Everyday Farming Problems

It has been a busy week here. The planting is done.. The garden is in. But we haven't had any rain. Things are dry. So I've been watering like crazy. The new fruit trees, the garden, the animals.

Moon Gold Apricot Tree

Yellow Transparent Apple Tree

If you have been following my blog you might remember that a few weeks ago (or maybe longer) we lost a few chickens and ducks. I was confused because it didnt' seem like  coyote behavior. Well, we caught the predator red handed. Our neighbor's dog. We really like our neighbors and the dog has visited before and we speculated the loss of a few other birds might have been him but for some reason it never occured to me that he was the cause this time. But then a few days later, I caught him red handed. Our neighbors have cooperated in efforts to keep this from happening again and  reimbursed me for the  loss. Its good to have wonderful neighbors.

This is what I woke up too yesterday morning. "Georgy Porgy pudding and pie, kissed the girls and made them cry when the boys came out to play Georgy Porgy ran away."

You should have run away Georgy.

 Poor Georgy. He fared better then I did. Things like this stress me out. I have such a small flock of sheep I dont' keep a lot of medications on hand. After I panicked, I made a trip to the vet and after I got him doctored up, I felt much better. It was just the shell he broke off. He was so good letting me take care of him.

Last night we finally caught our nightly visitor, or at least one of them. The cat food was disappearing at an alarming rate and duck eggs were being eaten by the dozen. I found this in the barn when I got up this morning.

I set the trap, and now I am trying to play the girl card and get the farmer to take it from here. Poor thing looks terrified.

He will be relocated.

Our son got his ATV this week so we took a ride through the pasture and around the farm the other night. It was really windy and if you didn't keep your mouth closed you ended up with a mouth full of insects.

We saw deer, coyotes and a pair of pheasants. All running to fast for me to get any pictures.

These are new food plots for the wild life.

black raspberry plant, but they need rain

So happy to see he always wears his safety goggles and helmet.

Fishing pond #1.

These were everywhere. Any idea what kind of flower they are?

Old barn which houses the rams and ponies.

Pond #2. It had lots of catfish in it at one time. Not sure if they are still there or not.

But there are dozen and dozens of frogs.

Hoping all of you have a blessed weekend and please pray for rain.

May 22nd 2012

Today is my oldest daughter's 22nd birthday.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact she is 22 years old.

Fascinated

Determined

Faithful

Beautiful Mother

Happy Birthday Mary Elizabeth!

The Crops are all planted. Much of the corn is up and looking good. Garden is planted, except I would still like to put some cucumbers in. I have enough pickles left from last year but I would like to have some for eating fresh.

My strawberry patch is coming along nicely but we won't have any berries till next year.

I am joining in on Everyday Ruralty- chats on the farmhouse porch. Here are the questions for today and my answers.

1. What are you doing for Memorial Weekend?

No plans, hoping to have  quiet weekend at home- maybe babysit my granddaughter.

2. What's the last old movie you saw?

Well, we watched an old western the other night, but I dont' know what the name of it was.

3. What color are the walls in your living room?

 They are a yellow- but the yellow is so subtle, it almost looks like a neutral unless the sun is shining on it just right. I love the color

4.  What's your favorite food to cook on the grill?

Well, the only way to cook steak is on the grill  :) so I'll go with steak.

5. What's your favorite animal?

Do I have to choose one? I really love my hens but I also love my sheep. Since I an snuggle with the sheep more then I can the chickens, I'll say sheep. Don't tell Wendell, I'm sure he would be my favorite horse :)

Maternity Ward

I was out in the barn this morning grooming the bunnies. The kids came out to bring my camera. Caleb was playing with the cats and asked me if I thought they were getting close to having their kittens. He thought his cat "Q" looked like she was breathing heavy. I glanced over to see and sure enough she was in labor and VERY restless.

After her first kitten was born she kept dragging it all over the cold hard cement floor. We got an old blanket and transferred her there.

There was so much activity in the barn. Chickens clucking, Roosters crowing

Noisy and NOSY Sheep

Whats happening?

We got a box and decided to move her into the other room of the barn where I usually keep my hay.

Only to discover that another of our cats was having her kittens. We gave them separate boxes but they insisted on sharing.

 Its quieter in the room and Q finally settled down to have the rest of her kittens.

Our cats love each other very much.

We have one more cat who looks like she is expecting.

Normally cats don't stay around long on our place. With all the wooded area, they seem to "disappear" But the 5 we have now have been around for almost a year. I think that they will be paying a visit to the vet very soon!

Another reason to say I'm strange

Oh yes, if you living in these "modern times", and you do anything out of the norm (the norm, being buying all your meat and food from a super market, eating boxed cereal and prepacked food, sending your kids to public school, using disposable everything) then you too, I'm sure, have been told that you are strange. odd?  crazy? perhaps weird?

Anyway- I can't remember where I first got the idea, probably read it in another farm girl's blog somewhere. But the idea of rendering tallow was formed and we were taking a beef in to be processed, it was the perfect time to give it a try. Plus it had been awhile and I was needing the fix of being looked at like I was from another planet. So, when I called in the cutting orders for our beef, I ordered 20#s of ground suet. Of course, I being as weird and strange as I couldn't hardly wait for the locker to call and say "It's ready".

We got our meat home yesterday and Bill hit the jackpot with catfish last night. They say tallow is awesome for frying foods, so with that in mind, I wasted no time rendering the suet so I could fry fish for dinner.

This is how it came to me from the locker. They offered to grind it for me so I let them.

While researching I discovered there are several methods for rendering lard or tallow. I choose the crock pot method.

Put your fat in the crock pot and cook on low for about 3-4 hours. It took me almost 4 hours to cook down about 7 pounds of fat. When its done the fat will have all cooked down and the meat left over will float to the top.

I used a small strainer and ladled the hot liquid into a big bowl with a spout. then I poured it over the cheese cloth into a jar. You can see how its golden here but after it has cooled and hardened it turns to the white we are accustomed too.

7lbs made about 3 quarts of tallow and it really was that easy.

 Why hadn't I done it before?

The fish was awesome. Best I've ever made.

My husband's only comment tonight was "you would have fit right in with my grandma."

Yup, I know I would have but I think I'm in pretty good company anyway!

Monday's Barn Hop

chats on the farm house porch

While visiting Everyday Rurality, I decided join in on their Front Porch chat. Its raining today, again, and I'm still recovering from being sick so what a better way to spend the day then blog hopping and getting to know others through their thoughts and stories.


Here are our questions for today:

1. Who do you go to when you really need someone to talk to about something important?
2. How often do you grill food outdoors?
3. What's the interior color of your car/truck/van?
4. What's the last great buy you got?
5. What's new?

1.  My husband, parents or my friend Ann, like you, it kind of depends on the subject mater.
2. I grill all winter long and several times a week. We have a gas grill so its easy to light.
3. My truck has a tan interior
4. hmm.. we went to city wide garage sales last weekend. It was kind of a bust. I think I spent a whole $1.15. But, I did get a couple rubbermaid salt and pepper shakers for  Bill's lunch box. Only paid a dime for them both so if  when he loses them it will be no big deal.
5. 5 little ram lambs were new on to the farm this spring. Rain is also new, we have been dry this year up until last weekend and its rained almost everyday since last Saturday.

Chats on the Farmhouse porch

Intimate thoughts and memories of before you were born

How is it possible that our baby, our youngest turns 5 today? The older I get the more I realize just how fast time is flying and our days are numbered. But today I celebrate the precious surprise blessing that has forever changed my life.

I went back and forth between writing an intimate post about my pregnancy and keeping it short and sweet.

At the end of every year I print my blog into a book. A book about our life as a family and changes on our farm. So, with that in mind I decided this post should be more in depth, more spiritual and intimate. There might be somethings that some readers might regard as TMI ( to much information), maybe slightly graphic, so please be warned that you may not want to continue to read and that's okay.

Anna was an "unexpected blessing" as we really weren't planning on having more children. I couldn't have been more then a couple days pregnant, hadn't even missed my period yet when I woke in the middle of the night and as if God had whispered to me in secret, I knew I  was going to have a baby.

We were excited, yet a little apprehensive as we had dropped our maternity insurance and new that it was going to an expense we should start saving for.

Everything is embedded in my mind as if it were yesterday, I can recall no other time in my life that my memories are so vivid.

Early in my pregnancy I remember not feeling well. I worried over every ache and new pain. I often shrugged off my institution as insecurities, blaming  the miscarriage I had a year earlier or the fact that I was getting older. I remember expressing my concerns to  my friends that I didn't feel "right" but I couldn't explain it. I passed it off as just being a worry wort.

 March 4, 2007, my birthday.
I was crabby that day, not feeling good, probably mad at my husband, although I can't remember why. It was a Sunday so I went to church and took myself out for breakfast. If it sounds like I was feeling sorry for myself, I'm pretty sure I was. My parents were on vacation and I really wanted to go home and prepare for them a nice home cooked dinner for when they got home.

I came home later that morning and discovered after a trip to the bathroom that I had started to bleed. I was 26 1/2 weeks pregnant and new that this wasn't just me being a worry wort, something was wrong. I called my midwife and she said to stay off my feet the rest of the day.

Monday morning, March 5th.
 I called my midwife again to tell her that I still didn't feel good, the bleeding had stopped but my lower back felt achy, like it does right before a women starts her period. She suggested an ultra sound and the necessary appointments were made.

By early afternoon the diagnoses was made "Placenta Previa" What the heck was that? The ultra sound Tec gave me a brief description and said I would have to deliver by C-section. I began to have a hard time wrapping my mind around this new information. None of this fit into my plans, but that was just the beginning of the bad news. When we meant with the midwife she informed me that I would have to go on permanent bed rest. My response was "seriously?" I always pictured women who had to be on bed rest as fragile...I was a far cry from a fragile type of woman. I don't think I took her at all too seriously, I had that "yeah, yeah" I'll do as you say attitude. But, it was the last comment she made to me before I left that day that gave me pause. It was almost spoken as an added last minute connotation. "You will need to have someone who can drive with you at all times because if you start bleeding again, you need to get to the hospital immediately".

Tuesday March 6, 2007, early morning, I think around 3a.m. I awoke suddenly, blood gushing from me. It was if someone had popped a balloon in side my womb.  I remember waking my husband and trying to tell him in a way that wouldn't cause him to panic that we needed to go to the hospital. I called my parents to come out and stay with the kids while my husband went and woke our oldest son to let him know what was going on.  I grabbed my rosary and we raced to the hospital. I can only say its at times like these that I am thankful for the childhood prayers we memorize.  I wanted, needed to pray but to form a good prayer from my heart at those moments was next to impossible. However, The Hail Mary and Our Father were right there on my lips and I knew God was with me and would hear what was in my heart.


One of the first things they do when you arrive at the hospital in a situation like this is to start the drugs to stop any contractions. Magnesium sulfate (they call it Maggot Juice for a reason) it really is awful stuff, was their drug of choice. Then the fetal monitor, blood pressure cuff, etc. etc. When the doctor finally arrived in the early a.m. hours she decided I needed to go to Peoria where they were better equipped to handle a baby born 13 weeks premature. The kicker was they needed to life flight me there in a helicopter - again Not in my plans. $50,000 later,  I was laying in St. Francis in Peoria, IL. where I received the sacrament of anointing of the sick.


St. Francis has a whole wing for women who are having complications. They don't tell you when you first arrive how long you are going to be there. They only tell you "a couple days" then we will see. Its a good thing too, because when you are on bed rest and all alone, time slows down to a crawl.
I was at St. Francis for a total of 4 weeks. I was only allowed up for the use of the bathroom and to shower. I otherwise had to stay laying on my left side except when eating. I only remember crying once while I was there. That was on day 2 when I was still on the "Maggot Juice" and had double vision, and was really weak from the drug as well. I felt so helpless, I couldn't even open a package of syrup for my pancakes. I struggling with it for a few minutes I was finally able to rip it open, only to splatter myself with it and leave a big sticky mess that I couldn't clean up. I refused to ask for help and finally the nurse came in for another reason and found me crying uncontrollably. I was more embarrassed for having made such a mess and not being able to clean myself up then anything. I learned a lesson in humility that day.

There were women there who's conditions were worse then mine. I learned some had to have their cervix stitched shut. Still others had to lay with their feet up and head down at all times.It was beginning to sink in just how fragile life truely is. .

As I mentioned, I spent 4 weeks in Peoria. While I was there I received communion every day! Every day! The actual graces infused through the sacraments by Christ are so miraculous. Another lesson learned. When I was discharged after week 4 from St. Francis,  my husband picked me up and we drove from St. Francis in Peoria to Trinity in Moline where I spent the next 4 weeks.


Things got easier when I got to Trinity. I was closer to home and received more visitors, which helped pass the time. I hadn't experienced anymore bleeding as was allowed to out in the wheel chair sometimes during the afternoon. My wonderful husband purchased a laptop for me and I was able to get online and purchase things for the baby. I even had my husband bring in the paperwork so I could pay bills and feel useful again.

Our Doctor decided to deliver Anna 5 weeks early. I was ecstatic and terrified all at the same time. Now that I had a laptop computer I could "research" Cesareans - Yeah, don't do that. Cause usually the only thing people talk about are the ones that go bad. I had myself scared to death.

It was an experience, I'll just say that. God delivered into our hands a beautiful, healthy, baby girl with red hair and big blue eyes, weighing 6lbs 12oz. She was beautiful and a true miracle.

 after 8 weeks of bed rest - I have learned to enjoy the daily chores and will never again complain about doing laundry or dirty dishes. I am thankful I have the ability to do them. I have learned that life is fragile, handle with care. God is good ALL THE TIME and if it feels like he has given you more then you can handle He is right there to help. There is something to be said for "boring" and "uneventful" when asked about life circumstances. Looking back now, I can see God's plan in it all. I've learned first hand what I've heard preached over the years, peace, happiness really does come from doing God's will and not our own.

I think those who know her would agree -

She is a true blessing

and

we thank God for her everyday.

Happy 5th Birthday Anna Rene Smith

Happy Birthday Jake!

Yesterday our oldest son turned 20.

 I wish I had baby pictures of him online, but those were before the days of Facebook and I'm pretty sure we didn't even own a computer back then.

My pregnancy was an easy one. I enjoyed every minute of it. Well, that was up until my due date. My due date came and went and I began enjoying it less and less and less. He was 2 weeks over due and  labor was finally induce. If you have ever been induced then you know what I say is true. Contractions come hard and they come fast.

I remember it as if it were yesterday.

He was very active during labor and deliver. Swimming inside his cozy little space while I was anxiously awaiting for him to arrive. I remember very vividly having trouble dilating those last couple cm. The nurse finally determined that the baby was facing up, instead of face down. Her solution was to fool the baby by getting on all fours. And it worked! Almost immediately, his position changed and I dilated to ten and was ready to deliver him.  A couple strong pushes his head emerged and the doctor felt the need to inform me that the hard part was over. But, as soon as Jake's little head came out, Jake rolled over and looked up at the doctor. I then proceeded to try to deliver his extraordinary large shoulders. Yeah, the Doctor, put his foot in his mouth.

Jake was 8lbs 14oz. Lots of Jet black hair and a very wrinkly face. Someone said he looked like Charles Bronson!

He was a delightfully easy baby and rambunctious child. He loved all things farm. When Jake was a toddler we would often drive through the parking lot of the farm implement store and he would get so excited to see the tractors and machinery we thought he would hyperventilate.

Like most parents I could go on and on with stories of his childhood....I won't.

I will just say, I am very proud of the man he is today.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Love,

Mom