Fracking in the Valley, haboobs and the nomadic life

Yeah, it sure feels like spring. Warm days in the 50's F. I'm loving it. I think maybe the big Elm tree outside is budding. That can't be right, can it? I'm okay with shorter winters for sure.

We had an interest in a cute farmhouse over near Monte Vista, Colorado. It has 40 acres and is near the mountains on the west side of the valley. Pretty place. Only about ten minutes outside of the cute town of Monte Vista too. And then we got the local paper delivered to our mailbox, just like every week. This week they had a section talking about government projects and what not. Last time it was about education, and the time before about farming. Anyway, it turns out the county government (Rio Grande County) is allowing another drilling exploration in the area. Fracking. Just on the other side of the hills from that cute farmhouse. Too bad people are crazy for fossil fuels. Scratch that one off the list. And then, in the same paper, a couple of pages over was a story about the water crisis in the Valley. Well...stop fracking. Do people realize how much water it takes to frack????

So, back to it then. There are a couple of places over near Manzanola, Colorado that we are considering. They had some weird dust storms...haboobs this past winter, which is disturbing and unwarranted. We need to plant winter cover crops instead of letting the soil blow away. So, there is that, plus the high heat in the summers. There are also a couple of interesting places down near Cerrillos, NM that I have been snooping on via the internet. We shall see what new and interesting things the Universe has to reveal about any of these places.

So, as the weather warms, I have an urge to clean up, to get rid of any thing just sitting around, to be free of stuff so I can fly away in a moment's notice. Uh-huh. Also have been looking at campers on Craigslist and of course old school buses. I have an urge to wander. I'm feeling very nomadic, or maybe it's just time to move on.

Spring?

Is it Spring now? The wind is blowing continuously and the daytime temperatures are rising well into the 40's F. Everything is turning to mud. The weather is so unpredictable now, how do we tell for sure? I am enjoying the warmth though. I prefer it over the cold, any day. I could do without the snow too, even though I know we need the moisture.

Ah, well, no matter where we live, it seems the winters will get colder and the summers will get hotter. Welcome to our new reality. And the future is only going to get more unpredictable.

So, we finally found a home for four of our goats, including the big ugly billy goat. They left this past week and moved onward to a new farm out on the east side of Colorado. Now we have less mouths to feed, which will certainly help with hay costs.

We are thinking about a place to relocate that we can be more involved with the community, as that is so important as we move forward as a sustainable culture. We'd like to be a little closer to a town, even if it's a small town. A library would be a luxury. Possible playmates for the kids would be great too. Dream a little dream....

We are still working hard on our homeschooling program, although I was feeling more uncomfortable with the unschooling techniques as my kids don't really want to learn anything at all, it seems. Now we are working through some workbooks, which gives all of us a bit more structure and I feel like the kids are actually learning something. I'm learning something too, as a parent as I work through some of my own books, including a great book by Dr. Laura Markham called Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids. If you are interested in building better relationships with your children, and are interested in a new parenting paradigm that doesn't include punishment of any variety, then check out this book. I think this parenting style will allow children to grow up healthier and be the kind of people we need more of on this planet.

Pekins find a new home

Baby ducks and geese, bathing in the tub

We re-homed our three Pekin ducks this past week. We took them into town with us on our shopping/errand day and gave them to a nice man who has many more. He raises fowl and even has a pond they can use. Our ducks were getting trampled by the insanely nervous turkeys in the coop. It wasn't fair. Plus, they need some water to clean themselves up in. A bath in the bathtub in the house now and then is just not workable for me anymore. It's a big mess of duck poop, feathers, and flying water.

When we moved to this rental farm, we thought, and were told, that we could use the pond for our water fowl. But on closer inspection, we realized it was not a good idea, as the birds would cause the rocks lining the pond to roll into the middle of the pond. As it was, our young son was being accused of throwing the rocks in the pond, which simply was not true, as he does not have unsupervised access to the pond. The fact is the pond is poorly designed, with too steep of sides and the rocks tend to roll in by themselves. Or maybe the foxes and other critters help out too. In any case, we decided we didn't need the headache related to the pond and decided not to use it. Although Richard did plant some cattails on one edge and added some fish.

So the ducks found a new home. Foolish of me to think I could maintain water fowl in a desert climate anyway. They sure were cute when they were little though, and developed some personality as they grew.

This week, I also came off my water fast. I made it through ten days and decided I was just too tired to deal with my life on the farm while fasting. Still, no small accomplishment, ten days of nothing but water. Now, I am trying to transition back into food without gaining back the weight I lost on the fast.

We are still looking for a place to relocate, as usual. Living this transient farm life is unnerving. Now, I am stuck between the extreme bitter cold of the winter temperatures, but mild and nice summers, here in the San Luis Valley, and the other extreme of mild and relatively nice winters, with extreme hot and unbearable summers, in the Arkansas Valley. What to do?

I suppose the Universe will decide for us anyway, as we pursue some type of financing and see what we can afford. I have found properties in both areas that could work for our purposes, although each has its own pros and cons. The adventure is in not knowing, isn't it? Change is always interesting, no matter which direction we head.

Big horn sheep and dog rant

On our way out to Two Peaks to look at a house for sale, we were blessed to see a herd of big horn sheep grazing near the Taos Gorge bridge. We've seen them before, but never so many. It was amazing.

The house in Two peaks is a no go. The roads still make me angry and the running dogs are intolerable. One actually jumped on our moving car, leaving some nice scratches. I'm not sure why people think their dogs have rights over people. I hate NM for that. I long to take a walk without being accosted by dogs. Even here, just across the border in Colorado, our neighbors let their dogs run. The dogs across the street have taken to jumping our fence to fight with my dogs, which are, thankfully, behind another 6ft high fence. Somehow this has made having a relationship with our neighbors very tense, and they often say they'd come by, except for the dog issue. Here's the issue folks...contain your F'n dogs on your property. Is that too hard???? I know both Costilla county (where we live) and Taos county have dog leash laws, which mean that dogs are to be leashed when not fenced on an owner's property. Is that too difficult to understand?

Now, I can't take my kids or my dogs for walks without the fear of encountering other dogs. Tell me, what do I do with fighting dogs and two developmentally challenged kids? Not worth the risk. Too bad. I love to go for walks. So do the dogs and kids. For some reason people seem to believe other people have no rights to enjoy community spaces or even their own property, in our case. Not everyone likes dogs folks. And even if we like dogs, we don't like other dogs in our space or threatening us on walks. And, I've heard it over and over...."My dog is so sweet, he would never hurt anyone." But what if he does? The dogs that jump the fence and fight with my dogs...I don't find them sweet by any means. I find them a nuisance. Maybe I should get a gun, except I don't believe in guns, and really, it's the owners who need a good spanking, isn't it?

When I tell owners we visit, who let their dogs run, that my autistic daughter has some issues with animals, that she tends to annoy them and they don't seem to like her, you know what these people with sweet dogs say? Well, "Watch her around my dog, because he/she hasn't really been around kids and I'm not sure what he/she will do." Hmmmm....seems like the dogs might indeed pose a threat to people, doesn't it? I can watch my kids. I can even keep them from going to "dog" houses if need be, but do I have to keep my kids locked in the house because other people don't want to fence or leash their dogs? Is it fair to us to not be able to go for walks, or even enjoy our own yard without the fear of dogs threatening my kids and my dogs? My dogs are always leashed and fenced. I have the decency to do that for the sake of others enjoying simple human rights. I notice most of my neighbors go for walks...with their running dogs.

Okay, rant over.

Today is the 6th day of my water fast. I feel pretty good, although I have not had any epiphanies. It's difficult trying to abstain from food while feeding a family. I don't recommend it. If you want to fast, you should go away and spend some quality time alone where there will be no temptations. But, that said, I continue on for as long as I can. I'm fairly confident I will make it to day seven.

No farm news. The same old, same old. It's cold. The animals are all surviving. The chickens, bless them, are laying many eggs a day. We even had one day where all ten laid, and then they laid six more the next day. Pretty amazing. I love the Buffs.

Fasting for clarity

The freezing fog is back. Depressing. And cold.

This week I am doing a water fast. I am on day three. This is my second water fast. I did one last year for seven days, I think it was. But, this time, I hope to go longer. I will be happy if I make it through the end of day three really, and see what happens from there.

Why the fast? Well, I have been feeling pretty unhealthy. I went gluten free about two weeks ago and felt better for a few days, but then my issues were back. My stomach has been hurting daily and I have been having a lot of intestinal cramping and bloating. Even when I eat an apple, and only an apple. So, I figured I needed a major cleanse. That's why I'm doing the fast. I hope to go longer than I ever have, and get the major benefits from a long water fast, including the cleanse, maybe some weight loss, and especially ridding my body of toxins and things that just don't belong. If I have any diseases brewing inside anywhere, a long water fast should take care of it.

Today I am feeling really motivated and a little less hungry. I am inspired to continue onward!

Another reason for the fast is to gain some clarity in my mind and in my life. Let's say I'm also fasting for spiritual reasons, hoping to reach that point where I am in communication with my higher self and at one with all that is. I am hoping to be able to figure out what direction to pursue in our quest for a sustainable life. If I can get all of the obstacles out of the way and simply listen to spirit, I am hoping I will come to some reasonable decision about what to do next...where to go, what needs to be involved as I try to figure out how best to be of service to others.

Beautiful creatures, beautiful place

You may not be able to see them very well (woe is my pathetic camera) but, that is a herd of elk in the photo above. There must have been a couple hundred of them out in that field. This was up near Ft Garland, Colorado last week.

These beauties were part of a larger herd of maybe twelve wild horses. We saw them closer to home, on the road of the church I have been interested in buying, here in the south western end of the San Luis Valley.

We are certainly blessed to live in such a beautiful place, no matter how cold it is. The views are amazing and the wildlife astounding.

These remarkable creatures give me pause as I wade through my day to day. This planet we live on is a wonderful place, full of life and beauty. If only we (humanity) were not so narrow minded and severely focused on destroying it all for resources to keep our current and destructive ways of life moving along. It makes me sad. These creatures we had the joy of seeing this past week may no longer be here when my little children grow up....but then, my little children may be the last (or next to the last) generation of the human race as well.

Ah well....enjoy it while you can, I guess.

Farm News

Buff Orpington

It is still cold here. I think I have to resolve myself to the fact that my 50 F winter days are just not going to happen here. On a warm day, we might get up to freezing, but mostly we stay in the 20's. No new snow either...just the same old snow from way back in November.

But, the chickens are laying pretty good again. The light in their coop must have done it. We have more eggs than we know what to do with in our fridge, backing up. Sometimes we trade eggs with folks in town for other things we might need, but we are only getting to Taos once every two weeks now, so the egg supply is building.

The three ducks have been living with the rabbits and turkeys in the passive solar coop for a couple of weeks now. One less light in one less coop. Richard has been storing hay in the old chicken coop. It's the one that was here when we moved in. I think they had pigs in the building. It's really drafty, but with the new roof Richard put on way back when we got here, it doesn't leak. A rat had moved under the tarped hay behind the turkey house, so Richard moved the hay, hoping the rat would move on.

And, Richard finished the milking parlor in the goat barn, and put in a section for the chickens who like to lay eggs in the barn. He put up nest boxes too, but they won't have anything to do with them. They either lay in their little coop, the middle of the barn floor, or in the milking parlor behind the feed storage can. One silly old hen was back there, trying desperately to roll a stuck egg back into the nest under her. Except the "egg" was a rock, half buried in the ground. I removed the rock. I hope she's not out in the field, trying to figure out how to roll that rock all the way back to the nest. There are a lot of rocks out there.

The poultry on our farmstead does not appear to be big in the brains department. The turkeys are so freaked out when anyone enters their coop, they fly into the walls and rabbit cages, trying to escape. Richard has a method to get in and out, which involves stopping and playing statue with each step he takes, so the crazy birds can maneuver around him without breaking their necks. I don't know that game.

We are trying to downsize our goat herd too. Those girls eat a lot of hay. Plus the billy, Molet, just creeps me out. I guess he's okay for a male goat, but still, he can move on to greener pastures now. We think we can get ample milk from four goats, and are trying to re-home three....Pinky, her daughter, Aspen, and Jewell, the large Alpine. Plus Molet. That's a nice size goat herd for anyone wanting to get started in milk goats. Plus, those girls may all be pregnant, and if not, Molet can take care of it.

Found out Alfonso, the white alpaca, is really Alonzo, but still the same white alpaca. No wonder he won't come when we call. Actually, all of the camelids avoid human contact if at all possible, so Alonzo is in keeping with his character. He did find offense when we let Molet out to visit with the female goats, and chased him, trying to bite at his ears. I thought he was protecting his herd, and maybe he is, but it turns out he might be a little too fond of the female goats. Now, when Molet is out, Alonzo is in Molet's pen.

The male rabbit chewed through his plastic water bottle. (What is it with males?) We have been trying to find glass bottles that will fit the tops of the rabbit water bottles.

And, we are still searching for a warmer place to go, but my hopes diminish with each passing cold day. Winter sure brings on a depressive mood for me. I feel like I just have to get away from this cold! I feel trapped in it. But, is there any safe, clean, warm, affordable place to go? I feel the sticky fingers of doubt reaching for my warm fantasies of land and a bigger house. I am so done with winter. Only 3 and a half months to go.

Holidays and cold days

We made it past the consumerist holidays...almost. New Years is still on the way, but I look forward to leaving this cold year behind and moving into the next. Spring will be coming with the new year, and warmth with it.

I think it is getting easier each year to not participate in Christmas. I have less guilt now, which I believe is just a carry over from cultural programming. Of course most of my extended family is still not happy with our decision not to participate in a holiday we don't believe in. I'm not sure why, but that's how it is. Our little kids are young enough, it doesn't seem to matter anyway. It's just another day. Of course, when you don't participate, you realize just how much the nonsense has saturated the American culture. As if everyone in the country has to be a part of it, by default. It's on the radio, on Pandora commercials, I get ads from my banks, not to mention the decorations everywhere. Silliness really. All (mostly) in support of a consumerist culture. Funny, my family and I spend time together every day, showing each other how much we love each other with our words and actions. Every day is about sharing the love, isn't it?

We didn't do anything alternative to celebrate. The Solstice came and went with a subtle acknowledgement of longer days to come. It is just too cold here to be motivated to do much of anything. It's too cold to process a turkey outside. I don't want to go out into the woods to look for sticks, or build a pyramid in the yard, I just want to stay warm and have the temperature rise enough for the snow to melt. Being warm is all that matters.

The animals are hanging in there. The goats wander out in the yard to stand in the sun during the day. The chickens are laying again, thanks to the light we put in their coop and the few days of above freezing temps we got. Mostly our highs hover around the high 20's. When we get up in the morning the temperature is always nearer to 0 than not.

We did find a home for our older hens. A nice man came up from Hondo to pick them up. It might be just enough warmer down that way that the chickens will lay some eggs for him.

I was looking toward Las Vegas, NM as a possible relocation, but it turns out there is no water there and the wells are drying up. There are beautiful trees close in, which means more potential for forest fires, plus, they have a recorded lowest temp of -28 F. That isn't any better than here, is it?

Fowler, CO is warmer, has a bit more water in the way of annual precipitation, and is closer to a big city. And, come to find out, they are on a fast track to becoming sustainable, removing themselves from the grid, as a town, and working hard to make their community resilient in the face of things to come. Interesting, and fits most of the criteria Richard has outlined for a better place to relocate. Of course we still have to find a suitable place and a way to finance it. That doesn't change, no matter where we look.