Runamuck Ranch

Hush Little Baby

2009-08-17T16:11:00.002-07:00

Caboodle's favorite sing along book is

This is a lovely little remake of the old buying song that has been replaced with a mother showing her baby the wonders of the world around them. I am in the process of memorizing the words to add to my repertoire of lullabies for nap time rocking sessions. It is a joy to read again and again.

My Kissens

2009-08-17T15:52:00.004-07:00

A farmgirl and her kissens. These are actually living kittens not stuffed animals that seem to enjoy being carried around for hours by Caboodle. She also catches and carries the hens around who also don't seem to mind.

Caboodle sat on the back steps today and protested that I won't let cats in the house until she was overcome with hunger and had to give in. Caboodle calls them her babies and her kissens.

Boo & Muskogee

2009-08-16T22:38:00.004-07:00

Boo's first steer which she named Muskogee is the sweetest boy. He is a perfect first steer and is very patient and well behaved. Boo is washing him down daily to help with this awful summer heat and is a very precise mixer of feed.

Oli (Big Shot in Creek)

2009-08-16T20:35:00.003-07:00

TT with his new little steer, Oli. His brother was Lucky 7, Pinal County Grand Champion 2008.

Art In Daily Life

2009-03-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."

~William Morris

Farming

2009-03-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." - Dwight Eisenhower

My Father's Footsteps

2008-01-30T10:10:00.001-07:00

I finished this painting yesterday. Then I put myself through my strange and disturbing signature anguish. I never feel blocked about what to paint or how to paint it but when it comes time to sign a painting I completely freak out. I even woke up with a headache this morning which my son said was a signing headache. But I finally bit the bullet and signed the painting. If I was a woman who drank I think I would drink strong spirits before signing but then I would probably misspell my own name and that would be bad.

So anyway here is the final piece. It has a lot of meaning for me most of which I will never divulge. However, the road TT is walking down is the road that leads to our little house on the farm. TT is the fourth generation to travel this road with the family land under his feet and our Heavenly Father above him. The Farmer's critique was that the cotton was better than his actually was - but I don't think so.

The dark clouds are symbolic to me of the trouble that always looms in this life but how there is a clear path to the light if we just follow in our Father's Footsteps and keep to the path. It is my prayer as a mother that my son will follow the good path all of his days. So far so good. I am a blessed woman.

Now off to clean the studio and ready it for another piece and for sewing some household stuff. I know it is time to sew some covers for the pillows on the couch because TT told me last night that these pillows would be really comfortable if they didn't have plastic wrap on them and had real covers. For the last month we have had pillow forms from JoAnn's with the plastic covers still on them on the couch.

BTW, Upside down days are fantastic so far. More details later.

Upside Down Days Equal An Upside Down Life

2008-01-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

I am forever putting batteries in electronic contraptions the wrong way and wondering why the contraption doesn't work the way it should. TT and the Farmer are always fixing this issue for me and teasing me about my battery changing ability. It occurred to me today that I have been putting the batteries that recharge my life in upside down and then wondering why my life has no energy.

For instance two of my top priorities are creating art and learning with my children in a creative unhurried loving environment. Up until today we would wake up and try to rush through all our daily house chores and cleaning jobs by 9 am and start school. Usually this results in nagging, rushing, stressing and being late starting school. I had tried to reserve the afternoons for creative pursuits but was just too spent after the lovely morning of miserable have to get done's. The theory behind this plan was to get the worst over first and be done for the day.

Today it suddenly occurred to me this morning while we were ignoring chores to create water color drawings using the rain that I had it backwards. Get the best over first and the rest can get done or not later. Then at least I have had a good part of a day that accomplished important priorities.

Our new routine is to wake up early spend a couple of hours doing something creative independently or together, spend a couple of hours doing school and squeeze all the other junk like housework, errands, office stuff into the afternoon when we are not at our best and brightest. And if tomorrow never comes at least today we spent the day well and in line with what is important to us. I can't believe I didn't get this before.

Inspiring

2008-01-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

How to by Keri Smith

A Clean Farm Office

2008-01-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

After a week of cleaning and feeling completely overwhelmed by miscellaneous paper and rare oddities I have finally completely cleaned the farm/levelling/art/4-h club/legal office. Strangest and most disturbing find - a hatchet. Most pleasant find - a disk of pictures I thought I had lost when a hard drive crashed. Hauled off 6 very large trash bags of trash. Does anyone need a sale flyer from Home Depot from 2004 or an instruction manual for a tractor we haven't owned in 10 years?

Three good things that came from this icky job

1. A clean pleasant organized office

2. TT brought out brownies to keep his Mom going.

3. I figured out how to use the label machine and am completely in love with labeling things. Including children and bad cats as well as drawers and files.

BW, our book keeper and all around person who pulls my cookies out of the fire, will be astounded on Tuesday when she comes to a clean office. She will think she is in the wrong place I am sure.

Next week I will actually have to do some real work in there. Whew!!!

Colorado Ranching

2008-01-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

One of the most fun things about blogging is the people you meet that you would never actually get to meet in your ordinary life.

A reader who ranches and farms in Colorado sent us these literally cool pictures of a slice of their life on the farm. She has 5 boys ranging from age 21 to 2 and like most ag families they all pitch in. She took these pictures when they were going out to gather cattle in freezing temperatures. She says the snow is too deep for the cattle to dig down and find food so they are bringing them in to feed them.

One thing a lot of people do not realize is that farm and ranch families work in all weather and more often than not the worst weather makes more work so that during storms and very unpleasant weather farmers and ranchers usually have to go out to work in it and work more than usual. Also in extreme conditions everyone pitches in and even the littlest children go along because Mom is needed to help as well.

Dogma

2008-01-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Steve Jobs

Good Words

2008-01-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are. e.e. cummings

Barbed Wire and Bathtubs

2008-01-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

We brought the old cast iron bathtubs up from the pasture where they were being used as feed troughs to convert into flower beds. TT and Boo painted the rusted bottoms ranch red as we call it and we filled them with composted milo which makes great and free potting soil. Boo, Caboodle and I went to town and bought oodles of flowers and planted them. Meanwhile Daisy and five cats were watching us just waiting to demolish all our prettiness. Boo stood guard and I went to the corrals and scavenged a bunch of barbed wire which we put in the beds to hopefully keep intruders out. It is cottage style meets prison camp but hopefully the flowers will prevail.

Cleaning Up The School Room

2008-01-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

This week was dedicated to cleaning up the school room which also serves as a science project lab and a communal art studio for anyone feeling creative. A pile of interesting projects awaits TT and Boo to work on in their spare time while I am doing a mountain of catch up and preparation for the upcoming farm year and school year. We officially start school February 1st but since endless electronic entertainment is not an option, the kiddos can create, experiment, and play to their hearts content with no result oriented expectations except that they do not blow up any permanent structures and they clean up their own mess. It will be a month of quad riding, fort building, rocketry, working with 4-H animals, pottery making, bow and arrow making, painting and general outdoor fun. The weather here is beautiful this time of year and so this is why we take our break in the winter. The summer is devoted to staying indoors learning with breaks to swim. Otherwise we are heated in.

New Nikon D80

2008-01-10T21:22:00.001-07:00

Thanks to a very generous Christmas gift from the Farmer's Mom and Dad, I was able to finally get the Nikon D80 I have been waiting two years for. I am deeply in love with this camera already and am resisting the urge to drop all my responsibilities and play play play with the camera. However, this week is all about getting our school room ready for the new school year and figuring out our annual plan A for school which we never follow and instead always do plan B which is better and hopefully we won't have to resort to Plan D too much which stands for Plan Dad which occurs when all else fails. This is a serious run on sentence but plans also can be a mess and run on as well.

Anyway, here are few shots I snuck in. They are nothing spectacular but were all I could manage in 5 minute or less snatches of time.

Catahoolie, the toughest farm cat ever. The hair hanging from her neck is where a coyote had her by the throat and she managed to escape and survive. She is the ruler of the farmyard

Wheat fields in the evening.

Scraps who is the second toughest farm cat and Catahoolie's daughter. The kids named her scraps because she looks like God made her from the scrap bag.

It's Raining Money

2008-01-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Well not really but with over an inch of rain it allows us to skip an irrigation on the wheat. In Arizona water is money.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T21:25:00.001-07:00

Progress

Authenticity

2007-12-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

"Be yourself. Tell the truth. The people who accept your truth are your people. The people who don't accept your truth aren't your people and that is ok." Brooke Castillo

Beginning "In My Father's Footsteps"

2007-12-10T07:28:00.001-07:00

The basic sketching is complete and I have begun the underpainting on this painting of my son. He is pictured walking down a road on our farm that has been travelled many times by three generations before him. It is my hope that he travels in his Heavenly Father’s footsteps as well as in his Dad’s in all the ways that count.

This will be a pastel on Wallis Sanded Paper.

There's A Bird On My Head

2007-12-07T21:22:00.001-07:00

Christmas Break

2007-11-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

As homeschoolers we take our big break from school from Thanksgiving until about the third week of January. This works so well for us with December being my busy season in the farm office, shipping art, and enjoying Christmas. It really is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here. The kiddos put up the tree and today was the first day we did not have to run the air conditioner.

Finished Picking

2007-11-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! We finished picking season this afternoon!!! The crop picked well. We will know exactly how well after it is ginned and classed. Here are some scenes from harvest. Now it is time to plant some wheat.

Here is an in cab photo just like on Nascar but only going about 3 miles per hour.

Dumping the cotton into a boll buggy

Finished field. Finished modules waiting to be hauled to the gin.

Thankful

2007-11-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last year on this day before Thanksgiving we were at Phoenix Childrens Hospital in ICU with Boo not knowing if she would ever wake up or not. This year our family is healthy and intact.

For those families and staff who are spending their Thanksgiving at Phoenix Childrens this year, we delivered lots of bakery goodies to the break room and family room at PCH.

The children also helped me make these quilts for staff to give to the children who are having the hardest time. It is our goal to complete two everytime Boo has her 3 month appointment.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is discord unity.
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is error, truth.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Where there is darkness, light.
O divine master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console.
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving, that we receive.
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned.
It is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.

American Toys

2007-10-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting article: Recalls spur demand for American playthings Wouldn't it be nice if we would continue to buy safe toys from America that provide American jobs. Do they really cost more if you can use a high quality toy for multiple children because they last? What about the cost of China's supposedly cheap toys to the environment and our culture?

I watched a documentary on Walmart the other evening and it was showing how Walmart has an amazing tracking system on its inventory and buying trends. For instance, it knows and acts on the fact that more people by strawberry poptarts before a hurricane and stocks it stores accordingly. Perhaps if we all quit choosing the China made goods it would begin to stock its store accordingly. It is very easy to blame Walmart for the Chinese invasion, and they are guilty, but it is just as much the American consumer's fault as well.

Our family is still striving to be China Free. Boo loves the American Girl clothes for her dolls. Since they are all made in China her and I have been sewing the clothes. Boo wants to be a fashion designer and as she says fashion designers design and make their own clothes - they don't have to buy from China. Maybe someday Boo will be a fashion designer that doesn't outsource her manufacturing.

Sea Cottage

2007-10-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Sea Cottage is a peaceful and soothing blog I found. Enjoy!

Here is a beautiful quote from her blog:

"Let no one ever come to youwithout leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God's kindness;
kindness in your face,
kindness in your eyes,
kindness in your smile."
~Mother Teresa

Entertainment Farming and the Ramblings of a Cotton Pickin Tired Farm Wife

2007-10-12T21:37:00.001-07:00

After enduring merciless teasing from the Farmer I decided to take the kids on our homeschool group field trip to XXXXXX Farms to pick a tiny pumpkin, socialize and experience "farm life." He did not understand why we needed to go visit a farm when we live on a farm and work on a farm. Sometimes people who have common sense can be so annoying.

This farm is the last in its area and is surrounded by development. People flock to it and truly enjoy themselves at this farm. I truly believe this farm is great public relations for the Arizona ag industry. However, the pumpkins are in a Bermuda grass field and were imported by a grower somewhere else, the fields have been replaced with carnival rides and picnic benches, and the only animals are in the petting zoo.

Here Boo is coming out of her shell and curling up in a ball so that a dog can leap over her body and through a hoop. We definitely do not have anything like this at our farm.

I read that 23% of the vegetables eaten by the French are produced in home gardens called potagers. That is amazing to me. I have also heard much about the French paradox in that they eat richly yet are very healthy. I believe that it is the gardening. When a person gardens they not only nourish their bodies with the best nutrients, but have more peace and joy as well as the benefits of physical exercise, fresh air and sunshine.

The families I observed today were completely overjoyed at picking up their pumpkins from the field, petting a goat, and being in a bit of open space. It saddens me that is their only ag experience when it is free for the taking as a daily joy even if it is only in a small pot of tomatoes on a deck or an herb planted by the door. Perhaps, mowing the lawn should be replaced by growing a cottage garden like the victory gardens of WWII. I think we are so far away from the fruits of the earth that we long for it but don't even remember what exactly it is we are longing for. Adam and Eve missed the Garden of Eden but their sons and daughters don't even remember what they are missing.

Tommorow morning we have beef weigh in for TT's 4-h beef project, followed by Youth Scholastic Clay Target shooting practice at the farm at 1:00 and clover kids here at the farmhouse to learn about cotton at the same time followed by a 4-H community club meeting here at my house after shooting practice all while getting equipment ready to begin picking cotton next week.

I love Mrs. Ben Lanier's comment about simple chaos. I believe it describes many farm families. I also know that all the families that come to the farm from town take something precious with them when they leave that puts them just a little bit more in touch with the miracles of God's creation. Perhaps God blessed my family with such beautiful land, and a love for working the land so that we could share just a little bit of that with those who no longer see the beauty of His creation because of all the empty distractions around them.

Anyway, I will continue to work in my garden, do my best to buy from Americans or at least ethical countries and in particular not China, and continue to try to convince others how valuable ag is to our lives. I think it is correct about laziness and buying what is easiest and cheapest in a pinch even though spending those dollars is a vote for everything we stand against. I am guilty as well. I do think that after thinking about Chinese made goods I will no longer blindly buy them and will have a bit of cognitive dissonance when doing so. When you know better you do better. Perhaps it is like losing weight or saving money - every bit counts and eventually you make some real progress.

OK enough ramblings. Next time I will post about the invasion of the woolie worms.

Livestock Show

2007-10-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend TT showed his heiffer, Marigold, and Lucky 7 his market steer. Marigold took first in her class and Lucky was 3rd. These shows are always good experience and the Caboodle was completely worn out from waving and saying HI to every calf that passed by. Beef is in her blood as she would not speak to or acknowledge the sheep.

We made it through one week without buying China. However, Boo broke down the second week and bought a wallet from Penneys and a brush for her goats - both made in China. We are definately more conscious about checking labels now and it is astounding how many things that seem American are from China ie. Justin Cowboy work boots that the Farmer likes to wear and Starkist tuna. I shiver to think about what is in that.

I think we will try the experience again soon. We will also try to buy as China free as we can from now on. One really great place to shop is charity thrift stores. No guilt about paying too much, it recycles and preserves our natural resources, and all the profit goes to help others. That's a good deal.

Creative Curtainry and Dining Room Decorating on a Dime

2007-10-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

I have been revamping our dining area as part of my annual fall cleaning to remove the massive dust from our home now that the monsoons have stopped.

When I made the curtains I neglected to wash the fabric first and when I washed them they shrunk alot. (I am pleading pregnancy induced laziness) I revamped them with some unbleached cotton fabric and like them much better now. I still have the other window to do.

The chandelier came from Mamaw's old house and because I loved it so much and her so much my father in law gave it to me. I love him so much too by the way. It had a beat up chain and cord which I covered in burlap and wrapped some garland around.

The chairs I recovered in sale fabric and they are holding up nicely.

Inspiration

2007-10-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

The fields are bursting with cotton bolls and blooms. I have become fascinated by the colors of the changing blooms - how one flower can miraculously change from yellow to pink. The farm is full of children and 4-H and trap practice - how each child gently unfolds and blossoms with loving care. Hmm combining cotton blossoms and children blossoms looks like a new painting is in the works.

By the way, we are still China free however I haven't been to town or bought anything - time will tell.

Defoliation

2007-10-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

We will start picking cotton in about 3 weeks. Once the cotton is picked and sold we will know whether we made money, lost money, or just broke even. No wonder we don't go to the casino. Now this is gambling folks.

Can An Average American Farm Family Live Without China and the Birth of Big Bum Bob

2007-10-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

The Farmer and TT had lunch with our cotton broker who had just returned from China. The Broker talked about how the sun in China looks like a little red dot because of all the air pollution and that at the end of the day your face is covered with black from the air. This conversation combined with the recent horror stories of toxic goods from China and their persecution of Christians as well as many other atrocious human rights violations prompted a family discussion.

We decided to conduct a geopolitical socioeconomic study for one week. We will buy nothing made in China for an entire week. We are curious as to whether some goods will be completely unavailable and whether if they are available if the price is comparable, higher or lower. If you want to take the challenge with us let us know your findings and post a comment.

So far we have shopped once for groceries and remained China free. However, I wanted a scarecrow which at Walmart were all Chinese made. So a free alternative resulted in the birth of Big Bum Bob. An additional advantage was the great time we had creating him.

Meet Bob. Can you tell which one is Big Bum Bob?

Back from the Sea

2007-09-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

"Patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach ~ waiting for a gift from the sea." A Gift From the Sea

A Good Plan

2007-08-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those.
-Michael Nolan

An even bigger challenge: Allow your children to pursue the things that catch their hearts and facilitate their pursuit even if it is not in the so called 'state standards'.

Full Circle

2007-08-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in the family archives is a picture of the Toltec Tavern when it was first built by Milton and Ralpha Sellers in 1937. The Sellers came to Toltec at the request of the Farmer's great grandfather who gave them the land for the Tavern if they would build and run a general store to serve the growing amount of workers who came to work on the newly developing farms. During the construction prohibition was ending so the Sellers decided to add a Tavern to the store. The building was built by laborers from Mexico who made the adobe bricks from the dirt on the site. According to Ralpha the menu was Liverwurst, Bologna, Salami or Ham Sandwiches.

By 1940 the Sellers had added the back dining room and an orchestra would come from Tucson every Saturday night and play to a full crowd.

The Sellers eventually traded the Tavern back to the Farmer's Great Grandfather in return for farm land. Descendants still farm cotton in this area today. The Tavern was resold and it has continually operated as the Toltec Tavern since 1937 until August 29, 2007.

Today the Farmer and I four generations later went and took a picture of what is left of the Toltec Tavern. I can't help but feel the end of an era is very near and may not even be remembered as those who lived it are fewer and fewer.

And by the way Arizona did have a history, a culture and a way of life before the Developers came to town. For more information a great resource is http://www.sunlandvisitorcenter.org/

The Day the Toltec Tavern Burned Down

2007-08-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day. From my farmhouse I could see the smoke from the Toltec Tavern dark against the blue sky as it burned to the ground. Yet another one of the few pieces left of history of this area gone. Our prayers go out to Tom and Irene.

To Do List

2007-08-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

1. Get older kids' immunizations and give dosage of Dairy Queen to counteract the pain of the tetanus shots.

2. Laundry, Cook, Clean.

3. Rock a grumpy Caboodle.

4. Finish painting.

Almost Finished

2007-08-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

The lighting was a bit yellow in this photo. The underpainting on the white truck is still visible. The major painting is almost finished and then the final touches.

It isn't all just groovin with the funk baby.

Funk Baby's Favorite Song

2007-08-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

The Caboodle grooves to this song even when the music impaired Farmer sings it to her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_2m-4e4tyA

Come on feel the groove. Get your Caboodle on the funk bus.

Prescription for the Screaming Meme's

2007-08-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you feel like a screaming meme and there is no escape? You call an official junkfood jammy day.

Step 1. Tell your family it is not their fault you are a feeling like a snapping turtle.
Step 2. Go to the store and get chocolate and movies.
Step 3. Set up food to pick at that does not require Mom's assistance. My personal food is a nacho bar with taco meat in one crockpot, beans in another, and nacho cheese sauce in another. Chop up what ever else you like in your nachos and leave on kitchen counter.
Step 4. Everyone Jammy up. This may or may not include a bubble bath first for Mom.
Step 5. All family members must lay like vegetables in front of the TV guiltlessly neglecting all normal responsibilities and eating nachos, popcorn, and chocolate.
Step 6. Go to bed at a decent hour so you do not have to call two consecutive junkfood jammy days in a row.

Lower Learning and Socializing the Kids

2007-08-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

Previously I shared one of our higher learning techniques. Here is lower learning in action.

As homeschoolers people worry a great deal about whether our kids are getting enough socialization. Here is proof that we take the kids out for socialization and they meet a diverse population.

Recovering

2007-08-10T21:11:00.001-07:00

I love my old dining room chairs that went beautifully with my unused dining room at our house in town. However light peach fabric just doesn't hold up to everyday use by kids, husbands, etc., etc.

I saw some ultra suede fabric that was a bit more ranchy on clearance and so I thought I would try my hand at recovering. Besides it is so much fun to sew with an electric staple gun

These are much better and with a little scotch guard should hold up fine. By the way if you are interested in a house to match the old upholstery on these chairs check out www.plumhollow.blogspot.com

High School

2007-08-10T21:00:00.001-07:00

T.T. being the thoughtful and talented son that he is, primed and painted my kitchen wall over the cabinets. He decided to take a break and do some higher learning. The Farmer said I have a big advantage over public school teachers because I can just move the ladder until the reading assignment is finished.

My kitchen now has a beautiful vintage turquoise accent wall. So cheery. My children have spent a lot of time in my studio and around other artists at work and TT has really picked up a knack for sponge painting. Everytime Boo smells turpentine she says that smells so good like Mommy. Poor child.

Monsoon Rain

2007-07-29T20:29:00.001-07:00

A lot of rain all of a sudden. Boo bought a new umbrella with her own money and is finally getting to use it. She underestimated the gale force winds accompanying the rain which renders even the niftiest umbrella useless.

Mom please let me in!! Please don't make me wait while you get the camera.

The winds stop and better preparations are made...

One wet girl and one wet dog going away

The Caboodle ponders and worries about TT, Boo, rain and Daisy.

Thinking about Clutter

2007-07-28T07:10:00.000-07:00

Nearly every evening the Lord paints the most spectacular paintings in the sky and within a few minutes He just wipes them away.

If He can let go of such a beautiful creation why do we hold onto just stuff that is clogging up our life to the point we do not have a blank canvas on which to make a beautiful life?

"Closets should not be museums. They should be full of the present and the future, not the past." - Lynda Millner, author of The Magic Makeover

Insulin Pumping

2007-07-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Boo started on the insulin pump. On the way home from the hospital we stopped at Dairy Queen and for the first time since Thanksgiving Boo had a Blizzard and did not have to have an insulin shot - just some button punching on the pump. The Farmer and I are both wearing infusion sets for three days just like Boo so we really know how it feels. I thank the Lord every day for the technology and doctors that allow my baby to live and be healthy. God is good.

At home Boo and TT put her bear, Cinnamon Ginger (CG), on the pump too. CG has gone through everything with Boo and been of great comfort. The Velveteen Rabbit has nothing on our Cinnamon Ginger.

A Little Mountain Sewing

2007-07-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

We returned last night from a fun little trip to the mountains staying at Memaw and Papa's little cabin in the woods. While there, the boys shot trap in a competition and the girls and I had lunch at girly restaurants and did some sewing.

Here is a nightgown I made for Boo. She will be going on an insulin pump this week and this gown is designed with a pump pocket. I added the pocket to hold the pump and then on the inside of the pocket there is a button hole which allows the tubing to go through. Boo is a fan of girly dresses and so I am making her cute clothes that are pump friendly

With the leftover fabric I made this cute and practical bib for the Caboodle from the pattern in the Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew Book. I love this book by the way. Such a fun and gentle approach to sewing.

Boo made the same bib for Cinnamon Ginger (our favorite all time bear) so that she could match.

Such a wonderful thing to have time to just be and to actually have time to read a pattern before sewing it. But back to reality this morning when I woke before sunrise to help the Farmer catch a heiffer who had decided to runamuck. No more lazy vacation days of sleeping in until the late hour of 7:30.

Tomato Tips

2007-07-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the vegetable picked from the garden this morning.

The garden is producing 20 to 30 beautiful tomatoes a day now. There are a couple of things I have learned through trial and error that allow my tomatoes to produce even in the extreme July heat.
Always plant tomatoes next to a wall, house, or in my garden, corn that will block the western sun and give some late afternoon shade. My measly three rows of corn gave us corn for about 4 weeks but are now providing perfect shade for the tomato plants. In August I will plant lettuce in between the corn so it won't burn up from the heat. Once cooler days are here I will take out the corn and feed it to the cattle for a treat. The cattle will recycle the corn into manure which will again feed the garden.

Plant zinnias from seed among the tomatoes as they fool the birds into leaving the tomatoes alone.

Use Heatwave II or Roma tomatoes for hot season fruit.

Its OK if all the tomatoes do not get staked because the gardener (me) is too busy with an infant. The tomatoes still produce. A few are lost on the ground to rot but then again it just enriches the garden for next year.

Time to go can tomatoes.

Heaven and Hell

2007-07-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

"To appreciate heaven well
A man must have some fifteen minutes of hell."
From:
Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder - Volume One: On Wisdom and Virtues (Writings to Young Women on Laura Ingalls Wilder)

On Solitude

2007-07-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

"We who live in the quiet places have the opportunity to become acquainted with ourselves, to think our own thoughts, and live our own lives in a way that is not possible for those who are keeping up with the crowd, where there is always something 'on for tonight' and who have become so accustomed to crowds that they are dependent upon them for comfort."

In thine own cheerful spirit live,

Nor seek the calm that others give;

For thou, thyself, alone must stand

Not held up by other's hand.

From:
Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder - Volume One: On Wisdom and Virtues (Writings to Young Women on Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Club Soda Window Cleaner

2007-07-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

In the book, Clean House Clean Planet the author suggested using Club Soda as glass cleaner. I was skeptical at first but it really works great. Put the club soda in a spray bottle and use like Windex. It does not matter if it goes flat. I have been using this for about 4 months and really like it better than window cleaner. I use a cotton cloth diaper to clean my windows but this would work with any cloth or paper towel you like. It saves money, works great and is a lot healthier for home and environment.

Burpee Heatwave II Tomatoes

2007-07-10T08:40:00.001-07:00

Even though we have been having many consecutive days over 115 degrees these Heatwave II tomatoes that I started from seed keep on producing beautifully.

We will be having BLT's on homemade bread for dinner. Delicious!

Memo Board and Key Ring Board

2007-07-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is a memo board I made for Boo's bedroom. It is a cork bulletin board covered with quilt batting and fabric which is staple gunned to the back. I also stretched ric rac and stapled it to the back and in the front at the intersections. The buttons were glued with industrial strength all purpose craft glue.

Since I had all the supplies out I made a fabric covered key holder out of a bulletin board and fabric minus the quilt batting. Clear thumb tacks are evenly spaced to hold oodles of keys.

Using the staple gun made this project fast and fun. I wonder if I can use the staple gun for all my sewing? :)

Ragged Ole Flag

2007-07-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

Onion Bed

2007-07-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

I dug out an onion bed and planted half of it with a mix of red onion and white sweet onion seed that I ordered from Burpee. In two weeks I will plant the other half. Onions are nice in that the young ones can be used as scallions and what you don't pick as scallions mature into regular onions and can be dug up once the tops fade. I have had good luck with onions pretty much year round and have even planted them from seed in large containers with good results.

Irrigating 101

2007-07-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

T.T. is irrigating the little 4 acre pasture we are putting into Bermuda. Daisy is taking advantage of swimming in the cool water. Our farm uses all flood irrigation which saves a lot of water. The water is forced through the gates and rapidly crosses the field so as much doesn't soak in and waste.

In the 1980's and 90's we spent heavily putting in cement ditches, levelling all our fields to be completely flat, and building all new turnouts in order to accommodate Central Arizona Project water and to save water and eventually money on irrigation.

Before then we used hundreds of hoses to siphon water out of the ditches and had fields that sloped a bit.

T.T. 's irrigation vehicle was traded from the golf course down the road. We hauled golf carts for them in our flat bed trailers and they gave us this 'Limo'. Note it has automatic climate control. Even when it is 117 degrees outside the inside is also 117 degrees.

T.T. is off to adjust gates so the water can irrigate the next field. Irrigation with its water measured in cubic feet and timing for each field is the ultimate math word problem.

Flower Garden of Girls

2007-07-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

My favorite flowers are blooming quite nicely.

Super Easy Fruit Pizza

2007-07-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

This is a yummy and easy recipe that has quite a bit of flexibility about what ingredients you have on hand or how much work you want to do. At its simplest form it is a great kids cooking project.

First take sugar cookie dough either store bought in the roll or you can make your own dough from any sugar cookie recipe. I made my own here because the IGA did not have any pre-made. I substituted fresh ground whole wheat pastry flour and Splenda for the sugar.

Smash, pummel roll the dough onto a greased pizza pan.

Bake at 350 degrees until edges are brown. Cool completely. Frost with pre-made cream cheese frosting or use make your own cream cheese frosting adding a little bit of vanilla extract for flavoring.

Add fruit of your choice and eat or refrigerate. We used strawberries and raspberries and really wanted to use blueberries but they were a bit ancient at the IGA so we opted for blue sprinkles instead. This is also great with peeled and sliced kiwis.

I usually make this for Independence day but depending on your color choices of fruit it can really go for any holiday.

Paying Homage to the Goat

2007-07-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

This can't be true. Is this a registered red angus on her knees paying homage to a pygmy goat? Stop it Marigold you are worthy! You are!

Things are getting way out of hand here at Runamuch Ranch.

Red Heads

2007-07-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

We were invited by my dear friend the Rancher to her family's ranch to ultrasound cows to see if they were pregnant. Ranches in her area have a great deal of trouble with smugglers, illegal immigration and just plain crazies. She lost one of her best cows last year when a bow hunter shot it with a blunt arrow and the wound got infected and the cow died.

The Rancher is raising her own special herd of registered red angus and let me tell you they are some pretty little red heads. Here they are eating Milo that has been baled and trucked to the ranch from my brother's farm. Cows really love farmers by the way.

Here is one that is just a few days old.

Here is another one and this calf is already sassin' his momma.

TT has been enamored with the Rancher ever since he first saw her in full cowgirl hardware including hat chaps spurs and working cattle with the best of the cowboys on her Dad's ranch. I have watched my friend gracefully ranch, work cattle, and tirelessly work to make beef better all while having literally one baby or another on her hip.

I know we're beautiful but do you have to take a picture? What are you some kind of red angus paparazzi?

Anyway thank you my dear friend for a very interesting science lesson, a great dinner, and all that you do to provide safe high quality food for our tables.

Sign of the Times

2007-07-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a sign we encountered while travelling in Southern Arizona to look at some cattle. I just love how the southern half of the state is just so out in the open with our border issues. It is just so matter of fact like "Watch out for falling rocks" or "deer crossing." Note the bullet holes in the sign.

In our central Arizona neck of the woods they prefer to keep our border issues swept under the carpet so as not to scare the tourists. Never mind the hundreds of backpacks left on Runamuck Ranch by illegals or the coyotes (human smugglers) that drive by my farm house every night with their lights off. Please don't say anything about the Border Patrol agent shot on the neighboring farm. Heaven forbid we mention the illegals who were shot and killed by a rival coyote gang a couple of miles to the South. Ssh! We wouldn't want anyone to know their might be illegal immigration or smuggling going on. No signs here.

The Story of Sam

2007-06-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

A very good article about doing school at home. This article really made me think about what is important.
http://mfth.org/publication.html?pagename=homeschooling&a=70806605#staystill

I found Mothering From the Heart to be delightful and thoughtful reading.

A Lovely Little Nest

2007-06-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

We started with a wooden unfinished IKEA bed. The kiddos and I randomly painted spots of the colors we wanted to work into the room on the bed using acrylic craft paint. Note how neatly they work without a tarp. The Farmer came in about this time and thought I had finally lost my mind.

Next crackle medium purchased at Home Depot was sloppily applied. I then sloppily went over the crackle medium with a light ivory acrylic craft paint. We were trying to achieve a look of a bed that had been painted many times and sat out in the garden enduring the elements until it was distressed.

Curtains were hung to create a magical sleeping space. Bead board panelling was put on the top bunk facing down to form a floor. A road rug was put on the top bunk to create a Polly Pocket world that never has to be put away.

Boo makes her bed every day and meticulously puts her animals on the bed just so. Most of these animals were given to her during her hospital stay. Several of them are diabetic and are given injections daily. The only one who cries when given a shot is the chicken because after all he is a chicken.

The bedding is a mixture of Target's Rachel Ashwell, thrift store finds and hand crocheted blankets. A lovely little nest.

Giant Pumpkin Seeds

2007-06-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

There were 7 seeds in this pack which I planted in two inverted hills. It might be really scary to have 500 pound pumpkins in my garden by October.

Cart Seat for Caboodle

2007-06-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Caboodle as a third born and curious 6 month old no longer wants be treated like a baby - she wants to sit up and experience the great wide world. I shopped for cart seat covers and they were either very expensive, beauty impaired, or did not adequately cover the cart. So I used Simplicity pattern 4636 and made my own. This was a fairly simple pattern although the directions were a bit skippy.

The fabric is denim on one side with pink eyelet on the other that is quilted together using a little flower stitch. This allowed me to mix the sides and also make it reversible by adding a little pink bias tape to cover the seems on the flip side.

The seat portion has four layers of fabric plus 100% cotton quilt batting to make it extra cushy for the Caboodle bottom.

It is so comfy she decided to kick back and take a nap in the store. Good is the life of a Caboodle!

Plant Every 2 Weeks to Harvest Every Day

2007-06-20T22:17:00.001-07:00

With our perpetual growing season a thoughtful gardener can harvest year around by planting a bit of something every two weeks. Today I planted another row of bush greenbeans and a hill of butternut squash. I actually do about a 4 " deep pit (reverse hill) that is about 2' by 2' to plant 6-8 seeds in so that it retains moisture a bit better.

Tomorrow I will put in a hill of acorn squash and maybe some pumpkin hills. I am continuing to pick and process summer squash and now have the first tasty cucumbers of the season.

I baked 5 loaves of bread today. One was quickly inhaled by swim hungry children within 10 minutes of coming out of the oven.

Tomorrow the livestock inspector comes to give the OK to transport a black angus and a charlais steer to Willcox. I will miss the yellow as he watched me garden but the black one was a crazy mean thing that was always trying to pick a fight while I went about my early morning gardening. Can't say I'll miss him much. Such is life on the farm.

Texas Sage in Bloom

2007-06-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Texas Sage is blooming and smells so sweet. It drew me in to take a picture and just capture a moment of beauty. Our farm is quite a rugged place and can be a bit desolate at times. In my youth I wanted to live in a Southern state where blossoms and greenery and beauty seem to be just popping out all over. I still enjoy looking at blogs of beautiful lush flowers that simply will not survive our rugged climate. But now I realize that my Texas sage is all the more beautiful because it is not competing for attention among a sea of visual noise. It is simple and beautiful and stands out because of the stark contrast. I appreciate it more because it is a rare blooming thing.

Perhaps in life we should be more desert like. Have a few beautiful things among a rugged simplicity. Make do with what we have and look at the useful as beautiful.

This is the fence that borders our house. It was here long before the house and was used to keep cattle. The posts are made of mesquite wood that was cut from our land when it was cleared for cotton farming in the 1940's. If a fence was built in 2007 it would likely be from metal posts bought at the hardware store, but then, they used what they had, and built it from the labor of their hands. We still have a stack of these posts and when The Farmer put a fence around my flower garden he used some of them because it just seemed right. My fence was not just made by the Farmer but by his Grandpa before him.

I guess we could "upgrade" to a newer fancier fence but I do not think it would be half as simple or beautiful as my old cattle fence that was built from the land it sits on.

Like a bloom in the desert, the good in our lives is made all the sweeter by the tragedies. As Mary Engelbreit says "Bloom where you are planted."

to CB, thank you for your kind words and right back at ya!

Happy Father's Day

2007-06-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

"The Provider"

The Farmer was the model for this piece. He provides for our family, and the cotton he grows provides food and fiber for the world.

Happy Father's Day!!

Feeding Tea Cup

2007-06-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is our little kitten, Tea Cup. She is the runt of the litter and is so tiny compared to her siblings. T.T. feeds her extra cat formula to supplement her Mother's lackadaisical nursing style. She is so small she can fit in a tea cup.

T.T. has the touch with all small or hurting creatures. His quiet strength and gentleness soothes the soul - including his mother's.

Christian Unschooling by Teri J Brown

2007-06-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

When we began our homeschooling journey 4 years ago I read everything I could get my hands on about methods and curriculum. I applied every legal research skill I had to finding the perfect homeschool approach and curriculum for my children. Oddly, I skipped over any information about unschooling because I thought it was just a bit too out there. Over the years we have tried workbooks, unit studies and everything under the sun. For awhile you might say I was a curriculum junkie. We finally settled into a unit study approach supplemented by Spelling Power, Apologia Science, Math U See and phonics. It worked great as long as nothing out of the routine came up - which my life is hardly ever routine. But we plugged along.

Last November Boo who is 6 wasn't feeling well. We took her to the Doctor and she was given antibiotics for infected tonsils. The next evening I was admitted into the hospital for preclampsia. I was 38 weeks pregnant. While the Farmer and I were in the hospital my friend who was watching Boo called and said they were in the emergency room and the Farmer needed to get there right away. I, of course, unadmitted myself and we drove an hour to a different hospital to be with our daughter. By the time we got there Boo was semi consious and dying of ketone acidosis and the ER doctor's mistake in giving the wrong medicine. We found out that night that she had developed Type I diabetes. While we waited for the air evac helicopter to come and take her to Phoenix Children's Hospital I climbed into her bed and held her so she would not have to die alone. The only thing that sustained us was Jesus and His presence was with us.

The air evac team actually let me ride in the helicopter with Boo even though I was in such bad shape myself and we made it to Phoenix Children's. The Doctors and Nurses there were amazing and I watched them work tirelessly on Boo while I just prayed.

Boo finally woke up on Thanksgiving after days of waiting in ICU and not knowing if she would live and if she did if she would have completely incapacitating brain damage due to the side effects of the care she had at our local hospital. Talk about thankful. She would recover. Miraculously, I hung together and my preclampsia actually went away during our stay with Boo. God is good.

When I finally came home from the hospital I looked around at all the little messes and was so incredibly grateful I would have more little messes to look forward to.

The Caboodle was born one week after Boo came home from the hospital. We are adjusting to a newborn and a diabetic care routine of insulin shots and all the emotional issues that accompany such a drastic change.

Anyway, while what happened was hard it has brought blessings as well. I learned more about homeschooling and life and faith from this experience than from any of the research or living I had done up until that point. Here is a list of things I know are truths for me.

-Pray. Pray. Pray.

-Be grateful for every good thing or person you have at this moment because in a snap it can all change.

-Life isn't fair but God is good.

-When one of my children is really hurting, angry and lashing out in pain the best thing I can do is to listen and just love them through it no matter what.

-I never want to force my children to be absolutely miserable doing some curriculum they hate and thereby take away the joy of learning and living.

-I trust the Lord to show me the way and to show my children the way even if the rest of the world is going a different way.

-I don't pass up experiences that allow us to love each other, laugh or have a great adventure because we have to do our silly curriculum.

-I can never read to or snuggle with my children too much.

It is a successful school day if we were too busy learning to get "school" done.

-Never underestimate how much a friend bringing a meal and a bit of kindness can help when a person is at the end of their rope.

-The Lord will never give us more than we can handle but at times its really really close.

-If I raise my children to be confident people who know learning is a gift from God they will be able to clear any academic hurdles that are required of them to fufill the Lord's purpose for their lives.

-I really don't have control of anything. Thank goodness.

-Its better to have a house messed up by those you love than a clean one that is empty.

So if you are at the point in your journey when some of these truths apply to you, or if you are a homeschool Mom who is burnt to a crisp you might want to give this book a read. To me it was like drinking cool water on a summer day in Arizona. To others it might be a bit too way out there.

Unschooling is not one set style that fits families into its mold it is a style that allows families to fit it into their mold. I liked this book because it rang true to me and it wasn't all or nothing. It showed a spectrum of families who go from very little academic structure to quite a bit of structure. Definitely influential reading.

Marry Me Biscuits

2007-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

These are the easiest biscuits and they melt in your mouth. They are perfect for slathering with jam or in strawberry shortcake. Add a little cheddar, parsley and garlic powder for some Red Lobsterish tasting biscuits. These are my breakfast or with soup standby. If I wanted to get a man to marry me I would fix him these with some homemade peach jam on top and he would be hopelessly mine.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Salted Butter melted
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons of Baking Powder
2 Cups of Flour (I use fresh ground whole wheat pastry flour but if I was going to make these with store bought flour I would use white flour)

Blend butter and sour cream together; mix in flour with a fork until just moist. Do not overmix. Fill lightly oiled muffin tins 2/3 with batter, or can do like drop bisquits on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes. Makes about 12 biscuits.

School At Home

2007-06-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

Gratefully, Runamuck Ranch School often has days when the students are too busy learning to get their "school work" completed.

A Quilt Repurposed

2007-06-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the pioneer women who sometimes used quilts for beautiful and practical window coverings I cut and hemmed this thrift sale (not handmade) quilt to fit my bathroom window. It is like a bouquet of flowers greeting me every morning when I push it back to let the sun light in and like being tucked in when I close it in the evening.

The curtain rod was black and I spray painted it white. I like the chippy feel it now has. I love my lilac walls in this room because it is a feminine oasis in a sea of ranch manly man world.

Drive By Squashings

2007-06-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

I have had a wicked little cold for the last 4 days and haven't had the energy to work in the garden. While I was gone the squash multiplied and conquered. This morning the troops and I rounded them up and now begins my life of crime.

We are going to town for some drive by squashing. That means if you are a friend, relative, or fellow homeschool family you may have squash left on your doorstep. We are quick, we are ruthless you may never know when you may be the victim of a drive by squashing. So be prepared - get ready to batter and fry and bake some zuchinni bread a crime spree may be coming your way.

Eat Squash or Be Square!!

Home Grown

2007-06-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

Fresh picked sweet corn from the garden plus more garden

fresh picked zuchinni, cucumber squash, and yellow squash served with local 4-H project pork spare ribs smothered in local Cotton Jack's BBQ sauce. Summer Garden Goodness- Makes all the gardening worth it

Yum!

First Bloom

2007-06-09T21:14:00.001-07:00

First cotton bloom of the season. The bloom starts out yellow and in a couple of days turns bright pink eventually turning into a cotton boll. Miraculous!!

Inner Grunge

2007-06-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

We all got in touch with our inner grunge while the submersible pump was broken in our domestic well for 3 long days. Here is a picture of the well guys pulling up 375 feet of well pipe to get to the pump.

Homesteading and Little House on the Prairie are so romantic until you have to haul your water from the other side of the farm in 5 gallon water coolers. Thank goodness the Farmer brought a 1000 gallon water tank on a trailer to water my garden, the stock, and the little potted plants on the porch.

Of course the Caboodle still got her baths even if it was in the kitchen sink because she is after all The Caboodle.

500 Years of Women in Art

2007-06-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

Fascinating
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

Canning Peaches

2007-06-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

We stayed up until 3 a.m. canning peaches and making jam. Canning is much more fun with a friend. In our 20's we hiked the Grand Canyon. In our 30's we can peaches with 9 kids underfoot. What will our 40's bring?

The fruits of our labor....

U-Pick Peaches

2007-06-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

We travelled to Queen Creek to pick peaches. They were so delicious right off the trees. The morning was beautiful. The companionship was restorative. A very good day!!

Weighing in at 148 pounds

Seven children and two Mommas can pick alot of peaches.

And so the canning, drying, freezing begins.

The Corn Picker

2007-05-31T12:33:00.001-07:00

So Sweet Sewing Center

2007-05-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Boo's new sewing center. The Farmer put up these shelves so she would have lots of storage. I spray painted a little wooden table yellow for cheer. We are redoing her room in a Cath Kidston - Mary Engelbreit vintage fusion.

Sew away my sweet girl!!

Gardening on the Face of the Sun

2007-05-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

It is a real challenge to garden in the hot climate of Arizona. I have been growing vegetables here for 19 years and am still learning. The first thing I learned is to take all the garden books that were not written for the Sonoran Desert and use them as compost. Just about everything is different here. Second, do not follow the advice of commercial chain store nurseries. You can trust your local nursery growers to be on target about what will grow and when.

The Farmer built this garden for me out of horse panels and woven fence wire to keep out the dog. It allows the farm cats in, which are my fierce rattlesnake erradication team. A lot of compost has been added to the soil to make it rich. This is a continual process and is super important to a productive garden. If you have money to burn you can use the bagged stuff at the garden center as compost, you could use the money you just burned, or you can start a compost pile and make your own. Another great additive is composted livestock manure. This can be bought or can be had for free from anyone who has livestock.

My favorite soil ratio if you have caliche (clay soil) is 1/4 sand, 1/2 compost, 1/4 manure.

Anyway, I have had a lot of local friends ask me what I am doing and when so that they can learn to garden on the face of the sun. So I will try to add entries of what I am doing and when in the garden. Most of what I have learned is by trial and error but a couple of years ago my Aunt who is an amazing gardener in Gilbert gave me two books that are very helpful and that I highly recommend.

Extreme Gardening : How to Grow Organic in the Hostile Deserts and

The Garden Guy: Seasonal Guide to Organic Gardening in the Desert Southwest (Outdoor and Nature)

Right now I am watering the corn like crazy. We are also picking the corn that is ready. You know it is ready when the silks are brown and the husks are dark green. Once we pick the corn we shuck it and clean it and grill it in butter, or parboil it and freeze it for later in ziploc bags. The corn is planted on the West side of the tomatoes so that it will shade them from our very hot western sun. Even after the corn is dry I will leave it there as a shade producer for the rest of the garden.

The tomatoes are loaded with green fruit and tonight I am going to put support around them and mulch them with wood shavings that are left over from the County fair. This keeps in the moisture, smothers weeds, and enriches the garden for next year. Hay, newspaper, composted mulch, can all be used. I just have lots of wood shavings left over.

The squash is coming. Help! Help! The squash is coming!! A couple varieties of yellow squash and zuchinni will be soon over taking us. All the fried zuchinni, steamed squash, and zuchinni bread will be delicious but once the honeymoon is over I will be looking for anyone to take home a squash. Can I email you a squash?

The jalepenos and Anaheim chilis are coming along nicely. Soon it will be time for fresh Pico de Gallo from the garden. Yum!

The down side to Arizona gardening is that 120 degree temperatures can be hard on a garden. The great thing about Arizona gardening is that I can garden year round. The winter is great for lettuces, broccoli, cabbage etc.

Blessing Monday

2007-05-28T21:26:00.001-07:00

First of all this post has nothing to do with kissing a goat. Caboodle really loves Totti the goat, and Totti thinks Caboodle is her baby. Caboodle is now making quite realistic goat noises. This post is actually about getting the house in order for the week. Since, my children and the Farmer are wonderful about bringing the farm doo and funk into the house getting it mucked out is a weekly necessity.

A couple of friends have asked me to post about our Blessing Mondays. That means that we bless the house, bless the car, and bless our school week. We never go anywhere on Mondays unless someone needs emergency medical attention. It is a bit of a tweak on the flylady's home blessing idea. After morning chores are finished the kids and I team up and clean the house. We are a team. We have a system. We still whine alot. Here is our system in case you are interested in cruelly enslaving your children like I do mine.

- Everyone strips their sheets and puts on fresh ones.

- Everyone cleans one of the showers (we have 3 bathrooms)

- Everyone cleans a bathroom sink, counter and toilet

-Boo (age 6) changes all the bathroom towels.

- Boo picks up and shakes out all floor rugs

- I dust

- Boo does floor patrol (picks up ahead of the vaccuum person)

- TT (age 11) vaccuums

- I clean all mirrors and glass doors

- TT takes out all trash

- Boo and I mop

- Everyone clean their school desks.

- Mixed in is laundry, laundry, laundry.

- Caboodle (5 months) plays, cries, naps, and nurses.

This routine usually takes about an hour and a half. We then each require one piece of chocolate.

We then move onto the School Blessing. Each child sits with me and we plan out the entire week's assignments and projects and write them on each child's chart. We use Tapestry of Grace which lends itself well to this. I like this approach because it allows independent work during the rest of the week. We do read aloud together daily, and work on projects together, discuss etc., but everyone knows what is expected and can plan accordingly. For instance, if we are taking a day off to go goat shopping the kids will work extra on the other days to get done by Friday. On Fridays we wrap everything up and have a short school day and are free birds for the weekend.

After school we all tackle the inside of the car and car windows and get it looking spiffy. We never clean the outside of the car because of a 1/2 mile dirt driveway to our house makes it pointless. I do plan to go to a car wash when we trade it in ten years.

Finally, we do evening chores, I do farm books with our bookeeper, we eat dinner and collapse into bed in an exhausted but definitely blessed state knowing the rest of the week will be much smoother because of our Blessing Monday.

Sunset

2007-05-26T22:02:00.001-07:00

This picture was taken tonight from my back yard and was underexposed to capture the sunset. This was not a particularly beautiful sunset but I wanted to play around with the camera.

This is the exact same picture with some digital editing to make it look a bit surreal.

I feel I made some progress in sunset photography and hope to have a stunning sunset with the coming monsoon season to photograph soon.

Paw Paw Nin

2007-05-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

We visited Paw Paw Nin goat ranch owned by Paula in Southern Arizona. This was a delightful place inhabited by llamas, goats, turkeys, chickens, cats, a dog, and a great shepherdess. All the stock was healthy, well tended, well loved, and very entertaining. We learned lots about goats and even milked goats. Boo got to pick out two little pygmy goats to bring home.

Milking Blanche the Queen Nubian

The kids were waiting for their milk.

Finally. Yum!!

Thank You Paula!!

Cultivating

2007-05-24T20:13:00.001-07:00

Cultivating removes weeds and builds up the rows to ready the field for irrigation.

We Raise Beef

2007-05-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

At Runamuck Ranch we raise beef and cotton. We have always raised beef for the last century. Horses have been tolerated because they help to raise beef. Cotton is nice but as Papaw used to say no matter how you cook it, it doesn't taste as good as beef.

T.T. is now the fourth generation to raise beef.

We have registered brands to mark our beef. You get the idea. Our family doesn't raise sheep or goats or other species. We raise beef. It is a matter of male pride and tradition.

What can end such a long line of unwavering committment to beef that has endured development, low markets, and natural disaster? Six little words spoken from a very sweet 6 year old blondie "Daddy can I have a goat? Spoken over and over for the past year. When we are at livestock shows she is not interested in beef she is interested in everything goat and not just any goat but pygmy goats.

The calves are astounded at what showed up last night. Two adorable pygmy goats.

Daddy and Papa fixing the goat pen. The mighty have fallen - all for the love of a little blonde girl.

One of the goats has bonded hard with the Farmer. I wouldn't be surprised to see her riding in the back of the truck and drinking Coca Cola with Daisy.

"I love you Daddy" and so does Mom.

Cloth Diapers

2007-05-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

The Caboodle likes her Fuzzi Bunz and so does Mom. She never has diaper rash and the colors are fun. Leaks are rare and for only 3 extra loads of laundry per week the price savings is huge. Plus I never have to worry about running to the store for last minute diapers or wipes. I would never go back to disposables. These cloth diapers are actually easier.

Homemade Livestock Food 101

2007-05-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

Another farmer who has alfalfa equipment came and harvested our little 4 acre pasture for us. DeWitt is 64 years young and going strong. He is also sweet not to make fun of the photographer. The Farmer put in a mix of rye grass, barley and oats.

Swathing

Baling

Loading Bales in the Road Sider

Unloading

Doing the Happy Heiffer Dance because the hay was unloaded close enough to eat

Eating

Homemade Baby Food 101

2007-05-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a true confession: I never buy baby food in jars. Not for the first child and not for the third who is 5 months old. What I do buy is the freshest ingredients available to make into homemade baby food that is flavorful, nontoxic, simple, unprocessed and much less expensive. Here is my easy system.

1. Buy or grow fresh vegetables. If I cannot find fresh I buy frozen.

2. Wash, peel and chop into chunks if necessary.

3. Steam in an electric veggie steamer or one of those stainless steel veggie steamers that fit in a stock pot until veggies are soft and very cooked. I steam carrots, peas, broccoli, and green beans - but I microwave with a little water sweet potatoes, and squash in a covered casserole dish. Mash potatoes I usually just make when I make them for the family and just pull some out before adding the butter, milk etc.

4. Put in a food processor and whip to oblivion adding a little water to get a smooth consistency. You might be able to use a blender or an electric mixer if you don't have a food processer

5 . Spoon whipped veggies into ice cube trays and freeze.

6. You now have baby food ice cubes. Remove from trays and put in a freezer ziploc and store in freezer.

7. When it is time to feed the baby take out as many food cubes as needed warm in microwave in a small feeding bowl. You can thin with water if need be or add water and rice cereal to thicken if desired.

8. Feed baby.

Mom's peas are so yummy they make me cross eyed!

The Last Yard Sale

2007-05-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Farmer's Grandmother passed away some time ago. She was one of the most influential people in my life and continues to be as I grow and mature and think on things she said and more importantly on how she lived. Once her estate cleared her daughters held a yard sale of her things and it made me think about the things we have in our lives.

I have a very expensive ,very beautiful Ethan Allen dining room set which was purchased new during my lawyering days. For years I have made sure it was properly protected with an insulated pad and table cloths or placemats. It was actually so covered you couldn't even see the beauty of the table. After Mamaw's yard sale it occurred to me that I was maintaining this beautiful table in pristine condition so that some day when I no longer need a dining room table (as I will be dining at the Lord's table) someone can get a really good deal on a perfect Ethan Allen table at my last yard sale. What is the point of that!

Now, we use the table. It stands in the dining room in all its naked beauty. It is becoming distressed by children, and family, and friends who are enjoying food and fellowship. It is no longer pristine but it is even more beautiful because it is blessed with loving use. And, when it gets so distressed that it is ratty I will paint it an outrageous color and it shall be beautiful again.

If I have my way no one will be getting any great deals on some really pristine beautiful stuff at my last yard sale. By the way, Mamaw's stuff looked well used. Way to Go Mamaw!!

We now have a joke in our house anytime someone wants to use something nice. "Don't use that I'm saving it for the yard sale."

Inching Along

2007-05-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more time to work in big blocks instead of little bits but if I waited for a big block of time I would never get to paint. However, little bits do add up into something big over time (kind of like saving money).

I started on the under painting in the lower left corner. I usually have a minimum of 5 layers of color before I start to get the look I want. With pastel it seems that if I just pick one color the piece looks like a cartoon without the subtle color shifts found in life.

Ribbons, Flowers, Shotguns and Art

2007-05-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is about beautiful flowers, an artistic gift of love from Boo, and about T.T. bringing home an Arizona State 4-h Championship title in Shotgun Shooting. Way to go Son!! I am so proud of you. I definitely have a crush on the community club leader - can handle a shotgun and is great with kids - what more could a girl ask for?

Canine Cuisine

2007-05-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

In a neverending quest to bring beauty to the functional I redid our pet food container which sits on the deck.

Before:

After:

Pick Up Your Age

2007-05-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

Our home can look like a tornado went through it in less than a day between homeschooling, farm business, life, etc. The only thing that saves us is picking up our ages. Each child picks up as many things as their age. If you are 6 years old you put away 6 things. If you are a grown up you pick up as many things as the last digit of your age ie 38 years = 8 things. Done once in the morning and once at night and chaos is kept to a minimum. We have tried picking up for 5 minutes but certain children are professional lollygaggers and can actually take 5 minutes to put away one shoe. Amazing!

This picture has nothing to do with picking up your age but it is a picture with a pick up, and its not every day that you see a lab drinking a Coca Cola. Daisy is a Coke fiend. Any cans of Coke left out will be confiscated opened and drank by Daisy. She does not like 7-Up however. Apparently, the caffeine gets her through the day.

Ocean Front Property in Arizona

2007-05-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

Also known as the night irrigator fell asleep.

Dust Storm

2007-05-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

Dust storms always come from the East. Someone will look outside and see a mile high wall of dirt coming and yell "dust storm" The protocol is to shut all windows. Latch down anything that can blow away and basically batten down the hatches. You usually have about 5 minutes.

During dust storm...

I took these pictures yesterday afternoon through the window. The monsoon season is here. This was a mild one - the really bad storms only have a visibility of 2 - 3 feet.

The official cause of dust storms is this:
Air Quality Control says...

Known as haboobs (Arabic for "violet wind"), dust storms form over semiarid areas during periods of convective instability, when large masses of air are heated near the ground surface and then rise rapidly to altitudes of more than 10 km (6 mi). The area between Tucson and Phoenix is noted for being the only place in the United States to experience the "haboob," a raging dust storm that travels across the desert at 50 to 60 miles per hour. Masses of dense, cold air sliding under the lighter, rapidly rising warm air are forced downward to the ground, where they spread laterally as swiftly moving tongues. These cold winds pick up masses of fine-grained material and carry it in suspension. Because they are associated with large-scale atmospheric instability, dust storms are usually concentrated in a six-month summer period, especially during the monsoon season.

The real cause of dust storms is that enough of the local population has cleaned their swimming pools, washed their cars, dusted, or swept their patios. All this lack of dust laying on every surface causes a dust vaccuum which sucks in a monsoon.

Here is the same view as above taken today. BTW, today is official "clean your swimming pool day." You don't see photos like this in the tourism pamphlets.

After dust storm

Extreme Make Over - Dog House Edition

2007-05-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

This is Daisy's beloved crate that she goes to when she just needs to get away from all the cats. It is very sad looking especially for such a cheerful pooch.

The team (the kids and I) gave her a home makeover. For some reason the kids said I could not have a bull horn. No fun.

I just love the Krylon Fusion paint for plastic. The kids love making polka dots with pencil erasers dipped in paint. The kids love any part of their bodies dipped in paint. OK so do I.

The Process

2007-05-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

I am about 2/3 done with this commission. Since I work in pastel and smearing is a real issue I like to work from left to right and top to bottom. In order to get the drawing just right I draw it on paper and then trace the my drawing to another piece of paper, correct any mistakes in the second tracing and do as many tracings as I need to in order to get a really clean drawing I am happy with. I then transfer the final drawing to the pastel paper so it is neat and I don't have black graphite smudges under my pastels. I usually don't put a ton of tiny details in the drawing but mainly the outline of objects including the main highlights and shadows.

After the painting is 95% done I will go back and add the final highlights and a little more detail until it pops.

This painting was taken from 6 photo references in addition to some real life reference in some areas plus some of what was in my head as to how things should look since none of the items in this painting were ever in the same spot at the same time or even in the same season.