MY CELL PHONE!!

Phones and lawn mowers do NOT go well together.  


Tonight while mowing (with the riding lawn mower)as usual I carry my phone with me...well, I dropped it, and yes, you guessed it-ruined it with the blades!(blades cut things!)


BUT, as it hit the ground, I hit the brakes (yes-- for those of you who have never driven a riding lawn mower, they do have brakes)  I missed running over it!!!  I thought, Yeah!  But that thought did not last long...


 the part that covers where the cut grass is thrown out from the mower hit the phone-but did not run over it- and since I did not run over it-there sat the phone-ok---in one piece!!  


So after hitting the brakes, I thought, ok- I did not run over it, so now I need to get off from the mower and get it.  


This is when I should have shut off the mower.  But no, to 'save time' I decided to turn off the blades, and put it in 'park' by locking the brakes, and that would make it safe for 'me'.




BIG mistake!  When I turned off the blades, that action -caused the phone to actually be sucked into the blades as I shut them off!  Ahhhhhhhhh!  Oh nuts. What can I do?  


Stuff happens...makes me a bit nervous that clients cant get ahold of me...but it is only over night, and they can call my home phone.


  Scott, being the wonderful husband that he is, also put my sims card (which its a miracle that it survived) in his cell phone for the night....


Now to shop for a phone that I had no intention of buying (at least for about 6 months)...I had thought that I would someday change out that old phone since it is about 3 years old and getting pretty worn out with all the use I give it... --but...I HAD wanted to pass that one to Scott, as his phone is even more worn out ---


So now, here we are, needing to get a new phone.  sigh.


As a side note:  I often see people allowing their children or grand children to ride on the mower with them.  I NEVER do that, and I will NEVER allow that-this shows me how dangerous a mower is!  The blade action PULLED my phone in!  what if that is your childs arm or leg?  For those of you who 'give your babies a ride on the mower' STOP IT!!! LOVE THEM ENOUGH TO STOP doing that!! Please!

Chickens Get a New Area!!

This is one of the rebel chickens we inherited.  I do not allow my chickens complete access to the whole farm. yes, they sort of free range-but not totally.  

So when we inherited a few new chickens to the flock, we had a time keeping them in! They were use to being let out and running all over--I just can not do that here!  

If I had all of my gardens and flower beds, mulch and herbs tucked carefully behind fencing-well maybe I might allow them to wander around the whole farm.  But I don't, so they can't.  So they are not allowed to wander freely. 

 Chickens are great tiller's, in the fall, I can set them loose to 'till' the garden.  In the spring, the same thing, and they will prepare the soil, mixing in the mulch, or anything....but chickens do not care that you just spent $5.00 for a plant (or more) they will dig them up to get to the slug.  So for the winter months, we have kept them inside of a dog kennel, attached to their 'hen house'. If they would have just stayed in the barn yard area, that would be great!  But since they do not, they have to have their own area.

 We finally got their 'yard' fenced in, and now are they happy little chickens!  We just gotta clip their wings (maybe this weekend) so they can not fly out.  

here is a side view of part of their yard, along with the new gate (an old used one-works well)

You can see 2 sheds, one will be their 'summer' home and the other will be their "winter' home (more insulated)

We have to 'winterize' their winter home, and work on the 'summer' home a bit, but they are now very happy!  I know, some of your are asking-why 2 homes?  Why not just winterize one, and use it year around?  Well, this allows us to completely clean out their home each fall and spring.  (chickens poop a LOT)--That way (with our busy lives) we have a few months to get each one ready for the next season.  

When you have chickens, you will also have rats that like to move in to the chicken area. (Oh yes, you will-don't say "not me!") We have to set traps for them when they do, so this allows for that too.  We can close off one house to keep the chicken safe while we trap for the rats.  Now don't go ewww-if you have or get chickens, you WILL deal with rats wanting to move in and under their house. (coons and skunks too) So if your planning on having the chickens, prepare for the rats, coons and skunks that you have to keep away and attack them before they take over. 

Well, more about our little farm later!   

BUSY BUSY SPRING!!!

some of my garden boxes, chives growing in the back bed, and garlic in the front bed.

Spring is always a very busy time around a farm, even a small farm like ours.  Now that we have had no children at the house for 2 years to do child labor (family joke-so no one may send me hate mail) it keeps Scott and I very busy!

Scott on the tractor with the brush hog, going to mow along the road up front of our property...

I keep up the mowing-mowing about 3 acres total-up in the front yard, along the driveway, behind the house, and along the fence row going to the woods, and also in front of the woods and the "trails".


 Scott only mows with the brush hog (a huge mower attached to the back of the tractor) and he does not want me to use it.  He says its for safety reason, that I might tip it over or something by taking the corners too fast, (he HAS driven with me in the car before...) but I think it is so the tractor stays a 'mans' farmer toy thing...you know...that manly-man attitude..."only men can do this"...ok...let him have that one.  


He only has to use the brush hog up by the road, where the ground tips too much and I could actually tip my rider lawn mower over, and then he does the weed whacking.  I have been trying to make it so he does not have any edging like that to do.  As I plant flowers and stuff I want to put a type of edging around the beds so I can  mow right up to the edge....but that all takes a LOT of work, creativeness and time (and money-which we are extremely low on-right now) so I have to be VERY creative or just work VERY hard at weeding by hand.  So----he still weed whacks, it is just too much for me to weed by hand! 

one of many new 'flower beds' finished this spring....

(I also do not do the weed whacker-there are some jobs that are JUST mens jobs)

what is left from a huge load of rocks and broken cement pcs

I have moved the above pile myself-which is ok.  But wow!  between that and all the weeding, my carpel tunnel syndrome is really acting up, hands are numb all night as I sleep and for a few hours in the morning....makes getting up in the middle of the night for a birth sort of hard to do!  But fear not (those of you who might read this and I am your midwife) weeding season -the major amount of it-will be done in a few weeks!


I have worked very hard this spring on my front flower bed.  It use to be a huge herb bed, with a river and 2 water falls, and 2 ponds. The river does not run anymore (it was all done by a pump and water falls-circled from one pond to the water fall, down the river to the water fall into the pond) The upper pond was for plants.  Now it is a jungle.  I did not do anything with it for 2 years, and have been trying to tame it this spring.

one of two ponds -see all the weeds in the back ground!

showing the water fall (not running) above the pond....

The garden....before taming the jungle

You can see the rail road ties to the left in the photo, that was the 'upper pond' and the stones to the right of that is the lower pond and water fall.  The 'river' went up the hill, where the water from the lower pond was pumped to the upper water fall, close to the house.  the structure you see to the right of the photo, is a beginning of an arbor for the wisteria plant. I will put the 'after photos' up when I have it done!

The above boxes are last years raised garden boxes, we are adding mulch to them as you can see.  We have built a total of 6 more, and had to do a few runs with the truck and wagon- for the free mulch (old cow manure) as our little farm does not make enough of this for our garden.  We have some that is 'cooking' but wont be done until next year.  So I have been poop scooping for a few weeks, and I have about 4 ton yet to do!  Will be very busy!

So that is it for now...

I will post more story's and photos as I get all of this done!  Lots of work!  Have a great spring everyone!

What A Day!

Spring- Love it!  It means things in bloom and our wedding anniversary.

Tuesday was our 31st wedding anniversary.  Scott did not take the day off from work but I did. Well, I planned to anyway.... Scott began his day at 4 am, getting up with the alarm clock, eating breakfast and having that first cup of coffee....then out to chore.  Animals fed and watered, all while I rest quietly in the bed...what a great wife I am huh?!   But being a midwife means your often up all night, and yesterday I was at a birth all day, early morning until later in the afternoon-at least it was a day time birth!  Two days before that, I had been at another birth most all afternoon and night, so I still had not really caught up on my lost sleep....the older I get the harder it is to catch up on that really!

 I no longer get up with him and fix his breakfast.  Haven't for years.  That is just the way it is when you work outside of the home!  But I did manage to crawl out of bed and go out to say hello to him, at least I could do that 'today'.  There that makes it special-I guess!

Well, today I had planned to take the truck- go see one of my clients who had just delivered a week ago, -then get some mulch that a farmer advertised for free.

So off I went to Amish country, saw the client, then off to the Amish home where I would have some cow manure loaded into the back of my pick up truck.  (we have a nice size garden and just not enough from our sheep and goats, even though there are so many of them!)

From highway 20 -I went north to highway 120.  I drove along on the back roads, winding around fields with men out plowing with these huge Clydesdale type horses...until I was on highway 120.  I looked for the house, but no such luck.

So I turned around in a business driveway, a bakery, and went back down the road -driving slowly-but no such house with the address that was listed.  Bummer.  Did I write it down wrong?  I turned back around again, heading back in the other direction...looking-no I did not miss the house, there is no such address on this highway -so I look at the index card I wrote the address down on.

Oh man!!! I was to be on highway 20 NOT 120.  I had just went out of my way, and now had to go back south were I had started in the first place!  That calculates out to be at about 15 miles a gallon with this beast, at about 6 miles north and then another 6 miles back south---@ 1.25 gallons of gas which means about $5.00 wasted.  I hate that.  Thankfully it was not any further I had driven out of my way!

So I turn again into the bakery, planning on turning around again, but decide to go in.  I want a pie for dinner and I would like to eat some lunch too from here.

 Today is our anniversary after all, and I really do not want to bake.  A rhubarb/ strawberry pie sounds great!

So I go in and ask if they take visa (I only have my debit card with me, no cash and I am out of checks) and no, they only take cash and checks.  So I leave, oh well-I guess I will not have pie with dinner.  We never get pie any other time, so it is fine.

As I leave I hear a woman ask me if she can help me ...I turn and see a woman working in the flower beds around the building, and I say no-but she asks again.  So I tell her, I just am out of checks, and did not bring cash, and to go home right now is too far and come back.  She tells me to go in and pick out the pie and she made 'other'arrangements for me to pay.  How sweet!  I tell her its our 31st wedding anniversary, and this is really nice of her!

So I leave with lunch and a pie and a fork-which she suggested I take even though the lunch was finger type food, sloppy joe on baked fresh buns, and fruit cup and chips-the good kind...but the suggestion of a fork was a great idea, it did make it much easier to eat that sandwich which was full of very tasty meat!  It was great!   I love fresh baked bread.  It is the only way to eat bread, buns and stuff!

I do not see a web site for them but here is a link to get info.  It is worth the trip to get some lunch, or baked items! AND very tasty!!!   Next Door Neighbor Deli and Bakery

So then I was off to go back south for the compost/cow manure.  I pulled into the farm, and the owner was shoeing those big horses!  The owners of the horses stood waiting, a couple from up in Michigan-I did not go in and disturb them, as I would not want to spook those huge horses!  So I waited for about 20 minutes until the gentleman took a break and came to ask me what I needed.  I told him some mulch, and he called his son over to help me.  They had me back the truck up into the pasture, and he loaded the mulch with a skid loader, into the back of the truck.  OF course hubby called right then as I am backing up the pick up truck, and I tell him I will call him back-it is hard to drive let alone back up while on the phone!

 He tells me that he will be working over today-so much for having the whole evening together.  I tell him I am unable to meet with him at his lunch time like we planned because I just wasted time driving north and now back south and am waiting to get the mulch loaded, then I have to go back north again...so I will come to the factory at his break in the afternoon, and then we will exchange autos.

So the mulch gets loaded then I leave and head north.  Into Sturgis to do some banking, then fill the truck which is currently sitting on 3/4 of a tank.  It takes $50.00 to fill it.  Sheesh!  Only to see one client (and about 14 miles out of my way) then a young guy bums a ride across town.  I usually do not pick up hitch  hikers, but after praying felt it was ok.  I told the LORD if the young guy plans on killing me to at least make it quick.  I take him across town, and he is texting the whole way...not answering questions or listening to a word I say.  He did tell me he just got a job at Morgon Olson, (hummm where my husband works) but I think if he is this distracted he might not survive working there if he cant put his phone down long enough!  I warn him to pay attention to his work when there AND actually to work.  (hubby says most young people do not stay long if hired in because they just seem lazy and do not want to work.  sad)

So after that, I go to hubbys job-wait for about 20 minutes until he is out on his break and we exchange autos.  No since me driving the truck around all day, the car gets a few more miles to the gallon!  (4-at least)

Then I go fill the car...its on a 1/3 of a tank-only 45 dollars to fill it.  Well there went a 100 dollars today!

I go to colon to see a new mommy and baby, then thru coldwater on the way to fort wayne...to see another new mommy and baby.  Then finally home.  That is my day of "not" working. Drove all over, took all day...and only saw 3 clients.  Wow!

So I start supper, was gonna grill steaks but decided I was too tired from 2 births with first time moms the past couple of days, and not sleeping enough so fried the steaks.  Starting the grill is more work than I want to do right now (we do not use regular grills, we use old fashioned charcoal or wood fire to grill)

I also made potatoes and gravy and then some corn from the garden last year (I had frozen) and the pie! One thing I did not have to cook/bake!   I just wish I had been able to stop and get some ice cream or whip cream to go with the pie!  But Scott liked it, even the slightly burned corn-cooking like a new bride! (I got tired and almost fell asleep cooking!) We ate late, (I dont like that) but he did not get home until after 7, almost 7:30.

And today, I must fill the car again, and it cost another 40 + dollars.  I am pouring everything I make into the gas tank.  Well for those of you who might have wondered, there it is ---the story of a old married couple and their anniversary.  Maybe by this sabbath, we can actually rest and enjoy some time together just sitting out side and watching the farm animals!

ANTS! and more Ants!

close up!

Ok, after the last post about the ants taking over in my home, here is what I found out in my herb gardens!

I think they are a red or fire ant.  Not good.

I have not checked back yet to see if they are gone, I saw them about 3 days ago... if they are still there, I might need something to remove them-or relocate them to someone else's property!

At  least the 'house ants' are less, maybe stuffing some of them into that thing did work after all!

Family Fun Day

Adreana's smile says it all!

Where my husband works- as with most factory's, have a company picnic each year. What the company he works at--- has done last year and again this year, was help foot the bill for tickets for the water park in Shipshewana. We pay a small amount (only about 20% of what it usually costs!) so its a great day for the family to go and have fun! This park is mostly built with younger children in mind, but there is one water slide which is great for older children and even adults that do not mind going down the dark enclosed tunnel.

Zach and Adreana just coming out of the slide area!

We spent the afternoon here,  the grandchildren enjoying all-we enjoyed watching them, and chasing them to keep track of them.  Scott and I "allowed" their parents to do most of that chasing stuff, while he and I just floated in the pool area that is located in the middle of a "river".  This pool area has jets, so we sat there receiving therapy to our back with those jets!  We considered this to be a tax Write off (yeah right) for therapy for our lower backs.  Sort of like going to the chiropractor with out actually going to one!?!~

this shows the "pool" area

The river was relaxing too...you can float on a inter-tube or just swim down the river... It has a current so it keeps you going.  

Jason our oldest child-and his wife and their 3 children...

Grampa went down the slide 'once' - and said once was enough.  It is dark in there, you twist all over and do not know if your upside down or not, so once was enough.  Jason thought once was enough too, but the kids did not so he had to go down a few times.  I told him it was pay back for all the years that he and his brother and sister use to take their dad down stuff like that, and on twisty rides like the bat man ride, at theme parks.  

:)

 Nathan did not have to deal this year with the "big" slide, since his children are too small yet- but next year?!  Well, it will be fun to watch! 

Nathan, our second child, and his wife and children

After awhile the kids were ok to go down the ride by themselves.     

Jason and his daughter just coming out of the long tunnel of the slide!

Our other children did not come today, just the older boys and their families.  So here are the photos of the day!  

Logan

Zach

Adreana with her mom, Missy.

Adreana waiting for the "water fall" of water!

just before the water hits them!

Josiah

Jeremiah and His mom,  Kassandra- thinking about going down the slide...

ok, he decide to go down the slide, but he was scared!

Josiah and his dad-Nathan..

Jeremiah hitching a ride with his mom to go down the river!

and he is on and ready to go!

Jeremiahs going down the slide!  This is the smaller slide, in a pool for little tots, the pool is only about 8 inches deep.  And the water here is warm, so the kids like this area!

reaching the bottom of the slide!  His smile says a lot!

Family photo!

New Member on the Farm!

We went the other day and picked up a cow.  I was told it was about 200#   but when we got there, noticed it was a bit larger than that!  


My husband and the guy we got the cow from, lifted the cow up into the back of our pick up truck, (that took a little while and lots of effort) trying to push him up a ramp since he was actually too big to lift.    Then they tied the cow up to the truck and shut him in.  My husband had built a wooded fence around on the truck (see photo) so hopefully the cow would not jump out.  The cow did not like the ride home to well, we drove along at about 25 mph...or less...and did we get looks from people!


The cow looked into the back window of the truck like he was saying-"Hey, WHERE am I ?!"

As we went past homes-people out on their porch stared!  Funny to see a bull in the back of a pick up truck!


But we got him home, and here below in the  photo is Scott backing him up to the barn...

So now to get the cow out of the truck.

Scott had built a walk thing, like a ramp,  one end sits onto the truck and the other onto the ground, but it was only about 2 feet wide and this cow was not to happy to use it.  With work, and the rope, Scott pulling onto the rope first, I held it too, to keep tension onto it. and we slowly walked the cow down our home-built ramp. 

Then about half way down, the cow decided he did not like that and just let his legs buckle (fear maybe of  heights?) and they went out from under him, so he landed onto his belly with his legs out -sort of like a comic cartoon cow- then he rolled ever so slowly (actually in slow motion!) onto his back and slid the rest of the way down. 

So there he laid on the ground with his legs in the air, and looking at us like he was saying: "the other farmer never did this to me..."

Today we decided to take him out to the lawn to graze.  He had been fed grain, and hay only at the Amish farm he was at before, but we feed our cattle (and sheep and goats) only grass and hay.  All organic too.  We do not feed them grain, except we use grain as an occasional treat and we have it mixed with molasses...so it is really like a treat for them. It's like when we eat ice cream, only once in awhile for a treat!  

Well he is so very use to grain and hay that he did not know what to do with the chance to graze on grass, all he did was moo and complain! It will take him some time to be weaned from the grain....but we will be patient and get-r-done!

As for meat-a grass fed beef,  if you have not had that meat-try it, (and organic too)  its great, there is NO comparison! So sorry but yes, he will become food for us someday...