Still Spring Here

As I write this, I have another batch of banana bread in the oven! 

I just reread my last post, I was baking then, too. 

I have one of these small loaves earmarked for an elderly 

friend, and hope to run there today and leave  

eggs and bread outside the door. 

Yes, folks, I am wearing a mask when I go out.  It's reality. 

I noticed this morning when I had to pop in the store for a few 

things that even men are wearing their masks with pride. 

We have had some beautiful days here lately. 

Two days ago, we broke the record for heat, it was 

88 degrees out!  I actually broke shorts out for the afternoon. 

I was really, really worried about Niblet and Fluffy, the two wool sheep. 

So, let's talk about them. 

I wrote about Fluffy almost knocking me down a week ago. 

Well, my Good Neighbor Troy was able to find someone for me 

to shear.  The other night, they turned up at my door. 

I would show you the pictures but frankly, I cannot get the phone 

pictures to come over right now. 

The young man, Troy and I tried to catch these two inside the pen, 

they would absolutely NOT go into the barn where it would have been easier. 

They broke a post and pulled all the wire loose trying to go through. 

Yes, the young man finally tackled each.... but as they ran at me, my life 

passed in front of my eyes. 

As the young man sheared, he asked "Did I ever trim hooves".  I shook my head and told him : 

"This is why I  need to rehome them, I cannot take care of them alone". 

And then, a miracle happened. 

The next morning after the Shearing Rodeo, the young man called and told me he 

had asked his mother and my sheep will be joining their flock.  I am overjoyed, to know

they will go to a home that knows sheep and can handle them right. 

Here is the better part.... He will use my pasture and Troy's for several months this summer, 

bringing his flock over (there are about thirty).... and then they will all go home in August. 

I get to watch them all summer, which makes me very happy.  He will be over daily to check on them. 

This young man, Samuel, is on the Stranger Creek Fire Department with Troy. 

I am so impressed with him, and glad to make his acquaintance. 

Yes, friends, I am giving the sheep to him, I was never in this to make money. 

I asked him not to tell me what would happen to Cookie, the wether, my pet. 

I have to let go. 

So, last Saturday, I decided to keep Gemma. 

She was whelped on June 1st, 2003.  She will be seventeen on 

June first. 

She is a chicken killer... she had Buddy down yesterday and by the time I got her, 

I thought he was dead.  He can no longer be in the yard daily because of it....  he did revive, 

after his comb and head had turned blue from shock.  I have him all fixed up in the little henhouse today with one hen... he has a makeshift fence in front, and while he would like to be out with 

the main flock, he is happy and has good shelter.  The thing is, she can't get to him. 

She will literally pace back and forth at the fence for an hour, so I only let her out for 

little bits of time. 

As you can see, she has fit in. 

I no sooner had paid her fee on Saturday,  when I had a crisis with Fritzi.  Fritz had been going in and out 

at frequent intervals day and night, and I should have tipped that there was something very wrong.  I rushed her to an emergency vet hospital last Saturday when my son and I noticed she was 

trembling badly on her bed. 

Fritzi was diagnosed with diabetes and it was touch and go for two days.... she did not come home until Wednesday. 

She gets shots twice a day, and is on various meds for a few more days, 

but is much, much better. 

On our left in this picture is Abby, and in the middle, 

Gertie, and leaning on her, Hannah. 

These three girls were our beloved pugs, they had been 

preceded by Addie Mae, who had already died. 

Abby became diabetic.  Keith and I were not shown how to 

give her shots, and we were given a prescription for human 

syringes and needles, and not trained to use them. 

It was a nightmare, which culminated in Abby dying at home. 

For four days, I agonized about giving the shots to Fritzi. 

Guess what? 

NO PROBLEM. 

I think it's mindset, and a vet tech at the hospital took time to have me practice with 

sterile solution.  The syringes are much different, and I am getting ones designed for 

animals now.  My vet has the Vetsulin. 

So far, I have had only one tiny yip, and yes, she does not like them... but is 

taking them like a rock. 

I'm proud of her.  We are on a different diet, supplemented with 

some chicken breast cut into it, and she loves it.  It's a whole new world for us, and one in which I believe she will be around for years to come. 

The porch cam caught this bluejay looking for cat food this morning at sunrise. 

The camera caught Gems as she came out, too!

It is going to be a strange Easter this year.  I did drop off 

a makeshift Easter basket for my two youngest grands yesterday, 

and an Easter "sack" for our little friend Brayden.  How good it was to see him. 

Mass will be said on tv and also on Facebook, and I will watch 

from my home.  

My traditional thing to do on Easter (besides cook) is cut grass, 

but I have actually already started cutting this year, you know. 

I am going to do a little trimming with the push mower this afternoon, to get ahead of the game. 

We are expecting thunderstorms late this afternoon, spring is truly here in Kansas. 

Last Sunday was the seventeenth anniversary of this. 

That is my stepson, Brandon, in front of Keith and me at our 

wedding.  

What a happy day that was for us, and we did not know 

we would only have thirteen years together before 

Keith was called on ahead of me. 

Brandon has gone on ahead, too, and they actually shared a birth date. 

I hope they are not laughing to hard at me as they look down on me. 

Everyone stay safe, and have a blessed Easter! 

Looking Back

I know you all remember that I lost Keith two years ago last month. 

I am still unpacking boxes from my move back to Calamity Acres 

a year ago.  

So, this morning, I am still going through things since we had 

our first snow last night. 

I found some lovely old pictures, and I am so glad that I took them. 

When we first got our llamas, one was a young cria, 

and you notice he has a halter on.  We should have worked with him daily, because trust me, 

he was not halter-broken. 

Please note that Keith had already made our new barn pad (the barn 

never built) because our little pond is already in the pasture. 

You also see that the east fence line was still pretty much clear, you 

can see the Spehar's two deep ponds to the east clearly. 

Their view is almost obscured now. 

Our dear old Beau and his favorite goose, Samantha, were still alive. 

Samantha and Beau were very bonded, she spent all her time with him, 

instead of the other geese. 

Big Mama Llama and Beau had a bit of a contentious relationship, note her face. 

And she and her cria, Tony, pretty much took over Beau's barn. 

On Llama Roundup Day (shearing day) we had friends stop by 

with some of their animals to help us shear. 

And here comes Beau at the trot to see what the heck is going on!

And here I am, 125 pounds heavier, giving a baby bison a bottle. 

My face was permanently red from exertion back then, I am MUCH 

better off physically, now. 

Beau really liked the little lambs. 

Friend Joni showed us how the little ones liked to play. 

We eventually did get to the shearing. 

Here is where I'll stop for a moment.  We bought our llamas 

from these folks... and another from another lady in 

Douglas county. 

Llamas, to be healthy, need to have their heavy coats taken off once a year... and shots. 

If Joni and Michael had not come down every year and helped us, we would not have 

been able to do it.  It was too much for Keith and me.  Because none of ours 

was halter broken except for Big Mama (who was actually on loan from Joni and Michael)... 

it was a wild roundup.  

So... looking back... it was an ill-considered venture, despite the pleasure we 

got from watching them. 

Tony is frothing, he was scared to death. 

There was something else on this disc, that I was very happy to see. 

Handsome stepson Brandon, on his way to a winter dance at the high school. 

I had forgotten I had taken these pictures. 

Brandon graduated in 2010. 

We lost him five years ago. 

Happy times!

Catching Up

Friends, I did not know it had been a week since I last posted. 

Sometimes life just rushes past us. 

Yesterday was the second anniversary of our loss 

of Brandon, Keith's youngest boy. 

It seems as if time  has rushed these last two years, with this 

loss and our move, and Keith's illness. 

Anyway, I will try to get caught up. 

Here is a big-eared little friend enjoying some bird seed 

on the patio. 

Oh, if only his friends weren't invading the house, and 

making me realize that the feeding must stop for a while, and 

traps be set again. 

If I just didn't like to watch the birds so much! 

The babies are doing well, at least three are moving around and vibrant, 

and unlike this past year, I am seeing mother there daily feeding them. 

Yesterday was the Tractor Cruise at the Ag Hall. 

There were all kinds of old tractors, restored and not restored, all running. 

The participants (some were ladies) had driven them to Tonganoxie, and back... and were loading 

so they could go down to the barn and have a good dinner. 

While all this was going on... a troop of boy scouts was setting up shop to camp out 

last night.

They had other, smaller tents set up near the tree line. 

What a wonderful place to camp. 

And interesting companions. 

The scoutmasters (four dads) were 

overseeing the boys cooking on the grill. 

I hope they had a good night, because it has been storming here since

mid-morning this morning. 

I have been trying for many weeks to get a picture of a cardinal. 

This is a MUCH cropped picture, I was trying to get a picture of the mockingbird, 

and when I saw it in the camera I realized I had got him picking a bug out of the air. 

Serendipity. 

That's the National Farmer's Memorial mound behind him, throwing so 

much white in the picture. 

Look what I was working on yesterday! 

In the morning, I went to Leavenworth, where I bought tomatoes from a young 

woman who raises them in her basement, as I did last year. 

I bought four different kinds.  She also was selling geraniums she had started from slips... I bought ten, at a dollar apiece!  

I will be pulling the grass from the bales, but it also signifies that there are no herbicides in the bales (and that's a good thing).  

Then I stopped at Home Depot and got four pickling cukes and two watermelon slips. 

As you see, I filled the well in the middle of the bales and put the watermelons there, 

I will train them out the sides. 

See the tomato supports?  They are simply protecting the tomatoes for a few days, 

because they will not hold in the bales.  I am going to have to bite the bullet 

and build a trellis system, with some tee poles and some twine. 

I wish you could have seen the black gold that was happening in the 

bales, it was incredible.  I will try to get a picture this week. 

There were also lots of mushrooms that had come up and died off in the bales, 

also a good sign that they are working inside. 

While I was working, we had a flyover.  The Nascar races were this weekend at Kansas Speedway, about ten miles from our house. 

They actually flew over and back around at least six times.  

I wish you could have heard them! 

My feathered friends were chattering non-stop trying to hurry me along. 

The dogs had been out there, but it was very humid, and I soon took them 

back in the house. 

I will be working on the patio this week and will take pictures. 

Okay, this was odd.  

I turned a corner this morning on the way to church, and there were two hens walking down the road. 

The only people I know on this road that keep chickens are the people that sell eggs at the road, and these hens were about a half mile from that house.  

Strange. 

They were nice birds. 

I am not so sure that isn't a rooster above, now that I look at it.

I passed the little pasture pond I have shown you so many times: 

There are three birds in that picture. 

I turned the corner... 

Uh huh.  It's that time again. 

The sun was short-lived... and we expect storms off and on all week. 

It's storming again now, so I am going to end this long, long entry. 

I hope everyone had a grand Mother's Day! 

A Clean-up Day

There's Brandon, my nephew, working on the caulking of the house this morning. 

He got there at 4:30, and did the whole exterior. 

See that pile growing behind him? 

Grandson Jacob and I got there, and drove over to the storage buildings and 

the shop, and began loading out debris. We loaded the car 

and drove it around to where the trailer was going to be parked. 

We filled this dump trailer... filled.  There is still stuff to throw away, but not near what there was. All the construction and demolition materials are now gone. 

Papaw was not feeling right, so he got to hold Baby Carson. 

While Big Brother Jace picked up a LOT of worms from where 

a pile of wood had been sitting.  He and his daddy are going to go 

fishing with them. 

Papaw gave him his tackle box. 

Keith's youngest daughter Amber took over Carson duties... 

and helped husband Jesse get the tarp over the trailer. 

Notice the Royals outfits???  

Keith supervised.  

We had a gorgeous day for it. 

There is supposed to be rain again tomorrow and Monday.  See the water standing in the driveway? 

Weeds coming up through the mulch.  I am going to go out to the middle of the pasture and 

SCREAM. 

Jacob and I grimaced... and frankly, I'm going to rake the mulch aside and dig up this area and try again to get the weeds out. 

If I have to, I'll get more mulch at the end of the month and we'll put another inch on 

the darn beds. 

Here's something I miss so badly... I have only seen geese over here at the new house ONCE since we moved here... we are not in the flyway like we were at the old place. 

These were honking loudly enough that I looked up. 

When I dropped Jacob off at home, I found Paiton and Jax busy in the kitchen. 

You see... Jax turned seven yesterday, and Paiton will turn six on Monday. 

They are one year and three days apart in age. 

Their birthday party is tomorrow afternoon. 

Paiton did not play with dolls as a little girl, but asked her parents for a doll house. 

Jim put this together for her... it is hidden in big sister Madison's bedroom. 

Her eyes are going to widen out of her head when she sees it tomorrow! 

Jim and Amy got Jax a special bat from a sports store... he has wanted it for months, and 

doesn't know it is coming. 

I'll be at church tonight, as I am signed up to work our annual turkey dinner at church 

tomorrow morning on the early shift... 8 to 10:30 AM, preparing turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, rolls and cranberry sauce for the turkey dinner/bazaar tomorrow.  

Depending on the time the party starts... I'll get a turkey dinner for Keith and me to share... and then drop it at home on my way to the party. 

Now that the house is all caulked on the outside, Keith will tape the windows and start the painting. 

Then comes the deck railing, while I work inside.  Brandon will also come back in a week or so and hang the outside trim. 

We're getting so much closer! 

I still have stuff to move out of the big storage building and the shop... but not that much. 

We need to make some decisions about the contents left in the shop... donations and possible things to sell at the auction on Thanksgiving weekend. 

I'll work on moving those last things this week, and putting them away right away when I get them here.  No more clutter in the garage!!! 

I guess everyone is aware the Kansas City Royals pulled another one off last night, and won 

game one of their series with Baltimore. 

Keith is out doing an errand right now so he can come home and watch the game in peace and quiet this afternoon.... and the whole metropolitan area is alive with Royals Fever. 

I thought you might be interested in seeing what I just paid for gas about an hour ago: 

That's 2.91 for regular... incredible!  

And last... here's my big brother Pete yesterday.. he is looking SO GOOD!  For the first time 

in months, he was able to have a simple conversation... he can't really "talk" anymore... the way we used to visit... but he was able to converse about some simple things.  He is getting along so well at the new nursing home, and I couldn't be happier (unless it would be to see him with no dementia and at home!).... and I'm SO glad for him.  

I am trying to think of things to do to enrich the folks at this nursing home... he lives in a special area with folks who are wanderers, and would get out if they are not restricted to that area of the building.  I am trying to put songs on a CD for them from the 50's and 60's, and I'm going to donate my mom's old boom box for them to play music in the dayroom.  I have some other schemes too, that I'm working on.  More about that as they get closer. 

I hope everyone is having a beautiful October weekend!