Time goes by...

Friday, 12 March 2021. I created this blog in 2009 with the purpose of talking about my life on this little farm. I'm not sure why I stopped posting. Lots have happened since my last post in 2013 (which was still a draft, so It shows as published today). I will probably add more posts about certain events, but I will try to do a quick update. We have had many animals come and go on this little farm. I lost 3 dogs within 6 months of each other. Jessie, Bailey and Rose. They were the best farm dogs and companions. They followed me everywhere on the farm, including the woods out back. Never ran off, never bothered the chickens and gave me the comfort of knowing I was protected. We ended up getting another dog, Louise (LuLu) that needed to be rehomed. She is a sweet dog, but not a farm dog. She will go after the chickens and turkeys. She caught one and killed it. Because of that, she is only allowed off leash in the fenced back yard first thing in the morning before I let the birds out, and in the evening after I secure the birds for the night. Any other time, she has to be on a leash. It really defeats the purpose of having a dog to watch over me while I work outside. In addition to LuLu, we have 9 cats. Most of the cats were former feral cats. They have all been spayed/neutered. We used to have ducks, but they just made such a mess, so we rehomed them. We had guineas for awhile, but my husband hated the noise they made, so we rehomed them. We had qual and rabbits for awhile. Currently, we have several chickens, 2 turkeys, 2 horses and a mule. Since my last post, I lost my Mother unexpectedly in March 2015. That was the worst time in my life. I miss her every day and still sometimes think to call her, but remember that I can't. I regret that I had no video's of her to watch and hear her voice. Everyone said I sounded just like her. I also lost my Uncle Jack, Cousin Tom, Uncle Richard, and Aunt Phyllis. In January 2020, I lost my sister and her husband to a house fire, and on 31 December 2020, I lost my brother. Too much loss of family. So many regrets. So many lost opportunities. I have gained a daughter, Amanda, when she married my son, Aaron. They have made me a Grandma, with the birth of their son, Landen in 2019. He is so amazing, like his parents. I have 2 children left at home. Nic graduated High School last year and Emily is a Junior in High School. As you know, our country started shutting down March 2020 due to the Corona Virus (COVID-19). People were scared and started stocking up on supplies and quaranteening at home. Businesses closed, schools closed, the world almost closed. So many people died. Kids, like Nic, missed out on the special events of their senior year. Nic didn't mind as much as most, since Nic is not a people person and doesn't like crowds. Emily missed seeing her friends and performing in the school plays. Most schools started the 2020-2021 school year with all virtual classes. Just a few weeks ago, Emily started a hybrid schedule that allows her to stay virtual M-W and be in school Thursday and Friday. Though she managed well doing all virtual, she was happy to be able to attend in person 2 days a week. I have no idea how her senior year will be. I know there's been lots more, but I will restart my posting with this one. Stay tuned.

Where does the time go?

2013: It's been awhile since I've posted anything here. It's not that I didn't have anything to post, I just get caught up in life like most people. My kids are getting bigger, the farm is getting bigger (at least when it comes to the critters we have), and the days, weeks, months and years seem to be flying by. There are so many things I have planned to do. I really want to take the time to document some of them here. I will post most of the farm related things on my other blog, I don't get many chances to leave the farm, but recently I got a chance to take my girls with me to visit my Aunt Maxine in WV. My Mom had been there for a couple of weeks visiting as well. It was a longer drive than I anticipated since I took the scenic by-ways route (won't do that again). I really enjoyed my time at my Aunt/Uncle's place. When I was a kid, their place was a self-sufficient farm, complete with cows, a horse or two, goats, chickens, pigs, large garden, and fields of corn. They are no longer able to run such a place, so what's left is mainly the memories. Wonderful memories of visiting on weekends and during the summer. We spent time sitting on the porch talking and watching the hummingbirds fight over the feeder. We drove into town and had lunch. We drove across the bridge connecting WV and Ohio so the girls to "touch the Ohio ground" and walk down to the Ohio river. Drove by a beautiful house we had seen years before on a previous visit. It was for sale at the time and had the most amazing multi-level yard. The house was at the base of a hill. As you walk up the steps, you come to a flat garden area. Walk up more steps to another garden area. There must have been 6 levels. At the top level, you can see over the house and see the Ohio river. Just beautiful. The last full day of our visit, we walked down to the creek and though my Mom, my Aunt and Emily (my youngest daughter, age 9) decided that was far enough, Sarah (my 11 year old daughter) and I decided to continue our walk up to the top of the hill. We made it to the top and was able to see for miles all around. I did a 360 video of the scenery and imagined having a farm house sitting up there. To be able to sit on the porch and look out on the beautiful countryside would be amazing. Coming back down the hill, I took mainly the game trails. Sarah was concerned about us getting lost, but I told her to trust me and sure enough, we made it back down to the creek. Sarah was very happy to know we didn't get lost out there. The best part about that day was when, on the way back up the path to the house, Sarah took my hand and said she loved me. Wish I had that whole experience on film to watch over and over. I hated to leave, but my Mom traveled back to Virginia with us and stayed for a few days before heading back home to Louisiana.