The Intro

     I feel every abuse to my body.  I mean, every dance step without shoes,  every plate of food I served in bad shoes, every drink served in a smokey bar, every cigarette smoked in an alley next to a grease catcher,  every incredible southern meal, every cocktail consumed in double time after a late shift,  every all nighter for FUN, every sedentary day, oh hell , week......I believe I've made my point.

      I am sitting here in a 46 year old body and mind I have taken for granted.  My blessings are many, my needs few.  Jay Daddy (my husband), my son Dylan and I have 40 acres and a mule (a kawasaki 4-wheel  mule) in Northern New Mexico.  While we have worked hard on and now are responsible for this land, it and all on it, was a gift.

    Jay and I have wanted to live a self sustaining life for a long time.  This dream is very close to being reality and the in between seems harder than I expected.  What we can't provide for ourselves now seems so over wrapped, processed, and priced I find we do without.  I have embraced this for the most part and like the creativity it leads to. Jay not so much, Dylan comes and goes with it.  We had goats milk all summer and now I have to buy milk, yo-yoing back and forth with items fresh then processed or off the charts expensive.  We were teased with learning how to make chevre, yogurt and ice cream all from one goat!  Which lead me to know we need more goats!  Last year we raised one pig for the freezer and found out my man can glaze a ham so good you'll slap your momma and bratwurst so good you'll slap your daddy.  So now we have 2 pigs, one for the freezer and one hog waiting on 2 girlfriend pigs.  We sell brats, italian sausage and chorizo made with love by Jay.

    I have been amazed at how much we provide for ourselves.  Recently we have been very cash poor but have met our own needs by at least 65% from the property.   Our needs for the all mighty dollar are few, utilities, gas, and cigarettes.  Okay,  there are some "amenities" that require cash, ie:  dish tv, and the internet.  Eggs, pork, turkey, goat meat and vegetables, we have provided for ourselves.  By learning how to make cheese and yogurt with our goat milk, I can save us from  processed food making it myself with store bought, healthy, bulk items while waiting to produce our own. Some practice while waiting.....  I cannot wait to have a milk cow so I can make butter, lots of butter!  Did I mention my Alabama roots?  


     Sitting here listening to the elk bugle and my dogs snore.  Life is good.  I have wanted to write for a long time and with "blogging" it feels like the time is now. I want to share our life here in Northern New Mexico.  As I started filling out the info and getting this started I began to doubt myself and why anyone would even care what I have to write about.

     I benefitted from death.  It wasn't intentional, it's just the way it worked out.  My Dad's wife passed away and I got him back in my life.  My Grandmother was dying and by taking care of her ou rcredit card debts were paid.  When she passed away,  her monies, Omah's(dad's late wife) and dad's  paid for the land  my family lives on. 

   We came to this property as a family of four with three generations and two dogs in 2002.  My Daddy O, my husband Jay, our son Dylan, me and our golden retrievers Dali and Pecos.  Dad was recently widowed and looking for change.  Jay and I moved here in 1995.  From Houston.........

   Cocheese, Wishbone and Dale the horses, Bob and Harry the steers, Patches, Lauren and Mary Anne the goats, Big Daddy and Dinner, the pigs, Duke, Dixie, Lobo, Tisha and Besso, the dogs, Sunshine, Dreamsicle, Derrick, Skatter, Pitter, Patter, Shadow and  Peach the cats and Kyle, the tarantula, these are the names of all the animals living here except the chickens of which there are presently 11.  Some of these animals provide food, some are food, and some are pets.

    Jay, Dylan, Anna and Joan are the humans here at present.  We provide food and care to all those above in thanks and happiness for this life.  We do this on 40 acres while learning ALL the time.

    I am Anna.  I am a mom, wife, volunteer fire fighter and kid ski instructor among many other things.  My family and I want badly to live a self sustaining exisence.  This is what I intend to blog about, our fun, our trials, and our mishaps switching from mainstream to independence.  This land we are so lucky to live on is a gift from four family members.  My incredible Mama Jo, my generous parents, Kay and Paul, and my dad's late wife, who died much too young, Omah.  We are always striving to make them and Jay's parents proud of our endeavors.