I struggled with naming this blog post this time. “My Word of the Year Just Bit Me in the Butt” is probably more accurate but maybe a little too graphic. “When Life Throws You a Left Hook” was another that I rejected. One way or another, life has certainly been interesting lately. But first, let me get you caught up on other happenings before we discuss my poor choice of my word, Transition.
Tom and I took two Idaho pasture pigs to the processor late in January (yes, I’m still that far behind in blog posts). Daisy was over five hundred pounds and Tinker Bell over three hundred. Tom found buyers for three of the four halves, which was good, because the sales more than made up for the processing fees for our half of a pig. The morning we took them to the processor, the temperature was 1 degree F. Very cold, and Daisy was not cooperating at all, but we finally got both pigs taken care of.
About the same time, both of my rabbit does had babies. The first doe had two kits that we found in the morning already frozen solid. A day or two later, the other doe had five kits that had died of the cold. We had provided straw for the does and they created nests for the kits, but then proceeded to leave them on top of the straw. That was discouraging.
Over the past couple of years, I found myself wondering why so many immigrants were coming over our southern border, why we have been lied to on so many issues by the media and a mess of other whys. I posted a podcast about this. Episode 73: Why? Can be seen here or listened to on your favorite pod catcher.
Tom finally decided to go to the doctor after two or three years of not going at all and he had a couple of issues that needed attention. One was a large lump under the skin on his shoulder that has been growing for probably ten years. He also had a busted capillary in his right eye that needed a retina specialist. Because he is Cherokee, we traveled to Tahlequah for a surgery consultation on his shoulder, who sent him to Vinita for an ultra sound and then to Tulsa to see the retina specialist. While returning from Tahlequah, we took a different route and passed a place called Pelican Landing. Seeing a huge number of birds, we stopped to watch, Canadian geese, pelicans and sea gulls(?) fly in by the several hundreds. It was fascinating to watch.
We moved the chickens and ducks to what what will be the garden area next spring. The birds will scratch and fertilize the area over the rest of the winter. It just so happens that the garden also butts up to the pen where the turkey and Little Red Hen lives. After a few days, I opened the gate and allowed everyone to mingle. The garden fence was not real secure, with holes in places we discovered later so we had some disappearances but everyone seems settled and happy now. I did not realize that my video camera had somehow got set to the sepia mode as I recorded the bird move. A Colorless Bird Move can be seen here.
As I am working on moving forward in my life, I have been contemplating the Bible story of the Talents. I recorded my thoughts on a podcast. Episode 74: Wasted Talents can be seen here or listened to on audio only podcast.
So, why was I contemplating my life in the future? Why did I possibly choose the wrong Word of the Year? I fully expected to be prepared for Kinzie to graduate high school and possibly move off to college. That may still happen. What I did not expect was my husband suddenly deciding that I was the enemy and filed for divorce, kicking me off the farm. Needless to say, my life has been turned upside down. Without going into details, I have lived with a man who has suffered from deep depression for many years. That has not been a secret. Then every few years, he gets to “feeling better” and goes on spending sprees, sleeping little and being a general pain. This time has been ramped up dramatically and I just couldn’t hold everything together. Now, I am living with my son and his beautiful family while I start navigating the ramifications of a divorce, finding a job, and trying to figure out how to continue Grandma’s Homestead…without a homestead.
My granddaughter loves us both and has been going back and forth between houses as she likes, though Tom’s behavior is beginning to get to her and she is spending more time with me. I’m glad. Everyone knows how much I love that girl.
So, the Transition (my chosen word of the year )was not what I expected it to be but it is what it is. My world and work has been turned upside down. I desperately miss my dogs. I worried terribly about my farm animals during this last very cold spell. Even as stressful as this has been, in many ways, I am actually much happier. The stress of trying to keep everything together is no longer on my shoulders. I grieve, but I’m also recovering nicely. I have been surrounded by my son’s family and so many wonderful friends that have encouraged and prayed for me that I sometimes cry tears of gratitude.
As I close this blog, I will show you moving the pigs by myself for the last time on my beloved farm. The footage of the birds on Pelican Landing are at the end of this video. From Mud to Winter Grass: Pig Move can be seen here.
So, regardless of what Word you choose for the year, if you chose one at all, sometimes life throws you a curve ball. Swing at it anyway. If you miss, something you can hit will come along.
See you next time!