End of August already!

I can hardly believe August is about over.  So many things have gone on this month.

For the farm, we got about 15% of our pasture put in.  We will need 200 acres to leave cows out all day, everyday.  I took over one field this past fall and finally got it planted into something nutritious for the cows.  They enjoyed going out even when the field was wheat stubble mixed with some barnyard grass.  I feel bad that they are already back in just the old small turn out, but it's part of making a major change to the farm.  Time and patients, then more time and patients.

One reason I have not had much time for my blog is my mother in law.  I have been dealing with helping her and moving her.  Poor thing has had slight dementia for quite some time, but you had to be around her often to see it.  As with most families, the members that aren't around were hard to convince.  That just slows the process of helping her and gives the disease a bigger head start.  Sadly, she was totally delusional, being killed by "the man in the floppy hat" (a man only she saw and spoke with) before real help arrived.  She called the hospital herself because she thought she was being killed.   It is sad, but the best thing she could do for herself.   Now those distant relation have no choice but face the reality we were living with, Janet has real mental problems.  I hope she will make enough recovery to have some sort of decent life in a care home.  Her husband has had her moved to one of the best in the area.  Another sad reality, he would do anything for her, but she thinks he is trying to destroy her because she no longer is able to be logical.

Nice ride Uncle Jack!

How would you like to get to take this fine ride out for an afternoon cruise?  I know I would.  I don't think I am brave enough to need that fancy bar on the back to keep the front end down, but I would have fun riding around in it.  Duane's uncle Jack has owned this car for many decades now.  Duane says it looks the same as the day he brought it home.  I don't recall the year, but it's old enough that collectors like it.

As you can see, it doesn't take much to draw a crowd on our farm.  We all stopped what we were doing to check out the old corvette.   I guess more than collectors like Jack's car.

You are welcome, Teagen!

What an awesome day!  Several years ago a friend's daughter asked if she could finish out high school at my house.  Poor thing, she was used to the city, but she took off working her little heart out on our farm.  Looking back I always feel bad for being so hard on her.

The first time I paid for her college classes I remember asking a fiend if she thought I was crazy, it was a couple thousand dollars out of our pockets.  She wisely advised me to go for it, "You will never look back when Teagen is successful and be sorry you helped."

Today I got flowers dropped off at the house for me.  The card reads "I got my first real paycheck!  I couldn't have done it without you.  I love you so much!"  Cathlene was right, I sure don't have any regrets for helping out such a hard working young lady.

Teagen, I am so honored to have you in my life, and what a great job you are doing with the opportunity you were given.

I love this life!

Today was my first morning back home from a sesquicentennial celebration in Gladwin.  I will post pictures and talk all about that when I have some  more time.   Right now I want to share my early morning event.

At 4 every morning it is my job to push the cows out of the pasture, back into the barnyard so they can eat before morning milking.  Everyday I go check on our dry cows, never anything to see but fat sleepy cows....until today.

As usual, when I checked on the dry cows- they are called that because they are dried up from the milking line so that the new calf they are about to have will get sufficient colostrum-they are all huge, pregnant, and lazy.  I was talking to them like I always do, explaining what a waste of time this ritual of mine seems to be.  I shined my high powered light over all the girls, they all just lay there and watch me to make sure I don't really want them to move.  Nothing, as usual so I turn to leave, but someone lets out a small groan.  I freeze, turn back and ask "who said that?".  And one old cow at the back looks right at me and groans again!  I walk over and circle behind her, sure enough, she has trouble!  There is the head and just one leg of a calf sticking out, with that other leg bunched up at the gate, she cant push it out.  I called home for help, hello, it's 4 am, they are all sleeping, so I try to pull the other leg out.  Usually you have to push the head back in to make enough room to maneuver the other leg around, but this old cow has had a few calves, and a few adrenalin driven tugs and out it popped.  She pushed and I pulled, before you know it, we have the newest addition to the herd.

She will get a number, not a name, but she will be loved just the same.  Maybe I will changed that on the farm next, maybe I will give them official names.   We have always had a few cows with names, just not all of them.  Any ideas for a girl born at four in the morning, with one arm behind her from an old cow number 44R?