We live in the forest and with that always comes the risk of fire. This year has been more tense than other years with the severe draught. The King Fire blew this direction and because we are a one way in and out road we were asked to evacuate.
My worst case senerios were laid to rest in that we had time. We spent Tuesday evening moving animals and had all of Wednesday to pack valuables and get out. That means 23 alpacas, 40+ chickens and ducks, 5 geese, 3 guinea hens, 12 rabbits, 2 LGD's, 7 puppies, and one hatchling duck and really good friends with trailers to help you move it all. Really, really, really good friends.
We bugged out for ten days and were guests at one my really good friends. It was, as we had no choice, a lovely vacation. My friend put us up in style and was a generous hostess. I got to be away from home with the comfort of my animals near by. We count ourselves extremely lucky.
The firefighters, dozen workers, and police/sheriffs all worked diligently. They not only kept the fire at bay but protected our homes from those that would have taken advantage of our absence.
It's been a few weeks now of being home. Still putting things back where they belong. Even once we were allowed back they were still working on containment leaving a still nervous energy just under the surface. Only a week later we had some Yahoo arsonist lighting fires up the freeway by Applegate. Seeing the smoke clouded rise from the other side of the canyon will make your stomach clench.
It takes time for your mind to wrap around the woulda-shoulda-coulda's and for all that I held it together for the animals and the family my body let me know on its own that it was stressed and it only now feels like things are settling down. Life is rocking back to normal. The season is changing and that helps too.
With the seasons change comes all the lovely fall hustle and bustle. Fire wood, canned fruit, and warm stew.
Sasha had puppies in late August. This time around things are much smoother than last year. Seven healthy pups! We will be keeping two as replacement guard dogs as Alexi and Sasha are seven this year! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was bringing them home as pups.
I count my many blessings as I write this. This year has brought me closer to my friends and brought new friends in my life. Sometimes I think this is as good as I could ask for but then something or someone comes along and makes it even better. One of these things is my children. Everyday they bring me joys that I didn't know yesterday. They were real troopers through the whole evacuation. They worked just as hard as everyone else even through the uncertainty of wondering if there would be home to come back to. Proud just doesn't seem to do justice to describe how I feel about them.
As the temperatures change cooler, imagine me with my steamy coffee and my feet treadling my spinning wheel. This is the season I revel in. There's no place like home!
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Dear El Dorado County
The El Dorado County Assesors Office needed to keep its abnormally large nose out of my blog and start paying attention to running its own business. There's nothing here. If you tax me more than I make in a year I will call it quits, go out of business and you will get nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Homesteading is not for the Ikea Dependant
Homesteading is not for the Ikea dependent.
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale. Pursued in different ways around the world — and in different historical eras — homesteading is generally differentiated from rural village or commune living by isolation (either socially or physically) of the homestead.
Homesteading will not give you all the pieces you need to build the perfect farm. You will need to use your common sense and creativity and from that will come a pride that will supersede anyone wanting to look down their nose at you because your chicken coop isn't quaint and cute. Your chicken coop will be predator proof and your style of ranching will be unique to your climate. Do not be discouraged, you are breaking the mould, doing something no one else could do because they didn't have bits and pieces laying around. You are homesteading.
I have had the privilege of visiting many ranches over the last few months. One of the most outstanding things I find about each one is how they make things work. It doesn't matter that you don't have the latest and greatest from Crate and Barrel or the most brand new gadget from Martha Stewart. Homesteaders have the greatest talent for looking around and seeing what's on hand to get the job done. They waste nothing. Everything has a new purpose when it's done with its old life.
This is not a life for one who is dependent on having all the parts handed to them with a picture by picture guide to assemble and directions on how to use it. This is a life for the Lego "master builders" who can look at what's on hand and make something out of it. Why do we do this? Well, usually it's because all our money is sunk into feeding our livestock so we can't afford to buy the latest and greatest. But there are lots of factors. We also take pride in what we sweat and toil over. We often build it better than Made In China. Our ideas are more suited to the individual needs of our ranch. It means that we use hog panels for more than just hogs, bathtubs for things other than baths, and pallets for, well, everything. It means that all that we do might not be picture perfect but it is real. We aren't looking to get our picture in Better Homes and Gardens though we would be stink'n proud if we were featured in Backwoods Magazine because for us, that's real.
I walked out my door today on a hunt for material that could be used to fence in some ducklings that are not quite feathered out yet. As I walked down the drive I am surrounded but the things I love. Ducks, pigs, rabbits, chickens, the geese greet me as I walk by, the dogs wag their tails and the alpacas look up from their recline as they chew their cud. "This is the life!" I think to myself. It is not easy, it does not save me any money, but it gives me a quality of life that can't be compared. I know other people only look into our life and see the bottom line or they see a ranch with (dis)organized clutter. It's more than just the good feeling of raising your own food, it's enjoying the animals that bring us laughter in their antics as well. It's the manure that to someone else is just poop but for us it's the life of the soil that brings forth good food. It's not that we don't value the bottom line it's that we realize that money is just a stepping stool for getting to what is really important, enjoying life.
Go outside and look around. Are you keeping up with your neighbors? Or are you keeping up with your dreams?
Friday, April 25, 2014
Homeschool Lessons for the Parent
I remember my misgivings when I first decided to homeschool. Could I keep up? What lessons would I forget? What about the subjects I wasn't proficient enough to teach? But the pros outweighed the cons and I pushed through. I opted for a charter school that sent a teacher to my house every 20 days. I felt that this was a good safety net. And so here I am 10 years later. I have pulled my oldest from the charter school but my other two still participate. The pros still outweigh the cons. I am not any more proficient at the subjects I was worried about when my oldest was 5 than I am now and he is 15 but the Internet and the library are awesome resources. Here are some of the lessons I have learned along the way:
Keeping up is not the goal, keeping consistant is. If you are consistant with the reading, writing, and arithmetic, you will keep up. In fact you will likely surpass in many ways. Just keep at it. I work at school all year long. There are many reasons for this. One is, if I stop for too long it's too hard to get them back in the groove. That does not mean that we never stop. Lots of little breaks keep us from burn out but even during the summer months, at least once a week, we are working at something. It's not really that much of a stretch. We are homeschooling, and we are on a ranch, daily work happens. There is always that day where they are driving you to distraction, so I give them an assignment. They are occupied, and there is peace.
Of course there are lessons we forget. Think about all the things you didn't learn in traditional public school. They didn't have it all either. The difference is that I am with my kids more than most parents with kids enrolled in mortar and brick school. We listen to a wide variety of audio books in the car and when subjects come up, we stop and talk about them. You can't do this if you aren't with them.
Of course there are lessons we forget. Think about all the things you didn't learn in traditional public school. They didn't have it all either. The difference is that I am with my kids more than most parents with kids enrolled in mortar and brick school. We listen to a wide variety of audio books in the car and when subjects come up, we stop and talk about them. You can't do this if you aren't with them.
That leads me to books. Yes. Books are the key. Lots of them, all of them. The first task I set out with all my kids was to teach them to read and them give them the love of reading. This is key. My goal is not to teach them everything but to give the the skills to learn everything they want. Show them how to find the information and make sure that the interest that they are showing for that subject gets thorouly explored. Now we have learned about that subject, retained that subject, and learned that we don't have to wait to have information handed to us on a platter but we can go find it for ourselves. This lends itself to every other subject. It doesn't matter that I\'m not great at math and science because my kids can now go read the lessons and figure it out for themselves. I cannot think of a better skill to pass on.
Classics are required reading and then the fluffier books get interspersed to keep the love of reading fresh. I don't see fluffy books as fluff though. There is a lot of great reading out there and all of it increases their vocabulary, imagination, and helps appreciate the older books. All three of my kids are usually listening to an audio book, have books on their iPods and a hard bound copy of something for when electronics are not allowed. Reading is key. Reading the older books introduce that our language evolves and the vocabulary is so rich. This pretty much negates the need for spelling words. Oh yes, by reading they are learning spelling because they are seeing those words over and over again.
Make your kids work. If they ask you a question make them go look up the answer. You are not the answer machine. If they go look for the answer that information will stick with them better and you have reinforced the skill to go find answers.
My oldest is now helping with his younger siblings school work. This has been instrumental too. He now sees why I pushed and fussed about showing his math work and all those grammer lessons are being reinforced. He is also more patient about explaining to his siblings why we show work. They see him have to do it and they are less resistant to it. Yes, let them help.
When they are dragging their feet through a subject be ready to change course and do what does interest them. (this does not apply to math) If they are not interested they are not really learning, you are wasting your time. That doesn't mean you don't do that subject it just means you need to change the lesson. Not interested in middle ages? Ask them what part of history would they like to study and use that as a jumping point. Trust that as history progresses, as their personal reading carries them on, middle ages will come back up with a renewed interest and learning will happen. That science lesson about weather has them staring out the window? Change the tactic. Time to learn about the Wright brothers and now wind current takes on a different meaning.
Don't sell yourself short on those bad days. By the very nature of homeschooling your kids are more likely to ask questions and be more inquisitive than a counter part that has been trained that asking a question might make them seem dumb or call unnecessary attention to someone feeling shy. This means that even on bad days, your kids are learning.
Other important lessons I learned: screen time should be limited, food should be healthy. Yep. No sugary snacks. No wondering into the pantry when you feel peckish. It's an easy pit to fall in when you are home all the time. It distracts from getting work done and establishes bad habits. If they are "starving" there is fruit but otherwise lunch is a firm 1:00 appointment with few exceptions.
Screen time is limited to 2 hours in the evening and only if the school work and behavior warrants such a priviledge. That is any screen time, TV, iPod, computer. If it has a screen and it\'s being used for entertainment it is limited. I even have an alarm set on my electronic device to make sure I am consistant about making sure that at 9:00 all devices are turned off and on the charger. The charger is in my room so no cheating. For the times that a computer is needed for research, cd roms, and typing papers, obviously this does not apply but it is monitored. Why? Why am I so strict about this? Because it changes their behavior. There is a definite corilation between how much screen time and snack foods they have and the way they behave. More of the latter and I have more fights, more disrespectful verbage, and just general anger. When I limit these things they are more focused, and better able to make good choices when they respond to me and each other. It's magic. It also means that when they finish their work and they ask for iPods, etc and I say no, that when I look for them they are engaged in building forts, playing board games, outside playing, or reading a favorite book. Oh yes, I am a mean mom and I do not hand out instant entertainment when I hear "I'm bored."
Let me tell you what I have really learned that may surprise a few that are just starting out. If you are constantly trying to keep up with State Standard school protocol, you are failing your children. Why did you start this journey? Go back to the beginning. Are you doing this so that they can turn out just like all the other kids? Or did you have something better in mind for your kid? A life with more cerebral activity as well as the freedom to just be the person they were meant to be and not what peers and society pressure them to be. Right? There is no doubt in my mind that my children would be different people if they were in a public school setting. There would be more bitter, more anger. The creativity would be stifled because someone would tell them that what they were doing, thinking, was weird. The availability to express those thoughts, drawings, music, would be pushed off possibly forever.
My kids are not all bound for college. This is a fact. I know this. Rather than force them into an education that will not serve them I am learning how to make sure that no matter where life carries them they are capable of educating themselves to suit their needs. Then, at some point if their path leads them to extended education, I know they will have the tools for success.
Make your kids work. If they ask you a question make them go look up the answer. You are not the answer machine. If they go look for the answer that information will stick with them better and you have reinforced the skill to go find answers.
My oldest is now helping with his younger siblings school work. This has been instrumental too. He now sees why I pushed and fussed about showing his math work and all those grammer lessons are being reinforced. He is also more patient about explaining to his siblings why we show work. They see him have to do it and they are less resistant to it. Yes, let them help.
When they are dragging their feet through a subject be ready to change course and do what does interest them. (this does not apply to math) If they are not interested they are not really learning, you are wasting your time. That doesn't mean you don't do that subject it just means you need to change the lesson. Not interested in middle ages? Ask them what part of history would they like to study and use that as a jumping point. Trust that as history progresses, as their personal reading carries them on, middle ages will come back up with a renewed interest and learning will happen. That science lesson about weather has them staring out the window? Change the tactic. Time to learn about the Wright brothers and now wind current takes on a different meaning.
Don't sell yourself short on those bad days. By the very nature of homeschooling your kids are more likely to ask questions and be more inquisitive than a counter part that has been trained that asking a question might make them seem dumb or call unnecessary attention to someone feeling shy. This means that even on bad days, your kids are learning.
Other important lessons I learned: screen time should be limited, food should be healthy. Yep. No sugary snacks. No wondering into the pantry when you feel peckish. It's an easy pit to fall in when you are home all the time. It distracts from getting work done and establishes bad habits. If they are "starving" there is fruit but otherwise lunch is a firm 1:00 appointment with few exceptions.
Screen time is limited to 2 hours in the evening and only if the school work and behavior warrants such a priviledge. That is any screen time, TV, iPod, computer. If it has a screen and it\'s being used for entertainment it is limited. I even have an alarm set on my electronic device to make sure I am consistant about making sure that at 9:00 all devices are turned off and on the charger. The charger is in my room so no cheating. For the times that a computer is needed for research, cd roms, and typing papers, obviously this does not apply but it is monitored. Why? Why am I so strict about this? Because it changes their behavior. There is a definite corilation between how much screen time and snack foods they have and the way they behave. More of the latter and I have more fights, more disrespectful verbage, and just general anger. When I limit these things they are more focused, and better able to make good choices when they respond to me and each other. It's magic. It also means that when they finish their work and they ask for iPods, etc and I say no, that when I look for them they are engaged in building forts, playing board games, outside playing, or reading a favorite book. Oh yes, I am a mean mom and I do not hand out instant entertainment when I hear "I'm bored."
Let me tell you what I have really learned that may surprise a few that are just starting out. If you are constantly trying to keep up with State Standard school protocol, you are failing your children. Why did you start this journey? Go back to the beginning. Are you doing this so that they can turn out just like all the other kids? Or did you have something better in mind for your kid? A life with more cerebral activity as well as the freedom to just be the person they were meant to be and not what peers and society pressure them to be. Right? There is no doubt in my mind that my children would be different people if they were in a public school setting. There would be more bitter, more anger. The creativity would be stifled because someone would tell them that what they were doing, thinking, was weird. The availability to express those thoughts, drawings, music, would be pushed off possibly forever.
My kids are not all bound for college. This is a fact. I know this. Rather than force them into an education that will not serve them I am learning how to make sure that no matter where life carries them they are capable of educating themselves to suit their needs. Then, at some point if their path leads them to extended education, I know they will have the tools for success.
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