April random photos

Chickens and turkey

Ducks

Wiley goes shopping

K7 on opening night. 

"Dandy" can't hear a thing

Mom and the boys getting the garden ready

Piano practice

Dreaming of driving

Home on the range

Our hilltop pasture. Finally got it fenced in January, and the grass is growing well enough to hold our cattle's attention.

We use the small pond at the top of our hill as a shooting range. Recently planted seed around it, so we should have lots of grass and clover soon. K8 wanted to try shooting two cowboy pistols at one time.

He is shooting at a small target floating in the water.

Blasting away with both guns. Yes, he hit the target.

K7 also had no problem hitting the little target...

...in fact, he sank the first target, and the second one, a small piece of wood, he split in half. Not bad shooting, boys. It is a shame though that the cost of ammo has sky-rocketed the past several months to where we can not go shooting as often as we would like - every day! Maybe that's a good thing, so the cattle won't get lead-poisoning from drinking this water.

Mr Mechanical

K8 is very handy on the farm and in the workshop. He is not overly thrilled in this picture, because I asked him to get the "big" weed eater ready, which means he had to remove the "ninja" cutting blade and sharpen it. 

This is the part he really likes - sharpening some blade on the grinding stone. Notice he wears gloves and eye protection - without me ever reminding him.

Here is the part he dislikes - having to lug the big, heavy thing while cutting thick, thorny brush. 

What was K7 doing during all this? Spreading red clover seed on the hillside. We had put a hundred pounds of it on our six paddocks earlier in the day. A few weeks ago we spread white clover, sweet yellow clover (for my bees), orchard grass, and Timothy grass. My goal is to keep opening up small areas among the trees and planting more pasture grass, but always keeping wooded areas for the deer, turkey, quail, hawks, owls, bobcat, and other wildlife. On our way back to house later this day, we saw a big owl drinking water from a seep - very cool moment.

When K7 finished this side of the hill, I released K8 from his drudgery, and together he and K7 spread clover seed across the top pasture and the western side of our hill (deer love clover!). After which I rewarded both boys with a little time shooting guns.

Random shots from past week.

I don't know - you'll have to ask K3 and K7 what this pic is about. I understand the sign for "talking on the phone", but...

Easter Sunday. Mom and I spoke in Church, and Danny's parents came for a visit this weekend. So...

...because of their visit, we celebrated Wiley's first birthday some weeks early. K3 made miniature chocolate cupcakes with special frosting and a mint cookie on top. The good news is that we get to have more cake when we celebrate his B-day again at end of month!

Mom killed her battery, so we had to get the jumper cables out. Jimmy the cat wanted to help.

K8 wielding a machete to cut up tree limbs.

After building a giant pile of brush, K8 started a beautiful fire with a few matches and a handful of leaves and sticks.

We moved hay and cows to different paddocks.

Some of the dogs patrolling the perimeter fence. Dandy had to have surgery on her leg to repair a rip in her skin, so she was restricted to the upper back deck for several days while healing. As of today, she is ready to go back on patrol.

We now have both sides of the stream fenced, so the cattle have a lot more  grass to eat and room to move around in.

K8 is standing in the corral at sunset. This was a particularly long work day. He missed play practice.

Never ending visits to the Feed Store.

Great camouflage on this bantam rooster formerly a member of the "wild flock" out in the corral, but he has joined the "tame flock" and now lives in the dairy shed coop.

K7 bought a GroPro action camera and records many different activities. We had just returned from shooting, and he is still wearing his ear muffs and cartridge belt.

Happy to be here!

Barn clean-up

K2 has been wanting to clean out and organize this corner of our barn for about two years now, but he couldn't because I have been letting good friends store an old iron stove in this spot. Well, he came home from law school on spring break two weeks ago, and he got K6 to help him load it then haul it to it's owner. 

Then he commenced to clean and...

...build, and organize.

This corner now looks great, and we can quickly find whichever tool we need.

His second task was to clean and organize the work bench. As you can see, the boys just toss "stuff" on top of other stuff.

He made a pretty good start, and it will only get better.

K7's Eagle Court of Honor

Friday, 5 April 2012, at 7:00 P.M., we finally had most of our extended family able to gather for the formal presentation of the Eagle award to K7.

A real Eagle - 15 years old, 33 merit badges, lives the Scout oath and law daily, and still going strong. 

K7 joins the Eagle's nest with 7 other Eagles who were present, including his 84 year old Grandpa.

K8 did a great job as door greeter, chamberlain, and major domo.

Grandpa told a story from his youth when he was an Eagle scout in the 1940's during World War II and attending the dedication of an Army hospital in his home town where he met a General.

A few years later, he joined the Army and found himself in Japan, and bumping into a General who recognized Grandpa as the Eagle scout from that former hospital dedication. The Army wanted to send him to West Point, but he chose to go to college and medical school.

K7 had the honor of having his Eagle pinned on by his Grandpa.

Then K7 pinned the Eagle Mom pin on his Mother's sweater. 

Momma's boy!

The Missouri State Senate awarded K7 an official Proclamation in his honor.

Pappa's boy!

We had over 60 family and friends in attendance.

K7 with his Grand Dad (who also spoke during the program), Aunts Kathy and Colleen all from Oklahoma, and his cousin Max and wife Miranda, from his Army base in Alaska.

Besides family coming from Oklahoma, K4 and Ryan drove up from Texas with their kids, and K2 raced home from KC to be a speaker. 

Both of the missionaries serving in our Ward are Eagle Scouts. Now K7 will have his card on his mission. Your Eagle card - never leave home without it!