More Flooding

Here's a peek at how high the water rose in our pond. The dock would have floated away had my quick-thinking husband not secured it with fencing posts. At least the fish are biting well...

Flooding

We had record rainfall this weekend in western KY and TN. And all the rivers and creeks are overflowing. You see, our soil is mostly clay on top of rock, giving way to caves and sink holes underneath. There's not much absorbing power there. And once the ground is saturated, the water must go somewhere. Thankfully, our house is on high ground, but I pity all the people who have lost their homes, cars, and crops-- and some have even lost their lives. This video was taken of the flooding Little River about 200 yards from our property. As I am filming, I'm standing on the edge of the original bridge (which would have been demolished by the water by now). The "new" bridge is much higher and stronger. We had to drive into Clarksville yesterday evening, and just as we crossed into Tennessee we saw a full rainbow. God knew that we needed a reminder that there will never be a second worldwide flood. (Genesis 9:11-17)

A Farm Day

This is supposed to be a "hobby" farm, but some days it just takes over. Like yesterday we awoke to a phone call from a neighbor saying that our animals had escaped from our field into his. It turned out to only be one animal, Bunny. But it took a good chunk of the morning to retrieve her, and then fix the spot in the fence that failed to restrain her. (Bunny is the gray llama on the right.)
Then, way behind schedule, I went to the barn to milk the goat, and found a visitor in our sycamore tree.

Of course everyone had to come and see, including Summer and Sunshine, our "twin" cats.

A little while later, we went to an Amish dairy farm nearby and purchased some Jersey/Holstein bull calves. We will bottle feed them twice a day until they are weaned, then they will become steers raised for their meat. The thing about bottle-fed calves is that they will mob you if they can and slobber all over you looking for food. Farm Days can be fun!

Doing it God's Way

It really irks me whenever I see the title of something that claims to be "God's Way", like "Raising Kids God's Way" or "Managing Your Money God's Way" or "Sweeping the Floor God's Way", or whatever. This immediately implies that if the reader does not implement the methods contained within, they are doing contrary to God's will. If you have created a method based on Bible-harvested principles, then say so, and please share it with the world. But to say that your method is God's Way is presumptuous and egoistic. Because, in actuality, God's ways are shockingly different from our own. He draws straight lines with crooked sticks, creates beauty out of garbage, and slays his only true son in order that worms like us can be his adopted children. God's ways blow our minds.

Creations from an old sweater

It was a beautiful cotton knit sweater, but it was big and bulky and I almost never wore it. So, inspired by an ad in the Pottery Barn catalog for a "sweater knit" pillow cover, I cut it apart and made one myself.

I was so happy with the result that I kept going. The sleeves of the sweater made perfect doll dresses. Here is Ella Mae modeling for me. I attached the straps to the front behind a faux leather button. They snap in place behind the shoulders in the back. Then I made another strap from the scraps of knit and sewed it onto a leather coin purse that happened to be just the right size for an 18 inch doll. I think she looks pretty chic, don't you?

A Strange Conversation

It's really cold here and the wild critters are looking for sanctuary. I got up during the night to get a drink of water when a mouse ran across the kitchen floor. I gave a little scream. (I wasn't afraid of the mouse, just surprised by the mouse.) He was behind the stove by this time, so I went back to bed. My husband was slightly awake, and this was our conversation word for word (I'm not making this up)

Me: Did you hear that scream?
Him: Uh-huh
Me: It was a mouse.
Him: A mouse screamed?
Me: No, I screamed because there was a mouse in the kitchen.
Him: What was a mouse doing in the kitchen?
Me: Um... looking for snacks?
Both of us: ZZZZZZZZ.......

Why my kids will not get the flu shot

Normally I reserve this blog for personal, cute, farm related subjects, but I feel compelled this morning to share some research I have been doing regarding the swine flu vaccine. I read in the paper this morning that out of the 22 million estimated cases of swine flu in the U.S., 4000 or so people have died. If you run the numbers on that, it means that a person would have a .o18% chance of dying were they to get the swine flu. Look closely at that number. It does NOT say 18% or 1.8%, but .018% Compare that to the figures for the regular seasonal flu that goes round every year at .094%. Again, that means that less than .1%, that's one-tenth of one percent, of people who get the flu will die from it. And the chance of dying from the "regular" flu is much higher than that of the "swine" type. Add to that the fact that most people who die from flu have an underlying condition that weakens their bodies ability to fight viral disease.
Now consider the vaccination itself. Its production was rushed, it has not been properly tested, and it contains ingredients that I would never willingly place into my body or that of my family. Check this link to a list of the ingredients in these shots and you will see such chemicals as mercury and formaldehyde.
www.preventdisease.com/news/09/103009_vaccine_sterility_immunotoxicity_neurotoxicity.shtml
So, as for me and my house, we will trust the Creator of our bodies and our immune systems.