Monday, April 20, 2009

Farmlife Revisited

Well. It has been a loooooooooong time since I've posted on here. This is mostly intentional. I find it just too painful to deal with anything regarding the old farm, chickens, and especially goats. Honestly, I never intended to post again or probably even look at my blog, and probably wouldn't have if I didn't finally have something to say. I have had a surprising number of supportive emails and comments from devoted readers of my blog, which to this day I am still in awe that such things even exist. I am incredibly flattered, comforted, and heartened to know that so many people out there really give a crap about what went down on my farm. I have had classmates come to me who stumbled upon my blog from my myspace status, and one girl even said she sat down and read the whole thing in one go and cried for half an hour. I couldn't believe it. It all seems so distant to me now that I sometimes think it could have been a dream, or more appropriately, a nightmare. Don't get me wrong, the first 10 months were probably some of the happiest of my life, but the final few after the dog attack negated any good feelings from the previous.
My brother, Eric, lives there now with his wife and two adolescent boys, William and Kyle. They still have the remaining goats and chickens that I did not sell, namely Tierra, Mumble, and Sable, broken neck and all. I have only seen her once since moving, and she was still small, thin, and with patches of hair falling out. Needless to say it didn't quell the bad mental picture I had of her. Since then, though, my mom reports that she is still the same size she was just after the attack, at about 4-5 months old, but now downright fat and glossy, which does my heart good. I think the trauma of the attack and her broken neck were just too much for her growing body and permanantly stunted her growth. Tierra is doing well, and this is the first year of her life that she has not been bred, which is a welcome change, I'm sure. There is a slight chance that Mumble, the Nigerian Dwarf buck, might have found a way to get at her, but as of yet she's still showing no signs of pregnancy. Mumble is doing well, too, and is the tiniest little buck I have ever seen. He'd probably be worth a fortune with his small size if it weren't for the horn scur he has. But hey, he was my very first disbudding and by all accounts bucks are very difficult to keep from scurring due to their extreme levels of testosterone. Every single girl I disbudded turned out beautifully. Eric has since gotten a pig and a horse, if you can believe that, and though I have yet to meet the horse, I guess she is gargantuan. Eric, a carpenter by trade, has redone the barn and I hear it is quite nice now. My mom tells me the horse goes right into the barn with the goats and Tierra, who is no tiny animal herself, walks right under the horse's belly without even ducking her head. Wow! I didn't know what to be more shocked by, the fact that Tierra is ABLE to walk under the horse's belly or the fact that she WANTS to.

So a couple of people have told me that I should turn my farm blog into a book. While extremely flattered, at the time I laughed it off. But recently I have gotten the writing bug, and I would love to write a book, but unfortunately I have absolutely no imagination, so fiction is out of the question. So that has left me brainstorming for anything in my life interesting enough to even talk about, let alone write about. My escapade as a farmer is one of the stranger things I have done, and now that I am thoroughly submerged in a "normal" city life, every so often, such as while sitting outside my Microbiology classroom at college, somebody will mention that they grew up on a farm and I'll blurt out, "I used to have a farm in Walterboro. I raised milk goats." Inevitably all mouths stop and all eyes turn to me. Here I am, a young woman with what has been recently dubbed "funky red hair", tattoos, and sporting more than my fair share of facial piecings, claiming to have been-there-done-that-goat-farming. I understand their confusion. So I'm thinking about writing a book about it. Or at least attempting to write a book about it. My father wrote five books, something that was brought to my attention only a few years ago, so it could even technically be said that it is in my blood. ;) I know when I was starting out as a farmer, I would have loved to read something like it.

I started it today. I am as of this minute on page TWO, mind you! That would be exactly 845 words into it, and if wikipedia can be trusted, it only takes about 25,000 words to be considered a book. But honestly, if I incorporate the actual blog posts, it puts me at over 51,000 words... suddenly seems a lot more feasible, doesn't it? And that doesn't even include pictures.
Here are a couple of updated family photos, just to keep you all informed that we are still alive and kicking. I recently got accepted to the Medical University of South Carolina (kind of a big deal, apparenlty, who knew Charleston had it's own little Harvard? haha!) and I start nursing school August 17th. I'm thrilled, scared s***less, and overwhelmed at the prospect of juggling 32 hours a week of school, plus a reported 15-20 hours of study time each week, a husband and a kindergartener all at once. Thank goodness the program is only 16 months, so I'll be graduating with a Bachelors Degree next Christmas (2010). The plan is to get my Masters in Midwifery.
I know, he's beautiful! Every time I see this picture all I can say is, yea, that came outta me!
Here's the aforementioned "funky red hair," including new tattoo. Yes, I've gone completely to the dark side and covered my upper back in tattoo ink, dyed my hair an unnatural shade of red, and even got my lip pierced. Blame city livin'! Or finally being old enough to do the things I've always wanted to do and a boss who will let me. (I'm currently working part time as a bookkeeper/assistant to a woman who arranged continuing education for teachers.)

9 comments:

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

WHOHOOOOOO!!! SO awesome to catch up with you again! I enjoyed our e-mails together, too.

You've come sort of full-circle in your journey, now able to face your past and document it and share it with everyone. I'm proud of you.
And look how GORGEOUS you are! I've always wanted to go RED like that. I wish you lived closer so you could corrupt...er encourage me to go for it!
And I think you and I already have the same sunglasses, too!

I love that you're going into midwifery, as I had a Doula for my daughter's birth and can't say enough of what an amazing and life changing experience that was for me.

I enjoyed all the updates on the goats and the farm, too. I'm glad everyone is doing great.

And yes your boy is adorable...and has grown SOOO much....why do they always have to do that? lol!

My twins turned 12 2 months ago. gah!
And my daughter is now 6. We've still got all the critters, but I had a bad experience, too.

I fell off my horse when she spooked sideways, and I severed my ACL.....that was on Christmas Eve.
It's not April, 4 months later and I just started walking without crutches 2 weeks ago.

It's been a long, frustrating, exhausting, emotional experience.

But we're survivors right?!

So AWESOME to hear from you, my friend! Keep in touch anytime, ok?
Twinville2 at yahoo dot com

Oh! And good luck with that book. I know you'll do great!
Dod I get a signed copy when it's published??

Love ya!
~Lisa

farm mama said...

I think you will write a fabulous book! If anyone is interested, a little more information on Eric's new animals. The horse is a rescued thoroughbred, absolutely skin and bones that he is nursing back to health. She is 10 years old, has the sweetest temperament I have ever seen, and is totally bonded to the goats and the pig, and absolutely loves Eric's two boys. The pig is from a feral litter (a domestic breed) that was a couple of months old when Eric got her. She has become very tame, and is now about 250 pounds. Eric is looking for a boar to breed her, and hopes she has the genetics to make a good mama. Chances are good that she does, coming from a feral litter - she wouldn't have survived if her mother wasn't a good mama. She shares the pasture with the rest of the animals. Tierra is still herd queen and is seen putting the pig in her place regularly. Sable is doing great - she is still really small, and it is almost painful to look at her - her neck looks very much like the last picture posted of her, and she looks at you from under one ear. However, she is shiny, healthy and still a complete snuggle bug. Mumble is the cutest little thing you ever saw. He is smaller than his mother was, and she was tiny. I still follow the other farm blogs, and feel like you are all old friends.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad to hear you are doing well and happy in your new life. I wish you all the success in your new medical career.

Þustin said...

not too many people are going to realize what a big deal this is. they can hear it, but they wont know it. as someone who experienced it side by side with you, the trauma, the after effects, and the proverbial 'speak about this again and you'll need to sleep on the couch tonight' heartache, this is one of the biggest things you've ever done. so proud of you. kiss.

Jennlala said...

I am so happy to hear you are all doing so well! I still had your blog on my book mark list and every once 3-4 months would check to see if you posted anything. Glad you did.
I found your blog when we decided to build our little house in the woods" and try out hand at homesteading. Well, I think we might actually get into the house in few weeks. My garden failed last year. Soil ph was not good and I am still waiting for my chickens!!!. At least I have learned patience. It will be 2 years in June since we started clearing the land.
I want you to know your blog really helped me along the way to learn about life on the farm. What to do and how to cope.
Write that book!!

Unknown said...

Wish you were still here. I understand how emotionally hard it is to run this place now that the horse had to be put down. Even the pig was bummed. How did you deal with being stressed,overloaded,and isolated?

deconstructingVenus said...

I cried. A LOT. :(

Marigold said...

My goodness! I just now realized you made another entry! How cool is that!? You go girl! Your life is going in an awesome direction! Peanuts to you!!!! (and a Happy Belated Birthday) - Marigold

Country Girl said...

I use to read your blog and since deleted since I figured you were all done. Just came across it tonight on someone else's blog. Great to hear all is doing well. Good luck in nursing school. My husband and I are both RN's. I had big plaans to go onto nurse anesthetist school but have decided to just be a Momma and farm girl instead of being gone 24/7....work 24H/week as a nurse and love it! Love your new look!