A project, BSL and Grace

Oh my, I actually have a few minutes to post!

I have been wanting to get to a project for awhile and yesterday I actually found some time to do it. Periodically I see an old rotted out wood stump and when I do I bring it down from the hills behind the house. My idea was to finish hollowing them out, secure the bottom and plant flowers in them. And I did it!!!

I have also still been busy trying to stop the BLM roundups of our Mustangs. And now I am involved in getting BSL stopped.  BSL stands for Breed Specific Legislation. Pit Bulls are the main target of this ban. Dogs are being taken from their homes and killed because they are the wrong breed! I don't know if any of you heard, read or followed what was going on in Belfast North Ireland concerning a dog ( who by the way was not a bully breed) named Lennox. Rather than go into detail, do a search on Lennox and read for yourself.  The BSL ban infuriates me as well as thousands and thousands of other people. No one has the right to target any breed and try to eradicate them. Sometimes I wonder if there is hope for the human race when it comes to certain people who think and believe they are Gods!

Grace's sperm donor ( biological father) is starting to cause trouble now.  I mentioned this to Grace's mother not long after she was born that I had a feeling the sperm donor would cause problems somewhere down the line. He won't pay child support but wants to see Grace. However, he is doing drugs and is an alcoholic. I have a feeling this all may be going to court.

Well, my few minutes is up. Grace just woke up!

Hugs to you all!

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

A Quick Trip to San Francisco!!!!

Made a quick trip to my absolute favorite city.........

San Francisco!!!!! The city by the Bay.  My Aunt had a mild stroke a few months ago and I have been wanting to go visit her. It's been nine years since I've been down there. It was time. And thankfully the stars lines up perfectly to make the trip. It is a 6 hour drive from here to there.

Here is a trolley car. Look at all those wires above! Wow! That's what makes the trolley go round.

I love old buildings. There is so much history. And the craftsmanship is superb.

And with old buildings there are new ones.

The freeway ramps are ridiculous. They remind me of octopuses with ramps going here and there.

On the way back home to Oregon there was this beautiful metal dragon sculpture out in a field. The mountain in the background is Mt. Shasta.

These are the California Crags. Amazing.

Cinder Mountain. Well, that is what most people call it but it is officially named something else, just don't know what it is.

Mt. Shasta. Legend has it that Aliens live inside the mountain!


I have also been busy trying to prevent the slaughter of horses for meat. Petitions, emails and phone calls being made to stop the slaughter of horses. Not only for our domesticated horses but for OUR wild Mustangs as well. I just don't understand this war on horses.

And of course there is the everyday day life here on the farm which keeps me busy.

The deer have decided to sample everything in our gardens. Thankfully they have decided that the tomato plants aren't that tasty.

There is also a raccoon who comes up to the house every evening and cleans up the remaining cat food.

Today is the 4th of July, the birth of these United States of America. Happy Birthday to these great States!

And yes, I think of you daily and hope everyone is doing wonderful.

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

Want to see one ugly rooster?

I have been meaning to post a few pics of Troy. He is a black Frizzle Bantam and he sure turned out to be one ugly rooster. So ugly he is staying!

His feathers barely cover his body!

Troy standing next to Jeff Lewis. Jeff Lewis is Stew Pot's son. Sadly Stew pot was eaten by foxes last year. And yes, Jeff Lewis is very friendly. I can still pick him up without him being fussy. Troy on the other hand is afraid of his own shadow.

Oh, in answer to a few questions. Only a few of the roses have a scent which I am grateful for since I am allergic to rose smell.
I will talk more about the caretaker in a day or two.

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

Roses

Thought you might like to see just some of the roses here. As far as I can determine these rose bushes have been here since the 1960's. Will show the other roses on the property in a day or two. The roses up at the barn I believe are older.

Oh, and speaking of barn, the upstairs of the barn used to be for hay, but in the 1970's a studio apartment was built for the caretaker who has since passed away.

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

Busy Busy Busy

What can I say. Been busy as usual.

After much hard work and some aggravation we are finally able to irrigate the pasture.

It is so nice to see the sprinklers going. Every third day we have to move the irrigation pipes to another riser to water another portion of the pasture.

On top of getting the irrigation up and running the barn cleanup started. Thanks to my oldest daughter she has busted butt getting rid of the blackberry bushes and other foliage that covered the front of the barn. This pic is when we first started.

This pic shows progress.

Finally, the blackberries are gone as well as the other overgrown foliage. We were totally surprised to find another window, a working water faucet and five very old rose bushes underneath all the overgrown vegetation. We also found an ancient grape vine with stocks as thick as a small tree.

After the cleanup the barn is going to get a fresh coat of paint. I swear the barn is smiling and feels better now that the cleanup has started. Poor old thing has been neglected for many years.

Some of you might find this interesting. Months ago I heard old fashioned music coming from inside the barn. When my oldest daughter was up there a few weeks ago she also heard the music. So you are probably thinking what is the big deal. Well, there is no electricity in the barn and the nearest neighbor is a quarter of a mile away!

I finally expanded the chicken coop. Now I have happy happy chickens.

The garden areas are doing great, although I had to open my big mouth and make a statement how the deer have left the gardens alone. Last night I saw deer tracks going into the lower garden and as I followed them I noticed that they have eaten some of the tomato plants. Really! I didn't want to have to build an enclosed area around the garden, however it appears one has to go up. Sorry deer, as much as I love you all, I adore my veggies and don't want to share with you!

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

Knock Knock...........

Still there?

Very busy month.

We finally were able to get this monster of a pump running to use for irrigating the pasture.

We had to dig the water hole deeper and clean it out of all the years of sludge and grime. Now that the pump is ready to go as well as the foot valve, all we need to do is dig out all the pipe with sprinkler heads out of the blackberry bushes, hook them up to the risers and the pasture will be irrigated! Hooray!

After we finished cutting up the logs, the thought of splitting the wood by hand was really not an option. So we rented a wood splitter. Talk about a life saver! All we had to do put a whole piece of wood onto the splitter, pull the lever and voila, split wood! Me thinks I want one!

Grace has been 'helping' by being outside while a lot of chores are getting done. She sure is growing up.

You just don't see an old house go down the road everyday!

Since Little Inger is an official house chicken I felt so bad she was alone so I went and bought her some chicks to keep her company. Now there are house chicks! As soon as they get older they will go outside to the coop and I will probably buy her some more chicks.

I have also been battling hoof abscesses in one horse and two donkeys. Lots of poultices being made and put on hooves. Thankfully now that the dry weather has arrived it has really helped clearing up the abscesses.

One of my donks really does not like his feet picked up and it is such a task to get his feet trimmed. I usually call the vet out and have him sedated, but this time around my farrier and I decided his feet were going to get trimmed and that was that! So after an hour of cowboy skiing ( which translates into me holding onto the lead rope while my farrier tried picking up his feet and the donkey pulling me from one end of the pasture to the other), the donk finally got wore out enough to get his feet trimmed! Although my farrier quit trying to pick up his feet and enjoyed the show of me refusing to let go of the lead rope and getting drug around! He knows I don't give up a challenge!

The garden areas are rototilled and the garden is planted! Yay!!!!

One of my brothers who lives close by asked to move in for awhile. Of course I said yes, but as it turned out he found another place to move to.

There has been a lot more going on but I will spare you of all that.

I hope you are all doing great. And again I want you to know I really do think of you daily! I really do!

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

Cheezy Yard Art

My oldest daughter gives me a hard time about my cheezy yard art. So, I thought I would share cheezy with you!

            

Happy Easter!

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