July 2026
Meep! Meep!
Since we moved to southern Missouri, we have been fascinated with an unexpected variety of wildlife. Yes. I am talking about the nemesis of one Wile E. Coyote. When I was young, I sympathized a bit with Wile E. However, having shot at and missed one of his brethren that was killing my chickens by waiting in the yard for the coop door to open, I have changed my mind. Now that we have spent time with the roadrunners, we are definitely on Team Roadrunner. That's right. We have roadrunners. The Missouri Department of Conservation has written about them and [...]
April 2026
Good Research
Just a quick note. If you have never been around hogs, but have played Angry Birds, the hog noises are spot on... I get to listen to it every day they are here. Cracks me up...
Spring Sprung Early!
This might be my favorite time of year. Yeah, I will probably feel similarly in about six months. The trees will just look different. I keep stressing myself because I feel like the garden should be all planted. My tomato plants in the garage look puny. Why aren't they ready NOW! On that front, I have to try to accept God's grace. The fact is we normally would get a surprise freeze between right now and Mother's Day. I have moved the four porch plants out of the garage and to the... er... porch, but I think every spring for [...]
Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag
It's a fascinating thing. I have read. I have studied. I have thought at great length. Laverne is raising her little chicks, and doing a great job. No interference from us, and I feel they are maturing faster than when we raise chicks in a brooder. This may not be true. When raised in the brooder, I watch them multiple times each day. I watch Laverne and her kids multiple times each day, but it is not the same. She encourages them to fly constantly... from the first time she kicked them out of the nestbox. She cares deeply for [...]
March 2026
I Stand (actually Sit) Corrected
What. Was. I. Thinking? "We'll get pigs in early December," I said. "It will be awesome," I said. "I won't spend anymore time running hoses and water three times a day to keep them cool," I laughed. Yes, I ran a lot of buckets of water. A lot. I could have filled a small to medium pond with all the water I hauled this winter after everything froze. Even with a heater in their water, the nipples froze solid. I bought a heat gun. That was able to thaw the nipples as long as it had not dropped below about [...]
Is this thing on?
A couple of decades ago, I started writing on my own website. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I changed host sites, and I lost my web page and all I had written. To make it more disappointing, I wrote many of those posts/stories for daughter Annie. I don't think I could recreate all of that even if I were so inclined. So, let's see if I still have a knack for writing stories and if my enjoyment of doing so is still there!