Sunday, August 26, 2012

They Call Me Heidi

In the pasture, grazing the tiny herd....


Friday, August 24, 2012

Football Season

Meet the offensive line. The quarterback is swinging from a catnip toy in the barn...


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Games Kits Play

Please. Like I can't see you.


Sunday, August 19, 2012

The White Husky

In case you were wondering, he is still cute...


Saturday, August 18, 2012

Gang Initiation

I just finished evening chores at Farmer Ron's all by myself....feels like I just went through a gang initiation.


Pig Out

Getting distracted by the smallest things! (No, we did NOT take this little side of bacon home with us.)


Always Read the Directions

If anyone wonders where I inherited my handwriting skills, Farmer Ron's barn chore instructions to us should clue you in:


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Light Green Thumbs

We are having amateur luck with our garden this year again: two years in a row! I definitely wouldn't say that Mr. H and I have green thumbs when it comes to gardening, but we sure are giving the horticulture world a run for its money with our haphazard gardening techniques...





Too lazy to clean up watermelon mess in the kitchen,
I just grab a knife and head to the garden to plop
right down and dissect my dinner...


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Feed it if it cries...

Mr. H and I have to do Farmer Ron's barn chores for him a couple times this weekend, so we were getting some orientation this evening.
Goats are everywhere, and now there are five calves in huts and pastures.
Last week when we were made aware of the task before us, dad must have seen the wheels turning in our heads because he finally said, "If it's crying, feed it!"
Wow. So we have to feed everything that moves and milk his does twice a day. I'm not sure I should post any of that saga, but please wish us luck!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Vomitus Vegetalis

The garden threw up a lot of contents!

Abundantly thankful but lacking in food preservation skills. We need a Volkswagen bus full of hippie vegetarians to break down by the end of our driveway!


It's the ears, isn't it?





Saturday, August 11, 2012

Eat It, Martha

Eat yer heart out, Martha Stewart! I made a Green Tomato Pie while canning pickles with Grandma and Farmer Ron's bride. How domestic.....

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Segregated

The white fuzzy kids sleep next to my side of the bed. The brown, red and black ones are interspersed in the bed...one big United Colors of Benetton ad.

(If you don't remember Swatch watches and Jellies from the '80s, you certainly won't get that one-sorry Mitch.)


Dear Bethenny Frankel,

One of the celebrities I really do enjoy following, Bethenny Frankel, has a link on her new TV show website asking women to share their daily life story with her. It is a contest to see who she will trade places with for a day. Can you imagine Bethenny Frankel in my barn milking a goat? Can you imagine me in New York City? How awesome! So, I entered the letter below (it had to be 1500 characters or less), and submitted a photo, which was also required:

Dear Bethenny,

While watching your amazing adventures, I’ve had several of my own, including expansion on an already overwhelming “petting zoo.”

In addition to 5 adopted dogs we have obtained 4 goats, a Mini Horse, a llama, and 3 barn kittens…I think that’s all. Oh! According to my father, Farmer Ron, he’s bringing over a Jersey calf next week for me to “take care of.” Does this mean that I will be fattening up the calf to eventually end up eating it, or am I going to be milking this animal next year too? I will spend the next 5 days researching the care and feeding of a Jersey! That is, of course, between barn chores and milking the 2 female goats.

In addition, I work full time as a technical editor/proposal assistant for a business technology company in Madison, WI, 70 miles from my house. On days that I don’t work from home, I get up two hours early to jump into office attire and drive in to the city to sit in a cubicle. This is very different from my “home job,” where insulated overalls and rain boots are in style.

I know nothing about business-or technology-but I do love shoveling horse poop in the barn-it’s cathartic. I also fancy myself an amateur writer; and, if my “job-job”and my “home-job” weren’t quite so ambitious, I’d have time to write again. Farming and writing are my passions and I want to do more of both. The way I see it, you probably need an extra blogger or writer, and I need a ranch hand: you willing to give it a try?






Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Rise and Shine

This morning before 6 a.m. at the Black Squirrel Ranch I wrangled some goats, dealt with an emergency jailbreak in the kitten wing of the barn, and discovered a rodent post-mortem-which required immediate removal from a drinking bucket.

Are you princesses even conscious yet?

P.s. Hey kittens, here's the score: Bucket-1, Kittens-1. Buckets are cheaper...something to think about.


Saturday, August 4, 2012

Histrionic Salad

Lettuce is such a drama queen...fine, I'll water you.


Did you know?

Did you know that 1 out of 3 kittens in my car, on the way to the vet, get carsick? Did you also know that when cats throw up that it is a projectile bodily function?

Now you do. This has been a public service announcement brought to you by the Black Squirrel Ranch.



Friday, August 3, 2012

'Mater Sculpture

I have Roma, Green Zebra and Pineapple tomatoes coming out of the garden... I need to learn how to can!


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Weaning, Day 1, Hour 19

Back in the stall so the mamas can get milked. Buck gets desperate and asks Diesel for assistance...the llama's not having any part of it, as he and Mr. H both live by the mantra, "happy wife, happy life." And Mr. H told the llama he might as well consider the matriarch of the farm, the queen squirrel.


Weaning, Day 1

It's all rainbows and lollipops until someone can't nurse their mother. Bucky is being very dramatic...


Happy Birthday...I Miss You

Love,

Your big sister