Confessions of a "Farm Mama"

As promised yesterday, I'm here to update and share on our garden and chickens, amongst other things!  Let me start by telling you that if I were to lack the ability of being able to laugh at myself, I would not be able to do even half of what I do around here!  Perhaps that's been one of the most valuable lessons in Motherhood for me....to let go and laugh when all else fails!  You'd be amazed at the power such a small gesture can hold!  And on those days that everything seems to be falling apart around me, it's proven a most effective survival skill!  It's most priceless when you have three grouchy kids that stop in their tracks to look up at Mom with blank expression on their face and you just KNOW they think you've lost your mind!  And even more priceless, when the next sound I hear is the jingle of their laughter to replace the chaos just moment before!

There's nothing quite like one of those moments when one child is running around imitating jungle sounds, the phone won't quit ringing off the hook, somebody decides to experiment with markers as makeup, and on my way to the garden I step in doggie doo.......yes, this is an average day around here!  And I'm living proof that a burst of laughter is the best, and probably only cure for these frazzled nerve moments!

With that said....I have no problem sharing with you that I almost locked myself in the chicken house the other day!  Yes, I was the only one outside!  Yes, my only option would have been prayer while carefully planning an escape.  But thankfully, it was only an almost and I now know to stop the wooden latch from swinging before letting the door slam shut behind me!  So to reintroduce our much grown chickens and lonely duck, I leave you with the thought that they are probably very entertained by our daily antics.  If only we could see things from their view, I'm sure we could have our own comedy show around here! 

Now of course this isn't everybody, just a handful of our feathered friends.  Hmmm....on second thought, is it proper to refer to our future dinner as a 'friend'?  ;)  These birds are so much happier in their new home!  Can't wait to get them fully grown and have fresh eggs every day!

Here are two of our side beds, growing cantaloupe, watermelon, yellow watermelon, and cucumbers.  As you can see, I'll be spending some time this afternoon cleaning these up as they are in much need.  I've decided on a new household rule....Tommy is NOT allowed to fertilize right before he leaves for work, it is to only be done as soon as he comes home.  Once he fertilized, the garden has taken off like crazy!  And that includes the grass and weeds!  And yes, that is my new chicken house in the background....go ahead and laugh at the thought of me stuck inside of there with no escape!!!!

Don't be fooled by his good looks.....this here is the sneakiest cat in the Parish!  As to who he belongs to, it really depends on who you ask!  Tommy's Dad insists that this is his cat and we lured him up here with food.  Gracie will argue otherwise and the rest of us just love him amidst this ongoing custody conflict! ;)  Properly named Crip (short for crippled) by my father in law, this little fella' has one front foot he won't put weight on.  He's proven to be the sweetest thing, although he thinks he lives in my house.  I don't allow inside animals and I honestly can't count the number of times I've turned around to find this little guy in my house just relaxing or walking around like he owns the place!

Now let me find the little girl in all of you....excluding the men reading this that is!  Every time I look at these Pole Beans, images of Tinkerbell run through my head!  This just seems exactly like the Fairytale homes of every fairy from childhood past!  Gracie knew exactly what I meant the first time I mentioned it, as did Gena!  Just goes to show that we never outgrow those memories and pictures of our childhood!  There's a Scentsy scent that smells like my old Strawberry shortcake dolls.  And just like these beans, Gracie knew EXACTLY the smell I was talking about!  When I mentioned that it smelled like my dolls, she laughed and told me that it smelled just like her Dora dolls!

Our beautiful garden!  I can't explain how wonderful these plants make us feel!  So unbelievable that we've had a hand in something so awesome!

We're starting to see squash!  I really need to fill the Hummingbird feeders in hopes of more pollination.  And for the record, YES, we've considered beekeeping.  We'd have the honey and more production from our garden!

Two of our pepper plants.  These are such strong plants.  If I remember right, they're 'Chocolate Pablano' peppers.  I really need to do some research on what I can do with the peppers, other than enjoy how they look!

Our older tomato plants!  They're doing great!  And the others aren't far behind!  Tommy and I staked the smaller plants before he left for work and tying them up is on my agenda for this afternoon!

WOOHOO!!!!!  Look at these babies grow!  Can't wait to taste them!  First fried green tomatoes and Chow Chow to put up, then BIG RED juicy maters on my sandwiches and lots of cannin' to do!  We can't wait!

My baby girl and our pumpkins!  They've really taken off!

A good view of most of the garden!

Look at the new babies grow!  They're bigger every day!  Today I even saw one outside of this house!  Won't be long until they're running around!

Now isn't that the life???

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11-12

How much we take for granted the simplicity of this scripture and what it tells us.  Take a minute, look at these pictures, and realize just how awesome this is.  Most of our garden started from seed.  And soon we'll be eating the fruits it bears.  And all from a tiny seed.  Of course we've had to nurture, water, and feed these plants.  Not to forget that weeding out of the unwanted grass and such, along with thinning the plants for better growth.  Isn't all of that so much like life?  So much of this simple garden can be turned into a lessons on life.  God intends for us to see Him in these things, and to stand in awe of such wonderful creation!  Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

God Bless,

Jennifer