"Exodus 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey."
The phrase came to me today, this beautiful Sunday, May 29, 2011.... A warm day but not a hot one....We're closed to the public for sales, and praising God and rejoicing in our blessings and spending special time thinking, pondering, learning and growing, and listening and reading His word.
Having spent the morning with the goats tending them, and all the animals, and then pouring up part of the recent honey into jars, this verse comes to my soul.
I think back now of coming to this small farm in Bowdon so many years ago, going through the years of looking for a farm place that would be called our farm home... Where we could garden and be in a small, peaceful and Godly community where we could grow in our faith and better serve Him. He called us to the place with a name we'd never known because after all our self directed efforts, He just brought us here, when there was no where else to turn and in our praying He heard our heartfelt desire. We knew the minute we arrived God had led us here. A place I first spelled as Bowdown...And truly it fits our situation. We had been wandering around Georgia and Alabama and even looking further out and He placed us here in His Time. When I see the beauty around me, the bees drinking nectar from the honeysuckle and vegetable blooms, when I milk the goats, my soul has turned to this Bible Verse. Thank you Lord for your bountiful Love and that You give us What We need in Your time....
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Remembering Mother!
Mother's Day.............A time to remember Mother.
I had a wonderful Mother. She was always so well organized, well read, well prepared, well dressed, loving and giving. She had a card file for recipes, shopping lists, birthdays, everything... She didn't fit my idea of a woman who grew up on the farm, but I didn't know her very well, until I left home and I became a mother. I never knew until I was grown that she was the first child of her family to graduate from college. She went to school in a one room school but that never stopped her.
My phone was my link to mother. I called her with requests of many kinds, for recipes of butter cookies from long ago.
I called her when a 6 year old sat on a pencil on a school bus and the pencil lead broke off in her. I called her when I was so sick or so tired or so discouraged.
I wrote her cards...I took pictures...When I lived away from town, I came to see her but not nearly enough.
When I had not heard from her on the phone in a long time, my Father called me to tell me of my Mother's decline, of her massive loss of weight, of her depression after she lost both her daughter and then her granddaughter in such a short period of time. Of her loss of connecting with others. I rushed home to find a mother who no longer wanted to live. She had lost her way and was suffering so.
But I prefer to think of my mother as the delightful, cheerful mother who let me go shopping with her, as she tested new lipsticks, I tried on hats just across from her and as I modeled them with my silly little girlish charm, I was just the clown in the hat department. I catered the ones with flowers and large brims, but I was also in love with smaller hats looking like they had real bird nest in them! She looked so beautiful when she went to church, gloved and shining and perfect hair and that charming Southern smile that was so genuine.
I remember how she would let me lick that wonderful batter bowl. Or make "her kitchen" so dirty as I made iced cookies with more powdered sugar on the floor than on the frosty. How I could play the Beatles records and do a loud sing a long. How she never fussed and only laughed (at home, away from school) when she had to pick me up from kindegarten after I danced way too much and twisted for the whole class (after seeing Elvis sing on the Lawrence Welk Show)...
I know I was quite a lot of a child to raise from infancy to young adulthood. My imaginative attitude toward life, coupled with the Joy of Living must have challenged her beyond belief. My thinking more like a "boy" than a Girl. My wanting to change the world in one day!
Momma, you've been gone from this earth for over a decade. I miss you daily and remember you with much love and laughter. Thanks for giving me such a base of love and prayer, faith, and hope! For tolerating me. For tending me and mothering me past those first 18 years! You will always be perfect in my eyes, heart, soul and mind! You blessed me and many. You are not forgotten...
I love you and know that someday we will meet again... I warn you my earthly hands are rough and nails are dirty and I have the markings of a farmer woman....I went to live the life you left and our family has come full circle. I love farming. It is my calling and my passion. But I understand when you had to pick that cotton that made your hands bleed and hurt and your small back ache as you carried that ever increasing load. I know it must have been so hard for you, when what you wanted to do is fill your hands with a book or a pen and a pad of paper... What a sacrifice you made. What a woman you were. I thank you always.
You taught me love and sacrifice and joy and so much more..
I had a wonderful Mother. She was always so well organized, well read, well prepared, well dressed, loving and giving. She had a card file for recipes, shopping lists, birthdays, everything... She didn't fit my idea of a woman who grew up on the farm, but I didn't know her very well, until I left home and I became a mother. I never knew until I was grown that she was the first child of her family to graduate from college. She went to school in a one room school but that never stopped her.
My phone was my link to mother. I called her with requests of many kinds, for recipes of butter cookies from long ago.
I called her when a 6 year old sat on a pencil on a school bus and the pencil lead broke off in her. I called her when I was so sick or so tired or so discouraged.
I wrote her cards...I took pictures...When I lived away from town, I came to see her but not nearly enough.
When I had not heard from her on the phone in a long time, my Father called me to tell me of my Mother's decline, of her massive loss of weight, of her depression after she lost both her daughter and then her granddaughter in such a short period of time. Of her loss of connecting with others. I rushed home to find a mother who no longer wanted to live. She had lost her way and was suffering so.
But I prefer to think of my mother as the delightful, cheerful mother who let me go shopping with her, as she tested new lipsticks, I tried on hats just across from her and as I modeled them with my silly little girlish charm, I was just the clown in the hat department. I catered the ones with flowers and large brims, but I was also in love with smaller hats looking like they had real bird nest in them! She looked so beautiful when she went to church, gloved and shining and perfect hair and that charming Southern smile that was so genuine.
I remember how she would let me lick that wonderful batter bowl. Or make "her kitchen" so dirty as I made iced cookies with more powdered sugar on the floor than on the frosty. How I could play the Beatles records and do a loud sing a long. How she never fussed and only laughed (at home, away from school) when she had to pick me up from kindegarten after I danced way too much and twisted for the whole class (after seeing Elvis sing on the Lawrence Welk Show)...
I know I was quite a lot of a child to raise from infancy to young adulthood. My imaginative attitude toward life, coupled with the Joy of Living must have challenged her beyond belief. My thinking more like a "boy" than a Girl. My wanting to change the world in one day!
Momma, you've been gone from this earth for over a decade. I miss you daily and remember you with much love and laughter. Thanks for giving me such a base of love and prayer, faith, and hope! For tolerating me. For tending me and mothering me past those first 18 years! You will always be perfect in my eyes, heart, soul and mind! You blessed me and many. You are not forgotten...
I love you and know that someday we will meet again... I warn you my earthly hands are rough and nails are dirty and I have the markings of a farmer woman....I went to live the life you left and our family has come full circle. I love farming. It is my calling and my passion. But I understand when you had to pick that cotton that made your hands bleed and hurt and your small back ache as you carried that ever increasing load. I know it must have been so hard for you, when what you wanted to do is fill your hands with a book or a pen and a pad of paper... What a sacrifice you made. What a woman you were. I thank you always.
You taught me love and sacrifice and joy and so much more..
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
To all those who live out their Love!
I love it when folks live their lives in love...They have a perpetual smile decorating their face. Love is their motivator, their reward, their life guide. They demonstrate it in their attitudes, their spirit/soul, in their actions. They are those that rejoice with us, mourn with us, listen when no one else wants to hear anymore "about it". They know effortlessly what we need and don't ask, they just do!!! They want to credit, no applause, no medals. They love because they know and show God's love. They are spontaneous and they joy in life - in butterflies, in birds, horses and a lovely sunset. They need no fancy, they have the whole world on their plate and all the glorious world to see.
If we've hurt our hands and cannot move them, they show up with meal, flowers and a broad smile and a gentle hug.
If we're confused, they stand by to pray with us, to listen while we "work at the confusion".
They help us weed the garden. They take out the garbage, drive us around and to much more to list.
They are great handholders and shoulders when we need one. They make sacrifices for us but they simply do not ever complain. It is their joy to be our earthly angels.
They inspire us, move us to tears of joy and compassion, they show the way to live and love. Plainly and simply they may not be rich in wealthy but they are wealthy in their Love and know that Love shared multiplies. Thanks to all of those who are among the richest of us all. That love and care at all times and this is the joy of their life. Nothing is ever too much because they fly like eagles with the Lord uplifting them and giving them strength....They make one of my favorite Books - Love by Leo Buscaglia seem somehow shallow. After a day of working at a local food pantry, emergency center, they change a shirt and they're off to visit a nursing home, drop by a hospital, go to a funeral home and still back in time for evening church and choir. The givers are of all ages, sizes and colors from all walks and runs of life.
There's a song with a Line that goes, "People, people who love people are the Luckiest people in the world" Barbara Streisand was the singer.... The song intended mainly for romantic love applies to agape love too.
Thanks to the lovers, the givers, the doers of this world. May you never grow weary and may you live a long life of loving.....
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Easter is several weeks of sweet goodbyes
When we sell our pet bunnies, I really interview the people who want to buy them, but they are really not aware of the interview process....I find out if they have ever had bunnies, what they know about bunnies, what their expectations are in terms of care, maintenance, and the long term commitment. When I sense that it's a whim, just a spur of the moment decision, I explain that we have had bunnies live over 10 and 12 years, that this is a major commitment.
When I sense that there is no understanding of the care needed we review what a bunny needs to prosper, I share handling and feeding techniques. If I decide they are fully ready for the responsibility we proceed with the sale, but we do Not sell when the nursery is not ready for the baby bunny or if for any reason we feel that the bunny will be neglected or harmed in any way.
God gave dominion of the earth to Adam and Eve but with it I believe there is a responsibility to see appropriate placements. So if you come to our farm to shop for chicks, bunnies, goslings, ducklings, expect not to rush in and rush out....We care about our babies and take their placement very careful. Expect to learn and be able to ask questions and make informed decisions....This is an educational process. We want our animals to thrive in their new home, so give yourself time to look and ask questions, We will not rush you. We're hear to help you... The picture is of me saying goodbye to Digital Photography by Christy, one of several photographers who bought Easter bunnies. I take the time to let the babies say goodby to their bunny mothers and let the mothers know they are leaving, and then I kiss them and say a prayer over them with closed eyes.... praying over them and their new owners. We love our babies and want you to love them a long time to, through the teen times and into adulthood and old age. We are just as serious as when we sell ducklings, poults, keets or goslings... You see we love all our babies..
When I sense that there is no understanding of the care needed we review what a bunny needs to prosper, I share handling and feeding techniques. If I decide they are fully ready for the responsibility we proceed with the sale, but we do Not sell when the nursery is not ready for the baby bunny or if for any reason we feel that the bunny will be neglected or harmed in any way.
God gave dominion of the earth to Adam and Eve but with it I believe there is a responsibility to see appropriate placements. So if you come to our farm to shop for chicks, bunnies, goslings, ducklings, expect not to rush in and rush out....We care about our babies and take their placement very careful. Expect to learn and be able to ask questions and make informed decisions....This is an educational process. We want our animals to thrive in their new home, so give yourself time to look and ask questions, We will not rush you. We're hear to help you... The picture is of me saying goodbye to Digital Photography by Christy, one of several photographers who bought Easter bunnies. I take the time to let the babies say goodby to their bunny mothers and let the mothers know they are leaving, and then I kiss them and say a prayer over them with closed eyes.... praying over them and their new owners. We love our babies and want you to love them a long time to, through the teen times and into adulthood and old age. We are just as serious as when we sell ducklings, poults, keets or goslings... You see we love all our babies..
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Why we cook in bulk?
It's as easy to cook chili for 10 as chili for 2...Besides when I cook for 10 to 12, it only lasts two meals.My husband expends over 10,000 calories in a regular day.....That's a lot of food needs, especially since he doesn't eat much bread or desert.So what's for dinner tonight.
Cottage pie, with layers of potatoes, spinach and kale and 3 kinds of homemade cheeses. (cooked 8 pounds of potatoes the other day, this will give us enough extras.)
Apple pie - making 2 will freeze 1 for later.....apples from the farm frozen over the winter....yum..... Then some tapioca blueberry pudding with our homegrown blueberries and fresh milk...yum...refrigerator rolls and open a homecanned green beans, serve with pickled beets and some home canned pears....It will be soooo good!
Cottage pie, with layers of potatoes, spinach and kale and 3 kinds of homemade cheeses. (cooked 8 pounds of potatoes the other day, this will give us enough extras.)
Apple pie - making 2 will freeze 1 for later.....apples from the farm frozen over the winter....yum..... Then some tapioca blueberry pudding with our homegrown blueberries and fresh milk...yum...refrigerator rolls and open a homecanned green beans, serve with pickled beets and some home canned pears....It will be soooo good!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Wonderful semirestful Tuesday...Farm waits for more babies!
Jacque and I lazied out this afternoon...We ate lunch at a lovely Bowdon Mexican, Loco Mex restaurant, mailed some hatching egg boxes and came home and watched a few movies....The rest was so needed. A mini vacation. The sun is so bright this afternoon, it seems to be blinding...I think it's because this morning was so dreary and almost foggish.....A London kind of morning... Well, I'm looking forward to the next few days....
In anticipation of the birth of buckling? and/or doeling...According to the calendar of "exposure, confirmed by blood tests", the Milk Goat mother should be due anytime in the next 5 days. When I'm in the Labor and Delivery room, I feel so inadequate. It's so important to "model" calm and sometimes that's hard. Most of our goats are pacers when they are in labor and if in extreme pain they paw at the ground... We want to be there at the birth to help the mothers but we want mother to take the lead...Of course the baby's bed is ready by the wood fireplace so we can build a fire if the baby is too cold or wet. I think it will be a single birth, but that remains to be seen. She's a first time goat mother and I'm praying all will go well.
Our little boy chocolate buckling born to Lexus and Romeo has been outside for 3 days and 2 nights...I miss him in the house.....Giving his little cry that he needs attention or milk..... Well, it's time for the afternoon chores. Life keeps on going - no rest for the balance of the day! But life is good and God is good and that's good enough for me!)
In anticipation of the birth of buckling? and/or doeling...According to the calendar of "exposure, confirmed by blood tests", the Milk Goat mother should be due anytime in the next 5 days. When I'm in the Labor and Delivery room, I feel so inadequate. It's so important to "model" calm and sometimes that's hard. Most of our goats are pacers when they are in labor and if in extreme pain they paw at the ground... We want to be there at the birth to help the mothers but we want mother to take the lead...Of course the baby's bed is ready by the wood fireplace so we can build a fire if the baby is too cold or wet. I think it will be a single birth, but that remains to be seen. She's a first time goat mother and I'm praying all will go well.
Our little boy chocolate buckling born to Lexus and Romeo has been outside for 3 days and 2 nights...I miss him in the house.....Giving his little cry that he needs attention or milk..... Well, it's time for the afternoon chores. Life keeps on going - no rest for the balance of the day! But life is good and God is good and that's good enough for me!)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
March 10 - a day of ups and down!
Shana, our rescue bunny had I think 4 or 5....She's is so cute,,, it hit her all of the sudden that babies were due and she was a last minute builder but took about 1/2 her fur off!!!
Isn't it just miraculous how God made the mother rabbits with built in messages on how to make a nest and that it's always just right for the weather...Those little bunnies are born with no fur.
I think we have 2 mini rex and 2 rex that will give birth tomorro or the next day.. It has been a rough bunny season with all our changes in weather...I can almost forecast the weather by the depth of their nests and ho much fur was pulled. Looks like a few cold days are coming up!!! So spoke the Mother Rabbits nest boxes.
Had 4 shots in my ankle to try to break the cycle of tarsal tunnel syndrome. Let's hope it works...One managed to numb my leg and foot...Apparently I have foot arthritis...Ah the ravages of working and walking a lot, but I will not stop! Bionic feet are out there....I had one of the first surgeries for implants in my feet about 12 years ago for bunions and apparently I have no needed fluid between the bones especially in the surgery area...
Well enough of all that, I made huge chocolate chip cookies for Jacque, he needs the weight and now at almost 9:00 pm it's time to begin to rest!
Here's my favorite photo of me with 3 of our mini Lop's babies - Nea Nea, named after my good author friend Renea Winchester.
Keep your eyes open for everyday miracles and wonders. God has placed them all around us! Have a blessed time and Remember the Past is History, Today is a Present and Tomorrow is a Promise...So live, love, hug, pray and praise today!
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