Homeschooling a full class!

It has been a beautiful week here in WV.  We have been doing most of our homeschooling outside.  I love it we spread a blanket out and start school.  Well, on particular day I had a full class.

We won!

I am to happy to announce that Mark and I both got a picture in the 2012 Homesteadingtoday.com calendar!  My picture which is a landscape of our farm made the cover.  Mark's picture which is a beautiful picture of our pigs and chickens eating with the sun's rays coming down will be the pic for May!  We are so excited.

It was Spots time.

So, yesterday was our first pig slaughter!  Yup, we did it. We slaughtered Spots one of our GOS boars.  I have to admit I was extremely nervous but, I was trying to be as calm, cool and collected as possible.  Mark was to shoot then stab.  I was to castrate, which had to be done quickly, we then hung it and skinned it.  Some great friends of ours came to help which was great because we needed it.  That was a 200lb + pig!  Everything went great with no problems.  Mark took the carcass to the butcher this am.  The butcher is actually Shady Springs High School.  They have a Vocational Agriculture program that teaches butchering of Pigs, Cows, and Deer. They also cure and vacuum pack!  This was a learning experience for the whole family. I guess I'm learning this farming stuff!