Well thats simple, improvise!  We put up hay for the winter this weekend.  Last year we did it using a not-so-safe method of walking long boards to landing (created using scaffolding).  This year we used the tractor.  We loaded the hay into the bucket and right up to the landing and into the barn.  It was sooooo much easier and less scary! 

There is the hay being loaded into the bucket of the tractor

Up it comes

And finally it is stacked int he barn!

These two are so close it can be scary!

These were surprisingly easy to make.  I had to make a dessert for my work lunch cookout and I wanted to make cupcake because... well who doesn't love a good cupcake?  I googled chocolate cupcake and came across an image of something similar to this.  There was no recipe on the website so I decided to try to make these using a combination of recipes I already had.  For the recipe, check out the recipes section of this site, you will be glad you did!

Over this past weekend, my hubby's dream came true.... he got a new tractor.  We looked for a few weeks and decided this was the best one for us.  It is more than we need and it has the luxury of a cab but we figured we can grow into it rather than out of it. 

Buddy and Isaac... what can I say.  These two were the our first pets.  They moved here with us and did everything good dogs should do. 

Isaac was a chocolate lab.  He had the best personality.  I could not have asked for a better dog.  He loved everyone and everything.  He never lost that "puppy-ness".  He loved his squeeky toys, eatting ice cubes, and playing outside.  He sadly passed away 4/1/12.  He was gone within the blink of an eye and everything changed.  We had him for seven wonderful years and he will reside in our hearts the rest of our lives. 

Buddy was a lab/chow mix.  He was my best friend and fur-child.  He was my parents first grand-puppy and everyone loved him.  He was not a lovey-dovey kind of guy but he loved us in his own way.  He protected his family, including one time he took on a dog twice his size to protect his brother Isaac.  He followed me everywhere, just keeping a watchful eye over everything going on.  He passed away from bloat (which we had never heard of) on 5/2/12. We had him for 11 years and I will remember you Buddy until we see each other again.

Arty and Ben came to live with us last year.  Arty is an ex-racehorse.  He was an eleven year old gelding standardbread.  He is a great horse.  He is strong, sturdy, and knows his job (which right now is just mowing the grass).  He has his moments but he is a wonderful addition to our family.  He came to us in July 2011 from the racetrack because he was getting older and his racing career was slowing down.  In his day, he was a very successful harness racer.  He stands about 16 hands high and is a beautiful bay horse. 

Ben came to live with us in August 2011.  He was a two year old gelding american quarter horse at the time we got him.  He is a "lap horsey" and does not realize he cannot actually sit in your lap.  This horse is very eager to please and loves any and all attention.  He is has not been started but when he is of age and physically ready, we plan to train him with natural horsemanship training techniques. 

My kitties... Fluff (black), Chasie (gray and white), and Sonny (yellow).  They all stay inside.  Fluff and Chasie are about four years old and Sonny is the newest addition and he is not quite a year old yet. 

The chicks!  I also have six hens.  They are about three months old right now.  I cannot wait for my first farm fresh chicken eggs.

This is me.  This photo was taken last summer in Yellowstone on vacation. I am a civil engineer by day but I am a homesteader and farmer in heart.  I go to work to pay the bills (feed bills mostly LOL) but my heart remains at home with my animals.  This is my story...