Update on Monroe

What a bumpy, unpredictable time we have had lately! After Monroe was released from the hospital for his back surgery he was having extreme pain in his right knee and thigh. The doctors did many tests before releasing him and came to the conclusion that the pain was due to inflammation from the surgery that was pressing on a nerve. The only cure was time and pain medication. My husband can tolerate a great deal of pain but this pain was unbearable!

After being home 4 days he ended up back in the hospital with blood clots in both lungs! This was such a scary time for us!! But the Lord was with us and many prayers were being sent on his behalf. Three days later he as back home. He is slowly recovering and getting stronger every day.

He sits on the front porch a lot enjoying the gorgeous weather we have been having here in Florida. It has become a regular habit for the two of us to sit out front and have our morning coffee. I am really enjoying that because Monroe was never one to sit still very long. I believe the slow days and solitude has been good for him. He has time to reflect on life and the Lord.

We bought a couple of bird feeders to hang out in the front yard. He likes to sit and watch all of the different varieties of birds come and eat.
And this past weekend our church provided a huge barbeque for the children of Upward Soccer, which our church sponsors, and their families. This is a great opportunity for outreach in the community and it has been a great success. So, of course we were glad to help out and cook the chicken for the event. Now Monroe did NOT cook. The lids to this smoker/grill are so very heavy. He was given the position of supervisor and Brent and Brandon were the chefs this time! I did get his picture wearing his "Old Guys Rule" Grill Master shirt-a Christmas gift from Brooke & Ricky. It is perfect for him. I love the saying on it...."well done and rare"!

We had both smokers going and they were packed with chicken. We cooked 7 cases of chicken!!

Here they are loading the cooler to take the meat to the church for the meal.

Mmmm...it was so tender it just fell off the bone.

I know my hubby can't wait to get on his feet again. It is so hard for him to sit back and let others do the work. He is such a go-getter. This has been a very difficult season for him but I think he is learning a few things so in that way it has been good for him.

Please keep him in your prayers for no more complications and a full recovery.

God is Good!!

Prayer Needs and God's Faithfulness

Wow, my life has been anything but boring these past few months. I wanted to be more diligent about blogging but I never seem to get that far on my "to do" list for the day. Geez! I feel like I am more busy now than when I had sleepless, nursing babies to take care of and energetic toddlers to chase!! At any rate, the purpose of today's blog is just an update of the happenings around our home.



At the moment, I am sitting in yet another hospital room with Monroe. Sorry, no pictures for today and many thanks to my dear sister-in-law, Sandi, for the use of her laptop!! As many of you may know but some may not, Monroe opted for a second back surgery. The first surgery was in October and at that time the Dr. gave Monroe the choice of a one level fusion knowing that in the future he would eventually have to have two more fusions or the choice of having a three level fusion in the first surgery. Because he has many more years to work and be active we chose to fuse only one level. Everything was going great for the first three weeks but then he had some setbacks. The pain and tingling/burning in his back and legs returned. Through many tests the Dr. concluded that the two levels above the first fusion would need surgery to bring relief. He gave Monroe the option of when to have the second surgery and Monroe chose to go ahead with it. Poor guy. He is just tired of lying around with the recovery of the first surgery but he is not able to go back to work due to the pain he still has. So this past Friday he went ahead with the second surgery. He is doing okay today. Having bouts of nausea which he didn't have with the last surgery but he was under anesthesia much longer this time so that accounts for some of the nausea not to mention the pain medications. Please keep him in your prayers for a speedy recovery with no complications.

Please keep my family in prayer as well. We are dealing with a variety of issues that I am not at liberty to share. Our family is going through many trials right now but oh how we can see the Lord's hand and His provision every day. We are not alone and our faith is growing as we see Him carrying us through. God Is Good All The Time!

As for things on the home front, my spring garden is a little behind. I had planned to have my seeds trays started by now....oh well, I may be late getting them transplanted but it will all work out fine in the end. We left onions, carrots and cauliflower in the ground from the winter garden. Brandon tilled the rest of the garden last week and we added wettable sulphur to the soil because our soil test showed a high ph. After applying this amendment we can plant in two weeks. By then I should be able to get out there and get busy planting. I miss gardening.

We were also able to process one of our hogs before Monroe's surgery. When we get back home and back to some sense of normalcy, we plan to make sausage with the pork and venison from this year's butchering and hunting. Actually, there wasn't much hunting going on around our place this year but God once again showed His faithfulness and the past two weekends we got a call from a friend of ours that he had been hunting and got a deer but didn't want the meat! I'm telling you that is the kind of thing the Lord has been doing in our family lately. I could tell you of many, many more instances such as this! I am writing down all the blessings we have been receiving for my children to remind them of what they are seeing happen in our lives. I want them to never forget the love and goodness of Jesus.

I expect Monroe will be in the hospital a couple more days. This hospital is 1 1/2 hours away from home so I am staying with him. Thankfully I have older boys to hold down the fort till we can get back home!!

Thanks to all for your prayers!

Nonna's Baby Girl Is Sick

Let me just begin by saying that girls are most assuredly different than boys!! Oh the drama and emotions this little darling displays!! Reese or Reesie Pie as I call her, has been feeling bad the past few days. Brooke gave her medicine and watched her for a few days to see if she would begin to feel better (I can tell she is the third child because Mom and Dad didn't head to the Doc right away!).

After about 3 days of Reese moaning as she walked around the house, Brooke said if she wasn't moaning she had her little bottom lip poked out(ok I can't handle the pouty lip, it melts Nonna's heart)-Mom decided to let the Doc take a look and see what was causing all the fuss.

Brooke was expecting some sort of terrible infection somewhere by the way Reese had been behaving. As it turns out, the Doctor couldn't find anything wrong except the very beginning of ear infection. Thankfully, Reese has not been very sick for the past year and I suppose she just couldn't figure out what was wrong with herself!

Oh. My. Goodness. What is she going to do when she loses her first tooth???

I must confess something. All the pictures above were taken by Brooke except the last one. I only wish I could take such nice pictures..... Brooke keep your opinions to yourself!

Cold Fall Weather.....Finally!!

Okay, maybe not THIS cold but our lows will be in the mid forties tonight. That is pretty chilly for us down here in central Florida!! I am so happy to see the cooler temperatures finally coming our way!!! I have been trying to get into the fall mood by decorating around my home with pumpkins, fall flower arrangements, burning my "Harvest" scented Yankee Candle, has anyone smelled that one?....love it!!....while running the air conditioner and sweating! It just isn't working!


Now I am feeling it! We have had a gorgeous day today and I can't wait for the cold weather to be here to stay. My guys already have a bonfire planned for tonight. I made our favorite hot cocoa mix today. We are using our fireplace tonight. We are ready. Can you tell? I am going to have to keep an eye out on my husband. You know where he will want to be-right out there with those boys around the fire!

I am going to enjoy this cooler weather while I can. Our temps are going to climb right back up into the 80's by Monday :-( I realize the warmer winters is what attracts the "snowbirds" to our state but being a Florida native, I long for more seasonal changes. Oh well, I am going to take the good along with the not so good and go pick myself a fresh Florida orange tonight. They will be so sweet after this cold snap. I think I will sit in front of my fireplace to eat it and I will reflect on the blessings and goodness of my Lord!

Happy Fall Ya'll!!

I'm Back....Again :-)

I apologize for not being more faithful to blog but I thought my days would get back to normal and slow down a bit. That has not been the case.
Unfortunately my hard working husband has been having terrible back pain. He has been seeing a doctor in Tampa and going through numerous tests. We knew that the doc would suggest surgery after all other attempts had been made. That is the point that Monroe was at. He had taken the epidural shots in his back, he had taken physical therapy....nothing seemed to help. So, last Friday he underwent back surgery to repair a disc and fuse two vertabrae together. The surgery went very well and the doctor was pleased with the results. Now it is recovery time.

The problem is my hubby has a hard time sitting still or in this case lying still. He gets cabin fever very easily. Let's just say that he is keeping me hopping around off and on all day! He will rest for a little bit but then I hear the walker dragging across the floor! He must use a walker when he is up walking. I am having trouble keeping my eyes on him!

I put a chair with cushions and pillows in it on the front porch for him to enjoy the outdoors. Was that good enough? Nooo sir. I looked out to find him in the BARN! He got himself stranded out there though. By the time he made it that far he was too tuckered out and couldn't make it back to the house. So, now we have a chair in the front yard halfway to the barn. He goes to the chair, rests a bit, then heads on to the barn. He is determined. Once at the barn, he has this padded chair on wheels to sit on. He likes to go out and sit in the barn while I work in the garden. He isn't able to stay out long though.

Speaking of the garden, the mustard greens are coming along nicely. I love thinning out the young greens and cooking them. They are so tender and tasty! Have you ever had fried greens? You know, everything we cook in the south is fried!! Actually a more accurate description would be wilted greens. To cook them you take the young and tender greens and pour hot bacon grease over them with a little salt. They only cook for a couple of minutes. That's it, they are done! Of course you must have a slice of southern cornbread to go along with the greens!

This is the row of kale. I haven't thinned this row yet nor have I had time to weed.

My late crop of purple eyed peas is in need of picking as well. See the dark pods? They will probably be too dry tasting, more like a dry bean, if I cook them. So I will not cook them with the yonger pods.

And my poor broccoli is about to get choked out with the grass and weeds. I plan to work on this row tomorrow. I may need to hire a husband-sitter while I work!!!

And this is what happened tonight. The rain started while Monroe was out in the barn and he had to call for help. Brent came to the rescue with a huge beach umbrella that belongs to Brooke (thanks Brooke for not taking it home yet!).

This was a slow walk back to the house because he has to take tiny steps due to the pain and he couldn't stop to rest halfway in his chair this time. He did stop for a small standing break, however. That outing did him in for today! But tomorrow.......

Preparing For Winter

My husband is just about the most handy, creative guy I know. Really. He never ceases to amaze me. When things are broken or in need of repair in and around our home it seems he can always fix it. There are very few times we ever have to call a repairman out. You know how much money that saves us?

So, I decided to brag on him a little today. Can you tell what this invention is? I looked out my front window one morning and saw my man outside with this "thing" behind his truck. Out the door we came to see what he had created. This, my dear friends, is a log splitter!

Last winter Monroe borrowed a store bought log splitter from a friend. We use a lot of wood during the winter. It is our main source of heat for our home. We have a large fireplace in our living room that keeps us nice and warm but it surely likes to devour wood. So, using that borrowed log splitter set my hubby's imagination spinning. He had been pondering about building one for a few days because we talked about it several times. Work has been very slow over at the shop so that gave him some extra time to put his thoughts into action.

He used all scrap pieces of metal, parts from a wrecked truck and a lawn mower motor that were of no use at the shop and TAAAH...DAAAH....a log splitter!!

The axe or blade thingy that splits the wood is just a flat piece of metal that he bent and welded together. Then he used a grinder to put the edge on the blade. Pretty nifty don't you think?

The trailer was an old road sign trailer that is used on the highway to hold the flashing signs.

I looked in the Tractor Supply flyer that came this week and they were advertising what else but log splitters! Guess how much they cost???? They cost from $1,000 to $1,800!! Talk about a savings!

It makes me happy to know that my boys can learn from their Dad. They are watching and learning. One day when they are in charge of their own household I hope they will look back and remember all the things their Dad made and repaired at our home. I have a feeling he will be getting some phone calls in the future for some advice which he will not mind at all :-)

They are already excited about the new log splitter because splitting logs is a chore they must take a turn doing during the winter months. Now they just have to stack, stack, stack!

A Summer Re-cap

Summertime always seems to fly by too quickly for me. Before I know it, it is time to hit the books again with my boys. This summer was no different. We worked, we played and we visited friends. We were not able to have a family vacation but we did manage to take a couple of weekend get aways and day trips.

So here is a quick look at some of the highlights of our busy summer.

We bought a pregnant Saanen dairy goat the first of this year and by late spring we had two does born! There is nothing quite like having baby goats. They are so much fun. They can be just as much a pet as a farm animal. Just look at these two! We named them Sugar and Spice. We chose the right name for Spice because she does have a "spicy" attitude ;-)

We learned how to milk a goat, how to prepare the milk and I was very busy finding ways to use all of the wonderful milk we were able to get! I began to hear complaints every time someone opened the refrigerator. "I can't find anything in here for all this milk!" was a common remark.

So I began making yogurt, shown below, and a yummy soft cheese, sour cream, buttermilk and ricotta cheese. Talk about busy!! It was very rewarding though.
I was fortunate to make a trip to the farmer's market with a dear friend. She suggested going along with me for my first "buying experience" and I am so glad she did! It can be very overwhelming. There are so many vendors and they will negotiate with you on their prices! What fun! I bought this box of tomatoes for only $5.00!!! Aren't they beautiful? I had planned to can them but we ended up eating them all fresh. They were so delicious.

I also bought corn from the farmer's market. This was my first attempt at freezing corn. Brooke went in on halves with me so she came over and together we put up creamed corn....whew.....sore fingers and a messy kitchen was our sacrifice. Speaking of messy kitchen, even now, months later, every once in a while a speck of something will catch my eye in the most unusual place in my kitchen and I will wonder, "What in the world is that? Oh, of course, CORN!" Next year this will be a back porch job!!

Our summer garden didn't produce as much as I would have liked but we were able to get a few good pickings of peas. We did get lots of okra. It seems every year we have a good crop of okra that continues producing through the entire summer.

Here is our pea sheller. What a time saver!

There was time for a little R & R. Brooke and I had girls' night out with a couple of friends and we went to see Mary Poppins at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. We really enjoyed ourselves and this was something that no one else in my family envied me for going to see. This was most definitely a "girl thing" to do, according to all my guys!!

How was your summer?

New Website

I am a proud momma and proud momma's just have to share with the whole world when they are proud of their child/children.....right???

Well my first-born, Brooke, now officially has a website for her photography business and I would like to invite you to go and take a peek if you haven't already done so. I was (am) very impressed but my opinion may be slightly biased! The photo below is just a sample of her work. Here is the link: http://brookescottphotography.com

If you ever find yourself in need of a photographer, please keep her in mind. The Lord is so good and she has been able to stay home with her babies while maintaining a photography business. She is a busy mommy!

Brooke and Brent, my second-born, have worked together on several weddings now. Brent loves photography as well and is currently in college majoring in Communication Arts. Imagine that, two photographers in my family and how long has it been since we have had family pictures taken? Many years ago is the answer to that question!! I guess trying to photograph your own family is probably harder than photographing someone else's family. No matter! I am ready for a family photo session!!

Date Night

Lately every evening just before dusk, when it cools off outside a little, my hubby and I have been slipping off to a blackberry patch in the pasture behind our house. It has been a nice and quiet time together as we pick and talk. Sometimes, okay most of the time, it is NOT nice and quiet around our home. I love the noise and busyness in our home but if Monroe and I want to have a private conversation it must be planned. I think that is what we found so enjoyable about the blackberry picking. Of course, the extra reward was all the delicious blackberries we got to take home! It wasn't long before our secret getaway was discovered, however. Each evening we would be gone about 30 minutes and then in the distance we could hear a motor getting closer and closer. We would just laugh. It was usually Bryce coming out on the four-wheeler to "help pick".

Notice the beekeeper's gloves. A dear friend told me to use them when blackberry picking and they work perfectly for keeping your arms and hands from being scratched. So, even if you don't keep bees but you go blackberry picking, get yourself a pair of these gloves!

On this particular evening we looked up to find the boys coming out to us on the swamp buggy. This is about how far they got when they bogged down in the mud. It had been raining every day which caused it to get really mucky out back.

Dad to the rescue! They can't fool me though. I know every one of those males love getting stuck and having to get pulled out. I hear them talk of it later. Oh, the excitement in their voices as they relate the story to some other male. It must be a guy-thing! In my opinion, as my boys would say,...."whatev....!" And this is what they got stuck in.

We were also being watched by a small gator. Can you see his head? It is the little dot right in the middle of the picture. We estimated him to be approximately 4 or 5 feet long.

Back to business! Monroe found a clever way to get the berries that were too high to reach. He let down the tailgate of the jeep and backed up into the bushes. This was a great idea and I got a lot of nice, big berries. However, the next evening we went back to the same spot and just before he backed the jeep up into the bushes he spotted a black snake...a big black snake!!...curled around some branches way up high....right where we had been picking!! I thought I was safe being up in the back of a vehicle but noooo! I always watched for snakes down on the ground but never up high until now!!

We have been enjoying blackberry buckle. It is so good with a cup of coffee!

And this blackberry cobbler didn't last long. I almost didn't get a picture of it in time.

I was able to put several bags of berries in the freezer as well. Last summer I made blackberry jam. We still had a few jars left so I decided to just freeze this year's picking. My boys don't like the seeds in the jam so next time I will make jelly with them.

I have had such a busy summer! I have so much more to blog but I always run out of hours in my day. I will try to be more diligent.

And Like A Good Neighbor...

Our little town has changed so much in the past ten years. Being born and raised in this area, I can tell you that it has gone from a small, quaint little community where everyone knew everyone (well almost) to a place where I can be uptown all day and never see a person I know! This can be somewhat depressing to me and some days I really dislike where we live and I allow myself to become discouraged.

Now let me clarify, I absolutely love where the Lord has allowed us to raise our children, out in the country (well, as much "out in the country" as one can get in our town) with lots of room to let four boys roam. This home has truly been a blessing and answer to prayer for us. If I could just pick up my house and move it somewhere that is so far out that, as my dear friend, Kay, would say, " you have to pump sunshine in" that would be the place for me!

Well, one particular morning a few days ago, I was out doing my morning chores and thinking about how things have changed so around here. I was trying to be content but at the same time I was daydreaming about going out to feed our farm animals and then working in my vegetable garden in perfect 72 degree weather while seeing our cows grazing contentedly on the rolling hills of our "property". After being outside a FEW minutes and wiping sweat from my forehead in the humid 95 degree weather, I noticed that I kept hearing someone yelling "Hey, Hey!". The calling would stop and then a few minutes later I would hear it again. I didn't think much of it and just dismissed it as the road crew that had been working out on the highway in front of our house several days earlier. I just assumed that they were back.

While I was in the goat pen, my dear husband suddenly appeared. He was talking on his phone and promptly let the person on the other end know that I was okay. He then explained to me that our neighbor that lives across the pasture that is behind our house (it is probably 4 or 5 acres across) heard someone yelling and called my hubby to make sure that we were okay. See the tin roof in the middle of this picture? That is his barn. He had pulled his truck all the way up to the edge of the pond that is in his backyard and had his binoculars out looking to make sure we were all safe. That is when I felt the Lord gently reminding me that He had provided this place for us and that He is still in control. I was feeling pretty humbled when suddenly I remembered our other precious neighbor, a.k.a. the gardening guru. He is an elderly gentleman and like a second grandfather to my boys. He lives next door to us and Monroe has seen him fall out in his garden and rescued him on more than one occasion. This is where he lives. Note the rows of corn..beautiful garden ;-)

"Quick, call Mr. Willie's house and make sure he has not fallen out in the garden!" I said. My hubby didn't wait to make a call but ran down the fenceline and through the little gate we put in for visiting. He went down the garden rows looking but thankfully, our dear neighbor was inside his house.

Next, Monroe called our neighbor across the highway. They have a farm with many animals and citrus groves. After talking to this neighbor our mystery voice was solved and no one was needing help. It turns out that this neighbor was yelling at his hunting dogs! I'm not sure what he was trying to get them to do, or not do, but he had stirred up all of his neighbors in the process!

Now this may seem like an unimportant story to you but for me it was huge! I felt like the Lord knew I needed to be reminded of His perfect will and peace. It is not unusual for us to hear police sirens going by in front of our house day and night several times a week, sometimes several times a day. This is not the same neighborhood!

However, I am keeping my trust in Him. I love Psalm 91! It is about God's protection over His own. Yep, been reading that over and over lately!!

I just had to share one more picture. Each morning when I go out to feed the goats all of our cows are standing outside the goat pen with a pitiful look on their faces. They stand around patiently waiting. Then when they hear the grain hitting the bottom of the goat's feed bucket they can take it no longer! This is what I see almost every morning. A big snout sticking through the fence and this long tongue just barely able to reach a few pieces of grain, but oh how delicious it must be. So, I must assume that not only is the grass greener on the other side of the fence but the feed must be better too! What a hoot!! Have a blessed day!!

Spring Garden

I love a spring garden!! The bugs are not bad yet so the maintenance is easier and we always enjoy the baby lettuces from our first harvest. This picture is a couple of weeks old but it was from my picking one morning. I have red romaine, oakleaf, green romaine and buttercrunch lettuces planted and they are all so delicious!!
I only wish our cucumbers were ready to go along with this tasty salad. The summer squash is coming in faster than we can eat it! This is just one day's picking and we gather it every day most days. If we wait 2 days the squash gets too big and hard. We have done nothing but water and weed the garden. No chemicals and no fertilizer has been used! While shopping at Publix just the other day I noticed their organic summer squash. It comes shrink wrapped in PLASTIC and guess how much just ONE squash cost???? $2.99!!!! With a family the size of mine that is unthinkable!

We have had so much squash we have been giving it away to friends and family along with the lettuces. I have also been blanching and freezing the squash. Here are some bags ready to vacuum seal. Have any of you ever used the Foodsaver type bags and have you ever had problems with the liquid being vacuumed up to the top of the bag so it breaks the seal? I have and I had just about given up on using my Foodsaver until I read on one of my favorite websites (www.pickyourown.org) that if you freeze the vegetables/fruits with the bag open as shown below and then used the vacuum seal you shouldn't have any problems. What a great idea! I wish there were some alternative to freezing with plastic but I know of none.

If you enjoy fresh produce, you should visit the website I mentioned. I have found it to be so very helpful for many different things. You simply type in the area you live in and it gives u-pick farms, detailed canning and freezing instructions with pictures, and where to purchase all equipment needed for your task at hand. I love it!

While I am patiently waiting for some delicious southern peas to be ready to pick along with okra, corn, watermelon, cantaloupe and greenbeans, I have high hopes for at least one tomato. Last year I had over 80 plants and not one tomato!! I have had many others tell me the same thing happened with their tomatoes last summer. Strange. Oh well, I guess that's what keeps gardening interesting!

A Special Mother's Day Wish

Our family has so much to be thankful for this Mother's Day. We have been blessed beyond measure with answered prayer!! My niece, Rhonda, was able to take her beautiful baby boy home from the hospital this week. I can't think of a better Mother's Day gift, can you? This little fellow entered the world 10 weeks early at a little over 2 lbs. He has had a tough battle but with a will to live, the prayers of many, and a mother's loving touch he has reached 4 lbs and 6 oz. Way to go Cameron!!

Here is a picture of Mommy and Cameron just prior to leaving the hospital. He has grown so much! I can't wait to hold that little guy and give him lots of kisses!!

An especially heart-felt Mother's Day wish goes out to you, "RhondaBerry"!! I love you dearly and I will continue to pray for Cameron to grow stronger each day!

Pregnant Again!

Ahh Haa!! I knew that would get your attention!!! No, I am not talking about Brooke and I am definitely not talking about myself, for that matter!! So....who is pregnant again, you may ask? Let me explain.

For about the past six months or more Monroe and I have been in a disagreement about Missy, our cow. When she was "in heat" several months ago the neighboring bull kept calling her name. You know what I mean. He was bellowing sweet nothings in her ear. Actually, it was in ALL of our ears ;-) He was telling her how beautiful she looked and how she was the only one for him, etc. Monroe decided to put Missy over on the neighbor's pasture so the two lovebirds could .... well.... you know! As it turned out, Missy's little visit was only about 10 minutes because the whole time MerriBell, her grown-up calf, was crying for her Mama to come back. So rather than having to repair fences, we put Missy back on our side with her overgrown, spoiled rotten baby. After that day, the bull never called on Missy again and I was sure they didn't have time to get anything accomplished. As the months passed Monroe and I watched Missy to see if she was "showing". Nope.

I couldn't tell at all. She is a very, shall we say, full-figured female so I didn't see any bulge. Monroe, on the other hand, saw all the action that blissfully romantic day and was certain she was pregnant. I mean, come on, 10 minutes, folks!! That is all the time they had together. Apparently our Missy is like me and dare I say, Brooke. All our husbands have to do is walk in the room and we are pregnant! (Thank you Lord for the blessings of our children.)

Anyway, back to my story. My dear hubby called me on the phone yesterday afternoon and all he said was, "We have a calf." I was very surprised, to say the least. In fact, my two younger ones kept repeating my high-pitched reaction to the news all afternoon yesterday, "WHAT...WHAT????" Wise Guys!

So, being the humble wife that I am (chuckle here!) I ran out the front door and yelled to my dear husband,

"You Win!!" To which he very graciously just grinned back at me and said nothing. Smart Man ;-)

Here are a few pictures of our newest addition. The little white bull is our brahma, Little Bit. He just wouldn't get out of the picture! You would think HE is the proud father! The lighter brown cow with horns is MerriBell. This new calf attracted a lot of attention from everyone. I have learned cows are very curious creatures! Notice the big guy on the other side of the fence. He is the proud Pappa. It was almost as if he knew it. He hung around for a long time yesterday.

Poor MerriBell. She has been forced off of Mama's lap, so to speak. I am waiting to see if Missy will continue to let MerriBell nurse as well as the new calf. We may have some sibling rivalry!

I have so much more to share but I have been too busy to post. Also, my card reader has been broken so I couldn't put up any pictures. Bear with me. I see the light at the end of the tunnel!