Time Flies!

Wowzers, time sure does fly. It's been three weeks since the last post! Since our last visit things have been a little nutty around here.

The chickens are growing like weeds!

Lupe's big girl feathers are coming in nicely!

The coop is nearly finished and painted a lovely barn red. The girls are going to love it. The ladies have been taking regular field trips to the yard and are loving getting to scratch in the dirt and eat bugs by the belly full. Their personalities are really starting to show and it's been a hoot watching them grow. Gram Pam has really developed a deep affection for our girls and talks to them all day long, then "puts them to bed" in their brooder box when it gets dark. "Okay ladies, it's time for bed! Everybody in the box!" Then she chases them around the outside pen trying to corral them. It's quite a sight. :)


This jerk right here has been getting 100% of my time lately.

My nemisis: Campylobacter

I spent five days and four nights at the hospital getting pumped full of antibiotics and fluids. Colitis caused by campylobacter, a gnarly bacteria that you don't want to tangle with, which totally kicked my butt. I'm home now and feeling much better, but I'm on day 11 of recovery and still not 100%. I had a check up today at the doc and she said it might be 2-3 more weeks before I'm back to normal with the help of lots of probiotics. *le sigh* Other than just feeling generally crappy, I've developed a blood clot at one of the IV sites, which is kind of a bummer and a little scary. Hopefully, if I am diligent and follow doctor's orders it will clear up ASAP. Cross your fingers for me!

In exciting news, Indie Craft Revolution is right around the corner -- April 30 & May 1. It's hard to believe that craft show season is about to launch and it's going to be a busy one. Since I've been house-bound I have found a little time in between naps to get my craft on. I've been working really hard on streamlining my product line and I'm excited to show it off. Maps are king! I've also decided to split off my pet stuff into its own line, called Mack & Wobbles (in honor of my favorite doggy and cat). I'm working on the logo now and doing a little product development. Look for new offerings at Craft-O-Matic in June.

The kids are eager for the school year to be over. The boy has 5 days left to graduation and the girl has 19. I'm really excited for them, it is going to be a fun summer. The girl got her first job at a local ice cream shop and has been enjoying making money and mixing chocolately goodness. The boy is job hunting, but has some exciting prospects of his own having just been accepted to play soccer for a local university. I am super proud of them both, they're awesome people and can't believe I'm old enough to have kids that drive cars and have jobs. Crazy.  To add insult to injury a buddy of mine from high school told me today that our TWENTY YEAR reunion is coming. That cannot be possible, can it? I'm a whole 37! That's barely a grown up, right? Time really does fly.

Oh! Also, we had a squirrel visitor briefly.

Isn't he the cutest?

His name is Beemer and the kids rescued him from getting squashed in traffic like his mommy. He hung out with us and got fattened up on nuts for a couple weeks. He charmed our pants off, that little critter was so sweet and soft like a kitten. It was hard to let him go, but alas, it was time. Last Sunday, Beemer had his independence day. He hugged the boy, barked at the girl, chirped, and ran two stories up a big maple tree. We released him in the park near where the boy plays soccer, so hopefully, they will meet again.

Welp, it's time for this girl to get some shut-eye. I hope to see you all very soon. Happy Spring!

Adventures in Ranching and SuperJam

Yesterday, I had pretty much the best day ever. I spent the day volunteering at the Long Meadow Rescue Ranch run by the Humane Society in Union, Missouri.

There were horses, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cows, ducks, guinea fowl, donkeys and a llama named Mama. For an animal-lover like me, it was hog heaven. 

After my orientation I got busy cleaning the stalls with the staff. My first visit was with a super cute white mini-horse that loved to scratch his hiney on my big bucket. It made cleaning, um, challenging. Next, it was feeding time in the outside pens for a handsome pygmy goat named Fonzie and his pal Ralph, a big beautiful white horse named Annie, and some sweet, sweet, sheep. After that, I spent some time in Miss Kitti's stall. Miss Kitti is a very curious and beautifully majestic quarter horse. However, getting her to move around the stall so I could clean was only slightly easier than moving a school bus with my bare hands. I don't often feel small, but next to Miss Kitti and friends, I feel pint-sized. She was HUGE and every time I got her to skooch five feet away, she'd come right back like a boomerang and put her big velvety horse nose right in my face, "Whatcha doing? Huh? Can I see? Please!" If Miss Kitti could fit in my Honda, I'm pretty sure she would love to go for a ride and hang her head out the window, mane blowing in the wind. Cleaning stalls and feeding is back-breaking work (hats off to the awesome and totally bad-ass staff!), but it's a small price to pay for the opportunity to spend time up close and personal with some truly amazing creatures.

Meet Duncan. Isn't he handsome? He's a real sweetie, too. Rub his neck, he likes that.

I didn't catch this little guy's name, but he cracked me up. Nosy, nosy, piggy. I bent down to take his picture and he ran over to check out my lens.

This guy was one of my favorites. I heart donkeys. He likes it when you scratch behind his ears and has the sweetest, shyest way about him.

This big dude weighs over 1,000 lbs! His name is Norton. We made a giant bed of hay for him to snuggle up in for the night. For all of his snorting and slopping noises, he's a surprisingly dainty eater when it's all said and done. It only takes a couple scoops a day of piggy kibble to maintain his slender figure.

After we cleaned the stables, fed and watered the animals and took horses out to the pasture for exercise, we took a spin in the big truck to close gates and check on the grazing cattle and horses enjoying the fields.

Heyyyyy...

Moo.

By the time the day was done, I was totally exhausted, covered in poo and sawdust up to my knees, I had fistfulls of hay in my hair and I'm pretty sure I smelled like a goat, but I was grinning ear to ear. SO MUCH FUN!

On my way home, I had to make a quick pit stop to take a few pictures of my friend Jeff's band, SuperJam.  Barn to studio, baby, that's how I roll. Anyhoo, I'm really pleased with the results and they're a great bunch of guys to work with -- they didn't complain about the smell, even once. If you're in the Lou, you definitely have to check them out. All the cool kids are doing it.

Eric, Dave F., Joe, Jeff, Dave A.