Redneck Snow Day

O.K. I know I talked about snow envy earlier this month and then lo' and behold the snow deities delivered a few inches so we would not feel slighted. Well, I'm not sure how my wish went haywire, but obviously those same snow deities got their geography messed up this week and decided to deliver a second storm that dropped a record 7 1/2 inches here in Texas. You know, that place where all the retired RV roaming  Northeners go to , to get away from the stuff. 

Now,  we could have gotten down in the dumps about our Winter crops failing, our animal chores increasing and the fact that we were without electricity during the night but instead, we chose to have a "snow day". A "snow day" is what kids pray for back in the North East, so we rolled back the clock for a day,  and did a few things that adults wished they could do on a Tuesday during the beginning of their work week.

My cowboy artist went into town to get his childhood sled that was stored away in his mom's shed. Unfortunately, he found out that she had sold it during last year's annual citywide garage sale, thinking it would never see action again since her children were all grown up and over 35... undaunted, he looked around and spied his old basket ball hoop that was out by the pool. Now he hadn't shot hoops with that thing in 20+ years, but,  he did notice it had this great plastic base that even had a place to put your feet. I can see the light bulb glowing over his head as he turns a basketball hoop holder into a mean sledding machine.

He came back out to the farm all proud of himself and said "look what we have, it's a redneck sled, I'm going to tie it to the truck and we're going to Antioch (the part of the farm that has hills). I thought he was crazy but having a little cabin fever, decided what the heck, let's go redneck sledding!

Not only did we go sledding but also built a snowman for his mom's yard, went around town snapping a series of Texas snowmen built by locals and just enjoyed this very rare occurrence. I say "rare" , we will see what March brings us !

Last year we started our plantings in March but this year we may postpone until April based upon the Farmer's Almanac and other weather forecasters. We are not out of the woods, or possibly , the snow until then ~

Shutterbug: Fun with Double Yolks

No boring egg sandwiches around here. This is our newest quick farm lunch favorite. We have named it "The Sleestak" for obvious reasons, instead of the eggs sizzling, they just hiss! Land of the Lost was one of my top 5 childhood television shows (right up there with H.R. Puff'N'Stuff , Lidsville and the Banana Splits) hhhmmmm banana splits....we need to plant some banana trees!
Sleestak Sandwich: Good crusty bread like Ciabatta, slightly toasted with a little butter and melted shredded sharp cheddar topped with heirloom tomatoes, avocado & fried Pancetta & egg. HHmmmmmmmm! Hisssssssssssssssssss!

It snowed back East, East Texas that is!

Even though we had high hopes for a Winter garden this year, our dream came to a tragically beautiful end a few days ago. We had been keeping our eyes on the Dallas news stations as snow began to fall, and fall...and fall. I had to admit that when the weatherman said some areas were going to receive up to a foot, I actually felt snow envy.

We are about an hour and twenty minutes South East of the Dallas area. As the Dallas/Ft. Worth area was becoming a Currier & Ives postcard, we were becoming an ice cold rainy mess. I cursed the weather report and told my cowboy artist that I would gladly trade this horrible, muddy, ice cold rain for a few inches of snow. The "jazz hands" weatherman (we named him that long ago because of his absurdly exaggerated hand movements and overly excitable personality) kept pointing out the fact that the big snow event was going to miss our area and head further North East.

No snow day for us, or so we thought. Oh a few big flakes and some ice pellets hit our metal roof throughout the evening but we were convinced it would all be gone by morning. The last radar report before bed, showed the snow line well above our area and heading off where it was supposed to go.

I woke up early the next morning and listened to the silence, no early morning traffic along the road, no bellowing from cattle, not even our roosters were crowing their morning hello to the day. I jumped out of bed and looked across the frozen landscape and was sure that I had woken up possibly back East, not East Texas. Our rain gauge was no longer measuring rain, it was completely covered by SNOW!!

Our Winter challenged garden was now officially declared a disaster area! Instead of cursing Mother Nature - we embraced it, savoring a little slice of winter wonderland, if only for a day or two. We spent the morning enjoying the quiet whiteness, giving extra feed to the animals, walking through my cowboy's family cemetery and enjoying this peacefulness that only  a snow blanketed landscape can provide. It was a magical day.

This Tuesday - they are forecasting another snow storm for North East Texas. Surprise me Mother Nature! Even though it causes disruption of the farm routine and a little more work later, I'm secretly keeping my fingers crossed that we get another Currier & Ives moment. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Inspired by the Flaming Lips at Feed Me Farms (10 for 2010)

How can a man (Wayne Coyne) and a band (The Flaming Lips) inspire us here at Feed Me Farms? It all began on New Year's Eve. We decided to take a well earned break from the farm and drive through snow and sleet to see The Flaming Lips play their hometown of Oklahoma City on this celebratory evening.

As soon as we hit the city limits, we began to see the positive influence that this band has had on their hometown. Instead of heading for the bright lights and big time status of living in L.A., New York or any other glamorous urban setting, they have chosen to stay in Oklahoma and help their States tourism and economy. And what a great job they've done. Wayne and his band mates have turned the ordinary into extraordinary. If more people did this, the world would be a much better place to live. No matter where in the world that might be, from small rural farms to big urban sprawl.

I picked up a local paper in the lobby of our hotel upon check-in and to my delight found an article called "10 for 2010".  To my surprise and delight, the first person listed was Wayne Coyne and his 10 for 2010:

1. To see U.F.O.s come down and enlighten all humans
2. To see all humans be kind to animals
3. To see religious fanatics disappear
4. To see the Pentagon levitate
5. To see Global Warming stop
6. To see marijuana de-criminalized
7. To see humans give love instead of taking it
8. To watch the Oklahoma (or in our case ,Texas) sunset more often
9. To sleep late
10. To accept things we cannot control

I was immediately drawn to Wayne's wonderful philosophy and decided, right then and there, what my new year resolutions would be. I would adopt his and add 10 for 2010 of my own:
1. To live every day with no regrets and fill our life with art, music, entertainment and laughter
2. To think less of what I want and need
3. To think more about what I have and can do with it
4. To savor the smell of fresh hay, freshly turned dirt and green pastures
5. To savor the joy in finding a hidden egg or newborn farm animal on any given day
6. To really love those around me -  be it family, friend or animal
7. To make things grow so that I can feed the minds, bodies and souls of those around me
8. To enjoy the simple pleasures of fresh food, a good bottle of wine and the time spent preparing it with the
    one I love
9. To embrace middle age and what it really means to be happy with yourself
10. To BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED!

So as we begin a new year here at the farm, these 10 + 10 will play a role in our philosophy here. It may not be the most glamorous of lives and it's not what I ever dreamed of when growing up, but it is where I've landed and I really love it.  I have come to realize that life is what you make of it, not what others make for you.  I want to find the EXTRAORDINARY everyday in the ORDINARY everyday.

Thanks Wayne!

Shutterbug: Winter Vacationer

We were out near the barn prepping for the single digit weather that is taking over for the next few days (a rarity in Texas). We were surprised by this visitor swimming in one of the tanks. Seems like this pelican is taking a 300 mile inland vacation. Not a good time to leave the coast, if you ask me!

Do Cows Know It's Christmas?

Probably not, or else they would have not behaved so badly these past few weeks! It all started innocently enough...my cowboy and his business partners (mom & sister) decided it was time to move the herd from the farm where we live, to the wide open spaces of the Antioch property. In anticipation, all the border fencing had been repaired except for an area that was considered swamp and flooded. There was fence back there, it's just that a normal human being would have trouble getting to it, so the assumption was...so would the darn cows.

The night before the herd was to be worked (branded and ear tagged) and moved,  we were able to trick most of them with sacks of treats and corral them into the barn. This would make it much easier once our hired cowboys (former NFL football players) would arrive the next morning. Brahmans are good cattle till they think someone is about to corral them, they become as agile as gazelles and nothing keeps them in. BUT, so far so good that is, until the other cowboys arrived.

We had a plan or so we thought. The bottle fed babies were going to stay with us at the farm. The young bulls   were on the way to the sale barn and the calves that needed weaning would stay on the farm too a few more weeks but then join their mommas at Antioch along with our breeding bulls. Seems easy enough...

Not so, my cowboy's sister all of a sudden gets sentimental and does not want some of her registered ones to go to the other property for fear of theft. They get a reprieve and get to stay in the back pastures. So now we are splitting the herd in half and only some of them will be placed at Antioch.

So now we switch gears and concentrate on working them, separating them and hauling them. By the time it was all over, one large bull had jumped a 6 foot corral fence and some of the younger ones decided to skip the gazelle move and just run right through it. Keep in mind it's made of foot thick posts and heavy gauge wire. They also managed to tear off two gates and pretty much trash the 35 year old barn.

To add insult to injury, the herd that was taken to Antioch managed to find the only bad place in the fencing (way back in the flooded swamp) and make a clean break for it. Half of them came back on their own but the other half are now happily residing with one of my cowboys cousins cows in their pasture that backs up to Antioch.

The half that came back on their own are happy as can be roaming around Antioch with two big lakes and many tanks, lots of hay that was baled during the summer and still some coastal grass to munch on until real Winter hits. So you might say, they got their Christmas gift.

The half that took off and did not come back through the only opening of 800 acres of fence is having to rely on the kindness of kinfolk till we can get them separated and brought back. You could say that they are getting coal for their gift.
 
Then there is the misfit bottle fed babies that are staying with us at the farm. They will all be getting fresh hay and carrot treats for their holiday gift.  I never knew how much I could care for a cow until I had to raise 5 of them from birth. I love each and every one of them. Each time one gets weaned, I get just a little sad and wistful because I miss my twice daily ritual of their feeding. Therefore I consider the newest calf  (Lucky La Moo) my personal gift from Santa (albeit a little early). Thank you Santa!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and be sure and kiss the little calves in your life, in a blink they will grow up to be ornery cows!

Shutterbug: All Ears!

Here comes Lucky La Moo (born on Friday the 13th). She was playing out in the pasture until she saw her milk bottle. She has a very healthy appetite and kicks up her heels when it's bottle time.