Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Good morning from the mountain...and more van repairs, kitten work, weeds and more...

Good morning from the mountain, I started my day with a nice cup of coffee and plan to work on the van.  I did go out and take more of the door panel apart in an effort to get the window back up, but I was halted by a horse shoe clip and no tool to remove said clip. The tool costs only six dollars, the switch for the driver’s door around thirty five and the motor another fifty dollars or so, plus the other door switch at twenty four more dollars and then tax plus the cost of two gallons of gas. How frustrating it is to be so close and yet so far from a goal.  It will be a 30+ mile round trip just to get that tool and well if I am already there, night as well get the window switches and the motor.  How will I fund this hundred dollars’ worth of parts.

While taking this apart I found out that I needed to find a better Philips screw driver, I am sure I have many, but at the moment they were elusive.  It took us about twenty five minutes to find one on my desk.  I am guilty of the most heinous of crimes on the farm, not putting a tool back where it belongs.  I at one time said we should put it back where we found is, but I am sure that is how much of the loss of tools got started.  If you put it back where you found it and it is not the right place, how in the world could one ever find it again?  I fear the tools live with the dryer socks.

In the meantime, I need to go and get feed for us and the livestock, which happens to be in the other direction and three gallons of gas, which puts me at empty on my gas budget for the week and then some.  I guess I will have to see something.  I guess I will to double ground the switch to see if I can get the window up one last time and try to make enough over the week to get the parts, plus more gas money.  A long week will surely follow!

I milked the goats, Elijah my eight year old, was out pulling thorny weeds which are not food. In the pulling he picked enough purslan for lunch. Purslan is a prostrate-growing, succulent (lobbed) annual that grows in open areas, often before other weeds take hold. The stems are thick, sprawling, and always have a touch of red towards the root base.  It is known to flower, if you have not eaten it before than.  At one time flowers were yellow, but at garden centers a domestic form of it can be-found in many colors. Purslane can produce a lot of seeds and the seeds may lie dormant in soil for years, making it appear out of no where.
I have enclosed a drawing of some:
Here is what I will cook with it:  I will be using smoked lamb though...

http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/lamb_stew.html


 Enough about cooking and bad to the rest of the story. I was paying him five cents per weed and the little love pulled out four hundred and fifty one of them.  Wow that is more than I have made all day, it came to t grand total of twenty two dollars and fifty five cents.   I am very proud of him and I can see that he is gaining an understanding of hard work equating with making money.  I am sure the people of Denmark will soon be receiving this money towards the purchase of LEGOs.  They never turn my money away and it is a god thing I had this money figured into the budget already.  When we were done with our business transaction is was off to other chores.

The kittens in the large dog carrier needed tending to.  This involved much to my dislike, cleaning their living space out; oh it is so stinky…  I could see that the baby chickens have done a great job at keeping the bug population down.  They baby chickens are very plump and happy.   Next more wood chips, I dumped the rest of the bag in and no sooner was I done then the kittens jumped and tumble and dung through it all, the baby chickens were not happy.  They became kitten toys un-willingly as the black and white kitten and the calico though their feet were new toys, poor little birds they were having none of that and very quickly tired of the game.

Meal time ended most of the playing around, fresh goat’s milk and a can of cat food upon a dish.   All five kittens a blur of color surround the small plate and with much growling devoured the food and proceeded to like the plate clean, and we soon drinking down the milk with the baby chickens.   Nothing is cuter then watching baby chickens and kittens drinking milk together.  We also wormed them all, I am sure the baby chicken and the kittens were not thrilled with this action.  I am sure they will not be happy with bath time latter to day either.
Well off to have breakfast and to feed the two legged children, late again.  Then off to meet with a nice lady who is selling me some canning jars and after that I am off to the feed store and grocer.  It will be a long day, but at least it has rained already so I do not have to water the gardens.   I still will have to check for pest though.   Farm work is never done; it just gets put on and off the list of daily life.

Be Blessed Dear ones…
Shekhinah




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