Tag Archives: Itsnotta farm

Decorating for Fall

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This was the display at the front of our new church on Sunday. Simple. Rustic. Country. And I love it! ‘Tis the season of change in Ontario and it’s never more evident than in the heart of farm country! Our neighbours have started harvesting the soy bean field behind us and we have seen several large green farm vehicles in various fields around. We are still learning about what goes on and will probably never fully understand it all, but we hear that the dust is about to start flying and the roar of tractors and diesel engines will likely be heard for the next several weeks. Months, apparently, if you harvest cow corn for winter. It’s not dry and ready until December we’ve been told – if you want to “silo” it.

The sun sets so early now. Yet the colours are absolutely spectacular! Vibrant pink hues against the golden fields and touches of auburn yellow and orange forests mix with the still green rolling hills of our pathway home. Tonite, as we walked the dog, I marvelled at a vine so crimson, it looked almost dyed. Dipped in some cherry stain – rich and fermented. Like a well aged wine.

Of course, fall fair season has begun. That’s when your sense of smell takes over from sight. Fried donuts and funnel cakes. Cinnamon and cloves in the baked goods. Apple pies. Pumpkins and root vegetables. Rich coffee with cream that warms your insides. Now that I have my own barn and have been to the feed lot, I have learned that hay and straw actually has a very sweet smell. Again, slightly fermented. Okay, I suppose you have to include that sharp ammonia smell of urine and manure, since we are musing about the whole gamut of the senses. Let’s pretend we worked hard to muck out the stalls and only fresh, sweet straw is left okay?

My husband is thankful the mosquitoes have disappeared. My garden spider is gone. A few fuzzy caterpillars still cross my path now and then and the squirrels and chipmunks are busier than ever. In the heat of the mid day the wasps still swarm my porch and this weekend the lady bug invasion began. Hundreds of biting beetles snuck in through the cracks and hovered at my front door. Yuk. We vacuumed them up into oblivion.

Via houseofhawthorns.com

I marvel and muse at this time of year because nature simply cannot help but display the majesty of a master artist. If you live in a place that seldom changes with the seasons, I pity you because God’s creation is so diverse, it’s a shame that the entire world doesn’t get to see what we do in Canada. I hope you can love it through my words.

There truly is a season for everything and a time for every activity under Heaven. A unique design for beauty in, essentially, preparation for death. I am trying to prepare myself for winter. It’s an inevitable reality. And like death, it will come all to quickly. Country people prepare for winter. Wood is cut and piled. Chains and winter tires. We need a snowblower. My new bunnies need to be protected from the wind. I wonder if we prepare for death as much as we do winter? That’s a dark reality for thought at another time. Let’s go back to donuts and funnel cakes, shall we?

Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up. We will be celebrating here at the farmhouse and my porch display is lacking. I’m trying to up my decorating game – even found a box labelled “fall” with goodies in it for use. I’m gonna try. I just can’t help but celebrate the beauty it represents! Yet, I am reminded that it goes so much deeper than orange hues and pumpkins – it points to the One who set science ablaze with seasonal changes and a fully functional world based on lifecycles and minute cellular workings that cause food chains to explode with sights, sounds, smells and tastes!

We truly have much to be thankful for. Be blessed, my friends, for there is a supernatural Creator who decorated for fall just for us!

It’s All in the Details…

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My goodness! Where has the time gone?! With a family vacation, and an upcoming wedding, and moving in and adjusting to “all the new” it’s a good thing I am currently unemployed… there’s been no time to work! Some days I feel like I have been juggling a thousand things but none have been accomplished. It can be frustrating. How does one manage it all without getting stressed? As I age, I have been learning to write all the details down. Anyone else? Often, it’s all in the details… and so the muse for the week.

Despite the busyness, I have noticed how many little things are ever-so-present in life. One of the big ones out here in the country are the insects! We are fighting the wasps and house flies constantly. The hubby is repeatedly complaining about the mosquitoes. Seriously. All. The. Time. Mosquitos. We also have a resident spider on the front porch which has been a unique source of entertainment. She lives in our Yucca plant and is huge.

Our Reminder of “the little things”

We think she’s a she because she is big and bold. Apparently, these common yellow garden spiders are also known as zipper spiders because they have these thick zipper patterns at the base of their webs. (You can’t see it in my bad photo but it’s there!) I have had the unique opportunity to watch her capture and devour several prey… including one of those pesky wasps! Fascinating. Even if you are not a fan of spiders… one must appreciate their ability to paralyze their prey and wrap them for later use – a process that takes about 30 seconds flat. I wish my grocery shopping was that quick. Like I said: detailed.

I’ve also had the pleasure of being attacked by several plant species in our brush. One must respect a creature who cannot move and yet is able to defend itself with thorns, stinging nettles or “share” their wealth with sticky little burrs. Nature is cool. God is super creative and thought of every little detail.

My sweater after a little walk outside… tiny details!

And so I muse. Not only about the tiniest of details I see around me, but about what kind of little things am I doing to enrich the world I live in? Some of ya’ll are good at those little details… the party has just the right amount of fine details to make it perfect: a place card, a flower vase, a touch of this or that. That cute garden gnome tucked in among the wildflowers. A painted rock with inspiration left on the beach during lockdown. An encouraging note for someone who needs it. A never ending prayer list of names and their individual needs.

You and I both know how important the fine details are. Sometimes they are absolutely needed… like in a recipe or pattern. If the details are lost, your final product just won’t turn out right. Your efforts will be in vain. Other times the details make things just a bit nicer. A dab of whipped cream. A scented candle. Little things just because you care. Other times being aware of the little things save you from trouble. Topping up on fuel – or bug spray, makes all the difference!

Have you tapped in to all the richness of the fine details God has blessed us with lately? Do we take the time to add them in to our plans or are we too busy to care? Would they make your life easier? Would they enrich someone else’s soul? Trust me, it takes effort. Disciplines often do. Yet, I think God gave us nature’s little quirks to remind us that He’s all about the details. And we should be too. I’ll miss my little spider come winter, but for now I will cherish her company. And her prowess. And take the cue to be all about the little things.

The Least of These (Part 2: Rats in the Cellar)

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Sorry for the delay… I promised part 2 a week ago… but we do things slowly here in the country! Nonetheless. Here we are! Back in the basement!

Remember this stain?
This is the after!

If you haven’t read part one of my basement reno, you can check it out here. It took a long time. After plenty of ducking and dodging crevices and spiders, the final coat of epoxy paint was on the floor – and then the hot water heater began trickling condensation. The paint wasn’t even dry yet and I had a puddle! Argh!! I pulled out the roller and spread that puddle around – mixing up my concrete paint with the slightly rusty tinge of puddle. Done.

Seriously?! Puddle extinguished.

And then we began the task of “moving in”. The cellar will be no more than storage and laundry and extra space for the zoo, but I was determined to make it nice. The dog is afraid of the steep basement steps so the cat food is stored down here with little chance of getting eaten up by the Labrador. The previous owner had stapled a large amount of fabric around the laundry tub – which I considered a valiant effort on prettying up a dismal space, so I embraced it. I ripped off the the fabric and decided there was enough to create curtains for the “windows” and decorate up the tub again. I still haven’t put the spare bedroom together but here I was sewing curtains for the basement. I guess this was how I roll. I made no attempt to put up floating shelves and funky laundry signs or fake succulents. My decorating skills for the basement only went so far.

Before
And after!
Crisp white walls!

Although the hubby was quite pleased with the folding table for laundry piles so we replaced the large wooden one with a plastic folding one we had stored at the previous house. I have a picture to put up. The hubby thinks that’s crazy – but we’ll see if it ever gets hung on the wall or simply sits on the ledge for the next 50 years.

After some debate and discussion, we agreed that our pet rats will start out in the basement. Yes, we have rats in the cellar! The creatures have been with us for several years and our youngest has started breeding them as her small side hustle. If you want to get in to a debate on keeping rats as pets, I’m happy to save that for another blog post! Anyway, despite the fact that there is no natural light down there we decided the rat cages would do well in the big open space. The barn would be too cold in winter and the fuzzies are a little stinky even though we housed them in the bedrooms at the old house.

So moving day for the rats was upon us. Trust me, this is no easy hamster wheel and hanging water bottle challenge. The youngest and I had to tackle this on our own as we needed the whole van to transport the two multilevel cages and all the equipment we house to host our little beasties. We packed, dismantled, cleaned and rearranged. We have four boys and eight girls. Two young girls were recently returned to us so we are in the process of making them a little tamer. Van is packed. Bigger boys in a carrier. Smaller girls caged for transport … until one of the young girls squeezes out from the bottom! Yup, escapee in a van load of endless hiding spaces!

We tried coaxing her out with a cracker… which she promptly snatched and stole away with. We waited as she snacked unawares in an unattainable corner. Forty five minutes and another cracker later, we were on the road for the hour long journey to the new house to unload, reassemble and unpack, again!

And so, the basement has been tackled. The first loads of laundry have been done. The rats seem happy and comfortable. The picture is still on the ledge. We are happy.

The Rats have moved in.

Do you ever wonder if all the time and effort you put in to seemingly “useless” tasks is worth it? Who cares about decorating non window windows for a bunch of rats? I’m learning that patience and following through is rewarding. I can sit back now and say – I did that and it looks good! The “ratty” people in our lives are worth the effort. For “the least of these” are children of God too, and He cares for each one of us. He is willing to wait while we munch away on our crackers under a pile of stuff, not knowing that our safety is in His best interest always.

The cellar of our century home is another reminder to me to not overlook the little things. To be patient and trust the process. To wait and not get frustrated, even if it means mixing up your paint with a little rusty water. In the end it’ll be worth it. I’m sure.