Memorial Day Weekend

My birthday was last Thursday and I got a new camera. I have been considering the option after going to Doug's motorcycle race and not being able to tell who he was from any other guy in the race through my lens and thought it would be great to have something with a better lens which allowed me to zoom in and perhaps catch better shots. So I got a Nixon D60 at Costco and so far I am loving it. You should see a vast improvement in my photos from here on out. ;)

The weekend started with an impromptu get together with friends, Carolyn Christa and kids and soon Todd stopped by. Carolyn and Christa's boys had spent the afternoon with us and had some good ol' fashioned fun in the mud and rolling down the hill. One thing you can count on when you bring your kids to our place, they will get dirtier than you have ever seen them before.

This weather suits me so well. I have been able to accomplish so much out here in the past week. It makes it very clear how stifling the hot weather is and how I wish we could enjoy these cooler temperatures just a little bit longer. It has given everything a chance to grow and get a head start on the HOT weather that is sure to come. Todd Kimball continues to irrigate our wheat and it is looking good.

Cruiser continues to recuperate and will be going into the vet tomorrow to get a recheck on his leg. I believe he is better but there is still some swelling and some heat so he might have to spend some more time off before I get in the saddle again.

Doug was on call so we stayed close to home and worked on projects like mowing, spraying, mowing some more....but we did take some time to have a little fun. A few of Doug's friends came out to race their bikes on the track. Great opportunity to try out my new camera. Doug's brother, Dean, has continued to make changes and improvements to the track throughout the spring so it has new twists and turns and a few jumps. Doug keeps busy moving hand lines to keep it watered so it doesn't become a complete dust bowl. Mother Nature helped get the track in shape for his friends to ride by putting a little water on it herself overnight. No matter how dangerous this sport may be you can't deny the physical strength and stamina it takes to ride those bikes when you watch it first hand. After getting a good ride in they all enjoyed time visiting and eating some pulled pork sandwiches I had made with some beans.

Aside from the thrill of the bike rides, Hadley and I enjoyed a lot of time together planting a lot of new plants in the yard and down at the guest house. Hadley is such a passionate little girl, she feels things intensely and her energy makes it fun to tackle projects with her. So we made no less than 3 trips to town over the long weekend to pick out different plants. We don't necessarily share the same taste in plants but I indulge her and we always come home with flowers she simply can't live without. I have also continued to add to our herb garden just outside our kitchen door so they are easily within reach when my brother in law Dean is cooking on the grill. He has a real knack of putting together herbs and spices to create tasty meals.

Monday night ended with a prime rib bbq at Dean's farm just down the road. It was a lot of fun despite questionable weather. There were a ton of little kids all about the same age and they had so much fun fishing in the pond with Adam. I wish I had brought my camera to catch all the fun they were having. Dean was stuck behind the bbq, right where he prefers to be, fussing over his meat. We all enjoyed the company. Rain cut our party short which gave us a chance to get home and crawl into bed and listen to the rain fall through our open windows. What a great way to end a special memorial day weekend.

Just a Kid at Heart

This weekend was supposed to be split between a vintage motorcycle race in Goldendale and a Quarter Horse show in Pasco but with Cruiser sidelined from his pasture injury we decided to head to Goldendale as a family and support Doug and his vintage racing. Delaying our departure until 8:00 pm Saturday night to beat the heat (90's) we headed west down the Columbia River. The bridge at Biggs Junction is under construction so we were forced to drive on the Washington side of the river which only has two lanes and I was some what dreading. Turns out it is a beautiful alternative route and the traffic was minimal. We all enjoyed the change of scenery. Kate and Hadley fell asleep soon after hitting the road which can only mean one thing. By the time we finally rolled in to the race park a little after 11:00 they thought it must be time to get up. Kate said "Good Morning" as we settled into the trailer to hit the sheets ourselves. I think we finally fell asleep around 1:30 am.

Goldendale has spectacular views of Mt Adams and Mt Hood. Although it is windy and dirty I found myself enjoying the views. Doug had a couple of really good races despite running out of fuel in one race. His motos run almost back to back so he really has to be prepared for the second race even when preparing for his first race. He met up with a couple of good friends, Mark Johnson from Johnson Motor Sports and Coy Wilde. Mark raced one of Doug's bikes, a Honda 500. I think he had a blast and his energy is contagious. Doug came home with a first and a second and some more good memories. Hadley and Kate had a fantastic time. Motorcycle races are really a place where Hadley simply shines. She loves the motorcycles and the people, she simply doesn't miss a thing. She can point Doug out of a pack, tell me what kind bike he is racing and is always interested in how everyone's race is going. Kate simply wants to ride the "nun nun".

It was refreshing to get away, even if just for 24 hours. Betty was kind enough to manage the animals while we were away and everyone was happy to see me first thing this morning.

I'd like you to meet Jesus

I suppose I should say a little something about the chickens. I love chickens. I had wanted chickens for a long time and a year ago, May 22-my birthday, we bought 12 chicks. Long story made very short we now have 4 of those original hens and 1 additional hen purchased at a garage sale. Then my mom thought it would be fun to give the girls some more chicks for Easter so she picked up 8 chicks from the "Free Chick Days" at our local farm supply store. Come to find out, they are not only a mix of breeds but also a mix of boys and girls. Great. So I guess you could say I was feeling like with 13 chickens was enough to contend with but I made a trip to the feed store and while I waited in line I noticed a selection of "exotic" chicks trying to find new homes. I came home with 3 and by the end of the day we were down to 1. Exotic chicks don't seem to be the heartiest bunch. Because of the trouble with the first two we refrained from naming the remaining chick, hoping to keep Hadley emotionally distanced from her. That was the plan anyway. My friend Brooke was here a couple weeks ago spending the weekend with us and Hadley was showing her the animals and this chick in particular. Brooke asked Hadley what her name was but Hadley replied we hadn't named her. Brooke said "Well, I think you should name her. What should her name be?" Hadley thought a moment and then she said "Jesus." And so it shall be. Her name is Jesus. Believe me, I tried to convince her to name it something different. "How about Mary?" "I love Jesus" said Hadley. Do you think we will burn in hell for naming a crazy looking chick after Jesus?

Coming and Going...

What a spring. Cool dry weather. The wheat is struggling to grow without the adequate amount of moisture and we wait patiently for sunny days to get outside and warm ourselves and coax newly planted flowers and vegetables to grow. Hadley and I have taken on the project of planting sunflowers, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, raspberries, peppers and an array of flowers. Soon we will get some additional plants in the ground but until things warm up we don't need to rush.

In addition to the plants we have the daily task of bottle feeding the baby goats. They eat roughly 1 liter of milk twice daily and Hadley helps with the evening feedings. Daffodil (the doeling Hadley is feeding) is about 6 weeks old and Dandelion (Kate's wether) is 8 weeks old. They will be weaned at 12 weeks but we are enjoying this time of nursing them. We laugh as they wag their little tails while they slurp up the milk. And then we can hear the milk sloushing around in their bellies when they run after a full meal. They are real characters.

Kate and Dandelion inspect the pasture grass.

A couple of silly sisters.

Mothers Day

As the sun sets on this mothers day I am feeling very thankful for such a nice day spent with the family. For my special gift Doug put up a big stout hitching post in front of my tack room. He knows how to make a cowgirls heart flutter. We sunk a couple of big railroad ties and then used a part of our old telephone pole for the cross member and we need to drive a few screws through it before we can truly call it complete but I am looking forward to putting it to use. My horse set up here on the farm has been slow but it makes appreciate them when I finally get them. It wasn't until last spring that I finally got water down at the horse barns and this year I got my tack room set up.

Hadley and I did something fun this afternoon while Kate took her nap. We made some cheese! I had been wanting to make some for quite awhile and just felt like mothers day afternoon would be a perfect opportunity to do something special. I had ordered supplies from the "cheese queen" a couple months ago. I learned about the cheese queen when reading Barbara Kingsolvers latest book, Animal Vegetable Miracle. So we decided to whip up some mozzarella. It wasn't nearly as tricky as I thought. It was just a matter of heating a gallon of milk in a stainless steel pot and watching the temp with a thermometer. I added some rennin and citric acid and then waited for it to curdle and separate. With only a couple more steps of heating and separating whey and adding salt it wasn't long before we were munching on our first batch of Dunham cheese.

Doug took some time this afternoon to level my arena more. The riding area has also been an on going project and I think we are finally getting it close to where I want it to be this spring. With the help of a good sprinkler system we can control the dust and maintain a level, soft footing to train in. Not sure how long it will be before I can ride again. Cruiser will be going into Associated Vet Clinic early this week to have Dr Kaiser evaluate his right hind leg, I am concerned he injured himself while playing in the pasture last week. I am betting we will be looking at some time off to recover from a possible tendon injury.

So as the sun thinks about setting, I will sign off so I can bbq some salmon and enjoy a salad with some fresh mozzarella and fresh strawberries followed by brownies little miss hadley elizabeth baked this afternoon. Hey, we might even finish it off with a nice glass of Canoe Ridge Cabernet. Buenos noches.

Day One

I have enjoyed reading others blogs and decided it was time for me to give it a try and start documenting our life on the farm. Perhaps it will be for me more than anyone else. Maybe I can put into words and pictures our life as it unfolds. Maybe I can use it to look back and see what we have accomplished or simply remember where all my time goes. And so we begin...

Mothers day weekend. Not unlike most other weekends on the farm. The highlight of our days are Hadley and Kate. Watching them grow and play out here on the farm makes us happier than anything else. Hadley is truly in love with her new found friends, Dandelion and Daffodil. And they love her in return. Who knew goats were so much fun!? My future intent is to raise a few goats and collect milk to make cheese. My short term goal is to give the girls something safe and fun to play with while we are down with the horses so they are distracted and entertained while I go through the daily list of chores in horse keeping. Hadley helps me feed the kids in the eveings before we tuck them into bed with the chickens. Collecting eggs is also one of Hadley's chores in the evenings. Our chickens are in a bit of a twit since the goats moved in because it doesn't give them entirely free access to their pen for egg laying. We have done our best to make the situation suitable for the girls but out of protest I am finding a stray egg here and there.