I'm a walking, talking tick farm

I've scraped so many ticks off my arms, belly, and various unmentionable places that I finally resorted to using insect repellent, as much as I hate the smell of it.  But I only spray my legs as far up as my knees.  I figure most ticks probably hitchhike on me by crawling up my bare feet and legs.  Cliff keeps my walking path through the woods nicely mowed; with the rains we've had lately, the grass and white clover grow fast, but he usually stays ahead of the tall growth.  I've only found a couple of ticks on me since I started using insect repellent.  When I was younger, I didn't think twice about ticks latching onto me; these days, though, we know there are several diseases caused by the little blood-suckers.  Sometimes one of those ticks finds a spot I can't reach, or can't see, and I enlist Cliff's help.  He seems to enjoy this husbandly duty WAY too much.

This is a year when I'm glad we have no cows:  Cattle like to eat white clover, but if that's all they have to eat, they tend to get frothy bloat from it, and bloat can kill a cow.  Horses aren't bothered by bloat as far as I know; but white clover makes them slobber, which doesn't hurt anything but does make them look like they are coming down with rabies, foaming at the mouth.  We've had to call a vet before to pour oil down a tube to the cow's rumen in order to get rid of the foamy froth in the cow's stomach.  Jody was the last of our cows that bloated; she was a black, half Brown Swiss and half Holstein.  I raised her from a three-day-old calf, and she was so tame we didn't call a vet:  I put a halter on her and held the rope loosely while Cliff inserted a tube down her throat and poured vegetable oil down it.  She didn't struggle, just took her medicine and went about her business.

I took an early walk this morning, knowing we were headed for a high in the nineties today.  Gabe and I were out there shortly after six, and were back at the house by 6:40.  After tomorrow, the temps will be lower all week and maybe I can move my walking time back to 9 AM or thereabouts.  The three or four hours until 7 AM are my favorite "me time", although honestly, I have huge hunks of time all day, any day, to do what I want.  I simply love the mornings, with no interruptions.  

I took a few pictures as I walked.  First, some from yesterday, when I went out after Cliff was out of bed.

This looks out into the woods, with sunlight playing on some of the trees.  The woods, in spring and summer, always reminds me of a jungle.   

This is as close as I get to going into the woods.  You can see what a nice, broad path Cliff keeps mowed for Gabe and me.  I think we're going to be seeing more wildlife when we go early in the day:  Yesterday we saw two hen turkeys fly up into the treetops when we surprised them, and today there was a wild duck on the tiny pond; of course he flew away when he saw us.  

The next shots were taken today.

I took this as Gabe and I left the house around 6 this morning.

Yes, that dark object in the pond is a duck.  I had to crop the picture in order to even see him at all.

 That bright, far-off fog in the distance is actually on the other side of the Missouri River.  This is looking north.

And here's our youngest great-granddaughter with Cliff.  We finally got to hold her and make her laugh.  Look at those kissable cheeks!  I was wondering if she would be afraid of us by the time she met us, because she's been sheltering at home with her mom ever since she was born.  I guess she isn't old enough to be scared of people.  I guess that starts somewhere between four to six months.    

In two weeks we have another grandchild coming... a boy.

The grandson has been keeping Cliff busy as they build new fences, but I think it' good for Cliff to have something to do.  Sometimes in winter, it seems like he never gets off the couch, but he really hasn't felt the best for three or four years... not to mention there isn't that much to do outside in winter.  He's feeling somewhat better since starting the asthma meds, although the pulmonologist told him to be patient, because it takes some time before the meds are working well.   

I believe that's all I have.  I've been trying to plot a day trip, but I'm coming up empty handed.  Can't do a day trip to Kansas City because of possible rioting, although KC hasn't been as bad as a lot of the cities.  If nothing else, we may plan a trip to one of the Mennonite/Amish communities.  There wouldn't be a lot of people around on a week day; I am not ready to go into crowds yet.

And now, I'm off to do something useful.  I'll leave you with the video I shared as my "Sunday singing" yesterday.