Soap and Cows

Dear Readers;

We love our life at Govindas Farm! We make soap...which makes the house smell divine. People constantly tell us that they can smell delicious scents coming from the house as soon as they get out of their cars. When we aren't making soap...we are selling soap. But the purpose for making and selling soap is so that we can save cows from slaughter and to take care of the lovely beasties that are already under our care.

We thought that we had a large supply of hay coming in but unfortunately the Buddhist Monks purchased Buffalo Park and inherited at least 30 animals...sooooo....along with their many cows and horses they need all of their hay. Now we will need to scramble to find and purchase hay. You see for the past two years we had access to a hay field and we baled our own hay but that land was sold so now we must go searching.

I also want to make sure that our herd have bales of haylage.I found this description on the Eurobale site.."Haylage is a semi wilted mildly fermented forage. The process involved, results in better bioavailability and utilisation of energy and protein as well as the respiratory benefits associated with feeding a forage with a negligible spore count."

What I know for sure is last year when Sachi was sick....haylage was a big part of her diet and she would get very excited when I brought a flake in to feed her. Oh....and you had to see how the entire herd would react as soon as I took the plastic wrap off of the round bale. They would all put their muzzles up into the air and inhale deeply. I could almost hear a sigh of contentment....so of course I would feed them each an armload as well. As we say...we are happy if our cows are happy.

Sachi is now happy and healthy.

Here are some pictures of our loaves or logs of Om-Made Soap. You can find us at http://www.om-made.com

Until next time.
Hare Krsna.
Lal

Stone Cold Yogi

Dear Readers;

My husband, Gordon, bought me a Sony Cyber-Shot camera four years ago and I am having a blast using it for this blog. He does not like me taking pictures of him but grins and bares it anyways for the sake of the project.

There are all kinds of yogis out there....and even right here on our own beaches in beautiful PEI.

Himalayan Yogi

Yogi Bear;)

Yogi Gord doing japa meditation on Panting Beach

One of our daily rituals is to go on our japa meditation walk in the morning. Here are are few pics of what we see this time of year at Panting Beach.

Until next time.
Hare Krsna
Lal

Seagulls

Ice on the sandstones.

Wood Islands Ferry Terminal

Sunroom

Dear Readers;

Last year our garden bombed...big time. Perhaps it was due to the super cold spring...our daughters wedding in May....or our attention was more on the house renovation and not getting those seedlings out early enough.

 Although....to be honest with myself and I know that this is super vain......I don't like being out in the sun....it causes wrinkles! I have never roasted my body on the beach and I tend to run from building to building and walk on the shady side of the street. I never put sunblock on because I don't like chemicals on my skin....so the problem is ....although I love fresh veggies....and getting dirty in the garden.....I only feel alright in the garden on miserably cloudy days. Good for me...bad for the plants.

 Fortunately after watching Jon Jondais Ted Talks video....I have found a solution to my problem. In the video Jon said that he only works in his garden at six o'clock in the morning and only for fifteen minutes...every morning.....and grows enough vegetables for his family of six...with...enough veggies to sell!!! AHA! That made the most sense to me. Why didn't I think about that myself?

 Since that realization some months back my world has changed dramatically...just due to that small adjustment. Plants have now become my friends!

 Here at the farm we are building our sun room so that we can get those trays of seedlings growing early next spring.

Until next time.
Hare Krsna,
Lal

Before

Now

Things Are Happening

Dear Readers;

 Things are happening at Govindas Farm. Although I do admit that as a small tribe we have been having a bit of a hard time getting used to our new member. I think that is normal as with all creatures. For instance when we introduce a new cow to the herd, we don't put her directly into the same field. We are mindful that the herd has a hierarchy and we respect that. We first put the cow in an adjacent pasture for a few days. The cows  see her and they all come over to inspect her...they bow their heads ..up and down...up and down...up and down. Perhaps a half hour goes by and everyone starts to graze right beside the fence. It's almost like the herd is saying..."Yes...you may become one of us...but ..right now we still want to see if we like you."

 Of course cows are very kind and accommodating so by day two they are all eating together. Sometimes they even allow the new herd member to be "The Boss" for the day. In the end Mukta gently takes back her "crown" in a very sweet and polite way. The newest member now feels as though she belongs and is quite happy to follow behind her benevolent leader.

 I will attempt to be more like my wonderful herd of cows and be patient...loving...and finally even accepting. Only time will tell if humans from different families can live in the same house.

 Although we are individuals...we all love healthy,organic fruit and veggies. Natha das loves to make green smoothies and I love to make all kinds of fruit and veggie juices...so together we are all getting very healthy mentally,physically,emotionally and spiritually.

Until next time,
Hare Krsna
Lal

Freshly pressed organic apple juice....mmmmm

 

Minimizing The Pantry

Dear Readers;

My pantry was more of an oubliette than a working pantry. I felt stressed just looking into it and just try to find that "thing" that I needed.

Around the middle of the week I decided that I had procrastinated long enough so I decided to take on the pantry.

 When I really hate to do something but I know that it must be done I set up the television on a chair where I can see it...then I find a mindless but fun show on Netflix, such as Drop Dead Diva. I then empty every shelf from the pantry and place the articles on the table and floor. I then sweep and wash the shelves.

For the next step of the process...I sit on my footstool and "observe the battlefield". This sometimes takes a full half hour of just looking at all my "stuff". I then come up with a plan of what is going into storage,(My husband calls the shed..purgatory:) and what is going back on the shelves. The entire process took two days.

To much stuff :(

What a mess!

I can't even see the floor!

 

 

 

 

These are the after pics. I managed to fill two big boxes of great stuff that I no longer need. The boxes will go to the shed for one month and if I don't open them up to retrieve an item...then off they go to a second hand store. Yay!!!

Simplify and minimize....it feels so good:)

Until next time.
Hare Krsna.
Lal

Much better but I can still whittle down the spices.

The bins now hold the occasional items. See the floor space:)

Dishes for guests and my homemade laundry soap,vinegar,cleaning cloths and beeswax candles.

The two boxes ready to move on.

The Scent Of Apples

Dear Readers;

I grew up in a teeny weeny French village called Bellegarde. Bellegarde is happily tucked away in the south east corner of Saskatchewan,Canada.

When you live in a small village you usually do a few different jobs to make money. My mother Madeline was janitor of the local school for twenty years and she would also "run" the mail from our local post office to another post office nearer to the train station. The village of Antler was located very close to a major highway and the train traveled right through the village.

My foster father Paul died when I was nine years old so my foster mother Madeline had to take over his jobs. Consequently I would join her on these drives to deliver and pick up  the canvas bags of mail.

 Antler had an independent grocery store owned by Mr. Copet so while we were waiting for the mail to get sorted into the bags that we would  transport back to Bellegarde...mom and I would wander over to Mr. Copets' store and buy our groceries for the week. Invariably a plastic bag of Mackintosh apples(my mothers favorite and also probably the only type in the store) would be in that cardboard box of groceries.

Even today when I happen upon the scent of apples, it immediately brings back good memories.

Until next time.
Hare Krsna.
Lal

Gord carrying a bucket of apples in our local organic apple orchard.

 When one cow sees us coming within moments the entire herd comes running! We feed them a couple buckets a day.

Beautiful House

Dear Readers;

The men certainly worked  hard to get the house painted before the weather cooled down. Check this out...the before and after pictures.

The blue door doesn't quite suit the house anymore so I think that I will paint the front door metallic copper...hmmm..or gold?

Until next time
Hare Krsna.
Lal

July 2013

October 2013

Liposomal Vitamin C

Dear Readers;

I'm now completely recovered from a vicious infection that started under my left arm and then spread to my right hip.From my hip the infection spread like wildfire across my stomach..lower back and down the inside of my thigh to my knee. I could see the infection spreading to my other leg right down to my ankle and of course my arms and then yikes...to my face. I could handle the body...but ...NOT THE FACE!!!. Gord took me to the Emergency where I was pumped with huge amounts of antibiotic. Two weeks of massive doses of antibiotic did not clear it up so my friend Natha dasa made large amounts of this liposomal Vitamin C that gets absorbed better than if you were taking it intravenously. I started taking one cup and a half  every day, before meals. Within days the infection had disappeared completely!

Disease is natural...it gives us a chance to see that we are out of balance. I thought that because I was a vegetarian and that I was pretty healthy...or so I thought. Now I can see that I am in fact very tired, dehydrated and I lacked vitamins. I was careless with my health. To remedy that I now drink 2 liters of water a day. I also make loads of veggie and fresh fruit juices and of course I take three tablespoons of the liposomal Vitamin C daily. Oh and I take a nap during the afternoon.

We ordered the Non GMO Soy lecithin Granules online.
Here is a Youtube video to show you how easy it is to make this Vitamin C. Natha has a small sonic jewellery cleaner and it works just fine.

Take good care of yourselves.
Hare Krsna.
Lal

Beautifying Our Living Space

Dear Readers;

Our space that we live in, is very important to our state of mind

Many years back I read that if a window in your house is broken then it is very important to fix it right away. If the window is not fixed then it appears to set a downward spiral for the house. I know for sure that is what happened to our poor..poor neglected house. When we moved in..nothing worked...and I mean nothing. Every bit of plumbing leaked and every window mechanism was also faulty,so much so that if we tried to open the windows..you would have to be prepared to catch it!

The sound track for this house is Arlo Guthries' The Garden Song...simply because we have to keep light hearted about all of the work that is needed. We have to fix it inch by inch and when you have a house that is covered with shingles ..then it actually is row by row.

The house had not had a paint job for many years. Natha used the power sprayer to blow off all of the flaking paint. Gord then mixed his magic primer formula to fill in all of the cracks and crevices to insure another layer to keep the winds out and the heat in. He was hoping to use the spray gun to blow the primer on but it kept gumming up the nozzle so they had to paint it by hand.

Magic Primer Formula

In a 5 gallon bucket.

2 Gallons liquid bentonite clay
1 Gallons watered down Wellbond Glue( 5 to 1 water to glue)
2 Gallons Primer

This formula works wonders on an old house. Last year Gord painted a patch to see how it would stand up to our salty air , occasional hurrican force winds climate and it held up really well.


Until next time.
Hare Krsna
Lal

Natha hard at work.

Gord blocking the top attic window and painting the peak.

Almost finished painting the Magic primer onto the house.

Minimalist Fashion

Dear Readers;

 I searched for ages to find this inspiring video about minimalist fashion for my grand-daughter, Laxmi. Then I thought that maybe others would appreciate seeing it as well.....so here it is.

 I've been working on only keeping what  my husband and I actually wear. I've used one bedroom to store all the things that I feel that I won't be using anymore. From that bedroom I will be moving it all to a new home...bit...by...bit.

I do have seasonal wear hanging in another closet.

Until next time.
Hare Krsna
Lal

Five items on the left side will be stored for the winter.

Left side of the drawer is mine and right side is Gords. Everything on the surface will be moved to the office or bathroom.

Thoreauvian Lifestyle

Dear Readers;

 I like to watch this video at least once a month.

 I find simple living to be such a draw....yet kind of scary at the same time.

 To live simply can mean something different for everyone.

 Personally I would find the small space that this couple lives in to be  restrictive. I like large spacious rooms with very little furniture. In that space I feel as though I can breath easier....or.... I could do cartwheels around the room if I wanted to ....that is...if I could do cartwheels in the first place:)

 What would your simple life look like?

Hare Krsna,
Lal

 

Cape Breton Here We Come!

Dear Readers;

 Now that Sachi is being milked only once a day,Gord,Natha and I decided to take a one day trip to drive the worlds' eighth best drive in the world.....The Famous Cabot Trail of Cape Breton!

 Going on a trip with Gord and I is usually an adventure because Gord has "Directional Dyslexia" and I can't read a map worth a damn. When we drove the PanAmerican Highway through Central America...I had managed to miss EVERY circle road around a city and got us stuck in the market places where there was only room for bikes and donkeys. Well.....not to disappoint anyone and ruin my perfect record..... I managed to get us lost ...twice on this trip:)

 We were up bright and early...which is not new for Natha because he is usually up doing his meditation at two thirty a.m. but Gord and I were showered..changed...lunch packed...mint tea made...fresh milk in a thermos and out the door for six a.m. We made it to the Wood Island Ferry in seven minutes flat from our door!

 There weren't very many cars or people on the Ferry at that time so it felt like having our very own private ride across the Northumberland Strait. The ride was a mere 70 minutes and I caught this shot of the sunrise.

 The day was perfect from beginning to the end. We made it back to the Cariboo Ferry for the six ten sailing...just on time to milk our cow:)

 I hope that you will enjoy the pictures and if you get a chance please drive the Cabot Trail...it is so worth your while. I tend to be a bit jaded.... consequently I'm not so easily impressed...but this ride....I would do it again...but next time I am taking my hiking shoes to walk some of the trails!

  I missed taking a shot of a sign that read....."IF IT'S NOT SCOTTISH IT'S CRRRRRAP! Many signs on the trail are in Gaelic and the Island even boasts a Gaelic School where the Scots from Scotland come to learn their own language.

We made it back to the Cariboo Ferry for the six ten sailing and arrived home just on time to milk our cow ...Sachi.:)

 Take care...
Hare Krsna.
Lal

Causeway to Cape Breton

Doing the tourist thing......Gord hates doing the "tourist thing".

Natha loves "The Tourist Thing" and he's  taking a picture of me while I take one of him:)

Our first of many ..."OH!...AHHHH!...WOW!...LOOK AT THAT!!!" ..moments.

I'm happy...really:)

Our trusty VW..that barely used any diesel.

Love this shot!

I am definitely going back to swim at this beach.

This little waterfall joins my favorite beach...pretty cool....

A picture really does not do justice to the intense fall colors.

So many people were out and about enjoying the perfect fall weather.

Awwww...coming to the end of The Cabot Trail.

Boo...back on the Ferry at Cariboo, Nova Scotia.

Natha dasa quietly contemplating....