Never plan your day when you run a farm. You'd think I'd have learned that by now. Those who know me will laugh when I say that I've learned to be as flexible as possible. My dishes aren't done from this morning, no laundry is spinning, and my ribs still aren't marinated. I may end up pressure cooking them. But just when you think your day is set, one phone call sets off a chain reaction that changes everything.

A gentleman just called to inquire about our horse boarding services and before you know it, he's set to be out this evening to discuss bringing his three horses out. Add that to the three I'm picking up tomorrow and we've gone from one to seven within 24 hrs. Ed's only concern was hay and whether or not we'd have a supplier because our last bale will be eaten quickly with that many horses. I located some in McPherson but I'm unable to use the truck this afternoon to start making trips and getting three or four. This man took pity on me and agreed to have his helpers deliver three bales to me this afternoon for a reasonable fee. Even if the three boarders don't take up residence, we'll certainly use the hay for our own and would be set until summer's end so it's worth it.

Thankfully the man will take a check because I have no tires on the van to run in and get cash. Good gravy things can happen fast!

The nicest thing just happened while doing chores which proves to me, again, just how awesome our animals are.

I overslept a little this morning and when Ed took the boys down for the bus I took my time eating my breakfast. Well, with daylight coming earlier this meant the goats and cow gave up on their morning grain so they took off for the pasture. As I went in the barn Moo saw me and walked over waiting for her special bucketfull outside, where she won't be bothered by horns. But the goats weren't in the barn waiting on me which meant she would have to deal with them when they saw her. I could have walked around hollering for the goats to come but I simply started dipping the bucket into the barrel. As soon as the chickens heard that they ran outside and started making a racket telling the goats, "She's in the barn! Hurry, you're missing breakfast!" I could barely see them in the field and they couldn't see me but I saw them stop and then heard them start talking, "Do you think she's really in there or are the chickens crying wolf?" "I don't know, let's give it another minute."

When they didn't make a bolt for the barn Moo walked around into their earshot and started her demanding and very loud mooing that clearly means, "Hurry up and get into the barn!" Immediately all twelve took off full speed for the barn. As soon as they were in Moo walked back to her special spot and enjoyed a quiet breakfast. Fizzle was also alerted and met me at the gate to her pen. As soon as the graining was done the chickens received their breakfast of leftovers from last night which was the favorite - spaghetti. Since it looks like worms it is so fun to watch 30 or so chickens "chase" the noodles and pull them from each other.

And I never had to utter a sound or walk from my normal path.

Grant me strength, Kenny has discovered my hair products.

They took class pics yesterday at school and apparently he was told he had nice hair or something so he's now obsessed with combing, geling, styling, and re-wetting. This 7 yr old boy spent about 2 solid hrs in the bathroom last night "doing his hair" and then corrupted Darren. Now they're both spending 30 min. this morning primping. Vincent thinks they've lost their mind.

We must have a cat in heat because last evening we noticed Puss in Boots hanging around the house. This is the feral tabby male that has been at this farm off and on for years. We rarely actually see him, just a glimpse as he runs from the barn back to the fields. But all litters born to the girls have orange kitties so we're sure it's him. Rebecca said that the best thing to do is allow nature to take her course with cats on the farm as they are necessary to the operation and the farm will support up to 20 of them. In all the years she lived here, only one resulted in an overpopulation. Apparently none were picked as prey or died naturally during the winter on the local farms and come spring all the neighbors were trying to give them away as they were up in the 30's and 40's for each farm. They do a fantasic job of catching rodents and helping clean up food waste so we appreciate them. We're at four adults and three young ones now (these are tame and we love to sit with them, true lap kitties). I think Puss got one of the females last evening so we'll have another litter in a while. We only feed them enough to keep them from starving which for seven cats is about one coffee can full of food each morning and then they're responsible for the rest of their diet. All seven are in wonderful shape and not a rib bone in sight. We're also lucky in that none of the cats has ever taken a shine to baby chicks although they do love to nap in the laying nests of our hens.

I stopped by the library and picked up several books about caring for horses. Ed snorted because he already knows about them having several when he was young. But I reminded him that when I was 10 (which was ..... uh..... a long time ago) I helped saddle my friend's and ride it. I certainly never groomed or helped in the care of the horse. Hell I haven't an idea how to even get a halter on or how to read a horses body language. I consider myself very lucky our boarded horse is old and she doesn't laugh out loud at me. She tolerates me and likes to be stroked, but that's pretty much all I do since she isn't mine. Between the books and Google, I have learned quite a bit in the last few days and am very excited to pick up our horses tomorrow.

Today will be spent doing chores, laundry, and paperwork to free me up until next week. The horse hauling will take two days and then I'll work the weekend on the phones and with the horses. I do have an interview this morning for another client and I'm excited about it - although it's a little different than my other clients and this one severely restricts what contractor's are able to say. Dinner this evening is baby back ribs slow cooked and then covered in sauce to carmelize with potatoe salad and fresh bread. Yum!

And it's a go! We've settled the deal for three of her horses and I'll travel up there Thursday. I have a friend in KC who's agreed to put me up for the evening if I need to travel over several days or make two trips. These are young horses that still need a lot of work but one has been saddled and walked so within a year we should have him ready to ride.

Our small silver pygmy goat is pregnant and I think she's bagging up. Talulah is just a doll, although she's never quite warmed to people other than taking food from our hands - haven't ever got her comfortable enough to pet her. Hopefully, she'll kid soon and we'll have an adorable tiny little pygmy. They are just so cute!

Ed noticed that the blurb for Kansas in USA Today mentioned the severe drought last year causing a serious hay shortage - that aint no lie. It's getting more difficult to find hay and we're so thankful we had the hay exchange for harvest with our farmer to get us through the winter. With horses to feed though, we'll be searching to buy more just like everyone else. Hopefully our neighbor to the south will have some small bales to sell soon. Although I enjoy being able to work with them myself and they stack nice, they are nearly three times the price for the quantity that's in a large round bale. The sooner the grass comes in, the sooner we can cut back hay feeding and I'm anxious for that.

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to do a detox with my hens. When I took hay to the horse this morning I found two eggs in her hay trough. Unacceptable. They are to lay only in the barn or the coop so I may have to lock them up for a week to get them back into the habit of laying in the coop nests. Poor girls, they won't like that.

I thought yesterday about the cycle of the farm as I watched the chickens follow the cow. They know to watch where she grazes and about two days after she's done her business they go through her manure, pick through it, and neatly spread it out on the ground where it dries quickly and turns into great compost right on the spot. I can usually count the large cow patties surrounding the house and our walking areas on one hand because the chickens make quick work of this cleanup. Between the dogs and cats (meat eaters), the goats and cow (greens and grains), and the chickens (everything else) we have virtually no food waste on the farm. The only exception is coffee grounds and they'll go into the compost pile when we get the garden ready.

Entertainment comes cheap on a farm as well. Toss out a full head of lettuce or cauliflower and you'll get a full circus of animals arguing over it and chasing one another. A large bonfire with the tree top that fell will be a nice background for a family gathering here soon. And there's always a long walk to see the tracks of wild animals through the property and even dens from something that had it's babies. Nothing can be sweeter or more calming than a long stretch of petting and scratching with the livestock either.

Yesterday I had about 6 leftover biscuits and knowing these are the most favored treat of crazy cows, I took the sack out to find Moo. She was in the milo pasture close to the road with her back to me and upwind so she couldn't hear me hollering. The goats noticed the sack and all 12 ran towards me just screaming for their share and following me. I walked through the pasture to Moo and she finally noticed me, right as a neighbor was coming up the road. Moo took off at a full rodeo run straight for me to get her treats before the goats got them and I saw the neighbor start to point and slow down, probably thinking this was dangerous. Never fear, Moo stopped dead in her tracks about 2" in front of me and immediately stuck her tongue out so I could hand feed the biscuits in. The she happily followed me back to house. I'm sure this exhibition made quite an impression on the neighbors.

Today will be spend doing the grocery shopping and picking up halters for the new horses that way Ed can have the van tomorrow to balance my tires and change the oil. I'll pick up some extra hours as well tonight and tomorrow evening to make up for missing two days this week.

I have reason to fear the wind. The large cottonwood tree that was struck by lightening last year had it's top 50' blown off Saturday evening. I was standing in the kitchen talking on the phone to a lady about a horse and watched it fall. It was a truly awesome sight. That tree has needed to come down but my sister-in-law and I have watched the menfolk walk round and round it determining which way it would fall when cut and how they were going to do it to bring it down on their terms without endangering the fence, barn, or house. Well, problem solved. At this point we still have a gigantic 30' "stick" standing but it can now be dropped without damaging anything else. It's interesting to me that the main truck of the tree that's now on the ground was hollow! No wonder the dang thing was dead!

I didn't work much over the weekend as the storms kept me taking an hour at a time to make sure I had power - although we never lost it. I did call a lady in the Kansas City area who's needing to unload young horses and I think I'll make a trip up there Thursday or Friday to take a couple off her hands. Her prices are very good as she's in need of getting this done. They are young though which means I'll have plenty of time to reaquaint myself with horse training long before I saddle and drop my butt up there. Naturally, this will add to the spring planning as I would ideally like a round pen for working with the horses. The logical place is directly where Ed wanted to put a second cow pasture. We'll see who wins this one eh?

The day has warmed up and I'm finished working so I'll head out for the afternoon feeding.

After spending two full evenings going over our spring to-do list, I'm wiped out just thinking about it. Guttering, painting, building stalls, fencing, planting, creating gardens, finishing a burn pit, it's all laid out.

I think I'll go veg out for a week on the couch. I'm simply exhausted.

I love it when I'm right.............

it happens so rarely.



This afternoon reached the high 60's and the bright warming spring sun - without a breath of wind. I was finished working at 1:00 so Vincent and I headed out. Naturally, I checked the cable across the drive and gave Moo and good talking to regarding her behavior yesterday. Then we set to work.

I moved the remaining pile of firewood inside the yellow barn. Moo glared at me most of the time, well, when she wasn't giving the evil eye to the horse who'd come to the fence for activity viewing. Next thing I know Moo's entered the barn and spotted the grain bucket I'd stuck on Ed's workbench so she proceeded to lick it. People, you have not lived until you see a huge black tongue come out of a cow's mouth as she tries to delicately lick something without knocking it over. The I rolled out the large center of the round hay bale to get it manageable and took it out to the horse pasture. Working in the barn felt wonderful but I kept eyeing the pile of straw and manure that I know I'll be shoveling here before long. My arms ached just thinking about it. I collected the afternoon eggs and tried to show the poor confused hen who keeps laying on the empty metal shelf a better spot where the other hens have created a nest in the full round bale, but she still insists that the metal shelf is the place for her prizes. She makes one heck of a clattering when she's up there scratching imaginary straw into an imaginary nest. The animals on this farm are all crazy, I swear it.

I did sit for a while on the patio and treated myself to a Coke but my solitude was rudely interrupted by the herd of goats walking by. They seemed surprised to see me and stopped for a few minutes to see if I was going to share that brightly colored can with them and a few got close for some petting. Of course, then Jane decide she could only walk across the patio by going *under* the table which moved it, knocked the can over, and scared the dickens out of the entire herd. They started hollering, which brought Jack out to see the commotion, which scared then even more and off they went.

After a few hours of moving firewood and a long walk to the mailbox I felt back to my normal Martha self. I just needed the sun, the warmth, and a good workout. To reward myself I popped a huge batch of popcorn with Vincent, poured on butter and Frank's hotsauce, and sat down to watch a Netflix movie. I love, love, love period flicks and even with horrible acting I still love the costumes and learning about the life - especially movies about royalty, so I'd ordered Marie Antoinette. I must admit, the costumes and sets were gorgeous but please do not subject yourself to what could possibly be the worst film even made in all time. It's *that* bad. It doesn't even get a thumbs down - it gets no thumbs at all.

Immediately after the movie our neighbor stopped by with a huge armful of egg cartons. How thoughtful of her! I can quickly deplete a large stack in no time so I really appreciated them.

It's wonderful to sit here after a hot shower and feel the ache from a good workout. I know I'll sleep well this evening.

Moo has run away from home.

No need for panic, she's back safely on her farm but it was quite an interesting day.

I noticed she stood for an hour with her head through the fence draining the horse water tank -- she's been doing that each day, we believe in an effort to force the horse to vacate her pen. After I finished work I went out to enjoy the beautiful day, refill water tanks, and do a general walk-about. At that point, I noticed her about halfway to the road in the milo pasture eating away. Within a short time I looked for her because she normally follows me around the property as I walk and she wasn't with me. She was not anywhere around. Darren and I searched the property and behind all the trees but couldn't find her anywhere. Right as I headed back to the barn for a bucket of grain and my lawnmower to begin a search of the road I heard our neighbor, Henry, on his 4-wheeler coming up the road from his property to the south. He was herding Moo. Now, you must remember, we have *never* herded her. We *lead* her around with buckets of grain, breadsacks full of day old bread, or the promise of a good long scratching.

So I look out to the road and see Henry just grinning away about a foot behind Moo and she's a trotting up the road. He didn't even have to turn her into the driveway, she was picking up speed to get away from this annoying activity. Soon as she saw me she picked up to a full run and darted safely behind me, confident that I would give him a tongue lashing to the indignant treatment she'd suffered. I didn't. Poor Moo was just mortified and I do believe, highly embarassed.

Henry and I stood in the driveway for nearly an hour discussing all means of farm life -- bulls, fences, pastures, and such. When he heard about Moo's eviction he suggested we just allow her back in the pen with the horse as they would keep each other company. He also mentioned he'd seen Moo running up and down the fence as the farmers harvest the adjoining fields. I'm sure the entire community has heard of our crazy cow. After installing the cable across the drive, which Moo watched me do with a glare, I opened the pen to the pasture. Fizzle came running over (she's been frisky all day and enjoying the weather very much) to the gate and postured to welcome Moo. That spoiled darn cow just glared at me and refused to move. She made it very clear that it's not back in the pen she wants, but that animal out of it. She finally snorted at me and walked away.

I headed to the coop and collected the afternoon eggs (thirteen!) and continued my chores. Eventually, she came after me and we walked together back to the barn.

The sun is shining brightly, the boys are home enjoying the outdoor weather, laundry is nearly caught up, and I'm just having the bestest fantabulous day on our little farm.

I think I just upgraded to the new blogger and I'm afraid to check the view because my site designer had it just perfect. Knowing my luck, it's totally screwed up.

Weeeeeeelllllllll, it's been an interesting week around here. The weather is the biggest news -- it's in the 40's!!! The only problem is the wind, it's still high and brings a chill when you're out there. But you can just *feel* the warmth of the sun and you know that if it weren't for the wind, it would be a perfect spring day.

I've kind of sunk into a depression. It hits me about once a year and normally doesn't last very long. I can normally kick my ass out of it with some motivational books, deep thinking, and long walks. The problem is that I've tried all that and it doesn't seem to be working. Hopefully it will be over soon. A lot of it is that I can't get warm - even surrounded by my bricks at night or wearing several layers with a heater blowing on my during the day. I can get momentarily comfortable but not enough to get up and do something. Which leads to guilt and depression because I'm getting nothing done. It's a viscious cycle and certainly aint pretty. I just know that as soon as I'm able to get outside and actually DO something it'll pass.

I am quite confident that Moo is pregnant. No one else is and Ed thinks I'm crazy (is that different than normal?) but *I* can tell. She would be about 6-7 months along and I noticed the other day she seemed quite round first thing in the morning -- she's normally only that roun after grazing all day. I watched her eating and determined the regular movements of her tummy from breathing and eating and then saw several little bumps like movement that were very irregular. I'm sure Dr. Galle would tell me I am a brick shy of a load, but I'm quite comfortable determining my cow is preggers. As we've called the neighbors to see about buying a calf from them in a couple weeks, it would make for three this spring and that sounds wonderful.

I called the local livestock auction place and lucked upon a wonderful woman who answered every one of my silly questions regarding purchasing calves from such an event. We'd like to keep a bull at some point as well as add to the cattle herd each year. I'm comfortable transporting goats in my trusty van but not calves so that will have to wait until we have a trailer. But I think I will head down there some Thursday, wander around, and pretend like I know what I'm doing while evesdropping on every conversation to learn how it all works. In addition, we've started an "auction" fund to build up each week so this year we will actually be able to bid at the auctions we attend. I'm shocked at how cheaply some great equipment goes for at these events and we could use stock tanks, feeders, pig shelters (don't ask, I'm *this* close to getting those piggys), fence posts, gates, and other such implements. But my next purchase is going to be a pitchfork because with Moo wintering in the barn to make room for horses in the fenced pasture, it's offensive to my delicate nose and needs a good cleaning out during an upcoming warm weekend.

I just looked outside and it's so beautiful with the bright afternoon sun. It's nearly melted all the acres of ice and I'm wishing for a giant squeegee so I could get all this water into my dried up pond. I never thought I'd be so glad to see mud again in my life. But mud means melted water and I'm all over that right now.

Confession time. I've never lived in a two story house or in the country and the one thing that totally and irrationally strikes fear deep in my heart is the wind. I know it's completely unreasonable but I just *feel* the wind about to simply blow my house away. 30 mph wind woke me up this morning at 3:30 and here I sit having coffee just scared out of my wits.

This house has stood the Kansas prairie winds, without benefit of a solid windbreak, for 100 years and I know it will withstand years more but I can't shake it. I hate the wind, just hate it. Worse, I hate knowing that in a couple hours I'll have to go out in it to feed the animals.

We have water!

I could say it went well but that would be wrong. Pulling the old pump went well. Purchasing all the equipment and parts went well. Hooking up the new pump went well. And then...... nothing. Not a hum. When they hooked up the new pump they crossed the wires and blew the control box so I had to run back into town for a new one. Once it was hooked up properly - all went well. Today will be spent filling the hole and cleaning up the mess. However, I CAN CLEAN AND DO LAUNDRY!!! I never thought I'd ever be so grateful to hear the sound of running water and a toilet flushing. When you have to walk outside to haul buckets of water in so you can partially flush your toilet -- you really gain an appreciation for indoor pumbling! Truthfully, I'd rather be without electricity any day that to be without water.

I thought I'd make a list of things I'm grateful for and maybe that will help me to remain positive.

• It's in the 20's and not 5' with wind chills below zero
• The snow and ice have mostly melted around the well so we're not digging through 7" of snow and 2" of solid ice
• It's not August with temps over 100
• It's not raining, sleeting, or snowing (although the weekend looks like it may bring that)
• We have the hand pump on the original well so we can haul water to flush at will
• Neighbors who open their house and facets to allow me unlimited fresh water
• I filled both 50 gallon water tanks with fresh water the morning the pump went out so I won't have to haul water for animals for several days
• We have electricity so the house can function and the water heaters for the animals are working which means I'm not breaking ice several times a day
• I'm home and not at Walmart because Ed would have to do all this each evening or miss work without pay
• Ed's health is back because if this had happened last year at this time we would have had to call a contractor and pay several thousand dollars
• My brother in law is willing to come for the weekend and not only work but allow us to use his heated truck to haul the materials we'll need
• My children don't mind peeing outside - they think we're having an adventure
• I've got HUGE canning stock pots and can keep them full of hot water on the stove to use throughout the day
• The well is located in a very open area so if we can find a farmer with a backhoe to finish digging the hole he'll have access
• Ed dug to the pipe last night and it's plastic rather than galvanized
• We have wood, hay, and grain so I only need to worry about the water situation and not maintaing daily materials for the animals
• I have friends that don't mind our family showing up for showers and water refills
• Working at home has allowed me to clear my schedule completely and then work as I can without worrying about time off or angry bosses
• The selection of frozen meals in disposable containers is remarkably varied, albeit expensive, and fairly tasty
• Brother in law ordered a full winter overall set and received two so he gave one to Ed - he can work outside for several hours and stay very warm
• I was already planning ahead and only had to finish two loads of laundry at the laundry mat
• All of us are healthy and not having a family illness at the moment
• My husband has the temperment of acceptance and just "deals with it" rather than expressing anger or complaining about it
• A new well with pipe and everything will only be several hundred dollars rather than an expense of say, a basement flooding or walls caving in
• This is a problem Ed can fix and not have to use a contractor

I'm sure there is much more but we've always found that when in crisis it helps us to list just how much worse it could have been. We usually remind each other that yes that was hard work just now but thank goodness it's not ................ and fill in with one of the above.

The day just HAS to suck when you would tell anyone, "I'd seriously rather shovel shit than do what I just did." Today was such a day.

After work I went out to play with the animals and fill water. I thought about stacking wood but it was just so beautiful that I wanted to walk. I noticed Moo out in a far corner of the pasture so I headed her way and as I walked towards her I noticed that all around our well was muddy and dug up with her hoof prints - like she'd really been stomping around there. So I got closer to the well head and then I saw it...... a shooting stream about 2" out of the ground. With fresh water. My heart just stopped and I remembered the past two electric bills of $200 which is about $70 more than normal but figured with the computer on 24/7 and the radiator heaters it added up. Now it all made sense - we've got a cracked pipe. The high electric bill. Ed commenting that the pump never seemed to turn off. The poor water pressure. The flooded field. Fresh water, running everywhere for months. :( I called Ed and he told me how to turn off the well breaker so I could start digging a trench for the water to drain so he could begin digging this evening and then I canceled my hours for tomorrow so I can continue the digging. Then I grabbed a shovel and headed out.

You know what? They should make convicts dig pure wet clay mud. I swear it is the absolute worst form of punishment known to man. After only 2 hours I am sore from head to toe and covered in mud up to my knees. My boots are full of mud. There's a freaking 2' deep 3' wide hole in my damn yard and there's STILL a solid 2' of mud leading up to it. I lost count how many times I sank in over my boots and had to crawl out. No. This was not fun. Not fun at all.

I've got the outdoor lights ready for Ed this evening and making a quick pizza dinner. Of all the nights - I'm due at a meeting with Darren's room mother this evening to plan Valentine's Day. Oy!

And it was SUCH a gorgeous day! I just wish I could have basked in the sun and enjoyed it.

Oh my goodness the high today is 52'! Isn't that wonderful?

Since I only work until 1:00 this afternoon I'll use the afternoon to get some much-needed outside chores done. All the stalls need picked and I'll clean out all the livestock water tanks. The animals are already loving the warm sunshine and have been out laying in the sun all morning - the horse even entertained us with a few rolls in the grass. I took her blanket off so she could fully enjoy the warmth. Depending on my energy level I may even stack some wood that a farmer dropped off for us two weeks ago. Got to get back in shape so I can get a lot finished this spring!

Liveops notified me that I won a drawing and got to select my favorite workout from one of the clients I take phone calls for. I can't say the name of the one I chose but it's supposed to make you lean and ripped in 90 days. We'll see. LOL

Ed and I have been talking about using some of my bonus money and extra income this spring to buy a calf so I need to start looking and find out what the going rates are. I can tell a good looking goat but I sure don't know what to look for in a calf. Must research this.

I hope it's warming up where you are. :)

It's over! Whew! I'm done, time to relax. I did get in the required hours for the bonus although our meals and housework suffered considerably. The extra money next week will be very welcome though. Vincent encouraged me each day when I closed the office door and would say, "Go get that bonus mommy!" But I know he's very glad this week will be back to normal and I'll only work 3-4 hrs each day.

The horse has settled in nicely and she's eating very well - the owner feels she should put on weight and we agree. She's very gentle and let's me adjust her blanket in the morning without trouble, even lifting her legs so I could look them over for wounds. Her arrival, however, has left us with one disturbed cow. Moo has taken to standing at the gate whenever someone goes in the horse pasture and moo-ing. Loudly. I even saw her nose the gate a few times trying to get back into her pen. Good gravy, the owner came out yesterday to ride and when she walked through the gate to get something from her truck she had to gently push Moo's head out of the way and walk around her. I'm telling you, this is one spoiled cow. She's doing fine in the big barn with the goats and has taken to letting the smaller ones eat her grain with her - she still runs the larger ones off. Our two pygmy females are both pregnant and I think the silver gal with go first - she's just starting to bulge.

I went into Wichita last Friday and showed up on Jenn's doorstep as I've done before. But I went bearing gifts! I delivered nine 1.5 dozen containers of eggs that day to Jenn, family, and friends. I tried to put several pretty blue eggs in each carton and everyone loved them. Ed collected eggs yesterday and we have another twin! I noticed an egg last week that was just huge and figured I'd have it for my omelet. Ending up having two yolks in there, which I'd seen before but only from normal sized eggs - this eggs was twice the size of the others. Anyway, he found another one in the 18 he found yesterday!

We are cold, tired of the snow/ice packed ground, and ready for spring. The binder is in full mode right now and this week (as work is back to normal) I'll plan a little each day.