Guess what I found today!

First of all, happy Labor Day! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and extra little break. We had a nice weekend, started painting our fence, mowed, went swimming and had a cookout at a friends' house. 

Now, on to what we found!

Our ducks are 21 weeks today, just one week shy of five months. I can't believe how time has flown by! I was cleaning their water in the pen this afternoon when I looked over and saw and egg right in the dirt! I did a double take and then spotted another not far away, and then, a third! Two are about the size of chicken eggs and the third is quite small. I am so excited to try them!! Has anyone ever had duck eggs before? What did you think? 

Nature Walk Photos

Here are some pics from our most recent walk around our property. I hope you enjoy them!

 A goldfinch nest

I have never seen one, it was so neat! Covered in soft thistle fuzz, it has 4 little eggs inside. 

Jewelweed

Our jewelweed is in full bloom and that makes it super easy to find. Jewelweed is a wonderful plant full of medicinal goodness. It is great for if you get poison ivy and is often found nearby.

Cornflowers

Gorgeous blue flowers that fill our pastures when they are in need of mowing. I just love these!

Monarch Caterpillar

We spotted lots of these guys! We have tons of them this year, and I am so happy to see them. We brought one to the house so the boys could watch it make a chrysalis and hopefully we will get to see it emerge as a butterfly. We raised 7 or 8 last year, some of them from eggs! It was a great experience. 

We also spotted various birds including chickadees and cardinals and some other wildflowers. Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a great weekend!

Quack! Quack!

Head over to our farm blog Cross Creek Farm and check out some pics of our new arrivals! They are adorable!

Take My Poll

I have a new poll in my sidebar, please take a sec to check it out and vote! Thanks!

Thankful Thursday

Its been waaaay too long since I have done a Thankful Thursday post! The last time was in....November of 2011!! Yikes! I think I will need to update my logo soon....

Today I am thankful for SO much!

Thankful for wonderful parents and inlaws that help us out and are so supportive.

SO thankful for my wonderful friends. After Jimmy was born, I was feeling so lonely but over the last couple years I have been able to connect and reconnect with new and old friends through my church and the local library. And now that the boys are getting older, we are meeting more and more people through various extracurricular activities.

I am SO thankful for our little farm and the opportunities it provides to connect with nature and through that I feel more connected to my Father in Heaven. His creation is just SO AWESOME! I love exploring our land and the plants that grow here. I have gotten into wildcrafting and foraging in the last few years. We have so many wonderful resources right here! Elderberries, stinging nettles, wild roses, many dandelions (who knew they were so GOOD for you?) and many more things. I will definitely have to post about all the goodies I have found.

I am also thankful for our place and that it provides a place to grow our own food. Last year we embarked on a new adventure....raising ducks! We bought 4 ducklings at our local farm supply store and they all ended up being males, so no eggs. But they were so much fun and downright adorable. We had a great summer and fall watching their antics and learning from them. But since our ultimate goal is having our own eggs, and since they were all male, we made the hard decision to fatten them up and put them on the dinner table. And I gotta say, they were so yummy! I did just order some females and a couple males the other day though, so the journey continues. Be prepared for lots of ducky posts starting mid-April!

I am extremely thankful for my wonderful husband who works so hard and deals with my craziness, and who provides for us to be able to school at home. He is one of the hardest working people I know, and we are so blessed to have him!

I am very thankful for my sweet little boys who are always keeping me on my toes and teaching me new things. Patience has taken on a whole new meaning....but I just love to be around them, they are amazing. It has been so neat to watch each little personality develop and I am always amazed at just how different two boys can be from each other!

And most of all, I am thankful to my heavenly Father, for without Him, none of this would be possible. I am so thankful for when He clearly speaks to me and nudges me in the direction I need to go. Sometimes I don't listen, or I think I know what I am doing, but when I finally do listen, I see He was right as always and realize things may have been a little easier if I had gone that way in the first place. Even amidst the struggles and heartache (and we have many!) He continually shows His love and mercy and blesses us in so many ways. He is always there, patiently waiting for us to choose Him over ourselves.

So, what are you thankful for today? Please share in the comments and have a blessed day!