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<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nI don\u2019t remember it being this wet other years\u2026 and there\u2019s more rain coming. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the weekend the wind was especially crazy! \u00a0It\u2019s always a little windy here on our property even when it\u2019s calm everywhere else, there\u2019s a breeze here but last weekend, we had sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 50 mph – at certain places in the yard, I was getting tossed around a\u00a0 little during farm chores!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day this week, however, was a beautiful – the sun came out for the first time in about a week and the kids and I basked in it! \u00a0\u00a0Felt like hope\u2026 which was in stark contrast to what was happening that same day in Washington DC.\u00a0 Sigh\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some scenes from the homestead this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n OK… now here\u2019s this week\u2019s wrap up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Family and Kid News:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have been really busy so far this year… working on a puzzle!\u00a0 I love puzzles and once I start, I simply cannot stop until it\u2019s finished\u2026 I will walk away to do something but then I\u2019m drawn right back like a magnet\u2026 I can\u2019t help it! \ud83d\ude0a\u00a0 I\u2019ve been doing 100 to 300 piece puzzles\u2026 I figure, especially when the weather is sucky and it\u2019s COVID-19 time, I can give up a day to do a puzzle and I can generally manage 300 pieces in a day.\u00a0 I was telling my friend about this and she said, \u201coh, I\u2019m sending you a gift\u2026 please don\u2019t hate me!\u201d I couldn\u2019t understand why she would say that.\u00a0 The gift was a 1000 piece puzzle\u2026 it\u2019s a 1000 piece mystery puzzle.\u00a0 There\u2019s a picture on the box, but that\u2019s not what the puzzle is\u2026 the scene is right, but something has happened, and the picture has changed\u2026 the puzzle she sent is a restaurant scene.\u00a0 On the box, everyone is eating happily at their own tables\u2026 there\u2019s a window cleaner on a building next door and a couple of dogs in the restaurant \u2013 it\u2019s outdoors!\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well\u2026 the puzzle has the window cleaner falling off the ladder, the dog in one corner jumping on a table to get someone\u2019s food and another dog is chasing a cat, tables getting knocked over and birds coming from all different directions to get the food on the ground!\u00a0 Anyway\u2026 you can imagine how hard it would be since, for example, you can see that the lady in the purple dress belongs at this table on the box, but she\u2019s not in the right place or position in the puzzle because her chair got knocked over and she\u2019s now on the floor! <\/p>\n\n\n\n I started on New Year\u2019s Day and I finally finished on the 6th<\/sup>! \u00a0It\u2019s amazing how many things I\u2019ve gotten done since then \u2013 so much free time!! \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n We started school again this week after about three weeks off. So far so good! The kids really like that things like baking and taking nature walks count as school! It\u2019s Science!!! Over the past few months, they have been so curious about things and they research the heck out of things\u2026 they are learning!! And they\u2019re learning how to find the answers to their own questions, which is awesome and is really what life is about, right?! I\u2019ve also figured out how to turn that curiosity and research into writing a report \u2013 I give them a topic that they\u2019re already interested in and send them into the school room to learn about it and type up a little report! So many birds with one stone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We left the homestead and took a windy nature walk one day to check out the flooding earlier this week \u2013 it was high tide and with all the rain we\u2019ve had lately, things are flooded\u2026 we\u2019ve done this walk before and we\u2019ve never seen the water this high.\u00a0 We also saw eagles and herons and ducks and seagulls\u2026 plus, the kids hugged which makes me so happy\u2026 and they know it so they do it more! \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve also been taking walks in our yard \u2013 we have a little loop and we talk about the changes in the seasons and how the wind and rain takes care of the dead branches and the different kinds of trees and plants on the property.\u00a0 On the sunny day, we went into our woods\u2026 I love the way the sun shines through the tree branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, in addition to the book work stuff, Shaleigh made macarons!\u00a0 She took a class through outschool.com about how to make macarons over the summer and I have been amazed about how she\u2019s willing to do the work.\u00a0 They are labor intensive \u2013 personally, if I see egg separating and measuring by grams in a recipe, I move right along to another, less complicated recipe.\u00a0 This girl, however, rocks it!\u00a0 Look at her latest product:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n She and her cousin have started a baking club. They have a topic each week and they have a zoom meeting on Saturdays to talk about how it went. Last week was cupcakes. Shaleigh made carrot cake cupcakes and Quinn made cake pops! This week, they\u2019re making pie. Shaleigh\u2019s going to make mud pie as soon as we get all of the ingredients in the house! We\u2019re still working on the cleaning up after baking thing, but she\u2019s starting to understand the importance and that I\u2019m not so grumpy if I don\u2019t have a whole kitchen to clean up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Braden\u2019s fascination this week is making a sling shot.\u00a0 He is fascinated by everything hunting, fishing and outdoorsy.\u00a0 Between storms this week, we went through the yard to see if we could find some branches that would work to make the sling shot.\u00a0 He gathered a bunch of long, straight sticks and I didn\u2019t say a thing.\u00a0 The next day, he realized that it would be really hard to make a sling shot out of straight sticks and he\u2019d probably need to find a Y stick. I told him that I\u2019ve seen tons out in our yard and he really just has to look and he\u2019ll find them, too.\u00a0 He came with me for farm chores that day, and almost gave up, but when we were walking back to the house, we took the long way and he found four!<\/p>\n\n\n\n He plans to whittle and sand and make them really cool! He said maybe he can sell them at our virtual market or at the farm stand\u2026 maybe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of my favorite stories about my kids happened this week. Our neighbor came over to the fence when we were outside doing some things, and he said, \u201cHey kids, what are you up to?\u201d Braden said, \u201cI\u2019m gathering branches so I can make a sling shot!\u201d and Shaleigh, just as excitedly, said \u201cAnd I got a book from the little free library and I\u2019m going inside to read and do a puzzle!\u201d It was a perfect because they were both doing what interests them (at the same time!) and a proud homeschooler mom moment for me because they didn\u2019t say \u201cNothing\u2026 I\u2019m bored!\u201d Yayyyyy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Animal News: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not much new with the animals this week. I mentioned our wet and windy start to the year above. It\u2019s so interesting to me to see how the farm animals handle things and how they hunker down and then come and out and do their animal things (grazing, scratching, and eating) and then back to hunkering down. And then it\u2019s like they don\u2019t even remember that it was windy once it\u2019s gone! <\/p>\n\n\n\n We got 30 eggs from our chickens this week\u2026 an average of 4.3 per day!\u00a0 After having months of 1 or 2 eggs per day, I\u2019m so happy to have some 5 and 6 egg days! Chickens naturally slow their egg production when there is less daylight.\u00a0 I guess the extra 90 seconds of daylight we\u2019re getting now is really making a difference for the chickens. \ud83d\ude0a \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n We sell the eggs through our friend Laurie at Fuzzy Britches Fiber here in Stanwood.\u00a0 She has a really cute egg cooler and I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel – plus I love to collaborate with her! \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 I was happy to be able to deliver two full dozen this week today with six in the fridge, and even happier to be able to complete that dozen this afternoon!\u00a0 Thank you, Girls!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sparkle the Rooster likes to hang out with the sheep when it\u2019s raining hard or windy.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n We call the three of them \u201cThe Pasture Gang\u201d.\u00a0 Sparkle is sometimes waiting for them to come out when I go out in the morning\u2026 and then he hangs with them for a bit before he goes back to check on the chickens.\u00a0 He\u2019s a sweet rooster, and I think the sheep like him, even though he does his cockadoodledoo thing inside the shelter and it\u2019s really loud!<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s our second rooster and he is apparently lower in the pecking order.\u00a0 He is one of the chickens we have that can fly and we\u2019d find him sleeping up on top of the coop so we built a house for him.\u00a0 The house is small though and, while it\u2019s great for sleeping, he can\u2019t keep an eye on things from there during the day so he usually jumps the fence to the sheep pasture and hangs out on the other side of the fence from the rest of the flock \u2013 safe from our other rooster, but still hanging with the chickens.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n The sheep don\u2019t like rain or wind, but they don\u2019t like spending all day inside either.\u00a0 They\u2019ll hunker down and then when things seem calmer, they\u2019ll venture out for a bit, and then back in when the rain picks up again.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though the alpacas have a really nice three-sided shelter, we\u2019ll often find them sitting outside in the nastiest weather hunkered together.\u00a0 They are rarely more than 10 feet apart from each other.\u00a0 They all go potty together, they graze in the same area, they eat and drink at the same times.\u00a0 I loved finding all three against the fence on the first windy morning last weekend.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a fence between two of them, but they were still close together and right by the gate where I come in.\u00a0 Maybe there was a wind break from one of the outbuildings\u2026 I\u2019m not sure!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday in the sunshine, Zoe decided to snuggle with their Christmas tree!\u00a0 They take what we call dirt baths where they roll around onto their backs\u2026 I think it is kind of like scratching an itch and drying their fleece.\u00a0 I wish I would have caught it on camera, but Zoe rolled up against the tree!\u00a0 It was so cute!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing new with the bunnies this week\u2026 they’re still cute! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n They don\u2019t seem very affected by the rain or wind unless a branch falls in their yard, which has happened this fall! Luckily, they were safely locked in their hutch when it happened, but I\u2019m sure it was scary!<\/p>\n\n\n\n They love when the leaves and small branches fall into their yard and I\u2019m pretty sure that Rosie stares out the window of her hutch until I let them out because she pounces right to the fallen branch to have a few nibbles! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Garden News:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Still working on my garden plan \u2013 not much official progress yet, but I\u2019m thinking and thinking about seed orders and the types of garden beds we need to build or buy. I\u2019m looking at those metal stock tanks and trying to find a good price. I\u2019m also trying to decide where I\u2019m going to put flowers throughout the yard. There\u2019s a lot of work to be done to make space for them, but I know it\u2019ll be worth it when our yard is full of color and beauty! Now that I\u2019ve finished the puzzle (!!), I have \u201call this free time\u201d and I can start making plans and clearing space!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Farm Stand News:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not much new at the Farm Stand this week, other than how excited I\u2019m getting to open again! Last year, the farm stand was so full, and it was amazing to see all those handmade products and plants every day. It\u2019s a little bit sad right now because it\u2019s mostly empty! But I know it\u2019s a just a season\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you joined our \u201cWhat\u2019s at the Farm Stand?\u201d Facebook group? We\u2019ll keep that updated with all of the details about opening and what\u2019s there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Little Free Farm Stand Library is open all the time, and people are coming through regularly which makes me so happy! I love to see the changes and what fun things people drop off!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Product News:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carson has been working on his cedar planters and they are really coming along. He\u2019s working on different sizes and styles and I can\u2019t wait to see the final product!<\/p>\n\n\n\n My normal method of making dryer balls and Great Balls of Fiber has not been working very well lately. Usually I put them in pantyhose in the washer on hot but, for some reason, our washer isn\u2019t getting as hot as it used to and the balls aren\u2019t felting the way they should and need to in order to become a ball! I have been doing the initial felting by hand this week\u2026 it\u2019s actually more fun, and my FitBit congratulated me on my 34 and 26 minute \u201cruns\u201d \u2013 so I can count it as a workout! \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m excited to experiment with more felting projects now! Lots to learn and lots to try in the fiber arts world! Shaleigh and I are also learning to sew! My aunt was a master sewer and I have her sewing machines, and I think that will help us make beautiful things!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Braden is learning to whittle and is planning to make sling shots from branches he found in the yard \u2013 possibly to sell! \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, we have an online store on Square for our Stevens Homestead products. You can find that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20210107_082842360980895986107876-1024x768.jpg\")
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