End of May

The triplets

Rainey

Trevor John (TJ)

Wendy

Cocoa chewing on chicken wire (sigh)

Cocoa taking a well deserved nap while the kids

play at the park.

"Hey Mom, I'm thirsty"

"Go away"

"What did I just tell your sister?"

This is meanest animal on the farm right now 

and he's only a few months old.

That looks says it all.

Pretty.

Watering Moab

with help.

Tom.

Ramzie is our rabbit babysitter.

No one here can remember what I named this rabbit,

so now it needs a new name.  Any ideas?

I am so glad school is out and I have some part-time help  :  )

Good news.

We have a signed purchase agreement on the house in town.

Closing date of July 15.

Anything can go wrong,

but it can also go right.

We have a lot to do between now and then.

I may not be checking in as much

but I will be thinking of you

and will be here when I can.

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

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A Very Good Day - In Every Way

What an absolutely fantastic day we had

at the Omaha Farmers Market.

Be prepared for picture overload as I share.

We arrived early and set up.

Our canopy is the blue one to the right of the red van in the photo.

To the left of us was a couple selling jewelry made out of silverware

and to the right of us was a guy selling pottery.

It was just Rylee and I.

She snuck a few photos of me setting up.

So I got her back.

That's us  :  )

Once we were set up, we got a few minutes to sit down.

Good thing we took advantage of it

because it was the last time the rest of the day we got to sit.

This was the vendor directly across from us.

We bought a huge bunch of kale from them for only $2.

A few more vendors across the way.

This was one of the shops directly behind us.

They rang the bell at 8:00 a.m. and the crowds started drifting in.

Then our work began.

The people were so nice,

and interested,

and complementary,

and downright pleasurable.

Our sales were great. 

I would tell you, but don't want to brag : )

The thing is

even if sales had not been what we'd hoped

it was still a near perfect day.

The people-watching was entertaining in itself,

the weather couldn't have been any better,

and if nothing else

the dog show was worth the trip.

I missed getting a lot of good dogs photos

due to too many legs in the way

and being too busy.

But I managed to get a few.

Here are a few random shots.

(always a nose-picker in the crowd)

Pretty.

Outdoor patio cafe behind us.

These guys were quite good

drumming on only these 5 gallon buckets.

I liked her basket.

Riding in style.

Randomness.

Just before the bell rang to close the market

I visited this vendor just a few spaces down and

bought some cucumber plants and some Swiss chard.

Rylee snuck a photo again.

After the market was over and we packed up,

we took a walk while we waited for some of the other

vendors to get moved out.

Look what we found.

Those are some stylin' shoes.

When we left the Old Town area

we were on a mission to find our favorite place to eat in Omaha.

So good.

Rylee had the Classic Salad and Chicken Noodle Soup.

I had the Turkey Bacon something half sandwich and Tortilla Soup.

( I finally got food photos like Lori Skogg does)

After that we ended up at Village Pointe shopping center

where we shopped and had ice cream

and I did one more thing I had on my bucket list.

I got my ears pierced.

It was such a fun day.

I even let Rylee drive part of the way home.

And to think I almost turned this opportunity down.

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Phyllis and An Upcoming Event

This is Phyllis (as in Diller)

How this breed survives,

I have no idea.

It seems they have very poor eyesight.

She can't see you soon enough to run from you.

If you want chickens you can catch

raise Polish chickens.

Yesterday when we pulled into the driveway at the farm

there was a huge and beautiful hawk circling our place.

The coops are covered, so I wasn't worried, 

but I pulled up next to the bantam coop and saw

that ALL the bantams were hiding and out of site

but one.

Yes, it was Phyllis.

Just looking around in confusion wondering 

where everyone went.

Gotta love her.

On another note,

I have a Bucket List - a short one - but a list.

On this list I put something that I didn't really, actually want to do,

but I wanted to say I did.

Just once, I wanted to at least be able to say I did that.

No, it's not skydiving or any heroics.

It's nothing you are thinking.

In fact I wasn't going to tell you

but to save having you think "well that's no big deal"

I am going to tell you.

Because it is a big deal because it is in Omaha

and I can't for the life of me drive in Omaha

And it starts early in the morning

and I am not a morning person.

And there are a LOT of people

and I prefer no people.

But

I have been invited to be a vendor at the 

Omaha Farmers Market this Saturday.

This scares me.

Have you ever done anything just to say you did?

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Trade Out

The good news -

I should have a signed purchase agreement on the house in town

within 24 hrs or so.

The bad news

I see it more as I had to pay someone to buy the house.

I am more than a little sick about what this has come to.

MORE than a little.

The good news is

the farmhouse is darn near livable.

As we speak, a new electric water heater is being installed.

Well pump has been fixed,

water lines have been blown out

so upstairs bathroom has water.

Drip in upstairs tub has been fixed

as well as flapper in toilet.

All we need now is living room carpet.

The bad news is,

we still have to find something small to rent in town

so the girls don't have to change schools,

or not yet anyway.

I have always known if the town house sold

I would just be trading out one set of problems for another.

But, focusing on the long-run and the bigger picture

this is what needed to happen.

So I am trying to be thankful and joyful.

And as soon as I get done being dissapointed and mad

I will be.

.



The Deal

The White Rock chickens are growing nicely.

It has been a few years (more like four)

since I have purchased chickens with the intent of butchering.

Somewhere along the line

I lost my kill.

I couldn't wouldn't chose not to butcher chickens.

The only problem was

I didn't stop eating chicken.

Walmart chicken,

the Colonel's chicken,

Campbell's chicken

you name it.

I ate chicken.

I couldn't keep shoving it out of my mind;

thoughts of how those birds were raised

and what they were fed

and how they died.

My job puts me a little too closely in contact

with  the realities of confined animal feeding operations

to blind myself to the facts.

So, I am trying it again.

I didn't purchase the Cornish Rock cross this year.

I needed a slower growing bird.

I needed more time.

I needed to know that if 

I couldn't bring myself to the task,

 my birds weren't going to 

eat themselves to death.

I am thankful for that time.

As I care for them, enjoy them, 

sit with them and respect them

I am searching my soul.

If I can't do this.

I will become a vegetarian.

That's the deal.

(good thing I planted all those beans)

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