Down on the Farm

We're learning alot during this first year of calving on the farm.  Hopefully you met Briar, our first calf to be born, in a previous blog post.  His birth was amazing in that we watched the whole thing progress from start to finish.  He's a spunky little guy though, so we weren't able to get our hands on him much.  He has had a halter on, but he's not too fond of it (neither was his mama).  

Our next mama due started labor in the late morning.  Jonathon was concerned she was having a hard time, but we watched and kept an eye on her.  Eventually we saw hooves.  Uh oh, back feet coming first is not good.  Jonathon had to leave for a short bit, but I kept my eyes on her and gave him updates as I could.  At one point I text him that we needed to help her when he got home, and only 8 minutes later I went out to check her and the baby was born.  Our first still born calf.  The mama licked, nudged, and kept trying to bring her baby to life with no success.  I'll admit, I did cry.  Watching that mama try so hard to get her baby up and not leaving baby's side was quite heart wrenching.  She stayed by that baby all night and the next morning, before she finally left it's side.  Jonathon went out and brought the calf up to the barn so we could bury it.  That mama mourned for 3 days, mooing sadly and going back to the spot where she had the baby.  It really was sad.  The farmer was just as sad to watch her grieve and watch the other mama moo at her like she was trying to console her.  The animal world is fascinating.  

The farmer was even sadder when he realized that the calf was his first heifer.  Our first girl.  Jonathon, Diella and I dug a hole.  What a sad day on the farm.  

A week later, I look out my kitchen window at the cows in the field and commented how that other girl out there sure looks miserable.  Farmer thinks she'll have her baby before the end of the week.  Next morning I'm taking a shower and Alegra comes in with news that there is a calf out in the field and it looks like the mama and calf are dead.  Ugh, WHAT???  Can't I just have a peaceful shower!  Jonathon had told me that when she went into labor, he wanted me to keep a close eye on her because she looked so big.  Why hadn't he mentioned to me before he left for work that she was in labor?  Did he even know?  

So, I told Alegra to go out and check to make sure they were alive.  She came back with a happy, full of life report.  After I got out of the shower, I called the farmer, "So, you have a new member on the farm."  His response, "WHAT???"  He apparently didn't check on them before he left for work.  What a relief that her labor was during the night and all was well.  We named that cow Flo since she flowed on her own and she seemed to be a much more mellow mama than Blossom.  We were actually able to get to the calf to tag the ear (#2) and check her over.  We have us a little girl!!!  The farmer is so happy!  

On day 2 he was feeling a little concerned about her because she was sleeping out in the hot sun all day long without nursing.  We walked out to check on her, where she let me really give her some lovins.  What a sweet, sweet girl.  She's got my heart.  I just might be turning into a farmer's wife, but, shhh, don't tell the farmer.  ;)  Alegra named this one, and her name is Fern.     

 Isn't she just the sweetest thing.  Oh, and Briar is pretty fond of her too.  He was right with her in the field with her mama when we found them that first morning.  

There is more happenings on the farm too.  We're waiting for one more mama to have her baby.  She's getting bigger.  She is one of our Herefords that was artificially inseminated, so she might have a cute little hereford calf.  We are excited to see what she has.  Our other cow may or may not be pregnant.  We aren't real sure at this point.  She wouldn't be due til a little later, so we watch and wait.  Rosie is up next though.

Jonathon has also been busy doing hay to prepare for winter.  He's such a hard worker and loves his animals.  Knowing that he has cattle and machinery back on the farm does his heart good and mine too when I hear him talk about it.  It's not a luxurious life, but it's our life, and we live it together, all while raising our children to work hard, love the animals and love the land.
  

When you have a friend over who loves the country life too, she gets to learn how to bale hay. :)

And make lots of memories on the farm too.

The garden is planted and looking pretty good so far.  Strawberry plants are growing and hopefully we'll have our own to pick next year.  Herbs are planted and getting established.  Our rhubarb patch didn't do so swell, but we'll plant again in the fall in the spots where it died.  We've got chicks galore and a crazy dog who thinks he's the keeper of them.  He loves getting in their pen and keeping them herded to the designated place he makes for them.  He's becoming quite the farm dog and making up for all the times I was ready to send him back to the shelter when we first got him.  It's taken a lot of training and he still has some areas he could grow in, but overall, I can't complain since he's cooperative with Hadassah crawling all over him and he doesn't mind all the little critters that are around here.  He's been hearing, "Good boy!"  more and more.

Random Fall Hike, Hunt, Herefords, and Sweet Baby

Oh this weather is sweeping me off my feet!  If only I had time to sit outside and read or take more hikes in the woods or just sit and be still in meditation on the Lord.  But life doesn't slow down for those luxuries every day it's gorgeous out.  And we've had some pretty ones lately!  

On Sunday my parents called to see if anybody wanted to go for a hike to one of the local parks in Kendallville.  It's a nice little park that we enjoy hiking with a couple good elevations of hills to climb, but short enough to not get so tired.  Some of us decided to go and take Titus along.  Alegra captured some pretty sun shots through the trees.  We also had the joy of watching a pileated woodpecker flying through the woods too.  Those birds are just a delight to watch.  

 These two young 'uns ran up and down the hills.

 A nice hike and visit with my mom.

 The two adventure boys going off trail and bringing up the rear AND the ones who sighted the woodpecker.  Good job boys!

That same evening we had squash and sausage and a mixed greens salad from the garden.  As I was cutting the greens the girls came running over to watch.  They've grown to love kale (only the leafy part.  They leave the thick stem on the ground) and that's the only way we can hand feed them at this point.  Next year, it looks like I'll be planting more kale just for the cows.  ;)

 Iris is sweet and comes across more timid.  

She's got lovely thick fur and one red eye patch on her face.  

Rosie has 2 red eye patches and her build seems much stronger and sleeker.  Maybe it's because her fur isn't thick.

She comes to the fence much quicker but is still cautious at quick movements.  

 We noticed this evening that Rosie has one hoof that is reddish brown like her coat, where as the other hooves are jet black.   She's a beauty of an animal.

We recently got a bull to hang out with the girls.  We were having hard time catching them in heat, so this will allow us to not have to watch them so much and worry about how to catch them to do it the artificial way.  They are sure enjoying having that bull out there.  He sounds scary to me, so we all keep our distance and enjoy them from afar now.  :)  

The last highlight in our home lately is that Alegra has started babysitting for a friend's baby 3 days a week.  She comes here to the house, so we are getting accustomed to having a little, little one in the house again.  I must say that everyone enjoys her, and I'm glad to take my turn feeding her and snuggling her.  She's a delight and has the best smile!  Kinslee is taking over the "cute" status in our house, but as soon as she leaves, we still hear plenty of cute comments that go out to our 2 littlest.  

 Welcome Kinslee!  

And I'm sure Alegra will take pictures of her every week.  

One can't take too many pictures of babies you know.  :)

Hadassah has been getting those comments the most lately.  She is growing and getting such a personality.  With all the other children looking like a Bovee, I still just can't believe how much she looks like a Murphy.  So many Murphy expressions.  It's fun to watch and see my baby pictures in her face.  She's becoming so big and expressive, understanding more and more every day.

She is precious, and we are so blessed that our girls can begin learning to care for others, not just their own siblings.  I'm letting Alegra do most of the work with her (accept when I want my turn to feed her or snuggle her :) ).  It's been fun seeing what she decides to do when she fusses or how she puts her to sleep.  My girls are growing, and I am blessed seeing how they are turning out.

Then we had the fun of Benaiah going hunting with Grandpa and Grandma.  It was the perfect evening for him to sit with them.  He was the one to spot the buck coming and remained quiet unlike last year when he blurted out that there was a deer, scaring it away.  I believe our boy is growing up too.

 No tracking needed with a perfect shot that dropped the deer.

We all enjoy helping with the finding and watching all the excitement of getting a deer  Even more exciting and memorable when one of the children can be a part for the whole hunt.  These are great memories for our children and wonderful lessons that they are learning.  So thankful that they can experience the country life and all it entails.  A good hunt, Grandpa Dan!

Family Pictures Fall 2016

 You know, life is busy around here.  Jonathon's work is giving him jobs left and right (no complaints here!).  Homeschooling 4 children with 2 other littler ones is taxing.  There are always meals to make, laundry to do, dishes to wash, floors to sweep (thanks to the shedding dog- glad that phase is over for a bit!), diapers to change, bodily injuries or sickness to tend, outside yard and garden to keep up, and family and friends to keep relationships going.  Sometimes I feel like I don't have time for one more thing to get accomplished, yet somehow every day I get all that done.  Does my house look messy when you stop by unexpectedly? Yes!  Will there be laundry on my couch in piles?  Yes!  Will I be rushing around to get food on the table?  Yes!

 I wish I could set all that aside and not apologize for a messy house.  I wish I could welcome others in and not worry that my floors are dirty.  What's important?  What's the day to day tasks and efforts I put forth worth in this life?  If I'm fussing about a messy house and things undone, then it's not worth much.

 It takes a lot of work to tend all the needs in my home.  It takes time, energy, love, and patience.  Do I fail at times?  Yes.  Am I successful at teaching my children with patience and kindness most days? Yes, but not all days.  Do I long to be a vessel that can reach the hearts of my children and others that are lost in my community?  Yes.  The time in this life can be so short.  We almost didn't go take these pictures the day we did.  I'm so glad we took time to do it.  They capture us.  They capture the love that we have for one another.  Yes, there is fighting and bickering.  There are arguments and fussing children.  BUT in the end, look how Benaiah is helping Saphi with her boot.  Look how Josiah is looking down at his baby sister to make sure she's okay.  Look at how my husband holds me in his arm like I am a prize to never let go of.

Do we beat ourselves up that life isn't perfect?  It never will be.
Do we wish we had more time to get one more accomplishment done?  There will always be more.
Do we look at what we have and realize the blessing right infront of us?  Not enough.
Blessings are all around.  Don't let time and busy lives cause your eyes to not see what is truly surrounding you.  If you can't see it, step back for only a moment.  Blink a couple times and just watch and listen.  This is your life.  Hold onto it.  Mold it, shape it, transform it if it needs to be changed, but handle it like it's the best gift in the world, and then all that other stuff that gets you down and frustrated, just let it go.

Oh that we could live the picture perfect way that we had envisioned when we started having children.  Boy, 6 is a different story than the cute little baby we started out with.  :)  The rewards can be grand if we allow them to be.  The blessings beyond the children themselves can be remarkable if we are guiding them and not just being busy about our own tasks.  These children are work, but with a little instruction, guidance, and perhaps discipline at times, they sure can brighten my day and make me realize what's right infront of me that I can so easily miss.  Children.  A blessing from the Lord.  And I have 6 of them!  :)

Farm Changes and Fun Children

Summer is quickly closing in on us.  Some of us are in denial....okay most of us are.  We've had such a fun summer of additions, new experiences, family outtings, and enjoying this country life we've been blessed with.  

Since my last blog post, we've added two girls to our family.  These girls have been in Jonathon's dreams for quite some time, and he finally found them and brought them home.  They were just waiting for him at the auction barn.  We are realizing that he got a good deal AND some beautiful ladies to enhance our farm life.  His family used to raise Herferd cows and my Grandpa German also had them, so it only made sense for us to find some of this breed to buy for butchering.  Well, who wants to butcher such pretty animals as these.  So, after his wife told him that he really shouldn't butcher them because they are such fine specimen, Jonathon was granted permission to keep them for breeding.  What am I turning into?....don't you dare say a "farmer's wife".  :)   So, now we wait to breed them and see how that process goes.  They sure have added some beauty to our field and have been a delight to watch.    

 Meet Rosie and Iris, the first cows of the herd that we would like to develop on our farm to produce and sell purely Grass Fed Beef, full of nature's plants that put health into meat.  If you're interested in meat, please contact us for more information and a time frame of when we'll have meat available.

 The farmer boy is sure loving them.

And now the farmer is looking for cows that he will actually butcher in the fall or spring.  He loves shopping for cows.  :)

 You've all met Titus.  He continues to become a good dog.  He's met our new girls and is scared of them, so he reacts in his scared way with barking and hair standing on his back.  He'll get used to them eventually, but he is monitored closely around them at this point.  He's now off leash on the farm, which  is great fun for us and him too.  He's doing great!  He still has some issues to work through, but he's really come a long way.  I can't let these two little ones grow up without posting some of their interaction with each other.  They sure love each other.

 One of their favorite games to play is taking the bone away from each other.  Titus will lay down and start chewing on a bone, and Hadassah will crawl over to him and take it away from him.  He politely waits til she has it infront of him and takes it away from her.  Then he usually gets up and walks a few steps away and lays back down.  She'll crawl over to him and take the bone away again and the game continues.  They do this for an hour at a time.  It's hilarious to watch.

 Oh yes, she always tries to eat it too.  Ugh!

 He's so patient with her.  :)

Our Saphira Grace had a 4th birthday last week.  She sure is growing and hasn't changed out of the little gem that she was born as.  Our hearts melt at so many things she says and does.

Happy 4th Birthday to our Saphi G.

School is in session at our house.  We balked at starting for a long time, because there is still garden work, ball to play in the yard, outside adventures, and too much fun to be had NOT in the house infront of books.  :)

We had a garage sale at my parent's house this week, and I knew that would be counted as school (running the money box, counting back change, conversing with customers), but we also took along some studies on DNA that we are working on.  We've tested our dog to see what breed he is and are waiting for the results to come back.  In the mean time, we are learning all about DNA, traits, and heredity.  It's been fun for me to do things not in the books and just enjoy some different learning ideas.  We extracted DNA from a banana which was very interesting.  The children paired up and made DNA Helix models.  They watched videos on the topics, including one on dogs that was a great overview of all that we've talked about this week, but relating it to dogs, which they are all interested in.  As a family, we did a Trait Activity with M&M's to show how each family trait can be found in our children from past grandparents....or not found.  That was fun as we called each grandparent and asked for 6 family traits, then as the children randomly drew out traits of the grandparents we read through the traits we wrote down to see which ones they got.  It was fun, not very accurate (since Benaiah didn't draw out all of the Murphy traits like we thought he should've  :D), but a good hands on experiment for them to see how it all works

 Jonathon might have had more fun with this activity than the children did.  :)

Today they are writing letters to a person of choice to explain what they've learned and practice letter writing.  It's fun to see the difference in what they say and how they write based on their age.  Tomorrow the books come out.  Sadly, they can't stay on the shelf forever.  Hopefully it will be a quick school morning as we will have tomatoes to can, and then in the evening we help pack food boxes for Feed My Starving Children.  If you've never participated doing this, check their website and see if there is a location near you.  It's a great organization who needs lots of hands to help their mission.

The farm is growing, school is off and running, the weather is changing, and we are all gearing up for some fun fall activities and family time together.