URGENT MESSAGE ABOUT FARM

I am Vikki, one of the owners of Rosemary Ridge Farm in Elizabeth, CO.  On June 17 2016, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was caught early, during a routine mammogram, so the prognosis is good. However, I do need surgery and radiation treatments afterwards (thank god, no chemo unless they find something during the surgery) but still, the recovery process will be long, painful and exhausting.

So so sorry to post this, but we need to sell the farm and move into the city to be closer to doctors, hospitals and treatment centers. Already diagnosed with non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis this past October, I’m exhausted every day. I just can’t do this farm any more, and need to de-stress my life. I hope you understand.

I have already had two calls already this morning (before 10 a.m.!) for products like goat’s milk, and really can’t keep jumping up to answer that phone line.  I took off the farm-related posts from this website.  Sorry if I missed any.

Please please forgive me. If I could refer you to another farm, I would. Meanwhile, thank you for listening, and please add me and my wonderful 19 year old special needs son in your prayers.

Again, thank you. 

p.s.: We have all of our chickens and one blue slate turkey hen for sale still. If you are interested, please e-mail vikkibook at yho

Another WHY WE DO THIS Post

Here's a picture I took last week of Weslee and Krypto.  Krypto is a white (yellow) lab about a year and a half old. We got him as a very young puppy to be Weslee's seizure-alert / autism dog but ran out of money and time (and energy!) to train him.  Raising money to get back at that (well, you should know if you are one of our cupcake customers!).

Aren't they cute?

Weslee had a rough day on Friday. We had a full day starting with me getting my permanent leg brace on, then off to the Children's Hospital for 5 and a half hours of Weslee doing some intensive pre-surgical psych evaluations and interviews. The day away from home caused a LOT of seizures so by the time we got home, ate a late dinner and did night-time things, he was ready to pass out. And did. Saturday was a little bit better because he slept until about 10 a.m.!

We'll know by March 6 or so if they are going to go ahead with surgery, or if they have something else they want to try.

We Do This For Him

My Teen, 2011

Our son (we'll call him "Teen") just turned 16, is autistic with OCD, ADHD and has uncontrolled epilepsy. He is my world, and my heart aches for him.

We moved out to this rural area to provide him with fresh fruits and veggies, farm-fresh eggs with rich orange yolks, and fresh raw goat milk. He loves scrambled eggs with cheese, has goat milk with his cereal almost every day, and will eat a plate of baby spinach, broccoli "trees" and blueberries without a fuss. He could eat a lunch of apple slices, red seedless grapes and cheddar cheese every day, and homemade gluten-free mac and cheese with a salad or my homemade pork-n-beans for dinner!!  Soon we'll be adding and harvesting from almond & hazelnut & walnut trees, strawberries, pear & apple trees, sweet yellow cherries (his fav) and many others. His overall body health is good, with decent blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. It's just these developmental delays and this pesky epilepsy that is horrible.

His medical bills are very high; we only just yesterday found out that lesions, brain abnormality and possibly a tumor are causing his seizures, and could lead to SUDEP (death). More hospital stays, tests and possibly brain surgery are in our future. And back to homeschooling.

To pay for medical bills, we started selling goat milk cheese shares and eggs in 2012, and are increasing production for 2013, as well as adding lots of veggies and hopefully fruits. Our prices are competitive so we don't accept offers to pay less; I'm sure you understand.

I don't have a lot of spare time. Hubby works outside the home and helps with farm chores on the weekends.  I'm disabled, and watching Teen is a pretty full-time job (especially now that he's mentally regressed from 16 to 6). I try to do farm chores when he's napping or when someone else is with him. I also grow veggies inside the house in the winter, although it's not a LOT, and bake goodies and work on my writing while keeping an eye on him (without him really realizing it).

The rest of the house is total disarray; we never did unpack from when we moved out here, and I still need to gather lots of pillows to spread around his bed for when he falls out during a seizure. I also have some furniture I need to put together for him, like shelves and a desk.

Thank you for choosing us for your egg, cheese, produce and other needs. And thank you for helping us take care of my beautiful son.

The Start of Rosemary Ridge's Website

UPDATE JULY 1, 2016

Please see today's post. Farm closed and will be for sale soon due to my recent diagnosis of breast cancer. Sorry for any inconvenience.Vikki

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ORIGINAL POST:
We're almost at the end of the 2012 cheese and produce season. We've packed straw over berries and veggies, and around tender trees. Goats are winding down with milk production; Vida should be pregnant by Christmas, and Ellie is going strong with her baby, Sweetums, still nursing sometimes.

There are 29 two-week-old chicks (black australorp and red star) in the garage under a heat lamp, stretching and growing every day. We also have chicks of various ages outside already, and still hatch more chicks ourselves whenever a hen goes broody (wants to set on eggs to hatch them). By Spring, we should have between 25-35 new layers in addition to our 10 current layers, giving us a variety of colored eggs: brown, green, blue, creamy white and light pink, and lots of new roosters to head each flock.

2013 is looking so exciting right now! I've ordered vegetable seeds and will be looking at edible flowers and many kinds of herbs in a few weeks. By February we'll be planning what goes where, and getting compost and manure where it will be most needed. The shelves for our in-house "store" are going up next week, as is the refrigerator for eggs and cheese customers.

There will be a monthly newsletter in our store and produce/egg pickup area, and each issue will have recipes, ideas for menus and more.

Future posts could include recipes on using our cheese and eggs, menu planning, and even special items for sale.

Be sure to "follow" this blog, and comment! Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Vikki and Doug

vikkibooks
at
yahoo
dot/com