Getting the Band Back Together

It's been YEARS.

But the band is back together this weekend.

And we are clearly having a BLAST!

This was on the way back from the

airport (for the third time)

picking up Sondra.

Ding Dong the Gang's All Here!

We've done a lot of talking

and laughing

and EATING.

I feel like I ALWAYS have my

camera in my hand,

but I haven't actually taken a ton

of pictures. 

Sondra is only here for one more day

so I'll make a conscious effort to take MORE.

And then tomorrow afternoon we are

having family pictures taken.

It sure has been great to be all together

though!  What a wonderful group!

Multi-tasking

Thank goodness for electricity and

modern conveniences!

The dishwasher is washing the weekend's dishes.

The air fryer is roasting my breakfast okra.

The pressure cooker is making beef broth.

The computer is scanning and sending my class papers.

My phone is playing music.

The stove is cooking my fried eggs.

The microwave is making my herbal tea.

And I'm washing eggs.

(And writing a quick post...)

Next I need to eat my breakfast,

yes I'm aware it's 11:16 am.

I've been busy!

(The neighbor needed me to feed his

chickens and his bull is loose - we 

couldn't catch him and he isn't doing 

anything naughty besides being out,

so he's staying out...)

Then I'm going to color my roots and

take a shower.

Then it's laundry from the weekend stuff

and repack my suitcase.

Oh yeah, and I fed OUR animals.

So that's MY morning.

How's yours???

I'll get to see it FIRST HAND tomorrow!!!

(Well, not the MORNING...)

Not excited at all...

Ha!

Catching Up

Its been a busy couple of days.

Kyle, Linda and I went up to Dade City

to pick out a new cow for Linda's place.

I've never been there before.

It's BEAUTIFUL!!!

This is where we went first to pick up

some grass seed for her pastures.

The land was amazing!

It was a beautiful day and a lovely drive.

Then we headed out to meet a young lady

who had several cows for us to look at.

We drove around and looked at several

small herds, not finding exactly what Linda

was wanting to increase her herd.

We FINALLY ended up at a third pasture

with some beautiful big Percheron horses

and a couple of cows.

One of them was what Linda was looking for.

Negotiations,

Face Time chats with her daughter

*in Utah

and the decision was made.

Her name is Bear.

She is a year old, but underweight.

But they were looking for something that

was nearly breeding age and halter broke.

She was only worth about $700, but they

paid more (way more) for the ability

to easily handle her.

Loaded her up and headed south.

That was... Monday? No Thursday,

Monday we drove to another town called

Altoona. Not quite as scenic.

And bought another little girl named Molly.

I think Linda is done cow shopping for now.

Then I drove down to West Palm to teach

a class over the weekend. My favorite size.

12 students, whittled down to 10.

It was nice! But several "questioners" so

I was EXHAUSTED by the time I was done.

AND the TV was broken in my hotel room.

So I listened to books and Pandora on my

phone and didn't get really good sleep.

Monday I basically sat on the couch.

Well, I also made a pressure cooker full of

beef bone broth. Ended up with 4

mason jars full.

The dogs like it on their feed and I love

having "free" stock for cooking with.

Monday afternoon, Kyle KILLED his phone.

He carries is in his pocket and rested something

weighing about 200 pounds on his thigh

forgetting his phone was right there.

Actually, all the cracks and the giant hole

were from a similar event a couple of weeks ago.

THIS is what he did on Monday.

Oops!

So, after he got home, we headed into town

to the Sprint store to get him a new phone.

He can't survive without his Pandora.

Oh yeah, and the ability to communicate.

LOL

Tuesday I did the week's grocery shopping,

went to the RS Birthday dinner at the church and

tried something new!

Back to my pressure cooker.

I ordered a special pan and its been in my

cupboard for a couple of months.

That's my springform pan and my very first

baked cheesecake. I have never baked a 

cheesecake before - water baths and all that stuff

are beyond my interest level.

But this thing was done in 25 minutes!

Super easy!

The hardest part was letting it chill overnight.

It made a great breakfast this morning!

Today I'm washing the week's eggs and

starting making casseroles to put in the 

freezer for the guys to eat while I'm out of town.

(Although, so far I'm sitting in my chair,

writing blogs, eating cheesecake, fried eggs,

air fried okra, and listing to a Baldachi novel

on my phone...)

Better get going!

LESS THAN A WEEK LEFT!

Nanc

Happy Birthday Nanc!!!!

This year has seen Nancy continue

to grow and expand her talents.

She started taking art lessons!

Her poetry is amazing.

Her jewelry is fabulous.

And her drawings are so 

beautiful and inspiring.

I always knew she had talent galore!

I'm heading out to visit in

TWO WEEKS

and can't wait to see what

gorgeous things she is

making these days!

Of course, you can tell what an

amazing woman she is by 

all the many people who call

her beloved.

Her family, 

her sons,

her grands,

her sisters,

her brother, 

(and the many in-laws,

out-laws and significant others)

her parents,

her friends,

her clients,

the many many women she

has helped at the clinic..

No matter what is going on in her life,

she ALWAYS has time for you.

No matter who YOU are.

Or what you need.

You know you can count on Nanc

to be there for whatever you need.

It wears her out.

But also builds her up.

She honestly loves being there

for others and bringing a spark

of lovely into others lives.

That is her most amazing talent.

She feels deeply with you.

Your joys, sorrows, triumphs,

set-backs.

I don't know where she finds 

the energy to be all and do all,

but she does!

With grace, charm, and true love.

And we LOVE her all the more

because she is who she is.

NANCY!

Take a breath!

Relax a little and enjoy your day!

Nobody deserves it more than you!

Bonus Post - 2 in 1 day!

Wanna see what happens when 

"the Lady" locks me in the

laundry room and goes

grocery shopping without me????

Yup.

I escape.

Leaving mayhem in my wake.

I'm pretty sure I'm in trouble.

Pretty sure I don't care...

~Beau

I never liked that door.

But I like it even less now.

And the thought of replacing it.

Sigh.

Oh Beau.....

HA! I DID IT!

We keep our feed in the "feed room"

in our barn.

It's on the other side of CJ's stall.

And he has discovered he can put his

head over the wall (where there is a

gap at the back) and pop the

top off of the barrel

and help himself.

There are metal bands around the

tops of the barrels that keeps them

locked closed.

But they are tight.

And a pain in the neck to undo

and do up again every time.

Especially when it's chilly

like it was this morning.

(My hands sometimes hurt

when it's cold...)

(And I'm a wimp)

Anyhow.

Kyle keeps telling me to just

fill the gap.

"You know how to use a screw gun."

"Just DO it already!"

So this morning,

I did!

Ta da!

(Kyle added the happy face one day

when he found a giant sharpie out there

and he was in a good mood... lol)

Sorry CJ.

No more free lunch!

(We have a LOT of feed!)

Each barrel holds about 300# of feed.

And we fill up once a month.

Hungry hungry hippos!

Story Worth: What is your best advice on raising children?

Wow.

Set an example.

Be their PARENT.

There is plenty of time to be their

best friend later.

I had a bunch of boys.

Both my own and my neighbors.

They learned early on to be 

independent thinkers and doers.

They learned life choices have consequences.

Both good and bad.

They learned that Mom can't actually

HEAR you when you whine.

Only big boy voices work.

They learned to distinguish if they were

hurt in their body or in their feelings.

They learned to cook, clean,

do their own laundry, change a tire,

change their oil,

(although Jim still prefers to have 

Kyle do it for him for $)

mow the grass,

ride a horse,

and a multitude of other handy life skills.

But through it all,

I think most of all they learned

that no matter what,

Mom and Dad had their backs.

We are the Buffaloe Herd.

Take on one, take on all.

Be warned.

Horns

I looked back and it looks like
I didn't do a post on the horns.

I was SURE I did...
But maybe not...
FOUND IT!!!!

Checking In / Horn Story

In a nutshell...
A year ago when we took the cows
to the butcher, we asked for Sir's
skull to be intact so we could
keep it.

Yup,
we are THOSE people.

It turned into a thing.

But it's been 9 months.
So Rod dug it up over the weekend.

Needed a little more cleaning up,
not much, but what do I know.
I was happily ensconced in the house.

We need to spray it with peroxide
and hang it in the sun for
a couple of days / weeks.

But I actually kind of like it like this.

Sort of creepy.

But totally awesome!

Those were quite the horns!

Flying AWAY (and back again)

There are definite benefits to

working at the airport.

Rod and Scott are due to renew

their IA licenses.

And the class is on the other side

of the state.

It takes about an hour and a half

to drive over there.

(Or more, depending on traffic...)

They were planning to go over the

evening before and stay in a hotel.

But then their employer said

they needed to fly their new plane.

Did they want a ride?

Instead of 90 minutes, how about 17?

Sounds like a GREAT plan!

Looking out the window as they were

coming in for a landing in Lakeland.

Nice quick flight!

Then they spent the day in class

and got what they needed.

And hopped back in the plane to

come on home again.

Aaaah, home again!

And fun to watch over the pilot's shoulders

as they bring her in.

Now THAT is the way to travel!

Found 'Em!

My egg count has been a little low lately.

6 chickens get out each morning.

And I generally have 4 - 6 eggs

hiding in the hay each day.

But lately it's dropped a couple.

Which is strange because

it's "spring" around here

and even my colored eggs layers

are starting to lay again.

*I got THREE green eggs last week

after a 3 or 4 month drought.

This morning I was sitting out

on my chair, drinking my collagen

tea and getting my Vitamin D.

A chicken was standing behind me

yelling her head off.

Normally called the "Egg Song".

I guess if I laid an egg 

everyday (or so) I'd want

to tell the world about it.

So later this afternoon I remembered

and decided to investigate.

Bandit was helping.

This is our wood pile.

Why yes, that IS our Christmas tree

you see under there...

It's been too dry (or too wet)

or too windy to burn lately.

Hi Beau-di boy!

Most of it is planks from the

great wood planking day.

This round was a slice the guys

cut off as an experiment for...

something...

it was just laying out in the yard

so the other day I tossed it 

over to the pile.

But if you change the angle a little...

A ha!!!!

Found 'em!

Well some of them anyway.

There are a couple of other spots

out in the pasture I'm going to

have to check out.

But at least I found ONE of

their hidey holes.

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

In other news...

I FINISHED my typing assignment today

and delivered it to the Town.

She was really happy to see me,

and had another job she wants me to do!

I'm not sure how much more there will

be after this, but I'll take whatever 

they want to slide my way.

I'm not looking for a part time job,

but it's nice to keep my skills up.

And it's nice to have a little extra $

now and again.