toad addition

so it may be a funny thing, but we were cleaning out some things and we discovered several toads had made a home under a bucket. By several, I mean like 20!! So we put some logs around in the garden and wet them down really well. I had the kids round up all the toads and relocate them to garden. Hopefully these little guys (or gals) will put a dent in the bug population. A welcomed addition to our organic garden!

a donkey llama kinda day

our llama, the donkey llama that is, has just been looking miserable in this Texas heat. After feeding him this morning, I decided to brush the gabillion grass spurs hopeless tangled in his fur. He loved it! So I kept brushing and brushing. After I got his neck all clean and soft I decide to give shaving a try. I have never shaved any animal before, so I wasn't sure how he or I would even do. But I think he was liking the idea of taking off his winter coat. He sat still and was wonderful. But that's some serious amount of shaving, so he needed a nap under the tree before we continue. I'll finish him up when the temperature drops a little. I feel much more confident in my animal grooming skills, so that's a good thing!

organic summer garden

my summer garden is officially planted!!! I know, I know... I always get a late start, but it's done!! I THINK I did a good job with the layout this year. Plenty of room to work with everything, without trampling over anything else. The garden is all fenced in to keep critters out. The viney plants all have their own space and planted in hills to help with watering. There are walking paths through the garden to help in care and management of the plants. Like I said before, I ordered bulk organic seed, and was finally able to fill my garden!! I have a video of my garden posted on my YouTube channel, HighHeelFarmer.

family photos

wow, I had such an easy photo shoot with my kiddos this morning! Every year I gift my husband 3 large prints of our kids for father's day. I had always pained over where I would go to get great natural shots. Now I can just step a few feet from the house and get amazing shots. In fact I couldn't talk the kids into walking down by the big boulders in the front because it was "too far" ... Lol Our property really has so many great backdrops for wonderful photos.

june is for blackberries

since I was a small child, I would spend the entire month of June combing the woods for wild blackberries. What a joy to be able to share the excitement of a good blackberry hunt with my kiddos. (actually we knew where there was a large thicket, so no real hunting involved.) A lot of time, blackberries are home to many wild animals. We were careful to poke around with a long stick before exposing our legs and hands into the thorny unknown. We did find a raccoon, that wasn't too happy we were invading his safe haven. But overall we had tons of fun, and came home with about 2 lbs of fresh blackberries, and a tummy full strait from the vine.