Tuesday, June 2, 2015

The Reason For The Small Absence and Puppy Pictures

It's been a little hectic around here.  We've been trying to get the garden done.  We have it planted.  Well, most of it.  There are a few little things I want to plant still.  Some, of course, can be planted in the fall garden. But, the way time has been flying, that will be like, well, tomorrow.

Another reason for my absence is because of stupid Dr appointments.  I had gotten to where I could barely walk from my house to my car, let alone do chores around the house.  My knees and back were hurting sooooo bad.  I finally broke down and went to the Dr.  Have I mentioned I HATE going to the Dr.? I still haven't had the Dr check out my foot where I sprained it.  Anyway,  the Dr told me that I have deformed knees. Who knew? I've had them all my life and as I have gotten older, they are starting to give me problems.  He said I'll probably have to have knee replacements on down the line.  He did give me some anti-inflammatory meds that seem to be working very well.  I can straighten my leg now.  I haven't been able to do that for 4 years.  It's amazing how it feels to do something so simple.  I've even been able to walk around a flee market.  Wooo  Hoooo.  The Dr. told me that the knee replacement can be put off for a while depending on the pain that my knees cause me.  I have a long list of procedures to do before I actually have to get to that point.

As for the back pain? Well, the Dr. told me that I have arthritic in my back and I have also fractured it somehow.  Yay...... can ya hear the sarcasm?  I honestly don't know how I done this.  I just know that it has been hurting for a while.  I just figured it was because I was overweight.  

Doc told me that the weight didn't help any, but it wasn't the reason for the knees, but it could have been the reason for the back.  So some how, some way, I'm gonna have to lose this dad-blame weight. The Dr. has me going to physical therapy so maybe that will help some.
   
Because of news like this, I was kind of slapped me in the face with my own mortality. I'm not going to last forever. lol.  I've been kicking things around in my head.  One of the biggest things that has been teasing me has been this farm.  Do I really want to be self sufficient?  Is it really important for me to eat food that we grow ourselves?  Do I want to keep living this lifestyle?  Sometimes it would be so much easier to just stick my head in the sand and live life like everyone else, not listen to the news, not care about GMO's, and not care about if anything is going to happen to our freedoms.  The people who don't care about these thing seem so carefree and relaxed. Maybe that's the way to go. 

But.....
I have this wonderful friend who, when I get this way, I can call and she will tell me all kinds of horror stories about how it's very important that we keep going.  How it will be worth it in the end. In fact, my little talk with her has kind of kicked my butt in gear to let me realize that I really DO want to live this lifestyle.  I just need to modify it now because of my limitations.  We need to narrow down and specialize in things instead of just throwing things out there willy nilly.  

 I'm going to have to really buckle down and start working on my herbs.  I think this will be an important thing when it comes to our health care now and in the future.  I don't want to depend on just popping a pill all the time. The last few months I had slowly gone to believing in the "normal" western way of medicine.  It's easy to fall back to that when almost everyone around you believes this way.  I have to get back to looking into my herbsd I do have my herb plot picked out and things are slowly getting planted.  I know this will take years to be exactly the way I want it.  The hardest part for me was to find a spot to put the herb garden.  I have that now.

Another thing we are changing here on the farm is we are selling the rabbits.  I'm the only one who really likes eating our rabbits and as much money and time as I'm putting in them, they aren't worth it for us.  I still think rabbits are a great homesteading animal.  But, you have to make sure that the animals will work for you.  

I'm keeping the chickens but I'm going to cut down on the size of the flock.  We don't need to get 18 eggs a day.  I was selling the eggs there for a while and doing really good, but most of the people who were buying my eggs, went and got their own backyard chickens.  I'm happy for them to be able to do this.  I believe it's a great experience for them.  I'll just have less chickens and use less feed.

One of the things that we are going to start focusing on is our cattle.  We really like our cattle.  Even though some are wild,(mainly two of the cows) we are slowly winning the others over to where they aren't afraid of us.  We plan on getting our fence in better shape so that we can buy some more.  By putting money into our cattle, it's like putting money in the bank. Not everyone can put cows in their back yard. Plus, if for some odd reason we would have to go and stay somewhere over night, the cattle can take care of themselves. 

We'll also be raising Australian Shepherd farm dogs.  I'm pretty good with training dogs, but if I can't get them trained to herd the cattle, I'm going to look into getting them an actual herding dog trainer. This is important to me.  I want these pups to be an asset to the farm.  Not just something that's going to eat us out of house and home. lol.   I love these little girls, but they have to pull their weight too.

So without anymore waiting, here are some recent pictures of the pups.  

  
Here they are taking life easy.


They love playing with Jack.  Remember, Jack is a 200 lb St. Bernard, so you can see how big the girls are getting.



                                      They will play, and play with him for long periods of time.


                                                                And, he will play back.


                                                He'll even let them think they are winning.


                                                     It's a tough life working on the farm.




So until next time, (which hopefully won't be so long.)

Small Farm Girl, homesteader.

12 comments:

Robbyn said...

I'm glad your doc helped you identify what your health problems are so you can work with him to find some solutions...and I'm especially glad you're still "staying in the game"! It sounds like you're honing in on what you really want to do with your time and your farm, which will make it well worth all your efforts and be really rewarding...hang in there! :)

Kelle at The Never Done Farm said...

Hey, this is Kelle in MT, sorry to hear about your knee and back but if you want to stick to something that works that is natural, go to your health food store and get Curamin. It's good for joints and pain related to them. You can take up to three a day, more if needed but then you have to wean back down to the two to three. It works and another thing is Bosil, it's for calcium and getting it where it belongs, not in joints or veins. Hope these help you as much as they do me. Another one is MSM powder, taken in orange juice( I can't drink orange juice and it needs Vitamin C to break it down and carry it to where it needs to be.
The pups are so... cute and I think you'll do great raising them. We are so loving our new pup, he's Border Collie/ Australian cattle dog cross and so smart and well behaved, especially for only being 8 weeks old.

Carolyn said...

Homesteading, IMO, is an ever changing way of life. Things work, others don't, and you have to be able to work with, and through, those things in order to make them suit your current needs.

I'm glad you've been able to find out what whas wrong with you, now you need to get taking care of YOU. And don't berate yourself for taking a pill. Not knocking herbal remedies, but sometimes you just need to pop a pill to get through the day. And if you have to rely on those pills to get you well enough to plant that herbal garden, then so be it. Good luck!

Frank and Fern said...

You can do this, SFG. Frank and I have lost over 30 pounds recently, which we have needed to do for years. The time is now. Things aren't looking any better in our economy or world. Keep the faith and stay motivated. You can do this. Blessings, Fern

small farm girl said...

Thanks Robbyn! I'm trying. Lol

small farm girl said...

Kelle, I'll look into those! You'll love your pup. Although there will be times you want to kill it too. Lol

small farm girl said...

Carolyn, I know I'll be taking these pills for a bit. I just don't LIKE to. Lol.

small farm girl said...

Thanks Fern! That helps with the motivation!!!

Sandy Livesay said...

SFG,

I know not feeling well and having pain in the knees and back can make it miserable to get around. The pressure changes in the weather surely don't help with arthritic pain. Your doctor prescribed you medication to help with your knees. Just take it one day at a time. I do feel your pain my friend, I have severe arthritis in my lower and upper back, and problem knees. I have weight to lose myself. As plenty of your friends have stated you can do this.......just cut back and do things in moderation. That's my motto, and I'm sticking to it. Hugs,
Sandy

The Kelly's Adventures in KY said...

Love hearing about your plans! I'll agree, cattle are NOT something that most backyard homesteaders can plop into the old yard. Its great too that you'd be a little more free from the farm if you ever did need to travel somewhere. Plus cattle prices just seem to be going up all the time. It is something we are looking into as well, and may begin to dive into this fall or next spring! Great idea about the girls as well! A good quality Aussie can bring a pretty good price indeed. We just had one of our neighbors drive all the way up to Northern OH to get their latest Aussie pup and paid close to $800 for her. Keep on dreaming, keep on planning, and keep on smiling.

small farm girl said...

Thanks for the encouragement Sandy!!!

TKAinKY, Now you understand where I'm coming from!!! LOL I'm hoping we are doing the right thing. Can't go wrong with a juicy burger and a good dog though. lol

SweetLand Farm said...

Beautiful dogs! I'm looking forward to getting our little Belle trained for more farm work and herding.That will be a great help.