animals

Life is changing drastically for my grandniece, Jolene Thompson. Recently, her family moved from Riverton, Wyoming to Shoshoni, Wyoming, and they now live on a farm. Jolene, who is very much an outdoor girl now gets to take care of animals, and that suits her just fine. With the move came a new school, and Jolene is really thriving there. Living in Shoshoni also puts her in the same town as her grandparents, and that closeness is going to be awesome. Jolene is such a social girl, so she has already made lots of friends already. Not everyone can just pick up and start over in a whole new place and immediately have a ton of friends, but Jolene can. Jolene has an amazing smile, and it draws people to her. She is truly a friend magnet. Not only does Jolene have lots of friends, but she is such a leader. When she makes friends, she is the leader of the pack too. She isn’t a girl who gets into trouble, so having her be the leader of the pack is definitely a great thing, and her friends’ parents love it.

Jolene, who goes by Jo as much or more than Jolene, loves to fish. Her dad, Tim Thompson also loves to fish, hunt, go camping, and every other kind of outdoor activity, so it stands to reason that his daughter would also love these things. The family threw a great big birthday bash for Jo, and of course, the theme of the party was…you guessed it, fishing. Jo is her daddy’s mini-me, and if her daddy likes something, so does she. And to top it off, she is very good at all the outdoor sport things her daddy likes. She loves to catch bugs, hunt, fish, and really any of the outdoor things. And of course, Jo can totally keep up with all the boys, but don’t let that fool you, because she is very much a girly girl…just not a wimpy girl. In fact, don’t call her a fisherman, because she is a fisher…GIRL!!

While Jo can and does “keep up with” the boys, she wants to dress and look like a girl! In fact, my niece, Kellie Hadlock (who is Tim’s girlfriend) says, “I dare you to try putting her in some Carhart overalls for fishing, lol!!” Outside of all that she is the toughest, sweetest, funniest, and smartest little girl!! Tim and Kellie are so incredibly proud of her!! Jo is very down to earth, but also very bubbly and fun, and our whole family feels blessed to know her. Today is Jo’s 8th birthday. Happy birthday Jo!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

The Hippopotamus is a large, lumbering animal found mostly in Africa, or in zoos in other places. These animals are rather hot blooded and since Africa is often hot too, the like to spend much of their day almost totally immersed in water in an effort to stay cool. The hippopotamus has a bulky body with stumpy legs, an enormous head with a mouth to match, a short tail, and four toes on each foot. Each of the toes has a nail-like hoof. Male hippos are usually about 11.5 feet long, stand 5 feet tall, and weigh 3.5 tons…yes that’s tons…strange considering their relatively short stature. The males are the larger gender in terms of physical size, weighing about 30 percent more than females. The nearly hairless skin is 2 inches thick on the flanks, but thinner elsewhere. Hippos are grayish brown in color, with pinkish underparts. Their huge mouth is half a meter wide and can gape 150° to show the teeth. When the mouth is open, the head almost completely disappears. The lower teeth are very sharp and can be more than 12 inches long.

Hippopotamus is Greek for “river horse” mainly because of their love of water. So much do they love the water, that Hippos spend up to 16 hours a day submerged in rivers and lakes to keep their massive bodies cool under the hot African sun. As clumsy as they might seem on land, hippos are graceful in water, good swimmers, and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes. Often, in the shallow lakes, hippos are large enough to simply walk or stand on the lake floor or lie in the shallows. Because their eyes and nostrils are located high on their heads, they have the ability to see and breathe while mostly submerged. While they spend a lot of time in the water, hippos also like to enjoy the sun on the shoreline and strangely, their bodies secrete an oily red substance, which is where the myth that they sweat blood came from. The liquid is actually a skin moistener and sunblock that may also provide protection against germs. What most people wouldn’t give to have built in moisturizer and sunblock…well, maybe not a heavy sunblock. Hippos come out of the water at sunset and begin their nightly feeding cycle. Often traveling up to six miles, they consume up to 80 pounds of grass. Now, that’s a lot of carbs, but given their size, that is not that much food. Hippos seem like a slow animal, but if they are threatened on land hippos may run for the water, and they can match a human’s speed…for short distances.

In the past, hippos have been used to pull a cart, much like a horse. I suppose it was a common site in Africa, but for most of us today, it would be a strange sight indeed. There was a hippo in the Barnes Circus, names Lotus. Lotus was an obedient cart hippo, but I’m not so sure she was very happy about that cart that was hooked on behind her. It makes sense that she would be unhappy, she was in captivity, and that she couldn’t have been happy with her life. I wonder what would happen if Lotus had been spooked near a pond. My guess is that there would have been one wet driver.

My husband’s uncle, Butch Hein is the youngest of his grandmother, Vina Hein’s five children. Grandma had two children, Marion Kanta and Walt Schulenberg (my husband’s dad) from her first marriage to Andrew Schulenberg; and three children, Esther Hein, Eddie Hein, and Bernard “Butch” Hein, from her second marriage to Walt Hein. Durning her second marriage, the family lived on the ranch that had been owned by Walt’s dad, Christian Hein. Because of that, ranching was practically a part of Butch’s DNA, It was as much a part of his as the air he breathed. While the older children really didn’t want to be ranchers, Butch really did, and since parents usually try to pass their lives’ work down to their kids, Walt had hoped that one of his kids would want to be a rancher. Butch fulfilled the desire his dad had. They worked the ranch together, and when Walt was ready, Butch took over in his dad’s retirement years.

Butch was quite a bit younger than my father-in-law, Walt Schulenberg, so his nieces and nephews were not that much older than their uncle. Butch was just four years old when he first became an uncle, and by the time he was ten years old he had five nieces and one nephew, and more would follow in quick succession. By the time his siblings were done having children, Butch would have nineteen nieces and nephews. He would also have a son named Scott, and a daughter named Crista, who died in infancy. In reality, Butch didn’t really remember life without nieces and nephews. I’m sure that as a you uncle, or more correctly, a kid who was an uncle, having nieces and nephews gave Butch a lot of “friends” to play with, in addition to his older sister and brother.

There is lots to do on a ranch. In addition to the cattle, there are horses to ride and usually other animals to help out with. Life on a ranch usually includes other types of animals that can be used to food, as well as a garden, which I know Grandma had. What kid do you know that wouldn’t go and have a little “garden raid” when they wanted a snack. Beans and carrots make great fresh snacks, and I’m sure Butch and his siblings took full advantage of that fact, although probably not to a large extent, because if you eat all the vegetables in the garden, your Mom and Dad would be sure to notice. Besides that, helping on a ranch keeps a kid pretty busy. Most of their “snacks” were in the form of big meals at mealtime. As hard as the work was, Butch thrived on it, and couldn’t wait to work on the ranch with his dad as an adult. Him taking over the ranch was inevitable, and Butch was very happy about that. Today is Butch’s birthday. Happy birthday Butch!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

Since buying their family farm, my nephew, Eric Parmely and his wife, Ashley have had a number of daily duties that are different from people who dwell in the cities and towns. Of course, there are the normal duties that go with a farm…everything from feeding animals, helping with births, gathering eggs, taking care of the land, and repairing fences. This year has been a little unusual in that like many areas across the United States, Wyoming has received an extra-large amount of snow, meaning that the rural roads, which are not always plowed by the county or state, are left buried in 3 to 6 feet of snow. That means that nothing is moving, and those people who happen to have tractors, will likely have to go out and help with the “digging out” process. That was the position Eric and Ashley found themselves in. One storm found them waiting for 3 days to get out, and then it only happened because Eric got out and became a snowplow. Of course, the whole thing didn’t totally hurt Eric’s feelings, because he loves his tractor, and this was a new way to use it. Men and their toys…right? The main thing is that they were finally able to get out and get back to the business of life.

Eric is a mechanic by trade and loves his work. That means that tinkering with anything mechanical is not really work. Getting on the farm equipment is that way exactly. When they bought the tractor, there were many evenings spent in the barn with his father-in-law, Albert Eighmy, son Bowen Parmely, and often Ashley and their daughters, Reagan, Hattie, and Maeve all watching as the work was done to this fantastic piece of equipment, so that it would be ready to be a regular piece of the menagerie of farm equipment necessary to run a farm. Bowen especially loves the tractor, because, being a boy, it seems to run in his blood. He is his daddy’s boy. The girls like to ride on it too, but they aren’t as interested in the mechanical side of things as Bowen is.

Eric has become a wonderful family man…a great husband and daddy. He and Ashley are doing the things necessary to raise responsible, decent, and well-rounded kids. Their kids are homeschooled, which is becoming more and more necessary these days, given the radical activities in the school system now. And the kids are happier too. Ashley teaches school, and Eric brings home the bacon…back to old fashioned values. Not every family is run this way, but it works very well for them. Today is Eric’s birthday. Happy birthday Eric!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

When you live on a farm, with multiple animals, the work never ends. My nephew, Eric Parmely married a girl named Ashley, who was raised on a farm, and they are on a life journey that is probably pretty unusual in this day and age. They bought a farm west of Casper, Wyoming, and they both work very hard raising horses, cows, goats, pigs, turkeys, and chickens, not to mention dogs and cats. The baby count grows every year, and of course, the animals supply the family with meat, eggs, milk, and of course, love…especially from the dogs and cats, but from the other animals too.

Eric’s workday doesn’t really end until his head the pillow. Eric is always working on something. Eric and Ashley host a family dinner for our families once a month, and after dinner, the work must usually go on. Sunday when we were out there, he and several of the men were out working on his tractor. You can’t run a farm without a tractor, and there is always something that needs done on it…either repairs or maintenance. Then he and Ashley have jobs like milking the cow and the goats, feeding all the animals, and stacking hay (when they buy bales).

Eric is a great daddy. He gives the best “daddy horse” rides and tickles…which we all know is very important…especially the tickles to his kids, Reagan, Hattie, Bowen, and Maeve!! He is always helping Ashley with the household chores and is an expert at washing dishes and folding laundry. You might say he has dozens and dozens of babies, because he also loves to snuggle the kittens and puppies, and he helps pull calves. Eric really has a heart of gold and is filled with love for his kids, wife, and animals.

In the little bit of down time he has, Eric likes to watch videos on YouTube on his phone and giggles to himself. He rather reminds me of his Uncle Bob in that way. It doesn’t matter if it’s on television or his phone, Bob gets a kick out of comedy, just like Eric. It’s fun to listen to their laughter from the other room, and ultimately, you can’t help but laugh along, even if you don’t know what is so funny. Just hearing their laughter is contagious, and you find yourself laughing along…or at the very least smiling. Ashley tells me that Eric is still a mama’s boy, and that is likely true. I think Eric would help his mom, Jennifer Parmely and her partner, Brian Cratty with anything they needed, and I think he would help his in-laws, Kari and Albert Eighmy with anything they needed too. That’s just the kind of guy Eric is. Today is Eric’s birthday. Happy birthday Eric!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

My grand niece, Reagan Parmely almost shared her mom’s birthday, but she stalled just long enough to have her birthday the next day. I know how that is. I was supposed to be born on my dad’s birthday, but I stalled two days. It wasn’t our fault. After all, we didn’t know, we were just being born when we were supposed to. Well, all kidding aside, the day Reagan was born changed the lives of her parents, Ashley and Eric Parmely, forever. That was the day they became parents. They were no longer parents-to-be or a couple. They were parents and they had a family. It is the most amazing day in a person’s life. That was 8 years ago, and now Reagan is big sister to three siblings…Hattie, Bowen, and Maeve. Life is good!!

Reagan has grown up around farm animals, and for most of her life, that was all about the cuddling and chasing of the animals and their babies, but as she grew, she began to understand that sometimes, you are raising your family’s food, and that as such, the food must be killed so it can be eaten. I don’t think that is an easy lesson for anyone, adult or child. I have raised cows too, and I didn’t want to watch on butchering day, but you have to help, and there it is. Reagan understands this, and while she may not like that part, she knows that it puts food of the family table. I am very proud of Reagan’s maturity in these things.

Reagan and especially her sister, Hattie, has become excellent horsewomen. Their brother, Bowen is coming along too. When these kids were little, I found myself feeling amazed at these little kids standing on the ground beside these great horses, and they weren’t afraid at all. Now, these little kids can ride horses like the wind, and they are only getting better and better. When I first saw them on those horses, they looked so…little, and since I have not grown up around horses, I thought that it looked so dangerous, but these kids, and Reagan first felt right at home. Of course, they have been on these horses since they were just babies riding with their mom, who has also been riding since she was little. These day, with Reagan leading the next generation, the Parmely kids are spending lots of time riding their horses, and really enjoying the outdoors. Today is Reagan’s 8th birthday. Happy birthday Reagan!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

My grand niece, Maeve Parmely is the youngest of the 4 children of my nephew, Eric Parmely and His wife, Ashley. She has two older sisters, Reagan and Hattie, and an older brother, Bowen. These kids are being raised on a farm, with lots of animals to take care of and play with. In fact, Maeve was hanging around all those farm animals the day before she was born. Maeve isn’t even the youngest of those who live on the farm, because it seems like new babies come around all the time. Like her siblings, I assume she has seen new life come into the world, and if she hasn’t yet, it won’t be long before she does. Before long too, she will be riding a bicycle around the property with her siblings, but I guess that one year old is still a little bit young for that…for now.

One thing Maeve isn’t to young (or too old) for is cuteness. This little girl is cuteness overload. She knows just what to do to make everyone around her smile. Maeve loves hugs and seeing her family smile. I have no doubt that she will be involved in all the antics of her older siblings in no time. The youngest usually gets involved in the best stuff, because her older siblings already know the ropes. These kids have great imaginations, and you just never know what they might come up with. Still, Maeve’s sweet little face will most likely keep her out of a great deal of trouble with her mom and dad. Seriously, who could resist that cute little face.

Maeve is to be the last of Eric and Ashley’s kids, although I think Ashley would willingly have an even dozen. She loves her babies, and now will have to settle for fur babies, I guess. Maeve has had a lot of life experiences in this first year of her life. She’s helped with the animals, of course, ridden on her mommy’s back while her mom stacked hay. She’s been skiing on the mountain. hiking on the trails, and helping her mom around the house. She’s her daddy’s little girl, and she keeps him wrapped around her finger, and she keeps her siblings busy getting her whatever she wants. How could life possibly get any better. Today is Maeve’s 1st birthday. Happy birthday Maeve!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

These days there aren’t many people who haven’t heard of the Santa Ana winds, the California wildfires, or this year, the burning of Australia. We hear all about how global warming is the cause of the tragic fires and loss of both vegetation and life, human and animal. I agree with the analogy that the fires in Australia are horrific, but the cause…well, that has been determined to be, not global warming, draught, or lightning, but rather arson…ARSON!! Disgusting just isn’t a big enough word for what that is.

I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to burn something…anything. You can call it a sickness, and maybe it is, but that cannot be an excuse. If we allow such an excuse, more and more people will use it, take out their frustrations on things around them, and then expect to be excused because they are “sick.” At this point, firefighters are battling wildfires across Australia. Meanwhile, the police in New South Wales have arrested dozens of people for offenses related to fires, including 24 for deliberately lighting fires and three for looting fire-ravaged communities. There is also a story saying that 183 to 200 people are suspected of “fire-related offenses since November 8th, including for ‘allegedly discarding a lighted cigarette or match on land,’ but no verification as to the exact charges being lodged.

It is sad that the most common motive for wildfire arson is crime concealment. Fires are set for the purpose of covering up a murder or burglary or to eliminate evidence left at a crime scene. Fires have also been known to be set to further social, political, or religious causes. The fire set to cover up a crime, while horrific, is at least explainable, but fires set for political, social, or religious reasons is completely disgusting. There is just no excuse for the loss of homes businesses, and lives, human and animal, that could excuse such destruction. One fire, set to cover up a crime is reasonable, though disgusting, but these are all over Australia. And while one person might be a “sick” arsonist, to find 24 to 200 “sick” arsonists, is not even possible. The other thought that makes me so mad I could scream, is that even if this is socially, politically, or religiously motivated, what is the point? What are they trying to prove? All I can say is, that I hope they find the people who did this and that they give them the maximum sentence possible. I don’t know Australian law, so I don’t know if they have the death penalty or not, but I think these people should get it, if they do. And if not, solitary confinement for the rest of their lives might…just might, be punishment enough, but I really doubt it.

My niece, Ashley Parmely married my nephew, Eric Parmely on July 23, 2011. Since then, their happy family has grown to include four children, daughters, Reagan and Hattie were followed by son, Bowen, and most recently, daughter Maeve. These days, having four children is considered a large family, and many people would consider Ashley to be a supermom based solely of the number of children she has. I agree that with larger families, mom’s are supermoms, but coming from a family of five children, I don’t necessarily consider Eric and Ashley’s family to be overly large, and it is not the size of the family that makes me think of Ashley as a supermom.

There are, however, several other things that I think do qualify for supermom status. In years gone by, when people lived on homesteads, mothers juggled things that most of us don’t these days. These days, many mothers work outside the home, and their children spend their days in a daycare facility. Ashley, on the other hand, is stay at home mom, and while that isn’t unheard of either, it is a bit more unusual these days.

That still isn’t what makes me consider Ashley to be a modern day supermom, however. Eric and Ashley have lived in the country almost since they got married. Recently they bought a bigger place, because they wanted to be able to rise more animals. Eric works in the oilfield, and that leaves Ashley and the children they work of taking care of the animals. Don’t get me wrong, she doesn’t do it alone, because when Eric is home, he works very hard too, but Ashley loves her animals and love spending time with them. And this is where her supermom status comes in. It doesn’t matter if her youngest is too little to leave in the house, or to walk alongside “mommy” either, because Ashley has a backpack. The work must go on, and Ashley loves to do it anyway.

The day might find Ashley, baby on her back, moving hay, feeding animals, or mucking stalls. She has done this with all four babies, so she is a expert at working with the extra weight attached. She gives “baby weight” a whole new meaning. One might think that Ashley would be worn out and tired, and I suppose that at the end of the day, she is, but it never causes her to look tired or grouchy. Instead, all these babies…human and animal…put a smile on the supermom’s face, everyday. Today is Ashley’s birthday. Happy birthday Ashley!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

My grand-niece, Aleesia Spethman is a bubbly little girl, who loves life. She is going to be in 2nd grade this coming school year. She is the youngest child of her parents, Jenny and Steve Spethman, and the youngest grandchild of her grandma, Cheryl Masterson. She is a girl who is full of personality and energy. She is always on the move, doing something…from playing with her big brothers, Xander, Zack, and Isaac, to showing them who the boss is in this family. The boys humor her for the most part, but she gets a lot less “princess treatment” from the youngest of the boys, Isaac, who thinks maybe he is the boss. Aleesia would disagree.

Aleesia and her mom love to do girly things together. Shopping is a big favorite, because they are both fashionistas. Jenny has great fashion sense, and she has passed that to Aleesia, along with how to be in style, and still be yourself. Being the youngest does afford Aleesia some special treatment. She was the last one home all day with her mom, and being the only girl, eliminates the whole “hand-me-down” thing too.

Last week, Aleesia, Jenny, and Aleesia’s Aunt Liz took girl trip to Denver for Aleesia’s birthday. They got to go to the Denver Zoo and Aquarium. They had a great time watching all the animals. Aleesia loves to go to the Science Zone in Casper. The zoo and aquarium are along the same lines too, so it’s right up her alley. She really isn’t afraid of any animals…even bugs, which make me cringe, so she had a great time checking it all out. She takes after her mom in that respect. Jenny has had just about every kind of animal, including an Iguana…which really creeped me out, because it would appear next to you, when you least expected it…usually scaring the daylights out of you.

Most evenings find Aleesia visiting her grandma, and Cheryl is quite happy about that, because this is her last granddaughter, so she wants to make the most of the time she had left before Aleesia decides that she has other things to do. It is inevitable with all kids. Grandparents have them for a time, and then they are pushed out of the way for friends, sports, and after school activities. Aleesia does enjoy her girl nights, and I have had the opportunity to be a part of her girl gang, which has been great. On Thursday nights, Cheryl, Liz, Aleesia, and I go out to dinner, and then to Cheryl’s for a movie. Aleesia and Liz don’t always go for the movie. Liz has papers to grade, or photos to edit, and Aleesia either has homework, or she just missed her family, and wants to go home. She is a bit of a homebody too. Today is Aleesia’s 7th birthday. Happy birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

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