Our first deer

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Deer in the back field. Can you see them? I promise they are actually there.

One of the nice things about a holiday weekend is that you’re around to see things you wouldn’t normally see.

Last Friday morning, eagle eyes Matt spotted two deer in the back field. We walked back to get a closer look and we were actually able to get near enough to see it was a small doe and yearling.

We’ve been waiting to see deer on the property. Up to now, all we’ve seen is tracks.

I didn’t have the camera with me, so I wasn’t able to get a picture of them.

However, a trio of deer showed up in the same field on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, this group was a lot more skittish and as soon as we started to walk towards the field they took off. The photo above shows their white tails as they bounded away. If you squint really hard at the circled areas and use your imagination, you might be able to envision them there.

We’ll keep an eye out this weekend and try to get actual photo proof that deer pass through our property. What’s on your weekend wish list?

Wishing everyone a great one.

This

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Sunday morning, this arrived at the farm.

And with it came these.

Soon, there was lots of this.

And a whole bunch of this.

By Monday evening (yes, that means this exercise in lumberjacking went on for a full two days), we had this.

Hello, crackling fires on cold winter nights

A huge thanks to Matt’s Dad for all of his work, time, equipment and expertise. He took down the tree on our first weekend and then came back to help us finish the job–and do battle with two huge stumps. End result is three rows of wood, each about 16 feet long, 5 feet high, and all of it cut, split and stacked.

I love my father-in-law’s wood splitter. You might say we cheated and didn’t do it the way a real farmer would. I say it’s magic. The best invention ever.

Forsythia

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Forsythia bushes at the side of the drive shed.

One thing about buying a property in January is that you don’t know exactly what you bought until the property reveals itself in the spring.

It’s been fun watching the new shoots poke up out of the ground and the buds sprout on the bare branches as the plants come back to life.

These forsythia bushes revealed themselves at the side of the drive shed. There is some old lattice tangled in them that needs some attention, but they’re a pretty addition to the property, and the cheerful blooms are a sure sign of spring.

Forsythia always reminds me of my youngest sister. She has gorgeous blond hair that’s bright like the yellow flowers, and her name is Cynthia.

Cynthia lives far away now, so this blog is a way that she can be part of the farm, even though she can’t be here in person. Seeing the forsythia come into bloom this spring has been a nice reminder of her.

I always think of forsythia as “for-Cynthia.”