Guns, Doves and Daffodils

Friday, March 20, 2009

Well, like I've mentioned before, which is pretty darn obvious, we are an outdoors family. Grass, mud, tree buds, sticks-all have made permanent residency in our house. Oh, not that I really really WANT them there but it happens and I'm okay with that. Last week we had a 4 ft long branch on the blanket that covers the piano keys. After a couple days I finally tossed it outside. It made it's way back in within HOURS! I don't really understand. No one played with it the whole time it was on the piano and then, like it has legs of its own, it shows back up in the house almost immediately. And I never know who the culprit is: Buster, our lab, or Wyatt.
Monday was a gorgeous day! I called up my friend who lives about 40 min. out of town and within an hour the boys, rifles, dogs and I were packed up and headed out to Kendra's place (http://kendras-bliss.blogspot.com/). We ate our packed lunch and was outside the entire afternoon. We all got some good sun. We set up cans and bottles on the treeline and spent an hour puttin holes in them with my Ruger bolt action .22 and Wyatt's inheritted Henry lever-action .22.

Kendra taught Riverlyn all about a rifle and how to shoot. Riverlyn did great! She shot the Ruger 3 times. JD was unphased by the shots and Wy, for some reason, didn't like it. I think he's used to the fuse being lit on a firework and giving him the second or two to get ready for the blast. I tried letting him know it was gonna 'boom' just before we shot but that still didn't work.
On Tuesday, at lunch, Wyatt kept sayin he heard an owl. I told him it was a dove. Then he kept sayin, 'see? see? there's the dove mama!" I looked outside and sure enough, there she was. After a minute of callin to her, her mate sailed in and took his rightful place beside. We took a couple pictures and had fun watching them.


We've also been watchin cardinals out front:

And tryin to keep this guy away:

Wyatt's been very busy in the yard doin what 2 yr olds do best: shootin his 'guns' and playin in the dirt.

JD has been very entertained by Wyatt. He's been playin on the blanket and spending time in the jumper and walker when we're outside. We've taken the boys and the dogs on walks down to the creek a lot lately. As soon as JD sees the wagon his legs start kickin and he starts yelling.

My flowers are poppin up all over and I'm really glad because the seeds in my indoor flats are just comin up and it's too risky to plant them outside yet.

My Favorite Smells

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Hmmmmm....my favorite smells in the world have no ranking order because I love them all the same. Call me crazy and disillusional but if you've never smelled some of these then you don't understand how wonderful they are. In no consequential order they are:

1. hay-sweet luscious hay

2. saw dust-this will one day be incorporated into a cologne I have yet to create. I swear it's an aphrodesiac.

3. manure-yes, I said manure. I'm talkin bout horse and cow manure. That's it. It tends to have a calming affect on those that understand the chemical makeup.

4.fresh cut grass-need I say more? Who doesn't like that smell? You've got to have one hard soul to not like this!

5.spring mud with a warm rain-so earthy and wholesome

6.baby milk breath-No one knows the sweetness of this unless they have a little bundle of life tucked into their arms knowing that their beginning and existence solely depends on something that is unexplainable, unmatched and miraculous

7. babies heads-again no one can fathom the sweetness of a tiny baby's head unless they understand the miraculousness of new life.

8. spouse's natural musk-there is no cologne that even comes close in this rival. There is no rival. No contest. No cigar.

9. exhaust from a blender mixing cookie dough-you can't live life without this one!

10. horse flesh-aaaaahhhhh....if you understand you understand and I'm deeply and regrettably pity those who don't know the smell

11. puppy breath-just like the babies breath

12. leather-and I ain't talkin leather from a $600 coat. That doesn't compete with the true leather. I'm talkin used and bruised leather that you'd find in a tack room or the backseat of a truck.

13. woodsmoke-homey, simple, old-fashioned woodsmoke. Somehow it reminds me that workin hard, lovin and laughin with family and friends and knowin that life has a higher purpose is all you need in this world.

Many of these I grew up with so they bring back a poignant and nostalgic feeling but thankfully they all still play a vital role in my life now. Some of these I didn't learn to love until after the birth of our firstborn son. I realize some people may look at me differently after readin this but hey, it's me and now you know!

Labor Day Weekend 08

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 We spent Labor Day Weekend at the farm. The time is up for Grandpa to work it now. He was sick a couple weeks back and didn't get to cleaning up what he wanted to and with it being hot he didn't have the ambition. He has asked that he have a couple more months and the Monarch rep. had no problem with it. I'm hoping we can get out there one more time. E helped grandpa go sort thru some things and Dan and Georgia went to work on the junk pile. Wyatt had a blast! He calls the 4-wheeler the 'tractor' and he ain't one bit afraid of the cattle! One of the cows started eyeballing me as I was holding Wyatt to check out the barn and when she lowered her head and got to within about 5 feet of me I yelled at her to get back. That was all Wyatt needed to hear. We went back up to the shed and grain bin and was messin around. The calves and a couple cows were curious so Wyatt walked out there towards them and said, 'comin' cows? C'mere!' When they got up to him he started in at them yelling, 'back cows! back!!'

You can barely see the cows just to the right of the shed. Talk about confusing but he thought he was walkin in tall cotton! He grinned like a Cheshire cat after that! We took him on ride after ride after ride on the 4 wheeler. I took him down to the hay meadow where he saw a doe bound off away from us that we had spooked. He kept yelling, 'c'mere deer!' We got hit by so many spider webs we were wrapped in the stuff by the time we came out of the meadow. I took him on a 8 mi. ride on the roads to look for more cows and horses. About 1/2 way thru the ride he started slumping over and I realized he was falling asleep. I cupped his upper body and head with my left arm and drove 30 mph to get back to the farm. When I pulled in my left arm was numb and so was my right hand from steering and pushing the throttle. JD got mad a time or two. He was set up under the walnut trees.

Then he got sleepy. It was really muggy out and the poor baby kept sweating. I washed him off to keep him cool. There wasn't a continuous breeze to cool things off even in the shade.

He finally passed out just before we headed back into town.

Wyatt and E coming in from a ride.

This picture spans four generations. Wyatt's Great Grandpa Dietrich (pictured with Wyatt) was born in this farmhouse and raised on this ground. Wyatt's Grandma Laver was raised in this house. This is where Grandpa Laver came to take Grandma out on dates. This is the house that always welcomed Grandma and Grandpa back after their trips to Eureka to watch the horse races. This is the house and land that Wyatt and JD's daddy tromped on every summer of his childhood, into his teens. There is not a rock unturned or a hole undiscovered. This is the barn where Grandpa got into trouble in. This is the barn that Daddy got into trouble in. This is the place where feed pellets made a bull mad and daddy and his cousins got into BIG trouble. And don't forget about the bull chasing the cousins down in the slough. These are the ponds that Great Grandma used to take Wyatt and Jarrett's daddy fishing in the evenings with scrap bacon. These are the pastures that Wy and JD's daddy and aunts and Grandma learned to drive in. The whole trip was bittersweet. I'm so glad Wyatt got to enjoy the farm at least one more time. Wyatt and grandpa had a pillow fight on the swing. They both were giggling like little girls.




Talk about a dirty and very happy kid!! All weekend long he loaded up lava rocks in a bucket and dumped them out. He threw walnuts into the pasture and played tee ball in the yard. He figured out how to turn a touch lamp on. That was when he was s'posed to be sleeping! I brought the boys in for lunch and naps. The nap didn't happen til mama had to come in and spoil the fun. He kept giggling and saying 'light! bright!' then he'd touch it to go off and I'd hear him say 'night-night'. Then he kept repeating 'papa, dadda, tractor, at the farm. Cows, water, back cows! G'back cows!' I took Wyatt out to the pasture on the 'tractor' where we went around the ponds and found the cows.


A long time ago when E was a snot nosed youngster (I mean he had bad allergy problems whenever he'd stay with grandma and grandpa) there was an old old, and I mean OLD lady who lived just across the road from the farm. When her health got bad grandma and grandpa used to help her out by plowing her garden, sending over food, brush hoggin her pasture and the like. They said her house was nothing but a shack and you could see the rats run around in it. She never got indoor plumbing and always hid her money in jars buried on the land. (That made for really good treasure hunts later). She didn't understand paper plates and would wash it and grandma would find it on the front step the next morning all tore up and stained. All this lady wore was a shift made out of old feed sacks. Her hair was long and stringy. Imagine a witch with boobs the length of newborn babies. That was her. And no, she didn't have any good teeth to speak of. Her name was Grace and when she died Grandpa bought her land to work. He kept cattle there for the most part. There's a nice pond and just across the intersection so it was easy moving. When she died they said she had more money in the bank than you could shake a stick at.

This is where her house used to stand. We go over there and muck around to see what we can find. There's remnants of old pails and a grain bin and a shed. The better part of an old crank wash machine is still barely alive. It's a great place to scare out rabbits for targets with the 22.

The pond is to the southeast of the house and at the SE corner of the property. There's a lot of turtles to be had in that pond.

Matt joined us on Saturday afternoon and stayed til Sunday. Grandpa always says good things about him. One day Wyatt will find out the truth. But I won't be the one to tell him! I promise!

Even with all the playing Wyatt never missed a meal of course.

Just thought I'd throw this in. My sister was at the New York State Fair this past weekend. They sent me this picture.

This is the farm looking from Grace's place. I'm so glad me and our two sons have been able to enjoy the farm and all the tales that come from it. There is much sweat and tears, hard work and joys, blessings and heartache all wrapped in one very special piece of land.