farm Archives ⋆

Am I out of Patients or Patience?

Posted on February 14, 2022February 14, 2022 by ihaveanotion — 2 Comments

I am finally out of Patients and Patience! Just when I thought the highway was going to smooth out! I have been meaning or wanting to sit and write a post! They are not quite as easy as writing a letter, which is how I think of the blog post… a letter to a friend.

Was a mess. So where did all my time go? There was patient care, my chores, his chores, and the patient care! There was also Christmas to fit in. Fortunately, we have a pop-up Christmas tree. Half an hour and it is standing on a table, lit and decorated and it takes about the same amount of time to put it away! We chose a low-key Christmas this year. I mean, what else do we really need?

The Patients

One of the patients was the DH, (Dear, Darn, Darling, or other descriptive words that fits the moment) Husband had a Total Knee Replacement on November 30. This was his second, so not a totally new experience for us. The first was in 2015, and much has changed in just 5 years. This time it was only 1 night in the hospital and then home! Everything went fine and he has been cleared by his doctor to resume normal activities.

Another Patient — Patton is playing in the yard

The other patient is Patton. He decided to have his own medical issue too. I think I mentioned it before, he has developed Epilepsy. He is doing well and has adjusted to the medications. He was started on Phenobarbital, a fairly inexpensive drug, but very hard on the organs. Because he is only 2, we not only want him to be well but with us for a long while. We transitioned him to another anti-seizure medication. Patton had another seizure this week. The confusion he feels after a seizure makes my heart break. I can see him trying to figure out what he did to deserve the punishment, and for about 24 hours after he is so needy. Unfortunately, he is 90 pounds of energy, so cuddling him is nearly impossible.

Weather Patience

No patience for Spring — These Violas bloomed in December, around the 29th.

Once we were able to get out, the weather joined the game. Severe warnings for both winter and summer seasons in December and January. December gave us really warm weather that brought us tornado warnings as well as devastating tornados to Kentucky. These were particularly troublesome because the storms were coming in the dark. The tornado in Bowling Green was the closest to us and the watch area almost included our area. Since then we have had several dustings of snow, freezing rain, or sleet, and just plain cold temperatures. One of our trips home from physical therapy was quite a slippery snowy ride. The high of 76 at the beginning of December, gave us a hint of spring and the summer-time storms. And a couple of weeks ago, a winter storm that might have brought enough ice to shut things down, but turned out to be significantly less here.

New Weather Warning — The weather service has come up with a new weather warning… Snow Squall

Speaking of getting out. Two of the ‘Cowboys’ have left. That happened in early December. With the DH out of commission, I was the helping wrangler… These 2 cows did NOT want to leave!!! Poor Sir Loin, he has been so lonely the last few weeks. We are hoping his new friends will arrive today. And they did!!!

New Friends Arriving — Sir Loin will have to use some patience to bring these guys into the routine.

The Welocoming Committee — Sir Loin will have to use some patience to bring these guys into the routine.

No patience for mechanical issues either

In January, my car started to ha some electronic issues. The whole center big screen, fancy gadget started to malfunction. When it does not come on, there is no controlling the heat, (or defrost), no radio, no GPS, and several other not quite as essential functions. So far it has not failed to come to life shortly after starting… but it is annoying and required an enormous amount of patience on my part… It has now been to the shop and a new ‘radio’ has been ordered. That is what they call that big fancy all in one screen, the radio! The part should be in next week… so a trip to Bowling Green again. I just have to be a little more patient for the part to come in.

So now you are mostly caught up… I will try to be better reporting in!!! If, you are still here… do you experience things that just take over? Tell me in a comment, what is the first thing you knock off your “to-do list” to accommodate the added demands?

More to come… Beth

Life Happens While Making Plans

Posted on November 4, 2021November 4, 2021 by ihaveanotion

Life seems to happen while you are making plans. And yes it happens to me all the time. You? I can’t decide if I should catch you up… or just press on as if nothing has gone off the rails. October did not quite go as planned!

Posts and Errors

There was a plan to create a post. I got it done, but then the life part happened. The website and the blog experienced some technical glitches. One that greeted you with a blank page at IHaveANotion.com and the other would not allow comments. Several days and phone calls later fixed!!! Not what I had planned for the day or the rest of the week.

Next up the software, I use to publish the store had some updates. Yep, Another error. This is where the blog post actually disappeared. The “help” is all by email and takes considerably longer. So the blog plan was put off.

Of course, life just kept going but the whole design for the week went out the window.

The Plan for Fall

To catch you up a bit, In late October I Have A Notion, had another booth. It was further away from home so the drive to and fro was longer! After this one, I needed a day of rest! Definitely, not part of the plan! I was so tired I seriously considered not doing them anymore but I do love to be live and not just online! I was so out of time that I totally forgot I had planned to take pictures! I will wait until next year… I already have at least 2 venues scheduled, waiting on information about number 3. All early in the spring. One in Louisville and one in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Since I didn’t take a picture of the setup I thought I would share this cow and calf. They were in the field across the road and look so content and doesn’t that calf look comfortable and loved!

Plans On The Farm

So, here on the farm life is mostly going along with the plan. This week all the trees are showing color. The Poplar trees are all mostly yellow, most of the Maples are showing the reds and oranges, and this year the Oaks again are showing lots of colors too. The skies have been mostly gray, so the glory of the color is not really visible. The weather will turn cold next week. that means most of the show is over. The leaves will fall.

fall leaves — The life of the Red Maple is going to to pause mode, but not before showing awesome color

The plan for the pigs is almost complete. The pigs took a ride. Similar to the old saying ‘A long walk off a short pier”. These two were not as nice or as endearing as Iggy Piggy or Piggy Ann. They also were not as cute. I know, when is 400 pounds ever really cute? But I think in this case the personality made all the difference. These two did not have any personalities and fought over just about everything, food, treats, and attention. However, we are looking forward to BACON!

The ‘Cow boys’ are enjoying life with the cooler weather. During the heat of summer, they did most of their grazing in the night… and laid in the deepest shade in the pasture during the day. There is a very large strip of shade that never sees the sun in the summer and that is where they spent their days. Now they graze and lay about in many places out there.

Dog Life

Patton turned 2, a few weeks ago and Goldie turned 4 shortly after! Patton seems to have outgrown his shoulder issue (possibly shoulder dysplasia). Doctore suggested reducing his activity, weight, and Glucosamine. We did, and it worked! He is almost back to his 1-year-old weight of 90 pounds. He is looking good. Goldie is the same weight and also looks great. You might think she was the younger dog!!!

Coming Up

I am making plans for a week-long workshop in Wisconsin this month. The long list of supplies, fabrics, and of course, the necessities for personal appearance. Preparing to travel feels very strange, especially since my last trip was to Houston in 2019. I will try to remember to take pictures and share about the workshop. When I get back!

More Later! Beth

On the Farm: Visitors, Animals, and Food!

Posted on August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 by ihaveanotion — 4 Comments

Summertime Farm Visitors

On our little farm along with the animals, there was food and several visitors. All of the visitors were family. After moving out here, the remodeling started… and the inside of the house was a jumble. Having any guests was completely out of the question, especially if they were staying overnight. Next came COVID and traveling and overnights were also not a good idea. Not the that I need to tell you, that lasted more than a year! Now that travel is less restrictive, some family has finally managed a visit and we thoroughly enjoy each one. It has sure made the summertime go faster than usual.

Visitors to the farm included my Nephew and his daughter, Miss A visited for several days again, on the way home from Missouri. Miss A came with a desire to sew and visit with the animals. We fulfilled both. Her dad thought a Distillery tour would be fun. One of the kids, the son, his spouse, and the grandkids came to visit as well. We did lots of investigating everything we could do here, and a visit to the Slugger Bat Factory (many baseball fans in the family). Lastly, the hub’s sister and spouse came too. We stayed home, but we sure did lots of stuff, along with fishing and target practice! Different types of activities for each group!

Visitor Miss A — Summer visitor Miss A and the leggings we made.

Summer visitor Miss A and the leggings we made.

Farm Animals and Food

This years pigs are not nearly as cute or friendly as Piggy Ann and Iggy Piggy were. These 2 porcine animals were a little younger and a bit slower off the starting line, but the weather warmed up they settled in. These 2 are really are more like farm pigs and all about the food!!! With the summertime heat, they really like the mud wallow and this year they actually had a pool we had so much rain in one day.

I have mentioned this before, this year we have 3 cows in the farm pasture. Only ‘Sir Loin’ is ours. They are all steers and I call them ‘the Cow Boys’ when they are all in a group. I have discovered that cows like lots of different foods from the garden. The cows now have their own scrap bucket, (yep I save all kinds of scraps), they get the carrot, zucchini, cucumber, lettuce bits, and apple cores. The pigs get everything else, except meat and coffee grounds. The chickens get whatever treat I have the most of. They all came to the fence because they thought I had a treat for them.

Summertime Garden Food

We of course planted a garden again. The spring started off a little cool and the summer started off with a lot of rain. So the plants grew… but the fruiting was slow. Then one day it was summertime, the sun came out and stayed. The cucumbers took off and who knew there could be so many? The corn came in, but so did the corn worms and silk beetles. We got 4 ears and we let the cows have the rest. And then the tomatoes!!! Look at all these tomatoes. Only 4 days worth! There are more on the window sill. I will turn them in a sauce or soup and freeze. The cherry tomatoes are for grazing, but realistically we can’t eat that many, so I dehydrate several hundred every couple of days. I will grind them into a powder, and by adding a bit of water I get instant tomato sauce or tomato soup.

4 days of tomato harvest — Getting ready to peel, seed, cook or dehydrate some tomatoes.

Those little yellow orbs are not tomatoes. They are ‘lemon cucumbers’ and are food from my childhood in California. I call them a west coast treat because it seems the only people that are familiar with them appear to be from the west. I have introduced many Kentuckians to these sweet crispy little gems. No, they don’t taste like a lemon, they get their name from the shape and color. On the left are butternut squash… hundreds of those too… but that is for an entirely different reason than prolific plants. With the heat of August, the summertime garden is just about done!!!

Cooking with Gas

Somewhere between the rain and the sunshine, we decided that the glass-topped electric stove needed to go. While they say it is possible to can food with a glass-top range, it takes forever. A gas range is a much better option. We had to order the new range and wait for the arrival. In the meantime, I had a new gas line to the kitchen installed. Since the stove was installed I have preserved a few things. Mostly pickles, dill, bread and butter, and a jar of refrigerator pickles. (we had hundreds of cucumbers from 4 plants. Next year I will try my hand at preserving more of the farm products.

Busy Bees

Not only is the kitchen humming this summer, but most of the groups and guilds are back to meetings. It is fun to be back in a room with so many other like-minded folks. One quilt guild sponsors a fall quilt show so I am preparing to have a booth and doing something I avoided. Since moving I had not set up a new photo studio. The natural lighting was not optimal. That issue was solved by adding some softbox lighting. I now have a real photo studio, but as you can see it is not huge!!!

the new photo stuido — The new photo studio. Zero natural light

I have added new stock to the store… Pin Cups, BladeSavers, and Magic Pins are all the rage… They are all game-changers for the sewing room. They make whatever they do so much easier or better than the predecessor!!! There is still more to come… but unfortunately, I need to sleep… but I’m getting it done as fast as I can!!!

More Later and thanks for sticking with me… even if I am not as regular as I need to be.

Beth