Thursday Farm Photos: Creek's Up!

I love it when our wet weather creek is running.




The Donkettes have a slightly different opinion.

Want to see more water?
3/18/06: Meandering By The House
3/26/06: The Bigger The Water Dish, The Happier The Dog
5/5/06: View from the Middle of the Creek after Six Inches of Rain
5/13/06: Morning Mist Rising off the Creek
5/13/06: Cat Fishing?
5/15/06: Sheep Crossing
1/15/07: Running Water, Rubber Boots, & Mud
1/19/07: Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life Is But A Stream
2/25/08: A Rare Winter Sight—And Geese!
3/19/08: Flood Watch
4/7/08: Who's A-fraid of the Big Bad Creek? The Big Bad Creek?
4/8/08: A Fresh New Day Full of Morning Mist (and lots more hazy photos)
4/10/08: Surf's Up!
5/16/08: Splish Splash!
1/18/09: Crossing Over to Bigger and Better Things!

© Copyright 2009 FarmgirlFare.com, the fast flowing foodie farm blog where we've just started reading a fascinating book called Training Mules and Donkeys : A Logical Approach to Longearsand have already learned several helpful facts, including that donkeys aren't stubborn—they're just 'being sensible in their desire for self-preservation.' And because the donkey 'does not posess the visual depth perception of humans, he [or she] is only being cautious when he [or she] refuses to step readily into water.' And here we'd been thinking all along it was because they simply didn't want to get their hooves wet—or were being stubborn. (And for those of you who really pay attention to detail and are wondering about it, that white line across the top photo is actually a rope we used to cross the creek several years ago when it was about 70 feet wide.)

Sunday Farm Photo:Crossing Over to Bigger and Better Things!

Maybe

There's nothing like an arctic blast to inspire a girl to hunker down and spend countless hours cozied up to her computer working on some blog changes she's been wanting to make for, oh, a couple of years. There are lots of things I still want to add and tweak over the next few weeks (months? decades?) in order to make this site more user friendly and enjoyable to look at, but the biggest challenge—adding the left sidebar—is done.

I'm really excited about the larger photos, especially since I've finally decided to buy a digital SLR camera—something else I've been thinking about doing for a couple of years. And I can hardly wait to unveil the new header illustration being created by the wonderfully talented Liselotte Weller, who designed the current ones after we met back in 2005 during the hilarious Farmgirl Fare Name That Sheep Contest.

But right now the sun is shining and the temperature is back up into the double digits, so enough of this inside stuff. Figuring out html code when you pretty much have no idea what you're doing is an interesting challenge, but I'm starting to go a little stir crazy (and I haven't even touched my kitchen garden blog template yet). I just finished mixing up a batch of Honey Bran Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread dough, so now it's time to head outdoors to catch up on chores, hang a little laundry on the line, hug some neglected sheep, and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day on the farm!

© Copyright 2009 FarmgirlFare.com, the foodie farm blog where the boys in this photo (which I took back in April 2008 and promptly forgot about) did eventually muster up the courage to cross the wet weather creek in order to get back to their barn—but, unlike puppies, they always hate getting their hooves wet, though not nearly as much the donkeys do.

Saturday Farm Photo: Heading Home

Coming Out of the Creekbed On the Way Back from Doing Chores

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where farm work is a lot more fun when you have a trusty canine companion helping out (or at least keeping you company)—and we can't decide what we love more, autumn color or autumn light. But then again maybe they're one in the same.

Saturday Farm Photo: Big Hearted

Love in the wet weather creek bed

And The Whole Picture

Want to see more heart rocks?
6/13/05: First Heart Rocks To Appear On Farmgirl Fare
8/22/05: Heart Rocks By The Barn
11/10/05: Hearts & Cats For Clare & Kiri
2/14/06: Happy Valentine's Day
3/27/06: Happy Birthday To My Sweetheart, Joe
4/12/06: Hearts & Rocks & Numbers & Thoughts
6/17/06: I Heart Homegrown Garlic
7/22/06: Heart Rock Embedded In The Front Step
9/20/06: Heart Rocks, Morning Sun
10/18/06: My Little Girl Is Growing Up
12/2/06: Snowstorms & Snowfall
1/17/07: My Heart Is Embedded In This Place
6/12/07: Hold Life In Your Hand & Keep It In Your Heart
1/9/08: Adding To My Heart Rock Collection
2/8/08: Handful Of Heart Rocks All Found At Once
2/14/08: Happy Valentine's Day
3/8/08: My Hearts Overfloweth
3/27/08: Little Hearts, Big Love
5/13/08: Still Collecting Heart Rocks

© FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where you may not always see the whole picture, but Lucky Buddy Bear is usually in it — and it's always a good idea to sign up for the super duper extended coverage AAA membership when you live in the middle of nowhere, since yesterday we broke our previous 'farthest we've ever been towed home after breaking down' record of 100 miles by another 70 miles.

Yep, we rode 170 miles in a tow truck, and as he unloaded our pickup in front of The Shack, the driver announced that we'd won both the Longest Tow and Most Remote Location awards. He also asked if we'd ever seen the movie "Deliverance." I told him everybody asks us that. (I've never actually seen the movie — and have been told more than once I don't need to.)

Friday Daily Dose Of Cute: Splish Splash!

The New Pups Love to Get Wet (taken April 11th)

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where yesterday's nice big rainfall started our beloved weather creek flowing again (though thankfully not at flood level) - and even though the days are getting longer, they're still too short to do everything that needs to be done.

Tuesday Farm Photo: Still Collecting Heart Rocks

Put There Just For Me?

I've been finding heart shaped rocks on and around the farm for the past few years, and much to my surprise and delight I now have about 250 in my collection (there are a lot of rocks down here!) Usually the shape of a rock will catch my eye and I'll stop and pick it up to see if it really is a heart, but once in a while it's as if a heart rock was set out especially so I would find it. I came across this one in the creekbed the other day, sitting in what looked like its own little heart rock shrine. What a gift.

Want to see more hearts?
6/13/05: First Heart Rocks To Appear On Farmgirl Fare
8/22/05: Heart Rocks By The Barn
11/10/05: Hearts & Cats For Clare & Kiri
2/14/06: Happy Valentine's Day
3/27/06: Happy Birthday To My Sweetheart, Joe
4/12/06: Hearts & Rocks & Numbers & Thoughts
6/17/06: I Heart Homegrown Garlic
7/22/06: Heart Rock Embedded In The Front Step
9/20/06: Heart Rocks, Morning Sun
10/18/06: My Little Girl Is Growing Up
12/2/06: Snowstorms & Snowfall
1/17/07: My Heart Is Embedded In This Place
6/12/07: Hold Life In Your Hand & Keep It In Your Heart
1/9/08: Adding To My Heart Rock Collection
2/8/08: Handful Of Heart Rocks All Found At Once
2/14/08: Happy Valentine's Day
3/8/08: My Hearts Overfloweth
3/27/08: Little Hearts, Big Love

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where we love our crazy country life 240 remote Missouri acres with all of our hearts.

Thursday Farm Photo: Surf's Up!

The No Crossing Zone Is Back

This is where everybody usually crosses when our usually meandering little wet weather creek is running. Not today. It isn't quite the raging river it turned into last month, though there is supposed to be another storm hitting tonight. We definitely won't be driving through this anytime soon.

Fortunately earlier today I was able to ford the creek further upstream on foot, but only after taking all sorts of safety precautions as demanded by my visiting and very concerned mother. I was decked out in ratty sneakers (so my rubber boots didn't fill with water and drag me down), thin summer pajama pants (so my heavy denim overalls didn't fill with water and drag me down) rolled up above my knees, and my old glasses (so my new ones didn't wash downstream).

I was holding an enormous stick to keep me from losing my balance and washing downstream and had two syringes full of penicillin for the ewe battling mastitis poking out of one shirt pocket and a bottle of milk for her lamb in the other. I was quite the vision.

My mother also gave me instructions on how I should position myself when the water did start carrying me away - on my back with my feet out in front of me - which is apparently what you they tell you to do if you fall overboard when you're on a white water river rafting adventure. She goes on those sorts of adventures; I don't.

The good news is I survived - and barely got my knees wet. The better news is that all the animals are okay, and none of our very pregnant ewes decided to have a baby (or two) during the seven hours I wasn't able to get down to the barn today. Just cross your fingers that they cross their legs until tomorrow, because my mother says I'm not allowed to cross the creek for my nightly 3 a.m. lamb check, even though I told her she could come along and hold the spotlight so she'd be able to see if I was in the correct position when I started to wash downstream.*

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the soaking wet foodie farm blog where the action and adventures never stop when you're living the so-called quiet, peaceful, simple country life.

* All lightheartedness aside, venturing into moving water can be extremely dangerous, and I know this from firsthand experience. The reason my mother was extra concerned today is because several years ago while she was visiting, the creek got up about 70 feet wide, and it rose so fast during the short time I was down at the barn that on my way back I was knocked down, pulled underwater, and seriously thought I was going to drown - and that was while holding onto a guide rope tied to two posts. It was only because she and a friend were holding onto either end of the rope and were able to lift my head up out of the water that I survived.

It only takes a foot of fast moving water to wash away a car. When you come to a flooded area, the rule of thumb is this: If you have to stop and ask yourself if it's okay to cross, then it's not okay to cross. Stay safe.

Tuesday Farm Photo: A Fresh New Day

Our Morning Mist Is Back

Want to see more hazy photos?
8/3/05: Breakfast Under The Mist
8/10/05: View Through The Dew
8/26/05: These Misty Summer Mornings Feel So Peaceful
9/25/05: I Can't Resist These Pink Sunrises
10/11/05: Sheep Into The Mist
11/22/05: From Out Of The Fog, A Little Beagle Dog
11/26/05: October & November Same Scene, New View
3/12/06: Misty Morning Rose Lamb
5/25/06: Donkey In The Mist
8/16/06: Misty Morning Peace - Stop & Breathe It In
11/23/06: Thankful To Call This Place Home
1/1/07: Two Trees Dancing Under The Morning Mist
12/13/07: Slow Traffic Ahead
12/14/07: Good Next Door Neighbors

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where spring green-up has definitely begun - but the grass on the other side of the barnyard fence isn't growing nearly fast enough for our several dozen 'we're so sick of being on The All Hay Diet' sheep. (But keep those nightly grain treats coming!)

Monday Farm Photo #2: Who's A-fraid Of The Big Bad Creek? The Big Bad Creek?

That Would Be Our Donkeys

Back in February when the wet weather creek started flowing during all those snow and ice storms (this was before it flooded over), the donkeys literally camped out for three days up by The Shack (complaining loudly the entire time) rather than get their precious hooves wet crossing over to the barn. Begging, pleading, coaxing, and even a bucket full of treats dangled temptingly from the other side of the water didn't work. Fortunately they've gotten a little better since then. A little.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where our motto is If you need more laughs in your life, just go out and get yourself a little donkey.

Farm Photo 3/19/08: Flood Watch

No Crossing Zone

Many of you know about our wet weather creek that starts meandering through the farm after a heavy rain or big snow melt. Well yesterday that pleasant little stream quickly became a raging, unpassable torrent. The rain, which continued throughout the night, has finally let up (and now there's light snow predicted), but the creek won't crest and begin to recede for several more hours. The fields are flooding, and the barnyard is pretty much under water.

After driving a truck full of hay over to the barn while we could still get across yesterday, we worked in the pouring rain doing what we could to divert some of the several mini rivers that were rushing down the hillside and into the barnyard. Joe managed to dig out a drainage runoff trench that was already overflowing, and in lieu of sandbags we packed handfuls of wet leaves around a large tree limb in one spot, but the water simply went around it.

At one time there were 40 homes down here in our little valley, and over the years all of them flooded except for The Shack. The new building we plan to move into is located just across the farmyard on one of the only other spots that hasn't been under water at some point in the last 70 years.

So we're safe and dry, but we haven't been able to get over to the barn - which is full of two dozen extremely pregnant sheep - since 4:00 yesterday afternoon. The donkey peddling cowboy will be here soon to check on the girls and feed everyone hay. Cell phones don't work down here, so we'll have to shout to each other across and over the sound of the rushing water. Until then there's nothing to do but wait, wonder, watch, and worry.

Want to see what the creek normally looks like?
3/18/06: Meandering By The House Exactly Two Years Ago
3/26/06: The Bigger The Water Dish, The Happier The Dog
5/15/06: Sheep Crossing
1/15/07: Running Water, Rubber Boots, & Mud (This is looking across the water toward where I was standing when I took today's photo; that's the same little clump of cedar trees, and those bare trees on the rocky beach are the ones now midstream.)
1/19/07: Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life Is But A Stream
2/25/08: A Rare Winter Sight - And Geese!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where some days it's more obvious than others that Mother Nature is the one in control around here - and the donkeys are safe but soggy.

Farm Photo 2/25/08:A Rare Winter Sight - And Geese!

Frozen Water & Flowing Water

It isn't often that our wet weather creek starts running when there's snow on the ground. But one of the recent snow and ice storms we had (they're all becoming one big white blur in my mind) was followed a few days later by a downpour, resulting in a lot of runoff from the surrounding hills and higher water levels underground. For a while the little trickle of overflow at the spring box looked like a miniature Niagra Falls, and the pasture around it was flooded. The creek is one of my favorite things about the farm. I really wish it ran all the time, but after a decade of drought I suppose we're lucky it still runs at all.

One of the other things I love about the farm is that it's located in a migratory flight path, and this morning I was surprised and delighted to hear the unmistakable sound of geese overhead. It took me several seconds to realize they're already heading back north. Most of them were traveling above the clouds and out of sight, but a couple of low-flying flocks went by while I was down at the barn, and of course I stopped to watch. I must have seen two thousand geese in just a couple of minutes. After all these years they never fail to mesmerize me.

I probably could have snapped a couple of good photos - something I've been hoping to do for ages - but it was raining, so this was one of the rare times I didn't have my trusty little camera slung around my neck. Instead I stood with my face to the sky as I listened to their incessant honking, foolishly tried to count them, and soaked up the joyful moment with everything I could.

Winter is flying by.

© 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where rubber boots are all the rage and the only traffic to be found is on the goose expressway high above our heads.

Farm Photo 1/19/07: Meandering Water and Thoughts

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.
A year or so ago I was reading yet another one of those How To Be More ________ articles that never seem to go out of style. You simply fill in the blank and are instantly on your way to helping millions of us poor slobs turn into better, more proficient people. How To Be More Organized. . . More Beautiful. . . More Wealthy. . . More Politically Correct.

While I've failed miserably over the years at becoming more organized and clutter-free, I did latch on to a small but significant concept from this particular article, whose subject was something along the lines of How To Be More Happy And Content With Your Life. After reading it, I stopped saying "I wish."

I wish I hadn't overcooked the broccoli will not improve the state of what is sitting on your plate. I wish it wasn't so hot and humid here will not change the weather. I wish I had a million dollars will never make it magically appear. I wish you weren't so far away will not bring them any closer. I wish he hadn't died is never ever going to bring him back.

On the surface, simply not saying I wish. . . doesn't seem to make much sense. I mean, of course you wish all those things were true. But I have come to realize that saying them out loud is actually a waste of time and energy, as wishing for something (rather than actually doing something) only brings about feelings of dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

After reading that article, I became aware of was just how often I found myself saying I wish, and I was surprised by the frequency. I made a conscious effort to stop saying it. It was an easier habit to break than I thought it would be, although there are still times when a wish is on the tip of my tongue, and it is all I can do to stop it from escaping.

Not wishing for things to be any other way than how they are has definitely had a positive effect on my life. There is, however, one thing I cannot help still wishing for--that our wet weather creek would run all the time.

There is something so profoundly soothing about the sight and sound of that crystal clear water ambling over the rocks. It is an immediate stress reliever. This morning was crisp and bright, blue sky and a pleasant 38 degrees. I stood in the front field with the sheep and deeply breathed in the day, while listening to nothing but the high-pitched cry of a hawk overhead, the rhythmic munching of my flock, and the babbling of the creek as it meandered its way along the edge of the field.

It's rare for the creek to be flowing on a hot summer day, but once in a while it is. That is when we finish our chores up early, slip into flip-flops (which are totally unsuitable farm footwear except for this one instance), grab a couple of ratty towels, and make our way down to one of the two little swimming holes in front of the house that were conveniently formed a few years back during a flood.

With the sun still beating down on you with all of its might, just looking into that cool water and anticipating how it will feel on your hot, sweaty skin is almost refreshing enough. At this moment, all of the world's problems have been reduced to one pressing question: Should you take it one toe at a time, or go ahead and splash right in?

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a stream.

A year of Farm Photos ago:
1/19/07: Those Leaves Didn't Just Land On His Back
1/18/07: Tree Sock?
And Meme's The Word, Part One

Farm Photo: 1/15/07

Our Wet Weather Creek Started Running This Morning

Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit!
From what I've heard, we've been very lucky so far. That predicted freezing rain and other nasty stuff ended up coming down as regular old rain instead, but boy did we get plenty of it. The creek is running. The overflow from the spring box--which is often not more than a trickle--looks like a baby Niagra Falls. And there's mud. Lots and lots of mud. The barnyard turned into a mushy, yucky mess.

Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit! Shhhqwit!
In my beloved rubber boots and thick woolen socks, I can slog through the barnyard just fine--even with my hay cart in tow (no sense in feeding those bales that are safely in the barn just yet). I cannot believe I survived the first 26 years of my life without rubber boots. They are so liberating! Today I marched right through a puddle that came halfway up to my knees.

As for the sheep. . . well, they avoid puddles whenever possible. And I can't think of anything they despise more than having to walk in the mud. You don't know what pure disgust is until you've seen it staring back at you on 56 faces at once.

By choice, the sheep and their guard donkey spent the day plodding around in the wet and nibbling on low hanging branches of cedar trees rather than munching on hay in the muck. It is obvious they blame me not only for the mud, but all of the bad weather as well. So when I tucked them in for the night, I consoled them with their favorite treats and the comforting news that this would all be frozen solid by morning. Which is good--because I hate to think how much it would cost to buy 112 pairs of little rubber boots.

As for us, we are hunkered down and awaiting zero degrees. The fire in the woodstove is crackling, there is freshly baked bread in the kitchen, and the two raised beds of my special high dollar garlic have been mulched with a thick layer of manure hay from the barn. I even managed to install a makeshift plastic tarp drop ceiling in the greenhouse to help hold in the heat from the space heater. There is nothing more to do but curl up, get some sleep, and hope there's running water in the morning.

A year of photos ago:
1/14/06: Patience Is Not One Of Their Virtues
And WCB #32: Posted Patchy Cat
1/15/06: Nice Green Hay On A Very Cold Day
And WDB #17: Robin & Leopold

Weekend Dog Blogging #35: Lapping it Up

No bottled water for Bear—this is spring water at the source.

© FarmgirlFare.com

Daily Farm Photo: 5/15/06

Sheep Crossing

Lamb Report: The wet weather creek is still running (hooray!), but late yesterday afternoon some of the sheep decided it was low enough to safely cross over to one of their favorite grazing spots, and so they took the plunge. (Well, I suppose 'the splash' would be more appropriate--there was no swimming involved.) Unfortunately many of those brave woolies were mothers whose kids did not think it was at all safe to cross the creek, so things got quite noisy for a while until Bear and I made everyone splash back through to the other side. My Mother's Day gift from the sheep? They all went into the barn for the night without a fight! And it only took me four tries to get the correct lamb count. Current Lamb Count: 22. Number of baby lambs curled up asleep at my feet as I type this: 1.

P.S. I'm just thrilled that so many of you enjoyed my little Mother's Day Lamb 'Tail.' Thanks, as always, for taking the time to write and let me know.

Weekend Cat Blogging #49

Cat Fishing?

Attention Cat Lovers! This Is Weekend Cat Blogging #49!
See fun feline photos & discover yummy new food blogs. Visit my pal Clare & her crazy Cat Kiri at Eat Stuff in Australia for all the links to this week's kitties. (Note: Clare has temporarily posted a "WCB placeholder" over at Eat Stuff--but she has an awfully good--and very romantic--reason.) For more frolicking felines, catch the traveling Carnival Of The Cats each Sunday night. And the weekly Friday Ark boards everything from cats to cattle dogs.

Daily Farm Photo: 5/13/06

Morning Mist Rising Off The Wet Weather Creek

Lamb Report: So we're still playing Non-Stop Classic Rock in the barn to help scare off the coyotes (can't get any other stations to come in). Last night while I was down there for a final check before bed, Alice Cooper announced that "if you don't have anything better to do, you can email me." I was this close to letting him know that he has a wider audience than probably even he could imagine. Of course, his barnyard listeners aren't exactly tuning into his show by choice (well, at least one is). Who knows. Maybe I'll email him tonight--if I don't have anything better to do. Current Lamb Count: 22. Number of times I counted lambs yesterday evening before I came up with the correct number: Felt like 90. (This is more difficult to do than it sounds.)

Donkey Report: Trimmed hooves look spiffy, and I'm back to being loved about 90%--won't let me touch his ears yet. (Which, by the way, the farrier announced were quite small for a donkey. Maybe that's what makes Dan so much cuter than the average donkey).

Daily Farm Photo: 5/5/06

Six Inches Of Rain In A Week Means The Return Of Our Wet Weather Creek (It's one of my favorite things about the farm.)


Life keeps going.
The garden keeps growing.
The water keeps flowing.

And I am standing in my rubber boots in the middle of it all.
Which means the only thing I know for sure is that my feet are clean & dry.

I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I may have even figured some stuff out. I will write more soon. In the meantime, I continue to puzzle over something:

How in the world did so many incredibly kind and caring people stumble upon me and my tumbled together farm in the middle of nowhere? Thank you for you.

Current Lamb Count: 19. Number of confirmed armadillo kills by Bad Ass Beagle: 2. (Five buzzards in the swing tree tipped me off to the location of the latest victim.)

Weekend Dog Blogging: Thirsty Bear

The bigger the water dish, the happier the dog.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the fresh water foodie farm blog where Lucky Buddy Bear isn't the only one who loves it when our wet weather creek is flowing—except when it's flowing a little too much.

Daily Farm Photo: 3/18/06

I Love When Our Wet Weather Creek Meanders By The House