Walk to the pond

Yesterday, me and The Boy took a walk to our pond.The morning was crisp and cool.The air smelled so wonderful,I couldn't breath in enough of it.



There is a small tree lined creek that leads into the pond.I guess it would be more of a big ditch since it only has water when it rains but we call it the creek anyway.

Hubby dreams of letting the sheep or goats loose in there to eat all the brush.We only have 4 strands of barbed wire around this creek though.That is just a joke to the sheep and goats and the things that like to eat sheep and goats!

This pond was almost completely dry this summer.Now it is full and very muddy looking.It also has some lovely little willows at the far end.I love willows.We have a very small community down from here called Willow Springs,I love that name.Sounds like a place you would want to stay for awhile in.

The pond has a nice little dock.A good place for a boy to sit and ponder on things. It is a good place to sit and just do nothing too.

We all need to do that from time to time......

Throwback Thursday

This is me in 1981.I was 10 years old.Big teeth!






Here is Hubby around the same time.Big teeth also!Glad it wasn't just me!




And here is The Boy at age 10.No big teeth!




I don't know how you mix a brunette and a redhead and get a blond,but we sure did!Actually Hubby's family is mostly blond so it is just a recessive genes.I think everyone was surprised though when The Boy came into this world with gray eyes and white hair.Really his hair was so white it looked like he was bald,eyebrows,eye lashes,everything.He didn't start to get that blond color until he was around nine.He was just a step away from albino!He is very tan in this picture,he is usually much fairer,we had spent about a month at Nanna and Papaw's house and they have a pool.As a rule,The Boy avoids hot weather like the plague so he stays pretty fair.He is truly made to live in Alaska,that is actually his goal,to join the Coast Guard and live in Alaska.You will be able to spot him if you make it there someday.He'll be the one with shorts on in the snow!

Wordless Wednesday

Clyde, a donkey looking for a good scratchin' !

Want to see what $6,000 Looks Like?

Focus in in the teeth.Yep,we spent the morning at the orthodontist.Believe me when I tell you this smile is fake.


Actually since this is the second go around ,you are really looking at a $ 10,000 smile!Not only is he having full braces and a herps, he got the mid-evil torture device,The Pallet Expander.I,as his loving mother,get to crank this thing every night to force apart the top of his mouth.Neither of us realized he was getting this today.I am sure it was told to me on our last appointment but in all the technical jargon and the you've reached the lifetime max on your orthodontics insurance it some how slipped by me.Talk about mom guilt!I did not have The Boy mentally prepared for this.Did I forget to mention The Boy has a hard time a Dr.'s offices.He really stresses out.He tries hard not to now that he is older.He had meningitis when he was 4 and ever since then he just stresses out,a week in the hospital and 2 spinal taps.Needless to say he did not take it well.I am sitting in the waiting room,he wanted to go in by himself,reading a magazine about turkeys I brought with me,and I look up to see The Boy storm across the waiting room wearing the paper bib and things hanging out of his mouth.He precedes to tell me that they were in the middle of putting in a pallet extender and did I know about this and there is no way in **ell he is getting one of those!He managed to keep his voice down and not make a scene.I finally convinced him to go back and the Dr.,who is very good,stopped and had a long talk with him to try and get more comfortable.Did I mention the mom guilt?


Hubby is working on a barn/shed/shack for the sheep.Tomorrow I am planning on working on the turkey pen.Hopefully a happy farm day.


I was in our little town this afternoon and Hubby calls.You know it is never good when they ask if you can stop by and get some ban-aids!People who know Hubby know exactly what I mean!Don't worry,this time it was fixable with just a band-aid!But from experience I did drive home in a hurry with those band-aids!

Hay Day

Today we went to get some hay.We were hoping not to have to, we have a 10 acre field full of excellent grass.Hubby is working on fencing in half,but with all the rain he doesn't know if he will be able to get the corner and stretcher post set before he leaves.So ,he was able to find some round bails,not an easy task around here because of the unusually dry summer.This particular hay was brought in from New Mexico!So we went and got some just in case we can't get the pasture done before Hubby goes back to China.

Hubby had to take Pork along for the ride.

Don't worry he is tied up so he won't fall out.




Here is our hay getting loaded on the trailer.



I know ,a little leaning and scary!




Hubby strapped it down tight and we made it home fine.




Pork says he'll keep an eye on it!Well,sort of.Maybe he will just splatter it with slobbery drool bits!




We yanked the top bale off with my Toyota,sorry no picture of that!

Then Hubby used this board to get some space between these.



Then we just rolled them off the trailer.Together me and him can roll these big ole bails across the pasture ! He always tells me I have farm girl muscles!

Friday

Well..actually written on Thursday,but posted on Friday!

Yesterday,as I was sitting in my lawn chair knitting a hat for The Boy and enjoying the cool crisp weather one of the black ducks decided to test her wings.Most of our ducks don't fly much and when they do it is for short burst and low to the ground,except the mallards.They fly pretty good,I hope they stay put and don't fly off. Anyways,this one made it over the fence to the goat yard but smacked into the fence on the other side.She sat there for a moment and looked a little stunned as to what she had just done.Then immediately went to the goats water and dove in.It was like her own personal unsoiled soup bowl.


Our ducks will get in anything with water. No goaties seemed to notice except Guinness.She moseyed on over and the duck jumped out.She looked at me,then the water,then me again and walked off.

She didn't get a drink,can't say as I blame her.This is what water looks like after 60 seconds off soaking duck butt!

The duck looked quiet refreshed!

Ms.Duck doesn't understand the problem,she just gently used the water!





Doesn't Butter Bean look cute!




Don't be fooled.This is just seconds before he ferociously tried to eat the clothespins through my clothespin apron!


I am glad you can't see the stubble on my legs!


We saw this cut little old car the other day.I have no idea what it is but I like it.


We see lots of old cars around here because they like to come up here and drive around the lake and have get togethers.Well, not the cars themselves,the folks who drive them!


After a summer of drought mother nature is trying to drown us!We got nearly 5 inches on Monday and as I am writing this we have probably got another 5 today!

The temps are crazy too.We had to have heater running at night last week and this week the air conditioning was back on!I forgot to turn off the heater in the hall and had both going at once the other night to Hubby's horror!


We have propane heat.That is our big ole tank in that big ole puddle!We actually have central heat too but never use it as it makes me and The Boy feel ill.I think most people with allergies feel that way.Have I ever mentioned The Boy is allergic to the whole state of Texas.That is a direct quote from the allergist after reading The Boys test.Not only is he allergic to everything natural,he is also allergic to the chemicals in soaps,shampoos,cleaning products,laundry soap, ect.That is why I started making our own.Also he is allergic to preservatives,nitrates and the general junk in processed foods.He takes allergy drops.He used to take shots but had such bad reactions.Then we found the drops.They are the same as shots but you do them daily and they go under your tongue.This is not for the chemical and food allergies though.Don't worry he is not like some bubble boy and he won't die if he gets into allergies.He gets migraines and rashes.He has had a few episodes of lip swelling so I do keep an eppy pen,just in case,since we live so far out.
Because of my son I am more aware of just how many chemicals we are exposed to every day.It is frightening!
I was hoping to get Hubby to grill tonight,but he will have to get out waders and possibly move the grill to the boat!This was a special treat for The Boy because Hubby picked up some ground buffalo meat on the way home.It is The Boys favorite.Now I have to go make my buffalo burgers into buffalo loaf!

Throwback Thursday

OK, I completely missed Wordless Wednesday this week!Where does the time go?




So here is this weeks throwback to the past.I really don't have a date on this one .Probably late 40's or early 50's.This is my Granny.Her name was Frankie.I didn't know her well,she died when I was young.It is strange to see this smiling picture of her,because what I know of her life, it was sad.



I think she had 6 or 7 brothers and sisters and she may have been the baby.She was very small,a trait not passed on to me ;) , and nick named PeeWee.When she was little her mother backed up to some kind of heater and her nightgown caught on fire and she panicked and fled.By the time whomever was there caught her and put out the flames it was to late and she died.

For some reason I do not know,like so many things in my family history,her father put all the children in the orphanage.She spent the rest of her childhood there. I do not know what she did after that until she was in her 40's.That is when she married my grandfather and had 2 sons.All I know about my grandfather is that he was supposedly a very cruel and hateful man.I do not know if he treated her this way or just his children and everyone else.The few memories I have of Grannie she was very kind and nice to me.She saved us "silver pennies" and always had frozen coconut cake and coca cola in glass bottles.She let us prowl in her shed for treasure and let us have what ever we found that was treasure in our eyes.By the time I was 10 she had Alzheimers.
I really like this picture of her smiling and happy in a pretty dress.Knowing the sorrow she experienced, it makes me glad she could still find a way to laugh and smile.I wish I had know her better.