Hut ( Did I Spell That Right ? )

Ok, so my husband and I are so unsporty that it could be a crime. So, guess what our kid decided to do?

Play the mother of all sports,

Football !

I am learning a lot, like did you know they have different cleats for different sports, and my boy is enjoying himself ( that is what matters, right).

Go Bears ....

Oh, and my kids is the one in green shorts and a white t-shirt.

How Cool Is My Man

Yes, the same one with the broken elbow.

On Friday the neighbor called to say a coyote was headed this way. My brave man hung out our bedroom window with gun and shot it as it was trying to get our chickens.

Broken arm and all !

On the bad side he did not drop it and it ran off in the woods ( behind the bus stop) to die. I decided it might be wise to stand with the kids until the bus came. I had visions of the little girls trying to help the poor wounded creature while the boys threw rocks at it. We all know nothing is meaner than a wounded animal.... so I took a gun. You read that right, I stood at the school bus stop with a clutch of kids and a gun to protect them from a wounded coyote. Don't you do that often?

Oh, and the plums are jam, the yard is mowed ( no coyote cover that way), my husband is still broken but really cool, my oldest is registered for football, and I am very tired.

The Plums Are Ripe, The Grass Is Knee High, My Husband Is Broken, and I am Tired

What more can I say, other than what is in the title. I am being run ragged doing all the chores around here at our busy time of year. My poor husband is broken and can't help, but our plums are plum delicious.

And Father Of The Year Goes To .............

This guy right here. Not only did he put together a new trampoline for the boys on HIS birthday, but he broke his arm doing so, and he finished it before going to the hospital.

We love him a lot.

Saved By the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Ok, so they don't sound like the go to guys when you have a coyote problem, but let me tell you these guys kick butt and take names later.

Our coyote problem has been getting worse. They have begun coming up on the deck right up by my windows and doors. To be honest with you I was getting scared and would not let a single soul out of the house. We came to the conclusion that those animals just had to go.

Yesterday was the assigned day so early that morning my husband and children ( who were well prepared) painted their faces, put on all their camo, and proceeded to climb into the tree fort ( their blind). They blasted their recordings of " hurt baby coyote", " dying chicken", and " injured rabbit" trying to lure in those coyotes. It lasted for hours and nothing came. I say nothing but really every dog and cat in the area showed up. We were all a bit frustrated since until now we could not even go outside with out seeing one. Where had they all gone. The " great hunters" decided to take it up a notch and released our pent up chickens. That for sure would do it. By 6 that night we were all sick of it.

Now enter the U.S. Dept. of Ag guy. He showed up around then and informed us we had a real coyote problem ( no kidding). Apparently when we called in the big guns last week they started checking out the area. They discovered that the coyote population in this area has gone nuts and reached an unsafe level. They have been hunting coyotes all week and are thinning the population. It will take them some time, but they are handling it. Oh, and they shot the giant female who has been stalking us. To say we are happy about that is an understatement. I can now go out side and not worry about my safety or that of my children.

Please, Don't Make Your Problem My Problem

This is for all of you city folks out there who like to think you are doing us country bumpkins a favor by hand delivering us your unwanted pets. You know who you are, the ones who dump your problems out on the side of the road out side of town and hope someone will find them and love them. Well, we don't want them. If we wanted such a pet we would go down to the animal shelter, pet store, or local rescue and get one. If you are wondering exactly where this is coming from here is the story.

Yesterday we told the boys we would take them out to lunch and to the movies as sort of a last blow out before school starts on Monday. Everything was going well all through lunch in a mountain town near by, and then we headed down the mountain. Not to far from our house we found 2 large dogs that some one had " set free". We know this by the big bag of dog food they left dumped on the side of the road. It was complete with EMPTY water bowl. Now I am sure it was a very hard thing for them to do, seeing as I am sure they loved those dogs so very much, but it ate up the rest of my day. We as a family go with the idea that if we kept going on about our day we would be no better than the people who dumped them out. So we spent the next few HOURS finding out who was in charge of strays in the very remote area, and trying to figure out how to tell them where they were with no landmarks to speak of. They were 1 1/2 miles after the pavement ends up fresnal canyon road. There is a big bend in the road after a 15 mile an hour sign. How do you like those directions.... we also drew a map. We did finally make the movie, although we all worried about those sweet, friendly guys the whole time. They are in good hands now with an animal rescue group and hopefully finding good homes.

Now to deal with the stray cat that has shown up. It's picture is the one above. The boys have started feeding it and named her Clementine. I guess now we have a second cat I sure hope it is a girl.

Banned ....... From Disney ?

Yes, that is right I have banned my kids from Disney. Not the lovely g rated cartoons, mind you, but the awful, tacky, smart mouthed sitcoms they have started to produce. I started to notice my oldest boy getting that same lip and attitude they have on Hanna Montana, I Carly, and the like. I put my foot down and now I am afraid I am the most uncool mom of the year. To bad, so sad.

Just A Few Things

There have been some new " happenings " here on the acre and as always I like to keep my people posted.

We discovered what is eating our hens. Coyotes , and darn big ones at that. We have had the government out here to handle it, but it is to dangerous for them. So , of course, they have left us to handle it on our own. In the mean time we are keeping our kids, pets, and live stock locked up until the offending pack is dealt with. More on this later.

I have a new look. I know everyone is so concerned with my appearance, but this one is fun. I went in to get my hair touched up last week and came out with a completely new thing going on. Think Trixie from speed racer only crazier. I could not decide on a hair color so we just did them all. I am now Dark Golden Brown with bright blond and bright red streaks. My kids hate it, I love it. They say I don't look like a mom now, I look like a rock star. I say who wants to look like a mom, I would rather look like a rock star.

In Plain Sight

Have you ever been looking for an answer to a problem only to discover, after many hours of searching, that the answer is right in front of your face ?

That is what happened to me. I spent yesterday calling all my chicken contacts ( yes, I have chicken contacts don't you?) in search of some barred rock laying hens. I had 8 meat birds to sweeten the deal. Then my loving husband pointed out the obvious,

all chickens lay eggs.

They may not lay well, or long, or in the same place every time like my beloved working girls but they all lay. We have 8 hens left of the meat birds and they should start up production fairly soon. I say when you are desperate you give everything a try. So in with the flock go the nameless masses who were save from the chopping block.

What a smart man I married.