What a week.....

So here is how it seems to go here, I am hoping when we get all the bugs out it will get a little smoother...The old adage that it takes a village is a true statement here. I don't think we would make it without it.

Saturday: felled some trees, got the chain saw stuck. Used the ax to chop it out. Took 4 hours of the back breaking labour of 3 young men and 2 grown men. By the way, don't mess with an oak they will kick your butt.
Sunday:  Blessed rest. Went to Foster Falls, forgot all other life exists...2 two week old puppies dropped off in the brush by the river. Go to Tractor supply and get goats milk, man I wish my goats were in milk! Gave them baths in Liquid dawn detergent to get all the fleas off them. Friend came by to look at re-machining a part for the tractor. I think it will work, maybe we can get the tractor fixed tomorrow...

Monday:  Woke up to dead chickens from crazy dogs(The other puppies that were dropped off at the river). Buried 12 bodies. Secured pen. Built New coop. Ran new fence for chicken yard. Goat on cars, driving everyone nuts...with fix tommorow. Oh yeah and music lessons.Goats learn how to jump fence into new chicken enclosure to eat thier food. . The Septic tank people were supposed to come and put in the septic tank today, but they came and measured again(3rd time, 3rd crew) get in truck wave and tell us they will be here tomorrow....``
Made a gate between teh goat/chicken pen so hopefully the goats can't get in...Do more clearing on the home site. Oh wait, when the guys were choping the oak, they accidentally knicked the gas tank of the chain saw. Must get epoxy to repair. Brian fixes tractor because the parts are finally in, finds out he needs a new wiring harness as well, o.k so start over tomorrow?

Tuesday:   Go to 4-H at 10:30. And Forrestry class at 3:30. Thankfully John can take themBuilt  new pen at bottom of the hill for goats. Much better. They hate it and it is hallarious trying to get them to it. They are stubburn and highly distractable. Sounds like the kids. No septic guys. I will make a zip line for the goats....tomorrow.

Wednesday:  Grocery day is no joke here. It is a 45 minute drive to the biggest town where they have an Aldi's so we don't spend a fortune on food. It is a four hour affair every 2 weeks. I am not complaining, I love living so far from a big town, but man...Make sure you don't forget anything. Kids call about 14 times to let us know we need this or that. Left at 12am returned at 4pm. still no septic guys...Tomorrow?

Thursday:  Boys and John finnishing porch railing, but then need to go pick up Cinder blocks for foundation, Yay!!!  Left at 3pm. O.k. so Nate, JonAnn and I will finnish porch railing no big deal...Call at 7:30pm broken down on side of road. The trailor was over filled and teh tongue broke. Need to find a truck to pick up the blocks from the side of the road. Called everywhere, no trucks for rent tonight, just have to leave them there. Go pick-up stuff from back of Brian's truck so he can at least load some of the bricks tonight. Get there at 9pm. All of us go back over the mountain to home. JonAnn has house and kids beautifuly clean and quiet. Our mantra: We'll do it tomorrow....

Friday: Today starts at 4:30am. Got to make 3 trips over the mountain to pick up those bricks in Brian's truck. Boys are troopers. Ran goat zip line, they still hate it. Have to get Faith my goat wisperer to coax them down the hill. Lost another baby chick to natural causes. Muck out all pens, get every animal food and water. When do I get my coffee?  Shower?  Oh well there is always tomorrow......

Still no septic guys....

Foster Falls

My sister's husband is from this are and he knew of this place and took her. After she saw it, she had to bring us all to see it. So nature school day was spent in this spiritual nexus. The children learned about trees and plants in this old-growth forrest. Then they got to be released to just explore on their own.

There are all kinds of rock climbers here, so being inspired, the kids decided to try it themselves.

They had a wonderful time, so we had to take Brian back with us on Sunday. This is only 17 miles from our house located in Jasper, TN. Just another place to enjoy the works of God.

Found Beauty

We discovered this cave while driving up signal mountain on Hwy. 28 out of Dunlap, TN. This is probably 12 miles from our house. The kids enjoy dicovering these little hidy-holes that are peppered thoughout this region. We live in such a place of beauty. I am constantly in awe.

A view of the ceiling.

Another view of the ceiling of the cave.

A stalagtite that had fallen.

Mom and the kids hiking up from one side of the inner chamber to the area where the pond is.

This is the entrance from the road.

Our own castle

I see why cave people lived in these.

This is the pond inside the cave

Entrance of cave looking out.

This is a view of our valley from atop signal mountain.

The goats will live....

Well today I woke at 6am to find diarrhea all over the goat pen. Had no idea what it was, but yucky great goo. So anyway, have no vet-she was on barn calls all day, no feed store sells over-the-counter antibiotics, and I have an herbal goat handbook. So, I go to work. I started out by cleaning up the barn and making them all a breakfast of 1 c. oats, 2 charcole tablets(crushed), 1 tsp powder marshmallow root, 1 garlic clove(minced), 2 tblsp slipperyelm bark, and 1 tbsp whole fennel seed mixed 2 tbsp mollases. Gave each of them their ration and 2 ate it up. End of scours for them. One of my goaty girls felt to ill to partake so we made her a tea of Sage leaf, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and fennel. Mixed in a syringe with 2 charcole tablets administered 20 cc every 2 hours+ giving her electrolytes. By her 3rd dose she was starting to nibble at the breakfast ration I had made her. By dose 4 she has started eating grain, scouring less frequently, and by dose 5 is getting up and shoving the buckling around and eating. She still had a bit of scour at her final dose before bed, but is MUCH improved. 

Interestingly we have been treating baby chicks who appear to have a bit of Coccidiosis with the same tea with 2 drops eucalyptus and 2 drops turpentine mixed with it. They are markedly improved from their almost death state. They are about ready to go back to the regular pen. 

Sometimes when all you have is the good Lord and some herbs-Well, that is alright too...

I also found out that going out of town, even for a day is nearly impossible with animals. I knew that but with a new farm where everything is off the hip, I never really understood that. So the kids and I made a rabbit/bitty pen, 2 new stalls, a roving chicken pen-which we ended up having to move to one of the stalls because of the dogs, 2 self watering/feeders for the dogs, and treat the sick animals. Will I ever get out of here?

Despite it all, well inbetween wanting to lay down and cry about it, I do love this life. Being here is all it was cracked up to be plus some, but it is not always smooth. In fact not much has been smooth. Then again what in life is, right?