. . . there is beauty and peace on the farm!
In the Mist of Crisis and Turmoil
Tag: beauty
SERIOUSLY
It’s really JUNE 2018??? I thought sure that May would slink by slowly and it rained most every day leaving us with a total of six inches in the rain gauge. May was wet but beauty abounded on our farm and I’m going to show you just a touch of it!!
From Inside the House
This morning we woke to snow on top of last weeks snow but we had a beautiful blue sky. Last week we got about 10 inches of snow and the most we’ve had all winter. Over half had melted and this morning we woke to five more inches on top of the leftovers. It was 25* when we woke this morning and now its 38* now. The best part – we didn’t lose any calves this time. Here’s a touch of our beauty in western Virginia and Craig County on the mountain:
It’s melting now and by mid-week we’ll be in the 60’s and rain. It will be a sloppy mess but needed for our crops and gardens. We haven’t had snow like this for a couple of years and we all knew it was time. I’m not saying the spring snows are over but sure hope they are.
We have six more cows to calve from our spring herd and these mom’s and their little ones could sure use a break.
My chickens don’t like the snow either and a few got trapped under the grainery last night and refused to walk through the snow to their warm house but it looks like they all survived and are ready to see some green grass and mud!
Everyone be safe and spring is here even though it doesn’t look like it!!!
Cacti Bloom A Little Early
I brought all of my flowering Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti in the first week of October and now my upstairs foyer is full of color! 
Everything outside has lost its beauty since the leaves are gone and we’ve had so many frosts and freezes! The beauty inside is grand!
CASS Railroad Trip
Hubby and I have had more dates this year than we have had since we moved on this farm. I’m not sure why but don’t question it because I love every minute we’re together whether it’s here or away from the farm.
On September 26th we went to Cass, West Virginia, and took a rail ride that was awe-inspiring and I would recommend the trip to everyone. I’m going to leave you with a little snippet from their website and then a pictorial or our wonderful day trip.
Cass Scenic Railroad, an 11-mile (18 km) long heritage railroad that is owned by the West Virginia State Rail Authority and operated by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad.
Founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (now WestRock), Cass was built as a company town to serve the needs of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P. At one time, the sawmill at Cass was the largest double-band sawmill in the world. It processed an estimated 1.25 billion board feet (104,000,000 cu ft; 2,950,000 m3) of lumber during its lifetime.
In 1901 work started on the railroad, which climbs Back Allegheny Mountain. The railroad eventually reached a meadow area, now known as Whitaker Station, where a logging camp was established for the immigrants who were building the railroad. The railroad soon reached to the top of Gobblers Knob, and then to a location on top of the mountain known as ‘Spruce’. The railroad built a small town at this location, complete with a company store, houses, a hotel, and a doctor’s office. Work soon commenced on logging out the Red Spruce trees, which grew in the higher elevations.
Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed our day. It was our first ride on a train and I would go again in a heartbeat. For more information, here’s the link to their website, http://mountainrailwv.com/tour/cass-scenic-railroad-bald-knob-trip/ . They provided us a lunch and when we returned from the ride we took in the sites around the depot.
New Fencing on the Farm
I’m not sure why but we just can’t seem to keep up with the fencing repairs on the farm. Every year there is a field or road fence that needs replacing. Last year we enlisted the service from a “professional” fencer and though it looked good it wasn’t installed properly. Electricity was running to the metal gates going into the field. We contacted the fencer and he told us he would be back to correct the problem but he never showed and within a couple of weeks someone in the community ran through the new fence and didn’t stop. At this point we had to repair the fence anyway and hubby made the corrections to the electricity himself.
We do a lot of patching when we can but Dad is tired of doing that and wants to replace now. Some of the bad spots look something like these:
Here’s a look of what the old fencing on the farm looked like before we started the new.
This year we selected a new fence service who gave us a decent quote and hubby thinks his service was excellent. His crew worked as hard as Mr. Price and on days when the wind was howling and terribly cold. Mr. Price was a true professional and hubby says we will be using his services again in the near future.
Mr. Price was quick to start the work and his crew didn’t just stand around and wait to be told what to do. They tore out the old fences, stacked the old wire and piled up the old post which we’ll use for firewood. You can’t beat locust posts for a hot fire in the middle of winter.
Here’s some of the finished work and I know we will be using Elmer’s Fencing again in the very near future!
Isn’t it gorgeous?!?! The next fence project is a line fence between us and a neighbor and Eddie & I are going to tackle it alone probably in the next couple weeks.
Farm work is NEVER done!!
Beauty of Summer
I remember my roses being beautiful last summer but they’ve outdone themselves again this year.
The roses are beautiful but when you add a little nature . . .
then you add a view like this . . .
beauty is everywhere!!!
January 2016 Big Snow
It’s been a while since folks in our area have seen a storm like we had this week. I’ve got some time lapsed snow storm pictures to show everyone including Robin Reed our wonderful meteorologist.
All of the outside animals are doing fine but cold. Eddie is trying to feed the round bales but they won’t roll out because the snow is so dry so he’s feeding the cows 6-7 bales instead of the normal 2-3. The snow drifts are up over the cows bellies but the blessing is there are no babies due until March and April.
Prissy and George are doing well and taking care of Miracle. They tend to lay on the side of the haybale away from the wind. If not for the older orphans Miracle would have a time getting through the snow because it’s over her belly!
Here’s some more scenes of the last three days from the front porch and the kitchen window:
Can’t wait to get to the henhouse and check on the girls, Rooster and Fred! Roscoe may even come out of hibernation with this beautiful sun shining and the temperature has already risen to 30 degrees. I’ve been watching the orphan calves this morning and Miracle tends to stay between Prissy and George for their body heat.
Stay warm everyone and pray this will be the ONLY storm we have this winter even though it’s only January!!
Retirement adventure #1 – Dismal Falls
Well it’s been two months of retirement and I stay so busy. Hubby and I have decided to try to make a point of taking a day trip alone at least once a month and I wanted to share our “1st Retirement Adventure” with you. I packed a lunch and we loaded up the cameras and took off for natures beauty that surrounds us that I either had not seen or it had been a long time. Our first trip was to Giles County and a little place called “Dismal Falls”. I hope these photos express my awe at the beautiful little spot in the woods that is hidden just off Route 100 and on a forestry road.
The following are views of the water leading to the falls, below the falls, and the falls. The water is as clear as glass and icy cold. Normally, this time of year there’s not a lot of water in the falls but because of the rains we’ve had all spring and summer they were beautiful. We plan to go back when the weather is cold and the water may be frozen. The falls are not really tall but they’re beautiful and a great outing for one day!!
After the visit to the falls we went up the forestry road and found a cool rest stop to have lunch of grilled chicken, cheese & crackers, and fresh fruit. From there we took off through another road of Giles County called Sugar Run which ran through some awesome forest land and we found this fine creature crossing the road but don’t seem to be able to find out what type of moth he will turn into. I’ve inserted a close up of him and one of him beside my husbands size 10 boot to give you an idea of how big it was.
We also saw these structures as we were about to leave Sugar Run.
Several deer, squirrels, a few turkeys and wild birds were seen but I got of picture of this one grazing along the road.
And we passed an exotic farm and saw these along the road.
It was such a fun and peaceful day spent together and not working until we were bone tired. This is why we decided to take an adventure at least once a month. I can’t wait to see what we do in September!!
Walking through a wildflower garden
Fall is here and so are the fall wildflowers. Here’s a few I took photos of just along the driveway from the house to the mailbox.
Once the weather cools a little and I can get out in the sun there will be an abundance of wildflower and nature photo ops.
Enjoy the summer as long as you can because that cold weather is just around the corner. How do I know?? My hummingbirds have left! 😦
My yard is blooming
No words, just the beauty of my photos, says enough I think!
Shamrocks
Mother’s day hanging table
Peonies and Iris
Hostas & geraniums
Locust post birdhouse
Iris
Peony 
Peonies and Iris
White rose (old)
Red Rose (old)
Siberian Iris
I have two of these in the yard and I can cut them back to a foot tall and by June they’re back full of green, pink and white. It’s so pretty and covers the ground at the yard entrance with rose petals all summer.
Sunflowers and mole beans
They’re just so pretty!!
Watching the new babies at play
Now that Annabelle has a new Mom, I thought I would share a few pictures of her and Gyp at play. They won’t be able to do this anymore because the new Mom doesn’t like any other animals near her baby. Annabelle minds her Mom really well though she will still let her come to me for a good rub down. Here’s the babes at play before the final adoption.
They chases each other with Gyp nipping at her heels and Annabelle tolerated Gyp constantly licking her face when she could get to it.
What are you saving it for?
Has someone ever given you something special, made you a quilt, embroidered some pillow cases, or anything along those lines? Do you use them? Do you display them? Are they hidden away for no one to see but you? My Mom used to be like that. My Mom’s grandmother, some of my friends do that and even my husband does that. I made him the nine patch quilt year before last and he was so proud of it. I was proud ot it but it isn’t being used. It isn’t even out where he or someone else could see it. I’m disappointed!! Not because I wanted to show it off, though! I made it with love and to keep him warm! He says he doesn’t want to get it dirty. For heaven’s sake, it’s washable! It’s made of fabric and polyfil. It’s warm!
The following quilt I made for our bed about five years ago and was my first attempt at piecing a complicated pattern. I loved it and I wash it about every two weeks and except for fading a little it’s still like new. I wash it so often because Sassy our cocker spaniel sleeps between us and the quilt desperately needs the washing after two weeks. But, like Eddie’s quilt it’s beautiful, it was made with love and I made it to be used, not stuck in a trunk waiting for me to die!!
I have beautiful dishes that belonged to my grandmother, Eddie’s aunt, my Mom and yes, I show them off but I always use them too! Things of beauty are meant to be used, shared, admired. Don’t stick them away!! They may not be as admired when your gone. They may be sold, passed on, handed down but for heaven’s sake use them!
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