Year of 2007

The following is a consolidated version of our live's in 2007:

January: We started out 2007 by having Trudy out to Phoenix and we had a great time. One detail that we can't forget is the 2 days of freezing temperatures in Phoenix. Our patio was in pristine condition...all the plants were beautifully manicured and many plants had been shown a lot of attention (summer shading, trellising, pruning, etc.) If you know James at all, you know what I mean! :) Well, the freezing temps. hold no mercy for such things. I remember waking up and seeing crispy brown leaves on almost every plant outside. And one other detail I would like to forget, but am reminded of in the following picture: I got a perm this month (I know...what was I thinking)

We returned with Trudy to NC in the middle of January. Due to an unsuccessful attempt at buying land in NC in Aug.'06, James & I began researching ways to farm without actually owning land. We happened across Raft Swamp Farms (mentioned in beginning blogs) and our trip out in Jan. was to meet the owners and to check out the farm. We had a great time and were pretty sure that we wanted to make the move from AZ and try our hand in farming. During our Jan. visit we spent time with James & Trudy, and the picture below is of our visit to Fort Fisher:

We finally decided that we were going to go for the move, which meant we needed to sell our house. In order to get it ready to sell, we spent a lot of time in February & March doing house projects. They seemed to just keep adding up, but by the middle of March we had our house listed. In the midst of all of this, we kept our sanity by many an afternoon in our community garden, which I am happy to say is still being operated by my sister Jessica. (Jess..you have done a fantastic job & I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see this project still going!) Here's some pictures:

April came & went but not without many days cleaning the house (almost everyday...in order to show it to potential buyers). To be honest, it was ridiculous how clean we kept our house & I will never do that again! Although a good portion of that month was stressful, the end of the month brought a much needed break. My good friend, Natalie, & I both have birthdays in April (2 days apart) so we went up to her mom's to celebrate. It was a delight...minus the scare of Aaron's all day hike! We also got an offer on our house at the very end of April. This offer turned out to be the sale of our house and the start of our adventure!

May 18th was our closing date & we planned on driving cross-country starting June 1. Much of this month was taken up by packing, spending precious time w/ friends & family, and soaking in our last days Tempe. James' decided to stay at his job until the end of May, which meant we were homeless for about a week. Natalie & Aaron were so kind to let us stay with them for that time. I will never forget the fun we had! Thanks guys!

We left Phoenix in June, and like I have posted before it was surely bittersweet. We spent several weeks driving & camping along Interstate 40, and we arrived in NC middle of the month. We found a house to rent 1 week later & unpacked our stuff in record time (2 days).

July was spent taking trips out to Raft Swamp Farms, visiting family, & working at the Fresh Market. James stayed in Virginia one week working with the construction crew. When James was gone that week, my sister Katie came out to Aberdeen to visit for a few days. We spent those days sleeping, eating cobbler, laughing, and sleeping some more. Great times! We also visited our favorite place in South Carolina: Brook Green Gardens...fantastic place!

August 3rd we were moving to an entirely different state: Virginia, to live with my Dad. We harvested a lot of veggies that month which I either canned or froze. We also planted our fall garden during the month of August.

September-Another busy month of preserving veggies from the garden & thouroughly enjoying this new pace of life! The weather was fantastic and a much different feel than what we were accustomed to in Phoenix. Jaimee came out for a few days to visit us! At the end of this month, I got Bonnie. What a treat!

Jessica came and visited in October, which was great! It was so nice to have multiple sisters come visit. At this time I was working at the Grooming Salon. We became an aunt/uncle twice this month to Elizabeth & Nash.

November-Started planting our 15 lbs. of garlic & I spent 10 days in Phoenix were I helped Audrey out with the new baby-Nash & got to spend time with the rest of the family and friends. James lost his job this month & I was pissed off for a few days! :) (I'm over it now!)

December-Today's the last day of December. We spent 2 weeks out of this month down in NC visiting family. The remainder of that time we've remained warm by the fire, ate a little too much, and dreamed of the coming year. Who knows what it will hold!

Peace & Blessings in 2008!

3rd Chicken Saga Update

So I know, I might be a little carried away with blogging about unnecessary details, but I thought it imperative that you all should know the latest in the chicken saga.

The day after I blogged about the good news.. (the black hen being alive) a terrible thing happened. James's nurturing thought turned out to be to the black hen's demise. Yes, that's right, that crafty, nasty hawk saw the black hen in her pen and killed her. I know....I could barely believe it! Although, we were so sad and shocked by her death, we were a bit relieved when we saw the white hen stroll up that same day. We didn't make the same mistake of closing her in the pen...and she is still around to enjoy life as she knows it.

So that's it for now...hopefully I won't have to post a 4th update on this drama, but you know you will hear about it if anything does happen!

Holiday Happenings

So...I know, it's been a long time since I last blogged. Sorry! :( But I am back at it. Here's what has been happening in my life for the past few weeks. James & I went down to NC for a week to help his Grandma Hammond. She is 84 years old and lives by herself on a farm. Her farm consists of a house (built by her husband & his brothers), a tiny little guest house (also built by the guys...which housed both of Grandma & Grandpa Hammond's mothers), 2 tobacco barns, a packhouse, a smokehouse (where they used to smoke their ham), and a quaint pond which is stocked with fish. Grandma Hammond is still very much interested in keeping her place up, so we were able to help her mulch with pine straw, wash windows, weed, and do a little cooking! We had a great few days.

We left Grandma's and headed towards the beach, where James's parents live. His Granny Hill is staying there for awhile, as she has some health problems as of late. Anyhow, we pretty much relaxed, ate a lot of food, and discussed life with each other! We had a great time minus the fact that James had a severe headache and fever for a few of those days.

After nursing James back to health, I went back to work at the Grooming Salon this week. I have put in some pretty long days the past few, but I really enjoy working with Susie (the owner) and we get some good laughs out of many of the dogs! The weather has been nice (50's & sunny) but with chilly mornings (got down to 18). I soak up all the sunny days mother nature will provide and am appreciative of the changing seasons.

Speaking of seasons....I hope that you all have a peaceful & joyous season. I wish I were able to see more of my family, but those of you reading know that I love and miss you!

Much love...Holly

Good News!

Yes...there is one piece of good news after the sad story below. We have a living hen! That's right..no, she didn't come back from the dead or reincarnate. The little black hen somehow managed to escape the tragedy today (I think she somehow squeezed out of the pen, since she can't fly, due to clipped wings!) and returned to her coop as night was falling. James noticed her running towards the pen and in sympathy, he coaxed her in the pen with food and refilled her water. Poor thing...what a rough day for her, but we are really thankful she survived. So that's the good news! One saved!

Day of Memorial

Today was a sad day for our hens and rooster; in fact, it was their last. James happened upon the tragedy as he was bringing ashes to the compost heap. He saw a huge red-tailed hawk in the chicken pen...and after the hawk flew off, noticed that the hens were missing and the rooster was on his side. We aren't sure exactly sure what happened, but we think that the hawk had a thing or two to do with it. James & I searched the surrounding fields for evidence of the hens (feathers, blood, etc.), but didn't see anything. Unfortunately, there weren't any witnesses...except the doggies, but they aren't the most reliable! :) So..goodbye to the days of shooing the rooster, feeding the hens, and collecting eggs...what a sad & scary day for the birds....and what a vicious hawk. It's hard to believe he was able to fly off with two decent sized chickens...but I guess we'll never know!

Unneccesary Updates...Part II

Bonnie's new favorite place to hang out is right in front of the wood stove. This particular stove has a fan on it, so it blows hot air out the bottom of the it...where she thinks it's the coziest place to rest!

It seems like she might get a little hot?!

And who do think is mimicking who? :)

Unneccesary Updates

This past week has been taken up by various uninteresting tasks and happenings, but in need of something to post..here are some pictures of a few things:

Sprouting Garlic: James & I planted over 15 lbs. of garlic (around 1,500 cloves) for the spring CSA.

Me and my doll baby!

Being good for the camera...

Wishing I would hurry up!