Musings From The Farm Comfortable living in your own skin

Gail is a gifted photographer. She came to visit us back in August of 2015. She recently featured us again at her blog, that you can see here. 

Ah-choo! We have been hearing way too much of Ah-choo this winter. All the grand kids and some of the adults have been hit with some sort of illness this winter and it still seems as if it’s going to be causing havoc right into Spring. With little kids it’s not easy to keep your kids healthy. So what can you do to reduce your sick days? One of the easiest ways and one near and dear to our hearts is to wash your hands often. Of course if you ask we would recommend only using hand sanitizer when you can’t use Alabu Goat milk soap and water; soap and water is recommended as the best way to remove germs from your hands. Try to wash your hands every time you come back home too. Another easy way is to increase the amount of fresh fruit you and your family eat.

1. Keep tissues handy and practice washing your hands after using them.
2. Practice germ-free hand drying- use paper towels or buy a stack of cheap bar towels and use once and toss in the laundry.
3. Clean your food prep work surfaces in between each use.
4. Clean the floors more often, so dust doesn’t accumulate and get mixed into the air you breathe.
5. Try to get some fresh air and sunshine everyday and take at least four deep breaths too; it helps to clear your lungs.

And oh by the way if you haven’t donated blood lately ~  it’s time! The need is great and you’ll feel great about helping others in need.

Predators are just a natural part of the cycle of life. Even though we are raising a bunch of prey here, I have been enjoying watching a lone coyote come and catch breakfast in our back field furthest away from our barn. He is fascinating to watch. He is still as a statute, listening and watch for the tiniest sound or movement under the snow. Then he leaps and pounces on the cold unsuspecting vermin. He does this over and over again until he fills his stomach. He looks absolutely joyful when he pounces. I don’t know why I’m surprised that they look just like a pet. Like a dog when they are playing their favorite game. Every once in a while he would glance up toward me with a wary look. It made me feel like he knew it wasn’t safe to come any closer.

I was totally immersed in enjoying this glimpse into nature when Dean reminded me that he is a predator. And we really need to do something to make sure the coyote doesn’t feel welcome here. He suggested shooting it. He pointed out that just last week we had a chicken mysteriously vanish without a trace. I intervened on behalf of this beautiful predator and suggested we just have our dog Chia bark at him.  I was convinced that just opening the door would send him off, frightened, into the woods. But no, Chia’s barking did not scare him away, he barely looked up. Not until I banged on the window did he leave his potential breakfast behind and moped up the field stopping at the edge and looking back to assess the situation. It took another knock on the window and he disappeared into the woods.

What’s worse than have one predator thinking your farm is a good place for breakfast? Two! This coyote brought a larger friend here for breakfast the very next day. This second coyote was even bolder and defiant than the first. He ventured even closer to the house without any fear of being so close.  I now realized Dean was right and something needed to be done. I texted my my favorite son -in- law and he scared them away this time. I don’t know how long they will stay away. So i will be locking the prey, our chickens safely in when I’m not home. Hopefully we won’t be seeing them again anytime soon.

 Tut’s Soap is an extra- moisturizing unscented formulation made without soy oil. It is the brain child of one of our favorite customers, a gentleman from Alabama called Tut. He wondered out loud if we could make a soap like our Baby Me soap, but without any soy, which his doctor suggested he try to avoid. We thought it was a great idea since we know that some folks are trying to avoid soy these days. I made a batch and used more olive oil in place of the soy oil. We are excited with the results, a very mild, moisturizing cleansing bar. We sent some samples off to Tut and he said he liked it too. Tut’s No Soy Soap is great for extra dry sensitive skin. It has a nice lather that will leave your skin feeling soft and smooth.

 (3.25 oz) Made in the U.S.A.

Ingredients: Saponiified Olive Oil, Cultured Goat Milk, Saponified Coconut Oil, Saponified Shea Butter, Saponified Cocoa Butter, Saponified Castor Oil.

So, the other day I was helping Dean, and he asked me to go to the hardware store to buy a bucket of mud. No not the kind we trudge through at the barn, spackle, the kind you put on your wall when you are putting up sheetrock. So off i went to the hardware store and I found the 5 gallon buckets of spackle. They were stacked on top of each other 3 high. I was able to lift one enough and get it down to the floor, but it took every ounce of strength that I had.  So, I  realized I was no longer strong enough to carry said bucket to the cash register. I was shocked, how did this happen. I know I’m getting older, but this is too soon.

So, I have a friend who looks years younger and is much more active from the benefits of going to a crossfit gym. I saw they had a 2 week trial, so, fresh off my 5 gallon bucket defeat, I spontaneously signed myself up. I walked in the first day and took this picture and sent it to my daughter with the caption, “At gym, seriously scary place!”  The instructor was a young girl who was very patient and kind with me. I proceeded to explained to her I had never been to a gym in my life and I know nothing about this.

So, I was feeling pretty good about how well I was doing. Nothing compared to the regulars, but I didn’t think I was doing too bad. Until the instructor asked if I minded telling her how old I am. I said I will be 61 in a few weeks. So, then this young whipper snapper looked at me and said “I just want to congratulate you! Not many elderly people will start on an exercise program” Wow I was taken back!  I blurted out I don’t think of myself as elderly. She was all kinds of apologetic and said that came out wrong I didn’t mean to use that word. Then I felt bad too because I could see I had made her feel uncomfortable. Since then we have laughed about it and have become friends. My family has had a good laugh about it too. My daughter says elderly is not a number it’s a state of mind. So the consensus is that I’m not there yet. So, I don’t know how long I will keep this up, maybe until I can haul a bucket of mud again.