Another Day At The Farm

I hope you don't get tired of my pictures of horses and cows.  I just love it out here.  We also have some donkeys(which were camera shy today), deer, foxes, coyotes and turkeys.  Oh and there are a couple of farms with goats and mini horses.  I haven't seen the deer, fox or coyotes yet, but hopefully someday I will and hopefully I'll have my camera with me.

This picture here was taken by a friend of Wade's.  I love this picture because this actually happens in this town. 

 These two pictures are the road we live on.  They are both directions as I was standing in the middle of the road in front of the farm.  Nothing but nature.  Oh there are houses and other farms but not real close.

 Diana and Rossi petting Sonny. He's probably the friendliest horse on the farm. He loves attention.

 A closer shot.

 Here's Sonny!

 There is a farm across the road.  They have cows and donkeys.  Isn't she beautiful?

 A couple of the steers.

 These two pictures are of one of the baby cows over there.  I think this one is the cutest.  There are 4 babies and the others are all brown.  And camera shy, lol.

 Close up of one of the steers.

 This is my Molly.  This is where she spends her days (or on the picnic table).  She is just loving being able to stay outside all day if she wants too.  She keeps a lookout for the fox squirrels.  She loves chasing them.

And here she is waiting at the front gate.  She waits there when I go to check the mail and she waited there today while I took pictures of the cows. 

One Month Later

Well we've been moved in a month now and I know some of you have been waiting for pictures.  I have had some problems trying to upload them.  Me and computers, we just don't understand each other, lol.  Anyway, here's some pictures from our new home, in no particular order.  I got them uploaded so I don't want to jinx anything by moving them around.  I will make sure you know what they all are. 

This is a fox squirrel.  We have 6 of them that hang around.  Molly loves to chase them.  There is a tree stump at the bottom of this tree that our landlady said she put her peelings for the wildlife.  Well I put out peelings, salad fixings, old bread.  We get all kinds of birds and the fox squirrels.  This one is eating an apple I put out there.  Isn't he beautiful?!



This is at the "Gathering Place" as I like to call it.  Hubby built me a table for our breakfast nook and refinished some chairs to go with it.  It is now in the house and being used all the time.  This was the best place to take a photo.

This picture is of a cow and her baby.  The man who owns the property across the road from us has cows.  I can see them from my kitchen window, dining room window, breakfast nook and front porch.  I am so blessed with beautiful sights.



This is one of our sunsets.  Beautiful pink.  This dead tree is in the neighbors yard.  We call it the bird tree because it looks like a bird at the top.



Hard to get this picture, but we have these flying this low over the house constantly day and night.  But what an awesome sight this is too.  Some days they take off over the top of us and some days they land.  Guess it depends on the wind/weather.  We are only minutes away from the Orlando International Airport. 



One of the horses on our property.  Don't know her name but Hut calls her Trigger.  She loves to run.  I have video of her running but can't seem to get it uploaded.



I know you've seen this before but I took this picture.  It's the house coming in from the road.  I took it from the end of our driveway.  Home Sweet Home!



Another shot of Trigger.  Isn't she just beautiful?!



The property behind us is restricted so they can't build on it.  But they can let cattle graze.  So this is our view from the Florida Room and back yard.  Like I said earlier, I am blessed with some beautiful sights.



These are two other horses we have on our property.  Hut has named them too, since we don't know their names.  He calls them Buffy and Jody, lol.



This is Sonny.  Yep, that's his real name.  We had thought his name was Sandy but found out his name is really Sonny.  Molly hangs with him when she's not chasing fox squirrels.  They've become best friends.



Not a great shot, but this is from the barn looking at the back of the house.  It's all Florida Room.  And you can see we haven't put up the swingset for the girls yet.  Hopefully soon, like before they graduate from college.  To the left is the Gathering Place.  It's a side patio with tons of seats and tables so everyone can gather there.  My fave place.



We have a neighbor that is a stone's throw away from us.  This is one of his horses, Andy.  His pasture is right next to Sonny's. 



Our next door neighbor also has a Brahma bull that he's raising. 



These are a couple more of the neighbors horses.  Don't know their names.  Such beauty.



I zoomed the camera for this shot.  Across the road where the cows graze is this beautiful guest house.  There is a man-made small lake with an island in the middle, but this sits on the other side of the lake.  We are told that maybe once a year it gets used. 



The front porch.  I call this the "Serene Place".  Only one chair, a rocking chair.  I like sitting out there and watching Mother Nature and thinking and praying, talking to God.



This birdhouse greets our guests when they come in the front door.  It is a Roll Tide Alabama birdhouse our good friend Kevin made for us.  We just love it and this spot on the porch is the perfect place for it.



I'm not a farmer but I'm learning things as I go.  This is a donkey that is out in the pasture with the cows.  We were told that donkeys will keep coyotes away from the cows.  And we do have coyotes and foxes around here.  Foxes eat chickens so no one around here has chickens.  A cow pasture down the street has a goat with the cows.  I think for the same reason as the donkey.



Molly and Bailey way out in the front yard playing. 

This is the name of one of the ranches as you drive into town.  I got such a good laugh out of this.  My kids, who have lived out here for awhile, never noticed the name.  I love that the "S" is a $.

 

I hope you enjoyed these pictures.  You better believe I will be posting more. 

Moving

Wow I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted.  We've been steadily moving into the new house for a couple of weeks.  Who knew how much junk you could accumulate in 10 years????  I'm hoping not to repeat that after this move. :)  Once we get pretty settled I will post some pics of the new place.

Hubby loves it, I love it, the dogs love it, the cats love it, the kids love it and once you see pics I know you'll love it too!

I only have 3 days left at my job here at State Farm.  Then I'll have to find another job closer to the new house.  I have been driving (or Hut's been driving me) to work the last couple of days and it's an hour and 15 minutes one way.  A little too far to drive every day.  For me anyways.

Everyone enjoy your weekend.  I'll be unpacking, fun, fun, fun. 

SWING SET........

I knew when we got approved for the "farmhouse" that I wanted to get a Swing Set for the girls.  And I really, really, really wanted to get them one of the BIG wooden ones, but knew I'd never be able to afford one.  So imagine how excited I was too find one dirt cheap in the Classifieds at work.  

And here it is in all it's glory.  There was a catch, though.  We have to take it apart ourselves and transport it.  No problem, right????  At least I thought it would be no problem.  I am now realizing the me, Hut, Wade and maybe Diana can NOT do this alone. 

Anyone who follows me on FB knows I have lowered myself to BEGGING for some help, but it's falling on deaf ears.  But I have faith that GOD will come through with some help.  I mean, after all, He did find this swing set for the girls, to go in a yard at a house He led us too. 

No matter what happens this weekend, or who shows up to help, I am very excited about this wonderful swingset for the grands.

Oh and if you're not doing anything Saturday????  Why don't you join us, lol.

HEART FELT ACTS

Yes I swiped this from a fellow blogger without permission.  However, I did not swipe the whole blog.  I just loved these ideas and wanted to share them.  I will post the link to the blog where I "borrowed" these ideas at the bottom of the link so you can read the whole blog.  And I know there is only one more day left in January for you to do January's acts, but no harm, no foul if you do them another month.  These are some really good ideas and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  I honestly may not do all of them, but I am going to give it my best shot.

1.  Clean out your closets/kids rooms/etc. and donate to a shelter or worthy cause.
2.  Find a cause in your community to serve for a day or a few hours.  If you have children, take them so they can experience giving as well. 

1.  Bring Flowers to someone
2.  Tell your Child/spouse that you love them every single day for the month.  You can change it up daily to fit your family.

1.  Thank you police or fire department- take them a baked item.
2.  Leave 5 random notes of love or affirmation in different public places.

1.  Forgive Someone.
2.  Send a care package (ex.  military, friend or family member in college, for any friend just because).

1.  Host a cookie exchange.  Examples of how to do this can be found HERE & HERE.
2.  Write a letter to a family member telling them why you love them. (Great for Mother’s Day!)

1.  Start a piggy bank for a cause- maybe even have kids help by doing extra jobs around house/neighborhood to earn money.
2.  Give Affirmation: Offer encouragement freely to your friends, co-workers, and family.  You can always find something positive to say in any situation!

1.  Leave a sweet message or gift to Thank your mail carrier.
2.  Gather up some books that can be donated to a library or Goodwill/Salvation Army.

1.  Pay it forward in a drive thru; you can pay for 1 or 2 cars back. If you have a plan to do this, you could even write a little Pay it Forward note to wish them a great day.
2.  Cook a meal or a dessert for someone.

1.  Buy some Cat and Dog treats that can be donated to a local Animal Shelter.
2.  Leave a generous tip to a server.

1.  Buy a gift card with a value of your choice and choose a random person to give it to.
2.  Send a letter to a friend to let them know you were thinking about them.

 

1.  Organize a Teddy Bear Drive, Coat Drive or Shoe Drive for a local shelter. 
2.  Make a list of appreciation: Make a list for your spouse or significant other highlighting all of the different reasons you appreciate them. (this would be great for a Thanksgiving dinner to share appreciation around the table).

1.  Adopt an Angel (child or senior) to be their Christmas Angel to shower them with gifts from their want/need list.
2.  Bring a treat to a friend, work, church or your favorite Dr’s Office ‘just because’ or to Thank them.

http://www.thejohansonjourney.com/p/heartfelt-acts.html

Soooooo Excited!!!!

I have really been a bad slacker since the first of the year as far as blogging goes.  I read my fave blogs every day and I think to myself that I need to write one too, but it just doesn't happen because, frankly, I've had nothing to blog about.  But today I do!

Hut and I have been looking for a place to live near the kids.  A lady that goes to our church had a beautiful piece of property with a double wide for rent.  We went and looked at it and fell in love with it.  Well we prayed about it, Shelby (the owner) prayed about it and just about everyone we knew prayed about it.  Well all our prayers have been answered.  Shelby contacted the kids to let them know that she has chosen us to be her tenants. 

We won't be moving in until March but that is fine.  Shelby still wants to fix some things that the other tenants has done, even though we told her we'd take care of it.  But she has 4H all through February so she won't be able to take care of anything until the first of March anyways.  So it works out perfectly for everyone involved.  And she has had at least one other inquiry about renting.   Our God is so amazing and he has taught me patience with this.

I only have a couple of internet pictures since I didn't have a camera with me when we went to look at it.  It's 5 acres.  Shelby has horses and cows out on the property.  She will continue to care for them but it's kind of nice having them there.  Shelby also said that early in the morning there are deer on the property.  I can't wait to see that.  Plus I saw a fox squirrel....beautiful.  Once I get settled I'll try to take some photos of them.  Plus we have one neighbor.  Single dad with teenage daughter.  The land behind us is restricted so no one can build.  The land on the other side and across the street is a preserve so no one can build there either. 

The best part is Shelby is okay with us having dogs and cats.  No problem at all.  And the property is totally fenced in so the dogs can have their freedom. 

Here's where my new patience kicks in....I really want it to be March already, lol.  

Here is the view of the front of the house going in the front gate.  The house has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms and a HUGE Florida room on the back of the house. 

Here is an aerial view of the house and property.   You can see the house at the top of the photo. Right behind  the house is a small pull through garage with an attached shed.  Behind that and a little to the right is like a carport that the horse trailer sits under.   At the bottom of the page is the horse barn.  Not in the picture but right behind the barn is the cow pasture.   And the horses each have a pasture down both sides of the house. 

As soon as I get settled I will post a ton more pictures.

Getting Anxious

Hubby is retiring at the end of this month, IF he doesn't need a pacemaker.  We will know more next week.  If he does need a pacemaker, he will work a little while longer so he will still have insurance coverage.  

Whether he needs a pacemaker or not, I will be leaving my job in the middle of March and we will be moving to St. Cloud(FL) to be closer to the kids and grands.  I am sooooo excited I can't hardly stand it. 

I have already started packing non essentials and sorting stuff between yard sale and garbage.  It's slow going for me because of this darn magnet in my butt and the one in my chair, whenever I get home, lol.

But now I have motivation.  Wade may have found us the perfect place.  Hubby wants to move to a trailer in Narcoossee(little redneck town right outside of St. Cloud).  Wade found us a double wide on 5 acres, fenced in.  The lady that owns it goes to our church.  She's okay with the dogs and the yard would be perfect for them.   Hubby's a little nervous about the rent, it is a little steep but I don't think it will be a problem. 

So now I really want to be home packing instead of sitting behind this desk, lol.  I'm ready to go!