A Reminder

As the world grows darker and evil gains in boldness daily-how do we spend our time?

Study in God’s word is a must. Prayer is another must as we need relationship with our LORD to understand that which truly pleases Him. His word is full of warriors who shed blood and lives for Him as well as suffered harsh treatment and death because the world hated them.

Do we keep up in knowledge while staying under the radar of the gov’t so as to avoid penalties? Are we willing to pick up a sword and physically fight if our LORD commands it of us??

As a part of Christ’s body, when does discretion become foolishness? When does fear of what others will think bind us so others cannot see that light?

God does not give a spirit of fear—indeed—His Spirit indwells us so that we may be salt and light to a dark and decaying world.

Narrow is the road and there are few who find it. The delusion grows so great that even the elect shall be deceived were it possible.

Relationship with the Heavenly Father is the key. Do you know Him? Better--does He know you?

Of maters and taters!! Birds too!!

We have been busy learning how to weave tomatoes!! This is the new method we are using instead of staking or caging our tomatoes. So far so good and it looks nice too. Oh, and did I mention that we are using weed mat too this year?? Makes it a little easier for us to keep up with weeds at least in a few select places of the garden!
I was able to start all of my squash seeds last week in the green house and transplant the summer squash out yesterday and the winter squash will go out early next week with weed mat!
I have been able to harvest some broccoli and I have it for sale just here at the stand.
Gene was able to get a third large planting of sweet corn out this week for Sept harvest. We may plant one more yet for Oct too. The first planting of green beans should be ready for picking in mid-July.
Below are some pictures of our early taters and weaved maters! It is a little hard to see but there is bright orange string that runs along the poles that are in the mater rows. When they get bigger, I'll post a picture that shows this better.

This last picture is a closer one of the potatoes! We are so grateful as to how healthy these guys look. Can't wait to get some spuds to eat!
Next is a picture of the first batch of Dark Cornish birds I started in April. They are in a chicken tractor that I parked in a big patch of long grass and added a temporary fence to give them more scratching room. They seem to be growing well and are very active.

Till we meet again.

God's gift

I had the most beautiful gift from God this afternoon and I'd like to share it with you.
As I headed for the greenhouse I noticed a bird nest that had been blown out of a pine tree in the fierce winds the night before. It was laying on the ground. I could see one dead little bird and when I turned the nest over I found another one, dead also. Sadness in my heart, I set out to clean the mess up and I noticed something in front of the greenhouse door. It was shiny green and pulsing.
Realization settled in and I knew I was looking at one of God's tiny creatures-a humming bird! One little wing stuck out to the side and the pulsing was the tiny little bird's breath. I immediately wanted to help it so I gently picked it up and cradled it in my hand. I couldn't even feel the weight of it because it was so small!
Now, I must say here that I have 5 outdoor cats that are terrific hunters and I had not yet fed them their supper. They were close on my heels as they were hungry and they know very well who feeds them.
I headed for the front porch with my little charge and got my hummingbird feeder down. I got her long pointy beak into the syrup two times. I could feel her tiny feet grip my skin and her wings buzzed as she looked up at me! The whole time I was begging God to help me with this little creature of His.
I thought I had better head out to where there were NO cats to let this bird try to fly off so I left the porch. To my dismay several cats followed me. I realized that I would have to trust God and so I voiced one final plea and opened up my hand. That beautiful little bird buzzed off and stopped about 5 feet away from me and turned in mid-air and hovered there looking at me! She then flew off into a huge catalpa tree that is in full blossom and disappeared from sight!!
I had solid goosebumps and a tear of gratefulness ran down my cheek as I thanked God for allowing me to help His small creature. The only picture I have of this is in my mind but it is not one I will forget for a long time.
All Praise and glory be to God.

The blessing of rain!

We finally got rain last evening much to our delight and to God's glory. We had gotten some green beans and sweet corn out earlier this week and those seeds needed just what we got.
Our 90 tomatoes and 60 peppers are not complaining either!!

The sweet taters and other taters are looking very well this morning. I had been running the hoe in the onion rows and let me tell you, that ground was hard!! I didn't even finish because it was so hard and my hands were hurting-darn those blisters!! This rain will make for some nice hoeing in the next couple of days and I plan to take advantage of it too.I should be able to get more plantings of beets in and maybe get started on the carrots as well. I actually took some pictures of what we have so far to share with you.

The big green stuff is our rhubarb and you can see tater plants further out and next to them in the hills and very small at this point are the sweet taters. That white tank clear in the back is our water tank for our irrigation. That will be our next big project-getting drip tape and weed mat down very soon. We are trying to make the weeds more manageable without turning to chemicals. They fast overwhelm the two of us.

Taters again and garlic is the tall green stuff behind the white barrels.

A type of evening primrose that is pink and even the dog kennel is surrounded by posies! I have a carpet of viola's this year with some hosta and some lovely blue iris.

Till we meet again...

The Lord Bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Num 6:24-26

Before the face of God

A friend of mine uses this phrase, coram Deo, and I did a search today. I came up with an article by RC Sproul that explains this phrase very well. This captures what we as believers should be doing with our lives every minute of every day. This cannot be found in a building but in our hearts.

What Does “coram Deo” Mean?

from R.C. Sproul

I remember Mama standing in front of me, her hands poised on her hips, her eyes glaring with hot coals of fire and saying in stentorian tones, "Just what is the big idea, young man?"

Instinctively I knew my mother was not asking me an abstract question about theory. Her question was not a question at all--it was a thinly veiled accusation. Her words were easily translated to mean, "Why are you doing what you are doing?" She was challenging me to justify my behavior with a valid idea. I had none.

Recently a friend asked me in all earnestness the same question. He asked, "What's the big idea of the Christian life?" He was interested in the overarching, ultimate goal of the Christian life.

To answer his question, I fell back on the theologian's prerogative and gave him a Latin term. I said, "The big idea of the Christian life is coram Deo. Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life."

Contine reading here

The Preachers Authority

Here is a teaching from John MacArthur that I find very timely and helpful in understanding just what and how much authority a preacher has, something easily misunderstood.

The Preacher's Authority

Titus 2:15

Preparing to minister the Word of God week in and week out is such a great adventure. And I cherish every precious hour that I have to study God's Word. I can only plan so much and then I find myself under the compulsion of the Holy Spirit and sometimes my best plans have been laid aside at His bidding. And that's even a more wonderful adventure...read the whole teaching here

Genetic Engineering: The World's Greatest Scam?

This is a great short video to help you understand why GMO's are not something you really want to eat or feed to animals. As you will see, the USA is the largest pusher of GMO in the world thanks to Monsanto.

Things are growing!

Well, it has been awhile since I had time to post here. I have been busy planting many things in flats and some stuff out in the garden. I have potatoes popping up thru the ground. My mom and I planted about 400 onions last week and there is yet one more tray of about 200 to plant!
Gene has been working on the 2 row corn planter we bought this spring for our sweet corn and green beans. Just about the time the weather will dry out a bit and get warmer, we can start planting everything else outside.

Here is the salad stuff that I planted directly in the dirt in the back of the greenhouse. We are enjoying fresh greens of our own now! There are spinach, beets and 2 kinds of lettuce here. That is Chinese cabbage in the corner.

Iris's in bloom on the backside of our house as well as yarrow, a pink evening primrose. tickseed and balloon flowers all yet to come!

There are two hosta's here and the millions of little green things are viola's. They spread everywhere last fall and I am rejoicing to see them all. Makes the dog's kennel pretty too!!

Here is one more project for the summer. These are 4.5 week old Dark Cornish chicks that will become freezer birds in time. A new breed for us to raise but they are a promising meat bird. Not to be confused with the commercial white broilers which do have cornish genes in them. These fellows are quite lively.

Giving thanks in all things to God. Resting in His promises.
Till we meet again.

Morning fun

I was able to get 3 flats of onions seeded yesterday as well as a flat of broccoli. When I went out this morning the greenhouse was already a comfy 60*!! Here are a few pics of the now in use inside of our greenhouse.

The middle picture is the dirt in the back that I have marked off in square foot sections and are planted. There are tiny little sprouts there now!! Still needs to be more organized but we're in!!! Yay!!

We also has a little fun this morning, we are trying to trap a raccoon that is living in our unused chimney and so we have a live trap up on the roof and a corresponding ladder. Well, after breakfast this morning, Cosmo decided to go up the ladder and get in the trap. He was up there howling and talking to us while Gene was asking why he feels the need to do things like this??!!

Way too funny !!! Hahaha!!! What a great way to start the morning with a little feline comedy!! Cosmo is always doing something ridiculous that makes us laugh. Needless to say we brought the trap down and put the ladder down too!!

Constitutional Amendment for Ohio health care

Ohio Liberty Council to Force Statewide Vote on Health Care Mandates
COLUMBUS – The Ohio Liberty Council, a statewide coalition of over 25 grassroots groups, today submitted a proposed state constitutional amendment that will “preserve the freedom of Ohioans to choose their health care and health care coverage.” The amendment, drafted by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, would protect Ohioans from the financial burdens and individual mandates contained in the new federal health care measure passed by Congress. The group filed constitutional amendment summary language and nearly 3,000 signatures from registered voters in 48 counties with the Ohio Secretary of State and Attorney General.
The amendment language is available here.
Twenty-six state legislatures have introduced bills to propose constitutional amendments to block the individual mandates contained in the new federal regulations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Today’s filing by the Ohio Liberty Council is the nation’s first citizen-initiated action.
Read more here http://www.ohiolibertycouncil.org/?p=1947

Finally, Ohio is set to have her own law regarding health care which would be done under state sovereignty and would make the federal law un-applicable. This is a wonderful opportunity and should appear on the ballot in Nov for the people to vote on. Perhaps the people of Ohio can accomplish what our elected officials cannot. Ohio is not alone in this endeavor and will not be the last I'm sure.

Today I was able to poke a few seeds in the dirt in the back of the greenhouse. I put out some spinach, lettuce, beets and Chinese Cabbage. Can't hardly wait for that fresh produce.
Below you will find and list of all of the produce that we are growing this year.

These are all NON-GMO, non Monsanto seeds mostly from Fedco Seeds and some from Seed Savers Exchange. There are quite a few heirlooms and varieties included.

Green beans; Strike, Jade, ½ runners

Sweet Corn; Incredible, Ambrosia, Bodacious

Zukes; Golden ,  Spineless Beauty

Cukes; Marketmore 76 , Mexican Sour Gherkin

Squash; Yellow Crookneck , Carnival Acorn, Sweet Dumpling, Waltham Butternut, Long Pie Pumpkin

Carrots; Scarlet Nantes , Atomic Red, Purple Haze

Beets; Detroit Dark Red

Radishes; Easter Egg

Onions; Copra, Expression, Varsity, Red Bull

Lettuce; Winter Density, Anuenue. A summer mix, Rossa di Trento

Greens, Tatsoi, Verte de Cambrai Mache, Claytonia

Chinese Cabbage; Fun Jen

Tomatoes; Green Zebra, Pineapple, Amish Paste, Sun Gold Cherry, Wisonsin 55, Current Sweet Pea, Nyagous, Brandywine(red), Moonglow

Peppers; Hungarian hot wax, Garden Sunshine, King of the North, Bull Nose Bell, Quadrato Asti Giallo, Jalapeno

Potatoes; Irish Cobbler, French Fingerlings, Adirondack Red, Nicola, Katahdin, Red Pontiac

And garlic of several types

I am excited about getting things started this year. Hope you all are getting hungry for some fresh produce!!

Mostly Complete!!

We did it!!! The outside of the greenhouse is done-praise the Lord!! Gene even got the dirt all leveled out and I have some ideas about using a couple of raised beds in that general area for some flowers and veggies!
Now we need to build some tables for the inside-not to difficult- and Gene will hook up the electric to operate the shutter you see on the backside picture.

Here is a shot of the inside. You can see the dirt in the back, that's where I intend to plant directly into the ground. We did not have the roll-up curtain quite done yet when I took this but it is done now! You can see that  in the picture directly above. It rolls up really easily and will make a great vent this summer!

Exciting Progress

We started working on getting the plastic on around 10am yesterday and did not even stop for lunch until 3:30!! We got both layers of plastic on and those blue blocks you can see positioned to separate the two layers.The blocks eliminate the need for a blower.
 There was no wind before noon when we started which was quite a blessing. By the time we were ready for the second layer of plastic there was a steady (with gusts) breeze that was a challenge!
We will be working on the roll-up side curtain today. We have to get some more hardware to finish the ends and we need a door too! Gene has the shutter for the east end all ready to be installed. That will require a trench from the house to the greenhouse to lay electric line in to be operational.
There is a bit more to the building of this than I thought. Gene knew but decided to let me see as we go! He is a wise man-praise the Lord!

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Gene is making some tables for me and we are using chicken wire for the table tops! Someone has to level out the dirt yet too! Hmmmmm, wonder who that will be! Maybe some seeds can be pushed into that leveled out dirt!
We are grateful to God for allowing and enabling us to build this together. We grow in Christ everyday as we labor! God is good to His unprofitable servants

Greenhouse progress

Over the last two days we have been able to get a few more things accomplished with our greenhouse and here are a couple of pictures for you to see what we have done!!

This is the front and in between the two big upright posts will be the door! There will be a shuttered vent on the other end for good air circulation.

We have some brace posts to remove yet and as you can see, we still have all that lovely dirt to move around and level out. Once we get the plastic on then Gene is going to make me some tables to put flats on but you can bet that in the meantime I will be working out there!! The back 5' will be bare dirt that I can plant directly in and I really want to get some fresh greens growing soon. Spinach is sounding really good too!!

Greenhouse progress

Well, on Saturday Gene and I put the corner posts in for the greenhouse. Gene says that everything else is fairly simple once the corner posts are set...they must be square or everything is off!!
We also got some gravel in for the floor.

The next picture also shows the top of the new septic tank we had to install last fall which is between the greenhouse and the driveway. We have to level out some dirt and I intend to make it beautiful with various plants and greens!

Next picture is looking towards our house. The big pile of dirt will be leveled out and take up the back 5' or so of the interior of the greenhouse. I want to use this space to plant directly into the ground and extend out the growing season for some greens. The idea is to try to have something fresh and green for us to eat most of the year. I hope to be able to have greens and some root veggies growing there over the winter months. The neat thing is that the stuff planted in there will just be dormant when there is little sun, like Dec-Feb but not die. God's beautiful sunshine will bring growth and hopefully a cutting of greens to eat!

The next picture is one of our feline sun-worshippers...Phoebe!
Oh how the cats enjoy laying around in this beautiful, warm sunshine.

The next picture is surely a sign that spring is just around the corner!!
Some early spring daffodils poking their little heads up from the dirt. How encouraging to see something green and growing.

 

I hope to have more pictures very soon of the greenhouse in progress. It looks like the weather is going to be nice for at least 2 days. We can get a lot done in that time Lord willing.

Perhaps I can even move all my things into the greenhouse this week and get some seeds in trays to begin growing!

More Slop-Ugh!!!

Well, we have slop again! My poor chickens love the slop as much as I do which is not so much. All of the snow in their run is melting and when that sun comes out and thaws the top slop, well you can imagine what a mess it is for the day. Oh well, this to shall pass and their coop is nice and dry with lots of straw to scratch in.
We have markers in the ground where the greenhouse is going! I can now stand there and dream!! The blueprints have been made more detailed and the time is getting closer for building to begin.

We got to visit with some friends at church Sunday that moved from Ohio to New York just about the time we were getting to know them. We were glad to visit with you Joe and Gail, please come again!!

We were able to get our sausage in the store to sell at Local Roots.We are using the on-line order system as well. It has gone well so far and I am doing a demo of our sausage this Saturday for folks to taste. If you are a local reader...be sure to come on down and have a taste!! We start at 9:00am.

Today I need to work on my orders for our butcher chickens this summer. Need to figure out the days to get the peeps and since we raise heritage breeds, it takes a bit longer for them to finish to a butchering size so we only do a couple of batches. Those crazy broilers that everyone thinks are so great only take 6-9 weeks to grow huge and our heritage birds take about 16 weeks. You can understand the temptation to grow the broilers but the heritage breeds taste way better in my opinion and seem to have way less health issues.

Well, I'm off to feed my girls (hens) and to slog thru all that lovely slop. I am hoping for a freeze or a good rain to settle things a bit.

If you ate a meal today-thank a farmer!

You all know Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs and even if you don't, here is a page of his very well written concerns about the HSUS and what they are about; http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2010/02/what-is-in-americas-future/comment-page-2/#comment-1378
In November 2009 the voters here in Ohio passed something called the Livestock Care Board. While I myself was on both sides of this issue I will say, this board needs to be allowed to be put in working order before some non-agriculture group tries to come in and tell Ohio farmers how to farm. The HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) will use their typical schemes to play on peoples emotions and completely ignore the truth. They will go to people who do not even know a farmer and they will attempt to destroy farming as we know it.
Most farmers I know treat their animals very well. We may not all agree with exactly how things are done but we all appreciate our choices of meat, dairy and poultry and the HSUS wants to take away those choices.
I would appeal to those out there to meet a farmer, ask questions, look around and don't allow a group who hides behind saving animals make your decisions for you. The records show that the HSUS raked in $86 million in 2008 and spent a whopping $450,000 on actual animal care. The rest went for things like salaries, lobbying and paying a lock-box company to handle all of the donations that well-meaning but unaware people sent them. Don't believe me about this, it is a matter of public tax record-look it up for yourself.
Always keep in mind-agriculture has been a part of this country since day one. Agriculture is what puts food on your table in one form or another. I choose to eat meat and I am not forcing that choice on anyone. If you choose to not eat meat-that choice should not be forced on anyone either.
If you ate a meal today-then thank a farmer!
If you like your foreign oil then you'll love your foreign meat eh??!! Think about it and look at history and heavy regulation-what has been the trend? Let me help a bit......a move to foreign shores.
Don't let that happen to our agricultural community. Please, get to know some farmers today.

GMO concerns

In our market garden we do not knowingly plant any genetically modified seeds (GMO's).
My reasons are personal however I think people should have all the facts about something and then decide for themselves what they want. I buy a lot of seeds from Fedco Seeds and they have this excellent page about the myths of GMO's and I want to share it with you: http://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/debunking.htm.

Here also is a good article from a human health view that tells you more on this subject and outlines the shenanigans that go on in our government, namely the FDA and then there is Monsanto, who has patents on many GMO seeds and the technology. http://www.wellnessresources.com/freedom/articles/health_scandal_of_the_decade_monsantos_gmo_perversion_of_food/ .

Check these out for your self and be aware that many processed foods containing corn and/or soybean components are from GMO grains. A very large percentage of the grains grown by conventional farming methods are from GMO seed technology.

Be wise about what you choose to eat and put into your body.

More Snow!!

Well, between yesterday and again today...we have a lot of snow! Not to mention the snow from a couple of days ago. It has gotten pretty windy today and so I'm sure we will have big drifts soon.

I took these pictures yesterday before we got today's snow and while it was calm..

Here is Big Boy and you can see how much frost we had that morning on the fence. That is frost---not snow!!

 

Here is the view to the east from behind our barn in the mid-morning. How beautiful God makes His creation for us to know that He is God.

 

Last but not least, a view through the horse lots looking at the banty's winter apartment. It looks like Cosmo is visiting them or perhaps thinking of a chicken dinner??!!

The bantys are in the old rabbit hutch with a heat mat and that white spot sitting on the corner is Cosmo...a very silly kitty!! You can just see some color in the one door of the hutch...that would be the rooster.
Here is another shot of Cosmo...

Lots of Snow

When there is a lot of snow-like today-we use a BIG snow blower that is mounted on the back of one of our tractors to remove snow. It still amazes me to watch that big thing work and so I thought I would see if I could amaze you with some pictures of the process.

 

  

  

  

The picture before this one was an attempt to show how big the drift by my car was. You get a better idea here as the snow blower goes by it! These were 4-5 foot drifts!! We haven't had snow like that yet this winter! We also keep the road in front of our house cleared for the mail lady so Gene carefully clears it off too. He spent most of the day today moving snow here and down at the main farm as well as for several neighbors.

Beautiful Day

When I went outside this morning to do chores, it was so beautiful that I had to take some pictures!
Here is what the garden looks like for now...

And you can also see the compost/manure pile and one of our chicken tractors. We raise our butcher birds in these during the summer. They get moved every day to fresh grass and are protected from hawks and the road.

(George had to follow along...)
This was our sweet corn patch last year but we had to install a septic system and this is where the leach field went, these are 150' long and we had to scrape our topsoil over it so we have some massive soil rebuilding to do before we can use this area again. We will level it in the spring and seed it and I'm hoping to run the chicken tractors on it next year! Can't ever plow it or drive stuff on it again...sigh

Gene tells me that the greenhouse will be up in the next two weeks or so....very exciting! I will keep you posted and now that I have learned how to put pictures on my blog, I shall have more of them too I'm sure!
Stay tuned...........