Settling In, Still


Still settling in and working on getting things in place around the homestead


my husband has been working on putting up the herb garden courtyard...
while I have been washing laundry by hand...
as we are waiting on our washing machine coming in soon
the one we had did not have the right voltage range for solar power...
so we had to look into one with a range of 220 - 240 volts


we've been getting in more food plants


and I like to use the spring creek water for watering plants


lots of pineapple plants have been planted along the chicken coop


my ginger and turmeric plants are waiting to be replanted into 5 gallon buckets


my husband brought me a pretty wild ginger flower with roots...
and I will plant that into a large pot for something pretty...
to watch as it grows and blooms more flowers


we have one new wee chick...


and Big Red, the rooster, helps care for her...


and I think this little chickie may be a future egg layer


last, for now...
my little garden girl is sitting under the mango tree...
waiting for her place in the herb garden


May your day or night be blessed in the grace of the Lord.

The Rose among Thorns





So much has happened in the last month of May...
it's hard to know where to begin

maybe I could begin with our yearling calf


what a gentle, sweet bull he was
(unlike our first calf bull who was very ornery)

he never gave trouble and often let people pet him
I called him "little bull"


a few days after we moved to the new homestead...
a rabid mongoose came into the property and bit him in the face
I was there when it happened, so we knew why he got sick

he didn't get a vaccine in time...
and he developed this horrible virus that took his life this past week
I hope this never happens again

rabies isn't very common here...
but, our other animals are vaccinated
and our next calf will be vaccinated much sooner

it sure broke my heart to see this gentle young bull go so hard...
that I still choke up on it



this little chick...


grew into my best hen, ever


she not only turned out quite pretty...


but, turned into the best mama hen I ever knew


she not only took care of her own chicks so carefully...


caring for them until they were actually half grown...!


see what I mean, below?


she would take on the care of cast off chicks...


whose mamas were quite finished with their mothering business


and they would follow her and her own chicks around...
like they were always hers'...
and she never ran them off

did you ever hear of a hen that did that before?!!

alas!! the Lord saw fit to take her also...
and He knows best
she died just a week ago in my arms from an undiagnosed illness
I will miss her wonderful mothering ways, for sure



here are a few updates of the house


I know there were questions of security and well...


as you can see...


that is taken care of


the man who we commissioned for the grid did quite nicely with the job
so, although crime is not the problem here as it is in so many other countries...
our home is secure in the hands of the Lord as He sees fit
after all, even the city watchman is of no use...
if the Lord does not keep watch over the city


from inside the atrium...
you can see the backyard
a bit bare but, we have planted a hundred fruit trees


beyond the laundry line is the chicken coop...
not quite finished but, the chickens spend their daylight hours...
outside the coop anyway


I will be planting lots of pineapples...
along the outside perimeter of the chicken coop...
and by this time next year...
we should be seeing tiny pineapple fruits coming along


below, is my husband's workshed
it sits between two large mango trees...
and they are blooming and bearing fruit


one of the old mango trees also "bearing" my garden sign
the sign will go into my herb garden that we have started
I'll show that another time


we have a mango tree on the front right side of the house that is already...
giving us mangoes to eat


when I look up at the mangoes hanging there...
the mountain views are quite nice, too

it's dry season right now...
but, we sit close to Grand Etang National Rainforest...
and it's always green here


just some of the fruit trees we planted
coconut, mangoes...


bananas, plantains...


citrus of various kinds


Barbados cherry trees


sometimes, when I rest in the hot afternoon...
I like to look out at the gru-gru palm trees from the sofa...
against the blue skies


and I enjoy watching my chickens from the kitchen window


and lastly...
a few photos of how I have thus far set up a couple of rooms

the bedroom


the kitchen


it has been a rough ride with this new move...
but, the Lord sustains
and with all the thorns in this new move...
Jesus Christ is the Rose amongst the thorns...
and that is the best sustainer of all in the midst of thorny times

and with that...
I must say, until later


May your day or night find the Rose among life's thorns.