April 8th

April 8th, 2007

I just took this picture from my back door, before sitting down to write this post. I can't believe that it is only 24 degrees outside on April 8th!

Sorry that I have not had a chance to post in a while. We have had quite a few projects around the farm we've been working on. If you look closely at this picture you will see that we aren't yet finished with some of them.

A week ago last Friday S.O. was working on the blazer, he had the gas tank out trying to change the wiring going to the fuel pump, and as I was going into the milk house to get some tools for him, the wind caught the door and slammed it shut.... breaking glass everywhere. Of course I was barefoot so I had to call him over from the garage to help me pick up glass. May I remind you that the temp that day was 75 degrees, not 24 as it is today. The next day we replaced the door. LOL... and if you look closely you may be able to see that there is lettering on the door... "Bar Room Open"... no, I did not write that there, I scavenged the door from one of Dad's auction finds, and I will be peeling those letters off or repainting the door when the weather breaks again. The old door is still leaning against the side of the milk house, I have to get that out of there too.

S.O. discovered several reasons why the blazer was not running right.... first of all the old fuel pump filter was inside the gas tank, along with a few other things the last mechanic dropped while replacing the fuel pump.... gggrrrr... Oh, and the vent tube wasn't even connected, along with the fact that the wiring going to the fuel pump has been spliced a few times and twisted back together. You just have to love a used vehicle that has had several "mechanics" working on it over the years. Since S.O. cleaned the gas tank of stuff that shouldn't be there, hooked the vent tube up, and fixed the spliced wires, replaced all the spark plugs and wires, air filter, and the fuel filter, the blazer runs beautiful!

We were doing so well at getting these little projects taken care of that we decided to tackle the expansion tank in the basement... it has been leaking all winter. Thursday after work we bought a new tank ... $121 ... took the old one out, hooked up the new one ... everything is going great until we realize that we only have a little trickle of water coming into the house on the main line... no wonder we don't have very good water pressure in the house. All this time we thought it was because the tank had holes in it and was just losing the pressure. So, the water line coming in from the barn (that is where the well is) must be clogged somewhere. We borrowed a snake from a friend and ran it into the line from the house out to the barn, yesterday afternoon, got a lot of silt and rust out but no more water. Today we are going to try running it from the barn out towards the house, and hope that the clog is on that end and breaks lose. If that doesn't work I guess we are going to have to run a new water line. For now we have the garden hose (seen in picture) running from the barn, which has water, hooking into the house's main line so that we have water in here until we figure out what we have to do to the water line..... This may be the new "You might be a Red Neck" Photo.... but it is working for now. And if you are wondering why that hose on top of the ground isn't freezing in the 24 degree weather, it is because we are letting one of the faucets in the house run.

Oh, the joys of owning your own home!!!!

Monday evenings sky.

See why I don't have a curtain on my kitchen window....

I just love sitting on my back steps in the evenings and watching the sky come to life. I took this picture on Friday evening, the same night the calves were born, but then forgot to add it to the post with the calf's picture. I was sitting on the steps watching the cows with their new babies and then just before dark the sky began to change colors and I had to capture it. I know it is a few days old but if I don't post it now it will just get lost in my computer files with all the other hundreds of photos and you'll never get to see it. Besides this morning it is raining so the sky is all dreary and sad looking :-(

Latest arrival

When I came home from work today there were two new calves in the pasture. This little girl is one of the new arrivals. The other one's mother would not let me get a picture of him. Of all the babies born this year, this is only the second female.

As of now we have had:

• 4 calves - 2 male, 2 female
• 1 kid goat - male
• 2 lambs - both males

There are still at least one goat and sheep, and a few cows that have not had their babies yet, so maybe we will get a few more females.

What do they think about?

Have you ever wondered what hens think about while they are sitting on their nests in the morning?
I know that is probably one of the strangest questions in the history of questions... but seriously, they must have some thoughts going through their little brains, don't they?
Okay, now that I've proved I am one of the weirdest people you have ever met, I'm off to work.

The Perfect Ending

I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was today to be able to take my shoes off and walk around barefoot .... outside!
After making breakfast for the boys and checking on Seldom Seen's newest arrivals, the twin lambs that were born late night, I started cleaning out the front ditch. It is so amazing how much "stuff" gets caught in that ditch during the winter months. I got it pretty cleaned out... like I said it is amazing what I found.... leaves, sticks, gravel that the snow plow pushed overboard, and even two of the dog's toys that we have been looking for since the first snowfall. After rescuing the big bird squeaky toy and "the woolly thing", returning them to their rightful owners I went to see what the boys were up to. I was starting to wonder if the three of them were up to no good, since the whole time I was cleaning the ditch I had not heard one thing from them. They were too quiet to be doing something that they were supposed to be doing... or was I just paranoid?
As I walked around the corner of the house I was amazed to see that the two little ones were contently playing in the sandbox and their father was finishing up the project that he had started a few months ago... fixing the rusted out wheel wells on the pickup truck. I stood there for a few minutes just watching this peaceful picture take shape... yes I was in shock... they weren't into mischief after all. And they didn't even know I was there until Dawson barked his "hello" and came trotting over to me. It seems as though we had all been so involved in our own little chores that we forgot the others were even there.... it is so nice when spring gets here and we can break the confines of the house... the winter keeps us so cooped up that we sometimes forget to appreciate the fact that we have each other, and the fresh air and space of the outdoors is such refreshing change. After SO's project was done we sat on the bench in front of the milk house and talked... okay, I talked, he listened. I was telling him stories of the old man that used to own this farm and also stories about me family and childhood... I grew up across the road from this farm so it has always been home.... and this bench has always been there for as long as I can remember... I've always thought of it as our "thinking chair".

Coffee anyone?

Do any of you have a favorite coffee mug? This is one of mine. Yes, I said "one of" I have several "favorite" coffee mugs. This one came from Home & Garden Party Ltd.

As I am sitting here drinking my coffee I am going over the long list of things that I should try to get done today, since I don't have to go to work and I didn't do anything around the house yesterday. I have a mound of towels in the bathroom that is waiting for someone to put it in the washing machine. I started laundry at 4:30 a.m. this morning, right after S.O. left for work, but didn't get too far. I think S.O.'s work pants are still in the washer, so I better go put them in the dryer, and get the towels into the washer. Another thing on my list to do today is cleaning the house, for some reason my house is so dusty, and I'm not sure why. When I first moved in I remember thinking that this house was not nearly as dusty as the house I grew up in. But maybe because back then I lived alone and had time to do a "really good" cleaning in each room at least once a week. It seems like now those weekly cleanings get pushed back to monthly.... I know that is scary, but true.

I have to think of something to make for dinner tonight. As of now, I have no idea what it will be. Any suggestions? I am so ready for spring and summer to get here so I can eat FRESH food out of the garden. I am so tired of frozen and/or canned foods. Speaking of food, I should go grocery shopping too, I think we are out of lunch meat for S.O. I could always make him egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches for tomorrow, and get groceries before I come home tomorrow after work, now that sounds like a plan that I like. Yes, I am a home body, I like to be here at home unless I have a really good reason for leaving.