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“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Thyroid Health Day 2

I have been working on my adrenals and watching my diet like a hawk for the past several weeks. I have felt better, but still not there...still not normal. I thought I would blog a little bit about this journey. I am hoping that the journey will lead me to feeling like a normal human again. I am scared to be too hopeful. However, I have noticed improvement with following Weston Price's research and then following that with working on my adrenal fatigue. Now, as of yesterday afternoon I am finally working on my thyroid. I am not going to post about what all I am doing or taking because I simply don't want it to be construed as medical advice. I am not a doctor. I am a patient that is fed up with modern day medicine refusing to acknowledge that something somewhere in my body is not working right simply because they are relying on unreliable blood tests instead of symptoms. I have a laundry list of symptoms. I guess the one thing that I have learned from studying Weston Price's research is that symptoms typically mean that something is not working like it should and that there is always an explanation. So a diagnosis of chronic fatigue simply means that a doctor has given up trying to find what isn't working like it should. At least that is my theory. All I know is that several generations ago things like chronic fatigue and fibro rarely existed. Something has changed. So much has changed...food, chemicals, lifestyles, etc. What are these changes doing to us? What have these changes done to me? Growing up in a world loaded with chemicals, ingesting chemicals, processed food, fast food, food lacking nutritional value...the overload and underload has wreaked havoc with my system and something is not working right anymore. I am on a mission to fix it even though modern day medicine says there is nothing to fix. I will let you know how the journey goes. In one way I am hopeful and in other ways I am scared to have much hope. I have to trust that the good Lord will lead me down a path to wellness. I have to trust that He would never wish his children to suffer so much pain physically. I have to trust that He did not design our bodies to be so weak starting at such a young age. I pray that I am right and that He will lead me on the path to healing and wellness. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Thyroid Health

A couple of weeks ago my little one and I had the flu. Before I started coming down with it she wanted me to take my temperature just like I did hers. So I did and then I took it again because what I saw couldn't possibly be right. The thermometer read 97.4, both times. I was curious but a little busy with a sick child so I determined to address this later. Later in the day when I had another moment with the thermometer my temp once again read 97.4. So I got on the internet and discovered a whole lot of things that I wish I had known years ago. 8 years ago I had 1/2 my thyroid removed due to some benign cysts. Prior to removal I was classic hypothyroid. You could have knitted a sweater with the amount of hair that was falling out of my head and I slept every single moment that I could. At the time I was working and when I headed into the office to do the paperwork at the end of the day I would fall asleep sitting at the desk. The doctors told me it would get better after surgery....it didn't really. It did get slightly better as my hair wasn't falling out so much and I could stay awake a little more. However, I still had that overwhelming deep to the bone fatigue. I still gained weight just by thinking about food. I asked my doctor to check my thyroid levels. He did and said they were fine. Over and over again over the next several years I asked for my levels to be checked and each time they told me I was fine and that it wasn't my thyroid. Three doctors later I finally get the exasperated diagnosis that I have chronic fatigue and there is simply not much that they can do...but it definitely is not your thyroid. Well, here I am 8 years later and I am still convinced that my health issues are strongly related to my thyroid and I don't care anymore what the doctors tell me. By this point I am also hovering between stage 3 and 4 adrenal fatigue also. A person's body can only take the stress of not feeling well so long. For days I have taken my body temperature and it stays a pretty constant 97.4. I can raise it to 98.2 or so by taking a hot shower, but within a couple hours it has dropped back down. I have less and less tolerance to heat and cold, so thank goodness it hasn't been that cold this winter for us. I used to love 60 degree weather and now I find it intolerable as I just can't get warm, no matter how many clothes I put on. So, I have been reading and reading and I have found that there are loads of folks just like me. People who present classic symptoms of being hypothyroid yet their doctors tell them they are fine. So I am going to take the matter into my own hands first addressing my adrenal fatigue. The nutritional information at the Weston Price foundation has helped and will continue to help because much of what I have discovered is that many of the things I have learned about nutrition there goes hand in hand with having a healthy thyroid and healthy thyroid levels. So here is hoping that I will soon be able to find out what normal is. I don't think that I really know anymore. I just want to feel what other people feel when they have the energy to get through their days without breaking down in tears because they simply don't know how they are going to be able to put one foot in front of the other. I would like to go to sleep and stay there instead of sitting on the computer and updating my blog at 3:30 in the morning. Wow! A full 8 hours of sleep all in one stretch....what a delight that must be. For anyone interested check out these websites: Stop the Thyroid Madness, Wilsons Temperature Syndrome, and the Cold Body Page. Blessings, Kat

Thursday, February 23, 2012

I have a thief!

Yep, you read that right...we have a thief. Dakota, our pyrenees, that is. Day before yesterday she decided to take a little detour down to my neighbor's lake behind our house. Apparently, she came upon a group of buzzards cleaning up a beaver carcass. Yep, you guessed it. She stole that carcass right out from under the buzzards and brought it home. What a wonderful new toy she had found! The thing is that the buzzard gang followed her home, so then I had a gang of thugs all over my yard and pasture. They were hopping mad...literally hopping up and down trying to figure out how to get back their meal. Dakota, however, was not concerned. And surprisingly neither were the chickens who continued their scratching and pecking through the pasture right where the buzzards were hopping up and down. The buzzards paid them no mind. I guess fresh chicken is not to their liking. Good thing the girls had all had their dust baths and cleaned themselves up for the day. When I went out there the buzzards flew up to the trees right above us. Unfortunately, I just really didn't want to deal with the beaver carcass laying around my yard for days as Dakota guarded her prize. If I could have thought of a way to return the carcass to the buzzards I would have. Dakota would just steal it back though and bring it back home. They had cleaned it pretty well and there wasn't too much other than bone and skin left to it. I took the carcass and buried it. Dakota pouted and the buzzards eventually left looking for something else to nibble on. Maybe they will keep their food supply far from Dakota. We had the talk about not stealing,but somehow I don't think she listened very well! Blessings from the farm, Kat

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Playtime is Over

Well, the days are getting longer and the chore list is growing as well. Soooooo...that means that my leisurely mornings sipping coffee and reading the news online is at an end. I am slowly working back to getting on my summer schedule which means outside by 6:30. Right now I am shooting for 7:30, next week I will shoot for 7 and then in a couple weeks I should be back to 6:30. At least right now I am not milking so that should give me loads of garden time so that for once I can be at least on time with my gardening if not ahead of schedule. The project list for this year is going well. We have finished the rabbit colony and all the buns seem happy. Hopefully, in a couple more weeks we will have loads of babies. The garden fence is finished and the tools are being moved to their permanent home in what was the feed room. The pig shelter will be finished in a couple more days and then it will be time to clean up all the dead limbs around the yard and pastures. I think I am going to use some of them to build a hugulkultur bed to plant some berry bushes in. It will be interested to see how well it works. Anyways, hope your days are going well! Blessings from the farm, Kat

Sunday, February 19, 2012

What a mess!

Oh my goodness did we have the rain yesterday! I certainly don't mind a good long steady rain to help with our rain deficit, but really did we have to get rid of the drought all in one day?! We had so much rain yesterday, which started about noon and was still going at 11 last night when I fell asleep. It was a hard steady downpour too, not a drizzle or light rain. I was driving home from my mother's yesterday and was seriously worried when I saw several neighbors with fences that were underwater with nothing but the top of the posts showing. As I have mentioned before we have a water issue with our horse barn. We have to re-dig a trench around the side of the barn to re-direct any water run-off. Well, last night there was so much water coming down and too running down the hill to the barn that the trench was overflowing and the excess water that couldn't run around the barn fast enough was running straight into the barn. I let two of the horses loose, whose stalls were completely under water. I do mean completely underwater with a good 4 inches of standing water in the stall and more coming in the barn. They could go around to the tractor bay on the other side of the barn which was dryer to get out of the rain. Thunder's stall was wet in a good many spots, but half of it was still dry so he was good for awhile. There was so much water coming down that it was coming over the concrete into the feed room and rabbit colony. In the 10 years we have been here I have never ever seen that happen. The rabbits had a thick enough bedding that they were ok, but it will have to all be cleaned out today. It will probably take me all day to get everything mucked out and new bedding put in so that they are all dry again. I don't know what we are going to do about that barn, but we will have to do something thing year more than the trench. It takes forever for that barn to dry out. I am thankful for the rain as we did need it, but my goodness did we have to get a year's supply all in one day. I guess I am just thankful that the house sits on top of the hill instead of down the hill. Well, I guess I better get my boots on...looks like it will be a long day. Blessings, Kat

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

I Love Biodynamics!

Last year we started switching our garden over from the traditional rows to a biodynamic garden. It was hard work double digging all those wide beds, adding more material and compost. I have to say though that it was worth it and this year the rest of the garden will be converted. Usually, it takes me a month to get the garden back in order and ready to plant. This year it has taken me a week to get everything that was turned to biodynamics not only ready, but most of the spring seeds planted. That is a big difference in labor time. This year I am looking forward to more companion planting that I used last year. The beds are gorgeous and the soil is to die for rich and teaming with life. I won't ever go back to row gardening again. Now, I know many are asking what is biodynamic gardening? Many have heard about square foot gardening and lasagna gardening which both employ some degree of the principles of biodynamics. However, biodynamics is much more than raised beds. The french are probably the best known for their biodynamic or french intensive way of gardening. It is about digging deep, interplanting vegetables with herbs and flowers that all benefit each other, and packing it all in to form a living mulch which conserves water. Biodynamic beds are dug 2 feet deep and loaded with compost mixed into the soil. Then the beds are rounded off with gentling sloping sides. This allows even the sides of the beds to be planted and utilized. Walkways are narrow and beds are wide and never ever walked on. The depth of the beds allows the roots of the plants to grow deep rather than shallow and out which means that you water less often. The plants are planted closer together than traditional space recommendations so that the leaves of one plant touch the leaves of the other plants. Tall plants are intermingled with short plants and fast growers are intermingled with slow growers. All of this allowing for more production per square foot of space, continuous harvest, and a beautiful sense of organized chaos. Plants are grouped together so as to benefit each other. Whether that be flavor, pest control or growth needs...it works. Like I said the initial preparation is hard work and not for the faint of heart, but in my opinion it is well worth the effort. Blessings on your gardening year.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Fencing goats

I am sure somewhere in the archives of this blog there are posts about our fencing situation with our goats. When we got our first two goats, Coffee and Tea, we had put up brand spanking new field fence attached to T posts. It worked quite well for them and only took a minor beating. So we thought we had done a good job of creating a contained space for the goats even though the cost was not cheap. Then our next 3 goats entered the scene and again the fence held well as the goats really didn't beat on it too much. About a year after the aquisition of Coffee and Tea we purchased Dolly, Izzy and Strawberry. We found out real quick that Dolly was a fence climber and climb she did. Dolly could climb field fence better than a cat can climb a tree and probably faster too! That poor fence really began to take a beating under her climbing tactics. The T-posts offered no resistance to the fence as it slid to the ground and crumpled more and more. We tried inserting wood posts with staples to give the fence more support and strength, but that didn't help much. The fence looked like one of those expensive swag curtains in between each post. So after spending all that money and all that time here we were off to the store to buy electric fencing materials and spend some more time. We wound up having to take the fence down, straighten it out, put it back up and then run 3 strands of electric wire around the inside. Now, the fence is safe from the goats. They don't touch it at all and it even cured Dolly the climbing queen. So from now on every fence that we redo around here will be hot wire. We just replaced the pallet fence at the bottom of the garden with 6 strand electric fence and I anticipate it working well. The goats now have a healthy respect for electric fencing. I think field fencing is great for goats until you get a climber and then all your money and all your hard work goes down the drain. It is bad enough that they will stand on the fence to reach the tree branches along the fenceline, but when they start climbing all the way over it doesn't last long before it is a 2 foot crumpled line of wire around what once was your goat pasture. I don't know about you, but I don't have the time to re-fence the same areas over and over each and every year. So my recommendation for goats is electric fence. Get a charger that is stronger than you think you will need because goats have a tough hide and small chargers don't work with them. Run 6 strands of wire and set your fence up like it is supposed to be set up. Then with the exception of general maintenance and checking to make sure there are no shorts you should be fencing worry free for the most part. Blessings, Kat

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Death and Funerals

My death is something that I don't often think about. Let's face it...it isn't the most pleasant subject. However, on occasion when death comes into a conversation then my own becomes a focus of mine for a bit of time. Both my mother in law and my father knew what they wanted done with their remains. My Dad wanted to be buried in the same cemetary with several generations of his family. We honored those wishes. My mother in law had already planned and paid for her's. She wanted to be cremated and her ashes spread at sea. Those wishes were honored as well. I can't decide. I have read many things that give relatively good evidence that a Christian should not be cremated. However, I don't want to be buried in any cemetary that I can think of. I have family scattered in different cemetaries in different states and cities and there is none of those where I want to be interred. I really think that I want to be cremated and my ashes scattered over the farm that I love. My heart and soul has been tied to the land for so long. It's like that bond was there before my birth. However, I don't want my last thing on this earth to be something displeasing to God. But the thought of being placed in a cemetary that I don't know and have no emotional ties to really bothers me. I know in the end it won't really matter as I don't plan on hanging around to find out where they stick my body, but for some reason right now it does matter. Hopefully the Lord will see fit to lead me to a concrete decision before I kick the bucket. So what do you think or do you even think about it? It isn't the most pleasant of subjects and I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for not thinking about it. Anyone, just some morbid musings on my part to start the day! LOL! Blessings, Kat

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

According to the Natural News article here, the state of Florida is set to release thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes. Apparently, these mosquitoes have an extra gene and without treatment with tetracyline will die. Supposedly, these mosquitoes will mate with wild populations and transfer the gene so that wild populations will die without tetracycline treatment as well. Am I the only one who sees this as a bad idea? The biologist in me is absolutely going nuts as this has the potential for destroying a balanced ecosystem. Bats, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish all depend on mosquitoes and mosquito larvae for food. Are we going to see large reductions in the numbers of these populations, some of which are barely hanging on by a thread anyway because of this. Has anyone thought about the long term repercussions of this action? I don't think they have, just like they didn't think about the effects of spraying DDT back in the 60s and 70s and how that would eventually wind up damaging the raptor populations and song bird populations. Then what about the effect if one of these SM mosquitoes bites a human. We already know that mosquitoes transfer other viruses (which are genetic material) to humans, so what happens if they transfer this particular genetic material? Admittedly most of the mosquitoes will be male which don't bite but they will be releasing some female mosquitoes and then once they breed with the wild population that genetic code will be in both male and female populations. I hate mosquitoes as much as the next person, but I also believe that we need to understand and work within an ecosystem without potentially sending it into a tailspin. God put mosquitoes here for a reason, so obviously they belong and are necessary or He wouldn't have done so. We experience issues with out of balance ecosystems all the time. I don't know, but I think this is a very very bad idea. I think man needs to quit playing God because we are so going to pay for it in the end. Blessings, Kat

Friday, February 10, 2012

Must See Documentary- Pink Ribbons, Inc.

Have you ever wondered why all of a sudden there are pink ribbons absolutely everywhere and on absolutely ever product. And have you ever wondered if so many companies and so many people are donating money to find a cure for a horrible disease, why one hasn't been found? And have you ever wondered where the pink ribbon came from to begin with? And have you ever wondered how a product loaded with carcinogens can market itself with a pink ribbon?! Pink Ribbons, Inc. is the must see documentary of the year exposing the lies and marketing scam behind that pink ribbon. The movie just opened in Canadian theaters this month and I am looking for it coming to American theaters. I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, here is the trailer. Blessings, Kat

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Dumped Livestock

I had been hearing about folks around the country waking up to find new horses in their pastures that weren't there the night before. I hadn't heard of it happening here though, until the other day. A couple pulled up in my driveway in a van and asked if I had lost a horse and a donkey. I told them no that I hadn't and they then told me that they had a horse and donkey show up in their pasture and they couldn't find who they belonged to. I told them they might have been dumped as I had seen them on the side of the road a few miles from me and had made some phone calls to find the owner. They were gone when I went back by so I figured the owner fixed the fence and secured their animals. I guess not as this gentleman in the van was telling me that they were quite content in his pasture. I told him about the horses being dumped around the country because they aren't worth anything and so many can't afford to feed them anymore. This really ticks me off. Not only are they sentencing the horses to a potentially horrible death and miserable existence, but they are a serious danger to people driving down the road. If someone hits one of those animals then there is a very very good chance that they will not walk away from that crash. Hitting a 1200 lb. horse is not like hitting a 300 lb. deer and we all know the damage that can be caused by hitting a deer. Just imagine the havoc wreaked by hitting something much much larger. A semi or mac truck is about the only thing that has hope of surviving. So whoever dumped those animals on the side of the road felt that it was ok to endanger everyone driving down that road. This follows right along with the post I made not too long ago about the horse slaughter issue. If the slaughter houses were open this would not have happened, there would have been somewhere for the owners to send their stock. Or here is another thought......get rid of the stigma of eating horse meat and maybe the family that is on hard times could have filled their freezer for the year! I know, I know don't flame me or send me ugly emails for that comment. Really though think about it, no difference between a horse or a cow. However, instead of endangering other folks' lives they could have helped out their own situation. It's much more responsible of an action than dumping them. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Yummy Venison Loin

We just love venison loin and yesterday it was amazing. I marinated the loin in brown sugar mixed with teriyaki sauce for about 4 hours. Then I wrapped it in bacon and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I served it with oven roasted potatoes, english peas and asparagus. It was super yummy and tender. I think this is one of my favorite ways of cooking venison loin now. I can't wait to try this with goat loin as well. Blessings, Kat