This time of year is always crazy around here.... We are still working or rather were, working on rebuilding the corrals in time for the day we will ship our calves to market and get our ONCE a year pay cheque.
In the mean time we started cutting second cut about four days ago and just finished it up yesterday...we ended up cutting nearly two hundred acres. For the most part it is pretty good..should run about 2 bales to the acre...and considering this is the first second cut crop we have had to do in over 7 years we think it's awesome. hahahaha
I have been busy in my spare time, reading the manual for the new tractor, learning how to navigate the command centre computer on board. I have tweaked it now to Robert's desired settings and it should be good unless he pushes too many wrong buttons like earlier and I have to do re-do it. hahahaha He admits to being a dummy when it comes to technology stuff. After doing that all day yesterday, I came inside at 8 pm to grab a quick bite to eat and watch some TV...and drum roll please , the remote control would not start either the TV or the Satellite receiver. Oh God, is it too much to ask for just one thing to go the way I want, I just want to watch some god damned TV....I complained out loud. hahhaha to thin air... and had to sit down and read the manual for the remote control and re-program it to work...so that it was working in time to tape my Tuesday night show. It was 9:30 by the time I ate supper...a bowl of beef soup and one bun.
Today I was sure would go better....but not so...I started the day by having to fill out a government form to do with farm income and government subsidies. It took an hour and it has to be in before Sept 30....nothing like leaving it to the end. But there is little incentive to do it earlier since they just send a letter afterward telling you you did not qualify...but yet you still have to fill out the forms.
Well today we may be able to bale some of the 60 acres of green feed we have cut. If the cloud dissipates by noon. Otherwise we may make a flying trip into local town for fuel and milk.
So don't despair, I am still alive and well, in spite of a few close calls...of which I will tell you next time. I have to go and put some sort of meat on the stove for Roberts lunch...he announced this morning that he was officially tired of casseroles and sandwiches....ungrateful bugger that he is..hahahahaha never mind that I was sick of eating that stuff too....so I think maybe oven roasted chicken pieces with seasoned baby potatoes and corn on the cob....yup sounds good to me.....
It froze here two nights in row now so I pulled everything from the garden and the garage is taken over with pails of tomatoes and cobs of corn and pumpkins.
Splendor
September 21, 2011
September 8, 2011
A Momentous few Days
The past few days have been ones of momentous occasions. First,it was my son Robs 34 th birthday today,
I called him and actually got to talk to him in person rather than going straight to voicemail. That was a very nice surprise. Then they finally delivered our new tractor....better a month and a half late than not at all.
It was dropped off late Tuesday afternoon.
I never got a chance to see inside until after dark, but the next morning early I slipped outside with our order sheet to make sure everything was good to go....and the first thing I see when I open the door was that it had the instructors seat still in it.....
JD in their wisdom mount a small uncomfortable and very intrusive fold up "bitch" seat just inside the door for a mechanic or instructor to sit on while diagnosing a problem with the tractor or giving the new owner a tutorial on his new machine. A person going into or out of the tractor always bangs their legs on it and we specifically requested that it be removed before they deliver it....it's still in there.... and we didn't get the exact seat we were told we would get...apparently that seat is only sold in the larger series of tractor...so we got the best seat available in this series....
I know it seems like we are being picky but for $ 120,000.oo one should be able to expect to get what you ordered... so they are going to send someone out to remove the bitch seat, and they are giving us a gift card for a few other minor things that were not put on the tractor that we paid for and Robert will be getting a leather jacket (not really his style but it's included)
The salesman that was suppose to come the next morning didn't show up and so in a moment of spite we threw some clean cloths on, jumped in our air conditioned truck and drove to Drayton Valley to look at some pipe free standing panels that some guy builds down there and then took the scenic route back to Whitecourt, had supper at the casino and No we didn't gamble... stopped for tea at my friend Sherry's place to wish her a happy BD. and then home...today, we got up nice and early and headed outside to work while it was still cool. It has been near 30 everyday for four days...yeesh I hate it when it gets so hot. We are tearing down some of the old rotten corrals that we built 18 years ago and Robert fired up the old CAT to level the rutted ground, then late this afternoon we augered the holes to plant two new 10 ft poles and cemented them in place to be able to mount our 16 ft gates on them and not have them move like the last posts did. Two down, 20 some to go. hahahaha I took the new tractor for a drive up the road and tooled around an old bale yard to get the hang of it...I read the manual during lunch and thanks to my photographic memory I can now tutor Robrt. hahahaha
I took some pictures of the place this morning while waiting for the JD guy to come. Enjoy.
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| Rob and his Dad while we were camping with my Mom and Dad at Babine Lake, BC |
I called him and actually got to talk to him in person rather than going straight to voicemail. That was a very nice surprise. Then they finally delivered our new tractor....better a month and a half late than not at all.
It was dropped off late Tuesday afternoon.
JD in their wisdom mount a small uncomfortable and very intrusive fold up "bitch" seat just inside the door for a mechanic or instructor to sit on while diagnosing a problem with the tractor or giving the new owner a tutorial on his new machine. A person going into or out of the tractor always bangs their legs on it and we specifically requested that it be removed before they deliver it....it's still in there.... and we didn't get the exact seat we were told we would get...apparently that seat is only sold in the larger series of tractor...so we got the best seat available in this series....
The salesman that was suppose to come the next morning didn't show up and so in a moment of spite we threw some clean cloths on, jumped in our air conditioned truck and drove to Drayton Valley to look at some pipe free standing panels that some guy builds down there and then took the scenic route back to Whitecourt, had supper at the casino and No we didn't gamble... stopped for tea at my friend Sherry's place to wish her a happy BD. and then home...today, we got up nice and early and headed outside to work while it was still cool. It has been near 30 everyday for four days...yeesh I hate it when it gets so hot. We are tearing down some of the old rotten corrals that we built 18 years ago and Robert fired up the old CAT to level the rutted ground, then late this afternoon we augered the holes to plant two new 10 ft poles and cemented them in place to be able to mount our 16 ft gates on them and not have them move like the last posts did. Two down, 20 some to go. hahahaha I took the new tractor for a drive up the road and tooled around an old bale yard to get the hang of it...I read the manual during lunch and thanks to my photographic memory I can now tutor Robrt. hahahaha
I took some pictures of the place this morning while waiting for the JD guy to come. Enjoy.
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| The Fake Window Project, completed |
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| Red Poppies |
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| red and Lavender Poppies |
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| More Poppies, one could be forgiven for thinking I was going into the opium trade, how do you think I'm going to make tractor payments ? |
September 2, 2011
A DAY straight out of HELL
Ha !!! Robert and I just lived through a day from hell. It could take us a week to recuperate.
I have to go for eye tests every fall because of one of the bad drugs I am on. it can build up in the layers of your retina a cause blindness...so every day I have to stare at this grid they have provided me for use at home and chart any changes in my vision...ie: blurriness, warping, blind spots etc... and I actually rarely remember to do this...and the test I am made to do yearly are a pain in the ass but so is going blind so I keep going... even if I were to stop taking this medication today I would have to go for these tests for the next five years, that is how long the drug stays in your body. Yikes !!!!!
So they, the masters of the retinal universe, have changed my appointment date three times throughout the year, so often in fact, that I nearly forgot to go...originally I had the appointment to take into consideration that we live two hours out of the city and have to travel and eat...so it was made for the afternoon...the five tests they do have taken up to four hours...the tests themselves don't take that long but the waits in between are mind boggling. But I digress.... with the changing appointment dates the time issue was lost along the wayside and when I finally got an official letter about the final appointment date...it was for Sept 1 at 10 am... which means for us to drive two hours and have possible traffic delays (ask Sue about the Edmonton traffic delays hahahaha) and to be able to have breakfast, shower, do my hair etc....we had to be up on or before 6 am.... Now for most people this wouldn't be a problem but I have trouble sleeping, aches and pains and Robert's snoring are bad enough but add to that a hundred calves bellowing outside for their mommies all night and needless to say I was a sorry sight come 6 am....I had about 5 hours of decent sleep...by 10 am I needed a Nap... big time....
We hit grid lock on the out skirts of the city, thank you Anthony Henday Drive....it will be great when it is finished but in the meantime...what a shamozzle.
then when we arrived at the building the small inadequate parking lot is completely fenced off for resurfacing and we had to park three blocks away and walk back...Robert practically ran and dragged me along with him...I was having bad allergy issues after working the cattle over three days in a row and my eyes were all swollen and itchy and watery and my sinuses were blocked...I had a gravelly, growly voice and felt like crap...(Allergic to my way of making a living...hahahaha how ironic) When we got to the building on foot this time we had to go three quarters of the way around to find an alternative door way, we entered through some mini-pharmacy and wove our way back to the corner where the stairs were...up the stairs and we were there...all that hurrying only to wait for an hour before being taken in....grrrrrrrr by this time my ankle issues were showing themselves and it was throbbing like crazy... and I was limping quite markedly.. the first test was the field test...put a pirates eye patch on stair into this white cone with your chin and forehead touching the machine, don't move and try to keep blinking to a minimum...hah... that just makes me blink more.... they give you a clicker and you are to stare straight ahead and click the clicker when ever you see a blinking light appear...but don't look around, just stare at the light in the centre of the cone... it takes about 15 minutes per eye...then they get you to read an eye chart , then put the drops in your eyes to dilate your pupils and another drop to numb the eye ball so that they can push at it with a pressure gauge to check for glaucoma..they take you to a different waiting room and tell you to sit...you can't read cause your eyes are all blurry now...so you sit there blinking and staring at the other people like an owl....after about 30 minutes my name was called and I was taken down another hall way to a small room where they took pictures of my eye ball...another machine in which you stare into the lens, with your chin and forehead on the machine, don't blink and stare at a green light then she flashes a bright light and blinds you...when your eye finally focuses again everything is awash in a deep purple light. then they do the same to the other eye...back in the waiting room... and its about 11:30 by now...there are 33 other people in the chairs around me. I waited there for 10 minutes and she called me again and took me to another room with a colour photo machine which takes pictures of the retina...and then puts them into 3D on the computer screen...that test took about 20 minutes she then took me back to the waiting room again and said to wait for them to call my name... I waited and waited...noon hour came and went...Poor Robert is waiting in the original waiting room with nothing to eat...I had my bag and at least had a granola bar...by this time I was fingering the glucose tablets Sue gave me for low blood sugar and was on the verge of using them...I didn't have my monitor but hadn't eaten since 6:30 am and my hands and knees were getting shaky...never a good sign for me... I took Robert his granola bar, I had eaten mine at 11:30. when they finally called my name I was taken to a different room and told to wait for Dr. Greve...surprisingly I waited only about 10 minutes and in he came...he examined my eyes through the big optometrists machine wrote a few things in my file and that was it, he walked out...I saw him for less than 5 minutes...I rushed out of there and grabbed Robert, I practically ran the three blocks to the truck because I was worried I would pass out...I took a couple of tablets...and Robert took us to Timmies... for chili and a bun.
This is the first time I have had these tests done at the doctors office...usually I had to go to the Royal Alex eye clinic in the hospital and there is a cafeteria and gift shop to buy snacks in...so now I know that next year I am packing a bloody lunch...sandwich and fruit...and that Robert is coming with me to the other waiting room...so he can eat too. All in all we got there at 9:45 am and were back at the truck at 2:30 pm....this doctor's appointments are always like that though...we always figure three to four hours... but this is the first time I have had one since I became diabetic and was taking meds for it. It certainly makes the long waits more interesting.... and this is year four...
We were both so tired after that that we really didn't want to do any shopping. We had to go to costco to fill Roberts prescription, Walmart so Robert could get filters and oil and then we had Chinese food and went home earlier than normal for us. We fell into bed and I didn't wake up until 8 am...this morning, Robert was up and outside a bit earlier than me.
Oh ya...Thursday (yesterday) we woke up to frost...0* it was here...some of the garden stuff got touched...but not badly... it is cool and windy here today with the odd cloud burst of rain... a good for staying inside and catching up on some inside stuff.
I have to go for eye tests every fall because of one of the bad drugs I am on. it can build up in the layers of your retina a cause blindness...so every day I have to stare at this grid they have provided me for use at home and chart any changes in my vision...ie: blurriness, warping, blind spots etc... and I actually rarely remember to do this...and the test I am made to do yearly are a pain in the ass but so is going blind so I keep going... even if I were to stop taking this medication today I would have to go for these tests for the next five years, that is how long the drug stays in your body. Yikes !!!!!
So they, the masters of the retinal universe, have changed my appointment date three times throughout the year, so often in fact, that I nearly forgot to go...originally I had the appointment to take into consideration that we live two hours out of the city and have to travel and eat...so it was made for the afternoon...the five tests they do have taken up to four hours...the tests themselves don't take that long but the waits in between are mind boggling. But I digress.... with the changing appointment dates the time issue was lost along the wayside and when I finally got an official letter about the final appointment date...it was for Sept 1 at 10 am... which means for us to drive two hours and have possible traffic delays (ask Sue about the Edmonton traffic delays hahahaha) and to be able to have breakfast, shower, do my hair etc....we had to be up on or before 6 am.... Now for most people this wouldn't be a problem but I have trouble sleeping, aches and pains and Robert's snoring are bad enough but add to that a hundred calves bellowing outside for their mommies all night and needless to say I was a sorry sight come 6 am....I had about 5 hours of decent sleep...by 10 am I needed a Nap... big time....
We hit grid lock on the out skirts of the city, thank you Anthony Henday Drive....it will be great when it is finished but in the meantime...what a shamozzle.
then when we arrived at the building the small inadequate parking lot is completely fenced off for resurfacing and we had to park three blocks away and walk back...Robert practically ran and dragged me along with him...I was having bad allergy issues after working the cattle over three days in a row and my eyes were all swollen and itchy and watery and my sinuses were blocked...I had a gravelly, growly voice and felt like crap...(Allergic to my way of making a living...hahahaha how ironic) When we got to the building on foot this time we had to go three quarters of the way around to find an alternative door way, we entered through some mini-pharmacy and wove our way back to the corner where the stairs were...up the stairs and we were there...all that hurrying only to wait for an hour before being taken in....grrrrrrrr by this time my ankle issues were showing themselves and it was throbbing like crazy... and I was limping quite markedly.. the first test was the field test...put a pirates eye patch on stair into this white cone with your chin and forehead touching the machine, don't move and try to keep blinking to a minimum...hah... that just makes me blink more.... they give you a clicker and you are to stare straight ahead and click the clicker when ever you see a blinking light appear...but don't look around, just stare at the light in the centre of the cone... it takes about 15 minutes per eye...then they get you to read an eye chart , then put the drops in your eyes to dilate your pupils and another drop to numb the eye ball so that they can push at it with a pressure gauge to check for glaucoma..they take you to a different waiting room and tell you to sit...you can't read cause your eyes are all blurry now...so you sit there blinking and staring at the other people like an owl....after about 30 minutes my name was called and I was taken down another hall way to a small room where they took pictures of my eye ball...another machine in which you stare into the lens, with your chin and forehead on the machine, don't blink and stare at a green light then she flashes a bright light and blinds you...when your eye finally focuses again everything is awash in a deep purple light. then they do the same to the other eye...back in the waiting room... and its about 11:30 by now...there are 33 other people in the chairs around me. I waited there for 10 minutes and she called me again and took me to another room with a colour photo machine which takes pictures of the retina...and then puts them into 3D on the computer screen...that test took about 20 minutes she then took me back to the waiting room again and said to wait for them to call my name... I waited and waited...noon hour came and went...Poor Robert is waiting in the original waiting room with nothing to eat...I had my bag and at least had a granola bar...by this time I was fingering the glucose tablets Sue gave me for low blood sugar and was on the verge of using them...I didn't have my monitor but hadn't eaten since 6:30 am and my hands and knees were getting shaky...never a good sign for me... I took Robert his granola bar, I had eaten mine at 11:30. when they finally called my name I was taken to a different room and told to wait for Dr. Greve...surprisingly I waited only about 10 minutes and in he came...he examined my eyes through the big optometrists machine wrote a few things in my file and that was it, he walked out...I saw him for less than 5 minutes...I rushed out of there and grabbed Robert, I practically ran the three blocks to the truck because I was worried I would pass out...I took a couple of tablets...and Robert took us to Timmies... for chili and a bun.
This is the first time I have had these tests done at the doctors office...usually I had to go to the Royal Alex eye clinic in the hospital and there is a cafeteria and gift shop to buy snacks in...so now I know that next year I am packing a bloody lunch...sandwich and fruit...and that Robert is coming with me to the other waiting room...so he can eat too. All in all we got there at 9:45 am and were back at the truck at 2:30 pm....this doctor's appointments are always like that though...we always figure three to four hours... but this is the first time I have had one since I became diabetic and was taking meds for it. It certainly makes the long waits more interesting.... and this is year four...
We were both so tired after that that we really didn't want to do any shopping. We had to go to costco to fill Roberts prescription, Walmart so Robert could get filters and oil and then we had Chinese food and went home earlier than normal for us. We fell into bed and I didn't wake up until 8 am...this morning, Robert was up and outside a bit earlier than me.
Oh ya...Thursday (yesterday) we woke up to frost...0* it was here...some of the garden stuff got touched...but not badly... it is cool and windy here today with the odd cloud burst of rain... a good for staying inside and catching up on some inside stuff.
August 30, 2011
Listen !
Can you hear that ? The ever so slow grinding, grating, erosion of my middle age. Huh... today is one of those days where I am unwillingly forced to view my somewhat static life through the eyes of a younger, more energetic, hell or high water person in my life. Mainly my hair stylist.
I know what you're thinking... she goes to a stylist....for that hair do....hahahahha Yes I do, but I pretty much hold her at gun point to not do any of the cutting edge stuff she likes and just give me a basic utilitarian hair cut...after all, where do I go that I need to look cutting edge. There are some days when I even forget to run a brush through my hair until bed time...yikes !!!!
Today Amy, my stylist, was chattering away about her family moving to the big house on their dairy farm since she and her hubby and small children are out growing the small bungalow they currently live in, her in-laws will be placing a new modular home on a different parcel of land. So she is filled with the designing bug, and she has quite a flare for it....her little hair studio is fixed up so nice, kind of a down home cottage feel with hand made quilts, that she made with her mom, and folk art and such about the place. very cosey...we were talking about base boards today...how much she dislikes store bought trim boards...and wanted to salvage old barn board for trim wood....but I pointed out the draw backs to that...the rough wood being hard to clean...with kids especially... so I suggested a 1 x 6 inch spruce board...with a piece of 1/4 round on top giving the base board a nice rounded top....very victorian...with deep baseboards... she loved the idea...and wrote it down...but it was while she was telling me all the different things she wants to do to the place that I was struck by how stagnant my life has become. WHAT WAS I LOOKING FORWARD TO. not much, sadly. Oh well there is one thing I am looking forward to....snow...yes that's right...snow...because once it snows I don't have to do any more field work, gardening or lawn care....That makes me sound so lazy.... and I suppose in a way I have become lazy. If lazy means that working so hard makes me hurt in places I didn't know I could hurt. I ache from head to toe...and in some spots it feels like I was hit by a truck...a big truck.
The new diabetic med I am on is expensive but seems to be working. That's good. I feel better about the numbers now...before it seemed like I was trying so hard to eat all the right things only to have the numbers be out of whack..now they are where I would expect them to be...so bravo Dr. Jamal.
We had a short but very nice visit with Sue last week, she brought a box of peaches....hmmmmmm they were delicious... I canned some and we are still enjoying one on our cereal each morning. I can only eat a half a one though since it sends my sugar level through the roof. I must say that Sue looked fabulous.... and she seems really happy, so I am very glad... I am mentally making plans to visit her and enjoy the resort like atmosphere of her new digs.
We finally got our new satellite receiver hooked up and not a moment too soon...both Robert and I were having withdrawal from TV. There is only one glitch...the new receiver will not send the signal to the other TV's in the house like the old one did....so Robert can't watch News in bed at night... I rather like that...but him, not so much....hahahaa so we will be buying an RF modulator so that the other TV's will get a signal as well. Seems like Shaw wants you to have a different receiver for each TV at $6.00 per receiver per month...plus the main one...
Yesterday I helped Robert bring three calves home from pasture that were missed the day before when we weaned...then made lunch, picked a 2 gallon pail of green beans, and Ice cream pail of peas, a pail of carrots and a 3 gallon pail of ripe tomatoes...as well as dug one hill of potatoes for supper..then I snapped the beans and shelled the peas...blanched and froze them...I skinned and froze the tomatoes...and canned the box of peaches Sue had brought. I then made egg salad for todays lunch and collapsed on the couch at 10 pm to watch a bit of news before bed. Today already I have been for a hair cut, and we are going to wean a small group of cows with heifer calves. 25 calves to bring home along with one bull. We weaned on Sunday the bigger bunch of calves...boy was it hot out that day...we hauled 7 loads home in the stock trailer and then had lunch and went back out to run them all over the scale for a weaning weight. I also want to mow my lawn today but it looks like it wants to rain so I may not get around to that.
I have an appointment in the city on thursday for an eye test...one of the drugs I am taking can build up in the layers of the retina and cause you to go blind...so they check every six months for signs of that happening...so far I have been lucky...
Well I should go and fire up the barbecue, I guess I will throw a couple of hot dogs on and give Robert one of his favorite lunches...hot dogs with grilled onions... and beans on toast...it must be a british thing...
I know what you're thinking... she goes to a stylist....for that hair do....hahahahha Yes I do, but I pretty much hold her at gun point to not do any of the cutting edge stuff she likes and just give me a basic utilitarian hair cut...after all, where do I go that I need to look cutting edge. There are some days when I even forget to run a brush through my hair until bed time...yikes !!!!
Today Amy, my stylist, was chattering away about her family moving to the big house on their dairy farm since she and her hubby and small children are out growing the small bungalow they currently live in, her in-laws will be placing a new modular home on a different parcel of land. So she is filled with the designing bug, and she has quite a flare for it....her little hair studio is fixed up so nice, kind of a down home cottage feel with hand made quilts, that she made with her mom, and folk art and such about the place. very cosey...we were talking about base boards today...how much she dislikes store bought trim boards...and wanted to salvage old barn board for trim wood....but I pointed out the draw backs to that...the rough wood being hard to clean...with kids especially... so I suggested a 1 x 6 inch spruce board...with a piece of 1/4 round on top giving the base board a nice rounded top....very victorian...with deep baseboards... she loved the idea...and wrote it down...but it was while she was telling me all the different things she wants to do to the place that I was struck by how stagnant my life has become. WHAT WAS I LOOKING FORWARD TO. not much, sadly. Oh well there is one thing I am looking forward to....snow...yes that's right...snow...because once it snows I don't have to do any more field work, gardening or lawn care....That makes me sound so lazy.... and I suppose in a way I have become lazy. If lazy means that working so hard makes me hurt in places I didn't know I could hurt. I ache from head to toe...and in some spots it feels like I was hit by a truck...a big truck.
The new diabetic med I am on is expensive but seems to be working. That's good. I feel better about the numbers now...before it seemed like I was trying so hard to eat all the right things only to have the numbers be out of whack..now they are where I would expect them to be...so bravo Dr. Jamal.
We had a short but very nice visit with Sue last week, she brought a box of peaches....hmmmmmm they were delicious... I canned some and we are still enjoying one on our cereal each morning. I can only eat a half a one though since it sends my sugar level through the roof. I must say that Sue looked fabulous.... and she seems really happy, so I am very glad... I am mentally making plans to visit her and enjoy the resort like atmosphere of her new digs.
We finally got our new satellite receiver hooked up and not a moment too soon...both Robert and I were having withdrawal from TV. There is only one glitch...the new receiver will not send the signal to the other TV's in the house like the old one did....so Robert can't watch News in bed at night... I rather like that...but him, not so much....hahahaa so we will be buying an RF modulator so that the other TV's will get a signal as well. Seems like Shaw wants you to have a different receiver for each TV at $6.00 per receiver per month...plus the main one...
Yesterday I helped Robert bring three calves home from pasture that were missed the day before when we weaned...then made lunch, picked a 2 gallon pail of green beans, and Ice cream pail of peas, a pail of carrots and a 3 gallon pail of ripe tomatoes...as well as dug one hill of potatoes for supper..then I snapped the beans and shelled the peas...blanched and froze them...I skinned and froze the tomatoes...and canned the box of peaches Sue had brought. I then made egg salad for todays lunch and collapsed on the couch at 10 pm to watch a bit of news before bed. Today already I have been for a hair cut, and we are going to wean a small group of cows with heifer calves. 25 calves to bring home along with one bull. We weaned on Sunday the bigger bunch of calves...boy was it hot out that day...we hauled 7 loads home in the stock trailer and then had lunch and went back out to run them all over the scale for a weaning weight. I also want to mow my lawn today but it looks like it wants to rain so I may not get around to that.
I have an appointment in the city on thursday for an eye test...one of the drugs I am taking can build up in the layers of the retina and cause you to go blind...so they check every six months for signs of that happening...so far I have been lucky...
Well I should go and fire up the barbecue, I guess I will throw a couple of hot dogs on and give Robert one of his favorite lunches...hot dogs with grilled onions... and beans on toast...it must be a british thing...
August 15, 2011
Yikes
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| sizzled right down the side |
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| shredded bark |
Besides the damage to the tree we lost our satelite receiver....they are super sensitive to lightening and I guess this strike was just too close...so we are waiting for Shaw to send us a new one....which means a whole week with out any TV....and no highspeed internet to watch our shows on....whaaaaaaaa
I rely very heavily on TV for entertainment and company....it's gonna be a long week.....day one seems to be dragging on forever....and of course we are not working due to the rain...so I have bags of time to kill.....Romance novels here I come. Yipee....
August 13, 2011
Holey Moley
We are getting about three good days in a row and then more rain, lucky us...Robert is starting to pull, his already sparse hair, out.
But we are slowly whittling away at the work. If the weather holds its current pattern we could be done baling by late Sunday. That would be bloody awesome.
Yesterday, the John Deere dealer brought a potential buyer out to our farm to view the borrowed tractor...the one they lent us until our new one comes. I have fallen in equipment love with this loaner tractor. It is ten years old and I adore it....so much so, that I was embarrassingly petulant yesterday....I wanted to pull a rabbit out of a hat and have some miracle happen that would enable us to purchase it too, along with the new one...but I am fresh out of Rabbits at this time, so sad. It looks like the guy really liked the tractor...and if he buys it, John Deere will have to bring us a second loaner until ours is here.
I picked a ton of veggies from the garden yesterday...new potatoes, carrots, beans, a basket of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and 2 gallons of peas...we ate a bit of spaghetti and a load of veggies for dinner...
I cannot not believe how late in the season it is already. it seems like summer just got here but already the leaves are turning and I see autumn plants blooming along the road. sigh...... soon the snow will be back...less work mind you but we are stuck at home looking after cattle then...Oh well, the price i pay for marrying another farmer...
My latest painting is nearly finished.. I think it turned out awesome, keep your eyes peeled for a photo soon. I just need two more good days to work on it and voila` .
But we are slowly whittling away at the work. If the weather holds its current pattern we could be done baling by late Sunday. That would be bloody awesome.
Yesterday, the John Deere dealer brought a potential buyer out to our farm to view the borrowed tractor...the one they lent us until our new one comes. I have fallen in equipment love with this loaner tractor. It is ten years old and I adore it....so much so, that I was embarrassingly petulant yesterday....I wanted to pull a rabbit out of a hat and have some miracle happen that would enable us to purchase it too, along with the new one...but I am fresh out of Rabbits at this time, so sad. It looks like the guy really liked the tractor...and if he buys it, John Deere will have to bring us a second loaner until ours is here.
I picked a ton of veggies from the garden yesterday...new potatoes, carrots, beans, a basket of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and 2 gallons of peas...we ate a bit of spaghetti and a load of veggies for dinner...
I cannot not believe how late in the season it is already. it seems like summer just got here but already the leaves are turning and I see autumn plants blooming along the road. sigh...... soon the snow will be back...less work mind you but we are stuck at home looking after cattle then...Oh well, the price i pay for marrying another farmer...
My latest painting is nearly finished.. I think it turned out awesome, keep your eyes peeled for a photo soon. I just need two more good days to work on it and voila` .
August 10, 2011
No Surprise
It is no Surprise to me that the novelty of the new equipment has wore off and I am tired of cutting and baling hay. I have noticed a direct correlation with the purchase of this new, ridiculously expensive equipment and the hours of labour I am required to do.
Now, I am not a lazy person, anyone who knows me and has seen my yard and house knows that I do not shirk work...but a certain someone in my life seems to have decided that since the Doctors have not labeled my illness with a specific name, that I am not that sick...so I can pull my weight again...
On any given day, I can be required to run four or five different pieces of equipment, a typical day can encompass 8 -10 hrs of driving tractor, broken only by the time it takes me to run to the house and make lunch and supper and take it back to the field.
I feel guilty if I complain...but by the end of this last week I was so exhausted I felt like crying...it got to the point where I was praying it would storm so that I could have a day off. I am determined not to whine to him about it...he must be aware of how much he is requiring of me...and doesn't care...I mean what else can I think.... two years ago he wouldn't let me do a damned thing but read and paint pictures... Now I have no time for either...it's like I was never sick...I only wish my body felt the same way.
Last week we finally took the plunge and bought our first barbecue...we have been tire kicking for a few years...and finally found just what we were looking for....it took me 3 hours to put it together but we ate the best hot dogs ever that night off the barbie....
My garden is producing ripe tomatoes now like crazy and I am picking a head of cabbage this morning for cole slaw. We ate new potatoes yesterday for the first time...hmmmmmmmm were they good along with oven baked chicken breast and a little dish I like to call my fresh corn hash, which is just fresh stir fried zucchini, onion and baby carrots with kerneled corn and fresh tomatoes, it is very very good.
I finished painting my fake windows, and now am just waiting for a bit of spare time so that Robert can help me mount them on the garage wall. I think they are going to look pretty good. At least them leaning on the wall and my viewing them from the end of the drive way, makes me think they will.
Our little cat "TROUBLE" is being bullied by a black female barn cat. His legs are all chewed up from her biting him and Robert has hinted that perhaps she needs to be reminded of her near death experience of last month...in which I came this close to shooting her for killing the kittens of another barn cat. Honestly I do not know what is the matter with her...but all the progeny from that old black and white tom cat are unnaturally mean and cruel to other cats. She is the last one remaining...but if Rob has anything to say about it, not for long.
Big Doctors appointment tomorrow...Rheumatologist in the city.
I am excitedly waiting for a visit from my sister this month...it will be so lovely to see her. And happy to report that Jen is well, after her surgery.
I can't end this with out telling you that I finally heard from my son...for those of you who are out of the loop, I hadn't heard from his since last November when he came to borrow $400. for a job safety course... and then a few days later came by to get a box of Beef from us. Both visits I told him about his cousin Jen coming to visit and her sister Kim from Jasper coming for one day and that I was making a big dinner and wanted him to come so he could see his cousins, whom he hadn't seen for 13 years. He said sure he would come...but on the day...he never showed up, I must have phoned 20 times but he never returned my calls....ever...for nine whole months...and then last week he calls...to tell me that he was going to the hospital for a laproscopy for a suspected stomach ulcer and had had to take so much time off work being sick that he didn't know how he was going to pay his mortgage payment this month.
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but no really, because I am beyond that at this point where he is concerned...sadly it no more than what I expected. The only time he ever contacts me is when his life is in crisis. this time he didn't come right out and ask for me to make his payment, but it was more than hinted at. I even had Robert listen to the message in case I was being paranoid...but no, it was definitely a holding his hand out, message.
I called back, had to leave a voice mail of course, that is what I always have to do....99% of the time he never returns my calls...and then out of the blue, he wants money... so I left a message, saying I was sorry he hadn't been feeling well, and of course I was concerned as to what the doctors would find..could he please keep me informed...and then hung up....I chose to not mention the mortgage payment dilemma...
He called back a couple of days later while I was outside, Robert talked with him on the phone...but we had discussed the mortgage payment thing and decided we were going to ignore the hint. So that is what we did...and since then we have not heard a word from him.... I have left messages asking him about what the doctors said..but he hasn't answered back, of course.
Now, I am not a lazy person, anyone who knows me and has seen my yard and house knows that I do not shirk work...but a certain someone in my life seems to have decided that since the Doctors have not labeled my illness with a specific name, that I am not that sick...so I can pull my weight again...
 |
| Robert greasing the machine I will be running that day. |
I feel guilty if I complain...but by the end of this last week I was so exhausted I felt like crying...it got to the point where I was praying it would storm so that I could have a day off. I am determined not to whine to him about it...he must be aware of how much he is requiring of me...and doesn't care...I mean what else can I think.... two years ago he wouldn't let me do a damned thing but read and paint pictures... Now I have no time for either...it's like I was never sick...I only wish my body felt the same way.
 |
| small but perfectly formed |
My garden is producing ripe tomatoes now like crazy and I am picking a head of cabbage this morning for cole slaw. We ate new potatoes yesterday for the first time...hmmmmmmmm were they good along with oven baked chicken breast and a little dish I like to call my fresh corn hash, which is just fresh stir fried zucchini, onion and baby carrots with kerneled corn and fresh tomatoes, it is very very good.
I finished painting my fake windows, and now am just waiting for a bit of spare time so that Robert can help me mount them on the garage wall. I think they are going to look pretty good. At least them leaning on the wall and my viewing them from the end of the drive way, makes me think they will.
 |
| poor kitty, his leg all chewed up |
Big Doctors appointment tomorrow...Rheumatologist in the city.
I am excitedly waiting for a visit from my sister this month...it will be so lovely to see her. And happy to report that Jen is well, after her surgery.
I can't end this with out telling you that I finally heard from my son...for those of you who are out of the loop, I hadn't heard from his since last November when he came to borrow $400. for a job safety course... and then a few days later came by to get a box of Beef from us. Both visits I told him about his cousin Jen coming to visit and her sister Kim from Jasper coming for one day and that I was making a big dinner and wanted him to come so he could see his cousins, whom he hadn't seen for 13 years. He said sure he would come...but on the day...he never showed up, I must have phoned 20 times but he never returned my calls....ever...for nine whole months...and then last week he calls...to tell me that he was going to the hospital for a laproscopy for a suspected stomach ulcer and had had to take so much time off work being sick that he didn't know how he was going to pay his mortgage payment this month.
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but no really, because I am beyond that at this point where he is concerned...sadly it no more than what I expected. The only time he ever contacts me is when his life is in crisis. this time he didn't come right out and ask for me to make his payment, but it was more than hinted at. I even had Robert listen to the message in case I was being paranoid...but no, it was definitely a holding his hand out, message.
I called back, had to leave a voice mail of course, that is what I always have to do....99% of the time he never returns my calls...and then out of the blue, he wants money... so I left a message, saying I was sorry he hadn't been feeling well, and of course I was concerned as to what the doctors would find..could he please keep me informed...and then hung up....I chose to not mention the mortgage payment dilemma...
He called back a couple of days later while I was outside, Robert talked with him on the phone...but we had discussed the mortgage payment thing and decided we were going to ignore the hint. So that is what we did...and since then we have not heard a word from him.... I have left messages asking him about what the doctors said..but he hasn't answered back, of course.
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