Happy Birthday Anni!

Today is our dear friend (and surrogate family member) Anni's birthday. Here are some things we LOVE about Anni:

• She's loyal
• She's laid back
• She loves the Lord
• She loves animals
• She is so giving
• She's SO helpful
• The kids all feel safe/comfortable around here
• She lives by us (now!)
• She makes amazing goat soap and barters with us for eggs!
• She has a beautiful little daughter Tris who is making sure we always have little kids around here!

Here are just a few pictures from our life with Anni. We sort of met her randomly ... but the Lord wanted our lives to intersect! We feel called to help her raise Tris in a Godly community and to be her "local family" while her own is away in Pennyslvania.

Males on a farm

Too many boy ducks = fighting and dead females. 

Too many roosters or bad roosters = hurt humans or dead roosters.

People are moving to our area in droves. They are escaping, and they will tell you why they left rapidly if you ask them. They want space. Less rules. Ownership. Small towns. The most commons states we are seeing people come from are California and Illinois and Florida. Although I am sure that is my random assessment. Most tell you that they found that the rules put in place during COVID pushed them over the edge. 

But these "newbies" also buy chickens. Or ducks. Or goats. They are coming with big-city mentality and trying to squeeze them into small-town-homesteading without properly understanding how things work. One time we saw an advertisement. People had "rescued" meat chickens from a farm and wanted them to go to a "no kill home." Do they understand what meat chickens are? Do they understand what will happen to a meat chicken if it is not processed by the time it's too heavy for its own legs? Another post said: “7 roosters free to a no-kill home.”

No one wants your roosters people! You must be ready to cull (this means selectively slaughter) males to keep the peace, protect the ladies, or protect your family. If you do not want to kill animals, you must be very selective when you purchase them. (Only purchase ladies). That's the ONLY way.

I told one woman this, and she said “No way I can kill them. I’ll put them in a separate place by themselves.” So she is going to pay money to feed roosters that can’t do anything for her? And watch them kill each other as they fight until the death? That doesn't make much sense to me either. 

We processed one of our male ducks last week. He’s been a veteran, but we have a flock of new ducks, and he won’t be kind when being incorporated. This was hard for me. I had to walk away. The more "unique" the animal is, the harder it is to let them go. 

Often, we process an animal that goes in the freezer for later consumption. This time he went right in our fridge, and John prepared the meat with potatoes and all kinds of yummy spices. It was delicious, but when he asked me how it was I couldn’t help but say, "It's hard knowing who he was."

It really was. 

Ballet has started again for the 2022-2023 season!  Abigail has improved SO much after her intensive summer. And Hannah is switching over from little kid classes to harder classes. 

Abigail has opted on Thursdays to actually take class from 4:00-7:45. She takes Hannah’s level, then beginner pointe, and then advanced class. Abigail would like to attend class now 4 days a week (every weekday but Wednesday), but I am not positive I can get here there 4x. I’ll try for at least 3 with this bigger dance time on Thursday. 

I’m so proud of her hard work while equally excited to see if Hannah takes off. 

Enjoy these videos of the first week of classes!

Isaac joins youth worship

Isaac is on the youth worship team now at First Christian Church Greeneville playing keyboard. I can’t believe he is doing this. I always wanted him to do this, but I’ve completely reliant on God and Isaac to make decisions regarding his faith and music. I pushed zero percent. This was all him. So cool. 

Remember

 

I sprained my ankle. It had already been a killer morning on the farm. Many things had gone wrong, not the least of which was, the side-by-side wasn't running properly. (Thank goodness it is under warranty so they have already come to pick it up and get it working.) At the tail end of a bad two hours of things not being where we needed them, grass not being mowed, transportation not available for hauling feed, etc., I sprained my ankle and was down for the count.

John got off at 4pm on Monday and was able to swoop in and (with the help of the boys) get the turkeys moved.

I'm continually learning lessons on the farm. One lesson that I have learned (repeatedly) has to do with moving sheep. Over the last 7 years, I have gotten better and better and moving these animals, and now, we rarely have emotional eruptions that occur because "everything went wrong" out in the pasture.

(They actually have shirts that say "I'm sorry for what I said while we were moving SHEEP or moving CATTLE" because people just lose their minds when things go wrong!)

Here are a few things I have learned:

• Avoid working when it is BLAZING hot
• Avoid working for over 90 minutes (45-60 is ideal)
• Avoid not having enough people to do the job
• Prepare ahead of time by doing some "preliminary" work so that the day of the move, everything is where it needs to be
• Don't be lazy and leave tools, things in places of unknown origin. NO ONE wants to walk around a paddock looking for the hammer or jumper cables. Put things where they belong.
• Think ahead. 
• Plan ahead.
• Slow down and enjoy nature/the animals/the people who are with you.
• Remember that being able to walk is a GIFT!

We didn't remember any of those things when we started to move the turkeys. We are processing the birds on the 20th of August. We want it DONE. We aren't as good at moving birds as we are sheep. We have to be more INTENTIONAL.

And sometimes, you just have to stop doing anything because you hurt your foot ...

Frustrating

While JB is gone, I'm holding down the fort. My headaches/migraines are relentless. I am at a place and complete and utter frustration. I truly don't know what else to do. And I feel like I've tried everything. I find it completely unfair and horrendous that I have to battle these after so many years of battling my hormones. Why can't my body work the right way? The way it is supposed to? I just want it to end. So bad.

For those who have suggestions, I do welcome them, but to be honest, every suggestion feels likes weeks/months of trying something only for it to not work. Everything costs more money. Takes more time. And I am raising/farming/growing my children which takes so much of me.

I just want my head to not hurt. For right now, I'd take one day off.

More pics from Colorado

JB and little Hannah are still in Colorado where he is "working" to earn his CME (Continuing Medical Education). I have seen very few pictures of him in a classroom. Ha! It seems this is mostly learning outside. 

I must admit, their pictures look idyllic, and I can only imagine what fun they are having. I have nearly (for sure) decided that next year it will be my turn to take the trip with JB. Everyone has been through the circuit, and it is my turn.

Here are some pictures from their horseback riding adventures (including a note Hannah wrote to Grama K. to tell her about her adventures):

They attended a lecture called "Kids in the Wilderness." A missionary in Chad, on furlough, they are hiking the Continental Divide Trail with a one-year-old. (Last furlough they did the Appalachian Trail with a four-year-old who was the youngest to complete it. Unassisted.) (This sounds like insanity to me.)

And now it is on to today's adventures: White Water Rafting! Hannah was the youngest on her raft. She was given an opportunity to just sit and be dead weight. No way! Not her!

I'm including some videos JB has sent me:

• Preparing for the "surprise" adventure
• Floating in the Colorado
• On the water

Daddy & Daughter in Colorado

Each year, John has to do CME (Continuing Medical Education.) He chooses, often, to do that through the WILDERNESS MEDICINE SOCIETY. This year he has added to Colorado ... and after a two year COVID break, it's Hannah's turn!!! 

Here is a look back at the past trips John has done with WMS 

• 2008 (By himself)
• 2009 (Colorad with JB, me, and the boys)
• 2009 (With Me -- the tragic trip where we lost a fellow diver)
• 2010-2014 (We lived overseas so there weren't any trips!)
• 2017 (With Isaac)
• 2018 (With Sidge)
• 2019 (With Abigail)
• 2020-2021 (COVID break)

And here are some of the pictures JB has taken with our fourth (and final) frolicking nearly nine-year-old:

Happy Birthday Mr. Lloyd

We did a very quick drive-over to say Happy Birthday to Mr. Lloyd. He is the "older gentleman" who owned the land that Anni bought (he sold her his back 7.) He is not married and does not have children of his own, and he has totally adopted Tristan and Anni!

Colorado Trip

Greene County Derby

My friend, Meredith (along with her husband Daniel and her kiddos: Lilly, Hosea, and Janesa), invited me and the kids to the Greene County Fair. Sidge wasn't feeling well so I went with the other three kiddos. We were specifically there for the "Powder Puff Derby" (women's derby). 

It was incredibly loud. Incredibly. I will wear ear plugs the next time. Here are some pictures from our evening:

To be fair, we only did one portion of the Greene County Fair, and there are many different types of events that we could have participated in. But holy cow ... this felt like another planet. 

I have always wanted to spend more time with the animals at the County Fair. (I did spend time at the Minnesota State Fair which is a step up from the County Fair many moons ago.)

Firstly, we were the only people with our hand's over their ears. Are these people deaf?!

Secondly, JB saw many of the people that I saw at the fair later in his ER after fights and what-not that occur at the fair. 

Thirdly, I think I felt more out of place at this event than I did living in Turkey and the Azores. Truly this is a completely different sub-set of our county. Not saying that this is bad or good ... just different.

Fourthly, I let Isaac and Hannah (and Gabe and Eoin who joined us later) do one ride at the fair: The Graviton. Gabe actually passed out on this ride! I kid you not. And fair rides scare me. I don't think I am going to do that again.

I really love the Scraders 

 

Flashback

Wow! Just WOW! This was 8 years ago. 2014. John had just separated from the military. We we were leaving Turkey and then the Azores and moving back to the USA.

We went to Olive Garden, and my kids asked what the cold stuff blowing from the ceiling onto their back was. They had been in a house without heat or a/c for two years and didn't remember what that cold stuff was. 

We also had no cell phones. The world had ERUPTED with smart phones while we were gone. And it was like the Twilight Zone for us. Everywhere we went, people were glancing at these little rectangular devices. What was so important? After realizing that every place we went, people required a number to text you on, we decided to bite the bullet and buy these little gadgets. The lady at the cell phone store asked us what our last cell phone was. When we said a Razor flip phone, she said: "Were you missionaries?"

We were living in Spring Hill, TN. It was the six of us, Scrubs, and my in-laws. The home was gigantic with two master bedrooms, and the rent at the time was $1800 a month. (I imagine it would be $2,800 today.) We randomly picked this place because it was near Nashville (a city we were familiar with from our time living above the border in Kentucky) and JB had gotten a job at an ER in Lewisburg, TN.  

This picture below was the moment of truth. Our stuff had been "lost at sea" for about four months, and other people on our ship were getting back shipments completely covered in mold. Would our stuff be a total loss too? The truck unloaded and only about 20% was damaged so we called it a win. 

We'd spend the next year living in this beautiful neighborhood with sidewalks and a community pool and an HOA that meant we couldn't hang our clothes to dry and had to lower basketball hoops after each use before we began our forever move to Bulls Gap, TN. 

It was a place of good memories for me as we looked for our farm and began to return to being Americans. I actually miss that cute little neighborhood and the library down the road. So many adventures!

Turkey Time

Raising poultry is NOT easy. And it is NOT clean. Even doing them at the top end of wonderful (rotationally grazing with fresh grass and sunshine) results in a lot of poop. Birds poop a lot. It's everywhere. If a hose is running through the middle of a paddock (like the ones pictured above) and you need to move that house, you are going to get poop all over yourself. It's just how it is going to be. Mix that with the heat and the humidity and the feed they eat which is dusty, and you just feel disgusting each and every time you service them. 

It is because of this that I will never be able to eat turkey that is not my turkey ever again. I don't want to be a snob. But I can't help it. I just cannot bear to imagine how disgusting the conditions are for a turkey being sold at 99cents a pound. It would have to be just horrendous. Chicken is the same way for me. While I can eat chicken from Chik-fil-A still, I cannot eat it if it is purchased from the grocery store. (I know that doesn't make sense, but seeing the pieces and seeing the price mans I see how cheaply they must have had to raise these birds.)

Sidge continues to think that raising turkeys might be his "golden ticket" on the farm. I think it is possible. If we can get the farm paid off and pass it to him without a mortgage (Isaac has already exercised his right-of-refusal to the land), he might be able to make a living doing turkeys. 

It is 18-weeks of hard work. But then it is done. And it is incredibly rewarding when you see all the meat waiting for you. 

But for now, back to the paddock I go. :)