Personal Reflections

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!

Prepping. The word connotes to many the idea that we (preppers) are a bit like Chicken Little (you know… The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling). It used to be if you ‘prepped’ for something like the SAT, or a big dinner party, that was a good thing and the action was smiled upon. So how did it happen that we exchanged the “d” for an “r”, and suddenly those who prepare for the unknown are thought by many to be a few Fruit Loops short of a full box? Just something to think about.

​In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you to one of our farm mascots and the ULTIMATE prepper…. Henri! Henri was hand raised after falling out of a tree onto an unsuspecting friend (who may or may not have screamed like a girl). Her mother was nowhere to be found, and she had no interest in returning to her nest despite attempts to place her there. I’ve worked with animals all my life, even having had a short career as a zoo keeper, and this is not my first rodeo squirrel raising experience. She was still young enough to need milk replacer, but was becoming of age to move on to more varied foods. She really thrived on a product called Ningxia Red, as well as other food supplements that baby squirrels need.

Today, she is about 7 months old, and is quite the #oilyfarmsquirrel / farm mascot. We have 6 very large dogs, and not only is she friends with them, she has also become part of their pack, and considers herself one of their own. See friends, …. animals have this down…. no matter their differences, ideologies, and predator vs prey status, it is possible to work out a friendship. Seems like since we have bigger brains than both squirrel or dog, our world ought to spin with a little more friendship and handshakes if we bypassed prejudices like we do out here on the farm :).

Henri was raised and released once she was old enough. She has chosen to live alongside us, and we are happy to accommodate her. Her presence has gifted us with additional smiles and quiet peace. She reminds us as only squirrels can:
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• Look both ways before you cross the path
• Plan ahead…. and hide and protect your nuts!
• Stay active and alert
• Enjoy the sunshine & value sleep
• Find your friends wherever you are, but know your enemies
• Adapt to whatever life throws your way
• Take care of the business and then take time to play

We might have bigger brains and opposable thumbs, but we can still learn a lot from our four legged friends!
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Henri the squirrel video, Enjoy your day!
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