Dilemmas and Mishaps

So, we've had a busy week...seeding, shots, working outside, etc.

I'll start with the dilemmas.

Dilemma #1:  Clarence has one dilemma.  (And so do we, I guess.)  I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Cha-Cha had a baby.  Cha-Cha's the pony the neighbors gave us when they moved away.  Anyway, she had a baby on Mother's Day.  We still haven't officially named him/her (or figured out the gender!).  Nikki suggested that we name him/her Smoky Bun.  Then I told Clarence, "Remember on Little House, Laura's horse is named Bunny?" Well, Clarence remembered.  Now he wants to name the baby Bunny Rabbit.  Nikki keeps arguing with him that it can be Smoky Bun.  That way she can call it Smoky and he can call it Bunny.  He's determined, though, that that won't work.  It has to be Bunny Rabbit.  I've suggested Smoky Bunny Rabbit, but that won't work either. 

I'll let you know if this dilemma is solved.  Or if we all just pick a name and call the horse whatever name we want.  We'll see, I guess.

Dilemma #2: It's May 31st and we're not done seeding.  And it's rained a lot in the last two weeks.  I think the rain we had yesterday and durin the night was around 4 inches...am I right, people?  I don't have a rain gauge set up; we rely on people to inform us. 

A lot of other people aren't done seeding, either.  It's really not that crucial for us since we have our cows, but it's nice to know we have some feed growing that we can depend on.  Otherwise, we'll be selling cows, buying feed, or scrounging around last minute to make sure we'll make it through the winter okay.

Dilemma #3:  So much work to do, so little time! What to do, what to do.  Matt's to-do list is a mile long.  He's got fencing, cleaning machinery, getting hay equipment ready, hauling cows, fixing water tanks, etc. etc. etc.  The list goes on and on.  And there's not really anything I can set out and do myself.  I can help, which I will do, but I guess we just have to go a day at a time.  In order for me to help, we also need to count on the babysitter; there's no way I can be much help if we don't have a babysitter.  Well, I could pretend to be helpful and bring the kids with, but you know...:

"Mom, I need to go pee."
"Mom, my tummy hurts."
Mom, I'm hungry."
"Waaahahhhaaa"  (Clifford's hungry/tired/wet)
"Mom, come see this."
"Mom, I'm stuck."
"Mom, Conce did pinch me."
"Mom, Adina hit me."
"Mom, Conce did push me in the water."
"Mom, Adina pushed me first."

And yeah, you get the point.  I'd be REALLY helpful.

Dilemma #4:  Do I dare tell my kids that dandelions are weeds, not flowers?   They think dandelions are the most beautiful flowers.  And they pick me bouquets nearly every day.  (I think I just answered my own question...if I get bouquets of dandelions, then they can be considered flowers.)  :)


Mishap #1:  Matt seeded on Wednesday.  I ran back and forth to Hallock 3 times getting huge totes full of soybean seed.  We're small little farmers...everything takes longer because we don't have big equipment.  But I'm not complaining; we like being cattle farmers with only a few crops on the side for our rotation.  All I'm saying is, what it takes big farmers to do in an hour or two, it takes us a whole day.  And then our drills broke at the end of the night.  Matt was wondering if he should keep seeding or wait and do it in the morning (when it was supposed to and did rain).  The drills answered the question for him.  A bolt broke that connects the two drills together, and he went about ten feet down the field with one set of drills.  The other had broke off and sat in the field.  I'd gone out to check on him and help him refill the drills (by hand, with 5-gallon buckets) and found him puzzled, standing in the field.  It took a little while to put it back together, and he would've been able to seed again yesterday morning, but then it rained.  A lot.  Guess it'll be put on hold for a bit. 

Only one bad mishap, I guess...other than cows are still getting out occasionally.  We'll be plugging away at fencing, one pasture at a time.... :)

And the shots I mentioned at the beginning were for Clifford. He had his 4-month shots yesterday (2 wks overdue).  He is 17 lbs. 12 oz., 26 inches long, and was such a tough guy yesterday.  He cried during his shots, then was totally fine the rest of the day. I remember my other kids being cranky after their shots (Clifford was even cranky after his 2-month shots), but he was so happy and totally himself.  I'm so glad. It always makes me sad to see them cry from their shots.
Have a great last day of May....(Where did May go, by the way?)