Farming While Trans.

[Charlize]

    I'm enjoying the farm more than ever despite various pain mostly caused by age, wear and tear and some bad habits of the past.  We sold off the goats who are now busy producing antibodies for covid and living great lives at a lovely farm.  Instead we are developing a flock of sheep which is easier to handle and quite sweet.  

    Sugar season was hard this last season.  Storms and down branches kept wrecking the tubing that brings the maple sap in for processing.  I made good use of my snowshoes.  

     These last few days have been crazy as i get new haying equipment assembled.  Hopefully by the end of the day i'll have a field of hay laying out to dry.  

      All this keeps this old gal hobbling around the place but i'm doing it as myself which still seems simply miraculous after many years.  Much of that joy is simply do to you folks here now and those before who have supported me as i found myself.  Being ourselves and doing what we love is a treat we all deserve.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Cyndee]

1 hour ago, Charlize said:

 Being ourselves and doing what we love is a treat we all deserve.

 

 

 

Totally agree Charlize with above. So glad to read how you are enjoying your farming this year, and enjoying the new flock. 

 

Hope you have a great day !

 

Hugs

 

C

[Willow McKenzie]

Charlize,

 

   I understand the wear and tear.   I finally got both my knees replaced which helped a lot.   Last Fall my neighbor who has a 300acre goat farm got me hooked on collagen peptides.   It is made from ground up cow hide (yuck).   I put it in my coffee in the morning or mix it with Instant Breakfast drink.   It is pretty tasteless.   WOW what a difference!   Less pain and more mobility.    More hair on my head and it is thick and hard to pull out.  Some improvement on my fingernails, and maybe a bit more brain clarity.  

 

Hope this helps

Willow McKenzie

 

 

[Delcina B]

Thank you Charlize! I find my life on this little hobby farm of dairy goats, chickens, rabbits & a garden brings me a lot of serenity. I enjoy the gardening the best. Maybe it's because the plants aren't clucking or mawwwing all the time. ?

 

It is where I was finally able to be more honest with myself exploring my femme. Others parts of life helped get me to this point & today I'm thankful for all of it, the happy & the not so happy.

 

I remember sugaring as a kid. We only had 75 or so taps out, so we collected in buckets.

 

Willow, the collagen peptides sound phenomenal, I'll have to try some. Do you dry & grind the hides or buy it?

 

Hugs!

Delcina

[Willow McKenzie]

8 hours ago, Delcina B said:

Willow, the collagen peptides sound phenomenal, I'll have to try some. Do you dry & grind the hides or buy it?

 

Hi Delcina!

 

   I buy my collagen from amazon or my health food store.   I like vital proteins brand best because it dissolves real fast.    There are brands with other additives like chocolate, but I like the pure stuff and I can add what I want.    I got my Mother on it 6 months ago and she swears by it.   She just got her yearly labs done and her Dr said she was healthy as a horse and they were the best lab results ever on record for her.   She is 88yrs old.

Happy farming,

Willow

 

[tracy_j]

Now you have sheep Charlize are you going to shear them yourself or are there gangs of shearers who tour at the right time who shear them? I don't think its too complicated although takes practice to get a good fleece, but I remember when I was a child. A highlight of the year was to go to the farmyard which was at the bottom of our garden and watch the men shearing the sheep. It was a large farm and so there was a yard full of sheep.

 

Tracy

[Charlize]

Thanks Willow i may well get some of that stuff.  

[Charlize]

Actually Tracy they are what is known as hair sheep. They are raised more for meat than fiber. Our flock is just starting out with 6 ewes and a pair of rams. Their breed is Barbados Black Belly and their ancestors were brought with the first African slaves who worked the sugar plantations there. Currently they are considered an agricultural endangered species as there are but 2000 in the country. We will be breeding in large part to pass along their genetic material. The picture is of the young rams.  The breed was just celebrated on a postage stamp

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Delcina B]

Thank you Willow! I like the, "healthy as a horse." I'll have to try it.

 

Hugs!

Delcina

[tracy_j]

Thanks for the update @Charlize. It's interesting to see them. There are none like those here although one local farm did have rare breeds, and I presume they still have them.

 

After I posted I did think about the sheep raised for meat rather than wool. Something I have never looked into. My experiences were more when I was below 10 years of age rather than above so I only really remember what I saw at the time, although I do live fairly close to the farm I lived alongside then and do see them. These days they appear to have less sheep but they look similar to those when I was little. There seems to be far less herding along country lanes than there was then. I don't know the breed offhand as I have never been an expert. They may have varied from time to time as I do remember ones with longer wool as well as some with black faces.

 

Tracy

 

 

[Charlize]

Small round bales cut, raked and brought in using electrical equiptment charged by solar power.   

[Charlize]

A gal needs to rest after bringing in the first cutting

[Mmindy]

21 minutes ago, Charlize said:

A gal needs to rest after bring in the first cutting

Looking good for working in the hay fields, and barn.

Do you use the hay, or sell it? If you use it, how much do you have to put up for the winter?

I know there really isn't a day off on a working farm, so take care of yourself.

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[Jani]

Oh Charlize you are so strong to still be working on the farm!  I know you must sleep well at night!

 

Jani

[Charlize]

  Jani I don’t feel very strong.  With one day to go before 75 and being on HRT for 10 years the bales are getting very heavy.  Sleep does come easy!

  Mindy we use the bales for our sheep.  I try to have around 300 to be safe.  

[Mmindy]

2 hours ago, Charlize said:

I try to have around 300 to be safe.

That's a good number. How many cuts do you make on your hey fields to reach the 300?

We use to sell our first cut of the growing season to horse farms because they would pay a premium price for it. The cows we had didn't seem to mater that they were eating late fall harvest, until the second cutting came through. Once we had our second cut, we would blend over winter have with fresh, and they were okay with it.

 

Stay safe on the farm.

 

Mindy🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[Charlize]

After being on a panel during Pride month for the USDA I received a thank you note.  I am amazed and pleased to see such a large government organization has created and continues to fight for an accepting environment for the LGBTQ community.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Jani]

That's so nice.  I love the logo! 

[Charlize]

it was quite intimidating to speak at a Zoom room that allowed for 30,000 to sign in.  I know it was far from being filled but i was still quite nervous!

It was so pleasant to get a thank you note.  Hopefully some trans farmer out there will receive better care and respect from their federal agent.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Mmindy]

Congratulations, and thank you for representing. 

I hope you continue to see recognition, and change in the Farming Community. 

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋