A "Chevy Chase" Vacation

Our yearly vacation was not going to happen this year.  Normally we take the RV and camp on my father-in-laws property located between Cheyenne and Laramie in Wyoming for a couple weeks.  

This year we made a last minute decision to go for the weekend and make it a quick trip.  We didn't take the RV, due to the additional gas expense and time in preparing it for the trip.  Instead we packed suit cases and a cooler for drinks in the back of our jeep and headed west.  No reservations to stay anywhere nor did we have any idea where we were going to stay.  My husband's way of traveling.  Not mine!  He could easily live like a gypsy.

It was an interesting trip to say the least.  We had an extremely hard time finding lodging.  We joked that it was our "National Lampoon/ Chevy Chase" vacation.  Yep, we saw it, back in the car and on the road again. 

The first night we were able to find a motel.  However, the bedding hadn't been changed.  The sheets were wrinkled not to mention the hair in the beds.  It was disgusting.  We were moved to another room.  The second night we ended up staying in a dive of a motel even worse than the first.  We wore flip flops in the shower if that gives you any idea how nasty it was.  To top it all off the third night we could not find any place to stay,.  We opted to start driving home and sleep in the vehicle.  Not the best time but we were glad we went.  We were very happy to be home and sleep in our own bed once again.  Not to mention a clean place where we could cook our own food.  Those are the things I missed most about not taking the RV. 

My father-in-laws property is actually the old ghost town of Sherman, Wyoming.  There is a lot of interesting history in the area.  Very little of the town remains.  There is still a cemetery with one grave marker.  Most of the bodies were moved as indicated on the stone.

The property is located adjacent to the Ames Monument. 

We enjoy the peace and quiet along with getting away.  We usually haul our dirt bikes along so we can ride the mountain trails and explore into Colorado. 

We always make a point to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days.

On one of our trips we came across this old log home.  Although my goal is to live a more simple life, I don't think I could handle one this simple.

It's a Girl!... I mean GOAT!

Gypsy Rose

  Actually it's both.  Meet Gypsy Rose.  This is my girlfriend's goat.  She was born in February.

Becky and her goat, Gypsy Rose

 Becky's husband came up the the name Gypsy, and her daughter chose the name Rose.  When you look up the term gypsy the definition of one inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life comes up.  This describes Becky herself.  She would like to live unconventionally when compared to most people now days.  Does getting back to a simpler life mean living unconventionally? 

Gypsy Rose and her mama

When Becky first told me her husband was getting her a goat for their anniversary we discussed her bringing it to town for visits.  She wondered how it would do on a car ride.  I told her Barney seemed to love it.  Just put a sheet on one of your seats and you should be good to go. 

What about a diaper?  Would it need one?  I could sew one with my new serger!  Wouldn't that be cute!  And a seat belt.  Should you strap it into the seat so it's safe?  And to think, growing up we didn't have mandatory seat belt laws.  We were allowed to roll around in the back seat without being restrained.  Mom's arm was our seat belt.  If she was making a sudden stop, up would come the arm.  It became habit to "catch" us.  Even if we weren't in the front seat with her, the arm would still come up.  Like that was going to save us, yeah right.  Now, if you go around a corner your seat belt almost chokes you because it's in the lock position thinking it needs to brace for something.

Since my friends also live in town, the goat can't be kept at their home.  Our city ordinance will not allow goats unless you have an acre of land.  I don't understand that concept. I think it's a little backwards in thinking. 

A goat makes less noise than a dog.  It won't keep you up all night barking at it's own shadow.  It won't pee on your tires or trees.  It might eat some of your trees, however, if you aren't careful.  Goats are also smaller than some dogs.  What would be the harm of having a small breed in your back yard?  Larger cities allow them.  A pigmy or a nigerian dwarf goat are both small breeds of goats.  Just look how little and cute they can be. 

Many years ago having a goat and chickens in your yard was the norm.  Not only were they pets, they provided you with food.  Now people act as if it's uncivilized to have those types of animals as pets.  However, having a pet snake or rat is acceptable??

In the meantime, Gypsy Rose will stay at her place of birth with her mama and get frequent visits from Becky and her family.  She will get to play with other goats and have lots of room to run around and have fun being a goat.  Becky now has a goat to call her own, after wanting one for so many years.  She will be going to see Gypsy Rose every chance she gets.  She will take her for walks, feed her treats, and spoil her as she would any other pet.

 Did you see the leash they got her to take her for walks?  I thought about getting a leash for my chickens and my husband just laughed at me like I was am crazy.  Don't laugh, they actually make a leash for poultry!  This is just one of them:  http://indoorducks.com/leashes.html

Playtime for the Babies

 I took the little ones outside to play for awhile today.  These little ones are completely different acting than our last two batches.  These babies are very quiet.  The most I hear out of them is what you hear on the video clip.  They rarely cheep.  They are fairly skittish and don't care to be handled.  I will have to break them of that fear.

This was the second time outside.  The first time was yesterday.  They immediately starting eating the small ants on the patio blocks.  They started pecking at the grass and straw the older birds had kicked out of the coop.  The babies were not well received by the older girls.  The older ones are actually afraid of the little ones.  All the little ones wanted to do was get closer to the older birds.  They weren't having it. 

The birds were hatched on Monday and they arrived on Tuesday.  As soon as we got home I took the box out next to the coop and the older birds went crazy hearing the cheeping.  They started pacing back and forth and Red even ran into the coop to get away from them.  They didn't know how to act.  Let alone want anything to do with them.

After taking the birds outside yesterday my husband gave me a hard time when I came inside.  He said the neighbors are going to think I am the crazy chicken lady.  I said I am 44 years old, with braces...do you think I really care?  He laughed. 

I know I have a chicken addiction.  I need to start selling some of their organic eggs to pay for my habit!

My husband won't admit to it publicly, but he likes the chickens too.  He jokes and says he has names for them such as: barbeque, fried chicken, and several others.  He teases me about playing with my food.  He knows we will never eat something we have given a name to, and especially not our chickens.  I get chickens from a friend whose family raises them to cook. ( Thousand Generations Farm ) I don't know them personally, so I have no problem eating them.

Eating ants off the patio blocks

The black one is the smallest but seems to be the leader.  When ever she takes off the others follow her.

Buddies

Amber and Ginger like to stick together

Simply exhausted

Time for a short nap

OK, we are awake again

I Love the Color Green

Dishcloth in progress

I wouldn't say green is my favorite color, but I do like it.  My couch and love seat are both green.  I have green as one of the colors that connect each room in my house.

  I love the outdoors because everything is green.  One of the places we like to vacation is Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The only down side is there isn't enough green! I love looking outside and seeing a green garden and yard. 

There is a lot of green vegetation around our house.  Ferns, lily of the valley, and snow on the mountain, all of which were already planted when we purchased the house.  Thankfully they keep spreading each year.  It's always sad to see them go die off for the winter.  Most of the area then becomes brown and barren. 

Can you believe these are native plants to Iowa!

   Each year I gather the seeds from the Black Eyed Susan plants I have growing and spread them in different places around the yard.  This year they are growing in places I didn't sow seeds.

Picture from 2010

 The same can be said for my heirloom tomatoes.  The seeds I planted this year did not sprout, however, I have several plants that have popped up in various places.  I will get to have some after all.  Some of the plants have been spread through the compost I use to replenish my beds.  Apparently heirloom tomato seeds are not killed off in the compost pile.  I have tomatoes growing in my strawberry bed, flower beds, and all throughout other various garden beds.  I even have plants that have sprouted up next to the chicken coop.  How on earth the seeds made it next to the coop is forever a mystery. 

My New Lounge Chair

I have been dreaming of a comfortable lounge chair for quite some time, but not wanting to spend the money on one. I finally saved up and splurged. I put it together myself and when I finished there were parts left over.  I don’t think that was supposed to happen, however, the directions were lacking immensely!  My son got after me because there were parts left over, but when he went to look at the direction understood why I completed the project the way I did.  He “fixed it” for me, as I knew he would.  Now, if he would have just helped in the first place he wouldn’t have had to fix it, but that’s another story……

As for my new chaise lounge…I love it! I wish I had gotten one years ago.  It’s so comfy you could almost use it as an indoor chair.  Now I can sit outside with the chickens and read in comfort. 

The chairs I had been using for years was the tri-fold type that like to fold up on you when you go to sit down on it.  Similar to this one pictured.  I have ended up with some really nasty bruises over the years from collapsing accidents.  These types of chairs are like

being on a teeter totter the entire time.  If you move too close to one end, the other one goes up in the air.  I get motion sick just thinking about it.  Not to mention the discomfort factor!  The new chair is so cushiony you don’t even feel like you should be sitting outside on it.  I can’t believe the difference. 

The down side, we have a rabbit visit our yard that apparently likes to chew on things.  The other day we caught him chewing on plastic garden fencing.  When we went to look at the fence noticed he had chewed several holes in it.  This is the same rabbit that chewed off my spinach just as I was ready to harvest it.  After putting up the plastic fencing we were putting the cover over the chair to protect it from the elements, my son noticed the rabbit had chewed on the chair covering too.  It can be fixed by sewing; however, it was a little upsetting to see the destruction made by a rabbit.  I may have to invest in a live trap to relocate the critter to a new home at this rate of destruction.