Fenced In

We finally have a small pasture! Now we just need to get our goats! We spent much of the day yesterday buying gates, putting up the gates, and installing fencing. Posts had been in place for awhile but we finally had the chance to get the rest up. I should add that "we" meant Jon, although the girls were anxious to try and help him, most of which involved stealing his tools. I tried to help by keeping them out of his hair and building a goat feeder. I also mowed. Mowing is fun! Oh, and I took pictures because that is also what I do. Anyway, the point is that we have a fence up. We will be adding on to the pasture but for now, this will work.

Putting the posts in

My husband had lots of help

Gate being installed

Surprise! It's Poison Ivy!

Yep, I got poison ivy again. I have spent my entire life playing in the woods, never encountering poison ivy and I end up getting it TWICE on a small city farm in Iowa. Really!? When we first moved here, I got a severe case of it while weeding in the garden. I never saw it since the garden was so overgrown with weeds. I discovered my folly about a week later when I broke out in a red, blistery, oozing, itchy rash. It was bad-all over my arms and legs and even my face. The area on my arm became infected and I ended up in Urgent Care and was put on Prednisone and antibiotics. I still have scars from it. Not cool injury scars where you at least have a good story to tell how you got those scars. No, I have plant scars.


This year I was determined to avoid the poison ivy. I know where all the plants are and have avoided them. But I got it again.
Turns out the poison ivy was hiding under our rhubarb. While weeding, I pulled out a big handful of poison ivy. Thankfully, I was wearing gloves. It helped that I immediately went in and washed up , thus avoiding a third dose of pain.

It wasn't as bad this time but I noticed that the wound on my leg was getting more and more red and was slowly spreading. I finally ended up in Urgent Care...again. It usually isn't a good sign when the doctor cringes when you show him your malady but that is what mine did. Then he gave me a VERY strong dose of Prednisone. I don't like this drug. It makes me loopy. But it is making my poison ivy better so I guess that is good. I am also glad that I am the only one in our family to get poison ivy. I would hate for my sweet
girls or husband to have to deal with this!

Yes, I fought a plant...and I lost. Twice. Not very cool at all! I miss living in Alaska. At least there my stories involved me surviving being charged by bears. And that made me sound cool! Or stupid. It was a fine line at times.

Cat Walk

I made the mistake of not locking up the cats while my youngest and I went for a walk on the bike trail the other day. I figured the cats would just stay by the barn as they usually do but alas, it was not to be. While they were smart enough not follow us to the road, they saw us through the trees as we back-tracked along the trail and raced to meet us. It was a very warm day and they were panting and panicky from being so far from the safety of their barn. But they were determined to stay by us. One thing I learned that day is cats are slow when walking a bike trail on a hot day. Well, I should really say that they have bursts of speed when trying to catch up but mostly just want to lie down on the path. Also, they get in the way of the stroller. Needless to say, we cut our walk a bit short and ended up playing with the cats in our yard instead.

Rainy Days

Running in the rain

This Spring, we had unusually cool and rainy weather. The girls got a case of cabin-fever, myself included, especially since we suffered through many illnesses during this time, (including tonsils being taken out of my four-year-old!) and just couldn't get out and play as much as we would have liked. We have a play barn where we have several ride-on toys for the kids which was so nice to use. However, one day when the rain wasn't so strong, we brought out the umbrellas and played in the yard. I love the pictures from that day so I wanted to share them.

Someone is not happy that her sister jumped into the picture!

Trying to watch the rain through the umbrella.

Meadow Memories

Our meadow is a great place to make memories. It is a simple, beautiful place where the girls love to play. There are paths that we have cut through the meadow so we can explore at our leisure. One of the girls' favorite things to do is drive their little red car along the paths, giggling and screaming joyfully the entire way. Sometimes, when the neighbor horses are next to the fence, the girls jump out of the car and run over to say "hi" to their furry friends.

Of course, there are times that life calls us to leave those comfortable paths and create our own adventures in the more rugged terrain off the beaten path. And we are willing to heed that call!

Bird Brain

I am a bird watcher. I love watching birds. Thus, I feed them. At our farm, we have trees in our backyard and are able to place the feeders right outside our windows. We get a LOT of different birds that we can observe up close and in great comfort. It is our version of TV. My girls know more species of birds than most adults I know. I made the mistake of telling that to my oldest and she now takes great pride in that fact. Here are a few of the more interesting birds we have seen and of which I have been able to get pictures. Hopefully it inspires you to get out and watch some birds!

Indigo Bunting (and two House Sparrows)

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

White-Crowned Sparrow

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

Baltimore or Northern Oriole

Harris Sparrow

Grey Catbird (a little birdwatching humor for you to see if you're paying attention)

White-Breasted Nuthatch