Trump at the Marcus Fair!!!

Yeah, yeah, I know it wasn't really Trump, he was coming down off the big debate last night but as Bruce and I were leaving the fair right after dinner, we met this bus!

We drove down the street a block and I said to Bruce, "We have to go back so I can get a picture, it's too good of an opportunity!" Bruce did turn around, our parking space was still there so he pulled in and parked again. We set out for the fairground, certain that the bus had pulled in. 

It hadn't.

We went out the west gate, scanning the streets for the purple bus but then noticed a young man wearing a Trump t-shirt. I yelled, "Where's the bus??" He turned around and grinned, then pointed at the corner and there it sat. He was trying to find a place to park but not necessarily on the grounds.

We asked him how the heck they knew about the Marcus fair and he said he has a very good friend who keeps him informed about all that is going on in the community. Then he asked Bruce what his name was and when Bruce told him, he said, "I know you! Do you still have your radio station?"

It was Chris Hupke from Cherokee and his informant was Jon Furhman, our good friend and neighbor. 

What a small world. This picture is his parents at the garden tour in July out here at the farm.

Bruce watched the hog show while I was in the flower building this morning, both Carly and Carson, Jon's kids showed hogs so we knew they were on the grounds yet. Chris told us to get in the bus and we would go find a parking place.

I rode in (one) of Trump's bus'.

You would think with his money it would be a little fancier.

Bruce called Jon and told him we were going to find a parking spot for the bus, right where you drive to the fairground is an empty lot with a sign on the tree, way back and to the right, with a phone number, For Sale. I called that number and asked if we could park a bus for the day on that lot. Whoever was on the phone, gave his permission.

I didn't say who's bus!!

Then Bruce wanted his picture in front of the bus, we shook hands with Chris again, I actually got a hug, and left for home. I had chickens that needed to be let out and a salad to make for Janet and Gerald's 50th anniversary celebration tonight.

It probably won't be quite as exciting - but you never know, the day is still young.

Hosting, being hosted and a Blue Moon

Last week was a busy one for Bruce and I, his second cousin, Margaret McCoy and family from Ohio were here visiting her husband's family at the Lakes and we were invited to join them for a pontoon ride, a Nutty Bar, and supper. Two years ago they came to the farm and we served them up some burgers, they wanted to return the hospitality. We found their home with little trouble and were greeted with hugs and smiles all around. It was a gloomy, cloudy, threatening rain day but everyone except the two babies and their grandpa, Barry, who stayed behind to wrangle them, piled in the pontoon and headed across the lake to Arnold's Park for the promised Nutty Bar.

Bruce and Margaret braved the splashes from the front of the boat, I, chicken that I am, retreated to the rear.

Barry's Uncle Leon is piloting the craft with Kira, a delightful young lady, the daughter of his nephew who helps him take care of the large property.

The other three are Megan to Kira's left, Michael, Margaret's children and Michael's wife, Sara, mother of the two babies back at the house.

When we docked, Megan set out to find the dangerous board in the dock that nearly did them in the day before and is rejoicing that someone fixed it and we were all safe.

After consuming Nutty Bars and shopping for souvenir t-shirts for the entire family, we stumbled upon oversized musical instruments in the green space and everyone had to try them out. Michael and Kira are playing the, well, what ever they are.

Bruce and Margaret attempt to play chopsticks and don't do too bad a job.

We felt some sprinkles so hurried aboard the pontoon for the trip home, Bruce was the smart one who brought his jacket, mine was in the car but "NOOOOOOO, I didn't need it!" Despite the showers that kept catching up to us, Michael and Megan got on the tube and rode it back to the house, getting dumped twice. 

Oh, it's so nice to be young!

At the house the babies were up, Katie is a doll, at 5 months old, she has everyone wrapped around her little finger.

Gabriel, who was 10 months old the last time we saw him, is an extremely independent 3 yr old, but his grandpa Barry, knew just how to handle him when he got up from his nap a little cranky and was soon roughhousing with his daddy.

We had a great time, we gorged ourselves on tacos and sweetcorn and watched the sun come out over the lake. It would have been nice to stay and watch the sun go down over the lake but we had a long drive home. Lots of hugs all around with promises we will see them in a couple of years again, hopefully at the farm next time and we set out for home.

Jean and John were coming on Thursday and, as usual, I left the house cleaning to the last minute so I was busy the next couple of days and Zoe didn't understand why I couldn't come and spend all day in the gazebo with her! She would sit in the back window of the house and meow at me until I went to open the door, then she ran to the gazebo and waited for me to come.

She was disappointed.

We were surprised when Carol came down from Minn and stayed with Janet and Foof. There are two things that can be counted on when the whole gang is together, there will be golfing and there will be eating and this time was no exception. Friday they golfed at Quimby and Sat at Paullina and a good time was had by all.

Friday we had BLT's (bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for you who don't know) and sweetcorn for dinner after the golfing. It was so delicious, we did it again after golfing on Saturday. The perfect summertime meal.

Saturday night we went to Germantown for the Hideout's famous broasted chicken and fries, there is something very decadent about your food arriving on trays, heaped high and hot. We all dived in like a pack of hungry wolves and easily consumed 3 1/2 chickens.

John came back from the men's room chuckling about a sign that is handwritten on the wall above the stool, "Stand closer, please, it's shorter than you think."

Friday night was a Blue Moon, the second full moon in a single month, the last one was in 2012 and the next one will be 30 months away. I took my honking big lens out by the bean field and snapped a few pictures and this one was featured on Channel 4 news on Saturday night!

I'm a legend in my own mind!

All good things must come to an end, we all have lives to get back to so early Sunday morning Jean and John packed up and headed home to WI. It's always lonely when company is gone so I got busy stripping beds and loading a pile of towels in the washer. They were all drying on the line before church and after church were either back on the bed or folded and in the bathroom closet. I brought the mason jar of flowers downstairs and closed off the guest bedroom to the cats, wiping away any vestige of occupation, it was as though they weren't even here.

All that was left was the memories.

Well, that and a very happy Zoe.

News Flash! Birds identified!!

And I didn't even have to dress in camo and sit in the raspberry patch!! After much sneaking around I finally caught a bird leaving the nest one day but didn't know what she was, she would sit in the tree and go "Tick, Tick, Tick." while I was in the vicinity. Most of the time the babies were in the nest unaccompanied but growing and feathering so I knew they were getting fed.

 Early this morning we had a 'gully washer' rain, along with booming thunder that about knocked me out of bed and lightning bolts that lit up the sky. I had to dress in water gear and go divert the rain barrel but not before water came in the basement, I also ran to the barn to close the door but not before water poured in.

After doing chores this morning I tiptoed out to the nest to see how the babies fared and it was EMPTY!!! OH, NO!!!

But then there was a flurry of feathers and a tiny bird flew to the top of one of the raspberry canes and an Indigo Bunting pair flew out!!!!! The male is a beautiful dark blue, the female brown. I got the heck out of there, the babies are safe in the warren of berry thorns and the pair can take care of them.

It's so EXCITING!!! They are not a bird we see very often, it made my day!

Giving a cow a pedicure, caution, do not try this at home!

When both Bovine and Equine animals over eat, they develop a condition called laminitis, an inflammation of the feet which causes lameness and makes the hoofs grow upwards. If not kept trimmed, the animals will become crippled and unable to get around very well. We had a young cow that over ate last fall when they were turned out into the cornfields and over the winter her hooves started pointing skyward, Bruce called her 'Old Ski Foot.' He finally made an appointment with the vets to get her trimmed before it was time to go to the pasture.

These are not the eyes of a gentle cow, these are the eyes of a cow that is vowing to get revenge.

At the vet's office she was run into a headgate and haltered, then Clayton gave her some tranqualizing pills.

They didn't help.

It took two vets and Bruce to get her up against the tilt table, squeezed by a gate....

....pulled by her tail....

...belted around the flank and behind her front legs.

"Going up!"

She was trussed up like a Thankgiving turkey, head strapped down along with her feet, she wasn't moving.

She had a lot of time to plot her revenge.

This is what her feet were beginning to look like.

"Just go to sleep now."

Clayton started by nipping off the big points....

.....then worked over the hooves with the hoof knife, digging out any bad places.

The final step was done with an electric grinder, YIKES!!!!!

After shaping and primping all four feet, "Going Down."

Clayton and Jarod released her from all the trusses....

....and she immediately went after Bruce.

"You, YOU are the one who did this to me!!"

She had no interest in getting in the trailer, she was still out for revenge, then Jarod climbed in the front to create a diversion.

She leaped in the trailer but wasn't fast enough, Jarod was out the side door to safety.

Back home she tries out her new pedicure but she still wasn't happy.

Perhaps because she didn't get them painted in the new, hot summer colors, like 'Moola' or 'Alfalfa Green', I'm not sure what color goes best with manure.

"Welcome Bruce and Julie French to the 21st Century!!"

Well, we did it, we have a Smart Phone!! We can Google, we can Text (Say it isn't so!!), we have unlimited minutes, we can check our heart rate and how much exercise we are getting, we can zero in on any place in the world to see what is going on, we can even take pictures, if we are only smart enough to figure out how to use it.

We have struggled with lack of service in MN with the little cheapo flip phone, but the $30 monthly fee was a big draw for my frugal hubby, who carried the phone. He was limited to 300 minutes and no texting, which was fine with us. We did not use the phone for the primary contact and Bruce seldom ran over the minutes, when he did there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Did I say he was frugal?

When Bruce was in MN, he has been fishing with John and we relied on him to keep us connected but that was aggravating. Thursday we were driving home from Storm Lake and I was trying to call but the phone refused, "Action Failed", time and time again. I was tempted to throw it out the window! (It was a good thing I didn't, as Tami had to use it to retrieve our information.) I was wailing and gnashing my teeth about the "Piece of Crap Phone...." when Bruce suddenly said, "Maybe we should upgrade?" I wasn't sure I heard right but he pulled into Meriden and drove to CML, our local telephone coop.

We walked out 2 hours later, well that may be a slight exaggeration, with this lovely beauty.

A Samsung Galaxy s5, that will do everything but clean your ears and there may be an app for that. Tami gave us a crash course and transferred our phone contacts, she even set it up with the Bluetooth in our car. We have unlimited talk and text (say it isn't so!), we have made it clear to everyone that WE DO NOT TEXT! For one thing, it cost us every time someone sent us a text and besides, can't you just talk on the darn phone!! (Case in point, after 7 texts back and forth since last night to a young man in SD who was coming to pick up something, Bruce finally called him to find out he wasn't coming after all! What a waste of time!)

It is mind numbing what these electronics can and will do, the big test will be when Bruce is in MN, will it work?? He did take this picture of the cows and calves feeding at the bunk in the pasture Friday morning, the sun was shining on them and they look so pretty. And I was able to figure out how to email it to us!!

HOORAY!!

Friday night we decided to go to Paullina to eat and called Janet and Foof to see if they wanted to come, they did. While we were there, Brian and Christine and all three kiddies showed up also so we were telling them about our leap into the 21st century with our phone, come to find out, it's the same one that both Brian and Chris have. 

Suddenly I looked around the table and everyone, kids included, had their phones out, looking at them, showing things they do and I realized we have become those annoying people who are out in public and everyone is engrossed in their phone!!

AAAUUUGGHHHHHH!!!!!

Calling all birders!

When I was picking black raspberries I came upon this nest made completely from insulation, woven into some raspberry canes. I didn't notice that my picture came out looking so green, the bottom two shows the true color.

The nest was empty when I first found it but soon some eggs appeared, first only two but there ended up being four little blue eggs. The only bird I ever saw hanging around was a wren, so I assumed this was a wren nest. I picked black raspberries for a couple of weeks, still only the four eggs and never an adult bird. I came to the conclusion that the nest had been abandoned.

Today I walking by and peeked in and to my surprise, some newly hatched baby birds were in residence, I saw three sitting up with their mouths open, waiting for food.

Still no adult bird in residence! I asked Mr. Google if wrens lay blue eggs and that does not seem to be so, they have brown speckled eggs. Robins, of course, lay blue eggs, as do bluebirds, but to me these eggs were much too tiny to be robin eggs and blue birds are cavity nesters.

So I'm stumped, am I going to have to put up the game camera to find out who is responsible for these baby birds?

I will say one thing for whoever built this nest, they were brave and tenacious, messing with black raspberry canes is not for the faint at heart, they like to grab on and not let go!

Maybe I'll have dress up in camo clothing to stake it out.

The Good, the Bad, and the Bugly.

The Good. 

I had my carpal tunnel surgery done on Tuesday and I'm already sleeping better. 

Bruce had another fishing trip planned and decided to sell the fat cattle so I didn't have to do chores one handed. 

Thursday morning he had his good buddy, Grassy, help him load cattle, it was going to take two trips. 

I got to sleep in. 

The Bad. 

I got to sleep in until 7:15 when the phone rang. 

"We've got trouble," were the first words out of Bruce's mouth, " the walk in door on the trailer did not get closed and when we got up here, we only had seven head of cattle." They loaded nine this time. "Would I please go over to the farm and see if I could find them?" 

The Good.

On the way to the farm, riding the four wheeler, I could see two steers across the pasture fence from the herd. I left the four wheeler and walked through the wet beans, praying that they would go willingly back to the barn. My prayers were answered, one went into an open pen, where I quickly shut the gate. 

The Bad. 

The other steer spooked when his partner in crime was locked up and raced back to the pasture. I could see there was no way he was going to go willingly, and frankly, knowing where he was going, I didn't blame him. 

The Good. 

I drove back to the house to call Bruce and tell him all was well, which he was very relieved to hear. If the cattle had gotten into the corn field, we would never have found them. He said they were home, parked by the bins, so I drove back over to help with the roundup. Bruce decided to just turn him out into the pasture with the rest of the cattle because it would be nearly impossible to drive him back to the barn and we might lose him in the cornfield. Besides there were 10 left if the barn and that would fill up the trailer. He was able to get the gate open and it took very little encouragement for the steer to join the herd. The last we saw of him, he was running alongside some cows kicking up his heels, "Yippee!"  

Back at the barn, I double checked that the side door was locked while Bruce and Grassy loaded the last of the fat cattle and drove to Sheldon. I packed the cooler and cooked some dinner while Bruce showered and packed his suitcase. Shortly after noon the red pickup was headed north to Minnesota where he would meet up with his brother in law, John. John sent me this picture of Bruce out on the water. 

The Bugly.

Zoe and I spent the afternoon snoozing in the gazebo, we had 1 1/2" of rain early Thursday morning so I decided to pump water from my big rain barrel into my holding barrels to make room for more water as rain was predicted. I saw this little critter on the rain barrel.

It is an immature lady beetle, they look like a little red and black alligator.

She crawled around on my bandaged hand while I tried to get pictures, she really struggled on the cotton gauze so I finally let her go. I don't see them very often as they are so tiny so if you see one, don't squash it.

The Really Good.

I saw my oncologist, Dr. Rao, last week and she declared me "Very Healthy!" I will begin two years of maintenance treatment on Sept 10 and will be able to do the first one in Cherokee. So that made my day. It's a beautiful morning on the farm and Zoe and I are headed to the gazebo with our iced coffee, well, she isn't getting any, she's too little. I hope you are all having a great day too.

The Good!

I came in to find this picture from Jean of her hubby, John, with a nice bass!

Well done, well done!