The cicada's arrived on the farm, but now they have quieted down considerably. I am amazed that people keep saying that they hated them followed by "remember the plague" but cicadas were not part of the plague, locusts were, and cicadas are NOT locusts! Locusts are giant grasshoppers. I think they are beautiful and the kids love them. My five year old daughter brought one in the house to be a pet! When we were at the VBS carnival last night kids were pouring juice over the bug trying to kill it so I saved it and gently explained how  God made all creatures and that we shouldn't harm them. I also showed them how there was a letter W on the wing and how cool it was. I hope I changed at least two kids view of bugs. I am just shocked at how many people in Kentucky want to kill every wasp, snake, bug etc... that happens to come along. I am determined to change this attitude one child at a time. My ten year old Sam was so upset because the kids were pulling the wings off cicadas and putting them back in the trees.
We actually catch good bugs and place them in the garden. If there are bugs destroying our crops we will do away with them, but otherwise we don't kill anything except flies and fleas and mosquitos that try to bite us. Did you know that wasps prey upon spiders? even black widow spiders! Last week we went to the library and saw the reptile house! I got to wear a burmese python around my neck, and we got to see beautiful lizards, spiders and turtles too.
We spend a lot of time in the library in the summer. They have art, movies, and shows of various types. I can't  WAIT to see the entomologist that is coming in July. I love the summer when you can go out anytime and not get the "why aren't you in school" questions! We spend a lot of time tending the garden, catching fireflies, swimming in the pool, riding dirtbikes and other fun summer stuff. So what do you all summer?

Hi everyone. I have not blogged in a long time. Life is going great here at our small farm. We are settled in and we are really happy. We have chickens, ducks and geese. We love farm life. Church is great and they have become our family away from home. My husband has a new job, and he loves it. His boss is great, and so are the people that he works with. We do miss home but we love it here so much that we could never go back! Well, I have to run to feed the ducks and geese. Have a great day everyone.

Life is going well here on the farm.  We have 8 more chickens now, so we have 13 chickens, 5 ducks, 2 geese, 3 cats and one dog and one fish. Oh I can't forget to mention the snapping turtle in the pond. Actually there are two now.  We have raised beds for the gardens and all the kids are helping with all the farm chores. The plants are doing well, even though some of them are being eaten by flea beetles. Some of the tomatoes are doing great, and growing so fast! The peppers are taking their time. My flowers are just starting to poke through, but the good news is that there are so many flowers that were here when we bought it. Just yesterday we discovered large yellow irises and today small pink flowers! 

We are almost done with school for the year, and it will be time for our summer break, which will hardly be a break at all. We have a long to do list here on the farm. Of course some of our to do list includes catching frogs, building a tree house, and eating our first farm raised chicken!   

I didn't realize how long it has been since I last blogged. I have been so busy with homestead chores, school, church and family that I really have had time to sit and think of something to write. It has been very cold here. Too cold for me. We have lost at least 80 percent of our fruit because of the early warm up and then deep freeze. I am planting lots of tomatoes, a long list of veggies, some watermelons, pumpkins and tons of flowers. The kids are growing hot peppers, sweet peppers, corn, popping corn, and beans. We are starting some seeds indoors, and waiting for the warm weather to start the rest out into the garden. I planted a few things outside, and they are covered over with plastic and hay to protect them from the cold.

The chickens and the ducks are doing great. The ducks live at the pond all the time now. The chickens sleep in the coop at night, and during the day they go outside if the weather permits. School is going well. We are using Math It and I love it, and more importantly so do the kids. I am even learning new tricks to make math easy, fast and fun! The kids all help around the farm, even my four year old. The kids each have their own passions, and all are different, so it makes life very busy and interesting here. Life is good. Yes, life is good.

Well, of course we all know that five plus five is really ten, but in our case 5 ducks and 5 chickens are happiness. We decided to start out small for now. We went by the farm and garden store and I made my husband turn aroud  "just to look" and, well, you know what happens after you see them. You just HAVE TO HAVE some!!! LOL! This weekend the chicken coop is going up with a little nursery section for the babies. We love having them, and the kids are doing a great job with them. I had to share the great news with y'all. Now I am going out to enjoy this day, it is going to be in the upper 70s here! WAHOO!!!

It is snowing today and the birdfeeder and suet feeder are full of birds. Today we have nuthatches, a red bellied woodpecker, a sparrow (still checking Sibley guide to figure out what kind), dark eyed juncos,  a downy woodpecker pair, blue jays, starlings, 2 yellow rumped warblers, black capped chickadees, but I still have not seen the mourning dove or the tufted titmice that are usually here.

I JUST LOVE BIRDS!!!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone. I hope that you have a great day today.

Today it is very windy here! Life is going well. We are starting a garden unit study by Amanda Bennett. Each of us has our own garden plot. I am getting seed catalogs in the mail, which I LOVE!!

We have a compost pile started, it is small but we check it often to watch the decomposition of all the kitchen scraps that we put in. I ordered some books like Thomas Jeffersons Farm and Garden notes, and books about George Washington and also George Washington Carver, who is fast becoming my favorite person to study! I am hoping to go to visit the George Washington Carver National Monument and I plan on collecting as many books about him as I can. He was truly an amazing man, so if your family has not read about him I highly suggest that you do!

Well, it is time for a cup of tea and lunch. Have a great day! Here is a great quote for all to ponder:

"He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world." - Epitaph on the grave of George Washington Carver

Happy Holidays. Life has been busy here on our small farm. I have spent the last months cleaning up and enjoying life here. There are all kinds of birds here, the mountains are beautiful, there is so much potential for our land, and I just love it. We are going to start a gardening unit study sometime in January. The kids will all have their own garden and they will do all the work themselves. We had a nice Christmas. It was simple with a nice dinner. It was just us, and it was a wonderful day.

We always start out Christmas by reading from Luke and then praying. After that we open gifts. We got to talk to everyone on the phone which was great. It is good to hear the voices of all the people that we love during the holidays, especially when they are so far away.

I wish everyone here a Happy New Year! God Bless!

Well, we have been busy here on our little farm. We are hauling the trash left into one big pile and trying to decide what to do with it. I have cleaned out the barn. I can't wait to get some chickens, geese and esp. guinea hens. We have all been raking the yard, mowing, trimming or removing some trees, and many other chores. I have started my first compost pile and it is doing well.

Homeschooling is going well. We are doing some unschooling and some formal school work as well. Did you ever hear of kids basically teaching themselves to read? I always thought... yeah right. That is NOT possible. Well... it is happening to me... or should I say my almost 9 year old. He is spending time at night in his bed reading lots of books... Dr. Suess for now... by himself. I think for me reading is the biggest and scariest part of homeschooling. I have three different phonics programs. In my heart I am an unschooler, but the part of me that is pressured by all of the outside says "they must be reading this or that by this age... or else I am a failure!!!!" Of course after reading books by Dr. Raymond Moore I know that is not true. Boys love to do things, build things, explore and think... at least, my boys do. My three year old girl on the other hand can "read" her entire Peter Rabbit book word for word. No, she is not really reading the words but she knows the whole story!

I hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving! More Tales from our farm later!

We made it! We bought a home and are now officially here to stay, in Kentucky. We have three acres, a pond, two barns, a root/storm cellar, a small orchard, some nut trees and lots of work ahead of us. We have been painting, unpacking, cleaning, and working the land to get it ready for the spring. I am so excited! The kids love it here. It was as if God knew everything we wanted and said "here you go". We are so blessed. Its not fancy by the worldly standards, but it is truly our dream home. We have a lot of learning to do, so stay with us and share in our adventures. I am sure there will be many failures, mistakes, funny stories, successes and of course lots of praise to God who will "give me neither poverty nor riches, but only my daily bread."

:-)