Quick Update from the Ark, Rant Likely

Maybe...maybe I'll be able to type something here before being knocked offline by the ghost in our home DSL/phone lines.

It has rained nearly non-stop since mid-June of this year.

I must be the most boring homesteading blogger out here, because we planted nothing this year, have no real progress to report on developing the farm, and I was working exhausting shifts some of the time while simply recuperating during much of the other time.  I enjoyed making the money, was frustrated about seldom if ever seeing my husband due to the opposite schedules, and my housework didn't just get behind, it just became overwhelming.

My knee has not healed beyond being able to support general movement, which is a HUGE improvement over this spring, when I was in bed with it elevated a good bit of the time, and struggling with chronic pain throughout.  The pain now is not acute most of the time, unless I overtax the knee's abilities..meaning I have to refrain from the normal things such as bending, kneeling, squatting, or walking on uneven ground.  UGH.

I've had a few pity parties in the last months, but they don't help :)  I feel like I'm not just leg-handicapped sometimes but with the slowdown on every front because of this SLOWNESS of being able to physically do much, I feel it mentally does me in sometimes.  What CAN I do, what CAN I do??  Well, God's been so good to have allowed me a job assignment that I was able to do well during these months.  I worked 12 hour days, and yes the leg hurt badly at the end of them, but most of the time not to the point I couldn't get it elevated overnight and repeat the next day.  Days off work were spent mostly in bed with it elevated.

Welcome to the world of no health insurance, and not being able to afford it.  It's my reality.  I have no doubt it's other people's as well.

I joined a program called Epiphany through my GP's office that allows me to pay in $83/month for a very inclusive full basic health "coverage" through my doctor's practice.  It works in cooperation with local labs and such for the basics.  It's not insurance, but it insures that I have the availability of 25 office visits a year, all the standard lab tests, and basic care with things such as mammograms and so on during that time.  And $83/month is not easy for us to afford.  Anyone who wants to argue that a much higher percentage of income should be spent on health insurance simply has not done the maths for a lot of families such as ours who just don't have it, work hard anyway, and don't rely on government programs...and probably wouldn't qualify anyway.

Back to home, enough healthcare discussion...

I'm going to pursue the avenue of being a home companion since my prior job description included more lifting and ability to bear weight when helping clients.  I think the pay will come down somewhat, but at this point I'm going to have to do what I can do.

I'm giving myself permission to get this house in not just good working order, but back on its feet again.  When my longer term client moved out of state recently, it left me in a lurch job-wise.  It's not an easy assignment to duplicate...God had just worked it out very well for those 19 months with this particular client.  I'm very very grateful for that.

I hate the physical incapacity for the reason it slows everything down, and it puts more work on my husband's shoulders in areas that used to be no problem for me to do myself.  He's been especially patient...he's pretty laid back most times and he knows how to pace himself.  I'm the one who loved to get a To Do list and knock the sucker out, fast;  he always paces himself and goes much more slowly, but sometimes more steadily than I do.  Sometimes it was incomprehensible to me not to just "get 'er done," because I don't like to have too many loose strings hanging, too many halfway-finished chores or projects.  These days, EVERYthing is characterized by mindnumbing SLOWNESS.  I am now the tortoise, not the hare.  I'm not digging Aesop all that much.  But it is what it is.  That's my mantra these days.  There has to be a lesson in here somewhere, surely.

That said, I think I'm in the wrong "outside" job field.  Closer than I was, though, before.  I should be in a counseling or social work field, be paid to listen and perhaps problem-solve, find constructive ways to face the world and engage creativity or to comfort.  I'll stop there.  It's just I shake my head at the incompetence or just sometimes the ignorance of people in caregiving, healthcare, and helping fields.  Up close, it's alarming.

I'm distressed, but mostly angry (can you tell?) at the refusal of the younger generation of caregivers to actually Give A Bleep.  About anything.  I just deleted an entire paragraph detailing some examples, for the sake of fearing professional repercussions.  See?  I'm not the PC type person.  I much more a self-motivated self-employment person.  I've seen lying at every level, at the expense of the actual patient.  I will elaborate no further, and even this mention may come back on me. Hmmm.  People, there is so much incompetence in elder care, please watch out!

I'd so love to shout, "Done!"   I haven't found another outlet yet to bring in money.  I throw myself into work wholeheartedly.  I hate being undone by poor management, young (or even older) workers who have no more sense than most little children, and by the erosion of any moral standard in their minds by which they operate.

Whooo, this turned into a rant, right ?  I'm now officially a confirmed old fart! ha

I need to catch up here on the blog, need to find enough computer access to fulfill state paperwork that's due for my certification (job), finish some mind-numbingly slowwww (thank you, knee) tasks around here that still have yet to be finished, and catch up on correspondence.  And rest this leg in between.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE being here at home, doing "Home" work.  I haven't touched my herbal studies in so long I'm homesick for it.  Prioritizing means I have to chop off some of the more pressing To Dos in order to make a space for that.  It waits.  I long for it, so it motivates me to get some of this other knocked out.  As the mess is cleared, things are cleaned, and the pace is slower and more deliberate, I find stretching our weekly food a fun challenge, love actually seeing and being around my husband, love the fact I'm not at the whims and dramas of other workers half my age.  I get to study my scriptures daily, get to turn on good music, and can make time to read a good book, or three :-)

Outdoors, all is still neglected, or at least whatever "neglected" is while we huddle in the Ark of our house during these long rains.  The bindweed threatens to overtake one of our islands of loquat trees in the backyard, yet in the mornings I simply love the exuberance of tiny blue morning glory-ish blooms that embrace it in its death hug.  We'll tear it off and dig it up at the roots when there's enough sunshine.  Our confederate jasmine bush became so vigorous with all this rain that it pulled down the two trellises and there's no re-propping them at the moment, due to fire ant infestation all around the ground.  The rains seem to have spread the fire ant population to any clump of vegetation possible, so we can hardly just walk around in the grass outside without being their free food.  They are all over the roots and vegetation of the jasmine, so it's all currently flopped over waiting to be set free.  And I haven't SEEN the farm in MONTHS.  SOOO anticipating finally being there again, even if just for a short while!

Well, there's my nonsensical rant for now.  More actual subjects afoot soon, maybe, if the computer will stay on that long.  I miss writing here!  Please drop me a line and let me know how you are...as I said, our computer/internet access has been severely limited and inaccessible for weeks and weeks.  Mostly all I miss is knowing how all you are, and reading some emails.

I hope your approaching Fall is wonderful!

Hope to be back soon.  Next update will be the woefully delinquent post with pictures, about Dan, the man who builds awesome raised gardens.

Be well!

Shalom from the Ark,

Robbyn and Jack

Crowdfunding for Baby Finn

I love this homesteading community and am very pleased to provide this link to one of our own, Michele from Mystic Mud blog. 
 


Her newborn son was born at 28 weeks and has health issues that put a lot of pressure on the family finances. To know this family, as we have come to through her blog, is to love them.

Thank you for stopping by this website to provide an encouraging comment and perhaps even a financial gift to help ease their way.

This is today's way of coming together from long distances for our neighbors. Thank you, from Jack and myself

Click On This Link

New Old Addition

For some reason my laptop is rebelling and won't allow me to type in the Compose format at all, so I'm typing in the htp page. I'm so over my laptop's finicky personality!! I wish I were smarter in knowing how to clean it up and get it going so that every step did not involve a minutes-long delay frozen in time and space. But I digress! Here is a pic of the old brushcutter we found on craigslist this week on a day when we both had off work and Jack was fighting the good fight in our jungle of a rain-watered lawn gone mad. We need a way to cut a lot thicker brush than just lawn grass, especially out on the farm. We feel blessed to have found this older one made with a German engine and a reputation as a workhorse, if the online reviews and the good word of the seller are any indication. The newer ones were out of our price range by a thousand dollars or more, but with a little TLC we think this one will have many good years left in it, and may outperform some of the newer ones if we're fortunate. Arggghhh. Well, so much for adding another picture! In addition to the defunct laptop, our phone line must be damaged because our DSL reception and phone reception is lousy and therefore the router thingy goes in and out of being connected properly. Ya gotta laugh. And I probably have to go to the library if I want to post anything in a timely fashion anymore :-) (gritting my teeth and smiling) Anyway, we had a GREAT few days off together, a very rare occurence, and the next post (with pics, I better do library for sure) will be about Dan, the seller of the brush cutter who has an amazing garden space including 32 foot long grow beds made similarly to grow boxes...and it's automatic to boot! I hope your gardens grow well and your computers are better than mine is right now :-D We continue to have enough rain that getting down the farm road has been impossible. To every season, turn turn turn... Be well!! :-D

A Couple Days Off!

Three days off together!!  Not going to be here more than a few minutes, but here's what's afoot...

1.  Be together!!
2.  We had a GREAT day yesterday.  Nothing went as planned.  And it was great!  We bought a terrific old brush cutting mower yesterday.  That will be its own post.  Yes, we are so excited about our new old brush cutter!
3.  Via the brush cutter purchase we met Dan.  THAT is another upcoming post, because Dan is amazing, and he builds amazing garden beds based on his experiments and experiences farming and with grow pots.  Post and pictures to come!
4.  We got rained out of going to the farm.  And that's ok!   We are NOT going to complain about the rain.  Neither of our vehicles can get down the flooded road during this weather.  Which, of course, means that when we relocate there, we MAY need something reliable to get from our property about a mile down the road and back to the mailbox.  Like, maybe a little HORSE?? (I've been trying to find justification why owning a horse might EVER be a  practical option, and until now have been unable to find one...but, y'know??) :-D
5. Did I mention Jack and I have time TOGETHER?  This has not happened much recently.  So I'm getting off this computer now to enjoy it some more...

The picture is of his harvesting us a mess of non-stinging chaya leaves (we have both kinds, both are excellent to eat).  We'll explore more ways to prepare the chaya in foods.  So off to the kitchen we go!

Have a wonderful day, and enjoy it, rain or no rain! :-D

Tent Houses

I found this really interesting, even though in our climate's extremes we couldn't duplicate it exactly.
But I love when people live by making the choices best for them and it includes thinking outside the box ...or  tent  :-D

Here's the video...enjoy!

Have a lovely weekend, and for the sabbath keepers, shabbat shalom!

Yep, It's A True Rainy Season

I've heard of a real Florida rainy season, but until this year I had yet to really experience one since I moved here about 9 years ago.  We had hurricane seasons, but the water table levels stayed relatively low since we didn't have The Wet Season.

I think the wet season is supposed to be roughly April through Whenever It Stops...maybe September/October?  I know hurricane season is officially over sometime in November.

Oh, the nay-sayers.  When we were getting quotes on having clearing and fence work done on the farm earlier this year, some of the local men who showed up to give us bids said they thought we were crazy wanting to clear and build on the land.  They said the road is under water every year, not to mention all the properties out there.  They warned of wetland environmental concerns, scrub jay issues, "this land is so far out no one will want to travel here to do any work," and so on.  And then they gave us exorbitant quotes.

There was much scratching, boot scuffling, and a little spitting here and there as they ticked off their long laundry lists of why it would be so inadvisable for people like us to want to actually LIVE on our land.  Mosquitos.  No one else lives out here.  Flooding.  Fires.  Full of rattlesnakes and rats.  Nothing will grow in the soil.  Too far from emergency services.   These men were also wearing sunglasses along with their caps, negativity, and rhetoric. It was so discouraging, if all they said was to be believed.  The whole time I wondered why they were SO intent on keeping us from loving our property.  We truly LOVE it.  Am I just a suspicious person, or were they working VERY hard to discourage us from living here??  What, do they get to hunt free out here if no one else is here or something?

I hate when people won't show me their eyes.  And no, it does not intimidate me.  It makes me wonder why they need to hide, but that's just me.

And I did point out that on our same road there is a gorgeous two-story house further down, and several others of varying construction types on the adjacent roads, all of which have been there and been in full use for YEARS.  And I don't think the hundreds of acres of orange groves behind our properties found the land to be tooooooo unfit for growing ;-)

I digress.  We did a lot of homework before we bought the property due to the fact we've been thwarted in land purchases before (major ouch there) and eliminated properties from our new wish list if they did not meet some of the Musts.   Must not have environmental issues present or future.  Must be able to be used for Ag.  Must be buildable.  Must have access.  Must be HIGH AND DRY.

Well, thankfully the farm IS high and dry.  That's not to say the road is, however.  It's never been paved or had rock or shell put down, it's simply at one time been scraped and had ditches put down.  So now after years of occasional wear, it has huge pits in it and no one has bothered to maintain it.  The only neighbor on that road whose family use it are relocating in the foreseeable future, so no effort has gone into its maintenance, or will, from here on out.

Jack went out the other day in between thundershowers and he won't try it again until there are a couple of days of dry in between.  He said the water was deep enough to go over a normal car's tire tops, and even for the truck it was a challenge getting down and back without being stuck.  All the ditches are saturated and overflowing and there's no shoulder to the roads when it gets like that.  I've been unable to get there for WEEKS and it's driving me crazy...I have this need to be on our land.

I think we'll have to ride out this cycle and just be thankful the water tables are being replenished.  The good report was that even with that much rain, the actual property was still high and dry.

I wonder after having planted some plants along the ditch to help stop erosion, and after having sown a few thousand seeds along there, if any of them made it or if they all got washed away.  I guess I'll know if I see cosmos and sunflowers volunteering along the neighbors' ditches :-)

In my thinking, this presents us with the challenge of making sure any structure we build out there will always be high and dry.  I have said I don't want a house with a second story in the event we aren't able to use steps easily in the future (as I well know with knee problems).  With this much rain, though, the idea of a very small home raised on concrete pillars has been put back on the table again.

I refuse to complain about the rain.  The ground has been hot and thirsty for so many seasons now, I simply cannot complain.  I love thunderstorms.  I've seen the devastation of flooding firsthand before and I don't love that.  But I just love the gift of all that water just now.

I'll be glad when we can resume working there, a day at a time, as we are able.  I long for it!  In the meantime, I guess it's time to learn about timing and letting the rain do what it does best...get things really wet!

It's strange.  Sometimes the less in control I realize we are, the less I fear the nay-sayings of others.  Like those men who gave us quotes.  They would be laughing about now, saying I told you so, and shaking their heads at the crazy people (us).  They also may never have the pleasure of experiencing the benefits of all the things they considered to be deficits, or maybe something else is their idea of a great location and a great day.  It's ok :-)

It helps us.  We need to know the possible extremes of our seasons.  It'll help us decide how the land would best be used, what materials to use, how and what to plant, make some decisions about layout and emergency scenarios.

And whether to build an ark to get to the mailbox down the road each day! :-D


How have you had to accommodate your climate's extremes...how have you used them to your benefit or what have you had to do to overcome them?   I'm very interested in knowing!

A Great Documentary!

We've been rained out of almost anything at the farm because of road flooding, so for now we wait.

I'm very skilled at waiting, but not very graceful! :-)

In the meantime, I watched a documentary (among other things).  I love a wide range of movie genres including all available Jane Austen and that sort of period film, psychological thrillers, history, biographies, some foreign films, intelligent but not trashy or potty humor comedies, romantic comedies, spy and espionage movies, and so on.  Love good documentaries!

I saw this on Netflix and I believe it's from PBS...called My Life as a Turkey.  It was filmed in the flatwoods of Florida and it is...exceptional.  It's not the thing I usually watch, but as I began viewing it, I was drawn into the true story, real pictures and the different perspective of it.

It's clean enough for the whole family, but it's realistic, not a Bambi tale.

If you decide you might want to give it half a chance, it's really worth checking out, and has excellent reviews.

Here 'tis...enjoy!!  My Life As  Turkey

Watch My Life as a Turkey on PBS. See more from Nature.