Honest, Officer...

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

This was taken when she was at the shelter.

Long Time No Write

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

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

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

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

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.