Soap Opera

So I said I would post some pictures of soaps and No...I don't do Soap Operas, but did once upon a time. Although, I was hooked on a couple of them, that phase of me is over....way over...

So onto a little Real Soap making

The Green swirl soaps are a fragrance of eucalyptus and energy.

The Bluish soaps When Pigs fly and plain ones are a Lilac and Sweet Grass,,,now thats a really nice light scent.

The purple swirl handmade marked soaps are Cucumber Melon and Lime and if I would had a little more green mica that would of been a better coloring but I like swirling stuff.

My friends and family will be tickled with the new scents and Shanster if your out there, send me an email with your address..I really want you to have a When Pigs Fly! Not that that says anything,,,I just love the quirky and that's not saying you are quirky either....OK...I stop with that! You are just a sister in Kind and I wish Everyone a Happy Blue Moon and Wonderful New Year!

Boredom Buster and Snow removal

Well...I was trapped in my home for a few days and a raging blizzard happening outside. I decided I couldn't nap the entire time and remembered I had all this frozen goat milk soap just waiting for me to make a batch or two of soaps. I made 3 batches and was a little creative with the colors and the fragrance. It sure felt rewarding to get so many different scents and soaps cut and drying today. I made Cucumber/Lime and a very nice fragrance of lilac and sweetgrass, also a holiday scent of Energy/Eucalyptus. They all turned out nice and I will show photos tomorrow.

Today I am showing the snow removal and some pretty amazing piles of snow left over from the Christmas Blizzard. I now have tunnels of paths to the barn and to the goats and to the haystacks. Also a tunnel to get the cars down the road and out to the Highway. It took two of us all day and many gallons of gas. Oh...and thankfully my son could pop the tire back on with a little ingenuity, ether and a match. I couldn't watch him do that part...made me nervous. We were up and running in no time again and everything stayed running.

My newest addition, my guard dog, alright..big Pet dog did something interesting though. I was busy doing chores and she follows me all around keeping an eye on me. It is the only real time she leaves the goats, when I am outside doing stuff. Anyway I was forking some hay into the cows and she ran under my feet and sat down and was looking up at me. I looked down to see she had brought me a pheasant and laid it at my feet. Still alive but pretty cold and had been snowed into a hole no doubt. I put her in with my chickens and later saw her come out of the coop this afternoon and flew off down the draw. I really think that Tess would of chewed on her if I hadn't taken her and put her in a safe spot..but I like to think she was being a good girl and rescuing a lost one. My photos I show today are of the haylot where I spent 3 hrs piling snow and cleaning out the hay feeder. Seems we only got 12 to a possible 22 inches of snow but the wind put it in some pretty amazing piles. I think it was pretty hard to tell what we got for snow as I think most of it blew to Kansas.

Who wished for a Snow at Christmas!??

....and it can stop blowing anytime now! Regardless, we did have a wonderful Christmas and a memorable one at that. No power outage and the fridge was well stocked. Also everyone outside is comfortable and protected but I note a little "cabin crazy" in the goat arena this morning. Hopefully this afternoon when the wind finally puts the last of the snow in its final resting spot, I and my trusty Bobcat can make a dent in it! ...the second photo is of my basement walkout sliding doors...NO walking out those anytime soon!

Merry Christmas all!!

Reunited!!

And Mother and Baby are doing fine! She cried and cried when she saw her baby again. If you look hard in that first photo of the calf before the fire you will see a very bright red nose! He was extremely COLD!! A coworker suggested the name "Rudolph". So Rudy, Welcome into this cold and miserable world...I promise ...it will be better!!

I would make Greg proud!

It has been 1 year today, my husband Greg died from a heart attack. He was chopping ice for the cows. It was a blizzard and we were left grief stricken. I have tried very hard to keep our commitment to doing what we wanted to do. Raise some cows and enjoy the country. Today the weather was just about as miserable as it gets. I have been worrying over one of my Jersey Milk Cows, who had a due date of Dec 13th. I have been hoping she would just wait a few more days until it would warm into the 20's. I arrived home tonite and after tossing some hay to the big girls I didn't notice Thelma with the bunch. I didn't intend on putting her in her own pen until she it was a little closer. I had her AI'd so I could time it pretty close.

I made it to the barn and the calf had been born but was pretty cold. I tried several things..heat lamp..blow drier...straw...towels. Then decided..my own feet were freezing and I didn't think it would be any better for this baby. The cow was easy to milk and I brought a bottle of her rich colostrum milk. My youngest son, 15 and I managed to get the calf hauled up to the house. Greg would of loved the idea of us bringing this baby into the house and would of been so excited for the beautiful cross of Guernsey/Jersey we got. I think he is smiling and also...chuckling over our fumbling around trying to figure out a solution. I think they call this weather "character building". We definitely got a dose of it tonite!

Autumn Agate Hunts in the Badlands of SD

It doesn't get any better.

We started our morning in the agate prairie and ended up in a Creek Bed of the Badlands with an escort of a Bulldozer making the creek a little more manageable with 4WD of course. Also had the security of the National Guard flying drills along the remote part of our hiking. We never see people this far down the basin and we saw old friends and made some new ones along the way. What a Great Day!

I want some info on Llamas!! I know...I know...but I like em!!

But she seemed to like me sooo much!! I think she could fit in nicely with my bunch...but I know nothing of Llamas?? Where do I start!???

What Would YOU do!??

I took my youngest boy, 15, to the dentist. I asked like any good Momma if he needed me to go into the room with him. I got a huge...NO..and one of those sighing eye rolls..so I guess he was going to suck it up. Well, while I am waiting and reading several magazines and relaxing on the comfy leather sofa, out came a lady who had been in with the Dr. already. She came out and sat down and I could tell she was about to cry..so I kept silent and tried not to bother her. She not only started crying, but had the saddest and heart wrenching sobbing going on and all while trying extremely hard to control it. I felt awful for her...I was trying to imagine what possibly had her so upset and what could I say to comfort her. I finally said with a compassionate expression "are you OK?" She mumbled yes...while still trying to keep it in check. Pretty soon she was all out sobbing and having one of those sobs that comes with losing a loved one...believe me I know and it looks ridiculous in public places. I am sorry I said, but can I do anything for you? Still she shook her head and softened her eyes...but I couldn't leave it alone and asked if she had lost someone? I didn't want it to sound like I was prying so I added a little humor and asked if the Dentist had done that to her. She did smile with that, but if I left her alone with her thoughts she would just sob all the more. I was actually surprised she stayed in the room. I know she had been with a teenager just before my son went in and she was most likely waiting. I also wonder if she would of walked outside and had a little more privacy if she could of stopped herself from going to that spot where you completely break down.

I've been wondering all day, What could I have done to make her feel better? She was a complete stranger and if I would of hugged her she may of punched me in the nose. Maybe I should of gotten her a drink of water or tissue.
I was totally caught off guard...seems I have been thinking I was the only one in the universe who could cry at a moments notice.
I guess I am not alone!

Whats wrong with this picture??

Dan's Favorite ..is what we so fondly call her...but I think another one she goes by is Chitty Chitty...Bang Bang for the full effect. She was spoiled in the beginning and it seems to be a quality that spills over into her manners..her curiosity and her drive to outwit the humans.

She is a bit of a trouble maker and always looks completely innocent when you go to feed. Right after this photo, I hurried out to see that she didn't attempt to come back over and get tangled up in the jump..you know how a goat can manage the unmanagable. Well, by the time I got outside I thought to feed the girls within the fence and see how she actually got out or could get in. Her jump from top of the bale was flawless and would of been the marvel of an Olympic Gymnist. She was under foot in the blink of an eye and I put down the grain and walked over with a steel post and the pounder and straightened the fence to a straight 90 degree angle as to make it unavailable for the fleet of foot to walk up and hop to the top of the Feed Buffet.

It won't be long before she surprises me yet again with some unthinkable act of houdini-ism..She is just Good!

Bad News...Good News!!

Ok, bad news is that the son who helps out with occassional issues with mechanical and building things is moving..OK ...some may not think thats all bad, I suppose as that is the intent with children...eventually!! For me..I like to think I always have someone who I can comfortably ask for help with jump starting vehicles, keeping cows in with fixing fences and replacing BobCat parts and engines..but all is not soo bad. I mean he is only moving some 1/8th of a mile down the road and bought a very large building with 8 acres. He is rennovating into a living quarters and warehouse for his Business and along with him goes his favorite dog...Here is the Good News! ...and her name is Tess...

See..I've wanted an LGD for a while now and since I have a few too many dogs...getting one more was just not practical. My dear sister sent me a classified on puppies for sale this weekend and my son just HAPPENED to be in that area of the state picking up materials for his new place. I called the lady and she talked about her goats( Alpines) and her 60+ goat operation and how she just built her Dream Milking Barn!! She had my full attention and I found her to be a person I could totally enjoy being friends with. I all but said, YES but had to call my sister who lives near her to beg her to travel to this place and pick up puppy to rendevous with my son. Her pups are from a Reg. Pyrenees and the Father is a Full Blood English Collie...and I had to look that one up..seems there are a thousand varieties of Collies. Now if she would of said the Father looked just like Lassie then I would of had an image....but I didn't want to sound too ignorant and just asked for their instincts on Herd Protection. She told me about the Mom and how she could hold off Mountain Lions in her territory and how she was gentle enough that she took in an abandoned doeling and was nursing it and keeping it cozy until she found her. Then all about the Dad being very family protective and a very self secure and confident. I was pretty wowwed by it all and also thrilled to finally decide on one. Now for the photos...and believe me she is as sweet as they come and since she was born and raised with lots of goats she is not afraid at all. Now to start with the training....so anyone out there who knows lots on Guardian Dogs just give me a holler!! I hate to make too many mistakes and hope her instincts are pretty keen. Coyote season, I am afraid, is just around the corner!!

Rattlesnake Bit

It didn't get me, but when I went out to bring horses in..I heard the labored breathing before they were within 200 yards of me. I had 5 horses out in pasture and I was checking over legs and heads quickly. It was apparent what had happened and I was a little too panicky to be thinking about taking any photos. She was so swollen and deformed in the head and jaw that she looked like a T-Rex!! I had driven the mule(4-Wheel) to find them and they followed me straight home after I gave a little shake of the grain bucket. I took it slow as the Leader of the Pack was the one bitten and she was not giving up her status with a little Snake bite. She was snorting so loud and had so much snot and blood running out her nostils..I had to wonder how long she had been like this. I see the horses daily but usually not close up. With the amount of swelling you would of noticed it from even a distance. I penned them in the barn and I had some antihistamine and decided it couldn't hurt..we checked her often thoughout the day. Seemed like it had shrunk some and she was eating hay and drinking well. The Vet had given her a large dose of antibiotic and she got a good dose of banamine. Now already today though, her jaw is down and nose is a little less tight. Vet said the skin usually sloughs off the nose and looks bad for awhile and seems some tissue damage is inevitable, but she thinks she must of dodged the bullet better than most as it looks quite good on the skin level. I didn't think of a photo until just now, so will try to get one tomorrow. I bet it's alot better though even by tomorrow...and the Vet added that she was a pretty tough girl cuzz those things are extremely painful.

I will say though, I have a jar that I've been accumulating rattler tails and I will be happy to keep on adding to it.

Rivers and Barbed Wire Fences....don't mix!

First the work...and of course I have to be taking the photos...that is work you know!!

Thankfully I have two young men in my household who enjoy a little swimming on the side with the usual fence mending....works out good for everyone, although it sure gets dark fast this time of year, but I caught a beautiful eveing.

P.S. to truly enjoy those photos..just double click.

so on that short vacation...

We drove and drove...

We saw "Carhenge"....now folks that is in Nebraska and they have a Great "Pit Stop" there.

Then we went to Fort Laramie....very beautiful Old Fort from the 1840's

Then on the road again...

We drove and drove... and came to this amazing little spot in the middle of nowhere..

The Ames Brothers Monument, an unusual story about a little piece of history.

We arrived at our destination and had lots of good food and visiting...then on the road again and visited Estes Park..now that was absolutely gorgeous !!

But I won't make you suffer through the thousands of photos of the mountains....then on the road heading homeward.

Where I finally did get home, I drove down to the river to see a beautiful Sunset once again.....and much to my relief.....the cows had wandered home :)

One Happy Ending Folks!!

While I go to work and work every day 5 days a week..

and then I come home and work some more.... This is what my children have done for their"Summer Vacation".



getting better...



Of course the "Expert" was his Teacher....

I had a dream...

you see..my best buddy from my home town, she is the Volley Ball coach. We discuss it openly now and then, but I haven't really played Volleyball for some time. I played on a city team for a while when I was younger and found my style was aggressive and balls to the wall....I was sorta scowled at alot, but didn't really care. I am nicer now. Here is where my dream comes into play. Seems I was on my friends team...actually part of this "Young" team with her as the "Traditional" Tough Coach. Now why I even put myself in that position...but here I was...night before a big game. I had a bad case of before the game jitters. Tummy churning..nervous wreck. Now come on, I told myself, it's only VolleyBall. That's when my "dearest friend in the world" says to me...Suck it up and you better play Good tonite!! I was about in tears..actually was a nightmare at that point...then I was starting to come awake and realize..I couldn't play, what was I thinking, My knees would give out, my ankles would crack and pop and scream and not to mention how bad it would look to even trot to the net. No Way in Hell!! Now, I was just trying to come up with an excuse when the alarm went off. Saved by the Bell!! Now Sharon, if you are reading, please understand...I am older now. I don't move as fast and my knees sometimes just go out. I fall down easy and it looks ridiculous if I run..so if you don't mind?? Can I quit Volley Ball?? Please?? I can talk with you about it all you want..just don't make me play any games!!

Ok..any suggestions?!

I am traveling with my parents.....and..I want to give them some fun/goofy memorable stops along the way to do. We are taking a couple of days to get there and I have been looking at some oddities along the way. I found the Ames Brothers Pyramid in Wyoming and another museum along the way that has Shoes made from Big Nose George..I mean to tell you some real worthy stuff if you ask me. Anyway, if anyone can think of some interesting and MOST unusual stops along the way, please give me your suggestions. I travel down through Wyoming and down toward Grand Junction, Co. to our destination. I do go across Nebraska but just the upper northwest corner, so if you can come up with an ususual stop...Please...I just can't wait to see the looks on my parents faces when we stop and they are told what we are about to see. Man..I just love that!

Not a Bad thing here!