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.