Time again...

Below in this post is a post I started in the fall while planting garlic. I am going to play a little catch up with this blog.

Right now I sit here at our work worn wooden kitchen table contemplating and planning for 2019. We just went through a polar vortex the last several days. It is cold right now, but it is not the cold that the last two days instinctively made you feel the immenient danger of freezing. In the height of the cold when you stepped out the door your boots crunched on the frigid snow. If your breath escaped out from under your scarf or face covering, it instantly turned to ice. Moving not to fast but not to slow kept me going through the animal chores. Daily checks, making sure there was plenty of food, clean water, bedding, etc. Gathering the eggs throughout the day, some ended up frozen, but we got lucky sometimes and plucked a fresh laid one. Franz kept the boiler going and brought buckets of warm molasses water to the animals midday. Whoever checked animals had to break waters each time. Animals can be amazing creatures. I loved when I would check on the goats, finding a pile or "rug" of goats. The babies climbed on tops of moms then tucked themselves in the middle of the pile. Throughout the day we prayed for the safety of all outside.

Having milked JAling in negative 29

My project has been a buckling that at the beginning of the colder weather took a sudden turn for the worse. Ruth's tricolored blue-eyed buck we think ate some dog food. He was fine the evening of January 25th, 2018, when we tucked the Nigerian babies in their stall for the night. The next morning at chore time I immediately heard a distressed cry. I checked the stall of kids. At first it was not evident what was wrong, as all the kiddos were tucked together. Once they all stood up I noticed the buckling lying there lethargic and he gave another cry. I quickly tried to see if he could get up and stuck my finger in his mouth. His tongue was cold so I immediately put him inside my coat. I started taking care of some the chores. Franz offered to take him up to the house. Tucking him inside his coat he brought him to the house and set him up with the boys on the couch taking turns snuggling. When I was done with chores I headed up to the house and started breakfast. Checking the goat I cautioned Clement to make sure the blanket stayed on while making sure the goat could still breath. The buckling was limp with his eyes completely rolled back in his head. He was grinding his teeth. When he stopped we thought he had died. This went on for several hours. I had also given him selenium and vitamin E paste in hopes of helping him revive. Once his body temp was up I started syringing goat milk into him. He slowly came around and by evening had perked up a little bit. Trying to give a bottle became impossible as it became evident very quickly that he was terribly congested and we worried about pneumonia. So, I have been throughout the last week been deboogering, giving milk by syringe, giving vitalerbs tincture, Landofhavilah wormer, raw honey, vapor mix of essential oils on the nose, and finally he now is eating hay again. It is still a work in progress but I believe today I have to make a bigger pen in the house as the little dude "Qatar" as Clement has named him, is starting to feel his "ginger" return.

"Qatar" is eating hay again!

We also made sure to have a party for Cyprian's birthday on the 29th. Several family members on my side braved the cold and it was a delightful repast. Cyprian made his own cake and chose the days menu Sausage, eggs, and cheese for breakfast, homemade pizza for lunch, and biscuits and gravy for supper. Cyprian said, "this was a very nice birthday!" So a special thanks goes to those who made Cyprians turning ten memorable.

Cyprian cutting the cake he made completely by himself.

Singing happy birthday.

Brothers enjoying the candles.

Can you guess what this is?

A jar full of pennies. 

Throughout the cold week we still did schoolwork. I mean we are stuck in the house anyway because of the temps. But we did make sure to take time to play games and the boys ran wildly about the house. I had to remind them to settle down as we did not want a flood like we had the week before. (While playing hide and seek Clement decided to try and hide beside the washer in the bathroom. I was making supper when Alynnsia my niece frantically called, "Aunt Rosemary somethings wrong." I looked to the bathroom door where she stood and heard a hissing spray. Then I see Clement standing there wet from head to toe. I ran in the bathroom to find a new sprinkler system installed, thanks to Clement breaking not just the water hose, but the pipe to the washer. As I was frantically trying to see if I could shut the water off. Alynnsia got Franz from outside and he hurridly shut the water off in the basement. There was a waterfall cascade descending through the crack along the wall to the basement.) Thank goodness Franz was able to replace and fix the pipe. I tell you there is so much that goes on in homes..... Below is a post I was writing in October 2018

 Wow, looking at the last post and realizing how much time has flown by. This has been another whirlwind of a year.

Currently we are finishing the harvesting. I just dug up the last of my potatoes tonight. As I walked down to the barn tonight to milk my goat, a gentle misty rain started. We have more apples to pick for making into applesauce and cider. Franz has been working hard on cleaning and selling squash for Organic Valley. I am in the midst of garlic planting.

Some nights I am so sore from the daily work. But I also have a sense of awe as I realize how much Franz the boys and I have accomplished. It has been tough but I believe it is worth it.

As I have been out in the garlic field planting the last couple of days, I have had time to think. My thoughts have quite a range. One of the thoughts is about people and the lost sense of natural instinct, love of nature, and wholesomeness.

Stop, look, listen.... What is it that comes to you? Will you take a moment to look around? What will you hear? I know not everyone is bred or tempered for country living. I have not always had an appreciation or understanding about the hard but beautiful and fragile life of country living. I was one of those grocery shopper who was always looking for the deals. Now being on the other side of the equation I find how sadly misguided I was and woefully unaware of the hard work that goes into producing wholesome good food. There is plenty of food for cheap, but quality is usually not present. As we work to bring the rich fruits of hard labor to the table. I have to stop and thank God that we are abundantly blessed to have the wholesomeness of food grown with care.