The Front Porch Swing

[Windy Bay Farm]

I have had the most devastating news this morning. My youngest daughter is three months along in pregnancy. Her ultra sound done yesterday shows the baby is alive with normal development; however the child has no brain.....

It is hard to see the keyboard while crying uncontrolably.

Please pray for her......her name is Brandi......she is going to be faced with some horrible decisions in her near future.

Praying for you and yours, Enola ! May The Lord bless and keep you and your dear Brandi close in this time of need.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Mature, yes. Sensible? Not so much. 38 acres of mostly open pasture to roam and graze and for the last ten years he has kept the rhododendron leafless around the house so he can look in the window and watch the apple basket. He has been known to lead the other horses right up on the deck and around the front where it is about 15 feet off the ground. Rhododendron are supposed to be poisonous to horses as well. He hasn't died from it yet, and neither have the bare rhododendron!

My concern is that this move will be to a much smaller pasture than he is used to--- as well as something that has not been used as pasture and may contain a lot of things a picky horse would turn his nose up on. I don't want to worry about the temptation when the problem can be avoided easily. Our wood stove is always hungry I'll keep you all updated. Much to do before then… and probably will not happen until September when things cool off a bit.

Sounds a real character. Pics and updates pleez!

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Enola, sometimes a funeral gives you a chance to say feel think things that you do actually need to say feel and think. I chose not to go to my fathers funeral and was incapacitated for years because of that dumb decision. So, consider having a funeral and letting people experienced with the grieving process help you through this. It will be horribly painful, but pain won't kill you. Pain will grow you.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Also, Enola, if at all possible, I would get to her, to be there for her physically.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

As soon as possible

 

[Tomtommom]

Enola, so sorry to hear that.

I have nothing to offer in wisdom or advice, but you have my well wishes and prayers.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Bee, that is soooo funny! hahahahaha That is like something that would happen around my house. You are so right, those things STANK!! They smell like week old roadkill in August! Blahhh!!!

YES they stink! phewwww

 

[RoseMarie1]

Enola, I am sooooo sorry!

 

[Loc20chick]

Enola

, I've said a prayer for your family and Brandi, God is there for you is all I can say. Will continue to pray for you.

To all the new people, welcome!!

Oldmomma. praying for your safety and God's will in your FIL situation.

a lot has been going on here since last I posted, travelled to Houston, TX and back safely Glory to God, going to SC later this month. My family and chickens are doing great, I have a turtle in the pond for a month and this week I saw a baby turtle with her, its a wild one don't know what to make of them.

I pray you all have a blessed week.

Essi.

 

[bruceha2000]

Point taken...I'd forgotten that multi isn't working....so yep, GREAT MINDS instead works for me!

Good, because copying is like CHEATING and we all know how being unfairly accused of cheating can affect a person that holds integrity in high regard, like both you and me.

My hubby gave me some great news on the house. He removed the upstairs trim for the stairs to take a look at what we got going on.
1. The trim is a high quality pine that is stained to look like the mahogany down stairs. So all I need to do is figure out how to duplicate that staining technique and we can save some money by using top grade pine for trim instead of using mahogany. It will make it easier to recreate that trim also. Yeh! I was kinda suspicious that it was pine, just because all the upstairs was finished in pine. You know, use the expensive stuff for show in the main area and use the pine for the no-ones-going-to-see-it-but-family areas.

Yep, not at all uncommon. Like houses that have shingles on the front and sides but clapboards on the back. Not seen by the 'public' and much cheaper.

2. The floor joists are running parallel to the stairs, so cutting into that area to give more headroom will only be affecting the tiny area of floor in the closet that is over the stairs. We will just make a built in shelf unit over that area where the floor is going to be adjusted.

GREAT! Nothing wrong with an angled ceiling under a closet!! Makes that job 1000 times easier.

He had seen online a system for a DIY low-expansion foam that you can blow into existing walls to insulate. Do you know anything about this? According to him, this works well for existing plaster and lathe walls. Just a couple of small drilled holes for inserting the tube and it will fill in throughout the existing bat insulation.

Can't say I have and I'm trying to figure out how such a thing could possibly work. About the only thing that will go around bat insulation is air. Foam would just stick to it. Without being able to see where this stuff is going, you won't know how well it filled in. And having used the canned stuff around windows, door and pipes, it doesn't go far before it starts backing up so it would have to be done with a LONG tube which is pushed all the way to the top/bottom and backed out as the foam is released. You would still have the problem of not knowing how well it is filling in if you can't see it even if the wall cavity is totally empty.

Now, if this house is the age I am guessing, especially if it is lathe and plaster on the inside, there are no fiberglass bats in the wall and the house is balloon framed (*). If there is insulation, it was blown in from the outside through holes drilled through the siding and plugged.

(*) meaning, the wall cavity goes from the sill plate to the top plate with no intervening blockage. Not allowed any more because a fire that gets in the wall downstairs will go straight up the side and the whole place goes up.

Drats, an here I though I could pay my way with food and gardening!

With a little guidance, I'd probably be pretty good at fixing 160+ year old houses. And Dad is gonna teach how to weld, soon, I can help with that! Then again, let's not get carried away here. This is a house an my experience is mostly with chicken coops and rabbit hutches.

Haha, I bet we are related in some way! I've found family members of mine in all sorts of places. The Dominican Republic, New Jersey, Spain, and I think there are a few in Ireland. Who is to say I didn't find one in Vermont while browsing through chicken forums, haha!

Hey, I'm just putting out some desirable 'extra daughter' skills. I don't expect you to have all of what I need!

Got plenty of garden that needs work and I know you would be helpful in many other ways. Getting a new garden tractor Thursday, the old one just isn't worth fixing any more. Plenty to keep a motivated girl busy.

Not sure how well a south Texas chica will handle snow and sub zero F temperatures though. You might be a 'fair weather' daughter, around only spring through fall.

My maternal Grandmother was born in Barcelona, my paternal grandmother just outside Pamplona and my paternal grandfather in the province of Leon. All in the 1890's. That should give you a place to start finding our 'family ties'

Wow, never heard that about the leaves from the red maples being toxic to horses. With all the horse pastures with maple trees in them that can be found where I grew up, you would think that would be a commonly known fact. Well, thinking on it, most of the maples in the area I grew up are the sugar maples, which, according to the article I read, is not as big of a problem. Never heard of anyone having a horse die from eating maple tree leaves, but it does sound like it is mostly a problem with wilted or dried leaves. Filed that info away for the future. I was thinking of planting some maples along the property line the neighbor bought and is going to put his horse pasture. Not doing that now.

This site will help you determine if you have red maple trees or not. It has really good color pictures of the leaves for comparison.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/06-109.htm

Personally, I wouldn't cut all the maples down, you may be able to solve the problem through management.
The major threat is from wilted or partially dried maple leaves. So, if a branch is damaged or broken off and the leaves wilt, remove it from the horses reach. Maybe set up a "safe pasture" where all the red maples are removed so in the fall you can pasture them in an area where they can't get to the falling leaves. Mow the areas where the leaves accumulate to chop them up and migrate them to the soil level where the horses won't be able to eat them.
Plant alternative trees in the areas with the red maples, so when the new trees get big enough to provide shade, you can remove the red maples.

Good luck

OK, I don't have horses, but like Sheila said, horses and maples have been on this continent together for a hundreds and hundreds of years. I don't think cutting down the trees is necessary nor advisable. Takes DECADES for a maple to get big. Check around with others in your area that have both maples and horses.

I think that helps them stay warmer in winter than a single row of roosts might.

Winter
Cold
Sherwood, OR

For those that are new to the porch, or missed the connection, Leslie lives < 10 miles from my Dad. My daughters and I are looking forward to visiting both of them in THREE WEEKS!

****, I have a lot to do before we pack up and fly out!

I wish I was more help....and I hope I haven't been too graphic, but it sounds like you are worried and I thought that our experience might ease your mind a little.

I think you are straight up and on target Blooie. Your comments were informational for those of us, and I assume that is MOST of us, who have never had to deal with anything similar. This very sad situation is not one where there are shades of gray. Choosing among the options will be hard and whatever decision is made, it will be the right one for the family. The outcome, with respect to the baby, will not be changed.

Bruce