Fall Leaves

We are in the midst of a record breaking drought here in the South. We are more than 20 inches short in rain for the year and have noted a good rainfall day since March 1st. 

It is dry.

Wildfires are burning all through the state and the neighboring states.

Farmers are feeling it too with less than normal hay. Many are having hay shipped in from other states, which is expensive.

Earlier this week the smoke was so thick outside that some schools closed early and people were told to stay inside.

This here is a picture of Georgia and all of the smoke from fires.

We need rain in a bad way.

We did, however, have a nice day when the smoke cleared and we could see some blue sky again.

Because Journee has been so very busy finishing up this school semester and working, we have been trying our best to take her pup, Kid, outside to play. 

Willow actually took the younger siblings and the dogs outside to play and take pictures. It is so nice to let the younger kids spend lots of time exploring the outdoors!

Fall is a very beautiful season, even with the drought.

The leaves by the creek are the prettiest right now.

This is the official camping out area for Willow.

It is unbelievable that it is 80 degrees in mid November too. We should be getting some slightly cooler weather this weekend.

Willow has done a great job keeping, me in family photos since she got her iPad mini.

Duke has been feeling pretty good, although cool mornings are some what difficult on his joints. We moved his bed into the garage for the winter though and that helps a ton.

We need rain. Hopefully we will see some soon. Keep the South in your prayers, along with the many fire fighters helping fight the battle.

Here's hoping you have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday Ya'll!

More Land, More Fun

It's been an adventurous week. Well, to some it will seem like a normal or less than adventurous week...but to me it was quite a ride.

Journee and I took a loom beading class with my mother. Chattanooga has  fabulous new bead shop. A bead shop.
It has tons of fabulous beads and plenty of classes to go along with their inventory.

I am quite happy with my first bracelet and have made another. Journee is starting her third bracelet.
Rose even drew up her own design on graph paper so I could teach her. She did a fabulous job.
Never stop learning folks!

There is no question that my herd of cattle is growing each year. I have 30 acres for all of my cows and sheep and horse. Usually we have a neighbor bale hay from the front 15 acres and then I rotate the animals through several other paddocks. It works quite well, but we are feeling the strain of having more and more cows each year.
Fortunately, we secured a lease on the neighboring property that sits exactly next to our acreage. We will need to repair some fencing and add a new gate, but this will give us an additional 20 acres of grazing possibilities.

This is just a lower section of the acreage. We walked it out so we could scope out breaches in the fencing. I was pleased to see some green grass.

There is a creek, but we will be fencing to keep the cows away from the water. The owner who is leasing us the land doesn't want to see cattle from her side of the creek. I thought that was a funny request, but we will able to get water to the cattle from our side of the property line.

This is a picture of the railroad trestle over the creek. Our land is surrounded by the creek on 3 sides and the railroad on the other. 

Finally, Devin started a new job last month. He is back in the ER. He did enjoy his time at an urgent care clinic, but the ER pays better and he is able to work fewer hours a month.

More time at home means he can work on projects, such as fencing, and he can also take us all out more often.

In fact, we decided to take the kids bowling!

The kids had a really good time. This is an activity we do not get out for nearly often enough.

We rented out 2 lanes and used gutter guards on one of them. The boys probably had the most fun.

Fletcher had quite the time getting his ball down the lane. He tried using the metal roller a few times but preferred to toss the ball himself.

We are enjoying very warm temps this week before the cold returns next week. The bees and the frogs and the crickets all think spring has arrived. I wish it were true, but we have a few more weeks of cold.

Happy Hump Day Ya'll!

New Friends

We made new friends this week. Real life and in person friends.

There is a family from Georgia , now living in Ireland, and visiting the states for the summer.
We were blessed to meet them and spend a day with them here on the farm.

The Creech family lives in Ireland, serving the church and bringing people back to Christ. It is a worthy mission for sure and it was fascinating to learn more about the culture of Ireland.

Between lunch and visits, we walked the farm and introduced the many animals to the children. The Creech family is planning to start some homesteading on their property soon and wanted to see how I manage my many, many critters here in my space.

They already have hens back home but the girls still enjoyed picking up and holding my hens for a bit. In Ireland they must deal with issues such as frequent and often times strong winds. so building animal shelters and structures can be more challenging.

Although I think they will be venturing into a dairy goat, their son made friends quickly with the cows.

This is where I get on my soap box and let it be known that the internet has done some wonderful things in this life. I have made many, many friends via the web and this is another shining example of how we can connect from far away. Sure, there are the Ashley-Madisons in the world, but I still feel that most people use the web for good.

Kids played games, gifts were exchanged and hearts were connected. It was a great day, and now Ireland is on my list of places to visit! I will have to time it around a big sheep shearing event too!

Thank you, my new friends, for spending the day with us and sharing your life in Ireland!

Happy Friday Ya'll!

Dragon Con 2014

The last 6  months have been filled with a rather large art project for both Quinn and Devin. They decided to construct Spartan armor based of the video game Halo and wear it proudly at the Dragon Con convention in Atlanta. Journee went along to see the sights and take pictures.

This past weekend was the big event. Here are some pictures, although I apologize they are not the best quality. They were snapped with a cell phone.

Upon arrival to the convention in Atlanta, Devin found Blood Assurance set up, so he happily gave a donation in exchange for a Dragon Con themed t-shirt.

They made their suits from EVA foam. This is the type of foam you buy to place on your workout/gym floor. It comes in large squares and snaps together like a puzzle.  They used a heat gun to shape it and glue guns to stick it together, along with Velcro and snaps.
The helmets started out as paper and then was coated with fiber glass and painted.


The gravity hammer weapon and the guns are carved and shaped from insulation foam board.

Here they found a couple other Halo Spartans and posed for a group photo. Speaking of photos, it was difficult to even walk around much dressed in costume due to the many, many people wanting pictures.

Quinn happily obliged to have a picture made with this sweet little girl.

There were also many other people dressed up as every character you could possibly imagine.

We all recognize this evil character from Star Wars.

Who could this person be? Who said who???? Is there a doctor in the house?

Devin also ran into a real life actor that you might recognize from Pirates of the Caribbean.

He was very nice and was happy to pose for a quick picture. I like his pirate tattoo.

35,000 people attended this convention, which included work shops and vendors and a costume parade down the streets of Atlanta.
My crew had a fun time and they are already planning their costumes for next year.

Happy Weekend Ya'll!!