Fair-View Farm Blog

Spring time is in full swing here on the farm. It's only a couple weeks until baby animals are due to start arriving, and while we've been working steadily on various projects, it also seems we've chosen a slightly slower pace of life. We've had lots of good family discussions after meals and in the evenings. We've been taking time to go for walks, play games after evening chores, practice music, and in many ways are enjoying being a family while working on projects or hanging out together. We daily give thanks for our family, home, farm, and many other blessings. Project updates: Maple syrup: The season has been concluded. We pulled taps on Monday the 20th. Then washed all the sap sack holders, taps, buckets, barrels, tank, and pans... Equipment has been collected and put away in storage until next spring. We made lots of syrup this year, so we'll have extra to sell in our farm store. :)  Good news for customers who enjoy it! The trailer with all t...

As promised, here are some pictures of the raft project.  Over the winter, we gained access to a decent sized pond, and so the plans were hatched for a much bigger and better raft than was ever floated on our swamp. (In past years, all of us kids have build small rafts to use in the swamp across the road that floods during the spring melt. This raft beats any "raft" Nate and I ever built by a long shot... Ours were pretty useless as they didn't even hold one of us up... )   Matt, Silas, and their friend Zak, built this watercraft all by themselves. They asked questions and got advice as needed, but did all the building  themselves. The only thing they bought new for this project was screws. The rest of the materials were rounded up from around the farm (and our other old building site). Dad was pleased that they used a chalk line, made sure things were square, and built the frame with 16" centers. You probably already saw some of the planning stage with barrels in...

The old saying goes: April showers bring May flowers.   Well, our weather this past week has varied greatly... Sunday and Monday were sunny and fairly warm.  On Tuesday we had a thunderstorm complete with lighting and hail that turned the ground white, but then in the afternoon it got up to nearly 60. Thursday it was windy and it snowed off and on. When it snowed it was close to  white-out conditions due to the stiff wind. Friday was cooler and windy, but without any precipitation. Saturday was beautiful. Matt and Silas spent the afternoon and evening on the pond, and us girls went for the 3.8 mile hike through the woods. Then on Sunday, it snowed all day, and currently there are a couple inches out there again (except for a few small snowbanks, most of our snow had left)... I wonder what this week will bring? Project updates: The sales shed is coming along nicely- it is now is wired, insulated, and has some boards up on the inside.  Gr...

Christ is Risen!  This year's Easter may seem and feel so different from your traditional celebration. But one thing is unchanged- Christ is Risen. He is risen indeed. So no matter where or in what situation this day finds you- may you take time to reflect and rejoice in this truth- we serve a living Savior, a Savior who loved us so much that He was willing to give His own life for me and for you. And not only that, but He is a personal God and desires to have a relationship with us. True peace and hope can only be found in Him. He's alive- alive forever!  

And here we are in April already... What a lovely day we had to begin the month- Warmer than usual for this time of year, and warm sunshine. The crew has been taking advantage of the warmer weather to get some outside projects done. Some of which I'll tell you about in this post. We are grateful to be here together as a family, with a roof over our heads, food on our table, and work to keep us busy. I (Emily) have been transitioning to teaching my music lessons online through video chat programs. Since schools are currently closed, I am currently working from home as well- teaching lessons from the comfort of our music room. It's been an adventure...  While I've been doing that, the rest of the family has continued on with pretty much their normal lives. Here is what the rest of the crew has been up working on recently. Maple syrup: It's been a great year so far. We've already canned about 35 gallons of syrup. Last night we collected 350 gallons of sap. We are ...