For Our Troops......

For Our Troops......

Welcome!

Either you're searching for some information and stumbled across here, or already know me and are interested in what I/we do. :)

The dairy cow doesn’t ask for much, but she asks every day.
People who are creating wealth with a cow either are hardworking and reliable or get that way in a hurry. This is the way it has been for a very long time.
--Joann Grohman (Author of Keeping a Family Cow)


There are three kinds of people in this world:
Those who watch things happen,
Those who Make things happen,
or you can wonder what the hell happened.
--Captain Phil Harris (RIP)



A few of words of wisdom I have come across:


Choose not to just live within your means, but live within your needs.


If you don't want to be responsible for or defend yourself, please don't expect others to do it for you.

(My translation: Buck up and learn some skills!)


Prepare for the worst, hope for the best!

"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the AmericanGovernment take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian."--Henry Ford

**~*~**Spread the word!**~*~**

Small Family Farms need our help when ludicrous charges have come up against them. Maybe someday it could be one of us on this "make an example out of you" chopping block.

Pushing back (via donations, interviews, getting the word out, etc) and standing up for what we believe in will send a clear message that we refuse to just roll over and give up!

When we know what we're fighting for, we fight harder--Sgt . Gary Stein (USMC)

THANK YOU!!!



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Saturday, March 27, 2010

First week of Spring!

3/20 Saturday
We ended up with about 2 1/2 inches of snow on this first day of...Spring?! The temps rose during the afternoon just past freezing and it started to melt. There was about 1/2" of ice I had to break on the tank.
Copacabana was tonight, the boys had to take cantaloupe for the supper and play in band and jazz band for it.
We had potato/broccoli soup for supper with cheddar biscuits--umm good.

3/21 Sunday
Pat and Jared worked on cutting bolts off the trailer, a tedious but needed-done job! Kyle practised golfing. I watched a couple of movies.
I saw a garter snake in the garden today. Wouldn't of seen him unless he moved! Lily (mama dog) went outside and decided to wean the puppies. She didn't come in at night. The pups are old enough, so no worries!
It got up to 55-ish today, it was nice and sunny, the snow is melting fast!

3/22 Monday
Started out chilly this morning but it got sunny, and a wind came up and made it cool. But a hoodie was good enough to keep warm in. (OK wore the trusty chore coat for chores!) ;-)

Found Lily in the doghouse this morning, she doesn't look overly full, either. She didn't want to come back inside. The pups don't really seem to miss her-amazing!
Porter was on the wrong side of the fence this morning, but that was my fault. I forgot to plug the fence back in! So I did a quick repair and plugged it back in! When I got home from work, he was where he is supposed to be. Good!

I let Kyle drive home tonight. He needs work on his clutch/gas ratio when starting from a stop and shifting. And he needs to worry less about what's on the radio and concentrate on driving in general!
Pat and Jared worked a bit more on the flatbed. Now they're dealing with wiring but it shouldn't be too hard of a job.

3/23 Tuesday
Another decent day, but the south wind kicked up in the afternoon, making it feel chillier than the 50's it really was. Jared got his first speeding ticket today on the way to school. Kyle had an Honor Band shindig at Aurora. He said it was good, but the music wasn't as "fun" as last year.

3/24 Wednesday
Woke up to rain--here comes the mud again! But it tapered off during the day and the sun came out. Was 55* with a stiff south wind making it feel chillier. A boring birthday for me around here.

3/25 Thursday
Put the puppies outside today to soak up some sun. It was 55* again and felt warmer when standing in the sunshine.
I caught up on some computer stuff and did some homework (and housework!) Was kind of a lazy day, felt good to just relax and chill...er, be warm in the sun! ;)

3/26 Friday
Was warm but VERY windy today, at least it was a southern wind! Patrick took the puppies to town to show some folks who wanted to see them. The smallest girl and one of the red boys each now have new homes! So now we have four left, and boy are they eating machines! (and noisy!)

Jared stopped by work with his girlfriend, then they went to look at tuxedo's for prom. Kyle left right after school for an All State Honor Band contest and will be back late Saturday. I called him later in the evening ('aww mom's bugging me') and said he was having a good time. From what I could hear in the background, there was plenty of kids around having fun, too. I feel for the folks who volunteer for these things to help with the kids......not my cup o' tea!! :-)

Friday, March 19, 2010

A few days' news!

St. Patrick's Day: I put up a two-strand electric fence today (finally got to it!). Porter[house] decided to walk thru it, even after it was on. Hopefully he'll get a big enough 'zap' one of these days to 'get the picture'! If not, I will either get a solar system or his own happy little pen all by himself. Time will tell which I get done!

Pat's mom had surgery on her back today. They thought she'd fused two disc's together, but when they got in there they realized it was more or less a smooshed nerve. So they got her fixed up and she feels better already--a blessing! She already has back issues and this sure 'nuf wasn't helping matters any!

Pat got the floor off the trailer today, here is a "before we do any work to it" picture of when we had just brought it home.
(Yes, that is the neighbors' house across the street!)

Dolly is shedding and is looking goofy, I'm sure she'll look worse before its all said and done. Actually, she started shedding last week, so its a great "warmer weather is coming" announcement! Moo-hooo!

Oh and K called, they have bought a trailer house that they can move in on the lot they bought here in town. There is still some work to do on the lot, but they found a NICE (newer) trailer at a great price. It was well worth the frustrations and 'weeding out' of all the crappy ones they had leads on and looked at. As she hung up she said: "Bye Neighbor!" and just giggled. It dawned on me, yes, we will be very soon!
They now have three weeks to get everything situated and their new home comes. Awesome! I have gardening and canning 'competition' now--sweeeet! B has already made sure when Dolly comes fresh that he gets his milk supply too! ;)

3/18 Thursday
It was a beautiful sunny day! Got up to 55+! I heard FROGS when I did chores tonight. Not many, but enough! I am sure in the next week or two I'll be hearing lots more. Another spring sign! :-)

3/19 Friday
Started out at 40 degrees this morning. By 3 pm it was 32 and raining. Then little round snow balls that stung! Then it started snowing (ugh!). We are in a winter weather advisory until 6 am Saturday, it is supposed to keep snowing until then.
Here is the floorless trailer this evening in the snow:


Patrick and I went to Beatrice and did some shopping and price checking on wood for the floor of the flatbed trailer. Kyle had to work and Jared had an FFA thing to go to.

Oh and Porter hasn't gotten out of the electric fence since I put a new (better) ground post in. The fence has some "bite" to it now! ;)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Better weather, musings




The weather has been decent, drying things out--a welcome relief! I took more pictures of the puppies, now I can pretty much tell who is short-legged and who is long-legged! They are hard to corral, exploring here and there. That's ok until they decide they need to chew on something! (Long legged pups on the right, short legged ones below--they were freaked out over the camera flash.)

Tuesday (3/15) we bought a gooseneck flatbed trailer for cheap that needs some fixing up. Once it is done, I can get several round bales of hay at one time--YAY!

This morning I had to help Joshua, our ageing German Shepherd up. His left shoulder is getting worse and his hips aren't what they used to be. I watched him get up later, he sits up like a donkey and then heaves forward like a cow. I knew he was getting worse, but this just puts in in fast-forward for me. :(

Still no heat from Dolly, I have been terrible about getting blood drawn again to send in. The first sample came back inconclusive, but I say she is preggers. A blood test or palpitation will tell me for sure.

I also forgot to mention, a few weeks ago I got a "Thank You" note from the gal that had put the gas in her Diesel car. It made my day (week, actually!). It was so very thoughtful of her.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Rain, News and Puppy Pics

We got at least 1/2" of rain yesterday! It has accelerated the snow melt, most of it is all gone! The temps have been in the upper 40's during the day, a nice relief!

Kyle is going to Pastor Cutts' funeral today. Then Patrick is taking him to buy some golf stuff he needs. Jared's' car had a flat tire, so had to get that fixed Monday. My truck got an oil change last week and Pat's is getting done this morning.

Here are the puppy brats--two females and four males. I will post more pics when time allows. Need one?? :-)

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Better Weather, Pastor News

It seems we are in a thaw, the snow is almost gone here (yeah!) but leaving behind a small lake in my pasture. Yesterday it was 50*--almost tanning weather here!
It's the "turn off the tank heater and put back up electric fence" season!
There is still ice in shady spots and mud, lots of mud. Part of our driveway is a mud hole, we need rock the most in one particular spot. It is just slowly getting worse!

The geese have been flying north all week, noisily and many flocks of them. It is a for sure sign of spring! I need to fence the cow and steer away from the fruit trees soon, knowing them they will chew on my buds and I won't have a fruit crop!

On another note, here is a link to an article about Pastor Cutts. Through work, I know the fellow (Keith) that hit him, it was totally a freak accident. Keith is timid, but a nice guy with a sense of humor.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Sad Day

Here today I am running around, trying to catch up on schoolwork, the forum, and help B&K look for another house to move onto their lot. (The one they were going to buy could not be moved, a major setback!) The weather has been warming up and melting the snow during the day and everyone is enjoying the sunshine and warmth.

Then the brakes get put on and all comes to a screeching halt with a phone call. Around 10:30, Kyle calls from school and tells us the Pastor of the Church where he goes to youth group (which was just last night) was killed while out jogging this morning.

It is a sad day for sure. This is the second death of someone close to the kids. (Last August it was a classmate--Scott B.) Why do these kids have to go through this at such a young age? It makes me angry and hurt because I can not take away the heartache and pain like a mother wants to do. They have to endure and ask their own "Why?" questions as well.

It puts a reality check on what we deem is important and what really is important in our lives.