It is summertime and the living is HOT!!! The past four days it has been over 103 degrees and there is a hot wind blowing in from the west and it has been 21 days since we have had rain {at least from my record}and everything is so very dry!! So we spend the days eating watermelon, swimming in the creek and watering the garden and corn patch twice a day and canning green beans, tomatoes and corn. Oh, and getting ready for our trip to Texas. The annual wagon train came through last weekend, but we had company for dinner {which was,lamb-burgers,grilled corn and watermelon} and Hannah and I were not able to ride in it like we usually do. Oh, well- maybe next year. :} The sweet corn is in full harvest now and canning season is at it's high with tomatoes coming in too. We had a great season for the first cutting of hay and were able to put up 150 bales so far. Hopefully we'll get some rain before too long so the second cutting will be good. We'll need to put up at least another 150 bales before winter. Well, I better go. Looks like supper is almost ready- chicken salad and root beer floats for tonight. It's too hot to cook!! Maybe after dinner we'll jump in the swimming hole and then watch a little of "The Alamo" and then maybe the air will cool down a bit by the time the moon comes up over the hill... Praying for rain, Cecilia PS: As a great Southerner,Tennessean, Patriot and buckskin clothed,politician-turned-hero once said "Y'all can go to... I'm going to Texas!"

April 9th 2012 “ Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God… thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. …thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the springing thereof.” Psalm 65:9&10 Well, spring has definitely made it’s very green arrival here among our little hills and hollers. We have planted most of our garden, well, the early spring one anyway- and I have planted some cucumbers, sweet corn and green beans too. This week we are hoping to get the rest of the corn, beans, cukes and some okra in the ground. We have had a bit of a cold snap these past few days, nothing too bad to complain about. I love this time of year-but then again, who doesn’t love springtime? I was reading in my “Farmer’s Wife Harvest Cookbook” {excellent cookbooks, the “Farmer’s Wife” series} the other day and came across an article that was originally printed in the Farmer’s Wife Magazine in May of 1936. I thought I would share it with y’all… “Dear Editor: A friend from the city spent the holidays with us, and upon leaving remarked how wonderful it was to have a few days’ vacation in the country, but how very monotonous to live there-no amusements, no broadening influences, no access to art or literature. Humph! She need not patronize me! Summer- alfalfa curing; the first rooster big enough for the frying pan; jelly glasses cooling in the north window; warm afternoons when the cattle drowse in the willow shade; the men grateful for cold buttermilk and ginger cookies after a turn in the grain field; the young folks coming home from a dip in the creek, their voices sweet in the moonlight.” I am sure I could make my very own list of the wonders and beauties of farm living, but I am afraid the list would be too long to put here. Well, I best be signing off right here, it’s Monday morning laundry day and there’s plenty of work to be done on the farm! As my favorite cowgirl would say, Happy Trail's to you! Cecilia

Okay,I know this is a really outdated blog... But better now than never!

Christmas Eve 2011
“ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17

“Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:5

This morning the sun has decided to shine upon us after three days of dark clouds and rain. Our home is warm and cozy with the woodstove cooking up dinner and our warmth. There is clean laundry hanging in the kitchen drying over the fire and the smell of cinnamon and cloves is in the air. I can hear the strains of “Christmas Cannon” drifting through the house making everyone want to hum along.
In the barn the horses are enjoying their mangers full of hay and the chickens are cackling happily in the sunlight by the woodshed. There is also new life on the farm. My ewe, Lassie, is the proud mama of two pure, white lambs! They were born yesterday afternoon, a little ewe and a little ram. They are so cute and adorable!! I am excited about it. I was just able to buy Lassie and another ewe, Starr, just right after Thanksgiving. They were both pregnant and due in January or February. But I guess Lassie was due sooner than that, and what a Christmas surprise we got! Starr will be next to lamb, but probably not till January. Some of these lambs will be sold in the spring and some we will keep to expand our new little herd. So that is some of the happenings on the farm. A few weeks back Hannah and I skinned and butchered a deer in the freezing rain and snow. It was very cold! But we got the job done and we canned up the venison too. Last weekend we were woken up around mid-night by a neighbor who had seen our horses running up and down the road. So we had a nice moonlit walk in the fresh cold air bringing the horses home. Now we have about 20 or 30 acres of fencing to fix and put up. Hopefully we will get it done before maple syrup season.
Well, I better be signing off. Today is full of celebrating, fellowship, food and music. I need to get the herb rolls started and rising, and there are a few pumpkin pies to bake…
Happy Trails…
Cecilia

PS. On Christmas night, not long after I wrote this post, Starr gave birth to a chocolate brown ewe. We call her Cocoa.

Oct. 27 2011
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by the tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot…” 1 Peter 1:18 &19

“Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
Romans 8:30

The Lord had been so good to me and my family and my heart is so full of gratitude and joy. The Lord God Himself has chosen me as His child and has redeemed me through the precious blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
There is nothing in this world that can take me from my Heavenly Father who has sealed me through His everlasting covenant. May His name be always glorified forever and ever, Amen.
Fall has arrived with all it’s vivid colors of yellow, red, brown, rust, orange and dull green contrasted against the azure blue sky. I love the Autumn. It just might be one of my favorite times of year, but I think I say that every new season. The Tennessee air feels of cool breezes and smells of wood smoke coming from our cook stove. The sun is warm in the afternoons begging me to come out and bask in it’s radiance, and I should, because dreary winter skies and freezing rain and wind are just around the corner. It is a time of harvest and thanksgiving. A time to give the gardens and fields a rest from planting and growing, a time to relax and rejuvenate for the Spring to come.
Yesterday I bought a mineral salt block and some wormer for the horses from the hardware store in town. I had noticed the day before while doing the morning feeding, that the horses had pawed a big hole in the ground and had been licking the rocks and dirt in search for some salt and minerals in the ground. While I was picking up the salt block , I thought I might as well get some Safe Guard {de-wormer} too, since it is that time of year. Spent some time at the library yesterday looking for Katahdin sheep and some Texas Longhorn calves on Craigs list and different websites. Not to much avail. I am cow crazy right now, but I think it might be a little while before we’ll be able to get some Longhorns. L But we did find some sheep for sale down the road and we’ll be going to look at them tomorrow. I think I’m going to get two more ewes that are pregnant and due in Jan. and March. And then hopefully I’ll find a ram and get Bonnie Blue {the ewe we have now} bred so she will lamb in April, Lord willing.
Today I wormed the horses and cleaned out the sheep shed and spread down new bedding. Hannah and I also shelled all the corn that we grew so we can dry it and then I’m hoping to make some hominy and grits. It was a rainy, cool day today and the fire in the cook stove felt nice. All of us girls took turns through out the day helping Mama work on the binding of her quilt. It is almost finished. Now that it is that cozy time of year, I’m hoping to get out my Confederate quilt and finish sewing the top together and then get to the fun part of actually quilting. I really enjoy quilting and look forward to learning more. Well, I should quit rambling for this evening and get to supper. Until next time… Happy Trails to you!
Cecilia
“If you desire to be more heavenly minded, think more on the things of heaven, and less of the things of earth.”
- Stonewall Jackson

A beautiful Alabama Sunrise over a soon-to-bloom cotton field.

Feeding our horses, Tonto and Shenadoah, apples from the orchard.

Our cat must think the corn patch is a jungle. Maybe she is like 'Jasmine" on "Second Hand Lions"!

Fried Okra with zucchini, onions and garlic over white rice. What a delicious Southern meal!

Of Cows and Corn

Thy Mercies, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth to the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains;
How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Psalm 36:5,6,&7



On the evening of April 27th 2011, a mile wide F-5 tornado tore through the state of Alabama leaving behind in it’s path nothing but death and destruction. Many of you may have heard of the Lee family, who not only loss their home, vehicles and everything they owned, but they also lost their beloved husband and daddy. Mr. Lee gave his life for the safety of his wife and children and until his last breath, he uttered prayers and supplications to his Heavenly Father, Whom he was about to meet, for their protection and safety. God has honored this righteous man’s prayer and by His Grace they are able to say with Job, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
God has blessed, and is blessing, this precious family through so many different folks from all over the country and the Church has come together to serve through this trying time. The Lee family have been very dear friends of ours for sometime now, and we are very grieved about the loss of dear Mr. Lee. But we are also very grateful to the Lord for allowing us to know him for the time that we did and we know we shall see him again in glory when all of God’s children are gathered about His throne.





Well, summertime is here on our farm and life is becoming busy with all those wonderful things that summer brings. A few weeks ago I built {with the assistance of my older sister} a little chicken tractor for the 12 Rhode Island Red chicks that we had gotten at the local hardware store. We used some scrap 2x4’s to build a 4x8 square frame that rests on the ground. Then we took old 1“ PVC pipe and cut it into 6’ pieces and by bending them, we were able to fit them into the wood frame, making hoops, {kind of like a covered wagon}. Then off to the hardware store to purchase some chicken wire. I decided that 30 feet of the 30” wide chicken wire should be enough {or I hoped it would be} and I also got a 10x8 tarp. Back at home we laid the chicken wire over the hoops and wired it in place, then using the tarp in the same manner we were able to make the shelter part of the chicken tractor. I must say, I was quite proud of that little project, for it turned out looking {and functioning} right well. The chicks loved their new home and were very happy pecking about at the grass and bugs. But alas! It was not to last as the pretty little chicken tractor that it was- our young goat kid found a way out of her pen and decided that I had built the chicken tractor just for her to jump on. And jump and climb all over it she did, bending the brand new, nicely stretched wire all up and almost ruining the chicks new home. And so, after obtaining permission from Mama, I made a phone call and had the baby goat and her mother sold and carried off that same day.
Now we are looking for a milk cow. It seems, I have observed, that cows stay in fencing a little better than goats. For a gentle, calm, family milk cow, you don’t need 4 foot tall woven wire fencing, reinforced with barbed wire and at least 2 strands of hot wire at two different levels. No, I think a regular good old fashioned {and cheap!} barbed wire fence with 6 foot T-posts and strong cedar corner posts, would suffice well enough for most cows. And guess what we have? Almost all of our 90+ acres are fenced in exactly so.
Perfect for cows.
And there I rest my case.
Now I know, that the absolutely, ultimate way of dealing with cows {especially if you are doing the “Salad Bar Beef” method} is to have moveable electric fencing and live in a place where there are wide open spaces and at least have a mile between each mountain or hill so as to get the best grazing and pasture growth. But here, where I abode there are hollers and hills all around and little places we like to call “high mountain meadows” {which are little fields tucked between two hills or upon a cleared hill} and smallish hayfields edged with woods, hills, creeks and rivers. The best way to move cattle is on horseback or with a 4-wheeler, going from one already fenced in high meadow pasture to the next, over hills, through the woods and fording the creeks. That’s why I am of the opinion that Texas Long Horn cattle would do grandly here.
Or Herefords.
But preferably the Long Horns.
In-between chicken tractor building, goat selling and cow hunting, I have kept busy in the garden planting, weeding and hoeing. I am growing cotton again this year, and one of these days I will actually make something with it. Got the pink eye purple hull peas and zipper cream peas in the ground, and they have come up, but I need to fertilize them badly. We need rain badly too. Been hotter than buccaneers pistol here and getting pretty dry too. Today Jasmine and I canned 16 pints of salsa. By the end of canning season we hope to have put up at least 40 pints. We like salsa. This evening I am planning to plant some field corn. I know to most folks it might seem a little late in the season to plant corn, but here in Tennessee you plant field corn as late as June 15. I heard tell that by this fall corn will be going for $14.00 a bushel. That’s quite a high price, especially if you are buying it by the ton. I remember back in 2006 corn was only $3.50 a bushel. Back then we would buy 150 lbs of corn and 100 lbs of oats and mix our own feed for chickens, horses, and goats. But now we just buy individual feed for each farm animal. The corn seed we have is heirloom, handed down for generations since before the Civil War. We grew it last year and it turned out real nice. Makes the best cornbread! This year we would like to not only use it for feed for the animals, but for our own use too. Cornmeal, hominy and grits. Sounds good to me!
Well, I better get back to the farm and garden. It's been fun chattin' at y'all!

A Tennessee Farmgirl,
Cecilia