5:30 Steep a cup of tea. Curl up in the overstuffed chair in the sun porch to watch the dawn. Then head upstairs to check email. Dress and take some time to read My Utmost for His Highness, my Bible, and spend some time knitting on my prayer shawl as I discuss the day with God and intercede for those around me. After a few minutes of exercise doing Core 15, I head to the kitchen.
7:00 Some days we eat cold cereal, but I prefer to scramble a few eggs or set a pot of hot cereal on to boil. If I arrive early, I make panakucken or bread pudding. We are reading through the minor prophets for family devotions, and we always take time to read and pray through the World Mission Prayer League's prayer letter. Dishes.
8:00 Farm chores.
My older son does the heavy work of lifting buckets of corn. He feeds the bulls, replacement heifers, club calves and the cattle in the medical pen. He fills their water tanks and carries water to the animals in the medical pen.
I walk the pastures here on the home farm to check to see that all of the cattle are healthy and to make sure there are no cows trying to calve. Penelope, our donkey, watches to see if I have brought a carrot. Sometimes she follows me around the pasture like a shadow, placing her fuzzy head on my arm to ask if she has been forgotten. The cows are protective of their little ones, and I must always be careful not to get too close to the babies--and especially not between mom and baby!
I feed and water the laying hens and Cornish Rock chicks. Collect eggs.
Snails, a steer we purchased to show in the fairs this year has been sick. First he had problems with breathing. We medicated him. Then his digestive track shut down and he began to bloat. We put a stint in his side to let the gas out. Finally he developed foot rot. We medicated and twice a day I filled an old rubber boot with a solution of Epsom salts and water to slide over his hoof. Poor boy--his hoof fell off this weekend. I hope it will grow back.
I found a calf with the scours. This is his mom's first calf, and she is not doing a good job of mothering. Each morning and evening I give the little guy a bottle of electrolytes, Pepto Bismal, and milk replacer. To do this I have to catch the calf in a halter and tie him to a post. Then I throw a leg over him and hold him between my knees--if he moves backwards, I end up straddling the halter (fell into the muck one day because of this); if he moves forward, he can wipe his dirty back side against me. Ugh. I grab the little one's mouth and attempt to get the nipple of the oversized bottle between his teeth. He drools and snorts. Then I tip the bottle up so that he can get some milk--hopefully he gets more on the inside of him than I get on the outside of me. He does not know how to suck on the bottle, so I have to gently pump his slimy little jaw and nose open and closed to help him. He swallows and bucks. We repeat the process for several minutes until I finally relent. The remaining solution is poured into another bottle, but this one has a long tube attached which is put down the calf's throat so that he can have the milk delivered directly to his stomach. Finally I let the little guy back into his pen with his mom who also has a baaaaad case of the scours. Careful. She squirts...
Back in the house I shower and dress for the day. If time, I put some order to my household and throw in a load of laundry. My daughter has been helping with meals since I'm outside so much right now, but I like to help her plan ahead to be sure meat has been gotten out of the freezer.
11:00 Lunch and dishes. I like to slip up to my computer if I can.
12:00 School. I start with Jacob; then I work with John Mark. I end the day with Bethany. Grade papers...
4:00 Farm chores. Repeat what I did in the morning, but also drive over to the old farm's pastures to check those cattle.
6:00 Back home. Thankfully Bethany usually has supper going. The evening is filled with various activities from tutoring an English as a Second Language exchange student to ironing clothes to help my hubby pack for the next work week. Sometimes I watch a favorite TV show or read a book and scratch a cat's tummy. If I'm not too tired, I check to see if the sky is clear so that I can spend some quality time with my telescope, and then I crawl into bed. Bliss.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
Thoughts From My Big Green Chair
I’ll link you to the tune of this lovely hymn. It is written by Henry W. Baker and set to the tune of a traditional Irish hymn melody.
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
The King of Love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his,
And he is mine forever.Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow
With food celestial feedeth.Perverse and foolish oft I strayed
But yet in love he sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With thee, dear Lord, beside me,
Thy rod and staff my confrort still,
Thy Cross before to guide me.Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport and delight
From thy pure chalice floweth?And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within they house for ever.
Ushering in a New Era
March promises a lot of changes on our farm: My husband has taken an engineering job and will begin work on Monday. The children and I will be taking over the task of keeping the farm going the four days per week that he will be gone. We have purchased the seed and are enrolled in government programs, so we have chosen to continue farming through the summer. What the future will hold is unknown. The family farm is slowly being phased out in America right now—it simply does not pay for itself and provide an income for a family. The times they are a changing….but He is Faithful.
New Babies and Mud
We lost a good calf this week when we could not get it out of the mother in time. It had a hoof stuck inside, and I will not explain what the vet had to do to get it out. Those of you raised on a farm probably have some good guesses. Otherwise, the farm is abounding with new life. Today one of the cows we have been watching walked past the house in the nearby pasture with “eight legs”—in other words, she and a newborn calf were walking past, but all we could see were the newborn’s legs showing on the other side of the cow as she tried to keep up to mommy. Almost everyday another little one seems to be added to our babies. Those big brown eyes and long legs always make it into my heart!
New life on the farm
The Fairview Kitchen
Today I served Oven Fried Chicken. It is a favorite of my family. Add rice, broccoli and a salad, and you have a wonderfully nutritious meal. I’ll write what I make, and you may want to cut it down to fit your family’s needs.
Oven Fried Chicken
Chicken parts (legs, wings, thighs—15 pieces)
1-cup whole-wheat flour
2-teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon pepper
Place flour and spices in a large plastic bag. Add rinsed chicken parts and shake. Place in a large pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes in 425-degree oven; turn and bake another 25-30 minutes or until done.
Country basics: Chicken, rice, broccoli, applesauce and milk.
The Night Sky
This week we had two nights of gorgeously clear skies—and I was busy both nights. I did not get out with my new telescope. Now it is raining and dreary, but I’m sure there will be blue skies and plenty of viewing time in the future.
We can expect to see the moon near several objects this next week: Tonight Saturn will be below the moon. On the 8th Regulus, in the constellation Leo, will be just below the moon. The moon will be at apogee (farthest from the earth) on the 9th. On the 12th Spica in the constellation Virgo will be just below the Moon. On the 14th Jupiter will be just left of the moon. If you are trying to learn the constellations, this may help you locate the main stars in some of them; it will be easier to see them when the moon has passed beyond them because they will be “drowned out” by the bright moon light, but it may help you know which direction in the sky you need to look to find the constellations you are trying to find.
I am sad that my dear friend Orion is starting to slip so far to the west. Soon I will have to say good-bye to him for another season. He is my favorite nighttime friend, so tall and heroic.
Nasa's photo of the constellation Orion. What a beauty!
School Days
We are coming to the end of our holiday, and Monday we will need to get back into the books. I’m scouring ebay for materials for next year. I’m also working on the list of subjects my daughter needs to finish before she graduates next spring. We plan to visit Hillsdale College in a couple of weeks, and the ACT test happens this weekend. Soon I will be putting together her transcript. It is hard to believe that we have gone through 12 years of homeschooling and in one short year, we will have completed the journey. Those thoughts are filled with happiness and sorrow, as I’m sure you can understand!
I’m sure my daughter will be sharing her experiences in the homeschool play this weekend on her blog; if you are interested, you can pop over there once in a while to see find out how it goes.
Cats and More Cats
Orion: Fluffy Boy with an attitude
