Tuesday, April 7, 2009

that stinky brown pond

We're excited about some cousins joining us for the later half of Easter week. I've got my list and I've been trying to use the company as an excuse to get few things done. Tonight after dinner, I decided to quickly bail out the pond. It filled up naturally this winter, but was an ugly brown. The frogs didn't seem to mind, but we started to. After a few consultations with friends, we figured it was the pine needles that had blown into it that were the cause of the brown water. The fix was to empty the pond, clean it out and clean the bottom and fill it back up with water. So I waded in this evening, between downpours, saved a few tadpoles for the new water and started bailing. Before I knew it, I had two helpers, in their boots, too. So it turned into man-time in the pond . . .


It's clean. We'll let it dry for a day, if it doesn't rain tomorrow, then see about adding some clear water, some goldfish, a little aeration and those tadpoles.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

12

Sage turned twelve back in January. Her desire was to have her party out at the ranch, so that's what we did. This was before we even moved here at the end of February. It was a great day . . . .


shooting guns and bows . . .

crafting . . .

riding . . .

enjoying . . . .

and celebrating!

Great group of girls and one very special girl. Can't believe she's 12 already!


Saturday, April 4, 2009

Thanks, Gib!







My motorhead friend, Andy Gibson, was kind enough to come out and see if he could get the quad running again.

(He also helped with a Tundra oil change. He insists synthetic is the only way to go and has all these other witch doctor tweaks to improve performance. . . .and they work!)

It needs a carb overhaul, but with a little fiddling and a new battery, its working great for now. Kids are having a blast puttering around the perimeter of WHR . . . .and Henry seemed to like it, too. But Andy seems to have biggest smile of all!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Got Poison Oak?

This is not a picture of the stuff at WHR, but I'm pretty sure it's out there. I was told by an experienced friend back in January that he didn't think there was any poison oak on the property. I'm pretty sure he was wrong.

Virtually certain I got it here on the property as I was clearing some trees and brush. Wasn't thinking about it. Had my shirt off and was just going for it. Came on strong, took me down and laid me low. I'm feeling better finally, but still itchy. You bet I'll be pretty careful from here on out. None of the kids have gotten it yet, so its not everywhere and you've got to work hard to get it.

Here's what my elbow looked like for a while . . .


Happier posts to come. . . I promise. So many great pics and things to share, as time allows.