Wintery days

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

























Winter has wound its way to this part of the world, although the temperatures today belay that fact.  Today, long sleeves were not ever required, & the clothes dried so quickly on the clothes line.  The fire was left to go cold, & everyone sought the outdoors for some warm sunshine.  However, we do know that these temperatures won't last & the worst of winter is still ahead of us.  Moderate temperatures in June are not unusual, however July & bitter August are still to come.  Extra blankets already grace our bed from the earlier cold snap and our menu plan includes thick casseroles & soups. 


Life on this little farm has continued to plod along, although this blog has sorely missed documenting it.  Never have I left such a long time between posts & I can only put it down to being incredibly stretched for time.  This year saw our foster son begin school.  We are not homeschooling him for a variety of reasons, which means that not only do I have the normal busy homeschooling day, but my morning & afternoon margins are full with taking him & picking him up from nearby stops. I will admit that I have really struggled with the impact this has had on my schedule.  I used those margins to get housework & planning done.  Now I feel like I am scrambling most days and my gardens are looking terrible.  I would love to say there is a solution, but at the moment I can't find one.  I have made sure it hasn't impacted our homeschool, but the housework is another story...Sigh.

However, while that has been rather difficult, life in the farmyard has continued to flourish!  Our sows have again produced adorable piglets which romp around the farmyard (they are still small enough to duck under the electric fence).  They always bring a smile to our faces.  We also recently had a steer butchered & so the boys have been dissecting & experimenting.  Zai boiled up the horns & removed the inside ( it is seriously that easy).  He intends to use them for some kind of  decoration, however I have requested that he find some way of removing the smell from them before they are allowed inside my house again.  Eli & Jud are currently having a go at tanning the cow hide.  They have covered it in a thick layer of salt & have been reading up on the whole tanning process.  I am slightly skeptical about what kind of outcome it will have, but they remain excited about the whole process & the homeschool mother in me enjoys that they are learning :)!

My Ellie continues to grow up & has well overtaken me.  She is such a gentle soul & rarely does she get riled about anything.  She is an incredible help with Miss Toddler who is more spirited than ever! School is so easy for her this year that I am seeking extra stimulation for her.  I am thinking of enrolling her in a course from Open to Study.  These free courses have been very popular with the high schoolers in our homeschooling group.  Zai completed a course through Future Learn earlier this year, and he intends to complete another one in the near future.  Both are great options for some auxiliary learning for older homeschooling students.

While our schedule is rather busy at the moment, family life is relaxing into a steady pace.  I honestly did not realise the impact that adding two extra children to our family would have.  It really deserves its own post.  However I will say that after well over a year of being a family, it is all beginning to feel quite natural.  We love these little ones & couldn't imagine life without them!

And so I must close.  Have a wonderful week friends!


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