Garden Tilled

We’ve got the garden spots tilled for the first time. I’ll have to do it a couple more times before we start planting. We were going to do a bigger one this year but with my health we decided to keep it small again and maybe go bigger next year.

I’ve still got to get my herb garden spot ready to till but at least I’ve decided where I want it. Part of it will be in partial shade and the other part in full sun.

I’ve got some squash and cucumber and tomatoes already starting to sprout in the sunroom. I can’t wait. I just get to excited this time of year.

The next step is to purchase some good soil to till in with the dirt already in the garden to aid in plant growth. I also need to get some mulch and a few supplies to hold up my tomatoes and green beans and things such as that. Then I’ll just be waiting for the last frost period to begin transplanting.

Side garden and one flower bed beside of it.

Side garden I get between 6 and 8 tired depending on what I plant.

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Fakya 0

Seeds

I’m so excited. I have gotten a few vegetable seeds planted this past week and am waiting on the sprouts to start. I love growing things.

I have decided this year that I will be planting a small herb garden. I’ve only grown a few herbs here and there in the past so this will be a first for me. A new adventure that I can’t wait to have.

I’ve been reading and researching a lot on herbal concoctions that have been used for some of the same health issues that I have and I’m going to try some of them. I’m hoping to have success with them like other people have had.

I’ll be getting the space ready for the herb garden over the next month or so. Some of them will be grown in pots indoors as I’ve read that’s how a few of them grow the best. I’ll post at a later date which are in the garden and which are in pots as I’m still getting that all worked out.

As daylight starts being longer and warmer days start coming I get more excited and anxious about my planting and seeing the beauty of it all. Being able to grow my own fruits and vegetables is so very rewarding for me. I have a passion for it.

Posted on March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 by Fakya 0

Growing Season Coming

As winter is getting ready to leave I’m starting to get the sunroom ready to start planting seeds for spring and summer garden transplanting. I have to get all my pots and tables where I want them and then I can start filling them with dirt.

This year I’ll be growing broccoli, corn, green beans, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, potatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, carrots, greens, peas, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onions, green onion, blackberries, lettuce, cabbage and strawberries. Some of these I’ll be growing in buckets and the rest will go in the gardenbed.

I get so excited this time of year. I love growing things and being able to can it to enjoy whenever i want. That way it doesn’t matter if it’s in season or not. I make sauces and jellies and soups to can too. It saves quite a bit off the grocery bill as well.

Once I finish getting the sunroom prepared I’ll start planting my seeds and babying them until they go in the ground. I save coffee and creamer cans and the cat litter buckets to plant in. No need to buy planters when I’m constantly using things that can be recycled.

I’ll be adding another shelf on top of the white table in the corner.

Posted on February 26, 2021February 26, 2021 by Fakya 0

Puppy Update

The puppies were 5 weeks old this past Saturday. We now only have two left. A male and a female. All the others passed away.

The mommy ended up getting mastitis and passed infection to her babies. These two are the only ones that survived it. Mommy is doing ok. She’s not over it yet but seems to be coming along fine.

It’s a very sad thing. We started with eleven new babies and are down to two. I held each one as they took their last breath. That’s hard to do. My heart is broken.

Posted on February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 by Fakya 0

Never Give Up

I started life having health problems. My parents said from the time I was born I was at the hospital every week. I stayed sick. When I was 5 I landed in Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio with pneumonia for a 3 week stay which I literally almost died from. I also received a diagnosis of asthma which they said I probably had been born with.

During my grade school years I was diagnosed with many allergies and had to get 2 shots a week to keep them under control. I couldn’t have carpet in my bedroom. My mattress had to be wrapped in plastic and I had to sleep on down pillows or have them wrapped too. Any stuffed animal I had had to be in a plastic bag as well. I wasn’t supposed to be around any animals which was the worst for me because I’m an animal lover. I couldn’t go without my pets though.

By the time I was 9 I was diagnosed with scoliosis and loradosis of my back and was supposed to have a brace. I never got one because we were poor and insurance wouldn’t cover it. I’ve struggled with back pain my whole life.

My asthma left as I got into my teen years but came back full force during my second pregnancy. I’ll never forget I was walking down some railroad tracks to go fishing. All of sudden I thought my water broke. I was only about 5 or 6 months so I was terrified I was gonna lose my baby. By the time I got back to civilization and could get medical care I couldn’t breathe and I was turning blue. I was at the hospital a few days and there it was… asthma. Ugh! I was able to get it for the most part controlled for a few years.

In my early to mid 20s I started having problems again. Well this time I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis on top of the asthma. There wasn’t much known about it then and at first they said I had lung cancer. Thank God they were wrong. So now I have 2 lung diseases and I’m not even 30 years old yet.

Fast forward a few years and here’s another smack in the face. In my early 30s I was diagnosed with COPD. As if 2 problems with my lungs wasn’t enough. There are other health issues diagnosed during this time but I may go into that in a later post.

And now several years later in my late 40s add emphysema on top of the other 3 and that COPD has moved to stage 2. None of these has a cure and none will get any better. My lungs are in the state of 60+ year old.

I have inhalers I take regularly and ones for emergencies plus I have a nebulizer machine at home. The next thing that will be added is oxygen. I’m not giving up though. I’ll fight it until it takes me out. I have too much to live for. My babies. My grandbabies. My mom and sisters. And my hubby. Plus all my furbabies.

I have to keep pushing on and making myself do things everyday to try to strengthen my lungs and at least keep them where they are now if at all possible without getting any worse too soon. If I have my way I’ll still be pushing when I’m 100 years old. Yes I may have to take more breaks than most and yes it’s very hard and painful. But I’m still here and still breathing.

Don’t ever give up and use your health as an excuse that you can’t do things. Improvise to make things you want to do fit in with what you can do. If people can’t accept that then you don’t need them in your life anyway.

I have days that I can barely get out of bed or off the couch. It’s not because I’m lazy like some would say. I have animals that I take care of and I grow a garden during summer months and can my vegetables. Yes I have to have help. That’s not a bad thing. Point is never give up and always trust the Almighty upstairs. He’ll see you through.

Posted on January 28, 2021January 30, 2021 by Fakya 0

Puppies

The puppies are here. They came early and two were stillborn. Two more passed away only 2 days old. Those two were very small. In total she had 11 and we have 7 left doing good. There are 3 boys and 4 girls.

They all came out mostly blue in color with some white spots. She did have 1 white one though with a little blue on it. It’s a boy and we’re going to keep that one.

The momma needed a lot of help the first couple of days as she didn’t have much milk and with it being her first litter she didn’t know what to do. After they were all born she put them in a pile in front of her and just laid there staring at them. It was funny. She’s got more milk now and is taking care of them awesomely.

Posted on January 15, 2021January 15, 2021 by Fakya 0

Expecting Puppies

We will be having puppies soon. The blue nose pitbull is definitely pregnant with her first and only litter. As much as we love puppies neither of us feel that we want to deal with that again after this set. Unless our minds change.

She should have approximately two or three weeks left before giving birth. Poor girl has gotten so big and lazy and always ready for a belly rub. So far I have felt them moving around but have not visually saw them yet.

We have her birthing area setup in the back part of the house so she can have her own space to deliver and raise the little darlings in peace separated from all the other furbabies.

Posted on January 9, 2021January 9, 2021 by Fakya 0

Pygmys In Snow

We had another snow and this time the goats finally came out in it. After two days of staying in the barn and the snow not going anywhere I guess they figured they might as well journey out into it.

There was about six inches over two days and it hung around for almost a week. They had made many trails through the snow and stayed in those trails once they were made.

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Fakya 0

Growing Up Country

I grew up in the country among cornfields in Ohio and in the mountains of West Virginia. My playtime was with my siblings or with the animals that we owned or that lived around us. I made mudpies and watched the wildlife and stayed dirty because I was always outside. Those were the days.

I’d climb the mountains and play in the creeks catching crawdads. In those mountains I drank water from the springs that had such an amazing fresh taste and was always ice cold. I found dog hole mines that I would go in and search and pretend I was a miner. There was always an abandoned cabin that used to be someones home to explore and old graveyards with stone head markers. Everywhere was beautiful with the beautiful sound of nature.

Birds chirped all around with bugs chiming in at just the right time. Sometimes you could hear a bobcat or a coyote in the not to far distance. Before you could pick up a stick you better make sure it didn’t move because your stick just may be a snake. I saw all different kinds of them hiding out in the woods. Some was even hanging out of the trees. Squirrels would run from one tree to another or play among the leaves and logs.

If you were quiet enough the deer would come along and eat and on occasion you could catch them jumping and playing. There was raccoons and skunks and groundhogs and at times a bear or two. There was fox dens and chipmunks and bunnies. It was all so beautiful to watch. It was my place to get away. I made as many wild friends as would let me.

There’s nothing like the country. I’m so happy to be back in it here on this little farm. It’s peaceful and quiet and our own little piece of heaven. I don’t miss the noise and busyness of citylife. Nope I enjoy our spot on top of this mountain and will be here as long as the good Lord let’s me.

Lone beautiful tree on top of the mountain

Posted on December 15, 2020December 15, 2020 by Fakya 0

Hay Arrival

The new round hay bale has been delivered and the pygmy’s are in nibble heaven. This one bale should last until approximately February for the four of them. I did get an extra one though that they cannot get to.

It’s in place and they’ve started eating from it already but I still have to go up and put the border around it so they won’t be able to scatter it everywhere and waste it. Goats aren’t really grazers so once it hits the ground and/or they mess on it they won’t eat it. So in order to use it as feed and not bedding you have to place something around it.

It has to be placed on it’s end because if it’s laying on its side they’ll pull from the middle of the ends and it’ll collapse. I’ll be placing a fence around it with a gap in the front for them to eat from. Across the gap will be small logs that they can get their heads through to eat. There will also be a tin top over it to keep the weather off of it and to shelter them while eating.

The trees in the pictures below on each side of the bale will be used to help support the fencing. There’s just enough of a gap between them at the top to put the tin. They’re eating from the back in these which is where the fence will be. I may eventually block it all in except the front to protect it from the rain and snow.