My new child! He’s the one on the left.
My new FAVORITE child! Look at that big smile! Austin is a sailor on Ross’s sub. He came home with Ross this weekend to help Ross get my truck here–and get back to Norfolk. Ross drove my truck here, with Austin following behind in Ross’s new truck, then they went back together in Ross’s truck.
Austin is from Iowa, and he’d never been to a farm before!
Farms are so out of control! Animals everywhere!
I had a great time this weekend feeding my houseful of big boys. Weston was home from WVU, too. Ross and Weston take my home cooking for granted, but Austin was excited and feeding him was fun. I cooked up venison from Ross’s conquest last Thanksgiving, and made stacks of pancakes with homemade maple syrup. Austin had never had homemade maple syrup or homemade butter before. I had apple pie and brownies and homemade ice cream. Austin was so enthusiastic! I told Ross to bring him back!
So, back to the horses….. There’s a section of fence that they pushed down next to the new shelter. I shut the main gates and left them out till Ross was home. I wanted to learn about fixing fence myself, but I wanted help pulling the fence tighter. So we all got to work.
First, Morgan spread the fertilizer.
Then she got a halter on Zip. Shortcake follows Zip. Donkeys are another issue.
Donkeys follow no man.
Morgan: “I HATE PUTTING DONKEYS BACK.”
Finally, we had to get some food involved.
And everyone was back where they belonged!
The sailors took off, back to base.
And I left the main gates shut just in case. And good thing.
Because guess where the horses are this morning?!
Rose H says:
Houdini horses, who’d a thought! 😉
On March 25, 2013 at 9:30 am
prvrbs31gal says:
You tell Ross and Austin that whenever they are hankering for some home cooking, they are more than welcome to drive that new truck 20 minutes south to Chesapeake and I will be happy to feed their faces 🙂 We sponsored two Mids when we were in Annapolis and I loved having enthusiastic eaters at the table!
On March 25, 2013 at 9:48 am
Anita says:
That’s it, Suzanne! Real butter, real maple syrup – FATTEN UP THOSE SAILORS! lol
On March 25, 2013 at 10:01 am
GA_in_GA says:
Looks like those horses are still training you . . . :yes:
On March 25, 2013 at 10:26 am
cabynfevr says:
How I miss the days of my Navy son showing up with buddies to pamper! The fence issue? A single strand of electric would solve the problem 🙂
On March 25, 2013 at 10:27 am
nursemary says:
Wow, they aren’t teaching fence repair at nuclear sub school? Where is our country headed?
Suzanne, as a head’s up, they sell a nice fence puller at Tractor Supply. We only found out ourselves after pulling acres of fence with a T-post, a come-a-long, and a Hummer. That little Shortcake is nuthin’ but trouble. You need to get yourself one!
On March 25, 2013 at 11:06 am
whaledancer says:
I think Austin is a good influence on Ross. Ross is smiling. In a photograph!
On March 25, 2013 at 11:12 am
Old Geezer says:
Coming Soon From McMinn Productions:
“Horses in the Road”
Starring Zip and Shortcake, and featuring many supporting animal players — and a few humans. Look for it wherever farm blog products are sold.
On March 25, 2013 at 11:41 am
mds9 says:
The grass is truly greener.
During the Vietnam war my Grandma would have sailors come for big family dinners. It was fun.
On March 25, 2013 at 12:07 pm
JK Newsome says:
My wife and I are delighted to have gotten our wild young hen “chicken little” in the coop. We knew where she roosted, but no matter what time of night we would try to grab her, she would always be sleeping with one eye open, but sometimes chickens can be as hard to herd as donkeys!!
Our oldest son is in the Navy, he will end a tour on the California on the 27th and start a teaching assignment in Grotten (sp?) for four years. He has fond memories of host families, it is a great thing to do for a kid away from home, on behalf of Navy parents everywhere I thank you 🙂
On March 25, 2013 at 12:12 pm
jodiezoeller says:
Sounds like you had a good weekend. How far is it to drive from Norfolk to there? I googled it and is sounded like 400 miles. A long drive but worth the home cooking I’m sure.
On March 25, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Jen says:
Don’t you love feeding someone else’s kid! I do.
On March 25, 2013 at 3:39 pm
Dghawk says:
I hate it when that happens. It’s really fun at 5:30 in the morning when you are leaving to go to work. I would always stop at the barn to feed my horse on the way out and he would be standing by the front door, like, “Mom, I got out somehow and can’t find my way back in.” So, I’d get the flashlight and put on the muck boots and walk him down. I would get him back in, close the gate, give him his breakfast, grab my mending bucket and walk the fence line to find out how he got out. After a while, I think I had patches on the patches. At least he didn’t go far.
So, Austin is from IOWA and never been on a farm?
On March 25, 2013 at 7:19 pm
UlrikeDG says:
The majority of Iowa is farmland (92%, second only to Nebraska). The majority of Iowans (over 64%) live in urban areas.
On March 26, 2013 at 2:16 am
holstein woman says:
I love feeding scads of folks no matter what age group. If they will eat I will cook.
You need to train those donkeys. When we got our donkey he would run about 50 feet the other way and then come back. Now we give him and the cows bread every so often (almost every day but only a slice or two). Now he and the cows are at the fence to be moved when we come to the gate. We NEVER herd cows or donkey. He doesn’t like mud but walks around it and is FIRST to come through the gate. He is always there first now. Just saying!?
Love your blog.
On March 26, 2013 at 10:35 am
Jane L says:
The horses must be sick of the hay.. your grass is looking good to them. So nice to see the family back and having a good time. Austin must have loved the spoiling!
On March 26, 2013 at 5:23 pm