seems kinda white out

here's the view out the backdoor at 9:30pm tonite, you can see how fast the snow is coming down.

Holey Moley

Good heavens our new addition "Scooter Danger Downs" who joined our family on December 15 is now all of 16 pounds. I'm quite sure that is 3 pounds or more than when we got him. He gets along well with the other dogs even though the old lady (dog) is not really all that impressed with him. He so far has been very easy to work with, he's quite vocal when he wants something whether its food, outside or attention. I'm surprised that more people weren't aware that there is a 'fox red' color of a yellow lab. Poor little guy, snow is already up to his stomach on our latest venture outside, he had the most forlorn, pitiful expression while he was outside doing his business ears flapping in the snowy wind. Wish I would have had my camera handy.

Today apparently was the day for jail breaks. First the sheep which have been sold and we are holding them until pick up this weekend decided they were tired of staying in the barn and should be free to go to the pole barn where it's stacked to the ceiling in hay. Fortunately once they saw me coming they all ran back into the barn and there stall. Lawrence went to feed the horses and cows and we have never had to close the gate behind us when feeding in the winter but today the 3 horses made a break for freedom. I think it was the mare that instigated the escape, she seems to act very tired of the 'dumb' boys. They had a good ole time trotting around the house, the little barn...should we go into the gorge? .....nah... lets trot around some more. Surprisingly it was "Toma's" the stud that finally decided to come over for treats and then it was a simple matter to lead him back into the barn/pasture with the others following.

We already have at least 4" of snow since about 4 pm this afternoon, considering the report had us receiving only 2-4" total tonite we seem to be well ahead of schedule, and they are still advising that the most snowfall will be overnight. Well what can you do?

I hope this finds all of you well and I wish you a safe and Merry Christmas.

Second winter of the year

LOL, since our first snow in early October we went into a very warm spell broken only yesterday by a big snowstorm. Dept. of Transportation is quoted as " if you live in southern minnesota, stay home!!!" Many of the interstates and secondary roads have been closed. We have recieved at least 8" and drifts up to 3 feet high.

Horses have yet to come into the barn, the cows however are only venturing outside for a snack, check out the photo as they head back to the barn. Check out the photo of the cows and the little calf making his way down the slope of the creek. The geese are also staying outside and at times get almost completely covered by snow. Chickens seem to be doing well, but they are staying in the barn.

Goodbye to a giant

Thanksgiving Day was a mixture of emotions. A mixture of relief and sadness all rolled together. I had recieved the news on Wednesday November 18, that my dad was in the end stages of lung cancer.( He lived in Spokane Washington) The statement was a complete shock as I had no idea he had been sick. Of course that was how he had wanted it. I was able to speak with him on Thursday to give him my love and wish him some easement of the pain he was in. Due to aggravating my neck injury I was unable to fly home to see him, however this was most probably a blessing in disguise as he declined quickly from that point on becoming delerious and failing quickly and passing into God's hands on Thanksgiving morning. While selfish and distraught over the loss, I was thankful also that he was now out of pain.

He was a giant of a man, in so many, many ways. I was always proud as a child to be able to say my dad was the: biggest, strongest, smartest etc. as it was all very true. Over 6 1/2 feet tall he was indeed a giant of a man. This was the man that showed me nature, took me hunting, fishing, sailing, exploring and where I learned an appreciation of nature and the beauty and bounty it can provide. We developed a game of 20 questions usually played after he had been out in the woods or lakes. I soon learned that my first question should be: 'does it bite?" He was always bringing stranded or injured animals, rodents or reptiles home. Twenty questions was usually the way I learned what species of animal it was. Now you can see the importance of my first question. A quirky, dry sense of humor. I remember well learning to read and asking from another floor of the house: "Dad, what does w, h, a, t spell?" and his answer.......... "what!" "Dad, what does w..h...a...t.. spell?" and his reply "What?" this went on for some time with a growing frustration on my part and held in laughter on my dad's part till mom finally stepped in, called time out on my dad and the meaning of the word w...h...a...t become learned.

I remember spending lots of time being 'forced' to watch educational shows like 'NOVA' or other PBS specials, how awful that was!!! Now I realize how very much I learned from these shows and it also furthered my love of animals & nature and my eventuall career as a Licensed Veterinary Technician/zookeeper/instructor. We also watched plenty of Star Trek, it was typical of Dad to determine which episode it was within the first few minutes of the show. My friends often commented that he reminded them of 'Spock' due to the fact he had such a dry sense of humor and was well informed on a variety of subjects.

While we didn't always see 'eye to eye' ( catch the joke there?!) as I inherited his wonderful sense of determination or is it stubborness? He was and will always be my dad, a giant of a man.

So today, as always 'I love you Dad, God Bless'

Frank's Day!

After 3 years of visiting from Arizona Frank bagged a deer. A very nice 6 point (eastern count, 3 pt western count) He had not bagged a deer in almost 20 years. Last year we were honored to have his son get his very first deer ever and now the challange is on between the two for the biggest deer this year.

lol, he also doesn't know that since he is moving to Florida we can let him reciprocate and crash at his place. hehehehe

What a great time to be a vikings fan!

Lol, I haven't watched football in years, Lawrence really never has but this year has brought us back to watching football. It's been exciting to see the Vikings do well so far this year. I will admit this past weekends game was almost a dissapointment, but we managed to win at the last few seconds, I'm thinking that there will be alot of review on the teams part about how the game played out.

Monday was Lawrence's birthday and he received a fabulous coat from our good friend and number 1 Viking fan.

Animals are in an exceptional mood right now with the bull and horses playing tag while the calves are running around and kicking up their heels.

SNOW!!!!!, & big head 1, nose 0

AAAAAgh, woke up this morning to a light dusting of snow on the ground. Lawrence states that he can't remember the last time it snowed before his birthday. It's now overcast and looks ( and feels) like the snow may stick around for at least a few hours.

Big head 1, nose 0 yep that's right. My nose lost in the encounter with Tomas's head. He stepped on his lead rope and got startled swung that big ole head up and smacked me right in the face. I had to look several times before I admitted that yes, my nose was now canted distinctly to the left. My great neighbor, Marcia, kindly took me to the ER where it was confirmed that my nose is broken and displaced to the left. I find out Monday the details of having it re-set. Hubby just came in from the barn and states that Tomas seems very concerned. Today will no doubt bring some interesting new colors to my face, already I have some lovely blackish, green areas, but the good news is that with all the swelling you really can't tell that my nose is displaced!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (late) to Sharon and Rick!!

tomatoes!!!

Lawrence (DH) was sure surprised when he ventured into the garden for the first time since tilling it. Tomotoes, tomatoes everywhere. I just giggled as he remembered quite well my surprise at his purchase of so many tomatoe plants. They are not going to waste, Saturday they made a wonderful sauce for my jambalaya, spaghetti sauce for the freezer as well as lots more for freezing and use later.

Rudy, a dear friend was kind enough to lend a hand this weekend, removing the dead trees that were remaining in the front pasture. He seemed at ease on the tractor and was a big help. THANKS Rudy!!

I extended the pasture temporarily today to allow the animal access to some grass that had not been grazed in many many years. They seemed to enjoy the change of scenery also.

Hey Honey!!!

Yea, our bee's were so happy this year that we have been able to harvest honey in our first year of beekeeping. We have probably harvested two quarts of yummy, delicious honey. How cool it is to eat honey from your own farm. Plus, whipped with butter and slathered on toast it's like frosting, yummy!!

This year have been a very productive year for us, the previous years of work have culminated into healthy streambeds, beautiful pastures-now almost weed free, furrowed ground smoothing out, it's very rewarding for us.

Animals are all doing very well also. Hard to believe that fall is here.

The Twins

Well ok, they aren't really twins but they sure look like it. "they" are Reuban and Waldo ( of the wheres' waldo fame and post) they are almost inseperable. One of them sounds like what I would expect a muppets car to sound like. A very short maaa. and that's it.

I'm still keeping an anxious eye on Shorty, beginning to think she is never going to calf, she's huge!!! Still as sweet as ever although she has been pushing other cows away from her ( I keep thinking it a sign of upcoming labor) but no calf yet.

The neighbor must have brought his bull back from loaning him out for breeding, all of the cows are having a yelling contest across the street back and forth. Our cows may be small but they sure sound loud, way louder and deeper than the bull across the street. We think he should be ashamed of his tiny bellow.

Chickens are all doing well, suspect that a neighbor went on vacation and had the kids watch the dog... or not or maybe it was just a weird coincidence that all of the chickens that we lost this year were in the middle of the day and no sign left of them, and no animals alerted. Oh well it is life on the funny farm

Speaking of the funny farm; I have a new chicken with an overgrown top beak ( I will trim back this wknd) who comes to the porch for food.....cat food that is. So I have a cat food eating chicken, a dog food eating cat and a cat food eating dog. Did ya catch all of that? Told you it was the funny farm

Family history

lol, ok so it's not my family history but I have had multiple requests for the percheron stud family so:
"Sterling's Tommy" registered name
reg # 273745
sire
Chief's Successor Topper
dam
Morning Glory's Delight
he also has on the top "King Lyndon"

I had a very enjoyable time at Rush River Percherons. They were most welcoming and incredibly patient with my endless questions. I learned a lot and hope to see them at either the Iowa St. fair or MN st fair.

My new favorite quote

"riding is the art of keeping the horse between you and the ground."

Today I am off to a Wisconsin Percheron farm to observe them hitching and working their horses. This a family run farm that spends much of the summer traveling the country and showing their percherons in 6 & 8
team hitches. Wow, I can only think what a chore that is to hitch that many tall horses! Looking forward to learning what I can today.

My little red wagon

Woohoo, now all I need is a collar for 'Thomas" the percheron and we will be driving to town in style in the little red wagon.

Weather has finally warmed up!! Phew, humid for minnesota as well. I have been busy taking down fences that led to nowhere and were always in the way. It's nice to see how our work is paying off in lush grass pastures.

Bee's seem to be doing very well, everywhere I go there is a constant sound of their busy buzzing. I'm anxious to see if or how much honey there will be to harvest this year.

Sugar shortage

phew, if the hummingbirds keep this up there will be a sugar shortage. I am filling the quart container three times a day. This feeder is still the favorite of the hummingbirds.

Orioles are back or perhaps they never left, they are once again active on the one hummingbird feeder.

We do have our QH gelding for sale, we are moving into the drafts and draft crosses.

Home Sweet Home

Well, it happened I fell even more in love with Thomas, the percheron. He now has a permanent home here at DreamRiver. You can see from the first picture that he is also a fellow with a great sense of humor! He is truly a gentleman, even when around some very excited mares...wink...wink. Time will tell if our Thoroughbred mare has settled (pregnant) If all goes well we anticipate a fabulous colt from Thomas & Kasino.

Where's Waldo?

yes, where is that darn waldo? Waldo is the name of our newest calf on the farm. A black bull calf that has appeared and disappeared for varying lengths of time, including yesterday where we weren't able to find him for over 12 hours!!! I must admit that it was great exercise walking up and down the hills in search of the little guy, but a little frustrating as his mom didnt' seem to know where he was either. It's very common for most of the newborns out here to be 'missing' for a few hours, but typically mom is relaxed and calm. Waldo's mom was anything but calm and relaxed.

Thomas-Percheron Stallion

Woohoo, Thomas the incredible Percheron with hair like Fabio's will be coming to stay with us for awhile. This stallion has an incredible temperament, rides, drives, has logged and will do all this even while next to mares. Thomas will remain at DreamRiver until sold or I fall even more in love with this horse and refuse to let him go. He is for sale at this time. Email for details

Cliff Notes

Well, it appears that the cliff swallows have FINALLY resigned themselves to building nest on the barn. It has always looked like there were multiple nests there but they appeared to have been powerwashed off. It is very nice to having them building nests on the barn instead of the front of the house.

I purchased a new hummingbird feeder the "Tejas" model. This feeder is constantly full of hummies, with the remaining two feeders still in use. The Tejas is apparently quite the favorite and requires refills daily.

Orioles-0, Hummingbirds....lots!

Well the Orioles have come through and left on their way to the nesting areas. Many more hummingbirds this year, than in years previous. Two feeders are continuously used and fought over. I was able to see the hummingbird courtship, it consist of the male flying a semi-circle in front of the female. It is almost a perfect mathematic 1/2 circle. The female makes her choice based on her impression of the circle. The males are quite vocal during this display.

The bee's are being extremely productive and we may be able to harvest honey this year. It often takes a year to harvest in order to leave enough honey for the bees to survive the winter. We have sampled some honey and boy is it good!! Pastures are coming along nicely this year. Each year we have more and more grass that is replacing the weeds. It's amazing how keeping the pastures mowed will decrease the weed population dramatically. I will tell you that I am looking forward to not having to mow but it is nice to see all the grass coming in. The cool spring has allowed the cool weather grasses to come to seed, something they have not done since I have been here.

Looks like we might have a few more calves this spring also.

I have given up on keeping the border collie from chasing the horses, as you can see by the picture the horses activelly seek out this pastime! I think that often the horses enjoy chasing the dog as much as she likes to chase them!

Busy bees and cool chick(ens)

Well the air conditioner must be the greatest spot in the world to hang out. Lawrence went out to check on the bees and they are very beezy making comb and honey. We were able to sample some of the honeycomb!!! Honey was very sweet, bees wax....well tasting like wax!

Breakin trail

Phew!, we (more like hubby) have been working on the wooded section of the property this year. Previously our work concentrated on restoring the stream banks, mowing down thistle and burdock (rather than use herbicides)and we are being rewarded this year with almost park like pastures. It still amazes me 1) that I get to live here 2) how effective mowing is against weeds. We always get quite a following when we mow, from the barn swallows sweeping up the insects we stir up to hawks on the lookout for a tasty rodent treat.

Just one fence line remains in the way of connecting the east side of the gorge to the west and then we will be able to bike, hike, or ride throughout the entire property. It's very rewarding to see our work opening up spaces, encouraging new growth and more wildlife.


The maple tree is one that I consider a memorial tree for my grandfather, it sits on a hill overlooking all of the property.

Barn Swallows, not house swallows

Well, once again it's the time of year where the BARN swallows try to nest on the house. Don't they know they should be in the barn? Front of the house looks like something from San Juan Capistrano (place known for thousands of these birds).

Orioles have been back and at the hummingbird feeders for approximately one week now. Interesting battles between the orioles and the hummingbirds, even with two feeders. A neighbor down the road has been getting Indigo Buntings at her thistle feeder. These birds have an absolutely wonderful iridescent turquoise color, may start feeding thistle here.

Bee's seem to be very happy. I called Lawrence in with a degree of worry in my voice told him I needed him to specifically identify what i had on the computer screen. His first response to the photo of the bee was, "yes, its one of mine' when i repeated that he needed to specifically id it, he came up with "Stevie # 3" Stevie can be viewed in the photos here.

I still have awe that I have been fortunate enough to have this property. Front pastures are beginning to look like a park. This year marks the fourth summer on the property and almost every single day I count my blessings for the beauty of this place.

 
 
 
 

Woo hoo

I finally was able to squirrel away enough money to buy a nice (very entry level) camera. I havent had a decent camera in over 20 yrs. I am attaching a slide show of some of the shots I took today

Hollywood horse aka Grace, was very difficult to photo as she kept getting closer and closer even fogging the lens at times.

Tiny jumping fish

LOL, this afternoon at dusk we were walking along the creek when I spotted a expanding ring in the water. I knew it had been made by a fish jumping, but when I saw the little tiny sardine come fully out of the water in a wonderful dolphin jump it was funny. It was a tiny brown trout, this year the creek seems to be fuller than usual with all sizes of trout. Two blue herons are visiting daily, we have Canada geese a pair that come over every morning, lots of Robins this year,and goldfinches. I hadn't seen many robins or Goldfinchs in years past. I am waiting on my bluebird pair that has nested in the same house for 2 years to come back. Hoping that maybe they are just using one of the 6 new bluebird houses I placed this spring. I have also seen what appeared to be a teal, but it moved away before i could fully identify it.

Cows are all doing wonderfully. We moved them to the small pasture Saturday so they could eat of the rapidly growing grass and allow the two bigger pastures to rest and recover. Bob, (the bull) is apparently excavating a basement in the small pasture. There is a small gully where the runoff goes and Bob gets in the gully and scratches his head at surface ground level. He has taken the 2ft wide gully into a 4 foot wide gully. His hair on his head, does look marvelous!!

How many geese fit in a dog house? Apparently the answer is 4. The geese all roost in the dog house that I put out for them to nest in. It is a multi-purpose house as they lay eggs, some sit on the eggs and all but one goose gets to come and sleep at night.

Broiler chickens are getting big, dumber every year, but we don't buy them for their IQ.

This year we are really able to see the wonderful changes and improvements that we have been making over the last 3 years. Pastures and creek bank are restoring wonderfully, I believe that is also the reason for the increased trout numbers.

Picture was taken on 5.6.9 evening toward the east, if you look close you may be able to see the full moon also. PTL for this beautiful place.

Bee's are making comb and the queen is laying, overall it looks like a happy hive. I am surprisingly more excited about the bee endeavor than I thought I would be. How sweet is that? ahahhaah sweet..honey..... :)

Been Beezy!!!

Wow, it has been very busy around here, the spring clean up, clearing more trees in compliance with the forestry plan we have developed with the forestry service, and bees!!!

Yes, it's true. We now have a hive and as of noon today bees to occupy the residence. I am excited but filled with a little bit of trepidation as I react strongly to certain insect bites/stings. Re-assured by the fact that the bees will leave me alone if I leave them alone. Hoping it will be a successful endeavor for us. I didn't realize that all farms in years past had a hive or 3-5. Hubby wasn't taking any chances with them, a wise decision.

Rain!!!

I can almost see the grass growing and greening before my eyes. Not sure who will be happier the animals with the new grass growth or myself for the same reason.

Morning brought 4 new chicks, 3 black/white and 1 yellow. It's so cute to see them peek out from mom's wing. Geese eggs are due to hatch any day now also. If you are interested in some American buff goslings let me know, there are LOTS of eggs.

We deliver "Larriette" and her calf to some great people today. I always love getting to know the people our animals go to and Susan and her family seem to be kindred spirits, with the same goals of land stewardship and animal husbandry that we have. I'm excited also to see their farm and the jersey calf and other critters they have.

Here's to green growing grass!!

Easter Baby!

Woohoo, this morning beckoned with lots of sunshine, frost on the ground, hungry critters and a new heifer calf this morning. We just missed the actual birth but were able to observe the newcomer getting up and nursing. Sandy, the mom, allowed hubby to pick up the calf and we were able to tell it was a heifer. Mom and Bunny (what else could we name her?) are both doing great! Looking forward to seeing Bunny up and running around.

Larriette, another cow is also very close to calving so maybe we will have two of close age to watch play.

Geese are waterfowl right?

I have always thought that geese were waterfowl. However the keystone cops aka the geese have taken several weeks to venture down to the creek. Once there it took over 30 minutes for them all to actually get their feet wet! Walking into the creek, but still keeping their feet on the bottom of the creek at all times. One finally lifted its feet and seemed startled that there was a current and it was now going backwards aaaaaaaaah, quick run away!! They all four finally got into the water but left and went back to the barn w/in the 30 minute span.

Morning found them wandering the south side of the creek and then discovering them on the north side of the creek in the pasture. I am thinking that they must have crossed the water, but now have serious doubts. They spotted me outside (I'm mom) and thought let's go see her. I am expecting them to cross the creek and come back to the south side where the house and barn etc are located.......Nope, not my crazy crew they decided to cross the bridge, heaven forbid they should get their feet wet!!! All I could do was laugh and once again consider renaming the farm to "The Funny Farm"

Cows seemed to have discovered that we fixed the electric fence and it does shock them. Daisy our shortie has tested it at least twice but seems to have realized it means to stay on her side of the fence.

We have snow today, currently it's going sideways!!! I'm so glad its spring.

We do have a goose setting on her eggs, I don't have a count on how many eggs are in there, hopefully not toooo many.

Baa Baa Black sheep

Last tuesday brought us a black lamb. "Gonzo" is doing well, and is a joy to watch sproing around the field. We are still anticipating another lamb any time soon, hopefully a little girl this time around.

The case of the revolving cows

Ok, so everyone has their own way of doing things.(foreshadowing!) Friday morning dawns sunny and ...could it be? above freezing woohoo!! In Minniesoda that means that it shorts weather already. Not quite yet for me, but you get the idea. It's been the longest winter. We loaded the cows that were in the little paddock into the trailer w/o any trouble, removed halters, vaccinated the baby and were off to the other side of the driveway to release them into the large pasture with the horses and 3 more cows. ...dun, dun, dun..... get a few chores done, turn around and we have a few cows in the front yard. Herd them back in, do some more chores and general spring clean up around the place ....and now we have cows out of the pasture and along side the road. Yea, this is fun well at least I think that's what the cows thought, I DID not! Guess what? its the same set of cows that were out a minute ago (the ones we got in December). Bob, the bull, is doing his best to impress the girls with his jurassic park bellow which echoes all the way down the valley, hence his other name, Jurassic Bob. I set off across the pasture just to keep an eye on them, make sure they don't cross the road-the neighbors dog was doing a great job of intimidating them into staying on our side of the road. (Note, this is basically a private road as there are only 12 houses in a 3 mile stretch of road, not much traffic). Cows see me coming and decide oh, lets go back into the pasture, fortunately hubbie had seen me set off and was in place to open the pasture gate. TADA!!! they are back in...and out, and in and back out. Remember the foreshadowing part? Well that's where I would have checked to be sure the electric fence was working before moving the cows. Ok, so now we are 'heating' the fence after the animals have left, come back, left... Fence doesn't seem to be hot, so back to the drawing board, rewire the first section of fence as we knew it wasn't getting any power, still nothing ( a few choice expletives later) I can only guess that for some reason with the ground being frozen and not using the electric fencer all winter that maybe something is wrong with the ground rod. Dump a bunch of water on it and tada, fence working. Back into the house for a well deserved break and some food. Hehehe we observe one of the new cows testing the fence, yea, it's working (my thought not the cows). Phew I can finally relax...surprise 2/5 newbies are back out, wait now there's 3..4 of them out, head back out the house and at this point the cows know the routine and head in the direction of the gate 1/2 way there and the 5th newbie decides to join the parade, get to the gate and watch all of the cows step through the fence obviously not getting shocked grrrrrrr. Hours later and the warmth of the sun seems to have solved whatever the fence problem is/was as now they are all in and appear to realize what the fence means.

Next day and all is good, everyone still in place. Bob, is the only one that seems to associate with the newbies they are all on the north side of the creek and the well trained cows (ones we have had) are all on the south side.

Sunny and Gracie the oldest and youngest horses are diligently babysitting Stuie the calf any chance they can. Momma cow seems to have resigned herself to their constant presence by her calf.

Hope and warmth are in the air as it might be that spring will indeed come to Minnie-soda this year.

It also appears that Stuie will be sold as a registered bull, perhaps we should change his name now...

Baby time

Well as promised here is a picture of our latest addition, Stu. I will admit we have a morbid sense of humor in that we will name the males animals as food items. We hope Stu will be sold as a bull as he has great bloodlines.

Babies!!

Yea, the first baby of the season. A bull calf, born last night at 7:30 mom & baby are both doing well. Stu, the calf, is figuring out that legs will allow you to do lots of things like run and jump. It's always so amazing to me how the nursing instinct goes into action so quickly. He was up and nursing w/in a 1/2 hour. Pictures to come later today.

Bubby's insight of the day

Bubby the quarter horse is also very excited about the continuing cold weather

Big Bad Bob

well big bad Bob, the bull is at it again. Trying to incite an equine riot. It is very funny to watch this 900+ bull trying to get the horses to play with him. Bob fortunately has never realized that he is a BIG! boy. He remains incredibuly docile and easy to work with. His head is now approximately 20" across, it almost does not fit in a feed bucket. We are still waiting on a calf due any time. In fact yesterday we tried to move 'momma' to the pregnancy paddock and of course we got everyone moved.....except for her. grrrrrr. The pregnancy paddock is also where the new girls we got in December are at. Bob was thrilled with the idea of meeting them in person. He got very vocal and adamant about getting close to them. I also am aware that a) he is a big animal b) he is a bull, so it was a little bit intimidating to go head to head with him to get him moved. LOL, to confirm that he doesn't realize his size, he tried to squeeze under the pole fence like he did as a calf. He seemed quite confused that he couldn't get through. The scary thing is that given a little bit more effort I'm sure he could have easily bent the pole rail and got in.

I am very ready for some warmer weather, however I am very gratefull that at least the sun has been out teasing me with it's promise of warmer weather.

All of us two leggers are doing well. My jewelry is being very well received and I am quite proud of the new chain maille pieces I have completed. I haven't seen any maille pieces in any of the local artsy shops. I hope my pieces can be displayed at a couple of these stores.(dreamriverdesigns.blogspot.com).

Well think that's it for today.

The great goose debate

For those of you not having had the pleasure of the company of geese I hope that you have at least seen the two geese in the Disney movie "the Aristocats". Geese of which we have five apparently must discuss Every move no matter how small in great detail. Example, the barn doors have been open for a few weeks now and it has taken about that long for the debate to conclude that "I don't think we will get eaten' I image the whole long process to have gone something like this, do you think we should go outside? Well, I don't know. WhY? The chickens are going outside. I just don't think its wise to go out there? Well, how about we just peek out the door a little bit and see? WHAT!! I'm not sticking my head out the door, you do it. ME!! how about we all stick our heads our together and on and on. Once it was established that they could successfully make it out the door, it was incremental how far away they would get. They looked just like the ducks in the shooting gallery. Single file three steps to the right, ok now 4 steps to the left and on and on. At least the make me laugh.

Other events making me laugh was watching our ferocious bull chase the horses. I was concerned at first until I realized that this was a mutual play time and who was chasing who switched around. Our quarter horse would get into a face off with the bull and each would bluff like they were going to move, the horse won that one every time. It was also incredibly funny watching all 800 pounds or so of bull, sproinging off the ground with all four feet in the air and bucking and rearing. They all played like this for some time and it finally ended after 5-6 laps around the hay feeder!!

Currently there is a bald eagle in a tree about 50' from the house. A few days ago we had three fly over the house so close that you could hear their wings flap. How cool is that?!!

Chickens are laying 12- 14 eggs a day now. Geese are also getting in the spring mode, as it is now a definitive that we have at least one male and female. I had checked them when we first got them, but it's not always the easiest to sex geese.

Corduroy Cows

Corduroy cows, standing out on the back porch last night enjoying the 'crispness' of the night I heard what sounded like someone walking in corduroy pants, turns out it was one of the cows and the noise what from the crunchy snow under foot.

blizzard is doing well out in the barn with his 'chicks' No further trouble with his foot. It's been nice to have him back in the barn, although it has taken us all about a week to quit tip-toeing around so as not to wake him and his crowing.

I welcome your comments on the jewelry.(dreamriverdesigns.blogspot.com) Some pieces are already sold, I also welcome your thoughts and prayers that this endeavor will bring in some sort of income for us. It's been tough with both of us laid off.

208,000 miles later the toyota has finally died, that too has been another blow for us. It did however provide a very reliable ride for a long time.

Well, that's all for now. The family is feeling neglected as I seem to spend the majority of my time working or deep in thought of the next design.

phew!!!

well if it isn't one thing it's another. hose broke in the pole barn auto waterer, an item we had been meaning to do some maintenance on in the summer. Fortunately it was just he hose portion of the waterer and we were able to close the hose shut to keep water from flooding the barn. The waterer has a spigot that has been there for who knows how long and it is firmly rusted shut, any action to close the spigot I feel would result in a metal part disintegrating and leaving the pipe open, not something I want in this weather.

Morning started with Hubby saying 'come here,it looks like we have a problem' turns out it was only two of the cows that had snuck through an open gate (LAWRENCE!!!!) and were on their way to the mini barn. this actually was quite fortidious, as I had been thinking this morning that we needed to move big momma cow to the mini barn for her upcoming calf. Big momma was amazingly one of the two cows venturing forth and it was a simple matter to get them into the pregnancy paddock. It also was the reason we were in the pole barn that early and noticed the busted hose. Fortunately it looks like only two bales of hay were affected, and should still be ok to feed.

I have also gone forward and ordered inventory for our Rosary, chaplet, jewelry business. We feel confident that this is where we have been lead, to start our own business, but it was still kinda scary placing the order. We have several beautiful desings, and the girls have shown a natural talent for design and creation of items. It's great to have us all working toward a commen goal.

Heat stroke, well at least the weather is out of the minuses, its a balmy 20* today. Not sure if this will last but it has been nice to appreciate the warmth. LOL, having lived in the south, many people would still call our temperatures not fit for life. It's amazing how you can adapt. In any event, I sure appreciate the spring alot more than when I was in the south and could harvest flowers and vegetable in Febuary!!

Blizzard the rooster has completed his reovery and is now back in the barn with his 'chicks' since T-rex the other rooster has gone 'suspiciously' missing, Blizzard is doing well out in the barn with no competition from Rex.

My first Blog

Don't put the Florentine Fish with the Triangle Fish because there Evil there from the bermuda triangle.

Thins I say in my sleep.

Lawrence

Trials of winter

Well, we have the auto waterer in the pole barn frozen, the spigot in the little barn surrounded by an ice moat, courtesy of the teenager allowing the water to overflow and a temp of -24 currently. Our old mare had a bad couple of days, but seemed to enjoy her pampering in the stall and some anti -inflam meds for her arthritis. She's back with the herd and doing well.

We have sold one of our bull calves, Bezee, he's now a steer and in Chisago City. Funny his mom didn't really bawl for him as much as I expected, I'm sure the neighbors were glad of that. Blizzard the chicken is doing wonderfully. Hubby took him to our friend, a vet, all at the clinic got a chuckle out of seeing barnyard animals and the fact that he crowed the entire time at the clinic. Blizzard also escaped from his crate he was being transported in and took a few arial laps around the truck cab while being driven to the appointment. Apparently this was just TOO much for our lab and all 80# of her tried to crawl onto Hubby's lap. All in all it sounded like an exciting road trip... a man, a dog and his chicken!!!!

Recieved about 7" of beautiful snow yesterday, they are calling for another 1-4 this afternoon.

the girls and I are enjoying our time beading chaplets, rosaries, bracelets and necklaces. We have come up with some beautiful designs. We are to start business calls this weekend, wish us well in this endeavor.

Good News!!!

It's been a busy couple of days. Lawrence and I have decided to dedicate and form "Butler Creek Co." producing hand-crafted chaplets and rosaries. Searching for jobs over the last couple of months has not produced any for either of us. Family obligations also limit one or the other of us in regards to work schedules. After a lot of soul searching and we came to to conclusion to form this company, portions of the proceeds will be donated back to church and our community. We both feel very strongly about this and hope that you will wish us well in this venture. We have totally given it to God and if it is meant to suceed it will. We will also continue in raising heritage livestock w/o the use of hormones/herbicides or any other additives. We hope to be able to provide fresh farm eggs/lamb/beef and continue to steward the land back to a healthy state. Several of our friends are quite talented in many other crafts (that's some of you followers of this blog) and we hope to be able to help advertise and sell their products as well.

We intend to carry multiple price ranges and custom designs, this also fits in perfectly with my decision of a few weeks ago to go forward with hand-crafted jewelry.

The house chicken decided yesterday to join the figurines of chickens in the kitchen/mudroom window-see photo bottom right of blog. We performed what we hope was the last mini surgery on his foot and removed a foreign object and hope that he continues on the mend.

Not much else is new, looking forward to warmer weather but acknowledge that it is the cold that makes those warm days so much sweeter.