Whoa, Where did that Chill Come From?!

Wow, that was fast. Just day before yesterday I was wondering why we were still in the 80s at the end of October. Then, I woke up yesterday to much cooler weather. The sun was hiding all day long, the wind was blowing and we didn't get above 70 for the day. Big drop from the day before. We aren't supposed to hit 70 today either. The goats didn't quite seem to know what to do with themselves yesterday and nobody really has winter coats since we have stayed so warm for so long. They stuck close all day yesterday and by 4 pm were ready to go in the barn. I left the horses stalls open so that they could get in the barn last night and I noticed the pigs had dug their nighttime nests deeper. Yes, pigs make nests to sleep in at night and I can guarantee you my pigs build better nests than the chickens do. I just wish my little sow would build her nest inside her house, but she seems determined to stay outside. Oh, well....you can lead a horse to water or a pig to shelter.... We had a fire going all day yesterday as it was downright chilly in the house without it. It was nice to have and we were glad we spent the other day getting firewood up. Guess I need to get on that a little more if old man winter is really rearing his ugly head. The garden is coming along quite well and I am hoping that it will keep it up. The broccoli and cauliflower plants are still a little small and I am hoping that they will get big enough to stand up to the first frost which is scheduled around Thanksgiving. Today it looks like I will be covering all the windows in the house to keep out the cold air. It is one of those chores that I put off until the last minute, simply because I like light and covering the windows definitely cuts down on that. Some of the windows we only cover with bubble wrap so we do still get in some light, but still the house is much darker in the winter. I suppose since this house has moved so much this past year that I have a lot of caulking to do also. Need to check my supply of caulk and will probably have to get more. I go through about 3 tubes every winter, if I am lucky. This year might be more as we have had some serious movement. Oh! And guess what?! I am so excited. I got my studio cleaned up yesterday. It isn't perfect by any means and I still have a few stack of things to go through, but I can get in there to work. I even set up a painting that I had started working on several years ago to start on again. Maybe I can get it finished. It really helped to have cleaned out the space that I did. I have several more boxes of things to clean out and I have to get the little ones things set up in there for her to work with while I am out there working. I even starting organizing my sewing things so I can start sewing again. I was so excited to have that done. I just love crossing off projects off my list of things to do. Today I am going to try to finish mulching the garden. It looks like I will be expanding the garden next year even more than I had planned. I have had family that is getting hard hit in these economic times and they might need my help. I have always planned for that event, but not really sure I am ready for it. Well, it is getting to be that time of the day so I had better get moving. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Joyful Hearts Farm Needs Help

Joyful Hearts Farm is in need of help. Many times we country folk have seen that when city folk move to the country they want to turn the country into the city with all of its rules, regulations and ordinances. Despite popular belief living in the country doesn't always mean peace and quiet. Sometimes, chickens are squawking, roosters are crowing, pigs are squealing and livestock guard dogs are barking. Joyful Hearts Farm has two wonderful livestock guard dogs that protect their dairy goat herd. Joyful Hearts Farm makes a living from those dairy goats and they depend on their LGD's to help keep them safe from predators. One of the many ways that LGD's guard is to bark. They send out warning barks to let any creature in the area know that they are on duty and alert. They bark even louder when they feel there is an immediate threat. I understand how aggravating it can be to hear them bark. When we first got Dakota she started barking at 11 pm and kept it up all night. I didn't think I would survive. As she matured she realized that she didn't need to bark all night and now she is much more tolerable. I can also understand the changes in her bark and I know when it is time to head outside with the gun or roll over and go back to sleep. I cannot tell you what a valuable asset she is to our farm. I am sure Joyful Hearts feels the same way. However, they now have city neighbors that don't understand the country/farm way of life and don't want a dog barking near them. Animal control is siding with the neighbors even though California law sides with JHF. JHF is under attack, our way of life is under attack and they need help to defend their right to farm. If you are interested in reading the whole story and contributing you can go here. We small farmers must stick together and help when we can and where we can. If we don't then they will take us out one by one until there are none of us left. We will be helping JHF and sending many prayers their way. Blessings, Kat

Simple Message- Get Help

This is such a sad thing to post here, but I feel really compelled to help this girl get her message out. Warning, tissues are a requirement to watching. Kaitlin my prayers are with you and your family.
Full story here


Life is never so bad that there isn't light at the end of the tunnel. You may not be able to see it, but it's there. Get help, so that you can keep pushing forward. Blessings, Kat

Update on Morningland Dairy

Boy is there some stink going on around what they are doing to Morningland. Apparently, the cheese was seized in the raid on Rawesome Foods in California. However, the cheese listed on the seizure by the authorities in California was not tested and is not on the inventory sheets for Rawesome. In other words that is not what Rawesome purchased. You can read the whole story here This mess gets stranger and stranger as time goes by. Again folks keep those letters going. THEY have to right to tell us what to eat. That is our God given right. Next thing you know they will be banning home canning and canning jars will be the hottest item on the black market. Stop their idiocy now, or it will bite us all eventually. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Morningland Dairy Update

I recently wrote about the attacks on small farms and the attacks specifically on Morningland Dairy in Missouri for selling raw milk cheese. They are really under the gun on this one and are being forced into court with three serious charges against them. This article explains it much better than I can.For all of us that are interested in preserving our right to decide what we will eat, we need to keep those letters and phone calls going. The Uncheese party is still going if you wish to help that way too. The best way not only to help these small farmers but all of us as well is to make our voices heard. So please make yours today to protect your right to decide. Blessings, Kat

Attack on Raw Milk and Small Farms

One of our members over at the Homesteading Today forums is currently under attack for selling raw milk cheese. Now mind you they have been doing so for 30 years, have never had a case of illness from their cheese and have a substantial client base that is happy with their product. Here is a news article on their story. You can follow their saga on their blog here. One of the members over at HT came up with the idea to "Sponsor a Cheese" to help out Morningland Dairy and to help show that people are willing to stand up for our family farms. Here is her idea:

Sponsor A Cheese, Save A Dairy!
I'll assume most of us are aware of the assault against Morningland Dairy that began back in August, and has resulted in anti-raw milk pencil pushers (and toadies of corporate dairy concerns) demanding that the dairy destroy all their cheese in stock (SIX MONTHS WORTH OF PRODUCT!) -- despite the fact that all FDA testing done at the dairy proved that there is absolutely NO contamination of their healthy food.

So... I had an idea. Here's what I am going to do, and if you'd like to do the same, I certainly encourage you to join the Un-Cheese Party!

Here's the low down:
If Morningland can't sell the cheese because the Missouri Milk Board and the FDA are against wholesome food, they may well lose their family business of THIRTY YEARS. (And through all those years they are able to boast that NO ONE has EVER been made ill by their cheese!)

I'm not going to let that happen if I can help it.

I'm going to "sponsor" a few pounds of that embargoed cheese. I invite anyone else who is interested to join me in our

CYBER-SPACE UN-CHEESE PARTY!


I've got a call in to Ozark Jewels, to find out exactly how many pounds of cheese are in the cooler, and I'll let you know how much there is.

Here's how to SPONSOR A CHEESE:

The average price per pound is $5. You can send your sponsorship checks or money orders directly to the dairy. Just let them know what the money is for, and a note of encouragement would certainly be appreciated.

Morningland Dairy
6248 County Road 2980
Mountain View, MO
65548

Now, folks, this is a PARTY, so INVITE YOUR FRIENDS, your neighbors, your mere acquaintances to join us!

Plaster the message on other boards you frequent, put it on your Facebook Status, make a YouTube video and hey! maybe it'll go viral!

We have to stand together as raw milk consumers and producers, or we WILL see the day where we can't even grow food for our own consumption!

(see the thread, "Another threat against raw milk" for sample letters to write to your politicians to make an even bigger impact.)

Let's get Morningland back on its feet -
SAVE THE CHEESE!!!


All I can say is that I am in and will be sponsoring a cheese. If we small farmers don't stand together pretty soon there won't be any of us left as they find ways to shut us down and take what we have "for the common good". Blessings from the farm, Kat

Supporting Our Military

As the wife of a former Airborne scout, it is important to me and my husband that we do what we can to support our military. It doesn't matter whether you agree with the war or not. It doesn't matter if you agree with what the government decides or not. What matters is that there are men and women sent to do a job that even they might not agree with, but it is a job that none of us want to do. They are far away from home and many of them receive no contact from home. They feel alone and forgotten. Several years ago, my daughter and I started sending letters. Now, we send letters and care packages. These little things mean a lot. Our military men and women take an oath to the Constitution. They do their job to protect us, the people. I know many people are seeing the increasing tyranny and corruption in our government. One day our military men and women might be called to protect us from our own government. If we don't support them, why would they do that. If people don't care about them, why would they care about us. It is a lot to ask of someone to lay their life on the line so that we don't have to. So, we do a few small things to let them know that we care. If anyone is interested in doing something similar then here are a couple places to help get mail or packages to soldiers who simply don't get anything from back here at home. Many of these folks are kids. My husband was just a young whippersnapper when he was sitting in the desert. He said that the care packages from his mom were looked forward to by everybody and there were those that didn't get any. He said his mom sent a large package every week so that all the guys could get something. Even a letter means more than we will ever know. So if you are so inclined check out
Adopt a Platoon
or
Any Soldier

God bless

I must apologize

To my readers I must apologize for my rant yesterday about homesteading vs. yuppie environmentalism. This topic has just been striking a raw nerve with me lately so please forgive my harsh words. They were not nice and they were disrespectful. So I must apologiz for them. We all need to be conscious of the things that we do in order to be the stewards that God intended for us to be. So please forgive my ugliness, it was temporary insanity! God bless.

Hard Times Hurt Charities Big Time

Today's economic times have hit us all hard. Most families are worried about something. Whether that something is losing their home or losing their job, or how they are going to pay their bills. It is a tough economy and charities are seeing just how tough it really is. While they have more people who need them, they have fewer who can help them. For those of us who are struggling, but still are making it taking some time to decide how we could help someone else is a blessing to all involved. Food Banks can buy so much with such a small amount of money. We wouldn't really miss 5.00 or 10.00, but a food bank can provide a family with a week's worth of food for that amount of money. That old coat hanging in your closet that you haven't worn in years can keep someone else warm instead of hanging in your closet. Those extra blankets tucked away in a box under your bed that never get used, could keep a child warm at night. I am sure that there are many churches that know of families that could use those clothes that you no longer wear or no longer want. Sometimes our situation is so dire that we ourselves cannot give monetarily, but giving of our time and giving of ourselves brings hope and joy into a world filled with darkness and sadness. Cooking an extra casserole for a family in the community is another way to give of yourself. Next month our church is hosting family promise. There are several churches in the community that rotate which church hosts which month. Family promise is where our church houses and feeds several families while trying to help them get back on their feet and provide their very basic needs. My daughter and I have spent the night at the church with these families as well as cooked for them. Our family doesn't have much to give in the way of money but we are abundantly wealthy with time to give. So we give of ourselves so that others may share in the hope that Jesus Christ has to offer. Many only think of doing these things during the holidays, but people need help all through the year. I prefer to help out during the off times of year when there are fewer people to help. So this week my challenge to my readers is to put aside their own problems. Think about the problems of the world and find a spot where you can give of yourself. You never know, you may be entertaining angels. May God bless you in your journey today.

Gotta love Freecycle

With the economy the way that it is with jobs being lost and hours being cut, many are wondering what they will do and how they will survive and get the things that they need. I think the time has come to return to the old way of doing things. When my grandparents were my age and of course younger, people in the community traded with each other. Say I have eggs and you have butter between the two of us we have eggs and butter. Let me introduce you to a great website based on the old idea of bartering. It is called Freecycle. It is a great website. If you have something you don't need someone else might need it and if someone else has something they don't need then you might need it. I highly recommend checking out freecycle and any other trading site that you might find. Trading is the wave of the future as our money become worthless.

35 Ways to Give of Yourself

Another mother gave this list and it is one of the best I have seen for ideas and ways to give of yourself, and to "do unto one of the least of these". You never know with the economy the way it is we may be one of the least someday. God bless.
35 Ways You Can Help the Homeless
"You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." ~John Bunyan
1. Understand Who the Homeless Are - Help dispel the stereotypes about the homeless. Learn about the different reasons for homelessness, and remember, every situation is unique.2. Respect the Homeless as Individuals - Give the homeless people the same courtesy and respect you would accord your friends, your family, your employer. Treat them as you would wish to be treated if you needed assistance.3. Respond with Kindness - We can make quite a difference in the lives of the homeless when we respond to them, rather than ignore or dismiss them. Try a kind word and a smile.4. Develop Lists of Shelters - Carry a card that lists local shelters so you can hand them out to the homeless. You can find shelters in your Yellow Pages.5. Buy "Street News" - This biweekly newspaper is sold in almost every major American city and is intended to help the homeless help themselves. For every paper sold, the homeless earn five cents deposited in a special savings account earmarked for rent. What an impact!6. Bring Food - It's as simple as taking a few extra sandwiches when you go out. When you pass someone who asks for change, offer him or her something to eat. If you take a lunch, pack a little extra. When you eat at a restaurant, order something to take with you when you leave.7. Give Money - One of the most direct ways to aid the homeless is to give money. Donations to nonprofit organizations that serve the homeless go a long way. Find one that's right for you in our Homeless category.8. Give Recyclables - In localities where there is a "bottle law," collecting recyclable cans and bottles is often the only "job" available to the homeless. But it is an honest job that requires initiative. You can help by saving your recyclable bottles, cans, and newspapers and giving them to the homeless instead of taking them to a recycling center or leaving them out for collection. If you live in a larger city, you may wish to leave your recyclables outside for the homeless to pick up -- or give a bagful of cans to a homeless person in your neighborhood.9. Give Clothing - Next time you do your spring or fall cleaning, keep an eye out for those clothes that you no longer wear. If these items are in good shape, gather them together and donate them to organizations that provide housing for the homeless. You can also check our list of organizations that accept donated goods.10. Give A Bag Of Groceries - Load up a bag full of nonperishable groceries, and donate it to a food drive in your area. If your community doesn't have a food drive, organize one. Contact your local soup kitchens, shelters, and homeless societies and ask what kind of food donations they would like.11. Give Toys - Children living in shelters have few possessions --if any-- including toys. Homeless parents have more urgent demands on what little money they have, such as food and clothing. So often these children have nothing to play with and little to occupy their time. You can donate toys, books, and games to family shelters to distribute to homeless children. For Christmas, ask your friends and co-workers to buy and wrap gifts for homeless children.12. Volunteer At A Shelter - Shelters thrive on the work of volunteers, from those who sign people in, to those who serve meals, to others who counsel the homeless on where to get social services. For the homeless, a shelter can be as little as a place to sleep out of the rain or as much as a step forward to self-sufficiency.13. Volunteer At A Soup Kitchen - Soup Kitchens provide one of the basics of life, nourishing meals for the homeless and other disadvantaged members of the community. Volunteers generally do much of the work, including picking up donations of food, preparing meals, serving it, and cleaning up afterward. To volunteer your services, contact you local soup kitchen, mobile food program, shelter, or religious center.14. Volunteer Your Professional Talents - No matter what you do for a living, you can help the homeless with your on-the-job talents and skills. Those with clerical skills can train those with little skills. Doctors, psychiatrists, counselors, and dentists can treat the homeless in clinics. Lawyers can help with legal concerns. The homeless' needs are bountiful -- your time and talent won't be wasted.15. Volunteer Your Hobbies - Every one of us has something we can give the homeless. Wherever our interests may lie -- cooking, repairing, gardening, photography -- we can use them for the homeless. Through our hobbies, we can teach them useful skills, introduce them to new avocations and perhaps point them in a new direction.16. Volunteer For Follow-Up Programs - Some homeless people, particularly those who have been on the street for a while, may need help with fundamental tasks such as paying bills, ballancing a household budget, or cleaning. Follow-up programs to give the formerly homeless further advice, counseling, and other services need volunteers.17. Volunteer At Battered Women's Shelters - Most battered women are involved in relationships with abusive husbands or other family members. Lacking resources and afraid of being found by their abusers, many may have no recourse other than a shelter or life on the streets once they leave home. Volunteers handle shelter hotlines, pick up abused women and their children when they call, keep house, and offer counseling. Call your local shelter for battered women to see how you can help. Find an organization in JustGive.org's Women area.18. Tutor Homeless Children - A tutor can make all the difference. Just having adult attention can spur children to do their best. Many programs exist in shelters, transitional housing programs, and schools that require interested volunteers. Or begin you own tutor volunteer corps at your local shelter. It takes nothing more than a little time.19. Take Homeless Children On Trips - Frequently, the only environment a homeless child knows is that of the street, shelters, or other transitory housing. Outside of school -- if they attend -- these children have little exposure to many of the simple pleasures that most kids have. Volunteer at your local family shelter to take children skating or to an aquarium on the weekend.20. Volunteer At Battered Women's Shelters - Volunteers handle shelter hotlines, pick up abused women and their children when they call, keep house, and offer counseling. Call your local shelter for battered women to see how you can help.21. Teach About The Homeless - If you do volunteer work with the homeless, you can become an enthusiast and extend your enthusiasm to others. You can infect others with your own sense of devotion by writing letters to the editor of your local paper and by pressing housing issues at election time.22. Publish Shelter Information - Despite all of our efforts to spread the word about shelters, it is surprising how many people are unaware of their own local shelters. Contact your local newspapers, church or synagogue bulletins, or civic groups newsletters about the possibility of running a weekly or monthly listing of area services available to the homeless. This could include each organization's particular needs for volunteers, food, and other donations.23. Educate Your Children About The Homeless - Help your children to see the homeless as people. If you do volunteer work, take your sons and daughters along so they can meet with homeless people and see what can be done to help them. Volunteer as a family in a soup kitchen or shelter. Suggest that they sort through the toys, books, and clothes they no longer use and donate them to organizations that assist the poor.24. Sign Up Your Company/School - Ask your company or school to host fund-raising events, such as raffles or craft sales and donate the proceeds to nonprofit organizations that aid the homeless. You can also ask your company or school to match whatever funds you and your co-workers or friends can raise to help the homeless. Contact JustGive.org for more information about company matching.25. Recruit Local Business - One of the easiest ways to involve local businesses is to organize food and/or clothing drives. Contact local organizations to find out what is needed, approach local grocery or clothing shops about setting up containers on their premises in which people can drop off donations, ask local businesses to donate goods to the drive, and publicize the drive by placing announcements in local papers and on community bulletin boards and by posting signs and posters around your neighborhood.26. Create Lists Of Needed Donations - Call all the organizations in your community that aid the homeless and ask them what supplies they need on a regular basis. Make a list for each organization, along with its address, telephone number, and the name of a contact person. Then mail these lists to community organizations that may wish to help with donations -- every place from religious centers to children's organizations such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.27. Play With Children In A Shelter - Many children in shelters are cut off from others their own age. Shuffled from place to place, sometimes these kids don't attend school on a regular basis, and have no contact with other kids. Bring a little joy to their lives by taking your children to a local shelter to play. Plan activities such as coloring, playing with dolls, or building model cars (take along whatever toys you'll need). Your own children will benefit too.28. Employ the Homeless - HELP WANTED General Office Work. Welfare recipient, parolee, ex-addict OK. Good salary, benefits. Will train. That's the way Wildcat Service Corporations's Supported Work Program invites the "unemployable" to learn to work. Best of all-the program works! More than half the people who sign on find permanent, well-paying jobs, often in maintenance, construction, clerical, or security work.29. Help The Homeless Apply For Aid - Governmental aid is available for homeless people, but many may not know where to find it or how to apply. Since they don't have a mailing address, governmental agencies may not be able to reach them. You can help by directing the homeless to intermediaries, such as homeless organizations, that let them know what aid is available and help them to apply for it. If you want to be an advocate or intermediary for the homeless yourself, you can contact these organizations as well.30. Stand Up For The Civil Rights Of The Homeless - In recent elections, for example, volunteers at shelters and elsewhere helped homeless people register to vote . . . even though they had "no fixed address" at the moment. Some officials would not permit citizens without a permanent address to vote.31. Join Habitat For Humanity - Habitat for Humanity, a Christian housing ministry, builds houses for families in danger of becoming homeless. Volunteers from the community and Habitat homeowners erect the houses. Funding is through donations from churches, corporations, foundations, and individuals.32. Form A Transitional Housing Program - One of the most potent homeless-prevention services a community can offer residents who are in danger of eviction is a transitional housing program. These programs help people hang on to their current residences or assist them in finding more affordable ones. The methods include steering people to appropriate social service and community agencies, helping them move out of shelters, and providing funds for rent, mortgage payments, and utilities. For information, contact the Homelessness Information Exchange at (202) 462-7551.33. Write To Corporations - Some of the largest corporations in America have joined the battle for low-income housing. Through the use of the tax credit or by outright grants, they are participating with federal and state government, not-for-profit and community-based groups to build desperately needed housing in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and dozens of other cities. Contact various organizations and ask them what they are doing.34. Contact Your Government Representatives - Our legislators rarely receive more than three visits or ten letters about any subject. When the numbers exceed that amount, they sit up and take note. Personal visits are the most potent. Letters are next; telephone calls are third best. Housing issues don't come up that often, so your public officials will listen. Find your state representatives.35. Push For State Homelessness Prevention Programs - While states routinely supply aid for the poor and homeless, many do not have programs provide funds and other services to those who will lose their homes in the immmediate future unless something is done. Homelessness comes at great financial and human cost to the families who are evicted or foreclosed.