Thoughts from Don: Blessings From the Farm

Susie and I have long been thinking about starting a blog. It might be more accurate to calling it a muse, as my thoughts tend to ramble much to the wonderment of those who are listening to me. Anyway, lets give it a go.

 

Another winter is coming to an end. With snow fall totals and average low temperatures  that have made it into the all time top 10 of the record books it is none too soon. It has been quite an adventure these past 9 years as Susie and I have been transfered from California folk to Upper mid-west goat farmers. We will talk more about these changes in future muses but for today I am going to concentrate on the transformation from winter to spring on the farm.

 

This winter has been on the harshly cold side which means constantly fighting to keep the pipes in the barn and the house from freezing.  For the most part we won the war but winter won a few battles as we had some minor freezes in the basement of the house (first time for that but we have been as low as -29 degrees this winter on more than one occaision) and where the water comes into the barn.  Fortunatley they were not more than a good old hair dryer can handle.  Thank you Uncle Royce for teaching me that trick over 25 years ago. 

 

Then there is the wood situation, we have burned over 17 face cord of wood this winter.  We still have a couple months to go before the wood stove will go to sleep for the rest of the season.  However, wood is a lot cheaper than propane so we are thankful for the stove.

 

 In my romanticized view of winter, it seems a good time to slow down and sit by that roaring fire drinking hot chocolate.  Although we do slow down some due to the fact that just getting around in all this snow is sometimes problematic, winter is work!  We work to keep our water flowing.  We work to keep our animals warm and alive.  We work to get our products made for another show season, and we work at attemping to acclimate to a season that for us Californians is totally out of our realm of experience.  For the most part we are successful.  We sadly did lose a sweet little doe due to the extreeme cold.  She just couldn't handle it.  We tried our best to keep her warm, however, these losses are a sad part of the life we have chosen.

 

Overall, we feel blessed.  One of the reasons that we have chosen to name our business Barnyard Blessing is for this very thing.  We are blessed.  We have been given the opportunity to live this life that most people only wish they could experience. (Maybe not forever, some would call us crazy!).  We are blessed to be caretakers of some very rambunctious critters that drive us crazy at times.  We are blessed to live in a very beautiful part of the country. But most of all, we are blessed by the salvation that we have through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Anyway enough from me for now.  Both Susie and I look forward to using this blog to share some of the things that make our lives so very interesting each day.  There is never a dull moment around here and with kidding season almost upon us, sleep will be at a premium as well.  We look forward to sharing with you some pictures of the newest additions to our herd as they arrive. 

Home Sweet Snowy Home
Home Sweet Snowy Home
The Middle of our lawn
The Middle of our lawn
Behind the Barn
Behind the Barn

Hope you enjoyed our first blog and the beautiful pictures of Winter on the farm. See you all soon.

Write a comment

Comments: 3
  • #1

    Janet (Thursday, 06 March 2014 08:38)

    This is a nice way to share life on the farm with those who would love to experience it, even if only by words and pictures. Be it the first spring flowers, a beautiful sunset, or the welcoming of a new arrival. We will take this journey with you, wherever the path of blessings takes us.

  • #2

    Tony Nord (Thursday, 06 March 2014 23:17)

    Who is that Eskimo standing there in the photo with the dogs? Sorry to hear you lost a doe this winter. :( I look forward to reading future blog posts. Rumor has it some of that snow will be melting in the coming days. Blessings on your barnyard!

  • #3

    Karla (Wednesday, 12 March 2014 19:41)

    I did really like your blog. Thanks for telling me how to get to it. I'm glad Uncle Royce gave you some useful information. I'll have to remember to check out your blog quite often.