On Saturday, Lacy's sister competed in the full Ironman race in Oklahoma City, OK. She has been training for this since last fall when she completed the half ironman race in Arkansas. In case you aren't up on this sort of thing, the full Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride (that's like riding my bike to St. Louis), and a 26.2 mile run. She finished with a time of 13 hours, 18 minutes, 54 seconds. WOW!!! Can you imagine exercising for 13 hours? Now, you might assume that since she accomplished this there wouldn't be anything more to do. Wrong!! She has qualified for the Boston Marathon and will start training for that soon. The advantage to this one is that it is "only" a 26.2 mile run. A piece of cake for her. Lacy's family joined her husband and kids to cheer her on while we stayed home to 'hold down the fort'. While they were away we did chores on their farm. All of the kids help us with cattle. Alana loves to ride in the tractor. Ethan drives the kubota all by himself (with Daddy in the passenger seat)! Brianna helps me scoop feed and Justin observes, for now. It won't be long and he will be out there with the rest of us. Chores took us a little longer than planned this time. We arrived to find a newborn calf on the ground. His mama was a heifer so she was new to the whole idea of letting her calf nurse. Every time he would try to nurse she would turn around to lick it. So, we had no choice but to put her in the barn. That idea sounds pretty simple doesn't it? Well, this cow had other plans. After several attempts, we convinced her that she had no other option but to do what we wanted. Then comes the task of getting the calf to the barn. You might think you could get a newborn calf to go wherever you wish. Wrong again!! They are very strong and also have 4 anchors in the ground. So you might as well get the wheelbarrow and save yourself a lot of time. We also had another mama cow ready to have her calf. As I watched her, I could plainly see she was going to need some help. Lacy and I used a calf puller and, after much strain, pulled the calf out. It was a BIG bull calf. I have to be honest, this is my favorite part of working with cattle. I think the kids enjoy it too.
After we finished chores, we came home for lunch. I checked the chickens prior to chores and noticed they were pecking each other. I thought we could take care of them when we got home. Well, it was too late for three of them. The layers pecked to death three of our broilers. We thought that it was because we hadn't moved our portable pen in a few days. Could it be that easy? This morning when I checked them, they were pecking another broiler. He was in bad shape. The layers are the culprits. Lacy and I built a partition to divide the pen in half. We put the broilers on one side and the layers on the other. We also changed the layer's feed in case they are lacking some type of nutrients that is causing them to pick. If that doesn't work, we have heard that you can put Ben-gay on the injured chicken so the others won't peck at them. I really have no desire to do this so we'll hope that separating them fixes the problem. I'll keep you posted.
Despite the challenges with the animals, we have had a very enjoyable weekend. The best part is being together as a family. I am thankful for the chance to watch my children grow into little people. It is so easy to get caught up in the business of our lives and forget why we are here. Our children are the most important things in this ol' world. Everything else doesn't really matter. My desire is to teach them what is right so that one day they will have true fellowship with the Holy Father.
That's all for today. So as Brianna likes to say, TTFN, "Ta-Ta for now".
After we finished chores, we came home for lunch. I checked the chickens prior to chores and noticed they were pecking each other. I thought we could take care of them when we got home. Well, it was too late for three of them. The layers pecked to death three of our broilers. We thought that it was because we hadn't moved our portable pen in a few days. Could it be that easy? This morning when I checked them, they were pecking another broiler. He was in bad shape. The layers are the culprits. Lacy and I built a partition to divide the pen in half. We put the broilers on one side and the layers on the other. We also changed the layer's feed in case they are lacking some type of nutrients that is causing them to pick. If that doesn't work, we have heard that you can put Ben-gay on the injured chicken so the others won't peck at them. I really have no desire to do this so we'll hope that separating them fixes the problem. I'll keep you posted.
Despite the challenges with the animals, we have had a very enjoyable weekend. The best part is being together as a family. I am thankful for the chance to watch my children grow into little people. It is so easy to get caught up in the business of our lives and forget why we are here. Our children are the most important things in this ol' world. Everything else doesn't really matter. My desire is to teach them what is right so that one day they will have true fellowship with the Holy Father.
That's all for today. So as Brianna likes to say, TTFN, "Ta-Ta for now".
