Garden

Well, the gardening season is beginning to wind down. Of course that means the canning season is winding up. I have canned apple butter, grape jelly, apples jelly, grenn pepper jelly, tomatoes and tomato sauce, so far.

New Addition to the Farm

We recently adopted a stray. Her name is Kasha. Go figure! She is a sweet girl, a mix of border collie and Australian shepard. She is currently undergoing difficult training in the Don't Eat Chickens Boot Camp, but she appears to be a smart dog and is learning quickly. She has already learned not to mess with a squared off, snorting steer or a goat buck with his head lowered in your direction. Kash is adjusting well, he has easily asserted his dominance, it is no secret to anyone who the top dog is around here.

CHICKS!

We have a broody hen and so we asked a friend for some of their fertilized eggs and it has been 20 days and one of the chicks has just hatched! We weren't expecting any hatching until tomorrow, but I guess the little guy just couldn't wait. So cute!

Exploring

The boys have been exploring the back pastures, which is really fun because there are lots of big stumps and holes and logs to climb on, over and under. It is so fun to watch them because it reminds me of all the fun I had exploring the woods, creeks, and banks of the lake when I was growing up. Such a fun time of adventure and imagination. Of course as an adult and a homeschool mom I see so much learning out there! We lift up bark and see what critters are causing it to decomposing, find how they entered the bark, follow their trails, and see their different life stages. We investigate holes and look for tracks and hypothesize about who or what lives where. We collect rocks, leaves, and other debris to view under the microscope. But enough about all of this through my eyes, the boys just see it as fun.

Base Camp

Their big finds are a cave and a fort. The fort is an old burn pile, but not everything burned. So there are logs (bridges) to walk out on and pockets (rooms) where things did burn completely. It provides hours of fun.

The cave has also been a big hit. Originally I have to admit that I thought they had probably found a badger or snake hole, but after investigating it really is a sizable crevice opening up in the rocks. Right now the hole on top of the ground is only about 6 inches wide. I'm hopeful this is too small to encourage deeper exploration by the boys. And after we investigated it I covered it with a log and some large rocks to prevent the boys or a small goat from falling in.

After dropping some rocks into the hole we could tell it dropped down quite a ways and we could hear a splash at the bottom. It's not a straight down fall, like a well, there are rocks sticking out here and there so it's difficult to see to the bottom, plus it's dark in there!  We lowered in a flashlight and a video camera. The camera didn't see much because the light wasn't shining in the same direction as the camera, but we did determine that right now the crevice is about 15' deep to the water. The water at the bottom is about two feet deep. We have had a lot of rain so we don't know yet if the water is always there or not. It is dripping in and sounds just like Mammoth Cave with the dripping echo call of a cave.

Monster Jam Rally

Konrad took the boys to the Monster Jam Rally. They left early to attend the Pit Party.There they met Pappy, Uncle Mark and Ian and got to get up close and personal with the trucks and their drivers.

Kolin, Pappy, and Kaden with Predator

Kaden and Kolin with Predator, he was the scariest of all and his driver had yellow eyes.

Boys at the pit party, being boys.

Konrad and boys by Gravedigger

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Eve we decided to stay close to home. We went to the neighbors house and the adults played games while the boys played spies (spying on the adults) and watched a movie. And we all (barely)made it to midnight!At 12:10 we were back home and I think the boys were asleep by 12:11. Hope you were able to welcome the year in the style you wanted.  Happy New Year!

Been a while...

My intention today was to make and schedule some posts, but it seems I have lost the ability to upload photos and videos from my computer to the blog. I am hoping this is only temporary because my words just aren't that interesting. Plus, I know you all open these to see those cute little boys.

I'm sure you got our Christmas letter so you are up to speed through December.

So far in January we've lost a rabbit, a rooster and two goats. Not a great start, but the rabbit and rooster won't be missed much, is that bad to say? and one of the goats was just really, really old. The rest of the goat herd is getting really fat and we are anticipating kidding season to begin in early February.

The boys have been busy exploring the property. In pasture 4 they have discovered a "cave" and a "fort". I am very excited about their adventures. I remember having so much fun as a kid exploring the woods and following the banks of the lake (back when it was fairly safe to let you children roam the woods). 

I hope I can upload soon to share more with you about what we've been up to.

Good New, Bad News

 Kolin and I went to Vanderbilt for some tests on Monday. The good news is that the CAT scan revealed the cause of the gross hematuria. The bad news is that it is a large, unpassable kidney stone(s) and will requires surgery to remove. We have not scheduled the surgery yet but will  let you know when we do, probably late November or December. He is not in any pain. The bleeding is a result of the stone bouncing around during times of high activity and is not causing any 'damage' in the process.
That's all we know for now.

Henrietta

Just a pretty picture of Henrietta and her friend.

Kaden's Major Accomplishment!

That's right folks, he's reading!!