Top Quaran-10

Alright Alright Alright

Now that I'm spending 49 hours a day at home, I have rediscovered the goldmine in my backyard. I see nature differently these days. I notice the abundance of flowers in the pasture, I can almost see the blades of grass growing, and the smells all around me are more aromatic than any one person could possibly smell in a lifetime. We've stopped home schooling the house dogs and they are glad summer is here. As the world begins opening back up, just like the burrs in the grass, it's a secret sting waiting in quiet. Currently, the burrs are mushy while the ground is wet, but as the grass and ground begins to dry, the burrs sharpen and the thorns stick into my skin like an unwelcome surprise. Many of us are cautious in our step, not ready for these sharp burrs. Unsure of shopping again, because we may still be uncomfortable just at the grocery store. We want the world open, but we don't. We want to walk through the soft green grass, but unsure of the sharp and thorny burrs that await us. The opening of the world is a mushy place where the burrs grow. Let us go forth with each other in mind, so that we are careful of the unwelcome surprises that await us. We are all well versed now in our new normal of Home Sweet Home. I thought I would share a of few of my Top 10 things going on around the farm, in our house, cupboards and life.


1)  Amiright

Shopping on the inter-webs has awakened me to many new things. Here's a few of my recent favorite finds:

New window treatments from
Esty artisans is a current favorite.

Costco favorite.
Great price, fabulous taste!

Imperfect foods pick, and what a
wonderful pick it was!

Imperfectfoods.com has been a wonderful way to give back to the earth and use food that is not "sellable" at grocery stores. Not all food has to look good to taste good, right? From farm to fridge, they are a company striving to reduce food waste. Even their packaging is non-toxic, biodegradable and compostable. And even though the company cannot operate 'exactly' like they were pre-COVID,  I can't either.  So that makes two of us.

Another Etsy find.
Why shop anywhere else?

2)  When people need a good listening to

Books, books and more books. Yes, I listen to most of them. Audible is one of my best friends. What are my recent listens? Let's chat it out, and even include a quick review of my own:

Untamed, by Glennon Doyle

I loved this book, yet I was unsure of this book. I found so much value in this book, and I found many things I did not understand in this book. Once I finished the book, I turned around and listened to it again. Be careful, some parts of it you may not want to take too literally, in my opinion. It will require an open mind and warm heart to absorb her words wholeheartedly. One of my favorite things about her book is how she named her Chapters. I don't know why, it just set well with me for some reason. Another, is that I had SO many take-aways from this book, as many of her words are quotable. It was one continuous "I love that" thought after another. Yes, some of the chapters did not speak to me, per se, but I sure loved the ones that did. Brilliant book. It's not for everyone, but neither am I.
Favorite quote: "Your job, throughout your entire life, is to disappoint as many people as it takes to avoid disappointing yourself."   - Glennon Doyle

The Path Made Clear, by Oprah Winfrey

This is one of my main stays in my Audible library. At only 2 hours and 55 minutes long, I listen to it anytime I need to hear some authenticity in my life. What can I say other than I'm a HUGE Oprah fan and I love her all her Podcasts, too (Oprah's Master Class and Oprah's Super Soul Series). It's a great quick read.
Favorite Quote: "No matter how far away from yourself you may have strayed, there is always a path back."    - Oprah Winfrey

The New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle

At only 9 hours and 12 min, this book will seem like it's 39 hours and 12 min. This spiritual leader, Eckhart Tolle is teaching us the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that teaches us to transcend our ego-based state we live in. Yeah, that. The first time David and I tried to listen to this book, we hit the rewind button so many times that our fingers were bleeding, trying to figure out what he was saying. It's complicated. But WOW, if you are ready for this in your life, its crystal clear. Simply amazing. Here's what I would suggest: Try reading it, then try listening to it, then give up and listen to the Podcast that takes it chapter by chapter and explains it in detail in terms we can understand. It's so much easier to grasp the concepts and teachings in the Podcast. It's simply titled A New Earth with Oprah and Eckhart Tolle. Listen as they guide us through each chapter. It's a 10 part series, and as Eckhart reminds me, "If you're ready to awaken, then this information will speak to you". Otherwise, speaking from experience, I tried when I wasn't ready and it was like reading/listening to gibberish. Now, I'm beginning to grab ahold and realize my ego is out of control and plays many records in my head that are not good for me. I have so much work to do, but with this guide, it's do-able. About 50 more years and I'll have it down pat.
Favorite Quote: "Anything you resent or strongly react to in another, is also in you."  -Eckhart Tolle
(ouch, truth bombs hurt)

Lastly, anything by Brene Brown. She's my first love, my first real book crush, and will hold a special place in my heart forever that I'm breathing. Everyone of her books are amazing. I cannot possibly pick a favorite. I keep all her books handy in my Audible library at all times. Her work with shame and vulnerability is priceless. Two things that people do not want to speak of. She talks it all. Thank you, Brene.



3)  Chicken Parents vs Chicken Owners

If you thought chicken math was something new and different, I was recently informed I am a chicken parent and not a chicken owner. What? It's true though. I found out recently as I was participating in a webinar on chickens. Purnia.com along with a sponsor (this one was with D&L Feed Store in Celina) put on this particular informational webinar about chickens. Illnesses, food, nutrition, you name it. A whole hour was not nearly enough. Yes, Purnia is talking nutrition because it sells chicken food products, but the guy giving this webinar had a PhD in chicken-something and could talk chicken-talk all day long. All the participants said how many chickens they had, did we name them, etc, and after his talk, we all got to ask lots of questions. And he had answers. It was my first time to realize myself as a chicken parent and not owner. I also learned Purina.com has gobs of information on chicken education that I've been missing. They put so much research into what they do and I had no idea. Now I know, and I got a free bag of chicken food to boot. I'm a chicken parent because I don't eat my chickens, I name them, I hold them, and I talk about them as if they were my children. There's many other reasons, but my biggest take away? Don't kiss your chickens. They have salmonella. I love them anyway. Speaking of! I recently got 6 new 5 week old chicks. This time, I bought Turkens. They say you either love their look - or hate it. I love it.

Turken chick

The turken is a chicken with a naked neck, whose neck seems to be a little longer than most chickens, so their nakedness is emphasized. No, they are not a cross between a turkey and chicken. They are all chicken, just with no feathers on their necks.

See, they don't look so bad

I'm not really sure how big they will get, but time will tell.

Recently, my three little silkie chicks went to their new home, and are loving it there. And now once again, a couple of my silkie mamas are sitting on eggs. So there will likely be more silkie babies in the future.



4)  Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any lambs

It's almost time! I've been holding off blogging, hoping to find some lambs in the barn soon. Not yet though, but soon. I'll keep you posted.

From l to r: Belle, Licorice and Grace
with resting guard dog in corner

Grace whose about to pop.
My prediction is triplets.

Our 4 ewes are large, with udders filling. We are crossing our fingers for healthy babies. My heart cannot take it, otherwise. David has prepared their birthing stalls, and just today have placed the straw in them, as we await the arrival of lambs. There's nothing better than baby farm animals.



5)  Moo'd next door

Guess who recently moved in next door? A bottle baby calf. My heart exploded when I saw it, and double that when the neighbor asked me to go check on it one day, and it walked right up to me. It wasn't long after that before this happened.....

Turns out her name is Norbert.
We call her Brownie.

Thank you, God for letting allowing
me this opportunity. 

The great thing about having neighbors (both sides of our land) as cows, is watching the baby cows show up, grow up and saying hello to them without all the poop on our land. Mootiful.



6)  It's not all unicorns and roses

Sometimes a simple trip to the vet turns into 2 hours later. Granted, we cannot go into the vet office at this time for safety reasons, and instead, they will come out to get your animal. On this day, we were taking a field trip to the vet with 6 barn cats for their shots and general check ups. There's many upsides to life out here, but as hard as we try, not everyone can be good all the time. We have a couple of sick animals right now, and one is Sweet Pea, an outdoor cat here on the farm. She had been losing weight, and we weren't sure why. The vet informed us that she's got an ulcer/wound in her mouth that could be from a couple of sources - none of them good. It could be an autoimmune thing that cats get, or another type of disease that I didn't catch the name of. After an antibiotic and a steroid shot, we were instructed to bring her back in a week to discuss further options for her. These may include teeth pulling or "other" discussions regarding her situation. Until further notice, she's to be inside, on soft cat food and given an ample dose of extra love and nurturing. We hope to move through this for her sake, as it sounds awful, and we feel terrible for her. Here's to Sweet Pea's recovery.
Then, it was recently that we begin hearing Dora cough. She's our mini horse whose mama to Diego. It was this same vet visit that we talked to the vet about her cough, and were given antibiotics for her.

Dora (on the left), Diego (right)

Dora is a beautiful chocolate color with a blonde mane. Blind in the left eye (right eye when looking at her head on), and she generally just wants to be left alone. Before us, it's been inferred that she was breed often, and also rode by children on a fairly regular basis. She's ready for a break.
We heard the cough, and although new to mini's, we knew it wasn't right. According to the vet, she's had several horses in the area with coughs, and she's hoping Dora will respond to antibiotics. It's getting her to take the medicine that's the hard part. Diego much prefers it, than her. Geeezzz. Keeps things exciting. We are working hard to try and get some of our babies well around here.



7)  Old MacGraves Had a Farm

As we work to find new and interesting things to provide content for the local library's Facebook page, we discovered a silly sing-along might be fun.

My next step is to work on adding graphics to videos. I've watched several YouTubes on it, and hope to give it a try soon.




8)  Spill the tea

Now that the world has been informed of our daughter 's intention to have a child of her very own, we look forward to this next chapter of life. It's an announcement you want to sing from the top of the mountain.

I'll title this photo: "Before"
Notice the smiling faces and rested souls.

But really, there's nothing better than a baby. Nothing. We pour our hearts and souls into them, and they are life's greatest gift. Babies. Their smell, their touch, their cries, and their growth. It's all magical, and we are excited to watch their own magic happen.

I'm deciding on the next caption......

And that's the tea. And the best tea I could think of!




9)  It's okay, I found someone cheap

I mean, who doesn't love free.99? I really do think most every household is doing this.

I will say that David prepped me on exactly how his hair stylist cuts his hair. He knows it motion by motion, which clipper blade, how they hold their hand, the curl of their smile needed to cut the edges, and never, I mean never, cut too much off the top. I'm no Great Clips, but I tried.



10)  I burned that memo

Another 2020 take-away is some realizations. You know, the one that said "When women learn how to please, blah, blah, blah". Why? Because it was allowing me to forget who I was. Thank you, Glennon Doyle. There's many memos I've burned that have allowed me to find myself today, yesterday and continue learning about the journey God has intended for me - and you - in this life. And it's thanks to many podcasts, books, sermons and instagrams geared at showing us a different way in life than what we were previously exposed to. It's an accumulation of teachings from different religions, beliefs, ways of life and philosophies that have allowed me to bring together an ever growing ability for accepting the grace and favor bestowed upon me. It's been a big part of Year 2020 with progressions far greater than I have time to jot down in my blog or even imagined. I've learned the lyrics of 'Every little thing is going to be alright" to be 110% true. That Faith and Hope are what I carry with me every minute of every day. That God has written my story already, and all the struggles and strife, along with the joys and happy tears are what make me uniquely me - and yours, uniquely you. I have learned I can believe, not worry. It takes the same energy.

All the while, I take in bounties of great knowledge including being present in my day and nights, trying to wrangle my ego into check, and change some records in my head that need changing. I've learned I need to bully myself less. Thank you, Joel Olsteen. And if you haven't listened to his sermon, Shame Off You, it's one of my favorites. (How many times has someone said to you, Shame on you). I strive to be better.

As Joel says, Believe big and Pray bold. A recipe for 2020.

Be well,

Cyndi

Wash your paws

Relish Today

Here we are, still in quarantine mode (some more than others) and continuing to practice our social distancing (some better than others). I have a mask, you have a mask. I drive with hand sanitizer in my car. We are learning more about our QuaranTeam-Mate's personality than we ever expected or even wanted to know. We are feeling new feelings - or pushing new feelings down, in some instances. We are connected to humanity more than ever, as the world is struggling together. Our empathy has grown. I find that I check in with myself on a regular basis. How am I doing? Am I tuned in? How can I reach out to others? How are others doing? This is all new territory, and yet somehow, the animals are the ones teaching me how to live life during this unusual and unprecedented time in the world.


So apparently, this is how dogs talk now

Thank dogness my fren staz home now. Gib up work. Ah, wurks hur now. Am unsur if okey. More chimken pweez. Ugh. Hekk. Nows fren is pawlice. No sits on cowch now. Dis is bad. Tired of fren hur. Pweez go back to wurk.

I often wonder if my dogs know what's happening during this change in the rules of life. Certainly they know things are different. Both of The Littles (Sugar and Maybe) likely think: Dad is home working, and trying to teach me new things.

This lesson will need to be repeated, either
that, or Saturday school is in their future. 

Woof from home

Yet, old habits are hard to break. Sure, we're supposed to wash our paws more often, sing a song while we do. But The Littles have their daily routine too. Let's see.....breakfast, see Mom off to work, settle in for a morning nap, all the while fooling Dad that we will be quiet. Once The Little's know that Dad is on an important conference call, they hear something outside that needs to be investigated right away. Right now. Must bark. I see Dad's face scour, hit extra buttons on his machine he stares at all day, and let's us outside. False alarm. Just kidding. We want back in. Now. Dad will do anything right now to keep us quiet. I can see it on his face. Then, Dog School again. We smile and nod our heads and this time, Dad puts us outside to nap on our bed in the sun, all while deciding who the little spoon will be for this nap. Then, we help ourselves to a trip down the gravel road to smell the mailbox, eat some grass or donkey poo. Maybe even roll in it. Then back up and into the barn for our daily field trip for a special treat of chicken poo or chicken feed, depending on our mood. Chase a barn cat, lunge at a chicken for fun. Then, back to the outdoor bed for more sunning. The remainder of the day henges on UPS delivery man, chicken-egg buyers, and weather. All while David is trying to work and pretend like a circus is not going on around him - at the same time. This is the world's new dilemma. Our new co-workers as we all now call them. They make the old co-workers not look so bad now.


Hatch A Plan

As I've settled into selling eggs from the refrigerator in front of the garage, it's become a daily routine to gather, clean and stamp eggs. I have ordered flat egg cartons that I use to sell the eggs in. It's working out well thus far. We have some regular egg customers (whom we greatly appreciate) from the UPS man to our neighbors. We recently had some chicken changes, as we gave 6 of our chickens to our neighbors daughter's family. They are starting a chicken flock of their own. Such a nice family, and we share the same enthusiasm for chickens - and the eggs they give us each day. They ended up picking the 3 teenagers (wyandottes and leghorns), 2 cinnamon queens and one buff orpington. This way, the teenage chickens can grow to bond with the children, plus the other chickens are older and laying eggs already. All is well. If I did my chicken math correctly, that now places us at a total of 36 chickens.
Unfortunately, this past Tuesday morning, we lost Goldie to old age. She's a chicken we've had for quite awhile and had come to us as an adult. She was sweet and kind, and we saw her progression into old age. We watched her move less, then slower, then not at all. It's a hard thing to watch anyone dying, but we were grateful to be with her and make sure she was safe.

The dogs would go lay next to her.
I wonder if they knew.

RIP

Goldie Girl, All your friends were with you til your last breathe. You will be missed.

This has to be one of the hardest things about having farm animals. Lots of love, but it comes with a price. Loss. That may just be the theme of life. With love, there is loss.

We hope to hold strong at 36 chickens now for a bit. The loss of Goldie is hard, and yet watching another family start their own chicken flock brings so much joy to my heart. My chicken cup inside my heart empties, then fills. The ebb and flow of it keeps me moving in a good direction. Chickens are fragile creatures, and I have to accept that regularly. All my life I had no idea I was a chicken lady. It makes me wonder, "What else am I that I did not know?"


Real Goat-Getter

Our three goats are a ray of sunshine around here. Chia and her kids Petunia and Dottie (Dotty) are quite the team. Sweet, kind and easy. I can't ever imagine not having them with us. Some animals are meant to be with us. Others pass through.

Mama Chia

Dottie and Petunia

Recently, we had a guy (Jason) come by the farm asking to buy the sheep and goats. This guy has purchased from us before, and he thought he'd pop by and see what we had for sale. I said No to the selling of goats, but was willing to negotiate on Deuce, our Dorper Ram. Deuce has done a marvelous job of impregnating the ewes, from what we can tell. It's now time for him to find somewhere else to continue his work. Jason has about 20 ewes he's wanting to have lambs. We agree on a price, and sure enough, he comes back the next day to get Deuce so that he too, will have more lambs. So the way this seems to work (I am not an expert here) is that people will use a ram for several cycles, then sell it, and buy another ram so that the babies daddies are not all the same - over and over. Jason said he had just sold his ram, and needed a new one. I get it. We do the same thing. New daddy each time (not everyone abides by that philosophy, and that's okay). Deuce was placed in the pen on the truck, and off he went, leaving behind soon-to-be single mothers of Belle, Grace and Lulu. Not sure that Licorice is really prego.

The dogs may actually get their dog beds back now, Deuce.

I'm always relieved when the rams leave our property, as they can get overly protective of "their" ewes and will ram the heck out of you. It's downright dangerous if you're not careful, and I really try not to get attached to the rams. I know they will leave us eventually. My neighbor friend says she keeps her male lambs, and bands their privates. She says the fixed males then act generally like the ewes do, if banded early on as a baby lamb. I may just give that a try if any baby lamb ends up being a male. We've actually only had girls thus far. Note to self: Think of boy lamb names. And buy a bell for around their neck just in case.


I'm her person

I'm not exactly sure what was underneath the idea I had about getting a "small house dog", but it showed up one day in my heart. We have Maybe - and adore her smile, never-ending happiness level and awesome attitude towards life. She's loyal and kind to everyone, and is the most popular animal on the farm. Everyone knows her. She welcomes all who come here and never discriminates. She was alone a couple of years ago after we lost Bridgette to old age, and is now 9 years old herself. A little twinkle of another small dog to join us was something I toiled with. Then we did it, and brought Sugar into our lives at the end of 2018. We adopted her as an adult dog, as she was a little over 1 year old at the time we got her. Although we had no idea, she would show us resiliency and what love looks like from the viewpoint of a broken little girl. Yes, it took about a year for David to be able to even pick her up. She disallowed it, running from him. She had such a scared and fearful heart, leaving us wondering what she has gone through before coming to us.

When I see her, my eyes turn into little hearts.
David named her Sugar. She had never been given a name. 

We adopted her broken and fragile. After (at least a year) she is now trusting, happy and learning from the best, Maybe. She watches Maybe be enthusiastic, happy and carefree. It's taken time to get there, as she used to howl when I left the house.

This little 4 lb nugget would howl to David, asking for my return. She was so uncertain. Time and lots of love healed her heart enough that David was eventually blessed with the opportunity to pick her up. When Lauren would come over, this is the distance she kept from her. But I'm happy to report that has all changed. Sugar loves nothing more than to be petted and held by Lauren as well as pick up by David and loved.



Sugar observed others from afar, yet I was her person. I was her life. She trusted and bonded with me like no other dog has. What we thought would be a family dog took 1 1/2 years to begin to truly be a family dog. That's okay, Sugar, sometimes we need a little time to heal our souls.

She waits for my return.

David made her her very own doggie door

He even made her a special small bed

She does everything possible with me

Yet, who has helped her transform the most? Maybe. Maybe has taken her in under her wing and showed her the way. Showed her that it's fun to ride in a car, go on walks, ride in the stroller/cart and even become a runner. Maybe tolerates all things Sugar, and is patient and kind.

Sugar learned to play with toys, although will still not eat treats. And strangely enough, will not eat dog food either. I've tried every possible dog food. No, thank you. Her preference? Cheese, meat and more cheese and meat. In addition, she has watched Maybe eat the chicken food so long now, she now eats the chicken food, too. Thanks, Maybe.

She's always by my side. (Yes, David
is mocking me)

Halloween unicorn

This girl is growing emotionally by leaps and bounds. She is becoming a real dog. Thank you, Maybe for teaching her well. Thank you, David for your undying patience with her.

Her favorite thing to do in life? This.



The Littles do get out and run or walk - depending on what I'm doing that day. This is indeed their happy place. That's interesting.....it's my happy place, too!

Sugar may not be for everyone. I'm not for everyone. Sugar, like myself, have rewritten the stories inside us. Reprogramming and reconditioning ourselves to live our truth unapologetically. On this Mother's Day I recognize and honor the inner child whose need to explore and (as Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed, would say) be uncaged. To live wild. To live a life we choose. It feels good, and I think Sugar would agree that we all can do a little self healing from our inner self to become who we're meant to be.

I don't want to just be a caterpillar,
I want to be a butterfly.

On this Mother's Day, I celebrate life. We are here because of our mother. Thank you, Mom! I love this life you have blessed me with, to live and breathe, healthy and well, raising me through the thick and thin of it.



I'm just a girl, standing in front of a Monday, asking for it to be Friday again,


Cyndi