With a Moo Moo Here and a Moo Moo There…

May 4, 2011

Jan and I had yet another adventure this last weekend.

In a 1990 blue Ford pickup with a bench seat and manual windows pulling a borrowed trailer – we drove over 8 hours to pick up some new calves.

Eight long hours fighting a head wind.

Eight fun hours talking, laughing and enjoying each others company.

Eight hours that included over an hour of white knuckled driving through St. Louis. Boy did we look out of place – like hillbillies from the sticks! We should have rolled the windows down and spit every now and again to complete the look! :)

Cows

But these cute little ladies were worth it! They are Belted Galloway heifers – otherwise known as Oreo Cookie cows. (Now – how perfect is that for a Chocolate Lady like me!)

We loaded up early Saturday morning, turned the rig around and headed it right back home – another 8 hours.

And of course the wind changed – so we got to fight a head wind all the way home! :)

Along the way I made a few observations:

Riding on a bench seat in a pickup truck helps you discover muscles and bones you forgot you had – and the experience stays with you for several days! (A strategically placed heating pad helps!)

A Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup McFlurry is the perfect treat while cruising down the highway in the sunshine with your windows down.

Six calves in a stock trailer for 8 hours can make a really big mess that requires a power washing on Sunday morning before you leave for church.

My husband is still my favorite person to take an adventure with.

And – the very best part of any road trip is pulling in the driveway and knowing your home!

By Country Gal | Posted in Critters, Rural Realities | Tagged , | Comments (4)

Peeps

April 29, 2011

Boy do we have peeps!

And I don’t mean the marshmallow kind!

We’ve got the real thing! Some cute little layers to replace the older ladies that are in the coop waiting for retirement.

These feisty little Buff Orpington’s and Red Island Reds should keep things lively for awhile! They’ll grow slowly all summer and will start laying later in the fall.

Hardy little critters and fun to watch!

Then there’s the Cornish Cross broilers. They are cute now but won’t stay that way for long!

In just 8 short weeks and lots of feed this little guys will be butchered and in my freezer. I’m afraid nobody falls in love with the broiler chicks. They really don’t do anything cute – like chase each other around or look for bugs. They just eat. And eat. And eat.

All the chicks have a few more days inside under the lights to stay warm – but then they’ll be outside in the sunshine and on the green grass.

Somehow it just seems more like spring to have baby chicks in the barnyard!

By Country Gal | Posted in Critters, Rural Realities, Spring | Tagged , , , | Comments (5)

It’s All in the Name

January 26, 2011

Cow There’s a new kid on our block.

He has 4 legs, a cheesy smile and is black and white all over.

Cute little fella ain’t he!

But don’t get attached. This little guy will end up being supper in a few months.

Because of that I started calling him “Hamburger”.

The kids weren’t impressed with that name – so I suggested T-bone. That didn’t fly either.

They reminded me of our last cow. We had named him Mud Puddle -  because – well – he just looked like a Mud Puddle!

The kids are sure that Mud Puddle took offense at his name and caused trouble just to get even. He would wait until we were all packed and in the car ready to head somewhere – and then he would get out of his pen and lead us on a merry chase.

I think he got out every holiday and every time we had company.

Believe me – he tasted really good.

They kids wanted to avoid a repeat of that unfortunate situation – so they began sharing their ideas -

Snookie.

Moo-gyver.

Butch.

Oobi-Wan-Kanobi.

Brown Cow. (But he’s black and white?!)

Optimist. (And yes – I’m a little concerned about what this child will name my future grandchildren!)

Shakespeare. (That’s kind of cute!)

The ideas got wilder and sillier until Jan finally said that we would just sleep on it.

That evening as we watching TV, I kept hearing the little guy mooing.  It sounded like it was right outside the window.

It was.

The little stinker had gotten out already. (For the record – Jan had the boys build the pen themselves.  After they got the little guy back in, they fixed the flaw in their construction!)

When they finally got him settled again – Matt suggested the name “Moo-dini”.

But there was something about his face that just didn’t look like a famous escape artist, or – for that matter -  an English writer that uses high brow words.

No – his expression looked more Barney Fife when he wanted Andy’s approval. You know the look – it says “Hey Ang – did I do good? Did I do good? Huh, huh? ”

Hmm… maybe he does look a little like a Barney.

Surely he wouldn’t object to that name?

You don’t think he’s ever seen the Andy Griffith Show – do you?

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Critters, Rural Realities | Tagged , | Comments (6)

Fruit Fly Trap

July 22, 2010

I have fruit flies.  Again.

These nasty little buggers are hard to catch. You can’t swat them – they move too fast. Since I couldn’t get them with brawn – it was gonna take some brain.

So I googled fruit fly trap.

Oh my the things I learned! Did you know that fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at one time?! Yikes!

One site even told me hold to make my own fruit fly farm so I could watch the entire life cycle through a 2 liter pop bottle! Oh joys! I think I’ll pass on that one.

I did find several do-it-yourself type traps designed to catch the little varmints and decided to try a couple different designs.

Fruit Fly TrapDesign one – an old canning jar with apple cider vinegar and some ripe bananas as bait and a cone made from paper inserted in the jar. The theory is the flies can get in, attracted to the smell, but can’t get back out.

(Please notice the beautiful scalloped edge on the top of the cone! Would you believe I planned it that way? I didn’t think so. Actually – the only scissors I could find were Angel Girl’s pretty edging ones.  Nothing’s too good for my fruit fly trap! Maybe I should add a decorative ribbon – say – a bright yellow?!)

Fruit Fly TrapThe second model is also a canning jar with apple cider vinegar and bananas, but this one has a piece of plastic wrap stretched over it and secured by a rubber band. It also has small pin holes pricked in the plastic.

So far – they are both working.  When I get a few fruit flies, I throw the whole thing in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It kills those critters dead. <insert evil laughter>

Then I sit it back out on the counter and attract some more.

Take that you pesky varmints!

By Country Gal | Posted in Critters, Thrifty Ideas | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

All Nature Sings

May 26, 2010

Our afternoon got a little sweeter today.

Poppa found a newborn fawn in the grass near their garden.

We hurried over to see , being careful not to touch or disturb it.

We stood in awe  at the wonder of new life – the miracle of creation.

It was incredibly beautiful – laying there in the grass.

I thought to myself – how can anyone look at this new life and not believe in a creator God? Where did the doe learn how to give birth?

Who taught her where to give birth?

How does she know how to feed and care for her newborn?

Who designed the camouflage pattern on the fawn to help it hide in the forest?

All of nature sings of a Creator.

We heard the song today as we gazed in the face of a newborn fawn – it was in the form of a lullaby.

Job 39:1- 4  “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do  you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months til they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended. The young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.”

By Country Gal | Posted in Critters, Deep Thoughts, Spring | Tagged , , , , | Comments (4)