Colorful Potatoes

I have so many fun pictures today.

We harvested potatoes the other day and cooked some up for breakfast. We planted several different types and the color pallet was so pretty when I cut them that I wanted to share it with you.

My stepdad, Cliff Tucker, was given this "hairy hat". Cliff is "follicle challenged" and it never ceases to be the joke when he is around. It's nice that he can now have a full head of hair for everyone to enjoy.

Pops (my Father-in-law Gary Ashton) goes nowhere without his American Eskimo, Junior. Here he is feeding him something yummy from the garden

Our new barn looks almost spooky with the full moon rising behind it. The inside really is impressive. We are almost done siding it and starting to organize items so we can find it all easily. I am really looking forward to getting my red barn back.

We have so many exciting things happening at the farm. A Sheriff friend of ours came by the other day. He hadn't been there for about 3 months and he was totally amazed at how different everything looks. I love to see the changes that have been made since April of 2010. If you had told me then what it would look like now, I would not have believed it.

We had a fun time yesterday. Marvin had left the farm for a bit to do some errands. A friend and I came back from town and saw that the goats were across the fence in the neighbor's field. We drove to the house and grabbed some feed and the Kabota and went back down the hill. They were by the main road by now, so we herded them back through the fence. I asked her to stay and watch them while I went to get a bale of hay. When I came back, this little petite gal was picking up the goats and tossing them over the fence! I named her the Goat Goddess. I don't think she really appreciates the name.

We finished planting our 600 new olive trees. I really think that an olive orchard is one of the most scenic of all types of plantings. We are trellising our 1300 trees so they will be really beautiful in a couple of years.

The lightening last night was breathtaking. We had a horribly humid day. We were heading home around 10:00 last night and had the show of the year. We don't get lightening very much around here so it was really fun (especially since it didn't start any fires). It was warm and so exciting that we didn't get to bed until after midnight.

We now have 9 new calves. The last couple were born to last year's heifers. This made me feel better because I couldn't tell if they were pregnant or just super fat. I suppose some day I'll be a real cowgirl and learn how to preg test (or maybe not).

My quote for the day: Every time I stress about a work or life change, the new circumstances prove to be better than the last.

Veggies and more

We had a wonderful but poignant weekend. Our son sames left for basic training in the good ol US Army. We are so very proud of him to volunteer to serve our country, but also will miss him bunches.

The cauliflower and tomatoes are just 2 examples of the great vegetables growing at HZ Harvest. We are inviting all to come and share the bounty with U-pick open during specific times. Call us to make arrangements and bring the family. (805) 801-1899 or (805) 610-1053.

My little filly, Sugar is doing great. It was suggested by Johnny Johnston (the wonderful guy who gave her to me to raise) that I allow her to stretch her legs. He said to just take the lead rope off and let her run a bit and she would come back to me. I took her out into the field and took the rope off. After I walked around for 20 minutes or so, she just stayed right at my side. She finally caught sight of her pen and walked over and put herself away. Maybe next time she'll stretch her legs.

A very wise friend told me today's quote: Our dreams and ambitions are not always those of our children.

Be safe and God Bless James.

Phew!

OK, I've decided that I'm going to update this with a "small" entry more often.

We had a really nice weekend. Our precious youngest child (and only son) James is leaving Sunday for the Army. We are so very proud of his decision to help protect us and our country from those wishing to do us harm. Our hearts are heavy with the knowledge that he is leaving, but I know he will flourish in the service as he does in whatever he chooses.

His beautiful wife Melissa is trying to be brave for him too as she will be single-parenting their 20 month old son Landon and preparing for the birth of their second son, Carter who is due in November. Fortunately she is surrounded by lots of great friends and family.

She put together a surprise going away party for him Saturday and boy was he surprised! A great evening of family and friends at our house to say a final goodbye for now and wish James a safe and happy service.

Sunday was another great BBQ at Deer Valley Ranch, our sister property. The company was great, the food was fantastic and the day was perfect.

Sunday night was another matter. I woke up at around 2:00 am (actually Monday morning) to hear our female Pyrenees, Angel, barking somewhere in the distance. I didn't want to disturb Marvin so I jumped into the Kabota and took a drive. When I found her, my flashlight illuminated a big surprise. There was a large tail pointing my direction attached to a black and white striped animal. I hightailed it back to the house and got Marvin and his trusty shotgun. There were actually 3 skunks - Angel had already dispatched one and Marvin took care of the others. The amazing thing is that at least one of them had sprayed the plants in the garden but there wasn't a bit of smell on Angel. She is so quick that she was actually outmaneuvering them! All was well and our ducks were safe and sound.

Give us a call and come pick veggies or pick up a couple of hens. You can reach me at (805) 610-1053 or Marvin at (805) 801-1899. You can also email me at
kblackbu3@yahoo.com.

My thought for the day: "Wag more, bark less".

Calves, calves everywhere

Wow! Our heifers from the 4-H and FFA kids are starting to pop out calves right and left. We had 2 calves last Monday and 5 calves today. We have been truly blessed that all calves have been born healthy and hearty so far.

We have started siding the new barn. It is going to look so awesome!

Sunday morning was spent shearing the sheep. We had a wonderful family of experts come at 8:00 and learned lots from them. Sometimes it seems that we learn more each day from others than we could possible learn in a classroom.

Hope you had a great Labor Day!