SPRING TURKEY SEASON IS HERE...STRUTTIN' TOMS!

Both boys have now harvested their first Rio Grande wild turkey of the '09 season! Good sized toms - Jake's turkey had a 9 inch beard and spurs that reached 1.25 inches...Zack's turkey beard was also 9 inches with spurs that were 1.12 inches... They both called them up out of the flock with a box call, mouth diaphram as well as the distraction of a hen turkey decoy. Jake used a 12 ga. shotgun and Zack's shotgun was a 20 gauge.

HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT THE MAMMAL WITH THE MOST TEETH WITH YOUR OWN HANDS?

HEY MOM...LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

I GUESS I SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED...WHEN ZACK GOES OUT TO DO CHORES, HE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BRING HOME A TREASURE! (MY CATS DO THE SAME THING WITH RATS!)

IF THE COWS HADN'T GOTTEN OUT AND ZACK HADN'T GONE TO PUT THEM IN, THIS LIL' FELLER WOULD BE ON HIS WAY TO THE NEXT FARM BY NOW! ZACK JUST COULDN'T RESIST!

YUP, CHASED 'EM DOWN (It did lay down and play 'possum' - so the catching part wasn't very difficult...it's the mouthful of teeth that was a little intimidating...)AND GRABBED HIM BY THE SCALY TAIL AND BROUGHT HIM TO SHOW HIS MAMA! (You might be a redneck if.....)

8 'POSSUM FACTS THAT YOU ARE DYING TO KNOW:

1. North America's only marsupial (female with a pouch) mammal.

2. One of the shortest lifespans of that sized mammal.

3. After the babies spend 2-3 months in the "marsupium" (the pouch) (Hmmmm...I have something like that after 2 C-sections!) then, they spend 1-2 months riding on the mama's back while away from the den. (I guess I'm glad I'm a human afterall..1-2 months on MY back??)

4. The only mammal that has 50 teeth!

5. Mostly solitary and nocturnal and hiss when they're disturbed...(Hmmmm....sounds like Dyke!)

6. Omniverous - eats most anything (Hmmm...sounds like Dyke, again!) - from insects to berries and snakes to grass...

7. Very gifted with physical attributes...(Hmmm...I think that's what attracted me to Dyke in the first place....)

8. Can be destructive pests...(If you have possum problems in Oklahoma, you can call the "Skunk Whisperer" and he will rid them from your property with a humane, non-trapping technique...it's true...go ahead....google the Skunk Whisperer...there are pictures to prove it!)

AT LEAST HE BROUGHT HOME 2 TURKEYS FOR THE FREEZER!

NICE, EH? THIS IS DYKE'S HEEL AFTER 4 DAYS OF TURKEY HUNTING IN OKLAHOMA!

OH...THE BOOTS ARE IN THE TRASH OUT IN THE BARN AND HE IS "HEALING" NICELY FROM THIS RECENT FLESH WOUND!

AT LEAST HE BROUGHT HOME 2 TURKEYS FOR THE FREEZER. FRESH WILD TURKEY ON THE GRILL IS OUT OF THIS WORLD!!

I GUESS I NEED TO BE THANKFUL THAT HE'D DO ANYTHING AND GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO BRING FOOD HOME TO THE FAMILY. WHAT A GUY! WOULD YOUR MAN DO THIS FOR YOU????

ARMADILLO IN THE FLOWER POT!

Yesterday it hit 29 degrees when we headed out the door for school and then 50 something in the afternoon. It's been a strange April - to say the least! While Zack was out doing chores, he spotted a 9-bander in an empty flowerpot that had turned on its side by the stupid wind that hasn't stopped since we moved here 5 years ago...anyway...he quickly caught it for a photoshoot and then released it into the pasture. He thinks it lives under the chicken house...there's a big hole dug under the bricks...could be a badger though -he saw one of those last week in a hole along the creek in the pasture! Ahhhh, life on the farm never ceases to provide adventure, thrills and memories that will last a lifetime!

I BUILT A GARDEN "OBAMA SELF"

There's been talk up in these here parts that we should be gittin' ready for what's instore for this country... with Obama and all. Some people I know are stockpiling ammo and guns...With the state of the union the way it is, many feel that we need to be ready for self suffiency...hence our new garden ( I think we're getting a milk cow next.)

When Dyke is involved in constructing something - it's built to last for generations.

The wind on the plains is incessant and unceasing, and when you add the furnace-like summer sun variable, things just wither and suck back into the earth. We have tried gardens and orchards in the past...once mid July hits, nothing produces and the wind and sun just rip into the plants and it's an instant death. This year, we decided to locate it behind the house (used as a windbreak) as well as adding a concrete curbing and picket fence to aid in the growth and production of fresh veggies for the summer and fall.

It was a family affair that spanned 2 days of our Spring Break. The forms were built, chickenwire and rebar were added for strength and the concrete was poured by hand. I was the Mixing Queen. Using an electric concrete mixer, made the job much easier than mixing it in a wheelbarrow - I've done that before and this was a piece of cake! Sand, water, portland cement...3:1 ratio - a few rotations in the mixer and it was ready to pour.
Once the concrete had set up some, Zack and I picked a scripture to write in the concrete. Jake thought it was wierd, so he chose not to pick a scripture... I picked John 6:35 and he picked Genesis 27:3...look 'um up, they're good ones! Next to mine, I sunk a big turquoise stone into the concrete and Zack chose a big fish hook and a broadhead. At the gate area, I wrote "Praise God Everyday...God Makes All Things Possible"

It turned out GREAT! We plan to till it up, add sand and make some raised beds with a walkway down the center. Tomatoes, cukes, peppers, squash, and beans will be the first generation of plants to raise. Hopefully fall will bring brocolli, potatoes, spinich, and lettuce.

Hopefully, the next addition will be some laying hens - the young chicks don't seem to make it too well around here with all of the varmints, so I am hunting for some adult layers to keep these 4 roosters company!

Only 9 more Saturdays until summer vacation! Yee-Haw!

NEW ROCKERS, OLD QUILTS and the PROMISE OF A NEW DAY!

WELL, IT'S FINALLY SPRING BREAK IN NORTH TEXAS! THIS IS WHERE I HAVE SPENT SEVERAL OF MY MORNINGS...SIPPING HAZELNUT COFFEE FROM MY FAVORITE MUG AND ABSORBING THE DAY'S DEVOTIONAL WORDS, UNDER THE RIPPLING SHADOWS OF OUR COUNTRY'S FLAG!

HAVE YOU EVER RELIED ON THE MORNING SUN TO WAKE YOU AS IT SPLASHES ACROSS THE BED? YOU OUTTA TRY IT SOMETIME, IT WILL RECHARGE YOUR SPIRIT AND FILL YOU WITH A TRUE SENSE OF WHAT LIFE IS. OUR LIVES ARE FULL TO THE HILT OF STUFF THAT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER IN THE END, WHEN THE GATES ARE SHUT AND THE CATTLE ARE IN FOR THE NIGHT.

AS I SAT, LOOKING OUT OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE FARM, I READ ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR US TO BE PATIENT AND KNOW THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL. THAT TRIALS MAKE US THINK, THINKING MAKES US WISE AND WISDOM MAKES LIFE PROFITABLE. WHEN PRAYING, IT'S BETTER TO HAVE A HEART WITHOUT WORDS THAN WORDS WITHOUT HEART. REMEMBERING THAT ONE SMALL STEP OF OBEDIENCE AND APPRECIATION IS A GIANT STEP TO A BLESSING!

AS THE SEASONS CHANGE; THE DAYS GROW LONGER AND THE EARTH WARMS... SLOWLY SHOWING THE PROMISE OF NEW GROWTH, LIFE AND SECOND CHANCES. APPRECIATE EACH BREATH AND EACH RAY OF SUN...AND FEEL GOD'S LOVE DRENCH YOU!

GIVING GOD THE GLORY!

The morning air was frigid, but still, when the sky became streaked with raspberry pinks and melon oranges...it was a gormet presentation to those lucky enough to be blessed by it. What an awesome country we live in! As the world lit up, the skiddish whitetail does ended their midnight buffet of fresh, green winter wheat and retreated to the treeline to bed down... The cattle raised from their warm beds of bermuda grass and a far off beller vibrated the morning silence. God's promise of a new day filled my spirit with hope, grace and awe as I stood barefooted on the stone porch to try to capture the glory of the flag in the glory of the morn. Moving. Powerful. Innocent. Simple.