for the farmers

Traveling on the outskirts of Phoenix it is not unusual to find agricultural pockets in unexpected places...the result of a city grown quickly. However, as Renalee and I walked the streets near the extensive ASU campus recently, I was surprised to see this grain elevator standing poudly as a part of the city scape.

weather

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
Author: unknown

This morning when I came in from the chickens I asked Jay if he knew where the mountain was....the clouds almost completely hid it from view. As the morning progressed we had a series of unusual views out the back door.

The mountain completely disappeared as the clouds dropped a slushy. hail-type precipitation.

It turned our yard white along with the top of the mountain.

Then the sun came and melted what had collected on the roof.

Leaving us with blue skies and a beautiful white tipped mountain.

happy birthday to me

Renelee and I celebrated my birthday early with fancy personal birthday cake, a walk through downtown, and a concert at ASU.

white rock...

...Restoration Center

Saturday morning we met in a quaint store-front church in Mayer, Arizona. Six of us spent time worshiping together and then heard the history of this small mountain community.


Armed with the knowledge of the strongholds we were up against, we headed to the highest point in the town, a hill with a tall smoke stack that overshadows the quiet little village, ready to do some spiritual warfare.


The stack looms high over the little town, a reminder of it's tainted beginnings.

Years ago swindler's had built the massive concrete structure. They burned old tires in it, then took pictures of the black smoke coming out of the stack along with photos of a large quantity of gold that they had brought in from elsewhere. The photos were used to convince investors across the country to purchase shares in this business venture, with the false claim of the large amounts of gold that could be extracted from the area surrounding Mayer. When a sufficient amount of people had bought into their scam, they promptly up and disappeared, never to be heard from again.

The stack, however, remains a massive monument, casting a shadow of greed and deception over the struggling Mayer community.


Bracing ourselves against the chilly winds, we hiked up the hill to the stack to pray. After reading scripture and breaking curses associated with the town's fraudulent past, we anointed the ground, marched around the stack seven times, and blew the shofar.





Afterward, we headed to the recently redeemed land, twenty five acers adjacent to the stack, to dedicated the land, White Rock Restoration Center.




We walked the property, collecting while stones as we went. Then we placed the stones on the well that has already been drilled and prayed a prayer of dedication.

rain washed

Saturday morning we drove up the mountain toward Flagstaff to the tiny town of Mayer to dedicate the land which will be the home of White Rock Restoration Center. While there it rained and snowed on and off. By mid-afternoon the precipitation ended leaving perfect picture taking light. As we made our way up to the highest peak overlooking the town I happily snapped pictures of all the rain washed flora along the way.

picture perfect

Yesterday was perfect for picture taking at Big Bug Creek.

Today is busy with company coming and important paperwork that needs attention.

Tomorrow should be a good day for blogging.

roasted rooster (includes gross factor)

We put it off as long as possible, neither of us savoring the task, but life with two roosters in one coop had reached a point of no return. So, this past weekend, the number one task on the to-do list: butcher Rooster Senior.


On our cross country trek this past summer we spent a night at our friend's, Kathy and Dave Miller, in Nebraska. Knowing we were new to chickening, Dave offered to butcher one of their chickens and give Jay some pointers. With Dave's lesson and some help from Youtube, Jay boldly, or perhaps more accurately, reluctantly, set out to butcher his first fowl.

Lily, having endured multiple unprovoked attacks by Roster Senior,
seemed to enjoy the process of roster slaying.

Our goal, along with a more peaceful coop, was to learn "how to" so that we have that homesteading experience. Being the first time, it was a rather long process and eventually Jay had me fetch a stool (I was the gopher) so he could sit and skin.

Lily, keeps a close eye as the process moves from tree to table.

I did the majority of the photographs in black and white thinking it would diminish the gross factor, but couldn't resist this color shot of the skinned bird as there were surprisingly interesting colors exposed.

Youtube is so handy for "how to" videos including how to butcher a chicken.

While the sun was setting Jay took photos and I broiled the breast meat for a very lovely looking roasted rooster dinner. Unfortunately the meal looked much more appetizing than it tasted and we learned yet one more lesson on butchering that day.

line dance

happy february 14

the gift

This is one of several gifts I was given last week as Tracy sorted through his stash of treasures. It's current state is rather sad but it's potential is inspiring. I can't wait to see what I do with it. Any suggestions?

new view

After putting away the Hanukkah lights and hanukia I needed a new theme for my kitchen window sill. I started with three dollars worth of ivy because green makes me happy.


Inspired by an article I read online I found some nice stones to bring a nature feel and added them to the votive candles that were a carry over from Hanukkah. Voila! A peaceful, light and life look for my dish washing viewing pleasure.

eagles soar at pastor's school

I'm still working on this....
hope to put our own drum music with it
but wanted to share the pictures today.

This digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox