TGIF

Thank God It's Friday.  I have the next four days off.  Yeah.  I hope to be very productive around the house.  We will See.  If you do not hear from me this is why.

Things I Am Not Thankful For

You may ask why I choose to live the way I do after you read my list of things I am not thankful for.

1.  mud
I do not like mud it is sticky and wet.  Of course the ducks love the mud.  I dump their two kiddy pools every other day and refill them.  The ducks get so excited and quack, quack, quack.  Then the waddle over to the new puddles and quack and quack.
2.  Poop
I do not like poop.  Yet I have so much.  I do know that poop has many benefits.  When you are cleaning out pens you are not thinking about those benefits.  Since I have not successfully had a garden I have not used the poop to its potential.
3.  Loud Noises
The minute I step out the door I hear every voice.  The are saying.  Mama are you bringing me something to eat.  Mama did you see what they did.  Mama please pet me.  Mama look at my present.  Mama, Mama, Mama.
4.  Bugs
Spiders, Crickets, Ants, flies, Creepy Crawlers.  Need I say more.  They love hay and corn, and poop.  Not to mention the water.  In the morning we have the flies bothering us until they find the fly catchers and then they do not bother us anymore.  At night time the past week we have had one or two mosquitoes.  Because we do not let our water stand sitting for more than a day we do not have very many mosquitoes. 

I'm sure there are more things but who wants to read more. 

Poor Sad Little White Chicken

Poor sad chicken.  Let me tell you about our two remaining white chickens.  They came with 8 other chickens from a friend.  She no longer wanted them because her children grew up and moved away.  She was getting to many eggs.  What, too many eggs?  Like most of the smaller animals we transported them in our dog kennel.  They came from high up on the mountain.  They rode in the back of the pickup.  When they arrived they were a little windblown.  We put them in with the other 8 chickens that we already had.  Right away they began to push the other chickens around.  Pecking anyone who got in the way.  They were the first to eat.  They got the first treats.  When we watered in the morning they were the first to drink.  The first to roost too.   They are very old.  They came to us used.  2 years old at least.  So when they started to die I thought it was okay.  Now when I took the baby roosters out of their tractor I expected some pecking.  But I did not think it would be that bad.  So anyway I moved the remaining teenage chickens and the two white chickens back into the old chicken coop. Leaving the 16, yes I counted 16 live baby roosters.  In the new coop.  I want to give them a chance to grow.  I expected the two white chickens to rule the roost again.  But only one did.  In fact she picked on everyone including her white sister.  Poor sad chicken has a sore foot, no tail feathers, and a hurt eye.  I scooped her up.  Put her in with the baby roosters.  She is eating, drinking, and pooping.  All good things.  I even got an egg from her this morning.  If she survives this I will be surprised.  She is a sad sight.  I will give her a little time to see if she heals.  I like to give them a chance.  Old white chickens do not have much meat on them, if you know what I mean.

Heed Your Dreams

Early this morning I woke up from a dream.  June our deceased mother dog was stuck in the home of terrible men in a room with growly snarly dogs.  I had to get her and walk through those mean dogs.  When I carried her out we had to climb stairs.  At the top of the stairs were hundreds of puppies.  Some were dead, some were chewed on, some were bloody, some were wanting attention.   I woke up and went back to bed thinking it was just a bad dream.  When we went outside to feed the animals we saw them 4 dead baby roosters.  Their little bodies were still warm.  If only I got up to check on them.  It seems like in the early morning light the older chickens scared the baby roosters into the corners of the pen and they smothered each other.  We let the baby roosters out of the tractor yesterday they got along fine.  4 dead, 2 pecked. There are 15 left.  We banded the teenage chickens with zip ties.  and put them in the old coop with the old chickens.  I also put the chicken who was in with the duck in the coop at the same time.  I will call her the crocked little hen because her tail grew back in crocked.

no menu

a menu is impossible for my family to follow.  It sounds good when we are doing it but during the week it does not work.  Because of my work schedule my husband is home alone for dinner 3 nights a week.  My oldest son gets home from school after 9:30 during the week.  I have jotted down a menu in the past.  They do not use it.  So I try to buy easy food for them.  My oldest eats mostly french fries.  He uses the deep fryer.  This is life.  I must come to an understanding with my family so we see eye to eye.

Abby

This is Abby she started it all.  Abby is a lamancha.  Lamanchas are medium size to small goats.  They give nice quality milk.  They have the most unusual ears or lack of should I say.  They can hear, they have little bud shape ears.  She is standing on the milking station.  I open the gate to the pen and she jumps right up.  She is so quiet and has a kind personality.  If I call her she will come.  Not because I have treats.  She just comes and she will stay.  The others will only stay if I have treats.  She came to our house with her own house.  She likes to lounge in it or on it or by it.  But mostly in it.  I have put collars one all the female goats.  It makes it easier to handle them.  I really only have to handle DQ.  She is very stubborn and hard to deal with.  The other goats know exactly what to do and where to go.  The older females have no horns.  We chose not to dis bud our new goats.  I like the horns.  They look normal.  We use the horns as handles.  Besides the little horns that are burnt off sometimes grow back.  They come back in unusual shapes.  They are not strong and they break off easily.  The can also grow around into the scull.  So this means we must cut them.  They do not like this one bit.  I can imagine they experience pain.  Their horns are attached to the sinus cavity.  So we chose not to dis bud.  I feel bad for them when we have to cut them.  Heidi had a horn/ scur break off last week.  This coming week I will have to trim the horns again.  Abby's grows towards her eye.  Heidi's grows towards the center of the horns but into the scull.  So far Coco and DQ have not needed a trim.  I haven't seen any growth on them.  I believe the females are pregnant.  They have a nice shape to them.  It is hard to tell with goats.  There is no urine test for goats.  Wouldn't that be funny to see.  All the farmers crouching under their does with little sticks waiting for them to pee.  

8/18/12 Reviews

Dolphin Tale

A quiet boy who struggles with school stumbles upon an injured dolphin on the beach.  The Rescue hospital takes the dolphin in and must amputate her tail fin.  Meanwhile the boy’s neighbor goes into the army and is injured causing him to wear a leg brace.  When the boy goes to visit his neighbor he sees all the veterans wearing prosthetic s.  This gives the boy the idea to use a prosthetic fin to help the dolphin swim.  The Rescue hospital is a nonprofit and they cannot afford to stay open.  When a young girl, who also had a leg amputated, comes to visit the dolphin the boy has an idea to help the hospital stay open. 

 Courageous

This book is about a group of law men and a hard working Mexican.A father loses his daughter and he realizes he has not been a very good father.  He looks thru the bible for advice.  An African American is new to town and is car jacked wright off the bat.  He has a teenage daughter who wants to date.  Her new male friend is with the same gang that tried to steal his truck and is a drug gang.  They catch them and the young man goes to jail.  One of the sheriffs is caught stealing drugs from the lock up and goes to jail. One of the sheriffs has a four year old daughter that he does not know.  The hard working Mexican is looking for a job when he asks God for help he hears his name and begins to work for the first father I mentioned.  This father has connections and is able to get him a steady factory job.  After the first father loses his daughter he makes a resolution to be a better father.  Not a “good enough” father.  These men all sign the resolution and they strive to be better at their lives to show their children thru example.  The first father challenges you to do the same.  

Journey 2 the Mysterious Island

A teenage boy receives a message from his lost grandfather.  He and his step father do not see eye to eye.  They must decipher the code to rescue the grandfather.  They charter a helicopter to fly to the island.  This brings in the broke helicopter pilot and his teenage daughter.  When they crash they realize they are in another world.  They had to use different books to navigate thru the island, (Gulliver’s travels, Treasure Island, 80 leagues under the sea).  When they discover Atlantis the island was sinking.  They needed to get to the other side to find the nautilus to get home thru the storm.  In the end the broke helicopter pilot uses the nautilus to give tours creating enough money for his daughter to go to college in the states.  The teenage boy is gifted journey to the moon as a birthday present by his adventurous grandfather.  The step father is very excited to take another adventurous trip.

 

Christmas Cottage

Young painter, Thomas Kinkade returns home for Christmas only to find it in disrepair.  His mother is out of work and behind on the mortgage.  His Mentor is suffering from old age and is uncap able of finishing anymore paintings.  The young painter takes a job painting a mural for the town to bring in money.  His mother is involved in the town Christmas Pageant and everything goes wrong.  The mayor is furious.  The young painter’s father speaks up and says it is not a failure.  The town’s people agree.  The have a candle service out to the mural and love it.  The old mentor completed his last painting and gifted it to the family.  He tells the young painter it is all in the light.  They sell it and never have any bills to pay. 

Debbie Macomber

Heart of Texas Vol 1

This book is divided into two stories:
Lonesome Cowboy

This is a story about the lives of three people really.  They live in a small town.  Their parents died suddenly leaving them with a ranch and an inheritance.  The youngest brother, Richard was a user and a shaker, low life.  He stole all the inheritance money and disappeared.  The oldest brother, Grady had to work the ranch to save the home.  He was angry with Richard and everyone really.  Throughout the story he tries to date Caroline, Savannah’s best friend but mucks it up.  The middle child was Savannah who had a hobby business in roses.  She even went to old ghost towns to collect them. The ghost town Bitter End is the most recent.  On her way home she picks up a drifter, Loredo.  He enters the story and becomes romantically involved with Savannah.  He has nothing and eventually leaves her heart broken only to return in the end to ask her for her hand in marriage.  Richard returns expecting the family to forget and forgive.  He is using them for expensive purchases and a huge party.  Of course they do not realize this.  He is showing interest in the feed store keeper’s daughter, Ellie.

Texas Two-Step

 This part of the story is about Ellie, the feed store owner.  Her father passed away and her mother moved away leaving her with the feed store.  She is romanced by Richard who sees dollar signs when he is with her.  She is also romanced by her old time friend Glen, a local Rancher.  Glen has a hard time finding the right words to tell Ellie he loves her.  She finally agrees to marry Glen.  Richard is going around town racking up bills and he is planning to run away to hide in the ghost town.  When the store owners contact Grady about Richard’s bills he says he paid them.  Grady is still interested in Caroline but he is unable to show it.  Cal, a Rancher who is Glens’s brother was left by his fiance and he has a cold heart to all females.  At the very end Ellie tells Glen she would like to find a new love for Cal.

 

Heart of Texas Vol 2

This book is divided into two stories:

Caroline’s Child

Grady and Caroline work at a romance.  Richard is racking up a huge bill all over Promise so he can go disappear in Bitter End, the ghost town.  Dovie a 50+ Antique store owner and Sheriff Frank have a relationship for over 10 years but are not married.  Ellie and Glen get married.  Savannah and Loredo are building a house.  The City, Dr. Jane doesn’t fit it and Dovie sets her up with Ellie to make friends.  Ellie tells Dr. Jane she needs to change so Texans will start to like her.  Richard leaves Promise to hole up in Bitter End while running away from the law.  He has warrants in other cities as well as owing the shop owners of Promise upwards of $8,000.  Maggie, Caroline’s daughter falls asleep in the truck Richard steels from the ranch. When he finds out he threatens Maggie telling her Caroline will be hurt if she tells where they were.  She takes an antique doll from the Ghost town. Caroline and Grady are so happy when she walks into the ranch that they want to get married.  Caroline tells Grady that Maggie is really Richard’s daughter. 

 Dr. Texas

Dr. Jane is from California.  She took a government contract to work off her student loans.  She must learn to be a Texan to fit in.  So she changes her look, plays bingo, listens to country music, and takes horseback riding lessons.  She takes these lessons from rancher Cal.  They start dating.  When her parents come to town Cal feels like she will return to California and he breaks it off.  He had a previous engagement where his fiance left him 2 days before the wedding to go to the big city.  At Grady and Caroline’s wedding the preacher says there are no guarantees with love.  Cal asks Jane to marry him.  Telling her he will sell everything and move to California.  Jane tells him she loves Promise and plans to stay.  The town folks figuer out Richard is in the ghost town because of the antique doll.  Richard is found in a collapsed building in Bitter End injured.  He is flown out to Austin for internal injuries.  Grady pays all his debt to the merchants of Promise.  Dovie and Frank break up at Ellie and Glen’s wedding.  Frank said he wasn’t the marring type.  Dovie goes on a singles cruise.  Frank dates the town gossip.  During Caroline and Grady’s wedding Frank asks Dovie to marry him

Not Pay Day Friday

Today is Friday.  Not pay day Friday.  Just Friday. I was surprised when my husband asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast.  I thought we were broke.  He said don't worry about it.  So I hurry to feed the animals and run to get ready.  I asked him which eatery.  He said McDonald's.  So He fallows me out in his work van.  I have a great idea to try a different restaurant.  My oldest son and I went there once.  He ordered a weird sandwich which he didn't like.  I thought mine was tasty.  So I call my husband on his cell.  I know I could have just talked to him through the window.  Anyway he says sure.  We get there, sit and order.  We chat about nothing really.  They bring out our food and he doesn't like his.  Mine was fine.  But when I was halfway done they bring out my toast.  I completely forgot I ordered toast.  My husband doesn't eat his eggs.  I ask him why.  He shows me they are not cooked.  Yuck.   Boy am I glad he wasn't Chef Ramsay.  So I try to joke and say it's a good thing the pigs like raw eggs.  We get our check and leave.  He to work and me to home.  I did not give out the name of the restaurant on purpose.  I don't like to talk bad about places.  We just don't make a return visit.  Any Way I feel like it is harder and harder to have an enjoyable experience dinning out anymore.  Something is always off.

8/16/12 Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for over cast days. Any thing that takes the heat out of the day.  Each time I step outside I look up and smile

Wordless Wednesday

This is a picture of Bandit and Taco running from who knows were.  I said wordless Wednesday but I feel I must add a little note.  This is a picture from my front door.  When I call the outside dogs they come running from this direction.  They come from miles away. I call their names and clang their dishes together.  They come running and running and running.   

Thrifty Tuesday

Homemade fly catcher
If you have flies you will appreciate these. When I went to the feed store to look at flycatchers we were surprised at the price. 8.99 and up. I bought two. They are half-gallon plastic jars with screw on lids that have holes in them. A terrible smelling liquid comes with it. You fill the jar up half full with water add the liquid and hang. They worked wonderfully. My husband wanted me to buy more. When I told him how much they were he looked for alternatives. We goggled and found a 2-liter soda bottle version. I will show you step by step how to make one.

Fly Catcher

You will need:
1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 liter soda bottle
Pair of scissors
Sharp knife
Black electrical tape
String

Step 1
Cut top off bottle, just over label making a nice funnel using scissors

Step 2
Remove label and lid

Step3
Place created funnel in soda bottle and tape all around the sharp edges

Step 4
Punch 2 holes on opposite sides thru black tape using sharp knife

Step 5
Push string thru holes and tie

Step 6
Mix ¼ cup sugar with 1-cup water and pour in new flycatcher
You are finish now go and hang it up and watch the sorry little pests get stuck in your free flycatcher.
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Menu Monday

I think I will start writing down a menu to help with food costs. I usually try to buy a little extra to help on those weeks when money is tight. So this week with purchasing school supplies I will need to shop from the pantry and freezer. Keep in mind I also Bake several loaves of bread, muffins, waffles, cookies, and snack bars each week. I also try to boil a dozen eggs, prepare potato salad, puddings, and jellos. I find Jell-O extremely difficult. It is hard for me to leave it alone. I can not help myself from looking at it and touching it. I also make flavored yogurt and chevre, which I eat with crackers or on raisin bread.

Monday
Breakfast
sausage links/ eggs/ toast

Lunch
tomato soup/ grilled cheese

Dinner
Italian stuffed peppers

Tuesday
Breakfast
rice breakfast casserole

Lunch
egg salad sandwich/ cantaloupe

Dinner
chicken alfredo/ garlic bread

Wednesday
Breakfast
waffles

Lunch
tuna fish sandwich/ cottage cheese

Dinner
potato soup

Thursday
Breakfast
oatmeal

Lunch
fish tacos

Dinner
sloppy joes/ tatter tots/ baked beans

Friday
Breakfast
bagel

Lunch
bean and cheese burrito

Dinner
homemade pizza

Saturday
Breakfast
breakfast burritos

Lunch
mac and cheese/ hot dogs

Dinner
crescent roll dinner

SundayBreakfast
Cereal

Lunch
Leftovers

Dinner
Breakfast For Dinner
　
　
　
　
　

Sunday Surprise

When I came home from work Sunday there was a nice surprise. When I arrive home I usually do a drive by. This is when I drive through the rows of pens to check on the animals. I check to make sure everyone is where they belong. That they have water and food. And that nobody is hurting any body else. So the first pen I drive up to is the duck pen. I see three white heads right off the bat. I should only have two white ducks. Surprise. I now have eight ducks. Two new ducks. One large Pekin and one normal size runner duck. It seems the neighbor has a friend who could no longer give water to these two ducks. The neighbor did not want them. He said they were too messy. I suppose if all you had were two ducks and lots and lots of chickens they would be considered messy. But what is two more ducks if you already have six. They seem to fit right in. A lot of butt sniffing if you know what I mean. I am unsure which sex they are yet. This morning I got 4 eggs still like always. We had one male Pekin duck for sure. One female Pekin duck and one female gray Swedish duck, who is Uno’s mother, and two female runner ducks. Uno is to young to lay eggs or Uno might be a male. I hope Uno is a girl. We have no reason to have more than one male duck. Unfortunately we will be getting rid of any females that do not lay eggs. Feed is to expensive to keep them as pets. So I hope that these two ducks are females also.

reviews

I go to the library almost every week.  I usually get several books and 4 movies.  4 is the limit.  I would probably get more if I were allowed.  Any way I thought I would write about these.

Ten Inch Hero

Four friends deal with their love lives and learn about themselves while working in a funky sandwich shop in Santa Cruz, California. Sex, love, ten-inch heroes, and laughs are part of the everyday life in this hip little shop.     
A little unusual.  The roles played were so different.  First this movie takes place in a sandwich shopped owned by an older hippie who is in love with the across the street self proclaimed witch.  He does every thing he can for his employees.  The rest of the characters are in their twenties.  There is a young man who acts like the naughty punkster who is misunderstood.  Then a promiscuous beautiful girl  who is looking for a good fling.  And a Nerdy, computer geek who just wants a loving relationship but is concerned with her looks. Finally a mother who was forced to give her baby girl up for adoption over 8 yrs ago.  She is stalking the family that she thinks her little girl is with. 

The Boys Next Door

Four mentally challenged men share a house and with the help of a social worker learn to cope with the ups and downs of daily life through laughter, love, & joy.
Good example of the life of a special group of men.   Each man has his own troubles.  The social worker has a hard time with his normal life at home when he leaves his work. Their is a man who has a hard time dealing with his family and goes into a scisopranic episode because of a visit from his father. Then the older man is taken advantage of at the grocery store and is pressured to buy a large number of cereal and lettuce.  He tries to take it back but is misunderstood.  A donut maker who has an attraction to the female persuasion.  He collects keys and has a terrible attachment to them.  Then there is a large  man who would have done great things in the agricultural world had he not had a mental handicap.  He is asked to appear in court so they can decide how the home is working. 

The Mighty Macs

In the early '70s, Cathy Rush became the head basketball coach at a tiny, all-girls Catholic college. Though her team had no gym or uniforms, and the school was in danger of being sold, Coach Rush steered her girls to their first national championship. 
This is a story about a new couch teach a struggling female college basketball team to the nationals.  She struggles with her home life because she is always away.  The nun who becomes the assistant couch is a surprise.  Who would know that a nun could drink and play basketball like that.  The girls each have their own issues from being part of a poor family to being expected to become a nurse, from breaking up with a boyfriend to getting good grades.  

In From the Night

 Vicki Miller (Marcia Gay Harden) is a writer who has cut herself off from her dysfunctional family. Her life drastically changes when one night, her 16-year-old nephew Bobby (Taylor Handley) shows up unannounced on her doorstep. He looks tired and depressed, and when Vicki realizes that he's run away, she takes him in. From that point on, Vicki is bound to Bobby. This story tells the tale of two people trying to find themselves and make their way in the world. It's a story of two people's paths to acceptance and healing, and they both benefit from this one child's need for love and a family.    
This story is about an abuse teenager who is trying to change to overcome what he feels about the past and all the disorders that it created.  The female adult puts her life on hold to help change him.

This is a great series by Debbie Macomber

The Shop On Blossom Street
Meet Lydia a twice cancer survivor who buys this little shop and apartment combo.  Her sister Margaret who does not think a yarn store is practical Her three very different students.  Alix a punk rocker who had a very hard life.  Jacqueline a wealth older new grandmother.  Carol a young women hoping for a child. 
A Good Yarn
Lydia meets Brad and his ex wife enters the picture.  Margaret's husband is out of work and they are about to loose their home.  Meet Elise who's ex husband is re entering her life.  Bethanne who is recently divorced and can't find a footing.  And Courtney who must live with her grandmother for her senior year after her mother dies.
Susannah's Garden 
Meet Susan wife and teacher she must go to put her older mother in a home and pack up her childhood home.  While she goes through painful memories she re meets old friends.  Her mother Vivian who lost her husband and is struggling with dementia.  Her daughter who is suffering from a broken heart and looking for new love.  And a twist on the story her dead brother who was never dead.  In the Susan changes her life.  Opening a floral shop.
Back On Blossom Street
Lydia has married Brad the ups man.  The apartment is rented by Colette a young business woman who we find out is pregnant and running from the father of the child.  She works at Susannnah's Garden.  Alix is going to be married and going thru that turmoil.  And Julia, Margaret's daughter, was car jacked and injured.  Both physically and mentally.
Twenty Wishes
Meet Anne Marie she owns the book store on Blossom Street.  She is a recent widow and holds a widows meeting on Valentines day where they make up the idea to list twenty wishes they would like.  Elise's Maverick passed away and she gives Anne Marie the idea to become a reading buddy at the local elementary school.  This is where we Meet Ellen.  She is from a broken home and her grandmother passes away and leaves Ellen to Anne Marie.  Ellen also makes her own list.  We meet Lillie and Barbie who are new widows their wealth husbands died in the same plane crash.  They start over with a new lives and their new male friendships. 
Summer On Blossom Street
Lydia wants to adopt a child. Meet Casey a foster teen who has a hard time fitting in.  Alix and her husband want to have a child but first she must stop smoking.  Phoebe who just left a bad relationship.  Bryan a CEO of a candy company who must lower his blood pressure.  Phoebe and Bryan start a relationship. 
The Twenty-First Wish
This book was different in the publisher added two other stories at the end.  These were not related and did not belong.  Anyway Anne Marie and Ellen bought a new house.  Ellen adds find my dad to her list making twenty one.  Ellen's dad comes along.  After a while Anne Marie and Tim, Ellen's dad, Get together.
A Turn in The Road
Bethanne, her ex mother in law, and her daughter take a trip across the country to Florida.  Her mother in law has a class reunion where she hopes to re unite with her high school boyfriend.  Her daughter Annie is going to forget a sweetheart who took a trip to Europe without her.  She tries to find romance on the trip meeting a couple two different men.  Bethanne  meets a biker who is really a CEO in disguise trying to forget about the death of his wife and daughter.  Mean while the ex husband is trying to get Bethanne back.

These books go thru the lives of the customers, families, and owners of the shops.  I would love to walk down this street and meet all the characters.  I really enjoy Debbie Macombers way of writing.  everything is connected from one character to another.  Add a little bit of romance. 

Payday Friday

Today was payday Friday.  Usually we wake up feed the animals quickly.  Then head off to Walmart where we use the Money Center to cash my husbands check.  I pay all our bills using our Walmart pay as you go visa which my check is automatically deposited into.  After that we go to McDonald's to grab a quick bite before my husband goes off to work and I run around doing errands.  While I was ordering the young girl wanted me to combine my order into a meal.  I buy 1 sausage mcmuffin, 1 hash brown, 1 lrg soda.  It totals $3.00 the meal price is $4.99.  She could not understand that I did not want to get the meal.  I had to tell her if I buy the meal price I spend $1.99 more.  Then she got it.  Things that make you go hum.  Before I left Walmart I picked up a few things.  Yah right.  It is never a few things.  I can never leave without spending over a hundred dollars.  They have the best deli pizzas.  I picked one up for dinner for my husband and my oldest. 

Then I went to the Pet Smart to get crickets and gold fish.  The crickets are for the two tarantulas and the two leopard geckos.  The gold fish are for the turtle, stretch.  I go to Pet Smart every payday, I talk to the same person every payday.  Every time she asks me what I am feeding.  I tell her every payday.  You would think by now she would remember me.  Thats ok I like talking about my animals.   Funny story though.  I placed  the fish in with the turtle leaving them in the bag to float in the water until the temperature is the same.  Then I went to put the groceries away.  When I went back to open the bag the turtle had already riped open little holes and ate all the fish.  The little piggie

Then I stopped at the Pet Club to get chicken crumbles for the ducks.  They asked me if I wanted my usual order.  Funny how they know me.  I said no thanks but we are trying something different.  We have decided to only feed the ducks the chicken crumbles.  The chickens are going to get the pig mixture.  It is rolled corn, oats, barley and we will add crushed oyster shells.  They were getting the pig mixture as a treat and they gobble it up.  After doing much research I have come to the conclusion that this will be sufficient for the chickens.  The pig mixture is .18 cents a pound while the chicken crumble is .35 cents a pound.  In the long run it will be better.  The ducks do not like the pig mixture it will sit in their enclosure for ever.  So our order went from over a hundred dollars to seventeen dollars.  We didn't need anything else there.  We are finished with vaccines for now. 

Then I went to the dollar store.  This was good because my oldest needed plain composition notebooks.  Walmart only had bright vibrant colored ones that he did not like.  I picked up three.  I also get french fries at the dollar store.  French fries are the staple of my oldest's diet.  He can eat them like nobodies business.  I worry about all the frying he does but he is young, right?  I also bought some strawberry preserve.  I use jelly to flavor my yogurt.  I hope the preserves work just the same. 

I was unable to find Popsicle forms.  I have a craving to make my own.  Many years ago I had them with bears on the ends.  That was when the children were in grade school.  So today I looked at both stores.  I suppose I will have to order them on line.  I found a recipe for fudgecicles.  yummy.  I don't like cold things.  They hurt my teeth.  But occasionally I have a craving. 

Last night I did not sleep well.  Night mares of snakes under things.  With so many animals we have lots of containers for food and water.  So my dreams were of finding snakes in every enclosure.  Like it was a run on snakes.  I am silly.  This will not happen.  But still a sleepless night. 

Snake

Today I killed a king snake.  I am very afraid of snakes.  When I was a teenager a friend put a snake around my neck when I was napping.  Not so fun to wake up to his pet.  My family is afraid of snakes also.  My sister in Maricopa even jumps when she sees a snake on TV or in a book.  When our children were younger she would make them skip those pages.  When we lived in Alabama a rattle snake curled up on our front porch.  We lived by a creek and there were water moccasins everywhere.  when my husband mowed the grass they would all slither away from the mower.  I am sure that is how my children learned to run.  From the snakes.  Just kidding. 

In my opinion all snakes are potential killers.  If I let one go it will be the one that bites someone, or something I love.  So today when I was watering the inside dogs, who must go out to the dog run when we are not home, I came across a black snake with yellow rings.  I filled the 5 gallon jug and then I was washing the container we leave out for the Chihuahua.  When I lifted it up to rinse it out there was the snake.  I was startled.  Thank goodness I left the dogs inside.  I dropped the container on the snake and ran to get a shovel  so I could cut off it's head.  I picked up the container and hit the snake with the shovel.  It did not want to die.  I have killed snakes before and it surprised me how much it fought.  Any way it finally died.  I threw it in the garbage and went inside to google what kind it was. 

The snake most likely was a king snake.  Not poisonous.  But as I said before all snakes are bad.  I could not have left it there and put the dogs out.  They would have found it most certainly.  I texted my husband and of course he was busy and said "K".   Not you are so brave, I am so proud of you, What a big girl.  Just "K".  Oh well.  I still feel like a big girl. 

I'm Back

I have returned. I have no reason to offer for my lack of writing. I just haven't wanted to do anything but go thru the motions of life. It was like everything was to much. You know getting up everyday to do the same thing. I couldn't do anything extra. I wasn't even crocheting. Anyway sorry.

Everything on the homestead is doing fine. The animals are growing and thriving. We are making it through the summer heat. Water, water, water is the key. Oh yes and shade. But for the life of me, I do not understand why the silly goats will not use their shade. Not any of them. The stand in the blazing 110 + heat and chew away. It is as if the heat doesn't faze them. I hurry to do the chores in and out so I can get back to our house. My shade. They seem content.

We put the female goats with the bucks at the beginning of this month and left them there for a week then separated them again. And like last year Ned got right to work. He is very ornery. So it is a good thing he produces such nice kids. With the mamas help of coarse. Many times my husband and sons have said just get rid of him and find a new buck. I think on it. But here he is still. He is a small goat so he tries to intimidate others. Be it the other goats or the humans. His method of scare is head butting which is the case for most bucks. I remember one time he got me thru the fence. He hit it so hard I landed on my butt. Not before I hit my knee on the milking stand. I hurt for a good two weeks. This is also the reason why he is housed alone. When we purchased our Heidi and Coco they had their bucks penned alone. Now I know why. They are bullies.

We have 3 bucks. Ned who we keep for Abby, Heidi, and Coco all smaller breeds. Sprinkles who we keep for DQ, Nubians. Chocolate who we keep for Oreo and Barbie our babies. Yesterday we put DQ in with Sprinkles again. I did not think she was breed the last time. Sprinkles is housed with Chocolate. We haven't had any problems with these two males together yet. I think it is an age thing. I know the day will come when we must separate them. Goats are herd animals. They do not like to be alone. So It is sad for me to put them in a pen without a companion. However, what choice do I have when they are so mean to each other they cause blood. We will need to create yet another pen for Chocolate. I am hoping it can wait until colder weather. Nobody should be working outside in Arizona in 110 + weather. That is a sad statement because my husband did for over ten years.

Back to goats. The babies are in the new pig pen. I was afraid to leave them with the females when we put the males in with them, for fear of mating. They are to young, not yet 3 months old. Oreo is blind and follows Barbie around. They have a communication system all their own. Kind of a beeping sound. Oreo will walk backwards to get around which is something I thought was strange. But if you think about it would you want to bump your head or your bottom when bumping into things. Humans would use their hands to feel for walls and things. She can not. Walking on all fours and all. The wooden pallets we get are sometimes flawed. I was worried about a large gap on the top of one. It is by the gate and will eventually be an internal wall for the next pen. but it is alone right now. The babies put there little heads over the gap to look out. Very cute to see two little heads poking out to see you. Even when I know Oreo can't see. She to puts her head there just like her sister.


Right now Abby, Coco, and Heidi share a pen. Dq does not get along with these goats. When we are done mating her we will put the babies back in the pen with DQ. I am hoping the babies will not want to nurse after this separation. I milk my goats. That is there purpose. The milk stand is right outside the mamas pen. I open the gate and they jump right on. Sometimes they all want on at once. DQ is another thing. She is afraid of the milk stand Right now I walk her/ pull/ push/ drag her to move her outside the pen. She is named DQ for Drama Queen. When I finally get her out I have to hobble her foot to a pole. She gives close to a gallon but I have to work for every drop. When I made chevre last week I got three 8 oz containers from her one gallon of milk. When I use the other mamas one gallon of milk only yields one 8 oz container if I am lucky. I make yogurt once a week and chevre once a week. I put the yogurt on cheerios instead of milk, and use the chevre on my bagels instead of cream cheese. I have also made mozzarella which i eat with crackers. I am still using up all the grated cheese from the grocery store. To make Mozzarella the milk must be at least three days old or it doesn't work correctly, at least that is my experience. The pigs get whatever whey is left over and occasionally milk They slurp it up eagerly.

The pigs are growing. I think Dinner, the pig that was castrated, will be ready for the freezer before my November birthday. We feed them rolled corn and oats that my husband gets from the mill. They were getting whole corn but the mill didn't have that available last time. We soak it the night before. They also get any kitchen scraps and eggs that have cracked or are to soiled. After i wash them of coarse. What funny creatures, as soon as they see you walking out the door they begin to talk excitedly. I can imagine what they are saying to each other. They like to have their ears scratched and to be sprayed with the hose. Watering them is another story. We water them in barrel cut in half. As soon as you dump out the soiled water and scrub the barrels to refill they are standing in them talking happily. My husband has saved an old water heater that he is going to make a water device with a float in it so they can only put their snout in it. I think they will miss this morning ritual. However, making sure they always have clean water is very difficult.

The chickens are also thriving. That is if we can keep them inside their coops. We have one full grown rooster, four adult barred rocks, two adult black stars, five adult rhode island reds, and two adult red stars in the old coop. In the new coop we have three adult white leghorns, two teenage rhode island reds, two teenage americans, and two teenage welsummers. In this coop we also have placed the tractor that houses the remaining 24 barred rock roosters that we got on June 25th. I say remaining because we started out with 27. They kept getting out. The outside dogs like to eat chicken, as do I. They don't care how its prepared. I prefered mine to be cooked. He he. Oh I forgot we also have a teenage americana in the bunny house. Their was two but one got out and was dinner for the dogs this was after the other chickens tried to peck them to death. Occasionally a chicken will be brave an get out on its own. Flying out or running out the door, who knows. When we first built the new coop the dogs were stealing the chickens out from under the walls. They would lye and wait until a hen would go and sit in their favorite corner and grab them out. This was clever on the dogs part. We have since put blocks and boards in their way. One brave hen fought for her life which resulted in a broken wing. She still lays one egg a day. I didn't have the heart to cull her. She is thriving, this is months later. Her wing still hangs on her she roosts and eats and lays just like all the others. The chickens are at summer production. They will lay occasionally but not the whites. Every single day I get three nice white eggs, rain or shine. The teen age chickens have started to lay. It is so exciting to see their first egg. They are always so tiny. So far we get three different eggs a solid light brown an long oval light brown and a speckled brown. You wold think with 25 chickens we would be rolling in eggs, nope only about 10 to twelve a day. I bake alot and we eat eggs for breakfast. So I hope when it gets cooler they produce more. Some of the older chickens are getting up there in the years. I thought maybe I should wait and catch the ones who are laying and mark them and the ones that are not laying we should put in the freezer. In October the little roosters should be big enough to put in the freezer. So In September we should get 25 new egg layers and start a new flock. We shall see. I will get white leghorns for egg laying purposes.

Ducks
Well they are happy. Little Uno is as big as the other ducks. We had Uno and the gray female in the bunny house but all the water and no sun was causing a lot of flies. For the past two days we have left the gate open between the bunnies and the ducks and there haven't been any fights. No feather loses at least. Uno walks around cautious though. To fight the flies the feed store has canisters which you fill with water and put a terrible smelling goo in then screw on the top which has holes in and hang. The flies can't get enough of it. We got two. Placing one on our back porch and one in the bunny house above the duck water. Just a note it seems the one in the bunny house in the shaded areas does better than the one in direct sun. My husband has cleaned the one in the bunny house twice and we only got it ten days ago. As far as eggs go we get 3 to 4 a day. Uno is not laying eggs I don['t know if its an age thing or which sex uno is. I hope female. They have a duck house which I have never seen them in but they lay eggs there now. And each side still has a pool. They like to be sprayed with water. Their past time is drilling holes in whatever puddle is available. They love watermelon. I cut up the rinds and throw it in the pools and they dive bomb the rinds and gobble them up.

The bunnies or as my husband said I should call them rabbits. To each his own. We struggle to keep them cool. They get water in bottles to drink, water in bowls to throw around and frozen bottles of water to lay on. I also spray them down, which they do not like. They have a fan which blows on them. Out of all the animals they have the most shade. They are covered on the ceiling, and all sides. We feed them pellets, hay and vegetables. The females are still young they snuggle with each other. When I first got them we separated them. No eating, no drinking, just pacing. We tried this for a couple of days. I was so worried. I did not want to lose anymore bunnies. So I put two in each cage. Now I am worried that they will get to hot because they lay on each other. It is so hot. The two males seem content. I hope to breed them at the end of August. Again we will see.

We have 5 dogs. Dogs are like children. You must watch them all the time. I feel that my husband and I are fairly good at this. The boys do not do this very well. So needless to say the dogs do potty in the house on occasion. We have carpet. My husband cleans carpets for a living. You know the saying the plumber has leaky pipes, the electrician has bad wires, well the carpet tech has bad floors. We have riped our carpet out it is wonderful to have them gone. How yucky is that. We are hoping to replace it with wood floors. any way. The dogs have those automatic 5 gallon water canisters. They are so smart. The water that pools in the outside bowl gets dirty probably because they step in it. They will tip the 5 gallon jug over to get at the inside water. This is fine for that drink and maybe the next. But then when that water dries up they have none. So they roll the jug around to get more. We have placed blocks on top of the jugs to stop this but they still nock it over. We would use a 5 gallon bucket like the other animals but poor memee the chihuahua can not reach. We have been giving shots to the dogs. This Friday will be the last. At the end of August Taco and Puppy have appointments to be fixed. We will get the rabies shot then for them. This will be nice. It is so yucky when a dog goes thru the menstrual cycle. They do sell cute little diapers for them. But it is yucky still the same. We will have to continue with diapers for Memee. She is to old to get fixed, or so they say. She was a rescue. They do not now how old she is but the vets do not want to fix her.

The children start school today. My youngest lives in Maricopa with my sister during the week and comes home on the weekend. My oldest attends the night classes at a local high school. He is also wanting to attend an online school to play catch up. He has made some poor choices and is now very far behind. In the past we swapped kids every weekend. We have had them both at home a couple of times and no blood was drawn. It is hard to keep them busy all the time. They have video games, computers to surf, tv to watch, telephones to text, you know. Then of coarse theres the animals an house hold chores. Yet still they have issues when it is down time. We purchased model cars and the put them together and painted them. I thought that would take forever. Nope. We went to the library too. Anyway this school year I hope to have them both home during the weekend. They are getting older.

I continue to bake on a weekly basis. This helps with our grocery budget. I don't have alot of time so I created mixes in a bag. I was buying the jiffy corn bread mix and was shocked when it went to 67 cents a box. So I googled and found a recipe and made pre mixed bags now I can just grab a bag and go. I also did this for oatmeal cookies, chocolate cookies, blueberry muffins, and oatmeal honey bread. I just have to mix the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, etc) then mix in the dry and bake. This cuts down on my baking time. Right now I have bags labeled and placed in the cabinet. But I think I will cover a shoes box and pt them in the box to keep them contained. The bags are kind of messy looking. I know who looks in your cabinets.

I went bowling with my youngest, my husband, and my husband's friend this Monday. I had such fun. When the children were young I went bowling once a week with my husbands grandmother. I have my own ball and shoes. Of coarse it has been years and I was a bit rusty. Monday night is dollar night. I will try to convince my husband to take me again tonight. He does not like to bowl. It hurts his shoulder and knees. Block laying put a lot of stress on his body.
But I had such fun.

My husbands company has hired another worker for Casa Grande. Which means my husband is a manager. He ran Casa Grande alone for several months but was very busy and has asked for help many times. This is a wonderful turn of events. They are both staying busy. This new employee is a friend of the man who changes our tires. So far all is going well. My husband has a new van it is so pretty. He is like a little boy buying all the supplies, tools and business materials for inside. Nothing feels better than buying whatever you want without having to pay for it. No decals yet. He had an appointment for this last week. after he drove 45 min they called to cancel after the appointment time. He set up another appointment for this week. Talk about frustrating.