4 Wheelin' Chick...

I'll bet you didn't know that chicks like to go 4-wheelin'.  I brought a chick inside to cheer Tobers up, who has a fever today.  Whippersnapper set this little cutie chick on their toy 4-wheeler and it promptly fell asleep!  I woke it up when I was taking pictures.

 She is very pretty with her wings feathering out!  She sat there for the longest time.  It was pretty cute, and the boys got a giggle out of it too.:)  

Infuriating Underground Animals...

I need some kind of rodent squad to come and rid the place of all things mole, gopher, and mouse!  

I grumble every time I run across something like this...

...and especially this.

Then, I remember I have a few secret weapons.  First line of defense is our fierce hunter, Betsy the cat.

There is just one problem with fierce hunter cat....she is a hunter, she doesn't usually kill them.  She plays with them until they are severely stressed, and exhausted.

Sure they are worse for wear when she's done, but they are not usually dead.  So normally what happens is these next two characters come on the scene and finish the job (or steal her potential dinner, not sure what you'd really call it.)   They look harmless, but they are rodent killing machines I tell ya.

I think they even give us a little doggy smile when they kill one for us!  Unfortunately, they don't always notice when the cat has done her job of wearing them out so...

...in comes my other secret weapon.  My fearless rodent killing daughter.  See how fast she moves?  The camera can't even catch the speed in which she disposes of them for me.   By this time, after the cat has had her fun, it is the least we can do to put it out of it's misery after the cat has a hold of it.

Sunshine has to be the most level headed 14 year old girl I know of, not much phases this girl.  I was busy looking around for something to hit it with, and she just stepped over, stomped on it nonchalantly like she does this 10 times a day, no biggie.  Meanwhile, I thought something along the lines of "Der, why didn't I think of that?"  I blame my sluggish response and reasoning on the fact that after 4 pregnancies, I have lost some of the brain cells I once had at 14 years old.  That is my story and I am sticking to it.

We really need to learn to set gopher traps, because so far the gophers are most likely winning.  I think they might be reproducing faster than we are killing them. Oh, and we really need to catch the mole that keeps tunneling all around the garden every day too!

Boys Will Be Boys....

I admit our boys have a unique childhood.  They are allowed to spend large portions of their childhood days filthy dirty, digging in the dirt, building forts, and of course working hard. 

I can't even imagine the fortitude it took to dig a hole this large and not be totally exhausted afterwards!  

Then there are times they aren't just dirty but real mud balls! 

Always important to have a girl supervisor to make sure things are going according to plan.  Notice the "forms" for their concrete operation?  They were building the foundation for a fort, they had it perfectly smooth and then they decided to just dive in, I guess they just couldn't take it they had to get muddy!

Boys this dirty get hosed off outside, see how much you learn as a country kid?

Then there are times that play gives way to hard work.  Tobers is chopping thistles here.

Whippersnapper raking gravel. 

Then back to play for a while.

Don't worry, we make them reinforce the sides of all tunnels with 2x4 lumber and keep a close eye on their operation.

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek into the boys growing up activities!  You can only imagine my laundry pile now can't you?

Snake Warning....Ornery Alert...

It is well known I have a bit of an ornery streak....well actually, I've even been told it is a mile wide ornery streak.  I can't help it, I am pretty sure it is in my DNA.  One day, when driving home from a day at my parents place we saw a large bull snake, and it just so happened it's coloring was pretty similar to the rattle snakes in this area.  So I skidded to a stop, got out and scooped up that dead snake and hauled it home. Mwhahaha....my plan was underway.  The kids were a little freaked out that this normally laid-back momma would dare to do such a thing....they were about to learn more about their mother's ornery streak than they'd ever known before.

It was a pretty large snake at about 3 feet long so it was going to be an impressive prank for sure.  All the way home I plotted and planned ways to use this snake to impart increased heart rates and elicit screams of freight.  Hee Hee

I had a plan.  I wanted it to look natural, you know believable.  So I carefully posed it and positioned it as if it was just coming out from the step area of the front porch....I purposely hid his tail because when you are scared it is a rattler the first thing you look at is the tail.

Scary huh?  You should have heard me giggling the whole time!

Does his head look realistically lifted from the ground?  Can you tell he's been run over?

Check out that toothpick holding up his head.  I put a lot of work into making him look realistic in order to have the best effect for my plan.

So now you think it looks so obvious it is a set up....but you have to remember that first glance fear....the one where your heart jumps into your throat...then your bladder gets misaligned and you come dangerously close to wetting yourself....ya that is what I was going for. 

Well Mr. Wonderful came home, he had his lunch box in hand as he shut his pick-up door after a long day of work.  He sauntered around to step into the yard from the parking area and he stopped right in his tracks.....we have eye contact!  He startled then hollered something along the lines of "Hey!  You guys aren't going to believe this!"  Then he catches sight of the 5 heads in the window peeking out the blinds at him.....his frame relaxes and he starts to shake his head and laugh at our antics.  He is such a good sport.

Later that night we set the snake in the street in front of our house...then we all sat on the front porch visiting while we waited for the neighborhood walkers.  It was awesome!  We'd hear shrieks and screams and gasps...then they'd alert us to the danger in the street.  We could barely keep a straight face!  We even had one little kid on a bike run it over by accident.  You should have see it, he let out a scream once his brain registered what he just ran over, he began to wobble and swoop from side to side and both legs out to brace for a wreak, but he was able to recover and looped back to take a closer look.  It really was funny.  It made for a really fun evening for us all.  We even "helped" people by giving them something really interesting to see on their boring old walk around the neighborhood.  They had a story to tell when they got home right?  Plus, getting the heart rate up is a good thing for exercise right?

You Might Be a Redneck If....

You might be a redneck if......you look out the window and see your kids doing this.

 

That is all I have to say about that!

From a 12 Year Old's Perspective...

The other day I was looking on my hard drive for some pictures, I came across a file folder that I had labeled for Spud Man's photos.  I decided to see if he had some good pictures in his file.  I found it interesting to see things from his perspective.  It was actually a little insight into boy-ness that I don't always get to see.  

Sometimes the pictures seemed random...like this.  

As a girl, I'd have taken a picture of the horse not so much the saddle.  To tell you the truth this picture reminded me how much this is my favorite saddle!  It is so comfortable, it also happens to be my mom's saddle which I know I spent many an hour riding both in front of her when really small, and behind her when I got big enough to hold on to those saddle strings well.  As I got older, it was the saddle I chose to ride for training, even though I had a beautiful silver show saddle to ride if I wanted to.  This picture captured memories that evoke emotion for me.  I'd have never thought to take this picture but I am glad he did.

A boy and his hats, what can I say.  He really isn't picky too much about his hats, he seems honored to wear anyone's hat that gives him one.  Of course if it is associated with equipment or a construction company he is golden.

I thought this was interesting, I forget how much of a boys life is tied up into work.  How work makes a man feel important, needed, and useful.  The fact that he took pictures of his Dad's work truck door is funny to me but to a boy this is something he wanted to capture.

He also took a picture of his Grandpa's company logo.  His dad may no longer work for his grandpa but that doesn't change that he is proud to have a grandpa who owns a construction company.;)

This cracks me up, he took a picture of our friends brush guard/bumper (although around here we call them deer guards).  Anyway it IS a nice looking bumper.  These sort of things are important to a boy!

He took a picture of one of his Great Uncle Terry's bulls.  Boys are impressed by this stuff you know.;)

Then there is the goofy stuff, the talks his brothers into doing (ok maybe it wasn't his idea).

He enjoys the hunter gatherer aspects of his life too!  Morel mushrooms yum!

What folder of pictures would not be complete without a picture of a scab!?  

Can you see the grouse nest with eggs in it?  He captures such unique things.

Then there are the really "unique" things like this bear scat.  Again, important to a boy to capture this in full detail.  Thankfully he didn't have the macro function figured out at this point in time huh?

I have to admit this next picture melted my heart just a little!  This it the quilt he and I worked on for a long time.  It got packed up a few times when we got busy but we kept plodding away at it when we could.  It is made of recycled denim from jeans and various outdoorsy cotton fabrics.  That he took the time to take a picture of it warms my heart.

A boy must have food and lots of it!  He takes pictures as he BBQes.  It does look good doesn't it.  Don't ask what kind or meat that is, you probably don't want to know.

This is what Whippersnapper looks like when he finishes eating above meal.

Again family legacy seems to be showing up.  This is the sign that used to be on the barn after my Grandpa Red built it.  The ranch was established I believe in 1943.  Whippersnapper makes for a willing photo subject.

I hope you enjoyed the sneak peak into a 12 year old boys world as much as I did!

My Forest Friends...

I'd like to share with you today about my cute little forest friends. We have a special relationship, really we do. I'll tell you about it but you have to promise not to laugh at me. Deal? Ok here we go....

We were camping near Anthony Lakes in our big wall tent with the nice warm woodstove. Thankfully we brought the stove because even in mid summer it gets really cold at night up there! Anyway we were all sleeping that first night we were camping and I was awoke by something. The strange part was I could feel something had went across my face, whatever it was had claws or scratchy something because I could still feel the sting that something had been on my face!

When the realization that something had been on my face and actually made a sensation that stayed with me even after I woke up was quite scary. Thoughts of giant spiders or cougar claws started to come to surface. What? Don't laugh, nothing is rational in the middle of the night with just canvas between you and the night!

My first reaction was to wake Mr Wonderful up. He stirred, but I could tell he wasn't fully awake. "Honey! You awake?" All I got was a mumble mumble noise from him. "Honey! Something just ran across my face!" I said. He wokes a little more "What?" "Yes, something ran across my face!" Then I heart it. I said "Shhh, do you hear that?" He says "No, what?" "It's still in here!!!" I could hear it scurrying around the tent on the tarp floor! He said "Must have been a chipmunk".

I heard it jump on Munchkin's cot and run around her sleeping bag, then she started to squirm in her sleep.....(I think it went into her sleeping bag for a bit) then I heard it plop back onto the tent floor! Mind your our dog is sound asleep in the tent during all of this. Lazy dog, supposed to be protecting us.

Anyway, I begged Mr Wonderful to save the day, I mean night, and get it. He replies "What am I going to do, shoot it in the tent? It will be fine just leave it alone." I can't believe he just said that! "What? I can't sleep knowing something could shimmy in my sleeping bag or claw my eyes out at night! Not to mention the children!" I thought to myself how I was sure he'd feel differently if he had had his face ran across instead of me. Just as I was prepared to remind him of his duty to protect his family, the noises were gone. The chipmunk had left the tent.

My Forest Enemy

Would you believe I have two stories about assaults from chipmunks? I can hardly believe it myself.

It was my first hunting season shortly after Mr. Wonderful and I were married. I was completely new to hunting. Not only had I walked what felt like a million miles that day, but I had to carry this really heavy gun. It just didn't feel comfortable any way I held it. I tried carrying it by the sling but Mr Wonderful said I wouldn't be ready to shoot if we saw one, plus it dug into my shoulder anyway. I tried switching hands but pretty soon both arms felt 2" longer than normal from carrying that darn gun. I was ready for a rest but I didn't want to stop hunting either. So Mr Wonderful decided I should rest under this huge tree in a clearing. He would loop around the surrounding area and see if he could push some elk out into the opening for me. How chivalrous.

There I was, sitting under this big tree, minding my own business when I hear a very angry chipmunk chattering overhead! Great, now he is telling all his forest friends including the elk I am here under this tree. For quite a while this went on and I could hear that chipmunk climbing around in the tree overhead and little pieces of bark would flitter down from the upper branches. The chipmunk was getting lower in the tree and lower and finally it came out onto a branch just above me and chattered loudly for me to leave his domain. I was not going to be bossed around by some chipmunk. We actually had an exchange of angry words let me tell you! It was a verbal fight.

As a new hunter I knew I was supposed to stay put so I wouldn't end up lost.....like a small child I obeyed. I just tried to ignore the forest siren telling on my location every time it chattered it's warnings at me.

I don't think the chipmunk could relate to my desire to not get lost. He was angry as ever and not backing down in the fight! Then I felt it, the wet drops showering down onto me, into my hair, and on my coat. That chipmunk peed on me! I could not believe this had happened to me. I felt so assaulted! Then you will never guess.....he pooped on me too! Several times in the matter of a minute!

By this time I am trying to find the little sucker in the tree with my rifle scope but of course he is buried in thick branches and I can never get my cross hairs on him.....which makes him a very lucky chipmunk I might add.

Needless to say there never were any elk that came withing view of me.....one because of the siren in the tree I am sure and two if there had been any elk I am pretty sure I was busy aiming the rifle in the tree and never would have seen them anyway!

Oh course when I told my horrific story of chipmunk assault and his warfare tactics to Mr. Wonderful he laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. When we got back to camp he told everyone all about it. To this day he still tells my story all the time!

Well I have declared war against these little guys. What? They started it not me!

How To Get Kids to Help...

If you really want kids to help sometimes you just have to let them use their toys to do the job!

Amazing what you can get the kids to do when you let them use their toys! We get all kinds of help with yard work and gardening thanks to the thrill of hauling anything in a Tonka dumptruck!

Then there is this beauty.....well I wouldn't call it a beauty but it is rough, tough, and industrial for a reason.

This wagon is built from a great kit we found in the Northern Tool Catalog. This wagon makes it so easy to get the kids to help with things like hauling firewood, hauling animal feed from the car to the feed storage, toting around yard plants for spring planting, we've even use it as a way to move heavy appliances, and so much more.

The other cool part is how much fun they have with it, they love this wagon. It goes pretty fast and it is QUIET, I couldn't stand how loud the old fashioned red wagons were when you tried to take the kids for a walk in it.....oh and the handle is nice and long for adults too.

We have went through about 3 wagons before finally settling on the idea we needed something tougher than the typical red wagon could hold up to. This one has an 800lb load capacity and I don't think it is going anywhere. The cost of the wagon kit at about $70 has been far outweighed by the many uses we have found for this workhorse of a toy!

So there is one of our tricks to getting kids into helping more. Oh and the other trick is they don't have a choice if they help or not.:)

Adds new meaning to "Pit Stop"

Ahh......the days of potty training. We have freshly hatched chicks in this cage he is leaning over, I bribed him into sitting on the potty chair and trying to go potty, he was watching all those sweet fluffy chicks and simply fell asleep (either that of I forgot about the poor child and he fell asleep due to a forgetful mother). Is that NOT cute? You know those photos where you are supposed to embarass the graduate and everyone has to guess who is who from their baby pics? You guessed it this is top pick for Tobers.;)