Earlier this week Tricia had just left for the day when I began to hear the turkeys making this hideous noise. I ignored it for a few minutes but then began to worry that something was bothering them. Right! I head out to find Tricia stood on the path “talking” to several of the males who were around her. It was hilarious. She can make the same chirping/whistling noise as they do & so she would “talk” & they would reply. THEN along comes Daniel telling us there were turkeys on the roof & sure enough there they were along with a rooster. Now chickens are not known for their flying abilities but I guess this one is better than most.

Richard went to see Michael on Thursday. Michael is counting the days! It was 29 then, 31 today. Poor kid was worried that he was going to lose his apartment as the next rent is due but we have stepped in & helped him out. Now you’re probably asking why? Because a) we do feel for him even though he has been more than a little irresponsible & b) we do NOT want him moving back in with us. SO now you’re probably thinking we’re being mean. NOPE! When Michael comes out of jail, his life will not be his own for at least the next two years. The police & probation officers will have the right to check his home unannounced any time of day or night. If he was to move back here that would mean that Richard & I would lose all our rights - no guns, couldn’t even have the brandy that we use to make vanilla essence in the house not to mention the fact that we could be searched at any time. We don’t have anything to hide but I do not want that threat hanging over our heads. We lived with that the first time that Michael got into trouble & they released him saying he would be arrested again later that week. That was AWFUL! Every time the doorbell rang we thought, “This is it!” Richard & I even had dreams of the house being raided. SO it is much better for Michael to be on his own & learning to live by the rules set out for him.

OH & yes jail is not only boring it is also teaching him to gamble! Because they have nothing to do they play alot of Spades. Michael may be a little less smart about some things but he has always been good at Spades so when Richard saw him on Thursday he had won 2 lunches that day. Yes they gamble their food! He did also say that his stomach had really shrunk so he wouldn’t be eating as much when he got out.

The phone cards are so expensive that he has decided not to use those anymore so now we are writing & he is passing any important info via his lawyer - he gets free calls to them. Daniel had sent him some drawings last week & was so excited to get some drawings back from Michael yesterday Michael had drawn him a plane, a digger & the Titanic. Daniel knows more than most adults about the Titanic.

Supposed to be working outside today but it was SO windy here we gave that idea up. When I say windy I mean ‘hard to stand up in’ wind. It was really strong. We did get the top barn cleaned out this morning but that was it. Spent all day working on my computer which turned out to be a blessing as I got a lot accomplished.

Enjoy your Sunday,

Liz

Happy Tuesday to you! When we took a walk the other day Daniel, being the lovely child that he is, picked up a cow pie & threw it in the river. OK so it was a dried up one but still…. Razz looked at it for a few seconds & then decided it was too much of a temptation as it continued to float so he went in after it.

A little cooler here today, 40 with a stiff breeze so when we took our walk this afternoon not even the dogs went swimming. They put their feet in & paddled but that was it. As we came up over the bank the kids noticed the pile of bones for the first time. A cow had died earlier in the year (not one of ours but one that spends the summer here or would have done!) & of course by now all that is left is a small amount of hide & some bones. The coyotes & foxes etc have eaten it clean. Daniel & Hannah were very excited to find the skull & bottom jaw! I know - gross but that’s kids. Daniel instructed Hannah to carry the two jaw pieces & he carried the skull proudly up the field. You should have heard Hannah scream when Razz stole one of her jaw pieces. We were up by the hay bales so Razz went in through the gate. Hannah climbed in after him just screaming at him. He gave it  back. Of course they had to show Richard the moment they walked in & unbeknown to me he was on the phone to one of our artists! What a distraction! D&H wanted to bring the bones in the house but I put my foot down there so I think they are in the garage. Daniel has wobbly teeth right now so when he realized the cow’s teeth were wobbly he said, “Ready to come out!” LOL!
We hadn’t heard from Michael since Friday & still haven’t BUT Richard did get hold of the lawyer’s assistant today so she caught us up on the latest. Apparently Michael was in court here in Chinook on Monday & nobody knew! The lawyer had a meeting with the judge & prosecutor and was very surprised to see Michael when he walked in. Richard & I are a little annoyed we missed it as we would have liked to have been there to support Michael but nothing we can do. This whole mess is still not sorted out even though the lawyer was hopeful it would be. Right now Michael’s sentencing date is Nov 10th for both crimes - one in the morning & one in the afternoon and unless they can agree on combining the cases between now & then he will get lumped with a permanent felony If the judge here will agree to joining the two cases Michael will get all deferred felonies meaning that if he behaves himself for the next 2-4 years the felonies will get wiped off his record. Of course if he doesn’t then they won’t but we all believe he needs one more chance so please pray that this will be the case. Michael, of course, has done himself no favors by breaking his pre-sentencing. His pod at the jail is in lockdown again, hence no calls. It also means he doesn’t even get to read the newspaper. Richard is going to see him tomorrow so then we should know some more.

Take care,

Liz

If you have never visited one of your kids in jail please do not feel like you have missed out in life! I can assure you, you haven’t! LOL! Michelle, Daniel & I went to visit Michael this afternoon. He had asked us to bring him a Suduko book as this jail has nothing to do at all. Richard & I are seeing that they bore the inmates in the hope that they never want to go back in. I hope it works for Michael! We also needed to get some info to pay his bills for him.

We got there at 3pm so as to not have to wait too long. Sign up is at 3:30pm. We got into see Michael at 5:10pm. He’s doing OK. They had just come out of a lockdown for 48 hours as some of the inmates were causing trouble.  Michael said that one of the guys stole his phone card & used it. The phonecards are really expensive so Michael was not happy & made the guy give him his lunch & dinner! He would have had his breakfast too but was transferred this morning before breakfast was served! Y’know we can laugh/smile at this but to face the reality that our son is actually in this situation is heartbreaking. He is NO wimp so just praying he doesn’t do anything stupid to get his stay extended. He wouldn’t think twice of protecting himself & all that entailed if he needed too!

As we came out I handed the books to the gal behind the screen & asked if she could give them to Michael. She said “No!” I was totally gobsmacked & taken aback so asked why? Her blunt answer was, “Because it’s jail!” I nearly lost it but thankfully didn’t. (In my mind that’s like telling a child, “Because I said so!” - so irksome) These poor folks have to deal with jerks day in & day out so I know their patience must be worn thin. Michael was still in the room so I was able to mouth to him that he couldn’t have them. He asked the guard & she explained to him why - of course we couldn’t hear that so now we have two more puzzle books home here to do.

His sentencing date of Nov 2nd has been postponed but they are hoping for the 6th but we will not find out until the end of next week. Not holding my breath.
That was my day - have to admit I’ve had better but it’s good to be home & things could be a whole lot worse so will continue to count my blessings.

Take care,

Liz

Hi all,

The weather today was fabulous! It got up into the 60’s & there was hardly any wind. That is a rare thing here. I had determined yesterday that I was not going to spend all day working on the business. I love the business but sometimes it is good to take a break.

Richard took rubbish to the dump this morning & then brought the wood up from the bottom of the yard where we had stacked it last year. He then had to get up on the roof & clean the chimney plus fix a couple tiles etc. In the meantime I played with tomoatoes! LOL!

These are the toms we picked up at the neighnors at least two weeks ago. They were green so I have had them sat on a pallette ripening. Made 26pts of colorful canned tomatoes. I don’t bother to skin them anymore, just chop, heat & fill the jars then put them in a hot water bath for 25 mins. I do add a tsp of lemon juice to each pint to ensure that the acid content is right. Then I marinaded the steaks & got the potatoes in the oven. Whilst Richard was grilling the steaks I hosed out the aviary as all the chickens have been moved to the proper pens now. The hose is now put away for winter.

Michelle cleaned out four of the turkey & chicken pens plus stacked wood so she was ready for a shower when she came in
This afternoon took a leisurely walk to the river & back - it was SO nice down there. After tea we all watched Jungle Book which was a treat as the kids do not watch TV very much - maybe once a week if that. Worked a little this evening and now it’s time for some shut eye.

Hope you’re having a great weekend,

Liz

Hi folks!

Richard went to visit Michael for the first time yesterday. Someone had asked me earlier if he was in a “real” prison. I have to tell you, that I had no idea the security was so strict here. Michael is in bright orange prison uniform. Richard could only talk to him through a telephone with a glass wall between them. If we give Michael any books, they can be soft cover only & whatever goes in does NOT come back out. Richard had 20 mins to talk to him & then the phone’s clicked off.

This jail has no work for the inmates to do so they are BORED! BUT we are glad - hopefully this will help Michael get the message. The reason he didn’t call us when arrested is because he had hoped to get out in a couple days & never tell us! After that he has not had access to a phone because he is in the permanent side of the jail.

God is faithful though:) Before Richard went to see Michael he went up to where he worked. The manager said that normally once people do this kind of thing they kick them out but he wanted Richard to tell Michael that they were holding his job open for him &  want him back! What a miracle!

Michael has given his lawyer permission to tell us everything so now we are a little more in the know & in fact will be Michael’s & their messenger. This is still a complicated mess because of the newest charge. Will this kid learn through this? We hope so but are honestly not holding our breath! However we are feeling a lot less stressed which is a blessing. (Last week was HORRID!) All we can do now is pray & continue to be here to support Michael as best we can. He has one more chance to get things right

What is this?

I told Hannah to go sit by the slide so she went & plonked herself down right on the wet snow! A cute pic though

Couldn’t understand why it was so dark when we woke up this morning. Pulled up the blinds to discover snow on the ground & still falling.  I think this is the earliest we have seen snow here in the 6 years we have been here. It snowed until early afternoon & then the temps rose to 50! The paths are clear but there is still snow on the ground.

Richard is headed back to see Michael tomorrow to pass on all the latest from the lawyer & take him a couple books.
Hope you’re all having a great week ,

Liz

Yes it’s a little on the chilly side here in northern Montana. I think we did get to 32 today for a short while but it was a dull day. We saw our first snowflakes on our way to Great Falls on Wednesday & came back to some on Thursday evening. Been a few today also but nothing major - none on the ground.

We had a good trip - spent the first day going to all the thrift stores - got a few bits & some clothes for Hannah. On Thursday we hit the Antique stores. That was quite interesting with Daniel & Hannah in tow BUT they did well & nothing got broken The trailer has now got a new bottom which should last a long time.

Friday was a crazy day, catching up after 2 days away. We had found out on Thursday that Michael’s sentencing was postponed to Nov 2nd so I tried to get through to the lawyer’s office yesterday to see if I could find out any more info but no one was around. That little “stinkbag” (or I should say BIG stinkbag) Michael has still not been in touch so by this morning I was pretty stressed out as no one has heard from him since Tuesday. Now of course he may not be able to call but …..

We did find a little more info out from the guy he shares his apartment with as he had been to see him on Tuesday. Once again Michael has been mixing with the wrong people. He apparently went to a party late last Saturday night at a house of an old drinking buddy. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! Two of the conditions of his pre-sentencing parole were that he be in by 10pm & to not only NOT drink alcohol but he was/is not allowed anywhere near it so he should not have gone to that party! Alcohol is poison to Michael & I honestly believe he is going to be one of those people that will never be able to touch it even when he is legally of age. He told us way back that he knows he has to stay away from it. He has no more chances with the legal system here folks so please pray that he gets himself sorted out. Once he is sentenced & let out of jail again he will HAVE to stay clean or the consequences will be dire.

Anyways back to my stressing - I did feel better after talking with Shane but obviously would like to be talking with Michael. Richard will go see him on Tuesday & also make sure all his mail is in order etc. We are hoping to be able to give him some of his books also but not sure if that will be allowed.

I spent today cleaning the stock room - what a lovely job! It looks much better. Our first load of hay came this morning - about 9 tons! We have two more loads to come.

Because we were completely out they also had to bring this pick up load as a back stop. This got unloaded first in a wall formation so that when the main load was lifted & slid off the truck it wouldn’t all collapse into a hideous mess. We will get this first load moved into the barn before bar the “wall” so that the next load can be dumped in the same place.

Tulip is very happy to be eating Alfalfa hay again. She has a lump on one of her quarters - the one that she hurt in her escapades a few weeks ago. I was hoping it was just some left over swelling that would go down over time but it has grown in the last few days to the size of a golf ball so she will have to take a visit to the vets on Monday.

Richard has been sorting all the waterers out today. With these cold temps it was time to  put heat tape on all the faucets & heaters in the water bowls so that the animals always have water to drink. Got to clean the chimney next week so that we can get the fire running again.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend,

Liz

Well it’s been another eventful day here on the farm. Some folks have said it’s like watching their daily soap opera! LOL!

The day started with us having to do some fencing. Cinco, (remember him?) had broken down some fence in the top right corner of the pasture & I think Daffodil & Chuck had jumped it once or twice also. We’d pulled it up a little but never truly fixed it. Well Barbecue is very close to his mama & doesn’t appreciate us depriving him of her overnight so last night he jumped the fence meaning we got no milk! it was about a 40′ length so we tore it down & put up fresh - that should stop the little beggar.

The day went on as normal until we got a phone call early afternoon from Michael’s boss that he works for on a Tuesday asking us if we had heard from Michael. We had not but were expecting to see him later tonight as he always stops in on a Tuesday & Daniel was looking forward to playing with him. Sadly Richard & I knew instinctively where Michael was. Yes, he is back in jail - has been there since the early hours of Sunday morning & NO he has not called us. We do not know the full story but know enough to know that he is in some more deep water! He has broken the conditions of his pre-sentencing agreement so will not be allowed out of jail until his sentencing date. That is supposed to be this Friday but could be postponed - we will not know until Friday morning. His lawyer’s office is doing everything & more to help Michael - we just hope he “wakes” up SOON.

Liz

For some of you it’s Tuesday already but I thought I would just drop in & say “Hi” before heading for some sleep. Got a busy week ahead. We have to take the stock trailer to Great Falls on Wednesday to have the floor sprayed with that Rhino stuff. Right now it is just wood floors & those will rot over time if we don’t preserve them. Richard has sealed the underpart but getting it sprayed wasn’t much more expensive than putting mats down & mats always move & let the muck seep through. This way it will be completely sealed & come up about 6″ on the sides. It is an overnight job so we will stay down there & come home on Thursday. Hannah is desperate for clothes - she has grown a lot over the summer so we will do some shopping whilst there. It also means we get to eat Chinese! YEAH!

They are forecasting snow showers for Wednesday so that might be interesting. Temps are supposed to go down to just above freezing for a high! Ouch!

Our hay should be coming by the end of the week - Tulip will be happy! The grass is pretty sparse now.

Hope you all have a great week,

Liz