miserable winter

Thought the temps have been mild it has been a terrible Winter here on the ranch. Rain ,rain and more rain leaving it a muddy mess in the pasture. I do not see how we are ever going to get grass to grow again. We ran out of $ so the barn didn't get finished. Seems to be the thing we have the $ and not the time or the other way around. Income tax funds should help this year as we do not (I hope) have a big purchase this year...oh shoot yes we do we need a farm truck.  Jim is retiring so we won't have the rental truck any more. It would come in handy as before he left and when he returned before taking the truck back we did all the chores that needed a truck.

Retired...yup he is retiring from active RR service but staying on the board of directors. Now I say this tongue in cheek as just after he announced it they asked him to go to Oklahoma.  He wouldn't have retired at all IF he had been getting a salary and been out there regularly but he wasn't and had been home for over three months and we needed the money. At least retiring he will get a guaranteed amount  which is more than what he can count on for the company. Plus I do need him here on the ranch. it seems every time he leaves something goes wrong...either I get sick, fall or something breaks.  All the time he was he was  home everything was fine he left and last night we had no water. Something is wrong with the pump....at least it seems so and hoping it's not the well. I had to use the "ole" hit the switch with a hammer to get it to run.  Sigh~!  We are back to the ole prime the pump of the early times on a ranch thing. next I'll be carrying water from the well or the stream.(pool)

I am thinking on going back to the New England way with horses..keeping them barned.....when we get the barn done. This way we can maintain the pasture by putting them out in different areas during the day for a few hours. We are going to have T till the other pasture and then fence that one giving us three areas to play..plus also fence the front of the house so they can mow the lawn LOL.
Up North we kept our hoses in stall all the time unless they were being ridden. The ones who boarded and didn't ride were put out for a few hours a day. They only had little areas there too for pasture and I bet I have more here.
The end of Jan. Jim and I went to Georgia to see another Clinton Anderson Tour and had a great time. T and Colten took  care of our "kids" while we were gone.

Mud, Mud everywhere. T came over with his tractor to help with the clean out of muck. you can see Cody is mortified. LOL..."You want a piece of me? Bring it on!"
They are so uses to him doing this now they watch the job being done to supervise.

Pedicure day at the ranch

Today Ricky Nance our farrier came to call. We took the shoes off till March. He checked Cody's feet as we noticed left front and right rear hoof seemed closer to the ground. He fussed and measured with his feet and found them OK. After taking each shoe off Tracy used some hoof shiner on the hoofs of both babies.. So now we have French manicured and shinny hoofed horses. Lady had her two front hooves slightly rolled in the hopes she will not stumble any more.

While waiting for Ricky to finish Tracy and T's horses and come to our place, Jim & I groomed the kids. I did Lady while Jim brushed Cody then while telling  her to whoa I went about working on Molly and did Cody's mane and tail after Jim finished brushing him. She stood there and waited over 20 minutes and while she kept watching Molly eating hay, then  broke down and went to see.  I went and brought her back to stand.

Tracy and the farrier arrived and while Cody was tied started working on him then moved on to Lady who while he worked just stood patiently with her rope just thrown casually over the rail. She was a perfect Angel . What a "precious" girl.

Not to minimize Cody he also was a good boy while Ricky worked and Tracy polished. We told him rich men had manicures too so he wouldn't feel sissified. LOL

After we finished Tracy, Jim & I went to MiMi's cafe for lunch. Tracy having hamburger and fries while Jim and I enjoyed a great Taco Salad.

After Tracy dropped us off we drove to town and met another friend who owns the best Pizza Shop Bella Blak.  Kansas sold me a beautiful oak round table for my kitchen at an unbelievable price, When I say steal I am not kidding. The price was right so home it came and it looks awesome..photos later. .  Jim and I were sitting in the restaurant eating and joking about the tables which are no way like a restaurant table..solid oak round pedestal tables just like what we wanted, we wanted to carry one out the door LOL. We told Kansas we just loved the tables and wished we had one, He said 'You want one? I have a few extra in storage..make me an offer'' Jokingly I said $100 and he said,"No I'll sell it to you for $75" I just about died as these tables sell for anywhere from $400-$600 dollars. So by a fluke of me wanting Pizza for supper we got a deal we couldn't refuse. We love it..Thanks Kansas.

On the way home table in the bed of the truck another neighbor flagged us down and invited us into his home made log cabin...I mean home made he and his wife built the whole cabin, doors, cabinets everything themselves Instead of logs it's made from Railroad ties..just an awesome place.

All in all a wonderful day on the ranch

beautiful day on the farm

Well it turned from freezing to cold to unseasonably mild today. They delivered the mattress early this AM which was nice we didn't have to sit and wait all day. Quick job and they took the old box spring and mattress with them.I started laughing  as I looked..it is slightly taller than our queen which we set on the platform and used till the king got here. OMG nosebleed heaven. It's a Serta Beautirest with dual settings...one side firm the other softer. The store told them just how we wanted it so they brought it in the correct way and positioned it just right ...Jim gets the soft side and I get the firm side. As soon as they left we put the new cover on and the sheets and quilt. Then the two of us jumped up and lay down and called the cats in to see it. Now if I can convince them where they are supposed to sleep I'll be in heaven. There is supper room in the center for all the 5 bed hogs..Puddy sleeps under the bed  not on it.

the Ranch carpenter at work on the platform.....all looks pretty harmless.....
till the king mattress arrives and adds mucho height to what we have.. No surprise as it was thought out.  We need storage and have gained more by making it this height and Puddy now has a super bed room. she spends most of her time under the bed.. I looked under it yesterday and she has found that she can now sit up in her cat bed and no longer has to slink to get uner the bed anymore either. In one of the photos below you can see the b/w bed one of the two cat beds we put there for her and Tom. you can also see how high the mattress makes it. The poor kink quilt hardly covers it

 Chessie (tiger ) and Shadow (black) cats make their mark already.

 Chessie and Shadow supervise while lounging on top of the mattress while it sits on its side

The handy ranch foreman is a jack of all trades.

New Years Eve and New Years Day at the ranch was very quiet. We both managed to stay up till midnight..made a few snacks and had a few drinks. Sunday Jim started work on our King platform for the new mattress to be delivered this Thursday. I cooked a roast pork...bone in..loved them better than rolled roasts. I found an old recipe out of a 40 yr old New England Cookbook with recipes from Early New England..Geo Washington  era and earlier which have been converted. It called for scoring the fat and rubbing in flour and salt and pepper then basting it while it cooks with Apple Cider that had been cooked down to a syrup.  I fudged since I didn't have any cider and used Alpine Cider powdered drink, sugar brown and white and finishing it with cider vinegar. Worked great and gave it a nice crisp crust.  I think I enjoyed the crust more than the roast. LOL. Threw some potatoes quartered in for pan roasted potatoes and served with peas and apple sauce. The meal was great. After eating Jim went out to work on the bed again and I finished up taking the decorations down. When he was done he came in for a nap and I watched the Hell on Wheels marathon till about 4 PM. I then went out and fed the babies and while Lady ate I used some Cowboy Magic and untangled her mane...brushing and combing it with the new brush and comb her Aunt Tracy gave her. They were fantastic. I can see why she swore by them. Lady stalled threw her eating,,enjoying every minute. When done she followed me over to Cody and Molly and she watched me comb their manes too.

A wonderful quiet day on the Ranch.

Monday we went back to Lowes for more parts for the bed, stopped for lunch at the cafe then Jim and I took our queen bed down and cleaned all the kitty hair out from under the bed. Found at least 20 cat toys while doing it.  We ditched the box spring and set the mattress on it's side in front of my dresser while Jim put the bed together.  Chessie and Shadow fought for place on the top of the leaning mattress and watched the show.  After done we put the mattress on the platform till Thursday. I thought yesterday it didn't look to high ooops........23 inches but then add another 10-12" for the matress and you have fun trying to get up on the bed. I have to settle on a footstool to boost myself up LOL

The mud is slowly drying up in the field  LOL mud bog. I still feel so sorry for them. Lady keeps looking at me as if she is waiting for me to halter her to play, Once we get caught up around the house I'll do just that. This week is another hodge podge of chores..tomorrow being the dump and maybe a start on cleaning out my spare bed room. We are saving the bed frame which can be shrunk to a twin so I think we will put it up when we get stuff cleared out and buy a cheaper mattress or air mattress and set it up as a day bed  for company. We hope by summer we have the second floor of the barn done and figure Jim's grand kids will want to sleep up there or at least his grandson, Briggs will and Mom and Lauryen can sleep in the spare room.  If  Dave, Dawn or Dale or even Derek come they have their Fifth Wheel to use. Derek being in the Navy you never know he just might drive down and if he does he can use the spare room.

All takes time and $ which we do as we can. An on going project here on the ranch.

Ah farrier comes this Saturday AM. we are thinking of taking the shoes off for the winter and re shoeing in March or April. At least we will not have to worry about the mud pulling off a shoe.

Happy New Year

Here we are another week and one more day and the season will be over. The week went by rather quick. I didn't go out Christmas Ever to hear if the animals really talk but maybe next year if the "barn" is finished by then. If it is Jim and I can sneak out and listen. I told them I wouldn't tell anyone if they did so maybe they will.

Jim bought more lumber for the barn and he also put up a gutter to direct the rain water away from the flat roof section . It's only a temp solution till we finish the upper barn. He also bought the wood that will go around the outside bottom to keep the draft and water from running through.

The kids are still half and half with mud. T came over last week and plowed mud and poop down to the bottom of the paddock making our pile huge. Molly loves to climb it and be queen of the pile but she will have to wait till the mud dries.  I hate winter.

Yesterday we went to Dickson and ended up buying a long needed mattress. We're going for king size since there seems we have no room in our queen with 5 fur children horning in. Back again today for lumber as Jim will be making a platform for the mattress and also it will be high off the ground giving me a nose bleed from the altitude but giving Puddy a nice spot under the bed for her private bedroom and my storage. I will probably need a footstool to get in it.

The kids are happily munching their supper and some peppermints. The cats are snoozing and Jim and I resting.

Nothing planned for the evening. New Year is just another day here at the ranch. But we do wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Like I said last blog..Time flies.  My Jim came home last Tuesday and we have been running around ever since. We have to make use of having the rented truck while we have it so lots of barn chores going on for sure. We went yesterday for more wood and a gutter to help defer the water from inside the shelter. Looks like the sides will wait till income tax time. Jim is going to put boards around the bottom all around the shelter which will help the run off going through the shelter. All we have everywhere is mud it's terrible. This also means uneven ground when it freezes. I will be glad when it is all done.  Next year I would like to duplicate this part to make it a real barn with 4 stalls. I love barns.....you have to laugh as barns are for people not the horses as if you ride around and look ...there are the barns and the stock are standing under leafless trees in the pouring rain. Me I love sitting in the barn just listening to the stock and when we get this done that's just what I will do....especially Christmas Eve so I can see if the animals talk.....well they did in "I Remember Mama"

Well next year........
Wishing all a Merry Christmas form Beachnut Stables at the Dry Creek Ranch...which btw is not dry at all.

Time Flies

I didn't realize it is almost a week since I blogged.  Well you haven't missed much on the ranch at least as it has been the worst week. Rain and more rain and poor Lady looking like an orphaned wild horse. Day before yesterday I finally got to clean her up and bit and "dusted" off Cody too. It wasn't sunny and the pasture was still wet but the kids were way over looking into T & Tracy's pasture for there friends. Lady looked and saw me walking into the pasture with her halter and lead and surprised me so much because she walked over to me and followed me to the tree of knowledge. This is where she would usually tease me and walk off into the woods but she turned and faced me and let me yes let me halter her and put her lead rope on. She then followed me to the dryest spot we could find and she immediately turned and looked at me. She WANTED to play. So I put her through a few of her learned paces which she did  I didn't do much at all just about a minute or two with each as it was still slick and muddy we then went back to the tree where I tied her. It was then time to undo her tangled mane. Sigh never ending now. But I think she is loving this attention. Any way it was about a half hours work as it seems the Cowboy Magic I used before still works making the tangle easier to work on. After I was done I curried and scratched her till Cody showed up and started acting Stallion like. I wasn't taking chances because the last time resulted with him rearing and kicking at her so I backed him away till he gave up and went to forage a few feet away. I then undid Lady and went to Cody and curried him and brushed him up a wee bit. That seemed to make him happy and then Molly barged in so she had some too. That done the three went off to munch on hay.

Lady has found a way to make me feel guilty.  I usually feed around 4:30 PM and lately if I look out about three there she is in her stall area turned and staring at the house. She doesn't move just stares and stares......" I want you to come out and feed me, I want you to come out and feed me" and so on and so on. Has she got me hypnotized? Is she trying mind games? Who knows but I can't stop myself from looking back...but not giving in. I had to laugh because today she moved from the stall to opposite my LR window and was doing the same thing. By this time it was time to feed so I grabbed my camera only to find she had moved to her stall and the damn battery's were dead in the camera. Gonna catch this one of these days as it is so cute to see.

The week has kept me busy as I have been going to T's and taking care of the doggies....mostly Queenie who at her elder age needs to go out a few times a day and in her condition can't use the dog door to go out..she comes in but not out. Besides this I spent two days doing some paper work for her.. It kept me busy.

Nights I turn into Betty Crocker for some unknown reason I can't create my digital work but I've gone on a baking spree,  Before Jim left I was baking Chocolate Chip cookies I think 3 batches. Since he has gone I made Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Spritz cookies , Walnut thumbprints, Wedding type cookies.Snicker doodles, and Biscotti...Wonders will never cease. All this with cat help..TJ and RJ are the cookie makers...Chessie only likes to cook meat.  I still have some wrapping to do and a hat to finish knitting. LOL but then this isn't stable stuff but I guess ranch stuff since it happens on the ranch.

good news is Jim leaves tonight well in the we Sunday AM hours1:40 Spokane time 3:40AM our time and should be home Tuesday AM..I'm so happy it's been a long week.