Here on the Farm

I have just recently realized that I have failed to mention some of the more mundane, everyday parts of life here on this farm on the blog.  So I have decided to introduce you to our flock of chickens.... our THREE flocks of chickens.

First there is "the big coop". This is our original coop, the one that was here when we bought the house, and as for the chickens, this would be our multi breed mixed flock.

We have everything from, Orpingtons (both Buff and White), Australorps (the black chicken in front), Easter Eggers, Silver-laced Wyandottes, plus a few Partridge Rocks, some Silver Giants and a Black Star.

And the names they have are fascinating as well. There's Amelia Earhart, Brigitta, Ophelia, Cheep-cheep, and then there's Sissy, Sassy, and Sunny, and Flossy and Bossy.  Not to mention Gertrude, Winona, Opal, and Matilda.  And that's not all of them. :)

All these (and more) charming ladies are headed up by our magnificent Buff Rooster, Meriwether Lewis!

Then there is the back coop, which is technically the "Rock" coop. (Not as in the music, as in the breed of chicken ;) ) 

Here dear Sphinx, one of our original chickens, resides along with some Blue Rocks.

The Rooster here is William Bradford.  (hmmm.. I guess we like historical names for our roosters huh?)

Bradford rules over a small group of 4 ladies, including Sphinx.

The other 3 are Midnight, Blue Moon, and Brooke.

The last of the coops (the little coop) hold the "frenchies" and a couple friends.

90% of the chickens in this coop are French Copper Marans, so we had fun naming them.  Marguerite, Clairette, Babette, Cosette.....

And for the rooster...

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, or Marquis de Lafayette, or really for short, just Lafayette. :)

So, yes we definitely have fun naming our animals (and I didn't even begin on the ducks!!). How about all of you?  Any fun/interesting names of your pets or farm animals?

~Chs

In Honor of Washington

Our dear Martha Washington geranium has been around for years, and normally blooms in January in the house.   But this year we thought that dear Martha was done, January came and passed and no blooms were to be found.  But sure enough just this past week a cluster of buds were spotted on the end of a branch, and today just in time for Mr. Washington's birthday, Martha Washington bloomed.

"True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to that appellation."

~George Washington

~Chs

Also in remembrance of our precious never-to-be-forgotten Grandma Burke, who passed away last year.  She shared her birthday with George Washington.

A Fresh Coat

 Our house is currently "on the market" and this is some more of the behind story of how it got there.

{the ghostly kitchen}

Our kitchen ceiling was in desperate need of a coat of paint. 

In fact you could write a story based on our kitchen ceiling.  There was the spot ("s", there are multiple ones) where someone forgot to put the lid on the blender before flipping the switch, then there is the notorious apple sauce, which boils like a volcanic marsh.  Oh, and all that funny smeary stuff over in the dining room, yeah... that would be when a certain someone was running across the kitchen with a jar of shortening and lost her grip, resulting in the jar hitting the ground and a fountain of grease shooting up onto the ceiling.  And of course all the spots where various insects were executed and smeared about. Yup.. lots of stories.

So "the boys" attacked it one morning, and now it is a beautiful clean white... for the moment. :)

Another project was our girl's room.  We had decided to attempt to paint it without removing the furniture - just shove everything to one side of the room, paint, shove back, and paint the other side.

We were told to choose a neutral color, so "lilting laughter" was our selection. A nondescript creamy peachy paint.

While Faith was painting our bedroom, we were spread out around the rest of the house doing touch-ups. 

Of course we discovered after a few tries that the paint we had bought for moldings was a different color then what the people before us had used. Making just "touch ups" impossible. Just a little bit frustrating.

So now our house is in tip top shape (at least as much as it can be) and with it's fresh coat is ready for anyone who would like to come look at it!

~Chs

On Our Knees in Wonder

  

"They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we recover from the wonder of it?" - Jeanette Winterson

~Chs

Beauty

We live in a truly beautiful world designed by our beautiful Heavenly Father, and I think we would all benefit by stopping every-once and a while and noticing and appreciating that beauty, even in the mundane.

{Cohesion of water molecules, that creates droplets of water like on this Primrose... truly beautiful.}

{Roots which nurture the plants above them, really are in and of themselves strikingly beautiful.}

{Color, in flowers and fruit smoothies...}

{Winter, which with it's austere beauty only makes a sunset more breathtaking}

~Chs

Sadie Rose and Patch the Pooh Bear

Once upon a time there was a little black dog named Sadie Rose, who had adopted a little, old, forgotten, stuffed animal Pooh Bear as her very own.  Sadie LOVED her Pooh oh so much.  Whenever she was allowed to come inside she would run and find her Pooh. She played with Pooh, took naps with Pooh, and gave kisses to Pooh.  But as with the Velveteen Rabbit, "Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."   

So it was with Pooh Bear.  Sadie's love is very zealous and a bit violent at times, and eventually he lost one of his eyes, and a little stuffing.  But Pooh didn't give up so easily, he was quickly whisked off to the medical surgery, and in no time at all was back, with just a fancy a patch to testify of the accident.

~Chs

P.S I also just realized that this was the 1500th post on this blog!!!! :)

Moving Onward and Upwards!

We have an odd tradition in our family.  One that we didn't really create or lay down, but one that has been strangely consistent throughout the years.  For some reason, we have as a family never stayed in one house more than 7 years.  That's right, sometimes less but usually around every 6-7 years we pack 'em up and move 'em out. I guess you could say we are wanderers of sorts, that we get restless, at least you could say that if you just looked at our moving record and not at the reasons behind each move.  The reasons have ranged everywhere from: we no longer fit in a house, needing a larger home to take in our Grandpa, moving nearer to the church we were attending, to the last and current reason, wanting to use the talents, and desires God has given us by working the land, and providing for our family.  In other words... we need more land!

So after much prayer and debate, we finally had the nerve to list our house on the market.  We are very grateful to be able to have a good friend of Faith and mine, Jan Nierzwick (who we met and work with at Banbury Cross) as our Realtor.  You can find our listing here.  Please feel free to share with friends and pass along the news!

Of course, we realized just how much fix up there was in our house before we wanted someone to look at it.  Thankfully nothing major, just a few touch ups painting wise. 

We are also planning on giving our girl's room a complete new and different coat of paint.  It's only a shame we have lived with that striking pink for 7 years only to change it right when we are leaving. ;)  I will be sure to post before and after pictures of the room once it is finished! 

 We are trying not to get our hopes up, because in our experience it can take a while to sell a house (a few years last time).  But Jan has assured us that the market is very much in favor of selling, so we are simply trusting that God knows the perfect timing, and has the exact place He wants us to go to on the other end.  Exciting, a little scary, but also relieving knowing that we don't have to worry about it; He holds it all in His hand.

~Chs

Hope-Spring

Yes I am in Michigan, and yes my window supplies me with the same snowy view as yours, and yes I realize that the "warmer" temperatures I am overjoyed with are STILL below freezing.  But in defiance of all those "cold" facts, I still get the feeling that we are over the hill and progressing towards spring.  Here is some evidence. 

Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is an actual Robin, and the photo was taken on January 31st.... this year. :)  Apparently the Robins were sick of the weather down south and decided to send up a delegation (5 were spotted in our yard) to see what it was like up here.  We have since seen all 5 messengers heading southward to report.  And though I am afraid we won't see them again anytime soon, it was nice to hear their hopeful little warble and see their cheerful rust colored chests for a short time.  We shall be awaiting their return! 

~Chs