Fall Chores

What a full weekend! We had three loads of hay to haul from South Dakota (two and a half hours one way) and an elk to cut up. On our way back home from hauling hay, we picked up our four year old, three year old, and ten month old, grand daughters so they could spend Saturday night and Sunday with us. I'd forgotten what it was like to get three little ones fed, dressed for church, and livestock chores done all before nine o'clock in the morning. But what a delight they are. I'm stilling giggling thinking about our three year old when she came running into the bedroom and exclaimed, "Poofy butts are in the yard, Grandma!" You can imagine how this old brain went into hyper drive trying to figure out that one. Luckily it clicked quickly and I realized she was talking about the Pronghorn Antelope with the white hair that sticks up on their behinds causing a poofy butt.

It thrilled me to no end when our ten month old grand daughter was sitting on her mother's lap during Sunday School while I directed music for the children twelve and under and she threw a fit when she couldn't see me. She too has become Grandma's girl. Her parents relaxed from their break had driven the hour from home to join us. Hence, a few hours later with tears streaming down the kids cheeks they said goodbye to us and I vowed once more to hurry and get my fall chores done so they could spend a few days with us, not just over night.

We have been running a month behind all fall and we are not the only ones since our hay had just been baled the day before we picked it up. I hope this week to get the last of my garden produced froze, canned etc. The holidays are upon me and I haven't even started buy or making presents for Christmas.

Yet, it isn't Christmas that fills my thoughts but what kind of ice cream am I'm going to make this afternoon and how can I do butter different in the blender to gain a higher yield, and does pasteurized and unpasteurized cream make a difference on the amount of butter you gain? With this restless brain you can be sure in a few days I'll have lots to tell you. In fact four blogs are in the works.

Today, a fifth was started as a gal brought to my attention that many don't know the symptoms of a doe coming into heat. Our does are scheduled to cycle this Thursday and I hope to capture some pictures to help those of you that are beginners to recognize the symptoms. I spent an hour with this gal at her pens trying to help her recognize the symptoms of pregnancy. She had just kept the bucks in all the time not having any idea when her does were coming into heat.


But right this moment my decrepit back and legs are really aching from stacking hay and I think I'll lay down for half an hour. So my words of wisdom for today are, if you are told by a three year old that poofy butts are in the yard, it is probably Pronghorn Antelope.