This week on the farm...

We've had some fun and some not so fun days. Ali's 5-yr-old sister Grace came home with us Monday night. One minute they are so loving and kind to one another; the next, I want to shoot them! Fortunately, they've both had more fun than grief. They had planned on swimming non-stop, but the unseasonably cool weather dropped the bomb on that.

We did make it down the bike path today. It was Gracie's first time. Usually, that's an activity we save for the older girls. It's hard for the toddler bikes to crank out the necessary RPMs. Plus we have to go out on the highway to get to it because there is no bridge over the creek that cuts the woods in half between the house and the bike path. It's almost a half-mile trek round trip to get to the road and back down our gravel lane. They found a creature (dead butterfly) to take back and show Papaw.

Our big discovery this week is that the big sitting rock in the iris bed makes a perfect stage for impromptu performances! All you need is a push broom to amplify your voice and a sister with a couple of garden stakes to keep the rhythm.

Mommy came and got Ali tonight to give her a hand preparing for tomorrow. They are having a BBQ to celebrate Gracie's birthday (officially last Sunday) and the 4th.

Last week we had so much hot, dry weather. It was great for the farmers trying to get in their hay. Not so for us. We buy most of our hay from a neighbor two parcels over. He had arranged for the same guy to cut it that cuts the field beside us. Apparently, there was a communication problem because they only cut the field beside us. The guy finally returned our neighbors call and said he would cut & bail this week depending on the weather. I think he meant, "If it's too bad to do anything else... "

The weatherman forecasted rain. He didn't use the words slight, scattered, spotty, chance... He said there would be rain. So the guy comes and cuts the hay. Now the hay is raked into wet piles on the ground. This is not good. For you that are not country folk, would you leave your wet laundry in a heap? It molds.

It sprinkled some this morning, but I think we may be in luck. The guy turned it over to let it dry some more, and they may be able to bail it Saturday. I'm hoping they didn't ruin the hay. We won't buy wet or moldy hay. Barn fires are serious business and horses can't eat moldy hay. But even if they salvage the crop, it's still a bummer for me... Saturday, I was going to go pick up Maggie!

Even though I'm sad for my friend having to give her up, I am getting excited to have her back. Since neither my friend nor I had anything planned for the 4th, Hubby and I were going to drive up that morning to pick her up. If they bail the hay Saturday, we have to stay home and get it in the barn. I could take the trailer myself, (they probably wouldn't miss me in the barn) but hubby will probably need his truck to pull a hay wagon. So everything's up in the air!

Our horses were due for their farrier visit last week. Hubby's gelding has drier hoofs than my mare's, and we've had trouble in the past with them cracking. It was a long battle to get ahead of the problem, but finally his feet were looking terrific. Then our farrier got hurt. He called last week, the day of the appointment, to tell me that he would call back later. His back went out and he was headed to a chiropractor. Well, that was last week. We've heard he's working, but he hasn't returned our calls. And now Buddy's hooves are looking ugly. So far it's just chips and surface cracks, but if we don't get something done soon, we'll have to start all over.

That about sums up the week... Oh, except for the chick report: Nothing to report. The big green yonder is still far too threatening to venture out from the coop. Maybe tomorrow...