We Welcome 2014 ~ Looking for New Adventures

We ended the year on a nice note ~ welcome Milagro (Miracle) to our farm. She was birthed by Madyson (rose-gray alpaca behind her) and her Dad Noah. She is keeping Carlitos Belcher very busy playing tag and nipping at his heels.

Mucking has it's rewards! I'm always greeted by something or someone special on my days at the farm ~ this time I was mucking the paddocks and was quietly joined by this falcon. By the time I reached for the camera, he moved to the post and then on to the pasture next to me. Amazing how undisturbed he was about joining me.

 For those of you keeping track of our chicks ~ here they are as we prepare to move them to larger digs. They all shot to the back not making it easy for us to capture them. They are now about 8 weeks old! And they are totally addicted to the beer mash we collect from our local brewery ~ Barley Mow ~ right here in Largo!

For those wondering, they will not lay eggs for another 2-3 months! This time we have added the Maran breed ~ they lay chocolate colored eggs! Thanks to Gerri for that recommendation. She gets the first egg and I get the second.

These are some of the veggies we brought in tonight to enjoy for dinner. We are hoping that the freezing temps won't hurt the wonderful crop we have out there. We have peppers, kohlrabi, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and cilantro. We are prepping plants in the greenhouse for outdoor planting soon ~ let's hope we don't get anymore serious freezes.

We spent Christmas Eve driving to our off the Grid Cabin in North Carolina. We had hoped for snow, but all we got was cold temperatures and ice. The day we drove back home, as expected, we got snow up there.

We didn't see much wildlife ~ we saw a young buck, a doe and a chipmunk. We did unearth a den of mice as we were clearing out the road. The following morning, I did hear the owl outside our bedroom window. I think he was saying ~thank you! The kids were mad for us not putting the den back, They argued we were messing with Mother Nature. I had to inform them we couldn't put it back together ~ it's not that easy. Then had to remind them as cute as they are, we don't want to encourage them. We had a lot of them this summer inside the cabin. Gross!  I'm glad to know bear hunting season is over for now. We did see pictures off Mama and her cubs from our camera. The same camera that shot two separate hunters on her track. Guess I need more No Trespassing signs.

Frozen Drops on Branch

George and I enjoying the view at Whitewater Falls ~ amazing view. You can see across the stateline into South Carolina.





 What would a trip be without going snow tubing at Cataloochee! Glad we got there early and missed the crowds. Kids were able to get down and get right back up to the top! I remember having to hike the hill and pull my tube. Nowadays, there is a conveyor belt that takes you up!

This is so cool....how many have heard of Ice Hair or Ice Ribbons? I have never heard or seen until now. We have clay soil up on our property and it appears that when it freezes, the moisture/water is expelled from the soil creating what appears like hair or lace. It's appears as if it is defying gravity.


















I am very excited about the New Year and what it has planned ahead for us. I hope this year to share more of our adventures from the farm, our off grid living (and survival) in NC and the new happenings at Criativity. The lovely thing about what I do is getting to interact with so many ~ and I am greatly blessed for that.

Enjoy each day ~ Alicia