Long Shot

This past weekend Hubby and I took a trip on what is called the Heritage Harvest Tour.  What you do is drive along a designated route and visit old churches and farms that are part of the tour.  This year there were 10 stops.  Most of the churches had a meal and crafts for sale.  The farms had pumpkins, crafts, and baked goods for sale.  The one thing that we bought, along the tour, was a few jars of sorghum.

"What is sorghum?" you ask.  Well, sorghum is something like molasses.  In fact, some people call is sorghum molasses.  The difference is that sorghum comes from the actual sorghum plant instead of sugar cane.  Sorghum cane looks a lot like corn as it grows.  Instead of corn on the cob, sorghum makes grains on top of the plant.

These seeds can actually be popped like popcorn.  It doesn't pop as big as popcorn, but it's pretty tasty.  Kind of has a sweet taste too. The seeds can also be made into flour.  In fact some sorghum flour is used for people who have a wheat allergy.

Anyway, we are going to use the sorghum plant to make sorghum syrup from it.  We have grown it before and had someone else make the sorghum syrup for us, but we want to be able to do it ourselves.  The hardest part in making it yourself is finding the mill. (top picture)  Most of these old mills haven't been in use for so long that people just scrap them.  It about makes me cry just thinking about it.  All of these old mills are just tossed just like they were nothing.  When in actuality, they helped many families make extra money to help them through the winter.

So, I'm going to just put it out there that we are looking for a sorghum mill and/or pan.  I know it's a long shot, but I have to try.  We would like to have it set up and running by next fall if at all possible.  That way we would know to plant the sorghum plants this spring.  So if someone out there in Blog Land would know where we could get one of these sorghum mills, or if you would happen to be one of those people who have one that their grandparents used and would like for it to be used again, please contact me.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, long shot taker


P.s.  These pictures were taken off the Internet.

I Couldn't Keep It In.

We finally got our phone back.  It had been out since last Thursday.  It rained.  Oh the joys of living in a very rural location.  Anyway, we got the phone back, but the Internet is very sketchy.  It comes and goes.  So while I had a small amount of it today, I thought I would keep in contact with you guys.
The weather is just wonderful around here.  Now is the time when we are trying to get everything done on the farm.  I wished the weather would stay like this for longer than it does.  There never seems to be enough of it.  It's either hot or cold.  With it feeling as good as it does, Hubby has been getting a concrete pad ready for our outdoor wood furnace that we bought TWO years ago.  Hopefully we'll be able to use it this year.  I think we will.  I have good vibes about this. lol.  He's been working really hard on it.

The pups (I really need to stop calling them that.  They are almost fully grown dogs now.) are doing GREAT!!!  They are starting to really come into their "jobs" now.  Chassis has decided that I'm hers and I can't go anywhere in the house without her being able to see me.  Good thing I can tell her to go outside the bathroom.  She does.  She just lays outside the door. LOL.

Holly had adopted Hubby.  I think she's in love.  She whines every time he leaves for work.  Then does a happy dance when he comes home.  If he goes outside, she is there beside him.  Yep, a match made in Heaven.

Now for a change of subject.... Remember when I said that some changes were coming.  Things that I was excited about.  Well, here it is.  I can't keep it in any longer.  We ordered one of these!



The one we ordered isn't exactly like this one, the roof is different and it doesn't have the lights on it, but you can get the idea of how it's going to be.

I'm soooo excited!  This is going to be MY place!  Not to live in, (although I plan on spending a lot of time here) but to work in.  I'm going to be painting, writing, and studying about herbs in here.  This is going to be my place to do what I want.  Our house isn't done yet, but the things that I want to do in this building, I wouldn't be able to do in our house anyway. When I was painting my last painting, I had paint ALL over the place. This building will save the walls and furniture. lol.  Plus, come on girls admit it, who wouldn't love a place to have JUST FOR YOU. Now, I DO!!!!  Once everything is set up, I plan on having classes in here.  Classes on painting, herbs, homesteading, and so on.  This way, people won't have to come into my house, which is still under construction, and I honestly don't want a bunch of strangers going in and out of my house. I think it's a great idea!

We ordered it three weeks ago and it's suppose to be delivered in four, so hopefully we will have it set up in a week.  We will still have to run electric and do the insulation and drywall, but that shouldn't take too long.  I will have it up and running before Thanksgiving if all goes well.

Now you know the secret that I have been keeping.  Of course you all know me, I couldn't keep a secret for too long. hehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, owner of a she shack.  

Back At It.

You REALLY can't tell the colors of the painting by this picture. I took it with my phone.  Oh well....

Anyway, I'm back to painting again.  I just love painting it's so relaxing.  I am transported into my happy little world. lol 

We've finally got some decent temps around here.  I love fall.  The best time of the year, if you ask me.  I know winter is coming, but that's okay.  I'm glad I live in an area that has 4 distinct seasons.  By the time I'm done with one, the next one is just around the corner.  And really, who doesn't love pumpkins this time of year? hehehe

Anyway, this is just a short post today.  Back to some more painting.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, wanna be painter.

Where Were You?

I can remember exactly where I was when the first plane hit the towers.  I was managing a Dollar Tree in town.  I was on the phone with my mom as she told me what happened.  My dad, who is a Vietnam Veteran, knew right off that we were under attack.  He just knew...  

I remember turning the store radio to a station that was giving us play by play action.  While this was going on, I was trying to answer customer questions and helping cashiers with their work.  But I was always, always listening to that radio.

When my shift was over, I went home and woke Hubby up.  (He worked third shift at that time)  He had no idea what had happened that day.  We sat glued to the t.v.  because I hadn't seen the pictures or video of any of it.  The visual was way worse than just listening to it on the radio.

Later that night I remember going into town to get gas.  There was a rumor going around that gas prices were sky rocketing and we wanted to make sure we had some to get us through for a while. On the trip to the station,  I remember looking up in the sky and not being able to see any flashing lights from far away airplanes.  It was so weird not seeing those planes.  We live close to a navigational beacon that the commercial airplanes use to know where they are.  It was also rumored that the airplane that went down in PA, made a loop around this beacon's signal.

Out of the whole day though, the thing I remember the most was being scared.  Scared of how our lives were going to change.  I had all kinds of things going through my head on that drive to the gas station.  We have to go through a remote wooded area to get to the gas station and I was wondering if it would get to where we would have to live in a place like that.  Would we all be hiding from the horrible people that were trying to destroy America?  I remember starting to cry thinking that the way we lived would be gone.   At that time, Hubby and I didn't homestead.  We lived on the family farm, but we didn't grow a garden or anything like that.  We were in a different mindset then.  We lived like everybody else.  We had no idea how delicate our way of life really was.

 I also felt for those families that lost loved ones that day.  I could only imagine how they were feeling at the time.  My heart was very heavy for them.  It still is.

So on that most horrible day, can you remember what you were doing and how you felt?

Until next time,

Small Farm Girl, remembering

I'm So, So, Sad

I'm sad.  I'm sad about how things are going in this nation.  I'm not talking about left or right.  I'm not talking about religion.  I'm not talking about race, gender, thick or thin, haves or have nots.  I'm talking about how we are treating each other.  Where has all of this hate come from?

At first I was right in the middle of it all.  How dare they do this, how dare they think this, how dare they.......   Then I started to look at how I was treating LOVED ones.  I was being hateful, and they were being hateful right back.  I didn't like this feeling! This isn't how we are!  What happened to all of the fun and laughter?

Then I started to observe other people.  People in the grocery store, people in the restaurant, people driving in the lane next to you.  We are all angry.  Angry about being offended.  This one is offended because of something someone didn't do, this one is offended because of something someone did, and this one is offended because no one offended them.  It's a big circle.  Where does it stop?  It stops with love.

We need to start loving mankind again.  Stop being offended about everything. Yes, we have that option to not be offended by things. If someone offends you, you are the one who decides on how you will react to being offended. When we start to love again, we will realize that the things we were offended by seem to disappear.  You start to realize that not everyone is out to get you.

We can still have disagreements.  With a nation of such diversity, not everyone can agree on everything.  That's okay.  Hate, on the other hand, is not okay.  When we bring hate into the equation, nothing can ever become better or be resolved.  And I understand some of you still believe that you "love your neighbor."  But do you really?  And if you do, how do you show it?  Could your "love" be mistaken as hate?  Think about that the next time you "love" that person who cut you off in traffic.

I'm writing this late at night because I'm just so sad and I can't go to sleep.  I know this may sound weird, but remember after the 9/11 attacks?  Remember how hard it was to find an American flag?  Everyone wanted one.  We were proud of our nation!  We looked at people differently.  We were nicer to our fellow Americans.  It didn't make a difference what color you were, or how much money you made. We held doors open for people. We smiled as we passed by.  We were all Americans. We were in this together.  Well, we are still in this together.  But, if we keep this hate in our hearts, we won't be together.  We will be divided and then we will fall.

I say we bring back the love.  I'm not talking about agreeing with everybody.  I'm talking about loving everybody.  Even the people that you absolutely do not agree with.  Those are the ones that need it from you the most.  Or maybe, YOU are the one that needs to love because you have hated for so long.  Just like in The Grinch That Stole Christmas, maybe our hearts are so tiny because we haven't used them to love for so long.  Maybe you need to start small and work up to something bigger.  Just like lifting weights, don't over do it at first.  But really, can you over love?

I'm sorry if this post sounds all "hippy" and all.  I don't think of myself that way.  I actually think of myself as someone that use to hate everything.  I'm still not perfect, just ask anyone that knows me.  No never mind, don't do that. hehehe.  I just found out how easy it is to get pulled down into the "hate abyss."  It's hard to get back out, but it can be done.  And once you do get out, you will realize that the world is a wonderful place.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl.  ex-hater

Cow Update

I thought I would give you an update on the cows.  The little ones are doing great. The reason is this big momma right here.  Just here recently Hubby and I were out looking at the cattle and trying to figure out our winter plans for them.  We noticed that this cow was nursing her baby PLUS Skinny Cow's baby. That's a great trait to have in cows.  I'm actually surprised that she's doing this.  Beef cattle aren't known to nurse other calves.  The down side of this is this cow is the wildest cow we have.  She will NOT let you come close to her.  And now, the babies don't want to come close to us either.

We have found out why Skinny Cow is not doing well.  We think she has broken her ankle.  It's swelled and she doesn't want to stand on it.  She HAS put a little weight on over the summer, but not enough to last her through the winter.  I hate to say it, but we will probably be taking her to the sale where she will end up being hamburger.  Sometimes it's not fun being a homesteader.....

On to better things.  Today is suppose to be the end of the hot weather.  We are suppose to be getting some rain tonight to bust up this heat.  I sure hope so!  We need some rain!  We are very close to the record for the least amount of rain at this time of year.  Our pastures should have a few more months of green grass on them before we have to feed hay for the winter, but unless we get some more rain, we are going to have to start feeding sooner. 

 Hay, this year, is going to be hard to find.  The rains that we had earlier in the summer kept the farmers out of their hay fields.  They didn't get a multiple cutting of hay.  That's not good.  I can see hay prices going up.  And if hay prices go up, cattle prices will go down this fall because farmers are selling off their stock so they won't have to feed them through the winter.  Come spring, when the grass starts to grow, cattle prices will skyrocket. There won't be as many cows out there to buy.  It could get interesting.  We are some of the lucky ones.  We have enough hay compared to the amount of cattle that we have. The only thing that will help out around here for other farmers, is hopefully there was good hay seasons other places near here.  Don't even get me started on the drought out west.....

Now for a change of subject...

There are some exciting things in the works for me (At least I think they are exciting).  I don't want to say exactly what right now.  I want to make sure everything comes together before I reveal what's going on.  I don't want to jinx it. lol

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, teaser. 

Happy Happy

Look what a lovely, lovely, lady gave me!!!  She read on one of my latest post about how my dogs broke my hummingbird feeder and I couldn't find any, so that sweet lady gave me her feeders!  She gave me two!  My hummingbirds are going to be sooooo happy.  Thank you Ina!!!

SFG

Welcome

The other day I was commenting on Facebook about having horses.  That comment led from having horses, to living on a farm.  You would have thought I was a rock star or something.  I didn't realize how many people want to live in the country on a farm.  Just in the last few months I've had people ask about coming to see and pet my animals.  People who wanted to help gather eggs and help with fencing.  We just have to tell them when we would want them to come down.

Now I'm not one of those people who feel comfortable asking people for help on the farm.  I feel that we live here and we should be the ones taking care of it.  Sure it gets hard sometimes.  I know that the fence is nearly nothing holding the cattle in.  In fact, we have some young ones, right now, that keep getting out.  Put that on the list of things to fix.  

I've tried to pay people locally to come and do some chores that need done.  No one is interested.  I mean, really, who wants to do REAL work. lol  Things like cleaning out fence rows or cleaning out rabbit poop under the cages and putting it on the garden.  It's hard to get anyone locally to do that.  But at the same time, I have people from the city who want to come and help on the farm just to see the animals.  This kind of puzzles me.  Then of course, this made me think.  

The things that I and the locals see all the time, is new and exciting to people that live in the city.  Locals here can go to THEIR backyards and clean out fence rows and mend fence.  That's nothing new to them.  But to people that don't live in the country, this is something that they don't get to do everyday.  They would feel, for a day or two, that they would be actually working on a farm.  I find this interesting. 

Anyway, I did offer the people that wanted to come and see the farm an open invitation.  I know them and it wouldn't be like having strangers in my house.  But, I just can't see myself making them do actual work here.  If we do happen to be doing something when they come, they are welcome to join in, but I don't want them to plan on coming just to work.  That feels weird to me.  I want people to come and visit, not come and work.  Unless I was paying them, of course.  I guess that's the kind of person I am.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, welcomer.