Three Days of Absolutely Beautiful!

~ home sweet home ~

I'm participating in Vicki's Grow Your Blog Party here and have giveaways.

Just yesterday, the weather report said three days of absolutely beautiful! Today, tomorrow and Wednesday are supposed to be warm, sunny, bright and, totally, un-February. 

Wrong.

Today is rainy, chilly and absolutely not clothes hanging outside to dry weather so no laundry today and not even thinking about it. January and February have been bone crushing exhausting and mostly spent on the road, tending to business which, for the most part, is almost caught up. The South Carolina Cherry Grove condo was made ready for Canadian snowbirds (hi John and Rosie) and then for the season ahead.  The website has yet to be updated but VRBO is, mostly, updated.

In between trips, it's been farm work with time taken for drinking in the beauty. I never want to allow myself to be so busy that I forget to take time to enjoy this moment. Recently, my brother asked if I remember something and was surprised when I said, "No, I've got maybe half dozen memories of the last three years. For the most part, it's a blur." That's what grief can do to a person's mind and body; it can wrack you with such emotional pain that you simply lose huge swaths of time. Never let someone force you into how you should respond, what you should do after the death of a loved one. Thankfully, due to God's mercy and grace and the positive actions and prayers of many, I was able to come through to this side mostly whole. It takes as long as it takes...

The dogs and I did a pasture walk to clear out the water trough, pick up trash and take photos. Please note, all the work was done by the one with actual working thumbs as the dogs are moral and love support only. ahem. 

This photo was taken from the far corner fence line, in the alfalfa field and the house is seen, barely, in the distance, to the left of Morris Knob (at about 3400 feet, the tallest point in Tazewell County), where the copse of trees stand. 

On the upper hill, hay needed to be set but I have to wait until the afternoon sun has come 'round and heated up the stable door lock so it can be unlocked. (Ain't nothing ever easy, is it?) It's difficult to tell but the tractor is on a slight hill, facing downward, so I always raise the front end bucket to offset the weight of the 1100 pound round bale being picked up behind; the tractor is in 4-wheel drive for added security. I spend a lot of time thinking things through in an attempt to do my part at preventing accidents but pray and rely on God to do the actual preventing. Although, as Daddy says, "There's no such thing as "preventing an accident". I believe he's right, basically, it's just an oxymoron. So, I spent a lot of time thinking about safety and then following through.

With the tractor in reverse, I floor it, just a tad, to shove the rear spear into the hay bale. For me, this is a tricky part...the three prong spear has to be in the right places in order to pick up the bale and you can see snow on the ground so it's a trifle slick. The three prongs are one on top and two side by side below, somewhat forming a triangle. 

Usually the round metal hay ring is frozen to the ground and I'm beyond the point in time where I could physically break the ground hold then move the feeder. The round feeder weighs close to 250 pounds so the tractor is put to good use by using the front bucket to lift the feeder and break the ground hold.

Before putting the ring around the hay bale, I remove all the twine that was used in baling the hay. Others have told me they don't remove the twine but all I see is a vet bill should the horses eat the twine and it gets wrapped around their intestines. It takes all of a minute to accomplish this step, lessens my anxiety and is safer and healthier for the horses. 

Once the ring is broken from the ground I, physically, lift it from the ground

then walk it so the flat side is toward the hay bale

and drop it over the hay bale.

The last step is positioning the ring so it's even all around making it easier for the five horses to eat. 

The dogs help by providing entertainment...Daisy on the left, Sadie in the middle and Sam on the right...chase, jump, bark and generally have a high ole time. Sometimes I join in and then we all take a toes up on the pasture to enjoy heavenly scenery. 

And in the "whoever said God doesn't have a sense of humor department"...you might remember when, first of January, I was bemoaning the fact my wood supply was, dangerously, low. To some folks I mentioned I wanted a supply of black locust because it has the best BTU's of any wood around here, burns cleanly and leaves few ashes. I also mentioned that to God but on the next to last day in January, I figured He had other plans for me. ... Until I remembered Charlie's son had a small business selling wood. In nasty weather, on the last day of January, B. and his friend, delivered a load of wood, directly to my back porch! The wood rack had three pieces of spongy, sorry looking wood.

While the young men were working, I asked, "I'm not good with wood but that looks like oak, is it?" B. stopped working, turned to me, looked me in the eye and said, "No ma'm, it's black locust we cut out of a fence line about four years ago so it should be plenty dry. We really appreciate you buying wood from us." 

I started laughing, raised my hands to the ski and said, "Thank you, God!" The young man grinned and looked at me. I said, "First of January, I asked God for a load of black locust and, honestly, figured He'd forgotten but this proves me wrong! I bet there's laughter in heaven right about now." (Truly, I know God doesn't forget but sometimes it's easy to confuse myself.) 

I ordered three more loads and will, probably, order more before summer. I like having wood stored in the barn; makes me feel like I've got a hold on winter before it gets here next year. This young man is impressive! He shows respect by stopping his work, looking me in the eye, listening and responding with beautiful manners. Several times he said, "Thank you for buying wood; we really appreciate it." Pick me up off the floor! Charlie, you and K. have done a fabulous job; I love this boy...may I have him, please?

Using the Polaris Ranger and an old metal bed spring, I drug the yard to distribute horse manure. Lightly has been allowed to graze the yard and her manure means I don't have to spend money on chemical fertilizers (as if!). Next time, I'll use the tractor as this job was a bit too hard on the Ranger. (Daddy John did warn me...)

What's on your back porch? 

If you've surmised my computer woes are over...they are, at least for the here and now but who knows how long that will last? For a lot of years, there have been no computer problems but, since October, that's changed. Hopefully, I'll have a spell where I'm able to visit around so act surprised when I show up on your blog, although, it'll be slow going for a while. Yesterday, I dropped a ladder on my right hand and the pain level is such I'm forced to go slow; thank God my hand isn't broken.

Blessings ~ days of beauty ~ safety ~ round bales of hay ~ dogs ~ black locust wood ~ another day above ground ~ I'm ready to go but I'm not homesick ~

After a Brief Rant, Then Back to My Regular Fluff and Nonsense

~ red sky at night, sailor's delight ~

 

These are the days of insanity, where up is down, right is wrong, black is white and some folks seem hell bent on destroying the USA. Then I remember: we aren't wrestling, fighting or struggling against flesh and blood (although I can see why some...including me...are confused), we're fighting against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil and wickedness in the heavenly realms. My rant, dear reader, is brought on by some of the latest insanity perpetrated upon us by BO and minions, both Dems and Republicans.

 

Yes, I am against granting amnesty to illegal aliens and my biggest reason has to do with that pesky lil' word, illegal. President Theodore Roosevelt put it best, "In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any many who says he is an American but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flat, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." For more of President Roosevelt's thoughts, click here.

~ Sadie and Daisy ~

 

We aren't Irish Americans, Polish Americans, Afro Americans, Anglo Americans or ______ (fill in the blank) Americans. Everyone has a heritage and even the Native Americans, American Natives, Indians, Redskins (or whatever is PC these days), came here from somewhere else. But, dang nabbit, if you're a resident of this country, you're an AMERICAN and, to be exacting, a North American.  Lest you think I'm on a tear re. Dems...the traitor John Boehner has included a provision (pages 958 and 959 of the 1,603 omnibus spending bill) giving social security benefits to illegal aliens under BO's amnesty order.  Yeah, I have a problem with that, in part because I know 80 year old widows who have been denied, time and again, Social Security benefits. 2012 figures say the USA has borrowed $363,000,000,000 from China...$1,492,000,000,000 from Japan. We're the largest debtor nation in the world, borrowing money to give it away and the US House and Senate elected officials make $174,000 a year, here while people go hungry and homeless. It's obscene and I weep at our indifference.

Yes, this is the Christmas season and yes, I'm still against illegal aliens...it's a slap in the face of those folks who came here legally and sweated, prayed and studied so they could take the difficult
citizenship test. It's a slap in the face of those who are living on $1000.00 a month and still paying taxes so illegals can have social security and food stamps. Yeah, I have a problem with that and yeah, my kith and kin are from across the pond...Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England to be exact, but they came here legally, well before Ellis Island, and assimilated themselves into the warp and woof of this country. Legally.

Ah well. What can be expected when people live for the here and now and not the hereafter? When people have no fear of an Almighty God, when they live to suit themselves with no regard who gets ripped to pieces in the bargain. It's obscene and I weep at their indifference.  end of rant...for now...

Dalton, son of my friends, and I filled the wood rack:

The tractor was filled with diesel...no small feat because a container of diesel weighs well over thirty pounds and it's impossible for me to, safely, lift and pour. So, after lifting the diesel container onto the tractor floor, climbing onto the tractor then lifting the container to the tractor hood, I used a hand held pump to disperse the fluid into the tank.

I finished checking and topping off all fluids in all vehicles.

watched a calf born:

cleaned algae out of a water tank:

watched a buck leap the fence:

wandered around the farm and house, camera in hand:

In five days winter will be upon us but this is Appalachia and actual calendars mean little o' nothing. The weather does what the weather wills and all I can do is be as ready as possible. I've finished pointing the foundation...meaning I've used mortar to patch the places where the mortar has fallen out. This house is 114 years old and has held up extremely well but, like everything else, from time to time needs a bit of patchwork. The inside temps stay toasty and the wood stove is in use only when the temps drop below freezing or it's raining/sleeting/icy with a stiff wind.

The county library has a nice selection of British mysteries on DVD; they're getting a good workout even as the dining room turned sewing room calls out to me. It's the season of nesting and after working so hard to prep farm and house, I feel lethargic, lazy even, and my energy level is low to non-existent. Earlier today, Anita wrote me, "I too need to get my nose out of the book. It has been gloomy here for over a week. So easy to let the hours slip away. OK, I need to start moving!" When she wrote these words, she had no idea of the encouragement she gifted me. There's so much to be done on the farm, in the house and there's so little of me, so little energy and I feel I not only don't keep up, I continually fall behind. Even so, today I told myself I was going to inject some play into my day...after doing some outdoor work, I took some things to the camper. While the weather is a trifle warmer, I'm determined to enjoy tarting up the "canned ham". I'll have a few photos later, along with my recipe for breakfast of champions.

For now, it's time to say good-night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite...ugh...does anyone remember that saying from their childhood?

Blessings ~ never experienced bedbugs ~ my companion dogs ~ blogger buds ~ new life ~ a leaping deer ~ full wood rack ~ vehicles, farm, house prepped for winter ~ red sky at night ~

Boring and Bummed Out

No problem admitting this...I am a boring woman. I tend to stay on the farm, doing things that need doing in order to (right now) put the farm and house to bed for the winter. Today was a good day, mostly, but I am so bummed out. More to come on that later; right now, I'm talking about Quikrete and the places in the limestone foundation that, over the years, have crumbled and fallen out. 

 I've never used Quikrete before so it's new to me but, hey, I bake so how hard can it be, right? -grin- Quikrete comes in 40 or 80 pound bags but, of course, the feed store only had 80 pound bags. Oh boy. I'm sure to regret this tomorrow, my shoulders and back are already getting tight and, around here, the only help I have are the dogs and they don't carry. The "recipe" calls for 80 pounds of Quikrete and 6 quarts of water but there was no way I could make up that much and use it before it hardened. So, I mixed it up, small amounts at a time so I could take a bit longer packing it into the foundation. I haven't a clue how much Quikrete I used nor how much water I used but I mixed it until it looked ready to use. 

Some of the places that needed mortar were huge and I cannot believe it's taken us me this long to figure out...duh...Quikrete! It's a fast acting concrete and it can be colored but not by me. Frankly, I think I'm brilliant for having gotten this far. snicker...

This was the largest place that needed patching and, I'm pretty sure a professional would say, "Um, not such a great job." Frankly, it looks great to me! It's already hardened and I'm hopeful it's going to last a long time. Or, until I sell the farm and move, which ever comes first. It should help with the heating bills this winter...hallelujah!

This side of the house is the side that gets the worst weather; it also had the most places to patch. There are a few more places, opposite side of the house, but it can wait until later this week.

 Donald, Mary's husband, came over Saturday and picked up my lawn mower to sharpen the blades and do some other stuff. Today, he came back, repaired lawn mower on his trailer and, while he was here, he put together my John Deere wagon. This wagon was a fabulous thrift store purchase and now, totally able to be used since Donald put it together. Yay, Donald!

I helped but not enough to brag about.

 Finished! Doesn't it look fabulous? It's heavy and, using the handlebar, can be either pushed or pulled, or attached to a hitched and towed behind my Polaris Ranger or JD lawn mower...suweeet! 

On Saturday, I bought this iron wood rack; paid a whooping $20 for it and think it'll hold a week to two weeks worth of wood. It's going to be so nice, having the wood up off the porch! Donald delivered it and we set it on the back porch. Now, to get it filled with wood so I'm ready for the first snow storm. 

 Now for the bummed part...the circle is where my dusk to dawn light used to be. For some reason, it stopped working so was removed and taken to Lowe's where they said, "Okay, we'll replace it." For the record, let me state how much I enjoy dealing with Lowe's. The staff is almost always helpful, generally knows what they're doing and, whenever I've had to return stuff, they work with me to a satisfactory end. Thanks, Lowe's!

Big, strong, handsome Lowe's man says he thinks the sensor button went out and was going to replace the button. Then, big, strong, handsome Lowe's mans' boss said, "Naw, let's just replace the whole thing." Yahooooo!

Today, I decided to put up the dusk to dawn light but, having never messed with electricity...too frightened...I made a basic mistake. I didn't throw the break box so when I touched the black wire...shivver me timbers! It lit up my little world. Fortunately, it was a little light up so I didn't fall, nor jump, off the ladder. Thank You, God.

I turned off the breaker, connected all the wires...white to white, black to black, ground to ground and screwed the light to the building. I sat on the back porch until dusk, waiting for that dang light to come on but nooooooooo. Didn't happen. I want to cry. It's still dark, the light isn't working and tomorrow, I'm going to try again. Hopefully, it'll be something simple, like a crimped wire. If not, I haven't a clue what I'm going to do. I'm boring and bummed out. Totally.

Blessings ~ didn't get my hair curled when not turning off the breaker ~ a new wood rack ~ a new wagon ~ Quikrete ~ holes plugged in the house limestone foundation ~ 

Hay Season

 Neighbor Daddy John is married to Ashley and they have a couple of wonderful children...Little John and Little Miss. Little John is one of those youngins' that just make me shake my head in wonder. He knows more about farming...and him just going into the second grade...than do a lot of folks who think they know farming. Quick story...the other day, both boys were coming across the mountain when their stock trailer had a flat. Now, you have to know this mountain is a primary road in Virginia but also the last dirt primary road in Virginia! Meaning, there are very few places, if any!, to pull over so one just pulls to the side and hope the oncoming traffic (about six cars a day) can get by. While the boys were taking off the flat so it could be replaced, someone they know pulled up behind them. Daddy John walked back to chin wag, leaving Little John to stand around except Little John didn't stand around. He shimmed the tire onto the rim, put the lug nuts on, tightened them and said, "Well, that's done, let's go home." Daddy John was flabbergasted; he checked the lug nuts and found them to be tight so everyone climbed into their vehicles and proceeded home.
Now, I find that simply amazing! A six year old boy putting a tire on a rim, etc. Mothers, let me tell you something...this boy will be the man you want for a son-in-law but only one blessed girl is going to claim him! He's enough to make me wish Dave and I had a daughter, except she'd be too old to be more than Big Sister. ah well... . As to Little Miss, she calls me Sana as she's still a wee wee one and Sandra is a too big mouthful. She's a cutie pie and was recently given a child's snorkel set. I told her, "Oh, I love to snorkel so you and I should go to Sint Maarten and do some snorkeling together." She looked at me, wide eyed, and Mom Ashley exclaimed, "I'll go!" 

Daddy John cut my hay a couple of weeks ago; he's such a good man, one of those quiet ones who generally doesn't say much but when he does, it's worth hearing. He's steady too and has a lot of the same qualities I so admired in Dave. Anyway, we had a road meeting (meaning we passed each other in the road, pulled up, stopped and proceeded to have our meeting -smile-) and he said, "Looks like your hay needs to be cut. I'll be by later today" and he did. In this valley, most of the tractors and equipment are green and yellow; iow, John Deere. "Nothing Runs Like a Deere" and that's what Dave bought us as well.

 Maybe it was the next day (or day after) he and his Mother came to rake and bale my hay. Mz Em is much like her son...or vice versa...soft voice, quiet manner and, like Daddy John, blessed me greatly by assisting.  In the photo above, she's racking the hay into smaller rows so Daddy John can bale it.

 The round baler can be made (can't remember the correct terminology) to produce the size round bales one needs. Daddy John can make a 4x4 bale or a 5x5 bale and, maybe, smaller and larger bales. He works the controls so the bales he makes for me  can be safely handled by my smaller tractor. (Another blessing!) 

 The baler gathers up hay until the controls lets Daddy John know it's ready to be birthed. He stops the tractor and allows the baler mouth to open and, gently. push out the round bale. It's am amazing sight and I love watching!

 Daddy John baled 30 bales for me...such a blessing...it's enough hay to sell half and keep  the remainder for my own animals and, God willing, we might get a second cutting in September! This little meadow hay field is the reason this is a farm and not some "grandiose estate". This eight to ten acre hay meadow means my animals are fed excellent quality hay, put up on this farm with enough hay to sell.  Daddy John and I exchange money for hay; the Good Book says a "work man is worth his hire" and I believe and live by those words and believe Daddy John is blessing me far more than my money is buying. I cannot thank him enough!

Andy, a young man who helped me for a few weeks, moved all the hay from the meadow to the hay lot. There are those who might think the prettiest sight in all the world is a blue jewelry box but for me, a hay lot, full of sweet smelling, fresh cut hay ranks near the top of my list. Daddy John - God bless you and Mz Em...greatly...for blessing me!

Blessings ~ Daddy John ~ Mz Em ~ Andy ~ Ashley ~ Little John ~ Little Miss ~ HAY! ~