Spring In My Step

 Being able to step outside at 7 o'clock in the morning without shivering is a wonderful feeling. And we've been taking full advantage of this lovely weather by starting our spring work. Weeds are beginning to come up in our gardens, and of course we can't let that go unpunished, so I've begun pulling them already. We moved the chickens out of our high tunnel (their winter quarters) and into the chicken yard, where they are very happy.

Inside we've started seedlings for our vegetable and flower gardens, and although we are rather late to the game, we have some already done and are planting more literally as I write this. 

Outside, our perennials are peeking their heads up all over the place. Strawberries, Lamb's Ear, and Iris's are all greeting us.

Other spring happenings ... well, Noah's ducks seem to think that our front yard is clearly in their territory, so they happily escape their pasture (Which, by the way, has a pond. Why don't they like stay with the pond? Agh.) and proceed to go about are yard on muddy days, drilling holes in the grass with their bills and turning puddles into deeper mud puddles.

And these are just some of the delightful activities brought on by spring. :)

Chloe 

Desserts

They are one of my favorite foods. ;) Cookies, cakes, pudding, pies, cupcakes and chocolate bars, they are all a big part of cozy evenings. So I decided to type "dessert" into the search bar of our Google Photos, and after seeing what came up decided that I absolutely must make a post about it. 

(Also, sorry I haven't posted anything the past two weeks, but we've been REALLY busy :))

WARNING: IF YOU ARE ON A DIET, GO NO FURTHER. 

For starters, Dirt Pudding. I actually couldn't find any pictures of this, one of my top 5 favorite desserts, in our Google Photos. :( But, fortunately, there's always the internet, so I found a picture of this dessert that looks just like the finished product that my sister Lindsey produces on nearly every one of my birthdays.

And this is the best cake ever. Literally. It's called "The Best Cake Ever." And it is.

Of course, we mustn't forget the most common and one of the most delicious desserts ever: Chocolate Chip Cookies. This picture is smack in the middle of a big operation conducted by Lindsey and I. As you can see. We've got an assembly line going.

And these two cookies ... I'm not sure who took this picture, but since it looks like it was taken on a blanket, I'm going to assume that someone sneaked cookies back to the their bedroom and wanted to savor the moment. XD

Next up we have cakes! 

And now, last but not least, Cinnamon Rolls. They just never get old. 

Unless, of course, they sit out for more than a week.

If you're not hungry by now ... well, I am. This is actually the majority of the desserts pictures that I could find in our photos, which is mildly disappointing. I suppose I should try to take more pictures of dessert in the future ... 

Chloe

Plans and Plant Preparations

 One thing that I always like to get an early start on every year is planning for our gardens: what seeds to plant, what seeds to order, what seeds we already have, the whole kit & caboodle. First we have to figure out what kind of vegetables we want to re-plant, or in some cases experiment with. And then Mom will go over with Nathan (who is going to take charge of the gardens this year) what all he wants to add and or try out. 

Now, vegetables are all fine and well, don't get me wrong. I really enjoy producing our own farm-fresh veggies and making farm-fresh meals out of them. (Especially the jalapenos -- don't get me started on Jalapeno Poppers). But the things that are really vital to the gardening experience, at least for me, are the flowers. 

They're just so -- vital! They brighten up the fresh but occasionally monotonous green with splashes of purple, pink, red, yellow, white, and practically any other color you could possibly ask for. And for this year, I plan to stick a flower wherever I can find a spot -- or until Mom reminds me that I'll have to help with the watering if we have a dry spell. (insert sheepish smiley face here). I have a flower patch of my own, and we'll also put them up along the house and in pots everywhere, not to mention that some flowers serve as great companion plants for our vegetables. Last year we had petunias coupled with tomatoes, and the petunias actually drew away a significant amount of tomato worms!

So here are some pictures I found online of the flowers I plan to plant just in my flower garden; hopefully I'll be able to post pictures that I actually took of them later this year, if all goes well in the flower bed. :)

This dainty flower is an Blue Disc African Daisy. It, like many of our seeds, came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

These little drops of sunshine are marigolds -- we grow them every year, but I've never done them in my flower garden yet and I'm excited to see them take off!

Stocks: I tried them last year ... well they didn't really hit it off ... at all. Only one plant grew, and it waited to bloom until late autumn, when the weather was turning cold and everything else was dying off. Well, I've decided to try it again this year, with some extra care and little more care on the side.

This is a Black and White Minstrel Dianthus bloom. I also grew these last year, and they did wonderfully! I'm very excited to try them again, in thick little clusters with an abundance of blooms. 

We've grown Zinnias before, but not of such a vibrant hue as this one. Now I've got a packet of pink Zinnia seeds and they are so going into my garden. :)

And now, last but certainly not least, Asters! I've never had any experience with them before, but from what I've seen and heard they are gorgeous! I can't wait to try them out. !!! I also have a small rose bush in the corner of my flower patch, which should produce small pink blooms and add to the overall flowery fragrance and look of the entire bed.

After all that planning (and writing this blog post) I can't help but look forward to spring, when I'll put all of my plant plans into action!

Chloe

Winter is Finally Here!

But wait ... hasn't winter been here for two months?

When I think of winter I think of soft white snow, blanketing the fields and the housetops, creating a cozy environment inside your warm house as you cradle your steaming mug of hot chocolate and watch the atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals falling outside.

But, unfortunately, winter doesn't necessary guarantee snow, as we learned painfully this past December of 2021. To my recollection, not a single flake of snow fell during the entire month, leaving us with only disappointing temperatures and leafless trees. Snow and ice, though relatively little, did come on the first of January, New Years of 2022, and thus began a rather snowy winter!

I was very happy when we got another 3 inches of snow later in January, and now, on February 5, we have somewhere between 7 - 10 inches lying around our yard in drifts. ! It's so nice to wake up in the morning, expectantly awaiting a sunrise that would bring you a view of everything white -- which, as aforementioned, is the proper look for winter.

Another thing I really enjoy about winter are **drumroll** -- the birds! As a gift for my last birthday, one of the things I received was a greatly anticipated birdfeeder, which I promptly filled with birdseed and hung outside a sun-room window -- in full view so we could watch the adorable phoebes, bold bluejays, and stunning cardinals.

So far, if my bird documenting skills are correct, I've seen quite a few Eastern Phoebes. Here is one who braved the danger on the ground for a snack.

Unfortunately, the bird itself is in slight danger of becoming a snack, thanks to our very sweet, adorable, and innocent looking cat, Ebony.

Ebony has an unfortunate tendency to ... well, be a cat. Whenever she sees a bird she'll creep up and eventually pounce. So far she hasn't successfully caught any birds, thankfully. The birdfeeder was not intended as bait. XD

Getting outside and playing in the snow is so much fun, especially when there are huge drifts to be discovered ...

... and annihilated.

Well, there's an update on us enjoying the beginning of 2022! Go have fun in the snow, whenever there's some available, and stay warm! 

(Two things you can easily do together ;)

Chloe

WotR Research Special - Carlisle Castle - Also Happy New Year!

This starts out with as a random post with a random topic, but it gets more serious, I promise :D

I've been researching for the Wars of the Roses recently (again; it's a continuous thing) and realized that I didn't know what a certain castle looked like, even though it featured in the story. 

I am very easily distracted by researching, mind you, but this kind of detail is very important to me---you can't write a scene well if you don't know the surroundings.

So I did a little digging and was quickly blown away. 

Presenting Carlisle Castle.

 

These are just a few of the pictures that I instantly wanted to save. The crazy thing is, I already had the sloping steep ground (see picture #2) in my head when I was imagining these scenes, so it's great that it's actually there.

Researching and writing down notes is so fun, you guys. Like I said, I tend to get distracted by it when I should be plotting or outlining, but the details almost always help. (Almost.)

Carlisle Castle is located in the North of England, and was controlled, at the time of my story, by the Neville family---a rich, well known and wide spread House of the nobility.

My characters who arrive at the castle (about 1/3 through the story) are a young servant boy and girl, whose already unsteady lives are shaken up even more by the quick move to Carlisle Castle. Along with them is their adult friend, a kind, wandering minstrel who promises that he will return to visit them when he leaves.

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I could go on but I'd better not. Despite the fact that I'm writing this post, I actually haven't got to do much writing of any sort recently---life's been busy, but in the good way. :)

Of course, there's been sickness and traveling and a bunch of school as well. My goals for the next few years are becoming more clear, and I'm praying that the Lord will help me to accomplish them so I can be ready for whatever---or whomever :D---might come my way. :)

Looking forward into the New Year, we should remember to take it step by step, month by month, and not to stress about things that needn't be stressed about. "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ," as Titus 2:13 says. And you know, there's more than one way we should be looking for God. Waiting for Him to come back, of course...but also in all the things we do, in things we say, in the people we talk to---if these things are not reflecting the things of the Lord or His commandments, should we really be doing them?

One thing I pray for 2019 is that people will be able to see more of God's light in me.

Happy New Year, everyone! God bless!

~Lindsey

Pictures from Pinnacles

Late November, around Thanksgiving, there was a beautiful uncomplicated day in between all the cold and busy days. Dad and Mom decided to pack us up and drive to Pinnacles, a Missouri National Park that is practically in our backyard, it's so close. Despite living where we have for 6 + years we still hadn't gone to check it out.

It was amazing, and so much fun! It was a really good family outing, and a perfect day for it! The Lord really blessed :)

Here's a bunch of pictures:

Aaron

We climbed up this rather steep hill...

Then headed right back down again. :D

I love this picture of Chloe :)

Ending with dear little Bubs...love him so much! :)

 Hopefully sometime we can go back. We all really enjoyed it. :)

~Lindsey

The Creation and Ark Adventure ~ Blog by Chloe

We had a great time at the Creation Museum!

When we arrived at the museum entrance, there were two long-neck dinosaurs there to greet us. They were tall and still, (which wasn't surprising, seeing that they were statues.)

Then we entered the building. The ceiling was high, and hanging from it were two, very long Chinese dragons. They didn't have legs, though. :)

There were lots of neat things. Dinosaurs, statues of people that moved, lots and lots of insects, cool rocks, and much more. All of it pointing to God's wonderful designs in creation.

Later in the day we went the planetarium. It was one of my favorite parts of the whole vacation! It was quiet and dark, and we were all in soft seats that could lean back so we could see the ceiling. The screen was above us on the ceiling, and it felt like we were looking up into an upside down bowl.

The show was about the Created Cosmos. It started with earth, and then went to our solar system, and then moved on to our galaxy, all the way up to what we know of the universe.

The stars and planets were beautiful, and the animation was wonderful! It made us so amazed at how big God is!

We all had a very good time. Then, the next day, it was on to the ark!

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A life size version of Noah's ark!

We had a great time at the Ark Encounter. It was neat to look on the outside and see how huge it was for real. 

Here's the whole thing.

Though the ark isn't as neat in pictures as it is in person, it's the next best thing.

When we arrived at the parking lot, we got on a bus and drove down to the bus stop, and after a few minutes, headed to the huge thing we had come to see. (On foot)

On the way there, we saw statues of animals and tall, stone blocks with pictures telling a story carved on them.

The inside gave you some idea of what life for Noah and his family was like for the 370 or so days that they lived there. Here's a lot of pictures:

It can be hard to understand what you are seeing in these pictures if you haven't been there, so seeing it in person is best of course.

The whole trip was a very fun experience, and we learned some new things. God is very good to his children, in the past and present!

Well, that's all for now!
~Chloe