Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to Freezer Camp We Go!

Due to our previous cattle herding, cowboying experiences, and the fact that I still do not own a Cowgirl hat and boots, and the fact that we have had a mega dose of snow, that has melted so it is muddier than all get out, we did not expect the loading of the two steers for Freezer Camp to go well.

We prepared, called in extra help, extra vehicles... we expected fence jumping, crazy steers running every where...
These are the suspects... two juvenile, teenage boys... rebellious ...

The cowboys

The Help, my brother-in-law James

We're a little restless

We are very suspicious of the cowboys.

We are thinking about the fence...

Let's go see what this is...hmm...

Cowboys:  "That was too easy."

Get in there you silly things.  Notice the farmer cowboy is hanging back...
Looks like cowboy ballet.

Loaded!  TaDa!  That was easy, nothing to it!

So how did it go...
Tomorrow the Steers will be at Freezer Camp!  Yeehaw!

Playing Farmer in the Snow

So, it snowed.  Actually, it was two separate blizzards with close to 2 feet of snow each time, a week apart.  That is a lot of snow, at least for us.  And the temperatures, brrrrrr.  -18 in the morning.  That is cold!  So, what does a farmer do?  Do farmers just shut down like everything else and stay home?  Noooo.  There are critters that must be cared for.  A bottle calf in the barn.  Twice a day, the farmer trudges through the knee deep white stuff to the barn to feed the calf.
The turkeys have to be fed and watered.  So, buckets of water are carried from the hydrant (because in -18 weather the hose is frozen) to the turkey pen.  Feed the turkeys.  Chickens, need feed, water, and gather the eggs.  The chickens quit laying eggs during the blizzard apparently, the few that were laid were frozen.  Bother!  More water hauling.  All the water everywhere is frozen.  The steers headed for Freezer Camp in a few weeks keep knocking the heater out of their water trough.  Silly things.  Trudge over to their feeder to feed them.  The rest of the cows have to have hay and feed.  So the tractor has to be started and hay put out.  Now, the tricky part... the water for the cows.  The pond is frozen.  The ice on the pond must be broken with an ax.  Not to bad, except for the hike to the pond.  In knee deep snow it seems like forever.  Then there are the dogs and cats, all need feed and water.  Now we are done... only to start again the next day. Phew, it is exhausting.
However, on a lark the female farmer wants to go take pictures of the pond.  Male farmer says, okay after he feeds all the critters he will walk with her.  She however is impatient, and can't wait that long and decides to go ahead.  About halfway there, she is thinking, "Phew.  Maybe this was not a good idea.  It is a lot farther in the snow."  Then she realizes she didn't bring her cell phone,  if she passes out, or has a heart attack she will just fall down and freeze to death.  So, now a prayer is issued, "Please God, let me make it to the pond and back.  I forgot my phone and will die a frozen death and my family will not even realize it.  Thank you.  Amen."

Upon arrival at the pond, pictures taken... she rests at the picnic table.  It is really cold.  Time to head back.  "Man, it is an awful long ways."  Falling in snow this deep and this soft is not a good idea.  Just for your future knowledge.  You can't get up.  There is no where to put your hands to push yourself up.  Bother!  Another prayer, "Please God, let me make it back to the house."  Finally there it is, made it.  That wasn't so bad.  She probably needed the exercise.  I don't know was it worth it...

SNOW

SNOW

Snow so delicate and white

Clean, so clean it glows at night

Reflects the sun, so bright

Sparkles likes diamonds

Beautiful and unique each flake

As it melts, its satisfies the thirsty trees

Cold, white, wet

Snow

Jesus

Wash me white as snow

I am without strength and dirty without you

That I might glow to those in darkness

And show them The Way

Help me to Reflect the Son, so righteous

My worth to You, more than diamonds

Beauty is Yours, You meet each need uniquely,

Even if I am a little flaky

Satisfy my thirst for living water

Love, Faith, Hope

Jesus

Family: Dodge

It's a boy named Dodge. He is our first born.  Dodge is named after some dear friends of ours, well really just one of them, but they come as a set.  Dodge and Lisa Pool.  It is rather a long story to be told another time.  This is about my Dodge.  He is twenty years old.  I can't wait until he is twenty-five, then I will know something again.  Dodge has been called by God to be a minister, specifically a youth minister at this time.  Which is good, because Dodge likes to play games and do athletic kinds of things. He likes to do stuff like play dodgeball.  You would think he would win.  I mean with a name like "Dodge" how can you not win dodgeball.  But he doesn't always win. 
When he was younger, a teenager, his dad could not walk by him without being tugged into a wrestling match.  It was constant wrestling at our house.  He is studying at The College at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He loves studying Greek. 
He is a lifeguard and swim instructor, has a First Aid card.  Feels obligated to offer first aid to anyone he sees who is injured.  When I broke my toe, he stood there, looked at it, said, "It's not broken."  Guess what, Dodge was "playing" Tae Kwon Do the other day and kicked, missed, and Broke His Toe!  It was all I could do not to say something incredibly witty.  Dodge runs full speed ahead all the time.  The boy could run across the room at 7 months old.  He likes to talk, he talked in complete sentences by the time he was a year old.
At 6'2", he towers over most.  By the time he was 13, he was taller than I was.  I know that is not saying a whole lot.  He looks a lot like "Shaggy" from "Scooby Doo" at the moment.  Tall, slender, shaggy hair and beard.
He is a very serious, tenderhearted, thoughtful person. I know that doesn't really go with the playful side, but it is true.  He knows a lot about the Bible. Still has a lot to learn.
He helps out around the farm when he is home, which isn't very often anymore. Mostly, he runs errands for me when he is home.  He feeds the animals some, and occasionally likes to play "cowboy." 
He is famous for getting lost, even with a GPS and having a wreck on his first date.  His sister ran into the back of him.  His favorite meal is Fajitas.
Dodge is a special gift from God to a man and woman who thought they would never have children, after trying for seven years.   Love you Dodge!

Cowgirl and Snowflake

A new baby calf was born the night of the snowstorm.  Go figure.  You would have thought the mother would have planned a little better than that.  The calf is cute, really little, so it seems to me.  Me, the experienced cowgirl of all of not more than 6 months.  We named the calf , "Snowflake."  We don't know if it is a boy or girl calf yet.  Snowflake is really cute, has a white spot on his back and part of his tail is white and his belly is partially white.  The rest of him is black.  Snowflake wasn't getting around too good, and the mama didn't seem to be feeding him and keeping him warm like she should.  How do I know?  That is a good question.  Facebook has the answers.  So, today my husband calls me from work and says he is concerned.  Maybe we should catch the calf, put it in the barn, and bottle feed it.  He says, have Jack go catch it and carry it to the barn.  Jack, being out of school because of the inch of snow we received two days ago.  So, we put on our coats and head out to play cowboys and cowgirls, Molly was out of school too, same reason.
Now there are a couple of things you should know about me, one I was raised in big cities.  Houston, Athens, Greece, London, England, I all call home.  Two, I am a girl.  I like girl things, pink, lace, sewing, etc.  Three, I don't however like to change clothes.  This morning when I got up, knowing I wasn't going anywhere due to the inch of snow on the ground.  I put on a denim skirt, knee socks, and knit top and a cardigan.  I know, I dress like a dork.  I am okay with that, however, my fashion plate daughters wish differently.  But oh well.  I am dressed.
Now, I have to help catch a calf, and who knows what else.  Well, we head out to the cows, which are behind the house on the far side of the creek, quietly eating hay and minding their own business.  We go through the gate.  The cows back away.  I send Jack to go around and cut them off.  The boy moves sooo slow.  I think there is something wrong with him.  That, however is another story.  Well, the cows take off.  Snowflake can not keep up, but is too fast for us.  So, we go back to the house.  We absolutely fail at cattle catching, herding, whatever it is called.
A little while later, I notice out the window that the cows are back.  Snowflake is all by himself.  So, I send Jack, in his Father's coat and hat.  That way the cows will think it is Jerry and just stand there.  I tell Jack to catch that calf and carry it to the barn.  I watch from the window.  Obviously, the calf is a little heavier than Jack's father led us to believe.  I go out there with the calf bottle to help.  There is absolutely no way, Jack and I can carry this calf all the way to the barn.  We did get him out of the pasture.  I send Jack for the wheelbarrow.  We put the calf in the wheelbarrow.  I am leaning on the calf to keep him from standing, Jack is pulling the wheelbarrow towards the barn.  We finally get Snowflake in the stall in the barn.  After stepping over, while carrying Snowflake, three lawnmowers, two gas cans, and who knows what else.  You have to understand our barn is full of stuff.  It has two stalls.  One is full of chickens, don't ask.  The other is empty, more or less.  It is also dark.  Very bad lighting in this barn.   But we got it done.  Now, if we could just get him to take the bottle.  So, I have to traipse up to the barn every so often to check on Snowflake and try to get him to take a bottle.  And yes, I did all of this in my denim skirt and tennis shoes.

 I really think, I would be so much better at being a cowgirl with a hat and boots.  Don't you?

Cow Herding

We had to sort cows today.  We have two steers that are needing to prepare for Freezer Camp.  There were a couple of extra teenage boys here this weekend for Jack's birthday, so we made use of the extra help.  It was quite a challenge because they had never been around cattle before.  Cows are really big, especially when they are running towards you and a crazy man is hollering, "Don't let 'em through!"
So, me being the expert cow herder that I am had to give them a few lessons.  I tell them, "You must through your arms up in the air really fast and big.  Make yourself look bigger.  Then at the same time, holler, "HA!"  really loudly.  And take a step forward while doing that."  It was a lot for them to comprehend and coordinate at the same time.  However, it works so much better if you are wearing a cowboy hat and some cowboy boots.  It just really makes the cows think you know what you are doing.  And you can use your hat to wave at them and make yourself even larger.  Which is useful, when the whole herd is running toward you because they fear for their lives.  We really just wanted two of them to go through the gate. 
It is quite funny to watch.  My husband has a real bossy side.  I was unaware of.
I really think I need a cowgirl hat and some boots.  I would be so much better at cattle herding.

Family: Jack

I thought since this is a blog about our "family" farm, I should tell you a little about our family.  I'd like to start with Jack.  However, it has to be a secret.  You see Jack does not want his name floating around the internet, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  Just weird.  Sort of.  Jack is my younger son.  I love Jack.  He is probably one of the more interesting people I know.  Either I don't get out much or he is really interesting.  Jack also doesn't want to have his picture taken, ever, by anyone.  So we have days appointed as picture taking days.  He still resists.  I know some things about Jack.  He is really funny.  To make it easier and more Jack like I will give them to you in a list.
1. man of few words, actually Jack doesn't say a whole lot.  Maybe that is why he is so interesting, when he does say something, you have not heard it before.  Unless of course you have asked him a question, then you get one of two answers:  "I don't know." or "I guess."
2.  Black and white kind of guy, he deals in facts, no gray areas here.
3.  SMART.  (Yes, I know it is all caps.  No, I didn't have the caps lock on.  No, I am not yelling.)  He is super smart.
4.  Jack looks like Michael Phelps.
5.  He has a British accent.  Why we don't know.  But we had to read in front of the church as a family around Christmas time, and one of the comments was:  "Wow!  He talks!  And he has a British accent."
6.  Witty.  Really he is super funny.  If you can get him to talk.
7.  He strives to live godly and be an example for others.
8.  He is almost always respectful of others.  There have been a few slip ups, and I can't make him sound like a saint for the sake of my other children.
9.  He is servant hearted.  He will do anything someone asks him to do at church, to be helpful.
10.  He has a math brain. Which he so totally did not get from his mother.  But that is okay.
11.  He will only play smartacle kind of games, like Chess, Wise and Otherwise, Trivia Pursuit.  No games of chance like Farkel.
12.  He is strong.
13.  Godly, or always working towards that.
14.  He does have a temper.
15.  He doesn't like potatoes, of any kind.
16.  He turns sixteen on the 18th of this month.
I love to be around Jack, he is so solid.  Like his dad.  This is how Jack has described himself, quiet, respectful, cunning, determined, and intelligent.
An example of Jack humor:  His older brother was going to take him Christmas shopping one night and told him to get ready.  Jack said, "But I went Christmas shopping last year."  He was totally serious. It was so funny.  He knew it was funny.  On the "farm"  Jack is the all around helper for Dad.  He helps build barns, mows, feeds the animals, and will soon learn how to break the ice on the pond.  He is so excited.  He helped build the hen house, learned to roof there.  He is also practice driving.  That is kind of scary sometimes.  He says I am tense.  He feels oppressed in the area of driving.  However, he does things like this, when caught straying to the wrong side of the road (fortunately we live in the country)  he says, "Sorry, I lost focus."  He lost focus and almost got me killed!  Well not really, because there weren't any other cars. He likes fettuccine alfredo.  He loves bacon.  He can help Molly with her homework.  I am thankful for Jack, and the way he makes me smile.  God has great and mighty plans for him.  Can't wait.

In honor of his 16th birthday... shhhhhh!