Farm Life

[Sandy Clark]

Good Luck

[Naga_Fireball]

I felt the need to say something uplifting again regarding the Farm Life saga & Sandy's kindness.

Spiritwind seems like a very open, honest person. I was standing in my kitchen just now and it hit me.

People who hate lies, who can't stand the layers of misery and dishonesty in the city, people who love truth and love the pure, natural, harmonious world as it was created or evolved, are often drawn to a life like Spiritwind is describing.

The distractions are so few, the rewards so great: there is no substitute for freedom.

People who grow up in the city also grow up with its lies, its dark secrets, its sin. Those of us who reach out with our minds and not just our checkbooks, we eventually cannot help but see the writing on the wall.

It may look small from the distance imposed by our human limitations, but eventually our ship reaches harbor & for too many people, that harbor turns into a wall.

Just like the famous near death sequence in Jim Carrey's The Truman Show, where the protagonist sails a boat to the edge of the set he lives on, not realizing until he hits the wall that it even exists to limit him, we are all voyaging somehow.

Some of us are broken by that wall, by the storms that drive us toward what seems like the end, but sometimes a very lucky individual breaks through as they break up.

The minority report will never be a popular opinion. But we have the right to stand up for what we believe is true, to keep searching for the watchtower, to shine the light wherever our hearts lead us.

Sometimes we find nothing but a dumpster, but occasionally we find a doorway.

Spiritwind's farm is definitely a doorway out of the dumpster of City living.

[Christine]

Spiritwind, your writing deserves a larger audience. It brings to me a recall of times when women pioneers journaled, the real comes through in everything you write ... I can't think of anything more to say right now other than thank you.

P.S. Let us know how the cloud buster turns out, so exciting you are finally making one. Oh, one more thing, a question: Do you notice a correlation in the amount of chemtrails, negative energies, counter currents just after you have a break through of any sort?

[Spiritwind]

I started to write something up for this thread a couple days ago, and then ended up writing something else that was heavily on my mind. Sometimes it feels like too much in my head and I have trouble sorting it all out. So I went to the Earth Day event on Saturday, which was quite the experience. I barely recovered enough from a health issue to be there, and it probably made a comeback because I wasn't able to attend to it as diligently that day. But it was worth it to be there anyway.

I have been complaining about not selling any goats for the last month. This is the first time it has happened to me and I'm sure there are a number of factors that have contributed. It has helped me to realize that one shouldn't count their chickens before they hatch, LOL. The thing that makes it the hardest is that I have trouble letting them go as it is. So if it happens swiftly it isn't as hard on me. There is no guarantee that any of them will have a good life, but I still can't help feeling a sense of responsibility anyway. And I can't help feeling weird about assessing the various qualities to determine who I should keep. For some reason it makes me think about slave traders and how they assess human qualities to determine value. How did empathy for all life ever leave the building? It does make me wonder.

I actually have someone coming to look at the two wethers I have this week. I really should have tried to sell them as bottle babies back when they were born in October, but I wasn't set up to start milking mom having just moved at the time. You want to have ample access to running water if you are going to be milking due to the need for strict adherence to cleanliness. And it was an exceptionally hard winter so it would not have been fun for either of us at the time. So now I have fed these two boys all winter long. They are looking good but it was not a financially sound decision from a farming point of view. Live and learn I guess. And I grow more attached to the two doelings I am trying to sell everyday. Annie is still squeezing out of the fence and hangs out with the little guy Raven who is starting to learn to hold his own. This little girl is cute as a bugs ear for some reason. Kind of standoffish and independent, yet attracted to her food source (me) at the same time. Gods, I wish I could keep them all!







It's still been raining a lot so not much outside work has been done unfortunately. But we did complete the cloud buster and the only thing I have noticed is that our neighbor Dick up the road has stepped up his bad case of insanity. At least it's not been directed at us. He has his oldest sister living in a cabin right next door to him who is quickly deteriorating healthwise. Another classic case of the system having very wide cracks in it. Her insurance does not cover anything like a nursing home at this stage, even though she is incontinent and almost bedridden and clearly cannot take care of herself. So her son and his girlfriend have been staying there most of the winter going through the process of trying to get help for her. I can't imagine what criteria they are using to make an assessment of her condition.

Anyway, Dick doesn't want her there anymore and doesn't want any part of taking care of her. So this last week he went over to her cabin and had a total meltdown, making all kinds of threats to call the sheriff and have them all thrown out. Her son (Dicks nephew) proceeded to call his bluff and called an ambulance to take her away. They took her to the hospital and said she didn't qualify to be there and so they took her home, back to Dicks. And the nephew and his girlfriend who has been doing most of the care taking moved back down to their own residence. The very next day Dicks wife shows up at their place and has to ask them to come back and help with her, complaining about how she was laying in a pile of crap. Of course neither one of them want to stay there anymore and can't really afford to drive back and forth everyday. And Dick and Jane (not her real name) don't want to inconvenience themselves in any way. There is even more to the story (a third cousin's dog - that barked a lot- the nephew had to take care of for a few days, and we all know how Dick feels about dogs, LOL). The guy is seriously unraveling. A lifetime of people catering to his need for a sense of control has left him quite incapable of adapting to things he can't control. I almost feel sorry for him (almost).

I have more to write about this last weeks events, (and answer Christine's question) but must get out there before it starts dumping rain again. Reading what I wrote above brings a wry (to clarify, as in a dry sense of humor) smile to my face. I am grateful to be who I am. And I am grateful to be where I am. And so, I bid you adieu for now...

[Naga_Fireball]

Dearest Spiritwind, regarding the old lady, I'd call Adult Protective Services or a cop who deals with elder abuse in hospice care.

Unfortunately Dick truly is unraveling and the state must intervene there, imo, that's really sad.

Here is the link, don't let them blow you off, they need to rescue that old biddy

https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and- ... ble-adults" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Report Concerns Involving Vulnerable Adults
*** PLEASE CALL 911 IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY ***

All reports will be screened by Adult Protective Services and/or Residential Care Services. If the person is in immediate danger, call 911. You do not need proof to report suspected abuse and you do not need to give your name. If you are a provider filing a mandatory report, please complete a Residential Care Services Online Report.


When You Report

You will be asked to give the person’s name, address, contact information and details about why you are concerned. You will also be asked for your name and number or some way of contacting you if the investigator has follow up questions. Unless there is a court action, law enforcement has been called in, or you agree, your identity is confidential. If you report in good faith, you cannot be held liable for any damages resulting from reporting.

Making a False Report

Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 74.34.053 Failure to report — False reports — Penalties, Section (2) states that:

a person who intentionally, maliciously, or in bad faith makes a false report of alleged abandonment, abuse, financial exploitation, or neglect of a vulnerable adult is guilty of a misdemeanor.

What to Expect After Making a Report

The report will be triaged and prioritized for investigation. A DSHS staff member may contact the reporter for more information. All reports are confidential (public disclosure or other state and federal regulations may apply).

Links to Other Resources

Adult Protective Services
Residential Care Services
Chapter 74.34 RCW Abuse of Vulnerable Adults
Learn About the Types of Adult Abuse
Washington State Department of Health
Washington State Medical Examiner’s and Coroner’s Offices
Additional DSHS Mandated Reporter online resources

It's not fun stuff!! I'm sorry that is happening next door.


Those are the best photos, you guys are extremely photogenic and the guests are really energetic looking. Very promising projects i hope!!

Perhaps the orgonite is trying to clear the shittiness up the hill to its source, eek. Dick deserves his own head checked for treating his own family like animals

[Spiritwind]

I haven't written anything here on Farm Life in a long time. Several reasons for that. One, I was sick as hell for most of three weeks. Plus, we had a house guest for all of that time. In the end it didn't work out very well, but that is a story not to be told here. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the outcome either of us planned, and that's all I am going to say.

But farm life does indeed go on. I can say that being too sick to care for my usual farm duties was not a good feeling. It also made me realize how many little things I do everyday, that don't seem like much until you can't do them or have to have someone else help you with them.

During that time, on the few good days I had, I did manage to landscape and plant a bunch on the hillside right next to our fifth wheel. Even though I fenced the top side of it that dang dog, Ranger, has been coming up from down below where the horse is and having a good old time when we let him out at night. That is very unfortunate. This weekend we are going to put up a shorter fence on that side so he can't get in there anymore. He trashed my peony plant that is getting ready to bloom. It did make me very sad, and I'm not planting any more in there until I fix it so he can't get in there.

I know I try to make it sound interesting, but in reality farm life can be somewhat boring and repetitive, especially to city folk who are used to a much more fast paced lifestyle. We've had people come out here and tell us how pretty it is, but also how they couldn't live out here. And it is bug heaven (or hell) out here right now, with a veritable smorgasbord of various unidentifiable and sometimes stinging biting insects, some of which I don't think I've ever seen before. Some of the mosquitos are bigger than I've ever seen them before too. I figure it's because of this last season being considerably wetter than usual. Fortunately we discovered a product called Buzz Away that is all natural and really does keep the bugs off of you. You do have to apply it more frequently, but at least I don't feel like I am applying poison to my skin.

I did finally sell the two little wethers to someone here a couple weeks ago. It was the same day they were spraying the heck out of the skies, with artificial cloud cover and what almost looked like smog to the south hanging over the city. We had placed the cloud buster on my neighbors property to the north and noticed the chemtrails completely disappearing there. With a huge one being formed overhead, I was on my way to meet the potential buyers who had gotten lost so stopped and jumped out to take a picture. I figured then I could take one upon my return, thereby gathering evidence that the cloud buster was actually doing something, but my iPads camera suddenly, for the first and only time, decided not to work. But it does appear that the sky just over head and directly to the north has been quite clear even when there is a lot of spraying going on. I'll have to work on getting pictures again.

I will be watching for signs of labor with our four pregnant does starting mid week next week, as it will be 145 days since I put them with the bucks. I was about three weeks late but finally managed to give them all a dose of selenium gel and a B-complex injection. Plus I'm picking up more raspberry leaves today, to help prepare them for labor. I've also spent time surveying the situation as far as the sun goes, to try and make sure everyone has a place in the shade, especially during the hottest part of the day. It can get up to over a 110 degrees here, which is dang hot! Also finally got Miss Jinjer to let me trim her hooves properly. When my husband made the milk stanchion for me he forgot to put screws in so the pieces of wood that holds their head in can't move around. Which has made it more than a one person job at times. Fortunately goats love their grain. And my husband never runs out of things to do on his ever growing list of five minute honey do jobs, LOL.

Living this way has helped me realize how much of what we do is what we have been programmed to do. In other words, I still wake up with anxiety over the things I think I need to get done, then when I go through them I realize that most of them really aren't an emergency. There is no such thing as perfection and that voice in my head that wants to tell me to hurry up, get it done now, someone might judge you and so on voice can shut the hell up. There is no such thing as perfection, unless of course you are Dick up the road. There are a lot of people who feel they must display a certain "appearance of perfection", and will jump in line to judge you if you aren't meeting their expectations. I found this out when I was a mobile home park manager. In fact, I got quite tired of having to be the enforcer of perfectly weed free, bright green and mowed, lawns. Even though it caused everyone to have a water shortage in the summer. Not to mention the chemical weed killers and fertilizers they had to use. Kind of crazy if you ask me.

Out here it's still pretty much au-natural. Great for goats and the horse though. I've finally been able to let them out several times a week again, to forage and run. And Freckles is back to chasing the goats up and down the road, just cause she can. Still so much to be done to get ready for this next winter. But each week we can cross off something from the list, and we are slowly getting closer to our goals. The big thing has been getting the tractor ready to sell. Since goats aren't moving well this year we figured it prudent to come up with another plan to recover financially from this last winter. Unfortunately we found out that the starter for the tractor was not fixable. When our friend and neighbor used it last winter he kept trying to start it, changing out batteries even, for quite a long time. This is a 1947 Massey Ferguson (edit- it's actually a Harry Ferguson) tractor and I guess it was a six volt starter. Anyway, his repeatedly trying to start it actually wore something out in it. Ah, such is life. And to get a new one is spendy. But we'll figure it out, we always do.

Speaking of my neighbor, I have to scramble and figure out where I am going to put the garden plants he is bringing over. I do not currently have a garden area, and will have to put some kind of protective fence around it. Not complaining though, because any food I can grow is so much better than anything I can buy. And him bringing me plants puts me in a situation where I will make it happen whether I think I can or not. Just do it is my motto sometimes. And I am so grateful for my health returning. I actually was getting worried because my usual efforts were very slow this time, and it drug on for a very long time. I don't make a very good sick person, it's true. I'd rather work on staying well than learning how to become a better sick person though.

We had thought about eventually putting in a couple cabins and doing something like a retreat here, but I've had serious second thoughts about that lately. I wouldn't mind having a place for people to stay, but kind of retreating from reaching out in a social manner these days. In fact, as of late I'm feeling very reclusive and even plan to close the meetup group I started. I did meet a few folks I plan to keep in touch with, but I admit that my own company isn't so bad after all. People are coming together, but still not in the way I envisioned, and I'm still very controversial in most of my views. Never meant to make people uncomfortable, but there's also no going back for me now.

I still have much to learn, and look to just basically learn how to pay better attention to that inner voice. Not the nasty voice of imaginary authority figures who have managed to program part of our subconscious to turn against itself, but the voice of my spirit self that is always with me, but much more subtle and requires effort to hear. It's not hard to tell the difference. It's just that the churning wheel of our collective outer reality is creating quite a feeling of dissonance that I find I have to clear from my field on a regular basis. Just working on myself these days seems quite enough. And balancing both my need to reach out, as well as my need to go within.

For some reason it makes me think about learning to fly. Even though a bird is born with wings and an innate ability to fly, it must still muster up the courage to take that first flight. And from there, the skies the limit. Or maybe there is no limit. I have come to realize that each of us has in some ways created our own prison often based on erroneous beliefs. But the veils they are a thinning.

[Spiritwind]

Baby Goats!

Firefly's two doelings






Mama's Girl and her two doelings (front) and little buckling (back with tan on legs) who was very tiny.

[Blue Rising]

Thank you, Spiritwind. Thank you for being my friend, and thank you for being you.

Oh, lookie, Miss Jinjer got a pedicure! This brought me the biggest smile.

Until, of course, I saw the babies...and then *that* was the biggest smile!

Oh my gosh, isn't it just straight up a blessing to have something born in the midst of this world's shit? Isn't it just a beautiful occurrence ... wow.

You know...what you share may feel boring to you. But honestly, it is very grounding for me. And though I've been in hibernation, I've been loving every moment of your sharing. Please continue. I am sometimes out flying, out where I cannot quite even see the earth any more - I know you understand because you've seen this yourself...and what you share is grounding for me. Big hugs. Huge. Massive.

Much Love,

[Spiritwind]

Learning to fly, or, learning to fly again, seems to be the theme these days. You are one of several wonderful friends who I would not have come to know were it not for our shared but very individual forum experiences. Such an interesting weaving, with the story far from over. So interesting we each joined for different reasons but somehow various events have given us the opportunity to know of one another. Have you ever watched that movie, Never Ending Story? Loved that movie. Anyway, thank you for also being my friend, and for just being who you are (insert big smile and hug).

And, yes, it is straight up a major blessing to have something born, who knows nothing of the madness of the world we have come to find ourselves in. There is pure delight in welcoming new life. It is an honor to participate in. I'm fairly certain that's why I have chosen to be where I'm at right now, for to be honest the care taking of goats has been immensely grounding for me for some reason. And seeing how fragile yet resilient life can be. It reminds me that there is a way to get through this life experience without completely loosing yourself, to be vulnerable yet strong at the same time. I've seen too many give way to hate of one form or another as a response to life's harshness. Caring for baby animals shows you how much a little extra care given with an understanding of the sacredness of all life seems to lead you more towards an ability to still show and be love despite this worlds harshness and wanton disregard or respect for life so inherent in the social order as it is structured today.

The little guy on the left in the following picture must have weighed about a pound at birth. We haven't had one this small before. I had one intense night of anxiety wondering if I should bring him in or leave him with mom. The next morning I ran out to put a little coat on him since it turned quite cold overnight and I was worried he might not have made it, but he did. It's actually not that easy to get them to take a bottle and it is imperative that they get frequent feedings when they are newborn. Since he was nursing so well I didn't want to interrupt that. After we put it on him I looked in to see that the little girl on the right in the picture below had her top inside of her upper eyelids swell up like balloons. It didn't look good at all. The weather went from very warm to a 45 degree drop overnight and very damp to boot. So we brought her in and spent all day yesterday doctoring her up and she looks almost back to normal today. Whew! They are all three pooping and peeing and nursing well which is always a huge relief. Both moms are looking good, and we are still waiting for the other two to give birth.



Fortunately I have someone who has been waiting since last year that wants a couple of this years kids. And I got to drink my first glass of fresh goats milk for this year yesterday which was quite wonderful. Tomorrow my husband is going to build me a three gate combo to get in where the pregnant moms and babies are. I am quite excited about that because we have been using pieces of a cattle panel cut up for gates, with clips to keep them shut (hence occasional heavy swearing). They are a major pain when you are dealing with pushy goats, so I have been climbing over the fence multiple times a day. And every day I'm waking up just a little more stoved up than the day before. I don't really want to walk like Festus from the old Gunsmoke TV show for the rest of my life. It doesn't hurt me when I climb over it, it's just the aftermath of not often used muscles who are telling me how unhappy they are. I really should start doing yoga.

And, Blue Rising, it was your personal sharing on the What's Happening thread back in the day that helped give me the courage to just be as authentic and real in the sharing of self as I can muster up. In fact, the sharing of many has been an inspiration. There is much to be gained, even though we each travel our own path, with the sharing of our mutual journeys. I guess it is, in a way, a story we all write.

[Spiritwind]

I'm still waiting for the other two does to kid. Cry Baby will probably go when I least expect it, and as big as she is most likely will have four. I hope I'm there when it happens. Often the last one needs help when there are that many. I've been pitch forking massive amounts of poop/hay this last week. Took the opportunity when two of the pens were open while we were moving things around to make more room and shade for them. I can't handle trying to throw this stuff over the four foot fence like my neighbor can. Can I dare say, that was some heavy shit : )

And the new gates are about half way done. It feels good to be making some of the improvements I've wanted for them since we moved onto the property last year. Being mostly raw land with lots of brush and very uneven ground it's kind of a slow steady process. The goats do a great job of eating the brush down but the roots can be a problem when you are trying to smooth out the high and low spots so the cattle panels fit on the ground right. But we should be able to make all their pens a little bit bigger by this fall.

Which makes me think of the fence we are starting to put up for the dogs, so they too will have a much larger area. They should end up with a good acre or so, which is more than most have. This last weekend my husband wanted to put in some fence posts along the access road down to our driveway from Dick's gate. I couldn't figure out why he insisted on putting them so close to the road. I'm even telling him that if he doesn't move them back some I will probably end up hitting the corner ones trying to pull in and out this winter. Then we got another Dick letter, this time attached to the road sign on the corner of our property a couple days ago. I haven't read it myself. Trying to keep the good mood going. But evidently he has a problem with where my husband put the fence posts. Now I know why he did that. Oh my.

The two friends I met through the meet up group I had invited me to go with them last week to an herb farm where they have done some work. When we got to the herb farm I met a young couple they had staying with them in their RV that were from Texas. I guess there is this thing called WWOOFing, (http://wwoofinternational.org/how-it-works/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), world wide opportunities on organic farms. The concept is to allow people to live on these farms and work so many hours a day for a place to stay, food, and hands on experience to get started on their own. I think it's a great idea. Plus it's worldwide so some people do this to also learn about other cultures at the same time, and the farmers get some much needed help. I love win win ideas.

I got to sit in on a student level instruction class to learn how to make herbal oils and salves. That was downright exciting when I learned how easy it is, and how wonderful making your own health and wellness products can be. It's great knowing exactly what's in them from start to finish. I'll definitely be making some of my own concoctions in the near future. Speaking of concoctions, before I get myself out the door, just have to mention how wonderful organic apple cider vinegar is. Everyone should have some on hand. It works wonders to help keep goats rumen (the first stomach of a ruminant) working properly. Plus it has a ton of other uses as well.