Farm Life

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Spiritwind
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Re: Farm Life

Post by Spiritwind »

Continuing to move along in the fast lane here on the farm, I’m finding it hard to squeeze out time for much else. I have three different markets to try and attend, one of which I organize, and now I have to crack the whip on myself to make sure I have something to actually sell, barter, or trade at all of them. Lots of emails to answer lately, too, with all this going on, as well as selling goats. At least I’m winding down on the goat sales end of thing, as all that were ready have been moved on, to good homes I think. Even the super butt head, Jewel, and her two daughters that were just like her! I didn’t sugar coat it when she came to look, and I couldn’t have hid it anyway, as demonstrated when I put Jewel on the milk stand. The lady didn’t seem to be even slightly deterred, as she was young, fit, and had dealt with difficult animals before. Yippie dang skippy, is all I can say there!

Shady, the beautiful blue eyed mini Lamancha I had that was a bit on the smaller side (plus I didn’t have an unrelated buck I could breed to her) also sold, along with Dotty’s daughter, Dahlia, from last years kidding. I wasn’t going to sell Dahlia, but figured since the two were already together in one pen, that she would be a good choice to go with her, as you can’t have just one! The elderly couple that took them were country folk, excited to expand on their self reliance options, and had plenty of land, so I was pretty happy about that. We still have plenty of goats, with all 5 adult females in milk currently. With the two bucks, and four female kids we’re keeping (one of my friend’s doelings will be a straight across trade for another one who will be a good candidate for milking through the winter), we’ll be down to 11 goats altogether, and only 9 of my own! It’s a freaking miracle!

Of course, I still have to sell the five little boys who we just had banded yesterday. Poor little Pocket was quite traumatized, but we gave him a lot of extra attention, and though they are still not quite back to their usual selves, the boys are all at least not laying there anymore with that sad dazed look on their faces. Jewel’s little boy took to the bottle like I have never seen before. And now that his mom and sisters are gone, he is hanging with Pocket and they are starting to bond a bit, so Pocket is starting to resign himself to actually being a goat more and more. I have about 5 weeks to go before I can put these guys all up for sale, but since they are all, except one, on the friendly side, and goats have been moving fast this year, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble there. I have to get to work now, so will come back later, but at least I got it started.

But, before I run, I will say it’s interesting to see how farming, raising livestock, and growing your own food, while being the backbone of what it really takes to survive when not relying on the artificial structures we have been programmed to believe we need, and will always be there, is making such a dramatic and speedy comeback. And none of the people I’ve been meeting are putting any faith in the self appointed powers that are running the shit show called our government, and in fact absolutely see that everything spewing out from mainstream media sources are basically just bold faced lies, with an obvious intent to drive this country fully into the ground. And they, the folks out here anyway, are not going for it. The next few years are going to be interesting indeed. More later.

Our next Farmers Market is happening next weekend, and already I’m getting push back from the board members. I answered an email I received from them and now have to wait and see how it goes. I’m sure I’ll know when I go to the next committee meeting here in a couple days what the vibe is, and whether it’s warm or cold and chilly. Either way is fine with me. The worst that can happen is someone else will take it over, and I’ll put my energy into the other markets that have started up in this area. I don’t have time to fuss over state and federal regulations, liability concerns, and constantly worrying whether we are in compliance. I’m ok with a small fee per table, and a vendor agreement if it isn’t too stringent, or wanting insurance and a business license to operate. I’m not showing my vaccination papers or wearing a mask either.

My goal is to make sure we all have something to eat, and are at least started on creating our alternative market networks in our area. When it gets down to it, money isn’t going to do much for you when the shelves are bare, or the price is so high that you will still go hungry because you can’t buy enough to feed yourself. If we all start thinking differently, and begin to assess and discover what our skills and abilities are, and expand what we produce food wise, we’ll at least be off to a good start. And bartering is the way to go. I’m even going to bite the bullet and make myself learn a bit about crypto currency, even though for some reason I have a strong resistance to it. Maybe it’s the fact that it appears to be dependent on the internet working. I’ll find out more, though.

I did dig up a whole bunch of herbs and raspberry starts yesterday from all the perennials we have growing, so should have a good variety for the next market. I’m hoping that growing medicinal herbs to create your own pharmacy catches on. They are so easy to grow, and it used to be the primary source of medicine before the Rockefeller’s trashed it with their concept of “modern medicine”, and like most things convinced the public that it was better to try and synthesize a chemical substitute that can be profited from, rather than relying on plants that often grow wild and are free. I’ve seen so many things come and go, over the years. I remember when they convinced most mothers that it was actually healthier to feed their babies formula, than breast feeding. I never believed that crock. And now the idea that goats milk can actually be a suitable substitute for mother’s milk is catching on up in this area, since strangely, there is a baby formula deficit occurring, and people are frantic because they can’t find it in many stores. I guess that saying that necessity is the mother of invention is true! Not everyone is going to go quietly into the night, as we watch the free fall downhill spiral our country is in the process of going through. And it’s only just begun. The worst is yet to come.... bracing for impact I am.

And still, I see so many upholding the narrative, even now. Man made climate change, pandemic heaven (for some) or hell (for others), depending on your perspective. For those who stand to profit, and those who are busy rolling out their version of a grand new world order, it probably feels gleefully good to them, to see how fast things are progressing. For some of us, though, it’s like watching our worst nightmare unfold, in slow motion. I could go on and on with this theme alone, but won’t indulge in my tendency to rant at the moment. Maybe for my too many thoughts thread....

Anyway, I feel best when my energy is up, and I’m able to keep up with my daily goals of expanding gardens, cleaning up ones already full of perennials, keeping the goats all healthy, and getting stuff ready for the markets. I need to get a burn pile going in the next few days, before it heats up and there’s no rain. The chicken my friend brought over to keep our rescue chicken company is doing well, and laying an egg a day. The other one is still limping a bit, but clearly benefits from not being alone. She hasn’t laid any more eggs, and maybe she won’t, but that’s ok. At least she is friendly, and two isn’t too much to care for. I’m hoping to move the coop before the end of summer, away from the garden I have there. They did kind of trash it last year with their digging.

And I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but my bees did not make it through the winter. A number of much more experienced folks I know have to restart again too, but I will probably wait until next year. I need someone to commit to helping me that can lift the heavy boxes when they are full of honey, because my husband and I can’t do it by ourselves. I’m guessing it was the cold and moisture that did them in, because both boxes were full of honey, and I didn’t see any sign of mites on the ones I looked at. We probably got between 40-50 lbs of honey! Enough to last us a whole year. I did get an extractor, but gotta get more informed on how to use it, and will need a really warm day. You can buy something to go around them for heat, but trying to not spend money we don’t have right now. I need to look up “hot boxes” that have been successfully used in Alaska, before we start again too. It was a steep learning curve, but I do want to try again. I know a lot more now, and not so intimidated by the whole process anymore. I learn best by doing anyway.

I think I’m pretty much caught up with what’s happening here on the farm. We are down to one vehicle again (it just goes on and on) but my husband will have the other car working again here as soon as he gets what he needs to fix it from UPS. He spent quite a bit of time going store to store and making phone calls and finally gave up on finding what he needed locally. This is becoming more of a problem for many things, unfortunately. I’m bagging up my compost to take to the next market too, since fertilizer can’t hardly be found in our area. It’s looking more and more that we are in exactly the RIGHT place for what is to come. It may be a hard challenging life, but at least we’ve had some time to get used to it. As always, I am immensely grateful. Happening gardening to all!
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....
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Spiritwind
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Re: Farm Life

Post by Spiritwind »

I’m already late getting going this morning, but will make an attempt to get a post at least started, and come back to it later. Much is going on, as always for this time of year, so I’m sure I won’t have time to finish this right now.

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, due to funky weather, and a feeling of being way behind with gardens this year. The one over by the chickens (approximately 16x16) I haven’t hardly touched, nor the other one over by the horse shelter (approximately 10x16). The first one has a bunch of chicory (which is supposed to make a reasonable coffee substitute) and hyssop in it, plus a wild raspberry my neighbor had brought back over that was originally growing out where the horse was, that is kind of trying to do a takeover, and then the other one has a massive amount of calendula coming up that reseeded itself from last year, plus a healthy crop of weeds in both areas. The only ones I did get cleaned up, and fresh compost added to, is the two areas up by our RV that have a lot of raspberries, that are also trying to do a takeover, along with the valerian that is literally popping up everywhere. I have quite a few herbs growing in those two areas, but may have to move some to give them more space. I knew if I didn’t get those cleaned up early, I wouldn’t be able to later.

Then last week a couple friends helped me by bringing out a rototiller and preparing an approximately 14x24 foot area to expand our growing capacity. We borrowed the rototiller from another friend who came out and got compost, since he was having trouble getting fertilizer for his gardens, and another friend came over to run the rototiller, along with helping me wheelbarrow over a bunch of compost to mix in with the rather shallow topsoil that was there. Rototillers aren’t that hard to operate, but my friend who ran it is six foot plus tall, and young. And even he noted that it kind of beat him up. Thank creator for good friends! I still have to bring more compost over, and put up a fence, but at least the project being completed doesn’t feel impossible now. My little POA, Freckles, did end up being a hit with her new owners, as I knew she would, and she couldn’t be in a better place. They have a beautiful indoor arena, and have made great progress with her, getting her tuned up to use in their training program. And now I have her whole area we can eventually turn into growing areas. We’ll be repairing her shelter to use as a hay barn, since both of ours collapsed from the heavy snows last winter. Work work work!

Ok, it’s a few days later and will try to pick this up. Today I have to make two batches of cheese for our market tomorrow, as well as getting stuff together to do a cheese making demo. We’ve had unseasonably cold and wet weather and I’m not even sure I will be able to get certain things to grow at all this year. And I’ll probably be wearing my snow pants tomorrow for the market, as it could do just about anything, no matter what the forecast. But I’m not waiting anymore. I worked on another garden space yesterday, over by the chicken coop. I trimmed back the wild raspberry I mentioned over there. They are called black caps, and the berries are quite small and tart, but give it a little water and some good soil and the thing gets totally out of control!

I left it, because if things get super wonky, it will continue to grow even in really horrible conditions that domesticated raspberries won’t. The goats still eat it, even though it has a LOT more thorns on it. The chickens had tore up the walkway last year, with their constant digging, so I spent considerable time making it so I could walk without lurching again, due to uneven terrain. I’m not sure where I left off with the chicken story, but the companion my friends contributed so my single chicken wasn’t alone anymore has made quite an impact on her recovery. She has completely healed up, no longer limps, and they are both giving me an egg a day. So much for not having chickens anymore.

I did start a bunch of corn seeds, but I used my oldest cob I saved (from 4 summers ago), and not all of them germinated. The ones that germinated first, I ended up giving to my friend who lives in the city where it is slightly warmer. Yesterday I transplanted the rest, a mere 20 plants, into small pots until I’m ready to put them in the ground. I’ll start some more, but not sure they are going to get enough of a season to do much, but I’ll give it a try anyway. Still haven’t got a fence up around the new garden area, so I have to wait to put anything in there. As you can see, I’m a little backlogged with things to catch up on.

The tomatoes I started back in February aren’t fairing much better as I’ve had to keep them inside, although they should start flowering as soon as I can acclimate them and move them outdoors. Lots of potatoes to plant, too, as well as more buttercup squash, and whatever else I can mange this year, which may not be much. I want to plant carrots, beets, and bok choy. It looks like I’ll get some spinach and lettuce from reseeding even if I don’t plant more. Surprisingly my little peach tree is flowering, as well as one of my two apple trees that are still in pots close to the RV. I have no doubt they have rooted in the ground by now, and they may just end up staying where they are. The one apple tree even has a bunch of bark eaten off by bad goats who managed to sneak in last year, and it’s loaded with flowers. By being so close to the RV, it has protected them from the cold, surprisingly enough.

Hay may continue to be an issue this year, and may even force me to downsize on the goats even more. I’m considering selling both bucks, if I have to. I went from paying $240 for a ton, to now being up over $400 a ton! I could get a slightly better deal if I could buy the big square bales that range from 1/2 a ton to 3/4, but we can’t get them out of the truck. I have done it in the past by just taking them out in chunks, but I really don’t want to do that. It makes a mess, and I lose too much. I’m looking at more things I can grow to feed the goats, such as black oil sunflowers, as it may just come down to that. The 5 little boys are almost ready to be put up for sale, and I’m slowly cutting back on the two bottle babies milk allotment, which they are not very happy about. Honestly, I can’t wait to move them on, for as cute as they are, they are little menaces! Since the hay barns collapsed due to the weight of the snow last winter, I can’t effectively keep them out when I’m trying to feed, and I’m not enjoying it very much. And I’ve had to keep Branwyn’s kids separated from her overnight, as she was starting to look pretty puny, and I don’t want another episode like I had with Aurora.

Looking at my previous post, I see I didn’t mention the Aurora experience. As usual, each year teaches me something new, and this year was no exception. I came out one morning and noticed Aurora seemed off. No diarrhea but not herself at all. When she didn’t touch her grain, I knew something was definitely up, then when I let her out and she just kind of stood there, totally uninterested in anything, even moving, as well as stretching her back in a weird way, I got worried, very worried. I called up my friend I get extra milk from, who my other friend bought her and her mother from last fall, and she came over by that evening. In the meantime, just on instinct, we gave her a shot of B-Complex, which was a good move. When my friend got here, she said to give her more, and shoved some pepto bismol and some Pepsi down her throat, as well as walking her around more (which I had already done some of). I had also went around to find anything that might entice her to eat. She wouldn’t touch the raspberry branches (shockingly enough), but she did nibble on the fir branches I had cut for her. Once their rumen shuts down, it’s bad news!

I guess with full size high milk producers, they can “crash”, which I had never experienced before. Even though I was feeding them more than the Nigerians we used to have, as well as giving them minerals, selenium, copper, B-Complex, and grain, I wasn’t giving them enough of any of them! I had no idea their nutrition requirements were so much more, and could lead to such a dramatic fine one moment, on death’s door the next kind of situation. I continued to monitor her, and later, when I went out with my husband to check on her, and she wouldn’t eat anything at all, as well as not wanting, or being able, to get up, I was like, I’ll stay here all night if I have to. I started giving her Reiki, thinking it can’t hurt. Within about 10 minutes, after trying to get up several times, she finally kind of rolled herself up onto her feet. She went and stood over by the wall, but still didn’t want to eat anything. So I kept giving her Reiki, and within just a couple minutes she started to nibble some alfalfa leaf out of my hands, then even ate a bit of grain. The alfalfa is good, because of the high calcium content. In just a short time, my husband and I watched her go from looking like she was fading out, to maybe making a recovery. When we went out a little later, to check on her again, we were shocked to see her run out to the gate, like nothing had ever been wrong!

My husband is almost winding down on the other RV repairs, with the exception of replacing the windows. Everything now works as it should and just a little paint and trim to put up where he repaired the water damage to the wall and ceiling over the back of the bedroom area. The really awesome news there, is that my son may actually be getting out soon. Maybe by June or July. I’m sure I could go on and on writing here, for I keep thinking of things I haven’t mentioned, but it’s time to wind down and get busy. We are considering what we will do if things really go south by this fall and winter. Again, we are thankful we’ve had some time to adjust to such a challenging lifestyle, realizing it may get even more so. We might be able to repair the inverter for our solar system, and are already contemplating what it might be like if we have trouble getting fuel for the generators, as well as propane, which has become quite expensive. Our power needs keep dropping as we cut more things out we realize we don’t need, like the electric coffee pot and microwave. And I do have a wood stove that is one of the old style trash burners. It’s bigger than the stove we have in here, so unfortunately would take up more room, but we can put bigger pieces of wood in it, as well as being able to cook on it.

Plus, we’re getting to know more and more people right here in our area, with the Farmers Market I have going at the nearby Grange. I probably won’t do it next year, as they have already been raining on my parade with rules, regulations, and a what’s in it for me kind of attitude. Once the crash really gets underway, the rules just aren’t going to mean much, and they already don’t to me. But my whole idea there was to identify those who live close by that we can trade goods with, and that is definitely happening. We had some awesome vendors at the last one, and the 7 plus pound home grown chicken I got cooked up beautifully, and was so much better than anything I could have bought at the store. My husband was quite pleased, and it felt like a holiday meal. They are perfectly willing to take orders, so that I can get a couple a month from them throughout the year. Plus, I got to try my friend’s homemade goats milk caramel she made, and it was divine!

Ok, tearing myself away now. Looking at the bright side, at least we don’t have a fire season starting here yet this year. And I can still get that burn pile going (it’s on the list). Too too much to do, but I’ll just pick one and go for it. May the spirit of the real humans rise like a phoenix as we move into the future they are trying to create for us. It’s still possible (at least I think it is). We just can’t give up or give in, those of us who keep sounding the alarm. Yes, the buildings on fire, but there’s still a little time. Love to all.
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....
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Spiritwind
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Re: Farm Life

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Another day, another row to hoe, LOL. I seem to be perpetually tired these days, and my hands pretty much bother me all the time now. Yet, we just keep plugging away out here. I have someone coming to get another one of my bucklings for sale this morning, so don’t have much time, but wanted to get this started. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it rain so much here, which is so weird after last years mega drought. It’s looking like hay season may take yet another hit, because they can’t bale it up if it is just constantly wet, even though it all looks great out in the fields this year. I’ve even wondered if I could get away with sneaking out at night with a big machete and a headlamp, and cut bunches of it to take home and dry, but it sounds a bit work intensive to me. I have been letting the goats out a lot, to forage, but they still love their green alfalfa hay. And, they eventually start zeroing in on eating the bark off the trees if they are left out too long. They are the eatingest animals I’ve ever seen, like, seriously gluttons!

But, they are not much for eating grass. They will eat some, but they won’t clear your field for you, unless it’s actually brush, and they have nothing else to eat. I had someone offer to let my girls range their 7 acres, since they got rid of their livestock, so they don’t have to mow it. But, I have plenty of brush right here, and since they have a lot of grass they’d be better off putting some sheep out there. And the mud! The pens are getting worse with every passing “atmospheric river” event (new phrase they’ve thrown at us), and I’m seriously thinking about just making some new pens, but moving or making new shelters is no small job. The good news is that my eldest son may be coming home next month. He has promised to help (he has no idea what he’s going to be getting himself in to!). It may be my only hope. And he can help me get all these garden areas mulched up, too.

I have a number of herbs that have decided they like it here, and are very busy expanding their territories. It’s turning into a veritable food forest, since so many of them, besides being medicinal, are fully edible too. My two little elderberry trees are putting on berries, and my grape vines, that are three years old, are also going to produce this year. And, of course, the raspberries are continuing their takeover maneuvers. I love it though, as it feels good to walk around and see so much growth every where.

It is the next day, and though I mentioned I love how green everything is, I am ready for the rain to stop now. I managed to go out and do a bunch of gardening yesterday, and now my hands are really giving me trouble, no matter what I do. I made an area to plant the black oil sunflower seeds I had germinated, which required a good amount of shoveling and hauling compost. They are so good for the goats. I also weeded and thinned out another area where I have a great deal of sweet cicely, hyssop, and catnip that has reseeded. I still have to do the area where the calendula has reseeded. The plan is to make up small packages of herbal tea combinations, and seriously get into harvesting and drying them this year. I need to make time for saving more seeds this year too.

But this rain. I’ve lived in this area for most of my adult life, over 40 years, and I’ve never seen it like this. I feel bad for the animals, but can’t even do anything about it. They don’t like walking in the mud and now liquid poop. And the feeders all have a sponge like foot deep area of sopping wet poop/hay around them. At least they all have adequate shelters to hide out in, as they stare wistfully out at me amidst the never ending downpour. Not looking forward to going outside in it at all this morning. One super big ugh. Lots more to catch up on when I get done with chores. No outside working today.

And again, it’s now the next day. I want to write, but sometimes I feel a bit sparse on words. I’ll try to stick to farm life, though I have much on my mind not directly related to it. I did the Farmer’s Market at the Grange again, and I’m now half way through my little experiment. Just had a meeting yesterday with a couple of board members, and it just drives home everything I see wrong with bureaucracy pretty much at every level. Only three more markets to go for the season, and now they are finally coming up with a very detailed and rule oriented vendor agreement (unlike the first one that was quite short, simple, and straight forward). Which is why I started getting involved in all the alternative markets we have going in our area, that pretty much have no rules. It’s like these people sit around thinking about every possible thing that could go wrong, and try to make sure they have protected themselves and the Grange. Of course, these are the same people that are all over getting the jabs and masking up. If we, the vendors that have shown up, were to be in total compliance with all these rules and regulations, we would have mostly empty tables, and nothing repeat customers are actually coming for.

It’s all been worth it, though, because not only have I learned a lot, I have met some of the most outstanding people that live right in my area, and that’s what it was all about. I would not have met them otherwise, had not the venue for this to happen been available. And since it’s been so rainy, it’s also been very nice to be indoors. I now have a lead on several products I would like to be able to get, even after the crash fully happens, which I’m thinking will be by this fall and definitely winter. It’s expanded my networks for survival into the very dark future ahead of us. Plus now that I know some of these people better, I also know who to avoid, some like the damn plague.

A strange convergence is coming up, and no, I’m not talking about the bigger picture. I’m talking about the amazing coincidence that my son up in Alaska might be coming to visit around the same time as my other son is getting released from the correctional facility. This would be a monumental event, to have all three of my children together. I’m not sure if I mentioned that my daughter, also my youngest by 12 years, just bought a home in the nearby city with her husband. They paid way too much for it, but I’m not raining on her parade. It was a big step for the two of them, and I have always felt my kids need to have their own experiences, with my role being one of support and encouragement. It’s worked out well, and I’ve always learned best through experience myself, even though I did not get any family support. I did at least have a Grandma Mary in my life, and even though she was not related by blood, she was like a mother to me, and grandmother to my two eldest sons when they were growing up. I have immense gratitude for her having been in my life.

It’s more cheese making today, and some herbal wormer. We have a Freedom Exchange coming up this weekend, and we’re going to have it at another protest that is going on, so I need to have something to bring. I also made my first batch of kimchi in a long time last week, and even though it’s a bit salty and quite spicy, I’m loving it. I want to make more so I can add another product to bring to market. Homemade is so much better than commercial store bought kimchi. I’ve been making mini loaves of carrot cake too, which people seem to like, and even my ear oil has been a hit. It’s actually a lot of work to have a good selection of products to bring, especially when time is limited and a lot else is going on. Even though I want to slow down, I seem to keep taking on more! There by the grace of God go I..... I do a great deal of talking to the big kahuna, and I truly feel in communion with something pretty awe inspiring and wonderful, that assists me in having faith, faith that there is a hidden element to existence and that it is GOOD, as in benevolent.

This is in stark contrast to what I see on the outer screen of life lately. It’s gotten so bizarre that I am frequently left speechless. But that is for another thread, and another time. I know I’ve been attacked a few times by people I thought I knew, who don’t have that connection, and who actually believe I’m a flake when they finally let the truth out. I don’t want to be around people whose inner dialogue is constantly judging others, while hiding their own self hatred. So, even though it hurts sometimes, I’m actually happy when people reveal their true selves. There is a sorting process going on, regardless of whatever else appears to be happening, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Even though the outlook for all life here looks quite grim sometimes, I know deep in my being something else is also happening. And, I get the sense that it needs to happen. I just need to keep on keeping on, and put my trust in that which has never let me down. And have faith, faith in something unseen, but oh so very real. All the cards are not played yet. So, I’ll just keep on farming, living on the land, and try to stay as neutral and aware as I can. Until next time, farm on....
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....
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Spiritwind
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Re: Farm Life

Post by Spiritwind »

Today is going to be a bit of a rough day for me, but I’m going to bite the bullet and get er done. I have someone coming over later this afternoon to help me load up our big buck. It’s so sad, because he is beautiful and sweet, but he is the one I noticed with what appeared to be a bum leg or hip even when he was little, but I was hoping it was just maybe an injury. It’s getting worse, and I can’t use him for breeding or even sell him for someone else to use. So I will be taking him, and the two little wethers I haven’t had any bites on in several weeks to a woman who lives nearby and takes animals to auction. I hate to do it, and I feel a deep sadness I can’t shake at the moment. Hay has been so ridiculously high, and with our current income situation I need to think of the rest of the herd, so the money I get will help buy more.

I have the other buck, and one doeling, up for sale too. That will put me at 7 goats, plus the three of my friends. If it gets even tougher, I may have to sell a couple more too. I did put in a job application at a grocery store not too far from home, that I actually used to work at 22 years ago and is where I met my husband. They apparently have new owners and are going to be doing some hiring. They said they would be calling people this week to set up some interviews. Fingers crossed on that! I don’t think they will require the jab(s), which is a big issue for me in looking for work. Most places want you to have them as a condition for working there, and that’s just something I’m not ever going to do under any circumstances. I haven’t had an actual job outside the home since 2015, so that should be interesting. I did pick up an application at a little motel in the small town north of here, but don’t plan on filling it out or turning it in. The woman at the front desk looked to be East Indian, and had a strong accent. She was the owner, and I’m fairly certain she would require the jab, and plus with my hearing problem I wouldn’t be able to understand her so it’s a no go there. From there I’ll have to look a little farther from home, if the other one doesn’t pan out.

Wow, a week has sped by and I’m just getting back to this. I don’t have much time this morning either. Good news, hopefully, is that I have an interview at the grocery store this morning, and maybe have a job! Just in the nick of time, too! Not sure how far I’ll get with this, but at least worth trying to catch up a bit. I did take those three goats that day, as hard as it was, and actually got more for the two little boys than I was originally selling them for. Absolutely no bites on the buck I still currently have up for sale though. He is too nice to take where I took the other three, so will sit on him for a bit. I did find a good deal on a ton of hay, so I’m saved for another couple months there. My husband did get the linoleum put on the milk stanchion for me, so in the next couple days we’re going to try out the milk machine. I could be milking all 5 girls, but my hands can’t handle it. I’m currently milking three and getting close to a gallon a day. My hands definitely don’t like it, plus we’re having issues with refrigeration. It’s always something.

And yesterday we finally got the honey extractor out, cleaned it up, and went for it. It was a fairly warm day, but my husband took a torch to heat up the sides to help speed it up. We filled a 5 gallon bucket about a quarter full from four frames, and have 12 more to go, so should get a pretty good amount. It’s a hand crank affair, so my husband got a work out. It was kind of exciting though, and we’re looking in to what we can do with the wax. You have to scrape off the caps the bees make to keep the honey in the little cells they fill, and we had some laying on the ground on some cardboard. It turns out the goats really like it. I’m still leaving them out most of the day to keep feed costs down, and they are showing me every single place I need to bolster the fencing. A whole corner of raspberry bushes that were putting on berries is gone! And another section they mowed down too that was easier to fix. The other one is going to take a little more work because it’s on a steep hillside that I didn’t think they could do much damage from. I was wrong. These bigger girls can just push things over with their weight, and they don’t call them goats for nothing. Mountain climbing is what they do, when given the opportunity.

I’ve got to get jumping pretty quick, but life just doesn’t seem to be slowing down. My son gets out on Monday, which is coming right up. I have a feeling I will be helping him write his story of the last 6 years, as it’s been a serious eye opener for him, on several levels. So much he hasn’t been able to share with every phone call being recorded and every email read. It’s going to be a big adjustment for us all. I can’t say I’m looking forward to dealing with the various people he will be reporting to upon his release, as in many ways he still won’t be free. It’s worth it to help him get back to being a dad, and be able to physically be there for them. It’s been hard on them, especially with me not being able to take them to see him this last couple years. I won’t do the PCR test or wear a mask though, and even now they are enforcing another lockdown. So ridiculous, as even after 3 jabs, it just keeps making its rounds, and they keep doing the same thing that doesn’t work. I believe that constitutes a sign of insanity, on a very large scale. I plan to be dosing myself pretty good with MMS for a few days after he gets out, just to be safe. I’m more worried about what the injections have done than getting sick from whatever this really is that’s been going around and around. In fact, it’s the jabbed that are continuing to get sick and having more health problems than the currently unjabbed feral population.

I did go for the job interview, and I’m hired! This ought to be interesting, after just tending the farm for the last 6 years. Just hope my son and my husband can hold down the fort with me being gone almost half the time. Excited to catch up financially, though. I have no doubt we’ll be sliding through by the skin of our teeth with what is to come by this fall. But I feel a whole lot better now. So much more going on here, but will just cover the highlights. One is that our dog, Nahla, is coming into heat here soon. She’s not full on, yet, but this time around she is not so intimidated by Ranger trying to hump her and going around with his nose up her butt. She’s laid into him a few times. So, I’m guessing, that will put puppies coming by October, when Ranger will be 8 years old, and they would be ready to go around Christmas time. A little nervous on that, since I haven’t done the puppy thing in a very long time. But we’ll do it just once. Both these dogs are just so awesome, and even though everyone seems to have bred their LGD’s this year, I think I’ll be able to move them on, except for one, as many have expressed interest after meeting them. Of course, there will be pictures galore then : ) they are ridiculously cute when puppies.

I’m not sure if we will be doing the next Farmer’s Market at the Grange in August or not. Long story, but one of the board members went and applied for and got a permit to sell hot dogs at the market, which then alerted the Tri-County Environmental Health Department that we even had a market, and they sent an inspector out to check us out, mainly to see if she was practicing safe food handling. Funny thing is, she didn’t even come, and the lady didn’t even really look at what we had on our tables. Still, the core group of me and my friend, Carol, plus the three younger women who have been coming every time, are prepared to just set up somewhere else, and call it an exchange, and not a Farmer’s Market. If we only accept donations, gifting, and trade or barter, then technically we’re not selling. We still might get questioned at some point, but we can just keep moving around. We have quite a network of people catching on to this idea, so we don’t have to advertise to the general public. And I’m sorry, but no rules are going to stop me from growing food, making cheese, and networking with others to create a system to survive after it all crashes, which everyone in our little groups clearly see coming.

First time in years we haven’t been choking on smoke all summer long. But the weather has become very unpredictable. I’m going to an all day class with my friend next weekend to learn more about growing more food for the goats, and we may end up still having to find alternatives to our usual pet foods we buy. And hopefully we’ll be able to get that inverter we need, which of course has just kept going up in price, for our solar system. We’re going to need it. And even filling the two 100 gallon propane tanks this year is going to be close to double what we were paying. I don’t know how people are going to survive. So many people still don’t seem to have a clue. And they clearly have the unthinking public primed for the next wave, as I’ve already seen more people wearing masks again, even without the mandates. The ones that get me are those wearing them in their cars.

I think I covered enough on this segments farm news. Sometimes I wake up and truly can’t understand how I ended up in this place, as it often feels so foreign to me, but somehow I still find ways to find joy in my everyday life. I also have moments when I’m hopping mad, like when the goats eat my raspberry bushes, and times when the information about our world coming my way is just so depressing I want to cry, but yet somehow we just gotta keep going. What else is there to do? At least I get to live my day to day life in the land of milk and honey. What more can one ask for?
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Spiritwind
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Re: Farm Life

Post by Spiritwind »

Another beautiful summer day, and a day off for me, sort of. Of course, the work on the farm never stops, but I managed to get through my first week on the new job. After being home working here for the last 6 to 7 years, and sometimes hardly seeing any people except my husband for weeks on end, it feels very strange to be amongst the throngs of humanity in a medium size rural grocery store again. People seem to really enjoy the story about how I met my husband there 22 years ago, and it does feel like life kind of goes around in a circle at times.

I’m having a hell of a time trying to squeeze out time to write anything. It’s been quite the last few weeks here, and the days just keep slipping away. My son has been out for 12 days now (since July 18) and had his two sons over for the first 6 days he was out. He had the youngest one for the first three days by himself, which was really good, because he really needed that time to bond with him and have one on one time. The older boy was away at football camp, and being a teenager tends to dominate his dad’s time if he can. Lots more to share there, and I had a mishap with my right index finger where I smashed and punctured it, so got a sprain and a bad infection to boot. Just now recovering. I have to race off to work soon, so once again, I’ll have to come back to this.

At least the garden is still growing, whatever the very long necked long tongued goats haven’t been able to reach. Bigger goats means more milk, but also more trouble they can get in to. The main highlights since I last wrote are basically a lot of repetition. The gardens are growing, it finally got hot enough for some things to really produce, such as the many herbs and potatoes. Don’t know if the squash is going to get enough summer to do much, though the plants are growing well. The goats have been bad, but that’s goats for you. This batch seem particularly smart, in that once they find a good eating area, the will go back, and they also learned our routine. I have one out of the six does I have, five of which are still in milk, that knows when 6 pm rolls around, and will purposefully elude my son’s efforts to catch her and put her in for the evening. That’s one of his assigned jobs since I started working.

Ok - more time has flown by. I’ll see if I can finish this. So much to write about, but so little time. The big thing that has impacted my life this last couple of weeks is a strange little story I started to mention above. Almost two weeks ago tomorrow (which is a Sunday), I was showing my son my routine with the chickens. I’ve hurt myself many times since our farm life undertaking, so when I got my right index finger caught with the fence panel and gate, it hurt, but I didn’t give it much thought and just kept going. I noticed when we drove into the city that day it kept hurting more and more on the drive, but couldn’t visually see anything wrong except a slight tiny black spot in the left corner of my fingernail. I wondered if I punctured it, but it seemed odd there was so little evidence. By Monday it was clear something was wrong, and I figured I must have jammed it pretty good and possibly sprained it. As usual, I went to my husband who practiced as a physician’s assistant when in the military and for a few years when he got out. I put ice on it for the swelling, but the pain did not decrease. In fact it did the opposite.

I was supposed to work Tuesday through Thursday, with just Friday off, then four days in a row scheduled after that. I knew it wasn’t going to be fun, with me still learning the ropes and the store being advantageously situated to be exceptionally busy. Not only that, but we have a large number of very poor people, who qualify to get food cards, but also still manage to have money for cigarettes and lots of alcohol. Also, apparently, a lot of meth heads. Some very nice people mixed in, but the rest are not always a pleasant crowd. Energetically for me, after isolating out here, and only choosing to be around those of like mind, it’s quite an assault on my psyche. Add to the that the fact that my finger was punctured, and a hefty infection set in, was a recipe for misery of the likes of which I have not experienced in a long time.

By Wednesday I realized the infection was worse than anything I had ever experienced, and was beginning to think I really would have to go to a dreaded establishment medical doctor. It didn’t help that the infection was so bad it affected my mind, and I worried I might be having LSD flashbacks. So, even though I was new at the job, I let the manager know I might have to call in the next day. I’m sure they weren’t very happy about it when I did just that the next day. Good thing I did though. I got it better enough in two days to go back to work on Friday and work the four days they had me scheduled for, but it truly was a marathon of endurance for me.

I tried taking some antibiotics I had prescribed for me when I had the mishap with the injury I had around my left ear last winter, but they made me sick as hell. The codeine I took didn’t do much for my overall condition either, even though it temporarily took away the pain. Finally I came to my sense, and remembered I had kratom. It work as well, without the crappy side effects of codeine. I also scrapped the antibiotics in favor of MMS, which finally helped me turn the corner. I couldn’t treat it as much during the four days I was working, but I have now been home a few days to give it extra attention and soak it in betadine as well. I might finally be able to go back to work without having my finger all covered and bandaged up, and maybe just have a bandaid on it. It was oozing a most noxious liquid that is not a good fit with handling food.

And the last thing I’ll make time to mention is we finally got a new inverter for our solar system. Quite the milestone, as my husband rewired it all to make the system 24 volt, and it does look like it’s producing much more power. The rising costs of fuel were kicking us in the pants, so he was quite motivated to get more efficiency out of it. There is so much more I could write about, but time has become quite precious, and the exhaustion pretty overwhelming at times. I won’t be working this job for very long, unless they let me go down to very part time hours, like a couple days a week. And my son is looking hard for work too. As soon as that happens, the need for me to work kind of goes away. We’ve got to take our newer better car in for transmission repairs, as it’s been sitting since last fall, and also have a little story to tell about our propane fiasco and seeming refrigeration problems, but I’ll have to save it for later. My son has had a very interesting time since his release as well, but again, I’ll have to save it.

Just thought it would be nice to pop my head in here and let ya’all know I’m still kicking. Just trying to keep on keeping on, in preparation for whatever is ahead.
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Re: Farm Life

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Just a few minutes to jot down a few thoughts here. Not much time, as usual, until I either quit working this outside job or cut my hours in half at least. In any event, I just want to say that for anyone still in denial about what is heading our way, you have very little time left to wake up and prepare. Being a farmer, I know lots of farm type folks, and things are definitely changing fast. Which is why I’m working now, even though it’s a huge challenge for me. Too many things left to take care of here at the last minute. I don’t even look at info about what’s coming out left, right, and center, about these clot (heart attack, sudden adult death, etc etc) shots, because I haven’t the stomach for it. I knew way back when, but of course the majority wasn’t listening.

I got a whopping 30 buttercup squash last year off of two plants, and this year I’m not sure if I am going to get any. And we’re throwing up a greenhouse next spring, no matter what it takes. My son is off to a job interview, and sometime soon I will write about what his actual experience was in the system, and actually still is, as even once you are out, it isn’t over. It’s not what most people believe, that I know for sure. No amount of preparations, I fear, are going to be enough, but what gets me through is faith. Sounds stupid, but really it isn’t. I already see more fear in people’s eyes and so many are wearing their face diapers again, thinking this somehow makes them safer. Yet I go to work each day and handle so many iffy things. I couldn’t do this if I was afraid. Others I talk to who are on the more aware side are “getting it done”, whatever they have been putting off. I have some major dental work, and I’m going to find a way to get it done here in the next month or two, because putting it off is not a good idea.

I still need to sell a couple goats, one of this years doelings and the buck I still have. That will put me down to just seven goats, plus my friend’s three. And it looks like we might get hay in to last the winter just in the nick of time. My friend took a class on growing our own food for the animals, and next year should be interesting, if indeed we can get anything to grow. I plan to try my hand at growing mangel beets. Thank god for the little milk machine I’m finally using. Make sure you take the extra time to ensure that whatever food you have stashed is protected from the elements and critters. Nothing like going for your stash and find it all ruined. Not a good feeling.

Interesting that on this side of the inland northwest (USA) that so many who come through my line at the store blame Inslee and Biden for all our woes. It’s much much deeper than that, and we are all to blame for keeping those blinders on to the truth that has been slapping us in the face for at least the last two years. Ready for the next round of lockdowns? Ready for the bread lines that have already started in other countries? Ready to defend and protect what you do have from desperados with nothing to lose or fear? It’s gonna get real folks. And most importantly, are you ready in a spiritual and emotional way for what is to come? I’m constantly having to assess my inner domain with candid pragmatism.

Anyway, best get jumping, again, and get ready for “the job”. Just want to encourage anyone reading here to not delay, no matter how asleep the folks are around you. Good will ultimately prevail, but it’s about to get bumpy. Love to all, and 100% faith!
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Re: Farm Life

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Been itching to write a post here, but either I’m too tired or too busy. Today is actually no different, but I’m going to get it started anyway. I’ve noticed the three days leading up to the full moon are often times when I don’t sleep well, and last night was one of those nights. Then, just as I was deep asleep, around 6 am, my husband’s phone went off and woke me up. He used his phone to enquire about Medicare and Medicaid, and since then has been inundated with calls, like dozens a day. It’s actually phone harassment, and when he has tried to use spam blockers he ends up not getting any calls at all. So, now I’m tired. But, farm life must go on.

Speaking of which, my son, my husband, and myself all worked on the big boys old pen yesterday, and got it almost done. Hope to finish it today, and get the kids moved over there so I can wean them and start working on cleaning the big barn. It’s now cooling down at night, so mornings and evenings are at least tolerable to get stuff done. Everyone is noticing that our sun is hotter than it used to be, regardless of what the temperature says, and I can’t work directly in it anymore. Anyway, once I move the kids there’s going to be a lot of crying from both moms and their kids for at least three to four days. Gotta do it though. I’ve been trying to sell one of Dotty’s two girls but have not been getting any bites. People are getting very nervous about how unstable our world has become. It’s getting harder to ignore and deny, so they’ve become afraid to commit to anything. And Dotty tends to give everything to her kids, even when it takes from her own health, and she is starting to look quite thin again. I only let them be with their moms a few hours a day, but even that is too much. I’ve sort of decided to keep the one buck I still have, as he is not going to be someone’s dinner. I can use him on almost all the girls I want to breed next year, and he seems to be doing okay being in a pen next to the girls.

So it looks like I will at least get down to 8 goats of my own (once I sell the doeling), which is manageable. Lots happening in the community building efforts, even though it seems like it’s not at the same time. Participation in the markets dropped off throughout the summer, but things might be picking up now. We have another Farmers Market at the Grange this weekend, and should have a couple new participants. Plus, the three regular women that participated throughout the summer have found a spot right off the highway that we can do a Freedom Exchange like we have going in the city starting next spring. They, too, are ready to break free of the systems heavy hand that wants us to get permission and pay to do almost everything (and then basically be told we can’t do all kinds of stuff in the name of “public safety”). We might even start having a monthly People’s Rights meeting out here at the Grange, as more people are getting connected with each other in these different groups and realize it’s a good idea to gather to discuss and strategize in regards to how we, as a community of people who value those rights, intend to keep them, regardless of what our new openly communistic type government has in mind for us.

Working at the grocery store has certainly been interesting. My son is finding that the so called safety protocols he is expected to comply with are making it near impossible to get a job that is suitable. He has a weekly middle of the day meeting he has to attend, and I can feel his frustration mounting. He has put in around 60 applications and some want to hire him, but can’t due to his restrictions. I will have to keep working for now, and since I’ve made it this far, might as well stick it out until the insurance kicks in, and maybe I can take care of my dental issues in a few months. There is some drama amongst some of the employees, and one long time employee just quit without notice. I’ve had a few moments when I’ve struggled to keep my composure, and had one customer from hell experience so far. I wanted to reach across the counter and grab her by the throat, but couldn’t anyway because of the lovely plexiglass barrier they put up on all the check-stands as a safety measure. I won’t tell the whole sordid story, but this lady took the cake. I generally don’t let anyone talk to me that way these days. My bosses response was to “kill her with kindness”, and I responded he got the first part right.

They must be ramping up for something, though, as I just noticed they suddenly had numerous boxes of face masks under the counter to presumably give customers, as well as boxes of expensive home PCR test kits for sale. I seriously hope they don’t start requiring us, as employees, to start wearing masks at work. It will be all over for me then. And I won’t be the only one, either. One good thing about the job is it helps me keep a good pulse on what is actually happening around me, that I wouldn’t get just being home on the farm and only associating with people I know are at least somewhat like minded. I think it’s sort of good for my brain, too, as I have reached a whole new level of multitasking the likes of which I haven’t done in a long time. It’s weird having to pay attention to so many things at one time, especially with my hearing problem. Everyone thinks wearing hearing aids fixes it all, but there is a brain ear interface that is missing with electronic devices, and sometimes it’s all just noise I can’t differentiate. It’s a handicap, for sure, but I’m not going to let it stop me.

I have to say, it was very awesome to have my son here to stack the three tons of hay we just picked up last week. We picked up one ton of the non-GMO hay my friend found the week before, then went back last week with a trailer I borrowed from my friend, Cagney, whose animals I checked in on while he was gone the week before. It’s nice to have good relations with people, who understand the concept of actually helping each other. We were able to get all three tons in one trip, and it’s beautiful hay. And, we’re hoping to use his trailer again to get the last two ton we’ll need for the winter. I know I already mentioned working on the boys pen, but since another couple days has went by, I’m happy to report that we did indeed move the kids to their new pen. It worked just like I hoped (it doesn’t always!), and we took all of them, moms and kids, out for a walk, and on the way back we just went by and my son walked into the pen as they all followed him. I already had hay in the feeder, and it was easy to get all the moms back out. It’s a good sized pen, so they should be pretty happy in there, except for the crying we’ll have to listen to for a few days, from both kids and moms.

Some more good news since just last night. My son finally landed another job, though this one may be a stretch too, as it will be 10 hour days, 6 days a week, from late afternoon to early morning. I know I couldn’t do it. The long hours should, at least, be short term. We’re having more transportation problems too, but it seems it never ends, so won’t bore you with the details. I’m heading off to our market here shortly, so will have to wrap this installment up soon. We’ve got a loose plan to makeshift something over our RV roof in the spot it keeps wanting to puddle and leak. Ultimately we will build something over the entire thing, like a pole building or something, but for now it’s just to get through this winter. We kept putting the stuff that’s supposed to seal it on, but it never seems to last all the way through the winter. The wood stove gets a little bit of hot ash that gets through the screen around the chimney up there, and it will eventually burn holes in the tarp we put on it. We’ve got a few pieces of sheet metal we’re going to use, because by next year, it’s going to need some serious work. Just too much going on this year to make it happen.

The financial end of things has been problematic too. Helping my son upon his release has been spendy, in ways I hadn’t given much thought, such as adding a phone line, adding him to our car insurance, and helping him with gas to do all this running around. He had to have clothes too, and then we had a whopping propane bill due to them coming out to check for leaks, along with buying a bunch of hay. Seems we never really gain on life, no matter how much we strategize, work harder, do with less (and seriously develop the patience of a saint!) But I do see a light at the end of the tunnel, or at least I think I do. Funny thing is, I feel good about our efforts this year to keep the momentum going on developing our barter/trade networks, and even though few in number, there are some very committed souls who share the same vision. I know we’ll look back and continue to be grateful for our efforts.

For me, my whole decision making, planning, and doing, structure of my life has had the voice of spirit leading the way. I do literally sit every morning and focus myself inwardly, and ask for guidance, for support from nature and the divine creator of this realm, to assist me in just being in this reality in a way that induces grace, inner balance, and keeps me almost always in a state of awe and gratitude for what has been given, and how many hidden blessings there really are all around us, if we but take the time to notice. I am able to navigate with a greater level of trust that much more is at work here than just what we see on the surface. For me, it is about living an honorable life, that is true to my inner compass, and helps me cope with the increasing darkness I see manifesting in our world. It is a conscious choice I make, to try to see the light, both within and without, even if it’s a challenge at times. And now, it’s off to work I go. I’m sure there are things I missed, but will have to save for next time. I have some pictures of the garden I’ll post when I have more time. For as funky and weird as it was this summer, gardening wise, it’s pretty amazing what nature is capable of, and I’m surprised in a good way. There is nothing more satisfying that eating what nature has provided, with just a little bit of input from us. I am grateful.
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Re: Farm Life

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I promised a few pictures. The first one is the new garden we put in this year, taken on June 26, probably around a couple weeks after we first planted it. As I think I mentioned, the ground only had about 3 to 4 inches of top soil, with a hard layer of about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick layer of perfect, clean looking dark gray clay that covers decomposing granite. I only had enough time, energy, and help to get the top soil up to about 8 inches with the composting goat poop hay that we clean out of pens. I plan to get it a couple feet deep over time. The other three pictures were taken on August 18, not even two months later, with the last one being the volunteer garden that grew up outside the fenced area around where our grey water comes out. I dug up a couple potato plants and can already tell we did okay. As you can see, the buttercup squash did it’s usual takeover maneuvers. I think it’s beautiful though. And we will eat potatoes and squash all winter long.

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Re: Farm Life

Post by Spiritwind »

It’s not even 7 am and I’m sitting here sipping my coffee in the semi dark, gearing up for another days work. My body hurts and my hands ache and itch. If I wasn’t so motivated to get financially caught up, and could turn off my mind about doing the right thing, I would just quit my job now, instead of working the next two days of this work week, and my last three next week. I did give my two week notice. It’s beating me up bad. And, last week my husband and son, who is his step son, had a few words of the not so good kind. My husband being almost 77, and a 23 years of service veteran, trying to get along with my 42 son who is basically still trying to adjust to the outside world, and has a completely different way of communicating is a recipe for disaster, and they cooked themselves up quite the cake of combustible materials, to put it mildly. Nothing like coming home to a war zone after a day at the zoo, er, I mean, job.

My background in psychology, energy healing, and astrology, along with being a mobile home park manager for years and dealing with people helped me negotiate a truce. Of course, had I been home and not leaving for an outside job several days a week, it probably would not have happened. Both of them are feeling a great deal of stress, for all kinds of reasons, and it gets hard to keep the lid on sometimes. And, let’s face it, everyone can become unreasonable from time to time. I’ve had my share of run away emotions, especially when life demands are great, and I’m mentally and physically exhausted. It makes me wonder about where we are collectively headed in our not too distant future. As I told both of them, we need each other, and we need to have a united front, so we can face the real enemy that is fast approaching.

Anyway, it’s now time to get out and feed all the critters and continue getting ready for the work day. I’ll write more about it when I get a chance to resume here, but briefly we had an awesome visit with my sister and niece who came to visit, even though trying to catch up from 3 years of not seeing each other gave us way too much to talk about. A lot to catch up on, but heart connections are always worth the extra effort. I crammed a lot into those days, which is another reason I’m kind of wiped out and due for a long vacation. But I’ll save the rest of my rambling for later....

A few more minutes of my rambling, while I sit and drink a bit more coffee before getting out to milk. I generally go feed M&M hay, the one and only buck, then the four 6 month old does, and then feed the 6 adult does, who are in two separate pens last. I did move on the last little girl of Dotty’s last weekend, so our total is 11, with 8 of them mine. Pretty close to my goal of 7, and since I couldn’t sell M&M and I have several people who want to use him for breeding this winter, he is just going to stay here. He is way too nice to go for meat. He is in a back pen connected to three of the girls, so although he is alone, he can lay by the fence and feel like he is still part of the herd. He doesn’t seem to be too depressed, or anything. But he is getting stinky as it’s breeding season. Yup, guess I’m not done with that special smell just yet.

And Nahla should be popping out somewhere between 8-10 pups in around 3 weeks, more or less. That should be exciting. Even though it seems everyone decided to breed their LGD’s (livestock guardian dogs) this year, I should still be able to find homes for most just from people who have met our two. I’m bartering one for mechanic work, as I should be finally getting back one of our vehicles that has been at this guy’s place for over 2 years. Geez Louise. At least he finally has the time to get it done and I had the money for parts. It’s an older Mazda Protege, but that car is the best I’ve ever owned, and does great on gas mileage. Plus, the pickup has a serious linkage problem, and I’ve been having my husband drive me to work, as my son has the other vehicle to drive to work. The newer GMC has a computer problem that makes the transmission not want to shift. It’s not the transmission itself, because my husband can reset the computer to factory settings, and it works, but then it keeps reverting to whatever it is that is making it not shift. I don’t like everything being run on these sensors and computer systems now, as you can’t fix them yourself, and of course, the shop we took it to wants to change out the whole transmission for big bucks. I guess I best go milk those 4 girls before I run out of time. Nice to see growing interest in getting milk from me, especially since I can’t keep up with getting over a gallon a day (and I only milk once a day thankfully). Perhaps I’ll get a moment to continue this sooner than later this time. Life in the fast lane....

I’m at work with a few minutes to spare on my lunch. Normally I would call my husband during this time, but somehow he lost his phone on the farm yesterday. Such a crazy place to work. Had a lady win some on some scratch tickets and bought a bottle of Pink Whitney. She came in with her husband not too much later, fighting like cats and dogs and wanted another bottle. Not knowing if she drank it all herself, and the fact that she didn’t act drunk or smell of alcohol, I sold it to her, knowing it was only going to fuel her angry state. It’s a rough call. I felt bad for him though. Such a crazy place to work! I am so ready to take myself out of the “work force” and just be home with the critters. Just one more day, then three next week. Can I do it? It also didn’t help that yesterday the debit/credit/ebt machine wasn’t working properly, and made every single person using a credit or debit card insert the chip three separate times, then swipe it to get it to work. It worked ok if you had a card that you could just tap the screen with, which was only about 20-30 percent of them. This is when you get to see how short a fuse some people have. For some, it’s very short.

So, I’m now on the second day of my 4 days off and finally getting back to this. As expected, I was completely wiped out yesterday. It’s like my whole body was screaming at me, and the deep fatigue could not be blasted through. We did go get the trailer to haul hay with, and I had a nice conversation with Cagney who is noting how many different groups he has connected with, with some splintering off to form their own because they have a different focus, belief system, or expectations. Many are missing the point entirely. The whole idea is to establish a trade networking system, outside of the mainstream, lamestream, one we currently operate within, as it is going to disappear. As long as someone supports the idea of individual rights and freedoms over our health and medical choices, what we believe and the right to have healthy food to eat, and understands that what we have fast approaching is not for our benefit, then I most likely will be willing to do business with them. Some of these groups are not only Christian but tend to be exclusive in their belief system, and others are focused on being anarchists, who want to debate and exclude ideas they feel don’t support that, to those who still support the political system as it currently exists. There are others too, who are more radically moving towards independence, which is all well and good, but this is a time to create community ties that will help sustain us through the rough times ahead. Pretty much if someone shows up with good intentions, whether they are completely on the same page as myself, that good enough for me.

And now it’s the next day again. I never used to have such a hard time writing a post here, but it’s turned into a marathon of endurance. I just don’t give up. That’s pretty much the way I approach life, is to not give up. I may make some detours, have to slow down due to challenging conditions or modify my approach somewhat, but I do just keep going. We went and picked up the two ton of hay yesterday from an older guy who actually wasn’t trying to gouge everyone on the price. My husband, my friend, Carol, and I unloaded it. They were approximately 80 pound bales, so it wasn’t too bad. And Carol had picked me up some more kratom which I made into capsules. It really does help with pain, and I much prefer to take it rather than ibuprofen. This should help me get through that last three days of work. I do know part of it is that I am not able to keep up my usual routine of things I do for my health, as well as doing things I know aren’t helping too. Those Starbucks mocha drinks I’ve been having to perk me up in the morning at the store, along with something generally sweet to go with it don’t help. It’s unfortunate, but I simply can’t be willy nilly about these things, or I pay a steep price. Which is also why I’m slightly stunned by what people buy there everyday, in such large quantities. Those energy drinks being one of the worst offenders. Especially young people. They never ask themselves why they are always tired, nor quit drinking the damn things even when their gut hurts. Whoever came up with those is making a killing, literally.

I have the market at the Grange tomorrow, so need to pull it together and make more cheese and my mini carrot cakes, and then be ready to do another cheese making class the following Saturday. Just a small group of us seem to feel almost a sense of obligation to keep reaching out, making those connections, and trying to connect people together who can mutually benefit one another. We know it’s important, and it’s almost like we can’t help ourselves. No one is cracking the whip telling us we must do these things, and in fact, for most we are the only ones in our extended families feeling thusly motivated. I do often wonder why.

We’ve got to take the trailer back this morning, but that worked out well for both of us. Cagney needed a few bales for his two sheep and the guy we got it from gave us a few extra bales we can drop off when we take it back. I also have a couple younger guys from our group coming after the market Saturday to cut some of the dead trees down for firewood for us. My husband is building a semi roof over our RV to get us through another winter, and he tends to not do things half ass. And he just can’t work like he used to. As hard as it is to ask for help, I am so grateful that when I need it most it seems to be there for me. I can chop wood alright, as long as I don’t try to swing the splitting maul, but I can’t run a chain saw anymore. Too many problems with my neck, back, and shoulders these days, not to mention the arthritis in my hands. I am going to try the boron in small amounts every day soon, as my friend, Carol, says it did help her, like, a lot. Always something new to try and learn.

Anyway, I’ve droned on and on long enough I think, even though there is no doubt more I could think of to write about. Will harvest potatoes and squash soon, and still getting tomatoes slowly ripening. We have not had a freeze here yet. Not bad for October. I’m going to take the dowsing rods out in a few minutes to give it one last effort at finding my husband’s phone. Wouldn’t that be a miracle? Stranger things have happened. Time to get crackin....
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....
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Spiritwind
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Re: Farm Life

Post by Spiritwind »

Fire’s a crackling in the background, and I’m sitting here contemplating my day. I’ve been officially unemployed from the outer work world now for a week, and still kind of decompressing. I have so much to do here on the farm, to catchup on, I feel kind of overwhelmed and having trouble just picking something and going for it. Our dog, Nahla, will most likely be giving birth soon, so probably working on where she will be when she first has them is probably my biggest priority today. We already have a shelter, but it needs to be improved on.

Having it still dark when I normally get up isn’t helping my motivation to get “out there”. My husband made a jig to make a roof of sorts to go over our RV. Can’t leave it the way it is for another winter. So he is quite preoccupied with that job. We did get all the hay in and managed to find the last two ton reasonably priced. It’s good to know the goats will be able to eat until next spring, and it’s all good looking hay. I need to get new tarps on a number of things, plus clean pens, and now that the burn ban has been lifted, get the pile of mostly tree limbs gone. My friend I get 2 gallons of milk from every week is bringing two of her does over to get bred to M&M in the next couple weeks. It seems like I blink, lately, and another week has gone by and I wonder where it went.

It must be time for some kind of vacation, even just a full 24 hours away from the farm. I have been milking every day now for over a year and a half, and I’m feeling a bit weighed down by it all. Plus, trying to make 3-4 batches of cheese each week, and markets twice a month, makes me quite ready for it all to wind down for the season. And, we have a big change of weather coming in just a few more days. So far, we haven’t had a frost here, though others who don’t live too far away have. It’s been a very mild, sunny, and beautiful fall here that I wish was going to last even longer. I have to admit the markets have given me the opportunity to get more connected to those of like mind, and we’re finding each other like never before.

And, the big news, since I started writing this yesterday, is that Nahla had nine puppies yesterday afternoon and into the evening. Boy, did we scramble to finish the shelter! She started having them in the dirt hole she had dug under the RV, and the poor things were just covered in dirt. We finished the shelter and got her moved, where she had a few more. I just went and checked on them this morning and they are all clean, dry, noisy, warm, and adorable. What a good momma she is too! She tries to be careful about laying on them, which is difficult, because even though they can’t see, they are moving around a lot! So it looks like we’re going to be in our own little puppy heaven here.

Looks like we’re going to temporarily have an addition to the farm, maybe through the winter. My fellow Freedom Exchanger just sold his house and him and another guy in our group are now earnestly looking to buy land. In the meantime, he is ready, so he thinks, to have the off grid experience in preparation for their future raw land adventure of their own. This should tune him up real good. He had a ton of stuff in his two story house he had with his two teenaged kids, one of whom has cerebral palsy. They will be staying with their mom through the school year, but he is very motivated to get situated so he can continue to participate in being there for them. I’ll be fixing up the spare pen today, so he can put his chickens in there. He was going to keep them at a friends, but sometimes it doesn’t take long for people to feel like you are asking too much from them. And, granted, he wasn’t too organized for this move. But, sometimes life sneaks up on you, and the hustle is on.

For me, this all highlights the fact that it appears to have been a good idea these last few years to have had the time to adapt to the changes my husband and I have made in the way we live our life. When I compare it to people who live in the city, and even observe my sons reaction to some of the stuff we deal with daily, I can see that the world is not ready to go backwards in time, to where people truly knew how to take care of themselves without a parent figure such as our government supposedly taking care of them. All good, if you don’t mind being somewhat institutionalized. I mean, every aspect of our life now. I just received a big packet of information about Medicare, because I’m turning 65 in a few months. Ah, no thank you. I’m not going to put myself through that convoluted mess. Nor give out my phone number so I can be harassed day and night on my phone, like my husband was when he inquired into getting Medicare, part B. I don’t receive food stamps, so won’t have a complete breakdown when that suddenly either isn’t enough because food has gone sky high, or even worse, is no longer available. Probably a full third of the people I waited on at the store, plus even most of the people who worked there, received this assistance. I’ve gotten used to living in a small space, without luxuries such as a flushing toilet, and endless electricity you still have to pay for. Yes, we do pay for it some with the gas we use, but with the solar, even if we couldn’t get much gas, we will still have power for necessities, with the exception of powering the well pump. And even at that, there is a source of year around running water not far away.

Fortunately for me, I’ve also gotten used to very little interaction online, so won’t be crushed if the internet goes away. We don’t have garbage service, or cable tv. Small things, really, but I have see how people struggle with these kind of changes. My life seems slower, but it’s vastly entertaining in a whole different way. I have a very healthy microbiome, and I spend a great deal of time outdoors in every kind of weather. I can go outside and can’t tell you how awesome and grateful I am to be completely surrounded by big, tall, beautiful trees. They literally form a circle around our living space. And I have time to self reflect on a daily basis, which in a way, is priceless.

Another small development in our mutual endeavors by some of us who do see where the narrative is being steered, is a small group being formed to share thoughts and ideas from our reading of the Ringing Cedars series of books. I read several of them back in 2011, and had just thought about re-reading them. The ideas presented in them already profoundly affected me, and having just re-read the first one I can see just how much my life has changed in the last 11 years. And gardening is right at the forefront of all that we’re trying to do here. It’s so much more than just putting seeds in the ground, watering them, watching them grow, then harvesting them. The joy we get from eating the food the elements have provided for us is quite phenomenal too. Nature is truly amazing, and my appreciation for the opportunities it affords to grow into the best version of myself is incalculable.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on a bit, and will have more to add, with pictures, in just a few days, but best get going on my long list of things I need to get done. My energy, motivation, and will to get things done is finally returning. Maybe I’ll almost get caught up, even if marginally so, before the snow flies. And now, I think I’ll go get me some puppy love.....

Oh yeah, and my husband did not find his phone, and I couldn’t locate it either. He is quite happy with his new phone, though, and kind of wanted to get one anyway. I wasn’t keen on the idea, but, he has to have one, and he does use it for everything now that we got rid of our satellite internet service. It’s true you can find information about almost anything you want to know, right at your fingertips. YouTube is kind of awesome, in a way, in that it allowed anyone to share how to stuff, even though they censor anything they feel threatens their hold on the flow of information. Some things just aren’t allowed, but you can still find it, if you know how and where to look. Glad to know so many have downloaded onto flash drives much of what has been removed. And there is a growing army of us who are singing like canaries to anyone who wants to know, about those forbidden subjects. They can’t shut us all up!
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....
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