A morning walk...

 Sharptail Grouse 

Common Redpolls

Signs of children who play for many hours outdoors.

They love to make these shelters for rabbits and cats.

A beautiful, warm morning with sticky, melting snow underfoot.
Gray skies.
A January thaw.

Glorious.

Spiderwebs and Stars, a quilt

A couple of Littles helped me show off the latest baby quilt I finished for our 10 month old granddaughter.  I joked around that I hoped I would complete it before her first birthday and I made it!  This was a string quilt called Spider Web made from bits and pieces from my scrap bag.  I got the pattern idea here  where there's a pretty good tutorial. Each scrap of fabric holds a tiny memory from all of us -- old shirts, handmade skirts and dresses, blankets and aprons. There are so many fun prints in this quilt that it could be considered an "I Spy Quilt" too.  I hope she enjoys many hours with it --  making it into a super hero cape or a tent or just a cuddly place to nap.  God bless you little Hunny Bunny.

Painted Ladies...

There's been a hatch!  Painted ladies are flying around everywhere this past week.  They are especially interested in my zinnia patch.  It's wonderful to see.  How many can you count in the zinnia patch?

I've been in the garden planting my garlic and a little bit of lettuce seed just in case we continue to have warm-ish fall weather.  I'd love another crop of lettuce before winter days come along.  If the lettuce doesn't germinate, the seed is there for next spring and I'll be watching for early lettuce.  I'm also doing an experiment with some garlic seed.  I let a couple garlic plants go to seed (like onions do) and then saved the seed to plant.  I have no idea if they will produce since garlic is a bulb and produces from bulbs, but I figure if I don't try it, I won't find out if it works.  I like experiments.

I dug up more potatoes today and I figure I have roughly 70 pounds or maybe more.  I had to quit today because some of the potatoes are underneath the pumpkins.  The pumpkin vines have sprawled out over the potato patch and there are some hefty pumpkins laying on top.  I could move them, but I decided not to.  They can just keep on growing and continue to bask in the sun until the vines are all withered or frozen.  Then I'll resume the potato digging.  The grandkids have already spied the biggest pumpkins and are anticipating pumpkin carving.  

The onions are pulled up and drying on newspaper in the garage.  There are some really nice, big Walla Wallas.  I love onions and use a ton of them through the year.  I really ought to grow more of those and less of cucumbers and zucchini.

Speaking of zucchini (which I always do), I plan to do a big baking tomorrow.  We are expecting some nice rains for the the next couple days or so.  Hurray!!  I'm going to make zucchini-everything (breads, cupcakes, and who-knows-what).  I also have some grapes that my dad harvested in the freezer so I might pull those out and make them into jelly.  

It seems there is always so much to do when September rolls around.  Soon we will be working cows and calves -- vaccinating and sorting and pregnancy testing.  We turned the bucks into the ewes on September 11th which is our tradition for February lambing time.  The young ewes will receive bucks on Christmas Eve which is our tradition for their May lambing time.  Hubby bought 6 new bucks and my goodness! they are handsome fellows.

There was a prairie fire just 6 miles from our ranch and so the men were called out along with the other volunteer firefighter-ranchers.  Someone had a trailer tire come off on the highway and they were driving on their rims with sparks flying.  The prairie caught fire from the road sparks.  We have a very old 1000 gallon tender truck here that was filled and ready to go so when Hubs called me, I jumped in and took it to our turn off at the highway.  I didn't stay and fight fire, but JLynn and I did stomp out some fire next to the asphalt with our shoes and water bottles.  I guess we did our part.  

One of my Bloggy Friends, Pom Pom, is going to be keeping a fall nature journal.  I'm thinking of joining in on the fun.  Everywhere I look, I see things to record in a journal or at least, in my mind.  If you'd like to join us, please do!  The more, the merrier.  I'm seeing white asters, goldenrod, maxamillion sunflowers, spiked gayfeather, and curlycup gumweed growing wild in the pastures just now.  What kinds of fall flowers are growing where you live?

Happy Fall!

Kids and Chores...

Look here!  One of my pullets is starting to lay.  This is the third egg she has lain this week, one each day so far.  I'm waiting to see how many more will lay.  It shouldn't be long before all 24 of them start laying and then we will be absolutely swamped with eggs from old laying hens and new laying hens.  I do think I might have found a home for my old hens this fall so that'll be nice. 

This picture of my hand-washed eggs and the tiny pullet egg in the middle reminds me of the days when our kids were young and had chores to do.  Washing eggs was one of them.  There were eggs to collect, chickens to feed and water, dishes to wash and dry, floors to sweep, hay to pitch, horses to saddle, and many other things, right down to feeding the cats.  Some chores were fairly easy and relatively painless, but other chores were never-ending or very demanding.  It wouldn't be long before a child lost interest or just got sick of doing the same old things over and over again.

Just the other day I received my Mother Earth News magazine and read an excellent article called:  Transform Children’s Chores into Small Businesses.  It was so good that I read it aloud to Hubby during our morning coffee time.  We both agreed that the author was spot on when it came to kids and chores.  In a nutshell, he encourages us to find ways to make chores into small businesses that kids can run on their own.  Perhaps there might be a little start-up help from parents, but his advice is to allow the child to sink or swim with his or her endeavor.  

I remember back when we had a milk cow.  Goldie came fresh each spring and she always had enough milk for her calf and another calf, and then there was a little extra milk on top of that which came into the house.  I strained it and we drank it and made the best puddings with it.  The kids took turns milking the cow and it really was the dreaded chore because she needed to be milked morning and night at about the same time each day.  The milking chore lasted all spring and through most of the summer.  If you've ever milked a cow in summer, you know what a drudgery it can be.  Tail swishing flies, fresh poop to scoop, flies in the grain, hot and sweaty being up-close-and-personal with a warm bodied cow.  You get the picture.  As time went on, no one wanted the job of milking the cow or tending to the calves until one day Hubby announced that whoever wanted to milk the cow would receive the money from the sale of the calves in the fall.  Wow, everything changed then!  All the kids wanted in on the action.  So in the fall, they all earned a little something for their efforts.

One of our sons decided he wanted to start an egg business.  He was about 10 years old at the time.  He found a few local customers, took orders, and tended to the chickens.  I helped him get started and he did the rest for quite some time.  The money was good and the chickens were fairly simple to care for.  But then that little business fell back into my hands because something better came along.  Aunt Betty wanted to sell her small herd of sheep.  Two of our children emptied their bank accounts to buy the sheep which were lambing in December at the time, a less than ideal time to lamb, but Aunt Betty made them a good deal.  From that time on, the kids had their own sheep business and that little band of ewes allowed them to buy used cars, buy cows, and go to college.  It was one of the best small businesses ever.  Eventually we bought the ewes as the kids moved on in their lives, and I still say it's one of the best small businesses ever, even for adults.  The input cost is very minimal and the income is pretty darn good when you consider you get two crops -- wool and lambs. 

We shared the article above with our own kids who have young families.  I hoped they'd be encouraged by it.  Our daughter talked with me about it and said it wasn't quite so practical for her children since they lived in town.  I disagreed.  There are money earning opportunities wherever you live.  We then discussed ideas that might work for them.  I mentioned baking goodies or breads, and OnlyDaughter said, "Oh, you know what?  One of my friends has an 11 year old daughter who takes orders for homemade bread every week.  She loves to bake bread and she sells it as her own little cottage industry."  The wheels began spinning in her mind and we came up with lots of ideas:  growing and selling pumpkins, a paper route, making rice crispy treats to sell at Daddy's feed store,  growing flowers to sell, shoveling snow, and the list went on.  

When I was a young girl, my friends and I were always trying to figure out a way to make a dime.  We put on plays, sold pumpkins, made kleenex flowers to sell door to door, shoveled snow, and whatever else we could think up -- and we were little squirts then.  As my siblings and I got older, we all had jobs.  I cleaned homes and cleaned rooms for a hotel.  I also worked at a drive-in cooking.  So I say, you don't have to live in the country to earn money or have your own small business.  Find a need or find something you're good at and just do it!

Did you ever have a small business as a child or teen?  How about your own children, did they find ways to earn their own money?  What do you think about children turning chores into cottage industries?  Please post in the comments.  I encourage you to read the article  and share it. 

Potential...

 The third year on my asparagus.  It's just coming up!

 Above, tiny lettuces emerge.

 Onion starts.

 Above, garlic is peeking through!

 Rhubarb!  Rhubarb!

 Grape Hyacinth along the garden path.

Daffy-Down-Dilly has come to the Country!

I realize that my photos here are less than spectacular when you consider that so many, many others places are sporting Full Bloom Spring!  We are definitely in Spring-mode now, but our start is slower than most, I think.  Where you see mostly dirt in the photos at the top, I see great potential! 

The first couple of photos are showing my third year asparagus.  Three spring ago, I wanted to find asparagus plants to start in my garden, but they were all out, so what did I do?  I bought a packet of  asparagus seeds and started them.  They came up beautifully, but there were no stems to eat that first year.  The second year I had some nice asparagus but it is said that one should not pick it, but let it go to seed and allow the roots to further strengthen and grow.  By last fall, we had a little bit of rain and the asparagus sent up shoots and I decided it would be just fine if I picked those few tender stalks.  Oh my, but they were delicious!  Now it is spring once again, and THiS Is THe YeAR I gET TO PicK!  Can you feel my excitement?  Where you see a lot of brown mulch and just a few stalks of asparagus, I see great potential for many, many stalks and lots of spring suppers of steak and asparagus or burgers and asparagus or fish and asparagus or maybe some bacon-wrapped asparagus.  

The third photo down, you see the tiniest of lettuce leaves breaking through.  I suppose they were planted last fall and didn't quite get sprouted before the cold weather came.  I'm so proud of them for lying dormant through the winter and poking through this spring.  How much more joy I have to see them first thing this spring!  Now I feel like I have a mini-head-start on the lettuce.  I did actually seed some lettuce yesterday, but these are growing already, right beside the seeds.

Onion sets and garlic are spearing through the other dirt-colored photos.  More potential!  And then there's the Rhubarb!   Potential Pie!  One of my most favorite pies!  I never freeze my rhubarb because I think it gets too watery and rubbery once it's thawed, so when the rhubarb is ready and fresh-picked, it's Pie Time.  Anticipation is half the fun of rhubarb pie for me.  It seems I savor the whole experience so much more than I do with other pies.  I even have a big batch of pie crust dough ready.  I roll it out, put it into pie plates and freeze so I am at-the-ready when the rhubarb is.

The Grape Hyacinth and the Daffodils have been putting on a show in my mostly-brown garden beds.  After a cold, snowy winter, brown never looked so good.  Then the green starts coming through and then bam! full-blown COLOR.  It's a gift. 

Today the Littles -- Peach, Toodles, JohnDeere, Kitten, Chief  and I went for a walk-about.  There are two baby calvies in the corral now that Peach and Toodles are feeding with a bottle every day.  We had to go visit with them and run around with them.  The calves like to chase and frolic with the children like little playmates.  Then we went for a look and a touch with the baby chicks and turned out the hens.  The most important thing we did was to go bird watching.  The older girls begged for it.  The boys went back with JLo while I took the others birding in the tree patch.  We saw the Mountain Bluebirds and Peach said she's seen them in and out of the hollow tree with a hole in it.  We're hoping they are building a nest in there.  We saw many robins, many warblers, and a Loggerhead Shrike.  So much fun!  So much potential for nests, baby birds, and big birds in the days to come.

What kinds of potential are you seeing?

Simple Things...

 Sheets, kitchen towels, tea towels, and table cloths 

snapped wildly on the line on a windy day-after-Easter.

All of our family came to celebrate together.

The extra laundry and dishes and dirty floors remind me there 

were lots of wonderful people here laughing and having fun together.

We ate very well too!

A little Easter gift to myself and to the ladies of our family.

I love orchids, do you?

Kite flying.
Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height!
Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Let's all go fly a kite!
(insert children smiling and squealing!)

 

The Peeps have arrived! 

We picked them up at the feed store today.

This year I chose to get 25 Black Stars,

known for their egg laying superiority.

 Grape Hyacinths popped up a couple days ago!

The daffodils bloomed just in time for our Easter dinner table.

We've had an inch of rain today, just after we planted two big bare patches in our front and back yard.  We did end up digging up the septic line, and I'm thankful our men could do that work with the help of a backhoe rental.  Now the lines are running perfectly, but the yard is in need of new grass.  This rain will give our newly planted grass seed a good start.  

Water is such a basic, simple thing, but a most important need here.  The green grass is growing in the pastures now and the cows and sheep don't want to eat hay any longer.  They're happy with fresh, green sprouts.

What green things are growing where you live?

For baby...

Picking posies

Red rosies

But leaving a few

For bees to sip and chew 

So they can make honey

For our Baby Bunny.

.................................

 

A first doll softie

for our newest babygrandgirl -- Bunny.

An Ondori pattern.

Fresh from God....

She has arrived!

Claire Jo

born on

January 27th

7 lb. 4 oz

 

She's our 7th granddaughter

and our 9th grandchild!

She's home now with her big brother, Chief, and Mommy & Daddy.

We are all excited about her arrival! 

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The Three Little Girls are still with us and they were very entertaining for Chief since he stayed with us while his sister was born.  It's been a busy household these past few days!  Today grandgirls, Peach and Toodles came over to join Bee and Rootie Tootie while the rest of the cousins took naps.  We baked My Mom's Sugar Cookies and decorated them with icing and sprinkles.  My favorites have the red hots!  Yummy!  We will be sharing with the nappers soon!  

Three little girls are coming...

 Three little girls are coming to stay with their Papa and Grammy

while Mommy and Daddy go on a trip.

We will do lots of good things like baking cookies.

 The girls have their own babies, so they will come too!

 I'm sure there will be plenty of toys around the house.

 Since there is snow, we will dress like Eskimos and play outside!

The cousins live next door so there will be lots of outdoor fun!

 Grammy will ask the girls to help her sweep and dust and pick up.

 There will be extra clothes to wash and fold.

 

Outdoor play and work will make our hands and toes cold!

We will read lots of books.

  

 Before bedtime, we will say our prayers and sing our songs.

And hopefully each little girl will sleep all night!

(Pictures by illustrator, Eloise Wilkin)

May baa baas...

 Baa Baa, the web's most famous ewe!

Lambies are being born to the yearling ewes this month.  The yearlings do not always have babies because of their youth, but since our lambs are born in February, they are older and their bodies are  mature enough for breeding.  If we breed them to lamb in May sometimes they will "catch" and conceive.  The majority of them did and here they are, doing their job out on the grassy, green pastures.  Aren't they pretty against that lush green?

I went up to Dick's Pasture tonight to check on them and thought I saw a ewe, dead on her back.  Then I thought I saw her leg move a very little bit so I drove over to her and got out to see.  Sure enough, she was alive, but had probably been there a while.  I flipped her up on her legs and she toddled off.  She was an older ewe and super-big and pregnant.  It happens sometimes when a pregnant ewe lay down, she has a hard time getting back up.  I hope she'll be ok.  Sometimes when a ewe is on her back for too long, her equilibrium gets all wonky and she end up on their back again.  We will have to watch for her.

I was in town today visiting the "townie grandgirls" and shopping for flowers at the farm/ranch store.  As we were waiting in line to buy our flowers, the girls pulled me over to see the baby ducklings.  They were very sweet, but the cutest, most interesting thing to me was this Siamese cat who was  stretched out over the screen that covered the ducklings. I'm sure it was a warm, cozy place for her to nap,  but I thought it was so funny --  like "the fox guarding the hen house."

My gardens are all planted to capacity now and the new hay field is planted too so all that's left to do is pray for rain.  As green as it is, we are seeing signs of it drying up and the reservoirs could sure use a topping off.  A good inch of rain would do us just fine right about now.  We've got chances for rain most of this week so we are hopeful.

Tomorrow I'll plant a few flower pots with one of my favorite front porch flowers -- red geraniums.  I picked up some white wave petunias to mix in with them.  Can't wait to show you!  Until later, thank you for stopping in to say Hi!