ANOTHER INTERESTING MORNING AT THE BARN...

I thought that I would give you another post today as I'm all alone and my husband is gone to tend the bar at our church hall for a function.

Every morning I go way down one end of the barn to the milk house to get milk for the small calf and bring it  all the way back to the other end of the barn. I don't complain as I'm getting lots of exercise this way.  I do a few other little chores while in the milk house. As I opened the door to go to my calves, the first thing I saw right there in front of the little gate, (yes the same little gate that was left unlocked yesterday) was two little black kittens sleeping on the hay. I put hay there as sort of a door mat so the men can wipe their feet before coming into this part of the barn. It's a heavy traffic area, not a safe place for kittens.

I had no idea that the black cat was even pregnant as she was smaller than the other cats. She had given birth earlier in some unsanitary spot somewhere that I'll never know, because her kitten were a bit dirty. One had an eye partially closed.

 I put my milk to warm up for the calves and went home to get a box and my camera. I put my nicrile gloves on and when I tried to pick them up they hissed at me. I burst out laughing. It was so cute.  I grabbed them by the skin on their neck and put them in a prepared box and moved them just to the side because I still had to move the new born calf in his pen, and I didn't want them to be stepped on.  Soon after the mother returned and looked a bit upset that I moved them and smelled where they were. After a while she got in the box with them to nurse.

My new little calf was moved without incident and had to be carried by my husband as she did not want to get up and walk.  Very stubborn...I did my all my chores first  and tried to feed her but she still didn't want to eat but I managed to get half a bottle in her after a half hour. The same this evening. I took her temperature and she had no fever. I hope that she smarten up tomorrow.  She's so tiny.

I took a few photos of my flowers in the rain before coming in the house after work.

My dwarf irises are starting to bloom.

and some of my azaleas as well

this one is finish blooming and is on the way out.

My Angelique tulips are blooming late.

There's my crab tree starting to bloom

For those of you who are still having problem with posting your comments, Jennifer Richardson from Ripplespeak blog has a solution.   http://ripplespeak.bloggerspot.com/http://ripplespeak.blogspot.com/

She says:

 1.)  Go to Google.com

2.)Type in "blogger.com" directly on Google's home page.

3.) Visit blogs as you would any other time  and she says that somehow it woks.

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment if you can. Have a safe weekend.  JB

WHAT A MORNING IT'S BEEN!

We had a thunderstorm early this morning and I hadn't slept well. I had spasms in my back and had to put the Magic Bag on it to relax the spasms in my  muscles. I could hear the rain and then just as I was falling asleep again it started to thunder and it sounded close. I got out of bed to unplug my computer and turn the switch bar off the other and went back to bed. I just laid there in bed feeling tired until 7:30 am.

I got dress and skipped breakfast for now and got going. I was half an hour late getting out and  went to feed the birds before  going to the barn and when I got there the cats were waiting at the door for me as usual, to feed them. I gave grain to Rosebud and I was going to the other side of the barn to get milk for her when I heard  a loud painful moan and high pitch cry from the cow that was put in the calving pen yesterday.

 There was no indication that she was going to calve so soon. She  was temporarily put in that pen while they moves some cows and heifers in the pasture yesterday and she was supposed to go in the back this morning.  Normally I can tell when they are about to calve, but this one showed no sign.

I almost forgot to mention that someone had forgotten to close the little gate in the barn and the cows got into everything and made a huge mess all over the floor. They tore the big round bale of bedding hay by the door and knocked things off the wall and hooks and pooped all over the place, ate the little bit of fish and chicken dry cat food that was left in their bowl, ate all Rosebud grain.

All this could have been avoided if someone would only remember the importance of closing the little gate when they use it. Sometimes they plan to return through that gate and change their mind and keep going and forget to close the damed gate.

Back to my poor mama cow. She was screaming like I never heard a calving cow scream. It wasn't a mooo. She was laying down and wasn't letting up. I saw that the water sac wasn't broken and I could see the head and the front feet in the sack. I hate going in the pen with the cows but I did. First I put a little bit of hay down as she had pooped all over the place right where the calf was coming out. Then I tore the membrane from the calf face and called my son. He's never in a hurry.

 All this time the cow is screaming like a cow in deep pain.  I called my husband as I know that my son will drink his coffee before he comes. I needed help right now as the calf wasn't moving at all. I stared to pull and since it was a small calf she came out half way and the stupid cow got up whipping me around and I had to let the calf go.

 She backed herself in the corner and I couldn't pull the calf out but it was hanging upside down and still not moving. Fortunately I could go outside the pen and stick my arm in there and pull the mucus and bubbles that were draining out of her mouth and nostrils. I was so glad that she was hanging upside down as liquid was draining the very best this way. Normally they lift the calf upside  down on the cow's back to drain the mucus. But at this point the calf still wasn't moving it's head. I thought that it was dead.

Finally there's a sign of the little head faintly moving. A good sign. Then a little more. The calf is alive. My husband arrive at this point and asked me to put some grain in the manger to make the cow go forward so I can lock her head in the locking gate and he tugged on the calf and it falls down. Then my husband left to finish his breakfast and I have to put fresh hay in the pen. At this point the mother is busy licking her little baby.

I just wish that I had someone follow me to the barn with a video sometimes for some interesting footage, lol...
Here she is the little muffin. At first she couldn't stand up at all.

There she is about half and hour later.  Sorry about the mother's rear. She was too tired to get up.

There's the mama having a drink after the traumatic experience of giving birth.

This is the pen where the new baby will go.

This is Rosebud, she has a little pink rosette so I called her Rosebud. She's all alone in the nursery and has a larger pen.  She's quite spunky and kicks her heels a lot.

This dirty girl is Football. It looks like she just came from the muddy football field. She getting big. 

Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment.  JB

THIS IS WHAT I BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

I took advantage of no rain these last few days to put a border along my vegetable garden in order to make it easier to mow the grass. I used some old cement bricks and I need about 7 more.

I used landscape fabric under and lay the brick on top. It's not professionally done but it suite me fine.
Here hubby is picking dandelions

My hubby picked wheelbarrow full of dandelions and mowed the lawn for me today as I was working on my border.

I just thought that you may want to go over to Millie's Mats to wish KIM Happy Birthday today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM. I hope that you have a great day. I know that you have been celebrating all weekend and just continue celebrating with your blogger friends.  Cheers,  Hugs.

It's raining cats and dogs this morning and I'm late for work but I thought that I would post early for Kim's birthday.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

IT WAS RAINING AGAIN, SO SHOPPING I WENT...

I had planned to put a border along side of my vegetable garden to keep the lawn grass at bay but it rained yesterday and I got cabin fever so to Value Village I went and this is what I got.

I got this man size Harris Tweed wool jacket. I know that you don't get that much wool from a jacket but I just had to have it.

Then I got this other man wool jacket . I love the texture of it so I had to have it too. Both jackets have been washed and dried and are ready to take apart.

By now you know that I'm a basket case for baskets so I had to have this cute little thing. It has a wooden bottom as well as inside the cover, and I love the cute latch on it. It will soon be filled with wool or something related to rug hooking.

I found this wool blanket with the right weight for $5.99 and took it home, it has been washed and dried too.

I found this floor lamp for $6.99 but it needs a shade.  I won't have to move my other floor lamp around anymore for hooking or quilting.

I couldn't resist this large piece of new Christmas fabric. It a heavy tight weaved  cotton with  gold metallic for a mere $2.99. I'm not sure what I'll make with this. Maybe some place mats or table runners.

This large piece of heavy fabric feels like jean material and I thought that it would make some awesome aprons. I couldnt just leave it there could I? All I need now is time to sew, right...

Since I've been collecting bunnies I thought that I would give them a nice home. That bunny dish had a price label of $10.00 and I got it for $1.99, the bunny bank was $2.99 and the mimi bunnies were $.69 each.

I know that Halloween is still 5 months away but I fell in love with this cute sign. It was well made and I like the handle. It was a bit pricey at $5.99 but what the heck. I took it anyway.

And for the kid in me, I got this little sturdy $.69 basket to pick a few things from the garden. It's 10 inches long by 7 1/2 wide and 6 inches deep.   The handle is collapsable  for storage. Perfect for me.

And all that shopping took me less than 15 minutes.  The place was packed so I guess that everyone was shopping too because it was raining.

Now it's back to the garden since the sun is out. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Have a great week everyone.

WHAT TO DO WITH FIDDLEHEADS...

Because some of you who read my post yesterday were enquiring about the taste and how to prepare fiddleheads, I've checked it up online and I have found this site that may answer your questions.

http://www.wild-harvest.com/pages/fiddlehead.htm

You may have to type the address as for some reason  blogger can't seem to find the site after I fixed my error. I had put a p instead of a m and still it won't work unless I type it in.

The daffodils are finished and the Leopard bane is in bloom.

this section of my backyard taken from the back of the garage. My son's unfinished shed in the back and my broken trellis sitting against the hedge.  The shed was supposed to be moved but is still there.

Another shot to the right from the same location. This is a raised area and there are rock steps that goes to the patio down below. My huge maple tree had to be cut last year and the stump is still visible in the flower bed  near the shed. The cracked pavement needs repairs because weeds love to grow in those cracks. Oh how I miss my big shade tree. Last evening I've started to put a border along the vegetable garden as it's difficult to know where the garden starts and the green starts and the grass makes it way in the garden. It's a big job but I'll tackle a little bit at a time.

Another view of my weedy vegetable garden taken from  the raise driveway. The middle section of the garden never got finished weeding last fall as we got some snow and they all went to seed early this spring. I pulled the weeds out yesterday .

This is  the end of the rock garden at the end of the driveway. This is a long flower bed that runs all the length of my driveway. These are Leopard Bane that I planted last spring. They are just starting to bloom  along with the dandelions and my Mother of Thyme is spilling on the driveway.

Another flowerbed on the south side of the house. There is a lot of painting thsat needs to be done.

One of my hosta is starting to open up at last. I have lots of Hostas. That's my post for today. It's raining and I don't feel like working so I think that I'll take it easy today and do things inside.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.  Have a great weekend and try to rest too.  JB

THE FIDDLEHEADS ARE FINALLY HERE

Yesterday my daughter came by to check on the state of her garden before the planting begins  and for a little chat while her son was  at the cadets at the Army Base and I suggested that since she was here maybe she could drive the truck down the fields by the river to go see if the fiddleheads  were out.  We are glad that we did as we found a nice crop and we each picked a large pail and she returned today with her husband to pick some more. I had enough so I opted out to work in my garden instead.

We never have to buy them as they grow on our land. They can be quite expensive at the grocery  store as they are  a delicacy. There is a short window to pick them before the fonts unfurls into a fern.

Today as I was pulling weeds from my vegetable garden I saw three men in a motor boat close to the shore looking through the debris that was floating and I went over to ask them if they were looking for the body of the young man who drowned. They said yes. There were 5 men in a 12 foot canoe who overturned while on their way home from picking fiddleheads.  Three were wearing life jackets and two were not. The three were rescued and one who swam to shore was taken to hospital suffering hypothermia and the other has not been recovered yet.  I can't believe how 5 men fitted in a 12 foot canoe. A few years ago someone was walking by our house and saw a floating body face down  and they were looking in the same place as the current swirls there when the water is high. I hope that they find him soon. It must be very sad for the family.

I worked in my gardens but I'm having difficulty with uploading pictures this evening.  Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Have a great weekend.  JB

MY LITTLE MAN OF THE HOUR

Well, what's new you asked? I've been working like usual at the farm and I'm still in the scrubbing mode although I have to take my time and pace myself. It's tedious work as there are a lots of pipes and wires and gadgets to clean around and very slow and time consuming so I'm not rushing. I'm getting plenty of exercises going up and down the step ladder and that's good to firm my butts and getting lots of elbow grease type of exercises. A bit hard on the neck and the shoulders but I'll survive. I'll take some photos when I get around to it.

Early this  morning I picked up yesterday's mail and I was tickled pink to receive a gift from Doris of Moments in Time.   Doris is an amazing resilient classy lady with impeccable taste and although we have never met, I know that she is a great person with lots of courage and determination she's thoughtful and considerate and has  purpose in life and just keep going. She lives with her sweet dog Eloise, teaches rug hooking, is neat as a pin and kind as they come.  Can you believe that she also make her own sourdough bread too with her own starter.
Coming back to the gift, it was a piece of crack stop and some sweet Christmas patterns. Now how sweet is that.? Thank you so much Doris. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and your generosity very much. I'm anxious to try it as soon as I have a little spare time and will keep you informed of my progress.

And now and update on my little grandson. He's 4 months old today, May 16th.

He's watching the Muppet Show with dad. How cool is that.? 

Thanks for your visit and for leaving a comment.  JB