Farm Life

[Fred Steeves]

Wow, and it was 77 degrees here yesterday! Took the dogs for a nice romp in the woods in shorts and t-shirt.

[Spiritwind]

Wow, and it was 77 degrees here yesterday! Took the dogs for a nice romp in the woods in shorts and t-shirt.

Well, now I'm downright jealous Fred

[Christine]

In sunny Mexico we are in the 80s though I am feeling a longing for snow, go figure.

Wow, and it was 77 degrees here yesterday! Took the dogs for a nice romp in the woods in shorts and t-shirt.

Well, now I'm downright jealous Fred

[LostNFound]

In sunny Mexico we are in the 80s though I am feeling a longing for snow, go figure.

Wow, and it was 77 degrees here yesterday! Took the dogs for a nice romp in the woods in shorts and t-shirt.

Well, now I'm downright jealous Fred

And not to far north, it is dipping into the low 60's and at night it is already dropping into the freezer. Ha! Christine is still sweating, while Fred is still running around in shorts and t-shirts while Laurie is wearing the snow suit with mufflers and gloves, and I have waited for this cooling off since the beginning of almost May. Still not cold enough during the day to wear a jacket but I have to be somewhere by 7am in the morning and bet I turn on the heater in the mode of transportation.

8" and accumulating, Good ole pot belly pete will be working hard now and I bet you ain't opening the doors at the moment. I can just see them goaty's all huddled around each other and probably pushing each other around too. Nice to have that barn for them. I can see them getting down on their knees and saying thank you, thank you, thank you. I see the weather and the big cold front moving into that part of the country. BRRRRR, Crank up the heat.

Steven

[Spiritwind]

We had plans for today, and instead we are looking out the window, watching it rain. If had been just a light rain we might have went out anyway, but, alas, it's coming down hard enough to be soaked through in minutes without rain gear. We called to find out when the horse shelter is going to arrive that was back ordered. Maybe the beginning of next week. Funny how that two weeks turned into four. At least my husband was able to finish the roof over the generators that we built off the well house yesterday, while I went to a drumming circle. And a rousing drumming it was! The last round had a wooden mask jump off the wall, presumably from the vibrations.

So there is Freckles, standing in the rain. Even though I have a heavy blanket for her in really cold weather, it isn't water proof so doesn't work in these conditions. And the only time I have seen her bothered is when it rains non-stop for 24 hours and she gets soaked through. I am indeed chomping at the bit to get this shelter and get it put up. If we get lucky it might stop raining long enough in the late afternoon to get something done outdoors before dark. And of course, the goats are all peering out of their shelters, and I swear they are glaring at me when I peek out the window at them, as if I ordered this up for them. Fortunately I went out super early before it really got going, so everyone got to eat before they ran for their shelters. Goats do not like rain or wind.

We took our female Great Pyrenees to the veterinarian a couple days ago. She has never gotten pregnant, even though she does go into heat regularly and is over three years old. This last time her heat cycle seemed to go on a very long time, and she also got diarrhea. I figured it's time to take her in and find out what is going on. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. She hasn't ridden in a vehicle since we brought her home over three years ago so first we had to lift her into the back of our vehicle. Then when we got there she didn't want to get out. We pushed/pulled her all the way to the door, and with a little help managed to get her in the front door and onto the scale so they could weigh her. A whopping 107 pounds she is! Then I swear she dug her claws into the linoleum on the floor because she didn't even move when we tried to get her to the examining room on the other side of the lobby. Finally one of the vet assistants brought out a blanket and got her front end on then her back end on and we pulled her all the way to the room. And she's going back in a couple weeks to get spayed. There is definitely something not right there so we gotta get it done.

We have another exciting project we are going to try and accomplish in the next week, if we can pull it together. I always get nervous when I try to do something entirely new for me, but I also love the challenge and the chance to learn something I didn't know before. I'll share our adventure once we actually make it happen. Until then, I'm afraid I'll have to keep you in suspense, LOL. I find that a certain energy builds, when one is getting ready to do something new, and if it's truly beneficial I have often found obstacles appear that delay what I am trying to accomplish. Not everyone wishes for our success. But the more we each seek out and find those ways to enhance our health and well being, and share with others our triumphs, I feel it does benefit the whole. I am happy to see many others finding ways to create and put energy into projects that are beneficial to all life. Not all the good minds have been snatched up by the bad guys, and there are some amazing and brilliant individuals out there who are working on solutions everyday. I see that as a good thing. Not only are we discovering what doesn't work, we are also discovering what is.

Time for a movie and lunch : ) oh yeah, and the snow is gone! Yippie! I do like snow, but we needed to get a few things done before it sticks around for months.

[Spiritwind]

So I looked at the weather prediction for today when I got up and it said 80% chance of rain. I write this as I look out the window and see mostly blue skies. Many thoughts flow through my mind, every time I think about what to write. How can you make shoveling manure sound interesting?

The funny thing is, when I was out there yesterday doing just that I kept thinking about how wonderful all of this poop and uneaten hay is going to be for gardening once it's composted. The dirt out here turns to fine dust when dry and there is a lot of clay. It grows brush, mullein, yarrow, Oregon grape, and St. John's wort in profusion, but for growing vegetables and fruit trees it could use some help. And even the poop detail involves some strategy. You see, I thought putting their pens on flat ground was a great idea. The only problem is there is no drainage. It become extremely disgusting in a hurry. So I dug a bunch of small drainage ditches and kept wondering, as the girls watched me with some interest and trepidation, if they had an inkling of how hard I work for them sometimes. And, pardon me for saying, but that was some deep and heavy shit!

I have to say I love DeWalt cordless tools. My husband likes to have the right stuff when he goes to do a job. I used to joke that he should just get a cot to set up in the back room at the local Home Depot so he wouldn't have to spend so much time driving back and forth there everyday back when he was still really into remodeling. So much of the brush and storm debris here is almost the right size around for our wood stove, but just needs to be cut into pieces. It's a whole lot easier just using his skill saw for this than the chain saw. Fortunately he's not too possessive, even though he is a worry wort about me hurting myself when he isn't there. But there isn't enough time in the day and week for him to do everything so he is just going to have to move over and let me do some of it. I think it's a good thing we are both very independent people. And I have learned a thing or two from him.

One thing we are both trying to do as we get older is learning to work smarter rather than harder. All I can say there is that we are a work in progress, since accepting that we can't do certain physical work for as long and hard as we used to can has been challenging to accept. We've both learned the motto: adapt, improvise, overcome, and conquer though, so we'll figure it out as we go. We always do. I've got to go now, but will end with expressing my gratitude for just being in a situation that is optimum for teaching myself to get better and better at being present, and living in the now. I've seen it many times, that this is the place where miracles can and do happen. I want to re-teach myself to be miracle minded. It can and does happen every single day, miracles.

[Spiritwind]

I am now in recovery mode after a three day surprise visit from my son that I haven't seen in over three years. He had been strongly on my mind for some time, so in a way it really was a small miracle that occurred. He is a full blown alcoholic so it made the visit very interesting to say the least. Of course, I could have said no drinking and not seen him at all. But I love my son and I do see him as much more than just that aspect of his life. Plus it would have been fear on my part that I couldn't handle it, and that didn't seem like a good enough reason.

I wasn't sure I even wanted to write about this, but I know alcoholism is a very widespread phenomena that has affected pretty much everyone I know in some way. It almost brings up more thoughts than I even can process and write about. In my son's case he has actually put himself into a job in a remote area of Alaska where for usually 4 weeks at a time he works 12-13 hour days, I think 7 days a week, where he absolutely can't drink, and he has been doing this for over three years. He makes good money, and has been able to travel and do things no one in his old circle of friends can even imagine. And he drinks heavily the whole time he has off, pretty much. But even that has sort of changed, from what I remember before he left. It's like he has analyzed his own patterns enough that I have slowly seen him moving towards having a slight bit more control. Not huge, but noticeable. Part of him actually wants something out of life and just won't give up. It's even slightly possible if he keeps going that someday he may gather the strength to walk away from it entirely. Not going to hold my breath or anything, because it is an uphill battle he faces.

That's why some long time ago I decided I wasn't going to judge him for it or try to change him other than to identify the ways in which I have enabled him along the way, which I have. Not wanting to get into a long post about alcoholism, but the lame (main) stream view is not one I agree with. Had I listened to that I would be classified as an alcoholic, because I did drink a lot for a few periods of time in my younger years. And they have this weird classification system where they like to label you. According to this view, I would have been labeled an alcoholic for life, since according to them there is no in between ground. I drank purely to numb the pain of my life experience at the time, and for years now rarely drink at all. But my son, who is a classic case, does not even seem to process alcohol the same. It has an entirely different effect on him. So for the last few years I only encourage him and point out what he is doing right. If he continues to self reflect anything can happen. I did notice there isn't as much anger under the surface anymore. That is a very good sign too. It did my heart good to see him, and it might be a long time before I see him again.

As far as the farm goes, we are still plugging along. We have a dump run scheduled for today. I am actually quite excited to be getting rid of anything that needs to go, so I don't have piles that have been buried under snow all winter to clean up next spring. I did that earlier this year, and vowed I wouldn't do it again. It was beyond disgusting, and we never meant to let it happen in the first place. So I am kind of on a mission this morning. The amount of daylight to get things done is growing quite short, so time is of the essence. At least I'm not in Alaska where it's basically night all the time right now. And there is all kinds of drama going on with our neighbor's etc, involving Dick up the road, that fortunately doesn't involve us this time. But, we gotta get that fence that we took down to extend the well house put back up in a hurry too. Dick smiled at me the other day when I passed him on the access road. That actually makes me really nervous. I guess he is getting sneaky and putting up camouflaged game cameras. In fact, he just might get himself into trouble there. Couldn't happen to a more deserving person.

The other thing that has been strongly on my mind is the power of place. I've been reading a couple of outstanding books lately. One, called The Divine Blueprint by Freddy Silva, talks about spirit roads, and places that are spiritually powerful, energy wise. And I know this is true, that some places are just naturally endowed with a presence that is spiritually energizing. I feel this, I realized, as I look out at the north west face of Mt. Spokane in the distance. It feels sacred to me. And awe inspiring. I feel emotion of a good sort well up in me, when I meditate on this and allow this energy into my being. I see salmon in my mind's eye. All of a sudden I had the impulse to look it up, and found some interesting information about the Spokane Indians having a spiritual relationship with not only the mountain, but the Spokane River too, and all it's many tributaries. Salmon used to come all the way up to the falls before they put all those damn dams in. I even begin to weep, as I recently heard about the huge Keystone pipeline oil leak in South Dakota. You see, they want to log a bunch of the north west side of the mountain to put in a few more ski runs, and a chair lift. I would hate to see massive clear cutting in my line of view of the mountain. Apparently the tribe doesn't want to see that either.

This is why even though I know that you get more of whatever you focus on, that I can't just stop there. I do want to keep putting my primary focus into projects that are life affirming, and collectively along with many others doing the same thing can be part of the solution. But I feel moved to action of a different sort at the same time. I still feel it's important to draw attention to some of what is going on around us whether we like it or not. And that has to do with the destruction of our planets amazing biodiversity and ability to support biological life forms of immense variety all in the name of some ridiculous idealized notion of progress. Especially when I know it comes down to greed, and the loss of quality of life for the majority. I just can't stand idly by. I seriously wept as I realized that the salmon can no longer make that long journey as they did for so very long, to spawn where they originated from. And that the interconnectedness that resulted from this one simple thing that has been interrupted in the name of progress.

You see, my husband and I are proof that anyone can do what we are doing if their will is strong enough. We aren't young anymore, and we did not take a straight path to get where we are. We did it on a shoe string budget. And by virtue of using solar energy, a composting toilet, and having our own well, we are showing that it is indeed possible for all. There is no good reason for us to still be using fossil fuels, especially with the new innovations in solar and other alternatives that are already in existence. No good reason at all. I'll leave you with a couple links about Mt. Spokane and the tribe it is named after. I lived on the Spokane reservation for a short time many years ago. The energy of their ancestors and the unbroken line that goes back into antiquity can still be felt. They have never lost it. Maybe we should start paying more attention to those who do still know how to live without being so destructive. It's a thought anyway.

Mt Spokane
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/j ... ane-ski-a/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spokane river had salmon all the way to the falls.
The river was sacred (still is)
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/h ... ane-tribe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Spiritwind]

Today is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and I'm sitting here in bed not wanting to even get up. I've even toyed with the idea of just taking a day off and pretending to not have a care in the world, and just hang out in bed with good munchies and some good viewing of something enchanting and futuristic on the laptop. I absolutely will not be going shopping anywhere. If anything I will take a long walk in the woods.

We went to my husband's sister's home for dinner yesterday. I don't really celebrate any holidays anymore, although I never mind a good meal with friends or family. Preserving those ties with those we have shared this journey with is important in ways that are often not talked about. I know this because I see so many people all of a sudden acting out strangely around the holidays, and I have no doubt it is usually because of those pesky unhealed traumas from unmet expectations and disappointment in the past surrounding holidays. (Thinking of you, Sandy and Steven, and how so many of these threads weave together). There is a clear element of social conditioning that most of us have grown up with having to do with the celebration of holidays. I might still put this on the Farm Life thread, but I may wander off a bit today.

For me, personally, I know of a fairly largish number of people who have lost loved ones on or near a holiday. I also know that how they are celebrated today has morphed into something that has been entirely commercialized from its origin. The subtle and not so subtle feeling of pressure that gets applied to conform, not just to society's expectations, but often even our programmed loved ones. I have come to a place that I almost have to resist the urge to just hide out during these times, hoping everyone will forget about me. I've also seen people choose to be offended over the most seemingly innocuous of things, and stay that way projecting their unhappiness to everyone around them. I've even seen whole families devolve into a zone of chaos and mayhem, as though they are regressing to some infantile stage that most of us hopefully grow out of.

Not sure where this is all coming from, actually. It's often as though I just let my fingers do the talking and I'm not even sure what I'm going to write until I've written it and then go back and read it myself. I do know that I often become even more self reflective during these times than usual. You see, I grew up as a Jehovah's Witness and they do not celebrate any commercialized holidays, so I spent my childhood years in the library by myself when the classroom was having their parties. That was fine by me because I rather enjoyed books more than people anyway. Being a JW in some ways set me up for being the rebel I am today, strangely enough. And I'm okay with that too.

Anyway, so we had dinner with my husband's family yesterday and they happen to be a much more typical representation of today's farmer. I did enjoy the homegrown beets, carrots and potatoes. On the other hand I had a real hard time when we went out to look at the pig and cows they have, knowing what those tags in their ears represent. This is not meant to be a judgement of any kind. Something has seriously shifted in me in the last few years. I have played with being vegetarian off and on my whole adult life. And I'm not a true vegetarian even now. But I cannot eat pigs or cows anymore, ever. I've looked too deeply in their eyes and cannot bear to look at them as meat. A cow is a cow, and a pig is a pig. It's not even about health concerns anymore, it's about a fundamental change that has occurred, a paradigm shift if you will. These things can just sneak up on you, and suddenly you just find you are there.

In a way, I realized I have been rewiring myself. I used to think I would have to have several lifetimes and spend them in seclusion doing constant meditation to make any progress. But since I changed my orientation, I've found life to be much more simple and straightforward in some respects. My religion is love, and I approach it with the idea that a part of myself never left that place, where love is a state of being. And so I just have learned to call on that place that already exists, so as to make the connection, and create the pathways, so that I can embody that state with greater skill day by day, just by keeping an awareness of what that state of being looks and feels like. Sounds simple, but definitely takes effort, as I often get distracted. But like anything, I have gotten better with practice. And I am deeply thankful for being aware enough to make that connection, as it is my saving grace, day by day.

That is why I have trouble sometimes, on these holidays, because in a way being a JW growing up already predisposed me to an understanding of how most of these holidays have come to be. They are based on a whole layered onion of lies upon lies. Kind of like temples are often built on older structures. And most of this basing and building has been accompanied by death. I won't dwell on this, but just make clear that I do not in any way wish to contribute my energy and focus of what amounts to a cult that worships death. They do package it up quite nicely, so I can't blame anyone for not seeing what I see. But I can't un-see what I see either. So there ya go. A bit of a conundrum.

Moving on, I might as well throw some ethics in there. I bought hay from a new guy because the other supplier sold out of alfalfa and then sold me half a ton of some pretty crappy hay that kind of made the horse sick, so I can't feed it to her anymore. The new guy gave me quite a sales pitch about how great his hay was. I couldn't be there when it got picked up as I was watching my grandson that day. As a result I ended up with some of that hay having gotten wet and moldy, and a fair number of other bales had so many tumble weeds baled up in them I couldn't feed them to any of the animals. So now I have to start looking to get more hay when I should have had enough to get through to halfway into January. I admit, I did do some grumbling (ok, maybe even a few swear words) about this and I have promised myself to make sure I am there when we go get hay so I can say "nope, not that one!". Damn shazam!

I am starting to feel like I really can't just stay in bed all day, so I am going to try and end this on a positive note and then get my butt in gear. Maybe I should just end it with this: if you must invest in something, because the pressure is on, invest in love. You can never go wrong, and you won't get home and say "that wasn't worth what I payed for it!". It truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Knowing I am loved is far more important than anything anyone can ever buy for me, and I'm fairly certain I'm not alone in this. It is what builds that rainbow bridge to a better future, and all it costs is our intention, focus, actions, and awareness. And it is worth the extra effort.

[LostNFound]

Woke up to a rather nice sunny day. Yesterday was too warm but I am thankful for the beautiful days we have in this neck of the woods. Even when we get rained on or hopefully some snow it is just a beautiful day. I can really Identify with the JW thing. I have a younger brother and sister that both converted to the JW's and their children and grandchildren are also indoctrinated so what used to happen with family get together on the so called commercial holidays stopped and then The older brother in law, who is a pasture of some kind or whatever they call themselves, decided that we should all get together the day after or even a few days later. So the strict rule of the religion was still maintained but we of the not group had to semi agree on the JW side of the family, time schedules. Couldn't just get together anytime that represented the man made holiday. Well that really doesn't bother me and never did anyway. Just a good thing to see the other family members once in a while. I think that was always what getting together was about, did not matter if it was on one of those commercial holidays.

So my wife and I stay home (most of the time) and just enjoy each others company. We do so love each other and like I said before we are homebodies.
My youngest daughter called while I was enjoying a nice bowl of chili and asked what we were having for dinner. I told her I was eating Chili and she got a laugh out of that. She calls at least once a week and I still call her half-pint even though she is 43 years soon. Long story short here, We don't do the bird thing or the pork thing however I still eat a very lean beef once in awhile. I know what you mean about not eating an animal that you can see, stare into its eyes. I used to go Deer hunting many years ago and finally gave that up. There is deeper stories to that but won't delve into that.

Black and blue Friday, OMG what a complete Social engineered thing just like the commercial holidays, The spoiled rich kids running around throwing a pig skin at each other. I do remember liking to watch those games but that was so long ago and when it became such a brainwash just for money I don't know for sure but when I finally saw that it was the end of even talking about it which had always seemed to be the talk in any work place. I am going to post an interesting article on the SE thread about this Black Friday thing.

Your last Paragraph above Laurie is definitely what it comes to. Invest in love it is all, it is everything, it is the light, the energy, the whole being of us.
The goats were wondering where you were so maybe they mind spoke to you so hard that you had to get up. I certainly hope your horse is doing well.

Today is warm, today is love, I am writing more story and it is on a Farm. So down on the Farm we go.

Steven

[Sandy Clark]

The sun was shining here today also Steven and hey Laurie, I did spend the day on my bed eating muchies>>>procrastinating the wallpapering and paint jobs waiting....so many rooms I want to tackle that I can't seem to know where to get started hahhahaha...

The windows, siding, insulation and carpets are all in and now the decorating begins. I am the decorator. I do have the materials in hand but......and LOVE that I can pick and choose when to get at it and not be filled with thoughts of lazy, slovenly, sloth, selfish being, what a mess, what if someone comes over and see this mess, and on and on. Now I laugh at myself instead. Life is really a joy when even self expectations are not met and who cares.........after 6 weeks of noise, daily company, etc., I needed a break!!

I too am a home body and my place isn't going anywhere, so have time to go easy and enjoy the process now that all the big jobs are completed. I found local fellows who work for cash, do the jobs and they are from old school; so really pleased with their work results and work ethic. The Universe sent me Good Guys!!

Ask but be specific and the Universe will provide. Also use your intuition to assess and choose from who shows up. May your hay have no chaff next time and may you find a supplier with integrity soon Dear Laurie.

I am grateful and Blessed...what more of a celebration could one ask for than that, when it comes to holiday hoopla. Just told my Son to not worry about XMAS dates/schedule as I am FREE and can fit into his schedule easily, before, inbetween or after they accomodate other family traditions that I no longer facilitate or long to be a part of. I too find them most uncomfortable and wonder how it is that this way of kindness can't be everyday, not mainly on holidays. If holiday faces could be everyday faces what a great world we may turn into. Now there is a SE meme one could start... hahahha

I am also blessed to have YOU; Laurie, Steven, Maggie, Christine, Fred, and all members here who shore up my Heart, Soul and Mind when others do not get me.............I can always feel your frequencies of solace, commarady and LOVE.

THANK YOU / Hugs