Where there's a Will there's.... Usually a Woman Involved!!

I don't know if Amanda reads my blogs, ... but if she does...this could be the last one I write for a while!! ;)

Sometime during the early morning she heard this little fellow fall and land on the heat vent in her bedroom. She lay there listening to him scratch and chew for several hours. She finally got up to investigate and saw that he was not able to go anywhere, he was trapped! She sent me this picture,

By late afternoon she was starting to feel really bad for him, plus he was terrorizing her with all the noises he was making. She said Nate wasn't home yet but she was pretty sure she could get him out all by herself. Then this was the next picture:

 

"OK Sherlock, how did you fare?" I was starting to worry about her, afraid she might get bit!!

 

"I GOT HIM" I could actually hear the triumph in her text from 2500 miles away. Now I was starting to pity the poor little mouse. I didn't really want to know but I had to ask! "Did you have to kill him?

                                                                

 

"Of course not!!" Was her reply!! "I'm waiting for Nate to get home". She had texted Nate and told him to hurry home so he could meet Arthur. Nate had a pretty good idea what he was going to find!!

 

 

As I was telling Debbie about this later she said, "I just bet when Nate got home, Manda was sitting there feeding the mouse cheese!!  "Well, I surely hope they remember to shut the door when they carry him out to freedom" I retorted!

 

 

This jogged our memory back to 15 or so years ago. Sadly I don't have any pictures! Debbie and I were in the kitchen and we were suddenly alerted to sounds coming from the snack cupboard.

 

 Deb being the braver of us two, started taking the food out of the cupboard. Finally she held a box of "chicken in a bisquit" crackers. "He's in here," she said in a stage whisper. I whispered back, "Take him outside, get him out of here!!"  

 

She took him outside, but left the door open. Halfway across the yard she tipped the box over and the little mouse runs out...straight for the door that she had left open!!

 

The race was on!! She sets out in hot pursuit, chasing him yelling, "Stop him, stop him!!" I'm still in the kitchen terrified to step out in front of a mouse, so I climb a chair instead, just as he comes running in through the door with Deb hot on his tail.

 

Now she's running around the house with the same said cracker box trying to get him back in. It took her a bit but she finally did catch him, while I stayed on my perch a healthy distance from the floor. With a triumphant, "YES" she carried the terrified little mouse out to freedom. This time she remembered to shut the door!!

 

 

                                                    

It's Snowing and there's Cows to Feed!!

We woke up to our second significant snowfall. The cows are patiently waiting for their hay,  while the farmer is in the house waiting for the snow to stop!

It doesn't look like its going to stop any time soon so we head out to see if we can reach the top of the butte without getting stuck. The ground isn't frozen under the snow so we won't be able to see where the wet spots are. Hopefully we can avoid them.

I am taking pictures out a dirty tractor window. We head out the lane and up the road.

 

           We make it to the gate, but we still have a hill to climb. I don't drive to the

        feeding area unless every splotch of mud is dried up!  There are two gates to open here.               

We have a cow that climbs over the barbed wire gates so Rob put up an electric fence for good measure!

 

 

                          We made it up the hill and the cows come to meet us. I hop in the drivers seat while Rob cuts the strings off the bales and climbs on the wagon.

 

 

                          As I drive slowly out through the field he throws off the hay several slabs at a time.

                     I'm actually getting pretty good, I only knocked him off the wagon one time this         winter. He was getting down anyway but I kind of hurried him a little.

 

                        There are several cows that follow the wagon till we are done,  knowing the

 last slab of hay is always the best!  :)

                                                 
                                     That's all we put out here, we head for the next group of cows.
                                                                      

 

We make it back down off the butte with out cutting up too much pasture.

Rob fights with the gates to get them closed.

 

 

We head out the field lane to feed the cows that calved in the fall.

 

The mommas and babies run to meet us.

 

 

Rob throws the rest of the hay off here as I drive out through the field.

I got to close to the edge of the hill and cut big ruts in the field. That may cause some problems during hay season!

 

We left behind some happy cows and calves. we will wean these calves in a few weeks then put the cows up on the butte with the rest of the herd. I drive out of the pasture while Rob struggles with  another gate.

Rob puts the tractor away for another day and I...

 

...head for the house, and a hot cup of coffee!!