Catching up!

Faith had her check up yesterday - she is healing amazingly fast!  Our vet shared with me that upon re-viewing the spray pattern from the shot gun blast, he believes the shooter was much closer than 15 feet. I keep asking myself what kind of evil, immature or ignorant person would shoot a dog bellied up to them - the sign of complete surrender? Then I have to ask myself, who would Faith belly up to like that?  

Her bruising is almost gone - just splotches here and there. She is going outside soon. Our vet told us that we would periodically see a little sore appear and fester up - then split open so the body could expel the pellets. Our Father continually amazes me with His creation - the things that our bodies, and those of our animals, can do to heal all by themselves truly reflects a loving Creator!

I am "out of the boot"!  My foot is stiff and I am working on regaining movement. There is still some swelling at the end of the day but oh.so.much.better!  I am using a cane to keep me steady until I regain all movement and it feels so wonderful to be walking around!

We've been busy in the garden and greenhouse - pictures next post!  Our potatoes are planted...onions too. The strawberries are blooming as are the apple trees.  We keep having sporadic frosts so we will have to see what fruit actually survive.  My son's garden plans this year are ambitious.  He is extending our drip lines into the rest of the garden, he's done massive research on companion planting...this is one motivated kid.  The rest of us are his garden servants!  

We grew winter wheat last year as a cover crop and it really choked out a lot of the weeds. I'm sure we will do that again this fall. The boys are turning it in as we build each bed. The soil looks wonderful so rich and dark.  We will see what the soil test says this year.

I need to get busy in my herb border.  Now, that I've lost the boot, it will be possible to get down and crawl around in the dirt.  My comfrey, chives, mint, lemon balm and echinacea are all up - the calendula and chamomile are just peeking through the soil. I think some of my lavender survived - I have many cuttings growing to fill in the gaps. Rosemary looks good and I have cuttings of that too - to expand the planting.  I use a lot of rosemary in my soaps and in cooking so I have needed to grow a bit more.

Only seven more weeks of school left.  We are all looking forward to summer. We are making plans for how to handle school next year.  This year we discovered Switched on Schoolhouse a computer based curriculum.  We bought 2 used programs just to give it a try.  Doodle used their 7th grade English and Josiah used their 11th grade English Literature.  Both have really enjoyed that so we will be on the lookout for 8th and 12th grade classes for next year. When I bought these programs, the seller threw in 11th grade science.  Josiah really likes his biology course by Apologia, so although I installed the science, we haven't used it. ..or so I thought.  I've come to find out that Doodle has been using it "for fun" in his spare time. Wow!

I am busy preparing for some local festivals.  I've been making soaps, salves, teas and more.  I am trying to get pictures taken to get them up on the website and hope to have that done in the next few days. The rest of this month is going to be busy, busy!  

At some point in May, Josiah will be visiting an oral surgeon.  He has to have some teeth pulled to make room for his braces to do their job.  They will be pulling his wisdom teeth at the same time. I am blocking out a week on the calendar for that! 

I believe this will be a full and busy summer filled with friends, gardening, lots of canning and more!  My life is so blessed and filled with happiness - and I am ever mindful and grateful to my Father who orchestrates it all!

Blessings,