Power tools have nearly overtaken the workshop. But these old friends are still hanging in the shop ready to give help when necessary. When the power is out, you can depend on them.
Power tools have nearly overtaken the workshop. But these old friends are still hanging in the shop ready to give help when necessary. When the power is out, you can depend on them.
I had a delicious snack of cheesy, corny chips. Then I headed outdoors to do some yardwork.
My tulips and daffodils needed trimming. The grass grows thick in the ground around them. So I have to take the hand clippers to do the job. The wind and the sun made the task comfortable. The cats came around to purr and relax around me as I labored cutting the long grass.
One of the younger cats came right up to me. He could smell the snack on my hands. It tempted him. He nudged up to my hand, expecting to taste something super. He prepared to bite a treat, applied pressure slowly and his sharp tooth broke my skin. Neither of us got anything good of the deal.
So I quit my work, cleansed the wound and went back to begin the job again.
The moral of the story is: wash the snacks off your hands, before you go out to work.
Wenda Grabau © 2009
In the blackness of winter’s early morning hours,
The farmhouse kept us all warm.
Heat, forced through ducts to most ev’ry room,
Sheltered us from frost, wind chill and harm.
Grandma’s handmade quilts tucked ‘round the kids
Covered us from noses to toes.
But down in the cellar, from the wood-furnace fire,
Heav’nly scents of wood burning ‘rose.
Father felled the trees; cut and split the logs.
He piled and stacked all the wood.
With autumn’s cold chill, he moved the stack into
The wood-room, where his fuel supply stood.
The warmth, sights, and sounds of the old furnace-fire
Mark my life like a hot firebrand.
His work, his commitment still show me his love—
A fire lit by Father’s faithful hand.
* * * * * * * * * * *
This poem lauds an earthly father. However, it also reminds me of my Heavenly Father.
In the black, coldness of sin, He created a safe haven to make me and others feel the warmth and security of His love. He shelters us from eternal harm. Like this earthly father, He, too, lit a fire. That fire was a Light that God sent into this world to touch men’s lives, to let them see the truth. (See John 1:1-14.)
Go to that Light, Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father made this haven from the cold and darkness and destruction of sin. He worked out the details and has made the commitment to you, if you will simply believe in the light He sent. That light is Jesus—a fire lit by the Father’s faithful hand.
photo credit: Ruth Flickr via photo pin cc
What a great addition to the kitchen. All of the spices fit neatly into one rack! This wooden rack makes good use of space since it can hang on a wall. The egg yolk separator and wooden spoon are great tools for any baker.
Give this gift card to the chef in your kitchen:
Buy the Spice Rack Gift Card
Farmer’s Wife secures the crated chicks in the car. In so doing she prevents the crate from sliding around or falling on the floor when she has to use the brakes during their trip. The chicks need to maintain their body temperature, so she keeps the car very warm on route to their new home.
Arriving at the farm, Farmer’s Wife looks for Farmer. She drives up to the entrance of the brooder house. She turns off the car, leaving the chicks in the warm car temporarily, and goes to get 1/2 cup of sugar and a gallon of warm water. The sweetened water is the first energy drink the baby chicks will get. Farmer is close at hand and carries the crate of chirping chicks into the prepared brooder house.
Farmer has had the brooder lights warming the house for a few hours. The brooder lights are heat lamps that hang above a little fenced in area of the house. Since there is not mother hen to warm them, the lights do a good job of keeping them comfortable and healthy.
Farmer and his wife get nourishment ready for the chicks. Farmer’s Wife, brings the warm water and sugar. Farmer mixes up the liquid and places it in the drinking fountain. He places the fountain in the fenced off area for the little peepers. Farmer also places some of the chick starter in small feeding troughs for the chicks to find their first food. Lunch is ready.
The breed that Farmer and Farmer’s Wife chose has red hens and white roosters. So as they prepare to count the chicks, Farmer asks, ‘Which ones do you want?”
“I’ll take the whites, Farmer’s wife answers.
Systematically, Farmer and his wife take their assigned chicks, giving each a drink of water and counting them till the crate is empty.
“How many did you get?” asks Farmer.
“Forty-eight roosters,” replies Farmer’s Wife.
“I got 54 hens,” notes Farmer. ” There are a total of 102 chicks and none of them looks sick.” He and his wife watch the peepers get acclimated to their new surroundings.
Things are looking good.
Now Farmer has time to do his chores. Farmer’s Wife parks the car in the garage and goes to her work. Farmer will check in on them again soon.
Photo on Flickr by Willrad
It’s that time of the year which the children anticipate with delight. No…it is not Christmas. It is the day the baby chicks arrive!
Farmer’s Wife orders chicks once a year through a local feed mill. She and Farmer pick two dates that will work for the farm to receive the chicks. The mill and the hatchery pick the date that will work for them. And the order is set in motion.
Farmer has two chicken coops. One is the brooder house. It houses the hens and one rooster over the winter. In April, Farmer moves them to the hen house and cleans out the brooder house to make it ready to receive the new hatchlings.
The hatchery delivers the one-day-old chicks to the mill in a cardboard crate. The crate has four sections: each holds 25 peeping chicks. The peeping is so loud that their presence at the mill office cannot be kept a secret.
One gentleman from the mill takes responsiblility to deal with the chicken business for the mill. He is referred to as “the chicken man.” When “the chicken man” calls, Farmer’s Wife hustles off to the mill to pick them up.
She arrives within about a half-hour. The chicks sing loudly as they await the rest of their journey. Farmer’s Wife carefully inspects the fluffy cargo. She needs to know if the chicks are all alive before she pays for them. When she sees that all are well, she buys chick starter, a feed to get them off to a healthy start, and the chicks and they take off on their way to the farm.
You are welcome to view the Farm Building card in our store. It shows the coops.
photo credit: SMercury98 via photo pin cc
My husband had seen the dilemma from the field. He with his tractor and machinery came as quickly as they could. Pulling his machinery to a stop, he created a blockade across the road.
He secured gates in the barnyard to keep the cattle which were still confined where he wanted them. He opened several gates to precipitate the cattle finding their right places. With gates ready, Faithful went to work herding Mrs. Cow and her kind into the barnyard. Some of the girls missed their marks and required additional coaching, but all were safely gathered in.
My husband assessed the problem before he got to the farm, while he drove down the road. Unbeknownst to me, several other milk cows had found their way to the calf pasture and munched peacefully till my husband, Faithful and I caught up with them. These cattle had chosen a safer route. Fences and gates separated them from their cow yard, with no dangerous roads. Tension began to subside.
The Holy Bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
How true that is. I could not have done the job without my husband. While he was away, he needed his my help. Once he arrived, we needed each other’s help to get the job done. Hurray for teamwork!! My husband and I recovered all of the cattle together. We had a good reward for our labor.
(And how grateful we are for our farm dog, Faithful.)
See the Farm Dog card in our store.
Mrs. Cow’s kin clearly enjoyed the first, green grass of the season. Hay is dried fodder which cattle find delicious, but after the long winter, they find the fresh smells of new grass in the air tantalizing.
I took my stand. I considered my options as I stood between the road and the black and white lawn “mowers” as they worked.
Just then, I saw on the road in the distance, the Cavalry was on the way!!!
See our Faithful, the Cow Dog card in our store.
Mrs. Cow became startled when I appeared out of nowhere as she had. So she looked for the nearest exit. She began her amble off to the east side of the farm to avoid me.
I knew the danger off in the east. Having no gate across the driveway to the county road left the real possiblity of Mrs. Cow going off to visit the neighbors, or worse yet, getting hit by a car. I summoned Faithful to my side and they scurried to the roadway to head off Mrs. Cow as she followed the road towards no-cow’s-land.
I used my farmwife savvy to catch that cow. I and Faithful positioned ourselves on the road and slowly approached her. But to our surprise, on this aspect of the grassy, green-carpeted hillside, stood 5 more of Mrs. Cow’s relatives. They, too, had gotten loose.
“Yikes! Now what?” I thought, shaking my head.
Please check out the Cow Dog card is available in our store.
My husband and I take a different path each day. Today my husband headed out to the fields. I took an outdoor route for my day, too. I donned my bib overalls and a red flannel shirt as I headed out to make ready the waiting lawn mower.
I stepped out of the basement door only to be greeted by the unlikely sight of a Holstein milk cow! I stood the hillside right below the farmhouse. Cows are common on the farm, but generally they come with a fence around them.
I noticed Faithful, the farm dog, on the downhill side of Mrs. Cow. I reasoned, “One cow out is a handful, but between Faithful and me, maybe we can get Mrs. Cow herded back into the barnyard where she belongs.” Faithful would be a big help in getting the job done.
Nice thought, but wishful thinking.
Find Faithful, the Cow Dog cards in our store.