What do you think?

I am so sorry about not posting for more than 2 months! I will try try try to post more often now! I was pretty deeply involved in my church's Christmas play, so life was busy! :) Last night I was thinking, (you know, when you're trying to go to sleep but your brain decides to deeply contemplate life?) should I do a vlog? I might. Just might. :)

October!

Farm fresh eggs - nothing better. :)

Dandelion - a buff orpington, trying to blend in...and succeeding!

L - Bagheera, black sex link, R - Natalie, production red.

Merida, black sex link, full of personality!

Happy Fall!

 

Today is the official first day of Autumn! The leaves are changing, school is well underway, and the temperature cools. This Summer has been one of the best! Making new friends, getting closer to others, it's been awesome. Here are a few fun facts from my summer -

Best memory - Probably Mission Arkansas, a mission trip with my church's youth group to Arkansas. I had so much fun and grew so much in Christ.

 

Garden fun - The most we ever harvest from our garden in one day - 33 cucumbers, 66 jalepenos, 102 ground cherries, 3 gallon buckets of tomatoes, and 3 gallon buckets of green beans. We did LOTS of canning! :)

 

One new thing I tried - herb gardening. I loved it!

 

Things I am doing this fall - I am involved in my church's Christmas play (first practice October 5th! It can't come fast enough!) And being involved in American Heritage Girls. AHG is basically girl scouts with a Christian focus - I will post more about it later!

 

Everybody have a GREAT day, week, and fall! If you have any requests for posts - recipes, art, crochet patterns, pictures of my animals, or how I manage my many animals, comment below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Man

My main man, the one and only....Elmo. Yup. Elmo the rooster. It just fits. :) He is a bantam golden sebright with WAY to much attitude!

Eggs!

This shows the variety of eggs I get everyday! The green one on the far right is a "normal" sized egg.

Ouch!

I was playing with my cousins on Sunday evening at a family gathering and hurt my foot. Mind you, I'm one of few girl cousins and all of my cousins play football - it isn't hard for me to get hurt!!! I didn’t think it was anything more than a strained muscle until today when our chiropractor expressed her concerns that it might be a stress fracture. We are going to monitor it and see if it gets worse. If it doesn’t feel any better by Wednesday I am going to go to the doctor and have it checked out.

Mint Ice Tea

What is more perfect on a hot summer day then a ice cold glass of sweet mint tea? Not much! This is a recipe from a family friend...easy, simple, and delicious!

• 4 cups of water
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 cups of fresh mint (Spearmint, Peppermint, Chocolate mint, whatever. I used spearmint and chocolate mint here.)

Bring the water to a boil and stir in sugar until dissolved. Steep the mint leaves* for 8-10 hours and strain. Thats it! This makes a concentrate. 1 cup of concentrate to 4 cups of water. You can freeze the concentrate for later!

*Use only the leaves. Stems make it bitter.

Strawberries!

We picked 25+ quarts of strawberries in 57 minutes, hulling, cleaning, and bagging them in an hour for 13 gallons of berry goodness!

New birdy!

I picked up a budgie (AKA parakeet) friend for Pepe - (Pep-ay). His name is not yet been decided upon...I am thinking of Rio! Top pic is Rio and the bottom is Pepe - who is SO excited to have a friend!!!

Birding

Yesterday was a beautiful day! Sunny and warm with little wind. I decided to go birdwatching and brought the camera along. :) I saw robins, chickadees, rock doves/pigeons and northern flickers! I am trying to learn how to identify birds by sound...the best way is to listen for a sound and look for the bird that is making it! I spent about a half an hour trying to find a woodpecker just by it's woodpecking...finally found it! It was a male northern flicker looking for lunch. :) I also got some good pictures of some Rock Doves...Doves are one of my favorite birds! There are 2 pairs that nest in our hay barn that always fly away whenever people come near...I climbed on top of they bales and waiting for them to come back, which they did, but they flew back out before I got a picture of them and didn't come back. I am going to try again sometime soon.

 My favorite picture...

 Hello kitty. :)

Happy Easter!

Luke 24:1-7 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed dow...n with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

He is risen!

Chocolate Muffin in a Mug

This is one of my favorite breakfasts EVER!

1 Egg

3 Tbls Flour

1 Tbls Cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbls water

1 Tbls oil (I use coconut oil.)

Sugar or sweetener of your choice. I use 1 Tbls.

Mix 1 egg in a coffee mug. Measure rest of ingredients into mug and combine SUPER WELL! Microwave for 1 minute - 1 minute 20 seconds. I prefer mine more well done. My sister likes it more wet and gooey on the outside. Top with redi whip and enjoy. :) I  like to have a couple pieces of turkey bacon for some extra protein. Speaking of protien - I sometimes substitute 2 Tbls of the flour for whey protein powder for an extra boost.

Crocuses are up!

YAY! Spring is coming!

For the Love of Flowers...

I want warm spring weather and flowers...so I painted a rose bush. :) I painted from a reference picture because I haven't painted with acrylics for a LONG time, and I'm not very good at them. I wasn't going for an exact replica, though it is pretty close.

 <---Reference Photo

 <--- Mine                

Spring = Tulips

I cannot wait for spring! These are last years tulips. I dug up these bulbs and some others and, along with some new ones, replanted this flower bed! The chickens, however, got to digging, unearthing, and mixing up the bulbs, so we shall see what grow where!!!

Quote

"If you don't have time to pray and read scriptures, you are busier then God ever intended you to be." ~ Unknown

I printed this out on a little note card and stuck it on my mirror. It reminds be to put God FIRST!

CHICKS!!!

I got 8 new chicks today!!! I am not sure of the breeds of any of them - I got 4 assorted brown egg layers and 4 assorted bantams

Science!

One of my favorite school subjects is science. This week, I am learning about how animals/people/plants make energy! I did an experiment on combustion -

The middle A in GAA

These are a couple of my drawings - the last is entered in an art contest.

Happy March!

March 1st - 2 degrees, -17 wind chill and light snow. I want spring! Today I found a container of bulbs I had dug up this spring while replanting a flowerbed. I have no idea what type of flower it is - I didn't plant this particular bed, and the bulbs in question were too far down to grow. I found a bulb in the container that had sprouted a tiny bit. I planted it today in a pot and am eager to see what this little guy will grow into - it's like many of us - it has the ability to sprout and flourish - but it doesn't know what to grow into! With a little bit of help and nourishment...we can find out.

Today I'm doing...Feb 26

Today is FREEZING cold! All the animals are cuddled up in the barn while I am under blankets crocheting. I am working on this - Simple Chain Infinity Scarf - while watching the birds. When it gets a wee bit warmer I will go out and snap some photos of my animal family to show you. :) What are YOU doing today?

Me, the GAA Girl

GAA stands for, "God, Art, Animals." Those three things are the things I love most in life. I was contemplating being the GAAFF Girl but that doesn't quite sound or look right. :) So let me just tell you that Family and Friends are right up there too! I am a teenaged girl who lives on a farm. I have 16 chickens, 7 cats, a parakeet, and a turtle. I want to be somewhat of a homesteader someday. My dream goes like this - chickens and ducks for eggs and meat, goats, and/or possibly a cow for milk, one or a few LGD(s) for protection and pet, cats for mice, and any other critter that happens my way. :) I plan on raising them as organically as possible. I would also love a garden! Maybe not one to provide me with things year round but one to at least to give me fresh fruits and veggies for the summer at at least some to freeze and can. Of course, a husband and children (who I will homeschool) fits in there somewhere too. :) A big dream, but I hope some of it happens! We will see what God has in store for me, my dream or His, which when I learn of it will become mine too!