The family comes back from their week long vacation tomorrow and hopefully they'll be pleasantly surprised by how clean and fixed up everything is. We've been keeping ourselves busy doing little projects. We built a trench and bridge to try to irrigate the flooded area near the horse barn, we torn down the broken down fence in front of the green house and rebuilt it, we pruned blue berry bushes and used a hand sickle thingy to cut down the tall grass cause none of the three lawn mowers work. Yesterday the house was cleaned from top to bottom so today was a day of rest and relaxation.
We are just getting over a cold that's been hanging around since the goat incident. Lots of medicine helps. Annabell had to go to the vet a few days ago. She was vomiting and having diarrhea. $170 later, she's better than she was when we first got her. Three cheers for a happy puppy.
The weather has been changing a lot. One day its scorching out and we're in tank tops and shorts. The next, its a high of 40 and raining. The mornings are freezing but we still are up by 8 making breakfast and heading out to feed chickens and milk goats.
We have a big day planned tomorrow. Early in the morning we're going for a walk then heading down to the car to try to scale down on what we have.

Hard Times

The family left for a week long trip to Mexico yesterday. James is gone, visiting friends until tomorrow or Monday morning; He left Thursday. Dan and I are the only ones here holding down the fort. We woke up this morning around 10:30 and headed down stairs for some breakfast. We both had a hard night of bad dreams but a cup of coffee made us forget all about it. A schedule had been made up and our job for the day was cleaning up around the blueberry bushes. We headed outside and milked and fed the goats then headed down to the horse and goat field. Dan got there first and yelled to me to get down there quick. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. A male goat, the female, and the little baby had all been killed. There were gashes in their necks, legs, and snouts and the only thing either of us could think of was the coyotes everyone had been talking about. The biggest male goat Butch was down at the other end of the pasture and when we walked down there he was alive. Dan called Gerald and Tara and told them what happened and they called their neighbors and the vet. While he was up at the house, two dogs showed up at the fence and started trying to get though. One was a little blue heeler and the other was a big male pitbull. I wasnt sure what they were doing so I walked up to the fence. The pitt was huge and to top it all off, he had drying blood all over him. I ran at him, swinging a heavy piece of metal and they scurried up the side of the mountain, but not before i got a picture of him. Soon there was a convoy coming up the drive way and we were all talking about what could be done to save Butch. The vet tried everything but in the end he had to be put down. I showed everyone the pictures of the dogs and they said they didnt know who they belonged to but if he came back, i needed to shoot it. They found me a bolt action 22 rifle. They put the goats on the back of their two big ATVs and took them away and that was the end of that.
Since then, the day was filled with panic and rushing to put the rest of the animals in their pens. we got them all, except 4 or 5 chickens.
We never made it to the blue berries but i think thats ok. there's time for pruning bushes and mowing grass tomorrow. Tonight is for prayer.
Rest in peace little goats.

pullin'weeds/movin'rocks/clearin'brush/prunin'trees

So the last couple of days have been spent mainly doing yard work, and clearing the land. We've been pulling weeds, moving rocks, clearing brush, pruning trees, picking up fallen branches, and raking leaves. All to get the area ready for this years garden. Its been a lot of back breaking, strenuous labor, especially the part where we use 2 small wheelbarrow's to haul the yard waste a quarter mile uphill to the bonfire pit, than back down the hill another quarter mile only to fill up the wheelbarrow's and make the trip back up again (about 20 more times). The best part of the day however, is when the work is over and you can sit back and see what you've accomplished. It's work like this that really makes you appreciate a Lazyboy recliner at the end of the day.

This morning Tiffany and I woke up at 6:30, got dressed, took out Annabell, and caught a ride with Gerald (The Father) who dropped us off at our car, on his way to work. We drove into downtown Burnsville (about 20 miles away) to purchase junkfood from Ingles (The North Carolina equivalent to Publix). We got things like m'&'m's, pop tarts, Coke, rice crispy treats, etc... everything you wouldn't find in an Organic Farm's food pantry. Thank God for Food Stamps!

After leaving Ingles, we drove back to the old General Store where we park the car, and hoofed it the last 3 miles down the road and up the Driveway of Doom. An hour after leaving the car, we finally make it all the way up the driveway. I made Tiffany and I a hearty breakfast of eggs, (fresh from the chickens) toast, bacon, and homemade pancakes. It was the perfect breakfast to get us ready for the day. Then it was on to today's chores.

Today was a little different. Since Tara (The Mother) has been away on business the last 4 days, we wanted her return to feel special, So Tiffany and I swept the front porch, shook out the rugs, vacuumed the kitchen and livingroom, swept the kitchen and livingroom, mopped the kitchen and livingroom, did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the couch, and dusted the dining room table. Then when all that was finished, Tiffany patched some holes in the front porch ceiling. We finished the day by 4 o'clock, but by the time Gerald got home from work at 6, the boys (Jack & Haven) had tracked mud all over the porch, and spilled food all over the couch, So Tiffany and I pulled ourselves away from "True Blood" to go and clean it a second time..... Then, just before Tara got home around 8, Tiffany swept the front porch yet a third time, just to make sure.

We helped Tara bring in some of her things from her car, than sat down on the couch to relax. We shared our pizza with her, and talked about this and that. She made us feel very comfortable in her home, and she was really easy to talk to. The house feels more complete now with her back. And after conversing with her for a couple hours, Tiffany and I both agree that we think we'll be staying here a lot longer than we previously thought.... Things are looking up!

We miss you guys more than you know!
Keep checking our posts...... More to come.

On our lunch break

Woke up at 8 this morning and laid around in bed for an hour. Woke up and got everything ready for the goats before heading down at 9 and milking them. After that me and Dan had breakfast then went out with James and started on our first project. Building a 16x16 kennel for the three dogs that live here. We cut down some trees, raked out leaves, moved rocks, and leveled the ground before placing the fencing. We hooked it all together then Dan cut and put up the gate while me and James tied the fence to the posts with wires. It didnt take long with three people and it looks very good. The dogs all like it... but Annabell still sleeps in our room.
The snow has all melted and it's getting very warm out. By very warm, i'm sure that it's around 60 degrees out. So Hot. Annabell continues to chase chickens, but she doesnt try to hurt them, just make em run cause if they run, they make noise.

On The Farm

Well, we made it onto the farm Thursday night. Our car couldn't make it up the steep, wet, gravel hill of a driveway so we had to leave it over 2 miles away at the general store. We were a tad put off at first when we got here, we were shown to the room we were staying at and that was it. No conversation, no talking, no offer of food or asking how the trip was. There are two little boys here who don't know much about personal space, a mom who was packing to leave for the weekend and didnt say much, a dad who... was a man of few words, and another Wwoofer who seemed nice.
Me and Dan were seriously reconsidering this farm and spent quite a while freaking out in our room, after the two boys finally left us alone.
But then, just as we were about to pick up and walk back to the car in the dark windy snow, one of the boys came down and said that the other wwoofer, James, had made us dinner. So we headed up and ate a good meal. We spent the time telling jokes with the boys and talking to james. We decided it wasnt SO bad here so we choose to stay and see how the morning was.
We woke up to snow COVERING the ground. It was magical and so beautiful, i'd missed snow. We put on our boots and headed out to learn about the daily chores. We met the goats (Theres a baby goat named Lily) and chickens and the two horses. We learned the basics of milking goats! It was so cool.
After the morning milking of goats, there was nothing to do until 5. We got so stir crazy that we put on our jackets and boots and started down the hill on our 3 mile walk to the car. We were followed by their dog Charlie (even though we kept yelling at him to go home) all the way there and back. We picked up our hiking bags and filled them with the lap top, phone charger, knitting things, books, and just random things to keep us busy. WE made it back by 4 and chilled out for an hour until I went out and milked the goat again
Tomorrow we are suppose to build a shed. I'm excited, the weekend is suppose to be lovely.

Annabell and Sophie

Hiking and Asheville

Haven't posted in a few days, so here's whats been up! :)

So the first day, Tiffany, Nick, Annabell, Sofie and I took a trip to the Nantahala National Forest. after getting lost twice and taking the wrong exit like 3 times, we pulled into a scenic overlook. The view was amazing. It had gotten down to the high 20s the night before and the tops of the mountains were covered in snow. I found a path leading down so we took it and found a waterfall. After exploring some more and taking a few pictures we climbed back up. Unfortunately, it wasn't the way we had come so the top of the hill was thick with briers.
We got back to the car and drove until we saw three cars parked on a side street. We turned in and found a sign at the entrance to a trail. We found an entrance to the Appalachian Trail. After about an hour or so of hiking, we came around the corner of a mountain and to find a beautiful waterfall. We stayed there a while, letting Annabell and Sofie off the leash to run, play and drink some water from the stream. Once Annabell was off of her leash, she started darting back and forth running circles around us, and splashing into piles of leaves. I've never seen her so excited before, I think Anabelle found her home.

The next day, Tiffany, Nick, and I drove to Downtown Asheville. It was amazing there. The people were so nice and everyone had a smile on their face. The shops were so elaborate (Like Rocketman Smoke Shop if they had money and a two story building). We had lunch at a pizza place called "The Magic Mushroom" (Like Munchies 4/20 Cafe if they had money and a giant building). I felt at home. We really want to go back to that city. Luckily the farm we're going to isn't too far away. We head out for the farm the day after tomorrow. No idea how the internet will be but we'll find out.

Photos!

Annabell Loves to Travel

Our first stop

Lookout point

Stiggy is King of the Mountain

Stiggy and Annabell

Big Pinnacle - Pilot Mountain

Stiggy at Window Falls at Hanging Rock

Me and Annabell at Hidden Falls at Hanging Rock


Hanging out in window falls

The park put up a lot of barriers so we had to hop a fence and carry Annabell up a few cliff faces to get to the actual Falls of Window Falls. It was worth it.

North Carolina

Charlotte was fantastic. It was great seeing my old friend Maggy again. Like an angel, she had pizza, drinks, Hannibal, and hair dye waiting for us. The night was filled with laughing, nomming, and turning my hair green. Since Annabell chewed a hole through her kennel in Jacksonville, we weren't sure how she would be out of her kennel all night. So we locked her in the bathroom. She whined all night. It was hard saying goodbye in the morning but now that I'm gonna be in the Carolinas more often, I know we wont be strangers.
We shifted our plans some and decided to hike Pilot Mountain then hike Hanging Rock and camp there. Pilot Mountain was great, and you could tell Annabell loved the fresh, cold air. Even though it was 49 out, we got such a work out that we were sweating under our 2 layers of clothing. We picked up some shiny rocks and made it around Big Pinnacle before heading back to the car. It only took a little over half an hour to get to Hanging Rock but the rest was needed. We bounded down the steep slopes and saw the most beautiful waterfalls (we had to pick up Annabell a few times to get her up the steep ledges) but didnt think about the walk back. The climb back to the car was agony. We really weren't prepared for that kind of physical strain, having to stop and rest a few times heading back up. We piled back in the car and drove to the camp site. It was completely empty. Not a single person was camping. We took that as the hint of the century and started the drive to Prestia's. We managed to make the 4 hour drive in 5 hours. Annabell slept 90% of the drive. When we finally got to Franklin, Prestia's horrifyingly bad directions got us lost and he had to meet us so we could follow him back to his place. His two dogs, a chihuahua named Dexter and a german shepherd named Sophie, hit it off like old friends. Annabell is still the jealous type, making sure to jump on us when we are paying attention to the others. But I passed out within 10 mins of being there while Daniel and Prestia made up a fire and chatted all night.
Its great to wake up to a view of the smoky mountains.
Pics coming soon!

First stop

We finally made it out of Sarasota, a day late but at least we did it.
The day we were meant to leave, we started having car problems. Hoping that we could still make it out on schedule, we took the Dodge to Tire Kingdom. We told the guy at the counter that we thought it was the alignment and we just needed it fixed. He said he'd look at it and that he'd call us back after an inspection. TWO HOURS LATER the guy calls us and we walk back. According to this guy, we needed a new tire rod cause ours was broken and our alignment was terrible. These were all things I knew and I agreed to spend a good $300 of our Trip money to get it fixed. Then he tells me that 3 of my tires are thin and need to be replaced and that's another $300. It was going to be a cold day in hell when I spend all our trip money on tires so I said no. The guy got pouty but we left and got a ride from a friend back to my parent's house. Another Two Hours go by until we decide to call the guy, cause they probably forgot about us. He picks up and says they are just parking it outside. Sure they are, so we drive over and pick it up. Driving it home, it starts shaking and we feel every tiny pebble in the road. Daniel says that something is wrong so we pull into a gas station and check the tire pressure. These con artists had over filled all the tires that they said were thin and needed to be replaced. They had tried to get us to blow our tires. So we deflated the tires to regular pressure and Dan called and threw down fire and brimstone over their whole operation.
This whole mess took so long we couldn't make it out of town in time so we stayed another night.
We ended up in Jacksonville yesterday and spent the night with my aunt, uncle, and grandma. It was my uncle's birthday so we celebrated with ice cream and brownies. Delicious. My cousin and her boyfriend came by and stole us away to their apartment for an hour or two to watch some horrible B-rated knock off of JAWS and laugh at the bad acting.
Annabell and Mocha were great on the road. Annabell kept snuggled up in her spot behind the driver's seat, chewing her rawhide for the five hour drive. She loves the change of scenery, and new friends she's making. Aside from a small poodle she met at a rest stop near Tampa, there are two dogs here at the house that keep her entertained. Her vet called just as we passed Tampa and told us that she has hookworms. Luckily there is a vet within walking distance of my aunt's house and they've already gave us the 'ok' to bring her in. It's more money to take out of our Savings for Gas but otherwise she's just gonna get sicker.
As for Mocha, he just sits around, being a cute lil rat.
Next stop is Charlotte.