I'm back...

It's been a while since I wrote. We cancelled our home internet, so I am only online at the library or the coffee shop. We have implemented draconian austerity measures. Internet, cell phones...Simplify, Simplify.

The baby goats are growing at an amazing pace. We were blessed with two healthy goat kids. Both of them were boys though. We are trying to sell them as purebred Saanen herd sires, but if that doesn't work we'll have to sell them for butcher goats...or butcher them ourselves. They are painfully cute.

Jenny and I took a trip to Oregon and spent some time swimming in the Grand Ronde river. The puppies got a little wet too. The puppies are cruising along and we will be able to hunt with Oberon by the end of the month. It'll be his first time out. We are hoping for his hunting and retrieving instincts to kick in. We're a little worried about whether he will bring the birds back to us. He might just think they are his lunch. It'll be all good.

Jenny's pregnancy is progressing beautifully. What a blessing.

As always, we are completely in awe of how blessed we are living out on our farm. The animals are all healthy, the garden is booming, the boys are growing like weeds. We have family coming in to visit this afternoon. What a mighty time.

Pressing Cherry Juice

We harvested 60 pounds of cherries at a friends orchard the other day. We are frantically trying to process them all. We frozen some, made cherry pies, dried some, and used the new cider press to make some cherry juice.

The boys and I went on a backpacking trip in the mountains. The rivers and creeks were a little high for fly-fishing. Tim cut his foot pretty badly and we had to pack up and hike out then drive to the emergency room in a town 3 hours away. He is all stitched up and fine. I have to go back and hike in to get some of the gear we left behind tomorrow.

I have another job interview on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it. I am at peace with the job situation. Of course, I need the money, but I've done some writing and praying and feel serene about the whole situation. God will provide. God will bring the perfect work into my life. At the moment that work is on the farm and there's plenty of it.

We've been harvesting and processing the early crops. Most of the veggies seem to be coming along. Everything is late, of course, but we should still get a harvest of most things. Some days I feel completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the farm work that needs to get done. Some days it just feels like we work all day just to keep the animals cared for.

Whisper should give birth any day now. It'll be a mighty time. God has blessed us with such abundance. Sunshine and rain have brought food and fun and family.

All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. Ralph Waldo Emerson

God's creation leaves me so full of wonder. Blessed be.

Cider Press

A couple of days ago we picked up a new (used-new to us) cider press. It was given to us as a wedding gift. We're really excited about it. Got a great price on it.

Speaking of great prices. Since I got laid off, we've been living in a little bit of financial denial. Well, yesterday we started really working some good old fashioned frugality. Got rid of one cell phone line. Cancelled the home satellite internet in favor of surfing at the library or coffee shop in town. Decided to make and bring all of our food for backpacking from home. No fancy freeze dried meals for us.

"Simplify, simplify" "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can let alone." - Henry David Thoreau

No more new animals...

No more new animals until Whisper has her kids. Except for this Labrador Retriever we rescued from the shelter. She is only six weeks old and is completely adorable. She and Oberon are (more or less) getting along. They sleep together anyway. Her name is Titania.

Speaking of baby animals. Whisper is very, very pregnant and should be kidding within a week or two.

Hopefully she will wait until after I return from a backpacking/fly-fishing trip I'm taking with the boys. We are going up to a place called Kelly Creek to spend a few days. We plan on hiking in a few miles, setting up a camp, and doing some fishing. If the water is low enough, which is a bit dicey this early in the summer, the fishing is usually great. I can't wait. It'll also give Jenny a few days off from parenting.

The garden is booming along. We grew enough radishes to do the farmer's market, but the lettuce that was supposed to go along with it got eaten by the chickens. So, we have hundreds and hundreds of radishes that are getting ready to bolt and go "woody." I guess you can't complain about having too much food, although it's hard to do too much with a zillion radishes.

The good Lord has blessed us with a beautiful garden this year. We are enjoying it's bounty. We are truly, truly blessed.

Birth Class!

Oh my, spent all weekend in a Bradley Method birthing class. It's really starting to sink in that Jenny is pregnant. We spent the whole weekend talking about birth and babies. We covered a lot of topics in sort of a whirlwind. We will be having a natural home birth. It sounds like an amazing experience.

Came home late this afternoon and got some squash and tomatoes planted. The weeds are taking over, so it's time to spend a few days weeding, mulching, and fertilizing. We have a ton of stuff growing in the garden but with the weeds an general disorganization it looks pretty ramshackle.

We will be having over a hundred children and their parents over to tour the farm and learn about "where food comes from." They are coming from the Methodist Vacation Bible School. Pretty cool, but a little scary.

Well, it's off to say bedtime prayers with Jenny and then I'll probably spend a little more time housecleaning. Blessings,

Craig Mountain

I went on a solo hiking/scouting trip in the Craig Mountains yesterday. This is the area where I hope to be elk hunting this year. It is a roadless/non-motorized area in which only foot and horseback travel are permitted. I will be hiking or backpacking into the area to hunt.

The puppy has landed

We picked up our new puppy on Monday! His name is Oberon and he is a German Short-Haired Pointer. He should make a great bird dog. Believe it or not we located a pure-bred Labrador Retriever at the pound too. We'll be picking up that puppy in a few weeks. They'll have each other to chew on and maybe they won't eat quite so many shoes.

We got him into a real pheasant wing today from a bird I shot last season. He really enjoyed playing with that. I'm going to start breaking him to gunfire as soon as I can pick up some .22 blanks. He's showing some great instincts already. He will "point" song birds an chickens. As always, keeping him away from the chickens may be a problem.

I'm bringing Caspian, the goat, in to the vet school (it's practically free) today. Maybe we can get a better idea of what's wrong with his ankles. I'm worried about him. I would be heartbroken if there was nothing we could do for him.

I think I may make a little cheese today. And we are making sausage on Friday. Probably feta cheese today and just bulk venison/pork breakfast links on Friday.

The weather continues to be a gardening challenge. It's also a challenge for everybody's patience as well. We are having the barn restoration day on Saturday. My friend Jason and I poured some concrete footings today. We are going to jack up the barn a couple of inches, put down the footings and brace the foundation with 4x6 beams. Of course we will be cooking up a big farm lunch and dinner for folks who show up to help. What a blessing it is to have such good friends and community.

Life is so wonderful. I am just amazed at how beautifully things are going. I just feel so blessed that I want to keep thanking God every chance I get. We are truly blessed.