Fall Cleaning...

...Has had me under the weather lately.

QUITE~LITERALLY!

I have spent the past week outdoors! Working my hiney off!
Summer was here early last week with temperatures of 86+ degrees,

which was wonderful.
Fall reminded me that it is here by bringing us back down

to 70 degrees on Thursday and 60 on Friday ~ with rain!

YEP! ...I'm talking about that wet stuff that drops from the sky!
It is a rarity for our parts of the world because our average rainfall for a year
is 11-13 inches total.

Rain is good though.

But then, Winter showed it's vengeance Sunday with a whopping 47 degrees!
The hefty winds arrived overnight bringing more rain!
I don't own an umbrella or galoshes, so proceeding with my agenda
for the day, made things (and Me!) pretty soggy!

I know I've been neglectful here, I haven't been able to check in on my friends and I do have some things I need to acknowledge
(I'm getting there Ms Train Wreck..keep singing for awhile longer Ok? American Idol may discover you yet!) but I've been pretty bogged down.
No! Silly! I didn't say BLOGGED down...I said BOGGED down!

PLEASE FORGIVE ME for being otherwise consumed!

Some things around here call out MY name only! I'm not sure why they seek MY attention and drop right upon MY shoulders this time of year,
but they always do!
(Maybe it's because Cowboy is trying to earn the $$ and I'm sloughing????)
Don't you dare answer "Yes"!

Admittedly, I can't seem to get things done as fast as I want

or used to......which really irritates me!
I then end up accomplishing less because I've spent too much time stewing about how

"it used to be"!

Here is what's on my list that I've been struggling to accomplish with hopes
(yea I know, they are High Hopes!) of completing within the next 3 weeks:

• Clean and store patio furniture.
• Clean BBQ & Cover.
• Touch up paint on door trims, railings and windows. (partially done)
• Check caulk around windows and doors. (re-caulk if needed).
• Inspect external doors. Do they close tightly? Install weather-stripping?All is well!
• Wash exterior windows 26. 19 to go! (Yuk!)
• Wash interior windows 26. (Double Yuk!) ...I'll move this to my Indoor Fall List...
• Gather, clean, Oil garden tools.
• Pull lingering plant in garden. (1/2 done)
• Turn #2 and #3 compost piles
• From compost pile #1, spread around shrubs & perennials
• Drain and store garden hoses.
• Winterize/weed n' feed lawn
• Take apart and find parts to repair frost-free spigots outside on house.
• Install insulating covers on exterior spigots.
• Check gutters and downspouts ...(miles & miles of!). Clear of debris if necessary.

The worst part of doing these gutters..is my fear of heights! While cleaning pine needles & gutters over the back porch (the only semi-FLAT roof there is), the ladder fell stranding me until Cowboy came around close enough to hear me calling out...which was about an hour later!
But Hey! I was able to take a snooze and luckily... I didn't roll off!
(In this climate, I don't have a clue why someone installed these darned things! They never get used except for collecting dust and leaf debris).

• Stack firewood (what we have so far...)
• Clean both fireplaces of last years soot and ashes.
• Check stock tank heaters, make sure they still work. MEMO: Need one more!
• Check extension cords and repair if mice dined on them over the summer. MEMO: Repair two
• Check hay tarps~ which is not easy, as they are those really heavy duty ones made by that company in AZ I used to work for... they ARE heavy & cumbersome for little 'ol me!

I'm so sorry............but I've been exhausted come nightfall!
If you don't believe me? Come and walk in my shoes for a day.
Oh, that won't work because I don't wear shoes...
so you'll have to be barefoot too!

I AM making a pot of coffee right now....

(and my dear friend the CoffeeLady...Thank you!)

Pssstttt.....she sent me some wonderful smelling packages!

Of Coffee! You guessed it!**huge smile**
...and I am going to stay up tonight...
...and 'catch up' on all of my wonderful Blogging Friends!

Don't wait up for me, just leave the light on...
I have my coffee & I will let myself in....

Flashes lit up the horizons...

...and wreaked havoc below!!

WHAT a storm it was that passed through tonight!

Figures!

I had about 9 of your Blogs pulled, so far, loaded on separate tabs...computer, Internet, Blogger all seemed to be cooperating with me...I was loading 2 more as I was cooking supper. I planned to get as many uploaded & ready to read after eating without having that long waiting process of me perched in this hard chair, twiddling my thumbs & feeling anxiety scratching at my temples! My plan was working!

CRACKLE! BOOM!! CRASH!! KABAM!!

The power went out instantly!

"Dang it all!" was my first thought! after all that work,
now the computer and all the tabs are shut down!
Oh well....

One minute of solid crashes, bams, booms & crackling...the sky was lit up like day light! The house shuttered, the dogs searched for the deepest darkest corners...

Three minutes passed...no let up! Streaks etched themselves in vicious directions. Sheet lightning was piercing through the clouds.

It was ominous.

Cowboy calmly asked if our insurance was paid up on the house....
"yes of course!"
Is it enough to replace/rebuild?...
"I think so.. "
Good, he snickers, then let's hope it strikes us so we can down size this monstrous house!

Hubby was bootin' himself up to get ready for an animal stampede, I think. (he didn't tell me that, I'm just mentally preparing for the worse ya know!)

Me? I grabbed my purse, my cash stash, my car keys...and yes, LL, even my shoes! I placed them all by the door for immediate access should one of those angry streaks strike our house!

The rain was drenching...

I did take time to notice the wonderful smell rains provides when it is so rare to have.
Only for a moment though.
When the dust & chaff of summer is tempered...
Mmmm it's a fragrance that should be captured in a candle!

Five minutes are gone. It continues to stay bright outside!

We noticed the cows in the distance, launching themselves off the hillsides toward a draw.

The horses were squealing! Running! Carrying on (except two) stirring up dust & each other!

The thundering of their hooves were probably heard for miles around..if there was anyone that close to hear!

Even the chickens bolted from their nightly roosts & began squawking & flapping feathers around inside their coop!

Ten minutes; twenty minutes; 35 minutes long! That's how long this storm hovered overhead of us!

We have never seen the likes of before! The intensity was fierce!

I am thinking, luckily, there was some rain...
...luckily the wheat farmers ~in our area~ are done harvesting for the most part.
I do not smell the scent of smoke, nor do I see a red glow to the now darkness of night.

Morning could bring another story. ( I pray not!)
We already have 2 severely injured horses we are doctoring.
We don't need anymore!


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Other news....
I won a prize! I don't think I've ever won a single thing in my whole time on earth!
And it's all because I L-O-V-E my coffee!!!
(in case you haven't figured that out by now... )


More Importantly than winning this prize from The OriginalCoffeeCompanyOnline,
I have "Won" a very dear friend!!

The Eve of Destruction....

....at it's "FINEST" !!!

HORSES can be real Destructive!!

This one is getting a taste of my NEW remedy...we'll see if it works!
I mixed 1/4 cup Cayenne pepper, 20 drops of Tabasco into 1 1/2 cup water.
I just 'painted' it on the chew shots! Hope it burns them into quitting!
Figures...they just HAD to get it chewed through while Cowboy is gone! I'll be keeping an eye on them all today....see how well they like HOT LIPS!

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Is there CROP INSURANCE for a homeowner???
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"I am sooo BUGGED" !!

Something is eating my plants!

These are just a few! Coleus & Japanese Maple

Then....there is THIS! I haven't a clue what this bug is...I saw them 2 days ago, eating the weed Koshia, no problem! Go for it! Yesterday...they just about consumed ALL of my beets!

Today.............my spinach is gone!

If you look really close, maybe you can see these blackish/gray 3/4" bugs, devouring the beets!
They don't seem to sting...just cling when I walk through them!

Just hosed them off my beans, because that seems to be their next course!

I need to find something that works!
Preferably in the next minute!
Seems as this swarm can consume everything in sight within minutes!

Between the wind storms wiping out the corn & now this infestation, I'm ready to go out with a machete and destroy whatever is left! I've never had problems in my veggie gardens in all my years!

With the state of the economy...

I NEEDED this garden to be productive,

not destroyed!

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MICE have invaded my domain!

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During the wee hours of the last few nights, I've been "hearing" something... I donned my slippers, a flashlight & a bat....guess what I found!

They are chowing down on the dog food in the hall closet!

They like sunflower seeds too! Even the Jalepeno ones!!!

They found these in the basement!

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DOG GONE IT...anyhow!!

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Just got 'caught' red handed! Ooops....maybe that is 'brown-pawed'...

The Old Man Mac....must be UPSET he got left behind!


He probably knows the Cowboy went to his old stomping grounds! Where he was born & raised, and learned to work cattle!

Here's two of the 5 holes I've found that he has dug thus far!!

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....and then in comes RELIEF!

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Yesterday....I was blessed with a visit from FedEx!

I received a package from one of my dear Blogging friends...TOCCO!

"The Original Coffee Company Online"!

A sampling of her Gourmet House Blend & Sumatra Black Satin!

MMMMmmmmmm ... GOOD!!

Sat on my front porch last night as the sun was setting on the horizon beyond those "amber waves of grain"

...sipping a cup of Sumatra Black Satin....AWESOME!

I'm all de-stressed now after all the de-struction!

Thank You TOCCO!

And the Sun Sets...

...ending another glorious day for A Cowboy's Wife!

or was it??? Let's back track...the day was July 1, 2008.....yesterday!
(If you don't like to walk backwards in time, go to the beginning ...

... at the end and read up!)

-9:35pm: Sitting on the front porch, our appetites satisfied with Spaghetti Carbonara, we 'noticed' the mess...we never got to today...shook our heads and said "Oh well...there is always tomorrow!"

We both agreed that today-the tempers, the frustrations, the work...are much easier to cope with on a cold 0* day after a long nights sleep, than it is on a 101* summer day, after very little sleep! I'm Ok now...Cowboy is Ok now...power is working, A/C is running (only the 3rd time I've turned it on...hate the higher power bills so I use sparingly!), all the animals seem content, nothing died, we're alive & sitting on our front porch...together!

I'm savoring my 4th cup of coffee (6th for the day)...I noticed the sun was setting over the wheat fields in the distance. Since calm had come back to my senses...I DID think about that danged camera that I never seem to have handy...so seeing the sunset, I did the best I & the camera can do....

"The Calm AFTER the Storm"

Tomorrow is yet another day....

-6:55 pm: Ok, all the chickens are SAFELY back in their pen. They were relieved, and so was I! We had to fix their pen also...seems as somewhere in the midnight riot, one of the horses must have kicked through their pen leaving a gaping hole. The "Girls" got their "rights" read to them...once they realized all that hollering was directed at them to STOP! They are now safe in their kennels...to contemplate their day! The good & the bad! Our bellies are screaming for supper...and my mind reminds me I have NOT had my daily quota of coffee!

-5:30 pm: Horses unsaddled, bathed & turned out. Hmmmmmm...we haven't even begun to do MY "yard chores"....I'm thinking.. "...bet it don't happen today!" As that thought flew passed my brain..we saw Tess chasing...a chicken! They had gotten out sometime between 11: am & now! She listens pretty well, yet sometimes she has a brain fart & forgets she's being spoken (or hollered) to! This was one of those times! Chaos! Squaking & feathers filled the air! Millie decided she wanted to be in on the action too! You all know how them "Teen years" are! Ol' Man Mac, knows better, so he just found the best seat in the house and watched...I'm sure he was thinking "Ok you young pups...you're in for a lesson on discipline!"

-4:20 pm: Arrived back home...after having had to load up two horses, haul over to "Mr. & Mrs", and set out to find & gather OUR Momma cow & her calf, along with the 2 newly weaned from the bottle/to butcher calves of theirs. They didn't like the storm either, I'd guess! Luckily, they were found on the CRP to the south and NOT the wheat fields to the north & west! We got the buggers back, had to clean out their water troughs of mud...and repair more fences! I have to say Tess and Millie did a great job helping! (pretty much the only Plus of the day so far!)

-11:45 am: Finishing our lunch, the phone rings...."uh-oh" , I hear Hubby say, "we'll be right there"...the Uh-Oh.......sent prickly sensations through my spine...I knew those words meant something NOT fun was about to happen!

-11:00 am: Just got done with the "horse chores"! Whew! Aside from the normal cleaning & feeding, there was water troughs to be cleaned from all the mud created by the Haboob, horses to be caught, and doctored, fences to be mended & pens put back where they used to be! Quite appearent, the horses did NOT enjoy the storm either! They got all rawled up & went berserk! It's a domino effect...only takes ONE to stir the whole pot! We'll never know which one started it...doesn't matter, "damage" was done. One gate was bent & barely hanging; two horses were 'roaming' on the CRP bordering us (Cowboy forgot to shut that gate when he came back in from riding the day before! Bet he doesn't forget again, you are thinking...but I know him...he will!); the fence between one young filly & a gelding was "sagging", t-posts bent..and they were together. The gelding must have created that mess, as he is the one that needed doctoring. Luckily, nothing too serious, as wire is known to do. Cowboy had to get out the scissors & then do some stitching. He'll be fine, just looks ugly!The only horse here that seemed to keep his cool was the 2 year old stallion going to Hawaii! Thank goodness!!

-7:30 am: Having finished a light breakfast of eggs, toast and peaches, we grumpily agreed that more would be accomplished, productively, if we joined forces. I will help Cowboy do all the "horse chores" because there was going to be more than usual. (We heard the ruccous in the dark quiet hours, but there was no use doing anything about it until morning). He will help me to the "yard chores" seeing branches and tumbleweeds EVERYWHERE! Without wandering around the premises...I could only imagine what else took place...but I'll check that out AFTER the "horse chores"...no point in getting more stressed!

TUES July 1, 2008-6:30 am: Grrrrr! DID NOT sleep well! We had a horrible wind storm come through last nite, lost the power about midnite & it stayed off for 2.5 hours, temp's hovered around 88*in the bedroom,living room~ everywhere! Felt like I was in AZ again! Complete with the Haboob! We sat on the front porch assessing the whole situation afore us, drinking our coffee! Neither of us speaking for fear our lack of REM sleep would cause us to take slashes at the world around us, including each other!

"HABOOB" def: The word "haboob" comes from the Arabic word habb, meaning “wind.” A haboob is a wall of dust as a result of a microburst or downburst. The air forced downward is pushed forward by the front of a thunderstorm cell, dragging dust and debris with it, as it travels across the terrain.

Haboobs occur mostly during the summer months . These dust storms are much more serious than dust devils. The wind during a haboob is usually up to about 30 mph and dust can rise high into the air as it blows over the Valley. A haboob can last for up to three hours . There various degrees of dust storms, but the haboob is the largest and most dangerous.

Got Our Hearts Fed & Bellies Full...

....being neighborly for the past 3 days.

And we enjoyed every minute of it despite the heat! Today, it got up to 104*, but plenty of water and lemonade was provided for our work drenched bodies & parched gullets.
One of our closer "neighbors" (several miles away) needed some help with fencing in their 40 acres for their 2 bottle fed/to butcher calves, repairs of water lines & weed control. I can't call them elderly, as I hate that term...mainly, because someday someone will be calling me that & I don't like the sounds of it! They are wonderful people and their grown kids & grandkids don't live very close to help, so we try to help whenever they will let us.

Not that we didn't have things to be done here at home, because that is just a given....but making the time, having the opportunity to help others is such a pleasure for us! And one of the great rewards, according to Hubby, is we always get fed well! Boy .. do the country farmers & ranchers know how to take care of one's appetites! (I've always enjoyed that privilege when it is put on my shoulders. I love to cook for those who love to eat!!)
Noontime is suppertime...always was, and still is for that generation of this culture. Early to work, supper break, back to work for another 7-8 hours..light snack of leftovers, relax a spell & off to bed~ to do it all over the next day. Although the women do help some, they generally spend the mornings preparing the noontime supper.
These past 3 days, the "Mr." was out with us, handing out more fencing nails, gathering the fencing pliers we'd dropped 100' back (which would allow a break for us to dose ourselves with water...since he'd would walk back to the spot, look around a bit & then come back..... I'm not too sure that he walked any faster than we would have! The heat drains ya!) or he was mixing up more weed killer.
Mostly, he sat on the tailgate of the pickup propped against the rolls of barbed wire and the cooler which was filled with water, jugs of lemonade & fruit. He told story upon story...the words would just flow off his tongue, hour after hour! Not only did it help the hours pass quickly, it also filled our hearts with times of the past. He was born & raised on his place. His Mom just passed away this winter at 98 years. We heard stories of his childhood, his & the "Mrs." years as pig farmers on this ground. The raising of their children. Tough times, glorious times, none with regrets or sorrow. There was a constant twinkle in his eyes.......it never clouded over.

The first morning, arriving there at 5 a.m., they were disappointed we didn't come at 4:30 for breakfast! Now I am NOT a breakfast person, and getting up at 3:30-4:00 a.m. is not a real easy task for me, as I am a night person! But, Hubby, on the other hand, LOVES a good country breakfast to start the day. Truly...I USED to make them for him. I used to be up before everyone, and make breakfast time a great start to a new days beginning...but he certainly does not expect it from me now (he's never "expected" it but loves it when it happens!). I will surprise him once in awhile, usually in the winter, getting up before him. I'll make the coffee, get the fires stoked & house warmed, so when he comes out from the depth of dreamland, it is the aromas of a warm house, sizzling bacon & the love of his wife...filtering through the hallway to his nostrils that awakens him.
Needless to say, day 2 & 3...we were there for breakfast! Yesterday was Hubby's fav...biscuits & gravy (ALL food is his fav!). Today's fare was bacon, eggs (ours that we supply them with), & french toast ("Mrs." homemade bread style!) with homemade huckleberry syrup. Yummmm!
Day 1, I helped Hubby with the fencing & soaked up all the wonderful stories told by the "Mr.".

Day 2, I stayed back, while Hubby fixed water lines & got more stories..some I'm sure that shan't be told in mixed company :)
.... I helped the "Mrs." in weeding her flower beds and veggie garden. I even hung out some laundry to dry in the warm breezes. "Mrs." doesn't handle the heat too well, I could tell even though she would not admit it. I had to battle with her to let me work outside & her inside! I did take a lot of breaks to go inside to keep her company and watch her skillful hands preparing supper. She'd eventually, wipe her hands on her apron, bring the coffee pot to the table, shove the plate of fresh snickerdoodles at me (yep, she'd made them that morning!), then sit for a spell and tell me some of her stories! On my..........how I love the stories from that generation...especially the folks who lived on farms & ranches! The love in her words spoke loudly of her contentment & joys of a good life. I had such a wonderful time and I am ever so grateful that I opted to stay behind to spend the day with her! We giggled so much my toes hurt!

Day 3, today, was weed spraying...I'm not totally for it, for the environment and my nostrils...but it is their choice, and rightly so...
as it is their calves out there grazing ... there is Wyeth Lupine, Kochia, Field Horsetail in too large of quantities to feel safe. Their land hasn't been grazed & maintained for the past 10 or so years, to keep these noxious weeds at bay. There is plenty of grasses to last the summer, but...you never know, cattle won't usually eat noxious plants if there is plenty of good feed...but they needed to nipped in the butt now!
I told my Cowboy, he had to slow down today! I worry about him being in the heat so long, as he had a heat stroke while in AZ when he was shoeing horses. He is more susceptible now, we are told, and his tolerance to heat is much less. Sooooooo, being the 'other half' of this helping party...I packed the sprayer on my back for most of the morning. I was never so happy as to see the watch strike 11:00 a.m.! It was suppertime! Not that I was hungry.....but I needed to get cooled off and sit awhile with only my 105# of body weight instead of that pack on my back...which added half again the weight my feet are used to packing! There was only about 2 hours left of work to be done...fixing the automatic water fittings & filling the water troughs, hanging one more gate...one last 'trip around' to make sure all the fencing was secure...the neighboring wheat farmer might get a tad irate to find cows grazing in their fields.
Whew.....glad today was done! We sat in the cool shade of their locust trees with ice water and fresh Rhubarb pie!
(Which by the way, is my absolute most favorite dessert ever! No strawberries, no apples to tone down the tartness...just Rhubarb and a little sugar!)
Once we cooled off & got our bearings back, we came home. One more job had to be done...but luckily my Cowboy didn't need my help for that...gathering up the one Shorthorn which calved so late & her calf....loading them and taking them over to the "Mr. & Mrs." place to turn out with their 2 ~freshly weaned from the bottle~ calves....to keep them company. I climbed in the shower for a long cool one, then sat on the front porch with glass of iced tea...........ignoring the ache in my legs, my hands, my back....
Just savoring....savoring the stories told....savoring the giggles....savoring the memories of the past 3 days!
I will cherish them forever!

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PS...one of these days...I'm going to figure out some way to attach my cheap ol' camera to my hip `permanently~so I can take pix like everyone else does!
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AREN'T YOU CURIOUS??
I've got to tell you what was on the daily Suppertime menu...prepared lovingly by "Mrs."
DAY:
1) Fried Chicken (yet another Fav of my Cowboy! His Fav list goes to eternity...really!)
mashed potatoes, milk gravy, home canned peaches, home canned beets, cornbread!
2) Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, spinach salad, homemade rolls, home canned applesause!
3) German Sausage they made themselves, potato salad, cranberry muffins, fresh sliced strawberries!

Hungry yet? Come on over!

Fresh cut grass...

...fills my senses & calms my heart.
I absolutely love the smell! (Yankee Candle used to make one with that name...they seem to drop all the my favs!)
Been sitting on the front porch, drinking my 5 cups of coffee, savoring the moments, languishing in the scents. (that'd be 2 scents essential to my well being...Cut grass & Coffee!). It's warm, wind free (for a change!) & the deer have been out! Hardly ever get to see them. It's fawning time, so they stay hidden well.
Hubby decided to get up early, 4.am....borrow a tractor and mow one of our pastures overgrown with mustard, etc. Fire season will be here before we are ready.
(The Grain Train that passes out front by the State Rd., started 2 fires by our drive 2 wks ago... I always worry because we have a wooden bridge to cross to get to our house! It is a 40' drop from that to the creek below!...no driving thru!)

In the depth of my slumber, I could hear the quiet humming of his labors, and soon the scent began to reach through my open windows & doors~ right to my senses! Oh... such a pleasant way to awaken! (Yes...mustard & other weeds being cut DO smell of fresh green grass. Possibly becasue there is masses of it...or the moisture in the stems..or because it's do to the oxygen all things green emit. dunno, don't care...it's just a fact!)

So my day begins with what I love most...aromas I adore, quiet sunshine, and the one I love most! My Hubby!
What could be more perfect!