Sweetgrass Farm and Kennel

My friend, Dale, is learning how to fly... she went over the farm yesterday afternoon and got this photo for us... it looks amazing from the air!!!! the red roof is the barn and the spot to the right is where the house is going in..... thank you for the great photo, Dale!!!!!

blessed........

When I look back on it now, I can see (sort of) the path that things have taken. I was raised knowing the Good Lord, so when things seem to be going "a muck"... I am happy to have the faith that says... "it will be alright and everything happens with a purpose". So, as we were looking at timber frame company after company, and builder after builder, and it was getting discouraging, I would say.. well.. guess this isn't the right one, and we would move onto another. And, because of all of that, we found Ken and Eric and Buzz.... who are now in the process of building our new home, and suddenly it doesn't seem like it took very long to get to this point.



(this is Ken at the top.. Ed on the side and Buzz on the ground)

We liked Ken the moment we met him, and when we looked at the paperwork of the company... (Timberpeg).. that he represented, we liked that right away as well. And then, all the pieces, time frames, and everything "fell" into place, and we knew that we were on the right track. Ken is just a great guy and his son Eric and co-worker Buzz are just as great. They enjoy their work, and we enjoy having them on the farm.

A couple of weeks ago, I thought it might be fun to have an open house and show off the timbers of the house before they were all closed in. When I said this to Ken, he was a bit unsure that any of the timbers would be in place in time for the party... but he would do what he could to have some up. It didn't really matter to me... the idea of having a party was to give all our friends and family an "excuse" to come to the farm and check it out. So, I decided to go ahead with it anyways.

Then along came some rainy days.. this put the guys behind in their game plan. Aside from assembling the house, Ken and crew also sand all the timbers, put a lite coat of stain on them, and then a protective oil. So.. before any timber can go into place, all that work must be done. On Thursday, they were still sanding and staining... it didn't look like any timbers would be in place.. but again, that was OK with me. On Friday, Ken said... "we will be back tomorrow" (Saturday on a three day weekend no less)... "we should be able to get some beam up for your party." I told him this was not necessary.. but nothing doing.. the three of them had planned that they would work and get a few in place. I hardly knew how to say thank you, but their minds were made up and that's the way it was going to be.

(Buzz double checking the fit of the joints)

I should have been busy doing "get ready for party things" yesterday, but I found myself just sitting and watching the men work. Ed was thrilled to be able to help out... the three of them obviously work well together (they have done it for years) but having that one extra set of hands can make a difference.

The original game plan was to work just a half day, but they ended up putting in a full day's work, and got a quarter of the first floor beams in place. Certainly enough of them that you could easily see where rooms would be, and a good look at the beautiful beams in place. Ken kept saying that they were happy to do the work, the weather was just perfect and he felt like "it caught them back up".. but I know he had done this for me because he wanted me to have "something to show" at the party.

How do you say thank you for such a kind gesture.....

and so .. it was a party.

The "open house" was today (Sunday) of Columbus Day weekend. I wasn't sure how many folks would be able to come, as this is typically a good weekend to "get away".. but, I invited everyone I could think of and knew that some folks would have the time to pop in.

I was so very pleased to see how many of my dear friends and family were able to come!!!! I wish now that I had thought to have a guest book for folks to sign in, because even though I made sure to see and talk with everyone, it will be hard to keep in my mind the number of friends that were there. I didn't even really get any good pictures, because I was too busy (HAPPY) talking with everyone!!!!!

We even had a number of "four footed guests" as well (which are ALWAYS welcomed on the farm!!!!)

Not wanting to miss out on anything either... the horses "demanded" a certain amount of attention from our guests as well......

And my friend Kim brought along a special little fall treat.... a pumpkin with our names engraved on it.....

The day flew by in a flash... and all too soon, folks were needing to head for home... but, I am thinking that we will make this an "annual event"... and next year... we will have a "real house" to show them. But I saw one thing for certain today, I am so very blessed with such wonderful people in my life, and this farm needs to come up with a special purpose in life... it's too big a gift to be "wasted".....