It’s a 3 day event. First day is the show. They show and are judged in two different classes. One for confirmation and one for showmanship. The second day other animals like steers, lambs, goats & small stock are being judged and the pigs get the day off. The auction, where all the animals are sold, occurs on the third day.

Signs had to be put up.

This year they did something fun on the show days to get the spectators involved. You could pay $5 and volunteer someone to show a pig or steer. If the person really didn’t want to do it, they could pay $10 to get out of it.

Austin was here visiting Serenity and some sneaky somebody volunteered both of them for the steer show. Austin had never shown a steer before and felt pretty lost.

In addition to how well they show their pig, they are judged on their knowledge of pigs. Questions can be about where to find certain cuts of meat, the confirmation of the pig and it’s weak and strong points as well as other things.

The kids didn’t win any prizes but they still did fairly well in showmanship. Maybe next year. Another year of 4-H in the books and back to wedding planning. haha

Puppy owners of an Australian Shepherd and if Cedric, the name of our little pup, is any indication of the breed, I am sold on them forevermore.

With our last dog, Treasure passing on Christmas Day 2 years ago, we’ve been dogless. I’m a dog lover (not a dog lover that wants her dog in the house and kisses on it kind of girl, but I just like dogs). Finally, I decided it was time to seriously look for another one.

I had been told about Blue Heelers but after researching them, I felt maybe it wouldn’t be best for us. Australian Shepherds seemed to always be talked about when researching Heelers, so after some more reading I settled on an Aussie.

After waiting and perusing Craigslist, my wait was rewarded.

6 1/2 weeks old

Cedric was given his own bandana by this sweet girl who is behind the humorous Instagram account, @simbathegoldendoodle.

Cedric is my walking companion – stays by my side with no leash required so far. We walk for about a mile and he’s perfectly content to not wander off.

Lady Carliss isn’t too sure about him. Cedric has taken over the cat house and the cat has had to move herself into the ore car. This is what happened the other day when I stepped outside. Lady Carliss peeped over the edge, I think to see if the coast was clear.

Have you had an Aussie before? What’s your opinion of them?

Since it was Serenity’s last year they all decided to raise the same animal.

We had them for about 5 months and then it was time to take them to EXPO where they show for 2 days and then they sell them at an auction where business owners/leaders are the main supporters.

Lambs had to be sheared…

Loaded….

And taken to EXPO where all the different animals (steers, lambs, goats & pigs) all have pens under this red and white tent.

The next day, the lambs had to be washed and cleaned so they would show nicely.

My girls’ lambs were in the same class for conformation… and both did… not so good.

And Justus’ lamb didn’t fare any better.

Showmanship didn’t go so well.

Serenity was asked to show a steer for a boy who had two, and she was thrilled to do it. She loved having a steer last year.

The day of the auction arrived and the kids had high hopes that they would have some good bidders since they had went to several business owners and talked to them about their projects and the auction. Audrey was the one that did all the calling. She likes doing it and the other two are more than happy to let her!

Serenity was a little dismayed when she saw the auction list and found out that she was the very last animal to go through. At our EXPO, the last animal is not always a bad thing but she wasn’t feeling too good about it.

But any fears were put to rest when they sold their animals. They all sold their lambs for the best prices in the auction but maybe because the business people knew this was Serenity’s last year, they wanted to give her a good send-off – but for whatever reason, her lamb sold for $22.00/pound. That was an exciting few minutes in the ring when the bids were popping.

I need to make a clarification. There was one steer that no animal came close to in its selling price. There was a steer that sold for $22,500. Yes, you read that right! $22,500. Incredible but oh, so exciting!

Serenity’s last year of 4-H…

Her cousin was able to be here. So special for Serenity!

Angela… our 4-H leader for 17 years now.

A few friends were a part of our 4-H group this year, so that made it even more enjoyable.

I only have two kids young enough to be in 4-H now. Time marches on and their childhood is over before you hardly realize it.

But then the grandkids come…

Save

To put together their fairy garden they would need some type of container, soil, and small plants such as mosses, grass, alyssum or succulents… but they were limited in what could be purchased for accessories. Ninety-five percent of  their accessories had to be made by them.  And that’s where their creativity came in as well as the cuteness factor.

I just loved what the girls did and wanted to show their little gardens to you.

This girls fairy garden house was made out of a squash with ficus leaves placed over the top for a roof. I love her little swimming pool made from a tupperware container and rimmed with rocks. The chair was from a lemon peel and the rug made from leaves.

One cut out the pages from a book for her fairy garden.

This is the fairy garden my daughter Serenity put together. I loved her little walkway, birdhouse and swing. The birdhouse was made from clay that hardens when you bake it in the oven. She placed the stick into the birdhouse before she baked it.

This fairy garden was made using a log in the yard. Isn’t the socks on the clothesline so cute?

I love the coziness of this miniature home. Notice the bench. So cute.

A butterfly painter’s garden.

My daughter, Audrey (age 9) made this fairy garden and had so much fun putting it all together.

A Lego tire used for a swing.

A small arbor under which is a garden of carrots made from clay you bake in the oven.

A table made from popsicle sticks with tomatoes placed on it.

And in the last picture it shows the chair she made from twigs.

I loved her little pennant banner. You can’t read it because it’s blurred but the sign says, “No trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted.”

I loved seeing how each girl put their own creative spin on their project.

Serenity is taking on this big project. I think everyone was wondering if she would be able to handle it or not  but the Lord has blessed her with the calmest steer ever.

After going to the livestock auction and calling around to different ranchers in the area, she was told to call the a rural highschool where they have a FFA program in place. They had a steer the weight she needed and when they arrived at the school to see the steer they found out it was calm and mellow. Just what she needed!

It’s an Angus cross. An Angus bull bred to a Semmintel cow.

The Cowgirl

The steer without a name currently.

He weighs 750 pounds and we are hoping for a rate of gain of 2 pounds per day.

By September he will probably be eating 25# of grain every day.

Ideally he’ll weigh 1250 pounds by the first week in October when the auction is held.

After keeping him penned for his first week here at the farm, to get him acclimated to his new surroundings, it was time to take him out for a walk.  The market beef project is the most time intensive project of any of the project animals.

Seth raised a few steers when he was in 4-H, so he’s helping Serenity, too. There were three of them that went on the walk and held on to the lead rope so that if the steer was startled or tried to get away, they had back-up.  This steer is so calm they didn’t think anything would happen but just to be safe, they all went anyway. There’s a lot of money tied up in these beef projects and you don’t want them getting away OR getting sick.

Seth had a steer get away once. It was his first one and it seemed pretty calm, so the day after he brought it home he went to take it on a walk. All by himself. It didn’t go too well. The steer took off and ended up a few miles from the house. Rancher friends that run cattle on State land near us came to our rescue and with a horse and rope they were able to lasso that big animal and get it loaded into a trailer.  It was a big relief once it was caught and secure in its pen.

But this fellow was pretty calm for the mile-long walk they went on.

But it was still a treat to see these 3 walking all together through the grasses. Not many years hence, things will be different. That happens when your kids grow up on you.

Each one pursuing and following the path God has laid out for them.

First we loaded up the pigs. I make this sound a lot easier than it is sometimes!

This one was getting a last minute mud bath before being coaxed… and coaxed…. and coaxed into the horse trailer.

At EXPO they show twice – once for showmanship and the second time for confirmation. Serenity placed 3rd in the Senior division for Showmanship and her pig was Reserve Champion Crossbred. So not a bad year for our Missy.

A prize pig.

My niece Zoe flew in from Pennsylvania and is spending the week with us.

She’s a goat girl and shows and sells goats at her 4-H Auction in PA. So she’s been soaking in how we all operate here in AZ and gathering some ideas.

Have you ever been involved in 4-H?

Inspired by Repurposed 4 Life with the chicken art she painted…

I painted something of my own.

Doing projects like this is great because it doesn’t have to be perfect. And it isn’t. Trust me on that one.

Here’s how I made it.

1. Using my Silhouette Cameo I cut out a hen with two chicks.

2. Then I traced around the cut-outs onto my board…

3. …then painted.

But I didn’t like how the hen and chicks blended in with the background. You can’t really tell from the picture above but the contrast wasn’t enough to really make them stand out like I wanted.  So I primed the whole board for repainting.

4. This time I decided to try to make a crackling effect.  Here’s a simplification of the process for doing it.  Paint your base color that you want peeking through when you’re all finished first. Then pour some Elmer’s glue onto your picture.

5. Spread the glue around covering the whole surface. Now here is where I’m sure I did it wrong. Because my picture was several colors I should have painted the glue on in sections, working on one section at a time and so it dried before I could paint the 2nd layer.

6. When the glue is not super wet but just slightly tacky, paint the 2nd coat of paint. It can be a different color but I painted mine the same as my first coat.

As it dries it will start to crackle.  If you notice, mine didn’t crackle much at all. You can see it did some on the words and the red chicken.  The background I did not even paint the second time even though I had covered it with glue.

7. Spray the now dried paint and glue with a few coats of Polyurethane.

And the final step…

Go to the coop and hang your work of art, staking claim that this is “The Coop since 2004” in case anyone should ever wonder.

Why don’t you try making a sign – maybe for your garage, garden or barn?

Specifically this picture inspired me to bring some color to our coop.

Repurposed for Life

Oh, the possibilities of signs…

Etsy

Etsy

This is too funny.

Etsy

So guess what I’m working on? Art for my little hen house. Every project is a learning project (ahem) and I’ve learned on this one, too. Currently, the piece of wood I’m painting on is sitting with a fresh coat of primer after having been used to cover my first attempt at painting.

Sometimes it’s the little things that get me excited but I’m really having fun with this one.

We’ve had our times.  One hundred twenty-two sticks of dynamite had to be used for the building site and rocky land does not make for a good septic system.  Being off-grid you have to learn the proper set-up for alternate energy, and when your well goes dry you have to be prepared to drill in a new location.  Life here in the sticks can be challenging sometimes.

But If we had to choose again, we would choose where we are.  We’re spoiled now.  If we had a neighbor within shouting distance, we’d probably be like the pioneers of old – wanting to head out to uncharted wilderness.

And I’m sure our neighbors would be considering it if we didn’t decide to leave first.  You know. We operate a little different than most families – like I was telling you the other day.

Here is just one reason I’m glad we live in the country.  I’m glad my little budding man has the opportunity to connect with God’s creation in his day to day chores.

With his brothers all working, he has taken on the dairy goat operation.

And he’s doing an amazing job.  Of his own accord, he is keeping a daily journal of what’s happening with the goats on an Excel spreadsheet I made up for him. Things like what he did, how the nannies were acting and if there were signs of them getting ready to have kids , when they kidded, etc.

With 7 kids born in the last few weeks, he’ll have 5 nannies that he’ll be milking starting this week.Living on a farm isn’t the only way for a boy to become a man…

but it’s a good way.

Yesterday they loaded their animals.

Our big fat cat (not fat on mice!) relaxin’.

The pig, after much coercion, finally went into the trailer.

Audrey was adorable – running around helping where she could.  Here she’s getting some water for the pig to cool it off after it’s strenuous walk up the plank into the trailer.

Loaded and ready to go.

Today Justus shows his pig and tomorrow Serenity shows her lamb.

It means early mornings and late nights, dust, and a bunch of tired dirty kids but it’s a lot of fun anyways!