I love snow days, especially when it isn’t sloppy and wet. This is a very rare occurence where we live. In fact, we didn’t get any snow last year. They have been forecasting snow for days and it finally arrived. We woke up to a winter wonderland.
Ok…it isn’t a lot of snow, but it is a lot for us this early in the year and it is going to stay cold for a couple days which means it is going to stay! I gave all of the animals extra food last night and extra bedding.
All except for the ducks. They didn’t want to leave the pond last night and I didn’t want Kate to get soaking wet. They seemed quite happy to be in the water this morning…bbbbbrrrrrrr.
All of the sheep were happy to see us and eager for breakfast.
The dogs had fun running, jumping, and playing in it.
Snowballs were thrown…
and a little sledding was done!
While all of us were home I wanted to take some pictures for our Christmas cards.
I had my picture taken with the girls. I like this one of me and Infiniti…
and this one of me and Delight, such a funny girl…
but I think I like this one the best.
My son of course wanted to have his picture taken with Rose 🙂 This took several attempts…Rose kept jumping off the bridge and running a BIG circle before she came back.
This picture turned out great of my husband and his lab, Deuce.
Yay for the snow day and Christmas card pictures!!!
I love Etsy and I love browsing the different sections and looking for inspiration. I recently came across Imaginative Play Toys and fell in love with her felt playhouses! So much fun!!! I especially like this one. I talked to my sisters to see if they would be interested in making a couple of these for the boys. One for my son, one for his cousin that is the same age, and a combined one for his other two cousins that are quite a bit younger. They said ‘sure’! I wasn’t sure if my son was getting too old for a playhouse, but those thoughts went out the window when I saw his excitement over a big box that I had that he could play in.
I bought the animal template .pdf file (they are so cute) from Imaginative Play Toys and started thinking about different themes. We decided on a camping theme for my son, an old west theme for his cousin the same age, and a safari/jungle theme for the younger boys.
Now came the overwhelming feelings!!! How exactly do you layout and design a panel that is 29″ x 36″???
My dad has a projector that I have used in the past for big projects and it worked great for this as well. We taped big sheets of paper to the wall and projected the individual pieces and started drawing.
These are two of the sides for my son’s.
Now the fun part, cutting each piece out and sewing them to the background!
It has been difficult for the three of us to get together at one time, so we are getting together as schedules work. One of my sisters came over yesterday and we cut all of the side panels out, all of the roofs, and she took the animals and a bunch of felt to cut out at home.
We had piles everywhere!!!
Luckily, we had plans for these little helpers! My son spent the day with his grandparents and my sister’s daughter was entertained in her walker.
However, we did not have plans for these two little helpers. Don’t they look sweet and innocent…don’t let that fool you. This was after the wrestling match on the couch that they got in trouble for 🙂
This is my sister’s new puppy. She is a 1/2 sister to Rose. Paisley had a lot of fun with her.
All in all we got a lot accomplished on the playhouses and had fun.
If you are interested in making your own felt playhouse, here are a couple of really good sites…
Homemade by Jill – she offers a complete tutorial
The Crafting Chicks – lots of pictures
I will post more pictures as ours come along.
Food
Shelter
Clothing
Water
These are a human’s basic needs. Everything else is a luxury.
With the feeling of winter in the air, I am reminded of the basics and how fortunate we are. But I am feeling like I need to add warmth to the list.
This is the view walking to the barn this afternoon…
See the snow up in the hills? Winter is coming – there is no hiding from it.
Snow/rain showers are forecasted for the next few days and I am really appreciating the warmth from our wood stove, the roof over our heads, and the food on our table.
‘May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart.’ Eskimo Proverb
Winter has already hit Homestead – From Scratch – in a big way! My hyperlink function isn’t working at the moment, so please click on the link at the right to see how much snow they have. I like a light dusting of snow every now and then, but I think I would faint if I looked outside and saw that much snow!
‘If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation.’ Dalai Lama
Be thankful for ‘the basics’, I know I am!
Today I am thankful that I am able to wake up and have freedom.
‘On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.’
– Dan Lipinski
‘This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.’ Elmer Davis
Thanks to all who have served and are still serving our country, for the sacrifices you and your families have made!
‘The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.’
– Jeff Miller
Thank you to the men and women who have served, are serving, and will serve so that our country and others can remain free!
Darby loves to chase. Once upon a time, he actually ‘herded’ and did a really good job. He earned a couple ‘high in trials’ and made me proud, but it wasn’t what he really wanted to do. He really wanted to chase them away and then run back to bring them to me at a dead run. You should see the glee on his face when he gets to do this. Unfortunately, because of the stress it causes the animals that are being chased, he doesn’t get to do this often (ever).
The other day I had a job that had ‘Darby’ written all over it! Magoo, the llama, has been giving Kate a hard time. He wants to stay in the tall, green grass instead of going to the barn at night with the sheep.
I had already moved the sheep and headed out with Darby. He didn’t need any direction or coaxing from me.
He was quick to run out.
I love the look on Magoo’s face – like ‘really’???
Then Magoo had a change of heart. He decided that the little gnat was pestering him enough…
and Darby had a change of heart too. He lost a little bit of his bravado, but only for a minute…
Then he was back. Darby at his best. Corgis don’t know they are short.
Magoo finally started moving the way that he should and I figured they had had enough fun, so I did my best to call Darby off. His hearing is very selective 🙂 There are times when I think he is going deaf, but then I will shake a food bowl from around a corner to discover that his ears work just fine 🙂
Pure joy on the old man’s face!
Kate has conquered her dislike of water!!!
I never thought I would see this 🙂
I took her swimming several times over the summer to help build her confidence. She would finally go in the water after some coaxing, pleading, and begging but wasn’t very happy about it. By the end of summer she would walk through the water as long as it didn’t touch her belly. Since Rose LOVES the water, I had kind of given up with trying to get Kate to like the water.
Why do I want her in the water…
because of these little darlings.
The ducks have been free range without incidence since the beginning of summer, but a racoon put an end to that a couple weeks ago. It took our beautiful drake and since then the girls have been getting locked up at night.
This would be an easy task, except for the fact that they like to stay here…
smack dab in the middle of the pond. Even if I find them out of the pond, they are quick to get back there when they see me coming. I have tried to explain that it is in their best interest to go to the safe pen at night, but they just don’t see it that way.
Rose isn’t quite to the point where she can coax the ducks to leave the pond. She likes to dive and jump and run and stir things up. The ducks just look at her like she is crazy and they stay safe and sound in the middle of the pond 😉
So, I had to have Kate help me. I was shocked and delighted when she did this…
Oh how I love this dog and everything she does for me!
Not so sure the girls are loving her at this point, but they are safe and sound in their pen!
Rose thought the whole situation was much too calm and controlled!
My son and I were on a walk the other day and he was talking about how Rose is the best band-aid. I asked him what he meant and he went on to say that whenever he is hurt or sad, one kiss from her can make it all better. My heart melted and it brought back memories of my childhood dog, Kenzie…
she was such a wonderful dog and I am so thankful that my son has a friend that he can lean on when needed…
and go on adventures with.
‘A dog wags it’s tail with it’s heart’ ~ Martin Buxbaum
It also got me thinking about all of the animals that give so much meaning to our lives and the therapy dogs that allow people with handicaps to be independent. How lucky we are!
‘One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you’re feeling blue is that he doesn’t try to find out why’ ~ Unknown
‘Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms’ ~ George Eliot
‘The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.’ ~ Samuel Butler
Enjoy your day and give your special animal friend an extra hug today!
Stories from the Farm 
