Runaway Horses or The Domino Effect

I asked my stepson to cut the grass on Sunday.  He chose not to.  He snuck out and went to a friend's house.  I called my husband at work when I realized that the stepson was gone.  He called his son and demanded he go gome and immediately cut the grass.  The stepson returned home with two of his buddies and decided it would be more fun to shoot birds with his gun (a big no-no) instead of cutting the grass.
When he shot the gun it spooked the horses who broke the fence while attempting to jump over it as they escaped. 
One of the neighbor boys eventually caught the horses about a mile down the road.  The boy's dad called me and told me the horses got out.  I was in my car, about ten minutes away with about 20 minutes left of daylight.  I quickly drove home, grabbed two lead ropes and raced back to the location of the horses.  I  negotiated with the boys to help - a. get the car back home and  - b. get the horses home.  My stepson, always prepared to get out of too much work, opted to drive the car home while the other boys and I walked the horses through the water logged pastures (the rains ceased on the 8th day). 
It is now seriously approaching nightfall, the pastures are flooded, the horses are minimally cooperative and I can bearly see to find my way through the pastures.  After about 45 minutes of trudging through calf high water we made it to the back gate of my pasture, encouraging the horses along with a bucket full of sweet feed just beyond their reach. 
In the dark that has now engulfed us, I have to close off the back pasture because the horses broke the fence.  Early the next morning I have to buy a new gate for the middle pasture (10 foot galvonized gate at Tractor Supply Co. $95.00) because the old once is completely rusted and broken.  I have to move a 50 lb bag of chicken feed, a 50 lb bag or cracked corn and a 50 lb bag of goat feed to keep the horses out of it.  I have to lock the front gate to keep the horses from running into the road.  I have to keep the chicken pen closed to keep the horses from hanging out in there trying to eat everyone else's feed.  This prevents the goats from being able to access their feed as they are fed in the chicken pen. (Are ya'll following me....I'm still repairing everything from the domino effect of the stepson's initial irresponsibility.)  Has anyone observed up to this point in this story that the stepson isn't fixing the fence, hauling the 150 lbs of feed around or buying a new gate? 
Today as I'm caring for the horses I notice that their legs are cut up from the barbed wire that was around the fence that they broke through trying to escape from the noise of the gun that the stepson shot off instead of cutting the grass like he was asked to cut some 10 hours earlier. 
Soooo....I ask....who has to pay the vet bill?   I bet it's the same person who bought the goat feed, the chicken feed, the cracked corn, the new gate and the fencing to fix the broken fence.      

Late Bloomers

As annoying as the rain has been, it's been wonderful for the garden.  All the fall plants have sprouted.  I see the peas popping through the ground and little radish and collard sprouts.  I'm excited.  I love fall vegetables.  I love spring vegetables too.  I got the allium and the anenome bulbs all planted.  I've got 60 tulips that need to go in.  I thought I was done with new blooms and was delighted to walk out into the garden and be greeted by some daylilies and azaleas.  I ain't lyin' - heres proof!  

Gotta Love It!

We have just made it through seven - yes - seven days of rain.  I've been thinking alot about Noah lately.  I'm listening for the voices to tell me to start on the arc.  I've got two horses, two goats, two farm dogs, seven sets of two chickens and two roosters (to go with the seven sets of two chickens!) Oh, and a king.  That would be Gus the royal Shih tzu.  The chicken coop is a sloppy mess but the chickens and the goats don't care. 

I was looking at my blog and I couldn't help but laugh at the Google guys.  Have all my faithful followers noticed the ads and how they directly coincide with my blogs - Mouse traps, mexican food, soup recipes, how to build a chicken coop.  I'm going to have my husband click on that one! So ya'll start clickin' on those ads!  

Double Dating

Two of the chickens and two roosters have taken to sleeping under the stars at night.  I keep moving them inside of their coop to save them from things that go bump in the night.  But Romeo and Juliet and Marc Anthony and Cleopatra are insistent upon roosting on the fence each night.  Just the four of them.  Romeo and Marc Anthony are such perfect gentlemen as they keep their ladies on the inside to keep them warm and safe.  When it gets dark enough for them to settle down, I have to pick each one up and carry them inside the coop.  No matter where I put them, they move to be side by side. 

We could probably learn something from them to enhance our own relationships.  It may be as simple as guys on the outside and ladies on the inside or it may be something deeper such as having to be close to you no matter where we end up....maybe it's just about laying eggs... 

Fall Garden

It has been raining for five - yes - five days.  I got a small window of opportunity to pull a few weeds and throw in some fall seeds.  I planted turnips, radishes, collards and snow peas.    Max and Maggie don't seem too thrilled about the rain so they have been hanging out in the chicken coop.  I worked on Andy and Abigail's manes this morning.  They have lots of briars.  They are patient with the pulling and the tugging to get the briars out as long as their noses are buried in the sweet feed.  They aren't thrilled with Gus, the meddling shih tzu.  Andy keeps trying to step on him but so far Gus has been quicker and has been able to slide out from between his hooves in the nick of time.  The chickens could care less about the rain as it brings a multitude of worms for them to eat.  They are oblivious to the muddy puddle that has become their chicken pen.  They look perfectly content this morning at breakfast.   

Fish Tacos with homemade tortillas

Running to the store is a big deal here on the farm. It's not convenient and we don't have a nice store. I have committed to making the things I need instead of buying them whenever possible. I grow my own vegetables,  herbs and flowers. I raise my own eggs. I make homemade preserves, salad dressings, brown sugar and bread. Not only do I save a lot of money this way, everything is fresher, better tasting and chemical free. Today I attempted homemade tortillas to serve with fish tacos. 

Flour Tortillas

3 cups of flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lard
1 cup warm water

cut the lard into the flour with a fork, add the water, knead the dough until it becomes firm. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Roll into 12 balls. These are my balls.  They were kind of sticky so I dusted them lightly with flour before pressing them flat.

Either roll the dough out on a lightly dusted surface or use a tortilla press (I found one at the cast iron skillet outlet outside of Chattanooga) OK, so it's not exactly a circle.  Cook for about 30 seconds on medium high heat on each side. Stack and serve

Everyone loved the fish tacos.  I made the sauce with  half mayonaise, half sour cream, chipotles in adobe sauce, a squirt of lemon, and a dab of sugar. I garnished it with fresh cilantro.

I used red snapper that was caught on a recent trip to Florida.  In California we used a lot of mahi mahi.  In Tennessee we cook with alot of catfish and tilapia.  Shrimp would be good as well.  Try the recipe and enjoy

Another Rainy Day

We have three days of rain in the forecast. We need the rain. The flowers and the animals need the rain. I'm getting my fall garden ready. I haven't been too successful in the past with fall planting. I'll try again this fall. I've got books, websites and Stuart, my landspacing buddy at my disposal. I going to try turnips, snow peas, collards and lettuce. The first dry day we get I'll get to work.

This morning I had help with the dishes. Gus was excited, barking and ready to be of service. He likes to be a part of the activities. He rounds up the goats each evening and herds them back into the chicken coop where they sleep.

Rainy Days

It's been raining pretty hard today. The goats are out in the back pasture, the flowers (what's left after the feasting of the goats) look great, the chickens are loving all the great worms that the beautiful rains bring to the surface for their delight. The rain brings one thing to mind for me - soup. When I was a child my mom always put on a pot of soup when it rained. It's the ultimate comfort food and takes me back to my childhood every time. Try this recipe for the best beef and tomato soup you'll ever eat.

1.5 pounds of stew beef

one onion quartered

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 stalks of celery

three carrots

2 or 3 potatoes, quartered

1 quart of whole tomatoes

3 or 4 quarts of beef broth

egg noodles

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef in a dab of olive oil. Add the onion and the garlic in with the beef just for a minute. Add the beef broth, celery, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes add salt and pepper to taste. (I always add a dab of crushed red pepper because I like a bit of spice in all my food) Let everything simmer for a couple of hours to cook the vegetables and tenderize the beef. About 1/2 hour before serving, add a couple of handfuls of egg noodles. Serve with a crusty loaf of warm bread. Sit out on the porch with the people you love the most, enjoy the soup and watch the rain fall.

Goin' to Town

This is my old red truck. I've actually tried to sell it several times but my husband loves it and continually talks every potential seller out of buying it. I circumvented an e-mail where he told the seller that the interior was old, cheap and worn out, it wouldn't make it to the end of the driveway and it was a bucket of rust. About two months later we won 2nd place in the Fairview parade. It doesn't have to be much to win a prize in the Fairview parade but it did make it to the end of the driveway.

I am driving into town today to hit the farmer's market and have lunch with my nephew. I also need to go by the Verizon store as it is time to retire my trusty old cellphone. It has been a part of me for four years. It still works, it's reliable but it's kinda old and beaten up. Like the old truck - nothing fancy but it always starts right up. I'm wanting a fancier model with all the bells and whistles. I bet I'll be missing the old cellphone by the end of the week.

Tonight we are off to Waverly to see my stepson's football game. He is the star of the team and it's always cool to be a part of Nic's life during football season. All the kid's want to talk to me because they think it will win them favor with Nic. The parents all show up to support the players and the cheerleader and it's a great time for everyone.

EEK A Mouse!

I opened a drawer in the kitchen the other day and saw a bunch of mouse droppings. Mice are common in the country so without panicking, I cleaned all the drawers out and I told Fred about my findings. I asked him to bring home some mouse traps. Being the diligent, obedient husband that he is, he promptly purchased a package of mousetraps. He placed a glob of peanut butter on the trap, pulled out the drawer and placed the trap on the floor under the drawer. While he was setting the trap he gave me a complete lesson on why peanut butter was the bait of choice for the professional mouse catcher and how this particular brand of trap efficiently catches the mouse causing death in a quick, but humane fashion. Whatever! Get the damned mice out of my house as quickly and efficiently as my patience will allow! A day or so later I noticed some mouse droppings on the kitchen floor. I immediately reported my finding to Fred. Certain that we had caught the culprit, I pulled out the drawer and, to my dismay, I saw no mouse. I swore that Fred had placed peanut butter on the trap but all I saw under the drawer was a big stack of dog food and the empty trap in the middle of the area. I called Fred in to look. He got out the flashlight, got down on his knees and peeked under the cabinet. Damned if that mouse didn't eat the peanut butter, take Gus's food from his bowl and carry it under the drawer to stock up for those coming cold winter nights. Seems like the lesson I learned on this one is that you gotta be smarter than the mouse! I'll pass that lesson on to Fred and I'll catch that mouse eventually. In the meantime what Gus doesn't eat by the end of the day goes back into the bag and I've ordered the book Mouse Catching for dummies.

California Computer Geek Catches Goats

My nephew Scott (from California) came by to spend the day with me. I introduced him to Max and Maggie. They were in the front yard on leashes. This amused Scott quite a bit as he has never seen goats on leashes before. In fact he's never seen goats before. I figured that if he's spending the day in the country he's gonna be country for the day. We loaded up the truck and hauled a bunch of trash off to the dump. Then we ate venison for dinner on the picnic table in the front yard with citronella candles burning to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Actually Scott is a very adventurous eater and has eaten venison on many ocassions. It's actually Iwho has yet to embrace venison on my plate or it's head and antlers hanging on my walls!

I assigned Scott the task of moving the goats into the chicken coop for the night. He fought and pulled and tugged yet the goats refused to move so I had him pick them up and carry them into the pen. I posted the photo of Scott conquering the goats. He actually has a look of victory on his face. I plan to immediately e-mail the photo to all of his friends back in California.

We then moved to the front pasture and gave Abigail her daily hoof treatment. He had to lift her feet without getting stomped to death. He actually did a pretty good job. I rewarded Andy and Abigail each with an apple for good behavior and I rewarded Scott with a bowl of banana pudding for his efforts.

Home Photos

This is a recent photo of me and Fred that was taken in my garden. He is such a romantic sucker! This is a perfect description of our relationship. Fred is such a southern gent. He doesn't pick flowers for me very often but he did come home with a manure spreader once.

Missing Shih tzu

I thought I'd be a good wife and ride into work with my husband this morning. Since it was a Saturday and he'd only be at work a few minutes in Nashville, I thought we'd have breakfast at the famous Pancake Pantry. Fred HATED his food. For Fred to leave sausage on the plate it had to be worse than bad - it had to be REALLY bad. My meal was about a C- but apparently a few grades better than Fred's.
I got the brilliant idea that since we were in town we could swing by Verizon and see what kind of free phone upgrades they would offer me. I was second on the list and 45 minutes later I walked out without getting help or my "free upgrade." Then I thought since I was in Green Hills that I might swing by the meeting at the Bluebird Cafe and surprise my old buddy, Joe. It's a damn good thing I didn't try to talk Fred into that idea as a little "bluebird" told me that ol' Joe played hookie and skipped the meeting. As I was leaving the Verizon store my breakfast started bouncing painfully through my intestines and I thought the safest thing was to head for home (approximately one hour away) as I'm starting to pay some serious attention to my belly.
I jump out of the car, fly through the front door and holler for Gus, my loveable and faithful companion as I run full speed into the bathroom. Gus does not respond. For the next 30 minutes that I spend in the bathroom I continue to call Gus - no answer. Now Gus isn't the most prompt responder and doesn't really like to be inconvenienced when asked to respond but he does like to hang out in the bathroom when it's occupied. He thinks the shower is his personal drinking fountain. Gus isn't responding, I'm panicked and somewhat "trapped" in the bathroom. Fred, of course, has taken his usual horizontal position on the bed while I'm searching every nook and cranny for Gus. He has obviously been kidnapped because I know exactly how and where I left him when I left for Nashville and he's got such a great deal here on the farm that he'd never dream of running away. Certainly he's been kidnapped and I'm going to find the ransom note laying in my house.
It's possible, I deduct, that my neighbor Sonja has come over and killed him for romping with her Shih tzu, LuLu, and, no doubt, empregnating her. (Pulling LuLu and Gus apart is a whole nother blog and hold onto your horses faithful followers because I have never seen two dogs stuck together while humping! What a fiasco trying to pull them apart was!) Now I'm sobbing, franicly search for Gus, Fred's up, pretending to look concerned, aid in the search. I'm digging in the ditches, searching under the house looking for scraps of black and white fur in fear that it may become a murder investigation. Whoever kidnapped Gus locked the gate behind him, left the tv on, and left the kitchen door open. Nic is helping Julie build a fence in her backyard. I rush to Julie's house and, alas, Gus is over there playing with Dally the demonic blue healer. Evidentally Julie came by the house to borrow some tools, thought Gus was locked away in the house for the day and figured she bring him over to her house to be Dally's chew toy for the day. He was filthy dirty, dripping wet and having the time of his life with Dally. I was never so relieved in my life. I do believe Mr. Fred may have shed a tear or two at the possibility that Gus may have been gone for good.
So all's well at the farm. Abigail is still hobbling along with her bad hooves. The goats that I bought to eat the brush are still on a hunger strike, finding nourishment to sustain life only with my daisies and zinnias . I did find 5 eggs in the "baby chicken coop" which means that I have successfully gotten 9 out of 29 Rhode Island Reds from day old chicks to laying stage. Usually they're wiped out by Mister and Sister by this stage of the game. So another sun has set on the Harvey Farm, Gus is happily chewing my phone cord in half as I'm finishing my blog, Fred is - in the horizontal, Nic is gone and I'm lovin' life. Standby for tomorrow's merry adventures

Selling the trailer and Disappearing Daisies

I tried to sell my small horse/pony trailer today. I thought I had concocted a good deal but Fred shot me down. I wanted $500 and a years worth of farrier service on both horses. Obviously a different farrier from the one that robbed me yesterday. This farrier, Michael, says that Farrier Greg was good and entitled to charge that much. I think they're both ganging up on me. My girlfriend, Julie, says that Greg trimmed Abigail's hooves too short and that's why she is limping and sore. I'm pretty much siding with Julie. She's pretty smart in the horse business. Oh, she says if Abigail has white line disease I need to see a vet. the Copper tok won't work for her - I don't know - I read everything I can find online and in books and all I get is more and more confused.
Abigail was eating one of my native flowering vines that is growing up the side of the playhouse. That is a crime in my garden as gardening is my number one passion. I ran outside and tried to move her while Fred was watching through the window. This was my big opportunity to show him what a pro I have become. I ran outside, grabbed her harness and I couldn't budge her. I couldn't drag her, I couldn't beg her - she refused to move. I would have had more luck dragging a mule away from that plant. Fred stood in the window and laughed at me for awhile. As soon as he left the window, Abigail moved across the yard. Isn't that the way it goes - they'll make an ass out of you everytime.
I let the goats "free range" for about an hour today while I ran a quick errand. I came back to a flower bed full of stems, minus flowers. Evidently in my entire 7 acres they haven't found any of the weeds they were brought to eat but the first time off the leashes and theyfound the zinnias and the daisies! More adventures tomorrow.

The Farrier

The farrier came yesterday and checked out Andy and Abigails hooves. He was worried about Abigail in the beginning. My husband says to dispose of her and in the beginning he agreed. After trimming her and checking out the infection he thinks she'll be ok. He recommended a product called Jensen Violet that he said would be difficult to find. Difficult was not the right word. Impossible. Like it doesn't exist! I ended up with a product called Copper Tox. It was $16.00 at the local co-op. I passed everything the farrier said by my girlfriend Julie who has had horses her entire life. She disagreed with everything he said and said he way over charged me. He charged me $45. per horse. She said it should have been less than $30 per horse. She said they need moisture and a hoof conditioner and the Copper Tox was drying. The farrier says they need dried and not to use the moisture. I went to the internet to solve the problem. Some websites said treat the hoofs with bleach; some websites said do NOT treat the hoofs with bleach. So...what to do.....I'll call another farrier and see if I was a victim of price gouging
Now onto the goats. Maggie and Max are eating but seem to still be seriously disgruntled with me. I tried to give them a handful of feed - nope. Some carrots - no thanks, some grass - no way. Let's see what today brings with the goats. I have them on 20 foot leashes. They want to run free. Can't blame them for that.
Mister and Sister have been spending their recent days chained until the goats get established. I don't want them to think I brought them home play toys to toss around the pastures until they quit kicking. The other day they had a little fawn that couldn't have been more than a few days old. The poor thing couldn't jump the fence and ended up in the pond. I called a neighbor who helped me rescue the poor thing from the pond. We were going to take it to the animal rescue (two doors down - which is approximately 1/4 mile) because it had some puncture wounds on its side but it was walking so we thought it better to let nature take it's course.
I figured out how to post some pictures last night so I will post photos of all my dearly beloved pets. Off to feed the masses then off to do my thing for the day.

Pictures of my favorite baby animals

This is a picture of my grandbabies, Jenna and Sissy baking at the farm.
This is Sissy at the fair - she's a pig (duh)
Sissy and Jenna peeking through the fence out in the pasture
And Jenna is a cow!

Abandoned Horses

I left the beaches of Los Angeles after many years and I ended up on a small farm just outside of Nashville. I don't know anything about farm living. I just wanted a more peaceful life, four seasons and neighbors with american values. I certainly got quiet and peaceful. I love my farm and I put many hours into the maintenance of it. My priorities have certainly shifted. For instance, while living at the beach I never thought I would spend $3,500 on a used zero turn mower. I have exchanged mornings standing on the pier sipping on a starbucks while watching the surfers for sitting on the porch with a hot cup of tea watching the sun come up over the pastures and listening to the roosters crow.

I have had many trials through the five years I have been here. I have learned some of the quirks of simple living such as 'simple neighbors,' simple interests, simple food.

I started out building my vegetable and flower gardens. I am constantly learning through trial and error about changing seasons, bugs, organic gardening and the trials and tribulations that come with that concept. I have spent lots of money trying to raise free range chickens for farm fresh eggs. I have learned that successful chickens are completely contingent on the kindess of my two dogs, Mister and Sister. They will act completely uninterested for months while the chickens free range through the pastures. Then one day - zap - they kill the entire flock in a matter of seconds. I believe that they are not malicious but trying to play. They have "played" hundred of chickens to their death. I am learning that the dogs and the chicken will NOT successfully co-habitate. I am currently working on a system that will allow the chickens to free-range and allow the dogs to roam as well. We'll see how that goes....

I have inherited 2 horses that I know absolutely nothing about. I am told that one has some hoof problems. The farrier is scheduled to arrive at 4:00 today. I am learning their personalities. I have to feed them, brush them, pull the briars from their manes. I stacks of Horse self help books by my bed. I pick the brains of everyone at Tractor Supply and the local Co-op. I have been blessed with lots of free advice and information.

I just purchased two pygmy goats which I intend to use to help maintain the pastures. Their voracious apetites are my spin on 'green' pasture maintenance minimizing my need for the lawnmower. They have been here two days and are slowly adapting to their home. I will update everyone daily on the farm life and share my hands on learning experiences about horses, goats and chicken raising. I also have a wild turkey that showed up injured in early May. He is now a healthy, vocal and integral part of life on the farm. As I learn things I'll pass it on and, who knows, I might just inspire someone to swap their surfboard for a $3,500 used zero turn mower!