Feathers, Fur & Keeping Faith
Spring has certainly sprung over here on our little Laurel Highlands homestead. The green leaves and bright blooms are such a welcome change of scenery. Our family has been going through quite a few changes lately- some welcomed and others leaving us with some question marks -but a resolve to trust that God is moving the pieces of our life around in the way that He sees fit- even though we can’t seem to see the “big picture” just yet. Spring has been filled with sports, home projects, birthdays, garden starting, riding, storms, real estate sales and subbing for me, turkey hunting, a mission trip to Kentucky and prepping for golf season for the boys- It seems like it is flying by!
Introducing Milk & Cookies, our Sweedish Blue Ducklings.
One exciting change on the homefront has been the addition of a few feathered friends- Milk and Cookies. Lucianna was surprised on her birthday with two Sweedish Blue Ducklings. These sweet little buggers are growing so quickly they are practically fully feathered ducks and as big as our hens! The jury is still out as to whether they are males or females. Apparently with this breed they look the same and you don’t find out until they either lay eggs or they don’t- fingers crossed for some high-protein egg layers!
As fun as the Little Quakers are though…I am even more excited to share our new boys… Smith & Wesson. These little guys are Nigerian Dwarf Goats and about the most entertaining guys around. I have been pleading for goats for basically our whole marriage (so 10 years this summer) and my hubby finally gave in. And he fully admits they. are. the. best. We had been waiting until we had more property and a full barn etc. but this will be our fourth summer at this home and who knows where or when we will head somewhere else- so we decided to pull the trigger! If you need something to make you laugh…find yourself some goats! As much as I would love a milking goat (free goat cheese and goat soap yes please – well, kinda free) we decided to start with the boys and go from there!
Robbie probably never thought he would be driving a mini-van…yet alone one with goats in the back!!
Our orchard is in full growth mode and the cherries will be the first on the list for picking in June. There is a very limited window for beating the birds to the cherries so if we wait even a few days past their ripening the birds will have the trees bare in two days’ flat! We also discovered that we have a mulberry tree down in the corner of the property that overhangs our fence line. Last year the kids enjoyed picking them and making a mulberry pie so we hope to pick those here soon as well! Our area was hit with some pretty rough storms this Spring- we fared better than some of our family members, but I still had the opportunity to use my favorite oil lamps!
As the days get longer and Spring rolls into Summer it is such a reminder of the seasonality of life. I have heard it said that in life, you are either coming out of a hard season, going through one or about to enter one. And while that seems quite true, it seems to leave out the part about how in those hard seasons, we are never alone - and it is in fact through those hard seasons that God is refining us, strengthening us and forcing us to lean into His strength and not our own. If you are going through one of those hard seasons right now, I hope you will be encouraged to know that God is with us through the fire, on the mountain tops and in the valleys. It is in those times of uncertainty, struggle and grief that He is just a prayer away from meeting us right where we are…after all, He has been there all along.
Thank you for being here and stay tuned…I will be sharing more happenings on the Homefront, canning cherries, fun screen -free ideas for when the kids are home from school and some money-saving hacks for you this summer!
Rise & Thrive,
Jenny