Here are some pictures I took the other day, when the sun was out and things were blooming. Below is a new arbor/entrance to the Shire Garden. We reused the original arched gate that has been here for years. Here are some of the blooms from the garden. Lots of pictures of the fruit trees […]
Fresh Raw Local Honey
We have quarts, and sometimes pints, available of our local raw honey. These are from our own bee hives, extracted each fall. Never pasteurized or processed, it goes straight from the hive, through a screen and into the jar. Honey can crystallize in the cooler months (the jar on the left), but a short hot […]
Chocolate Peppermint Bark
Dark and White Chocolate Peppermint Bark is so easy to make. You just need a little patience. This recipe came from Food Network. You need to melt the chocolate slowly. The best way to do that is with a homemade double boiler. Put a couple of inches of simmering water in a pot. On top […]
What is a Spartan Sprint?
In my last post, I mentioned that our family is going to participate in a Spartan Sprint this next August. Nicholas convinced us to do one after he completed one in the summer of 2018. Here he is all ready to drive through the pain. He was climbing over some wood barriers getting in line. […]
I’m Getting Stronger and the Goats are R
This morning I did something to help me build my upper body strength all in preparation for the Spartan Sprint next August. We had a goat project to do and it involved dividing the upper pasture into two sections for breeding. Since it is a temporary thing we used cattle panels and T posts. I […]
My New Love From the Garden…Kale
This is my second year of growing kale. This is my first year of not giving all of the kale to the goats. What changed? It’s all about how I treat the kale. First I rinse it off, then I cut all the leaves off of the stems. Pretty easy, just slide your knife down […]
A Day On the Water
It was a fun day on the water when our neighbor Nick invited us to go tubing in his boat. Michael couldn’t come because this is his busy time of year with work. We went to a place called Rogers Landing in Newberg. Isn’t it beautiful? We are on the Willamette River which runs northbound […]
Wood Cutting/Logging Day
On Saturday the fourth of August, we spent the entire day cutting wood. When Michael cut down some of the trees around the pond a while back, we just dragged all that wood to the area next to the creek that is our burn/target shooting area. So, on a really hot day Michael asked […]
Family Camping Trip at Suttle Lake
Family camping trip. That hasn’t happened in more than five years. Michael and the boys would go and I would stay home to take care of the animals. (and enjoy some peace and quiet.)I’m really glad I could go on this one because it was wonderful. The Barnes family took care of all of our […]
It’s Always all about Chickens and Goats
One of the reasons we bought this place was because it already had so many out buildings. There was a nice big barn that now houses our goats. There was a chicken coop that our first batch of baby chicks moved into in August of 2014. Then there are other out buildings that we name […]
The 2018 Salt Creek Acres Garden.
Last year the garden was planted and then ignored. Cancer happens and every thing else goes on a back burner. This year we are trying a different method of gardening. We decided to put down garden fabric to control the weeds. We have a ton of lovely compost and thought it was time to use […]
Cutting Down Trees Around the Pond
Our pond is surrounded by trees. When we moved here there were a lot of trees. Four years later and the trees are huge. In this picture you can see a Great Blue Heron in a Willow tree. The branch it is sitting on was horizontal to the ground. Michael and the boys started to […]