Happenings on the Homestead

                                                                        Rats!

Dear Friends,

Sorry to gross you out with the rat photo, but our cat thankfully caught this one in our garage, before it made its way into the house (eek!). We do have brown rats and wood rats in our area

Early spring is springing here in the Ozarks of Missouri! I honestly feel like I'm still recovering from Christmas, but it's time to start getting the garden in order and spending lots of time pulling weeds and preparing beds. We invested in a couple of fancy "garden towers" to hopefully have a place that chickens and cats can't get into, and deer and rabbits won't eat. Plus it will save my back from bending over!

I have also been going through my apothecary, sorting jars and bottles of tinctures, and consolidating and formulating them. The formula we use the most is "Being a Girl is Fun," a blend I came up with to help my girls with monthly menstrual cramps and hormonal woes. I have soooo many herbs! Every year I plan on getting a building made for them. Lord willing, this year will be the one! 

 

On Valentine's Day we indulged in some yummy chocolate treats, including chocolate-covered strawberries. I think I ate my years' allotment of chocolate in one weekend!

On Valentine's Day morning I slipped and ran my big toe into a board by the back door, so I have hobbling around, but still getting things done. Having a mortal body can be hard!  At least I tend to injure different body parts when I do, so they're not all out of commission at once.

Our Thanksgiving cactus has sure been putting on a show lately! The Christmas cactuses I inherited from my grandmother haven't bloomed at all this winter, so I was grateful to at least have a little color on the windowsill during the dull days outside.

The ticks are already out, along with the mosquitoes, flies, bees, hornets, and every other insect you can think of. Rebecca was stung on the shoulder by a bee whilst enjoying some fresh air. Such is nature!

I hope this finds you well, in whatever corner of the world you may be at the time. 

Love,

Marqueta

Christmas is Coming (Already!)

 

Dear Friends,

It's cold outside! Just when we thought that summer was going to hang on forever, Mother Nature decided to put the AC on. We even had a little bit of snow this week, which is unusual for this part of Missouri.

Two of my girls passed their learner's permit tests and are now able to work on receiving their driver's licenses. Once they're done with that, I will only have one child left to teach to drive!

We cleaned our front room and put up the little pre-lighted tree, along with the garlands for the stair railing, etc., last Saturday. It was very eye-opening to see how much clutter and dust had collected under the couch since the last time we cleaned (I will spare you photos). With us all so busy running here and there, thank goodness for Christmas to have a chance to deep clean!

Mr. Graham has spent quite a few weeks suffering from a bad cold and pneumonia, so he hadn't been able to meet our daughter Tasha's new baby Gideon. He was very happy when he could finally hold the little bundle of joy! Children are such a delight and blessing, even though they come at great sacrifice.

I hope that you are staying warm if it's cold where you are, and if you're in the Southern hemisphere, I hope you're staying cool!

Many blessings to you,

Marqueta

A Little Chicken Catastrophe on the Homestead

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Ozarks! I hope this finds you well.

The oak trees in our area have been getting diseases and dying. We had what looked like a nice healthy tree in our goat pen when we first moved in, under we were going to build a goat barn. Thank goodness we did not, because I noticed a few years ago that it was dying. It rotted quickly and I knew it was not going to be good when it fell.

One of the large trunks fell a while ago, crushing some of the fencing between the goat and chicken pen. Then this week, I had just gotten home from work and was washing the dishes when I heard a loud crash. Evangeline saw it from the upstairs window, and we both ran outside, fearing for the worst. Mercifully, the chickens were all still out in the yard, except for one hen that was broody in the nest box. 

 The nest box was completely destroyed, and the hen escaped with quite a few feathers torn off her breast and what looks like a dislocated jaw, but she seems to be doing all right. This chicken coop was the first one we built (with the grateful help of a few friends), and so was given the name "the old coop." Thankfully we do have other coops the chickens can sleep in until we can get it rebuilt.

We'll be heading to the building supply center soon for new lumber to replace the nest box, and sheet metal to replace the roof. The only dilemma will be, what do we call the "old coop" now? :)

Love,

Marqueta

We Have a New Home on the Internet!

Dear Friends,

Just popping in after a long absence to let you all know that I have a website for my herbal business, with a blog featuring stories and information about herbs and nutrition. The website is https://blossomandbirdsong.com/

I hope to see you there!

Love,

Marqueta

 

Midsummer Fun

Dear Friends,

Happy summer to you! We have been busy working in the garden, and keeping up with all the crazy places that the chickens are trying to make into nests!

 

 

We've been learning about bumble bees, and watching them make their way through all the flowers.

Fairy houses were made for Midsummer's Day. They were made festive with various flower petals and leaves.

This last picture is a swing made for the fairies' benefit. I'm sure they enjoyed it!

We hope that you are having a lovely summer, and we pray for those of you who are suffering from extreme temperatures. We know it must be hard!

Love,

Marqueta

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To Summer

William Blake - 1757-1827

O Thou who passest thro’ our vallies in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched’st here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy, thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.

Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o’er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy vallies, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our vallies love the Summer in his pride.

Our bards are fam’d who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.