New blessings!

These are our new babies at the farm. I discovered one last week as I was watering my hanging plant. When I went to take a pic this morning there were four more additions. Nature is so very cool to me and one of the ways I worship God. I love just appreciating the wonder of all He creates. So here are the babies nestled safely between wave petunias and sweet potato vine. What a wonderful place to be! I'll keep you posted as we watch the miracle.

We also have our own resident red tailed hawk. He glides overhead, sometimes with some pesky crows trying to nip at his heels, but he looks at them with disdain and does exactly what he set out to do. Good life lesson there. We keep binoculars near so we can watch him when we see him. Peyton Grace does a lot of farm exploring with binoculars around her neck, a scientist in training :)

Hersey. Seriously, is there anything cuter than this face!!!

And this is the infamous J.J. He can be ridden. He has a tiny little saddle. But the whole time he is being ridden, he is letting you know it was never his idea in the first place. He lives in the field with about four horses, but lately has been hanging out right next to the pen that Hersey is in. It's like he is saying "finally, someone who speaks my language" and "wait a minute, I'm even bigger than him". They seem to just enjoy hanging together and every now and then, much to my delight, they have an in depth conversation in bray language. Oh the things donkeys could tell us, about their work load for being so small, about their great to the 1000's degree ancestors carrying Jesus. What tails they could tell.

And this is another neighbor we've nicknamed Lonely Boy. He lives alone in a great big field. He mostly hangs out under a tree by himself. He is owned by a family with two boys. Although, I have never seen him ridden or even talked to. They do ride their four wheelers by him really fast. I think all creatures need friends, even four legged ones. We have a plan to ply him with carrots and sweet feed so he runs to us when he sees us. Then, one day we think he will run so fast he will jump the fence and come live at our farm where we will ride him and soon get him a pet of his own.

This is Hersey, our new neighbor. He is a miniature donkey and ca-ute T pie. He is still a little shy but we're working on it. He starts braying talking to Peyton Grace when he sees her walk up. Check out those eyelashes!

Strawberries R' Us

For two days in a row I have been able to go out and pick fresh strawberries for breakfast, what a treat! They are backed by some coreopsis I brought from my Stn. Mtn. home. It's such fun to grow my own food. The other day I had some beautiful strawberries ripening on the vine. I was saving them for Peyton Grace to pick. Unfortunately they were on my back porch, big mistake, when we went out to pick them there were our two dogs standing with a guilty look on their faces yet still licking their chops. I immediately moved the yummies to higher ground.

We were walking the property yesterday and discovered that the pumpkins I had placed in the field from fall had started to sprout. I was so very excited. We have always wanted to grow our own pumpkins. I now have to scurry and learn what I can about pumpkining. Hopefully in the late summer I'll have pictures to show. If anyone has any hints out there I am a sponge.

This is a small picture I just finished for my sister's birthday. It is actually only 5"x7", just a token. I love to paint. I could paint for hours. The sad truth is is that I paint seldom. I now have a studio at the farm where all my creativity can rest and remain messy if necessary. It is a treasure for me to have this. I am long on the creative gene and short on the tidy gene, so this helps keep the rest of my home peaceful and uncluttered. This is the first time I have ever given myself the space to spread out and create. Until now I had different areas that I sewed, painted and did woodwork in. I always had to scurry and clean when company came or I needed to walk across a room. For my oldest daughters' wedding I created everything from wedding dress to bouquets to cakes. There truly wasn't an inch of my house that didn't have a creation alive in it. It was so much fun and I was sad when it was over. I hope all your dreams become wishes and your heartfelt wishes become reality.

This is one of the many reasons I love the farm. Everywhere you look there is another blessing. The sun comes up outside my bedroom window each morning in all my favorite colors. It sets each evening off my front porch in a spectacular sunset. I so desire this place to be a blessing to all who come here. I want them to feel a sense of peace and God's spirit here. I always hold this place with an open hand, wanting to be a good steward of this opportunity and bless others with this land and home.