Carolina Hills Farm Animal Refuge Inc

06/07/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Happy heavenly 88th birthday to my mom. You sure are missed by us all. You'd love your newest great grandson. He and my boy paid me a visit yesterday for our first "boys day" together. What a special day it was for us all.

Bless you all.

06/06/2026

Mornin' y'all,

D-Day. What more can be said? Eighty two years on. Very few veterans of the campaign still live , but the memories will never fade for those of us who remain eternally grateful to the "greatest generation".

There exist so many momentous photos and videos of "Operation Overlord" that it's nearly impossible for me to choose which should be displayed to honor those brave men , but choose I must. So here you are.

I've put two choice videos on the page but I've never done such before and doubt if both will be displayed. We'll see what happens , but I may have to do an edit after publication.

The Omaha Beach footage is very impressive and must be included but I wanted to also include President Reagan's tribute to the Rangers of Pointe du Hoc.

Bless them all , for who knows what the world as we know it would be like without their sacrifice on that fateful day in June of 1944.

https://youtu.be/Mj-MO1yrdJI

https://youtu.be/pL5-OFpC4lI

This video features real footage from Omaha Beach, one of the most famous locations of the D-Day invasion during World War II. Shot in stunning 4K and colori...

06/05/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Yesterday featured yet another day in town. It was unplanned but necessary just the same. Unsaid in my previous post was the fact that despite a long litany of errands and chores accomplished , there remained more to be done.

I have to admit that on Wednesday I had run out of steam before the completion of my agenda. I still needed to get the grocery shopping done. Needed a trip to Tractor supply for several mineral blocks. Some shopping at the hardware store and some banking.

Today is going to be another hectic day and one that needs to get started earlier than usual so this post will be brief. Like very brief. As in done right now. I've got to get moving.

For those interested , I'm pleased to say that I had the opportunity to test out all of my "new" tools yesterday and they all work great. Not only that but , upon closer inspection , I discovered that I only have one of them in my existing collection.

So I got a trove of great new stuff , as the photos show. Even the flashlight works , which is great because mine died a long time ago and a simple bulb replacement didn't solve the problem. A great gift indeed.

I hope that y'all enjoy a pleasant end to your week. We'll return tomorrow.

By the way we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

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Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm

06/04/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Howdy. There's not much happening at the Farm right at the moment. Yesterday's trip to town went off without a hitch , although I somehow managed to exhaust myself in the process.

It must have been the result of my very poor sleep the night before because the weather couldn't have been more beautiful. Imagine my surprise when i discovered that I needed a fleece yesterday morning when I went out to feed the critters.

It was so nice and cool yesterday and much drier as well. It was a perfect day for working in the yard but , of course , that didn't happen. Nope. By the time I returned from town it was nearly 2 pm and I was shot.

But I did get much accomplished , by my standards anyway. The trash was taken to the dump. I treated myself to breakfast at Hardee's. Big spender , eh? LOL. Then a trip to the pharmacy for my monthly meds.

From there it was on to the feed store and loading up a few hundred pounds of nourishment for the gang back in the barnyard. A stop at the Shell station turned Exxon out on highway 70 for a few jerry cans of diesel was next on the list.

That was followed by a stop in to one of our regular benefactor's homes on the outskirts of town where I was pleasantly surprised by a gift of a big bag of Hitachi power tools from BG. What a treasure trove he gave me.

As luck would have it , the raft of cordless tools he gave me use the same 18 volt Hitachi batteries that I already possess. Yup. His tools are the same vintage as mine and while he had two working chargers but not good batteries it's no problem for I already have 5 good batteries to choose from.

Amongst all the tools in the "gift" bag were a cordless impact driver and regular screw gun ... both of which I already have , but one can never have too many drills. But that was only the opening round.

For also in the huge tool bag were no one , nor two but three cordless tools that I do not have in my shop any longer. The great finds included a sawzall , a circular saw , a flashlight , an impact wrench and ... the coolest thing of all ... something I'd never seen in my forty years of construction , a cord adapter that allows the tool to be used without a battery.

I'd never even heard of such an adapter and I've been using professional grade Hitachi tools since the mid-eighties. This adapter cord extends the life and usefulness of these "cordless" tools indefinitely.

Such a brilliant invention. In all my years the idea had never occurred to me but upon seeing it for the first time my eyes bulged and I thought to myself , this is such a good idea , it's a no-brainer that I should have anticipated decades ago.

I couldn't even find any reference online for this really cool AC adapter for the tools. It's a marvelous accessory to have and I can't thank him enough for all the wonderful treasures bestowed upon me yesterday. What a great surprise. Thank you BG.

Then it was on to the market to play some Lotto and pick up a few items before finally calling it a day in town and heading back to the Farm. By which time I found my a$$ dragging and had to settle for doing a few household chores to finish out my day.

Who knew just running errands , getting in and out of the truck , loading and unloading purchases could be so tiring? Me , that's who. I've had enough experience these past couple years so that I should be able to determine my personal limits. But no , I never learn.

So that was my day. Much useful stuff attended to and yet , it seemed like a modest day of attainment. The story of my life. LOL

Nothing new on the Farm , I'm afraid. No tales of animal adventure. All remains as it nearly always is. Calm , peaceful and quiet. Good for me , not so good for y'all.

Have a great day folks and please ... Give if you can , we're struggling mightily these days to add to our coffers. Fund raising is exceedingly difficult right now. Thank you for your consideration and bless you all.

By the way we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm

06/03/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Yesterday was a very productive one here on the Farm. For a change. While I've got nothing in the way of fireworks to relate to y'all , from my lowly perspective it was a day of some significant accomplishment just the same.

I got my Jeep running again , at least temporarily , although I do not trust it enough to go anywhere in it without fear of it failing to restart after shutting it down to shop or run errands. At least I was able to move it around the barnyard.

That was a pleasant experience but not where the real work was done. I finally got it together and got the John Deere into action. Gave the perennial flat front tire a dose of fix-a-flat , although I doubt that it will hold , hooked up the bushhog and , at long last , got a substantial amount of mowing done.

That's not to say that I am done with the mowing. Heck , that's never complete. I have so much acreage to manicure that I never finish it all before it's time to start all over again.

Despite the endless task in front of me it felt great to be outside and getting things done around the property for the first time in several weeks. Between all of the rain and my "temporary" lack of physical stamina I had a day that actually made a difference.

Despite my efforts , which were somewhat exhausting , sleep last night was fleeting. I expected to find myself sleeping like a log from my exertions , and yet it was quite the opposite. I had a very fitful night.

Wild and very vivid dreams , along with a litany of bathroom visits , combined to rob me of any significant amount of rejuvenating REM sleep and now I feel wiped out , before my day has even begun.

It's dump and feed run day so stuff will get done to keep things going on the Farm , but real "work accomplishments" are likely to be in short supply.

Although I am enjoying my "retirement" immensely , and wouldn't change my life , I miss the days where I was up , out of the house , and getting things done beginning at 6AM and continuing on through the afternoon.

Currently I just never know what all I'm going to be able to get accomplished from one day to the next. It's a mystery every morning as I wake just what my abilities for that day will be and that lack of predictability/reliability is draining on the soul.

But , I'm above ground. I have a home. I have children that love me. I eat every day and I'm healthy ... in my fashion anyway , so I count myself among the blessed , regardless of my fragmentary physical abilities.

I guess , at nearly 70 , this is life. Beats the alternative.

Anyway , have a great day y'all.

By the way we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm

06/02/2026

Mornin' y'all,

As quickly and as prodigiously as the words flowed yesterday , they've become a scarcity this morning for whatever reason , I cannot fathom.

Like I've said , ad infinitum , it's a crap shoot here at our page. You never know what you're going to get when you stop by. Funny expression that ... crap shoot. Haven't used that in who knows how long.

As a matter of fact , the use of the words just now caused me to do a search on the etymology of the term itself , solely out of curiosity. The origins of the term are not far from what one might expect.

Having to do with the dice game of chance , craps. Since "shooting craps" is a gamble with totally unforeseen potential results , the expression itself connotes "pot luck" ... LOL ... yet another old time colloquialism. I'm really showing my age today.

Of course the term "pot luck" is a more easily understood term , at least as far as it's origins are concerned. I mean really , how many church going folk , of which there are many among our readers , have never attended a "pot luck" supper?

Whoa! Again I ramble on , spewing nonsense at every turn. I don't know what to say for myself ... except that I guess this is what happens when an addled , old mind that has been called upon to daily create interesting tales for years on end begins to grasp at straws ... LOL , yet another old cliche ... in order to hold his audience in some sort of thrall.

Yesterday was a work day here on the Farm. To a degree anyway. I did get some minor tasks accomplished but "nothing to write home about" ... the old saws just keep on coming.

There was weed-whacking. There was trough cleaning. There was a bit of vehicle maintenance. There was the usual care and feeding of our tribe. There was some house work. And that's about it.

Nothing to stir the mind into generating any ripping yarns. Life , at the moment , is exceedingly dull. Good for me. Not so good for y'all. But that's life on the Farm. Fits and starts. Doldrums and disasters ... preferably more on the doldrum side and that's where we're at.

No adversity. No advancements. Just calm and peace and quiet. It's a good life , really , and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm blessed in so many ways and I never lose sight of that fact.

We wish y'all a wonderful day and thank you for taking time out of your day to visit us here at Carolina Hills Farm. Bless you all.

By the way we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm

PS: This is an old video from 2022 and yet the rivalry between Arnold , the smaller pig , and Sir Francis , the larger continues to this day. This was when Arnold was quite young. They are now nearly equal in size but still , every morning this jousting goes on. I'll see if I can get some new footage in the coming days for comparison.

06/01/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Welcome to June. We've got some hot days ahead this coming week with the mercury approaching the 90 degree mark with daily frequency. Yuck. But , what can we expect? It is that time of year and it sure beats freezing one's butt off.

I know I complain quite often about the heat and humidity that is simply part of life in the Low Country but it wasn't always such. I worked outdoors in the blazing sun for nearly forty years and on the island where I lived up north high humidity was not exactly a stranger. LOL

It's only the past couple years , since my diagnosis and treatment that I have developed such a strong aversion to such challenging environmental conditions. For the first time in my life I understand why , as a kid , people with respiratory issues were always guided to retire to the climes of the desert southwest.

For the life of me , I could never fathom the wisdom of moving to a place that habitually sports daily temps in the triple digits. The recommendation seemed so counter-intuitive to this simple man , but now I truly understand ... it's the humidity , stupid! Duh!

Anyway , what's all that have to do with the price of tea in China? Nothing. Nothing at all. Nor does it have anything to do with the Farm. It just flowed from my mind , like the excess rainfall washing out my driveway. Neither productive , nor destructive ... just there.

I'm rambling ... forgive me. Sometimes I struggle mightily to put words to "paper". Sometimes they flow like wine. And ... on rare occasions ... they even have something to do with our refuge.

This weekend I was blessed with a visit from Kids #1 & 2 on Saturday. It was a wonderful visit , as they all are. Let's face it. When you're old and live alone EVERY visit from your children is a pleasure and this was no exception.

We spent the afternoon in Augusta ... flea marketing. First to the Barnyard and my friend Kyle at Epic Entertainment for some DVDs to add to my growing library. Then it was down the road to the South Augusta Flea Market for our first visit to that establishment.

What a study in contrasts. While the Barnyard is mostly a collection of stalls purveying brand new "Chinese" knockoffs and second rate "bargains" , the SA market down the road is more like what I've always thought of as a real flea market ... unique , hard to find , second hand goods more akin to a yard sale than an agora filled with cheap , plastic disposable "goods".

We got a late start and stopped at Barnyard first and so , by the time we arrived at South Augusta FM , many of the vendors had already packed it in and I was quickly running out of steam. Still , that failed to prevent me from finding several bargains on sought after items.

They have no DVD vendor at South Augusta. Nothing like Kyle's place , that's for sure , but I still found two very difficult to find older films that I quickly snatched up. As an added bonus I managed to snag a real treasure on my way out the door.

Two genuine "Old Hickory" kitchen knives. These pieces of cutlery , for the uninitiated , are the greatest knives going. Most folks don't like them these days because of their appearance. You see they are made of plain old carbon steel.

That means that they rust and corrode if not properly cared for. However , that non-stainless metal has the benefit of being able to be honed to a razor sharpness unheard of from any grade of modern "stainless steel".

I mean ... RAZOR SHARP!! the difference is unbelievable. My grandfather and father both swore by these "Old Hickory" knives and I seek them out wherever second hand goods may be found. Saturday I found two. Gorgeous knives for $10 each. What a deal.

It was a fun and exhausting day all around and yesterday was the antidote to all the previous day's enervation. A little auto racing , a little reading , a movie or two ... and lots of eating. Nothing beyond pure self-indulgence/rejuvenation. Each day had it's place.

During the overnight we were blessed with monetary gifts from two of the monthly supporters that continue to help keep us in business. Our thanks and appreciation go out to Richard , Marie and their families for their continued generous support. Bless you all.

That's it for today y'all. Bits about weather , shopping and donations might not be exactly what y'all came to read about but it's all I have to offer at this moment in time. The critters are ... critters. Fat , lazy , happy and well fed. That's my goal ... and achievement ... so far.

Have a great day.

By the way we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm

05/31/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Greetings to all on this wet Sunday morning. It's increasingly looking like today will be the last of the wet days for awhile. Next week will bring some sunshine back to us ... but , along with the clearer skies will come the heat.

Oh well , it is June after all. Or will be tomorrow. The swelter of Low Country summer is on the horizon. Not my favorite thing but I wouldn't trade it for those freezing months of winter I used to endure up north.

Anyway , have a blessed day doing what pleases y'all , and thanks for visiting our page.

Traditional Bluegrass Gospel , In the Sweet By and By covered by Backwoods Bluegrass. Wanna send us a tip? https://paypal.me/backwoodspurchase?country.x=KN&...

05/30/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Happy Saturday. Today I'm to be blessed with a visit from several of my children. Kids #1 and #2 will be coming to the Farm to visit with Pop. I can't wait. Besides that wonderful , upcoming event life remains quiet hereabouts.

Yesterday was semi-productive. I got the oil changed in my truck. Finally re-located my trailer into the back barnyard where it belongs after sitting in front of the garage for several weeks.

Took care of a few errands in town and stopped to visit with my neighbor down the road for a bit while returning the live trap that I had borrowed from him some time ago.

I even found the proper schematic for the mower drive belt on my Craftsman. Not that it did me any good. Now that I found the correct routing I found that the belt does not stretch enough to get it onto the final pulley.

My addled mind seems to recall a trick involving a homemade device that Henry , my ever-helpful mechanic , used to get the belt on last time but I cannot remember exactly how it was done , and with what.

It appears that I'll have to disconnect part of the mower deck from the tractor itself to get the belt into it's final position and then use a come-along to pull the deck back into place to refasten the pins that hold everything where it belongs.

That's a job for another day. Right now I've got to get ready for the girls. They should be here soon.

Have a great day y'all.

PS: If y'all can give a little , please do. It seems that even some of our regular donors are struggling and are not able to give as they have in the past. Help us if you can , please. Bless you all for keeping us afloat for this long.

PPS: Being Saturday makes this a video day. While today's selection is totally AI generated ... nothing real about it at all , not the music nor the man ... The words still ring true and the sentiment abides.

By the way we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm

https://youtu.be/QbtTbKl7ncM?list=RDQbtTbKl7ncM

😮‍💨 Growing old ain’t gentle… it’s a test of grit.“Getting Old Ain’t for Sissies” is a raw, straight-talkin’ Delta King’s Blues tune about stiff mornings, ...

05/29/2026

Mornin' y'all,

Well , once again the "fickle finger of fate" brought our efforts to a screeching halt yesterday. Yes , we suffered yet another mechanical mishap here on the Farm. With the rain mostly absent yesterday morning we decided to finally get a bit of mowing done.

Nothing too serious. No fields or pastures. I just wanted to knock down the high grass that our lawn had become thanks to the growth spurt fostered by all the precipitation. Not a very ambitious expectation , as far as I was concerned. I just wanted to start off slowly and destroy the potential snake habitat in my front yard.

Initially all went well. The Craftsman started easily and all seemed right with the world. I proceeded to get to cutting and was met with considerable success. I was three quarters done with the front lawn when , wouldn't you know it , the mower deck once again slipped a belt. Argh.

It seems that no matter what I do I cannot keep this old tractor fully operational. It just keeps breaking and/or throwing belts ... every time I put it to use. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to explain this recurring fault. I've replaced all bearings , the spindles , pulleys , belts and blades.

Essentially rebuilding the entire mower deck and yet , the trouble persists. I guess it's time for a new machine. After all , this Craftsman is very old. I bought it seven years ago when I first moved south and it was a dinosaur at that time , but it was what I could afford and it's also got a manual transmission ... the chief selling point.

No BS hydrostatic trannys for me. Alas , while the engine and transmission have never let me down , the mower and it's issues has been a plague upon me for the past couple years. I'm not sure what we're going to do about this issue though since all of our discretionary funds have vanished into the emergency tree removal and the $600 rear tire replacement on the Deere.

Gonna have to keep my eyes open for a bargain somewhere down the road. In the meantime I guess I'll be reduced to cutting the lawn with my 21" push mower. That'll be fun. LOL. Well , if nothing else I've still got a fine running machine to tow the yard trailer around with. And the roto-tiller , if only I was growing a garden this year.

That was my day , y'all. After trying to recall the schematic for the belt routing in order to reinstall the errant drive belt I conceded defeat to my addled mind , gave it up and went inside to do a web search for the appropriate blue print , which I believe I have located. I'll try again to make the needed repairs today.

That was my day. How was yours? Better , I hope.

Have a great day y'all.

By the way we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and all donations are tax deductible.

Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm