Go Ahead, Make My Day

Now THIS brightened my day up considerably. I love flowers and this was a lovely thank-you from our weekend guest. Thank you, Edwin.

Motley Crew

Tom's friends arrived at the farm for a weekend extravaganza of guy talk. I felt smarter just being in the same house with these brainiacs.

An added bonus was that I was able to feed them dozens of our excess eggs.

Hallelujah!

I've finished the living room drapes. Finally. I am so glad that is over with.

Now I have to psche myself up to start the bedroom. :o(

I Should Get a Blobby

Don't worry if the heading doesn't make sense to you.

But, wow, I have three followers! I feel just like Ugly Betty with her six cat-loving weirdo followers. And I'm sort of eligible since my last name is Spanish in origin.

Chicken Sez

"'ello, what's this, then? 'ave we all gone on 'oliday?"

(This must be read with a Chicken Run English accent.)

Harry Sez

"Awesome!"

Winter Wonderland

We got record snow here in TX and aren't likely to see it again in many years - maybe in our lifetime. It's beautiful...and even quieter than it usually is here. I tossed on a coat over my PJs and slipped on my boots just to run out and take a few pictures, but when I got out there, it wasn't terribly cold and was so beautiful that I ended up staying out much longer than I planned.

A Few Things...

I can't remember when we've had such a long stretch of miserable weather. It has been overcast and/or raining for weeks. Everything is sodden and I seriously need some sunshine in my life. Pearlie doesn't want to go outside to potty. Today she has held it from 5:30 this morning until just now, 4:00 pm, when I made her go out.

We gave two of our roosters away, so we have two left. With four roosters and just nine hens, the hens were being abused. When we first started this farming endeavor with plans of getting chickens and I was reading in my chicken book about making jackets for the hens, I laughed and joked about it. But now I really do see the necessity for it. The roosters jump on the hens' back to breed and the hens get all torn up by the rooster's claws. This happens every day, several times a day. I'm hoping the hens will get a bit of a rest and their backs will be able to heal now that there are only two roosters after them.

I hadn't planned to name our chickens, but over time, in my mind, I've named the roosters. The ones we kept are Tubby and Hubby. Tubby, because he's the fattest rooster. Hubby, because since the beginning, he has hung out with one hen in particular. Tom and I didn't want to split the "little married couple" up so we made sure that Hubby didn't get butchered or given away.

Annnd, I sold some eggs yesterday. So far, I've just been giving them away. We have way too many for us to use and I enjoy sharing them with friends and family. But yesterday at church one of the women that I had previously given eggs to asked me if I had any eggs to sell. I had happened to bring a carton of them with me to church with the intention of giving them to someone, but she insisted that she pay for them and wouldn't take them otherwise. So...I took the money. **shrug**

Harry ate one of the apple trees that we planted this past spring. It's not enough that he has a whole forest of trees that he could gnaw on. No, he had to destroy our fruit tree. He bit it off right at the base.

Stupid mutt.

Dreary Days

We've had days of clouds and drizzle. Since I pretty much have to stay inside anyway, I'm working on the curtains for the living room. I've got them all hanging up, but they aren't all finished. In the picture, only the ones in the righthand corner are finished. The others aren't hemmed or stitched up the sides so they are still all wrinkly. I went ahead and hung them because they help keep the room warmer.

Honestly, I'm not crazy about them. I don't really want to hang curtains because I like being able to see out and when closed, they make the room seem smaller. Also, I thought the house needed more color so I got colorful curtains. But now that I have them hanging, I think I like the monocromatic look better. **sigh** Well, maybe when I get all my sewing stuff out of the room it won't look so busy.

From the Mouth of Babes

My friend stopped by for a visit today and brought her five year old granddaughter, Carmen. I took her into Tom's office with me to get her some paper to write on. Short conversation ensued.

Carmen, "This is a messy room."

Me, "I know!"

Carmen, "Who made this mess?"

Butchering Season

I mentioned to Tom that we should look up information on the correct time to butcher goats. One of our friends had a wild hog butchered at a place in our town, so Tom is going to find out if they butcher goats, too.

I googled it and found that about nine months of age is the time. Tom said that he read for Boer goats it's six months to a year. In any event, it is time. Pansy's boys are ten months old.

I've been dreading this. Hopefully, Tom can just take them to the butcher and bring them back in packages. Oh.

Whaaah!

Trying to weed the garden with a cat or two is nearly an impossible task. They can't just be "nearby", they must be right where your face or hands are at all times. Digging out a weed? Try getting past the cat body first.

And then, here comes Harry. He has to chase the cats all over the garden. Not out in the pasture. No, in the garden. And then, when I tried to chase Harry out of the garden, where he was plowing around like a tractor, he decided it was a game and called for more running and plowing. I was so mad at him that I threw the only thing I had available...my favorite pair of pruning shears that were in my pocket.

I threw. I missed. Harry said, "Nah-nah nah-nah naaaah-nah!" I saw the shears land on the other side of him, but when I went to pick them up...they were gone. Disappeared. I searched and searched. Tom used the big magnet-on-a-pole thingy (that we use to pick up nails and stuff ) to search and he didn't find it either. I know they are there. Somewhere. Rusting.

My Task This Week

Since we couldn't finish mulching the garden and the weather has been so beautiful, I decided that I'd work on cleaning up the fence line by the road. I've got about 3/4 of it done, but what's left to do is the hardest part - the part where I can't really mow during my weekly summer mowings because the ground is so soft and uneven, the mower gets stuck. The tractor get's stuck, too. So the weeds grow huge and out of control.

These are before and after pics.

Fine Specimens

These are a couple of our roosters. We have three Rhode Island Reds. I don't know what kind the white one is. He's the one that was given to us by a neighbor. We thought it was a hen up until just a month or so ago when he started exhibiting his distinctly roosterly behavior and growing big glossy tail feather. The red one is the fattest rooster and seems to be the dominant one, too.

The Results of Wood Chipping

We were able to get about half of the garden mulched before the wood chipper broke the final time. It smells like a big hamster cage that has just been cleaned.

Farm Equipment Manufacturers...Bah!

Is it possible....for any farm equipment manufacturer...to make a product that doesn't break every time it is used?

I mean, it isn't like this is a new industry or like they haven't had time to get it right.

I'm telling you, every time Tom goes out to work with any farm equipment, it breaks.

Latest example...the wood chipper. Tom uses it to chip up wood and make mulch for the garden. A few months ago, he had chipped a few truckloads and we finally got around to spreading it in the garden this week. So he went out to chip more. He started chipping, but it didn't seem to be working very well and he decided he needed to sharpen the blades. Take machine apart, sharpen blades, put it back together - a couple of hours gone. Then it worked great and he was able to get another truckload chipped. We got that spread and he went to chip more. Then a belt broke. Take machine apart, replace belt, put it back together - another couple of hours gone. Then he started chipping again and a MAJOR part breaks.

Tom has spent the last couple of days taking the chipper apart to get to the broken part, which will not come off easily. Then he has to order the needed parts and put it back together.

This is how Tom has spent his week.

Fabulous Fifty

It's my birthday today. I'm 50. Ugh.

This is my birthday present from my very best friend from high school. My -- Main Street dragging, screaming over boys, crying over boys, going barefoot to the movie (what were we thinking? It was HER idea!), horseback riding, yakking all night, cutting class to go shopping, lamenting our single status, going to a concert and staying 10 minutes, arriving late and leaving football games early, be there for each other no matter what -- gurl fren'.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Our pond is frozen all the way across.

It has been below freezing for over two days. Everything is frozen. It's horrible. I'm ready for summer.

Hello! What's This?

I announced a few months ago that the last of the goldfish was gone - probably eaten by the raccoon that hangs out around that water bucket. I have seen neither hide nor hair...nor scale of any goldfish since that day. I've even emptied the bucket, washed it out and refilled it. No kidding!

So, it's freezing here and the livestock's water buckets have frozen. So today I sent Tom out with a bucket of hot water to pour into the buckets so the animals could have a drink. He went out and poured the water for one bucket, went and dumped the ice (and little bit of water) out of the other, then came back to the house for more hot water. I went out with him and while he was pouring the water in, he looked over at the pile of ice and said, "Hey! There's a goldfish!" And it's tail was flapping feebly.

He quickly scooped it up and put it in the water. It was able to swim around, but barely could stay upright. So, if we didn't kill it from dumping it out on the ground to suffocate, we might have killed it from putting it in the hot water.

So, where was that little fish hiding all this time?

No, really...

...it's not a guinea pig; it's not a tribble. It's a dog.

Mochiko

And you thought yeeeew were the cewtest.

Meagan's new pomeranian puppy.

Chicken Protector?

Things have been slow around here. Cold, rain, and snow has prevented a lot of outdoor work..or, rather, the desire to do outdoor work. It's much nicer to cozy up by the fire than to bundle up and schlep around outside.

We're cautiously optimistic that Harry has finally learned that he mustn't kill the chickens. He hasn't been agressive towards them in a long time and we're consistently leaving him out there unsupervised with them. In fact, they seem to follow him around. Maybe they're taunting him, maybe they like his company, maybe they feel protected, or maybe they're just too stupid to remember that he was picking them off one by one. Even the big white rooster (we thought it was a hen until he started jumping on the hens in rooster fashion), who was mauled by Harry a few months ago, doesn't seem to remember the incident.

We were averaging about half a dozen eggs per day until it got really cold. Now we get 3-4 per day, which is still more than we need. I have six dozen eggs in the refrigerator at the moment and I give them away to anyone who visits us.

Sad Harry

Harry is a bit sad this week. We had him neutered so he has to be confined for the next five days and he has to wear this collar for ten days so he won't lick and chew his incision. I don't know what's worse, the confinement and boredom or the neck brace. He's almost nine months old and 86 pounds.

Venison

This is all that's left of the venison. I've never liked venison before, but this was good - tender, not gamey. The guys did a really good job. They grilled it just right. The rub (a Bobby Flay recipe) consisted of peppers, coffee, mustard, and some other stuff. They used mustard seed rather than ground mustard, and it was a bit heavy on the coffee, but it was OK anyway.

The Centerpiece

I don't usually decorate for any holiday or give any thought to such things as centerpieces, but this year I went all Martha Stewart and made an arrangement for one of my tables. I drove down the road and cut limbs off of trees, arranged them in a vase, and ... voila!

Man Cooks

Mark got a deer at his deer lease a few days ago, so it has been decided that venison will be on the menu tomorrow. Since we ladies don't know how to cook venison (that's our story and we're sticking to it), or, according to Mark, we're lazy...the men are cooking it.

Tom looked up Bobby Flay's venison recipe which consists of marinading it in vinegar for two hours, then making a rub, rubbing the meat and letting it marinade overnight. It has been entertaining.

Implementport

This is Tom's latest building project. His friend, Charlie, who among other things, is a welder and he welded it together. This is for parking tractor implements under to keep them out of the sun and weather.

So, Charlie told Tom about this guy that puts up and takes down billboard signs. Who knew that the billboard signs were actually huge plastic tarps? Well, they are. And this guy sells the tarps really cheap, like 10.00 for a 32' x 20' and 15.00 for the 40' ones. And Tom had this great idea to use them as "walls" for the shed. That way, they could be rolled up out of the way on any side so that the implements could be moved in and out more easily.

It's a grand idea in principle...not so much in execution. I had a picture in my head of how this was going to look. This picture in my head does not match up with reality. Instead, reality is a big eyesore that I don't like to look at and, in fact, am quite dismayed about.

Chicken Fun

Chickens love their dust baths.

Repairs Underway

New floor is being installed today. I had a bit of an altercation with the foreman. The guys that tore out the damaged floor damaged some of the texture/drywall around two of the windows. The foreman insisted that it wasn't their fault and that the water caused the damage. I know that he is wrong about that, but I decided that I wouldn't argue about it anymore. He called his boss and his boss said that if we threatened to hold back any money for the cost of repairs, to just pack up and leave. Of course, he had me in a bind. I couldn't tell them to leave because I want my floor finished.

Some day, I will learn to check and document every move that construction workers make.

And Then There Were None

All my goldfish are gone. I'm pretty sure a racoon got them. We've seen one hanging out down the driveway several times. I think he's been fishing in my water tanks. Hmmm, I want to get more fish this coming summer because they did get rid of the mosquito wrigglers, but it could get pretty expensive feeding the local 'coons.

Caterpillar or Cat Scat

Whoa. I thought one of the cats had pooped in the garage when I saw this. Upon further inspection, I discovered it's a dead caterpillar. The biggest caterpillar evah. I'd love to have seen the moth that this would have become.

Fish Update

I have one fish left. Four of them just disappeared. I'm thinking a bird or a racoon reached in there and got them. Two I found floating belly up. One is left vigorously swimming around in its tank. I cleaned the waterers yesterday and thought that might kill it, but it's still alive today. Poor thing is probably lonely.

Goldilock's Bed

Bad News

The living room floor is being torn up today. About half of the plywood subfloor is soaked and delaminated. You can see in the picture where the water has soaked through to on the plywood. This means that plywood has to be pulled up, too. Then we have to wait for the concrete underneath to dry out. If it's humid here, it could take weeks. That might mess with our Thanksgiving plans.

Water Damage

This is what the water did to our floor. Some of the boards are buckling up enough to push the baseboards off the wall. Demo is scheduled for Tuesday. Hopefully, the plywood underneath is OK. We'll just have to give it time to dry out, then install the new wood over it.

He Said, She Said

"Are both cats in the barn?"

"No, one is missing."

"Which one?"

"The black and white one."

Ummm.

But...

We found the flooring on the internet for 6.30 per square foot. And when Tom ordered it, they gave us a 5% discount, which just about paid for shipping.

Ahhh, the magic of the internet.

Too Good To Be True

Despite the fact that when I called the insurance company the first time about our water damaged wood floors, they told me that it was covered under our policy, they are now telling me that it isn't.

Since Direct Buy no longer carries our flooring, I'll have to pay 10.00 per square foot for the flooring alone. That doesn't include the tearing out and the installation.

"So, it doesn't cover it...OK, I get it, but don't sit there and tell me that you didn't tell me that it was or that I didn't clearly explain the water damage. You did and I did."

Bad day.

Sold!

The buyers signed the closing papers on our house today. They are supposed to take possession Thursday. Let's hope they don't die before then.

We spent the day finishing up packing and cleaning.

It is done. It is finished.

Wheee!

The fish are still alive.

Meagan gave her hermit crabs to the neighbor's little boys. They are enthralled. Go figure.

Moving Day...Again

Tom and I spent the day at our other house packing up. Mom helped us. We worked 7 1/2 hours, packed up the pick-up truck and the back of Tom's car and we still have more to get. Of course, things couldn't go smoothly...where's the fun in that? One of the bathroom sinks backed up so Tom had to deal with that for a good part of the afternoon. He couldn't get it unclogged, so he poured Drano in it and left it for the night. If it isn't unclogged by tomorrow when we go back, we'll have to call a plumber.

I think the house is punishing us for leaving it.

Crazy Daze

On October 13th we had four inches of rain in one day. Walking through the living room, I discovered water squishing up through the wood floor boards. Bad news. Water was rushing to the outside corner where the dining room meets the living room and got so deep that it was above the foundation, so it came in (probably a weep hole) between the concrete foundation and the wood floor, soaking the plywood underneath and ruining the finished wood.

I thought about a third of the room would have to be replaced, but the wood floor guy that came to give us an estimate said the whole room would probably have to be replaced. We won't know until he starts pulling it up. And I've waited this long for him to get back with me with an estimate. He's having trouble getting the supplier to call him back.

In the meantime, we've been haggling with the buyers for our other house. Finally we agreed upon the contract and everyone signed. Then their inspector found several little things that needed to be fixed and said that the heaters were old and might need to be replaced. The buyers latched onto that and said they were going to terminate the contract if we didn't replace the heaters and several windows. We had the heaters inspected and cleaned and they are perfectly fine. We told them that we would not replace them or the windows. After haggling some more, we told our realtor to just terminate the contract because we're sick of dealing with them. As soon as we did that, all of the sudden they decided that everything was OK and they wanted to close right away.

So, we went from "we're going to terminate the contract" to "we want to close in less than a week". So now we are scrambling to find the kids a place to live and getting the house emptied. Tom spent the day with Jim and a friend packing up all the big stuff. I'm going back as many days this week as it takes to get everything else packed up. Hopefully, it will take just one day and Tom can come back with the truck and trailer to clear it all out.

It will be really great not to have to worry about the other house when it's finally sold, but this week is going to be crazy busy.

The Big Stink

Just when the last odor had worn off, Harry has gotten himself skunked for the THIRD time.

Pearlie is right. He is a big dope.

My Fish Experiment

I read somewhere to put goldfish in livestock waterers (tanks, buckets, automatic waterers, etc.) to keep the mosquito population down. The theory is that they will eat the mosquito larvae and live just fine in the tanks. So while I was in Dallas yesterday I dropped by the pet store and discovered that I could buy "feeder fish" for 13-24 cents a piece depending on how big the fish was. I guess I never knew that some people had pets that required feeding them live fish.

So I bought six of them, figuring that if they all died from my experiment, I wouldn't be losing more than a buck fifty and they were destined to die anyway. I put them in three different waterers yesterday, checked them today and they are all still living as far as I can tell. A couple of the buckets have an overhang that the fish can hide in and I couldn't see them in one of those buckets, but in the other two, they were swimming around. So far so good.

Finished Woodshed

The woodshed is finished enough to store wood. Tom will decide later if it will be necessary to put a front on it.

P U

Harry got himself skunked last night. He is stinking up the place. We're trying to live life without touching or being touched by the Abominable Harry Snowman. He's probably enjoying his newfound cologne.

Beautiful Weeds

Who wouldn't love this view?