Personal Reflections

Good morning. Last week was a rough week…. lots of sunsets in my world. It began by my trip to east Texas to help my mom pack up and prepare to move back to our home state of Wyoming. Lots of emotions in that task alone……. ​My dad died in December 2013, and so this was the final hurrah of going thru his remaining belongings, military honors (USNA graduate 1960), momentos, and decades of pictures that he had saved…. finding homes for items that others would value and appreciate more than just stored interminably in my closet at home. I am a minimalist, but even as one, it’s still hard to just discard items that clearly had value to a man who was a minimalist himself, and one whom I loved dearly. Lots of difficult decisions to make, and yet it had to be done with inner resolve I wasn’t always sure I possessed. Getting mom packed was a mixture of sunset and sundown for me.

Upon my return home to the farm, I found that Kelly, our oldest dog, had taken a significant turn for the worse. We don’t know Kelly’s age…. all of our dogs are rescues… and he is certainly no exception. He was at least 15…. quite old for a 60+ lb dog. Kelly had been suffering from what was most likely bone cancer for several months. Although we try to manage things as naturally as possible around here, there is a time and a place in my world when conventional medicine must step in. When his discomfort and organ failure exceeded that which oils and supplements cannot support, we managed his world with Tramadol and steroids for at least 4 months. ​​

Even with ever increasing dosage, it was clear that holding on to him was not the humane thing to do. So, with a heavy heart, I called our vet to come out to our place to peacefully end his life. Our final gift to our animals is to always have the vet come here. I would rather pay for a house call so that our babies are stress free even at the very end.  Kelly was a feral dog when he came to us…. completely feral. Untouchable. Ran with the coyotes out here…. THAT kind of feral. He became part of the family about 14 years ago, and was ultimately one of the most gentle souls in canine form that I’ve ever come across. His quiet presence is sorely missed around here, and his sweet self is now resting peacefully in our large animal graveyard, next to his first best friend…an old lab named Radar. Sunset.

My husband and I basically did a high five as we passed each other on the highway as I came home to manage the farm as he headed towards central Texas. He had received a call from his mom Wednesday morning. She was in the hospital, suspected of having had two small strokes. My MIL has since been transferred to a rehab facility, and hopefully will be returning home in the next few weeks…… buying enough time for the family to figure out living arrangements. The time has come that she shouldn’t be living alone anymore…. she is not able manage her medications, eating well, or her health.  Losing independence is a rough thing. I watched my dad go thru it and adjust, and I’m hopeful that my MIL will be as graceful with this ‘new normal’ as he was. This part of life is hard emotionally and physically, both for the parent and their kids. Sunset.

My dad had all kinds of ‘sailor-isms’ he used to say. One of them that I know well regarded weather….. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning”.

This was one of the roughest emotionally charged weeks we’ve had in a long while. It has required both of us to put ‘regular life’ on hold…work, gardening, farm, chores/errands….. and just dogpaddle…. keeping one emotional nostril above water.

​The sunsets have been tough, I am seek comfort in knowing that every sunset is followed by a sunrise. Life goes on, and the uncomfortable, the ugly, and the just plain sad simply serve to remind me to embrace all that is good in life, and know that without the bad, we might simply take the good for granted. I thank God for that, and for giving me the ability to see the sunsets not as the precursor to darkness, but holding on to a piece of the sail….and remember the sailor’s delight that is to come at dawn.

I think gardeners must suffer a worse case of spring fever than the average Joe, and North Texas weather only plays with our emotions making the situation even worse. We have beautiful days followed by cold snaps frequently with little or no warning. It’s a dance of self control and roulette with the Farmer’s Almanac officiating.

We have no kids of our own, so the farm and garden are managed by us alone. If you live on a farm, you know that the chore list is never ending. Gardening season kicks that list up a notch or two. This season we are trying something new. Have you heard of WOOFing?Technically, the acronym is WWOOF, and stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms. It is an international organization that connects people who want to learn about organic farming with organic farms who needs extra set(s) of hands…. people like us! You can actually plan a learning/working vacation by being a willing WOOFer.  We live in a deep and friendship filled community. While many of our friends have their own farms, we also have friends who live in town in subdivisions where gardening is hampered by privacy fences, small yards, poor soil, and a low bee population. We have one friend in particular who homeschools their children, and was looking for a way to incorporate gardening and self sufficiency skills (a dying art in my opinion!) into the curriculum. WOOFing in the truest sense means that the student generally lives on the farm for a period of time while working… so food and lodging in exchange for work. We are modifying that format a bit in this case, and I’ve got two young WOOF pups who will be learning the finer points of organic gardening alongside me this season and will be taking harvest bounty home in exchange for their work. It’s definitely a win/win situation for all parties involved. My two young friends have proven themselves to be hard workers…. harder even than many adults I know. I am really looking forward to passing what I know and have learned thus far on to the next generation, and am loving the relationship  I’m building with my WOOF Pups. Respect and love for what we grow to nourish our bodies (whether that be animal or plant) is something I hope to pass on to others. The “cleanest” food we can eat is that which we have the most control over from start to finish (much like the company I represent), and it’s the most very basic first sustainable step in living a life focused on complete wellness.

Gardening, you see, fills so many needs: Spiritually, it gives you time to pray and connect with nature. Physically, it provides you with exercise, sunshine, and direct contact with dirt (a very very good thing!). Emotionally, it has been scientifically proven to be a balm for the soul…..originally thought to be simply calming, but now there is evidence that exposure to microbes in the soil actually BOOST serotonin levels in the brain providing a sense of peace. And finally, Nourishment…..if grown organically, you will have regular access to some of the healthiest food you can get your paws on.

​We’ve got our onions, lettuce and kale planted… that’s all I’m brave enough to plant for now. But in just a week or two we will begin planting the rest of our seeds. In the meantime….. lots of preparation is still in order for this busy busy time. Stay tuned for updates!

Why try to explain miracles to Kids when you could just have them plant a garden? ~ Robert Brault

Jerseys are like potato chips… you can’t have just one! Clementine is the second cow we purchased to feed our raw milk habit. About 15 years ago, we discovered the health benefits of raw milk, and then 5 years later, we fell head over heels in love with Jerseys. 

​Clementine was culled from a traditional dairy setting because she has suspensory ligament laxity in her udder. This makes her prone to mastitis and teat injuries because her bag hangs so low. Charlie and I have jokingly toyed with the idea of creating a “brudder” (a bra for an udder) for her.   Fortunately (or unfortunately… depending on how you look at it) this is something we did not know 10 years ago when we were buying our first few girls. Our ignorance was her saving grace….. Had we not bought her, she likely would have had a much shortened life, and we would not have gotten to know,love, and learn from her sweet disposition. So, for that, we are fortunate indeed. We do have to watch her udder closely, and when she is in milk she looks like she could feed 10 calves easily.

On Sunday, I was blessed by a sweet friend and talented artist, Kim Guthrie. She took a picture I had taken of sweet Clementine and created an adorable painting for me & I believe she captured Clementine perfectly! She is quite the photo hound and is one of our more curious cows :). Jerseys by nature tend to be curious and in your pocket once they get to know you. Having friends who happen to be cows is a definite added bonus to our raw milk addiction!
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As you may have seen in my first post on Henri, we have interesting animal relationships out here on the farm. Thumbellina (the white hen) is a banty. She is a broody little thing, and will sit on any nest and anyone’s eggs when she is of mind to do so. In effect, she believes strongly in cross cultural adoption! These are her 3 most recent adopted hatchlings. Actually, they are about 2 months old in this picture. They are guineas, and they are strongly bonded to their adoptive mama. In fact, they really want nothing to do with the other guineas on our property.Interestingly, I’ve got a rooster, who, last year adopted 4 guinea ‘teens’ as his own. It is a bit odd for a rooster to have much interest in raising babies, much less ‘non chicken’ ones.  Fabio (the rooster) has fiercely protected them, and they cling to him as their daddy. And now that they are older, I’m a bit concerned that I may eventually end up with a rooster/guinea cross…. which I understand can happen, although I’ve heard that all chicks will be sterile. I’m ok with that, as long as they still produce edible eggs!  It will be interesting to see how all this plays out 🙂

As a prepper, we need to think of ourselves as a well oiled machine. We would not leave our guns, tools, and food supply in an environment that would ruin them…. so why do we neglect our bodies and purposefully expose ourselves to toxic agents?… especially knowing that we need to be in prime health to survive and thrive.

Chances are that your house is sick, and that means that you are affected too. Household cleaning products are responsible for over 10% of all toxin exposure calls to the Poison Control Centers in the United States. But what about the more insidious silent illnesses caused by seemingly harmless household chemical exposure?

Of the over 2000 chemicals on the market, more than 1/2 of them are known to ACTIVELY cause or promote allergies, asthma, cancer, birth defects, nervous system disruptions, and/or endocrine disruption. 

In our preparations for what is to come, we will need to be healthy! …. scratch that…. we need to be healthy no matter what!

Think about the products YOU use around your home, your children, and your pets.

What’s in them? If you are curious, check out the  Environmental Working Group website to find out.

Personally, I don’t like to wonder…so I found out,  and then I made some serious changes many years ago in our house and on our farm.

This is one of the reasons I love essential oils.

They’re safe.  They’re natural. They’re non-toxic…. And they can kick some serious booty when it comes to cleaning. Their presence in your home “creates an inhospitable environment” for bacteria to grow.

Thieves® oil blend and the entire Thieves Cleaner family are miracle-workers…. and giant killers. This blend truly is a David vs Goliath story when it comes to germs.

You’ll see what I mean here.

So, get your house in order! We are told to do that, right?….Both Biblically and in preparedness. Our “house” isn’t just our home… it is also a reference to our body. Let’s clean house!