Our Lady's Windy Acres

Dusting off and moving forward

Well, I've not blogged for a while. Life got away from me, I guess. With the voting results last week, I was afraid that if I did blog, I'd say something I might regret, as my feelings at the result from the vote were very strong, to say the least.  That being said, I've got a few things on my mind (!).

First of all, I have to say how very disappointed, frustrated and downright angry I am that 54 or so percent of all Catholics actually voted for Obama.  They aren't Catholics at all, in fact, just pew-warmers, cultural Catholics, pick-n-choose Catholics, C&E Catholics.  The fifth commandment couldn't get any clearer, could it? What part of Thou Shalt Not Kill do these people not understand? An unborn child is a living being, formed in his mother's womb. Abortion is murder. Full stop. It's a "DUH" moment.  The bishops came out and said that to vote for someone who is pro-abort is tantamount to committing a mortal sin and putting your soul in jeopardy.  Did these people listen? Nope.  If these people can't follow ALL the rules of the church, then they need to move on.  We have enough hypocrites in the world - we don't need any inside the church.  Sigh - good thing I'm not in charge LOL.

I think we're in for some very hard times in the future.  Homesteading skills are suddenly becoming very necessary.  We have to relearn so many things that have been lost, all in the name of progress.

A very wise priest, Fr. Ryland, said last week in one of his homilies that in spite of all this, we must find joy.  Wow.  I must admit I'm having trouble with that one, but maybe we are to find joy in simpler things - our family, having enough rather than an abundance, our Faith.

Therefore I must dust myself off, and move forward.  God is in control and He always has a plan.  In His infinite mercy, He will bring all of us back where He wants us, no matter what needs to be done to do it.

The calves are here! Does God have a sense of humor????

Well, we got the beef steer on Saturday, and he settled right in like he's lived here all along. Munching away on the pasture grass and happy as a hog in whatever hogs are in!  We got the Dexter heifer calf yesterday and I should have known she' d be trouble when she escaped right out of the trailer! ARGH!  We finally got her in the stall, and we've had her out in the pasture on a lead line, because she wants to be with the horses, and they don't want her! 

On top of all that, this morning she got out again on the way from the barn to the pasture.  Poor thing's been quite traumatized, being taken away from her herd and her mamma, but enough already! Luckily, DH and the girls were able to get her back.  That was the good news - the bad news is that after he left for Adoration she got out of the barn, and took off down the road!  Long story short, they were finally able to catch her after she fell into a swimming pool! God answered our prayers, but I think He's got an interesting sense of humor, because in the midst of all this cattle-catching, we ended up w/2 stray kittens!

Somehow our homeschooling day isn't going the way I planned. Happy Monday!!!!

Bovine Bonanza!!!

It's finally happening - we're getting a Dexter heifer calf for milk and a Jersey steer calf for meat delivered tomorrow!!! I'm so excited!! I'm a bit nervous, too, as we've never dealt with cattle of any kind before, but I hope to get some research done today before they get here! I hope the horses accept them, otherwise life is going to get...interesting!

Windswept!

Watching parents age

A new venture into dairydom!!!

We may be adding to the farm menagerie soon - we should be getting a Dexter heifer in the next two weeks, due to the generosity of a friend! Wow!!!! Guess I'd better get reading - I'd hate to try to milk the wrong end!

Our baby's getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prayers for a passing

Blessed in friendship

What a lucky woman I am

Aren't I blessed?

Sigh....time flying again!

It seems like I plan to get online and blog more often every time I come here, but life intervenes.  I think I need more help in the garden...the weeds are having a wonderful time, but I still have YET to get any food out of it besides strawberries and peas! I think the bush beans are about ready. I'll check them today.  Sigh...it's been a strange Spring and Summer weatherwise.  The homeschooling is going very well, though, so at least I'm harvesting in that way!

My firstborn is turning 25 today!! Thank you God for blessing me with her (and for helping me survive her teenage years!)!

I made a lovely chicken soup yesterday for today's dinner....my own chicken stock, organic carrots that I got at a bargain price of only 46 cents a bag, kelp, celery and chicken of course lol!  I'll make bread today to go with it and perhaps some cookies!

OK...I'm officially a homesteader

How do I know this? Well...for my recent birthday I received, to my surprise, a number of useful presents. A pistol, ammunition for said gun, a gun cleaning kit, and a John Deere t-shirt.  Well now...so much for a gardening apron or a new stainless steel cookie sheet!

So...today I get to really enter into the world of homesteading. We've caught a raccoon in a trap, and it's going to be my job to "dispatch" the little critter using the aforementioned present. Ah, the joys of farm life when your hubby is out of town.

Could be worse I suppose. 

Life on the Farm

Strawberry heaven and haying heck

There's something so deeply satisfying about picking your own strawberries, and knowing that your family is eating healthily!  I planted June-bearing plants last year, and dutifully picked off all the blossoms as I was told, so we were all excitedly waiting for the hopefully bountiful harvest - we weren't disappointed! I can't wait to make some jam!!!!

Now on the flip side of the coin, haying is another story. The weather just won't cooperate - we no sooner get the hay cut, dried on one side and flipped but that it rains and we're back at square one.  Add to that the fact that we do all this by hand and it becomes quite hard on the family. I pray the rain will hold off enough so we can get the hay in before it gets ruined!

An introspective moment in the garden

Last week, when I finally (!) decided to tackle the weeds surrounding the baby potato plants, I had a lot of time to think, work, sweat and pray.  It came to me that the Sacrament of Confession (confession of your sins to Jesus Christ through the priest) is much like weeding a garden.

If you procrastinate, the weeds can get a stranglehold on the plants you have lovingly placed in the earth, preventing them from bearing good fruit and eventually winning the nutrition war and starving them.  The same can be said of not keeping up with the Sacrament - the sins get a stranglehold on your soul and become much stronger and more able to "starve out" the goodness and graces that are resident there.

However, if you weed daily it takes less time and less effort to keep the plants thriving as God intended. So, an examination of conscience is vital in order for good fruit to form in your soul.

I wonder if anyone else has thought this? I thought perhaps the Holy Spirit was talking to me through my tedious work, to get me to learn a deeper lesson.

Oh, and I realize that many members on Homesteadblogger are not Catholic, which is why I put the explanation in quotes as to what the Sacrament is. I ask humbly and respectfully that if anyone feels called to leave a comment, they are most welcome, unless it is intended to get me into a theological discussion. I respect that we are not all the same, but that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I just wanted to share my thoughts.

May God bless you on this wonderful Flag Day!

Projects accomplished!

Homesteading update - orchard's in!!!

My DH was so sweet - he planted all 17 fruit trees for me the other day! I'm so so happy to see them in, and I pray that they will bloom and prosper!  Counting as of now, we have 2 mature pears, 1 peach and 5 mature apple trees that have been here for years (I assume - we've only been here 2 years).  Last year we planted 4 new apple trees, and last fall 1 cherry tree. Earlier this spring we planted 3 more cherry trees and as of yesterday we now have 3 more pears, 3 more peaches, 3 plums, 3 more cherries, and 5 more apples! How exciting!!! 

Our strawberry patch is growing and growing (that might be a problem lol) and I'm so looking forward to trying our first taste of June berries!

Our blueberries seem to be doing well, as are our elderberries.

OH!!! We have 14 new chicks - buff orpingtons that we just moved out of my basement to the barn (yay!).  This brings our layer count up to 29.  I'm hoping that come Fall we'll have plenty of eggs - enough to eat as well as sell.

Our garden is barely planted - some potatoes, peas, carrots and lettuce, but we've had soooo much rain that it hasn't made sense to plant anything else. I'm hoping that will change in the next 2 weeks. I'd like to get the garden planted, my seedlings transplanted (first to plastic cups and then outside).

I think my next topic will have to do with my homestead wish list LOL!

Have a blessed day/night/whatever!!!!

Moving right along...sort of

Well....we're sort of moving along. My peas have come up, I think my butterhead lettuce is also, but I'm concerned because I've seen no sign, and I mean no sign, of my spuds (potatoes to you non-Irish folk out there) or my first crop of carrots.  Most of my seedlings (tomatoes, peppers and cantaloupe) in the house aren't doing well - very leggy and anemic looking, and I'm not sure why. Sigh.  I have 14 of my 16 Buff Orpington's bopping right along, but I wish they'd feather out because I'm so so tired of cleaning up after them! Ick! LOL!! When you think about it, chickens are a lot like kids - the bigger they get the bigger their messes get, and the worse they get at cleaning after themselves!

Anyway, I think I'm going to invest in some fruit trees that are on sale through a catalog I have, and work on expanding the orchard.

I keep getting a feeling that something big is coming down the pike. I don't know what it is, I just know "IT" is coming and it isn't good.  I keep feeling that we need to get sorted out, get more self-sufficient and more prayerful.

Wow....weeds!

Oh my...I had no idea  how many weeds were already making their presence known in the garden patch - but my back is telling me today!!  How they manage to grow with all the snow we've gotten - but they did, the little critters!

However, my trusty hoe and I were busy whacking away (and getting calories burned by the by) while DH rototilled the area with our trusty Mantis!

Now to plan the garden and plant what I can outdoors, and start my seeds indoors - better late than never!

I'm back!!!!! Spring is here!

Alrighty! Gave myself a swift kick in the pants now that I have two good feet, and realized that I've got to blog a lot more!  Luckily, one of my major e-mail groups that I was moderating closed down as well as a Forum tied to that, so now I have a bit of time freed up to focus on the homestead blog - yippee!!!

So...finally we had a decent Spring day here yesterday, but of course no unnecessary servile work was done here - my daughters and I went to a bridal shower, and the menfolk went off for a hike. 

I finally have all my seeds in and ready, and now have to plan the garden. I think the smartest thing I ever did was to buy a journal to keep gardening information and notes.  I drew out where all our crops were last year so that I can plant them in different areas this year.  I'm a bit behind, but I'll be starting some of my seeds today in the little Jiffy packs.  Better late than never!

Last week, we really had an interesting time - we got to learn how to milk a cow in order to help out some neighbors who went out of town. It was great hands-on experience (excuse the pun) that allowed us to see what owning a dairy cow entailed and for us to discern whether or not it was something we wanted to jump into.  By the end of the week, my daughter was getting more milk out of Gloria than her owner! I was really impressed by her - she's turned into quite the farmer!

We also ordered our chicks last week - we have Barred Plymouth Rocks, but this year I'm getting Buff Orpingtons - very pretty orangy gold color!  I read about changing the laying breeds every year - that way, when the eggs slack off you know it's the first breed, and they can go to the stewpot rather than trying to guess which one of the biddies is done.  Not sure what breed I'll get next year, but I do know we've gotten a small customer base for our eggs, and I want to be prepared for that.

We sure are blessed - I just have to make sure I remember that when I go to the grocery store and see the prices soar yet again! 

Have a happy Spring day everyone - it's good to be back!