The newest member of the family!

When we went to the fair, I was sort of thinking about getting another rabbit (Spot died last summer), but hadn't figured out the logistics.  There are some coyotes that live a little too close to us; we lock our cats in every night for safe keeping.  Bringing the rabbit into the shop every night isn't an option and we're afraid that a rabbit left out would be easy bait.

The club that we were in as kids started a petting zoo (probably sometime in the early 1990s).  The kids always like to go feed the goats, see the llamas and this petting zoo is housed in the rabbit and chicken barn. Well, this year there was a cage full of baby guinea pigs with a "for sale" sign on it.  Totally out of curiosity, I went up to the leader of the club that puts on the petting zoo and asked how much for one of the guinea pigs.  She steered me toward her daughter's 5 month old guinea pig, who was also for sale--cage, food, pig-loo, and all-- included!  She introduced us to her daughter who explained that she is in high school and just didn't have the time to give the pig as much attention as it deserved.  So, of course, Holly fell in love.  We have been telling Holly that --NO MATTER WHAT-- she could buy a hamster with her birthday money in January.  But this kind of was a deal too good to pass up.

So, I spent the rest of the day mulling it over in my head and consulting with Dave  (not really, it was more like, "Hey, we're getting a guinea pig.").  Early that evening, after the cattle show was done, I went back and wheeled and dealed with the nice lady and then after dinner and finishing up cattle chores, we went back and picked up "Elsa" and brought her home!

She is a super sweet guinea pig.  The first night we had her, she sat in our laps and actually purred!  Just like cats, it's a sign of contentment!  Another night we had her out in the living room and she was sitting in our laps chattering away at us, also a sign of contentment, I guess!  I read that when they need to go to the bathroom or are sick of the attention, they'll nibble on your shirt or your fingers or whatever is closest.

Sure enough!  Elsa was sitting on my lap and started nibbling on my shirt, then nipped at my finger, so we put her back in her cage and immediately... um... well, you know... did her "business".

I think that Elsa will be a nice addition to the family.  Holly's really good about going outside to shut in the cats every night, so making sure this inside pet has food and water every day is definitely something I can trust her to do.

I've been reading up on guinea pigs and came across this quote by the French poet Anatole France:

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

Crock Pot Liners!

I spent $1.99 very wisely a few weeks ago:  I bought a box of slow cooker liners (found in the paper goods aisle, by the Saran Wrap).  There were 4 in the box, so $0.50 a piece.

 I used my first one last night, or should I say yesterday morning?  First, I lined the Crock Pot and set in a frozen round steak.












In another bowl, I whisked together 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, a packet of brown gravy mix, and about 3/4 cup of water.

I poured the mixture over the round steak, put the lid on, and left for the day!

That night, I made a big green salad and boiled some wide egg noodles.   I took a couple of forks and kind of broke up the steak (it's so tender by this point that it just falls apart).  

Deee-Lish!!!




And here's the beauty of it:

(and a really great picture, too!)  The bag didn't break or leak at all, my Crock Pot is just really ugly, it gets used A LOT!

You may be wondering where Rex has been residing these days... Well, he hasn't spent the night in his kennel since the cold snap.  Dave puts him in the kennel in the morning and the kids let him out when they get off the bus, then we let him in the house when it gets dark.  He's even got his own job!  (Just kidding!)

Yes, I caved in...

Last fall I read the book Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog, by Garth Stein.  It was an entertaining book narrated by a race car driver's dog.  The story really made me think about what dogs really do know and understand.  Dave and I have owned two Spring Spaniels over the years.  Our Springers were great dogs, but by the time our second Springer died,  I had four messy kids and was losing my mind from dog hair, messy foot prints, and accidents in the house (Millie suffered a lot at the end and we spent a lot of time cleaning up after her.)   After Millie, we decided to try a new breed.  That's when we got Rex-- a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.   But, I banished him to a kennel behind our house.  It's a nice kennel, Dave puts a new bale of straw in it every fall (and in past winters he has put in a heat lamp, too); normally Rex is perfectly happy, after all he has never known any different.

Until last Sunday night.

With the temps so far below zero, we knew it would be unsafe for him to be left in the kennel.  So, Sunday afternoon when the temps started to plummet, we dug out an old blanket and gave Rex a talking-to.  We started by letting him out every 45 minutes and after he went to the bathroom, we'd call him back in.  He figured it out RIGHT AWAY!  Such a smart pup!











He must feel like he's hit the jack-pot.  Sunday night Dave and I made Steak Diane out of Sirloin with a nice big bone--for Rex!












He's gotten more attention than he probably ever dreamed possible because it has been fun having him around and we've been REALLY bored.

Today we were off of school again and decided to go into town for lunch.   We left him alone for about an hour and a half and he was a perfect angel!  We baby-gated him in the laundry room with his blanket (where he has been sleeping like a rock ALL night for the past 2 nights)!  I was afraid of what we'd find when we got home, but he just took a nap I guess!

















The bad news is tomorrow he's going to be kicked out to his kennel again because I don't trust him THAT much...        (By the way, this is a picture of Holly brushing Rex with a Barbie brush!)

They still love me...

When we come home from the fair in August, we literally back the trailer up to the pasture gate, open the back of the trailer, take the halters off the cows and their calves, and step out of the way!  The ladies and their babies are so happy to be done with us, they practically shout for joy and kick their hooves in the air!  (Actually, there IS usually some mooing and hoof-kicking!)

Then I go back to work and don't get to see my bovine friends much until the calves get weaned and brought home, and even then it's only when I drive by their pen that I pay much attention to them.

This past weekend I took some time to check up on two of my 2013 favorites.  They walked right up to me like I was their long lost friend.  (They must have forgotten all the cold showers, the yanking on their ropes, the pushing on their backsides...)

Chuckie (left) and Belle (right)
Cute photo-bomber in the middle!

Danny and Drew get in the pen with them every now and then, but right now the pen is over-full with the late summer calves that were recently weaned.  The boys and I will start working with them again when the weather straightens around and basketball season is over. (We also have another steer calf and heifer that will be 4-H fair bound, too.)  The little ones are so cute, but so dirty!  Chuckie and Belle have had this pen to themselves for awhile, I guess that's why they stayed so clean.  I love their furry hair this time of the year!

Chuckie was SO happy to see me, he wanted to give me kisses!

I had just finished making Scotcheroos, suppose he can taste it?

I think that they miss me.  I miss them too.  Summer vacation can't get here soon enough!!

My Boys are Blessed with Bovine Beauties!

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is a cow and her calf (I guess that's two things....).  These lovely ladies are all set for the fair (in 1 week and 3 days)!  The Herefords are Drew's, he bought #15 to replace his cow who gave birth to the twins last year. (Fergie developed a tumor on her uterus and wasn't able to be bred again, so she had to be sent to market.)

  

#15, aka "Mackie", calved on Easter Sunday, and her son "Chuckie" is a nice little guy!  He has really curly hair, which is something we're not used to.  He leads pretty well and the work we do this summer will make next summer all that much easier; Chuckie will be Drew's market steer next year.

 

The black cow is Danny's first calf out of his original cow.  "Bernie" has been to the fair twice already:  as a junior heifer calf two years ago and as a bred heifer/summer yearling last summer.  She's a pro! 

 

Her first calf, "Belle", is a cutie and sweetheart (I have a HUGE soft spot for a black white-faced calf; way back when, my 4-H cow looked a lot like Belle)!  She seems to have inherited her grandmother's kicking gene, but we just know to give her hind quarters a wide berth and I've noticed that her kicks aren't as powerful as they were a month ago.  I think she's getting over it--Ha! Yeah right!  That doesn't happen. 

 

Moral of the story:  Just watch where you're walking.

Rabbit Racing

Our rabbit has a new hobby: running.

  We discovered this new hobby of his kind of by accident.  One day after opening Spot's hutch door, the kids took off running over to the swing set and Spot happily ran right along. 

 Then they started making a "chase me" game out of it, and now they play 'rabbit races' with him every time they can! 









When they tucker out and plop down on the ground, he'll hop right over and snuggle up, or stretch out along side for a little break. 










Then, off they'll go again! 

He's such a darling pet.  Spot has definitely been one of the best investments I've ever made at the 4-H Fur and Feather Sale!  Now if only I could talk hubbykins into getting Spot a "friend"... wouldn't baby bunnies be so much fun!?!?!?!?

The Adventures of Spot

Saturday afternoon I ran into town to run a couple of errands.  As I was pulling into our driveway, I looked over to our neighbor's house and she was standing in her driveway with her son, watching her little Beagle playing with this big white ball.  It would hop toward her dog and the dog would back up, then the dog would lunge at the big white ball and the ball would take a few steps to the side... the dog and this mystery thing seemed to be playing chicken.  Then it dawned on me!  That big white ball is my beloved RABBIT!!! I literally screeched to a halt in the middle of the driveway, got out of the van and ran over to the neighbor's house still rubbing my eyes in disbelief (figuratively speaking).  Sure enough, Spot and Molly the miniture Beagle were having a fun little go of it.  As I said, "Spot!  What are you doing out of your hutch!?!?  You crazy little bunny boy, you could've been eaten alive!" he came hopping over to me and nearly jumped in my arms (literally speaking this time, he and I are very close.)  So, I scooped him up, apologized to the neighbor, and hauled his furry little hiney back to our yard. 

The girls thought it was the funniest thing they'd seen in a long time.  They wanted to keep him out in the yard and "play" with him for a while.  And so we did. 

Spot apparently loves to jump in the leaf pile. 

Spot really loves riding in the cozy coupe.  (By the way, that thing is like a bad penny.  It's way too small for our kids, but keeps showing up, no matter where I hide it in the trees behind our house.) 







But what Spot loves most is snuggowing wiff his mommy...

 Isn't this the cutest little bunny face you've ever seen?!?!?!