Bee~ Journal of then...

[Farmfresh]

Just think of all those poor cows with raw udders.....

Actually what I saw was more sore bums! She did not allow her cows to go poo in the milking barn AT ALL - EVER!

If they so much as lifted their tail, the old bat would stick them in the bum with a pitchfork!

 

[Blackbird]

Thats one way to potty train a kid.

 

[Beekissed]

Just think of all those poor cows with raw udders.....

I really only have a bad sister. The rest of my family is awesome. All strange compared to most, but awesome.

For the last 3 Thanksgivings, my mom rented an old German dance hall and we brought pot luck and rollerskated all afternoon in it. Every year more and more friends sneak out on their Thanksgiving get togethers to join us.

Every Christmas we have our family portrait taken on my mom and dad's front steps. We are allowed to bring anyone we want to join our Christmas party and they are welcome to sit with us for the photo session (which consists of my bro-in-law getting the camera ready and running to join the rest of us). We have tons of photos full of people we sometimes don't even remember. Its all good says ma!


Bee, your night sounds wonderful!!!!!

BBH, I would seriously give my left arm to have a family like yours! I've always dreamed of having a home like that....

 

[2dream]

Bee - Red Delicious just happens to be one of my favorite eat it raw apples so I will be more than happy to take some of those off your hands. (Ummm does that mean my taste buds are so low on the eveloutionary scale as to be less than a worms).

And the moon has been simply wonderful this week. Last night was cloudy here but still..... watching the moon slip in and out of those dark rain clouds was beautiful.

Sorry - I don't have any horrible dysfunctional family tales. It wasn't perfect but not to terribly bad either. Father drank but never did anything bad, controling over protective mother but I just drove her crazier by not letting her control and I climbed trees behind her back. (Probably why Dad drank). All the cousins have drifted off so I have no major family ties left except my mom, one aunt, and one cousin who lives across the country from me. 2 neices - but we only talk occasionally. Of course I do have 2 children and 5 grandchildren but no major problems with any of them right now. Everyone kind of does their own thing and I don't meddle in their lives unless asked to. All the above makes for stress free holiday's.

 

[FarmerChick]

hey 2dream

you said Everyone kind of does their own thing and I don't meddle in their lives unless asked to.

I think that is key.....don't get involved in others private matters. works well for our family too. We live good here also. No disfunction that I can find. I think you hit the nail on the head about don't meddle. Stay out. It is other lives to live! How everyone wants to do it is their life!

An example is my brother heats his garage with a big propane heater--for the dogs. My SIL does agility and wins blue ribbons and does this as a job training agility dogs. I THINK IT IS INSANITY...so does my brother to waste tons of money heating the garage for the dogs---but SIL wants it. (DO I SAY anything. NO--it is their life, their money, their way, and it works for them. OH--I want to say to SIL she is nuts..HA HA HA but I never would. Not my business how they want to live..HA HA)
That is just the little--stay out of their buiness and keep the old mouth shut..HA HA....mom/dad and I laught the garage is heated for the dogs....but only as a private joke!

 

[lorihadams]

Hey Bee, I just finished 2 books that you HAVE to read!

The first is The Land Remembers by Ben Logan.....his memoirs of growing up on a Wisconsin farm in the early 1900s....awesome, I laughed out loud and cried. It was published in 1975 so it is a bit older but still a wonderful read.

The next is more recent. See You In A Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America by Logan Ward. It is also a memoir of a family's decision to leave their hectic New York lifestyle in 2000 and move to a farm in Swoope, Virginia (near Joel Salatin) and live their life as if it were the year 1900. They disconnect their well pump and put in a manual one, get rid of their toilet and build an outhouse, get milk goats and a draft horse. It is truly inspiring. They are also on their journey during 9-11 and have to learn of all the goings on about the terrorist attacks from friends that bring them newspapers. They struggle to produce all their own food and find out that their community is a wonderful network of people that truly support them in their endeavor.

When they mentioned Joel I immediately thought of you! They purchase some of their laying hens from him.

 

[FarmerDenise]

lorihadams
Those sound like wonderfull books. I'll have to check them out at the library. I love reading books about living off the land. you always learn something. And just dreaming about it, is nice too.

Bee, your moonlit night sounds lovely. I can just imagine it. We are still so much in shock obaut the attempted break-in that we really have not been able to enjoy it. We are now afraid to freely go out into our yard at night. We feel like we have to carry a stick or gun with us, just to say goodnight to the chickens.

We cleaned up the mess that was made yesterday. It seems they might have been trying to get into one neighbors yard, because I found all my mediteranian herbs trampled, as well as the decorations I have in the herb bed. Unfortunately for them, that fence is overgrown with blackberry vines on the neighbors side.

I love to hear about families, where there was no neglect or abuse. It is so nice to know they exist.

 

[Beekissed]

I will definitely try to get my hands on those books! IF my library has them.....they don't do the lending style in these little podunk libraries, so if they don't have it I have to find it on Amazon.

Farmerchick, I don't meddle in my family's affairs either, never have. But, to some people, not becoming involved in their dramas means you obviously feel you are "better than them". You can explain it in any way you wish to these types, but they still want to make you miserable regardless.

I had to move across the state to avoid this type of behavior and they STILL are using my name in vain after 4 years of absenteeism! My name is still mentioned with much rancor and hatred, they actually spit when they say it....we still haven't figured out exactly why my name evokes such a reaction but then, who can figure out insanity of this magnitude?

I've always kept to myself and did my own thing. I think therein lies the problem....I am not one of the herd, or pack, and this makes me a threat to them. I cannot understand it because I do not have a herd mentality, but to them I'm sure it makes perfect sense. Anything different is bad. Period.

I don't even LOOK like anyone in my family. I've always felt one apart and very different. They have mentioned this on numerous occasions, so I can only conclude that my surmising is correct...it's because I am different.

Thank God!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

The Bat got an offer on her place and we hope for a quick sale. We are going to take a trip next week to see Eli's graduation from basic training and to visit my aunts. This will be Mom's first time ever to go visit her sister's homes!

She was never allowed to go before this, so this is a big step towards freedom and independence for her.

Work hours have picked up a little but I'm not sure if that will stay steady. I'm almost inclined to be happy about that...this job is sure draining. Most of the time I can glide along and not feel too much stress and then we have several deaths and it kind of hits you in the gut for a while. No matter how acclimated I think I am to these levels of emotion, it kind of builds up on you, ya know? I think I need a break.....

This little vacation will be just the ticket!

Here's a bit of whimsy.....a pic of Spike drinking from the magic well!

And a pic of a blackberry cobbler the Bat threw together here this past spring(no measurements, just a handful of this or that):

And the flowers that grow by my front fence....

 

[Blackbird]

Wow TP (The Person) that cat is fluffy!

Cobbler

Your right Bee, WV IS beautiful! Look at all those lovely trees and all the green!