AWOL

Yes, it’s now officially 1/2 way through 2014 and this is my first post of the year.  I have not been entirely negligent however.  In January it was time for me to renew my domain (thirdheavenranch.com).  Somehow in the process, we (me and the domain hosting tech) lost my entire blog.  Let me tell you, that was a sickening feeling…not because I don’t have copies of everything, but because the setup took so much time.  🙂

However, my able and willing computer genius (my second son) came to the rescue.  He came for a visit in March and recovered everything.  What a relief!  But by then, gardening and yard work and lawn mowing was upon us.  And I am just now coming up for air.

Of course, you can be sure I still found time to read and study….that seems to be pretty much vital to my existence.  I just love the journeys the Lord takes me on as He leads me from book to book and topic to topic.  I recently realized that He has, for the most part, had me on a healing journey.  As I began to think back over all the places I’ve been in the past 3 years, they’ve almost all centered around healing in one way or the other.

Even the foray into ‘quantum physics’ has a healing component that has just been tied in for me with the healing of the heart.  The heart is pretty much the root of everything that happens in our lives–good and bad.  ‘Guard your heart’ for it affects everything you do sums it up.  I believe even our illnesses come from the wounded places in our hearts, or even possibly the hearts of our moms, dads, grandparents, etc.  Now how that ties into quantum physics is a discussion for another day!  🙂

Pro 4:20 (NLT) Pay attention, my child, to what I say. Listen carefully.
Pro 4:21 Don’t lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart,
Pro 4:22 for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning.
Pro 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. 

All in all, a very exciting journey.

The farm is growing!  This summer, the garden has doubled in size AND is now surrounded by an 8 foot high net wire fence to keep the deer from eating the produce.  It is certainly encouraging to do the work, knowing it won’t disappear overnight at some point.  🙂  It was quite a project as you can see in these pictures….and all completed by family and friends!

And here is the garden as of today:

It is wonderful to know….every bell pepper, every tomato, every watermelon, every ear of corn all equals savings at the grocery store.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that every time you go to the store, the prices jump!  But even better, is knowing WHERE these were grown and HOW they were grown.

In addition, about 45 fruit trees have been planted in a new ‘fruit orchard’ AND it is even irrigated.  What fun!  Even though it’ll be about 4-5 years before we reap the benefits, it’s still exciting to watch the trees grow….apples, pears, persimmons, pomegranate, quince, crabapple, and figs.  There are, for instance, 7 different varieties of pear trees with the fruit maturing in different months.  It’s an experiment to see which works best in our climate, plus the advantage of having time to process the fruit more effectively with the maturities spread out.  Some were planted a year ago and some this spring….and hopefully, more will be added in the years ahead.

And when you having ‘growing things’ it’s always good to have bees.  Check out this bee swarm that rested awhile in a peach tree.  These are the fun things (to me) that you miss when you live in the city!

We have several ‘wild’ bee hives but hope to have some boxes set up within the next few months.  Honey from the hive!  I can’t wait.

I have new chickens this year….I decided ‘just for fun’ to order what I call ‘funky chickens’.  🙂  They are a bit more unusual to look at than your run of the mill chickens.

I love this white one!

An unusual thing happened this spring….swarms of gnats flew through the farm.  By the time they were gone, I’d lost over a dozen chickens….some of my news ones and some of my current layers.  It seems the gnats would block their nasal passages and they would suffocate.  This was a real learning experience for me….and part of the ebb and flow of life on a farm.

As to new life, a baby donkey was born in March.  I’ve been very ‘hands on’ with this baby and hopefully he’ll be tame enough for the grandchildren to ride one day…or maybe even pull a small cart.  “Joey” is quite a character!  Although he was just born in March, he’s already almost as big as his momma and daddy!

Hopefully you are a little bit caught up and I really hope I’ll be back in a routine of monthly posts!

Grace and Peace!