Whose idea was it to run around in steel-toed muck boots!?!

So yes steel-toed mud boots are useful for working with cows, sheep, wheelbarrows, lumber, etc. but when Steve needs a tool right away from the tool room, or when Gloria needs the bucket from the cows to go to the chickens, or when a new calf is born in the far pasture, or when the little lamb, Dopey, gets out of the pen and you have to go chase her down, at these times heavy muck boots are not ideal to go dashing around. But the thick sticky mud all over is a matter that forces me to wear them constantly. My legs are so sore and heavy.
So this week started off with a good Monday Meeting, I got assigned evening animal chores for the next month or two, consisting of bringing them out of the pastures to the barn and feeding them, and milking the cows of chores. We the got busy working on our muscles and tans by hoeing 3 beds for vegetables to be transplanted in to, but then it rained…
We had a class of 25 kids came to stay for 3 days. We did activities with them, like milk the cows, herd the animals, split fire wood, feed animals, dig a ditch, and build compost piles. Somehow in-between all that, we still prepared potting soil for flats and sowed broccoli. I pulled my shoulder on Wednesday that really hurt! It was my right shoulder but Gloria gave me a cream called, Arnica Ointment, and it fixed me up pretty good!
We also sprayed micro-organisms on the soil to prepare it for the best production/transplanting success. We transplanted lettuce and choy, and sowed spinach and brassica greens (mustard, kale, and arugula) it got really windy while we were working out in the field and I got a little wind burned, so we were all rosy-cheeked and sore muscles.
Then Saturday after all our chores (milking 3 cows) we went to Willits to watch ‘Hunger Games’!!!! it felt weird going out to the city and to the theater. We are pretty isolated in Covelo and on the Farm, so this social interaction was a rare treat. (I loved the Hunger Games!!!! Must get the DVD!!!)
My travels to church was an adventure today… so, I hydroplaned and spun out into the mountain side. Miraculously I didn’t launch myself off the cliff, and didn’t flip my truck over but somehow I ended up the side of a soft muddy embankment, five feet from a turn-off. I waved dawn the next car. It was a nice man and his young son, who gave me a ride to the chapel in Willits. The Priesthood men quickly got a team together to pull my truck out of the mud and cart it away to Covelo to repair it. Luckily there was minimal damage to my truck and no damage to me at all. God has granted me another day, a humble reminder to depend on Him always, be grateful, and make everyday count. (No matter how much it pains me to run across the Farm in steel-toed mud boots!)

The Farm

So after much work and receiving my driver’s license in February and finally buying a truck, I stuck out on my first state-side adventure on March 14th! After a 1 ½ days drive in my dumpy old truck with my brother, Cody, and my Dad, I was happy to finally arrive on the farm. Where, I quickly jumped into action of mucking out sheep stalls. I scrapped them so clean they were like new, and I fixed a gate. Steve, the owner, said “I know there was good use for you, it takes skill to clean this with such efficiency. Not everyone has that.”
Then the next day was filled with weeding tiny little weeds out of the seedling flats. Then we were all called into the barn to dock and vaccinate the lambs. I let my two compadres, Sarah and Gabe, get into that, and mostly watched. They have little to no experience with animals, so I thought it would be good for them. They each did 2 lambs, and then Steve tells me to do the last lamb. So I confidently gave it a Sub-Q shot, then deftly placed the “little green-cheerio” (rubber band) on the tail at the 2nd digit, while making jokes, and taa-daa!!! No problems! I still got it! Thank you, mom, for teaching me all this stuff when I was 12. Now I just need to know the difference between a weed and a seedling… :D
I also got a good kick from a cow. This milk-cow named, Maxine, has just “freshened” (given birth) and has “edema”… I’m not sure what that means but her udder is all swollen and hard and she won’t let her milk down. So we started hot compresses, and I had the idea of using eucalyptus oil to help her relax, and it seemed to work. But in the process of all that and trying to milk her, I got a good kick to the thigh that has left a big bruise. But our efforts were rewarded with the incredible recovery of the cow!
I really like being here except that it’s COLD!!! I’m talking snow! But it’s great cuz I get to do what I love, learn more about my talents, and help others obtain good healthy food!!! :D