Let's see...there was the Monday morning excursion to the feed stores. Before I actually reached either one though I stopped at Tractor Supply to return a lawn mower belt and pick up a 52" one for the chicken plucker. (And no, I haven't gotten it on yet!) I talked to Miss D--a sweet little lady who goes to Granddaddy's church (not that he goes any more). She asked how he's doing--it still amuses me that people know who I am by just looking at me! I told her that he is really doing great; because he is, you know. Over the last week I have had some almost real conversations with him. This morning, I came out of my room and he and Savannah were sitting there chatting about something. He's laughing more and at times I notice him sitting there smiling as I whistle or sing while scrubbing my arms off at the bathroom sink. (From his chair he can see into the bathroom.)

Anyway, I discovered that the big 'yaller' dog at Bryan's has a name (duh, of course!) It suit him real well too--Willie. :) Willie has marked my truck tire's before. :P I bought some more "goop" (Nu-Stock) and told Mr. Scott that it's great on pecked up chickens. He said, "That's good to know."

I headed off to Smith's and the only dumb thing I did there was drive around to the back without waiting for the guy behind the counter (I think he may have COPD or something like that--he's a rather large man and he wheezes some) to put my calf milk in the truck. I totally forgot about it. He called out to the warehouse and told the 'boys' (Drummer Dude and Redneck 3) to tell me that he'd bring it out. Well, Drummer Dude didn't tell me, but probably because he realized that I'd heard--one can't help hearing as loud as that speaker it. They loaded up the truck and I left once the calf milk was safely in the back of the truck.

I was going to mow our place, but I thought it might rain so I didn't. Instead of riding Snip, which I could have done, I finished mowing over here. It didn't take overly long since I was almost done when I ran out of gas Friday evening. I would have finished it then, even though we had company coming, but once that thing gets heated up and either gets turned off or runs out of gas, you can't crank it back up. I don't exactly understand why...

I spent most of the remainder of the day building a website which I don't even know if it will ever get published. I have to ask Mr. Joe what he thinks as he is the 1st Florida Reserves and Civilians commander...and the site is for them (ahem, us.) I really had a great time putting it together, so I hope he'll give me the go ahead. I rather think he will...

Today (is it really only Tuesday??) we had another one of those moments--"Savannah! I have roosters out!" It was only eight this time--not counting the dead one (looks like the coon broke in through the back). The first one I caught fairly easily as I was observing the escape hatch. He is really the only one who isn't over scared of me. I poked him under my arm and when Savannah came out she unhooked the hen coop and I put him in there. I wanted to keep a second rooster (other than poor ol' Tail-less who may keel over and die; he's undersized and his rear isn't quite as healthy as it should be); so I figured the most tame one would be best.

Most of the roosters aren't quite heavy enough to butcher. I mean, I could butcher them, but they can still get a little bigger. Anyway, after dashing around after them--I think we discovered the best way to do it--just run them ragged; I finally caught them all. Also, if you can get them down in the middle of a soda apple, they'll hunker down. I got two of them like that. With no gloves on...but I didn't really get scratched up. What was worse was when I made a grab for one and all I came away with was fire weed between my fingers. Thankfully, it was small patch because that stuff burns like crazy! (Hence the name.)

After eating my breakfast, I put on my petticoats and Savannah got a skirt measurement for my new dress. Then I returned to britches, strapped on my pistol, and grabbed my gear. By the time I got Snip saddled up, it was already past 10:30, so I knew the ride would be a short one. I determined to make it a good one. I started out working on turns at a trot. From there, I tried to get him into a lope. He probably would have loped only as he kept trying to drift one way or the other to go visit the cows under the trees, I had to keep playing with the reins--which means he was getting some pull on his mouth.

Eventually, we did lope--after I took him out on the runway and let him have his head; to a very controlled extent. I'm going to work with him out there a bit more I think--it's a longer straight shot than anywhere else on the place. I finally put my problem into words.

I'm scared.

Not so much of the speed, though there is some of that, but because I cannot trust Snip to act like he should. He knows--I am sure of this--how he ought to behave; but he gets to having so much fun that he starts acting up. I'm scared to let him get past a slow lope. I have proved to myself multiple times that I can stay on him when he bucks from that speed. (It still isn't any fun.) I honestly think that I would not stand much of a chance if he bucked from a speed much faster. I have watched him in the pasture, I have ridden him, I know him...he will buck if I go any faster. It isn't because he's trying to loose me, but because he's young, strong, and it feels good to kick up his heels (I don't know about anybody else, but I sometimes have that reaction myself and will jump over stuff simply because it feels good). At this point, I don't know really what else to do but keep doing what I'm doing. Ride him...keep strengthing my legs...work on obedience...and slam him down as hard as I can whenever he bucks. I was talking to Granddaddy the other day and the general consensus was that at this point, I just have to be more stubborn than the horse. I cannot surrender anything to him. I must win this. Lord willing, I will win this. So what I'm scared? Keep riding...I have learned to feel the bucking coming...keep working...keep getting back on when I do slide off...never let the horse know that you're scared of him tossing you and breaking your neck. Never. Though my insides where tight this morning out on the runway, my hands and knees were steady. Snip did buck very slightly once. I could tell it was coming because he had started to weave a bit and was fighting me a little.

Shucks. One of the reasons I'm scared of falling off is breaking something so I can't ride for a month or so! I am determined...you know, the kind where you set your jaw and lift your chin a little and barge ahead come what may. SOOO...look out Snip; your 'little girl' is going to fully break you yet. :)

After lunch, I separated a 10 pound 'log' of hamburger into separate bags and stuffed it all into the freezer. Then I went out, fed Charlotte, came in, and changed so Savannah could fit my dress. While it is clear that my corset needs to be cinched a hair tighter to get it buttoned, I am 100% and totally thrilled with my new outfit! I'll post pictures once we have some. She's been working hard on it the last day and half because it has to be done by tonight as we'll be wearing our new dresses tomorrow morning to a Confederate wedding! I'll try to post pictures of that too. We never did get an 'official' wedding inviation, but Mrs. A told us that we were invited and I haven't seen the bride since before then and I think the groom only once. His parents are not well, so that's why everything has been so 'on the fly' in regards to the actual date. I'm quite looking forward to it.

I think I may go and play my instruments now...after I get a snack...I'm hungry...

That was my reaction when I arrived at our place to return Daddy's ladder to the barn.

Captain Abe, Socks, Strawberry, and the two calves were in the yard!!

As it turns out, the footgate on the east side of the yard was standing open because the fence along that side was pushed in. I'm glad that I hadn't fed them either yesterday morning or this morning, because when Daddy left, he left about a third of a bag of feed over there. I went in to get it (going through the backdoor rather than the garage) and ended up fixing the toilet in the back bathroom--I guess it'd been sitting there running since Saturday morning. The float valve is somewhat flaky.

I brought the feed out. I was slightly nervous about this--remember, my bull has horns--and really the only time he gets 'silly' is when there's feed about. ('Silly' means he puts his head down and shakes it a little and maybe hops a bit.) Anyway, he did start to be slightly silly...I am totally impressed by what a good animal he is!! I turned and looked at him and yelled, "Now, quit that!" And you know what? He did!

By this point, Socks came trotting up--she's a nut about food and not near as obedient as Abe. I led them through the gate, dumped the feed, and hurried out. Since the fence had been pushed in, the barb wire 'latch' was no longer long enough. I managed to get it hooked just enough to hold it while I rushed off to the pick-up and grabbed some wire and the wire pliers. (So glad I didn't toss the wire out before I left the house!) I eyeballed the length I needed, then cut the wire and wired the gate shut. Meanwhile, Socks and Strawberry had to come see what I was doing--or more honestly, if I had anymore feed in that sack... :D

Once I got the gate wired, I shoved the fence back upright--to a degree. It took longer than it initially sounds, but I got it done. I used the old gate wire and wired a chunk of the chainlink back to the top pole.

THEN...I finally got around to putting the ladder back in the barn.

I hit the road headed for town after that...off to the feedstore! I needed sweet feed for the heifers, feed for the chickens, and mineral for the rest of the cows.

I rode Snip this morning; he bucked with me again, but I stayed on and hauled him in (so far, he hasn't managed to throw me...I don't really think he's trying to, either...I think he's just being frisky). I also figured out how to carry better. See, with my new saddle, the pistol doesn't stay quite as well as with the other one...so my brain got to working. I took some nylon rope (I called Savannah and asked her to bring it out to me), wound it through the holster, and tied it down to my leg. (I finally figured out why all the movie/TV cowboys always had their holsters tied to their legs.) It worked great! I still had to take it off before I could get Snip's right front hoof cleaned (it always gets in the way--particularly since he leans on me so hard with that leg), but the riding part was much more practical.

During the writing of this, Savannah called me from the Winn-Dixie parking lot asking me to come get her. She had been trying to get the Saturn started for 40 minutes. So, I jumped in the truck (which also needs work) and picked her up. While coming home, after dropping into AutoZone, we decided that I'll take the pick-up to Tex in the morning and she'll call the Saturn place in P.C. for a new ignition switch.

Those were the 'exciting' parts of my day...the rest was just normal.

So, this blog post will expound on two days. Yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday).

Yesterday morning, I stumbled into my clothes and out the door to feed the animals around 8 o'clock. I tried to get the three heifers that were in with the neighbor's heifer patch to come through the fence, but it didn't work. I called Daddy, who was on his way over, and he helped try once he got there. Anyway, we left off until later in the day.

After I ate breakfast, we went to town. We spent all morning running around from store to store gathering parts for the 'whizbang' chicken plucker. (I'll have to take some pictures of the completed project.) We got the plastic drum for free. :) Granddaddy used to drive oil trucks for the man we got it from. We dropped in at the gunstore--because I wanted to--and didn't buy anything; even though I did look around at holsters again.

I can't remember if we did the Tractor Supply/Do It Best dance before or after we got the barrel. (Yesterday was a long day!) Anyway, we went to DIB and looked at stuff. Then we went to TS and looked at stuff. Then Daddy went back to DIB and I dropped into the Goodwill (which is between the two stores which are in the same strip mall). I found a pair of pants--they are a bit long (no surprise there!), but they fit okay. I called Daddy, "Which store are you in?" "Tractor Supply, back in the back corner." "Okay, be right there."

From there, we went back to Do It Best and got lumber. All this took a while and my feet were hurting me and everyone knew where I was because my spurs went 'clank-clack!' with every step. I was also limping which made it even worse.

We came home, ate lunch and went to work. Daddy of course, did most of it. First he sawed the top off the barrel. Next he sawed the rim off the top of the barrel to use as the spinning 'plate' in the bottom. I attempted to help by holding onto it. Several times I got asked, "You can't hold that down?" Sorry! But that plastic is thick, that saw is vibrating it seriously, and my arms are so sweaty that they are slipping off (this was when Daddy told me: "Roll down your sleeves." Oh, duh...right. Why didn't I think of that??). Anyway, we ended up with me sitting on the thing and it still was slipping around some!

I guess the next thing was drilling the holes and putting the rubber fingers in. Daddy drilled and I helped with the fingers. Then we got the 'plate' put in with the spindle hooked up just right....

I guess that was the end of the chicken plucker for the day; since Daddy didn't have a motor--he got that this morning.

We went in and ate dinner. Then, we went out to see if we could get the last heifer back in. When I had fed them, two of them had come on in. Well, Daddy hauled an old gate out there, cut a hole in the fence and was fixing to get it up, when I noticed that "Blondie" had come on in! So, Daddy and I started patching the fence.

Sometime along here, he noticed them strolling back down the heifer patch and told me to go down the fence and check for a hole. Well...this is where I screwed up (for the second time really--my first screw up was when I didn't check the fences before putting the heifers in). Instead of heading straight to the far corner and checking on the way back, I strolled along and started stapling under a tree where none of the posts had staples.

All of a sudden, the crazies down at the end of the pasture, bolted and next thing we knew were in the neighbor's driveway! Daddy was none too happy to say the least. I made it down to the corner and found a sure-enough hole (I wonder why the neighbor's hadn't seen or fixed it...nevermind; it is still my fault that the heifers were being such a pain because I didn't check fences!) I ducked through it and attempted to run them in--no luck. (Not that I believe in luck.) I went back to where Daddy was and we hauled tools and a post down and got the hole fixed. While we were on our way down, the neighbor charged them in his truck and his dog chased them, too. Two of the three who were out came back. Once again, "Blondie" was the odd one out. Daddy and I got her in before we (Daddy) mended the fence. I need to stretch that wire along their driveway now--and replace at least one post.

By the time we got done, it was 8:30 and we were whooped.

This morning, I rode Snip. He was pretty good, except when he bucked on me...stinker. My new saddle is going to take a little bit of getting used to. It requires riding with my legs at a fuller extention--which is fine, I'm just not quite used to it yet.

After lunch, I went back to helping Daddy on the chicken plucker. He hadn't worked on it too long before lunch. By the time I got out there with the coffee, he had part of the frame already built, so I helped hold it while he put it together. Some point along the way, we took a trip to Wal-mart to get screws, a certain type of drill bit, and a battery operated drill--which is now sitting here charging after Daddy got a few screws put in with it fresh out of the box.

The motor is now attached and all the thing lacks is a belt--which I have to get.

During the afternoon, I either got something in my left eye, or got stung on the eyelid. I've never had an eyelid swell up like that. Anyway, it was an rather unpleasant sensation. I ended up getting my sunglasses (I hate sunglasses and only wear them when backing up with the bush hog) and putting them on to break the breeze away from that eye. I kept taking them off anytime I had to go dig in the bolt, washer, and nut cans...I can't see with them on!

I also changed out the tire on the Craftsman mower (it goes flat in under an hour!) The old Murry mower has the exact same rear tires so Daddy suggested I make the switch. I hadn't noticed this, but I was at anyrate pleased with the idea. I did it all by myself (except for the jacking--which was more of a lift by Daddy and a stuff the jack under by the daughter deal than an actually jacking job; and getting the snap ring back on the tire.) I also needed a tiny bit of help with the key on the axle. Anyway, it's nice not to see a flat tire on the lawn mower every time I turn around! :)

Well, I hope this dull recounting of the last two days hasn't bored you. I'm sure yesterday's tale would have been more interesting if I had typed it up last night, but I was beat and didn't feel like it.

Well, I'm off to get cleaned up!

I guess. Maybe not much more than other days, but it was busy all the same.

I spent a good part of the morning reading Gordon Clark's The Philosophy of Science and Belief in God. I finished the second chapter on 'Newtonian Science'. It's pretty interesting, and of course, Dr. Clark occasionally throws something in that tickles the funny bone.

After lunch, Daddy and I moved the heifers. Now, I hadn't prepped like I was supposed to. I was supposed to hook up the trailer and pull it into the yard yesterday. And air up the tires...but I had forgotten all about that part. The reason I didn't do the first part yesterday was  because I didn't ask Savannah to help me and I didn't know if I could do it myself--and obviously, I didn't try. Oh well. Daddy wasn't really irritated with me at all for not doing it. He was more laughing, "You were supposed to do this yesterday!" Anyway, I aired the tires while he did something in the barn...oh, I remember what it was! He was looking for this grease can--which he later found in the floor board of the truck! He greased the wheels on the sliding door at the back of the horse trailer as well as all the hinges. I worked the oil into the joints and we headed out to the pens.

We stopped to burn the feedsacks that were in the trailer as well as the cardboard box that had been in the chicken coop...that was kind of nasty. :)

Daddy backed the trailer up and I attempted to guide him in straight. I don't think he really needed me, though. Then I climbed the fence and started moving the heifers into the hopper pen while Daddy scrounged out the hot-shots. He handed me mine (the little short one--I can't handle the longer one with much accuracy) and then got the hopper ready. I went outside the pens and helped run the heifers into the trailer and then slid the door shut behind them.

The next move was to transfer Charlotte into the center pen with the water trough...she's old enough to start needing/learning how to drink water. I actually sat on the edge of the water trough this evening and got some into her after her bottle. I'd scoop the water into my hand and poke my fingers into her mouth and she sucked it down. She seemed like she was enjoying it, yet was slightly curious about the flavor (or lack thereof.) I couldn't quite get her nose into the water, but I'll keep trying.

We took the heifers off and pulled into the heifer pen. Meanwhile Snip, their next door neighbor, started dancing like a goof-ball. We let them stand for a few minutes while Daddy had me go to the barn and get a bucket full of feed. I fed some of them a little through the bars before Daddy opened the back and had me toll them out. I dumped the feed into the tub while they were watching...but the only one who stayed around was "Big Red". She stood there and ate most of it by herself! Last time I looked, "August" and "Little Red" were in with the neighbor's heifers! Daddy says he thinks they'll come back over...which I think I agree with. Cows are herd animals and they know with whom they belong.

Anyway, after Daddy washed the trailer out, we (but mostly him) finished putting the plastic chicken wire up on the thing. We turned it into the chicken hospital. I found another dead rooster and a seriously wounded one--then three more that needed special care. After that, we moved the chicken coops--that's when I found those others that needed doctoring. My hands still smell of sulfer...

So, as you can see, I kept busy today...as did Daddy. :) Savannah went to the chiropractor today, but she too was busy with other things throughout the day. She is my 'nurse' when I'm the chicken 'doctor'. "Nurse, give me some goop." I don't call her nurse for real though...and the 'goop' is a sulfer based yellow paste--which is why I stink of sulfer.

Until next time!

That pretty much sums up my day. Oh, and of course, dishes. :)

I got going at a bit more normal time that I did yesterday morning. (I went to bed early Sunday evening and got up late next morning!) However, it was still almost ten by the time I got around to breakfast because I had some unexpected chicken emergencies to deal with. First off, while actually on my way to the pens to feed the heifers, I noticed a dead rooster. (Third one in two days...they sure enjoy killing each other off!)

I jumped out of the golf cart, entered the coop and was fixing to exit when I noticed another rooster hunkered down--with a bloody back. "You'll be next," I said. Then I scooped him up and tucked him under my arm. I was surprised with how little fight he put up. I hauled the dead rooster to the burn hole and went into the house, where I hollered at Savannah to come help me. I decided that I would go ahead and move the two hens from the 'hospital' back in with the other hens--along with the one Rhode Island Red in with the roosters--and put the rooster in the hospital after we doctored him. Well...the hens attacked the black and white one so severely that I almost immediately removed her again. So, she and the rooster are sharing the kennel now.

I went and fed the heifers. On my way back, I noticed the little hen (the one they had almost killed previously) was already bleeding again. I almost got mad. I charged into the coop (if one can be said to 'charge' into that thing seeing how it's built) and grabbed her up. "You're not going to kill her after I saved her life!" Once again, I went into the house and hollered for Savannah. She came and we put some 'goop' (sulfer based stuff) on the little henny's head. Since there isn't enough room in the kennel for three birds, we placed a laundry basket over her. She's tame enough that I can grab her pretty easy so she's the best one to tuck under a laundry basket--besides the fact that she's the smallest. Still, I need to rig up something better.

I came in, changed my shirt--since it had enough sulfer stuff on it to make me reek all day, ate breakfast, and washed the dishes. Then I went for a ride. The left stirrup is a bigger problem than the left one--and I believe Savannah figured out the problem. It is actually too high, so it's twisting my foot around. I have gotten cramps in my arch and up the back of my leg both times I've ridden in my new saddle. The right one fits better since that leg is shorter by a little bit.

After lunch and dishes and a few minutes of TV while finishing my coffee, I played my cello for nigh on an hour and then my guitar for about 45 minutes. From there I got the hair brained idea to go test the lawn mower again.

I went out, aired up the back tire that insists on going flat quickly, hopped on, turned the fuel line on, and cranked it up. It took a tiny bit of messing with the throttle to get it to come all the way to life, but I got it. I backed out, engaged the blades, and took off. It didn't die on my today! I have no idea really why it died yesterday, but I'm just glad that it worked. I mowed the driveway first then moved into the yard. I didn't do behind the barn very well because there was too much stuff out and about that I need to pick up before next time. I got horrendeously gritty. (*big grin*) To such a degree in fact that I looked rather like I had a 5 o'clock shadow! Or at least a mustache...

Anyway, it is satisfying when stuff works for you. (Oh, and I did remember to shut the fuel line off this time!)

After lunch, Daddy and I headed off to town to go get a couple gas cans full of desiel. I also filled up the truck at the gas station and we checked the engine fluids. I was feeling slightly self concious at the time because last time it rained, some water leaked in and got part of my seat wet, so because I was driving, I had a wet spot on my jeans. I also cleaned the windshield.

From there we went to our place and picked up the old ladder which I've always been rather scared of and filled up the Kubota with desiel. Soon we were back on the road, with me driving quite concious of the ladder hanging out of the back of the truck, not strapped in. Like I told Daddy, it reminded me of the time I brought those 16 foot boards home...

We got back here and poured the remaining desiel into the John Deere, gathered up some tools, and some water bottles, and headed off down the driveway to trim back this one tree in particular. (It's spliting.) Of course, Daddy actually did all the chainsaw work while I just stood back and watched and/or held the ladder. I'm really in no hurry to do any chainsaw work--particularly up on a ladder! After the big hunk came down, Daddy sent me off to go bring the tractor down.

As I got close, he started yelling something at me and waving his arms about in a way that should have told me something, but left me more confused than ever. I got scolded for shifting gears without idling the tractor just right. Well...now I know. Turns out, this wears out the clutch too fast, but when I first started driving the thing Daddy didn't tell me this (of course, it was over the phone)...it's a good thing he caught me or I'd have been even more distructive! So...even though it's never pleasant to get chewed out (stinkin' pride, you know), I'm thankful I was! :D

We got the first log hooked up to the tractor and headed off, Daddy driving and me hanging on to the side of the tractor standing on this out cropping hunk of iron with a post out the top of it. I haven't any idea what it is for, but it's handy for dual riding! I watched how Daddy operated the tractor as well as the log plowing up the drive way.

We made over half a dozen trips, (I think). On one I rode back half sitting on Daddy's lap...but determined that it really was more comfortable standing on the iron slab off the side--despite the fact that I had a nut pushing up through the sole of my boot into the arch of my foot that was rather uncomfortable. Another time, Daddy suggested to carry the 'new' gate down on the tractor. I ended up perched somehow sort of on the sidewall over the tire, standing on one foot, with my other knee resting on Daddy's thigh. My horse riding muscles came in handy as I held onto the gate over and behind Daddy's head.

It was my job to hook up and unhook the limbs...I'm alright at that kind of work. :) I think overall, we had as fun a time as one can have while doing such work. Daddy said at one point (yelled rather since that's what you have to do on a tractor), "We're doing a mechanized Indian trick!" Meaning of course, that the leaves of the branches were covering our trail...

Snip got his poor, confused look everytime we drove by. He eventually came down closer to where the main body of the chainsaw work had been done and I fed him some leaves and spanish moss. He likes that stuff a lot!

We went along the fence in the front and Daddy trimmed out some branches to make it easier to work on the fence. I managed to knock my hat off with a limb I was attempting to throw over the fence. I must say, it was rather reminisent of the time I pulled my hatted head into the fence (loosing the hat into the ditch) while we were cleaning up after Hurricane Charlie...

After a bit of determined work we got the old gate off. It took different tools, the main one of any use being the car jack out of the truck, and some elbow grease. Once again, Daddy did most of the work. The long and the short of the gate tale is that a new hole is going to have to be drilled for the upper hinge. The distance between the hinges is less on the new gate (which is currently chained to the gate post to keep any light fingered feller from just snitching it easily--though it's heavy enough that it wouldn't be "easy as pie" to use that strange metaphor). The new gate is also several inches shorter, but it'll still work.

As it was closing in on 6 o'clock, we decided to call it quits for the day--except that I still had to feed my critters. It took a little extra time because I had to fill up a five gallon watering can in the hen coop. Charlotte was pleased to see the bottle this evening and if it were possible, the thing would have been sucked completely flat! It gets concave and I pull it out of her mouth and lift up the edge of the nipple to let some air back into it, the whole while the silly little calf spins around me, pressed close to my legs (and occasionally stepping on a toe). Sometimes I think she's going to knock me down! Anyway, she's not acting like a scaredy nut like she did on Sunday...I was so frustrated about that that I blew up. It also prompted me to separate Charlotte from the other heifers (names go like this: Big Whitey, Big Red, Little Red [the one who really gets Charlotte worked up], Blondie, and August [so called because she was born then--in fact, she's the white calf in this video]).

Anyway, we had a busy, fairly productive day. I spent a good portion of the morning reading my narration to Savannah and doing some editing. It's always nice to have that second set of ears to tell you why something just doesn't set right.

I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow...but I'll probably tell you all about it after it happens! :)

Updated my cattle numbering again this morning...another bull calf! :D Yay!
 
In other news, I rode my new saddle this morning...the stirrups are the biggest difference, believe it or not. I think if I wear my new boots rather than the old ones, they'll give me that fraction of an inch boost I need. (I have the stirrups set to their shortest length!)
 
I also need a girth. I tossed the saddle up on Snip's back and went to cinch it up when I realized "this strap is the one that goes through the girth buckle! I need a girth." I was going to use the one off the other saddle, but the belt is rusted shut. So, I just rode with the narrow strap--I did no quick turns, you can be sure of that! When I told Daddy that, he made a funny face of mock horror! :D

There are a few seams in different places that I'm going to have to get used to, but the fact that the saddle is lower and wider in the back is actually more comfortable I think. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase.

Right...I just haven't gotten to this since Monday afternoon....

Monday evening, when we moved the chicken coops, about 12 of the roosters escaped from under a corner of the coop. Boy! It sure was fun dashing around trying to catch them! :D We did eventually manage to catch them all and pitch them back into their respective coop, but it took a little while. I'm sporting a bruise on my right knee from where I threw myself at one booger (got him too!), and when I went down I hit that knee on a dried out cow-patty. Yessiree...they do get hard enough to leave a mark!

Tuesday we did...what? Um...let's see if I can remember...well...

That's right, I played my cello, on and off, for about four hours! I started shortly after Gunsmoke came on and watched that with one eye to see what happened to Festus--who just about died of thirst, by the way! I didn't pay too much mind to Bonanza--except that Adam got involved with some Quaker gal then pulled up stakes at the end--of course! I can't even remember anything at all about The Big Valley--probably because by this time Savannah had put down her stitching and we were playing together (roughly)--her on the piano and me on the cello. We probably spent one to two hours working on a cello accompaniment line for "Dixie". She wrote it, but I tested it. :) I like it!

Next day (and today to some extent), my hands were really stiff from playing that much. I played for a few minutes yesterday, but the majority of my day was spent doing something else--critters of course took up a large portion of the morning. Daddy helped me to trim Snip's hooves and then I went for a fairly short and satisfying ride. In the afternoon, I spent some time watching Daddy working on the tractor and trying to be helpful. He had to go to town and get parts to rig the bush hog better. He was going to drag the runway today, but it rained, so that didn't happen.

Instead, today we got the wheel fixed for the Kubota--I did a little bit to help with that, but Daddy of course did most of it since he knew what he was doing and I was just watching (and hopefully learning!). After lunch we went off to a hardware store I'd never been in before and bought a new belt for the Craftsman mower. There was a big, jolly fat cat sitting on top of a box. I spent most of our time there petting him. He purred something tremendous. You don't know how lovely it is to be able to pet a cat like that again after so long. :)

Daddy had me drive both to and from the hardware store--that way I'll remember where it is. I was terrible groggy what with the weather and all, but I did alright. No wreaks or near wreaks.

We we got back we put the new belt on and leveled the deck. That took a whole lot longer than it takes to write. It was fun mostly and I got greasy up to my elbows again. It poured down rain the whole time practically and even thundered and lightening-ed some. I think I was actually helpful--grogsville and weak feeling hands and all.

I've managed to read "Captain's Courageous" too, over the last few days. I really like that story... :)

Now, for the finale, how would you like some pictures of Charlotte? :)

I keep this up and my hands and wrists will be stronger than ever...and next time Savannah needs a shoulder rub, she's going to say I'm hurting her more than usual. :)

I have quite a lot to chatter about today...I'll start with Saturday. :)

Saturday evening, as I was on my way out to feed the heifers, I noticed the new calf attempting to suck. She was unable to because her mother's teats were so large and swollen. On my way back from feeding the heifers, I looked at the situation a little more carefully. The calf was almost concave, but wasn't really lack-luster or anything. Still, after assessing the situation, I finished returning to the house, grabbed my cellphone (whenever I want it, I don't have it!), and called Daddy. We discussed my options--a) let the calf die--which would have happened if she couldn't eat, b) put the cow in the squeeze chute and work something out that way...force the calf onto the teat or milk her, or c) run into town and get some 'formula' and bottle raise the calf. I settled on the third option since I've bottle raised a couple of calves before and currently still have heifers in the pens.

I had to go to Tractor Supply since it was Saturday evening and the feed stores close early on Saturday. I strode in and headed for the back. I noticed a couple pairs of spurs leaving as I entered. It was my opinion that it was father and son...they had an awesome sounding old truck with a nice horse trailer on the back. (The truck was a desiel...) Anyway, enough about beautiful red pick-ups...

I got my calf milk replacer and new nipple since the old ones had been thrown out recently being nasty. The lady who checked me out is pretty nice and always greets people with a happy smile when they come in.

When I got home, I mixed up a quart of formula and Savannah and I hopped on the golf cart. Soon we were chasing the old cow and her calf around, through the rest of the herd, and all about. The baby kept up pretty good. I was driving and once the old girl got out of the herd, I kept between her and the rest of the herd. Finally, we got them up against the runway fence and Savannah took over the wheel and I half fell out of the cart, grabbing the calf as I did so. I whisked her up (fortunately she doesn't weigh too much yet!), ran around the back of the cart and slid into the seat, and almost immediately tried to get her to feed. I gave up on that before we reached the pens. When we did get back, it took just a few tries before she started sucking loudly. While feeding her, I looked into that pretty brown eye and said, "Charlotte." Savannah said, "I was thinking 'Flora'." I said firmly, "Charlotte." So, Charlotte she is. Sweet little thing too...when I rode today, I got out near the pens and she saw me and went, "Maawww..." When I feed her, I end up with wet clothes because she butts at me with her sticky nose! :D

Yesterday, we went out to eat after church with the S.'s--who are down from Virginia again. Well, the three of us managed to keep a big secret from Savannah, despite some mysterious phone calls and covert looks. We rather drug our time out at the table--not really overly extra--know us and the S.'s, but we were really trying to make it. Savannah went to the ladies room at one point and I started talking to the S's about the surprise and I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure she wasn't on her way back. I peered over my shoulder one last time and went, "And there he is!" DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew it was him by his hat even before I saw his face! Probably the way he walks has something to do with it too, but it's kind of funny that I knew "Daddy!!" by the hat first! :D

Anyway, when Savannah came out of the bathroom, she didn't see him immediately, but smiled at me as I grinned like a goof-ball at her and kind of shrugged like "What?". Then, she saw Daddy and her smile got bigger and her eyes just lit up and it was totally worth the sneakiness! (I'm horrid at keeping surprises like this to myself without smirking at all the wrong times--so I guess I did pretty good this time around.)

Today, I've poked around a little bit with Daddy...he got the new handle that I bought last July on the post hole diggers...I stood around and 'helped' a little bit--mainly by digging around in the appropriate cans for a new bolt and nuts. He and Granddaddy had been out messing around with the airplane some before that and I measured the 'old' and 'new' gates...the new one is 6 inches shorter, but Daddy says it ought to work. He came down on the golf cart while I was measuring the current gate because he wanted to know where something was...but anyway, we looked at trees on the way back up the driveway. I knew right where the thing he was looking for was as soon as I went into the barn, but I couldn't remember exactly standing at the end of the driveway. :)

Pretty soon it will be time to go feed critters. I'm sure Charlotte is starving again by now...she hasn't been fully content with the amount of milk I've given her yet. But I'm still waiting to see if she gets scours so I don't want to give her too much to start with. The heifers go and lick her nose off when I'm done feeding her...it's ridiculous!

The old tan colored cow with horns had a calf today! I think it is a heifer, but I wouldn't put any money on it at this point. I didn't edge in close enough to really tell.

In other news, I got the rest of the fence posts in for the fence across the creek. I'll string the wire tomorrow if things go as planned.

This morning, right after watching Perry Mason with Granddaddy, I turned my face to the water trough. (I should have gone out earlier, but Perry Mason came on while I was washing the dishes and I got roped into the mystery.) I dug around until I uncovered the pipe, nodded my head, and headed back towards the yard. I grabbed my PVC pipe cutters out of the pickup (yes, I know that is kind of a strange place to keep them!) then went to the barn. I grabbed the pipe with the float valve on it, stuck it in the vice and started trying to get the broken fitting off. I ended up banging on it with a wrench, which broke the plastic some. Then I just used some of that ol' ingenuity that makes this stuff so fun and pried it off with a screwdriver.

I hunted and hunted for a wire brush...I looked in the toolbox and around about. Having given up, I went back to the vice, looked down and groaned..."It was right here the whole time!" :D I needed to use it to knock off some of the rust out of the threads. Soon I had the whole contraption ready to fit back into it's proper place. I had to run to the garage and pick up my PVC pipe cleaner and glue.

By now, it was about 11:30 and Savannah came out to tell me that lunch was ready. She stayed around to help me put the thing back together. I had her go turn the water on for a minute to wash the sand out of the pipe (after I cut the old fitting off). Well, it filled my hole up with water, so I sent her in to get something to scoop the water out...I held my hand over the pipe opening to keep sand from getting back into the hole. By the time she got back the water had gone down enough that we didn't really need to scoop the water out...but I did scoop a little out anyway. Quickly, I slapped some cleaner and glue on the fitting, then we stuffed this thing together. After letting it sit for a little bit, we slipped the trough back under the float valve and I filled the hole back in.

The plumbers came and fixed Granddaddy's toilet today as well...it was kind of funny, I went out when the first one showed up and after a minute, as I was just standing there, he said, "Well?" and I just shrugged, not really knowing what he was getting at. He laughed and said, "Oh and I thought you came out to greet me!"

Then, later, I was in the house doing something at the stove when I heard the door rattle. The second plumber had showed up. As he opened the door he asked, "You don't have any man eating dogs, do you?"

But...to back up a little in time...I got the last fence post in and looked at my watch. 3:00 p.m. Good. That was exactly the time I intended on quitting. Why so early? Well, Savannah had taken Granddaddy to his eye appointment and we had a dinner guest coming this evening (it was a pleasant little meal), and I was supposed to take care of supper--and I needed to put the meat on at 3:30. (Get this--we didn't eat the meat! Our dinner guest brought over some venison...and I ate some stewed meat Savannah had been making broth out of--she'd already had "her share" or so she said.) I got home, washed my hair, put the meat on, ate a snack, and started cooking the green beans and carrots. I sang on the top of my lungs for a while, cleaned the bathrooms--to some extent or another, cleared off the dining room table and buffet (Savannah had sewing stuff out), and swept the garage all before the plumbers showed up.

After Savannah got home, I went out to feed my critters. Snip was so distracted by the buzzards cleaning up after birth that he didn't immediately start chowing down like he normally does. The roosters went nuts like usual when I entered their pen to fill up their feeder. They are so noisy and act like I'm going to eat them...well...I am, but not yet! :D The heifers were glad to see the food as usual. I filled their water trough up--also like usual. It just took longer since I couldn't run water this morning--I did haul out about 5 gallons this morning, but it didn't fill it up. I was barefoot and I stepped right into a chilly pie...which made me laugh! I did wash my feet before coming in though.

A busy day with several things completed...quite satisfying!