Category Archives: life on the farm

Welcome back, Pansy

Well, how long has it been… 6, maybe 7 months since my last post. ‘Bout time to start it up again. Wanna guess why? Oh, I’ll just tell you, ok? It’s a mixture of things (one being a mighty nice push from a mighty nice friend named Grace. Here’s to you, Grace!), but mostly it’s because yesterday I spent four hours outside doing stuff with the love of my life, Taylor, and I almost died (when I typed that it autocorrected to alarmist, ha!). We were running fencing, mending fences and starting to clear out the chicken coop, and as soon as we started I felt like I was going to pass out. I almost threw up, I got all sweaty and panicky. Gross. I worked, but I also whined and had to go in the house every twenty minutes to cool down and drink water. Wimp style.
Now, I’m figuring it was from the sun (I was running errands in the morning and we didn’t get out until noon thirty), but come ON! It was hot, but breezy. What the heck?
And so I’ve realized that I just am not outside enough this year to have accustomized (ooh, I like making myself up some words) to sun, heat and gorgeous country views. The LAZY part took over and the LIVING… well, not so much.
At one time Taylor said to me, and I quote, “Come on, Emily. And you call yourself a country wife (a # I like to use frequently on my Instagram ). I thought you wanted to go from lazy to living?”
Ugh. Blog thrown right in my sweaty, sunburned face. Serves me right. I can’t only keep this up when I’m hittin’ shit hard (what? I live in Valley Home, indiscriminate use of the word shit comes with the territory). I’ve got to keep it up when I’m not. Because that’s how it works.
And for full disclosure, you should all know: I’m losing the war on thistles. But I did irrigate mostly successfully by myself last week. Counts for something, right?
See you around kind folks! I’m sure you missed my over use of parenthesis and multiple postings on thistles.
Signed, the lazy country wife

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Have you missed me?…

Have you missed me? No? Well, that’s alright. I’ve missed blogging a lot. On the upside I have been so busy that I haven’t been able to fit time in to write it all down. I suppose I’m moving from lazy to living. And living we have been. I’ve been busily collecting stories and taking pictures, so hopefully soon I will get some time to take them out of my head and put them on the screen.
In the meanwhile, here are two pictures. One of our darn near immaculate yard, and one of our precious baby. Two of the things I’ve been busy living with. Talk to you soon….

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Pasture thoughts

Some things I learned while irrigating (by myself) for the first time last night (Taylor had a show out of town and we had a 6pm irrigation time):

1. My boots are cracked and leak water in. Poop water all in my toes. Yep.

2. Not a good idea to watch crime shows before going out to open gates in the dark at 11 pm.

3. I have a weed pulling problem, and can’t keep myself from stopping to pull weeds in wet boots, in the dark, in ankle high water at 11:00 at night. Help me.

4. We have the best neighbors. They were staying up on the lookout for four unfamiliar teenagers that were walking around the neighborhood (have no fear, ended up one of them was from up the street).

5. I should go sit outside at midnight more often. The stars. Oh, the stars. Pure beauty.

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Goings ons

What has been happening in my oh so exciting life, you ask? Well, let me tell you:
Last week while in the back pasture digging thistles in the never-ending thistle apocalypse, I lost grip on my shovel and it sprung back and smashed me in the jaw. Ugh. I had to check for broken teeth it got me so hard. Inexplicably, I have no bruise to show for it. Only a little swelling, but it totally blends in with my chins, so I doubt anyone will notice.

That same afternoon, in the far back of that same pasture I decided to pull out some stray blackberry starts (I love having the big bramble back there, but would love to keep it there, and not let it spread). All good and fine, except I was wearing a tank top an I cut the heck out of my arms and stomach (how my stomach? I am not sure). One of my colleagues suggested my antics be filmed. America’s Funniest Home Videos, perhaps?

It would have been hilarious, I’m sure, to see me yell on Tuesday night as I pulled my hip sitting down on the floor to clean up kid toys. Seriously, friends, I could hardly walk, and I’m still hobbling around. Sheesh. That life insurance policy idea is looking better and better.

In other news: I shattered my iPhone glass. Like, completely destroyed it. Luckily, Taylor is amazing and had an extra part and replaced the glass. I have some grey spots around the bottom of the screen. All in all not a total loss, but since I do all my blogging on my phone, it’s a slight inconvenience. Just slight.

Also, we added a new member to our bustling little family. Everyone, meet Ricky

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We adopted him from the shelter and he’s a pretty good boy. He was someones baby dog, so it’s been an adjustment to life outside, but he seems to be adjusting alright. Now if he’d only learn his name and come in from the pasture when called, we’d be in business. Of course, he has a lot to live up to, since Buddy is the golden child. He lived up to his reputation on Saturday afternoon by killing and eating a baby possum (whose mother just might have been the sneaky pete who was under our house for a week).
*DISCLAIMER ~ graphic dead possum pic*

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That’s a good boy!

So, lots of clumsiness and a new dog. That’s that.
I’ll leave you with a picture that was a dream realized.
I had some friends and kids over last weekend and they played and played and played. It was a dream come true. Me, having wine with some friends while our kids played. Ooooooh, so nice. I am really loving spring out here!

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And finally, a big congratulations to some lovely friends who gave birth to a perfect little boy this week. It’s baby season here in Oakdale! This was the first of five babies due in the next couple of months. Baby spring fever, here I come! Particularly since my “baby” is actually a giant two and a half year old with a mean case of the “Mama can I’s”. I mean, just look at her. A baby no more.

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(this is her irrigating outfit, by the way)

Oh, ok. Maybe kind of a baby still

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Until I fall again….(which should be later tonight by my calculations) 😉

Pasture Play

Josephine and I spent some time in the goat pasture today. Me hunting thistles, her playing pasture games, the goats following us around hoping to get some new weeds out of the deal. I cleared out the thistles in the main goat pen, and since Josephine was having fun, I decided to walk the small pasture next to the goat pasture (which is currently open to the horses) looking for more thistles.
-an aside: I have a clear view of Josephine from both pastures and we have calm friendly goats, so I didn’t feel neglectful, however this story may sound slightly neglectfulish-
About halfway through my thistle hunt I looked up as Josephine was scooping water out of the goat trough into her mouth! HER MOUTH! I yelled, “NO! STOP!”, which I guess I yell too much, because she looked up casually and said, “What, Mama?” as I ran toward her. Now, here’s where it gets even more interesting.
I have been wearing Taylor’s dad’s old size 12 Wolverine work boots so as to protect the bottom of my feet from bruises while I viciously dig up thistles. They are, however, a tad too big for my feet. See:

20120419-161305.jpgAnyways, as I sprinted across the pasture towards my goat water drinking two year old, I flung open the pasture gate and immediately tripped over said giant boots, falling on my left knee pretty freaking hard. As I fell, Duck (the goat) took her opportunity to leap over me out of the open gate into the horse pasture. Awesome. I jumped up, slammed the gate (as Billy (the goat) was hastily trying to make his escape and Giselle (the Pygmy goat) was hot on his heals), explained to Josephine that that water was yucky, contained tiny ugly germs (thanks Yo Gabba!) that could make her sick, and told her to keep her hands out of the water, or else (or else what, I don’t know).
Quickly, I turned my attention to the goat in the horse pasture and headed back out to wrangle Duck back in. As you may have guessed, Duck was quite reluctant to be captured and returned to her own pasture, so I chased her around for entirely too long (all the while keeping one eye on my disgusting, cute child to make sure no more goat water was imbibed) before I finally outsmarted her and forced her back to her home. All the while in giant shoes, tripping here and there, on a hurt knee.
And so there it is folks. My kid drank goat trough water and my knee is battered and bruised (and really hurts a whole lot). If anyone wants to buy me some ranch boots in a (clumsy) ladies size 10, I’d be much obliged. Or if you want to go halves with Taylor on taking out some life insurance on me, I’m sure he’d split the profits when I break my damn neck and die. Oh, country life.
At least the three stooges are all in their places with weed eating faces.

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And who would want to leave this pasture, anyways? Foolish goats.

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Good morning

I’ve had quite a busy and beautiful weekend, spending play time with Josephine, having fun friend times, and helping to bless two different friends as they journey into (and further into for one having her second child) motherhood. I feel tired, but full of love and hope. And I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of walking out my door at 6 am to this. Beauty.

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Satisfying Saturday

Do you want to see what a satisfying Saturday looks like?

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Our yards are all mowed and edged (thanks Taylor!) the thistles in the main yards are out, the front of the barn is weeded (I did that this week, but it’s still weed free today), Josephine and I made dirt cakes in the yard, and now she’s napping peacefully while Taylor and I watch the Giants game before my mom and step dad come to visit. Feels so good! So, unbelievably good!

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Rrrrribit!

It’s raining hard here in Oakdale, however, this morning it was crazy windy and clear as day. Josephine and I popped outside after breakfast to play with the wind. I was de-thistleing around the playground (oh yes, I will bore you with tales of de-thisteling as I have no doubt bored you with tales of breastfeeding and Josephine and the gym and blah blah blah), when all of a sudden I heard Josephine scream, “Help! Mama! I saw something!”.
Thinking it was a worm or a spider I sauntered over. Lo and behold, it was, a tiny FROG!
We picked it up and it hopped around, much to Josephine’s delight! You’d have thought Kermit the Frog himself was in our back yard. What fun!
Immediately, Josephine wanted to make a place to keep him, so we put some water, rocks and leaves in a bucket and made him a room.

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She named him hocus pocus, after her favorite stuffed rabbit. I’m thinking he’ll be gone tomorrow, but what fun we had, what fun indeed!
On another note, yesterday was a year since our house closed. It seems like just yesterday we walked into our beautiful laundry room and I knew I wanted to live here. Crazy! 1/30th done with paying the place off :). Hooray!

Injured

I have injured myself by ambitiously shoveling out thistles from the side yard. The sole of my foot is bruised and I am limping around like a sad little puppy. Booooo. Feel sorry for me. That’s what I get for stomping down hard on a shovel. Aggravating.

Love is in the air…literally

Yesterday on the way home from work I serendipitously saw two hawks at the top of a tree having sex. It was CRAZY! I’ve never seen anything like it before. When I told Taylor about it he said it must be a sign. Of what, I don’t know. The animals are getting frisky! Spring is in the air!