Good Afternoon from the mountain

Good afternoon from the mountain, I hope you holidays were excellent no matter which ones they were.  We have been busy doing the last minute winter fixes to our farm house.  Our primary bedroom is an endless source of cold right now, and we have a very hard time keeping it at 64 degrees.  So far, I have thermal curtains up; I have put bubble wrap on most of the windows, but I fear the real problem may be the concrete block its self.  


In the summer time, this room is an oven and the winter a cold box.  We even talked about putting up construction wrap around this part of the house until winter passes and trying to reseal the outer walls and then paint them.  I am going to see if I can purchase some online and have it deliver up here to the mountain.  I am also planning on using a space heater along with the wood heat on the colder nights. 


All this extra prep is a real drain on my expenses that are already stretched much too tight.  It  just can not be helped.  As an example just a day before I was to go to a dinner, the water heater went out.  It took more than a day of course to find what the cause of the problem.  We had a replacement kit, so we were good there.  For those of you who may not know what that is, it is the two coils for the water heater and the temperature control box.  We used the whole kit, plus Mike drained the tank and got rid of 6 months of crud.

Now I must again make plans to go to the big city nearly an hour from here to get another kit for the wall.  So there is a lot of costs involved there.  Everything from the gas to get up there and back, the cost of parts and maybe other things that are needed but we have not bought.  I try hard never to be without parts for everything we use on the farm and if you walked the grounds you would see many spare parts.

The other day we had a nice man come up looking for some animals to purchase and walked by a pile of cages that we no longer use, he asked about one and I gave him a price.  Yesterday he picked it up and now I have half the money I need to buy the new hot water heater parts.  Our junk was someone's treasure; I could not be happier about it.  

There is a term for what he did, and it is called picking.  We have been officially picked, what a great moment of fun, now our stuff is no longer junk, but things others need to make their farms work.  Live is great like that.  I do still need to scrap some of our stuff, but it will wait till spring when the price of metals comes back up.

We collect cans all year long, and when we have enough, we cash them in and buy a year worth of toilet paper, which for us is seventy-two rolls.  I buy them from the store across the street that is owned by the people who own the scrap yard.  It is an excellent way to deal with a need and use what you have to cover it.

In other news, I am done with a new short story and can not wait till its launch on Kindle later this week.  It is called, "The Gift."  I think it will go over well as it is inexpensive for the quality of the story; it is short which means you do not have to read for days and days to find out what happened.
I am still selling my Hydroponics book and plan to go in and fix a few issues and add a little bit of data to it. Don't worry if you have already bought my book you will get a free update.


Well, dear ones that is all for now, I must go and clean some dishes, write a little and do science with my boys.  
May the day bring you peace and joy.

Shekhinah

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OPJXMN4

How to deal with fear

Good evening from the mountain, I have been reading everywhere about people being afraid.  Fear is simply a lack of knowledge to deal with a given matter.  If you are afraid of being without food, learn to grow your own, and then learn how to dry it, can it, pickle it, salt it or smoke it, fear gone.  If you are afraid of the darkness, find ways to create light.  Fear of the unknown, once know is nothing but dust. It is within us all to rise above the insanity of the world we live in, to reach for the truth and to care for each other.

I know you are wondering what we are up to on the mountain, as we have not been online as much as of late.  Well, to be honest my school work has been a constant task taking more hours than I had planned on devoting, but if I plan to continue for that magic piece of paper.  I have to continue until the task is finished.  So I continue on, but just for another twelve days.

The farm is going as expected, we have started of course, with off grid preparations, though we are still short the money to finish at this time.  The new kitchen more than half way done is starting to look like a real room and less like a piles of metal scrap.  We will continue to do what we can to get it dried in for the winter and see what can be done from there.

Many people have emailed me from around the world asking about some of the odd things that happen her in America.  I can not say too much for some of them; America is a very prejudice  country, that at this moment stands at the zenith of xenophobic behavior. America may state that it is an open, friendly country, however how we treat one another tells quite a different story. The hate of others is filtered into all aspects of life, from tv to video games.  I do not feel hatred toward another race, but detest the debauchery of the whole thing.  I have read so many articles stating this fact or that fact.  When you find out that the people sent to fix the problems, to lower the anger, went out and did what they were there to stop. It is all just too sad.  America has had a good run of do as I say, not as I do, but the eyes of the world are now upon her, and it is time she became a goodly Nation.

On to the black Friday events, what can be said short of it all comes down to money and greed.  Dear ones if you must fight, could you not do it for a worthy cause such as the banning of all GMOS, or clean water, tribal lands, healthy children, feeding the hungry...but to fight over spending money that most people do not have on things they do not need.  Consider whatever holiday you celebrate to do so from your heart.  Make something for a loved one, even if this means learning a new skill.  Baked gifts are always a blessing.  Enough with the consumerism!  Enough with the endless debt!  Free yourself from the mundane and find a more peaceful home.

One more thing call your parents, they miss you!

Be Blessed Dear Ones...
Shekhinah
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OPJXMN4

Hand crafted art glassFrozen Anna snowflake http://r.ebay.com/ywYWbh

Walmart Vs. Amazon and the scam heard round the world!

Just to let you know Walmart is blaming all the people who priced matched Amazon as taking advantage of them.  They told me that no one would expect them to honor what they earlier said. Which, was that they would price match Amazon, and I feel I must agree that since they said nothing at the beginning about third parties that they should keep their word. I went into price match only because someone else asked me to.

My children are quite contend with Sams club soda, but a good deal is a good deal.  But in one of my groups as women had done just that, she priced matched Amazon with Walmart, the 24 pack of Dr. Pepper cans were being sold on Amazon for a penny.  That is a great deal before shipping.  Many people did get it to work for them before Walmart cut them off.  Now do I think it is unfair for them to have gotten almost free soda, no not at all.  Walmart opened the door and did not think the whole process through, that is not the customers fault, but Walmarts fault.

Walmart higher ranking employees brought up that one would have to pay almost $30.00 shipping, so it was not technically a penny. While this is true, and I most assuredly understand their point, I spend money on gas to get to the Walmart Super Center, which is an hour from my door.  So for me it would have been a broken even moment at best. Rationally Walmart should have given this a lot more thought!

What came out of all this, a great understanding of how customers should and should not be treated and that many of these types of events are scams in general.  I say this as they continued to explain to me that for the most part they really will not match anything if they are going to lose money on but that each manager could decide if they wanted to price match or not.

Now my Walmart in Thayer, Mo. is as good as gold, never had a problem, but the larger stores they are not going to do it.  It was clearly explained to me that they don't have to, and anyone who does price matching is taking advantage of them.  So buyer beware with Walmart or any big chain store that tells you they will match prices.

Beware also of their black Friday sales, a few minutes shopping on the net could land you a better deal with much less stress, plus this is a time to spend with your family, so consider skipping the "Black Friday" week long nightmare and enjoy one another's company instead.

I post this because I care about the value that we are people have towards one another and I feel that it is truly sad that anyone would have to use any mean words when dealing with one another, but to treat customers in the manner that Walmart has done is simply unheard of, I would think that if Walmart was in it's right mind it would apologize to everyone that it has not been kind too.  Starting with me..

Just one more tiny thing, the very reason that we live the simple life we do is to not be a part of moments like this, but it is moments like this that make me even more determined to do more, grow more, reuse more and shop in stores less.

Do not let your stuff own your life, own it instead and when live gets you down, and the world is unkind, just remember always to look on the bright side of life. Everything that happens in our lives happens for just a moment and then that moment is passed and once gone can never be retrieved.  So live well and be happy my dears, because life is short and precious.  

Be Blessed from the mountain

Shekhinah

http://youtu.be/u2UP86bciVA

The President of America must be drunk or worse...

President Barack Obama are you drunk or are you back on the herb? Who are all these people who agree with you on immigration? I can tell you I am not one of them.

If these people want to be citizens let them join our military.

As far as forgiving these people because they have been here five years or more, they still broke the law and they did so for five years or more. Where have they been working, because they were breaking the law the whole time.They have not paid taxes for five years or more. They have in many cases received free medical care and an education in this country.

Next I do not need you to preach scripture to me in regards to offering kindness. The people who rightfully came to this country deserve to stay these other people, rob the already poor of much-needed funds, they use scholarships that should be used for people born in this country! The elderly of this country should be cared for as well as they people who illegally came here.

You are talking about over 3 million people, up to around 5 million. I think it is likely to be on the higher end of 5 million people. At only $100. per person that is half a billion dollars. What in the heck is wrong with you sir to feel we as citizens of this land would be ok with that sort of gross use of our tax dollars?

Honestly Sir, this is no way to run our country!

Shekhinah

Solar security lights and outdoor lights and a rotten bull

Good evening from the mountain, it has been a long few days, but that seems to be quite the norm around here.  A little while ago I was just sitting here working on a book when my husband comes into to let me know the bull is in the winter garden.  I was so mad I go the gun out and thought about how lovely he would taste, but I have no time to butcher a bull today, so he lives. He tore up part of a row of turnips, trampled some more and stepped on my radishes, ewww.

Aside from the bull I got new lights in today, I love my solar. 

Two sets of string lights and one new security light.  It is a great place to start.  I am also getting solar lights for the barn, but that is taking a bit longer as funds are tight.

Anyway that is our progress for the week, thanks for being a part of our world and remember just changing out one light over to solar is the first step in making the world a better place and freeing yourself from the power company.

Be blessed
Shekhinah
Please consider getting our latest book:

Building a hydroponics system can be easy, cheap and fun…

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OPJXMN4

Good morning from the mountain...

Good Morning from the mountain, been up since six, cleaning and cooking.  I made blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup; they went over very well.  I made enough for breakfast tomorrow.   So the children should be very happy.  It also means one less thing I have to do tomorrow morning.

I cleaned out the fridge and made a large pot of food for the dogs with the fridge remains.  Cleaned the kitchen back up and put away some of the pasta I bought at Walmart yesterday.  This time of year all pasta, rice and grain goes into glass jars and hand or foot warmers are added to seal the jars and remove the oxygen.   I do this in case there are invisible to the human eye bug eggs in the pasta, rice, etc.  I also do this to make sure I have not brought moths home. 

I am now getting ready to can some pasta sauce and do some math, I might try to make some glass today.  I have wanted to make glass roses for a while now.  I need to work on the books as well.  I am very pleased with the launch of our first book; “Building a hydroponics system can be easy, cheap and fun...” it seems to be holding its own quite well.  I cannot wait for the release of the next book!

As to the farm, our hydroponics systems are coming along well and I am looking forward to fresh tomatoes and other yummy food all winter long.  As to the outdoor gardens our tomatoes are still going strong, but next week will surely kill them and they will be done.  Then we have to rely on the root vegetables and our greens for fresh food to go with our meat.  Our turnips are doing quite well; the others could be spouting anytime now.  I anticipate the beets coming up anytime, perhaps the carrots are too late, but we still have radishes to look forward to as well.  Our kale has done remarkable and I know we will eat well all winter long. 

I know most people do not farm through the winter, but it is the best time to grow some type of greens like Kale and turnip.  I almost forgot about the cabbage, onions and garlic, they are all doing well too.  So far it has been very cold out here, unseasonably so and with this we have had to look very closely at many of the things we do.  We have stocked up on wood, hay, food and such, as I can almost feel snow in the air and fear being caught up on the mountain for weeks at a time.  We have to take care of ourselves and look out for ourselves.  It can be a hard life…at the end of the day I and my husband are often exhausted, but all we do is for us and our children.  It is live by our own terms and means, it can be hard, but it is always rewarding. 

So I must leave you here dear ones, my work calls and I must go…

Be Blessed

Shekhinah

P.S. below this is a link to a fundraiser we are having to raise money to help us get off grid, please share it with everyone.

https://fundrazr.com/stories/68SXK4?psid=4828833b69fe45d9b0b4b36eabfa6fd2&fb_ref=share__b4BmXb

Good Morning from the mountain...

Good Morning from the mountain, we are busy getting things put up and preparing for the freeze later tonight.  We hope to be able to make the gardens last a bit longer, we will see if our hard work pays off or not.


Today I will have pasta sauce cooking in the crockpot made fresh from our home grown tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs.  I will can it later tonight as we are having blade roast for dinner that I cooked yesterday. I think I will fry up some fresh greens from the garden to go with it before the frost gets them.

I am working on the final parts of yet another book, this one will be on healing balms, I might kind of mix it by adding how to find these plants where you live section, we will have to see how it goes.  It is really hard to figure out what other people want to read, if any of our readers would like to chime into what they would like to see in the book that would be wonderful.

I know you are all wondering how we did last night with the new solar security lights in place of the Power companies light, so I thought I would tell you.  It was pitch black out here last night and I mean so dark you could not see your hand in front of your face, like a squid inked you...lol But it was fine, I sort of liked that.  The geese which normally rant and cause a ruckus all night where quite, no one got eaten, and the dogs seemed calmer as well.  As for us without that pesky light shining in the bedroom window we slept better.  So I am now sleeping better and have twenty dollars a month more to put into other bills.

I forsee adding more lights in the near future and more solar panels, it is time to get off grid.  I could not have picked a better time to start with the sun giving us a good show of all the solar flares that could cause us problems in the near future and of course the constant threat of terrorists attacking the grid, as noted in one of my previous posts.  It is a real and legitimate fear that we could lose electric at any time and then we would be forced to change, so changing now seems like a good choice.


So there you have it, no one died without the pole light and the world is a better place without it!

Be Blessed dear ones and remember to unplug everything at night, use solar whenever you can and make the world a better place, one small act at a time.

Shekhinah

P.S. Our book on hydroponics is still available for the very affordable cost of just .99 cents, it is available for anyone in any country to buy.  It is the official hydroponics book of Arkansas and thousands swear by my time-tested technic.  So buy it today, yesterday was already too late!

http://www.amazon.com/Building-hydroponics-system-easy-cheap-ebook/dp/B00OPJXMN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414769532&sr=8-1&keywords=shekhinah+golden

Good Morning from the mountain...

Good Morning from the mountain, a bit crisp out there today, a little bit of creamy soupy fog hangs over the heads of the mountains.  So here I sit drinking my morning cup of coffee thinking about the day ahead.  Today it the first day of filming on our new reality show, I don’t really know how I feel about it, a bit scared I guess, a little excited and a tiny whinny bit afraid.  It is not every day that one embarks on a challenge like this one. 

 

I do feel confident that in the end it will all workout.
So with chores started, wood delivered and the day a foot, I gone into taping mode.  It seemed to go smoothing, though I did have some technical issues that have now been resolved.  The biggest thing is to have the camera closer to the action, oh why didn’t they teach that in AV class in High School.
Ok, so one of the producers and I just went rounds over the title of our show. What do you all think of the title, Back to Landers of the Ozarks?

Drawing flies Production Company has a few screws loose I think! I just want to have a good title; I mean I can say whatever I want because this show is not going to make it anyway...

But I must get off here now and get back to work, I still have school work to get done, house and farm work.  It is going to be very cold here tomorrow night and Saturday night.  This means putting in some extra time with the garden and the kitchen.
 

Be Blessed
Shekhinah

Field of green dreams, and the little power company that could not, postal service is this stuff real?

What an incredible week I am having, I am sure fish will soon fall from the sky! Only kidding, but I do want to share with you some of what is going on with us and the farm, as well as our book release and the first taping of our reality show.   Which is based in wicked funny reality, we will share with you the real day to day farm business and stresses, with the occasional joy. 

 Many people have no idea how people like us live, why we live that way or just about life in general whether it be our lives here in Arkansas or even as small farmers.  So I feel like sharing, I am not glamorous, not thin, not particularly good looking, just an everyday person, living a simple life of my choosing.  It is not an easy life; it is closer to the earth and very free compared to most people's lives. 

There are some things I would like to change about it, I would like to be freer than we are, but freedom is a lot like weight loss.  You do not gain weight in one day, and you do not take it off in one day.  More so is this with the ideals of freedom. Freedom in our lives to live a quality life did not happen overnight.  We gave them away a little at a time.  In lew of comfort, in lew of peace or at least the appearance of it, and we gave it away when owning things meant more than our families.  It is a slow road back, but I feel we are on the right path.

Now on to other events that have transpired:

Our winter gardens are doing just fine, and we have recently added to them.  We had nine rows of turnips, and two rows of leeks in the big garden.  Now we have added, two rows of carrots, a row and a half of savory, two rows of white tip radishes, some broccoli and some purple corbie.  I am quiet happy with all that.  I still need to replant more garlic and maybe some more greens.  In the photos you can see patches of green not in rows; these are our wild edibles. They have European dandelion greens, goosefoot that is a wild spinach, and curly dock one of my favorite greens.  We are truly blessed with green...

An overall view of our new garden space...

I am the chubby one on the ground; the boys are helping plant and pull unwanted greens, which become food for the goats and horses.

Just look at all those nice rows of green food, turnips and leeks, lots of wild greens too. 

this is the veiw from the top of ur mountian...

Mist over the mountain...

Shining light....so amazing!

This is Sparky and Spot two of the pups we kept.

They are going to be great hunting dogs.

They are about adorable...

Spot is a wonderful pup.

Get emm pups...

Sparky just realized that Mike is taking photos.

These two piggies spent a little time inside with us.  Potbelly pigs are so cute!

Somebody is ready to go home at the end of the week...

Yup they are coming to get you too...

I am very disappointed in the Postal service, who no matter when or where you call them always seem to have their system down. Plus it took them three days to deliver a priority box one hour from my door, on top of that they damaged the box. Unreal, then the women wants to tell me the address that it shipped from, well that was my address and she was arguing with me telling me I was wrong...lol They are funny people...

Oh if I was only up to taping today, but I am saving myself for dealing with the power company on Thursday. Whatever is going on Thursday, well I will tell you. I am having the light on the pole taking off, buggers charged me $20.00 last month, and that is not going to happen again. I bought a solar security light from TwinSpot; it has two adjustable lights, is a motion  activated system and will give me ten years of free power. If they are going to charge $20.00 per month for the light, I will save $240.00 a year.

They were not thrilled! I am! I can not wait to put all the solar panels in and the wind turbines; then I will say take this pole and shove it...No one should have to be a slave to another person and what they are doing is not good for the all! It is good for the few who receive kickbacks and they know who they are...People voted against a new coal plant, but it got built anyway, they have solar on their building in Salem, but will not set up any solar farms.

Recently I have found out that being a member means little more than consenting to theft of land and funds. I am sure you will agree that giving money away is indeed kind, but causing hardship and raising costs of service to do so is not. I would rather they not help so many causes, but rather lower the bills of the members. I had worked out on paper the savings per month/ per customer would be more than twenty dollars. I know I could do a lot with twenty dollar or more, so could you.

Now they say that our bills will go up, they blame Obama. I am forced to defend him on this one, because he was not the one who said, coal was clean, safe and cheap, was he? Well, of course, not and they knew what they were doing, but did not care. Like the one guy said, you live here and you are poor, I live in a large house, you can not fight us. Yes, Yes I can...by not playing! I can choose quite revolution of one family going off grid. I may not be rich, but I am content in the good things that G-d has given us. I am not haughty about it, I am fine in knowing that I can change my life and be a warning to others, before they become victims of this horrible injustice where the rich use the poor to gain wealth.

Oh I know it is nothing new, most likely been going on since the dawn of time, but it does not mean I have to allow it to take place in my life. Moses freed his people, who would willing go back? Abe Lincoln freed his people, who would go back to indentured status? The answer is no one, it is simple and easy to understand, free yourself from the chains that bind you, let your only master be a good conscious and G-d Almighty. Let no man or women hold your chains and tell you it is good! It is not!

I offer you my knowledge, little as it is, to help you, all of you to go off grid. Free yourself from your chains and give your children and the world a better tomorrow. You can start with a light and let that light shine in the darkness and help you to find your way.

P.S. My book on how to build a hydroponics system will be free for one day, starting tomorrow.  I am enclosing a link, please download my book and read it, use it make your own system and help yourself and your family to become food secure...

http://www.amazon.com/Building-hydroponics-system-easy-cheap-ebook/dp/B00OPJXMN4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414444605&sr=8-2&keywords=hydroponics+easy+cheap+and+fun

Be Blessed
Shekhinah

Good morning from the mountain and new book

Good morning from the mountain, I have some great news!

I have written a new book on hydroponics and I think you all are going to love it.  My book is easy to follow, detailed and it will not be long before you have fresh vegetables in any climate, and the parts to make the system are well within the reach of most people.
Plus the money goes to help our farm reach its goal of being off grid.  If you read only one Kindle book this year, let it be this one.



http://www.amazon.com/Building-hydroponics-system-easy-cheap-ebook/dp/B00OPJXMN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413891729&sr=8-1&keywords=Building+a+hydroponics+system



Be Blessed
Shekhinah

Good morning form the mountain...

Good morning from the mountain, sorry I have not updated this before this but, we have been making ourselves busy preparing for the winter that will be soon be upon us.  We have actively acquired wood to burn.  We filled the propane tank, and received hay for the animals, our freezers are full.  Still have more to can and can food to go through from past seasons.

Still have a bull to put in the freezer, a sheep and maybe a goat.  I have a few hundred more jars of fruit to can, which will open up freezer space for more meat. I am glad that we raise our meat and I am glad we do, as the price in the grocery store is quite insane.  The prices of other staples have also gone up more than 30%, butter is nearly $5.00 per pound, never thought I would ever see that high a price.  Just a month ago I was buying it for $2.49 a pound.  Cheese has not gone up, so I know it is not a higher milk price item, I am starting to feel that there are just too many greedy people in the world.

As to the new kitchen we are moving forward, still lacking a few windows, but we have one wall almost finished.  I can see it all coming together and look forward to soon cooking there in all that space. 

In the matters of our garden, we are still picking green beans, have a lovely pumpkin on the vine, tomatoes on the vine as well, spinach and okra are doing very well indeed.  We managed to get nine rows of leeks and turnips in the ground.  Ten rows of beets and three rows of radishes, so I think we are doing very well there.

One more thing I would like to talk about is Isis, if these people are the force that the news tells us, I have a real and perfect solution that Roosevelt would have loved.  Let every country drop what they are doing for seven days and come together, wipe them off the face of the planet.  Give them no up time, go after them 24 hours per day and guess what, no more Isis.  If we as a planet got together, we could put an end to all of this bunk.  You could do the same with other problem people, make a list of them, drop it in a hat, and pull a name, seven days of obviation and then peace.  After you hit a few names on the list, it would end the war, and it would make us so sick of fighting we would have to work harder for a better world that we could have.  Just saying, you are going to use the troops either way, the money either way, why drag this crap out.  Dragging it out makes the bad guys the winners and all of us fools.

Be Blessed

Shekhinah

Good afternoon from the Mountain

Good afternoon from the mountain, I am sorry for not including you in our rounds of the world sooner; honestly I have just not been up to it.  School is going as well as to be expected, and the children continue to grow wiser and wiser by each passing day.  

In our homeschooling we are studying Teddy Roosevelt the author, a president by chance and an all-around interesting person.  His books are quite interesting and chocked full of interesting facts about the world that he lived in.  I recommend any of them…

So today I went to buy feed in the state next door, I can be found doing this very same thing at least once a week, but this week differed as a friend shocked me by telling me I was crazy, now in his defense he did not come out right and say that, he explained that he knew someone who was crazy like me.  Hmmmmm!  I know it was not meant in an offensive way, but somehow it is as painful to be as a branding iron set to stun.  Why I wonder do people think, I am crazy for living closer to the earth and rebuking the need to be one of the crowd.  It was not too long ago that I was one of the crowd, just fifty or so good years too late to most accounts. 

I value my lifestyle in which I grow most of our food, where we raise our own, milk, eggs and meat, where we also forage and hunt.  In my world it is more important to get off grid that to have a new fancy car, watch, cell phone, or another gadget that one pours life into.  I value books; I value family and do not create in my children’s lives endless ways to be without them, but rather live my life with them.  I think team work can be learned best in a family and less in a sport.  We are simple people living a perfectly simple life, one in which we chose solitude and knowledge over the noise chaos and daily life that most people live.  I think it is far from crazy for us, and many who came before us it is quit sane. 

As to the farm, I was blessed to have a buyer for a good portion of our birds and maybe the bull calf.  I am feeling better that we can go forward with a little less and maybe get past this all.  We still need to raise money to pay for the propane and the hay as well as the stuff we still need to finish the kitchen. I need to go for now as I am due at a class… Be BlessedShekhinah 

Good afternoon from the mountain

Good Afternoon from the mountain, I am sorry it has been so many days since my last post.  I am desperately trying to find some way to make things work out on the farm, but I just cannot seem to find a way for all the pieces to come together.  At current I have taken the largest cow to the butcher and I know I am not going to get more than a few hundred pounds of meat from her, but it will be good quality meet that will end up costing us about $1.19 per pound, not too shabby for organically raised beef.  So I will take what I can get from her, as she was not going to produce any more useable milk for us.  

The butcher said we picked a good time to eat her, even with her poor weight as the older dairy cows get to tough to eat.  Honestly I had no idea.  But I am glad I took her and the place seems very nice, it was impeccably clean as well.  The staff was compassionate, and quick in what they did, it was like watching a well composed Opera, where every movement had purpose and meaning. In short I was very pleased. 

For those who might be wondering why she did not weigh more, it is because we have had her calf on her for over 11 months now and he is a plump tender looking creature who is now near the size that she was, except with a lot more meat.  I felt it was worth the trade for more tender meat. He will be going to the butcher very soon. 

One of the things I was most pleased with was the fact I could watch the whole process at the butcher shop and was even invited to return this Wednesday morning to see the cow being cut up and learn more about the whole process.  I have seen many videos, but I think being a part of it may give me a better understanding of the greater process involved.  All knowledge is good knowledge and if I someday want to be able to hunt larger game animals, such as Moose, Elk or Buffalo, than this knowledge will help greatly. 

So that is where I am with the first cow and soon the second.  I have decided since I could not find a buyer for the goats or the last sheep, that we will eat them as well.  When all the big animals are gone our freezer will be full and that is at least something to look forward too. 

In regards to the birds on our farm, I have had two troublesome events take place.  First is the fly in and contamination of our Cayuga eggs.  I have not seen wild ducks, but our last batches of Cayuga ducks show the signs of wild Mallards.   So I will be replacing or refunding that person I am sure, but when you free range birds you set yourself up for these sorts of events.  I should be glad it has not happened more often.  So my choices are to stop selling them all together or to sell them with a warning of possible duck crossing.  I am not sure what I will do yet.  My next problem arose with the new OEG self-blues laying and me putting the two pens together, what a mess this now is.  I bought what I was told was OEG Dutch Blue, they are not there are a cross at best as worst blue OEG. This mean when they breed they can make blue chicks, lemon chicks, splash, or a combination of them.  It also makes them less desirable.  

Unscrupulous dealers have put this part of my hatching egg business at risk at best and at worst shut it down.  I will never make back the money spent of these chicks, the dealer will not return phone calls and well it just goes downhill from there.   So now each hen must be taken out and placed with the roo I know is pure and we must wait on her eggs to hatch and see what we get, if they are half breeds, they will be sold off at a loss, full breeds re-penned in another area.  I guess I can sell them as mixed for now, but it is heart breaking to pour your heart and soul into them only to be disappointed so many months later.

Onto other farm events, my eldest son was by about a week ago and butchered out a quail pen, so he has some quail for his freezer and we have some in ours.  It helps to size down and I cannot wait to do the pigeons. 

The gardens are still holding fast, though we have lost a lot of the tomatoes and all of the beans and cucumbers to the heat.  I will try one last batch of beans and hope for the best.  I am trying to figure out if I can grow beans hydroponically and that may in the end be the answer for us.  I have the young tomato plants and some peppers plants ready for the new hydroponics system, now I just need to get a few tasks out of the way to set the first one up. 

I am setting up a disposable dehydrator today to help tiny up the produce and I am hoping to put it to good use.  The more I put up the better off we will be and I still have pears and pumpkins that need done.  We did get some into the freezer, but I will need that space for meat so I am glad for the cooler weather that is coming so I can get back to canning. 

I still have not gotten out to the hives either, so it is another task on my endless list of things needing done.  When you have a farm your list never ends and people rarely understand why you cannot just leave and do other things.  I guess you could, but you would likely come back to one heck of a mess.

As to our dear little children they are busy learning.  They are also ready for their first deer hunt and I am glad that they will be able to hunt.  I found bullets for their guns at the feed store of all places and hurried myself to the purchase, so they are ready.  I hope to have deer meat for the table and jerky for snacks. 

Not much else is going on, other than the College and I continuing the dance of they know what they are doing.  I am now being drug through a money counseling event that is of course mandatory. It must be done face to face and I was asked if I minding driving two hours to be there.  I explained I did mind and I was unable to comply and then a time was set, ten minutes later she called to change it telling me I needed to compromise, really?  Hmmm, so that led to me having to take time from my class to go and see her, even though the class is mandatory as well. All in hopes they can shame me for borrowing money, rolling my eyes, they call it help. I see it as a waste of time, if I have only one semester left at your school why put me through it, I will be one of the less than 20% that leave with a degree.  Perhaps they would do better to speak to the new people coming in, as I myself am in for a penny and a pound with no choice but to do the deed and finish my degree. It makes me sick to think that people from outside of this country coming in as illegals and they will go to college for free and I must work and struggle, go into debt. 

Anyway I must go back to work…

Be Blessed

Shekhinah

Good morning from the mountain..

Good Morning from the mountain, dreadful day, I am up, the sun is up and no rain.  I dreamed of thunder this morning.  The ground is so dry that even upon watering it, it becomes dust again.  My plants just need to hold on a few more days.

School is coming along as well as it can be expected.  I finished one section in math and thought I heard the angles rejoicing at that moment.  I just pray I can finish and retain the information long enough to finish the class.  My other classes are fine, answer questions, read reply…

We have a bit of a predator problem at the moment, Michael saw a coyote up near the house in midday and we are both horrified over this as the puppies were outside at the time.  It is not normal for the coyotes to appear in the daytime like that.  It could be that it is sick or worse that it has been watching our animals for a while.  So we are on alert with loaded guns, I cannot let the pups get eaten or our birds.  To make matters worse, our geese are molting which makes them a target for predators like this.  Everywhere we go on the farm the ground looks like snow, but it is goose feathers.  Poor geese, it is so hot and they seem to suffer in this heat.

I will be doing a lot of trapping this winter, you can be sure of that.  The predators have gotten so much worse over the last year.  At this point I am unsure why this is such a problem, the wild animals have plenty of deer and rabbit to eat, as well as squirrels, but still they are looking for a free meal. 

I have finally made an appointment with the butcher for the big milk cow, so next month she will be in the freezer and since the bull calf is near to her size, we will do him very soon.  I plan to put the goats in the freezer as well.  They will fill our freezers and provide meat all winter long, I feel a cold winter coming and the thought of being without meat is not one I chose to think about. 

In other news I have found a new mill to buy from in our state, so blue corn meal in on the way.  They have much of the grain I was buying from another source, but it was out of state and would often take weeks to get out grain and I really do like having bread.  So I am hoping this will all workout.  The best part is the mill is one of a handful in the States that is using a millstone that is over a hundred years old and that the grain is ground using it and water power.  To me this is the way all meal should be produced.  I hate store bought flour and meal.

Well, dear ones I need to get to work, there is nothing but work that needs to be done before winter gets here.

Be Blessed

Shekhinah

Still no rain and Ferguson

Well no rain here, thunder and the sky fell dark, but no rain.  Yet is was so unreasonable hot I swear I saw a butterfly melt.  Tomorrow it may rain, oh how we hope so, oh how we pray for rain.  Our gardens are in a terrible state.  I would like to talk to you more about the farm, but I feel I must get something off my heart.


I am now totally sick of Ferguson and the killing of a "teen", first off that "teen", was voting age, a thief and many other things.  I was not there to see why he was shot and I am sick that I even feel the need to side with the police on this.  I would love to see a toxicological report on that "teen", who minutes before robbed a convenience store on camera, brutally shoving a man, while clasping cigars that he had just stole.  I feel that in an area where over 60% of the population is black than a larger number of black people are going to commit crimes. In my area most people are white or mixed with Native American and guess what hardly any blacks go to jail.  Does that mean the police here are brutal towards people who are not black...no that would be stupid, don't you think?  It is all relative, now ask me about the man who died in a police choke hold, cause that is what people should be angry about, and not so much this. Every bad person that is shot, black or white, native or other is first and for most a bad person, to say more is being raciest. If you think that it is profiling to arrest a criminal, then that is the problem, race does not matter, right and wrong matter and at the end of the day that is all that should matter.  As long as we allow race to be used this way, we as a race shall stagnate and die, because there can be no better tomorrow until we understand that we are all of race, the human race, though at this moment it saddens me to be a member.  Instead of dwelling in darkness, turn on the light!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2730153/A-kid-broken-home-beat-odds-to-college-A-rapper-sang-smoking-weed-feds-A-violent-robbery-suspect-caught-shocking-video-just-real-Michael-Brown.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Be Blessed dear ones
Shekhinah

Good morning from the mountain, flat tire and all...

Good Morning from the mountain, I awoke to a flat tire, not that I went anywhere yesterday, but there it is staring at me from the front porch.  It seemed quite alarming to me when Michael pointed it out.  No less is my pain than to see it is one of the better tires, that has caused me this grief and of course it must be fixed this morning and dealt with in an appropriate way or it will grief me for the entirety of this upcoming week end.  I will have Michael put the spare on for now and I will try and make the best of it, till such a time as I can find more time to drive to town and get it fixed.

I had friend call yesterday me asking about tags on goats, so she could take her goats to the auction. Come to find out the tags are quite worthless as they are not running the health test that I was told was required to use the tags. Yet, another empty promise of safety, offered by those who deem with loud rhetoric that they are protecting our food supply. Fine job lads, fine job…

I hate the auctions, they are cruel to the animals and so many sick animals come through them that buying there is less safe than the bed of a town prostitute.  I am sure the prostitute at least washes herself up to at least look presentable.  By similar token the auction house does not even attempt to hide its filth or mistreatment of said animals, rather it states that it is all business. I am sure they feel that way, the heartless brutes, but farming is also about family and kindness, so I leave them to their folly of fools.

To make matters worse I had asked another person of the rules which by lead them to think that I was taking my animals there and it did not go well.  No good deed goes unpunished, more money to the bad.  I cannot put good money after bad, there is just not enough money to go around, it has become more practical to sell the goats for now and buy cow milk from an Amish farmer who I befriended some years back.  At four dollars a gallon I can buy five gallons of milk for $20.00, two for drinking and three for yogurt and cheese making. I will also have more time to tend to other farm matters. That said the goats will go into the freezer long before I would consider the auction house. 

The cow I am taking to get made in to meat, I will have to study the cuts and have him leave it in the larger cuts, which means more work for me, but also more meat for us.  I watched Otto on, “Alaska The Last Frontier”, and he was cutting up a smaller cow than the last one I had done and the number of steaks he got far exceeded what I returned home with.  I am not saying that anyone is stealing from me; I just want to keep an honest man honest. This will also afford me the luxury of packing the meat the way I want. I need to get back to doing this anyway and in truth if it were closer to winter I might have gone and butchered her myself.  I will for sure do the goats myself, as it is not cost effective not too.  The money saved from butchering them can be used in the new hydroponic system or solar panels.

The gardens survive for the moment, though the heat is very hard on them and I just keep hoping and praying that I can keep the larger parts alive for a little long till cool weather flows though.  So far no green beans are put up, no okra, and only a quarter of the tomatoes we will need to make it through the long winter months that are coming.  I am deeply disappointed and I hope that the hydroponics will help get us through.  Yesterday I received the last parts from Amazon and I am elated to get started.

The boys and are reading, “Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi”, in part for research for ,”ABIGAIL”, and in part just as it is such a joy to revisit the works of Mark Twain.  I encourage you all to review his books as they are wonderful and revenant even all these years later. 

Barge on the Ohio river at Cave in rock park

One of the bluffs at Cave in Rock park and my two sweet boys and husband.

Well back to the farm chores and school….

Be Blessed dear ones
Shekhinah