August 28, 2007 by debbie.

I just have a express some feelings about our local Cape County Transit.  We take care of my 86 year old mother and she has thoroughly enjoyed using the transit to commute to Dr. appts & exercises classes.  She currently lives in Jackson, but needs to get to Cape for most activities.  Throughout the last year there have been major shakeups in management and firing of longtime, qualified personnel.

It seems a real shame that the stable forces of our community, who are getting older, are being raped with the high prices to go to and from Cape to Jackson.  I drive a vehicle and I just don’t think it costs $20 (per person) to drive from Jackson to Cape and back.  I have almost come to the conclusion that perhaps I should quit my job and start shuttling senior citizens around to appts, seems there’s plenty of money in that!

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August 28, 2007 by debbie.

It seems like recently everywhere we turn we hear negative reports about the housing market.  This flames of the fire are fanned constantly by the media!  If it weren’t for BAD news they’d have no news at all.  I heard from a couple reliable sources that over the past couple of weeks a major lender in the housing market was about to close it’s doors, however, the fed stepped in an “saved the day” by pumping in several billion dollars……….NOW if that lender would have shut it’s doors, then “yes” we would have a major crisis…..but they didn’t. 

I do think many lenders have over extended themselves and wrote loans that shouldn’t have been written, we will be seeing those houses in the foreclosure market in the near future…..but back on the positive note.  We live in a fairly stable part of the nation and not that much has really changed around here.  One large change that I have seen is homes seem to stay on the market for a much longer time.  Again because buyers are “running scared” with all the bad press from the media.  Interest rates are still good—providing your credit is good.

My husband has always said my cup is “half full”….maybe I’m just looking on the bright side, but there’s just no sense in everyone pushing the panic button. 

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August 15, 2007 by debbie.

I was reading an article from the online version of the Southeast Missourian www.semissourian.com/front this article was from the associated press regarding home mortgages:  http://asap.ap.org/stories/1653714.s I have been working in the real estate industry for a few years now and I can personally say there were several years where buyers would come to the closing table with little or NO money out of their pocket……as a matter of fact, I have seen buyers receive money at the closing table.  I don’t think those days are entirely gone, however, I do feel it is becoming a rarity.  Once again, so much depends upon a buyer’s credit score. 

John Q. Public is very “under educated” about the impact their credit scores will have on their future ability to purchase high ticket items, such as a home.  This education needs to be started very early on, however, the sad thing is children learn from their parents, being uneducated financially seems to be “genetic”.  It would be great if there were classes on the high school level to teach young people how to manage money and also the good & bad aspects of having credit cards….”teachers-make sure the students are AWAKE during these classes—-it will have a high impact into their adulthood”.

The other day I was driving a young man around in my vehicle and showing him houses….I do not work with people unless I know they have the ability to obtain a loan.  This young many simply blows me away……he is so very responsible, a real credit to his upbringing.  I don’t think he is much more than in his possible early 20’s and he has the ability to buy a nice home.  He did not “come from money” but rather he has been sensible and responsible.  Somewhere along the line he figured out he better pay his bills on time to keep his credit scores up.

At the same time……I realize many individuals go through difficult times in their lives and are not always able to make monthly payments, sometimes bankruptcy occurs….it happens and I have no “stones to throw” at them.  Pick yourself up and start over again…….it can be done……if you learn from the experience you will then be a better person.

Any thoughts or comments?

Debbie

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August 15, 2007 by debbie.

The weather in Southeast Missouri has been very difficult for us humans, not to mention how hard it has been on outside animals.  Unfortunately they do not have the luxury of air conditioned homes and cars.  I know we make sure our 2 outside dogs have plenty of water and shade, plus a good hosing down now and then. 

Horses are a little more of a challenge.  Instead of leaving them in the pasture daily we pull them up and stall them during the day—-basically it’s their “off time”.  I usually go about 6:30 AM and bring them inside the barn to their stalls (which just happen to have the next best thing to air conditioning—–FANS), they get fresh water, a little grain & rice bran, and some hay.  They seem pretty content with this situation!  Before going back out to the field in the late afternoon we also hose them down with cool water…I should think that would feel pretty good to them, but they tolerate it.  It’s hilarious when we actually get them to the field it’s a race to see who is the first to “roll”, although I know the rolling in the dirt also helps them to repell the nasty fly!  They always seem to look forward to getting back out to the field to enjoy the cooler nighttime temps to graze and exercise.  So far this has worked well for us.  It sometimes becomes a real drag to get to the barn 2x a day, but the way I look at it is when I am at the barn that is MY TIME!  My cell phone stays in the car and I don’t have anywhere special to go or anyone more special to see than our horses…..actually time kinda stops for me.  At that particular moment they are the focus of my attention.  Did you know dogs have owners……..horses have “STAFF”!

Does anyone else out there have any other suggestions on how to “beat the heat” for our animals?  Would sure appreciate any and all comments.

debbie

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August 7, 2007 by debbie.

There are a few common problems we all run into around the barn, here’s some suggestions I have found that really work.

Wood chewing - indoor or outdoor

1.  Try feeding Farnams Quitt supplement (www.farnamhorse.com  Phone: 800-234-2269).

2.  Increase exercise (to reduce boredom)

3.  If indoors, put soap on the surface.

4.  If that fails, consider a hot-pepper based product designed to deter chewing, unless the horse has ulcer’s.

Horse throws salt bricks on the floor of the stall

1.  Consider using a large block instead

2.  Switch to loose salt in the horse’s feed bucket/after meals

3.  Buy a salt block holder

If you would like to find some great online information check out http://www.horse-journal.com it’s full of great information for keeping our horses safe and healthy.

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August 7, 2007 by debbie.

I am a transplant to Southeast Missouri (SEMO).  I have grown to love the area, but it wasn’t always like that for me. 

I am an Iowa girl, yes, corn fed and corn bred.  Moving to Southeast Missouri was a huge change for me.  I went to a high school where the graduating class was approximately 30 people!  It was a very small, tightly knit farm community.  As I look back on that little town it wasn’t a bad thing.  We read about farmers helping out their fellow farmers when there was a need…..believe me, it really happened.  I know if I stepped back in that community right now it would be the same way still.  That kind of community spirit is instilled in the family system in that little corner of the world.  Yes, people knew your business, after all we had a party line….. Bet I lost a few of you there!!  We had to share our phone with other people in our “four mile square”!  When you would pick up the phone there could be someone else on the line and you would have to wait your turn.  I think there were a few people who would pick up the phone and continue to listen to find out what was going on in other people’s lives!!  As I write this I am smiling!  It just makes me laugh inside to think about all the eavesdropping that went on!  You know I hadn’t thought about that in ages!

I lived in the Northwest corner of Iowa, right up by the Minnesota, South Dakota & Nebraska border.  If you want me to discuss “cold” I can talk about that till the cows come home.  When my husband made his first trip to Iowa I had attempted to explain the bitter cold……words cannot always express what a person has to experience!!  Needless to say, a Southeast Missouri boy had a hard time with Northwest Iowa weather!  He never believed me when I told him a blizzard could come up without a moments notice.  Because the land is so flat and the wind blows all the time, a few flakes of snow could become a raging blizzard in no time at all.  Farmers would literally tie themselves with a rope to the house so they could get out to the barn and do chores and still find their way back to the house……absolutely NO visibility with a bad blizzard.  Whole herds of cattle would die in the fields because they couldn’t find the barn.  My husband saw that first hand.  One year when we went to see my parents there were frozen carcasses of cattle still in the field after a recent blizzard…..my husband then became a believer!!

Then I moved to Souheast Missouri……BIG Culture Shock for me.  #1 People talked “funny”.  Sometimes I had no idea what they were saying.  I didn’t know people ate such things as grits and biscuits and gravy!  Dumplings were round not flat!!  People here drank soda….whereas I drank “pop”.  What was this world coming to??  Now when I go back to Iowa I talk funny and I love biscuits, gravy & grits!…….I have become SEMOtized!

While growing up in Iowa I had an American Saddle Bred mare.  I don’t know if you are ready for this or not, but her name was Snookerdoodle……not sure where I came up with that??  Snooker and I covered alot of miles together, she was a great companion.  There was a time my family moved approximatley 20+ miles from my first home.  We didnt have a horse trailer, that was considered a luxury.  The only way I could get her to our new home was ride.  So ride I did.  We started out early in the morning, my mother packed me a sandwich, Snooker and I rode all day.  I shared my sandwich with her and we made it to our new house in the afternoon.  To this day I can remember that adventure very clearly.  It was quite an undertaking for me, but I was pretty proud that I did it.  Having a horse while I grew up really kept me out of alot of trouble.  I was always too busy with my horse to find time to get involved with the bad things life had to offer.  My parents made a smart move the day they bought me that mare!

About 2 weeks ago my husband and I took the 2 horses we now have and packed them into our trailer and drove over to Giant City State Park in Illinois.  We tacked up and rode the 12 mile trail……it wasn’t 20+ miles, but once again, I was proud of our accomplishment of 12 miles!  I can’t help but think what it must have been like for people about 150 years ago (that really wasn’t that long ago!!) Can you imagine traversing the trails from St Louis to CA…….Now that would be an accomplishment!!

As I read back through my column today I can’t help but wonder what would happen around here if the “party line” phone system came back…..that could be VERY interesting!!

Talk to ya later!

debbie

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