Finally!...Maybe?

  It looks like maybe spring is finally going to be here, yippee!!! Tonight they are calling for some snow and sleet but the highs after today so far all start with a 4 or a 5 and the lows are all 30"s or close to it.

  I am so ready to start planting things. I didn't start anything in my greenhouse yet this year because as cold as it was if I did I could of probably just forwarded our milk check to the electric company. Well this weekend I am going to. I asked my husband if he could get me some dirt to put in my containers. He gave me a look like I had 2 heads, last year at this time we could get the dirt, then he said it is frozen. Of course duh, I knew that. I asked him how soon did he think he could get me some dirt and again with the 2 head look, so I went and bought some dirt. I am going to fill one container and put in some carrots and lettuce in another and my broccoli and cauliflower I will just start in seed starter containers until he can get me dirt ( it is not cheap to buy). Every year I plant these items in my garden they just get eaten. I am so excited. I was in my greenhouse cleaning it out ( my family thinks it is a storage shed) and I noticed all the little spider egg thingies, OH BLAH! I really do not like spiders at all. If a big ugly one crawled on me ( or even a teeny tiny one but they are all big and ugly to me) I would probably strip naked on the spot ,screaming until I found out where it was if I hadn't croaked from my heart attack yet. That is how much I hate them ( I know kinda whimpy). Well anyway, I had to go get Alicia ( she helps us milk) and tell she had to come get those egg thingies out of there for me. I don't know if those eggs inside still could hatch after the cold but I wasn't taking any chances, so I made her do it. She was grinning at me the whole time. She knows how much I hate them because any time she sees a spider she pre warns me about it. I don't even mind snakes ( of course I am not going to touch them but I won't have a heart attack if one is in my vicinity).

 Well a few things to do inside and out to the greenhouse before afternoon chores. I hope spring is coming for everyone else too and this snow sleet tonight is our last. Happy Spring, toodles!!!

Our latest calves

 

He is sticking his tongue out at me!

  These 2 are our latest calves. The first one is a big guy, I feel sorry for his momma who had to push him out. He is a Brown Swiss/Lineback bull and the second one, just a little guy, is Jersey/Lineback. They won't be with us long though because we don't keep the bulls. I wish they were both heifers because they are both so cute. We have been having bulls or twins lately which is really ok because back in Nov/Dec we had a whole bunch of heifer calves.

 

My grandkids

  Of course every grandma, well in my case Mooma, has to put a picture on of the grandkids! My grandson, Matthew is 4 and his sister, Maci is 1. Matthew actually did not want his picture taken so I did a lot of begging and he agreed. What 4 yr old doesn't like pictures. He posed but would not smile but I kept clicking and begging and he finally smiled but by the 10th pose his sister had had enough and was getting up to leave. So after all that I would say this one turned out pretty good! I will have to tell my son to come to the blog on his phone and show Matthew and maybe he will think that is cool and in the future be willing to be photographed.

Some random events lately

  It was a cooler day today, it seems like we have a warm one the a cold one. So today on this cold day I baked bread and made homemade ravioli. This is my first time making homemade ravioli so not sure if I will like this particular recipe for the pasta part. The pasta seemed to dry out fast and what I cut away from the mold I could not put back through the pasta machine without it falling apart. The ravioli's do look good, I filled them with beef and I froze them and will make them on a day I make homemade sauce and French bread, today I made a loaf of white bread. We  ate at a party today so I didn't have to make dinner so no trying the ravioli today. Can't wait to try them though but I think I will look in to other recipes too.

  We don't usually have to much time for parties but today's was for my husband's sisters birthday. She is going through chemo right now for Stage 3 ovarian cancer so we made sure we made it to this one. She isn't always feeling the greatest so we wanted to get to see her when she was having a better day.

  We also had to have the sheriff here the other night because when I opened my back door  to go out on the porch I could see all the lights in my car and on my side mirrors which happens when you open the door. I backed up shut the door and got my husband to go outside with me. He did have to shut the back door of the car to close it and wanted me to go with him to look around in the sheds and barns but I told him no way was I going with nothing to even hit someone if they pop out of hiding so we went inside and called the sheriff. The sheriff did point out the footprints by the car that went across the driveway ( looking like they ran to hide when I opened the door) and then down the driveway towards the road. I am hoping it was someone that maybe was looking to see if he could get something out of my car or maybe it was someone looking to steal diesel fuel since the tank was right there across the driveway but they weren't able to pump it and decided to look in the car. I am hoping that it was maybe one of these scenario's and not someone looking to come in the house. Unfortunately my son is a little spooked by it and is a little nervous at night now and is constantly looking out the window. I hope this goes away. This upsets me the most, home is where you should feel comfortable and safe and damn the people who want other peoples things for nothing. My husband now wants to get an outside dog and I am against this. I am hoping this doesn't repeat. We did have diesel fuel stolen a couple years ago out of the tractors but never had anyone coming by the house that we knew of.

  Well I think while I am still spunky I will go do some crocheting, I am trying to get a duck pillow done for my granddaughter for Easter.  Toodles for now!

A good day

  The sunshine is out and how nice it is. The chickens wandered out to enjoy some of the rays and I was able to open some barn doors where the calves are and let them enjoy some more sunshine. You can even tell the milk cows are happy for the sun, when we let them out of the barn to milk they turn their noses up to smell the air and go over and stare out into the pasture. Hopefully soon we can let them out as long as it doesn't get too muddy out. I am so happy that now when you look at the forecast there is hope, there is actually a high in the 50's for us coming. There is also the possibility of another snow storm but we have to wait and see but the day after that back in the 40's.

  Today with the some help we got done with the morning milking and made it to church. It has been a few years since we have gone and it was nice to be able to go. We hope we can go every Sunday. When we got home I baked a loaf of bread. The smell of bread baking is one of my most favorite smells. I made this loaf from the book Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day, it was so easy and there is still dough in the frig for 2 more loaves. All I have to do is take it out let it set and rise and pop it in the oven, I haven't tasted it yet this is the first time I made it from this book so I am hoping it all turned out. Homemade bread is so delicious!

  Tonight my son and his family are coming for dinner. It has been a little while since we have all gotten together ( they live about an hour away) and I am excited to see the grandkids. My grandson is 4 and my granddaughter is 1. I am sure my grandson will be excited to see Pop Pop ( I am MooMa) and get a tractor ride. Pop Pop ranks over MooMa in his eyes cause of those tractors ( I don't drive them). If Pop Pop is gone with the tractor then me and my lawn tractor are sufficient enough for a ride. Pop Pop is always the first person he looks for when he gets here. I will have to work on my grand daughter and hopefully she won't choose those tractors too or maybe I will have to learn to drive them. I don't learn now because I figure that is just more jobs I will get to do with the already too many I have now.

  It is really turning out to be a great day and the sunshine helped top it off! Hope yours is great too!

Here we go again

  It was so nice we got about 4 days in the 40's and I was starting to feel a little cheerier. I would stay outside after chores a little longer and do a few extra things. I peeled back the layer of clothing from 5 or 6 layers to 3. I actually had one less load of laundry to do each day cause the guys wore less layers too, I was feeling hopeful! Nope - back to freezing again and snow and  below zero lows predicted again, YUCK!! How much more can we take before we all move south. I bet the cows agree with me and they would probably follow right along in hopes of sunshine and green grass.

  It looks like the beginning of March is going to be nasty. I just hope that in like a lion out like a lamb holds true, I will cross my fingers. Stay warm everyone!

A little daydreaming

                                                                                Then

                                                                              Now

  Just sitting here remembering when the grass was green and the garden was in. I just can't wait to garden and work outside in the yard again. It is going to be in the 40's again today so the snow is starting to melt and I can see spots of grass peeking out ( brown grass of course) but going back down after today. It is so windy today though. At least in the forecast the worst I see so far for lows is in the teens and not any negatives, so that means the glass is half full right? Just hoping and wishing for the time it is full!