October 15, 2022

Weather/Nature

On Tuesday we had the first frost of the season, and we needed an evening fire to take the chill out of the house. The leaf color is more striking each day, and there’s no doubt we are in the heart of fall.

The hummingbirds are all gone, as expected. We learned they winter in Panama. Imagine such a small thing having the strength and wherewithal to make it that far. We are hoping to spot an American Redstart, which would be a lifer for us, but the window is closing to see one this fall as they migrate through.

Down On The Farm

The garden is officially done for the year. We harvested the last of the winter squash, storing them underground, and fed the last of the field corn to the pigs. All three plots have been sown to oats and clover as a winter cover crop, the tiller stored in the barn until spring.

The garden was a ton of work through the summer months, and we learned a lot. There are some things we’ll plant more of next year, and some things less, but overall it was a success for us. The winter months will provide time to read through all of my garden notes and strategize for a new year to come. It is highly doubtful we would have purchased all of the food listed below from the store if we had no garden, but it is still insightful to record harvest amounts and their retail value. The more we align our diet and menu to the produce of the farm, the more it will directly reduce our grocery bill.

Best Thing We Ate

Pumpkin pie from our pumpkins…John’s nose approves!

From Family Worship

We’ve been reading through James, a chapter each night. So much wisdom for everyday life: not favoring the rich over the poor, loving our neighbors as ourselves, using our words to give life and not tear down, understanding why we quarrel and argue, and on and on. As the very Word of God, the Bible is matchless in its insights, and most of all, its remedy.

Other Happenings

October 8, 2022

Weather/Nature

It is impossible to overstate the perfection of October weather. Maples and the Virginia Creeper vine are blazing red and purple in the woods, and other trees are turning from green to yellow. We think the bulk of the color is still ahead, but this season is new for us, so we are learning.

Down On The Farm

Sweet potatoes and various winter squash are coming in heavy now, and we are going to try to store them underground in the storm shelter.

Okra seed has been harvested for next year. This closed loop of saving your own seed from year to year, with the variety becoming more adapted to a particular location, is fascinating and satisfying.

Best Thing We Ate

Ginny’s Chocolate!

From Family Worship

As we wrapped up our reading of Nehemiah, we benefited from the comment we read that just like the walls of Jerusalem provided physical protection for the city, so the precepts of God provide spiritual safety for us. Even in Nehemiah’s time, the rebuilding of the physical wall was always accompanied by the Word of God.

Other Happenings

Riley, Sam, and Paige camped down by the creek Thursday night. We were proud of them for doing everything themselves, making their own dinner over the fire…and making it through the whole night!

We were also visited this week by one of Erica’s dear college friends and her family, who live just two hours away in TN. It had been maybe 15 years since we’d seen Ginny Braddock, now Ginny Wilson, and it was wonderful to meet her husband Randy and their two sons. Their family business is a chocolate shop they started in their small town, so they lavished us with much chocolate!

October 1, 2022

Weather/Nature

With the calendar now turned to October, it is fitting that we’ve had cooler weather. Lows have been consistently in the 40’s and highs in the 70’s. The front that brought this cooler weather is the same front that turned the hurricane down in Florida. We are relieved that our loved ones in Bradenton/Sarasota are safe and accounted for, but the damage farther south is terrible.

Down On The Farm

Erica put up quite a bit of pumpkin puree, and we harvested our first sweet potatoes.

Best Thing We Ate

We’ve been enjoying acorn squash stuffed with sausage and rice.

From Family Worship

We were struck by how many elements of our Lord’s Day worship service can be seen in chapters 8-11 of Nehemiah. As the exiled people of God returned to Jerusalem, God’s word was read and taught, they confessed their sin, were reassured of God’s forgiveness, a financial offering was taken, they prayed, the mighty deeds of God were recalled, the next generation was taught, the covenant was renewed and remembered, and in all of this the people worshipped the Lord.

Other Happenings

John and I cleaned out the wood stove chimney, and got the leaves out of the gutters. Getting the creosote out of the chimney each year is important so you don’t run the risk of a chimney fire.

For a long time the girls have been interested in archery, so the time was finally right to get a compound bow for them to practice with.

September 24, 2022

Weather/Nature

The fall weather continues to be beautiful. We’ve been here long enough to see fall turn to winter, winter to spring, and spring to summer. So this last rotation of the year, summer to fall, completes a full rotation around the sun, and is so far our favorite.

Down On The Farm

I’m experimenting in the pasture with different methods of weed control. In one area I have clipped the pasture before the weed plants could go to seed. In another, I sprayed a broadleaf herbicide to kill the weeds, and in another area I am leaving it natural with only cows to (maybe) eat the weeds. We’ll see next year which area has the fewest weeds.

We are also starting to save seed corn to plant next year. The first step is to pick the best ears from the best stalks, from different areas of the corn plot. Then, freeze them for three days to kill any weevil eggs. Last, hang them to fully dry until next spring when we will rub off the kernels and plant again.

Best Thing We Ate

Surprising winner this week – we tried the garden potatoes that Erica canned and they were superb. Not mealy or mushy or overcooked. Perfect potatoes and great flavor. Just wish we’d gotten a greater yield.

From Family Worship

“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” Nehemiah stayed focused in the midst of distractions, temptations and challenges. He never doubted the purpose of his life and as a result was able to prioritize rightly. There are myriad ways to order our lives here on earth, especially in our day and age, but will we be a family who orders our affairs according to God’s word, saying to all else, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down”? May it be so!

Other Happenings

I took Friday off work and we went to a local waterfall about 40 minutes from our house. We hadn’t been there before, and what a place it was! The weather was clear and mild, and it felt good to be adventurous.

September 17, 2022

Weather/Nature

Beautiful weather this week. Mild days with windows open, cooler at night. Days are getting shorter and the angle of the sunlight is changing. Leaves keep dropping and some early color change can be seen.

Down On The Farm

Autumn crops are coming in, which fit the feel of the changing seasons. Our thoughts and work are starting to turn to winter things: cleaning the wood stove, chopping firewood, finishing the pigs.

We have black walnut trees everywhere on our property and in the surrounding woods. They are our most valuable hardwood tree, and drop tasty walnuts for the collecting. We are going to try collecting them for the first time, so more to come, but the green husks should dry out, and then you can get to walnut inside.

Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, the girls made “raspberry cordial” with berries from the garden. The raspberries first soak in lemon juice before adding sugar overnight. Then they get strained through a cheese cloth for the final product.

Best Thing We Ate

100% from our hard work and God’s provision. Pork sausage, roasted winter squash, sauerkraut.

From Family Worship

After finishing Acts, we have begun reading Nehemiah. In exile, Nehemiah had a prominent position as cupbearer to the king, which gave him access to the king. In God’s providence, Nehemiah had opportunity to ask the king for permission to return to Jerusalem to help rebuild the city wall. We learned from Nehemiah’s dependence on God, and how in his fear during that great moment of suspense before he opened his mouth before the king, he took a split second to shoot an arrow of prayer up to God for his help and blessing. Our God is always there, to be turned to in any and every situation.

Other Happenings

We went to Blue Ridge, GA for two days and a night to visit some FL friends who were renting a cabin. It was nice to see a new place and old friends.

September 10, 2022

Weather/Nature

Some warm weather early in the week, followed by a nice 2″ rain that brought in cooler temperatures. Cool mornings and drier air a couple of days. Overall still a dry time of year, but that soaking rain should keep things watered for a while. Soon, we hope to see some fall migrating birds start to appear.

Down On The Farm

We’ve begun feeding the pigs with the field corn that has ripened. We bring them stalks each day, and they eat the entirety of the plant – ear corn, leaves and stalk. This should help reduce our feed bill as we have about 1,400 corn plants to feed them.

We are needing to build a well house before cold weather comes so that the tank and lines don’t freeze. Last winter we had a temporary covering, and it is time to put up something more permanent. We thought about using leftover concrete blocks, but after watching some Youtube videos on block work, it seemed more than we wanted to get into. So, we are opting for a simple framed structure that will be insulated and air tight. The first step was getting a level base to build on.

Best Thing We Ate

Homegrown mashed potatoes!

From Family Worship

Paul was not ashamed to speak the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ, despite the trouble and difficulty it brought him. The darkness hates the light of Christ because it exposes things that many would rather keep in the dark. It upsets the apple cart and demands a response. Christians know that any difficulty encountered in faithfully following Christ is insignificant compared to all we have in our union with Him.

Other Happenings

Lots of connection with friends this week. Last Sunday we had two families from church over between services, which was sweet fellowship. And on two different nights this week we got together with friends.

We are thankful to God for these and other friendships that have been God’s provision for us here.

Also this week, we traded our passenger van for a minivan. The extra space of the big van was nice when we were making a lot of trips back and forth between FL and TN, but now that we are settled here the better gas mileage of a minivan is more valuable to us.

September 3, 2022

Weather/Nature

On Thursday we had our first morning in the 50’s and drier air moving in. Most mornings have been very foggy, with warm and dry conditions causing things to get a little dusty. August is a dry month here, in general.

Down On The Farm

The last of the watermelon and cantaloupe were harvested, further opening up the area that has now been planted to oats and clover for a winter cover crop. A cover crop offers several benefits including the prevention of soil erosion, aerating the soil via root growth, and adding organic matter, but maybe the best benefit is that it taps into the soil’s fertility, “trapping” it in the plant tissue of the cover crop. These nutrients are returned to the garden when the cover crop is tilled under in the spring, preventing those nutrients from leaching out of the bare soil over winter.

Best Thing We Ate

It was satisfying to see one dinner this week that consisted of our own homegrown sausage, broccoli, sauerkraut, potatoes, onions and pickles.

From Family Worship

As we wrap up the book of Acts, one commentator made the observations that in Acts we see the good news of the gospel spreading outward from Jerusalem, the capital of the Israelites, to Rome, the capital of the world. This worldwide expansion of God’s covenant of grace with His people from every tribe, tongue and nation was God’s plan all along. To Abram God said, “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3), and in many other places we see the same thing. This new administration of the covenant of grace that was ushered in by Christ is far superior in every way to the old administration under Moses.

Other Happenings

No much other than a little basketball, a fairly quiet week.

August 27, 2022

Weather/Nature

Warm and muggy again this week; summer hasn’t quite released her grip.

Riley continues to find (and identify) beauty where it is easy to miss:

Down On The Farm

The bounty of creation provided us with a fallen tree (cedar) that we cut up and brought to the woodshed. Cedar makes great kindling, so the plan is to chop this into kindling sticks for the winter.

The blueberries that have survived since being planted in the spring are growing well. We lost 8 out of 20, which is unfortunate, and I’m not sure what happened. I think we could have done a better job of watering them. They were originally planted in peat moss because blueberries need acidic soil, and now we mulched them with fine pine bark, which will give their shallow roots room to grow and add acidity as it breaks down. We’ll try propagating blueberries this winter with hardwood cuttings to hopefully have replacement plants for the spring.

Best Thing We Ate

Some friends came over who are very good at identifying plants and trees, and pointed out that we have many pawpaw trees growing along the creek bank. Some even had ripe fruit that we picked. They were delicious – a mix between banana and mango, with a custardy texture. I wish I took a picture. The pawpaw is native to North America and is surprisingly tropical for the climate.

From Family Worship

It is satisfying to see the older children becoming critical thinkers, able to consider multiple views on whatever issue, weigh the merits, and make a decision about what they believe. This comes up all the time when we talk about politics, history, science, government, current events, and of course different theological issue that arise as we read and discuss the Bible. We believe that is the most valuable part of the education we seek to provide for our children.

Other Happenings

On Wednesday, Riley, Sam and Paige were picked up by a friend from church to go shopping and play board games at her house down in Cookeville. I then met them at the prayer meeting to pick them up and come home. It was nice to be at the weekly prayer meeting, which we rarely get to do due to the distance.

August 20, 2022

Weather/Nature

The report locally is that this summer was hotter, but shorter, than usual. We had a hot and dry June, a hot and wet July, and in mid-August the heat began to break. We instinctively have been spending more time on the porch throughout the day and in the evenings. It is lovely weather. Some leaves are starting to drop from the early-shedding trees, and all manner of plants, grass and weeds are making their last big push to go to seed and reproduce before colder weather comes.

We put up two hummingbird feeders and are shocked at how many show up every day. They spend the whole day, from sun up to sun down, feeding on the sugar water. We’ve been surprised at how noisy and aggressive they are with each other, and they seem to have no fear of humans. We’ll see up to 10 at a time.

Down On The Farm

The last of the potatoes and tomatoes have been harvested, and the area of the garden is getting bigger that will soon be sowed to oats and clover as an over-winter cover crop.

The green beans have finally started growing. We thought we lost them with such a dry June, but they bid their time until better conditions, and now they’re really taking off. The sturdy stalk of the Tennessee red cobb corn we grow makes a good trellis for them.

As we went out before dusk last evening to pick green beans and raspberries, one of the children said with sincerity, “I just love this life!”

Best Thing We Ate

Garlic new potatoes, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, etc. these homegrown potatoes have a creamy and slightly sweet way about them and are delicious.

From Family Worship

We’ve enjoyed connecting Acts with many of the New Testament letters written by Paul. As we read the real-time chronological account recorded in Acts, we see Paul and his associates traveling to Galatia, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi. We’re given fascinating detail, like Lydia, the first convert in Philippi, or the Philippian jailer who, along with his family, was surely part of the Philippian church who Paul later wrote to. All of this adds color to our reading of these letter that Paul would go on to write. They background given in Acts has a way of rooting the story, making it much more earthy.

Other Happenings

On a sad note, our old pal Presby was run over and killed this week. He had a terrible habit of chasing cars and it caught up with him. After finding him on the brink of death a few months ago, we are glad to have had him for the summer, and are satisfied that we were able to provide him with love and a full belly. The saddest part is that Anya took to him and they’d play all day. She was there for his burial, and that first day would return to the grave and lay down a while.

We had a chicken snake eat one of our newly hatched chicks, that rascal. Everybody has to eat, but it was the last meal for him.

August 13, 2022

Weather/Nature

Bats flit and dive in the dusk over our pasture, each one eating an incredible number of flies and mosquitoes. I’ve thought about building bat houses to attract them, but it doesn’t seem necessary. I think they must have plenty of nesting sites in the nearby bluffs and dead trees.

Last night and today have been noticeably more comfortable outside. Today feels like early fall weather.

Down On The Farm

Daisy is getting closer to calving, which means we need to get her milking stall built in the barn. We also need to get a secondary chicken coop built to house the new chicks that are outgrowing the brooder. This second coop will come in handy for raising chickens for meat, raising layers to a size where they can defend themselves with the rest of the flock, etc.

18 more quarts of salsa canned this week

Best Thing We Ate

Fried green tomatoes!

From Family Worship

Continuing to make our way through Acts, we had a good discussion one night this week in Acts 13, specifically v. 36 where the Apostle Paul says that David “served the purpose of God in his generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay”. The context is that Paul was comparing David to Jesus, who did not see decay after death. Jesus is the king that David could never have been.

But the simple phrase that David served the purpose of God in his generation got us thinking. Each generation is handed the baton, to run with it until it is time to hand it off to the next. We are each bound by the time and circumstances that God has allotted to us in His perfect wisdom. What will we do with it? Will we serve the purposes of God, or will we serve the purposes of self? How does this affect our planning and thinking about the future?

Other Happenings

I took Samantha with me on a short business trip to Florida where we stayed with my parents. It was a great opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with her, an amazing young lady.

We were invited to join our friends on their trip to the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum. Not being sure what to expect, we were impressed with the size and detail of the place! We had a great time with our friends and learned a lot.

On our way home through Kentucky, we drove through Wendell Berry’s home town of Port Royal. The influence of his writings on our chosen way of life has been significant, and it was surreal to be there – the setting for all of his fiction, poetry and thought. We went to his bookstore in town and I succumbed to the temptation to buy a 1st edition copy of one of his non-fiction works, signed by him, and…from his personal library.