Sunshine + Fencing + Kids = A Great Day!

Here's my handsome hubby working on the fence.  As you will see his helpers are more interested in finding out how sturdy the fence is rather than actually "helping".   :)

Ella, a girl after her daddy's heart.  We had to pry the screw gun out of her hands so Seth could actually use it.

And here's the trio: Jude, Ella, and Silas.  What buds!

Frances, is always most entertaining.  The kids cannot keep themselves from her when they are outside.  She is sooo curious and will play anytime...and anywhere!

Do you see her paw sticking out through the hole?

She is tireless and so are the kids.  Pretty much a perfect match!

Franco is truly such a patient dog.  He lets Jude ride him like a horse and Jude absolutely loves it.  Jude doesn't like it, however, when Franco turns and licks his face.  You can't have everything the way you want it.  

The whole time that Seth and I were working on the fence, Jude was begging us to help him into the apple tree.  He wanted to pretend he was a mountain lion.  :)  When we were done Seth helped Jude and the other stooges into the tree.  They thought it was pretty cool and their own little mountain lioness joined in the fun!

This is the face of pure joy.

And here they are, the inseparable trio, and as one can see they are VERY happy!

What a fun day!  Our little Franci cat always joins into the fun.   ; )

Everytime Seth and I are outside working around our house we are always overwhelmed by the goodness of our great God.  He has truly blessed us beyond what we deserve and I am not only talking about our home.  We have been saved and nothing could compare with this blessing alone!  However, the Lord also gave Seth and I to each other and on top of that we have two wonderful kids and another on the way.  (Silas is my nephew, but I love him like my own child)  When I think about these things alone, everything else pales in comparison.  I am incredibly thankful though for everything that I have been given.  The Lord has granted Seth's and my wish to move back to the country to raise our kids and live a simpler life.  In light of all that He's done for us, we are striving to live lives that will be pleasing to Him.  May we all strive to know the love of our God more and to live and worship Him more fully!

What do you think?

Believe it or not, but this is my dog Franco licking our cow Gus through the fence.  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.   I guess Franco is so desperate for a friend that he is trying to befriend Gus.  Apparently, Gus isn't too thrilled.    ; )

Harassment...Farm Animal Style

Two thoughts could be going through your mind right now. 

Thought #1: How could farm animals harass someone?
Thought #2: That's funny!

Currently, due to escaping sheep, I have all the animals in the pasture directly behind our house.   This fence is really about 20 ft. away from the back of our house, which has a huge sliding glass door.  Well, here lies the problem.  If I don't feed the animals before the kids and I eat breakfast, the animals will camp out right where you see them and baa/moo at us until I go and feed them.  So during our breakfast meal we are stared at and practically yelled at the whole time.  It is rather clever of the animals to learn how to look inside our windows, but it can be a real pain at times.  For instance, when it starts to get dark and they get an especially good view inside the house, Cry Baby (white faced sheep) and Gus (the holstein) will not stop "talking" to us...even if they've already been fed!  They are the whiners of the bunch and they are making me consider putting up a curtain.

Never thought that a sheep and a cow would make me consider to add to my living room decor.   ; )

Psalm 147:8-11

"He covers the heavens with clouds;

He prepares rain for the earth;

He makes grass grow on the hills.

He gives to the beasts their food,

and to the young ravens that cry.

His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor His pleasure in the legs of man,

but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,

in those who hope in His steadfast love."

Psalm 147:8-11

It All Started With A Cow's Nose...

(The bolt is keeping the gate permanently shut, but the wire is for good measure)

Well, to say that I had one heck of a day yesterday might be slightly understated.  And to also say that it all started with a cow nose, might seem a little crazy, but it is the truth.  I was doing my usual morning routine and opened up the first of my kitchen windows, and what!  Why are the sheep in the other pasture?  I knew they couldn't get over there through the fence, but Flora as you know is very talented, so I just thought she found a loop hole.  Then I open the second window and WHAT!!  There are my two cows eating grass in our front yard.  I almost stopped breathing at this point.  What was going on?  Needless to say I immediately got my jacket on and told my son to stay inside for a few minutes and I'd explain in a minute.  I hurriedly rushed out the door, slipped on my tennis shoes and got a bucket of grain.  I proceeded to try to bait the cows back into the field, but grain isn't their language...grass is.  My neighbor was already on her way to help, so she and I herded the boisterous steer and playful heifer back into the field.  Gus thought it was a game and was having fun bucking the whole time.  At least one of us was enjoying themselves right?  So I got the cows back in and was puzzled as to how the gate was opened and I still couldn't figure out the sheep situation.  I knew I had to get them back into the back pasture so I did what I do and baited, coaxed, and coerced the sheep to go where they really didn't want to be. 

Once that was finished, I hurried and checked on Jude and he was being such a good boy and was laying on his pillow pet on the floor waiting for me.  So sweet!  I told him to wait a few more minutes and I needed to wire the gates shut.  So the next step was to get wire and wire the latches shut, I had to bolt the main one.  When I was finally heading into the house the phone was ringing and it was my neighbor saying that the sheep were out earlier and her daughter put them in the field for me.  Sooo, that's how they got there!  The mystery was solved and I am very grateful for such good neighbors.  As soon as I hung up the phone, I heard my daughter waking up.  My very thought was, "Thank you Lord that You made this morning sooo much easier than it could have been!!!"

***Turns out, after some investigation, I suspect that one of the cows opened the gate with a flick of their nose and got out first. (since you know what the latch looks like, it wouldn't be very hard)  However, they were at the end of my house which my neighbor's daughter would not be able to see them (found cow pies back there).  She saw the sheep because they were in the front yard and so did her mighty nice deed.  The cows a little later, found their way to the front yard, which is where I found the curious creatures eating my wannabe lawn.  And can you believe that two cows and four sheep all walked past our dog and he never barked?  Unbelievable.

Think that was all the craziness that happened in my day?  Nope!  After running a few errands in town the kids and I got home and headed straight to their room for a nap.  I wasn't in the house for more than 30 second and I heard this loud CRASH!  My mind just started to race.  I have a pantry that is open and the whole top shelf is full of wine glasses.  I just knew that the shelf must have broken and there are now millions of tiny shards of glass all over my office floor.  Slowly and dreadfully I walked to the office (which is right next to the kitchen and was once a laundry room and also is home to our pantry) and peered in...nothing.  Nothing was broken and the floor was clean of any glass.  So now another mystery to solve.  I looked in the garage, looked out the back porch, I even looked to see if a branch had fallen and hit my car.  Nothing.  So as I walked through the kitchen I saw what it was.  My sink (which is an under mount) had fallen off and was laying underneath my counter full of dirty dishes and water.  Ugh!  I was relieved to figure out what happened, but wasn't looking forward to cleaning up the mess.

We re-glued the sink to the counter top. The wire is connected to the drain and the large piece of wood and then the little piece of wood is twisted to tighten the sink to the counter - once glued.  Make sense? 

To sum things up.  My hubby and I were up till 11 last night re-installing the sink.  I had to hand wash the dishes in my teeny bathroom sink and hand dry them so the kids wouldn't play with them this morning.  I am now writing this with no usable kitchen sink or dishwasher for that matter and I am hoping to get the plumbing fixed tonight.  It could have been worse.  I am actually glad that it was the sink and not the wine glasses.  There are few things I hate to clean up more than broken glass. 

Lord willing, today with be a much calmer and less eventful day.  We are spending a full day home and it will be nice.  The weather has been gloriously sunny and warm and I look forward to playing with my little ones in some sunshine.

Have you recently had a day like mine?  For your sake, I hope not.    :)

The 'Scape' Sheep and the Garden

So, as it seems, I have myself a 'scape' sheep and her name is Flora.  Yep, the one in the front right.  If there is a hole in the fence, she is the one to find it.  And on Sunday I had to put her back in...twice.  And I have had to probably put her back in the field about a dozen times now.  About half the time she was on the road we live on.  Thankfully, we don't live on a main road.  Anyway,  I have had to temporarily move the sheep into our little back field because there are too many iffy places where they were.  I am tired of getting her off the road to be honest.  It is pretty easy to get her back into the pasture, so for that I am very, very grateful.  Considering my sheep are more on the wild than the tame side.

My temporary method of fixing fence includes a stake, wire, fencing pliers, and a sledge hammer.  Flora has learned how to crawl under the fence.  So I hammer the stake into the ground, fasten the stake to the bottom of the fence with wire, and then proceed to finish hammering the stake into the ground.  It is actually very gratifying.  While Seth has been busy building the fence around the garden I have to say that most if not all of the fence fixing has been me.  Plus, I can get Flora into the pasture by myself.  Quite an accomplishment if I must say so.  (If you knew the nature of my sheep, you'd understand)

Here are my two lovies!  Ella is getting over a cold and was such a trooper.  We have Wyoming worthy wind today and it is rather chilly.  We were all layered.  Ella was unhappy at the end and Jude was already heading home when I said we were done.  They are the best sidekicks to have...even in less than desirable conditions.   ; )

And.......here is our almost completed garden area!!! I am sooo excited that it is almost fenced in!  Can you tell?  We plan to have an awesome garden in here this summer and it so nice to have a project among many almost complete.

We have a burn pile in the middle of the garden area and we are looking forward to a bonfire with the kids soon.  And of course, there will be smores included.  :)

  

Just for a perspective, look at the 10th picture down of my previous post and see the wonderful difference.  I hope you can appreciate how much better it is from these pictures.

  

I thought I'd include some of Seth's welding handiwork.  He's a beginner and I think it looks pretty nice.  Love my talented hubby!

At the end of the day, I am always thankful for the able body that the Lord has given me.  There is so much to do around here and like I always tell Jude, we need to take care of the things that God has given us.  Come summer I am going to have to slow down a bit, but that's ok.  I'm going to be holding another little blessing from the Lord.    :)

*If you don't know, I'm expecting #3 at the end of July.