Cold Creek Nursery

Just wanted to let you all know that Cold Creek in Aiken, SC is now carrying our Trail Ridge Farm products. Check it out if you are interested in getting our goat cheeses locally!

Cold Creek Nursery

398 Hitchcock Parkway

Aiken, SC 29801

(803)648-3592

Or check out their website here!

Nature's Beauty...

Matthew recently took this picture of our farm early one morning just as the sun was cresting the tree line.  There is such beauty in the foggy morning sunrise.  How blessed we are to be able to enjoy such beauty right here on our property!  

 "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised."

Psalm 113:3

Mom & Dad

Dad (Kelly) and Mom (Shelly) are the parents of the Hammond Clan.

(Ha, ha, no kidding, right!)

They are both enjoying 31 years of marriage to each other and are praying for many more years to come.  They have blessed us in so many ways, not only as wonderful, godly examples of a Christian marriage, but in everyday living.

Mom continues to be a stay-at-home mother who is almost through homeschooling her kids after having done it for the past 18 years!  Wow, what a teaching record!  She has been a wonderful source of information and help when it comes to schooling, parenting, teaching, training, and marriage.  She offers great advice, but never pushes to make sure that you're doing what she says.

Dad is still enjoying being pastor of our small, wonderful church.  He loves his flock and enjoys preparing the messages each week and fellowshipping with everyone.  He's the kind of guy who everybody likes and trusts, so the combination make him a great pastor.  He's always available to talk and offer advice or prayer.  

Mom and Dad are more than just parents; they are our best friends.  Both of them keep a close relationship with Savannah, Ethan and Noah since they are still at home, but they also maintain a close relationship with their grown/married children as well.

Dad and Mom are thrilled to be grandparents and enjoy the little ones when they come for a visit!  They are looking forward to many more little blessings in the years to come.

Mom keeps busy with housework as well as farm work.  Whether it's cleaning up the kitchen or fixing fences, Mom and Savannah are usually right there doing it together.

They continue to operate Trail Ridge Farm & Grade A Goat Dairy.  They have had to reduce the herd a little and double up on chores as we children grow up and marry, but they are still enjoying the goats and selling the cheese.  Mom is the main cheesemaker and herdswoman, and Dad is the main marketeer, promoter and seller.

Now that all of us kids are older, they have been getting the chance to go away on some mini vacations together.  They spent a few days up in Ohio at a wedding this past spring and are looking forward to going to Maine this fall.

Dad continues with his pool & pond business and now has the boys who help him with it.  It's nice to see all three of them doing it together.  

Dad has also taken up volleyball with the guys, as well as disc golf.  All of them enjoy the competition and camaraderie it affords.  It's something that gets them all out there playing together and having fun.

We are so thankful to have them as our parents and pray that the Lord would bless them with many more years of serving Him!

"We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done.  For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments."

Psalm 78:4-7

Ethan

Ethan is 17 and is the fourth born in our family and the first boy.

Ethan has taken an interest in expanding Dad's pool and pond business, so he has successfully spent the past two or more years growing it and picking up his own clients.  He has taken several online courses on pond building and after working with Dad on them for almost half his life, he's gotten quite good at it.  He has to figure out the calculations behind how big to build it, how much rock to order, what kind of plants would look good around it, how many gallons of water it holds, what size pump it will need, how much piping will it be, etc.  He also has an eye for design and gets to use his creativity when building a pond for a customer.  Below is a picture of just one of the ponds that he has built this summer. 

Him and Dad have also split up their pool cleaning route, so that they break it up and get all of their pools done in half the time.  Ethan takes a friend of his and they do one route together, while Dad and Noah take the other route.

Because of the nature of his business with all of the heavy hauling, Ethan also bought a truck this past spring.  His first vehicle!  To say he's pleased with his find would be an understatement.  ;-)  It's a nice reliable truck that was well kept and it does the job.  

Ethan is also great with the nieces and works as a wonderful entertainer for them!  He always has some idea or another to keep them busy and laughing.  He is seriously hoping for a nephew here soon so that he can start buying camouflage, and trucks, and guns, and boy stuff!

He's going into his last year of school in August, and I'm sure he'll be glad when he gets his diploma next spring!

Ethan is an all round sports-loving guy.  He can't wait for football season to start so he can watch his team win (hopefully).  He has also taken up disc golf and volleyball since his brother-in-law Matthew introduced them to him and really enjoys the competition.  His newest hobby that he's just started has been karate.  Him and Noah and several of their buddies go twice a week to a class and they are all loving it!

Ethan, along with Savannah, got braces this past winter, so they are "enjoying" them together.  Okay, okay, so maybe they aren't enjoying them, but it is kind of nice to that they are going through it together so they can bounce things off of each other, like similar pains, and missing out on certain foods together.

Ethan is also one of our farm's top market salesman.  He goes to the market each Saturday with Dad and can sell cheese like no other!  He has great spiel and can think of something delicious to do with each of the individual cheeses.

Ethan is a godly, young man and we are so thankful that he is a part of our family.  He is a huge help and it's great to have another man around.

"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."

1 Corinthians 16:13

Savannah

Savannah is 22 years old and is the third born in the family.

Savannah stays busy with the dairy and the farm, taking over all the extra jobs since Jordan and I have moved out.  She is the main "kidding" person, with the job of feeding and taking care of all the baby goats that are born on the farm each year.  This year she had 50 to take care of and bottle feed, but she did a superb job keeping track of who was who and making sure each one was well taken care of!

She is a favorite with the nieces and does so well with them.  You can often hear them walking around asking "Where's Nanna?"  She's patient with them and lets them "help" her with just about anything she's doing and is often seen holding or snuggling one of them.  She always makes time for them and shows them that they are important to her.

She is a wonderful helper in whatever situation is going on and pitches in and offers help without ever even having to ask.  She has a way with the little ones and can keep them entertained and happy very well.  Here she is being a bunny puppet for Evangeline!

Savannah started a fudge business a few years back and is still going strong with it.  She makes it and sells it at the Farmer's Markets that the family attends.  It's the best fudge you will ever taste!  If you've got a sweet tooth and a hankering for some fudge, you've come to the right place!  Her candle  making business has been doing good as well and she has come up with several new scents in this past year.

She is also the main cook for the household, making many of the meals on a daily basis.  She is a natural in the kitchen and is so comfortable with trying new recipes and getting them to turn out!  She amazes me with her ease of cooking.  Many times, I'm giving her a call to ask her about this or that in the kitchen.  I love eating Savannah's cooking!

Another new addition for Savannah this year has been getting braces.  The first few weeks with them were the hardest I think, but now that they've been on for a little while now, she's getting used to eating with them on.

Savannah is an irreplaceable part of our family and we love her dearly.  Her cheerful attitude and her sweet spirit of thankfulness make her a joy to be around.

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful."

Colossians 3:12-15

Bridal Pictures

My wonderful family...

Dad and Mom and I

Sweet mother-daughter moment!

Awe...!

Four generations...Gram, Mom, Jordan, Savannah and I, and Jordan's baby

My siblings and I

Being goofy,...Hammond style!

Gram and Poppy

The fellas...hanging out!

The Yuck family

My dress 

(The alteration lady finished it the night before the wedding, and when Mom and I went to pick it up, we still had to do an hour and a half of sewing to do on it ourselves!  I was just glad to finally have it in my hands.)

Heading in to wait in the Rye Patch for the wedding to start!  Super excited!

(All photos taken by David Russell Photography)