Fall is in full swing!  A Southern wind on Tuesday became a North wind on Wednesday, and morning lows dropped from upper 60's to mid 40's in two days' time.  Brr!  Possibilities of a low in the 30's this weekend is a little bit of a concern, as my tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes.  Just a little early to be quite that low.  Yikes!  We'll see what happens.  The garden has wound down in many respects.  Squash are almost completely done, and cucumbers are nearly so.  Tomatoes will keep going until the frost hits.  My melon are mostly done, and the corn crop was a total dissappointment this year.  Pumpkins, too.  I'm hoping my pole beans do well.  There are loads of blossoms, but I had a hard time finding any for the festival.

Speaking of the festival, last week was busy, but fun.  We entered 72 items in the fair...an average of 9 per person participating from our household.  Much of our produce did well, with 13 yo son earning first place ribbons on all of his entries.  5 yo son picked a watermelon, and got a grand champion ribbon on it.  I got lot champion ribbons on my yellow pear tomatoes and on my "Long of Naples" winter squash (28.2 lbs.).  13 yo entered the big (31.2 lbs) watermelon, which got a first.  10 yo dd earned several ribbons with her sculpey clay artwork, and with her decorated cake.  I entered some of my last year's poems, one of which received a second and a reserve lot champion.  The judge's remarks indicate that he/she wasn't all that taken with most of them, as the one ribbon-winning entry said, "At last...continuity"...oh, well.  The poems with Christian reference seemed to receive the worst marks and comments.  The ribbon winning one, "The Quiet Sounds of Evening".  Gotta laugh, though...many of my poems are a little disjoint because of the manner in which they come together, reflective of a busy Mom who must grab the moments as they present themselves.  New strategy next time I enter more than one item:  package and print them all differently so as not to cause the judge an attitude if they dislike one or more.  Grin!

Fall in our corner of the desert means birthdays, and we have two coming this month.  We will also be watching our flock of turkeys fatten up for Thanksgiving and beyond, Lord willing.  One of the hens had a limp, and perhaps hurt its leg.  We butchered it yesterday.  14 lbs. after cleaning it.  2 years ago, the hen we had for Thanksgiving dinner weighed in at 30 lbs. after it was butchered and cleaned.  It had nearly 2 more months to fatten up, though.  Turkey cooking tomorrow, and a little time to wait before the next one. 

Soccer is still busy, kicking back into gear after the Fall Festival break.  14 yo dd has 4 games to go before the high school JV season is finished.  The other kids have games through the first week of November, and then playoffs for the older 2.  Busy, chilly weeks ahead.  And, that's the news for now from the ranch!  Blessings!

Ginny at Proverbs 22:6 Academy conferred this award upon my humble little blog...grin!  Thanks, Ginny.  I don't know if I can comply with the requirements, as I've been a little neglectful of my homeschoolblogger buddies, and with the household computers dedicated to school right now, probably won't be able to pass it on to the 7 or so that I am supposed to share the award with.  Still, I suppose I can comply with the sharing of 10 honest things about myself...well, maybe.    Let's see...

1.  I hated gardening as a kid...love it as an adult.

2.  I'm very disorganized!  Hubby is very organized.  Just compare my purse to his wallet, and you'll see.

3.  I hate to cook from recipes.  If I can't wing it, it's very rare I'll fix it.  Unless I'm baking.

4.  I hate beets.  I grew some this year, but even the exotic looking ones still taste slimy.  Yuck.

5.  I love Dr. Seuss books because they rhyme!

6.  I can't wait 'til the Fall Festival!  It's two weeks away, and the kids and I usually have a blast entering arts, crafts, homegrown veggies, and baked goods!  I'm starting to think about which poems I want to enter this year.

7.  My best poems sometimes start with the oddest thoughts or in the most unusual places, like the shower.  The things that inspire me to write are works of the Lord, both those recorded in the Bible and those in my life, as well as nature and mountains, and of course, listening to Rich Mullins or my hubby on his guitar. 

8.  I'm a terrible housekeeper.  Too easily distracted.

9.  I hate driving!  Teaching my 16 yo is gonna be a challenge.

10.  I love fishing, but don't like eating the fish so much.  I kinda cringe when people order fish at a restaurant...not my favorite!  LOL!

I'll have to do the passing on of the award at a different juncture, as the day has dawned and kids need tending!

Blessings from the ranch! 

Early mornings are nice, sometimes the only quiet concentration where I can just think my own thoughts!  Grin.  You know...not thinking through who needs what done when.  Not thinking over the errands to do and the errands forgotten yesterday and so forth.  So, this morning was nice...watched a John Denver concert after hubby went to work, which, of course, inspired my poetic senses to complete some stuff in my files.  Don't know how well it turned out, but the file of partially completed ideas had grown, so I did a little work with it.  Still have a lot of incomplete work.  But it was fun. 

Sports are the activity of the week.  We met one of three soccer coaches this weekend.  DD is on a team which includes two sets of siblings composing 5 of the 9 team members.  Along with two other teammates and DD, we have a pretty good looking team, skillwise.  14 yo is getting in shape, and 13 yo ds got some extra batting instruction yesterday, and was hitting really well.  He has games this weekend.  14 yo has a carwash.  Mom and Dad have shuttle service.  Double grin!

The tomatoes are kicking into gear in the garden!  You know it's getting there when you can serve tacos for four days in a row, and not have to purchase tomatoes to supplement.  The cucumbers are slowly getting there...I picked 3 last night.  They're looking good...just wish more had taken.  My pole beans are climbing, and I got 3 beans off the bush bean plants...ummm....I think I still have a couple of gallon ziplocs in the freezer from last year...gotta get busy.  DS spotted 3 watermelons in the back corner.  I really hope they get as big as the seed company's info indicated.  Lots of stuff going to seed...radishes, lettuce, spinach...need to check on seed saving info! 

The turkeys are getting quite big...of the 8, I think at least 2 are Toms.  Might have to separate at least one of them out so we don't end up with fighting Toms.   I'll probably switch to the finisher feed for at least one, so that I don't end up slaughtering a bird that has no fat.  Last year we had 3 Toms, one died due to fighting, we thought.  We slaughtered another so there wouldn't be any further senseless loss.  That bird was pretty dry when it was all said and done, not much fat.  The feeds are altered the last several weeks to fatten them up a bit.  I'd like to actually have one, come Thanksgiving, that weighs in as nicely as the one we had two years ago. 

I picked up a pair of Belgian Quail at the feed store last week.  I've thought it might be nice to try raising them as a small meat bird.  Hubby teased me last night, said I got taken.  They look more like chickens than like the desert quail we're used to seeing.  Nevertheless, I'm gonna see how it all turns out.  We lost a pheasant yesterday.  One of the families on the soccer team was our source for the pheasants and pheasant eggs.  Relieved to know that their hatch rate wasn't super spectacular either.  The male pheasant has pretty feathers coming in. 

Well, enough rambling for the morning.  Little ones are stirring, and I have a few things to do before the day is full force.  Busy garden morning, busy sports afternoon.  Abundant life!

Blessings from the ranch!

But it's nice...to have things to do.  Hard to keep my mind focussed.  I think I've officially entered the "Mom's Taxi" stage of life.  A big thanks to my Mom for all the running she did from one activity to the next.  Makes the coming of teenage drivers in the house a mixed blessing to look forward to.  The one who is old enough isn't very confident or eager.  The next one is so confident that it's a good thing she can't get a permit for another year...yikes...it's only a year away?  Stop the clock!

We picked up a pick up in the last week...it's all registered and everything today.  It's less intimidating than a 12 passenger van, you know.  And what's a hick without a pick...pick up, that is!  And I can legitimately refer to myself as a Hick(s)...yes, there's Hicks in my family line!  I bet you all knew that, though.  Of course, if you are reading via facebook, where this lovely little blog imports, then a percentage of you get to lay claim to Hicks-dom, too!  Yes, she's done a little too much running around...unwinding with what witt remains!  Don't get me rhyming, now, or you will definitely regret it.  But if you're in that Hicks lineage, of course, you already know better.  LOL!

Just wanted to greet my blog friends, those few who haven't departed for facebook and other venues.  I'll have to swing by your blogs soon...when I can catch my breath again.  That may not be until November.  Unless the soccer teams do well.  We'll see!

Blessings from the ranch!

It's such a busy season, summer.  My garden is approximately 5,000 square feet.  That says a mouthful!  It is similarly planted as last year, with some additional items this year.  I have one little eggplant starting to make purple flowers.  I only have that in place due to the fact that my Mom fixed some roasted veggies during a Memorial Day get together, and I actually liked the eggplant.  I've always disliked it, otherwise, but am now giving it a second chance. 

I am not quite swimming in squash yet.  However, I am filling up a large mixing bowl with an assortment every couple of days.  With 2 varieties of green zucchini, and 5 varieties of yellow summer squash, we're having to get creative quickly!  My favorite uses are in stir fry, and roasted on the grill.  I have lots of spinach, and have enjoyed many spinachy salads thus far.  My lettuce was great, briefly, but has since turned bitter.  I'll see if it goes to seed, and make an effort to save some seed this year. 

I have two varieties of pumpkin in the ground, one being my favorite blue Jahrradale (which I never seem to spell correctly), the other being "Dill's Atlantic Giant".  The second has produced upwards of 1000 pound pumpkins, but there is a certain approach needed to achieve such results.  Not sure if I'll be that devoted, as the spreading out of the vines leaves quite a cover for you know what.    Likewise, I have 2 varieties of watermelon, one of which produces fruit up to 100 lbs and the other, up to 200 lbs.  We'll see.  I'm having a little trouble with my lemon cucumbers, and after 3 attempted plantings, only have 2 good plants.  My pickling cucumbers are in better shape,  but I'm not liking the bitter flavor in the skin.  Hope that goes away.  I have some salad cucumbers as well as Armenian.  Lots of radishes, but the ones planted June and later are very hot to taste.  Lots of tomato and pepper plants.  My Roma grape plants are loaded with green tomatoes, not too many ripening yet.  Another week or two, and look out.  I'll be out there for hours more. 


Plenty corn is planted, though not as much as last year.  Less is more sometimes, so says my gardening mentor (Mom...).  Tomatillos?  Of course.  Can't get rid of them.  And the most successful crop?  Weeds.  The goats don't mind, though. 

We have 8 turkeys going right now, should get at least one nice one for Thanksgiving, if we can make it without incident.  We tried setting a hatch of pheasants, but didn't do so well.  We have 3 that were given to us as chicks.  Our ducks and aracauna chickens tried to set some nests, but one lonely little chick didn't survive...the other eggs went bad.  Still have some snakes around, but they haven't been obnoxious yet.  Oh, and a set of puppies, with a momma that ain't so bright.  She just about had it the night she got under the house and tore up the airconditioning ducts. 

On the swimming scene, we've been battling the results of wind and sun:  algae and dirt in the pool.  We put in some extra vaccum time last week, and may finally have a handle on it.  On the sports scene, 14 yo dd is attending voluntary practice for the high school girls' team here, as her age group doesn't have enough participation in the AYSO league.  And DS finished out his baseball season well, though he didn't make the all-star team as he had hoped.  However, the coach that helped him throughout the year hooked him up with a club ball opportunity, unexpectedly, and so it seems that we will be dealing with e5 kids in two sports this summer and fall.  Yikes.  Double yikes. 

Not a lot of time for crafts or poetry, though I do jot a little ditty down here and there.  In the meantime, just sporting my farm girl tan and enjoying the life the Lord has given me.  He is good!  All the time!

Blessings from the ranch!

PS  If you're reading this on my blogsite, I'm hanging out at facebook more often than not.  If you're reading this on facebook, it's because my blog imports there.  I've neglected my poor blog this summer!  Sorry, blog buddies!

I think it's fair to say that baseball season is done.  12 yo ds was hoping to make all stars, and was nominated, but didn't get selected.  Which isn't a terribly bad thing, considering related costs and all the stinky politics connected to the process.  It would be nice if the adults let it be more about the kids, but unfortunately, we heard more of the politics in the last 2 weeks than in all the preceeding season.  Still, 12 yo had a great season.  We saw God work things out on his behalf so that he had the opportunity to play more at his position (catcher) than we expected.  Coach tended to switch his 2 main catchers back and forth much of the season, but when the other child was sick early in the season, ds got the chance to catch more.  Again, at the end of the season, just before playoffs, the other catcher injured himself, which allowed for ds to finish the season as the only catcher.  A couple of times during the season, umpires who also coach and manage in the league complimented his catching and blocking, and hopefully, he will have the opportunity to continue working at it through the year.

Meantime, the garden is in full swing, most of our veggies are planted, with some filling in needed of additional radishes and carrots and onions.  A few tomatoes are formed, along with a couple of tiny squash.  Another month, and we ought to be well on our way.  I picked a bowl of spinach leaves for salad last weekend, but they never made it into the salad...the kids kept snacking.  Grin!  It's not a bad thing for kids to like spinach.  My lettuce is all bitter.  I don't know if it's due to the heat at the time I planted, as we've had very mild weather the last few weeks.  I'm puzzled. 

Otherwise, not much news from the ranch.  I'm looking at some crochet projects for our fall festival, including playing with wire crochet.  Looking forward to those lazy summer days where we don't have sports every other day, or more.  Soccer signups are imminent, and summer will fly, as usual.  With at least 4 kiddos wanting to play soccer, the fall will be even busier this year.  Gonna breathe deep and relish these days!

Blessings!

We had a brief heatwave, 90+ temps, followed by a cooldown.  I started leveling and defining areas in the garden, and yesterday, May 1, planted my first plants of the season.  Unfortunately, I already see signs of Bermuda grass, and lots of little tomatillo sprouts.  No need to worry about that crop.  My first 54 plants were mostly peppers.  10 tomato plants, 44 varying peppers.  My mom was worried that I wouldn't have room for the plants she has started for me.  Given the picture (below), I think there's no worry.  That's the tomato/pepper area, not hardly full.



The other area in view will be cucumbers, to the right, green summer/winter squash.  Behind the area pictured, my yellow summer squash, and my blue pumpkins.  The remaining area to the right will be corn, and to the left and back, melons.  Directly to the left, beans and peas.  To the left of the cukes, the greenhouse.

Getting lots of sun, and trying to adjust to the heat, I'm glad of the cool breeze the last couple of days.  Everyone is looking forward to pool temps getting tolerable.  The 90 degree weather sort of did it, but not enough.  The pool is still in the 60's.  BRRRR!!! 

We celebrated my eldest dd's 16th b/day this week.  She's not ready to drive yet, but we did have a fun day.  We attempted to make a special Mexican cake, and it didn't come out quite as anticipated.  It was still quite yummy.  Next week, we have another birthday, and then, a little break.  Not so much break, though, when it comes to baseball.  Lots of practice, and ds is working hard.  He went 3 for 3 tonight, which is great, given his challenges at bat most games thus far! 

You know where I'll be for the next several weeks, given the above!  If I'm not in the garden, I intend to be in the pool...once it warms up enough! 

Blessings from the ranch!

The 500th...oughta be a poem...don't you think?  I'm sure it should.  I have enough in my file that there should be one I could finish.  Or maybe just a repost of some of my favorites?  Nah.  A new poem, definitely.  Got a great line or two the other night, driving home from baseball, watching the bunnies dash across the road.  Maybe that will be the one.  Maybe.  In the meantime, just a little ranchy stuff here today.

I have a hatch of araucanas underway. 



Started the 30th of March, due the 19th or so of April.  Of the 42 I began with, 18 made the cut when candled...4 or 5 of those are questionable.  You can usually see veins developing, the questionable ones were dark and blobby,  but I didn't see veins...I'll candle next week and decide. 

We did a little more concrete Monday afternoon, and hubby poured the insides of the block and set posts for the east side of the greenhouse.  We also screwed on a couple of sheets of polycarbonate sheets to see how they would work.  Should be good, though a little creative energy will go into putting the puzzle together, as we piece in recycled trampoline parts, and figure out what to do on ends, how to vent, etc.  But it's in progress, and that's the biggest thing. 

Baseball is going well enough.  God shows His providence in the details.  12 yo catches, but he's not the only one.  He hasn't been worked at the position in the last couple of practices, so I've been tossing balls at him to practice blocking.  Last game started very late, and the kids were not real with it.  The other catcher started the game, and Benny was put in at 2nd base in the 2nd inning, then pulled back out 3rd inning.  He was getting his gear on to go in at catcher for the second half of the game, when the ump pointed out he couldn't play because he'd been in, then taken out.  However, the catcher was the last batter, and the ball hit his elbow real hard.  Due to the injury, coach was able to put Benny in.  Even in the midst of someone else's error, he still got to play at his preferred position.  I hate the politics of organized kids' sports, but I am mindful of the fact that God is in control of the details, and if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).  Not that He will give us everything our heart desires, but that our desire will be His, and that He is able to show Himself strong on our behalf. 

March didn't exactly go out like a lamb, here.  Well, it wasn't windy on the last day, so if that's out like a lamb, then maybe I'm wrong.  Don't think so, though.    Today was windy, and on the weekend, we had horrible winds, very harsh.  Yesterday's break allowed us to complete a task that gets us a step closer to a green house.  DH had dug a footing the previous week, and last night the concrete was poured and a layer of block layed.  We're looking at a good sized green house taking up my former tomato and pepper area.  Recently, we measured a bit, and calculated an approximation of 5,000 square feet of garden space.  Approximately.  The Green house area is perhaps 20 X 20, give or take.  Hubby measured, and I'm sure he told me, but I didn't retain.  I'm good at math, but not at remembering random numbers. 


 Tuesday morning, of course, reminded me why we don't need to plant yet.  31 degrees when DH left for work.  I spoke with a worker at Home Depot this afternoon, who said she lost the couple of tomato plants she had planted because of the drop in temperature.  Even in Vegas, the date for last frost is mid-April.  And I'm reminded that my late planting last year, first week of June, did not keep me from having a fantastic garden! 


In other ranchy matters, I believe my 4 young ducklings are beginning to lay, as we have had some small duck eggs this week.  Actually, probably 3 are hens, one seems to be a male mallard.  He has a defective beak, but he survived, so far so good.  These are the younguns we hatched last fall after the geese killed our male mallard. 


I'm rather disappointed that I am not getting any dark chocolate colored eggs.  DS is certain that all the remaining youngsters are roos, which is very frustrating.  I was looking forward to the pretty eggs, really.  As for my cute little araucanas, we set a hatch of eggs Monday.  42 cute little blue eggs, due to hatch around the 19th.  Hoping that turns out well. 


Baseball season is in full swing, and ds is hoping to get to play catcher.  He finished the first game, playing 3 of 5 innings.  However, there are 3 catchers on the team, so he's going to have to work hard.  The catcher for the high school baseball team (and his father, who is a great coach) have been helping our lad, but he's gonna have to earn the right to play the position.  His sisters love helping him train, throwing balls for him to block, and having him do crunches when he misses.  They are far harsher taskmasters than I. 


Desert wildlife is interesting, and the bunny population seems to be up.  The salt cedar are leafing out, and blooms will not be far behind.  Haven't seen any coyotes lately, but with all the bunnies around, I suspect they'll be around as well.  The kids are antsy for the weather to get to swimming temperatures, and have been trying to get the dirt from all these windstorms out of the pool. 

That's life on the ranch these days, as the temperatures and air currents fluctuate, and likewise, temperaments of toddlers and teens.  Summer can wait, but I wouldn't mind the low 80's at all.  The dust, I do mind, but I'll deal with it for the sake of a beautiful mountain view.  Even now, I can type and look through my front window, watching the changing colors of sunset upon the range just East of us.  From the back, a different view, entirely.  God's creation is amazing.

Blessings!

I really need to have the kids start nature notebooks.  We've had some lovely experiences the last few days, and it would be nice to have them docu-draw...lol...can I invent that term?

The weekend was fun, as we went to Death Valley along with my parents and a couple of my siblings and their families.  The flower bloom is much later than last year, when we went the first weekend of March.  Whereas last year there were massive areas of yellow, this year we only found patches along the roadside.  The signs are there, though, and in a couple more weeks, there should be plenty of floral splendour for all!  We saw some patches of deep purple on the roadside, my favorite.  Also, a couple of five-spots hidden amidst it all. 



We spent much of the afternoon near the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center, where a big tree over the creek occupied most of the kids for the afternoon, while the big folks relaxed and chatted.  One of the siblings headed back to Vegas, while the rest of us travelled on to Beatty...not far from home, but we spent the night so we could see the cousins in the morning, and visit the Death Valley Nut and Candy Co. 

After making our morning purchases and saying farewell, we headed home.  We decided to return via Furnace Creek, as it was only 25 miles more than the straight shot on 95, but far more interesting scenery. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More nature study yesterday, we got together with a family midday at a nearby park.  On previous visits, we've noticed a huge nest in one of the trees.  This time we saw the mama bird, a very large hawk, as a passerby was kind enough to identify.  We could hear it's cries, the high pitched tones of the little ones, and it came and went a few times, apparently feeding its babies.  Very interesting.

The temperatures have kicked up to the low 80's this afternoon, and it's feeling warm.  The breeze is nice.  Garden work is in gear, though planting is yet a ways off.  A report on the news concerned me, stating that many seed companies are running out of some seeds.  I made my orders asap, and was unable to get a few things.  Nothing essential, thankfully, and one, I found locally.  Still, I'm glad I got that done. 

We're saving our auracana eggs, and I hope to get them incubating later in the week.  In the meantime, it will be more mornings outside as we adjust to the temperatures.

Blessings from the ranch!

One of the hens layed a humongous egg today! 



Our hunch was that it was a double yolker...




Yepper!

A visiting children's theatre group was kind enough to put on a workshop for local homeschoolers this afternoon.  About a half hour, it was fun, though some of my kiddos weren't very interested.  Others were pretty pleased with the activity.  Different tools a person uses for acting were discussed, each followed by a short demonstration game with volunteers from the audience.  Observation, memorization, concentration, and imagination were all modeled.  It was humorous to watch the younger of the attendees attempt to perform given tasks.  The funniest moment for me was 8 yo son, who volunteered in a game which had each person demonstrate one task, and think up another for the next person to do.  8 yo had the next person model "plungering a toilet".  LOL.  Boy humor all the way, baby! 

A nice break in the routine,  it was a great chance to get together with some others, and as a bonus, get back on track with library books.  Even better, it was happy hour at Sonic.  Ya' gotta love it when you can get everyone a little treat on the way home for less than 7$!!!!  Fun, fun, fun!

AAAACCCKKKK!!!!  I just lost my entire post. 

The weekend was well spent, as we ordered 10 yds of mulch, and moved the big pile wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, bucket by bucket, into the garden.  The kiddos were tremendously helpful, as they moved, I raked.  For those who've followed my garden stories, the raking was no small task. My back is reminding me!  We may do more mulch.  DH roto-tilled once it was all spread out, another huge job.  Once all the tilling is done for the season, we'll have some heavy duty leveling to do, as some areas were problematic last year.  In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting seeds ordered.  DH picked up a couple of large tomato plants last week at Costco.  I expect to have a better selection this year, as our planting will be a little more timely. 

The ducklings are about 4 months old, and we moved them into the main duck area last weekend.  They still hang out close to their former area, right at the fence.  Guess they miss the little chickens.  Most of the chickens we hatched last fall are now laying.  I think I have two hens hatched from the dark eggs I got last fall, and anyday now, they should be laying.  Hopefully.  I'm so overrun in eggs, right now, that I think I'm going to set aside the auracana eggs for a new hatch. 

At any rate, that's the news from the ranch.  Windy March, garden thoughts, busy kids to work the plot!  LOL!

Blessings!

It's a challenging start to the day when DD, caretaker of all waterfowl, comes back in asking for help because one of the geese is out.  I thought, "Oh, no, the dogs will get it."  Fortunately, they weren't a threat, it was outside of the entire property.  Relief.  It wasn't leaving, either, because it's partner was still inside the fence.  They kept walking together, one inside and one out.  DD tried to grab it, but if you know geese, you know they are a little intimidating up close and personal.  A hissing goose is a scary sight.  I got a bucket, at her request.  Good enough.  She got close, and put the bucket over it's head.  However, DS was dragging a bit, and not yet out to help.  She couldn't control the silly goose (pun intended), and it was soon running the fence again with it's partner.  DS came along with a requested blanket.  Bucket over the head of goose, almost containing the whole critter, and blanket underneath, they got enough of a hold that the poor honking and hissing creature was powerless.  They dropped it as gently as they could over the fence, and the dazed creature emerged from the bucket, somewhat relieved to be back in it's pen with partner and goats.  And that  is problem solving in progress!

Blessings from the ranch!

Oreo says hello!

Starbuck, and Dottie, too.





Nicely tilled soil...we still have to work on some areas...the bermuda grass was troublesome last year.


The temperatures in the day are nice, nights still chilly.  Planting is a ways off.  But lots to do in the meantime.  I need to get my seeds ordered, and we picked up an old trampoline for more parts...will be working those into fencing, supports, etc.  Hubby joked about cutting the goats back some more on their space to increase the size of the garden.  I informed him that I have quite enough garden to deal with for the coming season.  LOL! 

Anyhow, season's change is close...trees are beginning to bud a bit, and hubby noticed the leaves starting on some of the salt cedar.  Can't wait for the purple ones!  Of course, there are challenges, namely, hay fever.

Baseball season begins tomorrow, and though only one of the kids will be playing, that will be quite enough to keep us busy.  Hoping that the first practice goes well.

Blessings!

After a couple of rainy (off and on) weeks, it was nice to have a couple of sunny afternoons.  We got spoiled with such a mild January.  February in these parts is prone, some years, to a few drizzly days.  We got the garden mostly roto-tilled prior to the rains, still a couple of months away from being able to plant.  But, baseball tryouts are this weekend, so it's not far from nicer weather!  Only one son playing this season, so baseball won't be as harsh on our schedule, I hope.  Soccer season will probably be a much different story.  Yikes.

I think I'm having a technology meltdown.  Bouncing between too many devices, not very focussed on any!  LOL.  Really, I'm getting stuff organized on my laptop, and working on a project that has been sitting on the backburner.  An attempt at fiction for kids?  Crazy.  I have way too many ideas and not enough time to put it all together.  But I'm trying a little bit.

The animals are all well.  We lost a rooster a week or so ago.  Funny thing, our incubating eggs last summer.  Two hatched in July...both roosters.  The younger barred rock killed the older (prettier) roo.  The next two, hatched end of August...one barred rock roo.  The other appears to be a hen, breed unknown.   The last batch, hatched end of Sept...2 from our eggs and 4 from some extra dark eggs I got online...one barred rock (ours) roo...and one, might be a hen.  Of the 4 dark egg chicks, at least 2 are behaving like roosters.  I was hoping for a nice supply of pretty, dark eggs.  Oh, well.  Of course, our little flock of auracaunas (4 hens and 1 very cute roo) produce a nice supply of cute, small, blue eggs.  The 4 ducklings that survived our November hatch are doing well.  They live with the auracanas, but are good sized now, and will probably move to the duck pen soon.

The geese now live with the goats, as we suspected they killed one of the ducks.  They have weathered the winter quite well, and are funny when they peck at a goat who competes for their feed.  The geese are great alarmists, as they pipe up when someone is near.  Hubby gets home from work, they get noisy.  They let you know when someone is around. 

Guess that's it from the ranch these days.  That breath of spring is in the air, dancing with the cool of winter.  Soon enough, both will take a seat and let madame summer do her solo. 

Blessings!

Been enjoying the b/day gift my hubby got me, getting set up so it works around the house...moving data, reorganizing files, goofing off a little bit!  Can you guess what it is?  Anyhow, I can get my writing files lined out better, have some projects to tend to. 

Winter has been mild, to say the least.  We had some chilly days in December, that snow a little more than a week before Christmas, and all.  A few days there saw lows in the upper teens.  This week lows are back down in the 20's, but no serious frost on windows in the mornings.  We've had highs in the 60's for the last several weeks, with the exception of just a couple of days...it may even head toward 70 midweek.  The kids tease that they want to swim in the 50 something pool. 

We've started tilling the garden area.  Hubby worked hard over the weekend, and the kids enjoyed running barefoot in the soft, damp, poof dirt.  I have a good idea of the seeds I need, and the minor changes in location for some items.  Need to read some about seedlings...I'd like to start my tomatoe and peppers, but I don't want to waste time and money doing so, so a little research is in order. 

The baby chickens are  now 4 months old.  We should see a few more eggs by the end of the month, though every barred rock we hatched seems to show traits of roosters.  I'm hoping some of the dark egg batch produced hens.  Of course, we're currently slightly overrun with eggs.  Our ducks lay more faithfully than the chickens, and we have 4 ducklings from our last hatch, approximately 3 months old now.  At about 6 months, I expect them to lay.  We'll be doing more omelets and scrambled egg dinners, and egg sandwich lunches, I think.  When the feed stores get chicks in, perhaps end of this month, I'd like some Americanas...the Easter eggers.  Love the big blue eggs!  The little blue eggs from our auracanas are pretty cute, too. 

At any rate, it's definitely close to spring fever here, and I love being able to make this entry from the comfort of a living room with a lovely mountain view and lots of fresh air. 

Blessings from the ranch! 

We don't get it often, so it's exciting when it comes our way...and Vegas got more than we did by a long shot!  Monday was a prelude to Wednesday!  My Mom got lots!  We got a little wet spitty stuff that day.  Wed. afternoon, hubby called to see if we were getting any...he left for home around 2:30, didn't get here 'til after 7.  Turned around on the road to the pass...no chains.  The back way home wasn't much better.  He made it, though.  We only had little flakes through the afternoon and evening, nothing exciting.  No sooner did everyone bed down for the night than it started...snowed all night long.  We got a little over an inch, nothing much compared to the 8 inches in Henderson.  But enough to have a blast in!

Snow Cone syrup on SNOW!

Fred, the snowman...because it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  He met an untimely demise mid-morning!

As the fluffy stuff melted off, we had things to tend to, among them picking up candies for our annual gingerbread house building melee!  Two notes to self for next year.  Baking sheets of gingerbread and cutting pieces from baked stuff makes for uniform pieces, not the "rustic" look!  Next...remember this is best as a 3 day process...a day to bake, a day to build, and then a day to decorate!  We had a hurricane house, which fell apart due to too much weight...I put the houses together in the afternoon, and we decorated after dinner.  Next time, separate days! 

Today, we will make a trip down to the newspaper office...6 yo ds won 2nd place in their Christmas coloring contest!  He's excited, and considering how to spend his $15 gift card!

10 "rustic" houses, 8 antsy children, 1 ti-ered Mom...4 hours of sleep, 3 cups of coffee,   6 days to go, and a yard full of me-elted snow!

Lost a post yesterday about soccer, in a nutshell, dd's team took 3rd in a field of 12 teams!  'Nuff soccer for the year!

Blessings to all!

A couple of years ago, my now 8 yo son asked how long in terms of "how many tomorrows".  Now, he asks how many days.  It was a cute, but fleeting phrase.  These are moments and concepts to hold.  Likewise, our concept of various things matures with age, practice, example, and circumstance.  A world prone to material lust is contending with curtailing, and reaction ranges from thrift to fear to madness. 

We're in the midst of enclosing our patio area.  It started 2 summers back as an attempt to cover the swamp cooler with some shade to lengthen its days of service in the heat of the hot Nevada summer.  It became a covered patio later in the summer, and a nice place to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner a year ago.  This year, it has advanced, and is mostly closed in.  Hubby worked hard this weekend to get a portion of flooring done, and the Christmas tree now adorns the rough area.  The vision of what is would doubtless cause some to roll their eyes.  To me, it is exciting and comfortable.  Simplicity is, perhaps, easier to embrace when you have experienced it and found it not so terrible as the world might portray.  There is an exciting pioneer type feel to such an environment.  And the imagining of what it may become is a huge portion of the fun!  I really don't yearn for a fancy decor or frivolous things, I'd rather just enjoy the solitude of a bright starry desert night from the open space outside, and the slight chill of the unfinished room as the children dance about the pretty tree with ornaments non-uniformly placed! 

These are moments and concepts for the youngsters to hold.  If I hadn't grown up in the beauty and quiet of the desert, perhaps I wouldn't appreciate it now.  I hope they get something special out of the experience.  I hope our nation gets something important out of the storm it now is weathering, an appreciation for living a little more simply, an awareness that luxury may fill a tree, but rarely fills a heart.  A realization that Christmas is about humility and humbling and doing without, as He who came set aside His Heavenly glory and comfort to associate with more humble creation.  He did without so that for eternity, He would not need to do without.  He gave up His very life, and we have gained for all eternity the glory and riches of Heaven, the amazing beautiful existence we cannot even begin to imagine in full!

Praying that this would be a blessed season for all, and that simplicity and cutting back would be, not a curse, but an abundant blessing!

So exciting...13 yo's team won last night.  One goal the entire game!  It was a header, went over the goalie's head and into the net.  Such a physical game.  The sounds, the grunts, the thuds...intense!  We survive to play Saturday!  The other two teams play Thursday night, and if the team we beat last night loses, we go to the tournament.  If not, we have to win the first game Saturday to make it to the December tournament.  If we win Saturday, we play a second game that evening, regardless, in order to determine places in the league.  Fun!

On a side note, Kristy will appreciate this...Crush is aiding and abetting Doc Hudson, the small turtle, in the art of escape.  Doc climbed Crush's back, got his front feet on the tank, got himself out, and flipped himself over onto the floor!  Funny!  6 yo saw him before he fell!  Crush has otherwise been behaving himself!