keeping the fire

 Keeping:  the act of holding, guarding, maintaining and supporting

While living at the farm over twenty years ago, we owned a wood stove. I was never partial to having a wood stove in the house because of the mess created with all the bringing in of wood logs and the resulting ashes. But my husband has always loved the warmth and look of a burning fire. While an open fireplace is my preference, he likes his fires in a wood stove of some kind because of its practicality.

How things do change. One of the things we planned to have when we moved here was a wood stove. We even had the chimneys checked prior to closing so we could be assured a wood stove was not just a dream doomed for failure. Since it was to be in our living room we decided that this Vermont Cast Iron insert in the majolica brown color would be perfect for doing what we desired. It is a beautiful stove to say the least and works beautifully too. I am presently sitting by it now enjoying its warmth and coziness on this drizzly cold afternoon in mid November.

Yet another thing to keep: the fire. It takes a certain amount of time, attention, and maintaining; I like that it is not automatic like the thermostat heat and must be tended to throughout the day. It slows me down and provides focus and a routine that I seem to require during this season of my life.

"There is no place more delightful than one's own fireside.

Nullus est locus domestica sede jucundior."     -Cicero

Yesterday afternoon after the ladies left from our Precepts Bible study and lunch fellowship, my husband and I drove down the road a bit to a neighbor that gave us some bags of aged cows manure, black garden gold. We spread and tilled it into the prepared garden spot and then planted three rows of garlic. I ordered two varieties from Mad River Garlic Growers, Doghouse and Italian Purple. Several dozen of daffodil bulbs were also planted on the edges of the newest garden bed in the backyard. 

Sourdough bread is rising, a whole chicken is roasting in the oven, and leeks are sitting in a "waterbath' for the soup I am about to get up and prepare for cooking.

I'm keeping my home. 

 

autumn around the homestead

 The autumn of 2022 was breathtaking in its beauty.

I looked around and I grabbed hold of it as much as was humanly possible.

One Sunday afternoon Witt arrived with three of these precious ones. While they cut and split wood with Don's wood-splitter, Breanna, Gordon, Violet and I just enjoyed life together.

Another afternoon, after picking green beans from my fall garden I sat down on the back stoop to snap them for dinner that night. Here Myrtle enjoys my loving and her smile is contagious.I find rubbing a cat calming. Do you?  My little flock of chickens have literally acres and acres of land to free range, but no, my brick patio and all around the house is their desired preference. That entails frequent clean up!

What do they do on blissful days like this,

These who have no God?

When autumn sets a torch to every tree,

When ecstasy all but bursts its heart...

What do they do...with no one to say "thank you" to?

Mrs.Myra Scovel

precepts, a luncheon, and a tornado warning

Bible studies are varied in their approach, in their content, and in their depth of study. And this is only mentioning an airplane view of the many types of Bible studies that are on the market today. Some studies are good, some are okay, and then there are those that are excellent, fully realizing that it depends greatly on what you want in a Bible Study too. What I look for in a Bible study is the use of the scriptures as the sole study, and this would particularly mean a single book of the Bible using cross references for study. I was a participant in Bible Study Fellowship(BSF) for many years and that has remained my ideal when I want to do an in-depth study of a book of the Bible.

Precepts Ministries Inductive In- Depth Bible Studies provide materials that use the observation, interpretation, and application process of Bible study. Even though I am not a novice to the Word of God, still the richness and careful, intentional study of verse by verse keeps me growing in the knowledge of God. I am only going higher up and further in.

 I co-lead a group that meets every Friday morning from 9:30 to noon and we are completing the final lessons of Genesis Part Two. As a way of celebrating we decided to have a meal together and these ladies were willing to make the hour drive to my home.  A planned menu including Shepherds Pie, a fresh fall salad, and muffins were to be served with a fruit pizza for dessert.

I set the table yesterday and prepared what foods I could make ahead of time. As I got up this morning I was thinking of each step and praying for focus to get it done timely. 

But the one thing I had not accounted for was a Tornado Watch in our area for the entire day, stretching over a wide area of counties and cities. After praying  the decision was made to call off our getting together until Monday. In years past this would have caused a bit of an upset, but these days I am content to trust Him (a great benefit of getting older😊).  I am not in charge, but I know Who is.

The tornado thankfully did not materialize, but we certainly experienced  some rather strange weather all day.

an order of things

There have been by far a plethora of things that have made this return to country living a place of deep contentment. Of course, I had carefully planned how to begin implementing some of the things we had done years before when we lived on the farm. But this time more on a scale of what I could personally handle without the children. My husband helps me with many of the things and we have spent many hours enjoying this mini-homestead we are busily creating. Just one step at a time, orderly and sure.

Back in late August we took a purposeful trip to Tractor Supply and purchased a pre-fab henhouse and ten little chicks. Buying them simultaneously immediately jumped the henhouse construction to high level priority. Breanna, my granddaughter, helped us put it together in basically two evenings, fitting and twisting screws even in the dark.

"Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.”

 –Frank Lloyd Wright.

 

 

I began raising my little flock of egg layers on my screened-in back porch in a round baby pool surrounded by wire. This proved to be an excellent place to keep them warm under the red light and perfectly  safe from harm and any prey. 

That was many weeks ago, my chickens are now twelve weeks old and they are happy to free range for most of the day which is possible when I am home all day. On mornings that I fry or scramble eggs I anticipate  the day when I will have fresh eggs from my own flock of chickens.