Farmer Judy aka Ma Kettle

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IN THE YEAR 2004 ...

I don't really wear that hat in the picture above. I just thought it would be funny to pose like that with the pitchfork. It sure is a stereotype of the misconception people have of what an "Arkie" looks like. I laugh every time I look at it.

One of the main reasons I am clearing the dirt off the bluff and taking it down to bare rock is chiggers! They drive me nuts. By the time I am finished, I will be able to go to my gardens or tend to the chickens/goats without having to go through any grass or weeds. Plus I won't have to mow.

I have a solution for the ticks right around the cabin - chickens! However, my cats roam far and wide. I just lost one of them due to a tick, which gave it a parasite that destroyed all its red blood cells. I didn't know he was sick. On a Sunday, he went to the floor. Monday he was dead. I am still grieving. So, keep a watch on your dogs.

The weeds sure get out of hand in the gardens. I have a big compost pile that's practically nothing but weeds that I have pulled.

My son, Vincent, who lives with me, said he knows how to tell a girl from Arkansas. I asked him how. He said ... by the bug bites on their legs. LOL Well, you can sure tell ~I~ am living in Arkansas! You oughta see MY legs. Eaten alive by mosquitoes!

I've planted a garden two times. Got washed out by the "white water" that comes down the mountain. Flash floods! I think I have it diverted now. Then the third time I planted, the seeds didn't come up or the young plants got eaten by the chickens or geese. Now I have the upper terraces fenced off, but it's too late to plant most things I like now. Have to wait until next year. This year has been a learning experience. One thing's for sure, I won't plant any more seeds from the local feed store or from Walmart. I will buy Burpee Seeds. I KNOW they are good seeds. They cost a lot more, seemingly - but not really. All the money I put out in seeds was wasted.

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