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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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Welcome to my new Grandson! :)

A week and a day ago my precious grandson TJ was born.  Isn't he a sweetheart?  :)



Things since then have been kind of crazy around here!  I didn't get blood drawn for preggo tests on the cows, I was extra tired from working and getting "labor updates".  Oh well, it'll get done sooner or later!

To complicate things, we have Ecoli in all our water.  It makes a chore time, a REAL chore time.  I was given an OK by a vet to not have to treat the cows' water (I did at first) but have been boiling water and filtering it for the other animals.  The dogs, turkeys and chickens drink the most.  I refuse to buy bottled water for them, when I already have a water source that just needs "doctored".
I'm nixing the super-filtering, as it just takes the calcium (lime) settlings out of the water.  (They'll be fine! ha) So now I'm using a hankie that is much, much faster.

I haven't been milking because it takes CLEAN water for an udder/teat wash, water for cleaning all my equipment, and it's ALOT more work to make sure no Ecoli water has gotten accidentally splashed on anything, or just out of habit rinsed off in the sink.  Sigh.  Fillet the foster calf will be fat and sassy by getting all the milk all the time!

We were going to butcher turkeys this weekend, but again, I'd have to bring in all "good" water--and tons of ice.  It makes a simple thing 100 times harder, and boiling/cooling enough water AND keeping it all "clean" would be tough.  Oh, we could do it, but....thankfully some friends of mine will take them and do the deed for us at their farm.  The longer we wait, the bigger they get!

I did some canning earlier in the week, and followed normal protocol, so I do feel confident that they are safe to eat.  But I won't let those jars out of the house until we eat some.  I did run out of canning jars.....it's amazing how much gets canned and how fast one goes through jars in the height of 'canning season'.  I will have to suck it up and buy more, because we have plenty more to can in due time.

Izzy the puppy is growing by leaps and bounds....I think every day she is bigger (just like the turkeys!) 
Kyle and his GF are ready for school, and Kyle has been working quite a bit while he's on Honor Guard duty.

Jared has paternity leave for now (which is awesome!) and is enjoying time being at home with Chandra and TJ.  I'm sure he's Mr. Go-fer for his wifey right now!  :)

Friday, August 9, 2013

It's Kyle's Birthday!


A Crop-duster flying over the house this morning (before 8 am) to get to the field just north of town.  The first photo is over the pasture, the second one is coming over the house.

Today my "baby" turns 20--where does the time go?!!  We had plans to go to the Omaha Zoo, but he has a funeral to attend (and be a part of) for one of his own.  :(  So the homemade chocolate cake and other "plans" have a rain-check!  Not sure if I woke him up when I texted him this morning....at least I waited until after 8!  ;)

Chandra is ready for baby boy Russell to come out into this world.  Her back hurts and her feet are swelling.  I feel for her!  So we all await for him to make his appearance into this world!
Pat and I hit a 'mother load' of garage sales the other day and got lots of sleepers and outfits for little baby boy Russell, and some nice blankets.  So another 'care package' is on it's way to NC! 

It's been cooler--thank goodness!  But some days the humidity is really high; but all we get is sprinkles instead of rain.  Oh, we've gotten some rain, but not like other places in the area.  We can always use more!  I mowed the yesterday, and it was sprinkling on and off--and of course the mower quit when I was almost done.  So I grabbed the "old" mower and finished--but it cuts higher, so it looks interesting!  At least it was in the backyard!  ;)

We lost a branch off one of the peach trees (the white-fleshed one of course--grrr), and had to prop up another branch so it doesn't break.  On the tree next to it; the peaches are ripe.  So I canned peaches and then some tomatoes that were ripe the other day; Pat made sweet relish the next day (we're getting low!)  So we will be busy canning as the produce/fruit comes ripe.  We have more cucumbers to deal with, and of course more tomatoes and peaches off of different trees (they are all ripening different, even though some are the same kind!) 
I just automatically pick up canning lids when I'm at the store--one can never have enough!  ;)   I noticed my lemon juice is getting low--something you don't notice until you're using lots of it, like at canning time!

Yesterday I noticed Daisy has vertical cuts on her back teats--Fillet (the foster calf) hadn't cut up her teats before now.  So I'm thinking:  "what changed?"  Then it dawned on me I saw Nessa  head-butt Fillet when she was nursing on her own free will out in the pasture.   I hate to separate anyone at this point because it makes so much more work for me.  But I probably will have to, just for Daisy's sake.  She certainly doesn't deserve to be torn up because of youngsters' antics!  Daisy is such a trooper--I can't say enough good things about her. 
I plan on drawing blood this weekend on both 'girls' and get Nessa's pregnancy confirmed, and see if Daisy is preggers or not.  (I'm hoping so, but I won't know for sure until I send blood in). 

Sherman the outside dog got neutered this week, so that deed is done. :)   He was glad to get home!  (It's hard to drive a stick-shift with a 30-pound dog trying to keep climbing in your lap!)  HA

Thursday, August 1, 2013

A cool-down of sorts; and RAIN!

Nessa's tiny, yet growing udder :)

We got 1 3/4 inches of rain earlier this week!  It was a welcome relief, and with the cooler temps, the grass is greening up nicely.
There are still some cracks in the ground, but not as bad as they were.  We are forecasted to get more rain--bring it on!
Daisy and Nessa are uber happy the pasture is growing again, and the flies aren't quite as bad.  I think I wear about as much fly spray as Daisy when I milk (Fly Spray Perfume-ha).  Nessa and Fillet (the foster calf) are used to the not-so-evil fly sprayer by now-it's simply a part of the daily routine

The cows aren't too keen on the last bale of hay I got, and it shows in Daisy's (lowered) production.  Cows eat less of hay they don't like, and  I've been doctoring it with molasses.  Oh,  they'll eat it, but they let me know it's not their favorite hay!  I think they've wasted more than they've ate; but its down far enough I can get the core out of the hay trailer and go get a better bale for them.  They'll be happy, and it makes me happy!  :)

The peach trees are laden with peaches, and the branches are hanging low.  We've done what we could to help prop them up.  We have picked/eaten a dozen or so ready peaches on one tree, but the white peach tree is lagging far behind, it's a different kind, so they'll ripen eventually!

We've been getting tomatoes; not quite enough to can, but enough to bless the neighbors with some, and have tomatoes in/on just about everything we've been eating.  BLT's are always a hit here, the "L" can be spinach or a type of lettuce, whatever we have on hand.  (My spinach is doing poorly, then it got hot and it bolted).   I need to plant more leafy greens, sometimes I don't have much luck with them--I think I wait too long to plant and the heat gets them.  :(

Kyle is back from his training at Ft. Campbell and he and his girlfriend stopped down and stayed overnight.  It was good to see them, and "his" cat was more than happy to see him.  She picked Kyle to be "her human" years ago.  She won't be quite so ornery for awhile.....until she needs Kyle to pester her!  ;)

Pat got a Rottie puppy--her name is Izzy.  It's like having a baby around, one that likes to chew on everything!   Kyle's cat and Izzy like to play, but the other house cat is older and isn't into playing--something Izzy is figuring out.

The tiger lilies are blooming and they are pretty!  The cows, turkeys and chickies are doing fine, and the garden is growing fast.   We'll be canning or dehydrating the extra bounty soon--always work but yet a blessing.  We'll process two turkeys soon at a lighter weight, then the other two at a bit heavier weight for a bit of variety.  I need to get a new scale, my other old one is in no way accurate anymore.  It's hard to cook meat properly when you don't know how much it weighs!  :(