SHADE!

 Yesterday was our anniversary.

If you read my blog, you already know that.



My new window decal
Thanks Rod!
I love it!  (And you!)



Rod needed to do some work on the lawnmower.

And it’s HOT out there.

(Duh, it’s June in Florida…)

So this is what we got each other.

He can use it when he’s working on stuff.

I can stick a chair under it and read.

SCORE!

32 Happy Years

It always amazes me when we have an anniversary.

How could we be married for 32 years?

We must have been married when we were 12.

32 years ago today we were wed.

In Las Vegas.

Not by Elvis.



Las Vegas "Little Church of the West"



It was “til death do us part”.

So 24 years later, we did it again.

Only this time it was

“For time and all eternity”.



Orlando Temple



A much better idea.

I love this man

He is good

He is kind

He is loyal

He is gentle

He is thoughtful

He is romantic

He is a fantastic Dad

He is a great Son

He is a loving Brother

He is a favorite Uncle

He is an amazing Husband



A picture of a picture.
Not great - but it's US! (back in 2012)



I am so grateful to be HIS.



Food, Glorious Food!

One major component to the weekend was a ROAD TRIP.

Rod and his Dad and I jumped into the black truck

and headed north to a cute little town called

Samsula.

It's a farming community.

With a little school, some churches, LOTS of farms,

and a couple of feed mills.

Rod had already done all the phone research.

(Remember his superpower...)

But we stopped in at the first mill, just in case.

Nope.

Too expensive.

On, up the road, to a mill they've been running in their family for 50 years

(this November)

He used to run 35,000 chickens!

He said the day after he sold them all and they were gone,

he came out of the house in the morning,

sat in a chair in his yard 

and thought

"Wow!  It's QUIET out here!"

LOL

We had a great visit with him.

He was a really nice older gentleman.

Full of knowledge and life.

And vinegar.

He and Rod got along perfectly!

Meanwhile, his "boys" loaded us up.

We got 700 pounds of chicken feed. (Layer)

And 300 pounds of horse feed (10% sweet)

BOY could you smell that molasses!

YUM!

After a quick stop at Burger King for lunch

we headed back home.

Luckily Kyle was home.

I'm pretty sure I would have been NO help unloading those barrels.

That's a LOT of feed!

They had to rearrange the feed room in the barn.

But it looks good in there.

Should last 8 weeks.

(For the chickens, no idea how long the horse feed will last)

I just bought 100# of horse pellet,

so for now I'm mixing it 50/50

and then I'll feed it straight.

They LOVE it though.

Duh.

The bucket system hanging in the front is my fermented feed.

More about that later.

It's beautiful feed.

The girls love it.

So EVERYBODY is happy.

Especially ME!

Monday Musings

We had an eventful weekend.

Kyle caught a raccoon in the Have-A-Heart trap.

And then he shot it.

And then his friend skinned it.

And then they hung it in the tree.

Then they loaded up their 4-wheelers and went "mudding".

They had to try out their new snorkels.

Kyle's had a little leak.

He got a little wet.

And muddy.

Nope, he's not wearing socks.

Those are his feet.

It's mud to his waist.

Then water a little above that.

No idea why he's clean in the middle and dirty again on his shoulders.

And, of course, his face...  LOL

Today I met a nice lady who has been raising chickens for 50+ years.

I have a broody chicken who will NOT get off the nest.

She sits on eggs.

She sits on golf balls.

She sits on NOTHING.

So I bought a dozen random fertilized eggs from her.

She pulled them off her nests today.

One of them is a blue "Easter Egger" egg.

With my luck it will hatch out and be a rooster.

But I'm HOPING for an easter egger hen.

(They lay pretty colored eggs...)

Here's hoping in 21 days we have a bunch of babies!

(I had to move her to her own coop - she wasn't very happy about it, 

but she'll settle in...)

June 22 in a Galaxy Far Far Away

Ok, not a GALAXY far far away,

but a COUNTRY far far away.

Well, far far away from ME.

Not so far from her.

Anyhow.

Yesterday was my darling little sister's birthday.

She and her handsome husband spent the day together.

Aren't they cute?

And so dang FIT!

Whatever.

She's always had a TON of personality.

This is her in 1994.

Nearly 20 years ago.

(She just got lassoed - but COULD be commenting on the beautiful mountain...)

Before she met her cutie hubby

she was raising a lovely daughter on her own.

Her darling hubby, Greg, came with an adorable family of his own.

So now they are a fabulous FAMILY.

She is living the dream.

I hope she had a wonderful birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROZIE!

I love you!!!!!

I’ve Fallen…

 The girls dig little round holes and “dirt bath” all day long.

So the chicken yard looks a little like “craters of the moon”.

You need to be vigilant when you walk out there.

I hit those dumb holes and stumble all the time.

It’s ANNOYING.

This morning I wasn’t being vigilant.

I had just stuck my hand, all the way to my elbow,

into their waterer to clear a clog.

All I was thinking was, eeeeuuuwww,

I want to dry my hand off.

Stepped out of the coop.

Hit a crater.

And DOWN I went.

It’s been a LONG time since I actually fell.

All the way to the ground.

Last time, I fell in the woods behind our house.

Dislocated my shoulder.

Didn’t tell anybody.

Until several months later when my health insurance kicked in.

And it was completely frozen.

This morning, all I could think was,

“Great.  Now that my shoulder is all better, I’ve sprained my ankle

And I STILL can’t ride my horse!”

And what if I hurt my shoulder again?

So I sat there.

All those silly “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercials running through my head.

But in a couple of minutes I could tell I was going to be fine,

My ankle quit throbbing,

It felt strong.

So up I got.

Luckily I was wearing my cowboy boots and not flip flops.

I think it helped hold my ankle in line.

I’m a little sore.

My back has a little twinge.

My shoulder is tender.

My ankle wants to be stiff.

But all-in-all, I’m fine.

I had already worked out,

So I was nice and warm,

My muscles were loose,

I took some extra turmeric.

Did another Primary Back Stretch to realign my back

And stretch out those muscles.

Now I’m figuring out how to best milk this…

LOL

It's All Good!

So…

Sadly, for him, the guy that shared Rod’s work truck

did something STUPID and got fired.

Which means Rod doesn’t have anybody to share his truck with.

Which means he doesn’t have to wait for the other guy to get back

before he can start his work day.

So…

He talked to the Manager and got the ok to switch his hours.

Today is his first day working 1:00 to 1:00(ish)

Which is awesome!

He’ll have to deliver a couple of his loads during the heat of the day.

But he’ll get home before the sun rises the next day.

And he’ll have a FULL day off on his day off.

It’s All Good!

Meanwhile.

I have been messing with fermented chicken feed for months.

They LOVE it.

But it’s kind of a pain in the neck.

As I mentioned the other day, I have a tight schedule.

And it takes (what feels like) FOREVER to drain the feed.

And I spill it all the time.

So…

I quit feeding fermented feed.

It's easier to just scoop dry feed into their troughs.

But they leave a lot uneaten. (which means MORE FLIES)

And I noticed the eggs were getting smaller.

So...

I got 2 of those 5 gallon buckets from Tractor Supply.

They look like paint buckets.

Filled one with water and a glug of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.

Then Kyle drilled some holes in the bottom of the 2^nd bucket.

Put it inside the first bucket so the water fills the top bucket too.

And put the feed in the top bucket.

Let it ferment for 24 hours.

But it still took too long to drain.

So…

Kyle drilled the holes bigger.

But it STILL took too long to drain.

So…

I found a metal hook and hung it from the ceiling.

And this morning I dashed out to the barn before I worked out.

Hung the bucket so it drained into the bottom bucket.

Went back in the house and worked out.

Came out 15+ minutes later.

It was ALL DRAINED!

I'm happy.

The girls are happy.

It’s All Good!!!!

(I’m pretty easy to please…)

BTW - my shoulder is BETTER!
It's All Good!!!!!