Devastated...

We were in a terrible accident last Wednesday. A semi truck hauling coal rolled over in front of us in Utah. We hit it at 60 miles an hour. Talk about Ford tough! Number One an I are in sad shape. We have an appointment with our Doctor on Thursday. I went to the hospital immediately to make sure that there was no life threatening injuries. I was released a few hours later.

Our truck and trailer are a total loss. This has completely ruined our business. Our income for the winter has been decimated. Please pray that our spiritual, physical and financial condition will be restored...

Eggs, Sausage And More !!!

We just returned from a long trip (work) and we finally have been blessed with eggs. Our neighbor took care of the chickens while we were gone, so we gifted him with the first dozen.

I have one egg left and will have it for breakfast in the morning. The chickens are fat and happy. The day before we left for our trip, we took six of the roosters to a wolf preserve. They have many Americana hens running around, so they will be happy. It is an amazing place full of people and wildlife. Their new chicken house looks like an expensive child's playhouse. They will free range and be hand feed by the visitor's, just like home. Bye bye boys! I still have Ben and Rooster Rooster...

Welcome home party...

 I am truly sorry for neglecting my blog. It has truly been a little crazy here. Hunting season starts next month. I look forward to making and eating the deer and hog sausages. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

I use ground chicken or beef  to make fresh breakfast sausage a couple of weeks ago. I made up about 5 lbs. It is some tasty stuff. It's simple to make and you can choose your own personal fat content. I prefer mine a little leaner than Number One and Jimmy Dean.

My dear mother is in the hospital with a blood clot in her lung and two in her arm. Please pray for her speedy recovery. She has to have shots in her stomach. It just sounds awful...

I have missed two Bible studies in the past two weeks. The first one I missed because  Number One and I caught a cold and I didn't want to share it with anyone else and the second I missed because we were gone. I have been working on catching up today. I have a few more studies to catch up on for tomorrow's class. It is a great in depth study of James. It includes memorizing the book of James in 5 months. Better finish up...

Coyotes And Golden Eagles

The weather is changing and that has all the critters out trying to fatten up before the cold months of winter appear. For the last week we have seen an increase of predators. We have an enormous coyote who has the strangest hours and as of yesterday there have been three golden eagles that have moved their hunting grounds over my chickens.

Since my chickens are well behaved pets they come when I call, so putting them back in their yard is easy as long as I have my blue sand bucket with the promise of a treat inside. They hate to be locked up during the day. I think that they know something is not quite right. They have been clinging to the porch as close as I will let them anyway. They are still not potty trained ya know!

I had a rare break this past week. Number One headed off without me, so I caught up on housework and cooking. Yesterday, I baked homemade oat bread in my new pans, cooked spaghetti, beef enchiladas and meatloaf (two). I had almost five pounds of hamburger to spread out as far as I could. I also made two hamburger patties for Number One. He loves hamburgers. I left the camera in the vehicle, so I had no way to take pictures. Sorry!

Number One made it home last night. Although I enjoyed my time alone I sure missed him. I accomplish a lot when I am by myself. Go figure. The puppies miss him too. They don't like to go to bed without him. They wait on top of the covers until they are convinced he's not coming home. It's so sad. They are nervous and bark at any little noise they think they hear. Makes for an interesting night.

The heat has been coming on at least twice at night and once in the morning. We have had some heavy frosts the past week or so. It's a cool 34* right now. The chickens are enjoying some pineapple scraps from last night and some scratch. I try not to let them out too early for fear of the coyotes that are heading back to their den from their long night of hunting.

The balloons will not be landing in our yard anymore. We have asked them in the past not to drive on our property, but they continued to do it. So Number One did some investigating to figure out our rights as property owners and contacted the balloon company. He had enough of their antics and laid it all out for them. Tickets for everyone on board etc. This seemed to detour their lack of respect for our rights. Go Number One! I'm his biggest fan. He has also contacted the other property owners about the hunters who insist on hunting on private property endangering the lives of those who live out here.

Our friends who just had a well drilled are allowing us to use it. The are right down the road. Praise God! It saves us wear and tear on our vehicle, fuel, time and money. We are helping them by watering their trees that they just planted and we keep a watchful eye on their place. Love thy neighbor!

Full Steam Ahead...

Where do the days go? It has been a very busy time in our lives lately. Everyone that I have talked to has felt the same way. I started a new bible study this morning with the ladies from church and they all have been experiencing the same busyness.

We had our first snow on the peaks today. We turned on the heater for a while this morning. The aspens have begun to turn gold. I have had to break ice on the chicken's water at least twice in the last two weeks. A welcome sign of fall. The heat of the summer has fled away fast this year.

I'm sorry for the delays in posting. I may have writer's block or life just got in the way. Either way I apologize. The chickens have grown and I am hoping for our first egg soon. The seven( yes seven) roosters have become less meal like and more pet like to me. Anybody need a rooster? I lost one of my keepers. He just died. He grew really fast and maybe his heart couldn't keep up the pace. He had the body of a turkey. I don't know, these things just happen.

We are going to have some work done on our water line soon to prevent it from freezing this year. The plumber was out this morning to discuss the job. He is a friend of ours and will do a good job. We do not have the equipment to do the job ourselves without doing backbreaking work. The water line is deep in the ground, too deep to do the work with a shovel. Number One will help do some of the work to save money.

I cooked my first pot of homemade soup to celebrate the new season that is upon us for dinner tonight. I had some left over grilled chicken in the freezer, so I made chicken vegetable with homemade peppered egg noodles. The noodles thickened up the broth which made a hearty soup. Number One baked some brownies that were delicious.

I found my bread pans in Utah last week. I'm still in the market for some cast iron ones that are made in the great USA. I found some online at Bass Pro Shop. They are heavy, so shipping is unreasonable. I hope to come across a store to purchase them in during our travels. I may just have to breakdown and pay more for shipping than the cost of the pans. I am a patient person most of the time.

My camera batteries lasted about two weeks. I didn't even use it very much. You'd think for twenty bucks they would have been good batteries. Just a bad batch I guess. Back to Wally World for me I guess. I've been buying chicken feed in Kansas when we travel through there. Wow, get ready for some higher prices. Chicken feed went up $3 to $4 a bag here. What will a box of cereal cost in the future? Diesel was $4.37 to $4.57 a gallon on our last trip. Ouch!

Hold on tight, this could be a bumpy ride. Just remember that there is always someone in need in good or bad times...

Election Year ('s)

Our computer has slowly begun to die. It's only working sporadically at best. This morning I thought that I would give posting a try. Cross your fingers...

I don't care for election time. Not only does it take two years now, it has also become so dirty. Anything goes. Lying has become the norm. No one holds the politicians accountable anymore. The media used to try and uncover half truth's, but not anymore. They have their own agenda's too.

We pay the politicians for four years, but they only work half of that and the rest of the time they are out getting ready to get re-elected. They make fortune's outside the arena, but tell us how bad business's are that are successful.

What kind of an example are they setting for our youth? They have control in our public schools over our children's minds, teaching half truth's and destroying parental values to boot.

They don't want us to think for ourselves. They don't want us to be independent thinker's with ambitions. The American dream, the fire within to achieve and create, has become a faded memory. The new American dream is just being able to pay our bills every month, to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. We believed their lies about MC-mansions that we couldn't pay for, credit card debt and self indulgence until we were bankrupted.

This era for the great United States of America has become an era of a monkey standing on our backs. It seems that the only way to turn is back to our monstrous sized government, but they too recklessly overspent.

There is another option. The best option. That is to turn to our great loving God. The giver of all life. Our founding Father's new where freedom lies. They wrote it in the preamble to our Declaration of Independence. Don't fall for separation of church and state. It was separation from a state run church. They did not want God out of our government, but government out of our churches.

Independence, 1776

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Ramblings

This summer has been so busy for us and for you too I'm sure. We have been doing a lot of projects at the ranch. We have finally put the first coat of paint on the coop a couple of days ago. One more coat of paint, putting the roosts in, putting it in place so the wind doesn't turn it into a deadly weapon this winter and we should be done. It's starting to cool down quite a bit at night, so I'm certain that the walking poop machines will appreciate our efforts. They have out grown their temporary coop, so they roost on top of it.

We have a big "to do" list to finish up before winter sets in this year. Plus we have to work at the business that the government gave us. I just loved that statement. All the hard work starting a business was apparently not necessary. Our government was just handing them out for free. I am amazed at the thoughtless words that come out of politician's mouths these days.

One more week and the tourist season will be over with. The camper's will be stowed away for winter and only a few brave fisherman will be on the roads this winter. Oh, I forgot the hunter's will be out in force next month. I sure hope the one's we ran across last year have the decency to hunt on their own property or on public lands instead of our back yard. There are always a few bad eggs in the basket who will ruin it for everyone else. Most hunter gather types have  respect for the safety of other's. Shame on the one's who don't. I will have to just tune the radio to Bach or one of the other great composers and let it blast away on the front porch to entertain the misfortunate so called hunter's who dare to trespass on the property of other's. Maybe they will enjoy "Music Appreciation Day" at the ranch.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

George Frideric Handel

Antonio Vivaldi

Frédéric Chopin

Desperation During The Drought...

Now I'm not a rocket scientist, but this seems like it will have some bad side effects, eventually. I was very interested in his "other sources of nutrition" statement. What nutrition was he speaking of? Candy nutrition? Yes, I must have missed that in school.

Eat more beef !!!!

http://www.wpri.com/dpps/entertainment/must_see_video/cows-eating-candy-during-the-drought-nd12-jgr_4323303

Cows eating candy during the drought

Updated: Thursday, 16 Aug 2012, 7:53 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 16 Aug 2012, 7:53 AM EDT

MAYFIELD, Ky. (CNN/WPSD) - Ranchers have struggled with skyrocketing corn prices, because the drought has made feeding their livestock very expensive. But one rancher has turned to a very sweet solution.
At Mayfield's United Livestock Commodities, owner Joseph Watson is tweaking the recipe for success.
"Just to be able to survive, we have to look for other sources of nutrition," he said.
His 1,400 cattle are no longer feeding off corn. The prices, Watson says, are too high to keep corn in stock. So earlier this year, he began to buy second-hand candy.
"It has a higher ratio of fat than actually feeding straight corn," Watson explained. "It's hard to believe it will work but we've already seen the results of it now."
Watson mixes the candy with an ethanol by-product and a mineral nutrient. He says the cows have not shown any health problems from eating the candy, and they are gaining weight as they should.
"This ration is balanced to have not too much fat in it," he said.
The packaged candy comes from various companies at a discounted rate because it is not fit for store shelves.
"Salvage is a problem for a lot of these companies and they're proud to have a place to go with it," said Watson.