Welcome to Sadies' Farm

Honest, Officer...

2011-06-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

It was a cold and rainy night...ok, maybe not cold but it was sure raining. And it was hard rain too. Some of it was HUGE. And it hurt when it hit me too. I have the house to go in but I really do not like to go there. Then there was light. Flashing light and then there was such loud noise. I have never heard it be so loud. This is just too much. It has happened several times lately and I cannot stand it anymore. Ms Greenjeans left for somewhere she goes every now and then and she does not know how bad it is here. It is so bad. I have to get out of here.

And that is how I came to be here with this officer. Honest Officer, I did not mean to be lost. I just ran and ran. I was on the road and cars were coming and big things were coming. BIG things were coming and I just ran and ran. Then one of the cars pulled over and a man got out and helped me. He took me to his house but I was really scared and I ran from there to. By this time I was a long way from home. Miles actually. The nice man found me again and took me to a place that looked for my tatoo and then he found the animal control officer (ACO) and the officer brought me home. I did not know how Ms Greenjeans had been calling everywhere and looking for me. I was gone for days. I was so happy to see her again.

But I am so scared now when the sky rumbles. I have tried to escape again. She says I will hurt myself and I do not know where I run to. But I am so scared. Ms Greenjeans brings me treats and she puts stuff on my food to make me feel better. she sprays stuff in my mouth. She loves me. But I am still so afraid when the sky rumbles. Please pray for me.

Sadie

Sophie

2011-04-09T20:46:00.001-07:00

This was taken when she was at the shelter.

Long Time No Write

2011-04-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

No matter how much you prepare somethings still hit hard. In November we lost my sweet little poodle. She had lived with cancer for most of her life and she lived very well. Lived on her own terms. What more could we ask for? Any of us. I eulogized Beau, my sweet little donkey and even my bothers cat of many years. But losing Misti just kind of took my words away. In the aftermath of losing her I decided that I had Priscilla and we still had the ornery rat terrier, Millie. I did not need any more animals. But rather in honor of Misti I decided to go to the local animal shelter and walk through and take pictures to post online. Raising the chances of the shelters animals to find a home. As Christmas approached I knew there was a little dog that had some health issue and she was at the shelter and nobody was looking long at her. The shelter supervisor said that they all seemed to see a bigger health problem. She could not walk well. I thought if she was not adopted before Christmas holiday I would take her home with me and work on her while she stayed at the farm. When I went to get her I also brought home a injured dog that had not been at the shelter long and they did not want to leave him over the holiday. Now, keep in mind, they have people there to feed and clean everyday but these animals needed more care so I was just fostering them over the holiday time when the shelter was closed to the public. The little dog that did not walk so well was in awful shape by the second day I had her. My vet agreed to see her on the morning of Christmas Eve. She had pneumonia in both lungs. I battled for several weeks to save her and at the end of it all she was definitely staying with me. The other dog was a really neat guy and just so very sweet. He was paralyzed in the back legs and would drag himself everywhere he went. While the shelter was closed many rescues were working on finding him help and a home. By New Years he was headed to Colorado where a family lives that had experience with crippled dogs. He is doing so well now. The shelter called him Superman. His new mom calls him Elmo. He is walking some now. It was so amazing and rewarding to see people step up and find him a very good place. Since then I have been a very minor player in the world of animal rescue. One dog at a time. But I am in the loop and see how some wonderful people work together to move animals long distances to find forever homes. And it happens everyday. I will write more often now. There is so much to say. Springtime on the farm is a very active time. Oh, yes, the little dog I fought to save that lives with us and is Priscilla's best friend...the one that looks at me like I am the hero that saved her. That would be Sophie.

It is fall on the farm

2010-11-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

My farm will be a work in progress for years. but now that it is officially my farm I can start relocating the weeds on the place. It is mostly weeds with a bit of grass. But in the fall the weeds are a glorious site. Yellow flowers everywhere. Broomweed and something bigger and a carpet of yellow flowers. With Monarch Butterflies everywhere. And bees. So you beekeepers can know that I am doing my part.

When I clear the center land I am still going to let the flower weeds stay on the fringe of the farm. I love the butterflies. This year I bought several apple trees, two apricot trees, a pear tree, figs, pomegranates, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, black berries, and raspberries. And I am sure I have left some out. I plan raised beds in the garden. Lots of work ahead.

Stay tuned...

The Roller Coaster of Life

2010-10-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

I could get dizzy. At least queasy with all that life has happening now. As far as the farm goes we have lost several long time residents this year and that has been so hard. I miss Beau's bray welcoming me home at night. I just miss him a lot.

My sweet elder poodle is still with us but her health is failing. Her health not her spirit, tonight she took the some-kind-of -hide chewy away from the rat terrier. Which could have been fighting words for the terrier. Have I mentioned the poodle hardly has any teeth? But she was heading to her favorite resting spot with her stolen treasure. Misti is doing a great job of Living with Cancer.

Priscilla is doing very well. Last weekend she and I went to a campout with a group of terrific women that I so enjoyed. Have any of you read the magazine- Mary Jane's Farm? Oh, I love it. I think maybe we were sisters separated at birth! And I am not the only one. Her website is http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/ and on it you can join the farmgirl connection and then you can get lost in all things FARM. I enjoy the connections I have made there. But I had not actually met any of the farmgirls until this campout. Anyway, my nephew tended to the animals here, I dropped mom to visit her sister, and Pris and I escaped. For about 36 hours. But it was fun. Cookouts, moonlight hayrides, laughter...it was great. Jennifer even had speakers who told us about grass fed beef and organic farming. Did I mention I loved it.

This weekend was an event that happens every so often in the little community of Gibtown Texas. Autumn in the Woods. A bunch of crafty local folks set up on Joy's place and sold their goods. I bought some cute containers to use for Christmas projects, some Fire and Ice pickles (which I think I could use for acid reflux demos with enzymes to the rescue!), and some baked goods. Joy sells some of those instant packages that make dips, cheeseballs, and spiced cider things. I have not looked at the ingredients, I just wanted to help Joy out. Mary Jane would have been proud of the aprons that were being sold there.

Oh, and before I forget...we did get a new resident. Mr. McGregor. A few weeks back a client called for help as she had just found an orphaned baby rabbit. She knows I have vast knowledge of these things. I did tell her what I knew of raising orphans including that I did not know of anyone who has successfully raised a rabbit.But Peggy did. And she brought him to me. In the spring he will live in a rabbit hutch in my garden.

I have another blog for my health business. I will post the down side of the roller coaster ride on there. The Above are the good times but hard times have happened as well. There is a link to the other blog on this page as well.

My Favorite-est Cookie Recipe

2010-08-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

Windsong Signature Cookies
First let me say I have made these for years and I will give the original one first and then the change I made to make them more healthy. This recipe makes a ton of cookies.

2 c sugar
2 c brown sugar
3/4 c margarine
1 c vegetable shortening
4 eggs
2 t vanilla
3 c flour
2 t salt
2 t baking soda
3 c oatmeal
2 c coconut
2 c raisins
1 c chocolate chips
1 c chopped nuts

cream together the sugars, margarine, and shortening. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. combine flour, salt, soda and mix into the first mixture. Add remaining ingredients and knead into mixture. **Added by me -if you will let this mix sit in fridge for a couple of hours the cookies will be softer** Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 8 minutes or until just browned. Let cookies cool on baking sheet a few minutes before removing to rack. Store in airtight container.
Makes 7 dozen cookies.

I suggest you make these by the recipe a time or two. Just to see what they should be like. I have family that does not like raisins so I doubled the chocolate chips and added in more of the last two things. After I got our parrot and he cannot have chocolate I developed it to have lots of dried cranberries, golden raisins, and nuts. I also changed it to use 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 cup soy flour to boost the protein. I also used less oil and added some milled flax seed as it can be an oil replacement. Applesauce can be an oil replacement and I have used this as well. I still use some oil. Coconut oil is good and healthy and it can be added in place of some of the oil and sesame oil. These cookies are always good but if you go too far to the healthy side they get hard. I never add sweeteners other than sugar as I feed these to our parrot.

These cookies have always been a huge hit.

Heavy Hearts

2010-08-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

T'was with a sadness that weighed a lot heavier than the oppressive Texas heat that we said our good byes to my Beau today. Some losses hit you right square in the heart. This one did.

Beau was our miniature donkey. Did I ever say how much I love donkeys? They are such great animals and have very special spirits. The donkey was the animal that carried Mary to Bethlehem as she was about to give birth to Jesus. And a donkey carried Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Little Beau was so special to me. I cannot imagine the farm without him.

Love you, Beau, I will see you again.

That Vet sure has a sense of Humor...

2010-07-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Now if you all remember the two little puppies discovered in the middle of the road in the winter of 09? Yep, that's right. Brother and Sister. Well, in an effort to not have more puppies we took Sister to the vet to have her "fixed." She was not sold on the idea at all. Just looking at her you could tell she had a very heavy heart. Maybe she thought I was going to take her down a country road and dump her out. I told her I would be back for her.

Anyway, when I picked her up the vets instructions were that she would be fine just do not let her get wet. Do not let her get wet. For two weeks. This is the dog that takes a swim in every stock tank on the place several times per day. And I am supposed to keep her stitches dry for TWO weeks.

Of course, I know what I am going to do. I will keep her on a tie out for a few days. Something I hate to do but she escapes the dog run. And I will put Silver Sheild gel on her wound, a little tea tree, and one of those boo boo bags.

Wish me luck because that vet sure has a sense of humor.

My Cutest New Baby

2010-07-16T23:06:00.000-07:00

Miss Priscilla Sunshine. She is so sweet and smart. Her Mom is a Shihtzu and her dad is a toy poodle. My brother said there was just no way to clean that name up. Mostly they are called shih poos. I decided to call her a Poo-zu. Anyway she has brought brightness to our home. Sadie likes her and so does Brother and Sister. The poodle and Rat Terrier are not so thrilled. But all are adjusting. We are enjoying.

Wow! Long time no post

2010-07-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ms Green Jeans here...I have been silent a long time now. I will share with those who read the blog just a bit of my story of the last year. Many who read this already know most of it. I lived on property owned by family members until 2000 when I had a chance to buy a neighboring property. It was an owner financed deal. For 10 years I paid monthly payments. With the economy tightening up the owner/seller needed me to finance the land elsewhere. All of the new banking rules made that hard for a self employed person to qualify for a loan. Finally I did. Then I found out much more was owed than was left on my loan.

So the legal battle began. I was served with eviction which was not a legal move so had to battle that. The owner quit making their payments and was two days away from letting it be foreclosed on. In an 11th hour move we saved it from that. Suffice to say it has been a nightmare of a year. The lawsuit settled at the end of June. I could not speak of it before and will not much now because I am so very tired of it. I do have my farm though.

For my farmgirl friends reading this I will warn you to be very careful of this kind of financing. It is one of the main ways of getting a farm or acreage but do not sign papers without consulting a lawyer.

For more than a year I have done nearly nothing to my place. I did not want it to look good because of the foreclosure threat. I wanted a prospective buyer to say "what a mess! that would be more trouble than it is worth." So now the clean up begins. And I have to try to find the dreams I once had about the place.

A lot went wrong this year and much more went right. An excellent attorney, a investor, we had good health. We lost a longtime family member- my oldest dog. She was ancient. I found her on the roadside in 1993. I also have a poodle who has a large cancerous tumor. She thinks she is fine though- runs and romps but I see a dark day coming there.

So on Mothers Day weekend and thanks to some good friends I became a Mom. Of sorts. To the cutest little girl.

Springtime at the Farm

2010-04-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Remember last year when someone dumped two little puppies on our county road? They were very young. I had been bottle feeding them for a couple of weeks or more when this picture was taken with Miss Sadie. Sister is the one nose to nose with Sadie.

Sister today.
I hate to admit I did not come up with official names and they are still known as Brother and Sister. A farmgirl friend suggested Basil and Catnip. I think that would be Brother Basil and Sister Catnip. The cats would vote for that. Anyway, the one with the orange collar is Sister and I think she got in all the pictures I made. Except the Irises.

Sister and the Indian Paintbrushes

Even here it is Paintbrushes and Sisters under carriage.

And, guess who is coming to live at our house?

Uh-oh, the picture will not load so we have to wait.

But she sure is cute.

Spring Has Arrived!!!!

2010-04-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Lord, for that! We have never in all my days had a winter like this one. I enjoyed the first couple of snows. Hated the night it got to 7 degrees. Do you know how I know it got to 7 degrees? There is a REALLY funny thing about my farm...it is just a short stones throw away from a Naturist Resort. Do you know what that is? Well, it is a nudist colony. And on their website they have a really, really cool weather station reporting conditions there at the resort. When you come to think of it the weather is probably very important to them. Anyway, as I was so cold that night I checked my iPhone which has their weather page programmed in and it said it was 7 degrees.
I was just sure all of the farm animals would be frozen but they were not. I know animals up north get used to it but in Texas in the winter you can have a 70 degree day and a few days later have a 20 degree day. It makes it hard for things to get acclimated to it.

So we are wallowing in the glory of springtime here. Wildflowers are blooming, tomatoes, squash, onions, garlic, peas, green beans, potatoes, and eggplant are planted, Liz's figs are starting to leaf out, raspberries are too. Pomgranates are all leafed out. Doesn't that sound impressive. I bought 6 grape plants on sale at Lowes for 75% off and they are all leafed out. We shall see. So back to the picture I was painting...the wildflowers are blooming, the Oak trees are pollenating and, oh, do I have trouble with that! BUT! I have this really cool homeopathic allergy spray that helps so much. And that is a very good thing.

We did have another death on the farm. I wrote of my brothers kitty Fred in my last post but at my house we lost a 17 year old dog. LONG TIME farm dog. The farmhouse in Heaven got another new resident but it is too fresh for me to speak of much. At the same time our Rat Terrier got really sick and it so looked like she was headed down that path. She was so sick and did not eat a bite for 3 weeks. Three weeks! She really taught me a lesson and I think I will make it a topic on my other Health Talk Blog in a few days. Our poodle is just as energetic as she can be. She can leap tall buildings in a single bound. You would never know unless you picked her up how absolutely huge her mammary tumor is. She has had it for years but it is growing fast now. But it is like she does not know it. She is a great example of living with cancer. With the growth of this cancer I know she could not be around a lot longer. I thought the rat Terrier was leaving us. All of this is to say that soon to come is a new little house dog.

I have three outside farm dogs. Sadie and the two Lab mixes who were dumped as babies on the county road. They are outside 24/7 and they are very good farm patrol officers. The little dogs are to keep Ms. Green Jeans and her mother company. Misti and Millie are 13 and 10 years old. Will introduce the newby when she gets here.

A Farm House in Heaven

2010-02-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

There is a lot I am not sure about. And of others I know completely. And one thing I know for sure...there is a beautiful farmhouse in Heaven. **In my Fathers house are many mansions and I go to prepare a place for you** Well, I am not the mansion type so I know mine will be a farmhouse. And there are loved ones already gathered there. Last week I know what the scene was.

There was laughter coming from the porch and loving voices talking in low tones. Out in the pasture there were horse angels grazing on knee deep grass so lush and green. No worry about colic here. In the yard there were two golden girls, one with one tennis ball in her mouth and the other with two in hers. Gracie and Belle Starr. Gracie looked up and saw something...Belle looked too. Up on the porch siamese kitty angel stirred and she too knew. She jumped down and headed to the yard. They all knew that a special day had come. Lucky, Gracie, and Belle Starr ran to welcome Fred home to Heaven. Fred was the first Kitty in the home they had all shared for so long and he had outlived everyone. His old body finally gave up and headed on the same path they had all taken. Now he was restored to his best spirit.

Up on the porch a voice said "oh, look, it is Fred. He has come Home. Fred, you come up here and sit with us a bit. We have been waiting and, you know what, Fred? We have some little pieces of turkey here just for you. We know how much you like turkey. Now, Fred, you just live as you want here, hon. You live here now. You are Home.

This post is to honor a long time family member of my brothers home. Fred was a kitty that came to them sometime in 1989 or 1990. He was just a plain gray tabby that someone threw away. He shared many holiday dinners quietly wrangling for donated pieces of turkey "falling" to the floor. He was a plain gray kitty with a very large personality. He left this home the end of January 2010. He shared the house with many dogs over his life including the two golden retrievers listed above and the other kitty, Lucky.

The sad thing about living in the country is the passing of so many little critters. Belle Starr lived to be 16. Then after Belle died a friend gave Gracie to my nephew who loved Belle so much and grieved her passing. Gracie lived for a long span of time too before Scott had to say goodbye to her. Fred knew them both. Fred actually knew every animal that lived in the farm home in Texas as he moved from the city to the country with the family. While we are sad with your passing, I just want to say...
Welcome Home, Fred.

This Weeks News

2009-09-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well, just like I thought Rose's little filly is turning to a roan. She sure looks a mess now. I took pictures yesterday and will get them up in a day or so.

It has been raining on the farm, a very good thing except I do not think Sadie is too happy with it. She has hardly come off of her doghouse in days. It has sure created a mess in the mud. Since it was hot and the grass went dormant and the dirt was all that was showing. But I threw out grass seed and it is growing in just a few days time. Perfect weather. Escept for Sadie.

I am making plans for my berry field. Just do not quite yet know where it will be. One tract of land or another. I plan to plant strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, pomgranates, and other anti oxidant things. Stay tuned as this develops.

The requested Baby Pictures

2009-09-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Choco, and her baby, Reese. They are both full blood Galeceno Breed. He is the foal that is laying down.

Rose, is the strawberry roan shown to the right with her first baby. Rose is a registered Galeceno and she was born around 1990. She was bred a couple of times way back in her earlier days and she aborted her babies. This little filly is her first live birth and certainly one we had no idea was coming. I called her Roses' Glory but since I am not her owner it did not count. My nephew named her Sierra. I still call her little Glory.
And then the one not in pictures yet is a cross breed, of sorts. The mom is from a Morgan cross mare that we started the horse program with. May was her only baby and she came when the Galeceno stallion leaped the fence to have his first romantic trist with an older woman. The morgan cross was named Brandy. Hence May was born. May has had several babies but none survived until this little guy. We have gelded all males now, even though Peanut, our stallion, was full blood son of a foundation stallion from Mexico. He lived a life confined in the 4 acre side pasture alone for years. He was and is such a good guy- a real pet. We painfully decided to geld him and after a few months we let him go live with the herd in the large acreage. He loves it and deserves it. He is still on our place.

The little ones pictured above are from this summer so the guys will be gelded next year.

At the very top you see a black horse with a light colored baby walking in the sunshine. This was a last year baby. Beauty is the mom. She is Choco's mom and this was another surprise baby. See why we got the stallion gelded? Beauty has had just a few babies several years apart but this is the first that was not black.

The kittens, I just added them because I thought it was a great picture. These were barn kittens sleeping in a wash basin.

I will try to get Mays foals' picture and get it added to a later post. He looks just like Sierra except he has a blaze. But Roans, like Rose, can be this bay color and shed to take on the roan coat. So Sierra may be a totally different color in a few months. Mays little guy has no roan to him. So we have to wait.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, farm sister.

August 31- the anniversary of my debut on Earth

2009-08-31T00:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, some years back I was about to spring forth and take the world by storm. I think my Mom always thought so. My brother was so cautious. He did not want to ride a bicycle for fear of falling. Eight years after he arrived in the house, I made my debut. I was not the fearful one. Later my brother made up for it and became a pilot and even did some sky diving. Did I tell you I was the one with the brains in the family? Why on earth would a person jump out of a perfectly good airplane???

Oh, well, Happy Birthday to me.

I actually spent last week in Las Vegas at the Natures' Sunshine convention. So that was kind of a cool birthday trip. I have a lot of friends in that company and we did have fun.

They unvieled a really terrific childrens line of products. I am excited about that. Also some weight loss products- I can be the first to try them! Let you know about that, OK?

Also I now have a really, really great computerized health assessment. Email me if you are interested in taking it.

windsongwellness@yahoo.com

What on earth is going on?

2009-07-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am well aware of the fact that God really does have a sense of humor. And he also like to test the strength of my patience. Yesterday the air conditioner froze up at my house. Did I mention that it was HOT!!! and so many of my clients are on vacation and so funds are lower than normal. So I had to fix the darn thing. It was that the coils were dirty. This is such a dirty area here. We have gravel pits the size of Rhode Island and they are always blasting and making dust. And then the breeze is always here (thank goodness for that) but it blows that dirt. So I got coil cleaner and sprayed up there and they look pretty clean now.
Anyway, so far the ac is cool and I am happy about that.

I fuss about all of this and it is vexing but I am aware of all I can be grateful for.

Oh and we got a new baby horse on the farm. She is so very cute. Just came yesterday. It is amazing how little they look when they first come. I will get pictures this weekend.

This weekend major big Limu meeting in Dallas. I will be there and have several coming with me. Maybe we will see you there

Holiday Roound Up

2009-07-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well, July 4th has come and gone. Man, was it hot! I took my mom out to the Fireworks Show at Runaway Bay and it was good. We just sat in the car and watched. I rolled the windows down and I did not hear it but I think there was a little maitre de mosquito that said "dinner is served" my feet were eaten up. I found some Silver sheild gel in my purse and some essential oil in the back pocket of my purse. I still have not looked to see what kind it is. I put the two on and it seemed to help.

My garden is doing great now. The yellow squash is doing well and I also have some butternut and acorn squash. I think it may have to grow all summer. I have green beens and purple hull peas and swiss chard, beets, and tomatoes out the wazoo. I had a bit of green beens I hope they will revive and make more.

Yesterday morning I was awakened with a call from my neighbor. Did I know of anyone who has a large dark brown donkey? Seems it was down on the road and they had got it into their yard.....humm....dark brown donkey...could be mistaken for dark brown mule...which would discribe my fence jumping mule, Mercy. And sure enough it was. It was so hot and I had to get her back home. She can be trouble sometimes. I just have to remember how cute she was when her mother brought her up from the pasture as a newborn. Mom, Beauty, was standing at the water tank and I noticed there were 4 legs on the other side of her. I never knew she was pregnant. I mean, it was August and the grass was good and plentiful and I thought that was what her extra size was. Nope, oh Mercy Me, there stood the cutest little mule and we named her Mercy. But she is willful sometimes and when she is she goes where she darn well pleases and yesterday it was South.
When I was putting her in I found that the miniature Donkey had escaped his confines as well. One of the horses was in heat and he slid UNDER his fence to go investigate. This is one of my favorites and his name is Beau. So neat, until he takes a bend to misbehave. And he can slide under fences when he wants. And he does not know he is not as big as the rest of them when he gets with the horse herd.

Well this is how I spent my holiday, Sadie could not be too much help as she and Mercy do not see eye to eye. Thank Goodness, for my nephew who is willing to help me.

Blessed with Health

2009-05-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

I feel so grateful for my extremely good health. Times are so stressful now. The economy is really worrying many. This flu is causing distress too. Several years back I would be having such anxiety over the potential for disaster in my bank account and I would also be having such allergy problems at this time of year. I would be a likely pick for that flu bug.

Not anymore. I am doing so well. No allergies and no anxiety. It is a great because life is complicated now. Just seems a twist in every area of my life. Not bad, just complicated. And still I feel good. The Limu product is the base of the change in my health but I have built better health with my herbal products. Two products that made a big difference in my health is Natures Sunshine's Ultimate Greenzone and/or New Suns Life Source. They are such good products and they make healthful changes just because they are such nutritious formulas. The best part is they both come in powder for those who make a drink out of them but for wimps like me they make capsules.

I do want to note that it was the Original Limu product that changed my anxiety attacks. I started taking this product when I had a very bad summer flu. Rather like this swine flu. I thought I was a gonner with it. All of my herbalist friends were trying to help and one insisted I start Limu. I was so reluctant because I did not like the way it was marketed. But when I did take it I started getting better right away. And I have not had a panic attack since. It just happened a side effect I guess. I also have not had a cold nor any virus since. I had a wicked oral infection that ran my blood pressure way up- 250/150 in March of this year. All is settled now and there was no damage to my body from having it that high.

As I said I am so grateful for NOT feeling the way I used to feel all the time.

For more information on these products you can check this link http://windsongwellnessandtherapyshoppe.com/products

Jackie Murphree will be home soon

2009-05-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Jackie Murphree comes home this week, I think. Wednesday will be the day. I sure pray they have a good trip. On the way over things went very well and I hope for the same. It is a long way from Texas to China and it is pert near the same distance back.

Jackie, as always my prayers are with you.

For more information on Jackie- www.jackiemurphree.com

Time in the Garden- Peace on Earth

2009-05-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

Early morning in the garden is heaven on earth to me. To go out there when the day is new and look to see what God has done with 24 hours is just such a great way to start the day. It is quiet and calm and the sun is rising.

My garden is not too big right now, it just feeds two of us. But I am planning to make it bigger. One bed at a time. Much of what I have planted this year is in containers. I will be working on beds as the summer goes on but this year I am testing the container gardening theory out. My Potatoes are doing great and tomatoes are looking really impressive. The squash really prefer being in the ground, I think. It looks kind of puny. The first picture here is my newer potato pot. The first I planted in a bag. Then I found a potato in the pantry that had sprouted little sprouts all over and I had a couple that had not gotten planted from spring so I decided to plant it in a big pot. Same theory- just keep adding dirt. I will let you know.

The second picture is my tomatoes, also infront of the tomatoes there is a pot that has blackberries and plants in the ground- onion, beets, turnips and squash. The pots with dirt have strawberries that are struggling. If you notice the dirt in the background? Much of my place is like that. Before I got this place somebody came in and scraped the top soil all off. I do not know why. But, what to do? I am thinking of making raised beds in that area. I can move the horses water to a different location and they hang out under the trees. But, in the area in front of the trees I think I will make the raised beds.

One thing about it, there is time as long as there is time. It gives me something to do and stay out of the shopping centers.

More garden talk- potatoes in a bag

2009-04-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have been remiss in my posting. The garden is growing well. I started it really too early and one night just before Easter had to haul all the big pots of tomatoes in as the temps dropped to 23.

One neat thing I did was to plant potatoes in a bag. It was so easy and they are growing actually. You buy like 3 seed potatoes and a bag of compost. You sit the potato in the sunny window and it will start to "sprout" then you pour 3/4 of the bag of compost into a trash can with a lid (at my place it keeps the outside cats from using it as a litter box) . I then took sissors and poked holes in the bottom of the compost bag. And I put the nearly empty compost bag in a big pot and rolled the sides down and buried the potatoes in the compost. And watered. In a few weeks the plants are growing and you cover them with more compost and just 2 inches of plant showing. You just keep adding compost from the trash can and leaving just a couple inches of the plant showing. As time progresses roots will grow off the little joints where leaves come out and those roots will grow potatoes and soon you will have a bag of potatoes.
I will let you know the size of my crop when it is finished.

More later about my little chicks. Sadie has not met them yet. She is doing great with the puppies. They play "mouth" through the fence.

There is quite a bit going on so will write about that this weekend.

Ms Green Jeans- Spring time in the garden

2009-03-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

It is just almost spring here on the farm. Sadie is having a great time with the puppies(still known as Brother and Sister). There are at least 100 Cardinals in the trees and some little wrens too. I have been digging and working the garden. Of course, here at Windsong that means I have to make the garden. I have been working too many days in prior years to manage to make a garden. So, I just love digging in the dirt.

I feel it is such a needed thing to do- grow your own food. And that is followed by cooking your own food. Most all of the really bad stuff added into food- like High Fructose Corn Syrup- is not in your kitchen. Well ,yes it is in your kitchen, as it is in so much. Like Yogurt! boy does that chap me. All major brand yogurts have HFCS in it. But there are other more organic versions that do not have it. It is in Ketchup, marinades, apple sauce, jelly, and so much else. But I would bet in the canister where your sugar, flour, and such there is no canister for HFCS.

A side note- sugar free or lite yogurt does not have HFCS in them. They have Aspartame or Splenda and they both are horrible for your health.

Back to the garden, I planted brandywine and homestead tomatoes, and some sweet 100s and a another kind. Spinach, turnips, and peas are planted as well. I have a number of veggies started in flats. Woo-hoo! almost time to plant. My garden beds are an adapted form of the Square Foot Garden theory. I love doing it this way.

The Goodness of People

2009-03-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

I recently sent out an email about a neighbor of mine. She is a beautiful girl in need of much help. Here is the email I sent out as I told somewhat of her story and I would like you to meet her.

Dear Friends,
Try to imagine that once upon a time God gave you a little girl that grew to be a beautiful teenager...

And just when she was about to start her senior year at Texas A&M in just her third year she was there...

And what if she was just days away from that senior year... She was leaving for work one morning... 8:30 AM and she was hit by a drunk driver. What if it was your childs life that was forever changed?

This did happen to this beautiful girl in these pictures. She suffered a traumatic brain injury on August 17, 2007. She has recovered much more than the doctors originally thought she ever would. Many of us have been involved in trying to help her. Her name is Jackie Murphree and you can Google this name and read the stories of the accident and follow up stories.

But the current facts are this girl is the child of her devoted mother and father- Kurrie and Patrick. And they have constantly searched for help for Jackie. There is a stem cell program in CHINA (you know that place on the other side of the world???) and Jackie has been accepted into this program. They think she could benefit so much from it. So much that Patrick is preparing to take his brain injured daughter around the world to get the chance at help. The BIG problem is not traveling with her that far...it is the $40,000. to do this.

I know the economy is not good for a lot of folks but I am asking you all to pass this email on and on to try to raise money for this chance. No amount is too small- every dollar counts! I figure if we can find 40,000 people to give a dollar we have it made! Really, though if you can help there is a fund at Legend Bank in Decatur Texas for Jackie Murphree. In a few days someone will have a website finished and it will have a paypal link on it. I will be resending this plea at that time with a link to that site. PLEASE if you can would you help? If you cannot contribute would you pray for the funds to come?

I am a massage therapist that works with Jackie- please feel free to email me for more information.

Checks can be made out to
Jackie Murphree Benefit Fund
and sent to
Legend Bank
PO BOX 1001
Decatur, Tx 76234

From Ms. Green Jeans

2009-02-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

Today I took the puppies out to meet Sadie. She had not seen them before. Though I think she knew they were here.

One of the hard things about living in the country is that you find animals that are dumped way too often. Brother and Sister are a perfect example. Thrown out on the roadside at 3 weeks of age, just nursing puppies. The puppy I call Brother was in the middle of the road when my brother saw him. He thought he had run over him! He stopped and picked him up and brought him back home. Long story short I went back with my nephew and found Sister in a pile of dead leaves on the roadside. I have been bottlefeeding them and they are thriving now. They will make terrific pets for someone. We can usually find homes for them. I have no idea what kind they are and will wait to see. If Brother is any sort of farm dog I will keep him. Sadie really does need some help and a buddy as well.

I have used puppy formula and colostrum (Natures Sunshine Products) as well as probiotics and they are really doing great. Hopefully I can get pictures to post!

From Sadie

2009-01-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

I still haven't found the blog baby. Ms. Green Jeans is still poking on the little box, well she has been doing that alot anyway. She stops every so often and goes away from the window. I still hear puppies and cannot find them. I think they are in the house but there are only two dogs in the house. And they are too old to have puppies. And too grumpy too. There is a little fuzzy one that Ms. told me was a poodle and another that is a rat terrorist. They have been here a lot longer than me.
The weather is changing and tonight will be cold and that means I will be on guard tonight. I think I will take a nap.

From Sadie of Windsong

2009-01-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

Today is the Birth of the Blog. That is what Ms. Green Jeans says anyway. I have had a very hard time finding the baby though. You see, I am the Guardian of the Farm. Ms. Green Jeans calls this place Windsong Farm but we all know who this farm belongs to. It belongs to me, Sadie, the Great Pyrenees of Windsong. And it is my job and mission to first and foremost guard the babies. So I really need to find this new Blog Baby. I do not know what it will look like. I have had sheep, ducks, geese (sometimes these have a REAL bad attitude!), donkeys, and horses. And cats. And I have to guard all the babies. I think I hear something in the house but I swear it sounds like a puppy. Does a Blog look like a puppy?

Ms. Green Jeans is poking on the little box again. I can see her through the window. If she is poking on the little box then she must not be worried about the baby so I think I will take a nap. I had long duty this weekend as she was gone to the city for a big convention. Came home talking about a Blu Frog. Now I have NEVER seen a Blu Frog. At least I know what it will look like. Now for that Nap...