Happy Fall...

We love this time of year....

Bradford pears turning fire red...
Oak trees turning yellow...
Even the bushes are getting in on the changes...
The whole tree line changes around here...
Which means, we will have thousands and thousands of leaves to rake up!! Luckily leaves make wonderful fertilizer for the garden....

And for those of you who were wondering, Mr. Collins is doing quite well these days. Healthy, happy, fat, and spoiled. He fits right in around here..

Caught on Candid Camera...

I finally snapped a picture. See Mom, cows really do lie down to sleep. Lady Tasty is taking an afternoon nap in the warm sun, so sweet!! So ladies and gents, cow tipping is false! Cows do not sleep standing.

And here is a scene we see quite often around the farm. This is what Lulu looks like moments before attacking. I think right after this photo she got a mouse.

Super Cute

Having Todd home EVERY SINGLE NIGHT has been wonderful! My family and friends would probably say that they hear from me less, but I just cant get enough of Todd being home. Married life is fun when you live under the same roof full time! :)

However, this week Todd has been at his first MRI class in Wisconsin. He left Sunday morning and comes home Saturday morning. He is having a good time, and is enjoying learning a new modality. After this first week of training he will then go for three straight weeks in December and then, Mr Todd, will be qualified to work on Nuclear Medicine, CT, and MRI equipment. This new job has been a wonderful opportunity to broaden his skills.
This is a cute picture Todd sent me this morning. Its a picture of their class. Isn' t that sweet, they take class pictures!! Hooray for new opportunities and adventures!!

Thats one brave toad...

Check out what we found out on the porch tonight while reading....

Collins taking a peak....

Lulu taking a sniff...
Kaylee excited and smiling because she got an extra treat after dinner!!

Conference Weekend!!!

I feel so very blessed to be able to participate in the LDS General Conference each and every 6 months. This past weekend we were able to enjoy the sweet spirit of the modern day prophets and apostles. I am very grateful for modern day technology that allows me to enjoy these beautiful messages from the comfort of my own home. What a wonderful blessing!! The talks given were inspired and beautiful. I feel like so many of them were given just for me. I love the gift of personal revelation, with that tool I am able to be inspired and directed in my own life. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and wants me to succeed. Even though I am ALWAYS the one messing things up, He never gives up on me. The messages given this past weekend were beautiful and inspirational. I can not wait to get a copy of them to study all over again.

With this weekend being Conference, Todd and I were able to wake up and have a country breakfast on Sunday, bacon and farm fresh eggs. After a hearty and yummy breakfast we decided to go shooting.
We now have the land to go shooting whenever we would like, so we loaded up the new shotgun and headed to the pasture.
We threw clay pigeons and had a good time!! Todd hits almost every pigeon thrown. I have to admit, this is a very attractive quality he has. Him shooting is super sexy!!!

This is the new 20 gauge shotgun Todd bought me. It has a bit of a kick, but boy is it fun to shoot. PS-I hit 2 of probably 25 pigeons thrown.
We were having so much fun that the neighbors headed over to shoot too. This is cute Pat. He lives next door and is the sweetest man alive!! He comes over at 3 in the morning when Todd is traveling because I "hear" a noise and the dogs are barking. Oh goodness, today is a BIG day for Pat. He is asking his girlfriend to marry him!!! Good luck Pat, and I hope Peggy doesn't know about my blog.

Oh, did you know cows LOVE and I mean LOVE peaches??
It was a great weekend here on the farm!!Hope you had a great one too...

I need to keep my doors closed...

Blast these beautiful and cool days. I have had our windows open for almost a month now, and when the day is just right, I keep the doors cracked too. That way the dogs can go in and out as they please. Well, today I was down at the garden and left the door cracked. I walk back in the house and heard this strange noise, I walk into the kitchen and see this little guy...
I know, I know. This picture shows that I need to wipe down the shelf above my sink, sorry.

After about 10 minutes I was able to coax him back outside, that is after I ran him around the front room and halls of the house for a bit. Moral, I need to keep my doors closed! So far this fall I have had a stray dog, now known as Mr Collins, wander in. A brave and smelly skunk try to get in. And now this little creature. Universe, the lesson has been learned!! Oh, and yes Todd you were right! There I said it, lets all move on..

Not Sure...

I am not sure what this thing is. From a distance we always assumed it was a prairie dog or light brown mole roaming our pastures. We enjoyed watching him roam around, sit on his hind legs taking in the country, and running away from the dogs. However, today he had a different outcome. The poor thing has seen its last day on the farm. Im not sure which dog finally got him, but I do know all three were down around his area. Mr Collins and Lulu were the ones I noticed barking, but who knows it could have been anyone...

Prairie Dog, groundhog, or mole???
Prairie Dog, groundhog, mole, or beaver??? Check out those teeth.
Do you know what he is?

Last few days...

The last few days have been wonderful. I had a nice visit with my Dad and Grandpa Suppes, Mr Collins is healing nicely, and more and more salsa!!

While Dad and Grandpa were here, we went and did a little Civil War site seeing. We toured the Belmont home, went and saw the Battle of Franklin site, and then we went to the largest Confederate Cemetery in the country. It was a wonderful!!
Oh, and don't forget the porch sitting. We always seem to do a lot of that when my family comes..
Here is what Mr Collins looks like these days. He is looking very good, and smelling a lot less like death. His scabs are healing, his hair is coming back, and his cute little personality sure is coming out.

He loves to run the chicken coop and make the hens fly all around...
He also likes to have a stare off with the cows. Keep trying Mr Collins, maybe someday the 800 pound cows will tremble at your bark..
All is well at the Cottle Farm. I hate when family leaves, the house always seems so quiet... We miss you Dad and Grandpa.
Here is a picture I snapped today. Countess Yummy Tummy is laying on Betsy Joe's back. Isnt that sweet?

Introducing Mr Collins...

Poor Mr Collins. He is new to our home, in fact he kinda welcomed himself into our home. With the weather being as nice as it has been, I have had all the windows and doors open enjoying the delicious fresh air. However, Wednesday I was scrubbing tubs and toilets when I heard this strange growl in my hallway.

I walked out and saw something black underneath the bench in our hallway. I thought it was the skunk from the night before (oh, I didn't mention that story? Another tale for another time.), but alas it was just sweet Mr Collins. Wednesday he looked more like this...
He was sad and scared. I couldn't turn him out to the streets so I fed him, gave him a place to sleep, and left him be for the day. That afternoon he allowed me to inspect him more closely and that is when I saw it. The poor thing had little to no hair. His entire body was covered in scabs. He was itching like crazy. You couldn't help but want to give him so love. So, I bathed him and waited for Todd to come home. The minute Todd saw him he was off to the vet. And that is when Collins came home 2 days later looking like this...
The poor guy had mange so bad it had eaten away his fur and scabbed over his entire skin...
He had fleas the size of ticks on him....
He was neutered, shaved, bathed, dipped, put on 4 different antibiotics, and given a new life.
We know he is 18-20 months old, a Schnauzer/ Lhasa Apso mix, and a friendly little fellow. Alas, Mr Collins is now a Cottle. Welcome to family. We sure are glad you came our way!!

What have I been up to...

So so much...
100 tomatoes turned into spaghetti sauce and salsa! YUM
Tons of peaches turned into bottled peaches. This is only 1/2 of the peaches we had.
2 bushels of apples made into yummy and delicious applesauce!!
Oh yes, and this cute little fellow. More to come on him soon....

Random pictures of the Farm

This past weekend my family came for a visit, minus Dad and Maegan. Do I have pictures of the fun times we had...no sadly I dont. However, Jeff took my camera for a walk while he was here, so I have some of his artistic interpretation of the farm. Take a look, thanks Jeff.

Today marks an end...

Last night was the last night I will see this..
That is Todd's lonely pillow laying next to me each and every night. Monday he starts a new job here locally, and he will be home 85% of the time. Yay!! I cant tell you what a blessing this is to our family. We have been praying and praying for something to change, or something to be made available for a long time now, and it looks like it is finally happening. Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing us, we truly see your hand in all of this.

Guess Whos Home?!?

Jeff is back!!
We got to welcome Elder Suppes home after two (long) years serving in Romania. He had a wonderful time, and it was such a joy to see him grow while he has been gone. Being a missionary really worked for him. He has always had a sweet spirit, but I think we all can agree, that it his spirit has quadrupled while he has been serving God. I cant wait to spend more time with him and as a family. Love you Jeff!!

Refinished

This was my adorable bookshelf from my room while I was growing up. My parents were kind enough to give it to me, and I thought with a little paint it would fit perfectly. So here are the before and afters....
Before it was a cute green, but a little beat up around the edges..
During....
After, finished, and placed in the house. It now holds all my crafting supplies. Perfect, thanks Mom and Dad!! Also, thanks to the lovely Brittany Nabrotzky, who gave me courage to tackle this project!! Next up on my refinishing list, a kitchen table....pictures to come!