Moving Experience

No pictures no poems no pretty scenes - just me putting on a note from computer at work (my wonderful, stressful overpaid job - yes really!!)
Movers came and most of our "big" stuff is in new place - not in proper/comfortable/decorative place in new place - but available to be placed.
No internet at new house - Skybeam rudely insisted they provided service "OF COURSE" - as the customer disservice agent declared. As soon as installer drove up he said "y'all can't connect from here". :::sigh::::
So clever DH is working on an alternative route to get internet service - hope it works but until it does - y'all have a beautiful holiday week ! I'll be learning my country commute routes and praying for getting our big place on the market and SOLD ASAP!
If I don't comment on your blogs - not being rude just not able to get online much - soon - I hope to be back soon -- Buhlaland is still good - just on the move type good. A skunk visited us the first night at new place -DH and I were out in the garage surveying our domain (or possibly searching for paper plates so we could have some supper!)- apparently we are acceptable new neighbors because he did NOT leave his calling card!

New Neighbors and update

We went up to try and finish up current painting projects (emphasis on the try word!) Pleasantly surprised to have some neighbors drop by - didn't stay for coffee (we didn't have any to offer so that was a blessing) or a chat but stayed around long enough to let us know they'll be back!

Very calm doe with her twin fawns - the deer were all in our nearest human neighbor's pasture - directly behind our back fence line so we get a nice view.

Might have to get in on the mole hunting competition with CedarPond and Sand Flat Farm after we move in if mole population is that strong. Neighbors across the road have several cats --apparently they like to try to outplay, outwit and outlast a mole (any Survivor fans out there?)

One room is pretty much painted - we are using the same color we have in our bedroom on current Buhlaland - Soothing Celadon (wouldn't it be fun to make up the names for paint?) Going to paint the yuck flat grey trim celadon also - room is small and with 3 doors (closet, entrance and attached bathroom) making the doors different than wall colors seems choppy.

Plenty more to do - we are trying to ration our energy and time - already on the financial ration system! God has given us the nicest place to spend more years here on earth - looking forward to being there full time. It is good on Buhlaland - whether current one or newest version - we are blessed beyond belief.

On the topic of working on our houses - we think we know what we want and need - only the Lord God has the blueprints.

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” ― C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

End of August - time to update!

OK quickly write words or I'll run out of month!

The goat herd has shrunk to 7 animals - one wether 3 does and 3 doelings. We had 22 and that was too many animals to feed and care for. With absolutely nothing in pastures we had to buy hay -- was $100/round bale and very poor quality. All animals went to same wonderful couple who just love 'em (God bless you Craig and Leah!).

Garden all done with cleared out and containers stacked in hopes next year won't be another record breaking plant and tree killing drought year.

DH did a walking test (really - that was what they called it and yet I'm sure they billed Medicare like a hunka money!) where he wore a monitor and walked for a timed span - a technician recorded his oxygen demand.

Doctor appointments - OH SO MANY DOCTORS! Tired of doctors and places where they are - hope none of you ever ever have to be in Dallas in room HQ6.600 - no happy reasons to be in there.

A pretty sight in parking area of a Fort Worth heart center was a blooming desert willow - almost made up for the unpleasant testing and long morning spent at this particular medical facility (where once again proved to me- do NOT leave your loved one in a room with

only medical people - they don't pay attention!) One technician decided DH didn't know what he was talking about when he kept telling her to turn his oxygen back on after she had messed up the settings. Oh well - just resulted in the test being wrong because it showed a false problem - ahhh health care. DH got to explain all this when doctor's nurse (since this doctor doesn't phone patients himself) called to tell DH to come in next day due to oxygen deficit in his testing - No Kidding??

Almosy to the end here - one sneaky picture of my guy - out looking at property.

Finally - we've had the hottest, driest summer in many decades - that was August 2011 - we worked, we worshiped (at home still - no immune system likely to appear again for DH), we gratefully acknowledge not ALL doctors are difficult - the pulmonologist DH sees in Fort Worth is a real physician - he cares for the person not the disease - what a blessing he is.

Could stick in something about changes and seasons of life and all that stuff - but we all know it already. DH read an article on internet saying blogging is dead - being replaced by twitter - might be true - I certainly don't blog on a regular basis anymore but then I don't twitter at all!

So that's the story ~of that's the glory of love - it is good on Buhlaland and for that we are deeply grateful! Below is the song my daddy loved and served as the source for my blog title - old fashioned but eternal truths aren't fads are they?

Kindness -

Be kind to yourself. God thinks you’re worth His kindness. And He’s a good judge of character. Max Lucado

Explanation - this says I wrote it on November 4th - but in reality - I wrote the title and the Max Lucado quote the 4th - then shelved the whole thing until today - November 20th - shameful behavior - I'm a PRO at crastination.







With a theme of self kindness - I am not groveling in guilt or posturing in pain - simply sharing in simplicity.

I am not blogging regularly - whether motivation or hesitation or gestation (oops not that word) or even aggravation - the end result is my 400th blog post is about being kind.

Pondering why it is easy to be kind to total strangers (giving to charities, praying for people unknown to me, supporting children in far off lands) yet often hard to be kind to my self or those dearest to me?
Now don't mistake my statement for a proclamation of being totally sacrificial or never self indulgent -would not be a truth.

I have enough of the old legalism in my system to believe I need to castigate myself for old wrongs, dredge up events which have long since become dusty ancient history or remind myself - you may have done something nice this time - but you KNOW how you are. Well - doubt I'll change all those years of programming but I do know - staying in touch with my internet, blogosphere world is important enough I want to be holding up my end of the deal.

Next week I'm off work (from wonderful job at acupunct's office) and celebrating one of the best holidays of the year. Thanksgiving - yep - I can DO thanksgiving. I'm giving thanks this year for so many gifts - hard to number but I begin with this prayer:



We bless the Lord, the just, the good, who fills our hearts with joy and food; who pours His blessing from the skies, and loads our days with rich supplies.
Isaac Watts

Amen - our rich supplies aren't listed with turkey, yams and butter - we are supplied with what really matters - good beginning to my week of Thanksgiving.

399 blog posts - what a LOT of words - hope some of them have given you hope, peace or at least a smile. We always have the goats on Buhlaland to give us a smile!

Some faces to amuse you

Zoe always looks worried but has very little to worry about.

Milky Way has her eye on what's going on -

Amber was born in April - her twin Jasper is behind her and they both have these very sweet Nubian faces.

Ok so some faces not so much.

We went to Cabela's a couple of weeks ago - just wanted to make sure no one thought we were raising musk ox here on Buhlaland - today we are raising dust (DH on riding lawnmower) and mess (me working on laundry) and praises - it is good on Buhlaland and soon it might even be rainy and good! (or good and rainy??)

Visitors

I've had a dickens of a time trying to get a post up - blogger doesn't like my spacing and I certainly haven't appreciated blogger's choice of spacing. I may just slam this up and say good enough - although good enough rarely really is - either good or enough.

So often here on Buhlaland we show you our goats or dogs or flowers and wanted to share some of our frequent visitors. . Fox, rabbits, deer (very pregnant deer), Senor BlueJay (a loud fellow - always screeching) and a bird we've tenatively identified as a Phoebe. We're calling the Phoebes The FranticFamily - nesting in cover tractor parking next to the workshop/barn and they have a total hissy fit whenever we walk by . Large and beautiful moth was on our back porch one evening and yep - a pesky fluffy tailed rat - also known as a squirrel.
Day to day for us is a little like living in a pinball machine - bouncing off some high point barriers but also going in the gutter with no points for some actions. Learning that when I am waiting for a big change I'm not always productive. Learning to look for little things - the daily indicators of walking as instructed in Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Listen for the Whisper, that's the lesson right now - no burning bush or earthquake (I hope) but a whisper


1 Kings 19: 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Good for Buhlaland to have this place to stand on and listen for the whisper. Y'all come back and maybe blogger will allow a better layout to my posts!

~Born to be wild~

Amigo - laying in the soft fresh hay next to his mama, Cassie. Isn't he the picture of innocence and sweetness? Don't be fooled - he was
born to be wild!






You'll be along for a day with our Bad Boy - Amigo. Only male born this year to our herd (and don't tell him but he isn't technically a male now - he is a wether).

Here Amigo heads out with the other goats - looking for adventure in whatever comes our way.

I'm a big bad boy and I can prove it.

"I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under"

Yeah so I'm bugging Susannah and getting her to yell at me - I'm feeling it - feeling the BAD

"Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high "



"Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space "

Hey even Bad Boys need mama for a few things!

Silly here on Buhlaland - the goat kids are strong, healthy and each has a definite personality. The Lord created so many different creatures - all have their purpose and He gave us dominion over them. Sometimes we wonder on Buhlaland if we have given over the dominion part to our animals - but DH and I are the ones rationing out the feed and treats to our animals so perhaps things are just as they should be on Buhlaland and it is GOOD.

P.S. Anybody else feel a tad older when we realize the movie Easy Rider which featured the song by Steppenwolf "Born to be Wild" is 40 years old? whew - I am getting old, maturing or just about over ripe - depends on the day you ask?!

Bubbles Messes with Moe

Birthing time due end of this month - we don't think the four little doelings are pregnant. The brown girl is called Bubbles - she is a daughter of Pearl - one of our original herd.




The large picture was taken as she began an adventure of getting close enough to sniff that black animal. Most of the kids grow up skittish about Moe, Mighty Barn Cat. He is quick moving and likes to drink from the goat trough (where we also have large goldfish who beckon to a cat ) .

Bubbles started off a little coy - nibbling on the tank - opposite side of trough and fence from Moe.





She moved on around and decided to get bold and actually sniff the black (fat!) cat. Moe tried to just ignore the pesky little goat. He was certain she didn't realize who she was messing with.










The pressure was too much for Moe the Mighty Hunter and he began a dignified exit - spoiled by that brown thing moving even closer!

Some days you are king of the pens and some days - you are a play toy for goats! We are amused by our animals and their antics - it is good on Buhlaland for people, goats and even disgruntled big old cats!

Randomization is the pattern here

Trying to keep blogging although I still have trouble finding something worthy to say - last day of November 2009 - we had turkey vegetable soup from final chunk of Thanksgiving turkey breast .

Last week we waved a fond and rewarding farewell to 13 of our goats - 2 more to be sold this week. Will have at least 9 or 10 new kids in January or February. We are deliberately trying to keep the herd much smaller. Market isn't that good and we are needing to cut back on expenses (hay round bales are currently $60)

Freeze warning for this week so I cut all the remaining peace rose blossoms - can you believe it - this bowl of fragrant flowers on November 30!?

On the walking website I use Walker Tracker- I participated in a challenge - the reward of the challenge was for each ranking (from least steps to most steps walked during a specific time) to send a home made craft, art work or baked item to the person finishing ahead of you. I was blessed with this nifty knitted dishcloth from a walking pal in Norway! You can see the pattern of a goat's head knit into the cloth. Pretty cool huh?

Next is a picture of my beloved DH - working in his shop to install a new (larger) pet door for our barn cat Moe. The sparks were pretty impressive - Moe didn't stick around for this part.

So that's it - from soup to nuts - or goats to grinders! It is good on Buhlaland - God has blessed us with a beautiful place and the sense to enjoy it! Hope it is good where you are too.

"Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of it's sorrows, it empties today of it's strength." Corrie Ten Boom

Don't worry - be healthy!

Horns and hides

Wanted to return to our excursion on Saturday - to the ITLA show. Our neighbor and his two teenagers showed animals and they did well. First picture is Big Jo (the son) and his dad fluffing Gladiator's tail getting ready to show. According to what they told us, there is great emphasis on the animals being as natural as possible (well not all the poo and mess usually on an animal at pasture), size of horns (or on younger animals the horn base size showing potential) as well as overall conformation are important. The colors are so varied I wanted to share some of the pictures with you.
The rather distant shot of the show ring and judging includes cow/calf exhibitors - the small calf is two days old! Was born at the show and accompanies the cow during the showing on a small soft halter - although after a few minutes the calf was worn out decided to lay down. Young exhibitor had to carry the calf for the judging!


Next is a good sized set of horns - and interestingly enough this steer was from Maryland!

A few shots of "backstage" - a place you have to be careful when taking pictures - I made sure my flash was off, some of the animals are new to being shown and a little nervous. You do not want animals weighing a ton or more being nervous! Another cow and calf - taking it easy.

The steer with it's back to us is an unusual color the exhibitors said is called gorilla colored. Most people like multi or speckled coloration on their longhorns but I though this one looked like a weimaraner mutation!

The big brindle is the last I'll put up - impressive animal all the way around - if you want to know more about what is desirable or the history of long horns this link tells quite a bit.

Blog posts totally different this week - but on Buhlaland we are blessed with friends and neighbors who bring love, challenges and variety to our lives. It is Good on Buhlaland today - especially since the furnace is working (chilly in Tejas today!) And That's No Bull! (lame joke - I know!)

Ordinary Life

Sometimes it is easy to twist our heads around and get a totally wrong view of a situation. Here is dear old Nubiana trying to convince me she needs more grain to get her day moving smoothly. Nubie is twisting her head around convinced that she'll see a hand or bucket from which grain will appear. Recently I know I work at keeping my view of our world on the level by doing the ordinary bits of life put in front of me. Despite the potential of bad - I know there is always good within reach. " My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."2 Corinthians 12:9

Not huge on quoting sources other than scripture but I find these lines from Oswald Chambers'

My Utmost for His Highest deeply comforting.

“We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God’s power . . . and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us. If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him.”
“When the Spirit of God comes, He does not give us visions, He tells us to do the most ordinary things conceivable . . .whenever God comes, the inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things—the things we would never have imagined God was in, and as we do them we find He is there.”

It is easy to get caught up in the BIG picture and forget - God knows where we are here on Buhlaland and He is within prayershot all the time. It is good - and yes Nubie got some grain - how could we refuse a face like that? Here on Buhlaland it is good to be a goat and even better to be a sheep of the Great Shepherd.

No chicks were harmed in the making of this blog post

As a bitter cold front was blowing in from the west (such timing huh?) we went to the feed store and picked up eight chicks constituting our new poultry endeavor. IF all eight survive and are definitely hens----long digression here --guy at feed store kept telling me only 90% guarantee of pullets - but these are sex linked chickens and the males are a different color at hatch - doesn't matter says he - only guarantee 90% will be hens - alrighty then back to our story. IF they meet the above mentioned requirements - in 4 or 5 months we should be getting a minimum of 28 eggs a week. Woo Hoo!They are peeping,pooing and generally making a royal mess in the small bathroom off our laundry room. We were going to start chicks in nice enclosure we put in our new coop but temps were dropping so drastically we chose to keep them in the house until spring returns. (according to the weather gurus that'll be late Sunday afternoon).

I'm big lately on better safe than - well better safe than most anything else I guess. No shark feeding,bull fighting, base jumping, sky divers in this household - life has enough challenges if you do it right!

The weird colored picture is the chicks ensconced in their temporary home with a red heat lamp.

No little peepers were injured when Conan decided to check the chicks. After sniffing and licking - he moved smoothly on to teeth closing over a chick but responded instantly to a Drop It command. Poor fellow - he thought we'd provided animated new toys!
No doubt I'll do more pictures of the peepers - I'm grateful for new lives and potential here on Buhlaland - oh yeah - and I'm really grateful for a recently refilled propane tank 'cause it is COLD here today! The cold weather won't last long but feels all the more painful after recent lovely days. This too shall pass (kind of like a kidney stone at the moment - painful in the process but OH how nice it will feel once it's gone!) It is still very good on Buhlaland - peep peep peeeeeeeppppp.