Old Memories of Christmas Past

I went back on an old blog tonight, and found a poem I had changed around for Christmas cards that year...so many memories....only have two of the animals mentioned left....Cookie, the pygmy goat and Hombre, the Longhorn Steer...we still have lots of cats, from the old barnyard cats prolific behavior...the farm to market road has claimed many of them, but it is fun to look back and remember all the critters we loved... Went way back on my old blog for this one....lots of memories of critters we had....and lost.... Christmas at Laughingstock Farm March 31, 2006 T'was the night before Christmas at Laughingstock Farm, The critters were quiet, out in the barn. The goats were so sleepy, the pigs grunted low, The chickens were droopy, the mice tip-toed slow. Ditzy's long ears lifted ever so slight….. What was that noise? Look! There goes a light !!! Something was moving, up high in the sky, It looked like a wagon, and some bearded guy. Cocoa and Ho Ho looked up in the sky, Jingle and Noel stood closely near by, Wobbles said, “JJ, what do you see?” Cookie said “Nothing!” “Don't look at me!” The doves started cooing, the roosters did crow. The guineas were pot-racking, the geese's wings were a-flapping, The pigs started grunting, the hens started running, The guinea pig peeked from his cage. The cats were Meowing, the dogs were a barking, The entire barnyard was engaged! And Hombre the Long Horn bellowed, with all of his might, Merry Christmas to all, and let Peace reign tonight. Gaynelle, Benny and all the critters Ditzy was my favorite goat...she was a Nubian, a wonderful milker, and gave milk for years to keep the grands in good health, and I loved to make herb cheese as well...she was loving, always nuzzling me...I had spent many a cold night outside in the barn with her, even pulling babies that would live to run around the barnyard, and those that sadly did not....Ho Ho came to us on a Christmas eve....he was not one of ours..found him in front of our gate crying with his umbilical cord still dragging the ground...he was so cold, we did not know if he would make it or not, but he was strong willed and produced some beautiful babes for us....Memories, they make me smile, and they make me cry. I am too attached to my critters....I know where each is buried on our land and think back to the good old days....I am getting older each day as well, but my critters left knowing they were loved.....I hope I succeeded in being their caretakers for their time here on this earth, they gave me love, joy, and happiness, they were beyond price...Suzi and Jimbo pig now sleep together...their work of untying my shoelaces and licking my shoes is over, and they never let a bit of kitchen leavings go uneaten for me or the neighbors...Jimbo loved to be sprayed with the water hose in summer....they piled up all kinds of sticks around their bed in winter...I would be followed around the barnyard with little grunting piggy noises...yes, I miss them.....Memories have no price tag....The guinea pigs and the guinea hens are gone, and no more geese to fly like planes down the pathway to me....just a few old chickens left....and some doves...but the llama, the donkey, and the pygmy goat make sure I am aware of them every day....Lots and lots of baaaaaaaas...but no humbugs....the llama quit humming after he had been here for about a month..he is content...

Summer Time and the ground is HOT !

Where did Spring go ? Seems like it was just yesterday that we had a little rain and it began to green up....then it was hot, dry, sweaty, and I kept wishing it was Fall...Guess I am never satisfied... We had a hail storm that showered us with golf ball size hail...it stripped leaves and fruit off the trees, we had them check our roof on the house and one of the rent houses, and the roofs will need to be replaced. We will go with metal this time...the metal roofs on the other rent houses held up well... The Tiger Lillies were beautiful....a gift from a homesteading friend... We had some plums from the plum tree and they became jam and jelly... Also made plum leather...will be so good to chew this winter.... Wild Garlic thrived, we have enough for winter time supply.... The onions will be used all up by fall.....grateful for what we have.. The corn was so good, but the ears did not completely fill out on some...have some dehydrated for winter use, anyway.... The Okra thrived, we managed to have canned, pickled, and dehydrated okra.... the strawberries were a waste of money....could buy more in a box than we got off the plants, but we had a few.... Went out last week to feed the quail as I do every day, but with all the heat and dry weather, we had fans going as well, the best of food, fresh water, they were all dead in the pen....will not replace them...the feed became so high it defeated the purpose of having them for meat and eggs. But my daisies bloomed, and brought me so much joy, loved to see them every day....even they are gone, burned up from the heat, but the Lord will provide our needs, we are thankful for the blessings we have...... The tractor is in the shop, something happened with an oil line or something, spraying all over the place, so it had been picked up today and sent to Abilene for repair......it will be back in time to cut down grass burrs....hate those things..... I am ready for Fall to come....to see the wind blow the leaves off the trees, we have lost several big trees to the drought this year, also a cherry, pear, and apple tree, lost one of my grape vines, no grapes this year from the remaining one... I have moved all of Benny's fathers' rocks down here...many indian artifacts...all the arrowhead collection is on display at the Cisco College, and they have written a book about the huge collection...hundreds and hundreds of arrows, spear heads, and such.... To every thing there is a season.....

Spring is in the air......

The temperatures have really warmed up, eighty during the day and low sixties at night, so the ground should warm up enough in a week or so to get the okra planted. We decided we would really have a big garden this week, so many of our renters have it rough, and we can at least share the produce and fruit the Lord blesses us with...we worked all day, I hauled about 6 to 8 carts of bricks out of the garden area so Benny could get to the tall grass, which was then cut with the tractor mower, and then Benny plowed it up....he also had to go do a friend's garden, when he saw we were tilling our area up...the area will be like a big L shape...it goes down, then turns to the left for another large strip where the corn and okra will be planted....


I checked out the plum tree and it is loaded with little plums...we have not had fruit for over a year and a half because of the drought, but we are blessed this year...



Check out the apricots....we have not had any in two years, but the tree is loaded this year....


The grapes are leafing out, they were so shriveled up last year due to the drought, but they gave us enough jam to make it through the winter...God is so good, He always takes care of us....

I always stick old rusted out shovels, rakes, work tools in the fence, I don't know why, I guess because they remind me of how hard we have worked and we used them up...LOL...I am a strange character, I know...
Lots of wild garlic is up....will have lots for winter next year...

My new Elberta Peach tree is blooming, it is so pretty....



Wild flowers are blooming all over the yard....


Benny mowed down all my blue bonnets this week, but hopefully they will come back next year...
And my Hen and Chicks are thriving...

I almost for the radishes I grow in pots in the front yard, they are so sweet and good..



My strawberries are planted in the containers, and are growing nicely...even have some blossoms and berries on them...I love to smell the earth, love to put my hands in the dirt and watch seeds grow....May your gardens thrive and the Lord bring you blessings this coming year...Growing and Green...Love it !

The Penny Grave

Not too far from us is the “Penny Grave”. The penny grave is the site where a little girl, age 3, name unknown, died on the wagon train going west and was buried. A beautiful headstone tells her story. She is everybody's little girl. People visit and leave coins on her headstone, children leave toys. She belongs to all of us. She will be forever remembered, not by name, not by death, but because her little life meant something to everyone. It is sad to think that such a tiny life ended so soon. It is even sadder to think of the parents that had to leave her on the trail. People come and go in our lives. We are just here for a little while. It is comforting to know people care enough to watch over a little girl they never knew.

January 2012

Where does the time go ? Seems like the days just zip by...feeding critters, buying feed, putting up with a contrary donkey....he likes to kick up his heels and I have to watch him when I am in the barnyard. The chickens have started laying again, which is a blessing. Nothing beats a fresh egg...and we make sure we eat them all.
The puppies continue to grow, sadly, no one wants them, so I have not figured out what to do with them all yet. Each is loved, each is named...OH DEAR ME !!




Cookie Face continues to get fat and sassy...she follows me all over when I am working in the barnyard, afraid she will miss something..


The donkey is learning to lead quite well now...he is rewarded by being out of the barnyard and getting to eat fresh greens, still loves his kisses, he is special..





We had to cut down the big tree out in the garden area, it had split, and left us no choice. Did not want it to fall on the neighbors area, so now it will continue to give to us and become firewood for next year, stacking it under the new barn area.



The strongest of the quail have survived, I do not think we will have them next year, the eggs are plentiful, but a headache to use and to peel....



Henny Penny still pecks the crap out of me when I try to feed her, but she is so beautiful...a mixture of all the ones we have owned, she is fat and sassy...


I have had one white and grey spotted dove born this year...occassionally, I will get one white one a year or less, but this one is mottled in color, and so pretty...



Will be glad when Spring gets here and we can get all the tarps off and fresh air inside the pens, they love the sunshine...



Bama had his feed bucket changed to a new location, and he does not like it one bit, so we will change it back this week . It is funny to watch the donkey hit the bucket with his nose and send a shower of feed down on him, makes Bama very unhappy though.




Jimbo is on his last legs, very weak at times, but he carries on, we lost Suzi Pig this past year. We will never have any more of them, but we have loved them while we have had them, they brought us laughs over the years.


Well, that catches us up for the past year and one month...soon we will be into February, the time is going so fast, I need to enjoy every day I have.....

My Old Christmas Card

Wallpaper Christmas Card

December 10, 2007

Every time I look at this homemade card, I have to smile. It is wallpaper that once hung on the walls of a home I had, I lost it to a fire years ago, but had saved small pieces of the wallpaper before the fire. It was white, with big chickens all over it, and signs of Fresh Eggs. It was pre-pasted.I had it all over the kitchen of my little house, and I had all the cupboards painted bright yellow. You could always smile when you walked into that room to make coffee in the mornings, just the sight of those silly chickens made you laugh. I miss my little house, but it is gone, except in my memory. I still had some of the wallpaper saved, luckily it was in a shed outside. It is YEARS old, the reason I am a genuine old Packrat. We have style, we never throw anything away….it will be useful in time….and it was just that, a new life for an old wallpaper.

I then took brown paper sacks and cut them and glued them to the wallpaper. I hand wrote in ink the following message, then used pinking shears to cut the cards to fit the envelopes.

Nobody will give us credit
Our budget makes us scheme
We can’t offset the debits
As Scotch as we may seem.

Not to send Season’s Greetings
Would never do at all…….
So to wish you "Merry Christmas !"
We tore the paper off the wall.

Signed ….with love, from us to you…..


I laugh and laugh at that old card. Lots of memories. I just love chickens.

Planting by Moon Signs

I am getting that Spring itch, the time of the year I want to see green sprouts coming up....and I know it is wishful thinking, we have several months of winter to go yet, but one thing I do not want to lose is information I have kept for years and years.....
This is from one of my old books.....
Plant taters on dark and old of the moon (last quarter)---you will have less vines and more taters..
Plant taters on the light of the moon, you will have more vine, and less taters..
If you plant taters in the feet, little nubs will be all over the taters...
Best time to plant...dark night in March ( March 17)
Plant all things which yield above the ground during increase or growing of moon,
Root crops which grow below ground, plant when the moon is decreasing or darkening.
Most harvesting should be done when the moon is growing old....keeps better.
Cut hay in the old of moon. Will dry quicker, prevents mold or mildew..
Cut wood in the old of the moon, dries quicker. If cut in the new of the moon, it will spew on the fire.
If you dig a hole on the new moon, you will have dirt to throw away...dig on the old of the moon, and you won't have enough to fill the hole back. If you dig post holes on the growing of the moon, they will be loose all the time and never settle. Dig post holes on the old moon, they will settle tight, just like they grew there.
Plant corn in the arms, it won't grow high and will hang over. Plant corn in Leo, and you will have a hard stalk, little nubber ears. Plant in Taurus, it with withstand drought. Plant beans in bowels, and they will rot.
Casturate pigs when the sign is in the feet...less bleeding and soreness. and no infection.
Have tonsils out when signs are in knees or feet. Cut you hair when moon is decreasing, it won't grow back as fast.
Never kill hogs on the new of the moon, the meat will be watery.
Never plant in barren signs. Frost on the light of the moon will not kill.
When oak or mesquite buds are out, killing frosts are over.
Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to plant, and a time to harvest.
Just be sure to plant in the dirt......