On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm: A Busy Month of May, and Samantha Is Growing Up

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A Busy Month of May, and Samantha Is Growing Up

Dad waiting to see Samantha at the Vet's office

Well, my computer was in the shop for nearly a week, and although I have a Xoom Pad, I couldn't access my blog account on it for some reason. Grrrr! Very frustrating! I've got my laptop back now, however, and I'm ready to go!

Samantha with the Vet

In this blog, I frequently mention that we stay pretty busy here at 5~Acre Farm, not just with farm chores, but with numerous appointments and errands, and those surprises that pop up in-between.

Going home, post-surgery

Well, May has not been an exception to that rule. In just the first eight days of this month we have had no less than nine engagements; and the remainder of the month is filling up fast!

I just wish I could remember to take photographs more often so I can post them here and talk about them!

Our Schedule So Far This Month

May 1 Morning: Dad: Pre-surgery eye exam
and X-ray at VA clinic
May 2 Morning: Me: blood work at my Dr.'s office
May 3 Morning: John and Me: Job Fair in Lawrenceville
           Afternoon: John: Cardio Clinic at VA Atlanta
May 4 Morning: Samantha to vet for spaying;
           Dad: Pre-surgery eye measurements
   Afternoon: Pick up Samantha from vet
May 5 All day: Chantal and Gentry visit;
we all went out to dinner
May 7 Evening: Beekeepers' MeetingWatkinsville
May 8 Morning: Me: check up with my doctor

We missed church on Sunday due to sheer exhaustion (and I really wasn't feeling well)!
All I can say is, it's like this every month!

More About Samantha

Tiny Samantha, 8 wks old, Dec 2011

The biggest thing so far this month was Samantha's surgery. Not a big deal, really, getting a dog spayed, but for some reason all of us were over-concerned. John and I took a long time deciding to get it done. We debated about breeding her and letting her have a litter of pups. She'd be a great mom! But in the end, to insure her best health, we opted for the surgery.

Samantha was a scant eight weeks old when I got her in December of 2011, a tiny handful of terrified fur. We all fell instantly in love with her, especially my father, and the infatuation (extravagant passion or attraction) has continued!

With Samantha, I get why people call their pets their "babies." She's a dog, but she is the closest thing I've had to a baby in a very long time. There are a hundred things I could mention that back me up on this, that prove why she is like a baby, but I promise I won't do that to you. It would be like taking out a wallet and pulling out that long, two-sided acordian of pictures that I'd expect you to "ooh" and "ahh" over as I describe each and every photo! I just can't do that to you!

January, 2012

I can only say that this little girl is spoiled rotten by all of us, bullies and bosses all the other dogs, harasses the chickens daily, and gets her way in just about everything. And why not? She continuously entertains us, makes us smile and laugh, and heals our wounded souls just by climbing into our laps and licking our faces. She sleeps with my dad almost every night, and I'm delighted that she is so much good company for him. He has had far fewer sad days since we got her.

March 2012

I have to say though, that I am always secretly delighted on those once-in-a-while late nights when Samantha trots into our bedroom, jumps up on the bed, licks me in the face to say hello, and then settles herself down between John and me. It is a blessed comfort to one (me) who doesn't think she needs comforting that often.

Samantha is smart, and is different with each of us. She plays quietly and naps a lot with my Dad, comes to me for slightly rougher play and comforting, and leaves John alone until he comes to her. Then she rolls over in that "you're the man (alpha)" kind of way that acknowledges John's leadership position, licks him on the nose when he gets close enough, and runs off when he looks away.

Outside, Samantha does harass the other dogs, as I mentioned. They didn't like her at first, which puzzled me. They've always been open and accepting when new dogs came. Then I realized, they just didn't know what to do with her! She was so tiny, so full of energy, and so zipping around like a bullet! Samantha plays rough, runs hard with the big dogs when they take off, and she never acknowledges that she is low dog on the totem pole. While all the other dogs are sitting around panting, it's Samantha helps herd and re-pen stray chickens. When she goes out each morning, the chicken pen is the first place she heads to, announcing her arrival and her authority!

Well, back to this busy month! Catch you all later!

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John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.