Nebraska…The Good Life!

I think we should lobby for a little more honesty in advertising when it comes to state slogans. A fair and balanced approach to tourism would be much more ethical, don’t you think? I’m thinking of submitting this to the governor for consideration for those nifty little tourism booklets you find in the rest areas. So what do you think?

Then again, I may be just a little cynical after another night in the root cellar. So, how about this one?

A personal favorite of mine: Let’s call it “Child Fleeing to the Cellar.”

No children were sucked up, whirled around, or otherwise injured during their flight to the cellar. Those long, cold Nebraska winters are starting to look better and better!

Wild Night on the Prairie

Sounds like a novel, huh?

I’ve always had  some kind of morbid fascination with thunderstorms.  At least I used to.  Tennessee thunderstorms were very mild in comparison to what we have been experiencing out here.  Rarely was I ever told to “take cover in the center of your home” for a mere thunderstorm back in Tennessee.  You could sit out on your porch and watch them roll on by if you wanted to.

Last night was a new experience.  We’ve had some semi-scary storms out here before, but this one was the worst yet.  All was fairly mild around midnight.  The children’s sleep hadn’t even been disturbed, so Josh and I were about to turn in, when wham!  A gust of wind hit our house that sounded like a freight train!  (Ok, so the old windows make the wind sound even worse!)  Our emergency radio alarm starts going off and tells us to expect 70 mph winds and golf ball sized hail.  Oh, goody!  Josh and I were looking out the front door when the hail started.  It was so loud that I could barely hear Josh’s instructions to get the children.

I’ve discovered it’s a little difficult to drag five half asleep children down the stairs when your legs are nothing but jelly.  With wind that was bending large trees almost double, large hail, and rain that was coming in sideways,  the idea of trudging across the yard to the storm shelter was not very appealing.  We opted to shove them all under the stairs.  Wasn’t a very popular idea.

Things calmed down considerably.  Our power was flickering, but we managed to check the doppler.  Our hearts sank a little at the long, red line that was creeping nearer.  Joshua decided to hit the cellar before it got here.  Again, not a very popular idea.

The rain was creeping in from all sides, making it a miserable little hangout.  We got 2 inches from one thunderstorm!

Notice Caleb’s big grin.  He was rather amused by everything!  Ashlynne wanted me to take a picture of her brave smile.  We only saw it when the camera was out!

Rachel, on the other hand, was not even slightly amused by the big event.

The Lord was very gracious and we didn’t have to stay in the cave very long.

The next morning, the crop damage was apparent, though it’s hard to tell the extent of the damage from the pictures.

It looks as if everything has been sheered off  with scissors.  Our big, beautiful garden looks very humbled.  Maybe we have been, too!

Some farmers in the area have lost everything.  But, that’s farming, and everyone out here knows it.  It appears we are to have even worse weather tonight!  We’ve been told not to get too excited again unless there are reports of rotation in the area.  I guess “tornado watch, favorable conditions, and significant wind sheer” are nothing to get excited about.  The neighbors would probably chuckle at these poor southerners afraid of a violent thunderstorm!

Though the yield of the olive should fail,

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold,

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Summer’s must have accessories

Yesterday my husband promised a surprise for his girls when he returned home from work. The waiting was difficult, but worth it. He returned with some fashionable accessories no young girl should be without!

Shovels, hoe, and cultivator, oh my! Is the Green Acres theme song running through your mind? Josh has them weeding sometimes at 6:30 in the morning. Which brings us to our next must-have. The family food plot.

Of course, the most well dressed yards of the year should always feature a few free range hens.

A few corn fields, just for show, wouldn’t hurt!

It may be snobbery, but I can’t imagine any place without a Kate and her Lamby Bam Bam.

Father-son bonding is always in fashion.

Finally, if you really want to knock ‘em dead, throw in a fiery Nebraska sunset, courtesy of the Creator of the Universe.

Nature lesson for my two year old

See the large hawk circling our chicken coop?

See how all the chickens are hiding inside the coop?

God made chickens smart!

A Honey of a Man!

Maybe there are those of you that don’t know this, but my Beloved can do anything. Yesterday he installed over 50,000 bees into five hives. Everything went well, except one queen was dead in her cage and will have to be replaced.

Here is the first hive:

He’s also been midwife to more cows than I can count this year. His vocabulary has expanded to include certain terms I’ve never heard him use before such as amniotic sac, breach, engorged, and many others that I dare not share here. My favorite, however, is when he says he had to “pull” a calf. Once again, I will not go into detail about what that means for fear that any woman who has birthed a baby before will suffer heart failure! Let’s just say it involves a crank and an extractor. He has mentioned that with his new credentials and experience, we might not need a midwife again. Pray for me.

Yes, my darling is multi-talented, but his latest deed is dearest to my heart. This weekend, he gave me something I have been longing for ever so much. It was something I’ve envisioned owning for years, imagined myself using barefoot, wearing a long floral dress, while my perfectly groomed children skipped about and my plump baby gurgled on a patchwork quilt. It was……… a clothesline!!!!! Here is Beloved as he demonstrates his great love for me:

I’ll be sure to share a picture of my first load fluttering in the breeze. And I’m sure I’ll be sharing more about this Honey of a man!

A few snapshots of our day

I thought I’d bring my camera along with me today just to see if I could get anything interesting.  And if it wasn’t interesting, I’d try to make it!

Our chicks have graduated out to the coop.  Good thing, too, because our house was beginning to smell like a coop.  Rachel put up a sign at the door, just to make sure there was no confusion.

 Our 52 Rhodies were doing well in their new quarters.  We are so thankful that we haven’t lost any and have had zero problems with any of them so far.

Every other Monday, we go to the library.  We were almost ready to load the van, when Lauren yells, “Momma, there’s a stunk in the yard!”

“Pardon?”

“A real black and white stunk!  Come and look!”

Yep, there was our “stunk”.  What I didn’t get a picture of was this fella coming up our first step.  I ran back inside rather quickly.  I’m wondering if it was rabid.  Surely it’s not normal for a skunk to approach you!  It did go on it’s merry way, and we decided to go on to the library.  I do think I’m going to be cautious before I run out the door for a while!

Due to thunderstorms the night before, the roads were pretty muddy.  Josh had warned me at lunch that the roads were slippery.  This is looking down our driveway.

Well, the driveway wasn’t that slippery, but the gravel roads were a different story.  I finally learned to drive in the very middle of the road so I would at least remain on it while the van slid from side to side.  Thankfully, I didn’t have too far to go before I hit a paved road.

By God’s grace we made it safely there.  Going to the library is like going to Disney world to my girls.

Yes, I know.  My boy will outgrow me in about six months.

Well, that was at least half of our day.  On the way home, the girls thought I should take a picture of our nearest neighbors.  I have to say they are pretty quiet.  They don’t give us a bit of trouble.

 

 

Oh, the possibilities….

    Tuesday I picked up my husband from work on the “big” farm and we took a little drive. I must confess I had a few butterflies in my stomach as we drove. Wouldn’t you if you were about to stand for the first time on the ground that you might be going to raise your family on, grow your food from, hand down to your children, and be buried on? OK, scratch the last one, that’s a little weird to think about. You would think on such a momentous occasion I would have made sure the camera batteries were fully charged, but no. Hence, I only managed to get three pictures.

 

 

    Joshua said I should tell you all that we do plan on fixing up the house a bit before we move in. You know, clean up the rubble in the house and put some plastic or something over the windows.– OK, as much as I’d like to let it go at that and see what kind of responses we get, maybe I shouldn’t. The house is much too far gone, although Lauren seemed to think it would do just fine. (That girl would be happy in a cave!)

 

    I wish I could describe how remote this place is. I think we’d be the only ones for a couple of miles. I thought the gravel roads out here were quite humorous, but the road the land is on doesn’t even have gravel! Yep, we’re talking about a good old-fashioned dirt road that is only passable when it is dry. We hear they might put us some gravel down if we build out here. The girls thought it quite an adventure to even get into the property– climbing under fences and dodging cow patties.

 

    We haven’t decided on this place for certain, but we certainly are leaning in that direction. A lot depends on the price. Josh’s boss owns the property, so Josh gets to work on him everyday! We are hoping for less than $1500 per acre. We also could buy a few acres at a time, as we could afford it, allowing us to not have to go into debt. Isn’t God good! Please pray that He will give us wisdom as we make this important decision.

 

Exciting day on the homestead!

This morning we got a call from the Burr Post Office. Our chicks were finally here! The girls finished their chores in record time and waited anxiously for our Beloved to bring them home.

They’re here! The first animals for our farm!

We thought it was just great that you could mail chicks in a box. Oh, are they ever cute!

So, where are we going to keep them? Maybe in the den for a little while.

Have to get the warming light set up.

Sweet little fuzz balls. I’m glad they are for eggs, not for meat. Allows you to attach yourself a little. The girls have already named a few. I think I’ve heard the names Buttercup, Sarah, Felicity, and Filemina (Ashlynne is very non-traditional in the name department). I’ve already forgotten what the house sounded like without 50 peepers. They might quieten down if the girls would leave them be. Maybe they won’t be so fascinating after a few days. The next big event is at lunch. Beloved is bringing home chicken feed from the Co-op and we get to see these babies in action. I’m dreaming of fresh, brown eggs already. I’ll probably be dreaming until August or September.