Strawberry Jam 2014

We didn't manage to get all 35 pounds of strawberries processed because I've been so busy at my two jobs, but we did manage to get three batches canned.  I think this will be okay as long as we also make black raspberry jam as well.

The Jailbird escaped

We only had one keet hatch from the last batch, or at least only one survived, and while I was waiting to find it a home, he was stuck in a big storage bin in the dinning room until I caught him doing this.

We put a towel over the top to prevent him from getting out again.

Luckily we found him a new home today.

The Greatest Loss of All

11 years ago I was single, child-less, and a few months away from finishing college.  I wanted a dog and a close family friend said his dog had just had pure-bred pit bull puppies.  I didn't like pit bulls and I didn't want a pit bull.

He told me to come take one, and if I didn't want it he would take it back, no matter how old it was.

I showed up at his house, was overwhelmed by the cute-ness, and with his help, picked out a female puppy and went home.  I named her Faith, after Faith Hill.

I remember cuddling on the couch with that puppy and wondering if a day would come that she'd attack me and eat me the same way that the media describes.

A year later I became a mom to my oldest son, via the foster care system.  Faith was an amazing and patient dog.  He would hit her, she wouldn't flinch or react.  He would pull her tail, she wouldn't show any sign of annoyance.

As my life changed, Faith was always there.  Through the loss of relationships, sleepless nights after having my home burglarized when we weren't home one day, stressful days at work, and then finally my move across the country.

Faith was a loyal dog and a good dog.

She didn't chew up shoes, she didn't eat food off my plate when I walked out of the room, and she barked loud enough to keep any shady people at a distance.  At the same time she welcomed everyone into our home, even 20-30 people at a time when we hosted movie nights and barbecues.  Never did she growl, nip, bite, or bark at them.  She wagged her tail and climbed into the lap of anyone that was willing.

She did eat through metal sheeting and attempted to eat through walls and doors when she felt it was too difficult to be away from me for great lengths, and she wouldn't eat unless someone was home with her.  But every time I walked in the door, her tail was wagging and her face lit up.

When my youngest son moved in with us, he was terrified of her.  He literally climbed up my body screeching to get away from her.  It took no more than a few hours before he was on the floor, happily being licked.

When we moved to the country, Faith obviously came along.  When we got pet chickens and goats, she was there.  Never once did she go after them or attempt to hurt them.  In fact, she would step outside the door and wait for the chickens to move out of the mud room before she'd walk outside past them.

Faith became sick two weeks ago.  She simply stopped eating, no matter what tempting treat I offered.  For two weeks we tried everything we could think of and visited the vet multiple times.  No matter what we tried, she was not able to keep any food or water down and was wasting away before our eyes.  In one week, she'd lost five pounds.  She spent her days sleeping, taking the few steps to follow me into another room and lay down, or vomiting.

Yesterday, to end her suffering, we put her down.  No matter how many people tell me that this was the best thing for us to do for her, it does not make me feel any less guilty or sad about it.

Words will never do justice to what Faith meant to me.

She kept me sane.
She kept me safe.
She kept me warm.

She taught me what it meant to be loved unconditionally.
She helped me learn to be more patient.
She taught me how to love.
She taught me how to trust in someone other than myself.

The loss in our life is more than just a suddenly-too-large bed, or a quiet home when we get home from school.  The hole in my heart and the ache in my chest may appear to subside, but I know that I will never truly move on from what we are missing now that she is gone.

I now also understand, that no one can truly understand what this pain of losing a family member-pet is like, until they experience the loss themselves.  I apologize to those in my life who have experienced this loss before me, for I never really understood, until now.


This blog was shared on the Homesteaders Blog Hop....

Happy Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day, I decided to make sure I got something good, so I made myself a raised flower bed.

This was the bed after I put together the lumber and filled it with the soil I had on hand.  I had bought a few perennials to plant in it as well.

More Chicken Aprons

I had to order more chicken aprons because a couple of the girls are still getting torn up a bit too much from the roosters.

Before I went out to put them on the hens, I tried one out on Faith.

I'd say the hens weren't impressed either.

Goat Bathing

I've never given a goat a bath, unless you count when Carrie was just a baby and needed to have her rear end cleaned several times.

I felt like it was time for the girls to get a good cleaning for the spring.

Carrie was not thrilled.

The Spring Break Project

Some friends were over a week or two ago and mentioned that we could damage our foundation and be having water leaking in to our basement due to our raised beds.  They said that the best thing to do was to pull all of the soil out, put down a barrier, that would go up along the walls, and then put the soil back.  

So that's what we did.

I think shoveling the soil out was the worst part of the job.  I worked on it alone the first day and the second day I had a little help.

This was all of the dirt that came out of the bed.

The second day was non-stop shoveling.  We took a break for lunch and a break for... well just for a break.  But otherwise we worked from morning until 5PM to get it finished.  We even brought over some of the compost to add to the top.

I replanted the rose buses and a couple other plants that had already started growing, my fingers are crossed that they will re-establish themselves.  It isn't completely done as I'd like to add some more boulders, transplant some day lilies, and put some more soil in to make sure it's angled correctly to shed the water away from the house, but I think it's going to be better once it's done.

Creative Garden Labels

I needed something to label the areas of our garden but this year I needed something that would stand out more.  Last year we painted rocks, but the paint began to peel and the rocks weren't large enough so they eventually were buried by the dirt.

This year I was trying to find something that would be more of a sign and then I cam across these cutting boards in a dollar store.

There isn't anything in the garden yet, but having the labels out is already helping the boys and I to remember which rows are for walking and which are for plants.

Only minor progress

We got out in the garden again today but didn't get too much done.  I re-tilled the entire garden, finished getting the deer and chicken fence all set up, and then was able to stretch and tie a few guidelines for the first few rows before we ran out of bright pink string.  

The rows that were marked off were where the tomatoes, onions, lettuce and cucumbers will be going along with a few other things that we can't plant just yet.  But at least those areas are ready for when we can plant them.  The newspapers are for weed  prevention.

I will need to grab some more string to finish marking off the rows, as I'm determined to stay organized this year.  Then I can get started planting the few things that are able to go into the ground before the last frost.

A chick with extra toes??

Our last batch of chicks is now two months old and is finally getting some more regular time outside in a chicken run.

The Polish with a mohawk