Ellie

   This is Ellie. She was one of the two cows that I milked for a year while interning. She and I had a very healthy love/hate relationship going. In other words, we liked each other at a distance. When it came to actually milking her, she had no problems with kicking me repeatedly in the shin, and spilling the milk. Nobody knew how old Ellie was; not even the vet could figure it out. Alas, dear old Ellie apparently wasn't immortal... She gave birth to twin heifers a couple months ago, and then died three days after that. I always try to put fresh flowers on her grave when I visit the farm... Because I'm ridiculous and sentimental in that way.

 Ellie, I don't miss you kicking me. But I do kind of miss your presence in the barn. And the way you were terrified of kittens. That was funny.

Once Upon A Time: A Redneck Fairytale

   Once upon a time, in a faraway land filled with lush greens, high mountains, and seemingly ever-present liquid sunshine, there lived a girl...

   Looking at her from the outside, there was not too much to see. Twenty-One years in age, she was fairly plain, was very quiet and unassuming, and kept to herself as much as she could; she was almost gangly in proportions, had thick brown hair that never cooperated, and had blue-gray eyes that many people found to be unnerving in their appearance. In this faraway land, the girl lived on a very small farm that she kept going by sheer stubbornness, determination, and because she didn't know what else to do in the large, large world except milk cows and tend chickens. Forever by her side was a young dog that looked more like a fox; rusty red in color, with white fur streaking brilliantly on his face and chest. This duo of girl and canine were inseparable by day and night; working together to keep the animals where they were supposed to be, and together they rambled through the dark and ancient forest that was adjacent to her home. The girl's life was very methodical, and very predictable. Every day she milked her cow and goats, fed her chickens, moved her sheep to new pasture, and took care of whatever other animal was around at the time. The only part of her day that kept her guessing was her journey into the old, old forest. One never knew what might happen in the depths of that silent world, where the moss on stumps grew thick as cushions, or swagged from tree to tree like a Christmas garland; and where the only tracks in the red clay were that of deer, bear, coyote, and bobcat. Hers were the only human steps in this forgotten place... She and her faithful dog came here every day, and as their feet wandered, so did her thoughts... "Was this to be her life forever? Milking cows and trying not to get pecked by mean cornish cross chickens?" She didn't mind so much if it was; she could make it work. But each day, as she mazed through trees that looked like Ents, she had a small, niggling, quiet thought: "What if there's more to life than this? What if... There's one more adventure in store for me?" For as quiet, plain, and unassuming as she was on the outside, her life was a churning turmoil on the inside. She wasn't happy. She felt like she didn't belong anywhere. She could barely even understand herself and what made her tick. She didn't know who she was, or what she liked, or where she fit in. In the end, all she had was her dog to help take her mind off the swirling confusion in her head. And so, she walked the deer trails in that old, old forest each day; forever followed by that thought... "What if there's more to life than this?"

   The thought haunted her. The "what ifs" were like a plague in her mind; stealing her sleep, and distracting her while awake. She had to know. She needed to go to a completely unfamiliar place, and see if her true self came out in the seemingly unstable situation of being surrounded by strangers. It was a big and surprising decision for such a quiet girl who normally hated to go anywhere, and many people scoffed at her. But she couldn't escape the haunting thought, that she was supposed to leave this land of green mountains. She told very few, if any, people why she was really going away. To most she simply said that she was going to "learn more about farming". Which was true in the end, because she figured after this adventure she would settle down somewhere and begin farming again.

  So the girl packed two suitcases, loaded her dog in a kennel, and took that frightening, but very modern, mode of transportation known as an "airplane", and flew over 1,900 miles away from the land of green mountains which she had known for the last 17 years. She landed in a much different place... One of rolling hills, fields of corn, and roads full of lifted pickup trucks. To say that the girl experienced some culture shock would be an understatement. But strangely... She quickly became happy here; and settled into a new routine, with new people.

   Three days after she arrived, something happened that changed the rest of her life. The family she was staying with decided to have a game night, and the wife invited her two neighboring siblings to come over as well. First through the door was the wife's sister; who turned out to be the same age as the girl, and had many of the same interests. Stomping in through the door behind the sister, came her younger brother. A tall, brown haired, blue eyed, smiling 17-year old. The girl was shy and quiet, so she simply smiled briefly at the lad's cheerful greeting, and then retreated into a reserved shell of disposition. Her thoughts that night were of trying to figure a confusing card game out. His thoughts though... Oh his thoughts were different. He was intrigued by this quiet girl, who seemed full of secrets, and could quip movie lines at a moment's notice without batting an eyelash, and could talk about rifles and trucks as easily as she spoke of cows and goats.

  The girl however, was quaintly oblivious to the young lad's immediate interest. Even when he began coming to the house every evening, or took her sledding in the winter snow, or tried to learn more about her personal history, she was oblivious. She saw him as a fun person, and was content to keep him at arm's length. She'd been hurt in the past by others, and felt that she was too confusing and complicated of a case to ever let herself be close to someone again. So while she enjoyed the sledding, the games, the movies, and the talks, she kept her secrets close. She would not allow anyone to hurt her again.

  But he was as patient as he was stubborn, and took his time. Never forcing the girl to share anything, never putting her into a situation that made her feel uncomfortable... He waited. And over a course of weeks, the girl slowly began opening up to this young man. She didn't know why; and she kept waiting for him to suddenly up and leave, scared off by something she said. But he never did leave. Instead he just proved a loyalty that she couldn't understand. Where she was wary and untrusting, he was patient and trustworthy. Where she was insecure and doubting, he was solid, and encouraging. She was prone to panic attacks and nightmares, but he gently helped her through the problems without a trace of disgust that she had such problems. He helped her to find herself, and disentangle all those confusing thoughts. 

Life continued to tiptoe by, with each day falling away with the grace and subtlety of a snowflake. And then one day, the realization dropped on the girl like a bombshell: She liked this person. A LOT. And that realization utterly terrified her. Had she gone too far? Had she let her emotions come out too much? She couldn't handle being hurt again, so she retreated into herself again and tried to shut the young man out of her thoughts, her life. She was unlovable. She knew this. She was a train wreck that couldn't be fixed; she couldn't bring herself to let her new friend wade into the mess and possibly get hurt too. So she went back to who she was: A fearful, insecure, questioning, wandering nobody.

  But the young man refused to let her go and even when she pulled away with her emotions and trust, he just hung on all the harder; still finding her every day and hanging out. It wasn't until late one night, at the end of a party, that her emotional wall of aloofness broke with all the force of a hurricane hitting it. She had tried playing a prank on the young man earlier, and it turned out wrong... The girl felt so horrible and guilty that she discarded all propriety and hugged that  unprepared lad as hard as she could; sniffling back tears and apologizing all the while. And it was all over from there... She let him in; into her thoughts, fears, hopes, and crazy ramblings that no one had ever heard before. She gave him her trust, and just hoped that she wouldn't ever regret that decision.

  Four days after the young man turned eighteen, he asked that farm girl for permission to court her. Stunned, but happy, she wholeheartedly told him, "YES!" 

  They went on their first date the day after that. She drove, since he didn't have his driver's license just yet, and they went to the local theater to watch the first showing of "Frozen". It was in that dark room, watching a Disney movie together, with his arm around her shoulder that they both silently realized the end of their own story: This relationship was going to be forever. Come hell or high water, they wanted to get married some day, and knew they would.

  Months passed, and seasons changed. And as could be predicted, hell and high water did come for this young couple. Hard things happened, arguments came up, stress reared its ugly head more than once. But they made it through each problem, and the relationship became stronger each time. There were more good days than bad though, and this young couple could often be found doing strange activities for fun; such as canoeing in giant puddles, frog hunting, joy riding in their pickup trucks late at night, and watching what could probably be called an "unhealthy" amount of 'Doctor Who' episodes.

   They were both dirt poor, this farm girl and country boy. But they loved each other. Late one night, the boy asked the girl to go on a ride with him down their favorite back road. The girl was confused, since it was indeed very late at night, but agreed anyway after some convincing that she would enjoy this. So they got in his pickup, which she had always adored from the start since it was a big, noisy, diesel Cummins; and away they went... There wasn't another soul out at this hour; only them, and their rumbling truck. After ten or fifteen minutes, the boy pulled over on to what looked like a forgotten dirt road; right next to a bridge, and surrounded by corn fields. He helped her out, and in the dim headlights he knelt down, and asked a question the girl never thought anyone would ask her: "Would she marry him?" The girl didn't even hesitate in her answer as she gave him a resounding "Yes!".  He gave her a beautiful, silver ring, and after awhile they eventually began their way home again...

   They decided on a short engagement, the two of them did... Only six weeks and then they'd be Mr. and Mrs. At the time of writing this story, the farm girl and country boy only have nine days left before their wedding day. And while I am no prophet, I am going to make an educated guess as to how their story ends. It goes like this...

And they lived happily ever after...

Feeling Old

  I accidentally locked myself out of my own blog. Yep, I am that talented. I did this storm of password changing (like almost everyone else in America seemed to be doing??) and of course did it late at night when I wasn't thinking properly... Come morning, I realized that I had no idea what my new blogger password was. Oy vey. Google wasn't a whole lot of help, but after trying, trying again, and RE-trying, I finally managed to get a NEW password, and was then able to let myself back in. So here I am. In one piece. And almost a month later.

  I'm not even sure what to write, right about now! Life's been a crazy whirlwind of farmer's market, getting the gardens in, milking cows, enduring thunder storms, having my favorite (no favorite's allowed) sister out for a visit, and getting ready to visit my grandparents down in MS again this week. :) Oh yeah, and feeling sick. Blah. I've never been one for migraines, but I've had two in the last few days, and the headaches refuse to leave me alone. Not. Fun. And my naturopath is apparently giving me some sort of herb to take, as a gentle sedative, since my stress levels are too high. Hehehe. That makes me feel old. Not yet 22 years old, and I'm already taking something for stress levels. Oh well; I admit that I do need some sort of help at times, because I. GET. STRESSED. OUT. It's an introvert problem. A lot of times it's not even anything huge that sets me off; I may just be listening to the dinner-time conversation, which usually strays to news of war, natural disasters, deaths, and other such gloomy things... Next thing I know, I'm in "freeze mode"; tense, trembling, quiet, and unable to shake myself out of the funk until the next day. WHY can't we talk about happy things at the table??? Like the fireflies that just came out? Or the healthy baby that someone at church just had, or balloons? Balloons count. Oh well. I'm getting old-lady sedative stuff to help the problem. ;) 

  Soooo... Yeah. I don't know what to write. Just doing that tiny little bit has me tired. I've been uber tired for the past few days (goes with the migraines/headaches), and I've basically been napping in all my spare time. Sorry you don't get more of an update than this, but I have no more words for y'all right now. My body wants another nap... And food. Food sounds good.

I'm A Scary Hermit

  I really shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time. Because I start doing really weird, awesome hermit stuff. Well, I call it "awesome" anyway...

  Today's been a pretty fun day, but I think there's a possibility that I'm either loopy, or suffering from too much caffeine from this morning's coffee. I got a FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP last night and oh glory was it warm. I very muchly did not want to get up, but Lavender (the mama cat who keeps her kittens in the loft) wouldn't let me sleep in. Ah nuts. Oh well. Between the full night's sleep, and a large mug of strong coffee, and getting the ENTIRE morning off of work, well -- I'm feeling quite chipper. Hehehe. I got the morning off because my host family left early for a camping trip; so the wife did the barn chores before I got down for breakfast, and I've got the next few days pretty darn easy.

 So yep, I've been left to my own devices to stay occupied. This could be dangerous. What does a Caity do all by herself on a beautiful spring day? Everything she can think of. From putting vases of daffodils everywhere in the loft (I think I've got 8 or 9 up there right now? And I ain't done!), to cleaning out and filling up her fish tanks that were just given to her so that she can keep all the frogs, toads, snakes, salamanders, lizards, turtles, and fish she wants, to filling out paperwork to foster a parrot from a local avian rescue (c'mon... there's no one else in that loft! Why not keep a rowdy bird for a few weeks!?), to twirling around an empty house in time to rap music. 

 Like I said. I'm either loopy today, or the coffee was a wee bit too strong. Or both. 

  Back on the subject of the fish tanks... I mentioned to my host family that I was wanting some fish tanks to keep critters in and was told that the husband's parents were trying to get rid of a gazillion aquariums (there could be a very slight exaggeration on the number of tanks), and I could have as many as I want!!! I am so STOKED. I got three this morning; just a 5-gallon, 10-gallon, and 20-gallon. They've got a 50-gallon tank that I want next though. Why? Oh just for my bearded dragons. *innocent look* 

 What? Don't give me that look! No one here cares if I get them, and I've been wanting a dragon since I was fourteen years old. And now that I've just been bequeathed a bunch of aquariums, why not get the long-coveted reptile? These lizards are fantastic pets; friendly, active, gentle, and even trainable. I want a male so I can name him 'Toothless'. ;) Hey, it could be worse. Be glad I'm not eyeing a Savannah Monitor, which Petco also sells for a very decent price. Those carnivorous beasts top out at 5 feet in length. I love reptiles, but even that's a bit much for me... I'll stick with a 2' long beastie that looks like it's smiling. 

  I'll admit that the parrot thing is kinda' out-of-the-blue. The idea came to me this morning. A loud, rowdy parrot is another thing I've always wanted but could never have. And while it won't work for me to keep one for very long, there's a local rescue that will let me "foster" (that term sounds so weird and yuppy... I kind of cringe saying it) a bird over the summer and then give it back. Basically, they provide the cage, food, and everything, and it's my job to make the bird friendly and adoptable. No cost for me, and I get a neat loft companion. I think this idea came about because I was trying to come up with a good challenge for myself... I have to have some sort of really good mental challenge to keep me from getting bored. I was originally hoping to get back into horses and do some training and rodeos over the summer, but I have been implored by those around me to not do it because of the danger levels. I have to agree with them there... If I get back into horses, then it will only be a matter of time before I start riding bareback and/or bridleless. Actually, my goal was to do a barrel race in the county fair rodeo this summer, but do it bridless; just use a slim string around my mount's neck. Reckless? Foolish? Uh yeah. Duh. It takes training and trust to do that feat. It's totally doable though. But again, my dare-devil habits with equines makes others nervous, so for their sake I've decided to look at a different challenge. Thus the birds. No, the challenge is nowhere near the same. But it's something at least.

    The whole "twirling to rap music" thing isn't that abnormal for me. If there's no one around, then I have no qualms with jiving to whatever I'm listening to. Don't deny that you do it too. Although, you might not do it to rap. And that's fine. To each their own. I was listening to a bouncy song by Lecrae called 'I Used To Do It Too', and the beat/tune really is quite catchy. In fact, if you're into that style of music, then here's the song itself:

  I used to not like rap simply because you never could tell what on earth the singers were saying. But then I was introduced to Christian rap (namely Lecrae) and I've been enjoying this stuff. I find that with normal contemporary Christian music I tend to just listen to the instruments and melody and not so much the lyrics. With the rap though, the lyrics are what is being showcased. It's not about the beat (although the bass is awesome, and yes I turn it up), it's not about the melody ('cause there usually ain't a really strong one), it's the WORDS that you hear. In a modern form of poetry, the words rhyme, catch your ear, and you're not swamped by all those extra things like too many instruments. I realize that most folks don't like rap, and I'm not trying to convince you otherwise; I'm just explaining why this conservatively-raised country girl is now listening to, and enjoying, such a genre. I like the simplicity of it, and the fact that I can hear the lyrics so strongly. I have gotten more out of one song by Lecrae then by all the songs in a hymnal. I can't even count how many times I've been upset and have listened to 'Far Away', or 'Background', or some other song, and felt better afterwards. The message in those songs is amazing. Today's song 'I Used To Do It Too' is a good one too. It's like getting a mini sermon in lyric form. And I have a gut feeling that Jesus has no qualms with rap music. My conviction concerning music is that if your heart's in the right place, and you're singing to glorify Him, then the style don't matter. Acappella or heavy metal; classical or rap. I think we humans are the ones who do the judging, when in all honesty -- that ain't our job!

 And just because I can, here's Lecrae's song 'Far Away'. Love this one! ^_^  God's not far away! He's always right here for us! I love that this song starts out despairing (usually the way I am when I listen to it), and then it finishes strong. Yussss...

  Now... What shall I do next? Hmm... Methinks I might go finish the lunch dishes real quick, and then maybe go swing outside for awhile. We'll see what happens.

Don't Try This At Home

  Today's adventure: Trying to duck under a strand of electric fence while standing barefoot in knee-deep creek water.

  You see where this is going?

  Yeah.

  Now, I've ducked under that wire before. Did just fine. Didn't think it'd be a problem this time; there's no way to get around that wire, so I'm in the habit of just goin' under it. Today however... I didn't duck *quite* low enough, and my spine brushed that thin little wire.

  That fence has a really powerful charge on it. Really, really powerful. And when you're barefoot, in water, that power gets magnified many times over. I got shocked by a different fence yesterday, and the power was enough to make me jump and shout a quick, "OW!" Today was a different story though. All I remember is screaming, and just going down. It was like being momentarily paralyzed; I couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't do anything! Just boom. Down. Apparently I was grabbed and hauled out, but I honestly don't remember that. My memory starts kicking in again once I was out of the water and on my feet. Oh everything hurt, I was wet, and I wanted to cry. 

  I still hurt, but not quite so much. My back and chest are sore, and methinks it'll be that way for a few days. In the meantime though, I think I'll start hunting for a new route around that fence... I have no desire to ever repeat that experience.

  Folks, don't try this at home.

FYI

  Canoeing in a giant puddle during a deluge is more fun than it should be.

  It really is.

  And it makes for an awesome redneck date. ;) 

  Just thought you'd like to know.

  If you ever have a flash flood in your area, and find a ginormous puddle on your property, by all means grab a canoe and another person. And a camera. I'd love to see photo evidence. *cough cough* :) 

Girl vs. Snapping Turtle

   Everyone has their moments. And by moments, I mean when you seem to lose all logic and sense. You know, the most basic logic that every human being possesses? I had that moment today.

  Call me an idiot, folks, but this crazy country girl tried picking up a snapping turtle today.

  Yeah.

  It was dumb of me.

  I was originally in the midst of bringing the cows back up to the barn, when right at the pond's edge I saw it: 12 inches in diameter, and looking like some prehistoric monster that should have died during the Great Flood, that turtle glared at me from the other side of the electric fence. 

  I'm a fool when it comes to reptiles and amphibians. In Oregon, I never had to worry about any dangerous or poisonous creatures, so I got in the habit of picking up everything that came my way. That same habit is a bit of a death wish here in Missouri.

  I was originally going to just leave it alone. Honest. Cross my heart. He looked mean, and he was a downright whopper! But the reckless part of me couldn't resist. I hopped the fence, tiptoed over to the ugly beast and cautiously put my hands on each side of his big shell; trying to keep them as far from his head as possible. I got him about two inches off the ground before he erupted in all his snapping fury. HOLY SMOKES!! You wouldn't believe what a long neck those things have! That ornery critter whipped his head around and did his very best to take a finger or three off of me.

   "FALL BACK! RETREAT! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!!"

  I totally panicked. Like, I dropped that turtle, screamed, scurried over that fence, and didn't stop running until I got back up the hill and reached the cows (I didn't want to find out how fast snapping turtles moved on the ground). I laugh now, thinking about how ridiculous I must have looked (and sounded... Screaming like a little girl, I was!), but at the time I was freaking out enough that a passerby might have thought I had found a skeleton.

  I got home safe and unscathed. I still have all eight fingers (oh wait -- I mean ten. Don't worry, Mom), and the snapping turtle didn't follow me up the path in an angry rampage. But one thing's for sure: I am never, ever, EVER dipping one toe in that pond. That demon might want revenge.

  I got bested by a turtle. This is kind of humiliating...

Better

   Last night was a much better night than the last two. With the help of my host family, we got both wood stoves roaring by 8pm, and by midnight the entire loft was around 85F. It was so gloriously warm... Along with finally having a plethora of heat, I also had Christmas lights strung up along the ceiling (Thanks Tasha! Great idea!), which made the place delightfully cheery, and lastly I borrowed a radio for the night and kept it playing softly all night. Oh yeah, and there were kittens... Hehe. One of the barn cats likes to hang out in the loft, and she's been due to pop any day. I guess she decided last night was a good time to do it; and in my absence she made a nice little nest right on my bed. *un-amused look* Seriously, pussy cat? I liked that blanket. Oh well, we got her moved into a little box right next to my bed; and now I have 6 fluffy little kittens to keep me company in here. They are so stinkin' cute. ^_^

  I slept all night long, without one single sniffle or tear. It was so nice. I think the radio was a key component here, but gosh those Christmas lights helped too... Dim enough to keep on all night, but still bright enough to act as an "adult nightlight". ;) 

  Hopefully this can become a habit... Eighty-five degrees by bed time, music, and twinkle lights. 

  I think I might be high maintenance... Just a suspicion. 

Alone

  I am a ridiculous person.

  Just know this now.

  Actually, you may have already known that fact, but I'm stating it anyway. My reason for this statement? I'm on my second night of crying as I climb into bed, and I foresee myself continuing this habit for probably another week. Folks, I'm four months shy of turning 22, and here I am crying myself to sleep when dusk falls. I'm too old for this. Yet I'm doing it anyway. Why? Because I'm lonely. 

  I moved into the loft two days ago. It's just little ol' me up here. Me, plus the spiders and mice that share this place, anyway... It's dark, unfamiliar, chilly because I can't get the wood stove heated up due to the ash tray having technical difficulties, and frankly... I hate being alone. I just really, really, really hate being alone at night. 

  I'm sure I'll get used to this in time... Things will become familiar, I'll get the wood stove fixed tomorrow, the cat will fix the mouse problem... My hope is that in a week I'll be able to act like a normal adult who doesn't mind being alone at night. But right now? Well, right now I'm propped up in bed with tears streaking my cheeks. I've brought Gyp to bed with me tonight to fight against some of the loneliness, and I will somewhat sheepishly even admit that I'm wearing a sweater, that I pilfered from my boyfriend, to act as a security blanket. 

  I hate nighttime these days... After dinner, I begin to feel a knot forming in the pit of my stomach; it grows and intensifies as the hours fall away. Pretty soon it's time: Time for me to walk up to the loft and spend the next 8 - 9 hours in darkness, silence, and isolation. 

  I really hope I get used to this soon... In the meantime, all I've got is a dog and a red sweater to help me through.

  Any advice on how to get over this little problem? I would really love to hear some wisdom right now.

Migrating

  The geese are all flying back to their respective warm-weather homes, the frogs are peeping, the thunderstorms are happening, the snow is thawing, the green grass is poking up... Spring is tip toeing her way here in all cautiousness and subdued manner. But hey, I'm not complaining! We've been having some lovely weather in between the dying cold snaps. So I'm happy.

  And with all this changing that's going around, and migrating of beasts, The Caity (notice the capitalization. Yes, I have given myself a title. It's a matter of time before I get my crown...) herself is migrating also. No, I'm not going far. Promise. Just 6.5 minutes walk away from the main house and FINALLY going back to the Loft! Whoohoo! We've been waiting on two things for this little migration of mine: Warm weather and WiFi. Ahem. Yeah, okay, that first one is understandable. Getting a frozen nose again isn't exactly my idea of a fun night. And it's hard to milk cows if you're a icicle and look like you got blasted by Gru's Freeze-Ray (it's possible that I'm being slightly dramatic in this sentence... Not positive, but possible.). So I tucked tail and fled to the warm main house where everything is nicely insulated against winter's grumpiness. The WiFi though was the second big reason. There weren't no internet connection up thar! Shucks, a girl can only live without so much... And the Loft already has no shower, washing machine, or thermostat (I promise I'm still taking showers and doing laundry. I just have to walk down to the main house to do those). Actually, the Loft has had WiFi in the past, but they took it down last winter since no one was living up there. And now that I've hopelessy rabbit-trailed, let me get back to my original point! There is net connection up there as of yesterday!! It works bee-yew-ti-fully. ^_^ 

  I have no idea when I'll attempt The Great Migration and move on up there... Maybe this week, or maybe next. It'll be interesting to see if I manage to stay up there this time. Hehe. 

  And in the mean time, I'm also slooooowly getting ready to get my microgreen business up and running here. I'm having one of those moments where I'm mentally swinging between, "What if this doesn't work!?!?" and "Of course it'll work!" I'm excited to get back into growing those little greens, but there's still that little fear of failure hovering in the back of my mind. Sigh. But, here we go anyway. I'm a little tardy in getting this going though; I ordered my pea and radish seeds like -- 15 minutes ago. *cough, cough* Oh well. If this weather holds, then I should hopefully have the first crop ready just in time for the first day of Farmer's Market. Fingers crossed. And I still have to build a greenhouse of sorts... Phooey. Oh wait, let me rephrase that: I still need to dole out cash to have a greenhouse built, and have the guys here build one since they like that kind of stuff. It's the cash doling-out that doesn't have me smiling. Greenhouses are great. Spending money is not. I think I'm starting to rabbit trail again. *suspicious look*

 Want a sad note of news? Nobody does. But I'll say it anyway since I might as well keep you in the loop. Things are still going really rough with Gyp. *sad, sad, sad face* Folks, I love that dog. But I can't bring myself to watch him be ruined like this. I see him for maybe 20 minutes every day? He doesn't deserve this. He needs a human. Gosh dang, life has changed so much since I first bought him... I'm still praying about what to do in this situation, but in the meantime, one person has asked if I would consider her as a possible new owner, and I said 'yes'. 

  Okay, now I need to cheer myself up. Hmm... Think, think, think. 

 Frog hunting. I'm going frog hunting tomorrow night. ;) That's cheery news. I'm just out to catch and release some peepers and tree frogs. It's been forever since I've gone frog hunting, and I'm just in a weird mood to do it again. 

 Alright, one last bit of uber randomness to amuse you? I found the neatest Tardis backpack. Clicking those highlighted words will show you this fabulous treasure that I have so delightedly found. ^_^ I am really, super, horribly, terribly, tempted to buy this once I have a spare $26 lying around. That's a lie actually. I'm not "tempted to buy it". I'm buying it. One does not simply not buy a Tardis backpack (if you said that in Boromir's voice, then you are on my level of awesomeness). Write it down folks: The Caity is getting a Tardis backpack. The nerds called, and I answered. What can I say? 

  'Kay. I'm gone now. Toodle pip and cheerio y'all! (That was weird... I totally just mixed British with Redneck. Wow.)

Poor Girl's Mudding

"You even have mud in your hair..."

  Such was the incredulous statement by one of the family members here as she stared at me; her gaze roving from head to toe. I grinned and winked at her before walking to my bedroom to change. I was splattered with mud from top to bottom. Both front side and back side. Mud in my hair, on my face, on my hat, on my Carhartt coat, on my jeans, on my hands... And I was blissfully happy. Mud is something I love. 

  No, I wasn't out rolling in the mud. Or making mud pies. 

  Gyp and I went mudding. Well, "poor girl's mudding" anyway... True mudding is something you do in a truck, or on a ATV. Speeding your way through big mud puddles and enjoying the crazy messiness of it all. Mudding is a BLAST!! Although, I think you have to be a certain level of redneck/country to enjoy it. Or at least not mind the fact that you have mud in your teeth. To continue though! Gyp and I went and did the cheater version of mudding!!

  The temps outside were hovering around 40F, and there was nary a cloud in the sky. Gorgeous weather by anyone's standards! I wanted to be outside and glory in the sunshine, and I knew that Gyp needed to burn some serious energy; but I didn't want to run since the back roads here were muddy, slushy, wet, and not runner friendly. So I grabbed a bicycle and a dog leash. Gyp needs some ground training for this urban mushing, right? Might as well see what happens when he's got a wheeled invention behind him!

  This idea was rather foolish, and I jolly well knew it. My plan was to simply leash him up and hold the leash in my left hand, while biking along with him. Who knows what would happen! But by Jove, I was going biking! And my dog was coming! Never argue with a Caity when her mind is made up! 

  All in all it went pretty well. Gyp had never seen a bike before, but didn't really care since he was suddenly able to run full tilt down the road. We started out slowly, so I could watch his reaction to the bike; once I felt comfortable that he wasn't going to freak out, I psyched him up with a loud "Step up and HIKE!" and he took off like a rocket. I was on gear 6, going downhill, and he was still beating me. He was even pulling me ever so slightly. Together we floored it, like the crazy duo that we are. Over pitted gravel roads, going through every mud puddle there was, alternating between shouting, "Hike!" to encourage Gyp and hollering "Heck YEAH!" when we hit a particularly large mud puddle. We did still have three near mishaps though. One when Gyp stopped suddenly because he caught whiff of a critter; meanwhile I kept going on the bike. We both had a very abrupt jerk on our ends, and I almost flipped off the bike. The second was when Gyp swerved over to the right side, when he was too close to the front wheel. I just about popped a wheelie on that one and almost flipped backwards from trying too hard to swerve out of the way. The last was when he suddenly sped up and I was caught unprepared. But, I stayed on that bike nevertheless! And Gyp learned from each episode!

  I finally made Gyp stop running after almost 3/4's of a mile. He wasn't even breathing heavily, but I didn't want to over do it. We still had to run all the way back home, for goodness sake! By this time we were off the gravel back roads and onto civilized asphalt. I was ready to go back to the back roads though. The mud puddles awaited! On a whim, I've decided to train Gyp to nautical terms instead of the traditional mushing terms. So instead of hollering "haw!" to tell Gyp to turn left as we headed back for home, I shouted "Port!". Hehehe. C'mon, how could I resist? You only live once, so you might as well be amusing, right? My level of awesomeness entails riding on a dog-driven scooter down a landlocked Missouri road, shouting things like "Anchors away!" and "Hard to starboard!". The neighbor's already think I'm a nut; I'm just helping to confirm it. 

  We practically flew home; still aiming to hit every mud puddle, and still trying to go faster than the other. I had just enough time to give the one-finger wave to a neighbor as we zoomed past (his facial expression was priceless), and half wondered if I shouldn't have stopped and explained myself. Oh well. Gyp and I made it home faster than we set out, and he was STILL a hyper ball of energy when I let him off the leash and took him back to the dog pen. Meanwhile, I was plumb tuckered out, and desperately wanted water!

  At this point, I didn't really know what I looked like... I could see the mud covering my jeans and hands, but that was about all. It wasn't until I got home and was confronted by the wide-eyed stares of the others that I thought to go look in a mirror. Wow. Not too shabby for the first try! I looked like I had been in a mud fight!

  Mission accomplished. The dog was exercised, and I was deliciously dirty. 

  I think I just might do it again tomorrow. 

What's In A Day?

  It has come to my attention that I really haven't said much about what I do on a daily basis here, or what my days typically look like as an intern on a small farm. Either I'm just forgetful (most probable), or extremely good at procrastinating (still a truth). We're just now creeping into spring, and the work load is slowly shifting, but for now, here's what my winter schedule looks like:

  6:30 - 7a.m. - Time to wake up! Oy vey... Do I *have* to wake up!? I admit that I usually try to sleep until 7am. If I'm lucky/lazy (ha. Take your pick), then I miiiiight sleep until 7:10; but that's not hugely often since that leaves me rushing!

   7:30a.m. - Breakfast! YUSSSS!!! *punches air with fist* I'm still convinced I have Hobbit blood in me somewhere down the line. 'Cuz I like to have breakfast, second breakfast (honest to goodness, I'm living with people who say things like, "We'll save these leftovers for second breakfast..." It's crazy awesome.), elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, supper, and then of course snack. I really can't believe I'm not fat... For as much as I eat, I really should be weighing more than 125 lbs. Not that I'm complaining though! ;) 

   8a.m. - Wash up jars for the morning milking, fill an insulated container with hot water (to wash udders/teats since the cows don't appreciate cold water!), suit up in my many layers of winter clothing which consists of a sweater, quilt-lined overalls, Carhartt coat, two pairs of gloves, thick wool socks, a huge scarf, thick knit hat, and my insulated Bogs muck boots. Yes, I look like the Pillsbury dough girl by the time I'm completely outfitted. Or rather, it looks like my eating habits have caught up to me. I've gotten used to the fact that I look like a roly poly dork though. 

 8:10 - 9a.m. - Start trudging up the snowy hill to the barn! If the weather is nice, and the roads are clear (we have a rather perilous and steep drive way...) then we'll drive up in the truck; usually with me sitting on the toolbox in the truck bed, since I think it's more fun to ride in the bed than in the cab. It only takes us 3 to 5 minutes to get up to the barn, and then after that, the wife and I split into our routine of barn chores ('tis only the two of us doing barn chores and all the dairy stuff). My side of routine is usually to get water boiling to wash the milking equipment, get the jars and strainer set up, fill the feed bin for Penny (first cow to be milked), and then grab ma'self the pail and some hot wash water, and start milking! Penny is normally a great cow to milk; she's a short, fat little Jersey who is almost black in color with orange points on her poll and nose (eeek! My favorite color on a cow!). Temperament wise, she is *usually* quite calm and placid. But oh heavens does that cow get grumpy sometimes... Most mornings I can milk her out in about 10-15 minutes, but every now and again she'll get ornery and not let her milk down. Thusly I have to admit defeat and let the wife finish her up. And so far I've only been kicked five times. Hehe. Four times by Penny (I had it coming... She had frostbite on a teat, mastitis in that same quarter, and I had to somehow get her milked out.), and once by Ellie, who was in heat and was veeeeeery grumpy that morning. 

  After milking Penny, I get her milk strained and chilling before passing the empty pail off to the wife, who milks Ellie. This is our way of splitting chores; we can each easily milk both cows, but to keep things balanced we each milk one, while the other does other barn chores. Once Ellie is in the stanchion, I work on mucking out the stall that she and Penny had spent the night in. The second stall is already clean (one of the wife's tasks while I milk), so once I'm done mucking I work on throwing a bale of hay to the cows, filling water tanks, sweeping the barn floor clean, and then driving Penny and the calves to whatever pasture it is that they're going to each day (depends on the weather). Somewhere in the midst of all this, I'll run Gyp over to the kennels where he'll stay with the collies until nightfall. At first he would hang around with me for barn chores, but he's gotten into the awful habit of harassing the cows (namely the calves...), so the folks here have asked that he gets taken to the kennels before the cows are let outside.

   9:30a.m. - 12p.m. - This is the most variable part of my day. All of December and January, and then half of February was spent working on the tree piles... 2.5 hours every day of burning cedar branches, and hauling + stacking cord wood. That doesn't sound like a bad gig really; a couple hours each day? Sounds perfectly doable... Until you're on your third month of doing it every stinkin' day. It was a great learning experience, sure; I'll be the first to say that. But I'll let y'all in on a little secret of mine: I hate fire!! Yep, call me a sissy. Or a coward. Or a fraidy cat. I'm afraid of fire. To me, fire is too unpredictable, uncontrollable, and dangerous to be comfortable around. It's right up there with thunderstorms and tornadoes (this is where my host family and everyone here quizzically asks what I'm gonna' do when the spring storms come; to which I reply that I have no clue!). The small bit of a control freak in me hates dealing with things like fire and storms because I have no control over them. Bad things might happen, and all I can do is watch. Anyway... Almost three months of working in close proximity to a huge bonfire was nerve wracking, and to be completely honest, I broke down right at the end. I'm not entirely sure why, but one day I had just had enough of those piles. We were all finishing up our break and as everyone began getting up to go back to work, I busted out in tears. I normally hate it when people see me cry, but right then and there I didn't care that everyone was watching. More than anything, I did NOT want to go work on wood! Everyone was amazingly patient and understanding, and I was given the alternative job of making lunch. 

  We did finally finish up those monstrous piles, and now we're working on hauling all the stacked cord wood up the long driveway and stacking them up there where they'll be picked up by someone who is apparently buying all of it to get it chipped. I don't know details on that... This work I don't mind. No fire involved! And this is fun since I get to ride along on the tractor. Oh and get this: I got to drive the tractor yesterday!! Huge honor there. It felt slightly disloyal, seeing as it's a Kubota, but hey, it's still a tractor. It's still nice and rumbly and fun. ^_^ 

  Other projects we do before lunch are things like putting up fencing (we just fenced a part of the forest for the cows, and soon there will be hogs in there!), pruning fruit trees (did that yesterday!), dairy work (making cheese, butter, yogurt, kefir, etc.), and lately we've been starting on starting the veggie plants. 

12p.m. - the rest of the day - Noon marks lunch time!! I'm usually pretty darn starfished by this time ("starfished": a mix between being "starving" and "famished". Yes it's legit. Don't argue with me). After lunch, and cleaning up all the dishes, I usually have the rest of the day to do whatever I want! On Tuesdays it's my job walk up to the barn at 4pm and do the evening milking/barn chores (takes about 20 minutes), but other than that I'm as free as a bird. What I do with my free time varies from day to day; sometimes it's outside playing in the snow, inside reading a book, doing research on the computer, annoying the grumpy cat here, taking a power nap (Truth: I love taking naps horizontal life pauses), hiding somewhere in the forest and playing my ocarina (sounds like a penny whistle, looks nothing like one), or just hanging out with the folks around here. 

  7 - 9p.m.. - Movie time. Its pretty much become habit now. 9 out of 10 times we watch a Dr. Who episode (fish fingers and custard! My fellow Whovians will get that reference. Hehehe.), but one never really knows... Sometimes it's a Sherlock episode instead, or we'll watch a little kid movie like Sword In The Stone, Veggie Tales, or Winnie The Pooh; or we'll go with my favorite genre, which would be action movies. I will confess that I was watching Star Wars III a couple days ago... I had never seen the whole thing, so I was told to 'sit and stay', and that's what we watched. LOL. 

11p.m. - Bed time! I don't know why I can't seem to get to bed earlier... But that marks the end of my day; it all starts over in eight hours!

Unplanned Sabbatical

  I'm not dead. You probably thought I was though, huh? Maybe I got the plague here in Missouri and passed away? Or maybe the cows turned rabid (come to think of it, can cows turn rabid? All I can think of is Old Yeller in bovine form... It ain't workin'.) and ate me? Or, or - what if a tornado blew through and swirled me off to Oz!?!? Gadzooks! Anything could happen to a girl on her own!!

 Okay, whatever... No I'm not dead. Or fighting off rabid cows. Or following the yellow brick road to Oz because my sparkly shoes broke down and can't spirit me back to Kansas Missouri (the Tardis was broken too). 

  I've been gone from the blog for over a month. That's the longest time in my 6 years of writing that I've ever left. And at least during the other times I at least gave notice of my leave. During this period of time, I've gotten comments from y'all, wondering what happened, I've gotten emails from y'all, imploring me to get back to work, I've gotten Facebook messages, phone calls... I'm sorry guys. I just -- needed a break. It was an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment sabbatical. After 6 years of writing - and each year growing in intensity with the writing load - I had a burn out. Big time. The very thought of looking at my blog was unappealing. In the month that I was gone, I never once even logged in to the blog in an attempt to write. I'm sorry. I blew it big time. I think part of the problem has been that I haven't had a great place to write, and I don't have a camera; I have a hard time writing if I don't have a good spot to type, and don't have pictures to share! But, as of yesterday morning, I've found a good area in my host family's art studio (which is upstairs) to hide and write, and I think I get to buy a camera of my own in a couple weeks! And over this past week, I've begun to miss writing. For the first time in weeks, I really, really missed talking to you guys, and tapping away at this keyboard of mine. So here I am at last. I can make no promises as to how often I'll write over the next couple of weeks, but I don't think I'll be disappearing again at least. 

 So let's see... If there haven't been any plagues, rabid cows, or trips to see the great and powerful wizard of Oz, then what in the world have I been up to!? Folks, it would take too long to tell you all the stories. ;) In a nutshell though? Snow, snow, snow, snow, and more snow. That sums it up. 

Fine. There was more than that. *huff* There's been cheese making, soap making, dealing with frostbite on one of the dairy cows (I'm hoping to do a post about that), cutting and stacking 2 acres worth of wood (SO stinkin' glad we got that finished!!), late nights watching Dr. Who, a quick trip to Oregon and back (left last Saturday, got home late Wednesday night) to see the family, driving these good people crazy, and basically just starting to fall in love with the state of Missouri. Yeah. Alright fine, that's a bit more than just "snow". 

  I apologize again for disappearing off the face of the earth! I really needed that break though. And in the end that's really not bad... A month-long sabbatical every six years? Huh. Somehow I think I'm still getting the short end of the stick here. ;) Alright, toodle-pip and cheerio everyone. I need to finish up making a Parmesan cheese which is half-done and sitting in a pot on the wood stove, and then with luck I'll be outside by afternoon doing some target practice with a rifle. :) 

Florida, Here I Come

  Did I really say that part of me was "looking forward to below zero weather"?? Someone please slap me next time I say something as ridiculous as that. Sunday was cold, with the lowest temps at -12F and a windchill of -30F. Cold, COLD, COLD!! I think I can honestly say I've never experienced anything like that before. Milking the cows was barely tolerable since I got to lean up against a big, warm bovine; but the spray from the milk still froze onto my hands and made instant "milk-cicles" when squirted anywhere but straight into the pail. Oh brrr was it cold. Walking back home through the stinging snowfall was like walking through fire; it was so cold that it burned. Monday was down to sixteen below zero (oy vey!), but that was almost a bit more bearable since there was no wind. Either that or I was too numb to notice it as much, which is really quite likely.

  And then today... It was 31F above zero. See that? Above Zero. Yahooo!!!! Oh gracious me, it was so balmy and warm that I didn't need my Carhartt coat; just a light fleece sweater. Of course, I was also working at a fast pace and near a big burn pile, so that might have helped some. *ahem*

  With luck the weather forecast will hold, and we should be at a glorious 40-45F by Saturday!! ^_^ I'm really hoping this sticks, 'cause guess what I'm doing??? No, I do not have a date. Admit it, it crossed your mind. ;) Sorry, but no. Nope, this girl is signed up for an airsoft war come 10:30am! Now THAT probably didn't cross your mind, did it? Hehehe. Now, I've done airsoft before, but I've only used those teeny, tiny handguns that you get at Walmart for $20 or less, and it was against like -- two other people. This time around though, I've got a fully-automatic rifle (loaned to me for the week), and it's going to be a good sized group of other crazy people all dressed in camo, who have pretty much all had enough military training to make this war feel authentic. I'm so excited for Saturday that it's almost pathetic. And I already don't want to give this rifle back. LOL. I think I'm permanently spoiled on this "fully-automatic" gig. 

 After Saturday, I have no idea what the weather is supposed to do. I really hope we don't have another cold snap though. If we do, then I'm sorely tempted to pack my bags and move to Florida!! Okay, maybe not really... But Florida sounds awesome right about now as I look outside at 12 inches of snow that can't even be made into a decent snowball. 

  What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? Anyone here suffering from colder temperatures than what I've had this week?

Resurfacing

What -- just happened. o_O

 I disappeared from the Blogging world for an entire WEEK!?!? Gracious, how did I manage that??? Hmm. Do y'all want me to apologize, or just skip the small talk and get to the good stuff? Eh, we'll go with the latter choice.

 So, what in the world happened since I last wrote?? Let's see... First off, I'm back in Missouri now. :) I got back on December 28th, and have been kept busy since then! I never did get a deer in Mississippi; maybe next year though.But it was awesome to visit the South again, and I definitely miss it.  

  Since coming back to MO, I've been occupied with burning cedar trees (well, burning the branches really... We're still trying to obliterate the colossal piles of downed trees so that what was once forest can now be pasture), milking cows, shooting guns, playing hockey on the frozen pond, watching Hobbit 2 a second time (*cough, cough*), and then two days ago I got to go see 'Frozen', which was excellent. In fact, I think it's almost better than 'How To Train Your Dragon', and that one's been a favorite for quite a while! Anyway, whatever... Y'all probably don't want to hear about movies. Sorry. 

 

  We've settled on a pretty good work routine over here for the winter, and that's doing barn chores from 8:30am to 9:30, and then doing 3 or 4 hours working on the wood piles (er, tree piles??). After that, it's every man for himself and we're all free to do whatever we want. Yeah, it's rough I tell ya'... Hehehe. ;) 

The weather here has been CRAZY!! It was juuuuuust starting to warm up when we suddenly had another cold snap, and now there's more snow outside! And apparently Monday's highest temperature is supposed to be -4!?!? I'm sure some of you are used to that, or at least aren't surprised by it. But hey, I'm from Oregon, so gimme' a break. The coldest I've experienced yet is 7F. I've never felt "below zero" kind of cold. Part of me is looking forward to it, just for the experience; and then the logical part of me is dreading it since it's going to be like -7 or -8 while I'm milking the cows. Oy vey. I'm so excited for spring time to come, and not just for wanting a reprieve from the cold. I just can't wait to see what this place looks like when everything is green and growing! It's already beautiful here and everything's dormant; I can't imagine what it's be like when things start coming back to life! And speaking of watching the changing seasons come... I'd like to announce that my host family and I decided this morning that I will officially be staying here for a full 12 months! We weren't sure at the beginning of all this if I should stay for 6 or 12 months, and decided to wait 30 days before making that decision. So wait we did, and today marks the 30th day since I left Yamhill County, OR. After some discussion this morning, we came to a unanimous vote of my staying here long-term. I admit that I'm really, really happy with this decision. Now we're all talking about getting my microgreen business up and running, raising and selling some hogs in the spring, signing up for Farmer's Markets, and a couple other enterprise ideas that I have up my sleeve.

 I have the feeling that life is going to get really crazy when Spring comes... But oh am I looking forward to it. :) Adventures ahead!!

I Want One

  Being down here in Mississippi has been an absolute blast so far! Goodness, it's been so nice to be around people who talk the same way I do (i.e. say "y'all" and "Bless your heart"), have that gorgeous Southern drawl, and know what real sweet tea is. *Happy sigh* Today I got to ride one of the horses here (pictures and video coming right up!), and gloried in galloping every which way in the pasture. This girl has a need for speed, and that's the gospel truth.

 And speaking of a need for speed... I done got a crush this afternoon on my Papaw's four-wheeler. ;) Hot dawg, that thing is more fun than you can shake a stick at! I kept it at 35-40mph on my first go-'round with it, and then Papaw took over the steering and we scooted on up to 60 mph. So. Much. Fun!!

  After putting that baby away, I came to a conclusion: I want one. It's on my birthday wishlist now. ;) 

My Kind of Christmas

My Christmas was spent a bit differently from most folks... Sure, I still opened presents and had a special meal. But the highlight of the day was sitting in a deer stand; silent and motionless. Hoping and praying for a buck to cross my path and become a target. The hoped-for buck didn't appear today, but maybe tomorrow he will. It was fun though, gettin' to spend some time with my Papaw (grandpa) here in Mississippi. My kind of Christmas, really. :) 

My Papaw and I!

Everything. (I don't want to think up a title right now, so this is what you get)

 I miss having a camera. I so, so badly miss having one. I keep having these moments of wanting to share a moment with y'all; wanting to share the beauty of the countryside here in MO... Like the gorgeous snowfall that we had (which is now gone) or the stunning sunsets/moon rises that we have a clear view of, the awesome folks I'm staying with, or even Ellie's (cow) funny half of an ear (no idea what happened to the missing half; frostbite, maybe???). And then I remember that I have no camera! Aargh! I'm gonna' have to do something about this soon; we just gotta' keep prayin', folks. Sooner or later this girl will have a camera again. I just hope that it's "sooner" rather than "later". 

  I've been here for fifteen days now; it feels like it's been a month already! But I think it's safe to say that I'm finally settled here. I've settled into a routine, know how things are done, and I'm comfortable with everyone here. Even Penny, the boss cow, has gotten used to me and will let her milk down for me! I didn't think that cow would EVER decide accept me as the new milker... She would be a pill and hold her milk back so that no matter how hard I tried, I could only get a quart out of her. Yesterday morning was the first time that she let her milk down all the way, and I had her milked out beautifully before too long. 

  Of course, right when I feel I'm finally settled, I find myself leaving for a week! LOL. I'm headed down to Mississippi to spend Christmas with family, which I'm uber excited for! But then there's still that little bit that wonders if I'll have to "re-settle" when I come back. I doubt it, but then, I'm a rather strange character... Anything is possible. 

 On a note of randomness, has anyone else here gone to see The Hobbit 2 in theaters!?!?!?! I went on Monday with two friends, and *LOVED* the movie! ^_^ And the popcorn; that stuff was pretty darn good too. Although, I will admit that I covered my eyes during almost the entire scene with the giant spiders (to the amusement of my companions on either side of me). I can handle many things in life, but spiders are not one of them. And most definitely not giant ones. Nope, not me. Tauriel was okay, but I didn't care for her too much; I suppose I like her about as much as Arwen (which isn't much. Let's go back to the Hobbits and Dwarves!). Aaaaaand Kili was as cute awesome as ever. I really hope they don't kill him off in the third movie... But I have my suspicions. I'm gonna' bawl my eyeballs out if they do.

  Today's been a fairly slow day; I did morning barn chores, hacked brush away from the beehives, made lunch... Then hung out at the neighboring family's house for a couple hours. Truth be told, I have a cold right now. A whopping good one, at that! Sore throat, cough, runny nose... The whole shebang. I had it coming though, seeing as the 17 year old lad (yeah, yeah, I keep forgetting to ask him if I can publicly share his name) got the bug on Sunday, and then he shared his popcorn during the movie on Monday (it was theater popcorn! I wasn't about to turn down an offer like that!). It was good popcorn though... Worth this abominable cold.

  So while my daily routine is fairly settled, I'm still trying to get back into my writing groove! I was doing so well before I left, and now... Not so much. Sigh. It's coming back though; the more I get settled here, the more brain space I have to get back into the state of perpetually obsessing about what to write next. 

 And now I suppose I should run and find some tissues... Colds are such a high maintenance thing to deal with.

 It was good popcorn though. ;) 

Snow Day!

  I. Am. Sore.

  Like, Ridiculously sore. 

  Like, I-can-hardly-raise-my-arms kind of sore. 

  No, I did not get into a fight. 'Nor did a cow trample me. And no, I didn't not get clipped by a moving vehicle. 

  Reason behind the soreness? I played in the snow yesterday. For almost 9 hours. Yep, you read that right. Snow. Nine hours.

  Oregon doesn't get a whole lot of snow. Or at least the part that I'm from, doesn't get much. We might get a couple inches and it sticks around for a day or two, but I've always wanted to experience a good, deep snow. I've always wanted to make a BIG snowman that didn't take up every snowflake on the property, and right along with the territory of making a snowman, I wanted to have a grand snowball fight, go sledding, make a bunch of snow angels... You know, the classic stuff that people do with snow! But there was never enough snow in Oregon to do that. 

  Yesterday morning dawned here in Missouri and what do you suppose I saw outside my window? SNOW!! It was only 7am, and already there was eight inches, and still more piling up. Praise the Lord that it's Saturday!! I got to skip chores and go straight to playing in the snow! Now, to be honest, I did suit up and head to the barn, and had every intention to stick to routine and help with the milking. Honest to goodness. I was right there in the barn and had just put Penny in the stanchion. Then the resident seventeen year old lad (brother to the wife of my host family) showed up with sleds. Sigh. A girl can only be so mature for so long. At the sight of sleds, I was relieved of my barn duties and I felt like a little kid as I almost rocketed out of the barn. IT'S A SNOW DAY!!!! I even got to ride in the sled as the two of us (plus Gyp) headed down to the hilly driveway. 

  What followed was probably one of the funnest, most glorious days I've had in a long time. We had snowball fights, made snow angels, we sledded down the driveway over and over, and we built TWO snowmen. One was a proper snowman, and the other was a comical looking snow-dalek. Yeah, we made a dalek. So for the record, I had no idea what a dalek was two weeks ago. My hosts have been introducing me to the 'Dr. Who' shows, and it's becoming a good way to spend our evenings. LOL. So yes... I'm learning about farming and Dr. Who all at once. David Tennant is awesome. ;) I'm so glad to find out that I'm not the only human being with such dramatic facial expressions. Hehehe

  We finished up our afternoon with a round of what is called the "tracking game", and then a loooooong game of 'Capture the flag'. The tracking game is basically a warped version of 'hide and seek'. One person runs helter skelter through the 40 acres of land before hiding, and then after about fifteen minutes everyone else has to track that person down through the snow. It can get challenging if the runner decides to be sneaky and hide their tracks. I always feel like Aragorn when I play this. 

  I was zonked by the time Capture The Flag ended, but thankfully so was everyone else. So we all took a two hour break and waited for the sun do go down and the place to get dark. What were we planning on doing once all light was gone? Why, sledding in the dark, down a huge hill, of course! I have to admit that the idea of sledding at night at never occurred to me... But I was game for it! Uphill and downhill we trudged to get to said epic hill, and oh was the long walk worth it. It was big, long, and boy howdy did you get some speed going!! The snow lit the night up just enough that you could see about three feet in front of you while sledding down, but no more than that. A couple of us (code for "me and the seventeen year old") had to attempt snowboarding our way down the hill on the small, flat sleds; it would have worked fabulously, except for the fact that you eventually got up so much speed that your feet slipped forward on the slick plastic and the sled would flip. I ended up in the snow three times before finally admitting defeat. I could keep my balance beautifully, and even steer the silly thing! But you really need a proper snowboard for that trick; somethin' that you can strap your feet to. I now want to learn snowboarding. ;) 

  By the time we were done, everyone was ready to crash and burn with a movie. So we all sledded our way home, looking like a flock of giant penguins going down a country road. Pretty much everyone stayed down at the main house to watch 'Dr. Who', while the seventeen year old (good heavens, I need to ask permission to use names on here!) and I trekked up to his house to watch 'White House Down' and eat entirely too much popcorn.

  So today I am sore. Ridiculously sore. But it was worth it. Oh boy was it worth it...

 And I promise I'm learning about farming stuff. Pinky promise. But sometimes you just gotta' have a snow day. 

Makin' Monterey

The thermometer still reads 92 degrees Fahrenheit, so I'm content to leave the scene and find something to keep me busy. Thirty minutes later, the thermometer still reads the same. Ninety-Two degrees. This is both good and bad. Good, because it means I don't have to do anything. Bad, because it should really be two degrees lower.

  I'm watching a pot.

  A pot of cheese curds, to be precise. I started this batch earlier in the day, starting with frozen milk. Working over the steady, purring heat of a wood powered cook stove (these are popular here), I warmed the milk up, added a culture, gave the milk time to ripen, added some rennet, let the milk solidify, then I cut the curds into rice-sized pieces, and now it's ripening a wee bit more. Thus the waiting now. It needs to sit for 40 minutes (and I'm having a momentary panic attack right at this moment; what time did I start this round of waiting!?!?!? Ack! Hang on, gotta' run and see what time it is...).

************

 Okay. Panic attack is over. I'm such a great cheesemaker... *much sarcasm* I ran and checked the time, curds, gave the pot a stir, checked the temp on it, and now I'm back here. Now, where was I? Right, the curds need to sit quietly for 40 minutes, and stay at 90 degrees. Right now it's at 91F. We dropped a digit. :) In thirty minutes I'll put the pot back on the woodstove and get everything warmed up to 120F in a thirty minute period. If I warm it too fast then the cheese will be rubbery. Too slow, and it won't set right. This is my first time, so it'll be interesting to see how I do. When all that is done, then I'll press the cheese in a mold, and store it. In thirty days it will be ready to eat and will be a Monterey Jack. Good heavens, I'm making a for-real Monterey Jack cheese!?!? Will wonders never cease? Tomorrow I'll make a Parmesan too! Looking forward to it. :) The milk comes directly from the Jersey cows here at the farm, who are named Ellie and Penny. Yep, only two lactating girls this winter. The third was just sold. The other bovines around here are Onyx, who is a Jersey/beef cross steer who will be going into the freezer in just a couple weeks (looking forward to that!!), and then two ADORABLE Jersey/Belted Galloway bull calves (Ellie and Penny's babies). These calves are the cutest things I have *ever* seen. Seriously. No kidding. I'm gonna' have to steal a camera, er, ahem, borrow a camera from someone just so I can take some pictures of these darlings and show y'all. They're fat, fuzzy (uber fuzzy), and look like Oreo cookies that moo. And did I mention that they're fat and fuzzy? Oh gosh they're cute... I want to hug them so stinkin' bad. 

Besides the Monterey Jack that's in the works, there's also some homemade yogurt that's culturing on the counter, and freshly made butter that's just been put in the freezer. I'm a tiny bit proud of myself; I made a proper batch of butter, all by myself! And yeah, it turned out to be ridonkulously easy (brownie points if you know what movie that word is from). Last time I tried it, which was back in Oregon, I did something wrong... And every time you heated that butter up, it turned right back into milk! It was weird. After that attempt, I never did try again. But now I know what I'm doing! Aha! I'm going to start up a batch of kefir soon, too. Lots and lots of dairy products around here, that's for sure!

I'm slowly getting the hang of things around here... Still making mistakes though. LOL. And while my hands are getting used to milking, the cows are still not getting used to me. Penny stubbornly held her milk back this morning, and wouldn't let down until the wife (hmm, she needs a title, or code name. I'll have to think about that) took over. Cows. Picky creatures. Hehehe. Oh its been glorious to be working around dairy cows again. If we could just get our act together though, things would be fabulous. I need to get used to them, and they need to get used to me. I will however, admit that I am really missing my milking machine. I'll hand milk for the time that I'm here, but I could never do this long term. I love my machine too much. I miss its humming noise, the speed that it works, and the routine of washing the equipment. Ah well... Hand milking will suffice for now. 

 Making the Jack cheese will be the end of my work day today... Since it's cold and snowy outside, we're only doing 3-4 hours of work each day (yeah, it's really rough! These people work ya' hard! LOL.). Not sure what I'll do once I'm done with the cheese. Read? Write? Go bug the extended family? Hmm. Part of me wishes that I had longer work days, but then the other part of me doesn't mind that I'm not out in the cold for very long. 

  Anywho, the clock says 1:49pm, so that's my cue. I need to go get those cheese curds warming up to 120F now!