Hello

I know it's been awhile since I last posted. It's been a pretty busy 3 weeks here. I really would like to say thank you so much to all of you who have sent good wishes and prayers for my step dad, Gary, and my mother. I am so thankful for all of you.

Gary has had a very rough 3 weeks. In the ICU for a long time. Up one day, back down the next. He was put in a private room last Monday. Stayed there 4 days. Then back in ICU again. Yesterday, the doctors were optimistic about his recovery. They were saying all they needed to do then was to get him to eating and moving again. Even mom went home early last night at 5. She's not ever done that. She called at 8:30 to check on him. The nurse said he was doing good.

Then at 1:00 AM a nurse called and said mom should get there as fast as possible. They only live a few blocks away. But she didn't make it in time. He passed away about 1:15 this morning. I went and stayed with her last night and have been there all day.

We had to go to the funeral home to finalize the arrangements. (Thank goodness, they had bought funeral insurance and had all the paperwork. We had just gone to a funeral home here last Thursday to give them all the paperwork.) He will be cremated and we'll have a memorial service sometime the end of June. My brother will be here from Colorado Saturday for a week. I'm so glad. Mom will be so happy to see him. He said he'll be helping her with everything that needs to be done there.   Then my sister and her 3 daughters will be here the end of June with my brother.

Mom and Gary were married 34 years. That's a long time. She's a strong woman but this will take a long time. One day at a time is the way we'll take it.

Please continue to pray for my mother. She will need prayer and strength to get through this time.

And I also wanted to say, that no matter how much a person irritates you or says something or does something that either hurts or makes you mad, just get over it and make amends. You just never know when something like this will happen. Then they're gone. Just like that. Gone. So please, go hug you mom or dad, sister or brother. And your children. Love one another. And be there for your family.

Thank you all again.

Dogs:3 Possums:0

 Bubba and Stella, the hunters. A possum in my milk room! Not any more. And all my little meat chicks in the yard behind them, free ranging.

Stella looks like she is proud of her self. Not many creatures leave this farm the way they came in, thanks to Bubba and Stella. They take care of their farm. They aren't afraid of anything. Good dogs!

Stella Bella Luna STINKS!

I do not know what this stinkin' dog got into this morning, but it was pure nastiness. She stunk! Bad! When I went to put her in her crate before I left to go back to the hospital, I noticed a nasty smell coming from her direction. She must have rolled in something out on the driveway. It really was nasty.

So when I got home, Kansas helped me give Stella, the stinky, a bath. It's nice to have help. Stella was really good and stood still the whole time. Kansas scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed some more.

Then poured more water on her.

Then scrubbed some more. Til she was finally clean again!

Jim and Bob had to see what all the fun was about. They are nosy pigs, these 2 boys. And they love water and were probably wondering why they didn't get a bath too. I did put the water hose on them later. They are happy pigs!

And the chicks had to come check out all the commotion too. I had let them all out of their little pen this morning. They finally ventured out a little later. Then followed me right back in to eat their dinner. Happy chickies!

And here's Kansas, drying off the clean doggie. She'll be clean for about 2 hours and 26 minutes. The dog doesn't like being clean. But we are all happy people! Oh, the life of a farm dog.

The cats at Outback Farm

There are 6 cats here at Outback Farm. All live outside, either in the barn or out back, hunting. I've had these cats for years and years. I know the oldest one has to be about 12. And 4 of them my daughter Abby gave us. Her husband is allergic to cats, so she can't have any. So they are all out here.



This is Sybil. I got her from some friends, along with her brother. Abby's friend was wanting a white male cat, so he went to her house. Her ears are all curled up from being outside in the sun. I don't think she can hear. But she's a great cat. She's about 8 years old.

And this is Gilbert. My grand daughter named her. She was brought here by Abby. She found her at her apartment complex when she was a little kitten and couldn't keep her there. I think Gilbert had 2 litters of kittens, then she was spayed. I kept one of her kittens but she just left one day. She about 8 years old too. She loves to hunt and brings home lots of goodies.

This is how these 4 eat. In the cat room up on this old chest freezer. And always in this order too. Gilbert, Andy Oakley, Cosmos and her son Alex. All these here were from Abby. Cosmos is the oldest, around 12 years old. Her son Alex was actually given to my grand daughter Chloe on her 4th birthday. And she will be 14 the 27th of May. So he's 10 years old. And Andy is probably the youngest, around 6 or 7. He is probably the best hunter of the bunch. Nothing is safe around here. Birds, mice, rabbits, squirrels, lizards. They are good cats.

I do have another cat I got from a friend. Her name is Soshe. She's grey and not looking very good right now so didn't take her picture. She has a skin problem I am trying to treat but she hates to have anything put on her. I really don't know how old she is. Maybe close to Cosmos' age.

I really don't like cats. But they are good to help keep the mouse and rat population down. I hate that the birds aren't safe here. I have never fed birds because the cats will kill them. The birds that do make nests here are on their own. There is an old tree out front that I call the bird condo. Holes all up the branches and trunk full of bird's nests. Those are pretty safe up there. And I have 3 blue bird houses in the sheep yard. But generally, cats are not my favorite animals. I tolerate these guys those. Since I've had them all for so long.

Just a little cuteness

Here's Mariah, Whitney and Diana at a week old. I still cannot believe they are all 3 girls. But they are!

News

Well, I sure wish I had not posted about my garden now. After just now watching the evening news, it's so much worse all over this country right now. Goodness, there's flooding, tornadoes, people who's homes have washed away. It's a mess out there. Just a wet mess all over. So I have nothing like I have just seen on tv. I so hope everyone is ok and not flooded where you are. And I am so sorry I am such a whiney butt.

Again

Well, after replanting most of my garden Friday, it's all washed away. Again. It has done nothing but pour here all morning. Even the pond we get when it rains went way over to the middle of the pasture. This is only half the garden. To the left was the Blue Lake green beans. The next was the squash, zucchini and cucumbers. I did rescue some of the zucchini and squash that was washed down to the end. And the heirloom sweet corn and field peas all probably gone. I didn't take a picture of the okra rows but there was a river going down that too. And not only seeds and plants but the soil too. It's so depressing and sad to see this. This is the 2nd time to replant. I have never had to do this before. I just don't get it.

This is the side yard where the rabbits and Cornish Cross meat chicks are. If you look past the grill on the right you can see the wooden shelter where the chicks are. They are ok. The rabbits are way over to the left. They are ok but I moved them up to higher ground. And behind me is the goat pasture. It had a raging river running through it and this is where all this water is coming from. And then the garden is beyond this and where all this water is headed.

Right now, it's stopped raining. But it is coming again. And it's really hot out there too. I just don't know what to do right now. Crying doesn't really help. That's just more water and I really don't want to see more water.