Working on Day 3

Snow in South Carolina is a big thing...

an event to be celebrated, enjoyed, and then...

gone when you wake up the next morning!

it's a weather related one night stand...

not this time...

it began snowing late Sunday night...

snowed most of the day Monday...

began sleeting last night..

this morning we woke up to a total forest...

it looked all nice and pretty...

like fresh snow waiting to be enjoyed...

but it wasn't...

one look at my porch steps told me differently...

it was 6 inches of snow with 1/2 inch of ice on top

being a farm wife i didn't have the option of hanging out inside the house all day...

someone has to feed baby calves,

check on ewes,

 and make sure all the kids are accounted for and okay

(goat kids people).

i began my morning by filling up 5 1-gallon jugs

 to haul hot water to the barn to mix milk ...

i loaded the jugs

my soon to be 3 year old

 into the make shift wagon/sled

and pulled the whole contrapation

kid and all to the barn...

the path was slick

my son thought it was WAY more fun to go fast than i did

but we made it...unharmed down the hill to the barn

the calves were happy to see us

as the milk warms their tummy

for the most part everything was fine

we did have a calf that needed special attention

he wasn't doing good last night and this morning was worse

he wouldn't get up or drink...

tubing him was useless

its discouraging...

i have spent the last 5 days morning and night

feeding him

ensuring his health

but the weather has gotten the better of him

you learn that with the gift of life comes death

you deal with it and move on

the ewes however were fine...

we are starting to see many of them bagging up...

preparing for lambing

the kids crazy as ever...

jumping all over their mom...

the hay bales...

and my son

and one of the previously weak calves had greatly improved!

I am happy to report i didn't have to

tube a single calf this morning!!!

For you non-farming folks..

To tube a calf you mix up a bottle of milk

pour it into a hard plastic iv bag kinda thing

this bag has a long semi stiff plastic tube on the end of it

you must keep the tube bag right side up

until you are ready to give the calf milk

otherwise you are wasting...

time...

milk...

and money!!!

You then take the semi stiff tube and place it in the calf's mouth

making sure the tube is on the left side of the calf's mouth

you ease it down the calf's throat

the entire time you have to make sure you are on the left side

the left side goes to the stomach

the right goes to the lungs

once you are certain you have the tube in the calf's stomach

your turn your bag upside down and milk gravity feeds into the calf's stomach

this is a great way to feed  calves that aren't doing well

it helps ensure the calf is getting enough to eat

with weak calves it is also good

as the calves don't have to use up all their energy sucking down a bottle..

so after my morning rounds...

we headed back up to the house...

going up hill is much harder than walking down hill...

especially if your little man rocks the make shift sled thingy.

he enjoyed playing outside for a while...

we attempted to venture out to pick up

milk for us...

another bag of milk for the calves...

feed for the calves...

and a few other random supplies...

no such luck...

we are stuck again...

this time in front of our porch door...

William's not going to like this...

(he had to pull us out last night too)

i spent the rest of the day...

doing laundry...

catching up on emails...

hanging out with wild man...

(who is teaching teddy bear to ride the rocking horse)

and explaining why we can't go outside

and ride Bartow or Force today...

instead i caught him with a bottle

of apple barrel paint...

redecorating his chalkboard wall...

the chaise lounge...

and himself...

we are looking at day 3 of being at home tomorrow...

i got the call about an hour ago...

no school tomorrow...

I suppose i could do some lesson plans...

but really i plan to sew...

i don't know what yet but i will be making something!!!

Until then have a great evening!!

Snow days!

Snow days are wonderful days...

no school...no work...no dealing with 100 screaming 7th graders...

now don't get me wrong I love my job

 but sometimes its nice to have an unexpected break.

Around our house snow days mean...

You get to trek to the barn to feed up bawling calves and hollering baaing sheep,

in the freezing cold and can't complain because it is the life you choose.

Sometimes our jeeps get stuck in the snow and we have to use our hands to dig them out...

man if we had just put its top on!

You get the chance to snap what you thought would be a great picture of 3 calves...

while you are bottle feeding one...and fending another one off

Your horses stand in the snow to consume a bale of hay

and you get the mean green to the barn, turned around and almost back up to the house before you...

spin the wheels until the front driver's side tire is slick,

and you are stuck...

this means you have to wait on your husband to come home in the flatbed ton truck to get you out

it also means that the little bullrider above can't practice...

can't saddle up...

and must play all day in the freezing cold to make up for the two previous statements...

its also when i cook & bake...

a loaf of bread...

a pound cake...

oatmeal cookies...

potato soup...

thinking about meatloaf to go with the potato soup...

So what's the weather like where you live?

what do you do when you have an extra day at home?

i hope if its cold you are warm...i hope if its hot you are cool...

either way i hope you are enjoying your family



Just another day...on the farm

Yesterday was the first day back at school

 after a wonderful two week break. 

It was hectic...

to say the least...

but I was able to get there somewhat early

finished lesson plans for the rest of the month

review some ideas

and see my lovely students again

Today on the other hand did not start out well...

I woke up late (bad way to start the day)

Then as I got the hot water ready to mix milk for calves

 Wyatt woke up

he wanted to stay in the house

to watch Clifford while I fed calves

(this isn't unusual as it takes him a while to wake up and he would prefer to snooze with teddy)

so I got bundled up and headed to the barn

I had mixed up one bottle and was feeding the 1st calf when...

 I heard him holler from the house

 next I him crying and closer

my heart stopped i was worried that something was wrong

but no when i got to him nothing was wrong

other than he had run outside

forgot to put on his shoes or coat

and said he was

"Fzeeezing"

He came on down to the barn with me

to help finish feeding up

feeding the calves was a challenge as they are still young...

just a few days old

it takes longer to feed them

the 1st calf drank OK...a little slow but not too bad

the 2nd calf wasn't interested...

he drank about a 1/4 of a bottle

and decided he was done..

this caused me lots of

 FRUSTRATION!!!

I fussed...

tried not to cuss...

and prayed that he would just eat

i broke down and called William...

explaining how this wasn't going to work

as it was already 6:50

I needed to leave the house in 20 minutes

he listened with a sympathetic ear

said it would be OK

 (he doesn't have a clue sometime)

then said if the calf drank some milk he would be fine until this evening

so i moved on to the 3rd calf...

thank God for a smart calf...

he drank the bottle without me even having to get in the pen...

AMEN..an answer to one of my prayers

I was finally headed back to the house

got dressed 

round up the little man

to head south to the barn

I was only 5 minutes late to work

but still in my world that might as well be an hour

i was off beat and stressed

the day ended with me being...

exhausted...

when we got home

 it started again...

William's clothes needed to be ironed

for tomorrows Farm Bureau training

the horses and sheep needed hay...

dogs needed feed and water...

and the cats were running wild...

Wyatt insisted on playing baseball

we still have to feed up tonight,

cook supper,

update my classroom website,

bathe the little man,

wash dishes,

and

hopefully

spend some time with my hubby

So what's a day at your house like?

do you have to feed calves?

wash clothes?

chase a two year old?

I am sure you have to fulfill many of the same requirements

as I do

maybe without the calves and sheep included

perhaps there is not a calf licking the back of your pants

while you chase a two year

or a horse trying to nibble said child's hair

instead of the hay

but still the same basic things

Until next time I hope you all have a blessed day!!

P.S. maybe soon I can share pictures...if I get a new camera

Christmas on the Farm

Many of you know that my husband is a full time farmer and for a farm family Christmas is a little different.  No matter the day God's creatures have to be cared for.  So EARLY Saturday morning before even your most excited little one rolled out of bed we had opened presents, had breakfast, fed baby calves, and William was milking the herd.  This is a typical holiday for us.  I don't mind the early rising or the cold air in the early morning because we get to experience a one of a kind holiday every year. 

 This was our living room before the little man attacked the mound of presents.  Now typically he doesn't get tons of presents but this year I went a little overboard because I got some AMAZING deals on his favorite toys...John Deere Tractors!!!  The little man is amazing, he can wake up before most adults and still have the most wonderful attitude.

This year I was able to learn something new. Our little man is 2 going on 80! On Christmas morning he hiked to the barn with me to feed baby calves and check on the lambs and goats, then hiked back up the hill to feed the horses and dogs all the while being a trooper in the cold air. As we were in the barn feeding Wyatt said that he could mix up the milk for the calves of course I was a little more than nervous...subfreezing temps, hot water, and a 2 year old isn't a good mix. But he (with supervision of course) took the jugs of water and poured it into the milk buckets, added a cup of powdered milk to each and whisked them like a pro! It was an amazing moment to see that some of the values we are trying to instill in him were being implemented even at a young age. He didn't whine or complain he was enjoying his time with me having fun working on the farm. It was wonderful!!

Christmas day continued with visits to family (after milking of course).  Wyatt loves to head to Nana & Pop's.  They live on the main part of the farm and he likes to play and spend time with his cousin, Ashley.  We got a very rare treat on Christmas evening...it started snowing!!  Technically we didn't get a white Christmas (not 1 inch prior to midnight) but we did have a white day after!! And Wyatt loved it!  The snow was too soft and powdery to use the real sled so we made use of a feed trough and pulled little man to the barn in it.  He loved the homemade sled. 

 Living on a farm gives you a chance to take some amazing photos through out the year.  I love to catch the landscape covered with snow from various angles.  This is looking out the end of the barn. 

 This is another angle from the end of the barn but this one is special because the house you can just see at the end of the field is the original home place for little man's best friend and my hubby's maternal grandfather, Paw Paw.  It was a beautiful chance to capture a glimpse of family traditions.

 And of course I couldn't resist the chance to get a picture of some of the animals in the snow.  I didn't take many this time but I am sure I will have more chances as the winter progresses. 

I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday and remembered the true reason for the celebration...the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord.

God Bless,

Ummm...what about that sew through a book thing???

So I just realized that I was suppose to start a new blogging series LAST WEEK!!!  My plan was to sew through a semi-newly released book and discuss the pros and cons...Well two things have hindered that process...

1) I checked out 15 semi new sewing books from the library and could decide on which book to choose.  I had narrowed it down to 3 and still could make a final decision....Who Wants to be a Millionare would not be a good game for me (I take a REALLY REALLY long time to decide anything). 

2) 2 of the 3 books had patterns that needed to be used to construct the items...well I could have made copies on the plotter at work but not everyone has that access plus I really prefer to cut up my orginals and use them (I know, I know...don't lecture me about the irrationality of that statement). 

So what am I going to do instead??? I am not really sure (SHOCKING, LOL).  I have a few ideas but still trying to determine what would be best.  I do have some projects from the 3 books that didn't require patterns so I plan to make those for you...and discuss the pros and cons...the book idea is coming just not yet...

In other news I am heading to Washington, D.C. in July and need some advice.  I have a limited amount of site seeing time...have you been to D.C....what was the best sites...anything CAN'T miss???  I will be in a workshop most days from 8:30 until 5.  But hopefully I will be more prepared to discuss the agriculture way of life with you after this training...

I hope you enjoyed the random pictures...

BTW...what are you interested in hearing about...my sewing adventures and misadventures...pattern reviews...farm life...mom life...all of the above???  Leave some comment love...Thanks!

What Farm Wives do at 2 a.m. on a Friday Night/Saturday Morning

Many people spend their Friday and Saturday night at a bar or with friends having a good time. However farm wives, and many mothers spend their time catching up on unfinished projects. That is how I spent my Friday night. I purchased cloth weeks ago to make a pair of overalls, some seat belt covers, and a blanket for my son I just never got around to actually creating any of it.

So Friday night I decided I would stay up late and create a master piece for my son's Christmas outfit (yes, I know Christmas is 4 months away, but I have to start now). I tucked the boys into bed and got started. I laid out my cloth and my patterns. Made sure everything I need was at hand. I began cutting. Things were going great until I when to start piecing the overalls. I discovered rather quickly that I didn't cut mirror images for one piece. So I made the necessary adjustments, cut another piece and sewed the overalls together. I was so satifisifying to finish a project in one sitting. I couldn't believe that all I had left to do was hem the legs. I went to bed feeling very proud of myself.

Pride is a pack of lions in more ways than one. Saturday was full of volunteer work, helping around the farm and cleaning house. When I finally got around to inspecting my work on Sunday I noticed something dreadful... the overalls were made out of a lightweight cord fabric..the cord on one half of the overall are vertical and on the other half hortizonal! Back to the drawing board.... hopefully I can fix my mistake this weekend...