Mind Your Moments Because Moments Matter

~ evening in the valley ~

It's extremely doubtful this post will dig any deeper due to extreme weather on God's part and extreme exhaustion on mine, yet, looking back at notes made last year, I see February 2014 was just as horrible and I lost three sheep - Harry and Sophie Shetland and my beloved Carly Shetland, age 21.

~ Carly Shetland ~

This morning, at 5:00 a.m. there's no promise of dawn much less of sunshine and it's only hope and perseverance that gets me out of bed. Well, perseverance and the fact Daisy wakes me because she needs to go outside. We all stumble downstairs and I open the back door to frigid temperatures, twice, and decide I might as well stay up and start a cup of coffee. Eventually, the sun shines and hope stirs that today might just be a tad more gentle than the rest of this month has been. Surely, February, you can end on a gentle note, eh?

~ this morning, 7 a.m. ~

Slow Living is what my life is called and it's mostly concerned with what I call "heat and eat" or what Abraham Maslow called a hierarchy of needs: "food, shelter, clothing". Should you click the link, you'll find an article saying Maslow's work "suggests people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs." I find enormous humor in that statement because, to my way of thinking, there are NO "more advanced needs". Certainly there are other needs, different needs, but "more advanced needs"...no. It could be I haven't any idea what's meant by "more advanced needs" and I struggle to think of some...work? Work is what I do because I love to do it and am blessed to do it...the work of my hands and heart is tending to this farm, these animals and myself. Self-esteem? Again, so tied in with my work that it's impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins and I've never felt that way about any other job. Sure, I've always done my best when employed by others but those jobs didn't give satisfaction like this farm, possibly, due to the bosses I had. It's nigh on impossible for me to respect a boss anyone who isn't honorable, trustworthy or who is a Janus. Truth be told, I don't even try.

The article says there are five needs: psychological (survival needs - food, shelter, clothing); security (employment, safety); social (belonging, love); esteem (personal worth, recognition) and, the highest level, self-actualization (personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, fulfillment of potential). Again, amusement because Dave once told me, "I wish you cared, just a little bit, about what other people thought of you." My response, "Dave, I care enormously about the opinions of those whom I respect; the others...ummm, not so much." That's still true and it amazes me when people say, "What will people think?" and I'm blown away by the prospect people will think. What they think is between them and God and I've enough to answer for without concerning myself with someone else's judgement.

Slow Living means daily, the animals need food and fresh water and that means going to the barn, twice a day minimum, to throw out hay for the horses and chicken scratch for the guineas. Far too often to suit my body, ice has needed to be broken and removed from the water trough and for that I use a crowbar and pitchfork. I'd like to say of all the jobs, that job hurts the worse but then I remember pulling the fire wood from the barn (one hundred yards, all uphill) and how it took three days for my body to recover (if it has). It's hard work yet I take perverse pleasure in being able to do it and, when my spirit, yet again, faints at the prospect I remember so many stories told in Daddy's family and find the strength (due to God's mercy) to carry on.

I believe it was my third Great Grand Daddy and Grand Mother who made their way from central Virginia (late 1600's - early 1700's) to the Appalachian Mountains of (what is now) West Virginia. Joining a group of travelers, she and the smalls (toddlers, babe at breast, younger children and girls) drove their covered wagon loaded with supplies (food, clothing, cast iron cookware, etc.) and, crossing many mountains, headed to the new home place. Grand Daddy and the older boys drove the livestock in a different direction but they were all to meet at the new home stead in time to plant a late garden. When Grand Mother's group got to a river (can't remember which) they didn't realize spring rains had dislodged the marker and it had caught, downstream, in a different place but not realizing, she nudged the horses into the water. Before anything could be done, the wagon overturned; everything, and everyone, was claimed by the river. When Grand Daddy got to the home stead the caskets of his wife and children greeted him.

So my questions are these: why and how do people who don't know Jesus or have such stories keep going? What's their motivation? From where does their strength come?

It's a privilege go live here, on this farm, in this valley. Every day moments are mine to receive and they all matter because all are gifts. When someone would ask Aunt Bonnie, "Why have you never left the farm?" she would reply, "Why would I leave heaven on earth?" I believe she well and truly cultivated the gift of contentment and found joy in the moments because they mattered greatly to her.

The Canada Geese are back and staying at Maiden Springs where they have food and water

and Maiden Springs cave drips with ice that will take another few weeks to fully thaw. Camus said, "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." Summer is mine to claim as well; a merciful gift from God and the stories of family...those great clouds of witnesses gone on before.

I mind my moments because moments matter...greatly.

Blessings ~ Maiden Springs ~ my animals ~ witnesses ~ stories ~ heritage ~ winter ~ summer ~ moments ~

Sabbath Keeping

"It was You who set all the boundaries of the earth;

You made both summer and winter."

~ Psalm 74:17 ~

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
  Man never is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
  Rests and expatiates in a life to come."
~ Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man, Epistle 1, 1722 ~

"She stood in the storm 

and when the wind did not blow her way,

she adjusted her sails."

~ Elizabeth Edwards ~ 

"Live in the sunshine

Swim the sea

Drink the wild air."

~ Emerson ~

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart,
and can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the words." ~ unknown ~

"Let us love winter for it is the spring of genius." ~ Pietro Aretino ~

"No winter lasts forever,

no springs skips its turn."

~ Hal Borland ~

"One kind word warms three winter months." ~ proverb ~

"Dear Winter:

I'm breaking up with you.

It's time to see other seasons."

"What a severe yet master artist old Winter is...
No longer the canvas and the pigments,
but the marble and the chisel."
~ John Burroughs, The Snow-Walkers, 1866 ~

"Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope;

winter alone reminds us of the human condition."

~ Mignon McLaughlin ~ 

"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories."

~ An Affair to Remember ~

"let there be a cottage... a real cottage... a white cottage, embowered with flowering shrubs, so chosen as to unfold a succession of flowers upon the walls, and clustering round the windows through all the months of spring, summer, and autumn - beginning, in fact, with May roses, and ending with jasmine. Let it, however, not be spring, nor summer, nor autumn - but winter, in his sternest shape. This is a most important point in the science of happiness. And I am surprised to see people overlook it, and think it matter of congratulation that winter is going; or, if coming, if not like to be a severe one. On the contrary, I put up a petition annually, for as much snow, hail, frost, or storm, of one kind or other, as the skies can possibly afford us. Surely every body is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a winter fire-side: candles at four o'clock, warm hearth-rugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies on the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audible without..."
~ Thomas De Quincey ~

"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."
~ Lewis Carroll ~

"My old grandmother always used to say, Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever." ~ George R. R. Martin ~

"A lot of people like snow.

I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water."

~ Carl Reiner ~ 

"The heart can get really cold if all you've known is winter."
~ Benjamin Alire Saenz ~

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show." ~ Andrew Wyeth ~

"Drive my dead thoughts over the universe

Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!

  And, by the incantation of this verse,

Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth

Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!

  Be through my lips to unawakened earth

  The trumpet of a prophecy! O, wind,

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~ 

"Pray that your flight will not take place in winter

or on the Sabbath."

~ Matthew 24:20 ~

Prayer Keeping ~ Noreen ~ Grace ~ Donna ~ GJ & Bill ~ Quinn ~ Sandra ~

Another Day, A Lot More Snow

Looks like the new chain method works rather well; the feeder was filled twice today and will be filled tomorrow morning, soon as it gets light.

Between Daddy John, Daniel and Clinton the road was plowed today; good thing because Joe, Clinton's helper was stuck again and couldn't get home.

The view from my back porch; the snow is even with the porch and difficult to see where to step off. All that nice plowing Daddy John did yesterday...for naught. We've had another foot of snow and more drifts of 2.5 feet; going to the barn is wearing me down and I made Sadie stay inside this morning. Even with her sweater, she gets cold; she and Sam will be six next month and I'm starting to treat her with gentle care. She doesn't have much of a coat and gets cold easily; no need to tempt pneumonia.

Sam needs a longer coat but not sure where to find one; when he comes in, his nose is covered in snow so I make him lie in front of the fire until he gets warm.

Charlie called to say the boys couldn't get here today to bring a load of wood and that's just as well...Charlie is calving and it's spirit crushing work. He's lost two calves because they froze due to deep snow and cold; most of the others he takes to the garage where there's a heater to warm them and keep them alive...calves and Charlie too.

My back porch wood supply was down to nothing...seriously not one stick of wood!...so when I went to do afternoon chores, I took the canvas log carrier with me and put six or seven biggish pieces of wood inside. Then, using a horse lead rope, I pulled it through the straps and placing each end over each shoulder and using a ski pole to help me walk, I hauled enough wood to last me through the night. Sadie is standing in the path the carrier made as I pulled it through the snow, a distance of about one hundred yards and all uphill; it's from the far back side of the barn in the right of the picture. Tonight is going to be a four aspirin night and a couple of fingers of B&B but I'm just glad I was able to do this although the pain level is beginning to increase throughout my shoulders, arms, legs, feet body. A couple of weeks ago when those mountain climbers got hung up in Washington state, Daddy said, "What on earth makes people do stuff like that?" My take is, "They don't have physical labor...work...to do any more and they need to expend energy and prove themselves." I'm not so much proving myself as just doing what it takes to keep us fed and warm and am, I do believe, as ready as I'll ever be to sell and move. It would kill Dave to know I want to leave but that was then and this is now; it's time for me to move forward and HEY GOD...I believe I'm ready -lol-.

As I've heard all my life...this is a sight for sore eyes. Not sure what it means but this is what I look like when I get in from the barn except I've removed my gloves. Most of this snow isn't from falling down, it's from the latest snow storm and high winds blowing fiercely. Weather report said six inches but it was more like twelve with drifts to my knees; Daniel said it was terrible off road and feeding the cattle was treacherous.

To the ejit who threw Daisy Mae on the side of the road...thank you. As it happens, that dog does hunt and it's a beautiful sound and sight.

Daisy brought home a raccoon this week; last week it was part of a deer but I don't think she killed the deer as it wasn't as "fresh" as the raccoon.

When I went outside to bring in my last few sticks of fire wood, I saw this sight and it brought tears to my eyes! Daniel blew the snow off the driveway and tomorrow the youngin's are coming to bring fire wood from the barn to the house. This makes it easier on them and it's going to be plenty rough enough, but, they're eighteen years old and probably won't feel a thing. I'm well more than three times older and I'm sure to feel it all...for them and me -lam-.

Weather report is rain, rain, rain and temps of 41 above; the wind has started up and sounds dreadful. Please Lord, keep my horses (and us at the house) safe. I fed double this afternoon and they have shelter...should they choose, so I've done what I can do, at least for today. Someone told me it was going to be slushy tomorrow but I don't care; at least, I don't think I care. I know it's going to be above freezing and, God willing, I'll get a load of firewood and right now that's enough...heck, it's more than enough!

Blessings ~ your prayers and don't mind asking for more ~ Daniel, blowing my driveway clear ~ enough wood to get me through the night 
~ safety, safety, safety ~

February 2015 Snowstorm

It's beautiful but it's also treacherous. I'm wading through 2.5 feet of snow to get to the barn and the dogs let me go first so I can break a path. It's just about to my knees and by the time I get back to the house, my pant legs are soaked. The snow is too deep to use the Ranger, which is in the shop anyway. Matt said he's going to try and bring it to me tomorrow (even though it's his day off!) but I waited to cry at his kindness until after we'd said good-bye.

 Yes, those are chains on the bird feeder; it's to keep it from being blown about by the wind and all the seed falling out. Those are two lengths of chain, about two feet each that's wrapped around the feeder and attached to the metal hanger. After all that, it didn't work so well so now the chain is in a long U around the feeder and then wrapped around the metal hanger. Tomorrow morning I'll be able to tell how well it works.

A gift this morning...a male cardinal at the feeder and such a bright spot of color in an otherwise white landscape. 

Another gift...a woodpecker who didn't want to wait his turn at the feeder. There are times the woodpeckers will eat birdseed but the feeder needs to be vacant.

I don't have photos of the ice in the horse trough...you'll have to trust me when I tell you this morning it was 3.5 inches thick. I'm using a crow bar to break the ice and a pitchfork to lift it out of the trough. By the time I get back to the house, I no longer feel my hands and that's a good thing because when they do warm up, they've moved from aching to actual pain. Quinn and I e-mailed, she's in the same boat...joints aching from use/abuse, weary from slogging through snow to tend to the animals, exhausted sleep. Heck, it's winter in Vermont for her and it's winter in Appalachia for me...although, come to think of it, it might be winter in Appalachia for her as well. hmmmm...

Sam and Sadie wear their sweaters when we go outside; Sadie is cheerful about wearing her sweater but sometimes Sam says NO! He's funny, I'll call him, "Come Sam, put on your sweater" and he'll look at me, lower his head and turn his back. That's when I say, so freeze you ejit! The dogs are standing in one of two bare spots, where the wind blew the snow off the ground. 

Tonight there were thirteen deer at Daddy John's silage pit; the snow is laying deep and it's getting harder and harder for the deer to find food. Sometimes you can see them lined up with the cattle, eating hay that's been spread on the ground.

VA Dept of Highways and Transportation have a plow or snow blower, not sure what it's called but it's fabulous! When the driver came to my driveway, he stopped the blower so he didn't block my driveway...BLESS HIM!

After morning chores, on my hands and knees I...and the Good Lord above...worked on getting the snow and ice away from the granary doors so I could get the 4-Runner out. It took a lot of work, a lot of prayer but, eventually I was successful and drove down to Daddy John's to ask a favor. I asked if he would use his tractor to mush down the snow in my driveway because the young men are delivering a load of black locust to my back porch tomorrow (!!!!!!!!!!...ah, excuse me while I have a joyful fit!) but the driveway was full of snow. He said, "No problem, I told you to let me know when you needed help."

Well, I hate to ask unless it's something I simply cannot do and I don't want to wear out my welcome so I'm sparing when it comes to asking for favors. When I came home from errands (dog food, cat food, cat litter, dog treats, and coffee and apples for me), the driveway was PLOWED! Daddy John didn't just mush down the snow...he PLOWED the driveway! O HALLELUJAH! I drove my car right up to the back porch, unloaded the not so heavy stuff and will ask the young men if they'll unload the dog food and cat litter tomorrow. (I'm saving my strength to carry square bales of hay to the horses...not kidding either.) I'm fixing the youngin's a pan of shortbread to hand to them with their money. (pssssttt...they charge $70 for a truckload of black locust that they deliver and stack exactly where I want it! jealous yet?)

I know this post is disjointed and stiff but I'm just happy to still be able to do what I do. I go to bed early, get up early and in between time do physical labor better suited for someone half my age. Thank God I'm able to do it but, yes, I am looking forward to warmer temps and, eventually, spring. Weather report is calling for another six inches of snow by tomorrow late afternoon then a "wintry mix" which means cold, icy, sleety krap falling from the sky and making everything life threatening. I use two ski poles to get to the barn; the good news is every time I've fallen down, it hasn't hurt...blessing! I'm not even promising to visit around blogland...as Faith says, "I'm not being mean or anything but I. am. wore. slam. out and it's all I could do to give this update.

Your prayers are welcome, needed and greatly appreciated. If you're covered in snow, be careful and don't go if you don't have to go. Today was the first time off the farm since last Saturday and not sure when I'll be able to leave again but not sure I care much either. Someone asked me, "Oh, aren't you loving all that time to read, knit, etc." I hate to admit this but by the time I get in from chores, pretty much all I do is sit, stare out the window or listen to preaching and rest until it's time to go back out; thank God I'm able to go.

Be safe out there, ya hear.

Blessings ~ Daddy John plowed driveway ~ soft snow ~ able to go to town for errands ~ fire wood delivered ~ ski poles ~ birds at feeder ~ dog sweaters ~ considerate VDOT employees ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; 

He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love

to a thousand generations of those who love Him 

and keep His commands."

~ Deuteronomy 7:9 ~

"You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt,

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth."

~ William  W. Purkey ~ 

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." ~ Marilyn Monroe ~

"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not."
~ Andre Gide ~

"Love all, 

trust a few, 

do wrong to none."

~ Shakespeare ~ 

"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages."
~ Nietzsche ~

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close." ~ Pablo Neuoda ~

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

~ Lao Tzu ~

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough."
~ Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook ~

"Without Jesus, possessing everything, we really have nothing. With Jesus, possessing nothing, we really have everything. " ~ Alistair Begg ~

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us,

that we should be called children of God."

~ 1 John 3:1 ~

If you've a name for the prayer list, please let me know. Because memory is a poor servant, don't hesitate to let me know every time you want a name added.

Prayer Keeping ~ Donna ~ Quinn ~ GJ & Bill ~ Faith & family ~ Noreen ~ Sandra ~ 

Dear Dave,

My blog post for Vicki's GYBP is here; you've until tomorrow, Valentine's Day, 5:00 p.m. to enter for the give away.

"Though other friends walk by your side,

Yet sometimes it must surely be,

They wander where your thoughts have gone

Because I have you here with me.

And when the busy day is done

And work is ended, voices cease

When everyone has said goodnight,

In fading firelight, then in peace

I idly rest: you come to me,

Your dear love holds me close to you.

If I could see you face to face

It would not be more sweet and true."

~ Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) ~

The grief has become bitter sweetness and Dave, life is, once again, good. Of course, it's been good but now I'm realizing and appreciating in ways I couldn't since you died. It's been three frozen years of winter since your death. Lately though, the sun has shone more brightly, more warmly and the thaw that signifies spring has become a growing part of the landscape and heartscape.

It's an overused word, but what I'm feeling is... hope. Yes, hope although I can't quite put my finger on it, I finally feel hopeful about a future without you. Hopeful about eventually pulling up stakes and moving us, the animals and I, lock, stock and barrel to a new place, a new farm, a new direction. Life is good again, Dave. I watched as you grieved for Cathy and then, finally, began to move forward, to begin a new life in a new place with a new wife. I watched as Aunt Esther grieved for Uncle Clarence for almost forty years but never remarried. I watched as others grieved and moved on more quickly and, through it all I learned...it's different for each of us. No one can walk another's path; no one can tell another what to do or how to do it. The best they can do is either listen or say how it was for them...but not judge. Oh but how few actually do; there's a reason gossip sounds snake like.

It takes as long as it takes and that's all right too. Grief is messy, messier than life even and most folks have a problem dealing with grief...theirs or especially someone else's. I learned there are folks who don't know how to be friends: they're in it for the short haul or what they can get out of the friendship or as long as it's good for them. I learned just because someone goes to church or stands in a pulpit doesn't mean they're a Christian or a pastor. So many of those folks are the takers and I learned there are kazillions more of them then there are of givers. The givers tend to be quieter, they send cards or notes, or small rememberances or call or pray. They are the hero's, the warriors who are steadfast and true and, what amazed me totally are frequently not people I'll ever meet this side of the veil! Those are the ones with stars in their crowns, those hero's of faith...in me!...who have told me...you can do this, you'll make it, you're doing great. I've learned encourager's are rarely the takers and, almost always, the givers. God bless 'em!

So many have written or telephoned to say they appreciate my honesty in dealing with grief or the posts on the Wife to Widow blog. Honesty is tough, in short supply and not greatly appreciated so when someone says "thanks", it's a huge deal and greatly appreciated. 

So, life is good again, Dave. The ice that has kept my feet and heart frozen in place is thawing and, with God's help, I'm moving forward. I've managed to keep body and soul together. I've helped others, I've learned a lot about taking care of the vehicles, the house, the farm and animals. I've learned a bit about taking care of myself...yes, I'm a slow learner but I remember you used to tell me to "be careful and go slowly because you're the most expensive and important piece of equipment on the farm." I'm laughing again...it's a joyful sound and yes, life is good again. Thank Abba for His gracious and kind gifts.

"I like living. 

I have sometimes been wildly despairing, 

acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all 

I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

~ Agatha Christie, An Autobiography ~

Blessings ~ this farm ~ winter ~ encouragers ~ Agatha Christie ~ the animals ~ laughter ~ Abba ~

Three Days of Absolutely Beautiful!

~ home sweet home ~

I'm participating in Vicki's Grow Your Blog Party here and have giveaways.

Just yesterday, the weather report said three days of absolutely beautiful! Today, tomorrow and Wednesday are supposed to be warm, sunny, bright and, totally, un-February. 

Wrong.

Today is rainy, chilly and absolutely not clothes hanging outside to dry weather so no laundry today and not even thinking about it. January and February have been bone crushing exhausting and mostly spent on the road, tending to business which, for the most part, is almost caught up. The South Carolina Cherry Grove condo was made ready for Canadian snowbirds (hi John and Rosie) and then for the season ahead.  The website has yet to be updated but VRBO is, mostly, updated.

In between trips, it's been farm work with time taken for drinking in the beauty. I never want to allow myself to be so busy that I forget to take time to enjoy this moment. Recently, my brother asked if I remember something and was surprised when I said, "No, I've got maybe half dozen memories of the last three years. For the most part, it's a blur." That's what grief can do to a person's mind and body; it can wrack you with such emotional pain that you simply lose huge swaths of time. Never let someone force you into how you should respond, what you should do after the death of a loved one. Thankfully, due to God's mercy and grace and the positive actions and prayers of many, I was able to come through to this side mostly whole. It takes as long as it takes...

The dogs and I did a pasture walk to clear out the water trough, pick up trash and take photos. Please note, all the work was done by the one with actual working thumbs as the dogs are moral and love support only. ahem. 

This photo was taken from the far corner fence line, in the alfalfa field and the house is seen, barely, in the distance, to the left of Morris Knob (at about 3400 feet, the tallest point in Tazewell County), where the copse of trees stand. 

On the upper hill, hay needed to be set but I have to wait until the afternoon sun has come 'round and heated up the stable door lock so it can be unlocked. (Ain't nothing ever easy, is it?) It's difficult to tell but the tractor is on a slight hill, facing downward, so I always raise the front end bucket to offset the weight of the 1100 pound round bale being picked up behind; the tractor is in 4-wheel drive for added security. I spend a lot of time thinking things through in an attempt to do my part at preventing accidents but pray and rely on God to do the actual preventing. Although, as Daddy says, "There's no such thing as "preventing an accident". I believe he's right, basically, it's just an oxymoron. So, I spent a lot of time thinking about safety and then following through.

With the tractor in reverse, I floor it, just a tad, to shove the rear spear into the hay bale. For me, this is a tricky part...the three prong spear has to be in the right places in order to pick up the bale and you can see snow on the ground so it's a trifle slick. The three prongs are one on top and two side by side below, somewhat forming a triangle. 

Usually the round metal hay ring is frozen to the ground and I'm beyond the point in time where I could physically break the ground hold then move the feeder. The round feeder weighs close to 250 pounds so the tractor is put to good use by using the front bucket to lift the feeder and break the ground hold.

Before putting the ring around the hay bale, I remove all the twine that was used in baling the hay. Others have told me they don't remove the twine but all I see is a vet bill should the horses eat the twine and it gets wrapped around their intestines. It takes all of a minute to accomplish this step, lessens my anxiety and is safer and healthier for the horses. 

Once the ring is broken from the ground I, physically, lift it from the ground

then walk it so the flat side is toward the hay bale

and drop it over the hay bale.

The last step is positioning the ring so it's even all around making it easier for the five horses to eat. 

The dogs help by providing entertainment...Daisy on the left, Sadie in the middle and Sam on the right...chase, jump, bark and generally have a high ole time. Sometimes I join in and then we all take a toes up on the pasture to enjoy heavenly scenery. 

And in the "whoever said God doesn't have a sense of humor department"...you might remember when, first of January, I was bemoaning the fact my wood supply was, dangerously, low. To some folks I mentioned I wanted a supply of black locust because it has the best BTU's of any wood around here, burns cleanly and leaves few ashes. I also mentioned that to God but on the next to last day in January, I figured He had other plans for me. ... Until I remembered Charlie's son had a small business selling wood. In nasty weather, on the last day of January, B. and his friend, delivered a load of wood, directly to my back porch! The wood rack had three pieces of spongy, sorry looking wood.

While the young men were working, I asked, "I'm not good with wood but that looks like oak, is it?" B. stopped working, turned to me, looked me in the eye and said, "No ma'm, it's black locust we cut out of a fence line about four years ago so it should be plenty dry. We really appreciate you buying wood from us." 

I started laughing, raised my hands to the ski and said, "Thank you, God!" The young man grinned and looked at me. I said, "First of January, I asked God for a load of black locust and, honestly, figured He'd forgotten but this proves me wrong! I bet there's laughter in heaven right about now." (Truly, I know God doesn't forget but sometimes it's easy to confuse myself.) 

I ordered three more loads and will, probably, order more before summer. I like having wood stored in the barn; makes me feel like I've got a hold on winter before it gets here next year. This young man is impressive! He shows respect by stopping his work, looking me in the eye, listening and responding with beautiful manners. Several times he said, "Thank you for buying wood; we really appreciate it." Pick me up off the floor! Charlie, you and K. have done a fabulous job; I love this boy...may I have him, please?

Using the Polaris Ranger and an old metal bed spring, I drug the yard to distribute horse manure. Lightly has been allowed to graze the yard and her manure means I don't have to spend money on chemical fertilizers (as if!). Next time, I'll use the tractor as this job was a bit too hard on the Ranger. (Daddy John did warn me...)

What's on your back porch? 

If you've surmised my computer woes are over...they are, at least for the here and now but who knows how long that will last? For a lot of years, there have been no computer problems but, since October, that's changed. Hopefully, I'll have a spell where I'm able to visit around so act surprised when I show up on your blog, although, it'll be slow going for a while. Yesterday, I dropped a ladder on my right hand and the pain level is such I'm forced to go slow; thank God my hand isn't broken.

Blessings ~ days of beauty ~ safety ~ round bales of hay ~ dogs ~ black locust wood ~ another day above ground ~ I'm ready to go but I'm not homesick ~

Sabbath Keeping

"How precious to me are your thoughts, God.

How vast is the sum of them!"

~ Psalm 139:17 ~

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."
~ Thomas Jefferson ~

"Your big opportunity might be right where you are now."

~ Napoleon Hill ~

"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking." ~ Albert Einstein ~

"Whether you think you can 

or whether you think you can't...you're right."

~ Henry Ford ~

"Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours." ~ John Locke ~

"God wasn't having a bad day when He made you."

~ Joel Osteen ~

"Judge a man by his questions, rather than by his answers." ~ Voltaire ~

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled,

but a fire to be kindled."

~ Plutarch ~

"Whoever controls the media, controls the mind." ~ Jim Morrison ~

"True humility is not thinking less of yourself,

it is thinking of yourself less."

~ C. S. Lewis ~

"The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority.
The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority.
The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."
~ A. A. Milne ~

"Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It's like upsetting milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can't trust my own thinking, of course I can't trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God." ~ C. S. Lewis ~

"The sinful mind is hostile to God.'

~ Romans 8:7 ~ 

If you've a name for the prayer warriors, let me know.

Prayer Keeping ~ Noreen ~ Terry and husband ~ Bill and GJ ~ Sue and husband ~ Donna ~ military personnel including Wes and family ~ Dustin and family ~ Faith and family ~ Quinn ~ Sandra ~

Sabath Keeping

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do

and He will establish your plans."

~ Proverbs 16:3~ 

"Always plan ahead.

It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark."

~ Richard Cushing ~

"Things are pretty bad here. ... Sometimes I am very unhappy, but less so than I have often been in what were (by external standards) better times.
The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own', or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life-the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one's 'real life' is a phantom of one's own imagination. This at least is what I see at moments of insight, but it's hard to remember it all the time-I know your problems must be much the same as mine (with the important difference that mine are of my own making, a very appropriate punishment and, like all God's punishments, a chance for expiation.)
Isn't it hard to go on being patient, to go on supplying sympathy? One's stock of love turns out, when the testing time comes, to be so very inadequate: I suppose it is well that one should be forced to discover the fact!"
~ C. S. Lewis ~

"Plans are nothing.

Planning is everything."

~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

"Mix a little foolishness in with your plans. It is lovely to be silly at the right moment." ~ Horace ~

"First comes thought.

The organization of that thought, into ideas and plans

then transformation of those plans into reality. 

The beginning, as you will observe,

is in your imagination.

~ Napoleon Hill ~

"Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work."
~ Peter Drucker ~

"A plan is a list of actions arranged in whatever sequence is thought likely to achieve an objective."
~ John Argenti ~

"A man who does plan long ahead will find trouble at his door." ~ Confucius ~

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and here are some who face realty; and then there are those who turn one into the other." ~ Douglas H. Everett ~

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes...but no plans." ~ Peter Drucker ~

"A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow." 

~ George S. Patton ~ 

"As for the future, you task is not to foresee it, but to enable it." ~ Antoine de Saint Exupery ~

"He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan carries a plan that will guide him through a labyrinth of a most busy life." ~ Victor Hugo ~

"But all things should be done decently and in order."

~ 1 Corinthians 14:40 ~ 

If you want a name added to the prayer list, please let  me know. I try to update the prayer list within 48 hours; if you haven't seen your request, please send again. I am not good with computers and have been having a lot of problems; do not hesitate to help me.

Prayer Keeping ~ Bill ~ GJ ~ Faith and family ~ Donna ~ Stephanie ~ Alexandra Stoddard and family ~ Sandra ~