Headlamps
Will allow you to distribute extra bedding after dark on Christmas eve
Will not prevent you from catching your leg between the first and second strands of electric fence *
Headlamps
*fence is plug in not solar and therefor always on point - shocking
Ouch! I love my headlamp!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
Newest entry- sitting on a horse who will not move forward for her Christmas Eve ride.. and thanking- oh, whoever that was, for her new saddle pad.. Wasn't that nice? Does not even remember the name. Must be hard to be one of the beautiful people.
ReplyDeleteThink she'll ever come to terms with the fact she has 2 ponies...not horses?
Deleteperhaps the box was sent anonymously?
Or she bought it with her "free money" from her devoted readers. Fastest way to get people to give you things it to make them think others are getting ahead in the "friendship for sale" line.
DeleteThe last time I tried to send something with no return name, the post office refused it- she says it was from a saddlery...
ReplyDeleteAs to the horses vs ponies- does she know the difference? In her mind, they are all magical hogwarts beasts!
Oh man I was cracking up that Merlin wouldn't move. She even clucked to him, and no go. LOL
ReplyDeleteAs for electric fences... still have the scar under my arm where my horse (nuzzling me in friendliness) accidentally knocked me backward, and I landed with my arm over the electric wire! I was 8.
Yeah, that made me laugh, too. I think it can only be considered a "ride" if your pony is actually moving. Otherwise, it's more of a Christmas Eve "sit-on." I liked the quick cover-up when he just stood there after being asked to move, "and over there are some farmhouses."
DeleteShe looks down and around like she forgot to shift him into drive.
Delete8 years old and I rode a horse, not a pony... ;-)
ReplyDeleteI notice she isn't getting many comments lately. Is her readership dropping off?
ReplyDeleteYes, it has. By about half in the last year. Or at least her number of hits has fallen by that amount.
DeleteMaybe she is culling ones she doesn't find flattering.
ReplyDeleteCome on!!! teaching the hawk to fly in the house. Is that standard hawk training?? Or, has she started down the path of destroying this wild animal by turning it into a parakeet?
ReplyDeleteYou just have to remember, there is the right way, the wrong way and then there is Jenna's way.
ReplyDeleteSomeone really needs to question her mentor, who, I am beginning to believe she really got at Hawks-r-Us.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about this falconry thing and I wonder how someone went from being a peaceful vegetarian to participating in a blood sport. I have no problem with people or hawks hunting for food. But to take a bird from the wild, tether and hood it, then train it so you can flush out little critters and watch the hawk kill it, well, it just seems wrong. If she wants to eat rabbit, why not just get one from her hutch?
ReplyDeleteI understand falconry is an ancient "sport", but there were a lot of cruel sports in those days, such as bull and bear baiting. To watch an animal kill to fulfill some Celtic fantasy just doesn't seem right. Because she really doesn't need a hawk to fetch a rabbit or squirrel for her.
Maybe I'm way off base, but to me, it doesn't seem respectful of life. Either for the hawk, or the "prey".
We use falconers in the vineyards here, for rodent control, and it works very well, and is also an organic way to control gophers and squirrels. That being said, my understanding is that it's a hobby that is expensive and time consuming, so not a hobby for anyone with a lot of irons in the fire or a lot of other responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteI think in the hands of almost any other person I would not have a problem, but with someone who has been known to exploit animals to the level she does, I don't think she has any business taking a wild animal into her clutches. She has killed way too many animals for that.
ReplyDeleteI like how on her most recent video post someone asked a legitimate question about maintaining a hawk's condition in captivity and instead of explaining and educating, she gave a flippant reply (us falconers have spent 4,000 years figuring this out, dontcha know!) and just tossed up a link to another webpage.
ReplyDeleteYep, flippant as usual, that is unless you are stroking her massive needy ego.
ReplyDeleteSoon she will say she has been doing this 4000 years. Websites are how she learned everything and then disgorges it to her public,. Jenna, how do I put this delicately? You don't know your ass from your elbow. Please let this bird go.. before you kill it, or the other animals you are neglecting so you can sell ir
ReplyDeleteWhat was the purpose of mew and flight pen (glorified crate) inspection if the hawk is kept as a parrot?
ReplyDelete"I am not an amazing writer or an amazing farmer. And a few years ago I was not even mildly talented at falconry, driving horse, riding, or archery. "
ReplyDeleteTruer words...
DO NOT tell me she wrote that? Talented in terms of falconry, well, heck, I once signed a big check, so maybe that means I am mildly talented in accountant work.
ReplyDeleteI think "talented" should be changed to "interested" there--I've been reading her blog for several years (since shortly after she moved to Vermont) and I have to say her current interests/"talents" are dead boring and quite inaccessible compared to what she used to do, like knitting, gardening, raising chickens, and actually *making* things. I even used to feel inspired when she made one of these "if I can farm, so can you!" posts because it had some ring of truth. But now...all these expensive hobbies make her seem so out of touch. It's like reading the fantasies of a teenage girl obsessed with Lord of the Rings. No meat on the bones.
ReplyDeleteWell, someone made a comment on the blog about how cruel it is to keep a wild hawk in the kitchen, or even just in captivity,and her reply was so defensive, so snarky, about what the woman should and should not feel emotional about. Basically -- "there are child soldiers in the world, and you should be more concerned with them than what I am doing to this hawk!" Someone truly at ease with who they are and what they're doing would be able to explain their position without sounding so shrill, defensive, and hysterical. It's almost like if she doesn't JUMP on anyone with a different opinion (or just lets her "you go, girl" choir jump on them) she will be found out for being someone completely different than the voice she presents on the blog. Very insecure, and for good reason.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree about her lack of reasonable explanation there and elsewhere. I couldn't figure out why she even let the critical comment through--perhaps to drum up support from her fans who will be more inclined to give her money if they feel she's under attack?
DeleteDing ding- right on here. She has discovered that the only time she gets lots of money is when there is chaos. Like a good NPR soap opera.
DeleteThis latest post of hers is priming the pump to ask for more money- watch...
ReplyDeleteShould we place bets?
DeleteOne of my colleagues explained falconry ethics so perfectly to me. Paraphrased: Falconry is the practice of hunting live prey in open air with a raptor. Nothing else is Falconry. Keeping pets, collecting wildlife, even community or educational demonstrations are different endeavors. She's a passionate advocate for the practice of legal falconry, but she despises people who use the term for selfish unrelated purposes.
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly certain she would be abhorred to hear of a hawk tied to a perch indoors during a Netflix marathon.
~A
A- That was great.. skeevy ain't it?
ReplyDeleteA- That was great.. skeevy ain't it?
ReplyDeleteI think she let the negative comment on so she could post her response. My guess is that she is receiving many negative comments, but doesn't want to post them.
ReplyDelete" I mean, they BETTER upset you. If they don't you might be an android and should be melted for parts." That is very adult Jenna. You are one of the most immature, self centered people I have ever met. And yes, I have met you. And I have seen your place. The person who prompted this response from you, was RIGHT ON.
ReplyDeleteStruck me as a very defensive reaction - if she didn't want alternative viewpoint responses to blog posts (and she is the one approving the comments), why enable comments again? Seems counter-productive to me.
ReplyDeleteA). Her comment to the naysayer re: hawks in the kitchen BLEW ME AWAY with its arrogance, flippance, and lack of logic. Her response is akin to me confronting someone who is starving or kicking their dog and them replying, "Someone was shot in Jerkwater, Texas today, so it's perfectly okay that I'm kicking my dog." It's a logical fallacy if I ever read one. In fact, it made my stomach twist in knots. I can just see her self-satisfied, smug smirk as she typed those words, and I'm sure her cheering squad will nominate her catty response for a Pulitzer.
ReplyDeleteB). I posted this on another comment thread, but that thread seems dead, and I really, really feel like pointing it out again. In her most recent video on the blog, she has the hawk flying from the dining room chair to her hand...and what do I spy in the background?? That is NOT a woodstove burning, but one of those ventless gas (or possibly even electric) fireplaces. Those things kick out a LOT of heat...and are really sort of the antithesis of self sufficiency. I have one, myself because I can't afford to repair my chimney at the moment. BUT REALLY?? Ms Chop Wood-Carry Water-55 Degrees is Too Hot-I ONLY HEAT WITH WOOD ONLY EVER EVER EVER has a gas/electric "Fire" place??
Be still my heart.
I just asked her about said heater. Let's watch to see if she lets it pass. Of course I had to sell my soul to even write it.
DeleteI don't have any problems with a little electric fireplace, I mean, hey, maybe it was a gift or hey, might help warm up some areas... I mean, I don't think she really promotes that she is totally off the grid or something. I know she likes to let her readers think she's hauling water uphill both ways and all that hardship and such, but I think most people see through that.
ReplyDeleteBut I do have a LOT of problems with her whole attitude of late. That child solider/other things bad in the world comment was really really snarky and immature. Shesh. I mean, one could easily counter that with there are plenty of REAL farmers out there being responsible, taking care of their farm, animals and land and not playing Lady of the Wild hunt with all her playthings. So what does that mean? Well, really nothing much in the whole logic of her statement.
I think it was a very nicely presented comment, a question about condition and such. If she is going to present all these posts and such of her adventures in this new hobby, then why be snarky when someone asks a logical question?
Because she's being uber defensive, that's quite clear.
I feel that she's reading these posts and her posts lately, seem to reflect that a good deal. I think it's rather stupid of her... I mean, if she really has so many readers and such, whom 95% have no clue about the negative things, then why is she all keyed up about the 5% over here? It really just shows off her total insecurity at all she does. She is SO seeking approval and more amen Charlies and atta-girls.... it's sad. And I totally agree... her comments have been way way less, and just a lot of the same, gee golly we luv ya Jenna stuff. Just boring.
I dunno. Playing with the hawk inside, I mean, whatever. She's training it, it doesn't seem to be uninterested in her meat treats. I get it, it's cold out and all. And I don't think they have that much intellect that learning a few behaviors inside is going to ruin it for life. When she has to let it go, it will probably not make itself a nuisance by flying into other people's houses, I'm sure it will revert.
-s
(had to split my post... tooo long!)
(The rest of my comment...)
ReplyDeleteIt's just the way she presents herself and all, that is the truly annoying part of it all. Like because she read some books and watched others at the resort she worked at, she's all the sudden been longing for this for her whole life.... (which is pretty clear, she wasn't because we know alllllll about her life longings in most of her writings before she was exposed to hawks) Now she has one. Okay, what is next?
I love how she includes herself in 4,000 years of falconry wisdom. haha.... that was pretty funny, actually. And I loved the comment by someone about how this tame vegetarian is now involved in blood sports... because yeah, let's be real here. It would be a hellava lot easier to hunt a squirrel with a 22 or to just get rabbits from the hutch, if you are just looking for a meal. She just says that to add some weird sense of legitimacy to her actions.
No, she just wants to be some SCA Celtic clanswoman on her Fell pony in her kilts, firing off arrows and sending her hawk alight to strike down a rouge pigeon in flight...
Yeah. okay. hey, whatever. But in the meanwhile, her "farm" is a shabbledown mess, her animals croak, her personal fiances are in ruin, and she's pissing off readers and clients all over the board.
I refuse to post comments on her blog, it's a waste of time. I do read, and i think it's just because now I'm just so put off by her weird tangents, it's like a train wreck you can't stop watching. I miss the can do spirit and the homesteading which is really what was the gist of her whole persona for so long and why I've been reading for years. I keep hoping this is just a phase she's going through. I was a member of the facebook page and her personal page, but I had to stop because it was getting so unbelievably thick with all the weird supporters and such and frankly, her off the cuff comments and truer nature shone through and it was not as endearing as her more polished blog writing.
I wonder what would be the solution... I fear that reading her blog and then coming over here for commentary is soiling the whole ritual for me now. I'm a very positive and upbeat person and sometimes I feel a little down after reading this because I just wonder where it will end, or how will it correct itself... are we always going to be nitpicking every teeny little thing and such? I dunno if that is good. Is there an endgame to this all? I mean... if she totally fails, is that it? If she all the sudden gets wise and starts acting smarter, are we going to be happy? relieved? Just wondering out loud.
I hope she can get back on track a bit more. Start showing a little more responsibility and such. I would welcome that. I'd like to hear some decent improvement in her place, less animal mishaps, etc. Maybe a decent little part time job, getting her house payments back on track.... ??? A little spark of the Jenna of old that I admired?
Sigh. Just feeling a little weary and thinking outloud...
-s
She needs to marry some rich fan man, someone who will adore the wild and crazy Jenna and at the very least, help to stop the money begging, and take care of the animals better and get the mortgage paid up. Just sayin'... I can't believe there isn't some fantasy celtic nerd geek homesteading bearded hipster that wouldn't be happy to hitch his wagon to her little life...
DeleteShe doesn't have to fail. That's the direction she's going in, but she doesn't have to go that way. Let's face it, if she was even a little bit better at handling criticism, none of us would be saying anything about her on this blog. It's because we all liked or admired her at one time that makes us want to scream at her and tell her to stop.
DeleteAgreed. This is not a random assembly of Internet acquaintances - most of us were her fervent supporters. When she dove off several cliffs and alienated all of us, there came a time for us to reconvene elsewhere.
Delete~A
I, for one, would be very upset if she failed. This is not a hate blog, this is a venting because we are worried blog. I am a single woman homesteader and like someone commented above, if she fails, we all fail... it's like chipping away at the thought that we can do this without a lot of support and and man, etc. It's hardly that we were all just cruising around for some chick to hate on.
DeleteEach and everyone of us seems to have come here because of that weird feeling, that inkling that things are not all right at Cold Antler Farm. The animal deaths, injuries, repo men at the door, teary posts about sleepless nights and anxiety.... then more hobbies, more animals, more failed commitments, snarky attitudes, and such. she's changing from great inspiration to how NOT to do things... so sad.
-s
Here is my wonderment outloud:
DeleteLet's pretend for a min that the person who posted here about a year and a half ago was right. Jenna has no student loans because her father paid for it all. She has a spending problem certainly but my gut says she is not so bad off as she would like her readers to believe. One min she is saying help me I can't make my payments and the next she is buying a $400.00 camera. Something stinks and it's not just the dying animals.
I think her entire premise has been to pull the "wool" over everyone's eyes. I think she is just fine with her payments, but that sort of honesty would not get people to support her "fun money" budget. Someone co-signed for her house, someone co-signed for her truck. I am her age nothing in the financial world is without someone else covering your butt.
Hell even her tire story is full of holes. With as much debt, truck/house/credit card/ student loan she would like us to believe she has you CANNOT get 3 different kinds of credit.
I have student loan debt and I can't get anything except more credit cards without someone co-signing for me.
Admittedly, S, I feel much the same as you...Jenna WAS actually an inspiration for me. She's the reason I finally just bought myself some chickens and am about to get into bees--because if not now, then when? I had the place, the means, and the brains, so why not make the leap? I feel like she's just kind of been slowly self-destructing, and now it's starting to really pick up steam. I MISS the old Jenna. Reading her blog made me yearn for a homesteading life, but that simple lifestyle seems to have been replaced by something much more fantastical and impractical. Impracticality and simple living are pretty much the antithesis of each other. I miss the Old Jenna with her rabbit slaughtering and wool spinning and fiddles and bread baking. If she managed to get her shit together and truly walk the talk, I would rejoice to have her back. :(
ReplyDeleteI totally get where you are coming from. I believe all of us wonder where the old Jenna went. She's gone though. I am glad that you did get started in farming.
DeleteI would love to hear about how she is getting her financial house in order. Now that would be something to be proud of and an inspiration to all. I just finished One Woman Farm (borrowed from the library), and in one of her journal entries, she mentioned having 50 animals. I assume a lot of those are small animals like chickens and maybe rabbits. Even so, I have six animals, and the food and vet bills can get pretty high. If I had 50 animals, I'd be broke too.
ReplyDeleteSince she has decided she is not going to get a job, it would be nice to see her act responsibly and reduce her number of animals until she gets her finances in order. I could cheer her on for something like that.
Now that would be something worth boasting about, instead of a hawk flying around her kitchen.
Yeah, i think reducing animals would be a huge step in the right direction. I totally understand that Merlin is very important to her. But the sheep, well, they seem to just be a nuisance to her at this point. And all the chickens, etc., I would think just a few would give a single person enough eggs. It's hard, because I think, well, yeah, keep a goat and sell a goat, but I know goats like to have a buddy. But maybe she could sell the extra goat and then sadly, Jasper and then the lone goat could be a buddy for Merlin. Something like that. Pigs, well, she is making "money" off them. (Though I suspect in the end, she is not really making that much on them. I know, I raise pigs and do shares and really, it's not a lot of cash... most people will not pay that much extra over the cost and time and feed and all that....)
DeleteYeah, I would clap loudly to see her taking a few more steps towards righting her ship's rudder!
-s
Is this blog all about hating everything Jenna does? I started to read and now realize an unbalanced obsessed person is writing this. Move on and forget about what Jenna is doing. The rest of your blog is good but all the hate over Jenna turns people away.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't hate, it's disappointment and frustration that she won't listen, and seems to be retreating into a fantasy.
DeleteI agree with other comments that if she got her $h*t together and returned to the Jenna of old (or forged some new and authentic incarnation of Jenna, as long as it's forward progress) I'd be in the bleachers cheering her on. I miss being inspired--I'm about the same age as her, with the same degree/career background (graphic designer) and when she quit her job to go full-time on the farm it lit a fire under me to be able to do the same. I do understand the financial strain to a certain extent because if I didn't have family support (and family land) I would have needed to keep at least a part-time off-farm job, but I learned to radically pare down my personal expenses long before I took the plunge and can survive on very little. Perhaps part of my frustration is seeing someone who appeared to be on the road to success caught up in a self-destructive fantasyland--I think in the recesses of my subconscious it makes me wonder if I can even make it, and I feel a little betrayed--she was supposed to show us solo farmers it can be done! And I feel exasperated at how she's let her brand, her blog/site, and her offerings (does she even create actual products any more?) languish. It's all so horribly outdated--I've seen and studied enough relatively successful online entrepreneurs combining blogging, homesteading, small farming, etc. to understand what all that entails (i.e. really hard work, constant experimentation, writing, refining, learning, creative product offerings, etc.). I suspect that she thought her ship had come in with the book deals and that she just didn't have to work at it anymore. Just scrape some old blog posts together and call it a day. People thought she was an expert, so by golly she was! And no further growth and learning required. It's kind of like she decided that she was just going to be a writer and none of the other stuff--the walking the walk--mattered any more. I don't see any authenticity, humility, or shoshin in her words any more...just stubborn pride, defensiveness, and apathy towards the farm, towards her animals, and towards her readers.
ReplyDeleteNo this blog isn't "all about hating everything Jenna does?" It is a place for people to come and truly state what they think about whatever, and if Jenna is a main topic it is her own doing. I used to read her blog with anticipation each day and now I can't even stomach to turn it on, because it is filled with such crap. Yes, crap.
ReplyDeleteI did watch the hawk video and I am very concerned about the safety of having a wild bird, and to be perfectly frank, I do not think anyone should even own a parrot (there was a very good documentary on pbs about parrots and many birds people buy are wild caught and smuggled to pet stores.) It is my opinion that birds should only live outside, and this blog allows me to write my opinion.(Btw I also believe it is wrong to have any wild animal as a pet, like a chimp, lion, etc. and I don't believe that the hawk will not be damaged in anyway when she releases it. Part of its wild spirit will have died and that is just wrong, in my opinion.) Jenna's blog doesn't, and if by chance my comment was published now that she is "allowing" comments, which is bolster her book sales now and in the future, she would retort some snarky comment, like she did today.
And I do understand where you are coming from about the electric/gas heat furnace thing...Jenna professes to only be a wood stove girl, and it is not wrong to use some other means, but it is wrong to lie. In the beginning I thought this girl has the guts to follow her dreams and make them happen with the hard work it takes, and now I know that this girl lives in a dream world bought and paid for by the gullible readers, like I used to be.
To say I or anyone else, like Meredith, who according to anonymous 7:06pm is "an unbalanced obsessed person", hates Jenna is going too far. Why should we care about her? We don't. We do care about her animals and the conditions they live in. We are disappointed that this once inspirational person is now a snarky spoiled brat that ignores her animals to the point of death. Btw, where is her right hand man, Gibson, while the hawk is flying inside?
Locked away with Annie?
I think that all of us would rally around her if she did get a job and acted like a responsible adult. We do not need to be told by her fan club that we are wrong for feeling betrayed or chastised for venting our feelings here where we are allowed to speak freely.
Meredith has common sense, humor, and a healthy perspective. IMO, Meredith is not unbalanced or obsessed. For a long time she was one of the most helpful and honest voices in Jenna's blog comments and I always looked forward to seeing her comments....until she was run off the territory and (I believe) banned for her truth-telling. Luckily she is here, and free speech is allowed on this, her own lovely blog.
DeleteSo if you don't agree with what Jenna is doing why rail on about it all the time. Why not just concentrate on your own life. I mean really it does border on the obessive. If you are banned how do you know what she is even doing? Free speech is fine but hating on someone so relentlessly only says more about he person doing the hating than the person they are hating on.
DeleteNot banned from reading, but banned from commenting. Please go back and really read what everyone said, because we don't "hate" her. She reads this blog and we all hope she learns that what she is doing is not right or good for her animals.
DeleteThe same could be said about you, anonymous 8:56pm. Why do you care what is said here if you concentrated on your life?
DeleteMe... I hate the fact that she is spending more money and time on the hawk when she doesn't even have a proper shed for her expensive horse and his dopy POA sidekick. For gosh sakes, boards don't cost that much, a stinking board a week back when she was building their little weird hut, and they would have a walled in shed. It's freaking cold and a mountain she lives on. Don't they deserve to have a warm place with straw and not get snowed on? Instead, last she shared, they just have an open sided, roofed weird thing. I would have thought that would be a priority.
ReplyDeleteEven Jasper had a stall last winter until the goat kicked him out... remember the nice half door that man made for her? Now they are just out in the elements, eating hay off the ground, in a jury rigged gate that freezed to the ground and she just left it. Makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteWhy are there so many Anonymous posters here?
ReplyDeleteWhen this question was asked recently I stated that I use my phone and anonymous is accepted w/o hassle. Btw, why did you use anonymous 10:39 pm?
DeleteYour anonymous
DeleteGetting protein for a lactating mother? THAT is what falconry is? How over the top can you get? And if she ever eats a rabbit that the hawk has killed, it won't make up for all the protein she has to feed the hawk already.
ReplyDeleteCome on Jennafans, tell us what she's saying on her clan blog and why she sent you over here to harass Meredith? And btw, I posted as anonymous for at least a week because I couldn't get my google account to work here. I don't know why, or why it suddenly started working.
Yeah that protein for a lactating mother comment just made me laugh so hard... oMG.... Falconry is the blood sport of kings. Hardly nursing mothers...
ReplyDeleteJenna does brag all the time bout being a "wood only" heater. She says she has to feed her stove every 2 hours to get her house to stay at around 55 degrees. LOL. Then we see her electric or gas cheater stove. Gee, Jenna....you didn't mention that when you were talking about how hard you have to work to maintain heating your house. You're a liar, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteAnd the problem with her bringing the hawk in the house is that it goes against her "not all animals are pets" diatribe. If that hawk isn't a pet, then don't bring it inside. You can do the same things outside, so why bring it inside? So you can watch tv and work in the warm(er) house?
And I'm so sick of her snarky comments. I tell ya, if I was even remotely interested in falconry before Jenna took it up, I would NOT pursue it further after reading her mean and snarky responses to anyone with questions. Defensive responses and mean comments do not look good on you, "darling." Instead, you should be openly answering questions, not being all defensive and turning people off. It does nothing to promote your sport or get people to understand your side.
Yeah, I had a laugh at the "lactating mothers" comment too. The only lactating mothers falconry has fed were the wives of noblemen and kings, and even that's a stretch.
ReplyDeleteIs she so deep in her delusion that she really thinks falconry is a viable method of hunting for sustenance rather than a sport and a hobby? I've read falconry books before and while it's a fascinating lifestyle and history, the reality of it is traipsing (and driving--though I'm sure she thinks Merlin will somehow be able to keep up with a hawk) all over creation for hours with no guarantee of any kind of result. There were so many stories in those books that ended with "And we didn't catch anything that day, but it was a great experience and I got to spend time with my hawk and/or other falconers." And real falconers are a-okay with that--they're in it for the adventure, and for the challenge of partnering with raptors, not to put food on the table. That's what Jenna is in it for too (along with the gross parts, like the cachet and the "look at me and how cool I am!" factor)--and that would be okay if she would just be honest about it. Or if she would post only infrequently about her falconry efforts instead of parading it in front of the blog (and Italics in front of the camera) every chance she gets. But instead she concocts these daydreams of function, when the real functionality--sheep, chickens, a garden, etc.--wither away from inattention. And if she were financially stable and had cash to burn, who cares if she chooses to invest it in a hobby like falconry? But when every other blog post is a plea to buy this workshop or that overpriced cloak or that total access pass, and when she's regularly posting about how dire her straits are and won't you please donate it just seems flagrantly irresponsible.
**stands and applauds** You are 100 percent right.
DeleteHere's an enigma...in her last post she berates her critics for being out of touch with reality and not understanding the meaning of livestock, and not understanding how farmers live with their animals. Then in the comments one of her readers says "I live vicariously through you."
ReplyDeleteI never did live through her, I already had 40 years experience of living with and interacting with all kinds of livestock. So who needs to get a grip on priorities?
Her fans must not be the brightest of the bunch. They keep saying her hawk is free to be wild. Uh, nope. He's tied up and will be for quite a while, I'm sure. He will only get the opportunity to be wild and fly away when she actually lets him fly. For now, he's stuck, not able to make any decisions or fly anywhere. So, Jenna fans, he's NOT free and able to be wild. He's held captive.
ReplyDeleteSelf Sufficiency- laundromat style. You just cannot make this stuff up!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, but I read what Red Horse quoted and wonder, exactly, where Jenna would even see criticism these days? Do most who have issues with her operation even bother contacting her anymore? I suspect many are actually HERE, sharing common sense, good ideas and, yes, their frustration over the whole situation. Her comments section used to feature a lot of intelligent and quite lively discussion, with lots of homesteaders and farmers chiming in. Those people seem to have deserted the blog. Now it's just a chorus of unending praise and adoration, with an occasional voice of dissent let in (for corrective purposes only). There appears to have been a whittling down of her readership to only complete and total yes-men and women. It seems like the ones capable of having an informed opinion have either caught on to the train wreck the whole thing has become and (since their suggestions are all dismissed or attacked) don't participate anymore, or perhaps many have just lost interest in the ever-changing focus of the blog. That is just my guess tho. I do know that my New Year's resolution is not to read her blog more often than 1x a month. It's just not worth the heartache and frustration of reading on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteSpot on. I actually think it's a good thing that those of us here have given up trying to offer advice (aka "negative comments")--it gives her less fuel for her passive-aggressive blogging fires.
DeleteI actually can't read her blog anymore. One giant beg for money interspersed with occasional nasty retorts. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteHotFlashHomested - You are so right. She would call people who offered sensible advice "naysayers".
ReplyDeleteThis whole "do it alone" mentality is sad. Unfortunately Jenna may be just a broken leg away from homelessness. Gathering a community or having others work with her would be so much more healthy, for the animals and for Jenna. The common sense farm folks seem to be close to her, she needs to learn that doing it alone may be too much. The sycophants need to think about how this is sort of like farm porn and stop the abuse
ReplyDeleteOh, breaking her leg would be like winning the lottery, don't you think? She could milk that for all she could and more".. Poor little tough girl, I can see her now, trying to haul water a gallon at a time because she can't hold a five gallon pail with her crutches... 25 trips but by golly she's a scrappy lass, son....
ReplyDeleteAnonymousDecember 31, 2013 at 4:52 PM - You may be on to something about her not being as bad off as she says she is.
ReplyDeleteThe final straw for me was when she responded to an email I sent suggesting she get a job. I was stunned when she told me was making more than she did at her corporate job.
So she doesn't have an income problem, she has a spending problem. Keeping the house and truck payments current should be priority. Not her hobbies.
Spending more than you earn, whether on luxury items from Saks Fifth Avenue or more animals than you can afford, is a recipe for disaster. Overspending on horses, sheep, hawks and hobbies rather than bling is exactly the same. Overspending is overspending.
It seems she is more concerned about her hobbies than being financially solvent. She depends on her "poor me, I'm scared" blogs to get bailouts from unsuspecting readers. Readers who probably have jobs and are financially responsible.
I see this blog as a place for recovering Jennafans. I was a fan at one time, but am now disappointed and disillusioned.
Wow, I think the falcon is solely about her next book, I am sure the outline and first chapters are already drafted. She's no dummy, there is a whole cadre if internet addicted barnhearts with disposable income and the need for weird validation, her business plan is frankly, brilliant. she has found her niche and will exploit it. After falconry you will see raising pond fish for food and uses pig poop to power her cider mill. Its all earthy crunchy and may even be tax deductible if the paperwork from Albany gets through...
ReplyDeleteDing ding ding
DeleteYes, I agree. Hmmm, gotta score some money, so I MUST BECOME A FALCONER AND TAKE MANY PICS AND VIDEOS SO IT PROVES I AM AN EXPERT. Lord.. I cannot imagine how anyone could actually believe she knows .000000000001 of what she says she does. I wonder if she has ever really sat back and looked at her life? Her family, who she shuns. How horrible for them. Her own parents don't get to see her. Many of us have a hell of a lot more on our plates and we MAKE SURE we see our families, because they are so dear to us. The only thing dear to this person is herself. Sorry to her family.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right! I have livestock and I will pay someone or trade sitting services with someone so I can travel to see my family! The idea that she cannot leave the farm is totally made up by her...I think she needs to feel like nothing can go on without her there. LOL! I also feel sorry for her family, but I wonder if they shunned her instead?
DeleteBack in the day when Jenna would allow comments, there used to be comments from her mother, and her brother. Her mother was clearly pained that Jenna's life had been going the way it was, and was obviously very sad to be losing her daughter. Jenna has become so wrapped up in herself, that not even her family matters to her. Only more attention heaped up at her. Something very wrong with that girl.
ReplyDeleteNow a snowstorm, who could have predicted that for January! Picking up dry firewood at the convenience store that sells those garbage muffins that almost killed me. This makes no sense, how can we help her?
ReplyDelete