Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Busy!

Baby turkeys!!
Jordan and Kaytlynn with the new calf.

Well-first things first! Mom is doing better-even thought she still is in CCU. While we were visiting her on Saturday-they rushed her into the Cath Lab and put a balloon in. She only had 30% usage of the bottom of her heart-the previous blockage had not changed. They slowly begain weaning her off the pump yesterday-if she did OK she should get to come home today. She has to remove ALL the stress in her life-I don't know how that's goin' to happen-she's always been a worry wort and worries about EVERYTHING! Jeff and I went up to their house after work last night and I worked on getting the Frig cleaned out and some of her pantry. Aunt Linda is going up today or later and work on cleaning up the house some for them.




The calf has been having trouble nursing. Jeff put Rainbow in the stall Sunday morning and made the calf nurse-he doesn't have a name yet-guess that shows how busy we've been! We still aren't sure if he nurses on his own during the day or not-since we haven't been home to watch yet. But he is NOT aggresive at all or just not hungry enough yet-but with all this heat-we worry he'll dehydrate. We bought 4 baby turkey's on our way home from the Hospital on Sunday-1 disapearred and 1 died. They are a month old-so I thought they'd be a little easier to raise-maybe not!


I took some really pretty pics of the sunflowers in the garden-but my Internet is SO slow-I'll wait to post them til another time-Oh-and we got a little rain yesterday!!!!YEAH!!! Have a little bit better chance this afternoon. I don't remember a time when its been this dry in June!


Chances are I'll work this whole week-other than Friday. We are getting a little backed up in the office. We are planning a long weekend at the beach-starting Thursday evening-as long as things are OK with Mom. Can't wait!!! Have a great day!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

We've got a CALF!!

Not a good picture-I'll get better ones later! He doesn't have a name yet, either!

He was born around 6:30 last night! Rainbow put herself into the barn-so we watched her pretty closely. We came into the house and I went back out about 30 minutes later and she already had him. He is so shiny black with curls on his head! SO cute!! I'll get better pics later-they didn't come out good in the barn!

Shorty is on his way over this morning-Mom is in the hospital in Conroe. She had a slight heartattack yesterday-and the Doc is saying she will have to have by-pass surgury! We're going to the hospital shortly and see what's going on!!! I really don't have any details yet-gotta find out what's goin' on with my MOM!! Her last heart check-up was fine-so this really doesn't make any since!

Gotta go get ready-will post more info when I get it! Keep her in your prayers! Have a great day and stay COOL!!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

HOT!!!!!

Oh-MY-GOSH-Is it hot or WHAT???? I went outside at noon today and it was already 95 degrees-in the shade on the back porch! The animals are just miserable! I went out and just sprayed water on the pigs earlier-made them all a mud puddle to get in and cool off! Boy did I make them happy! The pasture is nothing but crunchy dead grass and the garden is about done for. I'm still getting a few tomatoes-Oh-I made picante yesterday-It came out pretty good! Still waiting on calves and the eggs should hatch next Monday that the hen is sitting on. It is supposed to be 104 degrees this afternoon and Alana came over this morning and said their a/c went out over night. Jeff will look at it this afternoon when he gets home-If it can't be fixed-then we'll have to go into Wal-Mart and try to get another one. I'm really glad we went ahead and bought hay last week-If it doesn't rain soon-and there is NO chance of it anytime soon-there isn't going to be any to be found this year! We let the cows into the yard the other evening and let them be the lawnmowers-let the chickens out, too, and just set out in the yard and watched them-to keep the cows from eating the tomatoes off the garden fence and from any stray dogs from eating the chickens! They all seemed to enjoy the treat.
We were planning to go to the beach this weekend and work on the shed-but it's just too hot. We decided that since next weekend is a long one 'cause of the 4th-we'll wait and go down then. Maybe it'll cool off some by then-but it doesn't look too hopeful right now! Stay cool!!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Happy Father's Day!!! (A day late!)

Jordan and Jeff on the beach-Father's Day 2009

Jordan and his first fish of the day!


Sunset on the Bait Hole



We had another great weekend at the beach-but boy was it HOT!!! With the camper sitting out in the hot sun-the a/c can hardly keep it cool on the inside. It was in the low 90's in the afternoons-several degrees hotter than normal-thankfully the breeze was blowing nicely! Jordan rode down with us on Friday and Alana and crew came down on Saturday morning and stayed the night. Julie, Randy, and one of Julie's friends from work came down for the day-but it was just SO hot-the kids could hardly take it. They headed back home earlier than usual. And Jordan was quite the little fisherman this weekend-he out-fished me and Jeff didn't catch a thing! He told his Grandpa that he couldn't eat any of the fish last night 'cause he didn't catch any of them! Little stinker!! Kaytlynn did MUCH better this trip-she actually got in the water and had a great time!




Still no calves-I just don't see how they can hold out much longer! The sow is now bred, too-hopefully! The garden looks just plum awful!! We've had temps close to-if not-100 degrees everyday for way over a week-with NO rain. The pasture has all dried up-Hopefully we'll get some rain soon-although none is in the forecast. Jeff bought 10 rolls of hay last Wednesday from the same guy we bought from last time-the one with the rescue horses. I didn't go this time-I had another headache-the meds the Doc prescribed didn't work-so I was waiting on a phone call from his office. He ordered something else for me and so far-so good! No headache since last Thursday-just an occasional pain. Hope this one works-I've had WAY too many in the last few weeks! Jeff tried to move the hen-but she was having none of it-so we had to put her back in that hot nest box. And he caught another coon last night. We had brought about a dozen crabs home that Ricky and the kids caught and we set and picked them out last night. Jeff decided to bait the trap with the crab shells and low and behold he caught a coon! Another one bites the dust!!!




We are hoping to start working on the shed at the beach this next weekend. Then we can start working on getting the cover built over the slab and the camper-we've got to get it covered to help protect it from the HOT sun-I'm afraid it's gonna ruin the a/c unit and anything else that's plastic up there. We'll get it done ASAP! Have a great week!!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

GardenHelpers!


Aren't these just 2 of the cutest helpers? They can hardly wait until time to head out to the garden in the afternoon to see what is ready to pick! With me working 10 hour days and not getting home til 5:30-they are raring to go when I get out of the Jeep! Jeff fried catfish for supper last night and Alana wanted some cucumbers to go in the salad-so out to the garden we went. We are in a VERY dry pattern with NO rain in sight-and the garden is suffering for it-Temps are close if not 100 degrees everyday-through next Wednesday. I watered the garden-hopefully can get by with every other day.

Jeff also told me we have a hen setting-so he marked the eggs. We thought about moving her into a cage after dark last night-but were just too tired. We'll see how she does today-It's just SO hot in the nest boxes-I scared she'll have a heat stroke-do chickens have heat strokes? Have a great day!

Monday, June 15, 2009

CORN!!!!

19 pints of FRESH whole kernel corn!!!!
Jeff had LOTS of help shucking corn-and the kids just LOVED the worms! We thought that when they found the first one that would be it-but they had more fun looking for the worms than shucking the corn!

Grandpa's little shadow-Kaytlynn has been pretty attached to her Grandpa for the last week or so-She wants to be wherever he is-doing whatever he is!


We had another really good weekend!! Jeff took his Dad up to the Lake to go fishing Saturday morning-he didn't catch anything. We then went on a corn hunt! We found a Farmer's Market in Onalaska that had some nice ears-but I wanted to keep looking! Mom and Shorty had taken me to the Angelina County Farmer's Market last year in Lufkin-what a pretty place. You drive over a covered bridge and it is set up as a park-picnic tables-gazebo-playground and then a small covered area for the vendors. I was a little disappointed, though. There were only 3 venders set up and alot of what the first 2 had were veggies from out of state-What's up with that???? Anyway the last on had FRESH corn from his own garden-and it had just been picked a few hours earlier! He wanted $1 for 3 ears-I got ALL he had-68 ears and he just gave me the last 8-It was beautiful corn! So we drove over an hour for corn on Saturday--he-he--only to get back home and find a message on the answering machine from Alfred that he was having a corn shucking and did we want to come up to their place!! SOOOO-we went up to the cabin and raided their garden-once AGAIN! And we came home with 63 more ears of corn, more potatoes and a few nice tomatoes! We went down to the river and caught a few fish-Jeff caught a really nice bass.



Sunday was spent canning corn. We cut most of it off the cob and I canned 20 pints! We put 30 whole ears in the freezer and 3 qt bags to add to soup stock when I get enought stuff gathered together to put it up! Randy BBQ'd for everyone at his house and we had a good supper with him and family and friends.



I am down to working 2 days a week now for a few weeks before my summer break. Jeff talked to Tim last night and in a few weeks his job will cut their hours down to 32 a week-he'll be off on Fridays-so Jeff and him will start on the cover at the Beach over the slab and the camper. I just hate that his time will be cut! Jeff says he's heard rumors on his job of the same thing! Thank God-they still have jobs-even when the hours are cut!!



Guess I better go for now-gotta get ready for work-Oh-still no calves! Have a great day!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

FIRST TOMATOES!!!


Well, the first ones finally got ripe! They are a little small-but I'm sure we will enjoy them! There are LOTS of 'em hanging out in the garden-so it won't be long and the kitchen will smell of picante sauce!--Instead of pickle juice! We pulled the garlic and the first of the onions we planted on Monday evening-only have the red onions left.

The cows are looking like they are about to bust! Rainbow was acting a little off yesterday-so I wouldn't be surprised to see a calf this afternoon! I know-I'm just rushing her. Did I say that I just LOVE baby calves???

Today is my last day to work this week-then only Mondays and Tuesdays through the first week of July. Looking foward to getting some things caught up on around here! Have a great day!

Monday, June 8, 2009

SHARKS!!!!

Dusty and Cayden with one of the sharks that Tom caught.
Randy and his shark-tickling him!!

We had another WONDERUL weekend at the beach! Two of Jeff's brothers-the twins-and sons came down on Friday morning. They set up on the beach and started fishing. They caught many small sharks over the weekend. David caught a 3 1/2 foot one on Friday. All the rest were small ones. Julie, Randy and the girls came down on Saturday and enjoyed a sunny day. Randy caught his first shark, too. He had seen on TV that if you rubbed their bellies, they would just lay in your hand-SO of course, he had to try! And it worked!! The shark just layed in his hand for almost a minute-then rolled over and swam off!


Our Doc visits went well. I'm waiting on the Doc to call me back with results of the x-rays and blood work he ordered. He seems to think there is a separation and infection in my heel that is causing my ankle to stay swollen and hurt. Guess we'll see!


The garden is coming along-we did have 1 almost ripe tomato when we got home. I need to pick the beans again this afternoon and will have to run the sprinkler this evening, too. We have NO chance of rain this week and some of the hottest temps this summer.


Still watching the cows-it could be any time now. I thought I saw a calf when we got home yesterday-but it was only a shadow under the trees. Jeff butchered 2 more rabbits-didn't get finished-we had some friends stop by and stay for awhile.


This is my first day of working 10 hour days. I won't get home til 5:30 this afternoon-YUCK! But I only do it for 11 days-unless they need me for more! I have plenty to keep me busy at work-so I know it'll go by fast!


Have a great week!!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

2009 Harvest

I have decided to start a running tally of everything we harvest here in a year-Thanks, Ang!-Wonderful idea! I always write most of it down on my kitchen calendar-My friend, Sheila, is always on the lookout for ones with LOTS of space on them for me! I'd be lost without it-as I write everything down on it. I even use it to do my income taxes at the end of the year! It lists breeding dates-and dates due, Doc Office visits, other important stuff I need to keep up with. But the other day, we were needing to know about when the cows had been bred. The time had past that they had been bred by our bull-so what was the latest date they are due this year? They are getting rolling fat-so I went to last years calendar to see when we had brought them back home-and it wasn't on my calendar! I couldn't believe I hadn't written it down! Then I thought-MY BLOG! And sure enough, it was here! So, we now know that the cows are due sometime between now and July 13th. YEAH!!! I just LOVE baby calves! But I know my egg count is WAY off-but I'll try to keep up with it.
Jeff and the coon are in a battle of the smartest! If you've never had the pleasure(?) of dealing with one-you're lucky! Seems this one likes Jeff's homemade breads! The one he caught last week was caught with a piece of cornbread. Jeff made bisquits to go with the eggs we had for supper the other night and seems that this big coon likes them very much! He set the trap night before last in the garden against the chicken pen and the coon just reached in and ate the bisquit. Last night he moved the trap into the feed shed and fixed it where he couldn't reach in-so the coon just moved the cage around til he could reach it! And tore a big hole in a bag of corn and Range Cubes! SO-the war is on!
I made 8 more pints of pickles yesterday and put another couple of handfuls of green beans in the freezer-almost have enough for a canner full. One of the cherry tomatoes is turning red-probably be ready this afternoon. I have lots of green ones-some are getting really BIG!
We have Doc appts in the morning-then off to the beach for the weekend. It's supposed to be a fishing weekend for 2 of Jeff's brothers and each of their boys. But seems like there might be quite a few others by the time the weekend is up-Julie is planning on coming up on Saturday, too. And we never know who will just drop by-We love it!
We had a wonderful rain shower yesterday! It rained GOOD for over an hour. I told Jeff I could almost hear the grass starting to grow again-It was really getting dry here!
Have a great weekend!

Monday, June 1, 2009

HAPPY JUNE 1st!!

HOMEMADE PICKLES!!!!!

We had another WONDERFUL weekend! Spent the most of Saturday up at the Burt's and DANG IT!-I forgot my camera! We took 3 HUGE logs up to their sawmill to be cut into 2x4's and 2x8's to get started on the cover at the beach. We started out the day with a ride down to the River and checked out the new cedar ceiling in the cabin-just beautiful!! We sat on the porch for awhile and just watch the river float by-and a few boats passing by. Then Alfred and Jeff got to work on the logs-and of course-Sheila and I supervised-Hey-we're good at it! Check out her blog-Just the Burt's- for the pics she took!

Yesterday I put up 16 pints of pickles! Some of the cukes came from my garden-but most from Alfred and Sheila's. They sent us home with cukes,new potatoes,yellow and zuchini squash! I've put up 5 quarts of squash this week with lots more to go!

We had a visit from another coon last night-or early this morning, I should say. We had a dead hen last week-but I have several old ones-soo. But I heard them this morning-and Jeff got up and there was a BIG coon in the pen and 1 more dead hen :( He got 2 shots off-but said it got away! I'll check around after daylight and see.

We have a short work week-Thursday is only a half day for me and we both have Doc appts on Friday morning-Jeff's is for blood pressure and I've been suffering from just TOO many headaches in the last few weeks! Jeff's job is just hanging on by a thread right now-they layed 10 more off last Friday. And his back is REALLY giving him a fit this weekend-Probablly the worst I've seen him in awhile-I just hate it when I can't make things easier for him! We'll leave for the beach as soon as we get back home from the Doc on Friday-maybe (?) he'll relax and take it easy! Have a great week!!!