The Spare Bedroom

It is hard to believe that I am living in the last few hours of the first month of the year. Where did January go?

When I purchased this ranch I did so with a purpose in mind, to help those individuals who are ill, homeless, and seeking God for healing. That is still the goal even though it seems more of my time is spent these days taking care of animals then my other tasks. The truth is all is important.

I occasionally get contacted by someone with MCS looking for housing or someone who knows someone with MCS who is homeless. The spare bedroom is still available but so far no one has made the decision to come live out here. It amazes me how many people are terrified of being in the country. Before buying this property I knew a lot of folks with MCS were living in the woods or camp grounds because of MCS, and so I expected it would not be long before someone (or many folks) would request to come out to the ranch. But that has not happened. The only explanation I can come up with is that folks living in the woods or desert do not have access to the Internet, where folks living in the city do. Also, most of my friends live in the city and so when they contact me about someone, that person is already in the city and may not want to leave. This month alone two separate friends contacted me about someone they are currently helping who has MCS and is homeless. I told them the spare bedroom is available, but I have not heard back. In the end, I know God will send just the right person at just the right time.

Since no one is currently living in that spare bedroom, it is available for friends and volunteers to stay in. This month my friend, Rick, used that room during eight days of volunteer work. He came out here to do a few maintenance repairs and help me build a goat pen. Once complete, the goat will have a nice home to hang out in. The first step in building a goat pen is to clear the area of cedar trees so we have a place to put a fence. We borrowed a friend/neighbor’s chain saw and started cutting down Mountain Cedar trees. No one likes Cedar trees, which are actually in the juniper family. They suck tons of water out of the ground, prevent other trees and plants from growing, and cause bad allergies. We started cutting down trees Wednesday afternoon and finished Friday afternoon. While Rick sawed the multiple limbs/trunks of each tree, I dragged and carried the branches away. By the end of the week I had formed six huge piles of cedar to burn. Even though all the cedar piles are green, we did succeed in burning one pile. The other piles refused to burn, but their day will come.

Rick had to return home that Saturday but he is planning on returning in February for the next phase of the project, building a fence. This land is very rocky and one does not need to go very deep to hit bedrock. So digging holes for the fence poles will probably require renting a jack hammer. Rick has built many fences in his life and is spending this time at home doing research on how best to build a fence in this type of terrain. Hopefully the pen will be finished in time for Lawn Mower the goat to be removed from the garden so I can once again plant a spring vegetable garden in there.

Besides building a fence, Lawn Mower will need shelter from storms. I have scraped dirt and rocks off a large sheet of rock that will make a nice floor to her shelter. The plan is to build her a shelter using available materials, rocks. There are rocks everywhere here so why not build a shelter using those rocks, instead of going out and spending money on wood. In preparation every time I spot a good rock I pick it up and relocate it to where her shelter will be built. Thankfully garden wagons make that task a little easier.

You might be thinking to yourself why am I going to all this work and expense for a pet goat? Why not just get rid of her. Yes, Lawn Mower is clearly a pet. She is very attached to me and acts more like a dog then livestock. The reason is simply, God gave her to me. Not long after Lawn Mower showed up I started receiving offers from folks happy to take her off my hands. When it became clear I was not going to find her original owner, I started praying to God about what to do with her and the message came back loud and clear that she was mine. So at the urging of a friend I named her. I also started learning about goat care. If I am going to own a goat I want to take proper care of her. I know from talking to experts she is receiving proper nutrition. I can tell she is happy. But I also know she is lonely. Goats are herd animals and she needs a friend. I have put the word out that I am willing to take a kid that has been abandoned by its mother (or the mother had triplets and therefore is unable to care for a third baby as goats only have two teats). Ranchers like to breed their goats so the babies are born in the spring and so I may have two goats in a few months.

I have also learned there is a lot of money in goats, especially boar goats, which is what Lawn Mower is. Boar goats were developed in South Africa as a meat goat. I have been told I could possibly get $150 for Lawn Mower at a stock show. I have a lot to learn still but the idea of breeding Lawn Mower and selling her kids has crossed my mind. That would help recoup the money I have spent on her. Also, there is the possibility of goat meat being on the table in the future when more folks are living out here. Lawn Mower will never be sacrificed, but maybe she is the beginning of something bigger. Only time will tell.

So even though no one is currently living here except for me, that spare bedroom is getting used. Anyone else desiring to spend a few days in the country and do some work for the Lord is welcome to come out, just let me know. I will also entertain renting the room out to someone who just wants to be out in the country for a few days of peace and quiet. And when the time comes that someone needs that room for housing, there is a twin bed in the office, the couch folds out into a double bed, and I have air matters that can be blown up and thrown down on the floor for more beds. So if a family wants to come out and volunteer for the weekend, just let me know. There is plenty to do out here, besides building a goat pen.

Life continues here on the ranch.

Today I paid to have some oak trees surrounding the cabin trimmed and leaves swept off the cabin roof. Water had leaked through the cabin roof and hopefully now the wind will blow the leaves away, preventing the leaves from acting like a sponge that allows water to seep through the seams of the metal roof. I will have to wait for another rain storm to see if this fixes the problem.

This morning I drove into Rocksprings and spent a few hours volunteering in the Library. For over a year now I have been scanning all the children’s books looking for those which need to be updated for the reading tests given to the school children. Rocksprings is so small that the school library is also the public library. For such a small library a lot goes on there and it has won awards.

After I left the library I went by the church to pick up my reusable water bottle which I left in the sanctuary last Sunday. When I arrived I spotted four turkeys outside the side door. The secretary told me there use to be huge flocks of them outside. This Texas drought is really hurting everyone, especially the wildlife.

After a quick visit with the church secretary, I drove over to the Rocksprings Visitor Center which is also home to the Devils’ Sinkhole where millions of bats take up residency each year, except for this year. They are blaming the drought for the lack of bats. Volunteers take folks out to the Sinkhole to watch the bats exit the sinkhole at night. They also take people during the day for hiking and birding tours. A good friend of mine is one of the volunteers and I spotted her car so I knew she was working there today. I had brought some lunch with me so I ate it there and socialized with her. It was an enjoyable afternoon.

Last week I finally got around to loading Dreamweaver onto my computer. Dreamweaver is web design software. I really need to create a new web site but finding the time to do so has been a challenge. First step is learning how to use the software. Every night this week I have been searching the internet for tutorials on how to use Dreamweaver. So far I have not found anything that is useful. The librarian gave me an idea of where to look (youtube) so maybe this evening I will find something that is actually helpful, something very basic.

I have been working on a raised bed for strawberries and last week I finally finished it and planted the strawberries. Hopefully next year I will have lots of yummy strawberries to eat and share.

Overall the garden has not been very productive. This drought and intense heat is really taking a toll. I am not the only one having problems. None of the neighbors have had any success growing tomatoes. The plants are a good size but no flowers. The only success I have had is growing summer squash, which is doing well. I have picked enough yellow squash and zucchini to share with several folks. I am hoping a fall garden does better.

The intense heat (over 100F or 39c daily since early May) and severe drought, not only is affecting the garden but the wildlife is suffering too. The deer really look anorexic. There is just nothing out here for them to eat. A lot of hunters and ranchers buy corn and hay for the deer and other critters, but with rising prices many are can no longer afford to do so. These animals must eat so they go after anything they can find. I planted a couple rhubarb plants but someone ate the baby shoots. The plants died after that. I also purchased and planted a yucca plant (for fun) and again the baby shoots got eaten. It is pretty hard to kill a yucca plant so when I saw new green shoots sprouting up I placed a cage over the plant to protect it. I am guessing cotton tail rabbits (which I have seen hopping around) ate the yucca and rhubarb plants. They probably are guilty of eating some of the other vegetable plants I planted in the garden. My next outdoor project is to make the garden rabbit proof. An 8 foot fence around the garden already makes it deer proof.

A friendly reminder, I am not out here just for myself. This ranch was purchased so others in need of a place to live due to Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and/or other medical issues have a place to live while seeking God’s healing. The spare bedroom in the house is now furnished and available.