They do work!

This little egg is the first from our hens! Not sure which one it came from, but we are sure happy they finally laid. We were beginning to think we had 11 pet chickens instead of 11 working chickens. God is good!

Yum!

Our massive black raspberries are producing well. We originally thought that the ripening of the raspberries was going to be a slow process. We ate them as fast as they turned sweet. But after leaving them alone for most of the weekend, I went to harvest what was there and was pleasantly surprised to get a cup full! Now I just need about three more cups to make black raspberry jam. It shouldn't take long.

Twinkle, twinkle...

I noticed that the fireflies have come for summer. I had to climb onto the gate in our backyard so I could see over the grass that comes up to my shoulders, but I saw our pasture is full! It was such a beautiful sight. Hundreds of little green lights sending flashing telegrams to one another.

If you want to witness this amazing yet simple display of summer, you are more than welcome anytime. Rob might even break out the guitar to add to the ambiance like he did tonight.

Ladies and Gentleman

The yellow hen is Henny Penny (Buff Orpington). The black and white chicken behind her is Tatanka (Silver Hamburg), he is a rooster. He is pretty bossy, cocka-doodling when it is time to go to bed, when it is time to wake up, and if we let the hens out to run around. The other photo is Ribbons (Barred Rock) and Elenor (Black Astralorp). They love to be outside, and love to eat spaghetti squash.

Fruit and Berries

When we bought our place, we knew there were a bunch of different fruit trees. Possibly some other kinds of berries or fruit, but weren't quite sure. It was wonderful to see everything coming to life this spring... or not. We had quite a few fruit trees that didn't make it. They were in pretty bad shape (not being taken care of over the past few years), so Rob had to take them out. We did replace some trees. We now have a new combination apple, patten pear, peach, and cherry. Here are some pictures of the plants that are producing well so far. Grapes, black raspberries, strawberries, and apples. I can't wait to taste them all!

Homegrown Chicken

Here is our first taste of the chickens we raised. Rob took charge of the cooking. It was pretty tasty. We cooked them on Memorial Day so that we could share with some family.

Butchering Chickens

Rob and I raised 23 broilers this spring. We had some dog kennels already set up in the big shed, so we put them in there. It was crazy to see how fast they grew. A couple weeks ago we took them out to Marlin's farm to butcher with the help of Rob's mom, aunt, and two uncles. We only did about half of them the first time because a bunch weren't ready yet. That was ok. We would have been at it all day! We did the rest a couple weeks later. Here is a picture of the group making the game plan. I decided not to share any of the actual butchering pictures, I thought some people wouldn't care to see those.

Flowers in Bloom

Some iris, daisies, and little purple flowers that I am not sure of. Anyone know what they are?

Today was "Chicken Day"

Rob, Ollie, and I welcomed home 12 day old chicks! They are such a joy. They had many visitors today.


I will post better pictures soon. Cheap Cheap!

Snow Day Again?

Starting this past Sunday, a snow system moved across the area. It was pretty huge. (Did anyone see the radar?) Well, I guess non-stop snow for two days means only one thing... SNOW DAY! And not one, but two! Monday's day was not as productive as I would have hoped. It was mostly filled with worrying about Rob at work and if he would make it home alright. *He did* I did conquer some neat projects and I will post some pictures soon.

This snow day, Rob stayed home from work. He decided that it wasn't worth the risk of driving on roads labeled as "completely covered". I think it was a good idea. Plus now we get to work on some things we have been putting off. I love unexpected time at home.

*Side note* I was exploring different things on the internet the other day, and I remembered that at Mic and Shinae's wedding we had taken some pictures in a "photo booth" they had set up. I didn't have a copy of those pictures, so I went looking for them. Well, I found them. I really like this one, so I thought I would share.

Plant Stand

Rob spent the day building a plant stand for the seeds we just ordered. We placed a huge order for the garden we are planning this summer. Our garden will hold tomatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, cabbage, basil, lavender, dill, cilantro, strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, onions, and egg plant. Also we ordered a cherry tree and a peach tree. WOW! It is going to be a lot of work, but we have been reading up on how to be the most productive. We are going to start our tomatoes and other plants from seed, which is why Rob built the stand. He picked up some light fixtures from a garage sale this summer. He did a pretty good job! Now I am getting even more excited!

Home exploration....

Saturday night when we came home from a family Christmas, we found that our toilet wasn't working. We were kind of nervous about the whole deal because we know that the corner of the house where the bathroom is located is prone to pipes freezing. (We need to do some work on that) Sure enough, the pipe that went to the toilet was frozen. Rob started running some heat in the basement to help warm it up. It was after midnight already, so doing more intensive work would have been really tiring. We got up the next morning, equipped with a hair dryer and some space heaters. Rob finally got it thawed with no damage to the pipes! What a handy man. The great part of the story is what Rob found while doing this repair. The place where the pipes are located are way in the back of the basement. there is a partial way and a crawl space with a dirt floor. Here is where he had to climb through...



While back there he found these things...

Having the family here, makes this place warm.

The Haan family came over to our house tonight, and we got to hang out with the nephews. We had a great time playing with blocks, LEGOS, watching the cats and Maisy (the bunny), and playing on the computer. I showed Jake how to run Photo Booth. Here are some of our great creations.





Even Sawyer got in on the action.



Jake really picked up on how to run the computer mouse. It sounded like he hadn't really had any experience with it before. Sawyer turns one tomorrow. It is great being able to see him grow. He even tried to take a few steps tonight. He was quick to grab on for help after he realized what he was doing. He will get the hang of it soon.

Snowed in?

I don't mind. As a matter of fact - I liked the blizzard. I woke up, decided that it wasn't worth going to Sioux Center for work, and proceeded to make these...


They are a recipe from one of my favorite blogs

The recipe is from one of my favorite blogs - Bake at 350. She is amazing! This was my first attempt, and other than working on my piping technique, I think I did ok. I also made peppermint marshmallows.

We also spent some of our day watching the birds outside feasting at our bird feeder. It quite the site, seeing all the birds fighting the blizzard - having to fly sideways to get to our porch. They decided that it was warmer by our window. Ollie and Neko thought they looked a little tasty.



We ended the night with some homemade Chinese food and a movie. A wonderful way to spend the snowy day.

How did you spend yours?

Maisy Blue Blonnet

Here is the newest resident at the Roost - Maisy Blue Bonnet. Her job is to fertilize the garden and to look cute. She lives in a little bunny hutch between the garage and the soon-to-be chicken coop. She came to us from a farm near Doon, and we are glad to have her. She is about 7 years old and has soft brown and gray fur. She really enjoys a good carrot now and then.

I hope you can all meet her someday! She is a real joy!

*FYI - So far all of our animals have a first and middle name. The first names are picked in order to complete the middle part of the alphabet (L M N O P) and the middle names need to have a color reference.

Maisy Blue Bonnet
Neko Violet
Ollie Redford

The Homestead

Well, I think we have waited long enough. Rob and I are "unoffical" homeowners. We started looking this summer for a house, just in case we would find the "house of our dreams." Right now, I don't think it quite fits that description, but eventually it might. It is a small farm house in Doon, Iowa with a good sized pasture in the back. We hope to raise chickens and goats and have a garden. There are few more things brewing in the back of our heads, but not everything can happen at once. We are super excited and really can't wait to put our feet down in a place that we own. We are planning to move in October 1.