Summer Returns

The cooler weather didn’t last long, the heat has returned today with a vengeance. I remember a few years ago when I first got my first swimming pool that the water was cold all summer. I had to get a solar blanket for it, I didn’t think that having a pool was worth the cost of the chemicals because it wasn’t used that much. Some friends that I know got rid of their pools after that season because it was never warm enough to swim comfortably.

I got the pool for my Grandkids because I wanted them to learn to swim. It worked well, my oldest Grandson can swim well and my two oldest Granddaughters are floating, dog paddling, and swimming expertly underwater.

This year has been the best year ever for owning a swimming pool in southern Indiana. The girls have lived in the water this Summer. They are dark brown from the sun and their hair is a couple of shades lighter. But today the water was cold after a couple of cool nights. They were shocked in more ways than one when they jumped in because they are used to nice warm water. They keep getting out to warm up in the sun.

It’s hard to believe that it is almost September, this Summer has been just one long, super hot, steamy blur. It started out stormy with lots of rain and is ending up dry and dusty. We have gone from grass that wouldn’t quit growing to grass that is drying up and not growing at all. I wonder what this Winter will be like.

A Girl and Her Rooster

All of my Granddaughters were packing around chickens the other day when I got this picture. My youngest Granddaughter chose a banty rooster instead of a hen. She has always hated chickens and has been afraid of them so we were all surprised when she felt the need to keep up with her sisters.

Tough Kids

Country kids are so much fun. Our two Granddaughters, ages 5 and 6, were on fall break Thursday and Friday, they spent both nights with us. So they were here all day Friday and Saturday.

They entertained themselves by herding the chickens. They kept them in a tight little group, running and chasing them while screaming and giggling. Finally the sounds of shear joy brought Mamaw out of the house to see what they were up to. They got a stern warning about why they should never chase or otherwise annoy chickens. They took the lecture like they take most other lectures, with sly little smiles on their faces. Sometimes I have doubts that I am getting through, other times I know I'm not.

They enjoy simple pleasures when they are here. I was called upon to take them for walks on both Friday and Saturday. All of my Grandkids love for me to take them for walks for some reason. I think they like the sounds my lungs make after climbing steep slopes and crawling up mountainsides or maybe the different shades of color that my face turns.

It had rained most of the day on Friday, so the mud was just the right consistency to be super slick. They both had on black rubber boots with cleats but I had on my worn out Crocks which have no sign of the tread that used to grace their bottoms.

I managed somehow to stay upright, though it was difficult at times. Both of the girls nearly fell a couple of times with one of them finally getting the job done.

What they love to do on these walks is hunt mushrooms and arrowheads. We have done some study on fall mushrooms and while we haven't eaten any yet, we have found some. As for the arrowheads, we haven't found any complete or good ones for awhile but they still collect the chips and broken pieces. They also collect any rock that they think is beautiful.

On Saturday night after grilled chicken, baked potatoes and smores prepared on an open campfire, the two girls and I settled in around the fire for singing and scary stories. I had their baby brother bundled up in a warm blanket on my lap. He didn't last long, it was too dark and comfy, he was snoring within minutes.

The girls sang a few songs then took turns telling scary stories. I pointed out a ghost light in the woods but that didn't interest or scare them. Then I pointed out the fact that their Daddy would probably sneak around in the darkness and try to scare them but that didn't interest them either. He does that so much that it has lost it's affect.

While they were busy trying to outdo each other with their stories, the coyotes started singing nearby. Now this would have added to the general atmosphere of the evening for most young children but not my Granddaughters. I shushed them to listen and they listened for maybe 3 seconds and resumed their stories. Then another pack of coyotes started their howling on the other side of us, very close. I shushed the girls again, to which they deep sighed and immediately started back with the stories.

I gave up, I realized that these country girls just don't scare easily. They have heard coyotes before, so what's the big deal? They have been outside after dark before, so what's the big deal? Their little sister who will be 3 in December, is much more fun. She is terrified of Pirates and Chicken Poop.

The only thing that I have been able to scare these two older girls with is Gobblezilla, he is a giant Turkey who only comes around at Thanksgiving time. He rides on top of their car and is always waiting out there in the darkness ready to gobble them up.

Back To Normal

We are back to almost normal, the girl's Mother picked them up, then brought them back today for me to watch while she took the oldest one back to the Doctor. After several tests they proclaimed that she has a severe UTI with none of the usual symptoms, she is still running a high fever after six days. I am already missing the constant chatter of little girls, and how they can always find something for you to do when you sit down or are on the phone.

We are currently house-sitting for our neighbors which means, for the most part, my DH is at home and I am at the neighbors. I haven't milked but once in the last six days. But I am confident that he is doing a good job. He hand milks much better than I do, but my doe does prefer the spray nozzle milker, the bad part is that the dogs and cat are getting all of the milk.

Those who have followed my blog for a long time will know who Lolita is, she is a Yellow Naped Amazon Parrot who belongs to my neighbors. You can read how she sliced and diced my hand in this post: Back Home.

After she shredded my hand, I did gain some courage back and handled her several times afterward but then on New Year's day while we were at her house for dinner, she got agitated and grabbed her owner's cheek while sitting on her shoulder. She nearly took a chunk of meat out of my friend's face. I lost a ton of courage by witnessing this. After all, this is the lady who handles this bird daily.

So here I am, back to being her caretaker for a few days. She is cooing and flirting with me constantly. It is so hard for me to ignore her advances. She just keeps begging me to take her out of her cage and play with her. I did finally give in while my Husband was here last evening. She sat upon my shoulder and preened my hair, she kissed my face and rubbed her head on me, a perfectly well behaved, affectionate parrot. Who can turn into a man-eating dragon in a flash.

She sounds and acts so sweet with the girls, that I have to constantly warn them of the dangers of sticking their tiny fingers in the cage to pet her. The two year old was nearly beguiled by her sweet cunning ways.

The Flu Bug

We have taken on a few extra responsibilities over the last several days and that has kept us almost totally offline. We had a terrible windstorm that forced me to keep the computer shut down because of the instability of the electricity, it kept flickering but never went completely out.

Then what was suppose to be a sleep-over for our three Granddaughters turned into a round the clock vigil, when two of them came down with the flu. My DH was puked upon twice and I would not even venture to guess how many times we held a bucket for our oldest Granddaughter.

The first night I slept on the floor beside our oldest Granddaughter's bed and tried my best to keep her fever down and the mess to a minimum. My poor Husband slept with the youngest one, and the bed was nearly a total loss. I have done more laundry over the last few days than I even care to think about, even the dog has thrown-up.

Since the girls have a new infant brother we chose to keep them here for a few days away from him, but the oldest girl just was not getting any better so her parents came after her today. The other two are still with us and fully recovered.

I think that I might even be able to sleep in an actual bed tonight for the first time in two days. I was a little surprised at myself because I actually slept well on the floor and woke up when I needed to throughout the night. I was not even that sore the next day.

Angus is doing very well for those who have asked, he is actually outgrowing the calf who his mother tried to steal, and that calf is nursing both Angus' mother and his own mother.

Thank you so much, Rachel, for getting back to me, but his scours had stopped before I received your message and I didn't receive your message until several days after you had left it.

I am hoping that things might return to somewhat normal soon, but cannot guarantee that for a couple of weeks, I will post when I can.

Goat Milking Tips

This blog is mainly for Chris at Johnson Family Farm, he wanted pictures of my milk stand, but you all can read it too. I found that I didn't have any good pictures of just the stand but came across some photos that I thought might help Chris out with his new milking dilemma, some helpful hints.

The picture below was the best that I had available of my milk stand, which inspired the following tips:

1. You should teach everyone in the family plus all of your friends to milk your goats because you never know when you may become sick, injured, imprisoned or otherwise discouraged. The point being that just because you aren't available to milk the goat, the goat still must be milked, not milking the goat is not an option!

2. Hobbles are sometimes necessary, they may look cruel but they can actually be the kindest gift that you can give your goat, they protect your goat from things that might happen to her if she sticks her manure covered foot in a full bucket of milk right before you are finished milking her. They also protect her from things that could happen to her if she spills a full bucket of milk all over you right before you are finished milking her.

3. Do not be afraid, they will not explode when squeezed

4. Your aim will improve with time but while still in the learning stages, it is best not to wear your best Sunday clothes.

5. Do not become discouraged if someone only a year older than you gets the hang of it before you do. It is normal behavior for a person who masters milking to show off by squirting everyone else.

6. With time and patience, you too will learn a skill that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Remember practice makes perfect and before long you will perfect your aim and be able to hit any target.

So easy a four year old can do it!!

**NOTE: No Goats were injured in the construction of this Blog

He's Here!

My three Granddaughters got to welcome their new little baby brother to the world Friday afternoon at 2:30, he weighed in at 7 lbs. and not quite 2 oz. He was 19 in. long and has a full head of dark brown hair.

We Caved

I had already decided that we would not buy Elmo Live for our almost two year old Granddaughter for Christmas. But we took her and her older sister to Walmart today while their oldest sister went to the Doctor. The youngest really loves Elmo but we were going to be a little bit more practical than that.

But there he was on the bottom shelf and fully accessible to toddlers. She was so thrilled with him, kept kissing him and looking up at us laughing. What were we suppose to do?? We were snared, caught in a trap, forced to do something against our will.

I've got to give credit to those who come up with these marketing techniques. He is right there in his packaging completely exposed to little hands and in working order. Placing him on the lower two shelves was just a stroke of genius. His cute little voice inviting a kiss was just too much for anyone to resist.

So, we ended up coming home completely defeated and are mustering all of our remaining resources together in a vain effort not to give him to her before Christmas. But wait, I nearly forgot, maybe all is not lost. She has a birthday before Christmas, so we can give him to her early after all.

My Quiet Day

This day started out normally with me waking up while still in bed. From there things went a little haywire, which is somewhat normal also. I am not upset or disturbed because for the most part I have enjoyed most of the day.

My morning was marred by my goats being out, I chased them around for a little while before finally catching them and putting the two yearling does in a dog kennel where they couldn't get out. Then turned around to the sound of a stallion screaming and kicks being administered. One of the broodmares and a two year old filly had knocked a gate off of it's hinges to get in with Badger our Grullo Stallion.

He was just trying to be friendly, after all they had come into his pen. They were kicking the daylights out of him. I managed to get him out of his pen and into the mare and foal pasture, then managed to get the mare, 3 weanlings and pony out of their pasture and into the dry holding lot. I left the offending mare and filly in Badger's pen. Then tied up the gate as well as I could. I felt like we were playing musical chairs.

I was scheduled to watch my three Granddaughters in the afternoon and as is always the case when they are here, my phone rings off the hook. The girls are very young and needy, they are especially needy when you are on an important call. There were a few times that I felt like jerking the phone line out of the wall and pitching the phone out the door, when the calls weren't important. It is odd to me that the older girls can be calling for my assistance over and over, the baby can be crying loud enough to wake the dead and the person on the other end of an unimportant call cannot tell that I am busy and don't have time to talk.

Two calls were important, one was letting me know that they had decided to buy a nice little AQHA Palomino gelding named Midas from us. They came to look at him yesterday.

The other important call was from a man who bought a horse from us several weeks ago. He has been riding his legs off, his daughter and Grandkids have been riding him as well. But after loading him in his trailer many, many times and even taking him away on a camping trip, the horse has decided not to get into the trailer anymore, not even for food. I gave him my suggestion, it involved pressure and a stick.

I chose today to try out a new recipe, since I didn't already have enough to do. My new recipe turned out well, but not worth the time invested. Somehow I managed to get my goat milked and my buck put up before dark, after the kids left. The DH and I even stole a couple of minutes to sit down outside and talk after he got all of the horses put back where they belong and got the gate repaired.

The Girls

Yesterday was just fun, the girls were here. When my oldest Son called and he heard the commotion in the background, he asked, "if the girls were here?". That terminology will have to change when their new brother arrives.

The girl's ate, which is one of their favorite things to do, boys don't seem to really enjoy food like girls do. Then their Papaw took them swimming in what I thought was a really cold pool. Their poor Papaw thought so too, when he got in, but they didn't seem to even notice. Even the youngest one who is a year and a half didn't complain.

After swimming they ate again. Then I took the oldest two girls for a walk to where they plan to build a new house on the back corner of our property. We have to walk through the Enchanted Forest to get there.

The horses have many paths through the Enchanted Forest and the youngest girl who was leading the way kept asking which path to take. I told her that she would have to choose her own path. She had a hard time with that concept, she didn't like making that decision.

The oldest girl was walking behind me on the path, she was talking non-stop. Sometimes it gets a little difficult for these two sisters, because they both love to talk as much as they love to eat.

When we finally made it to our destination, the youngest girl announced that she was itching all over. The oldest girl asked where she was itching and she again said, all over. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that there were some places that she wasn't itching, so she started a running list of all of the places that she wasn't itching, body part by body part.

We started on our journey back home, with the youngest still reciting different names for the same body parts. I told her that we would stop at the first good "sitting" boulder that we came to in the Enchanted Forest and she could scratch the places that itched. The good thing about living in the Limestone Capital of the World is that your Enchanted Forests have good places to sit down.

When we got to the first boulder, it was too big for the girls, ages 4 and 5 to get up on, so I had to lift them. I had a canteen full of sweet tea that I handed to the youngest one, who drank, then shared with her sister. Things were going fine, everyone was sharing and no one had even remembered to scratch.

Then that all changed when the oldest one thought that the youngest one should let her hand the canteen back to me to drink and the youngest one wanted to hand it back to me. So, tempers flared and the oldest one gave the youngest one a slight shove, to which the youngest one answered with a grab and a vicious pinch that resulted in a sharp and loud slap across the cheek. It all happened so fast that I had a hard time separating them.

The peacefulness of the Enchanted Forest was then shattered by the wailing of the youngest Princess. Enchanted Forests tend to lose their charm when the beautiful Princesses are wailing. I finally managed to distract her enough for peace to return. We continued on our journey, talking, listening, choosing paths, picking flowers and picking up rocks.

All in all, it was just a perfect day, they caught some chicks with the help of their Daddy and Papaw. Then of course, they helped me milk.

Too Much Milk

Since I sold Copper, I am milking two goats each day, that results in a lot of milk. It also results in a lot of dirty dishes and no refrigerator space. My sink is piled high right now but I did give my Son one and a half gallons of milk last night, so that freed up some space in the fridge.

I need to find someone to buy part interest in one of my goats, so that I don't drown here. I am already feeding milk to my chickens, dogs and cat. My Schnauzer looks like she could pop at any given moment and my cat is too fat as well. Angel usually gets milk once per day but she must still be growing because she isn't bloated like the other two.

Here are a couple of pictures of our fat cat, Garfield. He loves being packed around by our Granddaughters. You would think that he would run when he sees them coming but he just loves the attention.