Cold Frames

We had some nice weather today with the sun coming out this afternoon and the temperature around fifty. I opened up the cold frames to cut some lettuce and spinach and I thought I'd try planting some more seeds. A lot of them washed away after I planted them last Fall so there was quite a bit of open space. I figured it couldn't hurt to try! I'll let you know how it goes.
Hope your day went well!
Nancy

So Very Precious

We have had several big reminders this past week of how very very precious life is. We have a friend that had just returned after the holidays to Haiti. She had come home for doctor visits because she had become very ill while there. She was VERY heavy on our hearts and minds, wondering what was taking place. She managed to get a message through to my daughter telling her that she and her family had survived and asking for prayer. They were living outside with children from an orphanage because their building was unsafe. We haven't had an update since. Our elderly neighbor's son stopped in to tell us that his dad had fallen and cracked some ribs, one of which punctured a lung, and he is in the hospital with pneumonia. Yesterday I went to the memorial service for a friend's husband who passed away. They were married late in life and were only married a little over three years. So very sad. While on the way home my husband called (he had to stay home and milk) and told me that a friend of the family, who is also the father of one of my longest and dearest friends, had had a heart attack. He is being sedated and on a respirator while they try to address the problems.
In the message that our friend sent from Haiti she said that it was too horrible to describe, there were dead bodies lined up everywhere. Most people will NEVER have to witness such a thing. I am very sad that she has. In all of these things I feel incredibly humbled and hugely grateful for all of my blessings. I DON'T want to take them for granted! All of the little things in life that seemed like problems are NOTHING! My desperate prayer is that we can all focus on the things that really matter, put all differences aside, and embrace (physically and in our heart of hearts) those dear ones that the Lord has given us. When it comes right down to it, NOTHING else is important.
Nancy

Day Three of Second Arctic Blast

Whew! Here we are in day three and the sun has come out and the wind stopped blowing! YAY! It's one degree below zero with a wind chill of minus eleven but this is great improvement! Everything has gone well thanks to my husband. He has done an amazing job. He has had to be outside much of the time, milking, keeping water troughs open, unfreezing faucets that are the kind that aren't supposed to freeze, etc. And through it all he has kept a great attitude! I'm very impressed! And thankful!
And thanks to all of you for your prayers!
Nancy

Preparation

What do you do when the weather report says the second Arctic blast is due in this afternoon and with 3-5 inches of snow and wind gusts of up to 35 mph that will drop the temperature to from 15 to 25 degrees below zero and cause drifting? You shove a pitch fork and garden fork down through frozen hay and muck to move it away from the big goat barn door so that it can be closed up tonight. You get the emergency propane heater down from the loft and bring it into the house in case the electricity goes out and you don't have heat. You bring another large round bale of hay up from the bottom pasture for the calves. You fork extra bedding into the barn for the animals' warmth. You bring the Alpine buck in from the outer limits (its o. k., he isn't smelly now that he isn't in rut anymore) and put him in a warmer stall. You prepare to lock the dog up in the barn for the night instead of him sleeping in the dog house. You think about what it is going to be like when the water in the troughs freezes over again shortly after you broke it open with a sledge hammer and you have to go back out already and do it again. You make a trip to town to buy kerosene for the emergency heater and the heater you have been using in the milking barn to keep the milk from getting so cold it won't go through the filter before you put it in jars. You go to the grain elevator and buy extra feed for all of the animals because they need to eat more when it's cold and in case the roads are icy and you can't get out. You fill water jugs in case the electricity goes out and the well pump won't work. You stop by the grocery store for extra toilet paper :-} and antifreeze for all the vehicles and anything else you think you might want if you can't go anywhere. And you do all this in addition to the regular chores you do every day. And you say a prayer, and you count your blessings, and you thank God for letting you live such a wonderful life.
Do me a favor. If you see a farmer today, thank him or her.
Nancy

Tagged

I've been tagged so here goes:
Six names you go by:
Nancy, Mom, Grandma, Grams, Nance, Sissy

Three things you are wearing today:
Jumper, blouse, and LONG JOHNS! :-)

Three things you want very badly right now:
For my youngest son and his family to move close
That everyone in my family would be saved
Too deep to share

Three things you did last night/yesterday:
Watched a "Little Bear Wheeler" video and ate popcorn
Washed eggs
Read from my Bible and Martyr's Mirror

Two things you ate today:
Turkey sandwich :-)
Smoothie (drank really)

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
My daughter-in-law
My granddaughter

Two things you are going to do today/tomorrow:
Go bowling with my daughter and her family
Feed goats

Your three favorite beverages:
Milk
Lemonade
Kombucha

Whew! Now you know more than you wanted to! :-)
Nancy

December Snow

Two days ago it was warm enough to open up the cold frames and cut lettuce and spinach (that was a treat!), and today it is gray and very cold and the ground is covered with snow. Winter set in early this year, but I'm still hoping it won't be as cold and wet as it has been the last two.
Marty, the steer, has decided to leave the chicken coops alone for now, but keeps jumping the fence to get in the garden and graze. There's not much in there, except for some corn husks, but it's enough to get his attention. We wouldn't worry about it if it weren't for the cold frames, raised beds, and strawberry plants, but because of those things, ever so often the alarm is sounded, and everyone available has to run outside and chase him out. Marty always joins in the festivities by kicking up his heels and giving everyone a good run around the garden.
Hope you're enjoying the time getting ready for Christmas! It will be here so soon.
Nancy

In Case You're Wondering

Cayenne pepper really does stop bleeding. (They used to use it for that purpose in wars.) We bought a young Alpine buck a while back that was pretty wild because he hadn't been handled. He had been disbudded but decided to grow horns at just under a year old. One day he caught one of them in some fencing and broke it off. It was bleeding badly. Jack came to the back door calling for help and told me what had happened. I knew about cayenne so I grabbed some from the kitchen and ran it outside. Jack was elected to be the one that applied the cayenne to the badly bleeding horn site. While cayenne may burn at first, it then deadens pain. (You'll see it in arthritis rubs and such.) It was the burning part that concerned us. (Especially Jack). He went in and after much crashing around in the barn, he emerged unharmed. (Jack, not the goat.) Now that the coast was cleared, I went in and saw that the bleeding had slowed to a small trickle, then clotted and stopped completely. What a wonderful thing.
Hope your daily adventures turn out well.
Nancy