A Week Gone

~ Izzabella and DaniGirl ~

Although colder temps still linger, the snow has melted and daylight hours bring a modicum of warmth. The wind still has a decided bite but, dare I hope, spring creeps ever so diligently closer...day by day, and, as of today, spring is ten TEN days away...be still my heart! Due to illness, this last week has been spent doing the basics and not much more. It seems all that spare time available since Carly, Harry and Sophie died, wasn't going to be spent doing fun stuff. Oh No! It was spent taking antibiotics and Sambucol, drinking copious amounts of water, eating (somewhat) healthfully and sleeping. At least sleeping during the night; I'm one of those people who find it difficult to sleep during the day but I can crank out eight to ten hours a night, depending upon exhaustion level. Even so, it would be boorish of me to complain about being sick as the last time I was ill was Dec 2010 and, even this time, it wasn't dreadful. Just enough to make my wagon drag and suck energy like Al Gore's house. 

Water troughs still have ice but one sunny, warmish day the dogs and I opened gates for Daddy John. He was feeding silage and having a gate opener decreases both the amount of work, energy needed and speeds up the job. 

John uses one tractor to load silage into a loader which will disperse the amount he wants to each individual cow herd.

I'm standing beside the open gate, watching as the cows watch the tractor. It doesn't take long for the animals to associate the tractor sound with food!  If I remember correctly, he put about 6,000 pounds of silage on the ground for these cattle then we moved to the adjacent pasture.

After John finished feeding, I closed the gate and went down the road to take pictures of the new lambs. 

Last week, I put out round hay, a task that I do very slowly, extremely carefully and not without a bit of trepidation. It takes the men fifteen minutes to sit out hay; it takes me thirty, or more, depending upon weather. The hat lots are on a slight incline and backing the tractor on a hill takes extreme concentration on my part.

After moving bales away from the fence, I ended up pushing, not carrying, hay because my summer help put the hay too close to the fence; the result being, HayJ and Bo leaned across the fence, broke it down and started munching. The hay was too loose to pick up and carry so I pushed it into the field and left it.

I was annoyed at my summer help because it was his fault but my responsibility to see the job was finished correctly so am paying the price of having some hay wasted. There's, ultimately, only myself to blame.

HayJ doesn't seem to mind; he's the black and white Curly x Percheron and is a huge horse. He's so tall, he can raise his head and I can't get his halter on him so I trick him. I put a bucket of sweet feed on the ground and make him put his head through it in order to get to the feed. As Queen Victoria said, "We are not amused"...but I am and chuckle anyway. When you're 5'5" tall and your horse is about 18 hands tall, tricks are allowed. 

Mornings begin with dogs and I piled on the sofa and me having devotions. Gray Tom likes loves to curl up next to Sam, long suffering Sam, and the day begins gently. Tonight, it's going on 11:00 which is hours past my bedtime. Have I mentioned how much I despise hate daylight savings time? I want to know what's being saved 'cause it's sure not anyone or anything I know. Farmers, generally, hate dst and with good reason. It's light at 7 p.m. and by the time I get back inside, feed the cats and dogs, feed myself, get ready for bed, check e-mail it's past 9. If I want to update the blog, it's late...going on 11:00. grrrr! It's time to put the dogs out for their last toilet, more meds for me then sleep for all. 

Sweet dreams to you.

Blessings ~ good health for years ~ being helpful and useful ~ animals who love me and each other ~ good hay ~ warmer weather ~ 

My Day's Sweetness

~ Sam and Tom ~

Just so you know, my day has plenty of sweetness that outweighs, mostly, all the hard, messy, cold, dangerous work. Dave was always a night owl and I'm a morning person; it worked out well because he would have his quiet time in the evenings, after I'd gone to bed and vice verse in the mornings. By the time he was ready for coffee, I'd been up a couple of hours, made coffee, had devotions and started breakfast. Being a creature of habit (aren't we all?), I still get up early and it's not unusual for me to be awake at 4:30 but, usually, it's more like 5:00 or 5:30. Every now and again I'll sleep in until 7 or 8 o'clock and then feel like I've wasted half my day. Anyway, lately it seems several of my posts have been on the whiny side so here's some sweetness. (If it bores you beyond tears...you've been warned, smile).

 One reason I get up so early is so I can have devotions. Each morning, unless there's an emergency, I sit in the sun room and read the Bible and other devotions then listen to Pastor's Youssef and Begg on XM Radio. If I can't get beyond first gear, sometimes I'll stay and listen to Chuck Swindoll as well. Dave used to get such a kick out of Pastor Swindoll's last name; he'd say, "What a perfect name for a preacher? Is he a swindler?" Not to my knowledge but he is a good teacher of Scripture.

The stacked books on the left are knitting, crochet and a novel or two. The books on the right are devotionals and Bible studies. The knitted wash cloths have scented soaps inside and are given to folks who have made my life a bit easier this past year. The women at the feed stores, auto repair and other places while the men receive short bread.

 I light a Wood Wick Candle because I enjoy the glow, fragrance and the sound. If you're not familiar with Wood Wick candles, instead of a cotton waxed wick they have a wooden stick wick.

All of us have our routine; Sadie sits to my left and starts out her morning (after treats, of course) by holding hands. She'll raise her paw and use it to nudge me until I take her paw in my hand and we sit, quietly, for a few minutes. 






Sam reclines on my right and when he feels Sadie is receiving too much attention, he'll slide over and tuck his head under my nightgown. By the way, if you like flannel nightgowns, Lanz makes the Most Wonderful flannel nightgowns! I've worn them for decades and they wear like iron and, when worn out, make excellent cleaning cloths. Recently, I found some at TJMaxx and they're more than 75% less than the price I found on the inter-net. 

Meanwhile, Sadie has stretched out so she can lay her head in my lap, 

while Tom sits on my stomach, sometimes resting his lower end on the top of Sadie's head. It's all right, we're all friends here.

In the past day we've gone from snow on the ground to bare ground. It's gotten above freezing, several days in a row, and everything has started to melt. (Which reminds me...I never did hang the laundry out today.)

I opened up the alfalfa field so the horses and alpacas can graze it; there's a lot of good pasture to be eaten and the manure they drop will aid in the new growth come spring.

I wait until 8:00 or thereabout to give Carly her morning meds with her breakfast. Some days I have to find her and other days she's still asleep. I'm disgustingly simple when it comes to the animals and try to make their lives as kind as possible.

When the dogs and I go to the barn, we check on Harry Shetland. He's an old wether, as old or older than Carly, and I'd love to bring him to the yard but he's better off at the barn, with no other sheep. He has the barn cats and guinea's for company, he's safe and I take him water and food twice a day.

He's blind and far safer where he can't be run over by the other animals. I was going to put him down but he's still enjoying his food and will move toward me when I shake his pan and call him. During nice weather, he can get in the sunshine and, at night or in bad weather, he can turn and go into the barn and lay down. He has free choice hay so he always had good food and water. I've noticed he prefers me to bring him fresh water in the morning and afternoon and he'll take a good long drink while I hold the bucket. Sometimes, he'll drink from the bucket when it's placed on the ground in front of him.  These animals are a study in patience for me; I can't become frustrated or get rushed or they'll panic and we'll be right back where we started. It's much easier for me to go slow, speak quietly, gentle and low and move slowly. Heck, it's probably good for me as well!

'PacaRose is doing fine, eating well, defecating properly and enjoying life with his bros.

The sheep are grazing the yard while the three guinea's wander amongst them. Generally, the guinea's roost in the sugar maple tree and have proven to be excellent "watch dogs". I've decided I'll always have guinea's as they are comedians as well as "watch dogs". They know when Sadie chases them, it's all for show; she just likes to hear them raise a ruckus.

A lot of my days, thank God, are simple and full of the work that it takes to keep this place going. I have two horses I throw hay to every morning and afternoon; I should get on the tractor and give them a round bale but, truth be told, my bones have been a bit creaky lately. Hard as it is to believe, it's just easier to climb in the loft and throw down a few square bales and tear them apart.

Daddy John, wife Ashley and their families have opened a restaurant (the restaurant business being, as Daddy John says, "the nearest thing to milking twice a day as I've ever seen!") and Ashley requested some knitted goods to display and sell. I had some things ready, then decided to knit some other things, and my poor hands are repaying me by not working properly. As in, I can do almost anything I want to do if it doesn't include picking up or holding things, knitting, or typing for any length of time. Ben and I go to bed together, nightly, with aspirin and a glass of alcoholic beverage. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big drinker but Dave used to tell me, "Take some aspirin and drink a beer or glass of wine and you'll sleep a lot better." This was the same man who would tell me, "Don't you think you should wait until your head hits the pillow before you fall asleep?"
Ah...such Precious Memories.

Blessings ~ calm week ~ healthy animals ~ Andy Griffith ~ good music ~ sleep ~

A Week and More, Second Part

~ PacaRose , left~

Woman plans, God laughs and I'm more than a week late with the second part update. Good news, PacaRose is fine and dandy and I've come to the conclusion he's F.A.T. and has a problem getting to his feet when he lays down with his head uphill. 

~ Carly Shetland, right ~

But, I should start with events leading up to the first paragraph. Every so often, Carly Shetland will become 'cast', meaning she gets turned over and can't right herself. I go to her, speaking softly and in a low voice so she knows I'm coming. Once she hears my voice, she begins bleating, as if telling me she's in a pickle and needs help. 

Fortunately, I don't have to lift her, but can roll her so her feet are on the 'down' side, then she can stand. Carly gets arthritis pain meds in the morning and in the evening which helps her greatly with her mobility, but, even so, there are times when she needs help. 

After getting Carly to her feet, I went to the barn where PacaRose was down and I had to get him up. That meant, I lifted his head and l.o.n.g. neck upright, scooched my feet underneath him and then heaved lifted pushed him to  his feet. Once he got started, he was fine and dandy and begins eating and drinking normally. Fortunately, that was the last day he was down; it's been all good, for him at least, ever since.

~ four paca boys , right~

Next, the farrier came to trim horse feet which was a two and a half hour job. Not all the horses needed trimming but they all needed de-worming and all were de-wormed except HayJ. By the time we dealt with seven horses, I was exhausted and just wanted the farrier to leave so I could crash and get warm but that was not to be. 

The dratted horses escaped into the yard which, as you all well know, wasn't their fault the gate was left open. Totally my fault but that did not ease the forty minutes of pain of getting them back into the barn lot.

On Monday, Donald, Mary's husband, came to fix the barn lights; he figured out the black wire wasn't connected properly and the lights were blown. At any rate, he fixed the wires, replaced the bulbs and it's lovely having dusk to dawn lights in the driveway!

Andy also came on Monday to drag the pastures; he used the harrows to distribute the manure so, over winter, it'll decompose and return to the soil. You can see the lines in the pasture showing where he used the tractor and harrows. He also helped de-worm Hay-J so all the horses are finished being de-wormed; now only the sheep remain.


So far, so good but the story is about to take a downward turn...you are warned.

The dogs, as usual, were with me, every step throughout the day. In the afternoon, Sophie began trembling, shaking and acting like she was freezing so I put her in the Ranger, out of the wind and cold. We came inside at 4:00 so I could feed the dogs their supper and, if anything, she got a little worse. When I put her food in front of her, Gypsy Cat stuck her head in Sophie's dish which was highly unusual. In a hurry, I ran to use the bathroom and Sophie followed me; when she walked into the wall, that's when I knew, for certain, she was blind. I called the vet, told them I was bringing in Sophie, grabbed her up and ran for the car.

Long story short, she might have had a stroke which cause her blindness but we don't really know. I brought her home and, on Tuesday morning, let Sam and Sadie say good-bye. 

Dave and I have always let the remaining dogs say good-bye; it's far gentler to let them know than to let them wonder. 

In years past, Shadow, Zoe, Abbie and Grace were cremated so their ashes were put into the grave first, then Sophie's casket followed. I want to write another post on Sophie but not tonight; tonight is for saying good-bye.








Andy and Donald filled in the grave,  

and I used the tractor's front end loader to pack the earth and finish the job.

This post is being written on Sunday evening, after a day weekend of rain, cold, wind and more troubles. I've been keeping an eye on another old sheep, a weather, who is ancient, probably as old as Carly, and he's in poor condition. I brought him to the barn, where he's been given chicken scratch (easy to eat and digest) and sweet feed with pain meds. He's blind, creaky and confused so, tomorrow, I'm going to ask the vet how best to put him down. He's had a good great life; better than about seventy percent of the humans on this earth and putting him down will be my last gift.

Now you understand why I'm late with the update; it's not just the physical exertion but the emotional toll. Sophie's human Pa had cancer and killed himself and Sophie came to live with me the Sunday after I buried Dave on Wednesday. It's been an emotional roller coaster for all of us...Sadie, Sam and me and between the weather, the work, the tears and all the rest, I am in tatters. 

Dear God. And it's not even winter.

Blessings ~ Abigail ~ Shadow ~ Zoe ~ Grace ~ Sophie ~ Donald ~ Andy ~ Sam ~ Sadie ~ 

Farm Life

~ laundry on the line ~

Do you notice as the days, weeks, months, years pass there's less of you and more of work? It seems more difficult to get as much out of the days as before. Before what? you may ask. Well, before that last birthday; actually, before the last decade of birthdays. Seven loads of laundry means the washer is going all day and with the wind blowing at 15 mph, it also meant the laundry dried lickety split. A good thing because I could get more laundry done; a bad thing because it meant I kept doing laundry all day. And, come to think of it, I didn't get all the laundry finished. The children spent Easter with me and all their bed linens still need to be washed. Lawz, there's always something!

While I was on the ground, taking the first photo, I decided to take a photo down the valley. Or, rather, up the valley as the farm sits at the toe and the head of the valley is the direction you now see.

As of yesterday, the house still smoldered but rain began last night and it's still raining as of Wednesday night so the fire should go out. It's been a full week; the fire started last Wednesday. I caught up with Russell's wife, daughter and grand-son; they said Russell is terribly despondent. I asked them to ask Russell to please call me as I have some good news. People have donated a lot of things...furniture, household goods, clothing, food, personal items, money...and we'd love to help them set up housekeeping. My heart breaks for the family; they have so many troubles beyond their home being lost; please keep them in your prayers.

Yesterday, Donna made me a delicious lunch and we caught up for the first time in ages. People are being so kind and it's so appreciated; small acts of kindness are a gift and a blessing. It's been a rich week because today

Peggy met me for lunch and asked how was I doing. I told her I thought okay and then, when I went to get in my car and leave...the battery was dead because I'd left the lights on. Yes, as a matter of fact the bell does ding but, for whatever reason, I never heard the bell. For the second time since last Wednesday, I never heard the bell and my battery died. Neither one of us had jumper cables so I asked a gentleman in an equipment store if he would help me. He worked in a store that sold small farm and home equipment and said yes and brought this handy machine to my car.

I WANT!!!

It jump starts the battery, has a handy light on the side, it can be plugged into a regular wall socket to charge and it has a hose so a flat tire can be pumped up...WOW! I'm buying one of these things and, no matter what vehicle I'm driving, this little item is going in the trunk. I'm telling you, it's handier than a pocket on a shirt! The feller was telling me I needed to go to Sam's Club and buy one, pronto! He said, "just think, if it's dark you no longer have to worry about flagging someone down. It's a safety issue." He is so right and God bless him for helping and for his suggestion. I'm making him a pan of shortbread and taking it to him tomorrow. 

Daniel disced the garden last night so it's ready for potatoes. I'll drag the potatoes up from the cellar so I can get those in the ground. Daniel wants to bring the 'tater planter because he said it makes straighter rows because it's drug behind the tractor. Apparently, he doesn't like my curvy rows even though I can get more 'taters planted in a curvy row. (smile) He said, "humor me and we'll do straight rows this year." Welllll, okay!

There's no more of 'me' left for today; it began early but I'm stopping now. Daniel, Morgan and I trimmed horse feet and de-wormed horses then re-arranged horses this evening. American Curly horses are bad to founder on spring grass so I've got three on a short lot. Meaning they can only eat what I give them...diets! Daniel trimmed feet and Morgan and I handled most of the rest. Although yesterday was beautifully sunny, today was rainy and chilly, a combination that sucks the life, heat and energy out of the body. 

Blessings ~ Daniel ~ Morgan ~ gardens ~ gadgets ~ beautiful days ~ rainy days ~ Donna ~ Peggy ~ 

Days of Reckoning

~ foggy sunrise ~

 We've had a foggy morning just about every day this month of June and we're sliding, quickly, into that day of reckoning, the 21st, when Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year precludes the time of lessoning light. I dislike days of shortened light but, even more, dislike man's tampering with sun time, aka daylight saving time. Pretty much, everything man has tampered with has been a complete and total failure and I fail to see why Ben Franklin thought he could improve upon sun time. Perhaps that electrical bolt of lightening sparked his brain when he was flying that kite, do you think? -grin-

  ~ foggy mountain morn ~

Rain continues to fall and hay still hasn't been cut. John, the young feller who usually cuts our hay, has had an equipment breakdown and he's unsure, exactly, when he'll be able to get here. We've someone else who is interested and, if the weather cooperates, we'll hopefully get hay cut first of the week. John is still our go-to guy but it's nice others want to cut on shares. We, meaning God and He lets us help, do grow some mighty fine hay and this first cutting will be made into 4x4 round bales. That means each round bale will be 4 feet x 4 feet; John bales a 5x5 bale so there's a tad bit of difference. Someone with a calculator and a mind for math want to work up what that difference is, please and thanks?

 ~ Lightly, looking a bit of a shadow of her former self ~

It's been a week of work and my mares, Peach and Lightly, are doing a lot better. They still aren't happy about the short rations and up in the morning Peach took a kick at Sadie. I've been trying to teach and train the dogs to stay out from under the horses' feet but, until this morning, the lesson didn't take. Peach gave a warning squeal and then kicked out with her right hind foot. She pulled back on her kick, it wasn't full force and didn't connect but it frightened Sadie half to death and I'm glad of it! Sadie ran behind me and stood there while I finished mucking out the barn. All the dogs seemed a tad opened eyed and wary; it's just a lesson that needs teaching and not an injury and I'm hoping this is a lesson learned. Like Daddy and Mother used to say and still say, "You'll learn the hard way or you'll learn the easy way but you will learn." As usual, they were right.

~ Sadie, ducking Peach ~

Carly is a Shetland sheep and one of my oldest ewes, somewhere north of ten, I believe. None of the girls need worry about pregnancy as all the rams are now wethers and everyone earns their keep by providing fleeces and love. She's as tame  as a puppy and one of the first to come for pets, nose kisses and corn. School children love her and she loves the attention.

~ Carly Shetland ~

~ teasel ~

Teasel is a mountain plant we see a lot around here. Someone told me in days gone by, women would use teasel to tease sheep fleeces into alignment so they could be spun into yarn and the mentioned linked site said the Romans were the first to so use teasel. I'm not really sure I believe this as the teasel I've seen doesn't seem to be strong enough to handle teasing fleeces. Like thistle, teasel is a bi-annual and its medicinal uses include treating warts, curing jaundice, a diuretic and made into wine. Thankfully, I've never had to find out if any of this is true. Still and all, it's a pretty plant albeit a prickly plant and will scratch blood if one isn't careful. It gets in the horses manes and tails and wrecks more than its share of havoc and it's a pain, literally, getting them out of the manes and tails.

~ Maiden Springs Fort ~

 Down the road is this sign at the site of the Anglo fort, Maiden Springs. Dave's family settled here a ways back and his cousins, the eighth and ninth R. Bowen's yet live at the home place. While we all have our place in history, it's nice, sometimes, knowing the lineage. It's nice being able to say, these were our kith and kin, they settled here and now, we are settled here, being stewards of what God has entrusted us as we make our mark for God and on the land.

Blessings ~ kith and kin ~ horses ~ sheep ~ dogs ~ family ~ hay season ~ birds of the air ~

Dei Gratia,
Sandra

Farm Work

 ~ material for a table runner ~

WHEW! It's been a couple of days at Thistle Cove Farm. I suppose I should stay away from the media but then, dang it, "they'll" sneak up on me and I'll have no one to blame but myself. Like most of America, working America that is, generally, I'm too busy getting things done to pay much attention to how the politicos are reaming me. However, the past few days have found me glued to the radio trying to figure out if those blooming ejits are actually going to pass the debacle they are calling "health care reform". Ha! It all makes me want to run, screaming, for sanctuary.


Oh dear. I seem to be beginning again...on another rant. Hmmmm. Thinking. Thinking. Thinking.

Okay. I'll tell you about farm work. Town errands took up a portion of the morning and when we returned home, I worked in the studio. I've been dyeing yarn and doing a series of felted tea cozies, cotton table runners, quilts and other textiles but today took time out to iron some antique vintage aprons. Our county library is having an exhibit, in conjunction with VA Minds Wide Open and asked if I had some things to loan. They were especially interested in aprons and I've got a few dozen old aprons that were clean but needed ironing. I love to iron, seriously! it's such pleasurable work, ironing those old aprons and preparing them to be hung in our local library. The librarian also wanted other crafts so I'll take some hand spun yarn, roving, felted tea cozies and other things and show photos when the exhibit is completed.

I was just finishing ironing the last apron when the dogs began barking. Red and Daniel came to help get the animals ready for spring. Around here that means de-worming horses and sheep, vaccinating and trimming feet. I wasn't ready to vaccinate, wasn't aware the fellers were coming tonight so we just de-wormed and trimmed a couple of horses feet. I went to call in all the animals as they don't come for anyone but me. It's a hoot! I go to the fence and begin calling, "Here Sheep! Sheepie, sheepie, sheepie; heeeerrreee sheep!" As fast as their little legs can carry their fat little bodies, they came bouncing over the meadow thinking they were in for a treat. Usually corn but tonight not. I like keeping everyone healthy and well as it's a lot less expensive and a lot less work than getting them well.

  ~ de-worming sheep ~

These photos are blurry because I didn't use flash plus it was dusk and in a stall in the stable. There's one lone light bulb, shared between two stalls, and that's the entire illumination. Camera flash, indeed any flash, tends to spook the animals and it's already a, somewhat, fragile, situation. Red and Daniel have been farmers a combined total number of years than I've been alive and still do this type work seven days a week. I used to do this work but Dave has decided he'd rather I not put myself in situations where I could get injured. Bless him! So, I do the donkey work - call in the animals from the far pastures, open and close gates, run for supplies, hand off supplies, etc. And take pictures. Around here, everyone is resigned used to me taking photos; I don't even ask anymore. It's so much easier to de-worm sheep in close quarters. There's not much room to move around and that means the sheep are less active and less likely to take out a human's knee. Generally, we crowd them into a small stall, shove the de-wormer down their throat, mark their forehead and, when the crowd is finished, all are turned loose.

I like for everyone to be de-wormed prior to Sheep Shearing Day; it gives the meds time to work and the fleeces time to be cleaned by Mother Nature. I like clean pastures, thus clean fleeces, but I've had to feed so much hay this winter, I'm concerned the sheep fleeces might have a little vegetative matter in them. If they do, I won't charge as much money as I prefer selling a superior product.

 ~ Sadie and Carly, going eye to eye ~

  ~ Sam, watching as sheep are turned out  ~

 ~ Red, waiting for horses ~

 ~ Daniel and horses moving quickly ~

 

 ~ Abigail, looking old, cold and tired ~

 ~ Daniel, trimming Peach's hoof ~

It was a long, hard job but eventually all the sheep were de-wormed, all the horses were de-wormed and two had their feet trimmed. It's late, the dogs are all sleeping in various piles around the room, the cats are curled into tight little balls and I'm ready for sleep myself.

Spring. The beginning of work on the farm; early mornings and late nights but, hopefully a lot to show for the efforts. May it always be so.

Blessings ~ animals, ready for spring ~ Red and Daniel ~ no injuries ~ enough meds to handle everyone ~ studio work ~ aprons ~ 

Thanks for visiting Thistle Cove Farm,
Sandra