I see your love shining out from my furry friends faces, when I look into their eyes. I see you in the flower’s smile, the rainbow, and the wind in the trees....
Haven’t felt much like writing lately, though I have a backlog of thoughts rolling around in my head. It’s all a jumble sometimes, hard to sort out. We just had our first snow storm, actually still happening. The puppies seem snug in their shelter. And just so many things happening all at once. Let’s see, we did lose two of the 9 puppies. It wasn’t because mom wasn’t trying to be careful, though, because we did hook up a security camera and watched as they would crawl under her. I did resuscitate one that would definitely not have survived (nothing like mouth to mouth on a puppy!), and another one who was only mildly squished, when they were just 4 days old, then everything was good for a few days. We put up the rail as was suggested to help keep that from happening, plus put in a heat lamp. A few more days went by without incident, but then they got a little more active and with so many I’m sure she couldn’t keep track of where they all were. I was greatly saddened by the loss and I could see she was too. But, she did seem to be able to stay more on top of it with just 7, and they get bigger every single day. Now, this last week, they have started to open their eyes and move around more, so I think they are generally out of the woods for crawling under her again, and big enough she would notice. And, they started wagging their tails. Cutest thing ever.
So life has been a mixture, really all over the place. My husband, at almost 77 (later this month), is finding it more difficult by the day with the challenges of living out here. He built 7 rafters, after making a jig, to put up on our roof to keep it from caving in on us. So far, the stuff we have applied to the roof every year makes it until spring. Then, presumably, the constant thawing, freezing, and continuous moisture from rain and snow make it so it’s not sealed anymore. And of course we can’t fix it because it’s too cold and wet for any sealer to work anyway. We both worked hard and got 4 of the 7 put in place and a tarp over it temporarily until we can finish the other three and put the sheet metal someone gifted us up there. It’s all a scramble due to the cold, wet, short days. Hard to get stuff done when there is only about 9 hours of daylight, with less each day. I ran around like some kind of chicken with my head cut off trying to get hoses rolled up and every little thing put away so I don’t have to find whatever I was looking for frozen to the ground under the snow come spring. And the goat pens? Not done. Not going to be done, either. I can do all inside areas even through the winter, but not looking good for the rest. Working those almost 3 months really put us behind, in so many ways. It’s become a full time job out here.
Vehicle issues abound, and all except our big generator quit working. We took two to a guy to fix, and my son bought a new one so we’re lumping it by. The other local person who started a Freedom Cell sold his property and found it was too late in the year for him and a friend to buy some raw land and get settled on it. His friend has a nice cushy place at his parents, so isn’t feeling motivated to rough it. So the decision was made to buy an RV and tough it out this winter at our place. Kinda late, but he’s doing it. Then by spring he’ll be tuned up and ready for their new adventure on a piece of property of their own. He brought with him his two remaining chickens, and three cats, so our number of animals has jumped up there again, but at least I’m not responsible for them. He had more chickens, but during the epic move he would get home late and find them up in the trees and they got picked off by probably an owl, or maybe even a raccoon. And, LOL, we are starting to look like an RV Park!
Which makes me kind of amused, simply because my one neighbor that doesn’t talk to us any more is kind of a hoarder of stuff, which he has piled all over his property under tarps, slowly deteriorating over the years, so he must be green with envy when he drives by and sees all of our new camper’s building supplies etc. piled up under tarps out there. Our other neighbors, Dick and Jane, are also probably quite disturbed to see what to them probably looks like a pile of junk out there. And just wait until these puppies are all big enough to be up and running around. My husband wants to keep two, and I think he’s nuts.
I’m going to try and get the guy with the tractor up the road to let us use it again this spring and get all the pens cleaned up good. Maybe with at least a little help I’ll be able to get a greenhouse made and the garden areas back into shape. And now I’m probably still going to end up with a couple crates of potatoes and squash at the end of my bed again all winter. My other friend who doesn’t live too far away and helped out in the new garden didn’t get a root cellar done this year. I’ll try to keep the rest of the produce at my friend, Carols, I guess, although now that it’s snowing she probably won’t come out again until spring, and with limited transportation options it’s just one more hurdle to jump over. I’m supposed to go look at some wood, which we also didn’t get in yet this year, to trade for a puppy but I can’t just jump in the truck now to go check it out. The guy who is working on our 4th vehicle (for over two years now!!!) is supposedly getting it done. Wish I could start a fire under him to finally make it a priority and get it done.
One other big worry to add to the list is apparently one of our doeling’s managed to get pregnant, and unless it happened through the fence, it must have happened when the one and only buck we have left was out back in late July or August, when she was not even quite 5 months old. Yes, I get a stomach ache every time I think about it. At least we did get enough good hay in and have it well covered to get through the winter. I did let Isabella out, my friend Carol’s goat, to be with M&M, about a week ago. Just two more to breed and I’m glad I’m spacing it out. There is a lot more on my mind, but this kind of catches me up with farm life. Life is just so very strange. I still would choose to be here, even with all the hardship, when I think about alternatives. I love this property, the way the big tall pine and fir trees literally surround us in a circle. It feels as if it’s become a part of me, and I feel surrounded by a field of loving protective energy. I know hardships are rising for everyone, with inflation gaining speed by the day, and people are starting to really feel just how unstable things are. As much as it has been challenging throughout this year, there is also much that has gone right, and much I am thankful for. Just watching the puppies on the security camera brings a warm bright glow in my heart, and holding one is even better. Priceless moments.
It’s finally light out, with the snow gently falling outside. The one garden area where I want to make the greenhouse ended up being taken over by the most beautiful patch of orange and yellow calendula flowers that even yesterday looked vibrant and alive. Last night and today’s snow has probably finally done them in. And the cats have rediscovered my lap after a summer of wanting to be outside all the time. Back to one finger pecking on the keyboard. I’m not looking forward to removing all the heavy wet snow off the feeders this morning, and milking 4 goats every day is also getting less and less attractive to me. I’m trying to wind down, but these girls just keep producing. Hopefully I’ll find time to write more as I spend more time indoors for awhile, and maybe even watch a few videos. It’s been so long since I’ve had the time and especially the energy. Gotta keep trucking, though. I have faith, but as the Bible says, faith without works is dead. And on that note I think I’ll get busy.
I see your love shining out from my furry friends faces, when I look into their eyes. I see you in the flower’s smile, the rainbow, and the wind in the trees....
As you can see, they no longer look like burrito supremes. These were taken 3 days ago, just 3 1/2 weeks old, and already interested in mom’s food bowl. Just bought some puppy chow for them. Simply amazes me how fast they grow. And they are all girls except one! Winter may have come a full month early and decided to stay, but at least it came with puppy love.
I see your love shining out from my furry friends faces, when I look into their eyes. I see you in the flower’s smile, the rainbow, and the wind in the trees....
It’s almost 7am and it’s not quite light out yet. I thought I would try to write a few words about the farm, as I haven’t felt like it in quite some time. A little over two weeks to the solstice, when the corner will be turned, and there will slowly be more light, day by day. I always find it challenging during this time of year, as I definitely feel the pull inward.
I especially feel it this year, due to winter starting a month early and deciding to stick around. The 10 day forecast shows possible snow every day, and may not even get above freezing for most of them. We got 16 inches of snow about 5 days ago, on top of the accumulated snow that started at the beginning of November, with very frigid temperatures dragging on for what seems like forever. Already hauling water buckets to replace what’s turned to ice twice a day, and bringing them into thaw. The possibility that I may be doing this for another three months or so does not get me excited, I will admit. I’m down to just milking two goats every three days and plan to quit for the season very soon. I was going to try and milk through the winter, but just don’t have it in me. A break is very much needed, so everyone, myself included, is just going to have to do without their fresh supply of milk and cheese for awhile. I will miss it, just not the work that went into it.
I’m going to finally bite the bullet and get some dental work done, which should improve my health and energy levels. My body having to constantly deal with infection from the little bacteria factory I keep feeding in my gums has just got to go away, and I believe will help start the new year out on much better ground. So not milking for awhile seems like a good choice for all kinds of reasons. Plus, it won’t hurt all the girls to just get a break, especially with how harsh the winter is shaping up to be. I only have Phoenix, my star milker, who I will probably milk through next winter, and Isabella, my friend Carol’s goat, bred so far, and only plan to breed one more next time Branwyn goes in heat. Not having so many to go through the birthing process with should also be a little less stressful.
Pretty much every one I talk to is in the same boat as far as not feeling ready for what is shaping up to be an epic winter, I guess unless you live in a city apartment and ride the transit. I’m sure I mentioned that besides my son who is living in a 26 foot RV and commuting to work everyday, that we have another RV’er that is roughing it out here with us this winter. My son helps us some financially, but working 12-13 hours a day doesn’t leave him much time for anything else, and he tries to cram in some quality time with his two sons to boot. So our other guest has been helping with snow removal and wood cutting, which is greatly appreciated. It’s interesting to see them both adapt to the sometimes harsh and challenging environment, but both have noted how beautiful and clear the night sky is. And I find it quite amusing that our nazi neighbor, Dick, probably cringes even more now every time he drives by, as we look more and more like an RV Park.
My son’s dad went out and bought him a brand new car he has to make the payments on, but surprisingly the cost is only slightly more than we were paying for our used one we just recently paid off. He has a full warranty on it, so anything breaks down he is covered. Considering our recently paid off similar vehicle is now sitting with what is likely the solenoid gone out INSIDE the transmission (very expensive fix), and almost worthless as a trade-in, I’m wishing we had done something similar. Where it stands now, we have 4 vehicles of our own, and all are on shaky ground, though we did trade a puppy for getting our Mazda Protege fixed, which at least gets great gas mileage and is back on the road for now, even though it has a lot of miles on it. We also traded a puppy, the only male in the bunch, for almost a cord of firewood (delivered) and a little cash, so that was good. We hadn’t got really any in for the winter, though our newest addition to the farm did go cut down some dead trees for us with his new chainsaw and has been cutting them into smaller rounds for us to chop up. So, we’ll make it by the skin of our teeth through the winter. And, even if all 4 of our vehicles decide to quit working, we won’t be stuck here with no way out other than to walk. We are supposed to get a propane delivery today, thankfully between snowstorms, so we should be good there for a few months too.
I have to say, having two pups gone is making it easier to walk around when I let them all out a couple times a day, as they like to all mill around my feet as I walk. We have a third going to a new home on the 23rd of this month as a surprise Christmas present for someone, so that will put us down to 4, but I’m still hoping at least a couple more will move by then too. They are cute as all heck, but we can’t afford to feed more than 4 dogs at most, and they are already eating a considerable amount of puppy chow. Watching them grow and develop on our security camera when we’re inside, and then interacting with them outside, has been one of the most awesome things I’ve ever experienced in my life. I used to watch nature shows when I was a kid, but this is so much better. They are just so smart, and watching their mom, and now even their dad, show them the ropes around the farm makes me even more in awe of the natural world.
Our Freedom Exchange is still going strong. One member offered her place of business for us to meet in through the winter, which has been awesome, since our new winter guest out here sold his home where we met all last winter. Even though participation kind of wanes at times, we always have a great time networking, seeing old friends, meeting new, and exchanging our various products with one another. It really does help being with others of like mind who do see where our world is heading and making a serious effort to go the other way. It does seem like our outer reality is in some kind of slow motion free fall of sorts, with a lot of speculation about how it’s going to go, but even more uncertainty how quickly and in exactly which ways it’s going to affect us all. What we all know for certain is that we will be better off having overlapping communities of self reliant think outside the box kind of people to move through this with.
It’s very interesting that there are quite a few younger couples, many with kids, who have embraced this new (actually very old) way of living, and many are learning new skills as fast as they can. Quite a few of the men are helping each other learn how to hunt and butcher their own animals, including processing their own rabbits, chickens, sheep etc. Most of the women are planning to or already are homeschooling their children, and we are trying to create activities that are more in line with their personal value systems that don’t include drag queen story hour, if you get my drift, as well as declining the poison jabs they keep pushing. They do clearly see the anti-life agenda at work on the larger screen of life, and are going to do their best not to participate. It does give me at least some hope for our future.
I could go on and on, since it’s been awhile since I posted here, but I can hear a pup outside that might have escaped, so best get out there and assess the situation. I’ll try to get some current pictures of the pups, as it is astounding how fast they are growing and changing with each passing day. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood... many blessings to all who read here, and may your new year ahead hold some surprises of the most awesome kind. Our minds and our ability to create is more powerful than we know, and the more we continue to visualize and put energy and effort into creating with a life affirming outlook, the less team dark gets their wish (which is basically a big die off of all life here). And we know they will win if we choose fear over life, love, and liberty.
I see your love shining out from my furry friends faces, when I look into their eyes. I see you in the flower’s smile, the rainbow, and the wind in the trees....
They are all dirty dogs, having played in the snow and then snooping around under the RV’s for whatever trouble they can find. They will play with anything, and I had to fix their little pen I want to keep them in overnight so they can’t escape, hopefully, anymore. I’ll find out tomorrow morning. As you can see in the first pic, they found the whipped cream in a can my husband had stuck in the snow. I wonder if they got any to squirt out. Our fridge in the RV has ammonia leaking (it uses this instead of freon) and is such a major expensive fix we will be pulling it out of there and getting something else to take it’s place. For the time being, all the cold and snow works pretty good. These little girls are just so all over the place, exploring their environment, it blows my mind.
I see your love shining out from my furry friends faces, when I look into their eyes. I see you in the flower’s smile, the rainbow, and the wind in the trees....
I can't believe how fast they've grown! I have my hands full with one dog, now named The Dog™ because he's pure doggie. And the snow, she says sitting outside in the Mexican sun and blue, blue sky.
The journey, the challenge is to step into the
projection room and stop being lost in the script.
HYBERNATIOOOOOOOON! It is cold here but the sun shines bright against the bluish skies. The pups look like wooly sheep. Thank you both for pictures and mental thoughts of vision. Spiritwind, the whole dental thing is inevitable. I am smack dab in the middle of receiving a full bottom denture. Finally going to have the bottom fitted this coming Thurs. I had the surgery on the 9th of Nov so this is the journey on the way to having all your teeth ripped out and replaced with whatever serves as a food masher. It is good that you have your son and another helper for this winter. I've a feeling that its going to get fairly bare in the Urban areas of each state. Motor homes seem to be the way for lots of folks to live these days. Do not go downtown. The dogs are cute but didn't get to see the goats. Keep warm and fed and mostly Healthy. Watch for zombies created by CVMRnAVAX. Christine, It looks like you are in a good place, I hope. Keep cool and warm and healthy.
Steven, how nice to see you pop in on Laurie's thread. I am motivated to not only visit, but post on the forum more often. It feels like home and I've been away. Merry Christmas to you, somehow this year it feels more important than ever to find the peace of the season and the magic. I won't take up more space on this thread. I am feeling extraordinarily blessed in spite of the outer madness, there is a gentle tenderness that permeates my space right now.
The journey, the challenge is to step into the
projection room and stop being lost in the script.
Sitting here in the cold dark morning again, sipping my coffee with the fire crackling in the stove, and watching one of our cats play with an ornament she got off the Christmas tree. Can you say frigid?
Seriously, I have a friend, an older friend like us, who is thinking again about moving where it’s warmer and has invited us to accompany her perhaps. It’s getting more appealing by the day.
I didn’t think I would write more here before the new year, but it’s too early to go outside yet and besides, I am already burned out on winter and it hasn’t even officially started yet. I’m not excited about piling all those winter clothes on multiple times throughout the day, then taking them off again when I come inside. I’m actually not excited about trudging around with water buckets for all the critters this morning either, and again later in the day. We have some seriously cold temperatures coming, with well below zero in a couple days, with one day predicted to only climbing up to 3(F) degrees during the day, followed by possible heavy snow by Christmas.
And it’s probably going to sound like I am complaining, but I’m going to share the list of challenges we’ve been moving through, even if for later reference because I almost can’t believe it’s real. In the last couple months, we’ve had all of our 4 vehicles give us trouble, which I’ve mentioned before, and that is still going on. The one we just got back had a couple belts break and had to be replaced, and then one of them broke again!?! Something is hanging it up. And it’s too damn cold to try and work on vehicles outside presently. Our propane refrigerator quit working and cannot be repaired, and now our hot water heater has a problem (a water leak). My husband is taking it somewhere today, hoping to get it repaired. Since it’s aluminum, it requires a TIG welder to fix. We did get the two generators back we had taken for repair, and that wasn’t a cheap bill at all, but at least they are operational again. And lastly, we are down to about 10% on our 2 100 gallon propane tanks, and they STILL haven’t come to fill them, even though they were supposed to be here by December 6th! I’m going to call them again, and talk to a supervisor. Not happy with AmeriGas.
Fortunately between my son and our new neighbor, Corey, we’re staying warm with the firewood they’ve split and cut for us, even though we still have to chop them into smaller pieces. In fact, it’s barely getting light out and Corey is out there sawing wood for us now! He is leaving to spend the holiday with his family for a week. I worry, because he has 3 cats and two chickens I will have to feed while he is gone, and the poor cats will probably have to remain outside in this severe cold. No way I can bring 3 more cats into our tiny RV over night, along with the 3 we already have. There are many places to hide out here, but still, I worry. We were going to put our chickens with Corey’s but I wanted to move the shelter over there to give them more room out of the weather, and just didn’t make it happen before everything got snowed and iced in. In fact, I just talked to him, and he is going to bring his two over and put them in with ours, and we will hook up the heat lamp we already have for them. And he told me his kitties have been out most nights anyway, so hopefully they’ll find some place to snuggle in. We’ll keep the generator running on the coldest nights to keep some of the heat tapes going and RV batteries charged up.
This is when solar power kind of falls down on the job, but my husband puts a battery charger on the system when the generator is on during the day, and that way the 12 batteries stay charged up, and will continue to operate the freezer and small refrigerator we have in the well house. Yes, Corey, bless his heart, got us a freezer (our other one quit working early this year). Our plan is to get a much cheaper electric refrigerator to replace our propane one in the RV, and run it off the batteries as well. For now, I’m using a couple coolers, and since I’m winding down on milking (down to one girl every 3 days), I can store more food in the tiny fridge I mentioned in the well house. When I was getting a gallon a day, I had to have someplace to put it! Can’t just keep the coolers outside, either, or everything freezes. Not to go on, but to illustrate the tediousness, and ridiculous amount of extra work in all this, we put the coolers in the laundry room my husband built me off the well house (for those who haven’t been following along here) at night, but have to pull them out during the day while running the little ceramic heater we put in there to keep pipes from freezing up. It’s a hassle, and in fact, we are probably going to just drain the water pipes in there during this cold snap, so we don’t have to worry about it. It’s not fun throwing food away, and I’ve had to do plenty of that.
In fact, just keeping up with self care gets tough in these conditions. I cook most everything from scratch, and have been trying to do more juicing. The juicer is easy to use, but a pain to clean. Haven’t used a microwave in years. If I don’t pay attention to what I eat, and especially if I eat much processed, prepackaged foods, I don’t do well. And I have to have energy to meet our daily demands here. It’s a balancing act for sure, and one I don’t always manage to do well, especially when I need to most. I guess, in a way, the farm comes first. I take the responsibility quite seriously, and tend to worry about all the critters in severe weather conditions. Even the pups, with their thick coats, will they be okay when it’s well below zero? So far, they’ve been fine, and I’ve been leaving the doors open on the bigger (birthing) barn. I’ve seen the whole family hanging out on the old straw I haven’t cleaned out yet in there, with mom and dad too. In fact, watching Ranger interact with his offspring is really awesome, I have to say. The intelligence of nature never ceases to amaze me.
So far from the garden we have strayed. And I notice so many things living out here that I never noticed before. Life simply didn’t afford me the opportunity, which is, of course, all by design. It’s so much harder to control a people who haven’t lost that connection to nature, and who spend a good part of their day outside engaging with the elements. Whether people realize it or not, watching television all the time, and being glued to their cellphones, entrains them to an illusory and more limited interpretation of the possibilities just being here in the physical affords. It slowly leads you away from your connection to divine forces, unless you have found ways to counter that in a city environment. It can be done, but I’m glad I don’t have to do it.
Anyway, I’ll wind this up with a few comments about Christmas. My husband and I generally don’t go anywhere, except maybe my daughters for a bit during the holidays. It’s even been a few years since I’ve put up any kind of tree, lights, or nick knacks. I didn’t grow up celebrating it, due to my adoptive parents being JW’s, so don’t have a sentimental attachment, and mainly did it before for the kids. My husband probably misses it more than I do. JW’s rightly believed it’s a totally pagan holiday, and that Jesus, whatever the real story is, was not born December 25th. I’m okay with Jesus, and honor the truths about how to live rightly that still shine through many Christian teachings, and I’m even okay with the solstice being honored. I’ve just uncovered some of the more sordid underside of our past and present, that sacrifices especially children to some angry vengeful god, and it’s connection to so many things (and holidays). And the lies we choose to believe without question. That I do not support. On the other hand, I’m always up to support events and times of the year that afford an opportunity to come together, break bread, and be generous and loving with one another. One can do that with any holiday, and even without. But most of the population get sanctioned time off from working during these holidays, so it’s good to take advantage of that.
And this year, my son who hasn’t celebrated a Christmas with his two sons since 2015, is going all out. He did manage to find this beautiful tall (7’!) but very skinny tree. Yes, it’s fake, but I’m not fond of cutting down live trees to just be thrown away each year anyway, and it’s frosted and already has lights on it. Best of all, it fits perfectly in our tiny space. We’re going to put up some lights, and this will be the most Christmassy we’ve been in years. He’s even got me wrapping stuff for him, and he definitely went all out there. Did the totally American thing, and put himself in debt to make sure it’s one they will remember. At least he really tries to make them meaningful. And I love his spirit of generosity. My two grandsons will be here both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, which will be a first for me. One of the items is a telescope and he got them both drones. Only problem I see is it’s supposed to snow through the holiday, so might not get to enjoy them too much just yet. It will be fun to have them here, though, even if a bit hectic.
For me, in this life, I have come to the place where it is the people, and actually the critters too, who make my life meaningful. Stuff just doesn’t matter that much to me, and for most of my life, except maybe when I first moved out on my own and thought stuff was important, I haven’t cared. It is nice to have things that make certain chores a little easier. I’d like to have a tractor and I wouldn’t mind having a cabin to live in, instead of an RV, well, and my teeth all taken care of finally, but other than that (except for the greenhouse and root cellar, LOL), I’m quite content. All in due time, I guess. We are planning, a small group of us, to create our own barter fair type event for freedom minded folks we know, and plan to have it next spring. Planning that is already proving to be fun. Every day, but especially at the end of the year, I like to take stock of what I do have to be grateful for, and there is much. Dreaming, imagining, and taking action to manifest healthy, life affirming, and community building events always gets me excited. There is work to do! And so on that note I will end, and wish you all happy dreaming. Dream big, dream beautiful!
I see your love shining out from my furry friends faces, when I look into their eyes. I see you in the flower’s smile, the rainbow, and the wind in the trees....
I see your love shining out from my furry friends faces, when I look into their eyes. I see you in the flower’s smile, the rainbow, and the wind in the trees....