You Know the Drill

 Yup, I've been busy!

Big shock.

This week I taught class from 9-1 each morning.

Which means getting up early

(well, early being a relative term)

feeding the animals,

and myself

and getting on "the zoom" by 8:30.

The morning classes tend to be smaller.

Usually 3 or 4 students.

And on Wed I didn't have ANY until nearly 9:20!

I was worried!

But they dribbled in over the next 30 minutes or so.

I finished them up today.

I had to cancel my Tuesday night class

because of no students.

But my class last night had SIX!

That's a good turnout for Orientation.

However, I hopped onto the main website

to register my students and

EVERYTHING was changed.

I love that they revamped the website.

But a head's up would have been handy.

So after teaching my class this morning I

grabbed a sandwich and jumped on and

completely redid my PowerPoint presentation.

(3 hours)

My boss is out of town until Monday so I

sent him an emailed copy

(broken into 3 parts because Google can't

handle a medium sized file... sigh...).

I hope I'll hear on Monday that he loves it...

Cuz I either need to use it or fix it by Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Kyle and Rod were out on a job.

And then did a quote for another job.

And then stopped by a place my building dept

recommended for "millings".

Kyle ordered a load to be delivered today between

4:30 and 5:00.

The guy showed up about 4:45.

Dumped a nice pile in the yard so Kyle can make

himself a landing strip.

(hahahaha)

Ok, a loading zone / parking spot for his truck and trailer.

With it being wet season he's had to park up on

the driveway so he can get his rig out each day.

And it makes it tough for the rest of us to

get in and park in our spots.

He got right on it.

This is just the middle section!

It's nice and long and straight and level.

20 minutes later he had a nice smooth parking spot.

Unfortunately he had to move his truck

and trailer out of the way.

Kind of over in front of the barn.

And now he's stuck.

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

UPDATE!

Of course he got it figured out...

All parked on his nice new pad.

Half Day!

 I am teaching the morning classes this week.

And although its the same number of hours,

I feel like I'm only working a half day!

I started at 8:30 and ended at 1.

And then I had some lunch.

And then I read in my book for a bit.

And then Kyle and I went to get groceries.

And then I did some online work for a bit.

And now... I don't know what to do with myself.

Normally I would be getting ready to 

get online to teach.

But I'm not.

And I actually get to cook real dinner and

eat it with Kyle!

I hardly know how to act!!!

(grin)

Meanwhile, the county FINALLY sent out a

(bigger than Kyle's) machine to clear the

seriously overgrown ditch.

I used to ride my horses down that ditch.

But you couldn't even tell there WAS a ditch yesterday.

The giant machine is WAAAAAY at the back on the left.

Looks a bunch better!

Maybe someday he'll have a machine that big

and able to take down that size of trees, etc.

(The stuff on the right is consistent with what

WAS there...)

But maybe not.

(About $300,000)

Weeeeeeee

 Another new toy!

(This one isn't a purchase...

the neighbor lent it to Kyle in 

exchange for all the work he has

done for him in the past....)

Kyle borrowed a tiller attachment for his new tractor.

That is the back back pasture.

(We have the front, the middle, the grey/sand, the cow and the back/back... lol)

It LOOKS nice and green.

But it's actually "woody weed" which nobody/nothing eats.

A waste of a pasture.

This took about 20 minutes.

(And then I had to go inside to teach,.. he continued

and ran over it in various directions 3 more times...)

We should be receiving some new seed tomorrow.

(fingers crossed...)

We are seeding it with a combination of 

sunn hemp

and

pearl millet. (which kind of looks like cat tail!)

Both of them are good sources of protein for the cows.

So we will close off the pasture for 60 days or so

and then open it up for the cows until they eat it down

and then Kyle will come in with his mulcher and 

mulch whatever is left and then borrow the tiller again

and till it all in.

And then replant with.....

SUNFLOWERS!

We are SUPER excited to have a big ol' pasture 

full of beautiful sunflowers over the winter.

(Sunflowers grow great here all the time,

but they love the cooler temps in the winter...)

And then we'll let the cows in and then mulch,

till and replant in sunn hemp and pearl millet again.

WEEEEEEEEE!

I'm excited.

Meanwhile, today Kyle went to pick up his tractor

(which he dropped off at the dealership yesterday

to get a part they didn't have when he bought it)

and Rod and I drove up to pick up the feed for the month.

(Rod is taking off every Friday between now and the

end of September because he has a gazillion hours

of personal time off and it's use it or lose it...)

This is Bear.

In January she was an adorable little tiny puppy.

Now she's about 45 pounds and knee high.

And sweet!

Kyle absolutely fell in love with her.

So I took her picture.

She missed him.

Another SUPER Busy Day!

 I got NOTHING accomplished yesterday because

I ended up working at the Town until 5:00

and then had to come home and teach until 9.

Whew!

Today I considered going in to the town

(Denine is out all week)

but I just had TOO MUCH to do!

We started the day with breakfast (peach smoothie and 

a bowl of oatmeal), feeding the animals, and a quick

run to town.

WalMart to return the crates I bought to

organize the stand up freezer (they are too big)

and buy new ones,

Tractor Supply for feed for Buddy (he gets fancy

senior feed because he's old as dirt and

doesn't have any teeth...)

Sam's Club for a couple of random things we needed,

and then Pinch a Penny because apparently pool 

chlorine is the new toilet paper.

(And my pool turned green overnight... lol)

THEN

When we got home and unloaded everything,

 I pulled out the food saver and bagged up

the rabbits that have been in the fridge since Sunday.

(Open my fridges at your own risk!)

They are going to be yummy!

(pressure cooker with apple juice and a couple slices of BACON!)

Then Kyle got out the meat grinder and got started on

all the liver, heart, tongue etc we found in the freezer

from the last set of steers (and some liver from the rabbits)...

Once he got that all ground up, I moved it over to a 

dutch oven on the stove and cooked it up.

Dogs do NOT need their meat cooked,

(show me a coyote with a campfire... lol)

but I figured if they stashed it behind their crates

it would maybe stink less if it was cooked than 

if it was raw? Maybe?

(Bandit has a terrible habit of "hiding" food.)

Anyhow.

There was a LOT.

Then I got a giant box of instant mashed potatoes

I bought several months ago that we didn't like

and cooked those up to mix with the meat,

along with some freezer burned veggies I found...

Presto!

Dog food!

We tested it on Beau and he was THRILLED!

It took several hours, but I ended up with 5 big containers

(they each weigh a couple of pounds!)

(and half a gallon ziplock).

We ran out of potatoes part way through so I used some

of our food storage white rice for the rest.

There's still almost the same amount again of meat

that I cooked up and put in a food saver bag in the freezer too.

So next time I just have to make the starch and the veggies.

So this was basically FREE!

SWEET!!!!!

I put the rice on at 3:00 and then dashed to the town

(in my nasty, liver smelling, blood spattered shirt... lol)

just to make sure the building inspector got all the

inspections he was supposed to do today.

And then dashed home again.

(Town Hall is 3 minutes from the farm...)

Finished up the dog food at 5:00.

Ate a salad (first food since breakfast) until 5:30

(it was a BIG salad)

and then at 5:30 I started my Zoom for the evening.

Just finished now (10:00)

and it is time for BED!

Tomorrow it's back to the Town and then teach 

again from 7-9.

And Friday Rod is off (he took every Friday off

until he retires - he has a LOT of time off built up)

and we are going to drive up to the feed mill and

get the feed for the cows/horses/chickens for the month.

Whew!

(Oh, and tomorrow Kyle is taking his new tractor up

to the dealer {1.5 hours away} to have them install

the parts they didn't have when he bought it.)

Ok.

On that note...

ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

Still Here~~~

 Holy Moley!

It's been a whirl wind couple of days.

Saturday I made 25 lunches/dinners

and

10 breakfasts (including homemade english muffins)

as well as banana bread 

AND 

sprouted wheat flour french bread!

Woot!

Made WITHOUT my mixmaster!

Used only my Danish Wisk!

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

And Rod likes it, so that's a WIN!

LOTS of food flying around in the kitchen!

(Oh yeah, and finished up freezing the mangos 

and peaches...)

Sunday I went early to the other ward to

conduct the Sr Primary (and play the piano)

since the Pres had to work, the 1st counsellor

was in Jr and the 2nd was out of town.

And they haven't called a new secretary yet.

Then we stayed for our Sac Mtg and then

I went to OUR ward's Sr Primary.

BIG difference.

We have 6.

(they have... 18?) 

I forgot to count...

Anyhow.

And then my co-worker Denine called and she

is again in the hospital. This time for an infected

cyst on her elbow they were afraid was mersa.

So could I cover this week at work?

And then, of course, it is also my week to teach

the evening classes. So I just finished up THAT!

Oh.

And Rod and I dispatched (haha) all the rabbits

last night. I was going to do it Saturday, but

he spent most of the day replacing the light out

on a pole by the cow pasture and chicken yard

and I was cooking up a storm so we were both tired.

We would have put it off again, but I planned it out

so we ran out of rabbit food.

So.........

Time for freezer camp.

It went better than I thought it might.

We got it done.

And I'm not likely going to do rabbits again.

(SOMEBODY REMIND ME THE NEXT TIME

I SAY I'M THINKING ABOUT DOING RABBITS!!!)

It's like having a baby.

I'm NEVER doing this again!

(time passes)

We should have another baby!

(ok, not exactly, but you get the point)

It's back to the office again tomorrow.

And then another Zoom class.

And then possibly back to the office on Wed.

Although I REALLY need to finish the rabbits

after they have been in the fridge (eeeeuuuuwww)

for 24-48 hours.

And then I have to teach until 10 again.

So maybe no office.

We'll see...

Anyhow.

That's what I've been up to...

Kind of.

Baby Turtles!

 Kyle and I were at the beach the other day.

While we were sitting, he mentioned

that he would sure like to see some

baby turtles hatching.

We've seen lots of mama turtles

laying their eggs,

but we have NEVER seen any

babies hatching in real life.

And then we headed up the beach

to go home.

And there they were!

Bunches and bunches of little teeny tiny baby turtles!

I took a video but haven't uploaded it up YouTube yet.

It was AWESOME!!!!

Quick Check In

 Wow!

It's so good to be back in front of a classroom again!

I ended up with 10 students and it really IS

like riding a bicycle.

It helps that I've basically taught the same

information on my Zooms, I just have more

time so I can bring out all my old stories.

I missed them.... lol.

Nice facility.

Good students.

Can't wait until I get to teach again.

Might be awhile though... the company still

hasn't approved travel (except for this emergency...)

At least there's hope.

BIG Changes!

 You just always need to be ready to turn on a dime.

I was at work this morning when my boss called.

The instructor teaching in Ft Lauderdale this weekend

just let him know her daughter tested positive.

And since they spent the entire weekend together,

she was going to have to quarantine.

Could I drive down there tomorrow and teach for her?

My FIRST TIME back in a classroom in over a year!

I'm thrilled!

And nervous...

(grin)

And then came the logistics.

I had to find someone to play the organ for me.

(Just finally got that straightened out...)

Got a hotel.

Was going to rent a car, but they are 

OFF THE CHARTS expensive right now.

It was going to cost $312!

The company only pays me $207 to drive down.

Sooooo. Nope!

I'll just drive our truck.

It's only 138 miles.

Printed rosters.

Ran through my presentation and manual to

make sure I know my material.

(Basically what I'm teaching now, just more

stories etc, since I teach it in 2 hours and have

to stretch it to 8. Hahahaha. I can do that...)

Doing some laundry.

Trying on actual dress pants to find some that fit.

I have only worn jeans and shorts for over a year!

I plan to leave about noon,

meet the other instructor (from a safe distance)

and get the keys (in a well Lysol'd plastic bag)

and then head down to check out the school and

make sure all the technology works before I head

to my hotel room and get set up to teach my 6-10 review.

Whew!

I had planned to spend Saturday cutting and freezing peaches.

Guess I'll just put them in the fridge and do them next week

when I get back.

Don't they look beautiful?

Rod also got a couple of yummy ripe mangos from a

coworker of his, they were on the counter when I got up

this morning.

And now they look like this!

I cut them up before I headed to the office.

They went really well with the salad I had

planned for my lunch!

Anyhow - I just cancelled my evening Orientation Zoom

since I didn't have any students.

No loss, I have PLENTY of things to do to keep

myself BUSY!

Wish me luck!!!

PEACHES!!!!!

 Today was the long awaited 

PEACH TRUCK TOUR day!

I didn't take a picture,

because that might have been weird.

(Hmmm, i before e except after c,

except in weird cuz it's weird... lol)

But I DID take a picture of the boxes!

We got TWO boxes - 25 pounds each.

They are BIG boxes.

(compared to the egg cartons behind them...)

The peaches look really nice!

They need a day or two on the counter

(which is good, because I don't have any time

to mess with them until Friday...)

Then we plan to EAT a bunch and cut and freeze

the rest for yummy peach stuff all year long!

I'm EXCITED!!!

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

While we were waiting for them to get set up

(they were SUPER organized, took us 30 minutes

to drive to Vero Beach and 5 minutes to get our peaches)

I called our butcher to make an appointment for our

third cow. I know they are super busy.

Our first 2 go on August 24, so I was figuring late Sept.

They can't get us in until October 18!

(Which will be easy to remember, eh Mom?)

Sheesh!

But at least we got it on the calendar.

We are getting 3 new steers this weekend, but they

are going to hold them for us at Linda's place

until we take the others in August.

We can't have SIX cows on the farm. 

(plus 2 horses... not nearly enough grass to feed them.)

But 4 cows (especially since 3 are calves)

will be ok for a couple of weeks.

Long Day!!!!!

 This was a long, busy day!

I started it out with a quick workout

(it's a new month... I start strong... lol)

and then out to feed the animals.

While my breakfast was cooking I took a 

shower and got dressed for the office.

And then took out the trash and

headed to work.

When I got off at 3:30, the Town Clerk

asked if I would do some typing for her

(I do that occasionally and they are VERY

careful not to have me doing Town work 

on the Building Department's clock...)

So I clocked out and started typing.

Worked until 5:00 and then needed to leave.

I HAD planned to go from work to WalMart

to buy stronger cheater reading glasses and then

over to the church to practice the organ for a bit.

******* Oh Yeah! ********

I forgot to mention I got called as the alternate

organist for Sacrament Meeting and the regular

one has to go to Idaho this week for a funeral.

Just called Sunday, so you didn't miss much...

Anyhow.

I got a key to the building and a key to the organ.

And a list of the songs for this month.

Since it has been probably 20 years since I have

played the organ, I thought I should put in some time...

But... I ended up staying at the office.

And then home to get ready to teach tonight.

After teaching until 8:00 - the zoom stays open until 9,

I switched over to typing while keeping an eye pealed

in case another student hopped on the Zoom.

(They didn't...)

Got the typing all done, emailed it and my invoice to 

the Town Clerk, put in my roster for my students,

did my time card, and now I'm updating the world

on my thrilling day before I get out of this hard chair

(I need to get a cushion!)

and go eat a little something before bed.

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

OH!

And Saturday Kyle and Rod took both machines

to a guy's house, Kyle ran the Cat and Rod ran the

new tractor and did a GREAT job!

Then today Jim came over to mess around with the

new tractor and while they were in the back pasture,

Kyle got a call for a job!

So they headed over there and JIM built a pad

for the guy's new shed that's coming tomorrow!

AWESOME!!!!!

Gratuitous picture of the tractor because what's a blog post without a picture????

Hope everybody had a GREAT "Fake Fourth"!

(Get it? Since most places were closed for the 4th on the 5th.....)

(Never mind.)

(I taught...)

Was surprised to have a full class!

(The morning class had ONE student and ended early...)

Dog Food

 You know I batch cook Rod's meals for the week.

5 breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

Well, this week Kyle and I ran the math and

decided we were spending WAAAAY too much

money on dog food they didn't even like.

(And sometimes didn't eat...)

So we made a run to Sam's Club and bought

all the stuff.

I didn't take pictures.

It was a MESS!

We bought (yes, bought) 15 dozen eggs.

They are SUPER cheap and I don't have that

many laying around here.

I actually did LAST week, but we sold them all.

Anyhow.

I bought 15 dozen eggs,

2 big bags of frozen mixed veggies

and I already had lots of brown and white rice.

A flat of 5 dozen eggs into my dutch oven.

Scrambled them along with 1/3 bag of veggies.

Meanwhile, cook 6 servings of rice.

Mix it all together.

(That's where the biggest mess came in...)

And then put it into freezer bags.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

(in other words, do it all again.)

(And again)

(And again)

(And again)

I ended up with a LOT of dog food!

(basically refried rice... lol)

The eggs are the protein.

Rice is the starch / carb.

Veggies - well, veggies... lol.

Right now they are scarfing it down.

This will last for 2 weeks.

I expect as their bodies get used to the higher

quality nutrition compared to what they were

getting (mostly filler) they will not require

as much to fill them up.

And then it will be 30 days of food.

But even if it only lasts for 2 weeks we are

still saving a BUNCH of money.

So I'm happy.

And so are the dogs.

Happy Independence Day!

(hahahahaha)

Growing!

 Buffalo Land Clearing is GROWING!

And EXPANDING!

Yesterday Kyle took delivery on a BRAND NEW

Kubota tractor with a backhoe attachment.

It's the cutest little thing!

He brought it home yesterday about 5:30.

And this morning at 10:00 he was

on his first paying job with it!!!!

He is hoping to have enough work to keep

Jim employed full time (in the near future...)

running this little gem.

We are in the middle of a building BOOM.

Everybody wants to leave New York (and California)

and move to Florida.

And there is a ridiculous wait time to even get your

lot prepped and ready to build.

And that's where this guy comes in.

Building new home pads.

Fingers crossed that this is a success!!!

(Meanwhile, the mulcher is staying busy

and Kyle is VERY happy... he has another

job tomorrow morning, and one on Saturday as well!)

YEA KYLE!

Welcome to the farm little Kubota!

We're HAPPY to see you!

(finally - he ordered it 2-3 weeks ago...)