Work Day - So Happy to See the Sun

We've been meaning to head out to help Daddy, but it's been so rainy.  But last Saturday, it was a perfect day.  

Mommy drove the tractor for the first part while Daddy and the kids fed.  Jigsaw and Petey came along for the ride.  Poor Petey just got fixed, but it did wonders for his aggressiveness.

Clyde's getting to be a pretty good helper.

Alice walked out and checked on a brand new calf (just behind her head in the photo).  It's ear was moving she said so it must be OK.

Alice and Daddy drove the tractor while Mommy fed the last of the hay with Clyde.  See that - she can still do it.  

All done feeding... now for the hard part...  Daddy sure can throw those bales!

Feeding the calves in Clyde's pickup

This is why we do what we do.  It isn't this idyllic everyday, but on the days it is, it takes me back to the fond memories I have of doing the same thing as a kid. 

 

 

This was in early November after we'd shipped a lot of the calves and these weaned calves were waiting for more trucks.

The Menagerie...

We now live at home with five animals. My old friends will find that astounding as I lived with no animals for a very long time. We have three new kittens: Huckleberry, Hot Dog and Tiger, a pony (Daisy) and our border collie (Jigsaw). Daisy likes being let into the yard to eat the lawn. Jigsaw and Huckleberry are really good pals, and everyone else gets along most of the time. Occasionally Jigsaw tries to heard Daisy and we have to call him away, but she doesn't really put up with it anyhow. Clyde and Alice really like the animals but don't really help with them much yet. They are all outside animals, and that keeps me happy.

Random Things from June....

Some old news....

Why would anyone want the inside of their house to be 120 degrees??

We capitalized on the short but abundant morel season this year and got enough to save some... our foraging will now bring us an earthy treat throughout the year.

We turned our front porch into a giant dehydrator by using a small fan and the wood stove. Ordinarily I think it's a bit odd to have the wood stove in the front porch, but for this it was perfect.

We have had some nice days, even nice enough to run through the sprinklers...

The kids also started swimming lessons. Clyde is doing really well and Alice is not afraid at all, but her ability to follow directions is a bit too limited at this point. The kids hunted mushrooms with us and spent some time on the ranch.

We put our Boise house up for sale, continued remodeling the house we got in Eagle and our niece and her new husband moved in there. We are remodeling my dad's ranch house in Lake Fork as well, so it's been a crazy time. Can't wait to be settled down again.

Jigsaw

The kids love Jigsaw and he's a really good dog. He has a ton of energy but he behaves really well. He's probably about 6-7 months old now. Our new house should give him a big enough yard. He kind of destroyed our lawn in Boise, but it's coming back now that we're gone.

Christmas Shopping Guide (for reference for next year)

Do you have some small children on your Christmas list? I have resolved to get Christmas done ahead of time this year, so I thought I'd help you do the same with some helpful hints tor the little ones on your list (and their parents).

I'm talking about one and two year olds in particular since that's my current area of expertise. Here are my tips....

1. Go with something dangerous
2. Make sure it's something that needs cared for
3. Make sure that it's beyond a toddler to do the caretaking
4. Get something that has further equipment or feed needs and don't provide those

In other words, get them a pony! It'll be added work and worry for mom and dad, but the kids will love you forever and ever....

Meet Daisy, one of the two new additions to our family:


Alice still prefers just the saddle...

The second addition is our new puppy, Jigsaw, who is also a surprise Christmas gift for the toddler children. We do love both of our new additions, but we're just now getting over the shock.

Happy shopping!