Going Green With a Red Tractor

The Buzz on Our Bees

2012-02-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

My husband is a beekeeper. He's been at it for a couple of years. The first year we left them alone to make enough honey for themselves and to get properly established. The last couple of years, we invaded the hives. I shouldn't say we, as it was all him. I am allergic to bee stings. I watch from far, far away! After he raids hives, he filters the honey in the garage to remove debris and any unfortunate bees. He then brings the honey in the house and we (I help with this part) put the honey in jars to be sold.

We still had a bucket the had approximately 65 lbs of honey in it last fall when the house burned. We lost it. We lost the honey that the bees had worked so hard to make all summer. My husband was devastated. We going to jar up the rest of that bucket the weekend that the house went up. We had all the jars and labels ready. We had the bucket set up high so that we could just open the nozzle and let the honey run. It just wasn't going to happen.

As this winter proceeds with the roller coaster ride of temperature, we are hoping the bees make it though okay. I am going to be sure to plant even more flowers around the place so that they don't have to fly as far to get pollen and nectar.

I even bought them a bunch of new (used) hives at an auction. We are in the process of cleaning and disinfecting them. When that is done we will paint them very bright colors in non-toxic paint, of course.

Good luck, girls!

New Seed Catalogs

2012-02-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

I can hardly stand it. New seed catalogs are spread around on the floor near my chair in the living room. I am getting overwhelmed by all the choices I have. AND there's even more choices online! What's a girl to do? I am going to have to narrow it down quickly so that I can get my seeds ordered. The sooner they get here the sooner I can start them in the basement. It's cool down there, but warm enough for germination. I am going to have to get another grow light. I had one that I bought last winter, but it was lost in the house fire. Bummer.

My biggest problem is going to be getting the 2 cats to stay out of my indoor green house! Last year I started seeds in the kitchen on the table that we never actually ate at. I had the UV light mounted from my hanging pots/pans rack. Talk about a redneck set up! I had little mini greenhouses made out of the covered trays that come from Subway (yummy!). I snagged those from work when they bought our dinners from time to time.

However, there were a few baking pans that didn't have lids and the kitties jumped on the table and ate whatever was sprouting like it was their own personal salad bar! I tried planting cat grass in a pot in another room to try to keep them away from my plants. They ate that too.

This year I think I will use one of the those multi-level drying racks for sweater and things. I can put plexi glass or something over the slats to keep things from falling thru. Using clear material will also allow more light to filter down. I will have to rotate planters to keep things growing evenly. I can then cover the whole thing with a clear drop cloth or plastic to keep the furry beasts out.... Sounds like a whole lot of work to me. Oh HONEY.... I need you to build something for me!

Meanwhile I will continue to dream about my garden to be. I can see it now. Rows of green beans, peas, carrots, radishes, more green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, hot peppers, corn, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins. Don't forget about the flowers and herbs. A complete kitchen garden and a perennial flower bed that borders the house! Oh wait, there isn't a house yet. Okay so the flowers may have to wait until NEXT year. I can dream can't I?!

Shocking.....but not really

2012-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

I blogged recently about only buying seeds from company's that honor the "Safe Seed Pledge". Well after doing some more reading and research, it has been discovered that they do indeed sell some products that have come directly from Seminis, a subsidiary of Monsanto! OMG. I'm shocked, well not really. Does this really surprise anyone that a company would hide behind a "pledge" just to have the ability to say "Gee, I didn't know"? In this day and age, it's more about the almighty dollar, not honesty. I will be doing better research next time. For now I will be limiting my purchases to two companies that I am pretty sure are honest.

Seed Saver's Exchange and Baker's Creek. I am sure there are others who are completely honest and truly believe in the 'Pledge", but until I am certain......

Good luck with seed buying and may you have a bountiful crop.

Why are Dogs so hard to adopt?

2012-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

Keep in mind that this is my opinion and if you don't like it - you don't have to continue to read it.

Now don't misconstrue that question. I understand that the rescues and shelters don't want people adopting hoards of animals only to get them back later. Can someone please tell me though, why do they have to make it so damn hard? I am on the lookout for a good companion dog for my autistic son. I want a larger breed, but not too big. He want s a dog to wrestle with. I also have to keep in mind that we have 2 other small dogs and 2 cats. I know, too, that I will probably be doing most of the caring for this animal. I was on a pet finding website today like many times before looking at pictures and reading descriptions. There were so many stipulations - it made me not want to get a dog from a rescue or shelter. Here's my beef with the whole thing......

Most places do background checks to make sure you can afford to care for the animal.

They want a visible fence in the yard - not invisible fence

They want proof of vet visits - even years later - Hello - ever heard of Holistic Pet care? You don't have to go to the vet for everything.

Some limit the number of people and animals in the home. - Hello? If someone has the money and time and love for animals - who cares?

The applications are very personal. They want to know your utilities, rent/mortgage, ins, grocery expenses - I'm sorry that's none of your freaking business!

Oh and there's the outrageous adoption fees. I understand that caring for animals is expensive, but to charge $250 or more for a dog that no one wanted - then complain about overcrowding? I have no problem with charging a fee to help cover food, overhead and what not, but some of that is just greed. Then to whine and beg for more money because they have too many animals! These places need to make adopting more appealing to the masses. Do the math.

Adoption fee $250

Vet visit $150 or more depending on your location

Food 1st bag $30 also depending on brand could be $15 to $100

Misc toys $50

Treats $30

Heartworm $75 again depending on breed of dog

Flea prev. $40 " "

Your already at $625 and you don't even have the dog home yet! Don't forget the leash, collar, crate and, if you do this, clothing! Your looking at close to a $1000 just to bring a dog home!

Now in my area, we have 2 kinds of vets - ones that charge for every little thing and one, only one, that will only charge what needs to be charged to cover costs and not try empty my wallet. The one vet wanted to charge me an office visit for each animal even though I was bringing them in all at one time. That was $120 just to walk in the door with 4 critter. Then it was $40 for this, $30 for that, $60 for that, $50 for the other. Oh and $180 for neutering an 8lb dog. $480 just for shots, testing and a minor procedure.

The less expensive vet charge $50 for all the testing and $70 for neutering. $120 vs $480 - where do you think I'm going to go? Unfortunately that vet is getting on in years and won't be around a whole lot longer. I am saddened to think that our community will lose a great country vet and be forced fed overpriced vet clinics.

Like I said before I have two dogs. One is a purebred mini dachshund that we paid a huge AKC price for. Then the breed ripped us off by never sending the AKC paperwork. Wanted another HUGE price for that! He's a sweet dog, but not very smart. Our other dog is a Finish Spitz/Chihuahua mix shelter dog that I adopted in 2007 for a whopping $10. He's the sweetest, smartest, most loyal animal I have ever had. As for the 2 cats (we had three but lost one in a house fire), they are barn cats that tugged on our heartstrings so much we had to bring them inside. The cat we lost in the fire was a shelter cat also. I adopted him in 2003. He was about 4 years old then. I'm guessing he was 11 or 12 at the time of the fire. His adoption fee was only $5 from a city shelter. His name was Zeke, but I called him my "Lil' Old Man". He loved to snuggle and if I sat down for more than 5 minutes he was in my lap.

So you see - I don't have a problem with shelter animals. It's the crazy demands and processes it now takes to adopt an animal from them. That being said, the next animal I take into my home will not be from an overpriced shelter, but from a free ad in the paper or on craigslist or something.

I've been away.

2012-01-25T11:11:00.001-08:00

Wow, it has really been a long, long time since I posted anything. I guess I kinda got lost in life. Its been a rough couple of years. I am hoping the last major snafu will be the last for a good long time. We lost our house in a fire in October. Undetermined electrical was the cause. What a nighmare. Thankfully we are all ok. We did lose a much loved kitty named Zeke though. He was about 11 I think. An adoptee from the Anderson animal shelter, he was a good kitty. We'd had him since 2004. My husband said as he was running out of the burning house calling "kitty, kitty, kitty" he thought he saw Zeke run back in. Poor critter was confused. Our other 2 kitties were secured after the fire in the garage. They lived in there for 5 weeks while we lived in a hotel room with the 2 dogs. We are all now living in a rental home until ours is rebuilt.

This has been a long process and won't be over for months. I never ever thought in a million years that I would have to actually list every single item in my home. I'm not kidding. Insurance wants to know how many rolls of toilet paper we had to how many magnets were on the fridge. Really? I don't know! My husband and I have spent hours trying to remember. Why is it so hard you may ask. Well you have to understand that I am a collector. (hubbs calls it borderline hoarder) Without looking - can you say how many pairs of socks, undies, bras, purses, jeans, pants, shorts, shoes, belts, bags, makeup brushes, q-tips, bandaids, tea bags, spices, plates, cups, forks, spoons, knives, pens, pencils, buttons, spools of thread, kitchen gadgets, utensils, cleaners, rags, towels, sheets, blankets, pillowcases, movies, cd's, notebooks, stamps, pins, scissors, quilt fabrics, paints, brushes, earrings, necklaces, etc. You get my point. Its not easy.

Did you notice how scattered the list is? Well that is what happens in my head when I am trying to list stuff. I will try to focus on one room - say the kitchen- when all of the sudden something will pop in my head and off my mind goes to that room, then on to the next room. Before I know it, my brain is ready to explode and I have to walk away. Been at this for 3 months.

Insurance also wants to know when we bought/aquired it, how much we paid, and current replacement cost including tax. OMG! Some stuff will never be able to be replaced. I had a lot of discontinued quilt fabrics, antiques and pictures. HELLO!!!!!!!

I had a bunch of vintage trade blankets from the 1930's and 1940's. I've been collecting them for years. I recently checked an online auction site - WOW! I didn't pay anywhere near those prices!

Oh and my pink leather jacket. I found what was left of that in the rubble. I haven't found another one yet.

Why am I not thinking of things right now instead of posting? Well, it's time for one of those breaks. Thankfully I have the kind of job allows me to do this kind of thing. After all, there's not much I can do until a customer actually walks through the door.

Stay tuned.

What's the point

2009-08-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

I was going to blog away this evening, but decided to forget about it. No one reads these anyway. I wanted to bitch about work, insurance, autism, so called friends, families, stalled creativity, fleas, flea killers that don't kill and illness. Here's one thought for it all PPPBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLFFFFFFFFFFFHHHHHHHHHHHH(for those who might read this - that's a raspberry) I am going to take a shower and go to bed before I punch somebody.

Ugh -football season is back

2009-08-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well so much for evening television when I watch. And it is only preseaon. Take this evening for example - was getting ready to watch a movie with George Lopez and in walks hubby and changes the channel to watch the Colts. EXCUSE ME!? AND at posting time they were losing!! Why do you want to watch them lose?

I need answers

2009-07-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

I am SO tired of dealing with autism. Medication after medication. Hospitalizations. Meltdowns - his then mine. No time away. Oh sure, I just had a 5 day vacation, but damn after 9 years that's not very much. We can't go out - no one will watch him. We've lost most of our friends because he is out of control. The few we do have, haven't really seen much of a meltdown, YET.

I cry myself to sleep so often - I should be out of tears. Hell, I'm crying right now. He had a meltdown this evening in public - one lady threatened to call the police. I said 'Go ahead, I could use a break.' She huffed and walked away. Gee, lady thanks for the help!

Why?

A special Trip to Idaho and Washington

2009-07-07T19:22:00.001-07:00

Well I just got back from Washington and Idaho. I was able to squeeze out enough extra money from the budget to go. I bought a plane ticket and then made my plans on where to stay. It wasn't until after my plane ticket was purchased that my husband lost his job. Since the ticket was non refundable - we decided I should still go and just relax.

Teresa Sue was gracious enough to open her home to me and Dawn. She has a wonderfully charming old farmhouse that I just love. She told me to come back in the winter - I'll want to divorce it. I had a marvelous time and can't wait until I can maybe go back. She is a terrific hostess and I just love her cooking.

We went antiquing on Thursday. Friday we played in the sewing room and she gave me about 20 pounds of fabric. Friday night we went to Mary Jane's store in Couer D'Alene, ID. I loved the store and dressed the part. What I didn't like - sorry if I offend anyone, but I have to honest- was the people in the town. There is rude then there is REALLY RUDE. I have never in my life been made to feel so uncomfortable. People all looking down their noses at us. Whatever - I understand I only saw one little part of the town, but I sure didn't like that part.

I truly want MJ's store to be successful, but I probably wouldn't go back to that one. The mall it was in was full of REALLY expensive boutiques. Sorry, but Kmart budgets can't shop at Tiffanies. Now don't get me wrong. I did go to the candy/ice cream store and make a purchase and I also made a purchase at MJ's store, but there was no way I could have made a purchase at any of the other stores.

I'll take her little store in Moscow over Couer D'Alene any day. Again, I am not trying to be bitchy or nasty, just honest. I shoot from the hip. It may offend, but that's life.

That's all for tonight, I have to go inspect more buses in the morning.

2009-01-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

Shouldn't the dog be sleeping on the floor?

2009-01-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Meet Harvey. He is an 8 year old black Lab. Dumber than a box of rocks, but cute.

2009-01-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

Looks as though Zeke has the right idea for these bitter cold days we've been having. It a bit warmer today than it has been. Looks like a balmy 26 degrees out there. The horses are enjoying 2 bales of hay and the ducks and chickens are enjoying some sunshine. Yesterday, after we discovered a broken frozen pipe, we called the plumber. They were able to fix one problem, but when we turned the water on, we found another. They asked us if we thought we could make thru the weekend w/o running water because if they came back on Monday it would so much cheaper. We are waiting until Monday. We shoveled snow in the horse tank. After that load melts, we add more. One strange thing that has happened since the plumbers were here though, is the outside cats have found a secret passage that somehow leads IN THE HOUSE!! I haven't found it yet, but I think it is around the old furnace. We don't use it anymore because it was so inefficient. The plumbers had to remove some of the duct work to get to some of the pipes. I am just sure that is where the kitties are getting in! AND if they are getting in - what else can get in- oh the thought!!!!!

I really hate not being able to do laundry. (did that sound sincere?) No - really - I like doing laundry. The only problem is since I didn't get to it last weekend from helping my mother, the mountain is growing! It will take a week to get caught up. We only use the dryer for my uniforms because of the lint. We even went out and purchased another wooden drying rack. Now I have three. I line them up in front of the pellet burner and let the heat from that dry the clothes. It also helps add moisture to the air. As much as I like the pellet burner, it really dries the air out!
Another drawback to not having water is that no dishes are getting done. We are trying to use compostable tableware, but unfortunately, we are eating out frequently. I am out of pans to cook in. I was holding out, trying not to buy water, but I am afraid we are going to have to get a couple jugs anyway. We are using hand sanitizer and baby wipes to clean up with. What about the bathroom, you ask - Well we have that covered as well. You see, a while back, my husband read about making a port-a-pot out of a 5-gallon bucket, wood shavings, and an old hose winder. You know the square kind that is supposed to look nicer next to the spiggot that a coiled up hose. Our plan was to take it with us when we went trail riding with the horses since, a lot of times there are not bathrooms close by. I guess you can say we are roughing it. It doesn't smell too bad.....you just have to layer in a bunch of shavings after you "go". It sure beats having to spend money on a hotel room or going outside!! Afterall, we are still going to have a hefty plumber's bill.

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment if you wish.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas is over and I am just worn out. We had a good one albeit slim. This economy has everyone in a tight spot this year.I did get a really cute pair of cowgirl boots and some Farmgirl apparel.

Lliam received mostly what he had asked Santa for. I think his most favorite thing was the Wii Harry Potter game he received from my mother. (see the expression on his face?)It was the very last thing his grandpa bought for him before he passed away. When I told Lliam this, he nearly burst into tears and ran to my mother for a big hug.

My grandpa is so very difficult to get gifts for. He is 92 years young and always says he doesn't want us to spend our money on him. Well, I just cannot justify this as he has always done so much for us. He had made a comment a few weeks ago about his bedroom being cold and having a hard time falling asleep between the icy cold sheets. He had thought about getting a small heater to put in there and then decided against that as it would increase his electric bill. So I thought and thought and thought about how to make is room warmer. This year I gave him flannel sheets. He said in all his 92 years, he had never had a set of flannel sheets. After I was sure he liked them, I put them on his bed (along with another blanket) and washed and dried the sheets I removed. I do hope it helps.

We are planning on starting a new little country market in 2009. It won't be much to start with as we won't have much to put in it. We are going to offer soaps, lip balms and other bath type products that are organic or mostly organic. We are also still shooting for the horse hotel. I am also going to offer upcycled aprons and other cutsie farmgirl things.

Budgeting help for organic shopping

2008-09-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I actually got to go to rummage sales and take my time looking. I didn't buy too much. I found a couple of Pampered Chef things that I can use and 1 to give as a gift to my mother. I also found a shopping tote that says right on it "Organic". Of course I couldn't pass that up for only 25 cents. That was all I bought at that particular sale. After we got back to my friends house - I decided I needed to go to the store.

I grabbed my little shopping bag and headed in with my hastily written list. ( I wrote it in the parking lot) Even though all I really needed when I entered the store was cat food, litter and those dynamo label cartridges, I decided to revamp the household with some new organic/natural items. We as a family are also trying to find gluten free foods for our son.

I headed to the health and beauty aisle first. Even though Meijer is getting more natural and organic items, Tom's of Maine is most familiar to me. Purchased toothpaste-4.69, bar soap-3.49 and aluminum free deo-4.99. I have a bar of "crystal deo", but I am nervous about using it. I am sure some of the truck drivers I deal with daily wouldn't even notice, but I would know if it wasn't working.

On to the groceries. What follows is a list of current Meijer prices for anyone looking to change their eating habits. I realize there are probably other places I could have gone and may have gotten better deals, but Meijer was on the way home and we don't have a Whole Foods Market near us. (nearest is 30 miles) I have included the name, whether it is organic or not, quanity and price.
Florida Crystals organic cane sugar, 2lbs @ 5.58 on sale 2/5.00
Wholesome Sweeteners (fair trade) organic sucanat (dehydrated cane juice) 1 lb @ 4.09
Meijer Organics EVOO 17 oz 7.99
Meijer Organics Crumbled Feta 6 oz 4.79
Meijer Organics trad. refried beans 15 oz @1.19 each got 2 for 2.38
Meijer Organics Tomato Sauce 15 oz @ 1.39 each got 2 for 2.78
Meijer Organics Golden Sweet Corn 15.25 oz @1.09 each got 2 for 2.18
Meijer Organics Tomatoes with Basil 28 oz @ 1.59 each got 2 for 3.18
Meijer Organics Tomato Paste 6 oz @ .75 each got 2 for 1.50
Bob's RedMill GF All purpose Baking flour 22 oz 4.99
Bob's RedMill GF Almond Meal/Flour 16 oz 13.99
Bob's RedMill GF Tapioca flour 20 oz 3.89
Bob's RedMill GF Bread Mix 16 oz 5.39
Bob's RedMill GF White Rice Flour 24 oz 5.79
Bob's RedMill GF Creamy Rice hot cereal 26 oz 4.89
Tinkya'da GF Brown Rice Pasta Shells 16 oz 3.89
Blue Diamond GF Natual Almond nut-thins smokehouse flavor and cheddar flavor 4.25 oz 3.39 each on sale 2/5.00
World's best kitty litter (made from whole kernal corn) 8 lbs @ 8.25 each got 2/14.50 with coupons.
Meijer reusable shopping bag .99

The only non-organic/natural purchases - mailing tape, dynamo label refill cassettes, and cat food for the barn cats.

Total for the organic/natural items is..................112.54

This includes the bag and the kitty litter. That may sound like a lot, but if you think about it, the flours, sugars, cat food, litter, toothpaste, deo and soap don't have to be purchased every week.
That would lesson the bill by more than $85. This money could then be used to purchase organic cheese, meat and veggies. If you find a good deal on the meat, you can freeze it. This blog is merely here to help someone who might not think that buying organic is affordable when in fact it is. You have to shop wisely (it helps to have a plan). Still don't think you can revamp all at once? Then don't. Start small with 1 or 2 things that you think you might like such as EVOO and the canned veggies. Also remember that I am leaning toward a gluten-free diet as well. You can find organic regular flours, crackers and other goodies that might be a little bit cheaper. Gluten-free foods have to be processed and packaged in separate facilities to prevent cross-contamination. This means higher overhead and higher prices.
I will leave you with this thought - It is better to pay a little bit more money now for organic/natural foods and products than to pay with your health later because you didn't.

Greetings from Alex!

2008-09-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

I tried to post last night but the server failed (again). I am loving the MaryJanesFarm.org site. It's heavenly. I have learned so much and am learning more everyday.

I would like to take a stand tonight about our food and where it comes from. Did you know that MONSANTO is trying to control our seeds? In a nutshell, they want to make it illegal for seed banks to sell organic seeds. They want to be the only provider of seeds to the world. They already have seeds that will not germinate if you save them, so that means you have to buy more of their seeds the next growing season. What a crock. MONSANTO can kiss my big rosey red behind. To them I say "You will not tell me I can not save seeds. You will not tell me what food I can grow. If you think you can, you are wrong and can go straight to hell!" Please go to MaryJanesFarms.org and look up the "Danger of Extinction" thread. It is so important. This is our food, people. Still don't know how dangerous MONSANTO is? They invented PCB's and Agent Orange. Need I say more?

Now some other things I need to vent about.
1. Our roof. 3 years ago we hired a contractor to put a new roof on. It has leaked ever since. He came out several times and slapped some crap on the roof but it didn't help. I think it made it worse. I filed suit and it is still pending. I have mold growing from my bedroom walls and ceiling, my walk in closet ceiling and my bathroom ceiling. I have since hired another company to proceed with the repairs, but the mortgage company is dragging their feet. Yes, I had to get a mortgage on a house that was completely paid for to get the roof fixed. Doesn't that suck? Here's why: To take off the new crappy roof, put in new insulation, new decking, and standing seam steel, gut the bedroom, closet and bathroom, repair other places in the house, remove everything from the house and demold it, demold the house, carpet included is going to cost around $60,000. All that for a $7000 roof that ended up costing $16000 because of Hurricane Katrina (at least that's what he said). Had to pay it - he had the old roof and decking completely off the house when he raised the price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have to move out of our home into a camper for 1 1/2 months to 4 months while this is going on. The camper is borrowed from a co-workers brother (God bless them). I am dreading it though. We have 2 dogs, 1 inside cat, and 3 of us. We can't feasibly leave the property because of the livestock.
After new contractor and his crew (Servicemaster) clean our belongings, they will be stored in a POD in our front yard until we can move back in.

All of this was supposed to be done over the summer while our son was not in school. Now it looks like we may be spending our Christmas in a camper in front of the garage. I am trying to see the bright side of this, but haven't been able to get through the crap stuck on the glass.

2. IVY TECH college. I was supposed be taking classes this fall, but since IVYTECH changed data bases, they lost just about everyone's financial aid info, mine included. No classes for me. I may never get that nursing degree!

3. Work. Need I say more? Sure - I drive a squad car that has 161,000+ miles on it. I have the highest miles in the district so I've been told. They have supposedly ordered new cars, but they won't be in for 60 days then they have to be "put together". Given that time line I am guessing I will have about 167,000 miles racked up. My last car quit about 168,000.
I have a pair of uniform pants with a hole in the back pocket. Hope I don't have a complete blow out while inspecting a truck!! I have another pair with white paint that I have colored over with a black marker to hide right in the middle of the butt seam. That's what I get for holding the door for one of my elders, huh. Thank to the painter at McDonald North in Anderson for that. They didn't have any wet paint signs posted and I didn't see that it was wet.

4. I sincerely hope WAMU goes under!!

5. Medicaid. Wow that's a touchy one. I work for the ISP and still my son qualifies for this benefit. That's sad. However, the lady at the office is being rather pushy. She called last week and wanted us to get some papers filled out by his psychitrist as to the extent of his condition. And she wanted it done before she called about it!!! When I took the papers up to the doctor's office to get this done, the dr. said he would not fill them out because they were for a medical doctor, not a psychitrist to fill out. Ok - now what ms. medicaid lady?

I'm done for tonight. There's more, but it can wait!!

Greetings to all

2008-09-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well isn't this nice. I am new to this blogging thing so bear with me as I learn by making mistakes.

I am a farmgirl from Indiana and am learning the organic way of life. I have always liked the outdoors and animals. We have 2 horses, 2 dogs, 13 cats, several chickens and 2 ducks.
Our horses are Doc, 15 y/o Arab/Morgan pony (1 inch from being a horse) and Rocket. Rocket is a 4 y/o quarter horse that was a rescue from an abusive owner. He is from the "IMPRESSIVE" bloodline and had the blood disorder that is famous with that line.

Harvey is 7 y/o black lab and Henry is a 6 y/o Finnish Spitz/Chihuahua (looks like a fox).
Zeke is our 7y/o house cat adopted from an animal shelter (the same one Henry came from). We have 12 more barn cats: Tippy, Momo, Skippy, Shadow, Smokey Joe, Chesapeake, Dobby, Betty, Frostie, Cujo, Junebug and Rajah.

Bubba and Duck Tape are the two ducks and the only chicken we have left that is named is the rooster, VADER. We have several hens, but none named.

My tractor is a 1941 Farmall M in great shape except that we can't get it started right now. My husband is not much of a mechanic and I haven't had time to look at it. My 92 y/o grandpa told me several things to check and hubby has, but he still can't get it going. I think it may have moisture in the gas.....(to be continued)

I have been married for 15 years and we have 1 child together. Lliam is 8 and is a high functioning autistic also known as Asperger's Syndrome. He is a very bright child, but socially backwards. Looks a lot like Opie.

Well, I guess this is enough to start with since I am tired (1230 am and I have to work tomorrow!!)

Good night.