Two Girls And Their Bad-Boy Mower, etc.

I have tried to keep everyone informed as to the status of our "mowing operation" at the farm.  We've gone from the weed wacker, to electric push mower, to finally the Bad-Boy riding mower!  Yes, we have "arrived" and now are the proud owners of a zero turn riding Bad-Boy mower.  It's a pretty powerful machine and the zero turn is taking some getting use to.  What had taken us all weekend to do, (a minimal part of the yard) was done in less than an hour.  That time included "running-a-muck" as we fell into the learning curve.  We even managed to mow the north side which is about two acres and covered in giant weeds.  We did it in less than two hours!  Here are some photos:

If you look closely at the pictures you can see that the yard had clearly gotten away from us.  Now, in theory, we have a chance keeping up.
Another piece of equipment was also added recently.  We don't plan to do a lot of tilling, but needed something to give our patch of sweet corn a chance.  We will keep our fingers crossed that the critters have enough other stuff to munch on.

Clearly we are making progress.  We commented to each other that our father never owned a power tool.  He used hand held grass clippers, push mower, and turned over close to an acre of soil with a shovel when he planted his garden.  Without any prior experience or understanding, we are trying to move forward.

The Round Up

There were no cowboys on horses, just the power of ATVs, a truck, and a cow-dog.  We knew it was going to happen; we were unsure when it was going to happen.  After Mike and company got kicked off the Hunt Pasture, we ended up with all those extra cows.  The problem was there were too many for our little plot. So last evening the round up began:

The cows had figured out what was going to happen before hand and headed toward the woods to hide.  However, in short order, they got flushed out into the pasture.

From my vantage point, it looked like there were some mighty fast thrills and chills in those ATVs as they drove the cows toward the pens.

Bringing up the rear, was the faithful cow dog!  How much help that little guy was is debatable.  But I know he was having a blast!

Just when you think everything is going your way, one mama peels off from the group.  She's been through this routine before and wants no part of it!

"Ah, let's give these 21st Century cowboys a thumb in the eye!  I'll make them think they are in control, then spring my surprise!"

"I'll just jump into the tank and loose them.  In the olden days, a real cowboy on a real horse would have followed me into the water!"

"Now that I've humiliated them and shown them their limitations, I'll head back to the woods to hang out until they are gone."
And that is precisely what she did!

   

Buelah's Struggle With A Fashion "Eyesore"

Buelah, really both dogs, love to sniff around in every brush pile and mangy clump of grass. Unfortunately Beulah somehow irritated the inside of her eyelid resulting in a cyst.  It was very nasty looking!  So she went "under the knife" last Friday to have it removed.  It was day surgery, and she was home late in the afternoon.

Here she is wondering how she can possibly make "this" work for her dinner reservation.  "How does one drink, let alone eat wearing something like this?  Will the wildlife take me seriously wearing this thing? I know, I'll ask Rooster what I should do!"

Needless-to-say Rooster was not happy to be caught up in her dilemma.
Perhaps one of the worse parts of all of this is getting help putting the eye medicine in because Beulah does not like being still.  So twice a day we load up and head to the Vet for some support. Here she is after a visit to the Vet.  Notice the smug "twinkle" in her eyes after turning their early morning world upside down for the fourth straight day!  One more day of meds to go!

Purple Martin Condo Part One

For Christmas I received a Purple Martin House Kit.  Here we are in the middle of March and we're struggling with this beast of a kit.  The first Saturday, we spent around 51/2 hours working on it.  The salesman told Peg it would take only a half day!

We quit for the day after we reached a point where we were not communicating "effectively" with one another.

We started again last Saturday and worked for almost 2 hours.  Initially things were a little faster then we ran into the same communication issues and we quit.  Here is the two story condo fastened together.

I wish I could say we'll have it knocked out in another hour or so, but I bet there are 50 or more pieces yet to be put together!  Keep your fingers crossed that we finish before the next nesting season (we've missed 2015!).

What Do Balls And The Moon Have In Common?

When you are a dog, more than we can even imagine.  A few nights ago I put the dogs out before we headed to bed.  Rooster started barking, and barking, and barking.  I went outside to see what was going on.  The only thing I could see was Rooster looking up in the sky at the full moon.  In the morning I put the dogs out again after their breakfast.  Rooster started barking, and barking, and barking again.  I went out, and he was looking up at the setting moon.  It was a spectacular sight, but not worth all the fuss!

Maybe Rooster was frustrated because he couldn't get the big ball in the sky!

A Day For The Ducks

It's been raining fairly steadily for the last 10-12 hours.  It is wet and nasty as can be!  Know the farmers (and the ducks) are happy.

Beulah won't go outside because she thinks she'll "melt," and Rooster goes out every chance he can because he knows that's what labs do.  I try to catch him with a towel to dry him off...  Quack!  Quack!

From Fog To Sunshine

Yesterday I woke up to a very dense fog.  This is typical before cold fronts come through in the very early spring.  The air temperatures were in the lower 60s before the front with the fog's density changing with the wind and drizzling rain.  A miserable day on many levels!

This morning the sun was out and the temperatures were in the high 20s.  As the day progressed, it warmed into the low 40s with a 20-25 mile an hour wind from the north.  But the sun was out for the first time in many days. The calves played and followed their mamas around the pasture until rolls of hay were delivered this afternoon.  The mamas put "the kids" in daycare with supervision and they headed over to munch on some hay and "shoot the breeze" without interruptions.  What a cute scene!

We are not so different from our bovine cousins.  We've got to find some time away from "the kids!"