Merry Christmas, etc.

Sorry for the lack of activity here. Things have been a little slow with the cooler weather and darker days. But I finally took some new pictures to catch up on things, so this is rather long!

Our friend and deer hunter Ross has had a successful fall hunting season. He bagged two good sized bucks from his perch up in the barn loft, the door of which overlooks our field. We have a group of about 15 deer that stll arrive nightly. He and our family are now well stocked with venison for a while. There are still plenty left, including another good size buck which he is "saving" for next year. This might be him below?(from our bedroom window)

I have been busy the last couple weekends building some good sized compost bins. I was able to build the bulk of them from re-used lumber from the section of the barn we tore down this summer. It took about half a day to scrounge enough to use. A lot of it was split and rotten. I hope I get a few years out of them.

Unfortunately the current compost pile had to be hand moved so I could place the new double bin where it will stay until it falls apart. There is never a lack of physical activity around here. The bin in the foreground is a beehive style, you can break it down layer by layer. I think we have a good supply of compost material to get the garden started. That is our old guinna hen cage in the far ground, they moved in with the layers so I re-purposed it to hold our shredded leaves for mulch in the garden this summer. Beyond that is a pile of leaves yet to be shredded.

This is our rock garden that Karen and the kids cleared out of weeds. The rocks accumulated around these trees during our land clearing and the building process over the past year. We planted a lot of wild flower seeds in between the rocks. We will see how it does this coming summer. I hope the chickens did not eat all the seeds we planted. I likely will need to fence it off if things grow until established, or the chickens will have a good time eating all the seedlings.

And now some more random pictures....

This was our first turkey we roasted for Thanksgiving...it was AWESOME!, as was the one we just had for Christmas... still not sure we will take them on this summer or not though.

Speaking of birds, the laying hens have stepped things up lately in the egg production. The last few days 9-10 eggs a day for 14 birds. Pretty good for the winter! I think Ethan had a talk with them when I kept threatening they would be chicken soup if they did not start producing more than 4-5 a day!

Speaking of Ethan, ...we feel quite lucky he still has his head attached! This is the aftermath of him trying to duck under a fence at the last minute while riding his bike at full speed!! That mark goes around to the other side as well. Fortunately the fence was just a taunt cord with some give in it, and his guardian angel was looking after him!

Speaking of angels, ...

O.K., angels might be a little strong, but they sure are cute! Speaking of cute....

Ha ! Just kidding, ... speaking of just kidding....

Our version of American Gothic! ... Karen preferred the more traditional family picture...

Still trying to get used to that green house! Speaking of green...

This might just look like an ugly green bowl to you. Actually, it was a Christmas gift from the kids that makes me smile every time I see or use it for my breakfast cereal. When I unwrapped it, Shalo promptly and proudly told me "We got it from the dump! " ... that's my girl !... As many of you know we can be on the frugal side. We are well known at the dump for checking out the recycle building. You never know what you are going to find! This was actually a Veitri brand bowl from Italy. And these are the crazy shoppers ...

I will accept an ugly bowl from them anytime!

So that should catch you all up with us down here. It has been a busy, yet rewarding year for our family. We have a busy, year ahead with many more projects to go. We feel blessed in many ways and are thankful for them them all. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...and upcoming year!