Counting Blessings...

I try and give thanks every single day, often several time over. Life is amazing isn't it? It may not always be easy and there are many speed bumps but it is always good...  This time of year is my favorite. I love the weather the fall season offers, football and this holiday in particular.  With so much going on in our lives right now I spent some extra time counting our many blessing this week.

I am so incredibly grateful for these people who God gave me.  These people who love me day in and day out, who accept me for who I am and who fill my heart with Joy.   My family, I sure love these people!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday!

Blessings
Jen

Ranching Is Hard Work... Duh

I'm exhausted, my back is screaming at me but I'm determined, my heart is full of Joy and the music man amazes me... I know he is sore too but is working double time around me. I'm so grateful for his knowledge and dedication. After weeks of working hard with little more to see than dirt we are now actually seeing our hard work and man it sure
feels good!

Both horse turn outs are done and are beautiful. I am really happy with the fencing we chose and the animals have plenty of room to kick up their heels if they want to.

Both storage sheds are done and I have begun to decorate my tack room. In addition to painting I've learned how to roof and run hot wire.

Duke and Daisy are chasing coyotes daily and are learning the boundaries of the property. They have become best buddies and not only love each other but their high energy level keeps them playing all day. The picture above is just after Duke got busted for running off property and not listening as I called him off. He does have a cute oops I'm sorry look doesn't he?

My Tack shed is coming along.

The sunrise and sunsets are spectacular here and I'm looking forward to capturing them with my "real" camera soon.  I love this photo of the girls enjoying their sunset snack with Daisy Mae watching over them.  As you can see we have the round pen up as well. Ohh sweet sweet progress I tell ya.

It's getting down right cold at night so this week I have begun blanketing. Check out our princess Punkin Pie sporting her brand new pink coat. What a cutie!

I've noticed over the last few days that Chancie has started dropping weight even though I am feeding heavy... I think he is burning extra calories to keep warm so I hope blanketing at night will help stop that. He and Luna Tuna are due for their teeth floating as well and have am appointment with the dentist this morning. Hoping blanket and a happy mouth will help keep weight on him over the winter.

Check out our sweet Samson and our fencing, isn't is awesome! I'm pretty sure donkeys are angels that God sends to us for some extra love...

We have a chance of a thunder storm tomorrow night. Though camp is not quiet set up for rain yet we could sure use it. The dirt here is like cake flour and poofs up everywhere especially as the music man tractors around. It would be nice if mother nature could help us compact it down a bit. Yeah a little less dirt flying would be nice.

Hoping all is well is your hood. I've just figured out how to tether my phone to the lap top and am pretty proud of my technical achievement....  Now to catch up with everyone in decent size print, yes!   As the days go by I swear the print on my phone gets smaller and smaller...

Have a great weekend!
Jen

An Update From My Cell

Coffee cheers to my incredible husband who is working his butt off for us. We have been working from sun up to after dark via lights from our generator busting out big moves.

We do take little breaks though, here's Shelby taking Ms. Punkin and her Honey dog for a walk before dinner the other night. Sigh I love this life...

My sweet Duke and I getting ready to start another day. It was a chilly morning and we were both moving just a little slower enjoying the warmth of the indoors.

And I believe my she is a he... He is getting so big and his feather coloring is gorgeous. I noticed a couple weeks ago that his coloring and size was so different from the hens that I got at the same time. We're now thinking of a boy names and though I thought all my chicks were hens we are looking forward to some crowing and all the shenanigans roosters do.

Sweet Samson smiling for all the veterans yesterday. We love and appreciate all those who serve, have served and their families not just one day of the year but everyday.

Hanging horse gates after sunset. One of the horse turn outs is done and we're hoping to finish the other today after work. Fingers crossed we don't have any issues.

And look, after all that work we still like each other haha. Hope all is well in your hood.

Blessings
Jen

Howdy From What The Heck Just Happened...

I'm posting from my cell phone as we do not have WiFi set up yet. This is a first for me,  crossing fingers it's works.

Our move has gone anything but smooth in fact its been quite a disastrous adventure thus far. We have been working non stop for the last 30 days in preparing for the move.  Fencing for both perimeter and horses as well as water delivery and tanks as the well is not up and running yet.

We now have umpteen unfinished projects but the animals and humans have made it over. Phew.  I am hoping the chicken coop will come tomorrow. I am worried about my girls being alone at the old place. Their coop is solid but the rural nature of where we live makes me nervous non the less.

Since horse turn outs are not done yet they are staying a few days in the round pen. The dogs are so happy and doing a fabulous job of keeping the coyotes off property.  Both donkeys bray and stare in the campers window a lot. I know everyone is feeling the stress that moving brings. I think they they're saying hey lady where'd you bring us and is this it! Just a few more days and I know they will love it here too. Their pastures are big and roomy.

As of now we're dry camping next to the horses. My fridge and water pump are not working. We had a little rain system come through the other night and we have a major water leak in our roof, about a foot away from my pillow. Ugh. Though it's been rough we have laughed, dreamed and are even more determined to get everything finished.

The views are incredible here. The quiet,  peaceful. Standing on our own dirt is beyond joyful and I can see the big picture and it sure is beautiful.

All the mayhem will pass and the music man and I will have tons of stories to share and no doubt some laughs too... Moving just sucks but life is amazing!

Hoping all is well in your hood. Have a great week!

Ready Set Camp

Thank you everyone for your sweet healing wishes for Duke, he is great! Finished his antibiotics and is healing really well. In fact the injury didn't really slow him down at all.

The move date to our ranch is here and wow did it come fast! We're not really ready but have been working not stop for the last few weeks trying to be.  We expect to receive our first work card permit today or tomorrow as all conditions are now clear. We have been drilling post holes for days... And days. Seriously the hardest work, even with Fergie the tractor.

The music man was able to build my tack shed this week, though not done it sure looks good. This project is so big that it often feels like a single drip drop of water into the ocean. With the fence post in for both pastures, almost half of the perimeter posts in on two of the sides of the property and one of the sheds up I am now starting to see the progress. Thank you God.

Though we are exhausted and sore with so much more that needs to be done before we move we are so excited and grateful to finally have our own slice of dirt.  Knowing all this hard work makes for dreams that do come true.   We are so thankful for the support of our friends and family who have been helping us as well. This weekend they will be back to help us set up or "camp".

Okay I best get moving, those empty boxes are calling me.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend
Jen

Duke A Gazillion ~ Coyote 1

Shelby turned another year older and we celebrated with family. Look at these two, I sure love them and am always grateful when my son comes out to visit us.  

Like every morning Duke runs coyotes off the property while I'm out feeding. He's my second set of eyes and takes his job as "super ranch dog"very seriously. Inherently, he protects.

Yesterday morning he bolted out the door and took off barking before Daisy and I knew what was happening. When I got down to the horses I saw Duke and a coyote across the road. I then saw two, three and four coyotes in total. Thankfully, seeing Daisy and me walking towards Duke they all ran off.

Last night I found a puncture wound just above his tail. I've cleaned it and he is current on his rabies (and all vaccines). This morning we'll be visiting the vet to be sure all is okay. A year of chasing coyotes and this is the first time he has had contact with them, lucky I know since we don't have a fence here.

(photo by shelbs)

Another reason we are busting our humps over at the lot sinking fence post. We have about one third of what we need in and set. In total, we are fencing about 4,000 feet and hoping to have the first half done before moving over there.

**Duke update
We started him on antibiotics, he'll have a scar but will be fine.  Thanks everyone for your kind words about him and your prayers. He is such a tough guy and one of my cutest hero's...

A Glimpse of Fall And Some Catch Up...

The focus is off on this image but I wanted to share anyways. This was my grandpa's measuring cup and one of my favorites. Though he had a rough life I think he found pieces of peace in the kitchen. He was a good cook and I love that I have this family treasure. I always think and feel close to my grandpa when I'm busting out my own moves in the kitchen. What a gift this little cup is.  

Being a wrecking ball is hard work... Ms. Daisy Mayhem has severe separation anxiety. Have you had an animal suffer this? We are making great progress on potty training and manners but if she cannot see or hear me things quickly go sideways.

I have been working on crate training her in hopes of finding a place where she can feel safe and cozy when I have to run to town...What a total disaster!  She has broken through 2 of them. She literally breaks the metal at the weld joints and squeezes her body through an incredibly small opening. We have averted disaster as she has not gotten herself hung up but the crate thing is simply not working. I get home to find my stuff all over the place and her in total freak out mode.  I cannot leave her outside in this hot weather or take her everywhere with me. Any suggestion are welcome.

Last week our temps dropped and we had a day of fall like weather before another heat wave set in.  I was so excited that I baked, made soup, power cleaned the house and started packing.  The only thing I wasn't able to squeeze in was some knitting time.

Fergie the magic machine (aka tractor) broke down and we lost a whole week of work at the lot but she's fixed now and we are hopeful we can run a large fence line this coming weekend. My parents and Justin are coming down to lend some helping hands so we can make up some ground.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and checking some stuff off the "to do" list at the same time.

I'm thankful for the weekly phone conversations with my son but I haven't hugged him or looked into his eyes since July, way to long to be sure everything in his life is good.  Phone calls are great but in person check in's are always way more awesome and necessary for this mama.

Our move date is coming fast and there really is so much that must be done.  Truth be told I've been freaking out a bit. I know all will be amazing and I'm trying to lift up my stress and let it go but it's hard and I haven't done such a hot job with it. I am soaking in all these moment, taking the good with the bad and learning so much about expectations, adjustments and patience.  I mean after all Gods timing IS perfect why fight it.

Weather forecast says cooler days are coming our way, great news for working outdoors and perhaps I can pick up those knitting needles soon.

Hoping all is well in your hood,
Jen

Life Happens...

Hey is this thing on?

Hi guys, sorry I've been away. Truth is since Jackson passed I've not been motivated to sit here and talk about my days. My life is good, I'm good it's just that this blog was named after him as everything I posted was seen through his eyes... And it feels different now.

Life goes on and living on a ranch with others who need my time, offer kisses, hugs and laughter is the best kind of medicine. The last couple weeks have been hectic here too. We've decided that our move date over to the lot will be the end of next month. Yep, we'll be glamping in our RV for a few months as we develop the land. We are finalizing our house plans and I love it. It's going to be perfect!

There is so much work to be done, instead of totally freaking out I'm working hard at taking things a day at a time. Feeling thankful for God's grace, it gets me through each and every day.  The music man is in transition too, if all this house stuff wasn't enough he's going to be working his butt off. Not like that's a new thing,  just looks like our work will be nonstop for the foreseeable future. So we bought Fergie the tractor.   Our "new to us" magical machine that will make some of the work easier.

Ms. Daisy Mayhem is loving her new life and we continue to make progress on her training.  She is such a sweet girl who loves snuggles and my gosh does she love Duke. They have a blast playing and running around like maniacs.

The chicks are now teenagers and I expect Goldie girl to stop being a mama to her two any day now.  She watches from a far and they are getting so independent.

As far as Minnie's three they are growing quickly as well full of feathers and tripled in size, teenagers now for sure but still definitely need their mama.

We made it through an incredible heat wave last week and I'm not the only one happy it's over. Chancie,  Luna Tuna,  Punkin and Sam are too.  Our evenings our starting to cool down nicely and even though we are officially in fall our weather will stay warm for another month or so with a lingering monsoon or two.  Here is Daisy Mae listening to the afternoon thunder roll across the ranch.

I can't hardly wait to get back to fresh breads and soups as our main staple. Not to mention that quiet at the end of the day where my knitting needles sit so perfectly in my hands.  Ohhhh yes fall is my favorite season and I hope Mother Nature will bring it to our hood soon.

Okay I think you're up to date with the shenanigans over here, how are you? I'm looking forward to bouncing around a bit and seeing everyone.

Happy Weekending
Jen

They Call It Progress..

Southwest Fire Protection came out yesterday and mowed our lot. It's so dry out here and the fire hazard  is incredibly high. When mowing you have to have a fire truck follow the tractor in case it hits a rock and makes a spark.

This is Dan, the owner SWF and the tractor driver. I'd say he likes dirt, in fact I'd say he loves it!

He spent 10 hours in 100 degree temps mowing while being surrounded in a dirt cloud. He took out Chaparral five feet high and tons of brush. It feels amazing knowing we reduced our fire danger and have a good clearing prior to building. The fire department will be out to check on us too.

 It looks amazing! I love that we can see all of it now and was happily surprised at how few rock piles were hiding... Not many at all! This weekend we are to start the perimeter fencing, I'm excited to get started but not looking forward to working in the heat, forecast calls for 104, yikes!

In other news, Ms. Daisy Mae is now Ms. Daisy Mayhem.  Ahem, she is so sweet but man oh man does she has energy, no prior training and some separation anxiety. Keeping her calm for a week (due to spaying) is not an easy task. She needs to run but for now she's on a leash next to me... Keeping her quiet is our #1 task next to potty training. Puppies are exhausting and it's been only 3 days haha. We'll get there she is a smart and gentle girl who seems to be enjoying all the attention and the indoors.

Happy Weekending Peeps!

Ms. Daisy Mae...

I saw this on Facebook, went to meet her and the very next day picked her up from the clinic where she was spayed.

 Here I am driving Ms. Daisy home. Welcome to your new and joyful life little miss.

She is adorable, super sweet, full of energy and worms... She is a ball of energy and you can't even tell she had surgery yesterday! Keeping her calm means keeping her close to me. After a little while she did settle down and enjoyed a nap on her new pillow. I'd say she likes the indoors too.

Her and Duke hit it off immediately, I know he is happy to have a energetic play buddy.   I was worried about him chasing the coyotes off property by himself as well since we laid Jack to rest.

We're off to the vet after morning chores for a check up and to handle those nasty worms, yuck.

Welcome home Daisy Mae we are so happy you're here!