When I'm gone...

Everyone goes! Sometimes it's temporary...sometimes it's permanent.

The pain of that loss is the price we pay for loving someone sooo much. But, it's worth the pain!

I lost my Romeo this week. He was MY first horse. He was full of piss n vinegar if you were riding but a true gentleman on the ground. Never a kick or bite...and ALWAYS a nicker when I went to see him. Gentle with everyone. He lived a loooong life...31 and in horse years that's quite old.

The grieving process is a strange one. Of course, there are tears as you stroke their face and hold them as the life drains away. Then comes the anger. Intense fury!

Then comes the numbness. And you wonder why doesn't it hurt? Why don't I cry? Then your met with the silence at the gate or a song plays on the radio and it all rushes in. He has left an everlasting mark on my heart.

Thanks Bubba...sure going to miss you....so will Rio.

Happy Father's Day...

It's pretty much our tradition that on a persons special day, be it birthday, anniversary or Mother/Father's day, they get to do whatever they want. We try to do or buy things that mean a lot to that person. I think we nailed it for my husband this Father's day.

My daughter and I started the day with church and hubby and son got a few extra zzz's and some early chores done. For lunch we cooked BBQ chops on the grill and made Daddy's favorite dessert...mixed fruit...strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes. We also picked up a chocolate cake and had them put his 'stage name' on it...which as you can tell by his face meant the world to him.

And to top off the evening we went and picked up his pheasants, which I ordered a couple of months ago. He is super excited...has wanted them for years. They are in the chicken pen for now but we plan on building their own run and possibly getting a few more. We'll see how it goes.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Free at last....

 April 19th was chick day! And yesterday was freedom day for those little cuties! We ordered 10 this year and for the first time did not lose any....YAY!!!

To our flock we added Light Brahmas, Black Giants and Araucanas. The Light Brahmas are a wonderful friendly chicken with feathers on their feet. Black Giants are a heavy breed chicken who lay eggs all year round (most chickens don't lay very well if it's too hot or in the winter). Both Brahmas and Blacks eggs are brown. Araucanas originated in Chile and are sometimes called the 'Easter Egg Chicken' because they lay greenish blue eggs. The hens are nice enough but the roosters are some of the meanest one's I've ever come across...therefore we only have hens :-)

In addition to our chickens we have 3 call ducks. Unfortunately they are all males...need to buy a couple females. I enjoy their quacking. When I first released the new chicks from their pen into general population one Brahma (the white little girl) was NOT afraid at all. As a matter of fact she wanted to be friends with the duckies. At first the duckies were fascinated that she was the same size as them and then decided they were afraid of her...it was funny watching her walk after them as if to say "aw come one...can't we be friends?".

The new ones won't start laying eggs until fall, it usually takes until their at least 20 weeks old. But that's ok...just in time for holiday baking!

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I am linking up to Homestead Revivals Barn Hop. Click on the link below to see more links. So interesting and informative! Thank you Amy for hosting the weekly Barn Hop.


http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2011/05/barn-hop-14.html



Goodbye dear friend...

March 30, 1997 was the day our dear Josie was born, 5 years to the day after my beautiful daughter, Morgan was born. Six weeks later she came to live with us. I was pregnant with my son at the time. Josie was very smart and caught on to commands quickly. She did, however, think that she was human. And I now know she wasn't...she was soooo much more!!!

I could tell many, many stories of how great she was. Funny stories too. She loved human food, bread and cheese being her favorites. Shortly after I redid the kitchen the cupboard were chipped. I finally figured why day I found the empty wrapper, from the brand new loaf of bread. She was jumping up and pulling the bread down. From then on we made sure to push the loaf to the back of the counter, but made sure she got a slice every morning.

She went camping, boating, swimming and to the drag strip. For over 12 years she was a very special part of our family. The vet had originally projected she would live to be 9 to 11 years old. When we passed 11 I was thrilled...when we reached 12...I was elated. I knew she was getting old but I was starting to think she might make it to 13. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.

Her arthritis had increased but other than that she was healthy. Good heart and lungs, her eyesight was still good...I suspect her hearing was waining a bit though. Her appetite was good, especially for bread, cheese and ice cream. She loved when Jon won his ball game..she always got a baby vanilla in a cup.

On July 24th it became crystal clear that she couldn't be forced to endure anymore pain. Her back legs weren't working at all. And the pain meds she was on were, while a lethal dose for humans, not nearly enough to dull her pain. It was the hardest thing I have ever ever had to do. Morgan, Jack (the most amazing friend in the world) and I were with her. My friend Terri works at the vets and was there too. I can't tell you how much my heart was screaming no, no, no don't give her the injection while my mind knew this was my opportunity to love her as much as she had always loved me. She was in so much pain. And then for the first time in a very long time she was still, calm, pain free. But my friend was gone! The pain is unbearable! We burried her at the barn...she loved being at the barn...with her blanket from my ottoman and her rope.

Each day will get better...I know that. The week before Josie left us we had adopted a new puppy, her name is Sidney. Josie liked her. She certainly does not, will not, replace Josie...but she helps the healing process.

Tiny visitors...

Friday morning I trudged to the barn, umbrella in hand because it was raining buckets...yuck! I took the lid off of the feed tub and when I laid it to the side I heard a faint little "mew". I stopped and listened harder and looked around....nothing. As I went back to feeding I heard several little "mews". Thankfully I had my cell with me...normally I don't during the morning feed. I phoned Jon and asked him to grab a flashlight and come to the barn, quickly. By the time I was done feeding, Jon was there. We did some investigating (aka following the mews) and found this bundle of baby kittens. We estimated their age at about 4 days. By Saturday morning we were worried they had been abandoned because we hadn't seen the Mama Cat anywhere. Fortunately, after laying on our bellies and looking under the floor where the babies were we found Mama hiding in the back watching us very intently. We aren't sure if the 7th baby (the little white & black one next to her) is alive or dead. Mama has eaten the moist food we put out for here and we've been "peeking" in on them daily. The babies should start opening their eyes in the next week. More pictures will follow showing their progress.

Woo Hoo...let it snow...

I have always said if it has to be cold...it better snow. Today it finally did! We've had several inches, probably around 7 so far. We're supposed to get a couple more overnight. The roads are very bad, but passable. I had to go get supplies for the barn. After breakfast we "suited up" and headed out to plow driveways, haul firewood and take care of the animals. I love these days!!! (to bad there aren't more...but I guess that's what makes them special) All of the neighbors were out too. So while Frank and Morgan plowed with the tractor and Jon cleaned the bunny cage and gave her fresh bedding I took care of the horses and chickens. Poor Romeo (my brown horse) was covered in snow...though he didn't seem to mind. The only thing he doesn't like is when the snow (especially wet snow like today) builds up on the bottom of his hooves. I chip them off while he eats his chow. Fortunately Meg's don't build up because her feet are more challenging to mess with.

Josie dog loves when it snows...granted she's sleeping soundly under the table now...tuckered out from her adventure. She hops and scoops the snow with her bottom jaw as she trods behind me. I fear this will be our last year with her so it was great to see her enjoy the weather. When Frank drags the kids behind the 4-wheeler Josie likes to chase along side them biting (in a playful manner of course) at the sled. We used to set her in the sled with us and let her sled ride...she loved it. One year we went down south sledding (huge hills) and she would chase us all the way down and run all the way back up. After a couple of hours she was whining at the truck and we let her in and she slept on the floor the whole way home.

Jon and I hauled wood to the house and garage. It's a pain in the butt, but worth it when it's toasty in the house. When we were done I saw my neighbors (and dear friends) Tammi & Guido shoveling their drive so I headed over. It doesn't feel like work when your chatting and laughing while you shovel. And besides it's cheaper than a gym membership!!

By the time we were done my hair was frozen with ice sliding down and I was soaked thru and thru. I know Mom...where's my hat...you know I don't like hats, they make my forhead itch. But I did have my earmuffs on! The outside was obviously from the snow and the inside was from sweating! That one-piece carhart sure does it's job!! The only time I was a little cold was when my first pair of gloves got saturated with water, but nothing that a fresh pair didn't fix.

I hope you take the time to enjoy the weather today...wether it's warm, cold, raining, snowing or the sun is shining! God Bless!!

Finally....

OK, it's official. Me and the children have fallen off our apple cart! You never saw three people more excited over an egg!!! We have been waiting, checking and threatening to squeeze some chickens if they didn't start laying soon. We built them a beautiful new home "The Taj ma Chicken" complete with nesting boxes, roosting boards and as an after thought put an old drawer on the floor for the ducks to sleep in. Guess where our first egg showed up...yep the drawer. If your wondering about the color, yes it is green. We have a couple chickens called Aracaunas and they lay green eggs. They vary from whitish-green to closer to a light teal color and I absolutely love them. The inside looks no different from a white or brown egg. But they certainly are a conversation piece. Hopefully I will have all fresh eggs for my holiday baking.

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to pass my blog along to your friends...blogging certainly can be addicting, huh!

My kids...

Here's a picture Morgan, Josie and Jonathan. Three of the loves of my life. My children drive me crazy some days but are my buddies too. They are growing into fabulous people who I enjoy spending time with very much. Josie has been part of our family since before Jon was born. She used to sleep in his nursery before we brought him home. She is a constant companion and doesn't care my mood. Morgan and Josie share the same birthday, which is very cool. I'm truly blessed with an amazing husband, family and friends.

Feathered Friends...

I had a beautiful flock of around 40 chickens of all kinds/colors. I had chickens that laid brown, white and green eggs. (yes, I said green). They lived in a large fenced area we called the "compound", if you've seen Chicken Run that will make sense. Unfortunately, we didn't have a covering over the top and the raccoons little by little had my entire flock for dinner. Yes, very sad.

My kids and I really wanted more chickens so Hubby helped us build a new Poultry Palace and fenced (top and sides) run yard. This project took several months because we could only work on it in the evenings and we wanted to make absolutely certain it was raccoon proof. The Palace is finished (except the paint) and the chickens really like their home. We headed to the local auction and were lucky enough to purchase 7 chickens total, 4 are arachaunas (the ones that lay green eggs). They should be laying soon and I will post pics.

The kids wanted ducks! At the auction a gentleman brought in two ducks after the auction started. I had a bidding war with another lady and came away with two call ducks, much to my kiddos delight. They are very fun to watch and cute to listen to. Hope you enjoy the pics.