Snapshots from Christmas

We had a very quiet and simple Christmas. It was wonderful. Lex and I went to The Nutcracker as we do every year. Just us girls. It is something we look forward to every Christmas.

We were able to visit with family that drove down from Arkansas. They spoiled the kids and played a billion games of connect four with them. It was bliss.


We made a gingerbread house and so many sugar cookies that we could not eat them all.

I read The Nativity on Christmas Eve then we opened presents on Christmas morning and spent the day relaxing. It was so nice.



Lee's Christmas present to me was a huge pile of lumber and glass that he will turn into a beautiful greenhouse for me. He is so thoughtful and sweet. Or just really tired of me filling up every nook and cranny around the house with seedlings and pots.

Lets go with sweet.

Today, we are putting all the Christmas decorations away. I resisted the urge to do so the day after Christmas but I can no longer resist. It has to be put away today before my eye starts twitching. I need my house back to normal.


This is as close as we got to getting snow. A little frost that melted by 9:00 am. I'll take it though.


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the time with your loved ones.

Goodbye...

Butter died unexpectedly last night. Monday he was running around and doing well. Tuesday he was found on his side, unable to stand on his own. He ate a little but deteriorated quickly throughout the day. He lost functioning of his legs, then the ability to hold his head up. I never saw it coming. I am so sad and sick over this. I know it is a normal part of farm life but that does not make it any easier. I buried him this morning. I don't know if he even had a chance to breed the does. I guess we will find out in the spring. He was such a sweet buck. I will miss him.

Just so you don't think I'm exaggerating........

Not too long ago, I went out to the orchard to take care of a little piece of mesh wire.

There was about 6" of wire sticking up out of the ground. It posed a hazard to our lawn mower and 4-wheeler, so I wanted to get it out of the ground real quick while I had an extra 5 minutes.

Well, 5 minutes turned into 3 hours. After 3 hours, I uncovered what you see above.

Yes, it was all underground. A small piece of mesh wire turned into a whole flippin landfill.

So you see, when I say trash and treasures are sprinkled all around our property like fairy dust............

I'm really not kidding.

Every time the shovel goes in the ground, another landfill is discovered and I down another bottle of Aleave.

Someone tell the junk fairy she is not welcome here and to go away. I've had my fill of her presents.

Thank you..

Eat Your Hearts Out, Ladies.

My husband and I just celebrated our 14th Anniversary on the first of December. I can hardly believe we have been together that long. He is perfect for me. My best friend and the only person I can see myself old and senile with.



I look just like this baby when he holds me. At peace, restful, and maybe drooling a little.



I hope you can commit these pictures of him to memory because they are the only ones he would ever let me put up on the Internet. You could not imagine the amount of groveling and begging I had to do just for these two.


The first one shows his sweet side, the second his strong. Just the way I like him.

I am more in love with him today than ever.

Top Five and music from the Farmer

Since this month marks our one year anniversary of moving to Alabama, I thought I would post the five most read stories of the year. Have a good laugh at my expense.


How To Have A Really Fun Sunday

I Need To Stay Away From Anything With Water In It

Gardening is Dangerous

No Respect

The Sky Is Falling

Just in case you have not seen it, enjoy the musical talent of the crazy farmer lady....

Morning On The Farm

One

It has been one year this month since we moved from Alaska to Alabama. One year since we bought our house and completely changed the way we live. We went from living on an Air Force Base like sardines to wide open spaces and a house in the country. We have turned our land into a small hobby farm. We have a simple life filled with blessings. I am so thankful.



When we moved in , the house and land was a blank slate. There was no landscaping or plants at all.
We put in a 50 foot walkway with slate stepping stones and and framed it with gardenias, camellias, rosemary and various other plants.



We planted over 200 tulip and daffodil bulbs around the front of the house. We also put in hydrangeas, jasmine, wisteria, hibiscus, rosemary, crepe myrtles, columbine and various other perennials. Of course, it is fall now and everything is going dormant. I can't wait for spring. It will be so beautiful.


Above is where we put in a vegetable garden. There was quite a bit of clearing to get done before we could even till and plant.

The garden is about 50 x 50. In a few weeks we will fence the garden in and put a nice gate on the front. We will let the pigs in to till everything up and get the garden ready for me to plant in the spring.
We cut down 98 trees around the property. Many of the trees were in danger of falling on the house. The others were cleared to make room to put in a orchard and pasture. The above picture is what the orchard area looked like after cutting the trees down. We had so much clearing to do that it took almost 3 months.


This is after clearing. Grass has started to grow in where there was only moss.


We have planted 16 fruit trees and transplanted a magnolia tree.


My next project for this area is to put in a walkway and sitting area. I'm also thinking about putting in a small garden pond and fountain.



Above is what the pasture area looked like before we cut down the trees.


After we cut down the trees and had a barn installed.


This is now. The area has been cleared and we put up a fence. We still have a lot of stumps to deal with but they will be gone soon. I love how green everything has become.



We also picked up a few animals along the way.













































All the hard work has been worth it. Our family has grown closer, we have all become stronger in many ways, and we are seeing the fruit of our labor. Our whole way of life has changed and I would not want it any other way. I am so thankful for our blessings.

Lum and Princess

I have not posted for a while because we have been working our tails off. We have put up a fence, cleaned out and organized the barn, and cleared the pasture of dangerous weeds and "treasure" we keep finding all over the property.
Lee got me these two boot planters for my birthday. I fell in love with them. They look like a pair of worn boots. Specifically, Lee's old boots. Every time I look at them I think about him and smile. They frame the walk in gate nicely. We did all this work to get ready for.......


These big guys.

Lee went home to Arkansas to pick up these sweet horses from his dad. Meet Lum. He is a pure Missouri Fox Trotter. He is just beautiful and so loving. He melts me. He is named after Lum from the Lum and Abner comedy radio show. The show took place from 1932-1954 in a fictional town, Pine Ridge, Arkansas.

This is Princess. Princess is just a sweet and beautiful girl. Her name suits her well. She is 1/2 fox trotter and 1/2 mustang. She is pure sugar.


Both horses come right up to us every time we go in the pasture and expect to get lots of pats and neck rubs. They are spoiled already.
They are both such a welcome and long-wanted addition to our farm. Expect lots of pictures and tons of gushing over them for a while. They are worth every sore muscle and blister it took to get them here.

Let's Hear it for Bachelor Number Two!

Meet our next bachelor, Butter. He likes going for long walks in tall green grass, head-butting on Friday nights, and loves beards on his does.

He is a young buck but prefers older does. Hopefully he will be well-received by our bacheloretts. They are hard to please and need a buck to that is able to hold his own.

Unlike

Our Last Bachelor

So far so good. Both girls acted like love-sick teenagers. They were flagging their tails, curling lips, nuzzling noses and May kept doing this thing with her tongue. Weirdo. I don't think she has put her tongue back in her mouth since Thursday.

I pray that all goes well and we will have babies (and especially milk) in the spring.

Let's hope our buck can perform under pressure.