Blessed!

As Christmas approaches and 2012 draws to a close I like many of you are finding myself ever reflecting on the time that has come and gone. Recent events in our world at large have only served to further that desire to remember what is dear.

This year my six year old daughter started riding her horse on her own, and I now know what it feels like to let your heart take a walk outside of your body as mine did when she turned her pony away from me and set off on her own. I'm quite sure it was one of those moments meant to prepare me for the future times ahead when she will leave my side to forge new paths...It is an interesting paradox to be so excited and so terrified at the same time.

I love learning about new things and this year I spent a lot of time learning about Poultry! Yes, I knew a little bit before, but new opportunities were given to me to become far more versed in this topic. From leading several 4H workshops about the topic, to even being a judge at the Sibley County Fair, it seems as though I am meant to be an expert. I had to giggle when an employee at the 4H office recently referred to me as the "Chicken Lady!", talk about a change from the past when my best known asset was my affinity for CHANEL!

Last February I took on the daunting task of hatching my own ducklings. What a fun and scary challenge that was! I am really looking forward to hatching more this spring from our trio of Khaki Campbell adult ducks. There is something very special about bringing in new life to the world, even if it is just a duck! This next year we will be expanding our flock to include Pekin ducks and Pilgrim Geese! We will also be adding meat chickens to our current group of laying hens. My husband has started to hone his butchering skills, and we are finding ourselves wanting to be more self sufficient in producing what we eat....especially when it tastes SO much better than the meat in the store! Just don't expect a steer to show up in our pasture, there are other farmers who are WAY better at that species for us to buy from!

I could spend hours retelling all of the fun adventures we have had this year, and as I face 2013, I will try to be more timely in doing that with all of you!  But for now, I will leave you with my Christmas wish for all of you.

 I wish for each of you to spend each day doing what you love with those whom you love. I wish for you to see the wonder of God's world around you in the birds of the air and the critters on the ground as you go through your everyday. I wish for your to always see God's blessings in even the most difficult of times, and that others see God in the blessings you bestow onto them. I wish for the Peace that surpasses your understanding and your circumstances to be ever present each day for you. I wish that you may always feel God's touch on your life. I wish for you to know that although I don't know each of you personally, that I appreciate the few moments you have taken to read my words and take a peek into this little life God has bestowed on me and my family. I hope it is as much of a blessing to you reading about it as it is to me living and writing about it.

God's Blessings to all of you!
Eleanor

The best Syrup for pancakes, french toast, angel food 

cake or even over ice cream is Buttermilk Syrup. 

It is very easy to make and SO good!! Give it a try !

BUTTERMILK SYRUP
1 1/2 c. sugar 3/4 c. buttermilk 1/2 c. butter 2 tbsp. Karo syrup (light) 1 tsp. soda 2 tbsp. vanilla Mix all ingredients, except vanilla, in a deep pan. Bring to a boil; boil 7 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Store in refrigerator. Heat before serving. Excellent over ice cream or pancakes, waffles or French toast.

Intervention

Several years ago my most favorite guilty pleasure was watching the television show “Intervention”. I was always excited to see people go from the depths of despair to a full life of hope and healing. Most often, that is what would happen. The show would chronicle the life of an addict, an intervention would take place, recovery and then a reunion and update at the end. On occasion the addict would choose not to go to or to leave treatment early and the result was an unhappy ending.

Recent events at the farm and the current heated political environment have got me thinking about other forms of intervention. On Mothers Day, my friend called me while I was out lunching with my mom and sister. One of the young barn cats, 7months old, had just given birth and they had found 5 babies in 3 different areas of the barn. The mom was not interested in feeding a couple of the babies, so they had taken the one that was in the worst shape with them and were driving to the feed store to buy some kitten formula. Upon hearing the news, we cut our outing short and I returned to the farm.

Over the next few days I would spend countless hours trying to entice the mom to nurse her babies, for those she would not nurse I was bottle feeding them. The mom would randomly move the kittens around the hayloft and I would struggle to get to them when they would cry for food. Slowly and one by one they started to die. After the first two deaths, I took the remaining 3 kittens into the house.  They were very sick with pneumonia and were struggling to breathe. I spent the next two weeks medicating, feeding, and cleaning the kittens. Two more would suffer deaths by suffocation as I could not get a handle on the illness. At one point, I was holding a dying kitten begging my husband to help me end its life as it was suffering so much. My husband refused to help me saying, “You got involved, you have to see this thing through.”  He was right. I had gotten involved. I had chosen to interrupt the nature of life for these kittens. Had I made a good decision? After two more kittens had passed and I had spent countless hours researching feline illness and talking with the Carver Scott humane society, I had one kitten that was thriving. She was doing great! She was eating, sleeping, breathing, pooping and playing with my kids. For 3 weeks she thrived.

Then out of nowhere, she choked on something. Food, litter, I don’t know, but within a matter of minutes of my return from a baseball game, she was dead.  I had fed her right before I left, and she was fine and only three breaths after I picked her up on my return and she was dead.  Really!?!? Why did this happen?  I could only sit and stare at her thinking about the number of hours we had spend giving her care and attention, only to have her die too. 

In the hours that followed, I tried to make sense of all that we had gone through. I kept coming back to the same question, “Should I have gotten involved?” Should I have just left the kittens in the barn and let nature take its course? The end result was the same. What difference had it made?

In my quiet moments, the whisper I heard in response was this, “The end result was in fact the same, but the journey was very different.” These kittens died in our arms, not on a cold barn floor. They felt warmth and love, and kindness and kisses. They experienced the love and giggles of children who marveled at their existence. They were not alone.

As I listen to the world around me and hear people’s ideology about when to help others and in what manner, I am always stunned by those who don’t want to “get involved” in “taking care” of others. Those who believe they have it all figured out and know exactly how we and our government should or should not help our fellow citizens. Aid, or no aid, welfare, or no welfare, I have no idea as to what we should or should not do. But I do know this. Regardless of the outcome, the world at large is better when we unite and create a community around those who are suffering, sick or in need.  So title me however you want politically, but as for me, I will always choose to get involved. I believe that is what God wants us to do.

How time has flied and Spring is now Summer! Here's a quick update on the goings on here at the farm.

The ducks have moved several times since the bathroom and right now I have to keep the females and males separate as they need to look their best for the County Fair in August. We have 6 females and all seem to be laying!  Our little chickens are also footloose and fancy free in the barn with all of the other hens. Except for 2 roosters who are in their own pen as they were pulling feathers out of the upcoming show birds....

 The goats have been doing fine and we are looking to make a summer paddock for them so they can have more time grazing. Stitch managed to find a tack in his stall so I got to get up to speed on goat first aid 101. Luckily for us they are both getting better about us handling them.

 (Hanging out with Lilo!)

 We had 2 litters of kittens born already this summer, the first was with the barn momma and did just great as you can see from the pictures. The second was from one of the young females and unfortunately she rejected all 5 of them. One after another they died as we tried tirelessly to get her to nurse and feed them with tiny bottles of kitten formula. One still remains and is now 4 weeks old! She is looking great and seems to be quite healthy!

(Baby kittens!)


Lauren is having a blast with her little silkie chick she aptly called "Pumpkin". She is planning on showing her at the County fair in August.

 Dan butchered the first of our Market birds and I have to say we are hooked! They were super yummy and I was even able to get over the whole raising what you eat issue. Dan is planning to build a portable chicken tractor so we can raise about a dozen more this summer and fill the freezer this fall.

 (Lauren is protecting Pumpkin from the slaughter!)

Last month we put our horse Cheval down as his feet were just falling apart. It was a hard decision, but the best choice for him. We knew the time had come when he was choosing to lay down more than graze. Our herd is smaller but still a barrel of fun as we start Summer.

Noelle continues to struggle to gain weight, I swear I wish I had this mare's metabolism. I continue to play with all sorts of options to get her to eat more, but when she is done, she's done. Here are a few recent pictures of her. She was in her first show last month and placed 3rd out of 4. We were so thrilled just to have her go into the ring without incident!

I will try to be better about getting some more official posts going. There is SO much I want to share and these amazing animals teach me so much everyday. God is good and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to care for his creation! Blessings!

Duck

As of today I have 14 ducks in my bathroom. Yes, in my bathroom.  Did they escape from the barn? No, they were born in the laundry room! This year we have decided to hatch our own ducklings for the kids to show at the county fair. So in November, I borrowed an incubator from the 4H office and started to collect eggs from our trio of Khaki Campbell ducks.

Since the babies we show at the fair have to be born after January 1, I knew I needed to test run the incubator….I had no idea how stressful hatching poultry would turn out to be! After several weeks of no progress with our eggs, I finally had 2 eggs that showed some progression down the developmental path. Their hatching date was set for December 6^th and I was anxiously awaiting their arrival.

As with all births, the actuality of ducklings hatching is not like it appears on TV. I thought a few taps and out would pop this lovely creature all perky and cute….kind of how I had pictured birth before any of my 4 children had been born.

The reality is a stark contrast. The process of hatching poultry is slow and scary….a day or so before your duckling is going to hatch; you start to hear what is called peeping. This is a soft little voice that is fully audible outside of the egg, even if no hole is yet visible. The first time I happened to hear this I thought that a bird had flown down my dryer vent! Then the laborious task of this critter actually escaping out of the egg begins. This portion can take up to 48 hours and I must confess that I found it nearly as hard to wait for the little birds to pop out as it was when I was delivering my own kids;(Minus the need for pain killing drugs of course.)

And when they finally get out, they are gross! Covered in goodness knows what, thrashing about over the other eggs as they try to get their legs under them, their necks are all twisted after being in a space ½ their length for 28 days. And let’s be clear that there is an umbilical cord…..I’ll just leave it at that…. But after 24 hours of warm air, these little critters are the picture book version of cuteness.

As I mentioned I had 2 eggs set to hatch that first date. Only one actually made it to term and hatched. So after her 24 hours in the incubator I moved her to the next home, a large water trough filled with old towels, food and water and a warm lamp filling it with warmth. And there my little duck sat, alone until more would hatch.

During those first few weeks, and most every night since, I take her out and let her sit on my lap in the living room. I would take a large towel and place it under her as she sat on my shoulder or chest. No, she was not and is not potty trained, so yes, this is not for those with weak constitutions or stomachs…..She loves to preen my ears and neck and now as she is almost full grown, I often have to remind her that my nose is just fine with out her help.

The kids and I take her out when we are playing games and she will sit with us on the dining room table. She is especially fond of playing with the spinner from “Chutes and Ladders” and frankly she’s quite good at getting you the number you need. I enjoy seeing the reaction I get when I bring her out during evening with friends and showing her to kids and adults alike. She stands so proud and preens herself, cleaning and straightening each feather. She likes to say hello to visitors by preening their hands, but don’t try to pick her up, she’s still a duck and doesn’t sit with just anyone. When I go into the bathroom to attend to the ducks, she greets me at the edge of the trough with a look of, “Can I come out and play?” She is part of our family and I will miss her presence when she is out with the others in the barn this spring.

I have yet to name her as I believe names for animals have to be inspired and I have yet to feel what she should be called. We have only named one other of our ducks, so I do not feel it is a requirement. But I should like to figure out a name as I have visions of calling out to her in the pasture, as she and the rest of the flock paddle in the pond this summer, and to see her come to me.

The thing I love most about this experience is how once again, God has used a simple animal to teach me something great. In this experience, God has shown me the value of community and time in regards to a relationship.  None of the other 13 ducklings will come to the edge of the tank when I enter the bathroom, just her. Naturally ducks are prey animals and apt to fly away from anything that walks their way, but not this duck. The difference is the time and attention I have given to her. It has made me think about the importance of fostering this same focus on friends and family. Can we really expect that we can have deep, meaningful relationships if we only visit on Birthdays and holidays? When did the business of the world at large become more important than being responsive to the needs of a neighbor?

I realize that many people I know spend more time watching TV in any given timeframe, than they spend reaching out to people around them.  And if not TV, perhaps something else, a craft or hobby….These are not terrible things to fill ones time, and they can be very fulfilling, but do they enhance community or distract you from reaching out to serve others? God created us to live in community. Do we deliberately seek out opportunities to build a great community or do we try to escape the problems that community brings to light? I don’t know, but I really feel God refining my life in the area of community and being present for others. And not just others I know well, but others I encounter during my day.

So, I’m using this little duck as a reminder. If I had chosen to let her sit in the tank alone, she would have survived, food and water are all she needed for that….but would she, and I have thrived?

 Christmas Eve 2011- My Duck