| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| ArmyWifey |
Posted - Aug 04 2005 : 1:08:40 PM
I so want just a bit of land to play with. Enough to have a couple goats for milk, some chickens and a garden.
Instead we live in Army housing with a trampoline that takes up most of the backyard and neighbor dogs I want to shoot. Blue heeler that barks constantly, they don't clean up enough.
And my sister and bil are getting a ranch. While I despair of ever having enough land to do anything with for my children to enjoy.
Sigh,
Holly
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As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!
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| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| ladybugsmom6 |
Posted - Sep 06 2005 : 7:47:06 PM
BOy Holly do I know how you feel, I have neighbors that are far too close also. I can hear their tv and kids even late! But I have found the best thing for me for the time being is to get out there and dig where I can. I have made some dear friends that have allowed me to just sit in their farm yard when I need to. I dont know who thinks I am more crazy my city friend who cant imagine getting manure in her shoes, or the farm friends who cant believe I love it! They have come to accept and include me in on what ever chores are in the works from gardening to milking to canning, to sittin watching the chickens peck corn from the kids. My advice would be to go find a farmers market and ask some farmers for time to help them...tell them the situation I bet a few will let you learn from them!
-Tami
livin' right and loven' life! |
| Anne |
Posted - Aug 19 2005 : 1:09:07 PM
It's pretty cramped for me too. I grew up in a rural area and now have to live in the city for my job and I hate it. We want goats and chickens too, and some berry bushes also. But, you know, my mother always told me that everything happens for a reason, and that there's some special purpose to every place you end up in life, even if you can't see it yet. And even though it hardly ever seems that way to me at the time, when I look back on my life it seems she's right. So, in the meantime, I have a plot in our community garden, and I read lots of books and plan out how I want to set my own place up when I get it, and I grow plants in pots on racks. Even though you may not be in a big space you can have a rack of plants that's tall up and down. I have a multi-pot vertical plant stand inside and one outisde the door . . .somehow it makes it seem more like you're surrounded by living things. |
| Morning_Dew |
Posted - Aug 19 2005 : 12:48:30 PM
Holly
i know what you mean my husband i were stationed at FT. Bragg for 10 yrs. yards so small you can mow with a pair of scissors and not break a sweat. I to wanted a garden and a place for fresh herbs and veggie and flowers. Take heart they have window gardens that are in door and out door if you have a cornor in a partially sunny room you can also grow a hanging garden with frest fruit IE strawberry vine of other vining fruit and the kids can even help.i had one women that lived next to me that made a box garden on either side of her front steps. just a few things to consider.
now the hubby is retired and we started our own farm with bees and hoping to grow. all my love and best wishes.
every gardener should make time for the humming BIRDS and honey BEES, stop and smell the flowers. |
| Bridge |
Posted - Aug 16 2005 : 1:54:05 PM
Hugs to you Holly!!
I think the Gals gave you great advise!!
I feel the same way alot of times. I think I will never get to my dream!! Someone once told me "Make the best of what you have, There are some that don't even have that" It has always stuck with me!!
My friends tease that I could live in a cardboard box and be happy & make it home-y!! |
| WisGal35 |
Posted - Aug 16 2005 : 09:31:24 AM
Hi Holly-
Was just thinking about you, and hoping that support from the farmgirls (and time) is making life a little more bearable :)
Hang in there...
Cathy |
| realme52 |
Posted - Aug 16 2005 : 06:12:57 AM
Reading all this I am amazed how much excellent advice is out there! Holly, I'm sure you feel much better just experiencing all the care from people. We used to live in army housing in upstate NY and it was in so many ways like described in these posts here: noisy, inconsiderate neighbors, dogs EVERYWHERE, the view onto the backyard littered with gigantic plastic contraptions that made your eyes hurt....you name it. And then soil that was always cold and clayish. I did what so many of the advice here mentions: create the environment that I longed for where I could (mostly within my 4 walls), dream a lot, look at the positive and make use of the meantime by learning things that help me when I can make my dream come true, or at least, a little more real. The only thing I could successfully plant was mint, but boy! did it ever take off!!! Look at all the money you save by not having to pay rent, water, elecrticity...whenever something breaks, all you do is call someone and it will be fixed! You are going to miss that once you live on your own farm (at least sometimes . You can get a dreamjar, in to which you put a certain amount of money every day, just because you don't have to spend money on all those things. It may only be a dollar a day, but you think it will go toward your goat, your chickens, whatever, once you are allowed to have them. And then go to the library on post. I'm sure they have shelves and shelves full of all those "outdated" books (which, in this case makes them just the right kind!) about farming, husbandry, gardening, decorating your house on a dime....and they are all FREE! And when your sister gets a farm, watch her and help her do her thing! It happens so that you can learn and later, when your time to get a farm comes, you will not have to make the same mistakes.
I feel with you. Been there, done that. Trust me, it'll pass. And then, the very moment you realize that you made it through, you will be on top of the world!
From this hour on I ordain myself loss'd of limits and immaginary lines. Walt Whitman |
| Julia |
Posted - Aug 15 2005 : 9:29:42 PM
Hey Holly! I am a former army wife, boy can I relate!! We were once stationed in Huntsville, AL. Not much grew in that red clay soil! I still long for a farm, but for now the Lord has us in town, 2 miles from the church where my husband pastors. So, I learn to be content with my double lot (back lot we call the back 40). WHere you are herbs would do well. You would have pretty, and useful. Containers can be just as fun, plus you can move them around to change things up. Hang in there! Simply, Julia
"The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach is joy. Take joy!" Fr.Giovanni |
| TwoWildflowers |
Posted - Aug 06 2005 : 11:55:12 PM
Dearest Holly,
Looking around outside your soul can be hard and I know many of us feel your frustration.
I do have a "little" garden idea that is great to do with your kids, they love the ease of the project and it teaches responsibility. Also, experience has taugh us that kids will often eat what they grow.
1. Purchase some inexpensive childrens wheel barrows. I found some this spring at KMart that were primary colors for about $5 each.
2. Fill just the deepest end (the part that tilts down) with stones, then fill up to almost 1 inch of the top with good rich planting soil.
3. Select some herb starters and plant. Water as needed (but not too much) and watch them grow. The portability of the wheel barrow allows one to easily follow the sun if you are in a confined space, even if that means moving them inside to a window.
4. Keep using the fresh herbs to feed the kids so the garden keeps growing!
Friends are my flowers in the garden of life |
| Lazycreek |
Posted - Aug 06 2005 : 5:52:31 PM
Holly,
Don't despair. Being a Farm Girl at Heart is more than land and chickens and goats. When we lived in the city, chickens were prohibited, but the kids had a pet chicken named Thelma. A wonderful Rhode Island Red that laid an egg everyday and went into a dog kennel at night-------can't imagine why you and the kids couldn't have a pet chicken too. You can make soap, take a pottery class at a local college or studio. You can garden in pots and even have vegetable plants among your flowers and shrubs around your house. You can go to the local farmer's market and buy fresh veggies in bulk and can them. Take classes on making cheese. Learn, learn, learn. This is a time of acquiring skills for the future.
Charlee
Believe in the power of your dreams |
| bramble |
Posted - Aug 06 2005 : 4:01:53 PM
Holly- All the suggestions are great and many I have utilized to get past a bad time, not being where I wanted to be or just feeling frustrated in general. Take this day to get this feeling out, examine it and find out what is really making you unhappy. Some things you can fix, others you can't but you can control how many "bad" days you have by changing your outlook to one where you are doing things that bring you one step closer to what you want. Make some jam, start a quilt, start a new project or take your kids off the base and go visit something of interest not military related. Just shake the blues and don't let them in the door again, atleast for a while! We're all entitled to a crummy day sometimes! I have a friend who refers to it as her "Pity Party Day" and that "it's a party for one".
She will call, see or whatever the next day and she always does so I don't worry. That's just her way of dealing with things when they get to her or are too much. I've often thought that she probably saves alot of apologizing and explaining by just retreating for the day!
We're here Holly, and we understand, tomorrow will be better!
with a happy heart |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 10:55:32 PM
Don't a lot of bases provide community garden areas? I think that Fort Huachuca does or at least used to, but I'm not sure. You could even do some container gardening around your house. I know your trampoline is taking up a lot of space, but living where you do, you might even be able to do some container gardening under the trampoline to shade plants that aren't used to the heat that you have there.
'Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain |
| showmemom |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 07:50:13 AM
hey holly-
just wanted to send you a big hug; everyone has given you very good advice so far.
the only other thing i can say is i was thinking of a Scripture that says "hope deferred makes the heart sick." and that's what your post seems like-like you are heart sick.
so what gives you hope? would planting a window box with herbs and flowers? would calling your base or town and seeing if they need volunteers in public gardens? a long time ago, when it seemed like i was just marking time, someone advised me to start a dream journal. it wasn't fancy; just a spiral notebook-but i filled it with cut-out pictures from magazines, quotes, stickers, leaves from the yard-you name it, if it touched on my dream, in it went. it really helped me.
know that there are many of us who are praying and thinking good things for you. don't give up.
talk to you soon.
karen
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
Victor Hugo |
| westernhorse51 |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 06:01:21 AM
Holly, there are a few of us who at many times feel the exact way you feel right now. Take heart farmgirl, this too shall pass AS LONG as you do something to make yourself feel better. Clare gave me that advice a few months ago when I was feeling terrible, IT WORKS. Go grow something even in a window box. I live in a mobile home w/ a tiny yard, I grow, all kinds of herbs, flowers, tom. carrots. it's wonderful. All my 53 years I've longed for the same thing, my sister who lived in the city & liked it moved to a farm house on an acre. I was happy for her but mad at the same time, couldnt believe she was living MY dream, not hers!. Well, it wasnt my dream., it's her life. Mine will happen when it's supposed to. Right now I've got bigger things to worry about. I'll get my little farm, you will too. You have the health of your loved ones & yourself, that's more important, believe me. In the meantime, bring the farm to you. Make your home look like a farm house. My mobile home looks like a farm house, as soon as you walk in the door theres all kinds of farmstuff everywhere. Outside it full of herbs, veggies and flowers. You can do it. It's alot of fun, it makes you feel better. Pick up a craft, make bread it all works. Go have fun!! Michele
"she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands". Prov. 31:13 |
| theherblady |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 05:43:01 AM
Hi Holly
I am new here and my first introduction wasnt placed in the correct spot-But I wanted to mention that I wanted to live in the country as long as I can remember- It seemed my dream would never come true~~I longed for a old house and a little property. I bought my grandparents house in town and as I was looking for property...I decided that it would have to be the "ideal" house for me ever to sell...Just as I was about to give up~~ a farm house I had been looking at for approx 15 years on the way to work came up for sale! I just knew it would be too much $$ but I called anyway. Finally last December we closed on the house I had dreamed about...So-my point is-That it is all in timing~~ Try to be patient (i know it's tough), and when the right place comes on market-you will know and the door will open for you-
Jan |
| hapyhrt |
Posted - Aug 05 2005 : 04:23:47 AM
Hi Holly, the gals all gave ya some great advice. Atleast now you know that you're not alone as it took us many years too before we could afford even a small acre in the country and all my life I've wanted to be a farm girl and/or farm wife! This tiny acre isn't big enough to farm on but I'm content with the blessings I do have and that's how best to get through the rough times of despair when you think your dreams will never come true. Believe me, they will when the timing is right! For too many years to mention we lived in a 2 room upstairs apartment in the city which had only 3 windows and only 2 where low enough to even look out! Oh how I longed for the country, having been raised outside the city limits. Tired of being down about what I couldn't have I decided to do whatever I could to help myself feel happier while I waited for things to get better. I planted bright red geraniums in window boxes that sat on the inside window sills and flowered all winter! I crafted anything "country" that would come to mind and yes, we were proberly the only ones in that apt. complex that had gingham cows, calico chickens and fuzzy sheep, wicker baskets, pictures of barns and countryside, a real milk can sitting just inside the door and a clothesline strung across the bathroom where I hung our clothes as if they were going to dry outside in a country breeze! LOL We went to the farmers market and bought fruit and veggies, I even made jelly, which for someone who can't cook a lick came out pretty darn good! :) I found that making the best of the situation kept me from feeling depressed over something that I couldn't change at that time. Sometimes a change of thought goes alot further to promote contentment than anything else. I know it sure helped me, remember to count your blessings and live with an attitude of gratitude for real lasting happiness! ;)
"Think HAPPY Thoughts...any others aren't worth your time!" Ü |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Aug 04 2005 : 6:04:30 PM
Holly - when I have been in the frame of mind I sense you are in, I would look around me and think "What can I do, no matter how trivial, that will make me and my family feel better?" Then I would do it, and pretend that outside my window was a farm and a ranch. Perhaps you could bake brownies, and cozy up on the sofa with milk and your children. Escape into a book for awhile. Surround yourself with the hominess you need that the inside of your home can provide.
Perhaps your sister obtaining something you want so badly makes it even harder to imagine your dream. But there are so many who are without homes and food and family at all. And you have those blessings.
Your sign off is a piece of Scripture. An important one. If you are Christian, go there for solace. And know that many of us have been in similar situations that seem so dull and repetitive.....and those times pass.
We are with you girl! And, take Clare's advice and leave goodies for the dog. :)
jpbluesky
Heartland girl |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Aug 04 2005 : 2:29:01 PM
Holly, I sense a little despair in you...I have been where you are at, my very wise father told me once that "nothing lasts forever"...Keep your dream, be of good cheer, you have your health and your beautiful family about you, you are young, and dreams DO come true! Hang in there babe... Plant a little herb garden and watch it grow, or a pot of bright cheerful flowers and keep your eye on them and not the neighbors next door...You'll get your piece of heaven!
The flowers flee from Autumn, but not you-
You are the fearless rose that grows amidst the freezing wind. Rumi |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Aug 04 2005 : 1:24:55 PM
Have you given any thought to participating in a community garden? Check around in your area, usually there are some people around with more land than they know what to do with and they will let you plant on their property as long as you take care of it... The last company I worked for had one. They renovated some nasty land that was just a corner lot covered in trash and brought in dirt and made a huge vegitable garden, and anyone who wanted to could participate as long as they kept up with their portion on a regular basis.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. James Stewart in the movie HARVEY |
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