Making the most of it.

[lindalouly]

Im just a small town girl. (Now who read that to the tune of don't stop believing??! Lol) no but seriously, a small town girl living an extraordinary life with four boy children (6-16) two dogs Oly Girl (pit bull) and Rocco ( chimixedmutt) and my two very lazy tortoises and my beloved 8 pullets and 1 cockerel.

Here is where my story begins... After the birth of my last child, I got hit hard with failing health and depression... An abusive work environment and felt hopeless lost and sick... But enough of that... Cause that is not my focus!!!!

Let's forward the clock six years.... 4 doctors later... Walking out of my job and for the first time in my life being put in the position of stay at home mom, friend and animal keeper.
This is the beginning of my new and improved life. With every struggle grows appreciation and finally at the age of 38 years old I know what I want to be when I grow up.

I desire the farm life. My dream is to have a small plot to house my entire family of seven and all my precious animals with the addition of goats and gardens... Needless to say I am far from that.... But the changes I have made in my life have brought me happiness and better health (not healed but feel oh solo better).
This was the year that my boyfriend and I decided upon our chickens. We created a coop out of scrap wood (with zero carpentry skill between the two of us) lol and retrained our dogs to accept and protect our free ranging/freeloading back yard suburban flock. This has truly been the best thing that has happened to us a family. Next step in all this is working out a compost heap so I can start learning about gardening come spring!!!

This year has been quite the adventure-- new and improved doctors. Procedures that scare the day light out of me. Smiling and getting out of bed everyday!!!!! And the start of planning a fun filled back yard wedding for my boyfriend in I in the next few weeks. Lots to be grateful for, lots to look forward too and lots to learn!!! Have a great day!!! Until next time... Egg total so far is two.. First one yesterday and a tiny one this morning... Off to rake the yard!!!!

 

[lindalouly]

Oly girl!!!! My big mean pitbull!!!!

 

[Mrs. K]

If you would care for some advice on your new garden, If not, just don't give this no mind.

This will work so easy, you will hardly believe me, but you won't need to till or dig, or at least, a bare minimum.

Decide where you want to put the garden, put as much old bedding as you can, chicken bedding, horse bedding (maybe the neighbors), grass clippings, any thing that you would put into the compost pile, spread it out to cover the area you want for the garden. Do not worry if there are grass or weeds there right now, just cover it as thick as you can get it, but spread out evenly.

Then water it very well. Cover the whole thing with wet cardboard, you can get cardboard at any store. Large appliance cardboard works really good, but if you have to mix and match no biggy, just make sure the whole is covered. You do need to soak your cardboard, a kiddy pool, or a wheel barrel, or a big 33 gal garbage can will work, and sometimes you can't get it to fit, so soak one end, then turn it over and soak the other. Until the cardboard is soft. if it tears it is not a biggy, just make sure when you spread it out, there are no gaps.

Place boards, or rocks or bricks on it to anchor it down, and wait till spring.

Most of the cardboard will be mostly gone, your compost will be perfect, your garden ready to plant. Now when you plant, do the same thing, around each plant, cut a hole in the cardboard, plant , and this time cover the cardboard with the new mulch, again making sure the cardboard and mulch are soaked. It makes it meld together, and you will have very few weeds, and need less moisture.

Mrs K

 

[lindalouly]

Well I decided to comeback to BYC.

What a change in life. We have bought a home and started our new adventure in the country. Such a huge change and adjustment from suburban life. The preditors are more fierce. The lack of stores.. Yes this bothers me. Lol critters everywhere.. But the stars shine brighter. Its so quiet here except for the occasional train going 10 miles an hour.

Well we bit the bullet and got chickens way ahead of schedule. 3 grandbabies of my original flock I named the Punkrock girls... Then we added 3 EEs.. Thats a whole nother fiasco I will have to write about and 2 langshons and 1 siscillian buttercup. I am far from prepared to have my little piece of heaven where it needs to be but tge new challeges of country life will be a worthy adventure. Learning as I go, hopefully with good stories to share.

Im glad to be back. Even if so many I were fond of a year ago have gone. This has always been a good outlet for me... So onwards and upwards and here we go!!!

 

[lindalouly]

This is just a random post before I go to sleep..... Anxiety disorder.... Bipolar..... Depression.... Ocd..... Agoraphobia..... Is all real. It steals life from the victim. Take heart... Have patients....--and above all compassion. God bless and good night.

 

[lindalouly]

 

[lindalouly]

I candled one egg today just to see and I saw a swimmmmming baby!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jessimom]

I am trying real hard to not be a burden. Fingers crossed!!!

12 years ago my folks moved in with me. Big house, going through a divorce, disabled child. They moved in to help me. They still live with me. It works for us. It is incredible that my daughter gets to spend so much time with her grandparents. My mom is built in day care (and chicken care, dog care, cat care etc). My dad still works and contributes financially.

Can it be inconvenient - yes. Do we sometimes get on each other's nerves, yes. Do I have any desire to change the situation - NO. Does it annoy me when people ask, you live with your parents? yes, because they live with me. I think that helps a lot.

Look at this as a chance for your kids to spend extra time with your parents. Time they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I am sure that they do not think you are a burden!!!!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Woot. Welcome back. Looking forward to hearing the story.

AC just came and got him - and, best part, thinks he already has somebody in mind to take him if he isn't claimed in the requisite waiting time.

So, this morning DH came in from the back porch and says, "You need to come look at Mojo - something is wrong with this cat." I go outside, see the cat and immediately notice a bite mark on the side of his neck, so at that point I wasn't paying attention to anything else but getting my hands on the cat and seeing what else I could find that was wrong. I picked him up and he lost his mind - up and over my head and down the back to get away.....definitely NOT like Mojo. He started meowing, jumped up on the table outside and climbed around on EVERYTHING - none of which are things Mojo would normally do so I look at DH and say, "You're right, something is DEFINITELY wrong". I walked towards the back door, cat jumps down and follows me but when we get to the door he freaks out and refuses to step foot inside. I reached down, got a GOOD hold on him and carried him in - cat did NOT like being inside, hit full on panic mode, Ziva (GSD) joins in the chaos which did NOT help - so I ended up opening the door and taking him back outside. At this point I tell DH I'll just go get my first aid box, doctor him up outside where he was more comfortable and then after I took DH and DS to town I'd work on sorting things out to get him back in the house and figure things out. DS comes out of his room as I'm grabbing the box and asks what I'm doing - so I tell him I need to go out and doctor Mojo, at which point DS gives me the weirdest look and says, "Mojo is on my bed"

--- I follow DS to his room and, sure enough, there is Mojo, curled up and snoozing away on DS's bed. I go back to the back door and there sits a black and white cat that looks SO much like Mojo.........no wonder the poor thing was panicked when I carried it into our house -- or why Ziva came at me like there was an intruder in the house while I was holding it. Other than a TINY bit of white on the other cat's back these two were dead ringers for each other, down to the way the white is shaped on their face and a black spot on one back leg, in my rush to see what was wrong with "Mojo" and having zoned in right away on the bite mark on the neck it just never occurred to me it wasn't my cat

the interloper


the real Slim Shady

 

[shadowfox]

Such a pretty Kitty! My 5 year old keeps begging for a cat. Hubby really dislikes cats and says absolutely not. I'm a cat person and say it will just be a matter of time!