George's Big Buck

George got his first deer late this afternoon and it is a BIG buck!

I have learned that men want to know all the details......the weight, how many points, how long, how thick, how did you shoot it......, just like a woman wants to know all about newborn babies........what's the name, the weight, how long, how was the labor........

So, for you men......George and I were sitting out at the edge of the farm lane, George sitting on a chair with gun propped up beside him.  I was standing behind him glancing through a magazine and the dog was roaming all around the area.  We were back there for about 15 min. all the while surveying the hill in front of us and not sitting still at all.  All of a sudden we both saw 6 deer way up on the hill.  He slowly lifted his gun and handed me a pair of binoculars.  He studied them through his scope and me through the horrible pair of binoculars.  He sees horns (I see none) on the first deer, looks at the second deer and sees bigger horns (I think I see little ones) and tells me he is going to shoot!  Shoot he did - 150 yds - and the buck immediately dropped!  We ran/walked/puffed up the hill!  As we approached the deer, he tried to get up.  Who wouldn't if you had a dog nipping at your back end!  George shot him again and finally got a good look at the rack.  A 10 point with a 20" spread!  What a whooping and hollering went on!   His first shot hit the buck in the backbone, his second shot in the chest.  Let's see, any details I missed?  :) 
What a grand experience!   So fun and exciting!

Until next time. . . . . . . .

Resurrection of Mr. Dumpy

Announcing from the Weidenhammer farmstead, and not that lush, sunny island somewhere, that Mr. Dumpy is up and running!  He hated the word "junkyard"!  Hee! Hee!  Something (don't ask me what they call it) was broken - something connected to the clutch.  Should be good for another 100,000 miles!  There is a crew of very happy and relieved men.  We certainly aren't rich farmers, but only in paper money.  We have so much to be thankful for and so many blessings that shower down upon us that have nothing to do with money.  Some of those blessings, or maybe I should say many of those blessings, come to us through hardships like broken down equipment and imperfect circumstances.   So... "Thank you, Lord, for the roses, but thank you more for the thorns." 

Until next time . . . . . . . . . . .

The Squirrel, Pork, and Dump Truck

First of all, for you who have read the post on freezing broccoli without blanching.......don't try it!  It's not worth being a rebel over!  The taste is too strong and with broccoli, that is NOT a good thing! 

The other day I was up in the milk house cleaning up and George comes in from the barn.  He told me that he heard this guy talking about evolution and how we all evolved from squirrels and he (George) believed him, for he is living proof!  What a squirrel!  The resemblance is definitely the blue duster tail! :)

Back in March, we bought 2 "composters" who have been thoroughly enjoying food scraps from our home as well as scraps from my mom and sister.  This Spring, Dave and boys had turned our chicken trailer in a pig hut.  This "hut" was originally up on a flat bed wagon, enclosed in wire with nesting boxes and ramps for the chickens to find their way down to pasture.  We had gotten rid of the chickens and needed something to "graze" the pigs in, so the hut was renovated.  We put the piglets-turning-into-hogs back in a field of turnips and every day they get pulled ahead onto fresh turnip greens.  The end of their lives is fast approaching and we will reap the benefits of pastured pork.  Hungry yet?  Can't you just taste that fresh sausage? 

The dump truck......oh, the wonderful, terrible dump truck......

We do not raise our own silage, but depend on neighboring farmers to supply it for us.  This year,  it is cheaper for us to run and pick some up every other day and since we have a dump truck, we did not think it would be that big of a deal.  Well, I guess the dump truck did, so it decided to be rebellious.  It didn't run right, so Ben replaced air hoses, spark plugs, etc..  Ran for a short time and then stopped starting all together.   After a week of fragmented time trying to find whatever was wrong with it, talking to several different mechanics, installing new battery, new ignition - it still did not start.  A friend of ours came to the rescue and finally discovered that a battery terminal was corroded!  Really!!  So, it worked for a blissful short time.  Then it stopped shifting correctly.  Must be the clutch.  Well, to get at the clutch the transmission must be moved.  The men worked at it for days and could not get the transmission to move.  Gordon, who does this kind of work all the time, came to help yesterday - all day!  After "all day" they finally got new clutch in - dump truck still does not work!  No one knows what is wrong with it.  We thought this morning, that since the men are spending so much time with this truck, maybe it should have a name, but all the names we could think of for it were not very nice ones, so we dropped that idea.  Wonder if the threat of  "junkyard" would scare it into working?  But, we can't afford to send it there, we need it too much and we need it tomorrow!  Last year, we had a pray-over baler.  Wouldn't start unless we prayed over it.  This year we have a dump truck that even prayer isn't helping!  Dave could use a break.  Anyone know of a nice island where we could take a really long vacation, maybe even move to?  Oh, it must be rent free, though, for Mr. Dumpy has sucked all the money out of our pockets.  No, wait, there was no money in our pockets.  Let's see.....Mr. Dumpy has sucked too much of our time, energy and sanity and we now have to pay for a shrink!  There, that is why it must be rent free!  :)

By the way, here is a picture of Mr. Dumpy, who I guess I did name after all!  Wondering why it doesn't want to work?  He thinks he belongs in a antique vehicle museum! :)

Until next time (maybe from that island!). . . . . . . . . . . . .   



I Am Not Dead Yet

No, I am very much alive!  Sad to say!

On Nov. 6th we had a worship service, followed by a full immersion baptism for a dear friend of mine.  Our elder had a wonderful message on repentance and baptism.  I regret not taking notes, however, there was one thing he said (and I don't have it word for word) that has me doing a lot of self examining.....   He said that he will hold her under until no more bubbles come up, then she will be lifted up into a new life. We grinned and softly chuckled, for we knew he would not do that, but we did understand his meaning. 

So what does it mean to live a life in which I has been buried with Christ and is now living a new life?  What does it look like?  Is it a life that would blend in with the surrounding world? 

A person buried with Christ would no longer be an I person.  They would be a person who, in all areas, would reflect Jesus.  They would not pursue their own interests, but those of Christ's.  They would not speak their own words, but those of Christ's.  They would not dress in a way that would draw attention to themselves, but in a way that would honor Christ.  They would not do things to promote themselves.  They would seek other's interest way before theirs.  They would constantly be communicating with the Heavenly Father . . . "Lord, give me the words to speak. Lord, who do You want me to help today?  Lord, how do you want to change me through these circumstances. . . . . "  I have often thought about the life of Jesus and all that He endured here on this earth.  He was ridiculed, mocked, spit upon, called names, let down by His friends.  He never held a huge concert where His followers came out and swooned all over Him! :)  Why on earth did He not go crazy or get severely depressed or get discouraged?  It is because His life was not His own, it belonged to His Father.  There was no I in his life.   Am I content to be a nobody?  Am I happy if nobody notices me, or talks to me?  Am I happy for others if they have more than I do?  Does my family see Jesus in me, or do they see a selfish mom?  Do fellow shoppers see a happy, serene woman, or a miserable impatient grump?  Do I blog to make people think that I have something important to say or do I blog for the glory of God?  Are my facebook stat's to bring attention to me or do they bring life to the readers?  Oh, my friends, I never want to be a hypocrite or a brag or a better-than-you kind of person and these are the questions I have been contemplating the last few weeks.  Am I buried in Christ?  And does my life point to the One who gave His life for me?  I have been sobered with the answer.  It is no, the bubbles are still coming up.  I still lives!   "Lord, no true happiness comes from an I life.  My flesh is so weak, but my spirit is willing.  Help me to live with my eyes constantly focused on You, that it would not be I that people see but You.  Bring strength and contentment to live a hidden, buried life filled with Your Holy Spirit and not a self serving spirit"

You will truly know if you are a servant when you are treated like one.

Until next time...........