A Monthly Farm Life Recap: Lambs, Snowstorms, Simple AI Systems, and What’s Working Right Now

Be sure to read the entire episode because I share some really fun tips and tricks — things I’ve been really utilizing over the last month. I think this episode is going to be so fun because I’m wanting to do a monthly recap, and I’m hoping this becomes a habit.

What I want to talk about today is what we’ve been doing on the farm, what went well, some of my current favorites, some tools, some things that have been absolute lifesavers to me — and just share a little monthly recap.

But if you’re new here, hi — I’m Sam. I’m a girl mom to three girls, which we homeschool. I also homeschool my niece. We live on a 40-acre farm in north-central Arkansas, and I love coffee, deep conversations, and t-shirts that fit the occasion — like, they say the right thing for how I’m feeling at the moment. I may be known to emotionally buy t-shirts, but we’re not going to talk about that today.

I’m so glad you’re here. I want this podcast to be a place where we have real conversations — where we get vulnerable, where we talk about the messiness of life, the messiness of the past, and the messiness of doing something of value.

I also hope you walk away from this podcast with some actual, practical tips and tricks that you can apply to your own life — things that help you steward the resources God has given you and leave a legacy for your children.

So let’s get into it.

First, let’s do a farm update.

One of the most exciting things that’s happened on the farm is that we had three lambs born this month. Two of them were born yesterday, and I’m so excited about that. The mamas are doing really well — they cleaned them off quickly, got them up nursing — and that’s just been amazing to watch.

I know the end of January doesn’t sound like the ideal time for lambing, but according to YouTube University — which is where we’re learning a lot about sheep farming — it’s actually one of the best times. As long as baby is nursing well and mama is keeping it close, they can withstand some pretty cold temperatures. When lambs are born in winter, they also don’t have to deal with ticks, flies, and parasites that show up in warmer weather, which is really helpful for them.

Another thing we’ve learned is that when lambs are born early in the year, they’re exclusively on mama’s milk. Then, right when the grass starts growing and those fresh shoots come in, they’re ready to transition to grazing. It gives them a really great kickstart.

We do have a shelter set up, especially since we got a good snowstorm and some sleet that’s still hanging around. But between the shelter, our guard dog, and how well the mamas are doing, we really haven’t been worried. The first lamb that was born a couple weeks ago is thriving, and the two born yesterday are doing great too. It’s just really exciting to have the first babies born on the farm — it kind of makes me feel like we’ve reached a legit level.

We also got snow — about four inches, with quite a bit of ice on top. Of course, the girls thought it was awesome and had an absolute ball. I am totally over it. As of this recording, we still have snow and ice on the ground.

Thankfully, the storm didn’t affect us too much. When you live about 30 minutes from any major store, you learn quickly to stay prepped. When you buy, you buy two. We were stuck at home for about a week, and I still haven’t left the house, but we’ve had plenty to eat.

We also have a wood stove, and even though we didn’t lose power, it was comforting knowing that if we had, we would have been fine. We could cook on top of the stove, stay warm, and get by without going into town. I really love having our home set up in a way that brings peace of mind when bad weather hits.

Another big project this month — and if you follow me on TikTok you probably saw this — is that we rented a boom lift and trimmed a massive amount of trees around the house. A lot of them were leaning toward the house, and if we had high winds or a bad storm, they could have fallen on it.

We trimmed them back and weighted them so they’re leaning away from the house now. I’m not going to lie — it stressed me out. Our yard was covered in limbs and debris, and I love order and neatness. Thankfully, our neighbor came over with his tractor and grapple attachment, and it saved us probably two full days of work. It made such a difference, and I’m so thankful for good neighbors. It’s really true when people say your neighbors make or break where you live.

One thing I did enjoy about that project was going up in the lift. Even though I don’t love heights, it was fun to see the farm from about 50 feet up.

We also set up electric fencing around the sheep pasture. It’s a good-sized pasture behind the house, and now we can rotationally graze much more easily. The charger we bought can run about nine miles of fence, which is kind of crazy. Long-term, our goal is to electric-fence the entire property for sheep and eventually cows while keeping the original fencing.

Inside the house, I’ve been cleaning out the freezer. We’re buying half a cow from my sister, who runs a cattle operation in Missouri, and while we didn’t have a ton of meat in the freezer, we had a lot of junk. I pulled out a deer hide from a couple years ago that my oldest wanted to tan — which never happened — and it was taking up half a drawer.

I’ve been freeze-drying vegetables, fruit, and even spaghetti sauce that we had frozen. Freeze-drying makes food shelf-stable, saves freezer space, and doesn’t rely on electricity. Being able to grab a jar, add broth, and heat up a rich spaghetti sauce for dinner has been such a time-saver.

I also got approved as an affiliate for Harvest Right, which is the brand of our freeze dryer. I don’t want this podcast or my platforms to feel like I’m constantly selling — that’s annoying — but I do love recommending things I truly use and believe in. I’d recommend it whether I made anything from it or not. Honestly, I might love my freeze dryer almost as much as my coffee maker.

This month I didn’t read many books or listen to many podcasts, and that was intentional. I needed less noise and more action, and I get overstimulated easily. It’s actually been really good.

One thing that has been a huge help is using AI tools. I’ve been using ChatGPT to search for coupon codes before making purchases, and I’ve saved anywhere from 20–40% just by doing that. Another tool I love is Google Gemini. I use it constantly for reminders and calendar entries. I can even take a picture of dates and have them added to my calendar with reminders — which has saved me so much time and mental energy.

I also made a big shift this month by stepping away from Instagram and Threads. I didn’t deactivate them, but I made it clear I’m not there anymore. I’ve been focusing solely on TikTok, and it’s helped me stay consistent. In just one month, I’ve gained over 330 followers, and my highest video has reached 27,000 views.

My hope is that the podcast gives you the deeper, behind-the-scenes look at my life, while social media offers smaller snippets.

That’s it for this episode — a full farm and life update. Honestly, there wasn’t anything this month that I wish we hadn’t done. It was a really good start to the year.

Thanks for joining me.

Until next time, take the gifts God has given you and steward them well.