Snapping Turtles are Taller Than You Think.......

Yes, that is an observation I made this evening. I was heading to my parents house to pick up Kathryn for dog 4-H (translation: at least one hour of watching your child and her dog walk in a big circle, occasionally taking a break from walking to do long sits and downs). What can I say, the dog and kid love it!!!!

Anyway, back to my story. As I came up over a small rise, I noticed something in the road at the bottom of the rise. I quickly recognized this lump as a snapping turtle. This was not a small turtle, but rather a grandma or grandpa of the swamp, I'm sure. Recognition and realization hit at about the same time. Realization.....one, I can't swerve into the other lane, due to oncoming traffic and two, I'm not going to get stopped in time to avoid it. But one more thought zipped through my head....I could just drive over it. After all, how tall can a snapping turtle be, right?

Well, over the turtle I went.........with an enormous clunk!!!! I drive a Ford Windstar, so there isn't a lot of clearance underneath. And definitely not enough to get safely over a Grandma or Grandpa Turtle. Amazingly enough, the turtle survived the attack from my van. I suspect it had a pretty major headache for awhile after.

As I picked Kathryn up, I confessed to my parents what I had just done. My father replied, "so that was the big thump I heard when I was walking up from the shop." Mind you they live at least a 1/4 mile from the scene of the crime.

Lesson learned.......snapping turtles are taller than you think!

Back so soon?????

Yes, that is how we all feel this morning! We were able to do a quick 4 day get away from Thursday thru Sunday. We headed to one of our kids favorite places, the Yogi Bear camp between Holland and Grand Haven. This was the 9thyear we have camped there. It all started with three kids, (the twins were three months old) in a pop-up camper. Yes, we were younger then! Our camper has evolved through the years. We spent three years in an expandable, then moved on to our current camper. It has all the "comforts of home". Which for me includes a potty and air conditioning. We really don't rough it much.

The kids were thrilled to have their daddy to themselves. Plenty of time to play catch, Skipbo and Phase 10. There were also many bike rides, (Thomas had a major breakdown and ended up with a new bike) and swims in the pool. It just all went by much too quick!

Now we are back home and facing a garden with weeds and it looks like the first crop of cucumbers. I have run out of most of my pickles and relish, so let the canning season begin.

Tomorrow night is a 4-H meeting.....sign-up for the county fair is just days away. How did that happen already???? A wedding on Saturday.....and the first thoughts of school clothes. The start of school will be here before we know it.

We will manage to sneak away for a 5 day weekend in a couple weeks. Hope to pick some peaches while we are up there. My early research is a bit scary though. I found a website for an orchard up that direction and they are saying there are limits to the crop and that U-pick would be 69 cents a pound. I found a website that says there are 50 pounds of peaches in a bushel. I did the math and got depressed. That would make a bushel $34.50!!!!! Hoping the orchard we found off the beaten path last year will be less than that, YIKES!!!!!!

Enough rambling.......I'm off to the garden. The heat is coming and I want to be done before it gets here.

Arrived in one piece.....

Lilly, the filly, was delivered safely to Vicksburg, Michigan last evening to begin her halter training. She had never even seen the horse trailer before, and wanted nothing to do with it. I wasn't in the mood to do it alone, or make a lasting negative impression on her so I made a quick call up to the neighbors and soon had four volunteers for the job. Two of us linked hands behind her bottom and "scooped" her into the trailer. After the doors were shut I was on my way. I stopped and checked her a couple times, and she was safely balanced at the back of the trailer, riding quietly. She walked politely into the barn and took a big drink of water when she arrived. She will have a couple days to get settled in and then they will start teaching her to pose.

We are dashing around here today to get organized for a few days away. The camper never got completely unpacked after Dairy Days, so it isn't a major job to get out the driveway by tomorrow morning. Well....for us anyway. Daddy may be another story. He has been working on a major project all summer that really has a life of its own. We are grateful for the work, but would really like a few days break. That should happen tomorrow, barring any major upsets in the schedule of the job. Fingers and toes crossed here!!

Ball Season Is Over

The softball season is now over. The kids played their last game last evening. Both their teams lost, but they still came off the field with smiles on their faces. They have had such fun playing with their friends. I am kinda sad to see it come to an end too. I have enjoyed the time to visit with friends while they are playing.

Today Thomas has a big "boy party" with a friend from church. Jenny is a brave mom, as I think she is being invaded by 6-8 boys armed with super soakers and hoses. Thomas has been anxiously awaiting this since he got the invitation.

The girls are going to hang out with Gramma Pat while I haul Lilly to the halter trainers. Her weaning has gone well and I rarely hear any hollering from the barn anymore.

They are at it again.....

While walking out of the horse pasture last night, I noticed there was a nest of guinea eggs under the little house that keeps the electric fencer dry. I questioned hubby about them and he hadn't seen them there before. I suspect that it is a new nest and a second chance to add to the guinea population around the farm.

I spoke with a person just the other day about raising guineas and her suggestion is to confine a momma and daddy with the kits for a couple weeks. That allows the babies to get big enough that the tall grass doesn't wipe them out and also gets them better tuned into their mothers noises that she makes. She also claims that the daddy's are actually better parents!

I have a spot picked out. The old well house should be perfect. Just need to repair the screen door on it. I have a while, as it takes 20 plus days and they haven't even started setting yet.

Finding the house.....

We are back to "normal" (note the quotation marks) around here for a few days. The kids are none too pleased with me this morning after I announced to them that it was time to "find the house". They are each in their rooms cleaning right now. I have the living room done, my room done and all the beds have been changed. One of the smartest things I have done is buy a second set of sheets for all beds. That way you can just change them out and not worry about getting the sheets washed, dried and back on the beds before it is time to sleep.

This afternoon, I plan to spend a little time in the garden. For the first time in many years, we are actually keeping up with the weeds and it is looking really good. There are little tomatoes, a few tiny cukes and I have eaten some fried summer squash.

Weaning time is going okay. Christy didn't seem bothered by the whole thing at first, but then after about 45 minutes decided she didn't like her baby in the stall and herself shut out of the barn. She ran and whinnied for the next hour, but then calmed down. Lilly, on the other hand, is convinced that she can dig her way out of the stall. She had a foot deep hole dug in front of the door within the first 12 hours. Thankfully, everyone is beginning to settle down. It seems awful at first, but does pass quickly.

Michigan All Morgan Update

I realized that I had never taken the time to talk about our gelding and how the show went. He was named the reserve champion Junior Western Pleasure horse. We were thrilled. He did a great job and looked outstanding.

Our gelding that we sold last year participated in the dressage show and won both of his classes as well. His owner adores him. That means a lot to us to know that we placed him in a forever home.

Next up on the horse schedule is weaning. Lilly will be separated from her momma this afternoon. It is my least favorite part of the breeding business, with a lot of screaming and babies throwing themselves around in the stall. They survive though, if you fight the temptation to just let them back together because you hate to see them so upset.

From there, Lilly will be traveling to the halter trainer later this week. We need to see if she is fancy enough to head for the Morgan Breeders Sweepstakes in Illinois over Labor Day weekend. Time will tell.

I want my tee shirt

We are back from a long week at the annual Dairy Days/Michigan Dairy Expo at East Lansing, and I want a tee shirt that says "I SURVIVED MY WEEK AT MSU".

The kids, two heifers and myself headed up on Monday for a week of "fun". This is a great event for the youth to show their knowledge and skills relating to their dairy projects. Suzanna participated in the dairy quiz bowl on Monday, showed her two heifers in the 4-H show on Tuesday, got to relax on Wednesday, then do the dairy management contest and show in the All Michigan Holstein heifer show on Thursday. Yes, my head was spinning by the end of the week too.

We had highs and lows, as are typical of any contest. Our highest high came with Rhoda, the spring yearling that Suzanna purchased a year ago. Last year at state, we were pretty much "bottom feeders" in the class. I must say there are sooooo many nice cattle that come to our show. Rhoda is beautiful in our eyes, and she caught the judge's eye on Thursday afternoon as well. She was the 2nd place Summer yearling in the junior show.

To Suzanna, it was a great moment...........once we explained to her what had happened. See the open show and the junior show all happen at the same time. There is one line up for placings, with the juniors getting both an open show placing and one for the junior show. Sounds confusing, right??? Try explaining it to a 10 year old who is getting tired!! All she saw was her "near the bottom or the class again" position in the line-up and was disappointed. But Mrs. Hart, the ribbon lady, quickly explained that she still got 2nd for juniors and would get to have her picture taken by the professional for the show coverage article on the All Michigan show. Then she got excited. She also did well in showmanship and Fancy, the other heifer.....well, we were in our usual position with her....the bottom.

Friday, I helped with the show for a while, got the stuff organized in the barn and the camper ready to go home. We were home by 3pm. Boy were those heifers happy to see their pasture. They ran circles around and around, kicking up their heels and bellowing at each other.

Now we are settling back down for a quick week at home before a brief vacation. Daddy and the dog will get to go on this trip. It will be nice to have a few relaxing days away from the busy business.

Onward and Upward

This is going to be a crazy day. I knew it would be a long time ago. Not because it is Friday the 13th. I don't get wound up about things like that. No, I knew it would be crazy the day I found out that the last day of Bible School, the day Snoopy's class was going in the ring and the fact that Dairy Days is only 3 days away all converged on the calendar.

How will it all play out??? Well, at least one heifer should get clipped yet this morning, I hope. I want to head for the Shiawasee Fairgrounds by 1pm, since my boss/hubby needs two permits pulled for jobs and the township halls are "on my way". That gets me at the fairgounds well before Snoopy's class inspite of the two detours. Hubby will get the kids to Bible School this evening. I am staying at a hotel tonight. Get to see a horse we sold a year ago show tomorrow.

The rest of the weekend is already setting itself up to be nuts. We will still have a second heifer to get clipped, a camper to finish packing, a trip to the grocery store to get hubby and the family all set for food. Of course, there is church on Sunday and a camper to get up to MSU that afternoon.

Okay, my head is officially spinning.....I better get at it.

Firetrucks and Firefighters

Last night at Bible School, the kids were treated to two REAL firefighters. Joel and Dan did a great job explaining all the equipment, safety features and the how-to's of firefighting. The kids were intrigued with all they had to say. They demonstrated how they would search and rescue people from a burning building. Then took the time to tie it into our Christian life. It was really a great night, as a young girl asked Jesus to be her Saviour after the service!

The weather was wonderful yesterday. Suzanna led her heifers and they both got baths as well. The vet was out and checked Breezy. We think she is in foal, but need about a week longer to be certain. She has a cyst in there and the vet is almost positive that the pregnancy is growing beside it. She didn't look like a mare coming back into heat, so that is a good thing. Rhoda was also checked, it is a little early, but she doesn't look like she is starting to come into heat either. We will have the vet back out when we get back from Dairy Days to recheck both of them, but it does look promising.

Suzanna was up with the birds this morning. The other two are feeling the affects of the late nights. Grandpa is raking hay. I am grateful for a good first cutting, because second is going to be pretty sparse. The field he is in right now, got a little rain back at the beginning of June, right after it was cut and hasn't really had a drink since. My mom has a doctors appointment, so I am off to that with her. Will get back in time to bale some hay by the looks of it. There are always heifers to work, garden to weed, a camper to get ready to go to MSU and VBS again tonight.

Michigan All Morgan starts this morning. I am impatiently waiting for updates from the trainer about how the string of 7 horses are doing in their classes. I head up there tomorrow to see Snoopy go in his 3-year old Western Pleasure class.

New Hat Size

Thomas is wearing a bigger hat after the last two days. Why? Because he is puffed up proud about how well he did in softball Monday night and then that got topped by last night at Vacation Bible School.

The kids play in a Christian softball league that a local family organized about 15 years ago. It is a right of passage when you attain the age of five and can begin playing on the team. The games are Monday nights and as much fun for the parents as it is for the kids. It is a great night of fellowship.

This past Monday, Thomas had a hot bat. Not sure what hit him, but he managed to hit two home runs. One was a grand slam. Now understand that the outfield contributed to his success. They were playing to far in and he hit it over their heads. It is adorable when anyone hits the ball on these teams. Whereever the ball goes, there are about 10 kids running behind it to see who can get it first. So Thomas was a pretty excited boy.

Then Tuesday evening started our annual Vacation Bible School. Our theme this year is Rescue 911. For the message portion of the evening, our Pastor invited the county Undersheriff. He spoke to the kids about his job and tied so much of it to our Christian life. As a treat at the end, the kids got to go see the police car. I was a bit behind the rest of the group and came out of the church in time to see Thomas sitting in the front seat. He got to run the lights, push the siren button and talk through the loudspeaker. He was pretty thrilled with that. His career of choice lately has been veterinarian (never mind he "yags" at anything remotely gross), but I can't help wondering if last nights adventure might sway his choice.

Tonight we will have two firemen and a firetruck (if it isn't needed to fight a fire). We have three volunteer firefighters in our church and they are doing the special program tonight. The kids can't wait.

Today is much cooler, so the barn is calling. There are just a few days before we head to Dairy Days. Heifers need to be worked. We are also waiting for the vet today. We will find out if Breezy is in foal and whether Rhoda is pregnant. Need to get creep feeders in the stalls for the foals. Lilly should be weaned at the end of the month. Henry is really running his mother down, and he is a month away from weaning. Hoping that a little extra grain in his diet will help Breezy out.

Community Outpouring

A week ago tonight a local business suffered a devastating fire. We have a family owned orchard and greenhouse "just up the road" who supply all kinds of apples, vegetables, flowers and such. At Christmas time they market Christmas trees and wreaths. They stay open year around and everyone knows them. What is even more shocking is that this is the second time a fire has destroyed their business. That happened about 17 years ago, and they persevered and rebuilt.

Here they are again, the fire wiped out their main retail area and apple storage. The fire did not destroy their greenhouses or hydroponic tomato center or the bedding plants. Of course, they have lots of stuff growing out in the fields as well. So despite the devastation, they were open for business on July 5th. It might be primitive, with their cashier standing under an umbrella using a hand-held calculator, but they are open. And the community has been there. This family has been overwhelmed by the level of support they are receiving from all over. People were there at the time of the fire providing water and food for the firefighters. People have been there each and every day since they opened, buying what they can to show this family that they matter to this area.

At this point, they are evaluating where to go from here. As one family member told my mom yesterday, "God doesn't give you more than you can handle." A great testimony from someone who is going through the same trial a second time.

Baling Straw and Family Reunions

Saturday, Suzanna and I went to her fund raiser and quiz bowl practice. From there we zipped through Wal-Mart to get a few items I needed to make food for a family reunion we were going to on Sunday.

Got home to find the baler hitched and tractor fueled up, ready to bale. I headed to the field and began baling. I spent about 4 hours on the tractor. Hubby ran the bale wagon and got two loads for my brother, who is putting in a new seeding at his place in Indiana. He pulled two loads off for us as well. The neighbors came to begin collecting up the remaining bales and putting them on their truck and wagon. We ran over 500 bales through the baler by 10pm Saturday night.

I headed into the house to make my food for the reunion. The Detroit Tigers were in extra innings, so we watched the end of the game. That got us into bed around midnight.

Sunday was Sunday School and Church. Then hurry home to change clothes, grab our food and head to the park. We were trying to remember how long we have done a summer family get together and think we started in 1990 or 91. We had always gotten together at Christmas time, but that was getting harder as the younger generation was in college and getting married. So the idea came to do something in the summer instead. So now we have our "Steak Out" every summer in July. Our kids had a ball playing with their cousins in the swimming pond. And considering the temperature was about 95 degrees, it was a great place to be.

Headed home and got some office work done. Waiting for the temperature to get below 90 so that we could head out and finish the straw. The neighbors brought their baler up and between ours and theirs the straw is out of the field and just needs to be put in the mows.

Hot day today. Expecting a high of 91. Good day to stay in the shade and do cool jobs.

The Wheat Is Harvested

We have a wheat field around and beside our acreage. The grain has been turning golden early with the lack of rain in our area. We had figured it would be going any day, and yesterday afternoon, while at the horse trainers, I got the call from hubby that the wheat was going.

Of course, from wheat comes straw, and we need some this year. The plan is to bale it with the neighbors. I got a call from the neighbor saying another neighbor had "dibs" on some and then hubby reminded me that my brother had asked if we could bale some for him to use in putting out a new lawn later this year. When I got home, the combine was heading ever closer to our place and Thomas was getting more and more excited. When Mr. Darvin took the first pass directly behind the house, Thomas was in the yard and flagging him down for a ride. So on the jumpseat went Thomas for a good long combine ride. He was thrilled. Mr. Darvin is so great with the kids, loves to listen to their stories and makes them feel really important.

So now, among all the other stuff I have to do today, a fundraiser for the dairy club at the TSC store and dairy quiz bowl practice, there is straw to bale. As of last night, it will need a bit of time to dry down anyway. It was better than 30% on the moisture tester. That may buy us a little time, but it is a first come, first serve system.

Community Celebration

Last night was the community 4th of July celebration, held on the 3rd. Our county seat has held a 4th of July celebration for about 80 years. It has been sponsored by the American Legion and had carnival rides and games as well as typical fair food. At about 10pm the fairworks go off. This year, the Legion decided they couldn't afford to have the celebration. This was of course a disappointment, so a number of local businesses got behind the project and planned a celebration. They had fair food, a hot dog eating contest (winner ate almost 15 hot dogs in 10 minutes), those inflatable types kids games and a concert. All but the food was free.

With my hubby being the electrician for the fairgrounds, we were involved in getting lighting around for security and safety. We were at the grounds before everything started putting up lights. We then came home, had supper and went back in. Oh my goodness, the people poured in during the two hours we were away. We got lights going and found a spot to spread out our blankets and watch the show.

Hubby and I are both from families that didn't go to the fairgrounds to watch the fireworks, but rather pulled over on a side street nearby, like many others, to watch the show. This year was unique, in that we were right there with the light show right over our heads. Kathryn more than once mumbled, "go out, go out" as the fireworks pieces floated through the air. Of course, they always did go out long before there was any risk.

At the end of the show, we stayed in our spot and watched the people head out. No sense getting out in all that traffic, plus there were lights to be turned off. It was a late night for all, but what a wonderful example of a community pulling together behind something new, and rather different and enjoying it. Way to go!!!

Off to a family picnic this afternoon after a morning of moving some hay, tilling the garden, pulling weeds, and mowing lawn.

Happy Independence Day to all!!!!!!

Guinea Hen Update

I haven't said a word about the guineas since all the excitement after the first batch hatched. It hasn't gone well. The three that the banty was mothering are now only one. There was a second batch of 5 that hatched a week ago. I put them in with the banty mom and she was happy to have them. Then one of the adult guinea hens discovered them and decided she was their mother. She drove the banty away from them and the 5 little babies started following her around the horse pasture. That was fine for awhile, but by the next morning, there were no babies to be found.

I think these momma guineas are a bit like the fish in Finding Nemo named Dori. She can't remember what you said to her a minute ago. These guineas are the same way....easily sidetracked. I sort of suspect that one minute she is happily mothering and the next minute a gnat flies by, she follows teh gnat and can't remember that thirty seconds ago, she had children.

I will just keep the next hatch in my brooder system (an old water tank) rather than letting anymore irresponsible mothers do the job.


Last night Kathryn had dog 4-H and was so excited because they let the clover bud kids run their dogs through two of the agility items. Emma went through the shortened version of the chute, which is a box with a cloth tube attached to it. She flew through like no big deal. And then she jumped the hoop like she had done it all her life. I suspect this dog is going to love agility when she and Kathryn reach "full-fledge" stage in 4-H.

Suzanna has started getting serious about working her heifers. The Dairy Days show is only two weeks from today. She is finding out it is a bit easier reminding them what to do compared to last year when she was breaking a calf to lead.

We ended up back at the fairgrounds last night. We had to check out the lighting after dark with our fair director. There is a 3rd of July celebration going on tonight with kids games, food, a concert and fireworks at dark. It nearly didn't happen this year and that is why it is on the 3rd. Hubby is the electrician for the fairgrounds and needed to be sure that the areas were lit enough to get people out safely after the fireworks. I suspect we will end up in there this evening since the kids are up to date on what is happening and how it will all take place.

Where did the weekend go???

I just realized I haven't "blogged" all weekend.

We had a fun weekend. The girls went with their grandma to two showers Saturday. A baby shower in the morning and a wedding shower in the afternoon. Thomas worked with his dad, washed dad's work truck and generally asked every question he could think of. Almost every sentence out of his mouth starts with "I have a question..."

Yesterday was a special day for Kathryn. She and another young girl from church were baptized. Dad and I both agree that it was another one of those "growing up fast" moments for one of our kids. She was the last of the three to decide it was time to do this.

She also managed to wake up yesterday morning with a quickly swelling eye lid. She has had a terrible time with insect bites this summer. This is the third time in a little over a month that she has had such a bad reaction. The first two resulted in having to have antibiotics to get rid of the cellulitis. I had hoped it would look better this morning, but it doesn't. That means another trip to see our Ped. And I am sure more antibiotics. He and I talked after the last round of trouble that she had to avoid getting bitten, so we have been careful to put bug spray on if we know she is going out and about. But I really don't want to dip her in Deep Woods Off before bed every night.

Laundry will be the job for today and a general straightening of the house. And I suspect a trip to the doctor for Kathryn.