Feels Like Fall

It's still August but it feels like fall. The nights are turning much cooler and this morning when I went to feed, there was a little steam coming from the animals. I am not ready for summer to be over! It seems like it took forever to get here - how can it be time for fall and then the brutal basin winter?

We had a massive rain/thunder/lightening storm last night. The whole house was shaking and Bray said he could barely see the barn light from the house because it was raining so hard.

While I was gone to Africa, Copper, my two year old horse, cut her leg really bad and had to have a cast on. We still don't know what could have cut her leg so bad. To make things worse, a couple of days latter, Darren found an even worse cut on the same leg, but above the cast. He started calling her the horse with no brains.

The vet has been having to come up twice a week to check her and I keep having to rewrap her leg on a daily basis because she keeps chewing and pulling the wrap off. It has been a full time job because I want her to be outside in the sunshine and fresh air, but it has been raining so much, I don't want her dressings to get wet - so I have been taking her in and out of the barn several times a day!

Last Friday the vet finally took off the final wrap and said she is okay to not have anything on her leg. While the vet was here, we asked him how we would know when the cows would be ready to go to slaughter. He pointed at Ruby and said, "That one is ready now, the other one probably has a week or two." What? I thought we had until November! I'm not ready to eat them yet! They have cute personalities and Ruby lets me rub her nose. They moo at me to give them corn - but that just fattens them up faster so I have been slowing down on their feed. (My husband doesn't know and would shoot me if he knew!)I know it's just part of life and we bought them to eat.

Yesterday, our neighbors, the Dastrups, had us over for dinner. They made turkey in a bucket and it was so good! Becky learned how to make it at girls camp from Glenda Rich a couple years ago.

This is how they made it:

Put sliced apples in the neck flap of a turkey and rub with salt and pepper. Then place the turkey breast side down on top of a metal bundt pan. Then, slide the pan over a metal pole that has been welded to a square so it stands straight up. Kelly tied the wings to the breast with string so they wouldn't touch the side of the bucket and burn. Then wrap the turkey with foil and then place a metal bucket over the top of the turkey. Set the turkey stand/bucket in a fire pit over hot coals. Kelly said he uses about a pound of coals per pound of turkey. Then let it cook for about three hours.

I'm not very good at explaining this whole process, but it was soooo... good and easy once I have the stand and bucket. Alex is taking welding this year at school, so now he has a new project to make for me!

For dessert, Becky made this yummy chocolate dessert.

Make a crust of crushed graham crackers and butter in the bottom of a cake pan. In a bowl, combine cream cheese and cool whip and layer this over the graham crust. Then place a layer of chocolate pudding and top with whipped cream. Refrigerate before serving.