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Our 2014 in Review

WOW…I can’t believe that today is the last day of 2014!! To say that this year has flown by would be quite the understatement. In summary, here are my top five posts of 2014 that, the stats tell me, you all have enjoyed the most….

1 That Certain Age

2 Morning Sunrise

3 Alien Invasion

4 Premature Chick Hatch

5 My Coyote Theory….

…followed closely by…..

6 Harvesting Walnuts

The top referring sites linked to this blog were: Facebook, and http://www.adairhomes.com … our awesome builders. The very beginnings of my writings here were all about the house-build in 2011, and it is amazing to me that I still get so many clicks from those early posts.

This morning, very early, people from….

Country	Views
United States	14

Brazil

Japan

Argentina

Malaysia 1

….and throughout the year, readers from 94 different countries had clicked on my humble attempts to write, and somewhat, entertain those who would happen here. It amazes me!! A heart felt, “Thank you,” to all of you!!

I was thinking that we could take a walk through the forest today, through the year that has been 2014. I have greatly enjoyed your company, and hope to see you back on the farm in the coming year. There is much work to do in 2015…and hopefully, a few warm surprises along the way. Please enjoy this journey in pictures…..

Just ’cause your legs don’t work very well doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a shot at life!! Little Austin Healey got stronger and had a good life as a free range rooster.

Whooooaaa, I’m not going out ther!!!

Hey what’s that?? A little spinach hung from the ceiling helps break the cabin fever!

Claudio wondering, “What the heck is all that cold, white, icy stuff!”

Our neighbors horses…so gorgeous!!

We had a lot of snow in the winter of 2014.

IT’S A HUGE NEWT, OR SALAMANDER OR SOMETHING!!! And what’s that thing next to it??

We had our own alien invasion in the spring of 2014…..

Benedict checking out his progeny!

Beautiful Pear Trees

Penni watching over the youngest flock.

Jag….one of our Buff Orphington / Rhode Island Red mixed roosters…very handsome!

The Muppets and Chardonnay!

In late February the Elk returned for the first time in 2014.

Whoops!!!

We cut down trees to rebuild our wood pile…had this one little “Whooops” moment.

Sizing logs for splitting1

We need to build this stack as high as the highest log, and forward to the front of the pallets!

The Captain of this ship….the mighty Benedict!

Who laid the egg on the right???

We marveled at the difference in size of our hens’ eggs from day-to-day, and hen-to-hen.

Tito and Lilly

The two surviving Bernices.

Of the two orphaned wild turkey poults, one survived and escaped back into the wild….a little earlier than I had planned, but he could fly and was ready to go. There was a group of wild turkeys in the neighborhood that I am confident he joined.

And our garden did pretty well, although, was in need of more actual sun-time throughout the day. We’re thinking where to move it for next year.

Sugar snap peas…TODAY!

Beautiful Broccoli TODAY!

Strawberries…TODAY

YES!!! That’s our Benedict

Beautiful golden gems.

A beautiful sunset!

Tucker in the summer of 2012

In late July, we said goodbye to our dear, dear friend, Tucker. We miss him a ton!!

A truly sad, heartbreaking day.

Making jam…

Strawberry jam

We grew one successful artichoke!!

The mighty artichoke

That’s either a BIG apple, or those are pretty tiny cantaloupe….you decide!!

Tiny Cantaloupe

HEY!!! Get off the porch!!!

What a beauty!!

We had one, beautiful, summer hatchling….she was Mama Chardonnay’s shadow…

Sorry little girl!!

….sadly she was lost to a hawk, or possibly, a racoon or coyote.

The undeniable evidence.

UUUhhhhhmmmmm….Go Giants!!!! What an awesome season!!

The elk returned for a 2nd appearance this year in late November….

The Elk are early this season!

….and our forest turned into a beautiful ice castle…

So beautifully encased in ice.

It was a good year!! Thank you all for sharing it with us.

Happy New Year to you all. Here’s to an amazing 2015!!!

Your friend from Oregon,

Tami

Category:

Happy New Year, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, SF Giants, The Year in Review

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Go Giants!!!

I’m trying to break the silence, but every time I start to write, I back space and take those words off of the page. See, I did it again…I just typed two sentences, only to backspace them away. So although the farm has written it’s own stories, and is anxious to tell them, I have a definite event to speak about today….occurring 600 plus miles away from this forest….

The SF GIANTS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!

Yesterday’s (Saturday, 10-25-14) game was exceptionally exciting….that was some really great baseball!! So not to mislead you, although we are avid Giants fans, we don’t catch that many games during the regular season. One reason…well…since moving to Oregon, we are limited to the games that whomever is in charge, decides to broadcast up here. We don’t pay for the extra channel to get the games. That being said, my mom is the most dedicated fan I know…she catches nearly every game. I’m excited that her, “boys of summer,” made it to the Series!!

The SF Giants have been in my life since the day I was born. I grew up with Willie Mays, Tito Fuentes, Bobby Bonds, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry…did I just date myself?? Baseball is in my family’s blood, and when the Giants get into the World Series….well…it’s a big event…and in our case, there’s a lot of texting going back and forth across the miles!

Witnessing so many years of the SF Giants’ baseball line-up changes, and having the privilege of attending games (both on T.V. and in the ballparks {Candlestick and AT&T Park} under my belt … I think that the last few years have been the most exciting. It was always awesome to see the long ball batting of Barry Bonds, but since he was let off the team, the Giants have built an incredible roster. The players are incredibly athletic which makes for some spectacular fielding and batting…. and have you ever seen pitchers more fun to watch than Timmy Lincecum.. Bumgarner, or Romo??

And the fielding of Pablo Sandaval… AKA …

PANDAAAAAA!!!!

and the all out, put-yourself-out-there baseball of Hunter Pence…

Yup, he caught it!!

And what about this guy? Girls…..??

So, yeah….the hunt for Orange October is in high gear. Two games Kansas City Royals … two games San Francisco Giants .. tonight should be VERY exciting!!!!

Well, it wasn’t really a walk through the forest…but I hope you had fun. Thanks for visiting today!!

Your friend from Oregon,
Tami

Category:

2014 World Series, Buster Posey, California, Homesteading, Hunt for Orange October, Hunter Pence, moving to Oregon, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants, Tim Lincecum

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That Certain Age

Within these past several weeks, I turned that certain age. I’m not giving that age up, but most people who grew up with me, or have known me in these adult years have a good idea what age I am. This is that year in which I am forced to reflect on my life a bit. It is that age I have kind of dreaded…that I have watched my brothers reach and surpass, and when brought to mind, prayed for, earnestly, keeping in mind that lightning rarely strikes twice the same way…but knowing that sometimes it does.

There is just enough irony in life that the nagging of the unknown around that certain age sometimes settles in the way the fog lingers over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sometimes the fog looms, and my fears grow. I pray, I hug my dog, I take a walk, or busy myself with simple chores that take me outside and into the grandeur of the land around me. Other times I write…I write to you whom have become part of this journey…I write those stories that are the “maybe someday, somehow” unpublished pieces…and I read…I read the words of many others who have stories to tell, who ask nothing but to be read. They are out there…stories…wonderful stories baked in the lives of so many…when the fog settles in, these things help me to remember that the truth of this certain age is not necessarily the truth of that same certain age of another.

I am that age…the age when my father died.

My dad was a young man…he seemed older to me, at the time, than I feel now, but since I am that same age I realize how young he was, really. He died suddenly, his body failed him. That’s what bodies do…some earlier, some later, but they all fail. That Sunday morning left ripples, waves in my life lasting the entirety of these past 23 years.

So this year, the year of that certain age, I’m focusing on health…this little homestead helps with that, along with you, as I read your words and learn from your wisdom and recipes…and from new friends who have recently introduced me into the delicious world of squash, beyond zucchini…. 🙂 I’ve never been to this world before. Then there’s this TVP, Textured Vegetable Protein…..hmmmm, that’s a maybe.

Mostly, I know that this body will fail at some point. Greater yet, I am assured of this….

John 10:27-29 (Jesus is speaking at the temple during a dispute at the feast of dedication)
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

….my salvation through Christ is rock solid, nothing can snatch me from His hand!! When I actually do reach the age in which my time is done, I know where I’m going. That assurance makes being this certain age a much happier place to reside. In the meantime, life is good……

GREAT DANE PUPPIES TO HUG!!

That’s my Penni in the orange collar.

BUBBLES TO POP!!

HANK!

GARDENS TO GROW!!

CHICKS TO HATCH!!

CRAZY CAT PICTURES TO TAKE!!

AND THEN THERE’S SOURDOUGH….SAN FRANCISCO SOURDOUGH!!

AND DISNEYLAND!!

AND THESE GIRLS!!

My sweet girls, Penni and Karli !

AND THIS FAMILY!!

AND THIS LAND!!

AND YOU…all of you..who walk through this forest, and visit this farm. Who’s words inspire, teach, encourage, and fill my kitchen with wonderful fragrances from delicious new recipes. As my thoughts turn inwards…you help me to look out from the window of this certain age, and I, once again, move away from my apprehension. And since the SF Giants are one step closer to getting into the World Series….October is looking pretty darn good!!!

Thanks for sharing this certain year with me!!

Your friend from Oregon,
Tami

Category:

Bay Area Fog, building a new home, California, Giants, Great Dane, Harvesting, Hatching Chicks, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Rat Terrier mix, SF Giants

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Morning Sunrise

I’ve taken a bit of an absence from writing lately, a time to clear my head of old thoughts and to see if there is still room for new ideas. That step away brought a type of solitude, an inward look into the entire last three years raising questions in my mind.

I have been missing my home of 22 years,

So many beautiful memories made in that house.

and the San Francisco Bay Area…the place of my entire existence up until our big move three years ago. To say that I never look back would be completely untrue. Something usually strikes a chord in me, however, bringing me back to this place.

As I sit here drinking my coffee and watching the morning sunrise,

I am taken by the unique beauty that is all around me. The sun’s light rises in the east, yet casts its first warmth on the western hills behind us slowly erasing the shadows of the night.

The diurnal wilds of the forest are awakening, yet the nocturnal are taking their last look around within the shadowy places. I know this because I hear the “hoot-hooting” of an invisible owl to whom I am probably well in focus, yet to me remains stealthily hidden.

A cacophony of birds, all different in their song, resounds in the background, the foreground, all around me. The neighboring farms are awakening with sounds of crowing, braying, gobbling, quacking, and the ever present, “Hey, I’m laying an egg here” repeated clucking of hens giving of their provisions.

I may have left my heart in the San Francisco Bay Area (seriously, this is true),

but my soul finds peace in this little slice of Oregon. Well, actually, my soul finds peace in Christ, but as I look around me, the brilliance of the Creator envelops my very being. That is what has drawn me to this place from the beginning…I see God’s handiwork all around me, and in that there is great peace, contentment, and a huge desire to be here…to be right here!