Farmsteaders never get a day off ~ not for holidays, not for sickness, and if by some chance a vacation comes along, they must pay a significant sum of money to get someone else to take care of things (and even then, the vacation is spent worrying about what is going on back home).  I am a farmsteader... enough said. 
Truth be told, I work alot harder during the winter months than in the spring/summer/fall.  The horses and goats require hay and grain, the barn gets used more, so there is more mucking that needs to be done, and even the birds need extra feed to keep weight and warmth on.  Pack on the extra cooking, cleaning, visiting, Church activities, and shopping that the Holiday season brings, and you can imagine how busy I've been this past 6 weeks.  I cannot complain though, we have had alot of fun with family, friends, and the animals this year.  I cooked a big dinner at Thanksgiving, and it was a great success.  Getting together for the Christmas parade was a bit stressful at first, but it ended well.  The weather did not cooperate like we would have wanted, but we survived and had a great experience!  Shopping for Christmas was left to the last minute, however getting together with family and friends for lunches, dinners, and shopping during the weeks leading up to the Big Day proved to be time better spent!  Even the shopping wasn't as bad as I had anticipated it might be this year!  And of course, our Christmas play at church was such a blessing too!  Many of our gifts were hand and homemade this year and included jellies, butters, candies, and leather crafts, so most of my time at home was spent in the kitchen.  When things got too stressful, I headed to the barn to cuddle and play with the baby goat kids with K-Love on the barn radio, and it helped to remind me of the important things this Season stands for.

The weather has been pretty mild thus far, with rain and mud winning out in the forecast here on the farm.  We have only seen a small amount of snow so far, and I can say I'm already ready for Spring!  The goats have spent a significant amount of time in the barn these past few weeks, but they suddenly don't seem to mind it much.  Perhaps it's the fact that most of them are entering into their second term of pregnancy, or maybe it's that they don't have to work for the hay they are given twice a day.  Of the six horses that reside here, 3 of them are what we consider "hard keepers", and they keep me on my toes during the inclimate weather.  They have winter blankets, and need to be shuffled into and out of the barn, which they currently share with the goats.  Our newest addition, "Violet" the Appaloosa mare, figured out she can bust through fences when she has her coat on, and wouldn't you know, she had to discover it when we were on our way out to do some last minute Christmas shopping!  There is always something going on around here ~ and it's usually inconvenient...

Christmas Day brought many gifts under the tree and out of the kitchen.  We spent the day with family and friends, and I made another huge dinner.  After we gave thanks and ate, we enjoyed time together opening gifts, and talking about all the events we had participated in this year.  I think that is what it's all about, spending time with the people who make your life more complete.  I cannot ask for better people who are a part of my life, whether I see and talk to them every day, or once or twice a year!  I am so very thankful for each of them!  I hope that everyone had and very Merry Christmas, and took the opportunity to spend time with the important people in their lives this year!  I am most thankful, however, for the most precious Christmas gift ever given ~ Jesus Christ! 
With Christmas being over now, it's on to the next big event on the farm ~ Kidding Season!  We are expecting the first kids of 2013 to start coming in the beginning of February, and we will be having them through April this year!  Also, I have officially begun my Winter Break from Consulting, which will pick back up again in April, 2013.  Most of the winter will be spent here on the farm Homeschooling, crafting, and taking care of the animals. 

Well, that is about it from here on the Farm for now, so until next time ~ Stay warm, drive safe, and as always... keep your horses with blankets from letting the rest of your herd out...

God bless from Rural America!  ~Mel!

Wow, it has certainly been a long time since we have had a real web presence!  I must say, it feels nice to be back!  It is amazing how technology has advanced since we last had a website back in 2005.  With the addition of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, the need for a website for the farm was not an absolute necessity up until now.  The farm has gone through many transformations as well, and having a page on Facebook was just about more than I could manage with all I was doing in the "real world."  Of course, I've been used to writing my own websites, which used to take loads of time.  I was blessed to find a place that offered it's own editors, which cut my code writing down from several weeks to only about one and a half (and believe me, that was still too much time to be working on it).  I am very happy to have it launched and running though, and I plan on expanding and updating as time permits.

Over the years, the farm has grown and developed into somewhat of an accidental experiment into self-sustainablilty.  Becoming more concerned with the tanking econcomy, and how the government is trying to control everything we do, our family decided it would probably be in our best interest to start preparing for some type of eventual economical and/or social fallout.   We have learned in recent years how to butcher the chickens we raise, and have successfully raised and slaughtered our first cow.  We began researching the old ways of food preservation, and started developing a supplemental solar energy system for our home.  Then of course, there are the goats!  We are constantly looking to educate ourselves about how to be more self-sufficient, and we often share information that we find helpful.

Probably the two most drastic changes that took place this year were getting out of equine rescue and rehabilitation, and pulling our daughter out of public school to teach her at home.  After 10 years of dealing with people on both sides of the fence, the animals that suffered, the money and time involved, and the constant stress that I endured, at the end of the day I found myself angry, frustrated, and quite frankly, exhausted.  The desision was made that if we wanted to homeschool Jenna, something was going to have to go.  Officially, I had never announced it on our FB page that I was leaving rescue.  The decision was made this past Spring, and was discussed in several meetings with our supporters and affiliates.  I worked on slowly phasing it out of our farm page description on facebook, then started to shift the focus to other things, so most people never even noticed.  It was probably one of the hardest choices I've had to make, but I felt I had put my time in and done my part.  The challenges of homeschooling are greater in some regards than equine rescue, but there is no real comparison when it comes to watching your child flourish, and seeing her actually get excited about learning, neither of which were happening while she was in public school.  I am also happy to report that since leaving the "agenda," I've met several new people, and have gotten involved in other equine activities, which have opened up alot of positive opportunities for both my horses and myself.  I have more time to enjoy what I have, and my family is beginning to show interest now that they have seen the positive side of responsible horse ownership.  Jenna has even begun riding, which is something I never thought would happen.  Following the rescue whirlwind, I have been left with a total of 6 horses that will have a forever home here at IAF.

I look forward to running our new website, and updating my blog with new, and hopefully entertaining news from our farm each week as time permits!  Thank you for stopping by, please share our site with your friends, and subscribe to our RSS feed! 

God Bless You!  ~Mel!