Changes on the Farm

Farm life is exciting - but hard. 

Wednesday night we were out for a couple of hours. When we returned, our goats had jumped the fence into our neighbors yard... it's a 6-foot fence!

When we went to retrieve the goats, they had escaped the neighbors yard as well, and were gone. We haven't been able to find them - we no longer have goats.

Thursday Josh was able to get the garden planted. :) There is still room to plant more, and we'll probably add to the garden in the next few weeks. 

Saturday was raining on and off all day. Peter has been sick, and Saturday he took a turn for the worse. He wouldn't get up at all. We knew when we went to bed that he probably wouldn't make it through the night... Sunday morning when we got up, he was gone. This was the last picture I had taken of him - he'd been sick for a few days, and stayed curled up against the fence for most of the last week of his life.

Samson has grown tremendously. He loves to eat; he actually stands at the back door and moos when he's hungry, because he knows we come out of that door with the bottle for him. :) 

He gets so excited to eat his back legs shake! He will come when called - if Josh steps outside and whistles, Samson will trot over to him. 

Samson needs a new friend now; he looks pretty lonely in the backyard by himself. Josh wants to get him a puppy, but my heart is hurting right now. We'll get Samson a friend soon, but I need a few more days.

The farm is growing...

After getting our cows, one of our neighbors offered us a couple of goats. His daughter needed to downsize (she had 5 goats, and only wanted 2), so they were giving some away. The mama had just finished weaning her baby, so we were given both of them. :)

Bella - the mama

Thumper - the baby... he loves to climb on the paver stones Josh has stacked on the patio. Eventually, these stones will become part of a retaining wall... for now, they are Thumper's obstacle course.

Samson - he loves to play. :) As soon as Bella and Thumper entered the yard, he bounded over to meet the new animals and make friends... Bella was terrified, and still won't have anything to do with him. Poor guy.

We hope to plant our garden in the next week or so as well. The farm is well under way!

Baby Cows

We bought baby cows! Meet our calves:

Baby Peter - he's a feisty one! He is pretty reactive and responsive, and was the first of the two to take the bottle. He loves Crystal and I; Josh says it's our "woman scent". :)

Baby Samson - he's been a bit slower to take to the bottle; we were worried about him last night. Finally this afternoon he got hungry enough to eat. He has a bit of red in his coat (this picture was in the shade, so it's hard to see his coloring).

Josh feeding Samson

We're pretty excited!

The back yard has been prepared for planting (which will be our project in the next week or so). Now that the cows are here, our next goal is to build the chicken coop and get some chickens. :)

Welcome to the Davis Farm!

Grocery Shopping

I love grocery shopping. I know most people don't feel the same way; however, I love creating a menu plan and grocery shopping for the ingredients for my meals. I enjoy walking through the store and picking out produce, talking with those at the butcher counter and having them cut my meat, and comparing labels to find the right product that will help enrich the dish I intend it for. This weekend, I spent Friday late-night completing my meal plan, then Sunday afternoon grocery shopping. I am so excited for all the scrumptious meals I get to create over the next month!

Preparing to Move

Moving is stressful. I am trying to prepare as much as possible... Pack a few boxes each day, clean out rooms as we empty them, etc... But it is still stressful. Luckily, Josh is taking care of most of it. The goal this week is to get the keys to the house, rent a U-Haul van for two days, and knock it out.

The best part? The two days that Josh wants to rent the U-Haul are mid-week, and I will be working. So, the theory is that I can just show up at the new housed and unpack. I love the idea!

Wish us luck! My fingers are crossed that this move goes as smoothly as Josh has planned.

Once we are settled in, we'll post pictures of the house and yard!

Eating Out

We love eating out - it's a treat. Sometimes it's for convenience, sometimes because we're celebrating, sometimes just because we're craving something we've had somewhere before.

Last night we went out to dinner. It was fabulous food, but we sat at the restaurant, surrounded by the noise and chaos, feeling rushed to complete our meal so the people waiting in the entry area could sit and eat... and we realized that eating out has lost a bit of its luster. For as scrumptious as our meal was, I could have spent the same money at the grocery store on quality ingredients and created a meal at home that we could have enjoyed, slowly and quietly, and it would have been perfect.

I'm sure we'll still eat out from time to time. But, after last night, we'll think twice before we do! When we want a date night, we want time together - and we can do that at home, sharing in the meal preparation and then the meal itself, enjoying conversation and just being together, focused on the time we are able to share together.

Maybe our "eating out" treats will have to be soft-serve ice cream from our favorite shop down the street. :)

Quilting

Today I begin quilting lessons! A friend of mine creates gorgeous quilts, and offered to teach me the basics.

It started with picking my pattern. Not as easy as it sounds! Of course, my eye was drawn to the patterns that were really too complicated for me to attempt as a beginner. I wanted to pick something I knew I could finish. So, after 30 minutes of standing in the pattern aisle, I finally selected one that used strips instead of multiple pieces to create one block. 

Next, I needed to pick my fabric. This was also time-consuming; there were so many cute fabrics, but every time I picked one, I couldn't find enough that went "with" it to make my quilt. 

Poor Josh. He was at the craft store with me. We were there for almost 2 hours. 

With my pattern and fabric in hand, I headed to my friend Tracy's this morning. We ironed, cut, sewed, ironed, and sewed some more. After 8+ hours, my quilt is coming together beautifully!

I still need to finish the binding, but this was enough for today. 

I had so much fun! This is just the kind of relaxing project I can see myself enjoying on the weekend. I may have found my new hobby!