Wow, I think it's time for an update on what's been happening on the homestead.  There is so much going on here.   We are the owners of 2 more cows, a Jersey milk cow and a Fleckvieh calf.  The Jersey and calf are actually at our Amish friends until our milk barn is finished which we are planning to have it done this week.  It's been hard around here to find a Jersey, and when we do find one it's gone and from what we have heard from the sellers they could sell the cows 5 times over.  Our friends milk cow hasn't freshened yet, so they are out of milk and for both of us it's a win-win situation, they house our Jersey and calf and milk her and they get the milk and we take some as well.  Our Jersey actually freshened early before the auction and didn't make it, so we were wanting to have her take an orphan calf and she has accepted the new calf as hers and has turned into a very good protective momma as well as gives some pretty good milk. 

The fencing is almost 100% done, but it's done enough that we can let the animals in the pasture.   The steer is out on pasture and with all the rain we've had he's not been able to keep up with it, so all is good.

While the livestock were being loaded into the trailer, I had to take a photo of all the horses lined up tied to the fence along with all the buggies parked.

The way this spring weather has been I wondered if we were ever going to get anything in the ground, but yay, we finally were able to work the ground and get some onions planted.  It's supposed to be nice and warm this week so what can be planted now will be.

For me it's been a long winter and the warm weather we are having is so nice to enjoy.

We finally got snow but not on Christmas like I like.  Our UTV had to go into the shop to have work done on it.  We use that UTV for sugaring and really can't be without it.  We drove through Amish country on our way home.  It was very quiet on the roads didn't pass too many cars or buggies along the way.  School was in session for the scholars at the many schools we passed, and some were outside for lunch and recess as it was in the noon hour when we went by.

We also saw quite a few eagles flying around and luckily, I was able to capture a drive-by photo of one and another sitting in a tree nearby.  If you look closely, you can see the one in flight, it had been in the middle of the road eating on something and took flight as we got closer.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year in 2022.

We’ve lived here in Wisconsin for almost 8 years and I still love driving through Amish country.  We had snow earlier in the week and I’m wondering if spring plans to even show it’s face. I’m itching to open my windows and doors, I  can’t wait to get outside and get the yard looking nice and colorful again.

It’s been a long winter and I’m so ready to say goodbye to it. 

A close-up of the eagles.

It's still looking pretty drab around here and I'm enjoying the blogs that are showing photos of the pretty flowers that are blooming in their areas...sigh...soon.  At times it doesn't even seem like spring has arrived at all, we've had the wood stove going a couple of nights ago.  Speaking of things arriving, we are expecting to get our meat birds on the 14th or 15th depending on when they arrive at the feed store, and we are ready.

On Easter Sunday we went for a wonderful brunch, we left early and took a scenic drive to get there.

We passed through Amish country.

I hope you enjoyed the scenic drive we took and the sights we saw along the way.  We have had more company come and right now we are dog sitting for our son and daughter-in-laws dogs while they are at a wedding in Minnesota.

We took a drive the other day out to Prairie du Chien and on the way out we went by the eagles nest.  This is actually a new nest that the eagles built, which is nice because I can get better shots of the new nest without having to walk along the field to get closer.

Someone was home sitting on the nest, you can barely see it's head.

I ran up to the Dells to shop today, I fought the high winds that we had, and on the way back home I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things.  It always brings a smile to my face when I see a buggy at the hitching post and seeing a hitching post outside of stores around here is something I had never experienced until moving here.

I found a wallet and an overnight bag pattern I've been wanting to make, so when I got home I made a pot of chicken vegetable soup and then headed to my sewing room to make the "Handy Wallet".  I found both the patterns in a magazine.  It's still pretty drab around here so I thought I would go outside of my box and pick brighter colors for the wallet and overnight bag which is called "The Weekender".

Now that winter seems to be almost over and spring is just around the corner it feels so good to be getting out and about.

We took a drive on Sunday and taking a drive in our area on a Sunday can mean only one thing, watch out for the Amish in their buggies.  My shots are a bit blurry as I took the shots quickly (and no I wasn't driving LOL).

Good morning evening peeps!  Spring has finally sprung around here and a good indication of that is when you can walk down the road with no coat on :)

We've been working out in the yard trying to clean up from sugaring, getting the garden ready for planting and even doing some planting, raking the rocks that ended up in the grass from snowplowing and other odds and ends.

I've been having windows open to finally get some fresh air in the house, and that feels so good.

Starting to see a few plants popping out of the ground, another indication that spring is here.  Just being outside gets me planning what I want to do around the yard and in my gardens, I've got some neat ideas going through my head, most of them I have found on Pinterest.  I wish I could get my hands on some old barn wood, as I could come up with a few things that Mr could make from it.

Don't ya just love springtime?  New growth, new beginnings and new ideas.

Not just for the Amish but for the other farmers around here as well.  Our field was cut when I was in Texas, I'm sorry I missed it as I love to see it get cut and baled.  I just loved the little guy standing there watching.

Look at all the haystacks that need to get picked up.

Tonight we went to a Haystack supper that the Amish put on to raise money for their schools.  I spied this cute Amish girl swinging on a swing while all of us non-Amish folks were standing in line waiting to get food.  This was taken with my cell phone.

I have to say the food was good, it was a different combination, but good.