2015 Reflections Part 3

Our biggest highlight of the year was an incredible sweet blessing in the form a "little" bundle of baby girl!

We were blessed with another home birth. A shorter but much more intense birth. Our pickle had her hand along her face and was as big as sister was at 3 months! I was still glad it was only 9 hours vs. 22 and we had a much better and seasoned midwife than last time.....

Anyway here is:

Kayela Marie

November 1, 2015

10:39 am ~ 9 lbs 4 oz ~ 23"

Yes, it's pronounced like Kayla.

A social worker my folks work with spells it that way and we liked it.

Proud Daddy

A very proud sister just half an hour later!

Grandpa Hustad

Aunt Hannah

Grandma Hustad

Uncle Josh

3 days olds. "Bright-eyes"

Strong sisterly love!

This was taken last night during milking.

We all love our precious Baby Dear!

2015 Reflections Part 2

Finally! A garden worth being proud of!

This years garden was the very nicest I've ever had.

I loved just walking out and looking around.

Our past gardens were either in wet or shady spots or both, and didn't produce well.

 Or would start to look promising only to be completely devoured by rabbits. :/

 Last year was the first at this place. I started out keeping up with it but by about the beginning of August the weeds had the upper hand - and I was discouraged and overwhelmed. For one thing the weeds got the headstart and were so tall by the time my plants had grown enough to weed around. With that and being busy with the farm and it being too big an area for me to keep up with by myself, I figured it'd be easier to just go to the produce auction this year and not plant much. Especially since I expected to feel crumby and really uncomfortable this summer.

But.

I felt tremendously great and in spite of getting the garden in a month late (due to a teenage brother who came to till it and had the tractor loaded again before I could blink.... It waited until Grandpa could come do it right. Their tractor ended up staying here awhile - Grandpa's homemade ramps gave way as he was loading :'-) So, the garden was tilled and re-tilled several times by the time it was all put in. I was given someone's extra seeds so that made up any question about not planting much. 

Doretha weeding her watermelons.

I got them mulched later and avoided this problem. :)

The garden is about 23 feet wide. I don't know how long.

Would you look at that!!

MONTY actually took an evening and helped pull weeds!!

If he only knew how much that impresses his wife!

Left to right:

yellow beans, tomatoes, onions, potatoes and

part of the mulched melon/gourd patch on the end. 

Helping with the first picking of beans :)

Yes! There he is again! Love it :)

Left to right:

(sweet corn, not in this pic) lettuces, beets, carrots and a patch of 56 tomato plants :)

Doretha's gourd mix

Fall harvest!

The carrots did beautifully, too!

It's always a satisfaction to see the end product preserved.

Continued on Part 3.....



Reflections on 2015

I can't hardly let 2015 close without at least reviewing some key highlights of our year!

As we try to do every year, we went camping.

The beginning of June found us on the shore of Lake Holcombe.

Our little Saturn Vue was loaded to the hilt. :-)

We had one excited little camper!

She got right in to help pitch the tent and set up.



Of course there's no point in going camping if you don't fish all you can ;-)

 

Doretha was thrilled to have a line her height to hang her wet things :)

Camp

A little visiter

Dad's were also camping a few sites from us and rented a pontoon boat.

It sure made the trip a lot more fun!

Camp's main cook ;-)

Monty manned the grilling.

Sunset the first night.

The weather was gorgeous!

Breakfast one morning.

Monty caught this red horse off the dock.

The creature put up a mean fight.

Showing his "prize" catch to my Grandpa, who came up for one night.

This here was my biggest catch!

We were trying to fish in a channel known for it's catfish, with my parents & sisters.

We didn't get any catfish but this thing put up a fuss coming in.

At a park we stopped at, we heard a commotion coming from this pine tree.

It was a family of pileated woodpeckers.

Worn out :-)

Monty and I went to a little cove one evening to fish and about the time we thought we'd quit,

all of a sudden I had a furious fighter on the other end of my line.

 We fought a long time until it was where he could grab it but when he saw it,

 he jerked his hand back and exclaimed, "It's a catfish!"

He used a marshmallow stick, the fancy kind with the prongs curved backwards,

to hook it by its gills and pull it up!

 

 Our perfect weather ended during our last night with cooling temps and wind.

By 6am it started raining. It's so not fun packing in the rain! 

Trying to eat breakfast:

Good bye camp!

(Mom's camp décor below)

It was wonderful to be back home and enjoy supper dry and inside!

2015 Reflections to be continued!....