"Kids seem to naturally tap into that part of the human condition that connects us to the soil. We all share a collective memory of the importance of dirt, the source of everything we consume. In adults, that instinct has been carefully repressed by frequent baptism at the fount of the germ-killing power of Lysol brand cleaner. Younger children have yet to be fully vaccinated by advertisers... They explode onto the packed earth, climbing trees and playground equipment alike. No creature is safe from their prying, inquisitive eyes and nothing obscures their enthusiasm for the dirt they call their own."
Charles Capaldi in Small Farmer's Journal
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood!" Opus
=0) Jay
This message was edited Jan 3, 2009 12:54 PM
Dirty talk
Dirt rules! :-)
I firmly believe that the 'dirtier' your childhood, the better your immune system will be as an adult. I think that the more sterile our environment becomes the more sucseptible(SP!) we are to illness, because we are not allowing our bodies any way to work up a resistance.
Then again, I might just be weird:>)
Nope, I agree. And now they're starting to build the scientific evidence for it.
Just think of all those germs his immune system never met!! I prefer a nodding acquaintance with a few more...but I must say an office setting with a few bazillion fellow germ factories might make me a little more stand offish...
Isn't it funny.... doesn't bother me much at all when a horse blows boogers in my face, but let a person do it...
Yeeeach!
LOL
Horses are less likely to cross-contaminate with us...don't think we're thinkin' that far though....
I try to go with the "I don't have TIME to be sick" attitude, and 9 times out of 10, it seems to work. This last time though, I had a mental flash of a day or two with the covers up to my nose...all that sleep....One moment of weakness, and 10 days of snuffles and a sore throat!
Kidding aside, I think we do have some influence over that. Or maybe I just usually will try to ignore it, so it doesn't SEEM as bad. You hear about those rare people 'never sick a day in their life' and wonder..maybe they just didn't let it keep them down. Me, I'm a wuss when it really hits. Bed and Hot Toddy's all the way.
So good to be healthy again!
Me too. I don't get sick often, being out here on the farm, but when I do, I just go to bed. I'm a pansy and proud of it. LOL
=0)
I am sick right now and it doesn't happen often. I have conditions I deal with all the time but as far as getting colds and things, it doesn't happen much. But I have been "weak in the chest" since the Sunday after TG. I just keep trying to forge ahead though but I'm getting slower moving every day. LOL Not running a fever though so I'll keep trudging until I'm better. As far as dirt goes, I'm not a bit scared of it. I can muck stalls with one hand and eat with the other. :)
Wouldn't I have fever if I had pneumonia? That's what I was thinking anyway.
I'm not sure, actually. But I know your body is trying to tell you to give it some healing time, so if you don't start feeling better SOON, you might want to take a day or two 'off'. Isn't there somebody to do your chores for you, or are you one of those people it takes chains and anchors to make sit still:>)?
DH is picking up the slack. I went to the barn this morning and he was perturbed with me. LOL
I saw a pic of your DH! I wouldn't argue with him too much. Looks like he might just toss you over his shoulder and dump you back in bed!
Take advantage of his help, put your feet up, get some hot tea, and grab a book (or movie, or whatever will keep you still) and I bet you feel tons better in a day or two.
It's nice that DH is off for a little while. Seasonal layoff that should be 2 or 3 weeks. Couldn't be better timing for me. LOL
What I often find is that when I just let the drive shift into park for a couple of days, I come back with so much more... it seems like it's sort of a steeping and brewing time, and the subsequent broth is just so much richer. I see things with new eyes, and can bring a different mind to some things I was stuck with.
=0) Jay
I felt better today but this evening I have a bad cough and I can really "feel" and hear the congestion. I guess I'll have to break down and go to the doctor. I need to get my muscle relaxer script renewed. I've been out for a month now and I am really spasming like crazy all over. I just hate sitting in the doc's office. Seems like such a waste of time when I always have work to do. I know. I'm a hard headed hopeless case.
And that's why we love you, Cajun! =0)
It's so nice to have friends that accept me, warts and all. LOL
I have MD.
I'd say I'm sorry, but I think you'd find a way to send me a D-mail punch in the nose! So we will move on to something else!
The weather! It's been gorgeous here, but I have a feeling we are the exception to the rule. My hubby and I went for a hike on Saturday, and got lost, and spent 6 HOURS trying to get back to the truck. We took the pygmy goat, with a little backpack holding her water and food, and she was such a trooper! She stayed right at my heels, I was really proud of her for not making a slightly stressfull situation worse by lagging or bleating. At home she never shuts up!
I'm okay with my situation. I know others have it much worse in life than I do. I still get to do most of what I want. I just have to do some things a bit different. God has blessed me.
I love to hike though I can't go as fast or as far as I would like. This is a beautiful area for hiking and I have seen some awesome sights. I have taken my dog with me but I never thought of taking a goat. Did she enjoy the hike before her humans got her lost in the woods? Maybe you should have followed her. LOL I'd love to see pics of some of your hikes.
Here is my dog on a hike. He was worn out. We are both getting older so we have to take it easier now but we still enjoy out walks through the woods.
I think if it wasn't for the ride to the beginning of the trail, in the back of a rackety old Ford, she would probably really enjoy the hikes more. She hates that part. But once we get there, and put her little pack on (I'll get some pics up-she looks so cute) she just trots along behind me. When we get to camp I tie her and she spends a while bleating to be able to come sit by me, then gives up and lays down and chews her cud. This time we didn't get back to the truck until about 8:00-that last two hours was in the dark, and she never made a peep. Just stayed on my heels. I trust her to not get lost much more than I would one of my dogs. But if I tried to follow her we'd just go in circles!! She is definitely a follower!
Kentucky looks beautiful. And that dog looks tired:>) But I bet he/she loves the walks!
What kind of goats do you have? Since I only have the one she has bonded to me, I don't know if a goat that has a 'herd' to hang with would behave the same way, but you should give it a try, even if just to see the looks on the faces of the other hikers!
Julia
I'll bet you do get some funny looks. It's not every day you see a goat wearing a pack saddle.
I don't have any goats. Don't have the room for one. If I liked goat milk I guess I could make the room but you have to have much better fences for goats than horse.
Galloway was really tired that day. We had been out on the trail for about 3 hours and it turned out to be the hardest leg of the whole trail system. They didn't mention that on the map. GRRR We had to rest a lot but I was proud of us for making it to the end. Took the rest of the day to recover. LOL
Ky is a beautiful state and very diverse landscape from side to side and top to bottom. We are very blessed to have 5 beutiful state parks no more than 2 hours from our house. Two of them are 30 minutes and the one in the pic is only 20 minutes away. It has great fishing too.
Here is Knock (DGS) in '06 with one of the 9 perch he caught at the dam. He still thinks he ate it but we switched it with a slab of catfish that was already cleaned, turned the perch loose and he never knew the difference. He is still a proud hunter and gatherer. LOL
Knock looks quite proud of that fish! He's a good-looking boy, too! He's probably sprouted an inch or two since then?
You are lucky to have so much beautiful country around you to explore. Nothing gets the kinks out of my moods better then a walk in peaceful scenery. Too bad the maps don't show the difficulty levels of the hikes! That would have save you some unpleasantness. Galloway is a pretty unique name-any interesting history on that? I know of a Galloway Downs....
So, you got that flu/cold/pneumonia beat yet? I'd love to send you some of our sunny 70's weather to speed that up. I'd trade for some rain any day.
I had a nice long note written out, clicked on Knocks pic for a closer look, and lost the whole thing, and now I'm out of time at work, so I'll have to make up for it another day! I'll work on mastering my camera too, and get some good pics on here to share.
Julia
He was soooo proud of his fish. He is a funny kid and we are so glad to have him with us. He told him Mom on the phone a couple of nights ago that he wants to stay with us this summer and every summer. That is when we go trail riding, camping, fishing, hiking ect. He has grown a lot since then. Hard to believe he is a few months away from 8yo. Seems like yesterday he came home from the hospital. He is lots of help at the barn.
My dog is a BC which comes from the border country of Scotland. So when I got him I looked in the atlas to find a name from Scotland. Galloway is a county in Scotland and it is also the name of a character in a book by my favorite writer of all time, Louis LaMour.
I could read his stuff nonstop.
I finally broke down and went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. I have been having trouble breathing since TG but it had started hurting to breath so I figured I'd better go. Got a shot, an Antibiotic, a steroid Zpac and an inhaler. I'm having an easier time breathing now but I'm wiped out. Stayed in today except to feed my chickens. I have gotten quite a bit accomplished inside. I finally got the Christmas decorations taken down. Also got the clothes washed up. I'm so slow with the laundry you'd think I was using a wash board. LOL I am a hopeless procrastinator.
Can't wait for the pics. I love seeing pics. Here is a pic I took of Knock last week.
Thats a cool picture:>) I wish more kids had the chance to grow up that way! There'd be a lot less hostility, cruelty and selfishness out there! He looks very happy to be helping.
I'm a big Louis Lamour fan myself. Somehow he makes you smell the sage and see the sunsets.
"I have gotten quite a bit accomplished inside." Well, as long as you are resting!!!
Ok, I've mastered the pic thing! Here's one of Nana and I.
Boy, that's one steep hill you're on, no wonder you need a goat along!
LOL
Nana is too cute. If I saw her on the trail I'd just have to stop and pet her. Are those standard dog packs she is wearing? What kind of accomodations does she enjoy at home?
Nana's a cutey! How she must have enjoyed that scrambling!
Looks like that cute pig could stand to hike a few miles for it's figure's sake. LOL Is it true that you have to watch their diets to keep them from overweight and unhealthy. I don't know much about them. They are cute when they are babies but some of them can get pretty big from what I have seen on TV.
He gets a bowl in the morning and at evening, which the duck shares. I have to feed Nana on the roof, in her own bowl or he takes it. I think in the summer I will lighten up on the feed, but it's been cold (comparatively speaking-40's brr!!) lately, so I figure he needs the calories. If his tummy ever drags the ground, it's diet time.
Got to go home now, darn it, and do some chores, talk to you guys later.