tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60481644350111243852024-03-05T01:53:21.129-08:00My Patch of the Prairie - Stories from a NW Kansas FarmFunny stories and commentary about the daily goings on at a family wheat farm. Tips on gardening, farm cats, relaxing on the deck and what to do when it really gets boring.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-76784975308706264082020-08-02T13:58:00.003-07:002020-08-02T13:59:30.322-07:00Mock Apple Pie or CrunchIt starts with a zucchini squash that got to big and ends up as a delicious desert that is worth the labor and all the steps. (mock apple on the left, normal sized zucchini on the right - both picked from my garden the same day)<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTiUBS_cDoiw6fvUnr-QpGPskBNeuWlM85Uk4Irsy4_EarSnZ0b_gKYrcCZMNNgyUdJvnuWoOKx-FuqmNE7ZiWD_KDtRIiZuWkqrnRkNdobc1dzoOy-m0nQld1szBobCGvklnzQYzVpxcE/s1600/IMG_20200802_100937131.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTiUBS_cDoiw6fvUnr-QpGPskBNeuWlM85Uk4Irsy4_EarSnZ0b_gKYrcCZMNNgyUdJvnuWoOKx-FuqmNE7ZiWD_KDtRIiZuWkqrnRkNdobc1dzoOy-m0nQld1szBobCGvklnzQYzVpxcE/w158-h210/IMG_20200802_100937131.jpg" width="158" /></a></div><h1 style="text-align: center;"><font color="#38761d" face="verdana" size="6"><i>Mock Apple Crunch or Pie</i></font></h1><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1c_rtxWXxhYjnGErpy1KAIL7R0dSnn5eSaJA-EVY3TJYTgRVAoKlQFkwKf0VqS3zjDuF5TGzlYKMGyF_rLqD90w-nsQUAKP39qE_t0O1kdorbdfrW4rTtGu25_jhB2pY8qGsZ1KyQ_-a/s2048/IMG_20200802_142821534.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1c_rtxWXxhYjnGErpy1KAIL7R0dSnn5eSaJA-EVY3TJYTgRVAoKlQFkwKf0VqS3zjDuF5TGzlYKMGyF_rLqD90w-nsQUAKP39qE_t0O1kdorbdfrW4rTtGu25_jhB2pY8qGsZ1KyQ_-a/w126-h168/IMG_20200802_142821534.jpg" width="126" /></a>Obviously, this is the crunch version. </div><div><br /></div><div>The pie version is simple as well and a breeze if you are a great pie crust maker. I have tried making it a pie with the crunch topping, but my store-bought pie crusts tend to burn. I am not a pie crust maker. I am a pie eater though. But since I have to make this from start to finish I go the crunch version. </div><div><br /></div><div>NOTE: The crunch can be frozen for a delicious desert at Thanksgiving time with a change in the cooking schedule because obviously, you don't want mushy crunch. If you want to freeze this, utilize a foil pan and wait to do the last cooking step with the addition of crunch until the day you are ready to serve it. You will want it to be thawed out but really the last 40 minutes with the crunch topping freshly placed is the perfect end to a beautiful meal of turkey leftovers.</div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED:</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">Overly large zucchini or yellow squash, 1 per dish.</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">brown sugar</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">white sugar</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">cinnamon</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">cream of tartar</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">cornstarch</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">quick oats</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">flour</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">finely chopped walnuts</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine</font></div><div><font color="#800180" size="5">cool whip, vanilla ice cream or heavy cream </font><font color="#800180" size="2">(half & half)</font></div><div><br /></div><div>You start with your overgrown zucchini or yellow squash. One is all you need for a pie or 8x10 or 9x9 pan for the crunch. You will want a baking dish that is deep to keep things from bubbling over. Fill a small stock pot with water and set it on the stove. It needs to be a rolling boil by the time you dump the mock apple slices into the water. Medium-high should be enough time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbdnOcruCnzmNUc7Cgth6ljY3j6y2nU8jLitBb7o-cXXt82esaiTujtKTFwhy63S1kEOg5-qXAaw4A_IikeSgFYUvL7F-RSxD6YdCUiQXGxN7OTJks8xA71zvjSu_BNTITHCHnzltbV0p/s1600/IMG_20200802_103043145_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbdnOcruCnzmNUc7Cgth6ljY3j6y2nU8jLitBb7o-cXXt82esaiTujtKTFwhy63S1kEOg5-qXAaw4A_IikeSgFYUvL7F-RSxD6YdCUiQXGxN7OTJks8xA71zvjSu_BNTITHCHnzltbV0p/s640/IMG_20200802_103043145_HDR.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Next you peel the zucchini. If you have food grade gloves for one hand, I suggest using that to keep your hand free of squash skin and slippery zucchini syndrome. Peel the zucchini and then cut off both ends.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2vV6ZCl6bjfqEF_uDLJAU8NHBLpzxHAPSdq2LxoRAj-GWgaV05QDv6CtjcoO1HJdhf0m_N0qqY3VdVWNpotfdwbw5IgRU8AtHJNjne8gCx5a81teh7VgEEk-AN7-uiR5FzIIEhETe7ko/s1600/IMG_20200802_103450792_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2vV6ZCl6bjfqEF_uDLJAU8NHBLpzxHAPSdq2LxoRAj-GWgaV05QDv6CtjcoO1HJdhf0m_N0qqY3VdVWNpotfdwbw5IgRU8AtHJNjne8gCx5a81teh7VgEEk-AN7-uiR5FzIIEhETe7ko/s640/IMG_20200802_103450792_HDR.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sNo1bzpM3NFUMUAGMOH-KH14OyBG7c0Ux_eJtVugNPA9c1QT3ZKOh4uXQehmH7tY3l3fJLnkpTXhmh5lCZzmTkQp4WrcENH8m26ITm4HCHnhywp_z6T5WhhX-9MI_y1uqms9V3sHHtI4/s1600/IMG_20200802_103621135_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sNo1bzpM3NFUMUAGMOH-KH14OyBG7c0Ux_eJtVugNPA9c1QT3ZKOh4uXQehmH7tY3l3fJLnkpTXhmh5lCZzmTkQp4WrcENH8m26ITm4HCHnhywp_z6T5WhhX-9MI_y1uqms9V3sHHtI4/s640/IMG_20200802_103621135_HDR.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Next, you want to slice the zucchini in half length-wise and "core" the seeds and soft stuff around them out. You will end up having 2 small "boats" that look like hand hollowed out canoes that have no seeds left inside of them.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM4K2r9hHAtkbi8c_sntK-Mre8lDyUTwESL1hHROnUEtO611JTckBo9eDToRGV82C7aK-P7T5aKJUFogg8lmFteJpHmgLdQd_PQgTIKrUhZYXVwVGgRPQIaCvVuk1BJmqnRJc4C7oYY46/s1600/IMG_20200802_103700262_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM4K2r9hHAtkbi8c_sntK-Mre8lDyUTwESL1hHROnUEtO611JTckBo9eDToRGV82C7aK-P7T5aKJUFogg8lmFteJpHmgLdQd_PQgTIKrUhZYXVwVGgRPQIaCvVuk1BJmqnRJc4C7oYY46/s640/IMG_20200802_103700262_HDR.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AOgBZNWi8cWNb8eKJg3uhmAc5dZYYLH3ubCq_H9Cr9hGsKu1tYgDJrNie0u91AU3LwKMyTP0yXS5RRnuy52raj45OF19YAZNyG71fROByRG7bb2wlAv0lC5INxtI7gLOOAOMoR59Ztut/s1600/IMG_20200802_103813890.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AOgBZNWi8cWNb8eKJg3uhmAc5dZYYLH3ubCq_H9Cr9hGsKu1tYgDJrNie0u91AU3LwKMyTP0yXS5RRnuy52raj45OF19YAZNyG71fROByRG7bb2wlAv0lC5INxtI7gLOOAOMoR59Ztut/s640/IMG_20200802_103813890.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCJjxCDcEigscoLqkrRaQfyB2RjKW2M7WVb9tq4CbSOXgWldFRFuYgmcVfFqP-JjdSHj8dRvXuoWvw7zVVpoAiLt7iw3N-sySVOzG4_Wdpi9y103pnS-Iu2Qfclhztik4Sqtr15zZs2LN/s1600/IMG_20200802_104238324.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCJjxCDcEigscoLqkrRaQfyB2RjKW2M7WVb9tq4CbSOXgWldFRFuYgmcVfFqP-JjdSHj8dRvXuoWvw7zVVpoAiLt7iw3N-sySVOzG4_Wdpi9y103pnS-Iu2Qfclhztik4Sqtr15zZs2LN/s640/IMG_20200802_104238324.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I used my glove at this point to hold the zucchini because this is where you really get the squash skin and slipperiness. But it can happen early on as well which is why I suggest putting it on the hand the does the holding of the squash.<div><br /></div><div>Then you take each half and slice it to make apple slices about 1/4 inch thick. Obviously my sliced apple I was having for my breakfast while I did this was not cut that thin but I put it there for size reference.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAgpXyF-89FbvuBusLCI__4mx9JBwiDm-nwYZ6fMId2EzbhQiWXd2uz_hkgj8abjt2YfqYF3hBhGjGmGZ4z0F2xaYPuR03sk1SbQFcyH2UAYUS_JJdpDENRmIrLfNMporYHTGnA8ZVI1j/s1600/IMG_20200802_104315182.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAgpXyF-89FbvuBusLCI__4mx9JBwiDm-nwYZ6fMId2EzbhQiWXd2uz_hkgj8abjt2YfqYF3hBhGjGmGZ4z0F2xaYPuR03sk1SbQFcyH2UAYUS_JJdpDENRmIrLfNMporYHTGnA8ZVI1j/s640/IMG_20200802_104315182.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9sEWjSu2eEfsc4LN01YijTg_VAgQrJOFqq50xzH2qFjZ1hWuG8lSmGLWxzOmqYQX8wW6LwM828mvdj5kukPWGaTc-xM9xc6-RWP9lOBadkIVy08GmFgjHIf9xieKjEupBux-woRKIC2Vn/s1600/IMG_20200802_104601394.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9sEWjSu2eEfsc4LN01YijTg_VAgQrJOFqq50xzH2qFjZ1hWuG8lSmGLWxzOmqYQX8wW6LwM828mvdj5kukPWGaTc-xM9xc6-RWP9lOBadkIVy08GmFgjHIf9xieKjEupBux-woRKIC2Vn/s640/IMG_20200802_104601394.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Now they are ready for the boiling water. You will want to boil them for approximately 7 minutes, over boil them and you have apple sauce squishy squash. Drain them into a colander and immediately rinse them with cold running water. Shake in the colander to get as much of the water off as possible. Dump into a mixing bowl. I just used the one I had them in after slicing.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1G_A684m6ryD_mWjri6gc_jzOqGZNyV-okNZqOZpW108q4yQTP1YlSUJ3vt5eLf_0GhCbCbhq023TbmfE3w72JBLEhPV3Rg9Z64pYFeIkAsmuUJV_SP8RT3r_UPIyyw5oBYNViCBivga/s1600/IMG_20200802_105124065_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1G_A684m6ryD_mWjri6gc_jzOqGZNyV-okNZqOZpW108q4yQTP1YlSUJ3vt5eLf_0GhCbCbhq023TbmfE3w72JBLEhPV3Rg9Z64pYFeIkAsmuUJV_SP8RT3r_UPIyyw5oBYNViCBivga/s640/IMG_20200802_105124065_HDR.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Now for the recipe part. Before was all the getting your mock apple slices prepared.</div><div><br /></div><div>Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Yes that is right, this was not a typo. 475 degrees. Best to turn it on when you put the zucchini slices in the water because you are going to need the time to get it up to temperature.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mix in a bowl the following:</div><div>2/3 C brown sugar</div><div>1/3 C white granulated sugar</div><div>1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon</div><div>1 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar</div><div>2 tbsp of corn starch</div><div><br /></div><div>Toss with cooked squash until well coated.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoV0UvFwKKrlp5k6rKUjYsIL3FrDoW6oBnnCxYiEeoy1KSBZCf29t_HgRdAfZxWQ5RIcSaQMIroq_mCECDtUbRqxA1Gsvq_56kdtT5_3XemklEEQLww3QQuAmeKjZe6qUzNrYqqN8M4KO/s1600/IMG_20200802_123349498.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoV0UvFwKKrlp5k6rKUjYsIL3FrDoW6oBnnCxYiEeoy1KSBZCf29t_HgRdAfZxWQ5RIcSaQMIroq_mCECDtUbRqxA1Gsvq_56kdtT5_3XemklEEQLww3QQuAmeKjZe6qUzNrYqqN8M4KO/s640/IMG_20200802_123349498.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Grease your baking dish or pie pan. Place the squash/sugar mixture into the greased pan. Dot with butter or margarine and sprinkle with white vinegar (approx 2 tbsp). I generally pour the vinegar into my cupped hand and then shake it slowly through my fingers as I open my hand. It gives a more even coverage of the vinegar sprinkle instead of using a tbsp measuring spoon. So the hand method of measuring is 2 small handfuls.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESk5vsalInuv-CNYOCnA2bK6xF3Ux08xQ-h_IRqdtaoHzOrNjFUcjaI0Sf5rq2zn1yP2dPMaUKlVzqS491fMbTEUF_KcLRrfC55D1LMRCYaI-oNQJI8ye7hiUr-cesigwYywAZ9vWF_BU/s1600/IMG_20200802_123540479.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESk5vsalInuv-CNYOCnA2bK6xF3Ux08xQ-h_IRqdtaoHzOrNjFUcjaI0Sf5rq2zn1yP2dPMaUKlVzqS491fMbTEUF_KcLRrfC55D1LMRCYaI-oNQJI8ye7hiUr-cesigwYywAZ9vWF_BU/s640/IMG_20200802_123540479.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQftjTw9HO9XcYrL911wYfOTh72befM2JibGm_JHHSFgSHqH3zD_-sS9c-q-NRxligrtO5Ws-_I7DzYHlXn_WSjXzZ2AFVA4BBgX8DYK6p6hHgnvXRR0k87MO_f7aXmJ3pgG7Pey7iB60w/s1600/IMG_20200802_123919985.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQftjTw9HO9XcYrL911wYfOTh72befM2JibGm_JHHSFgSHqH3zD_-sS9c-q-NRxligrtO5Ws-_I7DzYHlXn_WSjXzZ2AFVA4BBgX8DYK6p6hHgnvXRR0k87MO_f7aXmJ3pgG7Pey7iB60w/s640/IMG_20200802_123919985.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Bake in oven for 12 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 35 minutes. Now is the time to assemble your crunch topping. Get your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them well before you add the melted butter/margarine.</div><div><br /></div><div>CRUNCH TOPPING:</div><div>1/2 c brown sugar</div><div>1 1/2 c quick oats</div><div>1/3 c flour</div><div>1/2 c chopped walnuts</div><div>1 stick margarine/butter melted</div><div>Mix well</div><div><br /></div><div>Pull out baking dish and add crunch topping to it. Place back in oven, increase temp to 375 degrees and bake for 40 minutes or until bubbly and brown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Remove, cool slightly before serving with vanilla ice cream, cool whip, or, my personal favorite, in a bowl with half and half cream. </div><div><br /></div><div>You can thank me later when your house smells AMAZING!!!! It is also a great way to get kids and husbands to eat their veggies, especially squash. Don't tell them what the apples are made of. 😍</div><div><br /></div><div>Pie instructions:</div><div>Same as above except use a deep pie plate greased, crust on bottom, fill with squash/sugar mixture, dot with margarine/butter and sprinkle with vinegar (just as above). Top with crust, slits for steam to escape. Bake the 12 minutes at 475, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Watch your crust edges and cover with foil to keep from burning.</div><div><br /></div><div>#mockapplecrunch<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-73761706682571325792019-09-07T08:30:00.000-07:002019-09-07T08:30:17.708-07:00PINK PUMPKIN MEMORIALS<div class="_2cuy _3dgx" data-block="true" data-editor="ergch" data-offset-key="86l48-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="86l48-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Pink Pumpkin Memorials for Breast Cancer Survivors and in memory of those who have lost the battle!</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="dtlen-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">This year I am trying something new, I would like to dedicate a pink pumpkin for those who have fought breast cancer, whether they have won the battle or lost the battle. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="36ofh-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">For every memorial donation to my BCRF fundraising page, I will assign a pink pumpkin with the information provided (First name of Survivor, location, years cancer free or year the battle was lost) on a tag and place it with the pumpkin. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="6gld6-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I will be posting the memorial pumpkins here on the page, but am also working on getting them a public recognition place where they can be viewed. I will also send you a picture of your memorial pumpkin if you provide your mailing address but will make the pictures public if you choose to save a copy of it for yourself.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="f8bbp-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">If you have a loved one who lost a battle with another cancer, I have flat stackers and baby boos that can also be part of the memorial pumpkin display.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4nq5h-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Message me for more details. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4nq5h-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Here is the link to make your memorial donation: http://www.stayclassy.org/nancyspinkpumpkins</span></div>
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Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-53363577663787782622019-08-13T18:49:00.001-07:002019-08-24T06:44:01.736-07:00Pumpkins & PotionsA new endeavor of mine is making skin creams/balms for a variety of ailments. It started out finding something for my own perpetually dry skin, diabetic neuropathy pain, lack of healing and it has grown from there. Everytime I make a batch of "potion" for whatever I need it makes a significant amount. Then I am pressed to figure out how to store it and how to use it all. So I started making it available for sale, just trying to get my surplus down to a manageable level. Amazingly, it has taken off and is being used in ways I could have never imagined.<br />
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So I started setting up at a local monthly flea market. From there I have gotten a lot of new customers. I have shipped as far west as San Diego, CA and the Puget Sound area in the Pacific Northwest, and as far east as Akron, OH.<br />
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Even more amazing is new ways people are finding to use these potions, especially Pain Potion #9. It has been used on neuropathy pain, insect bites, scalding water burns, adult acne breakouts, unhealing skin sores, shingles, psoriasis, surgical incisional pain, cancer pain, migraine headaches, tension headaches, sunburns, and probably some I am not aware of.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-20339077532804399622019-03-14T13:26:00.002-07:002019-03-14T13:28:48.091-07:00Cowgirl Lessons - March calving seasonI am so over losing baby calves to this crazy winter. I also hate when my husband brings in a newborn calf all wet and cold in its birthday suit. No blanket, no toweling off. He has no mothering instinct and he has been doing this way longer than I have been around.<br />
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We had a blizzard blow through last night. A bomb cyclone they called it and I have been out today in the aftermath, more than ever before, bringing in 3 newborns in the back of a mule to the warming box.<br />
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Each time I had a blanket to wrap them up in so they weren't shivering and the last time out I even took off one of my sweatshirt jackets and braved the cold myself to wrap it up so it could get drying off. Running calf bus with more than one passenger is quite the challenge. A bigger challenge is unloading a calf from the back of the mule 4x4 all by myself and getting it into the shed where the warming box is located. I definitely do not know the proper way to carry one of these not so little ones.<br />
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None of the calves that I have wrapped up and started drying off have died in the warming box. Maybe it is the mothering instinct I have in me to preserve life and get the baby the best start to life. The first one (323) has already gone back to momma and was all dry, warm and fluffy. Baby #2 (161) is in the warming box and baby #3 (???) got to stay out with mom but is in a temporary shed where it is dry and out of the cold wind.<br />
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Of course, all my clothes are now in the laundry because baby slime gets on everything.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-74057901726772474542019-03-08T12:24:00.000-08:002019-03-08T12:24:28.091-08:00Baking 101I recently attempted homemade bread using my mother-in-laws fail safe recipe that she uses constantly. She says she mixes it up in the bread machine sometimes and sometimes she uses her mixer, just depends on how many batches she is making. . . . .so I thought, okay I can do this with the bread machine and make some homemade wheat bread just like mom-in-law does.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wVHY3EsMen-DdUDLj_VS0itEpimMxY8hxFl2dH7zlYIUceZZPPKA_Lxuv2emiBW2XwiohOlN5xacKSiccxmCeprEaG7ThCDr_HGUjFkqtoyErR20xkx2FaAC6g3YVdcVlVoNNK-NyrJo/s1600/100_2800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wVHY3EsMen-DdUDLj_VS0itEpimMxY8hxFl2dH7zlYIUceZZPPKA_Lxuv2emiBW2XwiohOlN5xacKSiccxmCeprEaG7ThCDr_HGUjFkqtoyErR20xkx2FaAC6g3YVdcVlVoNNK-NyrJo/s320/100_2800.JPG" width="320" /></a>I very carefully followed the directions after going to the grocery store to get a few things I didn't have. I was so excited when the dough about pushed the door up it was so raised up. I didn't even really let it raise in the pan other than until the oven was warmed up.<br />
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Great now I have 2 loaves stacked on top of each other. Guess I should have split it and put it in 2 pans.<br />
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Great, so lets try again, first time worked out so well. I followed the instructions and did everything exactly the same, except I managed to get out of bed when my alarm went off instead of turning it off and turning over until I woke up an hour later. </div>
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So this monstrosity is what came out of the bread machine. I left it to raise thinking it just needed a little more time. FAIL!!!!</div>
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Right? Not even close. Ok, so maybe if I put it in the bread pan and bake it, then it will raise some in the oven. NOPE, this is what it looked like afterwards (see above. BAKING FAILURE!!! Needless to say, the dogs got a not so yummy treat and the rest went somewhere for the coyotes.</div>
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Do I dare try a third time? I decided to give it another try. This time, I did not use my bread machine for the mixing and raising part. I used my Kitchenaide Mixer with the dough hook and my mom on the phone cheering me on and providing some encouragement and tips. So when I took it out of the mixer to raise I had a nice dough ball.<br />
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After the proper baking time I had 2 nice smaller loaves of bread that I had split 2/3 in the big pan and 1/3 in a smaller pan.<br />
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But as you can see, this method was successful. I was so excited I cut the smaller loaf before it was even cooled off so I could give it a taste test with some good old fashion butter on the bread. I do say, it was quite tasty and I will try to make more next week.<br />
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Do I use the Mixer or the Bread machine? Cast your vote in the comment section! Thanks for laughing right along with me!Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-19807626512042222452019-02-22T09:48:00.001-08:002019-02-22T09:48:45.387-08:00Almost decked out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(think the tune "The Way You Look Tonight)<br />
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Some day, when its quiet at home, I'll be having coffee on the front deck and be happy that the dirt is covered.<br />
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Okay, not really quite working with the song, but you get the idea. This is the front door "platform." Eventually (like the very last part) there will be a ramp between the steps and the house that will go clear out to the area where the garage is going to be. Our thoughts are that eventually we will need that because to be perfectly honest here, we are not getting younger.<br />
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The plan for this spring/summer is to connect this front door platform to the east deck (pictured below) with another deck that is about 20 inches lower than the 2 sections it will connect to. Then you will be able to walk out one door and in the other without ever leaving the deck.<br />
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We are already preparing to start this work by taking down the cattle panels that were between the posts so that my morning glories could climb up them. I have found an alternative spot out past the driveway and now all that is left to do is to lift each planter with the skid steer and take it to its next location. Then we can clear out the rest of the things under the porch roof and start setting post block supports.<br />
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Then there will be a 3rd set of steps in the open space you can see in this last picture toward the back of the picture, but going in the same direction as these steps. <br />
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The underside of the deck currently has hog panels blocking entrance because the dogs seem to think that is a good place to dig a hole in the summer to lay in the cool dirt. The problem was, they were digging next to a post support and you get enough dirt dug out and that thing will start to shift, sink and eventually not support the deck. My plan is to use some old yard fence that I found on the farm all the way around the underside. <br />
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My whole design process on this house has been to reuse and repurpose items on the farm that are no longer being used and to find new purpose for them in cool and creative ways. Hopefully this time next year, or maybe sooner, I can share a picture of the wrapped around deck on the house. That will leave only the ramp and the back deck left to build. Little by little, piece by piece, day by day, we get something done or accomplished.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-54281990485667499052019-02-20T12:22:00.000-08:002019-02-20T12:22:07.849-08:00Preserving the pastAs we build this new house that we call home, I continue to try to bring in some of the things from Larry's past to preserve the memory of the farm he grew up on and some of my past to honor my grandmother, who passed just before we met, and whom I believe was the divine intervention bringing Larry and I together. <br />
One of the ways I am striving to do this is by using some of the best boards from the sheep sheds we dismantled in order to clear the area for the house. <br />
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Bringing my past to the new house is in a more decorative manner. I inherited some floral pieces from my grandmother's supply. Since the kitchen is a staple from my past -- grandma making wonderful meals, cookies for grandkids and where everyone seemed to gather when visiting, I decided it would fitting to put the teacup arrangement (a mother's day present for my grandma from me) in the window above the kitchen sink along side the aloe vera plant that is an offshoot from grandma's aunt Selma. <br />
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Anyone who has ever been in an old farmhouse, the window above the sink is the quintessential piece of a kitchen. It is the place that moms and grandmas on the farm have watched the kids playing in the yard or seen the neighbors driving up for a visit or watching the cows come in for a drink or watching the tractor go by on the way to or from the field. At least that is what my grandmas saw through their kitchen windows. So when it came time to design this farm house I knew I wanted the window over the kitchen sink. <br />
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Anyone who knows me knows I hate to spend time in the kitchen; however, I still find comfort in standing at the sink looking out this particular window. You can see what I see. There are no kids in the yard playing, I can't see the cows or watch the tractor go by with my husband on it, but it still represents all that I remember of my grandmas, where I always found them, where memories are made. They may be my memories, but now that both of my grandmas are passed away, the memories are all I have and the little tokens that make it easy to recall the memories.<br />
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I hope this brings your own memories of your grandma and those memories bring a smile on your face today.<br />
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<br />Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-42929140362617301802019-02-20T10:12:00.001-08:002019-02-20T10:12:50.064-08:00New Year, New Challenges2019 started off rather disappointing. I lost my job of almost 6 years without an explanation or any indication leading up to the day my boss walked into the office to hand me my paycheck and tell me that I don't need to come back to the office to work. (pause for shock factor to set in)<br />
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It took me a couple of days to get over the shock of it all but luckily I had been quietly testing the job market in NW Kansas to see what was out there and had an interview set up for the end of that week. I didn't get that job from the interview I had already set up, but the lady that interviewed me was nice enough to let me know of a couple other jobs in the area she thought I might be interested in. That led me to 3 positions posted in the county hospital. At the time of this post writing, I am waiting to hear from the hospital. <br />
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In the meantime, I am back to working full-time doing medical transcription, specifically radiology. Hopefully I won't get to comfortable in that 2nd shift schedule by the time I get offered a job outside of the home.<br />
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These are my challenges: <br />
1. Learning to job hunt after age of 50.<br />
2. Figuring out how to balance my life between my house on my parent's farm and the new house on my husband's farm.<br />
3. Figuring out what day of the week is by my location and work schedule.<br />
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I am still trying to figure out how chaos and upheaval found their way into my quiet life. I thought by this point I would be settled in a job/career that would have me looking forward to retirement in 25 years. . . . . now I am just hoping to find a job that I can work at for the next 25-30 years.<br />
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<br />Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-77504509273931884822018-08-29T10:11:00.001-07:002018-08-29T10:11:44.047-07:00Been gone to longI realize that I have not posted anything for 2 years. But there is a perfectly good reason for that. We started building a house. <br />
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We being my now husband, Larry Tien and myself with the help of his parents, subcontractors, Larry's uncle and a few neighbors.<br />
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Ready to build a house.<br />
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Basement set, let's get the subfloor and then walls put over this basement.<br />
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In August of 2016 we had a house raising party. On that day we had the hole dug for the basement, the insulated concrete forms set and filled, plumbing roughed in for the basement bathroom and a set of stairs leading out for access both then and now, along with the subfloor for the main floor. We raised the walls of the main floor in less than 4 hours. That required the help of church family/neighbors. A good time was had by everyone, and suddenly the construction project started to take shape. <br />
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The next week our contractor that helped with certain aspects we could not do ourselves got the roof trusses set and started to get the steel put on the roof so we would have protection.<br />
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Slowly as the weekends went by we started to frame in rooms, got the inside staircase treads put up so we could use those stairs.<br />
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By the end of September we had all the doors and windows in their proper spots. We continued to work on getting things closed up before winter, including having the furnace installed. By Christmas of 2016 we had drywall up on most walls, at least one side, and entertained a house full of guests as Larry's family were all back to celebrate Christmas on the farm. Nothing was finished but fun was had. <br />
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On March 31, 2017 Larry officially moved into the house as the master bedroom was painted, carpet laid and closet mostly ready. Internet, TV and phone went in that same weekend. Next came the kitchen because we had plans for a wedding dinner in the new house to feed 25 people. Flooring was laid and cabinets were set with finishing touches being put on the night before the wedding and dinner. Again we had a full house.<br />
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We continued to work finishing rooms with the living room being the next one and the office following shortly after that. Paint, then flooring then trim work and moving in furniture. By Christmas of 2017 we had the main floor approximately 75% finished, with a lot of trim work still to be done. Again we had a full house of family visiting. <br />
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Now 2 years after we raised those walls, we have had family filling the house visiting for Easter and Phillpsburg Rodeo (Kansas' Largest Rodeo) already this year. We are still working on finishing rooms but have moved on to the basement. Bedrooms are painted and flooring put down. We are preparing to finish the family room in the basement this winter.<br />
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Still working on trim things in various spots and still have to finish the master bathroom shower stall, but overall, it keeps us busy when I am there on the weekends and now I am back to working medical transcription so have to work around a real job.<br />
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We enjoy our house and the wrap around deck is starting to shape up with only one last section to try to finish, hopefully before winter. That leaves only the back deck off the French doors/dining room to do next spring/summer. It is will great hope that by this time in 2019 we can finally say things are finished and we can start to really enjoy the home we have built. <br />
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So now you know why I have been gone so long. If you really want to see the whole story as it has unfolded you could say I have been blogging our progress on the facebook private page. <br />
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/172821073086042/<br />
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Request to be added and you can see what all was done in order over the last 2 years. This is just a highlight reel. :)Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-1391599420822909082016-05-03T20:28:00.002-07:002016-05-03T20:28:28.319-07:00Smell of spring in a rural small townThe other day I was outside and noticed that there was a scent on the air that was distinctly springtime in my small town. It was the smell of freshly mown grass and fresh dirt mixed with an air of chain saw shavings from tree trimming. It got me thinking, this is what small town America smells like. You can walk outside or downtown, sit on your porch or just drive around with the car windows down and smell springtime in my small town. <br />
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It also got me thinking about the sounds of springtime which mirror the sounds; the mowers running, slow idle sounds of cars on a leisurely drive around the lake, children's laughter as the elementary classes take walks through town for an adventure away from the classroom. Sometimes there is the occasional zing of a bike pedaling fast through the streets. <br />
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Out here on the farm, the sounds and smells are much more dependent on what I have done recently outside. Nature shares her sounds with me as the pheasants ruffle their feathers making a sound that is similar to a drum roll. The cackling they do as they talk back and forth to each other. Sometimes there is a turkey gobble as the hens have made their nests in the windbreak. I occasionally get the whiff of the farmyard that is freshly mowed. But my most favorite smell of all is the smell when I walk outside after an early morning rain shower - like Mother Nature took a shower and got all clean to start the day.<br />
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So I contemplate how best to share life on the farm with you now. My life has taken such a different turn in the past 2 years since I started this blog. I am building a house from the ground up with a farmer friend who might ask me to marry him in the very near future. He is the one who has been giving me the cowgirl lessons. I have not had much opportunity for lessons lately but I continue to hone my skills in what I have learned - feeding calves their bottles, pitching hay, driving a tractor and checking cows. Not much sorting, that has been getting done without me this spring. I will try to come up with some fun stories to share with you over the next few months as I build a house and see a dream come true. So stay tuned, you never know what might happen here in My Patches of the Prairie!Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-73372553609160587382016-02-16T18:28:00.001-08:002016-02-16T18:31:23.179-08:00Cowgirl Lessons - winter semester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The other weekend Larry comes with a different truck for us to go feed
the fall cows and heifers with. He said it was time for another cowgirl
lesson. It was the truck with the bale picker uppers. Needless to
say, I was not really sure what all this lesson was going to contain. I
am confident in backing up to a bale. That was the easy step. Then
the real lesson started.<br />
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Just exactly how far to back up so that when the bale arms were extended they were able to grab the bale at the right spot and lift it up. There is a controller inside the truck that opens and closes the arms, it also bends them in and out. I have decided that up and down would be much easier to understand versus in and out. So after a few tries I was backed up to the first bale and managed to get the distance just right. Then came the extension and opening and closing of the bale arms. That was an interesting part of the lesson, how to know just when to stop the up/down direction and then closing the arms to grab the bale.<br />
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I was amazed at how the truck itself pitched a little when the bale arms started to pick up the bale. Those big round bales are heavy; I knew this, but never expected it to raise the front of the truck up a few inches under the weight of it. Bale placed on the flat bed of the truck with arms still holding it and away we go to the first group of cows; the heifers.<br />
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Once again, I learned that having a pocket knife is a necessary tool for a cowgirl because inevitably there is twine that needs to be cut. Lucky for me, being without all the necessary personal equipment did not lower my grade and Larry was happy to share his knife with me. Although he did indicate that he should probably get me my own in the near future. After a few times of cutting twine off the bales, I have decided that a pair of heavy scissors would be much easier for me to manage. I have not shared this with Larry yet and further it could be easily kept in the glove box of the truck so when I feed hay by myself it is there and I don't have to remember to grab them from another location. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCE_mdthH-uwAbulQrrWZHjpyD45dOxrJlw-jN1QYhFG92vHDcOSo2Z3lriMvUb0jUKQSkprnS5pydaKC9bKAiQPjNs4Q1cd3pTTTMhWSjGoQcz4ZUl7Dydd7kCI7bDzw5YOcE6K6gCzJM/s1600/100_1160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCE_mdthH-uwAbulQrrWZHjpyD45dOxrJlw-jN1QYhFG92vHDcOSo2Z3lriMvUb0jUKQSkprnS5pydaKC9bKAiQPjNs4Q1cd3pTTTMhWSjGoQcz4ZUl7Dydd7kCI7bDzw5YOcE6K6gCzJM/s320/100_1160.JPG" width="320" /></a>As I sat in the pickup for the first part of the untwining lesson I was equally surprised at how much the cows can push on the bale. Before we were ready to unroll it, there they were munching on the outer bits of the bale. Pushing each other, bumping the bale with their heads or noses, and the truck would rock like an old rocking chair on the porch. Another challenge here is getting the twine pulled off the bale. You would think that it would easily slide but apparently if the bale has experienced any freezing that almost glues the twine to the bale and makes it nearly impossible to pull off. Here is where another personal piece of equipment is necessary; a good pair of leather gloves. Using the controller one must reverse and lift the bale off the flat bed and place it almost on the ground in order to pull the twine. Once the twine is all removed, there is a hook type hand held tool that Larry uses to loosen the outer layer of hay to facilitate better unrolling of the bale. I have yet to get to use this tool since Larry is always there helping me with the twine and he just does it. Old habits of old farmers.<br />
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The last step is the unrolling of the big bale. That is fun to watch because the cows are really ready for their meal and seem to be willing to help by standing on the hay and holding it down as I drive forward. Course some are so rambunctious in the unrolling portion that they jump, wiggle, and kick as the hay is laid out in front of them. One cow especially was so excited that she was running, jumping and doing a little dance as she followed the truck. On a side note, one must master the art of driving while running the hydraulic controller to lower the bale arms <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXeh4jhkPyQx7Fb87bQjUb7dLnJVeO2tuMX_ah-cycG1mUojRcmXfyIR_aSr22GX4QkmXPWZiSfmneZyWxJFsmbDvt0C_T9UDQ5ISKwkj3_dlCMThTjwmWr3cFOZL2G61tsq5ACASNgUgi/s1600/100_1165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXeh4jhkPyQx7Fb87bQjUb7dLnJVeO2tuMX_ah-cycG1mUojRcmXfyIR_aSr22GX4QkmXPWZiSfmneZyWxJFsmbDvt0C_T9UDQ5ISKwkj3_dlCMThTjwmWr3cFOZL2G61tsq5ACASNgUgi/s320/100_1165.JPG" width="320" /></a>So with 3 bales delivered on my lesson I have passed another level in my cowgirl training. Now the challenge is to put what I learned into practice and someday be able to go through it solo without any help from Larry. Since my lesson I have practiced portions of this but have not attempted it solo. It will probably be next winter before I get that opportunity. Until then, I am slowly honing my other cowgirl skills that I have already learned.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-66673153324721889672016-01-28T12:16:00.000-08:002016-01-28T12:16:06.955-08:00Long winter's napToday I thought I should put to words what has been going on and how come I have been so quiet on my blog that I was encouraged to start by so many people.<br />
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The pumpkin patch did wonderfully this past fall with over 800 pumpkins harvested, over $1000 raised for breast cancer research and nothing but pure joy for me in watching them grow and bring happiness to so many people in the area.<br />
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The garden was over run with grasshoppers but still managed to produce cucumbers, squash and a few tomatoes. Made some delicious pickles and enjoyed fresh squash off the grill.<br />
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I have also been dealing with health issues that have made me turn into a food nazi in such that I have to watch all things I eat which means I have to keep a running track of what I eat, how many carbs are in each piece of food I eat and watching what that does to my blood sugars throughout the day, before I go to bed and after waking up with 8-12 hours of fasting. Needless to say, I am sick of salads, sick of trying to find ways to make food delicious and filling without the use of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or egg noodles. At this point nothing really tastes good; not even a Hersheys chocolate bar or a Snickers. I treated myself to a chocolate cake donut the other morning and that was like melt in my mouth heaven tasting. My blood sugar did nothing but rise throughout the day!<br />
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So in an effort to get back into the blogger saddle, I am vowing to share my story this year more regularly. I am getting ready to start building a house with a wonderful farmer I met in 2014 after my latest divorce. <br />
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So keep tuned in and see what happens here in 2016. Cats, farm, house building, whatever comes to mind. I am vowing to be a better blogger in 2016.<br />
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Thanks for checking in.<br />
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-NancyStrong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-50710872750896539742015-08-06T11:32:00.000-07:002015-08-06T11:32:30.423-07:00Varmits on the deckLast week on an evening I was actually home there was a bit of excitement at my house. I was sitting in my office trying to upload pictures to facebook when I heard a horrible growling sound come from the living room. I got up and came out to see what the fuss was. There was Chevy sitting on his cat bench staring out the french door glass at some unseen enemy. <br />
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As I looked out the other glass door I could see the problem. There on the deck was a raccoon eating the cat food it had pulled down off the ledge, spilling the food all around. The raccoon was not very old, or should I say not very experienced, because it looked up at me as if to say (read in your best cartoon animal voice), "hey there, what's up? I am just grabbing a snack since all the cats were inside, so don't mind me any cause I am not concerned about that growly cat on the other side of the glass." Yes that is exactly what that raccoon said to me. His face and body language spoke loud and clear.<br />
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So I calmly turned away from the french doors and walked across the house to the other side where my trusty 0.22 rifle was leaning against the wall by the other door. I picked it up and walked back to the french door. Now normally, the wiser wild animals would see me coming back and take off. Not this guy. First I walked over and switched the yard light on to illuminate the deck and west side of the house. Next I came back to the french door, took the safety off of my rifle and slowly opened the door. Again the raccoon looked up at me coming out of the door as if to say, "Oh you are back? Look, this was just knocked over and me and my buddy here were passing by and figured if your cats were going to be that careless we could at least help clean up the mess." The next thing he knew I was yelling at him to get off my deck and to stop eating my cat food. The raccoon turned slowly to leave as I raised my gun to shoot it. One shot laid it on the deck where it kicking its feet like it wanted to run but couldn't because his legs were now parallel to the deck. Then I yelled again and told it to get off my deck because I didn't want to have to clean up a bunch of blood. About that time I heard the 2nd raccoon exit stage left rustling the leaves of my pampas grass and taking cover under the deck. When I looked back the raccoon I had shot was gone. I looked beyond the deck and did not see anything dragging itself towards the windbreak so I figured it had gone under the deck to die. Oh great, that is just what I need (I thought). <br />
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I got the broom and cleaned up the rest of the spilled cat food. Picked up the dish and took it inside. <br />
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Sunday evening when I came home my worst fear that the raccoon had crawled under my deck and died was verified. When I pulled up on that side of the house to unload the car from the weekend I could smell the distinct smell of death. Great, I thought. I took a walk to the gardens to check on them and on my way back I was surprised to discover that the raccoon had not in fact died under my deck but rather beside it. Right there in plain sight. The death beetles were already hard at work on the dead body but I couldn't have that stench right there by the deck where I want to work on my project for the next week or so; and I especially did not want it out where the dogs would easily find it when they got home on Tuesday. So I grabbed a bucket and my shovel and removed the dead body from its resting place. Cremation followed in the morning when the wind had died down and I could burn my trash. <br />
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So you see - you never know what is going to happen on the farm. A lot of the time things go on all the time and I am just not there to observe them, but on the rare occasion I get to, I might just have a story to tell.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-51667295145033442282015-08-06T11:00:00.000-07:002015-08-06T11:00:15.876-07:00Gearing up for Pumpkin SeasonI have not had much of a creative writing streak these past few months and for that I apologize. Sometimes my stories just take a while to hit me. Maybe it is because my creative energies are working in a different way. Let me tell you what has been going on.<br />
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Firstly, I am working hard to be a master gardener or maybe I am just trying to be a better gardener. Either way, I have 3 gardens in 3 locations this year. This takes a lot of work and thankfully I have help where the biggest garden is located. That is also where all my creative ideas have been working on other projects because by this time next year there will be the beginnings of a new house that I will get to call home and with that comes lots of creativity needed to make it comfortable, functional and easy to live in but not look like it is brand new out of a box. But back to the gardens; I planted 200 pumpkin seeds this year. Yes 200! I have 100 pink pumpkins in a patch all their own on the East farm. In another garden plot there I have 7 other varieties of pumpkins, none of them being the normal orange jack-o-lantern style. At the farm I call grandma's, because that is who used to live there, I have another smaller patch of 10 pink pumpkins with a volunteer baby boo left over from last year. At my house I have 2 patches of approximately 18 each of the pink pumpkins. With all of the pink pumpkins growing, I have decided to continue raising money for breast cancer research by selling my pink pumpkins and sending the funds to 2 different foundations - The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation. Between these 2 wonderful foundations I will split 75% of my proceeds of my pumpkin sales. All of my pumpkins get to help, not just the pink ones. My plan is to set up every Saturday morning somewhere in NW Kansas the 5 weeks prior to Halloween with the last sale culminating in a special presentation to a Lion's Club in Shawnee Mission, KS for my sorority sister, Kimberly Morrow. So if you are in NW Kansas and see a dark blue hatchback with a royal blue canopy in a parking lot, that is likely me selling pumpkins. Come and see what I have and get yourself a fun and unique pumpkin. Look for banner too as it pictured below. My fundraising website is listed on it and if you can't get to me to get a pumpkin, you can always donate to my fundraising efforts.<br />
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Secondly, my creative energy has been channeling into designing a house. But it does not stop there. I am trying to envision everything from the skeleton parts to the electrical and plumbing and just where all that will be located, how it all fits inside the walls and then once all of that is set, what will it look like when a person walks in. Of course, I see a finished product in my mind, but making what I envision come out and appear in real life, that is the true challenge. <br />
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Third, I am trying very hard to find a creative way to make my life work. I feel like I am stretched thinner now than I ever was when I had a child under my care. I work 2 part time jobs and try to help my family and my future family on top of that which is another part time job essentially leaving me no time for myself. My house is a mess. The cats are almost certain that I have abandoned them and whenever I am home they are all glued to me like they fear I will disappear again for days on end. No one ever told me when I was a kid that being a grown up was such hard work. None of my teachers in high school sat down and told us what real life was like or all about. That would have been a great educational tool to have but as I look back I realize, we were confident teenagers who thought they had it all figured out and that there was nothing we couldn't do successfully. <br />
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Finally, forgive me for the lack of blogs and quirky stories about life on the farm. If anything has been going on, I have not been around to observe it and weave it into a fun little story for you to read.<br />
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Stay posted, pumpkin selling starts in about 6 weeks and surely that will bring some stories around. Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-10625586997904215392015-06-23T10:59:00.000-07:002015-06-23T10:59:04.287-07:00Summertime on the farmSunday, June 21 ushered in the longest day of the year and the start of summer. <br />
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The things I love best about summer are varied.<br />
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I love the fireflies - they go about their nightly display as if on queue and greeted me Sunday evening with a dazzling display in the waning sunset and shortly there after flitting and twinkling about in the grass, my holyhocks, the wheat, the trees, everywhere. <br />
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I love sunset after 9:30 p.m. because even though I only get to see the very end, sometimes that last bit of twilight is the most beautiful as the stars in the skies start to show but the sun is still adding its glow on the horizon. I was able to enjoy both edges of night time this way.<br />
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I love the night sky. My most favorite night in the summer is August 12 when the Perseid meteor shower comes through and I can sit outside in the middle of the farm yard where I have no light pollution and watch the meteors fall for an hour or 2 before I make myself go to bed. <br />
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I love sun tea. I always have some on hand and use a very old recipe that is tried and true.<br />
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I love my birthday so near the 4th of July so I can have sparklers to celebrate with. The downside is that I can't do fireworks on my birthday if the wheat is still in the field because it might catch fire and I surely could not blow those candles out.<br />
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I love watching the wind dance through the wheat fields as it ripens and dries out the heads just before harvest. <br />
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I love the song of the summer night chorus when the crickets and birds and other bugs sing their songs together in one beautiful serenade.<br />
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I love to watch my garden grow.<br />
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I love to go to the cabin in the Rocky Mountains and unplug from the hectic daily grind, reconnect with mother nature there and find my inner peace in the sound of the wind blowing through the pines and rustling the aspen leaves in my favorite aspen grove. <br />
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The last thing I love about summer is that when it comes to a quiet close my most favorite season starts and that means pumpkins, Halloween, cool, crisp air and football games on Saturdays.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-43567763302750029022015-06-10T10:58:00.001-07:002015-06-10T10:58:24.154-07:00Daisy the Cattle Dog - farm workThis past weekend was supposed to be tree removal day but due to all the rain we have had in the past week to 10 days it got rescheduled because it was just not deemed dirt stable enough for a tractor and a big bucket truck required to drop a whole elm tree and manuvering to trim other trees around what will be the house location.<br />
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So instead of tree work, we continued to work on the clearing the build site. That includes 2 more border fences that have to be removed so we worked on the longer of the two. First was the 2 rows of barbed wire. This was easy enough until it got to be time to roll the stuff up. I failed barbed wire rolling and Larry took over that task as I continued to pull staples holding the fence to the posts.<br />
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Now this is a story about Daisy - she was my supervisor the whole day as I was working on this task. She would lay down next to the fence and watch me. I never could get her to dig at the base of the fence post where the dirt had actually buried the bottom row of staples, but she was encouraging with lots of loving licks and shaking my hand for a job well done. She also was busy doing border patrol to make sure no stinky varmints bothered me while I worked. We had seen a skunk run across the county road that goes through the farm the night before. The long fence is now rolled up and all that is left to do is pull the posts. So progress is being made.<br />
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Daisy would also help me check on the garden growth by walking through the garden with me. Of course, she was not as careful about where she stepped and I am sure there was more than one plant that got a paw push. Her new responsibility is keeping rabbits out of the gardens so the plants can grow big and strong.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-36777504088962408662015-06-04T08:34:00.003-07:002015-06-04T08:35:30.222-07:00Serial Miller Moth Murder now. . . .I have to admit that I am officially a serial murderer of miller moths. Actually I have been for a long time, but I am finally ready to admit such.<br />
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They showed up the last week of May and every night I am armed with my weapon of choice - the fly swatter - and I kill every single miller moth in the house that I can find. In the mornings I open the french doors to let cats out and there is always a cloud of millers trying to escape the safety of the door jamb where they have nestled into for the night. Morning murders are especially fun because I have help - the meadowlarks (Kansas' official state bird) will swoop down and pick them out of the air for a tasty morning treat. <br />
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Just the other night before I went to bed there were no less than 6 in my bedroom and that is a sacred room where no miller moths are allowed to live for any length of time. I killed 5 almost immediately as they were gathered around the door. Easy targets really, hardly any sport in the murder spree.<br />
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Then last night it was another onslaught in my bedroom but this time I was ready for them. I had finally found my backup fly swatter and was armed as I entered the room. I used the bathroom light to lure them away from my bed.<br />
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They have also invaded the office and so I have a secondary murder location with dead miller moth bodies strew about. I think it is almost time for a clean up and that will require enlisting the help of the vacuum cleaner to help me dispose of the bodies and leave no trace of them behind or the murderous carnage that I bestowed upon them.<br />
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There will be window washing and possibly curtain washing as well before the cleanup is all finished but for now I fondly look forward to the end of this season because I am just getting to old for all of this.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-76575263989314404572015-06-02T07:38:00.002-07:002015-06-23T12:35:30.416-07:00Farm Bureau Financial Services official pink pumpkinJust a quick portrait update on the official FBFS pink pumpkin plant in the planter box at the office. Just like kids they grow so fast and so I will be adding updates through the growing season here so check back on this post to watch "Pinkie's" progress. The early baby pictures are on the other post about the gardens. So we will watch Pinkie grow from this post from this point forward.<br />
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June 2, 2015 - friends are fun to grow with.<br />
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June 10, 2015 - Pinkie is really growing but so are his friends and it looks like we will have some more flowers soon.</div>
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June 23, almost 2 weeks later. Pinkie has really taken over the flower planter and is spilling over onto the sidewalk. Now comes the challenge of keeping the vine from reaching out and tripping small children.</div>
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Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-1236514018207571602015-05-31T19:12:00.000-07:002015-06-02T07:10:01.004-07:00Gardens are planted!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes folks you have read that correctly - multiple gardens are planted this year. There are 2 plots at my house, 1 down at Rogers Farm and a HUGE garden at what is lovingly called the East Farm in Phillips County. <br />
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I suppose you could count one more garden if you consider a container outside the Farm Bureau Financial Services office a garden because in there is a single pink pumpkin plant that has emerged after 1 single seed was planted there at the end of April just for fun. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 4, 2015</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends arrived to encourage happy growing on May 5, 2015</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">After a rough couple of nights of freezing temps the group is still alive and the FBFS pink pumpkin plant is growing by leaves and bounds.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So what do I have planted in all these locations you may wonder? Are you wondering that? At my house there are 2 plots; the east garden plot houses 18 pink pumpkin seeds and approximately 15 gadzukes zucchini seeds. The west garden plot has approximately 18 Oriental cucumbers, 20 saffron yellow summer squash and another 18 pink pumpkins.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Down at Rogers Farm is a little monster patch of approximately 10 pink pumpkins. Considering how they took over last year, I think that will be plenty. They are designated to grow for fundraising for the Atwood FFA this year and hopefully will be just as fruitful as last year's group. There was even a volunteer pumpkin plant come up so it will be fun to see what kind it decides to become.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Obviously from the picture taken the morning of June 2 shows that I need to do some weeding and get this patch mulched. So that is now on the schedule for this week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The HUGE garden at what is lovingly called the East Farm in Phillips County is where I have veggies in the main garden to include pickling cucumbers, Oriental cucumbers, gadzukes, saffron squash, regular zucchini, green beans and 12 tomato plants. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Picture 1 - oriental cucumbers</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Picture 2 - 12 tomato plants</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Picture 3 -pumpkins in the garden. Hard to tell which row this is. There are blue skinned, chocolate skinned, bat wings, baby boos, lumina ghosts, sugar pies, and warted pumpkins this year that will be for sale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Picture 4 - Green beans galore!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> There are 2 dedicated pumpkin patches and where "Nancy's Pumpkin
Patch" is officially located this year. If you want special or unique
pumpkins, that is where you want to go. There are 100 pink pumpkin
seeds planted in the dedicated pink pumpkin patch. Then the garden plot
houses another 7 pumpkin varieties of approximately 10-20 seeds each.
That means there are over 200 pumpkin seeds planted in my gardens this
year. That should be plenty to sell to raise money for breast cancer
research and to have to decorate your porch or table during the
Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays. </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Garden management is always hanging around - today's group is fluffy boy, little books, and orange boy. They made sure we stayed on task of getting soaker hoses laid out and weeds hoed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Nancy's pink pumpkin patch. 89% up at this point. Look at how lovely those little plants look. </span><br />
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Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-75661889551077594782015-05-29T07:54:00.001-07:002015-05-29T07:54:34.606-07:00Cowgirl lessons continue, day 2 - the squeeze chuteWho knew what all that metal contraption could do? Now those people who read this who have been around squeeze chutes all their lives probably know more about them than I was shown this day but these are my lessons and I still don't know how to operate all the levers and releases. To make things easier, we worked calves with this squeeze chute. <br />
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Obviously when you are working calves it is hard to get pictures because someone would have to be the designated photographer, but working calves is the priority so unfortunately you get to see me with the staged pictures and no calf in the chute. <br />
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First there was the working of the momma cows. They each got a shot and dowsed with fly deterrent goop. This was accomplished by corralling about 10 at a time in a very small area. Larry would stand up on the fence rail and reach across with the syringe giving each a shot in the butt and then hand off the syringe for the fly goop sprayer. This was done with relative ease as Larry's dad was also on the gate side of the area facilitating the gathering of each small group of momma cows. The calves were already separated and not happy to be away from their mommas. Once this was done it was time to turn our attention the calves. <br />
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Now one thing to realize is that both the calves and myself had never experienced this before so we both were very confused and a little unsure about this big metal contraption. Timing is huge I found out because if you were not ready with the right lever to catch the calf on its way through the chute it would shoot right out the other side and you would have to start all over. So I helped to coax the little ones into the chute and did not partake of any of the levers that captured its head on the other side. After everything was done, shots, branding, ear tags if necessary I let the little one out the head captured end. Most of the time the calf and I were not coordinated and it took several tries to get the gate to open and the calf to push or pull at the right time with its head so the body could escape.<br />
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As we worked through each calf I was surprised to find out that the chute actually would rotate so that the calf could be laid on its side for shots and branding to be done with a lot more ease and safety for all concerned, humans and calf alike. <br />
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Let's see if I can remember the exact process:<br />
1. Sort a single calf from the group into the small holding area to the left side of the picture.<br />
2. Identify gender for immunization set.<br />
3. If identified as a bull calf, then the extra step of preparing the rubber band for placement and steer making.<br />
4. Immunization loaded in syringe and given to shot administrator (Larry).<br />
5. Tilt calf on side for branding and band placement as gender dictates.<br />
6. Lock chute upright and release.<br />
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I would not say that I passed this part of my lessons with flying colors. I am still not sure how to work all those levers or what each of them do and the minute you add a calf in there that weighs a few hundred pounds adds a new level of difficulty to the whole scenario. I think this is a lesson that is going to take a while to learn. It harkens back to the old adage of practice makes perfect. Larry has had years and years of practice. I will likely never get to that level but I still can be helpful and that is all I strive to be!<br />
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After all the mommas and calves were immunized, gooped, branded and ready for the summer pasture we loaded them up into the trailers and headed west to the summer pasture; 2 trailers, mommas in one and calves in the other.<br />
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The cows and calves are all out to the summer pastures now so the cowgirl lessons have come to a summer break of sorts. I am sure in the fall when my brain is geared to pumpkins there will be a refresher course offered and I will hopefully get to be involved in some of that activity.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-39565991800091201132015-05-03T19:56:00.001-07:002015-05-03T19:56:40.012-07:00How to transport a queen sized bed in a compact hatchbackMy sweetheart of a boyfriend decided that I needed to sleep better and with less pain. We are slowly purchasing items and materials to build us a house in the near future. This past weekend we went furniture shopping for beds and dining room table and chairs. Struck out on the dining room furniture, but did manage to get 2 very nice chairs for our eat at counter for the kitchen. That will be our spot when it is just the two of us. Then we checked out some of the beds. We found one for the master bedroom - had to order it but paid for it so we are guaranteed to get one before they close up shop. Then we found another gel memory foam mattress that can be put on a platform bed or box springs. It will be perfect for the guest bedroom on the main floor. Until there is a guest bedroom on the main floor, it is going to live with me so I can sleep better at night. <br />
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Transportation to the Tien Farm: So we bring the bed and the chairs back to the farm in the back of Larry's farm, no problem. Chevy Silverado, lots of room for a mattress and 2 dining room chairs. Then we unload the mattress and put it in my car and take the chairs to the trailer house where other items are being stored. I know what you are thinking - how did they get a queen sized mattress in a little hatchback car? Well the proof is in the pictures below. The secret is, the bed comes in a box all compact and snug. It won't be "unfolded" and stretched back out to its original size of 60x80 until I take it out of the box which will not happen until Tuesday evening. Very cool product and I can't wait to see how well I actually sleep on it.<br />
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<br />Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-25317879027164479162015-05-03T13:35:00.002-07:002015-05-03T13:35:59.055-07:00Cowgirl Lessons BeginCowgirl lesson #1 - Sorting fall cows<br />
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The afternoon started out with the wearing of the cowboy boots and being assigned a sorting stick. There were rules to sorting that I had to learn quickly in order to pass my sorting lesson.<br />
1. Pay attention to ear tags.<br />
2. Don't get run over by circling momma cows.<br />
3. Assess cows by visual cues.<br />
4. Keep track of which ear the tag is in.<br />
5. Use the sorting stick to poke cows in the butt, encourage them to move with a gentle tap on the back side or smack on the head when the cow comes straight at you with that look in her eyes.<br />
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First activity was getting the momma cows from the lot up into the sorting pens. This required all 4 of us. My job was guarding the section of lot where the windbreak wall was so they did not go hide in the corner of that particular area. Cows really like to bury their heads in the corner so you cannot see them and they cannot see you. So here I am with 2 sorting sticks, one in each hand, so I can be a much longer visual cue to the cows, guarding the windbreak area of the lot. The 2 class teachers were chasing the cows with 4-wheeler and on foot, trying to round them up and head them into the direction desired. Success was had relatively quickly and easily and all cows cooperated and went into the first sorting pen without incident.<br />
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The next activity involved being a little more up close and personal with the cows. Now was the time to really put my understanding of the rules into play. No 200 tags, no skinny cows, only white tags. So here we go, chasing about 15 or so from one sorting pen to another making sure we got some white tagged cows. Then we opened up the holding pen to get just the white tagged cows in for loading. Sometimes a cow would escape the holding pen as we were getting another one chased in there and we would have to start all over. There was one red cow in particular who was very stubborn and was refusing to be sorted into the holding pen. First group was made up of 8 white tagged cows so Larry's dad could take them to a special pasture as they will be sold later on this summer. The next batch was 6 red cows to go to a small pasture by themselves. <br />
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Time for a real test. Activity #3 was moving cows through one area into their assigned pasture. The next small load of 8 were sorted out and loaded to go to the pasture behind a field. This was were I got to do some transporting activities. So Daisy and I headed up to the pasture where this group was going. Our test was to pick them up and drive them across the first pasture to the gate in the northeast corner and down the alley way to the other smaller pasture. Daisy and I chased them with the mule and were doing really good all the way to the gate they were supposed to go into. Then the cows decided that they were going to go left and not right. So now they have circled around the entire perimeter of the pasture they are not supposed to be in and are quietly munching on grass down by the road they just got transported in the trailer on. Of course, going down in the mule to get them was not really an option; so I grabbed and extra sorting stick from the back and trotted myself down to where the cows had congregated. Then giving Daisy the order to head them back up the fence line to the gate and we were off. Daisy running and barking at them to get them moving. Me following behind trying to run in cowboy boots, waving my sorting stick and telling them to get moving. By the time I got to where the mule was parked up on the top of the ridge, they were half way to the gate. I was able to catch up, well sort of, enough to keep them from rounding the corner and going back down the fence line to the south which would have been just a total back track. Pretty soon I hear the other 4-wheeler and here comes Larry with a smaller group of cows. They did the same thing, except they just went straight to the bottom of the draw in the corner without the whole circling of the small pasture option. So he comes up the hill with them along the fence line and into the alley way they go. Who knew? Daisy and I thought we should get an A on that test because even though we had to do some extra work, we accomplished the goal without wrecking the mule, losing a cow or getting kicked!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daisy and I discussing what worked and what did not, happy we were successful in the end.</td></tr>
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Then back to the sorting pen for one last sort. This was the rest of the white tagged cows and the few gnarly cows that were going to be sold soon. Now my job was to find the cow with the toenails that are about 6 months over due for a pedicure. So instead of looking at heads, I was looking at feet. Of course she was buried clear back in the corner, with at least 4 cows between her and me. I finally got her identified and slowly was able to get the other cows to part ways and let me get to her. After that, she went into the holding pen easily and off they went into the trailer. This made a total of 38 cows gone through and sent to their pastures for the summer.<br />
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One last group to move. This was the biggest group, 33 of them. This was supposed to be the easy move because we just let them go back into the lower feedlot area, open the gate by the road, let them cross the road and drive them through the corn stalks to the gate in the northwest corner that takes them to "grandfather's" pasture. This was pretty successful and Daisy had a blast barking her orders to cows and chasing them in the direction of the gate. When she gets tired she rides in the mule with me.<br />
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So ends cowgirl lesson #1. I think I passed with flying colors. I was not told I failed so I am going with a passing grade for that one.<br />
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Fred and I discussed it and he agreed that I passed and did a wonderful job.<br />
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Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-11183325273513964532015-03-16T13:48:00.000-07:002015-03-16T13:48:52.653-07:00Long winter's napI just realized that I have not written down anything all winter long. Now that I am looking towards the end of the week and the calendar start of Spring I realized I have had a long winter's nap from my blogging. That does not mean there was nothing to report, just never thought about it.<br />
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So let's get up to date. . . .The pumpkin patches did wonderfully and I sold out of pink pumpkins faster than I expected. I roasted all but 2 chocolate pumpkins; 1 of which is still hanging around since cows don't seem to think that pumpkins are very tasty. Christmas time was filled with family and friends and a very emotional Christmas eve church service a year after my grandmother passed away. January and February found me traveling every weekend to the Tien farm so that I could go to beginner's dance class with Larry. I know how to dance; so it was so he would have a partner to learn to dance with. That was fun and culminated with a dinner and dance for both the beginner and advance classes on March 14th. I am so glad I remember how to dance from my teens and 20s and have not forgotten; it is just challenging to not lead and dance backwards even when trying to teach someone the moves.<br />
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Some of the winter weekends found me coming home with kindling or small loads of firewood as we started to clean up around the farm. My car seems to think that maybe it is a small pickup.<br />
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March also brought out the sleeping gardener in me. I have my seeds ordered and have plans already of a big garden at the Tien farm with pumpkin patches in both Rawlins and Phillips counties. I am also working to partner with the Rawlins County High School FFA chapter and some local 4H members for growing the pink pumpkins. Trying to figure out how much seed we all need is proving to be the biggest obstacle right now. <br />
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Daisy dog is having a great time at the Tien farm. She helps with the cows when she is allowed. She is sometimes a bit more zealous than what they need. She helps me when we are trying to get them in one part of a feed lot so we can open the gate on the other end for the hay bales to be delivered. She is so fast and she can jump fences if necessary. She is also very smart and can look at the different fences to figure out if she needs to crawl through or just jump. She loves to ride in the tractor and on the 4-wheeler. Of course, riding in the pickup is always fun. She can even run up the side of the big round bales and likes to sit up there while the hay grinder is on the yard for grinding silage.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daisy helping me feed fall cows.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daisy watching over silage grinding</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daisy looking for the cows</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding along in the pickup</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warm sunshine means naptime!</td></tr>
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Larry has chosen a location for him to build his house on. I am being helpful as we are currently working on pulling up fencing and posts, moving buildings or taking them apart, and have even had a tree person stop by for tree removal. That is the big project for the rest of the year is getting the spot prepared for digging of a basement and ultimately building a house and garage that he can call his own home. It will be great when all the family is at the farm because with the extra house there will be extra bathrooms and bedrooms for everyone to have a little room to themselves. Some of this clearing and cleaning up includes my garden area so hopefully we will have that ready for planting by the 2nd weekend of May.<br />
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So as spring has sprung and the trees start to bud out and the flowers start to emerge from their long naps under the dirt, it is time to think about trimming back the pampas grass, spray the weeds which are always the first to wake up, trim back the flower beds and get them all cleared of last years dried mulch and such so they can bring their beauty forth. So I am going to be getting the smaller garden spots in my care ready for planting of a pink pumpkin patch, get the mowers ready for the mowing season and try to clean up from winter's drying out. All we need now is a whole lot more moisture than we have in the ground or it could be a growing season cut short by Mother Nature's design.<br />
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Calving season has started with Franklin being the first calf born. He is all black with a white face. Black calves are not supposed to show up in the Tien herd so we were wondering who had an unauthorized visitor.<br />
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I have been lucky enough to be around for a few of the calves arrival to the farm. Lucy and Linus showed up on a very cold afternoon and had to go to the warming box for the night. The next morning we took them to mom in the barn to see how everyone was going to get along. Linus and mom are back out in the pasture and Lucy was adopted to another mom who lost her calf. They are doing great as well and back out with the cows too.</div>
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On March 15 I helped Larry deliver a very large bull calf who is now being called Pig Pen. He was HUGE - over 100 pounds. Mom and he got moved to the barn and it took both Larry and I to lift him up into the trailer. Mom was working on getting him cleaned up and is patiently waiting for him to get with the program. As I am writing this I got a text letting me know that Pig Pen is now standing up and doing better as the day progresses. </div>
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I promise to do a better job of writing now. I guess I just lost the creative juices for the winter or they needed a rest or something. </div>
Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-75281569522240446652014-10-12T18:39:00.000-07:002014-10-12T18:39:02.201-07:00Daisy the Cattle Dog - checking cowsWe must begin with last night and our attempt to have Daisy sleep in the dog house with a cattle panel fence. The first failed attempt came with the realization that she has some Houdini genes because before Larry got around the barn to the bale, here came Daisy running up to him. That prompted a fence fixing attempt with a board, some staples and some bricks. So after securing the cattle panel one more time the second failed attempt was proven. Larry headed up to finish feeding the cows and sheep their hay for the night. Pretty soon here came Daisy trotting along like she was not supposed to be in her pen with her dinner. This time her escape route was not evident. It was either through the bigger openings or possibly even over the top. This stunt won her an all expenses paid night in the garage. So her food and water were retrieved from the dog house and a bed was prepared with the sheets that came with her in my car. Whether she slept on her "bed" or not, we do not know but she did eat and drink some overnight. She was ready to go this morning when it was time to go do chores.<br />
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This morning Daisy could be seen in the barnyard checking out the spring calves as they ate their breakfast. She did much better this morning helping Larry with the sheep. When I walked around the corner to go to the barn in the hopes of washing up some crusty kitten faces, Daisy saw me and came running with her tail wagging and a smile on her face. I think she likes her new farm and family.<br />
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After barnyard chores were done, Daisy and I jumped in the pickup with Larry to go check cows. This involved 4 sets of cows, sometimes Daisy got to get out of the truck and other times we just counted cows from inside the truck. On the last group, a Sunday plan changing discovery was made. First, a whole lot of broken fence. Secondly, cows in the milo field that were making their way back through the broken fence. Lastly, a number of missing cows and calves in the pasture with the broken fence. This meant back to the farm to get fence fixing supplies and the 4-wheeler for cattle checking in the deep ravines.<br />
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Daisy and I went with the work truck. She rides so good. She likes to curl up on the floor board and has a hard time laying on the seat between 2 people in the truck but she can lay down on the seat if she is encouraged to do so. Daisy and I headed back in the truck with Larry close behind on the 4-wheeler. We had the gate opened and were headed to the first spot of broken fence when Larry rounded the corner on the 4-wheeler. There were about 6 spots to fix, sometimes 2 or 3 rows of barbed wire. Daisy would get out of the truck and do a perimeter check. The cows were no where to be found where we were working so she just explored the area around where we were fixing fence. She was checking both sides of the fence and each time we moved we would call for her with a "Daisy, let's go." She would jump into the truck and sometimes would let me also sit in the driver's seat. When the fence was all fixed, Larry took the 4-wheeler down over the hill to count cows and calves, believing they were all back in the pasture. Daisy and I just sat at the top of the hill and waited. Daisy curled up on the floor board and was napping when Larry finally came back to report all cows and calves were present and accounted for. She stayed in her spot on the floor for the ride back to the farm. <br />
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The rest of her day was spent napping in the garage during afternoon nap time and helping with evening chores. She even will put her front paws up on the wall at the end of the stall and watch Fred take his evening bottle which was just as darling as possible. So ends Daisy's day. She is tucked inside the garage, was eating her supper and will sleep on her sheets or in her carrier.Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6048164435011124385.post-47376405262735590112014-10-12T10:10:00.000-07:002014-10-12T10:10:05.950-07:00Daisy the Cattle Dog . . . .stories to share<span style="font-size: large;">As Daisy was getting familiar with her new farm she was learning about where all the animals were located and checking out animal she had never seen before. Thus today's story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The sheep are separated in 2 pens because one group is going to market on Monday. Daisy and I of course caused a stampede of sorts with the sheep as we walked up to the pens because they are scared of anything new. It did not take Daisy long to figure out how to run around through an open pen and get to the west side where the sheep were now huddled. She said something to the sheep, not sure what but they ran back over to the side of the pen where I was standing. So here comes Daisy, full speed ahead, back around to where I am standing. So as soon as she got back to me, the sheep took off back to the west side of the pen. This created a loop where Daisy would run around to send the sheep back to the other end of the pen. After several trips back and forth I called Daisy and she came running and we let the sheep rest from their laps around the pen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I knew then that she was going to do just fine and we walked back down to the yard where she then went with Larry to go up to the machine shed and work on getting the combine ready for corn harvest. She rides very well in the pickup and lays on the floor if no one is sitting in the passenger seat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stay tuned, more stories are coming. </span>Strong Prairie Roots by Nancy Vaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02680418991215452915noreply@blogger.com0