WORK! WORK! WORK!

WORK, WORK, WORK!  The work is ongoing here on the farm now that the weather has warmed up.  Ponds need digging out, fences need mending, dead tree limbs need trimming and burning, large rocks need re-positioning, auctions need attending (YES!) and the list goes on and on.  Here are a few pictures taken over the last several weeks.

 Big A and Brother K loading rocks onto the loader to be moved to a place where mud is king!

 It's not every day teenage boys get to play in the rocks!! ..... And empty the barn refrigerator of drinks and ice cream!

The rocks were used to fill in the muddy spots on the roads leading from one pasture to the next.

 We had a huge tree fall over this past winter that was finally cut up and dragged to the burning pile.

 Smores anyone??

 JR and Big A spent one day cutting down weeds and brush that had grown up along the fence row.

 The next day JR used the grabber on the small tractor to make another burn pile.  Meanwhile, I endeavored to pick up the smaller limbs that were dropped along the way.  My talents run deep!!

 Last week JR and Papa G attended an auction about 90 minutes from our farm.  They arrived home just as the sun was setting.  Golly Gee!  On the back of a friends long-bed trailer (who, by the way, had to travel 90 minutes to pick up the "stuff" and then travel 90 minutes back to the farm hauling the stuff - friends like this are rare) was a "She Shack" in the shape of a barn!  I have been wanting, no begging, to have a place to "hide out" - while I write great novels- and to store my "stuff" for ages and ages and ages! To say I was jumping up and down would be putting it mildly!

Here JR is pulling the "She Shack" across the yard.......

......to position it in just the right place.....

.......so Papa G can level the darn thing.....

.......so it will sit just right!"

 A few days latter JR and Papa G decided to do their "high-flying" act as they ran power to the "She Shack".

Papa G was thrilled by all the limbs he had to maneuver around!

Oh!  But HAPPY DAY!  I now have power!!

And the work continues.......

Big A moving large, fallen limbs to one of the burn piles......

......then going back for more!!

Which brings me back to this picture.  Can anyone see whats wrong with this image?  

NO?  Well in front of the "She Shack" that's loaded on the trailer you will see a great, big, green and yellow blob.  That green and yellow blob is actually ANOTHER tractor that was purchased at the auction.  I will say no more!!! But.......

TO THINK THAT TWO  MEN FROM THE FARM SET OFF TO AN AUCTION EARLY ONE SATURDAY MORNING TO BUY ONE PROPANE TANK -  AND CAME HOME WITH A TRAILER LOAD OF EXTRAS - IS MIND BOGGLING AND WALLET CRUNCHING!!  (On second thought, it's kind of the norm around here!)

Still in shock, 

Dee Dee

Feeding the Livestock and Other Spring Happenings!

OH GOLLY!   IT'S SPRING TIME!!   The grass and trees have completed their spring dance two-stepping it from brown to green in a blink of an eye.  Well almost.  Some days I thought spring would never arrive and the next day I realized that it had!  Oh Happy Day!!  Now there's lots of work to be done on the farm and lots of puddles and overflowing creeks to cross!!

About two weeks ago, just as the grass was beginning to turn green, JR, the Little Cowboy - otherwise known today as "Batman" - and myself, set out in the "Bat Mobile" to check on the cows, feed the donkeys and give Big A's two heifers an extra dose of feed. (Notice! I have been demoted to the backseat even when the Little Cowboy isn't driving - life just isn't fair!)

Once we crossed the worst of the creeks, it was "Batman's"  turn to drive across the pastures while looking for the "bad guys"!

We finally found a few "bad guys" on the North Pasture. 

(I just love the imagination of this three-year-old - soon to be  four-year-old!)

These guys and gals thought they might get a bite of corn.

But Pluto, Gypsy, Snowball and baby Rascal were quick to gobble it all up!

It takes a pitcher's arm to get the corn where it needs to go.

Then there's a few, like Snowball, who prefer to be hand fed!

Baby Rascal is not sure what to make of this delicacy.

But as for the other three......

.....they just keep begging for more!

Moving on, we found Big A's two heifers across the meadow.  Now it was their turn to gobble up the feed!

As you can see, most of the dirt paths were very, very muddy as we traveled from one pasture to the next.

FUN! FUN! FUN!

MUD EVERYWHERE!

I always feel blessed when we emerge from the south woods and see this church standing majestically across the meadow.  This has to be the PRETTIEST place in the whole south!  

Even the cows "give thanks" when grazing this field!

After dropping "Batman" back home and chatting awhile, Meme T noticed Missy had made herself at home on top of the canvas roof of the Mule.  Smart kitty cat!!

ADDITIONAL  VERY IMPORTANT SPRING HAPPENINGS:

Big A (with the gray tux and bright blue bow tie) and his date for the Prom (in the bright blue dress).

How in the world did Big A get an invitation to the Prom at the tender age of ten????

(I have a big case of denial!)

Plus ---- Pooh is graduating with a Cosmetology Degree.  But that can't be right either because I just bought her a new Barbie Doll.  Didn't I???

Then there is "Batman" who protects our neighborhood and brings the "bad guys" to justice!!  But this "Batman" was born yesterday so how can he be racing through the neighborhood??

Listen up little calves!  Don't you grow up to fast on your Mama's!! .....or your Grand-mama's......or your Great-G's!!

And little Rascal......you just stay this size for a long, long time and make your Mama happy!!


HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!
Dee Dee

A Few New Cows and a Baby Donkey!

December was one exciting month even without all the hustle and bustle of Christmas.  JR noticed that there was a replacement heifer sale in Tennessee so he, Stack, Big A and Papa G headed out at 6:00 AM one Saturday morning to attend the 10:00 AM sale. The idea was to replace two of Big A's smaller cows with two of this larger breed.  Since it was close to a three hour drive, they wanted to make sure they had time to pick up breakfast and to look over the cows that were going on the auction block.  Big A was attending his first sale where he would actually be doing the bidding!!  Unfortunately, the men folk did not think to take pictures of this happy occasion.  How can you participate in an event of a lifetime and not photograph it????   That aside, from what the guys said they had a great time.  Every time JR would nudge Big A he would raise that arm and bid!!  By the end of the sale, Big A had acquired two new heifers!! The guys arrived home just before sunset giving them time to unload, make the cows comfortable, and clean up the equipment.

Here they come!

Opening the holding pen and backing up the trailer.

It's quite an art to get that long trailer lined up to the perfect spot for unloading.

Papa G and Stack double checking that all gates leading to "freedom" are closed.  

Big A filling the trough with feed.

Two buckets of feed to start with should do nicely.

Big A backing up the Mule.....

....and moving it into position to block an opening at the gate.  

We don't want any spooked cows making a run for it!

Papa G unlocking the the middle pen.

First comes that cute, fuzzy head.....

....then the hind portion.

These two feel right a home as they dig into the feed trough.  Gluttons they are!!!

Once the cows are unloaded, the truck and trailer gets a good hosing down.  No way will there be a speck of manure, dirt, grass, etc. left on JR's farm equipment!

Big A does a great job of cleaning up the mess.....

....while the other three cowboys, in typical cowboy fashion, recant their day.

THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON.......

Once the new cows calm down and become acclimated to their new home, the gates are opened and they are free to join the rest of the herd.

  "Hello girls!  Where are you from? What's your name?"

After making sure that the two newcomers transitioned safely to the herd, JR and I headed home.

WAIT!  STOP!

 There!  Up in the woods!  Snowball with a brand new donkey colt!!

A Christmas Donkey!

Snowball was not to happy about us infringing on her "mama territory".

Much better to let Snowball do the "mothering" while we go home and do some cooking!  Did I say "we"?  Oops, I mean  "me".   Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I became allergic to the kitchen.  Now that's a thought to ponder on a cold, winter's night!!

Dee Dee