Good-Bye 2012

So today Mom and I just kind of hung out. First I got to sleep in. When I got up Mom was in the kitchen cooking everything from Stew to chili. Then we headed out to a few sales. We went to return my Christmas Jeans to get the right size and ended up at Hobby Lobby where Mom got the stuff to redo our Advent wreath for the table. She took this off

And she made it this for juat a few dollars …. when we put the candles in it I think it will look great.
I finally got my Christmas boots. And I even took Dad’s Christmas Jeans back and got the right size for him too. The last Item that Mom picked up was Shower Curtain Rings … They aren’t for our Shower Curtain though … Check this out … Remember this???
After that we ate chili and stew and watched Movies and Cartoons …. We will be doing that until we ring in the new year …

Way off Key Day

So today started out okay but Man did it get off key … This morning everything was right as rain. Then about Noon Dad and I headed to the rodeo. I did okay and ended up placing 3rd in the break away. After that all my roping was way off. I didn’t know why at the time but then when Dad and I got done and were packing up to head home I figured it out. (Or at least I think I did.)
I better start from the beginning. Mom got home from work to find Angel screaming in the pasture and throwing a big fit. She also found Storm loss in the pasture with the big steers and heifers. Well, Storm and the cattle hadn’t really been introduced and Storm can be a bit stubborn … So Can Whitie our longhorn cross heifer. Mom had to work to get Storm back in the pen all the while keeping Whitie from using her horns on Storm or herself…. I have to admit it was no easy task because Whitie challenges everyone and everything. At one point Mom said she had to get between Storm and Whitie … That isn’t something I would ever want to do but I have to admit I am glad Mom stood her ground and finally got Storm back in her pen. The timing of all that going on and my roping going down hill was the same. Do you think that at some level I somehow knew something was wrong even though I didn’t know what??
The sad part about the whole story is that Dad knew it was going on and Mom is mad at him because he never once called to see if she was okay or how things were going … Sometimes he can be so mean. If I had known I would have called to check on her.

Today is better already

So today is better then yesterday … As you can tell from me eating left over Christmas cookies and drinking some pop as I sit here to blog this. Christmas Cookies make alot of things better you know … then I went to get the mail. I have to admit one thing that will probably make Ms. Jenny a bit sad at first but I hope she understands. When I pulled out that mail there were two things and both were for me.
The first thing I noticed was my Sheep Magazine…. Sorry Ms. Jenny Please Give me a moment to explain. For those that have gotten their copy of the magazine already Please look at the front cover. See the dog gaurding the sheep??? My first thought was “Who took that Picture of Jethro?” Then at a closer look I noticed that it wasn’t Jethro but it sure does look like him. I couldn’t get the perfect match to the pose but check these out …
Remember Jethro is only 6 months old And when he grows up some he will look just like that dog on the cover … I think It is Jethro’s twin … LOL
Anyway, the other thing I got in the mail is AWESOME. Does anyone know what VETAID is??? Well, I didn’t until now… I got a wonderful Calendar that was bought for me in support of their projects. The calendar I got was from Ms. Jenny and it is the Scottish Islands. The pictures are wonderful and each month leaves me wondering … Could I raise sheep, goats and alpaca there???

Bumble is gone

Today has been a bit of a let down for RJ. As most of you know Bumble the calf was in the house because of the cold weather and him just not being able to get over his scours. Well, last night at 11pm he was checked and he was up and doing great. He was eating and drinking like he should and seemed fine. At his 3am check, he was laying down with what we thought was a tummy ache. We doctored him with stuff for his tummy and antibiotics. While we continued with saline solution to make sure he wasn’t getting dehydrated. Later this morning Bumbles lost his fight and passed on. We are not really sure why but we do know that we did everything we could to save him and that we gave him the best care of him that we could.
RJ did have to fight with the waters again. The Ducks was the worst but he got it all under control.
Together we also worked on the new sign post …. I keep him busy when ever something bad happens so that he can get his focus off the bad ….

A slow day

I have to admit that today is a slow day. I took the day off from School and Mom and I started our day by going to town and picking up feed. We are now ready for the New Year Holiday. After that Mom did pick up a few things in town but then she headed off to work. When Dad got home I got to rope a bit but then Whitie the Heifer went through the fence so we got to fix that. Other then that it was a slow quiet day. I did get to pick everything up in town to make Dad his sign holder

Bumble’s Day

Remember these three guys … Cornelius, Hermese and Bumble???
Well, with the cold snap the littlest one, named Bumble, is now sick again. The other two seem to have kicked what ever it was that made them all sick when we first got them but now … we find him here …
The Bunny is in a carrier in the bathroom with the chickens that it is to cold for and Bumble has been doctored, jacketed, and is in the kitchen pen by the fire keeping warm. We are hoping he will be doing better by tomorrow….

Christmas at our House

So this morning I was woke up to the sound of “Santa came … Santa Came” I went to the front room and there on the table in front of the Christmas tree was a small gift to me From Santa. Check this out …

This little thing is so cool. it really flies …. I have been working to master it all day. Besides Chores we spent the day waiting for the snow that never came. It was really Cold and the wind blew like crazy … So Mom found Dad and I something else to keep busy with. There is something to be said about having an older house with a big kitchen. You can do things that you shouldn’t do inside in other homes… Yup, you guessed it … Roping …. In the kitchen ….
So what did you do to make the day special??

Christmas Eve

What a day … most think I would say that because it is Christmas Eve. Truth is that it was more about getting ready for the snow then anything. According to the weather man tomorrow we have a 100% Chance of snow. So what do we have to do to make sure everything is safe and warm through a storm like that?? Well, Christmas Eve or no Christmas Eve there is alot of prep work done before the storm hits so that we can get through a storm with as little issues as possible. First, All waters must have heaters. That brings me to the Part of Christmas Eve that I like. You see Mom got me this for Christmas ….
In back of the rope and Apple treat for my horse is a heated water bucket for my Goats. Now with the snow coming Mom let me have it a bit early and I went to get it in place before the storm came. Everything else already has water troths with heaters in them. All we had to do was get electric to them all. To bad the barn doesn’t have electric yet. Mom took time to run electrical cords to every one of the troth heaters and get them all in place and going.
The other thing we do for the animals to get ready for a winter storm is that we also have to get heat to everything. Around here that is done with heat lamps. The Call Ducks, Sheep shed, Goat shed, Chicken coop and calves all got heat lamps in place today. Getting the water heaters and lamps in place to a good bit of the day but we also found time to move up all the animals to the front pasture so that if the pond freezes nothing will get caught out on the ice. We also caught and removed all training leads that the animals were dragging. Storm and Joseph both still had their leads in place and they have to be removed because if they freeze to the ground in a place where the animal can’t get to shelter, the animal would be in real danger of freezing to death as well. Dad’s Big job today was to made sure to get big round bales out to everything so that we won’t have to worry about haying them in the snow. We also got the last of the straw put under the shed in the pasture for the cattle. They will use it to snack on as well as to bed down in and stay warm.
On top of that we took time to clean up everything from the back of the roping arena. You see there is a unused spot at the back of the arena where the fencing is falling down and we just really don’t use much. With me breaking Storm Mom says I am going to need a round pen and she plans on putting it in that unused spot. That way we will be fixing fence and making that spot usable all at once. She even got the first 6 posts for me for Christmas and she plans on buying a few every payday until we have enough. (I think she said it was almost a hundred we would need) Then she says she will go to buying the side boards for it. She says we will get it a little at a time and when we are done it will be done and paid for. There are even going to be a couple of pens on the side of it for my cattle. Anyway, Mom and I cleaned up the spot we are going to use. We got rid of stuff like this …
And even removed old posts like this …
Then we found what will be the center of our round pen and drove the center stake. If the ground hadn’t been so cold and hard Mom said we could have set the first posts but as it is we will miter the tops of the posts and set them another day when the ground isn’t so hard to dig in.
The last thing we had to do to get ready for the storm had nothing to do with the animals but it is very important to us surviving. You guessed it. With the wood burning stove for heat we have to make sure there is enough firewood cut, split and brought in so that there is heat for us humans … Dad and I had enough wood cut, we just had to get it split and bought in. With the two of us it took no time…
After we got all of that stuff done we came in to have a bit of Christmas with my Sister and he boyfriend. This year we all traded names and had a limit. My sister got my name and I got something I really needed … A new Jacket. I got some other stuff but here are just a few of the things I got. You saw the bucket and rope and treat for my horse but look at all this….
My Sister and I both got a stocking full of candy…
Mom Made me this Hat …
Now check out my version …
In the end I had a good meal with my family and got some really great gifts to boot. It was a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS … Now I am off to bed Do you think it is to late for Santa to come to my house … LOL

Roping and Party time

Well, I have to say That I have been kind of busy but having a blast. First I got to rope in a roping called the Ultimate Calf Roping. I placed 7th out of 40 Ropers. I was one of 9 that tied down all three head. No I didn’t win any money but I am hapy with how I did. I just plain out got beat. Not because I couldn’t rope but because those ropers were just better then me. That is okay because I will get better.
While I was there Mike Johnson came over and needed help breaking in the calves for the Mike Johnson calf roping the next day. So I went to help. I got to tye down calves with Mike Johnson himself. And then the next day I got to go to the Mike Johnson roping. I got to meet really good calf ropers like Tyson Durfy, Tuff Cooper, Ryan Jarrett and Cory Sullivan. I think this has been the best Christmas ever so far.
Then today I had a friend come over and rope. When we were done some others joined us and we pigged out of snacks, Made gramcracker houses and decorated christmas cookies. As party favors I sent them each home with their houses they made, a small sack of candy and a Peanut butter hot chocolate cup. I made the Hot chocolate cups myself.
This was one of the houses that was made …
For the record this is the only one that had a door …
And this is my Party Shack…. With a pasture with my dead horse in it … And yes the thing on top is a Christmas tree… LOL … Silly I know but I had a blast making it.

Happy Winds Day Pooh …

Today was another great day … Okay so the 40 mph winds was not fun at all but that didn’t stop it from being a good day. First I stayed in most the day. Mom did the shopping for the party and Christmas dinner. Then Dad and I met Mom back at the shelter to do meet and greet. You see … There is this little one there…
She is a 3 month old little girl. Mom tested her the other day and she wasn’t really the temperment Mom wanted on the farm. She said she was scared of everything and peed all over herself if you even looked at her. Well, I talked Mom into doing the meet and greet anyway. Her and Jethro did great and She did better with Jethro around then without him….. They played for a long time while Mom, Dad and I talked. Mom is in love with this picture … Jethro is 6 months old and looks huge compared to her.
She has longer hair then Jethro so we know she is mixed with something else…. They played forever.
When all was said and done Mom is going to keep her at the shelter and get her wormed, bathed, get her first round of shots and then we are going to bring her home to try. If she doesn’t eat anything … in the famous last words of Mom … She will be my responsiblity…. I think I am going to name her Kate. Anyone have any other Ideas? Remember she is going to be paired with Jethro so I need a name that kind of goes with that. Jethro and Kate? Jethro and Mary? Are there any famous couples with a Jethro and something else I could use??