Farm Updates

The past week was a very busy time for us here on the farm.

First, we cleaned out a house we rent out.  You never know how renters are going to take care of a place until it's too late.  These people trashed the place so badly that the farmer finally asked them to move out; since the house is on one of our properties it made the whole place look bad.  It took about six weeks for them to move, without paying rent, and they left the house filled with stuff!  Honestly, I don't know what they took with them to wear, for it seemed most was left in garbage bags or on the floor.

The little calf, Spittin' Image, has been very sick, almost to the point of death.  One afternoon I noticed his mama bawling for him and when we found him we knew he was sick.  The farmer gave him an antibiotic shot and the next morning he was so weak he could barely stand.  When he tried to walk he wobbled.  Young calves often take what we call "scours" and will soon dehydrate.  So we're always prepared to give them an oral hydration, electrolyte solution, (which is mostly a mixture of glucose, sodium chloride, and potassium), using a bottle with a long tube which is put down their throats to insure it gets to the stomach.  This takes a little skill to do; the tube shouldn't go down the windpipe!  He was given the treatment three times and responded well; yesterday I saw him run just a little and he's taking milk from his mama again, so maybe he'll be o.k.

Two days were spent getting the plumbing work done.  The drain pipes to the kitchen and laundry room were almost totally plugged after almost 46 years of use.  In the days when this house was built, l968, drain lines were cast iron and after time the insides rust and stuff starts to build up on that rust until they become plugged.  Now I can use my dishwasher again!  I did hate to see holes cut in my wallpaper though.

The last three days of the week were spent in the hay fields, baling, hauling, and wrapping; some of these days ran as late as "dark-thirty" before we were finished.

The last picture shows the damage wild hogs can do overnight in the fields.  Of course this is only one spot out of many over the field.

 So, yesterday morning, at church, when people asked, "How are you?", I replied, "I'm very, very tired."

Charlotte

Around here we have the expressions, "like two peas in a pod", "like mother, like daughter", and "the spittin' image".  Since I haven't checked to see what gender the calf is, I'll just stick with "the spittin' image" because they have the same facial markings.

I'm claiming this calf as my own, because I think I saved its life.  I found it, soon after it was born, with its neck and head twisted backward and upside down, with a front leg lying over them.  I quickly moved the leg, turned the head over, and after seeing that it was breathing, left it for its mama to finish the bonding process of licking it off.  The calf's tongue was swollen, indicating it had been a prolonged birthing process.  In a few hours it was up, getting its first warm milk.

Now for a kitten update:

They're still with me, growing and playing with one another.

The white ones are females and the black one is a male.  Kitty love ~~~

Have a good day,

Charlotte

Hope Chest Item for May

You knew there'd be an apron for the hope chest, didn't you?  The body of the apron isn't as yellow as it looks.  I call this color, spring green, because it was the same color as the new leaves on our willow oak; a favorite color of mine.  (I tell you, there isn't a place in this entire house where I can take a good picture of anything!)

Did you have a good Mothers Day?  Our daughters, sons-in-law, and two grandchildren came for lunch with us.  One son-in-law cooked for us -- what a treat!  I think I'll make an apron for him!

Charlotte

Now Is the Time

You may remember last fall I posted a portion of a read-aloud story, Now Is the Time, written by Alvin Tresselt, which described the sights and sounds of the fall season.  This is the part about spring:

Slowly the days grow longer.
Slowly the air turns warm once more.
Early in the morning there's a twitter of birds in parks and backyards, and a gentle softness spreads over the city.  At last it's time.
"Time to open the windows wide," say the mothers.
They open the windows and a young breeze bellies out the curtains.
...Crimson geraniums, bright as fresh paint, and baskets of pansies with squinchy velvet faces.
"Time to oil the wheels and polish my cart," says the ice cream man.
..."Time for outdoors," say the children.
Take off coats and hats, and run!
Hop scotch and marbles, jacks and kick-the-can, jump rope and ball time, and roller skates on the sidewalk...now play with a kite on the end of a string!
...And everywhere in the city is the fresh touch of a new spring. 

To add my own thought:  "now it is time" to replace the cozy flannel sheets with cool, smooth percale sheets.

Have a wonderful spring day!

Charlotte