New Life Old Farmers

The Fall morning colors were gorgeous.  The colors from the inside of the house looking out….my little ‘Reasonably’ Smart phone captured it.I was up to grab a second cup of coffee.Love the pumpkins inside and out.The Rock Hound would be staying in, as the stunning fall colors were not the only thing that had been captured.

My Loving Spouse – 1

Skunks – 0Especially as we’ve managed to avoid ‘spray-dom’…we are indeed blessed.

Gunner ate another rock.  This one was not pooped.  This became a very expensive rock, as it required surgical removal and a weekend at the vet…darn rock hound.

We’re supposed to keep him quiet for 14 days.  Keep him quiet and teach him to not eat rocks…

this could be difficult.

We needed to attend a family weekend in Oregon, so while everyone else was enjoying their time at the Hilton, we had to move to the Holiday Inn, because the Holiday Inn takes dogs (for a fee).

Can you say,

“Road trip?”

Gunner was a great traveler, of course he did have the whole back seat to himself, but he never once asked, “Are we there yet?”

We took a very looooong detour home, because we both needed to see this….Ahhhhh…..

My Loving Spouse had also been dreaming of doing this….

….and this….

There is nothing like the shore to sooth one’s soul.

We only got home about 3 hours later than we really wanted to, but it was worth it.  We humans had eaten a very late lunch, so we were skipping dinner.  However, I needed an ice cream (sort of like an emergency).

‘Stop at that Mc Donald’s.  We need an ice cream and some chicken nuggets!’

Chicken nuggets?

‘They’re for the dog.’

He doesn’t need chicken nuggets.

‘I need him to have chicken nuggets.  He hasn’t even had his dinner yet, and I cannot eat an ice cream in front of him.’

We thought for about getting him a Happy Meal for about a nano-second, but quickly realized he’d probably eat the toy!

My Loving Spouse pulled through Mc Donald’s.

2 ice cream cones and a 4 piece chicken nuggets.

‘6 pieces’

6 pieces of chicken nuggets

We pulled up to the next window and Gunner said, “Woof!”

We eventually made it home….

safe and sound….

and we are blessed….

but….

there is a skunk under the house.

It was not an easy decision.

I want to be connected to you people I care about.

I want to randomly laugh out loud at the funny things you post.

I want to share pictures of kids picking up pumpkins and the photo bombing cat.

I do not want to be critical, judgmental or irritated at people or at Facebook.

I realized ,that for me, the joy Facebook gave was significantly out of proportion to peace it took from me.  I need peace and calm, what many call ‘serenity’.  I am missing it some, but I am not missing the feelings it brought out in me.

I desire to be truly connect to you people….

…would you like a pumpkin?

I have plenty.

Friday night, My Loving Spouse and I went to town to meet our friends for burgers, adult beverages and to learn to line dance!  Oh, how I love the dancing and stomping.  There were only a few dancers and we’d just begun to learn a new step called ‘the grapevine’.  A woman joined us who also loved to dance and stomp, (she may have actually ‘over stomped’ it would seem), as her false boobs (bra fillers) fell out on the dance floor.  BOTH OF THEM!

I could not believe my eyes, but I did keep moving my feet!  Stomp, stomp, kick.

She managed to scoop them up, mumbling something about how embarrassed her husband was going to be.  (Except we didn’t know him or her…so really no harm…)

The steps in the dances all have names and we’ve been irreverently calling out…

‘next move falsies on the floor’….

Giggling all weekend, and no, I could never make this stuff up!

If I had more say, (ruled the world), I would make a few changes.

Yeah, yeah world peace, no more suffering etc…I think that will be called ‘heaven’.

Here is my short list of ruler type stuff I’d change.

1. Cows would come when they are called.  Not like Tuesday, when I was on my way to work and had to send this text.Luckily, it was only Hal and I had already called for back up (my neighbor Buffalo Jim).  He was on his way, so I trapped Hal with my fancy ‘farm vehicle’.Before you knew it, I was at school.

2.  Pants would cover all the butt of the wearer.

3.  Politicians would be paid after each year in office on a sliding scale and by the vote of the people who elected them.

4.  Cats would not leave dead stuff on the door mat.

5.  School administrators would not be allowed to give themselves raises and give the front line (bus drivers, cafeteria workers, teacher aides and secretaries) nothing.

6.  Chocolate would be a vegetable.

7.  Older hairy men would not wear ‘tank tops’ in public.

8.  Cars would automatically drive the speed limit.

9.  Good wine would not be expensive.

10.  All who are lost would find their way home.

(Speaking of which, Dick the pig did not return, so we were able to buy the runt to keep Jane content.  We’ve named him Bill.  Bill and Jane seem a happy match.)

…and so…what would you change, if you ruled the world?

Alice hurt her foot/hoof.  Trying to check the hoof of a 1400+pound cow, that has intimacy issues and does not like to be touched is sort of tricky.Gunner had a sore tummy and didn’t eat his dinner.  A Labrador that does not eat is always serious business, so My Loving Spouse decided he needed to sleep in our room.I was going to go on a trail ride with my friend.  Except, Sun Dance (My Loving Spouse’s horse) kicked Beau (My sweet buddy), and they started to act like rodeo horses.  The wind started up and we both got nervous and postponed the ride.

The mice have been chewing on my saddle.  Damn Cats need to up their protection.

Last night we picked up two little red wiener piglets.  I named them Dick and Jane, as in

‘See Dick run.  Run, Dick run.’

Except that was a bad name, because that is what happened.  They got out and they ran.  I got to look for them and meet ‘people’.  I looked for those piglets for over 3 hours.  A ‘neighbor’ had captured one of them and instructed me as she drove down the road,

‘I caught a piglet in your pasture.’

“Oh, it is ours.  Did you see two?”

‘No, just one.  I have to be gone for the next few hours.  You can look around my yard.  There is a white dog, don’t worry about it.  We’re down the road…..etc.’

“Which house?”

‘The brown cedar house.’

It was one of two houses… I knocked on the door, no answer.  I petted the dog and looked for my pig….and looked and looked.  I decided it might be the ‘other’ house/yard.  As I was leaving, I got to meet one of our law enforcement officers, as the owners had called them, as I was ‘trespassing’.  We ‘chatted’.  The officer is now looking for a red wiener pig.

One piglet is home.

Alice’s hoof is better.

Gunner…he pooped a rock the size of a lime!

…and I am rolling my eyes!

On the first day of school, I was at the county court-house reporting for jury duty.

63 jurors were called and I knew 7 of them.

Two of my favorite friends were there, so we had lots of time to catch up.

Two ‘spouses’ of friends and 5 folks I go to church with.

As I checked in, I was informed,

‘There are signs that say no food or drink in the court room.  It’s okay, don’t pay any attention to them.’

Thank goodness,  because I had my coffee with me and I needed it.

An hour later, and we were all excused…until next week.

‘Please call in again…’

I like living in a small town.  It is the right size for me.

I saw these shirts at the County Fair and laughed out loud, as they were perfect for my two friends and I.

Everyone who knows the 3 of us, knows who will be bringing the bond money (no it is not I).  I am the shirt on the left.  The youngster among us is the ‘Bad Decisions’….

I am living in the right place, I have good friends….and I am blessed.

Truthfully, we didn’t like it from the first time we saw it.  This tree blocked both our view and light coming into the house.  Two trees planted many, many years ago, but as the famous gardening book’s title ‘Right Plant, Right Place’ this tree ceased to be right for either one.  The second tree was filled with dead wood and in dire need of a clean up.  As I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time on the couch this summer, that tree just about drove me crazy(er).  I must have mentioned daily how I couldn’t wait to get it cleaned up.

Enter Young Bucks tree removal….good bye tree.

They started with a tree in the dog yard, that will end up too close to the house when we remodel the kitchen and add a mud room.  The wind was blowing hard, so they could not put it down toward the field.  They managed to put the tree down right through the small open gate!  It was truly impressive.

One down…

All the excitement stopped as their 150 foot lift wouldn’t work.  We had to look at that darn tree for one more day.  They were back the next day with their bucket truck.  The truck can only go up 75 feet, so bringing the tree down between the fence, the power lines and the house was no easy task.I had a little bit of ‘bucket truck envy’ as I thought of all the jobs I could get done, if I had a tool like that!

They went as high as they could, then tied the tree in two places and sawed in between.  It was something to watch and listen too!  Only two fence rails were taken out in the process.Young Bucks worked all day.  If you need any tree work down, we highly recommend them.Sawing and cleaning and moving large rounds.They cleaned all the dead wood out of the remaining tree and trimmed it away from the house.

It remains for the birds, the bees and the kids.

Our new view from the family room.

The view of our home from the road…

Our home is lighter, brighter and prettier…and yes, we are blessed.

PS: We also have a high-powered log splitter and a bit of work to do.

We’ve heard the geese honking (taunting My Loving Spouse), meaning that fall is on the way.

Some snapshots of these last summer days….

Gunner and mud go hand in hand, especially if his favorite ball happens to be in it.

You’d be surprised at what one can buy at a garage sale in the country.  Big Red is practically new and grooms the croquet field well and has brakes that work, sort of a plus, as we all know.The ducklings My Loving Spouse bought have grown into a comical pair.  They are politically correct, black and white.  They are never one without the other.
As ducks do not use mirrors, we assume that they each believe that they look like the other.  However, Aflac waddles and the Charlie Chan the Chocolate Runner runs or as Z said,

“Hey, what’s wrong with your duck?  It has no butt!”It has taken awhile, but I’ve returned to my sewing machine…finishing a quilt for our room.I made a lot of errors when I was quilting it, as I was thinking of my brother.  It is hard to live so far away, when one you love is not well.  You’d have to be a quilter to find the mistakes, but I’ve decided to think of them as a connection to him.My Loving Spouse LOVES this new quilt…the colors…the style…the lightness of sleeping under it.  This pleases me so…I added some new pillow shams and since I didn’t have buttons or ties, I used diaper snaps to finish them off.In case you are wondering….the pumpkin patch is doing great!  I have 14 that are growing outside the garden, so who knows how many are growing inside.  I’m guessing at least another 40!Joy and sadness…

life in full session…

and I am still blessed.