baking brownies...on a snow day...excuse the messy kitchen

So I realize I haven't posted in a while

my goal for the year was to post more often...

life got in the way. 



yum...brownie batter...again excuse the kitchen



Since the first of the year we had a major snowstorm

that kept us out of school for a week

we have been to Charleston, SC for a conference

and Orlando, FL for a conference

We have finished lambing out most of our ewes (those are female sheep)

Finished one full set of calves out on milk

now working on the second set

I coached a 4-H team for a state competition

competed at State

hosted a "how to show" clinic for 4-H'er involved in a local livestock project

had our annual livestock show and sale

things from my son's perspective

Wyatt got accepted to pre-school for the upcoming year

so we are beginning to prepare him

we have read the same book 214 times

he has become an expert at making circles

wyatt trying to land the blimp

And I have crafted zero..

none...

i was inspired to work on a project this weekend

and when i plugged up the sewing machine...

nothing...i kept getting an error message...

so i set it away...then

yesterday i took the time to work on it and finally got it back working

Snow days!

Snow days are wonderful days...

no school...no work...no dealing with 100 screaming 7th graders...

now don't get me wrong I love my job

 but sometimes its nice to have an unexpected break.

Around our house snow days mean...

You get to trek to the barn to feed up bawling calves and hollering baaing sheep,

in the freezing cold and can't complain because it is the life you choose.

Sometimes our jeeps get stuck in the snow and we have to use our hands to dig them out...

man if we had just put its top on!

You get the chance to snap what you thought would be a great picture of 3 calves...

while you are bottle feeding one...and fending another one off

Your horses stand in the snow to consume a bale of hay

and you get the mean green to the barn, turned around and almost back up to the house before you...

spin the wheels until the front driver's side tire is slick,

and you are stuck...

this means you have to wait on your husband to come home in the flatbed ton truck to get you out

it also means that the little bullrider above can't practice...

can't saddle up...

and must play all day in the freezing cold to make up for the two previous statements...

its also when i cook & bake...

a loaf of bread...

a pound cake...

oatmeal cookies...

potato soup...

thinking about meatloaf to go with the potato soup...

So what's the weather like where you live?

what do you do when you have an extra day at home?

i hope if its cold you are warm...i hope if its hot you are cool...

either way i hope you are enjoying your family



The end of 2010

The last day of 2010 wasn't spent the way I had planned.

No actually the last 2 weeks of 2010 haven't been spent the way I planned.

I dreamed that the little man I and would sleep in and snuggle,

my house would sparkle without me having to try,

the weather would be nice and a little nip in the air,

Bartow and Force would get exercised and Wyatt would be able to ride Bartow alone.

I would sew up a storm and finish me a couple of 50's inspired shirt dresses

so that I could become a vintage housewife

My hubby would have a hardy supper on the table nightly when he came home

and everything would be fed up by sundown

But in reality I have spent the last two weeks rising most days before the sun as shed a ray

cleaning constantly since Hurricane Wyatt arrive with each passing hour with more force than before

the weather has gone from bone chilling cold to I'm breaking a sweat working cows

I have caught the two horses but Bartow still just stands there when Wyatt is on him

I have sew two things this entire break and they were Christmas gifts.

I am so not a vintage housewife (as I am currently lounging in my yoga pants)

My hubby has eaten cereal at least twice in the past two weeks and probably had pizza 3 or 4 times

and he still has to feed up when he gets home in the evening.

Today I spent my morning hours helping out Paw Paw with a few cows that proved to be a little more hardheaded than expected.

We began by moving the show heifers out to pasture with the herd bull,

not our original plan but they been shut up in show fields for the past 9 months and could use a diet prior to getting bred...as much as Pet and Gracie hated it they have temporarily entered the world of semi-grown up cattle...then we had planned to move 2 cows and 2 calves across the road to a barn where it is easier to feed them and they have more grazing room..

now this should have been about an hour job at the MOST..however it took forever to load the two cows onto the trailer...we fought and fought and fought with them to get on the trailer...

i thought that Paw Paw was about to lose his religion...

Wyatt even gave up and went to the house with Grandma...

but we got them moved and had a wonderful lunch with Grandma & Paw Paw

now I think its time for the little man and i to take a nap...

I'll dream of a new camera since my died on Christmas day and I can't seem to fix it...

Wyatt will dream of bullriding at the WNFR...

and maybe just maybe when I wake up

I'll clean the house and cook some supper for my hardworking hubby

Stay tune tomorrow I will be posting my New Year's Resolutions...ALL of them!!

Christmas on the Farm

Many of you know that my husband is a full time farmer and for a farm family Christmas is a little different.  No matter the day God's creatures have to be cared for.  So EARLY Saturday morning before even your most excited little one rolled out of bed we had opened presents, had breakfast, fed baby calves, and William was milking the herd.  This is a typical holiday for us.  I don't mind the early rising or the cold air in the early morning because we get to experience a one of a kind holiday every year. 

 This was our living room before the little man attacked the mound of presents.  Now typically he doesn't get tons of presents but this year I went a little overboard because I got some AMAZING deals on his favorite toys...John Deere Tractors!!!  The little man is amazing, he can wake up before most adults and still have the most wonderful attitude.

This year I was able to learn something new. Our little man is 2 going on 80! On Christmas morning he hiked to the barn with me to feed baby calves and check on the lambs and goats, then hiked back up the hill to feed the horses and dogs all the while being a trooper in the cold air. As we were in the barn feeding Wyatt said that he could mix up the milk for the calves of course I was a little more than nervous...subfreezing temps, hot water, and a 2 year old isn't a good mix. But he (with supervision of course) took the jugs of water and poured it into the milk buckets, added a cup of powdered milk to each and whisked them like a pro! It was an amazing moment to see that some of the values we are trying to instill in him were being implemented even at a young age. He didn't whine or complain he was enjoying his time with me having fun working on the farm. It was wonderful!!

Christmas day continued with visits to family (after milking of course).  Wyatt loves to head to Nana & Pop's.  They live on the main part of the farm and he likes to play and spend time with his cousin, Ashley.  We got a very rare treat on Christmas evening...it started snowing!!  Technically we didn't get a white Christmas (not 1 inch prior to midnight) but we did have a white day after!! And Wyatt loved it!  The snow was too soft and powdery to use the real sled so we made use of a feed trough and pulled little man to the barn in it.  He loved the homemade sled. 

 Living on a farm gives you a chance to take some amazing photos through out the year.  I love to catch the landscape covered with snow from various angles.  This is looking out the end of the barn. 

 This is another angle from the end of the barn but this one is special because the house you can just see at the end of the field is the original home place for little man's best friend and my hubby's maternal grandfather, Paw Paw.  It was a beautiful chance to capture a glimpse of family traditions.

 And of course I couldn't resist the chance to get a picture of some of the animals in the snow.  I didn't take many this time but I am sure I will have more chances as the winter progresses. 

I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday and remembered the true reason for the celebration...the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord.

God Bless,

Teaching Tuesday

Teaching Tuesday!

Teaching is like therapy for me.  I love being in the classroom (hence the reason I am returning this fall).  However teaching isn't just about delivery information to someone.  It is about the relationship you build as you help someone learn a new process, skill or knowledge set.  There are so many things about teaching I love.  I am going to use this feature to TEACH you a little about what I love...Family Farms...

(My sister, cousin, & I at my Grandparents farm in GA with my Granddaddy.)

Agriculture is what my life thrives on....I love the fact that my husband is a full time farmer.  We raise sheep, beef cattle and dairy cattle plus we have a few horses.  Let me clarify...because for many out there you might think we have a few head of each.  We raise about 50 head of sheep, 300 head of beef cattle and milk 115 head of dairy cattle.  We are a family farm and proud to say that we are American Farmers. 

America's farmers are the world's most productive. Today, each U.S. farmer produces food and fiber for 155 people in the United States and abroad.  That's a lot of production for a small percentage of the population. 

The number one question I get when I talk about farms is aren't all farms factory farms now??  And the answer is NO NO NO!!! I am not a factory farmer and neither are the majority of farms in the U.S.  You might view us as a corporation because due to taxes and liability we are Nance Farms, LLC, but we are family owned and operated just as most American farms are! Today 98 percent of all U.S. farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations. Just 2 percent of America's farms and ranches are owned by non-family corporations.

These two simple facts are the two most important facts farmers and their families need American Consumers to know.    I realize that many times in the media we (Farmers) are betrayed as the bad people, we use chemicals on our crops and antibiotics for our animals. 

 And yes we use fertilizers on our fields to help our land produce better crops, however we also leave behind plant matter to decay to improve our soils and no longer have the erosion issues of a generation ago. 

And yes if we have a sick animal they receive antibiotics just as you do if you go to the doctor.  Healthy animals produce faster, better, and more meat and milk for consumers. 

We are teaching the next generation to grow up and become stewards of the land and environment.  We spend our days working and our nights researching the last news about our industry.  I can't believe how many people don't realize that to be an American farmer you must have:

 

Faith in God, confident, and a desire.  I hope you all have learned a little about Family Farms in America.  If you have any questions please feel free to ask!