Category Archives: Itsnotta farm

Discovering Hyssop: A Versatile Herb for Spring Cleaning (and the first plant in our mini-series!)

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Well. It happened. I didn’t think it would ever happen, but it did. It happened quickly and was painless. It was sooner than expected, based on what seemed to be happening, but then… all of a sudden… we have spring! Somehow, out of no where, came a warm front and a few rain showers: and our snow has finally melted! Well, most of it has melted, anyway. You can smell it in the air, you can feel the above zero temperatures, you can just sense the world awakening again, and you can see green! The girls have flown the coop and are out digging up the ground again. Life seems good. Except.

The current state of the barn… 5 inches deep in water!

Except, that all the snow melting has created a lot of water. A lot. Our fields are mostly squishy, spongy grass and mini lakes. Where there isn’t a lake, there is still a pile of snow. The sump pump has been working non-stop, so our basement is (thankfully) dry. The barn, however, is a completely different story. It is a mess. For some reason, the drains are still frozen underground and there is about 5 inches of water everywhere. We’ve tried shop vacuuming, we tried pumping it out, but because of the slopes to the drains, those lakes keep pooling back in. It is just “yuck”. Chicken and rabbit mess is softening into a sludge and everything is wet. Soaked, in fact. We will have to assess real damage when things get dried out a bit. My poor bunnies are propped up on a pallet and out of the water, but I can’t let them free roam until things dry out a bit. I am sure they are miserable, but I don’t know what else to do. Time should help… but it is supposed to be raining all day today and into the night, and then cold again?! So who knows. Yes, spring is here, but so is all that spring brings.

So. That was a very long introduction to my next thoughts: because it is finally spring, and traditionally we do a little theme for blog-a-versary, (which I didn’t do yet) I’ve decided let’s do it. And, because it is spring and it has been a very long winter, I’ve decided to bring some colour, and brightness and new life into this little theme for us for the next few weeks… drumroll… let’s focus on flowers!! Sound good? Great. I’m on it. And for some reason, my first plant I wanna learn about is hyssop.

I know nothing about hyssop. It’s in the Bible. The rest I had to look up. Therefore, according to the great inter web…Hyssop is a very versatile herb, often used in Mediterranean dishes and traditionally known for “purification”. Apparently, the oils are often used to help respiratory issues. My chickens and bunnies may need it after all this water and dampness. I’m praying they don’t catch colds.

Hyssop is pretty, actually. They say it is in the mint family. A tiny blue-purple flower, in a spiky little bush… typical “herb”. Probably spreads like crazy given the right space. Oh… it says the flowers can be red, pink or white too. Nice. I’m not sure why this one was my first choice in our little series… maybe it’s a God thing that I won’t know about until it gets shared with me, but hyssop it is.

So, let’s look at it’s biblical references, shall we? Apparently the “hyssop” as described in ancient times is not the common herb found in the middle east today. It was likely a different aromatic herb like oregano or capers. Still, shrubby fragrant plant with healing properties… Sniff ’em all for good measure. Traditionally “cleanse me with hyssop” is a phrase you’ll see in Biblical references. Those antiseptic properties maybe, but sources say it was more “figurative” than literal cleansing. I suppose only because it was chosen as the instrument for marking doors at Passover, and it was the type of stick on which the sponge of liquid was given to Jesus on the cross…. so it all got associated through time as representing “cleansing of sins” (which of course no plant can do on it’s own). But there ya have it.

Hyssop was likely a good one to start with considering the state of my property. There is plenty of water, but not much of it is good for “cleansing”. It’s muddy, defiled and stagnant. Spring reminds us of new life and new beginning, but it’s only once all that snow, muck and mess is purified. Cleansed, if you will. I’m looking forward to getting the power washer out and hosing down a few things so my bunnies can get back to running around, and the grass actually looks green again and fresh. The snow melt has unearthed some unpleasant surprises, and I am ready for the clean up. Perhaps hyssop should be in the repertoire. What should we look up next, friends? Drop me a comment!

Navigating Life’s Pathways: Lessons from a Spider

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Greetings, friends! It’s been a hot moment, hasn’t it? We’re back though, with another thought of the day to enlighten you. I was finally taking a moment to relax in the bath, when a teenie little daddy long legged spider decided to meander its way along the side of my tub. Now, I don’t have any fear of spiders, especially one so small, but I didn’t want this little guy to fall into my bath, or worse, disappear from view, so I gently scooped him up and placed him along the edge of my dangling English ivy (which I am so proud of… it’s growing well on my bathroom window ledge…long and sprawling… I am hoping to weave it all through the mirror). Anyway, I placed the little guy along the edge of the vine, hoping he would follow the path into the heart of the plant and live happily eating the fruit flies or whatever little gnat things live in soils. He did not. He made a quick veer to the right, grasping at the smooth painted bathroom wall to start his ascent. Once he slipped and slid along the wall, he had to spot check a few pieces of web to swing over the window ledge. I didn’t watch him after that. I don’t know if he every made it to the plant, or the sunny window, or simply slid down the other side under the sink and whatever lurks under there.

Which pathway to choose?

And so… you guessed it… I mused about that little spider and wondered why on earth did he choose the more treacherous path when I clearly had shown him the easiest route? The quickest definition of a pathway is “a way that constitutes or serves as a path” — it says nothing of the difficulty of the pathway, nor the length of the route, nor the dangers along it. It is simply a “way” from point A to point B. Plenty of us have traveled along many a pathway — both easy and hard routes in our lifetimes. They are worth a thought and a look back to see how far we have come.

Most of you know, it has been a hard, long, cold, snowy winter here at Itsnotta Farm. The snow is still deep on the ground, the days are still bitterly cold, and my farm chores are tough. Gates are frozen open, two feet deep in snow. Entry ways to the barn are icy because when it did warm up for a few brief days, the snow melted. The barn is a skating rink. I need to clean out my stall bound bunnies, but everything is frozen to the ground. One day, the wind created huge drifts enroute to the coop, I was waste deep and shoveling my way along. I bump my head on the top of the chicken run because the snow has lifted me up a foot or so taller. Goat fencing can’t be started because the ground is solid and still buried. Needless to say, I think we are quite sick of it all! Spring could not come sooner.

Photo by Anurag Jamwal on Pexels.com

Metaphorically speaking, we’ve been on a few pathways since moving out here. Adjusting to the weather was just one. We’ve had new schools, church, made new friends in a new community. I’ve been given several job opportunities and navigated that trajectory for awhile. Life is a seemingly endless pathway. And then you die. My faith would tell me that that isn’t the final checkpoint, though. The Bible tells us the pathway to Heaven is narrow and tough going. It’s a hard one to choose. Like my little spider, the challenges are real and sluggish. Choices we make now, will determine our fate. Is it worth the slow, arduous route to arrive in Heaven and eternal life? You bet it is!

I don’t know where you are, friend, on your pathway through life. I don’t know who reads my little public posts, or who shares them and why. I do know, God is faithful. He’s proven it time and time again. People around us try and set us on the path that is easy… one with few obstacles, an easy climb through the ivy. Sometimes, the sacrifice is worth the harder route. Sometimes, we need to plant ourselves and haul up over the ledge. It’ll be a bit more difficult for sure. Oh, we’ll have a few blessings along the way… someone will surely scoop us up every now and then and keep us from drowning; but it will all be worth it in the end. Trust me. Spring thaw is coming, and the pathways will soon be green again! And there will be plenty more spiders to watch.

Lessons from Nature: Coping with Deep Freezes

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Hello again from the land of snow and ice and extreme temperatures! It seems like we’re beginning to reach the end of the tunnel — the sun showed itself for a few moments yesterday — but I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet. Those groundhogs were lucky they didn’t predict six more weeks of winter, though. I think there would have been a revolt from people here in our little part of the earth. So done with snow!

I meant to get started on my seeds this weekend… but that didn’t happen either. Grandbaby is over today, so amidst sing songs and snack breaks, here we are back to blogging! I was thinking about the deep freeze. We were talking about how trees can explode in extreme temperatures. My socials are all about frost bitten chicken combs and how invasive iguanas are falling out of trees in Florida. Ice crystals in the sky and the constant sound of snowmobilers in our fields. The parking lot at our local downhill ski lift has been full lately… a fact I am sure they are grateful for! Crazy!

Yes, if you live in a place where winter tends to hit every now and then… you have certainly felt it this year! I watched a few videos on this tree exploding thing, and apparently it is when extreme temperature drops freeze the sap running inside of the tree, causing it to expand and pop the bark open. Apparently, it can sound as loud as a gunshot and create a frost crack in the tree… leaving it susceptible to damage and disease. I’ll try and find a link or picture to leave with you:

Thanks barlett.com for the photo. There are other videos of the explosions… but I am told they don’t really shatter…only produce these scars….so trust what you will!

In any case, it had me musing… Are we not like our fellow forest dwellers? Most days, our “insides” just flow along happily. We have our ups and downs, but we maintain our outer appearances and deal with most of what life throws at us. Yet, on occasion, there are times when a sudden drop in temperature takes us off our guard and we simply freeze up. Perhaps anxiety does it. Perhaps the surprise of the situation catches us unprepared. Perhaps it is just too much for us to handle… and we crack. And every one knows it, because it makes a lot of noise. Or folks see the resulting damage days or years later. It bears scars.

Have you been through one of those deep freezes, my friend? Have you felt your insides explode? Do you bear the scars? May I be the first to tell you, you are not alone. The tree people tell us “exploding trees” are a lot more common than I have ever heard about. And second, I have seen the scars on trees…. and discovered most have survived the crisis. Damaged yes, but not broken.

God gives us these moments to grow our character. How boring would a forest look with a bunch of straight poled, smooth barked trees lined up in it? It’d be like walking among fence posts. I’m sure you’ve heard of wabi sabi… beauty in imperfection. For who wants boring perfection? Just think about the disciples… a band of misfits who went on to do great things! Did you know corn flakes were a mistake? I can’t help but think of all the ways my “imperfections” in life have transformed my character to be so much more empathetic. I’ve been there, I know. You can’t say that unless you have been there… and have lived to bear the scars afterward.

Needless to say, the tree standing out in the cold freezing from the inside out, doesn’t see the beauty in the crack until the spring comes, and the sap runs sweet again. Let’s not deny the pain of the “going through”. The point where we “explode”. It’s only after we hit bottom do we start to climb up again. When our feet are firmly planted. Then we can begin the climb — changed, but for the better.

So next time you’re out for a winter walk through the forest, take a peek at a few exploded trees, notice the scars, and be thankful you recognized pain, and the recovery.