22 May 2017

I Don’t Know Where To Start

There are so many things I’ve wanted to talk about lately and I haven’t found time for any of it. I need to look back through all the pictures I’ve taken to remind myself what we’ve done. I finally got the garden written about. I haven’t mentioned any of the chicken adventures, or the corn planting, or what ever else there has been.

Some how I missed corn planting. But it’s planted and getting rained on. Hopefully it will be warm enough for it to come up. The home made GPS worked beautifully, even if the John Deer planter didn’t hardly work at all. Yay for John Deer. We will stick to Case.

Category: 8, Bugs, Chickens, Cows, Family, Farming, Goblin Child, GPS | 2 Comments on I Don’t Know Where To Start
6 May 2017

Oh Deer!

I was talking to Grandma as we arrived at the school. We talked as we walked towards the door, until I looked up. There, walking to the front door, was a deer. It stood looking in the window as we approached, I hung up on Grandma, then it turned and walked right up to 8.

Not quite all the way to him, being the concerned mother that I am, I stepped between my small child and the wild animal that was approaching him with no fear in broad daylight. He was shooing it the way one shoos a cow anyway, I’m sure his efforts would have succeeded without my help. The deer, looking confused, turned and walk on down the front of the school.

Later I heard the rumors that the deer had been raised by a family who live north a town a couple miles. The doe died and they took it in. I happened to run into one of the family and she confirmed it. Not only had they raised a wild animal as a pet but they had it gelded so there is not the slightest hope of it ever living an even slightly normal life. It’s sadder than it is cute and a solid lesson in why wild animals should be left wild. He doesn’t know that he should be afraid of people, even if he doesn’t get shot people can do horrible things to animals foolish enough not to fear them. He is unable to mate, unable to function as a deer. The people who love him have taught him the wrong things, not to be afraid, but have not instilled the most basic of training principles.

As horrified as I am by the whole thing I do think it would be a great exercise in clicker training.

 

 

Category: 8, Soapbox | 2 Comments on Oh Deer!
6 May 2017

Mud Pies

I wanted to work my horse. To accomplish that end I am willing to make almost any sacrifice.

I turned the children loose in the mud with a hose. I got to play with Rusty so I consider it a success. Unfortunately after the fun came the work. Somehow the mud had to come off. The hose was briefly considered. The day was warm but not warm enough to hose them down. Of course they had been happily playing in it the whole time so I’m not sure why not.

Category: 8, Goblin Child | 3 Comments on Mud Pies
26 April 2017

Family Science Night

Last year The Goblin Child and her father went to the family math night and loved it. Her father says it was even better than family science night. It would have to have been really good to be better than this. College kids from Chadron came out once again and set up stations with different science projects? experiments? at each station.

Our children made a beeline for the messiest gooiest one they saw. It was cornstarch and water mixed. The resulting consistency was so inconsistent, it was fascinating. Hard as a rock, runny and liquid, ever changing depending on the pressure applied. There were stations to learn about medicine and the body. Stations with cars to race, down bumpy or smooth tracks, with or without weight. Stations discussing the probability of a commit hitting land instead of water. Lots of things to do with vinegar and baking soda and the crowd favorite I think, a water board with plastic particles to try to dam the water with. It was hopeless the water always washed through.

It was sad that more people didn’t come. Not that there weren’t lots there but no where near the amount that come to sport events. I saw parents who would spend all night sitting, watching a ball bounce around, drag protesting children away. Why are sports so much more popular than this fascinating interactive event? I will never understand. Unless the sport involves horses 😉

 

Category: 8, Family, Goblin Child | 2 Comments on Family Science Night
24 April 2017

Vacation

For Christmas we received season passes to Silver Dollar City. We were looking forward to getting to use them, and to see Grandma, so when the rest of the family made plans to go down we made plans to meet them.

The kids did amazingly well on the drive. We found a great park in some obscure suburb of Kansas City and let them run. While there we visited with a family from Mundiline IL, near my parents. It’s a small world.

At Grandma’s house we had an Easter egg hunt and visited then were off to Bass Pro Shop and then to Branson. There never is enough time to just hang out and talk.

We went to see Moses, the play, leaving 8 with Grammy. The Goblin Child did better than she did when Grandma took her to Jonah a couple of years ago, but she still didn’t make it through. The next day it was Silver Dollar City. Everyone, of our children, was exhausted and grouchy but we still had a blast. The days are never long enough. We finished on a kiddie roller coaster with the children begging for one more round. We thought 8 might be to small for it but her was thrilled and loved every second of it. On the first trip around his eyes were as big as saucers, he giggled and laughed his way through and screamed when we had to drag him off. The Goblin Child did the log ride again with my brother, she is so big and brave. Soon she’ll be big enough for the roller coasters!

It flew by so quick it seemed like it was time to go home before we had even gotten there. On the way out we stopped at the butterfly palace. Where we learned that 8 is scared of butterflies. Maybe not scared exactly but he did not like them, especially in his hair. We got to see them hatch and newly hatched ones set free and they landed all over us. My very patient husband even got a humming bird to come sit next to him.

The drive home was uneventful. No snow or ice this time. There was another cool park, a hotel with whipped cream out on the breakfast buffet and a nice pool, and the horse at the tack store in Grand Island. Then we were home and glad to be here. The kids had enough of traveling. We miss everybody and can’t wait to see them again. Longer next time!

Category: 8, Family, Goblin Child | 2 Comments on Vacation
22 April 2017

Planting Potatoes

It is supposed to be done on Easter weekend. I don’t know who decided that or why but it’s the rule. We didn’t quite make it. But on Tuesday, once the weather finally got nice, we planted potatoes. And by we I in no way mean me. Mostly it was The Goblin Child and her patient father. I spent most of the time trying to keep 8 from walking on the freshly planted rows.

The Goblin Child is getting old enough that she was really good help. She was gentle with the seed potatoes and was able to do exactly what needed done. 8 tromped around like the big boy that he is galloping happily across rows of planted potatoes and tossing the seedlings into holes.

Poppy finally had her calf! On the late side as usual, a nice healthy, so far, hold our breath and cross our fingers that he stays that way. Now we are only waiting on our heifer to calve. Blue is open, again, it will be good bye to Blue as soon as I can get her to a sale barn. The Goblin Child is mad about it but this is two years in a row, she has to go. The other cows had theirs and everything is good.

Category: 8, Cows, Garden, Goblin Child | 1 Comment on Planting Potatoes
13 April 2017

Little Cowboys

The Goblin Child sometimes wants to dress up as a cowboy, I always tell her that she IS a cowboy so no matter how she dresses she is dressed up like a cowboy. She doesn’t quite grasp the nuances.

Today as we wandered around the yard trying not to be blown away by the howling wind we found a calf laying in a corner, trying to hide behind a ceder tree. The pens are next to the house but the cows are not actually against the house. The calf was a long way from any prospective mother. We debated about which way to try to take him back and decided to go through the yard to the gate behind the house.

I told The Goblin Child that I needed her to be a big girl and help me, lots. She climbed the fence and ran for the gate. I crawled under the tree and flushed the calf. He ran right where we needed him, through the yard fence and towards the gate. I held him in the drive while the tiny little Goblin Child put all her strength into pulling the big heavy gate off its support block and into the howling wind. As she struggled the calf would run towards her as he paced the gate looking for a hole. She would leap back away from him shrieking a little in fear, then went back to hefting on the gate. Finally she was able to pull it back far enough to allow the calf to squeeze through on his next pass. What a brave girl. We had him.

We called the powers that be to make sure there wasn’t a reason for him to go anywhere else then put him back. It was 8’s turn to cowboy. For him too the urge to chase cattle was tempered by fear. He wanted to get that calf but needed a little backup.

Category: 8, Cows, Family, Goblin Child | 2 Comments on Little Cowboys
27 March 2017

A Chilly Spring Day

After church, and lunch, I took the children to the park so their father could take a sanity break at Walmart. Someone needed to get groceries.

 

 

 

Once home we took naps! I rode Rusty, out into the corner of the pivot. He was very good. My hard working husband finished mowing the lawn. After naps they wanted to fly a kite.

 

After that, because it was so nice out? Because they are insane? They ran through the sprinkler for awhile.

It was a busy cold spring day.

Category: 8, Family, Goblin Child | 1 Comment on A Chilly Spring Day
25 March 2017

Reading, Riding and ‘Rithmatic

Not that there’s any reading in this one but we do that all the time. I wanted to show what The little Goblin Child usually rides like. When her world is not collapsing because her lead rope is the wrong color. She’s such a good little rider. Tanna and I were going out to sort some pairs and she wanted to come with us instead of riding in the pay loader with her father. Unfortunatly she faced the same delima as last time. Her horse or her saddle. She chose her saddle and was going to get on behind me on Coyote.
I put her up and let her ride by herself through the gates. In the first pen I turned her loose, she had been loose the whole time so I guess I chased Coyote away from me. He was glued to my shoulder begging me to save him from small children.

We have been working with 8 on very simple counting for awhile now. How many eyes do you have? One, two, two eyes. While swinging at the park the other day I decided to try to teach counting the way I did with The Goblin Child, I would count to three as he repeated after me then at three I would let the swing go.

He was getting it. He counted to three once. I frantically grabbed for my phone, tried to figure out how to hold it and catch him at the same time. And he never did it again. Dang kids. He got kind of close though and looked cute doing it, that’s a start.

 

Category: 8, Goblin Child, Horses | 1 Comment on Reading, Riding and ‘Rithmatic
20 March 2017

The Pink Lead Rope

It was the last nice day. I caught Princess Onna and Coyote and saddled Princess Onna so we could go out for a nice ride. At first it went well.

The Goblin Child’s beautiful pink lead rope is long, very long, longer than what is really useful. I traded lead ropes. Coyotes shorter green rope would be easier not to get tangled in and to keep from dragging while ponying. The long pink lead rope would work fine as reins for me and 8 on Coyote, I would just tie a bigger knot to take up some of the length. It seemed simple.

Then this started as soon as we got through the gate into the cattle and she noticed.

 

I was going to take her over to a fence line, set her down and tell her to walk home after I switched lead ropes and gave her the stupid pink one. It’s not that easy a thing to switch with two squirming children and prancey horses, so I tried to ignore her. By the time we got back to the corrals it had progressed to this

 

When we got back to the house I switched lead ropes so she had the pink one. She sat on Onna and balled. I turned 8 loose with Coyote and had at least one happy child until he fell on his little butt. Then there were two screamers.

 

Why do I even try?

Category: 8, Goblin Child, Horses | 1 Comment on The Pink Lead Rope