the yard around the house.

                                   ****Valentine and Molly****


No fancy landscaping over here. I use cows to mow the lawn and I honestly do not care if they munch on bushes.
Not to offend anyone with beautifully landscaped yards, but I truly find more peace in watching my cows graze the yard. Grass based farming has so many advantages and we are blessed to have the ability to farm in this manner. Thank you Joel Salatin for all of the inspiration!

                       ****Baby Chance, who is not so much a baby any longer****


They were very excited to move to fresh grass and spent a good part of the moment jumping and bucking their way across the yard. We will let them graze a few days before moving them again.

Journee's elderly goat has spent each morning, now that they are cooler, basking in the morning sun on the drive. I have washed the drive twice this week of goat droppings, but it is a lost battle.

                   ***Brownie. One of the steers ready to process this fall***


Our next big project is too get a blueberry orchard planted. This would be an easy task, except we must fence the orchard to keep the cows from chewing down the bushes. Devin will be better able to tackle the project once Dragon Con is over.

We spent a good deal of time Tuesday sewing the finishing touches on some cosplay costumes for the Dragon Con event. I know it will be  great time for everyone attending.

Moving the cows, cutting hay and prepping school supplies must mean one thing: Fall is almost here.

It's time to soak up these last few days of summer and that is exactly what I plan to do this weekend.

Happy Friday Ya'll!!!

Sami

Summer of Birthdays

It was a summer of birthdays.

Willow celebrated her 14th birthday in June. She loves to celebrate at the lake, so a lake gathering is what we do.
Willow loves having her best friends and siblings at the lake. We always pull out the jet skis, and all of my kids LOVE jet skis!

My ever loving bug boy always seems to find a new critter to hold and examine.

Fletcher loves playing in the wet clay/mud.....so common here in the South.

We also had a new calf born near the end of June.

We came home from a family dinner to find that Penny had calved while we were gone. She had a healthy bull calf that is half Jersey and half Swedish Red.

I usually band my boys into steers and raise them for beef, but I decided to raise this guy for a bull. I will need a bull next year to breed many girls.  Indiana has named him Kai. Here's to a new farm adventure.

Finally, while we were in Florida, we celebrated Zeb's 7th birthday. Actually we celebrated his birthday and a friend's birthday, who came to the beach with us.

Of course Zeb got more items for his constant bug collecting.

We bought a couple of ice cream cakes from a local grocery and ordered pizza for dinner.

The next day Zeb bought a hermit crab with his birthday money. I am happy to announce that his little crab, named Happy, made the trip home and is living happily in an aquarium habitat.
Zeb likes that he now owns two pets. He got a leopard gecko for his 5th birthday and that little guy is still doing great.

It has been a summer of birthdays. It has been a summer of family gatherings and friends hanging out.

We still have a few weeks of summer left, no school here until after Labor Day.

This weekend I plan to work on some sewing projects and finish getting some school stuff organized. I will update next week on my new curriculum.

Happy Friday Ya'll!!

We Stormed the Coast

Sometimes you just need to unplug, unwind and revamp. 

A beach vacation usually helps.

Last week we stormed the beaches of Florida.

This last month has been all about me trying to make sure I am resting my feet, enjoying this pregnancy and getting life organized and prepped for a new baby.

We also took a week trip to the Gulf Coast. Sandcastles and sea shells were the top priority for 6 days.

Journee, ever the homeschool student, bought a couple of books to bring along that helped us identify the many sea critters and shells we collected. Of course the live critters were tossed back to sea once we had identified them.

We rented a townhouse that slept 14 people, so we brought along a couple of family friends to enjoy the week. We cooked most of our meals, took afternoon naps and played board and card games late at night.

The area we stayed was not crowded at all, so we were able to really swim and sprawl out on the sand.

Here are a few of the water critters we caught and identified. It was very exciting for the kids to experience the salt, the sand, and the marine life.

Of course we had to venture out in the evening to catch sand crabs and walk along the shore.

So now that we are back home, I am getting school work organized and some sewing projects finished. Lots has happened here over the last month, but I will get everything posted and updated.

We really needed a summer break and thanks to a fabulous teen, who can milk cows, we escaped for a fun 6 days.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer. I leave with a few more pictures from the coast.

Happy Sunday Ya'll!