Failure to say the right words

 

Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like you are waiting for the other shoe to drop? Or in the case of farmers, I should say waiting for the other boot to drop, I know that's probably not a current expression and you don't know what it means, just say so in the comments.  I or a reader can help you. Seems like a lot of that going on these past few days at the Garry Farm….

Rain rain, needed for the rain tables but so wet as to be most slippery and soggy.  Muck boots are NOW mucking! Difficult time to be outside working!  The Rains seem to have brought out all kinds of varments, as Granny would have called them.  Now she applied that term to both the mice and others who would try to invade her house, the foxes, wild dogs and others who would dare disturb her hens.But I believe she would have applied the term to the scalywags, as she called the n'er do wells she encountered. The men and women who traipsed her farm looking for no good. Now she was a kindly country woman but she did NOT cotton to varments.

More on varments: 

Lost a beloved precious partridge silkie to a beheading by a predator. awake 2 mornings to more noise, a baby possum was determined to have chicken for breakfast.  another large possum paraded.  Happily I report both failed. Hawks are flying low. You know when they fly because all the animals run to hide and they are quiet, very quiet as if hoping not to be heard.

Two gents came in the rainy, almost dark, meandering, saying wanted some hens to go with their Rhode Island Red Rooster.. Unexpected, out in the rain right before dark.  It didn’t feel right. My few years on our farm, my childhood experience and my female intuition said "SCALYWAG Varments"  My security radar went up & I sent them quickly on their way.  Aggravated and angry.  I was just laying down for a much needed nap when I heard their voices outside!  Our farm has been under siege by scalywags before when certain people tried to fill their trailer with our large goats and I know folks seem to want to take rather than work sometimes. And upon other occasions when a woman stuffed bunnies under a heavy coat and attempted to walk out.  Caught her and retrieved the precious babies and other times as well.

Picture would be of the kind of rooster that the gent varments needed a hen for ASAP !!!!!!!
Now, back to the gent varments,   I would have gladly fed those folks a meal, but honestly I wanted them off the property or offered real work to them for a day or so. But they didn’t look like they had missed a meal and I don't think they wanted to contribute to the well being of the farm.  I supposed if I had been a better and stronger woman, I should have asked, "Do you Need a Job"   or "Are you Hungry, do you Need food".   Or more Importantly this is what I failed to say , "Do you Need me to Pray for You?  Is there something you need in your LIFE right now?" My brain reacted before my soul! For that Lord, I apologize.  Technical details of increased Security for both human and animal varments but my soul is sad I missed an opportunity. .  Life is NOT perfect here but in the midst of all the varments + battling an Upper Respiratory Infection, there was Joy and Hope coming to the Farm, because in the midst of varments, innocent, precious baby goats were born. PTL! So for my praying friends, and I encourage all to pray over everything,  please pray especially in the future that I don't fail the right things in the future.   I missed a great opportunity. sigh.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. King James Version, the one that Granny and I both loved and both memorized. Thank you Lord for rest you give us from trials and tribulations and for joy and hope as well. Please move my lips to seek to serve those who need you and may I not miss opportunities you put before me..Amen

Are you in a Storm? Fear Not, The Lord is With You

Are you in a Storm?  Fear Not, The Lord is With You

January 30, I sit on our sofa, watching the news for tornadoes, high winds, warnings and bad storms in Alabama and Georgia and the Southeast, we’ve been out several times to check on the animals.  Our farm house, structure doesn’t really have good storm shelter, no basement, only one inner room – but that one  has windows.  I am calm, as prepared as I can be. Makeshift helmets assembled as requested by FEMA and ready to go to the inner closets in a minutes notice. Several years ago the Bowdon area was hit severely and as a child, I saw the destruction from tornado in my homeplace.  I still recall coming home from the North GA mountains to a home with trees down and my petite mother pushed to the bottom of a very long stairwell by the storm. Today, Jacque and I are as prepared as we can be and  I’m looking for those verses of shelter and comfort so that this blog can be a piece of comfort to both readers now and in the future. We are praying for all in all the storms of life. This is no apology, this blog is quickly written as I don’t know when there will be power or internet outages.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. --Deuteronomy 31:8

There are so many Biblical verses of comfort and shelter in the Lord and that no matter what, He is there. I do knowThe Lord is my rock and shelter, my everypresent help in times of trouble.  Thank you Lord for your 24/7 watch on my life.

I love the beautiful music in this UTube

Fear not…..

 

Dear Readers know that God is with you, that whatever storm you are going through in life, be it weather, physical, emotional or other, you are never alone.   May God bless you always and may you know His presence and comfort now and forevermore. Amen

Ever want to "grow" your own Apple Cider Vinegar?

Here are the results of the first month of our growing.  The large disk that literally cover the top of the Apple cider are know as the "Mother".   I started each jar about 30 days ago with only a little mother from the Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar in apple juice.  I have not always aired it every day but it is most certainly NOW Apple Cider Vinegar grown on The Garry Farm and soooo delicious.   Jacque and I and the Chickens will all be enjoying the ACV.

ACV is full of natural properties that are so good for you.   ACV grows best in a dark place and should be aired daily and rocked back and forth so that the disk grows.   If you stir at first do so gently,  I prefer the rocking to stirring.   So what do you have growing????   ACV doesn't need to be refrigerated when ready..... You may move to a larger container and use the mother disk for the next batch! Sunlight does tend to negate many of its help

If you do want to drink it, recommend mixing with water as it's acidic...Do not use to can your pickles, etc as  you have no way to know its precise acidic value.

We like to use it in salad dressings and marinades, add a bit to tea and add to the chicken waterers as well.   Thank you Braggs for the experience!    

Ode to The Garry Farm Dirty Windows & More

Ode to The Garry Dirty Windows and More

The farm house has dirty windows – inside and out

And The Garry Farm housekeeper is nowhere about

Said clean windows make her scream and shout

 

Mumbled something about rather be outside

“lowpaid housekeep ain’t got nothing to hide”

 

“But clean winders, she said “Make a Peeper be,

So now when they look, There’s nothing to see”

 

Said something about clean a tiny look hole in each one

To be able to look out, peep around , see the morning sun

 

And the little peeper hole could have a curtain of a little sticky

Just a little curtain for me to look out and see NO one yicky

 

Said she got her “great idear from them fancy store doors

Where you kin look to see out but no peepers, no more”

 

She minded me that home chores are called that for a reason

Would only again turn dirty again, every day & every season

 

Said a person do better to go outside and take a look

Or just sit in a corner n study the pages in a purty book

 

So don’t come alooking for the housekeeper today

She said something about leaving and going away

 

Will I miss her and cry – I think Not

Cause I think I paid just for what I Got

 

That housekeep she took the better road

Stepping outside her neglected abode

 

I’m washing a dime out of every winder, just enough for me to see

The Garry Farm so naturally dirty …That's where I’d rather be

 

Nancy Garry,   The Garry Farm  1/11/2013 Written at 4:55 am

A Life Out of Balance - Is your Yoke a Burden?

How of ten in my life I have found myself so burdened by so much that I become motionless or walking in circles, thinking I am unable to carry on - to juggle the baskets and buckets of life without either falling/failing at my tasks or simply pouring them out to the ground and wanting to say.... "Forget it!" and sometimes do or "Dear Lord, I can carry no more.  I am unable.  Lord, please help me?"  And although I do believe and totally acknowledge My Lord and Savior, in my typical human status, I keep looking at either my mental or paper list of to do's and already predoom my day with a "NOT going to get it mind set which becomes a mental set" and the day begins to spiral downward as I rush to fail, fumble, be frustrated and worry.

When I first pray about the day or even just the next seconds,  I can then begin to experience incredible peace and suddenly my buckets and baskets balance and they no longer cripple me. My tightrope life has a balancing bar - it is a yoke.  Oh it is all still there to accomplish and a bit more, But I have a Workmate - a Helper .... I have an "imaginary yoke"...Yes you read it correctly.    That  wooden Yoke weighs a lot - it heavy but lightens the load - the piece of wood you see on the shoulders of the person in the etching, is placed on the shoulders before the farmers tasks and was once used by farmers world wide is a balance it doesn't make the job disappear but the degree of difficulty is lessened as the weight is shifted from arms to shoulders.  MY Yoke is not made by Man or Woman.  It will not rot or burn or get lost or stolen or any of those things. My Yoke is invisible and weighs nothing.  It does need repair or replacement.  It cannot be bought or sold.   It was already paid for and is freely given to all...

Long before I farmed, I have always loved the following and want to share it with you today 

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Matthew 11: 28-30

Love In The Lord Always,   LITLA,   Nancy Garry

A special note of gratitude to my friend Mrs. Gunter who responded to my request for a sketch of balancing figure and without knowing about this posting, knew exactly what was needed.  Thank you Lord for Godly friends.  

The Giving Table, You never know what your anonymous gift might do!

We have a lovely table at our public convenience center.  I like to call it The Giving Table. Next to the large green dumpsters is a humble table a place for public recycling center table for the community who brings trash to feed the dumpsters.   A leave and take table with no check out, no fee for returning if the item just cannot be used.   100% satisfaction guaranteed, you may bring the item back if you don't want it, no questions ask, no receipt needed.

• An expression of anonymous love to one another in our community.....   All kinds of treasures have been left there over time....    I've left books and also picked up books.   I left clothing that I hadn't been using in a while or perhaps never worn.  I smiled inside when I thought I saw a pretty shirt I once had in the closet getting dusty on a lovely lady.   One of the unposted but understood social rules is that THE GIVER never tells. I happily said "Beautiful shirt" and walked on.
• The Table has generated smiles, chats and friendships and elevated the Status of the workers.  I cannot imagine working at a Convenience Center.  Day in & out picking up trash, broken glass, carelessly left out side the containers, being around the smell. Working for low pay. I have never appreciated these folks enough until we decided no garbage service for us at the farm, we will take our own trash.  What started as a money saving effort has indeed been an eye opener for me.
• It is a spot of joy in an otherwise sometimes dreaded task! Instead of folks just dumping trash and leaving, Many walk over to look, leave, browse and Wave at the staff.   My favorite line is of course "You sure I don't need a receipt to refund"?   Toting garbage and being around garbage is not easy,.
• What I like about this table is that it allows and encourages year round Sharing.  That one crockpot with the broken liner might match a liner outthere. It did for me!
• It shows that our community is a Thrifty one.   The items on the table may not be a perfect, but it might be a treasure to the person who picks it up or receives it.  It might be a surprise gift to another person.   I have a dear friend who drops by recycled items.   And I love that surprise!  She knows me and our Farm well & has an eye for helpful things, plastic crates for toting vegetables, etc. 

Sometimes it is as if there was a giving Angel who knew that someone was coming by with a Special need...

A few months ago, I was wearing socks that were becoming thread bare in the heels and toes. Tried mending and doubling up socks, but painful to the feet.  I had had particularly challenging health days and was just not up to shopping for good socks.  Farmers wear out socks just walking for miles a day.  As hubby hoisted the trash into the green monsters.  I left a few surprises and open a particularly clean bag that had wonderfully clean socks carefully paired together and folded as neatly as if for a drawer.  The smell of Cashmere Bouquet wafted from the Bag, bringing back memories of my Granny.  As I picked up some of the socks and no, I did NOT take all of them, I was filled with so much gratitude as now I could enjoy some foot comfort without having to drive an hour and spend several hours shopping for those that fit well. 

Thank you Sock Angel whoever you were.   You really lifted my spirits, energy and feet that day!

  "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

The Marriage of The Baskets - "rescue your basket while ye may"

 In part of the after Thanksgiving, seasonal cleanup in the last few days, I found two woven baskets.

One was a large market type of basket used to pick in The Garry Farm fields and it had developed a very widespread soft area and could not carry anything heavier than about 2 pound although it was very large.    The second one was a "girly" baskey with lace glued around it, but clearly the entire base was coming away from thesides as it had been used as a heavy duty "toter" at the farm.

The market basket with its weak area

 

The girly basket clearly pulling away from the side

I sat looking at both of these and wondered about any future use of them.  Because if ever there were a "recycling" farm, it is amazing how many of our items here are found are left at the gate or purchased for just a little a few years ago. Fixed up and given new purpose.....So after looking at both for about 5 minutes, because I was just confident they had more life to them somehow!

And so it began:   the "Marriage of the Baskets".    The base of the "girly basket" was attached to the the area of the Market basket that had become weak ....This took about 20 minutes because I didn't have basket weaving or repair training, but I did remove some of those sides of the girly basket and use them as weaving pieces, so the baskets could be married. Together they were stronger and better and the best parts of each made this a blessed marriage.   Now please do not tell others to come see the "basketcase" marriage story.    This is not about that... LOL

The repaired base !

 And now that I think of this story of the baskets at the Garry Farm, isn't this how good marriages really are?

Bringing different strengths and interests, but together complementing each other.  They are one in the Spirit.  Yes, I wish for all my dear friends a Basket Marriage.  Woven together over time and experience, each partner helping the other until what they have is a strong and a giving marriage ..... Let Love, Peace, humility, gentleness and patience be your weaving strips.

Ephesians 4:2-3

Common English Bible (CEB)

² Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, ³ and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together.