Slow But Steady

    The time of sunrise has slowly been getting later and later each morning while sunset occurs each day at a steadily earlier time.  And as the days get shorter, they are getting colder, and the opportunity to work or play outside is diminishing. And winter is slowly and steadily encroaching upon us.

     I have decided I'm not going to spend so much time obsessing about my wrist in this blog this time.  But, I do want to report that it is progressing.  Mom mentioned that maybe I need to be a bit more patient... and I'm sure she's right.  Even if the healing process is slow, at least I am making steady progress in that direction.  Different days I have realized I am now able to do something I couldn't do the day before... like turn the key in the ignition of my car with my right
hand!  That is the newest of my  

accomplishments.  I still can't do a lot of things with my right hand, like cut my finger nails on my left hand.  I have also noticed that I have slowly and steadily gotten better at doing things with my left hand.  My writing is much better, as is cutting my food and taking lids off containers.  This photo shows all the further I can flex my wrist.  Movement in all directions is slowly getting better each day.  
 
     Saturday was a crisp, breezy fall day with plenty of sunshine.  I hit the school work hard in the morning, getting a ton done, in spite of my feline "helper".   The forecast was for it to be 15 degrees warmer by noon,  so 
                                                     I waited till 11 am to go out.  Joe and
I worked together doing more winterizing.  We fertilized all our pine tree plantings... 40 total; drained, cleaned and moved the stock tank to it's winter spot; wound up and stored all the hoses... 6 total; and  brought all the liquids in from the barn and garden shed that can freeze.  After dinner, we headed to the VFW for The Biscuits and Gravy Band and plenty of dancing.

     Sunday was a cold, windy, rainy day.  Joe had to work in the morning so we went to late Church.  We both napped later in the day cause we hadn't gotten home until 12:30 the night before.  It was truly a day of R+R.  The view from our
bedroom window has changed,  with most the leaves now off the maple tree. The corn still stands in the field across 150, but most farmers are finished with harvest and are chisel plowing.  The horses were standing with their butts to the wind and rain, with the house blocking the SW winds somewhat.  Amiga hangs with Zorro and keeps Roni at a distance.  I hope they will slowly become friends.  Today with all the wind and pop up showers, they were all three racing around the field.  Their rowdy behavior continues to be a problem and a concern.

   Monday had a frosty start that seemed foggy but was just steam from the animals and warm sun I guess. 

      The cows camped out in the corn crib overnight.

  
     Joe heads for work as I get Amiga situated out front.

Zorro trots to the end of the drive and watches as Joe turns on to US 150.

 







     The sun continues its morning assent and Amiga wishes she could be with the boys.  Because she has been so bossy and drives Roni away, and gets Zorro involved in "the chase", I decided to keep her separate for now.  Roni and Zorro get along well together... until Amiga is added to the mix.

  
       Back at the barn, the cows wait for their breakfast.

     The school day came and went without fan fare, although I was surprised to see that some Freshman had worn Halloween costumes. I also had a slow but steady leak of air from my car tire, and it was too flat to make it home from school.  So I had to call Joe who came to my rescue.

     Our Growth Group went out to dinner... and I stuffed myself on a steak and onion meal with baked sweet potato... better that than candy. :-)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

     It was crisp but sunny again Tuesday morning.  We had drained the duck pond Saturday and now I fill this little green tub each morning.  The ducks and chickens make a bee line over to it after I let them out of the coop.

      After all the foul have left the chicken coop, I go back and shut the fence door and let the two new chickens out of their cage.  I let them have run of the coop until mid afternoon.  The rooster has been a bit of a challenge to catch and put back in the cage.  Acclimation to a new home is a slow process.

     I had not slept well Monday night so took a nice long nap after a late lunch.  Then Joe and I got a video tour of Britney's apartment using AIM.  She has a very nice place and has made it very cozy.  Her room mate is due to arrive down there in two weeks.

      Joe, Kaysha and I then headed out for a walk before sun set.  Amiga came over to visit, and begged to go to the barn for dinner.  She and the other two would have to wait. 








I tried to get a picture of our farm in the sunset, but it didn't work out too well.

     Wednesday I left for school before 7am to help a student during her
1st hour study hall.  It was a nearly perfect fall day in terms of weather.  There were a few more clouds than I would have wanted, but the high of 68 with the gentle breeze was ideal. 

     Jason was busy plowing over at Becks when I got home from school, while the three duck-a-teers were combing the yard for bugs and whatever else it is they eat.

     Once again I needed an afternoon nap but then I got the trailer and Roni ready to head off to a riding lesson.  I got Roni tacked and ready to go and had plenty of extra time so did some simple ground work and lead him around and let him graze.  We took it nice and slow in the lesson lunging with side pull reigns and then decided I would be able to safely ride Roni.  It was so nice to be up in the saddle again.  We left his side pull reins on, and Marj walked him while I rode... kind of like a pony ride. 
     Roni and I got home in the dark as the neighbor north of us was combining his corn. 

He had 3 huge pieces of equipment running.  It was like giant creatures in the night.  All my pictures failed, but here is the best one, of his combine.
     The strong winds and rain came as predicted just as I was climbing into bed... and it kept it up all night long. 
    
     Thursday's rain and wind, quite fierce at times, continued all day long.  We left the cows in the paddock/corn crib and the horses in the barn. 
It wasn't until 3:30 when the rains
stopped.  But it was still quite windy.  We decided to let the horses out of the barn.  First we opened the back pasture and the cows headed right out there.  Once that gate was shut, we let Amiga and Roni out into the paddock. 

     They were pretty rambunctious at first but soon settled down to eat.


     Mean while, Zorro, back in the barn, was having a hissy (horsey) fit.  We were going to put all three together, but with the mud, wind, and rowdiness, decided that would not be good.  So we moved Roni out front. 
                                                           In this photo you can see that the

neighbor across 150 did not get much of his corn in.  When I went into the back pasture to get this photo, Frankie started running around, sometimes charging right towards me. 

     You can see him in action here.  I was also checking our drainage.  The water way has some water, but there is none being forced up from broken drain tile... so I think it is "fixed".

     Frankie finally settled back down and joined Norm and Babe for some good eatin'.

    Joe let Zorro out of the barn into the paddock with Amiga.  There was little fanfare and they both took to grazing.

     With the herbivores happy, I decided to get some pictures of the yard. 

      Jason only got half done with his plowing of this field.

     The leaves were blowing from NE to SW, and a dead branch was down.

     Even though many of the trees are bare, and the yard appears messy, I enjoy the pretty fall colors that are abundant everywhere.

     I was really glad to finally have Friday roll around, especially since it was a day of sunshine and diminished winds.  Grocery shopping on the way home from school had me arrive later, hungrier and more tired than usual. 

      Tiny and Steve were wishing they could come out of the coop.  I am going to wait another week because I want to be sure they know this is home and where to come when the sun starts to set.  I also need to take the large, young rooster to Carol's to avoid a cock fight.


I did find this tiny egg that Tiny laid up in the box in their cage.  A duck egg is on the left, the green is an Americanas and the one on the right is a Rhode Island Red or Barred Plymouth Rock.

     Rather than give in to fatigue after I ate, I took Kaysha for a walk. 

     I wished I'd had my camera because the neighbor had started back in the field combining, but I did get some photos once home.




 





     With the corn down to the north, we can now see Brian's house.

 
     Joe put up a small grazing pen in the front pasture so we can start getting the horses used to that hay/alfalfa mix. The cows were drawn over to check out the commotion.

    










     We walked Amiga and Zorro over from the sparse front pasture and they took to the lush pasture like there was no tomorrow.




     Then I walked Roni over to give him run of the whole pasture and he did just what I expected.... which I video taped.  He is such a stinker sometimes.

      Once he'd had his little romp around the pasture, he settled in to eating the shorter but more tender grass in the water way... as the harvest continues in the back ground .

 

                                                         We left all three horses out on the

rich, tasty greens for just an hour. Their grazing progress was steady, but there was nothing slow about it.  I wonder if they knew their time was limited.  lol

     We had grilled barbecue beef ribs from our old friend Sir Loin.  They needed to be cooked slower and longer, so were a bit rare, but they were oh so tasty.   

     Our farm has undergone a slow but steady transformation to what it is today.  There is still more we want to improve on, but as I look out past the round pen, at the cows and horses, I am proud of our accomplishments and feel so blessed to be where we are at today.