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This spring has been so wet so far that the grass in the yard easily got away from us. We can usually put a pony or two in the yard and not have to mow. But it would take a herd of ponies to mow this down and that would be too messy. Even though I do have a herd of ponies, and they are so cute too. But anyway, take a look at this yard.

So, no mower, what to do? Well it is a big job so we get out the big mower.  The Ford 4000 mower. Well technically it is a tractor with a bush hog.

After it was all ready, he mowed and mowed, because our yard is so big we call it the football field.

There were spectators.

More than one.

And he mowed until the sun went down, but our yard turned out real pretty , and so was the sunset by the way.

My oldest son, the proud owner of this dear little calf, Hershey, decided he wanted to put the calf and her momma in the back pasture by the pond. But he was busy and so left for work, asking his little sister to take care of it. She puts the cows in and out all the time, so no big deal right? Well, the momma cow was cooperative enough. But dear little Hershey just would not follow her momma. If my cowboy son had been here he would have just picked her up. But she probably weighs about 85 pounds. And little sister weighs about 65 pounds, and I certainly wasn’t going to pick her up. So this is what we did.

For the longest time we pushed and pulled. That would have worked except that after every two steps, she just fell over. Like a fainting goat.

So we put this saucer thing, which is actually a lid to a sandbox under her before she fell.

And then we pushed and pulled some more. About 400 feet. It took awhile, a long while.

when we finally got her inside the right fence she laid down again, no doubt exhausted from all of our hard work.

And finally after the longest time momma and baby were re-united. I didn’t need to work out that day

The moral of the story? Don’t let cowboy son leave for work till all of his own work is done.

That is what the stallion was watching. And he was probably laughing too.

one fine day, in the early morning hours, we did the silliest thing as this stallion watched,

to be continued ……

Psalm 61:2
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Deuteronomy 30:9
Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers,

While I have been dreaming about gardens, and seeds and sprouts and daydreaming of spring, we have had the coldest weather in years! Temps blow zero and the windchill well below zero. That is not normal for middle Tennessee. We have survived without the water freezing and have been reasonably warm. Of course we had to faithfully feed the woodstove every two hours and keep it wide open, as opposed to shutting it down. Shutting it down means to close all of the air vents so it burn slower. Keeping it “wide open” means having the doors closed but all of the air vents open, more oxygen means a much hotter fire. We have gone through probably 3 times the normal amount of wood this year but have kept warmer.  I will post some pictures of our neighbors wood splitting invention.

Psalm 92:12
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

Sundays are a little different around here. Some folks like to think Sundays are a day to be leisurely, but in all reality that cannot be for everyone. Especially on a farm. Sure you cannot cook and go out. But the folks at the restaurant are still working. Sure you cannot do daily tasks but somebody is still doing them. A true Sabbath is good in thought but I think the Lord had a bigger plan than everybody sitting on their backsides all day. We have our church service in the afternoon, which is a whole lot less stressful than the Sunday morning deal. And I really like it that way. But before and after church, cows have to be milked, the horses fed, meals cooked and cleaned up after and children tended to. I think by “keeping the Sabbath” Jesus means to rest in Him. Everyday. He is our Sabbath.

I am so looking forwards to spring. We have a calf coming and some foals, and of course tons of barn kitties. I am longing to see some sun. And I really want to open the windows. It has been such a cold season.

Genesis 41:22

In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk.