A few things I really don't like!

This week's blog was inspired by this afternoon's activity. What happens when you take your favorite dog out for a four-wheeler ride to the closest windmill to go swimming?? You get to shovel tank mud. Don't make much sense, does it! Actually, I'm glad we discovered this problem, and I know the cows standing around looking longingly into an empty drink tub appreciated it too. Didn't take long to fix. Ross and Jake had it going within fifteen minutes or so. The check had backed off the sucker rod and since our water is only 20 feet deep, it was no biggie.
Moving right along, in the most prestigious spot of number two, is none other than....flies. Yep, those pesky critters that fly up your nose while you're trying to water your roses, biting you on the ankles, dive bombing while you sleep...yeah those. Not sure what purpose they serve other than making you feel justified when you smear their little guts all over the freezer door...that was gross.... but I don't think there is enough insecticide in the known world to kill off this vermin.
Can I have a drum roll please.....topping the list at number one is probably the most awful, boring, back-breaking..... rather have a butt-whipping than do this ....job. But here it is - none other than.... ironing. Yep that's right. I've had some pretty ugly jobs in my life - shoveling out a silage trailer full of corn in 100 degree weather, fighting flies and such, shoveling out cowtruck trailers full of @#%$^ in 100 degree weather, fighting flies and such....seems as though around here all jobs involve hot temperatures and flies. Anyhoo, ironing is the one job, if I could hire done, I would. Let's here it for polyester blends!! Till next time, adios.

Ross, it's time to come home!

It's been five days since Ross sailed out of here with one of his good buddies for an adventure of a lifetime. They left out early Monday morning heading to Ocala, Florida with a load of hay - then dropped down to Ocheechobee to pick up a load of calves for Oklahoma. Florida is one of the few states Ross has never visited, so this invitation was irresistable. I assured him we could handle whatever arose and so far we have. But.....it's time for him to come home. Doubt they'll have near the fun me and my buds have on one of our roadtrips but......they are men....and they'll do the best they can. It will take them a week to have all the fun we have in one day. Speaking of roadtrips, Ranchwife, Dirtscrapper and I decided to take a short daytrip to the nearest quiltshop within 90 miles a couple weeks ago. Little did we know, the quilt shop was closed on monday. We had no cattle crews to feed, no hay to haul, and here we were with all this time on our hands. Well, the only logical thing to do was to head on to Lubbock, Tx. When in doubt, keep on driving! Since we all have limited bladder control, we stop when we want - every ten miles if necessary. We eat when and where we want. If the mall calls , we answer. There is no time limit in the prissy panty section, and if by chance we need a starbucks, or a nibble of chocolate to keep our strength up for the rest of the day, so be it. We did find the elusive material Dirtscrapper needed to start her quilt. We could have looked for cute baby material and such if Ranchwife had of spilled the beans about being a granny 200 miles sooner......yeah she's still in hot water...... but I guess I'll have to completely forgive her as soon as I get my pie......thought I forgot huh?! Ha! All in all, it was a good day....a needed day by all. We've decided to make this a monthly thing.....better time this carefully. If we synchronize to closely, we might get thrown out of another small town. Anyhoo, till next time, adios.

Totally untitled - don't know where this will go!

Is peace the absence of chaos or just chillin' in the midst of an impending storm? Not sure? Well neither am I but at the moment I do believe I'm experiencing some of it. The lull is welcome, but I'm a bit suspicious of it. GI son is doing his Nat'l Guard stuff, Ross is reading a book, Katie is napping(recovering from last night and preparing for tonite) Jake is out chasing rabbits on the 4-wheeler and Karli is sleeeping peacefully on my bed. My house and yard are clean and my laundry is caught up. No, I'm not bragging, I'm just....thankful. Tomorrow we will have a Bar-B-Que for, and in honor of, a close friend's family that has truly known what chaos is. They have survived two unspeakable tragedies in their lives and today they will put a close to the last one. They have been tested and have a testamony. I, on the otherhand, if being tested like that would just have the "mony". Tragedy either makes you bitter, or better. And I have found that you can't be pitiful and powerful at the same time. A choice always has to be made. This family has chosen the high road and allowed the Lord to make them better for it and a powerful testament that when you're going through hell, don't slow down - just keep on keepin' on till you get to the other side. I admire their strength and friendship, and it has been a privilege to walk by their side all these years. Till next time, adios.

Did little Jesus have a Mamaw?

With Christmas only six months away, I was singing "Away in a Manger" on the way to the hayfield one day last week, and strange as it seems, I began to ponder Christ's birth. Where was Jesus's Mamaw during His birth? If Joseph was to be registered in his ancestral home, it would seem to me that at least "his" parents would have been present for this most special event in their lives. And while we're at it, where was Mary's momma? Was she with Mary's daddy at a local camel convention somewhere, or being registered elsewhere?? It just seem to me that a mamaw should have been close by.....somewhere. I do realize the use of cell phones were not an option in those days but honestly girls.....you see my point. Since becoming a mamaw myself a few short weeks ago, I have discovered that I "ooze" wisdom in "all" areas of life......including those areas that I know nothing about.....and Mary should have had the benefit of a mother's advise on......oh say nursing, fussy babies, etc.... Lucky for Joseph, she was AWOL.

And then, I was rocking Karli this morning, just watching her as she slept. I kept looking at her little hands and feet, fascinated with how small and delicate they are. I know Mary did the same thing. Untold hours were spent just adoring Jesus while he slept. I wonder if she realized that someday those precious hands and feet would be pierced; that the brow she kissed each day would have a crown of thorns placed on it, and his soft, sweet skin that she so tenderly bathed would be striped for all mankind. I have a great deal of respect for this woman, being between God's purposes, and her role as a mother. I kind of wonder though, if she was like one of our ranch cow mamas. She has no idea that her baby is going to be branded, cut, and ear marked; that in the fall, a cowtruck will come rolling down the road to take the baby she has nursed, protected and befriended to places unknown - to fulfill the purpose for which he was created -to feed mankind. All she knows is that right now, her baby needs her to provide milk for a hungry belly, shelter from the storms , protection from wild critters and a spit bath each morning.

If she, so unselfishly, could invest so much of herself into the life of the child that would save my old hide, I believe I can invest more time into the lives of others. Till next time, adios

PMS to Fall Decorating...go figure

Can't explain it - not even gonna to try. Woke up PMS'n and in a few`short hours...just plain MS'N (don't believe that is a network) which led to today's "fall decorating". Yes I know it's not fall. We're barely out of spring but something had to give. This oppressive heat is killing me and there's just something about the color of fall that lends a feeling that cool weather is on it's way. When I went out into the container to get my oakleaves and pinecones and such, it was all I could do to stay out of the Christmas decor. I do believe my family would have had me committed.... but as long as there is refigerated air I really don't care. Gotta go....I think my carpet is dry enough to start putting my furniture back....yes I even shampooed the carpet. Have heart, my sanity is due back Saturday morning about 9:00 a.m. and only Ranch Wife knows why! Till next time...adios

Hay - it's what's for dinner - if you're a milk cow!

Got up froggy-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to give ya'll a glimpse of a typical day in our hay-hauling lives - grabbed the camera, my coffee cup and out the door we went! It's a twenty mile drive from our house at the ranch to East Grand Plains, a farming community east of Roswell. We park our hay trucks at a farmer friend's barn so they'll be handy. Thought I'd snap a picture of a hayfield to start this adventure. Lo and behold - no battteries- I literally asked the Lord to please "show up" with some batteries - AA to be exact. After searching high and low in the other trucks, I jumped into my truck disgusted at the thought of no batteries, no pictures and no blog. Well ain't that a cottonpicker! No kidding - I looked on the dashboard of the truck - and there's two AA bateries sitting there.....no way.... crazy awesome thing to happen. Never saw them before. Didn't look a gift horse in the mouth - thanked the Good Lord for my batteries, loaded 'em up and headed to the field.
Our family started Carpenter Custom Hauling over ten years ago. We started off with two trucks, hauling triticale silage in the spring and corn silage in the fall with a cow haul and a little hay hauling mixed in there for good measure. With the passing of each year, our hay acreage increased to the point that after nine years of "chop hauling" we decided to sell our silage rigs and focus on hay hauling. We now haul hay and oats for twelve different farmers in the East Grand Plains and Dexter area, delivering these loads to several of the thirteen dairies in our area. There are generally six cuttings of hay each year and we've hauled up to thirty-one loads in one day. Alfalfa hay is New Mexico's #1 cash crop and averages $200.00 per ton.
Today we're hauling hay to Three Amigos Dairy in Dexter. It is one of of the largest dairies in the area, milking 4,600 cows each day. They feed 66 bales a day of hay, barley and oats, along with corn silage, and all the goodies from the commodity barn. Most of the milk in the valley goes to Laprino Foods, one of the largest mozzarella cheese factories. They receive 90 to 120 tanker loads of milk each day, and each tanker carries 6,000 gallons of milk. Leprino is also the largest US exporter of whey products.
Well, there you have it folks! Next time you pour yourself a tall glass of cold milk, remember somehow, it all started in a hayfield! Till next time, adios!

Whew! Hotter 'n hell?

No, it probably wasn't hotter 'n hell but when you work in 106 degree heat with a steady wind blowing, it sure makes you glad you're saved!! I look at all the beauty the good Lord puts in front of me everyday and wonder how people miss the love of God. Then I haul hay all day in this blistering heat and wonder how people miss the judgement of God. I guess Christians just naturally pick up on all this symbolism and see the spiritual side of everything. When you work in agriculture, God just shows up. He may be found in a beautiful sunrise or a rainbow after a good rain. I see Him when a mother cow licks her new baby off, or in a wheat field waving in the wind. Looking up at the sky on a moonless night never ceases to amaze me. Can't imagine how anyone could think this world showed up by chance. Well, cottonpicker is plumb smooth wore out so I'm calling it a day. Till next time, adios.