It Has Begun

Every spring for the past 6+ years we have been privileged to get to watch miracles happening. Dozens of little hard shelled orbs full of yellow globes of yolk and clear liquid all jelly, have taken a 21 day trip of warmth, and at the end of those 3 weeks have popped open to reveal little balls of fluffy cuteness, ready to take on the world. 

This year, Charity has a brand new cabinet incubator, which she is filling... weekly. Fluffiness is coming big time!! This morning she slipped this tray, a gorgeous kaleidoscope of shades into the warming room. Give them 21 days... 

~Chs

(First chicks due in about a week.. visiting by appointment only.... wait slash that. Stop by anytime!)

Spring Time..

 Love watching spring arrive!! And this year, it came all at once.

The warm wind came with a vengeance, the snow melted, and the little spring flowers began popping up through the earth.  

Mud happened.. and Ducky's had happy days. 

Despite what the calendar says.. Spring Time has at least begun to arrive here on Liberty Oak Farm.

~Chs

Running Down

Believe it or not.. here at the beginning/middle of March, when it's not too uncommon for the Maple season to just be starting, we are staring the possibility of the end of the season in the face. What with these glorious warmer temperatures and little hope of another cool down, it is most likely that we have reached the end of sap collecting, which makes me very proud of my brother for following his gut a month and a half ago and tapping the trees on January 30th, despite all the old timers saying it was too early!

So, though it might end sooner then he would like. It really has been an ok season! With some pretty good runs! 

Josiah's sugar shack is really quite nice, (Complete with lighting and all!) can't wait to see what he does next year.  

We're just a sappy mess! :)

Our little old faithful boiler. The size is called a "half pint" :)

Collecting sap was a full time job, especially on the warm days; the trees were "running" so fast. :)

Some nights, Josiah was out late with his little light glimmering in the dark from the sugar shack on the hill. And if you ventured out into the black world and made your way to the glowing little shack, you were greeted by warm moist air, thick with the perfume of maple syrup!

And this is the result! So far we have made about 8 1/2 gallons of Syrup. And hopefully we aren't quite done yet. 

So if you're interested in purchasing some maple syrup.. let us know! (but don't wait too long.. supply is limited!)

And if you want to get a free sniff of the best house perfume ever, take a look at how syrup is made, and maybe even get a complimentary pancake supper.. just give us a call! :) 

~Chs

Stranded in Arkansas

My plan for coming back from Texas was: to leave early Tuesday morning, stay the evening at my dear cousin Carrie and family's house, and get up super, super early Wednesday evening to get back home that day... But apparently God had other plans. A major snow storm was blowing north that day. So due to my families major pleading and my cousin's really sweet hospitality, I stayed in Arkansas for one extra day. It was one of the best decisions, and I had the most fun and lovely time!

When I had stopped by on my way down to Texas I got to see their 1 day old little darling Jersey calf Ginger. 

This time 2 weeks later, she was a lot more energetic, bouncing around the pasture. Super cute! 

And her Mother Nora was pretty sweet too!

Had such a fun full day. Went out and visited a real neat state park with an aquarium....

And turtles to hold...

And bees to watch..

And a neat interactive map.

But my favorite part of the day was after we got back to their house. It was an awesome crazy afternoon, of playing games, coloring, chatting, chasing and wrestling pigs, and amazing dinner and dessert, and crashing on the couch to Mary Poppins before bed! 

So thankful for being able to re-meet and spend time with such a wonderful family!

 So you see being stranded in Arkansas wasn't so bad after all!

~Chs

Michigan View

So while I was basking in the Texas sun, many miles north my family was experiencing the joys of Michigan weather. While I was gone, I think they went through 3 or 4 major weather changes. Here's a glimpse.

You all saw this photo. I believe the temperature was around -11 when it was taken. (this is what happens when you throw boiling water into the air in a sub - 0 day) The day after I left, Home was covered in 3 inches of cold fluffy snow. And then that weekend my family and all the animals lived through some pretty cold weather. Actually our first negatives this year! Not bad considering how the last 2 years have been.

But give Michigan a week, and welcome to another season!! By the next week, temperatures rose, and everything began to melt. 

Josiah worked on clearing paths outback, on the barely still frozen marsh... 

Duckies happily marched around making mud puddles and relishing their freedom... 

Robins came flocking in, and Blackbirds were heard, their song splitting the warming air... 

And Josiah's trees began running again in earnest and he was busy boiling in his newly built Sugar Shack to keep up with it! But once again.. you can never rely on the weather staying the same for so long... don't want to get bored now do we?

 Look at this. Yup. In one day, from nothing on the ground to over 10 inches. I was down in Arkansas that day on my way home, and was convinced by my family to stay there (story coming) because of this whiteout happening back home.

Look at all of that white stuff!! 

By mid day on Thursday, the skies was clear and the sun peaking out, feebly peering down on the heavy laden white world. 

With the wind picking up at the end of the storm, drifts became rather impressive. 

Sadie looking like a ferocious wolf leaping through the snow. 

This is Josiah's leg... that should give you a hint at just how deep the snow was! 

I have always loved walking through the woods after a windy snow storm. All the trees were plastered on the side with heavy wet snow. 

Such a beautiful view!! I made it home in time to see this lovely landscape, but as I said before... don't count on it to stay a certain way for any length of time. The view out of the window now is a lot less white than the above photos. All melted once again!

Please stay tuned here, for continued coverage of this slightly spastic early spring. 

~Chs

A New Little Friend

On one of Josiah's many expeditions clearing paths in the bog, he suddenly realized that something was watching him. Watching him intently with a large round dark eye...

An eye that belonged to this quite adorable creature known as a flying squirrel!! 

Research is still being done on whether the darling little rodent is a Northern Flying Squirrel, or a Southern Flying Squirrel... but whatever it is we are very happy to have it inhabiting our woods!

~Chs

My View: Two Weeks in Texas

So, as you saw in the last post, I'm obviously NOT in Michigan right now. Texas, is my current location. I'm staying with and helping out John with his little baby.
And these have been my views.

Left early Monday morning... and this was my view of the sunrise.. 

My view of each state as I drove through (my word, Illinois is long!!)  The sunset was gorgeous after I entered Arkansas. Close to my half way destination for the day.

 I was so blessed to be able to stay with my wonderful Cousin and her family in Arkansas. They have a really neat farm there, and can I just say, what an awesome family!!? So much fun spending even a short amount of time with!

Took off the next morning, and probably mid day crossed into Texas... And I drove and drove and drove and drove... Texas is huge. And of course my brother lives at the bottom of it!

This was my view come 6:30.... through to like 7:30... yeah. Not the best time to try to traverse Houston... But I made it! Late and slightly weary, I made it. Drove all the way, just me and Cubby (my car) pretty much across the entire country!  (well from top to bottom, almost)

This was my reason for being down there. Meet beautiful brown eyed Isabella Grace.

One of the most chill, happy easy going babies I have ever met! And so gorgeous!!!

Did I say something about her being happy!! :) Bella turned 4 months old when I was down, so we had to take some photos!

While the main reason for my trip was Bella, and most of my time was spent with her, there were days where I wasn't needed to watch her. And what with John working all the time, I was left to explore Texas by myself. :) I was able to volunteer at a couple places. The Farmers Market was pretty awesome! I volunteered there one night, as well as doing a bit of touring. First week here, I went to the South Texas Botanical Gardens. This place was gorgeous!!! And fun! If you are ever in Corpus Christi, seriously check it out! There is plenty to see, plenty to do, kids would love it, and it's very affordable. With lots of neat birds (some you could hold, and some that talked!!!) Lizards, Tortoises, in neat outdoor enclosures, it had a zoo, or animal sanctuary vibe. But then there were also the conservatories, and gardens, a play ground, (a butterfly house, and HummingBird Garden too!) and to top it off, it's set on  180 acres, and has an extensive board walk and trails and lots of wildlife to watch!! I spent a good half of the day there, and came away with lots of photos, fun memories (just ask me about the talking birds..) and a major sunburn.

This last bit of Texas I just discovered. On one of my free evenings, I finally decided to get out of the apartment, and head down to Mustang Island, just in time for the Sunset. It was breathtaking, beautiful, aweinspiring.. Well, I'll just let the photos speak for themselves. 

I had a lovely time there.

Well, my time down in Texas is drawing to a close. I had such a wonderful time caring for my darling little niece, catching up with John, meeting new people, and viewing another part of God's amazing creation!!

Here's to the next adventure!

~Chs