Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

I wouldn't have even gotten as far as returning to the barn. I would have been crying in the house asking DH for help.

For whatever reason - maybe because I was bitten by a copperhead as a young teen and survived(!) - I'm not really afraid of snakes. Plus - I knew it was non-venomous. It was a good-sized snake too. I'm 5'6" and when I held him up by the tail with its head on the ground my hand, (and its tail) was well over my head.

Those pups....lol

I can't really blame 'em too much. Their mama was screaming like a banshee and whacking the ground (and the snake) with a metal stake, lol. Maybe they're smarter than I gave them credit for being!

This afternoon I tackled a job that needed to be tackled at least a year ago. I dug out a gate that was, and has been, stuck in the dried concrete (a.k.a. gumbo mud) for way too long. By digging that gate out I saved myself so many steps. Without that gate I have to go through 4 gates to get to the area that is right across the fence. So, I dug it out...whew. Now it's a simple one gate exercise to get from the front barnyard to the back barnyard. Easy Peasy!

Then mulched, and mulched, and watered, and mulched.

Red Rippers are making their debut! Those were 4 year old seed that I had saved for ... four years, lol!

 

[baymule]

Where was the video camera when you were whacking the snake? That would have been a winner! Then PETA would have sued you for cruelty to animals. LOL LOL

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hallelujah! We've been in a severe drought but yesterday evening we got some relief. A bit over a half inch of rain - .65. Looking out an upstairs window this morning I couldn't see a puddle on the ground anywhere. This is the first measurable rain we've had in a very long time. Cracks in the yard/garden/pasture were getting way too big.

Gonna try to get out and get a lot more mulching done. Hope to preserve some of that wonderful moisture. But first - I need to get out there and milk. Girls are probably very impatient with me this morning.

 

[baymule]

I'm glad that you got some of that rain. It rained here all day. I opened the gate for Ringo and his harem of 8 ewes. The Anatolians went out too. Instead of going back to their shelter in the pounding rain, they huddled up under tree branch overhangs from the fence row. All were sopping wet when I went out to feed. At least the sheep were washed clean. Dogs just shook hard and flung the water off, their underfur kept them dry.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We could already use a little more rain - but I'm not gonna start griping about it yet.

This is motorcycle race weekend and tomorrow night I'll be descended upon by 7 more bodies! Daughter and SIL have all their combined kiddos this weekend - four girls and 1 lone g'son.

I know I said I was going to a goat show instead of the race-track - but I can't do it. I neeeeeed to spend time with the fam. And it'll keep me from buying a goat. I don't need another goat.

Still working on cleaning chores. Ugh! I'm not even sure why I do it. I've been cleaning today and I'll clean again tomorrow. Then they'll all get here with all their assorted luggage and bring-a-longs and it'll look like a disaster in about 5 minutes flat.

Dinner tomorrow night will be a ham that I got on sale for 0.97 per pound, collards (from the garden) and roasted carrots (from the garden). I guess I coulda done pork from our recently butchered pig, but heck, I'm saving that for meeeeeeee!

 

[baymule]

Have fun with your family!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Have fun with your family!

Thanks! We are a crazy bunch of folks so I'm sure we'll have a blast!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We did have a blast. DD, her DH and all five of their combined kids! Love it when they are all here!

Motorcycle races were more challenging than usual. The field was much larger and he was only entered in two races. He finished in the money for the first race and just missed it by one placing in the second race. That's the way it goes...ya win some and lose some. Now he wants a new bike, lol.

We had all the kids and they were a blast. Four out of the five are outside/garden/animal lovers. The other one is a couch and phone lover, lol. DS and his wife came over the first night for dinner. Eleven folks at my table was a whole lot of fun. The next night we went to DS's and enjoyed his garage "speakeasy." He has it set up like an antique bar with all antique light fixtures, a pool/ping pong table, multiple game consoles and electronic darts. He also has a professional quality karaoke set up and a fully stocked bar. Sooo much fun!

Got up this morning and found out that my dryer has retired itself. It's at least 22 years old and has been repaired several times. DH says nope - not anymore. Now - he only says that because we have a spare sitting out in the storage building. Guess it'll get moved inside today. I'd be happy with an old fashioned clothesline - at least until Jan/Feb, lol.

Neighbor came over last night to check one more time that his herbicide issue hadn't destroyed my garden. I told him I think we're out of the danger zone. I did lose a few Lima bean plants, but other than that I don't think there was any more damage. Whew dodged a bullet!

Mother's Day was awesome and DH, sweet guy that he is, decided I needed an Apple Watch. This all came about after my phone jumped out of my pocket out in the pasture a week or so ago and evaded recapture for awhile. I'm sure the dog slobber all over it had absolutely nothing to do with it either, lol.

He's always after me to "make sure you have your phone with you" whenever I go out the door. I always do - but occasionally it misbehaves. While at the motorcycle races my DD was showing him hers and all the bells and whistles like, ECG, heart rate monitor, O2 levels, and most importantly according to him, a fall monitor. (besides phone calls and texts) He thinks I'm an invalid I guess. He always worried that I'll be beaten senseless by a goat, or I'll trip and fall over a blade of grass, or something will scare me into a heart attack, or... But, I do appreciate his thoughtfulness. I'm sure there'll be a learning curve that I'm not looking forward to.

Goats are goating, pig is still eating, garden is growing and things are scooting along. Now if we could get rid of a few degrees of this ridiculous heat all would be well with the world. Oh - and a tiny little bit of rain would be appreciated.

 

[FarmerJamie]

The wife has an apple watch. Good for all the monitoring functions you listed. It's been a good tool for her health management

Only issue, ATT admin setup snafu. Both times she got a new phone, her watch would start to get copies of my phone texts. Nothing to hide, LOL, but when I was using my phone for work, it kept blowing up her watch.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Only issue, ATT admin setup snafu. Both times she got a new phone, her watch would start to get copies of my phone texts. Nothing to hide, LOL, but when I was using my phone for work, it kept blowing up her watch.

That'll be my luck. DH offered one time to update my phone for me. Somehow I got all his contacts...argh!