A family farm

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Great Book!

I just read Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory sent to me courtesy of BookSneeze. I have to say this was the first book I've ordered to review that I was looking forward to reading. I've done two others, but I wasn't as excited to read them as I was this book. I was antsy with anticipation! This book didn't disappoint. Michael Hingson reveals a remarkable life, even if he wasn't blind. His dog, Roselle, proved to be an equally remarkable participant in this story. She aided in keeping people calm as they descended the tower, and stayed on the job, keeping Michael and his co-worker/business partner safe as they traveled away to safety during the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

I highly recommend this book as it is inspirational, uplifting and full of hope. This attack was probably one of the most frightening moments in our nation's history. If Michael made it through the turmoil, then we can make it through our own lives' problems with God's help. This is a crazy-amazing story of a man and his dog, a dog afraid of thunderstorms, but when on the job, fearless and calming to all those around them. Read this book. It will not only give you an insider's look to what was going on in the World Trade Center after the evacuation started, but it will give you an insight into the life of Michael Hingson and the obstacles he has overcome to become a business owner and inspirational speaker.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

July was a LONG Month

Our two baby goats were killed by the heat a couple of weeks ago. It's been a hard pair of deaths to take. My husband dug a nice big hold by one of our pines and we burried them together. It was very sad.

I need to update you on the rest of the goings on at Decker's Acres. We acquired 3 Blue Slate poults a couple of weeks ago. They were over a month old then. I only paid $4 each for them, I'm quite sure it's because it was the start of fair week. We didn't get much for our chickens then either, but oh, well. We moved the entire flock of birds to the garage part of the barn and set up a temporary nursery for them. We'll probably do this next spring when we hatch more, and they grow. I need to clip their wings again, but other than that they are doing great. I picked up 4 Red Bourbon poults from another farm. They were just hatched over this past weekend. They are in the box, growing. They are way too little to go in with the bigger birds.








I've canned quite a bit so far: strawberry jam, cherry jam and blueberry jam. I have to do more blueberry jam tonight as we are on vacation next week and shouldn't let the blueberries go bad.

I also got 3 gallon-size freezer bags of purple beans blanched and frozen. We've eaten a bunch as well. I need to get more planted before we take a vacation as well. The tomatoes are starting to make nice big green fruit and when we return from camping, I'll have to start canning those, along with a bushel of peaches I'll have to buy. My carrots and onions aren't doing as well, but that's my fault - there are so many insanely tall weeds out there! In getting my back garden in, I let the front one go to weeds and it is just a little insane. On another note, I should have plenty of pumpkins this year! I'm not sure what I'll be doing with all them, but the crop is looking so much better than last year! You gotta love goat poop!