Introducing....

our new additions to the ranch!

Dad bought two little calves. He was hoping to start a herd, but accidentally bought 2 males. Oops! The one on the left is Butter and the other is Honey. Yep, we named them - still gonna eat em.

He has the 2 cutest ranch hands who go every morning and evening to help him feed and water the "herd"! I need to take a picture of them in their boots out there gettin dirty!

First harvest

When we moved to "the country" one of my visions was to have a huge vegetable garden with fruit trees and vines. I'm not a hippy or an extreme environmentalist, but it really makes me happy to grow my own food. Reality struck however, and its just not possible to spend a lot of time in the garden. I have 4 kids - 4 young kids. I spend most of my time meeting their basic needs of survival. However, Joe did manage to dig 2 beds for us - 4' by 12' or 16', I can't remember. So I've filled these beds with transplants and seeds and praying that something will survive with little maintenance. So far, the crop that's growing the best is the clover. Nope, didn't plant clover. It seems to be the weed of choice around here. But there are a few plants growing out there as evidenced by the picture of my cute husband and oldest daughter holding the radish. It was a good radish too!

As a side note for those who are interested in gardening - We have a lot to overcome here. It is extremely windy and there are no neighboring houses to shield the garden from the winds. Also, the old dude who lived here before us was a big fan of Round-Up and he used it in agricultural strength and quantities. He seriously used it as his weedeater. He would spray a foot wide section on both sides of the fences and all around the perimeter of the house. I'm a believer in soil health and that stuff is just bad. So I've been doing a few things to help heal the soil like using Garrett juice and molasses for fertilizer.

I'm hoping to get out there and take a picture of current state of the garden. Right now I have tomatoes (sickest looking plants ever!), one red bell pepper plant, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, brussel sprouts, broccoli, red cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard (looking good! that stuff is easy!), spinach (not doing good, must be too hot), and a few lettuces.

Joe and I recently celebrated our anniversary and on that trip we bought a few plants for our family. We bought Mom 2 blackberry vines to say thanks for watching the kids, we bought 20 strawberry plants for fun and 2 blueberry bushes for each other. The blueberry bushes are going to be an experiment as they really need acidic soil and I have no idea the pH of our soil here. We actually managed to plant the strawberry bushes and they are taking off! Its nice to see one thing doing well out here.

Anyway, thats probably way too much information, but I will enjoy going back and reading it in the years to come.

We've Gone Country

LOOK AT THEM BOOTS!

(can you hear Alan Jackson in the background?)

ha ha, I found these cute baby boots at a resale store for a few bucks and couldn't pass them up.

BUT...

It's official! We are moving to the country! We closed late this afternoon and celebrated with a picnic dinner out at our new ranchita. (don't know what to call 12.81 acres, seems a little too small to call it a ranch) The sellers will be moving over the next few weeks, but we are looking forward to moving in mid-August. Anyone want to help?

Its been quite a roller coaster since we found this property 4 months ago. Three appraisals, two lenders, one lawyer, some easements, and many renegotiations later - its ours! Its not your typical property, some may even call it ugly, but to us its a diamond in the rough! Well its not even that rough, but there is so much potential here. More details later, but here are some pics from our evening.