Happy Birthday

Karissa's 2nd birthday party was lots of fun....WINDY....but fun. It is hard to believe that Thursday will be 2 years since this little sweetheart made her entrance.

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Future Farmers

My precious grandbabies.

Conner age 3

Karissa age 2

Garden Time

I have been working in the garden every day after work to prepare it for final planting. I have 10 (10' x 2') beds and numerous above ground pots. I have been hoeing, fertilizing and watering. I have 2 large piles of compost that I work into fertilizer-thanks to the longhorns! Hey, it's a dirty job but somebody has to do it....and it is me! I am the master gardener on Murphy Ranch.

So far I have planted broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, potatoes and various herbs.

I HATE weeds!!! That is 80% of gardening but not my favorite. Every day I strap on my knee pads, slip on my gloves and put on my southern lady straw hat to get into the dirt and knock out the weeds.
But it does give me time to enjoy smelling the earth and listening to the sounds. I love it. In a way it is very quite, yet there are so many sounds to hear. I spend that time to think and listen. It is one of the times I am truly amazed at God's beauty and creativity.
I see and hear fish jumping in the pond.

Beautiful pillow clouds in a bright blue sky.

The schwishhing sound of the windmill as it sends water to the pond.

Occasionally a moo or a clucking chicken breaks the soft sounds.

Then there are the birds! Lots and lots of different birds!

We have quite a few humming birds and they can be very loud. The sound of their quick flying almost sounds like a swarm of bees, but their chirping lets you know it is them. However, the bee is an important member of the garden as they pollinate. If you place a half full can of soda (preferably Dr. Pepper...well I am in Dublin TX-home of the oldest Dr. Pepper plant in the world) in each corner of your garden it will attract and therefore encourage bees to visit your garden. Don't worry, the bees are too busy working to bother you. That is unless you bother them first.
I have 2 Tyler rose bushes that are getting ready to bloom. They remind me of time gone by. My grandparents lived in Tyler, just across the street from the Rose Garden. So many wonderful memories.
I will post a picture by this weekend to share the beginning of our garden season! :)

SPRING FEVER

First let me say I had never had a cat till we moved to the country. After some problems with mice, we were given EJ kitty. I have to admit....I love that cat! He is very loving and not demanding. However, he stays gone for sometimes weeks at a time. Every time we think he must not be coming home-there he is. About a month ago, he brought a friend home. New Kitty. Young, small and skittish. I thought they were friends but EJ seems to run New Kitty up a tree every chance he gets. About 2 weeks ago, I saw a cat on the dam and thought it was EJ. Gray and white. After checking it out with the binoculars, it was not EJ but a HUGE gray and white cat. He slowly came around the house, jumped in the cat box and proceeded to enjoy a little dinner. I opened the door to get a better look and for a second we looked at each. Scary Kitty!
I wonder if there is a hang out in the woods where EJ tells the other cats-hey stop by Murphy Ranch anytime! So at times we now have 3 cats...EJ kitty, New Kitty and Scary Kitty! But my heart belongs to EJ kitty. Again after 2 weeks of cattin' around, this Tuesday EJ showed up. He was a little thin but was looked fine. No war wounds. So for the last 2 days we have EJ kitty and New Kitty...together at the house. Yes, New Kitty has been up a tree a few times. I just hope EJ will stick around longer this time. Now, do you wonder how Sadie takes all of this cat action? That dog is terrified of the cats! Yes terrified! While Chloe would run every cat up a tree 10 times a day-Sadie goes the other way. I guess she didn't get the message that dogs are supposed to have the upper hand.
As for the chickens, all is well in the coop. Winter was good to them. They seemed to have filled out and the rooster is looking very handsome these days. They are free ranging about 3 hrs a day and we average 4 to 5 eggs a day. Since we only have 5 hens right now, that is a pretty good average. On Easter Sunday I left 3 eggs in a nest to see if one of the hens would brood. For all you city folks, that means lay on the eggs till they hatch. I don't know if that is going so well but I get back to you with that.
The cows are crazy as ever. I gave them cubes yesterday and they went through the gate before I could get it shut. Don't get too excited, it was just into the front yard. When I shook the cube bucket, they came running for the goodies. John shut the gate and all was fine. Since we kept Maggie's bull calf, we did not bring LoverBoy over from Brownwood this year. So no calves are expected. Hopefully, Bullseye (he was named for his markings) will be able to breed by late this year.
I want to share a little note that John sent in an email. I think he has promise as a blogger!

Good morning everybody. Mom, remember those days going to lake in April? Everything was fresh and green, birds working on nests, fish where jumping all over the lake, cool in the mornings, drinking that cup of coffee on your deck just listening to all the new sounds around you-squirrels playing and talking. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Enjoy the beauty of Spring. Everything is awakened from Winter and excited. I find myself gazing out the front window at school and wishing I were out there. Somewhere. Soaking in the sights, sounds and smells of Spring. That my friend....is Spring Fever. Do you have it? The only remedy is to spend some time outside every day! ENJOY.....It will not last long.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

What a beautiful time of year. The fields are getting greener and wild flowers are beginning to appear. My vegetable garden is taking shape and the pond is full.

Saturday we had an adventure. First we went to an "estate auction". It was just down the road and John was up for something new. He had never been to one. I was a little disappointed, not much stuff worth anything, but it was fun hearing the auctioneer. From there we went to town. First stop...Dollar General. Out favorite store! Hey, in a small town you have to be happy with what you can get.

Next to the nursery for seed. Then to another one of my favorite spots during planing season- The organic herb house. It is actually a house....on main street. Nobody lives there but there are plants all out front and you pay by the "honor system". Do you remember that? It is still alive and well in very rare instances. There is a price list on the wall and a box to place your money. They have awesome plants. My favorite, or most important is dill. I use alot when I begin canning pickles.

Just down the road is the livestock auction. It begins every Saturday at 12N. We happened by at just the right time, so for the first time, we stopped in. It was alot smaller than I imagined. After you pass the sign in window, you enter the auditorium type seating with chutes up front.The air is full of the smell of cattle...if you know what I mean. As you look on, the cattle enter through a door and are stopped by a gate. While the auctioneer does his thing the cattle are in that area. Then they open the gate and they pass to the next section then on to a third where they are weighed if needed. It was all very interesting. Pricing by the cow or by the pound. Everything from young calves to huge bulls. This was the first of the month so the place was packed. Mostly men but a few women. Lots of boots and cowboy hats. We asked questions and people where eager to help. It was very interesting.

After about 1 hour there, we moved on to our next stop. The feed store...a little further down the road. After doing our business and talking for a bit, we headed home.

Oh, I forgot to mention we had a treat before the livestock auction. Small towns in Texas all have one thing in common-Dairy Queen. There is nothing like a sweet treat on a Saturday afternoon.

I had one of the best days in a long time. An adventure with the man I love. We laughed and held hands. What a blessing on such a blessed weekend.

Happy Easter Everyone.

I hope you enjoy the beauty God gives and hold the hand of someone you love.