morning from the mountain, fresh food, and war looms on the horizon

Good morning from the mountain, yes we are still stuck on the mountain and I guess this is all starting to read like a castaways journal.  Sort of like, day forty five, have not seen another living person..lol  there really is about four inches of snow still up here and it is making me want to see it all end.  I am so ready for spring and planting.  You know I really do not want to complain ,but even Fed-ex and the the Ups guy have not made it up here.

All said, we are really fine, have lots of food and the animals have lots of food to, which is a good thing.  I bought animal feed for the month due to the skirmish going on in the Ukrainian.  Most people do not know that they grow the second largest amount of corn and wheat, just under what America grows.  So this will in the long run effect the prices of food and plastic.

I found out that our animals are ready to be picked up at the butchers, my total came to $288.00 which is so reasonable, since it was, a goat, two sheep and half a pig ( I just want it know that I do not eat pig, nor condone anyone else eating them).  One sheep became sausage, I had Italian sausage made in sheep casings, and German sausage....we are so excited, I can not wait to grill them. The goat got chopped up for goat stew, so yummy...so it is all good.  I look forward to bring the cow in to get her done, then the freezers will be full again. It is nice to have food security in a insecure world.  Sort of like having money in the bank.

The Children are still learning about the presidents, I have enjoyed sharing with them the era of McKinley and Roosevelt.  I think they have learned at great deal.  Yesterday we watched a show on History together that showed how the giants of the era came into being, it was very interesting, both to them and for me. I think of the fact that McKinley had agreed to war eight months before the war, while saying the whole time we needed to be neutral, perhaps he just did not know what the world neutral meant.

History seems to in some form repeating its self right now.  We are on the edge of war with another country and it seems unlikely that in some form it was not planed.  Perhaps President Obama is unsure of the word neutral either.  Most wars are sought by those who have the most to gain financially by them, makes you wonder who who make money off of this potential war.  My self I am sick of the blood and fighting, I am sick of war and threats of thermal nuclear inhalation.  All the wars we have been though have not made us better people, it has just left our society to clean up mess after mess and forced us in to a rut of never ending battles. It seems with all that we have learned, there is still so much left to learn.

Now that I have had my rant I should get back to working on the book about Abigail, need to get it done...and the dishes need done too.

May you all be blessed

Good morning from the mountain...

Good morning from the mountain, I have just gotten off the phone with Hersh feed.  Due to inclement weather, the fact the Ukraine is second in the world in the production of wheat and corn, just under the United States, I have ordered a month’s worth of feed.  The cost of feed has already climbed and it is for sure not going to drop anytime soon, so it is like putting money in the bank. 

As many people know we have been battling to drop our bills; one of the bills I have had the hardest time with is Direct TV who much like HP and Netflix is a bit too big for their own good.  They have no idea of loyalty which is the same problem I have had with HP who did business with me for almost 20 years, I did not have that long in with Netflix, but I was there customer long enough to know that they do not honor their own words.  In dealing with Direct TV I have learned that Disney owns ESPN and forces this programming to be locked together, I find their form of business interesting.  While I am saddened by the fact that two cents once stood between having the Weather channel or the poorly done and lacking in facts Weather Nation, I am sick over the abuse of pricing packages.  I really think they charge about double of what they should…makes me a bit ill to think when money is so tight for so many people , and while I understand free enterprise, I fear that I must find a better way to get my TV fix. 

I have ordered a Roku box, which uses your WiFi signal to give you access to tons of free programming, some of it , just like what we are watching now, and some is even better than what I am watching.  Unfortunately it is delayed in shipping, due to poor weather.  It may get here today or it may not.  I bought this item through Amazon prime, as a refurbished unit, free shipping and they even gave me a $20.00 credit for it being late, which of course was outside of their control.  Amazon in my opinion is a good company to deal with, they are down to earth and they get customer service, when I call them I get an American, they listen and understand.

As far as the farm its self, I am a stand still till the weather gets better, we are selling hatching eggs, and southwestern art, but that is about it.

I cannot wait to get more seeds in the ground….

In big news my book should be on kindle on time…so Abigail becomes live in just a few days and should change the minds of what many people think about slavery in the south.  Abigail will be one is a serious of books we do not only about American history but Slavery.  The tentative title to the series is called, “The Americans you never Knew existed”, with the under caption being “America Slaves”.  Abigail’s story is just one that we will feature; there are others in the works, one will deal with Native American slaves, Slaves owned by Free Blacks and more…  The next book will not be part of the slave series per say, it will be about the life of a coal miner in West Virginia , during the time of the Blair mountain revolt , there I go again, spoilers…oh well best get back to work all this stuff is not going to do itself.

From all of us here on the Mountain Be Blessed

Just bought propane...

Just bought propane, used all but 20% of a 250 gallon tank, this is madness.  It is truly the coldest winter I have seen in Arkansas, it reminds me greatly of the wicked cold, ice filled, and snowy winters of Indiana.   The point is I get two years out of that amount of propane that I have gone through in less than 5 months.  Nothing has changed with the propane, it is still the same, but the weather having decided to take a nose dive, has taken my wallet with it. 

I thank G-d that we only use it to heat one room of the house. I mourn and cry with the parents out that use propane exclusively to heat with, to heat hot water with, or even to cook with.  I cannot imagine your pain or anguish.  The year now only 3 months old has caused so many of us to question our choices and our life styles.  One cannot indefinably gamble on their being a brighter tomorrow, when one sees only object poverty as ones path. It is truly unfair to those dear people who have been scraping by, and who had truly done the best they could.  Many of these people are your neighbors, your friends, some live in cities, some in the country, some on reservations, and many are people who never get a break.  We hear little of their plight, but here often of the wrongs done to others in other countries.  We as a country give money to many other counties who claim that there people are suffering only to turn a deaf ear to its own people. I feel this is simple shameful! 

 I feel that this severe almost doubling the price of propane is a deliberate act of price gouging, not from the gas companies for say, but from the wholesale end.  They are claiming supply and demand issues; to this I would politely ask them to quit burning it off, and also that they quit sending it overseas. I mean if we are having supply issues, should make the gas available to those living here in the states vs. some foreign power.  I think that China can wait and I am sure many people agree.  

I know I have had a hard start to the year, and would someone to please explain to me why millions of other moms in America have to make the same choice as I am making today?  Why should I go into further debt to keep a warm house?  I should not have to nor should anyone else.  Propane is the only fuel that our country does not regulate and to my limited knowledge there is not reserve.  When there is a gasoline shortage the government can open its reserves and let the price comes down to a more reasonable amount, maybe they should do this with propane as well.  It would elevate tons of suffering for hard working Americans who do not have the means in many cases to cover large propane bills.

 I want you all to know that even with my $197.53 credit from last season; I still shelled out $4.30 per gallon.  Mind you Ameriagas did not have restrictions on the amount I could purchase, but at that price I could only afford 100 gallons, so it better last the season and we will have to come up with a better plan for next year.  One of my friends has two 250 gallon tanks to service one house, I remember when I thought that was funny, not so funny know that I am paying $4.30 per gallon.  I paid like $1.97 at the end of summer when the price had dropped.  I wish I had two tanks! Well I am just going to have to buck up and come up with a better plan for next year, and I am sure my fate is much like the fate of dare I say millions of others in this country. 

Climate change is very real, and may be a part of a natural order or man-made, I do not care!   I do care about a future that I can afford to live in!  I want a future that will offer my children a better standard of living than I have now.  That is the American dream to create a better future, not just to exist at the very edge of poverty.  If a person’s hard work and determination does not offer one hope than it is indeed a sad day for us all.

Be Blessed

Shekhinah

Mahahanaim Farm

We are still here...

Sometimes farm life is very pleasant.   While milking the goat tonight my husband and my son Elijah decided it was a great time to have a snow ball fight.  The goat never moved her head remained down in the bucket, she is one good goat. 

So life is like it is, I have not made any money this week so it I need to sell the Grand Jeep Wagoneer.  It has been coming for a while, but I was not really ready yet.  Now I have to get the boys and start loading it with scrap.  I had hoped to find someone who needed the engine or the transmission, but since I have not done that it goes to the scrap yard.  I still have to get help to get it there.  Worst case we use a front tow system...it is a bit dicey but we will do what we have to get through the winter. 

We are in the process of downsizing, putting animals in the freezer and it is so time consuming.  In two days I have cut maybe twenty pounds of meat off the bones.  I have some for burger, some for stew and some steaks.  I have a few trays of jerky as well.  In total I have about forty or so chickens, a few more goats, a couple of sheep and some smaller game, lots to do.  I am so glad I have a big freezer.

I have to work a bit more on the growing wheat grass, as it consumes more time in the winter to produce than I thought it would.  We have also started making food for the dogs and cats; they seem much happier and healthier already.  It seems like they consume less food daily then they had just a week ago.  Much of what they eat is scrap from butchering other animals so there is no waste.

I am still working on my knitting and have almost finished the cowl I have been working on; I plan to have it done in plenty of time for the next storm which is moving in for next week.  Still have not been able to locate my other boxes of yarn, I really have no idea where they are; I have like three or four boxes.  That is the problem with having what you own spread out between four building. I see re-organizing in the future.

So that is what is happing here on the farm.

We thank you all for being a part of our extended family…from all of us on the farm may your holiday be bright, no matter which one it is…

Shekhinah, Michael and all the kids and critters on Mahanaim Farm

 If anyone would like to make a gift to our farm, our paypal email is raziel133@yahoo.com 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251404722003?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Snow and winter on the farm -an update...

The first of the spring seeds are in the ground, buried beneath the snow and ice.  We planted carrots, in red, purple, white, yellow and orange.  I have onions, radishes in many colors, beets, Swiss chard, turnips and lettuce.  Just as soon as the ground warms up their will be an explosion of life out there, I almost can’t wait…

Our birds are still producing yummy eggs, and we still have milk from the goat, about a gallon or less a day.  Our sheep are all in active rut, which makes working around them very dangerous.  The One we call Snow ball; an all-white Jacob sheep has the job of getting the ladies bred as we had not seen Joshua rainy day doing very much this year.  Joshua will end up in the freezer as soon as I have the money to get him done.  I think we have a few goats to go too.  It will be nice to have a freezer full again.  We need to put up a bunch of chicken, as well.

As to the daily running of the farm, I feel we are making progress, though not money.  Our expenses were much higher than I had previously planned on them being.  This places me in the position of needing to add more work to the already growing pile.  Each day presents new challenges that we need to meet and overcome.  So far even though we had moments where I was less than happy with the outcome, we have made it through.  I had to stop our farm boxes for a while as I could not meet the meager demands.  I plan to bring them back in the spring as it was always my intention of providing lots of fresh food.  I felt like I was failing in that role; our garden did well, but needed to do better.  More aggressive planting is needed for the spring, and we have done a ton of work to make that happen. 

We have become part of the Native woodlands project and will be growing black corn as part of the project.  We look forward to the blessing this presents for the farm and our community.  Delaware black corn is scarce and the one way it can survive is with farms such as ours.  I have lost my organic status, but not my ability to grow the very best beyond organic food possible.  Now more than ever what we do on this farm matters, not only for us, or our children, but for the world we live in.  We will push forward and continue to teach others and make ourselves available to others who wish to learn.

Our holidays were blessed even though I made a fatal error of judgment, by trusting someone to pay us for a few animals and their care and feeding for a month.  I was blessed by a friend who would not take no for an answer… Thanks to her and her family my boys had a brighter holiday. Eight day holidays on such a close budget can be very hard.  I had purchased most of their gifts ahead of time, but was counting on the money to cover the last few and a little of the light bill.  So another new lesson learned, I must remember not to hold animals for people and more. 

With the passing of the holiday came the end of the school term for my son Dah’veed and myself.  Although I was able to finish before the storm set in upon us, he was not.  We are planning on returning to the school later this week as the ice and snow break up and melt off a bit. 

The storm hit us hard on the mountain, but we were well prepared as we have learned from the failures of the past.  As the first droplets of frozen water fell from the sky, we knew we would be fine.  We received around two ices of ice which now residences beneath nearly 12 inches of snow.  This did complicate farm chores and house life a bit, as early on we knew we could either have water in the house or at the barn.   We only have one electric pipe warmer and with temps well below freezing, we chose the house.  That said water must still be hauled, but now to the animals from the house.  It is nice   to have water in to do dishes. 

Because our money is tight right now, we have only the feed we could afford which is enough to get us by till Tuesday. Thank G-d for my wheat stash, which is providing sprouted wheat as extra feed.  I have jars of seeds on the counter and some ready for the trays, but Tuesday they will be fine to feed the critters.  I am going to continue to do the sprouted wheat for the animals from here on out as it will say us a lot of money and provide better, safer feed for them all. 

It has been nice to have a few days with no real worries, so delightfully knowing that I can sleep without the fear of anyone coming on to the property.  I could use more sleep, I just have not gotten enough over the past few months.

As of yet, we have not started trapping.  The new traps are stuck in the van; the doors are froze shut and it maybe another day or two before they can be retrieved.  I can now see where the raccoons and opossums are at night, so that will help in setting the traps once I can get them out.  I still have marshmallows for the traps, so we are good there.  The hides should provide a much needed source of revenue for us and meat for the dogs and cats.  I will use the bones in my artwork.

All this bad weather has allowed me to knit and sew, so I am thrilled with the “down time”.  I am also happy to say that we are starting to set up a new area for me to work out in the water building.  I am hoping to turn some nice pieces out before Christmas.  My goal is a dozen dream catchers, a coyote mandala and some more bead work, maybe a talking stick.  I may try and make some book covers and some holiday stockings, who knows, it just depends on the weather and how the kids behave.

Home schooling two young boys can be a lot of work.  Just keeping them centered can be quite a task.  There are some days that they really wear me out.  I am so glad they got art kits for the holidays along with Legos, they have been life savers.  Letting them do art really helps to get them settled down. 

The most shocking of events took place while I was writing this, we had a gutter full of ice fall off the side of the house in to the garden and knock the ac out of the window…oh and if that were not enough I got hit by icicles.  Some days you cannot win, but I will not give up.

We are surviving, we are grateful to G-d for all the blessings we have and for the wonderful friends and family we have that believe in us and our farm.

Be Blessed

Shekhinah, Michael, and all the kids and critters on the farm…

Just another day on the farm...

The cow still having problems, not sure if the machine is working right or if the cow is broken. A dear friend of blessed memory told Michael and I that cows that come from commercial farms, even organic ones rarely are milked after they reach around 8 and well she is a bit older than that. I have made arrangements to buy a pair of Deters, male first. The male will bred my mini jersey and latter the female Dexter, when we get her. It is very sad to think Moo is done being our milk cow, but we must look to the future and be happy in the milk and meat we have gained from her. Time to start making money for the new bull and cow.

Life on any farm is hard, but worth it.  I know I have cow issues, but and issues with a bigger farm that bought the land below me.  they have no respect for anyone and believe money to place them higher than other people.  If anything I believe it places them lower.  The cut down trees on the county road that I live on, and left them in the road.  My son cleared the road, and I am grateful that he was here to do it, but what can I offer a young man.  I can say, stay on the farm, you will always have to eat, but you will always be at war.  When you are not fighting the government, you are fighting the larger farms.

Be blessed from all of us at Mahanaim Farm

Getting ready for the cold and snow

Another winter is nearly upon us dear ones, it is so sad to see summer end.  I hate that last few days when you try so desperately to save the last of the garden; trying to get just one more week or even one more  day. I am sure this hard freeze on Tuesday will bring an end to that.  We are getting the animal pens prepped as well as the house. Wood is cut, hay is up and I am making room for the indoor trees and plants.

We have got the milk machine up and running, the pasteurizer is also now back up and running.  I am consequently fixing something almost every day, so is Michael.  This year I believe we have fixed  or replaced nearly everything at least once.  It has been a terrible money year for these sorts of problems to have occurred.  However we are keeping our heads up and praying for a better tomorrow.

We are working very hard to make money to keep the farm going through the winter.  I have set up a page on Facebook to sell off some of the animals and some other things to try and make up the money we are currently short of.  I have found a new bull to purchase and need to come up with $500. additional dollars  to purchase him.  It is a fantastic deal as he is a Dexter and very short legged.  Ruth and him will make lovely calves.  who knows I might keep moo just as a breeder cow.  Her calf, Nine eleven is doing very well, at a month old her is nearly the size of a four month old calf, I foresee lovely meat next year.

We still need to take the sheep and goats to the butcher and finish filling the freezer with yummy meat.  It is hard to keep up with so many things still needing done. That said, I need to log off and get some more work done.

Be Blessed dear ones and believe in miracles...

Shekhinah