(DF) BAMBOO HARVEST

Today has been crisp and sunny, an all around beautiful day to do almost anything outside. There were a multitude of things here needing done and, as usual, not enough time to cover it all. I was not surprised when my step-grandson called to say he needed to stop by and pick up some things from me, because someone is always stopping by wanting something. It did however add to the frustration of things I needed to be doing, as most of them were away from the house, so I was left to think of what to do while I waited.

With a few seconds thought, I remembered the bamboo just outside the front yard fence. I planted a couple of small starts several years ago and it has since spread a bit. Though it has not reached the size this species is capable of, it is respectable. Last winter's extreme cold (extreme for here, at least) had killed back the leaves on some of the taller canes. Leaves didn't grow back through the summer, though the canes were still green, so I decided to harvest the damaged ones this winter. Today, while I waited, seemed like a good time for such a project.

So it was off to the bamboo patch with the pruning saw. What a tangled mess! Brush and vines had woven the thick growth of bamboo into a near impenetrable wall. With some work and patience (as if I really have patience), I soon worked my way through to the canes needing harvested. Within a short time, 29 freshly cut bamboo canes lay piled in the driveway.

Trimming the branches with a machete went quickly. Soon, the bundle was tied every couple of feet so the canes will keep each other straight, and ready to hang up in the dry. Now, the bundle is hanging from the rafters of the blacksmith shop. Yes, I did say blacksmith shop, but that is a subject for another post.

Now if Anna and I can just figure out what to do with the bamboo.

(DF) MANY LEVELS OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY ------ part 6, some final thoughts

Throughout this series, I have made many statements that could be interpreted as attempts to discourage readers from trying to achieve self-sufficiency. This could not be farther from my true intent. In fact, my only purpose for posting my thoughts on this subject was to inform and to encourage people to reach the highest level of independence their capabilities and personal needs allow.

If you haven't achieved level eight, don't feel bad, neither have I. Personally, over the years, I have achieved bits and pieces of every level, never any complete level above the lower end of the scale. There are many reasons, the excuses are endless. Lack of knowledge or skill, lack of money, lack of time, lack of energy, lack of a like minded partner, and the list goes on. Not that these and others aren't valid considerations but none, or even all, of them can take the full blame.

To be self-sufficient means that you can, and do, provide for all of your own needs. The fact is that there is not enough time in the day or skills and varied ability for a lone individual to provide everything. This fact makes it necessary to include others, making self-sufficiency for the individual difficult if not impossible.

There is one, more important reason, genetics. Yes, I am going to blatantly and shamelessly play the, "it's not my fault, it's genetics," card here. As a species, we are social creatures, we need companionship and preferably of like minded people. John Donne said it nicely; "No man is an island." Humans need each other, in order to remain emotionally and psychologically healthy. The interaction between humans in terms of spiritual beliefs promotes a strong, healthy spirituality.

When considering the apparent hopelessness of individual self-sufficiency, perhaps the outlook would be brighter if we looked at the possibilities small groups or communities provide. Looking at a group of like minded individuals with varied skills, knowledge and abilities, it would be much less difficult for the group to achieve higher levels. A word of caution; if the group gets too large, it becomes a society with all the political issues we are trying to get away from.

With that said, it is my sincere hope that the opinions I have expressed have increased awareness, answered questions, or better yet raised a whole new set of questions. The act of questioning is the beginning of the learning process.

Happy self-sufficiency!

(AF) A Thanksgiving Circus - part 5 (finale)

Every checkout appeared to be open... I think.... you couldn't get close enough to the checkouts to see them. I did take pics with my rinky dink cell phone (digital camera was in the shopping cart) and when I figure how to get them out of my phone, I will post them here. CHECKOUT LINES?? At first glance it just looked like a mass mob of people, no distinguishable lines. But as you visually scanned the mob at the front of the store, and followed it further and further back through the store, you eventually were able to see the end of the lines. The shortest line? Ha, ha, yea, right.

I worked myself through the crowd of shoppers, finally found what appeared to be the end of a line, and parked myself there.... 12:27pm, standing in the center of the shoe department! Front of the store - Checkouts - walkway end to end of the store - clothing department - walkway - shoe department.  Yep, this was going to take awhile. But it was okay, I got the main things I came for. I killed a little time talking to Dave a few minutes (via cell phone) but it was so loud, and reception was so bad, it was difficult to hear. But we still got to say our 'good-nites'. As you looked out across the ocean of people slowly flowing in the direction of the checkouts, hundreds of people were standing, cell phone-to-ear. And throughout the store full of shoppers, people were standing, phone to ear, keeping in contact with people back at home discussing purchase options, and/or, using them as walkie talkies to keep in touch with others in the store in their group, or stationed at other stores (same town, different town, different states even). It was a major overload on the cell phone system and reception was the pits!!! But it was Thanksgiving, and I was so very thankful that, at that moment, there was reception at all so that I could say my nightly good-nites to Dave.

A drone of voices hummed across the store. Those that weren't on cell phones engaged in idle conversation to keep down the boredom of standing in slow moving lines for hours on end. Perfect strangers struck up conversations and made new 'friends.' It was better than Facebook, everyone had a physical body! The woman in front of me was also shopping by herself and we had a great conversation as we patiently waited in line. She owned a camera like the one I was purchasing and was able to, first-handedly, answer my questions about it (If you are reading this, thanks again!). We exchanged crockpot cooking tips, natural living ideas, sustainable living ideas, and several other interesting topics. Our conversation was so enjoyable that the wait in line didn't seem long at all. (Thanks for putting up with my nervous chatter. You unknowingly kept me from a claustrophobia attack, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!)

Before I knew it we were at the checkout. The woman in front of me spied a couple of crockpots in the returns area and jumped over to grab me one, bless her heart, but they were the 7-quart ones, darn it! They were tricky on packaging this year. The packaging looked just like the 6-quart ones, except it said 7 instead of 6 and were nearly triple the price. Oh, well.... I paid for my stuff (including a cheap gallon of water for the car) and headed out to find my car. Fortunately, I had made mental note of the Row Number as I went into the store.  I got to my car (so glad it was fairly warm and not freezing, raining or snowing this year), loaded my stuff, popped the hood and added water. I got in, started it up, and it still sounded HORRIBLE. Rummaged around and found my last quart of oil (I was NOT going back in there for a quart of oil!), popped the hood again, and poured it in (I had added power steering fluid before I left home, poor old car.)  So here I am, woman alone at 1:49am, hood up on my car propped up with my walking cane, masses of people everywhere, and NOT ONE PERSON stopped to see if I needed help!!! I didn't need any, I had it under control, but no one knew that. It spoke volumes for what our world has come to.

Poor old car had had her rest, had her fluids replenished, and drove like she was eager to get out of that mess and get home. We stopped back at Host's house to pick up the Fur Ball. Oh, he was sooo excited to see me! That was the longest I had been away from him since I had taken him home with me. We had a snack of Thanksgiving left-overs and headed HOME.  Thanksgiving Day had finally come to an end. What a day!

It was Thanksgiving, the day to give thanks for all of our innumerable blessings we have received throughout the year. Although, financially, I am so far down I am nearly in a pit with no visible way out, I still have so very many things to be thankful for, so many rich blessings. I am thankful for so many things I couldn't possibly name them all, but I will name a few. I am, of course, extremely thankful for all the things people generally give thanks for. But I am also thankful for things that we so often over look. First, I am extremely thankful (I can't possibly give enough thanks here) for all of my friends and family, both in the physical and cyber world. I couldn't imagine life without them. I am thankful for everyone that has read my posts around the net all year long, and for all of the advice, tips, constructive criticisms and comfort they have given me. I am thankful for taste buds, because without them, we wouldn't be able to enjoy such great holiday meals, and, believe it or not, not everyone has working taste buds. I can't imagine how horrible that would be. And I was thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving meal that I was able to taste with my taste buds, as not everyone in this world was so blessed to be able to eat such a feast. I am thankful for my sense of smell, with which I was able to smell all of the wonderful aromas throughout the day, and all year long. Not everyone has that sense (I personally know people that don't) and we take if for granted far too much. Although I have to wear glasses now to read, I am so very thankful for my eye sight, with which I can see all of God's beautiful blessings. And, though not so good as it once was, I am extremely thankful for my sense of hearing, which allowed me to enjoy the giggles of my grand kids. I am thankful for the trees that clean our air, give us oxygen, and provide us with many of our day to day, constantly used products. I am thankful for my home and the land that gives me food. I am thankful for the plants and animals that clothe me. I am thankful for the rains and sunshine that makes things grow. I am thankful for the fire that heats my home (It took the rain and sunshine to grow the trees that Dave cut, that is now in my wood stove heating my home.) I am thankful for the ability to breathe and a beating heart. I am thankful that, even riddled with arthritis throughout my entire body, I am still able to move about on my own. I am thankful for a sharp mind. I am thankful for every blessing that has been graciously and undeservingly bestowed upon me, large and minute (all blessings are huge), seen and unseen (all are seen, if we just look closely enough). Regardless of how far down that, on the surface it appears that I am, I can feel a blanket of warm blessings thickly and snuggly wrapped around me, I feel so very loved by my Lord!
And the three best blessing of all this year . . . . After a life full of extra bad relationships, I was graciously blessed last Fall with a most loving and caring relationship with Jonathan before tragically, cancer took him from me and our visual world in March. He was a loving, generous man, a rare find in today's world, so wonderful to me, and I miss him dearly.
I had finally had my wonderful, loving relationship and didn't think I could possibly ever be blessed with another, but, very unexpectedly, a man that I had grown up with in my old neighborhood came back into my life and, once again, I was graciously blessed with another very caring, loving, heart-warming relationship with Joe, who was also taken from this visual world this summer by our extreme, record-breaking heat. Losing him not only left yet another emptiness in me, but an empty hole in the world, as he was such a remarkable, loving, giving person in everything he did. I have no doubt, though, but that Jonathan's and Joe's loving blessings continue on in our world and will forever. The blessings of their love will continue on in my heart forever. I give immeasurable thanks for having been the one to have been blessed with their closest, sincerest love.
Broken hearted and lonely, I didn't think it ever possible to be so fortunate as to be so blessed again with such a wonderful, loving relationship and had resigned myself to settle into and live a single's life, planning out my new life accordingly. Then, very unexpectedly, Dave came into my life.... and, although I don't know what I could have ever possibly done that the Good Lord feels that I deserve it, He has again, graciously blessed me with, not only a wonderful, loving relationship, but a generously, loving man that I hope to have a wonderfully long life with! Thank you Lord, for a year of beautiful blessings far beyond my imagination!!!!

(DF) YET ANOTHER CHICKEN STORY

With the Thanksgiving season comes beautiful fall leaves, lots of cooking for the feast, and of course, cold weather. At least that is the way I remember it but two out of three ain't bad. Anyway, it seems we have all of that except the cold.

Yesterday afternoon, while I prepared to make pies, (yes, pear pies, but that is another story), and other goodies for today's feast, I found it a bit warm in the house. No problem, I just opened the doors and carried on, enjoying the fresh air.

Soon I heard a scratching, pecking sound from the pantry area behind me. Turning, I found the house invaded by a small group of rather pesky creatures. CHICKENS!!!!! As soon as my back was turned, they had found the open door, (with the screen not yet replaced, long story). They were making themselves right at home, just like they belonged inside.

It is, of course, my own fault for not having the screen on and letting the chickens out of the pen. None the less, they have a house of their own and don't need to be in mine, so I chased them out. Within minutes, they were back and in greater numbers. This time, I had to laugh. By the time I returned with the camera, most had gotten the hint and were back outside.

With pictures taken and the chickens once again chased from the house I went back to my cooking. One remained persistent and it became a bit of a game for the rest of the day, leaving me to wonder why I had let them out of their pen in the first place.

By late morning today, before taking food to my sister's house for the much anticipated feast,I glanced in the nest box to find my answer. There were two large brown eggs, as a reminder. Not much, but recently it has been one small egg every two or three days, so the two large ones the same day is quite an increase.

Needless to say, they were out of the pen again today. The eggs are worth the annoyance, and besides, anything that still has me chuckling the next day can't be all bad.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

(DF) HAPPY CHICKENS

No self-sufficient farm is complete without chickens. There is just no substitute for fresh eggs from free range chickens. There is also no substitute for the frustration of watching that big tomato, day after day, until it is almost ready to pick, only for it to be pecked by a chicken.

It was just such an occasion that prompted me to build a chicken pen before garden planting time this spring. It is a reasonable size pen for about a dozen hens and has a wire top to keep them in and predators out. The only problem is that they are not out in the garden eating bugs and weed seeds. This raises the feed bill and lowers the egg quality.

With the garden harvested or frosted, (except for a row of late turnips), I decided to let the chickens out during the day. They are in a habit of roosting in the hen house, so it will be no problem shutting them up in the evening to keep critters out.

They will have to be penned up in the spring, before the garden is planted, but by then they will have eaten a tremendous quantity of bugs and weed seeds that would have over wintered in the yard and garden.

With the added protein, the eggs are sure to be better and more plentiful. I am really looking forward to increased egg production, and it is truly a pleasure to see the chickens so happily scratching about.

(AF) Wandering Post

CAUTION: this post may wander around a bit.
 I promise, I will get back to some happy, more cheerful posts shortly. But tonight, I must take opportunity to write this post, because I feel that it is important. 

Today I had the honor of being nominated to take an elderly relative on a looooonnnng drive to her best friend's, son's funeral. I had so much urgent work to get done here today, including pears that are ripening faster than I can get them worked and a bushel of fresh greens to be worked up and frozen, which I had set aside the entire day to work on, but I ended up being the last possible choice, and her friend desperately needed her support, so off we went. There was actually one other person that could have easily made the trip, and had the entire day free, but his excuse, "Sorry, I have to go hunting."


Emotionally, it was extremely hard going to a funeral, even though I didn't know the person deceased (I do know his mother well.)  I really stressed out for the past few days, knowing I was going to have to go. I love Dave dearly, and wouldn't trade him for anything, but you see, it was the beginning of this past summer that I lost my last boyfriend to our historically, record breaking heat. And just the thought of going to a funeral made too many memories and emotions come flooding back.

It was a tough day, but a day well worth experiencing. For anonymity purposes, we will call the deceased and his mom Max and Judy, and my elderly relative, Liz. When we arrived, the indescribable look on Judy's face, that we had made it, made it all worth letting my chores go for the day. She wrapped her arms around the both of us, hugged us tightly, then collapsed as she let her emotions go in the embrace of her best friend. I grabbed and caught her to keep her from hitting the floor, and held on tight until someone could come help us. Judy had desperately needed her friend, and I was so glad I swallowed my own tearful emotions, let my chores go, and drove Liz there.


So, where am I going with this, you might wonder. Well, Max's death was a big shock to many. At the age of only 61 he had died in his sleep. He just laid down, went to sleep, and never woke up. In my book, 61 is pretty darned young! And setting aside the priceless value of getting two best friend's together in a great time of need, one thing that was said in the eulogy made it all worth the trip for me. The person speaking discussed how Max had been a big, fast-paced business man. He was the Suit & Tie kind of person that lived the high speed, high dollar, fancy, multi-big-business owning lifestyle. And as it started to all catch up with him, he decided to trade it all in for a much more simple, healthier lifestyle, jeans and t-shirt included. He had tried to reverse the damages to his body, slow down and get healthy, but, as the speaker put it, our bodies are delicate and it was all too late for his. He couldn't make changes fast enough to get his body back into good health, and his body just plain quit working. Her words gave me a lot to think about, and today, increased my drive and determination even more, to live a much more healthy and simpler life.

Over the years I always thought I lived reasonably healthy, but admit I have lived a very fast-paced, extremely high-stress life, and, as I looked much closer at my diet, I saw that it wasn't so healthy after all. All of it combined has taken it's toll on my body. I have had heart attacks, arthritis in most of my body and numerous other ills and troubles over the years. Some days I get around pretty decently, then some days it is extremely difficult to simply just turn over in bed, much less try and get out of it. But get out of it I do, move around slowly until the joints get going, and go through my day as fast as my body allows, because when you stop, you stop for good. My doctor has classified me as 'disabled' and insists I never work again. And getting hired by anyone is near impossible because I would be such a liability, but I consider myself to still have skills and abilities so I work for myself, and will continue to do so for as long as humanly possible. The doctor, and a few other 'officials' constantly INSIST that I file for disability, but I am just not ready to do that, yet, as I consider myself to still have marketable abilities (I just need a marketable economy).

Okay, I am wandering again.....  After having lost so many loved ones to death over the past year, most deaths that I considered to have been completely avoidable, it got me to thinking much more seriously about improving my own health, taking a closer look at my diet and lifestyle.  As I held the magnifying glass to the foods I eat and beverages I drink, I was horrified at what I have been putting into my body. I can't believe I am still walking at all. So, my journey to a healthier, more natural and chemical free diet began. It is a long process, as your body gets use to (addicted to) all those food chemicals, but the more I eliminate, and the more natural I eat, the better I am feeling and the more energy I have. And at the same time, I decided to adamantly begin the process of simplifying my life to rid myself of much of the extreme stress I have been living under most of my life. And yes, for the most part, I, too, traded in my fancy dress clothes for old jeans, second hand t-shirts, and flannel over-shirts, which I find very comfortable and liberating! I truly hope it isn't too late for me. I am feeling so much better, so much stronger and much more energetic. But our bodies and systems are much more fragile and delicate than most of us realize, and the chemicals we load them down with, WILL eventually catch up and take them from us, leaving behind grieving loved ones.

So take care of your bodies, read those labels, toss out the stuff loaded with chemicals, get up away from that TV, get outside, plant a garden, and reap its benefits of fresh air, exercise and wonderful, chemical free veggies. You will feel better, more energetic and happier. And most of all, you are worth it!

(AF) Dandelion

Hello, all! By now you may be wondering if I was ever going to write again. I have so many posts in my head that I want to get written, but putting up pears and preparing my little farm for Winter has kept me so busy that I start working the second I hit the floor in the morning and don't stop until I sit down somewhere late at night and accidentally fall asleep.

One update since the last time I wrote is, unfortunately, a sad one. On Halloween morning I lost my wonderful and faithful Billy Goat, Dan (short for Dandelion... I name my goats after flowers). Born the same day as my first grandchild, and the last remaining sibling of a set of triplets, Dan, 9 years old, went very suddenly and unexpectedly.

Dan appeared to still be the picture of health. His weight was good, he was always the first one to the food at feeding time, he was very active and energetic, and he was faithfully doing his job with the Nannies that had just come in season. Everything was as normal as usual.

Then the night before Halloween, when I went to toss the goats some pear trimmings, Dan acted like he was really tired and didn't run for the food. He instead came over to the fence, looked up at me with weary eyes and gave me kisses. At my encouragement, he finally nibbled on some of the softer pears. My beautiful, energetic Dan had never acted like this before and I knew what was probably coming. I stayed up late keeping an eye on him, but I finally had to sleep for a few hours.

In the morning I rushed to get outside to check on Dan. But sadly, the leader of my small herd was gone. All the other goats slowly and quietly met me at the fence. They seemed so lost. Dan had instinctively gone into his little house, laid down, and went to sleep for the last time. It appears he probably had a heart attack or something of the like. My heart broke in two!

Not only were the other goats and me ultra attached to Dan, but so were several of my cats. It was heart wrenching to watch a couple of them nuzzle up to his neck and chest in an attempt to get him to wake up and play with them. One cat even perched herself on his neck, gave him a cat bath, then sat there on his shoulder for a long while in a protective stance. She was going to protect her best friend until he woke up. Oh, it was so sad!

My beautiful Dandelion was the most wonderful Billy Goat anyone could ask for! He got along well with other billies, yet let them firmly know that he was 'boss', occasionally getting a little too rough to get his point across if one of them tried to take the lead. He was gentle, loving and very protective of the nannies. He loved his ladies! During breeding season, nothing stopped him from getting his job done, not even cattle fencing .... he would go right through it (I still need to get a couple of spots repaired). And as for me, he was the most loving, caring, gentle 'farm friend' a person could ask for. He loved cuddles, hugs, kisses, and, best of all, back rubs (which he so often adorably begged for). Before he got too tall, I could ride him around the yard (yes, my feet still touch the ground, so no weight was on his back), and he let small kids ride on him, too. He would sit still for as long as I wanted to and tolerantly let me braid and play with is beard, lol. He had a long beard that I just loved messing with and he was so patient with me, never fussing or complaining at all. If I was out in the goat yard and needed something to lean on (such as to get a rock out of my shoe), he was there for me, standing still and firm as I leaned on him, never complaining or faltering. If I fell (and often times I do with all the arthritis in my legs), he was usually the first goat there, nudging me to see if I needed help getting up. He was one of the best, most loving and faithful work animals I have ever had!

I could never say enough positive things about my wonderful, beautiful Dandelion. There aren't proper words to express the value he was to me and my little farm. He was my faithful worker, protector, and loving friend. We love you Dan, and we will forever miss you! You have well earned your rest, rest peacefully, now.

(DF) SALVAGING BLOCKS

By now you may have noticed that I am a confirmed tightwad. Cheap is good, free is better, (as long as an item is still usable of course). With this in mind, you can imagine my joy at the opportunity to pilfer a pile of debris filled with old concrete blocks.

The pile of debris in question is from an old block building that had burned and been hauled away and dumped. BURNED is an important term here because the heat involved weakens the blocks making them useless for building structures. However, they are great for low retaining walls, compost pile boundaries, cold frame sides and any number of other projects. The trick is to know whether they are burned or not, since the ash and soot soon wash away with rain, making them appear the same as any other blocks. The rule of thumb is that if you don't know if used blocks have been burned, consider that they have been and don't use them for buildings.

Unfortunately, free isn't always exactly free. Yes, I acquired the blocks at no cost, but the catch is that they are not cleaned and neatly stacked, or better yet, delivered. I had to dig them out of the pile, haul them and chisel the old mortar away. Not as bad as it sounds, but if I had something I could use that time and energy for that would make a lot of money, it might have been cheaper to buy new blocks. There is also the potential for smashed fingers and toes in the process. The good news is that it doesn't all have to be done the same day. Once the blocks are on site, they can be cleaned a little at a time when there is a spare minute, and with gloves and caution, the blocks end up free for the hauling.

As with acquiring any material, it is important to know how much you will need. With used blocks it is a good idea to get several more than you will need. A certain amount of breakage is inevitable in the cleaning process, and in the end, a few extras will come in handy for other projects. Don't feel too bad if a few get broken. They aren't wasted because the ones that have one half intact can be used for offsetting the corners, and the small pieces along with the old mortar can be used as fill stone in other projects.

In the end, I have enough blocks for a couple of projects here on dave's farm, and maybe even a few for use on anna's farm as well. The only cost was a little gas and some work. That is a hard combination to beat.