Mississippifarmboy's Living Simple Journal, Ready for a Fresh Start.

[mississippifarmboy]

Well today was a rough one. Just haven't felt well at all. I didn't get anything at all done. I tried to eat supper, but just don't have an appetite. I think I'll go take a long hot shower and head to bed early.

Have to go in to the doctor tomorrow morning at 10 to see if the treatment is working. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

So sorry you don't feel well today. I hope you at least had a few minutes to soak in some of the beautiful day.
Really hope your appointment goes well tomorrow. Prayers are already on their way.

 

[Denim Deb]

Hope the doctor will have some answer and that it's nothing serious.

 

[BarredBuff]

I'll be thinking about ya

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I'm baaack!

Good news too, the treatments are working. The doctor took me off the antibiotics, but I've got to take the steroids for at least another two months. Also my nerve pills and probiotics? and also take a multi-vitamin and eat lots of "live culture" yogurt. Supposed to take it easy, not get stressed, eat better and be a good boy, but at least I don't have to go back into the hospital.

Last night was a really bad night and I've felt terrible today so far, but it sure took a lot off my mind just knowing I am going to get better and beat this thing.

Heading out to milk now, the poor cow is bellering at me, but I was just too sick to milk before I left. I think then I'll just relax a bit and enjoy the sunshine.

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone.

 

[Denim Deb]

Glad to hear things are moving in the right direction.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery. Hope you felt good enough to enjoy the beautiful day. At least, I hope it was beautiful in your neck of the woods.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Thanks, I did feel a little better this evening. And it was a beautiful day here.
Didn't do a whole lot, but the goat was out again and I finally figured out where the sneaky lil cuss was getting out at. So I fixed a door over the inside of my hay rack.

Last year I had built a hay rack on the rear wall of the side of my tractor shed I use for a hay room. Then I cut out a hole about 2' high by 4' wide in the rear wall about four feet up the wall where I could just go in the hay room, throw a bale right out into the rack and no carrying hay in the winter. I had some 2"X2" treated boards nailed up verticaly on the outside of the rack to keep it where the critters could just stick their heads in to eat but not be able to get into it. Well, the horse had broke those off over the last year and the goat was jumping up into the hay rack then jumping out the hole I throw hay through and just waltzing out the front of the hay room.

Today I found an old 2' wide door that the bottom had rotted off on out in the storage shed. I cut it down to 4', framed out one side with lattice strips where it was peeling and trimmed the the other side with 1"X2" lumber to give it extra strength, used the old hinges to mount it and left the old door knob on it for a handle. I hinged it on the bottom where it will just drop down out of the way when open and used a button latch from a scrap piece of lumber at the top. Looks goofy, but works good.

Here is what it looked like from the outside last year; The unfinished part is going to be a pigeon coop someday. I don't have any pictures of the inside yet.

And here is an old picture when I first started rebuilding the old shed showing the hole cut in the wall.

The barn lot is where I do my winter feeding so it never has much grass in it, but it opens into three small pastures plus our front yard, all of which I rotate the hoof stock on.

Tomorrow's project is to replace the wooden guard strips with metal pipe and finish trimming the hay rack out. It'll be one more goal scratched of the list before winter. I'll try and remember to take some pictures too.

 

[Denim Deb]

I love my goats, but they sure can be a PITB when they get out!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Well, I didn't get the hay rack finished today. I had something much more important come up. We only have a couple of acres of our own and I have been trying for years to buy the land behind me (28 acres). Today I decided to call the latest owner again, see if he ever got in a selling mood. Before when I asked him he wanted MUCH more than it was worth because several acres on the lower side floods pretty bad during heavy rains and is a bit swampy besides. The rest of the land is pretty good though. Overgrown and neglected, but usable. Has a fair sized pond on it, an old barn my Grandfather built that is still standing but needs a lot of work, several mature trees and a ton of trees big enough to cut up for firewood and a few acres in overgrown pasture.
When I called he said "let me call my partner and I'll call you right back". When he returned my call he said they didn't want to sell a 200' strip bordering the highway, but he would sell me the rest of it for a good bit less per acre than he priced it before. The really amazing thing is - the area I DIDN'T want is almost all in the 200' strip. I couldn't believe it! He wants to keep the SWAMP! There should be a bit over 20 acres we'd be getting.

Of course I still have to work out the details and then try and somehow come up with the money, but it will be a prayer answered if we can pull it off! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! With that land along with what we have, I could be as self sufficient as it's possible to be in the modern world.

I did manage to get to the hay room and take a few pictures of my hillbilly hay door I made yesterday. The paint is peeling a bit on it and it looks goofy but it works... The goat didn't get out today.

Total cost of door, hinges, screws, all hardware = $0. Time - about an hour working at my slow speed.