Storyteller, announcer, supporter of family based agriculture and youth. I write from my inspirations and fill my blogs with my other love - photography.
This is a near daily occurance on our farm. Each cow gives birth every year to create that steady supply of milk. The cow is incredibly generous and efficient making far more milk than her baby needs, enough milk to share with my family and yours! In the summer when all the "close" cows ( close to calving time) are out to pasture the roadside becomes a viewing area as many cows choose to give birth where a watchful eye can see them.
Another advantage of the "close" pasture is that the whole thing is about 20 acres and is between the main dairy and our house so the kids can ride back and forth.
Besides the usual milk production these youth are at the County 4-H fair showing their calves. For many years we leased cattle to my club kids so they could show and be part of this educational opportunity.
4-H and Dairy Farming are a lot of work but worth every minute, remember the farmers when you buy your next jug of milk and buy local. try ours http://www.mountaindairy.com/
Temple Grandin Author of "Animals In Translation" returns to CT. this Friday. She will be part of a panel discussion of how a brain works. If you have not read Temple Grandin's work ( several books) seen the movie or know about her livestock management practices this is great time to engage any of these as a way to better grasp the world through the eyes and mind of an Aspberger's patient ( high level of function Autism) The link below takes you to an article in the Hartford CT Now website .
Dementia and Alzheimer's a cruel duo that have played out the last few years as they have stricken my father and left him a shadow of the man he was.
How sad the memories of Grandaughter's weddings have slipped away and memories of the days when brides were little girls. How much we lose when the older generation can no longer share their stories.
It is now my turn to carry the family stories.
I keep a little treasure box, a momento of my youth when some holiday the shiny metal box arrived filled with candy and I was intrigued not by the sweets but the box itself. The treasure tin had many uses over the years. Crayons were at home there long enough to color the insides as they were jostled about. Pictures, baseball cards, money and marbles all had a place over time in the box.
A year or two ago the box surfaced in the cellar one day and I had a new purpose for the box and it's magical meaning of treasure to me. I dusted it off and brought it up to my office and began. Slowly I have accumulated a collection of paper craft leaves each with a photo or sticker or such attached to remind me of a story from my family tree. I use them in a workshop and I will have them to pull out when my grandchildren are old enough for stories. My family treasures are my family stories.
The other thing these stories may well be is another trick to keep Alzheimers and Dementia away. Using our brains is a key component to fighting or postponing an attack by dementia and its debilitating effects. I found an interesting piece on that this week, the link is below. Learning a foriegn language seems to help stave off this dreaded and mind erasing illness. Learning new stories should have the same effect and how much fun we can have sharing them! How about learning new stories in a new language, now that should be a worthy exercise for the brain! I'm learning a new story about the Irish Claddagh Ring what story are you learning?
Take a few minutes to watch this TED Talk http://www.ted.com/ Writer and storyteller Chimamanda Adichie of Nigeria, Africa presents a much more worldly view of the power of a single story or as she puts it the danger in a single story.
When we were kids we loved making snow forts! These kids took advantage of record breaking snows to create their masterpiece. I was inspired by their fort to bring you some other "Fort" info and bits.
There are all kinds of forts. The New England coast is dotted with great examples. These are just three I happened across pictures for quickly. There are many Fort resources on line and every fort had a full contingent of soldiers each with a story to tell. Be the voice of history and share a historical story. For more info on my historical stories see http://www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.com/
Snow Emergencies have struck Connecticut Agriculture a terrible blow.
The video shows the removal of the 14th horse from this barn that collapsed under the weight of snow and ice. Every day this week the news outlets have carried reports of more roofs in danger of collapse or in many case gone down. The total loss to the 3.5 billion dollar industry of CT. Ag. is yet to be determined, and more snow is in the forecast.
( to read more about the 3.5 billion industry please visit http://today.uconn.edu/?p21744 )
Some suggestions for future heavy snow events:
Clear as much as possible from roof
Have house or barn number clearly marked street side for emergency vehicles to find you!
Have flashlights and batteries on hand
Keep a list of emergency contact numbers in your home and cell phone
Have a list of places to evacuate to and transportation help
Have 1 or 2 paddocks separate from barns to move animals to, and away from emergency vehicles
In case you are not home post name and contact info on barn or house
have halters and lead ropes at stall doors for quick removal of horses
take pictures of your buildings for insurance purposes before something happens
watch for signs of strain - cracks, doors not working right, sounds
HEAR IT, FEAR IT, GET OUT!!!
Not just barns greenhouses, kennels, sheds, stores, schools, be alert where ever you go!
HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN!!!
Topmost Herb Farm / Carole Miller Coventry, Ct. - this IS where your food comes from! Learn more on her Facebook Page
Sharing a story by Tony Wilson today. The King coated in snow to go with the New England landscape today. 2 more snow days from school have accumulated on the calendar. 2 more inches have accumulated on the ground and fence posts, trees and mailboxes. January has passed and the Ground Hog made his annual appearance. The sun rose and set behind a gray curtain of snow and woodsmoke. We wait, can spring and its warm sun and drip drip dripping of Maple sap be far in the distance?
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