Front Porch Ponderings: How many more mornings on the front porch?: Brrr. The cold is coming, or should I say .... I think winter has arrived. The front porch is a bit cold this morning. The northernly wind i...
My front porch is your front porch, won't you sit awhile?
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
How many more mornings on the front porch?
Brrr. The cold is coming, or should I say .... I think winter has arrived. The front porch is a bit cold this morning. The northernly wind isn't helping either, because it's actually about 45 degrees out there. Yeah, my friends in the Northwest are laughing because I'm complaining about 45 degrees. To be fair though, I'm not really complaining. Winter has been coming each year since time began. Some people are happy, some not so much.
Growing up mostly in northern states, I always lived with cold weather. Dad hated it, he always requested that we were stationed somewhere in the south, we always got northern bases. Glasgow, Montana; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Loring, Maine. Can you say Brrr? You have no idea! And back then, girls had to wear dresses to school, only dresses! Of course, you were covered head to toe in snowsuit, wool socks, snow boots and a warm hat. Dad tells stories of us girls coming home from school and the only thing you could see were our eyes. It seems like we always walked to school too, we never rode a bus on base.
We were overjoyed with the fact that when dad retired, we were moving to Kentucky. That's a warm state! Oh, my - warm weather and close to family all in one move. (I moved ALOT growing up). And we were stationed in Maine at that time, one of the coldest places I remember living. I barely remember seeing grass the entire I lived there. So, to move to the 'bluegrass' state was awesome. Of course, dad only lasted about nine months in Olive Hill before they decided we couldn't make it in Kentucky and the next move happened. North, of course. To Woodbridge, Virginia - right across the river from DC. Yuck. Hated it.
Don't get me wrong, I loved going into DC. Even as a kid, I loved it. And in the 12 years I've been back on the East coast, we still haven't made it to DC! But, Woodbridge didn't last long either, that's where the house fire happened and we ended up in Idaho after that. Closer to my mom's family, since she was so broken up from the fire. (We jumped from our balcony in the middle of the night).
Again, back to snow country. Stayed for almost 30 years before I made it back to Kentucky. I always said I would, I never figured it would take that long! We arrived on Halloween day in 2002. That first Christmas, Dave was outside with no coat on and he thought he was in heaven. I remember him calling relatives back in the west and bragging because it was so warm. Of course, I can't remember a Christmas since then when he was outside without his coat, but he did experience it once! Ha ha ha.
With the anniversary of our arrival coming up next week, I find myself sitting here and wondering where we'll end up next. When I moved to this farm three years ago, I thought I would die here. I guess I still could, but it's not looking very likely, unless God has other plans I'm not quite aware of as of this writing. It was a dream come true to have our own home. A place we could share with all of our visitors. Heck, I tell people to stop and sit on the front porch even if I'm not here. It's so beautiful.
Our original plans for the farm was for everyone to watch along - and come out and help - as we turned three acres into something wonderful for the county. There would be benches & fountains throughout the gardens, dedicated in memory of loved ones or pets, a lovely walking tour around the pond. And the critters. You could even adopt one and then come out and visit. Each came with an adoption certificate, a picture and a window cling. Plus you could come anytime and pet, feed, help care for it. Or just come and visit it.
We've worked hard the past three years. We've put up fencing, kept the pond cleaned up for all the little fishermen that come to visit, kept our gates open for people just to stop by. We've planted gardens - both flowers and vegetables. We've done as much as we could with the few donations we've received. You see, we just have a donation box. Some people leave money in it, some just thank us for showing them around and they leave. We've never complained, because the smile we get on our faces when little ones see the alpacas and feed them is priceless.
But, we don't have a pumpkin patch. We don't have a corn maze. We don't have a bouncy house or huge slide. We can't offer alpaca rides, just visits. During the summer months, we can show you the various ways we grow vegetables and produce. During the winter months, we can show you how cold a farm can be. Of course, most babies are born in the winter - so we do get the occasional visitor to see babies. But, all in all, winter about kills us.
So, again, I am hating winter. Or the thought of it. Feeding the critters takes alot of money, money we don't have this year. It was such a rainy year, most weekends kept people inside and not out visiting farms. We aren't sure what direction to go - sell the farm or try one more year to get this agri-tourism business off the ground before making such a decision. That's where the crowdfunding idea came in.
Crowd-funding is a new-fangled way of asking for help. You just aren't asking your friends and family, you are literally asking the world for help. It's embarrassing to do, when you consider some of the other causes are trying to save someone's life, or build a church in a foreign country. How can we even ask for help in keeping our farm? But, we gave it a shot. After all, between all of our facebook friends, relatives and then the thousands of readers we have through All Things Country, asking for $1.00 each wasn't asking for too much. We've literally given it away free for over eight years. Surely some of our readers will donate $1.00 to us.....
We're just asking for a chance. A chance to survive through what I fear to be a cold, cold winter. One that require even more food for critters, more heat to keep them all warm. And a cold winter basically means no visitors at all. So, we resorted to begging. That's what I feel we are doing. Again, embarrassing. But we had to try. And although there are 8 days left to contribute to our cause, the amount of donations we've received has been very eye-opening. I don't know if people don't understand the concept, aren't seeing the links, or really just don't want to donate $1.00 to us. I'm a bit confused. But then again, when am I not a bit confused?
Well, I guess I'm not getting anything done sitting here rambling on, so I'll just wish you the very best that this Wednesday has to offer you. Keep warm, winter is coming!
Blessings,
Pam
My front porch is your front porch, won't you sit awhile?
Growing up mostly in northern states, I always lived with cold weather. Dad hated it, he always requested that we were stationed somewhere in the south, we always got northern bases. Glasgow, Montana; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Loring, Maine. Can you say Brrr? You have no idea! And back then, girls had to wear dresses to school, only dresses! Of course, you were covered head to toe in snowsuit, wool socks, snow boots and a warm hat. Dad tells stories of us girls coming home from school and the only thing you could see were our eyes. It seems like we always walked to school too, we never rode a bus on base.
We were overjoyed with the fact that when dad retired, we were moving to Kentucky. That's a warm state! Oh, my - warm weather and close to family all in one move. (I moved ALOT growing up). And we were stationed in Maine at that time, one of the coldest places I remember living. I barely remember seeing grass the entire I lived there. So, to move to the 'bluegrass' state was awesome. Of course, dad only lasted about nine months in Olive Hill before they decided we couldn't make it in Kentucky and the next move happened. North, of course. To Woodbridge, Virginia - right across the river from DC. Yuck. Hated it.
Don't get me wrong, I loved going into DC. Even as a kid, I loved it. And in the 12 years I've been back on the East coast, we still haven't made it to DC! But, Woodbridge didn't last long either, that's where the house fire happened and we ended up in Idaho after that. Closer to my mom's family, since she was so broken up from the fire. (We jumped from our balcony in the middle of the night).
Again, back to snow country. Stayed for almost 30 years before I made it back to Kentucky. I always said I would, I never figured it would take that long! We arrived on Halloween day in 2002. That first Christmas, Dave was outside with no coat on and he thought he was in heaven. I remember him calling relatives back in the west and bragging because it was so warm. Of course, I can't remember a Christmas since then when he was outside without his coat, but he did experience it once! Ha ha ha.
With the anniversary of our arrival coming up next week, I find myself sitting here and wondering where we'll end up next. When I moved to this farm three years ago, I thought I would die here. I guess I still could, but it's not looking very likely, unless God has other plans I'm not quite aware of as of this writing. It was a dream come true to have our own home. A place we could share with all of our visitors. Heck, I tell people to stop and sit on the front porch even if I'm not here. It's so beautiful.
Our original plans for the farm was for everyone to watch along - and come out and help - as we turned three acres into something wonderful for the county. There would be benches & fountains throughout the gardens, dedicated in memory of loved ones or pets, a lovely walking tour around the pond. And the critters. You could even adopt one and then come out and visit. Each came with an adoption certificate, a picture and a window cling. Plus you could come anytime and pet, feed, help care for it. Or just come and visit it.
We've worked hard the past three years. We've put up fencing, kept the pond cleaned up for all the little fishermen that come to visit, kept our gates open for people just to stop by. We've planted gardens - both flowers and vegetables. We've done as much as we could with the few donations we've received. You see, we just have a donation box. Some people leave money in it, some just thank us for showing them around and they leave. We've never complained, because the smile we get on our faces when little ones see the alpacas and feed them is priceless.
But, we don't have a pumpkin patch. We don't have a corn maze. We don't have a bouncy house or huge slide. We can't offer alpaca rides, just visits. During the summer months, we can show you the various ways we grow vegetables and produce. During the winter months, we can show you how cold a farm can be. Of course, most babies are born in the winter - so we do get the occasional visitor to see babies. But, all in all, winter about kills us.
So, again, I am hating winter. Or the thought of it. Feeding the critters takes alot of money, money we don't have this year. It was such a rainy year, most weekends kept people inside and not out visiting farms. We aren't sure what direction to go - sell the farm or try one more year to get this agri-tourism business off the ground before making such a decision. That's where the crowdfunding idea came in.
Crowd-funding is a new-fangled way of asking for help. You just aren't asking your friends and family, you are literally asking the world for help. It's embarrassing to do, when you consider some of the other causes are trying to save someone's life, or build a church in a foreign country. How can we even ask for help in keeping our farm? But, we gave it a shot. After all, between all of our facebook friends, relatives and then the thousands of readers we have through All Things Country, asking for $1.00 each wasn't asking for too much. We've literally given it away free for over eight years. Surely some of our readers will donate $1.00 to us.....
We're just asking for a chance. A chance to survive through what I fear to be a cold, cold winter. One that require even more food for critters, more heat to keep them all warm. And a cold winter basically means no visitors at all. So, we resorted to begging. That's what I feel we are doing. Again, embarrassing. But we had to try. And although there are 8 days left to contribute to our cause, the amount of donations we've received has been very eye-opening. I don't know if people don't understand the concept, aren't seeing the links, or really just don't want to donate $1.00 to us. I'm a bit confused. But then again, when am I not a bit confused?
Well, I guess I'm not getting anything done sitting here rambling on, so I'll just wish you the very best that this Wednesday has to offer you. Keep warm, winter is coming!
Blessings,
Pam
My front porch is your front porch, won't you sit awhile?
Friday, October 18, 2013
Looking through the fog ....
The front porch was a bit chilly this morning. Fall is definitely in the air. As the fog clears, the beautiful trees come into view and what a sight they are this time of year. Reds, oranges, yellows with a touch of green still visible. I love it. I don't remember fall being so pretty in the West. Fall in the west means lots of work really. You see, most people use wood to heat their homes in the mountains of Idaho and you have to be prepared. You spend a good month just cutting, splitting and stacking firewood, hoping to get it all in before the first snow. Electric heat isn't a good option when you may lose power at any time in a heavy snow.
Something we just don't have to worry about too much in our part of Kentucky. Since we've moved here, it's the ice storms that do more damage than snow. We haven't seen a 'good' snow since we got here, but I'm afraid this winter is going to be different. It's just a feeling, but I fear it none the less. I love snow, I really do. And I'm always wanting a good one. But once you drive around through the hills of Eastern Kentucky, you can see why a big snowfall would be so bad around here. Some of the roads in Kentucky are treacherous on a good day, throw some snow on them and watch out!
And the school buses? I can't imagine taking a bus down some of the roads they travel in the snow. I know that our road gets pretty darned slick in the winter and it's one of the last roads in the county so it isn't the first priority when it snows. There are others that need it first. Sometimes it's 4 or 5 in the afternoon when they reach Harris Ferry Road. In the West? Harris Ferry Road would be gravel. I saw a statistic last week on paved roads in Idaho - less than half the roads in all of Idaho are paved. Over half are gravel. Gravel works alot better in the snow.
School buses in the west also have automatic chains. They just drop down when the driver needs them and the chains rotate under the tires. So school is hardly ever cancelled. Here, school is cancelled alot during the winter and although some days you really wonder why, like I said - drive out some of the roads the buses travel and you would understand. Weather forecasting is an educated guess though, so I guess we'll all see in the spring what God has in store for us throughout the winter of 2013-2014.
With lots of luck and a million prayers, the Dave person and I will still be here in the Spring of 2014. At the farm I mean. This past summer was a tough one for the farm and for the magazine. The economy has about wiped us all out. I've thought many times over the years that if we could just get $1.00 from every reader of the magazine that we could actually take a breather and work more on the farm. So, I came up with this idea on IndieGoGo to try and do just that. Think about it, we print 12,000 copies of the magazine every month. The industry standard says that we have 2.4 readers per copy, so easily we have over 20,000 readers every month. If every one of them donated $1.00 to our IndieGoGo project, we would reach our goal!
We get so many letters from people who love the magazine. Sure, they'll all donate $1.00. After all, it takes a village sometimes and with the incredible communities we try to support, this should be a piece of cake. So, as hard as it is to ask for help, we launched it and thought we'd see what kind of support we get from those same communities. Although I've been somewhat disappointed with the response, I am thankful for each and every person that donated to the project. We've got 13 more days until it ends, so I'm really praying hard that we are pleased with the end results.
Here is the address of the IndieGoGo project, if you'd like to check it out. And even if you can't donate, please leave a comment if you have visited the farm in the past. We'd love to have you come back sometime.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-continue-our-journey
I hope the weather is beautiful in your area today and you have a blessed Friday. Thank you for taking the time to read my early morning ramblings......
Something we just don't have to worry about too much in our part of Kentucky. Since we've moved here, it's the ice storms that do more damage than snow. We haven't seen a 'good' snow since we got here, but I'm afraid this winter is going to be different. It's just a feeling, but I fear it none the less. I love snow, I really do. And I'm always wanting a good one. But once you drive around through the hills of Eastern Kentucky, you can see why a big snowfall would be so bad around here. Some of the roads in Kentucky are treacherous on a good day, throw some snow on them and watch out!
And the school buses? I can't imagine taking a bus down some of the roads they travel in the snow. I know that our road gets pretty darned slick in the winter and it's one of the last roads in the county so it isn't the first priority when it snows. There are others that need it first. Sometimes it's 4 or 5 in the afternoon when they reach Harris Ferry Road. In the West? Harris Ferry Road would be gravel. I saw a statistic last week on paved roads in Idaho - less than half the roads in all of Idaho are paved. Over half are gravel. Gravel works alot better in the snow.
School buses in the west also have automatic chains. They just drop down when the driver needs them and the chains rotate under the tires. So school is hardly ever cancelled. Here, school is cancelled alot during the winter and although some days you really wonder why, like I said - drive out some of the roads the buses travel and you would understand. Weather forecasting is an educated guess though, so I guess we'll all see in the spring what God has in store for us throughout the winter of 2013-2014.
With lots of luck and a million prayers, the Dave person and I will still be here in the Spring of 2014. At the farm I mean. This past summer was a tough one for the farm and for the magazine. The economy has about wiped us all out. I've thought many times over the years that if we could just get $1.00 from every reader of the magazine that we could actually take a breather and work more on the farm. So, I came up with this idea on IndieGoGo to try and do just that. Think about it, we print 12,000 copies of the magazine every month. The industry standard says that we have 2.4 readers per copy, so easily we have over 20,000 readers every month. If every one of them donated $1.00 to our IndieGoGo project, we would reach our goal!
We get so many letters from people who love the magazine. Sure, they'll all donate $1.00. After all, it takes a village sometimes and with the incredible communities we try to support, this should be a piece of cake. So, as hard as it is to ask for help, we launched it and thought we'd see what kind of support we get from those same communities. Although I've been somewhat disappointed with the response, I am thankful for each and every person that donated to the project. We've got 13 more days until it ends, so I'm really praying hard that we are pleased with the end results.
Here is the address of the IndieGoGo project, if you'd like to check it out. And even if you can't donate, please leave a comment if you have visited the farm in the past. We'd love to have you come back sometime.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-continue-our-journey
I hope the weather is beautiful in your area today and you have a blessed Friday. Thank you for taking the time to read my early morning ramblings......
~Pam
My front porch is your front porch, won't you sit awhile?
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