Update From the Country!

Greetings to all of my family and friends!

I cannot believe it has been two weeks since I last wrote! Where has the time gone? In fact, I'm having a hard time believing it's August, already! 

Happy Birthday to Maggie! And Happy Anniversary to Maggie and her husband, Mark! I will try to send you a personal email today or tomorrow. 

Saturday, our neighbors had a combined birthday party for friends and family members whose birthdays were/are the last week of July/first week of August. Our son, Nathan, is having a birthday August 4th. So Calvin and I went birthday present shopping. It's difficult to buy a present for a 25 year old young man. But after some investigative snooping we determined he would like a RC car. WOW! Who knew those things were so expensive! And that was a base model! We finally found one we thought he would like and it didn't quite break the bank. We gave it to him that night. (Neither one of us could wait to give it to him!) He has been enjoying it ever since!

Critter updates:

The chickens are doing good. No eggs yet, but I am still hoping. The pheasants are doing well, also. All of them are growing nicely. Soon it will be time to begin cooking!

We found a home for the two female kitties. Now if we could only find a home for the two boy kitties. Momma cat decided she liked motherhood so much she got pregnant again! So we will have another batch of kittens to get rid of. I'm thinking these will go to a shelter, or somewhere like that. And before she can get pregnant again, Momma cat is getting fixed. 

Garden update:

The garden is doing well. I picked a good bunch of bush beans last night, along with a few beets and rutabagas. The corn is getting tall and they are getting tassels! The carrots are still small, but doing well. And I finally found the parsnips! They don't seem to be doing as well as I would like. But, my husband says they usually don't. 

I have never grown brussel sprouts before, but aren't there suppose to be something like little cabbage heads? I'm not seeing anything like that. I wonder if I didn't do something I was suppose too? They are getting nice and tall but I ain't seeing any little cabbage heads! Suggestions anyone?

We do have a gopher in the garden. Possible two. So my dear husband has been setting gopher traps. There is a mound by the beets and one by the squash. I am going to get that thing yet! 

The squash is doing good. We finally have blossoms on them. And the tomatoes and potatoes are blooming and growing as well. Yummy tomatoes and potatoes! I can hardly wait. 

And the apple trees are just about ready! The apples are still growing and are just now beginning to turn color. The boysenberries and blackberries are just about ready for picking as well! Hmmmm..... yummy blackberry cobbler, blackberry jam, boysenberry jam, apple pies, apple sauce, apple crisp.... 

The dogs are doing better now that they are kenneled at night or while we are gone. They were going through a phase of making a mess on the floors. My husband was getting a bit upset. Not that I can blame him. I was getting tired of cleaning it up! So we have a kennel (one we used when we went camping last month) and they seem perfectly happy in it! Dumb dogs!

The sawmill is coming along slowly. I'll go down and take some pictures this week. Calvin is putting the track on now. That's for the carriage to roll on. He also has to put in a pulley system still. There is a bit more work to be done. But he hopes to have it finished soon. We still need to cut lumber to put a new roof on the house. That needs to be done before Fall gets here. 

It's hard some days to come home from work and then go to work at home! I had half a day off this past week that I used to clean the inside of the house because it had been somewhat neglected. I usually spend that half day out in the garden weeding. My husband comes home in the late afternoon from work and he goes out to work on the sawmill or something else that needs to be done. There is a lot that has to be done to keep this place going. Some days it just seems to be too much. Thankfully Nate helps us a lot. He will clear brush or help on the sawmill or whatever else is needed to be done. He will even help me in the garden. It's not easy when I work nights, Calvin works days and Nate works graveyard. But somehow we get it done!

Yesterday I didn't get out into the garden until around 4pm. I just didn't feel like doing it. But, once I got down there and got to working, I felt better. I managed to get about 8 hours of work done in four! The poor thing needed lots of water and weeding. I even got to use my new clippers on berry vines that were invading the corn!

Well my family and friends, there isn't much more to say today. No great words of wisdom or anything like that. But I do want to tell you about a great site to get some good preaching and teaching. Go to Faith Harvest Church and be encouraged, strengthened, and blessed by sound Biblical preaching and teaching. It's where I go to hear the Word of God. I know you will be blessed.

Until we meet again, I pray the Good Lord to watch over you this week. May He keep you and your family safe and sheltered in His arms. 

And I would like to leave you with this verse.....

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)