Birthday reflections

My mother is in complete denial but nevertheless, I am 46 years old today. It doesn't feel a bit different than yesterday or even last year but for some cruel reason, our society makes us keep track of our time on earth.

I once worked with a guy from Iran. He honestly didn't know how old he was and just had to guess his age and pick a day for his birthday for his US paperwork. Let me tell you-- you have not lived until you have worked with an Iranian practical joker...... that took years off my life.
We worked in a lab. I'll let your imagination take it from there.....

At the other end of the spectrum, I have been to some really old cemetaries where the tombstones were etched with the exact number of years, months, weeks and days the person had been alive. They celebrated and remembered every blessed day..... Don't you just wish you could celebrate and go for the gusto like that everyday? I just can't seem to gather up enough energy to maintain that kind of gusto.....

I can remember lots of birthdays. Honestly, I don't think that I ever had a bad one except for the year that my Dad died and I was depressed for months with grief. A few are a bit more special and memorable to me.



My 5th birthday in particular stands out in my memory. My father was enlisted in the Air Force so we traveled alot during my childhood. His sister, my Aunt Oleta, and her family lived in a tiny town in norther Kansas called Haddam. She ran the cafe there and it was/ is the social network gathering place of that rural area. We were stateside visiting my father's family and ended up in Haddam on my birthday. I think that in its heyday, about a hundred people might have lived there. The only gift that I remember getting that day were coloring books but I vividly remember the party.
That morning, I stood in the kitchen in the back and helped my Aunt Edith decorate the cake. I don't remember a thing about the cake but the joyful comradery of women working in a kitchen seared my soul. Those of you that know me in the real world have heard me laugh. I can assure you that it is a hereditary trait passed on my father's side. All of my father's sisters had been short order cooks and waitress' so they could remember what everybody in the building had ordered and facinated me by flipping eggs in the pan with a twist of their wrist instead of using a spatula. I still can't do that! Oleta, Sue and Edith are all very old women now but even after forty years, I can still remember the laughter and sheer silliness in that cafe kitchen with half the town listening or joining in.
By the time the cake was ready, it was lunch time. Some workman were fixing something that required a ladder in the dining room. Our family ( many of whom were cousins that I had never met before) were seated at a long table when they brought out the cake. The entire cafe' stopped and sang Happy Birthday to me. I remember the workmen standing up on the ladder singing.

Last year, I was able to take my husband for a visit to Haddam. It was his first visit and he had heard Haddam stories since we move to Kansas. The cafe is no longer in that building and the town has certainly dwindled. I still love that little town......

Another cool birthday was my eighteenth. I had a friend who got his pilots licence the day after his drivers licence. He had offered to take me flying many times but my Dad would not EVEN consider it. Now that I am a parent, I understand completely but at the time I thought he was just a spoil sport. So, on the evening of my eighteenth birthday, I fired one of my first shots in the battle for my independence. My friend flew me to Tallahassee. Somewhere over Thomasville, Ga. he opened the door of the plane to better show me the lights of the town and lost the flight map for the area. I remember watching that big square of paper drift slowly downward and it struck me just how high up I was with a guy who had no qualms about opening up the door......

A few years later, I spent the summer working and hanging out with a friend. He and I were both recovering from having our hearts completely shattered. It was a summer of total suffering and angst. We walked miles and spent alot of time on the swings at Len Lastinger School after dark. Both of us were broke college students working the summer at K-Mart to eek out enough money to get through a few more college courses. At the time, I did not think that I would recover from that lost love. I was not particularly looking forward to my birthday.
I got off work at 9:00 pm and managed to get out by 9:30. The sun had just gone down so it was finally cooling off in south Georgia. As I walked out to my car-- a red Plymouth Bobcat ( really it was a PINTO in disguise!) I noticed something on the front. Someone had put a tag on the front that said, " Have You Hugged Your Horse Today?" I went around to open the door and found the biggest bunch of flowers tied into the handle. They were so beautiful....It was just the sweetest thing after a long work day...... It was perhaps the most romantic thing any guy had ever done for me and it just melted my bitterness. That was a turning point for me in healing that broken heart. Steve--- if you are reading this, I still use that as my "romantic measuring stick".

Tonight, the whole McCarter Clan will head off to Elk City for the soft ball game. I'll get to spend the evening working the concession stand with a dear friend. Between serving hot dogs and Frito chili pies, we will cheer like mad women for our team...... not a bad way to spend a birthday!

Round Robin pictures

Wilma is usually a very well behaved cow and Salena likes to use her for her showmanship animal. This is what she did to qualify for the Round Robin.

This is definitely not going to become a habit on our farm......

In the competition, Salena decided to use the other cow, Red, for showmanship. Not a good move as she dragged, snatched her handlers around the ring and bellowed the whole time. Everyone was relieved to see her leave the ring.

This was the first time that Sis had shown a beef animal. I guess in the long run, a cow is a cow....

This was more to her liking. It was not her gelding but he was so well behaved and gentle that he did a great job for all the kids.

Can you believe that I got so caught up in watching that I FORGOT to take picture of Salena showing the hog and the goat?!? LOL!!

This was one of the highlights for Adam at the fair. The Farm Bureau Insurance Company sponsors this at every little fair in the state of Kansas. I'm not sure if they do in other states or not. Here in Kansas, this is a pretty competative event. Adam won second in his division with a pull of 27 feet and 9 inches. The winner was a full pull at 28 feet.

This is Adam's baby. Sally is only about 3 months old and was born too late to qualify to show in the "Bucket Calf " division. She had to show in the Open Classes and earned a blue ribbon for Adam. He halter broke her with only a little help from the bigger kids.

You will not often see this sight again! Since Salena won the Dairy Showmanship, she qualified to show in the "Round Robin" for overall showman of the fair. That means that she had to show each species of livestock at the fair. She is allergic to lanolin-- the natural oil in sheep wool! As soo as she gave this lamb back to its owner, she was scrambling to get her hands wiped off to reduce the allergic reaction......

Fair Time In Rural America

This little campsite was home sweet home for us for most of last week........

I don't want to brag or anything but..... I am a well travelled woman. I've seen Paris, London, Chicago, and Los Angeles. My father was in the Air Force and I've lived overseas. I've travelled quite a bit in the US and I am up for a road trip just about anytime. I am a southerner by birth and my family has lived in Kansas for the last ten years. This is home. I love our small town and the ruralness of our community.

As I watch the news and see the sheer craziness of the world, I am very greatful that middle America is still here. It is still thriving even though it has lost alot of the openess and trusting nature that it is known for. We aren't quite "Mayberry" anymore but we still have some of those better qualities.

This past week, it was fair time for our kids 4-H club. It began on Tuesday night with the horse show and ended last night with the livestock premium auction. A solid week of.......... the 4-H mom version of hell week. For the whole month, my mantra has been, " If I can just live throught the fair...." There have been times when emotional nuclear meltdown was very close. Physically we are exhausted but for some insane reason, we are already planning for next year.

Where else but in small town America could the fire department show up, throw down a canvas, open up the water valves and host a community wide slip & slide without worrying about litigation?

How about taking Ol' Dobbin for a little ride throught the park? Please notice that these little girls are riding this VERY tall horse at a trot without a bridle, bit or saddle. Nobody is too worried about a little horse manure on the well mowed grass either........

The city park and the fairgrounds are on the same piece of property. This is my middle son after spinning this merry-go-round for a whole gaggle of kids.

The little campsite in the top picture was on the side of the road on the edge of the fairgrounds. At night, we slept in the tent and the cattle were "tied out" to the other side of the trailer. The smallest heifer was tied to the bumper of the truck. As I would lay there on my air mattress listening to grazing and belching, I wondered if I could safely do this anywhere other than small town America? My next thought was if any body else out there was this crazy?

While we are recovering, my next few posts will be fair pictures and stories....

Cavalcade Pictures

We are still keeping at a trot around here while the fair is going on. I thought that I would quickly post some pictures from last week. I can't remember if I posted these on Facebook or not.....






Ginger was not too sure about these white barrells. Her practice barrels are blue so these kinda looke demon possessed to her. She ended up knocking one of them over so they didn't make the finals. Every time I see her make a run, I am amazed at the difference in her since we bought her. At one point, when we caught her to ride, she would stand and tremble and wait for the worst. She was so beautiful and sucha classic old fashioned quarter horse, I hesitated to get rid of her but I was really afraid that she would end up hurting someone. The farrier in the previous blog post asked if he could try some chiropractic adjustments on her. Turns out, Ginger's hips were so badly out of place that she was in constant pain. It took him about 15 minutes to turn her into a new horse. This little black mare is part of the reason Salena got a college scholorship and we would not dream of parting with her now.

She missed but she looked good doing it.......

Don't they make a good looking pair? He missed, too, but looked good doing it!

Pictures

I just love a digital camera! I have two because we always seem to be leaving one in a goofy place. Sometimes they disappear for months before we find them and are delighted by the pictures that we forgot that we had taken. I am seriously looking at buying myself one for my birthday that is bright pink. We can't seem to keep up with a grey one or the bright blue one so maybe I would have better luck with a pink one..... I take lots of pictures and pretty much irritate my whole family by putting them on facebook for the whole world to see....



Just in case you don't know, I have four kids ranging from 21 on down to 8. Three boys and a girl. The oldest two are attending a community college but are still at home. My daughter has become a social butterfly and has somehow aquired a boyfriend! Between, school, 4-H, church, softball, saddle club events and an occasional goat show or rodeo thrown in, for unsocialized homeschoolers, we sure do keep the road hot.





You see this nice family picture. Don't we look all happy and rural? Little House on the Prairie only the modern version.....Slow paced, long lazy days of summer, hanging out on the front porch... .. It is all a lie. You have no idea what it took to get this picture....


First of all, I had to drag Neil in from the hog barns. Not an easy task especially since he really didn't want his picture taken. He tried to use the excuse that he didn't want to take a shower and then go right back to work. Coming straight from the hog barns, he stunk to high heaven. I didn't care--- this was not "scratch and sniff" photography. Nobody would know, unless I told them. Believe me, I've told lots of people.....





Then we had to find a spot. I chose the newly baled hay with the barns in the background. This farm is pretty much what our lives revolve around. I just felt that is was a good spot that represented who we are....... Unfortunately, it was a popular spot.....

EVERYBODY wanted in the picture, including the unfriendly llama. They were just SURE that we had to have something really special going on out there on that hay and no amount of arm waving or shrieking would run them off.

After we got the girls all dragged off and put back in the pens, I convinced myself that the sweaty, dishevelled look I had really wouldn't show up in the picture if there was enough distance. I knew that if I left the scene to go tidy up, the rest of the clan would scatter like a covey of quail and I would not get a picture.
After much grumbling, complaining, and smart remarks, my friend got a remarkably good shot of us.
I've been thinking alot about that day because it is really way past time for us to get another family picture. The "big kids" are on the edge of leaving the nest. The "little boys" aren't so little anymore. Time is passing by so fast it takes my breath.
Charlie is off hiking in New Mexico until later in the week. We have a soft ball game on Tuesday night and I am working the concession stand. The county fair also starts this week so we will be hauling livestock to town. On top of all that, there is the garden and normal farm work that pays the bills around here that have to be done by somebody.
Even though it is going to be a hectic week, I am determined to get a family picture. I've started trying to prepare this bunch. I wander around and ask, " Do you think that might be a good spot?" or " Do you have a decent shirt?" I announce at meals that picture day is coming -- I just don't know when...... Stay tuned to see just what happens.....

Pony Pedicures

Wednesday marks the begining of the Calvacade Rodeo in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. It is the largest amateur rodeo in the country and of course, I have kids riding in it. Seth is calf roping and team roping with his sister, Salena. Salena is calf roping as well as running poles and barrells. Actually the horse, Ginger, is doing the running--- Sis is just along for the ride.

This is Ginger's mug shot as required by 4-H regulations so that she can show at the county fair. Ginger is strictly a trail riding or speed event little horse. She was a high strung, nervous wreck when we first bought her and I nicknamed her "Crazy Horse". After about seven years of hanging out with us and many miles under the saddle, she has mellowed considerably. She is Salena's favorite horse. Ginger is still quick as a cat but these days her nickname is "Tootsie Roll".

This is my beloved, Beau. He is a sure 'nuff cow pony and can "head or heel". That means that he has been trained to work either end in team roping. Sis will be riding him at the heading position. Up until this morning, Beau is my "babysitter horse" for my youngest son. We were in the right place at the right time today and a man generously gave Adam and very gentle little mare. We will be checking her out this weekend.

This poor fuzzy creature is Sam. Sam is an ancient of days horse. In his glory days, a cowboy once rode him to win the World Championship Calf Roping title. Don't hold me to it but I believe that it was in 1986. Now he is nearly toothless at 28 years old. On Thursday when the McCarter Clan rides, he will be calf roping and heeling for the last time. He cost me a fortune in high dollar Senoir Horse feed but he will spend the rest of his days hanging out and occasionally being led around with small children on his back.

Sam still had his shoes on tight but Ginger and Beau had to take a trip to see the farrier this morning. All trimmed up and shod, they are ready for a little trip south for a day at the rodeo.

Wish us luck!

Hauling Water

This is a chore that eats up alot of my time each summer. We have rented about 30 acres of pature for our cows. It does have a pond and a creek that runs through it but July is wickedly hot and dry here in Kansas. Ususally they both dry up or the shallow pond gets so muddy and stagnant that it is not much more than a mud puddle. The "girls" will still drink from to stay alive but it sure isn't good for them. Last year, it rained quite a bit and I didn't have to haul water and it spoiled me for this year. The kids and I haul about 150 gallons each trip and try to get one in each day.

As you can see, the girls are happy to see us. We check them everyday and usually take a little grain so encourage them to come when they hear the truck. This my daughter's 4-H project named, "Wilma". She is a Milking Shorthorn who is currently on vacation until she calves in early September. Then she will become a "house cow". This means she will be at home with us so that we can milk her. All total, we have three milk cows. Luckily for us, they all love to be momma and will nurse other calves as well. The two Shorthorns raised 5 calves last year and gave us all the milk we needed.



This is Betsy, Wilma's heifer calf from last year. Not all of our cows are this tame -- Thank GOODNESS! The milk cows pretty well mob us when we go into the pasture. It is hard to do any work in there because they think that we should spend our time petting and scratching them. When they get this big, they are pretty pushy if they don't get their way....We have a total of 14 cows and calves with a bull. Not a big herd but about all that we can handle right now. We are checking on them everyday now to monitor the water situation and because we are expecting four new calves any day.

This is a pretty slow job and I usually don't have this much help..... Everybody gets pretty silly, argues, and generally turn the trip into a three ring circus. I know that they don't come along just for my company. To get to this pasture, we have to drive right past the only little store for 14 miles in any direction. The kids all know that there is a pretty good chance that I'll stop and they can get a drink and a snack.

These were all pictures from yesterday's trip and even though it rained this morning, I'm pretty sure that I will still need to take water over.

After that, I'll spend a while in the garden and then I have a date in the kitchen with my pressure canners. I am determined to get the potatoes in the pantry. Guess that I better get to it........

Bottle Baby

We bought a new bottle calf last night. This one came from a ranch about ten miles west of town. DD and I drove out to get it at about 8:00 pm with hopes of getting back home before dark...... We knew better but we just tried to convince ourselves that it could be done. This is a VERY rural area. As soon as we left town, I think that there are a grand total of 5 houses that can be seen on that stretch of gravel ( mostly not graveled) road. It is beautiful but rough ranch country so we drove a bit slower to admire the scenery and save the worn out shocks on the truck. There are a couple of working windmills still used to draw water for the cattle. In my mind, I always hear nostalgic harmonicas as I watch them work. I'm sure that nobody else hears them so I keep quiet about that......

After we got there and were greeted by the dogs and drove out to the catch pens, the rancher coaxed the calf close enough to catch her. We had her loaded in less than five minutes. Done deal-- right??? Wrong! LOL!! This guy spends most of his days alone and is a cowboy to the core but---- he is definitely not the strong, silent type. By the time we had swapped stories, told jokes and listened, as well as gave unsolicited advice on life in general, it was well on its way to being dark. His driveway was over a mile long and by the time we got to the county road, the sun was almost gone. We played chicken with two young buck deer that weren't sure if they should run over us or jump the fence.

By the time we got home, Hubby was waiting to help unload her. We haven't named her just yet. DD and I were trying to decide how many bottle calves we have raised over the years but just gave up. I am sure it is in the hundreds by now. It gets hard to find new names after all that many.

Farm Sunrise

Contrary to popular belief, I am not an early riser. Not by our family standards anyway. I know that legend has it that farm wives are up before dawn getting their day started. Not this chick.....

I have a problem getting to sleep at night. I tend to get busy reading or watching reruns of "Deadliest Catch" and suddenly look up at the clock and it is 2:00am..... Something about a hard working guy just does things for me.

My hubby is up anytime between 4:00am and 6:00am --- depending entirely how hard he has worked the day before. My daughter is up at 6:00 am and is disgustingly cheerful. Me, I am up sometime shortly thereafter...... sometime between 7-8:00 am. The younger two boys we have to threaten and shriek at to get them up by 8:30 am and they are comatose until about 10:00am.

Here lately, something is wrong and I have been wandering out at about 6:30am. Thursday morning, I was rudely awakened before 5:00am by a LOUD crack of lightening and my hubby leaping up and racing for the computer. We have lived in this house for a little over ten years and I have lost count of the number of times that it has been struck by lightening or has had very near misses. We have lost several sets of telephones and answering machines and also had to replace the modem in the computer several times. Electric and solar fence charges are pretty much doomed. I have a graveyard of appliances whose lives have been cut short by the power surges. One particularly stormy night, I watched flames shoot out of the phone jack and the telephone cord and carpet melted.

This time, it wsn't nearly that dramatic--or so I thought. As it turns out, something happened and we were with out internet for about 24 hours. The service guy worked for over 6 hours trying to get it all done.

All this to say-- I HAD to get up early that morning and head to Tulsa. As I was leaving the farm, the sun was rising. After the thunderstorm, the air had this really interesting/ different color. I got these really cool pictures of the sun rising and a double rainbow over the farm. It was too big to get into one frame with this tiny digital camera so I took two shots.

This next picture is my favorite of the bunch. It looks like the end of the rainbow with it's pot of gold is at our farm----- and for us--- it is!