A friend recently said that brain meds don’t change your personality, and I had a knee-jerk response of “Yes they do!” but I was surprised at my own conviction and had to think on it awhile.

It’s a completely philosophical, religious, or spiritual question.

Who am I?

What makes me me?

When am I most me? When am I not me?

Can I be something other than myself?

When you’re starting out with livestock it can be hard to judge what your costs are going to be. If you’re getting started with pigs, let me walk you through your expected cost to raise a pig. We’ll be looking at a backyard or small homestead situation, not a large commercial operation. We’ll also be looking at a weaner-to-market process, not a breeding operation.

One note to start off with: when you talk about the cost to raise a pig, you need to think about the cost to raise two. Pigs are social animals, and you should never be raising fewer than two. Perhaps you could get away with it if your pig was going to be penned with cows, goats, or sheep. But don’t raise a pig all by itself! You should be able to find a friend or neighbor that wants to buy that other pig.

I lost two goats yesterday. They were new enough to me that they didn’t even have names yet. I thought I had them penned securely, but I was wrong.

Fortunately, a neighbor found one of them and returned him to me. The other is still at large.

As I type this I feel so guilty. Guilty that my fencing wasn’t secure. Guilty that I let a goat out into the wild to fend for itself. I feel the worst, somehow, about not having given them proper names.

I’m processing my feelings and making decisions about how to care for my one remaining still-unnamed solitary goat. I talked to a friend who has livestock, too, and we shared the truism that where livestock is concerned shit happens. Always. Shit is always happening.

And I keep re-reading this piece I wrote back in 2011 about how caring for others always brings these inevitabilities. Shit happens, yes. But also, isn’t is wonderful that shit is happening?

Maybe you don’t have livestock or children or pets, but if you have friends or a job or family maybe you can identify with this, too.

How many reasons to have your own garden can you think of?

The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the days are getting longer, and if you aren’t already gardening it’s not too late to get started.

If all you need are a few more reasons to have your own garden you’re in the right place!

There are so many reasons, from the practical to the delightful to get started right in your own backyard.

Here’s a round up of posts to inspire you. Click on each image to go through to the article you like!

I almost died yesterday.

Okay, I didn’t almost die, but I thought I was going to.

Well, I didn’t actually think that.

What I thought was, “Is everyone having a good time? Did that silence go on too long? Did I laugh too loud? Am I doing a good job?”

See, I was hosting a party, and I have anxiety.