The End Is Near...

of the year 2010 I mean. This has been a long and grudging year. The farm is still around and kicking, it truly is a way of life. Sometimes I think my sisters and I forget that, that it isn't about the chores we do each day, it's about self preservation.

Farming is a time old tradition, in which we provide for ourselves from the land that is under our feet. I love this, and will never take it for granted again. There have been times when I talked about giving up, selling it all, and getting a day job. That's not what I want for my life, or for my family's. I have learned so much from the things we have done. I appreciate life and the food I eat so much more knowing the hard work that goes into planting a garden or butchering the turkey for Thanksgiving. Scooping stalls truly is a test of perseverance, as well as physical endurance. I love what I do, I love what I will do.

My grandfather was a farmer and gave it all up for love, and raised my mom. But I don't think he would have been so wise had he not been raised on a farm. Farming is in our blood and so is our love for the land.

I am a farmer, and I'm creating something great.

Dear World

I love you, but sometimes you just seem unfair. You see it is dead week-how some say college student panic mode for a week. I have trig, o chem, and nutrition. The trig and O chem i can tackle. Scratch that I WILL tackle with B's. However Cruel World, I am having a hard time in nutrition and I need to figure this shit out.

Meanwhile my littlest sister, Caity, is sick. Hospital sick with a fever from 101-103 with a kidney infection. My mom has been there all night. Her fever broke around 3 am, but it is back up to 101.8. If you could lighten up a little I'd really appreciate it.

Because honestly I don't buy the whole "God is testing you" theory so I'd rather not hear about it.

Sincerely,
Goose.

P.S. There is a mile-long list of farm chores. If there is anyway you could make them complete themselves that would be great. Thanks again.

Here goes...

The first major storm of the year will be rearing its ugly head pretty soon. The coldest weather since February. And guess what: in the 20's! Boo on that right? Well hopefully not.

If the ground freezes(hoping it will since this will be the first major frost of the season) we will be able to turn the cows out onto the pastures. They won't muck up the pastures quite as fast and those stalls in the barn can dry out! Keep your fingers crossed because I'm gonna need it.

The down side is that I won't be able to butcher the turkey on Sunday :( Mom thinks it will be too cold/windy to get a fire going outside. Lame. The alternative is taking them to a butcher.

The point is that Winter is finally here. The winds are beginning to stir, and everything is beginning to smell crisp and cold. The trees are bare, the earth is wet, and the fireplace is lit.

This is the final test of the year, to see how much we really got accomplished. Last year was havoc at the property due to lack of preparation. We made a list of necessary improvements and now we will see how long the next list is. Will it be the same? I don't feel it will. We got the stalls built in the barn which should make

I really am awful at these things...

On Friday I told my boss I was quitting my job. This was after raising several issues to her that it seemed she had never corrected. Mostly coworker problems. Then there was the Topper On the Cake, but that is far too much for this blog. It seemed reasonable to quit having no confidence or trust in my boss to do her job.

But I didn't. I am staying with the project, and will continue to work there receiving all the perks plus two kick ass recommendations. And best of all; I will never have to work another shift with that awful coworker. Huzzah!

I should be at home with my family, or studying. But I don't want to lost the opportunity to make some good decent money. I just need to focus on keeping my eye on school. I desperately need to get my GPA up so I can get into Vet. School.

On a way different subject the holidays are coming up-and in the Chavez family that means tons of kick ass food! We will be butchering the turkeys this coming Sunday for Thanksgiving dinner. I am always really excited when we are eating our own farm-raised animals. I just seem to enjoy the food way more because I know the hard work it took to put it on the table, but also the good life that animal had. The pigs aren't quite big enough for butcher yet, so no homegrown bacon this time. Store bought will have to do.

I have really been craving potato latkes, and just in time for Hannukah! I guess the first step is to finish cleaning the house up and then start decorations.

My Family

On my other blog I mentioned my fam a lot but I have never laid it out there. Our family structure is well....a bit odd. Complex, but it works. Some say that it takes a village to raise a child-which is how we operate. We are loud, opinionated, turbulent, and boisterous.

No we are not Greek, nor Italian.

We are the "Chavez Clan". We don't all have the same last names, or believe that the sun shines out of each others' asses. We fight sometimes...a lot. Be we love each other. Without family, without each other we would be nothing.

We are lazy slobs who prefer to sleep until noon. But we are also goal oriented-our tact could use improvement. Our intercommunication needs help too, but we can make this happen. We want to start a sustainable family farm.

All my life we have moved around, Dad was military. We settled in Texas for a while, now Oregon. We want to make this place ours. Start traditions, like cutting down the christmas tree at the same family farm each year, or decorating the outdoor trees with food for the birds during the holidays. Make canning fruit a family affair, and enjoying our lives together. We want a place big enough for sitdown holiday meals, and a kitchen that five people can cook in.

We can and we will.

A place to call home...

I must be a farmer...

On a Saturday evening: The boyfriend has just arrived and canoodles next to girlfriend in the blue chair. The aroma of peach pie fills the air as the family gathers around the television to watch Swamp People.

End Scene.

Yeah I guess we are a bit country, but thats ok. Not hicks, they are WAY different . An ish accomplished day and two exams on Monday. Oh and have I mentioned a dinner with my honey, Bee, and his whole family tomorrow night in Tigard. Plus working both jobs tomorrow and studying for said exams. Huzzah!

Oh, I have a second job by the way. At the vet. school taking care of their camels and experimental animals. Yay? It depends on the day. Often I am just an over-glorified shit scooper. Go me! But I hear they give great recommendations.

Sorry this is a bit disjointed, but it is an accurate representation of how my brain feels.

Getting Smarter?

I'd like to think so. Lately all I have been doing is trying to comprehend trigonometry, organic chemistry and animal nutrition. I can tell you what sine, cosine, and tangent are of 30-60-90 triangles and 45-45-90 triangles. I could also ramble off how to derive those functions using a unit circle. I can also dazzle you with my newfound ability to name chemical compounds, as well as draw them in bond-line notation, lewis dot, newman projections, and 3d sawhorse pictures for each compound.

Want to know which staggered conformer of a structure is more stable? Psst! It's Anti! NOT GAUCHE (pronounced with a long O)

In a very roundabout way I am trying to say that I have become a geek...who likes cows and farming while still enjoying a good rock concert(moshing included). One more time for everyone, I AM A GEEK! Just to be clear, I have never admitted this. At least there is no "band" in front of the word geek-that would be my little sister.

Well off to go finish my lab report for Thursday :D

And so it begins...

The beginning of my summer has arrived and that means 105 days of summer plotting and planning! Mostly this means getting the farm in order so that it runs more efficiently! To give you an idea of my summer plans so far:

Convert a gravel barn to a dirt barn-by hand
Finsih reclaiming the old broken barn and repurpose it
Extend hotwire fence to perimeter
Mulch the garden
Tend to the plants all summer
Synchronize two cows and AI
Breed heifers to bulls

Animal Research

What a topic to pick to talk about. Hate to break it to ya, but that is what my job entails. Extensive animal research that ends in termination of the animal.

I don't say termination to make myself feel better about what it going on, because any life lost is sad. I say it to be a little more politically correct. Although I'm not sure why, since this is a blog, and its my blog. To be honest-I'm rarely PC.

Well tomorrow we are euthanizing animals to harvest brains and hearts. That's pretty much all I can say on the subject. I get to cut off heads-after they have been euthanized. I know its a bit morbid, but I am so excited. Who could have thought that a heart could be harvested, and a brain dissected out of the skull in 22 minutes?! That is incredibly fast for keeping the workspace clean, while being humane about it.

Enough about animal innards, I have much more important things to talk about. Like what the hell am I going to do with my degree after I graduate. I have three options and I want to explore each and every one of them. I'll give you a preview of each of them and let you know more about them as I learn more about their attainability.

1. Go to Vet school or Vet Tech School: This would be the best use and applicable to my future-being a farmer I mean. To be able to vet my own animals, or work as an on-call vet on a farm would be amazing.
2. Become A Research Assistant for Oregon State University: A job opp will become available in 3 years and it is a five year contract to stick with the research team. The professor on the team is well recognized and trusts me enough already to dogsit two weekends from now. The pay is ~28,000 starting out. Eh. And fantastic benefits working for the state. Plus I get hands on training doing surgeries and other random procedures.
   
3. Join the Peace Corps: Travel to a foreign country with my honey, living a bit more primitive and enjoying the things that matter.
   

Where to go and what to do? I'm not sure.

Progress?

Got the results back from my first repro exam-not good. Class average was a 59.9 and I got a 52 :/ I've been a bit bummed all week because the next exam is in two days.

Wtf, america?

I really want to do good in this class, but its so damn hard.I feel like I'm drowning in scientific jargon that should be about the beauty of bodily functions.

This next exam is on oogenesis, spermatogenesis, and endocrinology. Talk about mind-boggling.

The Start

Where I am going in my career-which currently consists of college and campus jobs-is what I have been trying to figure out for sometime. Still I don't know, but I do know where my interests lie. My new job has exposed me to a lot; from delivering injections, drawing blood, inserting artery catheters, surgeries of all types, spinning down blood samples(I LOVE the centrifuge), mixing chemicals, autoclaving everything, to animal handling and basic care. For the time being, I love my job.

2.5 months ago I was unpracticed at giving vaccines, and never dreamed of being able to draw blood. Now those things are so easy, and I feel confident about doing them. I am really enjoying all the hands on experience and it makes the school days less boring and monotonous.

I am also really loving my classes-most days. ANS 316(repro) has been such a breath of fresh air, and so far the most useful course I have taken upon entering college. It is incredibly difficult and I am swimming in index cards full of new vocabulary that I can barely keep up with, but it is so practical and applicable. In my opinion every major should take it. Not only do you learn about repro of farm animals, but also domestic species like cats, dogs, and horses. Plus it gives you a good overview of what the human repro tract is like.

Although this past week I have wanted nothing more than to get outside and get some work done. Every morning I have woken up wanting to play hookie and stay home to get the garden in or go hiking. Too bad that college has to be a priority.

Did I mention that Temple Grandin will be here at OSU for a speech about animal handling practices-open to all students. I am almost finished with her book Animals in Translation. This woman has done everything-well not everything but just about.

Temple Grandin is part of why animal handling facilities are so high tech. In a way this is partly what makes them so expensive, but it really pays off. Not only does she focus on keeping the animals calm, but by doing so efficiency of large operations is increased. It's great. If you haven't read anything of hers I highly recommend you do. You will learn a lot; from how to safely and calmly handle livestock to understanding why your dog bites and training it not to do so. You'll also learn quite a bit about how the autistic mind functions and maybe how to communicate better with those who are autistic.

-Goosey