Kitten rescue

Speckles decided to hide her kittens in the giant pecan tree one night. That was a good way to keep the dog away from them, but they were exposed to the rain and we could hear them crying up there. So Ricky made a daring kitten rescue. He also composed this short video.

Surprise! It's a Girl!

Yesterday my father came over to help us move a trailer, and he casually asked, "Where'd ya get the baby goat?"
"What baby goat!?"
Our goat had a baby!! We didn't even know she was pregnant. She must have been that way when we bought her at the auction 2 months ago. Anyway, her baby, Teenie, is the smallest and cutest goat we have ever seen. I'm sure you will agree. The little girls are so excited because they won't have to wait any longer to learn how to milk a goat. I'll let you know how that goes...
The video here is grainy because of the lack of strong light in the barn, but I think you will enjoy it anyway.

7 babies!

Our only female cat just had 7 kittens! It was her first litter, so Speckles came to us when she was in labor, and we put her in a basket in the laundry room to give birth. Her first baby was breech, but she didn't need too much assistance. This was Sunday morning, and we left for church with only two kittens born. When we got back she had all 7 safely delivered. Speckles was so happy and proud of her brood. There are 4 yellow boys, 1 black boy, and two black and white girls. We already have 4 farm cats, so I told the little girls we could keep two kittens and find homes for the rest.

Grass Fed Beef For Sale

We have grass fed, organic, hormone and antibiotic free 2 year-old jersey steers for sale. We're selling them by the side which we estimate will be about 130 pounds. Our price is $6/pound finished in vacuum packaging. This is for all the cuts: burger, steaks, roasts, short ribs etc. If it's 130 pounds x $6/pound, the total for the side of beef will be $780. Of course, the price will be higher if its more than 130 lbs, less if not that much. We're taking them to the butcher on Oct 7, so need to have the orders placed before then. The beef should be ready on about Oct. 18. Let us know if you are interested.
P.S. The picture is of our new babies. The 2 year-old steers are MUCH bigger.

Belated haircuts, pears, and Cecropia caterpillar

The only fruit we got this year was from our pear tree. The ice storm in Jan. damaged our trees and we had to do some major pruning. But I do think they will recover and produce again next year.


These pics date back about 3 weeks, but I thought you might like to see them all the same. Rose donated 12 inches of her beautiful golden hair to Locks of Love. She enjoys the shorter hair. She looks so different that her Sunday School teacher didn't recognize her! Kate also had her hair cut short before she left for college.



We found this huge cecropia moth caterpillar in our yard. This was the largest caterpillar we have ever seen.

Trail of Tears Pow-wow

This is a major event in our small town. My girls dressed the part and were Indians for a day. They had a great time.

My Trip to Oregon... part 2: The Setting

I had never been to the Pacific Northwest before, so I was enthralled with the natural beauty of the place. Mapleton, Oregon is a very small town with very big scenery. Here are some pictures that I took in Mapleton. It's so easy to take a nice picture there. Then there is a video of my friend Daniel showing me Sweet Creek Falls, where we found a giant banana slug.