We are beginning to get settled in here.  Construction is still ongoing, thanks to all the rain.  Things are taking much longer than expected and costing twice as much as anticipated... but in the end it will all be worth it.  I am really excited about things are the transformation progresses.   Thanks to good friends we are getting closer and closer to completion.


In the meantime, we are still milking cows!  The milk coolers are temporarily housed in the hay barn next to the house.  I am very much looking forward to the day those coolers move down to the new store in the dairy barn.... I am growing weary of all those trips back and forth with jars full of milk.  I have discovered one really cool thing though..... the sound on rain drops hitting the milk jars lids makes a really beautiful melody! 

Last week was a little nuts.  Thursday the cows found an area of the fence where it was really short (we of course were not aware of it) and they spent the day taking nice leisurely walks down the road stopping to much on grass alongside the neighboring corn fields.  I think we put them back in ten times that day.  It reached the point that when the phone rang I cringed.. thinking it was yet another call about our cows going on walkie.  They got to where as soon as they saw my car coming down the road they would just turn around and head for home.  What stinkers!  We have a devil of a time trying to figure out how and where they were getting out.... but the last trip back home we watched as they simply jumped OVER the fence!  Pretty funny to watch actually... jerseys with those huge udders jumping over a fence!  How silly is that! 


The most difficult part of the week happened on Wednesday when we said goodbye to Ashley, my oldest daughter.  She has chosen to go back to Georgia and complete her senior year of high school with her father.   Ashley and I have always had an intensely close relationship and I will miss her immensely.    This offers a wonderful opportunity for her to bond with her father and there are many opportunities that she can take advantage of in Atlanta.  She is an amazing artist, and a very gifted student.  While I am thankful for all the opportunities she has been offered and want for her to have only the best that life has to offer..... as a mother... it's sad and hard to say goodbye.  Sometimes the hardest part of being a parent is putting your feelings, hopes and dreams aside to support those of your child's.   I am thankful for my daughter and for all that she is and has become...she is an amazing young woman and I can't wait to see who she becomes.  

This weekend was a busy one.  Andy worked on fences, moving gates and getting the animals better situated.   We are beginning work on the customer entrance area to the store.   We added a new member to our family this weekend!  We rescued a race horse!  His official name is "Light On Top" but we call him "Tater Salad".  We are all completey in love!  He is such a sweetie pie.  The kids spend hours standing on the fence petting him and talking to him.  He seems very drawn to the kids... I have to lead him out to pasture so he will go eat!  He would much rather just hang out around the barn where the kids play on the trampoline and swing set.  To watch him run is just breath-taking.  He has such a graceful gait and it is heartwarming to watch him enjoy his freedom.  

Overall we are really happy here so far.  It's incredibly peaceful... the land is gorgeous and there is just a feeling of "right".   

I keep hearing this question.   To answer.... YES!  We are SERIOUSLY moving.... again.  


 Sometimes life hands you a little something "extra" and our Lincoln location has been just that.  It has had it's share of challenges and at times has been overwhelming but we have learned a lot and have made some new friends and for that we will are most thankful.  But, it is time for us to move on and to seek a location that is better suited for our needs.   It's not an easy task to find a property with the right size of pasture, the buildings we need, and one that has been treated in a holistic fashion.. not an undertaking we relished the though of.  We are very blessed to have found such a place! 


The history of the farm we are moving to is an interesting one.  It was once a dairy farm and the owner raised chickens and sold  his eggs in Lincoln.   For the past several years it has been the home of Hollenbeck Farms.   Their cattle are still located in the Elmwood area on pastures around the farm; but they are moving their home base to Lincoln for some very exciting reasons.  :-) 

We are returning the former milking barn to it's roots.  The cement floor has been uncovered and the drains are being updated.  Water has been run to the barn and a cement pad and wall forms are ready to be poured. 

Then came the rain.........    SERIOUSLY??!!!   We now have a fourty acre lake!

Not exactly great conditions for pouring cement!

So, interior framing begins......   enter our friend and customer Rob - master of construction!  

They tell me the rain is over now for a week....  so if it dries up enough we are hoping to get the cement truck in to pour on Friday.   We were meant to be moving this weekend and the cows were set to go Monday.  This has been set back at least a few days.       

We had our first sheep shearing experience last week.    We learned some things.  First, I was surprised by how calm the sheep were.   It was amazing how much wool you get from only one sheep!  After each sheep was sheared we all ran our hands over their coats and our hands were covered with lanolin... we were rubbing it on our elbows and feet... so cool!   One of our sheep had her lamb the next morning.. a sweet little ewe lamb.