Walking Therein

What We Have Done Around Here For the Past Few Days...

   We are really into the Garden mode.

   This past week, we have:

    Decided to move the Garden. Yes, I know... IT IS the END of MAY! Believe me, we know! But, I went out at 11:30am a few days ago, and 1/3 of the garden was still shaded. I know Summer days will get longer; however, the tree causing the shade will only get taller, too. AND, we have a huge field behind the barn that we only use occasionally. SO... My Sweetie agreed that we should put it there.

   I don't think he knew what that meant, because, after the second day of tilling... and not being close to ready-to-plant condition, he was not a happy camper. We are tillling fresh ground that has not been tilled in - well, way before we moved here 6 years ago. So, that was another thing we did.

   I mowed and mowed and mowed today, so we could till the other area.

   We bought tomato, zucchini, broccoli, and corn plants from our local hometown store, Spring Creek.  I wanted to get some of the first crops already a good size, because the the seedlings we planted are still smaller.  Then, 3dd12 planted some more corn seeds and some zucchini in a tray.  We couldn't believe that they were up today already. WOW. So, she planted a couple more dozen squash into the peat starter discs. We plan to plant corn and squash in crops every 2 weeks, to keep up the harvest anyway, so it is ok.  I do want to get the spinach and lettuce in, though, because we eat those a lot, especially in summertime.

  We also bought Rosemary, Thyme and Winter Savory to put into boxes. I seeded several herbs a few weeks ago, so I put the Thyme into the box I already planted and the others into others.  I went ahead and put them into containers, because I plan to bring them into the house for the winter.

   My Sweetie took 4 of our dear children to look at some prospective goats today. He has been online, researching fencing today and thought he would get a goat-owner's opinion. The dc had a blast, of course, as they got to see the goats, a horse, dogs and cats, cows and chickens. Needless to say, he came home to research it more. He works at Lowe's, but they really don't have what we need.  And, we probably need to go with the practical, rather than the esthetic.

  The goats are 2 and 4 yo nannies. They both kidded a couple of years ago, but were not taken to do so last year.  2dd15 said she could not believe how big they are.  So, the owner said we have to let her know in a couple of days if we want them, and they are ours. She also wanted to know how we found her. She had put an ad in the Peddler's Post, but it was not due to come out for 3-4 weeks.   They told her we found her online. We looked and looked and looked at goats and goats and goats.

   You know, I love access to the internet, but sometimes you just CANNOT find what you are looking for!! We needed them close. We looked last week and found 1 ad for goats 2 hours away. This time, we found 3-4 ads for goats within 30 min. No kids, though, which is what we really wanted.  We will be going to the 4H fair, this year, though. 

   And, to prepare for goats,  2dd15 cleaned out the pens in the bottom of the barn.  Grueling labor.  She is all ready, though. She is planning their feed troughs and how to have fresh water. We are probably going to till and plant some wildflowers, etc. for them.  We will probably plant alfala, but I have not checked into when and such. So much to do, so much fun!  1dd16 commented tonight that their cousins will probably love to see the goats.

   All this learning, and we did not even crack a book. OK, my Littles do love workbooks, so they do it on their own. AND, 3dd12 has been doing a thinking skills workbook each night - and they all always have a book going (one of them is ALWAYS reading LOTR, of course.) We do homeschool all year, in case you are just tuning in. Why would I want to end the year here, when there is so much more to learn??  We will have fun researching, writing, reading, narrating...I cannot wait.

   And, not to forget that we are still working on 1 Corinthians 13. We are memorizing it. We bring it up into any lesson we can. I LOVE fulfilling Deuteronomy 6 , walking with them and talking with them as they go through their days.  I love being the one who is there for them when they have questions or struggles - or, especially, giggles!

   I am glad that mowing the lawn is a part of 4ds8's schooling. It will make him strong mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. I am glad that preparing meals and helping with the Littles is a part of our dd's schoolwork.  Along with all the other regular, normal everyday, adult things they are learning so that they can grow to be productive adults. The best part of it? THEY LOVE IT!   ME TOO! Have a great week!