fall – The Farmer's Blogger

It’s a Busy Home…

Posted on December 16, 2022December 15, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

My house smells so good right now! One of those rare moments when I wish the blog had smell-o-vision (although, etymologically speaking, shouldn’t it be tele-olfaction? …anyways). Usually you probably wouldn’t want to smell the blog, I’m guessing it smells a lot like horse manure, eau-de-farm-doggie, and diesel. Just a hunch.

But, for real, we made almond butter cookies and my house smells like a hallmark movie. It literally smells like a good day in here. It smells like christmas! (It smells like warm vanilla, almond, and unsurprisingly, butter, but let’s be poetic for just a moment).

I generally don’t super enjoy baking, and admittedly Christmas cookies aren’t an exception, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE eating Christmas cookies so I will do my part to get the reward. Love almond butter cookies. They are a bit involved so even though every year I say “I should make these more often”… I don’t.

It’s been a crazy week on the farm. We had a water pipe go south on us that required digging up a part of the yard and calling a plumber. Then calling a diagnostic imaging company because they couldn’t find the pipe. THEN calling back the plumbers when we found the pipe four inches from where they dug the first giant hole. I’ll attach a photo of the yard now, because you can only dig a hole so many times before it turns into mud. I’m not exactly sure why it happened, something about a nylon joint going bad, but I’m just so grateful it wasn’t the septic system. It also put it on my radar that I should really have the septic system serviced in the spring. Added to the planner.

Here’s the hole, for context, I’d disappear if I walked into that quick sand. My 5′ self would have no chance

Second thing that happened was two of my lovely cousins, who are skilled tradespeople (or skilled tradespeople in training) came over to put in an outlet for me. So my cloffice is official! I have power! Now to get shelves and such. I need to paint, because the wiring in this house, and the wall covering too, is a thing of its own. So we had to punch a few holes, and accidentally turned the power off on my dad mid shower, but it’s in and other than the color differences there’s no sign that plug in wasn’t always there. It was so cool seeing my cousins work, and my cousin who did the electrical is an apprentice, so she was really excited to do a solo job. I had to wash everything because I traded plaster for sheetrock in those holes, and both create just the most invasive dust. (Side note, there’s some potentially very dumb cleaning content headed your way, it made me laugh too hard to not share, so you’ll all have to cringe along with me next week).

My room is currently a pretty, but faded, green, and I like it a lot, so I might try to match it, BUT, I’ll add a couple pictures of the room as it is currently, and if yall have ideas I’m all ears. I’ve also, occasionally, had the urge to do some fun paint or wallpaper tricks, so I’m open to those, but wallpaper, even the peel and stick kind, is seemingly out of my price range for now. And honestly, paint feels a little less like a serious commitment, and I don’t know if I’m looking for a long term relationship with my decor choices. I don’t want to feel bad doing a refresh a couple years down the line, ya know?

Slightly older pic because it’s super stormy and dark this week and when I take new pics they keep looking grey

The snow of course made both of these things a little harder, since windows couldn’t be opened and the ground was frozen. So obviously paint will be waiting for warmer weather. But thinking about it now will prepare us for spring. And it’s just kinda fun to day dream. I’m also minorly entertaining the idea of painting the cloffice a soft pink. Of course with that thought came my brain replaying that scene from steel magnolias on loop:

“My colors are blush and bashful”

“Her colors are pink and pink”

Might be fun though.

Until we chat again, my friend

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

Posted on December 9, 2022December 8, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

I am once again calling on your expertise! It’s Christmas time officially and I need some no cost holiday fun ideas for little kids. We’ve been a house of busy working adults for so long that we sorta have our Christmas spirit in batches, and the kids are losing their minds about it.

I also need some very inexpensive but very fun Christmas gifts ideas for these kiddos. Santa is really broke this year because they’ve literally tripled my food and utilities costs and I wasn’t exactly pleased with the budget beforehand. Gotta love when a single tank of gas is your entire commute budget for the month. But I digress.

The boys have been loving napping under the tree

I plan on making some reindeer snacks for Christmas eve (and the reindeer will enjoy them sometime after the kiddos go to bed). My parents always made it look like the reindeer were super messy eaters, and I think this year that sloppy reindeer might just make a comeback. Carrots and apples for sure, and cookies for Santa.

I was planning on involving them in the cookie making process if they wanted. We always make almond butter cookies instead of sugar cookies, they have a little bit of a deeper flavor and are just a little less sweet. I’ve never heard any complaints so I think the kiddos will like them, and they make up very similarly to a sugar cookie and can be decorated just the same. We usually make a batch of chocolate almond butter cookies too, as well as a couple specialty cookies. Although I learned my lesson a couple years ago with red velvet cookies. It’ll be a while before I try those again. Messy and gross to boot. I think I messed something up, but frankly you have to use so much dye there’s not really a second chance.

I’ve added a new sweet treat to the mix since I’ve taken over the cookies portion of the holiday. We now also have no baking peanut butter chocolate bars, a recipe given to me by a friend of my grandma’s. They take about ten minutes to make and about an hour to chill (you melt and reset some chocolate) and then you have super cute little snack sized bars to eat. They are super rich but super addictive, so I always have to put them somewhere out of the way to help prevent calamity. I love little treats like that though, because for the most part, I almost always have the ingredients on hand and, other than the small scale crisis caused by attempting to measure peanut butter, they are really easy to make. Same principle as keeping premade cookie dough in the fridge, you literally never know when you might need a sweet treat.

Pretty sure we are going to have something akin to a white Christmas. I don’t know if it’ll snow or have a lot of accumulation specifically over those days but I definitely think that the conditions will be there and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Last year it was -2 degrees Christmas morning, we had around a foot of snow, and it started snowing more that afternoon. Made it difficult to feed the animals but it was really quite beautiful.

It was really funny though too, because, and I think I showed you guys in pictures, the little walkway that I throw food into the barn from was completely covered in snow. There was a large pile from the roof to be climbed every time we wanted to feed in the barn. I definitely fell off that pile several times and the horses definitely laughed at me several times, which…fair.

This year so far the snow has been… mushy? Not structures building snow so it doesn’t build into drifts or create those wind balls. Kinda just gets everything wet and muddy. I think the kiddos would like it a lot better if it was the fun fluffy stuff.

I’m somewhere in the realm of 80% done with my Christmas shopping. I’m one of those weirdos that starts planning in October and as soon as we get Halloween squared away I start slowly enacting my plans. Doesn’t always work, I definitely still have to do the December 23rd quick trip. But I’m getting more organized each year. I have to, my holiday season is packed, have you seen the size of my family? I have events every weekend of November and December and lots of weekday craziness too! This year there’s a color-coded spreadsheet. You know I’ve hit full first born, obsessive planner mode when I bust out the excel formulas. Putting on our serious Santa hats.

(It’s really quite pleasant to see all those pretty little cells though, you gotta admit).

Until we chat again my friends!

Calling All Recipe Sharers!

Posted on December 2, 2022November 28, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

The weather is really starting to get to me. Anyone have any good tips for cabin fever? Bemoaning old man winter is becoming a hobby in its own right and I don’t think I like the person I am when I’m stuck inside haha. Grumpy is an understatement. People are crossing the street when they see me. My RBF is strong this time of year.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty, but I think it’s a textural thing for me, I despise being wet for no good reason. Swimming? Fine. Bathing the animals? Fine. Watching the rain from a window or porch? lovely! But I despise being soaked because of the rain or snow. And I cannot deal with being cold. I’d flourish in the tropics…maybe.

The girls haven’t been loving it either. The blankets are heavy. While it’s better than shivering and being cold soaked, it’s still not ideal. They have a place to go and stay dry, but sometimes I think hell will freeze over before we get to that point. They would rather stand out in a blizzard than go into the warm barn, and I’m pretty sure if I forced it there would be a small scale mutiny. Nice, warm, cozy barn with multiple heat lamps? Nah, we have a random stretch of fence to guard tonight. Nellie sometimes decides she’s simply not having it and spends the evening, or overnight if she prefers, without a blanket because she is bigger than me and some battles are just too dangerous still. She’s got a pretty nice winter coat so I figure she’s old enough to know if she’s not interested. Doesn’t mean I don’t spend the whole night worrying about her.

Honey officially has all her initial shots and blood work and is properly spayed. She was such a good girl for the whole ordeal. She was pretty upset in the car and during the initial checkup understandably. I was really worried after being locked up for fasting, left at the vet, and then being on bedrest for a couple days (starting in the Joe sized travel kennel and then in the woodshop) that as soon as she got her freedom she’d take permanent leave of us. But she’s such a sweetie, she marched right up to Christopher and demanded some cuddles. She’s definitely his cat, or more accurately, he’s her person.

She might have a small meltdown when she realizes that she needs a booster shot very soon. But it’ll still be a lot less traumatic than the whole surgery thing. She’s a trooper.

In other news, I’m in need of cost friendly, large scale dinners if anyone wants to share. The kiddos that moved in with their dad are all growing like weeds and eating me out of house and home. I’m over here trying to not go broke and still make sure they are getting all they need, I’m trying to teach myself to coupon, and I’m upping my bulk buy game.

I’ve been making some pretty wild leftover “casseroles”, which just sounds better than “threw things in a pot and hoped it worked”. I hit on a pretty good one yesterday, leftover taco chicken, garlic rice, frozen spinach, and some cream of mushroom soup, plus a little seasoning. Topped it with some fried onions and let me tell you, it sounds weird but was quite warm and tasty. It was a big hit in our house, and wasn’t hard at all. I’m pretty brain dead after work, so easy is the name of the game.

Haha so ya know, not a big ask, just super cheap, super tasty, super easy meals to feed 9 people. Simple! Easy! No biggie!

(If this suddenly turns into a cheap eats blog, you know I’ve officially lost my mind. Also, if you have a favorite cheap eats blog, send me links! This girls gone full on frugal).

We do have some very cute elementary school art projects on the fridge now, the littlest one came flying in from school yesterday to tell us all about it, so it’s all worth it. I’m a sucker for a happy little kiddo. And these are some ridiculously cute kids.

All in all, I think it’s going to be an interesting holiday season. I had planned my holidays this year around the idea of relaxing calm, since last year’s holiday season was crazy busy and stressful. I definitely don’t think it’ll be calm anymore, I don’t think my house will be calm for a while, but I think it’ll be fun!

Until we chat again my friends

Talkin’ Turkey

Posted on November 25, 2022November 24, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving! I know it’s a day late, but I was in a food coma for a good portion of yesterday.
How was everyone’s Thanksgivings? Did you see family, or get to have a friendsgiving? Or if you don’t celebrate, how was your Thursday? Hope traffic wasn’t too bad.

Per usual, I had a crazy amount of people in my house for the holidays, although it was a little shorter than usual as there’s now lots of couples who need to split their time between houses. Honestly, as much as it was a little bittersweet to see them go, having my house cleaned up and put back together by midnight was a novel concept. Usually I look at it after everyone’s left and go, “eh? Tomorrow”.

Due to the fact that all my Thanksgiving Photos have family faces in them, please enjoy some artsy décor instead

We always potluck our Thanksgivings because there’s just too many people for one person to take on the brunt of the cooking. I got desserts this year so I made our usual Gork, a peach cobbler, and a whole host of pies (I did not scratch make the pies, I worked all week and didn’t have the time or the patience for that). Each family member picked a side or a few dishes to bring, and we always try to break it up so it’s easy, for example, since I am hosting I got desserts because there’s a lot of wiggle room in that job (whoever invented premade freezer pies deserves sainthood). Usually we make sure the new mamas don’t have to bring anything, or if they want to, we set them up to bring drinks and such. Easy peasy things that they can do without cooking. My uncle almost always does the turkey because he likes to fry it, and the rest is sorted out as it comes. A lot of times I’ll get a text beforehand asking me to preheat my oven, and someone will bring a hot dish that needs a little assembly, or stovetop fixings that can be made on site. It’s always so fun to be busy setting up and making food in the kitchen with my cousins, but also it’s super nice because ninety percent of it is done ahead of time so no one is majorly stressed out.

This year we had four youngsters and their dad with us, so they got to be a part of the festivities. I think their dad was a little confused about our non-traditional holiday, but he caught on quickly, and the younger kids thought it was great because they are the perfect ages to hang out with my little cousins. Honestly, it made me so happy to see them laughing and playing out in the yard (it was absolutely freezing, but sunny, and very little stops a little kid from playing in the sun). The older two slot in more with the teenagers, but obviously that’s a little more awkward, because everything is a little more awkward at that age. I was really hoping the oldest girl would find some fun in chatting with my cousins, and I think that might have happened, but everyone in that group is so painfully shy, the world may never know for sure.
The kiddos had the whole week off school for Thanksgiving, and at first I think they had planned to spend a good portion of it here with me while I was working. Thing is, I had a million things to do and I am not against chores for wee ones, so they had some light things to help me with (like sorting out the toys that needed repair, testing some of the lighting decorations, sweeping, nothing major, just little helps) and I think they realized it’s a lot more fun to go hang out with their Dad in town. Totally understandable, I would be the same way.

My cousin Abby deserves a full knighthood after showing up at my house Wednesday morning while I was working, with mop and vacuum in hand. By the time I got off work my big brick fireplace and floors were cleaner than I’ve ever seen them, she is a wonder worker. I want to find a little something to get her as a thank you, I was thinking maybe a little gift card to a nail salon, or maybe to the coffee shop. She saved me hours of work when I signed off and I was able to get the pre baking done and dinner on the table with none of the pre Thanksgiving stress. She’s amazing!

Well, anyways, I’m going to go have Pumpkin Pie for breakfast and discuss christmas lighting plans with Christopher, as is tradition, so, I’ll talk to you next time.

Until we chat again my friend!

Rampin’ Up

Posted on November 18, 2022November 9, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

We are officially in the “i really should move to phoenix” time of year. I am trying to remind myself of all the good things about winter time, but I AM COLD and being unnecessarily dramatic about it. I’m currently under two blankets, with Watson hiding between them, in front of my heater, hugging a mug of warm tea, and hunting and pecking at my keyboard in an attempt to uncover as little from the blanket as possible. Cold.

But I have very, very exciting news. My trailer is back! It was living temporarily with a gentleman across the river while he built a custom ramp so Nellie Belle could have an easier time getting in and out. He did a fantastic job, I’m so so so pleased!

Isn’t it nice? It’s a little dirty here because I was standing out in some very severe winds. It was freezing but I was excited!

Currently there is one small, teeny, itsy bitsy little problem to resolve before it’s absolutely perfect. It weighs more than me and as such, I can lower it down, but it’s unwieldy enough that I can’t quite get it back up on my own. I kinda think it’s as simple as adding a second grappling point so I’m not trying to lift it straight from the ground to eye level, instead I can maybe swap to a better hand position half way through. But Dad thinks for safety it might be better to have a little bit of an assist. I tend to agree since in my last determined attempt I dropped it on my leg and I have some pretty serious bruises. But it’s a fixable issue, I’m wondering about a pulley assist or maybe something spring-y? We just haven’t puzzled it through yet, but the trailer is still very much work in progress and as we are getting colder I’m not in a huge hurry. (If anyone has cool trailer ramp lift assist ideas, I wanna know, share please!)

But overall I can not overstate how truly happy I am with this ramp, it’s so nice. The guy put a really nice non-skid mat on it for Nellie and the angle is perfect and he reworked the door handles and latch system so everything lays flat when it’s all closed up and it’s so perfect! I cannot even express to you my excitement.

I have a couple more metal works projects I’ve been putting off on the farm so I fully intend to ask my “trailer guy” to help me out again (that’s the designation next to his name in my phone, does anyone else do that? I have “Name McName (New Farrier)” and “So and So (Grandma’s Friend with the Peaches)” for example). He was such a gentleman, first of all, which I really appreciated. While I consider myself a pretty independent human, I’ve taken to bringing my dad or brother with me when meeting with new people, especially guys, because so many don’t take a girl seriously (or worse, but we don’t need to have that conversation today). Around here it’s incredibly common for me to call a service professional only to hear “sure, but can I please speak to the man of the house?”. I hate that but I’ve also learned to roll with it a little more in order to get things done. My dad, for the record, is a total legend about that and when they ignore me to talk to him he just puts his hands up and says “talk to the boss, she’s in charge”, and refuses to answer the questions. I was a little more understanding when I was a fresh faced 20 year old trying to get stuff done, but uh, I’ve got some patina on me now, no one’s accused me of skipping class or truancy in a very long time.

We’re going to paint it for rust proofing, but I didn’t have the correct paint on hand yet. It’s on the list!

But anyways, got off topic, my trailer guy is such a polite human, and absolutely went out of his way to help me out. He even delivered the trailer for me when he was done because he felt bad it took a while, even though we had decided it was no rush whatsoever (because he was doing a big job for one of the GIANT ranches around here and that’s the kinda job you want callbacks and referrals from). I really wanna get him some cookies or a coffee card or something to show some extra gratitude (I’ve mentioned before on this blog how important it is to be friendly with your favorite tradespeople, they truly make this world go ’round and can do things this girl can only dream of) but I’m worried about stepping on boundaries since he’s new and not used to my loud personality. Maybe I’ll just wait until I call him for the next project and give him something then.

Anyways, I’m off to go stare at my pretty trailer again, shout if you need me.

Until we chat again my friends!

Okay Google, How Do I…

Posted on November 11, 2022October 18, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

It’s officially pumpkin bread season, as I have been reminded by my brother repeatedly. I haven’t made much this year yet because everyone was on and off sick for so long and frankly, it’s a lot of work if no one’s going to feel good enough to enjoy it. It’s literally the only recipe I sift flour for, I do not know if it helps, but it’s my grandma’s recipe and I don’t want to disrespect it so, we sift.

It’s also soup season, and while usually I have to beg, plead, and be sneaky about soups for dinner this time of year (I’m pretty much the only soup lover, my moms ambivalent, and the guys are generally more against it) this year the family has surprised me and have been asking for my soups more. This is doubly surprising since the weather is still absolutely lovely. Colder yes, but even in the afternoons it’s been totally livable outside. I’m not complaining though, soups and warm weather? I’m being absolutely spoiled over here.

We’ve been digging egg drop soup around here lately because the mixins can make it an entirely different meal for each person. My moms a purist, she just likes the soup itself, sometimes with a little white rice. I like the soup itself a lot, but also I really like rice and some shredded seasoned chicken, a couple sprinkles of soy sauce and sesame oil. Dad’s favorite is whatever leftovers are in the fridge, so last time he added corned beef and some spaghetti noodles. For those who are freaking out, don’t worry, we keep our sauce and noodles separate for spaghetti, because yours truly can have lots of tomato based products, thanks to a latex allergy, and I usually make my own creamy Alfredo, so when I say he adds noodles, I just mean noodles. Christopher usually eats some combo of the above… or a pizza. He’s still my most stubborn soup holdout. But that’s fine, I appreciate that he tries every new weird thing I make, I don’t mind if it ends up not being his most favorite thing.

Christopher has been asking for my loaded baked potato soup again though, and I haven’t made that in so long; I’m really hoping I wrote it down somewhere. I’m really bad at making something yummy and then totally forgetting how I made it. I’m slowly getting better at that. Since I got a newer phone with a pen it seems easier to just scribble notes because I don’t have to bring a notepad with me. Downside is my handwriting is even worse than usual on a screen so deciphering my notes afterward leaves a lot to be desired. But I’ve always liked the tactile feel of physically ink writing over typing or tapping on a keyboard so this is a nice compromise for me. Just don’t tell my boss his software engineer just said she’s not a big fan of typing on a keyboard, that might not go over well.

I’ve been seriously thinking again about writing a little book of things for the family, in the event I’m or someone else is not around for a period of time for some reason. I’ve often thought about making notes like “here’s how to make [a specific food that Mom’s super into right now]” and “here’s how to doctor a minor dog wound and when to go to the vet”, Dad could add things like “which breaker is the microwave on” and “what to check in the basement in a rainstorm”. Those kinda things, ya know? Because I’m always striving to be as reachable as possible, but let’s face it, rural connectivity just fights you for no reason sometimes. I’ve been sitting at my desk, literally waiting for a phone call, and still missed the call because my phone didn’t ring. I’ve heard similar complaints from the boys. I sometimes think that maybe having a house “manual”, that everyone contributes knowledge to, would be a solid plan. Could also be a place for emergency numbers and health notices, that kinda thing.

The idea is not particularly new. When I initially moved out I created “Amanda’s Big Book of Adulting” full of things like how to check my car’s fluids and laundry tips and tricks. It’s analog and grossly outdated now obviously, but during its heyday it was an absolute essential that just lived in my desk. When Mom first started having issues I realized just how much I hadn’t asked her and simply can’t now, and I started to debate making a “dear future children…” book that explains things like taxes and how to license your car. Thing is, as time has gone on, I’ve become less and less certain I intend to have kiddos, and taxes have changed a little too. So, I’ve scrapped that idea until I actually decide if kiddos are happening. I think that’s probably the best course of action.

Maybe a “How to Take Long Nose Photos?” Section?

Regardless though, there’s data that needs recording, and a manual is the best option I can think of to make that work. I’m thinking it’ll live digitally, always growing and changing, with a physical binder bound back up, and then every so often we will print the changes and update the physical as needed.

Sounds like quite the project though, wish me luck.

Until we chat again my friends!

Nesting

Posted on November 4, 2022October 18, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

Well, it looks like everyone’s got the bug! Well, two bugs technically.

That was a bad opening line, but look, sometimes we just need a little cheese in our lives.

Anyways, first bug: everyone sans yours truly has had some sort of cold. Poor Christopher suffered for a couple weeks with a pretty solid sinus infection. He was miserable, the poor kid, and had to take a little time off work. No shame in taking time off if you need it, but Christopher’s a lot like me, it’s only fun to take time off when you can enjoy it. Why waste sick leave on being sick, ya know?

Then Mom ended up with an ear infection and a sinus infection, plus pneumonia. It hit her really hard post stroke, because on top of just not being that strong normally, she just doesn’t have the wherewithal to take the basic steps to help herself, and being fiercely independent, she’s not a big fan of being babied. But she had a pretty nasty, very persistent fever which is never good for anyone, but especially not someone who’s been expressly told to not get too hot. One doctor’s appointment later and she’s one the mend.

Poor Dad has been a little under the weather now too, although he refuses to admit it. He’ll be okay though, I think his shakes out to a cold and caregivers fatigue. Hopefully some rest and peace and quiet will sort him out.

Me? I’m lysoling everything like my life depends on it, gloving up like I have surgery on the schedule, and making egg drop soup like I’m a bona-fide line cook. Side note, egg drop soup is great for colds, because it’s basically broth with lots of protein. Aaaaannnd it’s great because you can make a bunch of white rice, some garlicky chicken, chop some scallions and set out the sesame oil and soy sauce, tada, a full on meal for the un-sick of the house. Just add whatever mixins you’re feeling that night. To be honest, it’s rapidly becoming one of my favorite meals so it’s no hardship to make it a couple times a week.

The second bug I was speaking to is the room reorganizing bug. See, in late July, I decided my birthday gift to myself was to start changing my room from “a place where my stuff lives” to “a place where I am happy and comfy to work and sleep and craft, etc”. I wrote about it then, and I’ve been slowly ticking off to-do list items since. It’s a slow process because I really wanna make intentional choices towards making it work the way I want, but I can say for certain putting my desk behind closet doors was the best decision for work life balance ever. Still lots to adjust and do but I’m terribly pleased with how it’s shaping up.

And it seems it’s catching. Just about everyone in the house is thinking about how to readjust their personal spaces so they work better. In some cases, like with mine, the pieces I’m slowly gathering are relatively minor, so my “reno” is pretty inexpensive, mostly a case of rethinking how to better use what I have. In other cases, like my brother, he’s slowly realizing the furniture from his youth is all bite sized and it’s causing a bit more of an issue. The boy needs a full sized dresser, he has no room for socks. He needs room for socks, it’s as simple as that.

He also really needs some bookshelves, he’s quite the collector of vintage and current video gaming memorabilia and his collection is starting to outgrow his space. A beautiful way to display those things is just what the doctor ordered.

Dad’s been redoing his den too. It’s sorta a den by accident, he started out in the front room, then got evicted from there when we needed the dining table back, then he worked at my grandmother’s antique desk in the master bedroom, but we recently decided that was the more accessible option to make into mom’s little craft corner (plus it weighs more than my horses so there’s no way it moves… probably ever again haha). We decided it was probably wise to get all his paperwork out of the bedroom anyway, so he wasn’t staring at it while trying to sleep. So now he’s down in the basement, which he’s made super cozy with lamps and memories. The wifi…. It almost sorta reaches, enough to check email and such if you’re patient, so it works for him, at least until we can get a reliable extender. He is slowly organizing it; we gifted him a set of shelves and a cute corner desk, and a fancy phone charger organizer thingy, so he’s feeling quite official. He’s also super excited he can have his music up as loud as he likes and we won’t complain (he listens to great music, he’s just losing his hearing so… ya know).

And, of course, you know what’s next: mom’s slowly making her little craft corner. I don’t think she has a plan quite yet, but the teacher in her is happy to be collecting her pens and stationary, and her yarn craft supplies all together. When she sorta works out what she needs, I promised a trip to the office supply store. She’s quite excited.

I’m pretty sure most of this is a natural response to the colder weather. We’re all just nesting so we have a cozy space to hide out in the winter. Won’t stop us from slowly going crazy with cabin fever by February, but we can try haha.

Until we chat again my friends!

Poppin’ and Snappin’

Posted on October 21, 2022October 10, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

Little Ro-Ro had a chiropractic adjustment again. She always loves a little pampering in that way and this time she really needed it. Seems like she’s got a set of stubborn ribs that like to occasionally pop out of place and while she’s a total trooper, speaking from experience, after a while that nonsense gets old. So when she starts telling me her ribs are sore, or acting out during schooling, I call McKadee. We love McKadee and her lovely dad, who was my farrier for a long time and will be again, when I can get my trailer together (he stopped traveling, which he’s totally allowed to do, but I had to find someone else in the median. Our new guy is nice too, no shade here, and with time I think he’ll get better at working out what my girls need, but Jimmy was just absolutely amazing and I miss him).

Ro gets a spa day any time McKadee comes out, and I usually get an education because I am incredibly nosey and generally will make a nuisance of myself if allowed, especially when it comes to learning how to better care for my horses. Little 16 year old Amanda gave her trainer and her mom each a heart attack when the vet asked if I wanted to “help” with a tooth grinding and was then allowed to fully put my hand in the horse’s mouth and learn about tooth spurs and the medical tools to take care of them. I also have a baby horse tooth as a result of a similar situation. Never ask me if I wanna shadow you unless you mean it, I’m down to try almost anything once. Except for diving out of an airplane, I feel like I’ve learned enough about gravity from the horses, thank you. But learning a new skill? I’m all here for it. As an aside, if anyone wants a marginally annoying, overly excitable, relatively clumsy shadow while welding, lemme know. I really want to learn to weld. But I digress.

McKadee has studied equine massage and chiropractics and she is crazy knowledgeable about the biomechanics of a horse, which I love because I used to be in judges training, which means I have some knowledge of what “preferred” or “correct” movement should look like, but not nearly as much as I would like about what creates that motion. She can usually tell by what I describe just what’s up with Ro, and if I’m not making a lot of sense, she can tell by feel.

This time poor Ro was all sorts of crooked and out of joints. She had super sore spots in her withers and back, and those had started to cause sore legs and neck from moving incorrectly. I’m really excited to see the changes it makes. You could definitely tell that Ro wasn’t pleased with the amount of scary popping and snapping, but by the end of it she was moving more freely, and she even went trotting her way out into the pasture, which she hasn’t done in a while.

She wasn’t really showing signs of discomfort until just a few days ago when I called McKadee. Or perhaps I should clarify, I’m really used to drama queens (mare and gelding) so when Ro very subtly says “hey Mama, I’m a little sore” I don’t always catch on right away. I’m working on it. I write down her and Nellie’s behaviors during our interactions each day, so that I can spot patterns quickly each time there’s a sore spot. Luckily sore muscles and out of whack horses aren’t super common here on the farm because we take life at a leisurely pace. But my little girl is also a trooper who would rather have fun than be on pasture rest, so I think sometimes she toughs it through when she certainly doesn’t need to.

The day after a chiropractic adjustment Ro is usually a little crazy pants and this time was no different. She ran and ran and worked herself up into quite the lather yelling and bucking and racing. I finally made her slow down because It was hot out and I was getting a little worried. Then I made the decision to hop on in usual form, with no tack. Less of a statement on my riding skills and more one about my lack of self preservation skills. We both survived and then she got hosed down and I got a half shower by proxy. Nellie looked on with curiosity until she got a little close to the hose and decided being wet without consent was a crime. She flounced off pretty quickly, but I made it up to her with some scratches and a good brushing. She’s very opinionated about such things though.

Gotta go hug some horses now.

Until we chat again my friends!

Withdrawals

Posted on October 14, 2022September 27, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

Welp, I’ve had to slowly move our morning rides to the midday. It’s not a bad thing per say, I just absolutely love our morning rides, it’s the most wonderful thing to enjoy your time with your horses as the sun is coming up and all is pink and lovely. It’s a special summertime treat.

But now we get to have autumnal work. Wind whipping around makes warm horsey hugs more special, we bust out the coolout blankets for after work, and everyone starts wearing an extra layer or two. There’s warm beverages to be had, and slightly later starts on the weekends, all good things. The only rough part is knowing we are on borrowed time and after the first snow It’s really up in the air how long we have to work until we have to call it for a couple months. Unfortunately I just don’t have the infrastructure to keep my girls in activity over the winter, no way to cool them slowly enough to not shock them after work, less than great footing when wet (when things aren’t Just straight under water), and no wind breaks, which around here is a big deal. Winds are quite the thing in our little corner of the valley.

I’m really hoping that the weather is milder this year, last winter everything was very wet and the daytime temperatures were well below freezing for a good portion of the winter. I lost a bunch of the plumbing for the barn and had to literally chip gates open. I really want a milder winter, preferably one where we can keep riding and using the arena space for longer into the season before it starts to turn into a lake.

Mom’s got the house all decorated for fall. She absolutely loves decorating for each season and holiday, although we go a little lighter on the Halloween stuff since that’s not really a holiday we celebrate. We maybe watch Ghost Hunters reruns and I might make a spooky dinner, but nothing major. We keep it low key for Halloween, and we never get trick or treaters (for good reason, please don’t drive your kids out to the country to trick or treat unless you 100% know the farmer and know they have candy. It’s a dangerous game otherwise. I know yall are too smart for that nonsense, but it’s worth saying, it is the internet after all). But we get pretty into the fall themed and harvest fest stuff. I think it helps stem off the inevitable blues that the end of summer bring. Not that the other seasons aren’t great, but it’s hard to start slowing down when you just wanna be outside for forever. So we make sure it’s a warm and cozy time. But not christmassy yet. We don’t do Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving and we are careful about it until the 13th, because my dad is a December baby. Don’t wanna step on his birthday. I’m lucky, I’m a July girl, so no overshadowing major holidays for me, and I get fireworks. Truly the best.

Isn’t he the cutest!? I had to show you, also, please ignore the shaky camera, Joe was actively pushing me over

Winter season also brings out the excuses in me. My eyesight isn’t the greatest and there’s no streetlights this far out in the country, so I always try to excuse myself from events where I have to drive after dark. I also staunchly avoid driving on snow and ice if I can, so I spend a good amount of cozy nights curled up with a book and warm drink. Sorry, I can’t make it, I’m too chicken.

My warm drink game is a little off right now. See, a few months ago my headaches started getting even worse, and I finally had to do something to figure it out. See, I come from a long line of headache sufferers, migraines, tension headaches, weather affect, you name it, and unfortunately I’ve definitely got one sensitive head. Luckily because this has been a forever thing, normally, unless it’s a particularly bad day, I can muddle through with relative success. I just warn people that I’m one bright light or loud noise from getting irrationally angry and I occasionally treat myself to an early night in. But a few months ago it got a little crazy. We’re talking midday naps everyday because I could not cope. I tend to have some form of headache around 4 out of every 7 days, I’m told that’s pretty typical, so everyday all day was a lot. And pain meds wouldn’t touch it at all. I actually cried about it a couple times, and I don’t generally cry about medical stuff. On a whim I started cutting things out of my diet and, long story slightly shorter, it was coffee. Not caffeine mind you, I can still drink soda, but specifically an intolerance to the bean. Doc says it’s probably because I lived on coffee for so long my system finally just said no. He also thinks that with time, and a lot more moderation, I can probably go back to coffee eventually. But for now it’s a special planned treat. For example, I really wanted to try the mint chocolate coffee at the candy store, so I got it on a day I knew I could go straight to bed if needed. It was absolutely delicious by the way.

Most days I’ve switched out coffee for warm broths. I’m not much of a tea person but I have a couple I like. But broths also can have a nice little nutritional kick so I tend to reach for them. And I don’t reach for them first thing in the morning, I wait until others are up, so I’ve also kicked the morning march to the coffee maker habit.

It wasn’t such a big deal over the summer, but as we are going into fall and winter, I am missing my coffee a little more now. There’s nothing quite like a warm cup on a frosty morning.

In any case, I think I’ll survive, pretty sure there are worse fates.

Until we chat again my friends.

It’s a Dog’s Life

Posted on September 30, 2022September 16, 2022 by Farmers Blogger

Hello friends!

Well, it’s cold, it’s gray, and it’s been intermittently smoky for weeks. Seems to me it’s definitely fall. Although, I must admit, the Grey thing is not something I am used to here. In Seattle sure, but generally we still see the sun around here. But there’s been lots of overcast days. I wouldn’t mind if they produced rain, which would help with fires and smoke, but these menacing clouds are mostly just for show it seems, or potential disaster.

We had one angry stretch of dry lightning a week or so ago that nearly burned down the high school, because it burnt the hills up behind it. To my knowledge nobody lost any structures, but I know a few people got close. Chicken Hill burned too, and I guess during the microsburst people thought some of the windows, especially the big ones in businesses, were going to shatter, either from wind or the severe crashing of the thunder. They had to call in the three surrounding jurisdictions to help because there was just so much on fire at once.

We were very lucky to be on the outskirts. We got a side hit of the wind, but nothing was damaged and only one tarp attempted to take leg bail. The thunder crashing upset the doggos, but cuddles and good crates calmed them down. The dog equivalent of hiding under the covers is a properly cozy den space, tailored to the dog, available all the time. Mine are, of course, spoiled rotten but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Joe has a plush mat, open walls, a blanket and a toy, Scooby has a gel cooled, memory foam mat, closed, rounded sides, and a very light blanket, and Watson has a little closed den with enough blankets and bedding that sometimes I truly wonder how he fits in there. All doggos get extra blankets/comforters when it starts getting cool but other than Watts, I generally have hot dogs. Especially Scoobs, sometimes I think he’d be happiest in the arctic.

It should surprise no one that they also have an involved nighttime routine

Although, that’s not entirely true anymore because I have now seen, since moving here, how much he truly detests snow. Does not like being wet, does not like that it sticks to him, that it’s hard to walk in, and honestly, I can’t blame him all that much.

Scoobs has been learning lots of new things lately. Since he’s lost his sight, he’s learned to navigate the house by feel. Unfortunately he’s also learned to wail at all hours to get attention. The vet says he’s fine, he just has a hard time differentiating between day and night and when he decides it’s morning there is no convincing him otherwise. Even if it’s one a.m. The vet suggested trying to have a really solid bedtime routine and lots of busy work during the day. So he gets lots of wander and explore time outside until the weather turns cold, and I’ve been taking him down on a leash with me to feed in the evenings (don’t worry, there’s always a fence between him and the other critters, I wouldn’t put him in danger even if he could see. I also usually bring a buddy, so he has a dedicated seeing eye person too). He seems to really enjoy it but it’s a lot of walking on little legs so we are worn out by the time we make the porch again. It’s hard work being small.

I think he also likes it because it’s something special that just he gets to do. We haven’t been bringing his brothers down because generally I don’t want the dogs to get used to that area being a space they can go to on their own. They occasionally come down when I am working on a project down there, I bring the doggie play pen down and they hang out, but in general, Scooby has been the only one to get to walk down there every night. It also allows us to go at his pace, and he can stop and explore or take a breather if needed. It’s a pretty thinky experience too because he isn’t used to the gravel down there, or the hay on the ground, or all the new smells. Now that he’s not as reliant on sight, he’s got lots of exploring to do. So it’s good exercise too.

I don’t know how the horses feel about it though, because it definitely slows down the feeding process. Generally, they see me start the evening trek to the barn and they come hauling tail in from the pasture, but now they have to stand patiently waiting at their spots instead of being met with food. I am not as quick to get down there. But they still get snuggles and sweets and goodnight kisses so the result is the same. Scooby chills out by the door so he can take a breather while I move the hay around.

Speaking of hay, it’s time for me to pull down a new bale, and I should probably do that before it starts raining today or all the bales will get wet, so I better sign off for now.

Until we chat again, my friends!