30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 30

Boy, what a busy few days (so far)! All this week we have VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our church (I'm the craft person!). AND the boys have swim lessons in the mornings. So, as soon as we get up we are runnin'... Plus trying to fit everything else (chores, projects, cleaning, eating, etc.) in between. I am SO not ready for Father's Day, OR Austin's Birthday (next week)...

So, I promised to show you some new additions on the (mini) farm. Well, here they are:

Well, not the 2 handsome young men with their new high and tight hair cuts, but the 2 little fluffy things in the middle. Yes, the kitties. We already have 2 cats, but cats don't seem to live too long or stick around too long on the farm. We live on a state road and some times cats think it's better on the other side... Sometimes they get married and move away... So, our boys NEED some animals to love and take care of. I love the fact that they have something, besides themselves, that they need to worry about feeding and such.

Well, the day finished up rainy here. SO the garden weeds will be a callin' tomorrow! Along with the laundry that I was afraid to hang out all day today. Ahhh... the farm life continues with it's nutty twists and turns... Hollywood ain't got NOTHIN' on us...

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 29

Today was beautiful! And guess what I did???

I got to hang my clothes and bed sheets on my new clothes line!!! YEAH!!! And as I was making my bed, I was sniffin' in the smell of freshness. I can't wait to go to bed...

Our day started, when the boys and I went to pick strawberries. And the boys actually were a very big help. We picked 3 boxes, and hubby was great and got all of the strawberries cut up as soon as I got home~

And guess what WE had for dinner tonight??? STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE! My favorite! Hubby took about 2/3 and just cut the stems off and we froze them whole for later. And the other third, I am going to make into freezer jam. I can't wait! And if I can, I would like to go and get more. We will definitely go through these fast.

Tomorrow, I will have some pics of 3 new additions to our (mini) farm! I bet you can't wait to find out what we have now! ;) See you then!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 28

What a beautiful day today! Tonight on the (mini) Farm, my parents came over and helped set-up the clothesline that my dad actually welded for me. I am very blessed with such a loving and talented family! We've had several people come and help with things that hubby couldn't do because of his knee surgery. And I am personally thankful for that!

So, tonight my parents came and dad helped put the poles in the ground. Here are some pictures:

The boys loved "helping" their grandpa with the work, and I loved that he is patient enough to let them help!

So tomorrow, I can hopefully put the string on and hang some clothes outside! I am mostly excited about hanging my bed sheets out there! Nothing like fresh bed sheets!

Hope you all had a wonderful day! See you soon!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 27

Has it really been like 3 days that I have skipped here??? I'm sorry!

Well, we have been keeping busy! Today was the boy's first (real) day of Summer Break. And I have to say, they were rather enjoyable... I didn't really have to threaten anyone's life or anything... ;)

Today it rained in the morning, and rained in the evening. The sky was so beautiful after the rain tonight. I couldn't get a pic of the REALLY pretty sky (I was in a meeting) but I did get one before it go too dark.

Tonight the sky reminded me of what life can be like after the rain falls in our lives. God reminds us that rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous. And I betcha the righteous are the only ones that notice how pretty the sky is after it rains. You know what I'm sayin'?

I hope all is well, with all of you! See you soon!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 26

It was a perfect day today. The temps didn't get above 70 degrees, and the sun was shining all day. I got some more mowing done (but not all done...), I did some weeding and some more weeding... and I still got more weeding! If it weren't for weeding I would have a ginormous garden...

Today, I have some pictures of more plants around the farm. I guess I took at pic of those because I got on my aunt's blog today, and she had posted about her rose bush, which is a start from my great-grandma's rose bush (my parents now live in her old house). My aunt lives in Pennsylvania, and the rose bush is very happy there. Check it out. That is the grown up big sister, and this is the younger sister:

I am so blessed to have it though. My dad actually started the "start" 2 years before I took it (last summer). And I am blessed to have an heirloom like that.

Here is the start of an herb bed... it's kind of sad looking. I have a gazillion chives, which I am soon going to transplant some to under my apple tree (supposed to keep the bugs away????). I also have parsley, and lavender (bottom left).

I used to have thyme, but it must have died off last winter. Do any of you know any good resources on the web, for taking care of herbs? And also drying them? I had actually took some chives before they bloomed and started drying them on my counter... not sure if that was how it's done, but it is starting to look like dead grass... hhhhhh...... I'll figure it out someday...

So, how was YOUR day today? Hope all is well... we will see you back here tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 25

Another long day... of course I don't think I got much accomplished. The boys had an awards program for the end of the school year, this afternoon. Then was baseball practice and more mowing.... hhhhuuuuu.... I will have to finish the job off tomorrow.

But here are my pics from today. Here is Girl Dog. She is so shy, I took several pics of her trying to get one of her face, and finally got this one of her:



I actually think she was smiling!

Here are our ducks:

Remember when they looked like this?

That was just 2 1/2 months ago! When we got them they had this little cheeping sound they made, now they have some deep, loud quacks! And of course they are in love with the pond...

I hope you all had a great day! We will see you tomorrow for some more excitement from the (mini) farm! =P

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 24

Sorry I didn't get on yesterday! It was pretty much rainy and then turned sunny, long enough to have a nice supper outside. Then it started raining again... Which I appreciate, since I want my garden to grow!

Today was pretty much the same kind of day. Rain to start it off. And of course it rained as I did my grocery shopping today... And it stopped after we were done.

Well, we took some rainy time picks. The boys and I were just messing around with the camera, and here is my Caden showing me his "big mustles":



He has a crown on his head, and he's pretty much the cutest thing...

Speaking of cutest thing:



He loves to act surprised, and then to look at his picture (over and over and over...). Goofy kids anyways...

So, then tonight I went out and was going to get some pics on the (mini) farm, and I erased a few pics so I could get a few on the farm (my memory card is full!), and it only gave me one picture for the 3 I erased! So here is the ONE picture. It is of my Barred Rock hens.

If you have never heard me talk about it, I love our chickens, even though with them running freely about our property, I will never have nice flower beds (they LOVE to dig in the mulch!). I love to watch them run to me when I am walking around in the yard, I love to listen to their little "brrraaaaaakk". It's like they are trying to talk to me! They really are a joy.

Hopefully, if my Internet is not moving SUPER SLOW, like it is right now, I can get some pics downloaded and be able to have more for tomorrow...

Until then, I hope your day was a blessing! See you tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 23

Another beautiful day in Indiana. It wasn't super warm, but I think it was perfect. It got to be about 70-72 degrees today. Hopefully we will get that rain tonight that the weatherman was calling for, of course I am not holding my breath. Actually hubby bought me a new sprinkler to water the garden, today. I'm stoaked about trying it. (Did I just use the word "stoaked? Sorry...)

Anyways, a great day. Here are some of the beautiful flowers that are blooming right now on the (mini) farm...

Some poppies:


And some... whatever these things are. I think they are annuals, but they keep popping up. I think this is their 3rd year...

I hope you all had a wonderful, and blessed Sunday. See you tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 22

It's good to be back! And I will start where we left off... Day 22.

It has been raining for the last 2 days, on and off. I actually mowed the lawn 2 days ago, before the rain kicked in. You'd never know it by the way the dandelions have popped up all over the yard...

Today, I propped up the edge of our chicken brooder, and let our baby chicks explore a little today. They LOVE the grass. They are getting so big!

Yes, we have a blue tarp on our brooder. A little dumpy, I know. But it keeps those babies dry when the rain kicks in! So, they don't complain and I don't either...

And lastly, while I was coming up from the barn, as usual, I am scanning the ground. Today, I was rewarded with finding this:

That is one of my favorite "lazy day" activities, looking for 4 leaf clovers...

Hope your day was wonderful... See you tomorrow!

What has been happenin' on the (mini) Farm???

I will get back to my 30 Days on the (mini)Farm tomorrow. Until then, I will try to catch you up on the activity on the farm. I don't have pics because these last 3 weeks I have been in the "just get it done" mode. Hubby is doing good, by the way. He is ahead of schedule on his progress, and started driving today.

But in the last 3 weeks...

The baby puppies, weren't being fed much by mama. So they took to eating food, and drinking water. As soon as hubby knew this, he said it was time for them to go! They were 4 1/2 weeks old, and we put an ad in the local paper, and gave away all 9 of them. We could have given away about twice that! They were sweet little things though. And getting chubby on all of that adult dog food they were eating....

Also, hubby was feeling spry one day last week, and went down to the barn, and watched over the boys as they did the chores. I had been putting "turkey" in a pen in the barn at night and then letting him out in the day, just for his protection. The evening hubby took care of animals, he left "turkey" out. The next morning, "turkey" was dead. I was sad, of course because this little guy still let me pick him up, and he was not so little anymore. We think they older (3 year old) hens that we have got a little sassy, and pecked him to death. He was just a quiet, timid guy. That was NOT a good day...

I had to replant lots of things in my garden. There were somethings that were coming up and lots of things that weren't. When I replanted, I saw some of the old seed and they weren't sprouting at all. I hope it isn't a problem with the seeds!

I have been the mower/ weedwacker on the farm. And I am getting rough hands, and a tan. I am feeling so manly... =S hehehe

I think that is about it. I will start posting pics again tomorrow. There is always SOMETHIN' happenin' on the (mini) farm!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 21

I'm BACK! I am sorry for the delay in posting. I've been busy taking care of my man. He had knee surgery on Monday, and of course, it's been rough on him. He cannot stay anywhere without having his knee above his heart for very long or there will be LOTS of pain. Thank you for all of your prayers!

So, yesterday I was going out to get the mail and took a little peek at the bluebird nest. Remember, I showed you the pics before? Well, here is what I saw:

Actually, I saw them all with mouths OPEN when I first opened it. But it took me several shots (without the flash) to not look too blurry. Now look at these little bald things! I also see one of our chicken's feathers in the nest too (it's orange). 5 Little babies, all of them hatched. I love baby birds. I especially love watching the Bluebirds hatch each time out of this same Bluebird house.

I will try to keep up from now on! I want to show you pics of the pups, and show you how big all of the rest of our "babies" are getting! See you tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 20

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day! Remember to pray for your husband and children today!

Here is what I got to see at the end of my Mother's Day... this was behind our house. Thank you God for keeping your promises!

See you all tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 19

Today on the (mini) Farm, it was actually a pretty nice day. Not hot, not cold. Just very pleasant.

My husband is going to have knee surgery in a few days, and he isn't going to get much done this summer as far as working on our house & farm. So, he is trying to get some things done before he can't do anything!

My father-in-law came over today, and helped build a deck by our back (main entrance). Hubby woke up early this morning and tore the old one off. We also had a load of dirt hauled in to level off the area. It's just been an eye sore for us the last few years, but hopefully that will change soon. Here is hubby and Deklyn moving the dirt pile around...

Well, at least hubby is working on it!

And here is a picture of my 2 gardens:

Yeah, see the dirt areas? Those are the gardens. The little green thing in the yard is the boy's John Deere. No, that was no help in the garden. And the thing in the back of the garden is the tiller. It, of course, will not be used again this summer, because it is too big for me, and the hubby will be on crutches... But I am very excited about my gardens this year. I have high hopes for them, and for me making them into more then just dirt and seeds... =)

See you from the (mini) farm tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 18

Today started with rain, not as much as I was hoping though. And we ended with sunshine.

The only pic that I got today was a little farmer:


Probably the cutest little farmer you will ever see...

See you tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 17

Day 17! We are over half way done with our 30 Days on the (mini) Farm!

Well, today was a little chilly. There was a chance of rain, and I was actually HOPING it was going to rain because of the garden we planted yesterday! And it didn't. But, we will hope the weatherman is at least right tonight...


The chill didn't bother the animals on the 8 Muddy Boots Farm today. They were all out and about, busy doing... whatever they do......


Here is a guy we haven't seen yet. His name is Josh, and he is a pheasant hunting dog (Brittany Spaniel). Josh is a good dog, and a pretty good listener. Besides loving to mark all territory as his own, he is a very nice dog. Here he is:





Here are some bluebird eggs I found today. We have a birdhouse that hubby made 2 years ago, and for the last 2 years, this house has held 3-4 different families each summer.

I hope you had a great day, and we will see you tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 16

Another beautiful day, the sun was shining, and it was even a little warmer than yesterday, about 72 degrees. While I was grocery shopping for my little piglets, I stopped and got some seeds for my garden. This weekend a man from our church came and tilled another garden spot for me. Hubby thinks I'm nutty, but this year, I'm going to do it! I am going to have a nice, PRODUCTIVE garden! =)

So, after all of the groceries were put away, and Koen was fast asleep, I went out and started planting, soon the boys got into it also. I have to keep them excited about our garden, cuz they are going to be my big garden helpers!

Here they are cute and goofy:

I had them put this piece of hose in between seeds as a spacer. They loved it, and just look at the teamwork! Girl (dog) on the other hand, is NOT impressed...

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 15

Sun was shining, but a little windy (again) today on the (mini) farm. But we are always happy to see the sun!

Here is a pic of our chicks, and our turkey who has now taken up residence with them. They are getting bigger! They are almost a month old now!


And here is one of our easy going cats, Hopscotch Policeman. Yes, that is his name. Don't ask me why, ask Austin.

Hope your day was beautiful as well! See you tomorrow!

30 Days on the (mini) Farm- Day 14

Wow. What a day! It was a beautiful day, with a little wind but not too bad. A wonderful day of worship, and a great day to be hanging out with the family at home!

As my hubby is getting prepared for his surgery (a week from tomorrow!), he has now allowed Deklyn to mow the lawn. Deklyn is very fortunate. Because we I was little, we had a push mower for about 2 acres... Enough about me, I won't even bring up walking to school, up hill, both ways, in the snow... ;)

So, here is my little man:

I promised 2 days ago to get another picture of pups on here. So I was looking at them today and noticed some of them have their eyes open! Look at this precious thing...

BTW- she didn't like posing for a pic out in the sunlight. She wouldn't even give me a smile!

And remember a few days ago, I showed you those Killdeer eggs? Well, I check on them last night when a friend was tilling a new garden spot for me, and they hadn't hatched yet. But look at what we found today:

Aren't they the cutest things???

Oh, and around here, when it hits Spring time, just about everyone goes mushroom hunting, for Morrel Mushrooms. Some people pay high dollar for them. As Ii was walking to go see the baby Killdeer, look what I saw on the edge of my flower beds:

Yes, hubby and I found 2 different spots where they were growing! In all we have 6 mushrooms! A pretty good find, I would say! Here are the boys, excited to try their first Morrel mushrooms:

Days don't get much better then they were today. Life and love.