You Never Know What You Will See

I try to remember to bring my camera with me when I ride because you just never know what you might see. 

 A sofa and console for instance. 

 Sort of a strange item to find along a gravel road.  There was a "free" sign on it though. 

 It took Otoelene a few minutes to digest this unexpected item, but she finally  made friends with it.  And by the time I headed back, someone was loading up the console.  The sofe is still there if anyone is interested. 

 There is always a good view when you know where to go look.

 And surprise, a dead groundhog.  He must have been pretty slow because with all the ruts from recent rains, no one can really drive all that fast. 

 Then there was this snake I think Otoelene stepped on.  No, she never even acted like she saw it even when I turned her around to take the picture. 

And the goats were trying to get into trouble.  Looks like we have done too good a job beating back the rose bushes on our side of the fence. 

It's Always A Good Day When...

I get to ride Otoelene to gather the cattle.

 M was coming to help with the last group of cows and calves and J wanted to have everything ready. 

 So he stood at the gate and swooked, and I circled around and pushed them all into the lot.

 I don't think I have mentioned for a couple of days now how awesome Otoelene is. 

 But I'm sure you can see her awesomeness here.

 Then it was time for some foot work.

 The young calves can be a little tricky to get in the barn.

 But they were no match for M and J's quick footedness.

Can you tell how hard it was working 65 pairs?

Kit Kat Sunday #157

I caught Kit in the garden. 

 Maybe he's dreaming of lettuce and onions.

Hey Grandpa, What's For Supper

Fresh garden greens

 tender and new,

 and quite a variety too,

 and a little green onion

 diced finely on top,

 then heat a pan

 and cook bacon 'til  hot.

 Crumble it good, and make your dressing, vinegar sugar and drippings I'm guessing.

Now eat your kilt onion and lettuce and go watch Matt and Festus.

Four Animal Species And A Plant

I had a nice ride on Otoelene this morning.  Bumble didn't show up for supper last night which is highly unusual so I thought I would go looking for her.  I had no success this morning but thankfully, she was there for supper tonight. 

 I rode up on top of the hill in front of the house to get the best view while I looked for Bumble.

  The yearling heifers are looking good. 

 Then I saw this robin from my bedroom window.  Yes, it is just a robin but I thought it was interesting that it had a centipede in its mouth.  (should I have counted the centipede? five species then)

 The baby goats are really growing now. 

Kid Playground

I still have one that I take a bottle to in the evenings when we feed the dogs, but it would probably be fine without it. 

And just because I love Alliums.

Some Gave All

Ronald Reagan

“…And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice."

"In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Spring Cattle Work

Saturday V and M helped us work the cattle at Julian's.

M and J did all the prep work of getting the cattle in and sorted.  We vaccinated and tagged the calves first this time.  Last year we worked the cows first, but they were so annoying trying to come up to the headgate to claim their calves.  It worked out much better this way.  The calves just hung out, out of the way until the cows were done.

I gave the cow shots.

Mike was the muscle, putting the calves down the chute.

J did the tagging and calf vaccines, then switched with M to sort the cows the way he wanted.

And there were three he sorted for me to check.  Unfortunately, they were all open, but the work went smooth with excellent help.  Thanks V for taking pictures since I left my camera at the house again.