New Green house

This weekend we worked our rears off getting a road filled with rocks (a work in progress) and a greenhouse up. The spring season is coming up with speed now and we will be planting what we call the Faith Garden. We are digging with all our might, but because of the rains we will have to put seeds in a tilled ground with no added dirt or compost. We will plant in faith. We have learned with everything else we have done here, that optomal situaltions are not the only ones that produce good things. So with that in mind we will put our seeds in the new green house in faith that they will grow into healthy plants that will nourish our bodies and delight our souls.

                                       This is when the garden spot first got started being cleared.

                      Manny working hard at getting the brush that had just been cut out of the fenced area.

This is all the stuff that got dragged out.

What it looked like right before we put the hogs in.

What it looks like now. After hogs and boys digging up whatever roots were left.

                                                 The green house shell being constructed.

The green house is placed at the far right hand corner to the garden.

Waiting on Spring

Today as I was driving home I saw the haze of the red buds in the maple trees. The way they dappled the treetops, yearning to burst forth with new life. The tender shoots of green grass, the onion sets at the feed store. All herald the wonderful event of Spring.

I reflect the most in this season I think. Mostly because I see a reflection of all life in the seasons. Fall as a time of death to the last year of growth, Winter a time of testing of what you learned and a rest from productivity (unless of course you took on a new farm, lol). Spring a time of rebirth and renewal. And summer the time of fast growth and fun.

This winter has been one of the hardest I have had in many years. In our old land, we were finally fixed. We knew the cycles, the people, the places. We understood most of what was to come, with a few variations thrown in. It was comfortable and stable, like the seasons. But this year was a time of great change, a great shaking, if you will. We have been shaken to the very foundations of our thinking, of our beliefs and into our "roots".  This is a Land, a State, a Home we have never known before. And yet just like the Phoenix, we will rise from the ashes. The bible says "whatever can be shaken will be shaken, and whatever remains will be the truth. Well, here we are, like the trees;stripped bare. Like the field; open and fallow, awaiting seed time. Like the river; flowing with the plenty and the lack, always going, bending never breaking.

We have had so many trials, and tests. So many new things planted within us. It feels like my first garden when I was a child. My grandmother made a wheel with bricks in which she created 12 spokes. She then handed me a bunch of seeds and told me it was mine to plant. Of course being the "artist" I am, I proceeded to sow things in a swirling, colorful way. I lost track of what was what and just enjoyed the canvas. Of course I panicked afterwards, as I always do, and wished I had written something down, or taken note of size or type. I had never planted anything before, how was I to know what was coming up? Well, my grandmother, with her experience and wisdom, hugged me and assured me she would know when the time came. As the season of summer went by, the seeds did sprout. I watered them and yet didn't know if I was watering a weed or an herb. I watched and waited. As they got their first few leaves, I willed them to tell me what they were. My Grandmother watched with me patiently overseeing the progress, and yet not giving up the truth of the plant's identities. Finally they started to turn into something, I watched astonished, as the they actually took shape into something I could identify. It was like magic! The artwork was there, I could see it in reds and yellow, purple and green. There were herbs and lettuce, carrots and radish! How amazing that our lives reflect this growth, this artistry. We have no idea what we have planted within us, and yet by the time the summer of our lives unfolds, we can see the careful feeding of our savior, the perfect gardener. He doesn't do it like me, he knows exactly what he wants to grow. He just lets me sow some things artistically, because he knows, like my grandmother, that it won't hurt to let us play and discover. How I long for the season of spring!

But while I wait, I will continue to tend the soil, making it able to receive the seed, Both in my garden and in my life.  Before I know it, Easter will be here and with it will come the Resurrection and rebirth. I will enjoy the soft warm breeze, the cool green grass, and all the new babies that are due to come with the warming of the earth. The next generation will be born.

Faith's New Rabbits

Peter

Precious and Angel

I got my rabbits 2 weeks ago. My work payed off, they are so soft and fuzzy .
Peter is 2 months older than the girls. Angel isn't growing as fast as the rest.
They are more friendly than I imagined. I give them their pellets in the morning and after the frost
thaws, I let them eat clover till 4pm. About a week ago mama put them out in the clover and forgot about them.
They all got out and went exploring. In the morning I Had got up and was knitting on the couch
and the boys came running in and said my bunnies had got out and one was missing.
We looked and looked but no bunny. Finally, we all prayed it and about 20 min. later mama said she was under the house. Once again it was God that saved our animals.


Post written by Faith.

A place in the past

I was at the drug store yesterday getting some asthma medicine for my nephew. I was carded for it, of course, as the drug lords love this stuff....Anyway, the lady noticed I was from Georgia. This is not an odd occurrence, since GA is just over the border from Chattanooga, so most people don't even blink if you say you're from GA. She did notice that it was an area she had never heard of, so she asked which region of GA I was from. I have always loved living in Oxford, so I was happy to tell her about our old town. She said she was from a place like that,Her town grew and grew, until it was hard for a small-town-minded-gal to live there. I too could agree. The Wal-Mart was the first to help with the super growth, then the Home Depot, then the Dollar General, then the other strip mall stores, the fast food restaurants, the QT (of course) then to help the little back roads that can't handle this kind of traffic they have to widen the road and make a direct route to the highway. Finally, to house the growth in population due to the industrialization, they must build more housing and a bigger school, by buying off the farm land.

This is a very popular story for small towns across the nation. The insatiable hunger for the bigger, better, closer, more mentality. I do not fault people for wanting things more convenient, it is a prevailing thought system in our country as it does give us a sence of security. I also liked how close things were when I had to go shopping, I just hate traffic. I am also not the most social of people...big surprise, I know. So the growth of our nice small town made me long to be in a quieter place. One that shares my love for the past. Maybe not all the conveniences gone. I do like being able to run out for groceries we run out of between shopping trips, to get gas and animal feed, but I like that despite the fact that this town got a Wal-Mart 5 years ago, it has refused to let any of the other massive conglomerations join in the party.

The motto of our town Whitwell, TN is this: I quote,
"Whitwell has become a town that deters any type of growth, because the
citizens here prefer Whitwell to stay as a small town flavor, yet have the amenities
of the big city closeby, and they aim to keep it that way, sooooo...
               When you're in Whitwell, YOU ARE IN AMERICA! GOD'S COUNTRY!!! "

Close by to them, I must add is 15 minutes away. LOVE IT!!!

I didn't know that God had placed me EXACTLY where I belonged until I had lived here for a week and read this on their web page while trying to look up my electric bill.

I also must note a couple of other things I love about here:

-I can drive a truck with my kids in the back down main roads without being in fear of someone crashing into us and killing them. Other people here understand the lack of funds to get a bigger vehicle to house all those kids and oblige the others by driving slow and safe.

-I have neighbors who stay out of your business and yet are always there to help. I must add that having our closest one be a 1/2 mile down the road doesn't hurt either.

-Free is just part of life around here. We are far enough away from the city, that most people don't make their living in it, and costs haven't been raised because of it. So when you go into the feed and seed in Whitwell to get some goat supplies, there are no prices. When you go to the counter the man says "UHH, how does $5.00 sound for all that." Wow, o.k. Or you go to the tire store to get a tube valve stem and the man hands it to you, you ask how much you owe, and he says," UHHH, Nothin' " Like you've lost your mind for even asking. Or Your Neighbor comes over and asks if he can 'Hay' your field. I asked how much that would cost me, and he looks at me as if I suddenly sprung something from my forehead. The Parks are free, the mountains are free, the water falls are free, the river is free!This is in my budget.

-The electric company, the Phone company, the Water company, and the county feed store are all co-op. This means that you can be a part of them for services or you can buy a share in it and be part of the services rendered. Now this is excellent for prices-it keeps them low. My electricity bill was $111. Now this also means that you don't pay a deposit, so you can actually afford to get it turned on without having to save for a few weeks or months, depending on how high your deposit is (ours was $500 in oxford, of which I only had $250 returned upon move out. Why, because I had a bill I payed late. I did pay it, just late. Therefore penalized for it. What!?!)

-People are less stressed, therefore more friendly. I really like that. It took me 5 years in Covington/Oxford to know my local shop keepers and clerks well enough for me to recognize them and them me. Here it has taken a whopping 3 months. Mostly because there isn't as many people and also because when you are building things from scratch you visit your local stores often, and need a lot of questions answered about their area. The locals love that, the old people love to talk about the old ways and love the fact that they are still being carried on.

-Lastly, that my children get to grow up a little less afraid, a little more free. They work hard, play hard, explore freely, visit neighbors at will. They get to tend to animals. And endure the ups and downs of life lived communally.

The people here are proud of their town, its smallness, it heritage (most people here have descendants who climbed these hills and discovered this valley and have lived here ever since). They are a proud and welcoming people, as long as you like it small too. Everyone here would take up arms, in fact most people carry rifles at all times, to defend their country. Not because they have some idealistic standard for doing it, a need to defend the equal opportunity of the masses. Not because they need gasoline to survive, or because they want the industrial revolution and capitalism to survive. They do like having these things to a point, but they don't need them for their survival. They would fight because they have  a land of freedom, a land that their ancestors had to endure hardships and survive to keep. They have fought for this place and will continue to. I would fight along beside them, and I don't even believe in War, but I beleive in being left alone to live your life acording to GOd's purpose. I am proud to be allowed to be one of them. They have welcomed us with open hearts and minds. They are our people now, and we are theirs. I know there is never anything that could happen here, even way out in the woods, that we would be alone to endure. They understand the need of neighborly help, but the pride of doing things yourself until you need it. I admire this town and its people. May God bless America and its small towns!

The lady I was speaking to asked what I thought about the way this area stays 10 years in the past. I replied that I hope in 10 years it hasn't caught up to now.

Foundation complete and other stuff

We have officially completed the foundation. All 29 of the blocks were poured. And now that the rain has been out of the area for over a week all are dry and solid.

They don't look like much, as we had to shovel 3 inches of water off them, and they have silt and leaves still on them, but to us they are a work of art. True 4 foot thick 2x2 blocks of genius. Our first building feat conquered! Now the home site looks like a mine field....

This is o.k. though, because at least WE know what they are.

We had made some moulds out of scrap wood to be able to gauge the size of the hole, so after we drilled, we dug out these 2x2 ft holes so we can place the cinder blocks on top of them. Now if we could just get the tractor to work again so we can drag the trailer down here with the bricks on it.

Since we were down here taking pictures, I thought I would go ahead and take some of the other things we are doing down here. Like chopping wood and making garden plots, i.e. my front yard. I don't mind having a garden and pastures for my front yard and woods for my back. Way less upkeep, and with the mountains in the background, I don't think I could ever show up God's handy work here, so I am happy.

 With all the trees we felled to get this home site cleared it has taken us half the time to chop it and stack it. The four boys have really busted butt to do all this. And this is truly just half of it. Every where you look there is more wood. Wood stacked, wood chopped, wood waiting to be chopped, wood waiting to be stacked. It almost sounds like a Dr. Seuss book if you added a who or something....

And did I mention all the wood waiting to be burned. Wow, it is almost overwhelming. The kids and I are going to start the massive undertaking in the morning. We have 4 enormous piles that must be burned off so we can set up a construction zone, and get vehicles in and out. All the men are out of town or at work, and my sister and her kids are gone, so I guess its just us... I have been assured by the men that the boys are very knowledgeable and capable, but I am a mom. Why do they keep asking me to be a non-worrier? This is just so unnatural!

Right now this is the front yard, now cleared of all the Privet. To you guys who have pristine yards and lots of grass, all I can say is don't judge. I will to some day... That's what I'm bringing the pigs in for!



Cusi's Memorial

We lost a goat this week. Our first major loss. We are used ot the chickens being eaten. Even the dogs that come and go. We don't like it, but we understand its part of farm life. So is this, I've heard. Lots of people lose goats, or other animals, for various reasons. But I think because we only had three goats, and they are our first, it was just more of a loss than I had thought it'd be. Anyway, I thought I would just do a small memorial piece on Cusi.

He was never a terribly strong goat, kind of a whiner, but he was a nice goat. Looking back and knowing what I know now, I should never have bought him. He was not healthy. But I didn't know, and we did. One day he would be stronger-looking. He would eat and wag his tail and go with the girls to graze, and then another he would just stand there and look pitiful. We tryed hard to save him, but he had a problem up-taking his protein so he waisted away.

Finally on Monday, just wouldn't eat. Then he lay down and wouldn't get up. My daughter, Faith stayed with him most of the morning and tried to coax him to eat. He refused. I knew it was time to put him down.

My wonderful son, Calob and his cousins, took him to the back of our property and shot him. This is hard for me. I don't take it lightly to lose an animal, whether it be one for food or whatever, but I feel really bad whan we have fought so hard and still lost the fight.

We all take solice in the thought that for the first time, he is able to run and jump like the other goats, in heaven. That he was welcomed in by Jesus and led to the happy grazing grounds, where there are heavenly cars and big stacks of rubble for him to jump on and Jesus won't mind if they run around on his car. Now I don't know what is true or untrue about animals and the afterlife, but this makes us feel good so we go with it. I don't think Jesus will mind.

Pigs, Pigs, Pigs

Well, our boys are now in business. They have made their first investment in their future. They purchased 6 pigs. Two will be for the home, and 4 will be for sale. They worked hard making a fence for them. I chose the garden plot for this spring, as I have heard that pigs can uproot, deweed and till under and fertilize an acre of land every few months. Since we will have these pigs until around February or March it is a perfect place. We had already purchased electric fencing so they worked all day last Saturday putting it up. Then we got the pigs.

Now I have never been much of a fan of pigs, but I must say that besides their ferocious smell, I find them quite enjoyable. They are a real investment. Having payed $30 per pig at 50 lb size(which we found out are called feeder pigs). We will raise them on pasture, acorns and slop, mostly. We will have to supplement with some oats and corn, but mostly they will be cheap to feed. Then they will be resold at around 200 lb.s for about $1.50 per lb. This will be a nice price for farm raised free-range pigs. And the boys can take their money and invest it in a new thing or more pigs.

When we went to pick them up it was so funny.  We drove up to this nice little farm and they directed us to the back pasture where they kept their stash of pigs. Upon smelling them I knew why they kept them back there. The gentleman asked which ones we wanted and I stood back and let the boys do the transaction. At first they looked at all the squealing pigs and chose the ones they liked. The man told them to go in the pen and catch them. What ensued looked like a greased pig contest in a muddy pigsty. The boys ran after one, then the other and totally looked lost and slightly panicky until the man came to their aid and just started catching pigs. He would take them by the hind legs and hold them up as if they were not 50 lb pigs squealing and kicking with all their might. Then he would hand it to the boys and they would hand it to me. Now I did not go into this thinking I would be involved in toting nasty pigs over my shoulder, but that is exactly how it ended up. When we were done, we couldn't care less if those were the pigs they picked, we were covered in mud and stunk to high heaven. We then had to load up in Brian's work truck and drive an hour home. I had to stop at the closest gas station and we all half bathed in the sink. Then we had to drive with the windows down regardless of the cold temperature, because no matter how much we scrubbed we still smelled like pigs.

All the attaches that we all hear about pigs like 'happy as a pig in mud' ,'your room looks like a pig stye', 'you live in squaller', 'that looks like slop' all of them true. Wow are pigs disgusting. And yet when they look at you, mud up to their eyes(literally), and their ears are up and they wag their little curly tails I actually think they're cute!

Bandit the 15 yr old border collie is almost as happy as the 'pigs in mud' at her new charges. She is on constant vigils. If one escapes the pen, which they do several times a day, she is always behind them keeping them from harm. Then she will help to get them back in the pen when she sees you want them to. I think she is the happiest she has been in years. It gives us great joy to see her reliving her prime. I think it does everything under the sun good to do what we were created for. And I believe this farm was created for pigs.....