Catch up Day ---- Again

We had our last sub-normal cold night last night, 4°, then normal January temperatures will settle in for a while, 30's and 20's.

The puppies have remained outside and done fine.  They have now taken over Sugar's pen and she has taken over my kitchen corner.  So far that has worked out OK.

Our granddaughter has been visiting since last Wednesday.  That worked out to our benefit since  DH has had a bad spell of shortness of breath and her BF has been coming over each morning to help with chores.  I  also got off  my lazy backside and  did the close-up chores for two days, the chickens, the penned calves and the puppies.  He really isn't supposed to be outside in very cold weather in the best of times.

Chest x-ray and blood work was all normal.  I think it may be the beta-blocker coreg.  He has just been taking it a couple of months and that seems to be when his troubles started.  The nurse has agreed to him stopping it.  It has been 3 days and we both think he is improved.  He sees the cardiologist Wednesday.  Maybe more tests are due??  We will see. 

We both think selling the beef cows is in our near future.  Sad but we knew it would come eventually.  I hope to keep a few head and a bull  but we will see.

Chickens are still giving us 3-5  eggs a day!  I am impressed.

We had all five dogs in the kitchen; it was near impossible to get a picture of all of them.  They are in this shot.  Do you see the third puppy?

From puppies January 8 2015

We are taking our GD and her BF to Lambert's for lunch today to thank him.  He refused payment.  I did cook him a good, country breakfast each morning!

Feeding the Birds Again

It is a dreary drizzly day here, but not very cold.  Looks like the heavy rains may have missed us.

The chickens have begun their off season of laying, the molt.  We are getting 2 or  3 a day now which may keep just the two of us supplied but we may have to supplement from the store.

I hope I have enough for pies for Thanksgiving.

Our granddaughter got in Friday night and will be with us for a week.  They get a full week over Thanksgiving.  She is thrilled because she has very little homework for a change.  We won't see her much I am sure.

The puppies are growing, barking, growling and getting out of the nest.  I am already thinking of doing an impromptu wire pen outside the building so they can get some sunshine but not wander off.


I am trying to handle them each day so they will know what humans are.....

I put out sunflower seeds and the birds are visiting regularly.  I need to buy wild bird seeds for the small birds but so far, they seem to be handling the sunflower seeds.



The birdbath is very close to the feeder hanging outside the window over the sink.

From Birds of 2014

From Birds of 2014

A New Day

It is  5:42 AM.  We are in the middle of our hottest weather so far and won't get a break for several days.  Still very dry. 

Our granddaughter left yesterday evening amidst tears from several of us.  Three neighborhood boys were here to see her off (and, thankfully, to load her car).  She will be back  September 14 for the PBR rodeo with her local  BF and there are the college breaks..............

I will spend today getting the house back to normal.  I  also need to put another coat of floor finish on the kitchen floor.  My work areas at the cabinet are down to bare wood  in a place or two.  I dread that because  it means more "down on my knees" time.

I have badly neglected the yard and garden the last few weeks and need to do some trimming with the  weedeater.  I have managed to respray with herbicide some regrowth where the yard crew did their cutting but that is all.  The heat doesn't encourage me to  do much outside.

Random Pictures:

Probably last daylily of the season with a visitor:

What DH enjoys on cool mornings:

and what he does when he is working:

This is a recently brush-hogged field (the dump field).