My new and very dear friend from down in Sunny South Carolina (yes that was meant to be sarcastic cuz it is COLD and raining here) shared with all of us a really funny story on her blog today about LOO the mouse so I thought of a past story about a "Critter of sorts" in our house. The friend I am speaking of is The Hedgewife, Sage, you can reach her from my link and you should go visit her cuz she is a lot of fun and inspiration!!!!
Once upon a time circa 1989ish ---- The girls and there father and I had just returned from somewhere, anywhere, nowhere don't remember where and it was almost dark. We were renting a VERY LARGE and VERY OLD farmhouse at the time that had a very dark foyer. Robin was about 12ish and Leslie 8ish and I was 16ish at the time. hehehe We opened the front door and all of us came kinda rambling in tripping over each other pushing each other, you know how a family of four can be. On the wall of the foyer were a couple nails that once hung pictures from the previous tenants and of course I had not decorated or removed the nails and I did not worry about them I just KNEW that they were there.
Leslie being the youngest was the first to venture thru the foyer and stopped dead in front of me, the other 2 stumbling into us of course, and looked up on the wall of the foyer for a brief second and yelled at the top of her lungs "MOUSE".
What a mouse on the wall? What?? I was eyeball to eyeball with this "MOUSE" and all I could think of was 'how did a mouse get up on this flat wall' ---'was he dead or alive' --- and then I noticed a long tail and I thought 'Danny must of caught him or found him and hung him by the tail up on one of those nails to scare us.' I had 6 eyeballs staring over my shoulder and 2 eyeballs staring me in the face approximately 4 inches from me while I was trying to decipher what the heck was going on. Danny really did it this time if he in fact had hung a dead mouse on a nail in the house, how cruel and stupid a trick. I KNEW that those sissy girls I was raising was just like me and they wouldn't come near a mouse by choice, so why in the world were we all standing there for what seemed like 10 minutes staring at this one in the face? Big Question!!!!
Well all of a sudden at the same time all of our brain cells started working again after the initial shock wore off I guess, and all 4 of us belted out at the same time in an ear pierceing shreek """BAT""". You should have seen 3 of us scramble in place, pushing each other not being able to decide which way we should go and covering our heads while still screaming over and over "bat" " bat" "bat"... like that bat wasn't having a hayday over the show we were giving him for free...
Well Robin and I took off upstairs together, it was to each his own but I think she dug fingernails into me and I drug her with me or maybe it was the opposite I am not sure but anyway we went to her bedroom at a high rate of speed and SLAMMED the door.. lol.. Leslie at the same time, see she was farther into the house than any of us and she could NOT go back by "THE BAT" ,had to take off thru the dining room and also slammed the door.
This left Danny in the foyer with this "BAT" all by himself. Well being the great white hunter and protector of his whimpy little family of "GIRLS" he proceded to do what any hunter of big game would do===== he pulled off his ball cap and scooped it off the wall and instead of turning around and throwing it out the front door cuz it was closer, walked thru the dining room and kitchen and threw it out the kitchen door to safety, or so he thought. You remember our least little frail girl child was in the dining room right. Well we thought so until we heard screaming from outside. She decided that behind the diningroom door was not safe enough and if the bat was inside then she would go out the back door and sit in the car!!! That was OK until her dad decided to throw that creature out the back door next to the car!!! She screamed bloody murder I mean to tell you until we went out and got her out of the car!!!!!!!!!!!!! She gets it from me!!!
Come over for a visit with me and my peeps down on the farm
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Don't cry over spilled milk!
You sure can get in a good laugh over it though if the situation is just right. I have had many times lately that my dairy goat kicked over the milk pail and I did not laugh. Today however was different. You see in my quest to be a pioneer woman and self sufficient I felt that I had to put all this good fresh milk to good use and learn how to make goats milk butter.
In order to do so the milk has to be separated with a machine. I won an auction for a nice cream separator last week on Ebay, one of my favorite pastimes-- ebaying!!! The much anticipated day came today when the separator arrived. I could have hugged the UPS guy but I didn't, I didn't want to scare him off, I still ebay you know.
Any way I read over the manual and I knew about as much afterwards about how to separate milk as I do rebuilding a lawn mower engine. SQUAT!!! But my dh was raised on a dairy farm where the milk was separated to make butter! ah ha!!!
Well my dh came home and of course he knew how to use it. I milked the evening milking obtaining a little over a quart. Remember this amount. While the milk was warm we put the newly washed and dryed separator together on the dining room table. He said "pour in the milk" so I always do as I am told and poured all the milk in while he started cranking and all of a sudden the table and the floor was full of milk. OOPS!! did we do something wrong? DH was OK at this time.
We were able to retrieve about a pint of fresh milk. We moved the machine to the kitchen counter and reassembled the machine and tried it again. While watching the skim milk come out of one spot and the dribble of cream out the other spout I was really interested in the process and did not realize that I was leaning over and holding on to the top of the separator and all of a sudden the bowl popped off and we both got a sudden milk shower!!! So did the upper cabinets and lower cabinets, the dishwasher and the entire kitchen floor. What a mess. It was only a pint and I had almost a pint in the milk can. How could so little milk go so far.
I laughed and dh stomped outside saying "I am going to go work on my bulldozer." I went outside in a few minutes and asked him "What makes you think you can work on something that big and can not use a cream separator?" He growled at me!! LOL
In order to do so the milk has to be separated with a machine. I won an auction for a nice cream separator last week on Ebay, one of my favorite pastimes-- ebaying!!! The much anticipated day came today when the separator arrived. I could have hugged the UPS guy but I didn't, I didn't want to scare him off, I still ebay you know.
Any way I read over the manual and I knew about as much afterwards about how to separate milk as I do rebuilding a lawn mower engine. SQUAT!!! But my dh was raised on a dairy farm where the milk was separated to make butter! ah ha!!!
Well my dh came home and of course he knew how to use it. I milked the evening milking obtaining a little over a quart. Remember this amount. While the milk was warm we put the newly washed and dryed separator together on the dining room table. He said "pour in the milk" so I always do as I am told and poured all the milk in while he started cranking and all of a sudden the table and the floor was full of milk. OOPS!! did we do something wrong? DH was OK at this time.
We were able to retrieve about a pint of fresh milk. We moved the machine to the kitchen counter and reassembled the machine and tried it again. While watching the skim milk come out of one spot and the dribble of cream out the other spout I was really interested in the process and did not realize that I was leaning over and holding on to the top of the separator and all of a sudden the bowl popped off and we both got a sudden milk shower!!! So did the upper cabinets and lower cabinets, the dishwasher and the entire kitchen floor. What a mess. It was only a pint and I had almost a pint in the milk can. How could so little milk go so far.
I laughed and dh stomped outside saying "I am going to go work on my bulldozer." I went outside in a few minutes and asked him "What makes you think you can work on something that big and can not use a cream separator?" He growled at me!! LOL
Thru the eyes of a child
Emma had the best time yesterday running thru my laundry that was hanging on the line. She loved the quilt, which by the way was my yardsale find last Sat.
Emma stayed with me all day and we had a lot of fun. Robin came over and we went fishing in the pond, caught 5 bluegill and threw them back. Colton and Leslie showed up while we were fishing and Colton got to fish too. He is such a "boy"... "I can cast by myself leave me alone" ..... and yes he can!!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Beautiful weather here today!
Sunny and warm in 70"s and just a lovely day for a picnic. The girls came over and ate lunch with us this afternoon. I understood the weather to be cold today so I had planned on an inside meal but we ate it outside. Danny had built us a very big picnic table several years back and it holds the whole family at one sitting.
We had a great meal of chicken and dumplings, green beans, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, raspberry cupcakes and yummy homemade goats milk raspberry ice cream. We are really enjoying this milk.
Colton couldn't hardly sit still to eat because he had Jet, the baby calf, on a lead walking him and tied him to the fence to eat and then went right back to playing with him. I am not sure who had the most fun Colton or Jet. Emma is scared of the calf unless he is on the other side of the fence and Colton loves to fret her.
Danny had a BRILLIANT idea today to take the boat down to the fishpond and back it in far enough to be able to crank the motor to check it out before heading to the lake next week weather permiting. Sounds like a good idea, huh? Well I wasn't sold and most of the time I am right (Of Course!). It turns out I was semi-right. He got the boat and trailer stuck in the fish pond and it was so funny to watch him try to retrieve it. He had to go up on the hill and get the Skylift and pull it out. It was a big ordeal but at least he was happy that the boat cranked right up and idled really good. I took a lot of pics that I will have to post soon. ...too funny.
I can't wait to hit the water.
Tonight after milking and feeding the mongrels on the funny farm we went fishing in the pond. We were fishing for Crappie but we had terrified them so badly that we didn't even see a bluegill and they are usually all over us. So that was a dry run.
We had a great meal of chicken and dumplings, green beans, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, raspberry cupcakes and yummy homemade goats milk raspberry ice cream. We are really enjoying this milk.
Colton couldn't hardly sit still to eat because he had Jet, the baby calf, on a lead walking him and tied him to the fence to eat and then went right back to playing with him. I am not sure who had the most fun Colton or Jet. Emma is scared of the calf unless he is on the other side of the fence and Colton loves to fret her.
Danny had a BRILLIANT idea today to take the boat down to the fishpond and back it in far enough to be able to crank the motor to check it out before heading to the lake next week weather permiting. Sounds like a good idea, huh? Well I wasn't sold and most of the time I am right (Of Course!). It turns out I was semi-right. He got the boat and trailer stuck in the fish pond and it was so funny to watch him try to retrieve it. He had to go up on the hill and get the Skylift and pull it out. It was a big ordeal but at least he was happy that the boat cranked right up and idled really good. I took a lot of pics that I will have to post soon. ...too funny.
I can't wait to hit the water.
Tonight after milking and feeding the mongrels on the funny farm we went fishing in the pond. We were fishing for Crappie but we had terrified them so badly that we didn't even see a bluegill and they are usually all over us. So that was a dry run.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Happy 7 year anniversary in our home!
This is the inside of my new dairy barn and milking stanchion. The barn is shown below near the white picket fence. Not intended to be a barn but sure made a nice one. The doorway is about 2" too short though and I have cracked my head on it too many times to count, maybe one day I will learn to duck.
Look at my old wringer and wash sinks. I love to use them!!
It is hard to believe but we moved in 7 years ago today. I wish I could post the before pics because we have done so much around here. A new roof, vinyl siding, foundation and rock, lots of buildings, a new bedroom on the back of the house, tons of landscaping, a garden pond and a 1/2 acre fish pond, dairy barn, picket fence, more fencing, 2 new covered porches and 2 new patios, and lots and lots and lots of bulldozing and we cut or push down or top another tree every year (so I will have something to do cleaning up the mess) and I can't even remember what else we have done cuz I am wore out. I really enjoy it here though. It is so peaceful nothing but the birds and goats talking.
All in a days work
I did a lot today but not all of my list is yet finished. I mowed the back 60 it feels like. I truthfully couldn't tell you what else took all day, but I was really busy all day long and things look good around here. I took a gazillion pics today and if I can post them I will now. Last night for some reason I couldn't add pics on this blog.
I have a lot of work to do around the little buildings which will be my hair salon. We have been working on it and have everything tore up. The other pic is the used to be greenhouse that now holds the hot tub. I will be in the hot tub tonight.
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