Harmon PFarms

Target Shooting

2012-02-18T18:50:00.002-06:00

Josh got a new handgun and brought it over to let us shoot it. He's also helping Ted decide what kind and size of gun to get for himself. This one is a Sig Sauer 1911. I have no idea what all that means but it was fun to shoot!

I have a handicap. I can't wink my left eye - only my right. But a right handed shooter needs to be able to aim with their left eye closed, so Josh stands behind me and holds my eye closed! With his help, I hit the bull's eye on the target page below. The center hole in the top left bull's eye is mine! The bottom right bull's eye is Josh's.

ClaireAnna practiced with Granpa's 22 rifle.

Claire's holes are on the bottom left bull's eye.

Sniper At Fourteen Weeks

2012-02-18T18:21:00.001-06:00

14 weeks, about 40 lbs.

FARM TIP: Easy, Inexpensive Hay Rack

2012-02-16T22:06:00.000-06:00

Today, I quickly made two hay racks for my nanny goats that are in the kidding pens awaiting the big event. There are several reasons to make your own hay racks to use in small animal enclosures.

They are easy.
Purchased hay racks are expensive.
They save hay by minimizing waste.
They are completely safe unlike hay nets.
It's a good way to use up extra welded wire you may have laying around.

We've made ours out of 1" X 1", 1" X 2", and even 2" X 4" welded wire. What ever we have on hand. The smaller the mesh, the less hay falls out of the back side of the rack. This rack is made of 1" X 2" wire.

1. Cut a piece of wire to the desired size. There is no perfect size, but make it at least as big as a flake of hay. I randomly made this one 33 sections across by 14 sections high which turns out to be about 33" X 28".

2. Cut out notches on the bottom two corners. My notches are 6 sections by 3 sections or about 6" X 6" squares.

This is my finished cut piece of wire for the hay rack. (Not laying flat.)

3. Leave the verticals attached to your piece and then fold them down with a pliers to prevent sharp edges on the top of hay rack. Trust me on this......would you like to see my arms?

4. Attach the narrow, bottom section of your wire piece to the panel or gate first. Then fold over the sides and attach them, being sure to pop out the wire to make a pocket. I used zip ties to make this rack because I was alone and in a hurry. I will go back later and use hog rings or some wire to secure it permanently.

Click this picture to enlarge and see the detail of the corner.

That's it! Easy peasy! Just fill it with hay. The goat or sheep can just pull the hay through from the inside of his pen.

RECIPE: Cheesy Corn Chowder

2012-02-13T01:06:00.001-06:00

1 large onion, diced
1 large red or yellow bell pepper, diced
3 slices bacon, cut into pieces
3 cups corn, frozen or fresh off the cop
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups half & half
1 heaping cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 heaping cup grated monterey jack cheese
1/3 cup green onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven, melt butter on medium heat and saute the onion. Then add the bacon and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add the pepper and saute 2 minutes more. Add the corn and saute 2 minutes more. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, stir and saute 2 minutes or so. Stir in stock and bring to a boil to thicken. Reduce heat and add half and half. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add cheese and stir to melt and combine. Then stir in green onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

*Adapted from a recipe found on www.thepioneerwoman.com

RECEPE: Potato and Ham Soup

2012-02-13T00:51:00.002-06:00

4 cups peeled, 1/2 inch diced potatoes
2 cups 1/2 inch diced ham
1/3 cup diced celery (optional)
1/2 large onion, diced
3 or 4 cups chicken stock
5 T butter
5 T flour
2 cups milk or half & half
salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven, place potatoes, celery, ham and chicken stock. Simmer till potatoes are tender. In a separate skillet, saute onions slowly on medium heat in butter till translucent and tender. Then sprinkle onions with flour and stir, cooking for a couple of minutes. Whisk in milk/ half & half till think and bubbly. When potatoes are tender, pour milk mixture into soup and stir to incorporate. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

True Story

2012-02-03T22:23:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, I drove Ted's pick-up truck and the 24' stock trailer full of cattle to the sale barn at Blackwell....by myself.

Ted was busy.......

You see, he knew that ClaireAnna really wanted to get her hair cut. So after he had gotten his hair trimmed on Friday, he made an appointment for her for Saturday morning as a surprise. He not only made the appointment himself, he really wanted to be the one to take her so he could see the excitement on her face when she saw her new style.

This is the third time she has cut off all her hair and donated it to cancer patients' wigs.

Having a husband who knows I'm capable and trusts me to do manly farmer stuff like drive the stick shift diesel truck pulling a 24' stock trailer full of cows to the sale barn 25 minutes away on the interstate......pretty neat.

Having a marriage where traditional gender roles don't really matter, in a relationship that is a true partnership.....totally awesome!

Having a husband who is so connected and committed to his daughter that he would not only make her an appointment for her hair cut but then really, really want to be the one to take her even though he had other manly farmer stuff to do........PRICELESS!

Making Dog Treats

2012-02-03T21:44:00.000-06:00

Step 1: Raise and butcher your own steer and hogs for about 6 years.

Step 2: Never eat the heart or liver because that's just gross.

Step 3: Clean out your freezer and thaw all the hearts and livers you've collected for the last 6 years. It will be 10 or 15 lbs of organ meat.

Step 4: Fry it all up.

Ewwww.


Cook it all the way to the well done, rubbery stage or it will be difficult to cut into tiny pieces.

Step 5: Cut it all up.


Cut it as tiny as you can. Our bits did get bigger and bigger as we went along.

Step 6: Bag it all up and freeze.

ClaireAnna helped chop and bag.

Thirty-seven cups of liver/ heart dog treats, individually bagged and ready for the freezer.

This looks like a lot, but when you are working with a dog every day, you can go through a lot of dog treats! We'll use about a bag a day between the two puppies and Shani, who is not in training, but gets some anyway because I love her. So at least for the next 37 days, I will not need to buy any Pupperonis!

LAPBOOK: Chemistry

2012-01-24T07:42:00.001-06:00

We took over a year to make this lapbook. The unit study and printables can be found HERE. We went through the book Christian Kids Explore Chemistry and as we came to appropriate sections, would complete the section and mini book from the unit study. We also did some extra experiments, took photos and did a mini book on them. Some of our mini books we made up ourselves but most are from the free one online. Once we were done with our chemistry study, we had an envelope full of mini books to put into the lapbook. We also printed off several photos, charts and graphs to include. This is the biggest and most complete lapbook we've ever done. It was lots of fun and is now a great tool for review for ClaireAnna. Click on the photos to enlarge.

This middle section contains several mini reports of important chemists.
On the right is a time line of their lives and a map showing country of origin.

We learned about molecules, atoms and nano particles.

We learned what every bit of information on the periodic table stands for.

We learned all about the different sections of the periodic table.

This pocket contains pictures of molecules made with this molecule kit.
On the back is the name of the molecule in words and symbols.

RECIPE: Fruit Smoothies

2012-01-23T20:47:00.001-06:00

You can make fruit smoothies a million different ways. Sometimes I use yogurt. Sometime I don't. Sometimes I use ice, sometimes, just the frozen fruit. I always save the juice from canned pineapple and canned peaches in a container in the freezer for smoothies later. Here is a typical fruit smoothie that I make.

1 cup fruit juice (I like grape and pineapple the best.)
1/2 container of yogurt, any fruit flavor
1 capfull of lime juice
1 T sugar (totally optional)
1/2 bananna
3 or so cups of fruit
pineapple, canned or fresh
peaches, canned, fresh or frozen
strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, fresh or frozen

In a high speed blender, blend juice, yogurt, lime juice and banana first. Then add fresh or canned fruit and blend. Last add frozen fruit. You may need to add some water if the mixture is too thick. You can add shaved ice if you like. This amount makes 2 large smoothies. Trying to make 4 smoothies at one time in my blender is too much for the machine. I just do this twice.

Goat Working Day

2012-01-22T16:24:00.000-06:00

Back in the middle of December was a goat working day. This means attending to regular goat maintenance, something we do several times a year. First, we put them all out of the goat pen and bring the stand in. Then, everybody takes a turn up on the stand and is let go into the goat pen when they are finished.

Some does in the barn alley way, waiting their turn to get back into the pen.

Romeo was first on the stand. What a monster!
You can see in the background, ClaireAnna is feeding Shani
some hoof trimmings.

Munching away!
Dogs LOVE hoof trimmings of any kind.
Shani wouldn't miss goat working day for anything!

We love this goat stand we bought used from a goat farmer going out of business.

It saves a lot of wear and tear on our backs!

Every goat got a hoof trimming, a CD & T shot (vaccinations for disease), a selenium shot (to prevent deficiency in the kids) and finally, dewormed.

One of ClaireAnna's jobs is to crank up the stand.

Trimming is not easy only because the goats don't like it and
they pull their feet out of your hand quite a bit.
Some are worse then others. Kate's pretty good at it.

Claire is learning to trim the goats' feet.

I give the shots.

Job's all done. Time to play.

RECIPE: Potato Pack

2012-01-21T19:56:00.000-06:00

We've been making this for many years and it is still a family favorite. And so easy!

3 large Potatoes
3 large Carrots
1 med Onion
Salt and Pepper
Dried or fresh parsley
Butter or olive oil
Non stick cooking spray

Tear off a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil about 2 1/2 feet long. Spray the foil with non stick cooking spray. Wash potatoes and slice thinly, about 1/4 inch thick. Lay down slices flat in a layer in the middle of the foil about 12" X 12" and then add more layers on top till the potatoes are gone. Peel carrots and slice very thinly. (I use the slicer blade on the Microplane grater pictured. You can also use a mandolin.) Place carrot slices on top of potatoes. Peal the onion, cut in half, and then slice very thinly. Sprinkle onion slices over carrots. Salt and pepper the whole thing and sprinkle with parsley to taste. Now, if you want to, you can place some dabs of butter over the vegetables or drizzle them with olive oil. Once your 12" X 12" pile of vegies is just the way you like it, fold the foil over it and seal all the edges. Then place the pack on the grill. For my gas grill, this takes 12 - 15 minutes on almost high heat. Yours may vary. You want to cook the potatoes fast enough to get a nice caramelization on the bottom. This amount serves 4. We also sometimes add zucchini, but be sure to slice it think enough so it says tender-crisp. You can also make these in individual sizes.

Not Enough

2012-01-20T19:39:00.001-06:00

ClaireAnna and I counted round bales today to see how we're doing with our supply for the rest of the winter. The numbers aren't what I'd hoped. We're going to have to find some bales somewhere and I know it will cost us a pretty penny. The summer was so hot and dry that hay is very scarce in Arkansas this year and overpriced when you can find it. I do not like being in this situation. You can bet that next year, we'll not be selling our excess, just in case this ever happens again. We've always just trusted our hay fields to provide what we need. They've done that and much more for eight years. This year, they did not and it has been quite unnerving. We've learned the hard way that one must prepare for the lean times during the times of plenty. From now on, we'll carry over a supply of hay from year to year and only sell the extra when we've got next year's supply in the barn. Lesson learned.

In the mean time, a farm girl can still have fun in the hay barn.

What is that black thing up in the rafters of the hay barn?

It's a kid!

After evening chores, she takes a break to cuddle her cat, Ricky.

Sniper At Ten Weeks

2012-01-20T16:21:00.001-06:00

Today, Sniper is 10 weeks old. He's grown quite a bit and is getting very handsome and manly! We still can't tell what mix he is. If you have a guess, leave it in the comments below this post. I'm getting a DNA test done on him and we'll see who's right!

Shani is finally willing to play with him a little bit.

Here's a little perspective. Shani weighs about 75 lbs.
Sniper is 10 weeks old.

Yes, that's Claire in the back ground, sitting in the wheel barrow, cuddling with her cat. She doesn't care that that thing is used mostly to haul manure. Farm girl.

RECIPE: Crock Pot Beef With Rice

2012-01-20T13:07:00.000-06:00

Any kind of beef roast or steak
Salt and Pepper
1 24 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T A-1 steak sauce

You can make this several different ways, leave the roast whole or if it's round steak, cut into bit sized chunks. You can brown the meat on the stove first if you have the time, then deglaze the pan with a little water and add it to the slow cooker. Otherwise, just season your meat, put it and the onions and garlic in the crock pot, mix up the other ingredients and pour on top. Double the tomatoes, soup mix and A1 if you need more sauce. Cook till beef is tender and falls apart. Serve over rice or a baked potato.

RECIPE: Not Really Shepherd's Pie

2012-01-20T12:56:00.000-06:00

My mother in law made a version of this dish for her family for many years. She placed the filling in a baking dish and spread the mashed potatoes over top and baked it. I took it apart to make it simpler after realizing there was no point to the baking process. It's not what is traditionally considered shepherd's pie but that is what they always called it, so we do too. It is very quick, very simple, nutritious and delicious! We have this several times a month.

1 lb ground beef.
1 small onion
1 clove garlic (optional)
salt and pepper
1-2 cana tomato sauce (depending on how much sauce you like)
1 cup green beans or 1 cup cooked spinach
(we often use both)
prepared mashed potatoes, instant or homemade

Brown the ground beef, onions and garlic in a large skillet. Drain. Add the tomato sauce and vegetables and simmer till vegetables are done. Season and serve over mashed potatoes.

RECIPE: Beef Vegetable Soup

2012-01-19T22:42:00.004-06:00

1 1/2 lb any type of beef roast or steak, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (or left over beef roast)
Olive Oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 cups beef stock or broth, canned or homemade
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1-2 cups left over tomato juice or V8 if you've got it - optional
salt and pepper
1 tsp rosemary
1 can beans - any kind
Vegetables - any of these in any amount and variation to taste
mushrooms
zucchini
yellow squash
green beans
peas
corn
spinach
carrots (thinly sliced)

Brown meat in batches in olive oil in large dutch oven. (If you are using left overs, skip this step.) Remove beef and saute onions and garlic in same pot till translucent. Add stock, tomatoes, juice, beef and seasonings and bring to a simmer. Be sure to scrape the bottom clean of the brown bits. Add longer cooking vegetables (carrots, green beans, mushrooms,) and simmer till near tender. Add softer vegetables (peas, corn, squash, spinach) and canned beans and simmer longer till all are tender. I often precook my squash in the microwave or steamer and add them to the soup last because we don't like them too soft.

RECIPE: Better Than KFC Coleslaw

2012-01-19T22:28:00.001-06:00

Well, I think so anyway!  I LOVE KFC coleslaw! But I came up with this recipe that I like even better.  It's the sour cream that makes it different and the lemon juice that gives it a pop! I can eat this whole recipe myself in one day.  :)

1 package coleslaw mix

1/3 cup sugar

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

¼ cup milk

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

1 ½ T white vinegar

2 ½ T lemon juice

Mix all ingredients except coleslaw mix in a large bowl with a whisk till sugar is dissolved.  Add coleslaw mix and toss.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

RECIPE: Ted's Favorite Cookies

2012-01-19T22:13:00.000-06:00

These bars were originally called "Special K Bars" and made by my grandmother Milbauer and my mom every Christmas. One year, I decided to try making them with crisp rice cereal instead of Special K and we all liked it better. These are not only Ted's favorite cookies, but all of our favorite cookie to have at Christmas time. They are chewy, peanut buttery and delicious!

6 cups crisp rice cereal

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 package milk chocolate chips

Melt corn syrup, sugar and peanut butter in large pot onstove over low heat. DO NOT BOIL! When sugar is well dissolved and mixture isshiny and smooth, remove from heat and add cereal. Stir well and turn onto cookie sheet (withsides). Spread out evenly. Pour entire bag of chips over top and popinto oven on low just to melt. Spreadmelted chips over entire pan of cookies. Cool and cut into bars.

RECIPE: Rotisserie Rice

2012-01-19T22:06:00.000-06:00

This is our favorite way to have rice. It's easy and yummy and ClaireAnna loves it!

Jasmine Rice (Always use Jasmine)
Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning
Chicken Broth or bullion cupes

Make the rice according to the package directions except that if you are using stock, substitute it for the amount of water called for. If you are using bullion, just add a cube for each cup of water used. Add rotisserie chicken seasoning according to taste and the amount of rice you are making. We like quite a bit in ours and use a couple of teaspoons full. You can make it lightly seasoned, or down right spicy. Either way, it's delicious!

RECIPE: Stuffed Bell Peppers

2012-01-19T21:56:00.003-06:00

This is how my grandmother and my mother made this dish. It may seem plain, but it is really delicious. I like to break open a pepper and plop a dollop of butter right in the middle. Yum!

1 ½ lb ground beef

1 med onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups white rice cooked only 10 min.

6 bell peppers

2 cans tomato sauce

1 can petit diced tomatoes (optional)

Cook rice only 10 minutes and set aside. Brown ground beef, onion and garlic in a skillet. Drain. Combine rice and beef in large bowl. You want about 50% of each. Cut tops off peppers, rinse and scrape seeds and white from insides. Stuff each pepper full with beef mixture,pressing it into pepper. Pour tomatosauce and diced tomatoes (if desired) into large crock pot. Set stuffed peppers in sauce in crock pot,crowding them toward the middle if there’s room. Set tops back on peppers. Cook on low for several hours until peppersare tender.

Variation: I often make them this way

Cook rice according to directions. Brown beef, onions and garlic in large skillet. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes. Slice peppers into strips, add to beef mixture and simmer till desired tenderness. Serve over rice. (So much easier! Tastes the same!)

RECIPE: Shredded Beef For Sandwiches

2012-01-19T21:50:00.002-06:00

Any kind of beef roast

1 or 2 envelopes ofAu Jus mix

Some water, a cup or so

Chopped Onion

Minced Garlic

I just pop my beef roast into the slow cooker, add water, Au Jusmix, onion and garlic, salt and pepper. Let it cook till fall apart tender. Remove beef from crock pot, remove any bones, gristle, fat etc. andshred the good stuff with two forks. Putthe shredded beef back in the juices. Welike this best on the cheep hamburger buns. If you want “Italian Beef” just add an envelope or two of Good SeasonsItalian salad dressing mix. The amountsfor everything depend on the size of your roast(s). I make as much as will fit in the crockpot because we want leftovers. It is even better the next day orfrozen for later. If you want to makethis for a crowd, put several roasts in a large roasting pan, cover well withfoil and bake at 325 degrees for several hours.

RECIPE: Zucchini or Yellow Squash Casserole

2012-01-19T21:43:00.000-06:00

2 pounds zucchini or yellow summer squash, sliced thickly

¼ cup chopped onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

½ cup shredded carrots

1 package herb seasoned stuffing mix, 8 oz

(PepperidgeFarm is the only brand we like for this recipe, it is crumbs, not cubes)

½ cup melted butter

Cook sliced squash and onion in boiling, salted water forabout 3 min. Squash must still be a bitcrisp. Drain. Combine chicken soup and sour cream. Stir in the carrots, squash and onions. Add salt to taste. Combine stuffing mix with melted butter. Spread half the stuffing mix on the bottom ofa baking dish. Spoon vegetable mixtureon top of stuffing, then sprinkle the rest of the stuffing mixture on top ofthe vegetables. Bake at 350 degrees for30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Note: This dish isour must have at Thanksgiving. We use amixture of squashes or sometimes broccoli and cauliflower. You can add chopped chicken or turkey andhave a complete dinner.

RECIPE: Chicken Tortilla Soup

2012-01-19T21:40:00.000-06:00

This is my daughter, Jes's recipe. It's heaven.

FOR SOUP:

2 Pounds -Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Cooked and Shredded

1 Can - DicedTomatoes

2 Cans -Crushed Tomatoes

1 Can - BlackBeans

1 Can - WholeSweet Corn

1 14 oz can -Enchilada Sauce

2 Cans -Chicken Broth

1- Small Onion,Diced

2 Cloves -Garlic, Minced

2 Tablespoons -Lime Juice

3 Tablespoons -Fresh Cilantro, Finely Chopped

3 1/2 Teaspoons- Cumin Powder

2 1/2 Teaspoons- Chili Powder

1 1/2 Teaspoons- Salt

1 Teaspoon -Black Pepper

FOR GARNISH:

Approximately 1/4 cup - Vegetable Oil

1 Package -Flour Tortillas

Sour Cream(Optional Garnish)

1 or 2 Avocados(Optional Garnish)

4 Cups- Shredded Chihuahua Cheese (Shredded Cheddar cheese can be substituted if Chihuahua cheese is notavailable.)

Put all soup ingredientsin slow cooker. Allow soup to cook onmedium-high, stirring occasionally, for about 3 hours.

While soup iscooking, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush both sides of the tortillas with a light coat of vegetableoil. Cut into thin strips. Place strips on cookie sheet in a singlelayer. Bake at 375 for 5-7 minutes untilgolden brown and crispy.

To serve, topsoup with crunchy tortilla strips, shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream andan avocado wedge.

RECIPE:Chicken Vegetable Soup

2012-01-19T21:34:00.000-06:00

I cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker for dinner the night before. I put the stock in the fridge and the next day, remove the solidified fat from the top and use it in my soup along with the chicken meat picked from the carcass. (The stock. I use the stock in my soup - not the fat!)

1 lb cookedchicken, cut up

2-4 cupschicken stock or broth, canned or homemade

1-2 cupsleft over tomato juice or V8 if you have some - optional

1 can petitdiced tomatoes

1 onion,chopped, sautéed

Salt &pepper

1 tsprosemary

1 can beans(any kind you like)

Vegetables –any of these, in amounts and variations to taste

Carrots

Zucchini

Mushrooms

Corn

Green beans

Peas

Yellow squash

Spinach

Put thebroth, tomatoes, chicken and seasonings in a Dutch oven and bring to a simmer. Add onions, carrots (I slice very thinly onmy grater), green beans and mushrooms if you are using them and simmer till allare near tender. Add canned beans, peas,corn and spinach and simmer a little longer to heat. If you are using squash, cook separately todesired tenderness and add before serving since they can get mushy veryquickly. (Or just watch them carefullyas you simmer the soup.)

Variation: Add 3/4 cup barley to soup and let simmer for 20 min.

RECIPE: Chili

2012-01-19T21:26:00.001-06:00

This is our family chili recipe. It's the only chili we all really love. It's the only chili I even like. I think the oregano is what makes it so great. Ted makes it the best.

3 lbs ground beef (or goat)

2 med onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

2 ½ cups tomato juice

1 can tomato sauce, 15 oz

1 can, any kind, diced or stewed tomatoes, 16 oz

2 envelopes McCormick Chili Seasoning (nothing else willtaste right)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cans Bushes Best Chili Hot Beans with sauce, 15 oz.

Brown beef, onions and garlic in Chili pot. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 1-2 hours. Serve with chopped green onions, shreddedcheddar cheese, sour cream and cooked elbow noodles if desired. You can also make this in the slow cooker.

Variations: I actually love this chili made with shredded, cooked, turkey breast instead of beef. We also often add more beans, any kind.

RECIPE: Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

2012-01-19T21:17:00.000-06:00

This is my daughter's apple pie recipe. It's amazing.

by: Jes Harmon

 1 pastry crust for a deep-dish pie 9-inch(homemade or store-bought)

 1/2 cup sugar

 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

 1/8 tsp salt

 6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples

 1 recipe crumb topping (see below)

 1/2 cup chopped pecans

 1/2 cup caramel topping

Ingredientsfor the Crumb Topping

 1 cup packed brown sugar

 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats

 1/2 cup butter

Directionsfor the Crumb Topping

Directions for Crumb Topping:
1. Stir together brown sugar,flour, rolled oats.
2. Cut in 1/2 cup butter untiltopping is like course crumbs. Set aside.
Directionsfor the Pie
1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.
2. Add apple slices and gentlytoss until coated.
3. Transfer apple mixture tothe pie shell
4. Sprinkle crumb topping overapple mixture.
5. Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don't drop into youroven.
6. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil.
7. Bake in a preheated 375 ovenfor 25 minutes. Then remove foil and put back in for another 25 to 30 minuteswithout foil.
8. Remove from oven. Sprinklepie with chopped pecans then drizzle with caramel on top.
9. Cool on a wire rack andenjoy warm or at room temperature.

RECIPE: Easy Banana Cream Pie

2012-01-19T21:13:00.002-06:00

2 ready made pie crusts, gram cracker or shortbread type

2 large boxes instant vanilla pudding mix

3 cups milk, any kind

16 oz. Cool Whip, thawed completely

1 large banana

Slice banana and lay out in a layer on top of piecrusts. Use a mixer to combine puddingmix and milk. Beat a couple of minutestill thick. Fold in 8 oz Cool Whip. Divide filling evenly between 2 pie crustsand pour over bananas, spreading smooth. Top each pie with half of remaining Cool Whip. Chill

RECIPE: Quick Sausage Skillet Dinner

2012-01-19T21:11:00.001-06:00

2-3 potatoes, sliced

½ onion, chopped

Broccoli flowerets

1 lb smoked sausage, sliced 1 inch thick on the diagonal

salt and pepper

olive oil

Sprinkle a little olive oil in hot skillet. Add potatoes, onion and sausage. Sautee on medium for 5 minutes or so. Add broccoli, cover and continue cooking,stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until potatoes and broccoli aretender. Add a little water as needed to help steam the vegetables, but let them crisp up towards the end. Times will vary depending on howthick your potatoes are and how soft you like your broccoli. The sausage flavors the vegetables to make areally good, quick dinner.

RECIPE: Dreamy Chocolate Pudding Cake

2012-01-19T21:06:00.003-06:00

This cake is so delicious I can't even find the words. I won't be making any other dessert for at least five years!

Chocolate cake mix

(You'll only use half the cake for one dessert.)

1 16 oz tub of cool whip

1 ½ cups milk

1 large box instant chocolate pudding

1 bag Heath bar bits

Make chocolate cake according todirections but put only half the batter in a greased 9X13 pan. (Bake the rest of the cake in a separate 9X13pan if you want two large desserts or bake it in a 8X8 pan for a small, normalthickness cake left over.) Let cool completely.

Sprinkle the cake (made with ½ thebatter) with Heath bar bits saving some for the top of the cake.

Mix 1 large box of pudding in a bowlwith 1 ½ cups milk for a minute or two. Fold in about 1/3 of the cool whip. Spread on top of cake.

“Frost” the pudding layer with the rest of thecool whip. Sprinkle with remaining Heathbar bits.

RECIPE: Slow Cooker Pork With Sour Kraut

2012-01-19T20:59:00.002-06:00

3-5 potatoes, halved lengthwise

2 onions, peeled and quartered

4- 6 pork chops

salt and pepper

1 bag sour kraut

Place halved potatoes and quartered onions in bottom of slowcooker. Layer seasoned pork chops on topof vegetables. Drain sour kraut and puton top of the pork chops. Add ½ cupwater. Cook on low several hours tillall is tender.

RECIPE: Oreo Chocolate Cream Pie

2012-01-19T07:50:00.003-06:00

This has been a family favorite for many, many years!

2 chocolate flavored ready made gram cracker pie crusts

(If not available use regular gram cracker pie crusts. This is not as good with the Oreo crust. Go figure!)

2 large boxes instant chocolate pudding mix

3 cups milk, any kind

16 oz Cool Whip, Thawed completely

Several crushed Oreos

Use mixer to combine pudding and milk in deep bowl. Beat a couple of minutes till thick. Fold in 8 oz. Cool Whip. Divide filling evenly between 2 piecrusts. Spread smooth. Top each pie with half of remaining CoolWhip, spreading it over chocolate filling. Sprinkle Oreos on top of Cool Whip. Chill.

RECIPE:Mexican Shells

2012-01-19T07:46:00.002-06:00

1 lb. ground beef

1 16 oz jar salsa

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup frozen or canned corn

1 can black beans, rinsed (optional)

Jumbo shells, about 28, cooked

Cheddar cheese, shredded

Sour Cream

Cook ground beef in skillet and drain. Stir in salsa, tomato sauce, corn, and blackbeans. Grease 9 X 13 inch bakingdish. Stuff shells with meat mixture. Place in a single layer in baking dish.(Stuff ‘em in there!) Sprinkle withcheddar cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for20 minutes until meat mixture is hot and cheese is bubbly. Serve with sour cream.

RECIPE: Mashed Potato Chicken Pot Pie

2012-01-19T07:39:00.002-06:00

Instant mashed potatoes, made according to directions for 6servings

or homemademashed potatoes in an equivalent amount.

½ onion, chopped

¼ cup butter

¼ cup flour

2 ½ cups chicken broth

2 cups chicken, cooked, chopped

(or rabbit meat )

1 cup any vegetable you like, cooked

¼ tsp poultry seasoning (optional)

Salt and pepper

1 cup boxed biscuit mix

Milk

Make instant mashed potatoes a little thicker then normaland set aside. Sautee chopped onion inbutter till translucent. Add flour andcook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Wiskin chicken broth and simmer till thickened. Add chicken and vegetables, seasonings, salt and pepper to taste (lotsof pepper!). Mix biscuit mix withenough milk to make a pancake-like batter. Grease 9 X 13 baking dish. Spreadthick mashed potatoes to cover bottom of pan. Pour chicken mixture over potatoes. Slowly pour biscuit batter over filling, will not cover all, put somehere, some there. Bake at 350 degreestill filling is bubbling and biscuits are done.

We actually like this just fine without the biscuits. In that case, I just serve the mashedpotatoes separately and add the pot pie filling over them like gravy on theplate. No need to bake.

RECIPE: New Potato Pasta Salad

2012-01-19T07:32:00.000-06:00

As weird as it sounds, potatoes and pasta really do taste great together. We LOVE this salad and so does everybody who tries it!

4 cups new potatoes, diced

12 oz. rainbow rotini

1 lb bacon, chopped, cooked and drained

8 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup ranch salad dressing

Boil large pot of water. Drop in potatoes ( you don’t have to peel them) and cook for 3minutes. Add rotini and cook 10 to 12minutes more until rotini and potatoes and done. Drain. You want about equal amounts of cooked rotini and potato. In a very large bowl, wisk togethermayonnaise and ranch dressing. Addpotatoes, rotini, bacon and eggs. Stirand chill. This is a big batch for acrowd. You can half it for afamily.

RECIPE: Mexican Pork (or chicken)

2012-01-19T07:28:00.004-06:00

1 lb pork, cubed

1 can corn

1 can black beans

1 jar salsa or picante sauce

Combine all 4 ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on lowseveral hours till pork is tender.

I like this served over brown rice. We also spoon it on flour tortillas, with sourcream, lettuce and cheese. You can makethis with any kind of meat.

Variation:

If I’m out of salsa or picante, I use a can of crushedtomatoes and an envelope of taco seasoning. I also add some chopped onions and green peppers to this version.

RECIPE: Broccoli Cheese Soup

2012-01-19T07:24:00.002-06:00

16 oz fresh broccoli flowerets, chopped

1 cup shredded carrot

1 large onion, chopped

½ cup flour

½ cup butter

4 cups half and half

4 cups chicken broth

16 oz sharpcheddar cheese, shredded

salt and pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)

Sauté onion and carrot in butter in large Dutch oven tilltranslucent. Add flour, cook 2 minutes,stirring constantly. Slowly whisk inbroth and half and half. Bring to asimmer. Pre-cook broccoli to desired tenderness in microwave or steamer and add to soup. Simmer slowly and low till broccoli is tender. Turn off heat, add shredded cheese (must besharp or it won’t taste the same) and stir till melted. Add milk to thin soup if needed. Salt and pepper to taste. (This soup likes lots of pepper!) This is just as delicious made with caulifloweror use 8 oz of each. Makes a huge batch,you can cut it in half for a family.

RECIPE: Crab Meat Salad

2012-01-19T07:15:00.004-06:00

2 lbs imitation crab meat, cut up

12 – 16 oz medium shell pasta, cooked

2 cups Miracle Whip

2 cups sour cream

¼ cup sugar

Mix together Miracle Whip, sour cream and sugar in a largebowl

Add crab meat and pasta. Stir well. Chill. Some people add 1 cup frozen peas. This makes a big batch. Half it for a family. I aim for about 50% crap to 50% pasta. Delicious!

All Dressed Up!

2012-01-18T23:25:00.001-06:00

ClaireAnna got out The Grinch today and tried on the outfit she got...for him....for her....for Christmas. Let me try that again - it was her gift, but his outfit. Follow me? And in case you didn't know, that's just exactly what 10 year old cowgirls want for Christmas - stuff to make their horses pretty! ClaireAnna decided a long time ago that The Grinch's color is royal blue. So blue it is! Blue saddle pad. Blue bridle. Blue reins. Blue breast plate. Blue splint boots. Blue bell boots. (Boots were not tried on today due to muddy legs and hooves.)

Coming up out of the pasture.
For shame. A red halter.
He does have a blue one....
somewhere......

I love this pony's butt.
It's very appropriate to say that about a horse.
(I only get in trouble when I say it about Hugh Jackman.)
But I digress. Great job, ClaireAnna! on getting
Grinch's hooves clean.

Making him pretty.

See Grinch? It's blue!

PRODUCT REVIEW: Best Friend Western Bareback Pad

2012-01-18T22:12:00.000-06:00

We bought this bareback pad for ClaireAnna for Christmas and she was so excited to try it out today on Cindy! This is a very attractive and well made pad. When I opened the box from UPS, I found the pad to be just what I was hoping for. We are very happy with it in every way! I ordered it online directly from the manufacturer after researching several options. I looked online and in stores and finally decided to go with this one because of the easy girth system and the non slip security provided by the neoprene bottom and girth. I also did not want a pad with stirrups since I know those are not safe. The pad comes in seven color combinations and is $69.99. I found the price to be very reasonable for the quality. There are cheaper pads out there but they just don't measure up. A more expensive pad would simply be unnecessary.

ClaireAnna put it on by herself with no instructions and no help.

The non-slip neoprene bottom really helps this pad stay in place
and is comfortable for the horse.
The girth is made of the same material.

The pad gives a nice grip and helps ClaireAnna feel more secure
It will also keep her jeans from getting sweated through on longer rides.

There is just the right amount of cushion to give the rider some
comfort but still keep a close contact feel.

This girth system is excellent, very easy to use and tighten
- just a simple buckle on both sides.
The pad should fit almost any size horse.
This is a medium pony and there is quite a bit of extra strap
on both sides, but also some holes left.

ClaireAnna loves the pocket!

And the water bottle holder!

It's easy to get cuddly with your pony when using the
Best Friend Western Bareback Pad!

I know ClaireAnna will have many happy hours riding her ponies in this great bareback pad! We love it!

FARM TIP: Spigots In Winter

2012-01-18T21:35:00.001-06:00

We don't have too many very cold days here in Arkansas during the winter, but we do get below freezing often enough and sometimes have sleety rain that coats everything in a layer of ice. I've found a simple and free way to keep my "frost proof" spigots free of ice and not so stiff with cold. Feed bags do the trick!

We've got three spigots like this in the barnyard.

I cover each in four layers of feed bags.
I use a paper bag first, then plastic, paper and plastic again.
The layers of bags are heavy enough not to blow off in strong wind,
but you could loop a bungie around the whole thing if you like.
Also, keep the spigot well lubricated.

January Auction Report

2012-01-14T22:19:00.002-06:00

I went to the London Auction Barn tonight with my friend Stephanie Jordan. We stayed for the tack sale and about 5 horses. Prices on riding horses were actually up. A couple of them went for over $700 and I was very surprised!

We each got some great deals on tack. Here are mine.

Crops, $3 each.

12 pack of roping gloves, $5
We'll use them on the farm.

Exact same roping gloves (except color) for $1.50/ pair! ($18 for 12!)

Full cheek snaffle with a copper 3 piece, french link, broken mouth piece, $8!

Here is the exact same snaffle for sale online for $27.80!!

Beautiful Eyes, Very Full Lips....

2012-01-08T00:57:00.000-06:00

Couldn't be prouder to be her mom.

Jes

By Lisa Marie Harmon

Beautifuleyes

Very fulllips

Curly hair

Curvy hips

Tender hearted

Sometimes sad

Baby lover

Righteously mad

Child of God

Multi tasker

Gifted chef

Word master

Common sense

Conservative

Faithfulfriend

Superlative!

Sarcasticwit

Brilliant brain

Sparkling smile

Very shortname

Even More Beautiful On The Inside

2012-01-07T23:30:00.000-06:00

You may have heard the tragic story of Lauren Scruggs, a beautiful, young model who, just before Christmas this year, accidentally walked into the moving propeller of an airplane and was severely, devastatingly injured. There have been many news stories about her inspiring bravery and strength during her journey of recovery. Some of them mention "faith" or that she "prays." But the media is not reporting the whole story...the true story. They are not telling the world that Lauren Scruggs is a born again Christian who loves Jesus and possesses an enviable, rock solid, faith in God. I just watched one video on a major news outlet that went on and on about how inspiring she was, but never once mentioned her faith in Christ. Yes, she is strong and courageous as the media tells us, but she is these things, by her own admission, only through that faith. How else could she have expressed this thought just recently.....

"this isn't what I would have chosen, but God knows what He is doing, and I have Joy in knowing that He has chosen me to Glorify Him in this. I am excited to see how I can be used."
Lauren Scruggs

Only deep faith in the One True God can inspire a young woman to utter these words after she's been permanently disfigured and disabled, wracked with horrible pain, had her left hand amputated and lost her left eye.

And used, she will be, and has already been, to strengthen my own faith and that of so many others around the world who have had the privilege to read her story as it has unfolded. If you want to be inspired in your personal walk with God, read Lauren's Caring Bridge page, written by her mother, another amazing woman of faith, on this website linked below. Today's post was especially heart touching, thought provoking, tear producing and gratitude inducing.

Sign up is free and simple and more then worth it to be able to learn the whole truth about this incredible young woman and her equally incredible family. You will be blessed by the effort, I assure you. (Once signed up, click on "Journal.")

Lauren's Caring Bridge Page

Tribute

2012-01-07T00:59:00.001-06:00

The death of Ranger has made fresh old wounds. Some not so old. I have realized that I never acknowledged the death of our beloved Bocephus on this blog. (Summer of 2011) I was still recovering from my hip surgery and on crutches when he passed away and our internet service was malfunctioning so I wasn't blogging much then. This is his tribute.

The day we brought him home. 8 weeks old.]
3/4 Anatolian Shepherd X 1/4 Great Pyrenees
Born in the goat pen.

About 8 weeks old.

Bocephus was the most beautiful dog we have ever owned, both as a puppy and as an adult. From the very beginning, he had a presence about him that could not be denied and was well capture in the picture above.

Exactly 3 months old.

3 1/2 months old. He was a serious dog.

Age 6 months. He didn't stay a puppy for long!

Before the puppies were allowed to run loose, we'd chain them in the barn while we did our chores so they could watch us as we worked. Then we'd take them out afterward for a walk or just to play. Bo was always patient. His only flaw - he was petrified of thunder, as is his sister. He would jump into the hay manger in the goat pen and hide before the storm even arrived.

He loved to cuddle.

He was so very gentle.

As you can see, this was a frequent scene in our barn yard. Bocephus was naturally gentle and never had to be taught not to bite hands (as most puppies do) or not to pull on a lead. ClaireAnna could lead him anywhere on a leash. He simply followed.

Age 2. I was so proud of him.

Everyone who came to the farm loved Bo. One visitor remarked, "That is the biggest dog I have ever seen in my entire life!" Bo was very tall, much taller then either of his parents, with very long legs. I used to tease him that he had Marfan Syndrome. He was also very large boned and presented an impressive figure! We never weighed him, but our estimate was about 125 lbs.

Doing what he loved to do.

Can you see him in this picture? (click to enlarge)

There he is, right where he belongs, the faithful guardian.

Bocephus lead his goats out to pasture every morning, watched over them all day, and led them back into the goat pen at night. He barked when he sensed danger and his goats listened and headed. He was never trained as a guardian. He had no older mentor dog to show him what to do. He was born the perfect goat guardian and he loved it. He loved us too, very much, but when it was time for us to go home, he was very content to stay with his goats. I'm so glad he got to live out his purpose and that he had such a happy life.

Bocephus is number two. The number two most beloved dog I've ever owned. That's saying a lot since I've owend and loved many. Only Indiana, my Bullmastif, holds a higher rank. Is it ironic or just terrible that they both died at age three from cancer, Indy from hemangiosarcoma, and Bo, from stomach cancer? Both these amazing boys will always be remembered with smiles as well as tears. Smiles, because of all the joy they brought to my life. Tears, as they flow now, because I'll never quite get over missing them.

Sad Day

2012-01-07T00:55:00.001-06:00

With sadness I must share that our sweet little Ranger has passed away. He will be missed by his family and most of all, his brother, Sniper.

If you destroy it, Farmer Ted will replace it.

2012-01-04T19:03:00.001-06:00

Waddie, the Red Angus bull, has destroyed his hay ring.
Completely.

Farmer Ted bought him a new one.

Waddie and his minions are waiting for it to be filled.

So I'm wondering, what should I break first? Hey. It always worked for the kids. And it works for the beasts. Why shouldn't it work for me? You think if I took a sledge hammer, a force potential not quite equal to Waddies head, to my dilapidated kitchen cabinets...or maybe the desperately ancient bathroom vanity........I might get new? Oh...well...just a thought.

*Lamb Stew

2012-01-01T23:36:00.001-06:00

We butchered our first lamb this year on Harmon PFarms. I had never even tasted lamb before. Ted had had it at a restaurant once or twice. We are very happy with it! Last week we made grilled lamb chops for Christmas Eve dinner and they were simple and tasty! Today, our daughter, Jes, made this wonderful lamb stew from her Rachel Ray magazine. It was quite delicious. If you've never tried lamb, I recommend it!

LAMB STEWWITH TOMATOES AND BACON

From Rachel Ray's Magazine

2 slicesbacon cut crosswise ½ “ thick

1 ½ lbsboneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 ½” pieces

Salt andpepper

1 largeonion, thinly sliced

2 clovesgarlic, thinly sliced

1 sprigfresh rosemary plus more for garnish

1 cupchicken broth

1 can dicedtomatoes

Cook baconin large dutch oven till crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon. Season lamb with salt and pepper and brown in bacon grease in two batches. Remove lamb. Add onion, garlic and rosemary to pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook till softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add stock and boil till nearlyevaborated. Add lamb, bacon and tomatoesto pot. Simmer till very tender, about 2 ½ hours.

Jes added mushrooms since they are a family favorite and they went quite well in the stew. Next time we plan to add more vegies.

London Auction Barn

2012-01-01T03:00:00.000-06:00

Ted and I like to go to the London Auction Barn every so often on the second Saturday of the month. I use the word, "like" with reservations.

We do like to see what kind of deals we can find on horse tack.

These pure wool show blankets for $40 each were our best find so far!
A steal compared to the current online price of $130 for the exact blanket.

We also regularly buy snaps, clips, buckets, crops, halters, bits, and bridles. We've gotten some great merchandise for less then we would have ever been able to find it elsewhere.

Tack sale in progress.

It's fun to watch the crowd. See who buys what each month. Get a bit of the flavor of our local culture. Meet up with some of our friends who also attend regularly.

We have learned to bring our own cushions since these
wooden bleachers are butt and back busters!
I must confess that one time we stayed for 12 full hours.
That's because we are crazy.

It's even more fun to watch the auctioneers. Hear what they say about certain items. Chuckle at the exaggerated sales pitches. Marvel that some people fall for them.

"Looks like a Billy Cook!" "Two for one money!"
"Made by the Amish!"

What we don't like is when the tack sale is over and the horse auction starts. We usually leave at this point. But sometimes we stay, if only to allow ourselves to feel a bit of righteous anger.

Most of the horses are malnourished, neglected or injured. All of them are treated poorly. Many go to slaughter.

We are not angry about horse slaughter or the human consumption of horse meat per se. We don't consider either of these things to be inherently immoral in and of itself.

We are angry about inhumanity, the irresponsible breeding of horribly inadequate animals, the starvation of animals and the gross lack of respect for them as living creatures. All of these things can be seen in spades at the horse auction. It is heartbreaking.

This pretty palomino and all of his pen mates went to the
slaughter buyer for about $250 each.
That's a pretty high price comparatively. They were fat.

Went to slaughter.

It's not rocket science to practice simple decency and responsibility with regard to your animals.

If you have animals, don't breed them unless they are exceptional individuals and you have a plan, a purpose and a market for the ones you produce. Educate yourself about what an exceptional animal is. Your might be just ordinary.
Feed your animals! Provide them with basic care to keep them healthy. If you can't feed them for some reason, sell them (or for goodness sake, give them away or have them euthanized) before they become emaciated.
Treat your animals with respect, gentleness and kindness. Recognize that they do feel fear and pain and do your best to avoid causing it.

And to all the young men who handle the horses at the action - What are you so angry about? Try a little kindness once in awhile. You might start to feel better about yourself.

On a happy note, one of the times Ted did stay for the horse action, (I went home to feed animals.), he came home with this cutie! What a surprise!

Johnnie, registered miniature horse, purchased at the
London Auction Barn for $100.
Currently employed as a petting zoo pony and soon
to learn driving and lead line.
Beloved family pet and hay eater.

Look Who's Talkin'

2011-12-29T23:27:00.000-06:00

Our barn is like Charlotte's Web at night. I just sit and listen and take pictures.

Oh my gosh! I had no idea! Dried chicken poop is delicious!
I know, right?!!

You're welcome.

I don't think this thing is supposed to be eating our food.

I'm not gonna stop it. Those claws are sharp! YOU stop it!

That winter fur coat makes you look fat.

Hey, you did it! Look at him run! What a big baby!

Ahem! We're trying to sleep up here! Keep it down!

Why, Mom? Why did you have to get those things?
Was I not enough for you?

Come on! That big dog's over here!
Let's get her!

Seriously! Can we take them back?!

What? Only one Christmas toy? It's MINE!

No way! Give it here! It's MINE!

Fine! I'll just chew your ear instead.
It comes with a squeaker!

Get off of me, you maniac!

What's all the commotion over there?

What? Huh?

Holy Cow!! That thing is huge!
It's a...I think it's a....T-REX!!!

Be perfectly still. Don't move!
It can't see us if we are perfectly still!

I won't move! I'm NOT going to move! Not. Moving!
Is it gone?!

I think I can. I think I can.

Forget it cat. I'm three times your size.
Besides, I've got something for you. Look out below!

I'm glad Mom got two of these things, cuz there's no way
I'm sharin' this. No way!

Goodnight, Mom. You can go now. I'm kinda busy.

Your Love Is a Mountain

2011-12-27T02:27:00.002-06:00

You know the feeling you get when you stand before something amazing that God has made, something like a mountain, or the ocean, that just takes your breath away and makes you think, "Are you kidding me? Is this real? Could anything be more beautiful? Could His presence be more obvious?" That's what being truly loved feels like to me. I never get over the marvel of it. I originally wrote this poem about Ted. But clearly, Ted's love for me, as amazing as it is, in only a pale reflection of God's love for me and my words are for Him all the more.

Your Love Isa Mountain

By Lisa Marie Harmon

Your love is a mountain

It’s the vast, deep, rolling sea

The Milky Way

Your love is a quiet wood

It’s a trickling, summer spring

An ancient twisted oak tree root

Your love is the grandest canyon

It’s a raging unforgable river

A glacier

Your love is a windswept Kansas prairie

It’s never ending, purple, wild flowers

The silent blood orange moon

Your love is the blinding winter sun

It’s a skyscraping redwood

A hummingbird

Time after time

Not once yet diminished

It stops me

Shocks me

Draws my breath in

Hypnotizes

Tranquilizes

Stands me in awe

Your love is a mountain

He Is Mine

2011-12-27T02:11:00.000-06:00

Twenty nine years is a long time to be with the same person. It's a very long time. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be in a bad relationship for that long. It must be horrible. Maybe even inversely as horrible as it is wonderful to be in a good relationship for that long. I only know about the latter and the longer I am in it, the more amazed I become...the more amazing it is to know this person and be loved by him and receive the blessing of him. The longer I am with him, the more time and opportunities he has to be all the things I need him to be, to prove himself, to surround me with his presence and essence. He is not perfect. He is not even all these things all of the time. He would be the first to say that he could never live up to all the words I write about him. But that is not the point. The point is that he inspired me to write them. Maybe not all the time, but certainly often times, he has been all of these things to me as he faithfully lives out the manifestation of God's love for me that he is.

He Is Mine

By LisaMarie Harmon

He issteadfast, constant, always

He is a rock

He protects,defends, guards

He is ashield

Hestrengthens, supports, sustains

He is steel

He rises,works, persists

He issacrifice

He comforts,encourages, uplifts

He isshelter

He holds,keeps, cherishes

He is acover

He fills,refreshes, surrounds

He is water

He warms,radiates, melts

He is fire

Hestruggles, tries, stays

He is acontender

He is sorry,repentant, forgiving

He ishumility

He is loyal,honest, trustworthy

He is friendship

He isfaithful, committed, unconditional

He is love

He is agift, a surprise, undeserved

He is mybounty

He is mine

In His Loving Arms

2011-12-27T01:58:00.002-06:00

I have physical, human, loving arms to rest in. And even more wonderful, I also have supernatural, all powerful, all knowing, all forgiving, unconditional, divine, loving arms to rest in. I am so blessed! This poem is about both.

In HisLoving Arms

By Lisa Marie Harmon

At the end of a day

When nothing at all has gone my way

I know I can rest in his loving arms

When I’m tired and dejected

Frustrated, rejected

I always find peace in his loving arms

If my day’s been good

And I’ve gotten it right

My joy is shared in his loving arms

But oh, in those times

Of no reasons or rhymes

I’m so blessed as I rest in his lovingarms

I don’t have to wonder

I have no concern

I know they’ll be there when toward themI turn

Then he’ll wrap me up

And hold me so tight

Say the words that make me feel alright

So tonight…..

Because so faithfully,

His arms are waiting just for me

The troubles of this day will fade

Hiswarmth and strength will soon invade

And I’ll rest

In his loving arms

Nature VS Nurture

2011-12-26T01:24:00.001-06:00

Nature VS Nurture hasn’t worked out too well for me in the past as far as dogs are concerned.

For example, this beautiful dog…….

was lost to his “Nature.” My Nurture could not overcome it. We adopted this “lab mix” from the animal shelter at barely 6 weeks old. He was such a sweetie! We took him to obedience class, for car rides, on long walks. We named him Gus. My daughter showed him at the county fair and he did great!

Gus loved his family with a fierce devotion. But although he spent his entire puppy hood going to weekly classes and meeting lots of new people and other dogs, at the age of 9 months, he became so territorial and aggressive to strangers that we had to put him to sleep. We consulted with our trainer. We consulted with our vet. Everyone agreed. He was too dangerous. Nothing about Gus’s life experiences led him to this behavior. It was just in him. (The vet thinks Gus was part Chow because of his color and the fact that he had a blue spot on his tongue. We had no idea. He certainly didn't look Chow at all to us.)

And Gus is not the first dog we’ve lost to Nature. Many years ago we adopted a mixed puppy of unknown breeding that also became aggressive to our children at about the age of nine months and had to be put down.

Then some years after that, we purchased a purebred Doberman of the highest quality. He was a surprise gift from my husband – a puppy for me to train and compete in obedience with. I LOVED him! He cost a fortune – shipped all the way from New York state from a breeder who was also an AKC judge and obedience trainer. We named him Moses.

Moses started puppy classes at 8 weeks old. He was valedictorian. At the end of our last class, the trainer said to me, “You’re going to have some trouble with him. I can see it in his eyes.” I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. It couldn’t be true. My sweet puppy had just won valedictorian of his class! He was so well behaved! We continued our training, going to weekly classes for many months. My puppy was very obedient. He was crate trained. He was socialized. He was AWESOME!

And then it happened….. Moses growled. At my son. Who was just sitting next to him watching TV and eating a bag of chips. Moses was nine months old. We took immediate action. Consulted with his breeder, our current trainer and the vet. Worked with him daily. Put a muzzle on him just for safety’s sake. But his behavior only worsened and the time finally came when we realized that this dog would not ever be safe in a house with children. We had to ship Moses back to his breeder, who gave us a full refund after admitting to us eventually that he came from a line of “sharper” dogs. That breeder couldn’t refund me all the love and time I had put into that dog. He couldn’t heal my broken heart when I finally said goodbye to Moses at the airport.

Moses’ Nature won. My Nurture lost.

Not all of my dog stories have ended like this of course. I’ve raised many puppies over the years and very successfully: two rough collies, two male bull mastiffs and two Anatolian shepherds mixed with great Pyrenees. I’ve raised a miniature poodle and a beagle X basset mutt and a chocolate Labrador.

All of these dogs turned out just fine. Some were adopted as pups. Some purchased from breeders. Some found on the street. All have been loved and well cared for. All have been trained obedience to varying degrees. And all turned out just fine. They had been Nurtured well. But also, they had great Natures!

So now I have two new puppies…..six weeks old…..of unknown, possibly (okay probably) Rottweiler breeding……adopted from the same animal shelter where we adopted Gus several years ago. They were found wondering the street. No one ever claimed them.

I didn’t plan it. I just saw them in this kennel and took them home. I did want puppies. I had been thinking about finding puppies again since I lost my Bo to cancer in August. But I hadn’t planned on these puppies. I just saw them and took them home. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have done the safe thing – safe for me anyway. That would have been to look for puppies from a breeder that I knew would have a certain Nature……maybe puppies whose parents had proven themselves to have the kind of Nature I am looking for in an adult dog. At least that's the advice I always give to others......

But then….what would happen to these guys if everybody looking for a puppy did that?

RANGER

SNIPER

To be completely honest, I wish these puppies didn’t exist at all. I wish that people didn’t breed dogs together unless there was a really good reason with purpose and plans for each puppy produced. I wish that people didn’t want to own or breed a certain type of dog just because it is tough or cool or tenacious. I wish people were more responsible and had their dogs altered before unwanted puppies were produced. I wish people who had puppies didn’t dump them on the street to be picked up by the animal control officer or worse, to be hit by a car, starve or die of disease.

But since none of this is the case, what do we do with these guys? What do we do with puppies like these with completely unknown heritage who could turn out to be the best dogs we’ve ever owned, or..……..not.

Know one knows what their Nature will be like as they mature into adult dogs or weather that Nature combined with my Nurture will produce an adult dog that will be a successful fit for our family (or any family for that matter). Maybe my old trainer would be able to “see it in their eyes.” I know I can’t. It’s a risk - a risk for them and a risk for me. Adopting any puppy involves this same risk but adopting stray pups of completely unknown parentage and history is a much bigger gamble. My Nurture may mitigate their Nature, but it won’t eliminate it.

I've lost three beloved dogs to tragic, unpreventable early death, one just recently. I've lost three over the years to their aggressive, inborn Nature. I am definitely gun shy. The fact is, another broken heart (or two) could be just 7 1/2 months away and that fact weighs heavy on me. But I do have hope. I know that I can give these guys a chance and one of the best chances they have is with a responsible owner who is willing to do the work while they are young and raise them right.

So, here I go...off to work with my new puppies with my treats and leashes....and also some butterflies in my stomach that I know won’t go away entirely until they are grown. I shouldn’t have done it. But I did. And I’m glad…even though I’m scared.

Post script 01.06.2011: Sadly, Ranger passed away of unclear causes today. Sniper is healthy, but lonely.

PUBLIC PLEA:

Please, have your cats and dogs spayed and neutered so that other people and innocent animals don't have to bear the negative consequences caused by your irresponsibility. Very few dogs are of good enough quality to justify allowing them to reproduce. Please. There are too many dogs and cats in this world already and consequently, more then enough suffering. Try your best to eliminate some. Don't be one of those who adds to it. And if you can, adopt a stray or abandoned dog. Take the risk. Give them a chance.

2011 Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T20:18:00.001-06:00

Josh wasn't too enthusiastic about starting at 6:00 AM.

Neither was Dad.
Not pictured: New Visio Sound Bar for his TV., and a Kindle!

Lily and Josh got a "name frame" from Alphabet Photography.
It's so cool, I want one!

Kate got a new puppy! And some movies and clothes.

Jes got lots of exercise stuff.
She actually got up at 5:00 AM, showered and put on makeup.
She's the only one who looks decent for the pictures!

Josh and Lily and their stash.

ClaireAnna was beside herself with excitement
over the new tack for The Grinch.
Didn't you know? Blue is his color!

My kids gave me some lovely gifts! But most of all, I was
happy that we were all together to celebrate
the birth of Christ!

After gifts, we shared our traditional Christmas breakfast. But first, just one glitch! I was out of eggs! So Lily, sweetly ran to the gas station and bought some. We stuffed ourselves on scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, fresh pineapple and juice. And the last tradition of Christmas morning.....nap time!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

2011 Christmas Eve And Fifth Annual Christmas Bingo Game

2011-12-25T18:18:00.001-06:00

All seven of us were together for Christmas Eve as is our tradition: Mom & Dad, Jes, Josh & Lily, Kate and Claire. We were also blessed with the company of Lily’s brother, Greg!
The older kids came over pretty early in the day, so we decided to go to the shale pit and do some shooting. Josh got an AK47 for Christmas and Josh and Jes both brought their hand guns. I guess it’s not a traditional Christmas eve activity, but all our older kids like to target shoot so that’s what we did! Even Mom and Claire took turns! I wasn’t too sure about shooting the AK47 but actually, it was awesome!

Our redneck target range.

Lily

Josh, showing mom how to site the AK 47. I couldn't do it, but I did shoot it.

I really, really like this picture!

Jes

Josh

Ted showing ClaireAnna how to shoot Jes's handgun.

Kate

Greg shot at a small explosive and made a big puff of smoke and some really loud noise!

After shooting, we had a yummy dinner. Home grown smoked pork loin, grilled home grown lamb chops, smoked turkey from Old Post, mashed potatoes, corn, asparagus, sautéed mushrooms and rolls.
Then we played our fifth annual Christmas Bingo Game.

We played Bingo till everybody won 5 cards. Then two extra cards were played for. Jes got one and Lily got one. Each card represents a prize! These duffels are full of prizes! After all the cards are won, Dad calls out the suite and number for each prize! Everybody gets something! There is a booby prize and a grand prize and lots of prizes in between. After the game, there was lots of trading till everybody had something they liked. We all talked about new rules for next year’s bingo game and decided that no one has matured enough to allow steeling yet! (We’ve learned that the hard way in past year’s games!) After Bingo, we watched movies till each of us wandered off to bed. It was a great Christmas Eve!

Puppies! Puppies! Puppies!

2011-12-23T07:18:00.001-06:00

Ted and I decided to surprise Kate with a new dog. A Facebook friend linked me to a picture of some cute little Chihuahua puppies at Needy Paws Animal Shelter in Clarksville, so this morning, Jes and I headed out there to take a look. We found these adorable little munchkins waiting for us and spent about 20 minutes picking out the brown one.

This is Ladybug.

This is where things go horribly, drastically wrong. I walked back into the main kennel “just to look” at all the other dogs. Dratts! What was I thinking??

I knew right away what I had to do to get myself off the hook here. I took this photo and sent it to Ted at work and then I called him on the phone. So after asking a whole bunch of questions, most of which I could not answer, he tells me to bring them home. Phew! Now at least it’s not ALL my fault!

These two pups just stole our hearts! Yes, they are probably part Rottweiler. No, we really aren’t fans of the breed, especially when they come from an unknown heritage. But they are definitely mixed with something happy! Maybe they are part Greater Swiss Mountain Dog! Wouldn’t that be cool!
Yeah…probably not…but one can hope. The two boys were found as strays on the 15th of December. They are barely six weeks old. We assume they are litter mates. They each have very different snouts though. The one with more white looks a bit like a Border collie or Australian shepherd in the face. But they are totally short haired and very large boned so…who knows. We estimate that they will be in the 70 to 90 pound range at adult hood. The shelter worker thinks bigger then that. White face is noticeably bigger boned then the other one.

Adopting these pups was a big risk for us. We need good farm dogs. We need dogs that won’t chase our livestock or eat our poultry. (We’ve already introduced them to chickens and goats and it went well!) We need dogs that will be friendly with visitors. We plan to do our very best to give them a chance at a good farm life by working hard to train them right. I’m really hoping they work out. I’m a little fresh from the loss of Bo to be ready for another broken heart. We know lots of people with Rotts and Rott mixes that are great farm dogs. There is a chance! And a chance for these adorable guys is better then a life in a shelter or on the streets. No names yet. We’ll still arguing about that. Ted wants “Tank” and “Dozer”. I’m not a fan. Claire and I picked “Scout” and “Ranger”. Ted doesn’t like those. I’ll update when the argument is over!

Ya Gotta Do What Ya Gotta Do

2011-12-20T20:22:00.001-06:00

When I got to the barnyard this morning, I found a dead chicken in the chicken coop and one of ClaireAnna’s ducks was missing. So I called Ted at work and asked him to stop at Tractor Supply and get some traps because our older one has been scrunched a bit and doesn’t set off very easily. We often find the bait eaten and the door still open. Ted worked late tonight and then went to Walmart and then Tractor Supply, so he got home after dark. As soon as we were done with dinner, I headed down to the barnyard. As I pulled around the corner of the implement shed, I saw two opossums run off into the woods. Then, as I walked up to the chicken coop, sure enough, something scooted around it and into the gap between it and the barn wall. Inside the chicken coop, I took this picture……
I called Ted on my cell and he and the girls rushed to the barn with the shotgun. Hahaha! Obviously, we had to figure another way to kill this critter so we didn’t blow a hole through our barn wall. Thankfully, he sat quite still till we were ready to dispatch him. I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say, the chore involved a pitch fork and a hunting knife. Apparently, it takes a whole family to kill a barnyard intruder.

So while we were getting the job done with this opossum, Kate went into the barn and happened to look down into the garbage can which ClaireAnna had just emptied, burning the contents only this afternoon. Um….surprise! Another opossum! This one politely caught himself for us. I think he fell off the ledge on the barn wall and plopped right into this can. He could not get out.
It’s an unpleasant fact of farm life. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do to protect your livestock. ClaireAnna and Kate know this well and are not bothered by it. The two new traps are set in hope of catching the other two critters who ran off into the woods and any friends or family they may have.

Whew! What an exciting night! Oh, and my timing was perfect. I happened upon the culprits before they could do any more killing. All the birds are safe.

Edited to add: Caught another one! First thing in the morning I checked my traps and low and behold!

FYI: It is particularly important to keep opossums away from horses since they are the vector for a neurological disease that can be debilitating and even deadly to them. Sadly, a close friend’s horse is currently suffering from this terrible illness. This is all the more reason to eradicate opossums from our barnyard and pastures. Check out this link for more information.
EQUINE PROTOZOAL MYELOENCEPHALITIS

Junior the Genius

2011-12-20T13:49:00.001-06:00

This is him. The one who makes poop soup in his water trough every day. We move the trough, he poops in it. We give him two troughs, he poops in both. He’s either a genius, or a complete idiot. I can’t figure out which. He did it again today so I told him to go ahead and have his fun. He’s only got about 30 more days to make my life miserable so he better live it up! My eternal hope is to never again own a cow this intelligent.

BOING! BOING!

2011-12-20T12:54:00.001-06:00

We knew that Shani could climb fences. She climbs them like a ladder, one rung at a time and then leaps over. And she’s always been able to jump pretty high. But holy cow!

First Trial Ride on the Farm

2011-11-09T21:06:00.001-06:00

Today was a beautiful fall day. Kinda breezy and a little cool, but sunny and beautiful. ClaireAnna and I took Cindy and The Grinch out for a trail ride. I rode him first because she was a little nervous, but I told her she could trust him. When she realized I was right, we switched saddles and horses. It was her first time riding him on the farm outside the round pen or the barnyard and only her second trail ride with him. The Grinch’s behavior was impeccable. He’s so calm and easy to ride. He’s neck reining fantastically now. He’ll go anywhere you point him. He’ll lope off alone. He’ll stay in a walk when the other horse lopes off ahead of him. He even remains in a calm walk when the other horse comes galloping up behind him. He’ll go through mud, water, rocks, up hills, down hills. We tested him on everything and he passed with flying colors! I know that eventually, he’ll have a bad day..do something wrong…. but so far, he’s been perfect for her. ClaireAnna had a blast! Mother cried. We just can’t stop talking about it and thinking about it! She is one lucky, happy girl! Next week – Falling Waters!!

Here they are crossing a steep ditch with a narrow entry. The Grinch didn’t like it when I tried it with him and I did get down and walk him through it. After that, he didn’t hesitate again.

Here they are doing what ClaireAnna loves most – loping across the pastures!

Merry Lu Who

2011-11-06T23:02:00.000-06:00

We bred this beautiful pony.....

To this amazing stallion.......

And got this pretty little filly!

Introducing, Cindy's second colt, Merry Lu Who!

She was born June 6, 2011. Merry's sire is a registered, palomino sabino Welsh stallion. Her dam, Cindy, is a grade, dun, tobiano, sabino, American Paint Pony. Merry is......chestnut. Can you believe it? There are five color genes she could have inherited from her mom and/ or dad: dun, tobiano, cream, sabino, black. She got none of them. But though she is plain in color, she is as pretty as a picture, possesing excellent conformation and an adorable dish-faced head. I do believe she did inherit the sooty gene from her sire as evidenced by her very dark liver chestnut color once she shed her foal coat.

Merry has a wonderful, calm, layed back personality that will help to make her a perfect cart pony. At five months, she went to live with her new owner, our vet, Dr. Jeanne Strackbein, in Clarksville, AR. Dr. Jeanne plans to train her to drive and ride when she is matured a little bit and we are so glad she is living close and we'll get to see her every once in a while.

2011 First Baptist Dardanelle Fall Fest Petting Zoo

2011-11-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

Our third petting zoo of the year was for First Baptist in Dardanelle. They had a huge Fall Fest with the entire community showing up! We took a lot of animals: two goats, two ponies, the donkey, the mini cow, a goose, two ducks, a sheep and some rabbits. Several Wrangler Club 4Hers showed up to help: Malcolm and Kurt Penka, Dayna Walker, Libby Bailey, and Cody Chuculate. It was a lot of work, but a great success!

We took a big set up this time, three pens, one for the main group of animals (ponies, donkey, goats and sheep) that the kids could enter to pet them, and one for Ellie the mini cow and one with a goose and two ducks in it.

Our ponies, Johnnie and Elvis, letting some happy girls brush them at the petting zoo.

ClaireAnna sharing her duck with two young festival goers.

Lots more pictures in the album below!

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Pumpkin Fun

2011-11-01T07:53:00.000-05:00

We had the Penka's over for pumpkin carving. It was their first time ever carving a pumpkin!! It was a really fun night for Claire and her buddies, Malcolm and Kurt!

2011 Zion Lutheran Church Fall Fest Petting Zoo

2011-10-09T13:05:00.000-05:00

One of the things ClaireAnna and I do is to take our petting zoo to area events and churches. We do it for free as a community service project. This one at the Zion Lutheran Church helped raise thousands of dollars for the River Valley Christian Clinic and other organizations.

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Taste Test

2011-10-06T19:59:00.001-05:00

We picked up our first home grown goat meat from the butcher yesterday and tonight we had a taste test.

I made sloppy Joes with Manwich. One pot ground goat. One pot ground beef.

It took Ted 4 bites of each to decide which one he liked best. I asked him if he thought it was goat or beef. He said Goat. It was beef. But he really said he couldn’t tell. Neither Kate nor I could tell between the two.

I made patties out of each meat. Which one do you think is goat?

I grilled them on the grill. The ones on the right were simply on the hotter side of the grill. That’s the only reason they have darker marks.

Ted picked out which burger was beef and he was right. Claire also guessed the beef burger. But they both liked each hamburger equally. Claire gobbled hers up. I thought the beef sandwich was better, but the goat tasted very good. Just slightly different.
So far, goat meat is a big hit in our house. There was no unusual odor at all like there is sometimes with deer. It was very tasty to all of us. For Sunday dinner, we’ll try out the roast!

2011 Ozark Memories Day

2011-09-24T15:28:00.001-05:00

This is our small town annual festival in Dover, put on by the Chamber of Commerce. We start the day out with a short parade through down town Dover. I didn’t take any pictures during the actual parade this year because I was leading The Grinch. It was his first time in a parade and he did fantastic!
Claire rode Cindy, as usual.
The Grinch took everything in stride. No spooking at all! Next year, Claire will ride him and let one of her friends ride Cindy.

This picture of my friend Sylvia in her first every parade, show’s how excited Grinch was about being there!
After the parade, we went home to put the horses away and change our clothes. Back at the festival, we had some snacks: funnel cake, tamales, nachos and soda.
I did the skillet toss! I didn’t win, but I didn’t embarrass myself either!

They had a men’s log toss, but Ted’s arm is busted. Here’s a random guy doing it!

ClaireAnna tossed the bean bags.
This is our town, Na na na na na!

Beaver!

2011-09-22T08:54:00.001-05:00

This morning while perusing my kingdom, I made a new discovery! Beavers! Well, at least tell tale signs of beavers at the pond. We’ve seen beaver signs at the Bayou before and Josh has even shot two large ones down there, but we’ve never seen beaver signs at the pond. In Arkansas, beaver are considered a nuisance. and the state offers a bounty for them. They are plentiful and cause all kinds of damage to water ways, ponds, crops and timber lands. I sure do think it would be cool to have a full blown beaver den on our place that we could watch, but I’m not sure how much damage they will cause if we let it happen. I’m going to look into it. Here are shots of what they are up to. One Maple tree cluster is clearly doomed with a whole section already fallen into the pond. They did this in one night!

2011 Pope County Fair Misc.

2011-09-19T13:15:00.001-05:00

Here are all ClaireAnna’s non-living fair entries!

Claire’s brown banty eggs and green duck eggs.

Paper pinwheel

Decorated Picture Frame with a picture of her and The Grinch that says, “To ride or not to ride….What a stupid question!”

Colorful clay vase right in the middle.

Photo she took of the Grinch.

Marker art of a burning candle.

Sugar cookies.

The Wrangler Club Educational Booth won Best in Show!!!
It’s tradition! After the 4H Dance on Friday night, the older kids spend the night. This is ClaireAnna’s first year and I stayed with her (on the cot in the second picture.) Except for having to use my inhaler 3 times and learning to detest the sound of dozens of roosters crowing at 4:00 am, it was a bunch of fun!

2011 Pope County Fair Dog Show

2011-09-19T12:57:00.001-05:00

Saturday, September 17th, 10:00 a.m.
ClaireAnna Showed Lucky for the sixth year in a row. They did great although Lucky decided she just did not want to sit at one of the signs. The show includes Rally (obedience) and a long stay. They got a 1st place in both. (Judged against a standard, not the other kids & dogs.)
And then, for the fifth time in six years, ClaireAnna was awarded Showmanship for her age group!! She and Lucky also won high point Novice B for a total sweep!

2011 Pope County Fair Goat Shows

2011-09-19T12:43:00.001-05:00

Thursay, September 15th, 9:00 a.m.
Technically, there are three goat shows at the fair: Dairy Goat, Market Goat, Meat Goat. They run one right after the other. ClaireAnna showed in all three.
Diary Goat Show: ClaireAnna showed her Registered Nubian Dairy Goats. The dairy goat show at the fair isn’t very big, maybe only 6 goats all together.
Allie got 2nd in her class of 2. Bailey got 2nd in her class of 2 also and then Reserve Champion Dairy Goat Doe!

Here are Allie (mother) and Bailey (daughter) in their pen.

On Friday morning, all the preschools in the area brought their kids to the fair. ClaireAnna took Bailey out and let the kids pet her and pose for a picture.
The Market Goat Show is for your market wether or doe, under 1 year, that is finished and ready to butcher. ClaireAnna showed a 3/4 Boer X 1/4 Kiko wether we raised here on the farm named Icarus. He was the runt of triplets and skinny, scrawny and pot-bellied as a kid so nobody bought him. Once he was wormed, weaned and fed, he just blossomed. We realized a few months ago he was going to turn out pretty nice so we fed him up for the show. This kid was actually the ugliest thing we had born here when he was little. But look at him now!

Class 3 line-up. ClaireAnna and Icarus in first place.

Entering the ring for the champion class.
The judge is about to choose Grand Campion. The one on the left won it.
Just chosen Reserve Champion Market Goat! Big smile!

The young lady who won Grand Champion Market Goat also won Reserve Champion Market Steer AND Grand Champion Market Lamb! Since each kid can only sell 1 market animal, she chose to sell her steer which put ClaireAnna first to sell a goat. Icarus brought ClaireAnna $500 in the Market Sale!
The Meat Goat Show is for does of any meat goat breed. ClaireAnna showed Frenchie, a black and white spotted 4 year old Boer doe. She won 1st place in her class and Grand Champion Meat Goat Doe!
Junior Showmanship Class: These are all Jr. showmanship class. There is only 1 winner and the girl on ClaireAnna’s left won it. The judge told ClaireAnna personally that if he could pick a second place, it would have been her!

2011 Pope County Fair Market Hog Show

2011-09-19T07:35:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, September 14th, 7:00 P.M.
Herswione Granger:
ClaireAnna’s hog didn’t do as well as we expected, placing 9th out of 23 hogs. She did make the market sale, but chose to sell her goat instead. She won Junior Showmanship out of at least 10 or 12 kids!

2011 Pope County Fair Poultry Show

2011-09-19T07:15:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, September 14th, 1:00 P.M.
ClaireAnna showed a pair of Penciled Runner ducks and a single Ancona drake.
The runner pair placed 1st in their class but did not win over the duck pair in the second class. If you look carefully, you can see the pair in the cage.

The Ancona Drake only got 5th in his class but he competed against turkeys and other odd birds. (It’s a weird set up.)
ClaireAnna used her Penciled Runner duck for Junior Showmanship and won! The judge said she knew the answer to every questions he asked her without hesitation!

ClaireAnna loves to help out her 4H friends during the poultry show by holding birds in waiting and extra birds on the table. I’m told she intends to show chickens herself next year. Lord help me! Holding Justin Walker’s Brahmas.

Helping Dayna Walker with her Cochins.

2011 Pope County Fair Rabbit Show

2011-09-19T06:56:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, September 13th, 5:00 p.m.
ClaireAnna does not breed rabbits anymore. We lost our last Lionhead doe to the heat this past summer and have all decided not to pursue them anymore. Now she only has three pet rabbits and she showed all three of them in their respective classes.

Ron: 1st Place Sr. Lionhead buck

Ginny: 2nd Place Jr. Mini-rex doe

Annabeth: 2nd Place Jr. French Lop doe (The gray bunny on the right of ClaireAnna.)

Showmanship class with Annabeth.

Pony Posing

2011-09-10T23:52:00.001-05:00

All Cindy wants to do is take a nap. But ClaireAnna must continue working on perfecting her new hobby – Pony Posing. What else are you supposed to do while waiting for your next class?

2011 Pope County Fair Horse Show

2011-09-10T21:57:00.001-05:00

CClaireAnna could not ride Missy this year in the pleasure classes because Missy is sick with COPD caused by allergies, so she borrowed Dolly from the Walkers and did her best. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of that half of the show!
After the pleasure classes, I went home and got Cindy for the speed half of the show. ClaireAnna and Cindy did better then ever on the speed events, placing 3rd in most events and 2nd in flags. Much more importantly, They had a blast with all of their horsey friends!

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The Fall

2011-09-08T11:22:00.001-05:00

Ah, distinctly I remember how I love the crisp September!
With each separate blade of grass, dew coated as in days of yore.
Eagerly, I’d wished the morrow, finally now surcease of sorrow.
Jubilation thrills me, fills me as the summer heat, here is no more.
Joy and jubilation with that rare and radiant season now in store.
Summer’s gone. Nameless here for evermore!

Note: Hottest summer ever!

Stupid Goat, Ruptured Tendon

2011-09-05T23:06:00.001-05:00

This goat didn’t want to get caught.

This man tried to catch him.

This is what happened.

And after a couple of visits here…..

This nice man fixed it. (Dr. Eric Gordon)

Hydrocodone at work.

Day three, post op. Doing better. Walked to the barn and back. The cast comes off in two days and then he’ll be in a splint for 6 weeks! My goodness!

The goat is still stupid. But we’ve gotten a little smarter! Now we let ClaireAnna catch him like this. Seriously! She knows how. She learned it in 4H!

Day six post-op check-up. The cast is off and we got our first glimpse of the incisions. One on the bottom side.

One of the top side – a lot smaller then we thought it would be.

Trying to smile even though it hurts like heck because the Dr. just came in and moved it all around!

Here’s the new splint that limits movement. He’ll be in this for six weeks until the Dr. is sure the tendon has reattached to the bone. However, it’s back to work tomorrow! (At least part time. He’ll come and go depending on his pain level.)

To My Beloved

2011-08-27T00:33:00.001-05:00

You know what's amazing? When I act like a snot, or when I don't do anything all day long, or when I forget something really important, or when I argue about something stupid, or when I am selfish and put you last, and I look up and there you are…still. I look into your eyes, and there it is…love.
There's very little in this life more amazing then knowing you are loved unconditionally and totally. It doesn’t happen in a week, a month, a year or ten years. It takes a really, really long time for a man to prove to a woman that there is nothing she could do to change the way he feels about her. That he’s there for better or worse. That he’s got her back. That he’s never going to leave.
Because we all doubt. We all wonder. Am I good enough? Will this last? Does he really love me?
Some men are never able to do it. But you did. I’m not sure when it happened…but some time ago, that last little bit of insecurity disappeared. That last, deep down, almost subconscious fear has evaporated into thin air and all I feel now is trust, love and Us.
Everything else on earth is monumentally unimportant to me compared to the fact that you love me.
Happy 27th Anniversary, Beloved.

First Lope

2011-08-22T11:40:00.001-05:00

Had a great riding lesson on Cindy and Grinch today at Brad Palmer’s place. Grinch had been fussy about his bit, which had never happened before so we put a halter on him and he rode just fine. (Going to have his teeth looked at this week.) So after Brad rode him for awhile, Claire walked and trotted him through the pole pattern. At the end of the last two runs he broke into an easy lope. I got the first one on video. It was Claire’s first lope on the Grinch!

While Claire rode the Grinch, Brad gave Cindy a little attitude adjustment. Out of shape and lazy equals one stubborn pony!

And Along Came Buttercup!

2011-08-15T22:18:00.001-05:00

A friend of ours took in a stray. They tried to find her a home. They even asked us if we wanted her but our standard answer was given – NO! Months go by and our friends find out they have to move to another state. It was coming down to moving day and they still hadn’t found a home for the dog and they definitely couldn’t take her all the way to New York State with them in the car, so I said I’d ask Ted if we could just take the dog for them and continue looking for a new home for her.

He said yes.

That was his first mistake!

Sorry Ted!

Do you really think we are not going to keep this dog?

This is Buttercup!

Here she is with Lucky! They are like twins!

One leash, two mutts!

Lucky’s ears are a lot longer then Buttercup’s. Buttercup’s legs are a little longer then Lucky’s. Lucky’s got the saggy, Bassett hound eyes and Buttercup doesn’t. Lucky doesn’t have brown and Buttercup does. But that’s pretty much it. They are very close to the same size in weight, height and length. They are clearly both part beagle. Lucky may have Bassett in her. Buttercup is probably part Dachshund.

And they both love to follow their noses!

They get along great!

Really, Ted?

I don’t think so!

Thank you to the Kendrick family for rescuing this cutie pie, and getting her dewormed, vaccinated and spayed. As long as she gets along with Lucky, doesn’t escape and kill all our ducks and doesn’t bark too much at night, I think Ted is out voted!

But for the record…there will only ever be one Lucky for ClaireAnna.

First Trail Ride Together!

2011-08-09T14:05:00.001-05:00

ClaireAnna and Grinch had a great lesson today with their trainer, Brad Palmer. He took them on their first trail ride together. Dayna got to come along since she had just finished her lesson and was already saddled! It is the first time Claire has been on the Grinch outside of a round pen or arena. Brad says, “Grinch was solid as a rock. No issues at all.” They crossed a road, saw a car, crossed water and were followed by dogs. ClaireAnna said, “That was AWESOME!” Grinch will now be Claire’s main trail mount! I’m so proud of both of them! She’s yet to lope him. That will be their next goal!

ClaireAnna and Brad

Rickie and Ichie

2011-08-07T12:36:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Ted surprised the girls with new kittens which is really weird since he hates cats. Claire named hers “Rickie” (from TedRICK.) Kate named hers Icharus from some dumb book she’s reading. We call him Ichie (rhymes with Ricky) for short. They were tiny scrawny things and have barely grown since we got them. They are brothers.

Ichie and Rickie

Rickie

Ichie

Ichie and Rickie

Rickie

Ichie

Post Script: Saddly, Ichie failed to thrive for unknown reasons and had to be euthanized a month or so after this post was made.

An Early Morning on the Farm

2011-08-07T12:08:00.001-05:00

Every year we have to move what ever square bales we have left over from last year out of the hay barn in preparation for the new year’s batch. There won’t be many this year due to the drought. Never the less, we have to clear the space for them.

We got started early to avoid the heat and moved about 200 bales from the hay barn into the horse barn. We are very blessed just to have these 200 bales left from last year’s cutting. They will help to make up our deficit for this year. Ted and I have vowed to never sell another bale of hay as long as we live! LOL Sorry, folks, but I really don’t think he’s kidding!

It’s stacked on both sides.

And even some in a stall at the other end.

Here’s my favorite resting chair! No chicken poop!

(See previous blog post on the new Chicken coop!)

And my halter racks! No chicken poop!

I LOVE my horse barn! Especially when it’s full of hay!

So, while we’re unloading hay, a guy comes onto the farm looking for his dog, which we tell him we have not seen. As he turns around to go, he drives right off the road into a drainage ditch and gets stuck.

Ted and his tractor pulled him out.

When we finished our morning job, we went home and did this!