I'm sure I've done enough complaining about the weather but there's really not much else to complain about. I was hanging out clothes the other day and decided, this past year in Kansas hasn't impressed me too much. Some say the winter was just mild in comparison. Well, I don't know about anyone else, but negative twenty four is not really mild in my, humble yet persuasive and dramatic, opinion. What do they mean by mild? Do they mean there wasn't a lot of snow? Because I'd say 4 good storms, one of which dumped snow up to my thigh, is not exactly mild. Now, granted, we're not Minnesota or Iowa, it isn't normal to be gassing up the snow plow in August to use in September and putting it away in June for just about a month before pulling it back out again. I wouldn't say it was mild, but maybe there isn't a lot of grey area here. Then, this summer has just been horrid. I don't think it would be too overly dramatic to say it went from thigh high snow one day in February to one hundred and twelve degrees. Okay, maybe that is a bit exaggerated, but not by much!
To be truthful though, I don't think we've had a drop of rain in a month. The temperature dipping into the mid 90's during the peak of the day is a cool down and to hear about a chance on rain from the weather man makes me want to choke him/her! We're being punished, I think. It rains all around us yet there is no rain for Hutch. It's awful. The grass is dead or dying. The pasture looks horrible and one of the perks about leaving California was that it would look like a California spring for much of the summer here in Kansas. Well, that's pretty far from reality.
We begrudgingly pull ourselves out of bed at 6:30 AM to begin work and not that it makes a bit of difference because the minute you step outside the sweat starts to pour from your face. We have managed to complete the perimeter fencing and for that I am overjoyed. We even managed to get about a 300' cross fencing section done which is the new buck pasture although it's not the joyous moment I thought it would be because there isn't much edible grass to speak of. The only saving grace to this lack of rain and abundant heat is that mowing is a thing of the past!
I remember taking photos of Jeremiah last year brush hogging the property of lush green weeds up to my neck! This year, we're lucky if they reach mid-calf and they are a shade of brownish grey that reminds me of California in mid-summer. I was certain we moved ourselves 1600 miles but it sure doesn't look like it!
A few hours in the heat of the morning does us in so we've been doing a lot of inside work too. We bought quite a few new interior doors for the place and Jeremiah has been installing those. The back room in the basement is now officially my sewing room. Last week I moved my sewing table back there. We bought a shelving unit to go onto the wall to hold some of my fabrics. We got a second hand roll around desk and another chair , both of which I painted. Right now my sewing table is home to 3 machines, one of which (Rachel's) is going to go on the roll around desk. The machine actually used to belong to Grandma Hargett, and while it's nothing snazzy, it's a great machine for Rachel.
The front room of the basement will become the new family room. We have 2 couches in the shop that are waiting for their home in the living room upstairs but until the front room of the basement was cleaned of my sewing stuff, there was no room for the futon.
Speaking of the basement, Jeremiah has finally come up with a plan to get the stairwell entrance to the basement fro the hallway (eliminating 1 of EIGHT doors) and into the living room. More on that some other time. We've got big plans...one step at a time though.
We bought 3 new mattresses. The kids need a regular size bed now so their tiny beds have been pulled out to accept a regular twin size mattress. I would love to have a murphy bed built for downstairs for the queen mattress that we replaced. It's not bad at all, Jeremiah just said he wanted something different. Project for another time though.
We've hauled 2 loads of hay down for ourselves from 100 miles north, still need at least another 2 and Thursday evening we hauled down a load for our neighbors. Speaking of which, while the west fence was down we had the neighbor's horses over for a visit. I'll post photos later. They were quiet company.
Other than that, it's been work work work. Yesterday we did steal away on our first date since moving here! Our neighbors, who watched the goat's for us while we were gone, have a son and daughter (15 and 17 respectively) who babysat the kids for us so Jeremiah and I could catch a movie. Drew is quite enamored with Joshua and literally cried when we had to go. So far Joshua thinks they are pretty cool but I have to wonder how long that will last. Five and seven year olds are only cool for so long. But, maybe the thought of money is enough incentive =)...bribes, gotta love 'em.
We have company coming in next week. Jeremiah's brother has orders for Scott AFB in Illinois so they are moving. Their stuff has already been picked up from Shepard AFB Wichita Falls, Tx and they are visiting family down there before heading up here for a few days. I hope to make a trip up to one of the lakes further north of here for at least a day. There's been plenty of rain up there!
The goats are handling the heat. Bonnie has come down with pneumonia I think so I've been medicating her the past 2 days. It's not uncommon for it to happen. I think the new buck may have come back with a bit of shipping fever and sniffles, snots and coughs have run throughout the herd. Most of them are over it but Bonnie's not recovering as well as everyone else so she's stuck in the barn with the fan on her. Speaking of which, I have to go out and dose her with some Penicillin.
So, I guess I'll end here for now.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Misc. Ca. Trip Photos
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| Church in Laramie, Wy. |
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| Donner Lake, Ca. |
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| Rachel, Drew and Julie |
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| Foxglove |
Saturday, July 9, 2011
July Hollow Update
We've hit the ground running since returning from vacation. Yes, the dog was happy to see us. The goats we hauled back with us from Ca. made it fine and are settling in. Ann took no time at all to establish herself as herd queen and is quite happy to eat anything green, herbaceous and delicious. Iris, on the other hand, is more picky but sweet just the same.
We're in a major drought this year. Hay prices have gone sky high and we're hauling in hay from 100 miles away, 2 1/2 ton at a time. We'll need to make a few more trips north to bring enough down for the next year. It's not just that prices are sky high within the few surrounding counties, there won't be enough to go around either. Most hay fields aren't artificially irrigated, in case you were wondering, so whatever grows off of what falls from the sky is it. Fortunately for us, it's cheaper up north AND more abundant, so providing we've got the time to go up, we should be just fine.
We've got visiting friends with us. Because we've pulled all the posts and fence line from the west side of the property we've got the neighbor's two paint horses here. We could easily have the lines back up in a day but ran out of time Wednesday evening to get the lines up. We weren't around Friday and so today may be the day. It's either all or nothing as I would hate to get one or two up to have the horses get caught in them. To be perfectly honest, putting up the fence line is the quick and easy part! Taking it all down and cleaning the fence line beforehand is what takes the time! The goats haven't minded the horses and visa versa but I did lock the goats in the "main pen" so I could be sure they weren't visiting the neighbor's. I don't mind if the horses are over here but I don't need the goats getting into mischief over there.
It's been so hot which only adds to the misery of having no rain too. I try to get out as soon as the sun's up but getting back on Central time has been difficult. It also stays light out here until nearly 10 o'clock and working in the evenings is nice and cool. Jeremiah's a night owl anyway. I am not, but have been working well into the dark to maximize the time we can work.
Other than that, the kids are fine. We're preparing for the county fair in which Rachel has a few entries. I suppose I also need to think about getting the paperwork in for the state fair as well. Jeremiah goes back to work in a few weeks. His classroom and shop are being painted right now so he's back to square one (as in, the same place he was last year with his shop in total disarray). The summer sure is flying by!
We're in a major drought this year. Hay prices have gone sky high and we're hauling in hay from 100 miles away, 2 1/2 ton at a time. We'll need to make a few more trips north to bring enough down for the next year. It's not just that prices are sky high within the few surrounding counties, there won't be enough to go around either. Most hay fields aren't artificially irrigated, in case you were wondering, so whatever grows off of what falls from the sky is it. Fortunately for us, it's cheaper up north AND more abundant, so providing we've got the time to go up, we should be just fine.
We've got visiting friends with us. Because we've pulled all the posts and fence line from the west side of the property we've got the neighbor's two paint horses here. We could easily have the lines back up in a day but ran out of time Wednesday evening to get the lines up. We weren't around Friday and so today may be the day. It's either all or nothing as I would hate to get one or two up to have the horses get caught in them. To be perfectly honest, putting up the fence line is the quick and easy part! Taking it all down and cleaning the fence line beforehand is what takes the time! The goats haven't minded the horses and visa versa but I did lock the goats in the "main pen" so I could be sure they weren't visiting the neighbor's. I don't mind if the horses are over here but I don't need the goats getting into mischief over there.
It's been so hot which only adds to the misery of having no rain too. I try to get out as soon as the sun's up but getting back on Central time has been difficult. It also stays light out here until nearly 10 o'clock and working in the evenings is nice and cool. Jeremiah's a night owl anyway. I am not, but have been working well into the dark to maximize the time we can work.
Other than that, the kids are fine. We're preparing for the county fair in which Rachel has a few entries. I suppose I also need to think about getting the paperwork in for the state fair as well. Jeremiah goes back to work in a few weeks. His classroom and shop are being painted right now so he's back to square one (as in, the same place he was last year with his shop in total disarray). The summer sure is flying by!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Tom's cabin on the river
While in California, one Friday, Grandpa Hargett, Debi, Jeremiah, Auntie Lo, Becky the kids and I trekked up to Tom's place along the Consumes River. It was GORGEOUS! The water was especially chilly and high but it was a lovely afternoon with great company nonetheless.
I spent the better part of the first half decidedly tippled from a single glass of wine! I won't be drinking at Tom's again! I haven't decided if it was the atmosphere or some unusually potent wine. I know it wasn't an empty stomach as we had eaten sandwiches by the American River in Coloma only about 2 hours before. At any rate, the hike was lovely and we didn't even need bread crumbs to find our way back. Although we did wonder a few times if a search party would be necessary.
I spent the better part of the first half decidedly tippled from a single glass of wine! I won't be drinking at Tom's again! I haven't decided if it was the atmosphere or some unusually potent wine. I know it wasn't an empty stomach as we had eaten sandwiches by the American River in Coloma only about 2 hours before. At any rate, the hike was lovely and we didn't even need bread crumbs to find our way back. Although we did wonder a few times if a search party would be necessary.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Leaving Full
What a weekend! What a week leading up to this weekend. We are all exhausted, sun burned but exhilarated and proud. Friday night was the youth only show that started strictly with showmanship, which is the judge judging you and not your goat, although you do take a goat into the ring. We left at 1 to get to the fair ground early by 2 to get our pens and get them set up. We only took the truck that night with Cheedoe and Dawn. Saturday was the "open" show where any age can show so the mix of ages was nice.
I started clipping on Wednesday! The temps have been something awful here and I've been show clipping in the early mornings and late evenings partly because of the heat, partly because I have some darker goats and wanted to give them a few days for their hair to grow in just a tiny bit so they didn't look patchy and partly because the clippers get hot and I need the break. Everyone was cranky so short stints made them easier to work with. I was still clipping Saturday morning at 6 AM!
Our first show out as a family and we had quite an assortment of placings. Cheedoe, who is quite a nice junior doe, looked horrible once clipped and I don't mean in confirmation. She has lovely Nubian attributes but her coloring underneath, in my opinion, just made her show awfully. That's it, it's as simple as coloring making her look not as nice as the others, or at least that's my opinion.. It could have been my clip job for sure but she's so many different colors in all the "wrong" spots and had I known, I would have left her un-clipped or left her really long anyway! I almost hated to take her and she showed at the back of her class each time. It's just not her fault.
Rachel made our hearts burst with pride. Jeremiah and I were at opposite sides of the ring and both of us were nearly moved to tears watching her in that show ring like she'd done it a million times before. Every thing we'd worked on she followed to a "t" from the way she payed attention to the judge and moved when the judge moved, walked with confidence and set the goat up. She was just awesome.
Friday night the judge made a mistake in thinking Rachel had gone the wrong way in a showmanship class when she hadn't. She was at the top of her game that night! I cannot tell you the utter disappointment to be called out like that by the judge and I had half a mind to say something, as in interrupting the judge right then and there. While the lesson from the judge to be learned was that you always go in a clockwise rotation around the judge the real lesson that we reminded her of was that people make mistakes and as long as Rachel knew the truth it was okay and she did. It was still a hard pride pill to swallow though for a while when it hadn't been her at all!
I was not showing my best being totally exhausted and a nervous wreck about a late start on Saturday morning, helping the kids get ready and making sure everyone knew which goats we up next. I don't do well in the heat, couple that with a soda I shouldn't have had, not enough sleep, dirt and it makes for a participant who should have handed it over and under the right circumstances, would have gladly.
Saturday brought hot temps, cranky goats and exhausted participants and show goers alike. Rachel showed Dawn for her junior class. Dawn didn't want to walk, wanted to lay down and just quit and did. Rachel, being a bit nervous to begin with and is somewhat of a child who wants to blend in, became overwhelmed when the crowd began laughing (not at her, at the fact that animals are animals and in the middle of the show decided enough was enough, she just wanted to be a goat, lay down and chew her cud). Rachel, partly thinking they were laughing at her and partly just plain frustrated, broke down and began to cry. Daddy and mommy to the rescue with a few encouraging words from us and the judge and she pulled herself up by her boot straps and drove on to come in 2nd in a class of over 20 (where Jeremiah and my juniors placed 5&6th I believe) and went on to show Dawn yet again just a short while later with Apricot (dry (not in milk and not bred) yearling) and I in the class for Grand and Reserve Grand (which we didn't win but still we made it).
Her perseverance was testament to the whole weekend, truly. Saturday morning after such a long week for me with the kids home full time from school, trying to get goats clipped along with all the usual chores and regular work and all the work Rachel, Drew and I had done with the goats, I really just wanted to fall back to sleep at 5 AM when the alarm went off. I wanted to call it quits at 6 AM while shaving udders and knowing I'd run out of time before I could get it done. But in my heart, as a mother and teacher and leader, I knew despite my desire to want to give in and give up, it wouldn't be fair to the children nor would it show them what we try to instill in them. And with a grateful heart, it brings me to tears to think of her strength and will in mirroring us as a family all weekend.
After a disappointing morning with our yearling milkers placing at the end of their class, we went out on a high with our juniors doing very well and Moon (our yearling buck we brought from Ca.) taking Reserve Grand Champion behind an 8 year old La Mancha. There was lots of gushing over him by quite a few folks including the judge. I don't take the credit, I give that all to his breeder and Jeremiah did a better job of showing him than I would have. Moon seems to like him better anyway- must be a guy thing- and I was just a wreck at that point anyway- completely overheated and spent. Jeremiah-being the ever patient man he is and probably wondering why on earth he was showing dairy goats of all things instead of 4 wheeling or something more manly- admonished that while they may be dairy goats, it was an event the whole family could participate in and if we weren't at a goat show, we'd be at home working on something around the farm for the goats. So, you see, one may as well have fun with it.
Our yearling milkers had nowhere near the (udder) capacity as every one else. I couldn't believe the size of these yearlings for one and for two the size of their udders. Mine were not full by any stretch. We did not get home until nearly 11 PM and because my kids are dam raised, they had been drinking up until 11 PM Friday night when we got home from the youth show. I don't like to "over udder" anyway but they weren't as full as they should have been and I know that. There's a lot to take into consideration on the milkers for sure and circumstances are circumstances.
We were happy to be home Saturday evening. I was happy to get the goats back home. King, our LGD, was overjoyed to have his goats back home and we were glad to take a shower! I didn't mention yet that King was so upset about us leaving with half the herd he jumped over the back fence and chased us half way down 4th street! I had to run him all the way back home-just another thing that made me want to call it quits.
But anyway, a very good time was had by all despite. Not wanting to forget Drew who, by his own admonition, wasn't ready for showing yet, was as good as gold all weekend. I was expecting him to be bored and cranky and let that be known by acting out but he was just as involved as everyone else minus being in the show ring. The toys and coloring books didn't even make it out of the truck and his "shell" of shyness an unsure-ness has either broken or was temporarily put to the side because he sat and talked with folks he didn't know and chatted and stepped up to the plate and did what was asked of him happily. This goat showing thing, while it may not be Jeremiah's cup of tea, sure did bring a lot of positives to our already close family this weekend.
Sunday will be spent relaxing! We're tired. I'll try to get some photos up.
I started clipping on Wednesday! The temps have been something awful here and I've been show clipping in the early mornings and late evenings partly because of the heat, partly because I have some darker goats and wanted to give them a few days for their hair to grow in just a tiny bit so they didn't look patchy and partly because the clippers get hot and I need the break. Everyone was cranky so short stints made them easier to work with. I was still clipping Saturday morning at 6 AM!
Our first show out as a family and we had quite an assortment of placings. Cheedoe, who is quite a nice junior doe, looked horrible once clipped and I don't mean in confirmation. She has lovely Nubian attributes but her coloring underneath, in my opinion, just made her show awfully. That's it, it's as simple as coloring making her look not as nice as the others, or at least that's my opinion.. It could have been my clip job for sure but she's so many different colors in all the "wrong" spots and had I known, I would have left her un-clipped or left her really long anyway! I almost hated to take her and she showed at the back of her class each time. It's just not her fault.
Rachel made our hearts burst with pride. Jeremiah and I were at opposite sides of the ring and both of us were nearly moved to tears watching her in that show ring like she'd done it a million times before. Every thing we'd worked on she followed to a "t" from the way she payed attention to the judge and moved when the judge moved, walked with confidence and set the goat up. She was just awesome.
Friday night the judge made a mistake in thinking Rachel had gone the wrong way in a showmanship class when she hadn't. She was at the top of her game that night! I cannot tell you the utter disappointment to be called out like that by the judge and I had half a mind to say something, as in interrupting the judge right then and there. While the lesson from the judge to be learned was that you always go in a clockwise rotation around the judge the real lesson that we reminded her of was that people make mistakes and as long as Rachel knew the truth it was okay and she did. It was still a hard pride pill to swallow though for a while when it hadn't been her at all!
I was not showing my best being totally exhausted and a nervous wreck about a late start on Saturday morning, helping the kids get ready and making sure everyone knew which goats we up next. I don't do well in the heat, couple that with a soda I shouldn't have had, not enough sleep, dirt and it makes for a participant who should have handed it over and under the right circumstances, would have gladly.
Saturday brought hot temps, cranky goats and exhausted participants and show goers alike. Rachel showed Dawn for her junior class. Dawn didn't want to walk, wanted to lay down and just quit and did. Rachel, being a bit nervous to begin with and is somewhat of a child who wants to blend in, became overwhelmed when the crowd began laughing (not at her, at the fact that animals are animals and in the middle of the show decided enough was enough, she just wanted to be a goat, lay down and chew her cud). Rachel, partly thinking they were laughing at her and partly just plain frustrated, broke down and began to cry. Daddy and mommy to the rescue with a few encouraging words from us and the judge and she pulled herself up by her boot straps and drove on to come in 2nd in a class of over 20 (where Jeremiah and my juniors placed 5&6th I believe) and went on to show Dawn yet again just a short while later with Apricot (dry (not in milk and not bred) yearling) and I in the class for Grand and Reserve Grand (which we didn't win but still we made it).
Her perseverance was testament to the whole weekend, truly. Saturday morning after such a long week for me with the kids home full time from school, trying to get goats clipped along with all the usual chores and regular work and all the work Rachel, Drew and I had done with the goats, I really just wanted to fall back to sleep at 5 AM when the alarm went off. I wanted to call it quits at 6 AM while shaving udders and knowing I'd run out of time before I could get it done. But in my heart, as a mother and teacher and leader, I knew despite my desire to want to give in and give up, it wouldn't be fair to the children nor would it show them what we try to instill in them. And with a grateful heart, it brings me to tears to think of her strength and will in mirroring us as a family all weekend.
After a disappointing morning with our yearling milkers placing at the end of their class, we went out on a high with our juniors doing very well and Moon (our yearling buck we brought from Ca.) taking Reserve Grand Champion behind an 8 year old La Mancha. There was lots of gushing over him by quite a few folks including the judge. I don't take the credit, I give that all to his breeder and Jeremiah did a better job of showing him than I would have. Moon seems to like him better anyway- must be a guy thing- and I was just a wreck at that point anyway- completely overheated and spent. Jeremiah-being the ever patient man he is and probably wondering why on earth he was showing dairy goats of all things instead of 4 wheeling or something more manly- admonished that while they may be dairy goats, it was an event the whole family could participate in and if we weren't at a goat show, we'd be at home working on something around the farm for the goats. So, you see, one may as well have fun with it.
Our yearling milkers had nowhere near the (udder) capacity as every one else. I couldn't believe the size of these yearlings for one and for two the size of their udders. Mine were not full by any stretch. We did not get home until nearly 11 PM and because my kids are dam raised, they had been drinking up until 11 PM Friday night when we got home from the youth show. I don't like to "over udder" anyway but they weren't as full as they should have been and I know that. There's a lot to take into consideration on the milkers for sure and circumstances are circumstances.
We were happy to be home Saturday evening. I was happy to get the goats back home. King, our LGD, was overjoyed to have his goats back home and we were glad to take a shower! I didn't mention yet that King was so upset about us leaving with half the herd he jumped over the back fence and chased us half way down 4th street! I had to run him all the way back home-just another thing that made me want to call it quits.
But anyway, a very good time was had by all despite. Not wanting to forget Drew who, by his own admonition, wasn't ready for showing yet, was as good as gold all weekend. I was expecting him to be bored and cranky and let that be known by acting out but he was just as involved as everyone else minus being in the show ring. The toys and coloring books didn't even make it out of the truck and his "shell" of shyness an unsure-ness has either broken or was temporarily put to the side because he sat and talked with folks he didn't know and chatted and stepped up to the plate and did what was asked of him happily. This goat showing thing, while it may not be Jeremiah's cup of tea, sure did bring a lot of positives to our already close family this weekend.
Sunday will be spent relaxing! We're tired. I'll try to get some photos up.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Dog days
It's not summer yet according to the calendar but the temps are reaching the 90's some days. Hutch. has 2 free water parks (and a pretty big pay water park too!). The free parks don't have pools or slides but they do offer a fun way to cool off during the hot afternoons especially for littler kids who aren't so swimming savvy yet (Drew). We'll be spending a few days a week here for sure!
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| That big gray thing in the background of this photo is one of 3 grain elevators! Waterparks and grain elevators go hand in hand you know...in Kansas! |
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