Rose Valley Ranch

Are We Prepared?

2012-02-01T10:42:00.003-06:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I moved all of my horse supplies out of the old barn and over to the tackroom in my new-ish little horse building. One of these days I will have a real horse barn with a real tack room with a real medical station (complete with mini-fridge, etc), but until I win the lottery or a few years of gainful employment pass, this will have to do.

Actually, it does quite well! I was very happy with how it all turned out. The area is small, but thankfully I was able to pre-plan enough for the project to come together in quite an organized fashion. However, I wondered, as I unloaded all my supplies, moved everything, and then put everything away again, if I had fully stocked my equine medical cabinet.

I searched the internet for a list of some sort but found none. There are first-aid kit lists (which are good, but not necessarily complete enough for me) and then things like vaccination, worming, or horse-show lists, but again, not what I was looking for. I want a list that tells me what an average person should have on-hand at all times. Thankfully my vet is good about asking me, "Do you keep this on hand?" and if not, he gets it to me since he knows I live an hour away and it's easier for him to give me instructions over the phone than bring the horse in, if at all possible. I've also been lucky enough to have experienced working on a large horse farm and I learned a lot there about how to use some products and what to keep on hand, but as always, I am sure there are ways I can improve.

So here's the deal: I will share what I have and what else I think I need. In exchange, PLEASE leave me your own tips and thoughts in the comments, or email them to me if you don't feel comfortable enough (or can't get a comment to post) at rosevalleyranch@yahoo.com. I will do a follow-up post and try to combine everyone's suggestions into a "master list" that hopefully can be added to for a long time to come. This way, we'll learn from each other and hopefully all be prepared should any minor events to emergencies arise.

First things first, I am always sure to have at least TWO vets' phone numbers in my phone at all times. I try to at least buy some meds, or take an animal in for something minor (Coggins tests are a good task for non-primary vets) to a second vet just in case an emergency arises and my main vet is out of town or not available. It's imperative to sustain a relationship with more than one veterinary professional, so although I may prefer the work of one, I am sure to do business with more than one because you just never know.... I also have the phone numbers of at least two experienced horse people in my phone, just in case the vets fall though, I know I can call on these people for a little help or suggestions until I can reach a vet. I have fallen back on these friends more than once, especially on a Sunday, when mare foals and retains her placenta and of course I didn't have any oxytocin on hand, but my friend sure did!

Since I don't have electricity out to my little barn yet (and even if I did, I really don't have the extra room), I don't have a mini-fridge out there, so I keep my penicillin in my fridge in the house. Aside from that, I keep everything else out in the tack room.

First, I have a little medical kit (aka, toolbox). Unfortunately, dastardly little heathen mice chewed a hole in the top of it, but once they found out there wasn't anything to eat in it they've left it alone. One day I'll get a replacement but it's still working fine for now. In the bottom of it I keep all my syringes. I try to keep a wide variety on hand: 6cc, 12cc, 20cc and 60cc (not pictured here). By the way, a "mL" is the same thing as a "cc." If I had a horse positive for HYPP I would keep one 60cc syringe on hand with the top cut off to enlarge the opening to make it easier to administer karo syrup as well as a 20cc syringe with the top dug out to enable soaked acetazolamide pills to be administered as well. But, all my current horses are negative, so I don't have to keep those things on hand. If you do need these things, it's easier to keep one syringe for each and wash it really well after each use.

I also keep vet wrap on hand. I have two rolls but really need a couple more here.

I keep banamine on hand at all times as well. NOTE: NEVER administer banamine intramuscular! If you can't hit a vein just administer it orally. It will take longer to work but it's better than the alternative.

In the top portion I keep a tube of bute, a thermometer, terramycin (eye ointment), and any extra injections the vet gives me or that I have pulled and didn't end up using (be sure to label what it is and the date!). In this case the vet gave me a new drug--I can't remember the name--that is supposed to cease cramping in colic cases more quickly than even banamine, just in case Bambi started having colic problems again so she'd make the hour trailer ride to the clinic. Thankfully I haven't had to use it!

Speaking of thermometers, this is the number-one piece of veterinary equipment that I have. I use it more than anything else. If I call my vet with an issue, one of his first questions is always "what is his/her temperature?" It's helpful if I have this info before I even make the call. I also used it a lot during our strangles epidemic almost three years ago now--I constantly monitored the horses to make sure their fevers didn't get dangerously high. A thermometer is a must!

I bought this toolbox not only because it was on clearance, but because it had this handy top section that I knew would be perfect for organizing needles! Right now I have only 20 gauge, which is what I use to administer banamine with, but I really need some 18 gauge (which is bigger than 20--the smaller the number, the bigger the circumference of the needle) for penicillin. It's on my shopping list, along with hopefully several more items after I get all your suggestions!

I keep the rest of my equine medical supplies in an old freezer, which is mice-proof. On top of the freezer I keep no-bow wraps in a plastic container (to keep them clean), another plastic container full of dixie cups and rubber nipples for the bottle in the fridge (foaling supplies), and then two large jugs--one filled with mineral oil and the other is full of keopectin (not keopectate, which now has asprin and is no longer safe for animals).

Inside the fridge I have polo wraps, clean, washed brushes, cotton wrap, sterile sponges in a plastic bag, saran wrap (for sweating an injury), tucoprim (another antibiotic), epsom salts, and a variety of wormers. In another plastic tub beside the freezer I have a bunch of clean shop towels that often really come in handy!

In the door of the freezer I have lube (for the thermometer), a Fleet enema (I need to buy a couple more of these before April for Bambi's foal), Wonder Dust, iodine, betadine scrub, and liquid DMSO (which freezes easily so I really should keep one of these in the house during the winter).

I also keep a box of disposable latex gloves at all times. Not only do I use these when I'm cleaning a wound, but also for sheath and udder cleaning (because you can NEVER get that smell off your hands), when handing ANY hormones at all, using DMSO (not only because it can carry anything on your skin INTO your skin, but also because it smells, at least to me, horrendous), but also when I'm painting or refinishing furniture, etc. I always know right where they are for any project at all this way!

I've got vetwrap with my wrap scissors in the door as well so it's near the wrapping supplies and products I'd apply with a wrap. The cooking spray is for when the horses' feet get snow-packed, I spray this on the bottom and it helps them clear the snow out of their feet better. There are a couple of bottles of MTG in there, some liniment, furazone, gel DMSO, A&D ointment, Swat ointment, liquid bluing (for shows), and showsheen (for shows again).

That's basically it for my medical "cabinet." I also wanted to share, though, sort of a neat trick I learned for having everything ready for banding at the shows. I can't remember exactly where I got this from, so my apologies for not giving credit where credit is due, but this is too good not to share. First, you start with a one of those step-stool tool boxes:

In the top, I have banding combs (which I hardly ever use, but they seem to multiply on their own without me ever having actually purchased one), a seam-ripper (to easily remove the bands out of the horse's mane when the show is done) and a comb that at first appears to be trashed, but is actually the only banding comb I use. See, when the second "tooth" is out, it makes for the perfect spacer for bands!

In the bottom of the toolbox I keep an apron (to hold supplies while I'm banding), banding mousse, bands, and then my show-finishing supplies: highlighter, cowboy magic, and finishing spray.

So that's it for this little corner of my tack room.

The other corners are just as packed, though. I did happen to find these very cool hangers at the local hardware store, that I found are perfect for halters and fly masks!

One problem I haven't quite found a solution for yet are how to store the gajillion blankets I have, though! The ones that hang up are fairly easy to store, but what about the ones with no hooks? I know I can fold them over a rod, but what if space is quite limited? Any suggestions?

I can't wait to hear more suggestions from everyone on what else I should have on hand and any other fun tips and tricks that we can all learn from each other. To me, this is part of what makes horse-owning so much fun. I hope this has been a somewhat helpful post and stay tuned for future postings that will hopefully include YOUR great suggestions!

Live'n and learn'n,

Potpourri

2012-01-30T14:09:00.000-06:00

It has been a very chaotic and eventful last couple of weeks. Thankfully we've all survived here (so far, anyway), but I am still looking for a way to turn 24-hour days into 30-hour days. If I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Probably the most worrisome of all the events was when my beloved 13 1/2 year old Aussie woke up one morning and couldn't keep his balance.

I called my vet who asked me to bring him in and once he took a look at him, he decided we should first treat the problem as an inner-ear infection. If the antibiotics didn't work, we'd then know we were dealing with the effects of a stroke.

Thankfully Charlie is slowly recovering. He gets eardrops twice a day and oral antibiotics three times a day, and while he's not very happy about the doctoring, he is in great spirits. He can now walk and even trot around the place a little. He does fall down still every so often if he's not careful, but he seems happy and able to make his way around pretty well, so I think ol'Charlie will still be around for a while.

The second major event around the farm here was my decision to let the turkeys be used for their intended purpose.

To be honest, I'm still a little bummed about it. I do miss their gobbling around the place and seeing the pretty toms strut their stuff, but it was for the best. One of the hens was no longer able to walk and another was limping, and soon, because of their weight, they would all be in the same position. A friend of mine knew some people able to process them appropriately, so we loaded them all up one morning and that was it. I did find out that the large tom dressed out at 35 pounds!

By the way, if a sales clerk at a retail farm store tells you that the unmarked poults are "regular bronze" (meaning NOT double-breasted), don't believe them! I never would have gotten these guys if I had known they were not heritage turkeys.

I don't plan on replacing them anytime soon. To be perfectly blunt about it, turkeys eat a LOT and therefore there is a LOT of mess around that I'm just not willing to deal with again. Chickens are much easier to clean up after, and they just as good of a job taking care of all the insects around the farm.

The third major event of the last couple of weeks has been the start of classes. I'm taking Spanish, Anatomy & Physiology, CPR and a CNA class so I can be licensed to work over the summer and get the clinical experience I need to start my medical career. I was told online classes could be intense, but I had no idea until I actually got started just how truly intense they can be. For example, I had my CPR class all day Friday, then came home and immediately started online homework, finally went to bed at midnight, then got up at 6am, did chores, showered, and did homework and took two online tests until 2pm when I had to stop to get ready for work. I then went to work, got home at 2am and pretty much fell into a coma. I'm still not sure that I've fully recovered, although I only had three hours of online homework this morning, so at least my Monday hasn't been too terribly intense.

Then there's my new computer. Thankfully I got it last Monday and I am very happy with it! I really appreciate my brother's help with picking it out. It was sort of a pain to have to have it built but it got here much more quickly than their estimate, and it was a good thing, too--with all this homework due it would have been even more difficult to have to travel to the library all the time.

I was able to also get all of the new windows for my house except for the two large windows I plan on installing on the south side of the house in the living and dining rooms (to let in extra light). Right now I'm just waiting on gathering up some funds to hire a carpenter to put them in and also to rebuild the front porch. Once those things are done, I can get the second floor completely stripped out and it will be ready for wiring, duct work, and insulation. Progress is slow, but steady!

In the meantime I've been trying to get outside during this gorgeous (winter?) weather!! I've been able to get the old pump house cleaned out--the LAST building that needed to be organized since I moved here. This morning I moved all of my horse medical supplies out of the old barn (that is close to falling down now) and into the tackroom in the new building. It's also getting close to the time that I need to get Bambi in a pen by herself so I can start increasing her feed. She's getting the cutest little baby belly on her! I'm so used to old broodmares that are massive by now, but I am glad she's stayed fairly small since she's such a small, maiden horse. I'm not worried about how big the foal is--I just want her and her baby to get through this in perfect health. This will be the farm's first/last baby in a very long time, so it's going to be quite an event! For those who might have missed the earlier announcements, Bambi is due to foal in mid-April. The sire of the foal is Almighty, whose webpage can be found here: http://www.paintedprairiefarm.com/. The foal will be double-registered APHA/AQHA, HYPP N/N and OLWS N/N. Needless to say, if the foal and Bambi come through the foaling healthy, it would be great to get just enough chrome to make regular registry in APHA as well!

My little farm just keeps plugging along, no matter what happens and day by day it gets just a little bit better. It's not always easy, but I can't ever say it's not worth it.

Living the dream,

No Capes

2012-01-17T16:30:00.002-06:00

Sometimes you find yourself sitting in a library, waiting on some vital information for your schooling to refresh on the computer so you can take the next important step in your education, and suddenly, out of no where, a phrase from a Pixar movie pops into your head:

"No capes!"

Don't you hate it when that happens?

Oh, it doesn't happen to you? What is wrong with me, you ask? That is a question for the ages, my dear reader. A question for the ages....

Then I wonder what it would be like to be a superhero. What power would I have? Invinciblity? Super strength? The ability to read people's minds?

While it would be so ever cool to be able to stop a speeding bullet with my teeth (which, maybe I can, I just haven't ever tried it to be honest), I think I would want one simple, but very powerful...uh, power:

The ability to stop bad things from happening.

It would be such a great power to be able to stop people from losing their jobs, from losing their homes, from making that one small error that turns into a tragedy. I would love to stop natural disasters, bad luck, and poor timing. I'd kick Murphy's Law straight in the groin.

But then I think back about the bad things that have happened to me. I think about when I was 18 and my family went through the simultatious loss of baby, financial stability, home, and family unit. I think about my husband joining the army and having pretty much everything go wrong with the house while I was alone. I think about our split and divorce, the loss of my home, my job, my horses, and then losing Layla and Eddie and having to deal with destroying them, again, alone. I think about my recent bought with underemployment and my struggle to, well, try everything I can not to lose the little that I have left. I think about all these trials, and while it would be easy to wish they had never happened, I would not have the perspective I have right now without them.

I think, it's not so much about trying to keep bad things from happening, but more about what can come out of these trials. We can become angry and bitter, which I honestly have gone through and while it is perhaps the easiest route, it certainly isn't the most contructive one. The other choice we have is that we can learn. We can look back, push the emotion aside (while not getting rid of it, because it is still important to embrace emotional learning as well), and look at our past with open arms. What things went right? What can we do better next time?

We don't need to be super heros. We don't need capes. We all have the power inside us to make a future that we want. It just takes time...and perhaps a little bit of super-strength optimism.

Onward and Upward,
~J

The Crash

2012-01-16T11:58:00.001-06:00

My computer died.

It died last week and I've been trying to get a replacement lined up. Hopefully I will have a new one in the next couple of weeks, but until then, I'm freaking out man.

It's not what you think. I actually have enjoyed not having internet access at home. There's not much I can manage to do on my phone, so not having the "call of the computer chair" luring me into wasting much of my down time has been...well...different. And in a good way. For one thing, my house hasn't been this clean in a while....

What I'm really freaking out about is that school starts...like...tomorrow! So, perfect timing for Murphy's Law to strike again, because I purposefully enrolled in all online classes so I could avoid doing the 100-mile daily drive to school. Looks like I'll have to do that anyway for a while. Our small-town local library has online access, but it is, well...limited, to say the least.

I know this too shall pass, if I don't pass out first, that is. It wouldn't be my life, though, if things went easily. In fact, I probably wouldn't know what to do with myself if my stress level wasn't at least at 90% at all times. I'd probably cease to be. I think adrenaline is my main form of sustanance these days.

So, dear friends, my blog will even be more sporadic over the next couple of weeks. There will be much to catch up on....

Catchme Later!
~J

The Kids

2012-01-06T17:13:00.000-06:00

I don't want to jinx it or anything, but we have been having AMAZING weather here in Kansas this week. Our weather has a justified reputation for being extreme--we're usually either at 110 degrees during the summer or -10 degrees during the winter. Ah, there's no place like home....

However, this week has been a gleeful 50-60 degrees. Yes, January. Yes, in Kansas. I know I've had to pinch myself a few times.

Seriously-- I have bruises.

Anyway, besides picking up the plethora of branches in the north shelter belt, I also decided to give my poor, neglected equines some attention. First, Fabian got his feet trimmed.

I trimmed the girls a couple of weeks ago but didn't get Fabian done until now. Thankfully he's got great feet, so they recovered well from the extra two weeks he had to endure between trimmings.

After I got him trimmed and groomed I tried to take his picture. He wasn't exactly cooperative.

Are you done yet?

Then I gave the girls some much-needed grooming.

Bambi needs some more weight on her, but the great news is that I already have gotten a couple of premium roundbales of alfalfa delivered--just for her! So, her last three months of pregnancy she'll be treated like a queen. She hasn't thrived in her pregnancy like I had hoped. Her and Fabian are on the exact same diet and he's a porker, so I'll get her switched to her summer diet and get her back up to how she looked this summer. She's not thin by any means, as illustrated here:

But she's certainly lost some of her bloom, poor pony. I won't be breeding her again for a very long time, so we'll just do our best and then move on. See her baby bump? She's due April 15th--hopefully the time until then won't be taxing....

At this point you are wondering why you even bother reading, aren't you?

Thankfully the horses are used to my bad jokes.

Paula enjoyed her day of beauty as well.

She'll never win a halter class, but she's the most likely to have her ears disappear against a white background. See?

Ugh, I still need to clean that tail of hers....

Then I went ahead and worked Fabian (much to his delight).

See? Thrilled.

He was amazing, though. I hadn't worked with him since August and we were able to pick up right where we left off. He was feeling good, but he has matured to the point that he still listens and is able to calm himself down when he gets upset. He used to get his panties in a big twist over little things, but thankfully time has changed things in a big way. He's just awesome. Hopefully we'll be riding by spring!

Fun in the ~~summer~~ sun,

It's Hard to be a Farmgirl

2012-01-05T23:19:00.000-06:00

It's also hard to be a farm cat.

Don't worry, this isn't one of my current farm cats. I found this while cleaning up the north shelter belt. This is bleached and clean, so I bet this poor cat was dead long before I moved in.

It's also hard to be a wanna-be designer on a budget.

Here's a preview of one of my current projects. It won't be completed until this spring, so you'll just have to wait and see what I'm up to until then.

Mwwwaaaahahahahaha!

A bit much?

Yes, I believe so.

It's also hard to be a turkey.

Especially a male turkey, driven by testosterone, and have every hen in the 'hood completely ignores you--i.e., Tom can't get no props.

It's also hard to be an 120+ year old farm house.

If you look closely, though--things have gotten a lot less harder.

Brand-spank'n-new trim under the roof and GUTTERING!! I don't think this house has ever had guttering before.

Speaking of before, here's how it looked a few months ago:

Slowly, but surely, this old house is coming together. It and I both.....

Spending most our lives living in a Farmgirl's paradise,

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T23:16:00.000-06:00

In just a little over an hour, it will be 2012. It will be a new beginning--a do-over of sorts. It's a chance to wipe the slate clean of past sins and start over with renewed hope.

For example, in 2012, I resolve to rid the world of evil and tyranny, find the cure for cancer, end war and famine, and create world peace.

Okay, maybe not.

Perhaps I should take a look back to see how I did on last year's resolutions before I start a new list. The problem is, I don't think I really made a list. I did in 2010, and I reviewed my 2010 list, but a 2011 list is not to be had. Me thinks my new resolution should include trying to become more organized.

So, here's my 2012 Resolutions:

1. Get a job ~~loser~~

I was laid off in February and while I've been working part time, I do sincerely hope I can get back to full-time employment this year.

2. Lose 20 more pounds.

I lost 20 the last half of this year and honestly I can't remember when I've felt better.

3. Work out more consistently.

I have a lot of incentive to do this one, so you'd think it would be easy for me, but nope.... When I do my pilates or yoga at least four times a week my back feels so much better. In fact, for the past week I've done these exercises every day and I honestly haven't been this pain-free since I herniated two disks in my lower back three years ago. I feel GREAT! So, I just need to keep at it.

4. Compete in a 5K.

I've been wanting to do this one for such a long time. I feel it...this is the year!

5. Ride Paula in some event.

It can be just a group trail ride with friends or one of our local fun shows, I don't care. I want to ride her somewhere and have some fun with her.

6. Finish breaking Fabian.

What can I say, the poor kid is bored out of his gourd.

7. Finish the shop/garage.

This one is sort of cheat as it's already started, but I pray by next year the roof will be done, my great brother will have installed the lights in it, and I will have successfully put a door on the outside of the shop.

8. Be a better friend.

I hope that in 2012 I can be a better person for all those people who are so good to me, even when I feel like I don't deserve it.

That's pretty much it, for now. I think it's a good list. I have a lot to work on, but I think that it's all achievable if I work hard enough. Even though I lost both my grandma and my job this year, I feel like it's been a good year for me personally. I've grown quite a bit in the self-awareness department and I'm trying hard to acknowledge and fix the areas of my life where I'm not doing my best.

And that's all we can do, isn't it--assess our lives and make sure that we're always trying our best? I can honestly say that right now I am happier than I've been in a very long time, and it's helping me be open to trying to make those around me happier as well. I hope that this next year brings much happiness to every person reading this. May next year be your best year.

Cheers!

~Jessie

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T21:32:00.003-06:00

This year was a very special Christmas.

For the first time in a very, very long time, my sister, brother and his wife, my dad and I were all together for a holiday. It was a blast! We had so much fun, and a lot of it can be attributed to the fact that my brother is quite possibly the dorkiest man in the world.

"Yo!"

It's a fact. He's in the Guiness Book of World Records. Look it up.

OK, he's not, but he should be. Exhibit #2:

They're from Colorado, if you can't tell.

His wife is a saint.

Here's my sister, brother, and sister-in-law intrigued by something my dad is saying. I can't remember what. I must have not been that intrigued.

My sister gave my dad some "hand soap" for Christmas.

He was trying to avoid getting his picture taken, but I got him anyway. I'm sneaky like that.

One of the funniest parts of the evening was due to my sister's smart ass retort when my dad asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She said, "A PONY!"

So that's what she got!

Hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas, too!!

Winter Pun

2011-12-20T19:01:00.000-06:00

They said to expect a blizzard and up to a foot and a half of snow.

Thankfully, it wasn't quite that bad.

Although we did get a nice sheet of ice on everything before the snow arrived, making travel nearly impossible, so we all have a bit of cabin fever here on the farm...

...except the girls. They thought the snow was cool!

Ba-dum-ch!

Charlie, being his ever-chilled-out self wondered what the big deal was.

Although the girls might have been getting on his nerves. To him, they were skating on thin ice.

Of course after this post you can call me flaky. I promise I won't have a meltdown,

Missing Kansas City Woman

2011-12-19T15:05:00.000-06:00

This story has really gotten to me because this young woman attends the same school my sister is currently attending. If this were my sister, I know I would want people to help spread the word far and wide, so here is the information. If you know anything, please come forward!

Click on picture to enlarge

Aisha Khan was last seen in Overland Park, KS (a suburb of Kansas City) at the KU Edwards Campus. According to her sister Aisha left her a disturbing message about having been assaulted on campus on Friday and that was the last anyone heard from her. She was wearing the coat above when she went missing. She was also most likely wearing a black head scarf and a yellow and black shirt. Her books and cell phone have been found, but she is missing!

Obviously, this is a terrifying situation. I hope she can be brought home safely, and you can do your part by helping spread the word. Get continued updates on their Facebook page here: Help Find Aisha Khan.

Paula's Got Back

2011-12-18T21:59:00.002-06:00

Paula can be a bit of a brat. The good news is that the minute she sees me, she comes trotting up, wanting attention.

The bad news is that it's not exactly the type of attention that is mutually enjoyable.

Not unless you enjoy having a large, dusty, gray butt backed up into your face, wanting a scratch.

You scratch my back and I'll...smash into you when you're not looking,
~Paula

The Cows Came Home...

2011-12-17T23:35:00.001-06:00

...and Evie didn't like it much.

Every winter the farmer that leases the land I live on turns his cows out on what is left of the corn field after it is harvested.

In other words, the cows come home.

I know, I know...sorry, Charlie.

Since I got Evie in March, she's never seen the cows come home.

I'm not sure she's ever seen a cow at all. She was a little taken-back by the big black beasties.

They didn't really seem to know what to make of her, either.

The cows seemed to stand guard by their calves....

...and I stood guard over little Evie.

And no one knew what to think of Sophie being completely oblivious to this showdown.

Despite Sophie's lack of attention, the showdown did go on for some time. Afterall, the steaks were high.

Sorry.

Finally, the tension broke. I was listening to Pandora on my phone and this old song came on, spurring Evie into a fit of misplaced hysteria.

I tried to get her under control, but my pleas just went in one ear and out da udder.

For butter or for worse, I cud go on all day,
~J

How to Buy A Used Car

2011-12-10T21:34:00.001-06:00

If you recall from my earlier posts, my beloved Toyota Camry met an untimely end due to a deranged deer rearranging the contents of the engine compartment.

Because the damage included so many parts (not only the hood, light, and radiator, but also the side of the car because the deer pushed the side fender into the door) and because the car had 180K miles on it, the insurance company declared it a total loss. I do want to brag a little on State Farm for a second: they consistently contacted me before I had a chance to contact them and before I even realized it they had a check in my hand for the fair value of the car--no going back and forth with low-ball offers or any other kind of trouble that most people now come to expect from insurance companies. They were fast, fair and thorough. Every person I dealt with was very professional and friendly. Although I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to make a claim in my entire life, I honestly expected the process to be much more painful.

(By the way, State Farm did not pay me for that endorsement. State Farm has no idea who I am, other than your average, everyday customer. I could die tomorrow and State Farm wouldn't know it, especially since I have no life insurance policy with them. Over and out.)

While the claims process wasn't the least bit painful, the thought of having my lovely, dependable Camry totaled was so very sad for me. I know it wasn't very new and I know it had a lot of miles, but this car was paid off, it was well-kept, and it was dependable as all get out. The only thing I've ever spent on it was maintenance, tires, and gas.

Now that the Camry has gone on to that big highway in the sky, I was faced with the daunting and loathsome task of perusing used car lots for a replacement. I did look at several newer Camrys (or is it "Camries?"--what is the plural of "Camry" anyway?), but each time I hesitated because (1) it just didn't have the time-tested dependability that my old Camry had and (2) I kept thinking about how close I came to that deer ending up in my grill rather than my car's.

Dad and I looked for a car for me today and what we finally both realized was that "my car" was right in front of me the entire time:

By midday, it was decided that my "new" 2002 Toyota Sequoia will soon be purchased from Dad's Used Car Dealership (his motto: "selling cars to my eldest daughter one at a time"). I decided to be a repeat customer, having bought the Camry from Dad a few years ago.

Another advantage is that Dad has these vehicles for a while and tests them out for me, so I know when I buy them, they've got all the bugs worked out. (Note: now watch as soon as I take it over it will break down, just because I said that. I'm not pessimistic, I just know that Fate hates me).

Anywho...other that the comparatively poor gas mileage, this will be a great vehicle for me. It is four-wheel drive, so I can get around in the snow well. I will be installing a grill guard on it this week so those pesky deer can't leave anymore butt imprints in my radiator. Everything is in great shape and the dogs will have plenty of room now to travel in style.

Officially I won't be able to take over the Toyotasaurus Rex for while, since Dad sort of needs a way to get back and forth from work. We decided since he wanted--has ALWAYS wanted--a brand new Toyota Tundra, that he might as well get what he really wants and that way everyone wins. I get a nice vehicle that I know and won't stress over, and he'll get a nice vehicle and something he really, truly wants. In the meantime, until Dad gets the truck of his dreams, I've got my trusty Dodge truck that gets 10 gallons to the mile.

Keep on Truck'n,

My Work

2011-12-09T23:32:00.001-06:00

I've been spending my post-finals days organizing, planning, and preparing (okay, okay...and sleeping). I've gathered up as much of my previous written work as possible, and I've spoken to my awesome brother about helping me with an online portfolio.

For the past few hours I've also been wading through the quagmire that is my external hard-drive, attempting to find the photos that best showcase my work over the past couple of years. While I'm in no way claiming to possess the skills of a professional photographer, I do want to show that my pictures can be palatable enough for dual writing/photography assignments. So, I plan to include a section on photography in my online portfolio.

I took a picture of my gloves one day when I was stacking hay. I have no idea why. I'm sort of random like that. I do think that it turned out to be kind of a nice picture, though, in a rustic, old field-hand sort of way.

I published this photo back when I wrote about the old cemetery in Colorado. I decided to try a different treatment on it, though, which I think added a bit more interest to the composition (I have no idea if I'm using any of those words in the right context, but for a second it sounded like I might know what I was talking about, right?).

I took this photo when I lived out in Missouri. It only took me three years to figure out how to get a proper crop proportion on it (proving, once again, that I am no pro, Moe).

I have some old-timey photos on my hard-drive as well. I captured this one back in 2004 at the Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona. Be sure to click on the picture for a larger version so you can read the tombstone. You'll just die laughing....

This photo is even older--from way back in 2003. This is of a pagoda in the center of Seoul, South Korea. South Korea is a very beautiful and very cold country. Fortunately it is filled with very warm people! We were treated so well there. I would love to go back one day. It doesn't hurt at all that I got two authentic Coach purses there for $60. Annyeonghaseyo!!

Even older still is this scanned image (because it was taken before the advent of digital cameras--and I feel really old and now very depressed) of the Ring of Kerry, on the west coast of Ireland. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

This ends our slide show for this evening, but never fear--there is plenty more where this came from.

More or less,

~Les Moore

Finals...

2011-12-04T20:18:00.001-06:00

I sincerely apologize for being MIA for, well, much longer than I should have been. Finals are this coming week and last week I had countless tests, which did pretty much nothing but test the limits of my capacity for stress. I am pleased to report I got through all of it without being committed or arrested. Yay me!

On top of school and work, I got the word back on my car and in all likelihood it is totaled. This wasn't a complete surprise to me, but I was disappointed. I love this car.

I mean, I "loved" it, before the deer rearranged the engine compartment. Now I have to search for and buy another car, which is great fun for my dad, who loves to look at new cars, but not so much fun for me, being significantly underemployed and with my future so uncertain. Getting a new car is supposed to be fun, not give you ulcers.

In fact, I was voicing my concerns to my dad earlier today about my (under)employment situation. Waiting tables is fine for a back-up, second job, and if I didn't have to drive 100 miles round-trip to do it, but I really need something a little more reliable and economical--ironically, much the same qualities I appreciated in my late car. I have been applying for positions for a while now and unfortunately I have gotten no response, which is incredibly frustrating. I know I can add value through my experience and my strong work ethic, and yet I am continuously denied the opportunity to prove myself.

I don't drink except for maybe a light beer or glass of wine once every month or two. I don't smoke and I've never touched an illegal drug in my life. I've never had anything more than a speeding ticket--the last of which I had in 2008 (in Drexel, Missouri--the day I moved to the town, which was a lovely "welcome home"). I graduated with honors, had a 3.75 GPA in college and now, even with a degree in English, I have a 92% in Chemistry and a 93% in Biology. I've tried my best to work hard and be a good person. I haven't been perfect, by any means, but I've done everything I could to learn from my mistakes.

Long story short, it is incredibly frustrating to have done everything by the book and not have any of it mean anything.

I didn't intend this post to be a rant. Actually, it's intended to be the explanation of an epiphany I had today. I realized, if I thought I was so great that someone should hire me, perhaps...I should just hire myself.

Okay, I know this doesn't make much sense, but bear with me for one second.

I've been told several times that I should "write for a living." Whether it was suggested via book, website, etc., I've often been complimented (and thankfully so) on my writing. However, I know it is nearly impossible to make a living as a writer. To me, it is at the same level as becoming a professional singer, or an actor--the probability that someone, in the right place and the right time, would recognize my talent as significant enough to invest in, and then for that investment to turn into success, has about the same chance as me picking up a winning lottery ticket off the sidewalk tomorrow...especially when I carry on writing run-on sentences like this one.

I do enjoy writing, though. Even more, I enjoy the reactions that people have when they read my writing. There is something special about being able to type out symbolic characters in a way as to not only convey meaning through language, but emotion.

My dad told me a story today--a story meant to relate to me, even though it was about a basketball coach at an until-recently-unknown university. I won't bore you with the details, but the point of the story was that this coach was an intelligent young man who was successful on paper, but gave it all up to follow an unlikely dream. Starting out with nothing, he dug in his heels and worked hard, earning nothing, just to do what he loved. Eventually it paid off--it paid off because he did what he loved.

So I thought...perhaps I should start doing what I love. Even if I don't become a "success," I will at least be doing something I enjoy, and in the meantime, continue grow and learn along the way. Here is a preview, the first paragraph of a work in progress:

There are dark recesses that exist in history, where injustices were kept hidden away from the masses and have since long been forgotten. This history is not found in school textbooks and were it not for the writings of a few to preserve the memory of the victims and their saviors, would have been erased from time altogether. So many short lives were made meaningless only by circumstance—people who did nothing wrong, but were forced to live and die in unimaginable horror. There were only a handful of brave people who recognized these crimes being committed as those against fellow human beings. These heros remain largely unrecognized as we now take for granted the right that each of us has to be free.

I've thought of doing this book for a long time. I've already done a lot of research, but there is much more to be done. Chances are, since no one knows me and I have a long way to go to proving myself in this area, I will not have a publisher lined up anytime soon. Therefore, unless something comes up in the near future, I will publish this book online myself in a blog yet to be named. I do not want to disclose the subject (based on true stories) yet, but I do believe it will hold at least some interest for many, whether you enjoy reading my writing or not.

In the meantime, I will try to be more faithful to this blog and my readers--all three of you....

~J

Deer Season

2011-11-29T00:13:00.001-06:00

Deer hunting...

I think I'm doing it wrong.

Not to worry, dear friends...I didn't get a single scratch on me. Thankfully the airbag didn't deploy and thankfully the headlight, which flew off and hit my door a mere two inches from the window, didn't end up in my lap (and neither did the deer, for that matter). Just a sudden jolt and then a lot of smoke, since the crazy creature made sure to completely take out my radiator.

Toyotas are awesome, though--there was just enough time for me to get it pulled over off the highway without risking the engine overheating. The car did exactly what it was supposed to--it took the impact and protected me.

I love this car, too. It is (was) a Camry. I highly recommend them.

As for the deer? Well, I can't imagine that it's feeling much better than my car. While (unbelievably) the impact didn't kill it, at least immediately, it either crawled off into the woods and died or it's nursing some pretty bad wounds, judging by the amount of fur left on my car. It jumped straight up out of the ditch in front of me and two other cars. Of course I was the one that was closest to it, and therefore hit it, but a nice person stopped to make sure I was okay before going on.

I am okay. Bummed, but okay. I guess after this the lure of deer hunting, sitting in the cold for hours waiting to hit one with a bullet or arrow, escapes me. I mean, I was going 65 mph and trying to avoid them and managed to bag one.

Elusive creatures they are not.

The buck stops here,

Thankful

2011-11-23T21:50:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Although this has been a pretty tough year with a lot of changes and a lot of stress, I feel like in a lot of ways, going without makes me even more thankful for the things that I have. I am so thankful for my beautiful turkeys (who are, in turn, thankful that they aren't dinner this year). I am so thankful that my 13 year old cat, Harley, and my 13 year old Aussie, Charlie, are both very healthy and going strong.

I am thankful to have added my little mini-Aussie puppy Evie to my family this year.

Of course, I am so thankful to still have my Sophie by my side.

I am also thankful for my three beautiful horses, all sired by the most wonderful horse I've ever known.

I am also thankful for this wonderful old farm that I live on, with this big old house with so much potential. I am really looking forward to my future here. Simply put, I love my home, and I love how it's coming along (see the front overhang finished?! YAY!)

I am so very thankful for all of my friends and family. Without your support I don't think I would have survived this last year, let alone all the difficult times before. You're always there, giving me the strength I need and helping me to live a great life, no matter what gets thrown at me. I can't thank you enough, and I love you all.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Mea Culpa

2011-11-19T00:51:00.001-06:00

I have to admit, my last few posts have not turned out as I had hoped, so hopefully I can make it up to both my readers.... I think the best way to make this happen is to not talk about me at all, but some awesome, amazing things that are happening for people/critters/associates I know.

1. My amazing, beautiful, smart, talented sister-in-law has just started her own blog, so please check it out!

Random Musings between here and tHere

2. My amazing, beautiful, smart, talented (are you sensing a theme here?) long-time-friend's sister's (and their friend's) clothing line is really taking off.

I am making a promise to myself that when I get back up on my feet I WILL be taking a trip to see them at Fashion Week. I couldn't be happier for these ladies. They had a dream, dedicated themselves to it and WOW, what an inspiration!

Please visit their line, iCTZN by clicking this link, or the link on my sidebar to the left.

3. My amazing, beautiful, smart, (and not sure about talented, although she is a very adept sleeper) grandma's dog is going to get a new home.

Poor girl started getting way too lonely out at the home place by herself (my grandma, her owner, passed away in April) and although she was getting fed and visited everyday, she started visiting the neighbors, who really weren't thrilled, so we were forced to find her a new home. I most definitely wanted her, but with 70mph traffic going on right in front of my house, I was worried that she'd get hit and killed--and I just can't take that (again, after losing Samson). I was the last-resort home for poor Dutchess, so I am thrilled to say I found her a much better one! I'm so relieved. Thank you, Kristi and family for giving this wonderful girl the home she deserves.

4. TBD

I'm saving this spot right here, for more good things. They might happen to me, or they might happen to someone I know. I don't know what they are, but I'm going to look forward to them, because they're a-comin.... I can feel it in my bones.

My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades,

Story of My Life

2011-11-18T15:26:00.001-06:00

I wasn't like every other kid, you know, who dreams about being an astronaut, I was always more interested in what bark was made out of on a tree. Richard Gere's a real hero of mine. Sting. Sting would be another person who's a hero. The music he's created over the years, I don't really listen to it, but the fact that he's making it, I respect that. I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what product I'm selling? No. Do I know what I'm doing today? No. But I'm here, and I'm gonna give it my best shot.

I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like nine weeks and five days. The first day seemed like a week and the second day seemed like five days. And the third day seemed like a week again and the fourth day seemed like eight days. And the fifth day you went to see your mother and that seemed just like a day, and then you came back and later on the sixth day, in the evening, when we saw each other, that started seeming like two days, so in the evening it seemed like two days spilling over into the next day and that started seeming like four days, so at the end of the sixth day on into the seventh day, it seemed like a total of five days. And the sixth day seemed like a week and a half. I have it written down, but I can show it to you tomorrow if you want to see it.

In case you haven't guessed yet, there's been a lot of drug traffic on the beach. And I'm not talking about Robitussin and No-Doze. I'm talking about the hard stuff, and a lot of it. I've been trying to find out who's behind it. It hasn't been easy. I don't shower much.

It's the same thing your whole life: "Clean up your room. Stand up straight. Pick up your feet. Take it like a man. Be nice to your sister. Don't mix beer and wine, ever." Oh yeah: "Don't drive on the railroad track."

And I said, I don’t care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I’m, I’m quitting, I’m going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they’ve moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn’t bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it’s not okay because if they take my stapler then I’ll set the building on fire…

Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.

Well, it got so that every ticked-off prairie punk who thought he could shoot a gun would ride into town to try out the Waco Kid. I must have killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille. It got pretty gritty. I started to hear the word "draw" in my sleep. Then one day, I was just walking down the street when I heard a voice behind me say, "Reach for it, mister!" I spun around... and there I was, face-to-face with a six-year old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass. So I limped to the nearest saloon, crawled inside a whiskey bottle... and I've been there ever since.

So long boys. See you in the funny papers.

~J

In order:
Zoolander
The Jerk
Fletch
Groundhog Day
Office Space
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Blazing Saddles
O Brother Where Art Thou

Tough Times

2011-11-16T12:07:00.001-06:00

I hate it when what I dread/fear most, comes to fruition.

A mare I rehabilitated a couple of years ago, the day I picked her up.

It's started, and this is going to go on for a long time. The bad economy, the loss of jobs, the lack of opportunities, the overbreeding, and the drought have all led up to a depressing mess, where the innocent ones are those who suffer the most.

As I was driving to pick up my grass roundbales over the weekend, I saw along side the highway horses that are so thin that you wonder how they have enough muscle left in their bodies to hold their bones up. I'd report them, except that a sheriff's car was right in front of me, with the same exact view that I had. If they hadn't already done something they obviously aren't going to. I have to tell myself over and over "I can't be responsible for what others have done. All I can do is take care of my own."

And I'm barely doing that. I have to feed dehydrated alfalfa that I buy for $15 a bale/bag from the feed store. I did manage to find some regular alfalfa hay earlier this year that I bought for $10 a bale, but it was so full of stickers and weeds that 75% of it ended up in the burn pile, so I'm through with buying hay from strangers and getting ripped off. At least the stuff in the bags is of a consistent quality. I have been supplementing with beet pulp and some grain, when it's on sale, and other times with timothy pellets. Thankfully since my horses are grown, I don't have to be overly concerned with balance like I would have to be with young horses. Calories is the name of the game right now.

Fabian playing last night.

Thankfully, we're doing ok. My horses don't look as good as they did on free choice quality alfalfa while on bermuda pasture, but they aren't going to, unfortunately. Bambi seems to have an ongoing issue that I have to keep a close eye on, but she's not thin (the vet laughed at me when I said she had lost weight)--I am definitely not happy with the entire situation. I pray that she has something as simple as ulcers and with time, her stomach will heal and we will get over this hump, but honestly, we don't know. As my vet said, as much as we don't like it, it's just a try-this-and-wait-and-see sort of ordeal. She's been eating everyday and she is alert and active, but the slightest change (like worming her this weekend) will send her into a lethargic period. Thankfully she recovered quickly this time, but I still want to see her back to her old, healthy self.

And it seems to be that way--wait and see--with everything right now. All we can do is hold steady and pray that we can maintain things until life improves because things are sure tough now days, for us all. I have three horses, two less than I did at this time last year. I was buying alfalfa for a third of what I now pay. My income was also four times higher.

Yes, that's right. My feed bill has tripled. My income has been cut to a fourth of what it once was (and not by choice). And I'm definitely not the only one--far from it.

I'm to the point that I have very little pride left, so I can easily say if it wasn't for my dad I'd be looking at euthanizing my horses. I still buy most of my feed, but he has helped me out when I couldn't, and he has also helped provide the cushion for my horses in the form of enough grass hay for most of the winter. The grass has zero nutritional value (since it was two years old when it was cut), but it is something to ferment in the horses' gut (what helps keep them warm through the cold days of the Kansas winters). It keeps them busy and also keeps something in Bambi's stomach between feedings. Their nutrition (calories, fat, protein, nutrients), comes from their twice-daily feedings.

I did try to place or lease my horses months ago, but no one I knew and trusted was able to take them at that time, so that's when Dad offered to help me stick it out. Painted Prairie Farm also helped me out a great deal when Bambi got sick and even my vet, who knows I am on a tight budget and live an hour (and about $50 in gas) away has worked with me to try to have the things on hand that I might need, but that will save me money if the horses do get sick this winter. Without these people I'd be facing a very difficult decision indeed.... I am so thankful, too, as bad as this sounds, that I only have the three horses left. It wasn't that long ago that I was in over my head, during good times. I could have just as easily been in an even bigger mess had the timing been just slightly different.

Anyway, it's all very depressing right now. There was a big horse sale last weekend locally and many, many horses went to kill because no one bid on them. I saw a double-decker full (even though they are illegal) leaving down and heading south. I could report them, yes, but to what avail? In good times the county sheriff did nothing to keep several horses from being starved to death, so I probably would have gotten laughed at. They also had to drive clear across down as the sale barn is in the middle of town, so my call certainly isn't going to be the one to stop them, as frustratingly depressing as that fact is.

I was also thinking, though, the other day, that in my county (not the one the sale and double-decker were in), there is only 4000 people and our sheriff has absolutely no resources to do anything about starving livestock. It's just not anything that is able to be budget for--period. A few years ago our town mayor was a resident of the town's rest home. There just isn't the capacity, in our area, to do much about people who don't take responsibility for their animals. The larger town is different, but then again, when would the resources dry up? The authorities certainly weren't any more prepared for this drought/economic situation as the horse owners were. We can all point fingers and say "should" until we are blue in the face, but it doesn't change the situation any, does it?

There are also many, many "free horse" ads, one of which includes possibly 60 very well bred APHA halter horses (mostly broodmares). In this case, they are going to do the right thing and euthanize them if they don't find homes. That isn't a threat--that is the responsible thing to do. My dad and I just had this conversation--with the way things are right now, there are VERY FEW people able to feed a horse right---VERY FEW. There are a LOT of horses needing homes right now. You don't have to be a math whiz to figure out that something bad is going to happen to many, many horses. They will either be slaughtered, die of starvation, or the lucky few will be humanely euthanized at home.

It is a sad situation all around, to be sure. I certainly don't have any answers. I absolutely love my horses, but I do feel guilty for having bred horses for a few years, the handful of foals I created, that added, even a small way to this problem. I feel sorry for the owners who have made the same mistakes I have and now find themselves a situation with a lot of tough choices to make. I feel even more sorry for the horses who take the brunt of our bad decisions, through absolutely no fault of their own.

This post has really no point and no neatly-wrapped conclusion. I was asked why things were so rough in our area right now and I got to thinking about things and this is what resulted. I wish I had the answers, but we reap what we sow, don't we? The reaping has begun, and while none of us can be surprised, I think many of us have learned. At least I hope so.

Doodoodoodoo, Doodoodoodoo

2011-11-12T21:15:00.001-06:00

Hopefully the title comes across the way that I intend--you know, the theme song to The Twilight Zone and not just a bunch of doodoos. I think with the economy the way it is, we all have experienced plenty of doodoos...or dodos...or both....

In case you're not old enough to remember, The Twilight Zone was an old TV show that featured eerie plot twists. It had nothing to do with Team Egbert or bloodsucking teenagers or whatever. When I was little, this show freaked me out. It's sort of hard to describe, so here's an example clip:

Well, I experienced a bit of my own version of The Twilight Zone today. At least I choose to look at it that way because the alternative would mean I'm losing my mind. While I agree the latter is much more likely, I choose to believe the unexplainable. I choose to believe that I was temporarily sucked into another dimension....

...because that sounds totally plausible.

It all started when I went to town early this morning and picked up my dad from his house. On our way back to the farm I stopped in at the local Co-op to have a tire fixed on my bale mover (a small trailer with a winch that is used to move one large roundbale of hay at a time). While I waited for the tire to be fixed, I called the farmer that I had been getting grass hay from and asked him if I could buy five more roundbales today, which will basically set me up with enough grass hay for the remainder of the winter. He said sure, I could do that, and before I could ask him when I could drop by his house to pay him my phone died.

My phone dying, in and of itself, is not at all unusual. My doodoodoodoo of a supposed "smart" phone, more times than not, has a hissy fit and crashes on me if I make a call lasting longer than two minutes. For some reason a full battery becomes completely spent in a span of a nanosecond and it won't come back alive without some serious charging. Of course I had left the charger in the car (and I was now driving my truck), so I had to live with the fact that I had inadvertently hung up on the sweet old farmer I buy grass hay from and hope that when I went by his house he would be (1) home and (2) understanding about the dropped call.

Once the tire was fixed Dad and I hopped back into the truck and drove over to the farm where I got my phone charger out of my car, then we headed on over to the farmer's house. I pulled into his driveway, got out and walked up to his door while Dad waited in the truck. When the farmer opened the door I immediately began apologizing for the dropped call. He had a very puzzled look on his face, though, so I stopped. He then said something I didn't expect. He said, "You didn't call me."

I asked him to repeat what he said and he said the same thing. The words didn't change. I thought to myself, oh, he's just confused. After all, he's quite old and has been a farmer his whole life and exposed to a lot of fertilizer--I just caught him on an off day and he'll remember if I help him out a bit. I replied, "Yes, I called you about an hour ago, remember?"

He insisted I didn't. He then asked if I spoke to his son and I said, "No, I thought I spoke to you. I asked if it was you and they said it was, then we talked about the hay."

He insisted I didn't talk to him and it really wasn't important enough to pursue any further--I thought in my head he must just be having an off day and it's no big deal, so I explained why I was there and he agreed to sell me 5 more bales. I handed him the money, thanked him, and we chatted a bit before I left and he went inside his house.

I told Dad about my conversation with the farmer on our way to the field to pick up the first roundbale of hay. He laughed and agreed--he's probably just forgetful and having an off-day. By that time my phone had charged enough for me to turn it on. I turned on my phone and looked at my call list and immediately dropped my phone.....

My phone showed that I had not called the farmer that morning.

doodoodoodoo, doodoodoodoo

Imagine, if you will, a blonde with an uncooperative phone, just wanting to purchase some hay. Little did she know, that in western Stafford County, she would enter...

The Twilight Zone.

Frankenhorse

2011-11-11T14:59:00.001-06:00

If you haven't followed Fabian's story since the beginning, seeing him now, you'd never know why his nickname was "Frankenhorse."

I bred Fabian, but when I got divorced, the Coles near Topeka took his pregnant momma so she'd have a good home. She was a cribber, older, and deaf, so she wasn't an easy horse to place, but thankfully they saw in her the real beauty she was.

However, it wasn't quite that simple, unfortunately. First, other friends of mine came to pick up a couple of horses and got the wrong horse, so the Coles and them had to do a switch from Missouri. Then Fabian's momma developed a deep infection in her back hoof (cause still, to this day, unknown) and basically lost her whole back hoof. Usually, in a situation like that, it's best to put the horse down, but the Coles decided to work hard everyday to save not only her life, but the life of the foal she was carrying. With a lot of hard work and many, many hours in the barn, they managed to nurse her to a full recovery.

I was so happy to hear this because I had lost Fabian's full sister two years earlier--the sad result of a red bag delivery that happened before I got home from work. She was a fighter and lived for 12 hours before a violent seizure finally took her. I spent every minute of her life by her side trying to help her with her fight. I had hoped, when rebreeding Fabian's momma (after a year off to let her fully recover), that I'd get a much better outcome, with the same beauty and determination that his sister had.

When Fabian was a foal, he was gorgeous. Stunning. Beautiful. Breathtaking.

Then, the Coles so kindly gave me the option to have Fabian and his momma back (because they had gotten so many of their old horses back). Seems as soon as I got him home, poor little Fabian quickly entered into his awkward stage.

And then, as if I didn't think it could have been possible, it got even worse. Hence, he was nicknamed the "Frankenhorse" because his parts didn't seem to fit together right. Poor guy.

Then, as if some cruel joke was being played on him, he came down with strangles (as did my whole herd that year--what a nightmare that was) and he was not only awkward, but thin as well.

The poor kid couldn't win.

Well, that was three years ago now...and today (well, as of two days ago, when I took this picture), you can see that although he looks wet and cold (by the way, he does have a large shelter available to him, swine horse), his body parts finally fit together just fine.

Over the past year and a half that I've had him back home after a brief stint in southwestern Missouri, he has really bloomed. He's gotten taller than I ever thought he would (although he'll never, ever be a big horse), and he's actually gotten to be quite a looker, for the average backyard pasture pony that he is, anyway.

Of course, I might have rose-colored glasses on, but Fabian will always be my beautiful blue-eyed boy...

...frankenhorse or not.

It's alive!
~J

Fall at the Farm

2011-11-10T22:17:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year again....

It's fall at the farm. On nice days, like today, we try to enjoy the little bit of nice weather we have remaining this year.

And by "we," I mean all the critters, too.

Isn't that right, girls?

The horses, having demolished their last bale of prairie hay, await the delivery of another.

The chickens search out the few remaining bugs around the water pan.

Evie found a treasure to chew on. Don't ask what it was--you don't want to know.

Sophie saw I was taking pictures of Evie and demanded equal treatment. Swine dog.

Speaking of camera hogs.... Poor Sweet Pea...she's no Covergirl.

Even if I manage to catch her "good side."

The more beautiful things around the farm are attempting an appearance, albeit a bit early.

Iris my case,
~J

School Days

2011-11-09T15:43:00.003-06:00

My mom suggested an interesting blog topic the other day. Actually, it wasn't just the other day. It was more like two months ago, but when you're a student, time suddenly develops the dual characteristics of being very limited and not existing at all, all at the same time.

Only the academically-weary can comprehend what I just said. Moving along....

Anyway, she suggested that I do a post on how much college has changed since the last time I attended. While it's a good suggestion, I have struggled with how to exactly describe these changes.

Not the college I attend.

Here's a little background: I started junior college in 1996, graduating in 1998 with an A.A. (with honors) in English before going onto a state university, graduating from there in 2000 with a B.A. Cum Laude in English Literature. Then me wonders why no job.

Now it is 2011 and I am back in junior college--the same one, which does help a great deal with the comparison. However, I am not so sure it's college that has changed as much as I have changed. Lemme explain. Actually, because I am borderline-OCD, lemme outline:

(Yes. I know "lemme" is not a word.)

1. I am older. A shocking revelation, I know, but it's a fact that has a lot more impact than I ever expected. To over-simplify my relationships of the past, when I was younger and going to school the first time, I served as a pet-project for many--from certain teachers to my fellow non-traditional students. They sort of steered me into different directions that I didn't exactly request, but where I was happy to be nonetheless. I ended up doing a lot of things not because I sought it out, but because I was included by some well-meaning individual who decided to take me under their wing.

That doesn't happen now. I'm looked at as an adult (got them fooled, I guess), and while I have been flat-out told that some teachers enjoy having me in their classes, I am definitely not under anyone's wing. I have to look out for my own opportunities and have even had a difficult time searching out the process for the things I want to purposefully do. It's a different climate, to be sure, that I believe has more to do with the differences of how others perceived me in 1996 versus today.

2. Technology. I'm not so old that I had to use a typewriter for assignments, but I am old enough to remember when the computer lab did not take up an entire building (it was one room with a handful of computers in 1996). Today, I go to a "technology center" to get online, download and upload assignments, print handouts and study guides, and look at the course calender to coordinate my school and work schedules. In lab, instead of recording and writing down the data from the experiments, a computer with various measuring devises is calibrated and used not only to measure our data, but to record it so once we're at home, we can download the information and use it to write our reports. Next semester I even have a science lab "online." I hope we don't have to do any dissections. That could get messy.

In addition to this shift in technology, there is also a significant shift in how online research is perceived. In 1996 "google" was something you did when your neighbors in the apartment above yours had a party and one of the drunks peed off their balcony and onto yours. Online "research" was looked down on and strongly discouraged. Now days, written in my lab manual, are terms suggested specifically for online research.

3. Life. In 1996, I had a small apartment, one pet (a California kingsnake), a Honda CRX that got 5 billion miles to the gallon and I was able to walk to the grocery store half a block away. In 2011, I drive 100 miles a day to get to school, own a private zoo, and although my car gets good gas mileage, it still costs me $10 per day in fuel. I'd tighten my belt a little more, but it's already cutting off circulation.

Am I blue? Am I blue? Ain't these tears in my eyes telling you? Gives that song a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

And it's not just the expense. In 1996 I waited tables and went to school, like I do now, but I also lived in town and had few responsibilities. Now, in addition to waiting tables and going to school, I have to pick up extra shifts to keep everyone in the lap of luxury *cough*, I spend two full hours a day just driving, have my hobby farm to take care of (which is more time-consuming per head than ever before because of the drought), and add to that my self-schooling on how to help manage a full-fledged farm and this all makes for one very sleep-deprived blond (a dangerous combination indeed).

4. Stress. Funny thing is that I don't remember a lot of stress from the first time around. Maybe I just forgot? Maybe I'm less adaptable now? No, that couldn't be it at all. I am a pillar of flexiblity.

I will pause a minute to allow you to stop laughing hysterically and compose yourselves.

....

I am somewhat surprised, though, by how much has not changed. There is still a wide variety of students--from every age, income, race, etc., so it's not that I'm the odd duck out (not this time, at least). The teachers still care very much about wanting their students to succeed. I still forget to do some assignments and try to cram them in at the last minute. I still am accused of being an "over-achiever." I just got my second invitation to join Phi Theta Kappa honors society, although I think it would be weird to go back into it a second time around, after being so heavily involved with it the first time (I was chapter president and state vice president).

No, I think this time I'll just me a "regular" student. Whatever that is. After all, being "regular" at my age is a good thing.

~Ol' J

A Little Late

2011-11-08T18:49:00.000-06:00

April showers...

bring November headaches.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining (ok, I sort of am), but it would have been nice to have all this rain...say..in JUNE!?!?

I feel really bad for the horses. When it started raining, it was almost 70 degrees out--way too hot to put their waterproof blankets on, and now that they are all wet, I can't put their blankets on as the liners would get wet and make the horses even colder than they are, so unfortunately they have to tough it out tonight.

Never mind the fact that they have destroyed a brand new bale of prairie hay in two days, smashing most of it into the mud, rendering it inedible. Never mind that they have $8,000 worth of custom-ordered, brand-new shelters available to them. Instead they choose to stand out in the cold rain. All money well-spent.

Swine horses.
~J

Stingy Jack

2011-10-28T09:53:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder why we carve Jack O'Lanterns on Halloween, or even where the name "Jack O'Lantern" comes from?

An old Irish legend tells of a worthless man named Stingy Jack, who was a mean old thief always up to no good. One day Stingy Jack stole some items from the church and as the villagers were chasing him through the woods he stumbled across the Devil who told him it was time for him to die. Stingy Jack told the Devil that he could capture many more souls if he would turn himself into a coin and then when the villagers found Jack, he would offer the coin in return for the items he had stolen.

The Devil agreed and turned himself into a coin and jumped into Jack's pocket. However, one of the crosses that Jack had stolen was also in that pocket, so when the Devil jumped in he lost all of his powers. Jack buttoned the pocket and told the Devil he would only let him out if he agreed never to take his soul. The Devil agreed and Jack let him out.

Years later, when Stingy Jack died, he was not allowed into heaven because of the worthless life he had led, and because of his deal with the Devil, he was not allowed into hell, either. Stingy Jack was forced to wander the earth at night and when he complained to the Devil that he could not see, the Devil threw him an ember from the fires of hell. Stingy Jack took a turnip, carved it into a lantern and put the ember inside.

Now days we don't use turnips, and we don't carry our Jack O'Lanterns around to light our way, but we do use them to illuminate...to tell sort of a story, don't we? To check out some true works of Jack O'Lantern art, visit Gypsy Mare Studios.

~Stingy J

I Can't Dance, Either

2011-10-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

OK, I know this is cheating a little, because I posted this video before, but I think it is even more fitting now than it was then, considering Halloween is fast approaching as well as my current state of being (i.e., between work, school, and getting the farm ready for winter I'm not much more than a walking shell of the human being I once was). So...enjoy!

And if you find yourself in a bind on Halloween, just remember, zombies can't dance.~J

I'm Looking Through You

2011-10-25T22:41:00.001-05:00

In honor of Halloween being just around the corner, I thought I'd help get everyone in the "spirit" by posting this:

The Beatles and The Muppets--two classics! Halloween couldn't get any better if I had a bowl full of candy corn.

Or could it?

Stay tuned, boys and ghouls!
~J

Someday, Sunday

2011-10-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

This was quite a productive weekend for me. I was able to find some very basic grass hay for the horses to play in between their morning and evening feedings, which due to my hectic schedule, can sometimes run as far apart as 5am to 1am.

The kids were sure to tear into it right away...

...and spread it all over the place as much as possible.

It makes for a good scratching post as well.

This grass hay isn't meant to replace their usual meals as it is a mix of old grass and new and basically has little to no nutritional value, but since the horses have zero pasture access and very little hay available because of the drought, these bales will serve as basically a boredom-reducer.

Fabian agrees--it's not great, but it's something....

Then Fabian tells me not to speak for him anymore.

You don't see Bambi in these pictures because unfortunately we had a pretty scary episode of some sort of colic/digestive distress happen Thursday afternoon through Friday and after an emergency trip to the vet my wonderful friends over at Painted Prairie Farm offered to put Bambi in their "intensive care" area of their ranch so she can have eyes on her 24/7 as she recovers. I missed class Friday, which will really set me behind, and I had to work Friday night and was not able to get out of my shift, so I am truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life to help me out in a bind like this. Bambi is in terrific hands and will hopefully be well enough to come home next week. Since some days I am gone for up to 20 hours, it makes perfect sense that she be somewhere where she can be watched at all times.

It was a scary and exceedingly stressful situation, but I am blessed to have wonderful friends help me through it.

This weekend Dad also made more progress on the south building's roof, which I'll post about soon. The chickens and turkeys got plenty of time outside their pen as well. One little hen took the time to smell the marigolds.

Marigolds really don't have that great of a smell, which I think she discovered.....

The dogs also stretched their legs!

Sophie was beside herself with joy because she got to travel so much with me this weekend. Saturday morning she accompanied me to the co-op so I could get a couple of tires patched (one on the trailer and the other on the truck), and then she went with me to get the hay bales. Silly girl is a travel'n dog.

I also had a bit of good news over the weekend--Gray Kitty is back! I had three cats fixed at the beginning of this year--Milton, his momma, and his sister, Gray Kitty. Well, gray kitty promptly disappeared, seemingly unable to forgive me for her ordeal at the vet.

I had no idea what happened to her, but assumed she had been either eaten by a coyote or strayed off to a neighbor's farm. However, this weekend, she arrived and announced I would be feeding her as much as she could eat at all times.

These barn cats know I'm a sucker. Right Momma?

In case you don't speak kitteh, that face means "yes ma'am!"

Fluent in Feline,
~J

Saturday Night

2011-10-23T10:05:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night, everyone gets together in their finest.

The girls get all dolled up and sit at the bar, chatting with their girlfriends.

The boys arrive and start strutting their stuff.

The girls continue chatting and drinking....

And then--uh oh--it's him again....

Hello ladies. Funny seeing you chicks here again.

Can I buy you hens a drink?

No thanks, Harold--they're free.

Then before Harold knows it, his competition bellies up to the bar.

Um, excuse me...I was sitting there.

The competition leaves and poor Harold is left to drown the pangs of rejection.

Just another typical Saturday night on the farm,
~J

The Diet

2011-10-22T21:33:00.001-05:00

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that one of the issues I've struggled with is losing weight.

Don't we all?

Well, I think I've finally figured it out. Of course it's easy to say "eat less and exercise more," and that is the truth. But what do you do when you are exercising more and eating less and the weight still isn't coming off? What do you do when you find yourself trying to count calories, exercise until your body breaks down, and the scale doesn't move for over a year?

I tell you, dear friends, I think I found the solution. And lucky you, I will even share this most awesome secret to weight loss. Listen up, here's what you do:

Oops, sorry! That's not it. Wrong graphic. The graphics department has been sacked. And a moose once bit my sister.

Anywho, here's what you do:

1. First, you get laid off and despite much searching, applying, and many interviews, you are unable to get a job of appropriate wage. In the meantime your savings gets sucked through an inter-spacial vacuum never to be seen or heard from again. Unemployment cuts you off because they say you have no money left in Tier 1, but you don't qualify for Tier 2 because you have money left in Tier 1. Then you die.

2. Second, you decide to go back to school, apply, get in, get all your i's crossed and t's dotted (strike that--reverse it), and then apply to many minimum-wage jobs, begging on all fours for them to please work around your weird, strung-out school schedule. The only one who agrees (as they ask you to stop groveling) is a corporate restaurant who hires you as a server.

3. Third, work many hours on your feet, walking as fast as you can at all times while carrying hot food, cold drinks, heavy, dirty plates, while weaving in and out of other-server-traffic for minuscule pay; walk all over campus with a heavy backpack; then (and this is of utmost importance) be so poor that you can't afford to buy food! It really helps the latter if you have animals that you are responsible for keeping fed, so that any income you do manage to eek out of your employment goes directly into the bellies of your critters instead of you.

Nicole Richie must have a lot of critters....

I do believe if you follow these steps, like I have, you will see the same success on the scale. In three months I have lost twenty pounds and am down a jean size (the smallest size I've been since the first time I went to junior college). Of course I had to sell my soul to buy a few pairs of jeans in my new size, but I never did need that thing anyway.

Dieting is just wishful shrinking,
~J

By Any Other Name

2011-10-13T17:33:00.000-05:00

"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." ~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

My parents named me sort of weird, which is fitting, don't you think? My legal name is not "Jessica." It's Jessie, which was oh so much fun for me in kindergarten when the hit song at the time was "Jesse's Girl." Never mind that the "Jesse" in that song was a boy. Never mind that I was already at a social disadvantage being the tallest kid, by far, in my entire class, had feet the size of canoes, and was incredibly awkward and nerdy already. I had that stink'n song to live down.

Thank you Mom, Dad, DNA and Rick Springfield.

I survived, albeit scarred for life, and although I do get called "Jessica" quite a bit, I don't really mind. After all I've been called much worse. People who do so might as well call me George, though, since "Jessica" isn't my name. I did have a boss who called me "Jamie" the entire time I worked for him. Eventually I stopped correcting him and just went with it.

The only time I ever really mind is when someone who is named "Jessica" goes by "Jessie" and then I come along and they ask me if they can call me something else since they already call "Jessica" "Jessie." It's like, hey, man--you stole MY name. Get your own.

Then they typically do call me something else, I suspect, although it's not to my face.

I was named after my dad's Sunday School teacher. Her name was "Jessie" (not Jessica), too. My dad said she was a very kind woman, which is nice. Then he said she died a slow and painful death to cancer, which is not nice. When he told me the latter I had to wonder, why did he give me this name again?

And then people wonder why I'm the way I am.

My parents were going to name me Brandi but then my uncle named his dog Brandi, so my parents didn't want to name me after my uncle's dog. Come to find out, though, much to the pleasure of the more immature members of my school group that were on our trip to Ireland, there was a dog in County Kerry at Rascal's The Old Schoolhouse named Jessie. So I'm still named after a dog. You may draw whatever conclusions you would like from there.

And now you know the rest of the story,
~George

Trouble

2011-10-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

I got arrested.

Let me start at the beginning. Since I spend a lot of time in my car, driving the hour back and forth to the "city" where I go to school and work, I have to be sure to try to keep my car as clean as possible or it would get out of hand very quickly. I often stop at gas stations even if I don't need anything, just to throw out the trash from in my car (empty cups, fast-food wrappers, etc). I never had any problems with doing this before, up until today, anyway.

I pulled up to the gas station pump, gathered up the trash from my car--a couple of empty cups and an empty Wendy's paper sack--threw it into the trash receptacle and drove away. A few minutes later I heard sirens behind me and saw a flash of lights in my rearview mirror. I wasn't speeding, so at first I didn't even think they were pulling me over. However, as I pulled my car over to the right and saw the police car doing the same, I began to worry.

What in the world could I have gotten pulled over for? I was obeying all traffic laws. My tags are up-to-date. I had my seatbelt on, like I always do. I just couldn't figure it out....

I went ahead and dug out my license and my registration, but as the cop approached the car he asked me to step out. What the heck? I was confused but I did as I was told. No sooner had I done so than he began asking me about where I had just come from and where I was going. I told him I was just on my way to class. Then he asked me about the gas station. I told him I had only stopped in to throw a couple of things away in the trash can.

Then he said something that really had me confused. He asked me, "Why did you leave without paying?" I was absolutely lost at this point. I told him, "I didn't know I had to pay to use their trash can." The next thing I knew I was wearing a pair of handcuffs and sitting in the back of a police car.

When I went in front of the judge I was asked again why I hadn't paid. At this point I was so flabbergasted that all sense of tact had left me. I exclaimed, "pay for what?!"

"For the gas." the judge retorted.

"I didn't get gas. I only threw a few things away, " I explained.

Then the judge asked, "Well, can you prove that?"

"Um...can you prove I got gas and didn't pay?" I was completely and absolutely at a loss as to what was going on. Why in the world would I be arrested just for not paying for gas. I worked at a gas station many years ago and had drive-offs quite often, and no one was ever arrested. What was going on here?!

The judge explained, "You have the burden of proof here. Now, why did you assault an officer of the law?"

At this point I was at a complete loss. I had no memory of assaulting anyone. In fact, I have never even so much as hit anyone in my entire life. I didn't understand why a judge was asking me these questions, why I had no attorney, why things had gotten so out of hand so quickly. I needed to talk to someone I trusted. I needed to get someone to understand. I was innocent! This was all so utterly ridiculous!!

Then my alarm went off.

Trouble is my middle name,
~J

Questions

2011-10-09T19:57:00.003-05:00

In the course of changing paths in my life, I have met lots of new people and have encountered some of the same questions time and time again. I'm not complaining in the slightest--I actually really enjoy meeting new people, learning about them and of course if they ask me about myself that is all part of the process, right? I do find it interesting that I get a lot of the same questions and reactions to my responses over and over again.

For me, it almost becomes a study in human nature. I expect the responses and if I were in their shoes I'm sure I would do the same thing. As a sort of an "outsider," though, I get an unusual perspective and this allows me to not be surprised by the reactions of others as much as it allows me to study and analyze them.

It's just the geek in me, I suppose.

Here's how the Q&A usually goes:

Them: "So Jessie, how many kids do you have?"
Me: "None."
Them: "Did you say...'None?!'"
Me: "Yep," I say nonchalantly with a smile.
Them: "But...uh....what are you...like...in your thirties?!"
Me: "Yes, I'm 36."
Them: "Oh, you don't like kids?"
Me: "No, I like kids."
Them: "So...uh...why don't you have any?"
Me: "I just never found myself in a place in my life where I felt I was responsible enough to care for another human being."
Them: "Oh. Are you married?"
Me: "Divorced."
Them: "So are you with anyone?"
Me: "Nope, just me."

Awkward silence. Crickets chirping in the background....

This is how I imagine they think I must feel.

I can understand to someone who has several kids, a spouse/significant other, etc that it would seem very odd for someone to live by themselves and probably completely foreign to them that a person could be very content to do so. I suppose I could easily be psychoanalyzed and a conclusion could be drawn that because of previous bad experiences I am afraid to set myself up for any more emotional pain, that I'm distrusting of others, or that I'm a control freak and bringing more people into the mix in the form of a significant other and/or children would throw my OCD out of whack.

Or, one could just say, that I am perfectly content being the captain and crew of my own ship for the time being. If that changes, then that's just dandy, but I'm just not into trolling the shores desperately searching for a crew. Shiver me timbers, you know?

I honestly don't know what the answer is. I just know that I feel like I'm not in any hurry at all to have kids. If it ends up being "too late," that's ok by me. If something changes in my life that I do get to have a child then that would be fine, too. The way I see it, I have many more basic things to worry myself over at the moment--changing careers, building my home, becoming financially stable. A lot would have to come together for me to justify caring for another human being in any capacity. Struggling is difficult enough when you're on your own, but being in this situation with a family--well, that would be truly devastating.

Perhaps it is my lack of a sense of urgency that is unsettling to many people. I hear this a lot: "Aren't you afraid to die alone?" Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everyone dies alone. There's no great leap into the clouds, hand-in-hand. Even the people who I have been close to when they died passed away when no one was in the room. Honestly, even if we were there, I'm not sure if they would have even known. For the animals I have had to put down, I am not sure if their death was any "easier" being close to someone who cared about them. Death is an ugly, difficult thing. Unfortunately there's just no getting around that part, but what we can change is everything we do with our lives up until that point.

We're born alone. We die alone. It is what we do in between that really matters.

If my "in between" doesn't include reproducing, I'm not sure that it means that my life was incomplete. I know there is a lot of joy that people derive from their families, but there is a lot of heartache as well. I have friends with kids and friends without kids and I cannot honestly say that one group has a better life than the other, in either case. There are both happy and unhappy people in both groups. What I see, that separates the "full lives" from the others, is their willingness to LIVE their lives, no matter who they are with. The ones that embrace their lives, that do what they can to experience the things that they love, seem to be the happiest people I know. The ones that don't make excuses, that love themselves, that purposefully seek out ways to have fun--just plain old fun--are the ones that have the fullest lives.

I'm not sure what the future holds for me. I used to think I could plan out the path ahead of me but now I know it is futile. All I can do is do my best each day, be thankful for what I have, and hope for the best.

Oh, and have fun. Have lots...of...fun!
~J

Never Say Never

2011-10-07T23:49:00.003-05:00

I've learned never to say "never" anymore.

I used to say "never" all the time. I used to say I'd never live in Missouri.

And then I lived in Missouri.

I used to say I'd never live in Texas.

Then I lived in Texas.

I remember when I lived in Arizona, the property my ex found to rent had an old chicken coop on it. We had to clean it out so we could use it as hay storage and I think it was the first time in a decade that the building had been cleaned out. It was the nastiest, most dusty, most disgusting thing I've ever had to clean and on that day I swore I'd never own chickens.

Well, we all know how that story went, don't we?

I also swore I'd never own a mutt. I'd also never own a puppy. I'd also never own a little dog.

Sophie wiped out all those nevers with one loving look from those darling brown eyes. Of course since then I've gotten another small puppy (Evie) as well, just to make it official.

So now days I don't ever say "never." Instead, I say "I don't see that happening," except for one statement:

"I will never win the lottery."

So far fate hasn't proven me wrong, but I am daring it to.

Make My Day,
~J

An Award

2011-10-06T00:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much to Annette at News from Aspen Meadows for this wonderful award!

I've had a bit of writer's block lately, so this helps me decide what to write about for today! I am supposed to award this to 15 newly-discovered blogs (which not all of these are necessarily newly-discovered since I haven't had much free time lately) and I sure don't mean/hope I don't leave anyone out, but here's what I can pull together right now:

http://oneoldcowgirl.wordpress.com/
http://www.fountaincitysoccer.com/
http://fantastykvoyage.blogspot.com/
http://transitiontoharmony.blogspot.com/
http://natalietraver.blogspot.com/
http://tnicolej.blogspot.com/
http://quartersforme.blogspot.com/
http://honeysucklefaire.blogspot.com/
http://gypsymare.blogspot.com/
http://krazycindy.blogspot.com/
http://www.vintagewestphoto.com/
http://ayearwithhorses.blogspot.com/
http://larainydays.blogspot.com/
http://artbygail.blogspot.com/
http://sandysandysweblog.blogspot.com/

Next, I'm supposed to say seven things about myself. Hmmm....therein lies the problem. I'm just not that interesting at the moment! But I'll give it the ole college try, anyway!

1. Over the last few weeks I've been making a concerted effort to face many of my fears. This sort of got started because I've got an A (so far) in Chemistry I. Lemme explain. No, not enough time. Lemme summarize: My whole academic and career-life I have purposefully avoided any path that would require me to take chemistry because in high school it was the only class that didn't come easy for me. Cut to me now in my mid-thirties, scared to death of having to take this class but realizing taking it is the only way I am going to get anywhere in my life and what happens? I have an A. I got a 97% on my last test. It is by no means easy for me, but I think I'm doing ok.

Moral of the story is that I was dumb-de-dumb-dumb for being so scared. I keep thinking of how differently my life would be if I hadn't been so scared of this one class. That leads me to wonder how much fear is dictating other areas of my life, so I've been knocking down those fears one by one. One of them has been posting pictures of myself, rather than just pictures of my animals (who are soooo much cuter), online. You may have even noticed I posted a couple of rare pictures of myself a few posts ago. Here's one I took and posted yesterday:

You cannot imagine how painful it is for me to do this, but I am doing it simply because it is painful. Hopefully it's not too painful for my readers. If it is, my apologies to both of you.

2. I am also trying so hard to get all my positive mojo back. It all faded away when I had to face the fact that I had to wait tables again, watched all my hard-earned savings go away and return back to the days of constant financial struggle (way too soon, I might add). I've gotten quite adept at throwing pity-parties for myself and frankly I am just sick of myself. Everyone goes through hardships. Everyone has a story to tell. I kept thinking "oh poor me, not again," but hell, I should be GOOD at this by now, right? I am nothing if I am not resourceful as all get out!

3. I have recently discovered Robert Newman:

Brilliant! "No one is that popular."

4. I just found out a couple of weeks ago that my paternal grandfather took pilot lessons for a while. My dad said, "He was always trying something new...just like someone else I know," while he stared at me. I have no idea what he's talking about.

On a completely unrelated note, I am going to try my hand at synchronized water-ballet. I just have to find someone willing to help me haul some water to the pond out on the north-40 so I can get to practice'n.

5. Contrary to popular belief, I don't drink (much) or do drugs. Now that I've stopped stress-eating (which hasn't been as much of a triumph of willpower as it has been a lack of sufficient income to fund said habit), I find that I have an opening for an experienced bad habit. Must be willing to work overtime and be on-call at a moment's notice. Apply in person--no phone calls, please.

6. I didn't have to go to work or school today, so I slept in, worked out, then went outside and turned my compost pile, cleaned out the chicken coop, unloaded the truck (that was full of old wooden shingles) and filled it back halfway up with the same (Dad and I are re-roofing the south shed--more on that later). It was just another nice, relaxing day on the farm!

7. I was adopted, but they gave me back.

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
~J

Do, do.

2011-09-27T21:58:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think I've bitten off more than I can chew.

Of course, I'm not really sure I had any choice in the matter. I suppose I could have stayed on unemployment until I was able to get a job, but anyone who knows me knows why I couldn't do that. I have never been on any sort of assistance before in my life and it was extremely difficult for me to even file for unemployment. The last thing I wanted to do was sit around and wait for opportunity to knock. I'm the type that I'd rather go crashing through doors asking, "Anyone seen opportunity here? I'm looking for him. OK, will let me know if he shows up...and sorry about your door!"

And besides, did I really want to go back to sitting behind a desk all day? No thank you.

So, I'm working hard at school, finally have straight A's (while keeping fingers crossed I can maintain that through the rest of the semester), working hard at work to keep my critters and car fed, and then me if there's anything left, and trying to keep my head above water in all aspects.

I have finally figured out a career path that will enable me to have multiple final career options, but in the meantime giving me a live-able salary while I advance my training and education. I'm going to apply to the RN program at the school I'm going to now, try to complete it in two or three semesters instead of four, and then work while I apply to both the PA program and the B-RN programs at WSU. There are basically two paths I can take to the same job (Nurse practitioner/Physicians assistant) so I'm trying to cover all my bases. Everyone and their dog wants to be a PA, so it is highly competitive (400 applications last year and they only accept 40) and I had no idea how to get clinical experience (necessary to be accepted into the PA program) without any formal training, so going the RN route will give me two options simultaneously--the clinical experience I need as well as the option to pursue the Nurse practitioner route. That's the plan, man...we'll see how it changes the more I get into these programs and my research. I really don't have much room for error given my law school debt, so I have to absolutely make the most out of every opportunity I can.

I've been a little wore out in pretty much every way, so despite all this emotional, intellectual, and financial stress that I've endured over the past couple of months, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I've lost over 20 pounds since my grandmother's funeral. It actually sounds more impressive than it actually is, since after I got laid off I gained 12, so my net loss from my plateau weight is only 8+ lbs, but at least it's heading in the right direction. Pilates are also getting so much easier--I can even do the advanced moves now, and instead of a "workout" it's become a way for me to stretch and relax before I go to bed. If I can pull off a couple more pounds I will officially be off this stink'n plateau that has plagued me for so long, so wish me luck! I do feel pretty darned good, and I guess, due to working on my feet, I've lost a full 2" off my thigh, which is probably too much information, but I feel like we're all friends here and I can share, right? Right.

That's the good news. The bad news is that I haven't been able to run much because I keep pulling my left calf. I decided I probably wouldn't make it to the Prairie Fire 5K, so let my good friend Alan, who was going to run it with me, know. The problem is that my good friend Alan didn't realize that I love to talk about doing things, but never actually end up doing them. He was under the mistaken impression that I was a "do-er," so he registered for the race! I have no idea where he got the impression that I actually do things...I mean, when do I DO things? So now I'm in do-do because I have to actually do what I said. I'm not sure I can handle the pressure! Ack! The horror!!!!

(Alan, you know I only mention you because I know you can take it :)

So today I went for a run. I went three miles, running half of it, which I didn't think was too awful considering it's been a while since I've run much at all. My calf held up, despite my hamstring on that leg tightening, so I was thrilled that I might be able to start pushing myself a little more. I've taken the time off work and will actually have to commit to it now.

And then afterward, there will be celebration unlike any celebration ever seen.

Yep, something like that.
~J

Dear NBC

2011-09-22T23:18:00.000-05:00

Dear NBC,

While I admit I don't watch TV regularly, I do enjoy the episodes of The Biggest Loser that I manage to catch every now and then. I see that your Department of Workout Challenge Creativity has been working overtime, trying to come up with the most outrageous, exciting, and challenging...um...challenges possible for the BL contestants.

Well, I have some good news for you. I have, in my possession, a piece of property of limitless challenge-potential. For example, between work and school, in the past two weeks I have been clearing out part of the shelter belt. I started with this:

I have been sawing, digging, pruning, pulling, yanking, dragging, lifting, pushing, piling...and even climbing:

And I've only gotten this far.

This is only one minor example of the plethora of possibilities that exist on my little farm for BL challenge after challenge! There is a house in need of repair, buildings to tear down, fencing to build, water and electric lines to lay, etc. There are even roofs to be done (plenty of lifting, climbing, picking up old shingles, and hauling them away).

I know this might seem like an offer too good to be true, but I would offer this property for your use free of charge! You could easily spend an entire season here, issuing challenge after challenge. It might not be "the ranch," but I'm sure there is more than enough work(outs) to be done around this ranch. Feel free to contact me to set up a tour.

Last chance handout,
~J

Grandma's Legacy

2011-09-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

You might remember that my Grandma McCandless passed away at that age of 89 in April.

I always knew that my grandmother was the hardest worker there ever was and the woman could make a dollar stretch further than anyone else I've ever even heard of. However, now that her estate is being settled, I'm just now finally grasping the magnitude of just how hard she worked her entire life.

She didn't just work hard--she did so much more. It's difficult to imagine the sacrifices she made, even in her final years. She had enough assets to be considered a multi-millionaire, but I recently found out that the stove on her back porch wasn't there just because someone hadn't gotten around to hauling it off for her. It was there because it was her oven. I'll explain: the stove in the kitchen worked, except for the oven, so rather than go out and spend money on a new stove, she kept an even older stove on the backporch of her old farmhouse so when she wanted to bake, she'd go outside and put whatever it was she was cooking in the oven. She had more than enough money for a new stove but she didn't buy one.

After finding this out, I felt like the most spoiled brat in the universe. I think I make a sacrifice because my smartphone is two years old or my computer is five years old. Thinking of my grandma, I don't know what the meaning of sacrifice is.

Even more amazing is that my grandpa and her started with nothing in their early 40's. I guess they were so poor when my dad was born that he almost died from malnourishment. They struggled for a long time before finally starting to make a home for themselves and their family, and completely on their own they turned nothing into a fairly sizable estate. It gives me a lot of hope. I sit here, throwing a pity-party for myself because I'm in my mid-thirties and I feel like all that I've done--earning a B.A. Cum Laude, going to law school, working my butt off, has all been for nothing. But then I think of my grandparents and they struggled and made many more sacrifices than I will ever even know, and yet they still made a good life for themselves.

Some of the things my grandma did exhaust me just thinking about them. Even after things started improving for them financially, my grandma never changed her penny-pinching ways. She had a veggie garden every year and canned what they needed for the entire winter off of it. She slaughtered chickens on her own, ringing their necks two at a time, then butchering them and making food from every part. When the church didn't have a pianist, she took it upon herself to teach herself to play the piano. She was an accomplished painter as well (I will get some pictures soon and post them). She sewed so many quilts that we lost count of how many there must have been--some long ago were used up but I am lucky enough to have two mint-condition ones packed away. She also knitted afghans and house slippers. She picked sandplums and made jelly, made homemade pickles that I hear were to-die for, and could fry a piece of meat unrecognizable (you didn't know what you were eating, but it was always good). She could have retired many years ago with more than enough money to live on for the rest of her days, but she continued building up the farm and working hard long after my grandfather passed on.

It wasn't just what she did that made her so amazing, either. Many things that she said would make you take a step back and go "huh." Some things were downright funny, too. One time my dad, uncle, grandma and I were eating at the local Mexican restaurant and she ordered a tostada. The waiter asked if she wanted beans or rice with it. Her response was, "How should I know?!" That poor waiter--the look on his face. He didn't know what to do but she had the rest of us in stitches. Another time we were out with my sister when she had Invisi-lines, which you have to remove to be able to eat. While my sister was taking out the Invisi-lines and putting them in their case, my grandma asked her, "Are you putting in your eat'n teeth?"

The last time I had dinner with my grandmother, we went to Applebees with my uncle, my cousin, and his family, and I sat next to Grandma. She ordered the fried shrimp and I asked her if she ate the tails, since that's what Dad does. She said she didn't, and she said she didn't know why Dad did that. At the end of her meal she turned to me, pointed at the shrimp tails, and asked, "Do you want to take these home to your dad?" She also mentioned on the drive to the restaurant the story of one of the Chilean miners who had both his wife and mistress waiting for him to surface. She just thought that was the funniest thing she ever heard. She told me, "If I were him I'd just stay down there!" I didn't know that would be the last dinner I'd get to have with my grandma, but I remember pretty much every minute of it--I hang onto it and that truly lovely time we got to spend together that one last time.

I know I can never be the woman my grandmother was, but she has definitely left a lasting legacy with everyone she knew. I feel very lucky to get to be able to hear all these stories that are surfacing now that she is gone and being able to put together the pieces of a truly remarkable life. My grandmother worked up until the day she went into the hospital, even though she didn't have to. Although she's finally at rest, I think in her own way she is still working hard--inspiring those who knew her. Her story tells me that my own isn't over yet.

Neglected

2011-09-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

My poor kids.

The dogs suffer so. They're inside the house all day long, abandoned and having to do without ~~the attention they crave.~~

My poor, terribly-abused horses have been going without as well.

They took it upon themselves to right the wrongs done to them. They weren't going to take it any longer. Before I knew it they had gathered the troops and surrounded the enemy. And pulled on her pony tail, just in case she didn't get the hint.

In all seriousness, I have felt the pangs of pet-owner guilt over the last few weeks. I haven't had much time to spend with any of my animals. This stress has been compounded by the fact that I haven't had any hay in my barn for three weeks now. I've had to rely solely on a mixture of beet pulp, dehydrated hay and a timothy/alfalfa pellet mix that I've devised. While my horses have lost a bit of their bloom, I am happy that they haven't lost nearly as much weight as I feared they would.

I'm holding out, waiting to see if my hay guy can get one last cutting. I am caught in a dilemma of either waiting on what I know would be great, reasonably-priced hay, or not waiting, driving a long ways and paying a premium price for hay of questionable quality. Stupid drought.....

Evie is thinking long and hard about this conundrum.

The turkeys contemplate. What, I don't know.

Perhaps Sophie can find the solution.

I'm sure the answer to everything--my pangs of guilt over the animals not getting enough attention, the lack of hay, world peace--will be as clear as the shadow on the wall.

And when it does, it should help my fowl mood a great deal.

"Victory is ours!"
~J

I Won the Lottery!!

2011-09-15T22:48:00.003-05:00

Not really. I got your attention, though, right?

I keep thinking that I really need something good to happen right now. I am under so much stress. I find myself snapping at people when I don't mean to at all. I'm tense. I'm on edge. I'm exhausted all the time. My allergies are killing me (thanks, drought). I think I've got ten more gray hairs in the last two weeks.

I know some of my friends would tell me to slow down and have a margarita, but I'm so broke (both financially and time-wise) that I can't afford such luxury. Even though there are days that I haven't eaten because my animals eat first and/or there is just no time, I haven't lost any weight--I'm all swollen from my allergies, which makes my back hurt and turns me into H.R. Puffyface, so I look and feel like crap.

However, I think I'm going to make a choice. I'm going to take all that crap and turn it into crappe!

I just have to figure out how to do that.

Hmmm....okey dokey. Well, maybe I did get a bit carrie-d away. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. So punny!!

Tomorrow we'll be back to our irregularly-scheduled program (whatever that is),

I'll Tell You Something You Don't Know...Maybe

2011-09-14T23:07:00.000-05:00

1. If someone found my phone and decided to check out what music I've been listening to, they'd find this:

And then this:

To say my taste in music is a bit erratic might be an understatement.

By the way, in my humble opinion Maria Callas was why Madama Butterfly was created. I can't bring myself to listen to anyone else sing the part. Oh, and The White Stripes are bad-ass.

2. I studied a total of 12 hours for my chemistry polyatomic quiz and let me tell you, the results weren't pretty. However, I studied for a grand total of five minutes for my other two tests this week, which I scored 96% and 93% on. The only thing this proves is that I can't win.

3. When I was a kid I took SEVEN years of dance (ballet, jazz, and tap) lessons. That's me right there in the middle, in the pink.

As an adult my lack of coordination is epic. Sad.

4. I was lucky enough to watch Nolan Ryan pitch his last no-hitter on May 1, 1991 in Texas. I still have the ticket stub, although unfortunately most of the ink has faded from it. However, I do have a few crappy pictures as well!

Of course I didn't know back then what I had seen. I am proud to say I have a much stronger appreciation for baseball now.

5. Speaking of Texas, after having worked at a horse facility for nine months back in 2007, I still can't grow thumbnails. Hmmm...workman's comp? Probably not, but I do miss my thumbnails.

Over and Out,
~J

Buttons and Bows

2011-09-13T06:35:00.001-05:00

Life on the farm isn't too exciting right now--mostly homework, chores, working, and more homework. So, for today, I thought you might enjoy this clip from one of my childhood favorites. A bit cheesy, yes, but still a classic nonetheless.

I dare you to watch this and not crack a smile.....

I was peaches, I was cream, I was captain of the team!
~J

Remember

2011-09-11T08:31:00.000-05:00

Everyone remembers where they were that day.

I remember I was at home, watching the news while getting ready for class. Then a special report came on. At first, of course, no one knew the magnitude of the events that would follow the initial breaking story: that one of the World Trade Center towers was on fire. As I watched the burning building on TV, the plane hit the second tower and I will never forget the newscaster gasping in horror right along with so many of us watching at home. Then the news of the Pentagon...then the truly heroic sacrifices of those who crashed in the field in Pennsylvania.

What I also remember is the uncertainty of the rest of the day. I called KU Law--class was still on. I drove to Lawrence from our house in Tonganoxie and the road was oddly deserted, until, at least, I got into Lawrence. As I drove into town I noticed every gas station on the main road had lines that overflowed onto the road and down it for several blocks. The signs on the gas station said $5 and $6 per gallon. I looked down at my gas gauge--thankfully well over half a tank. I didn't think (in other words, I hoped) that I wouldn't have to line up for gas. Surely we couldn't be facing something that would prevent us from getting fuel, would we? And even if we did, how would our survival be assured by getting that last tank of gas?

Before going to class I went by the bank where my then-fiance (and now ex-husband) was working. We sat in the car and talked. What did all this mean for our country? For ourselves? He agreed--there was no reason to line up for gas. Either we didn't need it, or if we did, that last bit wasn't going to make any significant impact on what would happen to us in that kind of world.

I went to class, but it was difficult to concentrate. The events were mentioned briefly and then it was on to business. In between classes I went to the library to check the news--what else was going on? We didn't know if the attacks would continue. We never could have imagined anything like this happening in our country, so what else unimaginable would take place? I hope that this feeling is the closest I ever come to knowing what it must have been like for my grandparents, when my grandpa was stationed in California, waiting for the Japanese to invade. They were waiting, prepared to fight the Japanese to try to prevent them from advancing any further than the Rocky Mountains. Readying for that fight (which thankfully never happened) must have been like waiting for the next attacks following 9/11. Waiting, fearing the worst, wondering how many more would die, and not knowing if or when it would happen.....

I believe, for our generation, that this moment brought us out of the safety that we had known for so long (thanks to the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation) and into the harshness of reality. None of us want to recognize that terrible things can happen, especially to us. Today we remember these events and honor those who died innocently and heroically during this tragedy.

The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men.

Henry David Thoreau

Three Amigos--Encore

2011-09-09T07:32:00.001-05:00

This scene is tied for my favorite from this movie. About halfway through you'll figure out why.

Happy Trails,
Dusty Bottoms

Five Things

2011-09-08T20:41:00.000-05:00

1. I'm running on three hours of sleep. I worked late last night, drove home, did chores, then got up at 5am so I could make it to class at 8am, then worked the lunch shift, came home and have been doing homework pretty much all afternoon. This is how I live my life:

Therefore I cannot be held responsible for the content of this post. Reader, ye be warned.

Arg.

Sorry, my pirate tourettes is acting up again. Shiver me timbers....

2. My hair is getting rather long and now I can't decide whether to cut it to my usual shoulder-length style or go ahead and let it grow out to donate to Locks of Love again.

It's not quite this long...yet. However, it is getting to the point that I basically have only two hairstyles now--high pony tail or low pony tail.

And we all know what's under a pony's tail....

3. Hai, my name is Jessie McCandless and I'm writing this post in an effort to put off having to finish my chemistry homework.

Oh, did I mention I just joined Procrastinator's Anonymous?

*snort*

4. I am in LOVE with this:

I want, I want, I want, I want. http://www.shopruche.com/all-bright-and-beautiful-owl-night-light-p-8716.html

5. I can't have, I can't have, I can't have, because of this:

Ah, story of my life. Except for the moving in with parents. I'm just a familial squatter.

Ahoy, me hearties,

My pirate name is:

Iron Bess Flint

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Punday

2011-09-06T22:38:00.001-05:00

I don't know much, but I do know one thing--cooler weather can make all the difference. Just ask Milton's momma.

She's a cat on a lukewarm wooden roof.

I went to school today, came home, and got so much done! The turkeys supervised while I cleaned shop.

The bees were busy as...bees.

The chickens enjoyed their afternoon outside as well.

They "helped" me by cleaning up some of the rotten produce that I cleaned out of my garden.

They vacuumed up the veggies like little hoovers.

Or perhaps you could call them "Cluck Busters."

Okay, okay, Charlie--I promise no more puns!

And I will resist mentioning anything about having nice melons....

But I am pleased with how the watermelon and cantelope are coming along in this drought!

I threw one into the girls' pen that was a little too ripe to eat. Paula inspected it, but they weren't interested in my garden leftovers.

This marigold was in full bloom--seemingly defiant against the harsh conditions it survived this summer.

As I cleared out the weeds I discovered a nest my hens had made when they were still able to roam around free-range. Silly chickies.

After cleaning out my garden I did chores. Fabian is now separated from his mean old sisters.

He was losing some weight because they wouldn't let him eat and I'm not feeding extra like I used to since we are facing a significant hay shortage. So far Fabian seems to like being by himself ok...especially at feeding time!

Times like this make me miss the days of plenty. I yearn for the days I could let them eat alfalfa free choice--days that probably won't return again for many, many months, but we'll get by and no one is going hungry, which is the important thing.

I also managed to get some video of my rooster doing what he does best:

And that's what I call poultry in motion.

Labor Day

2011-09-05T19:46:00.005-05:00

I think the only way the past few days could have been better is if I had won the lottery. As a matter of fact, I feel almost like I had! The weather was absolutely gorgeous--our 100+ degree heat wave finally broke and it did so in grand style. Despite the fact that I didn't have to be anywhere or do anything I got quite a bit done. I also was able to relax and spend cherished time with family, ate way too much Mexican food (I swear last night I lapsed into a mexicoma), and got some stuff done for the animals.

For my birthday, Dad bought me some panels to extend the pen for the chickens and turkeys so when they're penned up all day they have a bit more room to roam.

This is my Americauna rooster--one of only two roosters remaining (the other is a Silkie). I think he's a pretty handsome devil, although not nearly the personality that my little cochin roos had.

I will feel a lot less guilty about them being locked up all day long during the days when I have to go to school and work.

Today the birds got to spend the entire day outside, though! They enjoyed every minute of it--I could tell....

Although it wasn't hot out, they still enjoyed time by the water spigot.

I am convinced they are fairly confused about what species they belong to. When I bought them they were in a cage right next to ducks, so perhaps I shouldn't be too surprised?

Although no work was done on the house this weekend I wanted to share what a huge change is taking place to the front right now.

In the picture below, you can see how the old trim looked. That trim is at least 120 years old, so it's a little past its expiration date. Plus, it doesn't help when half a tree falls on it (as it did during the ice storm in 2007--you can see where the storm window is broken).

Thank goodness it didn't break all the way through! I'm replacing all the windows, so no hurry to fix that storm window right now. Plus, you can see what an eyesore the old porch is in that picture--once that is replaced I think the house is going to look completely different!

Below is all of the finished work, with the guttering installed.

It's coming along, slowly, but surely. I feel so blessed to finally have a farm of my own and one day this house will be everything I ever wanted. I have no doubt it will be well worth the wait.

Hope status: returned :)

My Thirty-Faux Birthday

2011-09-04T00:37:00.003-05:00

*Sigh* Another year older. I'm not anywhere close to where I thought I'd be at this age, but things could be worse. I could have ended up with a cake like this:

I'm sure they meant that with love....

Milton had already begun the festivities before I even got home from work tonight.

He's such a good kitty. He saved the Patrón for me.

As for me, my plans include doing absolutely nothing (which is a VERY good thing) For the first time since school started, I don't have to drive anywhere or do anything all day long. I even cleaned house before work on Saturday just so I could relax in a nice clean house and not worry about a darned thing. Plus, as a seemingly fitting gift, a "cool" front has just moved through, breaking our 100+ degree heat wave! I think I will be enjoying some much-needed outdoor time tomorrow!

Reluctantly older, but wiser? Admittedly not.

Hour to Kill

2011-09-02T14:50:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here in the college library with an hour to kill before I have to go to work. I refuse to study (dammit) because I studied ALL night last night for the two tests I took today. I had forgotten that in college, the Friday before a holiday is evil.

I won't know until tomorrow how I did. I didn't run from the room screaming after either test, so that's a good sign....

I haven't had much free time at all over the past few weeks, so now I don't know what to do with myself. I could work out, if I had thought ahead enough to have brought my workout clothes. Oh well. Thinking ahead--what good would that do?! Silliness.

I could have written a good blog post, versus this one, but I didn't think enough ahead there, either.

I would really like to take a nap, but they tend to frown upon people sleeping on the computer desks in here. I probably shouldn't do that. Again.

They don't call me a Non-Traditional student for nuthin,

Say Goodbye, Summer

2011-09-01T20:43:00.004-05:00

This has been a really long, difficult, hot, dry summer. I usually love summer, but I am so ready to say goodbye to this one. I missed a lot of days posting because it has just been too depressing. It is difficult to find the humor, entertainment, or interest in everything that was once so beautiful dying around you.

This is one of the plants I lost--a beautiful yellow rose bush.

My cherry bushes dried up months ago, despite regular watering.

This very interesting plant didn't make it. It just got too hot.

My poor little blue spruce that my sister-in-law gave me was doing so well, even growing during the 100+ degree days, but the last few weeks, despite me bucketing water to it, it dried completely up and lost all of its needles.

Then evil terrorist dog came by and first killed my blue silkie hen.

Then he came back and killed two barred rocks and the turkey I called "Can't Get Right" (in the middle here, when he was younger). Of course he managed to make it through a failure-to-thrive episode only to be hunted down and eaten. Figures.... (so depressing)....

Then last night terrorist dog came back and killed my dear cochin bantam roos: the Mr Boucher twins :(

He killed a total of six MORE chickens, coming from his new home 25 miles away. He literally walked right past a bowl full of food (set out for the barn kitty) and killed both cochins, my buff orphington (pictured below--the blonde), an americauna hen and rooster...

...and he killed this beautiful sexlink hen here....

So...I'm down to 5 turkeys and 12 chickens now, and they're locked up until I can take care of the problem, so to speak. I feel terrible for them, having not only gone through these episodes but now they're locked up during this awful heat we're having.

Thankfully the horses are still doing well *knocking on wood* as is barn kitty, my own dogs and indoor cats. I'm keeping Milton inside at night until the terrorist is gone--I don't want to take chances, although Milton doesn't quite understand why he's grounded.

This is unfortunately a very unintentional bummer of a post, but when I look around and see everything burning up or getting eaten, I need a bit of an outlet. All I have left to say is I hope that next summer goes much better.....

"When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." ~Khalil Gibran

Classic....

2011-08-30T19:29:00.003-05:00

Once again, I endeavor to expand the repertoire of my vast *cough* audience, so that I may in some small way make a positive contribution to society. I present, for your consideration, a classic, born of great minds and performed by the best of the best. Enjoy!

You're welcome,
~J

Unorganized, Unrelated, and Under the Influence (not really)

2011-08-29T19:31:00.005-05:00

Randomness can be a good thing. For example, I bet you didn't know that this blog is part of my "get rich slow" scheme. It's working quite well.

Here's a picture of Bambi swatting a fly.

Yesterday I did Pilates and ran two miles for the first time since I started school. Today I said, "ouch."

Here's a picture of Fabian running.

In less than a week I will be celebrating my 35th birthday, the sequel. Not sure what my plans will be yet, but I do believe that they will include drinking heavily.

Here is another picture of Bambi.

Black dog showed up, I locked him up, and found out no shelters would take him because they won't accept animals from out-of-county and my county of a whole 4000 people has no shelter. I subsequently totally freaked out, then Dad found a home for him and drove him over there Sunday morning. He crapped all over my truck (the dog, not my dad), and I have been cleaning and fumigating ever since. The end.

Here is another picture of Bambi and Paula's butt.

I aced my first test but I have three more tests this week, a quiz and two lab reports due. I haven't slept for five days, because that would be too long.

Wait for it....

Today's History Lesson

2011-08-25T21:18:00.003-05:00

In an effort to ~~avoid having to write out a proper post~~ educate my vast audience (all two of you), I present for your consideration this video, which explains the War of 1812.

OK, it actually doesn't explain anything at all, but if you're like me and really didn't know what the War of 1812 was truly about, don't you feel a little bit better now that you know you aren't the only one?

I always like to keep my audience riveted,

This Dilapidated Farmhouse--Part 6

2011-08-24T23:13:00.004-05:00

Although many things are changing, I am very thankful that for the first time in a long time, my address won't be one of them. I am so happy to have this place that I can call my home and it provides me with the foundation upon which I'm trying to rebuild my new life.

And while rebuilding that life, I also happen to be rebuilding this old farmhouse as well. Progress is slow, but that's perfectly fine. The under-hang on the front of the house is coming along well and once it is in place and painted, it will definitely improve the curb appeal of this old place.

Unfortunately I'm at a standstill until that is finished, though, because the scaffolding prevents me from finishing the demolition project on the second floor. Once this heat breaks and the front is finished, though, I will be able to finish gutting out the upstairs and readying it for the new walls, doors, and running electricity and duct-work.

In the meantime, I am constantly gathering decorating ideas. If I happen to run across something I like online, I always save it. Here are a few of the pictures I've saved in the past few weeks:

I absolutely love the interest created by this unusual staircase.

The color scheme is consistent, but the pattern is changed, creating interest in a very unlikely place. My staircase isn't curved, but I do think it could work well for a straight staircase that is hidden in the middle of the house like mine is. You wouldn't see the stairs until you rounded the corner to go up them and then bam!--an unexpected accent. I love it!

I probably couldn't do anything like this specifically in my house, but I do love the combination of wood and stucco elements. It gives me some ideas....

A screen could feasibly be made from barn wood and set up behind a couch in a similar fashion, adding interest to a wall without the standard frame and pictures..... The barn wood would also be "in keeping with" the house's "rustic aesthetic."

Name that movie....

The next picture is your standard Pottery Barn fare (which is getting a little tiresome and predictable, in my opinion), but the reason I included it here is the combination of the wood planking with a splash of tropical-like color.

Personally, I think Pottery Barn has become way too comfortable with its standard decorating schemes. I would really like to see the concept I mentioned above pushed a little further (be brave, guys!). For example, distressed white wood paneling with a Queen Anne chair in this fabric, and a bright teal pillow. Shazam!

And those sisal rugs really need to go. They looked nice at one time, but they have NEVER been in any way nice to have (ever walked on one in bare feet--ouch!), and now they are *yawn* old news. Let's get a nice monochromatic, soft, antiqued-patterned area rug in there, or a pretty linen-type pattern!

This next picture shows the one thing I know for sure I would like in my kitchen--a pot rack made from antique pulleys and an old wooden ladder.

I die.

Kitchen are usually all about counter-tops and cabinets, but to see a different sort of focal point in a very otherwise typical room screams individuality without throwing off the whole space.

Otherwise, I would like my kitchen to look like this.

Please and thank you.

Gawd, just look at that floor. I love the old farmhouse table in the middle with the odd number of chairs as well. The thing is my kitchen could look very similar to this as I will have double doors similar to that at one end. Eventually.

For now it's the room I sleep in and on that note, it's time for bed. Hope you enjoyed this installment of This Dilapidated Farmhouse. Stay tuned for what will hopefully be many more exciting episodes to come.

Over and Out,

Life

2011-08-23T19:20:00.001-05:00

I know you've probably seen this already (it's been circulating all over the internet lately), but take time to read it again anyway. It's a good thing to have on hand and re-read every so often...

...especially right now, for me.

There is so much change going on right now, I can hardly keep up with it. It is terrifying, exhausting, and exciting all at the same time. Some of the change is very difficult to deal with on an emotional level, and some of it I am thankful for, because it is not often in life that we get a "do-over." Once again I find myself looking to build my life from the ground up. It won't be easy, but I pray that the mistakes of my past will bring me wisdom for the future.

Here are a few things that have happened over the past few weeks:

1. A stray dog--a black lab--has shown up, probably dropped off my some irresponsible owner. He looks remarkably like the farm dog I lost last year. Much like his doppelganger, though, he is a hunter, and he wasn't here but a few hours when he proudly brought me the freshly-killed carcass of my poor little blue Silkie hen. Not able to do much else with him and figuring it wasn't any worse than his present condition, I loaded him up and hauled him a few miles away from the highway. I felt bad, but could not keep a chicken-killer around.

Then a few days later he showed up with another dog--a female who had obviously had way too many puppies. Again, I considered keeping them around, until the female attacked Charlie. Thankfully Charlie was not hurt, but this was absolutely intolerable behavior. I tried to lock up the two newcomers until I could find them a home, but they managed to get out no matter what I did. I considered taking them to a shelter but my schedule has been brutal--there was just no time, so I took them out, again away from the highway, about 10 miles away. I felt bad, but had really no choice. Again, I was not the one who dumped them originally--I had to justify my actions by telling myself they were no worse off, at least.

Then a few days later the original dog shows up again. I figure the third time, he must think this is his home and finally gave in thinking he could stay. His persistence really won me over. Then he killed two of my barred rock hens and last night he massacred one of my turkeys, so good feelings gone, to say the least. The dog doesn't stay around here--he comes here to hunt, only, so he is no longer welcome here. I can't let the birds out now until I find the dog, so it has been pretty stressful for everyone. I created a safe pen for the birds by fastening a tarp over some dog pen panels just outside their coop. It's not much, but in 100+ degree weather the coop is way too hot to stay locked up in all day. At least they can get a breeze. Unfortunately the dog will have to go to the pound now, when I see him next. I feel bad and I know some people might think me cruel, but to be honest most people around here would have shot him dead after the first chicken's death. I have to protect my birds and let's not forget, this dog was dumped here--I did not go get him. The real fault lies with his irresponsible owner for dumping an unfixed dog out in the country to fend for himself to begin with. I can't hold myself responsible for the actions of others, especially when things are so precarious right now in my life in the first place.

2. School is going well, but ironically the class I was most concerned about (Chemistry I) I have a 102% in, and yet the class I was least concerned about (Biology I) I have a C--EEK!!!!! So, I really need to re-arrange some of my studying priorities and get back on track. Thankfully there are many more assignments to come, so I should be able to recover, but the C certainly does not bode well. I have a 100% in my third class (Medical Terminology) so if I can maintain my two best classes and then up the third I will be fine. That's a lot of "if's!"

3. I gave Clipper back to his previous owner. My present situation is so terrifyingly unstable that I feel I need to do what is best for the horses. I am thankful that they are still being well-fed, but the harsh reality is that I cannot guaranty that I can continue to properly take care of four horses, so I refuse to continue to have four horses. Bambi, in foal to Almighty, is going to go live with my friend Linda near Topeka. I know Linda will make sure that Bambi and her foal are well-cared for, and Linda already has one Almighty foal (Moose), so I really hope Bambi knocks one out of the park for her!

4. I am getting used to my work schedule and am not quite as exhausted as I was the first few weeks, thankfully. My back has held up surprisingly well. I need to begin my 5K training again, but all the physical work I've been doing has reaped its own rewards--I am down to the smallest size I've been in ten years. I haven't lost that much weight, but all the walking must have firmed things up a bit--can't complain about that! I need to get back on a proper eating program so I can shed the pounds as well. I would really still love to do the 5K in October, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

5. One of the best parts about all this change is all the new people I've met both at school and at work. The majority of them really are good, caring people--it tends to help one's outlook to be around that kind of positive energy. There are a few things, too, that these people have said that have really cracked me up over the past few weeks. Here are just a few examples:

a. One of the servers I work with yelled to the kitchen, "What are our onions caramelized in?" Someone yelled back, "Caramel?"

b. One of our chemistry lessons was over dimensional analysis and one of the examples we worked through together in class was finding out how many carats were in a particular diamond. The instructor mentioned something along the lines of the girls in the room all like diamonds and the guys should enjoy giving them to their girls, when the guy next to me pipes up, "Sure, if you make me a sammich!"

c. I had to copy this from someone's status on Facebook the other day: "Apparently it's not okay to high-five someone in the face. Who knew?"

d. I'm not eligible for unemployment anymore because I'm going to school (how much does that suck?) but they had all kinds of excuses to cut me off even before that point--they first say my money has run out at the first tier and then they say I'm not eligible for an extension because there is money left on the first tier (sigh). So, I was glad that I had waiting tables to fall back on--I would have been starving without it. Just to solidify the fact that the government is nothing if it is not entirely incompetent, I received this notice when I checked on the claim status: "No payment has been issued for this week because: Payment for this week has not been issued." They must have joined forces with the KS Department of Redundancy Department.

That's all for tonight folks. I will try to keep better updates, and hopefully more entertaining posts than this, but in my defense this is the first evening I've been home in almost a week, and I'm running on four hours of sleep per night for all that time. The good news is that if there was a zombie apocalypse occurring anytime soon, I think I might survive for the simple fact I could blend in so easily right now.

And on that note, goodnight!

Buck Up!

2011-08-09T13:13:00.005-05:00

In case you didn't hear me whining from your area of the world (which I would assume is impossible, but maybe you live in a panic room), it's been HOT here.

Not just hot. HOT.

Yeah, I went here....

And for a long time there was no relief in sight.

But then...the other day...it RAINED. Yippee!!

Hurray!

Woo hoo!!

Finally the forecast, for the first time in recent memory, consists only of two-digit numbers. "Relief" doesn't even begin to describe...

Unfortunately I'm afraid the rain has come a little late, though, and things are going to continue to be very tough for at least the next year.

The reality of the situation is fairly sobering.... Hay has gone up 63% in the past couple of months IF you can find it.

I've had to get fairly creative for my horses (and thank goodness I only have the four). They get 1 pound of beet pulp, 1 pound of alfalfa pellets, 1 pound of timothy pellets, and 6 pounds of alfalfa per feeding, and are fed that twice a day. No more, no less.

It's enough to keep them a healthy weight, but they are bored--while the beet pulp and soaked hay pellets keep their bellies full, they are missing what horses love to do most--chew.

They've pretty much almost mowed down the bermuda in the turnout down to nothing, so now I have to fence them off of it so they don't kill it.

It's a pretty stressful situation, between my horses being stressed, my pocketbook being stressed, the stress of a new part-time job, going back to school, and trying to basically re-balance my entire life so everyone doesn't suffer while I try to make the future better for us all.

Well, it's enough to drive a person crazy.

Some might say I got to that place long ago.

That's probably true, but regardless, I've just got to put on my big-girl britches and take care of business.

Fabian's look says it all. Time to stop worrying and buck up! I think I'll do just that.

Cheers,

~Ineda Vacayton

Kick'n

2011-07-28T06:57:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. I have a good excuse, though. I've been in ninja-training.

Not really.

Betty went to her new home, though!

She's in northern Colorado now, where it's not 118 degrees, which it was here yesterday. Maybe I should have stipulated that I go where ever Betty does, at least for the next eight weeks.

I also enrolled in college (again).

I have been pretty stressed out with having to jump through quite a few hoops to be approved to pursue a second degree. Thankfully it's all worked out, though. Now I can concentrate on stressing about getting into graduate school!

I also managed to get a job that will work with my school schedule.

I used to wait tables when I went to school the first time. It actually was pretty good money--more money than I would make working minimum wage somewhere a few hours a week, and I enjoy the pace as well.

Did I think when I went to law school that I'd be back waiting tables one day? Nope. But the way I see it, the rest of my life right now is a lot like my house--a little sacrifice and discomfort now will hopefully pay off exponentially a few years down the road.

And in the meantime, I can always fall back on my ninja training.

~Grasshopper

Seven Things--Scorch'n Hot Edition

2011-07-18T19:14:00.006-05:00

As I sit here and write this, it is 92 degrees in my house. I was outside a little over an hour ago and it was 2092 degrees outside. OK, I might be over-exaggerating a tad, but nevertheless, let's face it--it is a hot and miserable son-of-a-biscuit-eater out there.

I don't have a very good excuse for not blogging much lately. The fact of the matter is I just haven't felt like it. I've done what I've had to each day and that's it. The creative urge is gone--seems it headed northward when the summer temps got out of control. I wish it would have taken me with it. Jerk.

Anywho...although I haven't written about them, there have been some things going on around the farm lately:

1. Despite its best efforts, the drought hasn't killed everything.

Almost everything, but not everything. I love echinacea.

2. It's not only the heat that's been cooking.

I broke out the good china when I made this caprese salad with tomatoes and basil from my garden. I've also grilled up some killer lean turkey burgers and used whole grain Sandwich Thins as the buns. They turned out especially yummy!

4. I've enrolled at Hutchinson Community College--again. I'm taking biology, chemistry, and medical terminology. I hope I don't jinx myself by mentioning it on here, but my goal is to get into the Physician Assistant program at Wichita State next year. I'm really excited about going to school again. I loved attending HCC and WSU--they are terrific schools. I just hope I'm smart enough to make the grades I need to transition from a degree in English Literature to medicine.

5. I've been working out again. The cats haven't.

I've finally been able to maintain a steady weight-loss for a few weeks now. I was simply not exercising enough and taking in too many calories. So now I basically eat the same thing everyday so I don't have to worry about calories (1200 calorie diet) and I exercise for 2 hours a day. It might sound like a lot, but keep in mind, I come from hearty peasant stock--we're built for hard labor. In other words, I'm an easy keeper. I just pray the weight continues to come off. It's so easy to get frustrated and give up when it doesn't.

5 1/2. I'm going to try to enter the Prairie Fire 5K (again). I really want to complete a 5K! I've already started training and I have until October, so that should give ample opportunity for my back to go out and recover again in time for the event!

6. I've been wanting to post pictures of my horses since I haven't in a while, but the poor dears are so hot and sweaty it's just sad.... I do think a "bath day" is in order, and I'll get pictures then. They are so hot and sweaty, combined with the oil from the fly spray and then all the dust from not having any rain, that I think they've gotten more baths over the last few weeks than they have in their entire lives. I'm trying hard not to strip the oil out of their coats as well, so it's a balancing act. To bathe or not to bathe, that is the question.

The horses, not me. Contrary to rumors to the contrary, I do bathe.

7. I'm proud of my garden.

I just thought I'd come right out and say it. I think my veggie/herb garden is unusually aesthetically pleasing this year, and considering the drought and temps, I feel like this is an accomplishment I deserve to feel good about.

Oregano (above) and rosemary (below). I've been researching recipes and I think I'll be making rosemary lemon chicken in the crock pot later this week.

It doesn't hurt at all that the recipe calls for white wine. Although I'll only need a cup of Reisling, I'm sure by the end of the night the entire bottle will be "used."

Waste not, want not *hiccup*,

J-Lush

High and Dry...OK, Just Dry

2011-07-16T20:00:00.006-05:00

In case you didn't hear, like many other parts of the U.S., we're having a historic drought here in southern Kansas.

I've heard that it has been the hottest summer on record so far, and couple that with the worst drought conditions since the Dust Bowl days, things are pretty fried. Including me.

However, being the eternal optimist that I try (or at least want) to be, I have decided there are some good things about this extreme summer weather. Here are the top five best things (as if there were more than five) about a drought:

(1) There is opportunity to redesign my landscape, since almost all the plants I've planted in the last year have now gone to meet their Maker.

(2) I get to build up my immunity to dust.

(3) No worries over having to mow the lawn!

(4) I don't have to worry about tracking mud into the house.

(5) I get to add onto my tumbleweed collection!

From one ex-stream to another,

All Better!

2011-07-14T22:12:00.005-05:00

To say that Sophie is slightly spoiled is akin to saying Charlie Sheen is slightly out of his gourd. It's ok, I'll admit it, without shame or excuse. What can I say? She's my girl.

However, one of our rituals is probably a bit over-the-top, even for the spoiled-dog designation. I can't even remember how this started, but if I don't follow through, Sophie is relentless. It goes something like this (and sorry for the crappy lighting and even crappier blue carpeting--this is part of the house yet to be remodeled).

Sophie: "YELP!"

Me: "Oh no! Sophie, did you get hurt?"

Sophie turns up the big-brown-eyes.

Me: "Oh no! Are you ok?"

Sophie rolls over pitifully. She is clearly at death's door.

Me: "Let me see..." and I pat around on her.

Sophie insists I check her over while making sad-puppy-face.

Me: "You're ok!! Walk it off!!"

Sophie doesn't "walk" anything off. She goes directly from not having the strength to stand to her version of the cyclone in The Wizard of Oz.

Me: "Yay! You'll live!!"

Sophie Cyclone continues. I think I see Auntie Em!

Finally, Sophie stops. She is back to normal.

Whatever that is.

Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain. And her little dog, too.

Turkeys versus Bull Snake

2011-07-11T22:09:00.005-05:00

A couple of times this summer the turkeys have "found" a snake. When they find a snake, they sure let me know. They make the oddest sound--a sound they don't make any other time. It is apparently their "I found a snake" sound.

This one was hidden pretty well, and he laid very still while all the commotion was going on around him.

What commotion?

This commotion (with a little help from Sophie and Evie):

The turkeys thought about eating the snake, but they were already stuffed.

Thanks folks, I'll be here all night. Don't forget to tip your server.

~The Bird Lady

Time To Pay

2011-07-05T18:10:00.004-05:00

Today I ran to Wichita (and boy are my legs tired...nyuk, nyuk) to get a few things taken care of so I can enroll in college (again) on Friday. I managed to make it up there quite early, and WSU is so friendly and helpful that I had everything done by 11am. I didn't want to go home and sit in a hot house, so I decided I'd go have lunch and then see what the day brought. I was good for lunch--a salad with grilled chicken--and then I decided to walk around the mall for a bit. After I got bored with that, I decided to head west and stop in at a couple more stores to look around before heading home.

Unfortunately on my way across town I drove right past a Coldstone Creamery. Now, I can't imagine anyone not knowing what a Coldstone Creamery is, but just in case, it's the most super-delicious and most-evil ice cream store ever. I haven't been in one since last September, but over the last two weeks I've had wicked cravings for ice cream, cake, and brownies (cursed sweet tooth). I've been doing well, exercising and eating right, and have managed to get back down to my pre-lay-off weight, but the cravings have been standing their ground. Seems they cannot be stopped.

Viva la brownies and other scrumptious treats!

I went to my stores, but the call of Coldstone held its horrific grip on me until I could resist no more. Before I knew it I was inside ordering a Birthday Cake Remix.

And it's not even my birthday.

To my credit, I did only get the "like it" size. And I didn't even eat it all.

OK, I ate it all, but I didn't lick the bowl.

OK, I licked the bowl. [looks away in shame]

Anyway...the good news is that my cravings have been successfully quenched, but the bad news is now I have to figure out how to burn off all those calories this evening--625 calories to be exact!

Oy vey!!

Well, today I was planning on doing pilates anyway (which I try to do every-other day for my back), so we can automatically subtract that: -119 calories for a half-hour of pilates.

That leaves 506 calories. I'm in a heap o'trouble. Here are my options:

Shoot a bow and arrow for almost two hours.

Blog for five hours straight.

Play the accordion for a little over three hours.

I could ice fish for 2.75 hours, but sort of hard to do in 109-degree weather.

Skydive for an hour and a half.

Eh, maybe I'll just jump on the treadmill until I collapse. I tell you though, it was almost worth it.

Sweet dreams,

~Tubs

Happy Independence Day (redux)

2011-07-04T17:51:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July. Enjoy your time with friends and family!

I thought I'd post pictures from 2008's celebration. My sister, her boyfriend and I all went to Powell Gardens.

They had a beautiful African sculpture exhibit.

We picked a spot and listened to the orchestra while we waited for sunset.

And the fireworks began!

This one was a camera error but I kept the pic because it looks like a horse :)

Another camera error, but this time a dragon!

The finale:This year I didn't attend any fireworks displays, but that's just fine--there will be plenty more, and in the meantime I have great memories like these to tide me over.

Everyone have a blast!

17 Months Later

2011-07-02T08:47:00.006-05:00

The other day I started organizing some of my digital photos, and I stumbled across some pictures I had taken of the place in March 2010 (when I moved in). Even though I'm the one who has done the work (with a lot of help from my Dad--thanks, Dad!), I had forgotten just how far this little old farm has come in only 17 months. I went out yesterday and took pictures of how all the areas look today, so here are the before and afters:

Entrance to main turnout before:

After:

North of old sheep barn before:

After (a lot of work still to do, including tearing the old building down, but there is still progress):

Horse-area, looking southeast towards (at the time) non-working vapor light pole:

After (still need to finish fence but the vapor light works and all the old crap has been cleaned up!):

Horse area, looking south (the burn pile in foreground was actually 10' tall):

Horse area, looking south, after (need to mow and weed landscaping, and Eddie's grave sunk in again--after I already leveled it off, but those are minor compared to the before):

Inside the horse area, looking south, before:

Inside horse area, looking south, after (still need to finish fence and water spigot and tank will be moved this fall):

My immediate backyard before:

Backyard after:

Another view of the backyard, before:

Backyard after(!):

There is still so much to do, but it's fun to look at these and feel such a sense of accomplishment!

Work, schmork....

Summer of Bromance

2011-07-01T15:24:00.004-05:00

This morning I welcomed a new horse to my little farm: MBF The Eclipser, aka "Clipper."

"Clipper" was in need of a good home and when I heard about him, I knew he was the perfect horse for me. He is nine years old, and up until three months ago he was a breeding stallion. Because of the market, his owner decided to geld him, have 60 days put on him and try to find him a home. Thankfully that home was with me!

One of the many reasons he's such a perfect fit is because I know his breeding very well. His sire is GQ Eclipse, which some people may know as the sire of GQ Santana. I've worked with three full brothers to GQ Eclipse, Clipper's grandsire and granddam. Clipper's dam is a daughter of Mr Impressive, who was grandsire to two great mares I've owned.

These horses are all incredibly intelligent, with gorgeous conformation and beautiful movement. Clipper also happens to be sweet and kind, and although I knew I wanted him just hearing about him, meeting him made me absolutely certain he was the right choice. He loaded right up into my two horse trailer and we made our way home.

My only hesitation was that Clipper had never been around geldings. He bred mares and that was pretty much it, for the majority of his life. My biggest fear with getting Clipper was that Fabian would get hurt, and I certainly did not want to take any chances. I had to carefully plan out how to introduce these two, and I had planned on not being able to put them together for many, many months, if ever at all.

I put Clipper in the roundpen at first because that is the safest fence for the horses to meet across. Any kicks or strikes would only meet a single metal bar and not damage the horses in any way. Once Clipper settled down, I let out Paula and Bambi only, so as not to overwhelm Clipper.

At first he was very studly towards the girls. Paula wasn't much of a help--at his first schmoozing she turned her butt right to him. Paula's not much of a lady, I'm afraid.

Bambi reacted like most pregnant broodies, with a squeal and a strike and then everyone ran around a bit--the girls on the outside of the roundpen and Clipper inside of it.

Once everyone calmed down again I allowed Betty and Fabian in as well. Chaos ensued.

As Clipper and Fabian met I held my breathe. I was hoping Clipper wouldn't have a strong negative reaction toward Fabian. Afterall, Fabian "had" the mares and Clipper was the new stud on the block. We all know Fabian is no threat, being the meek gelding he is, but Clipper might feel differently about it.

Apparently (and thankfully) not.

Then they took off running....

I couldn't tell whether they were overly happy or overly unhappy with each other at first.

Fabian had a much stronger reaction to Clipper than I thought he would.

Watching them, though, I noticed they weren't exhibiting any signs of aggression whatsoever. This was a happy dance!

I love you, man.

The boys quickly calmed down and started nuzzling and smelling each other.

Neither of them noticed that the girls even existed.

I moved the girls out of the area and left Fabian where he could stand right beside Clipper and I went inside for about an hour. I wanted to see what would happen--if Fabian would move on to the mares or if Clipper would change his mind about his tolerance of being near a gelding.

When I went back out they hadn't moved--they were standing side-by-side like best buddies, so I took a chance and let Clipper out. I had a halter with me just in case I had to suddenly separate them, but it wasn't needed.

Even with the mares crowding the fence and Fabian saying "hi" to his sisters and niece, Clipper wasn't the least bit threatened. It appears that Fabian and Clipper are soulmates, er...bromates--meant for one another.

They've been out together for seven hours now and as I look out my window I see them grazing next to each other. I would have never imagined that these two boys would connect like this. There wasn't even a squeal between them. It was instant love.

If only everyone got along so wonderfully, how much easier all our lives would be!

Sunflowers

2011-06-30T10:35:00.003-05:00

Today I took the camera with me on my morning walk to catch the dogs' antics, but I also happen to catch a little bit of the natural beauty of summer in Kansas.

All of these are straight out of the camera--didn't even so much as crop one of them. People complain about Kansas being flat as a pancake and boring, but if you take the time to see the beauty around you when you are here, you will quickly see the plains are anything but plain.

For The Birds

2011-06-29T16:42:00.003-05:00

I think my little farm has gone to the birds....

A couple of days ago I weeded my veggie/herb garden, and that tickled them plum to death.

Uh, guys...can I put this in the compost pile before you go through it?

Even birds of the non-domesticated nature are sure to let me know what they want. This little guy fell out of the top of my shop ceiling so I put him back.

These kids have some 'tude.

Don't get too comfy, Chiclets. You're not going to roost in here after I get this place fixed up!

The turkeys firmly believe they own the place as well.

I do have one turkey that isn't thriving (in the middle). There isn't anything wrong with her aside from her small stature, so nothing I can really do except wait and see if she makes it. I call her "Can't Get Right" (name that movie).

Mr Boucher and his brother Mr Boucher (because I can't tell them apart) used to be my only roosters.

Not anymore. Fancy Pants here decided to crow the other morning.

As well as this Americauna "pullet."

So far the Mr Boucher twins are still top dogs...er, birds, so there is harmony in the coop. If that changes, I might have some tough decisions to make.

Like whether to make Coq au Vin or Chicken-n-Dumplings.

Don't worry kids, you're not the dumplings!

See you turkeys later,

Farmspeak

2011-06-26T21:05:00.005-05:00

Out here in the boonies, you hear all kinds of sayings. Some of them are quite commonplace, while others will make you sit up and take notice. Just to warn you, this post has a little bit more explicit language than what I usually write. I tried to clean it up, but the sayings just aren't the same without the more colorful words, so I left 'em as I'm told 'em.

In any case, if you're very sensitive to such things, avert your eyes and close your browser immediately. Fellow heathens onward!

As an example, when Sophie places herself between me and an object I'm viewing, I let her know that she "makes a better door than she does a window."

Or when she comes running around the corner barking her head off anytime anyone drives up, you could say she's "as subtle as a horse turd in the cream pitcher."

Speaking of horses, they haven't been happy in this heat lately--it's been "hot enough to singe the feathers off a buzzard's ass."

I tell them to buck up, though. At least they haven't been "rode hard and put up wet."

That fence behind Bambi is "ugly enough to run a ghost up a thorny bush," (thanks to Bambi thinking she's a hunter/jumper) but it's just temporary. I wish I had more money to re-fence the entire place right now, but "you can shit in one hand and wish in the other and you know which one will fill up first."

For the past two weeks I've been working really hard on the brick path. You could say I've been "busier than a one legged cat trying to bury shit on a marble floor."

I suppose I could do more, though. You could "stick a broom up my ass and I'll sweep the floor while I'm at it."

I'd tell you that my body isn't bruised, tired, and beaten from hauling all these bricks and setting them in place, but then you'd tell me "don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining."

However, having this part of the landscaping finished is "better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick."

Sorry, "I had my tongue over my eye teeth and couldn't see what I was saying."

I really like my turkeys, but bless their little hearts, they are as "ugly as the north end of a mule walking south."

The sad fact is they really are as "ugly as a mud fence and half as smart."

Their "heads might whistle in a cross wind," but they are "about as funny as a fart in a spacesuit."

The cats have been spending their days napping on the couch. They were apparently "born tired and raised lazy."

They're really close now. I think Milton would "walk through hell in gasoline underwear for" Harley.

Charlie isn't exactly thrilled about having a puppy like Evie to look after, but he knows you're supposed to "dance with the one that brung ya."

Evie's antics go over "like a turd in a punch bowl," but Charlie puts up with it. He's "so old he farts dust," so he knows that "life is like a turd sandwich; the more bread you've got the less shit you have to eat."

Time to make like a cow pile and hit the trail!