New Toys

Ahem, excuse me.

NOT new TOYS.

New TOOLS.

Whew.

Last week we met Kyle's new tractor.

So.....

while I was out of town teaching this weekend,

Rod added to our stable of new implements.

Meet the new MOWER!

Ain't she a beaut??????

Now, don't get me wrong.

I've been BEGGING Rod to buy a new mower

for... oh... 2 or 2 and a half YEARS.

So I'm THRILLED he finally did.

But I guess they were all jealous

because of my new fridge and dishwasher.

Now that we all have new tools / implements / toys...

Can We Stop The Spending?????

LOL

(Actually, the answer is no... I'm ordering a new

automatic gate opener this week... Hahahahahaha)

All Quiet On the Eastern Front

I've been quiet lately.

Because it's been quiet lately.

It's summer.

We have been spending LOTS of time

just relaxing, sitting in the shade of the barn

enjoying the beautiful evenings.

On Monday, Kyle's rear brake caliper

locked up on his truck.

(It happens every year or so...)

I was already taking Tuesday off.

(Taught over the weekend and then

taught a review class late Monday night...

Knew I was going to need a break!)

Rod decided to take Tuesday off as well

to help Kyle fix his truck.

And since Scott lives with us, he was there too.

They bought the nifty white 

"tractor barn" Tuesday morning,

but set it up over the truck on the patio first

so they could work on the truck in the shade.

The three of them got the truck back

in ship shape,

meanwhile I pulled a couple of awesome

steaks out of the freezer and grilled 

them up.

(on the air fryer...)

Made a big batch of cold pasta salad

to go with it and we had a good ol' fashioned

"farm lunch" just before Scott had to leave for work.

(He works the 4-midnight shift at the airport.)

(He goes on shift just as Rod goes off... so they get to

visit for a few minutes during shift change each day.)

And of course there is ALWAYS some dirt

being moved somewhere on the property...

But mostly, I'm feeding the animals, collecting 

my few measly eggs (counting the days til the new

girls start laying... these girls are SLOW starters!)

and enjoying watching the dogs play

from my comfy chair.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.

THIS is the life!

Kyle News

Today is an exciting day for Kyle!

Saturday was his last day at

the Volkswagen dealership.

He has taken a job as 

Farm Manager

with his old employer.

When her husband passed away,

she didn't know how she was going

to keep everything up and running.

Then one day her daughter said,

"Why don't you hire Kyle full time

to take care of everything except the house?"

DUH!

She made him a ridiculously generous offer.

And he gladly accepted.

He will be working there 40 hours a week,

any hours / days he wants,

except he needs to be there Saturday.

Doug and Linda have hired the local ward

kids to mow their lawns, do work around

the farm, etc... for years and years and years.

The kids use the money to go on missions,

go to college, or like several of the kids,

move on to full time jobs with some of Doug's

business associates.

(Folks were always calling him to see if

he knew of any more of those great

Mormon kids who work so hard!)

(Kyle has turned down SEVERAL of those jobs...)

Linda wants to keep that tradition going.

But she is NOT interested in supervising a 

bunch of pre-teens and making sure they

are actually doing what she hired them to do

and not just making giant tree swings

to play in.

(ahem, Kyle & Marcus????)

(OK, Doug was heavily involved in that one...)

Today is his first day over there.

He is excited!

They are meeting at the property this morning

at 8:00 to go over the things she would like

to have done right away,

and the list of things he has always wanted

to be given free rein to do

and go from there.

***********************************

Meanwhile, just before Linda's offer,

Kyle made a HUGE decision.

Introducing:

Legal Zoom did his LLC paperwork and sent him this awesome book

(Terrible picture...)

KYLE purchased a tractor!

He has always been a talented earth mover.

He got a deal on this tractor

that he just couldn't pass up.

It has a fully enclosed, air conditioned cab.

A back-up camera.

This giant bucket.

Yesterday the Cat dealer sold him a set

of $850 (used) forks for $500!!!!!

He has been busy learning how to drive 

it and getting really good.

So far, he has cleared the back section of our

property in preparation for moving

the chickens to the back.

Took out a huge clump of 

invasive pepper trees and vines 

(and grapes)

and other junk (including lots of snakes,

frogs, and various other critters).

Cleaned up the pet cemetery,

took down several palmetto palms

that were growing in / through the fences...

It looks GREAT back there!

(I thought I had a picture... guess not...)

Last night he and Rod took down

Buddy's stall in the barn and brought

in some dirt (from all the work out back)

and rebuilt it where it has slowly eroded 

from the rain over the years.

The white thing is his new "tractor barn"

So between the farm management

and hopefully a growing land clearing business,

he's going to be one BUSY man!

But he's happy, and doing what he has

ALWAYS wanted to do with his life.

WAY TO GO KYLE!

We are PROUD of you!!!!!

Muscadine Wine

I've heard of Muscadine Wine.

But, well, you know...

Anyhow.

Kyle was working out back the other day.

We are moving the chickens all the

way to the back of the property.

Pros:  further from the house, so when

it RAINS, less likely to stink us out.

Cons: further from the house, so feeding,

and closing the coops at night will

require a little walking.

Not necessarily a bad thing.

Unless its RAINING.

Anyhow.

In the process of clearing out some of the

growth back there, he noticed 

we have a LOT of grape vine.

Then Jim dropped by,

and he was super excited to

identify it as Muscadine!

The vines are DRIPPING with grapes!

Most aren't ripe yet,

but give it a couple of weeks...

The next day, Kyle found THIS!

Aren't they pretty?

And really sweet and yummy!

TEENY tiny, and they have 3 or 4 seeds,

so you have to pay attention

you can't just pop them in your mouth.

But they are a nice treat!

Rats

Goodness Gracious!

The rats are taking over the zoo.

Kyle and I were out by the barn,

enjoying the soft evening breeze

as the sun was slowly going down.

And suddenly we saw a HUGE rat

running along the top rail of one

of the horse stalls.

Kyle headed into the house and 

grabbed a shot gun.

However, since the rats are in our barn,

and a shotgun has a BIG shot pattern,

he sent me back into the house

for his .22.

(I got another shot gun first, I thought

the .22 was the gun behind the door...)

Oops!

(while he was waiting he saw SIX!)

Once he got the right gun,

we discovered one of their hiding places

and started shooting.

A couple got away.

(those little guys are FAST!)

One got ... got.

(And only a couple of small holes

in the barn wall...)

Then after dark,

when all the chickens had gone to bed,

he sat in wait by the leftover chicken feed.

This time he used the shot gun,

since he wasn't aiming at my barn.

And was rewarded with a GIANT rat

the size of a small rabbit.

He honestly thought it was a baby possum!

(We aren't big fans of possums, since they

carry a disease that is fatal to horses...)

GOT IT!

(And took out half the feed trough. Oops)

Today I am taking delivery of another of

the electric rat zappers.

Our other one died.

And on a blog the other day I read that

rats LOVE cherry flavored Starburst.

So I have a bag all ready for them.

Wish us luck!

Little Bob

Bob is my favorite name.

(Hello Kyle ROBERT!)

(LOL)

(I actually only noticed that a couple 

of years ago...)

(Yup, I'm on the top of my game.)

Bob.

It was my male breeder rabbit.

Bob.

My equine dentist.

Bob.

Our attorney while dealing with

all our crazy people in the past.

Bob.

My betta fish.

Of course, we all know betta fish,

like goldfish, don't live for a LONG time.

The above bubble used to be on the wall

in my office.

And then we moved our office
30 miles north.
In my individual office I had a heater
and I kept it nice and warm.

In our new facility, we are all in
one giant room together,
and it's COLD in here.

And Bob is a tropical fish.

So he is now moved to my house.

Where it's plenty tropical.

And he's happy.

*Well, actually "he" is dead.  He didn't

survive the move... but betta fish are ALL

named Bob and this one is actually about 

the 11th or 12th edition...

And he appears to be happy.

So I'm going with it.

Sad News

We received some sad news earlier this week.

Rod's Aunt Anita passed on

after battling with lung cancer.

She had a tough year.

Her dear husband Ronnie (of 48 years)

died unexpectedly last year.

They came down for George's funeral,

and I got to spend an hour or so visiting

with Ronnie.

They were an awesome couple.

It really threw Anita for a loop.

She came down for a visit late

last year.  It was so good to see her!

She was doing well.

And then she was diagnosed with

Stage 4 lung cancer.

It hit her really hard and fast.

Last week her daughter said the 

doctors had done all they could

and expected she would pass in the

next few weeks.

She lasted hours, not days.

Anita was so loved by many many people.

She was outgoing, loving, caring,

FUNNY, kind.

Rod, Tim and Angie are heading up

to Tennessee this afternoon to

attend her funeral on Friday.

I wish I could have gone with them,

but I don't have enough time off

from work available.

I know she is beyond happy now to

be reunited with her beloved Ronnie.

But boy she is missed here.

STORY - Have You Ever Won Anything?

Some of the story prompts haven't really 

"spoken" to me.

But this one did!

Have I ever won anything?

YEARS ago.

1240 CKXL

(that's AM radio for all you youngsters)

ran an "I must have been a 

BEAUTIFUL baby" contest.

You had to call in and talk for 30

seconds without pausing or repeating

a word in order to win $100.

If you didn't make it, you won $1

for every second you went.

I called in and got on!!!!

That NEVER happens!

And you KNOW I can talk...

I got on a roll.

I must have been a beautiful baby.

I had lovely silken black hair

and gorgeous hazel eyes,

blah blah blah.

When I got to my super cute chubby

legs, I got caught on the word

"dimply".  I just couldn't get it out

and stuttered over it a couple of times

and they called me on it.

I made it TWENTY NINE seconds!!!!!

Pam Lansidale (sp) called me and said

she heard it!

And I got $29.

So there's that.

Cold Adventure

We need a dish washer.

Well, need is a strong word.

We have a dishwasher.

But you kind of have to wash the dishes

before you can put them in the machine

and then it's anybody's guess

what you will get out.

So about 2 years ago we quit using it.

Washing dishes by hand is kind of

relaxing - just standing there,

watching things get clean.

But the other day I decided I wasn't

having fun doing it anymore.

We had looked at new dishwashers

(and fridges, although we don't need one, YET)

last month (Memorial Day) while shopping at Lowes.

But we decided not to buy anything.

We hadn't butchered the cows yet

and we didn't know if we were going

to make any money.

Anyhow.

I figured there would be another sale

for the July 4th weekend,

so it was back to Lowe's we went.

And sure enough, the dishwasher was on sale.

A pretty good price!

And the fridge we had looked at before

was an extra $200 off!

($2500 marked down to $999)

So, we decided to buy both of them.

Our fridge is nearly 20 years old and

although it works perfectly,

who knows when it will die.

And who knows how much a new fridge

will cost at that point.

Old fridge

Unfortunately, they didn't have any of 

the fridge at that particular store,

but there were 2 just 35 miles south

in Vero Beach.

We paid for the fridge (holding it for us)

and headed south.

(dragging the horse trailer)

When we got to the store in Lowe's,

it turned out they actually DIDN'T have

any of that particular fridge in their inventory,

but there were 2 another 45 minutes south

in Jensen Beach.

(By this time it was too late to drive down

before the store closed...)

We turned around and headed back to the house.

(via Bob Evans Restaurant - we haven't eaten there

in YEARS and YEARS.  It was good.)

The next morning we went to church

and then headed back to the house 

to pick up the horse trailer again

and head south.

2 hours later we pulled into Jensen Beach

and their local Lowe's.

Thankfully they actually DID have a fridge

(Rod had called and confirmed not only that

they had a fridge but even the spot it was sitting

in back in the storage part of the building...)

An hour later we had the fridge all loaded

into the horse trailer and were heading north.

As we came back into town, we decided

to just go to our local Lowe's and pick

up the dishwasher we had also paid for

(but didn't pick up because we were rushing

to get to the Vero store before they closed.)

We joked about our consistent lousy luck

this week.

On our way to pick up the calves,

the owner texted she had already sold them,

so we ended up with the ones we have now.

Then the fridge required 6 hours of driving!

What were chances this was going to go smoothly?

Sure enough.

After about 30 minutes, the poor girl

from the front counter came to apologize.

She and the manager had spent the last

20 minutes in the back looking for

our dishwasher.

No luck.

But they DO have one in another store

and they will bring it to their store

(and even to our house) for free!

(No thanks, just bring it to the store,

we don't like to have people come to 

our place and didn't want to have to take

time off work...)

And to show how sorry they were for

all the inconvenience,

could they knock off an additional $100?

SWEET!!!!!

So we now have a new fridge.

A nice "smoked stainless"

with french doors and a freezer

drawer on the bottom.

It's MASSIVE!

And I love it!

Unfortunately,

still no dishwasher.

LOL