A year ago today, my best good buddy Choca died in my arms. Many of you were part of my community here at the time and remember it. It kicked off a year of loss: our dog, our unborn baby, my job. This is why I was convinced Sassy wouldn't make it to 2022. Choca was my hiking partner for many years, and because she never said anything, I came to enjoy silence rather than the adrenaline and distractions of my life off the mountains. I think my career in TV news eventually ended because of that - as the silence allowed me self-relfection, which brought self-awareness, and with it, awareness of the world around me. Choca's death was a violent one in the sense that natural death, I've heard, isn't always how movies depict it. This was the first time I'd ever been there for a last breath and for months after it, I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and had other unexplained health problems. This may seem an odd reaction, but as a child I accompanied my doctor parents to hospitals and witnessed sickness and dying at a very young age. Avoiding death, while trying to understand it, became a driving motivation for me. Perhaps it is, in part, why I went to seminary and eventually became a reporter. I sought distraction from my own mortality while also seeking to control it through knowledge. A losing combination. In the book he wrote about his wife's death, CS Lewis said, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid." That was my experience. And I had no choice but to sit through it. Then to confront it again and again throughout the rest of the year. But as I sat quietly, I realized something. I had believed that if I could unlock the secrets of death and finally come to peace with it- the ultimate question of existence that has eluded philosophers for centuries - I would finally come to know God. Instead, after last year, I now believe that I had gotten it backwards. Instead, it is coming to know God that brings one peace about death (and all other things for that matter). And thus begins a new journey, not of the head but of the heart. I'll end with another quote from a favorite Lewis book, the last lines of Til We Have Faces, “I ended my first book with the words 'no answer.' I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words. Long did I hate you, long did I fear you.” Blessings to all of you on your journey. Thank you for being a part of mine.
Got the pregnancy test results for our mini Jersey cross, Maisy after her second artificial insemination! Any guesses before you watch the video?!
The dairy cow pregnancy roller coaster is real. I think I was only a little more nervous finding out my own pregnancy test results. 😜 Good thing I have the great nutritional benefits of Green Pasture’s fermented cod liver/butter oil blend to reduce inflammation brought on by all the inseminating, testing, expenses and waiting. (Hint: think twice about buying a dairy cow based solely on the idyllic Instagram accounts you follow!) If you want a real food, not a supplement, to give your body a boost, go check out https://www.greenpasture.org/ and use “ALISON” as your promo code at check out for 10% off. They have lots of great stuff! I take the cinnamon tingle flavored gel for the cod liver /butter oil.
I was asked by TruDave Gear to do an honest review of these boots and I have to say, I would 100% buy them. They’re affordable, comfortable with a super cushy insole, and don’t get too hot in Florida weather. I wear them to ride my horse, feed chickens, milk goats and garden. They did not pay me anything to say this. They just sent me the boots to try. These are the women’s deck boots but they have many different styles. I recommend going up a size if you’re a half-size. Check them out! https://www.trudavegear.com/
I am as guilty as the next parent of turning on the TV when I need an emergency mental health break. However, living on a farm has shown me so much about how and why screens became popular. A farm offers endless opportunities for kids to create, play games and discover the world around them. As city life became the norm, and fewer families farmed, it was no longer safe to just let kids roam around unsupervised, and screen time became the convenient babysitter. In moments where I feel the impulse to turn on a screen, I remember that I do not have to be an activities director. Kids have an innate, God-given capacity to create. On this particular day, I was feeding the chickens when I saw that they turned a hay bale into a slide. It reminded me that I can send them outside with no plan - and they will never cease to amaze me with their discoveries.
And I should add, both kids take their fermented cod liver/butter oil like champs! They have no autoimmune issues, rarely get sick and have ...
Greece Moves to End Anonymous Social Media Accounts - GreekReporter. com
https://greekreporter.com/2026/04/29/greece-end-anonymous-social-media-accounts/
He's somebody's crazy uncle. And he's RIGHT!
No water to fight fires in Georgia! Residents told to cut back yet data centers have no restrictions - YouTube
And don't fall for claims about low water use data centers. They use more electricity. And guess what, it takes WATER to make electricity. They're consuming water via electricity generation. It just offsets the water use to the electrical generation location.
