Breaking ground

What once was a covered space outside the back door...
is now a construction zone..soon to be a concrete slab...and eventually a bathroom! A bathroom with some aspects that we will never take for granted again, such as being attached to the house, offering the joys of hot water and a place to brush our teeth other than the kitchen sink, and our very own shower and tub!

Extendo Family

This weekend we had a wonderful surprise visit from one of our favorite little families, the LaPointe-Goodwins! Renee is mama to two little ones, Kayah age 7 and newborn Gabe. They have been living in Montana for a few years with Renee's husband, Dan, who just graduated from boot camp in Georgia and is now training in Alabama. Renee brought the kids down to see their daddy and then stopped by the homestead on the way to see her family in Connecticut.

So what makes this little family one of our favorites is the fact that Kayah is Noah's half sister (same biological father). They have known each other since Kayah was born, and even though Kayah and Noah both have amazing (step) daddys and new younger siblings, Renee and I strive to keep Noah and Kayah as in touch with one another as possible. So we were thrilled when we found out they were stopping through, if only just for a night. We had a great visit and were sad to see them go.

Kayah and Noah

Gita and sweetie-pie baby Gabe

Noah and Kayah in the garden bathtub

Noah, Kayah, and Nim along with their doggie Charley

Me and Renee
(I am really happy here...just giving a funny squishy face. But it is the only photo I got of Renee and it looked silly when I tried to crop me out of it....)

Noah the Blacksmith in the outdoor smithey

When David and Noah made the plan to attend the weekend long Firefly Gathering
as a father - son activity, Noah said right away that he was most interested in the
black smith workshop. Turns out he tapped into a passion and talent that we never considered. He loved the class and brought home an awesome fire poker and a new-found love for hot iron

Girls Weekend / Boys Weekend

The Carmona family split up this weekend for some father - son and mother-daughter time. Noah and David packed up their bikes and camping gear in the subaru and headed off for the weekend-long Firefly Gathering. They took all sorts of great classes on dry stack ovens, bow making, blacksmithing (photos to come). You can see more details about the event here. Nim, Gita, and I spent our girls weekend at home, with a trip to the pool, the movie theater, and a craft show thrown into the mix. So after a weekend apart, we are all back together now....a big, happy family with many stories to share and hugs to exchange.

From Lookout Mountain

This is Nim's week for Art Camp: music, dance, and visual art. Art camp brings a lot of joy for Nim and a lot of driving for David and I. It is held at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts which is a 25 minute drive down the mountain. Since camp is only 3 hours long, we have been staying in town during it to reduce the amount of driving up and down the mountain. On Tuesday, David and Gita dropped Nim off then headed to the trails for some hiking in the mountains outside of Montreat. The trails are a quick 5 minute drive from Black Mountain and offer some amazing views (rare in our rain forest) and really neat trees.

On a cool summer day

Kitties don't mind playing with the kids, especially when it means they get to ride in the stroller...

Summer of chicken

Our little baby chicks will soon be 5 weeks old. The standard life span for this meat-bird breed, Cornish Cross, is 6-8 weeks. Apparently that is about how long they are able to live, period. Their breeding which makes for the meaty birds we buy in the grocery store, allows these birds to put on a ton of weight in the first 6-8 weeks, so much weight that their little legs have a hard time supporting their bodies past 8 weeks. It seems pretty gross when I think about it too much, but I come back to the feeling that if I buy meat from the grocery store, and I have the space and time to raise animals for meat, that I really should at least try raising meat for the family. That is not to say that I think the slaughtering day will be a breeze, or that there is no sadness in raising these little guys with the intention of eating them. All in all I feel a bit unsure about this whole process. But it is definitely providing our family with a greater awareness of the food we eat and the process in which it gets from the farm to our table. So for that, I am grateful.

FROM THIS......

...TO THIS IN 5 WEEKS

Our hens are housed right next to the little birds' brooder and outdoor area. It is funny to see the two different types of birds sharing a fence line. Their interactions seem limited but I wonder what they think of one another. 8 of the hens have been laying for a few months now so we are getting in the groove of fresh eggs. But last week, the rest of the hens (about 30) started laying too so now we are getting all the eggs our 2 families need plus eggs to sell (which will help cover the feed). I love the daily ritual of collecting eggs. I really love not needing to buy eggs from the grocery store. Our hens seem healthy and happy with plenty of outdoor space and bugs to eat and other hens to cluck with. It is really the summer of the chicken around here.