Country Wedding - Family Style

 A Country Wedding - Family Style

This past weekend we had the honor of welcoming a new daughter into our family.  We loved her from the start and have no doubt that she and our son will have a beautiful marriage.  The planning began last December in the traditional way.  A ring was purchased, a question was popped and an answer joufully given.  Celebrations followed and plans were started.  A country theme was chosen and the preparations began. 

An offer was made to use a traditional barn near the brides home, for the reception. 

 The ceremony would take place in the garden of the home on the property.  Let me tell you, this place is amazing.  It dates from the 1600's  in a rural area of Maryland's Eastern Shore.  So many voices from the past can be heard as you stroll the gardens and pastures.  How many weddings has this house seen?  

The barn had been renovated within the last 30 years and was absolutely gorgeous.  I would be happy to live in a barn this amazing.  The owners no longer have any horses or cattle and the barn was immaculate.  But since people would be eating there, some cleaning and vacuuming needed to be done before the big day.

The property, already beautiful, received some sprucing up with fresh mulch and fresh stain for the fencing.  

As the big day approached we switched into full gear with transforming the barn into a fairytale wedding site. Hundreds of strings of twinkly lights lent an ambiance of romance to the barn.  Mason jars held mini LED lights for extra sparkle. 

 Yards and yards of Tulle and Burlap joined  to add just the right combination of wedding elegance and country charm.  

 Decorations were gathered from grandmothers, mothers, personal friends, and flea markets.  Each table had it's own unique accents for the guests to enjoy.  

Creative touches were added with chalkboard paint and chalk, old windows and markers for the table assignments, and an old trunk to deposit wedding gifts.  

One of my favorite touches was the sign welcoming the guests and asking them to seat themselves.

Classic Eastern Shore food was served including ham, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans and salad.  The rain that was all around, held off throughout the day.  A gift from God to start the couple on the path of marriage.  

Two families have been joined through our children's love for each other.  We so enjoyed being included in the planning and work days.  This is how it must have been, back in simpler times.  When the most important thing about  the wedding day was not the amount of money spent , but the joining of two young people and their families.  Love was present in this simple elegant barn wedding in many tangible ways.  The cake was a gift from  a close friend who is a professional baker.   I hope she didn't mind the addition of the Duck Dynasty folks but hey that's what it's all about.  Cute personal additions to the day.













 The DJ for the event was the groom's brother.   The venue was  a gift too.  But of course, the greatest gift of all was witnessing the joining of our two children who have boundless love for each other.     We felt God's blessing.

Thanks for stopping by. 


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Millie's Spa Day

I was eagerly awaiting my appointment at the day spa.  My fleece had grown thick and luxurious all winter, but as spring approached, it was beginning to itch.  I was ready for  a shorter hairdo for the summer.  But first they needed to catch me.

Even though I like being pampered, I don't like being caught.  Ranger, my roommate, helped me dodge the caretakers.  They are smart, though and separated us using gates.  The next thing I know, I have a rope around my neck and I am on my way to the spa.  It's only a short distance from my field to the spa area, so I am being prepped before I know it.  First I get a handful of treats.  This girl likes her treats!

If I had known all that food was stuck in my coat, I would have had a snack!

Sticks and leaves are picked out first by hand, but I see the electric clippers ready on the table.  Soon I will feel the cool breeze and warm sun on my skin again.  The clippers make short work of my winter fleece.  It falls off in thick cascades of creamy wool.  I am proud of what I grew!  The caretaker carefully gathers it up and puts it into a basket.  After the majority of my wool is shorn off, the clippers go over my skin again to even up the cut and make me look my best.  I feel so much lighter.

Treat time again, and then it's time for my pedicure. I'll tell you the truth about this part.  I don't like it.  Not one little bit.  Especially my back feet.  But this is where they start. First a caretaker picks up one of my back legs.  I try to kick and wiggle my leg free.  They finally get me to hold still and begin trimming my hoof.  Once my hoof is trimmed back into the normal shape, the caretaker moves on to the next leg.  Once again, I put up a fuss.  Hey, I don't like it!  But before too long, all four hooves have been trimmed into shape and cleaned up nicely.  I have to admit, it does feel better.

Treats!  Yes!  this is the best part of all.  I hear Ranger crying for me in our pen.  I am ready to go back.  But the caretakers have one more treat for me before I go back.   I get a tube of liquid put into my mouth.  I don't like it but its not too bad.  I have heard them say that it keeps worms from living in my tummy.
After this I get one more treat and it's time to go back.  Ranger is so glad to see me again.  He sniffs me and I tell him all about my time at the spa.

And now it is dinner time.  This girl loves her food.  It's been a good day.










(I want to thank Millie for guest blogging for me today.  She wanted to tell you about her spring ritual in her own words.  I  hope you enjoyed this post. )


This post was shared on a wonderful blog hop from Backyard Farming Connection
 http://www.backyardfarmingconnection.com/2013/05/the-backyard-farming-connection-hop-32.html
so hop over and see some other entries on farm life

Farm Animal First Aid Kit

What I Keep In My First Aid Kit

Recently, I presented an evening seminar on Chicken Keeping for Beginners at  the feed store.  The attendance was great and the evening went well. I was impressed with the questions that the attendees had and everyone learned from each other as much as from my presentation.  It was one of those community events that make you proud and happy to be part of the neighborhood.
One part of my presentation focused on the items I keep handy at our farm, for emergencies with the animals.  I listed the items and explained some of the things that may have been unfamiliar to the group.
I began to think about posting this information here, as a reference.

The list looks like this:

Saline Solution- for cleaning and irrigating a wound so you can assess the situation

Vertricyn or Banixx sprays-  These products are antibacterial wound sprays.  I have had much success using them in the past, so I like to keep them around

Hydrogen Peroxide

Gauze Pads or roll of gauze

Tweezers

Iodine/Betadine solution

Syringe- for giving oral meds or even yogurt. 

Corn Starch or Wonder Dust- whether you accidentally nick the sheep when shearing or clip a toe too short, this will stop the bleeding quickly.  Usually these wounds are superficial but to keep flies off and let a scab form, pack some corn starch on the area. 

Neosporin- a MUST HAVE!

Cotton swabs/ Q-tips

Blue Kote-  is an antiseptic aerosol or pump spray that colors the wound dark blue.  Birds will peck at an open wound that shows red.  This camouflages the wound, giving the animal time to heal without becoming a target of more aggressive animals or chickens

Paper Towels

Vaseline

Electrolytes Powder- good to have on hand just in case.  Sometimes it's all that is needed to perk up an ailing animal

Nutra drench products  Rich in vitamins and energy, nutra drench makes a specific product for most types of livestock.  I like to have it on hand, as a "it can't hurt" type of product.

Vet wrap- I love this cohesive bandage for wrapping leg or foot wounds.  It sticks to itself, making it easier to wrap a wound.  For the ducks, I often use electric tape to hold the vet wrap in place longer, since ducks are so prone to stay wet and messy


Electric tape - see above

Old towels

Sharp Scissors

Flash Light

Another good tip, have some of your animal's favorite treat on hand.  As long as the animal is not in respiratory distress or shock, it will help you catch a wounded or scared animal if you have a favorite treat in your hand.

Most of these items are readily available from your local
drug store.  Having these things in your feed room or supply area,  can save you much stress when an emergency occurs.  It can save you a vet call, if you are prepared and have accumulated a bit of knowledge about what to do with superficial wounds and ailments common to our livestock and pets. Grab a sturdy box or plastic tote and assemble your own first aid kit for your homestead.  You will be glad you did if an emergency happens. 

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Verticle Vegetable Gardening Giveaway!

Vertical Vegetable Gardening and Pottery Bowl giveaway!

A few months back, I was privileged to write a review of Chris McLaughlin's new book, Vertical Vegetable Gardening.  Since writing the review, this book has become even more important to me when planning my spring and summer gardens.  I am using more containers and planting veggies  that can climb up a support structure.  I am looking forward to a better harvest and less waste and rot from plants lying on the ground.  Not only these tips, but much more in depth information on how to create a successful garden in limited space.

And here's the best news of all.  I have an extra copy of Vertical Vegetable Gardening!  A giveaway must be held! And it's the perfect time of year to hold one.  I hope you will enter the drawing and spread the word.  To sweeten the deal even more, I am also including a pottery bowl from Nelle Designs.  I love this bowl and the eggs painted inside.  Perfect for chicken lovers, bird lovers and nature lovers.

So enter below and good luck to all! Contest ends on May 1, 2013, at midnight!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More Duck Drama

Our duck house is a creation I am proud of. I designed it, my husband built it and it is working out perfectly for the ducks and turkeys. We survived the earlier drama when the turkeys attacked the ducks and we had to build a screen between the two breeds. It has two separate covered runs for each poultry breed to hang out in and the fence is sturdy metal fencing. We thought we had the predator problem beat with this design. Only one problem. We didn't ever completely finish the bottoms of the fencing by blocking off the ground surrounding the fence, to prevent something from digging under. We forgot, I guess. Started another project and just forgot that we didn't cross our t's and dot our i's. So here's what happened the other day. When we arrived for the evening feeding, I looked up the hill at the duck pen and immediately noticed something was amiss. I heard ducks but there were no ducks in the duck pen. The ducks however, were all next door in the turkey pen. Why would they volunteer to go into the turkey pen and were they all ok? the last time they were together ended with one beat up bloody duck and another with a wing injury. I quickly counted heads and all were physically fine, just standing together in the turkey pen, in some sort of standoff with the tom turkey, Gus. I set about returning ducks to the duck pen. The ducks were dirty from foraging in the turkey pen without a pool to clean off in. After a swim the ducks were all clean and happy again. I looked around for an answer to this questionable situation. Then I noticed a hole under the fence. A largish hole dug under the fence and all the way into the duck pen. Hmmm. I first thought that my son's dog must have been visiting and dug the hole. But it really wasn't big enough for Jackson. I called my son anyway and he confirmed that the dogs were not walked up there recently. So what happened? My theory is that something did dig under the fence and enter the duck pen. The ducks being frightened, ran into the duck house side and broke through a small opening to the turkey side. Once over there, they probably couldn't remember how to return back. The ducks drank all the turkey's water and spent the rest of the afternoon waiting. I don't know how long they were there because it was sometime after lunch time check and before dinner. My husband reinforced the bottoms of the fence with large pieces of lumber and filled in the hole. The next morning, the hole was back. Something had revisited during the night. More lumber was placed to prevent digging. So far, no ducks have been harmed. We are adding more check ins during the day and looking to borrow a camera to catch the culprit on the recorder. Lessons learned- Finish the job you start, and never let your guard down where predators are concerned.

PS.  I should add that after this post was written, we did  add buried wire fencing to the duck pen.  This is a recommended
way to keep animals from digging into your pen.











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