Happy Thanksgiving to all of my lovely readers!
I hope y’alls holiday is splendid 🙂
Just a quick update …
We’ve been really busy. Working on the barn, tending animals, and celebrating Abigail’s birthday.
Have a lovely day!
~ Amy
To those considering farming or just wondering why we want to do what we do…this post is for you.
Just like any other job – and really anything in life – there are pros and cons to it. You are probably thinking the obvious – “Farmers are at the mercy of the weather.” While that is most certainly true, there is so much more to farming than just that.
Farmers get pooped on.
Farmers get peed on.
Farmers also deal with vomit and other bodily fluids on almost a daily basis.
They get up with the sun but don’t normally get to go to bed with the sun. Why? A lamb isn’t eating well. The pigs escaped. There are 40-some chicks coming in the morning and there isn’t a spot ready for them. The trees need to be planted before the next storm hits, even if it means staying up ’till midnight.
They also deal with death on a regular basis.
In the 12 months we’ve lived on this farm we’ve lost nearly two dozen chickens and the ram we had bottle-fed since he was less than a day old.
They also deal with the death of trees, crops, fruits, and vegetables.
They spend more money on gas than most of you can even imagine.
Frustration is a frequent visitor to the farm. Tractors, trucks, and vehicles break down. Tools break, go missing, or stop working altogether. The ground can be too wet, too dry, too acidic, or too rocky. Some months find you with a shortage of water for crops or hay for animals. Other months hit you with storm after storm. Even other times you are faced with unpredictable weather. One day it’s 85 degrees and sunny and the next day it’s 38 degrees and storming.
They break their backs planting seed, only to have a torrential rain fall wash it all away.
They miss events that they were looking forward to because an animal is sick or needs attention. When farming is your livelihood, you can’t just take a break whenever you like.
Farming is hard on everyone and everything.
But.
Besides being a mother or father, Farming is one of the most rewarding jobs ever.
The wonder of seeing your siblings (or children’s) faces light up with joy when they get to drive the tractor for the first time.
Looking out the window and being able to say that everything you can see is yours. The sheep grazing on the spring grass. The lambs playing leapfrog in the field. The pigs running in circles when they’re excited. The crazy, hilarious, unpredictable behaviour of the chickens.
All the babies! Lambs, puppies, and piglets just enjoying being alive. Chicks, ducklings, and guinea Keats all scratching in the grass for bugs. All these bring laughter to your life, and remind you of the miracle that life truly is.
The sound of rain on the roof or the sound of a child laughing as he runs through the field.
The delight in the face of a little person when they hold a chick for the first time.
Seeing the green of new life in the spring after a long winter.
The taste of home-grown bacon. That’s a good enough reason to farm in of itself.
The amazement you feel when you step outside at night and see millions of twinkling stars.
The relief of having neighbors that truly care for and about you.
The feeling of satisfaction when you set a meal on your table that wholly consists of things you and your family grew or raised.
The friendly competition that develops between siblings, whether that’s who can grow the biggest watermelon, or who can harvest the most radishes.
And think about it… Farming is necessary! If there were no farmers, there would be no food.
So, to those considering farming or a self-sustaining lifestyle, I have two words.
Do it.
It will be THE hardest thing you’ve ever done. But it is worth it, Every minute of it.
~ Amy
p.s. Thanks to C. A. of inskirtsandwellies for your inspiration for this post!!
Our barn site is officially excavated. It is behind and to the left of our house.
I would post an aerial photo but, as we haven’t sold enough eggs to pay for a helicopter, we don’t have one.
Prior to excavation…The gravel you see in the picture is the top of our driveway.
During excavation
Finished excavation…Complete with drainage swale. (A special formation of the dirt to direct rain water away from the barn.)
Dumping gravel…We got 6 dump truck loads of rock total.
Finished dumping gravel…The white spot near the top of the picture is the barn foundation, made from very fine rock. (Called screenings)…And isn’t the sky lovely!?
Breathtaking sunset!
And so my post has people pictures in it, here’s a recent shot of Samuel and Daddy driving our tractor:
Check back soon for a post regarding the newest inhabitants of Rehoboth Ranch!
~Amy
A few days ago, we purchased 4 Kathadin ewes, (female sheep), from a local farmer. We got 3 ewe lambs, (born this past spring), and one proven ewe, which means she is about 3 years old and has already had a couple of seasons of lambing. Lord willing, we’ll have 4-8 more lambs this coming spring. Every year, we’re naming our new batch of sheep after a certain theme, chosen by Mum. This year it’s herbs. Being that there’s 4 girls and 4 new sheep. We each got to chose an herb name.
The sheep in our horse trailer.
The largest sheep, in the back of the picture is the 3 year old, who I named Cicely. The black one was named Tansy by Grace has the brown one with the dark legs was named Ginger by Faith, and the biggest brown one was named Jasmine by Abigail.
The boys hefting Cicely over the fence
Cicely meeting Churchill
Daniel carrying Tansy
Ginger and Jasmine
Daddy watching the sheep to see how they like there new home.
The front of the sheep shelter during construction
The rear of the shelter.
Lastly, here’s a random picture of Samuel. Just because he’s cute *smile*
~ Amy
What else have we been doing?
Well, we planted 180 daffodil bunches!
Some friends of ours had an overabundance of daffodil plants on their property, and as one of them is highly allergic to daffodils, they were eager to get rid of them. We were more than happy to take them off their hands!
Everyone had fun helping to put them in the ground!
We put some on either side of our driveway entrance and the rest up at the top of the drive.
The rocks were Josh’s idea. It does look lovely don’t you think?
I am so thankful that God made such pretty flowers!
~Amy
Look what we got! *grin*
Yep! Chicks! 50 to be exact.
(We actually started with 52 but 2 died.)
48 of them are Rhode Island Reds, 1 is a Grey Leghorn, and 1 is an Ameraucana.
The Grey Leghorn belongs to Grace. She named it Star. It ‘s what you might call a traditional chick. (A bright yellow ball of fluff.)
The Ameraucana belongs to Faith and was promptly dubbed Phoebe.
Samuel had alot of fun helping to put the chicks into their home sweet home!
Here’s one more picture:
Aren’t they cute?
~Amy
Setting the second module.
Raising the roof on the second module. (In case you’re wondering, some of the shingles were put on in the factory. The big hole is for a shed dormer.)
See?
God’s beautiful sunset!
Here’s that same sunset reflected on the back of our house. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can’t wait to do dishes in this house. (The kitchen sink is under the two windows that are right next to each other.)
The crew working in the dark.
The next day. . . (Note, that most of the shingles are on and all the walls are up. The garage will come off of the mudroom extension in the left of the picture and the porch will wrap from the front corner in the right of the picture, around the corner, and to the door off the mudroom
The hole for the steps down into the basement. (It’s currently covered over with plastic.)
By the way, here is a picture of our second module almost in the creek.
~ Amy
We recently went to the local Amish community to purchase some piglets to use for rooting out an area for our garden in the spring.. We got 2 piglets for ourselves and 6 for various friends, (a total of 8 piglets). They weighed between 27 – 40 lbs each and were determined to get away!! Add mud, barbed-wire, small spaces, and angry mama pigs to that mix and you’ll get a very interesting evening!
They were not the most helpful little fellows!
I know this isn’t a great picture but it shows the action of the evening. (smile)
The beautiful sunset as we finally caught the last of the piglets!
~ Amy
We officially have a house! Yay!!
The third truck came about 1415. By the time they unloaded the second module, 5 out the 12 wheels on the trailer had gone flat or blown out, 2 on the way up from the factory, 2 getting into the driveway, and 1 coming up the driveway. On top of that, when the truck crossed our creek it slid slightly off the driveway, putting a big whopping dent in one of our 2 culverts. They eventually did get across the creek but it took them upwards of 45 minutes.
The third truck coming up the road!
Getting ready to cross the creek.
While waiting for the second module to arrive, the work crew was far from idle!
They unwrapped the dormers, put moisture barrier paper on them and put the windows in.
Lowering the first module into place.
Making sure it was exactly square with the basement.
Raising the roof and putting the side walls in.
The first dormer is set!
Lowering in the second dormer.
The men and I watching as they secured the dormer. (left to right: Daniel, Josh, Me, and Daddy)
Putting on the next segment of roof.
Past the point of no return! Pulling the trailer out from under the second module.
Setting the second module.
I’ll post more pictures later!
~ Amy
Our men spent Saturday installing the sill plate so as to be ready for the house set on Monday. A sill plate is basically boards that go between the top of the concrete walls of the basement and the bottom of the walls of the house. The sill plate serves two basic purposes, 1: It enables the house to be bolted down more easily. (It might be a little difficult to bolt it into solid concrete!) 2: To act as a moisture barrier to prevent water from seeping up the walls of the house.
Countersinking the bolt holes in a sill plate board so that the bolt heads do not stick out above the board.
Josh positioning the next board.
Josh drilling in a bolt while Daniel holds the board down.
Daddy is hammering the bolts thru the pre-drilled holes in the sill plate and the concrete wall.
Sill plate in progress (The pink roll is Sill Seal. It acts as a barrier between the concrete walls and the boards of the sill plate.)
Daniel traversing the wall.
Almost done!
Josh is drilling in a bolt while Daniel is keeping the nut from spinning.
The completed sill plate
Just remember, TOMORROW IS HOUSE SET DAY!!
~ Amy
Rehoboth Ranch 