Past Presents and Future

Today was a busy day.  Along with all our regular farm chores like cleaning barns, laundry, animals and cooking, I went to a charming baby shower today for Rebecca and her husband Kyle.  Such a beautiful young woman, with a peaches and cream complexion; largely close to a delivery date. The surprise was total, the food scrumptious, the gifts bounteous.  It brought to mind the early memories of my first of four pregnancies: how well I felt, how excited about the future.  Such occasions leave me misty eyed as I see my children grown, with full lives of their own.  It seems like yesterday they toddled around our home with rosey cheeks, full of laughter.  It makes me miss the hub-hub of those early years.  With my daughter Rachel also expecting, it brings home the mortality of life.  They bring to us what comes after; our legacy and future.  In the meantime, we go about our humble lives, only able to guess at the future laid before us.

Zayda, my right hand at the barn.

Zayda and Rudy

Bay Rising Sun AKA Mr. Studly

Zeb, the Man

Decisions, Decisions!

On deciding to write a blog, I have now the great difficulty of deciding what it is I want to blog about.  The last couple of days I have come up with more ideas I can shake a stick at.  Cooking? Farming? Kids? Family? Work? Animals, pet, livestock? Nature?  Its a dilemma! So, I have decided that I will blog about whatever comes to mind.


So, today was a good day.  It was sunny, I had a workshop to go to.  The workshop was amusing, thought provoking, but also given by someone who was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, so could with much ease of mind give great advise on how to succeed.  Really, I did enjoy it for the most part.  Unfortunately he spent quite some time using farmers as the "whining types about being broke" and of course, that the whole problem was farmers were emotionally attached to their work, therefore weren't realistic that their business wasn't working for them.  Okay.  That's when my hackles kind of rose to the occasion.  And then he tried to tell us that lots were parceled in 100 acre portions in the settlement days because thats how many acres a man could plow with his oxen.  OKAY.   He really lost me there.  Parcels of land were done this way: 

sq. chain = 66 ft. x 66 ft.	4,356 sq. ft.
1 acre = 10 sq. chains	43,560 sq. ft.
1 sq. mile = 640 acres = 1 section = 3,097,600 sq. yards
1 yard of land = 30 acres
1 hide of land = 100 acres
1 barony of land = 40 hides = 4000 acres An acre was originally the area a yoke of oxen could plow in a day- an acre, not 100 acres?  Certainly no one I have read or spoken to would believe that you could plow 100 acres with a team of oxen in a day.  As Grandpa used to say, on a good day with a good team of horses you might manage 30 acres. What is it with city people anyways? Thus I digress. You see, I really went to learn about selling, and business management for work, but got side tracked, insulted, and irritated as a farmer.  It's hard to leave my farmer badge at home some days. Or maybe stupid people just annoy me.

New Year, New Beginnings

Its a year down the road since I started this blog, and promptly spent no time working on it.  I have vowed that 2011 shall be a new beginning.
So much has happened over the last year.  Loss, life anew, stress, love and so much more.  I have to say, its been interesting. Watching my daughters' blog religously makes me envious of the shared joy in the lives they lead.  So rich, so interesting.  I have always been a closet writer; so here I am.

I will share the rhythm of seasons, the joys and sorrows of our small family farm.  The additions, losses and laughter that comes with living with the land.

Have patience and join me on my journey into Blogging.