Spring Has Sprung

The first week of spring was actually a bit chillier than the last month of winter, but spring has arrived.  I have already received my first rainwater rinse of this new season and, as always; it was refreshing.  The kids and lambs are quite energetic and noisy.  The chickens have stopped slacking in egg production and the perennials are dormant . . . no more.

A couple of years ago I tried "something" with a natural raised bed of strawberries.  Basically, it was three rows of straw bales with bedding fabric between filled with top soil and strawberries.  When overnight temps this past week were forecasted to dip below freezing, I headed out to cover what was green.  To my delight, the strawberries have really spread and are thriving well.  There were even a few blooms already.  Every year, I attempt to try something new.  This year is no exception.  I'm attempting to raise my own non-GMO wheat.  Stay tuned for further updates.  Now that the ducks have a larger pool, I've repurposed their old kiddie pool to sit on an old wrought iron table for the ultimate in a raised strawberry bed.

The peach tree was loaded with blossoms and appears to have weathered the nippy nights quite well.

Sunshine is just as spunky as she can be . . .   while Darla is just a tad aloof, but learning her way around he milking parlor.

 
The newest addition to the place, my small herd of Barbados sheep.  Selma and Blanche are in front looking at the camera and Freida is all the way to back with her twin ram lambs in the center of the photo.  Some of this year's kids have already been sold.

Springtime in the country is just wonderful.

Tis the Season

There is just so much to learn about the significance of the seasons, according to our Creator's calendar.  Granted, even those of us who are claiming to follow it, can't seem to agree on some specifics, but the general laws of nature are consistent.  As is the tradition, the debates rage across social media.  I keep the concealed moon calendar which I believe aligns with 119 Ministries.  That's not the point of this particular post today, however.  This week I've noticed how much I organize the place around the High Holy Days and have given some serious contemplation to the days when the people of YHWH actually gathered in Jerusalem around the Temple.

This year I observed Shemitah, so there was not garden, but in the other six years the harvest is complete in time for Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles.)  The winter supply is preserved and stored and the last of the fresh fruits and veggies make for minimal labor meals through the week of Sukkot.  Also to consider the gathering, there is a great opportunity to work together and share both in the labor and the accomplished results.  We are getting just a taste of what life will be like in the Kingdom.  Since my house is divided, I'm not planning to host a formal Sukkot gathering, but spiritual family is always welcome.  I have been blessed to host a few Sukkot gatherings and of course, I have developed some "traditional" dishes for the occasion.  I know I've mentioned before, this is not doctrine; but my definition of the difference between a regular meal and a feast is extra side dishes and dessert.  Moussaka has been a personal favorite entree for Sukkot for many years now, as it includes most of the last of the veggie harvest and pumpkin spice cake is the dessert.

Another factor I've considered in this timing, is the breeding season of the flocks and herds.  In the spring the milk and eggs are in abundance and the milk is delicious, so there are many milk and egg based dishes through the spring Holy Days.  By fall, the hens have slacked off and the buck scent is heavy, very heavy.  For those of us living off the land, the dishes for the autumn Holy Days are best designed to avoid milk and use minimal eggs.  I think of the ancient Israelites and the many Scriptural references to them as shepherds.  I can only imagine the throngs of people, as well as the seemingly countless animals that would surround Jerusalem in the autumn.  Knowing the way this place smells right now and will for about a month, I'm sure the musky scent of bucks and rams surrounded the city for miles.

I'm looking forward to Sukkot and awakening eye to eye with the herd.  This is only a theory, but having several herds come together through breeding season may have also kept the bloodlines from becoming too inbred while the flocks and herds increased.  Of course, obedience is the primary reason for observing these feasts, and convenience is not the issue; but it is awesome to note the natural timing of these set apart days.  I don't have a full understanding of the details of Messiah's millennial reign, but I do know the Holy Days are part of the plan.

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.  Zechariah 14:16

The Best Laid Plans

The best laid plans do not always work, because at least in my case, some of my best laid plans do not always align with YHWH's.  The plans of YHWH will always succeed, but I don't always realize His plan on my first attempt, and sadly; in too many cases I've been willing to settle for second best and Alternate Plan B.  I wish that were not the case, and it does happen less frequently than it used to, but this past week has proven to be the case once again.

I've really been struggling for a year now, to get on plan with the herd.  I heard be ready last year, and to get rid of the miniature breeds of goats, which I did.  Building the new herd has not been an easy endeavor.  I have some wonderfully friendly goats, but I've also suffered some losses.  I realize being in a divided house does not bring the blessings that unified obedience does, but this is on me . . .  I believe in retrospect, I was trying to take a short cut and Abba just doesn't do shortcuts, so much.  He does miracles, but He doesn't cut corners.  I tried to have an instant herd, and I got shot out of the saddle on that plan.  Building a herd, means young ones that will be a part of the place for years to come.  That's what I did the last Shemitah and just sold them this past year.

Now, as I survey the herd, my perspective is a bit clearer and much more practical.  The price of livestock is skyrocketing now, and the number of farmers who are not deeply in debt is dropping drastically.  I was actually made aware that a number of farmers not only have a mortgage on the farm, but borrow the money to buy seeds, and banks actually finance the purchase of livestock herds, and repossess them.  This country is so deeply in debt, that even our food is mortgaged long before most folks purchase it with a credit card . . . Okay, end of rant and back to the homestead herd.

Last month I purchased a very nice looking Oberhasli doe with a fine looking young buckling.  Within two weeks, her buckling had been killed and she was just out grazing . . . She never did bellow for him.  That was my first clue.  So, here I am down the buckling I wanted for a herd sire, but she's got milk while I have two bottle kids and two bottle calves.  When I purchased her, I realized she was no spring chicken, but I'd hoped she'd raise the buckling.  When that didn't pan out, I tried to settle for less in the plan, and here's where the hard lesson comes in.  Abba has been working on me for years to stop settling for less than His best.  I take left-overs and seconds in stride and He wants me to stop it . . .That's not to say, I'm going to insist on the best of the best and the most expensive of it all, but I have settled for much less than even average far too many times.

Since I had plenty of hungry mouths that needed milk, I decided to milk her.  I certainly could not let the goat, Esther, is her name; develop udder problems.  She needed milking and I needed the milk.  There was only one problem.  She'd never been in a stanchion, on a milking stand, or milked, and she's probably six to eight years old.  Not to brag here, but I've never met a goat I couldn't stanchion train . . . until now.  I didn't quit at the first sign of difficulty.  Far from that!  I could have sold her at auction, earlier this month, but I wasn't ready to give up yet!  That evening, that very evening upon returning with four new purchases, my patience and endurance with Esther was over.

That lesson took over four weeks to learn, several pounds of grain, plenty of spilled milk, and some dislocated ribs.  As is the case so often, I have high hopes and I want things to work out, but they simply are not meant to be, and I endure and endure and endure until I end up hurt or broken, or . . . stuck!  I like to think I'm learning, but since I continue to have remedial lessons, perhaps I'm not catching on as quickly as I'd like to think I am.  This lesson did come much quicker than some have!  So not only is Esther not a good milk goat, I've been too injured to fully work with the new ones I brought home.  Abba wants so much more for us, than we are willing to settle for!  I'm learning.

Gardening Withdrawal

  

I'm doing my best to keep this in spiritual perspective, but the truth of the matter is, I enjoy gardening.  I didn't realize how much, until this year.  The last Shemitah, my life was in quite a personal crisis, not to mention a tornado, so there was much going on that spring.  As I write this, I am really under conviction that I'm still lacking the proper priority for this observance.

It's of course been a matter of debate for nearly a year now, and not just this year or next, but do we observe outside the "land?"  Then there's the school of thought, it's just a matter of rotating fields or bypassing the land all together and going with aquaponics.  And for those of us outside the land, do we synchronize with the Land of Israel or keep our 7th year of homesteading?  We're people, so of course, there will be at least four perspectives.  Honestly, I've been all over the place with these various perspectives, previously, but my 7th year here aligns with Israel's observance, so I'm going with that.  I've covered this before, but I really feel led to say, I can't say everyone who isn't doing what I'm doing is wrong.
As I have considered the days I usually spend in the garden in the spring, I am hopefully redirecting my focus to Abba's plan for me this year as the land rests.  Even though we humans are from the dust of the earth, I don't think He intends for me to sit idle as the land rests.

Since the passage that addresses the land sabbath also mentions the animals increasing, I'm focusing on the herd this year.  I do remember back in 2008, although I wasn't really sure what I was doing or the timing, how very much I valued that time just out with the herd and flock.  I really do love my critters and enjoy the time I spend with them.  I smile as I consider this past Thursday.  Traditionally, that is a day I spend in the garden.  This year, I found myself sorting through my own herd, shipping a couple to the auction and bringing home a few new ones.  As the land rests, the herd shall increase, YHWH willing.

Introducing Jemimah, Keziah, and Kerem-Hapook

An Answer to Prayer

The way Abba answers prayer is abundantly more than we could ask or imagine.  When praying, I try to keep my wish list short and my listening time on high availability.  I did have a request a few months back that I simply spoke once and went on with life, trusting.  Since this is the year I'm officially building my Jacob's herd, or trying, I have a particular image of what the goats should look like.  Of course, they won't all match, because some should be striped, some spotted, and some mottled or speckled.  The other factor I'm envisioning is a particularly outstanding ear formation.  I'm aiming for a sort of airplane look.  Two breeds have very long ears, like a basset hound, while others have short perky ears.  The combination is simply adorable, with somewhat long ears that stick straight out.  The ears aren't part of the Biblical description, that's just something I like.   Now I'm getting ready to give far  more details than seem necessary.

Buck was a sturdy guy with short perky ears, but I also purchased his crossbred buckling whose mom was a Nubian, so Jr. had the airplane ears.  When I realized Buck would only be good for one breeding season, as he was already getting aggressive with the herd, I asked Abba if He'd cause Della to have a buck.  That was the only time I mentioned it.  Della is primarily Nubian, but she's not purebred.  In raising this herd according to Torah, the first kids of any and all first time mamas belong to Abba, and every tenth one after that.  I have given them in different ways.  Sometimes I provide the meat for a Feast Day and sometimes I have been blessed to gift one to new homesteaders . . . other times, I've sold them to meet a financial ministry need.  This year, I'm naming Bible names, and the only first time mama had twins.  I happened to be right there at delivery, so I know the buck arrived first.  I named him Moses, since he belongs to Adonai.  His sister is of course, Miriam.  

This week has been quite active with new arrivals, and poor Della has looked impending for a couple of weeks now, but there have been five deliveries ahead of her.  Three sets of twins had the new kid count at 8 before Della delivered twins, last evening at dusk.  That made one of them the tenth one, belonging to Abba.  She had two bucks!  One for Abba, one for me.  I asked Him which one was His.  He told me the larger one had arrived first . . .  There's probably not 3 ounces difference in their size, but their markings are distinguishable.  Neither buck is a solid color and both have the great ears!  Not only did He answer my prayer, He did it with a double portion blessing.     

Tending to Emotional Needs

The garden produce doesn't indicate any emotional needs, just water and natural pesticide seems to meet the needs of the plants . . . and picking the produce.  Did you know, plants that produce through a season will slow down if the produce is not harvested regularly?

The herd on the other hand, not only has varying physical needs, but emotional needs, as well.  A situation occurred just a couple of weeks ago that truly could have been tragic.  Most of us know dogs and cats have personalities, but goats do as well.  When Zeke joined the land of Goshen, I put him in the north pasture, but realized very quickly, he needed more company than Babe, one of the guardian dogs.  Since I was drying Gert up, she seemed the obvious choice, so . . . Gert went to the north pasture and she and Zeke became virtually constant companions, but Gert's move left a void.

April 2014

Gert and Jackie had come from the same place last spring, and the people I bought them from, had bought them from the same farm, also.  These gals had been together their entire lives . . . The next day, I noticed Jackie gave significantly less milk.  She'd been grazing, and had a cud, so I went on about my business, thinking she was probably winding down her milk production based upon the breeding season.  The next morning, though, she was laying in the pasture alone and appeared to be moping.  I watched her all day, and she was moping.  She even went and got in one of the sheds on a beautiful breezy day . . . It was then that I remembered the story of her arrival at the last place.  It seems Jackie is rather codependent.

The folks who had sold her, had told quite the tale about Jackie and another goat they had purchased at the time.  It seems they bought three nannies from the same place and Jackie and the other nanny were just bad girls together.  So bad, in fact, the people sold the other one and Jackie never did settle down for them.  She had never been on a lead or a milk stanchion until she came here.  Gert on the other hand was not milked either, but she just has a docile, cooperative way about her, usually . . .  She has her trait as well, but back to Jackie.

When I saw Jackie tuck into the shed and just lay there, I knew something had to change.  So, I "dragged" her out and led her down to the north pasture where Gert was.  She moped around a bit, but by morning she and Gert and Zeke were all within view, and pretty much are always in the same general area.  She snapped out of her doldrums, but her milk supply never returned.  Like all of us, she has her quirks.