(DF) THE PASSING OF AN OLD FRIEND

As you probably know from previous posts, I have been hauling water and feed to horses through the summer.  Only one of the horses actually belong to me, the other two belonging to my daughter, but it hasn't made sense for both of us to have to take care of horses separately, so I have been taking care of all three. 

Monday evening, when I took the feed and water to the pasture, my horse, Thunder, was not feeling well.  He seemed tired, lethargic and a little disoriented, not at all like the day before when he was energetic and actually trotted to the feed trough.  Even more unusual was the fact that he wanted  to be petted.  He has always been willing to be petted but has never asked for it.  With all that, there was nothing to indicate what might be wrong and he didn't seem to be in any pain, so I hoped he would be better the next day.

Tuesday evening, Thunder didn't show up to be fed.  I found him in a wooded area where he would often stand on hot days.  He had simply laid down, stretched out and quietly passed.  Still no sign of what might have been wrong other than the obvious fact that when I fed the night before, he had been saying goodbye and preparing to die. 

I had bought Thunder from my son several  years ago but had never managed time to work with him (he wasn't broke to ride and breaking horses takes time and devotion that just wasn't available).  Thinking back on the amount of time I had had this horse, and even farther back to when a neighbor had tried to sell him to me years before, and how long it had been since that neighbor had passed away, it seems that Thunder would have been at least thirty years old.   In disbelief I went through the time frame again.  Sure enough, the neighbor in question passed away well over twenty years ago, and I had considered buying the horse a few years before that.  Time passes so quickly and is so easy to loose track of.

It seems that the summer heat, dust in the dwindling pasture and his advanced age were just too much to overcome.  The only bright spot is that with hay scarce and feed prices rising, I won't have to worry if he has enough to eat.  Even though Thunder was not a working horse and did not officially contribute to the farm, he was always there, a good friend and at times a playful nuisance.  He will be missed terribly.

(DF) MANY LEVELS OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY------ part 4

If you found part three a little discouraging, take heart. There is still hope for a greater level of self-sufficiency, though it will require leaving some of the trappings of modern life behind. Simply put, modern life, as we know it, runs on electricity and petroleum to a great extent and if we can't produce it in a self-sustaining way, perhaps we should re-examine our use of it.

LEVEL VI: In level six, there is a need for a very large shift in mind-set, and it needs to be shifted gradually so as to not be too overwhelming. Choosing to live without electricity instantly removes many things we take totally for granted, many of which we don't really have to have. It is the same with petroleum products. The things we DO require can be produced without modern energy.

Obviously, without electricity from some source, there isn't tv, movies, stereo, or video games, so entertainment becomes a little harder to get (or at least requires some thought and planning). Also, simple things like alarm clocks can no longer be taken for granted. These things are not among the basic necessities, but trust me when I tell you that you can feel pretty lost without them when they are suddenly not there. It takes a couple of weeks to come to grips with it, and yes, it is experience talking.

Lights, refrigerators, washers, driers, microwaves, mixers and a wide variety of thing we use every day, including warmth, hot water and cooking if you live in a total electric home, also cease to exist. If your water comes from a well with an electric pump, water becomes a problem very quickly.

Elimination of petroleum products obviously changes the face of transportation. Moreover, if you don't live in a total electric home, the moment of relief you may have experienced at the thought of not losing heat, hot water and cooking ability along with the electricity, just evaporated with the petroleum. Also, keep in mind that plastic is petroleum based. Look at everything you use that is plastic, and if there is a gasp of panic, you are not alone. Plastic is hard to replace at this point in time simply because so many things we use are made of plastic and nothing else, but keep in mind that many of these plastic items are not among the necessities.

Don't despair, there are other ways of providing for these needs. Light has been produced with candles made of beeswax or tallow, and lamps designed to burn animal fat or other oils, for many centuries. Food has been kept cool in springs and cellars for thousands of years and there are many preservation methods that don't require refrigeration. Clothes can be washed by hand and dried on a clothes line, water can be pumped with a hand pump or captured from rainfall and carried in buckets. There is also the fact that flush toilets require running water, so outdoor or composting toilets would be needed. Wood can be used as fuel for heating, cooking and hot water, but keep in mind that the wood will have to be cut with hand tools as chainsaws run on petroleum.

Without petroleum, transportation becomes an activity powered by people or animals. Walking is good for getting from point A to point B, but horses or mules (I personally favor mules but that is another story) can carry more than you can, and can also pull wagons and farm equipment. They can't haul the big loads a truck is capable of but they do alright. As for raising crops, draft animals are very effective though you have to produce enough grain and hay to feed them, so more land is required. Farming practices can also be entirely people powered. You can't farm as much land but you don't need to.

The information above is very simplified and I DO NOT recommend that anyone make such an abrupt change. I would, however, like to promote an awareness of all that we take for granted and encourage the gradual shift away from mindless use of modern energy. You may be surprised at how much you will gain in physical fitness, personal satisfaction and awareness (not to mention financial savings) as you lower your dependence on energy.

(DF) THE NEIGHBOR'S HORSES????

This morning, after spending a little much needed time with Anna, I was driving home. The morning was nice and the drive enjoyable. As I made my way down the dirt road, nearing home, I noticed a couple of horses grazing in my neighbor's yard. I didn't even know my neighbor had horses, much less let them graze in his yard. Suddenly I realized that my neighbor DOESN'T HAVE HORSES.

You probably already guessed who they belong to. Yes, they are mine, so I hurried home and in no time, was off walking down the road with a feed bucket and rope. Fortunately, no real harm was done and they were no trouble to bring home, but that leads to the question of where they got out.

Honestly, some of my fences aren't that great and the horses COULD have gotten out almost anywhere. Problem is, that after walking the fences, there was no sign of where they actually DID escape.

Time running short, (I was supposed to already be at a local mechanic shop, working for the day), I carried on with the day, hoping I would not return home this evening to find them out again. As luck would have it, they are still here tonight. Tomorrow will undoubtedly find me checking the fences more carefully, just to make sure.

This just serves as a reminder, (as if I needed one), of how quickly plans can change and the fact that I really must be thinking of, and saving for, a new fence.