“There’s poop”

Forgive me for speaking of poop in this post and for one more Zebu post but I just couldn’t resist.

My mom is living with us now and farm livin’ is well, not her style.  Bless her heart she wants to try to be helpful though.  Tonight the weather report came on and said that there was a cold front coming in and the temperature was going to fall below freezing. 

Crud!  The “original” herd Molly, Neptune, Tonka, Jolly, and Faith were all in the front pasture.  There isn’t any shelter in the front and poor Faith is still so tiny, I was fearful she might not make it through the night in such cold temps.  The “new” cows, Fancy, Silver, and Sparkles (ugh horrible names) aren’t so sure they love the “original” crew and were loving a peaceful state of  separation. 

Mom decided to join me outside to help hold the flashlight while I untied the twine holding the gate shut.

I  stepped over the barbed wire fencing carefully.  She held the flashlight in one hand and with the other hand she started to hold down the top row of wire.  I said “It’s okay you don’t have to come in. You can just hold the light from out here.”  Her reply…

“I’m not… there’s poop”

My laughter almost scared the cows! 

Somehow I managed  pull myself  back together and untie the twine allowing the “original” herd to go to the back pasture and seek warmth in the barn.  The “new” cows  must think I am out to get them releasing the bully herd on them in the dark like that.  Poor things keep getting chased by the bulls and then Molly shoves them out of the way with her horns if they are doing, well, just about anything.  Molly really thinks she owns the place.

Treworlas Farm

Peeking through the trailer gate at our newest additions.

Thursday Rodi and I took Moe and headed to West Virginia.  We were headed there to pick up 3 more cows, Zebu of course.  It was a great day, there wasn’t even any weather issues to contend with.

Moe had a blast!  He has seen snow before but due to his tender age of 3 he doesn’t remember it.  WV had snow on the ground and Moe was amazed.  He made snowballs and threw them at Rodi over and over again. 

Treworlas Farm was a fantastic place for Moe to spend a few hours.  He took the full tour seeing the various breeds of goats, emu, horses, sheep, and cows. 

On the drive over to WV he kept asking if he could ride a horse at the farm.  We told him we were not quite sure that would happen but he was more than welcome to ask.  Moe not being shy asked right away.  Sure enough there was a miniature horse just the right size for Moe to take a few laps on.  He THRILLED!

After a couple of hours we loaded up the trailer with the new (okay very old) cows and headed home. 

Legally the cows are named….. Fancy, Ruth’s Sparkle, and Silver Girl.  The kids aren’t so excited about those names.  I am assuming just as the kids gave lil’ Abner his not so legal name, Jasper, these lovely gals will end up with new not so legal names as well.

Royalty in the Herd

The hay feeder we built last year we felt wasn’t quite doing its job.  Too much hay was falling out the bottom and being wasted.  Plus it was a tad too high for the younger calves to reach in.  Yesterday Rodi lowered the feeder closer to the ground and altered the bin a tad. 

Only problem is now a certain Prince Neptune thinks that it was built as his personal bed.  No more sleeping on the cold ground for him! 

 

There will be further alterations to this feeder… Neptune will no longer be able to claim it as his bed when we are finished with it.    He may have one more day of  the royal treatment since we are on our way to pick up 3 more cows in the morning.

Baby it’s cold outside….

Bubs has a cold weather campout tonight and cold it will be. I think it will drop down to about 16 degrees tonight. Laugh if you will I know there are much colder locations out there. Having grown up in Nebraska I know that 16 degrees can seem balmy at times. I even remember after a long winter one year thinking that 45 degrees felt like shorts weather. Okay I was in 6th grade but still, 45 degrees felt like a heat wave that winter.

Having moved away from that winter wonderland my body has gotten used to warmer weather and tonight I am sure I will have the wood stove going all night long to keep us toasty warm inside our house. Meanwhile my boys Rodi and Bubs will be freezing their noses off. Rodi will be standing watch on board the ship and Bubs will be sleeping under the stars, or at least trying to sleep.

Ahhh but I know I have nothing to complain about. Bubs is going to be out there with great cold weather gear and he will be having tons of fun with his fellow scouts.

Plus he will be lots warmer than our Zebu staying at my father-in-law’s here is the latest picture of Jasper and Whisper…..brrrrrrr!

Where did the sun go????

And I am ever thankful that if I were to step outside this morning my view would not look like the one my sister-in-law (also in Iowa) will be greeted by. Here is a picture of their house taken this week.

Just makes my back hurt thinking about all that work to clear the driveway....ouch!

Still a little too City and not nearly enough Country

So as I said before, our cow Molly had a claf this past Sunday.  My  visions of  bottle feeding this babe were just visions apparently.  Today I went out to the barn bottle in hand to have my bonding time with the Fatih (the calf).  The only thing I did was tick off  Molly and tire Faith out.  Molly was very patient with me as I followed Faith around the pasture trying to get close to her calf.  She kept an eye on me the entire time and I let her know I was aware she was watching.  Every now and then I would go over and let her smell the bottle to show her I meant no harm.  Then I would rub her in that spot she loves behind her ear, before trying a little longer to convince Faith to give the bottle a try.  I am sure I looked like a big goof out there, but then again I have never fed a farm animal from a bottle before (except at the zoo once and I am not sure that counts). 

Finally Faith went into the barn and into the side with the gate.  “WHOO HOO this is finally going to happen”  The kids who had been giving me passenger seat directions this entire time came bolting into the barn.  Allowing Faith to be at ease stressed out even more, I am sure.  Soon Molly came a callin’ too.  She was a tad miffed at me by now and was quite vocal about the whole ordeal.  She paced on one side of the barn while Faith darted from one side to the other trying to avoid me at all cost.

I finally managed to get Faith settled down a bit and even got the bottle to her mouth.  However she didn’t drink a darn drop.  Nope she wanted nothing to do with me or the bottle.  Feeling sorry for her and Molly I let her out the gate where she quickly latched onto her mamma and began to nurse… Go Figure.

*On a side note the kids are laughing because JJ got the whole thing on video and they want me to put it on  the internet.  NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!*

Birthday Date Night

As previously mentioned, yesterday was Rodi’s birthday. He and I decided to fix a gourmet meal of Chicken tenders and fries for the kids. Oh you may laugh but these were tenders, not nuggets and the fries were waffle cut, no ordinary shoe string or crinkle cut fries for the Rodi crew LOL. After getting the kids all set at the dinner table we headed out for our date.
What a date it was. In true Rodi family fashion we took the truck and headed to the dump. Yep just me Rodi and the trash. No worries though we listened to the romantic comedy of Jeff Foxworthy on our drive … that is some serious hand holding comedy ya know. After the dump we headed to one of the two local Mexican restaurants. We were seated immediately which was very nice. However when they brought out the chips and salsa one dish was so cold there were ice chips in it. But did we complain nah…. we just stirred it up and dipped away. We sat and giggled at the small town talk around us. You could tell we were newbies to the area. Everyone seemed to know everyone and talked from table to table. We learned a lot about our community and the happenings in that hour. We even learned that it might be possible to come in sit a spell, order water, eat your complementary chips and frozen salsa and then leave without paying. Yep we saw it happen. Maybe it only applies if you were born in this county though.  I will tell you though, it really had Rodi thinking.
After dinner we headed out to wander around the stores and see if there were any last minute gifts we needed to pick up. Little did Rodi know we were actually going to get massages. They were amazing massages and FREE too. Wanna know where you can get one? Bed Bath and Beyond! They have these great chairs just sitting in the middle of an isle and they are all plugged in and just waiting for someone to sit in them. So we sat. He sat in one chair and I sat in the other chair. Yeah there were people walking by looking at us but I think they were just waiting for their turn.
We ended our shopping extravaganza strolling the isles of wal-mart (where else), bringing home romantic goodies like a screen tool and a box of fire starter. Ahhhh what a night.
Seriously though it was a great night and we did have a lot of fun. We had to leave Office Max because I was laughing so hard. There was a calendar there that said the funniest things for people to do at work. I am still trying to picture Rodi at work jumping on the table and yelling “the floor is lava, the floor is lava” Could you imagine??? What would you do if your co-worker did that? There were several of these ideas that just had me cracking up.
Maybe it is having 4 kids at home with me all day everyday, I don’t know, but I do know that this was a wonderful date. Probably the most fun we have had in while.

Who Says…….

Happy Cows are in California?……

  Jasper looks quite happy as he smiles for the camera.

  And Neptune sings of his easy life living on the East Coast.

 

Cinderella….well sorta

So tomorrow night is the Naval Supply Corps Ball.  Yes a Ball.  Formal attire and all.  As I sit here and type I have on jeans, a t-shirt, ans slippers.  There is no make-up upon my face and my hair well let’s just say there is a lot of work to be done before I would venture out and about town.  And this my dear readers is how you would find me most days.  I do not get dressed up to stay home though some would say maybe I should (any fly-babies out there?)

It is hard for me to get jazzed about these balls yet every year there is one to attend.  Rodi would say that I enjoy going.  HA really the only thing I enjoy is getting my one dance a year with the man.  Last year we didn’t get the chance to dance (long story) so maybe this year I will get 2.  I am not getting my hopes up about that though.  One of these years maybe he will realize that it would be much cheaper to turn on the tunes and twirl around the living room a time or two.

This year I am wearing the same long black skirt I wore last year paired with a new top.  I love separates!  I will post a picture once I have one.  Trying to keep a modest look and still feel 30 something is NOT an easy thing to do.  Most of the formal wear out there is either WAY too revealing or make you look like you are a grandma.  Don’t get me wrong I hope to be a grandma YEARS from now.  I am just not ready to try on that look.  Oh and it is February, can we say COLD why is it that all formal wear must be sleeveless?????

I will quit my rant for now, I am just happy I found something to wear and I won’t look like a granny.

Hi, remember me?

Okay I know I have been bad about keeping everyone up to date on what is going on in the land of Rodi.  I had to take a bit of a holiday break I guess.  I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours.  I really love being home (in our house) for Christmas.  I know, some love being at their parents house or with other family, but for me there is no better place than our house on Christmas morning.  I am fine with being places before or after, but on that morning I want to be here in my pj’s surrounded by my kids, watching them as they gaze in amazement at what is inside those mysterious packages.

This year I was in my pj’s but sadly this year I had an eye and sinus infection which made my mood less joyful.  Rodi took a picture of me (because he is kind that way *grin*).  It is so sad, me only able to stick my tongue out half way at him, I had no reserve energy left to really razz him.  My glasses are VERY crooked due to close inspections on a weekly basis by Moe.  Then there is the puffy very itchy and sore eye, lovely really, just lovely.

This has been a very crafty, handy sort of month for us.  As I was reading my friend Lammy’s blog I discovered this great blog that led me to this great blog, which led me to yet another fabulous blog where I discovered how to  make this crayon roll for Moe and new pajama bottoms for all the kids.  I only have a picture of the boys pj bottoms as the girls were in the wash when I was taking pictures today.  The pj’s were a HUGE hit Christmas morning.  Bubba even gave them top ranking in the gifts he received.  He has also proved that by wearing them every night since Christmas.  I finally snagged them to throw in the wash today.

 

   

Today was no less crafty or handy.  The boys were outside working magic with used lumber, while us gals were inside stitching up a storm on the ol’ sewing machine.

The boys project…. make a hay feeder for the cows so they (the cows) would stop making such a mess of things in the field.  You know they do the silliest things with those round bales of hay.  They dig their horns right into the center of the bale and start tossing hay everywhere.  Then they do their business (to put it kindly) on the scattered hay.  For some reason they don’t want to eat it after that *not that I blame them*.  Hopefully this will keep the wasted hay to a minimum.  The boys worked hard all day and just as dark began to fall upon us the feeder was ready to be put in the pasture with the cows.  YAY BOYS!  A job well done!  It was too dark for a finished project picture but I will get one on this week.  Oh and for a $$$ moment it only cost us around $2 to build as we used recycled wood from what the previous owner left behind the barn and in the loft.  Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

                                       Here was the only sad moment for me, they were taking apart my “bench”  Well okay so it was just some boards lying across two logs to make a make shift bench.  But it was my spot to put the marshmallows when we made s’mores.  *boo-hoo*

 

My dad would have been so happy to see his grandsons today out there working with their dad.  Both boys showed a bit of their grandpa today.  Bubba was sporting the torn up jean look and Moe had the tape measure fastened to his hip the entire day.  Both of those were looks Grandpa Jones sported daily.  Okay his jean weren’t quite as bad as Bub’s were today but that is only because Bubba made his worse while out working with Rodi today.

The girls projects….. make pj’s for Moe (he didn’t get his under the tree, my eye hurt too bad that night to finish and he was already getting the crayon roll so I knew he wouldn’t mind waiting a day or two), JJ wanted to make a pillow to match her pj’s, and we have a drafty door so we stitched up a “draft thingy” to put under the door.  I didn’t take a picture of that.  Sorry but it just isn’t that exciting.  I take that back, Nina was thrilled to be able to stuff that one.  JJ  did a great job on  her pillow.  Now I have a fear I am going to have to move on to more complex projects for her.  My control issues are really being tested these days *grin*.

 

We were all very thankful for the 70 degree weather we had (sorry I know I shouldn’t have gone there for some of you) today.  It allowed us to get many things done outside and allowed for Moe and Nina to play on the swing while others of us were doing things not as hands on for the younger ones.  I will tell those of you in snowy places….. my kids would trade you.  They really miss those snow filled Decembers and January’s in Germany.  I miss the look of it but not the feel of it * grin*

Oh and for those who are wondering …. Jolly the baby Zebu is doing wonderful.  She is getting more and more playful and is even a bit more friendly to us 2 legged creatures.

She has a name….

So our little heifer finally has a name.

She is the daughter of Jasper and Molly so obviously she should be called……

JOLLY!