Kids These Days

We came home at dusk and found this little fellow stranded almost all alone up at the far reaches of the field. Fortunately, a good Samaritan pony youngster stood by him till help came.

King of the Hill

On the extra dirt, a king reigns.

Dirt

Here at the farm, dirt is in short supply. So the Crews Boys brought us some in their big and loud dump truck.

It's for the raised beds of bushes I'm going to install to pretty up the place for Thanksgiving. We gots fancy relatives comin'.

They spread the dirt all across the front bed too. I like that better than working hard by hand.

Ginny's Family

Here's another "goat in the grass" pic and also the whole family together.
The babies seem to be doing as well as babies twice their size. They're entering the cute phase where they jump and flip and make goat ownership seem like an excellent idea.

The Fence Today

The bullpen is finished. The outer fence should be done today. I charged up my camera so I can walk around the path and photograph it for certain relatives.

Breaking News

Ginny's due date was yesterday, and Katie has been watching her like a hawk.
It's a good thing, too, since she hid in the woods and delivered these three little kids this afternoon.
Katie went on her routine Ginny search and heard what to me sounds like a squeaky gate. She saw two little babies with Ginny. About the third Katie said, "The runt was invisible. She was under a log."
Ginny has had her molasses water and her feed.
She seems as refreshed and energetic as if nothing out of the ordinary happened today.

The Bull Pen

The Crews Boys (who are actually not boys, but men) have arrived to supply all of our fencing needs.
This is the bull pen so far today. They took down the old fence, hydraulically put in the new posts, and are currently putting the old woven wire, plus a new roll, back up.
They'll add a hot wire across the top for extra security, and to keep a hungry horse from leaning her neck on the fence.
The men gave two of the girls nicknames today. They call Laura "Lemonhead" because she got lemon juice in her hair. And they call Becky "SpongeBob." I couldn't tell you why that name stuck.
Now Katie is hoping beyond hope to be nicknamed by the Crews Boys.

Laura Jeane, Beauty Queen

Becky took this picture. I saw it and thought it was pretty, so now you get to see it too.

And Long Teeth

Libby, making a face at Becky.

Lost Teeth

Not content with just one youngster losing a tooth, we had multiple dental losses today.

JoJo's baby teeth are piling up out in the field. I think it's a miracle that Becky is always able to find them when they fall out.

Katie got a wiggly tooth just last week, and was determined it was coming out today.

Good news: she can still suck her fingers the same as before!

(She was relieved.)

Peaceful Sleep

For Daddy.

Isn't That My Box?

The cats were probably the most excited of the family members when the computer arrived. They took up residence in the big box. And in the monitor box. And on the white cardboard which I threw on the floor while I set up the computer.
Here is Sirius getting a surprise in his new box mansion.

New Improved Computer

23 inch moniter. Wow. I never knew what I was missing.

I got the Dell from Wal Mart. It does have a TB of memory or whatever, and a bigger screen and all kinds of features that the one for the same price online didn't have.

I'll have lots of typos for a while as I adjust to the brand spankin' new keyboard.

All in a Day's Work

I think one of the nicest things about pretending to be self-sufficient is the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day.
Raising young ladies of virtue is certainly a noble calling, and each day is an important work. But it's hard to see what's been achieved until later. Sometimes years later.
Canning peaches, however, is a task that is instantly rewarding. (There were more jars, but I took some as gifts.)
I used Pomona's Pectin, a low sugar pectin that uses calcium to gel rather than sugar. I love the flavors of the fruit I'm canning this year because they're not overpowered by sweetness.
I think that my plum or peach preserves with just a touch of sweetness would go well in this recipe for an Italian Jam Tart:
http://http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/5605/italian-jam-tart

Nervous Momma Pony

Vidalia is getting trained up by Becky. She's working on a basic skill right now- being caught by humans.

If anyone's wondering whether Vidalia will be a good pony for riding this Thanksgiving, I think you'll find a well trained riding horse awaiting your arrival.

Mr. Mantis

Who's This Big Girl?

Bad photo, but at least her owners will get a peek at this dark red horsey.

Not Quite Glacier But...

In an effort to keep up with the Fat Suburbanite Dads, we went on a road trip to a national park. Here are some of the exciting things we saw.
Actually, the picnic area we usually go to was closed due to a bear. That was kind of neat.

I Love Finding Stuff Like This on the Camera!

Laura's Project

Here's a pretty little homemade picture frame.
One of many, now that Mrs. Walker taught them the method in reading class.

Projects

Here are today's projects (some of them, anyway.)
Katie had the idea to make a pop-up basket in the Nile for baby Moses. For those of you on facebook, this explains the status update where I talk about getting hot glue in my hair.
Becky made book ends with deer antlers. They lend a rustic feeling to the room.
Laura made picture frames which are very pretty, but I didn't think to photograph them. Maybe next time.

My Nemesis

Although she is a teenage girl, Becky is not my nemesis. This pool is.

I have been in it one time so far, for approximately 5 minutes on the day it was 114 degree heat index. It didn't feel very refreshing. It felt warm.

Mostly, I just spend lots of time and energy trying to perfectly balance the water.

Cub Creek with its snakes and other frightening beasties is looking better all the time.

If anyone wonders, this is a total of 3'6 deep and 16' across. It holds about 4,000 gallons, which we bought from WEL inc. in Concord.

The Best Pony Ever

This is a short cameo appearance by JoJo. Unfortunately, the longer video of her playing wildly won't upload. I'm sure there will be more videos of JoJo in the future.

Some Improvements to the Redneck Haven

Here's a look at last month's gravel delivery. It took me a while to order it, but finally we have classy gravel, rather than ugly mud.

I would like to order another load to enlarge the parking area even more and get the driveway ready for winter.

Of course the main private road is still in need of more gravel. I have the feeling that this statement will hold true for eternity.

The fence guys will be coming soon to tighten old fences and build new fences. I'll try to photograph them.