It Has Started

The calves are here! We had our first calf on Thursday so I'm a little bit slow with this post. I have been busy chasing Hannah and watching the cows. Just like a watched pot never boils I think that a watched cow never calves. Sometimes I have to tell myself to put the binoculars down and get back to work. We have had two more calves since the one in this picture and as I type this there's one on its way.

I have put a calf count on the left side of the blog at the top in case you are wondering how things are going. I can't promise to keep it really current but I will do my best. We don't really have that many cows so the counts won't go too high. Our herd size is confined by the very limited supply of pasture for rent in our area. My goal is to exclusively have a registered herd in hopes of maximizing the amount of money that can be made off of such a small group of animals. We baby them so we might as well reap a few of the rewards for our efforts. Right now we have a mixed herd of commercial and registered cows.

For any of you that might have been worried about me checking the cows in the middle of the night there's no need. All that I really do it get in the pickup, drive out into the pen, and use the spot light to check the cow's status. If a calf needs to come in or a cow is having trouble I have been made to promise that I will get help. Trust me this pregnant lady is not walking around in the dark in a herd of cows. I can't move fast enough for that right now!

I've Been Tagged

Kari tagged me. I have been tagged before and I don't often participate but this seemed simple enough.

Post the 6th picture in the 6th folder.

I looked on our computer and it was a picture of a potato field after a freak storm...not terribly interesting. I then went to the external hard drive to see what was there. Here's the picture. Strangely enough I had already posted this picture of us working cows and calves this spring.


I'm supposed to tag 6 more people. I'm going to skip that part so if you want to participate post it on your blog and leave me a comment so I can go and see your picture. Thanks.

Finally and Thankfully

That lack of clarity I was talking about in the last post? Apparently clarity finally strikes this pregnant lady in the middle of the night when she has just returned in from checking the cows in her pajamas, her rear end is wet and cold from sitting in the snow that ended up on the seat and she's hungry because all she at for dinner was oatmeal, by choice. You might ask why Ben isn't out checking the cows so that I can sleep? Aside from the fact that pregnant ladies just don't sleep well at this stage and Hannah is teething and keeping me awake, the cows are one thing that I don't let go of easily. Filling the pellet stove or moving things that might be a little too heavy, those are no big deal. It's a good thing I'm not on bed rest! I tend to the be animal person in the group and I insist on feeding (with "adult supervision" as Ben says) and watching them for signs of calving. I'm not sure the degree in Animal Sciences really makes me that much more qualified, it's just important to me and most everyone has realized that. Whether I have a newborn (which I generally leave in the house) or am pregnant I'm going out to check on the cows! :)

One thing that sparked the beginning of this need to check the cows in the middle of the night was a pretty good snowfall in the last 12 hours. I don't know if you can tell in the last pictures of Hannah but it has been really dry here. So dry the water supply for our irrigation season is/was looking scary and each day Ben checked the snow pack report it was shrinking with our warm days. The roads were dusty and we were burning weeds around the place on Saturday. Those are definitely things that shouldn't be happening in February. The snowfall means that Ben doesn't have much work later this morning but we are very thankful for the precipitation nonetheless. The hay trucks he loads can be a little apprehensive to come in the snow.

As a result of the several inches of snow we got last night my midnight ride was beautiful. There is something peaceful about being the first one out to disturb the new blanket of snow. I think it was close to a full moon too. The black cows are striking on the background of new snow. And the one cow that I was sure was standing along the fence line licking a calf...there was no calf. When I bombardiered out there to see what was going on she looked up from her snack of tumble weeds and said "Of course I'm eating tumbleweeds. What did you think I was doing?" I was again thankful that I didn't have to drag a cold calf into the house for a warm up and a bottle. I do plan on going back to sleep at some point soon.

So maybe this late night post qualifies as rummy more than clear, coherent thoughts but that's what we've been up to on this little piece of dirt. When the sun comes up I will stick a few pictures in this post.

Short on Words Long on Pictures

That's how I'm feeling these days. Right now Hannah is taking a rare nap and I have a moment of free time. Either there is so much running around in my brain to think straight or it seems too tired to put together a coherent thought. So, like the last post I give you mostly pictures and a few words.

Hannah washing the wheels on Daddy's hay squeeze. The wheels on everything within reach of the hose got washed too.

Counting water bottles. These are a favorite toy. They are even more fun if the label is still on them and can be peeled off.

Monkey see, monkey do. I was bending down to take her picture so she bends down too. Now when the camera comes out she squats.

On Friday I had a heifer that needed to be weighed. Hannah quickly adopted the paddle that I use to "persuade" the cattle to move. She thinks it's a great toy since it rattles and she can push hay around with it.

It's been quite awhile since you have seen Emma. She is just a big puppy these days and is still learning about how to be a big girl.

Pictoral Update

Here's a couple of pictures to update you about what we've been up to.

More finger painting. In true artist style Hannah was really getting into her work! When she got bored with the paint I sprayed some shaving cream on her paper. That went well until she got it in her eyes.

"Two hats." That's what she said. Normally nakedness is a prerequisite to watching TV. Today the reverse was true and more clothes seemed to be better.

Finger Painting

Or maybe it would appropriately be called "body painting." We haven't succeeded at finger painting in quite awhile. I tried it a few times and Hannah just wanted to rip the paper up rather than paint. My excitement was renewed last time I was in town so I purchased some finger paint. I dug out some butcher paper and we were ready to go.

Now that I look back at the last time we finger painted I also called it "body painting." I guess that's how it will be for awhile. I was a bit more prepared this time with the necessary items to keep sort of clean while painting and then corral the mess when we were done. It was more fun this time because she could tell me that she wanted "more red" or "more yellow."

"Forehead Painting"

Not a Girly Girl...

...just yet anyway. Some wish she was a little more girly and others are not surprised in the least that she's not. Whatever the case may be there is a reason I put Hannah in Carhartt bibs and rubber boots to go outside. We are spending some time outside unwinding from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. It was a beautiful January day here today with a high of 50 degrees and sunshine. Not good for our irrigation water supply but good for my sanity today.

This morning we took a walk down the ditch bank and boy did I feel pregnant and old. Ben says we walked about .75 miles but it felt further with the stroller in the mud. In the afternoon we headed back outside to play and feed the cows.


About a minute before I took this picture Hannah had fallen front first into the mud puddle. Her new favorite thing to do is to throw good sized rocks in puddles and splash and kick her way through them. I figure it all washes and at some point she gets cold enough she wants to go inside.

Hannah was trying to help me feed the cows today but found the flakes of hay to be too heavy to pick up. She resorted to pulling the hay out handful by handful. Hopefully she will hold onto this desire long enough that I can put her to work helping some day.

Hannah loves her little car. When she opens the door she usually says, "Dirty car." Never mind that she is usually dirtier than it is.

Christmas Highlights

We hope you had an enjoyable Christmas. Ours was happy and filled with lots of family. Last week my cousin, her husband, and twin boys (5 months) stayed with us for a few days. Hannah loved her little cousins. I'm hoping she does well with a new little sister in a few months. I was afraid she would throw things at them or sit on them, but amazingly she didn't.

We had a few days alone and then my brother and sister-in-law and Ben's brother flew in from parts far warmer than here. We had brunch with Ben's Mom and brothers on Christmas Eve day. That night we had dinner with Ben's family and mine and then attended a Christmas Eve service. We came home and played games and put out the presents.

Christmas Morning

Here's Hannah opening her presents. She actually did fairly well at opening them. We had to start the paper for her and then she would tear it off. About the time she got it figured out she was bored and began carry her presents around and stack them up. She did however demand that each toy be opened after she unwrapped it so she could play with it. This caused the present unwrapping to go on for quite a long time. I'm sparing you from pictures of us after we had just woken up. Kids look so much cuter in their pajamas.

Hannah was lounging around in as few clothes as Mema Mary would let her wear while we got Christmas dinner ready. Here she is enjoying a movie. She (and as a result, we) watched Strawberry Shortcake far too many times on Christmas day. We tired to talk her into some Christmas classics to no avail.

We enjoyed Christmas dinner at our house with some of my local family.

I should have posted this awhile ago. Here's Hannah helping me wrap presents. She was kind of hard on the wrapping paper. I put a name tag on the first present for her Daddy and then she grabbed the pen and made her mark on the present. Some of the presents definitely looked like I had some help wrapping.

Daddy Requested & Hannah Approved

A few nights ago Ben suggested that I make his Grandma's candy cane cookies. I wasn't sure if I had ever had them and he couldn't tell me for sure what they had in them. I tried to call Grandma yesterday but didn't get a hold of her. I settled for some sugar cookie cutouts (that I have never gotten around to frosting) after looking on the internet for a recipe like his Grandma's. Really I knew it was a waste of time since they probably wouldn't be nearly as good.

Hannah and I got home from a little holiday outing when I remembered about the cookies again. I tried Grandma and got a hold of her. She was happy to give me the recipe and I thought I would share it. I didn't take copious notes as she was telling it to me but I will share with you what seemed to work for me.

Candy Cane Cookies (Makes 4 dozen)

1 c. shortening (I used 1/2 c. butter & 1/2 c. Crisco)

1 c. powdered sugar, sifted

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract (I used vanilla)

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. red food coloring (I used food coloring paste until I liked the color)

1/2 c. crushed candy canes

1/2 c. sugar

Mix together. I found that half of this mixture was more than enough.

Cream together the shortening, powdered sugar, egg, and almond extract. Combine the flour and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Divide the dough in half. Color one half with red food coloring. For each cookie take 1 teaspoon of each color. On a lightly floured surface, roll each color of dough out separately into a rope about 4 inches long. Twist the two ropes together and make a hook at the top in the shape of a candy cane. Make one complete cookie before moving on to the next. If you roll out all of the white dough and then all of the red they will be too dry to work with.

Bake for 9 minutes or until the edges have lightly started to brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with candy cane and sugar mixture. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet, or at least until they hold their shape and you can move them to a wire rack. Enjoy!

When Hannah asked for a cookie yesterday I gave her an unfrosted sugar cookie cutout. I later found them partially eaten and laying around the house. Today when she asked for a cookie she got one of Grandma's Candy Cane Cookies. She proceeded to eat the entire thing and then ask for more. They are definitely kid tested and husband approved!

All Trimmed

We finally got the tree decorated. It has been up since Saturday with lights on but we have been waiting patiently for Daddy to help decorate it. Hannah was happy with just a tree with lights and one ornament. For some reason she requested that a snowflake ornament be hung on the tree. Do you think she remembers from last year? I doubt it. I also risked putting the tree out where we can enjoy it a little bit more. So far Hannah has only removed her own ornaments to pack around, and really it's the mostly the mitten we made yesterday.

The tree is always so loaded with ornaments that I generally skip the garland. Or it more likely could be that I never can remember to buy any and have used a rope (lasso) in the past. We like to get a tree from the local forest and not buy one in town. They are not nearly as full as a Douglas or noble fir but we still like the experience of going out and getting it. We don't even have the option of the you-pick and cut Christmas tree farms. On the bright side, it's super fresh when you cut it one day and put it up the next!