A Slight Dusting and Mud

We got just a bit of snow at the ranch.  Well, by the time we got there it was mostly melted, but there was a tiny bit of evidence.  It is sure nice to work inside on the house with the heater running!  We have been working hard and now have the walls all mudded with tape!  Just the whole ceiling and second coat to go :). 

 

Beginning Mud

The mudding and taping has begun!  It took a bit of time, but we have started!  Jeff got going and then taught me.  Clark learned next.  There are now three of us to get this work done!  Hopefully the speed picks up!

With Jeff being sick and the kids visiting for Christmas we are so behind on this house build... we are not going to get it done by the end of the month to move.  We talked to Matt, our landlord, and asked about another extension.  He was good with it so we are now working toward the end of February.  We still have a lot to do, but I think we can make this deadline!

 

Done

Harriet and Hogrid became escape artists.  First Hogrid broke into Harriet's pen.  Then they both broke out.  After getting them back in Hogrid kept breaking out.  He would disappear for a day or so and then be back, but eventually he was just gone and we only had Harriet.  We thought about keeping her until her new litter came and went... until the end of May or so, but we are just so done with all of this.  With Hogrid gone Jeff got a slaughter date for Harriet.  We got her all set with the trailer to get her ready to go.  

I got a phone call from our friends down the hill, the Bakers.  They asked if we were missing a boar as one had shown up at their neighbor's house.  After some discussion and a photo it was confirmed that it was Hogrid.  We had thought he was dead since he never came back!  Oh boy!  After a quick chat with Jeff we decided it was fine if they just shot him, we were so done! Well, the neighbor didn't want the boar killed on their property so after quite a bit of work they/we got Hogrid loaded up on Brother Baker's trailer to take back to our place so we could shoot him there.  I was so thankful Brother Baker was there and shot him for me.  I weighed him, about 550 lbs, and then dropped him off for the buzzards.  Harriet went to slaughter the next day and weighed in at about 450 lbs.  These were some big pigs.  

We will probably do feeder pigs again, but not for another year or so.  We just need to redo our whole pig set up before then.  These pigs sure tested us and our system.   Hopefully we learned something ;)

So fast!

Lorna found one of Sandra's dresses and decided she should try it on.  It's crazy to see her fitting her big sister's clothes!  She is growing up so fast!

Also, there was a comet that we were able to see at the ranch.  It didn't turn out well in the photo, but it was pretty cool to see!  It looks kind of like a wisp in the sky headed toward the moon. 

 

Sick

Poor Jeff hasn't been feeling good.  It's also been pretty icy and cold outside.  I've been trying to keep him warm and medicated.  It just seems like every time he seems to be doing better his fever returns and he gets worse.  We finally took him to urgent care (because the weather got a bit better) and he has bronchitis.  No fun!  We are thankful to have medicine so that he can start getting better now.  It's been hard to have him down and not able to work or work at the ranch.  

 

Heat!

The heat/ac people came out and installed a thermostat so we can turn the heater on!  We are about to mud and we can't do that in freezing temps.  I'm so excited to have the house have some heat now! 

We also ordered a rolling scaffolding cart so we can reach the ceiling easier for mudding.  Clark and Lorna put it together.  Looks like we are about ready for the next big job!

Loose

While working on the house, the kids noticed Harriet was out.  Luckily we had sold off of her piglets just a couple of days before or she would have broken them out.  The kids were able to herd her back over to her area, but man this piglet season hasn't been easy.  

 

Working

While the kids were in town we worked the bison herd.  It was nice to have everyone on hand to help with gates and the squeeze chute.  We have all the calves tagged and weighed now!!  We were all so busy working that I don't have any photos.  It's great to have that done, even if it can be stressful!

Ringing in the New Year!

For New Year's we celebrated at the ranch with shooting guns.  The kids made a target on a used piece of sheetrock.  Everyone had fun taking turns.  It was loud!  We need to remember ear protection next time!  Shooting in the pasture gave the backdrop as sand.  The kids even found one of the bullets in the sand.  The kids spent a lot of time looking for more, but only found the one.  It was so fun!