Family Picture 2009

Merry Christmas, ya'll. We took this in our backyard again. It always seems to be the best backdrop. And I cannot believe it is December so soon again!
Just a quick update. Our fall garden has officially died. After two hard frosts (lower than 32 degrees), the only things still alive are: cabbage, onions, and carrots. We managed to keep many things alive before the first hard frost so we were able to harvest some green beans just in time for Thanksgiving. Jared managed to save a few spaghetti squashes. I was hoping for a butternut to be ready in time for Christmas but they all died. So sad...a great loss with all our tomatoes and pepper plants that perished. Well, there is always next year. It could be a great year with all the rain we have received and continue to be blessed with!
Moo has improved in strides (compared to when we got him). He loves to play. What a free spirit he is! Run, run, run! He has learned how to fetch sticks then proceeds to chew on them. And when Dad comes home it is outdoor play time! Of course, he is still my siamese twin practically. He is the official protector of Mum. He barks and growls if someone is coming to the door.
The cats are still frisky and chubby. Kitty needs to go on a diet. I have been trying to feed her a lot less but it is difficult with another cat in the house. Jared managed to get a mysterious gift at a Christmas party we went to and it ends up that it is none other than a cat toy! They were not too amused with it however.
Jared's work is going well - steady and surely. We figure we are simply so blessed just to have employed in such a turbulent time. And he still is very busy with his present calling as Elders Quorum President. I have stayed quite busy as Relief Society Secretary. What a joy it has been to serve so many and to be side-by-side with such wonderful sisters!
Anyhow, we hope you all have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year blessed with good health, peace, happiness, and true joy!

Crazy Carrot

So we decided to grow a variety of things this past spring in our garden. One of the things Jared wanted to try were carrots. Due to the harsh summer, we figured not much had survived. Not only did the miracle of rain come (through fasting, prayer, God's timing and will) but our garden came to life again. Amazingly enough the carrots were still growing. With all the rain and cooler temps we decided to plant again for the fall. Many of the crops are stilling growing or producing.
However, on one day not long ago, we could see that the top of one of our carrots looked large so Jared uprooted it and this is what we saw! It looks like a giant Momma carrot with a bunch of babies. Jared was hoping to juice it but perhaps it will add some flavor to our next salad.

"Turn Around Don't Drown"

Wednesday night we got 4" of rain out at our place. This made our usually dry creek much more full than normal, then the pipes under the road clogged with debris. I walked the dog before light and could hear somthin a roarin down that way. When a neighbor drove down to the crossing with his headlights on I could see that the level was around 2 ft over the road. I went back to the house grabbed the flashlight and went down into the back woods behind our house to see how high the water was. I did not get far before I saw that the entire woods had been flooded, but the water level was already dropping. This was still 6 ft below our house and 30 ft away. So I had to work from home. The water slowed down enough to get out around 1pm but was still running over the road until that night. Today the creek is running very clear and quick. We have another big storm coming so maybe I will get to stay home another day!

I think I smell bacon...

The little pig that frequented our yard in the fall of 07 decided to make a reappearance. As you can see in the picture he came back in a big way. The first night he tore up all the field grass under the tree. The next night he crossed the line when he went for the nice grass. We laid down long sections of fencing to help protect the rest of the lawn, which stopped him the following night from doing any more damage. I found out that there is no season for these creatures and they can be "exterminated" if need be all year round. He would taste nice in my frying pan...mmmmm...Bacon...

Fender bender

Well, on my way to a doctor's appointment in Northwest Austin on September 8th, I was approaching the freeway. It was my turn to merge with the oncoming traffic. I was just about to turn right to get on the access road to 183 when the guy behind me hit me! I didn't know how to feel but I do remember the first words out of my mouth, "You've got to be kidding me"!
Looking in the side mirror I saw plastic pieces flying in the air! Anyhow, there just happened to be an empty, dirt parking lot right after the turn and I pulled in there (they sell Christmas trees there in the winter). I was hoping this guy wasn't going to just ditch me (hit and run) and made sure that he followed me in.
He got out of his car and was apologizing the whole time and I began to feel bad for him. I knew his day was going badly so far. I asked him if he had insurance and he did. It is the law here to carry car insurance. So that was a plus. My neck and back were fine and he didn't hit me that hard but it did break part of the left tail light, bend the fender and dent my bumper along with scratching some paint off. I did depart from the seen after getting all the information from him and told him to try to have a good day regardless of what had just happened.
So all in all it was a total pain in the behind to have to go get it assessed as far as damage and then get estimates where to take it in to get fixed. The funny thing was that I never even thought to that we could pocket the cash and fix it ourselves! Jared did however. So we ordered a new tail light and the Wonderfully Talented Jared installed that and pushed out all the dents. He surprised me the next day! So at least it doesn't look totally ghetto now. Notice in the first picture the left side kind of mangled in. These are both after Jared removed the bumper to get the dent out.
Not only to mention that a few days before I had received a letter calling for a recall on my airbags that could be faulty. If there had to be an accident, he picked a good spot to hit! God's hand is always there each day. And we got our airbags fixed shortly afterward!

Firewood

So there is an empty lot next door. Well the lot actually is not empty - it is full of trees, poison oak, and weeds. Receiving permission from the owner to cut down the dead oak tree, we preceded with caution as we pulled back the fence. Poison oak was everywhere near that tree. Jared came out with a garbage can, clippers, gloves, and dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and pants. I joined him later, cutting up stumps and thorny vines so we wouldn't trip on them coming out with the branches. And I spotted what I thought was a hairy vine intertwined in the tree. But in all actuality it was poison oak! What a heinous plant! We figure that it must have been created after The Fall.
Anyhow, after clearing all that we felt we were in danger of contacting, we had to figure out just how to get the branches down without killing all of the smaller trees that would grow up to fill in the tree we were taking out. That was a bit adventurous. Jared was cutting and we tied one of the big branches. I was to pull it my way so that it would fall in the "v" of the tree. You would have to have been here to see what I mean. It kinda worked and by the mercy of God, we were safe and no harm befell us. Sadly enough Jared still contracted poison oak...

Chicken food?

Before planting our crop for the fall, Jared noticed that half of a green pepper was gone and thought that that was weird. Then he looked closer at the plant to notice none other than a tomato horn worm. The closer he looked, the more seemed to appear. We found 3 large ones - the length of Jared's fingers. We thought we would attempt to offer them up as a sacrifice to the chickens but they just pecked them once and left them. They must not be very savory. Can you spot the worms?

Fall Garden

Well, we have been busy doing a lot. One of the things we have been working on was planting our seedlings for the fall garden. The rain that we fasted and prayed for as a stake began to come and so did some cooler temperatures (finally sweet relief!). The peas and green beans and squash (pumpkins, etc.) really enjoyed it. They enjoyed it so much that we decided to take our shades down especially because our tomatoes really needed some sunshine. We discovered that some of the cantaloupe and watermelon vines were still alive after cutting off their water supply. So maybe we will have some fall melon! We are excited to hopefully have more fresh vegetables than this horribly hot summer produced for us. This picture is a little outdated now but if you zoom in on it you can see the bean plants next to the remaining tomatoes.

Meep-meep!

This post is dedicated especially to Sister Parkerson. While visiting this last spring she wanted to see a rode-runner. We never saw one while she was here but we have seen them every once in a while ever since, but not near our home. One day out of the blue this one wandered into our yard just as I got home from work. I was able to get quite close to him for about 20 min and get all the pictures I wanted. It just kept catching his dinner and pretty much ignored me most of the time. When I would get too close it fanned out it's black Mohawk which otherwise was completely hidden. It was eating grass hoppers, about 20 in the time I was following him. And of course he never flew, just ran very fast. It was about he height and length of a chicken, just a lot thinner.

Momma-sized!!

This story is to appease the complaint dept aka Nicole Wallace (hee-hee).

So the other night I went out to get the dog some food in the garage(I fill his bowl every evening so he can eat in the morning). I looked down at the ground only to see a huge scorpion near the doorway (it was making its way toward the house!). Not only was it big but it was really fat! Jared attempted to shew it away but it didn't budge so I pick it up with some long tweezer-type things we have and put her in a glass jug we have.
Jared looked at her the next day and said she has egg-like things on her back with legs. She was a momma with her brood! I thought to myself as I do with all arachnids, "I would love to kill her but I will show mercy only because of the babies". Had she been in my house she would have been sent to the spirit world a long time ago either by me or the little mousers (aka the cats). I let her sit in her "prison cell" for a couple of days.
Anyhow, last night I released her into the wild on the other side of our fence into the overgrown, vacant lot. I figured she needed a meal and a new home for her little creatures.

Canner Box

Our ward recently bought a dry pack canner. This was because the previous canner that the stake owned was dropped a couple of times and we had no canner to use for several months while this one was being repaired. The Bishop did not want our canner to be dropped so he wanted to assign the High Priests to making some sort of box to transport the canner in. I wanted to show up the old men so I volunteered to make it. I first added a handle to the top of the canner - this is probably the main reason it is ever dropped - there is no good way to hold it.

I started with the suitcase idea (two wheels that roll and extending handle) and went to work. Three months later this is what I came up with. It was bigger than I wanted but rolls well and will protect the canner from any damage from dropping. Things I wish were different are first, it does not fit into our trunk, second the canner is a bit difficult to get into the box if you are not able to lift 75 lbs up to mid-torso level and twist it 45 degrees while lowering into position. I gave it to our ward canning specialist for a trial run to see how it will perform.

Inspiration was the key to making this box. I had to think about how every thing would be done for hours, then I would work on the box, think some more work some more. The features in the box constrain the canner to be in the right position. If it is not the lid will not close. When the lid is closed it pushes the canner into place.

Handle added and Finished Box


Accessory Storage


Retaining Features and Canner in Position

4th of July

This year we had some friends over to our place to celebrate. We made Jalapeno Pepper Poppers. These are stuffed with a mix of cream cheese, chives, garlic salt Monterrey Jack cheese and all wrapped in bacon and grilled over an open flame. We used the peppers from our garden. They did not last long as you can imagine. The evening was spent watching our drunken neighbors light the good fireworks. After a while the show became more entertaining when the fireworks exploded on the ground and caught the grass on fire. We watched and laughed from our roof with hose in hand as this was repeated almost ten times. Each time they had to stomp out the little grass fires. It was nice not to have to go anywhere for the show, and they are not normally so funny.

Garden Harvest!

Despite all the garden pests and oppressive heat we experienced this year we had some good success. Produce listed in order of greatest success to least: Cantaloupe, Tomatoes, Peppers, Onion, Okra, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Lettuce, beets, Potatoes.

Marginal: Pumpkin, Cabbage, Green Beans, Strawberries, Sunflowers.

Failures: Watermelons, Corn, Peas.

We made a batch of delicious Salsa with some of the Maters and Peppers. We juiced the largest Cantaloupes and froze the juice for latter consumption. You can see that the largest Cantaloupe was 16.5 lbs, the next was 12.5 lbs and the last was 8lbs. We also had a 5 lbs one not shown.

We had trouble fitting them into the fridge.

Below are some of what we got to eat!

Spider Mites

Spider Mites also had their way with our garden this year. They love the heat and well, this year has been hot. They infested our entire garden before I realized what was going on. They were not easy to get rid of but I think I finally won...for now. They infested our tomatoes and cucumbers, which survived for the most part. They killed our zucchini and green beans.

What they did to our tomatoes! Notice the white on top.

What they did to our cukes! Notice the dead zucchini in the background :(

Rotten Blossom Rot!

Our Tomatoes were plagued with blossom rot this year. This was a result of El Nino which brought the heat a little early this year. Some tomato varieties were more affected than others - Big Mama loss was 90%. All gardens in our area were affected.

Snake in the grass

While filling a bird feeder in our backyard I heard a loud hissing. I looked over and saw this little fella. It is called the Texas Cobra or Hog-Nose Snake. He is harmless but gave me quite the scare.
I got a few good pics before I let him depart.

Over in that there creekbed I found a shoshone arrahead

While working in the garden I found these partial arrow heads. Our area was the last camp of the local Indian tribe before they were forced onto a reservation. Lots of neat stuff to find.

Beach-ball Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe is my favorite melon. The way I see it, the bigger the better, so I got some seeds for 10 lb cantaloupe. They start out looking like a football and then inflate with sweet goodness until they reach the size of a beach-ball.

Ornothologists

Well, since moving to Leander we have become quite interested in all the birds in our yard. We have the typical birds like Cardinals, Blue Jays, Sparrows and Chickadees. We even have a woodpecker of some sort but it is not Woody. And yes, we have hummingbirds. Jared knows which kind.
We have placed a feeder right outside one of the living room windows. The cats go bonkers over them.
The best time of the year to spot new birds is in the spring when it has barely started to warm up. Robins, surprising enough, are not common here. They come in the early spring and stick around for a very short time. Last year, however, we eyed a Painted Bunting. My oh my, it is one of the most beautiful, exotic-looking birds I have ever seen with my mortal eyes! I did not get a picture of that, but I did get another type of bunting along with his mate this year. It is called the Indigo Bunting. He is still quite a beauty. The picture isn't the greatest so you will have to click on it to enlarge. It is very difficult to get a picture of these birds because they scare quite easily.

Spring Garden 2009

This year I wanted to get an early start on my garden. Last year our garden got cooked by the summer sun before we got much out of it. I carefully started everything I could in-doors planning to plant everything outside around the second week of March.

From my experience last year I knew I needed to work on the layout of the garden and Improve the type of mulch. I tilled in about a ton of rotted manure after shoveling it into the garden by hand. Then through inspiration I decided to pile the tilled dirt from the isles onto the rows where it would actually be used forming raised rows. These were covered with plastic and dirt on top of that.

The miracle came when I could not find the time to get this fancy design done until after Easter. Work and church callings kept me just busy enough to keep my plants out of the garden. Then came a nasty hail storm that would have pulverized everything in my garden. So that which was so frustrating was a blessing. I even had my garden plants in the flats laid out in the garden, but moved them the night before so I could spray bug killer. My garden was spared because of faithfully fulfilling my calling.

Now my garden is in and growing thanks to the help of the in-laws. The list of garden plants this year is quite long. But for fun I will include it anyway: Peppers, okra, pinto beans, green beans, beets, blackberries, potatoes, sunflowers, cabbage, cantaloupe, watermelon, pumpkin, zucchini, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, corn.

Note: The cantaloupes are supposed to get to 10 lbs. Watermelons and pumpkins over 100lbs.

Raining hail... Ah hail

The end of March we had a severe thunderstorm warning that turned into a tornado watch along with an expected hailstorm. We just got the hailstorm.
It downpoured rain and then it suddenly began throwing down small ice chunks which within minutes turned into marble sized hail. You could hear it hitting the roof and the windows and I became rather worried that it might break a window. Fortunately, it didn't.
Many places around reported golf ball and softball size hail! We were very blessed not to have our windshields damaged or any dents put in our cars. Many cars around had smashed windshields and we saw many "mobile" places or stands where you could file your insurance claim if you were one of the unlucky ones. A co-worker of Jared's had a "totaled" car due to all the hail.
It looks like it snowed here and we are so glad that we had been so busy that our garden was NOT in! We would have nothing to show for all of our hard work.

April showers bring May flowers...

...Well, not quite so here. It warms up all too fast before May. We had a high of 92 the beginning of the month (April 9th) but it has been relatively mild since. I think some of the much needed showers have helped keep temps down but humidity up.
I said I would post a picture once the tulips came up but they did not turn out as spectacular as I had hoped. Apart from that though, I have been wanting a hibiscus plant for some time now (since we moved to Texas actually) so Jared got me one that I had picked out.
I think it is so great that we can grow so many amazing things here. If it were a bit warmer during the winter we could grow my mango and his citrus trees but for now we will settle for peaches, figs, and whatever else will bloom for us.

Emerging of Moo and Our New Family Time

We had Moo evaluated around the middle of last month and he is officially a Heeler a.k.a. Australian Cattle Dog (not a Catahoula like we thought). He has all the markings of one. Sometimes he lightly nudges me in the calves so that is another tell-tale sign. We also wanted to find out if there was hope of a better future for this dog. He is slowing emerging from his shell...
He is FULL of energy! We have let him outside under our supervision and just loves running around. He loves to smell and sniff things.
Moo has gained a lot more confidence because he used to be leary of the chickens and now he loves watching them...we are still trying to correct this instinct. Eventually we hope to teach him some more commands like sit, lay down, etc.
Our new family favorite is at night right before we go to bed. We do our family scripture/Ensign study time on the living room rug and we sit near each other and one of us will toss a treat/doggie cookie to Moo without making any eye contact whatsoever. Of course he will only come so close to Jared, but it is progress. And if he ignores the treat, one of the cats comes to gobble it up. They like the treats too, especially Kitty, the Queen Bee who rules the roost.
The picture is of Moo in one of his "hiding/security places".

Signs of Spring

Sometime this past November, I planted some tulip (red and yellow) and daffodil bulbs in our raised beds. We began to see the blades of some of them coming up and pushing through the soil about a week ago. Within a day or two later we saw buds on one in particular which since have opened up! The rainfall we have been receiving most recently along with warmer temps and humidity has encouraged such. Although tomorrow is supposed to be 80 it will most likely turn cold again before we plant our garden. The only thing we have in right now are the onions.
It is so exciting to see everything slowly come to life again. I think Spring is my favorite season here because there are so many beautiful wildflowers to see before the merciless, hot summer comes along.
Once the tulips come along, I will post more pictures.

Moo

Jared has been wanting to get a dog for some time now. He wanted us to be protected by a guard dog of some sort. We had decided not to get a doberman, rottweiler, or pit bull especially because house insurance will not insure you otherwise. He had his eye set on a bull mastiff. I checked them out(I had never heard of them) and he would tell me all about how great they were. But there was a set back...they were quite pricey.
So we looked on Craig's list. Not much luck there (the puppy that was on there was bought up quickly) and then we looked at the animal shelters and the SPCA. There is a local one about 8 miles from here. We looked at their website and Jared found a dog that was a Catahoula Leopard and Shar Pei mix. His name was Moolatte. What a heathen name!
He was originally a stray and taken in by some lady who does dog rescue stuff. So he lived on a ranch with lots of other dogs and was never socialized with humans other than probably the woman. So during the winter time she ran out of places for the bigger dogs and pleaded with the SPCA to take in some. They agreed and that is where Moo ended up.
We went for about a week or so when the shelter was open to just take him on walks to get used to us but he didn't warm up too much at all.
Finally, on the 17th they granted Jared permission to take the dog home (there was an issue at hand about the dog's fear aggression). The moment we got home Jared opened the back door to the car and he didn't move much. I opened the other side and out he came. Crazy dog loves women! I thought a dog was man's best friend.
Well, he is anything but a guard dog besides the fact that he is still trying not to be afraid of Jared. About each day Jared takes him on walks just so he will eventually warm up to him (we hope). I have to get him to go outside before Jared gets home though otherwise he is too scared to leave his crate.
So for now he is my "shadow" all day long. He follows me everywhere I let him. He likes going on walks but steers clear of the chickens.