Life is School

Some days there are projects that need to get done around here that require me to veer from our regular school schedule.  I am pretty strict about routine, so I don't veer too often, but one day last week the boys got out of doing school.  Actually, life is school, so they really didn't get out of anything - it just felt like they did. :)

I have a couple perennial beds that desperately needed to be redone.  For a couple years now, I have been wanting to dig out the plants in the beds and put in new plants.  Not only were the beds over-grown, I also didn't particularly like the plants in them either.  In the  fall I think about redoing them, but with our school schedule, there is never time to do it.  But this year I decided it was time for a lesson in propagating perennials! :)

In the morning, the boys and I headed out to the garden shed with a gardening book and some coffee - chapter one "Propagating Perennials"!  The first question, "Mom, what does it mean to propagate perennials?"  We learned that and much more - what time of year to propagate, different methods of propagating and tips for a successful transplant.  I had to talk fast in order to keep my boys attention, and I had to keep reminding them that they would have a test on what they learned.  We agreed that if they both got 100%  on the test, I would make them homemade pizza and we'd watch a movie.  That kept their attention! :)

We had a great day!  We dug out the beds, divided plants from other beds and transplanted them to their new locations.  Both the beds that I had been dreaming of redoing were done!  Yeah!  My boys are hard workers. :)  The following morning, I wrote the test.  Would you believe that they both got 100%?  Food is a good motivator for growing boys! LOL  So last Friday we had our pizza and watched a movie.

When you home school, it changes your perspective on everything you do.  It all becomes a learning experience, instead of just another job.  Each day we have the opportunity to impart knowledge, skills, and most importantly truth into our children.  Life is school, so have fun teaching your kids! :)

And We're Back!

Why hello there!  After taking a needed break from blogging, we've decided to give this a try again!  If anyone even looks at this blog anymore.  ;-P  Now that I (Emily) have graduated, I have all this spare time on my hands (NOT!) so thought I would try freshening up the blog a bit, or even (gasp!) posting.... no promises, though.  ;)  And maybe Mom will post too.  ;-)  It's been a very busy summer and blogging has been pretty low on the list....obviously.  But hopefully we will be posting more often now.  What would you like us to post about the most?  Every day life?  Health?  The dogs?  All of the above?  Leave us a comment and let us know!  We'll be back soon.  :)

Beauty's Litter!

We are excited to announce that Beauty had a litter of puppies last night!  Her first puppy was born at 7:29, and she had seven puppies.  By 11pm, she was all done.  There are four females and three males.
Mom and puppies are doing very well.  She, like Princess, in an exceptional mother!  We will post more pictures later.

Here's a picture off the web cam of some fat and happy puppies sleeping with momma!

Farm Update

While our family thoroughly enjoyed winter, we are now looking forward to the next season.  This year we played hockey until March 8th, and then tapped our trees the next day - that was a first! :)  But now the pond is melted, most days, and it's time to order chicks, deliver goat kids and lambs, and have puppies.  I love the change of seasons! :)

Well, we are anxiously awaiting a litter of puppies from Beauty.  We did not have an exact date with this litter, so we have been watching her close.  She is getting big! :)  Every morning we put her outside with the other dogs so that she can get sunshine and fresh air.  Then every night we put her in a pen with the puppy cam on her.  Last night she seemed restless.  Maybe today will be the day! :)

Spring is in the air around the farm.  All of our trees are tapped and the sap is beginning to run.  Yeah!  Today we will wash barrels and collect sap for the first time.

Our little greenhouse is brimming with new life.  The seeds have sprouted and the plants are growing. It is always a strange feeling, planting seeds when there is so much snow on the ground, but getting our hands in the dirt again brings hope of warm sunshine. :)

If you are on our waiting list, we will let you know when the puppies arrive! :)

Jonny's Woodcrafts

With Christmas only a few weeks away, Jonny has been busy working in his shop making ornaments and other woodcrafts!  He now has a website where you can go and order some great Christmas gifts for your family, friends, and you! :) 
Check out http://jonnyswoodcrafts.weebly.com/ and order today!

Reindeer Ornament

Snowman Ornament

Enjoying Fall

What a nice long fall we have had - and the colors are so beautiful.  Every time I go for a walk, I have to stop for a moment and just enjoy the beauty of this season - my favorite time of year.

The puppies are growing so fast.  They are chubby little guys! :)  They remind me of little pigs. :) lol  Princess is such a great mom.  She is so very gentle.  I don't know how she climbs in and out of the whelping box without smothering or stepping on anyone.  The pups will be 4 weeks old this Sunday and will likely be out of the whelping box soon.  They are so much fun!

Here are a few fall pictures from the farm. :)

Harvesting pumpkins

Big Tom

Jackson watching over the boys (they were digging potatoes) while enjoying the shade from the apple trees

Puppies Have Arrived!!

As you can see by the lack of recent posts, we have done more farming than blogging this summer!  But we have really enjoyed  a much slower pace this summer.  Since we are no longer doing the farmer's market here at our farm, we have had to relearn how to grow food for just ourselves.  Needless to say, we gave some produce away. :) 

As much as we enjoyed having the farmer's market here every Friday, we are confident that the decision to move on to other things was the right decision for our family.  Selling produce is a lot of work.  And when Mike was elected for county commissioner, we knew we had to cut back on something.  We are still raising pastured chickens and turkeys though.

Since it has always been our goal to have a family business, we decided to start raising Great Pyrenees dogs.  We are now entering our second year of breeding dogs.  For us, it is more rewarding than growing produce and much less labor intensive. Like our other business, it is something our whole family can do together, and the children love it!  Emily even gave up her bunny business so she could put all her efforts into the dog business.  If you email us about a dog, you will most likely get a response from Em.  She is great at marketing our dogs and interacting with customers.  Ben and Jonny help a ton behind the scenes.  They both help with grooming the dogs and spend time interacting with them.  There are dishes to scrub, pens to clean, and dogs to bathe - plenty of work to go around. :)  Emily prepares breakfast for all the dogs in the morning.  Then they all work together feeding the dogs.  Our dogs diets change based on the season they are in - pregnant, nursing, or breeding, so not all the dogs are eating the same foods or the same amounts.  It sounds complicated, but we've got a good system down.

So the good news....drum roll please....Princess just had her second litter!   Princess went into labor last Sunday afternoon.  The first puppy was born at around 1pm and the last puppy was born around 9:30 pm - twelve puppies!  She did an awesome job - just like last time, with no complications.  She is a great mom!  They are all fat and happy.  If you are interested in a puppy, you can view them via our puppy cam.  It is on 24 hours a day!  Just email us for the link.

Here are a few pictures that Mike took today (puppies are one week old). More pictures to come soon on Housman Farm Pyrs.