Sadie and Allie Saturday

Virginia's internet was out Saturday so she decided to bring Allie and Sadie here to hang out for the day.  

Sadie went with me and Joe to get a truckload of wood.

It was rough and rocky ground with lots of obstacles.    I'm not sure how many times she fell down.  But she would just get back up and keep going.  

Then the goats made a trip past us. 

Sadie was very interested in them.

But she was a little intimidated by the dog. 

Allie had a good time in the jolly jumper.

And she even played with a doll that Sadie didn't take away. 
 

Less Feed Now

Our cattle made it to Nebraska without incident.  So Joe has 92 head less to have to feed. 

He is still buying 2 tons at a time.

But now it should last three weeks instead of one.  He is still feeding grain to the mates of the ones that left, the smaller ones and the replacement heifers.  But at least it is a little less work.   Kit Kat was there too, keeping an eye on things, or checking for a mouse. 

Another New Apple - Pazazz

I saw a new apple at Food Lion the other day.  It was the cheapest one so I took a chance.  

A 5 pound bag was only $5.  But the apples were huge, only needing 6-7 apples to make 5 pounds. 
 

They are delicious, crisp and sweet and tart all at the same time.  I have since found out they were developed from the honeycrisp apple.  I ended up buying another bag and making some apple sauce while Emily and Keiran were here.  Since the apples were so big, it didn’t take all that long to peel and cut up a pot full.  The apple sauce didn’t even need any sugar, and disappeared fast.  So another trip to the store for two more bags.   I’m loving the apple sauce and the apples, highly recommend. 

Plant Sitter

Emily is getting ready for 10 months in South America.  First she is going to Panama then Ecuador.  Part of her preparations included bringing me all of her house plants to babysit.

This is only about a third of them, and the smaller ones at that.  At least she brought a grow light so not all of my windows will be blocked.  I just need to get a timer so I don’t have to remember to turn it on and off  every day.

Three Things Plus One

First, the plus one.  The drone is sunk.  We couldn’t get it to work today.  The 10 minutes it worked was fun.  I am thinking of getting another one. 

It has been a couple of weeks since I rode Draper.  I caught her today, got on and rode normally.  The ground is too wet and soggy to ride outside much, but I did ride around outside the barn a little.

She did really well with her barn work too.  She is still acting like a normal horse and not some crazy thing.   I hope this continues for some good springtime riding. 

 Speaking of wet ground, Joe got two loads of gravel today for the road down to the old barn.  The calves are getting hauled out Thursday and they are calling for yet more rain.  Joe doesn’t want the road conditions to hamper getting the trucks and trailers in and out.  He is ready for the feedlot to takeover this group.

Yesterday we went birding with Keiran and Emily.  I was just taking a picture of the two of them, while Keiran was pointing at something, when Emily sneezed.  If you didn’t know better, it looks like there was something more violent happening.  

But they made up and continued birding.

Maiden Voyage, Not Unlike The Titanic

I got Joe a drone for Christmas.  I have tinkered around with it a little inside but had not had a good opportunity to really figure it out.  

Emily and Keiran were here today and Keiran seemed very interested in getting it to work.  He picked up where I had left off and actually got it flying.
 

Things were off to a good start.

I was even able to take some pictures from the drone. 

And since the purpose of it was to be able to find the goats, we went looking for them.  I started having a little problem with the video, so Keiran started bringing the drone back.

He was doing great bringing it in, until a gust of wind caught it.

And deposited it in the top of the maple tree. 

A lot of discussion ensued.  Keiran said he could climb the tree and get close if we had a long grabber.  Joe’s extendable calf catcher pole was just the thing. Keiran climbed as far as he felt comfortable and took the pole and was able to shake the branch enough to get the drone to drop out.

Too bad one of the propellers broke.  I’ve worked on it with some glue tonight.  Tomorrow we will see if it still works, or if like the Titanic, its maiden voyage will be its last. 

Sadie Saturday and Treeeet Update

First the tree, there wasn’t much left.  When I went to get the tree, the farmer gave me some new information I had not known before.  He is one of just a few allowed to go to Mt Rogers and pull up Fraser Fir seedlings from a “nursery” area there.  He brings them back and plants them immediately.  They are completely organic.

 And obviously, the goat love them.

Sadie spent Friday night with us.  Mike was away at an overnight trip with the wrestling team.  Virginia was wanting a little help.  I was up for the challenge.  Sadie enjoyed some cooking in the morning.

Then she went and put on her coat and said she wanted to go see the horses.  She didn’t seem to understand that it was 25 degrees, with the wind blowing and a skiff of snow on the ground.  Plus she was still in her pajamas.  But we patted Pep, Otoelene and Draper.  Then Joe came by with the tractor and we got in.

I opened gates while Sadie stayed in the cab with Joe.

I think she really enjoyed seeing the cattle and doing something a little different.

She even posed for me to take her picture.

Then there was more indoor time, playing with old toys.  These were her first cousin once removed,  Matt’s when he was little.

Then, after nap time, Allie showed up.  It was a very nice day.