Grandma’s Molasses Ginger Cookies

When we went to visit Emily a couple of weeks ago, she had made molasses cookies for us.  They were very tasty.  They reminded me of the molasses cookies that Grandma use to make.  Luckily, I had the recipe.   But the baking had to wait a bit until I got some ginger and molasses.

And here they are. Yummy.  They are staying soft and have lots of flavor.   Here is the recipe if anyone else wants to try them.  They would be great for a Christmas cookie exchange.

Since it is mostly just me and Joe eating them, I cut the recipe in half.  It made 3  1/2 dozen. 

I must have never actually used this recipe before because the original bake time was 10 to 15 minutes.  They were burning in 10, so I settled on 8.  That worked perfectly.

She’s Home

We picked up Draper today.  I discussed with the trainer about him keeping her to sell.  His response was, “I can’t sell ice to a man in hell.”  And after talking with him more, I would have to agree.  He is not a salesman.  So I am back to seeing what I can do with her. 

 First off, there is lots of drama between her and Otoelene.  They were best friends when she left last month but now there is Hugo.  Otoelene does not want Draper anywhere near her new boyfriend.  This is going to take some sorting out.

I did get some video of the trainer riding Draper today.  Here is a short clip.  I will just have to keep reminding myself that this is what she is capable of, and do it.

Fall Leaves

The problem with having planted so many trees in the years, is that now there are so many leaves in the yard.

I use to rake them onto a tarp and dump them in the field to blow away.  Then I started putting them on the garden.  But it would take them too long to rot down.

Then I got a leaf blower/vacuum and started mulching the leaves to put on the garden. 

Joe said he still didn’t like the leaves on the garden, but I think it was because I put them on too thick.  I like the leaves, because it cuts down on the  winter and spring weeds.  So I decided to go ahead and put them on the garden again this fall.   While I was working on this, company came…..

And found a whole new use for the leaves.

Allie was definitely curious about the leaves.

Sadie had so much fun.  I hate that they won’t last.

Fall Cattle Work

Mike helped us today with the fall cows.  I don’t think the sign was right though.  We got off to a bad start as a cow that Joe had in the barnlot with a sick calf, decided to escape by crawling under a gate.  Joe said he didn’t think a goat would have even tried it.  The cow managed to ruin a $300 gate in the process.

 But at least the weather was nice.  A little chilly in the morning.

The lot is pretty full with all the cows and calves.

Then as it warmed up, we started shedding layers.

It was nice to see the lot emptying out.

The calves got tagged, vaccinated and the bull calves were castrated. The cows got dewormed and vaccinated.

We have been sticking with the new tagger.  I thought one of the benefits would be that there were so many tag colors to choose from.  I anticipated a different color each year.  We were using orange this year and needed a few more.  But Joe came home with white tags.  He said he didn’t like the colors.  Oh well, but I was looking forward to a pink year.

And the one we were looking for all day, the last one.

Bad For Sale Pictures

This gem was sent in by Virginia.  She found it on Craigslist.  The pictures speak for themselves.

But in case you needed a little more information after seeing the pictures….

 We have a Dexter bull for sale.

He comes by his name - Déjeuner. Déjeuner is tame but still a bull. 
He will make a great breeder! He loves his hay 😁. 
Déjeuner is around sheep, goats, dogs, and his fellow cows.
I will deworm him before you get him.

Asking $1500 obo.

There’s A New Bull In Town

Our new Hereford bull arrived Monday evening.

I think he looks pretty good.

You might notice this patch though.  The seller said it looked like he was starting with pinkeye.  So they treated him and put the patch on.  It should fall off in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I think he is rocking the pirate look, “Arrgh.”

Draper’s Month At Boot Camp

I have been having trouble with Draper ever since she threw me last year.  I decided to send her to a trainer to see if that would help. His first update wasn’t encouraging.  I said I hoped he would just tell me I’m crazy and he didn’t know why I even sent her. But no, he said she bolted with him and him was afraid he wasn’t going to get her stopped. 

It has now been a month and I went to go to see how she was doing.  No additional bolting episodes, so that was something.

 She had lost her big grass belly, and looked fit.

But she was not relaxed like I had hoped.  Michael rode her around in the round pen to start.  Then I got on and walked, trotted and cantered.   He had done well getting her to move forward, give her face and lift her shoulder.  But it just seemed like she was tolerating things, not really accepting.

 

I rode her around some more by myself while Michael went to saddle up another horse.  There were a few moments of relaxing at the trot.  Then we headed out from a ride around in the hayfield.  She was doing ok until Michael started loping around on his horse.  I could just fell her energy increasing.  I was ready to get off but Michael wouldn’t let me.  I finally got her energy back down and we headed back toward the barn.  She did good with that and we continued past the barn and down the road.  She was much more relaxed doing this.  At this point I just don’t think she is a horse for me.  But how do I sell one that I can’t ride to show to a buyer?  I am hoping that if I bring her home, we can go on some trail rides with Hugo.  Maybe that will help get her mind more relaxed.

Sadie Sunday Continues

I had too many good pictures of Sadie  on Sunday not to share a few more.

When Joe is checking cattle at BJ’s, Sadie like to throw things off the bridge.

We start with hickory nuts.

Then end up with sticks and leaves when the nuts run out.  It keeps her entertained until Joe is done. 
 

One of these days I will have to have an Allie Sunday.  She’s a cutie too.

Sadie Sunday

It was an action packed day with Sadie after bringing her home after church.  I will skip over the cattle checking, and 4 wheel riding and start in directly with the horses.

Joe was still doing cattle stuff, so I had Sadie in the barn again by myself.  After leading her around for a bit, she kept asking to trot.  Of course I had to get on with her to comply with such a request.  No pictures of that, but we did lots of trotting.  Then, since Otoelene had sweated so much on our trail ride yesterday, and today’s temperature was in the low 70’s, I decided Sadie could help me give her a bath.
 

You might think that would be too much for a 22 month old, but Sadie loved helping. 

She also loved playing in the bucket of water. 

And you may be wondering why she is wearing pajamas.  After church when I went to change her clothes, all that Virginia had but I the diaper bag was pjs.  So between a dress and tights or pjs I went with the pjs. I messaged Virginia and she said she thought it was just a matching outfit from a box of clothes someone at work had given her. After she saw the picture, she agreed they were pajamas.

Pretty much the only thing dry after Otoelene’s bath, were Sadie’s feet.  The boots are working out perfectly.

After putting Otoelene up, Sadie remembered about giving treats to Hank and wanted to do that again.

Hank was so gentle taking the treats from Sadie.

And she wasn’t the least bit intimidated by him.

Hank has been a pretty special horse.