New Babies & Other Random Pictures

We've had a few more babies this last month or so. While we were out feeding yesterday evening, thought I would get their photos. Also took some other random photos while we were doin' the chores...

This is Carrot Top. He's all white except the tuff of red hair on the top of his head. Pretty funny!



This is Bambi. She looked so much like a deer I had to give her that name. Cute lil' girl.


Carrot Top and a friend peering out from behind his mom, Oreo.

Bambi decided to play with Oreo's tail. She was so entertained.

And for those of you that are tired of the cow pictures, here is an old run down truck out in the pasture behind the cows.

Spoilin' the Husband

Tomorrow our church is having a potluck. So I thought I would make homemade ice cream. The husband loves homemade ice cream and I've only made it twice since we've been married. And I hear 'bout it frequently during the summer months. I mentioned to the husband that I was going to make it for church. Of course he made a smart remark about me not even knowing where the maker was. And I knew right where it was, I just never let on to him that I knew. Cause then I would have to hear about it all over again.

So this morning I pulled out my mom's recipe and the maker. After a quick call to the mom for some last minute advice, since it had been probably 8 years since I've made it, it was off to the store to buy the ingredients.

Late afternoon, the buzz of the maker filled the house. It was actually pretty annoying. Had to turn the tv up real loud to drown out the noise. But it didn't take long and the long awaited ice cream was made. I took a little sample and my, my it was pretty darn good. And that is saying a lot 'cause I have never been a homemade ice cream lover.




But then I felt bad for the husband because I would be takin' it to church so I baked him a pecan pie.


Then I cooked him steaks out on the grill.

He called on his way home to see how my day went. I told him he had homemade ice cream and pecan pie waiting for him. His first response was, "Yeah, right." Then it went to, "So what did you do?" Then, "Did you go shopping today?" And lastly, "Did you buy that horse?" I answered no to all the above. Told him I was just being nice and he still didn't believe me.

He got home and ate supper. Then I made him a bowl of pie with ice cream on top.

You couldn't tell it by the picture, but he liked it a little. But he told me the ice cream and pie were bad and shouldn't be takin' to church. We could stop at Wal-Mart in the morning and pick something up for the potluck. I told him no, the ice cream was going. Then I got a pouty face. Too bad the camera wasn't available for that reaction. It was priceless.

Bulls at Play

I was out waterin' the bulls this afternoon and noticed one of their buckets was gone. I looked around the pen and saw it under the shed. I thought about going in after it but Death Wish had been giving me the eyeball. They were hungry and I wasn't feedin' 'em either. That was double whammies against me. So I filled the other two buckets and watched 'em. I noticed Stubby playing with the bucket. He was knocking it around with his head. Then Boss Hog went after it. I guess they decided to make the empty water bucket their source of entertainment.

This is Stubby and Death Wish fighting over the bucket.

Then Boss Hog got it all to himself. He was rollin', rollin', rollin'......

By the way, have I told you how incredibly hot it is......

Anyways, I am going to wait for the husband to get home and let him go in the pen with the bulls. I don't want to be the one to take away their toy. Like I said, they were already eyeballin' me. I even got a little snort and head throwin' towards my way. They must be grouchy cause it's so hot. Whatever the reason, I don't particularly care to mess with a grouchy bull.

Famous No More

Well, my infamy lasted all of about 30 minutes yesterday from my inferno pictures. No one called asking me to become their on-scene photographer so back to taking pictures of the critters around the place. The husband was really cute though. He thought my name on the news site was so awesome. It was really sweet.

Wanted to give you an update on the baby buffalo across the road. He is growing. I stopped and took some pictures of him yesterday. His momma grunted at me a couple times but she didn't run off with him. We're making progress.

Also, my yearling colt Miss Priss is gettin' bigger. She has such an attitude. She's like a teenager. Throws a fit when she doesn't get her way. Even bit me a couple weeks ago. She hasn't tried that again!

Sally, my other mare, is recooperating from hurting her back leg. She got hurt the end of January and it's taken this long for her to put weight back on it. But she is getting around really well now. Don't know when I will or if I will be able to ride her again.

Published Photographer

I had a very exciting morning. I was driving to work as usual and I saw a large plume of black smoke start filling the air up ahead of me. I thought maybe it was a grass fire cause we've had lots of those lately. But that quickly left my thoughts cause the smoke was too black and too dense. As I got closer, I could see vehicles on the shoulders and others stopped in the road. I thought to myself, this ain't gonna be good. As I approached the scene, I realized something had gone over the country overpass and was on fire down below. Due to the line of cars, I couldn't get a good view though. There was a semi parked on the shoulder and it's driver ran with his fire extingisher towards the accident. By the looks of the flames, however, that small extingisher was not going to put a dent in the fire. And sure enough, his efforts were very short lived. Finally, some cars started easing passed the crash site. Oh course, I had my camera with me and pulled it out. As I got closer, I took a few shots of the flames. I couldn't see below and I didn't dare get out of my truck. As I drove past the flames, something exploded. I decided I shouldn't dilly dally and went on. About a mile down the road, the first responder flew by me with his lights and sirens on headed to the scene. I arrived at work and decided to email my pictures to the local tv station. What the heck, I thought. After lunch, I decided to look the story up and see if the driver of the truck was okay. I found the story on the local tv station's website and read the driver survived with only minor scrapes and bruises. Than I saw a photo link to the story. I clicked on the link and see for yourself!

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/20737149.html#photos

Nature's So Purdy!

It's a good thing nature produces beautiful flowers cause I can't keep anything alive. All the flowers I had in pots around the back porch died. My thumb is nowhere near green. But there are some sunflowers near the barn and our crape myrtles are blooming. It's the first year we've seen them bloom. The husband and I were trying to figure out why they didn't bloom last year. Then we remembered.....we turned the cows out in the drive and they ate the trees. That might explain it!

Burn & Firm

Thursday evening, I decided to take a class at the gym called "Burn and Firm." The more appropriate name for it is "Torture and Mame." But I guess that would scare people off so they go with the more positive approach. The class is an hour of lifting weights and squats. Now, I lift weights quite often but I haven't done squats in, uhhhhh, let's say....years. At the beginning of the class, I thought to myself, ahhh, this ain't to bad. By the end, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. Really, I thought if someone comes by the door and sees me, they are going to rush in and put a stick in between my teeth, thinking I was convulsing. I came home feeling like jello and feared the days to come. Sure enough, Friday the soreness began to set in. But it wasn't too bad. Friday night, I told the husband not to call in the morning cause I didn't know how long it would take to get out of bed. Oh baby, was I sore Saturday. I went to town to do some grocery shopping. I would try to watch myself in reflections to see how stupid I was walking. I know people were pointing and snickering behind my back. I just couldn't make my legs work properly. It was pretty pathetic. But this morning, I had a little more spring in my step. And by Tuesday, the next class day, I will be ready for more Torture and Mame! Oh yeah, I'm going back. I will win this battle if it kills me, which it may!!

Dog Days of Summer

Our dogs use whatever means necessary to stay cool. One of their most favorite things to do is swim. But we don't go down to the tank very often so they use the next best thing.....the water trough. Pepper really likes the horse's water because of her short little legs. Zena will get into anything that has water in it no matter the size of her or it. I caught them on this day in the horse's water.

One dog's swimming pool is another horse's water supply. Neither seem to mind. Ahhh.....harmony.

Feedin'

When I get home in the evenings, I feed the girls (Sally and Miss Priss), the dogs and Miss Kitty. Today, after I fed the girls, I was messin' around the barn. I looked up and saw Stubby at the entrance of Miss Priss' stall. He soooo wanted to come in and eat.

But the girls pretty much rule the rooster around here. She gave him a "don't you even think about" look and turned back to her feed bucket. He did muster the courage to go into Sally's stall but lost it quickly when she threatened to kick him.

Soon the other two bulls showed up. Neither one of them even thought about taking on the girls. They sat looking into the stalls with the most pitiful faces.

These poor guys....the women just push 'em around. I don't know where the female animals on our place got their attitudes. I am quite perplexed. And please no comments from you people either! You hardly ever comment and there's no reason to start now! Still quite perplexed!

New Pasture Fence

It took a year and a half but we finally built fence along the west side of our place. It was the only side that didn't have fence when we moved in. The husband had originally planned to build it right after we moved. He even dug the holes by hand. But it wouldn't stop raining during the process and he got his truck stuck over and over and over again. One time we had to get the neighbor's huge stagger (enormous 8 wheel tractor) to get the husband's truck out of the mud. And the neighbor almost got stuck! So the task was put off until it dried out. We put up electric fence for awhile but the bull decided he liked the cows down the road. After wrangling him, we decided to just keep everything off that side of the property.

Finally, we got a fence builder to come out and get it done. I know it killed the husband to have someone come and build fence. But with his job, he just didn't have the time. It's amazing how much it costs to put posts in the ground and string wire. The material is outrageous right now too. But we did it and glad of it. Now on to the other home place improvements.........

Internet Picture of the Week

I'm hoping it's the one on the right!

Cookie Quandary

Sometimes the husband really makes me laugh. Today was one of those days. Let me give you some background information first. The husband loves snickerdoodles. They are his favorite cookie. And he especially likes the ones from a restaurant called Braums. I just so happen to drive past a Braums on my way home from Dallas on Friday. I thought what a good treat that would be for him. So I stopped and picked up two dozen snickerdoodles. I brought them home and laid them on the kitchen counter. That evening he came in and his eyes lit up when he said, "Hey, You got me snickerdoodles. And they're from BRAUMS!" Now it has been a year or so since we've gotten them because there aren't any Braums around here. I told him it looked like the cookies were different then they were in the past. They were also packaged differently. He tested them out that night and said they were a little different but still good.

Then this morning on our way to church, the husband says out of nowhere, "Yesterday at lunch, I had a chance to really examine those snickerdoodles."

"What? Examine the cookies?" I said.

"Yes," he said. "I think I have figured out what they have done differently."

"Really...so what do you think?" I ask.

"They added molasses. It tastes kinda like a cross between a gingersnap and a snickerdoodle," he explained. "Plus, they are a darker brown. So that's what I have determined."

I never thought I would hear my husband give me a breakdown of a cookie. But apparently he had a lot of time during his lunch break at work to really put some thought into it.

So this evening, I opened up the pack and took a whiff of the snickerdoodles. You know what....they do kinda smell like gingersnaps! I believe I have a cookie connoisseur on my hands!

Happy Father's Day!

We both were blessed with great dads. They have always been there for us and no doubt will be there in the future. We thank them for playing a part in who we've become. We hope we make you proud because we are proud to call you our old farts!

Love you bunches!

The Man

I've felt like I have neglected our first born. He's barely appeared on the blog and I think he's a little upset. Today I was taking pictures of the other children and he started barking at me. Guess it is his turn. So today's post is dedicated to Harley, our oldest child. I told the husband that I was going to blog about him today because he hasn't been on the blog at all. The husband said, "Oh yes he has. He was on the very first picture." Oh, I forgot he was in bed with the husband. But the husband just advised me that there are no self portraits of him on the blog. So we are going to make it right with the world today.

He's been with us for almost 11 years. Just had a disagreement with the husband about his age. I had to produce the birth certificate. I was right. HELLO! Anyhow, Harley-man is known throughout our family and friends. My parents call him the granddog. Pops calls him his fishin' buddy. Harley even went with us to church recently. So now the whole congregation knows him. He laid on his little pillow and slept thru the sermon. Don't think it hurt the preacher man's feelings too much. He pretty much runs the house and bosses all the other dogs around. Size is not an issue in his eyes. He used to be an awesome cowdog too until a longhorn squished him into the ground. Luckily, it was muddy and no real damage was done. He thinks twice now before jumping into the pen. But we still have to watch him.

This evening he got his sheep out to play. As you can tell, he tears it up.

Got him by the head! Take no prisoners! Going for the suffocation technique.

Death to the sheep! Victory shall be his!!

Harley poses proudly with his kill.

Grandma's Party

After the graduation party, we headed over to the aunt and uncle's "garage" for grandma's party. And I use that word "garage" loosely! They have remodeled the place and it is very nice. My pictures do not do it justice. Hung out with the family and had some yummy spaghetti. Even drank water from a wine glass. Felt so sophisticated. Thanks Aunt J. for allowing this country girl to experience the ways of the well mannered and polished. Which I ain't...

The husband with the party honoree-Grandma.

I'm like a bug, attracted to neon lights. There just so daggum pretty.

What else is pretty. A whole bunch of shiny bikes. Just makes you want to get on one.

I told you. Just makes you want to get on. Couldn't help myself. It will probably be the only time I will ever have an opportunity to sit on a Harley. Had the jacket to pull it off too. I think I have a little biker chick in me. So you think if you can ride a horse, you can ride a bike?

Family Faces

I love to capture people when they are not expecting their picture to be taken. Love the honesty of the photo. So here are some of the pictures I took while at the graduation party. Most are "unposed" but some aren't. Enjoy.

That was some good cake!

Can you tell his dad was in the army?

Who could resist that face?

This kid was acting camera shy.....she's never been shy a day in her life!

Love the highlights, J. No matter what the others said.

Peace out, Uncle F.

Just her and her thoughts. Yeah, you're related to all the people. I know, huh!

And I had to end on a cute kid.

Quick Trip

Just got back home from our world wind trip. Made it to Seattle late Thursday night. Guess what, it was rainin'. Got up Friday morning, guess what, it was rainin'. Drove over the pass to Wenatchee that morning, guess what....it was SNOWIN'!


Thirty something degrees. Little chilly coming from the high 90s! Got over the pass and to Wenatchee, the sun was shining. Thank the Lord! But don't be fooled, it was still jacket wearin' weather.

The nephew got graduated. Again, thank the Lord!

That's his momma giving him his diploma. Sorry, bad picture takin' there. Celebrated his graduation the next afternoon with a party. Great party. Family came out of the woodwork. Saw people I had never seen before and some I hadn't seen in 10+ years. Will have those pictures coming this week.

Headed back to Seattle Saturday nite and caught an early flight home. Arrived back in Texas to 90+ degree weather. Sweatin' as I type actually. All the kids were happy to see us.They busted into the car when the door was opened. Just couldn't wait for some lovin'. Sure is good to be home.