farmlife

Essential Tips for Spinal Fusion Recovery Success

/ Baldwin Acres / 2 Comments

As I start to write this, I’m 11 weeks post spinal fusion surgery. (TLIF) I’ll tell ya, this arthritis, that is slowly destroying my bones/joints is unpleasant. The medical folk refer to it as a degenerative bone disease. Seems like and overly weighted description to me, but after a shoulder replacement, a reverse shoulder replacement, one knee partial replacement and, now, a spine with a wonked out vertebrae slipping forward, (spondylolisthesis), along with developing scoliosis and faucets growing on most of the vertebrae in my spine.

The condition wasn’t helped with steroid shots, physical therapy or meds, so surgery it is – if I could continue working the farm. We had multiple decompressions and the TLIF (Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion) surgery (spinal fusion where they shoved the rebellious vertebrae back in it’s proper spot, screw it in and add some kind of something that will grow around it making it one with the spine.)

This was the most painful recovery I’ve had. I also had alonger stay in the hospital than anticiapted because my drain would not comply and kept filling up. Also, I had an absolute terrible nurse, who was uncaring, and totally not willing to do her job. When it came down to it, I had to report her. The other nurse I encountered after I had a run in with the neglegent nurse (who was very unconcerned about a bout of incontinece caused by a higher does of muscle relaxer than necessary) the next nurse met a woefully sobbing me. We had to report her to the head nurse. But, anyways, always be an advocate for yourself, is what I learned

.I’m not sure if it’s because I’m older or because it was the spine or what…but that first week at home was awful…I had to assure my husband it was ok to not pay attention to the noises I was making because they were absolutely involuntary….also, don’t pay attention to the crying – also involuntary. He was sweet and prayed for me often, but was worried all the same.

The instructions after surgery are to not BLT (Bend, lift or twist) for quite awhile – my surgeon said it could take up to a year to be ‘normal’ but by 6 months I should be able to BLT again. In preparation for the recovery, my husband and I went to the nursery and bought some starts for our raised garden bed. The idea was, being 64, I pretty much know myself and understand I’m pretty lazy and prone to like comfort. So, if I had these starts that would HAVE to get planted, I’d make the walk to the garden every day after planting them. The pain was so absolutely unbearable there was no way I could get out there to water things let alone plant things. My husband still works fulltime and is a late evening/weekend rancer so we called in some help.

One grand came out for the weekend and helped my husband get the starts in the ground so the money wasn’t wasted! Garden saved!

Eventually I was able to cast aside the walker but my smart watch kept warning me that my walking was unstable and I was in danger of falling. There was little doubt I would return to the walker and I really didn’t want to use an old lady cane (yes, I know I’m an old lady, but I don’t want to garnish myself as one), so I bought a rustic walking stick to help me stay mobile and not fall. I also bought some sturdy ‘recovery flip flops’ that were solid (see below).

I’m picking this up at 19 weeks post TLIF – life has busy but I’ve been able to keep up! God has healed me very quickly. I want to encourage folks, if the option of getting spine surgery scares you, I would encourage you to reconsider.

Here’s a few things that helped me:

  1. Lots of rest.
  2. Someone who can be there 24/7 at first.
  3. There’s a special personal hygiene item that seriously help with toileting. On Amazon search for Fanwer Toilet Aids Tools,Long Reach Comfort Wipe,Extends Your Reach Over 15″ Grips Toilet Paper or Pre-Moistened Wipes.

4. These thick flip flops give stability to walking. https://a.co/d/hbkHQgJ shevalues Orthopedic Sandals for Women Arch Support Recovery Flip Flops Pillow Soft Summer Beach Shoe

5. This walking stick. Backyard Expressions 55 in Rustic Wood Walking Stick, Traditional Style Handle, for Men & Women, Trekking Pole, Hiking Pole, Walking Stick.

This stick was a neccisaty when I got rid of the walker, but I needed some support for stabilty but didn’t like the traditiaonl cane. Very affordable and helpful to regaind independence.

6. This cushion, I got it at costco for less than $50. When it came time to start sitting at my desk and working, my previous perfectly adequate office chair was not making sitting very comfortable. My hips would get stiff and achy within minutes. So, we bought this and it has made all the difference. Type S Smoothing Premium Comfort Memory Foam Seat Cushion – Ergonomic Back Pain Relief for Coccyx Tailbone Sciatica Back Pain Relief for Office Chairs

Finally, make sure to have in qeue your a book stack, maybe kindle stack, podcasts, tv shows, movies and new music playlists. It makes it easier to just dial in instead of having to research when you’re semi out of it. Also, I found some great bible studies to do…Awake by Prisciall Shrier, Adamant by Lisa Bevere, and the Devine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard, in additon to digging into my Life Application Study Bible which has a abundance of resources.

Keep praying..you’ll be up and about at no time.

Playlist suggestions : anything by Matthew West, Mercy Me and Forrest Frank.

From Garden to Table: Delicious Quickles Recipe

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Today we’re talking cucumbers. Last year, spring was exceedingly wet. Until suddenly it was HOT. We lost our cucumbers, our broccoli, cabbages and brussels sprouts. We did, however, make up for it in the late summer/fall with bumper crops of cucumbers (but not the kind to make pickles out of), tomatoes and peppers. So, this year, I wanted a different kind of year. A succesful one.

We planted earlier, even though the soil was still cool, we covered seedlings with frost cloth and then switched it to shade cloth. We did, again have an infestation of aphids, although we had the cloth on….but still, here it is the end of May and we were able to make our first pickles. Last year it seemed I wasn’t doing any water bathing /canning until the fall and to be honest, I didn’t do great. My candied Jalapenos are uneaten, the pickled peppers stored safely in the pantry and my pepper jelly is keeping them all company. It can be a little discouraging but also encouraging as I try new things.

Last year I also tried a couple different pickles recipes : freezer pickles, refrigerator pickles and snacking pickles. This year I’m less ambitious because I need some wins!

Yesterday, we finished our homemade pastrami (delicious) and picked some cucumbers and made a Quickle (Quick pickle.) it was simple, however I found them a little too sour. We used rice vinegar so next batch will try red wine vinegar. But, we’re eating them and that’s a win.

So I thought I’d share in case you need a win, too.

Here’s my Recipe for Quickles.

1/2 pound of cucumbers cut thin.

1 Cup of water/1 cup of vinegar/1 tbsp of salt in a out -cook until the salt dissolves.

Pour over the cucumbers which you’ve placed in a jar or container. Add a clove of garlic. Let cool to room temperature and then put in the fridge. Ideally for a day, but a couple hours will do. The longer they sit in the vinegar, of course, the more flavorful they’ll be.

That’s it for today. Try it….and yes, making pastrami is a lengthy process but it was delicious!

WINDY WEATHER

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(I know it’s not good form to capitalize the names of God or His pronouns, but I can’t bring myself to not)

Before too long the summer heat will sweep in and if the plants aren’t in the ground many will wither. So, it’s imperative in this small window of time, while the soil is not too cold and wet to rot the seed and too hard and dry to grow anything, we ‘open’ the garden. In the meantime, wind advisories are in play almost daily and I don’t like to play in the wind.

Guess, what? In real life, on this homestead, it doesn’t really matter what my personal preferences are. Chickens and turkeys still need feed and water. Barn cats need checking on. Cattle need water and protein pellets and fresh forage. Bees need checking on. Dogs need exercise, food and water. Eggs need collecting. And, yes, the garden needs tending.

I imagine some folks might think it’s laughable at my quandry. It’s chilly and windy but by chilly I mean high 60s and low 70s. I reckon I wouldn’t last long in a place where there is actually negative degrees and snow on the ground. I admire those that do, though.

I missed some of the days where I should of started seeds indoors because we were out of country, but I should have been on it as soon as we were back home. Now, I have until the end of the month (one week) to get on it. Oh, did I mention I have a tendency to procrastinate?

It’s ridiculous to spend time writing about it, when I could be out there doing it, but, again, it’s chilly and windy. The hot tub is right outside my office window and the top blows open often. Now, to my defense, I’m not just doing nothing, I’m tackling the indoor chores, because this homestead’s floors need mopping, laundry needs washing, dishes need doing, food needs fixing, bodies need cuddling and brains need feeding!

Speaking of brains, my obsession with wind and unruly weather prompted a word study in the Word. I was delighted to find quite a few references to wind. ( My obsession is no doubt fueled by my sissy attitude towards wind….but I digress.)

The scripture use the word wind to describe weather conditions but also to describe deep things like the attributes of God. It talks about an east wind and a west wind, and south winds bringing the heat. It discusses wind being used as a force to punish and also to help.

Wind might hold a special place in God’s plan. In Psalm 135:7 it says He releases the wind from his storehouses. (some translations say treasuries).

Psalm 148:7-8 says Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather, obey Him.

1 Kings 19:11 tells us that God is not always in the BIG things of wind, earthquakes and fire, but often in a gentle voice.

Genesis 8:1 God remembers Noah and the boat and God sent a wind to blow across the earth and the flood waters began to recede.

Exodus 10 God uses the wind to bring the locusts to Pharoh as one of the curses that frees His people.

Matthew 14:24 the disciples find themselves in peril because a strong wind had risen and they were fighting heavy waves and then Jesus came walking to them on the water.

Luke 12:55 Jesus admonishes those who can tell the weather by the ways the wind blows, yet they can’t interpret the present times.

With so many references to wind in the Bible, I reckon I shouldn’t be so consumed with my disdain for certain natural occurrences because He uses them.

It’s good to remember ALL the ways He uses the wind… some pollination of plants happens because of the wind, and in my own life, when it’s hot and dry out the lesser wind, called breeze is welcome. When I am celebrating and rejoicing in Him, arms outstretched, face towards the sky in praise – the sight of soft white clouds moving at His pace with His wind….is another indicator of His ever present being.

He loves us enough to give us examples of something that some might consider insignificant -wind- to learn about His faithful and good character. He is a good, good Father.

Winter is not my favorite season.

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Except for Christmas, winter is not my favorite season. I think we must be on day 427 in a row of rain and gray skies. The back pasture has flooded at least twice. The pig sty looks like,well, a pig sty.  The damp coolness plays and pokes at my joints and muscles, and my hair is in constant need of a hat. Winter and I do not get along.

When you don’t get along with something you can either live in misery and complain about the situation, which admittedly I do from time to time, or you can look for the good. the old making lemonade out of lemons idea.

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Snow on Baldwin Acres

This winter scene is pretty. Snow makes the scenery a little more beautiful. This is our raised garden and small orchard area. This doesn’t fit into my winter blah scenario because it is lovely, lasts only a while, and allows a little respite in activity.

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This is a close up one of the garlic beds. The white stuff is not snow. They are ice spikes. We had so many days of freezing cold and rain, that these ice spikes adorned all our vegetation.

DSC_0009Here is a picture that sort of shows the mess I’m referring to in the back pastures. The tractors have stopped work for a while, because the ground is boggy. The area is spotted with puddles and little streams of water. To the left of the barn is the pig sty, in the barn is our supply of alfalfa and our livestock nursery. Currently Pork is housed in there, waiting to give birth to little piglets. To the right of the barn is the feeding area. There’s a tub for grain and an alfalfa feeder on the wall. We recently spread a ton of rocks in this area because the continual traffic of the  livestock (Jacob sheep and kinder/Nubian goats)  really has churned up the mud. A person (me) could (has) get stuck in that muck.

When it rains, if you’re not out in it, not mucking out poop, or tending to animals, but maybe just observing the landscape, it can take your breath away. Or at least let you appreciate God’s creation.

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These beautiful water fowl (ducks) take advantage of the winter pond. This area completely dries up in the spring and summer. But, it’s a nice treat to see wild birds taking a little rest here.

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Baldwin Acres

And, finally, I will appreciate the wet, mucky, season because without it there would be no spring. There would be no dormant time for the earth to recover, and the seeds to die, so when the spring sun warms the soil and dries the seasonal puddles and streams, we can grow healthy non- pesticide laden food and new livestock will be born. There is great contentment in the weariness at the end of a long homestead labored day.

The Bible attests to the need for seasons. Seasons not just for our homestead schedules, but also for our lives. Ecclesiastes 3:

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.(The Message)

I’m trying my best to live in each season. Because in the season is where we find life, purpose and hope.

Fall at Baldwin Acres (and what we’ve learned)

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Anyone who follows this blog might think from the title that I meant I physically fell again…but nope…talking about the season this time!

Didn’t the end of summer came too quickly? While I was able to put up a few pints of tomato sauce (which look like tomato soup, but taste like tomato sauce) I didn’t get half of the canning done that I did last year. Most of the pear and plum harvests went to just eating and then to live stock. As did most of the apples. I did manage to bake a couple pastries and cookies but no jam, or apple pie fillings or pear slices like last year.

Harvest pasteries

Harvest pastries

One of the biggest stories of our summer was the return of Pork 1 (now named Ollie) who had gone missing the day after we got her. Her story is elsewhere on this blog, but suffice to say, she’s back and happy with her siblings.

the swine of Baldwin Acres

the swine of Baldwin Acres

the majority of our raised beds are  harvested. The fall garden is sparse. We were able to gather enough Scotch Bonnet, Habanera, and Jalapeño peppers to take to two local fire departments for their kitchens. We used our spaghetti squash on a family getaway, and we have a few big pumpkins and small squash  for October. The volunteer tomatillos came back but I’ve yet to figure out what to do with them. This year we’re also trying our hand at saving seeds. Did you know that you cannot save just any seeds? Well, you can, but unless they are open pollinating and non-hybrid seeds they won’t grow. (Lesson learned!)

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Lessons…. we are continually learning something…animal husbandry, pasture management, and growing our own grains are just some of them. If we are not learning something, then we’re planning. For example, the garden has done much better this year so next year we will expand it. I’d like to utilize better the fruits from the orchard and the eggs from the chickens. It’s good that we didn’t waste any but I still would like to have some in the pantry.

Lance was able to get another tractor at an auction. This one has a back hoe and a shovel. It will be great help and alleviate some of the physical work he tackles on his own. I do help, but honestly, I’m not much help. He fenced our property, built the barn, and the livestock shelters pretty much on his own. Not to mention the gorgeous gazebo over the hot tub. (Life on the homestead is good).

Our venture with turkey’s showed us to do better research. We initially wanted an heirloom breed like we’ve done with our Kune-Kune/AGH pigs, our Jacob sheep and our goats. But, the local store had only BBW’s (Broad Breasted Whites). So we bought them. BBW’s have been so overly genetically mutated for their breast meat they cannot naturally breed. (In more ways than one we have managed to ruin God’s once perfect creatures). They are beautiful, but because they will suffer when their hearts rupture or their lungs collapse, their life span is short.

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The first photo shows the Breasted white turkeys. The second shows the heirloom breed Royal Palms, drinking from the livestock water. All the animals seem to think the other animals have better water. Maybe they have fizzy water, or an energy shot? The livestock constantly tried to get in the turkey pen to drink their water, and when the turkeys come down to the lower pasture, they drink heavily from the livestock tank. None of them can get into the pig pen but when we fill the pool or their water dish, there is a gathering at the pig fence. You can almost see the drool.

We have tasted one turkey. Turns out turkeys aren’t very smart. We had just loaded a ton of hay up in the barn and I was driving the truck through the pastures while Lance walked ahead and opened and closed gates and kept animals where they belonged. When I momentarily parked, one of the turkeys sat under the trailer and when I pulled forward, I ran over her.

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We had read that when you eat homegrown anything, it will taste like a foreign food, but our turkey tasted like turkey. Maybe if we had a regular antibiotic hormone riddled turkey right by our homegrown girl we would taste the difference, but she tasted like turkey.

On the list for fall farm chores: trimming livestock hooves, vaccinating the barn cats, deworming livestock, and filling in the pasture that gets flooded in the winter. I will plant garlic and oats for our winter crops and start planning for spring.

I like the seasonal changes in the homestead. Each one has both a beginning and an end, life and death. I am so happy the Lord set us up here. Life is challenging, but always good

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The Return of The Pig

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Meet the swine of Baldwin Acres.

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Porky, female pig number two.

Beans

Beans. The only male swine at Baldwin Acres. He’s pretty happy to have two women keeping him company.

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Ollie. She went missing at Easter. Although the person who found her had seen our plea for our lost pig, she decided to keep her. At the time they named her Oliver and then found out she is a girl. We call her Ollie.

It was Easter Day 2015 as we introduced our two  Kune-Kune/AGH piglets to our grandchildren, when the female pig bolted out of the pen into the blackberry bushes. We immediately set live animal traps and sent lost pig posts out on social media, but to no avail. A few days later someone posted on our town’s Facebook  page that a little black pig had been seen over by the local Cemetery. My husband and I jumped in the car and headed to the graveyard. We rattled the slop pail and called for her, but she alluded us, or had already been snagged by a woman who decided she could just keep our little pig because she liked her. Disappointed we headed for home. Before she ran off, we had named the two piglets Pork and Beans. Reluctantly, we bought another black piglet one from the same litter and named her Pork 2.

We didn’t hear anything more about our little pig, and because  the homestead is busy and life and death is a reality, we thought maybe Pork 1 had become dinner to some coyote or bear or cougar. No way did we suspect a nieghbor had found her, seen our lost pigs posts and simply decided to ignore them.

Until July 4th.

On July 4th I got a notice via Facebook that a little black pig had been found and kept at a horse ranch on the same road as us. Could it be? Pork 1? We called the ranch and were told that yes, they had found a pig, and yes, she was a black female. They had found her over by the cemetery, but they really liked her. So, yes we could come see her but she would not be coming back to us.

Further notification from the lady who had initially  informed me revealed that the pig was being allowed to wander and riders were concerned she may be cougar prey. A flurry of events happened in a short amount of time. My son jumped on the ranch’s Facebook page and said he was so happy they had found his parents pig and he would be happy to come and get her. A few more of the ranch’s riders contacted me and said the pig had been there since the end of April/beginning of May and also that the owner had seen our posts (although she told some of them that she had not seen the lost pig posts). I tried to find out information about the ranch via our town Facebook page and then was banned from the page. (The moderator actually said, “how dare you try to use us to solve your legal problems). What?!?!

Small town drama ensued. People were very angry that the little pig had been kept from her rightful owners. Even the police officer, yes, the police were involved because the lady who by now I considered a pig thief, called the police on my son because she said she felt threatened. (Because he said he would come and get his parents pig).

Because it was a long weekend, and my birthday, we opted to file a police report online and then left for my birthday fishing trip. The online report was rejected because we had a suspect. I was directed to call the police. The Port Orchard police department was, for the most part, very helpful.  Although the hint of disbelief in the deputy’s voice that we were willing to go to small claims court over this was a little insulting. The thief offered $150.00 to replace the pig, while insisting , ‘it’s not your pig.”….she told the police that we were going to eat the pig. Remember she had no idea who were are (and we have never eaten any of our livestock, but, if we did,. that would be our business). We rejected the $150.00 offer. By now, we were standing on the principal of this nieghbor stealing our property and not owning it.. Finally, we told the police officer who was acting as the moderator, that we would pay for a DNA test. He presented that to the thief adding that he thought it was a fair and just way to go,  and her whole demeanor changed. She became angry and told him , “If they want the pig, they can come and get the pig.” So our son and his wife went to get the pig because we were three hours away. The thief demanded the police be there  because, she said we were ‘unreasonable.” Yes. WE were the unreasonable ones. ?!

I wasn’t there for the attempted capture of the pig, but from the description given, the woman was callous and mocking,  video taping  my son and daughter in law’s failed attempts at getting the pig, while occasionally calling the pig over to her. She said more than once, ‘want to catch a pig? Here’s how you catch a pig,” and then the pig would run off. (She seemed to take delight in the fact that the pig had ‘bonded’ to her and not my family, however, if she had done the right thing and answered our lost pig ads when she found the pig, the pig would not respond to her anymore than she did to my kids.)

Hearing  how our children were treated we  changed our plans and headed back. Our son and daughter in law felt like they had let us down because they couldn’t catch the pig, but we were glad that they left instead of subjecting themselves to the woman’s abuse.

When we got back home, we called on our son-in-law, our son, and I was going to accompany them, to get the pig. Communications and timing was off and I never did make it there. I think, though God may have kept me away. I’m not known for self control when my family is being abused. My son-in-law also brought five of our grandsons but made them stay in the car for safety.From what the men tell me, they got to the ranch and the woman was ready with her phone to video tape it all. She kept saying, “All I did was find a pig and take care of it.” SERIOUSLY? that’s the problem right there. We don’t live in a finders keepers world. You found the pig, then you ignored lost pig posts and decided you liked the pig and you kept the pig knowing the entire time it wasn’t yours.

What can be seen as a sort of unique justice, my son-in-law cornered the pig, my husband herded her into the dog kennel and closed the door. She shot out the side door and my son tackled her. He wheezed our, “I’ve got the pig.” YES!

My husband helped  her back into the kennel, all the while soothing her, and comforting her and telling her it certainly didn’t have to be this way. it could  have been solved a whole lot easier. The actions of this women are rather disconcerting, not only did she keep livestock that she never paid for and didn’t try to return it to it’s owners, although she had our information, she found out who had told me about the pig and kicked her and her horses off the property. This woman had worked with the ranch owner for a couple of years and was disheartened that she got booted out, but was also happy she had done the right thing in telling us where our pig was.

Ollie ( they had initially called her Oliver until they discovered she was a female, we call her Ollie)  obviously has been grossly overfed but we can fix that. We were concerned that she might not get along well with her sister and brother, but it was only a matter of minutes, before they were all romping and running around the pen.

Ollie returned to us with a red dog collar on, so we bought Beans a green one and Porky a pink one. Today, on a rather hot day, they took turns soaking in the wading pool and rooting out weeds. Before finally snoozing together in the shade.

I believe the swine at Baldwin Acres will be just fine.

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New critters at Baldwin Acres. First, meet our Mountain Beavers.

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As our weather turns a bit warmer and a little more dry, we delight in spending more time outside. In addition to the farm chores – which, by the way are much more enjoyable doing dry than to tackle them while rain soaked, we also opened the pool, turned up the heater and had our first swim. The pool area bumps up against a piece of our property that is forested. On this particular day, the Man said he saw something furry scurry from the under brush. We had noticed the rabbits have returned, so we initially agreed that he probably did see something furry and it was, no doubt, a rabbit. Then, the little critter scampered out again. He was no bunny.

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At first, we couldn’t figure out what the critter was. Not a bunny? No. A wild guinea pig? Is there such a thing? He certainly wasn’t a mole, or a groundhog. I grabbed my camera and took a few steps to the field where he gathered the weeds and waited for him to come.

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He or she, would race out and never stopping tug mouthfuls of weeds before running back into the brush. They don’t have pocket cheeks like chipmunks do, so they simply carry as much as they can and head back to the burrow. The burrows are incredible. They are so profuse they fell young trees because of root system disturbance. They can fell people too.When our little pig Pork escaped into the brush, we went searching for her. She was in the thick of the wild blackberries. As we walked on a patchy path, trying to see her little all black body in the shadows, my right leg sunk up to my knee into a hole. Startled, I ‘umphed’ and my son, who had been in front of me, turned and helped me out. The only thing that stopped me from going further was not that my foot touched the bottom, but that my leg got thicker than
the hole! Those tunnels go deep.

Although research tells me that the Mountain Beaver is as elusive as Jack-a-lopes, Bigfoot and Snipes, ours were not afraid of us at all. They took turns gathering weeds and taking them back to their tunnels. I moved positions several times and each time, they took no mind.

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The Mountain Beaver is thought to be one of the most primitive rodents. So primitive they are the only ones from their species – Aplodontia rufa. They only have two to four young when they breed. And, of course, they aren’t beavers, and we don’t live in the mountains, but they do gnaw tree roots, bark etc. thus they’re named after Canada’s national animal. They are only found around the coast of Southern British Columbia, through Washington, Oregon into California.

We won’t be doing much with these guys. They won’t need their hooves trimmed, or their fur combed for fleas – although, interesting fact, the largest flea in the world, Hystrichopsylla schefferi, at 1/4 of inch resides only on the little guys. Our pasture is in sad repair some (because we had no idea what we were doing and now, a year into the venture, we know a bit more), so we’re happy to let them feast away on the banquet of weeds

“And, God said, ” Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds-livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And, it was so. And, God mad the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1 ESV

We do have a few new ‘real’ farm critters to introduce. Bob, our beautiful Nubian buckling, Pork (2) and Beans our Kune Kune/American Guinea Hog pigs, 6 white Broad Breasted turkeys, 5 Royal Palm Heritage Turkeys, and Mic and Mac two adorable kittens who will be our mousers. Oh, we also have Roo. He’s a beautiful colorful rooster, but seems, perhaps, he doesn’t know what to do. Until next time….enjoy life, don’t let the turkeys get you down.