Middle of October...Wow!

This month has fairly flown by. I have a new Job at the Outback. I love eating there and now I love working there. It is too bad I feel like my feet are crushed and on fire...that puts a damper on things. I feel like I have had the worst 6 months ever. There has been so many hard times and disappointments. My neighbors dog come on the property and in 1 week it killed 5 sheep and 3 alpacas. I do not know if I will see any compensation but I am out about 10k in expenses.  I had panic attacks every time I had to go outside because I was afraid to see what else had happened. The animal control people got the dog so at least that is over.
    We had non paying squatters in our house in Colorado so that has almost killed us financially. It is hard to believe people can stand themselves when they are such losers. We finally got their deadbeat butts out and now we have a great family, and our former neighbors, living there. They are great people and I am so happy they are there. Now that we will be getting rent again, and I have a job, I think things will start looking up soon.
  I have been a mess since I was unfairly fired by the hospital for being disabled. I just can not believe they did that but I am now dealing with it. I like my serving job at Outback and I still love the food.
   I am not sure what to do about the farm. I only have 1 sheep left and they don't do well alone. The rest of my alpacas are good so far but I am so discouraged that I am not sure I want to continue. Farming was so fun when I had Colleen. Farming without a partner, especially one who is a therapist, just doesn't feel the same.  I will continue praying about this situation and see if this is something I should still do.

Septermber Already

The kids are in school and I am looking forward to a long and colorful fall. I am not a fan of summer and this one has tried all my patience. September holds a lot of promise for me. It will get cooler, there will be a lot of veggies to learn to can, and I am a tiny bit embarrassed to admit but my favorite show, The Vampire Diaries, comes back on. There hasn't been a Show this interesting since Veronica Mars. I just ordered the second season of The Vampire Diaries and I am watching the first season again just to get into the continuity of the thing.
   I have a ton of work to do and so little motivation to do it. The barn needs to be cleaned, the weeds pulled, an enormous amount of fencing, trim and weed the flowerbeds, throw away a lot of trash in the yard and lots more. That is not even counting the inside chores. I can see why Farmers have usually had a large family, so there are more hands to help.

This is my cat Gracie, she thinks she is my hat.

Summer is almost over...Thank Goodness!!

I have been sort of floundering since I was fired last month. It had been hard to deal with giving 100% of yourself and it not being enough. I have filed a discrimination suite against the hospital under the Americans with Disabilities Act so hopefully that will work out in time. Meanwhile I can not figure out anything I can do for a job that I can do physically that I am also qualified for.
   In the midst of all that one good thing happened, I had a very cute little alpaca boy born. Now I am waiting for 3 more to give birth. I hope for healthy first then female. I have way too many boys. 

The baby's name is I like you a latte. The kids have started school. My high school son, Jack, is doing very well. He is very less than social but at least his grades are good. My 5th grader, Mason, had to go to a new school this year because of redistricting. So instead of going 3 miles to school now he has 15. It is NOT cool. But he seems to think the playground is better so I guess it makes it even??    

It's Complicated

I doubt this link will work, because I do not know what I am doing.

A Whole Ball Of Crap

So in the last 2 weeks here is what has been going on...
 I worked my regular schedule until Wednesday the 13th. On Wednesday I have my first employee update on how I am doing with My boss Leanne. She said I was doing well but I needed to focus a bit and not talk with the patients so much. She said she had plans for me to be the only phlebotomist on the shift soon and that freaked me out because I didn't think I was ready since I had only had 3 weeks on the job. She showed me a cheat sheet on some computer things and I practiced so I felt much better about that by Friday. I worked until 11 on friday and then when I came home I couldn't sleep. Around 3 am I finally got ready for bed and turned out the light. As soon as I did the hospital called and they begged me to work the 4-6 AM shift. So after no sleep, I came in so no one would be over swamped with work. It went really well and I went home tired but happy that I could help. Monday and Tuesday went fine at work but one of my alpacas died of heatstroke. I was very upset because she was a pregnant female so I spent the very hot morning burying her then I went to work. When I got to work I start doing some lab stuff and my boss asks to speak to me. Then she FIRES me! With no warning, no reprimands of any kind...just bye. I asked why and she said I was too slow. Since I didn't have any way of knowing how fast She wanted me to be I asked for more detail. She was quite vague and I reminded her that I was disabled with my poor feet and back,but she said she knew that and it didn't make any difference. I am pretty sure that goes against the Americans with Disability Act. So now I am looking for a lawyer and filing a discrimination charge on them. Hopefully it will work out. I gave that job my best and It was unfair that they fired me for no good reason,
   The really annoying thing is they could have made accommodations for me. I could have worked night shifts because they are quieter, or I could have worked in Blood Draw where I wouldn't have to walk all over the hospital. i don't know why they didn't try to find something for me rather than just firing me and hiring and training someone new.
   I will write more in a bit....

My Day Off

I have been working the 4am to 1 pm shift at work and I am tired!! Today was my day off but I had to go to the hospital at 7:30 to get an ultrasound. I have been having stomach pain and gaining weight like I am mainlining Twinkies (but I am not) so I hope they can figure out whats wrong. I don't like being a patient, my entire family are terrible patients.
     My Dad had to spend nearly a month in ICU and he thought he was in prison camp and kept trying to escape. if it weren't for my incredible brother Andy, I am pretty sure Dad would have been put in the Psych Ward. Even with Andy there, dad kept trying to get out of bed and pulling out tubes. Andy was so traumatized by the experience he went to Afghanistan for a break.

These guys have to start helping around the house!!

   Since I am working, not much is getting done around the house. I am definitely going to write a chore list for the boys. I think they can do laundry and dishes. That would take a major load off me.

Sometimes Farming Sucks!

I spent the last 3 weeks raising 50 meat chickens. I made sure they had food and water and even came home from work to check on them on my lunch hour. They finally got too big for their brooding pen so I moved them to a big portable coop so they could be on grass. They looked very happy scratching the grass and dirt and chasing bugs. I get up this morning and they were all gone, not one was left in the coop. I was just heartbroken. I try so hard and it is so frustrating when nothing comes of it.
      During the day I was able to find a few of the chicks. They seemed to be popping out of bushes. The count is up to 8 now...pitiful but better than nothing. As I was raking grass and feeling very sorry for myself and thinking I should just stop farming (and having a panic attack at the very thought) I heard a peeping so I ran to the front yard and followed a peep as he was running out of my yard and towards the neighbor's pond. I caught the chick and then looked up and found myself in a thick overgrown raspberry patch. Yeah!!! I got my hubby and we picked the sweetest raspberries, a whole bucketful. we enjoyed them for dessert with chocolate ice cream and whipped cream. I am still very bummed about the loss of my chicks but I definitely feel a little better on my sugar high.

I Have a New Job

I started my new job at the local hospital. I haven't worked drawing blood in 10 years. I hope I will get the hang of it as I used to be quite adept. So far the hospital and co workers both seem very nice so far. If you are wondering why I am working off farm after so long it is because I need some social interaction and the money will be very welcome since the renters will be leaving my Colorado house.

What a Week!

I feel so Farmy! My prayers were answered with comfortable weather so on Monday I cleaned the barn, Tuesday I got all the alpacas in the barn so they would be easy to catch on shearing day, then I butchered 10 chickens.
   This was my first time to butcher all by myself (I miss Colleen) and it went pretty well. I drove an hour to borrow a chicken plucker (so worth it!) then I set up my area. I had a fire burning under the scalding pot which turned out to be brilliant because the smell of the smoke covered the smell of chicken guts.
    The plucker was an interesting experience. It took off the feathers so fast but i got covered with them (yuck!) and it took off a few wings so some of my chickens looked a little disabled. Still I finished 10 chickens in 4 hours...then another chicken came out of the bushes. I was too tired to care at that point so he got a stay of execution. I delivered them to the customer after the shearing on Wednesday and they were very pleased.

Shearing was dirty but went very fast. The guys managed 19 alpacas in 4 hours. I was way impressed. I had a bad eye allergy during the process and had to take benadryl after the shearers left and passed out until 6:30. Then I took the chickens to the buyers. It was a long day.

Before

 

After

It is so HOT!!!

I feel so bad for not updating but it is always so busy. In the last month we have had to deal with excessive rain, excessive heat, excessive ants, taking pigs to butcher, raising meat chicks, driving to GA, having guests come here, school, work, and lots of chores.
   I actually love this crazy farm life but it does get annoying when the sheep get out and eat your flowers or something gets into your meat chickens and eats them! Sometimes I think I should just give it up, especially when some people are not very supportive, but I know I live to farm. I really wouldn't function well without my animals.
                                                        We had all the lambs born healthy and female. That's

     good news for breeding but now we don't have any             to  eat. I am looking for a ram to rent for a bit to get

   the moms preggo again. I don't want to keep one on
  farm, they are too much trouble.
                                                         

So Tired of Rain!

Back in Colorado I really appreciated the rain. It was so needed, that I usually sat outside on the porch and watched it. I loved the sound of the rain on the roof and the fresh smell of the dirt after it got wet. There was almost always a rainbow, too.

     It never lasted long so it was always a treat. It is not the same in Virginia! It rains so much, and it lasts all day. I feel like I am walking on wet sponges. It is very green here and I love that but I feel like I am starved for sunshine. I know the bugs are going to suck though.

     Another downside of the wetness is the amount of parasites. I have a lot of animals and many of them are for meat so I don't want to use toxic or even questionable medications on them. That makes it hard to control the bugs. I am using a rotational grazing system that I haven't done before so I don't have it down perfectly, yet.

   It is spring break for the kiddos now. I love not having to wake up so early. I am waiting patienly, sort of, for my second sheep to give birth. I am not sure the sheep are worth keeping yet. They seem to eat a lot but they are also supposed to be good eating, too. We will see how selling them goes. I also only have females right now and they are for breeding not eating so I hope the next batch has a boy.

Birthdays and Planting

We finally got some sun this last weekend so I got to work fixing my raised beds. They were covered with weeds. After I cleaned them up I dumped a ton of alpaca crap over them and then a bag of Miracle Grow Garden Soil. When I was done they looked so full of potential.

   I planted raspberries and hydrangeas and sugar snap peas. It is still a little chilly to plant much more but every week gets warmer. We should have a rainy wednesday then a few nice day. I have a lot of blueberry and blackberry plants to plant. I want to have a huge edible landscape.
Today we celebrated my Son's 15th and my husbands 41st birthday. It was fun. I can not believe how old my kid is!!

I can blog from my phone,now

No good excuses for not updateing. I do love my electronics. My ipods and Droid keep me boredom free...boredom being an ADDers worst nightmare.

You Can't make This Stuff Up!

Opposites Attract

Miss Daisey wants to drive herself.

    
  So, my feet hurt pretty bad from Plantar Fasciaitis but lately My left foot has been feeling like it has been smashed with a hammer. It's getting so bad that my ankle and my knee is hurting because I am walking funny to avoid the pain.
     I finally went to the foot doc and he pissed me off so bad. He comes in, looks at my foot, says my problem is my back and then gives me a prescription and leaves. Doesn't explain a thing. So needless to say I won't be going back to him.
     I went to a urgent care place and they were so nice.  I had to sit and fill out papers while 3 inbred kids with severe ADHD ran around the room like they were on crack. It was hard to concentrate but then I saw the Nurse Practitioner or the PA and she gave me a script for 2 medicines that I hope will help with the pain.
     I hate taking meds but I can't hardly do anything with this foot pain. I want a job but it's hard to do when you can't walk. I also want to exercise and can't do that either. I am waiting to see if I can find a incentive to get my prescription filled somewhere. Usually you can get a gift card or something.
    

I Hate Allergies

I am high on Benadryl right now. I finally got my alpaca skirting table built. Skirting is when you go over a fleece and get rid of the yucky stuff. Anyway I went through about 100 lbs of fleece and all the dust and weeds and hay has made me so sick with allergies that I even had to use the inhaler. So I took a bath and now I feel much better but still woozy. I don't handle benadryl very well.
   The sheep settled in pretty well. They are running all over the field like they own it. The alpacas didn't think it was a big deal to have new animals although there is a little more fighting over grain now. I met a really neat guy that I will explain about when I can think straight.

The Weather Man Lied!

I got up this morning ready to fence but it was so cold that my hands wouldn't work and I can't fence in gloves...So not as much work got done. I did get to meet 2 very nice ladies who came to look at my last male puppy. They loved him, of course, so I am holding him until he can be moved to North Carolina. He will love running around the mountains,I am sure.  I found a tick on one of the pups so I will need to treat them all.
    I can not believe we have ticks this early. One of the cons of living here. Not many ticks back in my part of Colorado. I think this year will be quite a learning experience, I hope it won't be too hard on my animals. Luckily, I am meeting lots of knowledgeable people that are giving me good advice about farming here. Tomorrow should be actually warm so I will fence no matter what. My 2 Katahandin Ewes come on Tuesday. This will be my first sheep.
   I also got in touch with a very nice 70 year old farmer who is looking to give his fainting goats away to someone who will not eat them. I told him I will take good care of them. He was a very interesting guy and I am hoping to meet him in person on Monday or Tuesday. I am heading to bed now. I'll be back soon, hopefully I will be unscathed after fencing but I am not betting on it. Fences and I do not get along.

Football is Over, Finally

Since my broncos and hubby's Chargers flunked out it was no fun to watch the Superbowl, so I didn't. I was enjoying the 40 degree  day. It has been rather cold so anything above 35 is appreciated. I let the pigs out today to stretch their little, stumpy legs and they scared the alpacas. It was funny the alpacas were all running in a herd like a wolf was after them and the pigs couldn't have cared less. They were way to busy digging up my yard. I am thinking of bacon every time I trip over a pig hole! I tried to get a good pic of Wilbur and Rocket J. Pig but they were too happy digging then they rushed me. They are funny and if it weren't for the digging i would probably not eat them...maybe.

It's the weekend!

I love the weekend. I get to sleep in and on Saturday I get to eat anything I want. Hubby and I are doing a Slow Carb Diet. Essentially it is just eating eggs, meat, beans and veggies all week and anything you want one day a week. The Cheat Day helps you make it through the week and the food you are allowed to eat is very good and filling. I usually only miss eating fruit during the week. On Saturday I eat like 4 bananas and any other fruit I can get.

 
I was mad the other day because i finished a post and it just disappeared. I had to chase all the boy alpacas back into their field because they got in with the girls and craziness ensued. It all ended well but I was pooped after all that running and wrestling.

 
I need to make rabbit cages so I went to the Habitat for humanity Resell Store and got some really ugly cabinets for a few dollars. I am going to attach screens and feeders and make them into nice but cheap rabbit cages. I am better at adding to an existing project then starting from scratch.  I am not what you would call an exact person. I am a strong believer in "good enough is good enough". I am married to a perfectionist though so I do try hard to make my projects not look like a junkyard. You can take the redneck girl out of the trailer but you can't change her!

Good Grief!

DAMN IT! I just wrote 3 paragraphs and just lost it. Now I don't feel like rewriting it.UGH!

A good day for chores?

 

Usually I do not believe that statement but amazingly the kids and the Hubby helped today so we got  lot done. My alpacas got here the other day and it has been fun getting to hang out with them again. They are so cute and funny. The little alpaca to the left is Jericho, He is about 4 months old and so sweet. The white fluff ball is Tank, Now Sam, and he is 8 weeks old in that pic. He lives on a sheep farm now and seems very happy. The next white fluffy is Our alpaca boy, Israel. He and Jericho are best friends. I will be posting more pics If i can get them to go where I want.

Happy New Year!

Well my biggest pup,Tank, went to his new home today. He is going to guard sheep. I traded him for 2 pregnant ewes that will come here in February. It is always sad to see the pups leave but I am happy he found a good working home. These guys along with Ike and Bella eat 40 lbs of dog food a week so The rest need to find their new homes soon too. I am mad that we missed the ball drop tonight...ugh.