Quick update on Lamb Chop, our little pet ram with the very big assets. ...well, they aren't any more and although the poor guy is walking extreeeeemely carefully on very stiff back legs he hasn't forgotten how much he likes peanuts and carrot treats. I have a theory, anything that can wolf down half a pound of peanuts and a bag of carrots can't be too sick ! Doctor Greg prescribed a morning out with Alissia and Danielle the cute friendly doelings who incidently turned into Hulk Hogan and Brett the Hit Man Heart when our poor Lamb Chop was turned into the pasture. The hackles went up and our little lamb minus his "bits" and his bravado put his head down and hid his owies in the corner. Not such a successful first outing for a recouperating patient. Since Rodney the resident and very protective ram would possibly have resented the arrival of Lamb Chop the now "wannabe" ram and Macho the lusting buck had another agenda for him it had been decided that he would be safer with the doelings ( in retrospect,...why ??? having watched their less than caring nuturing behaviour in the field ). It wasn't long before a cowering lamb was extricated from the corner he had jammed himself into and since Macho appeared to be less scary than the girls back he went to rejoin the other 2 Amigos, Macho and Daisy May the calf, in their pen.
Lamb Chop was not the only casualty yesterday......I returned home last evening with both sides of my butt hurting. Rodney the forementioned Ram had been enjoying copious treats whilst lamb Chop had been in the hospital wing of the sheep pen. Sadly (for me ) I had run out of peanuts and carrots before he had lost his appetite for them and he decided to help me get through the gate,...through the air. Rodney head butted me on the right side of my butt and I went flying. Ouch !! Just to even up the hurt, I tripped over the hosepipe and landed on the other side with a heavy bump...and I hadn't even had a drink !! So, it's almost 7.30am, today is Toms day off and I think he will be catching up on some lost sleep. It's going to be colder and I'd better go and get layered up, dont do cold !! take care, M

I had an hour yesterday afternoon before the second shift....a.luxury here on the ranch. A decision had to be made and made very quickly, my hour was dwindling fast. Bed looked inviting,...very inviting, we had been up since 2am and matchsticks were going to be keeping my eyes open. Jodie had been left doing some finishing work on brother Johns plant box and would have been doing a great job..if Greg had (1) found her some wood she could work with the jigsaw and (2) possibly more important, a blade for the jigsaw to work the wood (if it wasn't to brittle to cut anyway !). Tom was making a roosting perch for the chickens that hatched on Farmfest day. A wonderful bunch of multicolored ( multicoloured) birds of indeterminate breed, all we are sure of is that they are all chickens and all hens, they are due to start laying in April. Tom said he had never done much wood so the project was a challenge for both he and Greg and I'm happy to say the project was a success, Tom didn't look too traumatized, Greg was happy with it and the perch is now up in the hen house. Sadly the dumb birds didn't seem to know what to do with it !
Poor Lamb Chop had adaptions made to his "bits" yesterday I was assigned to the head end, feeding peanuts if and when he needed them. Strangely Lamb Chop seemed to have something else on his mind throughout the procedure and when we gave him his evening feed last night was looking exceedingly sorry for himself !
Tom had his second horse ride yesterday evening and this time we went out onto the road, Destinys ears were pricked and alert...so were Toms !! Tom did great, we'll make a jockey out of that young man before he leaves.
As to the decision I had to make for my hour off....I made cookies and when we got home last evening, the smell of cookies wafted through the door. Always guaranteed to put a smile on Gregs face and now our two new friends can be found can be found dipping into the cookie tin just as keenly as Greg. Well, it's nearly time to get down to the barn, so I'd better go and get layered up...MJ on Fox 13 said there could be snow flakes. Take care, M

Its been a really busy time here at the ranch, between our family guests and our Wwoofer guests our house is pretty much bursting at the seams. It's been a time for sharing, sharing stories, sharing experiences, sharing knowledge...... and sharing chores. Trish went back to Holland this morning, right now she will be in the air heading for Houston and hopefully not affected by the big freeze on the East Coast. Brother John went back last week and is cleaning up the flood damage in a wet and murky Wales. Both taking a well earned rest after 3 weeks "vacation" (holiday) with us ! thanks to you both, we will miss you, hurry back to us. Tom has had a few new experiences since I managed to take him on an unscheduled tour of the Pacific North West on his first hour with us ( got lost !!) Tom has never worked with horses, little horses or big horses...and our horses are VERY big. Tom was assigned to work with dear old Destiny and Trish was assigned to teach him everything he needed to know before we would allow him to get on her back. Unfortunately for Tom, horses eat copious amounts of hay and since what goes in must come out, horses produce copious amounts of poo. Horse care means top to tail maintenance, daily valeting and servicing and even little Destiny can make her stall look like Armagheddon has come. Tom has managed to keep smiling through it all but I feel that the Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch pace is going to drive him into a meltdown....or a feeding frienzy. My boys loved their food but Tom has them beat ! I guess that young man has hollow legs 'cause I can't see where it is all settling ! As a reward for all his efforts with Destiny, we saddled her up and Tom found himself in the saddle for the very first time. I'm not sure that his first impression was favourable....his "it's a long way down" seemed to imply a certain degree of uncertainty but Destiny soon put him right and before long his big smile returned. Trish and I had a high 5 moment when Tom poured his tea...and added milk !!! YES !!! I knew that the inner Brit in him ( if he has an inner Brit, thats a bit presumptious of me, smile) would win over ! Jodie arrived back from her Seattle, glass blowing course foray soaked to the skin after her bike ride from Bremmerton, I swear I don't know where she gets her energy from !! We were happy to have her safely home. Poor Lamb Chop, Greg is discussing castrating him, I'm not sure which is the better option from his point of view,...Macho the buck has decided that, since the doelings are not available to him, Lamb Chop is looking very desireable. Lamb Chop has been far from impressed at the unwanted attention and has taken to sitting on his assetts. Well, it's raining again, so I'll have to hunt out the plastic bag for my hair or I'll be a frizz ball. Take care, keep dry, M

Yesterday was quite the day, several times Jodie was heard muttering "I feel a blog coming on"...and she was right !! Tea is important in our house, tea can make the difference  between a good day and a REALLY bad day. First thing in the morning a nice  steaming cup of tea WITH milk brings an instant smile to my face and Greg earns his gold star for the day. I understand America has had issues with tea in her dim and distant past, I understand you dumped perfectly good tea into Boston Harbor (Harbour for us Brits !!) . I have no problem that the early Americans didn't want to pay taxes to little old England...but what did a boat load of tea do to you ? Anyway...Tom our new Wwoofer who incidently is doing really well and luckily for him (1) enjoys his food and (2) has a ready smile, had a cup of tea for his mid morning break down at the barn. All good so far...but then it all went bad, Tom had tea, black tea AND he left the tea bag in it ! Thats almost a hang draw and quarter offence to a true Brit !! Being the forgiving sort that I am, we noted the crime but forgave and Tom and Jodie continued their day on the ranch with giving the sheep a manicure.  Jodie got the raw end of the deal....several times. It was Jodie that pushed the sheeps butt  into the tilt table, The ewes dont particularly like having a manicure and pushing a sheeps butt is no easy matter...  sheeps butt are always nasty and yesterday wasn't any different, poor Jodie. Trish and I took Charm, (beauty with Attitude) and sweet old Destiny out for a ride. Destiny is 25 and Charm a youthful 11 but the old girl returned to the barn with her tail high as a banner and ears pricked ( by old girl I do mean Destiny, not Trish , smile ). Charm  returned to the barn like he had just run the Kentucky Derby.  Greg invited Jodie and Tom to ride Lady, l ( as usual cautious, thank goodness) suggested that lady, was first ridden in the arena. Lady all 1 ton of her decided to try Jodie out and threw  a few  good Shire bucks into her performance. Luckily there were no trips to Urgent Care and our Woofers remain in good working order. Oh dear, run out of time and I was just getting going. Take care, M

In the middle of a crisis in the sheep pen, rain had just started to fall, dusk was coming on, Charm was tied up for grooming and Gregs phone rang. Tom our new Wwoofer was in Purdy and needed picking up to bring home. Katy was firmly wedged between Gregs knees, less than impressed at being manhandled but tolerating his ministerings and he and Jody weren't able to abandon her. I dont "do" night driving, I dont "do" driving in the rain but Tom needed rescuing and there was no one else to go. Trish and I set off into the night ( I'm sure poor Trish had prayed hard on the trip up to the house.....no-one was listening to her !!) I found Tom, huddled in the bus shelter after having entered the no entry road. Strike 1 and it got worse, a lot worse. !! Tom was , (is) charming and confidently ( this was easy now) we set off back home.  Not so easy, I left and promptly took the bus exit...on the wrong side of the road and turned in the wrong direction. Toms first Ranch stress test and he passed with flying colours as we faced, head on, the headlights of another car. DOH !!!! So, off we drove into the night, heading who knows where...certainly not me, and my passengers from Holland and Chicago stuck with me, directionaly challenged and wondering what slow torture I could inflict on Greg !! So I drove ...and drove and eventually my guardian angel put a road sign that I recognised in front of me. Thank you God !!! Purdy park and ride is13 miles from home....my round trip was possibly about 50 miles !! Wont do that again. Got to go, i've another stress test today. Catch up with you later. Take care, M

I love technology ! I know it's not a really big deal and on the scale of technological advancement it's possibly lower than the invention of the wheel (uhhhhh, is that technology ??) but currently our little incubator is whirring away in the corner of the kitchen and 24 big brown eggs are hopefully turning into 24 cute little fluffy chicks. Previously we have had to use other techniques to retire geriatric hens and introduce young and hopefully healthy virile egg layers. We bought them online and boxes of cheeping chicks arrived at the post office all the way from Albuquerque NM. We tried Gods way and left eggs under a broody chicken, unfortunately of all the broody hens in the hen house we chose the one lest inclined to be a dedicated mom. Potential Mom took a vacation..several times a day and whilst out carousing her nest was stolen by an overlooked and at that moment in time, much more maternally inclined wanna be mom..who also bored of the seemingly never ending sit. I almost had a nervous breakdown watching those eggs in the nest, abandoned for hours, imagining tiny chicks inside shivering whilst all their moms cackled and squalked in the hen house. Gods way clearly didn't work with our less than dedicated hens. We tried a manual incubator, and I had sleepless nights wondering if we had turned the eggs, sometimes they got over turned when Greg and I got over enthusiastic and we both did the turning. We marked the eggs M and N ( morning and night...simple eh !) and thought it was good... but results were dismal and now we have a mechanised incubator. It does it all, it's great, we just check it has water and leave it to do its thing, we are a week in and 2 weeks to go. Watch this space, with a bit of luck our divine intervention will result in an incubator full of cheepy chicks. Young Jodie is doing a great job in the garden....I just love watching her happily slaving over the raspberry patch......'cause that means I don't have to !! She manages to smile her way through any job we have asked her to do...I wonder if we could clone her ? Oh dear, time to go, it's 7.22 and time to get down to the barn. Take care, M

Mmmmm Greg made pancakes for breakfast, I'm distracted, he makes a great ranch cook....sadly he isn't quite as good at washing up ! Yesterday,sisterTrish and I went to work on the greenhouse up by the house to prerare it for the Spring. Usually, clearing the greenhouse ready for Spring planting happens in Spring !!! Not being the greatest gardener in the world, infact, being a terrible and very reluctant gardener anything remotely related gardening is bottom of my list of priorities. The greenhouse had been home to a lovely tidy row of cherry tomatoes on each side, lovingly planted by Greg ( not me !!) fertilized and nutured with care. Ok.......a bucket of poo from Gregs manure pile which IS lovingly tended was chucked in and we tried hard to remember to water them is more like the truth. If they had produced anything like the beautiful crop of cherry tomatoes on the wrapping maybe there would have been more enthusiasm but the tomatoes gleaned off the very healthy plants were sparce to say the least. Trish attacks any chore with enthusiasm and glee....she dived into the train wreck that had been our greenhouse and in seconds tomato vines were flying out the door and Trish, armed with trowel and broom was sweeping like a woman posessed. The job was done in no time, spiders disposessed of their Winter accomodation evacuated as she swept and Trish emerged victorious in a matter of minutes, covered in tomato vine shreds, cobwebs and mud....."that was easier than I had expected". Please don't go home Trish ! Jodie arrived home after her weekly trip to Seattle for her glass blowing course, just in time for 2nd shift down at the barn. After her bike ride to Bremmerton, strangely, the staircase here at the house challenged her ! I I'm sure the hill here at the house would have started.... ..and terminated my bike ride, never mind a trip to Bremmerton. Oh, mild and dry today, what mischief can we get up to !. I'm going to go and get ready for the barn, I had a late start. Take care, enjoy the sunbreaks. M

Johns tea mug remains empty down at the barn. Our business meeting the other morning ( back scratch time) evolved a work schedule which is no longer appropriate ( I think it only worked for one day !) and big brothers chores are now going to have to be re allocated to the remaining unpaid ranch hands.. We are going to miss you John, hurry back. Yesterday was a loooooong day. We got up at 2am and had him to SeaTac ready for his long flight home then got back to start the morning chores ( without part of team Hudson). Jodie, our resident Wwoofer volunteer set off for her scenic ( wet and very long) bike ride to Bremerton ( if she wasn't so smart I'd swear she is crazy) for her glass blowing class. She will be back today, setting off from Seattle for her ( again wet and very long ) trip back home. Trish and I got to work cleaning out the Chicken Shack, it's tough working with chickens, sweep it up, they scratch it back....pile it up...they scratch it back...there may just be a scrap of something good in there. A couple of face to beak confrontations with the roosters came to nothing, a couple of face to beak confrontations with their female counterparts resulted in a lot of screeching birds, ruffled feathers and much strutting. Our biggest concern was cleaning under the roosting perches, those birds can aim poo like guided missiles and we could see those feathered ladies meant business as they looked down on us beneath their quivering bright red wattles. For a city slicker, Trish, (little sister) is worth her weight in gold and seemingly nothing phases her, the tougher the assignment the more she seems to relish the challenge. We will miss her when she goes back to Holland. Well, its almost time, my tea mug is drained, only crumbs remain from my breakfast and dawn is breaking on the horizon. It's raining again and time to get ready to go down to the barn. Take care, M 

 

Yesterday was quite the day, I went to the doctors where I swear they tried to kill me !! When they say "stress test" they aren't kidding. When I said "I DON'T do inclines"...I meant I don't do inclines, not little inclines, not bigger inclines and certainly not Mt. Everest. It means I don't do inclines at the walk at the faster walk and very deffinately not at the run. Unfortunately, I have a "wont give up" mentality.....Greg calls it British stubborn and I suppose i'm inclined ( oh dear, theres that word again !!!) to believe him. So there I was striding out....um....staggering.....virtually crawling, breathing a little less healthier than a stuck pig, actually a LOT less healthy than a stuck pig, possibly more like a nearly dead pig but I was still there, legs like Jello ( unset Jello) and brain functioning ( was it ?) about as efficiently as a jelly fish. So the result of that torture is.(1) I do have a heart (2) It does like to go "likety split" and (3)...more torture and now i'm destined for a nuclear test. I daren't even think about that one.!! We took the scenic route home from Gig Harbor ( nothing further on that one,...I promised big brother !!) which would have been fine but I didn't get to the restroom before we left the Doctors office, BIG mistake. I was VERY glad to get home. ( I kept your secret John !) Last night we took our ranch hands off the ranch for Taco night in the local Mexican restaurant ( we live the high life here !), If John wasn't going back home tomorrow ( for a rest) we may have had to cancel next weeks day off. We had a great time and since it was an "all you can eat" night, took full advantage ( it would have been rude not to !) and had to roll into the truck to get home.Looking forward to indigestion tomorrow. So, it's another day, the ticker is still ticking, the "Tums" are close at hand, and it's time to get down to the barn. Looks like it's dry and cold. Take care, keep warm...M

This ranch is BUZZING !! John Trisha and Jodie have all blended into the life on the ranch and like little ants we all scurry round trying hard to avoid the rain mist ..drops...torrents that seem to have become a way of life round here at the moment. John and Trisha are part of family and young Jodie has just fitted into our little jigsaw like she was made to be here. At any time of the day Trisha and I can be found somewhere in the poo...and she's still smiling, John, in his "designer" (not !!!) brown woolly hat can be found with a hosepipe, chainsaw hammer or stapler and he's still smiling too...I swear my family need psychiatric help and then there is Jodie. Jodie is our Wwoofer volunteer, 5 foot nothing but that young lady will have a go at anything and at anytime of the day she can be found shadowing Greg and she is smiling too. Oh...then there's Greg ! Currently poor Greg has a "man cold"..uh...flu / pneumonia / strep / bronchitus. He's NOT smiling, he's snuffling coughing groaning and moaning, he's wandering around with a kitchen towel attached to his nose ( duck tape,...now why didn't he think of that ???!!) He has a bad back, a really bad back and a knee with an owie, a bad owie oh ...he's also got finger splits, they are bad too. If he were a horse he would have been shot, fortunately he's not a horse and I'm happy to keep him around. Even with all his problems he can be found errecting, pulling down, fencing and digging ...with his shadow Jodie. We had an interesting night last night. Not much scares me, but fire does. Dinner was going to be a grand affair, roast dinners and ranch life don't seem to fit on the same page but home grown lamb Yorkshire puddings vegetables and oven roasted potatoes were on the menu. Good job we are flexible !!!! I opened the oven door and my nice clean oven had had a role change and had turned into a furnace. Flames met me and all my good intentions went out the window... with the smoke, the menu changed !!!. I know I want a new oven, I want a new kitchen, darn it ! Greg put the fire out before too much damage had been done, all my kitchen needs is cleaning, not replacing. Oh yes....and the smoke alarm works. Luckily we have a "no blame" policy...lets see if it holds up !! So, it's time to go down to the barn again, another day dawns. Everyone is still smiling over the breakfast table lets see what today brings us. Take care, M