Lots going on.

Yes, I know it's been forever once again. Ugh.

As usual there has been lots going on.

We had a log truck of logs delivered to use as firewood next winter. Now we have to cut all the logs into much smaller pieces that will fit into the wood stove, load it up then stack it so it can season the rest of the year until we need it.

Jennifer, my oldest daughter, rescued a Boxer about three weeks ago. The day she rescued him from a very busy road she sent me a picture of him and my first thought was he looks like a Marvin. She and I and the vet she works for put up found ads, called the shelters, etc, looking for his family. No one ever came forward so now Marvin is Jennifer's. As you can see he has made himself at home on my couch! And he is wonderful with Grace and my two dogs. When I go to visit Jennifer at her house it's like Marvin has always been there. Meant to be!

We had one heck of a winter storm come through two weeks ago. It was snowing so hard that I couldn't see the mountains across the road! We ended up with between six and eight inches of snow! For some of you that isn't very much, but for here it is something! I truly enjoyed all the beautiful fluffy white stuff!!

Had to put a pic of my horse and some of the donkeys in today's post.

Grace's mom has been looking for a car of her own for awhile now, but alas, no luck as of yet. It will be nice when she has her own car so that means I don't have to pick her up from work everyday she works. And she can go to town to take care of her business and I can stay here playing catch up on some stuff I need to get done.

I finally joined the local historical society. I am so excited.

After consideration I started selling my eggs. I was giving them away, and still do to family and friends, but my girls are laying a dozen a day now and their feed is costing more. So, I sell the eggs to pay for their feed.
 Speaking of chickens, again after much consideration I am going to raise some meat chickens. Our meat supply is so tainted that it is scaring me. The beef industry alone is so contaminated ( I am referring to the big big feedlots) that beef is being recalled at a consistent rate. And the chickens, jeez, have you seen the size of chicken breasts on the shelves? They come from what people refer to as Frankenchickens because they grow at such a genetically altered rate that if left to live too long their bones will break under their own weight. Now that is not natural nor is it right.

Okay, I will stop my ranting and raving before I really get going!

Oh, I am going to raise worms to compost the household food items that the chickens can't or won't eat.  Of course no meat will go to the worms, that goes to the foxes and bobcats up on the hills behind the house. I am trying to recycle and reuse as much as possible.

It's getting close to getting the garden areas ready! I have a diagram of where everything is going to go. And I was reading that you can start seeds inside the house in cleaned out half egg shells, then plant shell and all into the ground when the plant is ready to go outside into the garden.  

I also bought a bunch of hay and slowly but surely got it from the feed store to here and unloaded and stacked in the barn. I can only put eight large bales in my truck. The bales are three string and weigh about 130 pounds each. Gotta keep in shape!

I am still working on enlarging the chicken area. It's taking longer than I want, but between watching Grace, taking care of all the critters, household and outside chores, etc, well, either I run out of steam or time.

Rather than bore you with a long post I will close it up for now. I really am going to try my best to more diligent about keeping up with it. And yes, I still have to catch up with all of you. Oh how I miss my 'me' time these days!

Until next time.....................

In a nutshell

Has it really almost been a month since my last post? Wow I am terrible now at keeping up with it.

So, in a nutshell this is what has been going on this past month.

Grace turned 1 on January 31st. Wow, a year has gone by already. Now the sperm donor ( can't call him a dad since he hasn't contacted or seen her since June of last year) requested a paternity test. The DNA test was done and are now awaiting the results. I am guessing sperm donor is trying to get out of paying child support. Um, that is not going to happen! He IS going to pay child support...period! And while all this is going on I have to listen to Grace's mother go on and on about this and that and everything else.

Week before last I had my hands full with medicating Mr. Worm for an infection in his right back leg. Poor guy couldn't put any weight on his leg and I thought at first it was broken, but nope, just an abscess in his joint. He is all better now.

The same week Mr. Worm was getting meds, Cookie donkey came up lame. She wouldn't put any weight on her right back leg. There was no swelling, no cuts, no abrasion, no foreign object in her hoof, nothing.  I checked her hip and it wasn't that. She just wouldn't put any weight on it. So, twice a day I soaked her hoof and put an antibacterial spray on it and gave her meds for the pain. After the first few days of soaking her hoof she decided she didn't want to do that anymore so it was a tug of war. Whatever was wrong with her she is better now. Thank goodness.

This is a bad pic, but it is of the wood that we could cut for firewood off of the BLM land. So with a chainsaw the logs were cut into smaller pieces, loaded up onto the truck and trailer, brought home and stacked. It took quite a few trips but now we have wood to last the rest of this winter.

My youngest daughter has decided not to study abroad this year. She is going to apply next year but not to study in Germany. Now she is thinking England or Australia! So for two weeks it was getting her prepared to leave this year, and now she decided to postpone it.

There have been two more shootings in town where the police shot and killed two individuals. One was a fugitive trying to outrun the police and the other charged an officer with three large knives while wearing a bullet proof vest. The crime is ridiculous here now. It used to be a nice quiet town, not anymore.

I have had several people stop and ask if any of my donkeys are for sale or up for adoption. Nope. So I have been trying to find them donkeys but for some reason finding any around here is almost impossible.

There is a fox family living on the hill right behind the house so can't let my chickens out anymore. Slowly I have been building a larger enclosure for my girls so they will be safe from the fox family and they can get out into a bigger area rather than being cooped up.

One of my brothers who lives only a few miles away was dumped by his girlfriend and now he is partying and drinking everyday. He calls or shows up drunk. I am about ready to grab a step stool ( he is over six feet tall and I am barely five four) and shake the shit out of him and tell him to grow the 'f' up. He is 36 and time to stop his pity party crap.

I have also been busy getting hay, going to town, doing the everyday chores ( which will be another post), and everything else that comes up.

I hope all of you are doing fantastic. And yes I still need to catch up with everyone.

Until next time................................

 

Who needs Disneyland when.......

On Sunday morning hubby and I drove up to where we could cut wood. We bought firewood permits. Cutting your own wood is a whole lot cheaper than buying it.

The closer we were getting to the wood cutting area the worse the weather started to get.

And before we knew it, hubby lost control of the truck and trailer and we spun around from the right hand lane into the left hand lane. The trailer swung around and hit the truck which pushed us forward into the....

guard rail! We hit it hard. Hard enough where the two wood beams shown here exploded at the top and the metal rail got quite bent. The fog lights on the truck smashed and there are dents on the side and front of the truck.

As soon as we came to a complete stop hubby looks at me and asks if I am okay. Am I hurt? Is anything broken? Am I bleeding? Nope to all three.

Call me an idiot but the first words out of my mouth was, " Who the hell needs Disneyland rides!".  Then it was, " That was frickin wild!" I almost through my arms up like you would on a roller coaster during the whole spinning and out control. Yes, I am an idiot.

I got out of the truck and took these pics. Then hubby tells me to get back in the truck. Telling me that if he lost control, then a vehicle coming down off the slight slope might lose control and either hit me or the truck.

I texted my kids, told them what happened and they all nagged at me.

Seems hubby and kids were a lot more shook up than I was. Hmmmm.

Yes, we turned around and came back home.

Just thought I would share an exciting adventure!

Until next time.......................

The start of 2012

Well, 2012 has begun and according to the calendar is about half over.

A lot has been going on since day one of this New Year.

Arnold is still have feet issues so it is a daily, ongoing battle to get those feet of his under control.  

    

The morning of the New Year I discovered that Pewter had totally thrashed her blanket! So I dug out her spare blanket, washed it and repaired that one so she would have her jammies before nightfall. Get a load of this. I do not sew except to repair horse blankets. Some of my jeans need some sewing done, but nope, won't repair those but I will horse blankets! 

Little Inger, my fave hen, got egg bound so straight into a warm bath she went. Then she was blow dried with the hair dryer and tucked into a nice warm crate full of pine shavings on top of my dresser. Thankfully she passed the egg the next morning.

Grace has learned to get on the furniture and do some daredevil antics! Ugh!

My youngest daughter recently informed me that she is going to apply to study abroad for a year. She may be leaving as early as this August. Of course I support her in her decision, however I may have a hard time coming to grips that she would be out of the country. Especially with all the civil unrest across the globe.

I have seen the Bobcat several more times close to the house. After reading up on them I am not too overly concerned about him/her causing too much problems. Actually having one around is good for keeping the rodent population in check. I do my best to cohabitate with the wildlife as much as possible.

We were fortunate enough to get a wood permit for five cords of wood from public forest lands. The trees have already been cut down and all we have to do is drive up there, cut the logs into what size we want, put it all in the trailer, drive it home, unload and use! Getting a permit is a whole lot cheaper than buying cords of wood.

The crime around here has increased dramatically very quickly! Everything from a US Marshall shooting and killing a fugitive in a grocery store parking lot, arson, a man setting himself on fire in a public park, another man setting his car and his belongings on fire in another parking lot, a few murders, and on and on. This valley used to be very safe where you really never worried about anything. Not anymore!

Grace's sperm donor has now decided to have a paternity test done after almost a year!

I am actually giving thought to trying to find extra time to volunteer at the little tiny local museum close by here. It is run by volunteers and the lady who was running it moved away and it has been closed for some time now. Since I have been wrapped up in learning all the local history I can I think it would be fun.

So far our winter here has been very, very dry. But, according to the weather reports we have a storm due to arrive tonight that will bring lots of snow!!! Come on snow!!! If you could, would you please do the snow dance so we do get some snow! Thanks!

Okay, must go, Grace is wanting my attention.

Until next time..............................

Goodbye........2011

Another end to another year!

Have to say 2011 had its share of surprises and challenges. Grace being the biggest surprise.

Wishing you all a year full of......... 

Love........

Friends.......

Family...........

Laughter..................

Health......................
and

Prosperity!!!




May 2012 be the beginning of wonderful things.


Happy New Year to you all.


Big grin!!


Until next year!!!!!   

Busy as usual

Can you believe the end of 2011 is just days away! What a year! And where the heck does the time go? Seems the older one gets, the faster it goes.

Yup, as usual I have been busy. Always, always something to do.

Ever since moving here Arnold's feet have become a daily challenge. Some days he walks just fine, others he can barely move.  Thank goodness I know what is going on so basically it is just dealing with his laminitis issues. I have talked about laminitis before and let me say, it keeps you on your toes on a daily basis.

And it isn't just Arnold's feet I have to watch constantly, it is also AJ's feet! Who would have thought that a Mustang would have issues with laminitis! Arnold and AJ are always on the radar.

My dear friend Sue, who had a major stroke almost three years ago, comes out to get donkey therapy. Her and her husband bring out goodies for the donkeys which as you can see those donkeys really enjoy! Sue has come a long way since her stroke. Feeding and petting the donkeys has helped with her hand eye coordination.  Oh and yes, I know the fence is leaning which is an ongoing project to keep it up until we can sink some wood posts this spring and run new livestock wire. I sure do miss the wood fence at the old house.

Grace's first Christmas. Can you believe she is going to be a year old at the end of January! Not only is she walking and running everywhere, she also climbs onto everything she can. Talk about keeping me hopping! I am teaching her colors, shapes, numbers and the alphabet.


Grace's mother, my middle daughter, needs to get her priorities in order. There are days I just want to punch her in the face! 

Just recently found out that some friends are losing their house to foreclosure. This truly saddens me because they are in the mid 60's.

I have decided that when we plant out garden next year, we will plant extra veggies for friends and whoever else needs them. I have already started asking friends what veggies they like so I can make sure to plant them. Going to check into donating fresh veggies to the local food bank.

Every evening a Buck and his four Does graze in the front yard. What a beautiful peaceful sight to see.

I have to go over to my oldest daughter's house soon and help her git rid of a spirit that has decided to hang out.

My youngest, who has OCD worse than my oldest daughter and myself has been keeping me busy helping her get through her crisis's. I have figured out why she has steadily gotten worse over this past year. It is all due to Grace's mother being an idiot and not telling anyone she was pregnant with Grace. For some reason the delivery of Grace in the bathroom triggered something in my youngest.  Slowly but surely progress is being made with my youngest.

Now that horse slaughter is set to begin in the USA, horse theft will be on the rise so I have decided to freeze brand the horses and donkeys. I am working on a brand to have made and then register it with the state of Oregon. I want a visible mark on the horses and donkeys to hopefully deter theft.

Okay, I don't want to bore you with the ramblings of a tired mind so will end this post now.

Here is a hug for each of you. Everyone can use a hug!

Until next time.........................





 

Animals, animals, animals

What does Grace, donkeys and the Gator have in common?

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Two of my donks jumped the fence day the other day, got out into the road and stopped traffic. Thankfully some of the drivers got out and helped me get the donks back onto the property. Put the donks in the front pasture ( which isn't all fenced). Ran back to the house, grabbed Grace who was in the stroller this whole time, ran into the house, put Grace in her car seat, ran back outside, strapped Grace into front seat of the Gator with lead rope, drove up to the barn, loaded up hay, drove to back pasture, grabbed lunge whip to get the other donkeys and horses away from the gate, drove through gate, spread hay into back pasture, drove back to front pasture leaving back pasture gate open, with lunge whip in left hand and driving with left hand while holding onto Grace's car seat with right hand herded the two escaped donkeys into back pasture. Then it was fence fixing time with baling twine ( which is all I had on the Gator). Yup, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

I had to rehome the Guineas. For some reason they kept going out onto the road and yes, they too would stop traffic.  I did not want them getting hurt or worse killed nor did I want to get sued for causing an accident, rehoming was the best option. They also had become vicious towards my chickens. The have been gone a few days and although I am glad they are gone, I do miss those stupid birds.

A few weeks ago as I was locking up my chickens for the night I heard rustling in the leaves behind the coop ( which is right by the house). As I was securing the door to the coop I hollered out to the outside cats that I was going to feed them as soon as I was done ( thinking it was one of the cats wanting dinner). As I walked out of the coop I looked up to see what I thought was a stray cat. Upon further looking it wasn't a 'stray' cat, but a Bobcat! He looked at me. I looked at him. He bounded up towards the barn, stopped and looked at me again, then was gone. I was so excited to see him. My adrenalin was pumping and I ran into the house to tell everyone what I had just seen. The next day I realized that having a Bobcat that close to the house was not a good thing.

Now that hunting season is over the Buck and his does are coming down off the hills and grazing in the front pasture. In fact one of the does was grazing right in the front yard!

Last night as I was having the last cigarette of the day I heard crunching sounds in the yard by the walnut trees. Hmmmm, what the heck! After getting a flashlight I found out what was making the crunching sounds. It was a huge squirrel eating the walnuts that had fallen on the ground.

I seriously love and enjoy all the wildlife.

Oh, one more thing. The pic of Grace, well, to me she looks like Curly from the Three Stooges in this pic.

Until next time..............