Enigma I be

Admittedly, I am a strange person.

I love pretty dresses, tea parties and whatnot; but on the other side of things, I am completely at ease when, ahem, butchering animals.

On my bed you would find an array of books with titles ranging from, 'Mrs. Dunwoody's guide to homemaking', to Joel Salatin's book, 'Holy Cows and Hog Heaven'. The librarians have given up trying to figure me out. ;)

If I had to choose between a day shopping in town, and a day spent at home working in the barn, I would probably choose to stay home.

I call myself old fashioned, yet I have an MP3.

My idea of a fun day is to stay home, clean the barn, trim goat hooves, stack hay and shovel compost onto the garden.

People ask me what kind of music I like. My answer? Good music. I've never cared for bad music, but I do like good music. ;D I like variety. A little bit of classical, a bit of Celtic, some bluegrass, some Hammered Dulcimer, throw in a wee bit 'o' Josh Groban, and voila! You're lookin' at my mish mash of tastes.

The smell of coffee makes me nauseous. (my family is sure that there was a mix up at the hospital)

As much as I like pretty skirts and dresses, nine out of ten times, you will find me in a faded denim skirt, simple t-shirt, and a horrendous--looking green sweater (it's comfy, what can I say!).

I think it would be fun to have an emu! (what I would do with said emu, I have no idea.)

I don't really care for movies, yet can do quote after quote from various films with my sisters.

I love gardening, and my best crop every year is weeds. Hmm.

I like "eating healthy", but I also really like making chocolate truffles. ;)

So there! Now you know the truth! I am a strange character. But then, what a boring existence this life would be if people weren't strange in some way or another....

~Caitlyn

The joys of cell phones...?

Yes, I do have a cell phone. ;) I know how to call people on it, but that's all. If I need to turn it on or off, or have it recharged, I usually have to find someone in the family to help me out.

The interesting part about this cell phone is that #1, it has a Mississippi number, and #2, it's my brother's old phone. I never get any calls on that phone that are for me; they're either Chris's friends who haven't gotten the memo about his new phone, or it's a wrong number from a Mississippi resident, which is what happened one day....

Upon answering my phone, I was greeted by the sound of a woman with a southern drawl saying, "Hi Caitlyn, (I always give my name when answering the phone) My name is Officer so-and-so from the police station and I'm wondering if you could call your friend Colton and ask him to move his car."

Bewildered, as I had absolutely no idea what this lady was talking about, I stammered that I didn't understand (have I ever mentioned that I don't like phone calls!?).

She tried again, "Your friend, Colton, needs to park his car somewhere else and he gave your number as a contact, so I'm wonderin' if you could call him real quick."

My sense of humor had caught up with me by this time, as I realized that she must think that I lived in Mississippi, and this person whoever he was, had obviously given a wrong number. Trying not to laugh, I told the lady that I knew no one by that name and that I think she had the wrong number.

Those police officers don't give up easily!! She doggedly replied, "Ain't he your friend? 'Cause he gave this number as a contact number."

"No Ma'am, I know of no one by that name."

"But ain't he your friend?"

"No Ma'am."

"But he gave me this number as a contact."

How does on answer to that!? This cycle continued a few more times. She wouldn't take 'no' for an answer! Half frustrated, and half wanting to laugh hysterically, I finally said, "Okay, I'll call him."

It probably wasn't the best way to end that crazy cycle, and who knows what happened to that person's car, but the officer finally let me go after that!! And yes, I laughed until my sides hurt after I hung up.

I do not like phone calls.... ;)

~Caitlyn

Hello? Anybody out there?

You know that it's been awhile since you last blogged, when you have to sit a moment and try and remember what your blog password is. :-/ Ooops.

So what hast kept me so busy lately that has made me shamefully neglect you faithful blog readers? I dunno'. ;)

Life is busy! I know, that's a poor excuse seeing as everyone's busy and many people still manage to keep their blog updated, but I'm afraid that's my top excuse.

I'm still trying my best to get my 30'x50' garden covered with as much mulch as possible. I didn't realize just how big my garden was, until I began trying to cover it.... It's undecided yet if I will be gardening next year or not; I would love to, but I don't know if I will have the funds or time. I've toyed with the thought of joining a CSA for the year and bartering services. I'd get fresh veggies, and they would get pasture raised chicken, turkey and/or rabbit. But right now it's still just a thought.

My Jersey heifer is huge! Standing up to my waist and somewhere around 100 lbs. She is adorable and she knows it! She's still on the bottle, and still getting three feedings per day, which keeps me at home (much to my delight!). I'm hoping to keep her on the bottle until she's 6 months old, which will be interesting.... My left side is pretty bruised due to her bunting at the bottle very hard, but hey, bruises eventually go away. And they are worth it; Poppy is the sweetest little thing! A lot of times, I'll just go outside and lean into her soft, fuzzy neck and enjoy some "cow time". ;) She's a good listener.

Goat wise, I still have Ivy and Capri, as well as having a newcomer named Heidi. All three are pregnant, with Heidi due around February 25th, Ivy is due around April 21st, and Capri is due sometime around May 9th. I am SOOOO EXCITED to have little goat kids again!! I can't wait to see their floppy ears that they will trip over, and hear their little 'Maaaas', and watch them race around the pasture with their mamas. :) Sigh....

Spinning has been pretty slow, which is NICE. I kinda' burned out in the summer, trying to finish up a big order and am now trying to get back to spinning for myself (yes I know, I'm so selfish).

I'm also busy doing school. Or does one call it college? Or maybe just further learning? Well, call it what you want it, but I'm doing a home course on herbal family care. The study course has been very in depth, and I am learning a HUGE amount! Many of you know that I had wanted to try for a degree in the veterinary field, but the Lord very firmly closed that door and I am now seeing His purpose for that. I am so happy and blessed to get to stay at home while still continuing my education!! :D

So, life's been all sunshine and roses for me, right? Ummmm, well maybe exclude the sunshine. ;) December has hit, and with it has come the annual puddles, the flooded feed stall in the barn, finding out too late that one of my rain boots has a crack in it (guess how I found THAT out!) and remembering what a Southern winter is like. It's funny, I don't even think about it when I say "Ya'll", "Ain't" or comment on what wet winters one gets in Oregon, but people almost instantly will ask if I used to live in the South. I just reply, "Yep." ;) I guess I do use the word "ya'll" a lot....

Christmas is coming!! I know exactly what I want to do for each family member, and haven't gotten one single thing accomplished. And Christmas is 15 days away.... Yes, I am a procrastinator. ;D

I am really hoping to raise meat chickens next year, as well as getting some turkeys, ducks, and more laying pullets too. But we'll see where the Lord leads. My rabbits are all doing well; I have two does right now and am hoping to start having some babies hopping around the place in a couple months. If all goes according to the plan (read: hare-brained scheme), these will be sold to some local restaurants, but then, when do things ever go "according to the plan"? Keeps life interesting I guess. :)

Hmmmm, what else?

I tried getting our farm 'Certified Naturally Grown' a couple months ago, and still haven't heard if I'll get the certification or be denied, so I'm in the "hurry up and wait" stage. I have a hunch that we won't be certified since our neighbor sprays his fields and we inevitably get some drift from that. :-/

You can find our farm listing at www.localharvest.org !! I am so excited!

Think, think, think.... What else....

Well, I think that must be the jist of things! I can't think of anything else! I'll try to be better about updating more often; I can see by my ClusterMap that I have a lot of visitors here. Thank you all my readers!! :D :D

~Caitlyn