Thursday, September 11, 2008

Okay I was wrong. Raisa rolled over on the sixth and hasn't quit since. She forgot how a couple of times and got mad but then remembered and flipped over.

PFD's tomorrow!!!! Know what you are going to buy? That's right boys and girls, it's time to buy HAY!!!!!!!!

~Pam

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Uncle Dave and Bonnie Bonnie aka Moodini

Whew! It's been just crazy here this last month. My uncle came to visit, Kathy left for three months, Tony quit working and I have a cow who would make Houdini proud.

First, Uncle Dave came up to visit for almost two weeks. He'd never been up here and I had last seen him when I went Outside in 2000. A lot has happened in our lives since then, good and bad, and it was really great to see him again. For those of you who don't know, Uncle Dave is my mom's brother and the only blood uncle I have. They had a brother but he's been gone for quite some time. Mom and I were just discussing that today too! For the size of family that I have, it's weird to only have two uncles.

Kathy is in Colorado, visiting her daughter for three months and I'm house sitting for her. Dozer(her dog) and Jasher(my dog) really get along well. The only problem happens when Dozer forgets that Jasher is also a boy and attempts to do inappropriate things to him. Jasher manages to fight him off and they go back to playing. Dozer is a Boston Terrier and he makes the weirdest noises when he gets excited.

Tony quit working at the dock so I don't have the girls when he has them unless he has a gig, then I get them overnight on Saturdays. Not often, but sometimes. I miss them, but it's nice to have some days when I can get stuff done. Raisa turned 4 months on the 26th of August. She is trying so hard to roll over. She has the strength to do it, just not the coordination and it really makes her furious when she can't do it. Kiki is practicing sitting with her and she has that down for the most part. She still has a round bottom so she tips, but she can get to her stomach from there and she's all good. She's looking more and more like Phaedra every day. Neither one of them look more like one parent or the other, whereas India is Kiki's mini-me. Funny stuff ya know!

Okay, on to the bovine breakout. The back gate of Bonnie's corral is a section of welded wire, 4"x2", staples to two poles. One pole is nailed to the post of the corral and the other is held up by two loops of wire, one at the top and one at the bottom. She has learned to bump the gate so that it comes up out of the bottom loop and then falls down out of the top loop, hence falling to the ground and letting her out. Two nights ago, she did it but nobody caught her out roaming. We think she went out for a couple hours and came back into the pasture to sleep where she was discovered the next morning. Unfortunately for her, the lack of thumbs prevented her from setting the gate back up and she was busted. Yesterday, Mom and I were sitting at Kathy's kitchen table after she got home from work and I looked up in time to see a blonde rump disappear behind the bushes at the top of her driveway. I guess my eyes almost popped out of my head cause it scared Mom to death but she couldn't see what I saw. I ran out the door and up the driveway to find Mrs. Moodini standing in the middle of our driveway, drinking from a puddle. I walked up to her and grabbed her halter to lead her up to the house and she decided she didn't want to go that way after all. I'm not heavier and I'm definitely not stronger but I was scareder and I drug her up the driveway until I could get to her lead rope. I figured she was probably headed for the water trough but I wasn't taking any chances. Mom went ahead and closed the back gate for me and fastened the top loop to the wire of the gate so that the gate can't fall if she bumps it out of the bottom loop. When PFDs show up I'm going to buy a metal panel gate... One with a latch... That I can lock. The wire makes me nervous anyway cause it wouldn't be anything if a bear wanted in or she really wanted out We still haven't discovered all the damage she's done I'm sure. She ate the apples off the tree and most of the leaves, she trampled my flowerbed in the front and she ate about thirty pounds of turkey grower that was in the can beside the turkey coop. The apples were the bummer but the turkey grower was aggravating. $20 for 50# makes thirty pounds gone, sting a little. Oh well, what can you do except get a better gate.

Dad almost has a barn built! Well, on paper anyway. He has the building panels for the whole thing and is going to get a slab poured with his PFD, for half of the floor. Not the cow half. I want a place that we can keep turkeys inside so they don't get eaten and the poults will grow faster with room to roam and a place to run, outside. Our turkeys are half grown and are looking mighty tasty already. I heard them gobbling last week and it made me think of Thanksgiving already. The leaves are turning and, while it's been cold all summer, it's starting to get that nip that only Autumn has. I have a ton and a half of hay, which isn't nearly enough, but I'm not quite so anxious about it. It's a little bit of a buffer in case snow comes early. The search never ends though. Dad is parceling out the joint for pasture and hay fields next year. Carl Hatten will let us use his baler if we can get it to his place and the neighbor of Carl's said we can mow his place for hay next year. The plan is to have a few tons to cut down on the cost of winter feed, especially since she'll be pregnant next winter... hopefully. And everybody knows how pregnant ladies eat!!!! Just kidding, just kidding calm down.

Well, I got some more pictures to post cause my super-cool uncle bought me a new camera for an early birthday present.

Later,
~Pam
McKayla Nicole Hull and India Lynette Bates at the Ninilchik Fair August 16th, 2008



Raisa Alexandria Rea August 9 or 10, 2008

About Me

We're a family that came to Alaska in shifts. We've been here since 1995 and don't plan to leave any time soon.

For Jaime

Comment from a SMART President

" The government that is big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."

Thomas Jefferson President 1801-1809
Died on JULY 4th, 1826

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