Bringing Back the Old Ways

I had a love for animals at an early age. My parents weren’t farmers by any means…but living on the outskirts of the city, we always had cats,dogs, chickens, and ducks. The chickens were always “my” animals. I loved them! In fact, I remember how everyone in the family would laugh at how they would fly up and sit on my arms. Back then, we didn’t have alot of money and so eggs were a big deal! And for me,there was nothing better than gathering a couple of eggs in the morning and rushing inside to fry them up for my breakfast. Those memories have always stuck with me.

As a teenager, I went to live with my foster parents in town and left the “country life” behind me. I no longer had fields to run through, chickens to tend to, or heavy chores. It was a new way of life, refreshing but unfamiliar. Hand-me-down clothes were now new clothes and my days of finding stuff to do outside were replaced with trips to the mall and family outings. And I loved it! Chores didn’t consist of chopping/stacking wood,packing in buckets of coal,cleaning barn stalls,and pulling weeds in the garden. It did give me more time to develop and grow into a nice, well rounded young adult……a much different person than what I would have been if I had stayed where I was. And so…life went on.

As a young adult, I found myself loving country settings. But being a mother now myself, it was much more convenient to live in town or in the city. I did attempt to have chickens once when my children were little….but I was a single mom, had a full time job as a nurse,and it became too much. So, I sold them shortly after I got them and that was the end of that journey.

Even though I was raised in Kentucky, my children grew up in the North. Farmland sceneries that I was familiar with were replaced with majestic mountains and evergreens. So when I decided to relocate me and my two kids back to Kentucky in 2014, they weren’t amused! The summers here are hot and humid and living in the country just made them feel isolated. In my mind, we needed to get back to a simpler life. I didn’t realize just how much of a culture shock it would be for a 15 yr old girl and a 16 yr old boy. They hated it! And once my son graduated high school, he moved back to Oregon. It was hard for him to be so far away from me. Luckily, my daughter grew to like it and her and my grandson now live just a few miles away😊

I met my husband shortly after moving back to Kentucky. Once the kids graduated and moved on to start their adult lives,we bought a small farm and for the first time since I was a child….I felt “free”. It took me a while as I was writing this to figure out the right word…..”free”. You may be wondering ” What does that mean?” Well,for me, it means free of chaos. No heavy traffic, no large crowds everywhere you go, no neighbors 25 ft away. Going outside on a beautiful spring morning and hearing the birds chirping,the leaves rustling….nature in its raw form. That’s Free!

The farm had been a horse farm so it cane with 2 ponds, a barn,and several structured buildings that had once housed livestock of different varieties. We wanted to have a small farm and our first endeavor became a miniature jersey cow. If you’ve followed my blog from the beginning,then you already know about our little cow Frosty. Now,neither my husband nor I had ever had any experience with cattle of any kind. But my mom had always had a love for milk cows. Unfortunately,she passed away when I was 22 and so I never got to ask her why she loved them so much. Its possible that she grew up with a milk cow. Or maybe she was just an “old soul” like me. She was always infatuated with Holly Hobby and in fact, I remember her making my sister and I long dresses and bonnets to wear to school when I was little. Maybe that’s where I get my love for shows like “The Swiss Family Robinsons” and “Little House on the Prairie”. Even today, I find myself watching those reruns and thinking “I wish I had lived back then…back in a much simpler time.

So, as time went on, we added more animals to our small farm. 1st, it was 2 lambs that we were just going to raise to butcher. But as time went on, we decided to keep the pair and just butcher their offspring for meat. I mean…why not have fresh meat for the freely yearly?? Then,we decided to get a bull and start breeding mini jerseys so we could sell the calf yearly and also have milk. Well,the sheep flock continued to grow and the one cow turned into two,and eventually we got a few hens for eggs. But chicken math happened and our few hens eventually turned into an obsession with colored egg layers. Out of that obsession,my small poultry business “Pocketful of Sunshine Farm ” was born.

I’m a nurse by trade and my career as an OB nurse has spanned over 21 years. It has been pretty much my life….it allowed me to raise my children and give them a life that I never had growing up. It also gave me a purpose. I love being an OB nurse…it allows me to be a part of one of the most important times in people’s lives and there are no words to really describe just how special it is. But as our little farm grew, I found myself torn. I had always worked full time. Being a single mom for most of my kids lives, there wasn’t any other option. I continued to work full time as well as milking the cow, cleaning stalls and coops, feeding and watering all the livestock,working with and training border collies….it was alot!!

A few years ago, I was scrolling through Facebook which was a fairly new platform…atleast for me. As I was scrolling, I kept seeing an advertisement from a man who was talking about essential oils and how they can be used to heal the body. At that time, I had been dealing with relentless pain for atleast a couple years. The advertisement had me intrigued and so I signed up for his free class. I didnt really know what essential oils were and my medical mind was blown! After watching the free class,I quickly purchased some essential oils and made a blend for pain that I had learned from the class…..and it worked!!!!! I was amazed! From there, I went on to purchase master classes and sign up for educational webinars to learn more about them. I was hooked. That lead me down a path to a more naturalistic way of living. As I learned more about natural living and holistic health, I became more determined to incorporate this into our lives. I gradually cut back my hours at work to have more time to do what I was loving which was working on our small farm….tending to our animals and learning more about gardening and growing herbs to make tinctures and oils. And I was loving every minute of it!

It’s been a work in progress! It’s now been almost 8 years since we started our small farm. We still have Frosty who started it all! My small poultry business is doing well. And the cows, sheep, chicken, ducks, amd our border collies definitely keep me busy. I’m now PRN at my nursing job….my, how my life has changed! My days are now filled with making sourdough bread, cooking from scratch, canning my own jellies snd jams, raising and/or hunting for our own meat, and growing our own vegetables and herbs. And although you won’t find me wearing a long dress and bonnet….I no longer curl my hair and paint my face to go to the grocery store. I’m lucky to have a husband that works hard and almost a calling to bring back the “old ways”.

Since learning how to navigate social media platforms,I’m lucky to have found many groups of people that are just like me! There seems to be a movement happening….people are taking an interest in this simpler life. A new era of homesteaders have made their mark on a society that seems to be falling apart. We feel a calling to preserve a way of life for which our families of years gone by knew as the only way of life.

There was a shift back in the 70s and 80s…probably even before that…to get away from simple. Everything started getting faster…..microwaves could cook in 10 minutes what would normally take an hour on the stove. Computers made it easy to look up things in minutes that took hours to find at a library. And now we have genetically modified meats and foods that are grown in labs…not on farms. But there is now this drive….this need….to bring back a normalcy that was almost lost. And it brings me a feeling of accomplishment and fullness that I was always lacking in a way that I never imagined.

Don’t get me wrong…calling it a simpler life doesn’t mean it’s easy! Having a farm teaches a lot of valuable lessons. It teaches you about life everytime a lamb or a calf is born or a new little chick pops out of its shell. It also teaches you about death….because when you have livestock you are going to experience death. It teaches you about patience…because you are always going to have broken fences, muddy fields, cracked hoses. It teaches you about perseverence….even when uts cold, wet, raining, snowing, sleeping, hot, storming….you have to persevere through it because your animals still need tending to. It teaches you about hard work and dedication. The lessons learned are priceless and I only wish now that I had been able to have this life when my children were here at home growing up because I can now see the value in this way of life.

Cold Floors

It’s been forever and a day since I’ve posted anything! My life is so busy right now that I barely have time to think it seems, much less putting my thoughts into words! But this morning, I found myself reminiscing to times long ago. When did I become my parents or grand parents?? Lol!

50 years old….thats what I’ll be this year. I remember when that seemed old and yet, here I am. And it’s not only the age…but time just goes by so much more quickly now, it seems. As I was sitting here drinking my coffee on this cold brisk morning, the temp outside is 7 degrees and the wind chill is negative 4!! We live in an old farm house that really doesnt have any insulation at all. It’s plenty warm in here though! We have two propane gas wall heaters that keep this old house warm for the most part. But the bathroom stays fairly chilly and the floors that aren’t carpet such as the bathroom amd kitchen are ice cold!! If you are a barefoot gal like me, you learn quickly that socks are a necessity during winter! But, it’s a small inconvenience really. Because growing up,it seemed far worse than now. As I reminisced back to my younger days, I remember as a child how me and my sister and cousin would have to split firewood and gather coal and pack it down into the basement. We had a huge coal furnace in our unfinished basement and it was our job to keep it going. Me and my sister got placed with our Aunt and Uncle at a fairly young age. I don’t have any memories of either one of them really doing much to keep the fire going. What I do remember is cutting and stacking firewood in the snow and I can still remember how heavy it felt. At the time, I was around 12 years old…my cousin being a year behind me and my sister being 2 years older. I also remember having to go out at night to load buckets full of coal and packing it downstairs into the basement and filling the furnace….sometimes making 2 or 3 trips at a time. Life was hard back then….much harder than most youth today experience. Many homes get heat at the touch of a thermostat. I remember having those huge grates on the floor that the heat woukd come up through….and my feet woukd be so cold that I woukd stand on the hot grate just to warm my feet up….and it was only once they were warmed that I’d realize the grate was actually hot from the heat.

Moving forward to my early 20s, I lived in a trailor that had no heat at all and most if the underpinning was off. During the winters there, wr would block off the living room and kitchen with blankets and we would run a kerosene heater to keep warm. And there were even times that I didn’t uave money for kerosene or didn’t have a way to go get some, and I actually remember sleeping in an army sleeping bag that I had gotten from my brother in law. It even had a head piece on it…so once it was zipped up, the only area exposed was your face. Amazingly, it kept me warm! During the snowstorm of 1994, we were without power for 1 to 2 weeks and that kerosene heater even provided a way to cook meals! And our refrigerated items were kept in a cooler outside in the snow!

Thos days and times were rough,but I learned how to improvise! A month or so ago, my daughter had an electrical issue and was going to be without power for a few days. Of course, I gave her the option to stay here but she preferred to stay home as our grandson has all his toys there, his bed, and she also has animals. So I told her how to hang blankets and how to keep an area warm with a propane heater and use candles for light. Luckily her electricity was able to be fixed sooner than expected and she never had to resort to that. BUT I was thankful to he able to teach her about that because it may come to be useful someday!

It’s no secret that young people today, both young adults and children, have many more conveniences and luxuries than our older generation had. So it’s important to teach them survival techniques that we may have learned when times were hard. Because technology can fail and weather can still be treacherous,and power outages still happen. The same goes for opening your cabinets to keep your pipes warm amd from freezing,allowing faucets to drip so the lines don’t freeze. Seems like common sense to me….but knowledge is power and if they’ve never been taught or shown to do these simple hacks….how would they know?

As difficult as times may have been for me during my younger years, I’ve come to embrace the lessons I’ve learned from them. And yes, maybe I have a love/hate relationship with coal furnaces and wood stoves and even fire places…..but it didn’t kill me and they did help keep me warm! And I do look forward to the day we can build our new house and then maybe our floors won’t be so damned cold🤣 But we have a warm home and some don’t even have that. And as I reflect back on those younger days, I think how nice it would have been to only have cold floors😊

So, if you have children and grand children….teach them what you have learned! Maybe they act as though you’re wasting their time or maybe they act like it’s an inconvenience to be taking them away from social media…..but teach them regardless! It’s the old ways that may become useful to them someday. Teach them while you’re still around to teach them. Knowledge is power🥰

Here’s to hoping you are all safe and warm! Take care!

Coccidiosis

Ugh!! What can I say….I hate it?? Yes…yes I do! I hate it with a passion! I lose birds…so many birds…every year to this PLAGUE!! It’s in our ground….it has set up shop and found its home in our soil. And each year, it seems the weather gets wetter and warmer….which is the perfect storm for coccidia to thrive!

Ive uses Corid…Ive used Toltrazuril….Ive tried medicated chick feed…..I still lose chicks and juveniles…and even an adult or two through the years! Ive went from crying to now being almost numbwhen I lose one….or several. I give subcutaneous normal saline and I’ll admit Ive saved quite a few by doing this….but they dehydrate so fast that it requires constant assessment and treatment….pretty much around the clock care. Sometimes they need sub-q fluids every 6 hrs or so…sometimes the one dose helps. There’s no rhyme or reason as to which age groups are affected and what treatment works for one may not work for another.

So, I broke down and spent the 140+ dollars for the coccidiosis vaccine. It comes with no paper instructions and the online instructions are very vague….unless you are a large hatchery with large heavy duty cabinet sprayers. Ive spent hours researching,spoke with several veterinarians..and FINALLY have the answer for small scale farms and backyard flocks! And I am going to share the secret…the recipe…the instructions in normal lay person terms so that even if you aren’t in the medical field (which I am a nurse) you can still understand how to vaccinate your flock for coccidia.
The only coccidiosis vaccine I was able to purchase online was the Advent Coccidiosis Vaccine from Valleyvet. It comes in a 10ml vial and treats 10,000 (YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY) chicks/chickens. This vaccine is an ORAL vaccine meaning its not an injection. For this vaccine to work,the chicks/chickens must ingest it. This can be accomplished by the following two methods:

Dosage and Administration:

For use in chickens only. Shake vials well before using. Dilute vaccine with clean tap water using a clean container. Use entire contents of vial when first opened.
SPRAY ON– dilute 10,000 doses to 2,500 ml. ON FEED APPLICATION– Dilute each 10,000 dose vial to 4,000 ml and apply to the feed. Stir contents of sprayer periodically. Apply vaccine on the first feed chicks receive.

Now…once you mix it with tap water to the desired method above, you will use 25 ML OF THE SOLUTION PER 100 BIRDS!!

If you’re applying to feed, mix 25 ml of the prepped vaccine/tap water mixture per 100 chicks/chickens and spray it on enough feed that they will consume it all within 24 hours. It is OK if you give them their normal feed amount in two daily doses as long as they eat the feed within 24 hours. You don’t want to spray it on too much feed that there will be some leftover feed in the 24 hrs be a use the vaccine will become ineffective and they woulnt have consumed enough to develop immunity.

If you are going to spray it on them, you will take 25 ml (that’s just under 1 oz) of the vaccine/tap water mixture and spray each bird enough that they will ingest it while they are preening themselves. This will be tedious if you have birds of various ages in different pens/coops so the best method for small flock is the feed method!

I do hope this helps yall! Information was obtained from Valleyvet Veterinarian and she was excellent! Please reach out to me if you need any clarification 😉

What a week!!

Its been a week for the books!  I am an arachnophobe and am always looking for spiders.  Theres brown recluse in our barn but I usually dont see them til summer…but its been so unseasonably warm and wet this year already so Im not surprised that theyre out.  I was trying to get stuff done around here on the farm on Sunday….moving coops,moving chicks around…the normal stuff.  That evening, I noticed a red bump on my hand.  It was very sore to touch and seemed to appear suddenly.  At first, I thought it was a splinter because if you farm, you know.  Its almost a daily occurence!  I wasnt able to get a splinter out of it even though it hurt like the dickens!  I didnt think much more of it the rest if the evening.  Monday morning, I woke up around 5 and proceeded to make my coffee and watch tv.  I normally massage my fingers because my hands hurt when I first wake up.  I had forgotten about the bump until I touched it!!! Ouch!!!  I grabbed a flashlight and was horrified to see that the bump was now a large bullseye with a huge blister!!  I grabbed some frankincense oil to put on it and at that moment, I kinda thought that maybe it was a spider bite!  Ive never been bitten by a spider so I wasnt 100% sure…but it definitely had me worried.  I called my doctor as soon as they opened and got an appt.  When she looked at my hand,she said it definitely was a spider bite and she felt confident that it was a brown recluse!!!  I was panicking!!!!  She reassured me that I wouldnt lose my finger (told u I was freaking out LOL) but said I would need heavy antibiotics both in an oral pill as well as strong topical cream. Its getting better each day THANK GOODNESS!!

Then, my mini jersey FROSTY was in labor all last night. We have her in a stall with a camera and I checked on her every 1 to 2 hours last night. Many if you may have read my post on poison hemlock, but incase you didnt, Frosty birthed her 5thcalf last year. A beautiful littke bull calf…except his intestines were in a sack herniated through his abdomenal wall, he had no anus,and two hooves wer malformed. It looked like he was walking around with a huge grapefruit attached to his umbilical cord. Our vet came out and said he needed surgery asap. We ended up having to euthanize him as his surgery wasnt successful. It was a hard day for Frosty and me. My vet,who is the best vet everrrrr,said to look for poison hemlock on our property as hes seen thousands of calf deformities like ours with cows who had ingested hemlock during pregnancy. We found a few plants in one corner of our hay fields and made sure to pull them and not cut any hay near them last year. So I have been a nervous wreck not knowing how this calf would turn out. It was such a traumatic thing losing the calf last year! But around 630 this morning,she gave birth to a beautiful little bull calf! I helped clear the mucous from his nose and immediately checked him over….I was so relieved! Everything was where it should be!

Then,severe storms moved through this afternoon and into the evening. Ive also veen under the weather due to the strong meds Im on for the spider bite!

So, what I hope you will take away frim this post is…..watch out for spiders!, try not to stress on things you have no control over,and stay safe as we go into storm season!

The Big “Egg” Dilemma

I have refrained from posting on here for quite awhile now. The world is in such turmoil and it seems like no matter what you think, say, or post….people are just angry and want to lash out! I follow many facebook groups regarding homesteading and backyard chickens. Many times, I just lurk in the background…reading posts and the comments/replies that follow. And one topic that I keep seeing is the topic of chickens….and specifically the lack of eggs people are seeing their chickens producing. And time and time again, I keep seeing posts about this big government plot to stop all backyard chickens from laying eggs…and Im sorry but I just cant wrap my head around this theory! It doesnt sound logical to me. I mean…the US is experiencing some really tough times right now. The people running this country…whether theyre doing a good job or a bad job of it…they must have bigger problems to address than to dabotage all backyard chickens and to halt egg production. Even now as I write this…that just sounds so ridiculous to me! So, if this isnt a government plot,then why are chickens not laying eggs right now?

Lets start with “Chickens 101” and the basics. Chickens need approximately 10 hours of daylight time to make an egg. Its how mother nature designed them. This isnt a new theory….this is how its always been. In the winter, our daylight hours get less n less. Many chickens will stop producing eggs during this time and yes, the daylight hours affect their ability to produce eggs. But also, chickens get stressed very easily. Temperature changes can cause stress to a chicken. In the winter time,they use all their resources to produce body heat to stay warm just as in the extreme temps during the summer months, they use their resources to cool down. And if you have owned chickens for any amount of time, you will notice that even when its very hot outside, egg production will decreaseand even sometimes stop completely.

Now, one thing I am seeing on a daily basis online is the subject of chicken feed…..specifically Purina brand feed. People are doing their own backyard experiments and switching to other feeds…and when they do this they are seeing an increase in egg production. Mmmm….maybe. As spring approaches and our daylight hours increase,a chicken will naturally start back up their laying cycle again. So the fact that these people are doing these experiments now isnt exactly proof to me. Did the chickens start laying again because if the food they are now getting? Or would they have started back to laying anyways because its natural for them to increase their egg production this time of the year? I myself would need more studies done in the beginning or middle of winter to prove this theory. But it isnt a surprise that some of the bigger chain companies may have swapped out ingredients in their layer feed to stay in business. It wasnt that long ago that ships full of supplies were stuck out in no mans land unable to dock. And its no secret that many big box companies relyon importing goods to meet their margins and to be profitable. So, it makes sense to me that if certain ingredients werent accessible OR if now thise same ingredients have tripled in cost….that these companies like Purina may have switched out some ingredients to stay afloat. Is it a good thing to do this? Probably not. But what would the alternative be? For the company to close its doors? Where would that leave people that cant afford spendier brands like Kalmbach? Just some food for thought.

And then, every once in awhile,a person will speak up in these social media groups and say that they have used Purina feed forever and a day and have not seen any differences in their chickens egg production. The sad part is that these people are usually shunned and receive hateful comments! So its not difficult for me to assume that there are probably many others who also are long time supporters of Purina and have not seen any negative results from their chickens eating Purina brand feeds….but are too afraid to speak up! So…in assuming this to be true…how accurate are these backyard chicken conspiracy theorists and their experiments? In reality, there could be just as many with positive results if not more…we just dont know.

Another thing to keep in mind is our funky weather patterns. This is going down to be the 2nd warmest winter in history! So, my poor hens have stopped laying, started back up in spurts, stopped again……they dont know what the heck is going on! Its 70, then 30,then 50, then 20, then back in the 60s. The roller coaster weather pattern has my circadian rhythm wondering what to do. I cant even imagine how its affecting a chickens internal patterns!

I was recently reading a blog post from Jill Winger regarding this very subjectand how even she got outrageous replies for hiving reasons as to why chickens may stop laying in the winter contrary to this government conspiracy theory. And I was just thinking “wow! Is it such a crime to have our own opinions?” Just because youbelieve something to be true doesnt mean I also have to believe it to be true. We are individuals for a reason. We had chickens growing up….and back then there werent 150 different brands of layer pellets! And I giggle when I think of what my patents and grand-parents would say if they were still alive, if I asked them about coop heaters,supplemental lights,and layer feed. Chickens have been around longer than us! We definitely didnt have electricity to our coops when I was a child! We didnt even have “coops” per say. We had old barns and buildings that we threw some straw in.and our chickens ate cracked corn! No layer pellets,no oyster shell,no coop heaters. And rarely did we have chickens get sick. And in the winter when our chickens quit laying…….we waited til they started back up in the spring. Mother nature knows best!

So, there is my opinion in a nutshell. You may agree or you may disagree. And you know what? Thats OK! Because we are all individuals. One thing that most of us can agree on, I think, is that we love these little raptors❤

Spring is right around the corner! Happy eggs to all of you!

Vintage Christmas Memories

Well, its November 1st and I am already moving things around in my mind to make room for all the christmas decor. My husband thinks I’m crazy! His family never decorated for Christmas until after Thanksgiving! But he is 7 years younger than me and I feel that even that small number of years….things were already changing in the world.

My parents weren’t rich. In fact, like most people back in that era,we were a one income family. My dad worked in sheet metal while my mom stayed home with me and my sister. There weren’t computers or electronics back in the mid to late 70’s…the gifts were much simpler and the meaning much more. And every Christmas, we would go to my Grandma and Grandpas in Illinois. Their house was always so welcoming. It was always a full house…..my Uncle John and Uncle Forrest playing their guitars and singing, Uncle John and Aunt Sheryl, Aunt Marcia…everyone coming together to celebrate, not on the Holidays, but each other….FAMILY! One year, I got a red teddy bear and it was so special to me that I remember it still to this day….waking up to presents under the tree where Santa had came while we slept and seeing that red bear sitting under the tree…unwrapped….and I remember hoping so much that it was for me!

I remember Dad always buying a real tree for Christmas and how wonderful it smelled! I remember glass candy dishes coming out and being filled with ribbon candy. We were allowed to pick out one puece of candy each day…that was it! And we didn’t mind….we were grateful for that one piece of candy! Dad also put lights on our house every year….those big christmas bulb lights! And everything was always so pretty! Around the mid 80s, cabbage patch dolls were the doll to have! Every other commercial on tv was advertising the cabbage patch doll. And while it was on my christmas wish list…it was simply too expensive. By that time, my parents had divorced and my dad was a single father trying to support the three of us on his one income and paying baby sitters as well. My Mom had moved into a small trailor about a block from the salvation army. One day, Mom and I went to go check out the salvation army dumpster as they often discarded items that were damaged and we found the body of a cabbage patch doll….the head was missing. My Mom took that doll and she actually made a head for it out of panty hose,cotton, a needke and thread, and paint. You see, my Mom was an amazing artist! She was able to make that head look almost identical to a real cabbage patch doll! And for me, it may as well have been a real cabbage patch doll. My Dad also took us out for a drive,every year on Christmas eve,to look at christmas lights. We drive around for hours just looking at the decorated houses and businesses.

Thinking back on memories like these bring tears to my eyes as I sit and write this. Small sacrifices left such an impact! When I became a mom, I wanted to carry on the traditions that I had learned from my parents….and I did just that. I was a single mom of two and our money was tight…but I always made a big deal of the holidays. Even when they were tiny…I always cooked a big meal on Thanksgiving. I would wake up before daylight and start prepping the food and I would spend all day cooking and baking..in between taking care if the kids! In the afternoon,the three of us would sit at the table(my son in a booster seat and my daughter still in her high chair, and eat our meal. Yes, there was a tin of food left and yes, we ate on it all week! But it was important for me to do this for them…and I loved every minute of it! And always,November 1st, I decorated our house for Christmas! I remember in one house,there was no outside outlet,so I cut a hole in my kitchen window screen and ran the extension cord through there and plugged it into the kitchen outlet! And that night…every single year….i would take the kids out front to see the house all lit up…with the beautiful christmas tree showing through the window. And I too would load my children into our car and we would drive around and look at christmas lights. I so enjoyed decorating stockings with them and making gingerbread houses! I did this until they were grown and moved out on their own! Well…decorating their stockings and gingerbread houses became “uncool” when they were juniors/seniors in high school….but I did it as long as I could!

Once the kids moved out, the holidays were a little sad. By that time, I had remarried and inherited a whole new family. Thanksgiving, I always find myself cooking way more than I need to take to my in-laws house. Old habits are hard to break, I guess. Christmas is still my main holiday and I still decorate around the 1st of November. My husband isn’t into it like I am….so the tree,decorations,and outside lights are my job…but I don’t mind. There’s just a kind of sadness that accompanies it when getting out those treasures of years gone by when the kids were little and brought homemade gifts to me that they had made in school. Or christmas tree ornaments saved theoughout the years. But…I still put them out and it brings my heart much joy with the sadness because I can remember when I got each and every trinket or gift…a picture of my son glued onto construction paper that is covered with macaroni spray painted gold or a candy cane with a little christmas mouse cut out of felt paper with a little gift tag signed by my daughter…..priceless gifts priceless memories.

But what saddens me most is how commercialized the holidays have become. The world is so busy….too busy! These days,people are in a rush all the time. Rushed to get started for their day, rushed to get to work, rushed to get home……rush rush rush. And something I’ve personally encountered in the last few years is that people are so rushed and busy with life that they are fore-going traditional holiday meals and instead going for fast food, pizza hut….they just want to hurry up so they can move on to the next thing they need to rush to! And it drives me crazy! People are letting family traditions fall through the cracks….and we are left with a generation that is being deprived of this wonderful gift! And it’s not about food…people. It’s about time. Taking time to make a special dish or two and then taking time to visit and enjoy your families company. My parents are no longer on this earth and all I have are memories of them. Thank goodness thst the fondest most vivid memories I have of them are gathered around the holidays! What will our younger generations have memories of? Playing on their phones with no eye contact….not listening to any of the conversations around them?? I realize that this is getting to be the norm….sad as it may be. But I refuse to give in and allow it to happen to me or my family. My time on this earth is getting smaller each day and I am going to make traditions around the holidays. It is a part of who I am and I hope that some of it resonates with my children and they too carry on these traditions.

The love of a family can not be replaced. And life should never be so busy that getting together on holidays with your family is a burden. Today is November 1st,and though I may not get the tree and decorations up today…our house will be screaming Merry Christmas by the end of this week. And if people want to drive by and comment on how crazy I am….then let them be. You only get one life to make an impact on your chikdren and leave everlasting imprints on them. I hope that when Im gone….they too will remember how special the holidays were. How the holidays brought our little family together…..even for just the one day.

Here’s hoping that you and your families have a great holiday season.

Heart breaks of farming

Its been a long time since Ive written. Life gets so busy…everytbing in the world is so fast and crazy…..and the days just linger on into the next day…and the next day. Why cant we just stop….stand still for just a second….

For a year, we have anxiously awaited Frosty to have her calf. Yes…we sell our calves. But it’s not just the money for me. I love seeing my cow so happy. Frosty is a natural born mom and she loves being a momma. And she’s so good at it! I knew she was going to have her calf Monday night or Tuesday morning because Frosty was standing out inthe field in the middle of a rain storm and wouldnt come to the sound of grain rattling in her bowl. Like many cows,she isolates herself when the time has come. So out into the rain I went…..walked down to the bottom of the field,and grabbed hold of her halter….and both of us walked…soaking wet…up to her building where I could lock her up for the night. I have a camera so I can watch her from inside my house.

Tuesday morning came and around 6 am, I forced myself to get out of bed. I quickly grabbed my phone to look in on her…and I saw her licking something on the other side of her and I knew instantly that she had just had her calf. I thought that I had time to grab a cup of coffee,wake up a little,and then go out to see the little cutie. But as I glanced at the camera….something wasnt right. There was a huge ball dangling from the calfs stomach. I ran outside, put on my boots,and quickly went to her building. The calf was up walking, nursing,and Frosty was licking profusely at that giant ball hanging down! I wasnt sure what it was so I snapped a picture and sent it to my vet with the message”what is this??” He quickly replied that it looked like a hernia and was on his way. He arrived shortly afterand after looking at it, he said it definitely was a large hernia and said I needed to get the calf to the office asap. I wrapped the calf in a towel to support the hernia and we quickly drove him to the vet. After surgery,the vet explained that there were many adhesions of the small and large intestines…but he felt he had gotten them all untangked from each other and my biggest concern was to make sure the calf pooped by the next morning. I tookthe calf back home and put him back with Frosty. He was groggy and Icouldnt get him to latch onto mom. So I let him sleep for a cpl hours and tried again…to no avail. So I milked out some colostrum from Frosty and finally got the calf to drink 1/2 pint. Even though he wouldnt nurse,Frosty talked to him and made him ger up and move. But he woukd go to her and then layback down. I fed him another 2 pints of colostrum with electrolytes and was so very hopeful that he would be better by morning.

When I woke this morning, I went back out to their building. The calf was awake but couldnt stand. I tried to feed him…he wouldnt eat. As I sat there pondering on whatelse I could do, I decided to see if he had any poopon his bottom. Thats when I discovered that he didnt have an anus! I called the vet who did surgery on him the day before and he said he hadnt checked the patency of the rectum and told me to bring him in immediately. They attempted to correct the deformity but werent able to. The calf had to be euthanized. One of the hardest days Ive had in a long time.frosty teusts me to bring her baby back…and I had to let her down today.

My vet has been a vet for iver 40 years. He said the deformities were due to poisonous hemlock. We found some growing in our hay field! Such a hard lesson to learn!

So, I guess my point of this post are the dangers of poison hemlock. If ingested between 35-53 days of gestation…it will cause these types of deformities and even death! And its very common along fence lines and in pastures. And even when dry…its just as poisonous as when its green.

Hopefully, this helps someone.

How I Beat Omicron Virus

Let me start by saying this blog is about my own personal experience and what worked for me. Always trust your own judgment. Period.

Because of my own personal beliefs, I have chose not to get the covid vaccine. I don’t want the virus injected into my body and have chosen to use natural alternatives instead. For the past 3 years,my husband and I have taken these 3 supplements daily. It’s a vitamin pack with herbs and immune boosting essential oils by DoTerra. I am a registered nurse and work in a hospital and my husband is a production worker at an aluminum factory. Neither of us have had any form of covid….not until now. And I’m not trying to push anyone into buying this vitamin pack. I’m just sharing what we have done and found success in doing! But…if you are interested in the pack…I can help you get a Wholesale Account started with doterra here

https://my.doterra.com/kimashcraft21

So, a few days ago, I noticed that evening that my throat was feeling “scratchy”. I started taking these 4 additional supplements that night

By the following morning, I was feeling pretty bad. My head felt a little heavy, my body ached, and I was so incredibly exhausted. But, I took all the supplements I listed and headed out to take care of all the farm animals. I packed a bag if chicken feed to the barn and almost had to drip it on the ground and just leave it there. I HAD ZERO ENERGY RESERVE! I have been sick many times in my 47 years of being on this earth…but I’m not sure I have ever felt so tired and weak. As soon as I finished the animals, I came back inside, changed back into my gown, and crawled back into the bed. I slept…off amd on…til that evening when I had to get up to collect eggs and put the chickens up for the night. I was freezing and knew I had a fever. When I checked my temp…it was 101.6. After the chickens were put up, I thought I coukd eat something. But a few bites in, I was overcome with intense nausea. So I went back to bed.

The next morning, I actually felt a little bit better! I was able to tolerate some eggs and toast and went outside to feed all the animals again. The fatigue was still over whelming! And I seemed to get short of air easily. I also noticed that my throat was getting sore. Once I was done, I went back inside and made some colloidal silver. Once the batch was finished, I took 2 big Swigs of it and put it away in the cabinet.

Today is day 3 of being ill and I am feeling so much better! I still feel some fatigue when active but my temp is back to normal. My throat 8s no longer sore and I feel like I am able to take in more air when I take in a deep breath.

Now, I did not go to get covid tested. There are some chemicals in the covid tests that are carcinogenic and so I want to avoid that exposure if possible. So…how do I know for sure 8 jad omicron? Well, the short answer is I don’t know for sure. But what I do know is that whatever I had felt like nothing I have ever had before. The fatigue was so pronounced! So I am assuming it was omicron. But the fact remains that whatever virus I had…my course of action helped nip it in the bud! I will continue my daily regimen including taking colloidal silver until I am symptom free for 1 week.

I also want to add in a few more interventions that I used….that you can use…to help you in the event you should get covid.

1. Don’t sleep on your back! A good friend of mine…who is also a nurse anesthetist….told me that larger hospitals are putting entubated covid patients on specialized beds that rotate them to a head down/body down position. This helps the mucous etc to not settle in the base of ur lungs. I rotated from side sleeping to stomach sleeping when I slept.

2. Deep breathe and cough. As nurses, we are always pushing this on our surgery patients. Oxygen exchange occurs in the lung bases. So, everytime you think of it, take in a deep breath and give a good strong cough. This bounces thick mucous up off the base of ur lungs for better air exchange.

3. Stay hydrated! Drinking plenty of fluids, especially water, can help thin secretions so they are easier to cough up.

4. Rest is good when ur sick…but a key factor with covid is to not sleep too much. Force yourself to move…even when all u wanna do is sleep.

5. As a personal preference, I also used some essential oil blends on my throat and under my nose to open airways.

I hope this post helps ❤ Everyone stay safe out there!

It’s not All Sunshine and Rainbows

The thought of living in “Little House on the Prairie” days has always intrigued me. It takes me back to a simpler time when life was much more basic. I mean…yes, electricity is wonderful and it is a luxury I am thankful for! But cell phones, internet, satellite tv….these are all nice to have but I could definitely live without them if 8 had to. And sometimes I find myself wishing that the entire world DID have to live without them. When this pandemic first started and everyone was quarantined to their homes, we saw families coming together, children and parents spending time with each other….it really was a ray of sunshine during a very scarey situation.

We have venison and pork in the deep freeze, dairy animals for milk, chickens and ducks for eggs and meat,and even sheep for meat and milk if desperate times called for it. But even with the luxury of electricity, all those animals require food, water, and shelter. I’m sure some people homesteading have the luxury of electricity in huge barns and buildings that makes it easy to plug in heated waterers, heating pads, heat lamps, etc. And that’s great if they jave access to those resources.. But I feel like most people living this lifestyle are like us and don’t have that kind of set up. So if you’ve been thinking about homesteading and farming, this post is for you!

Even if you are drawn to living a “simpler” life…simpler doesn’t mean “easier”. In fact, I am busier now than I have ever been and I’m almost 50!

Owning and milking a dairy cow has always intrigued me. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. I mean….those cows poop….alot. and there’s alot to caring for a cow. Aside from making sure their udders dtay clean during milking…it doesn’t stop there. Making sure that their living conditions stay sanitary is a daily chore. Dirty bedding can lead to mastitis which can cause a cow to lose a part or all of her udder as well as her life. In our area of the country…it rains…alot. Rain = mud….and that mud mixes with poop. And before you know it…you’re finding it a necessity to own a good pair of tall rubber boots and good gloves. Because you will be walking through muddy poop and scooping out poop and urine covered bedding on a daily basis. And if you think you’ll never wear poop in your hair or on your face….think again. It’ll happen….maybe not while scooping poop and cleaning stalls…but definitely during milking!

When the weather is nice and dry….the farm chores are much more enjoyable. You’re thinking “wow! I got done feeding and watering all the animals in 45 minutes!” But don’t fool yourself. You’ll make up for it in inclement weather! The forecast was calling for snow for yesterday (Thursday)…so on Wednesday I was proactive and filled everyone’s water containers and troughs with water. Made sure we had plenty of feed and topped off everyone’s food wednesday evening. Thursday morning ING, the snow had already started by 8 am. Again,I replenished everyone’s water and food, closed both barn doors to try to eliminate many drafts from blowing through the chicken stalls, and all was going well. But…although we do have power to our barn,we have many of our chickens and livestock outside with no accessible electricity. Temps dropped to the single digits through the night. So I spent this morning busting water up in the troughs, breaking ice and topping off waterers. I had drained our hoses Wednesday before the storm….so I was able to hook them up and water most of the animals again this morning. But with frigid temps today staying in the single digits, I had to drain the hoses and cover all the water spigot when I was done. It took me 2 solid hours to feed and water all the Animals this morning. And in a few hours, I will have to go out and bust ice again in the waterers. I’ll do that multiple times throughout the day.

So yes….I love this life that we have chosen to live. And as I sit here exhausted and cold, I still know in my heart that I wouldn’t want it any other way. But it’s not easy nor is it extravagant. It’s dirty and messy and time consuming. But if your heart and soul are into it, then for you…days like today are just another day on the homestead.

Hoping all my followers out there are warm and safe. For me…its definitely time for a cup of coffee❤

Words of Value

I read this post this morning and thought “this is exactly what I try to convey to people ALL THE TIME!

Because It’s Not About Canning and Chickens