I Love Texas

This was the view from our house this morning:

The annual rodeo in the town west of us is this weekend, and they always have a trail ride from the town east of us over to the rodeo.  I don't know if it went by our house last year and we just missed it or if they don't always follow the same route, but I'm glad we caught it this morning!  One of the riders (a student at the school where I sub regularly) asked to use our restroom, so the boys got to watch her tie up her horse and then get back on and gallop off to rejoin the rest of the riders.

Now off to see if the budget will allow a trip to the rodeo . . .

Why I love our vet

When we got to keep our sweet, "dropped-in-our-laps" cat (who is doing great, by the way), another person naturally came into our lives--the vet.  Dr. Kelly, to whom we went on the advice of Aaron's mom, has been wonderful.  She's been great with Confetti, her prices are reasonable (actually, much less than I expected), and she's always happy to answer questions.  One of the best things about homeschooling is the flexible schedule, so the boys have been able to go with me and/or Aaron when we've taken Confetti in for shots and when we picked her up after she was spayed.  During that last excursion, Connor (the animal lover) saw a horse in a large pen near where we were parked and asked if he could pet it.  Kelly was very gracious, even getting a halter and offering to let him put it on the horse (he declined, but watched, fascinated, as she did it).  We didn't have much time to stay that day, but she offered to let us come back the next week so that he could learn how to put the halter on, brush a horse, etc.  He was thrilled with the idea, of course, so I called early last week and we ended up going over this past Friday.

She had Tank, a beautiful, chestnut 1400 lb quarter horse, ready in a stall for us.  Connor was over the moon as she helped him put on the halter and then helped him up onto Tank's back.  The weather was cold, windy, and threatening to rain, so we stayed in the barn.  Connor was so excited as he actually got to use the reins and Tank responded by moving the direction Connor wanted him to go.  Brennan had a go as well, and I think he had fun, but he was definitely a bit intimidated.  His smiles waited until he was done!

Then Kelly let Connor lead Tank out of the stall, helped him tie him up, and let both boys brush him.  I loved the way she was diligent about teaching safety around the horse without saying things in a way that would scare them--she was clearly intentionally teaching them to not be afraid.  She also showed Connor how to lift the horse's hoof and clean the bottom of its foot, although that was a bit tougher--even when he figured it out, he had to have help because the foot was HEAVY!  He found that out first-hand a little while later when Tank ended up stepping on his foot while Connor was walking him around the barn--ouch!  He was a trooper, though, and thankfully the only injury was a bruise.  The boys got a kick out of feeding him treats, too.

I'm so thankful that Kelly was willing to take the time to share with us--and invited us to come back this week!  What a blessing.  The only other way I know of that we could get anything like this would be to take horseback riding lessons--something we definitely wouldn't be able to afford.  We're very thankful, and I'll be calling back tomorrow.

Our New Addition

We've been adopted by a stray kitten!  

When we moved in here, our landlord clearly laid out a no animals policy, including outdoor cats (a policy which somewhat frustrated us as we've a few problems with mice!).  So after this one had been here a couple of days without showing any signs of moving on, we reluctantly called her and let her know, because Connor was already becoming pretty attached to the cat.  She said that she or her son would come pick it up and take care of it, and she did pull into our driveway this evening.  But she didn't get out, and a little while later, she called and asked if her son had come by to get it.  When I told her no, she asked where it was right now, and I told her that Connor was actually outside playing with it.  She asked if it would be hard on them if she took it away, and I said that it probably would be, but that they both knew from the beginning that we couldn't keep it.  She said something about it not being too bad if it was outside, but that cats are a hassle, etc., and sensing that she was softening, I let her know that we would really like to keep it and that we'd be sure to vaccinate and spay/neuter it, and she agreed--as long as it doesn't go in the house!
Both of the boys, but especially Connor, were THRILLED.  Aaron and I were pretty happy too--it's a cutie, and it was so clear that the boys adored him/her.  Connor has already bonded with it, I think.  It follows him wherever he goes in the yard, and he's been catching crickets for it to pounce on and eat.  We named him/her Confetti, because it's black with flecks of brown and white.  He/She is a friendly little thing--hardly shy at all!  I guess we'll be making a trip to the vet soon!

Down on the Farm

Tractors, animals, getting dirty ON PURPOSE!  Most kids are fascinated by farms, and my boys are no exceptions.  We have friends who own a goat dairy, and our farm lapbook-in-progress gave us a good excuse, so we took a little field trip (only a couple of miles--one of the things I like about living in the country!) to see Mrs. Annette and the Coursey Family Farm.  The boys had been there before, so there weren't really any big surprises, but we tried to focus a bit more on the farming aspect of things this time.  Annette was very gracious (and patient!) with the boys, who seemed more interested in hanging out with the barn cats (who, alas, were not too interested in posing for pictures) than much of anything else. *grin*

Visiting the goats.  The farm has 15 milkers right now, each with a personality of her own.  

Although he was a little intimidated at first (the goats could easily go nose-to-nose with him!), I managed to convince Brennan to pet one of the goats.  It helped that this one froze as soon as Connor touched her--she obviously enjoyed the attention!

Making cheese with Mrs. Annette.  Connor is adding vinegar to the warm milk as Brennan stirs.  The vinegar separates the milk into curds and whey, a la good old Miss Muffet.  Can't say that I find her culinary choices terribly appetizing!

Pouring the separated curds and whey--the whey flows through the cheesecloth while the curds are caught and solidify into cheese (which is much more appetizing than the mixture!).  Brennan is discovering that the table where the pot had been was HOT!  I was impressed to learn that Annette had earned a second place ribbon for her cheese from the American Dairy Goat Association.  Not bad at all for a dairy that has only been up and running for a little over a year!

Trying fresh (cold) goat milk.  The verdict?  Connor gave it a thumbs up, Brennan wasn't so excited about it.

Speaking of drinking goat milk, the boys helped fill . . .

. . . and warm a bottle . . . 

. . . for this little guy, Midnight!  Isn't he cute?

He's a bit of a messy eater. *grin*

Checking out the chickens.  Connor thought it was great fun to run from one end of the pen to the other and watch the flustered birds cluck and scramble away.  

We also visited Percival, but unfortunately he wasn't in the mood to show off.  He's still beautiful, though.  My photography doesn't do him justice (hmm . . . maybe he knew that and didn't want to waste a good strut!).

Trampoline break!

Counting peaches.  He gave up somewhere around 50.

Pears--Brennan figured out what they were before Connor did!

Helping with farm chores!  Hauling out a bucket of feed . . .

. . . cleaning out hay stalks that the goats won't eat (but the cows will) . . .

. . . pouring in the goat feed . . .

. . . helping put out fresh hay . . .

. . . putting away chilled milk.  Connor also helped fill the goats' water trough, but my battery had died by that point!

We had a great time, and Annette was wonderful (she always is!).  I really appreciated her taking the time to share with us, and she really made an effort to make it fun AND educational for the boys.  Plus, she shared popsicles with us.  What more can you ask?  *grin*