Swinging in the Sunshine

I was gone today when Katie came to visit with David and the boys played in the back yard. Katie really took some cute pictures.....sorry, I got hold of them first to post. This was Nathan's first time to swing on the swing set...Whee!

Sheep in the Meadow, Cows in the Corn

I know you have all seen pictures of the animals around our farm before, but this morning was special. I have been needed to help out on the dairy for the past five days....you might say, "well you poor dear"....only five days?" Well, it is usually no small undertaking for me. I have to say, by this morning I was fitting back into the groove. After all, many years ago bottling, feeding, watering, and bedding the calves was my twice a day job. I know, I know, you have heard me whine about it before, but for those of you who may not know....the job is actually updated with luxury compared to the "good old days". Hey, the big barn protects you and the babies from the elements: rain, sleet, snow, hail, cold and heat. One only needs to walk a few feet to the pens now. A big stick is no longer needed to keep one calf from getting the other calves' bottle. It is still a big chore!

Wait, there must be an added bonus. I know my skin must look better now! You see, as you mix the milk replacer in very hot water and your face is straight on top of it to stir it all together in a bucket......warm, moist, milky steam goes straight to the face. Then as you fill the water buckets, the cold spray finishes your facial....is that not just amazing?....I bet you don't get a daily treatment like that one.

To the point.....when I finished my outside chores this morning....knowing this would be the last time for a while.....I drove to the house.....the temperature was great, my work was done, the sunshine was beaming..........so I ran in for my camera and went back to the barn.......taking pictures all the way.....I took pictures of everything on the place. So, if you care to take a look at only a few of the things I enjoyed, please continue. There are more pictures than I have ever posted at once and I left many of them off. Enjoy!

This is only a small bunch of the sheep out grazing this morning.

Contented milk cows

She wanted a close up view.


Some are always curious enough to come right up in your face.
Notice their bright colored ear rings (better known as tags).

If one comes, they all want to see what is going on.

She was just moovin' along.

This Momma sheep and baby paused just long enough for me to get a quick picture.

This big girl was removed from the calf barn yesterday....way to big to be bottle fed.

More sheep gathered around the old shed.


And, here is one of many of the little bottle fed babies.....a heifer. She gets her own coat to keep warm.

Every farm needs a few barn cats....she is a big one!

The Daffodils were blooming this morning in the front yard of our old home place.
They are always a welcome sign of spring soon to come.

And, as I am headed home again....here came my relief! Good bye barn, bye calves, bye bottles, bye poop, bye, bye facial....until next time.
For the rest of ya'.....get out and enjoy this beautiful sunshine.

After School Photo Shots

"Pretty Kate" and "Cutie Nate"

Andrew's after school entertainment--gee, I wish my stomach was that skinny.

It is tough to get a good picture of these boys---never still -- never smiling at the same time.

Not a bad one..........still not smiling at the same time....guess it is NOT necessary.

Josh has become a great babysitter.

Spring Inspiration

Katie,this is for you and me. I stumbled on to some old pictures on the computer this evening. What a garden we had that first attempt. This is to inspire us to get going this year. You look like the model of a "Happy Gardener". Little children jumping in on the fun and work. Speaking of little, can you believe how these boys have grown up? Looks like Josh was leading (bossing) and Andrew was doing the work...bless his little pea-pickin' heart.

Looks like Andrew has had enough here.

Look at those healthy, lush plants.

I noticed you browsing the seed catalog today....are you getting the gardening fever yet?

Recycling Chaos

I was inspired by a state trooper in our Sunday School class to start recycling. It started out simple. I bought two inexpensive plastic clothes hampers, lined them with large trash bags, and separated plastic from paper. This all worked great when I made weekly trips to Muskogee. I strongly recommend recycling. The past few months have been different. As I was confined for several weeks from my back surgery and the past month with David's illness and following bypass surgery, things started to pile up. I started to collect and gather the many bags to take to the recycling center a few days ago. I found a collection of old magazines David had decided to part with and I thought this would be a great project for Josh and Andrew. I always remove the mailing labels before recycling.....don't know why....just seems like the thing to do.

So, both boys were eager to accomplish the task of removing labels and bagging the magazines. Josh lasted a lot longer than Andrew.

But, as you can see.....they were both soon consumed with looking at the farm related magazines. They rapidly found several with farm equipment and toys and magazines they requested to keep. It is hard to get the "man" and "boys" to throw things out around here.

You just gotta' love em'.

Fun Photos

Cutie Pie has a new hat!

Nathan is so much fun now - 5 months.

His expressions just tickle me.