Farming in the shade

The spring weather in Michigan varies widely. Some days the temperature will hit 60 degrees and we enjoy the sunshine. Other days we are teased and tormented with late-season snow showers or cold, miserable rain.  Just as the weather varies widely, so on a farm there is life and death, joy and heartache. We've had a few premies that haven't made it. We've had a couple of sets of quadruplets and many sets of triplets. Occasionally, one will be much smaller than the rest, and need special help. Sometimes, no matter what we do, the lamb dies.  This is my son's lamb and ewe--he's had a lamb born on his birthday for two years now. This one was actually one of triplets--two were breech and didn't make it. It's one of the hard things about raising animals. When a stalk of corn dies (or a whole field, as we had last summer), there is a sense of loss. But there's something different--somehow deeper--about the death of an animal. Something that makes you appreciat...

Today, while driving my daughter to the dentist to have some work done, I heard the radio newscaster report that President Obama has lifted the ban on taxpayer funding of overseas abortions. It has begun. One of my homeschooling etsy friends is running a special on baby blankets. From now through February 10th, when the new lead law  goes into effect, Melody is offering to donate any of the baby blankets purchased (AND the money used to purchase it) to her local Crisis Pregnancy Center, if the buyer chooses.  Maybe this is a small thing, compared to the U.S. funding of abortions around the world, but it is a comfort to me to know that we can still do the small tangible things to help out moms who choose to carry their babies to term. If you'd like to help out in this tangible way, check out the blankets in Melody's shop.  Or if you would like to donate to purchase flannel for baby blankets for our church women's group (which also makes baby blankets for the local Crisis Pr...