A rough beginning, but the day ends well

September 17, 2013September 17, 201323 Comments

We have scrimped and saved wherever we can to keep our costs to a minimum. To say that the Mountain Farmlet is costing us a mountain of cash, might sound scary to some, but we are managing and doing so much of the work ourselves. It feels intimidating, and to be honest overwhelming at times, but we have been researching and learning by doing and each time we tackle a new job at the old place we feel better equipped for the next bit that comes along.

Yesterday Bob left for work and then came back saying that his car transmission was acting funny. We took it into the transmission repair shop and got the verdict of $1,400.00 to rebuild it. We are not elated, but we will survive this too.

Now I am going to share with you some of our outlook on life. I have no intention for this to be preachy, so please don’t take it as such.

I mentioned to Bob that some people would look at what we are going through (car repair, our sick Little Dog expenses, hidden damage in the old farmhouse) and might think:

“God is punishing us.”

To which, after some deep thinking, he later replied:

“(paraphrased) You know some people would think that, but I believe he is preparing us and teaching us to live more frugally. Look at how much we are accomplishing by learning to do the work on our own. Yes, there are some projects we can’t do ourselves, but none of this is insurmountable. He is making us stronger, smarter and wiser.

We have always dreamed of living in the country and owning a bit of land, and this dream is becoming a reality. We are just having to work for it, and that is not such a bad thing. It will take us longer than we anticipated, but we will accomplish our dream.”

Today, after a parts delay, the construction of the new roof begins. It has to be done, it is expensive, but a sound roof will protect all our hard work on the inside. And while we have found some really rotten wood behind the walls in the kitchen and bath, we now have a brand new floor in the bathroom. We have also discovered that under the badly damaged sub-floor in the kitchen there are relatively new, and pristine beams to hold up the new flooring when we install it. That was a welcome surprise that will save us much labor and money.

As we worked away the day, and along our journey home, I took these photos to share with you. Be patient, they may take a moment to load…

: The light and pattern here facinated me. (Of course, your POV may differ!)

: What lies behind this patch in the outside wall?

: A little window who’s top only reaches to my waist!

: It is about 18 by 24 inches. I will repurpose it and my chickens shall have light!

: Massive oak planks 14 in. wide by over 8 ft. long. The fire explains the smoke and water damage on the outside wall in the previous picture. Even these will be repurposed, and have a future in my plans.

: Beauty is where you find it and depends a great deal on how you perceive it.

: An old cedar fence post and forgotten hand plow out front of the house.

: The days work done, we head out. What a lovely surprise we found at the side of the highway. The sun was a bit too harsh for a good view, but you get the idea.

: The road home

: Day is done, and tomorrow holds promise for attainment of our goals..

I leave you with a message found on a church notice board near where we live…

“The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.”

To which I respond…

Selah!

~*~*~*~

NOTES: The Amplified Bible translates *selah as “pause, and think of that” I like that translation.

Reference: Selah in the Psalms ~ http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2007/07/selah-in-the-ps.html

Where’s my bulldozer? (pixilatedtoo.wordpress.com)
Outside my window (pixilatedtoo.wordpress.com)

Sometimes it just isn’t pretty

August 14, 2013August 14, 201345 Comments

Recently, the Little Dog was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease. We put him on his meds and he began to show signs of improvement.

Then he lost 2.5 lbs in about two weeks, which is a massive drop when you only weigh 15 lbs. He was listless and his energy had taken a nose dive. We thought he was dying. I made an appointment with his Vet and we discussed his symptoms.

These were: A return to drinking gallons of water and having to pee A LOT, also, lethargy, massive weight loss, and this was very weird ~ his breath smelled like contact cement or nail polish remover. (No he didn’t have access to any such thing!!!)

The Vet grabbed a test strip put a drop of urine on it and we watched it almost instantly turn brown.

Diagnosis? Diabetes. Apparently, this is also brought about by his Cushing’s disease. His blood sugar was in the 600 range!

He has only been on insulin for two days now, but he has begun to want to play and interact with us again. 😀

That said, it is a bit hard to stick my little dog with a needle two times a day, but then, I guess we’ll both get used to it in time.

Even with a party glass to try to take the ugly off, well, diabetes is just not pretty, now is it?

How to Know if a Dog has Diabetes (expertspages.com)

Found along the trail

July 29, 2013July 29, 201332 Comments

This weekend we worked on our trail through the woods by clearing it of debris from recent storms. Over the next few winters some carefully planned thinning of our little woods will be a productive endeavor! Trees growing too closely together get thin and spindly, and they simply cannot hold themselves up in a wind.

: An over crowded and weak sapling!

: Along the trail there is nothing to hold them up and over they go!

: False Coral Fungus ~ Tremellodendron pallidum: I read the true coral fungus is edible, but that in some it can cause nausea and gastrointestinal distress. That chance makes it truly not worth it. This one however, is edible but it is dry and chewy. That characteristic places this one on the not worth it list as well! 😛

: Here we have a nice specimen of Poison Ivy. There is much more along the way and it must be irradicated.

: YIKES! That was a close call with the wagon handle!

: Our everpresent support team. NOTE: Gas can caps are very secure, and Tucker doesn’t smoke so there was no danger! (We don’t either.) ‘-)

: I am sorry I couldn’t get a better picture of this spiny spider. These spiders build very strong webs across the trail. They are hard to see… but you sure as heck can feel them!!!

: Resurrection fern…

: Resurrection fern after a bit of rain. An amazing epiphite. (photo is bad, but you get the idea.)

More information on the above flora and fauna may be found by clicking on the links below:

False Coral Fungus ~ Tremellodendron pallidum

Spiny Orb Weaver ~ Gasteracantha cancriformis

Resurrection Fern ~ Polypodium polypodioides

Play Ball!

July 6, 201342 Comments

After far too many months of illness we had begun to think that our little circus dog, Tucker, would never play ball again. He simply had no desire to even get up.

However, tonight at the dinner table a ball suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Bob said, “Where did this come from?”

To which the Little Dog enthusiastically replied,