Galloway Farm

Charles got a 20 gauge double barrel for his 12th birthday back in spring. Dove season is just around the corner so it was time for some shooting lessons.

And we topped off the lesson by scouting for turkeys in prep for the fall turkey season. Look closely.

Recently I headed out to do some bush hogging with our Corgi, Persimmon, in tow. As we passed the cows, she couldn’t resist the urge to chase them.

I just kept on going but soon I realized the cows weren’t running away anymore…in fact they started surrounding her.

Things started to get ugly fast. So I plucked her from an early demise and she made the trip riding high on the John Deere.

If you start planning your garden at Christmas, and spend January buried in seed magazines searching for the oldest heirloom seeds, and you start your baby tomato plants under lights in February, and pairing down to your best 70 seedlings of 20 varieties of tomatoes breaks your heart, and you pray your little plants won’t all be wiped out by a late frost and you spend the next two months in anticipation of your favorite tomatoes to eat during every single meal all summer, seeing your 15 month old baby girl pick her first one and devour it right there in the garden is a special moment that can make every gardener tear up a little bit.

I’ve been gardening for ten years with some good years and some really bad ones. This year we moved the garden to a new spot and it turned out to be a great decision. Dark soil, green plants and everything is thriving. The kids love to work it with me and every day is a surprise to go see what new things are ready to eat.

Another fantastic July 4th with family & friends. It was hot as fire outside but we all enjoyed the good food, good friends and good fireworks show as we gave thanks to God that we get to live in the USA.

Charles was fishing with two poles today. He turned around just in time to see one pole get dragged into the water and disappear. For an hour he stalked the pole as the bobber made various momentary appearances around the pond before going back under. He finally snagged the submerged line with the line on the second pole and recovered the lost pole. We pulled in the highjacked line and grabbed the net in time to pull out this 6.5 lb 23.5″ catfish…fish stories don’t get much better than that.

Each year since we’ve owned the farm, two geese come in late February and build a nest in the same spot. It’s not an easy job, but if they can protect the eggs from the turtles and other predators, we get to see them raise their young around our pond. The first year we affectionately named them Goosey & Gander and we like to think the same pair return each year.

We had a great time with the big crowd from church at the 4th annual fall party at the farm. Good food, lots of friends, hayrides and live bluegrass music…we all had a wonderful fall afternoon.

A new stihl pole saw was an awesome bday gift to me.  With lots of big trees, trimming out the low branches is a great chance to share some hard work with the boys.

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We had an awesome time with all our friends in Little People of America.  Lots of old friends and new ones showed up for lots of fun in the pool.  LPA has been a big part of our lives.