Thanksgiving Eve

Yes, I'm still here.  Always busy but never feel quite productive enough at the end of the day.  I so easily assume I'm going to have another day to complete my to-do list.  I am thankful the Lord gives me each day and pray that, given the opportunity, I can reach at least one lost soul out there.  I wonder if the Pilgrims put so much preparation into their Thanksgiving feast.  I did manage to make it to the grocery store and get all the fixin's.  I was shocked when I checked out and saw that the Big Bird rang up at only $3.20 instead of the marked $12.50.  While I'm thankful for the low cost on my part, I feel pretty bad for the poor farmer that had to raise and feed that sucker all these months for everyone to get their little share of that $3.20.  I wonder how much the turkey farmer actually got!  Why is it that a huge turkey can cost less than a piddlin' little chicken?  I can see that I'm going to be ordering my own meat chickens in the spring.  When we can, we order pure free-range chickens from a nearby farm and I can't begin to tell you how much better they taste.  She has even offered to put my chickens through their plucker and process them when I get them.  Now, what's stopping me?!
Last night I played Chicken Wrangler.  My son is coming in for the holiday and bringing his bird dog (he has no one to watch him).  Last time he was here, the dog killed my new Buff Orphington rooster.  That rooster had just started learning to crow.  It made me sick but the rooster had "flown the coop" so I can't much blame a bird dog for killing a bird.  Anyway, last night I went out and clipped wings so, hopefully, I won't lose another chicken this visit.  I hated doing it but that's the way it is.

With any luck, I will see all these fuzzy-butted girls at the end of this week. I pray that everyone has a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. 
Vio con Dios,
The Preacher's Wife

When I Grow Up

When I was very young my family lived in the city, but I remember my life really starting when my father moved the family out to the country to some family property.  It was heaven.  There were some families down the road but there were miles between us.  My days were filled with running barefoot down a rock road and through wide open fields, riding my horse whenever and wherever I wanted, watching animals give birth and also getting an upclose and personal view of death.  It was around that time that I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up.  If it was up to me, I could have lived with all the animals.  My love for God's creatures never changed.  But I did. While all the animals stayed the same, I'm sure, that little girl was growing up.  School, marriage and children came.  I still wanted to be a vet.  I couldn't stand to see an animal hurt.  But as life would have it, I became a nurse instead.  Not my heart's desire. 

James 4:15  If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.

So, now as I read this verse, I have to understand that everything is according to God's will.  As a child, I wish I had known the Lord like I do now.  Life wouldn't have been so complicated.  How often do I have such great plans laid out that don't have God as the center of it.  To this day, I still do it.  I make big plans and try to fit God into my plans when I should be living my life according to God's plans for me.  I am learning that through constant prayer, I will go in the direction that God is leading me.  It reminds me of the saying I used to hear "God is my co-pilot".   Nope.  God is my pilot! 

I always seem to want to choose the safe direction but I have to lean on God to understand that He has the reins.  I have to let Him lead me.  I know that He is going to be with me no matter what.  It is all His plans.

So, I will again close...

Vio con Dios,

The Preacher's Wife

It's a Good Thing my Mice Don't Have Worms

Yesterday was "worm the horses" day.  For the first time, I tried using these pellets instead of a paste wormer because I have one horse that will not let me mess with her mouth.  As much as I've tried and worked with her, it's just not happening and I can't afford my shoulder to be jerked out again.  With one horse that was not equal to the full weight proportion on the bag, I had some left.  Terrific!  I'll just wrap it up and save it.  Not happening!  Those pesky mice got into it and ate the rest of the bag.  I'm so thrilled I don't have wormy mice!  I am going to take the advice of Tonia from The Simple Life and try me one of those electronic mouse traps and, hopefully, get rid of some of those little suckers.

Speaking of getting into a critter's mouth, this morning when I went out to feed, my golden retriever was close by trying desperately to get my attention.  He was frantically trying to get something that was stuck in his mouth.  Or so I thought it was his mouth.  Nothing in his mouth.  I stuck my hand down his throat and there was something way down there.  I didn't want to cram it down into his lungs.  Have you ever tried the Heimlich maneuver on an animal?  I did.  And it didn't work.  This dog is having a fit and I can't get it out!  So I call my Cowboy on the phone.  (We have promised each other to always carry our phones with us on the farm).   After giving it a brief thought, I'm thinking "how in the heck is he going to get his big hands down this dog's throat if I can't?!"  About that time, I just put my hand all the way down there and pull out about a 3 inch stick.  Then my Cowboy comes up and the dog goes running up to him like he's Mr. Wonderful.  What?  I'm the one with dog slobber up to my forearm...and we're talking a LOT of slobber.

It's never ending around here.  I was surfing blogs the other day.  I love to read other's stories.  Anyway, Callie from Chickens On The Porch was talking about Carrots on the porch for her chickens.  How cute is that?  This is what my little darlin' brings on my porch...

That would be horse turds.  Lovely... I'm so blessed.
Vio con Dios,
The Preacher's Wife





A Time Change

How much better can it be getting together with family and friends, sitting around a fire pit on a cold night, roasting wienies and marshmallows.  The most fun is watching the kids.  I love it!  There is something about watching a fire that is relaxing and mesmerizing.  Then the time changed.  Who said we're supposed to get another hour of sleep?  Yeah, tell that to all my critters!   My body is still on the old time since the rooster still crows at the same time and my dogs are nudging me to wake up and feed them.  (Yes, a couple of my dogs sleep with me and my Cowboy).  One good thing about the time change, I'm not feeding at dark:thirty.   It's actually light outside.  I can see all those pesty little mice jumping in the feed room when I go in now.  If only I had a barn cat (or two).  My dogs will not allow it.  They love the chase.  I've tried it and it doesn't work.  I've even put feral cats out there that have been wormed, given shots and neutered.  That only resulted in all my neighbors now having barn cats and I still have a mouse problem.  I have a house cat that is declawed (he was given to us like that) and he sometimes goes outside but the dogs don't mess with him.  He's one of those big bengal cats - and I mean BIG.  But the barn is pretty far from the house and he doesn't go out there.  I might as well hang a sign on my barn "No Cats Allowed".  I welcome any solutions to my pesky little mouse problem. 

Vio con Dios,

The Preacher's Wife

Trick Lesson #1

So I've reviewed everything that I'm gonna do with this horse in teaching her to bow and pray.  I proceed with Trick Lesson #1.   The first trick is catching her!  I've had her in the round pen but this horse is not going to have anything to do with this.  She's so used to being turned out that she can't figure out what the heck I want to do.  Surely she knows I'm up to something because I have my jeans pocket buldging with treats.  Nope.  She swings her butt around to me.  She is not going to cooperate.  Now, this is a horse that I ride all the time but she doesn't know about this round pen.  After many runs around the pen, she finally turns to face me and is coming to me.  Sorta.  Clinton Anderson, where are you when I need you?  I did manage to halter her, take it off and do it all again several times.  Then I had her following me around, stopping and starting and turning without a halter.  Okay, that's enough for today.  So much for the trick.  Good lesson for me.  I kept her in there so I could repeat it and do it all again the next day.  My Cowboy drives up and informs me he has to be on the road tomorrow.  Oh, yes, take me, take me.  I love tagging along and seeing the countryside.  And the weather couldn't be more perfect.  So out the pen the horse goes to be more confused than ever.  Poor horse.  She's as good as gold putting up with all my shenanigans. 
Vio con Dios,
The Preacher's Wife  

Long Night, Long Day

Last night I slept with the window cracked because it was so nice outside.  Cooler out than in.  But at 1 o'clock in the morning, all I could hear was dogs barking.  I get up and go outside to hear two big dogs barking out at the barn.  Great.  Okay, one of mine is here so who's out at the barn?  Back in I go to grab a flashlight and my gun.  My Cowboy moves ever so slowly and asks "do you want me to go?"  Well. Of course, I do but I say "no, I'm going".   So I hear "don't forget your gun".  I'm already there.  I throw on some jeans and out I go.  Well, here comes my other dog running up to me and I see off in the distance another dog running off.  I can't really make out the dog, but I don't recall anyone's dog vaguely looking like that.  The horses are all calm (I've got one put up in the round pen to work with tomorrow - or is that today), the cows are fine and the chickens are sleeping undisturbed.  And I don't smell a skunk.  Thank God for that! I have no idea what was going on but it's over.  So back I go to try and get some sleep.  Yeah, right. 
I don't really think I've got time in my schedule today for a nap.  And, if I did, I know I wouldn't sleep tonight.  So, it's going to be a long day.
Back to the horse in the round pen.  There are some that come to our cowboy church that want so much to be able to ride and have a horse of their own but just can't for various reasons.  So I've been looking for one or two good family horses that we can haul up there with ours.  I know there is someone out there that needs to find a home for their beloved horse and I'm praying for God to direct our paths to meet.  But, in my search, I've come across ads that claim their horses can do "tricks".  I even saw one that could get down in the front and "pray".  Now wouldn't that be cool?  I've seen a praying dog on youtube but not a horse. Well, except for Trigger and Gene Autry's Champion.  I do remember when I was kid, I always wished I could make my horses do tricks.  Ha!  The only trick they knew was how fast they could get me off their back!  So, yesterday, I had this big idea that I would try and teach one of my horses to do tricks.  So, she's in the round pen waiting to tolerate her owner's foolish antics.  My Cowboy came in last night and asked about the horse being in the round pen.  After I told him I was going to "work with her", he just gave me that look and said "don't you think you need to let her out?"  Yeah, probably so.  But we'll see what today brings.
Vio con Dios,
The Preacher's Wife

Whoa! Bad Hair Day

How did this happen is such a short amount of time? And who's been chewing on her mane?  Can you tell behind this massive tangle that her mane is chewed down to the nub?  And she had such pretty mane. 

What can you do?

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. 

Vio con Dios,

The Preacher's Wife