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.