SmallMeadow Farm

We've moved

2011-09-27T10:05:00.003-05:00

We've moved!
And though we sometimes go long periods of time without a post please check us out at: Thedancingfarmer.com

Thanks!

Guinea Hogs for sale & Guinea Hog Piglets for sale

2009-06-05T15:21:00.003-05:00

As of today we have a two week old litter of Guinea Hog Piglets—all registered—that are for sale.
2 out of the 6 are already spoken for but we have 2 males and 2 females left. We also have an adult female that is proven to sell also.

If you have been looking for a small farm pig to breed for a steady supply of meat or to help you till your garden and pastures without wreaking the havoc that large hogs can—this is the pig for you.
Easy to feed, easy to care for, and friendly (thus easy to move around simply by calling). Their smaller size makes them a dream to handle. Excellent for grass based farming their pleasant nature and size also makes them easy to pen if you need to —which on occasion does occur for even the most organized farm.

If you are interested in one of these piglets contact us at alandtc (at) catt.com

Generally we ask $300 for each piglet however in these economic times we are open to a bit of bartering. I am currently looking for two high percentage Lacaune and/or Friesian ewes. We are also open to other barter items---though I won't promise we will accept even if it is a good offer. Currently we do not need or desire: horses, llamas, boats or jet skis (thanks though).
Good quality bulk storage containers ---with gamma lids. Of course storage containers are not expensive items but...you never know what you might have that we might trade for.

Here are some pictures---enjoy---and feel free to contact us at alandtc ( at ) catt.com

I am adding new places...

2009-02-18T09:10:00.004-05:00

Things have changed here on our farm over the past 6ish months. Changes that have decreased by quite a bit my blogging. Now that the dust has settled and we have had some restructuring, some deletions and some new additions I am again ready to blog away. With a few changes. We will still be gardening organically, maybe even more so than before consider this economic climate, but we are now without sheep or cows at all. Sad I know..but there you have it. We do still have our American Guinea Hogs --who will get their very own page at my new site---and my newer additions of Muscovy ducks.
Chickens? Well they are always hanging around in various forms and ages. And so...though posting content will stay pretty much the same (a bit less politics maybe) I would like to say:

Check me out at my new home for my personal, homesteading, organic, food raising, and animal care (even for larger ruminant information or help) blog at:

Dancingfarmer.wordpress.com

Or my group blog with my wonderful homesteading friends at:

Womennotdabbling.wordpress.com

I will keep this blog going for the information that it has with the eventual possibility of moving it. Occasionally I will add to it but not frequently.

It's o.k......as long as it's not in my backyard

2009-01-13T14:07:00.003-05:00

Recently, during a gathering of neighbors, a man and I had a debate about the horrible terrible, hypocritical jerk....Al Gore. This gentlemen was flogging Mr. Gore because he, and other leftist extremists like him (that would be me), were behind the stopping of drilling (to save some idiotic polar bears and caribou) and building of nuclear and coal plants.
This gentlemen felt that coal in and of itself would more than help the U.S become self sufficient in terms of energy and we should go back to relying on it. Add drilling and nuclear and we were set for as long as he could see into the future. (Of course so many of us are very short sited now aren't we?) Just to finish summing this thought up...this man was in his late 30's. So much for the future.

Changing thoughts...not long ago on this very site I blogged about a new technology that was being tried out in the ocean. It sounds wonderful...and clean...and non invasive (anymore than humans are in general I suppose). One person commented that they thought it was still a bad idea and that really all people just needed to use less energy. Period. No other thing but just that.
Now...after some thought I do agree with that commenter. How we will actually accomplish this, and can we as a society, I don't know. I have thought about it and just don't see it happening without MAJOR complications forcing it. Like gas..being so high this last year. Now that it is low...people are back to buying big vehicles again. And letting them idol while they run in the store to buy something.
I also know I don't go to enough trouble to change my own personal consumption. Not as much as I should anyway...though I am trying to and do use many ways to reduce my consumption, but by no means am I an ace at it.
I do use some ways most average Americans don't even bother with like power bars to completely shut all power off to electronics not in use. I mean...most of it uses the same amount of energy while waiting for me to tell it what to do as it does while doing it. On the other hand at times I do leave the t.v running when I am really not paying complete attention to it as I clean and what not.

Moving on....I am sure you heard of the Tennessee coal ash spill. This spill is maybe 2 hours northeast of me as the crow flies (if that far). And of course as it moves downstream it will eventually make it's way down into the Tennessee River, through Chattanooga (near me) and on to places like Atlanta Georgia. All shit flows south now doesn't it?
And so...did you hear that a few weeks after the Tennessee spill, TVA had another one over in Alabama?
Here's the link.

I have always been completely against Nuclear Power. I have on this very blog posted about that a number of times. If for some reason you can't understand my rabid dog (and yes, I can get very mad about it) opinion on NO nuclear....please read the title of this post. Now think of these coal ash spills.

My thought is this: No persons life, and the total wasting of land, was worth a nuclear melt down to me just so I could leave all my lights on while I ran to the store. (know people that do that) Soooo...someone wouldn't steal my stuff???
So I could see into the upstairs window when I got home??? So I could tell what time it is in every single room I walk into and the t.v will respond without me first having to flick a switch. So that I could have a t.v in each room and watch my show as I walk around the house and never miss a part (know people that do this too).
Now....I feel the same way about coal. Now...I must get even more serious about my power use. Not just because coal is more common in my area but because NO person's life is worth trading for me to have a light on during the middle of the day while I walk down a very familiar hallway (know someone that does this also).

So...are you one of those people that thinks it's o.k as long as it's not in your back yard? If we aren't willing to live in the zone of the emergency evacuation signs for nuclear plants or under the towering walls holding back the poisonous ash then why do we expect others to? I mean how can we ask someone else and their child to do it if we won't?

My point is both that we need the government behind clean technology (and I don't mean clean coal) and we ALL need to conserve......as if our very life depended on it. Because in reality someone else's might.

Another New Year.

2009-01-06T13:15:00.002-05:00

Yeah, to another New Year. Happy New Year a bit late everyone.
Hopefully those following this blog keep up with my more day to day topics on Women Not Dabbling along with some other fine writers sharing homesteading information.

Since I am writing over there I am only occasionally posting here. Every so often, especially as gardening gets going again I will post a bit more day to day . Right now in the heart of winter I don't have as much to write about that will give you something good to read about (because really day to day about my life isn't that enjoyable I wouldn't think!)

Anyway...right now NAIS still seems to be on the plate so to speak and here is the newest update in my mail box. Please...keep up the good work!

USDA Issues New Memo

Creates Many Unanswered Questions

In September, the USDA issued a memo to animal health officials that mandated NAIS premises registration be used any time someone had any activity on their property (such as vaccinations or testing) conducted under any of the federal disease control programs. We publicized the memo in November, and a public outcry ensued. The September memo is posted at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/APHIS_PIN_Mandate_080922.pdf

On December 22, USDA issued a new memo, posted at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/VS_Memo_No.575.19.pdf, that revoked its September memo. The fact that USDA felt pressured to take this step is good news! But the new memo is far from being a complete victory.

On the last two pages of the new memo, USDA still provides for mandatory premises registration any time Veterinary Services personnel conduct an "activity" related to a federal disease control program, including such activities as vaccinations, certification, or surveillance. Moreover, accredited veterinarians are still expected to provide information on their clients to the government authorities to enable the voluntary or involuntary issuance of the NAIS registration.

At the very end of the document, USDA includes language indicating that a property owner might elect not to have a NAIS PIN assigned to the premises, but does not explain how that fits with the directives in the memo that "all locations" that have a disease program activity "will be identified" with a NAIS PIN." The ultimate effect is very unclear.

So, what is the difference between the two memos? The primary difference is that the new memo is more ambiguous. We've seen this before: in the original NAIS documents, USDA had a clear list of reportable events. By late 2007, USDA had vague categories such as "local" versus "regional" and "high priority" versus "low priority" to determine what comingling events were reportable. Apparently this is USDA's mode of operation. It puts out documents with clear provisions, and then responds to citizen protests by cloaking the next document in ambiguity, without making significant substantive changes.

The main improvement appears to be that people who choose not to be registered in NAIS will not be branded with a special code in the premises database, labeling them as dissenters.

In the new memo, USDA tries to reassure people by re-iterating that it has a procedure for people to opt out. However, if any "activity" for a disease program has occurred on the property, the property address will remain in the NAIS database.

In other words, the new memo appears to establish the following procedure:
1) If an animal health official or a federally accredited veterinarian conducts any activity (including vaccinations and certifications) under a federal disease control program (which includes brucellosis, tuberculosis, scrapie, pseudorabies, and equine infectious anemia), your information will be submitted to the agency and your property will be registered in the NAIS database
2) If you then ask to opt out, your personal information will be deleted, but the address of your property will remain in the database with the assigned PIN number since a "program activity" is associated with it.

The language of the memo leaves a lot of unanswered questions, including what is the role of the state authorities. USDA states that "when the State or producer, or person responsible, for the premises elects not to have a standardized PIN assigned to the premises," a state PIN will be issued. But is this only after the property is assigned a NAIS number and its owner seeks to opt out? And will the state authorities check if the registration is voluntary or not before sending people's information to the USDA to be placed in the NAIS database? And what "events" or "activities" will prevent people from being able to opt out and use a state PIN? This memo creates more questions than it answers.

Take Action #1: Contact Your State Agency and Legislators

Write a letter to your state agriculture department or animal health agency, asking them to respond in writing with an explanation of how they interpret the new USDA memo. Ask for a list of all of the specific events and activities, if any, that will result in a person's property being registered in the NAIS database. Ask them if they will allow a property owner to elect not to have a standardized PIN assigned to the premises. If they will, how will that be accomplished? A sample letter is below.

Be sure to send a copy of your letter to your state representative and senator! Attach a copy of both USDA memos, and ask your state legislator to support a state bill to prevent people from being forced into NAIS against their will. You can download the memos at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/Government-documents

Send a copy of your letter to your veterinarian, as well. Many vets have not even heard about these USDA memos, or are unclear about their being required to gather and report information about their clients for this program. It's important that vets know that their clients object to NAIS!

Sample Letter to State Agency

Dear _______________ [head of the state ag or animal health department]:

I recently received a copy of two memos (attached) issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The September memo explicitly provides that any state animal health authorities are to register people's property in the NAIS database, with or without the property owner's permission, anytime a listed activity occurs under a listed disease control program.

While the December memo states that it revokes the September memo, the ultimate effect is unclear because the December memo still provides that a NAIS premises ID number will be issued for "all locations involved in the administration of VS animal disease program activities conducted by VS personnel." The memo also states that "animal health officials" will collect the data needed to issue the ID number.

Then, at the very end of the new memo, a caveat is added which indicates that people might be able not to be assigned a NAIS premises identification number: "the State PIN will be issued when ... the State or producer, or person responsible, for the premises elects not to have a standardized PIN issued to the premises." What does this mean to citizens of this state? Will you allow property owners to "elect not to have a standardized PIN issued" to their property? If so, how will that be done and recorded?

The citizens of this state are entitled to know how your department intends to implement the latest memo, if at all. Please provide a written list of any and all events and activities that will result in your agency either issuing a NAIS premises ID number or providing data to the USDA that would enable the USDA to issue a NAIS premises ID number. If the answer depends on whether the activity occurs on or off the property, please specify that fact. Your written response should also clarify what use your agency, or other state authorities, will make of information submitted by veterinarians relating to their clients.

As a citizen of this state and an animal owner, I expect a prompt written response from your agency. Thank you for your time and attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,
Name
Address
City, State Zip
Email address

Cc: Your State Representative and Senator (with attached memos)

Take Action #2: Opt Out

If you think you may have been registered in NAIS, with or without your permission, you can find out by contacting your state NAIS coordinator (listed at http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/contact_us/directories.shtml). You can call or, more formally, send a letter that requests them to put their response in writing. If you have been registered, follow the steps listed on the Liberty Ark website at http://www.libertyark.net/opt_out.html for how to opt out. Ask for specific clarification as to whether your property will still have a PIN assigned to its address or not.

If you were registered without your permission, write your federal and state legislators and tell them! The myth that "NAIS is voluntary" has hampered efforts to get anti-NAIS legislation passed at both the federal and the state level, and the legislators need proof that the agencies are forcing people into the program.

Excerpts From The New Memo

You can download the memo at

http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/VS_Memo_No.575.19.pdf

The first three pages are mostly non-substantive. The key passages are found on the last two pages.

Page 4:

"All locations involved in the administration of VS animal disease program activities conducted by VS personnel will be identified with a standardized PIN [previously defined as the NAIS PIN]. ... In general, examples of the activities for which the issuance of a standardized PIN is applicable include vaccinations for disease programs; certification programs; surveillance programs; disease investigations; or inspections of import-export locations....
The issuance of the standardized PIN will be administered as follows:

A. Animal health officials will collect the defined data fields for submission through the Emergency Management Response System (EMRS) or the Animal Health and Surveillance Management System (AHSM) interface with the allocator to obtain a PIN for the premises. The premises record processed through the EMRS, AHSM, or other VS systems will be provided to the States so the records may be added electronically to the State's premises registration system.

B. Accredited veterinarians, while not directly involved in the issuance of the PIN, will collect the defined data fields on official disease program forms, including forms for VS National Animal Health Laboratory Network laboratories, for submission to the State or Federal office in that State."

Page 5:

"APHIS is considering rulemaking to establish the standardized PIN as the sole premises identification number, when a PIN is otherwise required or assigned. In the meantime, the State PIN will be issued in the administration of animal disease program activities when the State or producer, or person responsible, for the premises elects not to have a standardized PIN issued to the premises."

Please Support Our Work!

We have raised approximately $2,600 out of the $5,000 matching grant so far! Please help us to raise the rest by donating now at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/join-farfa to double your gift.

Any size donation helps, whether it's a $10 grassroots membership or a $500 lifetime member. Every dollar, and every member, counts!

Please help us to continue to be a strong voice for your interests. Become a new member or give an additional donation at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/join-farfa

Working together, we can make our voices heard.

Sincerely,

Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance

www.FarmAndRanchFreedom.org

Phone: 512-243-9404

Toll-free: 866-687-6452

Obama takes comments on NAIS

2008-12-31T12:32:00.003-05:00

This came in my email today. One of them ends today supposedly but if you see this late double check it. Don't miss the second web site ---one is his "official" and the other is a more personal (if that is the correct way to say it) web site. Both are taking comments on Nais.
SPEAK UP.....now is our chance to be heard!!

Online Action Items!

First round of voting on Change.org ends today

Two websites are allowing people to speak up about the issues they want President-Elect Obama to address when he takes office. The first is his official website: www.change.gov. The second is a private website: www.change.org. On both sites, only the top ideas will be presented to the administration, based on a voting process.

Both sites are currently running questions related to stopping the National Animal Identification System. The Change.Org site closes voting on the questions today! So as you make plans to ring in the new year, take a moment to make your voice heard.

Change.Org - Voting Ends Today!

The private website, www.change.org, will present the "Top 10 Ideas for America" to the Obama Adminsitration on Inauguration Day.

The first phase of the voting ends today, and the top 3 ideas in each category will be selected for the second round of voting. "Stop NAIS" is currently in third place in Agriculture, and the voting is very close! A few votes may make the difference between the Stop NAIS message making it to the next round, or not!

Step 1: If you are not already signed up for the site, register at: https://www.change.org/admin/sign_up

Step 2: Go to http://www.change.org/ideas/view/stop_nais Be sure to click the box labeled "vote!" to the left of the Stop NAIS! Simply leaving a comment does not count as a vote.

Change.Gov

The Obama Transition Team has set up a section calld "Open for Questions" on the official website. They have not specified the deadline for submitting or voting on questions, but said they will respond to the top issues "in the new year."

Step 1: Go to http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions20081229/

Step 2: Type "animal identification" or "nais" into the box next to "Search Questions"

Step 3: Click on the checkmark by the question to vote "yes". If you are not already signed in, you will be asked to, with a link at the top of the box.

We wish everyone a safe and happy New Year! Thank you for all of your activism and support in 2008.

Sincerely,

Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance

www.FarmAndRanchFreedom.org

Phone: 512-243-9404

Toll-free: 866-687-6452

We're making progress but.....

2008-12-17T20:20:00.002-05:00

This was in my mail today from Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.
One is to write a quick, brief email to your Congress person and/or Senator.
The other is to make a quick comment on a USDA proposal that closes for public comment on December 23rd.
These are fast and quick to do...but have big impact. Hopefully you can get to it.

P.S Anne...I found that link for you for the 10/16/08 post.

Appropriations Process Moving Forward with NAIS!

Last summer, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee included a provision to require USDA to purchase meat products for the School Lunch Program from premises registered with National Animal Identification System (NAIS). After a public outcry, the Senate Appropriations Committee did not include this provision in the Senate version of the bill. Both versions of the bill included funding for NAIS and related programs (WLIC, FAIR, and RFID research) of approximately $14 million, much less than the USDA had requested.

The appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2009 got stuck due to unrelated issues. Now the process is beginning to move again. Although the bills never made it to the floor, Congress is skipping several steps and moving straight to settling differences between the House Subcommittee-passed bill and the Senate full Committee-passed bill in a "staff conference." Staff will come up with a draft final bill in December, and are aiming for the end of this week (Dec. 19). The Congressional members will begin consideration of the appropriations bills in early January.

TAKE ACTION

1. If you live in one of the following states, please call the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member(s) from your state:
California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The names and phone numbers of the Subcommittee members are listed below.

2. If you do NOT live in one of the states listed above, please call your own Congressperson. If you do not know who represents you, you can find out at www.congress.org or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at: 202-224-3121 or toll-free at 866-340-9281 or 800-417-7666.

When you call, ask to speak to the staffer who handles appropriations. If you get their voice mail, leave the following message, or something in your own words that makes the same points:

MESSAGE:
My name is _________. I am a constituent [or live in your state, if you aren't in their district]. I am calling about the Agriculture Appropriations bill for 2009. I am opposed to NAIS, and I do not want it to be tied to the School Lunch Program. I ask that you work to keep this provision, which was in the House Subcommittee's version, out of the conference version of the Appropriations bill. Please follow the Senate version, which did not include any such provision. I also urge you to stop all funding for NAIS, particularly any mandatory or coercive programs. Thank you for all of your work.

It is very important to be succinct, brief, and polite! The staffers are extremely busy right now and working under a tight deadline. A short, clear message will be more effective than an in-depth conversation. And if you can, find something positive to say - whether about a specific position the Congressperson has taken recently, or simply a generic "thank you" - please be sure to add that.

U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture:

· Diane Feinstein (D-CA) - 202-224-3841
· Tom Harkin (D-IA) - 202-224-3254
· Richard Durbin (D-IL) - 202-224-2152
· Mitch McConnell (R-KY) - 202-224-2541
· Sam Brownback (R-KS) - 202-224-6521
· Kit Bond (R-MO) - 202-224-5721
· Thad Cochran (R-MS) - 202-224-5054
· Ben Nelson (D-NE) - 202-224-6551
· Byron Dorgan (D-ND) - 202-224-2551
· Arlen Specter (R-PA) - 202-224-4254
· Jack Reed (D- RI) - 202-224-4642
· Tim Johnson (D-SD)- 202-224-5842
· Bob Bennett (R-UT) - 202-224-5444
· Robert Byrd (D-WV) - 202-224-3954
· Herb Kohl, Chairman (D-WI) - 202-224-5653

U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture:

· Sam Farr (D-CA) - 202-225-2861
· Rosa DeLauro, Chair (D-CT) - 202-225-3661
· Allen Boyd (D-FL) - 202-225-5235
· Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) - 202-225-3631
· Jack Kingston (R-GA) - 202-225-5831
· Tom Latham (R-IA) - 202-225-5476
· Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) - 202-225-0773
· Rodney Alexander (R-LA) - 202-225-8490
· Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) - 202-225-4404
· Steven Rothman (D-NJ) - 202-225-5061
· Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) - 202-225-6335
· Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) - 202-225-4146

NEXT ONE:

Comment Period On Proposed Rule for Organic Livestock Ending Soon

Earlier this month, we sent an alert out about the USDA's proposed rule for organic livestock. As stated in that alert, FARFA and several other organizations requested that USDA extend the comment period on its proposed rule for organic livestock because of the complexity and scope of the rule.

The USDA has not responded to that request, and the comment period will close on Tuesday, December 23.

The new USDA rule proposal and its analysis total 26 pages, as published in the Federal Register. The draft rule complies with organic community requests to close loopholes being exploited by factory dairy farms confining their cattle. But it is also a much broader rewrite of federal organic regulations than anyone sought. The new rules, if enacted as currently written, would put many family-scale organic livestock farmers out of business.

Several organic organizations have collaborated on an "alternative" proposed rule that would stop factory farm abuses of the organics label, while not imposing overly burdensome and potentially harmful requirements on organic producers. You can find a copy of the "alternative" rule on the Cornucopia website The website also has a sample letter that you can use for your comments to the USDA.

If you wish to submit comments online, go to the Regulations web portal: www.regulations.gov Use the search terms "organic pasture." Cornucopia has also offered to hand deliver comments to the USDA if you email them to Cornucopia by noon on December 22 at: cultivate@cornucopia.org

Remember that public comments must be received by the USDA by December 23

Winter Gardening

2008-12-15T08:29:00.005-05:00

Sorry but I also posted this at womennotdabbling so if you read there it is a repeat. I don't usually do that but I wanted I liked how pretty the cabbage was so I decided to post here too :-D

On August 24th I started plants of Red Express Cabbage, Calabrese broccoli and some Nero di Toscano and Lacinato Kale. I put them out in the garden when they were still small and had just about 4 leaves each. Though they have not grown immensely in that time I wanted to post pictures of them to show encourage those of you that do not winter garden that it is easier than you think. The cabbage looks beautiful and the broccoli and kales look as if a few leaves have been tortured. We have though had two stir fry meals off the broccoli tops (no flowers bud yet) and many many meals off our kale. In actuality I have other larger Kale plants so don’t think I am a miracle worker getting many meals off these littler guys. My other kales were from this past spring and lasted through the summer and our waist high to me now. A few leaves will get burnt when it drops low at night but they keep growing new leaves each week and most never do discolor. We eat kale at least once a week if not more — yum.

There are a few reasons why people don’t plant winter foods. Sometimes summer burnout occurs (definitely my main problem) but another is lack of cold frames or frost fabrics and then there is also procrastination. We are all, of course, guilty of this last one. I know I do it when I am uncomfortable or unsure about how to do something. But just by looking at my pictures you can see that though we have had many nights that have dropped into the mid 20’s my plants have made it through without dying. No they do not have a cold frame cover on them nor did I drape frost fabric or quilts or any such thing over them. I could have of course…and they would look a tad nicer. But since my days have always come up in temperature I have not felt that I really HAD to mess with any of that yet. January and February are usually the months we really need frames and fabrics.

Now I know that I live in North Georgia, so of course it is a bit warmer. However, just by tweaking your dates you can accomplish the same thing that I have even if you live in colder areas. My point wasn’t really to tell you when to start or any of that but to show you that even if you don’t have a green house or huge cold frame or spun fabrics…..there are varieties of veggies out their that can do their thing really well even when cold. Which brings me to variety choices.

Part of the reason I decided not to cover some of my plants is I wanted to see if I could find varieties that would take my weather without really needing lots of help. One of the reasons I wanted to do this was because when it does warm up I keep forgetting to uncover the darn things–another of my problems with cold frames. I get busy and forget to open them on a sunny day. Another reason was I am essentially a lazy person on the inside so simpler is better as far as I am concerned. I felt if I could find varieties that will tolerate my nights and days then I may not need cold frames or at least won’t need them as long. Of course a green house would be lovely but since many of us do not have one we must experiment experiment experiment. Since each package of seed is a few dollars at most—less if you seed share—then it is an cheap experiment. My many meals have already paid for my experiment and I still have more lunches and dinners out there. All we needed to do was to read the descriptions on our choices to find some that were suited to colder weather. Here is were I will encourage you to join a group like seed savers since you can find seeds grown by people near you or even in colder areas than you. They can usually give you very good information on how each variety stood up to different weather patterns. Cold and dry, wet and warm, icy, snowy etc.

The last problem I find with growing winter veggies this late is finding meals to use them up in. But that is no big deal now is it? So…again…I am going to encourage you to try this “out of season” growing thing. You could start early this spring with your own experiments. Though do remember the smaller the plant the more likely it will need some cover. But don’t be afraid and don’t procrastinate because your not sure if you can do it. It’s really easier than you think and you will do the V8 smack on your forehead when you finally realize you put it off for so long.

And….last note. I am so sorry Dora didn’t make it M.P. Though I didn’t have time to put one together for today, next week I am going to do an article on sheep/goats and dog attacks and how to treat the animal. I hope to even have a very good friends home made salve recipe to add in—one that can be used for many types of wounds and has an excellent proven track record.

A great big THANK YOU

2008-12-11T09:14:00.002-05:00

Thank you so much to everyone that helped Phelan.

In just a few days the total was raised to help her and her family save their house. Yeah!!

I have to admit....I worried that not many would come through. I think based on what we see in the news, day to day and sometimes (even worse) how we see people that are suppose to be "believers" act---that we can feel as if there is no hope in humanity. Everyone is out for their selves it sometimes seems.

As I walked through those days I prayed and wished that at least half of the amount would come through ---and I hoped it would be within the time frame that it was needed in.
Yet to my surprise (and yes, I did cry) the WHOLE entire amount came through in just 2 days. Wow!! I can't even use enough superlatives to describe the feeling of amazement I have. I am astounded. Really! And for the rest of my life I have a story of how good people can be to tell others.

So....I wanted to thank every single one of you that donated and thank those that missed out because Phelan "pulled the button" and thank those that would have loved to---but have your own financial problems like many across the country do right now. Bless you and no matter who you are...where your from...what you believe...thank you. It is truly amazing what caring people can do for each other when we see someone in need.

It is better.....

2008-12-09T11:53:00.002-05:00

to give than receive.
I don't believe you could find any religion or human that doesn't agree with this.

And so I will tell the story of a friend.
My friend Phelan of A Homesteading Neophyte.
Who's family is just one of the many that we now know that have been affected by this terrible economic crisis affecting our country...and the world we are told.

Her family may lose their home----just in time for Christmas.
And though her husband and she have worked hard to make their payments and feed their children, her husband's new job does not pay close to his previous job lost earlier this year. Like many.

So...could I ask you to please read her story here? Read Monday Dec 8th's entry and the 9th's please.
And then...even if only a dollar .....could you please try and help her family make up the $1600 dollars they need? Also...could you send out a prayer or a wish of goodness to her and her husband and children? (There is a paypal button for convenience....she fought it but we -- her friends-- prevailed!)

And for those of you that are somewhat skeptical about things like this let me just say that there is a time to take a leap of faith.
Faith in humanity and our ability to move past the ugly we can sometimes encounter and help someone instead of just giving to an organization or a change jar or passing by altogether. I know many times in my life I have walked past someone struggling with something as simple as a door and not thought twice about helping---only later to kick myself for not doing something. This issue is much more important than the door though so please....don't walk past it.

And since we want everyone to realize we are on the up and up...you will be able to read Phelan's blog and keep up if she is able to stay on line through the library. If not...you can keep up with her through my blog here or my group blog at womennotdabbling.wordpress.com. We will absolutely keep everyone posted about how this turns out.

P.S....my computer is not "interfacing" with blogger correctly. Though I am told others can see this and I can get into this part to write, I can not see the actual blog nor reply to comments. Hopefully I will figure out this issue soon. Thanks for your understanding.

Trouble

2008-12-09T06:21:00.001-05:00

I seem to have trouble yet again with blogger. I can't seem to see my blog.
Hellooooo....is anyone out there?!

New idea for power

2008-12-01T16:25:00.001-05:00

Check this out (taken from the Telegraph UK)

Ocean currents can power the world, say scientists

A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim.

By Jasper Copping
Last Updated: 2:39PM GMT 29 Nov 2008

Existing technologies require an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots Photo: AP

The technology can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less than one knot - about one mile an hour - meaning it could operate on most waterways and sea beds around the globe.

Existing technologies which use water power, relying on the action of waves, tides or faster currents created by dams, are far more limited in where they can be used, and also cause greater obstructions when they are built in rivers or the sea. Turbines and water mills need an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots.

The new device, which has been inspired by the way fish swim, consists of a system of cylinders positioned horizontal to the water flow and attached to springs.

As water flows past, the cylinder creates vortices, which push and pull the cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations is then converted into electricity.

Cylinders arranged over a cubic metre of the sea or river bed in a flow of three knots can produce 51 watts. This is more efficient than similar-sized turbines or wave generators, and the amount of power produced can increase sharply if the flow is faster or if more cylinders are added.

A "field" of cylinders built on the sea bed over a 1km by 1.5km area, and the height of a two-storey house, with a flow of just three knots, could generate enough power for around 100,000 homes. Just a few of the cylinders, stacked in a short ladder, could power an anchored ship or a lighthouse.

Systems could be sited on river beds or suspended in the ocean. The scientists behind the technology, which has been developed in research funded by the US government, say that generating power in this way would potentially cost only around 3.5p per kilowatt hour, compared to about 4.5p for wind energy and between 10p and 31p for solar power. They say the technology would require up to 50 times less ocean acreage than wave power generation.

The system, conceived by scientists at the University of Michigan, is called Vivace, or "vortex-induced vibrations for aquatic clean energy".

Michael Bernitsas, a professor of naval architecture at the university, said it was based on the changes in water speed that are caused when a current flows past an obstruction. Eddies or vortices, formed in the water flow, can move objects up and down or left and right.

"This is a totally new method of extracting energy from water flow," said Mr Bernitsas. "Fish curve their bodies to glide between the vortices shed by the bodies of the fish in front of them. Their muscle power alone could not propel them through the water at the speed they go, so they ride in each other's wake."

Such vibrations, which were first observed 500 years ago by Leonardo DaVinci in the form of "Aeolian Tones", can cause damage to structures built in water, like docks and oil rigs. But Mr Bernitsas added: "We enhance the vibrations and harness this powerful and destructive force in nature.

"If we could harness 0.1 per cent of the energy in the ocean, we could support the energy needs of 15 billion people. In the English Channel, for example, there is a very strong current, so you produce a lot of power."

Because the parts only oscillate slowly, the technology is likely to be less harmful to aquatic wildlife than dams or water turbines. And as the installations can be positioned far below the surface of the sea, there would be less interference with shipping, recreational boat users, fishing and tourism.

The engineers are now deploying a prototype device in the Detroit River, which has a flow of less than two knots. Their work, funded by the US Department of Energy and the US Office of Naval Research, is published in the current issue of the quarterly Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.

Guinea Hogs for sale

2008-11-06T08:51:00.003-05:00

Please see our June 5th 2009 post for our latest litter of guinea hogs!

As an update we now have our guinea hog piglets back on the market. As of today I have 2 female and 1 male guinea hog piglets for sale. These are great small farm pigs. Their size and docile nature make them easy to care for yet they still grow into something you can eat. A fine utilizer of kitchen and garden scraps along with leftovers from butchering your chickens or other livestock they make good use of all the "stuff" we usually waste and turn it into a usable by products : food or manure.
We also use these pigs to till our empty garden spots and find them excellent for this purpose -- and better: no gas needed!

You can contact me if you are interested at: alandtc (@) catt.com

Have a great day all!

Wow!!

2008-11-05T08:11:00.002-05:00

WOW!!

I am continually amazed at my country!! How proud we should be that we have walked the talk of equality and democracy and not just talked the talk.

We can surely hold up our heads as a beacon of promise and hope to others.

Astounding!

Pass this along!

2008-10-28T08:39:00.003-05:00

Are you Poor? Black? White? Mexican? Young? New voter this election season?
Registered Democrat? Independent? Maybe even Republican?

Well you could possibly be disenfranchised this year. The warning is out. Forgot voter registration fraud the media keeps speaking about....I am talking about real voter voting fraud. Two entirely different things.
And before you read the "what to do section" below please also realize, no matter who you vote for, that some districts have ballots that if you register straight ticket it will not automatically register your Presidential vote --- you must fill in separately for the President even if it is the same straight ticket party you choose for the remainder of the ballot.

So, just in case you are challenged when it comes time to cast your vote here's what to do:

They're stealing your vote, but you can steal it back. Here are some steps you should take to protect your vote. First, avoid the November 4th minefield. Voters, wherever possible, should vote early and in person. Where feasible, avoid mailing in your ballot, many are rejected for flimsy reasons, and first time voters in many states must include a photocopy of ID. However, if you have a mail-in ballot, don't throw it away. Follow directions, use the correct postage (that's an error that cost a hundred thousand votes last time) and, if possible, walk it in to your elections office.

At the polling station, should you find yourself one of the 2.7 million purged, or your ID rejected, then do your best to resist a "provisional" ballot--one third of which are not counted. Return with proper ID, or call 1-800-OUR VOTE for legal assistance. And never just walk away discouraged. That's just what they want you to do.

Will your vote count?---you should check.

2008-10-22T07:24:00.007-05:00

In the recent media coverage of Acorn we are all hearing, yet again, about voter fraud. However there are a few things we aren't hearing covered adequately and that we need to understand....then check to make sure our vote will count.
The recent media blitz began when we learned that Acorn may have some "bad" registrations. And just so you know...bad registrations do occur however Acorn is not, by law, allowed to purge a registration it thinks may be bad. It can only flag them and point them out. Like Mickey Mouse---it gets flagged. Now...truly in this day and age there could be someone named Mickey Mouse. Which is why Acorn has to flag it and can't purge it. The state government is the one that will do that after it checks out whether it does or does not have a state resident named...you guessed it: Mickey Mouse. By hiring down on it's luck people (drunks, homeless etc) Acorn has helped get some individuals paying jobs. Some of these individuals, however, have shirked their duty and responsibilities and instead of finding unregistered voters have instead filled in random names. Now, let's at least applaud the fact, that like the Salvation Army, Acorn has used people that generally can not get jobs. Unfortunately they are paying a price for it. And instead of going on about this I would like you to read a very good article about voting fraud and disenfranchisement both of which are different than Acorn's voter registration issues.

If you haven't seen Robert F Kennedy Jr. interviewed this week, or read his article yet in Rolling Stones magazine titled "Blocking the Vote" do so now. Please.

Did you read it? Now pass it on to someone else. Voting is important and voting fraud and disenfranchisement outweighs voter registration fraud (or more accurately registration problems) by a long shot.

Then? Find your Secretary of State web site. It will have all the information about voting on it somewhere. Check information as to whether or not your state requires exact id match --- and I do mean exact in some states. Right down to whether you did or did not use your full middle name or just the initial. Or maybe your name is similar to someone who committed a crime and so it is purged for that reason. Or a data entry clerk made a mistake...and your purged.
If your state does require such exactness...and your name doesn't match correctly...or maybe your were illegally purged....you still have time in most places to fix it. (Don't wait, and don't not do it, every vote is important and every vote should count)
I don't know exactly how the web site will be set up but if you live in Georgia, their poll checker site here. When you click on that link go down to the section titled voting procedures. Read the paragraph and you will come across a somewhat hidden blue colored link that says: poll locater. Click on it and you can fill in your information. It is a link to help you find your voting precinct, and if it gives you your polling site then you are still on the rolls as of today. As far as I understand anyway.

posse comitatus

2008-10-19T09:21:00.003-05:00

In the beginning the founding fathers felt it was wrong to have a standing army keeping the citizens in line as King George did. As we all know or should, from our history books, using an army to keep civil unrest down (or technically: laws from being broken) can lead to abuse of powers.
Later, during various times of our history and especially after the Civil War, there were supposed or "imagined" abuses of power by the army. So...we got the Posse Comitatus Law of 1876. A bit more about the history is here.

So, knowing the history do you think it's a good law or bad? Personally I think it's a great law, reflective of our founding father's thoughts on Democracy, and a law that makes our country stand out above many others that use their military to control their population (also known as Fascism).

Recently though, our rights have been eroded, yet again, by our standing President. Democracy Now!

Now that you know what's recently happened let's go back a little farther to 2001 after the September 11th attacks to where some of this first began in an article on Fox News.
Then on to Hurricane Katrina.

Abuse of power can happen even in the most simple sounding of cases.

This just goes to show why sometimes people are so against things that sound "good". In an unrelated post earlier this year (I feel overwhelmed) an anonymous commenter said not to get worked up because the article I quoted from was an alarmist/extremists position.
I don't know....I may be an alarmist sometimes or quote from alarmist articles, however history shows that positions of power can and will be abused often enough that we don't need to weaken our laws to accommodate them.

As soon as we get a new President...no matter which one it is....I have this Posse Comitatus jewel on my list to write in opposition to. (clarification added 10/20/08---I am going to write in opposition to the changes to Posse Comitatus, not the actual law. I realized when I re read my post that I was ambiguous as to what I was against. Sorry)

I know it's not on our mind but.....

2008-10-16T08:00:00.004-05:00

With all the economic problems, health care problems, gasoline problems and job problems we face as a nation some things may slip to the back burner...so to speak.
However this has come across from the associated press today and I feel we need to....I don't know. Write our Senators? Wait until we have a new President and write him? Write homeland security?

And before you click on the link below (update 12/17 --informed that link not working so I pasted in the information -- sorry about that) let me ask you one thing to mention if by chance you do write or call your representatives or the President. Please point out that while they have, and still are, spending millions to try and have small farmers (not industrial farms---their excluded) tag every single food producing animal down to fish with their idiotic NAIS (national animal identification system) they are allowing something far more dangerous to go unfunded. Something that is ultimately more dangerous to me than if my neighbor sells his cow to someone a few miles away and (GASP!!) the government doesn't know about it.

updated 5:42 a.m. ET, Thurs., Oct. 16, 2008

WASHINGTON - Intruders could easily break into two U.S. laboratories where researchers handle some of the world's deadliest germs, according to congressional investigators. The Associated Press identified the vulnerable lab locations as Atlanta and San Antonio.

The serious security problems at the two labs were described by the Government Accountability Office in a report expected to be released publicly as early as Thursday. The GAO, Congress' investigative and auditing arm, did not identify the labs except to say they were classified as Biosafety Level 4 facilities, but the report included enough details for the AP — and others knowledgeable about such labs — to determine their locations. Biosafety Level 4 labs do research on deadly germs and toxins.

In Texas, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research features an outside window that looks directly into the room where the deadly germs are handled. The lab, which is privately run, also lacks many security cameras, intrusion detection alarms or visible armed guards at its public entrances. Officials there said they will tighten security.

"We already have an initiative under way to look at perimeter security," said Kenneth Trevett, president of the lab in San Antonio. "We're waiting for additional input but we're not waiting long. The GAO would like us to do some fairly significant things. They would like us to do it sooner rather than later."

Unguarded loading dock
The other lab described with weak security in the report is operated by Georgia State University in Atlanta. That lab lacked complete security barriers and any integrated security system, including any live monitoring by security cameras. During their review, investigators said they watched an unidentified pedestrian enter the building through an unguarded loading dock.

"Georgia State clearly wants its BSL-4 to be as safe as possible," said DeAnna Hines, assistant vice president for university relations. "We are already taking steps that will enhance the lab's safety and security standards." Hines did not confirm the school's research lab was the one mentioned in the congressional report as lacking proper security.

Investigators said the lab in San Antonio used unarmed guards inside antiquated guardhouses with a gate across the access road. An outside company monitors alarms at the lab and calls police in emergencies, which investigators said could delay a quick response in a crisis. They called the San Antonio lab the most vulnerable of all the labs they studied.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the labs in San Antonio and Atlanta to handle the deadly organisms despite the security weaknesses. The three other BSL-4 labs in the U.S. feature impressive security, the report said. Those include the CDC's own facility, also in Atlanta; the Army's lab at Fort Detrick, Md.; and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Fort Detrick is on a secure military base, but it is known for a recent internal problem. Bruce Ivins, a scientist at the Army's biodefense lab at Fort Detrick, killed himself in July as prosecutors prepared to indict him for murder in the anthrax letter attacks, which killed five people.

Ebola research
The CDC lab is on the agency's high-security campus.

The viruses researched in the highest security labs include ebola, marburg, junin and lassa. All can cause incurable illnesses.

The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., urged the CDC to quickly identify all security weaknesses at the high-containment research labs and fix any problems. Dingell has been investigating security problems associated with such labs around the country. He said at least six additional high-containment labs are under construction.

The Associated Press reported in October 2007 that U.S. laboratories working with deadly organisms have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003 — and the number is increasing as more labs do the work.

A CDC spokesman, Von Roebuck, said each of the five labs described in the new report has its own security plan designed to fit the lab's particular security assessments.

What does this bailout mean?

2008-10-15T08:32:00.002-05:00

This just gets worse and worse.
Now I have to admit that I (not being an economics major) thought that infusing the banks with a bit of cash so they could/would loan again might be a good idea. A good idea as long as the government got the heck out of dodge when they were no longer needed.
However it looks by this recent article in the Washington Post that the government is going to force smaller banks to take these loans irregardless of if they want them or not.

Read it yourself (click on the box/words) -- and good luck to all of us. We may need it more than we think:

Smaller Banks Resist Federal Cash Infusions

Guinea Hog piglets!

2008-10-13T10:12:00.005-05:00

Two days sooner than expected and we have guinea hog piglets!
2 girls and 2 boys.

Actually it was 3 girls and 2 boys but it looks as if mom, being a newbie at this, didn't get the first piglet cleaned off and it suffocated. Too bad---but we're still happy with our take.

They are cute as a button and mom and dad are in with them and don't have a problem with us "loving them up".

This is a wonderful breed of pig we have found easy to care for. We will be also selling these babies so contact me if your interested.

One last thing: We would LOVE to trade a proven adult guinea hog boar (or a youngster) with someone -- want to trade? Let's work a deal!

I HAVE to??

2008-10-09T11:49:00.005-05:00

Whether you watched Tuesday's Presidential debate is irrelevant. More than likely you have by now heard that McCain has come up with a new program to help struggling homeowners. This new program, which McCain wants started immediately is to have the Treasury buy back the defaulted loans at loan value.
What this means is that if the home was purchased at 250,000 but is now only worth 200,000 ---we (the taxpayers) get to eat completely that 50,000. Here's a quote from McCain's adviser from an article about this in the Washington Post (article here):

Douglas Holtz-Eakin (McCain's senior policy adviser) said that taxpayers have to cover the loss because the economy has deteriorated so rapidly. "That's the only way to get a rapid and broad-based response."

I say....Bu$$crap!!
Now I am one of the most bleeding heart liberals that I know. However I think the mortgage companies that made these bad loans should eat that 50,000. Not ME. I PAY my mortgage---and have "made do" without a number of things recently that I would have liked to have had if the economy wasn't so bad-- but I have still paid my mortgage. Don't get me wrong I realize that some people have lost their jobs...and I think we should help them but there is a difference between that and buying a home to expensive for what you make. I do know that some people were "preyed" on. However, I also believe that anyone that has ever lived out on their own should have a least a basic idea of how much home they can, and conversely can't, afford.

I think food and medicine are a God given right---especially in as rich of a country as we used to be or even still are comparative to most countries. However, buying someone a house is crap. No one bought my house and I started out with a small one that was in a bad neighborhood for my first. I have saved and worked to build equity to afford what I have now. My home is now worth about 35,000 less than it was---since I would like to sell it will the government come pay me that difference of what I will lose?? You betcha they won't.

Some of the hardest things

2008-10-08T08:10:00.005-05:00

Please see Womennotdabbling for more continuous homesteading information. I write on Mondays but each day is filled with useful information from a variety of writers.

As I have mentioned previously changes are occurring here in our family and though I can't yet say if more is to come, I can say with certainty that we will be selling our home to move. That is partly why I have not been posting very much---we still have a bit of work on the house that needed finishing.
No, don't worry about us -- it's not the economy. We have however come to the realization that as our children have become older (and less often here) that this home is too big for us. It is a home that would be better suited to someone with a family still young enough to be home to fill it regularly.

We have worked hard on our home and will regret selling it for that reason but the chance to downsize (ie smaller square footage) and start with a clean slate (ie new garden) is not unappealing either. Yes, we will yet again have much work to improve our soil to make it grow and produce well for us but one thing I have gleaned more of than anything else from this property is: Experience

And because this property was large enough to own more than just a few of anyone animal and to raise livestock on a larger scale than ever before, we learned much. We learned volumes about nutrition, minerals, health of livestock as it relates to the quality of the soil, butchering, "the circle of life", and diversity in both plants and livestock for optimum use of resources.

So...to expand on my new found experience here are some of the hardest things I learned:

1) Digging fresh new ground for the first time ---1000's more square feet more than ever before. Whether by hand or tiller it's hard hard work. Especially when the smallest section is still 4 times larger than my previous largest section.
2) How to effectively (the key word here) use cover crops. I am still working on that one.
3) growing year round---that one doesn't take as long to figure out and my climate also helps a lot.
4)How to build a fence that is livestock proof from everything from a cow to a dog to a sheep and on down to a chicken. By this I mean how to build it once---not 4 times coming back to the same fence. Been there done that.
5) How to pack a fence post so it lasts and how to repair a fence and move livestock in the driving rain of a bad thunder and lightening storm.
6) How not to cry each time we kill, skin and butcher an animal.
7) How to eat the sheep we butchered the next day instead of weeks or months afterward. That was a really hard one.
8)To not be so squeamish that I can't finish the "circle of life" by allowing the other animals to eat the leftovers of the carcass. (Most specifically the head---that's just still kind of icky to watch the other animals chew and gnaw on)
9)To have more respect and appreciation for what it takes to make your entire living off of farming. It's not easy---ever.

Homesteading is in my soul. I can't imagine not, in some form or fashion, being somewhat self sufficient-- so my next home will include plans for feeding my family just with a smaller house. It is however full of hard physical and mental work and I realize now that we should never take for granted what it takes out of a farmer and his family. I do also realize though that to get the best food value for our money and not just the cheapest, that paying farmers living wages is something we need to address in this country. We need food that nourishes us---made on a farm where a farmer has pride in what he does. We don't need cheap food that comes from countries or places in the U.S where the only pride is in making a larger profit range.
Just my thoughts. Good week everyone.

Health Care and Tax Cuts

2008-10-07T13:21:00.002-05:00

Here's a link to an article comparing McCain's and Obama's health care plans. The article speaks mostly about McCain's plan but at the end tells the cost of both plans and who/how many will be affected and/or reap benefits.

Also, want to know how each candidates overall tax plan will affect your yearly bill? Here's a link to a site where you can plus in your basic tax information and get an overall view of what your tax bill will be using both candidates plans. Use your last years tax information and you can comparative look based on a Bush, McCain and Obama plan.
www.electiontaxes.com

what I would like to know (not that it matters to the economy at all)

2008-10-06T16:07:00.004-05:00

Though I only wanted a campaign filled with ideas and solutions that is not to be the case. And though I tried to keep an open mind about each candidate I was leaning (I'll admit) a bit democratically. However Sara Palin was an interesting choice...until she opened her mouth. Now she may be able to debate by not answering the questions but when it comes to answering questions she makes me embarrassed to know that the first women VP or Pres that would stand for America could be that un smart sounding. Sorry....but during nuclear talks with Russia I REALLY doubt Putin will give a ding dang about being winked at.

So....on to the newest politcal cut the repubs are throwing at Obama. What I want to know is why:

conservatives may not want to draw attention to the issue of ties to violent radicals -- since John McCain is longtime pals with convicted Watergate burglar Gordon Liddy, who once plotted a journalist's murder (which was never carried out) and has advocated the shooting of federal law enforcement agents.

If Obama needs to answer questions about Ayers, McCain has the same obligation regarding Liddy. How about they both get started?

Understanding our Energy Options

2008-09-09T06:49:00.005-05:00

for a homesteading only blog please see womennotdabbling.worpress.com

So, as the candidates, Presidential that is, fight over what the heck to do about our energy problem----we need to understand our options so we can make informed voter decisions. No matter what your top issue may be to help you decide who to vote for, energy is going to stay on our plate for a long time whether or not we want to face it right now. Even if you believe this affects the environment, and therefor that makes it important to talk about, is also in my opinion irregardless. (I do believe it has an impact so don't pound me for that statement)
Energy, no matter why we are concerned, definitely has an impact on our economy and since about the 70s.....our national security. The economy is our number one issue so I hear, though I am sure there are some that still have other issues that outrank that one. Probably not many but...
But back to energy, if we don't deal with this now, at some point we will pay the price of waiting. By dealing with it I do not mean mouthing platitudes or throwing us to the wolves of the establishment who do not seem able to help us move beyond were they will make another dollar.

Now I know some of you will be for options I am not for. That's o.k. However lets make our choices for helping our country energy wise based on fact.....not opinions. I do not know the perfect solution for our country. I do know that, I , me, myself, person numero uno would prefer something other than having to bury nuclear waste in someone else's back yard. And for clarification I can say with extreme certainty that the nuclear waste the U.S makes won't be buried in my back yard. That I believe is one reason why many people don't have a problem with nuclear. If I had to bury every bit I consumed on my property not only would I rip my kids for leaving on the lights (o.k I already do that but you get the point) but I would be much more likely to turn off the ac and use less electronic "gadgets". Technically, if I never thought about were the waste would go, I could waste all the energy I want to because it won't be "my problem".

Responding to safety concerns that have long stalled the nuclear industry's growth, McCain boasts that the Navy, in which he served as a fighter pilot, has safely operated nuclear power plants in aircraft carriers and submarines without an accident in 60 years.

here is the article about the sub

Beyond nuclear, I know windmills have really come under fire recently. As a matter of fact some really interesting false facts are coming out and also just some general misinformation (see my link in this sentence).
The biggest is the bird kill issue. Well for one...windmills are much different than they were even 4 years ago. However, and this is not because I read it somewhere, why don't we whine about cars killing all the birds? My husband accidentally hit a bluebird. He didn't know he hadn't missed it until he got to work and found it still stuck to his grill. I have also barely missed many owls and hawks during my driving. As far as I understand the bird kill problem is much much less likely with these newer turbine designs and here is one link to check out about this possible myth. I say possible because I do not know for sure. You can also find others but please find some that are up to date...not years and years old and do pay attention to the actual turbine design in the pictures.

Another myth I personally heard with my own ears is a gentlemen that called into my local talk radio station one afternoon. He said "environmentalist" were trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes (wool is sustainable now that I think about it) because he had heard and READ on line that the windmill actually needed regular power from a power plant to turn it. 90% of the power a windmill made actually came from the power plant itself. The show's host tried to get the exact web site but the guy couldn't tell him the name. The host did say he had heard others speak of that on a few occasions. He, like me, doesn't believe that....I mean....we've had windmills making power, pumping water and running businesses long before power plants have been here to "help them".
I looked on line but couldn't find this wonderful font of misinformation myself but maybe one of you can.
Another thing my husband and I recently were asked by a well meaning friend is "Why would T. Boone Pickens bother to back windmills? How would windmills help us save gas?"
Well, most people don't know that most of the power plants in Texas, and I am sure some other states, are actually powered by natural gas. The one we lived about 4 miles from was. If we could substitute wind power to power homes and businesses we can free up that natural gas to power cars. Natural gas is much much cleaner than petroleum AND the engine it powers will last longer because the gas doesn't "gunk up" the engine as readily. A win win situation. That's not even taking into account putting up solar panels on many homes in sunnier areas like Texas.

Speaking of that let me also point out that Obama has said he would invest 150 million for sustainable energy. That my dear friends is government money building clean energy, independent of foreign oil and the sometimes wildly fluctuating oil market (more on that below), and job creation all with one bang. There will be businesses to churn out those windmills or solar panels. People will be needed to install and maintain them. Taxes will be paid and local economies will have job growth. Oh yes tax payers will pay for it, at least initially don't you doubt for a minute, but McCain will only give you a tax credit for sustainable. For the average homeowner that will be the sum total of about a $300 dollar tax credit. Now don't confuse a credit with a refund. This is not a refund. They are not the same. And a tax credit does NOT help us. At least not very much. I itemize....I can assure you an average $300 tax credit doesn't do much for me. That was what we would have received this past year if we put up a solar water panel based on the current tax credits offered (they expire at the end of this year). Most people will not be able to afford sustainable (wind or solar) right in their own yard until the government gets behind it to help the cost come down. That my friends means spending tax payer dollars. Bummer...but there you have it. And any person that bitches about it should remember all the "bail outs" we have had for big businesses and some of those being considered even now. I'd rather spend my tax payer money creating jobs, energy independence and gross national production than bailing out some non progressive thinking car manufacturer.

And lest we forget, speaking of tax payer money, every time a nuclear power plant goes up tax payers paid for it. Build one in Florida....we all pay. Plus New Mexico gets to eventually bury the waste in various spots including some new ones recently slated to open. If it melts down the nuclear company isn't even libal AT ALL to repay for any damages. So sayeth the government. If they were not subsidized, were required to carry insurance and possibly pay for any damages they wouldn't be financial viable. Solar, wind, even clean coal would all beat nuclear out for price. However even with clean coal...same thing....we all pay. Except in this case someone's mountain gets blown apart and someone down wind might get asthma.
That old saying "not in my back yard" is a cop out. We are all responsible for using energy and we SHOULD NOT force others to pay for our consumption.

One thing I did not realize about off shore drilling I would like to mention is something I watched recently (last night???) on CNN. Commentator John Roberts asked some Republican spokesperson for McCain something about drilling. As we all know John McCain had been against it but now was for it. That's o.k---people do need to be somewhat flexible and open to other ideas than their own. I'm not for it but I can respect that polls show 70% of Americans are. (Actually when you look more people are for reigning in speculators than for drilling supposedly)
However the question Roberts presented was this "Even if we open up off shore drilling how will that help America? The companies that drill are international and will be required to put the oil they pump out on the open market for bidding....what happens if India or China out bid us?" Now....she (the strategist) never did answer this question however it's an excellent question and something I did not know we had to do. We would have to BID for oil drilled off our shores. So how the heck does that help us???? The U.S does get money in the beginning when bidding for who will be the extractor occurs. That though does not create jobs for us nor does it make us energy independent.

As I said in the beginning I do not know the best way or have any super great idea. However, I would put solar and wind on my property and try and make all my own energy if possible. Unfortunately I don't make enough money...though I don't mind saving for it and spending it in the long run.
Some articles suggest that spending that money and only seeing your payback in 10 to 20 years is laughable and ridiculous. What I think is laughable and ridiculous is not doing it and paying an electric company for the rest of my life. No noticeable improvement there that I can see. In the end, especially if energy prices continue to go up which historically they do, I still end up spending the money I would have on solar/wind AND worse.....maybe more. If I were 24 it would definitely be more. If I were 70 obviously I might not see a pay back on sustainable. However as the bible quote say "to those given much, much is expected". The bible, and morality in general, doesn't say to first consider what you will get back before you doing something that's good for everyone.

Can you legally help yourself?

2008-08-29T07:53:00.003-05:00

(Please see womennotdabbling for exclusively homesteading/farming posts)

Here is an issue that needs to be addressed in the future by us. The article printed below is taken from another site as is the cartoon. Follow the cartoon link to read another more in depth "take" on the issue of who owns you.

The conquerors cartoon taken from naturalnews.com

Who owns your DNA?

Genetic research that can save lives is often stymied by biotech companies' greedy patent claims.

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By Arthur Allen

For years, the parents of children suffering from an implacable genetic disorder called Canavan disease dutifully packed off their blood and tissue samples to Dr. Reuben Matalon, a researcher at Miami Children's Hospital. These shipments were an altruistic, volunteer effort by a devastated group of people -- their own children were dead or dying, but they hoped to prevent the births of more children with the disastrous, inevitably fatal brain disease.

In 1993, their donations paid off when Matalon, parsing the families' DNA, was able to identify a series of gene mutations on chromosome 17 that appeared to indirectly cause the disease, which has mainly affected Ashkenazi Jews. His work raised hopes that Canavan would go the way of Tay-Sachs, a related illness that has nearly disappeared in the Jewish population since couples began routine screening for Tay-Sachs in the early 1970s.

But the Tay-Sachs screening program, apparently, belonged to a kinder, gentler era in medicine. In November 1998, Miami Children's Hospital announced plans to strictly license its patent on the Canavan gene. Not only did Miami Children's demand that clinicians pay a $25 royalty (eventually lowered to $12.50) each time they performed the test; it also put a cap on the number of tests any academic lab could do.

The hospital's stringent licensing agreement is part of an alarming trend in biomedical research. Some biotech companies, universities and even hospitals are seeking to recoup their costs quickly by patenting discoveries that many believe shouldn't be patented at all. The patent license disputes threaten to close off research and clinical applications of some of the biomedical discoveries that Americans have paid billions to enable.

Some of the leading genetics labs in the country would not accept Miami Children's licensing terms and as a result had to stop testing for Canavan disease. "It's a wretched contract and we refused to sign it," says Debra Leonard, director of the molecular pathology laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania hospitals in Philadelphia. Shocked patient groups and scientists could only watch in dismay as bickering lawyers put a squeeze on information they'd worked long and hard to generate.

"We gave our DNA and that of our children to help develop testing and prenatal diagnosis. We sent our blood and skin samples to a doctor at Miami Children's Hospital," says Dr. Judith Tsipis, a Brandeis University biologist whose son, Andreas, died of Canavan disease in 1998 at age 22. "Is it right that they use our genes -- given to help others -- in a way that restricts access and increases cost to testing?

"It's shocking," she says.

"My understanding from the hospital was we needed to file the patent just so I could work with the gene myself," says Matalon, who has since moved to the University of Texas hospital system, where he continues to work on Canavan disease. "I had nothing to do with their licensing decision and I got no penny from any patent."

Canavan disease is one of a growing number of conditions in which patent fights have intruded into genetic medicine. Ninety percent of the 150 U.S. clinical genetics labs in a recent survey reported having withheld tests because of onerous patent claims. Genes for early-onset Alzheimer's and breast cancer are among the most common DNA sequences saddled with restrictive licenses.

Doctors whose clinical practice involves devising means to detect disease-causing genetic mutations are being told they can only perform such tests under licensing agreements that are often so strict the doctors' institutions refuse to sign them.

"This is my medical practice. I can't do what I was trained to do, and I spent a long time training to do it," says Leonard, who is also president of the Association for Molecular Pathology.

The problem will only grow with the approval of thousands of additional gene applications currently pending before the U.S Patent and Trade Office. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," says Leonard. The conflicts over genetic testing -- the first clinical application of the Human Genome Project -- are probably just an opening skirmish in a multisided war for control of the information, drugs and therapies that may arise from the genome discoveries.

Thanks to robots, supercomputers and brainy scientists, the government-led genome project is expected this year or next to finish its sequencing of the estimated 100,000 genes in human DNA. But the mapping of the human chromosomes is really just the start of a new kind of biological understanding. Although scientists now know the DNA sequences of many human genes, they don't understand how most of them work.

While the rest of us await the integration of these molecules into an intelligible language of life, scientists, businessmen and the government squabble over what value to assign the millions of information snippets.

James Watson, who won the Nobel Prize in 1953 for discovering DNA's double-helix structure, resigned as the first director of the NIH genome institute in 1992 in a dispute over whether to patent DNA sequences that a scientist named Craig Venter had discovered. Venter also quit the NIH and formed a gene sequencing partnership with William Haseltine, a Harvard AIDS scientist. Haseltine and Venter now lead competing biotech firms that are racing a government-led consortium to decode vast quantities of human DNA.

Haseltine, Venter and other scientific entrepreneurs have submitted patent applications on millions of bits of DNA, many of whose function isn't clearly understood. The patent office recently raised the bar of knowledge it requires before issuing patents on genes, but Francis Collins, Watson's successor, worries that premature claim-staking on the genome could end up snarling research in legal battles for years.

Using the sophisticated databanks, most of them designed and run by the government, genome-analyzing companies have described possible functions for about half the gene sequences discovered so far. John Doll, who heads the U.S. Patent and Trade Office's biotechnology division, says his office will grant patents for genes when applicants can describe a plausible function for them based on computer searches.

A prime example was the patent awarded last month to Human Genome Sciences for a gene that codes for a protein involved in introducing the HIV virus into cells. When Haseltine filed for the patent in 1995, he didn't know the function of the gene, but was savvy enough to guess it might be a cell membrane receptor. In the meantime, AIDS researchers doing painstaking science uncovered the actual role of the gene. The awarding of the patent -- worth millions if the gene is used to create AIDS drugs or vaccines -- infuriated these scientists as well as patient groups that supported their research.

"Doesn't it bother you," Collins asked Doll during a conference in Washington on Thursday, "that your standard would allow patent protection for roughly 40 percent of human genes, and yet if you ask any working scientist what percent of human genes they know the function of, you'd get, maybe 2 percent?"

"Everybody's filing for these patents," said Doll. "Not just the Incytes of the world; zillions of universities are taking the same approach."

"I don't doubt it for a second but it doesn't make me feel any different," an exasperated Collins responded. "When there's a gold rush, a lot of people go to California."

Other scientists are less restrained in their attacks on the biotech industry. "The idea of patenting DNA sequences is abhorrent to me, but in particular, the way it's being done now is intellectually dishonest," says Robert Nussbaum, a molecular biologist at NIH.

Nussbaum, who works on Parkinson's disease, said the kind of gene patent applications that Doll's office has decided to approve are likely to be shaky in their claims. Even if correct, he said, such claims are based on searches of public databases and "are being done on the backs and shoulders of research funded by the public and charitable foundations. It doesn't seem right that these sequences should be taken and locked up for the purpose of profit making."

Doll points out that hard work has never been a requirement to win a patent from the U.S. Patent Office, which generally tries to be as friendly to patent applicants as possible. "We don't care how you find out something new, only that you're the first to find it," he says. And some biotech officials say that scientists are simply bitter at the fact that technology is transforming the manner in which biological information is gathered.

Officials at Incyte, a Palo Alto, Calif., company that sells its genome information to more than two dozen pharmaceutical and biotech companies, like to point to a discovery made last year by CV Therapeutics, a small California biotech company. Using Incyte's databases and a few simple experiments, scientists from CV Therapeutics were able to identify a set of genes involved in Tangier disease, a heart ailment discovered among people living on Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. CV's discovery took two months, but it was listed by the American Heart Association as one of the top 10 discoveries of 1999.

"Medical research is increasingly a matter of using technologies to gather a bunch of pieces of information," says Lee Bendekgey, general counsel for Incyte. "It's really accelerating things and that's what matters. And when people make discoveries like that, they deserve both public accolades and rewards."

In the 1980s, in a more primitive era of genetics discoveries, it took Francis Collins several years to isolate and clone the cystic fibrosis gene. At the time it was one of the more remarkable chapters in genetics research. The University of Michigan, where Collins made the discovery, holds the patent on the gene. As it happens, Michigan doesn't charge researchers a dime to use it.

Of course, patent holders want people to use their inventions -- if no one uses them, they don't get paid. And intellectual property lawyers say that when the patents on the human genome get sorted out, relevant ones will be bundled into packages that can be licensed to researchers and doctors in useable form -- for a price.

When the Human Genome Project began, ethicists were primarily worried about whether knowledge from the genome would be used for genetic discrimination, or to create genetically enhanced children or eliminate the genetically unfit. But such concerns may be beside the point if the technology is too expensive for anyone but the rich.

Those who care for the genetically vulnerable appear most aware of this paradox. Judith Tsipis' son Andreas never learned to walk, talk or feed himself. But he could think -- and he had a good sense of humor, she says. Asked the difficult question of whether Andreas' birth should never have taken place, Tsipis shrugs off facile answers.

"Andreas was my child and I loved him dearly. He was loved and cared for superbly well but he still had a difficult life, especially toward the end. Would I have wanted him to be born? I can't answer that. But I'm working very hard for screening so that families have all the options, and one option is an abortion. The key thing you need is information, education, and the availability of testing."

"If patents hinder research," she adds, "it will make it harder for people to develop cures for these diseases."
salon.com | March 7, 2000

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About the writer
Arthur Allen writes on health, science and other issues for Salon. He lives in Washington.

Can we change?

2008-08-26T09:33:00.003-05:00

As many of you know I have not been keeping up with my blog. We as a family have turned down another path that life has offered us and with that change....things just got crazy. We expect some small...and some big....changes within the next year or two and all of the effort we put into our goals takes away time from this blog.
As the blog seemed to fall to the way side these last few months with all we are doing and expecting to do ---I had to come to the decision of whether or not to keep my blog here. As some of you are aware, I have recently been doing a Monday slot on a group blog: womennotdabbling.wordpress.com so it is not like I had to give up something I enjoyed completely.
I have to admit---I immensely enjoy the shared blog for the simple reason that it is much more convenient for readers. You, the reader, know everyday there WILL be a new post. Not like on an individual blog where chores and life interject and then posting gets put off, yet the readers show up each day hoping for a new post.

So..here is what I decided. I will keep this blog and post about once a week however at the end of each blog I will put a link for womennotdabbling so that you can always troll over there for a quick fix of homesteading information.

Also, unfortunately we are selling all our sheep. That is part of the change in our life reflective of the different path I spoke of. So...I will not have anymore sheep posting here as my sheep will be gone in the next few weeks. If some of you would like to read more sheep posts though please see Keepingthefarm.blogspot.com. Nancy is a very good writer and her posts on sheep farming will keep you well informed and give you a good laugh along with an occasional cry.

Lastly...don't forget to pay attention to the presidential candidates. We have some serious problems in this country right now and it requires not only our attention, but our vote. Don't believe those stupid 30 second commercials that try and make you turn on one candidate or the other. There are all kinds of internet sites that compare policy platforms on the internet that are easy to read and understand. Please read those instead.
Studies show that Americans want candidates to run a "nice" race and talk issues not just complain about each other. However, studies also show (and they prove) that when a candidate is losing that if he/she runs a "dirty" campaign---he/she will pull ahead in the polls and more often than not win. Awful isn't it? We say one thing...but do another. Too bad.

Have a great day all.

kombucha pics

2008-08-18T07:33:00.003-05:00

Awesome blog---if I don't say so myself!

2008-08-05T08:56:00.007-05:00

As many of you know I have not been fulfilling my role as a good blogger and posting very frequently of late. And though I don't intend to give up this wonderful forum here, oddly enough I have been invited to post on a group blog. I was deeply flattered to be asked and I am looking forward to it because of the fact that it is a down to earth knitty gritty blog entitled "Woman Not Dabbling in Normal". Another reason I believe I will enjoy joining this group is because during the hectic season of the summer and early fall I have others filling in part of the week so that every day is not up to me to come up with something to write about. Because of course I, like all people in the world, get busy, get bored, and sometimes have average plain jane days that really don't make great blogging :-D Sometimes (GASP!) I go a whole week were my life looks nothing like a homesteader and everything like the "average American home" life. I know...it is hard to believe!!
So from now on at least on Mondays (my appointed day) I will be blogging regularly again. In the mean time I will get more post on here as I can----however do check us out at:

Women Not Dabbling In Normal

(womennotdabbling.wordpress.com)

See you there!

Hello!

2008-07-29T14:57:00.004-05:00

Wow! Has it been that long since my last post? Well, I can say it has been for good reason as we have been busy busy busy finishing a number of long drawn out, procrastinated on projects. The two most important: Replacement of the siding on the back of our house where it was taken down to replace old aluminum sliding doors and add new windows and doors and then also the job of finishing our kitchen cabinets. Now the back of our house does not look as if we live in a tar paper shack any longer and the kitchen lacks only a few pieces of floor molding and some toe kicks under the cabinets. Yeah!
These weren't the only things done during this time but the others are all small projects in comparison. I have to say that our home is almost finished. Almost.

The garden is giving up it's produce for canning----but oops, I burned some of the paste the other day and our house still smells a bit of it. There will be more to come and I have a very good reason why I shouldn't walk outside to talk to my neighbor while reducing tomatoes now. It was really very smelly.
I hate the green beans I chose to try this year so I will allow them to dry and then sprout them for stir fry. Big bummer since I really only eat home grown/canned green beans. It wasn't the taste so much as the fact that even picked small they are somewhat tough and stringy----even cooked.

My son has a rabbit in the fridge he shot and skinned himself----the rascally rabbit ate EVERY last one of my soybean plants and then a sampled a 1/3 of the peanut plants before meeting it's end. Sad to shoot an animal doing it's natural thing but.....it was eating my garden down to nothing. Literally.
We have tons of slicing tomatoes and loads of basil to go with it. We have been enjoying the basil in sandwiches, stir fry and Italian dishes.
We also harvested some oats and wheat and we will save the seed to plant again this next season. The packages I purchased were small but I now have more than my original purchase...especially of the oat which is a hulless form known as avena nuda . A perfect form for home growers who don't have access to a hulling machine/mill.
Soon we will have many sweet potatoes and we have also had a bumper crop of jalapeños and pablano peppers. Very welcome additions to our household.

I will be back more frequently to write again and I have immensely enjoyed all of the comments and emails that have come while I have been "sitting on my be hind" :-D Glad to know I was not forgotten. Please forgive me for not answering some of them but I went long periods of time without getting on.

Also...thanks to Stuart and Gabrielle for a fabulous quote that I have added to my side bar by Martin Luther King Jr. to replace my previous quote. My previous to live by was this:

"Totalitarian governments have recognized that the one enemy to their system is the prosperous, independent, yeoman farmer spread out over the whole country thinking independently who doesn't need anything from his government. That's a big challenge to totalitarian governments - how to get rid of all these people. In Russia they starved them, in Ethiopia and Cambodia they shot them and in the U.S. and Europe they just pass health laws." -Sally Fallon, Weston A. Price Foundation President in a speech delivered to the OEFFA Conference, March 3, 2007

However with the way the world economy, food system (food for fuel instead of people, GMO's, Animal identification, squandering of farm land for McMansions, the absolute lack of concern about REAL food safety from our government, and the lack of concern for small farmers by our government) the coming elections, and the "wars" I have to switch now to this new quote since it fits just so DARN well. Good day everyone---talk to you soon ;-)

P.S---that is a picture of one of our tomatoes at the top. They are a heirloom variety known as Pink Accordian. They did well for us last year during the drought and they are doing well this year with completely different weather. Very tasty and super neat looking!

Feeding the World

2008-07-02T07:35:00.004-05:00

For those of you that grow your own produce, buy local or just realize that small is beautiful even in the agricultural sector, this link sent to me by SimplyTim is for you.
Reading this article from Monbiot.com makes you realize that we (American small farmers) are not the only ones slowly being put to death by big business---small farmers around the world suffer with us.

Keeping on this theme: we continually have local people ask us to do a CSA (community supported agriculture) or raise a cow or two for cow share programs. We would love to do this....however some problems (especially with the cow share which would be more to our liking than the CSA) are VERY problematic and scare us off.

So I wonder.....why is it that more people don't write their local representatives and tell them to make laws (or repeal some of them) that would help small farmers? Why don't they write their not so local reps? Like Senators and Congress people? If as many people that approach us would do it regularly, all across the country, there would be reform. Of this I am sure.

And a few quotes:

"So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy." Roger Nash Baldwin

We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Louis Dembitz Brandeis

Excuse me...

2008-06-27T09:14:00.002-05:00

Well,
some of my posts seem to have disappeared. No...I don't think anything ominous about it :-D Just a bit of bad luck and blogger. I will try and re post later.
Sorry
Have a great weekend!

What will you refuse to give up?

2008-06-16T08:43:00.003-05:00

So, I have been tagged for a "meme" (that word again!) by Robbyn at The Back Forty. Ahhh..those paybacks! :-D

I admit, I had wondered if it would make it around to me after reading it on a few other sites and..... irregardless of whether it did or not ....I had been pondering the question a bit on my own.
Because...especially as oil becomes higher and food more expensive and raises just don't seem to get you farther ahead (just keep you from falling back) it seemed like a really good subject to mull over in my head or in my blog.

Now of course everyone's blog is a bit different. Some people take the question more from a "peak oil perspective" and others seem to be coming from an "green" perspective. The two are really intertwined and I think that was pretty much the whole point. So what couldn't I do without? I mean REALLY without. I have thought about that a lot....and maybe more than some people my husband and I have lived many years "dabbling" in .....what to call it? Peak oil practices? Heritage living? Organic/sustainable living? So..because of that I know I could live without many things, however some things are more difficult to "substitute" for.

I don't think there is anything that I couldn't absolutely live without (if I had to I mean...because I do enjoy some of these things after all). I mean really anyone can if they need or want to survive however what if we want to live well....well..that's a different thought all together now. But what if we want to do it in such a way as to not have to "step" on others or be unsustainable . What then?
I have found over time that most of the things we feel we need and can't live without at one time, or even now, have a sustainable option. Sometimes they cost more though, or are more dependent on our society as a whole joining in to accomplish. Like running water. Many ancient (back before the middle ages by far) did actually HAVE running water. However...it took great societies working together to keep it working and running. All without being an environmental disaster. We however like to either think the way we do it is so so so much better or we ignore the fact that it is unsustainable. Think sewage treatment here...there are working viable alternative options to chemical sewage treatment but they require a bit more work and are "unknown" and people are not as comfortable with them as they are chemical treatment. They actually can work better and are better for us and the environment. Why not use them more often?
Sometimes as in the case of something as simple as "eat local" it's a matter of slightly more work. You have to find local growers and/or BE a local grower. Not always an easy job.
Are we willing to give up 4 hours a day of t.v ( or computer....and that's on average supposedly) to live a more sustainable life? I thought to myself one time...Heck I don't watch 4 hours of t.v a day! No way! I don't watch any t.v series or weekly/daily shows at all hardly. However, when I started paying attention to the bit of news I watched and a bit of t.v during the afternoon with my lunch and a bit before bed....I watch about 2 1/2 hours a day. Add some computer time and tah dah! Go figure! Could I be doing something better with my time though?

What about as a society? Why don't we have gray water recycling in all new building codes? It is a viable solution. Why don't we have better insulation codes...mandatory ones. Why don't we have more green roofs and solar panels on big large manufacturing plants?
I know..we're a democracy and shouldn't force this on people. It's a sticky wicky isn't it? But...could we be doing it anyway because we know we NEED to? Without having the government tell us too?

So....below I have listed a few things that I would find harder to do without or to change my ways and adjust too. This could be because they require more work/thought or more money or even just more innovation. However...they are doable and something, someday, I hope to address in my own life so I am "walking the talk" a bit more than now.

Electricity....which would mean no t.v , no computer, no lights, no ....wait. First off..you can use a solar panel so some of these things would still be available. However, we DID live without t.v for 2 years as a family. None. nothing. nada. We lived without it and had small kids too----and they SURVIVED!!.
The first month is a booger...but the withdrawal symptoms eventually fade. This was "pre" internet so...I know I could live without that too if I had to. I have to admit though...the internet is like having your very own personal updated daily set of encyclopedias. Hard to do without that...especially on this type of subject.

However...in the south what do you do if there is no electricity and no cheap propane/gas/diesel etc to run refrigeration? Now THAT I would have trouble with. I would have to learn how to use a root cellar and some things would have to be bought fresh everyday...like milk. Because even a root cellar in the south will not keep milk cold and fresh for long. Hence...cheeses and butter would be made a lot more. I like cold milk (sometimes on ice), and drinks and veggies and ..and I don't always like cured ham and cured meats so....well you get the picture.

Car/Truck/vehicles.....O.k. here's a sticky one. I have land and animals...but not enough land to feed all the animals all the time. So....I need a vehicle to get hay for winter or sometimes grains/minerals etc. How do you haul that without a vehicle? I'm not carrying it! Of course there is horse and wagon but I do not have room to feed a horse to pull a wagon....so would I share with a neighbor? Trade say milk or eggs or pork for occasional use of the horse and wagon?
Obviously I am assuming I will grow most of my own food and because I do live in the country more than the city there would be people to trade my excess eggs for some of their squash or vice versa. Or their wagon.
But what about my husband that drives to work about 20 miles one way? Our neighbor, since we have known him RIDES his bike everyday to a place very close to my husbands work. So...obviously it is feasible. Also, because he has done it for so long....it only takes him about a half hour longer to get home than my husband in a car. Traffic for the car you know--- but not the bike.
Not saying I would completely like this but...
Another thought is that there are electric cars able to be charged by solar panels. They only go about 30 miles and only get up to 45 but...hey. It's an idea. Can they haul a round bale though? Would my husband be run over if he drove one? 70 in the 55 section of the highway is NOT unusual in this state....and you generally do not get a ticket for it unlike in some states. So....45 is awfully slow compared to that.

Oil/gas to heat/cook with.
Cooking...well we could use a solar cooker about half the time. Something I should purchase and learn how to use. But what about canning food...or would I have to dry all of it and/or eat more "in season" than I do now (which really is still not "in season" like people would have eaten 100s of years ago). I would also have to learn how to like more foods. Fermented cabbage is o.k...but not my fave.
O.k here's another one. Now my house is ideally situated to the south. The original owner ...well...he did do that correct. But on a really cold winter day and/or a cloudy/rainy day, we still need supplemental heat. Yes, we use gas. (Bummer---especially this year.) We could however (maybe) be able to produce enough methane here, on our property, like the Chinese do, to supplemental heat our house and definitely cook with. Lots of work though. Another idea is wood heat---though are house is wide and spread out...not easy to heat with just one stove.
And if all of us are doing it...we could quickly deplete wood sources. Coppicing though...well that's a great thing that can be done even on the smallest of home lots to help supply a heating source for a home. Something I have been meaning to practice...but have been too "lazy" to do. Or maybe the alternative has just been so easy I haven't bothered. Tulip poplars, which grow amazingly well here in my area, seem to be from my observations, ideally suited to coppicing....and maybe that is where I will start my experiment. It's easy to find European trees suited to this in literature...since they have been doing it for a long time...but not many American trees. Americans have had an abundance of oil, gas and trees...no need to learn anything else. Maybe now though...we do need to learn "new" (or maybe that's old) technologies.

Air conditioning. Again..being in the south this is a tough one. But yes, again I have, in the south (Texas and Georgia), lived without air conditioning. Not that it's always pleasant and of course...we are supposedly a bit hotter and without as much forested areas as there was a 100 years ago. Could I do it? Of course..if I had to....and it does require adjustment and change. No 3 piece suits for men while hanging around in the house in August. But again...there are alternatives.
What about the solar "machines" that produce ice while sitting out on the beaches of hot climate areas? If a machine can use ammonia running through tubes, powered by the sun to make ice...well then it can darn well cool my house. Maybe with modifications and maybe just during parts of the day.. but hey any bit helps right? Now tell me? Why hasn't someone come up with this idea on a better scale? Maybe it is expensive and I wouldn't be able to afford it...but you think no one can? Humph!
Also, has anyone heard of wind or earth tubes? They even help remove humidity from the incoming air. Here are some links:
here
here
and some more ideas here.
If your interested in this technology try other search word combos. You'll find quite a bit about it.

A lot of other things have alternatives so I guess the subject is back to the title of "what will you refuse to give up?" However, maybe that should be changed to "what will you exchange" to keep living the way you do. What are you willing to exchange....time, money, effort, habits..... so you can accomplish or acquire the things you are unwilling to give up?

Raw Milk---friend or foe?

2008-06-11T10:08:00.004-05:00

So, as some of you know we unfortunately joined the VOLUNTARY scrapie eradication program years ago. However, as we sell off our sheep and quietly try to remove ourselves from this program (and correspondingly NAIS---which I am completely against) we find our selves in the direct line of the state vet.

Now...the state vet here is a good enough guy if not a bit misguided in my opinion. When he came this past April for our annual check ----so my sheep could go to their new owner without compromising the new owners scrapie status----he tried to encourage me to join NAIS.
Now...the problem I have with this, as he spent an extra 1/2 hour of his time to try and encourage me "just to fill out the paperwork---it's no big deal" is some comments he made. When we spoke of a few of the problems with NAIS....he agreed with me that NAIS wouldn't help. So, if he doesn't feel NAIS lives up to what it promises...why push it???

Now, today I receive this letter from him. And let me tell you...I never asked to get emails from them. (Quickly, off topic...the state vet called me the other day with a question about my sheep and told me that he had corresponded with Ohio about some sheep I purchased last year. The lady's scrapie status was in question and so they were going back through her EMAILS sent over the past YEAR by her to the Ohio scrapie program/state vet office to find out about the animals in her flock and whether she had purchased new ones. So let me tell you...Pappa Bear is watching you and keeping your emails if you correspond with him in any form or fashion.)

Here's part of the letter with part of it's attachment:

FYI For those of you that make cheese, I thought you might find this interesting. M. bovis is rare in cows in the US and even less likely to be found in a goat. However, we can not be too safe when it comes to consuming unpasteurized milk from any animal.

Stan Crane, DVM
Designated Scrapie Epidemiologist
Georgia Department of Agriculture
19 MLK Jr. Dr., S.W.
Room 105
Atlanta, GA 30034

404-656-3667

Date: 6 Jun 2008
Source: News Inferno [edited]

A rare form of [human] tuberculosis [TB] due to _Mycobacterium bovis_
has emerged and has been traced to illegal, unpasteurized dairy
products, including tainted 'queso fresco' cheese. The outbreak is
rising among Hispanic immigrants in Southern California and is also
raising fears about a revival of this strain that was nearly
completely destroyed in the USA in the 1900s.

The increase in this TB is being seen chiefly in San Diego,
particularly among children who drink or eat dairy foods made from
the milk of infected cattle, but _Mycobacterium bovis_ TB can infect
anyone who eats contaminated fresh cheeses sold by street vendors,
smuggled across the Mexican border, or produced as so-called "bathtub
cheese" made in home tubs and backyard troughs. The problem
originates from cattle in Mexico, where _M. bovis_ infects about 17
percent of herds; occasional outbreaks among isolated herds affect
the USA.

This rare TB accounts for about 10 percent of all new TB cases in the
California border region. "_M. bovis_ TB is a disease of antiquity,"
said Timothy Rodwell, a researcher who led a study published by the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "It is
important that it not be allowed to re-emerge as a cause of TB in
this country."

Unfortunately, this species is uniformly resistant to one of the
front line anti-TB drugs [pyrazinamide]. Adults who contract _M.
bovis_ TB are more than twice as likely as those with traditional TB
to die before completing treatment.

Researchers analyzed nearly 3300 culture-confirmed cases of TB in San
Diego between 1994-2005. Approximately 265 were identified as due to
_M. bovis_; this increased by nearly 65 percent, rising from 17 to 28
cases annually. By 2005, over half the _M. bovis_ cases were diagnosed
in children under 15. The majority were in Hispanics, 60 percent from
Mexico. Between 2001-2005, 19 adults with _M. bovis_ died before or
during treatment. Dr. Kathleen Moser, director of TB control programs
for San Diego County, said: "It's clearly being seen in places where
people drink unpasteurized milk and eat unpasteurized dairy products."

In California, 108 million pounds of legal, properly pasteurized
'queso fresco' and other cheeses were produced last year [2007],
according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Last
year, Moser launched a public health campaign, and agricultural
officials seized over 375 pounds of "bathtub cheese" from an open-air
market in San Bernardino, according to Steve Lyle, the agency's
director of public affairs. Such illegal cheeses have been infected
with _Salmonella_, _Listeria_, _Escherichia coli_, and _M. bovis_.

Rodwell cautioned that people worried about _M. bovis_ TB should pay
close attention to dairy products, not people. "It is not a disease
you are very likely to get from a foreign-born person," he said. "The
increase in _M. bovis_ cases is more about what you eat, not where
you were born."

Now here is the problem with this. In my search mostly what I seemed to find was that this disease was shown over and over not to come specifically from drinking the raw milk but from the fact that:

Some cattle had the disease and WORKERS caring for them came in contact with the lesions and then became infected and passed it along to friends and family through coughing and sneezing. Supposedly they can sneeze or cough (yuk, but it does happen) onto the raw milk and THEN you will get it while drinking it---possibly.

O.k....so I am not defending this disease by any means. It is serious and irregardless we don't want cattle to have it...transmit it to the people caring for them and then those people transmit it to us. But why, and of course I can guess, pass along this seemingly misleading information that seems to say if you drink raw milk....that is how you will get it and no other way? TB is passed through coughing and sneezing...why say don't worry about people that may have it (which it does in the above article)...just the raw milk you might drink?

In my search for information this blog linked up some good information. Though it is older than this new "article" now circulating.
Also, notice the article says its difficult to treat and resistant to one "frontline" drug used to treat it in some cases? Oh, do I wonder why that is so..(can you hear the sarcasm?)

How about this Canadian site.

Update 6/12/08 here is an older government site. It makes a comment about getting the disease through raw milk but then farther on it does talk about how this form is transmittable through captive/farmed deer also. Now....how many of you drink raw deer milk?...please raise your hand.

This, in my opinion is a load of hockey puck. This misinformation is passed along in this case by the Georgia STATE VETS office. More people have problems with our "supposedly" safe industrial meat products than they do raw milk. Maybe if we all drank raw milk it would be higher....but maybe not. Who's to say since the government won't let us, in this fine democracy we live in, drink raw milk without practically going to jail for it. And absolutely getting in trouble with the law if we sell it.

Frost Dates

2008-06-10T07:11:00.002-05:00

I know...your wondering why, now that it is hot outside, I am already speaking of frost. Seems silly doesn't it? And before we get into this too far I would like to offer up the most accurate ,for my area, sites that I found for frost dates. The first...which I could not see (computer problem?) is from NOAH and probably is the most accurate. I say that though without actually seeing it so if you find it to be grossly incorrect please pardon me. Set up by state it is graded in scales of 32 degrees, 30 degrees, 28 degrees etc. So, it seems like it could be very helpful. Another is at USA gardener.....and seems to be correct. It does not have my first fall frost in the middle of November as some sites do (when that used to occur I don't know!) but at the first of October as it usually is.

So, back to the reason for frost dates at the beginning of summer. We decided with the advent of the poor economy and higher fuel prices that we needed to be more pro-active about growing MOST of our own food---besides I am staunchly organic so we'll eat better anyway.
We have decided to be even more serious than we have in the past. Yeah, yeah, we have grown fall lettuce and had a few kale plants make it into winter etc etc. We also have started tomatoes 8 weeks early and were the first in our neighborhood to bite a home grown tomato, however that was always just "fun" food.
Serious food growing and stocking requires, I realize, a completely different thought process than I have been taught or know how to do. I figure it will take me a few years to really "get it right", but every bit helps and all things are learning tools. And really its not only just about how to grow it either---it's also learning what to grow and how to store it AND keeping it all organized so you eat it before its bad and in a timely manner. I mean..no one wants to eat everything and find out all they have left are 25 cabbages and a few rotten potatoes. :-)

So not only will we put a few more tomato plants and maybe some other summer harvest items in the ground soon----to keep the harvest going you know----but we are also going to get organized to plant our fall and winter garden when the appropriate time comes along. Some of this "organization" is actually useful items that will take time to acquire ..like more grow frames. Some of the organization, though, is just a matter of learning and assimilating ideas I may never have known or practiced previously and then becoming comfortable with them and their use.
One of the things I find the hardest and "oddest" about trying to supply in season year round food is that you have to "think" summer in winter and winter in summer. Which means that now, or within the not to distant future of the next 3 weeks, I NEED to order my fall seeds so that they will be ready to start. Seeds of things like: cabbages, broccoli, kales, chards, celery, some onions, garlic (of course---thats an easy one though!), lettuce, spinach, beets (never have grown or eaten), turnips (same as beets), parsnips, and winter grains. Many will need to be transplants to make it in time for winter and there for need to be started in my house at the first of August at the latest. Of course some will be straight sown right into the garden but they will need to be planted in August or by the middle or end of it to have time to make it, with enough size, into winter.
I guess that is part of the reason why I have never been serious. Planting in August is...well....weird. It's HOT. And it's often DRY. So, to help with this I am for the first time going to grow my own starts in my house for things like cabbage and broccoli. For those things started outside, like carrots which can not be transplanted, I will experiment with shade frames to help cool the soil while they sprout. Maybe some of the seeds will also be "pre sprouted" the day or two before planting. These are all things I have heard that work well for late summer plantings and so I will try and stay organized enough to use them.

For shading the plants my favorite tool so far is one I have used for years to help tender plants in the spring not quite ready for full sun but must, for whatever reason, be planted into the garden. The planting of 200 lavender slips comes to mind here ---though they definitely weren't food. (Almost all died by the way with the above average, almost flooding rains, we had the winter after planting them. Very freak.) However, right after planting those small rooted guys it immediately went to the 90s and they needed help ---they were doomed from the start I personally believe. So out came some rolls of galvanized wire. Grids of .....2x 4 maybe? Not floppy, but not the stiffest most expensive wire either. If you choose a 3 or 4 foot tall roll you can just cut off how wide you want each section to be and all will be the same length---easy to work with in a row for whatever length bed you have. Bend them slightly into an arch and viola----instant, easy, movable and long lasting, light weight frame to lay shade cloth over. Because of the grids you can tie to it or pin the cloth down easily. Also, because they are bendable you can use them in other areas for other things and then re bend them to put back over your garden beds again. They also stack fairly well since they are the same length and all about the same width. I drive a piece of rebar into the ground, out of the way, and just stack them up it when I am finished with them. Another use for them is to set them over beds with new seedling in them....so the "maintenance" workers in your family don't weed eat the new seedlings down before they actually look like some worth keeping. Or so that you remember you planted something there and don't pull it yourself or forget to water it.
By the way.... I buy "shade cloth" at home depot or Lowes. They sell burlap in rolls and it work FABULOUS and is cheaper and easier than poly cloth. I usually cut most of it up the center, to halve it, since I find for shade cloth I don't need it to be 3 foot wide. At least not for my beds anyway. It's not a problem if low sun sneaks in at the bottom...your mostly trying to keep the high, hot sun off them. And if the plants are very tender or its very hot...I put two layers of burlap over the frame and then over time as it cools or the plants establish I work one layer off then the other when appropriate. Another great thing about burlap is that it is natural....not made from petroleum as the poly fiber is. Not that poly doesn't have its place but....
I have had my burlap for 4 years now. I don't use it much so it may not always last that long. However I am good about laying it out on the drive to fully dry and then folding it up and storing it in a rubbermaid bucket. So I always know where it is and it is safe and dry until the next need. Mine is still in very good shape too....so I do believe even with more use than mine gets it would last a fair bit of time.

So, I have decided that for the next few weeks I will occasionally post on this forum about fall/winter veggie gardening. I also have some articles from some of those old Organic Gardening magazine I spoke of that are about this topic too.
Another topic I will also address are the plants that we will grow (or hope to grow!). I noticed as I read the only book I could borrow from the library on cooking with grains (not a very good book) that most of the recipes called for the same three ingredients over and over. How boring. I realized, as I had already to a small extent previously, that most of us have a very limited "pallet" of food to choose from which also hinders our ability to grow out of season. Maybe a better way of saying it would be: In season. However it is grains and many veggies are "uncomfortable" to me. Not that I think they taste bad but I did not grow up eating them and so coming up with an off the cuff dish that will taste good is difficult at best for me. I cook a bit out of my head...just knowing what I like and what I think will taste good together ....so experience with flavors of things helps a lot when deciding what to eat for dinner each night. I do not like monotony in my food. No meatloaf Tuesday for me thank you.
And beyond taste, if the majority of the food you eat and serve is tomatoes and peppers....then it's darn hard to grow them year round even with a greenhouse. Stocking up becomes your only option---and really fresh picked food is the healthiest over all and the least energy intensive.

One last thing if you haven't read the Elliot Coleman books I highly recommend them. Even though his climate is miles different than my own the ideas on movable greenhouses and cold frames are well worth the cost of the books.
Another to learn quite a bit from is Solar Gardening by the Poissons. Another "pick their brain" book to gain ideas from.
And lastly if you like me have not grown up eating lots of different foods but are open to trying new and unique varieties that may do very well in your area, then get a really good vegetarian cookbook. They are amazing to help you work out different ways of eating unfamiliar items. One I recommend is How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. Not only does it have recipes but it also has "extra" suggestions for changing and altering recipes and going "off the cuff". Yes, there are other good ones too...but if you don't know where to start there is a suggestion.
Lastly...does anyone know of a really good Grain cookbook? That seems to be my nemesis.....how to use grains without everything being similar in taste.

Book recommendation

2008-06-09T07:39:00.004-05:00

If your looking for something "light" to read but that address things you are concerned about (food, organics, sustainable agricultural, humanity in general, farms etc) check out this book I borrowed from my local library.
I didn't think much of it...but hey it's free to borrow it. However after starting it I found it easy to read and enjoyable.
It's not to long and broke up in such a way that it's easy to put down and come back to if needed.
Borrow it if you can..or buy it. Either way I think you will find it enjoyable to "experience" some of the ups and downs of a man who makes his living selling organic produce in New York City.

The book is: It's a LONG ROAD to a TOMATO ...tales of an organic farmer who quit the big city for the (not so) simple life. by Keith Stewart

Organic Gardening Magazine April 1978

2008-06-09T07:17:00.003-05:00

Millet Gardening...by Jim Bolick

People living in areas where conditions make it difficult to grow conventional crops might be more successful in growing millet, one fo the most versatile of all grain crops.
Since prehistoric times, farmers have cultivated millet for human consumption. The main attribute of millet that's made it an attractive food crop is that it's so rugged. It'll grow well where it's too hot, too dry, or where the growing season is too short for other crops, but it also produces well under favorable conditions.
Besides being rugged, perhaps the greatest advantage of millet is that it uses water so efficiently. Proso millet is superior to any domestic crop in converting water into grain. Agricultural researchers in eastern Colorado have shown that millet can yield about 45 bushels per acre with 13 inches of water. In contrast, wheat produces only about 15 bushels with the same amount of water.
Other traits of millet include quick maturing (60 days after it's planted) few insect or disease problems if grown under semiarid conditions, a need for little , if any, fertilizer, and, depending on the type grown, a practical use for everything from puffed cereal to winter floral decorations.
There are three types of millet, and each has it specific uses. In this country, proso millet is grown for the birdseed market. Foxtail millet is grown for livestock feed and for birdseed. Pearl, or cattail, millet is used as a forage crop in the southeastern U.S. The plants themselves all can be fed to livestock as forage. Also, millet grain can be fed to chickens, pigs, or cows. Unprocessed grain can be given to chickens, but has to be dehulled or flaked before being fed to pigs or cows.
Greg Hinze, a Colorado State University agronomist and one of this country's millet experts, says dehulled proso grain can be used for human consumption as a hot breakfast cereal when cooked or as a puffed cereal. Dehulled, ground prose millet can be used for flour. As compared to wheat, proso millet four has about one percent less protein, a little more fat, but about three times the amount of fiber. Hinze recommends the variety abarr as the best proso millet for gardeners who might be interested in growing some specifically for grain.
However, for gardeners who aren't able to dehull and grind their own grain, or who don't have livestock to feed it to, millet offers another attractive alternative. It's possible to sell heads from foxtail and pearl millets to florist who use the heads in floral decorations.
Under dryland conditions (12 to 13 inches of moisture, including existing soil moisture) pearl millet grows to about 5 or 6 feet tall. Under irrigation it can reach 12 feet. Irrigations will increase the yields of both proso and foxtail types.
Millet should be planted shortly after the last frost. But since it matures quickly, it can be planted as late as July or August, depending upon growing conditions. For prompt germination, sow seed into a moist soil. Cover seed with moist soil, but hold it to less than one inch even on sandy or light soil. Covering depth should be less under heavy soils.
You can plant millet solid like you would plant a lawn plot, broadcasting the seed over well-worked soil and raking it lightly in. Or you can plant it, in rows, very shallow, with about a plant every inch or so. If planting in midsummer, plant deeper, one to two inches, to make use of available moisture when the weather is dryer.
Growers interested in millet might encounter difficulty in finding seed, especially if they don't live near areas where farmers cultivate the crop. Hinze offers two possible solutions to this problem. The first is to go to the supermarket and buy a bag of wild birdseed. The major ingredient in this package normally is yellow, white or red millet grains. Other ingredients are sorghum (milo), sunflower seeds and wheat. The small, oval grain is the millet, which can be taken directly from he bag and planted. The only drawback to this method is that gardeners will know only that they're getting either a proso or foxtail millet: they won't know exactly which until the crop emerges. The next suggestion is to contact Hinze and have him send you some---so I am leaving that information out since it is outdated.

Too bad

2008-06-07T06:52:00.001-05:00

This off Yahoo news---and I have to say ....What a bummer!

HONOLULU - Federal officials have confirmed what biologists have long thought: The Caribbean monk seal has gone the way of the dodo.

Humans hunting the docile creatures for research, food and blubber left the population unsustainable, say biologists who warn that Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could be the next to go.

The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service confirmed Friday that the species is extinct.

Kyle Baker, a biologist for NOAA's Fisheries Service southeast region, said the species is the only seal to become extinct from human causes.

The seals were first classified as endangered in 1967, and wildlife experts investigated several reported sightings over the past few decades. But officials determined they were other seal types.

The federal agency says there are fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk seals remaining, and their populations are declining.

"We hope we've learned from the extinction of Caribbean monk seals, and can provide stronger protection for their Hawaiian and Mediterranean relatives," Baker said.

The Hawaiian monk seal population, protected by NOAA, is declining at a rate of about 4 percent annually, according to NOAA. The agency predicts the population could fall below 1,000 in the next three to four years, placing the mammal among the world's most endangered marine species.

"When populations get very small, they become very unstable," Baker said. "They become more vulnerable to threats like disease and predation by sharks."

Vicki Cornish, a wildlife expert at the Ocean Conservancy, said the fate of the Caribbean monk seal is a "wake-up call" to protect the remaining seal populations.

"We must act now to reduce threats to existing monk seal populations before it's too late," she said. "These animals are important to the balance and health of the ocean. We can't afford to wait."

Monk seals are particularly sensitive to human disturbance. And the sea creatures have been losing their food supply and beaches, officials say.

"Once Hawaii, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean were teeming with fish, but these are areas under severe fishing pressure," Cornish said. "They'll eat almost anything — shellfish or finned fish — but their food supply is waning and they're in competition with man."

The Caribbean monk seal, first discovered during Christopher Columbus' second voyage in 1494, once had a population of more than 250,000. But they became easy game for hunters because they often rested, gave birth or nursed their pups on beaches.

From the 1700s to 1900s, the seals were killed mainly for their blubber, which was processed into oils, used for lubrication and coating the bottom of boats. Their skins were used for trunk linings, clothing, straps and bags.

The endangered Hawaiian monk seals face different types of challenges, including entanglement in marine debris, climate change and coastal development.

About 80 to 100 live in the main Hawaiian Islands and 1,100 in the largely uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a marine national monument.

Biologist Bud Antonelis said NOAA's Fisheries Service has developed a monk seal recovery plan for the Hawaiian monk seals.

"But we need continued support from organizations and the public if we are to have a chance at saving it from extinction," he said. "Time is running out."

As for the Caribbean monk seal, NOAA said it is working to have them removed from the endangered species list. Species are removed from the list when their populations are no longer threatened or endangered, or when they are declared extinct.

Help save genetic diversity

2008-06-05T13:41:00.005-05:00

Ever wondered where to get some of those old varieties of "this or that" grown when you where a kid? How about old, or even kind of newer, varieties you hear good things about but never can find?

Well, if your willing to try your hand at propagation then look here:
Germplasm Resources Information Network or GRIN

You can search their data bank and request from the multitude of varieties they have ---and have some sent to you---if they are available at the time. Only problem? Most will come un rooted and need a bit of care on your part. But hey...what do you have to lose? You may help save a variety after all----or better yet get some really good plants for your property while improving your propagation skills.

I am going to request some fruits from them to trial and help propagate.

P.S....their free and some are seeds not cuttings. Oops! My mistake...not free to ship. SORRY!
June 6 update.....O.k...let me change that again: Maybe free shipping. I couldn't find a thing on any page that said one way or the other. Some of the items I have "ordered" are coming from one place....and they didn't ask about shipping. Some are coming from another....and they said they ask about whether or not I have a shipping account with UPS or FEDEX etc so..... We'll see. However, the plants do seem, as I originally thought, to be free.

Garden style

2008-06-04T09:47:00.009-05:00

As you can see I have a squash problem. Or more accurately a squash vine borer problem.

Alas...they are my nemesis. Every year they take a toll on my summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins and cucumbers. Some years we have better luck than others....some none at all.
This year may be a low luck year even though I am treating the plants (now) with Bacillus thuringiensis by injecting it into the main stem of the plants. Obviously,as you can see from my picture I have for sure lost one of the vines already---and even before I got one squash off of it!
Supposedly C. moschata varieties of this family are less susceptible to attack---and we have noticed that when we grow those varieties. Though...if under stress (as in drought) they will still be attacked too. However for us summer squash seems to be the MOST likely to be attacked. I think those bugs watch for me to come out and plant these babies.
During part of it's life span the borer retreats to the soil to finish pupating so rotation of your plants and cultivation of the soil to expose them is advised. However...in the South the plants are just, in my opinion, up for grabs.
So...what's a gardener to do? Well, obviously I won't be growing these guys on a commercial scale but I will attempt something new next year that I have thought about but never done: A growing cage---similar to the picture I added. I think I will just put regular screen on mine though and hand pollinate.....Lots of work? Maybe...but for the 3 or 4 plants we use throughout the year no big deal really. Maybe then I could get a really steady harvest of squashes. Maybe even some baseball bat size individuals :-D

Now these pictures show a bit of luck I had the other day. Driving down the road I realized Ooops! I had forgotten gas---bummer! Luckily there was a gas station just down the road---the next closest was at least 5 miles away (quite the walk). So I pulled in a filled up and spent a small fortune while doing it. As I looked over I noticed that they were replacing display cases in the store and had all these neatly fold boxes ---heavy heavy boxes---that the cases had come in. I almost didn't ask (laziness had settled in and it was busy with people there) but kicked myself and did it. Yes, they said. Absolutely take them. So I did and I am now working to cover them up with sawdust we get at the local mill for $5 a truck load (we load--but it's light and easy work).
GREAT path mulch don't you think? And amazing grass/weed cover to help try and lessen our work. Over time things like this will help us to keep down the ongoing weed problems----at least a bit.
Notice to the left side there is a large stand of plants. That's my cover crop of buckwheat. It came in nicely this year...we have had good rain. I will cut the tops soon since it is about to flower. Also, right below it is a row of shallots with clover in between them. I weeded and waited for the shallots to grow up...then seeded in the clover.
My soil is still lacking in nitrogen so I am always looking for ways to add it...and to cover up soil, add tilth and/or block weeds. Anything that does all three, as in the case of clover, is great.
Too bad the buckwheat didn't add nitrogen...but it will add a small bit of tilth and it absolutely blocks weeds. Only the edges have weed issues---right were the sun can get into the stand.
By the way...my Jack Russell loves that stand of Buckwheat and the large artichokes behind it. I think she believes herself to be jungle stalking whatever she might be able to find in the denseness of the whole thing.

From Organic Gardening August 1975

2008-06-02T05:27:00.002-05:00

Anything in this style lettering is added by me.

Miller Battles "Enrichment" Red Tape

For more than 150 years, a mill at New Hope, N.Y. (now located in Auburn,N.Y it seems) has been grinding grain and building a reputation for quality in the flours it markets. Now the State Depart. of Agriculture has abruptly ordered that it "stop the practice of selling un-enriched flour at retail level". Owner Leland Weed refuses to follow the law demanding that he "enrich" the wheat, buckwheat, cornmeal, pancake, and other flours he grinds in the old water-powered mill along the Bear Creek. Weed says the recent state regulation requiring him to take part in a "statutory enrichment program" is a threat to independence and to the customers who come for whole-grain products, including crops from local farmers and Deaf Smith County in Texas.
Weed, who has operated the mill with his sons since 1947, has appealed the order. As a result, he's been granted verbal permission to continue producing flour as it has since 1823 until the department decides what to do. A state spokesman said that the mill could be shut down, if Weed refuses to add the chemicals. So far, the state has held off--after getting a heavy taste of public opinion in the mail. Experts from Cornell are to test the flours for nutritional levels, and a decision is to be made by the state attorney general on a possible exception.
Meanwhile, Weed says one state legislator at Albany plans to introduce a bill to allow the sale of "un-enriched" flours from mills such as New Hope. The angry miller also indicated that there has been a definite upswing in trade from people who've heard about his bureaucratic troubles. "Everyone should have the right to buy what they want--with or without vitamins," he stated. Besides letters many of the old mill's friends and other people outraged by the state's action have circulated petitions contending that it is their "privilege to be able to purchase New Hope Mills natural flour without being subjected to the state required addition of preservatives and other chemicals additives. Weed says he will go out of business rather than add chemicals.
The Sunday Citizen (Auburn, N.Y.) in an editorial headed "State Makes Blunder in New Hope Mills Case," commented: "Hopefully those of us who respect New Hope flour will keep up the pressure to keep down Albany's imposition.....The foolishness of the state flexing it muscles on the small mill in remote New Hope is obvious. As obvious as the certainty that people who go out of their way to purchase the New Hope flour know what they're getting. If the state doesn't have a special permit program for mills like this, it ought to get one. That should keep the bureaucrats busy enough so they won't go around the countryside making bumpkins of themselves.

See a newspaper write up here
And the mill as it is now with a "scrapbook" history and photos and other news articles here.
Here is a place to by some of the mill's un-enriched products.

Magazines

2008-05-29T08:17:00.003-05:00

While I was out of town I stumbled upon a used bookstore that had a stash of old Organic Gardening and Farming magazines. We now know this magazine simply as Organic Gardening---which many of us read or have read at times.
They were "pricey" at $2 each (I mean they are old after all) so I purchased a few of them thinking that I would read them while I "relaxed" while visiting family. I thought for sure most of the stuff had probably been re written and that it was nothing I might not have read at one time or another----maybe forgotten but read at some point.
However all I have to say is WOW! cool magazine! Lots of lots of interesting stuff that I will post some of onto this site over the summer. I really like them. All of the issues I purchased are from the early to late 70's with a few early early 80's issues thrown in. I like them so much I am sending my relative back to purchase those that I left behind. It is too bad the format of the magazine has changed over the years because the magazine as it is now is not quite like the old version. Similar...but not the same.
I will add a label for Organic Gardening magazine to link to anything I post over time so come back periodically and see what I have added. I will try (very hard) to be diligent about it and get them on here. Some will be condensed but some of the articles I will probably be able to type all the way out.....now just to figure out how to get the pics on here. Maybe with my camera.

Also, I have included a picture of my garden. And a link here to how it looked just back in the winter of 2006. Big difference isn't it? The picture with the sheep eating and digging in the piles of leaves is almost exactly the same place that the other picture is taken from.
I figure in another 3 or 4 years it should be smashingly nice!

Lastly is a picture of our movable chicken cage---actually used for many things other than just chickens----that we have our mixed breeds chicks in. It's nice to put them outside during the day. They still have to come in at night because it has been fairly cool and they aren't well feathered yet.
Unfortunately, we have yet to come up with a good top. That would be because we mis calculated and made the cage a few inches too wide for the intended wire . So for right now we use some plywood pieces and just take them off when we need to move it around. Eventually the light bulb will come on for a fabulous, magnificent idea for an easy to handle top.
The cage is a bit annoying (though not really bad) to move if you have animals in it-----only because the corners come apart and are not permanently attached to each other. On the other hand it does come apart for easy flat storage during the winter and is not heavy at all. Maybe we will come up with perfect movable pen someday but..... until then, we like everyone else try and come up with what will work for us for more than just one situation without being expensive or impossible to handle or build. Perfection is a human fantasy--though it is hard to remember that sometimes.

have a great day everyone.

size DISCREPENCIES

2008-05-28T11:41:00.004-05:00

yES, wE HAVE A SIZE issue wE REALizE.

As you can see from the picture our new boar is...well...a bit short (er). You just never can tell from pictures what an animal really looks like so pictures (when there is no reference item) don't always speak a 1000 words.
AND even though he is a bit smaller than she is, I believe he feels he is more than capable or big enough for the job we got him for (to the dismay of our female). However I am thinking we may be waiting a bit for some piglets. Eventually I am sure they will work things out but right now Pumpkin (aka "oink") is a bit bossy and gives him a nip and a "what for" if he hovers near the slightly more rear aspects of her body. Sometimes she even chases him a bit---and he squeals just like a pig :-D (go figure!!)--- and runs and hides in the little white house that's in with them.
That's o.k. "Munch" as he is now known to us (Munchkin officially ) was well worth the trip I took and his personality is very nice. I know we will have some piglets in the not to distant future and I am very much looking forward to them.

Considering that the guinea hog is very endangered and not many left---a certain amount of "in breeding" does occur. Munch and Oink are about as distantly related as we could have probably hope for so we are very satisfied with him. I have to admit I was a bit surprised by his slightly smaller stature when we saw him the first time but I am told that he should hit his "growth period" very soon. Good thing---or else he'll have his wife beating him up all the time :-) Personally I think he might have lost out on the food issue and not gotten quite his fair share----but we will rectify that for him.
He has a nicer face than oink does too I think. I like his slightly longer nose and less inset eyes. Oink on the other hand has a very very meaty rump-----dreams of roast pop into your head when you watch her walk away :-D. Overall a good combo I think....now we just have to wait for the actual "DAY OF PIGLETS" to arrive.

Now..a few things about our setup that are visible in the picture. That is a doubled up cage that we purchased at Tractor Supply. Originally they were a bit cheaper than they are now. Gas and metal prices having gone up have made these pens quite expensive. However they do have a chain link style that would still, I believe, work well for this size pig. They attach at the corners with two brackets held by a bolt and a wing nut. Our second pen came without wing nuts----just regular nuts that required a wrench to tighten. We spent the extra 3.50 to purchase some wing nuts because they are much simpler to undo when we're ready to move the pen.
Also...you can see Oink's house in there. If you remember (and how could you forget) I have blogged about pig housing a few times recently. Oink's house is barely big enough for her and absolutely not big enough for her and piglets or Munch to get in and share it with her. So, we NEED to make that new house now. At the rate we finish things though, it will probably be the week before she has piglets that we get it done. It's just one of those time things (always!).
At least it's warm and not cold and rainy.

Two more things...I have one ewe I thought went open this year that I have found IS actually going to lamb. She will lamb about the first to middle of July (poor sheep!!).

Also I stumbled on this blog while out of town and would like to share it with all of you: Homesteading Hickory Hills.
I happened upon it while looking for examples of root cellars. After last years drought cracked and dried out the bottom of our pond so badly we need it to be re dug (it doesn't hold water now) and I figured I would have them dig for the root cellar while they are here. Now just to figure out where to put it hmm.......

After these messages....

2008-05-22T14:26:00.001-05:00

I'll be right back.
I just need to go out of town for a week to get my guinea hog boar. I'll see you when I get back ---and have pictures to post of him.

Good weather to everyone!

Another new link

2008-05-21T15:34:00.002-05:00

Here's a link to a site called Len's Garden in Australia that has to do with downsizing, sustainable, permaculture etc. It has a number of interesting articles ---that may go over some of what you already know---and some interesting outside links to other interesting places.
Sometimes links like these go over things we are already doing but it's interesting to read other people's thoughts on sustainable/permaculture etc and to see how their way may differ from ours. Besides---sometimes they have great ideas that maybe I haven't thought of or was searching for. Plus I love looking at pictures of how they set up their gardens, water systems, food, houses, and on and on.
Check it out if you'd like.

Another bit of "hog" housing

2008-05-20T10:20:00.005-05:00

Stuart and Gabrielle from over in Brittany sent me these pictures of their Kune Kune housing after reading that I was doing a search for an idea for our pigs house.
They actually ate their Kune Kunes not too long ago--yes, those two cute pigs in the picture. Well maybe they didn't eat all of them yet---but their ready to eat! :-D

This time they are raising Old Gloucestershire Spots instead of KuneKunes so I don't know if this house will fit those pigs all the way to the end or not. Not sure why the changed breeds---I may have missed that or maybe they didn't say.
I have emailed them to find out the dimensions and will probably make something just about like theirs. The only difference? A few bars around the inner edges for piglets to roll under in case mom lays to close to the wall, so mine might be just a bit wider. Since I am breeding my pigs, not just eating them, I thought maybe I might need that in there. I have heard mixed things about the bars. Some say "no,you don't need them" and some say "yes". However it is it won't take up much room to add them and could be the difference between a dead piglet or live one so....why not?
Anyway I thought this was another pretty snazzy picture of a pig house and thought I would share it with all of you.
Hope the weather is being nice to everyone. We have had great spring rains and all our seeds have sprouted without us having to water them (Yeah!!) So hopefully this will continue on.

Legal Defense Fund---for farmers

2008-05-19T08:36:00.003-05:00

A while back---at least a year ago but I think longer---I spoke with a lady that was part of a group trying to start a legal defense fund for farmers. The premise is similar to the home school defense fund in that money is pooled by yearly or monthly dues to help each member in case of need. Need being defined by harassment or actually suing by local, state or federal governments.
In both homeschooling and farming---"needs" seem to arise frequently. Going against the grain in society seems to create a certain amount of unease in those that are not---and they feel the need to punish people for being different.
Or if you just want to go completely conspiracy theory---then big business tries to monopolize us and force us into going out of business so we won't get a portion of or cut into their profits.
Anyway....we were interested and told them to contact us when they got their group up and running. And at one point we did get an email or something from them but at the time I must have had other things happening and it disappeared (probably into the trash bin of my email).
Today though as I strolled over to read Phelan's most recent post she pointed out something Caroline had told her about this group now suing the state of Michigan and the US government over National Animal Identification System.
Well lo and behold if it isn't the same group---now up and running and doing good deeds.
The group is called the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. They have both farmers and consumers as members and also take donations. The monthly/quarterly dues are not terribly high considering what good they may be able to do with them.
Wondering why a consumer might need to join?
Well if you just start with NAIS and then the stories of people losing their cow shares when the governments "attack" dairy farmers well...you have two good examples right there and unfortunately I am sure there are more.
So...even if you don't join or donate keep up with their site with their action alerts and maybe pass it along to a local farmer or another consumer if you can.

Oh yes, I forgot

2008-05-16T14:41:00.001-05:00

And in my search for the pig ark---and to see others web sites that may have used it or one similar -- I came upon this link:

Musings from a Stonehead

Really good farming link (their in Scotland!) and they have some great blog links to check out through their site.
So..happy reading everyone.

Housing for animal links.

2008-05-16T12:22:00.005-05:00

So,
As usual housing is always a concern with animals. Thoughts of ease of use, maintenance/cleaning, durability, costs and looks always play into the decisions of which form to choose for each animal.
Sometimes--you choose incorrectly as we have done before and end up rebuilding later.
Sometimes---what you thought you needed and what you ended up needing are different---and you rebuild or add on or adjust in some way. Or maybe you just didn't know at all what would work so you chose based on someone else's idea.
Sometimes---you don't have much money and do what you can. Later maybe you can improve when cash flow is better if aesthetically you disliked your initial project. Our chicken housing fell into this category. We now have a very nice chicken coop that I am happy with BUT....I would still like a movable pen so chickens can safely go into the garden or some other places. Sometimes I need them to dig specific areas ---but not destroy everything around them!

In regards to our pig---we really didn't know what we needed so....we made do. However with the advent of a boar and potential piglets at some time, we will need a larger home for them. Again..movable.

So. I have come up with two ideas. One for the chicken coop comes from CoffeeCoffeeCoffee and is really pretty decent. I like the fact that it is constructed from light weight material but has the wood to help keep it anchored. Very good idea. So...one movable chicken house soon to come. I just need to get off my duff and do it! :-D She has a couple of post showing the coop but added a few pics after I requested them to show how to feed/water. I thought it might be under the tarp---but just couldn't tell for sure. Now obviously PVC and chicken wire won't hold up to coyotes or dog packs---but within the pasture or garden that is already fenced this is a great idea for us---and it looks MUCH easier to move that the wood contraptions we have tried and always hated for their difficulty in moving.

Next is this link for a pig ark. Very nice units---this will look fine in my yard with my pigs in it. I will base my on the Kune Kune size since that is about the size guinea hogs are.
Remember---I live in a "residential" area. As a matter of fact I am technically not zoned agricultural but single family residential so....though it doesn't expressly say NO to animals---it doesn't say YES either. Hence....we try and keep things looking tidy so the neighbors with their much larger and brand new homes don't fuss :-)
Sometimes we look a bit cheesy here---but we try to improve with time so they will know we aren't going to be an eye sore always :-D
(Funny thing about people---they want to live in the country but not have any of that "country funk" around them).

Lastly I have 9 more chicks born yesterday. I think that may be it for us with this batch. We had a lot of nest switching and so I think a number of eggs were "lost" to cold ---not sure though that's just a guess on my part.
Originally we had pulled out all the roosters for a while then put in our only Silver laced Wyandotte rooster. I have Silver Laced Wyandotte hens (black laced), Delaware hens (white with black on the ruff and tail) and Cuckoo Maran hens (black barred)
Anyway---look at the pics of these chicks that were trying hard as heck to get away from me and the camera and get under their mommas. Now...with all black and/or white hens where did these little tan birds come from? Their not yellow like a white bird, their not black like the others so...My husband thinks they may be the Wyandotte rooster/Delaware hen cross. Who knows. Wonder what they will look like. I also have one chick that looks as if it could be (maybe) a "blue". We will see.
Fun stuff this cross breeding ---since I have no clue what they will look like :-D
I think I kind of like this.

On the lighter side plus a FAB picture!

2008-05-15T07:31:00.005-05:00

Gorgeous isn't it? My peonies this year are (or were) awesome. Sorry I didn't post more pictures. They're on the downhill now but the colors were outstanding! And along with my Constance Spry rose bush---they just scented up the whole side of the garden. Imagine what they will be like in a few more years! Wow!

Anyway---thank you for all the wonderful comments on my DNA posts---I so appreciate it.
Today though, we are back to blogging about food. One of my favorite subjects.

I ordered some wild plum trees a week or so ago to put along the side of our property and form a shrubby hedge area. They came yesterday and I want to highly recommend the place I bought them from: OIKOS purveyors of "native" and uncommon fruits *don't forget to notice that under the green bar/link section is a "subcategory" section----I missed it the first few times through and thought they didn't carry very much at first*.
They didn't say why but they up graded my size of trees on 3 of the 4 varieties I purchased. No extra shipping or anything did they charge and the trees---though in paper tubes---look great.The prices are excellent though most are seed grown which is why they are cheaper. If you have access to seeds of some of these you could easily start your own plum hedge however they no longer grow around here that we have seen so...purchasing was the only way to go for us. Yes, we could have chosen a grafted/domesticated plum but we needed a hedge to hide one side of the ram/chicken pen and we liked the idea of using something most people won't know is usable :-) So since today is cool, cloudy and rainy---perfect for planting trees---I will go outside and get started soon planting.
I would have liked to have a few more of their items, but they were either sold out or I just wasn't quite ready to purchase yet---but after this experience I will go back later this season probably.
I know some of you are wondering why I keep planting all these permanent items.I had told some of you earlier this year that we may sell our home ---but things have changed so we will be staying here. This is really good news for us since moving would have created a few problems difficult to solve easily---but some good things too which was why we considered it. However the choice is out of our hands now (in a very good way though) and so planting goes on. We are still downsizing some of our animals because of a few personal things we would like to do or accomplish now that our children are getting older. Unfortunately without farm sitters animals make some of our dreams difficult to do (Like a month long bike trip through Europe???? A long long long time dream!)

Anyway---off the rambling topic and back to food. Eventually I would like to add some paw paws and a few more persimmons to our property (we lost a few adult trees to storms). Oikos site has those including apricots which I would like to add and some more figs. Anything that can extend the season of food production here.
While doing a quick search for eventual size of my wild plums (I bought without thought of size or space!) I stumbled on a site called the natural food hub. Most of the external links are dead now but it had some interesting little tidbits on food so I thought I would share it: The Natural Food Hub.

Oh yes---SUPER SUPER SUPER congratulations to my brother and sister in law. I am going to be an AUNT again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah! (thinking girl here brother in law!!) Oh yes---and on their new home too! We didn't get to talk to you brother in law but we wanted you to know how glad we are for you! However---we notice we don't have an address yet---maybe you don't want us to know where you live now!!?? :-D

Awesome Video!!

2008-05-14T18:34:00.002-05:00

On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto - A documentary that Americans won’t ever see.

Very good! It's an hour long---but even the first 5 minutes will ASTOUND you!! I kid you not!
By the way just in case you miss it or don't have time the film says Monsanto was sued in 1997 in the U.S and in 2007 in France for false claims. Roundup in these two countries can not be labeled as "biodegradable" because it has been proven that it IS NOT. Only 2% degrades in the first 28 days. So, how come people still think it is??

A comment that I must discuss

2008-05-14T07:11:00.009-05:00

This comment was left for me in regards to yesterday's post on the DNA law and I just had to share it with all of you. Normally I don't do this but.....How could I resist this one :-D

This is voluntary. There's been discussion about this on other bb's and it's voluntary
to have these tests run.

Check out marchofdimes.com They are overjoyed this passed. The article posted is an alarmist/extremist article so don't panic - yet. :)

Actually Anonymous:

I looked on the government site and had a bit of trouble finding that particular statement for it being voluntary. But we'll leave that up in the air ---even though a number of people that are fighting it are saying there is not a voluntary statement attached to it. I agree---we should only believe what we read with our own eyes.
Also, I think voluntary is open to interpretation---it was suppose to be voluntary in Minnesota. Being in NAIS is suppose to be voluntary ----but how come so many of us are in there without are express approval?? I have thrown away my Nais form 3 times---never sent it in. Yet at one time my farm WAS registered.
Here is a fine link to what a Dr. and Congressman Ron Paul had to say---it hits on Constitutional reasons which is one of the best reasons to be against this bill after all.

Also consider Minnesota's state program which tested over 42,000 children WITHOUT parental permission by THEIR admission--and they are working on changing the law so they will have mandatory permission and no one will get in trouble for previously testing outside the "law". It has already passed in the state house and senate and is awaiting the Governor's signature. He has already said he is for this law. You can see who voted for and against the Minnesota state program here. They have some PDF files and links with video for who voted how and their reasons why. Previously the Minnesota law required written informed consent (which our government law does not state) prior to the collection, storage, use, or dissemination of private genetic information by government and others. Specifically, the law stated that genetic information could only be collected and used with written informed consent; it may be stored only for as long as the person consents; and it may only be shared with others, including researchers and pharmaceutical companies, with written consent. The consent to allow sharing for specific purposes expires in a year and must be signed and dated. However---it was not followed and was abused. And to this day NO ONE has been punished for it.
This new legislation would allow the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to exempt the collection, storage, use and sharing of newborn DNA from the informed consent requirements of the genetic privacy law. Without informed consent, MDH would be allowed to contract with hospitals statewide to prick the heel of newborns, use and analyze the baby's DNA into adulthood, and give the DNA-filled blood spots to researchers and others.

Do you absolutely believe that never ever will their be a person in the government that through political threat of job loss (just one way it could happen) might not do this very same thing?? Hahahaha ----you lie to yourself about human nature. Not that I feel every one is waiting to be bad but "absolute power corrupts absolutely" I know that even about myself. Which is why I don't trust "vagueness" in laws. Being "vague" leaves everything open to some one else's interpretation. If there is nothing else I have learned by living in different places in the southern bible belt is that interruption can take many many forms. Many of them are whack and way out there---and all this from "normal" people that vote.

If this legislation passes, the informed consent protections of today's genetic privacy law will not protect any baby born after July 1, 1997 -- the day health officials began building a government "DNA warehouse" for the purpose of genetic research. On that day, without legal authority or parental consent, MDH began keeping baby blood and storing it indefinitely.

Furthermore, few citizens are aware of the 1980 decision of the Supreme Court making it legal to essentially patent "life" in the form of genetic codes, bacteria and genetically modified animals.
In June of 1980, the Supreme Court held, by a 5 to 4 majority, that living organisms could be patented.
As another example, in 1976 a leukemia patient named John Moore had surgery at the University of California to remove his cancerous spleen. The University was later granted a patent for a cell line called “Mo,” removed from the spleen, which could be used for producing valuable proteins. The long term commercial value of the cell line was estimated at over one billion dollars. Mr. Moore demanded the return of the cells and control over his body parts, but the California Supreme Court decided that he was not entitled to any rights to his own cells after they had been removed from his body.

Don't fool yourself----things like this can be abused and it's funny how people who don't want these types of laws are always told to "calm down" it's nothing to worry about. While everyone else sits on the sidelines and says "it's for a good cause NO ONE would EVER abuse it". Or they say "well, I could see how it MIGHT be abused but it's for such a good cause!"
hahahaha---that's what always gets me---people always think politicians are the best when their trying to "save" or help us---but we gripe about them being corrupt the rest of the time.
All it takes is one Karl Rove type character in the right place and WOW-- you got what you didn't ask for. Not to bash Karl Rove---but he manipulated a lot of things (all not completely proven but the evidence is overwhelming that he had a hand in many things) and yet to this day.....No punishments. He wasn't even the President.

Lastly to comment on the thoughts of others that we, as a democracy, should just blow this law out of the water.
Well I have some problems with that:
1) I watch main stream media, listen to NPR and "surf the web" every day for news and I NEVER heard of it until now. Why is that?????? Doesn't seem like our news outlets are being very helpful.
How can I vote for or against something if I have no clue it was up for grabs??

2)Sometimes I am a minority anyways (yes, I know---a problem but then I would still rather have a democracy). My problem with the minority factor though is this: A family member very close to me once said these words to me "Yes, I would give up some of my freedom and allow the government to track me if it would insure the safety of my grandchildren from danger from terrorists and other people wanting to do harm" What the F$%@ !!! I absolutely DON"T believe in that-----but many many people do. Now just interject "give up my freedom so that they can study diseases no matter how they may use the information later----I want my grandchildren to live".
When do you draw the line between safety/security and freedom??

On another blog about environmental issues they asked the question that fits here somewhat: What are you able to give up and what are you WILLING to give up? How about you?

Fear mongering?----and your saying I am buying it the other way. Hahahaha.
All I see is that you bought the opposite side of the "fear spectrum" from me. At least I want you to have your freedom and my fear imposes NOTHING on you-----you don't care if some government official eventually uses my DNA or my kids or grandkids for something maybe good but maybe bad. You can still have the testing---I can't choose not to.
Won't matter----because people are giving away my choice for the short term solution. Without me being able to say no or even yeah---I didn't get to vote on it.
At least my choice creates absolutely no problem for anyone else---we all still have freedom. The other choice---is no choice. Someone else gets to make it for me. Essentially.....My grandchildren will eventually be much less free than our founding Father's hoped for. Total Bummer.

Good Luck with that anonymous---hope you are as free as you ever hoped to be.

P.S---added later after more thought.

Historically people bring up the Nazis when talking about topics like this, however I say why go back so darn far? Let's look at some other places more recently where just the color of your skin or your religious orientations created issues for you to be exterminated: Cambodia in the 70's with Pol Pot. Rwanda in the 90's, Bosnia in the 90's, Darfur---currently occurring. (or as one commenter reminded me---The black sharecroppers of Tuskegee and our governments 40 year experiment on them and syphilis. Now THAT actually fits with this issue) All this without even using DNA. Yes, those countries where supposedly not as Democratic as ours---but what about the thought that this type of law just allows us to go with LESS kicking and screaming. Why chase the sheep when you can trick them into the barn with some grain?

Also the question of does this law violate the Nuremberg Code comes up. Depending on how it is eventually used---it could.
Here is the starting part of the code:
The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision.
Does signing a card while your being wheeled into labor while having strong contractions mean you are giving consent without being incorrectly "situated" as the code states? Or maybe while Dad is trying to hurry and fill out paper work and sign things to get back in the room as fast as he can---does that count? All things to consider. (Wondering about the code---see it here)

These are all things to consider. Laws like this are never "cut and dried". They have far reaching consequences and MUST have protections written into them. Is it a bad idea---no. Not on the surface anyway. However it's not the top of the pond that worries me---it's how deep it is when I jump in and how far I have to swim to get back to safety.

I feel overwhelmed!

2008-05-12T18:04:00.002-05:00

By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

With virtually no fanfare, President Bush signed into law a plan ordering the government to take no more than six months to set up a "national contingency plan" to screen newborns' DNA in case of a "public health emergency."

The new law requires that the results of the program – including "information … research, and data on newborn screening" – shall be assembled by a "central clearinghouse" and made available on the Internet.

According to congressional records, S.1858, sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., was approved in the Senate Dec. 13, in the House April 8 and signed by Bush April 24.

"Soon, under this bill, the DNA of all citizens will be housed in government genomic biobanks and considered governmental property for government research," said Twila Brase, president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care. "The DNA taken at birth from every citizen is essentially owned by the government, and every citizen becomes a potential subject of government-sponsored genetic research."

Brase has objected extensively to plans in Minnesota to provide state government the same option now handed to the federal government by Congress.

The bill, she said, strips "citizens of genetic privacy rights and DNA property rights. It bill also violates research ethics and the Nuremberg Code.

"The public is clueless. S. 1858 imposes a federal agenda of DNA databanking and population-wide genetic research," Brase continued. "It does not require consent and there are no requirements to fully inform parents about the warehousing of their child's DNA for the purpose of genetic research.

"Already, in Minnesota, the state health department reports that 42,210 children of the 780,000 whose DNA is housed in the Minnesota 'DNA warehouse' have been subjected to genetic research without their parent's knowledge or consent," she said.

The federal plan sets up the coast-to-coast DNA collections then report the results to "physicians and families" as well as educate families about newborn screening.

"We now are considered guinea pigs, as opposed to human beings with rights," said Brase, warning such DNA databases could spark the next wave of demands for eugenics, the concept of improving the human race through the control of various inherited traits. Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, advocated eugenics to cull from the population types of people she considered unfit.

In 1921, Sanger said eugenics is "the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems," and she later lamented "the ever increasing, unceasingly spawning class of human beings who never should have been born at all."

Such DNA collection programs are offered as screening requirements to detect treatable illnesses. Currently, the type of tests conducted varies from state-to-state, but the Health Resources and Services Administration has requested a report that would "include a recommendation for a uniform panel of conditions."

"Fortunately," Dodd said when his plan was launched, "some newborn screening occurs in every state. … This legislation will provide resources for states to expand their newborn screening programs."

So what's the big deal about looking into DNA to hunt for various disease possibilities?

Nothing, said Brase, if that's where the hunt would end.

However, she said, "researchers already are looking for genes related to violence, crime and different behaviors."

"This isn't just about diabetes, asthma and cancer," she said. "It's also about behavioral issues."

"In England they decided they should have doctors looking for problem children, and have those children reported, and their DNA taken in case they would become criminals," she said.

In fact, published reports in the UK note that senior police forensics experts believe genetic samples should be studied, because it may be possible to identify potential criminals as young as age 5.

In Britain, Chris Davis of the National Primary Headteachers' Association warned the move could be seen "as a step towards a police state."

Brase said efforts to study traits and gene factors and classify people would be just the beginning. What could happen through subsequent programs to address such conditions, she wondered.

"Not all research is great," she said. Classifying of people could lead to "discrimination and prejudice. … People can look at data about you and make assessments ultimately of who you are."

The Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening is one of the organizations that advocates more screening and research.

It proclaims in its vision statement a desire to see newborns screened for 200 conditions. It also forecasts "every student … with an individual program for education based on confidential interpretation of their family medical history, their brain imaging, their genetic predictors of best learning methods…"

Further, every individual should share information about "personal and family health histories" as well as "gene tests for recessive conditions and drug metabolism" with the "other parent of their future children."

Still further, it seeks "ecogenetic research that could improve health, lessen disability, and lower costs for sickness."

"They want to test every child for 200 conditions, take the child's history and a brain image, and genetics, and come up with a plan for that child," Brase said. "They want to learn their weaknesses and defects.

"Nobody including and especially the government should be allowed to create such extensive profiles," she said.

The next step, said Brase, is obvious: The government, with information about potential health weaknesses, could say to couples, "We don't want your expensive children."

"I think people have forgotten about eugenics. The fact of the matter is that the eugenicists have not gone away. Newborn genetic testing is the entry into the 21st Century version of eugenics," she said.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons has posted a position statement on the issue, noting that many good things can result from genetic testing.

However, it expressed two significant areas of concern.

"History shows that this information will sometimes be leaked or misused, regardless of who controls it. When private companies leak information and break people's confidence, they have often been exposed and punished, as people no longer buy their services or sue. In contrast, when government agencies do the same, the guilty bureaucrats have often been protected and rewarded instead of suffering meaningful consequences," the group said.

The AAPS said in order to do the best possible job of protecting privacy, anyone who has access to DNA data should be "individually liable in the event of unlawful disclosure of genetic testing information. …"

The other area of concern is equally significant.

"Genetic testing could be used for purposes found immoral in the Hippocratic medical tradition. For example, a utilitarian use of testing, in this example also immoral, would be to test for conditions which would make an individual less useful to society for the purpose of killing that person, as has been done in some totalitarian systems, such as Nazi Germany. Likewise, the use of genetic testing in attempts to breed a super race would be immoral and unethical. In these examples, the utility of the person to the society is the deciding factor, a position antithetical to the Hippocratic tradition of primary responsibility to the individual patient rather than to an amorphous society or relativistic social policies," the group said.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was one of the few voices to warn of the dangers. Before the plan's approval, he said, "I cannot support legislation, no matter how much I sympathize with the legislation’s stated goals, that exceed the Constitutional limitations on federal power or in any way threatens the liberty of the American people. Since S. 1858 violates the Constitution, and may have untended consequences that will weaken the American health care system and further erode medical privacy, I must oppose it."

Paul said, "S. 1858 gives the federal bureaucracy the authority to develop a model newborn screening program. Madame Speaker the federal government lacks both the constitutional authority and the competence to develop a newborn screening program adequate for a nation as large and diverse as the United States. …"

He also said as the federal government assumes more control over health care, medical privacy is coming under assault.

"Those of us in the medical profession should be particularly concerned about policies allowing government officials and state-favored interests to access our medical records without our consent … My review of S. 1858 indicates the drafters of the legislation made no effort to ensure these newborn screening programs do not violate the privacy rights of parents and children," Paul continued.

"In fact, by directing federal bureaucrats to create a contingency plan for newborn screening in the event of a 'public health' disaster, this bill may lead to further erosions of medical privacy. As recent history so eloquently illustrates, politicians are more than willing to take, and people are more than willing to cede, liberty during times of 'emergency," he said.

Some interesting articles

2008-05-08T17:11:00.003-05:00

An article out of Canada about the phase out of 80 chemicals and 300 products that experts say pose a potential health risk----and Home Depot is doing it voluntarily. Wow! I wish all companies would do that.

Did you know that they start chickens on antibiotics before they even leave the egg? I didn't. See that one here.

And a food shortage article. Which brings home the point that we should all be putting in at least a few tomato plants in our yard this year----and maybe some beans and potatoes too by the way things are looking right now.

And a few things President Bush has to say about the Farm Bill and food prices. Maybe once, just once, he may get something worthwhile done. But maybe I am expecting miracles.

Another Guinea hog update

2008-05-08T16:24:00.002-05:00

So it is officially official.
On Memorial weekend I will travel to Arkansas to visit with my family and while I am there I will pick up our new Guinea Hog boar. Hopefully everything will go smoothly as I may be by myself on this trip. Now....we just need a name for him.

Pumpkin---aka our "pig"---has been dieting a bit the past few months. We kicked it into high gear recently when we found we might actually have a male to breed her too. She had gotten a bit "porky" over the winter time. A bit too much corn and too much time in her home during the colder windier days of winter left her a bit paunchy. Paunchy is not good when your a pig who will soon try and get pregnant.
With the advent of warmer weather and bugs and grubs to dig up now (and a reduction in extras) she is just about slim and trim for her meeting with her new beau and future sire of her piglets.

Speaking of pigs and feeding I learned some very interesting things yesterday when I stumbled on this site: Woolypigs.com They have a great web site with butchering videos, feeding information for the more lard style pigs, and a number of other things. Meander through their site---I think some of you will find it as interesting as I have.
Now that I have had a pig for a while some of the "other" ways of feeding stick a bit better in my brain. So now, when we have piglets we will do a different style of feeding than we have been previously. Actually we need to switch our pumpkin to eating hay part of the time. She's not always on pasture, since she's in the gardens tilling them for us and our neighbor, and so we feel that hay will be better for her than purina pig chow (made with who knows what---and I DON"T want that in those I will eat).
We figured we could trick her into starting to eat good alfalfa hay by spritzing it with a bit of something she likes---or maybe rub an avocado on it. She LOVES avocados---she goes crazy for them. O.k..she goes crazy for most food---but you can tell she likes them particularly well.

As far as WoolyPigs goes---I would take one of those pigs that they raise if I had the space---and a way to get it from Washington state! But alas, I don't. However, I do like my guinea hog and I am happy to have a small hog to fit my smaller farm. She's really turned out great. So...soon we will have two. And I have to admit I am definitely looking forward to that.

I have..

2008-05-06T15:31:00.003-05:00

Two new baby chicks courtesy of my hen hatching them. There are about 50 more eggs being brooded by 5 hens altogether so maybe we'll get a few more.

And I have some left over Jerusalem artichokes. Not very large---that is a nickel in with them in the picture---and only a few red and also some white tubers. Free to two people for only the cost of the postage--which would absolutely be under 2.50. Want some? Contact me through my email.

A bit more about Oca

2008-05-03T20:51:00.002-05:00

Hayden asked me to supply a tad bit more about Ocas (Oka) so here is what I know of it (which is not much bigger than my tubers):

Supposedly it is hardy to my zone 7. Supposedly it take 4 to 6 months for tubers to develop but the tops are frost sensitive.
So..my thoughts are that I would usually start them a bit earlier than I am now (I had to order them this year) and then if I needed to I could put a temporary plastic tunnel or some remay fabric over them in October, or even when starting them, if needed to allow them to have enough time to mature fully. The end of October will be 6 months for me this year so I should be o.k.---but just in case I will use a tunnel.
Here is a link to the plants for a future data base on the Oca. And a decent article from a guy that grew them already---he might have been in a warmer climate than mine though?

Lastly I don't think I said where I purchased mine. It was Nichols nursery if you are interested.

Oka (or Oca)

2008-05-03T08:18:00.002-05:00

Here's the picture of my Oka tubers I promised. Their kind of small though supposedly you can get much larger tubers. Probably depends on growing conditions.

Also, here is an excellent (really!) article on Jerusalem artichokes.

An interesting article

2008-05-02T17:07:00.003-05:00

Here's a blip from an article. Check it out---it's kind of thought provoking.

At some point in the proceedings a senior official from the Bush administration stood up and said that he thought climate issues were too complex for average Americans, implying that climate change needs to be solved by experts, not the people. Jan couldn't hold her tongue even though it wasn't her turn to speak.

See the article entitled The Birth of Blue to read more.

A few things done

2008-05-02T15:26:00.005-05:00

We have had an out of town guest here this last week so my routine has been a bit different. So, for an update here are a few things I have marked off my to-do list:

I have found a guinea hog boar "husband" for my sow. I will be picking him up in Arkansas at the end of May or early June. You can see the farm that I am buying him from at the link Rudugast's ideal Livestock.
The boar we are purchasing is a boar out of Skyfire Oreo and by Skyfire Sargent Pepper. Both our boar and sow will be "shared" with our neighbors to do tilling, compost turning and in the fall cleaning up under the nut and fruit trees. Of course they will also "help" us by having piglets. Think Hawaii here (unless your a vegetarian then just think Cute).
By the way--- I may have some piglets for sale in the fall for anyone interested.

I have a platform set up to raise my 250 gallon water container up off the ground. It is a mini deck like structure and it is under the chicken roof and though I would like to use it for watering the garden, I have such a large garden that when a drought occurs 250 gallons is just a drop in the bucket. (It can be used for emergency water for us though--along with our Big Berkey if we really needed it.) Instead, I think we will set it up as an automatic gravity fed watering station for the chickens and any sheep that are penned in there---or who have access through the neighboring pasture. That way we can travel a bit more during this summer without worrying about who will water the sheep, chickens, etc. Always an issue in this day and age of small farming.

I have tomato plants ready to plant out. Some of the seed was sent to me from a fellow blogger and then I also have the tomato "accordion" that I really enjoyed last year and did well in the drought. I also have more asparagus seeds sprouted for me and some friends. I am working towards another 40 foot row of asparagus so we can have a large harvest each year. The plants that I grew from seed last year are very tall now and seem to be doing well. Last year they never got taller than a foot---this year they are all at least 5 feet tall.
In addition, basil will also go out soon---in about another week. Their still rather small.

A 40 foot row of sweet potatoes went in on two very rainy days---only to get sun burnt on the first sunny day. So they are now under some burlap shade and looking a bit better. Hopefully they will make it since they are the two purple varieties of sweet potato I purchased. The rest of my sweet potato slips (about another 40 foot row) come at the end of May from Sandhill Preservation.

I got a 40' bed of raspberries planted ---but not mulched yet. Hopefully I will finish that by tomorrow. I am using old bedding from the ram/chicken pen so it should be full of good stuff for the berry plants. All my berries came from Nourse farms and look really nice. I even got a few extra--which I shared with my neighbor.
I have the yellow "anne", black "bristol" and two reds: "carolyn" and "taylor". By next year we should be snacking on berries and in a few more making jams and jellies hopefully. We had raspberries at our previous residence--but of course we didn't bring them with us.

My perennial oxalis bulbs/corms (aka OKA or OCA) came today and I will take pics of them to show what they look like before I plant them tomorrow. They are part of my expanded perennial beds that I am adding and posting about last post. Of course I only was able to get a few corms of these--they are rather expensive. We will see how they grow and taste and maybe in the not to distant future I will have my own to sell or trade with others.

Lastly---my lambs are growing like weeds this year. The grass is green and growing---unlike last year when it stayed short and stumpy. I will have to put up some new pictures soon. This batch of lambs has been very fun as most all are about the same size. They are like one huge school of "fish" swimming around the pastures, ignoring their mothers and overall trying to get into trouble. Baaaaad lambs! ;-D

Have a great weekend everyone!

More in the garden

2008-04-27T13:09:00.002-05:00

Recently I have decided that I will expand the "permanent" section of my vegetable garden. When I told my husband of this his first thought was how much he loves plums and could we get a few plum trees for that area.
So..I had to rephrase it to say that I would like to add a larger "soft perm" section to the garden. By that I mean somewhat permanent ---I can move it if I change my mind without destroying it as I would a section of trees. My reason? Well, how nice to have most of my garden producing food without me having to replant each and every year. By not replanting, and with a few years care---you get a weed free area that is pretty much self sufficient AND gives you good food.
Obviously I will plant fruit there too---but raspberries will do instead of trees that are unmovable.

So I began the search for more perennial food products---specifically veggies-- that will grow in my area.
During this search I came across a few interesting things.

The first is the oft repeated trivia question of: Can you name the only 2 perennial vegetables?
The answer to the question is suppose to be asparagus and rhubarb. This is incorrect though since there are more than two---and I did already know that----though unfortunately most people don't.
Of course it may depend on where you live, think Northern Canada versus Florida, since climatically those two areas differ greatly. But there are many for most "in between" gardeners and I will list a few of them that will grow in most people's garden (I think Florida would come out ahead in the number game on this issue) , overwinter, and come back strong and healthy without work the next year. This will be in addition to the "old standbys" of asparagus and rhubarb -- this is by no means the sum total but it's a start beyond just two!

1. Raddichio---if you don't mind it being green
2. Helianthus tuberosa---also known as Jerusalem artichoke but unrelated to artichokes at all (the name is a corruption of the original foreign pronunciation) We have grown and are again growing these.
3. Crosnes ( pronounced crones) a root tuber of the mint family--I haven't found these yet.
4. Oca (or oka) a root vegetable of the oxalis family grown and regularly eaten in south America. I purchased some of these for this year---we will see what they are like and how they do.
5. Fiddlehead ferns aka Ostrich fern---something I would love to have but have not gotten yet. I need a little bit more shade for these and figure the spot will eventually work itself out.
Of course "how many" also depends on WHAT you will eat since bamboo, horseradish and daylillies are perennials too---and the list can still go on!

Next is a book I found recommended for people like me looking for perennial and unusual veggies that think I might purchase called oddly enough, Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier.
The next time I am placing an Amazon order and need "just 12 more dollars will get you free shipping" I might throw this book in. Maybe..just maybe...I can borrow it from my library. I think it highly doubtful though.

So, consider like I am, adding some or more perennial veggies. They require a bit more preparation the first year but after that well, they just get easier and easier AND offer more and more with less work.

In the Know

2008-04-25T07:29:00.004-05:00

Maybe as a monthly post I will do an "In the Know" section based on items I read from a few of the subscriptions I take. Since a number of my blog readers don't raise animals they may not read some of these subscriptions. Even many of the people I know who do raise livestock don't read these. Why? Well, it's not because their weird or have strange views---it's mostly because they are not widely carried in "normal" bookstores. You have to know of them---and go on line to subscribe. Two I frequently quote from are: Stockman Grassfarmer --an excellent 61 year publication that is directed specifically at those that don't want to grain their livestock and want to raise them organically. And Acres USA. Acres is also for the organic farmer, not only livestock person, and has been around for 35 years.

So here are a few small bits from Acres this month (some shortened slightly since I am retyping them)

Pro-rBST group.
A group has been formed to halt the increasing flow of milk coming from cows that aren't treated with rBST or rBGH. Called American Farmers for the Advancement of Conservation of Technology (AFACT) they purportedly are a "grass-roots" farmers group: although it was organized by Monsanto, a Colorado consulting group that has Monsanto as a client, and the marketing firm of Osborn & Barr (whose founder includes a former Monsanto executive. This is a serious attempt to muddy the waters---watch out for it.

While I personally don't find this next one a problem from an ethical view point, less confined animal operations are a good thing and buying local from a farmer is better, I do find it a problem from an economic standpoint:

Chicken Plant Closing.
Pilgrim's Pride is closing a chicken plant in Siler City, North Carolina, along with 6 distribution centers. Reason? As quoted from CEO J. Clint Rivers:
"Due largely to the U.S. government's ill-advised policy of providing generous federal subsidies to corn based ethanol blenders, our company's total costs for corn and soybean meal to feed our flocks in the fiscal 2008 would be more than $1.3 billion more than they were two years ago." Other closures are possible.

(What I want to know is if the corn is worth that much---why are they still getting government subsidies?????!!!????)

Lastly:

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Company (love their peppermint soap) have filed Cease and Desist letters with various companies who are labeling their products as organic despite the fact that a number of their products have tested positive for the cancer causing synthetic ingredient 1,4-Dioxane, including these well known brands:

Jason's, Nature's Gate and, Kiss My Face among others.

The OCA is demanding that these companies reformulate their products to remove petrochemicals and 1,4-dioxane or else remove the "organic" label claims from their packaging. Offending companies who do not contractually comply by April will be sued by the OCA.

To see a safe list of body and home care products, and keep abreast of this issue, go to the OCA web site at organicconsumers.org/bodycare

Where o where are my lost pictures

2008-04-24T11:27:00.006-05:00

I notice some of my posts have "lost" their pictures. Obviously a blogger issue.
I don't complain to much since well...it is free after all. So what can I expect.

Here are a few picture for the heck of it. If they "get lost"....oh well. Have a great day everyone.

I

She lost her sweater!

2008-04-22T12:25:00.005-05:00

Oh no! Well not really. She looks a bit less like a rag a muffin without her sweater don't you think?
Still small---she may not be a breeder this fall---but she is growing like a weed. Her mom is doing a great job producing enough milk for twins. Since their dam is a yearling we were somewhat concerned about plentiful milk. (Also when she was delivering I worried there might be three---oh no I kept thinking to myself).
Yearling ewes sometimes barely have enough milk to raise one lamb let alone two. Their just not fully developed the first year which is why some people choose not to breed yearlings. We do unless their just super small----because after all that is what nature intended.
Obviously Too does have a capacious milk supply---but these guys started out pretty small so they have a bit more catching up to do to be the same size as the others. They are almost keeping pace with the single lambs being raised by yearling moms. Considering they have to share everything---thats not to bad. For all of you that had to share with siblings I guess maybe you can understand that :-D

Out in the Garden

2008-04-21T08:26:00.002-05:00

This year seems to be a much better gardening year (knock on wood) than last was.

The peach trees are finished blooming and the apples are half way done. Peonies are getting ready to bloom but unfortunately the heavenly smelling lilacs are just about finished.

This weekend we went to a plant sale and then worked in the garden the rest of the weekend.
We picked up a Louisiana purple Fig at the plant sale ---just one---and divided and planted our own Brown Turkey. That gives us 4 figs total. I had mulched the brown turkey this winter very high and got one branch that sent down roots. The other brown turkey is a cutting and we will see if it does "it's thing".

We have a couple of tomatoes planted along with a wall o water around each----just to give them that extra extra heat they like at this time of year since I find they grow just so much faster with one of these around them when their young. I purchased these two at the plant sale---a cherry variety that I wanted to try. I like cherry tomatoes---always plenty to eat AND share.
For the tomatoes this year we are using what is left of the leaf pile in our yard from fall of 2006. Totally weed free---but absolutely beautiful soil ---we decided that would be a great place for them. And maybe maintenance free for us except for some watering occasionally. So stakes and trellis are in the process of being put up with the expectation that more tomatoes are to come.

Potatoes are in the ground-- I didn't buy any of those this year. I planted small potatoes left over from last year and some that actually made it through the winter in the garden. I moved them to a new spot but have many of the purple potatoes ---all blue I think----that made it fine even though they were partially exposed during the winter. Wondering why I didn't take them in and eat them? Well, I couldn't see that I missed them in the fall---maybe they worked their way up during the cold and frost??? However it is: they survived drought then living in the garden through the winter. So of course we should absolutely plant those!

Anyway---I did notice that we don't eat as many potatoes as we used to but much more sweet potatoes than we used to so this year I will grow more sweet potatoes than regular. As a matter of fact I should be getting some slips of Okinawa purple---cross my fingers ---which is a purple sweet potato. Tannish skin (white is the official color---but their fooling their selves by calling it white) and purple flesh. Cool huh? I also ordered a number of heirloom sweet potato varieties from Sandhill Preservation---hopefully they won't sell out before they get my order. I ordered 5 or 6 varieties: Red Wine velvet, Old Henry, Brinkley white and I don't remember what else---so they'll be a surprise. About 40 slips I think. With those I started myself this year and the others I purchased from elsewhere I should have about 70 plants. I have never grown this many before so I will see how well I can store them throughout the year.

Moving on we also planted out some summer squash. A yellow variety I will try and remember to post the name on later. It is an heirloom and last year I got some freebies during my volunteer stint at crabtree farms. This year I purchased a few of them since they didn't have any freebies for the volunteers. (Shucks)
This variety did really well last year and kept on producing well even after they got squash vine borers. They also didn't seem to pick up the borers right away so I wanted to try these again. The zucchinis never seem to make it before they get borers and succumb so we have just quit planting them---even with pre blooming protection of remay. Zukes are my favorite but hey...yellow squash is better than no squash. And this one does have a good flavor.
Each squash has it's Juicy Juice brand plastic container with the bottom cut off over the top to protect it from cutworms and add a bit of heat. I don't bother with wall o waters on the squash---though I could ---since they grow so fast anyway. Before I know it we will be throwing them in the compost pile as it is :-)

Lastly we have ancho and jalapeño peppers. Just two of each. We eat a lot of peppers but find that only a few plants will produce way more than we can consume. The anchos I will dry and use throughout the year and the jalapeños I will hopefully make into salsa/pico de gallo with homegrown tomatoes. Last year that didn't work out for us---but maybe this year. Some years we get to can---others we don't.

I still have tomato seedlings in the house---they won't be ready for a few more weeks. I have that late start from being sick with the flu.
I also have flowers and some herbs to get started now that it should stay warm.

Maybe this year---my garden will grow full of beautiful things to eat and look at. Hopefully we will all have a better gardening year this year -----unlike last. Cross my fingers and pray for rain. But not too much :-D Always that fine line aye?

The last and the littlest

2008-04-17T09:05:00.003-05:00

Well, I promised pictures of my small set of twins. Having been born to a not super large yearling they are small---but healthy and already growing. We will keep them in the barn for a few more days just to make sure---especially since we are still cool and damp at night.

The little ram I had to wake up so all my pictures, except one, were of him nursing---or trying to get back to mom to nurse.
The little ewe (with her sweater that we kept on just because she looks cute in it) had already been up and was full.

Since I have been in there so much with them they are very friendly little things.

One way to save a lamb

2008-04-17T08:27:00.008-05:00

So, I would venture to say that the little ewe twin of my yearling will make it. As a matter of fact she can push her slightly larger brother off a teat now---which is good news. Well, not for him maybe :-)

So quickly ,without super great detail, I would like to offer up some advice on how to save a lamb that I have learned through trial and error. These are things I have learned myself or through others.
First: No matter how the lamb is born, face forward or breech (but especially breech), if it seems as if it were the slightest bit stressed go ahead and hold the lamb VERY securely upside down and give a few slight swings to help it clear the lungs. As quoted from Jager Icelandic web site:

you will need to give it a good swing to clear the lungs and passages of any inhaled birth fluids. Hold on tight to the wet and slippery lamb while you swing, and be sure to be clear of any obstacles!

Keep a close eye on a breech lamb for the next few hours to watch for labored breathing.

Sometimes a lamb appears to be breathing normally after a breech birth, but will then succumb to fluid in the lungs later in the day.

This will be kind of from one side of your body to the other. A few will do----unless you really hear a lot of fluid then a few more will be o.k. Sometimes even gently born lambs have a small wheeze---so I always give them a quick swing and hope for the best. I have yet to lose one to inhaled fluid though.

The first time my husband saw me do this he freaked out "your going to kill it---or snap it's neck" It may seem like that but it doesn't happen---however remember this is swinging with control---not over your head cowboy style.

Next---if it is born outside and it is windy/cool or especially below freezing or rainy drying the lamb is very important (or even if your pyrenees decide to love on one until it is sopping wet while it is cool and windy outside). Usually lambs are fine,get up and mom can do it on her own. However if you notice the lamb is not getting up or sluggish they may be getting cold. Especially if mom has two or more---a lamb that lays gets overlooked while others begin to move and nurse.
Sometimes if mom is new she has trouble getting them dry fast enough. Difficult births can have mom or baby slow to start. Twins or more leave one slightly unattended sometimes. Usually---things are fine. However if you need to warm a slightly damp or chilled lamb hairdryers are your friend. They deliver gentle warm dry heat that will leave the scent on the lamb. You can use them easily in a barn with electricity.
If the lamb has dropped to lower temps (take a rectal temperature of your lamb)you need to heat them with: heat lamps, pads, very warm but not hot water (with lamb in a trash bag before immersion up to the head)or a heat box whichever you prefer. I suggest that you always have a good book like Laura Lawson's Managing your ewe and her newborn lambs (or another) on hand. Hypothermia can kill lambs quickly. You must know what to do

If your lamb is still sluggish, but warming, they MUST have food. Again---you need to have a book because extreme hypothermia requires glucose ALWAYS during warming and before tubing---delivered abdominally so it will get there quick. If you warm them too much after they have been very cold they will die before they get warm without enough glucose for their body to use during warm up. You must at least have a book or something written so you can follow it and know what temperatures require what actions.
If your lamb just got slightly chilled--maybe it's temp never dropped below 101 or so--- you can also use 50% dextrose (yes, 50%) at 10cc, delivered into two places under the skin---preferable in the crotch of the back legs to kind of boost them. Use a small gauge needle---they have very thin skin. 20 or even a 22 gauge is best. Rub the bubble to disperse the glucose.
Another trick---is to put some into the fluid if you are feeding a colostrum substitute. I used about 6 cc in place of my water for a few times---however I was also able to milk my ewe and use her colostrum in addition.
Learn and understand how to tube your lamb because if it won't suck----it WILL die. If it won't suck and you are scared to try and tube because you are afraid you will accidentally drown your lamb---your lamb will still die. Remember: If you don't try because you are afraid to accidentally kill it----it will die anyway.
Keep tubing your lamb until it shows signs of 1) trying to nurse on its own ---then make sure it does or 2) until it shows signs of walking around and being frisky---then make sure it nurses. Books will give you a great idea of how much fluid down to the cc per pound but here is a general: 60cc (or 2 ounces) per 3 pounds of lamb EVERY every every 2 to 3 hours. If you go every 5 or 6 as some people do---the lamb will live but never get better. That happens frequently as people do not realize they must feed so often and the lamb slowly starves to death. The lamb will be always on the verge of starvation (also known as starvation induced hypothermia since their body temp can never go up completely without enough food). You MUST give them enough. It seems like a lot for their bellies but it is not. Promise.

Our one problem---we tubed our lamb so well she got full and wouldn't nurse. Once we realized she was so frisky and doing well we let her go without a feeding---we never could get her to suck a nipple for us. Finally---she got hungry and tried to nurse. We still had to help her the first few times (remember she hadn't gotten to nurse on mom before this) to find the nipple and kind of keep her brother from pushing her away. However she quickly caught on and is now a pro.

So...hopefully this helps someone in the future. Remember if you don't try---it will die anyway.

Doing well so far.

2008-04-16T16:01:00.005-05:00

My small set of twin Icelandic lambs that I posted about yesterday seem to be doing o.k today. I will post pictures of them tomorrow after I go and check on them for the morning. Last night we spent every two hours (yuk!!) going out to tube the little ewe lamb since she was a bit lethargic and still not doing a good job of getting nursing. As I said it was chilly here yesterday and dropped into the low 30's last night with a wind that blew into the barn and over the hay bales I had set up. Yukky. Weather like that is hard on small small lambs that are struggling from the start because of getting cold.
However this morning she was looking much perkier and as the day went on and it warmed to the high 60's she really started to look good. Our only problem? How to get her to nurse from her mom. After consulting two friends (Jager Icelandics and Frelsi Farm) we decided that maybe we were feeding her so well that she wasn't ever hungry enough to try and nurse. So this afternoon I skipped one of her feedings since she was moving around and active----not lethargic or sleepy seeming at all. That seemed to do the trick and she decided (finally!!) to nurse on her own---a bit anyway. I had to help and encourage---but she took to it well enough and did some on her own.
Now we'll just keep an eye on her for a couple more days to make sure she is getting enough. She's not as aggressive of a nurser as her brother----but technically she is a day behind him after getting cold. She's doing well enough now though that she struggles and fights when I try and tube her---even squealing a bit so..... tomorrow if she looks good and acts well---I will optimistically post a picture of the two of them. Maybe I'll even let her model her sweater in the picture :-)

And to the weather.
It's been chilly here this spring 2008 but not with horrible late frost like last year. This weekend I will pick up some plants (because of my flu I am late on starting seedling or skipped some of the altogether) from our local organic place during their spring plant sale: Crabtree Farms.
I usually get a couple of jalapeño plants from them---we only need a few so it's not worth messing with a package of seed. This year I will probably buy a few tomato plants too. I have some tomatoes started but barely---they'll be later this year.
We are close to beans and many other things going into the ground. So it will soon get busy in the garden. Hopefully the rain we seem to be getting will keep coming as it has been. They say it will dry up this summer on us again---well we'll see. At least this spring has (knock on wood) been better so far than last.

Also, if your interested in more lamb pictures, my friend Nancy Chase of Ingleside Icelandics has what she termed a "lamb-a-palooza" event recently. She should have pictures up by tomorrow on her blog Keepingthefarm---she had so many lambs in a short time that she had to take off time from posting and hasn't gotten their pictures up yet.

Lastly---we're looking for a guinea hog boar this spring/summer of 2008 to buy, borrow or trade (sheep?) for.
Contact me if you know of someone that would like to allow us to do one of those things. Trade for sheep or a guinea hog piglet? Borrow? We are creative and will consider most any idea. Travel is not out of the question.

When you speak to soon....

2008-04-15T19:12:00.004-05:00

Sometimes you can become overwhelmed. As happened to me today. After my initial post I went off to do some volunteer work at an organic garden/teaching center. However---since this is the week before their semi-annual organic plant sale---they were inundated with volunteers. After spending just a portion of time their that I was suppose to I told them politely that "I have some ewes due to lamb and since there are so many people I will just go ahead and leave a bit sooner". No problem was their reply.

So off to home I went, thinking maybe,just maybe one ewe might (might is the operative word) have her lamb today.
As I drive up I count sheep and 2 are missing. I get out and go to the barn and their they are both looking at me from the back. "girls, what trouble are you getting into down there" I ask them as one runs past me. Oh nothing----except having a lamb. My white ewe El was down there with a cute little white ram lamb. So into a pen I put her. Get water. Give him a quick scrub with a towel just to make sure he's dry (cool wind today here) and go in to eat a sandwich.

Well, after my sandwich I walk out to get the mail and Secret looks rather suspicious down in the pasture----she was the ewe in the barn with El earlier.
Sure enough---she's lambing too. Out in the pasture of course with the cool wind blowing around. I watch for a while and then eventually notice some yellow fluid leaking out. Yellow means the lamb may be in distress---so in with my midwife skills I step and help to pull the largest lamb ever born on my farm out of this poor ewe. We haven't weighed it yet----but I will tell you tomorrow if I am wrong and it is NOT at least 12 pounds. This lamb is as big as my first born set of twins. Seriously. It's a she---and she's a beauty though. I think she's a white lamb with odd pheomelanin splotches. However---she could be a moorit spotted but I really don't think so since her skin doesn't look tannish (or brown) that I can tell. Her pheomelanin is an odd taupe color though instead of the more common golden or reddish yellow color.
Since her dam has great big teats (like a cow not like a sheep) we are calling her Secret's calf because of her size. Heaven's sake---big lamb.

So...I get them in the barn and settled in. I take all my towels and my very dirty clothes and throw them in the wash and change into a clean set. My last ewe to lamb looked ...mmmm...odd as Secret was lambing so I feel the need to check on her now.
No sooner than I walk up to her and up she gets from the ground with back lamb legs hanging out. Bummer. My first thought is dead lamb. However I need to help her get it out, and fast, since maybe it might still live. Too (the sheeps name is Too) getting a bit uptight about this lambing thing, decides to be a brat. I have to kind of wait until she lays to push and sneak up to her. As I get there I take hold of the legs and pull with her contraction as gently---but quickly---as I can. Out comes a small horned moorit gray ram lamb (Not another ram lamb I am thinking!! At least he's cute) I hold him upside down and help the fluid drain and he starts breathing. Good.
Then Too lays back down and woosh---out pops a small black gray mouflon ewe lamb for good measure. (By the way---this is the yearling I blogged about that I said I thought she might have twins)
The ewe lamb, having been stuck in there a bit longer than she was suppose to was a bit weaker. Though she isn't on deaths door, we are helping her out a bit and hopefully she will make it. As small as she is (about 3 pounds) plus the being stuck behind a lamb that might have held things up by coming backwards has made her a bit tired. So we have and will tube her a bit, give her a few glucose shots and hopefully she will respond well and thrive. She is not giving up---she walks and tries to nurse---however she is a bit weaker and slower which when your 3 pounds can be a not very good thing. In two days we will know if she will make it or not.

So to say the least: I didn't get dinner made tonight.

Here are pictures of the first two lambs. First picture is El's ram lamb. Other two are Secret's oddly colored ewe lamb. I don't have pics yet of the small twins. Tomorrow maybe. Wish me luck :-)

Twinlets

2008-04-15T07:06:00.003-05:00

So I have had no more lambs yet but we have been enjoying those we do have. Three of them are a bit "odder" than lambs normally are.

My ewe Aleda has the badger ewe and ram lamb and my ewe Tippi has the black/gray ram lamb.
Tippi's ram has been a pill since the day he was born. Never still, always exploring, he has taken it upon himself to gather all the lambs together in play. Irregardless if a ewe doesn't want him to...he keeps at it until he leads the other lambs "astray".
Anyway--probably because of age proximity he and the badger twins have hooked up. We saw this happening over time---and to a certain extent it is not unusual. Lambs of similar ages play together. However, and here is the weird part: These lambs have become more and more attached to the point that they are almost triplets. During the day they play, run, explore and sleep together. Temporarily the separate to nurse or if their mother's insist but it's not very frequently and has gotten less and less the older they become. Yesterday though we noticed an even closer bond start to develop. The black lamb (for once) was sleeping when the badger ram decided to come get him. Streeeetcchhhhh....he got up to play, and then decided he needed a sip real quick before playing. Mom----not 5 feet away---was close to accommodate him. However, badger must have decided at that time, seeing his "brother" nursing,that he TOO needed a sip (siblings always nurse together---they see the other start and dive in to get their share). He looked around, called for mom who didn't answer, and decided he would just slip right in under "the other mother" Tippi. She didn't notice right away but as she turned to look, calmly chewing cud, she sniffed and realized "Not MY kid" , looked decidedly shocked and then butted him away. So badger looked around again, called mom again---still no answer---and tried to slip in under Tippi a second time. This time she was more prepared and shoo'd him off. By this point Blackie was done ----and off they ran to play, peas in a pod to get the third miscreant---and badger was no longer interested in a sip.
Later, after dark, we went to check the "un" lambed ewes as usual before going to bed. Off to the side was Aleda ( a bit stricter mother) with her ram lamb, her ewe lamb and ,shockingly, blackie all spooned up next to her for warmth doing a sheep sleep over---something we have never seen before. At night (since dark is dangerous) lambs usually stay side by side with their dam. Tippi was a little bit away---but watchful of her lamb---going to give him a sniff to make sure he was fine when my husband went near them. She left him there though with his "siblings". Ewes just don't usually allow other lambs to be that close during nursing or sleeping, nor do ewes normally allow their lambs to wander off to that extent, especially during the dark. For some reason these ewes have worked out something because these lambs seem to think they are long lost triplets. I don't know how it happened. I don't know why---but I have to admit it is odd and we have ever seen lambs or ewes do this.
When they are all lined up, side by side, neck in neck, sniffing or trying to sample some new grass they just act like siblings---not age mates.
Of course I couldn't get them together for this post---but I am sure I will later.
The picture of two lambs are the two rams. The single is the ewe. Quite cute aren't they?

Foot and mouth disease

2008-04-11T15:18:00.002-05:00

Again I have to ask the question: What the heck is the government thinking??
I suggest, even if you don't raise animals, that you read these two articles about the governments proposal for a new lab to research (among other things) Foot and Mouth disease. The difference here is the the "old" lab is located in a non (or at least reduced) livestock area. The new areas for consideration are located right in the heart of commercial livestock areas. Hence---if an accidental escape of the disease occurred as it did in England a few years back---we could see a mass depopulation of livestock. Both commercially and privately owned. The article mentions scenarios played out by officials to see how bad it would be if this occurred. What happened in their scenario? Why food shortages and large riots.
How about them apples?

Dangerous animal virus on U.S mainland?

and

Texas may be home to new foot and mouth lab

Dung beetles

2008-04-10T15:49:00.003-05:00

One of the issues that face people raising livestock is internal parasites. Any type of livestock is susceptible: horses, sheep,goats, cows, alpacas, pigs---you name it, they have parasites. These parasites can sometimes cause health issues or worse: kill the animal.
One thing we learned when we started to raise cows, then sheep, is that organic control of these problem pests takes more.....effort.
I don't mean effort in the sense of more work---but it does require more brain power.
The easiest way, and least brain powered way, to control parasites of livestock is to feed chemical wormers to the livestock. Of course if you are certified organic you aren't suppose to. Naturally, sustainable or pasture raised doesn't really come with restrictions on these chemicals however knowing the farmer you purchase your food from will tell you a lot about whether or not they use them regularly, occasionally or never. The government tells us that these chemicals are fine for us from anywhere to immediately after the animal ingest them, or for some, after the withholding of milk or slaughter for certain periods of time after ingestion. However---if you read my blog regularly you will know---I am skeptical of any chemical the government says is fine for me.

So....how to naturally, sustainable, organically control these little boogers?
Many many ways exist but one of the really good ways (that also helps with pasture fertility along with flies and other pests that spread through manures) is the DUNG BEETLE. Yes, I highlighted it so that is would stand out---I am not yelling :-) Here are some pictures of dung beetles so you can recognize one if you see it: Here is a female Onthophagus Taurus also known as (I believe) bull headed beetle---hence the taurus in the name. And also a few of Onthophagus Gazalla---which I do not know why it's called that. Notice the males of both species have horns.

Now these types of beetles are not indigenous to the U.S. They came from elsewhere but are not considered problematic since they do not interfere or cause problems with other native species. As a matter of fact---more places would like to have them. They are slightly different than some of the other types of beetles that help deal with manure. These beetles actually dig holes and bury the poop. Both of these things help with: pests of all types, aeration of pasture soils by improving moisture retention and compaction, and fertility by "feeding the soil" (a bit of a basic way to put it but..)

Now you can learn lots more about these guys than I could ever tell you----and how ALL chemical wormers will kill them in animal poop---by looking on line or reading Charles Walters book Dung Beetles & a cowman's profits.

The main thing I wanted to tell people here----since most will not find this on line and probably won't buy the books----is how to propagate them.

According to research done by students at Texas A&M this easy way will increase your dung beetles easily:

They would start late in the fall (I am sure you could do it in the summer too) with a 5 gallon bucket of soil, topped by a cow patty. More than likely sheep, goat or horse poo would work as well---if their burying it in your pasture I am sure they will bury it in the bucket. However quantities and moisture may need to be adjusted? Anyway---add 5 or 6 pair of beetles (or as many as you can collect--search on line for how to collect, but usually pit traps with a bit of manure pat inside are used ( Nobody said it was going to be a clean job).
After a week or so the pat will be eaten. Collect your dung beetles with a small amount of dung in a cup, and move them to a new bucket and repeat. Each pair produces between one and two brood balls per day. Here is a link about hatching and pupation: Here.

Most people will not do this BUT (big but here) you never know who might. So to all of you out there who might try this to help your pastures and parasite problems: Good Luck. The power of poo to you :-)

Big Berkey

2008-04-09T10:06:00.004-05:00

Recently, in addition to our new Country Living grain mill, I decided I also was ready to purchase some sort of water filtration system. We have always been interested in water filtration for two reasons: 1) we would just LOVE to do rain water collection and even with that "purer" source of water filtering is still necessary. 2) One of our previous homes in the country was well water and we had to filter out what is known as iron bacteria.
During our years of previous filtration we used the paper type filters that you can pick up at just about any local store. The problem is, though they are cheap, is that they constantly need replacement and are just another thing to throw away into the waste stream we humans have done so well at creating.
Of course of the many things we throw away that might be one we can all more easily agree on being somewhat of a necessity in some areas.
So recently....again....we decided that we really needed to filter our water. We have sediment (just regular sand/rock type), heavy chlorine (are we drinking my fathers pool water today?) and of course the other gunk we might not know exactly everything about--- but knew it was there. We considered whole house filtration---but that would just have us on the paper filter ferris wheel again. Though we would like to filter all the water for chlorine we decided to, at least for now, narrow it down to drinking and cooking water. That's were we come to the acquisition of our Big Berkey fitted, in it's most basic form, with cleanable ceramic filters. You can upgrade with different filter---even some for PCPs---but as with all things like this (ie: not quickly disposable) they are a bit on the expensive side initially. Over all---the price works out but you have to basically pay it up front.
Anyway---call it my frugal nature or just plain laziness but, in my search for filters, the idea of a cleanable and reusable filter appealed to me a lot. I hate to have to stock, store and re buy supplies continually. Especially items like water filters, ac filters, and stuff like that requiring you to go slightly out of your way to get it and worse: remember to get it!
So we ordered one on line (actually on Ebay but I found it for the same price in a few other places) and it came not to long ago. The fist batch of water is completely tossed out---then you have to wait a day for it to dry( I believe this is to condition the filters??)---then fill it again. Then you can drink. Ahhhh----no taste. Well minimal. It's not like distilled water that is completely devoid of flavor and kind of weird because of it. BUT, and a big but here, we couldn't taste or smell the chlorine at all. Supposedly it's also removing some other "stuff" for us too. That's really why we wanted it since we could have removed chlorine by just sitting our glass/container of water in the sun.
Also, since no power is involved (another plus for the Berkey) we can have clean water as long as we have access to water---irregardless if a storm knocks out our power or the city shuts off our water because of problems. We can---but hopefully will never need to----use water from our barrels of rain water or even out of our pond! Cool isn't it?
And last but not least---since it's a counter top model---we can take it with us where ever we go.
Now---and here's the clincher. I read that some people save money by making their own. Having never seen a Berkey---I just didn't get it. NOW I do. We would absolutely make our own from now on if we wanted another. However---we would still need to purchase the filters from Berkey/Doulton. But the initial price is reduced by coming up with your own container. A savings of at least $100. The containers (in this case)are thin stainless "pots" that nest together to allow the water to drip from the top one to the bottom one. When the Berkey first comes it is unassembled and so there for all the top "pot" is, is just a basic pot with 4 (or more for the bigger versions) equally spaced holes. A thick rubber gasket on the inside keeps water in, and a nice plastic wing nut on the outside (of the top pot) tightens down the the gasket and the filter so they don't leak. I don't know if replaceable filters come with new gaskets and wing nuts---but they may.
The bottom "pot" has a hole in the side where a spigot, installed with a thick rubber washer on the outside AND inside, is located. Voila---easier than pie.
Just make sure---if you make it yourself---that you use non rusting metal or food safe plastic. Oh yes---and a lid for the top to keep out dust and such.

Last thing here about water filters: sand filters are really the way to go if you want to be "self sufficient" and without relying on electricity. This is the concept---easily done---that is used in many places without potable water.

Now---my next "self sufficient" acquisition: A Reading apple peeler. (click on "more views" to see the parts)
I have had those cheap "other style" apple peelers and broke them. Annoying little things that are flimsy when doing lots of apples and without replacement parts when you break them.
Because this type of peeler is considered one of the best (we have actually seen one used in an old Amish tourist place that was original) and you can still get complete replacement parts from Lehmans----I am saving up or going to buy one on Ebay. This next apple season won't see me without home made sauce again.

New Guys on the Block---plus a gal

2008-04-08T15:55:00.006-05:00

So after I posted early this morning we went outside to round up the ewes for the state vets visit for our annual scrapie check. As we were setting up we noticed that one of the yearling ewes looked as if she might be lambing. Well, as it turned out we were correct. Poor Paris---our shyest ewe overall---had to be rounded up and then put into the barn while the poor thing is starting to lamb. Of course I never would have gotten her in the barn without my husbands help so we had to do it.
The other reason for doing it is if she had had trouble lambing we could then help her without doing the commando routine out in the pasture trying to sneak up on her. Believe it or not---laboring ewes can run to a certain extent if they feel it necessary. Paris lambed like a pro considering all that went on--completely unaided. Way to go.
Anyway, we only have a small barn---16 x 32. Very small actually because Icelandics just really don't need serious barn space in our climate. Our barn is barely more than a "just had my lamb" space and a small amount of square bale storage and a place to "trap" them for shots/tagging or vet checks or whatever. Really we wouldn't have even had one except it rained so much the first year we had them I wanted a place to feed them were I didn't have to be in the rain the whole time---so the barn is more for me to stay dry in the winter :-)
But....in there today we had one pen with Princess and her two new lambs. One pen for Tippi and Aleda and their slightly older lambs. One pen for poor Paris---trying to have her lamb and another for the 4 girls not YET lambed. Jeepers! I didn't even have enough panels---I had to sacrifice a 16 footer to the cause and cut it down.
All worked out in the end though and the vet got everyone looked at and now we are good for another year. Finally---I have been able to get around to posting pictures of today "lamb haul". Oh yes---Paris had a precious little white ewe lamb that looks like a little angel lamb. Of course so far---to me---all the little white ewe lambs look like angels. Their faces are just a bit different looking than when color shades them :-)
One more thing---the little brown ram decided that it's never too soon to start caring for horns.

Was it the drought?

2008-04-08T05:00:00.004-05:00

Last night I had another set of twins born to one of my ewes: two more RAM lambs! What's up with that?!?
At first I just thought it was dear old Tex getting heavy on the ram lambs and my luck would change. However this ewe was bred to an entirely different ram---one that has generally thrown mostly ewes for me and never have I gotten ram twins from him so....Was it the drought?
Nutrition supposedly can and will affect conception rate of sheep. In the fall most shepherds "flush" their ewes and rams. Flushing is when you raise the quality and quantity of food right before, during and slightly after breeding to encourage more eggs to drop. Though I did that---and have received all twins for my trouble so far---I do wonder if something about the drought changed something about the matings and so that is why I am so heavy on ram lambs. On the other hand---it could just be "luck of the draw" this year and it was just what I was meant to have.
Regarding droughts affecting the number of lambs though: quite a few people have commented this year that they are getting many more singles from ewes that have always had twins or even triplets. So it just goes to show, yet again, how important good nutrition is for something even so simple as fertility. Obviously drought is a lot harder to control than minerals are, but something to consider when raising animals and getting them ready for breeding. Nutrition is key to everything.

I will post some pictures of the cuties later this morning. It is still to dark to take pictures in the barn since I never got electricity down there. Also the state vet is coming early this afternoon for our annual scrapie check which we missed in October. So it is going to be a busy morning. At least the weather is suppose to be nice :-) Maybe some rain tomorrow which will be good for my patch of oats I planted but look like nothing more than a "patchy" stand of garden I forgot to pull grass from right now.
Have a good one.

And another lamb

2008-04-06T07:56:00.007-05:00

Another new little ram lamb born yesterday to our ewe Tippi. He actually was a twin---but his brother died. So sad. However he made it and is cute as a button---and on the move!
Black as sin and though it doesn't look like it he has fairly large horn buds. That was his and his brothers problem--horn buds (plus his brother came backwards). The horn buds slowed them down and required a bit of help. So far all of Tex's rams have had large horn buds. I will have to watch the few yearlings I bred to him to make sure their lambs (if ram lambs) make it out o.k.

And here are a couple pics of Aleda's twins. Doing well and bouncing all over the pasture. Sproing! Sproing! Very cute. They are all on the move so getting these few non blurred pictures was a feat in and of itself. So healthy though :-)

Soon...about the 9th I should have another ewe due. Maybe---even though I saw her breeding they trick me continually so....
Check back---the pictures will keep coming.

Some have come

2008-04-04T09:26:00.008-05:00

First---apologies to some of you for not answering your comments. I have been "away". That's how we'll leave it :-D But I do apologize for seeming to ignore.

Anyway---I have lambs and other things to blog about so maybe I will have more presence here in the coming weeks and months.

My first lambs have arrived. My ewe Aleda has had two beautiful lambs for me early this morning and accomplishing it without a hitch just like the pro she is. Aleda has always given all the "classic" signs of immenent lambing the 24 hours preceding her lambing so we have never failed to know when she would lamb. Her milk bag will gain a large amount of size the preceding day, she will take herself off to be alone and away from the others and her flanks will sink in to tell us that the lambs are getting their selves ready and in position. Thankfully Aleda is kind to us like that unlike some of the others that try and trick us for weeks previous to their lambing. They continually leave us hanging and watching and wondering. Oh well, we are speaking of sheep here.
Here are some pictures of the first of this years lambs--standing lamb is a ram and laying lamb is a ewe--- and one of Mikey (their guardian) saying a quick Hello. Oh yes---and a quick picture of the bluebird box. Hopefully they will all show up---you know how blogger is with pictures :-(

Don't forget earth hour tonight

2008-03-29T08:33:00.002-05:00

At eight tonight March 29 ---whatever your time zone---earth hour begins for your area. This is an event started last year in Sydney Australia involves people and cities around the globe. Here is an excerpt from an article to explain what it is if you have never heard of it:

Twenty-six major cities around the world are expected to turn off the lights on major landmarks, plunging millions of people into darkness to raise awareness about global warming, organizers said.

Will you participate? It not only asks that cities and businesses to turn off light on major buildings and landmarks but restaurants to have diners eat by candlelight for an hour and home owners to also participate.

Here's a link to the official site for Earth Hour to find out more about it. Try and participate if you can since it's just so darn easy. (earth hour site does seem to be a bit backlogged so you might have trouble getting it---good luck)

Some natural help

2008-03-21T14:18:00.004-05:00

As I posted about recently I had to take my son to the Doctor's office expressly for the purpose of getting a note for him to prove to school he was actually sick.

Generally we rarely set foot in a Doctor's office unless we have serious pain or raging fever that could be something more serious. We are overall a healthy family with no ongoing issues (severe asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart issues etc) so most "common" illnesses are just something we have to overcome and wait out.

Here are some "natural" remedies and ways to deal with colds AND flu that may save you the time and expense of going to the Doctor's office since it is not always necessary to go to the Dr to get better. ( Some people go to get antiviral drugs when they have the flu but these can cause side effects and even the CDC says they may shorten the duration by 1 or 2 days, which is not very much.)

First--Wash your hands!! The flu virus (and cold) is spread by someone sneezing or coughing their germs onto surfaces. These germs can live in this hostile environment for up to 3 hours. This means that the person who used the debit card machine 2 hours before you is still there in a sense. You then use the debit card machine (or touch their change or the counter they touched) and then poke your fingers into your eyes, nose or mouth. Those are the three ways that viruses generally get into the body---obviously cuts and other things can be entrance vectors but we are trying to be simplistic here. Also--- studies do prove that at the first signs of illness, extra vitamin C and zinc, whether in lozenge, nasal spray, or juice form can help to at least reduce the severity of colds and influenza. By how much? No one really knows for sure but hey....pina colada blend orange juice tastes great so I don't mind drinking it.

Secondly---lay off the aspirin if you start to develop a LOW fever. Fever is the number one top notch way for the body to kill a virus (such as cold or flu)---though it does make you feel kind of yukky for a bit. A low fever is considered anything below 102 degrees. I would go so far as to say that anything below 100 is a safe bet that you or your child will not die for sure. Above that is your personal choice whether or not to give aspirin. Obviously you have to use your better judgment. If the fever is accompanied by extreme pain, vomiting, convulsions etc---definitely a Dr is in order. This is something anyone can research a bit more on line for their selves.

Three--Have coughing? Then you must need to get rid of some phlegm/mucous. Drink LOTS and LOTS of fluid. Fluid helps keep mucus moist, so it can be expelled easier and also helps to keep sinuses moist and keep those nagging "stuffy head" headaches at bay. This is a must for anything involving mucus and the lungs.
Also---my personal favorite: Steam. Don't waste your time trying to steam up your bathroom. Boil some water in a pot and poor it into a large bowl. Drape a towel around your head and over the bowl and breathe as deep as you can---through your mouth and through your stopped up nose. It will absolutely help stop coughing and break up the mucous. Do this a number of times a day (and night---especially if you wake up coughing). I have done it up to 10 times a day because it just helps so well. Another thing......add some eucalyptus or camphor oil. Easily found in the essential oil section of your local green grocer or health food store. I used eucalyptus the last time I had a "croup" type cold. Between the steam and the essential oil, I quickly broke up the problem and worked into a productive cough (with much less coughing to boot)

Here's a small excerpt from another site about steaming:

Steam inhalation is an effective treatment in respiratory conditions and is highly recommended for treatment of the common cold, sinusitis, bronchitis, allergies and asthma.

1. Steam relieves inflammation and congestion of upper respiratory mucous membranes.
2. Steam relieves throat irritation by moistening the air.
3. Steam relieves spasmodic breathing (Asthma, Croup).
4. Steam loosens secretions and stimulates discharge of mucous from the throat and lungs.
5. Steam relaxes muscles and relieves coughing.
6. Steam Keep mucous membranes from excessive drying

For very young babies steam is one of the few ways to help with cough or croup since cough medicine is not recommended for them---not that most of the cough medicines help that much anyway. If you read labels the majority of cough medicine (even some prescription ) is made with Guaifenesin. This is a medicine used to help expectorate mucus. The funny thing about this medicine is that you really need to drink lots of fluid to help it do it's job (it says that --really). So.....is it really doing the job then or are the fluids?

Lastly for us---a bit of green phglem does not send us to the doctor. We use our judgement to decide. If we are feeling better, coughing is productive, and no fever is present or no longer present then we consider that our bodies are taking care of the problem on it's own and antibiotics are not needed. If fever is now present when it wasn't or coughing is less productive or worse then a visit to the Dr. is probably in order.

My point of this post? People are smart and can learn to care for their selves without wasting time or money in a dr's office for a cold or other minor things. I think we have all been brainwashed to believe we need some one to tell us we will make it or to commiserate with us----I'm not sure which.
Studies show that the major reason Dr's give prescriptions is to make people feel as if the Dr actually did something for them or to "be on the safe side". I mean---how many times have you made it out of a dr's office without a prescription? However antibiotics CAN NOT do a thing for flu or colds and studies are starting to show that cough medicines aren't really doing much either. Worse is that we still are overusing antibiotics by going to get a prescription for one because we just don't want to take the time to do simple things to help our body like steam inhalation, drink fluids and REST.

Well, hopefully it will be along time before anyone in my family has this again. But, just in case we do....we know some tricks to help care for ourselves while our body fights the enemy. Hope your family has good luck avoiding the dreaded flu and cold season next time.

A Little Bit of......

2008-03-20T08:02:00.010-05:00

Sheep Sleep

Turkey Love

The Flu

2008-03-19T14:46:00.003-05:00

So yet again the "flu" has risen it's nasty little head here in our home. My son now has it and unfortunately will miss this whole week of school. Missing school is no big deal as far as I am concerned since I know he can easily make up the work but...big but here....he had to go to the doctor to receive a note to say "yep---he's really sick, Mom isn't lying." At the cost of my co-pay since I am a lucky one and have insurance.
So I had to make an appointment...drive there...spend time waiting...and then shell out the co-pay all so my son's school will believe he was sick. Idiotic isn't it?
Of course the Doctor seemed offended when I told him we were there only for the note and that I already knew my son had the flu. How did I know that I was asked. Why...because I and some of my neighbors have had it. "Well," he says "we will have to check for ourselves."
So they did---with a very large Qtip up his nose and a vial of some sort of "flu detector" stuff.
Five minutes later we are given the big negative about my son having flu along with a script for prescription cough medicine we don't need. Of course the Dr doesn't guess as to what it might be and I....ever the suspicious person especially when your a jerk to me ....decided to go home and do a bit of research on this supposed "test".
With just a bit of quick internet looking I find these nice little facts easily enough that the Doctor didn't mention to me (maybe I seemed to stupid to understand or need explanation):
*Detectable Influenza virus is only shed the first day or two of symptoms and very hard to distinguish after that (my son has been sick 7 days now) Hence---testing is most accurate and best done during this time.
*These supposed "rapid in office tests" are only 70% accurate with nasal swabbing and less so with throat swabbing even during the shedding period.
* The FDA itself also says that these tests are only moderately to reasonably accurate depending on the time of year----very early flu season testing and very late flu season testing equals less accuracy. (This is late in the flu season isn't it??)
* Lastly---the Doctor must also use his BRAIN and consider how his local has been affected by the flu to help with his diagnosis.

Is this all I can ever expect from the medical field for the rest of my life? Is there no doctor out there that can think for himself and believes (truly believes) that you don't need a script for everything and that you only need to see him if you are really really sick??

Lastly---I thought about balking about this and telling the school board that though I was a lucky enough person to have insurance what exactly did they require from someone without it? That I personally wasn't going to buy into it and what the hell where they going to do about it? Kick my son out of school?
Originally when I called the dr's office I was going to just pay cash (thinking a quick visit for a note would be simple enough) but they told me it would be at least.....get this...a $100 but probably more. That included the 30% discount I got for not having or paying with insurance. Hah!
This is bureaucratic bull crap in the highest form. Both the Doctor, the test and the school requirements.

I think I was born in the wrong century or something. Thanks for letting me gripe.

Nagging

2008-03-12T15:42:00.003-05:00

I would like to do a little bit of nagging today in my post. Usually when I speak on this subject I have to post about, people start to look around and say "yeah, yeah, yeah". Here in this forum---you can't do that. Though you can just switch to another web site :-)

My subject of choice today is vitamin deficiencies and human health. Let me bore you by starting near the beginning of understanding for us--- and I will try and keep it somewhat short since I believe I have posted on this a bit already.

When we began to raise our cows and sheep we, because of one of our black cows turning red, realized we had a problem with copper deficiency on our property. Now as we have been told over and over again----sheep do not need copper so we were NOT suppose to worry about them and just treat the cow. However, during research into this subject (I am not one to accept the first explanation someone gives me) I found that, through soil testing, it was actually the health of my soil that was affecting the absorption of copper in my cow. We have too much of some good things and not enough of others. These extremes all effect absorptions rates of various minerals from the soil, into the plants and eventually on to the animals and my family (either through eating the plant ourself or the animal that ate the plant).
At first we just supplement the cows with some extra copper---but we started to realize that there was more to the issue than just adding a bit of copper to the cows and doing nothing for the sheep. Also we had some minor health issues that seemed, when studied from a holistic viewpoint, to have to do with other mineral issues. We could have done just the "normal" thing most livestock owners are taught and purchased medicine from our vet---but we didn't want to always treat our animals---we wanted truly healthy animals.
Well, to make a long story and long research condensed---we chose to take a step that most veterinarians will never think to suggest: We eventually sent in a liver from a sheep to a testing laboratory (that we had butchered) and had it tested for various minerals. We couldn't butcher the cows since they were breeding stock and not eating stock, so the sheep was the next best thing. This is something I highly recommend for those that keep livestock---especially if you lose an animal. Just cut out the liver (I know---some find that yukky) and freeze it to send off.

This past year we tested for more things than ever and found out that though we now supplemented our animals with a number of healthy things AND that overall they are doing very well----we still were surprised to find ourself low in some nutrients. Our more expanded testing we did through the Colorado Veterinary Diagnostic Lab told us that we had successfully raised our copper and selenium up and that a host of other nutrients were very good. It did though go on to tell us that we were borderline deficient or outright deficient in some other nutrients we had never really considered: Cobalt (B12), magnesium, and zinc. All things now being attended to in our mineral program.

The health of the soil---as pointed out above---affects all "veggies" that grow in it. Whether or not that "veggie" is for a human or a cow/sheep/chicken/goat is irrelevant. We ALL get some of our vitamins and most of our minerals from the plants that grow in soil.
IF the beef or chicken or whatever did not get those nutrients in their food---you will not either.
After we started to learn about our problems we encouraged others to test their animals too and lo and behold---many many many livestock owners found that they had deficiencies in the mineral/vitamin health of their livestock even though they did what the experts recommended.

Now on to some observations and articles:

Recently a friend was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Then...another friend was too. One lives near me---the other very far away. Right about the time I found this out from both of them (within a weeks time) one of the magazines I read came in the mail. Just by chance it had an article about Vitamin D deficiencies (there is also another link within this article to explore) and that experts are now realizing that many people, especially those with fibro, may have vitamin D deficiencies. Of course I told both friends---one took me seriously because she too has checked her animals and realizes what aspect correct vitamins/minerals play in health. The other----her eyes glazed over and she said that she would just drink a few more glasses of fortified orange juice. However amounts and absorption rates vary with each glass. 100% does not necessarily mean you get 100%. Also---in regards to vitamin D did you know that if you live in a Northern local you receive less rays to help you each day? Did you know that you need approximately 30 minutes a day (on a large amount of your body--not just hands and face) to receive your "daily" amount of D? Did you know that I was dumb enough to think the world was small and that I did not live in the North? hahaha North in this case is....north of the equator! So, anyone above Atlanta or Las Angeles lives in a "northern" aspect. Go figure! Funny how we view our world sometimes!
Anyway one of the biggest problems with figuring vitamin/mineral intake, either from eating food or taking supplements, is the absorption rates. Take a glass of milk. Say it has 1500 mg of calcium in it (lets assume here the cow was fed a healthy diet and not some funky food they like to feed). You don't necessarily receive ALL 1500 mg---it ranges depending on what else you ate, what's in the body already to help it get absorbed etc etc.
Also---did you know that just because you buy vitamins you may not be buying the one best absorbed? Calcium is a good point and one piece of information I actually learned from my mother's cancer doctor. Calcium Citrate is the version you should be taking and not the other forms --one of which is oyster shell.

Now, vitamin/mineral supplements can help we all know----but maybe not as efficiently and easily as we are led to believe. That is why you need to check to make sure you take the BEST form of a given mineral or vitamin. The form most easily absorbed.
My family has taken Calcium supplements for years (since my mother's bone density came back borderline during cancer treatment) with added vitamin D (in the form of "D3" which is one of the better forms).
We now also take a copper and a B12 supplement since we realize we may not be getting enough in our diet because we eat quite a bit of our food either from our own soil (which currently still needs some improvement) or also food from the store that is not organic. Organic does not imply that all minerals/vitamins will be there---it depends on how they care for their soil. It does however give you a better chance since the "organic care" of soil including compost and other organic amendments help the soil to reacquire or else to "unbind" the minerals.

Some really good places to learn more about these types of things are:

Pat Coleby's books on natural livestock care (she has one for cows, horses, sheep and goats). Even if you don't own livestock the information on soil health and vitamins and minerals is easy to read, and easy to understand. It will get you headed in the correct direction for sure. This is were we started-----and we highly recommend it----but we do not exactly follow the mineral mix for the livestock anymore.

Acres USA. This "magazine" is quite informative. I don't always get use from every article and the editor is very outspoken (which I like---but maybe some others wouldn't) but it is good and very well geared to organics/soil health/better livestock care etc. This one is NOT just for those who raise livestock. It is for those that garden too. They also have an excellent book store with many books that deal with the subject of nutrients (and our lack of them).

The reason I posted this is for this: more and more I realize what nutrients mean to overall health. I also realized, in dealing with "high up" officials during my search for information, that most doctors/vets/livestock people will just regurgitate exactly the same thing over and over. They know nothing more than the standard information supplied to them that seems to me to be obsolete and worse---incorrect. Your children and your health depends on the correct nutrients. Please...make sure you are getting it.

Signs of Spring (and lambs)

2008-03-05T13:55:00.006-05:00

Not only have I noticed many daffodils and forsythia blooming around here, but we now have a few dogwoods (just a few) with some flowers on them and a number of trees with swelling buds.
This, along with the warmer weather we had the last few days, reminds me that spring is very close and may be peaking from around the corner of my house ( I just can't see it because we're siding you know?).
The big storm on the news came through and brought much rain and lots and lots of wind to us along with a drop of temps. We went from high 60's, low 70's to the 40's :-(
Within the next few weeks we will start to see more and more warm days though AND some lambs.

Yes, I was working up to the lamb part of my title.
Though I have my first ewe "officially due" on April 9th----she is just the first I actually had seen get bred. Without a marker on the rams chest that leaves a green (or red or orange etc) spot on the back of the ewe it is sometimes impossible to know exactly when a ewe was bred or even took. Just because you see a mating does not mean that the ewe took that time or at all for that matter.
Most of the time however---I don't see them breed. They are sneaky or maybe just private. I mean after all...... who wants a crowd watching when you do the deed-- right?

During feeding about a week ago we noticed that we have a number of ewes developing some nice bags. Or nice Jumblies as Austin Powers might say.
Nice jumblies are a sure sign that we are at least within a months time at most.
So considering when I first started groping my sheep's jumblies----I suspect I may have a set or two of lambs by mid March. Yeah!
Everyone loves a lamb---they are just too cute.

Not only do I have one or two adults that may be due then but I also think one of my yearling ewes is also-----and I think she may have twins. Though she is not a really large sheep she is fairly large for her size in a round kind of way. She has also all but quit running around the pasture with the flock---a sure sign of an imminent lamb or squooshed multiples. So we shall see if I am correct. Last year I did guess correctly that one of my older ewes would have triplets so....we'll see if I can go 2 for 2 on guesses. If not..no big deal. At least I know that she actually is pregnant and better than that she, and the other early due girls, tell me that my young ram Tex absolutely did his job to the best of his ability. Quickly too. Another good thing.

Very soon I will have to start making my very late (about 11 oclock) and my very early (about 5:30 or 6) pasture rounds. That way I can catch any lambs that might be born while it's cold out. Icelandics are usually very good about getting their lambs up and clean but sometimes a new mom kind of doesn't get it yet----and then her lamb can get cold and possibly die. I had that happen last year so we will be extra careful this year. Another problem is a ewe having twins while another ewe (usually very close to her own due date) gets a bit over excited and kidnaps the first born. Sometimes that "yeah---I'm going to have a baby" kicks in a bit hard and they get a little too excited about having a lamb and steal someone else's. We have to be careful of that since the kidnapper doesn't have milk yet----not a good thing for a little lamb.

One last thing I would like to leave this post with is a link to helping hypothermic lambs and how to tube and give intra peritoneal injection of glucose solution to them. For those that breed sheep it is a great thing to keep on hand for "just in case". Last year I had everything on hand EXCEPT the glucose solution which was how I lost my little gal. I didn't think I would ever need it and that tubing and warming would be fine----but that was just not so.

So---here's to an excellent last lambing for me. I truly look forward to it and am very excited as always. I will surely miss it next year (and for many afterwards) and I will have to re-live it each year vicariously through my sheep owning friends :-D

And more easy seed starting pots

2008-03-04T10:27:00.004-05:00

In Mother Earth News there is an article (with good pictures) of a nice tidy seed pot out of toilet paper tubes.
So---here is a link to my old post about newspaper pots
and here is the link directly to Mother Earth News for the how to on toilet paper tube pots. The directions say to cut the tube in half cross wise so that will give you two pots per tube. Just think how many toilet rolls we use per year AND it doesn't take much room to store them---especially since they are flattened to start with. The pictures are better in the Feb/March 2008 article but the directions are pretty easy so there is probably not a need to buy the magazine to see it.

I actually think that these are easier to remember to "how to" without having to go back and re look each year at directions. On the other hand you can make much larger pots with the newspaper style---so it's really just a matter of what you need and what you have on hand.

More about Peas

2008-03-04T08:11:00.006-05:00

I read a short article in organic gardening magazine the other day (april 2008 issue) about helping your peas grow better and faster.
It is very interesting and so I decided to type it verbatim here for those that don't get the magazine:

Stronger Seedlings: Peas get a boost from vitamin C!

Vitamin C and folic acid, two nutrients that are vital to our own health, boost the performance of pea seeds, according to a recent study at the University of Massachusetts. The researchers doctored pea seeds with different concentrations of vitamin C and folic acid. Ten days after planting, average seedling height of seeds soaked for 12 to 48 hours in either a vitamin C solution or a folic acid solution was 40 percent greater than that of the seeds soaked in plain water. Root length, seedling weight, and germination were also enhanced by both treatments. Food-science professor Kalidas Shetty, Ph.D., is now developing a natural treatment to boost seeds' defenses.
Our advice: Try this at home--dissolve half of a 150 milligram vitamin C tablet, or four 5 milligram folic acid tablet, in a quart of water. Soak your peas for a day or so; then plant.

I haven't done this myself but will attempt to remember to try it the next time I plant my peas.

This just goes to show you that "proper" vitamins (and minerals too) help everything :-)

P.S ---photo "borrowed" from Renee's garden site.

Guess what!!

2008-02-28T17:14:00.006-05:00

FINALLY---we have broke down and purchased a Country Living Grain Mill.
Whoopee!
I have wanted a hand mill for a long time now but have never been able to say "o.k, I'll spend that large of an amount of money on it." It is after all a bit expensive. Yes, I could have gotten a smaller/different one or even an electric one, however I like non electric items (guess why) and the comments (many) on this particular grinder are very very good. Enough said.
So this year---with the direct deposit of my income tax money already here---I decided it was "nigh" time to just do it. Kind of like Nike---but better and longer lasting.

(The picture is from Walton Feed that has a nice web site that compares some of the different grain mills---both hand and electric--among other things.)
I emailed the other day and asked Country Living Grain Mill company about a "blemished" model which supposedly are still top quality and come with the full warranty of the non blemished models. They are selling it to me for $60 less than the non blemished plus throwing in a power/extension handle to boot. Nice.
As I said I have looked and looked at these mills, watching and searching for a used one but unfortunately never able to find one. The few that come up on Ebay go for close to original price. So...I am happy to say the least.
The gentlemen I spoke with said they are running behind a bit and it will be about 2 weeks before they get it shipped out so when I gets here I will grind some different things and post some pictures. Supposedly you can taste the difference with fresh ground versus pre ground flours. I don't know if that is true but in my life I have found that home grown meat and veggies ALWAYS taste different than store bought so I highly suspect that the flour will too.

Now, in my slightly contemporary/mid century style home I have to find a place to permanently mount a grain mill. Hmmmm....