Mississippifarmboy's Living Simple Journal, Ready for a Fresh Start.

[mississippifarmboy]

Well, been a crazy day around here today. I was up early, but too weak to do much except sit on the porch and sip coffee and watch the critters until around 10 am. The billy had gotten out of the pen, so had to catch that knothead and put him back up. Got most of my feeding and watering finished around noon, missing a young duck, so I'll have to set the traps again tonight, looks like a coon has made this place a stop on his nightly buffet.
I closed our business last Friday. First time in 32 years I haven't had a job and I can tell you... it's going to take some getting used to. I feel about as useless as a milk bucket under a bull. Sold our horse trailer today too, needed the money since I'm not working. I firmly expect the cow to break a leg tonight since I don't have a trailer to get her to the vet. But the trailer is used only a few times a year and I've got to put first things first.
On the bright side, the young pullets have started laying. With the older hens molting we were only getting enough eggs for ourselves. Now within a week or so we should have plenty to sell again. Have 35 head of cockerels and a few older hens pulled out in the cull pen. Have a guy coming after 15 head sometime around the 11th, after that I'll be processing the others.
We got a nice shower of rain last night and the temps are a bit cooler, so God willing I'm going to breed several of the rabbits tomorrow. It should be cool enough by the time the are born to avoid the problems with heat.
I sat and figured all the bills today. I HATE paperwork, but just has to be done sometimes. Need to take an inventory of the canned goods next and count the stock, see what I need to do to see that we have enough food put back for winter since the garden was bad this year.

I know a lot of this doesn't make sense except to the ones here who know what all has been going on lately, but I promise as soon as I feel better and have time I'll post a little back story. lol
Right now I've got a watermelon out on the porch calling my name... so I'm going to go enjoy a slice and watch the sunset.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I don't know any of your back ground, but that's your story to tell and I'm sure if/when the time is right - you'll tell it. Enjoy that watermelon! I'm just a little bit jealous, lol. It's about 98 degrees here today and I know that watermelon is gonna hit the spot.

 

[Denim Deb]

Share what you want. And if you don't want to share something, not a problem.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Ok, finally have a few minutes so thought I'd add a little back story.

I am going through a real life changing experience right now. I'm adjusting, but it is a very humbling experience. This journal is in response to several of my online friends asking me to keep them updated and I am thinking a journal is much easier than sending a bunch of emails every day. I'm finding it to be very therapeutic also. Just the few posts I've made and the thought going into writing it out has really helped me face it and helped me understand what a blessed and lucky person I am.
I grew up in perfect health until 2000 when out of the blue I had a severe heart attack. Until that time I'd been to a doctor a grand total of four times in my entire life. Only 33 years old at the time and found out I wasn't nearly as invincible as I thought I was. It took a few months, but I recovered and went right back to work. Then I had a mild heart attack in early 2001 due to complications from the first one. This time I was put on meds, changed my diet, got better fairly fast and everything was great until January of last year when again, out of the blue I had my third one. That one?... Well, I never really got back to my old self. I feel like I made it about 60 or 70% of my old strength, just couldn't seem to get past that.
But I adjusted.
In early June of this year I started getting sick. Couldn't keep anything on my stomach. I started getting dizzy spells and even passed out a few times. I kept working, just tried to hide it and work through the pain. I went to a walk in clinic, was given some prescriptions and sent home, was told it was probably just a stomach flu or something. A week or two later I went to the Emergency room, same prescriptions, sent home. A few weeks later a trip to my regular doctor, no help. Then another ER trip, was given the same dang prescriptions and told flat out that diarrhea wasn't going to kill me and to go home and stop bothering them. I was so frustrated I could have sat down and cried. But I just kept on trying to go on, to work, to at least get through each day.
I finally got in to see a new doctor and found out I had lost 69 pounds in seven weeks. She sat and talked to me and actually LISTENED to me. Ordered a full day's worth of tests including full blood work ups, a brain scan, two different kind of abdomen scans.... just put me through the wringer. And I finally got some answers.
The fainting and dizzy spells were caused by a long term severe sinus infection that was so bad it was pressing against some nerves and blood vessels in my brain. Good news. It can be treated and will leave no lasting harm. But the funny thing is I never had a runny nose, a cold, the flu or even a headache. But at least I'm getting it treated.
The stomach thing she was sure was colon cancer, but it's not. It turned out being some super rare infection that is going to take a while to clear up, but the outlook looks very good so far, but I'll need to be off work until at least the first of the year. I go back Monday for my first weeks checkup since the treatments were started, so I'm praying for good news. I do feel a little better, but losing over 80 pounds in under three months and just being so sick for so long has really taken a lot out of me. I am now having good days and bad days, but feel I am getting better.
Last Friday I closed my store, turned it over to some new owners. No money out of the deal, just got out from under the lease, the stress and the headache of it. I still have a few details to work out, sellers to get paid, a ton of stuff to either sell or put in storage, but at least I'll be cutting my stress way down and giving my body time to heal.

Now none of this is posted for pity or anything, and I hope it doesn't sound like I'm whining, just to explain where I am now and where the new journey is starting from.

The point of all this is I'm now a full time farmer. Frugality and being self sufficient is the new goal in my life. I am excited to see where I can take what I have here on the farm now and see just how far I can take it, what I can do with what I have. Some would look at it as a tragedy, I see it as a new beginning, a journey, an adventure.


Today we had some very nice folks drop by from Oxford, Ms and as we visited, we showed them around the farm. There was an older couple, a young couple and five children. They are just getting into the whole self sufficient lifestyle and eager to learn. I was milking when they showed up and two of the children were brave enough to try their hand at milking the cow! The others, including the adults stood at the barn gate watching in fascination. They helped feed the ducks, geese and chickens, walked around asking questions about every aspect of the farm. It was so refreshing to see young people interested in a way of life that is almost gone. It was the most fun I've had in a long time.
They wound up buying the Jersey heifer we had for sale (Their reason for coming up to the farm), but also bought our Brinsea incubator, a cage and four young Russian Orloffs. (A cockerel and three pullets). When they left I gave them a couple of my older Orloff hens for free and a watermelon to take with them too.
I feel really good being able to help someone learn. I'm thankful that the calf went to a good home and they really seemed like nice people.

Sorry for the rambling post. But at least now when I post about something everyone will know what I'm so excited about. It's been a long day though, so time for a shower and my comfy bed. 'Night all.

 

[Denim Deb]

MFB, don't think you were whining one bit. You'd be surprised at how many of us on here have some kind of medical problem-and keep on going. We learn to live w/it and, other than if we're having a bad spell, don't let it hold us back. We learn to adjust and adapt.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Thanks Deb. WannaBeFree knew about it as she and I have talked about it (She's my neighbor sorta) and I know there are a few others registered here that knew about it from BYC, but I haven't figured out everyone's new name here except for Bee and a couple others. lol

Woke up this morning to a slow steady rain and much cooler temps. I won't get much done today, but we have been praying for a good rain here. We've had a few quick thunderstorms, but it wasn't the slow steady rains like this that will actually soak into the ground and do the grass and crops some good. And yesterday it was in the 90's, today it's in the upper 70's! Feels wonderful. It's our first really cool day since May.

I think I'll spend this morning just resting and enjoying the nice temps and if the rain slacks up later I might walk down to the tractor shed where I store most of my lumber and farm supplies and do a little checking on just what materials I have on hand. I have a ton of projects I need to get done before winter, so today is a perfect planning day.


I had emailed a Moderator to be sure it would be ok before I posted them, but here are a couple of links to my BYC pages that tell a lot more about myself, my family and our farm with a ton of pictures for anyone who is interested. Too much to try and re-post it all here.

About me page; http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mississippifarmboys-chcken-blog
and my barn / coop page; http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/barn-coop-page

 

[SSDreamin]

WOW! I Love that barn! And the farm in general! I wish I had half the collection of old signs and tools that you do - I am drawn to it at every swapmeet, fleamarket and antique store I go to, but that stuff fetches a premium dollar up here I am trying to think of the word I want to say when I saw your barn/farm, but the only thing I come up with is homey. It has the 'feel' of a down-to-earth place with well cared for animals. Maybe, someday, if I keep my backside in one geographic location long enough, my little place will feel like that too

Thanks for the links/pictures. You may be having troubles, but from the looks of those kids and your place, you are a very 'rich' man in all the ways that count!

 

[Beekissed]

LOVE the pics of the coop!!! Would give my eye teeth to have one just like it! Very lovely, very functional, very neat.

 

[Denim Deb]

Looks very nice! I'm w/SSD, that place looks very homey and down to earth-in other words, my kind of place!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Aw shucks ya'll, thanks. "blushing"
It's just a simple place. I get jealous of all the pretty manicured looking farms with nice paint and cute coops everyone else posts on the 'net. But I'm pretty happy with it. It works and seems to do what I mean for it too.

SSD, believe it or not only a very few things on the barn are worth any real money. Most of the stuff is worth from nothing up to maybe a few dollars. Very few things on the barn I even paid for, just junk I found around the farm, I found cleaning out old houses and sheds, or friends gave me because they all know I like old junk. Some I bought at our auctions on a slow night for a few bucks. There is an antique wash pot in the hallway I use to cook out cracklings that is worth a bit, the antique cheese cutter, the broad ax and a couple of the signs. Some of the stuff you might thing is worth something like the corn sheller wouldn't bring over $20 at a farm sale here. It's one of the chain attach ones and around here everyone wants the clamp on kind.
I'll admit... I've got my Grandfathers old clamp on corn sheller still mounted on the original corn box in the smokehouse.

Em and I went for a walk this evening. I had to make a lot of rest stops along the way, but it was very nice to just spend a little time alone just sitting on the bank of the creek watching the water flow by and relaxing. The sycamores are starting to drop their leaves and the black gums too. Everything else still looks like summer though. The sun is out and after the rain last night and this morning the world looks so clean and fresh.

I am rich. Not in money, but in the things that matter? I'm the richest man I know.




Thank you God for another beautiful day alive and spent with the ones I love.