Frying Goldfish

Yep, that's me!  The girl in a dress (oh, the horror! Where are my overalls?) with Mr. and Mrs. German.  I'm guessing we've been fishing.

Dad worked road construction. Sometimes we traveled with him.  We would rent a house or a cabin and stay until Dad's job was done. We always came home to the farm but summers were extra special.

I was very lucky.  Our neighbors raised goldfish in long metal aerated tanks. Part of my "job" when I came to visit was picking out the floating goldfish. I was allowed to feed them to Mrs.German's cat.  During all this fun I decided it just wasn't right to feed the cat RAW goldfish. I presented my idea to Mrs. German. She was happy to comply.  She gave me a big jar lid and a fork and allowed me to stir and cook to my heart's content on their heating stove in their living room!  Of course the fish never got hot.  I tip toed to reach the top of the stove then I would politely and properly serve the cat his "cooked" meal.  The cat seems to enjoy the special service.

Mrs. German just smiled. Mr. German seemed to enjoy pulling my braid.    I was in trouble many times for slipping away to visit the neighbors without asking permission first. Mother taught me that lesson well.

Me and My Feet in October

My feet and I made friends with a tarantula.

 Found Beggar Lice seeds

Did a little fishing

 Got down and dirty in the mud

and washed my feet in cool spring water.

My days with my flip flops are growing shorter..

My Sister's House

Stands with a repaired roof today.  We were scheduled for repair but rain kinda moved up the schedule. This week the roof decided to leak and the sheet rock in the kitchen ceiling decided to fall. Fire department volunteers climbed onto the roof and laid a tarp to avoid further water damage.  Cleaned up, gosh, what a mess! Repaired.  On to other chores.

With all the work we have to do I am grateful for good help

and good equipment.

Hoping next week is not as exciting.

Beating The Weather

There are always last minute things you think you need to do before a cold front arrives.  Storing water hoses, wrapping faucets, winterizing items you KNOW you're not using until spring...the list goes on forever.

Monday when it was summer, we worked in short sleeves and high seventy degrees.  A south wind attacked the valley the entire day.

The water gardens were deleafed and topped off.  The Koi in this and the perch in my other garden will survive the freezing temperatures just fine.  I place a board or small post in the ponds to keep an air hole for the ammonia to escape.  It also makes it easier to crack the ice without harming the fish. I'm sure there are more leafs today. I will make my rounds with a net and remove as many as I can. The leafs containing tannin will make the water brown and my Koi do not thrive in that.

The boat has been tarped and winterized.  It's in the pasture because the barn will be filled with other working machines and the boat shed has been reassigned as the truck garage for winter.

All hands on board for a full clean up.  Of course with pecan trees in the yard clean up is an ongoing event.  

The chickens and all the animals have fresh deep hay beds.  Tools are in their respective spots, mowers winterized, and anti-freeze added to vehicles. 

The crew headed to our main spring.  This is the source of our home water.  Conveniently it is pumped to the houses.  We no longer have to carry water like we once did many years ago.  The spring needs its last "cleaning" for the winter.

Here Andrew is post hole digging the sand out of the rock "barrel".  Placing the sand in the tractor bucket is far easier than carrying it away in a bucket the way we have done it.  Through time the sand builds up but the pump is submersed yet suspended above the bottom.  We lower the level of the sand so we don't have to do this on a cold day. 

The pipe from the barrel to the pump is insulated and covered for winter after all the grass is cut, the water cress removed and the spring is given a general stir up to move clippings etc on down the creek.

When the family first moved here they capped a wooden barrel over the spring source and water would fill up the barrel and fall into the creek.  Dad remembered helping his dad build the rock surround when he was very young.  One year when I was cleaning the spring I found old barrel staves in the very bottom, a piece of history in my hands.

The right equipment makes the job far easier than it was.  Andrew is practicing being a worker by leaning on the handles.  The spring is clear and fresh in a short time. The pump is turned on and like magic water is in every faucet again.

In the past a spring cleaning day was an event attended by all members of the family.  Mom cooked while we all got down and dirty in the spring branch, pulling cress, cutting grass, moving the sand on down the stream while capturing crawdads for fishing in the evening. Yep, an all day event for six to twelve people is now a four hour job for three.  I ran the camera and did some straw bossing, so make that two.

Things I Thought I Would Never Confess...

I used to bite my toe nails!  That's right, don't have to read it again. As a younger more nimble me I was the Toe Nail Biter of the family. Bit my fingernails too but that didn't seem to get as much attention.

We traveled a lot with Dad's job.  I went missing one time.  Mom panicked but soon found me with a pack of dogs in the nearby park.  The family joke after that was, Need Gail? Call the dogs.

We once lived in a two story house.  I had an inflatable toy horse.  I spent hours throwing it over the balcony and racing downstairs and outside to see if I could catch it!  I don't know why no one stopped me.  I guessed they thought I would figure it out soon enough.  I kept thinking if I just run a little faster...guys, I was only three!

I got a whipping from Mom when she found out I knew how to read.  I didn't know I could read!  I had two older sisters and I guess I just picked it up at the young age of four.  I remember going to the post office and thinking why does that say "off ice"?  It was warm weather.

Our Christmas rule was even if you knew what the gift was, you never told.  One gift for my sister was wrapped in thin tissue paper.  I'm holding it, pressing the paper, sounding the words out loud....Bugs Bunny Cartoon...Wham!!! I was getting a whipping before I knew it.  I had broken the rule!!!!

I would hide in the closet and eat clear nail polish. Dip the brush and let it slide between my closed teeth getting every drop.  No one knew. I just ate a little at a time.  I finally confessed to Mom about forty years after the fact.

I got a paddling in second grade for talking in class...not me!!!  Yes, it was and the teacher missed breaking the paddle on the desk.  Lucky me.

My second paddling was not a miss.  A specially chosen child each day got to carry the milk for our break to the class room.  I had never been chosen.  We all knew the first one in from recess got to carry the milk.  I got there early because I wanted to carry milk so badly...and that's when my third grade teacher paddled me for coming in too early.  I'm getting mixed messages here, lady!

I had snakes for pets but could only keep them if they were confined and that confinement stayed at the barn.  One rule right at the top of THE RULES was no snakes in the house.  Mom wasn't home.
What harm was there in that?  I had it in a jar...welllllllllllll, the jar tipped over.  Never caught the snake and never confessed that one...Sorry, Mom!

I have a male cousin my age...nope, don't even go to the dirty thoughts!  He was always trying to out climb, out run, out play, out wrestle me.  He was such a weak child.  I put one of my dresses on him. He fought pretty good that time but I still won.  We had an old Kodak box camera, yep, took his picture.

After his parents divorced I did not see him for years.  He, then in the military service, showed up where I worked. He mentioned the dress and how he tried so long to overcome that humiliation as a child.  I said, I was sorry.  We laughed.  I think I could still out wrestle him!

Fishing Rocky Bayou

Our favorite place to go when the girls were young was Rocky Bayou that joins White River on the Stone county side.  If you were to back track this creek it would pass in front of kinfolks' houses from the ancient past.  We would wade through the section where I learned to "grabble" fish, where I caught crawdads for bait.  Blue Hole, where we swam and even where Hubby's kinfolk lived (and oh, the stories I have!)  Mother used to warn me and my daughters to be careful who we dated, they might be kin to us.

Back on track to the adventure of the week...Rocky Bayou is a gravel creek  When the river is up you can motor in easily. Other times there is a small channel of only a few inches depth that you must fly over...Hubby can do that.

The waves ripple from our landing.

 This is a honey hole for bass.

The fishing begins while I take pictures

 thinking I am in heaven.

The bass are biting!

These wonderful rock ledges shelter many fish

but not from Toni and Hubby.

Yep, that's my Dr Pepper.

Toni shed his shoes early.

I kept mine on but I was connected 

through the water and the rocks...paradise!

We jumped ship leaving Hubby behind catching fish.

Toni and Andrew headed to the place they used to swim.

Low but still beautiful.

Hanging ferns grew on limestone cliffs.

See all the rocks?

I found just a few to bring home.

Every one needs a day like this now and then.

The fish were released

and we motored toward home.

Friday's Rain, Stampede, And To Market...

to sell the calves.  The orb above could be a rain drop but I like to think it was someone watching over us.

The smaller calves were worked to the right.  The young bull was left in the center pen til loading time.  The bent panel is from Collateral our big bull jumping out.  All went smoothly.

Yes, that is a cattle prod (produces an electric shock)  Hubby is threatening to use on me.  Prods are sometimes used to herd cattle although we only use ours if absolutely necessary.  Today was one of those days...twice.

It was an easy job working all the cattle through slowly.  The calves stayed in as we worked the cattle out. It hasn't rained in a long time but Friday it rained.  Hurrah!!!  Hubby finds another use for the tractor bucket.

Hubby was working the calves into the stock trailer by walking slowly behind them down the chute.  One heifer (young female) decided she was not going.  She turned back right into Hubby and kept coming, butting him knocking him down.  He is kicking her and prodding her and she jumps over him.  She gets reloaded then it's time...

for about eleven hundred pounds of dynamite to try the same thing.  El Toro  comes running right toward Hubby, no time to jump fence.  The prod does deter Super Baby. Hubby rolls minus glasses and hat. Hubby did mention he'd never seen a bull's equipment from that angle.  Unhurt Hubby rises to drive El Toro in again. All the calves will sell tonight

except the youngest.

Mom is grateful.

And that's life At The Farm.

Opposites...

Creative attempt for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads

Some would think

I'm the strong one

You forever

Hold me up

In your arms

In your heart

I am the weak one

Encouraged

Supported

By your strength

I topple

You catch me

Opposites are day and night

They make a fine pair

And so do we

Apart

We are haunted

And hungry

For the next time...

Silverton and Four Corners and More...

Evidence of rock "examination"...

Hubby's favorite picture.

Uncle Carl and Andrew in CO

Four Corners

Relatives' almost back yard

Aztec ruins.

The main complaint my companions had was I stayed too long in one place.  A ranger came to ask if we had any questions, the guys said no but we're sure SHE has some.  I love the guides and visited the kiva.  I had so many questions and visited so long my companions had to search for me and remove me from the grounds.  I don't get out much.  

Rocks are my pleasure.  It amazes me that every rocks hold millions of years of history and the structures hold even more knowledge.  The strata tells a story with every step you take.  I love the stories of the creation I see in even the tiniest stone.

Nuts!

Walnuts,

pecans,

an acorn,

and me.

Me and Ki-Anne

doing some indoor cuddling

Ki is almost too big for a lap dog

It is difficult to hold a dog and a camera

and expect good shots.

She knows I have the treat bag.

I have her attention now!

We always fit in treat training every day.

The question is, Who is being trained?