New Years Thoughts

This is the time of the year people start making new resolutions for the new year. Since we moved to the Ozarks I have crossed off most of my resolutions, dreams and wishes. I lost weight, I ride horses, I live on a farm, I have a log cabin and I have more animals than I could wish for.

But personal quilting has fallen by the wayside. I just do not have the luxury of time to sit and sew inside the house. I can make charity quilts but not quilts for myself. I am outside most of the day and night. My husband suggested leather work. Since we have found so many saddles in need of repairs and I collect tooled leather. It would be nice to learn that craft and use it. Leather can be worked outside in between chores.

So in the new year my resolutions are to finally get our house unpacked, learn leather crafting, and keep on learning from my animals the joys of farm life.

Light snow

We had some snow this weekend but it melted. It was replaced by ice and frost all around the farm. A nice sparkly way to start the week.

Church Christmas Decorating

After mass last Sunday we stayed behind to help decorate our church for Christmas. I made 68 fabric adoorables to hang on the ends as pew markers. One of our church members is a retired florist and she stuffed all the hangers with holiday picks. We then set up the trees with white lights and gold tulle under the bases. The nativity is on the other side of the altar. The effect was simple and elegant. It went up fast with all the extra helpers. All the decorations were made by/from donations made by our parishioners.

Neat Holiday Tree

Here is a wall hanging donated to our local Senior Center. A local resident made this fabric art piece to hang in the main dining hall. It is very colorful and full of sparkly embellishments. A nice feast for the eyes.

Luna Go Round

Here is my husband trying to feed our two mares Luna and Dolly. Luna likes to walk around you in circles until you reach her bucket. Even though she is the last fed she makes the biggest production about it.

Ice Fog and our Car

When you have fog and very cold temperature drops, you get ice fog. It coats everything in moisture then freezes. Roads, sidewalks, plants, cars everything fog gets into or on gets coated in ice that stays if the temps don't rise. Makes the mornings tough when you have to use the car. We got this ice off with a scraper.

Dreaming About Christmas

Last year was our first White Christmas in the Ozarks. This year has flown by while having so many hats to wear. Farmer, vet, teacher, volunteer, wife, gardener, quilter and trainer. I find I am looking forward to some snow just to take a break and relax in the silence of the season. My husband and I are not giving each other any presents this year. We have all that we really want or need. It takes the pressure off of us. And it frees up our time so we can give to others. I think that is what Christmas is about.

Icy Day

Last night we had an icy fog roll in. This morning everything was covered in a thin coating of ice. It has made our deck and walkway very dangerous, so we stop anyone making deliveries to our door, too slippery. We put down sand, but that got iced over too. And our driveway is gravel and it is coated in ice. With it being overcast you can't see the shiny ice. Even the grass is iced over, so best to avoid fast walks. My hubby has ice cleats and that should help him get around. Where we must walk, we put down cotton rugs to give traction. Have to get the livestock fed; ice or no ice works gotta get done.

Christmas 2010 at our Old Mill

These are photos of our recent Summersville Mill Christmas cookie and craft sale. We offer donated cookies and crafts for sale with funds going to restore our towns mill. We need to oil stain the exterior of the mill and it will cost a lot. There is no heat in the old mill so we used propane heaters. We even had an Ozark cousin of Santa visiting to listen to children's wishes. As always the cookies and sweets were a big hit. If you are interested in helping fund our old mill or would like a tour, please contact us: http://summersvillemill.org/

Green Treat

We had the pleasure of eating a healthy veggie dinner at a friends house. Her latest foodie has been the green smoothie. She made up a batch for my husband and I. It was a neat and healthy treat. I great way to drink your collard greens and kale, all high in vitamins.

Snow Me Something Mister

This was the busiest Sunday to date. Got up at 7am to feed the neighbors 20+ horses in the snow, gusting winds and 20 degrees. I dumped ice, filled grain and water buckets and gave out hay. Then my hubby came by to crack the ice for the outside horses. Hoses were drained wound and put in a heated room. Then home to find hubby's lost glasses, found inside the house. Then off to church, lunch in town then grocery shopping. Then home to unload groceries, feed the chickens. Then starting the woodstove, feeding our horses and dogs. Dumping frozen chicken waters and adding heat lamps to large coop. But I did get to enjoy the first snow of the Ozarks. It was clean and light and dusted everything like sugar.

Hard Working Rooster

Here is our adult rooster watching over his hens. He is making sure his girls get some bread for a snack in the cold weather. He is at least 10lbs and is the biggest bird we have at the moment. He is a great rooster.

Hay Jig

When you have horses you need hay for the winter. We purchased a round bale and square bale to see which the horses prefer. This means making room for our 2 grass giants. And hay is heavy, it crushes the wooden palettes we use to move them. Hay can only be moved with a tractor. Never dull in the Ozarks.

What a Splitter can do

Using a borrowed antique splitter we were able to make a lot of firewood in a fraction of the time. Even though it leaked fluid we were able to knock out several logs. And after all that work, Daisy was able to enjoy the pleasure of heat from the woodstove.

Antique Log Splitter

This was a homemade antique log splitter when it was purchased 40 years ago. After it stopped working it was put in the barn and left there. Then we came along and offered to try to get it running again for our neighbor. The VW bug motor was removed and new hydraulics gave life through the tractor. The VW tires are rotted out and useless. So the splitter has to be moved using the tractors. The splitter worked again. We were able to use it for almost 2 days before the gaskets gave out. We will need to replace those and it will run again. It saved us hours of ax work and was so worth saving.

Wood out of the Woods

Here are photos from the trailer ride into the woods, hauling out trees, cutting downed trees and the finally result, firewood. We helped a neighbor clear up downed trees on his property. We both got several loads of wood to keep us warm this winter.

Dolly's Feet

After 6 months of working with the farrier he recommended we get x-rays for our mare's front hooves. Today both were done with the help of friends who have a trailer. And we can clearly see her hooves are not growing normally and the coffin bone is turned. She now has "rocker shoes" applied to her feet after x-rays we taken. We wait for the next 7 weeks. Then she will need a new set of x-rays for comparison. She got a shot of Bute for the pain and she was feeling good today. She will no longer be a rideable horse but she will grow old in our pasture. Meanwhile, her weanling, Maple, will be trained and rideable in 2-3 years.