Farm Fresh Blog

Eegaads!  The bows are still lurking under the kitchen table, used gift bags are stacked inside each other and packed away, and credit card bills have arrived like chickens coming home to roost.  It's time to pay the piper!

I spent the morning paying bills. Sigh . . .  some days I feel like this dog . . .

 "Where's my tail?"

"There's my tail!"

 "A-a-a-almost got it!"

"Nope. . .There it is!"

 "Woowh! I'm dizzy . . ."

"Was that VISA or MasterCard?"

Check out these ears! 

Trace looks more like Dumbo the Flying Elephant than a Border Collie!

  Eeegaads!

I'm sure this really convinces the naysayers that Trace is NOT a Border Collie.  After all, Border Collies should look like this:

                                       Right?

Wrong!

I give you Exhibits A & B:

A Tale (Tail) of Two Puppies

 Ruby

Trace 

They are young Jedi Warriors . . . they are Border Collie!

While other breeds go for a walk, our young Jedi Warriors go for a stalk . . .

May the Force be with them!

 And after they stalk everything that moves in the pasture, they finally collapse . . . and the Universe takes a moment to recover.

Read more about the Liver-Coated Sneak-Stalking Sheepdog:

Sometimes Mom's new dog, Stone, looks over at our side of the fence.

  I can see his mind working . . .

Our side of the fence has sheep, and cows, and horses, and lots of other dogs.

I'll bet he wonders about life on this side of the fence.  But he always chooses . . .

 . . . his new mom!

 He seems . . .

. . .  pretty . . .                                           

                    . . . happy. . . 

 . . . with his choice!

There is something magical about little girls and horses.

My brother brought his family to the farm on Christmas Eve and once again, Ona proved that she is worth her (ample) weight in gold.  My nieces climbed aboard her broad back for pony rides. No one has been on Ona in months. No biggie.  This is Ona - The Golden Horse.  As long as Little Girls come bearing horse cookies, she will walk circles all day long.  She really is the perfect horse - so patient, so calm. Nothing much bothers Ona.

You can't put a price on a horse like this.

 . . . or smiles like this.

Ona is okay with walking large, patient circles, with anyone at the helm.

I didn't buy Ona for this.  I bought Ona to teach me how to drive.  And she is as calm and patient with big girls as she is with little girls. 

By the way . . .

. . . as far as we know . . .  

. . . . Ona has never been broke to ride.

(She is utterly clueless regarding leg aids. We believe she is just so calm that she doesn't mind passengers. Yep, a true Golden Girl. Nope, Ona is not for sale.)

"I didn't trade Trace the lamb for the pig ear. I like looking at my lamb. Mom says it's better than television."

"I like watchin' her play."

 "She runs . . . "

". . . and she bounces."

 "Trace likes watchin' her too, but I don't think it's the same. He says he'll trade me a pig ear, a Milk Bone, aaaand his stuffed chipmunk for her."

"No deal."

"Trace's chipmunk doesn't even have a tail!"

"Santa Paws came! I missed him! I missed him!"

We stayed up real late. We waited and we waited . . . and we watched. . .

. . . and we listened . . .

Oli promised that she wouldn't eat Santa Paws.

Cowboy promised he wouldn't chase the reindeer.

This is Trace's first Christmas, so he was real excited.

It's my first Christmas too! I was gonna stay up all night long . . .

. . . but I got sidetracked looking for Jesus and . . .

. . . and I fell asleep!

I missed him!  I missed him!  

But look what he left!

 . . . and this!

We got a new baby lamb!!!!

(Trace and I are still arguing over who gets the baby lamb . . . He said he'd trade me a pig ear for it.)

"Mom says that Santa Paws is coming tonight!"

"I'm gonna stay up all night long to wait for him!"

Mom says this is a Holy Night cuz Baby Jesus was born tonight.  Mom says it's okay that they won't let me go to church b'cuz I already live in the most Holy of places . . .  . I live in a stable. If it was good enough for Baby Jesus, it's good enough for me!

"Mom says Jesus can see everything we do. Mom says Jesus sees us when I chase the cat.  And He sees us when Lily bites the barn boards. And He sees us when Trace poops in the house. And she said that Jesus tells Santa Paws if we've been bad or good." 

"I wonder where he sits so he can see all those things."

"Maybe he's in here."    

 "That would not be good."

"It's gonna be a long night."

            "Here Trace!"

"Atta Boy!  Hop up here!"

(The Unsuspecting Victim)   

"Look what Daddy has for you!"

("Run, Trace, run!")

    "Now hold still, Little Buddy."

"You're kiddin', right?"     

"I'm fixin' to let him go! Get the picture now! Quick!" 

(Unlike bullriding, the sport of Santa Hat Photography rarely allows you 8 full seconds.)

"Here Lily!"

"Oh Come'on, Lil!  Be a sport! Come 'ere!"

 "Give us a smile for Santa!"

"Yeah, yeah . . . Fa la la la la, and all that crap . . ."

"Okay Lil, that's a take!"

"You realize that y'all need therapy, right?" 

As a crime scene investigator, I go into a lot of homes, and I have always said that you can learn a lot about people by looking at their bookshelf. But you can also learn a great deal about people by looking at their Christmas trees.  Some people have "theme" trees. Some have trees so ornate they compete with department stores. And some people, like us, have Christmas trees that serve as "Way Back Machines." 

Over the years you collect ornaments, some fancy, some plain, but each evokes a memory.  We have two trees.  Other Half likes a large tree in the living room, (where Cowboy is delighted to discover that he now has an indoor restroom!), and I like a rosemary tree on the kitchen table, (where my porcelain ornaments are safe from the dogs!)  Each tree has memories.  His family has a Christmas tree lot, and so his big tree always comes from that lot. It is decorated with old ornaments and treasures the kids made (up high, so Cowboy doesn't pee on them!)

The kitchen tree tends to be more animal-oriented. Go figure . . .

. . .  a little heavy on the horses!

 "The First Noel"

Some ornament hold more memories than others.  Years ago, I bought two Belgian Tervuren ornaments at a dog show.

Is this not cute or what!  

It was Kona's first Christmas and he climbed up onto the kitchen table to help himself to the Christmas tree. He mangled this ornament.  The little angel puppy hanging on the star no longer had ears, his halo was crooked, and his wings kept falling off.

 Instead of having a fit, I put it back on the tree and told myself that this ornament would always remind me of Kona's first Christmas.

He was such a clever little guy.

 And he grew to become a good working partner.  I had no idea he would only have eight Christmas trees.  Now I am so glad that I kept that silly broken ornament . . . for it will always remind me of Kona's first Christmas.

And now he is my angel with the crooked halo and the fallen wings . . . 

 What memories does your "Way Back Machine" take you back to?

Fleece Navidad, Everyone!

Last night we took the kids and the grandbaby on an adventure that would have made the Griswald's proud! Santa's Wonderland is an outdoor playground that boasts 2.5 million Christmas lights. None of us had ever been before, and it was well worth the trip! We took a horse-drawn carriage ride along our lighted journey.   

  A certain Someone was more impressed with the free bag of kettle corn than she was with the lights.

Sparky, our horse, followed the path of cars along the cascade of lights. 

And lest anyone forget . . .

After the tour Sparky got a well-needed drink.

(Note that Lilah has not let go of that bag of kettle corn!)

"Hang on!  That horse is lookin' at my kettle corn!"

After the tour, we went into Santa Town which had everything your little Christmas Heart could desire! They had a cool band that sang Country Christmas songs and hymns.  It was nice to see that in the age of political correctness, the entire theme park wished everyone a Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays, and no one was shy about putting the religion back in a religious holiday!

And shopping!  There was lots of shopping!  (I want extra-credit for being an adult and buying a bar of goat milk soap instead of fudge!)

I resisted buying this.  It was hard though!

 They actually had REAL campfires where you could roast hotdogs and marshmallows!

The Lilah Bean's favorite part was still the kettle corn! Her daddy plopped her down in a bale of hay where she happily munched and watched the world around her.  (Note: "The Christmas Story" with Ralphie and the Red Rider BB Gun playing on a large screen in the background!) 

Yes, "God Bless Texas!"

It was a wonderful evening, perfect for building memories. Will she remember Sparky, her taxi cab horse? Probably not?  Will she remember her daddy putting Grandpa's cowboy hat on her head?  I doubt it?  Will she remember the beautifully done Nativity scene?  Certainly not!  What will she remember?

Kettle Corn!!!

Note: They also had a REALLY neat petting zoo with pony rides! Why do we have no pictures of The Lilah Bean at the petting zoo?  Because her daddy took one look at the cost per person and wisely announced that Grandpa had EVERY ONE of those pettable critters at our house and The Lilah Bean could wait until Christmas Eve where she could pet the animals for free.  (I did argue that we did not have a camel, but he pointed out that the camel was not part of the petting zoo. Touche')  The Lilah Bean was unconcerned about the Petting Zoo anyway.  She was still working on the kettle corn.