Category Archives: Farm

August 15, 2012 · 20:58

Day is Done, Gone the Sun.. Part I

…For my meat chickens.  Tonight, we pack ’em up and down the road they go.  They are called Freedom Rangers.  Sounds like a motorcycle cult, don’t you think?  They have grown to be beautiful birds.  The roosters are now crowing their little heads off and wreaking havoc on the hens already.  The hens scream bloody murder when they are chomped on  the neck by some mean ol’ beak.  There are clearly too many roosters out there.

Freedom Rangers – Day 1

Freedom Rangers- Day 100

We will take their food away tonight at beddy bye time.  And in the dark of night around 4:30 we will sneak in there while they are sleeping and load them in cages and take them about 2 hours  from here to those mean ol’  chicken people.  They will be ready to be picked up by 3 in the afternoon.

It will be a little odd to take my first bite out of something we raised.  This is our first time doing this.  I am confident that the results will be satisfactory.  I will let you know next post!  Wont that be something?  Animal today. Culinary review tomorrow.

Speaking of culinary review, we had a delish dish this weekend that included (shhhh)…. chicken. ( I dont want them to hear me)   I  WILL  be making this again.   Please enjoy.

Brazilian Chicken with Coconut Milk. (again, I forgot to shoot photo.  I cant remember to do that.  I will try harder.)

When I say coconut milk, I mean the real kind in a can.  Thick and yummy.  Not the processed junk that you can drink.

So simple and totally health right.  Serve over rice or pasta.

1 t. ground cumin

1 t. ground cayenne

1 t. ground turmeric

1 t. ground coriander

salt and pepper to taste

4 skinless chicken breast.  You can use any chicken part you want.  I used 6 skinless boneless thighs.

2 T. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 T. Minced ginger

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

3 tomatoes chopped and seeded

1 can of coconut milk

1 bunch chopped parsley

Mix all spices in a bowl and dip meat in spice covering both sides.  Cook chicken in oil in skillet until done.  About 10 minutes on each side.

Remove chicken from pan and add into pan  onion, ginger, peppers, and garlic.  Cook until tender.

Mix in the tomatoes and continue to cook 5-8 minutes.  Stir in the coconut milk.  Mix thoroughly.  Serve over chicken.  Garnish with lovely parsley.

Beautifully spicy!

Since I try to properly combine food for easier digestion, I served this dish without pasta or rice.  Mixing the starch (rice, pasta) and protein ( chicken) is not good.  So, I served it with another veggie on the side.  For leftovers, I took the sauce left over and served it with green beans over rice. 

Wont you check back next time for Part 2 –  The Field Trip to the Amish Farm.

My experiment with flying laundry late at night.

Have yerself a super day.

God bless,

Karen

1 Comment

Filed under Farm, Food/Recipes, Health/ Nutrition

August 12, 2012 · 19:33

BIG BIRD Whisperer and Velveeta

I was walking down to feed some guineas this afternoon.   Down in our garden that is about a 10 or more  minute walk.  I know…you don’t have to say it…. my garden should be closer to the house.  If it was, I would miss all the goings on out there.  As I came around a curve a very large bird flew out of the tree line in front of me.  Woah.  It rested on the haystack for a second then flew several feet to a resting spot on the ground.  Two dogs were with me and they ran quickly toward it.  It was a hawk.  A juvenile male Red-tailed Hawk.   This is very unnatural behavior for a hawk to be and stay this close to us nosy creatures.   Our dogs walked right up to it and were literally nose to nose with this guy.   I was then clued in that he must be hurt.

I ran back up to the house to get Pops.  And my camera.  I was not going to let this photo-op slide away from me.  I was just hoping the guy was still going to be there when we got back.  But that would mean he WAS hurt.  He was there.  He was hurt.   And he was a beaut!


I made our son go with us so he could see the cool bird up close.  We see these birds of prey all the time but not a foot away.  Ever.  He said as we approached, “If he doesn’t make it, do you think we could get him stuffed?”   He had just woken from a nap.  Not clear yet.  Funny bird.

This bird  was really defenseless.  He was scared but allowed us to do what we needed to  care for him.   VELVEETA!!!  You gotta love it.  Velveeta is good for many things except human consumption.  I musta been in a total brain fog the day that thing fell into my grocery cart.   Pops tried to hand feed the wild hawk Velveeta.  He wosn’t hungraaay.

I called the state park nearby to see if they could direct us.  They directed us to the “Return to the Wild Ladies”.  Cool.   I called them ladies and they were here in a flash.  They rehabilitate  birds of prey and send them out into the wild.  They will even perform surgery on them.  If they cannot fly they try to locate a nature center for them to live.  If all else fails they have to euthanize them.  Apparently it is against the law to not.  There are lots of laws pertaining to the protection of the wild birds.   Whoda thunk?

Bird lady doing her thang.

Henry the hawk goes bye-bye

Today, before this event, I did not know about this group of ladies.  I think it is awesome that such a thing exists.   Bird Ladies.  Wonderful.  “Feed the birds,  tuppence a bag.  Tuppence.  Tuppence  Tuppence a bag.”

Our world is such a wonderful place.  We all have such unique gifts.  And I thank God that our gifts are as diverse as we are.  We are blessed to be so different.

Pops and my son went on to the golf course.  My son hit a ball across a creek where a hawk dove down and started bouncing up and down on his ball.  Wings flopping up and down trying to kill the thing,  I think.   When they got to the other side of the creek, the hawk flew away with his ball.   What does all this hawk business mean?  Whew.

The weather is awesome by the way.  I hope yours is too.  I got a skip in my giddyup.

God bless,

Karen

1 Comment

Filed under Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

August 6, 2012 · 11:59

Connectivity

When I publish a post, this program congratulates me for getting another one done and then attaches a quote from usually who knows where about writing.

The last post’s quote was:

“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.”

I like that.  Writing letters seems to have become obsolete.  A very sad thing indeed.  I am reading a book right now that is about letters written by artists to friends or family where they include art sketches within the letter.  This stuff took place from the early 1800’s to mid 1900″s.  Really cool stuff.  In many of  the letters there is a tone of great excitement to be writing the letter or responding to a letter received.  They seem to have been written with such care.  And consideration for the other person.

Most people communicate through emails.  They are not “letters”  most of the time.  It seems to me that email most often is a tool to communicate logistics, plans, or something that is in motion.  It doesn’t seem to me that it is used to communicate on an emotional level really.  Throw facebook and twitter in the mix and what in the world is going on?    There is a lot of it flying back and forth,  but is it improving relationships?  I don’t know.  It seems that communication is going great guns but relationships seem to be suffering.  How can that be?  In the “olden days”  letters were a way of growing and sustaining relationships when we couldn’t be together.

I don’t really know what I am saying here other than it is just different than it used to be.  Right or wrong.  There is a flurry of activity now and I’m not sure what it all means.  Back then letters were far and few between.  We waited for them.  The contents were treasure (usually.  Bad news could come via letters too!).   And receiving one was clearly a gesture of effort.

I used to write letters.  Anyone who received them would agree that I was/am not the best composer of letters in the world.  But they were special.   I have most of  the letters that have been written to me stored away.  They are special.  When we went through my mom and dads stuff when they moved out of their house, we found all the letters that we had written them over the years. Obviously,  they meant something to them too.

What are we saying to people when we email them?  HOW are we saying things?  I realize that all the words we write on paper or computer don’t have to have profound meaning, or care,  but why not?  If we care about the person(s) that we are communicating with then shouldn’t our words be intentional and written with care?  Shouldn’t we use these great tools that we have the privilege of using to grow our relationships rather than simply throw words at each other?  I’m just thinkin’ a little today.

Did you know that the eggs you buy at the store are anywhere from 1 month old to 6 months old?

Did you know that eggs have a natural protective coating on them  that allows the egg to sit at room temperature for up to a year?  Now, that is what I call a great service from our friendly chicken!  If the coating has  been washed off, it needs to be refrigerated and the shelf life is reduced drastically.  Commercial chicken people wash the eggs.

Did you know that the USDA doesn’t require farmers to pasture feed the chickens that produce free range eggs?  Should I repeat that?  Read that statement above again.

It is a glorious day to be alive.

Have a blessed day,

Karen

3 Comments

Filed under Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

August 2, 2012 · 13:39

New Controls in Place

I thought I’d never say this, or even have the opportunity to say this but…. I’m all about these birds we own.  We have 25 layer chickens.  They are well taken care of by their livestock guard dog, Claire.  They only get dragged around in Claire’s mouth sometimes.  Not always.  So they are in good shape most of the time.

Sweet Claire and her flock.

Over in the barn and pasture across the driveway, we have the meat chickens that I showed you in  May as day old chicks.  They are, believe it or not,  getting ready for the butcher in two weeks.  They are shaping up to be  beautiful birds.  And while I am kinda freaked out about them ending up in the freezer, I am excited to taste a home-made chicken for sure.  I had a feeling I would be ok about this business.  Although, I haven’t loaded them up on a truck in the dark of night. Yet.

Meat Chickens. Freedom Rangers.

Right now the birds that we are most in awe of (or I should say, entertained by) are the guineas and the turkey.   They are now in charge of the place.  It’s nice to have something/body else take control for a while.   Don’t you think?   We had two turkeys.  One passed on.  I can’t remember if I passed that on to you.  Yeah.  Right in front of me.  Laid down, flapped his wings real hard then plunk.  Died.  All his meat chicken friends were standing in a circle around him wondering what the heck was going on.  When they realized he was dead they started pecking him.  To death. Or to kingdom come.   The turkey that is left and the two guineas we kept up by our house are rulin’.  They parade up and down the driveway thinkin’ they are all about it.  Usually one guinea is on each side of the larger turkey.

They have become the best of friends.  At night and in the morning they get up on the stall rails in the barn and tell US ALL ABOUT IT!.   Guineas are very very loud.  Sometimes ear-piercing.    The turkey can certainly hold his own as well.

They are ugly, ugly creatures but both Pops and I have a grand time being entertained by them.
We have 5 more guineas down in the lower pasture guarding it and eating bugs.  They do so well at guarding that the first night something ate 3 of them.  Very sad.  Death is becoming a common occurrence here. ( I hope I still have some time left on the farm before something gets to me.)   We started with 8 down there. Now we lock them up in a pen at night.  They have free reign during the day.

Birds, at least the ones we have, are VERY social creatures and they like us to be part of their posse as well.  We like it.  And they are SUPER easy to care for and bring lots of food and fun.

God bless,

Karen

Leave a comment

Filed under Farm

Tagged as , , , ,

July 27, 2012 · 10:08

The Ever Lovin’ Tomato

That’s what I call a lovey tomato.

Tomatoes are starting to roll in at a fast clip.  If you are growing them you might concur.     My sister showed up last fall with a colander full of orange cherry tomatoes.  While I dont have any experience really in cherry tomatoes, I did recognize these tasted different.  Like candy.  Truly.  I have never tasted anything like it.   I spent the better part of the winter and early spring researching (I am the queen of research) the origin of these little gobblie things.  The best I could tell, they were Sun Sugar.

Sun Sugar Cherry Tomatoes

I bought 3 plants to fill our tummies and I am going to turn into an acidic something or other if I am not careful.    And while mine are sweet, I am not convinced mine are as sweet as hers.  I am eating probably about 50 a day.  Poppin’ em like sugar.  That is a good way to develop food sensitivities.  Eating too much of one thing.  Like wheat.

I have found SUPER easy ways of preserving tomatoes that are literally as easy as throwing them at the freezer.

Pop whole tomatoes with skins on in gallon freezer bags and throw in freezer for future use.

Sundry them.  Cut them up in half and lay cut side up  on cookie sheet and pop in oven on 200 for about 6 hours.  Until they are leather hard.  Not brittle.  Transfer to zip lock bags.

I do not go through the hassle of peeling my tomatoes.  I’m not sure why people do.  Peels in my sauces have not caused a problem for me or those whom I share with.

Last week I shared with my family a super easy luscious  pasta that went like this:

Pasta from the Shieling

When tomatoes are roasted they sorta have that “tang” of sun-dried but more subtle and yummy with olive oil.

Serves 4.

Cut 6 good-sized tomatoes in chunks and lay on cookie sheet.

Drizzle with generous olive oil.

Sprinkle with generous amount of minced garlic.

sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Roast in oven at 275 for a 2 hours.

Add it to your favorite pasta (Tinkyada is  a hands down wonderful gluten-free pasta.  My people can’t tell the difference.  Give your body a rest from wheat this time.)   doused in olive oil and garnish with chopped fresh basil and shaved parmesan.

Please enjoy!

My neighbor’s horse  going eye to eye with a  monster insect.

Pops and I keep thinking about horses.  We have miles of trails behind our house.  We know they are lots of work,  but what isn’t?  What I don’t want to do is invest in a money pit.  I keep being told that I can’t simply have my horse out on a hitching post and  just get on him whenever I need to move about on our property.  Isn’t that what the cowboys did?  Do you have an opinion on why we shouldn’t?  I would really like to hear.

Have a super blessed day.  You are loved beyond measure.

Karen

3 Comments

Filed under Farm, Food/Recipes, Health/ Nutrition, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 20, 2012 · 11:26

What Hour Trips Your Trigger?

The Witching Hour?   Or the Darkest Hour?   I read that the witching hour is around midnight. When the goblins come out and bad things happen.  The term is supposed to stir anxiety and fear.  I’m thinkin’ that is not the hour that trips my trigger.  There used to be a time when “darkness”  held something desirable for me.  I thought being out in it, milling about with it , was comforting.  I still find it peaceful at times and I love to walk out at night-time and look at the stars and sit around a camp fire but I am not drawn to the dark hours.  Darkness now for me means day is done.  Job well done.  Get cozy between my sheets.

Night Window      Edward Hopper

The Eleventh Hour?  Oooh.  That almost always triggers panic in me.  Getting everything done at that last-minute.

Happy Hour?  Or Cocktail Hour?  Are we only “happy” at cocktail hour?  Just wondering.

Rush Hour?  That is my favorite hour.  (Just kidding.)  But about 10 or 15 years ago I changed my tune about this hour.  It can be used for MAJOR contemplation.  Or clipping my fingernails.  Or plucking my face.  It’s all a part of  that Serenity prayer I spoke about,   “Help me accept the things I can not change”  I have learned since I can’t make those cars get out of my way I can use  that time for myself and sit in it with peace.

Dinner Hour?  Great time.  It is T-bone and Ribeye’s  favorite time for sure.

They like to throw their dinner on their backs. Gee. Maybe we should consider that.

Consider the Golden Hour.  Now THAT really trips my trigger!  Early in the morning when the sun is rising and it causes the dew to glisten on the vegetation and the shadows be long.  The yellow light is falling everywhere.  And in the evening when the light again is making all the colors in nature rich and luscious.  An artists dream.  Landscape painters find the golden hour(s)  to be the quintessential.

My chores lead me to the golden hour in the morning and the evening.  The smells that go along with those hours are earthy, heady and intoxicating.  The sun is warming the earth in the morning or cooling it in the evening and it seems to emit aromas that send me over the edge with delight.

Our pond

Marc Bohne Painting

The Angelus, Jean -Francois Millet, 1857

Enjoy your hour today what ever that may be.  I am nosy.  I would love to know what hour trips your trigger.

God bless,

Karen

5 Comments

Filed under Art, Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 18, 2012 · 09:58

Rain and Pickles. Pickles and Rain.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about  the weather.  WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE WEATHER?

We lived in New Orleans for three years in the early 80’s.  Oh my goodness.  If you want to feel oppression at its best (or worst) take a stroll through New Orleans in July or August.  Summer has never held the same meaning for me since those days in the Crescent City.

Ahh, those were the days! Still not sure if they were good days or bad.

I have been running from the sun and humidity ever since.  If there is a shade tree, I will find him and he WILL  become my friend.

Since  we  moved to the farm, I have had to buck up and take the heat.  My chores take me outside throughout the day and I have now decided that 95 is nothing.  Much time has been spent in trying to   convince myself of that.  I have realized that 98-99 is the danger point for my animals so I am pretty calm if it stays under that.

BUT FOR CRYIN” OUT LOUD!!!!

I’m just sayin’.

On a serious note, I look at the country scape, suburban scape, or where ever you have your eyes set right now,  (if you live in the heartland) and I want to weep.  I will accept the 95 degree days if we could just get water to our trees and crops.  In all of my years, I have not witnessed such a sad state of affairs.

What happens when trees totally dry out?  Do they just fall over?  I keep imagining trees falling randomly onto roads and highways.

Where do we get water if our lake source dries up?

What happened to Atlanta when their lake source dried up a couple of years ago?

What is going to happen to our trees that are indigenous to this area when they are no longer capable of surviving?

Are we going to be witness to a severe shift in our environment and ecology?  Our environment may survive this season,  but two seasons in a row?

Am I being paranoid?  Maybe.

We say the Serenity Prayer a lot around here:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

I need to say it more often so that I can stop worrying about things I have no control over.  I obviously think that if I worry enough that it will start raining.   Or worse yet   cynicism  will creep in because I have lost faith that it will ever rain.  That is the worst thing that I could do.  Cynicism is more toxic than worrying.  So, I think I’ll jump back on the saddle and say my Serenity prayer.

Homemade pickles

We have cucumbers coming out of our ears!  Many recipes I have looked at contained sugar.  I did not want to do that.  This recipe is supposedly the same as Bubbies.  Found in grocery stores.  Kind of considered top of the line, old style, wonderful pickles.  My family are pickle snobs so this was/is tricky for me. Ours are done and they taste wonderful.   What is really cool is that it said if I wanted my pickles to keep a crispness crunch to add oak leaves to the jars.  We only have 90 acres of oak trees so it was my pleasure to oblige.   We like crispy pickles.

If you are growing them, please use this recipe.  It is yummy and healthy.  If you are not, buy pickle cucumbers at your farmer’s market and make them.  It is super easy.

If you do not have a lot of experience in fermentation of foods (natural way of preserving food which has been used hundreds of years until we discovered chemicals) it may be scary as it contradicts the way we have been taught to preserve food.  I have been doing it for 7 years and it works.  And not only does it work,  it provides you with naturally grown probiotics which we all need desperately.

Pickles from the Shieling

The following ingredients will fulfill the requirements for a 1/2 gallon ball jar.  Use less if using smaller jars. You may use whole, spears or any cut you would like pickles.

Fill jar with pickles

Add:

3 T. non- iodized sea salt

1 Head of garlic, peeled chopped

1.5 T. whole dill seed

1 T. whole coriander seed

1/2 t. whole mustard seed

1/2 t. whole peppercorns

1/2 t. fennel seed

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1-3 oak or grape leaves

Fill jar with filtered warm water and put lid on.  Shake about to dissolve salt and mix ingredients.  Open jar back up and put a weight of some sort on top of water to keep the cucumbers submerged.  You do not want the pickles to get air during the fermentation process.  You can use  a stone or small tile.  I used two sticks crisscrossed that were wedge into the neck of the jar.  It keeps contents stuck underneath.   Keep a loose seal on jar lid.  Set in nice warm place for 1-4 weeks.  Check after a week and see if they are tasty enough for you.  I kept mine on the shelf for 2 weeks and they were perfect.  Afterwards place them in cool place (refrigerator or cellar) for as long as it takes to eat them.  Once they are done sitting and you put them in fridge it is no longer necessary to keep weight on pickles.  They are self preserved through the fermentation process.  Enjoy!

As I finish this post after starting last night, I’d like to report 1/4 inch of rain.  It was specTACular!

God bless,

Karen

5 Comments

Filed under Farm, Food/Recipes, Health/ Nutrition, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

July 15, 2012 · 21:59

“You Cant Always Get What You Want, But If You Try Sometime

..You just might find, you get what you need.”

Words sung by the beloved Rolling Stones.

Can’t  speak of them without paying homage to them, now can I?

I did not take this photo, although it would have been pretty cool if I had.

Not sure there is anyone out there who hasn’t sung that  tune under their breath at some point or another to themselves or directed at someone else.   I think I walked away from my kids on numerous occasions hummin’ the tune.   It’s easy to sing it about someone else but it stings when you have to sing it to yourself.

There are definitely some things that I want.  I want real bad.  And it has become obvious to me that I (and our society as a whole) have a hard time differentiating between  wants and needs.  I say “need” a lot.    I need to take a shower.  I need new sheets.  I need to eat dessert.  I need to cut the grass. I need to comb my hair.  I need to hem my pants.  I need to buy more spatulas to add to my other 5 because I may need to flip 6 things at once.    These aren’t real needs, are they?   I think we say “need” to convince ourselves of the urgency of our wants.  We learn when we are toddlers to interject  that urgent word to be taken seriously.  I NEEEEEED that cookie!!!!!!

Ok.. So what do I want so badly today?  MILK!!!!!  I know I don’t NEED milk because I have gone 7 years without it and have felt great.  In fact, I have felt better living without it than living with it.  But my mind has convinced me that I need it.  I yearn for it.  The honest truth is I would love a tall glass of cold, cold milk.  I miss it.  And I’d like to see it in my life again.  No big deal.  So why have I gone to such great lengths to touch it to my lips again?  Maybe I’m OCD.  Who knows.

I cannot tolerate cow dairy.   I figured that out 7 years ago.  Felt sick from it for 30 years prior to the discovery.  But, hey, who’s counting?   When we bought the property 5 years ago, I began planning our dairy goat venture.  5 years of research led me down the road to buying 3 goats.  2 does and 1 buck.  I had the set up for many years of milk production to fill my tummy with yummy thick 6.5% butterfat milk.   COULD NOT WAIT.  Got the girls pregnant.  Waited patiently, then impatiently for many more months than it should have taken for these little kiddies to be born.  The day arrived.

I began milking the two does several weeks ago.  Between the two of them I got about 6 ounces.  Ok.  That’s ok, I thought.  We’ll get there.  I brought the milk in, strained it, plunged it in ice water then stuck it in the fridge.  I am a huge advocate of raw milk.  Many medicinal qualities and unbelievable amount of nutrients that are killed through pasteurization.  (I will tell that story another day). I wanted those nutrients.!!!   I wanted my body to feel what it was like to have those intense nutrients.  The milk tasted U.N.B.E.L.I.E.V.A.B.L.E.

Two days into the milking, I began to get the same symptoms that I get with cow milk.  Respiratory infection symptoms.  By the way,  this has nothing to do with raw milk.  I got the same symptoms from pasteurized milk.  There is enough difference in goat milk and cow milk I was hoping that difference was going to be the difference for me.

I have “leaky gut syndrome”  (I know, sounds gross.)  which is where the intestinal wall is weak in some places and undigested proteins from foods leak out into the blood stream and poison the body.  The intestinal wall can heal and people can resume foods but mine must not be healed completely.  And may never.    Lots of foods can do this and manifest itself in many ways in the body creating symptoms of illness that may not seem related to food.  We think that all food problems will only be felt in the stomach.

Our bodies can be compromised and weakened by many things we consume.  Processed foods.  Chemicals.  Alcohol.  Sugar.  Gluten.    And then, if compromised, the foods that can wreak havoc are corn, gluten, dairy, tomatoes, and nuts.  Probably meat for some people.  Things that are more complicated in nature that take extra time,  energy  and enzymes to digest.

So……. I have 6 goats.  And I can’t drink the milk.  Got goats?  Got milk?   Yes.   And since I haven’t gotten more than 6 ounces at a time and everyone else here can drink cow dairy, I am baggin’ the dairy thing.  (I think…)  I am very disappointed as I have spent an enormous amount of time learning, dreaming,  planning, etc.  and I am at a loss.  I feel really sad that I didn’t get what I want.   My plan did not work out.  Maybe I shouldn’t put so much stock into “my” plan.   My warped mind still keeps trying to figure this out.  I think, surely, I can get this thing to work in my favor.  When you spend so much time working toward something it should work, right?  That’s what I think.   But I’m afraid it is not to be.

But I always get what I need.  Thank God for that.

God bless,

Karen

6 Comments

Filed under Farm, Food/Recipes, Health/ Nutrition, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

July 7, 2012 · 15:57

Raise the Yuck Threshold

When we lived in the suburbs I had an ok threshold of yucky things.  I have always been able to deal with spiders.  I usually just walk right by when I see one.  I would jump when I saw snakes.  Yes, we had snakes in the suburbs.  Pretty something, eh?  (I still am “eh- ing since our Canadian friends left.)

But in the last few weeks, I have delivered baby goats.  I have watched one die.  I have lost two chickens to heat stress.  (I would love to do a whole blog on this weather we have settled into but wont bore you. But I will just say, HOLY COW!!!!!!!!  Enough said. ………. I started this post 4 days ago.  And I will say it again about the weather.  HOLY COW!!!!)    Animal poop of all kinds is normal daily routine.  Yuck is becoming “old hat” here.  

Makes you yearn for cooler days!

My dogs and I were taking an evening stroll a  couple of weeks ago when life was cooler and more lovely.  We met Maggie,  the hunter beast cat,   about a quarter of the way down the driveway.  She was playing with a mouse or mole.  She “plays” by letting it lay in tortured suffering for a while as she rests several feet away.  When it shows any sign of life, she saunters over and gives it a bat or two to show it who is boss then returns to her  post.  The game is truly not very nice.  As we approached the scene, Simon, our big black bear dog who is afraid of his shadow BUT likes to bully all the animals ran over and then jumped and ran away when this little thing  jumped over his foot.

That did not surprise me in the slightest.   Poor thing.  Simon.  Not the mouse.

Samdog then followed along.  And if I may speak about Samdog for a moment.  Samdog is 11.  She is deaf.  And she is the happiest dog alive.  Life is grand.   Always.   Every day is a new experience that is to be lived and shared with great vigor and  joyful anticipation.   She approaches all with an attitude of  adventure.  A mission to be had.  I have much to learn from her.  I believe she also loves being deaf.  It is her form of solitude which I greatly appreciate.  Hmm.  Yeah.

She comes along, snatches the little rodent and keeps right on moving.  Does not  skip a beat.   She walked beside me popping this thing in and out of her mouth.  The adventure was the walk and the rodent was a sidebar.  It was just coming along for the ride.   She continues to explore  and stops to poop several times.  All with the rodent riding along.  This would be totally grossing me out one day in my not too distant  past.  I would be afraid the thing would fall out of her mouth and run over my toes.

So the coup de gras was after about ten minutes she tired of carrying it in her mouth because she couldn’t participate in all the sniffing, digging, and frolicking in waist-high weeds.  Right next to me she decides to just start crunchin’ on it.  Be gone with it!   Loud crunch, crunch, crunch went all the bones of this creature.  Down the pipe it went.  Nothing was spared.   She was free from her bondage of mouse and able to get on with the mission in her little mind.  All the while, I walked beside her.  I did not skip a beat either.   I did not say “gross”.  I did not stop in my tracks and say “Samdog, what did you just DOOOOOO?”

I am making progress in the land of the wild.  And that brings me comfort.  In some ways it  links me to my descendents that came way before me.  It links me to the era that I feel sometimes I shoulda been born.  The settlers days.

I am grateful to be  present for these kinds of events.   I love living life through the small, small things that seem to not hold much significance.   Those things mean the world to me.  They are everything.  They are truly what make our world go round and make us smile and feel alive and a part.

God bless you all,

Karen

Leave a comment

Filed under Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , ,

July 1, 2012 · 22:44

Pondering Hospitality……

I have pondered this word for the 5 years that we have owned this property.   I have prayed about this word.  I have prayed that He would teach me the meaning of this word.  I have bought books on Amazon about hospitality.  Can I  grasp the meaning and become a “woman of hospitality“?   Somehow, I believe there is a difference between the words “hospitality” and “entertaining”.  Something tells me that it is something to be had.  Something that would make me a better person.  Something that I would like to provide to others.

I looked the two words up.

hospitality |ˌhäspiˈtalitē|
noun
the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

entertainment |ˌentərˈtānmənt|
noun
the action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment : everyone just sits in front of the TV for entertainment.
• an event, performance, or activity designed to entertain others : a theatrical entertainment.
• the action of receiving a guest or guests and providing them with food and drink.

The  words that I zeroed in on in these definitions are “friendly”, and “generous” in hospitality.  And ” action” in entertainment.  Could it be that one is simply executing an action when we entertain?  and the other is a gesture of love?   a “friendly and generous” gift?

Prior to reading these definitions I had a feeling.  Have you ever stopped by a friend’s house, maybe even unannounced, and it was if they were there waiting for your arrival?  When you stepped in  you notice that the house could use a little attention,  but they offer no excuses or apologies??   They offer you water and a kitchen chair and somehow at their house that sounds like the perfect invitation?  That,  to me, speaks hospitality.

I have been to people’s homes where I have gotten that gesture of love.  I want to know how to do that.  Some people are born with that gift.  Some people (like me) have to pray that that gift can be taught to them.

When we bought this property, we bought it with the idea of  opening it up to people who would like to come for retreats, solitude, and experience the awe of beautiful nature.  I know that if this is what we have the privilege of doing, then this girl needs some work.

I have decided that entertainment is something that is controlled and manipulated by the host. The guest is told what time to arrive.    Not early and preferably not late.  They will be fed such and such with little or no flexibility.  They are told when it is time to go home.  Almost like a task that will be checked off when it is over.  The host might even get a little irritated if the guest varies from the expectations of the host.  I have been there for years and years.   I have been there.  I want to skip down the path to greener pastures.

So what does that look like?  I think we have to be filled with a grace to be able to do it.  Speaking for myself,  I am not naturally  that giving of myself and my time.

I want to open my door to my guests when THEY feel they need or want to be here.  I want them to feel that they are that important in my life.  I don’t want it to be about the image I am trying to convey through my china or drink or extravagant menu.  I want my food to be their food even if it is just peanut butter and jelly or cultured veggies.    I want to be humble enough to allow them to share  their gifts with us while they are here.  I want to be more interested in what they have to say and what their experiences are than what mine are.  I want them to be able to sit in silence in my home if that is what they want.  I want them to achieve their goal for being here, not mine.  I want my home to be their home.

We just had a wonderful couple visit for 7 days.  They came on their terms.  They called and wanted to come and wanted to come for 7 days.   I prayed about it for a long time before they came.  Please help me to welcome them in my home this time and always and give to them freely as their needs/wants arise.  How did I do, you ask?  Well……. hmmmm… I was given sufficient grace to say I did … ok.  It did not look like entertaining.  The kind I used to know.  I’m not sure it looked like hospitality completely.  But it sure didn’t look like entertainment.  Baby steps.

Tall order, eh?  (“Eh” is for our Canadian guests.  More fondly referred to as “fererners”)

Please share any tips you have to become a better hospitality woman or man.  I welcome any thoughts!

God bless,

Karen

4 Comments

Filed under Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , , ,