Goats in the Smoky Mountains
Hello Again!
Hello friends! It has been several months since I have updated my blog. I hope that all is well with you and yours.
I took a break from blogging for a time. At first I did not really intend to take a break for so many months. The past few months have been very busy and since September I have not been online to blog. I have missed many of my friends and hope to visit your blogs soon!
My sister and nephew moved back to Kentucky to live with her father. My nephew's skull fracture healed completely (Praise the Lord) and he is now walking and running all over the place. My step-father experienced an accident at work and severed his calf muscle in two while driving a floor jack. My sister wanted to move back to Kentucky to help take care of him. Since that time, my step-father has healed and returned to work again.
I will try to update my blog again soon. I have some new pictures to add.
Blessings, grace, and peace in the Lord,
Sharra
FRUGAL FIRE STARTER IDEAS!
{ 11:51, Wednesday, November 21, 2007 } { Posted in Proverbs 31 Homekeeping } { Link }
Make your own fire starters!
We have been purchasing ours as we heat with a woodstove and do not have a heater in our home. It was 36 degrees this morning......and to think we had our A/C running last week as we were in the 90's! Ugh. So now I'm back to thinking *winter* with my wood stove giving off some much needed warmth this morning after a chilly morning of goatie and chicken chores.
Those fire starters we have been purchasing are very expensive and we have to drive a long way to get them.......but they work FABULOUS! So I thought I'd look online to see if I can make these at home.....I was delighted to find out not only how easy they are to make, but that I can use pine shavings and dryer lint too! Cool! Here are some websites if you'd like to make these as well!>
http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/jbfirest.htm
http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/Tips/firestarters.htm
http://www.solareagle.com/PREP/FSTART.HTM
This next one is great......I like the photo's that accompany the article
http://www.onestopc
Fern
HERBS: MAKING HERBAL TINCTURES
Good Afternoon,
I plan to share some information on herbs as I can. I have had many years of informal study and use of herbs, dating back to the 70's. About 4 yrs ago I did some formal study by enrolling in The Science and Art of Herbalism by Rosemary Gladstar. Today I'd like to share how you can make your own tinctures at home and save a LOT of $ by doing so.
MAKING HERBAL TINCTURES
by Fern Guyer
One of the ways we can use herbs is by making Tinctures. The benefit of tinctures are many. They take up a lot less room than bulky herbs. They will keep for many years (up to 10 in most instances) while dried herbs (leaves and flowers) will only last for about 1 year. Roots, barks, seeds, will keep for approximately 2 yrs. All herbs need to be stored in a cool, dark place, preferably in glass jars with tight fitting lids.
Since we can see that herbs, once dried and stored, have a limited shelf life, you will begin to see the advantages of making herbal tinctures to prolong the use of your herbs.
In order to extract the medicinal properties of herbs, they must be macerated in a solvent. A Solvent is what's used to extract potent chemical constituents from plant matter. Four common solvents used are Water, Vinegar, Alcohol and Glycerin.
Today we will address the use of alcohol. Other than water, this is my preferred method for extracting the medicinal properties from herbs. You can use 40% alcohol for most dried herbs.
Take some dried herbs (fresh can be used as well, and I will touch on that later), and fill a jar about 1/4 full. Then add alcohol until the herbs are completely covered. I like to then top it off about 1-2" more. Cover. You can put some saran wrap on top before putting the lid on. Shake well. The dried herbs may absorb some of your alcohol so you may need to add more. Be sure to keep the herbs covered by at least 1". Shake daily at least once. After 4-6 weeks, your tincture is ready to use.
Now strain the herbs and squeeze out the excess alcohol from the herbs. I like to use a mashed potato press lined with cheesecloth. I then like to use a coffee filter to filter out any fine matter.
Now your tincture is ready to bottle up. Be sure to label your jar with tincture, solvent used, and date.
FRESH HERBS
When using fresh herbs, I like to lay them out on either a screen, or on paper towels for a day or two. This will allow some of the water in the plant to evaporate reducing the chance of mold forming once the fresh herbs are introduced to your solvent. You can then finely chop the fresh herbs and put into alcohol, making sure they are completely covered. When using fresh herbs, I like to use Everclear, which is 75% alcohol. Then continue on as you would for dried herbs, shaking daily.
Tinctures can be used for your family and for your pets and can be stored for many years. It is a wonderful sense of accomplishment to be able to make your own herbal medicines for your loved ones, both 2 and 4 legged. :o) Pets do not like the taste of alcohol so you can add some stevia if you'd like to help sweeten it or honey before drenching.
If you have any questions, let me know!
Fern
prayers for my nephew
Today I thought that I would write a post and request prayer for my nephew. He is 9 months old and recently he had an accident and now has two skull fractures. He is doing fine and seems to be fairly normal other than the crack in the side of his skull which I find to be worrisome. The neurosurgeons have assured us that he should heal properly. There is a slight chance that he would require surgery if the fractures were to widen or not heal correctly. We will take him back to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis in about a month to have another CT scan to check his progress.His accident happened when my sister went to visit family in KY. Her dad was taking my nephew out of the Johnny Jump-Up (which I have since been informed these are a pediatricians nightmare!) when my nephew pushed out of his arms and landed on his head on a hardwood floor. At first he had a swollen hematoma on the side of his head and it was not apparent at first that he had a serious injury. Two days later when my sister came back to Indiana we took him to the emergency room (due to the hematoma) and the physician felt as though it was a standard head injury. We waited a few days until the swelling of the hematoma lessened and then we could feel a distinct crack in his skull. We took him back to the emergency room this past Saturday and after giving him a CT scan the emergency room staff (I do not think we even were seen by a physican but rather an assistant) informed us that he had "open places" in his skull which were normal and would close up as he grew older.
Our family did not agree with this diagnosis one bit. While we realize that an infant's skull has fissures and fontanels that will close in time, they do not have cracks in the skull that appear overnight! My nephew was released from the emergency room and we immediately went to the library to research infant skull fractures. While my daughter was viewing skull fractures on the internet and I was reading medical journals on infant head trauma, a local nurse came up to us and introduced herself. She briefly looked at my nephew and recommended that we take him to another hospital for a second opinion. After talking with a few friends we decided to take him to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. I did not realize until this point that you can visit the Riley emergency room. I thought that children were referred to Riley from hospitals when they needed specialized care. We took him to Riley and we brought a copy of the CT scan with us. He was seen by a team of neurosurgeons, physicans and medical professionals. We were very pleased with the thorough and professional level of care my nephew was able to receive at Riley. We spent one night in the hospital and then we were able to come home. After reading the same CT scan given by our local emergency room and examining his head the neurosurgeons were able to determine that he had two skull fractures on the side of his head. One of the fractures is a slightly wide crack. On the CT scan they observed a density on the image at one of the fractures which could indicate a bleed in the area but they assured us that this was not a major concern. He should not have any damage to his brain from this injury. Thank goodness! I know the Lord has been watching over him.
My nephew is eating, sleeping, playing, and generally behaving as a normal 9 month old would and he does not appear to be experiencing discomfort. We are praying he will heal completely and that he would not require any surgery. Please be praying for him if you do not mind.
I would feel more comfortable if we had a little helmet that he could wear to protect his head until his skull fractures heal completely. The neurosurgeons said that this is not necessary but that we need to be extra careful with him. He is at the age where he is crawling everywhere and pulling up on furniture and trying to stand up by himself. He is a little explorer for certain! Thank you for your prayers!
It has been such a blessing to have my sister and nephew with us. I gave up my office in the back of the house so that they could have their own bedroom. We turned our dining room into our homeschooling area and office which I happen to like better. From our big picture window in the dining room we are able to look out on the patio and see our cats playing, view our garden across the lawn, and watch the rooster down by the barn. Frequently the horses are grazing in the front pasture and we can watch them as well. Early in the morning we watch the sunrise over the barn and it is a beautiful site. Our hearts are content living in the country!
It is alot of hard work and sometimes it is hard to fit all the tasks needed to be done in one day. We wake up very early in the morning to take care of the animals and then we are busy until the evening. It is very satisfying although I am not sure I appreciate my rough hands. I suppose that I have officially earned the rank of a farmgirl now that I have the hands to prove this. I have recently discovered Badger Balm which has helped quite a bit in softening my hands. We used to stay up late at our other home but now that we live in the country, we find it very difficult to stay up past 10:00pm. It is hard to believe but even on the weekends we go to bed early. We get up with the chickens and tend to go to bed at sundown. During the long summer days we often would get sleepy before it was even dark. I think being outdoors and the hard work taking care of animals, gardening, hanging out the laundry, and mowing two or more acres with a push mower have been good for us!
I have some pictures that I hope to post very soon. They are on a picture cd and so I am going to try to figure out how to load them on my blog. At the very least I will try to put my Flickr badge back running on my blog again so that you can see a bit of our Country Living.
Many blessings to you and yours!
Sharra
DAIRY GOATS: Sprouting Grains?
{ 01:12, Tuesday, August 28, 2007 } { Posted in Dairy Goats } { Link }
Bird Flu: Cinnamon extract found in the Bible
Ok, I know there is no bird flu in the US but this is great info to file away for the future. Might be a good idea to start feeding our birds cinnamon when and if bird flu hits our shores.
Shalom!
Fern
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bird Flu: Cinnamon extract found in the Bible
Key to cinnamon anti-viral extract found in the Bible, says Israeli
researcher ...
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El1718&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDis
Key To Cinnamon Anti-viral Extract Found In The Bible
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/77703.php
<--- Begin article
Cinnamon helps fight against bird flu
Technology has been created whereby cinnamon extract is used as an air
disinfectant against bird flu in airports, or as a daily supplement
that protects people against the common flu.
Tel Aviv University technology transfer company Ramot has signed an
agreement with Frutarom, a multinational neutraceutical company based
in Israel, for applying a technology of using the a cinnamon extract
in a whole host of applications from disinfecting the air as a spray
against avian flu in airports, to a daily supplement that protects
people against the common flu. The discovery was made by Professor
Michael Ovadia, of Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology.
Ovadia's initial experiments proved to be true - his savoury cinnamon
extract was able to quickly and efficiently immunise chicken embryos
from the Newcastle disease virus, one which costs the poultry industry
in the US alone millions of dollars a year.
Apparently further studies on avian influenza H9, Sendal virus, and Herpes
Simplex 1 also achieved positive results. "Not only was the extract
able to
neutralise the viruses, it also showed for selected viruses that it
has the potential to immunise against them as well."
What the cinnamon does
Besides human applications, Prof Ovadia sees that cinnamon fills an
important niche in the agricultural industry where chicks need to be
immunised by hand against the deadly Newcastle disease virus. Applying
his research to the global scale could only be done with the help of a
large company, which is where Frutarom comes in. The Israeli-based
flavour and food additive company has grown in the last 10-15 years
from US$10 million ayear to a projected US$350 million by the end of 2007.
The review says that the University is going to take this know-how
from a food supplement to protect people from illness to
neutraceuticals in drugs, also realising that it can be used in
agriculture against bird flu. "This represents a very diversified
product," commented Frutarom's CEO Ori
Yehudai.
Article Source: World Poultry
http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/id2205-26116/cinnamon_helps_fight_against_bird_flu.html
Apple Cider Vinegar
{ 10:55, Thursday, August 16, 2007 } { Posted in Health and Nutrition } { Link }
We like to put ACV (applel cider vinegar), raw, in our dairy goats water buckets. They love it, too! We also add it to our chickens water during the summer months. Here are some interesting links and info on raw ACV.........
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unpasteurised apple cider vinegar is safe because the acid levels will kill unfavourable bacteria. It contains abundantly more living goodness that ‘dead’ supermarket versions. The thin web-like strands you will find settling in raw apple cider vinegar are the living part, called the ‘mother’. They produce copious quantities of enzymes, malic and tartaric acids, and valuable minerals, including potassium.
Apple Cider Vinegar: The Amazing Health Benefits of this Economical "Old Timers Home Remedy"
by BodyEcology.com
But it's not just a folk remedy...vinegar has medicinal properties as well.
Research has shown that vinegar can help people with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance (not diabetic, but high risk) by improving insulin sensitivity. In the study, vinegar was just as effective as drugs (metformin and acarbose) used to treat diabetes.1
Vinegar may be one of your most useful natural health remedies...if you're using the right vinegar.
Finding the Right Apple Cider Vinegar
For a true home health remedy that helps boost your immunity, pass on white vinegar and choose raw apple cider vinegar instead.
Apple cider vinegar is manufactured by several different companies. While you may have seen apple cider vinegar in the grocery store, it may not be the raw, fermented apple cider vinegar with medicinal benefits.
Here's what to look for when buying apple cider vinegar:
- Unfiltered - Some bottles are labeled "filtered," while the kind we recommend is labeled "unfiltered."
- Unpasteurized - Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar contains the "mother" of the vinegar (a natural sediment with pectin, trace minerals, beneficial bacteria and enzymes), which you can see floating at the bottom of the bottle.
- Organic - choosing apple cider vinegar made with organic apples is a great way to maximize the minerals and minimize your exposure to pesticides.
BEES EVERYWHERE!
{ 03:25, Wednesday, August 15, 2007 } { Posted in Farm Life } { Link }
We have a ton of bees slurping up all of our sugar water here in So. California. I have heard others places around the country are experiencing the same problem. While I really do like bees, and understand that honey bees are in danger due to disease, I really wish I could persuade them to leave my feeders alone!! I actually think these might be meat bees though.
I normally do not stop feeding the Orioles that migrate here from South America, until late August, but HAD to stop as the bees would drink it all in one day!! It was kind of comical actually. I'd put the feeder out and a couple hours later to check on it and all I'd see are all these bee bottoms sticking out of the Oriole feeder holes. haha I'd chase them off and they'd back themselves out and fly off, angry at me. But even though I move the feeder, they find it very quickly. Sigh. My poor Orioles. And the Orioles of course could not drink. It makes me sad to hear them while I am milking my goats, looking for their breakfast. :o( I have been feeding them for 7 yrs and look forward to their arrival in March until August when they migrate back.
Here are some links to information on Orioles and their migration. We get Baltimore but primarilyScott's Orioles come here to breed and raise their young here in So. Cal
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/spring2002/species/oriole/Update042602.html
http://www.prbo.org/calpif/htmldocs/species/desert/scotts_oriole.htm
How to brighten your yard with Orioles (start planning for next year!)
http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=73&articleID=1038
Now these bees are all over my hummingbird feeder so had to stop feeding them too!! I feel so bad as it is over 100 degrees out and not much flowering. They must be so thirsty. At least the bees cannot get INTO this feeder!
I just found an interesting Oriole feeder
http://www.rachelsrobin.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-3959
Will have to get that one for next year!
Over the weekend we decided to put out a wasp trap but not one wasp or bee has been caught in 3 days. Sigh.
Shalom!
Fern
Combining Pullets of differing ages....help
Hey ya'll......I have 6 birds who are 9 weeks old, and 4 birds who are5 weeks old. I want to combine them as the 5 wk olds have outgrown
their current grow pen.
There is quite a size difference of course and all 10 would be
together in a 10x4 stationary tractor/pen, with a top floor, same
footprint. Just until we get another coop built in a few
weeks........should I try to put them together now? Or wait? If I
should wait, until about what age should the littlest ones be before
they go in with the older pullets? Thanks!
Fern
www.JoyfulHeartsFarm.com
Remember Mama's Recipes
Thought this was a fun read!
Enjoy,
Fern
Remember Mama's Recipes
Compiled by Marlene and Mabel Mertz
in 1973 by the Stirling, Alberta
LDS Woman's Organization
http://waltonfeed.com/old/mama/index.html
{ Last Page } { Page 1 of 5 } { Next Page }
About Me
My Profile
Archives
Friends
My Photo Album
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Links
Categories
Goat WritingsRecent Entries
Today Is My 11th BirthdayA Story I Wrote
What I Have Been Up To
My Day Today
I Enjoy Goats and I Cooked Today!!!
Friends
HSBPublisherAmyBeth
Fern
Amber
alfalfasprouts
CountryLiving
CityChick