Rural Babies

Today was one of those fleeting, perfect days that you just cannot soak up enough.  Minimal wind, temperature in the high 40's, bright sunshine... absolute perfection.  Thank you, Lord.  

Today was also a constant reminder of our rural life.  

The 'baby' recently moved from a crib into a big girl bed.  She does well most of the time, but last night woke up multiple times crying and needing her mother.  Alas, this required me to be awake multiple times, rocking her and providing encouraging pep talks to her.  After waking up at 4:30 I just decided to officially start my day which really isn't all bad.  It means I get to have quiet coffee - my very favorite kind.  

Whilst attempting to enjoy my peace and quiet I heard rustling outside several times.  I attributed this to raccoons and silently cussed them while I continued to read the news on my phone, sip my heavenly goodness and relish in the quiet.  

At daylight I walked outside to find that the boys' 4-H calves had gotten out of the pen last night and traveled the 100 yards up to our house where they decided to shit on our porch.  Obviously this wasn't' the end of the world, but something that made me cuss under my breath. Oh, who are we really kidding? I cussed out loud and asked the kids to get shovels to clean up their calves' manure.  I was immensely proud; however, when I asked the kids if they needed help.  "Nope.  Dad says if we make mistakes in life we need to take care of them ourselves."  Cannot love this enough.  

We ate lunch down at the shop today, during which Kathryn decided that the dogs were hungry and also in need of a meaty lunch.  She promptly trotted down the road several yards and found a dead rabbit laying on the side of the road that she carried back to them.  

Later that afternoon as I was cleaning in the shop I looked over to see Reese carrying handfuls of food to the dogs who were more than willing to lay on their dog beds as she handfed them eat tasty morsel.  

In between all these antics the children checked their traps, rode bikes, climbed all over equipment, worked with their animals and capped off their evening by hunting racoons with our neighbor.  Days like today make our hearts full and remind us just how lucky we are to raise our babies in this environment. 

Winter Doldrums

It's that time of year again.  The rush of the holidays (even though they were scaled back due to the C-bomb) is gone and we're mainly trudging through each day and looking forward to warmer weather and longer days happening soon.  We do our best to make the best of these short, mundane days.  One bright spot during this time I've realized is that I stare at our kids quite a bit.  A disturbing amount, if I'm honest.  I try to soak up every little bit of their hilarious antics, innocence and oddball questions.  For example, Kathryn felt a bit 'off' yesterday.  "Momma, my head feels a bit busy (dizzy).  Do you think I maybe have a gear out of whack or something?"  

Our baby is no longer a baby.  For real.  She decided to start potty training before two years of age and we're slowly but surely making progress.  And she's incredibly conversational.  Though her sentences are short with just two or three words, she can convey exactly how she feels, what she needs, what she wants and most importantly, what you are doing wrong in her eyes.  

This one has personality for DAYS.

Wesley and I made a flying trip to western Kansas just a few days ago.  We drove 3.5 hours EACH WAY to look at bulls, leaving at noon and getting home by 9pm while my sweet mother-in-law watched the kids.  It was wonderful to act like a real human again, although I felt like a total fish out of water.  I was able to get out of the pickup and SIMPLY WALK AWAY.  No car seats to unbuckle, no line of little people patiently waiting to have their jackets zipped up.  No one asked for snacks, a sippy cup, or how much longer we would be driving.  My husband laughed often at my bewildered nature.  I should not be taken into public much anymore at this point.  

We soak up the outdoors as much as possible on these nice days.  As I write this I can look out the kitchen window and I swear it looks like the Meridian Shriners live here.  The kids drive four wheelers up and down our road, back and forth, over and over.  

We had a few snow days this past week and school was not in session.  I made a very deliberate effort to not let the kids simply watch television and it actually felt amazing at the end of each day.  They played board games (however they wanted, rules be damned), colored pictures, played with a wood burner, read books and ate huge meals I cooked.  Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled when they were able to go back to school, but I thoroughly enjoyed having them home for a few days.  

John has a reading assignment each evening and is so good to read to Reese.

When the kids do watch television, they love to watch Mountain Men.  We highly recommend it.  For us, it showcases regular people doing fairly regular things.  For town folks I would imagine it is rather novel.  Due to this show the kids have found a passion for trapping raccoons.  Not that we need another chore around here, but it has been fun to drive by our traps each evening and see if the kids managed to catch another critter.  

Thank goodness, we've only caught one skunk in our traps thus far.
I got to shoot him and made a clean shot where he didn't make any stink, thank goodness!

Many of these days and weeks have been trying but when I take a step back and really analyze our situation, I realize we've gotten a pretty sweet deal in life.  

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Our children certainly have their own little personalities and many of their statements make this blatantly obvious.  

*****

Kenyon (eight years old) is very analytical and math minded.  Anything worth doing is worth doing correctly, even if it is during playtime.  More than once I've caught him diving across the living room to tackle his brother because his toy trailer was not loaded correctly.  

"I told you to load six head in the nose!  WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!"

"So you say I can only have two donuts for breakfast, eh, Mom?  That's still fourteen donuts a week.  I can live with that." 

*****

And then there's John, age six.  He's sneakier than most and he has a quiet vindictiveness that may take him places (but hopefully not jail).  And we've firmly established that his predilection for retaliation means he should, at this point in life, not be in a leadership position.  

He and Kenyon were hauling cattle throughout the house one evening and had been arguing a bit more than normal.  Kenyon drove cleeeeeeeeear into the kitchen and then hollered across the house.  "John - I just drove clear to North Carolina and you mean to tell me there's no load of cattle here???  Are you kidding me?  Why did you do that?"

John continued to drive his pickup and trailer throughout the living room and haul cattle much closer to the pens.  Without looking up, he never missed a beat when he calmly replied and smirked, "Because you made me so mad." 

*****

Kathryn, four years old, is super sweet (most of the time) and her strong faith will hopefully help lead the rest of her siblings down the straight and narrow as they grow up.  She has a mind like a steel trap and will recall minute details from the past three years of her life at the drop of a hat and then become exasperated when I can't recall the same moment in time.  She talks about heaven allllll the time and while some might think it is a bit morbid to be so obsessed with death I find it rather comforting that she's very confident in her eternal home and anxious to get there someday.  

"Hey, Momma, do you think Penny the cat will die this winter???  How cool would that be?  Then she can go to heaven and she and Grandma Curry can be a family again!"  

"Momma, I'm kinda excited to go to heaven.  Then I can have my piano lessons and sing songs with Grandma Curry again."

"Momma, is my heart prepared?"  I frantically searched my memory for any conversation in the past year she may have been privy to for the word 'prepared' and finally recalled the children's message at church a few weeks ago.  "Do you mean is your heart prepared for Jesus and the Christmas season?  Yes, kiddo, I think you're prepared."

*****

And then there's Reese, at one and three quarters years of age.  She's absorbed everything from her older siblings (for better or worse) and is sharp as a tack.  She says several words and is putting small phrases together like I found it!, Where he go?, and I don't know.  

My hands down favorite, however; is when she does something naughty and I ask her if she needs a swat.  Without fail her eyes will become wide, she will shake her head no vigorously and adamantly proclaim "Good girl, Momma.  Good girl!"

One to Remember

 Is this the worst snowstorm in history for our area?  

Probably not.  Although it is one of the worst thus far in my lifetime.

Is this one something we'll remind our kids of, tell the grandbabies about someday?  

Probably so.  At least I will. 

I'll tell them about the water line that broke up by town and all the rural water was shut off in our area for one day.  The automatic water troughs froze, some of the water lines in the house froze.  We prayed for the men that dug up the line and had to fix the leak when I'm sure they couldn't even feel their fingers. 

I'll tell them about the tractor that caught fire and almost burned (because there was no water) but a pitcher of my mother in law's tea saved the day.  I'll tell them how that day seemed to last an eternity.  I'll tell them how many weeeeeeks we stayed below freezing consistently.  I'll tell them how mom's SUV was parked out in the yard and the tractors and feed pickups all were parked in the shop instead because we are real with our priorities. 

I'll tell them how tired everyone's eyes looked, even when they smiled.

But...

I'll also tell them about some of the good things.  Baking cookies, making hearty meals, playing games, snuggling and watching movies at night.  Lots of together time.  I'll remind them how fortunate we are for technology that allowed us to watch church on our computer instead of going to town.  

I'll tell them how heartwarming it was to see people share their ideas and tips with one another online for keeping calves warm or thawing pipes or chopping ice.  

I'll remind them that this was the time they learned about kidney stones.  Mostly because they heard me mutter to myself over and over 'this too shall pass.  It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.' 

Many thanks to anyone, in any industry, who is required to be out in the elements during this time.  

And many thanks to those who have the common sense to stay home when their assistance is not required. 

Snow on an animal's back is actually a great thing and serves as a layer of insulation.

Animals do a great job of finding spots in brush or down in draws where wind and weather are not as severe.

Visibility was fairly compromised this morning. 
Sunshine will be oh so sweet when it finally comes one of these days. 

Corn silage that was preserved earlier this fall is a great feedstuff during winter days.

You don't have to ask twice for the calves to line up at the bunk today.

There's always that one a**hole that slips out of the pen and is on the wrong side.

Why Is This A Big Deal?

As I scanned social media this morning I saw countless posts from my friends in agriculture that reminded everyone how terrible the weather currently is, how taxing it was for those in agriculture and occasionally they added the popular hashtags #thankafarmer or #thankarancher.

But perhaps we should dive deeper and explain to those not involved in agriculture WHY this brutal cold weather is such a headache for us all.  

I have a sweet friend that lives in town and she feels comfortable asking me the most basic questions about agriculture, which is sometimes what we all need to get back to.  

WHY is this brutal cold so awful for those caring for livestock?  Everyone just drives around in feed pickups all day, right? 

This came from the friend that often mentions how she likes to look at the cows (meaning cattle) in the field at the edge of our town.  But it's a pasture... and they are bison. 

But I digress.  And her question was completely valid and started some great conversation.  

***

On days brutal cold days when the snow and wind blows people would most like to stay in the house and relax; however, these are often the days when ranchers are allowed to relax the very least.  Caring for animals comes before anything else, period.  (Or periodT.  Isn't that how the cool kids say it these days?) 

Normal, daily chores must still happen like providing feed, checking the head count to make sure everything is accounted for, finding the few stray head, evaluating herd health and administering the appropriate medicines in judicious amounts... the list goes on and on.  Even these normal tasks require 'extra'.  Extra feed, extra attention, extra bedding, extra everything.  Nothing wants to move easily, so opening a gate with a layer of ice securing everything in place takes quite a bit of extra 'oomph'. 

On top of that, ensuring water sources are readily available and not totally frozen is a constant effort.  Ranchers carry axes/rock bars,/sledge hammers/weapon of choice in order to bust through the ice multiple times a day.  Often times during light freezes cattle can paw at the ice and provide themselves with fresh water.  When the temperatures are not forecasted to rise above freezing for nearly two weeks that is no longer an option.  

Sometimes the water source is a tank or trough, and even these still require attention as they still have the ability to freeze in this weather.  They may still need ice chopped and removed multiple times a day.  The parts on these water tanks can crack or bust, as can nearly anything in this extreme cold.  This weather can result in extra mechanical issues as the feed pickups, tractors and feed wagons bounce across the hardened, sharpened, sometimes icy, ground.  

Some operations are also calving this time of year.  (And this is when I thank God that we have a few more weeks before we're due to start.)  This simply adds another layer of difficulty to an already long to-do list.  Although God made these outdoor animals hardy and tough enough to survive many circumstances we also feel there is no need for suffering.  And so folks are constantly checking their livestock for signs of active labor.  Pacing, raised tailhead, bagging up (filling of the udder) - the females have their telltale signs if you know what you're looking for.  Just in case we have an early calf I made sure we're prepared with our powdered colostrum, bottles and old bath towels.  Old bath towels are a treasured item in our house.  

Is this an exhaustive list?  Absolutely not.  Is this an exhausting list?  Absolutely yes.  And I understand that there probably isn't an occupation that does not suck during this extreme winter weather.  Linemen, oilfield workers, plumbers, the list goes on and on.  I just hope that when someone posts online to #thankafarmer or #thankarancher that they also take the time to explain why livestock producers are doing what they do.  

....and it is a bit more work than just driving around in feed pickups.  

An Almost Wordless Wednesday

The warmest it has been lately has been 19 degrees.  It's been snowing off and on during this time as well.  We're not forecasted to get above freezing for another 10+ days.  Yuuuuuuck. 

Suffice it to say this is most definitely not a heat wave.  I remember several years ago - BC (before children) when we had another chilly spell.  Although the calves haven't busted through the fence (yet) like they did so many years ago I'm not sure this 'heat wave' is any more enjoyable.  I'm not a fan of cold wind.  Or just wind in general.  I DEFINITELY don't live in the correct area then, obviously.  

The kids don't mind the cold quite as much because there is SNOW! and you can toughen up when there are fun things like SNOW! around.  

I stalked them with my camera as I walked to the barn to do chores yesterday and I'm so glad I did.  They spent so long outside and were absolute popsicles but grinning ear to ear when they finally came in. 

Or maybe their faces were just frozen that way.  Eh.  

 

Do you see the boys down in the pen at the bottom center of this picture?  They were checking the horse water trough to make sure it was open. I love the sense of responsibility they have for their animals. 

A Tale of Two Rings

For Christmas this year my husband and children gave me a coupon for a ring made by our friend at S/ Custom Cowboy Hardware.  The coupon also stated that I was to be CHILDLESS when I got to order and pickup the ring, which, let's be honest... was a good portion of my excitement level.

Ordering the ring and waiting the few weeks for it was a breeze.  I went to pick it up this week and the entire drive home I could not get my mind off how special this ring was as I compared it to the joy and elation I felt when I received my engagement ring and wedding band from my husband over a decade ago.  

The wedding ring was, and still is, perfect, shiny and unblemished.  Much like you expect your marriage to be in the beginning.  Sure, other folks get divorced, but they must not have been trying hard enough - right?!  Sure, other folks have trials and tribulations, but they must have forgotten to smile - right?!  Sure, other folks are short with their spouse, but they must have just woken up on the wrong side of the bed for once - right?!  A wedding ring is shiny and perfect and great for those blissfully ignorant enough to think those trials and tribulations only happen to others.  I absolutely love my wedding ring and all it symbolizes about what I thought it would bring in my future.  

...And then there is this ring.  I feel it better represents where we are in our marriage after several years, several miles, several kids, several cattle.  

It has character, no doubt.  There may be a slight imperfection if you study quite closely.  If you just glance at surface level you'll never see it, but it probably still exists.  It may rub a little on my adjoining finger.  Not enough to make me divorce it or take it off forever, but just enough to slightly irritate me at times.  In another day or two I won't even remember what it was that ever bothered me.  

This ring will be able to get dirty during the realness of everyday life and then shine up just fine in time for church Sunday mornings.  This ring will fit perfectly into my chore gloves and tag along just fine while I haul buckets of water to calves each morning.  This ring will be covered in dirt when I dive my hands into the cool spring soil to plant tomatoes my family will devour.  This ring will get covered in sticky dough each time I make cheesy biscuits for supper or sausage balls for breakfast. 

I love my two rings, but for two entirely different reasons and they two very different stories they tell.  

Luckiest Boy in the Whole World

We try fairly hard to keep our kiddos grounded, with varying degrees of success at times.  But lately I've been super impressed with kid #2, John.  

He had a special afternoon with his dad this week and was lucky enough to sit in the salebarn for hours on end with no toys, save for the pen and salebarn card that his dad gave him.  John came home that evening, proudly showed his wares to us all and proclaimed time and time again "I'm the luckiest boy in the world!". 

He found an old horseshoe at the barn yesterday.  He beamed from ear to ear as he carried it back to the house, all the while proclaiming "I'm the luckiest boy in the whole world!".

This morning I unpacked my lab supplies from two large cardboard boxes.  John's eyes sparkled when I agreed to let him have them.  He instantly turned to his sister, "Can you believe it, Kathryn?  I'm the luckiest boy in the world!".  They've now been playing together contently outside in 45 degree weather for the past hour and I have no idea how I'll ever tear them away from their box fort in the yard to make them eat lunch.  

We definitely have terrible, trying days in this family, but at this very moment I feel like the luckiest mom in the world.  

Wordless Wednesday

 Alternate title: WHY I CANNOT ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING IN A TIMELY MANNER

Little Hands

It seems as if there is always something amiss around here.  Currently we have a bucket calf that keeps bloating up.  He was sick approximately 10 days ago and my husband doctored him.  The medicines he administered also did a number on the microbes in this calf's rumen.  When the microbes aren't working on digesting food properly, bloat can occur.  

But that's neither here nor there.  Long story short, we have a calf that we have to 'air out' often.  And yes, I made that term up.  Getting a three year old to properly say 'debloat' is difficult, so we just say what we want.  It's how we roll around here.  

When we told the kids to run the calf into the chute they knew just what to do.  They set gates just right, helped make a wing, blocked holes where there was no fence so the calf couldn't run off.  I was proud of them for being such good little hands.  Make no mistake, it makes for a crazy, intense, chaotic, near sh!t show of a time, but each time they get the job done.  

I don't want to brag on them too much, as there are still tons of things they do (or DON'T do) every day that make me pull my hair out.  But I do love that these kiddos have a passion for their animals and mimic how they see the guys around here act.  

One night when the kids and I were done with the calf I looked up to see this sunset.  We were all muddy messes, I did not have supper ready, the baby needed fed and had been sitting rather patiently in her carseat for 30 minutes.... I could go on and on about the crazy things that were making me frazzled that evening, but this sunset helped calm all of that.  I think the world needs to just take a time out and look at a few more sunsets like this, right? 

 

Bunch of Nothin'

The standard opening to nearly any conversation in the Midwest either involves the weather or 'whatcha been up to?'  I like to quote a favorite saying from my then five year old son.

Whatcha been up to?

Bunch of nothin'.  

And there you have it.

We read tons and tons of books.  I love it that we can go an entire day without watching tv and no one dies without it.  Kathryn's newest obsession is bursting into the bathroom when I am otherwise occupied puking and reading a nice book to make me feel oh so much better.

Laundry.  Oh my goodness there has been so much laundry.  We've had snow and rain this winter, which is nice (kinda?) but then it is just a constant battle with the mud and water and dirty clothes and filthy kids.  

Can you see her wet pants and muddy jacket? She's been in heaven.

The snows have been fun for the kids.  Great Grandma C has a perfect hill in her backyard for sledding and we took full advantage of it.  All the kids napped hard that afternoon after partaking in the fun!  

We also like to climb trees down at the creek.  John is quite the daredevil and I'd imagine by next year he'll be jumping off limbs into the water.  His first broken bone from two years ago will undoubtedly not be his only with all the risks he likes to take. 

On nice days we spend as much time outside as possible.  One fine afternoon we cleaned up the garden and pulled out all of last year's tomato and pepper cages.  I'm not sure just how much time we'll have for gardening this year, but we'll still plant something for the kids to have pride and ownership in.  They loved picking produce last year and it makes my heart swell to see them have pride in their work.  

On many of these long winter days we've walked over to visit Great Grandma C and spent lots of time at the piano.  Although she swears that she 'can't even play anymore, dear' she still never hits a wrong note and I've actually never seen her open either the book or the hymnal on her piano bench.  

I'd say she's doing just fine. 

Our kids are not normal, which is another blog post in and of itself.  But here's a little taste for you.  I'm glad we don't have neighbors, and I'm glad the men in our life don't seem to mind these odd little people that wander around the yard and sheds.  They have these old baseball helmets and on certain days decide it is imperative that they wear them.  Who am I to tell them no?  Safety first, that's our motto.  (Cue massive eye roll.)  

And in between chasing the kids around we find time for a little bit of this and that.  A little bit of bible study with a great group of ladies, a little bit of social media activism (follow Greenwood County Cattlewomen on Facebook and Instagram, please), a little bit of cooking, a little bit of working calves or being the gopher for the hubs, a little bit of bookwork, a little bit of woodworking, a little bit of grant writing, a little bit of baby prep work, and a lot of dang snap tests for cattle.  I feel like the female version of 'Jack of all trades, master of none'.  Like most, I just feel pulled in a million different directions each day and if I manage to cross one or two things off the list each day I feel like I've won the lottery.  

So there you go.  What have we been up to lately?  A bunch of nothin'.

Good, Clean (?) Fun

The longer we participate in this 'parenting' gig, the more we realize that we are in the minority when it comes to raising children.  They don't have tablets, ipads, ipod, iwhatevers to keep them busy.  We do, however, have dirt, and sticks, and rocks, and mud!  And occasionally snow.  We've thoroughly enjoyed snow the few times we've seen it this year. 

Although we don't seem to accomplish much, we sure do seem to stay busy. 

Soooooo cold! 

Don't worry, the chute wasn't even turned on.

I suggested he wash his face.

He was thoroughly offended.

On nice days we like to sneak away to the barn and have little beauty brushing sessions.

It is becoming painfully obvious that 75% of my photos include the back of the kids' heads.  

They are busy! 

I built the swing set this spring and the kids have thoroughly enjoyed it the past nine months.

And yoga.  The kids are obsessed with yoga.

I wish I was better at braiding.  Apparently I need to take lessons from my younger sister, who did this work.  

I'd just be happy if I could get Kathryn to set still for 30 seconds for me to make a proper ponytail! 

The perfect chore for two year olds?  Picking up ear tags laying all around the chute.

I am thankful that my child loves school and has sweet friends. 

I don't get to spend as much time in the feed pickup these days, but I sure do enjoy it when I actually get to. 

He just enjoys being bounced to sleep when he rides in the feed pickup. 

If you don't know how to play pool before kindergarten then you really haven't lived, have you? 

This is us living large.  At bedtime the other night they read a book, said their prayers and then Dad showed them a photo on his phone of a combine that we'll never be able to afford.  Sigh....