Good Luck!

One day last week, I went over to my son Jim's house, and in passing, saw this: 

These birds were laying by a large pond on a farm.  There were cows farther up the hill, which is actually more gently rolling than it appears to be here. 

A few days later, they were up by the road. 

Every. Single. Picture. Was. Blurred. 

Arrghhhh.   I had Jester in the front seat with me, sometimes it happens. 

So today, I was glad to see them again.  They were back across the pond... 

they are not domestic geese, but snow geese and blue geese, the 

Canada/Snow cross. 

As I came back home... 

They were a little closer. 

Aren't they beautiful? 

I'm guessing they have decided to stay on this pond for some reason. 

Here's a closer look at two of the blues. 

Up, Periscope 

There was one Canadian goose in evidence... and yes, it's blurry. 

I am still using the broken camera but I am also still having fun with it, and 

happier and happier with my manual settings. 

You haven't seen Keith in a while... we actually sat and talked at lunch today, instead of being on the run.  I had to cut the yard, which I started right after he finished his sandwich and went out for a while. 

He has lost 14 pounds in the last few weeks, on a quest for 40 pounds! 

We are expecting thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon... real spring weather has started in Kansas! 

Lots of Pictures and a Wreck!

Valentine's Day was a little chilly and breezy, but nice. 

Anything without six inches of snow is nice, to me. 

This little guy greeted us as we got to the park to walk. 

On the way home, I passed the long driveway where I often saw deer and turkeys during the 

summer and fall.  Every Saturday and Sunday, they have farm fresh eggs for sale here, and 

farm honey.  I only had a little money on me, so I got a dozen eggs. 

The honey looked wonderful, and I hope to get some this week. 

Here are the eggs, in a comparison with eggs I bought at the commissary 

last week. 

The eggs on the right I paid 1.93 at the commissary at Fort Leavenworth, last 

week.  

The eggs on the left are the farm fresh eggs at 3.00. 

"Cage free" egg on the left, farm fresh on the right. 

I have not cracked the farm fresh yet to 

check the yolks, and I will take a picture when I do. 

We use a lot of eggs here. 

I left early Monday morning to run out to church for Lenten Adoration (on Mondays during Lent).  

What did I see but a flock of geese by this big pond about two miles from our house, with three different kinds of geese! 

There were snow geese, Canadian geese, and do you see the dark-body/white necks? 

Blue geese, which is a mutation of snow geese! 

(Thank you again, Friend Jill) 

Within an hour, these birds had moved on. 

I am looking every day now for flocks of the smaller ducks. 

I could not get any closer to two turkeys I saw out in a field.  Way out! 

And when we got closer to home, there were only Canadians on the farm pond around the 

corner from our street. 

We did have a bump in our day. 

This is Keith's GMC truck, which we got new in 2006. 

He was not hurt, it was a miracle.  He swerved to avoid an animal in the road, and went down a steep 

embankment. 

The truck, as you see, is totaled.  The window broke and the windshield cracked, but 

oddly enough, the airbags did not deploy.  

We have a loaner, and Keith is looking at used vehicles this afternoon at 

the car dealership we like... we have decided to follow Dave Ramsey's advice and 

not buy new again. 

After I picked him up and took him to get his loaner car, I ran over to the Boling Grange to 

get a dinner at the Soup Social benefiting Little Stranger Church. 

The water tower used to stand in a "v" of land in the middle of an intersection on a winding road. 

It was hit by straight line winds and knocked over a few years ago, and rebuilt in the pasture, off the road. 

This is pronounced "Balling". 

Here's the grange, and I did not stay long enough to take a picture inside: 

Pretty modern looking. 

They had a good turnout, and added to the coffers for the restoration of 

the little old church on the hill. 

They also have received some grants to commence the work. 

Here's Keith enjoying some hot soup when I got home. 

It hit the spot, because I finished it for him.  Homemade bread and 

pie rounded the meal out. 

There will be another Pie Social in June in support of the church. 

Today, I'd also like to mention the change in one of my favorite blogs, 

featured on our sidebar for many months. 

Michaele Oleson of Sprout"N"Wings farm in Nebraska is 

moving from her farm to Topeka, Kansas, and the blog is 

no longer open for readership. 

Michaele was the kind lady who gave us Kody and Kacey, 

our two Nigerian dwarf goats that we sadly lost to botched 

neutering.  Her blog was informative and so interesting, and 

we will miss it, but we wish her best of luck 

in her new endeavors!  

In Between the Storms

We are supposed to be hit with a second storm tomorrow, so the dogs and I did our errands this morning. 

First, the library, grocery and gas... the dogs weren't along for this one. 

Then, home to collect them, and off to the feed store. 

I got another 50 lbs of chicken pellets, and 20 pounds of 

scratch... and 3 20 pound bags of Back Yard Blend, oh, and 

a couple of suet bricks. 

I forgot to take more than one picture of the chickens. 

And this blurry one is it!  Miss Silver Brahma is obviously loving the roost. 

All was well in the henhouse, and I have to go back out and shut the 

overhead light off tonight, so we'll see if anyone else is roosting.  As heavy as the 

cochins are, I would be surprised to find them on the roost. 

Looks guilty, doesn't he?  There is still a mess at the old house, lots of construction materials, etc. 

I had just brought the bucket back in from the henhouse, and he had been smelling it all over. 

I asked him what he was smelling, and he did this. 

I always turn the buckets upside down so mice won't get in them. 

Sis went after Jester something awful over by the henhouse, and I had to get on her. 

Something must have died over there, or she was protecting something she had found, but she really went at him. 

She got yelled at, which I rarely, rarely do.  Jester thought it was for him and ran away, he is super-sensitive, and I called him back and told him to chill, which he did.  He stuck close to me for the next fifteen minutes as I carried grain in buckets from the back of the car. 

Jester does what Ranger used to do... patrols the whole pasture fence.  I do keep an eye on him, because he's not as big as the Range. 

Then, as I was walking onto the porch... I heard a noise, an unusual noise. 

I saw a cloud of birds in the distance, but they were going west. 

They looked like a cloud, but it wasn't starlings. 

A minute later, I heard the same noise again, and realized they were coming back and grabbed the camera. 

There were many, many more than these. 

Double click one of these pictures for a look at these beautiful snow geese! 

They went down in one of the bean fields on the other side of Troy's place. 

A lone bluebird wanted some warm water this morning.  (lower right) 

And along came a squirrel... 

the temperature was not 49, by the way. 

But he went for some cooler water in the big fortex. 

You can see that some clouds were beginning to drift over, bringing the snow tomorrow. 

I am not complaining... we need the moisture, and... we have been so blessed to have a light 

winter after two terrible ones. 

I saw a flock of meadowlarks on the way home... I did not know the males had such yellow breasts! 

Thanks to Friend Jill, who identified the snow geese and meadowlarks for me)

(My bird guru) 

Here's our big guy from Friday... and the waters of the Red Sea parted and there was NO traffic coming on Fairmount road, and I was able to stop.  

What a beauty he is! 

Opposite side of the street, and yes, Mr. Hawk, I'm still with you!  

(We went home then). 

Last night's gorgeous full moon... we may not see it tonight, 

with the storm coming in. 

What a beauty... and isn't nature just so beautiful all the time, even it's wrath like the blizzards that have bedeviled our poor northeast... I am constantly in it's awe. 

Keith is, as I write this, over at the VA having another medical procedure, expecting to be home tonight.  These have become so commonplace that he told me to stay home, and I told him to call me if he needs to be driven.  A fact of life... but as he says... it IS life to keep having them!