Neat Things You Find on a Simple Walk

Each morning I wake about 6 am and walk out to the barn to do chores.  It involves feeding the dog and cat, chickens, goats and cows, opening up nesting boxes and making sure the water troughs are full of water.  I get the pitch fork and scoop up some piles of cow poop and throw it in piles on the wood chips that are stacked in the back of the garden.  I also check the round hay bale in the hay ring and make sure the bull and goats in the bull pen have hay to eat.  

As I walked back by the garden something caught my eye that was glittering in the morning sun.  Check it out!  Overnight, a spider had done a magical job of constructing an ornate spiderweb.  The dewdrops decorate the strands of web like jewels.  The intricacy of the web is amazing to me.  How long does the spider labor to build out this detailed structure?  No plans, no blueprints, no building codes or permits paid.  No YouTube video to learn how to do it.  Nope, God gave them the ability to do this wonderful craftmanship.  To top it off, the spider built this web at night!  After a few hours, the dew will burn off and the web will be almost invisible, allowing a fly or other insect to fly into the web and end up being supper for the industrious spider.

Next, I walked out to check on the four bee hives.  It's been warm in the mornings the past few days and the bees are active early, flying to the sasanqua camelias which are in full bloom to gather pollen and nectar to bring back to the hives.  In just a couple of months we'll be splitting the hives, hoping to turn four hives into eight.  It's good that the bees are building up their stores so they'll be ready to grow out come springtime.

While walking to the hives, I stopped at the base of an old willow tree that had died.  About six or eight months ago, I cut off the top and made a cross in the back yard.  It has since fallen apart, but the upright part of the cross still stands.  Dead willow trees are famous for their perfect environment that oyster mushrooms love to grow on.  And what do you know?  On this particular morning, there was a HUGE oyster mushroom feeding on the base of the decomposing willow tree.  I just had to cut it off and bring it inside.

Tricia washed it up and cut it into pieces.  It would go perfectly in the dish she was planning on cooking that evening - Shrimp Victoria.  Here is the recipe, if you're interested: Shrimp Victoria Recipe  We ate it over rice, but it goes equally well over pasta.  Those succulent gulf shrimp, accented by the fresh oyster mushrooms from the back yard was the perfect meal!

What We Do When Our Cows are Dry

We mentioned a few posts ago that all of our cows are dry.  We've no fresh milk.  A veterinarian came and palpated our cows to find that LuLu is two-month's pregnant and should be calving somewhere around July 2026.  With no cows currently in milk and the fact that we have dried up our goats from which we were getting fresh goat milk each day, a big question arises.  What do we do about milk for personal use?

In today's post, I'll show you.  Fortunately for us, we have good friends with cows in milk.  It is from these friends that we borrowed a bull to breed our cows.  Our little bull, Nicky, came from these friend's bull, Nick, that we brought to our farm to breed the cows.  Back to the story - these friends are 8.8 miles due north from us.  They have a PMA (Private Membership Association) that affords members to access directly farm products produced on site.  

These folks are wonderful Christian people and do things the right way.  Come along with us as we pick up a gallon of milk this week.  We put an ice chest in the back of the vehicle and in less than 10 minutes, we arrive at Grace Ranch.  They have a very nice building for members to pick up the many products they produce off their farm.

As we walk inside, everything is clean and orderly.  There are three coolers and freezers on the east wall loaded with fresh offerings: Eggs, kombucha, raw milk, raw cream, yogurt, broth, chocolate milk, and beef products.  No one is in the store.  It's honor system.  There's a notebook where you log the jars you return, the products you're picking up, and the amount of cash you're leaving.

A receipt taped to the jars details what's being held for you.  This week we have two half gallon jars of 100% Jersey milk waiting for us:

A professional label lists the product, the size, and (I like this!) the name of the cow providing this week's milk (Molly, in this case) and when it was produced.  It doesn't get much fresher than this!  Except, of course, when our Jersey cows are in milk.

As we leave, there's a posting of what Harvest of Grace stands for and their commitment to the families they serve:

Top-notch people producing quality products for local families interested in real food.  We support them and will continue to do so until sometime in July when LuLu calves and we are back in milk here at Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.  So what do we do when our cows are dry?  Well, we feel blessed to have friends that we can source raw milk from while our cows are not in milk production.  

Merry Christmas From Our Maker's Acres Family Farm

On Christmas Eve, most of our family was able to get together at my Mom & Dad's house.  The video below that lasts less than three minutes shows our family tradition.  It's a special time of recognizing the importance of Jesus, the One whom Christmas is all about.  As we listen to Luke 2 and the story of the birth of Christ while among family members we love, it underscores the fact that it's not what's under the tree, it's who is gathered around it.

We wish you the merriest of Christmas' and that you were able to enjoy the day with those you love.  Thank you Lord for sending your Son.

Poor Little Tree

Charlie Brown's Christmas tree was a sad little tree.  All bent and scrunched over.  Sad looking and pathetic...

It kind of reminded me of our satsuma tree.  In its defense, the satsuma tree is a very young tree, but today when I went out and picked the four satsumas off of it, I thought of Charlie Brown's tree as they sort of look similar.

In years past, we had a navel orange, a satsuma, a lemon, and four tangerine trees.  But unusually cold winters with temps down in the single digits demolished, obliterated, and decimated all of our citrus except for the navel orange and the new satsuma tree.  

I was thinking back to the times where we would pull all the fruit off the trees and make marmalade and freeze gallons of fresh-squeezed tangerine juice and eat delicious oranges.  Unfortunately, those days are gone...  for a while at least while we get some new citrus trees in the ground to make up for those we lost.  Almost as sad looking as the little satsuma tree is, is the sum total of the harvest off that tree:

Slim pickin's indeed!  I did purchase a Blood orange tree, a Meyer lemon tree and another satsuma tree that I'll be putting in the ground this spring.  Maybe next year our citrus harvest will be larger than four satsumas!

The Light of the World

This morning we had a meaningful service at our little country church.  It's a tradition we've done for quite some time.  We call it the "Lighting of the Tree."  We have a normal Morning Worship Service, with Bible Study, singing of old hymns and carols, prayer and a message.  This morning's message was on Luke 1 beginning in verse 26 when the angel Gabriel was sent to announce to Mary about her being chosen to give birth to the Christ Child.  The angel told Mary, "The Lord is with you."    He went on to tell her the great news that she, a virgin, had been chosen to give birth to the Messiah.  Mary, of course, had lots of questions.  Before leaving, the angel told her, "With God, nothing is impossible!"

At the end of the message, the lights are dimmed and a big candle on top of the tree, representing Jesus, is lighted.  600 years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah was speaking to Israel.  Due to their idolatry and unbelief, they had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians.  They were in dark times.  Isaiah had hope, though:

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.  The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.  Isaiah 9:1-2

In Matthew 4:12-16 we see Jesus' inauguration of His ministry fulfilling this prophecy.  Jesus had many "I AM" statements: I AM the Good Shepherd, I AM the way, the truth, and the life, I AM the gate, I AM the Bread of Life, I AM the resurrection and the life.  One other I AM statement was Jesus saying, "I AM the Light of the World."

The theme of Jesus as the Light of the world is prominent in New Testament Scripture: 

• John 1:4-5
• John 8:12
• John 9:5
• John 12:46

Jesus was truly the Son of God and came to the world to save sinners.  In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus gives the believer a challenge for the ages!  Go shine your light before men.  Illuminate the darkness.  Live lives that point to Jesus.  Be intentional about shining your light.  Give all glory to God.

At the conclusion of Scripture reading, our church family is invited, one by one to come to the front and light a candle to represent the light of Jesus living within believers and a commitment to shine our lights for Christ.

It is a quiet time, a reflective time as the candles on our tree are lit, one by one, as the piano is softly played.

The tree was constructed by the father of the gentleman in the photo above many years ago.

Even though our church is small, it took quite a while for everyone to get their candles lit.  There was no rush though.  It was a peaceful, worshipful moment.

One thing important about a light, if you take a lighthouse, for example.  The light keeps people from being shipwrecked onto the rocks.  The light also gives guidance so that those who are lost, may find their way home.

Jesus is that perfect Light!  Shine, Jesus, Shine.  May we shine for You in all we do.

The Christmas Cactus Parable

We've had a Christmas cactus that has never bloomed.  It just sits there and looks very... cactus-like.  Christmas comes and Christmas goes and nothing happens.  Until this year.  We tried remembering to water it.  We moved it to various spots in the house.  Finally, we placed the cactus on the back patio and noticed that the cactus suddenly looked healthier, better, and happier in this spot.  Right around Thanksgiving, the cactus started to get red buds on the tips, and then the thing erupted in beautiful blooms.

This photo shows the progression of small bud to the brilliant-red bloom!  Legend has it that the Christmas cactus got its name when a little boy from Brazil prayed to God requesting a break from the heat and humidity of the jungle.  On Christmas Day, the boy exited his hut to find the jungle around him filled with red blooms of the Christmas Cactus overnight.

The Christmas cactus that for so long sat dormant, sullen, and moribund has made a dramatic turn for the better!  We stop by and peer out the french doors and admire it's blooms often.

So it is with people, with events, with dreams, hopes and wishes.  For so long things look unchanged in situations in your life.  People and events look hopeless.  Sometimes things go on like this for what seems like ages.  But you don't give up.  You must have patience.  Try new things, places and changes of scenery.  And then one day...  Then one day, unexpectedly, you're met with blooms and happiness!  May your Christmas be merry and bright and filled with blooms and happiness. 

The Mobile Vet

Tricia called Dr. Chip, the Mobile Vet, to make a farm call and palpate the cows.  We have the bull in a separate pasture because he's dangerous.  When we see the cows coming into heat, we put them into the bullpen with the bull and let them get amorous.  Over the months, they have come back into heat, meaning that they were not bred.  We don't know what the problem is.  Perhaps the bull is not "hot."  Maybe there is a problem with the cows.  We wanted to get those issues addressed.

The veterinarian arrived and Tricia got the three cows isolated in the barn and in the head gate so that the vet could put on his rubber gloves and palpate.  First up was Rosie.  Rosie is eighteen years old.  The vet said she is NOT bred, but is still cycling, meaning she COULD still get pregnant.

Next up was Elsie.  Elsie is a beautiful heifer.  She is also A2/A2, so is highly sought after.  Up to this point she has not calved.  Another vet on a previous farm call, removed a cyst from her ovary.  She came into heat after that.  The Mobile Vet said that there was fluid and a fetus that the body would absorb and then she'd go into heat again.  So she DID get bred but lost the baby.  The vet thinks we should get rid of her, but we want to try just one more time.

The final was LuLu.  He palpated LuLu and said that she is two months' pregnant.  So she'll be calving in the heat of summer in July 2026.  Summer is not the opportune time for calving and milking, but we'll take what we can get.

LuLu is two months pregnant

So we know that Nicky, the bull, is fertile and will continue putting him and Rosie and Elsie together when they go into heat in hopes that we can get them all bred.