Happy Sunday!

 

Remembering those who served to keep us free.  

It was one of Those days...

WARNING: This is a sad post - as always, life and death happen on a farm - sometimes simultaneously - sometimes, just the death part...


Yesterday was a sad day on the farm at Marietta Shetlands - The Shepherd normally gets up and feeds the sheep then comes in and has his breakfast. As the company he works for has cut back to four days a week, for right now, he has Friday's off, so he went back out after his morning oatmeal to check on the girls, especially Moni, our dark brown ewe, as she wasn't taking the cold very well, grinding her teeth and shivering - (he even put up the heat lamp).

What he found was Moni, with a dead ram lamb, and one more coming. It seemed to be coming normally, feet first and head in the right place, but it must have been in the birth canal too long, as, even though he assisted, it was also dead.

Moni seems OK - she passed the afterbirth yesterday afternoon and has been eating and moving around. He decided not to milk her colostrum (although we've never needed it, it would be good to have some in the freezer) so her milk wouldn't come in so much. He's still "on watch" with her, but today she is out in the pasture munching on grass - life goes on.


In Memory of Buddy -

Buddy was the wether that we had in with H.B. as his "buddy" - What we hadn't really noticed until about a month ago, was, that H.B. was not letting him eat and, in typical ram fashion, being kind of mean to his pasture mate.

But Buddy was a lover, not a fighter and often as not, he would just lay down so H.B. couldn't chase him - but sometimes he was still getting "pummeled".

The Shepherd had separated him out from H.B. but he didn't seem to be gaining any weight, and after shearing and the ultra cold weather that we've had the last few days, it seemed that there were other problems. As he was talking to the vet about Moni, they chatted about Buddy and decided that he would bring him in and they would put him down.

I suppose, in other times, on other farms, Buddy would have met his end on the farm and been cooked up for soup - Since neither one of us care for lamb, we have no small white packages in the freezer, and he rests in peace here.

After shearing, we also are wondering if Jewell is "with lambs" - hopefully there's one hiding in there - if not, it will be the end of a blood line because the ram she was in with, Danny and his newly shorn pasture mate, Taylor will be going to the auction soon - probably not this weekend as the weatherman keeps saying it is going to snow - looks like it might, but it's 41 degrees out right now.

So that's how our week ended. When you have a small flock, each animal is so valued. When you are a farmer, the value is in your harvest. When you are a shepherd, your harvest is in the spring when the lambs come. Essentially, we lost a quarter of our harvest.

We still have high hopes for Pearl and Luna who were bred to H.B. - they are looking pleasingly plump, and like their moms before them, getting pretty bitchy. They are several weeks off though - I'll keep you posted.

Blog Action Day - Oct. 15, 2007

"What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices. "

On October 15th - Blog Action Day, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind. In its inaugural year, Blog Action Day will be co-ordinating bloggers to tackle the issue of the environment. Blog Action Day is and will ever be, simply a vehicle for bloggers to work together to create a better world. The Organizers of Blog Action Day were inspired by one member's Baha'i belief's in the unity of humanity.

I am inspired by their willingness to try to mobilize the thousands of blogs and millions of readers. Stir the proverbial pot - it causes change.

I spent the first 18 years of my life growing up on this farm in North Central Washington. My father was tethered to the environment in a way that most fathers these days don't understand - he was a farmer. Everything he did on a day to day basis depended upon, effected, relyed upon - the land.

My grandparents homesteaded this land in 1907 - for one hundred years a Thomsen has owned this property. Even though I have not lived there since 1970, the "ranch" as we call it, is still "home" - to this day, the smell of sage brings back memories of warm summer days - the sagebrush and the grasses heated thru by the sun - the acrid smell permeating the air.

As children, my sister and I roamed these fields and hills - the butte in the farground we called "The Cliffs"

"Mom, we're going up on the cliff" - we'd call out - and be gone for hours - walking, wandering, looking for wildflowers in the spring, picking through the piles of stuff and junk (in those days there were no landfills - you made your own) to see if we could find any "treasures" to take home for our play house - old plates, maybe a chipped cup or a bent spoon. Maybe that is where my younger sister developed her love for antiques...

If you look closely at this picture (it won't biggify because I cropped the original - oh, well) - you will see the rows and rows of electrical towers that march through the landscape - I think their journey either starts at Chief Joseph Dam in Bridgeport or maybe at Grand Coulee. I used to think they looked like iron maidens, marching through our fields. What would the aliens think when they landed on our plateau? Would they think these were the inhabitants - chained together with wire - marching off to some unknown place?

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the glaciers pushed their way down into the area now owned by my sisters and I. When the glaciers melted, (dare I ask - was that caused by the last episode of global warming?) they did the biggest environmental litter-bug job in the world - they dropped all these big rocks - right where they stopped - in our front yard, and our back yard, you get the picture.

But, from atop those rocks, you can see for miles and miles (- clear to the edge of the world, I used to think - it's amazing the things we think when we are children)

The "environment" is so much more than a cause - it determines how one looks at the world - and how the world looks at us.

Sometimes, it is discouraging. We do what we can, recycle this or that - only to learn that sometimes "it" ends up in a landfill anyhow. We change the type of lightbulb we buy, only to learn that the new types of compact flourescent bulbs contain mercury and require special handling to dispose of.

I'll just say that all in all, it's a beautiful world. I am hugely excited about getting to finally see the Grand Canyon and grateful that it was preserved as a National Park, and not allowed to be filled in like one giant landfill - (I'm sure there are those who would have tried )

So, I challenge you - get involved - add your voice to the thousands - let me know what YOU think.

Who Says Justice Doesn't have a Sense of Humor?

Or, who knows what you’ll learn when you are surfin’ the net - -

The Jockey Club is a private organization designated by Kentucky to track and approve names of race horses. (who'd a thought?) Without an approved name, a horse cannot race at a Kentucky track. When horse owner, Garrett Redmond wanted to name 4-year-old horse after "Sally Hemings", Thomas Jefferson's most famous slave and reputed lover – the Jockey Club (rightfully) said, “NO!” Their bylaws forbid horse owners from using names of famous or notorious people without special permission and the club's rules also say that "names considered in poor taste; or names that may be offensive to religious, political or ethnic groups" won't be approved.

So, following the path of common day actions, Mr. Redmond sued the Jockey Club, saying the denial had deprived him of constitutional rights. (OK, and what constitutional right would that be?)

Judge Alice Batchelder, writing for the three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, said Redmond has other options that may be approved by the Jockey Club, "To be sure, the First Amendment protects horse owners' rights to free speech, and we do not foreclose Mr. Redmond indiscriminately from asserting that right, but the right to free speech is not absolute in all contexts,"

Batchelder went on to write that because the Jockey Club is a private organization with power delegated by the state, it may restrict free speech so long as it doesn't discriminate against a specific viewpoint. (Go Alice!)

She also quoted Shakespeare's "What's in a name?" and cited the band America in rejecting Redmond's appeal. "In short, because he has spent three years insisting he has a constitutional right to name his horse 'Sally Hemings' and that no other name will do, Mr. Redmond now finds himself, like the songster of the 70s, having 'been through the desert on a horse with no name”. However, if he really wants to race or breed this horse in Kentucky, Mr. Redmond will have to come up with a name that complies with the Jockey Club's rules, Batchelder wrote. "A quick look at the Jockey Club's Registry confirms that 'Horse With No Name' is no longer available."
For the full article from Fox Sports Interactive Media, click here.

On Death & Dying, Grief & Grieving

“It makes a difference in one's day, life, to witness a death of any kind, even the death of a small bird. Any death, even of a bird only held for 30 minutes, can be symbolic of many deaths past and future - and one should stop, pay homage, and then rejoice at all the life still surrounding. But always, stop, shed a tear, treat it as a gift, pay homage.”

How timely that I would read this on Katherine’s Apifera Farm Blog when I have been thinking the past few weeks about death & dying, grief and grieving. It was like she was giving me a little push – “Go ahead, write what you have been thinking”.

To tell you the truth, I generally try to refrain from getting too “deep” on my blog – sometimes a picture can say a thousand words, so to speak. Some people write daily essays that seem to flow from their keyboards like water – I have to carefully craft each sentence (my 8th grade English teacher coming back to haunt me, I guess). But, this topic has been rattling around in my head for a while now - with questions, comments, opinions, so, here goes. (And if you were looking for something light and frothy today, you may want to just jump over to Cute Overload - that’s where I go when I need a lighter subject)

I grew up on a wheat farm in Douglas county in North Central Washington The only “livestock” we had were my grandma’s chickens and an assorted bunch of barn cats. Grandma sold eggs to the local grocery store and when the old girls stopped laying eggs, they became stewin’ hens – and yes, chickens do run around after they’ve had their heads cut off.

It’s a grizzly sight to be sure. In her book “On Death and Dying” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross says “We cannot afford every child the learning experience of a simple life on a farm with its closeness to nature, the experience of birth and death in the natural surrounding of the child”. After you've watched a hen being slaughtered, defeathered and the gory “all” that goes into turning it from a farmyard animal into chicken and dumplings - there is no mistaking that as an experience…and you definitely learn where your food comes from.

I have lived my whole life loving cats. As a child, although our cats were theoretically “barn cats” and they supposedly weren’t allowed in the house – the kittens were often tucked under a shirt and smuggled in so they could be dressed in baby doll clothes and pushed around in the little baby buggy. Why they stood for it, I’ll never know, but it is an endearing memory. The other memory that haunts me was the litter of kittens that were born when my dad was out of town on business. They were horribly misformed. I was probably 10 or 11 at the time – my mom said I would need to drown them. (remember, this was 1963, she was ill, and we were a LONG way from a vet) I won’t go on any more about it, but like I said – it is a memory that haunts me that I had to take those little lives.

I have been lucky that most of my cats that I have had as an adult have lived over 10 or more years. When they are your companions for that long, it leaves such a huge hole in your heart when they die. A blogging friend, Toni just lost her cat of 16 years – The outpouring of support and sympathy that she received from the blogging world was enormous and heartwarming. That same day, another friend had to put her dog down. She got similar support from her “cyber pals”. If you have read my blog for a while, you know we have sheep and chickens here on our little farm. We have lost lambs for one reason or another and I know that most of the wethers that we have sold over the years have gone for lamb chops. I have had to resign myself to knowing that they had the best life we could give them while they were living here on our farm - shelter, water & food and lots of love – what more could you want if you were a sheep?

I’ll always remember a conversation I had with a co-worker several years ago when another co-worker, a single fellow, was having a hard time because he’d lost his “dog friend” of many years. The guy said “What’s the big deal, it was just a dog?” Just a dog? Nope, I’m sorry, my friend, our pets are our confidants, they make us laugh, they wash away our tears with their rough sandpaper tongues, they are our four legged "fur children" – and when a friend’s pet dies, it reminds us all too well that these critters are only on loan to us – we grieve for our friend’s loss, but I think we also secretly grieve for the potential and future loss of our own pet or even our spouse or our parents.

My Mom & Dad both smoked - lots - If my sisters and I all live to a ripe old age without getting lung cancer from second hand smoke, it will be nothing short of a miracle. My dad was a farmer and my mom was a housewife. Like everyone those days, they both smoked, but then there is my Hanford Downwind theory. Between 1944 and 1960 Hanford Nuclear Reservation released all kinds of radionuclide particles into the atmosphere. They drifted up the Columbia river and blanketed themselves over the farmers and the housewives who lived in the area. They (the Hanford people) said they were doing it for science – Well, in the late 1970’s there were a lot of deaths in our community from cancer, including my parents in 1978. Hmm- science indeed. I’ll bet those scientists didn’t bring their families up to Lake Chelan after they let out those clouds of radioactive dust – do ya think?

So now, I am 55. Most of my close friends are similar age – and suddenly their parents have begun to fail or pass away. “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt”, my sisters and I say. From what I can tell, the deaths of one’s parents have a way of either bringing siblings closer together or tearing a family apart. I’m really glad that it brought us closer together.

Which brings up the other death that I am dealing with right now - Losing a spouse – Not mine, of course, but my sister Merrill, whose husband James appears to be loosing his battle with cancer. To tell you the truth, I have never “prayed” on a regular basis – I have meditated, and I have done other “spiritual things” that might equate – but these days, I try to pause a few minutes each day – to pray for strength and courage for my sister. Sometimes during the day, and often after we speak in the evenings, "my eyes will leak" (to borrow a phrase I've learned from my friends in the cat blogosphere - think about it - it makes sense). I scared the heck out of my poor DH the other night because I simply could not contain my grief after a phone call with my sister. I cried and cried (well actually, I wailed and sobbed). I know it puzzles him – this connection between me and my sisters because he is an only – and that the grief that tore through me was for my sister, not necessarily for myself.

So what would happen if we all came stamped with an expiration date? Would some of us fight to last longer like sweet cream that is still ahead of it’s shelf life, or would we take off early like that bag of “Fresh Express” salad that turned brown and slimy days before it’s pull date.

Would it change the way we look at death? Would it change the way we look at life? As a Unitarian Universalist, I personally do not worry about death and salvation – for what loving God would condemn anyone to hell for eternity? Instead, my view is that everyone will be reconciled with God eventually. (But then, that is a whole ‘nother essay – it’ll have to wait for later)

In the week that I’ve been working on this post, more than 25 American soldiers have died in the Middle East. Every day, I go out and get into an automobile to drive to work. Less than 100 years ago people felt sure that the auto was going to be the death of us all (now, it’s only if the other driver is talking on their cell phone!) Have I answered any of my own questions about D&D, G&G, or have I just generated new ones? I guess I’ll have to wait and see. Let me know what you think.

Pondering sheep butts

Ah, yup, that's what I said - Pondering sheep butts.


However I thought it would be more polite to show you the beautiful daffodils that are blooming in our yard, before we get down to business.



And, drum roll please, for the first time in six weeks, we had a drug free day! Just a couple of Advil liqui-gels to combat the achey back! Now, could someone please explain to him WHY he cannot go picking up things that are heavier than a darn gallon of milk - We've had several impassioned (on my part, anyhow) conversations on how he needs to let his back heal before he starts being mr muscleman again & it's beginning to get a little stale...



Anyhow, back to the subject at hand...

Of course, the first place that John wanted to go, after he was "Up & attem" from his surgery was the barn - does that surprise anyone? One of the primary reasons was to teach me what to look for as Regina & Susie get more & more pregnant -

Here's my chores helper - for some reason Neelix just loves chicken scratch - put a little pile of it on the top of the feed bins and he'll munch it down

Here he is, guarding the hay until I get back with the feed bowls....











Oops, this is supposed to be about sheep, isn't it...



Here they are - Sheep butts - Lookin pretty pregnant - of course poor Anna D (in the center, just WANTS to be pregnant - a case of mastitis that has since cleared itself, kept her off the dance floor this year -) Isn't she the prettiest color?


















Oh, Regina, how rude of me, I should have gotten the hay crumbs off your face before I took your picture - yes, I know it feels good to itch you there... and there too, huh?




Regina is probably the friendliest of our girls - although she is highly motivated by scritches - and would gladly keep me held hostage for hours, "oh, rub there, that's the spot" - I think she is probably about a week away - she isn't walking in circles and gnashing her teeth yet - then I'll know that we'd better set up the jug (pen) - Ruben got the panels out of the greenhouse for me last weekend - now we'll have to figure out how to put them together without John lifting anything - poor guy, we're going to drive each other nuts over that one, I can see it coming.

But we had a good day - not only a drug free one, but a trip to Home Depot, Farmer's Co-op, the grocery store AND the Hilltop for lunch - (yum) And a nap to boot. Made black bean soup for dinner - maybe I'll write down the recipe before I forget it - it was pretty good!

Speaking of recipes - check out the neat sugar cookies that Michelle from Boulderneigh made - her sister sent her the coolest "sheep" cookie cutter - Fun, fun, fun!
http://boulderneigh.blogspot.com/2007/03/snack-for-shearer.html

That's all I've got to say for now - It's past time to go to bed, and I have church in the morning -I'd like to take the day off, but it's the newsletter deadline, and I suppose I'd better be there to collect any stray notices, etc.

Since our minister is part time, occasionally a member will volunteer to do a service - Of course I did - And the Title of my service is "Blogging, Communication & Communities in a new century. (or something like that) Anyhow, I'm putting out a call to all my blogger friends -
#1 Why do you blog? #2 What do you get from it? and #3 Any specific point that you'd like me to make? - I'll quote everyone, unless they ask to be anonymous - I'm kind of excited about it - I have gotten permission from Susan at Farmgirl Fare to use the story of her lamb Cary for the kids story - http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2006/11/daily-farm-photo-11606.html - and who knows what else I'll come up with :-) Nite -

Just the facts, ma'am

Fact - It only rains in direct proportion to how many sacks of groceries that you need to bring into the house.

Fact - 15 mg. morphine sulfate twice a day is not as strong as 12 mg. of hydromorphone 4 times a day. And boy, let me tell you, its been a long day...

Fact - Fleece does not make good kitty litter. Now, I'm not pointing any fingers here (Neelix?) & I know I should have gotten them picked up earlier...but couldn't you have just gone in the sand next to the tarp insteak of ON the tarp...... luckily there was only a little damage to one fleece.

Fact - I feel like a computer that is running some HUGE program in the background - always worrying, slows me down, makes me think about sleep alot.

Fact - John's surgery is scheduled for Monday at 12:45. Studies have shown that patients who are the recipients of prayer & concentrated good thoughts recover faster than those who aren't. Our thanks to all of you who have sent your good wishes and prayers for his speedy recovery. I'll let you know what happens.

And the beat goes on........

We started on his third refill for the painkillers today. I had reduced him down to 2 pills every 6 hours or so - but now that he is up and moving around, it seems to iritate his hip and he has, what I call "pain surges" - poor guy.





He got a card from Skittles the Ram who lives with our friends Kathy & Ralph at Sheep Thrills Farm in Flagstaf, AZ. Kathy has back problems herself and has been very helpful & sympathetic to me as we go up and down on this merry-go-round that we've been on for the last MONTH!

Anyhow, Skittles invited him to come down and visit - and I think that John was more touched by that card than any others that he has received - it was really a very funny card too, about duct tape being good for all kinds of things - putting a patient back together being one of them - Skittles dictated a very nice note to his "mom" - John really liked it (thanks Kath) - AND, he is saying that maybe we might have to take Skittles up on his invitation!

Our friend Nancy took the boys to the auction on Monday a.m. - I had a really big cry about it after she left. I'm not much of a farmer, I'm afraid - and if I had to kill my own meat - the reddest thing I'd be eating would be beets.

Well, I shall leave you with this peaceful scene from a week ago Wednesday - it was so beautiful out - I had John's big work boots on so I wasn't too afraid of falling - just had a great time out in it.

News for "Inquiring Minds"

I realized tonight that I have begun to measure days by John's drug log. (I keep a log of every pill I give him & when) & it is now the 1st of March - could someone tell me where February went?

March has certainly come in like a lion - it has snowed all over western Washington tonight - it looks like we have about an inch of "popcorn" snow - it's 30 degrees out - I'm hoping that it just stays cold so it's not slippery when I go out to feed in the a.m. I also have to figure out how to get a new bale of hay down. Should be interesting.

I had a "close encounter" with Gizmo this a.m. He decided he didn't like where I had my hand, and I wasn't paying attention and BAM! My right hand is pretty - all black & blue - I am very lucky that he didn't break my knuckle - I bonked him really good on the noggin with the feed bowl, but instead of looking contrite, he looked defiant. Little shit!

The big news of the day - Dr. Baker's office - the neurologist that we were referred to - callecd yesterday and they had a cancellation for today - could he be there at 1:30 - Several things fell into play here -

* It was payday for me - ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that I could take the day off - 40 people depend on me for their paychecks and no one else knows the program.

* Nan Geer, our minister from Free Church Unitarian, had already planned on being here to give John his lunch & meds - so she was very accomodating and was willing to take him into town in her Suburau - because - - -

***!!! He walks - he stands - he sits - kind of shakey, mind you - but it seems like in the past 4 or 5 days he has improved 100% every day.

* Our neighbor John R. was nice enough to come over to help Nan in case John needed help getting out to the car. Their biggest problem was getting him to go to the car and not take a little side trip thru the gardens...

* Our dear Friend Nancy, who is a retired nurse came over to help Nan too - so here we are - all three of us sitting in the exam room with John. Dr. Baker must have wondered what kind of a deal he got into here LOL -

*I need to go to bed, as it is almost 1:00 a.m. - but I wanted to tell you the biggest news, that surgery is scheduled for March 12 - so save the date - say your prayers that it is successful -

I'll give you more news in a few days when I find out more about what they will be doing. It will be up & at 'em early tomorrow - John is convinced that he can take care of himself - including getting his own lunch (mind you - the lunch fairy will have it all ready to go in the fridge - but this is someone who wouldn't/couldn't even get out of bed 5 days ago. YAHOO!