Fun Pics - 1

I'm only going to post 1 ugly picture and then I am done with the negative stuff. This is what the pasture looks like after the water dropped. I am still waiting to see if it comes back. I have 50 bales of hay in the loft to use until I figure out what I'm going to do with all these sheep. They have a small area to graze (inside the black fence) for now. If you look beyond that you'll see what use to be corn and wheat. We were able to get out yesterday using our normal route to town and then they closed it today because the road is unstable so we are back to a 45 minute trip to town..but anyway...that is not much of an inconvenience compared to so many others here so I am aggravated with myself when I get aggravated....

It has been interesting talking to people about their experiences during the flood and one lady I spoke with said something that kind of surprised me. I asked her how close the water came to her house and she said...well...it didn't get my landscaping..She was obviously grateful it didn't get into her house but just the fact that she was thinking about her flowers kind of made me laugh. We wait all winter for those first greens of spring and anxiously await those first blooms so yeah..I get it...it didn't get her flowers...how great! So I thought I would share a few blooms of my own..

The kittens are taking a nap here and they now live in the sunroom...because....our new puppy seems to think they are chew toys. Yes...just what I need in the middle of all this flooding and cleanup and 40 mile trips to town...a new puppy. Don't even ask..... His name is Reggie and my son says he is a Labrador Receiver and he is named after his favorite receiver...Reggie Wayne of the Colts. At least he was free...ya right..

The Flood of '08

I'm not sure where to begin. I live 5 miles from 2 rivers. One to my east, one to my west. A levy broke on both within 12 hours of each other. My family is fine, my animals are fine and my home is fine. Many homes in my area are completely gone. I can look out my front door at what use to be a lake with about 20 homes around it. There are only a handful of them left. The picture above is of my pasture. That is as close as it got to my house.

My kids and I got on a boat and left our home last week because all the roads had at least 4 feet of water over them. I rode on a boat through corn fields and under irrigation systems watching propane tanks float by. My husband stayed behind to watch the animals and take care of basically everything. The farmers have lost all their crops.

I was able to come home yesterday when we found a route that is accessible with a 4 wheel drive. Unfortunately, it takes 45 minutes to get to town now instead of 10. I am grateful to be home and I am grateful that I had a home to come home to. I can't stop thinking of all the people who have lost everything.

Unfortunately, I will not have anything for my sheep to eat this summer. The pasture will be gone. I am going to have to get rid of almost all of my sheep. I can keep about 5 in the black fenced area that was not affected. What am I going to do with the other 20 sheep? If you know of anyone who would like to add to their flock...and do it cheaply, please let me know.

This is our normal route to town. The road is gone beneath all that water. It will be some time before we take that route again. We will only be able to go to town once a day so I will be waiting in town for my daughter while she works. I am looking forward to helping with the Red Cross this week to prepare meals for emergency workers at our church.

I've seen the news of all the other areas that are flooded even more than we are. It is just unbelievable how many areas of the country are hurting right now. One thing is for certain; people really come together in a community to help one another when they face a crisis together. Americans are strong and I know each of these communities will overcome whatever they have to in order to get their lives back. These are the times you really understand that the best things in life are not things.

Verse of the week...hope you enjoy

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I'm such a sucker!

So, when my daughter called me from work and said a girl there was trying desperately to get rid of her kittens before her father..um..disposed of them...what could I say? Yes, of course!! Seriously, how do you say no to such cuteness? Kids think it's a big deal that the kittens are free...right! There is no such thing as a free kitten or a free puppy!! One of them will have to be fixed, then there are shots, wormer, flee and tick meds...on and on and on...oh ya and a new screen door!

TA DA...introducing my new Merino ewe lambs! I am very excited to have found these beautiful girls only 2 1/2 hrs from where I live. I plan on crossing them with one of my Shetland rams next Spring for Fall babies. It will be hard to wait that long but the Merinos develop a bit slow and wont be ready to be bred until then. The picture is not great I know but they are still in a stall and there is not very good light in the barn. When I get them out I will get a picture of that unbelievable wool of theirs to show you.

This girl is already begging for animal crackers! They are not as friendly as my Shetlands but not as flighty as I feared either.

I inherited the worry gene from my father and his family. It drove me CRAZY as a kid and now, of course, I am just like him. My kids, you guessed it...hate it. And although I can read this verse over and over and over...well, I still worry. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this weeks verse..

Verse of the week:

Luke 12: 22-

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!"