What a week. WHAT A WEEK!! It really started last weekend when Doug came home Saturday night with a fever. I hadn't seen him that sick in a long time. And then...Hadley got it. She had a fever Sunday afternoon of 103 and it gradually came down but it took until Tuesday to kick it for good. I swear, I call Hadley in sick to preschool more than any other parent. Do you think they are going to start wondering if I have Munchhausen?? So Hadley gets over the bug Tuesday night and then...well, you know what happens. KATE gets it. It's a bazaar virus. It must be hoof and mouth disease. A fever and raw ulcerated throats. Gross huh? Kate still has her nasty sores in her throat and she is more tired than usual. It hurts to eat so she has been sustaining on liquids primarily. Ya know, if anyone could use a dose of a liquid diet it is me, not the girls! So I kept waiting for it to hit but so far I have been ok, just a sore throat but no fever to accompany it.
Because of this bug and the upcoming elk season (opening this morning) I had held off on sending in my registration form for a trail clinic in Baker City, Oregon. My mom and her friend Penny had talked about going to it at least a month ago and I thought it sounded like something totally different and fun to do with the horses so I invited myself to join them. Well, kind of. I was planning on taking my own trailer and sleeping accommodations. Elvis was ready for the road trip, new shoes and all clipped and spit shined. When Friday rolled around I got the final word on child care and I was ready to go but I called the ranch just to double check there were open slots since I hadn't send him my registration ahead of time. Bad news. No room. DAMN! So I was stuck at home after the exciting build up of a road trip with my horse. DAMN DAMN! My mom and Penny will have to take lots of pictures and give a good report.
Since I was in town that gave me the chance to head into the Elks for a surprise 60th birthday party for our very good friend and neighbor Harold Cochran. He has been friends with both of our families since forever. His daughter in law, Melissa Cochran, and Kylie and Eric were there and I always enjoy seeing them. Melissa is an artist and jewelry designer and is always decked out in fabulous stuff. Check out her webite and see what I mean. Melissa is about 11 months pregnant and is scheduled for a c-section on the 13th (right Melissa??) next month. We can't wait to meet our new neighbor. Hadley, Kate, Kylie and a couple other boys ran around and had a blast at the party. It's not very often that I bring my wild coyote pups to town and it showed. I thought Kate was going to give those old ladies that work at the Elks a stroke with her behavior. Apparently she had never seen coyote pups in the form of two little girls before.
We had been expecting visitors in our guest home this weekend so I spent part of Thursday getting it freshened up a bit. This is a group of bird hunters we met last year and invited them to come join us here on the farm. They are generous with their game and give us a pheasant or two and smoked salmon and other treats they have perfected over the years. They said the bird numbers are down this year meaning we didn't have a very successful hatch of new pheasants. They also remarked that they didn't see a single quail today and last year there a few coveys. Puzzling. Because they were hunting the creek, which runs right by the horses and chickens, I had to keep the chickens locked up for half the day. They are spoiled and used to getting out as soon as I feed in the morning so they were fit to be tied by the time I let them out past noon.
Doug and Dean are elk hunting this weekend. Dean drew a cow tag in the unit up past Dayton so they have spent a couple afternoons up there scouting around. Hopefully th
ey are successful, a cow tag will be easier to fill than Doug's spike permit. Elk are such magnificent animals that it is cool just to be in their stomping grounds and possibly catch a glimpse of them. They are hunting in an area close to the Wenaha which is where this bull elk was taken last year. I hope I get all of these facts straight to this remarkable tale. He was taken with something called a governors tag which is raffled off by the state to the highest bidder. Doug told me this man, a nationally renowned hunter, paid $62,500 for the opportunity to get the bull. He is the third largest bull elk ever recorded. There were plenty of costs in addition to the tag and I have heard he paid $30,000 to outfitters to track it down. Amazing. IMHO there might be better ways to spend that kind of money but hey, there are a lot of people who would say the same about the money I spend on horses. Honestly I was surprised our part of the country produced something that big. I have always thought it strange the mentality of hunters. It's big, it's beautiful, it's powerful and superior so let's kill it. Does that really make sense? Aren't those the ones you want to let LIVE so they pass on their genetics? Nope, let's kill it and let the smaller more inferior animals to reproduce. Backwards thinking if you ask me. But just the same, I marvel at the photo.
ey are successful, a cow tag will be easier to fill than Doug's spike permit. Elk are such magnificent animals that it is cool just to be in their stomping grounds and possibly catch a glimpse of them. They are hunting in an area close to the Wenaha which is where this bull elk was taken last year. I hope I get all of these facts straight to this remarkable tale. He was taken with something called a governors tag which is raffled off by the state to the highest bidder. Doug told me this man, a nationally renowned hunter, paid $62,500 for the opportunity to get the bull. He is the third largest bull elk ever recorded. There were plenty of costs in addition to the tag and I have heard he paid $30,000 to outfitters to track it down. Amazing. IMHO there might be better ways to spend that kind of money but hey, there are a lot of people who would say the same about the money I spend on horses. Honestly I was surprised our part of the country produced something that big. I have always thought it strange the mentality of hunters. It's big, it's beautiful, it's powerful and superior so let's kill it. Does that really make sense? Aren't those the ones you want to let LIVE so they pass on their genetics? Nope, let's kill it and let the smaller more inferior animals to reproduce. Backwards thinking if you ask me. But just the same, I marvel at the photo.This fall has been especially beautiful. The nights have been cold, sometimes cold enough to put a layer of ice on the water troughs, but the da
ys have been sunny and colorful. The girls and I headed out on a leaf collecting adventure late this morning. While reciting one of our favorite books "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" we searched in the CREP in grasses that were taller than me in many areas. There is a nice variety of trees on the farm and Hadley had a blast picking them up and storing them away in her bag for the activities to come. Kate mostly just wanted to be carried. Or as she says "I carry you mama, I carry you." Yeah, you just try to carry me. Back to the house and out come the paints and color crayons. We traced leaves and painted them in a variety of colors to celebrate fall. My favorite time of year.
ys have been sunny and colorful. The girls and I headed out on a leaf collecting adventure late this morning. While reciting one of our favorite books "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" we searched in the CREP in grasses that were taller than me in many areas. There is a nice variety of trees on the farm and Hadley had a blast picking them up and storing them away in her bag for the activities to come. Kate mostly just wanted to be carried. Or as she says "I carry you mama, I carry you." Yeah, you just try to carry me. Back to the house and out come the paints and color crayons. We traced leaves and painted them in a variety of colors to celebrate fall. My favorite time of year. That's all for now!!
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