Well, another month in the books. It was another good one and we continue to love life. I have been busy crafting, organizing and unpacking more boxes (yes, we are still unpacking some boxes)... Eric has been working in his shop a little and is trying to get things together enough to start making sawdust. The kids are still plugging along and doing their thing.
Some highs and lows of the past several weeks are as follows....
Animals -- One of our horses, Patch took a fall in the driveway and was all scratched up. Fortunately, the fall was not terrible and he just scraped his skin. But his hooves gouged two spots in his 'armpits' and we had to treat those spots to prevent infection and fly larva from growing. We locked them back up in their pasture because they also broke the top rail off one of our fences. So, that told me that it was time to put them up where they can do less damage. The cats all have ear mites which is a new thing for us. We have never had an issue with mites before so we didn't think about it here either. But, today I treated them and cleaned their ears and will continue to clean and treat for the next couple of weeks. I think they need extra flea meds right now because if I remember correctly, this time last year was terrible with fleas. Another thing we never had an issue with before by keeping them on their regular regimen. Now we have to take extra precautions for all things bug, critter and parasite related with regard to pet-care. We have been working more and more with both Patch and Reese to be able to file their hooves and apply hoof flex ourselves and it is working. Harrison, Aurora and Buttercup already allow us to handle their hooves with very little issue. Buttercup has been turned out for a little longer each day that we turn her out to graze because she was super underweight (in my opinion) and she is starting to level out. The cows are great and we think are both pregnant by Ferdinand (our bull). Eric let Maybelle dry up so he has not milked her in a couple of months. We need to build a milking parlor and get our milking machine set up so we can actually use her milk.
Garden -- I didn't take garden pictures this time because I already have so many photos for this post BUT, our garden is going crazy! We have eaten tomatoes, squash, zucchini and melons. OH, I did not make the sorbet yet because the melons were super under-ripe and had zero flavor. We cut them in half and fed them to the chickens to keep cool on the hot days. One of them (the biggest), I am leaving to ripen more on the counter and try the sorbet with it. I may flavor with juice if need-be.
Closet Organization -- We have a hall closet that I had not organized since moving in. I threw all of our medications inside along with extra bath supplies and some unpacked boxes of meds and first aid supplies. There were only four shelves inside and they were wire. I hated them and the space was totally wasted so Eric cut me new shelves and put brackets in. I bought bins and was able to fit seven shelves and organized the heck out of it. I also did the entry closet but for that one we just put some boards on top of the wire shelf to be able to still hang our jackets, etc. I wish I would have taken before pictures of the hall closet because it really was such a mess. I labeled each bin and got the first aid on one shelf. I also left a first aid kit in our back bathroom so we don't have to go through the house to grab bandaids, etc should the need arise.
Predators -- I never did kill the Coyote or the (huge) Red Fox that had been snatching our chickens. But, while Sierra was here, we saw both critters. I am almost certain that the neighbor killed the Fox because there were some cries from the baby for two days before we found it hit by a car on the road in front of our house. We haven't seen what we now assume was the mama Fox since. As it turns out, part of the reason she was such a successful hunter (aside from the fact that they are just super smart and fast), was because the den was right on our property line beside the horse pasture near the barn. Of course we are staying vigilant and prepared in the event they launch another attack against our farm. On Fathers Day, we were eating dinner in the breakfast nook and through our big picture window, Lily saw the Fox grab Goldie and start to drag her away. Goldie escaped and the Fox ran back and grabbed her again. By then, I was headed outside with Missy and the Fox couldn't keep a hold on Goldie. We have no clue where she managed to run off and hide but feathers were everywhere and part of her wing is gone. But, the Fox was unsuccessful that night. Goldie showed up the next day and has been around ever since but it was a close one. I would have been pretty upset if she had gotten snatched. Here she is with some of her chicks...
Thursday, a small fox was in our horse pasture watching our chickens. I swear, we cannot relax or ease up at all. I have a feeling it is one of the babies of the mom fox that is no longer an issue.
Visitors -- My sister, Shasta flew in for a visit on Monday, July 19th for 10 days and we were beyond thrilled to see her. It has also been several years since we've gotten to see and spend time with her and we are so happy! Like Sierra's trip, we surprised the kids with Shasta's too... Actually, we are doing that the whole year this year IF we can keep it up. We did all of the things with her also. We went to the zoo, we drove half of the Cherohala Skyway to the North Carolina state line, went to Bald River Falls, we went to the lake, set up OUR NEW POOL and did lots of swimming, barbecued several times, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, celebrated Gramps' birthday, had lots of animal cuddles, explored our town and the neighboring towns, shopped, crochet gifts (well, that was Shasta but I was a supporter), got new hair (also Shasta, lol), set off more fireworks and last but certainly not least, we went to the Lost Sea Adventure! It was so cool! For those who don't know, it is a gigantic cavern underground and is America’s largest underground lake and Registered National Landmark located in beautiful Sweetwater, Tennessee. At the end of the cavern trail is a short boat ride on the underground lake. It was an awesome trip and visit with Shasta. The kids were spoiled by Auntie, her visit went by super fast and we already miss her.
Here is the link to the Lost Sea Adventure website if anyone is interested in checking it out. It was a lot of fun...
https://thelostsea.com/history
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| She had me cut about 14 inches off of her hair! |
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| Our new fire pit. |
We had a few fantastic thunderstorms and Shasta adjusted to the humidity pretty quickly. She lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho and it is really gorgeous there (that was the other place we considered moving before settling on East Tennessee) but she kept admiring our beautiful, green state and kept commenting on how gorgeous it is here and how the pictures don't do justice to the beauty that is East Tennessee. I'm pretty sure that if possible, we'd have a new neighbor like next week, lol. In my next post, I will share things I do not like about living here but as I say to all of the visitors, people inquiring about the state, etc. "the negatives DO NOT outweigh the positives or even come close". Don't take my word for it, come visit.
Horse Training & Lessons -- We hired a local lady to come out and help us train our horses and get riding lessons from her. She owns a ranch in our same town. She was supposed to start on the 6th but was a no-show. She even confirmed with me while I was in New Mexico. I texted her about 30 minutes into waiting for her arrival and nothing. She was supposed to come Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am, so Thursday I checked my phone and still nothing back from her although I saw she read my text on Tuesday asking if she was still coming.... So, I have found four or five others to call and see if they can do what we are looking for. I am super bummed and even had jeans on for the lessons. I never wear jeans in the summertime because they feel like death. Eric even braided my hair! The kids we're all dressed appropriately and we had the horses ready. How rude of her to leave us hanging like that.
Chicks -- We have about 22 baby chicks right now... Two hens hatched several chicks and while they were hatching them, I grabbed 12 more at the feed store. I tried to add them to both hens but one wouldn't accept them (her chicks were already almost two days old) so the other hen has like 18 chicks to care for. We had to set up the heat lamp because she's just a little White Leghorn and really can't fan out like the bigger hens can. Our Australorp hen (the non-accepting one) has four chicks with her. These mama hens are NOTHING like Goldie and they are mean! They have attacked me several times when I go in to help Nico or clean up or whatever. They are super protective. This should plus up our hen supply as we were down to about six hens after the continual brutal assaults from the Red Fox and Coyote.
Photo Books -- I made each of the kids a photo book of the past three years. I got a Groupon for five books and it was set to expire the 14th so, of course, I completed the books on the 14th at around 8pm. I mean, nothing like hopping right on top of it, right? The twins' books are actually of their first year and the older three kids are of the past three years. We will see how they turned out after I get them. With the cost of the Groupon and shipping, the books averaged about $13 each. So, even if they're not fantastic, they are at least worth that much, I am sure.
Soap Company -- When we purchased our whole-house water system, it came with a subscription to this "all natural" soap company. I went ahead and ordered some of the products and they came very quickly. They were free and the shipping was also free. I am anxious to try out their products and love the fact that they will last us for quite a long time.
Flag Pole -- We had a terrible windstorm and our aluminum (thin walled) flag pole bent. It ended up bending so badly that it was laying on the ground one morning. Eric went to the hardware store and bought threaded steel pipe and we made a new, more sturdy flag pole.
Engagement Photos -- Eric took photos of our friends, Andrea and Ivann for their engagement. I am just going to post one here because we just finished editing them and want to give them to Andrea and Ivann this weekend. Their wedding is early October AND they just bought their first house! Congrats to you both, we are so happy for you!
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| We are super excited for their wedding! |
California Trip -- I decided to drive to California and take all of the kids with me. I am a crazy person and I am super nervous about the chaos that is our tribe but my sister, brother-in-law and mom are gracious and excited. We will be gone a little over two weeks. On the way there, we are stopping for a one-day break in New Mexico to meet up with Jess and the boys to go to the Albuquerque Zoo or something like that for the day then head on to California. We will stay about six or seven days there then head home. I am allowing for one extra day on the way home to possibly stop somewhere cool like the Grand Canyon or something like that. I am getting excited too though because I haven't seen my family in about 14 months. Eric is staying home and has some plans to complete a few to-do items that he is being kind of secretive about to surprise me. We like to do those things.
Harlan's Surgery -- Harlan has recovered very well from the removal of his tonsils and adenoids. Friday was two weeks since the operation and he is back to his precious little self. Man, he was very true to the recovery "behaviors" that the doc told us about. It was interesting to witness. He also picked up on the spoiling and capitalized on it VERY quickly. It has been fairly easy to transition back to our normal life but he still has some expectations with regard to popsicles. The doc said his tonsils were "pretty gnarly" when he removed them and he ended up needing antibiotics. The smell inside of his mouth for the past almost two weeks was quite unpleasant but I can tell the infection is gone and the holes are healed because that smell is gone... We also feel that he is already sleeping better and he is in a much better mood. The doc said in six weeks we will know for sure if this surgery was the answer to his sleep apnea. Our fingers are crossed.
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| In recovery, he "let" me snuggle him instead of Eric (who is his preferred for most things) |
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| Nolan pulled out his chair from his room the other day to watch a show with the kids and was lounging like this. It was so cute. |
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| This is Nico's outfit. I had to take a picture because of the ridiculousness. He has no fashion sense but fortunately, we stay home most of the time... |
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| I was looking on amazon for bedding sets for the twins and this is a Dino set I was checking out for Nolan (I did not buy it). What caught my eye was the rug next to the bed! I laughed so hard thinking WHAT THE HECK IS THIS DOING IN A KIDS ROOM???? Hahahaha.... |
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| Nico and Barney |
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| Papa Tilford sent this to me. This was when they went for the visit in May. |
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| Nolan got a mustache from the dirt sediment from the well water filling up the pool. |
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| Oscar was sleeping like this for hours. |
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| Harlan found a painted rock outside the restaurant we ate at after the Lost Sea. |
We are excited to share that we now have more visitors coming! Labor Day weekend is booked full with family and we can't wait to see them. We had another friend text us about stopping by on a road trip in October and we would LOVE if that could work out! I'll be making some sight-seeing recommendations to her this week.
We have decided to do a "rock painting party" with just us and maybe Andrea and Ivann will want to come. We will paint rocks and leave them around town. Harlan's rock discovery prompted us to leave them places but we had already collected a bunch of river rock to paint that was mixed in with our gravel that we had delivered for the front of Eric's shop.
I have several videos of the Malayan Tiger at Zoo Knoxville, Gramps' birthday fireworks, the waterfall and Harlan telling grandma that he is fine after surgery but they won't load properly. I have no clue why. If I can figure it out, I'll post them so check back if you feel like it.
We hope everyone is staying healthy and loving life as much as we do! Take care!