Almost....

Almost over....

Another year gone...

Usually time runs too fast but this year has been tumultuous so glad to be done with it.

 Seems something else feels the same because there was a major "boom" just now outside.

Nothing looks out of place but definitely something happened.

Neighbor thinks an airplane broke the sound barrier (I don't agree) or an engine blew.

Anyway maybe it's a New Year's Celebration early?

Just kidding.

My plans are the same as they have been for years.

Eat regular supper, watch idiot box or read , go to bed by 10:00pm probably.

Exciting  I know but I'll try to keep it down somehow.

I might branch out and browse Amazon with my gift cards I bought myself.

I don't like putting credit info on internet if I don't have too so I picked up some prepaid gift cards for myself and they make me feel safer.

Probably with the age of Big Brother watching us it's a waste of time but ....

 

Happy New Year's Australia

since it's already rolled around there... 

 

I'll get to us after it happens... 



In the Books...

Another Christmas is in the books.

It was good for LN as it is for kids.

No pressure, no pain, just presents!

My girls remembered me with some sheepy stuff as they know Mama likes sheep.

I was visited by my son which is rare and I received a hug and Merry Christmas which is rarer.

All and all a good deal for me.

LN had a secret Santa exchange with friends at school.

She loved her Sloth shirt.

She came off the bus screaming at me to look at the coolest gift ever!

 



 

This was a foot year for LN.

She was gifted 3 pairs of boots (decorative teenager styles) and a pair of Sperrys' (boat shoes or top/docksides for us of a certain age).

She's also wrapped her show bling belt around her neck and is sporting her new denim shirt.

I crack up as she requests the same styles as what I wore as a teenager but proclaims it new and fresh.

Yes it was cold her on Christmas and windy but she had fed up and said she was hot, hence shorts.

Finally ME! I was wearing my son's wrestling letter coat.

It just hangs in the closet so I figured might as well get some use out of it.

It's two sizes too big but warm and next football season I can pile hoodies under it.

 

TaDa

                 Merry Christmas!!!!

Santa Hats

LN did me some Santa Hat nails.

After cooking and washing dishes they are gone...

Kinda like mittens and hats when my kids were small.

Coincidence?

I wonder...

I'm in Love

I'm in love with my new wall hanging....

Merry Christmas Ya'll

Only 6 ft or so ...

I use a former horse stall to lamb out.

I put up 3 lambing pens side by side under the clear corragated wall.

The wall is on the west side of the barn but there is another building 6 ft away so sunlight is precious.

This clear wall gives us light most of the time.

Unless it's lambing season or show season (so Jan-Aug) I don't need to go through this stall.

Hmmmm wonder if the 6 ft black snake who left me his skin knows that?

It's cool as long as I don't see him...

then it's snake heaven for him.

So far he's been cool and stayed out of sight.

It's a good truce we have.

He eats mice and hides and I let him live.

 

Found out

Just found out that the posts I have published on my iPhone have not published.

I have retried successfully so last few are posts from last few weeks.

I keep my phone on me so when I am feeding up or waiting on water troughs to fill or am at a game waiting through warmups if a post runs through my mind I try to pounce on it.

Those thoughts run so fast I don't have time to wait until I get home with my laptop.

Sometimers is attacking dontcha know?



Which One?

Either I'm wierd or this weather is wierd ? I started out with wool socks, fleece lined jeans, t-shirt and sweatshirt with a hooded zip up sweatshirt and Carhartt vest over it all. It's 30' . By the time I was 1/2 through animals I had unzipped vest and sweatshirt and nixed gloves and by the time I was 2/3 through animal chores I had dumped the vest and hooded sweatshirt altogether . I finished broilers with my sleeves pushed up. Wierd Weather! That's my story and I'm sweating to it!

A Few

Just a few of my favorite things

Preggers?

What do you think?

Preggers or not?

Just curious I know my opinion lol

Someone

Someone is enjoying my Christmas quilt .

It's snowing heavily but that only encourages my customers to maker get bundled up and trench through the puddles if slush and ice water to get them feed. It never ceases to amaze me that people feel the need to take to the roads when it snows and sleets. Is there something wrong with staying home and not endangering yourself or anyone else unnecessarily? We re only supposed to get 2-4" but it rained , sleeted and iced 1 st so it ought to be a mess when the temp of 32' we have now drops to 24' as they are calling for tonight. 

A Mix

A royal mess of snow, sleet, rain and ice is coming through Delaware.

Of course I had to take LN to a 4-H holiday contest with her Gingerbread creation.

My MIL needed groceries, my son asked me to drop off a bag of dogfood as well.

So much for staying inside where it's warm and dry.

I brought all the decorations out of the storage area but I'm not enthused yet.

I have went through 3 rubbermate containers and only took out a few favorites.

My taste are a-changing as they say.

 



Part of the Problem

Part of the problem with not posting regular is not wanting to show how bad it is here.

I feel I always complain.

Today I AM going to complain so get ready.

 

Rudeness and meanness are 2 traits I hate in a person.

I know I'm a blunt, to the point, honest opinion person but I'm not intentionally mean or rude.

What gives people the right to spew mean or rude comments?

If an order you placed comes in wrong does that give you the right to be derogatory to the driver

or to the salesman you call to inform they screwed up?

Do you have to say mean things to people who call you because you "suspect" they may be a telemarketer but turns out they are looking for store information to be a new customer?

Should you put down verbally your partner/spouse in front of customers to make yourself "look" better?

Is it ever appropriate to yell in public to your 88 yr old deaf Mother because she doesn't do as you wish?

So many more examples but suffice it to say I was stupid to not listen to my doubts.

I knew better.

Is meanness and rudeness fixable?

I've about reached my limit on control and if you think I'm a blunt person now 

hold onto your seats cause here it comes Jack!

 

Otherwise in the land of DE flatness...

the weather is jumping around and not knowing how to dress to feed up is annoying.

Animals are bred and will commence birthing late Jan or early Feb.

Indoor high school Soccer should commence this week for LN.

Christmas cheer has not arrived yet but may show soon.

I'm behind on paperwork as usual.

Thanksgiving was good.

R & S2 came up for dinner.

Fresh turkey was ate by all along with all the trimmings.

Z is trying to finalize a home purchase at 23 yrs old.

I just realized as I was told he is too young to be doing this that I was 23 the 1st home I purchased.

Great minds inherited I believe .

Anyhow I wish him luck.

That's about all I got folks.

Lil rant, lil info till next time....

 

 

 

 

  

Happy Turkey Day

Not Dead

Seriously I am Not Dead...

just busy with life and personal issues.

I thought I'd use this blog as a vent hole for my life, sorta a diary.

Wrong-O... not if I can't be honest because I may hurt peoples feelings.

So I go MIA till I get in a more positive space.

I've been busy finishing up the field hockey season and travel season with LN.

4-H is taking off with meetings and projects.

Animals are all back from breeders or in the AI process here at home.

My state MIWW has been completed.

Now I realize something called Thanksgiving is upon us!

When did that happen?

My house is a wreck but the turkey is ordered.

Pies need made.

Paperwork needs completed for business and personal.

Travel plans need completed for S's trip to see his son in Vegas in a few weeks

as well as my and LN's trip to Charleston, SC the end of January for NMIWW contest.

I just wanna sleep FOREVER....

Been tested and there is nothing medically wrong with me.

I am just tired and have always been so my whole life.

I get done what needs done and plow through but I am tired.

 

Her 4-H club packed 300 Make a Difference Day packets for the hospitals

 to distribute to youth and adult patients. 

 

Field Hockey banquet, my kid always has to be the one cracking up.

 

Cleaning pens with LN wearing multiple shirts as well as fleece lined jeans is so not attractive on me.

 

This little girl was so sure she could get past LN .

I had to give her credit for trying so hard.

 

It's always fun when we clean pens.

LN is so serious about it.



Had to...

 

Had to take my camera and go back down, just had to!

 

Unbelievably Majestic Creatures!

 

Hopefully it's a pair, they didn't fight each other over the carcass.

 

They didn't like my diesel so off one went.

 

One flew away to sit on the irrigation about 1/2 mi. away.

Hard to see but it's on the top left.

Eagle

I have no pictures because 

I'm driving when he s there but...

A bald eagle has been eating a deer carcass within a half mile of my house.

He is so majestic when he takes off and soars which he does as soon as I get close.

Go figure with my diesal thrumming !

He ran off the buzzards but they took chunks with them.

I'm glad to see the eagles back in our area in force .

Now if I could find his nest I'd be happy.

Ummmm

Life is rolling along...

 

* still going to gym (without a trainer now) at least 4-5days a week

no loss of weight, grrrr but still trying

 

*layers going thru a molt so no eggs but ordered 10 new RI chicks and

15 meat birds, they have been here 2 weeks now

 

*cooking more fall comfort foods in the crockpot

 

*freezing but refusing to turn on the heat yet

 

*last game of LN's jv field hockey season, 11W- 1tie- 1L so not bad girls

 

*had vet come out for calf that we banded but sack was not falling off completely and infection set in

while she was here she offered to dehorn another calf last , bloody massacre

both healing now but it was a nasty weekend working on them

 

*need to pick up the ewes from the breeder, they are marked with no new activity as of Sept 29th

 

*reading tons sometimes more than I should but better than other things to be addicted to

 

*had DE MIWW contest, LN headed to Nationals in SC in late Jan

 

*seriously bored with this post, ho-hum

 

Night All

Change of Plans

So in the spirit of NOT losing my temper I went with the flow....

Friday LN and I were to leave for PA for a soccer tournament.

My motel cancellation policy ended at noon on Friday. 

They emailed us that the tournament was cancelled at 12:06. 

Seriously people?

So I could lose my temper or go with the flow.

Me and my kid chose flow!

We went anyhow and goofed off .

We toured a cavern, shopped and ate.

LN got to see the scenery of where I spent my teenage years.

Here is some of the foolishness...

Enjoy...

This was the sitting area inside the women's restroom. She sat there for 20 min. watching ladies react to her.

Catch-up ....

A rainy, windy day in Delaware.

Perfect for a cup of tea and catching-up on blog readings.

I need to purge my list.

Some I began to follow are not my style anymore.

Most are too commercial and I am not interested.

I believe I followed them for a specific post and should have investigated a bit 1st.

The "hurricane/tropical storm" has dropped out temps into the 50's.

It's bringing rain that we badly needed and soft enough to soak in.

A few places on the shore, about half hour away are flooding as the tide rolls in but these are regular occurrences for these spots.

All and all it's just been rainy.

LN has had her practices cancelled 2x this week from the rain and I fully expect the same today.

Tomorrow after her practice me and her leave for PA for a weekend soccer tournament.

Hopefully it is a dry one Sat and Sun.

Cold and windy I can deal but rainy makes for dangerous field conditions.

I prefer my kid healthy.

She plays hard and likes to play in the rain because others go soft and she can be a beast to them.

It's a LN thing.

You have to understand my "Tough Sports Chick" is a softy off the field.

She runs crying if any animal shows or sounds in pain even from birthing.

We know she won't hold goats for dehorning because it hurts her more than the kids.

Being the youngest of 5 with a 10 yr gap between her and next oldest  she's had to tough up to compete physically because the other 4 are brutes and never cut her any slack.

 Mentally she is a sweetheart though.

I always have to laugh when another parent or opponent comments on her "meaness".

She's just my kid.

Time for more tea..... 

Dang I am good

I made 

Sausage, Butternut squash and pasta with Brown Butter Sauce

Yum

Dang I am good

I love, love, love Fall !

We are under a tornado watch but...

It's raining so ...

Yeah

A Win

LN's travel soccer team finally won a game.

She's been working on sending her goal and penalty kicks further and higher.

This means she comes off the ground after the team and looks like a deranged ballerina or a flyer.

It's working so that is all that matters.

 

 

After the game and feeding the "monster" brunch we hurried off to 4-H to finish our litter barrel.

LN's theme for our club barrel is...

Get Sweet, Be Neat with 4-H

Each ice cream cone contains a project name and either a clover or 4-H.

I hope the judges understand how much time it took.

Me and LN spend 5 hrs just this weekend finishing it up and a few hrs before getting everyone started

on the basic outlines.

LN did the details and generally cleaned up the messier areas.

I did wonder if some of the kids helping flunked kindergarten as they don't stay in the lines at all.

 

It is Hades Hot here.

Indian summer be damned!

The tropical storm running up the east coast should blow cooler air through on Tuesday.

I'm so ready.

I wish it would bring rain as well.

It is a dust bowl here, every time the cows take a step dust flies.

I figured after our wet spring and summer this would happen.

I should be going to Sam's Club for bigger food run but I don't wanna!

So I think I'll catch up on my favorite blogs instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Screaming of the ....

The screaming of the calves and Mamas enters it's 3rd day.

We have 2 500+ lb calves from our show cattle.

Last Monday we banded the boys.

This time we tried something new.

Generally we have hauled them to our friend who is a vet and he's cut them on the trailer.

Then last year or so we've flipped them over like you see at a calf roping event.

Sometimes we tie 3 legs together but other times I just hold the calf down while S bands them.

S sprained his ankle a month ago.

Let's just say he's a little less tough than I am but he's also 13 yrs. older and that's a story left unsaid.

Anyway he didn't want to throw the calves down this year.

I walked them into a small chute we have leftover from our team roping arena days.

As I held the tail straight up S knelt down and banded them.

WTH that was so much less stressful on both ends.

Simplify whenever possible, it works wonders.

The 2nd calf which is LN's steer for next year (fingers crossed) was challenging for a different reason.

 

He, Pinky, is a tank at 535# and thick and stocky.

 

Apparently his sack was "full" so S didn't have much maneuvering room to move everything down into the bander and then take the bander off leaving the band behind in place.

 

He struggled for a few minutes but it worked.Ron was easier to do.

He weighed in at 508# at 6 wks younger than Pinky.

 

 

 

He'll be sold after weaning is complete.

He'll make a good 1st steer for someone as he's gentle and friendly and broke.

LN is only showing 1 at a time so off he'll go.

So anyway after that long explanation, I left them for a week with their Moms after banding to reduce the stress.

Monday we weaned them completely.

OMG do they scream.

 

Ron and his Momma, Diamond are the worst.

They are now squeaking and getting hoarser as the day moves on.

When I weaned them I took them out of their sight of each other.

The calves went into the steer pen in back of the barn.

Today after mowing their outside pen electric fence line to beef up the volts I turned them out of the barn to exercise.

The screaming started again with them now seeing each other from afar across several fences/pens.

I know it needs done but dang my ears hate it every year.

 

My tough girl, LN actually cries because she feels so bad for them.

If only her opponents on the pitch knew how sensitive she was.

 

Crazy weather too here.

It's dry and now getting hot again with high 80*s predicted again.

Hello Fall please show up again!

 

 

I wish I was there !

Someday , someday, someday....

 

 

 

 

 

Signs of Fall Ya'll

23

He's 23 today.

He's a holy terror and the most loyal friend.

He's all boy and a lot of me.

It hasn't been a walk in the park but it's been worth it.

He's a good brother when he shows it.

Don't cross him EVER.

I learned a lot but raising him about myself.

The tunnel is dark and long but the other side is sweet.

I smile just thinking about him.

 

He was born at dawn with just a midwife present.

He took along time to appear.

His granddad was snoring in the other room as I pushed him out into the world.

He's mine.

Think I'll keep him.

 



It Starteth...

The title and pictures suggests I may meet the harvest...

Or the foggy morning sunshine from temperature changes...

As I head to the gym but no ... 

I meant the start out with long pants and socks on then go to shorts and tank tops by midday and finish with jeans and hoodies on .... It Starteth!

Friends and enemies?

Here's my friend...

He (and I have no idea the sex but I'm assigned its gender) hangs out around our porch foundation and has for a few years. It's not often I see him where I can take a picture. His name is George because that the name that came to me 1st lol. 

This is what I find on a regular ( maybe 1 or 2 x a month) basis in my dining room. 

Apparently our cat has enemies she vanquishes to another world. That's fine because some are mice which I approve the destruction of. You have to take the bad with the good but seriously NOT in the house , cat. Take it outside to eat. Think of it as a picnic.

Ahhh rock fish

Fresh rock fish S caught in Chesapeake Bay yesterday with local broccoli and walnuts.... Lunch goodness 

Must Haves

My Someday Ideal Must Haves:

 

Seclusion

 

Acreage to insure seclusion

 

Mountains or view there of

 

Water, preferably running but water nonetheless

 

Seasons, heavy on all except summer

 

No humidity

 

Peace

 

Quiet

 

Barn, plenty of barn

 

Trees, lots of trees

 

Wildlife

 

House, livable but otherwise idk

 

Low population

 

Any opinions, additions or thoughts????

 

 



Checking In

Checking in...

a lot of 4-H, soccer and field hockey games right now

spread thin

 

LN's doing well on each team.

She's back to center defender with her new soccer coach.

She's hoping they get ahead enough in a game this season he'll put her up top

to try to score.

She made the JV field hockey team as the only 9th grade starter so she was pleased.

She has to prove her spot for each away game as the team only has so much bus room for JV.

She's tough but sick now with this flu bug making it's rounds.

I had it the beginning of the week and passed it to her.

The weather finally broke last night.

The next week looks like low 70's with no humidity.

I may get something done around here.

I can not find the garden ...errr weed patch I mean.

 

                                                     

Been walking the calf LN is keeping as her steer for next year.

He still needs banded and weaned.

Getting this calf ready to sell as soon as I band him and wean him also.

I'll do both weanings together so they can bawl together and sell him after that drama eases.

Anyone need a registerable shorthorn bull or steer?

Anyone?