Cooking and Baking

 Ruth was staying with mom this morning and decided to take her down to the river front museum. It was free today. They were there for about 3 hours and also enjoyed the planetarium.

Ruth said the morning was a success. Mom enjoyed it but had to remark this planetarium was not nearly as impressive as the one she went to as a child in New York City.
Early this morning I pulled soup bones out of the fridge where they had been placed on Friday and was so surprised now that they were defrosted to find the packages soft. They were opened and this was not like any soup bones I've had in the past. 

These were more like fine cuts of meat with a bone in the middle. I saved 4 back for Mark to grill tomorrow. They are much too nice for soup. The frozen tongue was also defrosted so that plus 4 of those really good looking soup bones were put to boil.

While that was boiling I ran up to the barn to take care of the horses and cat. At 9:00 am I left for Aldi to buy the vegetables needed for the soup along with tomatoes, avocados, onions hamburger buns, hotdog buns and more salad mix for tomorrow's meal.  I parked next to a very unusual car. 

of course that bass needed a close up.

The sign on the door.

I wish I had the time to wait for the owner to come back so I could get some history on that bounty hunter. Since we now have over 100 pounds of hamburger in the freezer, we will be serving on Sunday, that and some of those good all beef nitrate free hotdogs. I also picked up some more cans of solid white tuna and noticed the price went up another 25 cents per can.  There really doesn't seem to be any slowing of this awful inflation. The bass car was gone by the time I finished my shopping and got back to the car.  By the time I got home the meat was cooked enough to peel the tongue lining off and slice it thin. I also deboned the meat off of the soup bones and removed any fat.  This was the easiest soup bones I've ever cooked. Usually they are big leg bones with just scraps of meat left on them. Below is the pile of good useable meat for this pan of soup with the scraps off to the right.

The scraps were taken over to mom's for the dogs there.  Both Studly and Molly enjoyed chewing on that tough tongue skin. The meat was put back in the broth then the carrots, onion, celery and mushrooms were chopped up and added to the pot along with some savory herbs. This was left to simmer for hours. This afternoon it was cooled then put in containers.

Most was put in my fridge but the cool whip containers full of soup were shared around here.  Diane came over with a container of turkey soup she made yesterday.  We had that for dinner tonight. The last thing cooked today was 2 pumpkin dump cakes for our dinner tomorrow. 

Colorful Birds and Flowers

 I had to head out early again. Unfortunately Rosalie is still in and was covered by Evan.  Lily was not showing so I must have missed her foal heat OR she was just too worried about her foal to relax, either way Valiant wouldn't even approach her.  Smart stallion, Lily is SO bossy.  Instead I covered Soul who is quite in with Valiant. Soul throws hair and Valiant throws height so we would like to try this combination.  At 7:15 I met Diane at the dumpster and we got almost to Joan's when mom called ready to get up and get dressed.  Today was a 12 hour shift at mom's but we kept busy. Right after breakfast we sat out for a bit on the balcony watching the birds. 

We went back in as it was a little too cool. Mom mentioned it was time to put the wren bird house out so that was taken outside and hung in the flowering crab. I hadn't even walked inside when a pair of birds came to check it out.

They weren't wrens so could not fit in the door and soon moved on searching for another good spot to build a nest..

After hanging that I noticed the tulips were blooming beautifully along with other flowers including the flowering crab tree.

We had a quiet afternoon. This evening Mark picked up food from Avanti's for our dinner and after dinner Diane and Rachel came over so we could play games. Mom wanted to go to her recliner to watch the eagle cam. When we finished the games it was almost bed time and I walked over to mom and found candy thrown all over the floor.  Molly was sleeping on mom's wheelchair and mom decided to try to wake her up by throwing candy at her.  I was shocked and mom was laughing at my expression.  My first thought was 'who ARE you and what have you DONE with my MOTHER?'  She laughed all the harder.  She just complained about her aim and that is why she kept trying until the bowl was emptied.  We really do have a good time!   I left just before 8:00 pm and drove right up to the barn to check on Tatiana. She still has no waxing so was left out.  Then at 8:45 I happened to check the weather and strong storms are expected tonight. I walked up to bring her into the barn and our airbnb guests had just arrived so showed them where the storm shelter was.  We had a good visit, Tatiana was put in the indoor and now I'm ready for bed. 

Special Treat

 I didn't get the foals haltered today, I didn't get the Wildwood picked up, I didn't get anyone covered today but I got 3 mares teased and all three are in season. Rosalie was covered yesterday so she was not covered today. Soul and Lily are in their foal heat. If Rosalie is out tomorrow morning Soul will be covered by Evan and Lily will be covered by Valiant.  I left the house at 6:00 am and had to move Tatiana out of the indoor. Rocky was loaded in the trailer and the trailer driven out of the way so a bale could be taken out to Lily's paddock.  Mark arrived to help get the gate back on the hinge and together we got that done before moving the bale. Mark moved the bale while I went to find a knife to cut the net wrap off. Once that was done the back gate was opened so the mares and foals could come back in. While back there I saw a glimpse of orange flash by and thought it was a big orange cat but nope it was a fox. 

 

Last Sunday the grandkids said they saw a fox and I didn't believe them.  Well tonight I saw another and this one had a very large bushy tail. Hopefully we have a fox family back on the property.  We used to enjoy watching them raise their kits but then our neighbor who raises chickens declared war on them and wiped them out. Rocky was put back in with Missy, Cookie and Sally.  The sale fell through so he is back for sale.  Now I'll need to clean him up and get a new video of him.  This morning I borrowed Joan's van this morning for the trip to Eureka meat locker to pick up the beef.  There was 715 pounds of processed beef from this one cow and I couldn't get the coolers and laundry baskets in my little Prius. Once home that 715 pounds of beef were brought into the house and divided up. Mark was called to come home from work and when he arrived he started making deliveries as the bags were filled.  I took Nolan and Sarah's to them then drove to Goodfield and delivered Ben and Taunya's getting home around 2:30 pm. By this time I was really tired so stretched out on the recliner to rest but of course rest doesn't come where there is work to be done. I posted a new ad for Rocky. He is really a nice colt and beautiful so should sell. 

 Mark went out to weed whack and came back with some fresh picked mushrooms.

They were washed, split in two, washed again then soaked in a milk and egg mixture.  They were fried up for supper tonight and were truly delicious. We both enjoyed this special treat.

I just came in from checking Tatiana. She is not waxing and the evening is nice, no rain predicted until tomorrow so was left out.  That will be one less job in the morning.  Even though not everything got accomplished I'm happy with what DID get done.  Joan got 3 of the trailers ready for rent and the first one leaves on Monday.  She came over to get keys for all of them. 

Schooling Day

I went out early again to bring Tatiana out and tease Rosalie. She is still in and covered by Evan.  Today was a schooling day for the 3 foals and Rocky.  After our walk, of which we again needed to wear winter coats as it was only 35 degrees outside, I went to work bringing Lily and her filly into a stall then Soul and her colt. Soul's colt was worked with first. He is now a week old and was introduced to the halter. Once that was on he was give his very first tying lesson. 

He tried throwing himself back, jumping forward, and moving sideways and nothing worked to free him.  With young foals it is very important to stay in the stall as sometimes they throw themselves back so hard they fall. He did not fall but needed to be taught to move forward to give to pressure.  That took about 10 minutes and he finally stopped fighting. He got lots of praises and lots of scratches which he enjoys. The halter was put on and taken off 5 times before he was finished. Next was Rosalie's filly. She has been worked with and was much easier to put the halter on for the first time.  

She didn't take quite as long to settle down and she too was praised, petted and scratched all over.  By the time the halter had been put on and off 5 times she was following me around the stall. Irish's colt is almost a month old and he should have been haltered before now but today was also his first time. I expected quite a fight but was surprised how quickly he stood for the haltering. He also did very well with the tying lesson.  These Gypsian colts are SO easy to work with.

I took a short video of him which shows how quickly he learned to move forward to get away from the pressure.

I was putting them back in the paddock and opened the gate to the inside when it fell off the hinge. I am not strong enough to put it back by myself so just tied it to the post. The last colt worked with was Rocky. He is supposed to leave for his new home tomorrow and needed a loading refresher. 

He didn't go in as well as I expected but he did step in after encouragement. He was tied in the indoor arena, the trailer backed up to the door and his grain put in the bucket.  Only then did he remember he likes going in and out of the trailer.  A bit later I brought Tatiana inside to be with him.  He had finished his grain and was hoping in and out on his own.  They will spend the night together indoors. I'm not sure when his owner is arriving.

Mark had just gotten home from work when I finished I so walked down to see if he could help put the gate back on the hinge but then realized I needed to be at mom's in a few minutes so that job will need to be done tomorrow.  Spark and Rhonda relieved me at 5:00 pm so we could go to church.  Although Mark went on his own tonight and I watched from home. Tonight after church they are holding communion for those that weren't able to take it earlier. Mark missed, I didn't so didn't want to stay after that long to wait for him.  Gregg Rumbold had the message tonight. 

Grandparent's Day in Goodfield

 At 6:00 am I left for the barn. Tatiana was anxious to get out of the barn and back into the paddock. Her udder didn't seem quite so full and tight so we may have some time with her.  Once the indoor was cleaned up and the cat fed I headed back down to the house to make breakfast and load the car with some supplies for the Berean office. We walked today and Diane remarked, "this is ridiculous!" She had to wear her winter coat. We had freeze warnings and winds this morning for our walk and yes we did need winter coats.  A little discouraging for the end of April.  After the walk I left for the Berean office. If you would like to read about our morning there click HERE.  On the way home I stopped at the trailer repair place to check on the Wildwood. The diamond plate was ordered so I paid for that but since it has not come in yet I am free to bring the trailer home and use it until the supplies come in. My next stop was to the bank to get come cash. We ordered a whole beef from our neighbor and Eureka meat locker sent a text to report it was ready for pick up AND we can get a 2% discount if we pay by cash instead of check or credit card.  The next stop was to the Hanna City post office to drop off the Bibles going out today and finally home to check on the mares.  I had time to eat some lunch before heading to Goodfield elementary for grandparent's day for Jace.  Ron (Jace's other grandpa) had already arrived. This was WAY better than I expected.

The kids put on a small program then each child took their grandparents to see their art, their classrooms, they had games out for each grandparent to play. We got to see the playground and they had delicious snacks afterwards.  

Jace's class didn't make the tree below but it was so unique I thought it should be posted. This is made completely out of plastic water bottles that were cut and painted. Beautiful and pretty cool.

Below is Jace's rendering of grandma's house with the barns to play in.

Of course we had to get a picture of Jace and Grandpa Rumbold.

I made it home in time to prepare supper for mom's house. Faith, Berlica and Mackenson were busy mowing here and at mom's.  I only got pictures of Faith as the other two were working in different areas.

We had a fun evening there. Faith and Berlica stayed for the evening and Diane came so we played games until mom was ready for bed.  It was dark when I left there so used the car's headlights to bring Tatiana in from the paddock. I don't think she is ready to deliver but I want to get in a routine with her in at night until she delivers.  I got a very nice text from the lady that bought Jewel's 2016 filly by Evan.  She is looking for another foal and wanted to reserve Indy's 2022 foal. I had to explain there are already SO many people wanting Indy's foal. One has been waiting for 2 years, one was supposed to end up with Indy's 2021 filly and there are at least 2 others in line before her. She wrote: Riata is doing great and very loved here. She is starting 3rd level dressage.  

Riata is the full sister of our 2 year old Dancer. They really are special horses. 

Two Trips

 I left the house at 6:00 am to fill Lily and Soul's water tank before letting them out for the day.  It is nice now that it is light enough to see and can start work earlier. The redbud tree is finally starting to bloom. Rosalie was teased and covered. 

On the way back to the house I stopped to work on the car. The back was falling off again, the gray tape was taken off, then the gorilla tape. I went in the house to find more but couldn't. Mark knew he had some in the barn and when he found it helped put the car back together.

After the car was fixed I left for the Peoria post office to pick up the Berean mail and arrived shortly after they opened with no line in front of me. We got a decent amount of mail for tomorrow.  As soon as I got home I changed then drove to Middle Grove in the Prius to check on Mares.  I parked at the far gate but when I found the herd today they were up at the back gate between the winter and summer pasture so it would have been much closer to park at the first gate.  Below is the first picture taken as I was walking up. They had just seen me.  There are a couple of them missing in this picture.

Jury was checked first as she is due May 11th but her udder is still pretty flat. Tatiana usually delivers 2 to 3 weeks early and sure enough her udder was quite full. She is due May 16th, exactly 3 weeks away. 

I knew at that point I would be hiking back to the car, driving home and coming back with the truck and trailer. I turned and snapped one more picture after starting the long hike back. Mika was behind the tree.

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures taken at Middle Grove this morning click HERE. As I was pulling into the drive I called Joan to see if she could spare Berlica for a couple hours. As long as I was taking the trailer to Middle Grove we wanted to take Dancer out. She has had a good start now needs to be with the herd and grow up. She will be brought in again next spring when she turns 3. When we arrived and let her out of the trailer she was pretty confused as there were no horses in sight. Berlica and I started hiking up the hill, got to the herd, put the halters on Tatiana and Missy and popped Berlica up on Missy for the ride down to the trailer.

Right about then Dancer came galloping up the hill saw the herd, the herd saw her and took off galloping toward her, she saw us and started running toward us with the herd following. Berlica said that was the first time she was charged by a bunch of horses. I stood in front waving a lead rope they all missed us parting and galloping around us.  Poor Dancer was too afraid by this time and followed us all the way back to the trailer.  She wanted to go home!  We only had room for Tatiana and Missy so she was sent off but wouldn't leave and tried to follow us out the gate. Berlica had to chase her away so I could get the truck and trailer out of the field and quickly close the gate. Facebook seems to have removed all of my videos from this blog but I posted a short video of Berlica chasing Dancer and if you want to see it just go to my facebook page.

We made it home and put Tatiana in the paddock next to Valiant while Missy went in with Sally and Rockaway. Once Rockaway leaves Cookie will be moved over with them. 

At 5:00 pm Mark and I picked up Anna, Taegan and Kensley and drove to Morton. We met Nolan and Sarah's family and David and Stephanie's family at LaFiesta for dinner.

Everyone enjoyed their dinner. From there we drove to the church for the ballet recital. This was supposed to have happened before Easter but some of the ballerinas got sick. It was very entertaining. 

Below is the entire performance.

 Below are a few pictures of the evening.

Israel lost a tooth while there.

There were cookies served after. I took a few other pictures, if interested click HERE. When we got home Tatiana was put in the indoor arena. She is not waxing but it is very cold outside with a freeze warning. Lily and Soul will spend the night in the far paddock with their 5 day old very healthy foals. The cold won't bother them as long as it doesn't rain.