Hookey

Yesterday I didn't show up at the office until 10.  I "had" to ride my horse.

This morning I took Rod to the eye doctor at 8 - he didn't realize he was out of eye drops and his prescription had expired.  And they needed to SEE him (since it's been 8 months since his last pressure check...)  His pressure was good - holding steady - he has to go in for more eye mapping (or whatever they call it) in September.  They took fancy pictures and she seemed happy enough...  (but she's kind of hard to read...)  After the eye doc, we did some errand running and then he went to bed and Kyle and I went kayaking!  (He got the day off today in exchange for working Monday...)

It was a GLORIOUS day on ol' Turkey Creek.  The sun was shining (it got pretty warm once or twice) with a light breeze and a good current on the way back.  We even met several other people out kayaking and enjoying the morning.

We also met a Mom and her baby Manatee - doing what sea cows do best... Grazing.  They swam right under our kayaks and Kyle got a good picture of them - but he hasn't sent it to me yet.  He was all "I wanted to pet it, but wanted to get a picture first..."  I was all "I don't want them to tip me over - the water is LOVELY as long as it is outside the boat and I'm inside it..."

We followed along behind them for quite awhile until we got to a nice little cove where they stopped to graze and we got some pictures.  However, ever the techie, I couldn't figure out how to zoom in using my phone camera (and I was wearing sun glasses instead of glasses glasses and couldn't see any of the little icons anyway...  I love self focusing things cuz I can't see - so I just point and shoot and hope for the best...)

I finally made it to the office about noon.  Which means I have to work until dark tonight to make my hours.  (And I'll have to take 4 hours PTO this week since I have to leave early to drive down to school on Friday and I haven't worked more than 8 hours any day this week!)  Oh well - that's what personal time is all about.  Sometimes you just gotta enjoy living in Paradise!



Ha ha ha ha ha ha - it really DOES look like a giant gator getting ready to eat the manatee!  Thanks Mom!



Monday. No Wait! Tuesday!

Kyle is right.  It's tough to have a day off.  Cuz then it's just all that much harder to go back to work.

But it sure was nice to have some time off this weekend.  I didn't do half the things I said I was going to.  (But in the back of my mind, I knew I was just going to relax and recharge my batteries...)

And I DID get out my sewing machine and fix the black-out curtain in our room so Rod can sleep better during the day.  So that's something...

This morning, in the spirit of NOT getting back on the wagon and heading to work, I got up around 6:45 instead of 6:30.  Went out to the tack room and did a workout.  Then out to the barn to feed the horses and do a round of fly spray.  Back inside to see if Sabrina was getting up.  She wasn't.  (grin)  Back outside to saddle Andy and go for a 45 minute ride.

I felt a little badly as I was getting on.  Kyle came outside for our morning "sit by the chickens, watch them be chickens and just hang out and chat" routine.  Huh.  I might have to rethink the morning ride a little.  Get up earlier?  (yah, right.)

Anyhow, it was a nice ride and I got back in time to see Kyle before he jumped on his scooter and headed off to work.  Then I went in and showered and decided to "get the day started". 

It really was a nice start to a day!  

Happy Memorial Day!

It's a quiet day here in Paradise...

Jim and Kyle are both at their dealerships.  Jim is hoping EVERYBODY goes out today and buys a car (from him).  Kyle, on the other hand, hopes everybody goes to the beach.  (He has to DETAIL all the cars people buy today...)  Normally Monday is his day off, but in their infinite wisdom, management decided to give everybody ELSE the day off and make him WORK!  Sheesh.

Rod got in about 5:30, so he is snoozing away.

Sabrina is still fighting a sinus infection, so she is curled up in her bed, probably with a good book.

And Tropical Storm Beryl is spinning away in North Florida.  All we are getting today is some gusty wind and feeder bands of rain here and there.  We got lots and lots of good soaking rain yesterday, so anything we get today is extra.  (I think we finally made up our drought deficit this week... yea!)

So...  I fed the horses, fed the chickens, gathered Blondie's egg (she's a steady layer, looks like) and then decided to put a saddle on Andy and go for a little ride.  It was overcast with occasional peeks of sunshine.  Looked like it was threatening to rain, but we managed an hour without getting wet. 

Everything looks better looking over a pair of horse ears!

Have a Wonderful Memorial Day!  Take a moment to remember those who have served our countries.

Thank you for your service!

Memories Of Montez (Sister Cooper)

I talked to Mom this afternoon on my way home from teaching a review class in South Florida.

She and Dad were at the hospice sitting with Montez and her husband Jim.

Brother and Sister Cooper are some pretty amazing people.  I spent the rest of the trip home remembering some of the special things about them.  

When I was a young teenager, I used to walk to their house (about half way between our house and Wisewood - the high school... not THAT far...) and "borrow" their beautiful boxer Stacy.  I would get her leash and take her for a walk - practicing her "heel" and "hold" commands.  Since her name was Stacy, you couldn't tell her to "stay"... too confusing for her.  So we taught her to Hold.  I've always loved the name Stacy.  In fact, if Jim had been a girl, his name would have been Stacey Anne.  (No, not after the dog...  I just love the name...)  I'm sure it was a hassle having an animal crazy girl "borrowing" your dog, but they never let on...

And Sister Cooper introduced me to my first canape!  (Ok, Vicki Sadowick's Mom made peanut butter on crustless white bread and wrapped it around a whole banana - sliced in "nickels" and served while watching old Elvis movies in the basement...)  However, Sister Cooper's was Fancy!  She invited my entire Mutual class over for a luncheon.  The only thing I remember is she wrapped a thin slice of ham around a spear of chilled asparagus and a baby finger of cheddar cheese.  Stabbed the whole deal with a toothpick.  Highfalutin' noshing, that.  And completely in a different league from a peanut butter and banana disc.  Either I'm anti-social, or just incredibly busy, but I almost never have anyone over.  But I do make those fancy nummies for myself now and again.  (And the pbb nickels for Kyle - he loves 'em)

The Coopers daughter, Marla, and Sondra were great friends!  So when their family went to Mexico, they generously took Soni with them!  And she came home with a two piece "bikini" with a padded hand print on the back of the butt.  Major! Scandal!    (But Super Cute!)

Nancy and the Cooper's son Kendall were part of a gaggle of kids in the ward that had a great time together.  One summer a bunch of the ward families went to the lake together.  (Shueshwap?)  (Yah, I'm sure that's not how you spell it...)  It was a great week.  Lots of swimming, boating, water skiing, and weenie roasts around the communal fire pit.  I remember one afternoon the ladies were all sitting around the camp chatting.  Some of the men had decided that since it was vacation, they weren't going to shave.  I can't remember it if was Sister Cooper or Sister Johnston, but one of them told the others, emphatically, that she insisted he shave.  She told him "it's like kissing a hair brush!"  I remember thinking "Eeeeeeeeuuuuuwwww!  Kissing!  Hello... there are CHILDREN present!"

Coopers were an important part of our ward and our family's history.  Sister Cooper will be missed.  She set such a terrific example for me and shared so much of herself with others.  She has certainly earned a "Well done my good and faithful servant".

We love you Sister Cooper!  God Speed.

New Girls

Kyle went over and collected our 4 new chickens last night.  They are BIG!  Much bigger than I thought they would be - or maybe my girls are just small... lol



Ozzie checking out the new birds.  Red is on the left



They were too big to keep in the dog crate.  The original plan was to leave them in the crate, in the barn and then introduce them to the little girls on Saturday when I would be home all day to monitor.  ("They" recommend adding at night and/or sitting there with a spray bottle filled with water to discourage any aggressive behavior...)  

But they really looked like those poor "factory" chickens all smashed in the crate.  I couldn't make them spend the night in there.  So... we waited until it was nearly dark and put them in the coop.



Red, up front and center



They have never been in the grass before.  They were kept in a nice, clean 8'x 8' shed (with windows) but had never been "outside" before.  They LOVED it!  Immediately ate the only tall weeds in there.  And then started on the grass.  Then they noticed the little girls eating their dinner in the big hanging feeder.  Decided to give that a try.



Checking out the fluffy weeds I tossed in there this morning.  YUM!



It was HYSTERICAL!



Rocky venturing out from under the nesting box



Dive in for a peck, which caused the feeder to swing.  Jump back!  Aaaaack!  It MOVES!  It was pretty entertaining. (Guess you had to be there...)  We put the sides down on the hay wagon and sat there and watched (without any dogs - they were banished to the garage until this morning) and made sure everybody got along.  They were definitely split in two groups with some minor altercations, but nothing serious.



Hey look!  A dust bath!  Maybe later....



We are called the Barred Rock - black and white feathers, Rocky.  Imaginative, right?  For the obvious reasons, but she is also a little feisty.  Red is either a Rhode Island Red or a Red Star (red sex link - a cross between a RIR and something else - bred specially to be a good egg layer - thats what all my little red girls are...) 



Rocky and the random Yellow Bird.  No idea what she is....



And then there is a yellow something or other.  No idea.  I spent some time on the forums this morning trying to find something she looks like but I can't figure her out.  She's fairly shy, and the old owner said she goes broody (sits on her eggs trying to hatch them...)  He bought a fertilized egg and she happily hatched it out.  Which brings us to the baby grey.  No idea what it is or even if it is a boy or a girl.  Might turn out to be another barred rock, although now that I've looked at pictures of baby bars I'm thinking no.  She's (I'm HOPING she's a girl... so we're going with that for now) more dove colored.  Very shy.  Nobody likes her.  She doesn't fit with either group and just sort of hangs out between the two groups looking lonely.  Poor little thing.  Nobody picks on her, just nobody hangs out with her.  She'll probably end up my favorite.  (grin)  I don't think I got any pictures of her this morning...



A better picture of the yellow girl.  She looks like some sort of Bantem, but???



So... now we're just waiting to see if we get eggs.  They layed yesterday, but there WAS a lot of trauma in the move.  So it might take a day or two for them to get comfortable.



Red and Rocky (Roxie?) stick together...



Yellow girl really DOES have a head... lol

 UPDATE:  Houston - we have an EGG! 

Ta Da!!!!  A nice, large, brown egg.

Well. THAT was fun.....

I just spent the last 30 or so minutes on the phone with my bank and PayPal. 

Somebody got a hold of my debit card information.

Then they went on a little spending spree.

I say little, because one of my co-workers got hacked and they spent over $4,000 in Europe!

My guy, however, is probably a 16 year old pimplie-faced kid sitting in his mother's basement.

7 video games ("Blood and Guts GangLand Wars")?????

6 "kind of like" iTunes

and

Wait for it...

$15.00 to the American Diabetes Society

I let that one stand.

PayPal and my bank are on it.

So all is right with the world.

At least my co-workers and I got some entertainment out of it.......

And yah, we're gonna cure Diabetes while we're at it.

Random Ramblings

Mark your calendars!  Kyle mentioned to me Monday night that (for the first time) some of my “Hippy Dippy Medicine” actually worked.  Thankfully his foot is feeling much better!  He had some early onset plantar fasciitis which was causing enough pain that he actually took his FIRST (and only) sick day in a year and a half at the dealership!  (Of course, he didn’t sit and soak his foot… he worked on my chicken coop…)  He has been spraying a mixture of Health and Wisdom's magnesium oil with water on some cotton pads and putting them on the soles of his feet at night.  He is back to walking on it without discomfort.  So glad he is feeling better!  He is on his feet all day long, so having a sore foot could be a real pain!  (I’m so funny…)

Is it just me or does this look like a buffalo?



Actually a beautiful picture of trees on Nancy's wall...
But I ALWAYS think buffalo first and then correct myself.
Ok, maybe it's just me...



I’m “trying” to figure out some more “games” to do with my students.  I’ve played a couple with them and they are requesting them more and more.  It’s a good way to learn and break up the lecture time, but I’m just not a real game player – so coming up with ideas is HARD!  (I’m thinking Jeopary-ish with categories and questions on a card held up with a Velcro dot…?)  Thanks to my most recent trainee for coming up with a good matching game I shameless stole – the students love it!  Now to remember to PLAY it...

Rod just called.  One of my chickens got out this morning.  Luckily he was able to catch her and stick her back in... the dogs were digging in around the bottom this morning.  I put a board there as a temporary fix, but I guess it wasn't enough.  Rod is on it though... 

(I see an airsoft gun in my future...)

One of Kyle's co-workers has 3 adult (laying) chickens he's tired of messing with.  He offered to give them to us.  So I think they'll be joining our flock this weekend.  YEA for eggs without waiting til August!!!  Luckily the guys built the coop large enough for a good sized flock.

If you build it - they will come.

The Chickens Have Landed

In their new coop!

Rod and Kyle put the finishing touches on the beautiful new coop over the weekend.  (I hear even Jim helped with the staining...)  Last night Kyle hooked up the Rino and pulled it out into the back pasture under the big oak tree. 

And this morning I moved the girls out there.

It took about an hour - carried most of them one-by-one since they have gotten too big for their original cardboard box (and have figured out how to punch through the top and fly out...) 

Once they were all out there, I filled their food and water (a job in itself...)  They were already scratching in the grass for bugs and tasties.  Stretching their wings and loving the extra space!

The dogs were endlessly fascinated - now they can finally SEE what is making that noise and interesting smell...  The guys made the coop extra secure, so the dogs and local racoons can look, but not touch. 



Just "look" Bison...



In a week or so, after the tar under the shingles has had a chance to set, we'll get some of that white rubberized roof paint and paint the roof white.  That should help keep some of the heat down.  Although the dark shingles look AWESOME, it gets pretty warm here in the summer. 



The "Assistant Architect" and Head Builder
(Rod did all the actual designing - Kyle did the execution)



It took several weeks from the beginning trip to the neighbor's to check out their coop, Rod's original sketches and then multiple trips to the local home improvement store....  Rod finalized his plans, built the basic frame, and then let Kyle have at it.  They are a GREAT team!  (Coop anyone?)

This morning when the neighbor arrived at his property to feed HIS chickens and horses, I'm pretty sure I saw him steal a few envious glances over the fence at OUR amazing coop!  LOL

I promise, the blog won't be "all chickens, all the time", in fact, here's a quick (terrible) picture of my new shirt I bought to go with the beautiful jacket Mom and Nancy picked out for me (and Rozann gave her nod of approval...)  I've been having a hard time figuring out what to wear with it, and I think this is finally what I was looking for.  I would have preferred something in the orange family - salmon? peach?  But I like this.

One day I'll learn how to take a picture and LOOK UP!
(Not too bad for the dark hallway in my hotel room though...)

What? No Chickens???

Yah.  No chicken talk today.  It was raining this morning and I was running late.  So no photos.

But I thought today would be a perfect day to highlight a nifty thing that happened while I was in Tucson last month.

My parents spend several months there in the winters.  (And yet I persist with the snowbird comments....)  This year they wintered in Nancy's place.  (They trade between Nancy's and Rozann's... both wonderful places!  I was glad they were at N's cuz that freed up R's for MY stay!  YIPPEEEE!)

Anyhow - while they were there, Dad sort of took over the feeding of the horses during the week.  I can vouch for it being a wonderful way to begin a day.  So it was mutually beneficial.  And Mom is the QUEEN of the baked goods.  She makes a baking soda biscuit that is awesome to behold.  And her pie can't be beat.  Cookies, cakes, casseroles, you name it - she aces it!  Prior to their arrival, the cassita had a little bit of a makeover with a new flat screen TV, some new furniture and a brand new oven.

So it was sort of a running joke that she was going to wear out the oven in its first year of life!  (But this good natured ribbing usually occurred while said marvels were being gratefully enjoyed...)  My Mom is the Queen of baking and the QUEEN of sharing!

Anyhow - the day after I left for Florida, they left for the trip (circuitous) back home to the "old country".  We had a family gathering/BBQ and took the opportunity to acknowledge their contributions.

Platinum Spatula Award

This reward represents all the:

-cookies

- cakes

-pies

-cinnamon rolls &

-biscuits

Baked over the winter.

Fortunately you didn't wear out the oven....

Seconds??

Golden Pitchfork Award

This award represents:

5 months x 30 days less 8 days per month for weekends

Plus 1 day each for December, January & March

less one for February

x 2 horses for a total of

524 feedings.

Thanks Dad!

(He's an engineer and LOVES his numbers and formulas...)



The amazing couple, themselves.












Almost Done!!!!!

Wow!  The guys have been busting it out this morning. 

It's looking terrific!

And here's a quick look at the girls...

Remember how CUTE and cuddly they were at a couple of weeks?

And here they are as gawky teenagers...

Yah, out of focus, but I had to hurry and snap the picture. 

Bison was standing beside me, offering to "catch" any escapees...

And she was preparing to peck my camera.



Home Sweet Home (Nearly)

The guys are working on making the girls a new home.

And it is AWESOME!!! 



A boy and his drill

This is the "house" end.  The big opening is a "man door" so we can get in there and do whatever needs doing.  It will be solid and have a racoon proof lock.


If you look closely, you can see the little perch/stairs leading up to the nesting box

 It's going to have that "double roof" thing like my barn does.  (The neighbor's coop has a flat roof, so we had to make our's cooler!)  (And his roof is looking pretty darn rough - what with water ponding on it and all...)


See... double roof.  It has a name, but I can't remember it - from my old architect days...  Gary????




The food and water will hang suspended from the roof in the "porch" portion.
That way they can't accidentally tip them over.




A TERRIBLE picture, but that is where we left it because of impending NIGHT.



I only have pictures of one guy working on it - cuz by the time I got home, the other guy was out making money.  (So we could afford to FEED the girls...)

(It's symbiotic.  We feed them for several months and then they will feed US for the rest of their productive little lives...  All's fair, right?)

I participated.  I carried out two 16' boards.  And I read (out loud) the last of The Hunger Games 2.  (And then we went inside and I started The Hunger Games 3.)  Poor Kyle.  "Geez!  Just when it starts to get good, you have to go to BED!"  (It's tough have an OLD LADY for a Mom...  LOL)

UPDATE!  Kyle hurt his foot and so took the day off from work.  Instead he is working on the chicken coop!  What a GUY!  (Rod woke up and snapped this and sent it to me....)

Notice the nesting box on the left side.  It will have a hinged door to get to the eggs.  (Come on August!)

Ozzie!  YOU ARE NOT A CHICKEN!  (We caught him sleeping in the old chicken coop/dog crate
on the pool table last night!!!  He really wants to be a chicken.  Or... you know...  lol)

Berenstain Bears

The Berenstain Bears played a big role in my kids lives.  There was the "little brother" book that we used to prep Jim for Kyle's arrival.  (And just like in the book, Kyle "punched" Jim in the nose when he first held him...  LOL)  And then there was the "paint" program on our archaic computer.  The boys spent many happy hours painting the bears and their surroundings fun and different colors.

Last night, Jim and Sabrina brought me a cute reminder for Mothers Day...

Thanks guys!  I love you!!!!

YEA Google!!!!!

This morning the chickens were nearly all perched on the top of their tall silver food thingie...

It was pretty silly looking.

So I pulled out my brand new iPod Touch to take a picture.  (I have a REAL camera and a camera on my phone, but my Touch is my "go to" camera of choice...)

Turned it on.  Clicked camera.

NOTHING!!!!

And then I died.

(Not really, but I was pretty sad!)

When I got to work - I hopped on Google and found out this is a pretty common issue. 

With a SUPER easy solution. 

Settings / General / Reset All. 

DONE!

And now I'm back in business.  Except I'm at work and there is, frankly, NOTHING worth taking a picture of here.

Oh well.

In other news...  Well, there is LOTS of news, but unfortunately, some of it is super secret for a little while.  But I'm super excited about it.  It could be a VERY good thing for me and my family.  And I'm pretty confident it's going to work out, since Heaven Father gave me a sneak peak about 2 weeks ago and I've been quietly thinking about it since then.  So when I got an exciting phone call yesterday, I wasn't surprised.  Just excited.

I'll keep you posted.

But in news I CAN share...  I'm half way through this year's annual T-Tapp 60 Day Challenge.  I've been pretty consistent.  I do the 15 minute Basic Workout Plus 4 mornings each week and then I do my favorite long, floor workout called Critter Crunch 2 on Saturday mornings in my hotel room.  It's only 45 minutes long, but BOY it works you and feels so good!  Plus I've been trying to be more aware of my posture during the day.  I'm a slumper.  And I lead with my chin.  (So much so that it caught Teresa's eye when I was working out with her in January and she did an entire segment with us on how NOT to do that...  My neck thanks her daily!)  I've really been thinking about keeping my ribs up, my tummy tucked and my chin back where it belongs.  But honestly, I STILL find myself slumped in my chair, chin in hand, belly flopped out.  Sigh.

And I KNOW lots of fabulous information about what to eat.  But, other than drinking my dirt most nights and adding my "cocktail" in the mornings (MSM, D-Ribose & Emergen-C) I'm eating exactly like I was before.  Super Sonic Breakfast Burrito (sometimes with a small Diet Coke with no ice) for breakfast nearly every morning.  Left overs or a frozen Lean Cuisine entre for lunch.  Whatever strikes our fancy for dinner. 

Anyhow - yesterday I took my 30 day measurements.  And then I left them at the house.  (oops)  I also left my phone at the house.  (Menopause brain - I'm thrilled to be going through menopause with NO hot flashes, thanks to my daily alfalfa intake, but this fuzzy brain stuff is a PAIN IN THE ANATOMY!)

So... Rod brought my phone and my paper.  And I input my new measurements in my chart.  And I GAINED an inch in my bust.  (T-Tapp gives you perkier pecs... not necessarily a bad thing...)  But when I ran the numbers, I LOST a full TWELVE INCHES over the rest of my body!  (I knew my clothes were fitting better, but I didn't know how MUCH better...)

I lost  a FOOT!!!!!

So.  I'm happy.  And enjoying my breakfast burrito.

I cut out all soda 2 weeks ago.  For a week.  It goes in fits and starts.  I drink LOTS of water.  And I sometimes go a week or more with no soda.  But when I drink one, I don't throw myself off the top of a building.  I do what I can and love myself regardless.

But it's nice to know there's LESS to love!  (VERY big grin...)

Screwed Up Monday

It started out innocently enough...

The plan was to leave work early-ish, around 5, and go for a walk in the woods to check out the "trail enhancements"...  (in other words, fencing CLOSING my trail!)

However, about 4, it started to rain.  Then the lightning and thunder.  Then the power outage.

So... I hung around.

But at 6:15 I remembered I had a UPS package that needed to get shipped.  UPS picks up at 5:30 at my local box (in theory... but they are generally late...) so I dashed out, in the rain, to get it in the box.

And discovered a flat tire.

Passenger side - rear tire.

Sigh.

I didn't pay the AAA renewal.

So, in all my Master Mechanic wisdom, I looked carefully, decided it wasn't THAT flat, and hopped in the truck and took off.  Carefully.

My UPS box is only about 5 blocks away, down on U.S. 1.  But the good news is, there is a large portico which means I could park under it, run to the UPS box (and stay dry) and then call for assistance in changing my tire in the dry.

Sadly, I didn't take a picture.  I thought about it.  Really, I did!  (I was going to text it to Rod to see if he thought I could make it home...)

But when I called Rod, he said I have a portable air compressor behind the back seat in my truck.

I DO?????  I DO!!!!!!  I LOVE THAT MAN!!!

So, he told me to start the truck (so I don't wear down my battery), hook it up, pump the tire to 40# and drive to Tire Kingdom.

Issue 1:  Flat Tire

Issue 2:  VERY NEARLY out of gas.

So I started the truck, crossed my fingers, hooked up the compressor and pumped up the tire.

Then I did a double set of HoeDowns.

Meanwhile, UPS showed up.  So I know my package made it to Atlanta on time this morning.  Whew!

I panicked and quit pumping air at 38#.  What's 2 pounds in the big picture, right? 

Drove to the house to pick up Kyle. 

(Tire guy:  Oh Look!  A GIRL!  That will be $947,587.85. 

What, a BOY?  Covered under your tire warranty...)

I was right. 

We got there 20 minutes before closing.  And the patch 'n plug was covered under our tire warranty.  (Again - Rod's pre-planning wins out!  GOOD MAN!)

Here's the culprit.

Oh, and while we waited, we walked next door to Panda Express to grab some dinner.

Ordered, sat down, and both realized we weren't actually hungry.

Chinese for lunch today!  WIN!!!!!

5 Weeks



Their combs are starting to come in...



The girls are around 5 weeks old, depending on how old they really were when I picked them up...  we'll go with 5... 



New giant feeder...




She loves her "perch"




Good morning Mom.  Got treats?





 


I read you can tell they are ready to start laying eggs when both the comb and wattles are pronounced.  It will be a LONG time..  LOL  (We are guessing August)





What YOU looking at?????
Doesn't she look prehistoric?  Postively raptor-ish...

  They are about the size of a morning dove - a gazillion times bigger than when we first got them!  And boy, can they EAT!  We had to replace the little chick feeder thingie with a HUGE feeder, they couldn't get their fat heads into the little holes!  We would fill it up, they would eat, but leave a layer in the bottom.  Turns out, they couldn't reach it! 

This morning, after breakfast, they got a treat of lettuce and a few leftover raspberries.  They LOVED the berries!  (Haven't quite figured out the greens yet...)

Meanwhile - Jim starts his new job this morning.  EVERYBODY GO BUY A KIA or MAZDA!  LOL  He's a great salesman - he will do right by you!

Kyle discovered they have put the fence back up on my horse trail.  We will be going out this evening to check the situation.  He's off today - going to mow the back pasture...

Rod got home late - didn't arrive until about 4:30 this morning. He had three deliveries last night - but all at different ends of the earth.  Lots of driving!

I had a new trainee this weekend - she's quiet and NERVOUS about the whole process, but I think she'll do really well.  She's been doing her version of a mini review class for several years so is pretty familiar with the basic information - just needs to learn the process and flesh it all out.  She's just watching this time around.  Had another new instructor drop by Saturday afternoon - he'll be training with me next month!  We are GROWING!  (Incidentally, the man I teach for, stopped by Sunday and threatened me with "bad things" if I considered leaving his office...  LOL  There is a rumor the Ft. Pierce people are opening a school in my town and want me to teach there...  Bidding war?  If only!!!!  But it's nice to feel appreciated!)