Wow time flies

So sorry. I haven't been here for a very long time. It would seem that life has gotten in the way of things. But isn't that the story for us all.....
So no excuses...... Lets play catch up. The homesteading thing has been put on a very slow back burner as life took the usual path of loops and hurdles.


Our heritage chickens and meat birds.

    Since the last post we have raised turkeys, (which we consider to be descendants of velociraptors)

Velociraptors

The new pigs that made it to slaughter time.

The first organic pigs that we started and the neighbours dog nicely ate.





 

Rhubarb harvest time.
 

 We still haven't moved to our family hobby farm; instead we bought a small house with a smallish yard (keep in mind if it doesn't have a 100 acres it is small in my world.) So small yard, it is definitely small, large compared to most; but still under an acre. I can't find enough space to garden properly. So I have been experimenting with different gardening techniques. I will post some more of those and some awesome links later.

Please tell me that's the last of the fencing.

We still go to the family farm in the summer every year. 3 months of intense wood harvesting from dead pine and cleanup of the farm, compliments of mother natures temper tantrums. I definitely know my way around a chainsaw and tractor.

   Last year my folks were involved in a vehicle accident that has left my cowboy father in a bad state. He can walk around and putt now, but very carefully. It has made for some very trying times. A cowboy who can not do much is very easily frustrated. Considering he has always been a hard working man that would give the shirt off his back to help others and now he has to be very careful just putting his socks on. It has not been an easy time. Glad he is still with us.

 

We have had an engagement with our oldest, a new baby on the way for our 2nd oldest, and our youngest is in her 2nd year of homeschooling. That has been a change on so many different levels.

We have lost some very close family and friends compliments to life and its end and we have made some new wonderful friends and extended family.

 

  Lately I have done some craft trade tables with a friend.
Won't be doing that again. (Oh my....) But it was a learning experience.
  One year I helped out a friend and spent a good chunk of my time illustrating for two children's books he wrote. That was fun and quite the learning curve. I love the stories. Yet, I remember when they showed up at my place upset that the publisher had printed the 2nd book prior to review and washed out the colors of the illustrations. Oh well, everyone who has had a chance to read these to their children find that the kids just want them to read them over and over and over. Yeah! https://www.santadreams.com
 They make great Christmas presents.
Or you can just let them look at the book and listen to the audio CD.........
    I loved the Christmas Wrapping Song they did. Check it out!

    Or if you have a dancer.... (I am glad I am not involved in dancing even though my youngest loved to do hip hop and she had a wonderful teacher for her extra curricular activities for homeschooling.) But if she was doing dance one of my dear friends makes beautiful tutus. I wouldn't get them anywhere else. She calls her product "flutterbies".  More on that soon.

  Wow...... just thinking of all the wonderful things people that you know do or can do is awesome. So that's it for today.

Oh and of course designing a new garden in my small yard, working on the family hobby farm, renovating my house, my yard, my life. Oh and did I tell you I am painting more often. I am getting the typical ka ka for not selling enough of my art work. Another day.....I will try to be more regular with my posts than once every 5 years. Bad me! Definitely need to prioritize my hours in my day. But then again...... Don't we all?

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