A Day on the Farm

The Homestead

Yesterday was Texas History day at the farm. I spent the better part of my day at the Homestead, sewing and cooking. It was a gorgeous day, the weather was perfect - not too hot, nor too cold, but JUST RIGHT! The sun was out in full blast, a couple of puffy clouds in the sky and birds chirping happily everywhere. Spring is truly in the AIR!

I opened the windows to the kitchen and allowed the breeze to blow through the cotton curtains, then I sat down to peel potatoes.

Getting the fire started!

My first task was to get the woodburning stove started. This is something I don't normally do, as I used to depend on my son Joshua.

The trick is to get the fire going with just enough oxygen to keep the flames hungry and interested. It's a trick I learned while watching Josh wave his hat back and forth, fanning the flames alive. I'm not exactly an expert at this, but I did manage to get the fire going (after I used up an entire box of matches!)

Satisfied the fire was good, I closed the door to the stove and finished peeling the potatoes, and chopped up an onion. Digging through the cupboards, I located some salt and after pouring some oil in the iron skillet, the potatoes were ready to fry!



By that time, I was wishing I had brought a brisket to cook!

The heart of the home!


Settling myself at the table, I dug out my sewing and started on a patchwork quilt. How heavenly it is to hear nothing but the wind blowing, the birds singing --- no blaring television, no video games, no next door neighbor mowing his lawn.... peace and quiet, absolute blithe!

One year, the kids and I spent the entire afternoon planting corn and sunflowers in this field, only to lose every single crop to the Texas drought! It was very hard work, and a disappointment, but it shows us how vulnerable our ancestors were in their dependency on the land!

The Parlor



In the parlor there are some old books on the shelf that I occasionally, ever so gently love to take down and look through. It is always such a treat to get a glimpse into the past and read words from people that had passed on many years earlier. To get a sense of how life was like, BACK THEN. So much wisdom, and so many biblical principles that we can apply towards our lives today. Each time I'm at the farm, I always try to memorize the title and the author of this particular book, but it always slips from my mind. This time I snagged a picture of the book, The Royal Path of Life - By Maria Wheat. I checked on the web, and it's hard to locate the author and book anywhere. This book was written over a 150 years ago.

The coop!

Guess who ate the potato peels?


Carina, Crista, and Pamela

Josh and Caitlin roasting marshmallows at the stove.

After a full day on the farm, some of us volunteers enjoy lingering at the homestead, relaxing, and sharing a potluck!

Caitlin, fork-feeding Josh!


Joshie!

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?