Shades of Ireland

Sunday, March 25, 2012

I Just Couldn't Stand It.....

....... If our week got any better than this last one! Spring break got off to a pretty rocky start-- and I mean that literally.
Poor Salena met a big truck on her way home from college that slung up a rock and cracked her windshield. By the time she got home, it was a major crack all the way across the driver's side of the windshield and cost us a whopping $250 to replace. To add insult to injury, after it was repaired, Seth backed the Ford truck around into her car and broke out the driver's turn signal. Sis got a bit worked up when the lady at the parts store quoted her a price of $179 for the replacement. We found it at the junkyard for $25.

It also rained for most of the week and we ended up with just over 4 inches. Everything was a sloggy, muddy mess but we are not complaining. The upper pond is almost full. Every slight hole or indentation in the county is now a puddle. Our road is an absolute nightmare to drive down and I hope the road crew manages to get around to us early this next week.

Seth worked in the rain and drizzle to get electric fence put up on the far side of the farm to make a nice sized summer pasture for the horses. They put them out in it late yesterday afternoon and they think they are in horse heaven. There is a spring fed pond up there that will spare us the chore of hauling water to them. Now we just have to get a flea and tick treatment on them before they are completely carried away. The ticks and mosquitoes are out in full force. I have already pulled a few off of Holly's udder at milking time and given myself the creepy crawlies just thinking about them.

During all this rain, my dear friend, Rachel, and her kids came for a visit that lasted for a couple of days. I know she had to get back to her own home and projects but I wished that she could have stayed longer. It was so much fun to see and hear the kids roaming all over the farm and canoeing in the pond.....They pretty well terrorized the snakes and turtles, climbed the tree house, milked Holly and the girls and even managed to play cards and watch a few movies...... I will admit that we did more laundry in 2 days than I normally do in a week just to keep enough towels to dry them off from their many trips in and out of the house.
Between laundry loads, Rachel and I cooked, made cheese, did chores, planted strawberries, bred a cow, plotted, planned and solved the world's problems!
 It is good to laugh and joke and share with kindred spirits.

The rain left yesterday along with our guests. It was beautiful day but today has been even warmer and better. Neil has had the weekend off so he has gotten all kinds of things done. Salena's car is road worthy again. The tiller is ready to plow the garden when it dries out. He managed to patch up the lawn mower tires enough that we are at least optimistic about getting it all mowed at least one time before investing in new tires.

The new tractor, Hammer, is in the garage and sometimes I just have to walk by and pat him on his faded red hood. The new brush hogs and bale spear lined up in the edge of the trees just like on a real farm.

Now, I am nursing a bit of sunburn and feeling crawly things-- real or imagined--- because I have been out in the garden putting down mulch in the pathways of the garden. It is my yearly attempt to keep the "garden cancer" known as Bermuda grass beaten back to an acceptable level.




On top of all this wonderful stuff, Neil and I celebrated 27 years of marriage on March 23rd.
That is a long time for a guy to live with and love a crazy goat lady.......

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