P.S.

And I am thankful that my friend, Kay, and her Maremma, Phoebe, have been reunited!  That's right!  Phoebe was found many miles from home - in the bordering state of Massachusetts.  That's a long way by paw.  She's thin and covered with ticks, but so happy to be home.  Hurray!

Giving Thanks.

I am very thankful that I had five years to enjoy the sheep-ness of Flora.  She was the matriarch even then, the steady one, the patient one (with my bunglings).  She had beautiful lambs and I am thankful that I have Juno, her first born on this farm, and Linden, her grandson who inherited her sweet nature and beautiful fleece.  (I forgot to add how thankful I am for R's wonderful photographs...)

I am thankful that I have a job that supports me and all my dependents.  I am not quite as thankful for the long commute, but thankfully I only have to make the trip five days a week!

I am thankful that I live in a country that offers me so many freedoms - freedom to cast my vote.  Freedom to speak my mind (or write it).  Freedom to live where I want, move when I want, or to put signs in my front yard - even though someone feels equally free to be able to steal them...

I am thankful that I live in a place where I have enough room to grow my food and can have my furred and feathered friends that add so much to my life, my happiness and my well-being.

And I am always thankful for those Americans who have fought for and defended the freedoms I hold dear.  I cannot literally or figuratively thank them enough. 

Thinking outside of the lettuce.

Faced with the need to plan a week of packed lunches that ALWAYS include a salad, I was stymied.  I had managed to nurse a few lettuce plants along in my cold frame, but the bulk of what was left was made into Flora's last meal (she loved lettuce - the good girl).   I have made the decision to eat seasonally this winter.  You know me - I "heart" a challenge.  I figure I have a well-stocked pantry and am fairly creative, so I should be able to see myself through....100+ salads....hmmm.

The first one I made was with brown lentils, chopped tart apples, chopped, cooked potato, chopped red onion and parsley.  I precooked the potatoes and cooled them, then I presoaked the lentils, heated olive oil in a pan and stirred in curry and sea salt, then added the lentils, coated them in the spices and added water to cover, simmering them until they were just done.  I drained the lentils and cooled them to room temperature.  While the lentils were cooking, I cored and chopped the apples and tossed them with lemon juice.  When everything was about the same temperature, I threw it all together, added some chopped red onion and the surviving parsley from my window box and mixed it well.  Surprisingly good!  You have to admit - it sounds, well, odd.  This made enough to keep me going through three lunches, plus a little for my parents.  I didn't tell them everything that was in it, as sometimes, TMI can cause a more timid person from exploring new taste sensations, if you know what I mean.  I believe that mothers call it "hiding the veggies".

I have a nice head of cabbage in the fridge, more apples, a few oranges, there are dilly beans, corn salsa, pickled beets, tins of sardines and tuna, all KINDS of things.  I have nuts in the freezer, dried cranberries, there is leftover turkey coming up - I think I will make it! 

My favorite way to pack a salad for lunch?  I prepare the dressing and pour a small amount in the bottom of a wide-mouthed Mason jar.  Then I layer the salad, starting with the heartiest ingredients that won't mind a nice dressing soak.  Twist on the lid, and BobsYerUncle!   They can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days, depending on the ingredients, and all you have to do before eating is shake the jar well.  I was feeling quite smug about this method until I ran across it on the Internet.  I'm still calling it mine.

Do you have some creative salad ideas?  Share!!!!  With 100+ salads ahead of me, I need all the help I can get...

Aloha

A word that means both "Hello" and "Goodbye" seems appropriate to use for my sweet Flora.

The vet came last night and helped her on to a more peaceful journey.  So, as I said goodbye to my dear girl, I imagined that a bright, sunlit meadow full of lush, green grass was waiting to say hello to her.  Aloha, Flora.  I will miss you something awful.

Flora with the first LLF lamb

Monday Musings.

Self-sufficient.  Self-sustaining.  I wonder, is sufficient enough?  Is sustaining just the minimum?  Should we be self-thriving?  There are times when I feel that this is all such a struggle, and what is it for in the end?  I think that part of the joy for me is the process - the learning of new things; the challenges.  Can I stop at the store and buy a bottle of vanilla extract?  Of course.  But I would rather make my own.  A lot of the things I have learned have been out of necessity.  I am a one-income family and my time is spread pretty thin.  That combination is ripe for self-instruction!  I can't call the vet for every injection, so I learned how to do it myself.  Clogged drains, rodent problems, plumbing problems, holes in the wall, broken thises and thats, I call me. 

I am not a doom-and-gloom, end-of-the-world type.  I am ever hopeful.  A long time ago, I decided that this type of outlook was way healthier for me and I'm sticking to it.  I have gone through a lot to get where I am today, and I would like to think that I am getting close to self-thriving.  I would like to think that I am pretty much up to any challenge - because I'm not afraid of failing.  Joel Salatin gave a great example in his latest book about a baby just beginning to stand on her own - she struggles up on her own two feet, then teeters and falls back down.  Her parents and grandparents cheer her on - they are so proud!  Do they say, "Rosemary, if you can't stand up correctly, just go sit down".  (I am flagrantly paraphrasing).  It seems to me that we all tend to lose our cheering section as we get older.  Hell's bells - if you don't have one, create your own cheering section!  There is nothing wrong with feeling proud of what you can do, no matter what it is.  I don't trail regrets behind me like Marley's chains because I believe that things happen for a reason.  Sometimes that reason eludes you for years...other times, it's pretty obvious.  If this path I've chosen becomes an onerous and unhappy trek, then I'll stop and reassess.  Otherwise, I'm going to enjoy the journey and any twists and turns still left in it.

Giving thanks.

SweetLand Farm had a great idea and I am stealing it.  I hope she doesn't mind...in order to end this week on an 'up' note, and to continue the trend, I am going to list some things I am thankful for every Friday.  That is the plan - although I chafe at restrictions, as you know.  I may list them on random days.  I refuse to be pigeon-holed...

I am so very thankful, first of all, for all of you.  This single-homesteading business can wear you down when there's no one there to share the joys and sorrows.  Y'all are my rock.

I am thankful every minute of every day for the people I love - for my parents who retain their senses of humor, enough fortitude to be on their own at their age, for loving and supporting me no matter what I put them through.  For my sisters and my girlfriends and everyone else - you know who you are.  If not, I am slipping and I vow to do better!

I am thankful that I am able to live the life I do on my own, no matter how stressful it can be at times.  Mostly, it is wonderful.

These characters would fall under "The Ones I Love."

Hard Choices

One of the hardest things I've had to learn is that, no matter how difficult, heartbreaking, miserable, awful and tearful a decision might be, the buck stops with me.  I am the one who decided to bring the sheep/llama/chickens/turkeys/pigs/rabbits/quail/Guineas/cats/dogs/betas to Little Lucky Farm.  By taking that step, I stepped up and took responsibility for their care, health and happiness.  And I honestly feel (well, most of the time) that I am doing the best job I can. 

It's all just peachy keeno when things are going well.  When there is no hitch in the lambing, when you're out being mobbed for treats, handing out the hay.  But things can also go very wrong.  Like the time I went out to find a lamb rigid with a dangerously high fever brought about by tetanus - which was brought about because I didn't vaccinate them in a timely manner.  I was lucky and found her in time - and managed to race the hour to the vet, who saved her.  It was an expensive lesson, but only in hard cash, thank goodness.

Now I am faced with my all-time least favorite decision.  One that I would gladly hand off to just about anyone.  I have to make a quality of life decision.  It's not like these animals can tap me on the shoulder and say, "Hey, there.  I'm not enjoying my life here and I would appreciate it if you would help me out.  And whatever you decide is fine by me."  Flora has hit a wall and I was up most of the night thinking about what to do.  She totters around, she chews her cud, she is skin and bones.  It's not parasites - it's probably a combination of old age and cardiac problems and heaven only knows what else.  She will eat her grain, lying down to rest frequently.  More and more frequently.  It would be a lot easier if she showed signs of suffering.  But that old girl is a stoic.

So I have taken the first step and called the vet.  The next is to decide a day and time.  Then there are the logistics of what to do when she's 'late'.  She has to be moved.  She has to be buried.  The latter is the most difficult because I live on 90% stone.  Thankfully, my dairy farmer neighbor has offered to help. 

When all is done, the only thing left is the missing her. 


P.S.  Since we're on the subject of tough stuff, I'd appreciate it if you all would send some 'head homeward' thoughts this way.  Kay's dear Phoebe, her LGD, was apparently frightened out of her wits when their silo came down in the storm on Monday, ran off and hasn't come home.  We are all concerned for her and her brother misses her terribly.