Our trip to Ohio Part 1

Back in the middle of July, we went to visit Shane's family in Archbold, Ohio.  It was a 16 hour drive for us, so we broke the traveling into two days.  Shew!  Can you imagine what that was like for the two kiddos? I packed many activities, snacks, movies, video games. They were troopers and did really well for their age. 

Doing an activity book

The day we arrived to Ohio, we attended the Hesterman family reunion.  We walked around and were able to look at old photos that were on display.  I took a few snapshots with my phone of some of my favorite ones.  So the next few pictures will be a photo of a photo :)

Shane's grandpa is the little boy in overalls on the right

These are some of my favorite photographs of Shane's grandpa and his siblings from when they were younger.  The photo above appears to be a merry-go-round with all of the kids seated on it.  The photo below made me chuckle when I saw it.  The boys look to be playing cowboys.  Look closer and you can see a lasso around the neck of one brother while being held a gunpoint.  I rarely ever see kids playing like this these days.  Shane's grandpa had told me of how much he looked up to the cowboys in the movies like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry during his childhood.

At the reunion, they had a map of the United States for us to push a thumbtack for where we traveled from.  I had a little help pointing out our location.  You can see, we were the only Hesterman's from Mississippi.  The concentration of black thumbtacks is close to the part of Ohio where the reunion was held.  As you can see, there are quite a few Hesterman's scattered among the US.

This was a family tree that someone had on display. 

Shane's great-great-grandfather came to the US when he was a child from Germany.  Some of the documents that were on display, were written in German....I couldn't read a word of it.  Shane's grandpa can still speak German.  Although he was born in the United States, he said that he grew up speaking German; German was spoken at home on their farms. They had to start speaking English at home though so they could complete school.  Shane's grandpa was actually held back in the first grade
because he could not speak English.  One summer he said a prayer in German that he remembered reciting as a child.  It was very fascinating to me!  I just wish I could understand it :)

Closer view of Shane's grandpa's side of the tree. 

This photo was taken at the reunion.  Shane's grandpa is seated on the front row.  He is 2nd from the left.  I am so glad that we were able to get the chance to attend this year. 

Also while we were there, we made the trip to Bryan, OH to visit the Spangler candy factory.  They gave a tour, but we weren't allowed to take any photos in the warehouse or where they make the candy.  We actually didn't get to see the candy being made due to regulations, but you could smell a sweet aroma in the warehouse from towers of candy-filled boxes. 

A sign outside

They had a museum inside full of Spangler history.  When I saw these Astro Pops, it took me back to being a kid.  I would be so thrilled on the days that I had "candy store" money because I knew I'd be able to get an Astro Pop.  I'd forgotten about them until I saw this package in the display case.  Shane and I were discussing how sharp of a point it would get if you didn't bit into it.  I guess it was a hazard and they can't make them anymore. 

I saw these on display and couldn't help but thing of how the times have changed.  For starters, you can't buy a pack of candy for 3 cents and you certainly don't see candy displaying the likeness and brand name of cigarettes. 

They even had DUM DUM pop scented candles for sale.

Dillon's favorite

Samples were available everywhere you turned.  Can you tell that a certain someone helped herself to several samplings? 

This is all I have for now, but stay continued.  I have more photos to share of our trip to Ohio.  God bless you all this week.  Have  a good one!

Two Pools.....I Don't Think So!

As the summer heat rages on, I keep suggesting to my dear husband that we need a swimming pool.  After each suggestion, Shane will reply "We already have 2 pools."  After his reply I am usually rolling my eyes at him, because we DO NOT have 2 pools. In the photo below, you will see one of the pools my husband is referring to. 

The cows taking a dip

Now does this look like a swimming pool to you?  I think not!  Our cattle enjoy it very much as you can see in the photos, but I'm afraid I will not find it as refreshing as they do.  This particular "pool" is also home to our last little duck.  Do you know how messy a duck can be?  I learned quickly how messy they are when we decided to put a pool in our back yard and keep them there until they got rid of their downy coat of feathers. I tell you, all they do is constantly poop!  I never got a break from trying to keep that little pool clean.

Of course the cows don't show any "swimming pool etiquette" either.  If they have to go, they surely don't hold it in. 

Don't you want to jump in that lovely water for a swim? I think not.

If you can't tell by this post, I am absolutely, most definitely not going for a swim in our ponds.   Can you blame me?  I plan on continuing to casually mention how much we need a pool, as often as I can :)

Have a great weekend y'all!

A Few Summer Snapshots

Well I haven't been  present in the blogger world very much this summer. I thought I'd share a few snapshots from our summer, that I've happened to capture with my phone.

Shane being the "grill master" for family get-togethers

The kids decided to have a sweet tea stand (we didn't have any lemonade).

I have to mention that we live in an very rural area.  Hardly any traffic comes through our area.  On this particular day, there was quite a bit of traffic.  The kids made a whole $33 at their sweet tea stand.  They also ended up selling Kool Aid too.  At first I thought it would last for a few minutes until they realized there would be no customers.  Boy was I surprised!  They picked the right day to have their stand set up.  I had to end up going inside to make many more pitchers of  sweet tea.  We even ran out of ice.  It was a very busy day. 

Hard workin fellas

We went to my mom's house to pick snap beans several times

One hard-workin girl

I was able to can 21 quarts of snap beans.  This was my first time to do this.

Fence-work on the back 40 is still going on.  It's almost complete

The kids earned KikoBuck$ at the AKGA convention. 

Since earning the KikoBuck$, Dillon has become the proud new owner of his very own registered kiko.  He came home from the AKGA convention ready to start his own herd.  He's been working around the farm helping Shane to save up money to buy his own goats.  He said his goats are gonna "smoke" our goats ( as in perform better than ours in the pasture).  I told him to bring it on!

A little fishing has been done too!

I've also canned tomatoes, and my plants are still producing! 

Ordering school supplies to get ready for our new adventure!

We've even done some traveling.  I plan on adding photos from our recent trip to Ohio.

There's even been some horse riding going on. 

I hope your summer has been as fun filled as ours. I really do hope to get back to getting more frequent blog posts. I apologize to those of you who are faithful readers of this blog.  Mr. AWS and Mr. Mike, I promise to get a few more posts rolling along :) 

Weaning Kiko Kids

Let me make a fair warning in advance, I have uploaded lots and lots of pictures. These are just a few of many that I managed to take, so I just had to share some of them. 

Last week it was time to wean our 2013 kid crop.  We wanted to wean the kids at 90 days.  Of course, they are not all born on the exact day, so there are some that are over 90 days and some that are under 90 days. This spring, when we'd look out in the pasture, we'd really like what we were seeing.  Some years that may not always be the case. I couldn't wait to see what the scales, pencil, and paper would say.

They were rounded up out of the pasture with the Border Collies, Davie and Alex.  I tried my best to get a good photo of the herd, but I tell you, when you've got so many scattered out running towards the gate, it's hard to capture one with all of them in it. 

They get to walk across the road to our working pen that has been converted to a goat working pen.  We have 2 catch pens with alleys and head gates.  They were originally for the cattle, but Shane converted one side to work goats.  It is still a work in progress, but it sure beats the way we first started working goats.  Our 4  running feet, lasso (no lie; you should've been there) and a shepherd's crook.  Now it's Border Collies, pen with alley, and squeeze chute with head gate.  You can see photos of our working pen by clicking here at this link. 

I tried to get a unique photo of the goats in a group here, but it didn't work out as planned. A few stopped to look at me, but those Border Collies kept them moving.  

Shane and Mal walk along behind the goats and help the border collies with any stragglers.

I tell you, that girl is one big help.  Dillon happened to be at his grandma's house on this day.  He had to miss out on all the fun :)

Earlier in the day, before we moved them out of the pasture, I walked around with my camera to try to get some pictures.  Here are a few of them.

This doe always produces well.  We have several daughters, granddaughters, & great granddaughters out of her

doeling

doeling named McFlurry by the kids

buckling

doeling with a lot of spunk

This doe in the photo below is AWESOME!  She is 7.5 years old and still produces some of the biggest and best kids.  She weaned a total of 119 pounds with these 2 bucklings.  One was 61 pounds the other was 58 pounds.  She does this consistently every year with no input.  

We were very pleased with our weaning weights and overall health of our herd.  We did cull 3 mature does out of the main herd, as well as 16 bucklings.   They all averaged about 83.00 a head. 

Also our Anatolian Shepherd puppies are growing! They have just started learning to eat out of the dog feeder.  

We are excited to see how the rest of our kid crop grows out as we whittle them down to the best of 2013. 

2013 AKGA National Convention in Kellyville, OK

Last weekend, we attended the 2013 AKGA National Convention. It's been a while since we've been able to attend any goat gatherings. Last time we made one was in Indiana in '09 and Batesville, MS in '10. It's always nice to get to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. This year's convention was located in Kellyville, OK.

There were a lot of great seminars and speakers.  I wasn't able to get photos of everything, but here are just a few that I managed to get. 

Producer Panel (L-R)  Darlene Cullen, Richard Gamby, Shane Hesterman, Wes Pinneo, Mike Guffey, & Nic Girgenti

Dr. Richard Browning, Jr.

Mr. Sherman Grubb, III

Dr. Steve Hart

Hands on learning; hoof trimming, shots, ear tagging, and microchipping

They also had the first ever AKGA Maiden Doe Futurity.  Does were judged based on phenotype only, with the AKGA conformation guidelines that were on the web site as a basis. The judge was provided with score cards in the 6 specific areas outlined in the conformation guidelines to score goats on: Head, Neck & Forequarters, Body, Hindquarter, Reproductive Organs, and Skin & Coat and an additional area General Overall Appearance and Movement.  Dr. Richard Browning, Jr made the selections. 

AKGA Maiden Doe Futurity Judging and Selection

The top 3 does that were chosen out of those that entered were in the photo below.  They are from ( L-R)  Wes Pinneo; B Bar W Kikos, Jean Gullion; MJ Ironwater Acres, Craig Adams; Adams Family Kikos, also Dr. Richard Browning, Jr from Tennessee State University.

Top 3 in the Doe Futurity

The youth that attended were also given a packet with activities to complete to earn Kiko Kids Buck$.  As you can see, our two kids got busy on the activities to earn some buck$.  Our oldest started talking about his own herd he was going to start since he was able to earn buck$ that could be used towards registration.  

Hard at work

Listening to the speakers so they can fill out the questionnaire

The last day of the convention was concluded with the AKGA Breeders Showcase Sale.  We didn't purchase any goats this year, but there were some nice goats consigned. 

Getting ready for the sale

We are looking forward to the next "goat gathering".