New Year , Same old Thing !

I say the same thing every year, I hope this year is a better year than the one before. Well................. this year started out the same as always ! First I got the stomach flu going around our family, the very same day I find out my Ford Explorer's transmission went !! Wonderful ! Another expense that I have to worry about ! Plus we only have my Explorer and my husband's old ( and I mean old ! ) dump truck . So I will be without a car for 2 to 3 weeks. That will drive me nuts !! Maybe they will get it done quicker than they think ?? ( not likely !! ) Today we needed groceries and we needed to get coal. So we went to the grocery store in the old dump truck. My husband called us The Clampetts going to town. LO L!!!!!!!!! Could just imagine what we looked like ! The truck is all rusted up and has holes in the sides of the bed . Husband did some patching here and there so it would pass inspection. We piled all the bags in the front seat with us. Then went and got our coal. The price of the coal has gone up since we got it about a month ago. Now it is up to $204 a ton. Guess it will keep us warm for another month !( a pic of the Clampett truck, in it's better days, plus my husband's pride and joy he shot the other year )

Our Life Will Be Changing

My husband and I have been married 36 years and we have been Dairy Farmers for those 36 years. My husband took over the farm from his parents in 1972 , 2 years before we got married. But with the low milk prices we have been hit hard with bills that have backed up. Milk prices got up to $19.00 but that still is not what the Dairy Farmer should be getting for their milk. The Farmer does all the work and gets screwed in getting a decent milk price .The months you get a half way decent price for your milk is not enough to get caught up on the backed up bills.We have been hit very hard because we are a very small family Dairy Farm . We only milk 28 cows. I guess it is amazing we have gone on as long as we have.We own our Dairy Farm, we have no mortgage payment.So in that way we are luckier than some other Farmers.When the milk price was down to $9.00 some of those Farmers could not pay their mortgage payment.We have talked this past year about selling the cows. We just don't think we can keep getting deeper and deeper in debt.We realize it has come to the point where money wise , we can't go on the way we have been . As I fed hay last night I thought to myself....in a couple of months I will no longer be doing this. For 36 years we have gone to the barn morning and night , milking the cows, feeding silage, chop and hay, feeding the calves, tending to sick animals, washing the milkers every morning. Sometimes we would be at the barn til 10 or 11 p.m. if there were problems. That was life as a Dairy Farmer. In a couple of months that will all change.There will be no reason to go to the barn every morning and night, no cows and calves to feed and tend to, no more milkers to wash. And as much as it was sometimes hard to be so tied down ..... I think it is going to be as hard ( or harder ) to cope with the loss of not being a Dairy Farmer any more ! A life of a Dairy Farmer is tough and it is very stressful. But there were also many joys. And as hard as it was sometimes ...I know my husband and I are going to miss very, very much going to the barn and the work that goes into being a Dairy Farmer.Being a Dairy Farmer wasn't a job, it was a way of life. Many people who follow me on Twitter know how all our grandchildren love coming here to the Farm and going to the barn. Like I said before , our 15 month old grandson is too little to understand why we are no longer going to the barn and seeing Pap and the cows. JPlovesCotton wrote a piece on her blog (http://jplovescotton.wordpress.com ) that was wonderful and touched my heart . She wrote.... " The image of a grandson and grandad no longer having that reason to put on their boots and head to the barn may permanently reside on my eyelids." That is what I may miss the most , the loss of such a simple thing .

Christmas

Well Christmas is over for another year. It went so fast . Right now we are having cold and windy weather . But no snow. Guess that is good, since a lot of places are having lots of snow . I am enjoying doing nothing ! I have been sitting in my recliner , working on my cross stitch and reading. I just finished a book by Iris Johansen. Such a great writer ! Now I am starting a book by Karin Slaughter. Also just finished a book by Beverly Barton. Another WONDERFUL WRITER and a very, very nice person ! Last night I finally watched THE EXPENDABLES with Sly Stallone and all the action stars. Loved it !!! Tonight is my night to watch THE CLOSER on TNT . One of my favorite shows ! After it is over then I watch HAWAII FIVE O . I can remember watching the old one with Jack Lord. I never missed that show! The new one is great too ! Usually in January I tend to hibernate . I like to take it easy after the hustle and bustle of the holidays and working on crafts . I hope to get back to my walking again. I always feel so much better when I walk a couple of days a week. I will try and do better ! LOL !

Christmas Time !

Christmas is almost here . I can't believe it ! It is one of my favorite times of the year . I LOVE to decorate all my trees and put out all my decorations. I have a 7 1/2 ' tall , thin tree in the dining room and a 9' tall , thin tree in the living room. Also other small trees all over the house. Right now we are getting some snow . It really makes it look like Christmas ! The grandbaby is taking a nap so I am getting things done on the computer . I have listed lots of New Goodies on my ebay auctions , my Etsy Shop and my EZ Shoppe. Hope you take a look ! Our granduaghter's birthday is next week. I have most of her birthday shopping done. But I still have more Christmas shopping to do . I was going to go today after the grandbaby leaves , but with this snow I may just stay put ! I do not like driving in snowy weather . We have a 7 ' 0r 8 ' Star that lights up on our shed and I put lights out on our big porch with Pine Garland and Bows. It looks so pretty and festive. Hope you an your family have a MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

Gift Basket Giveaway

Well , It is that time of the year . I am having a Gift Basket Giveaway again. Like I did last year. If you make a purchase on my EZ Shoppe, my ebay auctions or my new Etsy Shop you will be entered. I have added lots of New Goodies . I have New Angel Ornies , Santas , Snowmen , Candle Lamp Arrangements , Candle Boxes , Pans and Paddles with Grubby Candles and Fixins ,Grubby Snowman Ornies , Barnwood Boxes with Fixins , Wreaths , Baskets , Grubby Tea Stained Doilys and More ! This year the Basket will contain a Candle Pan with a Grubby Candle and Fixins , Tarts , Hand Painted Ornies, Jingle Bell Fixins , a Grubby Tea Stained Doily, a Santa Ornie and More !! The Drawing will be December 21 . Good Luck !!

Putting the Cows Out !

We put our cows outside into our fields or our neighbors fields every morning and every night. The other day I started thinking of all we have to do to put the cows out. A person who isn't a farmer sees the cows in the field and probably thinks : A farmer just lets the cows go down to the field. Not quite !! LOL ! A farmer knows what all goes into that ! First , we clean out the troughs of any hay . We sweep the trough . Then use the shovel to get any small pieces. Then get all the cows up that are laying down. In the hopes they will poop in the gutter ( I know we can hope ! LOL ! ) and not all over the walkway . Once the cows are up , I unhook them and my husband chases them out the door. And of course most of them poop all over the walkway ! We get all the cows out the door . Then we have a heifer who we don't trust yet to not go through the fence. We put her out in the pen . My husband gets the cows down to the field. Hooks all the fences. I start scraping the floor of all the poop . Then sprinkle lime to help dry it up. I feed the calves and the heifers hay in the barn. My husband feeds the heifers and calves in the extension. My husband and I rebed the cows with straw for the morning. I feed the cats their milk . We turn out the lights and head into the house for supper. So when you see cows in a field , think of all that goes into getting those cows into down there !

Walking up to the Mountain

On Monday we had a picnic here on the farm. The grandkids and our one daughter walked up the lane towards our mountains. She took this picture . I thought it was so beautiful !