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.
