Motley Mutterings

Garden again!

2010-05-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

These are potato mounds...potatoes grown inside wire fencing, in hay and compost. The flowers are berry plants, and you can see the baby berries if you look closely.

Peas along the fence, cukes also, and the view of the "Hooptie Hut" (high tunnel) now without the plastic.

Hardening off herbs and tomato plants to transplant on Sunday. View of the naked high tunnel in the background.

Happy Chickens

2010-04-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so thankful that we live in a place we can raise happy animals...our chickens have a shed/house, but they are not forced to stay in it all day. A small "clique" of our hens (and a couple of roosters) prefer to sleep in the trees at night, and it's amazing how high up they decide to perch. They are healthy, friendly, and we've got some hens that are about 7 years old!

But even a life in a coop all day would be much better than the life most laying hens in the U.S. live, cooped up their entire lives in a cage with 5 or more other hens, never seeing the light of day, being driven mad by the noise of thousands and thousands of other hens, sick from the anemia and smell of their conditions. Most of them only live to be about 1 1/2 to 2 years. I'd love to get to the point of never having to buy eggs again from the store, maybe if we end up with a few good winter layers from our new bunch. If you are at all able, please try and buy your egg locally and from a reputable farm or small operation. Call your local extension office and ask if there are any kids in 4H raising eggs you could buy, you'll be blessing and rewarding and ENCOURAGING humane farming!

Anyhow, here's a pic of a few of them, taking their daily social dust bath, stretching out and enjoying the sun, doing what hens are supposed to do naturally!

2010-04-24T15:21:00.001-07:00

I just realized that one of the last posts last year, our greenhouse got blown down in the wind. Here's a pic of our greenhouse we put up after that, Chuck's design, which has been very solid and such a blessing to have! Along with that, I have included pics of what we have brewing right now...our large potato patch (nothing up yet) and our high tunnel with plants growing already inside. We hope to improve the high tunnel next year, make it a bit more solid, but for now it is doing it's job. We also got some of the raised beds ready, though we are waiting for row cover before we plant. We are planning on putting lettuces and greens in these, but the row cover will protect it from chickens and bugs, and keep it slightly shaded, as greens don't like a whole lot of sunlight.

2010-04-24T14:52:00.001-07:00

Shame on me, it's been a YEAR since I posted! We got the tractor and hit the ground running, and our market garden season took off almost without us. So, it's spring again, we're already well ahead of the game (though way behind on a few things, flowers for instance) and I will try again to keep up my pitiful blog. I'll start with a lovely couple of pictures of our first hen to hatch her chicks this season...13 altogether! Hope everyone is well, Shalom!

2009-04-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

2009-04-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

No, these are not hatching pods for aliens....I have my strawberries under them! They are actually the coverings for old street lights. A friend of a friend had gotten them when the city they were from put in new street lamps, figuring they'd use them the way I am, as little green houses. But they never got around to it and they were given to me. They are so cool! A little fragile, and the shape makes them hard to cover a lot of stuff, but I just cover whatever plants are still sticking out with large plastic cups, the clearest I could find. We'll see how it works!

2009-04-04T00:26:00.000-07:00

Another Shabbat is here...boy, are we worn out! It was a very busy week.

A few days ago, Chuck and the boys rigged up a greenhouse using a pavilion tent we had. I was so proud of them, it looked wonderful! And it was FULL of itsy bitsy plants sprouting up everywhere!

But alas, we had a horrible wind storm today, and unfortunately the poles this tent was made from were not strong enough, and the whole thing collapsed. My heart just broke for Chuck, he had tried so hard to make it work, and with pleasing ME as part of the motivation. I told him it's OK, but he was just so down. He and the boys are hoping to "rebuild" on Monday. More later today....

2009-03-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Today (and last night) is Rosh Hashanah, more commonly called the Jewish New Year....so....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Rosh Hashanah is literally translated, "head of the year." So although we aren't having a big celebration (we've just been to busy to prepare for it) we will think about the year to come, what we want to accomplish, and especially, ways we want to improve ourselves. We are eating apples and honey to symbolize having a sweet year ahead! The honey, by the way, was given to us by Charlotte's boyfriend down in Florida...his parents have a farm there and raise the honey bees themselves. It has an orange flavor, because the bees collect their pollen from orange tree blossums! It's delicious!

Michael and Zach (Davey's grandson) blew the Shofar on the porch. My grandson enjoyed some apples too!

We prayed that we would all improve ourselves, treat each other kinder and with more respect, strive to make our home someplace that the children WANT to be, the center of our lives, and a haven of rest and love for those we don't see as often (Charlotte, Kelsey, Travis and Amanda) because they are on their own.

My biggest flaw, which I hope to improve in the new year, is mis-scheduling my time, and getting all that I need to get done, finished! The bottom line is that I just take on too much and on top of that I'm a procrastinator. I have an article I got from a friend about how to deal with procrastination, so I think today would be a great day to read it! My mismanagement of time has led to not spending as much of my life with family, immediate and especially extended, and not sharing and keeping in touch with relatives and friends who we are apart from.

2009-03-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

Remember that little bottle fed lamb I posted about back on February 4th? Well, look at her now! She's a moose, sooooo big and still being bottle fed, though I'm SURE she could be weaned. Problem is, if she doesn't get fed when she desires, she stands at the porch and screams "Baaaaaaaaa" for a long, long, long time...And it's not just her, it's her and two comerades (see 3 posts back, the sleeping lambs). If we try to ignore, and it's evening and they can see us inside the house, they will go from window to window crying!! In the past, all bottle fed babies stayed with the herd, but not this crew...they don't know that they are sheep...Look at Abigail, it seems as though she's saying, "Come on in, this is my porch, make yourself at home!"

2009-03-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

We had an awesome week, got lots of stuff accomplished. The boys were able to remove some problem trees which were blocking a lot of sunlight to the garden area, and posed a threat to the house should we have another bad wind storm .

I was able to work in my garden and build some somewhat raised beds, surrounded with rock, to plant some root vegetables in. Root veggies do very well in loose, deep soil. I filled the beds with mulch, sand, manure, and some wonderful soil made from years of barn waste. It's so dark it's almost black!

Raegan, of course, wanted to be part of what we were doing, and played contentedly with some lawn garden ornaments for HOURS...a mama duck and 2 baby ducks. She washed them in the birdbath water, took them for walks, and chattered away endlessly. As you can see from the picture, we dress for comfort and work, not style, on our farm!

Lastly, I got a few books in the mail, one I wanted to share which I started reading. It's called "Family Friendly Farming" by Joel Salatin. Joel Salatin is a farmer in Virginia I've admired for years, who promotes small, family run enterprises, in which the animals work through nature as they were meant to...not like most industrial, factory farms in our nation today, which produce the bulk of our food. The book is about working together as a family, side by side, to make a living, and especially to be good stewards of the land. I've read most of his other books and this too, looks like it will be a gem!

2009-03-27T22:24:00.001-07:00

Well, I took pictures last Shabbat, but didn't get a chance to load them till this week, so I've got a few posts to catch up on!

Anyhow, last week was so warm and relaxing, I noticed EVERYONE was just having such a nice rest, so I went around the farm and took a few pictures. :o) It had been an extremely busy week, as the good weather finally overrode the bad weather, and we were able to begin spring work. It has been a blessing to work alongside each other!

Of course, when we tried to take pictures of some of our family, they wouldn't sit still anymore and had to cuddle (the cat).

Even the chickens were stretched out in the warm air, sunning themselves and stretching their wings out to dry.

The kids got in on the act too...though I think their picture was a little more staged than the animal's portraits! But I'm sure the feeling of relief and rest was authentic!

2009-03-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, this first day of the week we got a LOT done in the garden! We probably planted a couple hundred onions, and weeded and tilled up 3 long wide rows. We also spread some lime since it was a misty, lightly raining day. I also planted a lot of seeds indoors, to give them a head start in the spring. How do I know what to plant when??

I wanted to share with anyone reading, the wonderful tool you can get from your local Extension office. Each week, sometimes many days of each week, the calendar is marked with simple instructions telling you the best time to plant, order, pot, till,...anything to do with your garden. For an example:

March 11 - seed tomatoes indoors

March 12 - seed peppers indoors

March 13 - seed swiss chard indoors

The calendar is also filled with tips of when to fertilize certain plants, when to order certain seeds and plants, when to prune trees and fruit plants, the best time to put in a high tunnel, when to begin covering plants in the fall...it is really one of the best tools you can get for your garden, and it's FREE! Look up your local extension office in the phone book (might be under 4H) to find your local office. I am not sure if all extension offices have these calendars, but it's worth a try.

2009-03-14T01:19:00.000-07:00

Well, this has been an incredibly busy week! I had a few special orders to finish, including the little sleeping possum. He looks about the same way I felt by Shabbat. I'm so thankful to have this set aside time to relax, rest, and meditate on my life.

I had to take my foster son to his second visit to the behavioral specialists at WVU this week. It is such a long drive, but it always leaves me feeling hopeful and rejuvinated in our long struggle we've had with his problems. We've had him over 2 years now (I can hardly believe it) and although there have OFTEN been times we were on the verge of calling our foster care agency and putting in a 30 day notice (for them to find him a new home) there are other times I'm so thankful we didn't follow through with this. Going to the behavioral specialists has shown me, once again, that although because of his Autistic tendencies, it seems at times he could care less about us, deep down I'm his mommy, and I think he'd just be "lost at sea" without us. We are what keeps him centered, as insufficiently as we do that, in his crazy, mixed up existence.

Chuck supervised the kids this week, in their free time, to get the fallen trees cut up, split, and stacked. With CJ's help, they got the carport cleaned out, and probably enough wood for next year stored up neatly in one corner. The back hill is now ready to be divided up, mapped out, and made into a large garden plot. I am also eyeing the spot just outside our bedroom window, another small fenced in yard, to put together a raised bed plot, complete with covers to begin growing soon in the year, and to extend our growing season in the fall.

Many seeds and supplies have been gathered, and we hope first day of the week (Sun.) to begin planting indoors, something we should have done already.

While cleaning this week, I noticed that Raegan (my granddaughter) and R. got extremely quiet on the porch (one of our blessed warm days last week!)...I peeked out the door and there they were, contentedly sitting in the lamb's cage, happy as clams. I snapped the pic at the top of the page...(note that the cage door IS OPEN...I did not put them in there so I could get more work done...)

2009-03-14T01:01:00.001-07:00

I think maybe, the problem I'm having with keeping up this Blog, is figuring out what the subject/center of what I'm wanting to talk about, should be. There are a few really big "subjects" in my life....

Farming/Felting/Self Sufficiency....These things sort of go hand in hand. As things get rougher around the world and we have to find alternative ways to survive in the changing economic times, these things are very near and dear to my heart.

Homeschooling/Unschooling/Life Skills/Parenting - These things would encompass each other more so than other parts of my life, though they're so intertwined it'd be hard to write a seperate blog without tying everything else in.

Faith/Beliefs/Happiness/Mothering/Helpmeet - These things are also, of course, intertwined...but would not interest people, for instance, who come to the blog to learn more about felting and selling at the farmer's market.

Add to all 3 of those, my desire to share about foster care and adoption, and I could almost start a 4th blog. So what do I do? Have 3 seperate blogs and toggle between them? Or should I go ahead with this blog, and just pour my heart out, hope I don't offend anyone, and let them take and leave what they choose?

If you can't tell, I'm talking to myself...LOL...and I think I've just convinced myself that one blog encompassing everything would probably be best...maybe if I get too deep into my faith/convictions, I can put a link to more in depth commentary, should someone actually be interested!

So, onward!

2009-02-04T00:04:00.000-08:00

Well, considering it's been, like A YEAR since I wrote in this I'll make it short...I am bound and DETERMINED to start writing at least once per week!

We just got our first bottle fed lamb of the season, her mama rejected her (she accepted her sister) and we found her in the snow by the fence. She's doing really well now, and is a sweetie, though a little bit of a whiner.

Off to bed, sweet dreams!

So Behind!

2008-04-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my, I can't believe how behind I am on this.

Anyhow, I am going to try to keep it up, starting today (famous last words!)

To recap, my reasons to start this blog have been to share what I do, my work, but also about our family, and my beliefs. Although we are not close to being rich, we are VERY blessed and I'm so thankful for my life, my family, my friends, and my faith.

Today I laid down to take a quick nap at about 6:00 pm, and slept till almost midnight! My goodness...this has been such a busy week, I just needed the rest I guess. We are trying to get the garden ready for planting, and I have planted a lot of seeds indoors to get them started. Our hopes are to sell at the farmer's market this year.

I'm so thankful each week for Shabbat...if we didn't have the commandment to rest on this day I think I'd be so burnt out I would have crashed long ago. It is a commandment I've had to fight hard not to break, it is so not in me to just rest. I am the type of person who has to be doing 3 things at once or I feel I'm wasting time.

I wanted to report, that since January 1st, I have lost 44 pounds!! It has been a long struggle, but I am so thankful that I was able to do it. I would still like to lose about 25 more, and as I get closer to my goal it is getting harder and harder...I only lost 1 pound this week. But more importantly, I'm getting healthier, feeling better, and eating foods that are so much beneficial to me.

Also, our family each have a "YahSpace" page now. Here's the link to mine: http://yahspace.ning.com/profile/NancyB

Not much there yet, but I am enjoying talking with other people who have similar beliefs, and there are a few groups about healthy eating, gardening, etc, which I have joined that are really interesting.

Well, hope to pop in here once every couple of days to update! Will write more soon!

2007-12-08T00:15:00.000-08:00

I'm so horrible at keeping this thing up! Shame on me!

We're in the midst of Chanukah...got the family Rosetta Stone Hebrew, haven't started it yet (just got it today) but thought it'd make a pretty nice present for everyone. Had a very busy day, I really don't like running errands on preparation day. I end up so behind for the Sabbath. Today was the same...*sigh*

I usually do pretty well getting ready for Shabbat, but the past month or so, I've been floundering. It means a lot to me to have a very nice meal, extra special, the house all clean and ready for a day of no work. I think I need to get everything done on Thursdays from now on and stay home on preparation day. I know many women struggle with this in our busy world. Any ideas other have would help! - Nancy

Extreme Close Up

2007-09-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here's our homestead, in the hills of WV. This is the view from the bottom of our driveway.

It's another Sabbath, a time in our family when we MAKE ourselves rest, relax, enjoy each other's company, and ponder the creator's awesome work. We have a big candle lit dinner friday night. We cook all our food for the next day, or prepare it, friday afternoon, then use paper plates the rest of the time. We tell our family members how much they mean to us. I try and either write to or call my extended family. We stay at home. We don't get the mail. We enjoy the outdoors and take a walk in the woods sometimes. We try and avoid the TV and outside influences, especially news or anything that would take away our focus. We don't do any online business or bill keeping. Most of all we pray for each other, our family, friends, neighbors. We have so much to be thankful for. Since we started observing the Sabbath our family has gotten so much closer, and we now realize how important it is to shut down for 24 hours. You should give it a try!

Tomorrow night is Yom Kippur, the day of attonement. We have to fast and think about the previous year, how we can improve ourselves, how we can make amends for wrongs we've done to others. We have friends visiting, and although the fasting part will be hard, we are looking forward to reflecting and being together.

Peace to everyone! - Nancy

2007-09-08T13:38:00.001-07:00

This is horrible, I'm doing really bad on this blog! But I hope to get going and keep a log of weekly life on the MotleyMutton Farm. Today is the Sabbath, and I have been way too busy...so I am going to spend the rest of the day in quiet contemplation.

Let me introduce my family - My husband and I have been married 24 years. Between us, we brought 4 kids into this world; Amanda - 23, Charlotte - 21, Charles III (CJ) - 19, and Kelsey - 17.

We are foster parents, and have adopted 4 of our foster children; Travis - 17, Justin - 15, Michael - 14, and Brittany - 12. We also currently have a 5 year old developmentally delayed foster son, Robby. He is so silly, and keeps life in our house VERY busy and hectic at times, but he also keeps us laughing, so we're very blessed to have him added to our family. We are not sure if he will stay here, there are a lot of issues, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The school year is starting, and with that we'll probably start our homeschooling routine again. We just had a very nice time last week at the Game farm (nature center) here in Buckhannon with other local homeschool families. We look forward to having a good year!

I just listed some new felted creatures on the PFATT website (it will be there on the 10th of Sept) Hope you enjoy the pictures!! Shabbat Shalom!

2007-07-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

2007-06-25T18:04:00.001-07:00

Hi all! This is my first post....hmmmmm....I started this because I wanted to copy my sister. Except she's a younger sister. But I admire her. She's very funny and witty and I love her.

So, I thought this might be a nice place to explain more about the things that are most on my heart...homeschooling, foster care/adoption, family closeness, home business/fiber art, simple living, and faith! I also love my parents, I am so blessed to have such wonderful, generous, loving parents.

I know more will come to me later...(I'm really just doing this to see how it will look ...hee hee) Take care all!