Not So Quick Trip

 Just as the sun was coming up and starting to light up the Western sky Rachel sent the picture below. That sun was also still lighting up the moon.

A harvest moon shining above the corn still needing to be harvested. It was such a pretty morning I drove out to get a few pictures myself. As it was only 34 degrees, there was frost on the ground and the lake was smoking with the mist drifting upwards.  The picture below is looking across the fields to Joan's house with the lake mist in the background.

Crossing the retention dam the sun was just starting to rise over the treeline.

The mist was obscuring the reflection on the lake but still beautiful.

I came up the short cut, Oliver saw me on the golf cart and came running. That is Leah to the right and behind him, hanging out near Evan.

When Oliver came so did Madiera and her colt just in case that golf cart had some grain on it.

My guest was out walking her French Bulldog.

This was the very first time I've seen a Frenchy in the flesh. He is adorable, friendly and a little pudgy. Both Ruth and Fedi are sick, Fedi got out of the hospital but they both caught something when IN the hospital. Ruth did not come on the walk. 

The picture below was taken as we were walking towards Joan's house.

Above is looking towards Spark's dock and below is looking across the lake to Joan's beach.

We stopped at mom's for a short visit. While there I took a few more pictures off mom's deck. The burning bush is becoming ruby red.

The picture below is looking across the lake to Rachel's house.

The video shows the mists floating upwards.

Mark had a dentist appointment this morning for his clean and check so I met Ralph and Jamie at the Hog Trough and we enjoyed a good breakfast together. After breakfast the barn was finally cleaned up from last Sunday dinner. It wasn't bad and took less than a couple hours. I left then for a 2 hour trip to Decatur, IL to pick up a surprise for the Meister Christmas although it will also be used for the Davidovic Christmas and maybe even a bunch more. I actually drove to the Decatur Lake.

It is an impressive lake. Earlier I spent some time searching for a rental house on that lake big enough for our family but wasn't able to find any. There are some camp sites not far from the lake so I may check into those.  The people I was to meet at the lake ended up with a flat so I had to drive to them. 
That took a while and I wasn't able to get home until after 5:00 pm. 

Mark took the picture below of me trying the gift out.

I'm pretty sure it will be a hit. 

At 6:00 pm Mark and I went over to start winterizing the campers but didn't get too far. It just is getting dark too soon. We will continue that job tomorrow morning and hopefully get them all in the barn before noon. Joan has a big young group invite coming to her house tomorrow evening and will need the parking places.  The motorhome will not yet be winterized as that is going out for another rental soon. 

Deleted

 I took pictures of Berlica's cat on our walk this morning. Then took a few pictures of the horses while teasing today. Mark had the building supplies dropped off so of course I took a few pictures of those and a video of Mark moving them into the barn.  I did not delete them off the camera but some how when cleaning up excess files deleted the pictures and videos taken from the computer and didn't know it was also deleting them off the camera. I guess us old folks can learn new things.  Diane took Aunt Jinnie and mom to Bible study at the church. At 11:00 am Joan and I drove to the church gave Diane my car and took mom and her van to go vote as all 3 of us won't be here during election day. Diane took Aunt Jinnie home. We got the voting done, got in the van and mom asks, "Jinnie, are you here?" Joan told mom, we left her at church but will pick her up when we go to church tonight. About then mom starts to laugh realizing Diane took her home. Mark and I got the building supplies moved this afternoon then got ready for church tonight. Craig had the message about Jesus healing the blind. It was a good message for all of us. Click HERE to watch that. The moon tonight was full and so bright. I took the picture below on my phone in the church parking lot. 

We went to Culvers after church and stayed late. VERY late.

Teasing Mares

 Fedi was admitted to the hospital last night after staying in the ER for over 16 hours.  The good news is they gave him the deluxe room, the very best room in the hospital. Ruth sent the picture below:

It is large and has views of downtown Peoria and the Illinois river. When we called this morning Ruth reported he was very crabby. They actually sent him home this afternoon after all kinds of tests and told Ruth to keep an eye on him. Joan left here at 7:30 am with mom's wheel chair van taking it to East Peoria tire to get the oil changed before the big trip Saturday to Gulf Shores. Because the van was not available mom was not able to come to Berean with Aunt Jinnie and me. We had to leave Hanna City by 8:15 am to go to the Peoria post office to pick up the Berean mail and get it there by 9:00 am. We made it by then but almost everyone had already arrived and Vonnie had them all working. She is such a good boss but is taking the next few weeks off to visit her family in Arizona. I'm a little worried that while the boss is away us mice will play. We will have to wrap Bibles while she is gone but we didn't need to  wrap any today. Below Shirley Sharon, Shirl and Aunt Jinnie are busy opening mail whileSkip is entering the studies on the computer, Kathy and Leila are reading the mail and Marvin is processing the returns.

Marvin showed us one of the returns.

Check out the video below to see ANOTHER new regulation.

Whoever the mail room guard was that opened up this prisoner's mail must have really not liked Kathy's drawing. We really are wondering how long we will be able to send studies and Bibles to prisoners. Below Vonnie is getting the next set of lessons stuffed for mailing.

The printer acted up today, starting and running copies when no one asked it to. Sometimes we just can't understand why things happen in this office but we always are able to get done what needs to be done.  Aunt Jinnie and I stopped at the Hanna city post office to drop off today's mail. A full box of Bibles and studies. After dropping off Aunt Jinnie and eating some lunch I went out to start teasing horses. Leah was first. She was still in and covered but today will be her last cover as she did not stand well. Hopefully she will conceive and hopefully deliver a LIVE foal in 2025. The next mare teased was Jewel. She is not in but tomorrow is 18 days since she was in last so I will need to watch her closely. Curlin was also teased and also said no. Madiera was not teased as it has only been 11 days since her last cover. It is time to wean her colt but we can't do that unless we take her back out to Middle Grove and leave her colt here. I don't want her out until we get a chance to sonagram her, so that colt gets a reprieve.  We had leftovers for our dinner tonight. The temperature was only 27 degrees when we walked out for the morning walk and stayed cold with a brisk wind all day. Mark was even tempted to build a fire but didn't. He turned the thermostat up to 70 though. We really are getting old, the fact that he would turn the furnace on before November is such a change from previous years. 

Day of Rest

 Brr it was a cold morning. Ruth took Fedi in to the emergency room as his neck was hurting. They took another x-ray but not sure what the problem is, it could be he has a screw loose. That just doesn't sound right. It may be better to say, "it could be one of the screws have loosened up." Poor Fedi, no matter how you say it he finds it painful.  Diane and Mike spent the night at Middle Grove as they have airbnb guests in their basement. That meant no walk for Joan and I.  Mark has ordered 2 pallets of cement from Home depot and that was delivered this morning.

Those pallets are so heavy our tractor would not be able to pick them up. Thankfully Home Depot sends a heavy duty fork lift with the truck to unload. Below the skilled driver has unloaded them into the barn for us.

It is pretty cool how he drives the fork lift to the back of the truck and then lifts it up and gets off.

Mark and Mackenson ended up getting 2 more pallets from our pile and dividing the cement into 4 pallets so the tractor can handle the weight.

After breakfast I drove to Dr. Stoller's office in Pekin IL for my annual teeth clean and check. That is an hour of laying around in a comfortable reclined chair while the tech talks and I listen.(one can't talk back with the instruments and hands inserted into the mouth) I almost took a nap but thought that would be rude. No cavities and I'm thankful for good teeth as I like to eat and use those good strong not so white teeth everyday. As soon as I got home Leah, Oliver, Madiera and her colt were brought back over from the cabin field. Leah was teased and is still in her foal heat. She stood well while Valiant covered her. I was worried that she would be out. She should have been covered yesterday but I was just too busy to get that job done. Thankfully she is still in and in strong. 

 This afternoon I needed to take a trip in to Peoria to pick up ingredients to bake some cinnamon rolls for the Berean treat tomorrow. Skip can't be there so I will need to leave early tomorrow morning to pick up the Berean mail and get it to that office before 9:00 am. The post office was closed today for the Columbus day holiday.  Joan was able to get an appointment to get the oil changed in mom's wheel chair van tomorrow morning. That needed to be done before the big trip to Gulf Shores on Saturday but the only appointment available was tomorrow morning so mom won't be able to go to Berean tomorrow to volunteer. 

The renter at the foaling apartment today did not leave by 11:00 am. He and his son were out deer hunting and didn't get back until later. That wouldn't have been a problem but we had another guest coming in today. I think they left before noon. The new guest had been told she could come in by 1:00 but ended up not being able to come until tonight so it all worked out. The only real work done today was laundry and baking. It really did seem like a day of rest.

Nancy Makes a Basket

 Yesterday was such a long day outside I was really tired and slept well. After a cup of coffee this morning I ran over to the barn to strip the beds and start the laundry bringing back to towels here. While both machines were running the chicken for the dinner tonight was cut up for the chicken stir fry. Since I had the machines going early and no laundry was done Saturday, I did a couple loads of our clothes too. I don't like to work on Sunday but if we wanted clothes to change into after church I pretty much needed to. We left for church a few minutes after 9:00 am and made it there before Joan, mom and Aunt Jinnie arrived. Molly had already brought Nancy and she was very glad to see us. Mike Kaisner had the morning message and this message was a good message about Chronicles. I did not know that it was the last book of the Hebrew Bible. Mike finished with Revelations 22, the last book of the New Testament. Click HERE to watch that message. Caleb Plattner had the afternoon message on Genesis 9 and 10, after the flood. That too was interesting. click HERE to watch that message.  After church I had to flip the foaling apartment as we had someone move out this morning and another group moving in today.  I'm thankful for extra sets of sheets and towels. Anna arrived to help just as I was finishing up. The chicken was stir fried, the rice started and then the vegetables were stir fried and put in a separate crock pot. Today instead of putting the meat and vegetables together they were served separate to make it easier for the kids to take what they wanted. The food was good. 

Rhoda and Lee had invited 2 couples from their small group to join us. 

Braelyn and Taegan were learning how to do flips and I was there when Taegan learned how to do a back flip and land it. Braelyn is getting the front flip down too.

As we had a lot of little children today the bouncy house was turned on.

After supper the volleyball games were all inside as the wind was really blowing outside.  I found it interesting how the older kids were teaching the younger ones how to hit the ball while the regular players were arriving. They played a couple games then the next set of players arrived to play and at the end of the video below Nancy makes a basket. 

She was SO PROUD of that and kept talking about it.

We had a beautiful sunset this evening.

Middle Grove FUN

 The guests at the foaling apartment pulled out around 8:00 am. I ran up to strip the beds and get the sheets in the washer. Anna and Braelyn arrived right after that and took over cleaning. The guests in the new barn were busy and had the wedding arch and chairs out early so I took the golf cart down to take a few pictures. It was beautifully decorated.

The hipcampers were not yet gone for the day. They are here for the Spoon River Drive and will be staying until Sunday afternoon to get as much shopping possible this last weekend of the drive.

I was over at mom's to get ready for our big trip to Middle Grove. It took a while to get everything loaded but we were on our way by 9:40 am and unfortunately hit the Spoon River traffic. It took us 45 minutes to get to Middle Grove. Diane, Mike, Ruth, Fedi, Matt and Dexter were already there waiting for us. Joan pulled up with the motorhome not too much after. She had the sailboat pole with her so Ruth was first to go sailing.

When she got back Mike took us on a jeep ride to find the horses. We heard the legend of the lost mower. The man who started mowing the Middle Grove land and never came back. Well we FOUND him, or what was left of him. You will need to check out the video below to learn this story...OR just keep scrolling down.

Joan made a big taco salad for our lunch. Besides the jeep ride, we sailed, took a pontoon boat ride fished then cooked supper over the fire. 

We heard the story of the man that went missing 12 years ago while mowing the property and then we FOUND him.

Below is the Middle Grove Guard, fully armed and ready.

He was getting ready to go out hunting but we decided he looked better as a guard.

The sailing was fun. Ruth and her dog went a couple times. Diane went, Joan took Berlica once and Lesley another time. 

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures from Middle Grove click HERE.

Mom, Aunt Jinnie and I packed up to head home after supper. After unpacking and getting back to my house Mark and I had one job to do before the sun went down and that was to take apart the wedding arch for the bride and groom. The sun set just as we finished that job.

A beautiful ending to a beautiful day.

To Keep or Not

 I was up before 5:00 am and needed to start the coffee maker as I just couldn't make myself wait for that first cup. Yesterday we had our dinner at 2:30 pm as we skipped lunch so this morning we were hungry for breakfast. By 7:00 am I had sausage, eggs and pancakes all ready for our hungry tummies. I knew Ruth was camping at Middle Grove and also knew Mike and Diane drove out last night but didn't know they came back and did not spend the night so when Diane called to ask if I was walking I was surprised. I was already outside working so just took the golf cart over to meet Diane. Karin had her closing on her house today so needed to leave by 7:30 am. Instead of walking we just went straight to mom's house. Diane stayed with mom and aunt Jinnie while I went first to the barn to do a final check, then to the apartment. I had a message this morning wanting the dimensions of the green hay rack so stopped there next. Mark was just coming into the barn with a tape measure so we got that done very quickly.

I listed it on Facebook market place yesterday as it was in the way and we haven't used it. When Karin was back Leah was taken out and teased. She is still in and covered by Valiant.

She gets a treat for standing well and was waiting patiently for me to bring it.

Once she was put away, Mark wanted my help getting the forks on the tractor. Mark ordered 2 pallets of cement bags and we need the tractor fork to get those off the truck. We will also need the fork to unload the building supplies for that small addition he wants put in front of the door. Next I used the mower to go over the area I mowed a couple days ago for the wedding on Saturday. The mower does well with getting rid of the grass clippings. Just then the hipcamper arrived. They are actually here for the Spoon River Drive and will not spend a lot of time at our place but they were glad to have a place to park their camper and hook up with electricity and water.  My next job was to go to Aldi to get the ingredients for chicken stir fry. We will have that for our Sunday dinner but when I asked mom and Aunt Jinnie what they would like for a meal on Saturday when I take them to Middle Grove camping they also chose chicken stir fry.  Once home from Aldi the vegetables were chopped and the chicken cut up. I made one batch for Mark and my dinner tonight with plenty to take tomorrow. All the vegetables are chopped for Sunday's dinner but I will still need to cut up chicken for that meal. Both Mark and I really enjoyed the meal. This stir fry had chicken, carrots, onion, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap pea pods, mushrooms, zucchini and a few peanuts. I added rice for a side dish. The left over rice was added to all the chicken and vegetables for tomorrow's meal but it will still be good. After supper I made 2 pans of brownies. One to take to Middle Grove and one for our Sunday meal.  Joan called this evening asking to use the tractor and the green hay wagon to give hay rack rides. We had taken the hitch off the tractor and put the log splitter on as we needed more weight on the back of the tractor. BUT we always like to have at least 2 ways of doing things around here. She used the Grasshopper mower to pull the wagon. 

We have someone coming tomorrow morning to check out the wagon but now we are wondering if we should keep it.  Edited it to add: we cancelled the buyer and have decided to keep the wagon. Amy said SO and of course she has the final word. (Well her advice was good as that wagon was fun last night for the young group)

Northern Lights

 Mark and I had a breakfast date at the Hog Trough this morning and enjoyed breakfast with Pat and Darlene. We didn't know they would be there but they had just come from the Giant Goose Ranch and showed up at the exact same time we came.  Next week we will do it all over again with Ralph and Jamie. After getting home Mark went up to the apartment to measure out the small screen room he wants to put up around the door of the foaling apartment. 

Hopefully this will help keep the flies out and also give some protection from the rain. It should be big enough to include a chair or two if someone wants to sit outside. The sun was bright without any clouds in the sky but the weather was cool. That sun soon warmed everything up.  I moved a bale in Raven's old paddock then moved Leah and Oliver in that. Madiera and her colt were put in the outdoor arena so I could get a few pictures of the colt for the new website. He really is impressive.

After getting a few pictures they were turned out to graze.

Dan called about then, he and Mike were working on the mystery project in Mike's shop.

Mike really needs to build a bigger shop. 

Below are a few more pictures of the mystery project.

This can be used for camping but it isn't a camper even though there is a roof and cooler. 

I heard this evening that it is finished and taken to Middle Grove. Saturday I hope to see the finished project in use and will announce it then. Dan showed me the sling he made and sent a stone flying into the trees. He sent it high and I missed where it landed but it hit the tree he was aiming for with a loud crack.

The bride that booked the barn Dec 28th wedding asked to come to measure things at the barn today at 1:00 pm. I spent the morning cleaning there but was eating lunch at 12:55 pm when I noticed a black car at the barn. I went flying over on the golf cart, threw open the door and said very loudly, "glad you made yourself at home."  Then heard Anna say, "who are you talking to?"  The car was Phil and Anna's they came to put the volleyball net up as the bride getting married Saturday wanted all the sports equipment set up. As they were leaving a pickup truck arrived. Another car arrived at about the same time and the 6 people that came did LOTS of measuring and counting. 

Meanwhile Karin sent the two pictures below telling us mom is busy sanding down the porch swing and wants someone to stain it.

We are all amazed at the drive mom has. When she wants something done she works at it with her working right hand (she is left handed but that one doesn't work since the stroke). I think Joan is going to ask Berlica to stain it. 

I finished the game room after the family left. About then the campsite booked for 2 nights, coming in tomorrow and leaving Sunday morning. I'll have to explain to the campers about the wedding Saturday as the it is an outside wedding. It won't be near the campsite but the cars will be parked on the South side of the building while they will be parked on the West side of the building. The bride told me the ceremony will only be about 15 minutes around noon so it shouldn't be too intrusive. This weekend is going to be a little crazy as the foaling apartment is booked for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night all by different people and will need to be flipped each time. The Event barn has the wedding booked for Friday and Saturday and now the campsite booked.  Dan used his drone today and took the aerial pictures below of the farm. 

Above is the house in the middle, the drive going to the bottom of the picture is going up to the barn. Below are the paddocks. The paddock next to the drive is Valiant's, next to his is where we will put mares we are watching to see if they come into season, the third paddock is a double. That one has 3 shelters in it and we call it the middle paddock. to the left of that is the short shelter paddock. Not seen is the foaling apartment and big barn (indoor arena) where we store the hay and the campers in the winter. Right in the middle of that circle drive is the manure spreader and what used to be our lime pile. The lime pile (white circle) is now by the garage which is to the far right of the picture. The other white shed is what we call the breeding shed. That is where I store grain and that has a small paddock in front and a larger one behind. We use the small paddock if we are breeding a mare with a foal by herside. The foal goes in the paddock and the mare is tied to the breeding stand right outside the paddock. That way she can see her foal and there is no separation panic for the mare. 

Dan did not get any pictures of the indoor arena and foaling apartment but got the back of both and the fields with the outdoor arena and round pen in the picture below.

The last couple pictures are of the event building. 

This evening, after dark a delivery truck arrived with a big package for us. I was surprised and asked Mark, "what did you buy?" He told me nothing. We opened it and it was 12 massive rolls of Brawny paper towel.

The paper plates came yesterday and today paper towels. I sent a group text out to my siblings asking which one is sending this but we are only hearing, "Not me."  Again, whoever sent the plates and paper towels, a BIG THANKYOU! We go through a lot of those.

We had a real treat tonight as we were able to see the Northern Lights right outside our house. I took the pictures below with my phone.

I decided to try a video as they were fading and just then the coyotes started howling.

What a beautiful ending to a beautiful day.