. So last night there we were with the wind roaring around the house and barn, candles flickering and dinner was a turkey sandwich...how romantic can Valentines Day be ! This visit to the diary is short, no water meant no eggs washed last night and they are still sitting waiting. got to go, no mention of storms today or I may land up on the ducking stool ! Take care, M
It wasn't me, I didn't do it !!! Several years ago Greg and I visited Salem Mass. the home / final resting place of the "witches" hanged or otherwise despatched in 1692. During that visit we were amused to notice that many of the dates for the demise of the witches was 9- 22-1692, my birthday being 9-22....but not quite so long ago !! Ever since that visit Greg has jokingly referred to me as his very own witch. I would like to tell you that I did not wiggle my nose, concoct a mystical potion or use some other witchery yesterday. I happened to mention a power outage in yesterdays diary entry....I had no influence in it happening. Last night, when the windstorm hit we were just beginning our evening chores, everything was normal...or as normal as it ever can be here on the ranch !
. So last night there we were with the wind roaring around the house and barn, candles flickering and dinner was a turkey sandwich...how romantic can Valentines Day be ! This visit to the diary is short, no water meant no eggs washed last night and they are still sitting waiting. got to go, no mention of storms today or I may land up on the ducking stool ! Take care, M
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Good Morning.....I think !! Well, I don't know what I'm going to need more, the water wings or the tie downs, either we are going to float away or blow away...neither sounds good ! As long as it doesn't lead to a power outage, there is nothing quite as sad as a half cooked pot roast at dinner time...somehow a ham sandwich never tastes quite as good by candlelight when you were expecting hot juicy beef.
All this rain is going to cause a stall in progress in the garden which incidently is looking pretty amazing if I say it myself....actually I can say it because if i'm honest ( and I usually am ) ...I haven't had much to do with the makeover, Greg Jodie and Tom have been the "garden fairies" and it looks GREAT ! Sadly and as any gardener knows,( and I'm no gardener but I know too ) it's not yet time for the dreaded weeds to start poking through. I want to know why, when last year was such a bad growing year for produce it was a phenominal year for weeds in my garden. If I could have sold weeds I would have been a multi millionaire !! Still, if the garden is on hold, the grain bin is still a work in progress and it's nice warm and dry in the barn. A grain bin is going to be priceless for us as it will save all the grunts groans and moans unloading the truck after a visit to the grainary. These old aching bones will really appreciate the blood sweat and tears Greg and Tom have put into it. So, it's almost time to head down to the barn, the horse blankets still dripping wet from last nights rainstorm will be steaming and smelly, the cow barn will be even more smelly because Dolly and Molly dont do rain and the chicken coop will be the smelliest of all because those birds do rain even less than the cows do. Its going to be a wonderful day !! Take care, keep dry, M Sorry, "almost Daily Diary" was negllected yesterday, but I'm back today.....so, what happened in our little world over the past 24 hours. ....Oh my gosh !!! the rain and the wind, I know I said "bring on the rain" in my last entry but there are degrees of rain, did we really need to start off with full on monsoon and tornado. From the house I could see little old gray Destiny nestled in her shelter, every so often she'd try the rain test, her nose would peep around the corner and then be retracted twice as fast..."yep, still raining !, her potty spot in the field was about 3 Destiny steps from her shelter, should make cleaning out her field easy, if it hasn't turned to poo soup with all the rain. So, Tom, one of our Woofers leaves tomorrow, it is good that he was able to see the drain he built coping admirably with the torrential downpour and, icing on the cake, he saw his horse blanket drying racks in service, all in one day.
On the subject of icing on the cake....today is a special day, today is Mums birthday. My very special little ( very little) Texican surrogate mum is 79 years young. Thank you for coming into my life, we love you. On the subject of Mums / Moms, thank you for remembering my "round trip" in the forest, I still insist that it was all the fault of the GPS, it kept telling me turn left, turn left..turn left again...so I did, over and over again. It is lovely and very strange to think that around the USA.....around the world my special people check in on the web site and read my ramblings. The little chicks changed their living accomodation yesterday, their bird cage was removed from my kitchen ( thank goodness) now my kitchen is only half barn as the remaining 36 eggs in the kitchen incubator miraculously morph from shiny ovoid to fluffy little, noisy ( very noisy !) chicks. They are due to hatch on the 28 of February but Jodi wont be here to see them, she is leaving on Thursday. We will be very sorry to see them both go but wish them good luck in whatever they do. The other animals in the barn coped with the inclement weather in different ways, the chickens,( tired of trying to impersonate ducks) retired to the hen house and bickered and squalked over favourite perches and special nest boxes. Alissia and Danielle the little doelings out in their pasture tried their best to find another tiny gap in the fencing and when escape failed, resorted to wailing plaintively at anyone who chanced to pass their way. The horses warm and dry in their blankets ate whatever they could find to eat and when there was no more forthcoming turned their buts to the wind and rain and perfected the art of looking perfectly miserable. Molly and Dolly just curled up in their barn watched the rain forming pools outside the shelter and quietly and contentedly chewed their cud. The 3 Amigos, Lamb Chop, Macho and Daisy May did what they do best, look for trouble and us, we just got VERY wet. Well, a mixed bag of weather for us today so I'd better go and get ready for another day. Happy happy birthday Mum, take care and keep dry. M The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the frogs were croaking...it started off such a good day. The horses trotted out to the pastures heads high and tails swishing, the scent of fresh growing grass causing nostrils to flare in anticipation. The chickens sunbathed under the Winter sun, wings outstretched and only one eye open watching for a marauding rooster. Daisy May chose yesterday to come into her first season, her day was spent mournfully mooing for her bull, any bull would do, just send a bull. Macho appeared quite agreeable to providing whatever services were required and poor Lamb Chop just couldn't understand all the commotion. Yesterday the eggs in the incubator started to hatch, one by one little chips and holes appeared as the tiny beaks chipped their way into the world. Young Jodie was beside herself peering into the incubator....but then, she has been peering into the incubator for the past 21 days ! As the fragile wet chicks hatched, the smile on her face was precious. Bran is in Heaven, lots of little "somethings" in a cage in his kitchen, he can't quite chase them but close is good. And me....my kitchen is a barn again ! Greg and Tom spent their day in construction..getting drains cleared and, wonder of wonders....found !! We had a drain, we knew where it started but we had no idea where (or even if it did) drain and they found it and it works !. Bring on the rain now,...we are ready. Tom leaves us on Monday, we have enjoyed his stay with us and hopefully he has new experiences and good memories of the time he was part of our team. I had another visit to the doctor yesterday...a 20 minute trip down the road that I have done a hundred times (well, it seems like it !). I believe my Guardian Angel gave me a gentle prod to take my GPS with me and scornfully I told myself that even I couldn't get lost on this trip. Wrong !!! I know that my sense of direction is seriously challenged..actually, I dont think I have one but getting lost going to the doctor was not even a consideration. Confidently I set off, happily in the sunshine I tootled down the road, country music on the radio and dinner menu on my mind.. .then..disaster. I saw the blue and red lights, between the Faith Hill and egg and bacon ommlette I recognised that someone was having a bad day, a very bad day and I felt sorry for him / her at that moment but it wasn't long before I went into feeling sorry for myself. We got diverted off my road, the only road I know.....into the forest on a little and ( to me) totally unknown road and my Guardian Angel said "told you so !!" and I wished so bad that I had listened and that my GPS wasn't still sitting in her box in my closet. Something told me follow the line of traffic ... after all, they were going my way. All went well ( I think) until we came to a junction in the road, one car went one way, the other went the other...which way do I go ? My destination was Purdy.....I came back via Port orchard( about 10 miles from where I wanted to be.) From now on, my GPS is going to be as much a part of me as my purse ! The good news is...I got to my appointment with moments to spare, the bad news is, i'm falling to pieces but thats another story. Time to shake these old bones, check on the chicks and get ready for another day. Take care. M . It's all hands on deck at the moment, well, not quite on the deck, we postponed building the Ark pending another pest flood and pestilence forecast from MJ Fox 13 but we are busy busy busy. Actually yesterday was Toms day off and I think he welded himself to his mattress again but the rest of us all moved so fast we were a blur. I think possibly I really need to qualify that last comment, Jodie moved like a rocket, Greg and I, dutifully wearing our his and hers matching back supports possibly limped along as fast as our various aches and pains would allow but it was a big achievement day and it felt good....'till I woke up this morning and asked myself "why ???" !!. Jodie completed the replanting of the raspberry canes in their smart new beds, between the support poles and wires, it all looks so tidy. I guess that means the end of my Indianna Jones adventures everytime I ventured into the raspberry bed to harvest the berries....They had grown so tall and so dense I disappeared from view. Greg only knew where I was by the waving raspberry canes and the shrieks everytime I came eye to eye with a monster spider lunching on the fruit or when I disturbed a yellow jacket nest. From now on and thanks to Jodie, raspberry harvesting will be a much more sedate affair....thanks Jodie. On to the strawberry bed, weather permitting. That was our part of the mission...we are going to do WHAT !!!! So, 8 foot railway ties, possibly formerly part of the romantic sounding Santa Fe and Union pacific railtrack wending their way through beautiful canyons and wide open plains are now grubby, tar leaking and very heavy wet components that, as of yesterday part of my raised strawberry beds. The sun shone and a gentle breeze blew, we were blessed and my garden is looking great. I'm so happy,...easy pleased aren't I !!
Between us we cleaned out the sheep pen. Deep litter has kept the ladies warm through the colder months but there are limits that I can tolerate and the sheep pen had far exceeded the limit. I am fortunate in that I firmly believe my nasal passages have completely shut down since I came to the ranch, which is good when Macho the buck is in the rut..or when we have to dig out the sheep pen but not so good when we go out somewhere fancy and i'm not sure what I smell of...... or even if I smell at all. So the sheep pen is pristine..ok, not quite but it is cleaned up, the raspberry canes are re- planted and my raised strawberry beds are in place. It's a good day. Time to go, daylights breaking. Take care, M Over 2 tons of horsepower, 2 big powerful Shire horses as gentle as a lamb, calm and sweet natured. That's how I would describe Lady and Quest....most of the time. Quest is a wimp, when Quest has an owie, it doesn't matter how big an owie or how small Quest makes a fuss. When Quest makes a fuss, it's a big fuss and like it or not we have to listen ! All the recent Seattle rain has resulted in mud at the gateways where the Shires like to lurk in anticipation of a passing treat... and the mud has softened the horses feet. When you have hooves as big as Lady and Quest, supporting bodies as big as they have, they need to be healthy and hard.Mud causes softening and can in a worst case and untreated scenario cause hoof rot. For some time Greg has been treating one of Quests hooves and since the treatment appears to sting Quest has learnt to object and when a ton of horse objects you have little choice but to listen. Greg has tried various methods of application, we've tried distracting him and we've tried chastising him and Quest still objects. This behaviour was causing us considerable concern because we have one super big horse with a small hoof owie and a huge attitude problem and one little farrier with a back problem who was due to visit yesterday. The farrier arrived early ( which is quite the novelty !) and Ibuprofen was duly offered ( standard practice for our poor farrier). Quest was brought from the field, already with an attitude issue as he had tried to go through a gate that wasn't quite open. ..he will learn one day, maybe. Nerves were tense, we really dont like to see our farrier hurting and we like even less to see him hurting because of our Shire reprobates behaviour. I was the victim nominated to try to control Quest, I'd have said I drew the short straw...but I didn't even see a straw ! Jodie and I devised a plan, she cut the carrots and delivered them to me and I would shovel them into his ever open mouth. She cut, I shovelled... and Quest chomped happily and quietly. Our farrier worked frantically to trim before Quest remembered to misbehave or we ran out of carrots and before we knew it he was done....Carlos was still in one piece, his discs still where they should be and maybe Carlos will come back to us. I know that serious horse owners and trainers will be quivering in their seats, rewarding bad behaviour, feeding treats, how many horse rules did I break ???...but you know what, when you have a 19.1 hand equine brat who could potentially disable our much loved and much needed farrier ANY tactic is worth considering. Oh yes....and I'm fine too which made me available to clean the sheep pen..but thats another story ! Time to go, take care, M They will NEVER catch on in Paris, you will never see them on the catwalk and it's SO hard to put them on and even harder to keep them on ! What ???? ..those "gowns" ( thats a pretty flowery name for that outfit !!) that you have to put on for an MRI procedure. One on front ways and one on backways...now which went which way, first or last ? I couldn't tie the neck ties and everything slid down when I tried. I tried clamping it under my elbow and grabbing it between my knees to stop it sliding off..good job no one took my blood pressure before I pulled the curtain,..ready...I think. Jim the very nice smiley technician put my favourite Country radio station on and between the bumps and grinds of the machine I settled down for a 20 minute nap !! NOT !! I wanted to scratch my nose so badly I nearly went out of my mind. In between each session Jim kindly told me what was going on... and I tried to tell him of my crisis. Unfortunately, when Jim had his mike' keyed he couldn't hear me, my pleas went unheard and my nose got itchier. I was so glad when it was all over, I just about scratched my nose off !!
Back to the ranch, I can't say MJ Fox 13 lied, she did say there was some green on the map...but that green was clearly the other side of the State...so how come I got miserably wet yesterday morning ! Greg and Tom (our Woofer volunteer) got to work on our grain silo and Tom is getting used to (1) working with Greg and (2) working with Gregs big boys toys. All seems to be going well, the project is looking good and Greg and Tom are still talking so I guess things are going well in the mens camp. Jodie returned from her Seattle glass blowing class yesterday evening so its back to work on the Ranch today for the full ladies team. Well, I've just got a cup of tea and the cuckoo has just cuckood, shes a little tired and a little late this morning so I'd better go and get ready for work. Take care. M Good morning from a still dark Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch, outside I can hear the windchime so I guess we have a breeze/wind out there....just as long as there is no snow ice or rain. MJ on Fox 13 has told us that it's going to be a nice day and if MJ says so it's got to be right ....right ?. Yesterday was a quiet day down at the barn if you weren't Lamb Chop that is. Poor Lamb Chop, that little almost ram is having the hardest time keeping his loin steak end out of lusty Machos way. Macho, being a Macho sort of goat isn't particular what sex or species takes his attention, the scent of our two little doelings wafts across the barnyard and he has only one thing on his mind. Several times yesterday I saw Lamb Chop peeping from around the corner of the barn checking that a rampant goat wasn't lurking in the shadows or heard the unmistakeable sound of a "wanting" buck as he tried to love talk Lamb Chop out of the corner he had rammed his butt into. It's a bit of a dilema.....we took our little Lamb Chop with his sore "bits" out of the three Amigos pen but those three, Lamb Chop Macho and Daisy May expressed their solidarity so loudly in protest that we had to put him back. I expect that when Macho comes out of the rut ( soon, I hope !) peace and tranquility will return to the barn. Meanwhile, the 2 doelings, Alissia and Danielle are happy and content in their loveless pen,...as long as they have food !
Jodie had her day in Seattle yesterday and Tom was busily employed making some A frame horse blanket dryers. The sound of the nail gun and circular saw were louder than than the competing clucks and squalks from the chicken pens and the mournful moo from an ignored Daisy May. Oh well, the cuckoo clock just cookood, shes a bit fast so, as It's nearly 7.30am it's time to go. Take care, M I'm confused....really confused. I Know that getting older isn't much fun and I've heard it said that " the golden years aint what they are cracked up to be". I had resolved to grow old gracefully and I'm REALLY trying but I'm confused today! Several weeks ago I was having lower back "issues", not suprising with the life we lead so I toddled off down to my magic doctor, Dave my Chiropractor in Key Centre. Dave pummels and pounds, prods and pokes gives me a bear hug or 3 and it's all good, just like that...usually. This time my lower back / hip area held out, it ignored all Daves efforts and an xray didn't show anything so I determined to live with it and stop moaning. Sadly, my back didn't just go away and things got worse, a lot worse. Off I went to Urgent Care, came back with another XRay, healthy back, not a 26 year olds back, a 56 year old back but a good one and 3 days worth of pain killers. Back issue still wasn't going to go away, back issue got a lot worse and off I toddled with said Xray to my doctor. Not good news, my doctors associate took a quick look at my xray and told me that I had arthritus. DOH, not good news but it gave me a name for my issues and I hadn't been complaining about nothing. The anti inflamatories work, the pain killers work and I was a happy farmer again....till yesterday. I had a "follow up" appointment which turned into a not follow up appointment. My real doctor (not the associate) took a quick look at the offending Xray and said "good picture"...except for the arthritus eh ?...NO arthritus ? Doctor took another look..."no arthritus" ...but the other doctor said I have arthritus and the medication works....."there is NO arthritus" So, it's good news, I don't have arthritus, but it's bad news 'cause I'm back to where I was before I had the arthritus that I now dont have. Now you know why I'm confused and tomorrow I'm off to have another blast of radiation in the form of an MRI scan to see what is going on...and hopefully where my arthritus went !!! Fortunately, down at the barn medical issues are less confusing, Lamb Chop is recovering well from his not so minor surgery ( castration) in fact apart from the dramatic change of appearance in poor Lamb Chops nether region ( very shrunken) you would never know he had been "done". He was restored to his 3 Amigo status and is back with Macho and Daisy who missed him while he was in the hospital wing. Gimpy the sheep with a limp isn't limping anymore so the work Greg and Tom ( our Wwoofer volunteer) did on her owie really helped. Jodie, our other Wwoofer was almost invisible yesterday as she replanted the raspberry canes in their newly appointed location. The trench she had dug was almost as deep as she was high and all afternoon she buried those canes like something posessed. The garden is looking great.....and if anyone needs healthy raspberry canes really cheap we have LOTS to sell. Time to move this aching old body..that doesn't have arthritus and get ready to go down for another day. Thanks to both our Wwoofer friends, it's fun having you around. Take care. M It was cold yesterday morning, as daylight lit up the pastures and barns a blanket of frost was threateningly apparent. It has been sometime since I ventured down to the barn feeling more like a sumo warrior than a farmer but yesterday morning was one of those days. Layer after layer, how many layers will fit under my coat.... how many pairs of socks will fit into my boots ? Color co-ordination went out of the window with any aspirations to look glamerous, if it was warm it was good, if it was hot it was better. And it wasn't even that cold...on a scale of 1 to 10 and compared to our November Arctic experience, it was practically tropical but we had got used to a temperate climate and if it looked cold I was going to be ready for it. Down at the barn a thin sheet of ice covered the water troughs and in the chicken pen the hens were cautiously pecking a hole through the ice. Steam rose from the curly black hair on Dolly and Molly Moos backs as they quietly mood in welcome to our arrival and the promise of breakfast, Destiny the old grey mare stamped her feet to the cold air and whickered her impatience at our tardiness and Quests great brown Shire horse head appeared from the depths of his stall to whinney his welcome through the frosty dawn
Tom had his well earned day off yesterday, I think he took advantage of getting a few extra hours sleep and got welded to his mattress. He'll pay for it today !!! smile. In the afternoon he took his camera down to the barn to take photos of the animals, I don't know who enjoyed the photo opportunity more, the goat kids or Tom ! Jodies' crickets (alarm clock) didn't give her the chance to get a headache and yesterday found her and Greg back in the garden. Watching from the house there was a lot of activity hand waving and eyeballing going on. End result, my garden looks great and I didn't even get dirty ! The grape vines are scalped and there are poles up to support the raspberry canes. I'm almost excited for the start of the growing season...notice I said "almost" excited....gardening's not my thing. So, it's payback time, I complained about the weather yesterday and today looks worse ..DOH. I guess I shouldn't complain, I see the weather news from the East Coast and the Mid West,..I'll take what we are getting. Time to get ready for another day down at the barn. When's my day off ???? Take care, M |
AuthorIts me, Maureen, (the Boss) Archives
March 2018
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