Rainy and Muddy Farm Update

**Don't forget to go and sign-up (by commenting) on my 500th Post Book Giveaway contest. I know way more people read this blog (and participate) than have signed up, so get on over there and have a shot at winning a free book. It's just my way of saying thank you to everyone who has taught me, encouraged me, corrected me, and helped me along the way!**

Now, for the farm update. As you can see from the image above I went with a stock rain picture. That is because I have been spending as little time outside as possible because it is just plain awful out there. I don't have any numbers to back this up, but I would guess since Friday we have gotten at least two inches and probably more like three inches of rain ... with more to come. That is a bad deal no matter where you are, but in our muddy construction zone it makes it almost unbearable out there. We are getting the kind of mud that steals your boots when you go for a walk!

The one nice thing about the rain is that the temperatures have stayed above freezing for a while now. This is great because it means I can use a hose again to water the cattle without having to drain it and because we have been going through way less wood. One fire a day is about all we need anymore if we keep above or close to the freezing mark for our low (although I see that is supposed to change).

But, there is big farm news! Except this news is happening inside the house. Thanks to the help of my father and mother-in-law we now have about 99% of the trim up inside (except for something that can't be done until we build a bit more). Windows are trimmed out, baseboard is down, and the upper closets have one-of-a-kind doors. This is all wonderful and makes the house feel like it is about finished.

Beyond that I finally got around to do a few electrical projects that I have been putting off. I put in a couple outlets that were missing and put up some lights that I had been being lazy about. All of this adds up to one great thing ... we are just that much closer to closing the loan! What a relief that will be.

From a philosophical standpoint though, the work that was done here the past few days has really encouraged me. The help we have had from family and friends is what has made our farm possible, and I believe it even gives a glimpse of what we sometimes call the "simpler" times. In fact, listening to the rain without the distraction of the television (we still don't have one) as I sit in a house that I know is only here because of other people humbles me and gives me great hope ... hope for my family and hope for the future of this farm.

A Busy and Broken Down Update...

Life on the farm has been crazy for the past few weeks (it's been crazy for my blogging also). Between the super cold temperatures, the unseasonably warm temperatures, the time spent driving back and forth from the hospital to visit my friend/pastor, the Christmas season, and everything else going on it seems like we have had little time to come up for air (or consistently make a blog post). So, I just thought I would share "A Busy and Broken Down Update".

• First of all, thanks for all of you who have been praying for my friend/pastor/boss and his family. He is doing amazingly well and is so far beyond where the doctors thought he would be that it is almost unbelievable ... almost ...
• Because, of all the time that I spent at the hospital, at work, and in between my wood pile has slowly dwindled over the past three weeks. I have been going out and cutting a couple of hours at a time just to keep enough wood around to get by, but my stack hasn't exactly been growing. But, thanks to a great church friend and his buddy we now have two nice pickup loads of wood! That is a big relief.
• As I mentioned we have had some extremely cold snaps and even a couple of really warm days over the past few weeks. That is kept us on our toes making sure all the livestock are comfortable and we didn't make it through completely unscathed, but they all have plenty of shelter/water/food. It does seem like there is never enough time though.
• Because of everything that came crashing down all at once my shed plans kind of came to a grinding halt, but it is still in my mind and I am encouraged to see steel prices making their way down. In fact in a recent Menard's flyer you could get steel for $69 a square. Hopefully we can make a decision in the near future one way or another.
• Now for the broken down part ... besides my body lately ... As I took the tractor out across the pasture on Friday to cut enough wood to get us through a night I slowly watched my loader bucket drop to the ground and hydraulic fluid stream out of the fitting on the cylinder. It was not what I wanted to see (especially sense this is the second set of cylinders I've had), but I put the tractor in reverse and started backing to the house. Until I ran out of gas! So, I quick hooked up a hay rack to the SUV, cut up couple logs along the fence row, threw a bucket over the tractors muffler and left (we had to get away for Christmas parties). The tractor is still sitting there and I haven't had a chance to look at it yet... Anyone know of a cheap cylinder repair guy in my area :)
• Oh, and one more thing. On Christmas day my dad brought up one of my round bale feeders to put in with the Dexters. This was a great thing because it makes feeding out the round bales so much easier (and less wasteful). Of course there is only one problem now ... I need a tractor to put in another bale! Hopefully I can get something figured out tomorrow.

Such is life on this beginning farm ... at least for the moment.

If You Want...

If it is your thing I know we (my pastor's wife and family) would appreciate your prayers. Our pastor (you can check out his picture at the link) suffered a few strokes and they were on both sides of his brain causing bleeding in both sides. He went through a 4 plus hour surgery yesterday and the doctor basically said that, "it went as well as they could have planned". But, there is a long road ahead with concerns of brain swelling and so much more.

I've been around the hospital quite a bit, and have only gone home long enough to catch a few hours of sleep and do the chores. But, I do have some more thoughts after reading a bit more of "The Omnivore's Dilemma". Hopefully I can get this until later today.