Chilli

Thank you for allowing Hubby the opportunity to have his voice heard last night. And for allowing me to rest my weary brain. Sometimes just thinking ahead to all the things that need to be done is exhausting. Cleaning stalls has to be done this week in preparation for our new lovies. The house needs to be cleaned, as usual. My sister and her mister are coming at the end of the week and I want to be done before then so we can play.

Todays' Sunday Creation is food, yet again. But, really, is there anything better? I want to be crafty, I want to sew and knit and create beautiful objects for my children to play with and to wear, but everytime I get out a project, something comes up. Or generally, someone gets into it. Ahem, T... So food it is. The thing that I can at least once a day pour my heart into and create for my family. It nourishes body and hopefully soul as well. This might be why "Like Water for Chocolate" is one of my very favorite books. Tonight I made a four bean chilli and cornbread. I love cornbread. The recipe I use calls for honey and buttermilk. So delicious. I have to say, I can make a pretty awesome pot of chilli. I don't have a recipe for it, so everytime I make it it comes out just a little bit different. 

Today, other than eating, Hubby and I watched through our front window as a calf was born. Considering how many times that has happened recently, you might think it wouldn't be so exciting anymore. This is, in fact, not true. Always fascinating. Always will be. Please don't ever let me get jaded to the birthing process, no matter what creatures it involves.

See the baby lying in the grass?



S woke up not long after the grand event.
We took a moment to soak in the splendor of the day.
You can take a moment to soak in the splendor of our bed hair.

 Later, we went to Montrose, that bigger "city" to the South of us. We needed to get some new hoses and gloves for the kids. We got home just in time to discover a leak in the barn. Thankfully it wasn't bad and all was soon fixed and put back to normal. Follow that with the scrumptious dinner and reminiscing with my parents, and over all, I call it a good day.



Hubbys' Work Day

Hey, Hubby here. Just subbing in for tonight
My day starts at about 6:00 in the morning. I fumble my way out of bed and grab my computer and log in to tech connect to see what direction I get to go today.  I check on the kids, cover them up and kiss Mom goodbye and hit the door.  Most mornings I have about an hour drive to my first job. On my way out I usually get to see the herd of deer that hang around and lately, I get a glimpse of all the sandhill cranes that came in the night before. It seems ironic to spend the day away from my family, installing satellite t.v. for other peoples' families, when we don't even have t.v. programming at home. I have long days, but at least I have 4 days on and 3 days off.
I put in a long day of work and can't wait to come home to the ranch.  When I get back home, I somehow get a boost of energy. The kids run up and want to tell me of the adventures that they had today. S tells me about the cows that he got to herd or all the driving he did in the mule. M seems to have a story or a new dance that she made up that I just have to watch. T has his own stories to tell, in his own language, about pushing the chairs around the house and driving Mom up the wall. A kiss and a smile from Mom make it good to be home from a long day out.

Ups and Downs

Life on a ranch is lovely, gratifying and heartbreaking all at once. The ups and downs of an average day are as varied as the cycles of the moon. So it goes. Today was a very up and down day.
The morning started out with a heavy grey fog and a dusting of snow. By afternoon, we were in the sixties with blue sky and a radiant sun.

 We cleaned out most of the the chickie pen for our new arrivals coming next week. 1/2 a stall down, 19 1/2 to go. I can't wait to see the chicks running amok.



Hubby using a come-along to move the horrificly heavy
 mats in the pens so that we can level the ground under them.



Nosy Liza, checking out the action.

Me scrubbing the bars. Possibly the most
 pointless job I have ever undertaken.

 We also had to shampoo the carpet in parts of the house due to Ranger being sick as a, well, dog. We were already planning to go to the vet to have him microchipped. Which really translates into driving in an Outback with three kids, one Hubby and a smelly dog for 30 some odd miles, just to get there and have the vet say, "Yep, he must have gotten into something." Gee, thanks. Clean vomit out of  the back of the car, load everyone back up, take a driving tour back home, including being charged and nearly sprayed by a skunk, only to have the dog get the runs a half mile from home. Oh, Ranger, I love you anyway.

Big dog sleeping in a small space. He chose it, not me.

We had a loss in ranchland today. Our sweet little/big heifer, dubbed Belle by Meme and the children, died today. Hers was a hard, short life. But not one that was missing love. Born broken, we tried everything to help her be strong and whole, but Mother Nature won this battle. A tough thing to witness for certain.

Jessie

Jessie

I am going to introduce you to our pets one by one. New additions have already been introduced, but our ladies that have been with us for quite a few years deserve their 5 minutes as well. Hubby and I were married in May of 2000, at the ripe old ages of 19 and 20. One month after we were married we adopted Jessie from the Humane Society and it has been love ever since. She is a Border Collie mix that was originally picked up as a stray. We chose her for her eyes, her love of water and her playful spirit.  Her playful spirit  translated into a very energetic dog for the last decade. When we first brought her home, we couldn't run without her chasing us and nipping at our heels. Now, at almost twelve years old, she has calmed enough to be trusted off the leash. She still loves the water and actively seeks out even the shallowest of rain puddles. Her other favorite things include the Hubby, our other dog, Mollie, peanut butter, car rides, carrots, and long naps. She amuses us with her groaning and grumbling and her never ending quest to catch those darn rabbits in her sleep. We are grateful for her nearly eleven years with us and though we know it is not possible, we would love the chance to share at least another eleven years with her.

Back when S was tiny.



M and Jessie on a camping trip in Wyoming



Opening her Christmas gift

Mollie and Jessie

Sandhill Cranes

For todays' Wednesday Wonder I am going to talk about a subject that I have been wanting to talk about for some time now. Today it is time. There is a fascinating natural event that happens every year at Fruit Grower's Reservoir. It is the migration of the Sandhill Cranes. It is truly a wonder. These birds start in Southern New Mexico and Texas, have a one day stop over at Fruit Grower's and then fly onward, I believe to Idaho. They mate for life and generally lay two eggs a year, with only one surviving on average. They are noisy and beautiful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhill_Crane We have been observing them on and off for a couple of weeks. When they take off on certain mornings, they fly right over the ranch and our barn. Truly a sight to behold. They catch the thermal updrafts and it can take them half an hour to get high enough to fly over the Rockies. This weekend marks the beginning of Eckert Crane Days. http://www.eckertcranedays.com/events.html. I am very excited. In my free time, I am an amateur birder. Someday when I am not busy raising munchkins, I plan to be less of an amateur birder. Much like this fascinating woman,  http://evelynhorn.com/, we met giving a presentation at our local library.

Kids and Cows

The kids are loving this life.

S spent the day working with Papa. They fed cows, moved a cow and her calf into the "hospital" to give Mama some antibiotics, worked on Papa's side job at a home off the ranch, etc., etc. S's favorite part of the day was driving the mule around. The mule is a suped up four wheeler with a roll cage and a mini truck bed. S is so confident in his ability to drive the mule that he thinks he will be driving a car any day now. We'll see...in the mean time, he makes us quite proud that he can keep up with the men.

 M and T got to spend their day with dear ol' Mom. We went thrift store and antique shopping followed up with a sundae at the local soda fountain. M did all of this in full ballet attire. She even helped feed the baby cow in this getup. How I love this girl. With her love of sparkly things, animals, food, dance, books, dirt and make believe. Today according to her, she was the sugar plum princess and the ruler of wind, sky and dance.

T continually makes us laugh, even as we tell him no. And then no again. And again. He loves to throw dirt, harass the animals by over loving them, wave big sticks, push chairs around and wash his hands.

The big heifer calf that was pulled the other day is not standing well on her own. Her front legs were splinted today and Meme is determined to make her walk. I see our barn possibly becoming a secondary hospital. Meme has a big heart for animals that she has passed to me and I have passed to the children. I think we would try to save everything if it were possible.   

Itchy Spring Feeling

It's March. It makes me itch. I want to plant things outside and watch them grow and grow. But it's March. Things can't go in the ground until at least May. Not unless I want them to freeze so I can start all over. I like gardening, but not enough that I want to do the same things twice. Besides, I have A LOT of work to do to prepare the garden. Like burning out the weeds so we can build raised beds. Yea, I technically don't even have a garden yet. Just all the beautiful green things that are already growing in my overabundant imagination. So today, I appeased myself with planting a few herbs inside. Cilantro and rosemary so far. I thought I still had basil seeds, but I must have already used them up.

Cilantro in the two end pots, nothing in the center.

Rosemary

The kids have had the opportunity to help feed a calf that has been relegated to the "hospital". He was born a twin and after initially being the chosen one, his Mama decided she was going to instead choose his brother. Not all cows will shun a calf if twins are born. But this is what happened this time. Meme and Papa have been put in charge of the "hospital" which means that out of the four times a day he has to be fed the kids get to participate in two or three of them. What a life for them. A quick word about these twins. They were born at 74lbs and 76lbs. Can you even imagine carrying that around inside you?! Combined, that's an average sized adult!

Love

Hubbys' parents came by for a visit this morning. It was so great to see them. His mom, aka Nana, has been in Michigan helping her Mom with the loss of her Dad for the past few weeks. It is a hard thing to know that someone you love suffers and harder still to have them gone, but Nana is a strength to her family and now we must be a strength for her.
I am having a hard time writing tonight. I have a heartfelt post I want to write and I hope it comes across as such. Here goes. I try to avoid the news because so often it just ends up breaking my heart. Tonight I finally started reading stories and looking at the pictures coming out of Japan. I don't know how to even comprehend the total loss that these families, these friends, these fellow human beings are having to deal with. With so many disasters on Earth in the past few years, it really puts things into perspective. These are some of the lessons I am trying to take away from it all.
First: Love. Love your family and show them every day just how much they mean to you. Love your friends and be appreciative of the time they give you. Love your neighbor because you never know when you might need to lean on each other. Love strangers for no other reason than that they are on this Earth at the same time as you, struggling and learning their own lessons. Just love.
Second: Material objects don't matter. In the blink of an eye, it can all be gone. Be comfortable in your own home, but remember that ultimately what is hanging on your walls or sitting on your shelves doesn't matter. What matters is life experience and what we do with the time we have here on Earth.
Third: Be prepared. What we hear time and again is how people look for water and food and medical supplies. Try and be as prepared as possible by storing your own food and supplies. Again, it could all be gone in the blink of an eye, but if it isn't, you will be so much better off. And you may be able to help others in need.
Fourth: Learn how to take care of yourself off the land. Learn one thing wholeheartedly. Be as self sufficient as you can. Anyone can garden. Anyone can learn CPR. Anyone can take basic classes to learn how to do anything. Anything. Learn and then practice what you learn.
Fifth: Remember that if all else fails, I will be here loving you from afar.

Library

Today we took the kids to the library for St. Patrick's Day crafts. This is another obscure holiday that I don't entirely understand. If I was an Irishman in Boston and enjoyed being a drunken roustabout, then it would be a different story. But I like a reason to wear green and make crafts with the kids so, hey, let's all be Irish for a day. I am quite happy that our small town has events for small people at the library. As home educators, we spend a lot of time and energy at the library. Choosing their own books has inspired more reading and asking to be read to than I ever could have imagined. We have always enjoyed our library, no matter where we have lived. Our little library has not failed to impress, despite it's size.

M and S crafting away.

The end result. Pinwheels and mobiles.



T did amazing at crafts. He ate the tissue paper, staining his lips blue,
 tried to use the glue stick as chapstick, wrestled me for the scissors
 and finally gave up and decided he was done, leaving me to finish by myself.
Here he is trying on my sunglasses with his blue lips.



As promised, a picture of Mama and Baby from yesterday.

And here's the little/big heifer all by herself.

What a day

I have found that the most amazing things happen when you have no camera handy. This has become even more acute since I started blogging. I did manage to get a few pics, although most of them Hubby took. Today we were able to witness a flock of 300-400 sandhill cranes catching the updrafts over the ranch. I will blog more on that in a few days as the migration of them gets into full swing.

A hard thing about moving into a barn is, well, it's a barn. It makes weird noises. Everything echoes. Like Rangers' bark. Holy moly he has a bark. Anyway,the hardest thing is that the barn is filthy. I mean, other-peoples-left-behind-stuff-and-animal-poop-in-every-stall kind of filthy. I can never expect the barn to be fully clean, but it is disheartening to have to clean up poop that didn't come from any of your animals. Which is what we did today. The barn doubles as our garage/storage/workshop space. We had to clean out a stall just for camping gear, a kayak, the car topper, etc. Which was good. The barn is now ready for the more serious work of cleaning out a stall for the chicks that will be here the 25th. And then cleaning out a stall for them and surrounding it in chicken wire for when they are feathered. Stall by stall we will get it cleaned. And maybe by then my ongoing quest for dairy goats will be fulfilled.

Chick stall before being cleaned

In the middle of all of this, Papa pulls up to say they are pulling a calf (helping to deliver it) and wonders if I would like to join in. I didn't even hesitate. I threw down what I was carrying and went for it. But did I grab my camera? No. Which is sad. Because that was a breathtaking experience. Cows, like most mammals, just give birth. No biggie. But every great once in a while, a Mama needs serious help. This first time Mama had a birth canal that was too narrow and a baby that turned out to be one of the biggest calves born this season. As a Mama who has had my own difficulties giving birth, I felt for her. I know, that sounds silly to relate to a cow but you should have seen her eyes. This poor Mama and her calf were in dire straits for a bit. I was afraid the calf wouldn't make it. But all was well in the end. Mama got herself a beautiful little red heifer. And we all sighed with relief. I will go down tomorrow and take pictures and post them with tomorrow's blog.

After all of that excitement the day wasn't even close to being over. The kids have taken to ranchlife like ducks to water. They turned some leftover hay into a hideout. What they were hiding from I still do not know. They live in a child's world and I will keep them like that as long as possible.

In the midst of one of their imaginings this evening, they came running back to us yelling that some cows were loose. Papa was here again and so we all scurried over to do some wrangling. About 20 or so yearling bulls had somehow opened their gate and were having the time of their young lives. Sadly for them, that is not approved of. With Papa, Meme, Hubby and I working together, we made short work of getting them corraled again. What a workout.
All in all it was a very good day.

Sunset over Fruit Growers Reservoir