Missing Mouse

One morning, I had woken up thinking I would go out into the kitchen to probably find another mouse stuck to a sticky trap.  I was wrong.  I should just stop assuming what my mornings or days will be like because it NEVER is the same as what I am thinking.  I was laying in bed not wanting to get up for the day.  Logan got up and walked out to the kitchen, made coffee, and went into his office.  I finally got out of bed, walked out to the kitchen and I said Logan come here.  So Logan came out of his office, and I said--wasn't there a sticky trap right there by the oven? (This was before I had lined all the traps up.)  Uhh yeah...there was a sticky trap there.  We looked all around the kitchen, behind the garbage can and everywhere we could think of...no mouse.  I figured it must have gotten stuck on the sticky trap but 2 of his legs weren't stuck and he crawled his way underneath the oven.

A few mornings later, I woke up and walked out into the kitchen and there was another mouse stuck on a sticky trap.  This time, this mouse had just been caught and was MOVING AROUND on the sticky trying to get off..EWWW!!! (This was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my life...watching a mouse wiggle his body and move around to try and git off..absolutely disgusting!)  I yelled at Logan to hurry up and get out here before he moved underneath the oven too.  He was too slow! The mouse had crawled his way under the oven too!!! So now we had TWO mice, stuck on sticky traps UNDERNEATH THE OVEN!! SICK!!  

This was a Saturday, so Logan was getting ready to go outside for the morning and I was putting some clothes in the washing machine.  I looked over by the oven and I noticed a few mice legs sticking out.  I said QUICK get the mouse before he crawls back under again!! So Logan puts on his work gloves and grabs the legs.  He pulls it out, and here is the mouse that was still kickin' ALONG WITH another sticky with 2 mice on it! So this adventure led to catching 3 mice! SCORE!!

Farm Girl Tip # 16: If you catch a mouse on a sticky and it crawls its way underneath the oven, just wait about 15 minutes for the legs to appear, pull it out, and you will catch 3 mice! 

Sticky Traps

I, being a city girl, have never had to deal with mice before.  Being out on the farm has changed this concept of never dealing with mice.  

With the weather getting colder, the mice decided it would be a great idea to create a home inside a home. (How nice of them...)  We had been capturing mice with sticky traps.  I think the mice created a little nest for themselves underneath the oven that doesn't work, because they always seem to run in and out from underneath the oven.  So I happened to be at Target one day and I knew that we were running low on sticky traps, so I picked up 2 boxes hoping that it would last us the rest of the fall.  I got to Logan's, put the bag of sticky traps on the table and told him that I had bought 2 packs of traps. (12 sticky traps total)  I told him that if we went through all of these sticky traps, we were torching the house.  (Because I am NOT going to live in a house that is infested with mice...even though I think it still is.)  

Logan had a few sticky traps out and about until I made my creation. (I had to make my own because his wasn't catching very many mice!)  I opened one box and dispersed ALL 6 sticky traps around the oven so I would be SURE to catch all of the mice that went in and out from underneath the oven.  Here is what my sticky trap creation looked like:

With these traps all lined up, I was GUARANTEED to catch mice!! (P.S. Do you notice the CARPET  on the kitchen floor--WHO DOES THAT!! --Just saying--)

So my mouse trap stands.  I made supper, cleaned up, and Logan and I were relaxing in the living room watching TV.  I had to get up for some reason to get something, and I had to go through the kitchen.  I walked into the kitchen, turned the light on, and here is what I see:

BOOYAHH!! My sticky trap creation had worked!! I replaced the empty spot with a fresh sticky...that is after LOGAN had to take the mouse sticky trap out to the burn barrel because I WOULDN'T touch it. :)  And needless to say, my creation kept catching mice left and right.  Unfortunately, we didn't go through all 12 sticky traps before winter hit and the mouse population diminished, so we weren't able to torch the place. 

Farm Girl Tip # 15: If your house is infested with mice, the ideal option would be to torch your house, but in reality, you will just have to make your own sticky trap creation that will catch the most mice.

Mouse In The House Round 2

At the end of November, I was just finishing up my junior field experience student teaching.  I had to prepare a lesson for the students, and I decided to do a lesson on adjectives involving the Grinch.  My cooperating teacher was kind enough to let me teach for 4 consecutive days.  The first day I read the kids a story about adjectives and we came up with our own adjectives on the board.  The next day I read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to the students and then I put The Grinch up on the SMARTboard and we came up with adjectives to describe The Grinch.  The next day we talked about and found similes and metaphors in The Grinch song.  Finally, on the last day, the students wrote a story about their day with The Grinch.  This was my last day in the class, and I figured I would surprise the students with Grinch cookies!! (Basically the cookies were green sugar cookies.) The students absolutely LOVED the cookies, and I had about seven 3rd graders come up and ask me for THE RECIPE! (TOO CUTE!!)  But making the cookies was quite the process!

I was at Logan's, and after supper I had started to make the cookies.  I mixed all of the ingredients together and put the cookies on the baking sheet. (Remind you, from my last post, I can only use the small toaster oven, so I have to use a small 8x8 pan that I can only bake 4-5, MAYBE 6 cookies in at a time--which takes FOREVER when you have a whole class to bake for!!)  The baking was going well.  I was popping the cookies in and out of the oven and all was going smooth.  

While waiting for the second to last batch to bake, I was sitting on the couch commenting to Logan that we hadn't seen any mice in the house today.  I spoke too soon!!  I went over to the small oven to take the cookies out.  I opened the oven door, and just as I was about to take the cookies out, I saw something moving around on the floor.  A MOUSEE!! I screamed, ran into the living room, jumped over the couch and stood on the couch.  Logan is sitting in the chair looking at me like what the heck is your problem! I tell him there is a mouse--over by the oven--and I am not going over there until it is gone!!!  So Logan gets up, walks over to the oven, and the mouse is gone.  THANK GOD!!  So I continue to bake my last batch of cookies, paranoid that the mouse will come back and run around by my feet again!! (It's even worse knowing that you saw the mouse, but know it didn't get killed, so you know that it's running around somewhere in your house!!)

Farm Girl Tip # 14:  If you plan on making cookies some evening, BE AWARE of your surroundings--just incase a mouse is running around by your feet!!

Here is a picture of The Grinch cookies I had made for the students.  They absolutely LOVED them!!

Mouse In The House

I found this fall to be a quite interesting one as I found myself to be living with mice.  (SICK!!) Being a city girl, I HATEE mice.  They are disgusting little creatures that creep around everywhere and FREAK ME OUT! (Kind of like snakes)  

One evening, I had brought home a Papa Murphy's pizza to make for supper.  I got home, turned the oven on, and put the pizza in the oven on a timer for 15 min. or so.  This next 20 minutes was probably one of the most disgusting and freaky moments of my life!!

  Logan and I were in the kitchen when all of a sudden Logan sees something run across the floor.  A mouse.  (Yuck!)  This mouse was not just any old mouse...he was a mouse that wanted to play!  He ran out from underneath the oven and over to the entry and hid in the midst of all of the shoes.  Logan quickly got a scoop shovel and told his hired man, Kevin, to come help him with this situation.  While Logan was getting his shovel, the mouse had ran behind the washer and dryer.  He was cornered.  Kevin is on one side of the washer and dryer with his shoes in his hands waiting for him to come out.  Logan is on the other side of the washer and dryer with his scoop shovel waiting for him to come out.  And I am standing on a chair in the middle of the kitchen waiting for him to come out.  The mouse really wanted to play...he kept poking his head out from one side to see if he could sneak out, but he realized that he was surrounded with "weapons".  (If thats what you call a shoe, a scoop shovel, and a girl standing on a chair.)  

Kevin finds a dog toy and throws it behind the washer to get the mouse to come out....and he sure did.  I am standing on the chair screaming while Kevin is throwing his shoe and Logan is banging the shovel around.  Well, the mouse got away from them and went down the hallway and into the bathroom.  Kevin quickly closes the door behind the mouse.  (Meanwhile, remember the pizza is still cooking.)  Now the mouse is stuck in the bathroom.  So Logan sneaks into the bathroom with his shovel and is going to get the mouse out and kill him with the shovel.  Me, knowing all about mice, suggest they put a towel under the door so the mouse can't get out.  (Good idea farm girl Megan!!) All we hear is Logan complaining because the mouse is behind the toilet and he cant get him out.  So Kevin goes into the bathroom as the mouse killer assistant.  Kevin gets the mouse out from behind the toilet and all I can hear is a big bang.  Lookie there--the mouse is no longer with us.  So they scoop the mouse up and haul it outside to the burn barrel. 

Now, you would think that this would be the end to the story, but ohhh are you wrong.  Not around this place!!

So as the boys are trying to kill the mouse, I take the pizza out of the oven and shut it off.  Once the boys have conquered playing hide and go seek with the mouse, they come out of the bathroom and we are all standing in the kitchen laughing about what had just happened.  All of a sudden, we hear this noise that sounded like something was going to blow up...zzzzzzzzzz.  And we all look over at the oven to see a blast of white light shining out from the window of the oven.  Kevin goes over to the oven, Logan kind of just stands there, and I am running for the door. (I thought the oven was going to blow up!!)  Turns out, a coil in the oven had shorted or something and pretty much scared the daylights out of me.  Ohh, and it destroyed the oven.  You open the oven door and it looks like it has been charcoaled as it is all white and does NOT work.  

So now, I find myself using a little toaster oven to make everything in-- which is NOT COOL because a 9x13 pan does not fit in there.  Just imagine yourself NEVER being able to make something in a 9x13 pan. If you have an oven that works...consider yourself lucky!!

Here is my charcoaled oven that doesn't work.  You can kind of see that the racks are white....It really is terrible!  Especially since I saw my life flash before me in those few moments I thought the thing was going to blow up.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of us in action trying to get the mouse.  I wish I did, especially to show all of you, because it really was hilarious as it was 3 to 1 against the mouse!

Farm Girl Tip # 12: If you live with mice, just stand on a chair in the middle of the floor because the mouse will die.  

Farm Girl Tip # 13: If you bake a pizza in an oven, BE CAREFUL! You never know when the oven will turn against you.

Getting Stuck

Yesterday morning I found myself to be catching up on some much procrastinated homework.  I was in deep thoughts writing a paper when Logan comes in the house and says I need your help...I got stuck.  Ugh--ok.  So this time I didn't have my fashion boots to wear with my sweats, so I put on my cowgirl boots and went outside.  (Thats a realll cute combination if you haven't tried it--sweats and cowgirl boots!!)  We drive over to the hay yard and here is a pickup hooked to a flatbed that was frozen and stuck to the ground.  So Logan backs his pickup up to the other pickup and tries to pull it out--doesn't work.  So I stand out in the hay yard while Logan goes to get a tractor.  He comes back, hooks it up and gets it pulled out.  I am in the pickup that is being pulled and I see that we have to go up thru the ditch to get out. (where it is packed with snow--not plowed out!!)  So Logan is pulling me, and according to Logan I turned the steering wheel and I shouldn't have touched it so I made us even more stuck. --HAHA!--  I am sitting in the pickup laughing because all I can see is Logan getting madder and madder as I made the pickup get stuck! (Thats because this city girl has never been pulled out of a ditch before!)  So Logan gets out of the tractor and comes over to the pickup and opens the door.  I get lectured because I turned the steering wheel the wrong way and blah blah.  At the end of the lecture I said, hmm sorry--my bad--and then the door shut..I think I made him more mad! :) Logan pulls the pickup the other direction and I make sure NOT to touch the steering wheel and lookie there..we are out of the ditch.

Farm Girl Tip # 11: If you are ever being pulled out of a ditch, DO NOT--i repeat--DO NOT touch the steering wheel!!

(There was supposed to be a picture here, but Logan dismantled the "rig" before I could snap one!!)

Tags

A few months ago, Logan informs me that after supper WE (key word here...WE) need to write out numbers on ear tags so they are all ready to go for the next day when the work cattle.  So I make supper, we eat, and I clean up.  While I am cleaning up the kitchen, Logan parks himself in his office..I'm sure he is just pretending to work on something so that I think that he is busy!  I finish up and the ear tags and markers are laying on the table.  I ask Logan if WE are going to get started.  He says yeah--you get a start on it and I will come help you in a few minutes.  Ok--so I get started on writing out the numbers on the ear tags.  Before you know it, I am done with all of the orange ones, (Logan's) so I start on the blue ones (Roger's).  All in the meantime--Logan is still sitting in his office!!  Next thing I know, I am done with ALL OF THE TAGS!! At least they are done, but really?! WE will work on them after supper and who finishes them ALL?!!  There needs to be a few pink tags out there for all the hard work I do around here!!

Farm Girl Tip # 9:  If you are going to help make ear tags for the cows, you will end up doing ALL of them...GUARANTEED!

(At least they look nice!! Logan always tells me that you can definitely tell which tags I do and which tags he does when you look at the cows--I think thats a good thing?!)

The Farm Girl Can Drive A Tractor

Two weeks ago we South Dakotans had a nice big snowfall leaving us stuck in our houses for a few days.  Monday, Feb. 11 rolled around and it was a snow day for many including myself! Logan and the hired men had been digging the farm out for the majority of the day while I kicked back and scrapbooked most of the day.  I was in the midst of scrapbooking when I get a call from Logan.  He says--what are you doing?  --Scrap booking. --Well I am out in the field where the cows are and I left the fence unhooked.  I need you to bring the 4-wheeler out and just sit at the end of the fence so the cows don't get out. (Ok whatever--I'll go babysit the cows for you...)  But then he says--well actually, why don't you just bring the tractor out that is connected to the feeder wagon.  I'm like ummm this girl has not the FIRST CLUE to driving a tractor!! (Especially one with a huge wagon on the back of it!!)  He says-- it's really easy to drive..just turn it on, push the clutch in move the lever by the steering wheel.  Then let the clutch out slowly and your on your way.  No hurry to get out here--ok--bye.  --Click.--  Hm, this is nice.  I guess I will go out to the tractor and if I can't go then I guess the cows will be roaming the neighborhood!  

So, being a city girl, I put my furry boots on over my pink sweatpants and meander outside.  I hop up in the tractor, do what Logan had told me to do, and ohhhh myyyyy goshhhhh--I'm actually moving!!!!  I get all excited that this farm girl is ACTUALLY DRIVING A TRACTOR!! (With a big wagon!!)  I'm putt-sing my way down to the field and I take a picture of myself to send to my mom. --She's probably like wowww--what is my daughter getting herself into!  (But I am pretty much freaking out!!)

So I get down to the field and sit at the fence where it is unhooked, because that is what I was told to do.  I look up and ALL of the cows are walking towards me.  I look out into the field and here is Logan standing on the loader tractor flailing his arms in the air for me to keep driving. (This was kind of entertaining to watch--I should have pretended to not see him to keep myself entertained--but then I probably would have gotten into trouble.)  So I continue to putt along into the field, swarmed by cows in every direction.  I get to where I am supposed to stop and the cows are all staring at me like well aren't you going to feed us?! --No, no I am not as a matter of fact!  Logan brings the other tractor over and gets out to take over my spot.  BUT before he is even out of the loader tractor, he already has his phone in his hand ready to take my picture--what a proud proud moment for him!! His city girl can FINALLY drive a tractor!!

Farm Girl Tip # 8:  If you are told to drop what you are doing, get in the tractor and bring it out to the field, even though you've never done it before, you CAN do it! TRUST ME!!

(Look at those city girl pink sweatpants and furry boots--TRUE farm girl right there!)

Calf In The Kitchen

At the end of January we had quite the cold spell around the area.  One of the last days of January, I woke up thinking that it would be a normal morning.  I made myself some coffee, talked to my mom and watched the morning news.  At the time, Logan was outside checking on the heifers for any new calves.  I left the kitchen for a few moments to grab something out of the bedroom.  As I am walking down the hallway to go back into the kitchen, the door flies open and here is Logan with a calf in his arms.  I am like what the heck is going on?! Logan lays the calf on the floor of the kitchen and tells me I need to find some blankets..so being the nice farm girl I am..I search the house for old blankets---lucky enough to find one!!  I lay the blanket over the calf and pull in a heater to warm up the calf--who is frozen by the way. :( poor guy! Logan then gives the calf some medicine to try to boost his system (or something).  Then, Logan goes back outside to do chores and leaves ME IN CHARGE OF THE CALF!! --Because I am the FIRST person you should trust with your frozen calf i guess?  So while Logan is outside feeding, I get to play mommy/nurse and babysit/take care of this calf ON MY KITCHEN FLOOR!!! About 30 min later, Logan came back inside and decided to take the calf to the hot box to keep him warm.  I had to go to class, but ended up texting Logan later to see how "my baby" was doing.  The poor guy didn't last long since he was frozen and never warmed up. Poor guy!

Farm Girl Tip # 7: If you expect your mornings to be normal, you are wrong.  If there is a calf laying on your kitchen floor--don't panic--you will just have to play calf mommy all morning long.

Playing Cow Doctor

On Feb. 16, I had planned my night to consist of eating in Brentford, visiting in town for a while, coming home and going to bed.  I guess during calving season, you can never plan your nights ahead! Logan and I got home that night about 11:00.  We came inside the house, I was getting ready for bed and Logan went into the other room to check the cameras.  He came into the room and said you might have to come out and help me in a little bit, as it looked like a heifer had been pushing for a while.  About 5 min later we were outside.  The leg of the calf was caught back and we had to get her into the other barn to pull the leg back and get the calf out.  --With me being un-farm girl material, I am pretty proud of this whole next part--

Once we got the heifer into the barn, we had a few complications getting her in the head gate, but eventually it happened.  Logan played doctor and tried to get the calfs leg the right way while my job was to hold the tail--pretty important! :)  In the meantime Roger (Logan's dad) was on his way down to help out.  Good thing because we needed his help! Once Roger got here, we got the leg back to where it was supposed to be and the next job was to pull the calf.  In the midst of Roger and Logan trying to pull the calf, I was still holding the tail--Roger even told me to keep holding the tail out of the way, so I must have been a pretty good tail holder!! :)  Time passed, the calf didn't come out, and the mom laid down on the ground.  This was it--time to go to the vet in Groton for an EMERGENCY C-SECTION! (Again, not what I had planned for the evening.)  We got into the pickup at about midnight and drove up to Groton.

Once we got to the vet, my tail holding duties were over.  The vet got the heifer prepared for the c-section and then began operating.  I started watching this process as I have never seen it done before.  Once the vet cut into her and I started to see the lining and blood squirting everywhere, I found myself to become light headed.  I backed away and looked at the floor until the operation was over.  Logan had told me later that he was glad that I did that because he did not want me passed out on the vets floor. (Obviously!)

This heifer had delivered a 125 lb calf!! HOLY COW--FOR REAL!! The Dr. stitched the mom all up and put her and the calf back into the trailer and we were on our way back home at 1 AM.  On the ride home, Logan kept commenting that he wished he had a sled for the calf so he wouldn't have to carry it all the way to the barn.  Me, being the farm girl in training, asked if he had a tarp.  That way we could put the calf on the tarp and drag it to the barn.  Oooo good idea farm girl Megan!!  

So we got home, I went to get the tarp while Logan backed the trailer up to the ally way.  I brought the tarp to the trailer and lookie there--there were handles on the tarp for easy dragging!!  We put the calf on the tarp and started dragging her to the barn.  We got halfway down the ally way and I suggested to Logan that he go get the mom and I will finish dragging the calf into the barn--ok.  So I continue to drag the calf and Logan just stands behind me.  I turn to him and say uhh what are you doing? The mom is up in front of me.  He says well you have to get the calf in the barn first. Ok, so I keep dragging.  I go a little farther and the mom is staring me down.  I stop and am about ready to jump the fence or run away.  The mom starts running towards me and then turns and goes by Logan.  (I just about DIED there!)  So I finish dragging the calf allllll the way to the back of the barn.  (At this point I am out of breath--thats a BIG calf!!) Logan then gets the mom in with the calf, we pen them in and shut the barn down for the night.  And FINALLY at 2 AM I can go to bed!!

Here is the mama we played doctor on and her calf. (I think there should be a PINK ear tag on this calf!!)

Farm Girl Tip # 6: When it is calving season, never plan to just come home and go to bed.  Always plan that you will have to go to the vet for a c-section!!

Calf Sale

Today was the annual calf sale.  This consists of running the calf through the barn, people bidding on and buying them all while I sit and watch this happen.  Definitely something this girl doesn't see everyday!

Farm Girl Tip # 5: If you go watch a calf sale or sell your own calves, make sure you are prepared to smell like cow/sale barn for the rest of the day!!

Magazine Model

Every year Logan always goes to the Kappes bull sale in Aberdeen.  Last year I experienced my first bull sale.  This was an experience in itself from the auctioneer to his assistants (this is probably not correct "farm" terms) standing in the aisles.  I found myself watching these guys the majority of the sale.  When someone would bid, these guys would yell haaaaaaaaa and turn around and point to the auctioneer.  This was definitely something I have never ever experienced before.

I came home a few weeks ago and Logan was looking through the Kappes sale magazine.  He looks at me and says, I bet you never thought you would be in a bull sale magazine before.  I looked at him with a funny face and said no?  He turns to a page, and here I am sitting next to Logan during the sale.  Lets just say--I am a star!!

Farm Girl Tip # 4: If you ever want to be in a magazine, just go to a bull sale!

(This is a terrible quality picture, but there I am next to the black arrow--I am in the red sweatshirt!)

Student Teaching

In November, I started student teaching at Northwestern School in Mellette. (Where Logan went to school)  On my first day, I walked into the classroom thinking this would be like elementary classrooms in Watertown, and boy was I wrong.  The teacher introduced me to the class saying I was going to be in the classroom for a few weeks student teaching.  She suggested the class go around the room and have the students introduce themselves and say one thing that they like to do when they are not in school.  We went around the room and the students did as they were told.  Here are some of the responses I got:

Im ___ and I like to work on the farm with my dad.

Im ____ and I like to like to work on the farm and drive tractor.

Im ___ and I like to be out with the cows and help out on the farm.

Let me remind you that out of the 22 students in the class about 15 of them were wearing cowboy boots! 

Going into the school thinking this was going to be like a classroom in Watertown was the wrong assumption! We city people wear "fashion" shoes and like to hang out with our friends!   

Farm Girl Tip # 3: If you ever go into a small town school system, don't be surprised if many of the students are wearing cowboy boots and like to help their dad out on the farm!!

A Trip To The Meat Market

A few months ago, I volunteered myself to go to the meat market in Mellette to get Logan and I hamburger and a few steaks.  Little did I know that this would be an experience in itself.  I walked in the door and told the lady I was here to pick up some steaks and hamburger.  She rang everything up and gave me two prices.  I kind of looked at her with a funny face and she said that I needed two checks--one for the meat locker and the other for the guy who brought the cow in. WHAT?!! Soo small town! So I went back out to the car to get another check since I needed 2! If this were a meat locker in Watertown, I would have used one type of payment..not out here!

Farm Girl Tip #2: If you ever go get meat from the meat locker, always bring 2 checks--one for the meat locker and the other for the guy who brought the cow in!!

Planting Season

This was my first time EVER being in a tractor planting corn! Something wayyyy new for this girl!! Before I had come out to ride along, I had just gotten done subbing at school.  I was wearing nice sandals, capris and a nice top.  Not thinking any differently, I went out into the field just as I was dressed--with my SANDALS on!! Mistake #1 of my farm girl career.

Farm girl tip #1: Always wear close toed shoes when going out to the field.  Never wear nice shoes or sandals because they WILL get dirty and will take forever to get clean!

The Day I Met a Farmer

Two years ago I met Logan, a handsome, kind and funny guy, but in particular...a farmer.  I never thought having a relationship with a farmer would come with so many experiences.  Growing up in Watertown (which is a city according to the locals around the area), I knew nothing about being on the farm.  After being on the farm for a few years now, I have had many interesting things happen to me that are so much different than living in the city life.  I welcome you to my blog, and hope you enjoy reading my posts going from a city girl to a farm girl!