• Oct. 5, 2008 - Wanna Buy A Farm?
It's pretty nice. You can see the photo at the top. The only problem is that I am having the WORST time trying to work with satellite internet. I thought that my internet woes would be solved when we switched to another company, but alas, it has only led to more frustration.
Apparently I use WAY more than the "average" users that satellite companies like.
I'm not sure what to do. I spent the past week and part of this weekend driving back and forth to town so I could work online. I am NOT a happy farm woman.
Sometimes living 20 minutes out of town is rough.
sigh...
(I'll cheer up soon enough I'm sure, but all of this stress is wreaking havoc on my fibro right now. Thanks for bearing with me. ) |
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• Sep. 9, 2008 - The New Kids on the Block
A week or so ago, we discovered that one of our guinea girls had hatched out a whole clutch of keets. We never saw her sitting on a nest and still have no idea where it was. Apparently we haven't given the guineas enough credit. They must be smarter than they look because they've managed to keep these little ones alive. The baby chicks around here didn't fare as well this summer.
They've juuuuust started bringing them out into the open the past few days. Before that all you could do was catch a quick glimpse of them in the tall grass of the pastures or along the creek bank.
Notice how they all kind of stay in a triangle? Two in front and one following behind? I don't know if that's "normal" guinea behavior, but it seems to be working for them. We've actually been very impressed watching them all together. The daddy guinea stays right with them and will absolutely challenge any person or dog who comes near. Meanwhile the two girl guineas will run with the keets into the tall grass to hideout again. In fact, apparently they've taught the babies to "get quiet and hide" if they ever get separated from the group.
One day the boys tried to "catch" one of the babies so we could get a closer look. Well the daddy guinea wouldn't tolerate it and they all scattered and one little guinea got separated. We just barely caught a glimpse of it scurrying across the yard towards the pasture, but all of the other guineas had headed towards the tall grass on the other side of the yard. What do do?!
We tried to find the baby, but it would get quiet anytime we got close and in the tall grass it was impossible to see. We decided to just back away and let things settle down.
Sure enough, after a few minutes the rest of the guinea family came strolling across the yard calm, cool, and collected headed towards the pasture. And wow, once that baby saw the family it commenced to chirping and literally ran to its family. It was really awesome to see.
Not that we get to see them too much. Because whenever they see us, they gather the children and take off for the high grass again.
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• Jul. 7, 2008 - A few pictures
Thanks for all your words of encouragement and empathy on the clutter post. I am SO going to tackle that humongous stack of magazines and report in once I'm finished.
Meanwhile let's think of other things. (I can procrastinate with the best of them!)
 Baab's really not a baby anymore. He's pretty much a free range sheep and just happens to think he's one of the dogs now. He even ran up to greet the mail carrier when she brought us a package today. If he starts barking, I will SO post a video!
 Bill's doing well. He appreciates having his nose rubbed down with flyspray!
 Buffy the Buff Orpington has hatched out another set of chicks. This time we left her alone and she's keeping them in the tall grass safely away from all the cats. Looks like this little guy is none too pleased about being away from his mom to have his picture taken.
And finally here's a Mary Jane photo for all of the Mary Jane fans out there.
Have a great week!
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• Jul. 7, 2008 - Help! I'm Drowning in Stuff!!
Is it a little late to be doing Spring Cleaning?
For some reason, our upcoming vacation totally has me in clean-out mode. The problem is figuring out what to do with all of this "stuff".
Tony and the boys came in the office to help me clean and organize my area yesterday, but didn't get much further than Tony's desk and bookshelf.
I just have so many different components to all of my stuff:
- household records & financials
- family photos, scrapbook items, mementos
- crafty type things
- homeschool books & recordkeeping
- homeschool support group items
- Office supplies
- Work 3-ring binders & magazines
- Magazines for reference
So, do any of you want to give me any pointers about organizing my office? Or better yet, just come over and hold my hand while I do it? I know that it's totally ridiculous to practically have a meltdown at the thought of trying to conquer the papers and magazines on my desk, but that's where I am to be honest.
And how do you all deal with old magazines? I don't want to turn into one of those people on Dateline who has cluttered her house with old magazines and paperwork until all that's left is a path to navigate through the maze of it all. Yet, we actually do use many of these magazines for reference or pass them along to others. They aren't your typical women's magazines. I'm talking Countryside (the most useful info around), Mother Earth News (lots of good stuff there too), Hobby Farms (I love them, but maybe I could part with them), Mary Jane's Farm (NO WAY, I'm getting rid of them), Country (I love, love, love all the photos), and then of course The Old Schoolhouse (non-negotiable - I actually have ALL of them to keep on hand for reference.)
We've got lots of fun stuff coming up for our family and of course, I STILL have to get things ready for the boys' fall schoolwork. AND we just got our first squash out of the garden yesterday.
There is always so much to do, but it's all very good and sooooo worth it!
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• Jun. 17, 2008 - My favorite Summer recipes!
I don't usually love pasta salads, but this one has totally won me over! I could just about eat it every day and it's so simple to make.
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 box of rotini pasta
3 chicken breasts
3 or 4 Vlasic Hearty Garlic pickles diced
1 tomato diced
Italian dressing
Directions:
1. Boil the pasta, rinse and chill in the refrigerator.
2. Cook the chicken and then dice into chunks.
3. Dice the tomato and garlic pickles (or cucumbers).
4. In a large glass bowl, mix the tomato, pickles, and pasta with Italian dressing (probably 1/2 - 3/4 cup). Use enough dressing to coat, toss, and refrigerate until chilled.
5. Enjoy!
Looking for something a little sweet?
Plus, check out this cool Ice Cream maker that doesn't need rock salt or ice. You can have homemade ice cream in about 20 minutes!
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• Jun. 16, 2008 - Tough lesson on the farm this morning
In John 21:16, Jesus tells Simon to "Take care of my sheep." Although I know that Jesus was actually talking about His people, I thought of that passage so often when taking care of Baab and Spot. When we would remind the boys to feed the sheep, it just always reminded us of how Jesus said to "Feed my sheep."
So it's with great sadness that I tell you that we failed. Spot died last night. We're not sure what happened, but we noticed last night before bedtime that he wasn't getting up and moving around. He was very weak, he had a temperature, and diarrhea. We did the best we could to clean him up. We gave him the medicine that we had on hand. We fed him water with the syringe to try and make sure he wasn't just dehydrated. We prayed. It wasn't enough.
That's one of the hardest parts about living on a farm actually. It's just dealing with the learning curve and just how little you actually know about caring for these precious ones that have been entrusted to you.
We've shed many, many tears this morning. It is so hard to hear Baab's lonely baa out there without Spot. Sheep are meant to be herd animals, but yet right now I can't really stand the thought of another lamb. There is just something so personal that bonds you when you bottle-feed those lambs and they follow you around the yard. Oh and the absolute joy it is to watch them run and jump in the yard. And even when they are absolutely stubborn and infuriating or sick and you don't know how to help them, all you know is how much you love them and how much you desire to see them well.
At times like this I wonder what in the world we're doing out here in the country. It brings back to mind every animal that we've lost, every plant that has died, the overwhelming amount of work to be done, our lack of a tractor, and the list goes on.
Yet this farm isn't all about us. God didn't give us this farm because we were "naturals" for farm life. There are a lot more people out there that know TONS more about growing plants and raising animals than we do. We're not worthy. We don't deserve this place.
Wow, it just reminds me not to put stock in what we do here based on our own strength, but rather to cling to Christ and His strength and mercy. He is where I'll place my hope - not in our own abilities. Just like the song says, "On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."
With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Mt. 19:26
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor 5:7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and will make your paths straight. Prov 3:5-6
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• Jun. 9, 2008 - Anyone else having sinus trouble?
My family has all been battling sinus trouble for the past week or so, so I've really been trying to get them to drink more water to just help things along.
Then I found the WaterCure website when I reading blogs this morning and found some interesting information on it. I was amazed when I read that we lose about 3-4 liters of water a day. Egads, I bet a lot of us are walking around dehydrated. In fact, here's what it says about how much water we should be drinking a day:
To better determine how much water you need each day, divide your body weight in half. The answer is the approximate number of water ounces you should drink daily. You should drink half of your body weight in ounces. If you weight 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces water (3.13 quarts, 2.98 liters or about 10-12 cups of water a day). If you weigh closer to 100 pounds you will need only about 50 ounces of water or about four 12-ounce glasses daily. Individuals who are physically active or live in hot climates may needs to drink more.
And then a friend reminded me of MommyLife's suggestion to start off each day with fresh lemon in warm water.
Then I decided to check the WellTellMe website. There are TONS of suggestions for sinus problems on there!
Seems like lots of folks in our area are battling sinus issues right now. How bout you all? Do any of you have any good tips for dealing with sinus trouble? |
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• May. 21, 2008 - Pick Your Own
Strawberries, blueberries, etc...
Here's a handy website that can help you find a pick-your-own patch in your area.
Also, try checking the classifieds in your local papers. You'll find some there that aren't listed on websites.
It's strawberry time in our area!
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• May. 4, 2008 - Patch Carter
I started wondering if we were going to have a pirate in the family about 2 o clock the other day. Joe inadvertently got some brake parts cleaner in one of his eyes.
I knew that we should start flushing his eyes immediately, but then even double-checked the can just to make sure. After we did that, his one eye wasn't really even all that red and he was ready to try and get things back together on the weedeater. Disaster averted, right?
Well, it seemed like that until an hour or so later he started complaining about not being able to see well in that eye.
Fortunately I have a friend a town over who just happens to be an optometrist and she agreed to go in and take a look at his eyes even though it was her day off. After my post on "Make Me A Blessing to Someone Today", I wondered if she realized just what a blessing she was to us that day!
Anyway, after a thorough exam she decided that his cornea was swollen (normal), but did not have an abrasion, which would have been more serious. He's putting some drops in his eyes four times a day, just for good measure, but really he's totally ok.
I just thought it would be fun to see if Juliestew could photoshop an eye patch on him just so we could see what he *would* have looked like if things had been worse. 
Turns out he's still a pretty handsome fellow even with just one eye! 
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• Apr. 18, 2008 - Local Events
Just wanted to pass along some info for those of you who might be in our area.
Remember when I told you about the amish auction around here a few years ago? You can read part one and part two to refresh your memory.
Well another one is coming up tomorrow.
The Spring Crofton Consignment Auction will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2008 at the Crofton Amish Community Center. There will be a little of everything there - farm equipment, animals, construction equipment, hand tools, household items, and more.
Then NEXT weekend (April 25 - 27) is Camper Appreciation Weekend at Kentucky State Parks. Camping fees are actually half price! You can find details on the Kentucky State Parks website.
And finally, if you really want to have a good time, stop by my house to watch my head spin off my shoulders as I try to cope with life without my satellite internet. Let this serve as a warning to all of you with satellite internet. The Fair Usage Act is NOT your friend. Apparently we have hogged too much of Wildblue's bandwidth so they have clamped off our connection so that we can't even get email. Grumble, grumble, grumble... And we pay them VERY well for this service that we NOW can't use and don't know when we'll be able to again.
Right now, we're just hoping that Bellsouth will bless our area with DSL service sometime soon. I won't be able to drop Wildblue fast enough.
But I'm not bitter or anything really....
Alas, if you don't see me commenting on your blogs, just know it's not by choice. I just can't get blogs to load with this slow dial-up connection. Maybe I'll go do some laundry....
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