Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is still up here in Ohio, so we are having a party for him tomorrow. I am so thankful and blessed to have my Dad still with me.

Happy Birthday Dad!!! I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here he is at the top of the lighthouse in Ponce Inlet, Florida.

This is my Dad and I.

This is my Dad and Mom.

Here he is with some of his granddaughters.

This is Dad and his wife, Alice.

Issue #2 Again

I am going to mention Issue #2 in Ohio again. It is a very important issue and we are trying to get the word out. Someone told me that a caller called in to Glenn Beck's program on Friday and asked about it. She was for it. He basically told her it was more government and bigger government with no oversight. He said you see the battle coming and instead of fighting you are opting for the suicide pill.

Please, please research and check out this link to the Ohio Liberty Council. This is not something we need or want. It is going to give them an open door to tell us what to do on our farms and with our animals. This is major because it is ammending our Constitution. It will not stop the Humane Society or PETA from trying to bring HSUS to our state.

Here is another post that gives more information!!!

It Is Almost Done...

Today, was absolutely GORGEOUS!!!! It was sunny and 77 degrees. Tonight we are supposed to get rain. The low tonight is going to be 50 and that is the high tomorrow. The low tomorrow night will be around 34. That makes today even more special. I went out and took a walk again with Star. You can see how the driveway changes every day. There are lots more leaves on the ground and fewer on the trees.

I tried to capture some pictures where the sunlight was peaking through highlighting something.

As you can see some trees are already bare and some still have many leaves.

I just love this site. It is across the road from us. The sun was really playing on it as the wind blew and leaves moved around.

The road is starting to look more bare.

Here is the cornfield. You can see the rows from this angle.

I loved this. The oak leaves you see are not from the tree they are on. They fell from higher up. The sun was shining through them and they looked like a stained glass window.

Here you can see the leaves dancing in the sunshine.

I stood on the driveway and took a video trying to let you see and feel what it was like. The wind was blowing and you heard leaves moving and the trees were swaying. It captured some of that, but nothing like it was to be standing out in it.

Are you Bored Yet?

I took a short walk again today. It is a beautiful day. There are clouds, but the sun is out as well. It is 55 degrees. I know we will not have too many of these types of days left before winter sets in. The peak of the color is definitely over. I love to watch the other colors sort of fade and bleach out. Yet, there are still bright splashes of color here or there and we still have some green.

I told you in the last post how Buttercup has decided she wanted to be the Dairy Queen for the calves and they decided they loved that idea. Well, she is in solitary confinement until we figure out what we are going to do. She is not happy and has been bellowing her displeasure. She came over to the fence as I went by to let me know she is not a happy camper. :)

There is still color looking down the road, but there is less and less of it.

This is the cornfield across the street. It has bleached out into that beautiful color. You can hear it rattle in the wind with a haunting melody.

I liked this picture because you see the red oak leaves, and on the left you see the bark of a Shagbark Hickory tree. I love the colors and textures all together.

There is even beauty in a brown leaf laying among its friends.

The Sumac turn into such gorgeous colors. It is hard to even capture it in a picture.

More rosehips I found on the Multi Flora.

These leaves were so tiny. It is hard to tell from this picture, but they were so small and perfect.

There are some things still blooming out there. Besides this little beauty I saw some goldenrod and also a couple of dandelions.

For those of you in Ohio, I encourage you to go to the Ohio Liberty Council's Website and research issue 2. There is a lot of money being thrown by the big ag people to push this through. Many people are not understanding the truth of what it will bring. We are voting NO on issue 2.

Homestead Happenings

I thought I would give you an update on farm life around here.

The Cows: Clover was really holding back her milk when we milked her. Her teats are very small, so Michael was using the milker on her rather than hand milking her. I have been unable to be out there helping him milk, so we just put Clover and Nutmeg (her calf) out with the other cows. It worked fine for a short time. On Saturday night, Brittany came to milk Buttercup. She had been really gross the night before, so Michael shone the flashlight on the back of her udder to see how dirty she was, and one quarter was empty. She is the best Momma cow and I guess she allowed her Grandbaby to nurse. We left everyone in there and were just going to try and watch. Sunday was fine. Then the Wonderful Neighbors came to milk on Monday night. She was empty. There was barely enough milk to give the dog and cat some. We think that the other calves must have caught on to the secret as well. So, Buttercup got put in her own pasture until we decide what to do. Michael was so thankful that he finally only had to deal with one pasture. We do rotational type grazing and only having to move one fence was a plus.

The Sheep: They are doing well. With the rain and the few warm days, there is still some grass for them to eat. However, we are not going to have enough hay to get them through the winter. I may have to get rid of all my sheep. I hope that is not the case, but if it needs to happen, I understand. I would like to keep at least two, but we shall see. We are going to be short on cow hay as well. We have been in drought conditions for three years. We got only one cutting of hay this year and it was small.

The Bees: They are still doing well. I hope they make it through the winter.

The Poultry: We are done with broilers for the year. We have turkeys in the field right now. They go the week of Thanksgiving. Our layers are doing OK, but we could sure use some more eggs. I would love to find some more laying hens to buy. If you are close and know of any, please let us know.

The Garden: It is done for the season. We do have our garlic planted for next year. We are allowing the sheep to graze in parts of the garden. The chickens keep getting into my garlic bed. I have to chase them out.

48 Hour Sale!!

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Offer good only while supplies last. Offer ends at midnight (CDT) on October 29, 2009, CST.

More of Autumn

I guess I will keep taking pictures of the foliage as long as it lasts. I am truly enjoying it. Today, I was antsy and went out for a walk. I think I have too much time to think. :) I need to find a ministry outlet or something to do that will make a difference in someone's life. Here are some pictures from my walk and a couple from the other day with my sweetheart.

These first two pictures were taken at a local orchard.

I was walking down the driveway and looked over and saw this scene. I love the lighting in it.

This is at the end of the driveway looking down the road.

These are all rosehips from the multi flora roses that grow around here.

This is coming back up the driveway once you make the turn. I love this picture.

You can see the little log cabin out in the woods. The children of the family we bought the house from built it. Lots of other children have enjoyed playing in it.

Issue #2 in Ohio

If you are from Ohio and will be voting in the coming election, please, PLEASE, take the time to go to this link and look at the short youtube clips of questions and answers from the town hall meeting. I keep hearing people, especially the farmers saying we need to vote yes to keep HSUS from happening here in Ohio. Margaret Anne Ruhl clearly states on one of those clips that if this passes, it will not stop HSUS from coming. Also, it is putting a governing board over us in our Constitution. We do not need more government over us. Please take the time to research this.

Count Your Blessings Monday!!

Here is an opportunity for all of us to give thanks unto the Lord for a blessing in our lives. If you would like to take part great. If not that is OK too. If you would like to share your blessing, just leave it in the comments. If you want to use the picture above and list a blessing on your own site, then leave a URL to your site in the comments. There is no pressure here. I just know that I am incredibly blessed and I would like to share that and give thanks to Him who all blessing come from. This is a way that we can encourage one another. I know that I am often encouraged when someone shares a blessing with me. I think that many times we forget that it is a blessing to be able to breath, to get out of bed, to hold a baby... Share your blessings with us. We can share so many other things.... special gifts, recipes, let's take the time to share how God has blessed us!!

This past week has been pretty good. I had a few struggles on Sunday, but God has been so good to me. I am thankful for a husband who is very understanding and patient with me and my troubles. I am very thankful for caring, praying friends who have emailed, called and sent cards to encourage me and let me know they are praying.

Also, as a blessing this past week a friend had some surgery. She has come through with flying colors and the surgeon said everything looked good. She still has to wait on the pathology report, but I am praising God this is behind her.

I'm also grateful for all the Autumn colors. They have been wonderful this year!!!