We were recently interviewed by a local paper. I hadn’t linked since I assumed this was a local “thing” but then I got a call from a woman in Oregon yesterday. Apparently it went out into the world a fair ways! The article is here.

The very nice woman wanted to pick my brain about income potential on the farm. At the moment I know more about feeding very cute, but not very fiscally advantageous, critters. I know about husbands who are working ridiculous hours and trying to squeeze fencing and farm chores into their spare moments. I don’t know so much about wildly successfull fulltime homestead ventures. I did get a great article from my friend Barb today, however, showing that there ARE folks out there making a profit in unexpected ways. Think a one acre rented garden plot. Think your backyard, minus sod. Think $56,000 gross income for one enterprising gentleman. I kid you not. It’s called Spinfarming and it is a variation of the intensive, square foot gardening concept.

While you are thinking of these farmers say a prayer for the Colorado ranchers battling grass fires tonight. As the sun set over the Peak tonight all we could see was a wall of red haze. Over a thousand acres have burned so far and they will likely be at this a while. Folks are being evacuated in more than one area.

Our mama cat delivered four healthy kittens last week. A couple of them are beginning to open their eyes today. If you are local they could be yours. Just say the word.

We have angels watching over us. We know that. It is not everyday that this even comes to your attention however. It came to ours this week. We were just winding down for the night and Allen happened to walk past the one window in the front of the house that faces the paddock. Good thing too because just as he did he saw first sparks, then flames, shooting up some feet from the ground.

The prospect of fire on the prairie strikes fear into one’s heart, especially this time of year. The first year we were out here we watched a March fire burn through several properties in a matter of minutes. For whatever reason we were all pretty collected, though you do some fast figuring. Do we have time to get the animals out of the barn? How long til it would hit the house? What if it goes east first and blocks the drive?

Fortunately none of those questions needed an answer this time. Allen was able to get right out to the little fire and between him stomping and the providential location – right near the water tank, right after evening chores so it was soggy, and no wind this night – there was no escalation. Turns out the cord to the tank heater fried and began to light up. It was such a blessing that we were home, such a blessing that the kids made a mess with the water buckets this night.

Still it was sobering and reminded us to go over our evacuation plan and do an exterior electrical safety check.

This makes for an unfamiliar sight around here:

Bottle feeding baby.  He is doing fantastically well on his second day here – feeding, running, bucking, tail a waggin’.

…I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee:

"We’re bringing home a baby Brown Swiss cow,
What’s our family gotten into now?
We’re bringing home a baby Brown Swiss cow…."

It has been a productive and contemplative break week. We have been discerning some changes around here for the coming months. Now is a good time of year to look at your home and school and do some tweaking.  What has worked well?  What could stand some adjusting?  Are you fired up about the new year or do you feel like you are jogging in water?  Now is the time to take stock and work out some resolutions to make the new year incredible. Hope to share our version soon.

The snow that is. ‘Cause that’s one of those things that pretty much will whether you ‘allow’ it or not isn’t it? We got our first dump on Sat/Sun. It was actually good timing. It coincided with the first days of complete and total wellness for our bunch. We spent ALL of Sunday afternoon sledding. Not the downhill variety mind you since we have no slopes for that. This was more due to the good fortune of my children having an incredibly indulgent father who is really a big kid himself.

Monday Allen and Asher left in the wee hours for the airport for a short trip. We headed into town to stock up before the next batch of snow which we expected last night. (and therefore canceled our evening activities) The snow itself held off for a few hours but it was just as well. We had a series of unfortunate events, not uncommon to rural living. Should you ever wistfully swoon over a romanticized vision of ranch life let me describe a typical winter day in our life. : )

We canceled piano and scouts as I said, and rather reluctantly because we missed the last few weeks due to the creeping crud.  And we have recital this weekend. It’s one of those things. If we had stayed in town then certainly the snow would have started mid-lesson and we would have skated home with the four wheel drive vehicle unavailable. Since we canceled, the snow held off. Luck of the draw.

The kids began barn chores while I was unloading groceries. We realized how vital Asher is to our manual labor equation. We had to pair up to lift the giant cooler out of the van, to move the frozen water buckets,and to convince the buck he wanted to be inside. Yet do those things we did. (You wouldn’t have expected to have to convince a creature to be inside when it is 13 degrees would you?) Aidan ran in to report a dead hen. She was a victim of the cold and poor judgement apparently and not from foul play, no pun intended. Alannah took that fairly well. We all (children included) sort of whisper that type of news then close our eyes and cross our fingers that she will not come unglued. She raised this batch and has strong feelings about poultry. Aidan, in his best "I am a very big man" voice, further volunteered valiantly to remove said chicken to the dumpster. I kept my composure and nodded in agreement that this would be a splendid service for him to perform. Inside I was doing back flips and making another mental note of how much we miss Asher.

The temperature was dropping rapidly since the wind kicked up so Alannah and I set to work getting the shop light set up in the well pit.  This is one of those crucial tasks that mean the difference between running water and a second mortgage to the plumber.  We got the cords unrolled and the light to the pit then wrestled with the big wooden lid and again sighed thinking fondly of dear Asher. The whole ordeal would have been much better done in daylight but such is life. Between us we slid the cover over enough to realize there was water rapidly filling the well pit. Should you not have a well pit, let me explain that this is where the machinery that pumps the water from the pipes in the ground into the buildings resides. There is a pump and a huge pressure tank and enough electrical do-dads that you would really prefer NOT to see water in the same space. Not outside the pipes anyway.

After a quick phone consult with my dear husband we went to check the cistern. The cistern is a huge holding tank which protects us from variations in water pressure which can be a problem in semi-arid locations. It has a sensor which calls for water from the well when the water level drops to a given point. Apparently the sensor had been stuck on ON and continued to call for water until it overflowed. This was actually a relief. We kicked off the sensor and quickly dumped little boys into baths and ran laundry which served the dual purpose of running the water down and getting everyone clean should the power kick off later.

The wind kept up all night alerting me to the need for more weather stripping on the upstairs storm door which sounded eerily like a tea whistle for many, many hours. I know this because Tess is cutting one year molars this week. I am fairly certain that teeth erupt only after dark. The combination of tea whistle and baby dancing can make for odd twilight sleep and odder dreams.

Alas it is morning now. Time to make the donuts as my mother used to say. People are up and scurrying around and so must I. We were scheduled to take our new doe in to the vet for her exam but I suspect we will reschedule that once more. What I most wish for is to curl up on the couch and read Hillyer to the children over hot chocolate. Just as soon as the milking is done….

….you see your cow has escaped again so you and your ten year old rig up a fence wall that rivals Alcatraz.

…cow cannot escape Alcatraz but pony breaks INto same (why??)

…free the pony

… go back in the house and make chicken soup because everyone is sick

…realize that now YOU are getting sick

…go to milk the goats, feed chickens, and notice aforementioned cow has escaped from Alcatraz

…fever now approaching 101

…send cow to the barn for the night/day/til dh comes home/someone makes an offer on cow (you don’t care which at this pt)

…carve pumpkins, make hot chocolate, get everyone in jammies, congratulate yourself that the herbal remedies have the children in good shape

…sink into the hottest tub you can fill, making little groaning/complaining sounds and wondering if death is soon to follow

…open eyes for a spit second and see little green flecks floating in the water?   Maybe you really ARE dying?  No, wait.  It’s teensy bits of hay. ; )

Guess I am a hayseed now.
Honey-man, I hope you find that as attractive as I find your Carhartt jacket lol!   Make that flight a snappy one or they will have erected a headstone in my honor……

Lots of interesting things happening in our world, and not all of them viral : )   Give me a day to recover and we will fill you in.

The first snow blew over the plains yesterday. I stood at the kitchen window mixing venison sausage for breakfast watching it fall.  When the grass was frosty you could see the outlines of the jackrabbits clearly as they bounded over the field. We normally miss them unless they are very close since they blend into the buffalo grass so completely.

The little boys are ready for winter. Moira needs some warmer skirts and boots. Her mom does too. Tess is ready for church shoes. Plans for Christmas decorating are already floating through my head. Fall is going way too fast isn’t it? I am trying to savor every second.

To that end I hung around Susan Branch’s site this weekend and played with some watercolors.  We are also going to mess around with the bag of pinecones we picked up before the snow ruined the rest of them. I read you should heat them at 250 for 20 min to kill any bugs inside and open them nicely so that will be our first step. Next we plan to wind floral wire around their bottoms and fix them to either a foam or wire wreath frame. I think we can repurpose one of the rapidly multiplying wire hangers for that.

We also have some fall leaves pressed into a book to use for setting our Thanksgiving table.  Susan suggested (dont miss the Country Living link here for lots of ideas!) a simple napkin fold with a single leaf atop as a place card. She wrote the names in gold pen. Very simple, very lovely.  That sums up my vision for the coming months.

We begin our round of appts today and Allen has some extra work "stuff" over the next few weeks complicating things. This is not what we shoot for, just an unhappy convergence of to-do’s. It is ironic coming on the heels of the Down to Earth blog exercise. Allen says it’s ok – it reminds us what we do NOT want to do and helps us keep our goals in clear focus.  Still, we have to get through these weeks. So, we are keeping lots of things simple but special.

Our school year has been chugging right along nicely despite these interruptions. The older children are following a modified Robinson curriculum style schedule and have read a nice chunk of lit this month. We are using their writing exercises for grammar practice and all in all I am well pleased with their progress. This plan, along with their Montessori cards and notebook pages, has meant that school can carry on smoothly even when life calls. What a blessing!  It reminds me how very simple learning can really be. Good books, good friends, good music, good art supplies, and lots of time outdoors. 

I hope fall is treating everyone as well. : )

We got some better shots of the antelope when they came up to the fence by the backyard this week:

Brendan was transfixed until they ran off.