Happy Birthday Jaymi

Happy Birthday to another of my Beautiful Niece - Jaymi.  We are so proud of the young woman you have become. 

Enjoy your summer and best of luck with your new job.

Last day of vacation!!!

I started this posting before 7am... but life didn't let me complete my thoughts.. A good thing....

Hoss & I sitting in pasture. I enjoy the Mimosa!

"Well, it's officially vacation days off of work; but I actually didn't do anything except the things I wanted to do during my time off.  One more day (or 8 hours) left and then back to normal.  Starting the day watering the garden, walking the dog and a mimosa.  Yeah, I know it's early but I've been up since 5 am and I'm on vacation!  The cloudy overcast mornings are a welcome change to the Hot Sunny Days ahead - so I'm enjoying every minute." .....

Honestly --I'm not complaining because all events are good,  but.....not how I expected to spend my last vacation day....

Sent Laura (my sister) an email regarding 60's hot pink crochet mini skirt and vest attire for a party she'll be attending in the next few weeks.... ALARM.. "No" she replies that it is this weekend... "Time Flies".... and I'm willing to have it express ship it to her... LOL.... ok.. now the fiasco starts because UPS website is broken; their 800# is even worst... so I get dresses quickly to haul the package of Hot Pink Crochet attire to the local UPS store... The lady at the counter and I laugh and reminisce over the 'days gone bye' where the skirts were very short and the hair was long (picture Cher).  I decided since I was in town, I'd see if Mom wanted to share a mimosa morning?  Got her voice mail -- darn!   Well, As I'm filling the truck at HEB, she calls back and "Yes" would love to!  Yeah!  Run into HEB for more cold champagne, juice, a few snacks and items for tonight's dinner and head to Mom's.  Another pleasant surprise was two of Paula's kids (Hudson and Holly) were staying with Grandma!  It's always fun to see them. 

After a quick visit, snack and drinks - I needed to head home to get some chores finished and especially turn the garden water off.  But, Paula convinces me to take Hud and he runs the rest of my errands with me; but, No Shoes, (and that's his mother's fault!).   So we stop at Walgreen's to get flip flops or something since they know my rule on the farm is SHOES required.  I'd hate it if one of the babies stepped on glass or rusty metal and had to get a Tetanus shot!  Off to the feed store, Taco Bell and home.  He's such a SMART 4 year old!   Hud & I have lunch together negotiating him to eat his cheese quesadilla in exchange for x# of Skittles.  Yes, this vacation day is not what I had planned, but very enjoyable. 

I ended the afternoon with a nap, getting dinner started and no additional chores completed... Sometimes you just have to stop and let time go bye!

Hugs to all the kids out there -- old and young - enjoy your summertime!!!
 

Happy Birthday Halen!!

Today is Halen's 7th birthday!  He's special to us because he came into the family and our hearts just as we moved to Boerne.  He has a multi-faceted personality and is very talented!  A wonderful part of our family and lives.

I started my day again watering and weeding the garden, removing 4 worms from the tomato bushes!!  They become chicken food.  

Placed my birthday call to Halen - but got voice mail so will have to catch him later -- He's in cub scout camp this week so he is hard to catch.

I re-designed / constructed the scarecrow to face the garden and have a new shirt.  I'm not sure about Charlene and her long hair.  Gets so tangled and matted.  I'm giving her another chance to make us laugh! 

My day continued with tree trimming, laundry, painting and general clean up.   There's always something to clean up around here.  It is just refreshing to get some of this clutter GONE!!!

Ben gets home close to 5 and we pick eggs, have dinner and enjoy a quite, cool evening inside -- it has gotten really HOT!. 

One more day of vacation -- what to do.. what to do???

More babies bees and more construction!

Saturday ended with the rising of the Super Moon!  It was a beautiful start to a nice evening.

2 of the 20

While Ben did his soffit vent construction; I inspected the bee hive and gave them more syrup.  I was trilled to see baby bees emerging and plenty of brood.  The new Queens is doing a great job. 

Earlier in the day -- we deconstructed the "chicks" coop.   They have assimilated into the routine with the other girls and now using the right chicken door.  They still are not venturing too far from the coop so we have to still go down there and make sure they all get in by door closing time and there's plenty of fresh water in their jug. 

A cleansing burn of more wood and debris we cleaned out of the barn.  Yes we are still burning; but with great caution.  Slowly and surely we will have all this clutter and debris gone!

I picked more peaches and will be making a peach pie for Sunday night's dinner.  The peach liquer will not be ready until July 10-- I'm anxiously awaiting to see how it comes out. 

Today will be a busy one too -- a couple of loads of laundry, mowing, more soffit vent construction and more cleanup.  Ben's brother is expected later in the afternoon for dinner - so alot to do before he gets here -- then we relax and visit. 

I'm on Vacation thru Wednesday -- SO excited to just do anything I want, whenever I want!.

Road trip and visit with family.

Thursday morning I hit the highway to go see dad in Surfside.  I'm not much on road trips; especially alone, (Ben didn't take any time off to go with me).  I haven't seen dad in months so decided to take a couple of vacation days to visit him. 

I enjoy going to the beach; but getting there is not my favorite past-time. I head out at 6:40am after tending to the farm chores and loading up a home cooked meal for dad and myself.  There was little traffic getting thru San Antonio and fortunately overcast skies; blocking the rising sun from blinding me.  I stopped at Buckee's for gas and break.  It's amazing how fast the speed limit is on Texas Highways... posted 75 mph; but most people go over 80!  I settle in on cruise control at 78 - enjoying my million songs on my i-Phone. 
Almost 300 miles and 5 hours later - I finally arrive at the beach.  I joined dad, his fishing friends Archie, Woody, John and Melanie on the beach.  They caught 3 small sharks this Thursday morning and thru them all back.  You can see the green water past the third bar so hopes for better fishing later in the the weekend.

The past several weeks in June, the surf fishermen have landed several sharks.  They can only keep 1 per person per day; so they throw back the small ones and only keep the ones worth cleaning.  Either way, shark is good eats!

Dad's Friend, Woody - with his 68" Spinner Shark

Dad & Woody had better luck late May with this catch of (24"'21" 39"), Reds, 2 ( 27", & 26") Reds, 5 Trout ( 28", 26", 25",21" 19"),& 5 Hardheads

Dad and I retreated to the house for a nice visit and pulled pork sandwiches for a late lunch.  It is so nice to see him and see that he is doing so well. 

I left around 6:15 to go see Laura and her fairly new "old" house.  It is adorable. No traffic troubles getting thru Houston; but the police were out everywhere.   Laura and I have a nice 'snack' and wine for dinner and watched the Spurs lose over margarita!  I swear these games are rigged to go the full 7 games and predetermined which team will get to win "this year"...  Unfortunately; San Antonio was not the chosen one!

Once we got home - we massaged the dogs and visited until 1AM.  It too was nice to catch up with her. 

Friday morning - back on the road by 8:45 - getting into San Antonio at 12:00 noon to have lunch with Ben.  Now I just want to get home to see my dog and the farm! 

Fast Trip -31 hours later - I'm Home! --  Very glad I made the trip and may have to try to do this again soon.  Love you Dad! and Laura!!!

Ahhhh.. Monday!!!

Normally, I do not sigh and welcome Mondays -- but I survived yet another On-Call week.  It really wasn't too bad; just interrupts 'life' as you know it. 

Sunday was a very productive day.  We started yet another project!  Ben started building the soffit vents under the new carport... This will help with the attic ventilation during the long hot summers.  5 done - 11 more to go.

While he played Ben the Builder -- I was the bermuda warrior.  I worked the garden; ate strawberries, peaches and laughed each time I passed Charlene.  Ben agreed I could turn her around to face the farm as she's not near as noticable from the street as he thought.  Vacation coming up end of this week -- so I'll update her and make changes then.  Next, I cleaned off all the leaves and oak pollen from the gutters.  Odd as it sounds, it is so cleansing to see a clean roof/gutter line.  

 

Ben has been doing a science experiment on all the cast iron cookware we have accumulated over the years.  He has his car battery charger hooked up to iron rods and the cookware which causes an electrolysis reaction to pull the rust and build up off the cookware onto the rods.  -- It actually works! The cookware is looking like glass and I'm excited to start cooking on it once again.

I started my Monday early, opening windows, turning on attic fan to circulate the 74 degree temperature into the house, then headed out to turn the sprinklers on, getting laundry washed and hung on the line and peaches picked to take to Mom.   Plus back to work by 7:30 AM..  I'll take a break shortly to run into Boerne for errands and stop in to see Mom. 

All is good today - This Monday!!!

Summer Scarecrow -- Wants to be in the Caribbean

OK -- I did it again... with the peaches ripening and the summer garden bringing in the produce - - gotta save them from the varmints. 

Ben promised he would "TRY" not to burn this one up... I just hope she can make it to next year. 

I would have rather had coveralls, but built it -- aka "her" -- with what was available.   Decided this is the Summer look -- going Tropical...  Ben wanted her to face the street instead of the garden... -- Fine by me; just as long as she does her job!   Only if I had a surfboard - she looks like she wants to "Hang 10".... 

What to name her?  Since she's the reincarnation of "Chuck" from the ashes... maybe I'll call her "Charlene"... Humm.. I'll work on it to see what works.. But, in the meantime, I'll start searching for her winter attire.

I actually added shoes and haven't used these luau props for over 7 years.  Figured I'd put them to good use....  Pray for her!  Ben is not to burn her at the stake like Scarecrow1 and Scarecrow2 (aka Chuck)... Yes!!! he will not live this down! 

I made my first beer bottle chime.  I'm working to try to make enough noise around the peach tree to keep the fruit protected.. Anything that works.. I'm trying....

In the meantime -- we harvested a 5 gallon bucket of peaches today after eating 3 off the tree and sharing 1/2 dozen that have fallen to the ground with the goats... Ben actually picked asparagus today and we ate it fresh in the garden.. We really don't need to cook sometimes when we have all this freshness around! Delicious!

I happened to capture the "Kids" in the tree!!! They do this frequently, but I don't always have the camera ready to get the action.. One of these days, I'll learn how to do video on the 'fly' and share their comedy.  So much fun to watch. 

We have enjoyed nightly Lightening Bugs!  - Yes remember when we were kids, chasing them and putting them in jars?  Well, we have SO many this year they are like sparkling stars in the sky.  So when the clouds cover the stars, we still get to enjoy the twinkle.   So magical and beautiful!!! 

On a final note -- Ben was surfing Kendall County Appraisal District and pulled up our account.  We are finally Ag Exempt after 7 years!  Not that this is much to many people, but huge for retirement planning.   Yes, fortunately, we are look forward to retirement -- although it won't be to be sedentary... We have this wonderful farm, goats, chickens, and bees to love... plus Hoss and the "cats"... :-)

36 hours until this ON CALL cycle is over ;).. Worked last night 10:30 to 2:30 and still was up by 6AM?? Who does that?  'me'...  I love my weekend w/Ben at home.  We sometimes do nothing, but mostly always do alot.

Hugs to all...

New Queen Arrived!

Our new Queen arrived today.  As noted earlier, upon inspection of the hive this past weekend, we didn't see any new larvae or eggs and definitely no sign of a queen.   So instead of "waiting" to see if they will make their own Queen (takes up to 3 weeks); we ordered an express Queen which arrived today from Navasota.  Darn!! I need to get better at remembering to take pictures.  I had her in hand; able to see her clipped wings and bright red dot (marking).   Red is the color for queens put into service in 2013.

I have no helpers today, Ben is at work and the neighbors have plans.   So, I get all the supplies together and the smoker started; suit up with phone on me (just in case of a sting and an allergic reaction).  I check the super; it has few bees and no comb or work going on; so I move to the original hive box.  I inspect all the frames and the bottom of the box for any sign of larvae, a queen or signs of a new queen.  Nothing found, so I proceed to place the new queen into her new home. I pray over her and the hive with hopes we have learned enough to make this one work.

I did sneak a taste of the honey and it was so, so good!  I can't wait until we can start harvesting some to enjoy.

Tuesday Evening Surprise Helpers....

I was blessed with a few helpers this evening to pick eggs, peaches and test fit the beesuits.  My future helpers with our beehives.   Summer is here and I'm so lucky they are just around the corner, anxious to help. 

Hudson, Halen and Hunter

This week is a challenging week so when surpises come my way like this -- I'm thrilled.  I have to go "on-call" every 5th week at work.. That means; I work Evenings and Weekends from Monday to Monday and answer any alerts the systems may throw overnight.  Basically, I don't sleep or have a life for this week.  Ben cooks dinner and brings it to me at my desk.  I sleep a little later; but still get up to tend to the farm chores - just move much slower since I'm still half asleep.   This morning I was able to get the weekend laundry done and hung on the line, a few peaches picked for our dinner tonight, planted more green beans, watered the garden, fed the hummingbirds.. oh and made dog food.  That's beyond the normal chickens, goats, cats and dog tasks.

We have had Hoss on a raw food diet for the past several years; supplemented by a high protein dry food (all natural - very expensive).  After reading more about it and the ingredients; I started researching how to make my own dry dog food.    We actually were 3/4 there... Just needed to cook the raw food for him.  Lately he had quit eatting so well; so I thought I'd give it a try.  Geez; he's eating like a King and seems to love it.    No nibbling around -- Chow down!... The cats love it too.  At least I know what is going into it and how healthy it is for 'them'.


Looks like and smells like meat loaf -- but it's really Hoss food.



I was surpised with our first sunflower this year -- went to the garden to plant the beans and turn on the water - to be greeted with this beauty. 

AND!!! if you notice beyond the raised beds... NO BERMUDA!!!   Almost there...

So I hate to wish my life away - but only 6 more nights until I get my life back... Hurry up Monday, 6/17!!! I'm ready for you to be here.  

Happy Birthday Hailey!

Happy 14th Birthday to our niece Hailey!!!  You are such a wonderful young lady and I'm so lucky to have you in my life!!!

Ahh - Saturday & Sunday Mornings!!!

Veronica (aka Roni) knows how to start the weekend!!! She's my climber.  I'll find her on the roof, at the top of many trees, leaping from one tree to another.  I worry how's she going to get down?  But she always makes it.   This picture was after one of her adventures.  I noticed her eyeing the hammock from the tree; and caught her enjoying it!!!  Too cute.

Roni on the roof Sunday Morning.

Here's how the rest of the farm spends the morning. 

Patti - watching Roni on the roof.

Princess - Her favorite spot on the patio.

Calli - she must have worked all night - already napping.

Crosby - in the safety of the workshop - but enjoys and open window.

Hoss worked all night too - catching a nap on the patio.

One of the three Serenity's Girls - Baby chicks behind her in their pen

Junior - working the farm

One of the chicks - First Day Out



The Mom's and their Kids.

Sierra and her boy - the two sisters are just as cute

For us -- the day is filled with more chores (of course).  But the battle with Bermuda is still on!.  We are winning -- I hope.  Time will only tell.

Peaches are ripening and we are picking a few to enjoy -- still a little green.. but still delish!

This year we reluctantly thinned the fruit on the tree -- any fruit within 6" of another got picked and sacrifices.  Really! This was one of the hardest things to do - deciding which ones remained and which ones goes.   Surprisingly, it resulted in Large Fruit instead of the small ones we had last year.  A hard lesson learned, but we'll enjoy the fruits of our labor.  LOL...

Ben enjoys the hard peaches (still a bit green)... Picture perfect!  In the bacground is the asparagus fern.  I'm surprised out beautiful and light this bush is.  Excited to start cutting some and enjoying with dinner.

We inspected the beehive an are concerned we lost the queen with the transfer two weeks ago.  Seems like we have less bees but the ones that are still here are still busy making honey.  Hopefully they are raising their new queen if we lost our other one.  The book - Beekeeping for Dummies (which I definately consider the bible for new beekeepers) says is can take 24 days to raise the new queen.  So, we'll check it out next week and see if we see progress.  If not - I guess we will order a new queen.   So many things to learn; but worth it.  And too many "ah ha - we should of..." moments.  

View out the back door.  Neighbor's Longhorn bulls in the distance.   Everything is so green because we have been blesses with Rain... A small shower hits just after this set of photos were taken Sunday Morning.

Summer Routines

June 4th and feels like summer!   The overnight weather has been delightful (low 70's) but it still gets up to low 90's during the day.  Makes working on the farm very HOT! Although I enjoy the outdoors so much.  I don't get my inside of the house cleaned as good as it needs to be. 

Late last year before the roof was replaced, we insulated the attic, put in the insulation blanket and a solar attic fan and the whole house fan. So far, if I run the whole house fan overnight until the temperature hits 72 degrees; then shut down the house - the Air Conditioner doesn't come on (set at 78 degrees) until 5pm. Amazing!!! The insulating and fan investment look like they will be paying off.

This weekend and week (so far) the routine has started and we accomplished quite a bit.

• Lawn mowed.  Doesn't look like a manicured lawn - but it is green and a nice soft ground cover.
• Groomed Hoss - Almost all the winter coat is gone.
• Burning -- cacti not Bermuda this time! 
• Harvested the Garlic (a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full).
• Weeded the garden (still)!
• Picked our first Peach for 2013.
• Patio Winter North wind protection taken down and put away.
• Even had time to visit with the neighbors.
• Picked my first Red Tomato for 2013.

The Daily Chores include:

• Chicken care
• Goat care
• Hoss care
• Cat care
• Beehive inspection
• Weed and tend to garden (water as needed)
• Pick Eggs
• PLUS go to our Jobs, Eat, Sleep and Clean!...

Goat milking didn't go too well. Stella was dry (she was the first to give birth to the twin boys).  Belle gave us about 1-1/2 cups.  Missy was so jumpy - I only got about 1/2 cup from her. Didn't even try Serenity or Sierra - they had triplets so I didn't think they'd give me much anyway.  I was so frustrated, sweaty and exhausted at the effort, I was ready to give up.  But, in all honesty, in hindsight - I did everything wrong.  It was 2pm in the afternoon and all 5 mom's were in the vicinity (fighting for the food).  So, this year may be a loss; but I can start preparing for next with the new found knowledge of how this is supposed to work.

Last night we cooked a large pot of Spaghetti & Meat Sauce in hopes Ben's brother would stop by for a visit before he goes to work.  Didn't get to see him, but we sure enjoyed it anyways. 

Hopefully, I will get better at sharing and including more pictures.

Hope you have a great beginning of summer!   Hugs to all.