Happy Birthday, America! A little belated... sorry. I realized how ironic it is that the primary method of celebration of our independence is done promoting the Chinese economy (fireworks)... on whom we are very much dependent to continue funding our need to spend and never have a balanced budget. Interesting... Randy also started a tradition... that we read the Declaration of Independence each year to remember what we have to celebrate. Its amazing the things that our forefathers died for... the rights that we are signing off and ignorantly allowing to be taken from us again. Why die for independence to relinquish our rights to the United Nations? Why die for independence to have international trade limited and forced by subsidies and genetic engineering? Why die for independence to be taxed mercilessly for programs promoting social dependence and "health care" that will NOT make us any healthier? In all the world, America really is the best nation... and worth fighting for. Praise God our present day fighting is calling senators and representatives, educating ourselves and voting and not tossing our 10 year old boys onto a field with a musket and a prayer. I think its an easy thing to do to protect our freedoms.
Now onto other thoughts: though we spent some time lounging by a pool and took in a nice display of Chinese pirotechnics, we also did a LOT of work. That extra day off for Randy was really nice for me!
Friday we shaved udders and trimmed hooves. I haven't trimmed hooves in months, but they weren't bad at all! I think those scrub piles they've been climbing on is doing some of the job for me. But at any rate, all but Chuck and the little ones are nicely pedicured. Then we tackled more work in the garden expansion and realized my 250 pounds of compost I had snagged off craig's list wasn't going to go far at all. We then finally bit the bullet and hauled our trailer off to get a new tire... where it took less than $50 and maybe 15 minutes. Now we're ready to see our horse-loving friends and load up with another full load of rich compost.
I've also been increasingly frustrated with the fertilizer options availble here. First of all, its a 15 min. drive (make that an hour long trip when you include loading kids, unloading, making the purchase while kid-wrangling, re-loading the kids and again unloading) to the nearest nursery, a bottle of liquid fertilizer is over $10 and lasts maybe 4 weeks. Does NOT seem like a sustainable option for me. BUT we have this GREAT little fisherman's co-op nearby. We swung by there Friday afternoon, bought some yummy fresh, locally caught fish and took home all the fish guts they had on hand and also arranged for a weekly pick-up of their wasted treasures. We found a few recipes for fish emulsion fertilizer and have our first attempt stewing in the shed right now. Aaaahhhh, local, sustainable... and I can leave the kids in the car, run in dirty and stinky and make it back home before nap time. The smile on my face is BIG. Now to find a local, sustainable source for potash (what fish guts lack)
We also have collected 3 more duck eggs... so borrowed an incubator. I'm, right now, between sentences, trying to get the temperature adjusted to the 99.5 its supposed to be. The thermometer has been a problem... we only had a candy thermometer that would fit in the established hole, but it was so low on the range it wasn't giving us an accurate reading. So last night I went hunting for a good old fashioned mercury thermometer. A neighbor found one... but geeze, neither Randy nor I can read the thing. So now I'm using our standard digital thermometer and sticking the whole thing inside, waiting for the beeps, checking the temp, adjusting the thermostat, letting the thermometer cool down and repeating the process. But the goats are calling and I may just have to finish this process later this afternoon. Muscovy eggs take 35 days to hatch (I think) so it will be a while before we even know the futility of this, but we'll also throw some chicken eggs in while we're at it... just to see. In our straight run of replacement layers we have only 5 hens so we'll need a few more going before the barred rocks start molting anyway.
We also rearranged Gloria's room to bring down the bunk bed and make room for our big boy... who has now spent 2 nights in a big boy bed. Its going rather well. After a few more nights, I think they'll both be well adjusted to the new sleeping arrangement. Gloria is thrilled to have her brother in her room with her... except when he wakes up in the middle of the night confused and crying. Then she opens the door, ushers him out and closes it behind him. Kinda funny if it weren't 3 am when nothing is too funny.
And just as I was signing off, the thermometer beeped... at a lovely 99.6. Close enough. In go our precious 3 eggs with hopes I shall find another in just a couple minutes. Gloria is running and screaming with glee about baby chicks. Just another glorious, God-given day at the Pinedale Palace.
2 comments:
A question from your liberal father: Where would your health care come from if you were not blessed with someone in the family whe receives a generous healthcare package with his employment? When one has to purchase it privately it is very expensive and the insurance companies quite capricious in who they will accept. I am grateful I made it to Medicare. Not everyone is so well blessed.
Our generous health care package IS paid for and yes, very expensive. And were it not for a VERY capable and affordable midwife, we would not be able to afford childbirth... AT ALL even WITH health insurance! But I'm NOT complaining. If it weren't for Randy's employment we would probably use an alternative "insurance company" of which there are several good options. But when I'm checking out at the grocery store, seeing the pure poison people are pumping into their bodies with absolutely no restraint... sorry. I'm not inclined to pay for their frequent medical expenses. Meanwhile, the FDA wants to take away all our rights to consume what is ACTUALLY healthy (raw milk, organic home-grown veggies, non-irradiated produce) and poison our children with over 50 innoculations which research is PROVING is HIGHLY TOXIC! When will the government admit they have been wrong and let us be responsible for our own health? And yes, you made it to Medicare... but do you want to still pay out of your own pocket for someone's self-induced lung cancer merely because you worked harder and are actually making ends meet? Just because you're on medicare does NOT mean you have stopped paying for health insurance. You're still paying for everyone elses.
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