Farm Fresh Blog

The rain continues to come down. It has rained since Thursday, and we live in a barndominium, so in short, we live inside a zoo that has cabin fever. Friday night the temperatures dropped thirty degrees, so we are now in the 30's and low 40's with a cold wind and rain. Even the carpet-coated Navajo Churro sheep decided to come inside the barn. The dairy goats think they're in hell. They huddle together and pray for Santa to bring them a space heater. The Livestock Guardian Dogs are still in the barn with the sheep, but the Border Collies have decided that sleeping in a crate in the muck room is better than staying in the barn.  We are on Day 3, and even the regular House Dogs are bored with it.

I feel sorry for the big livestock, the cattle and the horses. They are cold and miserable. If they stay on the barn side of the creek, they have hay and syrup tubs, and the relative shelter of thick forest.  Yesterday all the cattle were on this side of the creek, but it appears that the horses got caught on the other side of the creek when the water came up. They didn't come in yesterday for breakfast. Or for dinner. We worried, but we don't want to call them. If we call them, for sure Montoya will try to forge the raging creek to come and I don't want him caught in that current. They have grass to eat, a rocky bluff for a wind break, and much thicker forest on that side. They are safe as long as they don't try to cross the creek.

I look forward to getting the pens behind the barn covered so that in addition to sheep and goats, I can bring the horses into the barn area for protection from the weather. Most of the time they are happier outside, but this is a sneak peek of the real winter that's coming, and I'd be happier if they were locked safely behind bars with a big pile of hay.

Although we are stuck inside, we've cooked enough food for an army. Our Thanksgiving plans went off-rail because the rain came in that day. Fearing we would get caught on the other side of rising floodwaters, inside of enjoying the holiday with friends, we opted to stay at home with our furry family where it was safe.  Other Half cooked a ham. Because we had plenty of time, and nothing much else to do, he then cooked a brisket. We gorged ourselves and enjoyed the National Dog Show on television. Since our electrictiy tends to go on the blink, I wanted plenty of good food cooked so that even without power, we could heat it up on the stove.  No one's going hungry around here.  Thus far, the power has stayed on. I now have a refrigerator stocked full of easy to heat, yummy meals anyway though.

The woodburning stove is keeping it toasty warm in here, fooling the cats into thinking they might want to go outside until you open the door and show them the weather. They stare into the rain for a moment before saying, "Then again, maybe I don't."

Like our zoo, we're geting a bit of cabin fever too. Locked inside with this many animals in the rain gives us a peek of what Noah's Ark must have been like. There are breaks in the rain when I can take them outside to potty, but they are shortlived. We return to the warmth of the house and then spend more time cleaning up ourselves and them. Wet clothes and wet dogs. Lovely combination. Thank God for stained concrete floors.

Thank God for lots of things. When you are locked inside on Thanksgiving, there is a lot of time to think about your blessings. I caught myself yelling at the television set on Thursday when a reporter covering retail sales said, "The real reason for this holiday is so people can enjoy time with family."  Really? Really? Did his parents teach him that?  I know his heart might have been in the right place, but he missed the target.  Someone else remarked that they loved Thanksgiving because it was a secular holiday meant to be enjoyed with family and friends. Really? Did I miss something here?

The name "Thanksgiving" implies that we are THANKING Someone for something given to us. Yes, we are thankful for friends and family, but thankful to whom? Let us not get so turkey drunk in the madness of holiday shopping that we forget the real reason for this season is to pause and give thanks to God for all we have.

One of my favorite sayings is this: "What if you woke up tomorrow and only had the things you thanked God for last night."

 Think about it.