B and B

Introducing....Buttercup! This is Brandon and Buttercup. This is the horse he worked so hard for all summer. We have cleared the corral (please note the term "we" is used very loosely here), we have set it up, we have brought the horse and now we feed her, spend time with her and brush her, we pick up her poo and love her...well...you get the idea!

Brandon said picking up her poo is the worst part of having a horse! Who'd a thunk? It's probably not for the reason you would think. He hates picking up her poo because the fork is tined and it catches on the roots of the grass preventing a clean pick up. It actually causes the poo the fall in clumps on ground making it harder to then scoop up again! Aren't you glad I've chosen horse poo to blog about???

Please don't quit reading! I know I hardly ever post anymore and when I do...it's about POO????

So I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had lots of family here and I'll be posting a few of the fun things we did soon. Also more on our new animal adventures!

Last Minute Details

So last weekend we got the call. The horse Brandon worked for all Summer was ready to come home. WHAT???? But we're not ready!!!!!! So guess what we did last weekend?

We worked in the Corral! Well...I didn't exactly work...unless you call taking backbreaking pictures work! Don't judge me!!!

So Ryan started on the water tank. It was nasty!!! I'm not even going to try to guess what all was in there. Blah!!! He sure worked hard though. And in no time...it went from this:

To this:

Right???? He's a hard worker!!!

Dennis and Brandon did a quick survey of all that had to be done.

Dennis started cutting branches out of the fence and out of the way of where the horse will be walking so they don't rub on her. Excuse me while I just sit on this for a bit....sigh!

Sorry....

You know I didn't even realize how dangerous this could have been because I was so focused on getting pictures until I was posting this. It's a wonder that branch didn't knock him clear on his behind!!

See all them branches? They are all cleared. And we don't have any kind of enclosed shelter to keep the horse out of the wind so we are keeping up those metal sheets for now. If it's one thing we have up here...it's wind!!!

More clearing. Doesn't Trey look eager and full of energy?

Brandon is getting pretty useful around here. When they get to this age, it's amazing to see how much and fast they change. He's so strong!!

Brandon also mowed as much as he could in here.

Trey got assigned to the wire. I don't really know why there was so much wire or what purpose it served but there was alot of it.

He stayed at it though and got every last bit.

That fence behind Brandon was also covered in wire. He's so excited to meet her.

After hours of work, we were tired. They cleared so much and I think we are about ready to bring home the horse.

See all that wire? They worked their booties off I tell ya! We still don't have the horse at the house yet. She was a bit younger than we thought so we are keeping her with the friend Brandon worked with until she gets used to us. One day at a time. He goes out there everyday after school and feeds, brushes, cleans up the poop, and walks her around so they can bond. It's a slow process but it's progressing nicely.

It was a good, hard working day full of accomplishment! I'll be posting the newest animal to our family soon.

Live and Learn

This may or may not be a picture of a mishap that happened to us this weekend.

"What is it?" you might ask. "What the heck happened?" you might wonder.

Well...without incriminating ourselves too terribly bad we may or may not have since learned that this may not fully be okay with the area we live. We may or may not have since learned that this may cause bad problems for us. We may or may not have since learned that when trying to get rid of packing materials from our move from the Big City to The Country, packing materials don't fit into our trash bin that repeatedly gets full every week with trash from a family of 5 that only gets picked up once a week and may or may not leave us desperate to get rid of the boxes and packing paper in any way, shape or form, even if it may or may not still be slightly damp from a rain days ago. We may or may not have learned that trying to burn damp packing material may not burn per say, but smolder. We may or may not have also learned that when adding gasoline to help further the burning of said packing materials, the smoldering turns into flames that may climb up the pouring gasoline and catch the gas can on fire!

We may or may not have learned that when a gas can is on fire, shaking it only ignites mini fires. We may or may not have also learned that when you throw a gas can on fire it may start a grass fire even if it's rained a few days before.

We may or may not have learned that when grass catches fire, it's very important to have a water source available to put out the fire. We may not have one readily available. We may or may not have learned that when stomping out a grass fire, it may come right back if it is not completely put out!

We may or may not have learned that team work comes in handy when filling containers with water and rushing to put out fires. We may or may not have learned that putting out fires is a very scary experience and that you get very shaky and tired when the fire is out especially when you then realize how close the fire has gotten to your home.

We may have since learned that there are better ways to get rid of packing materials.

We may have learned that ignorance may not be bliss.

We may or may not be looking forward to the beautiful grass that will be growing in our back yard next Spring.

Homecoming

As for homecoming, I've seen a few. Having been in the band as a teenager and experiencing it through my daughter's high school let's just say I've been around the block on this one. But nothing could have prepared me for a small town Homecoming!

Can we just back up a moment? When I went to High School, I was one of over 600 graduates and my daughter had more than that. There was as many kids in her one high school as there are in the current town we live in. So our homecoming experience in this small town was...well...was so cute!

It all starts the night before. There is a pep rally with a bonfire!


The Fire Department showed up to control the fire which was good because there was a bit of a wind and the fire does tend to spread.

The band was there to play the fight song of course!!! And to also play the music the cheerleaders danced to...on an 18 wheeler!!!! They had their own stage! There're my boys! They were happy...see Ryan grinning???

The heat from this bonfire quickly sent people back. The night was a bit cool as the sun set and as soon as the fire was up and going, it got hot! The Fire Department didn't have to tell people to get back that's for sure.

The next day, the town shut down about 2. I'm not kidding!!! Everyone gathered at the decorated town square for a parade and pep rally!

Here comes the band leading the way!

The football players drive this car they painted. It's a three-seater! The 18 wheeler followed with the rest of the team and the cheerleaders. The homecoming queen nominees followed riding atop a Camaro each!

I honestly have never seen anything like this before.

They pulled up in the middle of town square and while the band played music, they cheered, they danced, they yelled, they cried...well...maybe not cried but....they sure got emotional!!! I sorta felt sorry for the opposing team....we were going to crush 'em!! At least that's what the coaches said!

Here's the town gathering. Employees from the nearby Pizza Place and other businesses closed up shop to cheer on the team!!

That night was the game! The band finally felt comfortable enough to march the half-time show! The theme was James Bond and they figured 007 on the field! So entertaining!!! And the game??? Well, it was a great game! The opposite team kept the game close and in the last 4 seconds they were down by two and tried to win with a field go... AND LOST!!!!! The crowd went wild!!! It was an awesome night...and a great experience!

Tractors vs Machetes

In preparation for our new horse that will be coming soon, the boys have been working hard to get the pens cleaned up and ready. Sunday they will be making a trip to go pick out what Brandon wants. A reward for working hard all summer. We have decided for the most part that we will bring the horse to it's new home after the winter. We are not experienced with horses and winters seem to be harder so we are going to wait until the spring. But he will go take a look to see if he is partial to one.

So being the good parents we are, we allowed our children to work hard and build character in preparing for the new animal by handing them sharp, long machetes and told them to "Get to work!!!" So here is my youngest son whacking away at the grass and brush that is as tall as he is.

What??? I told them to be careful okay??? I told them to watch for snakes!!! Geez! What kind of mother do you take me for??

I don't seem to have any pictures of the other two boys but that doesn't mean they worked any less than this boy. You'd be surprised at the amount of work boys will do when you give them permission to use machetes!

So here he works; and they worked and they worked! For about a week they whacked! And they got blisters. And they got sweaty. And they got dirty. And they didn't care!! But it was moving a little slow...

Dad starts helping. There was trash hidden under grass and other junk they had to clear to get ready for...

(Cue music) The Tractor!!! Even Buzz had to give a moment of silence and awe.

That tractor did in 5 seconds what it took my babies an hour to do!

The King of his Throne! He spent hours on this thing. And only once did he pick up barbed wire which put a pause in the shredding.

It sure helped to have this tractor. We borrowed it from a friend that lives in the next town over. Did you know it takes about an hour to drive a tractor 10 miles?

He certainly was enjoying himself.

And it cost us less than $30! We uh...had a flat tire....

But it was all worth the time and trouble.

Our pens are cleared for the most part. There are a few trees and branches to be trimmed and some wire that needs to be removed but we have all winter to work on that!

We are lovin' it up here! I just can't believe how blessed we are to have this opportunity. We have found our place in the universe!

Cooler Weather and Fall Apples

When we moved a couple of months ago, we didn't move far up north. Actually, we just moved one state up from where we lived. About 8 hours or so north. I didn't realize what an impact that would play weather wise. Where we came from, in the Big City, we had 2 seasons: hot and not as hot. Summers could be pretty brutal and winter was....well...winter was a reprieve from the humid summer. Summer lasted through October and if we were lucky, we got a cool Thanksgiving but I can remember many Thanksgivings running the AC because it was in the 80's out. We might have a couple of freezes and fret because we left the plants out!

Well here we are in early October and it's getting a bit chilly here! In fact, with mornings in the upper 50's to mid 60's I wear a jacket to work and get teased!!! I'm sorry folks but where I'm from...this is WINTER!!!! No joke!!!

All kidding aside, it's nice to discover new seasons like Autumn and even though we are supposed to experience a warmer winter than usual, I still look forward to the experience! With cooler weather comes Harvest!

My son has been helping out with a friend and she happens to have apple trees in her back yard! Jackpot!!! I have been blessed with an abundant supply of apples straight from the tree. In fact, my son was stung by a yellow jacket picking my first delivery!

Why yes, that is a pear in there! And can I just let you know it was deliciously sweet? I don't mean to rub it in but I am ruined with store bought produce for life!

Here is my collection today. This is after I have started a batch of Apple Butter and Apple Pie! I am so afraid I'm going to lose them so I have plans to make all kinds of yummy apple concoctions! I'm going to try freezing some with a "recipe" I found on the Internet so I hope that works out!

This will be the apple butter. You can't believe how good this is and it's not even done yet. Uh...on a side note, please excuse my poor crock pot. It was a wedding gift which is going on 19 years and has seen some better days. But it does the job so therefore it stays....

Here is the apple pie! I'm sorry but it was so good! This would definitely be a hit at one of my family gatherings. I sure do miss those. Every once in a while my siblings would all gather at my mom and dad's and we'd eat and visit. Oh did we eat! Moving into the country has left us out of those but I am certainly there in spirit. Sorry--feeling a little home sick this weekend. But anywho!!!

Did I mention how good this was???? So today, I say I love apples...but I can't really promise I'd say the same thing next week!

By the way: Here's a little teaser for my next post. I don't know why but I just can't seem to get that song out of my mind...."She thinks my tractor's sexy...."

Trail Ride

We had company from Australia for almost a week and a half and while they were here, they generously provided a trail ride for our family along with themselves. We have been wanting to do this but have not found the excuse to spend the time or money on it yet so this was the perfect opportunity!

Now mind you--I am absolutely TERRIFIED of horses. They are big and scary and they can sense when you are afraid of them which makes me even more afraid of them! The only time I remember being around a horse was at a friend of ours ranch and while looking at the horses, one sneezed all over me! It was really disgusting I have to say. I had horse snot all over me.

The couple of days before the Trail Ride I purposely didn't think too much about it. See, my oldest son worked with a friend all summer with her horses. Instead of paying him money, she is letting him pick a horse to raise and he was gaining experience to boot. We (the term "we" is used very loosely here) have been working very hard getting our pens ready for our new animal and I figure if we are going to have one around here, I might as well get used to them...right?

Well, I have to admit I almost couldn't get on the horse. It took everything I had to get up on that beast. This was the one I rode and his name was...Concussion. I kid not!!! He was a mustang about 9 years ago and we found out after that he has kicked 2 people off during a trail ride. Yes, I did tell this man it was my first ride and that I was deathly afraid of horses.

So here we are getting to know the horses and introducing ourselves to them before our hour long ride.

My Ryan was so excited! He told me afterwards that this was his new favorite thing! His horse's name was Wrangler.

Here is my stud on a stud! Hahaaa! Sorry--I couldn't resist. His horse was named Medusa.
I guess Medusa is a girls name which in turn totally nullifies the whole stud comment....sorry.

Here's me and Trey on Concussion...I mean Cocoa. They changed his name. I guess not many people wanted to ride a horse named Concussion!!! We rode double back because the last horse was MIA. He couldn't find him so I volunteered to ride with Trey. I figured it would help me be a bit braver!

Brandon sat atop Misty. She was a pretty good horse but on the trail he dropped the reins and she accidentally stepped on it and broke it! Oops!! She was so good. She just stopped and decided she would take the opportunity to take a little snack.

As you can see: no reins. He did so good. "Uh, excuse me!! Trail Master sir! I dropped my reins!" All was good. He tied them up for a quick fix and all was well with the world again!

This is me feeling comfortable enough at the time to free a hand and take a picture. I love Cocoa's ears...hehe. This was just before coming back down a hill where half way through, Cocoa, or Concussion rather, decides it would be much more fun to RUN down the hill and show his riders a good time!!! So here I go bouncing up and down, starting to slip to the side, and poor Trey is bouncing up against a saddle on the butt of the equine. Trail Master yells, "Use your legs!!! Use your legs!!!" and before I go tumbling to the side I right myself and while Trey is bouncing around like no soon-to-be 13 year old boy should be bouncing around, I slow the horse down and we come to the bottom safely upright with me chanting, "I'm okay, I'm okay" mostly to convince myself than anybody else. Poor Trey tells me "Mom, I don't think you'll be getting grandchildren from me" and with nervous laughter we move along down the trail! Did I mention my horse's name was CONCUSSION????? I could have died!!!!

And Ryan rides easy breezy with no problems whatsoever!

We all finished safe and sound and besides the soreness. OH MY GOSH the soreness!!!! We had a great time and it provided the incentive to clear out the horse pens back at home. Pictures to come shortly!!