<< Back to main
Life Altering Moments
6/17/2010 10:47pm by Heather Redden
Greetings from the farm!
I don't think I ever start one of these without saying something along the lines of life is busy, crazy, loony etc on the farm. Well, for us it really did get crazy and scary a couple of weeks ago. Some of you have already heard this and I'll try to keep it brief. We were packing up the truck for the Earth Mother Market on June 2 and both of our precious girls were out in the driveway with us. In one of those magic, awful moments when both of us and our five year old had our backs turned at the same time, our almost two year old ran downhill, tripped and hit her head on a wheelbarrow. At least, that is my best reconstruction after the fact of what happened. All I know is that I turned to find her bleeding and unconscious and unrevivable. A call to 911 resulted in an Air Care flight to Children's Hospital where she spent a couple of hours unconscious, some time on a ventilator, and 24 hours in the pediatric ICU. CAT scans and X rays and many specialists later, she has made a full recovery from a severe concussion and will have nothing more than a scar on her head to show for it. For us, it's another story. Our lives have been changed forever. The sense of security I had feeling that as long as my kids were with me, they were safe is gone. Panic sets in whenever one of them gets out of sight for even an instant. This is making us take a hard look at how our farm is set up, how many different projects we have going on, and whether some things need to go in order to achieve the best balance between raising our children and having a successful farm. As always, I'll keep you informed of the next transformations that Nature's Harbor Farm goes through.
So, what is going on right now? Brandon is crating up chickens for the next trip to Bowling Green for processing. I'll be heading out of here at 5:30 in the morning with a truck full of pasture raised chickens on my first solo trip. Usually, we go together but there is so much catching up to do on the farm after losing days to Ella's accident. Brandon will be working on the farm for the day. I will have full coolers of fresh chicken for the Simon Kenton Farmers' Market on Saturday. If you would like a chance to get the freshest chicken possible without harvesting it yourself then come on Saturday. The chickens for sale on Saturday will not be frozen.
The sheep could end up being a casualty of our reevaluation. I love my sheep but Brandon is at the end of his rope with them and I can't blame him. They will not stay in the fence no matter what we do. We put up brand new electric fence this spring with a brand new charger. The fence is so hot that it maxes out my fence tester at 10,000 volts and the sheep walk through it like it's not even there. We are tired of chasing them out of the gardens and of having them eat chicken feed. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they get the message and realize that a key to long life and happiness is not believing that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence!
My bed is calling to me so I will cut this off for now. I promise a more cheery letter the next time and hope to see you all soon at a market.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
P.S. Don't forget to look the farm up on Facebook. Get quick updates more often on the farm. Find out what is growing, what we are harvesting, what it's like to come home to sheep with chicken feeders stuck on their heads.....
I don't think I ever start one of these without saying something along the lines of life is busy, crazy, loony etc on the farm. Well, for us it really did get crazy and scary a couple of weeks ago. Some of you have already heard this and I'll try to keep it brief. We were packing up the truck for the Earth Mother Market on June 2 and both of our precious girls were out in the driveway with us. In one of those magic, awful moments when both of us and our five year old had our backs turned at the same time, our almost two year old ran downhill, tripped and hit her head on a wheelbarrow. At least, that is my best reconstruction after the fact of what happened. All I know is that I turned to find her bleeding and unconscious and unrevivable. A call to 911 resulted in an Air Care flight to Children's Hospital where she spent a couple of hours unconscious, some time on a ventilator, and 24 hours in the pediatric ICU. CAT scans and X rays and many specialists later, she has made a full recovery from a severe concussion and will have nothing more than a scar on her head to show for it. For us, it's another story. Our lives have been changed forever. The sense of security I had feeling that as long as my kids were with me, they were safe is gone. Panic sets in whenever one of them gets out of sight for even an instant. This is making us take a hard look at how our farm is set up, how many different projects we have going on, and whether some things need to go in order to achieve the best balance between raising our children and having a successful farm. As always, I'll keep you informed of the next transformations that Nature's Harbor Farm goes through.
So, what is going on right now? Brandon is crating up chickens for the next trip to Bowling Green for processing. I'll be heading out of here at 5:30 in the morning with a truck full of pasture raised chickens on my first solo trip. Usually, we go together but there is so much catching up to do on the farm after losing days to Ella's accident. Brandon will be working on the farm for the day. I will have full coolers of fresh chicken for the Simon Kenton Farmers' Market on Saturday. If you would like a chance to get the freshest chicken possible without harvesting it yourself then come on Saturday. The chickens for sale on Saturday will not be frozen.
The sheep could end up being a casualty of our reevaluation. I love my sheep but Brandon is at the end of his rope with them and I can't blame him. They will not stay in the fence no matter what we do. We put up brand new electric fence this spring with a brand new charger. The fence is so hot that it maxes out my fence tester at 10,000 volts and the sheep walk through it like it's not even there. We are tired of chasing them out of the gardens and of having them eat chicken feed. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they get the message and realize that a key to long life and happiness is not believing that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence!
My bed is calling to me so I will cut this off for now. I promise a more cheery letter the next time and hope to see you all soon at a market.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
P.S. Don't forget to look the farm up on Facebook. Get quick updates more often on the farm. Find out what is growing, what we are harvesting, what it's like to come home to sheep with chicken feeders stuck on their heads.....
1 Comments »
Lee said,
Oh Heather, I had NOT heard of your emergency..I am so happy that it has turned out well and she will be ok. As for you, I can relate, the life altering thing is one of life's lessons that can really stink at times. I am so sorry it happened but so happy it turned out ok. HUGS Heather, breathe deep and hold your little ones close! HUGS! Lee & Mike Strohm