Spring to Summer update 2015

K8 puts medicine on cattle to de-worm them during the Spring.

K6 is working in a big city making money and gaining experience. He has been offered a pretty cool job opportunity in the TV, video, editing world later this summer...stay tuned.

Summer time means K8 mows our giant yard weekly. He drives a little too fast sometimes without looking at the ground. Result? Look at the yellow mowing deck under his feet - notice the front portion is touching the ground? He hit a rock or stump and broke off the linkage that holds the deck to bottom of engine. He finally noticed it a few minutes after I took this photo. Had to special order the part from John Deere, because it is out of production and hard to find. Hope he doesn't do this again.

One of the bridges near our farm collapsed and had to be replaced. We had to take a detour for over three weeks, but finally fixed and re-opened.

A gorgeous evening. We have had lots of rain throughout the Spring and Summer.  At least the pond is finally full to the top.

K8 and I came home one afternoon and I noticed this small cow, Wendy, was still trying to give birth after three hours of effort - something really wrong, it should have taken less than half an hour. 

We called in the professional midwife because none of the Vets were available.

Everyone of us tried pulling the calf out, but could not get her out. It was a girl, and she was still alive at this point.

But by the time we called our neighbors to bring a come-along to help us pull her out, she died. First time we have ever lost a calf on the farm in 5 years. Wendy is a tiny girl and Red's calf was just too big for her. Wendy laid in the pasture for a week resting before she stood up. The boys took her feed and water. Thankfully, she has recovered and now healthy. I'm waiting until end of July to put her in with our tiny black bull, Black Bart. Hopefully, the two will have lots of little healthy calves over the next many years.

Other critters die on the farm - especially if they come uninvited. Our big dog took care of this trespasser. 

K2 has been very busy in the barn the past few months. He built several shelves and organized this corner of barn for all our feed and garden items. He even put the big heavy feed barrels on wheels so they are easy to roll around. He also made a long board for K8; cut all the trim so we could finish the floor board trim in the basement rooms; and built a new laundry room shelf unit that holds 3 large laundry baskets.

Quarterly update! Christmas to spring.

Late Christmas eve. Waiting for Santa.

Our Ward Christmas supper and party. Santa showed and distributed candy to the kids.

Short but sweet - both my two grand daughters Sadie and Lydia, and the time I  had to spend with them.

Wyatt Earp? No, but K2 has spent quite a bit of time reading up the guy, and apparently, he Wyatt was not as nice as hollywood paints him.

K7 bird hunting with a 20 gauge. He bagged a rare one.

Speaking of rare, here's a bald eagle sitting in one of our trees. I need a better camera with telephoto lens.

The first of several snow falls this winter in the Ozarks.

Future home maker of America, Mom teaching how to grind wheat for fresh hot cooked cereal, a main staple at in our home.

K8 rocking himself and baby to sleep.

Another snowfall. We keep the bird feeder full all winter for our feathered friends.

K2 leading another expedition up the hill...

...what goes up, must come down. She's 5 years old and it's her first sled run down  hill, so she's enjoying it.

Keeping the herd fed gets challenging, especially when the tractor too cold to start. 

K2 is working full time as a plumber's assistant with the best master plumber in the county. Good. He can pay off student loans, gain practical experience, network with best known guy in area, and take a break from the law books until he has to take bar exam down the road.

K6 self medicating while fighting a bad cold.

Another snow storm.

Sheep know how to stay in a straight line. They are waiting for the boys to break the ice in water bubbler, so they can get a drink.

Sun out and melting the ice and snow.

But wait, another snow storm blows in, this one with ice.

It took us 3 times longer to drive home at 10 miles per hour in this stuff.

No, the snow didn't melt quickly. I just threw this one in to break up the white monotony. K7 and K8 tagged and banded new lambs the day before the first big snow storm struck.

One more snow storm. Boys using our play pool to slide bales of hay to the sheep in the corral.

K7 is their new best friend. Hungry sheep.

Finally, the snow is melting for what we hope is the last time this month.

The stream is full. The truck would never make it through the mud on south side of stream, so we have to take the tractor - after our friend Brian replaced the fuel line.

K8 laying on a log across the stream and shooting underneath, up side down. 

K6 babysitting.

Sister missionaries over for supper. They always bring a great spirit into our home.

K8 "helping" one morning. Someone stayed up too late last night. A picture is worth a 1,000 words.

Belated Christmas and New Year's photos

Our little ones were excited and up early Christmas morning. As you can see, it was bright and sunny (and warmed up enough for kids to go out and play).

No, the baby is not fat! Just a bad angle. Look at K6 - he's at a bad angle too. 

KT helping girls assemble the doll house.

He's 4 months old.

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"Oh, we must be in Oklahoma now." I took this at a Billy Simm's BBQ place near Oklahoma City. Every wall is covered with OU football photos. Great place for a Sooner fan...and the ribs were excellent as well.

Meanwhile, back at Great-Grandma and Grandpa's house in Tulsa, Lydia wanted to drive my truck, but had to settle for sitting in the driver's seat and holding the wheel...at least until she visits the farm as a teen, then she can drive it. 

Finally got an updated photo of us with our grown children - K3, K2, K4, K7, K6, K1, K8, and K5. Probably should have ditched the chair.

Our first family photo with the entire family, all 3 sons-in-laws and 10 grand children (can you find all 10?). 

Back on the Wanch, we started having "Friday Night Movies" in the basement, with a big screen. This was our inaugural film.

Wow, forget the expensive flat screen TV's. With the lights off, our bed sheet is an awesome experience, at least for me and the little ones. They had never seen this great classic, so it was fun to watch, and listen to, their reactions to it. We got so enthralled, we forgot the pop corn!