Sunday, January 29, 2012

Farm and mud and getting nothing done.

Another beautiful day! So......I went out to (first) clean out the kidding pen, then to hang up clothes (in the trees), and to work on the covering on the well.  What really happened is that I got the clothes hung, started to look at the pump only to find that the entire top had cracked and broken so.........I'll be lugging 5 gallon buckets until my husband either takes the pump in and replaces it (it was a new pump and shouldn't have cracked) or until I get the old pump that a friend had given me up and running.  Since I work from dark to dark, I won't get to it until Saturday.  I did make a fair amount of headway cleaning out the kidding pen but holy moly!!!!  the hay packs in like peat moss!  My back is aching and my shoulders are sore from getting it nearly all cleaned out.

I had every intention of working on a quilt but took a nap instead. So while I got some stuff done, there's still a good bit that I'll be making up next weekend.  I'm hoping by then some of the mud has either dried or frozen.  

Saturday, January 28, 2012

No Complaints.

I finally got my water pump pumping, the triplets out in the little barn with the other goats, and enjoyed some beautiful sunsets.  I refuse to complain about the mud.


Sunday, January 22, 2012

Killers are we.

Every time we condemn someone without knowing all of the facts, every time we make a snap judgment on someone without taking the time to understand them, every time we allow the media to bottlefeed us information - bogus or not - we have the potential to at the very least, hurt another human deeply and at the very most, kill them.

Unless you are a lifelong Penn State fan, you may not understand.  I grew up with this guy.  I can't say that I idolized him but I most certainly looked up to him.  I was lucky - as a very young girl, I developed a healthy respect for the Alabama Crimson Tide and their revered coach, 'Bear' Bryant.  In my 10 year old eyes, Bear and JoePa were the ultimate coaches, dads, pillars, leaders. 

My heart is sickened. Others whom were trusted to lead my alma mater sent Joe to his death without dignity, without any type of respect.  Joe deserved better.  We broke his heart. 
Two great coaches - this photo and the one above was taken from Facebook.


Saturday, January 21, 2012

Friday night sewing



Since I have several quilting projects that are in various stages of doneness and since I haven't been working on anything much lately and because there are a couple new quilts I would like to start, I joined this Friday night sew in.  And actually accomplished quite a bit.  I can't post what I've done because it is part of a gift to keep someone I love very, very warm but when it is done and has been delivered, I will post a picture. 


Monday, January 16, 2012

Trees.

One of my very early memories of my dad (well, I guess it was in my early teens) was that when he went to work, he always carried a camera. 







My dad was/is a forester and he encountered some pretty scenic areas.   I also remember overhearing my mother tell my dad that she just hated taking his pictures to be developed because he never took pictures of anything interesting, only trees.

 And he took lots of pictures on that little 80mm camera of his.


 I understand, dad.






Saturday, January 14, 2012

Another runner.

So chasing her will prepare me for my race.  Right? I have a little more than 7 months left to prepare.  But still, it feels really good to have my kids enjoy the sport I love so much.  And it feels even better that they are even faster!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Happy 50th to me!

As promised to myself many, many years ago, I will be celebrating my birthday by running a mile for each of my 50 years on this earth: Baker Trail Ultra Challenge

I'm not quite as prepared as I had originally hoped to be at this point but still, this marker is important to me for many reasons and will be even that much more special to have my brother run with me.

Life is good.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Failing.

Some people excel at things like painting or sculpting or singing or cooking.  Some of us are good at more obscure things.  Me.....I'm pretty good at failing.  I've had a lot of experience with it.  And, I can say, I am proud of it. I've learned so much.

I've failed at so many things: running, computers, accounting, quilting, singing, playing the piano, baking bread (failed at this and continue to do so on a regular basis).  I've failed at marriages, at being a parent, at being a daughter, at being a good friend, at being a good farmer.  Like I said, I'm pretty good at failing.

Failing generally doesn't feel good but boy......the stories that come of failed attempts - not to mention the experience and the self-knowledge that failing inspires.  Failing usually entails a lot of kicking one's self in the butt because we think we didn't see something or didn't do something well enough.  But the good thing is, once we get through the kicking-ourself-in-the-butt stage and rightfully feeling pretty down about it, some really amazing things can happen!

Thinking back on past failures, I know that if I hadn't made some monumental goofs, I would never have returned to school let alone gone on to graduate school.  I would never have moved away, never would have dared to start running let alone enter races, never gone on to make even more catastrophic decisions that would lead to more failures.  And more successes. Having flopped at so many things has made me an expert at getting up, dusting myself off, and trying again.

I think to live a life without failing once in a while even in huge, huge ways, would be the ultimate failure. Life is an adventure and a good adventure is often scary and dangerous.  

One Old Goat has now stepped off her soapbox.


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Sometimes things suck.

 Sometimes things happen over which we have no control.  Painful things. Especially heartbreaking when you are watching from the sidelines.  Sometimes things that appear to be dark and scary and bigger than us turn out to actually have silver linings.
If you look very hard, you will see a bluebird in the bush.
 Sometimes we just need to have faith in God. In  family. In friends. In strangers.  Sometimes we really do just need to reach out and although it may not feel like it and it's scary to do, there is someone there to grab your hand. 



Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Yang. Yin.

Life and Death. Happiness and Sorrow. Yin and Yang.  This morning we welcomed three new little lives to One Old Goat farm and said goodbye to one very, very old life.

My morning kicked off with the birth of three beautiful little bucklings - sons of my doe, Leslie.  She wasn't due until tomorrow and she showed no signs of imminent birth so I didn't put her into her kidding stall aka nice, warm, cozy spot in the basement.  When I went in to let the goats out this morning, I could tell that she was licking something.  I thought maybe it was one of the chickens who like to hangout in the goathouse.  But when Leslie didn't run out, I knew that it must be a baby.  And it was.  Brand, spanking new!  A beautiful dark brown baby goat!

Today was one of the coldest mornings in the past several months so I immediately moved mama and baby to the kidding stall.  I ran upstairs to get some water and when I returned, Leslie was giving birth to another kid - this time a white baby with tan spots.  Then shortly after I left for work, another white baby was born.  All three are bucklings and all three are absolutely beautiful.

But as those lives came into the world, we lost our very first horse, Snowball.  He was so old.  He was old when we got him but I like to think he had a good life with us here.  His little buddy Clover, stood by him over night until he passed around noon today.  I knew yesterday that Snowball was leaving me and once again, I began to question myself as a farmer.  Every time I lose an animal, I feel as if I failed them.  My kids took it much better than I did.  But they are used to farm animals dying on occasion.  Not me, I only ever remember one dog dying when I was a kid.  I'm not used to this.  I like to think of One Old Goat farm as a haven for animals.  A place where they are kept warm, sheltered, and well-fed.  A place where they are loved.

So while I am beyond thrilled with the birth of my babies, my heart breaks for the loss of the first horse I ever had.  I hope that Snowball is strong and happy again and is galloping through Heaven with his mane flowing.



  



Busy summer

So much for keeping up with this blog! Seems like there is always something to do and for that, I am very grateful! We finally have rain - i...