No reason, just liked it...

"The secret of life isn’t in what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you."

— Unknown

Bringin' in the Big Guns

Last week I got around to tilling the new garden spot.  I have a small tiller--we call her Tuffy. 

The spot where we are putting our garden had cattle on it over the winter.  It is REALLY packed down.  Tuffy wasn't gettin the job done!  I was expressing my frustrations at work and my boss said, "go out and get my tiller.  It'll get it done for sure."  So, we brought in the big guns!  I really wanted to keep it.

Now, to get a few things in the ground.  Yesterday we planted potatoes and onions.  Maci was pretty serious about getting the rows dug.

Quentin was great help planting the potatoes.

Then, we had to go see how Ryan was doing with his planting.  The kids always like to see if they can dig up one of the seeds that just came out of the planter.  Here they are looking for a corn seed.

Planting season means lots of meals in the field, eating in the pickup.

It also means lots of seed runs for the kids and I.  We replenish Ryan's supply one last time for the night before I get the kids home to bed.  Then, grab the empty bags out of his truck and take them home for a late night bonfire.

The Great Rat Shootout of 2010

It was finally time to move the chickens and ducks into their new chicken house.  We had been noticing that we hadn't been getting as many chicken eggs as we thought we should be.  Upon further investigation we uncovered a rat problem.  We could tell that they had been burrowing under the old chicken house and were stealing the eggs.  Obviously, you never have just one...no, they had found the motherload and invited their friends!

We had to move the old chicken house before we could build the outside run for the new house. We knew that when we did this we would have those rats to contend with.  So, we called in the troops....Ryan's brother, Evan. 

This turned into quite the little project for these guys.  They were like two little kids plotting out how this was going to 'go down'.  First, we moved the chickens and ducks into the new chicken house.

Then, they decided that Ryan would lift up the old chicken house with the tractor and Evan would shoot the rats.  They originally decided on using my pink pistol for the job. 

Although Evan does look like a real stud with my pink gun, it didn't get the job done.  They both came walking up to me with grins on their faces (I could tell something was up) and Ryan said, "Hey, don't we still have a bag of fireworks leftover in the basement?  Go get 'em!"  Oh yeah, this sounds like a great idea!

The fireworks didn't really work either, but the kids had fun watching the show anyway.  So, it was time for a new plan of attack.  Go get the proper supplies:  a couple pops, a box of ammo and the shotgun.

Nothin' says redneck like a good rat killin with your shotgun!

Okay, back at it again.  Ryan lifts the house up while Evan gets in ready position.

This next picture is a little blurry, but it's one of my favorites.  It shows just how determined these guys were to shoot the rats.  Evan saw one on the other side of the tractor...

It took a lot of shells...

..but in the end....the score was settled..
Slater Boys 10
Rats 0

(a couple of the victims)

SWEET VICTORY!

Moo-ving Day

Last weekend we moved our cattle from the pasture to the lot at our house.  It was time--the Little Rascals are continuing to get out and go on adventures around the farm.  Quentin took all of the pictures and came up with the name for this post.  Good job Quentin!

First, we ran them around the house, through the yard.  This is Quentin's favorite picture because he caught some of the cows jumping.

Then, across the driveway...

..and into the lot.  There's always a straggler or two that have to check things out along the way.

Check em over and make sure they're all here.

Then, line up for the buffet!

The kids love these bunks because they can get so close to the cattle.

Signs of Spring Adventure

The kids and I went Easter clothes shopping the other day and found these cool flowers.  Okay, so we got a little off task--but we did get Easter clothes too.



We thought they were a sign of spring and the kids decided we should go on a 'signs of spring' adventure.  When we pulled in the drive we saw our first sign of spring.  Ryan had brought the planter home to get it ready! It had been stored in the shed at the other farm.

We walked around the yard and found daffodils getting ready to bloom, tulips starting to come up, strawberries starting to show some green and some trees budding out.   Then, the kids decided that no adventure was complete without a trip down to the creek.

We had lots of fun looking around.

The biggest sign of spring for Mom came when we got home--- a couple of fresh cuts from walking around in the timber. 

HAPPY SPRING, EVERYONE!

A Blogger Award!

I received this award from DebH over at Dakotagoats: http://dakotagoats.blogspot.com/.  She's a wonderful women.  You'll have to read her '10 things' too! Thanks, Deb!

Here's the rules for the award:

1. You must accept the award.
2. Thank the person who gave you the award.
3. Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
4. Paste the award on your blog.
5. Write 10 things about yourself that others might not know.
6. Pass the award on to 10 others.

 
 
Okay, ten things about me that others might not know:
 
1.  I am Catholic.  I married a nice Catholic boy too.  : )  He came complete with the traditional large family--19 first cousins!
 
2.  I used to have my own scrapbooking store.  I still have quite a bit of merchandise left.  Hmmmm, I'm thinkin a giveaway on my blog in the near future.
 
3.  I like to eat prunes.  I just bought a bag at the store the other day.  They're so delicious!  My husband thinks I am so weird. 
 
4.  I own two guns.  My favorite is a pink pistol that I bought last year.
 
5.  I have.....tendencies.   I like things to be done 'just so'.  I don't have an overly clean house by any means, but if something is put away it is put away right...and neatly.  Also, if something is not where it should be, I can't find it.  At work they dusted my desk and put my stapler in a different spot.  I couldn't find it--it was in plain sight.
 
6.  I live in the house I grew up in, except it's on our farm now.  We bought my parent's house and moved it to our farm.  Quite an interesting project. 
 
7.  I had the Grand Champion Rabbit at our county fair when I was in 4-H.  It was a Netherland Dwarf named Oreo.  He was black with a white belly and I thought he looked like an Oreo cookie. 
 
8.  I'm not a baby person.  Let me explain that..  I LOVE babies, who doesn't?  I've just never been one of those people that holds someone else's baby and says, "oh, I miss when my kids were babies".  I love watching my kids grow and each new thing they do amazes me more than the last.
 
9.  I drive a pickup.  I have wanted one since I turned 16.  Finally, last year my wonderful husband bought me my very first pickup.  Now I'm a kid haulin, mulch movin, feed bucket takin, seed bag gettin Mama!  It also seems to be my husband's ride of choice when he and his buddies decide to go on a casino trip!
 
10.  I have only been blogging since last month (I'm already addicted though).  So, I don't know 10 other bloggers to share this award with yet.   I will share with some great people that I have met so far though.
 
I will pass the award on to the wonderful blogs that I follow:
1. http://janetphillips.blogspot.com/
2. http://thelifeofafarmerswife.blogspot.com/
3. http://intheshadowofjuniperhill.blogspot.com/
4. http://laughing-duck-farm.blogspot.com/
5. http://mycountryblogofthisandthat.blogspot.com/
6. http://www.raisingcountrykids.com/
7. http://smallfarmgirl.blogspot.com/

Muck Boots

In our opinion, no farm is complete without a pair of Muck Boots.  Every farmer, farm wife, farm boy and farm girl needs a pair.  We are in ours all the time.  They are much easier to walk in than the big ole 3-buckle or 5-buckle overshoes.  We have a friend that swears by them for hunting boots.  They are warm, waterproof and comfortable enough to hike the many miles of hunting.  They're much more comfortable and convenient than traditional rubber boots too.  The stretchy tops make it really easy for the kids (and the parents) to tuck their pants into them.  Ryan's and mine are black, but they also come in different colors.  Quentin's are navy blue and they have some really cool pink and purple ones that Maci likes.  Hers are not the actual Muck Boot brand.  I wish they were.  I think she could tuck her pants into them herself if they were.  They are big brother's hand-me-downs, but we wanted hers in the picture too, of course!