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.

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!

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.

Crazy Days

I am still here.  I have been meaning to get on here and blog but now that I am going to bed before 2am it isn’t as easy to find the time.

Life with Rodi is grand!  I love having him home.  Of course he had to go back to work on Thursday *sigh*.  At least he is home at night. 

He has taken over my taxi service and is finding himself very busy taking Bubba to wrestling and scouts.  I have still had to go to wrestling practice a few nights but only for a few minutes and then I get to come HOME.  Moe and Nina are finally back to a somewhat normal sleeping schedule and I LOVE that.

I will try to be better about posting.  I tell you I think I was having withdrawals…..Rodi or blog, Rodi or blog….. it was a tough choice and not that I don’t love you all…. *grin*

Now we are working on our calendar and trying to figure out when we are going to be headed back to the mid-west.  Of course my mom’s latest health scare had me worried I was going to have to go sooner than I would have liked.  I am happy to report she is back home and doing well. 

 Oh and the calf still has no name.  I am going to make a deadline for Sunday night though.  I WILL have a name to report to you all on Monday.

Naming a Baby Zebu

Okay peeps here are the pictures from this morning.  We had to put Miss Molly and her calf in the back pasture as Jasper the not so friendly bull kept trying to scoop the calf up with his horns and toss the poor thing as far as he could.

We are in need of a name.  Please feel free to leave your suggestions in our comment box.  It’s easy just click comment at the end of this post, then type your suggestions.  Right now the kids are thinking Miracle, Blessing, or Daisy.  The first two names are a reflection of the baby calf’s gender.  With 3 bulls and only 1 cow around here for so long it really was an answered prayer for the calf to be a heifer.   Do you know what the rest of the names in the herd are?  Not sure I have named them all in one post before.  Well here is the cast and crew of the “R” Little Farm, Zebu herd…. Jasper, Molly, Neptune, Tonka and ????? 

Can’t wait to hear your suggestions.  Now on to those pictures…..

She is so cute, and still a bit wobbly.  Like I said before she reminds me of a goat, this morning I was able to hear her moo ….she sounds like a goat too LOL.

Just how big is a baby Zebu?  Well shorter than an average  2 year old.  I am telling you they are tiny and cute.

Don’t forget to post your name suggestions!!!

It’s a Girl! (we think *grin*)

So it seems today was a good day to have a calf.  That’s right just before 5pm tonight Miss Molly gave birth to what at this time appears to be a beautiful baby heifer.

The calf is adorable and so tiny.  She almost looks like a goat, LOL.  The kids were crazy happy about the big news.  We missed the delivery but were out there very soon after.  I am thinking we missed the BIG event by about 10-15 minutes.  Our neighbor came to the door and said “Congratulations!” and I must have been having one of those “too much hair dye” moments because I just blankly looked at him and said “For what?”  He laughed and pointed to the pasture where the cows were all gathered.  The kids immediately started whooping and squealing in delight.

5 minutes later I found myself having an interesting conversation about afterbirth delivery.  Let’s say our lessons for today carried well into the evening hours.

I will be out tomorrow morning with camera in hand, here is a picture I took tonight by the light of the Dodge Ram “sunlight” *grin*.

Cleaning up nicely

Who’d a thunk it?

Who would have ever thought that I would someday look out my front window and instead of seeing sidewalks with neighborhood children roaming to and fro, I would see…….

NAPPING ZEBU!

It doesn’t seem odd to me most days to look outside and see this unusual animal looking back at me.  Today however, and I am not sure why, I looked outside and just began to giggle.  Here I am a mid-west city girl living on the coast raising 4 kids and ZEBU!  Not to mention a barn cat, 7 fish, and a Quaker parrot. 

Honestly I would have to say this was not something I would have ever imagined my life to include.  Odd as it is, I am glad we are where we are and have the chance to share the challenges and wonders of livestock with the kids. 

Yes Molly is still pregnant I wonder if she thinks that since she missed her due date in Octoner,  she has to wait until next October????  Poor thing, I really feel for her.

Will I ever learn?

When there is a trail of cheese I usually assume it leads to the whole darn moon.  The sad reality of it is that the only place it seems to really lead to is a big ol’ stinky RAT!

I took a big ol’ bite out of the bait this time. I  just kept believing all the little notes attached to the toothpicks stuck in the center of the cheese, as if it were a glorious flag of hope and promises.  Today as I went searching for that next bite of hope I was greeted by the RAT!  I could see him laughing as he turned and walked away tugging the rug full of single toothpicks scattered all around, out from under my feet.  Gazing in disbelief at the scattered “flag poles” on the rug I noticed those flags were never made of anything except… toilet paper.

 Yes today I had a bad day.  And no it didn’t have anything to do with the kids.  In fact the kids are doing a great job on their chores as I type.  Let’s just say this morning I had to make huge changes to my calendar,  no my dear friends, they were not good changes!

 I think I may have to go out and stick my head in the hay with Molly.  She seems to enjoy doing that.  I know she has to be bummed out today too.  The poor thing woke up still preggers, she was due in October!  I think she may just be faking her pregnancy to keep the 3 bulls we have away from her….LOL

Weather & Busy Weeks Ahead

Well fall is here, weather wise I mean.  Last week I wanted to run the a/c (too bad it died a few weeks earlier) and then, BOOM, today I was throwing wood in the stove and setting up the fans to blow the heat upstairs.  I am not ready to start using the propane yet so I stayed clear of the thermostat today.  Well I did turn the return fan on to help circulate the heat from the stove but I did NOT turn on the heat.  Not yet anyway *grin*

I was updating our calendar today and realized that we have a busy schedule over the next few weeks.  This week we have Trunk or Treat at the Church and then later in the week we have a Science Field Trip.  The following week we have a History Themed Field Trip.  3 days later  we have yet another History Themed Field Trip.  Sort of a Part 2 to the first History Field Trip.  I am looking forward to these outings with the kids.  2 of the 3 will involve other homeschooling families and that will be great for the kids and for me.  Part one is us along with another family with 4 kids, but hold on to your hats, the 2nd History outing is going to include 50 other homeschooling kids and 38 adults.  There are so many of us that they are having to break us into 2 tour groups. 

I will update you all on our experiences and will hopefully have great pictures to share with you all.  That is if I can handle a camera and the forces of Mighty Moe at the same time *grin*.  Poor kid, he really is a good guy.  It’s just hard to be 2 and be understood. LOL

One more thing, and I know it isn’t school or weather related, Molly is still preggers!  That darn cow is going to stay pregnant until Rodi comes home I swear.  I think she doesn’t trust me to be able to handle the situation.  Smart cow isnt’ she *grin*

Not bad for a city girl….

We did it!  We found the farmer who said he would sell us a round bale.  We watched as Mr. B the farmhand loaded the bale into the bed of the truck.  We worried about the weight of the bale.  We drove cautiously home.  Then we decided to take pictures of our treasured bale of hay.  For those of you who don’t know we are in a serious drought.  I think this week we are down 14inches from our yearly norm.  Hay is hard to come by and what you can find is costly.  So today we feel as if we were transporting treasured jewels to our lovable Zebu.

Can you tell JJ has been practicing her cheers *grin*

Moe saw the others on top of the bale and there was no way he was going to get out of the truck bed until he had his turn on top too.  Must get his stubborn qualities from Rodi *giggle* 

 

I wish I could have been quick enough with the camera to get a picture of them playing in the hay.  They made that big mess of hay around the bale by digging their heads int eh bale and throwing the hay all around.  It was a pretty funny sight.  It was sort of like a “Hay Day” party. LOL

OKAY I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE for the next not so pretty photo.  I just have to share with you how WIDE Ms. Molly is getting these days.  She is due ANY DAY now.  Okay remember I apologized in advance *cheesy smile*

 

 

 

 

Again SO SORRY

 

 

 

 

Really I am

 

 

 

 

See I told you it wasn’t pretty.