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| Our Sweet "Gracie" Years ago, when I was a young women, I wanted sheep. I think it's every girls dream to raise sheep. I mean, what's not to love about them? So, in 2006 I was finally able to raise them, I wasn't a young women anymore, but I still had the desire and fortitude. Thus began my journey with sheep. I don't want to get into detail about how I purchased my original sheep or which breeds I started with, however it is important to note that I did want to end up with Jacob sheep as my main flock. Sheep are incredibly smart animals, the bonds they form with one another and their shepherd are deep. People have to earn it though, they have to be trusted, gentle, and willing. I am one such person, I'm very connected to my sheep. I talk to them on a daily basis, study them, pet them, and hand feed them. For a sheep, that entails a lot of trust, for a shepherdess, that entails a lot of love. My sheep give me so much more than I give them in return. They give me peace, love, pleasure and joy. But they also give me meat, wool, compost and dairy. Handspinning is my joy. It's meditative and calming. When my world gets a bit out of kilter, I turn to my wheel, knitting or carding. It sets my world in perspective once again. The barn cleaning is also a huge bonus. All sheep manure is readily available for use in a compost pile or to be directly sown into a garden, around trees & shrubs or made into manure tea instantly. Sheep completely digest their food, thus any weed seeds that may be in the hay you feed them, are gone, completely. The same goes for goats if you happen to raise them. So, my sheep give me terrific compost which in turn gives me excellent food in my garden. The better the soil, the more "good" amendments you put into it, the healthier the quality of your food. I let my girls glean my garden at the end of the season, they've earned it. When I have a ewe that is producing too much milk for her one lamb, guess who gets to milk her? If you've never had sheep milk or cheese, you're missing a phenomenal treat. In my opinion, it's far superior to goat milk. Annually we cull two sheep for our freezer.........lamb is super healthy containing a great source of protein, iron and zinc. It delivers a healthy dose of B12 and niacin. It is by far healthier for you than beef. It's a red meat that packs it all! I haven't had a cut of beef in six years. I utilize the fat from the lamb for making our own tallow as well. Ever had potatoes cooked in lamb tallow.............OMGosh! In essence, we use the sheep "poo" for our own food, the wool for our clothing, the meat for our health. What we receive in return from our woolies completes the circle. We give them a clean barn, medical care and vitamins, love, attention and proper care all around.....daily! Did I mention that I also market some of the fleece? Yep, I make money by selling fleece to women who also like to spin. I also sell lambs to good homes annually. I posted this article to inspire others who may be thinking about raising animals.........sheep are the ultimate farm animal to have. You reap so much from them..........trust, love, affection. Also, the lil' lambs are pretty darn cute and so fun to watch! |
Monday, May 16, 2011
Why We LOVE Sheep!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Sheet Mulching Gardening..........A New Concept?
Since it's Spring and everyone is talking about gardening, it made sense to post a story about my gardening experiences over the past umpteen years! I have been gardening and canning from my gardens for 33 years........wow! You'd think I know more than I actually do when it comes to gardening, but sometimes, just getting a garden planted, tending to it, and canning from it, can seem overwhelming....gardening is work, plain and simple.
I've recently learned about a "gardening technique" that our locals call, "Lasagna Technique." In actuality, the Lasagna technique of gardening has been around since the early 1900's. Ruth Stout was the originator of this gardening style. Ruth called it "sheet mulching gardening." I kinda like that term better, the visual in the name or something. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge lasagna fan, I don't know.
The idea of this gardening technique is pretty cut and dry. You are basically making compost in your garden beds. I've always been a "raised bed gardener" until I moved out to our lil' ranch. The previous owners had a large garden area tilled near our barns. Not having ever really planted in the dirt without a garden bed, I thought I'd give it a try. I have to tell you, although this garden produced prolifically for me over the past four years, I spent my life out in the garden weeding! I was losing my love of gardening very quickly. I turned to "The Man" not long ago and told him, "if you don't help me make garden beds, I'm not canning you anymore pickles, beets, greens, pumpkin or tomatoes"...........that seemed to be his inspiration! He loves home-grown, home-canned goodies his wife makes him. I know, I really play hard ball at times! Thus, the "re-vamping" of the Anderson garden.
Our beds are assorted in length, width remains the same. They are made of recycled and reclaimed materials. Sandstone, wood, galvanized metal...........it's the "shanty town" of gardens. We feel good using these materials, I don't care that it doesn't look like Martha Stewart's raised bed garden........I mean, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME???" So begins the new and improved Anderson garden.
Let me just say here quickly that part of the inspiration for the re-vamping of our garden came from a local tour not long ago, at a farmer's market grower. His explanation and technique of his gardening was my inspiration. Wish I'd listened to him five years ago when he offered to come to my house and show me "how!" Such is life.
So begins the work for the Anderson's. We build the beds out of reclaimed and recycled materials with corner posts sunk in the ground and bracing every 6-8 ft. We line the beds with chicken wire that is purchased in 4-ft. wide rolls (this process is done to keep moles, voles, prarie dogs and anything else that's a "digger" out). The next layer is cardboard, a full layer. We used boxes that we broke down (these are free!). On top of the cardboard we place a brown or green manure, doesn't matter which one you start with, as long as you alternate the layers. Brown manures should be twice as thick as the green manures. We also bought a truck-load of black cinder sand for $12. I mix one shovel full of sand into three shovel full of mulch (or brown manure). Mix and use. Keep alternating browns, greens, browns, greens. The depth of these beds should be anywhere from 18-24-inches high. Wet each layer lightly before adding another layer. You will finish this garden bed with good soil (that may cost you some money). When the bed is complete and you've wet the whole concoction for a few days, sprinkle bonemeal over the top (kinda like the icing on a cake), this will give you added phosphorus. PLANT your heirloom, organic seeds.
Remember that annually you will have to amend the soil, but from this point on, you have created some incredible rich, humus soil that will give you healthy veggies and herbs. As you amend this annually, it only gets better, darker, more fluffy, loaded with a lot of microbial growth that will nourish your veggies.
I'm very excited to be "back into my gardening forte'," I can grow incredible gardens with gardening beds, they are easy to amend, easy to weed (this won't be a perfectly weed free garden), easy to harvest from. I'm glad I only wasted four years trying this "other" gardening, let me tell you, it SUCKS! And it does because it destroys all the microbial growth in the soil, it turns up weed seeds so that sunlight hits them and thus begins your "weed patch." It hurts the lil' earth worms (if you have any), and it's just plain hard on the soil. Also, remember to heavily mulch your walk-ways so weeds don't begin growing in them. Use either a drip irrigation system on this garden, or a bubbler turned down low, or hand water. Don't over-head water ANY PART OF IT, or you will create more weeds within your garden boundry.
I had a garden once upon a time, I sold herbs to a local restaurant, I fed other families, I fed my own family, I harvested and dried my own herbs and never bought store bought herbs............I'm back to my roots this year, me and my "shanty town" garden! Happy Gardening y'll!
I've recently learned about a "gardening technique" that our locals call, "Lasagna Technique." In actuality, the Lasagna technique of gardening has been around since the early 1900's. Ruth Stout was the originator of this gardening style. Ruth called it "sheet mulching gardening." I kinda like that term better, the visual in the name or something. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge lasagna fan, I don't know.
The idea of this gardening technique is pretty cut and dry. You are basically making compost in your garden beds. I've always been a "raised bed gardener" until I moved out to our lil' ranch. The previous owners had a large garden area tilled near our barns. Not having ever really planted in the dirt without a garden bed, I thought I'd give it a try. I have to tell you, although this garden produced prolifically for me over the past four years, I spent my life out in the garden weeding! I was losing my love of gardening very quickly. I turned to "The Man" not long ago and told him, "if you don't help me make garden beds, I'm not canning you anymore pickles, beets, greens, pumpkin or tomatoes"...........that seemed to be his inspiration! He loves home-grown, home-canned goodies his wife makes him. I know, I really play hard ball at times! Thus, the "re-vamping" of the Anderson garden.
Our beds are assorted in length, width remains the same. They are made of recycled and reclaimed materials. Sandstone, wood, galvanized metal...........it's the "shanty town" of gardens. We feel good using these materials, I don't care that it doesn't look like Martha Stewart's raised bed garden........I mean, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME???" So begins the new and improved Anderson garden.
Let me just say here quickly that part of the inspiration for the re-vamping of our garden came from a local tour not long ago, at a farmer's market grower. His explanation and technique of his gardening was my inspiration. Wish I'd listened to him five years ago when he offered to come to my house and show me "how!" Such is life.
So begins the work for the Anderson's. We build the beds out of reclaimed and recycled materials with corner posts sunk in the ground and bracing every 6-8 ft. We line the beds with chicken wire that is purchased in 4-ft. wide rolls (this process is done to keep moles, voles, prarie dogs and anything else that's a "digger" out). The next layer is cardboard, a full layer. We used boxes that we broke down (these are free!). On top of the cardboard we place a brown or green manure, doesn't matter which one you start with, as long as you alternate the layers. Brown manures should be twice as thick as the green manures. We also bought a truck-load of black cinder sand for $12. I mix one shovel full of sand into three shovel full of mulch (or brown manure). Mix and use. Keep alternating browns, greens, browns, greens. The depth of these beds should be anywhere from 18-24-inches high. Wet each layer lightly before adding another layer. You will finish this garden bed with good soil (that may cost you some money). When the bed is complete and you've wet the whole concoction for a few days, sprinkle bonemeal over the top (kinda like the icing on a cake), this will give you added phosphorus. PLANT your heirloom, organic seeds.
Remember that annually you will have to amend the soil, but from this point on, you have created some incredible rich, humus soil that will give you healthy veggies and herbs. As you amend this annually, it only gets better, darker, more fluffy, loaded with a lot of microbial growth that will nourish your veggies.
I'm very excited to be "back into my gardening forte'," I can grow incredible gardens with gardening beds, they are easy to amend, easy to weed (this won't be a perfectly weed free garden), easy to harvest from. I'm glad I only wasted four years trying this "other" gardening, let me tell you, it SUCKS! And it does because it destroys all the microbial growth in the soil, it turns up weed seeds so that sunlight hits them and thus begins your "weed patch." It hurts the lil' earth worms (if you have any), and it's just plain hard on the soil. Also, remember to heavily mulch your walk-ways so weeds don't begin growing in them. Use either a drip irrigation system on this garden, or a bubbler turned down low, or hand water. Don't over-head water ANY PART OF IT, or you will create more weeds within your garden boundry.
I had a garden once upon a time, I sold herbs to a local restaurant, I fed other families, I fed my own family, I harvested and dried my own herbs and never bought store bought herbs............I'm back to my roots this year, me and my "shanty town" garden! Happy Gardening y'll!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
A Blessing Way
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| Val |
This is my good friend Val, although I haven't known Val that long, she has truly stolen a piece of my heart. Val is very close in age to my own daughter. Val is new to our area, her husband Javier just started a Naturopathic practice in a near-by town. Val is a graphic web designer. She is also a member of our weekly womens group called the "Radical Homemakers."
It was after one of these weekly meetings that I truly connected with Val. She stayed at my house after our meeting ended, to chat with me about my sheep, spinning, and knitting.........Val is also a knitter. We talked about her dreams of moving to their new five acre parcel of land, the yurt she wanted to buy for their temporary home, raising animals and babies. How could any of that be dull? When I found out that her mother lived in Maryland and that she had no siblings, I knew I needed to hold a blessingway for her. She needed women to surround her with love at this point in her life. So, we did...........
Welcome to the Sacred Ceremony & Smudging..........
We started the ceremony with smudging....smudging is the burning of sacred herbs in ceremonies for clearing, prayer, & purification. We used Sweetgrass and White Sage. I had previously chosen four women to invoke the "four directions" presence and power. Each women brought in a direction (the East first, then S., then W. & finally N.) Each women said a prayer and filled prayer ties with tobacco and sage, we tied each small prayer tie off with my sweet "Gracies" wool in a continuous circle. This was given to Val so that she would have these spiritual prayers and energy to take home with her. As she is having a home birth with a midwife, each prayer tie can be tied in her room or on her bed in the directions they belong. Red to the East, Yellow to the South, Black to the West and White to the North.
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Me welcoming the Women & Grandmothers |
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| Singing spiritual songs My good friend Maxie and my grand daughter Kiley, made a fresh flower tiara for Val. Kiley brushed and braided Val's hair, and then the tiara was placed upon her head. It was beautiful and fragrant.........flowers are symbolic of natures abundance and beauty just as a women is when she is in her full pregnant bloom. |
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Brushing hair and placing the tiara  We then took turns massaging Val's feet with cornmeal and warm Lavender water while she was able to relax and enjoy the moment. |
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| Lorraine, Val's midwife washing Val's feet |
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| Massaging her feet w/cornmeal |
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| Sharing the warmed sweet almond oil for a massage |
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| A massage from the ladies |
Each women was asked to bring a bead for a birth blessing necklace. Individually each women presented Val with a bead that they had chosen with care, something symbolic to them. As they placed the bead on a silver strand, they offered Val their individual blessing.........a safe passage for she and the baby, cherish and love each moment with your child as they grow so quickly, peace and love during your labor and so forth. This necklace will give Val a connection to all her women friends when she is birthing.
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| The oldest "sage" of the blessingway, Barbara Kerr, she is 85 yoa After our bead sharing, we made Val expose her belly so that all of us could paint her belly with henna (a natural & temporary dye). We got creative............ |
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The henna painting.....    We ended the day with an outdoor picnic. I had spent just a few days (ha!) choreographing and making an organic food buffet. We had fresh ground Kamut carrot cake with honey-cream cheese frosting for Val, some incredible apricot-raspberry bars, a bunch of organic finger foods & pregnancy iced tea. We also made prayer flags, similar to Tibetan prayer flags. Each women was able to choose a color of fabric, paint a blessing on the flags which Val will also be able to hang in her room during her labor. Another gentle reminder that her women friends are with her in spirit through this journey. Candles were sent home with all the women so that we can start a phone tree.... when I receive the call from Val's midwife Lorraine, that Val has gone into labor I will then call all the other women, we will light our candles and send positive energy and prayers for she and the baby, that they will indeed have a safe passage. Val, I was a bit nervous the day of our ceremony, but I want you to know one thing......if going through this rite was difficult, no women would have more than one child........from the moment you hold that lil' babe in your arms, nestle her to your breast, you will be hooked and smitten the remainder of your life. There is NO getting around it, you will be in love forever after! From the heart of Earth, by means of yellow pollen Blessing is extended. Blessing is extended. On top of the pollen floor may I there in blessing give birth! With long-life happiness surrounding me May I in blessing give birth! May I quickly give birth! In blessing may I arise again, in blessing may I recover, As one who is long-life happiness may I live on! --Navajo chant from the Blessingway Ceremony |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Grandma Nellie~A True Story
"My great-grandmother was 111 years old when she died, the same age as the tatoo markings on her chin.
Grandma Nellie, as everyone called her, lived across the Klamoth river on Blue Creek. The only way you could get to her house was by a long journey through the ancient redwoods, through the prairies to the river, then across by boat. It was a very dangerous section of the mightly Klamath River where Blue Creek, which ran down from the saced High Country mountains, merged into the river. Blue Creek is still the purest, clearest, and most beautiful creek in the Yurok tribal territory.
Grandma Nellie was both a Seer and a Ceremonial Medicine Women. She healed with herbs, was considered clairvoyant because she could see into the future with accuracy, and she could find lost objects and lost people. She was able to solve murder cases, tell people's fortunes, and could read people's minds. That is why a lot of people feared her and why she lived alone, across the river, up on the side of the forested small mountain that eventually leads up to the higher mountains known as the Siskiyous.
The old farmhouse that was built years ago still stands there, and behind it you can find the traditional Yurok-style, redwood plank house our people lived in for centuries before European influence. Grandma used the old style Indian house to dry, sort, and store her herbs and as a place of meditation and prayer. Not too far from it was also the old-style, semi-subterranean, sacred sweatlodge she had used for doctoring hard cases, and the old salmon-fish smoke house that she used for making salmon strips, deer jerky, and smoked eels. She did not have electricity, modern plumbing, or conveniences. She had an old outhouse, a water system in the house based on gravitational flow, and an old wood heater for the kitchen and front room.
For years she lived all by herself in the old house, at the old village site. Different relations would come to visit and bring her food and some modern supplies like kerosene for the lamps, clothes, pots and pans, and toilet paper. She grew her own tobacco, cultivated her own teas, and lived close to the land, drawing upon berries, plants, fish and deer for her survival. She also had a garden that usually provided her with more food than she could use, and she canned a lot.
Her property was one of the most highly desired pieces of allotted Indian land on the reservation and Klamath River. So there was always someone trying to buy it from her at a steal, or tying to intimidate her to sell or threatening to take it from her. But she always stood her ground. Because of her reputation as a Medicine Women, and maybe due to her choice of property, the different local church representatives were always trying to get Grandma to join their denomination.
Grandma Nellie was already mad at the government, the large corporations, and the BIA for ripping hundreds of acres of her land under the notorious 1887 Dawes Act, then the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, and the so-called state rights of way. She didn't have much tolerance for a group of people who called themselves Christians and who kept pestering her to come to their church services. But one day she decided to take them up on the offer. She went with a group of their congregation to Crescent City and attended their service, supposedly as a guest speaker about the "Indian Religion." As she stood up in front of the congregation she heard the scream of a Hawk. It flew into the church and sat on one of the pew-type chairs. With tears in her eyes she suddenly changed her tone of voice and the topic of her discussion.
"I can't do this. I can't be a part of what you people want me to be. You see the Hawk. It was sent by the Great Creator in the same way that God sent a burning bush to Moses, the Whirlwind to Job, and a Cloud to Noah. These are the religious leaders you teach us about, the ones you claim you learn from. Well, we Indians have our leaders too, and God speaks to us in a mysterious way. I know why you're trying to be nice to me. I am not saying that all of you have bad intentions, but I do want to warn you that all of Nature is witness to your thoughts, actions, and deeds. I cannot change for you so that you will accept me. I cannot and will not give or sell you my land. My ancestors are buried there. It is sacred ground. The old Indian trail that I use for spiritual pilgrimages to Red Mountain, to pray for the people, and speak to the Great Creator is on that land. It starts from my house and it is full of spirits, or what you white people call angels. But now I know why I finally agreed to come here. I came to bring you a message. You say that the book you study and believe in, The Bible, is the word of God? Why don't you follow it? We Indians are different than you people. We are not what you call hypocrites. Our women do not attend religious services whey they are on their moontime, their monthly cycles. That is against the Indian custom and laws, the Natural laws, and the Creator's Laws. Isn't that same law in your holy book? Isn't that same law all around the world in all cultures? You can't hide from the Moon. She sees everything. You can't change the law by calling it a curse, or demon worship, when it is a sacred and holy time for women. Your ways are destroying our Indian ways and the Earth along with it. You are creating imbalance and a lot of sickness. And in the future, a lot of strange and terrible diseases will come from problems with blood. So be forewarned.
"I want to leave now. I want to go back to my home where things are not so strange to me. There I can pray and feel good about it. But I tell you this. I had a dream. The great water serpent from the Klamoth River came and talked to me. He said he is angry at what people are doing to his home. Cutting all the trees, destroying the land, trying to catch all the fish and sell them without following ceremony. He said people are no longer following the old ways by making payment to him and the Creator. He doesn't like the way our Indian people make a mockery of the ancient and sacred dances by coming there drunk, women on their moontime, and everyone throwing garbage all over the sacred grounds. So he said the Great Creator is going to send him down the river to purify it, by the next full moon."
Grandma Nellie then went home and prayed. She went into the forest and found a small sacred tree, the dogwood, and did a ceremony on it. She took the sapling down to the front yard of her house, facing the river. She faced upriver, then downriver. She offered her pipe and tobacco and prayed to the water serpent: "I am an old lady, this is all I have left. My ancestors are buried here. I have food planted here. I respect everything here. To me the land is sacred. The river is sacred, and we cannot live without it. That is why I pray to the Great Creator and all my relations here this morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset. Now I offer tobacco to the Moon, the spirit of the river, the water serpent, and all my relations. I cry out to the Great Creator and say thank you for the dream and warning. I ask that you not hurt me or my people. I plant this sacred tree here, in this spot, only ten yards from the front door of my house. Do not let the water go any further than this."
A few days later, in 1964, a flood raged down the mightly Klamath River. It devastated the entire area, taking away homes, livestock, and human life on both sides of the river. It flooded Crescent City and destroyed the church in which Grandma Nellie had stood just a few days before. It was the worst flood ever recorded in California history. My Grandma Nellie is now dead and buried at the old village site. As you get out of the boat and begin to walk up to the old trail, leading up the side of a steep bank toward the old farmhouse, you can see that a flood had hit the place at one time. The first house on the trail is totally destroyed, with only bits and pieces of wood scattered around an old foundation. The second house, halfway up the trail, is mostly filled with mud on the inside. The third house, where Grandma Nellie lived, is still standing. It is wedged between five trees. The water did not go any higher than the sapling she planted, and you can see that it has now grown into a young tree."--Tela Star Hawk Lake The Last Female Shaman
The last I heard, the BIA is trying to divide the property up among all the different grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and as a result nobody can live on the land.
When I heard this story, it touched me very deeply. My own granfather once told us, "some people always have to have someone else to look down on, to make themselves feel better, more important." In my mind, Grandma Nellie was special, not only in her abilities as a Medicine Women, but in her devotion to her life, her ways. We should all live as Grandma Nellie did, in pure honesty, devotion and strength. Live with the Three R's: Respect, Relationship and Reciprocity...........live in kindness.
Grandma Nellie, as everyone called her, lived across the Klamoth river on Blue Creek. The only way you could get to her house was by a long journey through the ancient redwoods, through the prairies to the river, then across by boat. It was a very dangerous section of the mightly Klamath River where Blue Creek, which ran down from the saced High Country mountains, merged into the river. Blue Creek is still the purest, clearest, and most beautiful creek in the Yurok tribal territory.
Grandma Nellie was both a Seer and a Ceremonial Medicine Women. She healed with herbs, was considered clairvoyant because she could see into the future with accuracy, and she could find lost objects and lost people. She was able to solve murder cases, tell people's fortunes, and could read people's minds. That is why a lot of people feared her and why she lived alone, across the river, up on the side of the forested small mountain that eventually leads up to the higher mountains known as the Siskiyous.
The old farmhouse that was built years ago still stands there, and behind it you can find the traditional Yurok-style, redwood plank house our people lived in for centuries before European influence. Grandma used the old style Indian house to dry, sort, and store her herbs and as a place of meditation and prayer. Not too far from it was also the old-style, semi-subterranean, sacred sweatlodge she had used for doctoring hard cases, and the old salmon-fish smoke house that she used for making salmon strips, deer jerky, and smoked eels. She did not have electricity, modern plumbing, or conveniences. She had an old outhouse, a water system in the house based on gravitational flow, and an old wood heater for the kitchen and front room.
For years she lived all by herself in the old house, at the old village site. Different relations would come to visit and bring her food and some modern supplies like kerosene for the lamps, clothes, pots and pans, and toilet paper. She grew her own tobacco, cultivated her own teas, and lived close to the land, drawing upon berries, plants, fish and deer for her survival. She also had a garden that usually provided her with more food than she could use, and she canned a lot.
Her property was one of the most highly desired pieces of allotted Indian land on the reservation and Klamath River. So there was always someone trying to buy it from her at a steal, or tying to intimidate her to sell or threatening to take it from her. But she always stood her ground. Because of her reputation as a Medicine Women, and maybe due to her choice of property, the different local church representatives were always trying to get Grandma to join their denomination.
Grandma Nellie was already mad at the government, the large corporations, and the BIA for ripping hundreds of acres of her land under the notorious 1887 Dawes Act, then the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, and the so-called state rights of way. She didn't have much tolerance for a group of people who called themselves Christians and who kept pestering her to come to their church services. But one day she decided to take them up on the offer. She went with a group of their congregation to Crescent City and attended their service, supposedly as a guest speaker about the "Indian Religion." As she stood up in front of the congregation she heard the scream of a Hawk. It flew into the church and sat on one of the pew-type chairs. With tears in her eyes she suddenly changed her tone of voice and the topic of her discussion.
"I can't do this. I can't be a part of what you people want me to be. You see the Hawk. It was sent by the Great Creator in the same way that God sent a burning bush to Moses, the Whirlwind to Job, and a Cloud to Noah. These are the religious leaders you teach us about, the ones you claim you learn from. Well, we Indians have our leaders too, and God speaks to us in a mysterious way. I know why you're trying to be nice to me. I am not saying that all of you have bad intentions, but I do want to warn you that all of Nature is witness to your thoughts, actions, and deeds. I cannot change for you so that you will accept me. I cannot and will not give or sell you my land. My ancestors are buried there. It is sacred ground. The old Indian trail that I use for spiritual pilgrimages to Red Mountain, to pray for the people, and speak to the Great Creator is on that land. It starts from my house and it is full of spirits, or what you white people call angels. But now I know why I finally agreed to come here. I came to bring you a message. You say that the book you study and believe in, The Bible, is the word of God? Why don't you follow it? We Indians are different than you people. We are not what you call hypocrites. Our women do not attend religious services whey they are on their moontime, their monthly cycles. That is against the Indian custom and laws, the Natural laws, and the Creator's Laws. Isn't that same law in your holy book? Isn't that same law all around the world in all cultures? You can't hide from the Moon. She sees everything. You can't change the law by calling it a curse, or demon worship, when it is a sacred and holy time for women. Your ways are destroying our Indian ways and the Earth along with it. You are creating imbalance and a lot of sickness. And in the future, a lot of strange and terrible diseases will come from problems with blood. So be forewarned.
"I want to leave now. I want to go back to my home where things are not so strange to me. There I can pray and feel good about it. But I tell you this. I had a dream. The great water serpent from the Klamoth River came and talked to me. He said he is angry at what people are doing to his home. Cutting all the trees, destroying the land, trying to catch all the fish and sell them without following ceremony. He said people are no longer following the old ways by making payment to him and the Creator. He doesn't like the way our Indian people make a mockery of the ancient and sacred dances by coming there drunk, women on their moontime, and everyone throwing garbage all over the sacred grounds. So he said the Great Creator is going to send him down the river to purify it, by the next full moon."
Grandma Nellie then went home and prayed. She went into the forest and found a small sacred tree, the dogwood, and did a ceremony on it. She took the sapling down to the front yard of her house, facing the river. She faced upriver, then downriver. She offered her pipe and tobacco and prayed to the water serpent: "I am an old lady, this is all I have left. My ancestors are buried here. I have food planted here. I respect everything here. To me the land is sacred. The river is sacred, and we cannot live without it. That is why I pray to the Great Creator and all my relations here this morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset. Now I offer tobacco to the Moon, the spirit of the river, the water serpent, and all my relations. I cry out to the Great Creator and say thank you for the dream and warning. I ask that you not hurt me or my people. I plant this sacred tree here, in this spot, only ten yards from the front door of my house. Do not let the water go any further than this."
A few days later, in 1964, a flood raged down the mightly Klamath River. It devastated the entire area, taking away homes, livestock, and human life on both sides of the river. It flooded Crescent City and destroyed the church in which Grandma Nellie had stood just a few days before. It was the worst flood ever recorded in California history. My Grandma Nellie is now dead and buried at the old village site. As you get out of the boat and begin to walk up to the old trail, leading up the side of a steep bank toward the old farmhouse, you can see that a flood had hit the place at one time. The first house on the trail is totally destroyed, with only bits and pieces of wood scattered around an old foundation. The second house, halfway up the trail, is mostly filled with mud on the inside. The third house, where Grandma Nellie lived, is still standing. It is wedged between five trees. The water did not go any higher than the sapling she planted, and you can see that it has now grown into a young tree."--Tela Star Hawk Lake The Last Female Shaman
The last I heard, the BIA is trying to divide the property up among all the different grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and as a result nobody can live on the land.
When I heard this story, it touched me very deeply. My own granfather once told us, "some people always have to have someone else to look down on, to make themselves feel better, more important." In my mind, Grandma Nellie was special, not only in her abilities as a Medicine Women, but in her devotion to her life, her ways. We should all live as Grandma Nellie did, in pure honesty, devotion and strength. Live with the Three R's: Respect, Relationship and Reciprocity...........live in kindness.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Lacto-Bacto-Cilli-Us
The tradition of preserving foods, enhancing their nutritive value, and making them more interesting to eat through fermentation is a very ancient one.
It may seem strange to some, that in earlier times, people knew how to preserve veggies for long periods without the use of freezers or canning supplies. This was done through the process of lacto-fermentation. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Starches and sugars in veggies and fruits are converted into lactic acid by the many species of lactic-acid-producing bacteria. These lactobacilli are ubiquitous, present on the surface of all living things and especially numerous on leaves and roots of plants growing in or near the ground.
The ancient Greeks understood that important chemical changes took place during this type of fermentation. Their name for this change was "alchemy." Like the fermentation of dairy products, preservation of veggies and fruits by the process of lacto-fermentation has numerous advantages beyond those of simple preservation. The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented veggies enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms also produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps veggies and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.
Chronic illness in industrialized nations has reached epic proportion because we have been dazzled by technologies stepchild--fast foods, fractionated foods, ersatz foods-all the bright baubles that fill up the shelves at our grocery stores, convenience markets, vending machines and even health food stores.
In America, one person in three dies of cancer, one in three suffers from allergies, one in ten will have ulcers and one in five is mentally ill. Continuing this grim litany, one out of five pregnancies ends in miscarriage and one quarter of a million infants are born with a birth defect each year. Other degenerative diseases-arthritis, multiple sclerosis, digestive disorders, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, epilepsy and chronic fatique-afflict a significant majority of our citizens, sapping the energy and the very life blood of our nation. Learning disabilities such as dyslexia and hyperactivity afflict seven million young people. These diseases were extremely rare only a generation or two ago. --"Nourishing Traditons"
Chemical sensitivities and problems with the immune system abound. We have almost forgotten that our natural state is one of balance, wholeness and vitality.
With all this said, I personally embarked on this "whole food, organic food, healthy food, local food" journey, long ago. I began this journey with food and good health, back in the mid seventies, but somewhere along the way, I fell off track and lost my health. In the past 7-8 years, I've returned to my "balance, wholeness and vitality." In the process, I think (fingers crossed, knock on wood), that I've begun to cure myself of Rheumatoid Arthritis! And I truly believe that my immunological disease was caused by chemical sensitivities in our food. I was creating the disease by eating BAD food!!
Let me just say, in defense of myself.........I was a healthy cook, or so I thought! I mean, we raise all our own meat (we DO NOT) buy store bought meats of any kind. We have raised an organic garden every year for as long as I can remember, I even can surplus from the garden. We drink local raw milk from the dairy down the road.............so you ask, "what was the problem?" Pre-packaged food, condiments, sugars, flour, cereals, canned goods............the list goes on and on.
People have got to become the new crusader's for their own health, they have got to start reading labels, learn more about genetically modified food, how your factory farmed animals are raised, what they are fed to "finish" them for the grocer chains, for YOUR consumption. Because if you don't, and if you continue on the path of destruction you are on, you WILL come down with either heart disease, cancer or any of the aboved mentioned illnesses.
I decided one day to denounce all pre-packaged food items in my home. I went through every nook and cranny, every spice shelf, every cracker cabinet, every condiment and threw them out(BTW-I now have plenty of room in my fridge for the "good stuff). I no longer make trips to "chain" grocery stores! On occasion I will partake in the local green grocer for some organic produce to replenish my stock. I make my own mayo, mustard, ketchup, salad dressings, crackers, cereals, bread, pizza dough, stocks, butter, kefir, buttermilk, creme fraiche', cream cheese, cheese.............I'm probably missing a bunch more, but you get the jest of this posting. And I know that many of you are saying to yourself, "who has the time?" You have to find the time, and if you can't, then buy organic and remember, if it's not USDA organic certified, then look closely on the label for hidden GMO ingredients.
Use only natural sweetners in small amounts: raw honey, maple syrup, Rapadura, Stevia, date sugar, molasses, malted grain syrups, sorghum syrup and naturally sweetened jams. AVOID: Fructose and high fructose corn syrup, concentrated fruit juice, and avoid all refined sugars from which nutrients have been removed.
Our scientists and doctors today are mystified by the proliferation of new viruses-not only the deadly AIDS virus but the whole gamut of human viruses that seem to be associated with everything from chronic fatigue to cancer to arthritis. They are equally mystified by recent increases in the incidence of intestinal parasites and pathogenic yeasts, even among those whose sanitary practices are faultless. I believe that in abandoning the ancient practice of lacto-fermentation and in our insistence on a diet in which everything has been pasteurized, we have compromised the health of our intestinal flora and made ourselves vulnerable to legions of pathogenic mircroorganisms. If so, the cure for these diseases will be found not in vaccinations, drugs or antibiotics but in a restored partnership with the many varieties of lactobacilli, our symbionts of the microscopic world.
R.A. was a "new" disease for me..........up until my diagnoses in 2003, I had been a healthy young women. When the disease hit me, it hit me hard and with full force. It travelled from the bottoms of my feet, to my hips, to my joints in my fingers, knees, elbow, shoulder...........it moved like a snake throughout my body, causing severe pain, and fever which would land me in bed for days. The "specialist's" and Dr.'s all put me on steroids, new drugs..........nothing worked. I quit taking the meds and tried to heal myself with herbs to no avail. It was when I finally went completely organic and threw out ALL pre-packaged "garbage" that my R.A. slowly began to recess, dissipate.......... and hopefully remain dormant for the rest of my life.
If you have stomach issues, chronic fatique, fibro-myalgia, R.A., IBS, colitis, Crohn's, gastro-intestinal issues, GERD, thryroid problems............I'm telling you, it's in your food, it's what you're consuming, it IS making you ill.
The decision of what you eat, everyday, three times a day, can change your life profoundly.
 |
| Organic Lacto-Fermented Oranges Sweetened w/Rapadura |
It may seem strange to some, that in earlier times, people knew how to preserve veggies for long periods without the use of freezers or canning supplies. This was done through the process of lacto-fermentation. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Starches and sugars in veggies and fruits are converted into lactic acid by the many species of lactic-acid-producing bacteria. These lactobacilli are ubiquitous, present on the surface of all living things and especially numerous on leaves and roots of plants growing in or near the ground.
 |
| Organic Lacto-Fermented Garlic |
Chronic illness in industrialized nations has reached epic proportion because we have been dazzled by technologies stepchild--fast foods, fractionated foods, ersatz foods-all the bright baubles that fill up the shelves at our grocery stores, convenience markets, vending machines and even health food stores.
In America, one person in three dies of cancer, one in three suffers from allergies, one in ten will have ulcers and one in five is mentally ill. Continuing this grim litany, one out of five pregnancies ends in miscarriage and one quarter of a million infants are born with a birth defect each year. Other degenerative diseases-arthritis, multiple sclerosis, digestive disorders, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, epilepsy and chronic fatique-afflict a significant majority of our citizens, sapping the energy and the very life blood of our nation. Learning disabilities such as dyslexia and hyperactivity afflict seven million young people. These diseases were extremely rare only a generation or two ago. --"Nourishing Traditons"
Chemical sensitivities and problems with the immune system abound. We have almost forgotten that our natural state is one of balance, wholeness and vitality.
With all this said, I personally embarked on this "whole food, organic food, healthy food, local food" journey, long ago. I began this journey with food and good health, back in the mid seventies, but somewhere along the way, I fell off track and lost my health. In the past 7-8 years, I've returned to my "balance, wholeness and vitality." In the process, I think (fingers crossed, knock on wood), that I've begun to cure myself of Rheumatoid Arthritis! And I truly believe that my immunological disease was caused by chemical sensitivities in our food. I was creating the disease by eating BAD food!!
Let me just say, in defense of myself.........I was a healthy cook, or so I thought! I mean, we raise all our own meat (we DO NOT) buy store bought meats of any kind. We have raised an organic garden every year for as long as I can remember, I even can surplus from the garden. We drink local raw milk from the dairy down the road.............so you ask, "what was the problem?" Pre-packaged food, condiments, sugars, flour, cereals, canned goods............the list goes on and on.
People have got to become the new crusader's for their own health, they have got to start reading labels, learn more about genetically modified food, how your factory farmed animals are raised, what they are fed to "finish" them for the grocer chains, for YOUR consumption. Because if you don't, and if you continue on the path of destruction you are on, you WILL come down with either heart disease, cancer or any of the aboved mentioned illnesses.
I decided one day to denounce all pre-packaged food items in my home. I went through every nook and cranny, every spice shelf, every cracker cabinet, every condiment and threw them out(BTW-I now have plenty of room in my fridge for the "good stuff). I no longer make trips to "chain" grocery stores! On occasion I will partake in the local green grocer for some organic produce to replenish my stock. I make my own mayo, mustard, ketchup, salad dressings, crackers, cereals, bread, pizza dough, stocks, butter, kefir, buttermilk, creme fraiche', cream cheese, cheese.............I'm probably missing a bunch more, but you get the jest of this posting. And I know that many of you are saying to yourself, "who has the time?" You have to find the time, and if you can't, then buy organic and remember, if it's not USDA organic certified, then look closely on the label for hidden GMO ingredients.
Use only natural sweetners in small amounts: raw honey, maple syrup, Rapadura, Stevia, date sugar, molasses, malted grain syrups, sorghum syrup and naturally sweetened jams. AVOID: Fructose and high fructose corn syrup, concentrated fruit juice, and avoid all refined sugars from which nutrients have been removed.
 |
| Organic Veggie Stock |
R.A. was a "new" disease for me..........up until my diagnoses in 2003, I had been a healthy young women. When the disease hit me, it hit me hard and with full force. It travelled from the bottoms of my feet, to my hips, to my joints in my fingers, knees, elbow, shoulder...........it moved like a snake throughout my body, causing severe pain, and fever which would land me in bed for days. The "specialist's" and Dr.'s all put me on steroids, new drugs..........nothing worked. I quit taking the meds and tried to heal myself with herbs to no avail. It was when I finally went completely organic and threw out ALL pre-packaged "garbage" that my R.A. slowly began to recess, dissipate.......... and hopefully remain dormant for the rest of my life.
If you have stomach issues, chronic fatique, fibro-myalgia, R.A., IBS, colitis, Crohn's, gastro-intestinal issues, GERD, thryroid problems............I'm telling you, it's in your food, it's what you're consuming, it IS making you ill.
The decision of what you eat, everyday, three times a day, can change your life profoundly.
 |
| Homemade organic wheat crackers from fresh ground red wheat. |
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Jacob's:Genesis 30
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"Fuse" A purebred Jacob ram Rockin' A Ranch has waited almost 5 years to obtain a pair of Jacob's for breeding. We have finally achieved our goal with the purchase of "Fuse" December 2010, and the purchase of "Lily" in May of 2010. Timing is everything so they say, and it couldn't have transpired any other way for us, because we did indeed, need time to set ourselves up for this project. Along the way, we have learned huge amounts in regards to sheep and sheep rearing. All of it a process to land us where we are today. I'm glad we didn't rush this, I'm glad we took our time. It has always been my desire to raise Jacob sheep. They are a small breed, they are smart, they have a beautiful fleece known as the "Hand Spinner's Delight." Actually hand spinner's and weavers alike love their fiber. For market meat, the Jacob meat is lower in total fat, lower in cholesterol and high in quality protein, compared to any other red meats. Only venison and rabbit rank leaner.........so with that said, I've always wanted to raise and market Jacob's. Besides, who can resist their gorgeous lil' lambs all spotted, their "goat like" personalities which make them very curious and easily tamed. |
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| "Lily" A yearling Jacob ewe |
We are now in the midst of breeding our two Jacob's. Fuse has turned out to be a very gentle, sweet fellow.....Lily a bit nervous (this will be her first breeding). Most often, first time ewes will have a single lamb, after that, they are prone to twins and triplets. If she has a lil' ram lamb this summer, he is sold to the gentleman that sold us Fuse. Tom and I are hoping to do some in-line breeding with our small flock in order to be able to sustain our flock of Jacob's.
Lambing season is the crux of raising sheep. It's the one time in the growing of sheep to "get it right." We keep our sheep in top conformation all year (at least we try), flush them prior to breeding, fine tune their food in the last 6 weeks of gestation..... providing the ewes with top quality hay, a smidgen of molasses three days of the week, daily grain..........all in the hopes that our percentage of lamb to ewe ratio will turn out excellent. Thus far Rockin' A Ranch has done very well. There is always room for improvement though because we're always learning something new in regards to sheep. As I've said before, what works for us, doesn't necessarily work for someone else. For instance, we know that our sheep HATE bermuda grass (it's too soapy tasting), they'd rather starve than eat that grass. They love the high protein hay that Shawn brings us twice a year, they love Timothy grass and they LOVE rye grass. We don't feed our rams or wethers any hay unless it's super cold outdoors, otherwise they get grass. They love apples, pears, carrots, turnip greens (but not the turnip) and ORGANIC animal crackers from Costco.
I've had one ewe in particular over the past five years that wouldn't let me near her. She was so flighty and skittish, which made it very hard to work with her. To boot, she's a very large Suffolk. After her lambing in July, she can't stay away from me, her nose is constantly in my face or pockets. Her son Mickey even goes so far as to jump up on me like a pup.........he wants pets under the chin (or those yummy cookies!). Gaining the trust of sheep takes time, perseverance, routine, and calmness.
More than anything, we enjoy raising our sheep...........Jacob or not. We have "Heinz 57" sheep that are just as special and prolific in lambings as any purebred. They all have their own personality and are unique in their own special way. I can't imagine a life without sheep.
Now that the breeding has begun, we watch and wait. If a ewe spends a lot of time squatting and urinating in front of the ram, she is not ready. Her estrus has not begun. If the ewe nears ovulation, the ram will move near her and keep near, till she will stand for mating. Ewes will stay in heat for 6-18 hours and if not mated cycle again in 17-21 days. I will keep Lily with Fuse for approximately 60-68 days before removing her. That will ensure several cycles of ovulation. Once a ewe is pregnant, she will no longer let the ram mate with her......the copulation is over.
So we're looking very forward to our lambing season this year, we should have at least one lil' spotted, curly haired lamb by summer. I believe that Tom and I are focused on the true essence of raising this breed of sheep...........we're helping preserve a unique and valuable breed.
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| "Lily" & "Fuse" Purebred Jacob sheep |
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Cowgirl
We decided that since none of the houses we had seen were really good income property, we'd drive around in the Black Mesa area, just because it's pretty and we'd never been on the road. We went past some very interesting places. New Dawn Ranch.........that was defintely an interesting place.........several yurts, a single wide mobile, gorgeous backdrop and view and an es-guess-timate of close to $100,000K in fencing and barns for Alpacas. I wanna be an Alpaca when I grow up............crazy the craze over Alpaca's.
We finished up with that lil' road and headed down Stirrup Road which ended up at the edge of a huge wash...........it was impassable with a four wheel drive vehicle. However, when we turned around and headed back out to the highway, about a mile or so down, we ran across Stirrup Road. Guess that road's for 3 & 4 wheel drive ATV's. Certainly wasn't one we could take, and we're not weanies.
As we headed East on Concho highway, The Man says," there's a road that I wanna check out, how's that sound to you?" Well hell, I'm captive in the car, going 70 mph down the road, "sounds good to me." So we do, we turn onto a dirt road with a sign out on the highway that reads, "A to Z Well Drilling & Water Tanks," so it dawns on me The Man wants to inquire about the water storage tanks, but turns out I was dead wrong. He really did just wanna take a drive down this road. This is where my day turns strange...........we are heading South on this dirt road, we're approx. 4-5 miles back in (BTW-there is NO sign of any living creature, driveway nor home), when we happen upon a guy (in the middle of nowhere) in a Bobcat driving down the road........hmmmm. Further down the road, say another 3-4 miles we run into a guy (looked like an old hippy from the 60's), driving a 1940's Ford tractor.......hmmm. I ask The Man, "what in the world are these two guys doing?" I can tell by his look I'm not gonna get an answer. We are driving along, admiring the country (in the middle of nowhere), taking spur roads off spur roads and just driving. We're hoping that one of these dirt roads will take us out to the highway in a very round about way......ya know, so we can see all this remote country! We are in this huge rock outcropping of sandstone driving, when we come upon these piles of stacked rocks.........you know, the "new agey" type of stacked rocks you see in Sedona.........all over! In the middle of nowhere...........hmmm. We continue on, both thinking about the rocks when we spot a Border Collie/Aussie Shepherd with a bandana around his neck, running. Seems he's with the cowgirl on the horse that rounds the corner about the same time we round the corner. She stops, we stop..........the dog is running around trying to follow her commands and gettin' an ass chewin' by this cowgirl at the same time. I roll down my window.........we talk, I ask her if we can get out to the highway on this lil' ol' dirt road. She says, "used to, but the damn wash washed out and ya can't anymore." O.K. well, can we head further South on this road and meet the highway South of here? She says, " ya, ya can, but don't turn left up ahead, keep veering to the right and the ol' road turns kindly rough, but........well" she says as she pets her horse, "I have 4-wheel drive so I can get through anything." About that time, she takes a long pull on a beer she's got with her in this cool beer holder that's part of her darn saddle! "Yep," she says, "I figured I'd take ol' Wallace out today for a long ride cuz it's gonna snow tomorrow." She looks up at the sky, sniffs the air, seems like in anticipation of a snow flurry at any moment. The Man and I look up also....then she says, "Ya know I aint afraid to ride out her by myself, cuz I pack a gun and I know how to use it." "Good, good," I say to her, "that's a smart thing to do riding this far out." "Oh no" she says, I don't live that far away, see that mountain over yonder, well I just live up on the side of that damn thing......been living there for five years now, came from Chicago." "Told myself I'd never live anywhur it snowed evur again after Chicago, but here I am." Takes another long pull off her beer and gazes off. "See, the Mr. and me bought land out here, pulled in our travel trailer and an ol' bus, but hell it cost us so much to put the well in that we can't afford electricity or a home..........so I live in the travel trailer and he lives in the bus.........works just fine by me." "Got me three horses." O.K...... I am thinking that we have warped backwards in time to the Twilight Zone. She's tellin us stuff I don't NEED to know. She says, "What do you do?" I tell her we have a small sheep ranch and she says, "well, how do you like that?" I tell her we really love the sheep and it's just a hobby farm really. "Where do you live?" I give her a vague idea.........we all sit in silence for a bit AND just when I'm getting ready to tell her to enjoy the rest of her ride with Wallace, she begins talking again.........stuff, like........."ya know, I told the ol' man that we're gettin' to old to be livin' like this, what if he had a damn heart-attack on me, how am I supposed to get his ass loaded in our truck to meet the ambulance out on the county road?" "My GOD, we're miles off the road on the side of a damn mountian!" I tell her I can feel for her, "yep, getting to old for this kinda life style for sure." She likes that I agree with her, like maybe I'd ride home with her and tell her ol' man that I agree with her!
The cowgirls name is Deb. She is a real cowgirl from Chicago, who lives off the grid, off the land and as far away from any establishment as she can be! She rides her three horses everyday of the week cuz she loves them, they need excercise and she can drink her beer in peace. I wish I'd have had the camera with me for a candid shot of this women on her horse...........Goldwater would have been proud of the shot.
We say "good-bye" and head down the road she suggested............it becomes evident to us right soon, that this road is indeed only passable with her kinda 4-wheel drive..........a horse named Wallace. We turn around and head back the way we came..........I look to the North and wayyyyy up on the side of a mountain is this.......yellow bus, up near the clouds. Can't tell if there's a travel trailer or not cuz it's so far up..........but I think it's where she lives. We never see her, the horse, nor the dog again on our way out...........we drive in silence......................we come upon the man still on his 1940's tractor just driving around on the road................we scoot home once we hit the highway.........in silence. Been thinkin' about Deb the cowgirl all day......... while it's stormin and I'm sittin' by my ol' woodstove in my nice, lil' cozy home. God bless you Deb, the Cowgirl from Chicago!
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