knock knock

Where have you all been? We missed you. Welcome back!

Upon our return from FL, sensing that our relaxed schedule would soon be a faint memory lost in the hectic schedule of spring farming, we set to finishing up some projects around the house, focusing our attention on those that would allow us to reassemble the contents of our house in an orderly fashion, thus placing the floor at the top of the priority list, and, since Sandra's arrival was bearing down upon us, we tackled the guest/baby room next although at this moment I should be putting the finishing touches on Scout-proofing the back yard... one gate remaining to be built. That project was interrupted when Scout decided to become deathly ill and I wasn't sure I would need to Scout-proof the back yard after all. No sense spinning one's wheels for naught. She spent a week languishing on her pillow, systematically refusing every variation of food we placed in front of her and adeptly rejecting the pills we were supposed to be getting down her throat. She was discharged from the hospital today after spending two nights there. Pet owners are a breed all their own. What they won't do for a mutt. When the vet realized we were not going to spend the money for a surgery to remove the wood she had eaten, he offered to take care of her overnight and give her some enimas and such free of charge. His baby gift to us. Okedokey. The next morning, I made the errant decision of giving the green light to give her IV fluids because she was on her way out. My muddled reasoning was that a needle and some saline solution couldn't possibly be that expensive.
We go to the bank on Monday to take out a second mortgage.

---

Brace yourselves. Oodles of random pictures in random order coming up. I'll be in the shop working on that gate while these things upload.
See you in a few hours.

Getting back to the subject of debt...

We've decided to farm our own little piece of ground this year. Forty five acres of feed barley.
This is the south end of the field about to be worked up before it gets planted.

The chasm that divides our field.

The north side of the field- all ready for seed.

First passes with the grain drill!

New floor!

The guest/baby room. Gender neutral walls, not so neutral trim. Shauna had been wandering around the house for months looking for something to paint "Luscious Lips". She finally wore me down.

Oh yeah, the curtains aren't that neutral looking either. Thanks for all the seamstressing Sandra!

Now that I really look at it, I'm sure glad we got green on the walls!

This is the general state of chaos that follows every time another female moves into this house.

Sicker'n a dog.

And some family pictures.

Posing with family-to-be. Don't ask me what week this is. I've lost track. Bad dad.

Cousins and second cousins. Then there's Kenyon and me. Misfits.

There was a serious pose but it really failed to capture their true colors.

One last group hug before Brooke heads south. Off to teach English in Mexico. She got some practice teaching a group of the guys on the farm this winter. She was so sure that all of those young guys were there simply to learn English that it took her a while to believe us when we informed her that English might not be the only motivating factor. I think they did concentrate on their textbooks long enough to learn some English along the way... :p

Uh. I'd like to hope we're dipping into the calmer end of the gene pool but I'm not counting my chickens. Looks like Frieda won't be wearing too many skirts.