The Animals

When we first moved up here, my very good friend's parents asked us to take care of their animals while they went on a trip to visit their kids and relatives for two weeks. I quickly responded that it would be no problem and we would be happy to do it.

Like planned we began taking care of

Sydney the Horse


Max the Bull


Ingrid and Kierstin the Heifers


and the Dandruff Cat on March 31.


The first couple of days were uneventful and went relatively smooth. Then, on Tuesday April 3 it all began. Justin was getting home very late that night from work because he had been out at the coast working with a logging operation. I went out around 6 p.m. to start doing chores.

I started getting the feed ready and figured that Max the bull and his hungry tummy (or 4 tummies:) would make his way to the barn. When he didn't come I went out there to shake some feed at him. He still didn't come. The only thing on his mind was the 'ladies' (Ingrid and Kierstin) and how he was going to get with them.

I should back up a step. Max and the heifers cannot be in the same pen because, well we all know what happens. They both also have the same daddy (not a good thing for registered cattle to do) and the heifers are still too young to be bred. However Max loves the heifers, and Sydney the horse loves Max the bull. This means we had to get Max locked in his stall before Sydney would go in her stall, and then we could move the heifers up from their pasture to their stall. (Co-dependency not a healthy thing.)

I called my friend to ask what the trick was to getting Max to come up and eat. Her and her mom are only like 5'2 so I thought, "Surely I can do this if they can."

Her advice, take a show stick out there and hit him on the head and get behind him and push him up to the barn. "He thinks he is tough, but he really isn't," were her parting words.

I entered the pasture with all the confidence in the world and my show stick. As I approach Max in the middle of the pasture close to NO fences (aka escape routes) he looks at me. I proceed towards him and for maybe a split second have a regret. I begin the process of hitting him on the head and trying to get behind him. His response dropping his head and proceeding to try to charge me. This escalated for probably 30 seconds and I was getting REALLY scared. The thougth occured to me as the horse graciously ate grass and watched near by, "What a great place for Justin to find me when he gets home, dead in the pasture." (sarcasm)

Finally, something scared him and he took off in the other direction and I quickly sprinted to the closest gate. I then called my friend back and she said he was fine in the pasture and just let him come up when he is ready to. (she also chuckled at me a little bit)

Max didn't come in until 8:30 a.m. the next morning to eat. Which meant neither did the horse and neither did the heifers. Thanks Max, your a butt.

From that point forward for the next 11 days or so remaining, Max was a challenge. Actually he even progressively got worse in his behavior. Everyone who works with cattle says that bulls like to test the limits. I don't know what to do correct them when they outweigh me by 1,500 lbs?

When our friends returned I asked the wife if she had any problems with him. She laughed and said, "Well, he threw his head at Brad in the stall the first night we were back, so he hit him on the head with a shovel. No more problems after that."

Why didn't anybody tell me all it took was a shovel?

Sydney the horse also experienced an abscess in her back right hoof, which meant a few different visits from the horse vet. (She was a huge help!)Syd had a great personality though and was the most consistent with her behavior of all of the large animals.

The dandruff cat was rather fat and my theory is she was depresesd. She laid around in her cat bed all day long except for when we were on the deck to pet her. I mostly only touched her when I had my gloves on.

As for the heifers, they were pretty good, except for one time, one did try to charge me. Still not sure about that one.

It was a great experience, I learned alot and I would probably even maybe do it again.

P.S. For all those of you who haven't been around cattle alot, it is ok to hit them on the head with large things. They have very hard heads and it doesn't hurt them.
Justin and Ruth Blazzard

I Met Charlie Brown

Never thought I would get a chance to meet a Charles Schulz character. It is a relief to check it off the bucket list though. :) The visiting State FFA President from Flordia was none other than Charlie Brown himself. Defintely made me smile when I heard his name and knew I would have to get a picture with him. So here it is.


Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Great Motivational Song

You can always count on great music at the Oregon FFA State Convention. Here is my favorite from this year. Definitely going on my running playlist. Take a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9_yDuPdPSQ

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Shoes

About five years ago I mentioned to a friend of mine that it is difficult for me to find shoes because of my size 11 feet. She remarked that she too wore a size 11. Great converstaion, didn't think much of it.

Since that time, I have received 3 large piles of shoes from her. She is a professional woman, so these shoes have been stylish and very helpful to the newly- wed, college life style budget.



This weekend my friend surprised me once again with another set of shoes. It is interesting becuase it never fails that I will be talking about needing to get a certain kind of shoes, and this woman's pile will include that type of shoes I needed. Recently, Justin and I had been talking about hiking and I had thought, "Well, I guess I will need to get hiking shoes."



Once again my dear friend came through for me. There was a pair of lightly worn columbia hiking shoes in the bag. All I can say is the Lord truley does work through others to bless his children. Thank you Betsy for thinking of me over these past years. They have truley been a blessing.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

I Sure Do Love Him

I was gone last weekend from Friday until Monday afternoon. This left my sweet husband with not much to do since we live in an apartment far away from both of our families. When I returned Monday evening, there was a trail of a dozen roses from our front door, down the hall to our kitchen table. Dinner was made and I found this sweet note with Reesce's Peanut Butter Cups (my faorite). I feel so blessed to be able to share life with this considerate, loving man. This is the first time he has given me a dozen roses (he has given me other flower combinations). I felt like I should have been the one bearing gifts since I was the one who abandoned him for the weekend. Love you Justin Blazzard.



Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Transitioning to Life in Oregon

Just an update of what life now consists of for us. It has been really strange not having to go to any classes or do homework every night. Somehow we have managed to still be happy without it. :) Justin leaves at 6 in the morning, so I get out of bed at 5:35, make him breakfast and get his lunch ready. Depending on the morning and my ambition I either go back to bed, or stay up and am productive. Usually the bed wins. Something I have really enjoyed about our new ward is that they do a workout group Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

It has been a great way to start my days off, get to know more ladies (outside of just church), and hold me accountable for exercising. I have even been motivated to exercise more becuase on the days we don't have workout groupI remember how good it makes me feel and then I want to keep working towards more endurance and stronger muscles.

After exercising, I check the internet sites for jobs, cook, read, pay bills, buy groceries, talk on the phone, complete job applications, and wait for Justin to get home. It has been extremely strange for us to be living in an apartment. The two homes we lived in before moving here had large yards and even a garage for us to go work in. This has put a limit on our gardening, crafting, and woodworking, so we are looking for new hobbies and saving our pennies for the down payment we would like to put on a home of our own with a yard and garage.

Justin comes home somewhere between 3 and 6 p.m. depending on the day. He LOVES his new job, essentially it is actually like him going and playing all day because of how passionate he his about the forestry industry. Evening consist of- well actually every night has been different since we got here. We got cable so a little bit of television (BYU NCAA game last night) and dinner.

Having all this extra time each day has been a blessing and a struggle. I am really enjoying not feeling rushed to get the things done I enjoy doing every day, but feel like I need a greater 'purpose' in life. As I have pondered, prayed, stressed, smiled, and run I have come to this conclusion- I just need to exercise my faith in the Lord and His timing. Enjoy the time I have right now, realizing it won't last forever, but don't quit trying to find a job and make the future better. I would have to say our Troutdale Adventure is off to a great start and many lessons we are needing to learn.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Oregon Logging Conference

Justin went to the Oregon Logging Conference the year before we were married. It was like a huge toy box for him and his uncle. They have wanted to go back ever since then. Last year, we thought Justin was going to be able to attend, but because of a variety of reasons it didn't work out. This year, he went as an employee for one of the companies that is showcased at it. Crazy how life works out.

Here are a few pics of the day. Hopefully this will give you a better idea of what Justin will be doing for his new job.


These are a couple of the products his company sells. They are called grapples and are used for picking up wood and moving it around.


The Grappel Processor or the GP.This is the brand new product that Pierce Pacific is releasing this Spring. It combines two processes into one. There was a lot of hype about it at the conference. There hasn't been very many new products released in the forestry industry for a long time. This created some excitement at the conference. Justin is currently learning the ins and outs of this product in preparation to sell it.


A big log loader.


A booth at the conference was selling these wood logging models. Very cool and precise.




Chainsaw Art.




This is called a Skidder.



Also, I saw many real life loggers. I recognized them by the resemblance they had to Paul Bunyon. Maybe he was there ancestor? They wore flannel shirts, suspenders, jeans that were cut off at the top of their boots, and logging boots. They also had beards. It was rather entertaining. Great conference, lots of wood- we felt at home.



Justin and Ruth Blazzard