Since last I posted.. I was busy for several days hauling in dirt for back filling and landscaping the new house, will have to haul more later, but there is enough there for now.. Tate has been fighting his mill, but seems like he’s got it all working now, he milled out several beams  or logs, yesterday afternoon.. Gramma is still chomping at the bit wanting to get it done.. but Tate has been helping Chance with an addition to their trailer they are really needing to get done.. been getting a few calves from the boys boughten cows. Guess a wild one calved and they had to tag the calf this morning, sounds like it was kind of a wild deal! I have also been working on saddles.. I went to town for an appointment with the Physical Therapist today., Looks like it’s helping and he gave me some new things to do in addition to what I have been doing.. real nice and warm the last couple days and supposed to stay that way thru’ the weekend. Then some rain coming in mid week.. hope it’s just rain and not snow.. tho’ baby calves can handle snow better than cold rain…

It got to somewhere around 70 or above here today, looks like. Hardly a breeze, just a beautiful day the Lord sent us!

Chance and I moved the cows all south, well, all but a footsore one and the little corry who has been crawling thru’ fences… I fooled her tho… I took Woody and we started south of the road in the stack where she was at, went on a merry chase out east, back west, up north and finally back to the corrals. I had the gate shut on that side and the other open on the other side. Tate had been working on the new house, so I hollered at him to come help, but he’d left… So I thought of my phone, but couldn’t reach him. I then called Kass and she came up and saved the day by shutting the one gate and opening the other.. all the while me and Woody had a loop built and a hungry look in our eyes so the rip would not leave where she was… got her in and Gramma helped me this afternoon and her horns are a lot shorter, we’ll see if that changes her attitude, if not, she is going to end up hamburger!

I rode Woody the other day gathering the cows and filling the back corral to work them down the chute and had decided he’s ready to be a kid horse, but after chasing this little rip, Nope, he’s not! 😀

I took the loader tractor and cleaned up some manure scattered around out in the hog pasture. I let the Haflies out there and it was a 3 ring circus, they bucked and jumped and ran and ran… finally the other horses up west must have heard them cuz here they come flying down the hill.  They were all standing at the back of the corral, so I slipped out and let Beaver in, so now when these kids want to ride, we got something in besides a pony they can. Also, Chance and I hauled a few calves to the sale, yesterday and also dropped a bad eyed calf and their male pup at the vets to both get fixed, went on to the sale, dropped off the calves and picked up an old horse Hope and Chance bought for their kids.. We had the vet work his teeth when we picked up the pup and the dog on the way home, so looks like we can get some kids horseback this spring.. now, if I can get someone to top off a few of these others and everybody get to riding them , we’ll be set!

I went up to Chance and Hopes this morning and Chance said he’d help me drive Wren, hooked to Ron and Roz. Marshal was there so he came along to. We got them all caught and hooked up, 3 abreast.. drove out and hooked just Ron and Wren to the wagon, with Wren tied back to Ron and Roz. Roz was just along for the drive and kind of an anchor on Wren on the outside… Didn’t go to bad until we tried to back up to a bale and Ron couldn’t pull both Wren and Roz around, to get lined up to a bale. So Chance watched them and I got Roz unhooked, Marshal took her and we commenced to backing up and getting a bale with just Wren and Ron hooked up. Chance got the gate and waited while I went and fed that bale… got that done and when headed back Wren would grab herself and take off and we had a mild kind of runaway for awhile. I just pulled Ron to the inside of the circle and after a bit she slowed up enough so I could get them stopped… I realized I did not have her tied back short enough to Ron’s hame.. so I’d go and stop, go and stop.. finally got back to the gate where Chance and Marshal were waiting, Chance shortened up the halter rope and they got on and away we went.. Chance would trade off on the lines with me as they were really pulling on your hands, hard.. by golly by the time we got the 6th bale fed, things were going good. I left them harnessed and am going out after bit and haul out some more hay for them for tomorrow, as we are going to work them all. I bet Wren will sleep real good tonight! I know I am tuckered out and my hands are sore, but it was a good deal for the team and probably for my fat old body! 😀

For those unfamiliar, this ins what 3 abreast looks like.. this was form a previous session, last year…

Got up in the 50’s today with not much wind until this afternoon. I got done with my morning ritual and then me and Molly went over to Bud’s to let her see sheep and see what she thinks of them. She likes them! 😀 Bud sure liked her. Tried trading me two older, started dogs for her, but I think he’s just trying to get his dog numbers down. We let her have a couples goes at them and she sure was enjoying it.

When we got back, we harnessed up and went and fed. I fed 6 bales and went about a 1/2 mile one way, each trip.. by the time we got done, them horses was acting a lot calmer! Had a bolt fall out of the new bale wagon about half way thru’ so finished up with the old bale wagon.. it sure rides better.. I need to take out some leaf spring on the new one so it rides better. It’s so stiff it jars and wiggles things and that is why the bolt fell out. I think I will put a metal tongue on it and hook up the three horse evener and start driving a colt alongside these older horses… if I had a way to have my gates all open before I started it would work better as then I would never have to get off the wagon.. but I think with the two older horses with the colt, I can get by with it…

We got Sam and Gus after school so the two boys and I went out and trimmed Charlies feet and then Gus rode him around in the shed. He’s so fat he sure don’t have any withers.. maybe I need to rig up a britchen on him like you’d use on a mule!

Found some new lessons for the guitar.. it’s amazing all the knowledge you need to memorize to be able to pick along…

Got cold and windy and a little snow last night, windchill way below zero today and tomorrow. Cindy had to go work at the polls for a special election.

We’ve been fighting our septic system.. it backed up into the bathroom. Cindy was not happy. Got the tank pumped and it did it again.. so today a guy came and rooted it out. Seems to be working now…

We got all the cows from up west and brought them in with the other cows, the other day. Neighbor called today and said he had 5 who have been in on him and today they were in his stacks.. I told him I sure wish he’d of let me know quicker as we’d just moved them. Tate and the big boys showed up about the time I went to get them, so they went with me. We let the fence down and headed them home. I took Tate and boys back to the sawmill he was working on then me and the dogs went back up and brought them on in.. got a couple pretty cool pictures of the horses strung out on the way bringing them in, tho’ the horses sure weren’t any help.. they wanted to go where we were headed and I knew they’d mess up the deal so I had to keep working to keep them back until I got the cows penned up.. I got it done and came in and back to working on leather.. waiting on some glue as I type…

Addy Bear had her 4th birthday the other day and she wanted a tea party so Gramma and I had to go to. Got pretty good picture of the 3 girl cousins at the table with their tea party.

Got the last of the concrete poured in the bottom of the basement today. Also, since we had a truck coming we got a bit extra and poured a pad inside the door of the shed. Then we went up and pushed rock in a crossing up west, that we had them drop off the other day… then we went down to Punkin Center and got some light switches to fix the lights in the shed hopefully and some lice pour on for the cows when we run them thur’ and get every thing tagged before calving.. the house now is ready for a lot of carpentry.. got several loads in for the floor system, a load of logs to be milled, they came in the other day…. now, if I’d just get some saddles built things would be going swimmingly!

Supposed to cold up for a few days.. but pretty nice today.

Well, it isn’t a torn rotator cuff as I was worried about, just everything is real tight and bound up, needs to be stretched out, so the Doc gave me some things to do to see if we can do it… I go back in 3 weeks.. that was great news!

Warmed up and real nice.. This is Gabe, our oldest grandson’s 10th birthday today. Happy Birthday Gabe.. couple more years and he can take over and do all my work!

Cold this morning, but warmed up a bit by afternoon, supped to be in the 30’s tomorrow and 40’s the next day.. I have an appointment with a Physical therapist tomorrow, to try and get to the bottom of my shoulder pain.. it’s not anything I’ve dealt with before and I hope it’s something therapy can fix, sure not looking forward to any surgery.. not only the pain but the time laid up and not able to use your arm. I know several who’ve had it and they’ve all had to adapt.. some think they are better at least one thinks he’s no better off..

I worked on leather today and started my Lenten observances… Mass tonight at 8.

Tate and Chance got some dirt filled in and packed on the front of the house foundation yesterday, looks like we are going to need some dirt moved and piled up to get it all filled in and leveled the way we want… but we got plenty of dirt, just have to decide where to dig and how deep… Tate and Chance and I worked on the skid steer. a job the shop said would take 2 hours.. we did it in about a half hour and we ain’t even good mechanics! It did go real well, especially considering that  we don’t have very good tools like they do in them shops in town,

Supposed to get a couple truck loads of small rock hauled in in the next few days so we can put it around the foundation with a pipe to carry any water away before it can come into the basement…

What’s with that? Here we are all in spring time mode and it has the audacity to snow?!!!!!! Man, this is a crazy country… seriously, it is still February and we didn’t get anything like them folks back in  the northeast… well, not THIS time… is it wrong to be smug about that?:D

I do feel for them, at least when we get dumped on here, we are usually pretty prepared..and have dealt with it many many times… heck it takes a lot for us to have to call off school, well out here in the country at least. Tho’ I guess we have to do what ever they do in town.. another gripe of mine, but a waste of time to complain…

Cindy had an appointment for a simple test in town with the Doc so I drove her in.. we even made it on time, tho’ the roads didn’t look very good, but that Nitro is a snowy road, driven’ rascal! Got that done. I drooped off my glasses the pup chewed up for repairs (she is such a good dog!) Cindy did some shopping and we came home.. I even got in a bit of a nap.. hopefully the worst is past with this cold and tomorrow I will be back to par, or close to it..Then I get to go to a Doctor on Thursday… oh joy… okay, not a doctor per say, but a physical therapist and see if he can help my shoulders… oh, and the snow was not around here or had melted by the time we got back…

Dark when we quit, three truck loads.. I am fighting a cold, Cindy has Bronchitis and sinus infection.. or something or other…