Writings From Blackberry Hill

Im Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

So today started out as a bright sunny beautiful day.

Time to get a lot done!

First, open the windows and let the sun shine in.

Nothing makes a better feeling than cleaning (after you are done with it that is).

Kitchen floor mopped! check

Dusting completed! check

Wood floors polished! check

Now on with the porch....leaves have been blowing and getting stuck on the porch. Plus the mud from many cowboy boots treadding in and out all day. And of course, ahem, the feathered ones and their lovely (not so much) droppings they leave behind. I was ready to turn on the "Jet" feature of my hose and blast away!

And then I came around the corner to this

It appears that "Gregory Peck" is enjoying this rare sunny winter morning in his own right. Sunning on the porch...the porch I am all primed to blast with a frigid hose set on high beam!

I come to a screeching halt, hose in hand. I glare at him and raise the hose in a menacing fashion. That should do the trick, no?

No.

No indeed. Instead he stretched luxuriously and would have yawned - if he had a mouth that is...

As it was, he just watched me with his one calm eye, while he lay there...feathers gleaming majestic shades of green and red in the sun.

All of the sudden I felt like room service at a 5 star hotel,

didn't you see the Do Not Disturb sign on the door?

Bowing my head respectfully I backed my way off the porch and laid the hose down for another time.

While I wait for the all clear, what else is there to do but blog this post?

The Face of Love

2012-01-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

I love the odd

the unusual

the unique

and one of a kind....

this is what I love all summed up right here

and OK maybe this

these are the 4 faces that make me happy and make my heart sing every day.

Hello 2012

2012-01-03T10:54:00.001-08:00

And the door opens on another new year.

2011-12-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

There is a new addition to our fur family.

A kittie whose name is Baxter.

He needed to be SURE to get introduced to Emmie the dog, AKA cat chaser extraordinaire.

Collars were held and little hands protectively placed around Baxter as he was introduced. The meeting went well and we are all hoping that trend continues

music

2011-12-17T15:57:00.000-08:00

A Brief History of “Let There Be Peace on Earth, and Let It Begin with Me”

Sy Miller and Jill Jackson were a husband and wife songwriting team. In 1955 they wrote a song about their dream of peace for the world and how they believed each one of us could help create it.

They first introduced the song to a group of teenagers selected from their high schools to attend a weeklong retreat in California. The young people were purposefully from different religious, racial, cultural and economic backgrounds, brought together to experiment with creating understanding and friendship through education, discussion groups, and living and working together in a camp situation. Sy Miller wrote in his own words what happened:

“One summer evening in 1955, a group of 180 teenagers of all races and religions, meeting at a workshop high in the California mountains locked arms, formed a circle and sang a song of peace. They felt that singing the song, with its simple basic sentiment – 'Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,' helped to create a climate for world peace and understanding.

‘When they came down from the mountain, these inspired young people brought the song with them and started sharing it. And, as though on wings, 'Let There Be Peace on Earth' began an amazing journey around the globe. It traveled first, of course, with the young campers back to their homes and schools, churches and clubs. Soon the circle started by the teenagers began to grow. Before long the song was being shared in all fifty states – at school graduations and at PTA meetings, at Christmas and Easter gatherings and as part of the celebration of Brotherhood Week. It was a theme for Veteran’s Day, Human Rights Day and United Nations Day. 4H Clubs and the United Auto Workers began singing it. So did the American Legion, the B’nai B’rith, the Kiwanis Clubs and CORE. It was taped, recorded, copied, printed in songbooks, and passed by word of mouth.

‘The song spread overseas to Holland, England, Italy, France, Germany, Lebanon, Japan, India; to South America, Central America, Africa, Asia and Australia. The Maoris in New Zealand sang it. The Zulus in Africa sang it.”

Professional singers began singing it. Over the years many artists have performed the song. Among them are Tennessee Ernie Ford, Andy Williams, Danny Kaye, Nat King Cole, the Smothers Brothers, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Eddie Albert, Placido Domingo, Edie Adams, Gladys Knight, Mahalia Jackson, John Gary, Pearl Bailey, Roberta Shore, Champ Butler, the King Sisters, Mary Tyler Moore, John Raitt, Liberace, Bob Crosby, the International Children’s’ Choir, Gisele MacKensie, Lloyd Bridges, Patti Page, Angela Cartwright, the Young Americans, Jack Smith, Pat Boone, Crystal Gayle, Vince Gill, Harry Connick Jr., Johnny Mathis, Allison Chu, Rhonda Fleming, the Norman Luboff Choir. Television shows with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Lorne Greene, The Boston Pops, Ted Mack and Father Keller have used the song.

“Let There Be Peace on Earth” was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge for “Outstanding achievement in helping to bring about a better understanding of the American Way of Life.” It also received a Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

In Sy Miller’s words again: ‘This simple thought, 'Let There Be Peace on Earth, and Let It Begin With Me' first born on a mountain top in the voices of youth, continues to travel heart to heart – gathering in people everywhere who wish to become a note in a song of understanding and peace—peace for all mankind."

2011-12-17T15:55:00.001-08:00

Scenes of Fall

2011-10-25T08:11:00.001-07:00

The smell of wood smoke hangs in the air,

falling leaves are everywhere.

Life on the farm is busy busy right now but here are a few of the sights recently.

chalk drawings in the driveway

autumn flowers

spectators

hot, salty peanuts over an open fire

fun photography

that wraps up this week from our home to yours!

HELLO Autumn!

2011-09-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

We had a fun idea for welcoming a most wonderful season,

Autumn!

So here is the inside scoop of our photo shoot...

Take 1:

Ok, not bad..........can we move the signs closer together?

Take 2:

lets try this, what if we move the horses closer together?

Take 3:

that's great! Now can you act like you are exuberantly happy that this is the first day of fall even though your Nana is totally interrupting your riding lesson with her camera and silly little signs and take after take of pictures? Hmm? Can you? pleeeze?

Take 4:

Awesome!!!!

You guys are the best! Thank you!

Whats that? The horses are upset because I didn't get their faces IN THE PICTURE?

OK....one more...to make the horses happy

Take 5:

Happy Autumn from our place to yours~

Sick Chick

2011-09-10T17:43:00.001-07:00

One of the hens "martha stewart" (so named because of her extreme attachment to cleaning and arranging the hay in the hen house) got all droopy and began to walk like a penguin, all straight up and down instead of like chickens normally walk.

Many Google hours later made it pretty clear that martha had an egg stuck umm..somewhere.

Treatment is very warm baths to relax the muscles

In case the egg had ruptured and caused an infection in the abdomen Martha went on antibiotics. 3 days of hot bathes and 0 signs of an egg made the peritonitis the more likely culprit.

You haven't really lived until you try to pry open the clamped beak of a highly unwilling chicken to force down a liquid antibiotic that is necessary but dangerous since chickens inhale liquid into their lungs very easily.

After 3 nerve wracking days of this I found a way to inject a strawberry with the drug instead and just let her eat the strawberry!

Much easier on both of us!

She was so weak that she had to be separated from the hens and the rooster because they were beginning to peck at her which (thanks again Google) is a response designed to keep the rest of the flock from catching what the weak one has. So Martha moved in to the big house and lived on a heating pad covered with a layer of newspaper to soothe her sore tummy.

She turned down every food imaginable except the strawberries and was losing weight rapidly UNTIL in desperation I tried butter.

She loved it and would peck diligently while I held a stick of butter in front of her.

That gave her protein, fat and much needed calories, hooray for butter!

So therapy became antibiotic laced strawberries, fresh water, a heating pad and BUTTER.

Not a bad gig for a chicken except for the fact that she started to refuse water....and food...and would turn and face the wall.

Her belly (which had been swollen and hard and red, was getting smaller. The antibiotics were working so what was wrong now?

After consulting my good friend Dr. Google still once more I found a very interesting article that helped me diagnose this latest development. It seems that of all the herd/flock animals that exist, chickens are the most dependant on interaction with the group. On a scale of 1 to 10 they are the tens of group therapy. In short, Martha Stewart was suffering from depression.

Late afternoon is "chickens gather on the deck time" in these parts so that might be a good time to reintroduce Martha to the flock that had tried to peck her to death 3 days earlier, right? Yes? No? Am I throwing her out the door to her death?

Oh the stress of it!

I looked at the chickens on the deck.....I looked at martha standing there all wilted and facing the wall........

Time to see what would happen. I lifted her up and sat her in front of the door and opened it, figuring it would be better if she made her debut on her own two feet rather than me dropping her from the sky so to speak.

Turkey Lurkey on the left, and mz martha rubbed necks and talked - no pecking whatsoever.

.

Even Gregory Peck, the rooster, came over and settled in beside her making little friendly noises.

.

So therapeutic supervised visits for two hours in the late afternoon were added to the strawberries - heating pad - antibiotics and butter regimen.

Today martha spent the whole day outside with her peeps and all was well. No antibiotics, no strawberries, or butter, just chicken feed and fresh raw cream for the probiotics to counteract all the antibiotics.

As twilight set in I was curious to see what martha would do....as the rest of the hens and the rooster began heading towards the chicken house, martha stewart stayed behind anxiously peering in the window at her newspaper covered heating pad.

"stop taking your stupid pictures and open the door" she said.

and in she hurried, as fast as her little legs could carry her

back to the safety of her little warm lair for one (?) more night...

Small town Saturday Night

2011-09-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

The three Musketeers and I

took some time this weekend to paint the town red.

there were Shirley Temples

and fine dining~

some minor trepidation at trying new foods
(ribs instead of chicken nuggets)

Followed by a trip the the local artists Co-op

looking at things from a different perspective

Then off to the childrens theater for a live play.

How the average American child waits for the action to start

Meeting the cast...

and strollin on the boulavard in search of ice cream

a perfect small town hot summer night.

Just Another Day (in paradise?)

2011-09-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

I woke up to a hot morning sun.

We have reached to end of another summer.

A time when everything feels overblown...

the weather

the fields

the garden.

I stepped out of my door and into morning air that felt like walking into a bathroom just after a shower has been running, all hot and steamy.

My bare feet were conscious of the quickly drying grass as I made my way to my garden.
In the humid simmering heat I walked, feeling all earth mothery.

The rich ripe ground which has been giving and growing all summer. The over blown flowers and smells of grass thick in the air, layer over layer.

The nearly spent garden succumbing to morning glory vines and bumble bees now stealing center stage from the peppers, the last fruit standing in a dying garden.

The shade of a nearby tree, long green leaves hanging low, made a pretty picture. The hay fields lush and green spread out in every direction, hot sun over head didn't penetrate my verdant little glen under its massive branches.

So beautiful, so lush, like a hot house garden, butterflies included.

Still caught in the spell of my earth mother - the planet and I are one mood

I rounded the corner, tripping in the process over my pajamas and fell,

landing on one knee in this

Well, at least this is how it looked after I fell on it.

Apparently, my earth mother self temporarily forgot that a hot summer day is not all about last fruits, butterflies and verdant glens. Its also about ants and bugs and sticky heat...

and chicken poop.

My mood was gone in an instant...

impulses to take pictures of a summer morning vanished,

replaced completely by the beauteous wonder of a solid wood door with air conditioning on the other side

(and an inadvertent picture of oneself in the door handle taking a picture of a door handle)

ahh the miracle of forced air ducts! And freezers with ice - and iced coffee!

And a battery operated laptop with which to write down the tale of my conversion.

SPLISH SPLASH!

2011-08-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes its great to live on a farm and sometimes its just as great to get away for awhile.

Go somewhere the opposite of grassy fields...

find a place where there is a lot of liquid magic...

WATER

It takes on a whole other dimension!

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
-Plato

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

2011-08-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

There is probably no better place to observe the ebb and flow of nature in all its beauty and violence than on a farm.

Animals are not aware of animal rights.

They ignore political correctness.

They function by their own code of ethics which is powered by a strong engine called instinct.

During the last week we have had 3 baby calves born (awwww)

found one dead skunk in the yard near the chicken coop (thank you dogs for protecting the hens, said while holding my nose)

one dead feral cat (trespassing can be lethal)

as well as a couple of other interesting "birth to earth" scenarios.

If you are eating or are somewhat visually sensitive, then you want to just look at the nice picture below of the hens eagerly waiting to be let out in the morning and read NO further...

just click off this blog and go to your happy place none the wiser or more disturbed.

Whatever you do don't scroll down!

This is your final warning!

Had a highly unusual event last week. Well, the event was a snake eating its prey (which isn't unusual but the kids capturing him in a card board box and saying "get your camera - hurry! " This was a chance to learn for them - better than a movie in science class for sure!

As the snake slowly pulled the bird in and its jaw unhinged to allow for the great (in comparison) size of its prey, the snake almost appeared to be smiling

I'm sure if we could really know the reptilian minds inner workings, the snake was probably not smiling but instead thinking "GO AWAY and let me eat in peace!" but we will probably never know if I am correct in that or not...

soon the event was winding down and the box was tipped to one side so the snake could go his merry way.

Sad, disturbing, primal, literal life happening there. I wish I had taken pics of the little faces standing around the box. Eyes wide, fingers touching lips, minds taking in the scene before them.

A few days later I got a call from Handsome Son to bring my camera to the milk parlor, there was something I really needed to see.

Picture this, a busy concrete and steel barn. Twice a day it fills up with cows waiting to be milked. The noise level is impressive, vacuum suction swooshing, cows mooing. Nothing tree like or meadow like in the slightest.

Yet?

Here is where a little sparrow decided to build her nest.

I wrote HERE just above the spot, can you see it?

While the cow looked at me in amused alarm, me with the black box up to my eye clicking....that she found strange. What was right beside her in the top of the post apparently not so much....

Fragile little hatchlings...one is still in its shell

once they noticed my shadow hovering over them, little mouths flew open waiting for food

The circle of life.............

poets have written of it, Elton John sang about it and us here on Blackberry Hill get to live it.

Each and every day.

A GUEST BLOGS TODAY

2011-07-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hi.

My name is B-rad and

I am 8 years old.

Today it rained and I was

SO bored.

I played Clue with my Nana and I won!

Then I made lunch for us so Nana could do stuff.

I made roasted pork and cole slaw and potatoes and beans.

I did it ALL by myself and Nana told me the secret ingredient for cole slaw...

shhhhhhh. I'll never tell. Now it is MY secret ingredient!

I helped Nana do her work and she paid me. Then we went to the store and I bought a Transformer.

This

turns

in

to

this!

Then I taught Nana to play Chuzzle

she loved it.

she was good at it.

THE END

Update On My Nemesis

2011-07-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

Todays events. Yep hes back!

So far....

he trys to avoid eye contact

He "back talks" me

and when I ask him what he thinks he is doing he just scratches his head

Egads! Is he turning into a teenager?

My Nemesis

2011-07-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

My year long project of raising grass fed steers for the first time is still moving along. My tiny little steers have become big guys now!

For about a week one steer in particular has been having a grand ole time. He found a break in the fence and has been letting himself out each day for long strolls around folks yards

and generally having a good ole time until twilight when his herd mentality resurfaces and he is happy to have me open the gate to his pasture where all his "homies" await him

as he strolls through the gate he turns to give me one last glance over his shoulder as though saying

"same time tomorrow then?"

Of course this was never meant to be permanent, but he wasn't hurting anything and between the start of hay season, being behind on the spring planting because of the drought and the buying and transporting of a new herd bull this week, putting a board back up just kept getting put off. Heck, the worst that could happen is he would wander off the farm and bother someone - but he seemed pretty content to stick close by

until today that is...

I was just finishing a first cup of coffee when a truck pulled up at my door and a woman leaned out the window to tell me my cow was standing out on the main road.

So much for the idyllic little arrangement we had been having. Apparently I had one steer gone AWOL.

I called the dogs and jumped on my golf cart in hot pursuit of this contract breaking Hamburger on the Hoof !

By then he had crossed the main road and was standing on the other side. When he saw me he turned away and trotted off in to a meadow, where once he felt out of range he began to snack on the trespassed grass of a neighboring farmer.

The small figure in the distance is him - the dogs were quick in changing his mind and he came back out on the road again

Not having nine lives, he risked his one, by crossing the road once again with me playing traffic cop to help the crossing....fortunately there was no traffic, just one dense steer who couldn't seem to understand why a gate wasn't magically opening even though he could see the fence and the cows on the other side of it.

After turning right and then left and getting stopped by enormous spider webs and tree vines as thick as a mans arm, he decided to join the dogs and me on the road and we made an odd little parade back through the gates to the farm.

Whew! Safety.

Apparently he had other ideas....his taste of freedom had been heady and intoxicating.

He wanted nothing to do with his pasture.
He kicked up his heels in the garden and picked up a trash can and tossed it. All the while hearing the song "Born Free" playing loudly in his bovine brain.
He braved the barking dogs lowering his head in a threatening gesture, his pointed horns gleaming in the sun.

Creeping closer, I noticed an odd little look over his right eye.

"Whats this Mr Born Free" You got a souvenir from your time in the spidey woods?"

Well...its on your eye and not in it so you will be fine. While were just standing here, how about you show me where you keep getting out and even better yet, why dont you let your self IN the same way you get OUT???

Imagine my amazement when he said:

"Alrighty, follow me"..............

This smells about right....

are you watching?

and with that said?......

Lessons In Life

2011-07-11T13:36:00.001-07:00

All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to be loved by a little girl.
–Author Unknown

Riding lessons have started around these parts...

what you cannot see,

one amazingly good riding instructor standing off stage right giving gentle instruction

"Heels down, heads up girls. Thats it, very good!" the instructors voice conducts this orchestra...

When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk. He trots the air, the earth sings when he touches it.
William Shakespeare

IT'S TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY

2011-06-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Emmy is the doggie child of my heart so naturally she deserves this holiday.

It is not take your chicken to work day.....

that is another day entirely.

Its a chance for your dog to see what you do all day...

Look Emmy! Cows and fences, yippee!

Come on Emmers we are trying to show the blogging world how scintillating our life is. You are so not getting a doggie treat now. You hearing me?

sigh...............

Its ok I guess,

its hard for Emmy to deal with an uber mom with the aforementioned scintillating job.

Shes probably just shy and embarrassed.

I understand...

I read one time that Billy Joel's daughter didn't like for him to sing around her friends.

Kids are weird that way.

SUMMER BEGINS

2011-06-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

"Summer solstice" : A major celestial event widely, and sometimes wildly, celebrated on earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, it represents the first day of summer – and we all know what that means.

This year summer solstice occurs on June 21 at 1:16 p.m. EDT. At that moment, the sun appears to have reached its northernmost extreme and seems to stand still in the sky. ("Solstice" comes from Latin words meaning "sun" and "to stand still.")
In our hemisphere, according to www.chiff.com, summer solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. In the Southern Hemisphere that happens in December.
In a happy-seeming combination, our first day of summer and the last day of school fall very close to each other. Happy kids foresee months of freedom and daylight, while adults know the first day of summer is actually the beginning of the end of summer because after June 21, the days start growing shorter as the hours of sunlight decrease.

Source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice

On this longest day of the year the sun hangs hot and heavy in the sky...

a gateway to...

baseball games

campfires, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows

favorite swimming spots

and all the treats of summer.

Climb Every Mountain

2011-06-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

Normally we live in the land of flat.

Not this week though!

Do to a huge load of dolomite we had delivered.

To the average eye, this may look like a pile of fertilizer but to a child,

it is a mountain

a place to leap and slide

Dolomite has a very interesting texture. More like beach sand than dirt.*

* Dolomite is rock composed of mainly calciun and magnesium, ground to a fine sediment. Its primary purpose is to balance the ph of the soil for growth of crops.
It is harmless to all young and tender things....such as children....and plants.

Tomato, tomahto, Let's call the whole thing off

2011-06-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Somebody stop the tomato storm!

It is a Monday.

This is what I have staring me in the face.

I have made all the salsa one person can make. Everyone scatters when they see me coming with a bowl in my hands.

There will be another wave of fresh tomatoes ripening in a day or so.

Its time to fight fire with....

the freezer.

I used to stand over a boiling pan of water blanching tomatoes and fishing them out and then peeling them. Its the long hot frustrating way to do things.

And then I came up with a better system. Better because it involves less work!

First core the tomatoes

Place in a microwave safe bowl

cover with a paper towel and microwave 2 to 3 minutes per tomato depending on your microwave.

Let them stand covered and cool for 15 minutes or longer.

The skin separates and peels off easily using fingers or a fork.

This yields (from 4 tomatoes) approx a quart of lovely fresh tomatoes which will be great to have this winter.

I put mine in gallon freezer bags because that's what I had on hand.

I hung the bag of tomatoes from the shelf above using a container of ice Cream as a weight to hold it. I guess clothespins would work too. I let it hang suspended between the frozen blueberries and the Haagen Dazs for two hours because I was going for a log shaped roll for easy stacking instead of letting the tomatoes spread around in the bag.

So it was a laid back style of accomplishing. Micro, let stand till cool, bag, freeze...

but it left me free to do other things and at the end of the day I had that pile of tomatoes tucked away for winter.

It was easy enough that I think I can do this every other day till the tomatoes are gone.

We'll see!

HORSIN AROUND

2011-06-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

My three favorite people have some favorites of their own these days...

of the equine variety!

As any good horse person will tell you, riding is the last and least part of having your own horse. The most important and first part is the care and training of your horse. Building a relationship of trust and respect.

So when the sun gets a little less relentless and the breeze kicks up a bit, its horse time!

Princess #1 has her horse "Lady"

Agent B has his horse "Indigo"

and the littlest Princess has her horse "Lightning"

so cute watching her 70 pound self tell "Lightnings" 1000 pound self

"back up Lightning!"

Everyone gets a good brushing

even a dog or two

Its all about learning the ropes

and building memories that will last a lifetime.

FLIPPERS!

2011-05-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung

the grass has riz

have you been wondering

where "flippers" is?

Thats right, last time we checked in with "Flippie" baby he still was a baby.

Not any more!

His loves are all still the same though

Water! Water!

Great.....get my left side.....

and my right.....yippee!

Its a great life full of lovely humans catering to my every need

Sand In Their Pants

2011-05-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

Its rare for us "in landers" to pull our feet out of plowed fields and head for the salt and sand of the beach but we always manage to make a short 2 day family trip to welcome the water warming and the spring weather.

This year has been a busy one for everybody so while some made it for both days, about half of us were only able to make the second day.

I of course, forgot my camera so I didn't take many pictures. Using my cell phone I did grab a few. Actually the cell phone did a pretty good job.

A tradition associated with going to the beach is a trip to a restaurant called "Bubba Gumps"

For those who have never been, "Bubba Gump Shrimp Co." is a theme restaurant centered around the movie "Forrest Gump"

Getting there is no easy feat as there is no public parking allowed on the beach side of the famous A1A highway. You have to park and cross in a clear "tube" over the highway.

The tube is bright and colorful and banners overhead advertise all the good eats that await you beach side. Starbucks, Cold Stone Creamery, Tiki bars, photo shops - you name it. If you don't know where you want to go they have plenty of suggestions overhead!

looking out of the "tube in each direction, the beach is lined with huge hotels...

"Bubba Gumps" entrance is located right as you exit the tube,how fortuitous is that?

One interesting feature are the tags on each table that signal waiters to stop at your table

The tables are decorated with tin buckets containing goodies such as ketchup, hot sauce and my personal favorite, malt vinegar.

So good on shrimp

and check this out!

Bubba’s After the Storm “Bucket of Boat Trash”

Flash fried Shrimp, Fish with Cajun Spices,
and steamed Canadian Lobster Claw.
Served with Fries.

(picture from their website)

Believe it or not it was my tiny little daughter in law that ordered this (and ate it ALL!)

The main attraction however was the gorgeous beach.

There is a beautiful pavilion as you access the beach. Last year there was a wedding going on here

While I wandered and took pictures and soaked up sun, the little ones hit the water and never came out until they were forced to!

Promises of a visit to Cold Stone for ice cream did the trick but just barely

and so the day ended, with tans on their noses and sand in their pants it was time to head away from sand and water and back to fields and pasture.

Next year definitely two days....

Tuesdays With "Tortie"

2011-04-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

an update

after a few short hours of getting to know "Tortie"

up close and personal

"what chu lookin at?"

and just some quality time hanging out together....

"Tortie" quietly took a walk (escaped) while everyones eye was turned. We have a pretty good idea (based on the dog sniffing interest) that he took up residence here in a log pile nearby.

At least we hope so. We would love to have Tortie in residence!

Mondays Menagerie

2011-04-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

"Flippers" the gosling and his chickie friends "Blossom" and "Speckles" have been joined by 5 more baby chicks. Who can resist such springtime cuteness?

In addition to the chicks, the baby goose and assorted dogs there is now

ta da...

a turtle!

Thats right, a gopher turtle to be exact. He was laying on the side of a sandy road trapped on his back and waving his little legs in a futile attempt to right himself. So he was picked up and brought to the farm where his fascinated young rescuers offered him a meal of fruit and bread. "Tortie" took in all of our interest with an amazingly calm and equally curious attitude.

He didnt seem to feel the need to retreat into the home he wears on his back but rather, took it all in stride.

"Flippers" loves swimming

and so does "Tortie" who swam along quite happily, completely unfazed by the big purple whale staring up at him from the bottom of the pool!

Even a dog or two took a refreshing dip

"Flippers", what did you think about swimming with "Tortie"?

Are You My Mommy?

2011-03-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

Blossom and Speckles are baby chicks.

Flippers is a baby gosling.

They are all the same age.

All three of them still sleep in a cardboard box and still need their heat lamp to keep them warm.

only.....

thing is....

Blossom and Speckles didn't get the memo that they are in this world on their own. They decided quite naturally, that the "big one" must be the mom!

Flippers on the other hand, isn't quite sure what the chicks are for or why they keep following him around.

Blossom trys to eat from Flippers beak... "feed me mommy"

and if Flippers lays down to rest? Oh joy! The little feathered ones cuddle right up with shrill chirps of happiness.

Maybe Flippers should be called Mother Goose?

Hello Spring!

2011-03-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

Meet Bloosom (foreground) and Flippers!

Food For Thought

2011-03-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time,

F. Scott Fitzgerald

I went out to dinner with a friend the other day. A very dear friend of long standing who was about to enter the hospital for some quite extensive surgery.

So I wanted our veritable "last hoorah" dining experience to be as perfect and enjoyable for her as possible. While she works in the legal world by profession, my friend is a fantastic cook who caters weddings and events and has for years out of her sheer love for the process of creating memorable food.

Just last week she catered an event I attended that included delicate puffed pastries stuffed with savory crab. Tiny tortes some filled with berries others with lemon or chocolate cream. All made completely from scratch of course. She is the only woman I know who could open her own branch of the library filled with just her cook books alone,

(she reads cookbooks like most people read novels)

.So imagine my suprise,

Wait!

I am getting ahead of myself here.

I let her pick the restaurant which is smart of me because she always knows the chefs and quality of menu etc..

We began with a wine.

A merlot.

with hints of summer cherry and chocolate the wine list read.

After a careful perusal of the menu choices, my friend ordered.......

a hotdog.

Yes.

She laughed at my shocked face and enjoyed it with relish (yes, I couldnt resist using that word)

"Its what I wanted" she said laughing.

A fine pairing it was, the wine and the hotdog.

And two friends laughing and quoting F. Scott Fitzgerald

Pyromania. (Or Just Mania?)

2011-03-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

PYROMANIA-
A type of impulse control disorder, pyromania is an impulse to deliberately start fires to relieve tension and typically includes feelings of gratification or relief afterward. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ ('pyr', fire).

I love fire! I love the beauty of it. The crackling sounds. The crisp smell of smoke.

After today I may retire of my lame pyromania however.

but I am getting ahead of myself. Let me begin the story.....

Its that time of year!

Time to start burning off the fields. This gets rid of early spring weeds and adds valuable carbon and nitrogen back to the soil.

We got the burn permit.

Plowed a fire line around the burn site.

Put the precaution of a plow standing by in case of emergency

Notice that nice line of freshly plowed dirt there to contain the blaze?

well.....

it didnt quite work!

I wish I had my camera to show pictures of what happened next..

a gust of wind and soon the adjoining field was on fire. It was racing along at about 5 -10 miles an hour (slow) and the tractor was flying around it and at some heart stopping moments even through it.

A much wider fire line stopped it.

About five acres later and about 50 feet short of the bee hives.

The bees are fine.

The field is fine.

All of our heart rates have returned to normal.

Handsome Son and his fearless tractor driving saved the day!

Spring On A Dairy Farm

2011-03-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

New little ones!

New Pets

Spring wishes

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-03-02T11:52:00.001-08:00

Although the "official" first day of spring wont be for a few weeks yet,

(Sunday March 20, 2011 at 7:21PM EDT or 11:21PM Universal Time - kicks off the first official day of spring.)

you cant tell it by looking outside!

The Red bud trees are in full bloom, as well as the Pear trees and the Dogwoods.

Even my said herb pots which I kept going ALL winter dragging them in and out and watering them ONLY to lose them (I thought) to a frost last week....

seem to be making a revival!

See the little bit of green in amongst all the dead stuff?

tiny little buds of hope

The Bridal Wreath bush (spirea) is bursting with big fat buds almost ready to open.

Winter was brutal here - and long. Now nature is extending her conciliatory hand in a gesture of remorse by sending an especially beautiful spring it seems.

Time to throw open the windows and enjoy the colors!

Hiding In Plain Sight

2011-02-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

There was a highly classified meeting held this week.

Born out of desperation, the chicken ladies decided to:

take the bull by the horns.....

wait a minute - too much metaphor mixing -

to take matters in to their own hands

wait a minute - they have no hands-

to take control of their biological destiny

Yes! Perfect! Has a strong chick sounding appropriateness.

So where were we? Ah yes, highly secret planning meeting to come up with a plan to keep that horrible egg stealing woman from robbing the nest. This woman was clever, she built a nice comfortable house and made soft hay filled nests. The rest of her diabolical plan became clear over time.

She actually thought she was entitled to take the eggs that would be laid so trustingly. With the passing of winter and the first whispers of spring - the meeting was held. At this grand poultry summit it was decided to hide the eggs from the crazed egg stealer.

Turkey Lurker, the most highly evolved of the hens, mentioned the concept of hiding in plain sight. Her daring plan was approved and implemented immediately.

Enter the "truck"

The plan for this old truck was to strip the frame to make a small trailer out of it.

notice the proximity to the chicken coop?

It is now the repository of the hens valiant efforts to produce young

Nestled amongst oil cans and old candy wrappers are the secret stash of eggs.
Brilliant, no?

Meanwhile "crazed egg stealer lady" spends her days pulling her hair out in frustration and wondering..

was it the new feed she bought last week? Why are there no eggs in the coop? Are the chickens sick? Should she Google this and try to find out?

Do not waste your sympathy on her though.

This is what she gets for trying to fool Mother Nature.....

Gatlinburg & Points Beyond

2011-02-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

Its been wonderful to leave freezy cold rainy Florida for even colder, frozen points north of us!

The rationale is: if you're going to be cold anyway it should at least be pretty.
And fun.

And exotic.

Mornings waking up slowly in a hot tub while you look at the mountains

Afternoons on a ski lift!

An actual sighting of Pippi Longstocking

It takes a secure man to wear a small pink silk backpack, no?

Too soon it was back to sunny Florida which had turned green in one weeks time. Or so it seemed.

Goodbye cozy little house in the big woods.

goodbye snow drifts

and winter.

Hello Spring!

Hello to cows grazing belly deep in green fields of oats.

Its good to have the memories.

ON VACATION

2011-02-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

Teeth, Part Deux

2011-01-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

We have more teeth flying out of mouths around here on the farm than at any amateur boxing ring!

The Littlest Princess celebrated with chocolate

Robot boy stands for clear gender differences.

He likes all things with motors and steel and action. Chocolate pales in comparison.

Losing baby teeth is a tremendous right of passage when you are so young that your life isn't even measured in double digits yet.

When asked how he would like to celebrate his "gappiness" he said

"I want to drive the truck like my big sister does"

Usually, he is happy enough doing this

while I say hold on! and go about one mile an hour with my foot on the brake while HE laughs and says
GO FASTER!

But losing your two front teeth can change your life.

Qualify you for more mature privileges.

Its all part of what makes growing old great!

Forsooth! The Tooth!

2011-01-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

Its hard to be seven years old and see your pals lose their teeth while yours are stayin firmly put!

So when your turn finally comes and you get to have a nice gappy smile it is a day to celebrate

and between bites of chocolate ice cream...

show the world your new snaggle smile!

Wednesday's Round Up

2011-01-11T10:27:00.000-08:00

What is it about the number 1 lately? Today is 1-11-11.

What today is not:

The first of the week. It is in fact the middle of the week.

So we have this plethora of ones showing up right in the middle of the week.

cool

Other cool midweek things:

The rooster, Roo, has been crowing anxiously this morning at the window. On closer inspection, the sunlight has turned the glass into a mirror. Would it do any good to tell him that it is himself he is seeing?

Probably not.

In it, Roo sees his competition.
His worst nightmare, his adversary, his foe.
He is careful to keep the chair between him and the enemy.
He only stops crowing to look around nervously and wonder where the hens are.
They are of course, enjoying pecking and searching for bugs.
They have no time for rooster shenanigans.
Lets hope the suns upward course ends the reflective factor soon, poor Roo is starting to sound hoarse...

Meet Viceroy:

Viceroy isn't afraid of his own reflection unlike Roo. This may be due to the fact that there are no windows in Viceroys world but has to be due at least in part, to the fact that as herd bull, Viceroy reigns supreme in his world. His sovereignty isn't questioned, least of all by himself.

Viceroy meets Minnie!

Check out Minnie's body language. She would back up mid air if she could, doesn't she look like she's having fun?

Minnie is a monarch in her own right but the reigning title has to go to Emme perched atop her hay bale throne.

But the true star of the day is Dilly (my daughter in law) for dropping by with these.

Arent Wednesdays wonderful?

1/1/11 {playing with numbers}

2011-01-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

"One is the loneliest number," wrote songwriter Harry Nilsson.

Quirky combos of numbers fascinate us. Just last month we had 12/11/10

What will you be doing when the clock strikes 11 on the 11th day of January 2011?

This year also brings us Sept. 10, 2011 (9-10-11)

And don’t forget, 314 days from now it will be November 11, 2011 (11-11-11)

I guess Veterans will consider that a Veterans Day extravaganza

Of course, this is all trivial compared to the doomsday predictions for 2012. If the planet is still rotating in the heavens after Dec. 12, 2012, the Mayans have predicted a cataclysmic event will occur Dec. 21, 2012. That will be on a Friday, which should make it more convenient for those who are planning end-of-the-world parties yet have to be on time for work the next Monday.

If nothing else, we could savor the date for the simple fact that apart from 11/11/11 in November and 12/12/12 in December next year, the next such date will be a decade later, on 2/2/22.

Jus sayin
(and playing with numbers)

Dining Etiquette 101

2010-12-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes its good to have a gentle reminder of what constitutes a fine dining experience. With so much food being eaten on the run or in front of electronic devices of various sorts there is a danger that time honored traditions can slip by the wayside.

Never may that happen!

Lets begin with a couple of "don'ts".

Or maybe more than a couple.....

One definite don't would be to ask your dinner companions if all the gnoshing makes your butt look big.

Nobody wants to think about your butt while they eat. That is just basic 101 Lady, so if you are really a "Lady" ...just don't...

That is best Lady. Good for you!

Moving along with our list of do nots

(not to be confused with donuts - that is another list entirely)

This would probably be a good point to mention that good dining manners would include not having food on your face OR hanging out of your mouth...

OR your nose for that matter!

and as for reclining at the dinner table...

unless you live in ancient Rome or are one of the 12 apostles,

That is considered highly inappropriate also.

Ahem! Do you here me? Someone needs to "steer" you steers in the right direction that's for sure....

Sometimes guests both invited and unexpected will show up for dinner. It is considered poor form to look down ones nose at such guests.

Its a much better course to show a keen interest, make good eye contact and listen carefully

For the fact of the matter is...

no matter what culture, race, gender or species divides us, the act of coming together in peace to share something as simple as a meal,

is what unites us.

"I Know he'd be a poorer man...

2010-12-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

...if he never saw an eagle fly...
lyrics taken from the song "Rocky Mountain High"

We see plenty of birds, living way out here in the boondocks. Mostly we see smaller birds. Robins, blue jays, cardinals and so on. We see buzzards, oh yeah, plenty of buzzards. We even see quite a few owls.

Probably the hardest thing to catch a really good glimpse of is an Eagle. I know I have never gotten a picture of an Eagle myself.

That makes it so cool that my middle son,known around these parts as "handsome son" (self named) was able to grab my camera and capture this

Eagle feasting

birds eye view

taking wing

thanks handsome son!

The Solstice, The Eclipse & The Gift

2010-12-25T21:04:00.001-08:00

Last week was an eventful one.

The winter solstice.

The full moon, accompanied by a full lunar eclipse.

All of this occurring in the space of one night.

Along with this...

we got one more gift.

It was a gift we gave ourselves.

An opportunity became available to buy some really nice, well bred cows from another farm.

40 of them to he exact.

So that is what we did.

Shipping live animals is an art ( I have learned) and we finally agreed upon a shipping date and put our trust in the ability of a trucking company to haul this precious cargo.

The bovine ladies would be moving from their "Big Easy" life in New Orleans down here to Florida. To make transit as easy as possible, they were fed, watered, milked and loaded on to the semi for transport. All of this meant that they would, of necessity, be arriving at about 4 A.M.

Their own private field was all prepped and readied for them with two large round bales of our very best hay and fresh water..

and we waited.

Things went even better than hoped for and the call that the cows were almost here came in at just before 2 A.M. The driver was pulling on to the farm!

I don't think I have ever seen such an unexpectedly beautiful sight.

The "N'awlins" ladies looked like they brought the Mardi Gras with them! A dazzling array of lights (and some mooing). A veritable lagniappe as it appeared out of the dark, like a floating party barge in its very own parade.

I expected trinkets!

Beads!

Doubloons!

Tossed down to the crowds as it rolled its majestic way across the hay field

The bovine beauties and the big eclipse arrived at pretty much the same moment. The celestial darkening and the big puffing brightly lit semi creating quite a vignette that was definitely a first.

We unloaded cows during the eclipse in a dark frosty barnyard so cold the air stung your eyelids and made your nose run.

But nothing can prepare you for an eclipse. So awesome and indescribable.

I did not take the picture below but it is the closest one I could find to convey what it actually looked like.

photo by Goodimages

The cows never looked up. They came down out of that huge trailer (it was two stories high and each cow had its own stall - amazing)and once on solid ground they sniffed the ground in big blows of white foggy breath, decided they liked what they saw and moved right to the hay and water.
Not one cow had to be chased or blocked or coerced. Even by the dark of the moon they seemed happy to get off a rolling truck and back to more familiar things. As is the way timing sometimes goes,just as the last cow entered the field and the gate was shut the moon burst forth blazingly white again.

The eclipse was over.

The cows cows long voyage was over and now the fun begins of getting to know 40 new personalities while they get to know us!

Laissez le Bon temp rouler!
Let the good times roll!

more on the eclipse:

The December moon is called The Full Cold Moon, the Full Long Nights Moon, or my favorite: the Moon before Yule. The moon is above the horizon for a long time and, according to the Farmers’ Almanac, it has a high trajectory across the sky because it’s opposite a low sun.A total lunar eclipse during winter in the northern hemisphere is somewhat common, according to NASA. But a lunar eclipse falling directly on the date of the winter solstice is extremely rare.
With the full moon high in the winter sky, the lunar eclipse will be visible from four continents, with the best views from North America and Central America if weather permits, scientists say.
This year's event will take 3 hours and 38 minutes. The eclipse begins on Tuesday at 1:33 a.m. ET, when the Earth's dark-red shadow will turn up on the edge of the moon, according to NASA. It will take about an hour for the shadow to cover the entire moon. Totality begins at 2:41 a.m. and lasts for 72 minutes. (courtesy AOL News/Lisa Holewa contributor).

http://www.shadowandsubstance.com/

2010-12-22T14:13:00.000-08:00

It was a very cold day......as you can see with Minnie's sweater, (and jacket)

But Minnie wasn't the only one in sweaters and jackets!

Even Lady had a fur coat!

But one thing Lady had never seen is a dog in a fur coat.

But from Minnie's point of view she was like " Oh my word! What is that thing?!"

Emmy was jealous of Minnie and her warm coat.....it was to small so she wanted ours!

This is our "Make it snow pose."

Uh oh....we fell....no snow for us!

Medusa gets mad when there's no snow.....purple fleece girl flies away.....while superboy gets ready to clobber Medusa!

And this ends the tale of our very exciting and freezing cold day!

~THE~END~

This story brought to you by crystal season fairy (Nana's favorite :) )

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2010-12-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

The field mice are hiding in their burrows.
(and in my house)

The world has gone to ground (in Florida terms)

Everything is frozen and for us? That makes everything a work of art

Hope each of you are staying warm and enjoying the the beauty!

Nannok of the North,

2010-12-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

checking in!

Day 3 of a hard freeze in the "sunshine state"

To document these record breaking temps I bring you little seen photos....

Frosting, its not just for cupcakes!

It looks amazing on a cattle trailer too, turning it from red to white

itty bity ice crystals melting where the sun hits - all very exciting to a Floridian who usually only sees this kind of thing when leaving the freezer door open too long while looking at ice cream choices...

Its probably not a good idea to put your prize picture in the middle but here goes anyway,

FROZEN COW POOP

the frozen tundra (just last week it was a hay field)

frozen leaves

icy roses

and last but not least! I bring you some mighty unhappy little chilly chickens who no longer like this Florida and want their money back.

Here A Honk,There A Honk...

2010-12-08T05:38:00.000-08:00

Lady the horse came thundering into the corral yesterday, head up ears pricked forward tail streaming like a banner, she skidded to a stop just in time for the fence snorting loudly. Fear? Excitement? Indignant? All three?

The last time she was this worked up was when a couple of deer jumped into her paddock while making their way across the farm. She wasnt at all sure where those "mutant horses" had come from and why no one sent her a memo about their impending arrival. Before she could even get a good lather going they were gone, clearing a fence as effortlessly as Lady could only do in her dreams.

Since Lady continued to run up and down the fence line snorting, I decided it must not be a here one minute gone the next deer invasion. So what then? A stray plastic bag caught in a tree limb maybe?

What I saw when I went to investigate sent me flying back inside for my camera.....

I was afraid they would leave if I got too close thus the skulking around in the weeds by the fence line. Nothing seemed to deter them though. Not crazy camera woman, not even Lady and a couple of steers who wandered over to watch. That is IF prancing 5o feet one way and wheeling and prancing 50 feet the other way with tail arched and snorting can actually be defined as mere "watching".

Two females and a male. Busily feasting. Do geese eat grass? Seeing geese is rare and always before just flying overhead. It was thrilling to see them on the ground. These particular geese I would find out later (thank you Google)are called Snow Geese and live in Northern Canada and Nova Scotia. Their migratory path usually takes them to the coast of Lousiana. Perhaps the extreme early cold has pushed them furthur south this year? That newly sprouted field of rye must have looked delicious from above, convincing them to land for a long lunch. They looked amazingly plump after such a long journey.

Once the shadows across the field grew long, they gracefully took flight, in formation, male in the lead heading southwest flying towards the setting sun.

It took another few minutes for Lady to calm down and settle in at her hay bale for a long winter chomp herself.

and once again, all was right with her world.

Rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

2010-12-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
(ok...ok...it was mid afternoon but I was weary...)

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,

this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
(all right! shes not ebony, shes a rhode island red. what do you want from me?)

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'

Quoth the raven/chicken,

`Nevermore.'

Nevermore will we enjoy balmy nights of 70

like we did before

the freeze is coming and my concern is severe

you need to add more hay

to my henhouse, ya hear?

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as `Nevermore.'

Is that you turkey lurkey? I rubbed my nap blurry eyes. Why are you going all Edgar Allen on me? If you want another layer of hay in the henhouse before the big freeze tonight why didnt you just say so? I will get right to it...but first lets sit on the steps and have coffee together. What do you say?

What do I say??? said turkey lurkey? I say that I dont drink coffee....that is what I "say". However you have the hay and the arms to put it in my house and spread it most delightfully. For this reason I will be happy to sit here with you while you drink your coffee and then you get busy! Agreed?

Agreed!

and that is just what we did.

THE END

JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY

2010-11-29T09:06:00.000-08:00

On the way to the office (ok well its a barn if you must know) I spied with my little eye...

now a newborn calf is not a rare sight on a dairy farm, but we usually KNOW the event is happening and move the about to be mom to a calving pen. But not this time!

Little mama just did her thing quickly, quietly and with no fan fare.

I took this picture from afar as I didnt want to intrude on the peaceful scene of new life finding its feet in the warm afternoon sun.

Once baby was wobbling a little less and getting the standing up thing pretty well the mama cow laid down for a well deserved rest, content just watching her pretty new baby.

Hope it's a heifer and not a bull!

Winterizing

2010-11-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

the coop.

I do not have boyz in zee hood - I have girls in the coop instead.

Very girly girls at that.

Well, except for the Rooster but he is way out numbered and just has to live in a house where all the ladies like their creature comforts and he must fit in somehow!

My daughter in law and I looked at scads of designs for coops and in the end we just drew up our own plans on a napkin and just went from there. The house is plywood with a tin roof with a 3 inch gap for ventalation at the top of the walls. It is on stilts to protect from ground predators and is surrounded on all sides and above with chicken wire to help keep out hawks,owls, skunks and coyotes.

It has a front door which opens just like a house door with a smaller opening built into it for the hens to access the coop. A small sliding door is suspended over that opening and held with a spring hook. It stays open most of the time except for the rare freezing night where I shut it to help seal in more heat.

The back side of the coop has a hinged door that open upwards like the hood of a car so I can take out the nesting crates for easy cleaning. The floor also is hinged and drops downward at one end so the old hay and manure (and feathers!) can be raked directly on to the ground and out of the coop onto a compost pile nearby.

This winter I am trying something I learned from an old man who kept chickens up North where it got really cold. It is called the deep litter method.

The deep litter method is low-maintenance, and it keeps hens warm through winter as the litter and manure slowly compost and release heat into the hen house. You start with a clean house and about 4 inches of litter (hay, straw, wood shavings, or a mix) in the early fall. Add more litter throughout the season as needed to keep the bedding fairly dry and clean. By winter, the litter should be about 8 to 10 inches deep. It will be composting nicely and giving off heat. The chickens’ scratching will keep it aerated and turned, especially if you throw scratch grains in the coop for them, but you can give it a turn with a pitchfork and that works too. There is suprisingly no odor, I guess due to the cold temperatures and the decompsing. But it mainly just smells like hay.

So today I pulled out the crates that I use as nesting bins. Mine are actually milk crates instead of wooden boxes which I prefer because they are easy to clean.

I turned over the hay that has been building since late September and added a layer of Diatomaceous earth, a white powdered rock that keeps mites and ants away. Then a fresh layer of sweet smelling hay about 4 inches thick.

The chickens will walk around the floor of the hen house some and usually share one nesting box for laying no matter how many you give them.

Some of them ignore the nests you provide and make their own.

But most of all they like to perch on the wooden slats built above the floor, nearer the roof. Since heat rises, it is warm up there and they feel safer "perching" while they sleep.

So the hen house is ready.

Winter can come now.

Blue Moon

2010-11-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

Another Blue Moon

Not the standard two moons in a month Blue Moon. Something a little different.

Seems the ancients had things tidily divided up into 3 moons a quarter. but every now and then we would have one extra moon leaving us with a total (hear the drum roll?) of 13 a year.

Each solar calendar year contains roughly eleven days more than the lunar year of 12 lunations. The extra days accumulate, so every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year Metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon.

Long ago this was bad. Very bad. For one thing, it upset the calenders of the early Roman church with their carefully ordered feast days and holidays. Thus leading to the number 13 being considered "unlucky".

The pagans had each moon named and this "extra" moon was simply called the "blue moon" which kept everything orderly.

The next blue moon will be August 21, 2013

Until then!

Two Peas In a Bucket

2010-11-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

One fine day,

well yesterday actually,

it was time for this:

can you see them?

If you want the "tamer" version you can ride alongside the driver. Or you can go HIGH up in the air and touch the sky!

The free fall with a little bounce at the end is a good way to get your blood flowing!

Of course once your down lots of friends want to hop in too...

The more the merrier!

Who needs the county fair with its luscious smells of corn dogs and elephant ears and the thrill seeking Tilt a Whirl?

Not us!

We can manufacture it right here, down home style! (well, minus the smells of fried sugar air and the music and all the other people)

Thats ok.

Maybe next we will bob for apples in the cow trough.

wanna come?

Who Goes There?

2010-10-13T08:37:00.001-07:00

We have this "thing" that grows here in the south called Pampas Grass.

Its a big tufty thing and was originally planted at a corner to stop the gradual erosion of that spot.

That worked out well and the thing has become ginormous and is pretty I guess if you like that sort of thing, which I do. It has other uses as well...

the dogs will sometimes retreat into it for a private napping spot. The kids also use it in hide and seek games. It is a great hiding spot.

I walked out my front door and at first it felt like any ordinary day...

only I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.....

everything was still.

The cows were all busy munching down on hay, the dogs were all gone on doggie errands and yet that feeling remained...

of being stared at.

And there it was!

Under the Pampas Grass, something black...no white, no black, had me fixed in its beady eyed stare.

Can you see it there in the Pampas Grass?

Hardly?

See what I mean about a great hiding spot?

Just ask Oreo!~

She was laying down at first but with each click of the lens while I kept creeping closer she heaved herself to her feet and glared at me as only Oreo - the queen of self entitlement-can.

Thats ok Oreo. We all understand the need to take a break once in awhile~

10-10-10

2010-10-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

TEN is the number of today...

10 things I love
(not necessarily in order of importance)

1) rain
2) down filled anything
3) the open eyes of children
4) loyalty
5) family
6)a lazy Sunday morning with bagels, coffee and the CBS Early Show
7)the smell of baking bread
8)the amazing gift of a best friend
9)coffee
10)a pencil scratching across a fresh white sheet of paper.

10 Things I Didn't Know

1) That I could be 50 and still feel 20
2) That all that glitters isn't gold
3)That sunrises and sunsets have the same power. No matter how many of them you see.
4)That each day is an opportunity to reinvent yourself
5)That I would have the best of people still in my life for another 10 years
6)That love is still the most powerful force
7)That I would admire my two daughters-in-law as much as I do
8) Ditto #7 for my son-in-law
9)That this difficult economy would be a blessing in disguise
10)That I would feel this profoundly grateful for the above.

10/10/10 Psychology
The number ten seems to give people that warm, fuzzy feeling:
“I won TEN thousand dollars!”
“I got TEN things done today.”
Then of course, there are the ever ubiquitous Top Ten lists. The top Top-Ten lists are (in no particular order):
Top Ten To Do, Top Ten Reasons, Top Ten Links/Websites, Top Ten Music/Songs, Top Ten Movies, Top Ten Headlines, Top Ten Jokes, Top Ten Mistakes, Late Show Top Ten, Top Ten Reviews/Lists.

posted at 10:10 a.m by yours truly.

The True Tale Of Honey Bun and Her Side Kick Oreo

2010-10-05T11:17:00.001-07:00

You may remember me talking about having sick calves and running IVs a few weeks ago.

This little girl, Honey Bun, got well but lost some ground (weight wise) in the meantime.

She is with her "age group" but she is the smallest (and she is not all that bright) so she struggles.

It was time to step in. Help her pick up the pace and gain some weight.

So I started by sneaking her a bite of grain when the big honchos weren't looking.

BUT HoneyBun was uneasy with her new found bucket of goodness because she pines for her BFF.

Her BFF is a smart wily, feisty little heifer named Oreo.

Oreo looks after HoneyBun and HoneyBun adores her.

So now, Oreo who is perfectly healthy and has no "need" to be out roaming free,

gets to!

Because she keeps HoneyBun happy and calm.

Oreo's first act of freedom was to scarf down the rest of HoneyBun's sweet feed.

*note to self: will need to have TWO buckets of sweet feed from now on. (sigh)

HoneyBun says, "thank you farm lady for bringing Oreo to me. My life is good now."

Oreo says, "yeah, thanks! I could get used to this life outside the pen. BFF's rock!

Is It Monday Again Already???

2010-10-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Its harvest time here in the deep South!

Peanuts are one of our crops and we have just begun the peanut harvest.

The first step is to dig them out of the ground. Then they dry a couple days and then a combine shuffles and sorts peanuts from plant.

The only thing we need is window of clear dry weather.

Which we have.

So far.

Tonight we gathered around the fire pit.

There is something so primal and elemental about fire isnt there?

Stories were told

along with much laughing and doggie farts*

the *"said doggies" tried to look innocent as they lounged around our feet near the fire.

We looked at the planet Jupiter, so far away and yet 4 moons were visible with a lens. Supposedly this is the last time to view this for 50 more years?

If so, some of us are seeing it for the first time and some of us will never see it again. As night closes in, the the little ones find a comfortable lap to curl up on.

Beautiful and restful.

The thing about a fire is...

its wonderful

and oh yes,

smoke gets in your eyes (and nose)

Just Another Manic Monday

2010-09-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

"Dorothy, you're not in Kansas (or at the beach) anymore."

For starters, everyone was late for work. For different reasons but still...

One truck had a flat tire. Another truck had a dead battery. 3 seperate people all had legitimate need for the one remaining truck still road worthy. Draw straws?

Bad storms blew in this morning around 10 or so, just after the tire got fixed and the battery charger got hooked up.

A power pole was down across the main road which made the grain truck late which meant breakfast was running late for about 100 cows who didnt see the humor in any of it and kept glaring at us saying "wheres my cereal?"

My neighbors hot tub cover was thrown agianst my fence and my cooler was jammed against it. Cushions from my newly refurbished deck were all over the yard and the chickens were huddled against the door seeking asylum.

This is just the noon update. We will see how the rest of this Monday goes!

High Noon at the "not OK" corral

Down By The Sea

2010-09-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Very quick trip to the seashore before the fall sets in and the water gets chilly...

Sitting at a table eating coconut shrimp and looking at an azure tide

Where else can you get such stupendous views like this? I live on a farm and find this ever so impressive!~

There was a wedding going on in the courtyard.

Warm and uncrowded, everyone just soaking up the last bits of summer

Saw a jelly fish (dead)

and a mermaid (live)

brought one home with us and left the other...

The First Day Of Autumn

2010-09-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

September 22, 2010

This is my absolute favorite time of year and to celebrate its coming, I decided to make my deck a more comfortable place to sit out and enjoy the crisper days and chilly nights.

It was time.

The deck is probably the most "abused" functioning part of the house. Blistering hot summers, rainy puddles, chicken unmentionables, dogs, kids rollerblading, spilled ice cream and sand. Lots and lots of sand from boots trekking back and forth.

The flooring had long since been worn bare of its former green stain and the railings weren't far behind.

Some befores

nothing to write home about, that's for sure.

after

found a great candle holder

went all the way back to town because I forgot a candle...

a little herb garden, with some mint and oregano. One of these pots is mint chocolate and that is exactly what you smell when you crush its leaves. yummy

Had to try out that candle since I had made a special trip back to town just to get it. Incredible spicy fall smell that candle manages to have - perfect.

Not even the finest candle was any match for the almost (tomorrow) full moon above.

Pretty stiff competition...

How do you welcome fall where you live?

Kissing Cousins

2010-09-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Todays picture:

Two little heifers that have just finished drinking a gallon of milk out of their buckets then decide to lick each others faces and suck each others noses.

Hey! In my world we call this cute~

Calves do this a lot but this is the first time I ever took a picture of it.

even if it was with my cell phone

Friday Photo

2010-09-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

Busy Friday here! Putting up hay all day and didnt think anyone would want to see yet another hay picture.

So here is just a plain ole ordinary day picture.

Enjoy your Friday.

2010-09-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

My middle son (who is self named Handsome Son) and his wonderful wife Dilly (derived from the acronym DIL (daughter in law) and their wonderful daughter, the littlest princess are on vacation this week.

We are sure that they can hardly concentrate on having fun what with worrying about the farm and all...

so to relieve their concern, the following post has been written by those in a position to do so.

Dear Handsome Son, Dilly and Littlest Princess,

Hope you are enjoying your vacation!

Here are a few updates on the farm in case you are homesick....

Your Dad was hauled away by the Feds yesterday...
the charge was "Producing Too Much Methane". We tried in a brilliant legal maneuver, to prove it was the cows that produce methane but they insisted that their technology indicates it is him alone.

Next we tried to bail him out of those awful jail conditions...

but he fought us off valiantly.

He said he will try to "cope" with doing his time in the pen...

air conditioning, free cable TV, a "rec room" and lights out at 9 p.m.

He seems disturbingly happy.

We are sure it is a symptom of his captivity. Given the fact that most days he gets up before dawn and labors away for 12 to 14 hours in the heavy sun, why wouldn't he want to get out of jail and get back to that? It makes no sense really.

All of this has left your mom to do the heavy lifting, which isn't quite how things worked out, as today she got jumped by a 700 pound steer while her back was turned, slamming her into the ground which fortunately was very soft due to a recent rain and the fact that this is a "dumping" ground of manure for the grass fed steers.

Lucky her!

After she got up and spat out a lot of questionable stuff she seemed OK...her T shirt looked cool on the back with two huge hoof prints trailing down it. Gives new meaning to the phrase

"Eat **** and DIE! doesn't it? She did one but not the other,

technically speaking.

Given all the upheaval, the day to day running of the farm has been turned over to Rosie Red Princess and Robot Boy who made an executive decision to move the whole thing from reality world to the virtual world.

You can now find the family farm on Farmville at Facebook where the farming is finally going ever so much better!

In terms of the practical day to day matters an executive decision has been made in your absence and Dixie Dawg and Turkey Lurkey have been appointed to oversee matters in the interim until your return.

We hope you are finding your vacation satisfactory and as you can see...

no need to worry here!

We have everything under control....

Yours truly,

Turkey Lurkey

oh yes,

and

Dixie Dawg

Time To Dish!

2010-09-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

No juicy gossip here, sorry. There will be in the next post though so stay tuned!

This post is just about how to make a one dish meal that tastes good and looks like you worked hard on it when in reality it only takes abouut 30 minutes of your time.

I call it Rustic Pork Casserole because adding the word rustic makes it more charming. I guess one could up the ante even more by calling it Cassoulet which is ever so much more delectable sounding, while still meaning "meat and beans cooked in a crockery pot that has been rubbed with garlic."

Since I am replacing beans with potatoes and dont speak French, I will go with rustic instead!

Rustic Pork Casserole

Use as many pork chops as you like, just add the same amount of potatoes.

I used 8 of each. The pork chops are the cheaper "blade" cut porkchops which were on sale as "buy one get one free", thus explaining why I got 8!

Blot your porkchops so they will brown better.

Plug your crockpot in to warm up while you brown your chops in a heavy skillet. You are not trying to cook them, just brown them. A sandwhich press helps increase the surface contact for better browining if you have one.

place your browned pork chops on a plate and brown the remainder of them. A minute or two in a hot skillet gives a nice amount of browning.

While they are browning throw some celery in the bottom of your heating crockpot.

tip: cut the ends of the celery on an angle and they will fit perfectly in your round or oval crockpot.

While your chops are browning, scrub as many potatoes aas you have porkchopsand prick them with a fork. Microwave them for one minute each. This is the equivelent of "parboiling" and helps move this dish along faster.

Slice them in thick slices which will hold up better...

Chop some garlic...

for 8 chops and 8 potatoes I used 4 TBSP but you can use less if you are afraid of garlic OR you can trust me that it wont taste over garlicky and just go ahead...

The spices (easy and simple)Lawry's and Sage.

Layer the porkchops on the celery and the potatoes on the pork chops. Add your seasonings and finish each potato layer with some additional pepper.

Meanwhile back to your hot skillet the porkchops browned in... add some water to the drippings and bits...

also add a couple of dashes of Worcestershire

and a squeeze of lemon

this would have been a perfect time to add some fresh chopped mushrooms but I didnt have any - I did add some canned ones later.

Pour the pan drippings over the contents of the crockpot, cover and cook on high for one hour or on low for several hours. This dish is very forgiving and the flavors wont intensify too much, so its really up to you how long you cook it. In the last 30 minutes before serving, add some frozen peas and 1/2 cup of cream (not milk).
The cream thickens and pulls all the flavors together really well and the peas add some crispness and color.

I served mine with salad (beets, feta, romaine and red onion) and some flat bread I happened to have. Corn bread muffins or rolls would have been even better.

The prep time in this dish is only 30 monutes at the beginning. Then throwing in the peas and cream at the end. It makes your house smell yummy and makes all your hungry mouths happy. Not bad for 30 minutes!

September Is Here

2010-09-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

A mid morning shot that perfectly captures the Florida mood this time of year. The abundance of heat and rain and over growth of August is all around us. But the wind has picked up and it is drying out. A farmer friend told me she can "smell the fall coming"

May she please be right!

So goodby August with your heavy rain and 100 degree days. Now we get to leave the greenhouse effect behind and move into the fall and winter that makes Florida a paradise to live in.

Happy September to you all~

BLUE

2010-09-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Our farm lost its fearless mascot this week.

As far as we can tell his bigger than life heart must have just given out as he walked up the dirt road from the barn to the house. Handsome Son had just come up from the barn and remembered something he needed and turned around. He found Blue laying in the road already gone. Very fast. No pain.

He has left a very big hole in the fabric around here.

Here are a few things that we loved and will miss about Blue:

He looked like a big horse when he walked across the hayfield. Sometimes I would see him ambling his way up from the barn to the house and think a cow had gotten lose but no it was just big ole Blue...

Blue loved to lay on the picnic table, yes he did.

and play with "his" basketball

Guard dog on duty

Blue in love...

other things Blue "loved"

hitching rides right to his guard post at the front door

sleeping on the cool wood floor during the day

and his lambswool bed at night

But the BIGGEST love of Blues life was....

the cattle trailer!

He loved all the mysterious odors clinging to it, the clanging creak of metal against metal. He loved it with cows in it or out of it. He loved it best when HE got to ride in it. It was the closest his "jowls" ever came to smiling.

We buried him at the foot of Blackberry Hill. The most beautiful spot on the farm and the inspiration for naming this blog.

There he rests under a tree with a view of the whole farm spreading out in every direction.

He would have liked that.

Ode to August

2010-08-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy cutting hay, fertilizing peanuts, planting fall crops, milking cows and just in general meeting ourselves coming and going that I have had a hard time making it to a desk and a computer to blog.

Fortunately for me I have some help....

I have some "guest" bloggers that are willing and able to fill in. They are so fantastic that you may prefer them and never want to hear from me again!

Their photography is exceptional. It was hard to narrow the pictures down to a handful but below are some very special photos. Special because they were taken through the unique lens of a child's eye...

photos by:

Rosy Red Princess

the Littlest Princess

and

Robot Boy with super powers extraordinaire!

Runaway heifer...she broke through the fence and has been living wild and free around the farm. That needs to stop soon, meanwhile she is enjoying herself very much.

equipment that works

equipment being worked on

grass needs mowed

no words needed:

shoes to fill someday

summer skies

We got a special treat when Robot Boy decided to make us all a snack of his own creation.

The Robot Boy Special
hot dog bun
two saltine crackers laid carefully on the bun
a slice of American cheese ripped in half
and his secret ingredient...
a thick line of whipping cream from a can sprayed down the center.
close the bun.eat. enjoy.

Thanks Robot Boy!

Special thanks also to our star photographers in this "self" photo"

Rosy Red Princess and her sidekick, the littlest princess

~ stay cool everyone, fall is almost here!

A Morning Nap

2010-08-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ever wake up so early that by 10:00 a.m. you are exhausted?

Yesterday was a little like that.

I was up late the night before (being "lady liberty") and the funny thing about staying up late on a farm is that it does not necessarily translate into sleeping in the next morning!

I have one inside dog, the rest sleep outside. This inside dog Emmie, cannot make herself rest past dawn though. She is a canine alarm clock and somewhere between 6 and 6:30 she shoves her nose against mine (or sits and whines loudly) until I stumble to my feet and open the door for her. Opening the door then makes me curious about the weather ( you obsess about weather on a farm) and I stand there rubbing my face and looking at a fog covered world and wonder about the weather that will be for that day. This thought makes me pick up the remote and flip on the TV weather.....which all in all means I am pretty much up at this point.

What that leads to is sometimes being a little tired and needing a nap or a doughnut or coffee or something around 10:00am.

Today however, at 10:00 I was in high gear. Two of our trucks were broken down. One had a leaky radiator the other was/is a fuel pump(?)

A flurry of phone calls and ordering parts added to the days normal routine.

That did not mean that naps were not being had though...

As I happened to pass by a door I saw this:

break time in the poultry world....

my usually taciturn and remote rooster, dozing right by the door! That never happens.

He looks dead doesnt he?

and just inside the door the same thing was happening in "canine" world

only this always happens....

Emmie does her "doggie yoga" each morning come what may...

This is her "upward facing dog" pose (she likes to live outside the lines)

Here is her "downward goddess" pose

Her "go away you are annoying" pose...

But the rooster was what really intrigued me. He wont let you get close to him. He is a very cautious fellow that way. So to see him lay right on the beaten path so to speak was a first. I went out the front door and crept around to the side of the house where he was taking his fiesta cuddled against the lemon tree...

in the time it took to walk out the front door and around to the side of the house, he had shifted his position and moved even closer to "danger" (the door).

I wished I could get a close enough shot to see his 3 eyelids, they look like membranes. One is clear and goes from side to side, one goes down and the other closes up. Pretty fascinating stuff but every time the camera clicked - he opened them.

You know what just dawned on me? "Roo" has no eyelashes! None at all, nadda. Thereby eliminating all need to ever buy mascara, which is good since he doesnt drive, so how would he go get his mascara in the first place? And even if he did have eyelashes and he did drive to get his own mascara, then what? Would he have to sing on American Idol, change his name to Adam, move to California and become a rocker? Where would this lead poor little "Roo" in his life?

No. He is better off nappping in the sun at 10:00 am on my deck. Sometimes nature really does know best.

911 In a Pasture, Lady Liberty & the Pursuit of History

2010-08-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

I have a few heifers (young female cows) living amongst my "Lost Boys" (steers - beef cows; males who are "fixed")

Due to lots of time spent haying and just being busy, I didn't pay attention like I should have...

they found some Nightshade (deadly poison) and some of them nibbled it.

As a result I have over the last two days:

one dead heifer,
two very sick heifers
two slightly sick steers.

One little heifer has responded to treatment. I took her all the way back to ground zero (fed her colostrum) and she has rebounded.

The two steers seem fine with being allowed to run free and eat whatever they want. That leaves just one little heifer....

she is losing ground each day on her own so today in addition to colostrum, she got a shot of antibiotic and an IV of glucose along with a bolus of vitamins.

SO at the end of a very long day which included losing our power in a storm, I got to stand in a damp grassy field using the lights from the truck

to hold a bottle of glucose hoisted over my head while it infused into my little patient

looking up at the stars on a very dark night

and started reciting as much of the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty as I could remember

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...hmmm...

the IV bottle gurgled while I tried to remember...

establish justice, insure domestic tranquility? no, that is the Preamble to the Constitution -

I didn't watch School House Rock for nothing!

I ran through a few other nuggets from old history classes

"Two if by land and one if by sea? no....

"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness?" no,

being the statue of Liberty isn't very easy...

my nose was itching and the blood had drained out of my arm...

that's it! something about her arm!...

She lifts her lamp by the golden shore....or door..or something like that.

The last of the life giving fluid gurgled down the tube and I gratefully lowered my lady liberty arm, climbed over the fence and came home.

I had to Google it....

Its all coming back to me now!

On the pedestal below her, it says,

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of you teaming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

This poem is called the New Colossus and it was written by Emma Lazarus.

Monday Minutes

2010-08-08T21:09:00.001-07:00

The view outside my window

One more hayfield harvested, several more to go...

Life Is Like A Bowl Of

2010-08-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

The last of the summer cherries...

Ever made Clafoutis?

Thats French for pancake batter!

Seriously!

You end up with a delicious dessert that is custardy if you serve it warm and more crepe-like if you let it cool. The beauty of it is you need to only have 3 cups of cherries (or any other summer fruit, really) and the basics: milk, eggs,a bit of flour to make this.

Clafoutis

1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Almond extract*
6 Eggs
6 tablespoon Sugar
1 and 1/4 cups Milk
Pinch Salt
3⁄4 cup All-purpose flour
3 cups black cherries, pitted or unpitted*
Confectioners' sugar (optional)

*(Some people dont pit the cherries, the pits add a lot of almond flavor.I add the almond extract and pit the cherries instead) Preheat oven to 425° and generously butter a 9" cast-iron skillet or baking dish. Combine vanilla extract, eggs, sugar, milk and salt. Whisk till blended, then add flour and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.

Pour batter into buttered skillet and evenly spread cherries over top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar or a spoon of whipped cream if desired.

"Life On A Farm Is Kinda Laid Back"...

2010-07-28T12:19:00.001-07:00

and kinda not...

I have to believe John Denver thought he was right when he penned that thought in his song, or maybe he was high ( but only on the Rocky Mountains I'm sure- I kid! I kid!) when he dreamed that line up.

Whichever is the case, I'm scratching my head and trying to remember the last time life on the farm felt even remotely "laid back".

Facts are facts and the facts are,
there is no good ole summer time when the livin is easy on a farm in Florida.

Since I seem to be doing an awful lot of phrase and song quoting today I should probably through in the one that best applies here:

Make Hay While the Sun Shines!
{insert your own sound of whips cracking here}

The problem with using the sunshine to "make hay" is that most other chores are commonly done in the sunshine, or at least the daytime, also. So if the day is now solely devoted to haymaking where do those other things fit in?

Well thank you for asking...

they fit into the pre day and post day you slackers!
(ahem, I mean me, I'm the slacker - not you)

It just makes sense!

or at least it seems to make sense when the grass is growing an inch a day and you know you have at least 600 bales to put up before it quits growing so there is enough to feed all winter.

No one has figured a way to get the horses to understand they dont need attention, or gotten the cows to milk each other, or told all the young stock to worm and vaccinate themselves.

No.

Instead, they all stand around like a bunch of losers waiting for us to do it!

Its probably our fault for not training them better when they were little but they just act like they are on summer vacation lounging around chewing their cud while we race around like crazy people trying to fit all the normal chores into the day.

Actually, now that I read that sentence, I think maybe they are on to something and we really are crazy!

Be that as it may I took my camera with me yesterday to record a day in the life of above mentioned said crazy people....

Day begins:

6:15 throw on clothes, grab a pot of coffee and a box of doughnuts (otherwise known as moral builders) and try not to be the last one to show up in the barnyard ( I wasnt - I was the second one there - hooray!)

6:45 Up before the sun has made much of a dent and I can barely see the cows heads in the mist. I will call this picture

"Cowrillas In the Mist"

These young heifers are not used to seeing humans cavorting in their pasture in the predawn mist and so naturally are a little suspicious but food must be the universal language of come hither (see doughnuts above)because the mere sound of the grain cart rumbling towards their feed trough is enough to win them over and make them through caution to the wind

after a few tasty mouthfuls they are herded into a corral where they are put one by one into a chute. Even though they are young (thus the worming and vaccinating) they still weigh about 400 - 500 hundred pounds so we restrain their heads for our safety. each one gets wormed and vaccinated

along with a reassuring pat that its all gonna be over in a minute...

10:45
After the heifers are happily munching the rest of their grain, free of our "interference" with their daily routine, it is time to for tractors to be fueled up and time to hit the hay fields.

This will continue in shifts all the live long day.

Lunch will figure in there somewhere eaten beside tractors idling in wait

on and on, under the sun

8:45PM This picture was taken on my last shift as "water boy" 8:45 PM

8:50 The sun is sinking fast,

the field is done being raked and the baler can go on into the night since it has headlights and the air is hot and dry and wont put any moisture on the ground until after midnight.

9:00 Time to go do the night milking for the final chore of the day.

Only a 14 hour day....

and we got everything scheduled for this day done, not bad!

A Weekend - In Food, More Or Less

2010-07-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

One of my oldest friends,
oops! she wouldn't like that- I'd better rephrase...

one of my bestest, most long standing friends from when we were both teens,
that's much better!

came to town to help celebrate an award that another friend of ours was receiving on Friday at a banquet.

The banquet was awesome, a beautiful restored historic building, great music, wonderful food and a lot of interesting people.

The dessert was a molten lava dark chocolate confection with a crispy chocolate crust.

The "after party" Martinis where I entertained myself with trying to catch the "glow" in the martini glass using a small table candle as back lighting.

Did you know that warm pomegranate martini s are not tasty?

All in all (warm martinis aside) it was a richly elegant evening and a wonderful experience.

The next morning was more my speed however. The local 50's diner. Clinking of heavy china, the heady aroma of brewing coffee, a grill turning out such delicacies as bacon, hasbrowns, and don't forget, pancakes.

And grits!

And raisin toast!

Even the air in this place is practically edible.

It is one of those breakfast anytime of day places where you can stay as long as you want - and we did. 3 hours actually! After the late night that had come before, it was fun to sit, relax and talk about anything and everything from college bound kids to those among us who are college bound ourselves!

Since my friend doesn't visit often and since she has a lot of roots in this community and is in pretty hot demand when she does visit...I was very glad we got to squeeze in one last bit of time together on Sunday, the following morning.

We met at what my son calls the "Hippie Cafe" but really it is a delightfully "artsy" cafe (there are several artists involved in the business actually) with an emphasis on wholesome and delicious foods.

Things like steel cut oats cooked long and slow the old fashioned way. Every fresh seasonal fruit imaginable and oh yes!

A waffle station where you get your waffle to order. On this day it happened to be ginger bread waffles served with bananas, walnuts and a dollop of heavy cream.

Although they are wonderful for a lazy Sunday brunch, they are especially known for their to-die-for from scratch dessert pies cakes and breads, some of which you can see in the dessert case in the picture above.

Maybe it is because of that, this place always smells like frosting.

Cakes baking,

warm sugar and vanilla.

That is the appeal of this place...

oh!

and all the art work -which is everywhere- is original and for sale.

Feast for the eyes, feast for the soul.

I don't know when I will see my friend again. We both seem to be getting busier rather than slowing down. I do know that when we do finally get together, it will be like it always is...an instant reconnection and the easy familiarity that is the identifying mark of true friendships.

"I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with the roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frost-work, but the solidest thing we know."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Presto Pesto!

2010-07-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

You know how one day you can look at your garden and say I really need to harvest that basil soon and then the next day you say that again and before you know it a week has gone by and basil is threatening to take over the planet?

Ok, maybe not the planet, but definitely your deck and most certainly the container that it is growing in?

Yesterday was that day. I had grandiose plans to dry the basil. I even had some wonderful little spice jars to put the dried basil in, thinking of what great gifts that would make this winter.

Only thing is, it is not winter...it is summer and the hay must feel it is in serious competition with the basil because it is growing equally as fast - or faster if that's possible.

They hay can not,will not,wait. That means the hay wins - the basil loses...

its head that is...

yes,

I grabbed the scissors and lopped off the tops of the basil and in 15 minutes had turned it into pesto!

Pesto is easy and fast. I love to make things that sound exotic and hint of faraway places and actually take less than a half hour of my time!

There are very few ingredients in pesto:

Basil, olive oil, Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, lemon~

NOTE* It is better to use grated fresh Parmesan if you have it, which I didn't, the canned works in a pinch.

Wash the basil and take most of the stems off, just using the leaves.

For every 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed down you will add:

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese (or canned will work)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts (or walnuts will work)
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS. fresh lemon juice

Combine the basil with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor or a blender. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add lemon and taste. Adjust ingredients by adding a touch more olive oil, lemon or salt if you dont thing the cheese has added enough salt.

It doesn't work well to leave it for long periods of time in the fridge so I freeze mine (an ice cube tray works great but I don't have one so I made dollops of pesto and froze them and put them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. If you freeze the "dollops separately - they wont stick together in the same bag.

Interestingly ugly isnt it?

Ahh..but when you throw it in hot pasta it is beautiful indeed!~

It's A Small World

2010-07-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the liquid wonderland home of "Bubbles" and "Pearl."

They are a couple of optimists.

I know this because they never see the glass as half empty.

No.

To them, life is rich and full and satisfying.

Some may see them as living in a watering trough.

They love it that they don't live in someones home in a fishtank. That they can look up and see the open sky above them anytime they want.

It's true, that no one gives them nice tasty fish food once a day but they have visitors...

visitors that eat grain and grass and lets just say they are a tad sloppy when they are slurping!

Bubbles and Pearl enjoy the visit as well as the "groceries" that fall out of the visitors mouth.

Speaking of visitors, they get lots of them...

That's the way it is when you have a waterfront home....

you are very popular with guests!

Pearl knows this so she cleans a lot! She likes a nice presentable home for her visitors. Who knows? They might even bring their camera and take pictures. So Pearl cleans while Bubbles watches...

They are just your average stereotypical type that way.

Average is their idea of perfect. They are happy living on what some would call the cutting edge of mediocrity. They dont travel much and dont enjoy long walks or any airborne sports.

No, they are happy in their rich little ecosystem that gives them everything they need. In the little quarter inch space of their heads, where their minds reside, they are busy, productive and content.

Just hanging out
lovin life
and going for a nice swim each day.

Hey Laaadee

2010-07-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Lady is a horse.

She is a most trend conscious, fashion setting horse. Her halter always is the right shade to match her mood.

She recently got a fantastic pedicure.

I haven't had a pedicure or even a haircut all summer. She looks all très chic, while I look like a lost sheepdog.

I say that to say this...

shes obviously my go to person to get advice on getting my hair done next week.

So Lady can I talk to you a minute?

Lady - Oh its you again....did you bring me an apple?

Me - Oh, um no, I forgot the apple - I will go get one in a sec- right now I have a question to ask you...how do you get your hair to look so good all the time?

Lady - Well I think its important to develop your own style. I had this style till I read some chic named Rihanna started copying it...

so I had to move on to this,

the difference is subtle but powerful, no?

Me - No...I mean....yes! Its very powerfully subtle!

I also like your highlights.

Lady - You really don't know much about this do you? This is a blend of high AND low lights - that's all part of my "customized" look.

Me - Ah yes, when I run my hands through it I see the low lights - you are sooo right on about that Lady!

Me - So you have been a LOT of help. I am going to ask for something artfully tapered and perhaps a slightly windblown look....and highlights AND lowlights for sure. Thanks Lady. You're the best!

Lady - Yes I am. Not to change the subject....but about that apple we discussed a few minutes ago???

Me - Yes! Of course! Be right back!

Lady - Ok, Ill just wait right here...

The Incredible Edible Egg...

2010-07-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

My chickens have been on a bit of an egg laying hiatus over the winter and early spring. Did it have to do with the sudden disappearance of half the "sisterhood" last fall?

I don't know.

But I have cut them some slack now that I am down to the FAB FOUR plus one very happy Rooster. Finding an egg or two or even just the occasional egg was ok, I was happy with that.

In my determined attempt to make room for natures way of doing things and allow them to free range, I have learned that life does not follow a straight line.

Instead, nature likes to confound and delight us with periods of deprivation followed by a glut of unannounced abundance.

Ah yes, mother nature is a tricky little thing and the biggest lesson to learn from her is to take NOTHING for granted.

We can take electricity for granted,

we can take cell phone reception for granted,

heck, we can take life and death for granted,

but whatever you do...

Do NOT take a chicken for granted!

For if you do,

you will feel really dumb later because chickens do the totally unexpected thing.

Always.

For instance,

after laying very few eggs at all - we started getting a LOT of rain. Bugs were forced to the surface rather than drown underground this meant my chickies got to feast.

and what that meant was...

instead of the occasional egg here and there, they got serious!

Each morning when I would opened the hen house I would find 4 eggs.

One from each hen (even Turkey Lurkey who has always felt that egg laying was beneath her exotic self!) in 9 short days I had(yes count em) 3 dozen eggs! Gulp.

I washed the eggs and tucked them away in my fridge only to watch each successive day bring with it a profusion of more eggs.

Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!

I finally just boiled a dozen of them to make deviled eggs because I know that deviled eggs in my world are like milk bones in a dog world. There can never be too many! The guys will just scarf them down at will.

After I boiled the eggs I stuck them on the counter over the sink and admired how pretty they all looked.

Pictures of minutiae are always fascinating, right?

Trying to make my faucet handle add more dimension and failing in my objective...

Lets try this again...

A little better - at least you can tell it is a faucet!

On to the good stuff...

Everybody makes deviled eggs pretty much the same way I guess. Here's my list of players:

I have one secret ingredient

Not the peppers, just the juice! It adds a touch of "zing" to the eggs. I use about 1 tsp. but use more or less to suit yourself. It wont change the consistency enough to make a difference - just makes them taste really good!

You can sprinkle them with paprika for the "pretty" if you want.

I heart eggs~

July 10, 2010

2010-07-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

The summer solstice was on June 21, give or take a day or so and depending on your time zone.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Rises Sets Day Length
Sun 5:09 A.M. 8:31 P.M. 15:22

The day was 15 hours and 22 minutes of sunlight.

We are slowly and imperceptibly moving towards the shorter days of Fall and Winter.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Rises Sets Day Length
Sun 5:19 A.M. 8:28 P.M. 15:09

13 minutes less each day already....

less time to check the coop for eggs...

less time to feed something...(cows, horses, chickens - take your pick- there are never enough hours in the day...)

July 10 is the 191st day of the year

There are 174 days remaining until the end of the year.

Interesting things happened on this day...

In 1890 Wyoming became the 44th state.

In 1985 Coca-Cola Co., bowing to pressure from irate customers after the introduction of New Coke, said it would resume selling its old formula.

I remember that last one!

July 10 is also known as the day we cut a 20 acre hay meadow.

Tomorrow we bale if all goes well and the rain stays away.

I drive the rake that gathers the hay for the baler, so I have a date with the grass and a hot drying sun tomorrow.

My chariot awaits

BEST FRIENDS

2010-07-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is "Tick" and "Tock"

They are "Besties"

aside from being "beasties" which is a whole other story!
They have been best friends from the day they landed here in my little steer pasture.

They eat together

The chew their cud together

The rest of the cows respect that they are "together" and obligingly make room for the two of them to be beside each other all the time.

They are also gaining a LOT of weight...

here's "Tock" two months ago...

and Tock today,

Hello ladies! Wouldn't we all panic if that was a pic of us in 2 months time?

Our belly spreading out on both sides and never mind our thighs or unmentionable butt!

Tock however doesn't mind...

he is above our fashion conscious world.

His world consists of

hay

grass

and hanging with his BFF

Sometimes...

the world is very simple isnt it?

Manicure Monday!

2010-07-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

So today was back to work for all the ladies of the farm.

The day began with "Lady" getting her hooves trimmed...

Her hooves had gotten long, with her living on soft ground and not being ridden. It was slowing her down enough (along with the fact that she is getting OLD) that the other horses were giving her a hard time. So she packed up and moved to better accommodations and now lives amongst my grass fed beef herd. She pined away for her "buddies" across the road at first but then she settled in and enjoys her days being the "tallest" and the only (horse) in her new pasture.

The farrier came early. 7 a.m. and he was here and ready to work. I was still padding around in PJ's and watching the action out the living room window...

All the smaller steers lined up at the gate to watch Lady once she was taken out. It was SO funny. It was like having front row seats at "Avatar" or something. I swear you could have given those calves popcorn and Jujubes and charged them each $15.00 per ticket and not heard the first complaint!

Each time I would cross the living room and look out the window there they were...all lined up watching intently. It was so cute and I did the internal debate...

get out of pajamas, get dressed ( I mean the farrier was there after all...) and try to snag the shot? After the third time, scolding myself inwardly I did throw on clothes and sneak out the back door so as not to alert the steers, in my attempt to snare that awesomely cute pic.

Only by the time I snuck around the back of the house and got lined up...

the calves were at intermission apparently, leaving me only a good shot of "Lady" getting her back hooves done and aptly demonstrating why a farrier earns his money if anyone does.

Next it was time to travel back to the Dairy and watch a different farrier ply his trade on the moo cows.

I was struck by the fact that horses being plains animals, need hard rocky ground to gallop upon to keep their hooves trimmed naturally. Being in a soft grassy pasture 2000 miles from their natural habitat, necessitates intervention to trim what rocks and mountains and grassy plains would have done automatically. Cows on the other hand, are pasture animals. They thrive on soft lush ground and the lay down a lot - unlike horses who stand most of the time - even when sleeping.

The problem for the cows is because they are a dairy herd they have to go into a milking barn twice a day and barn floors are made of concrete for sanitary reasons. As a result, all that standing and waiting their turn, leads to their hooves getting longer from TOO much hard surface.

Ironic isn't it? It is better to work with habitats and nature rather than against it. It becomes up to us to prevent foot problems and intervene if a problem does occur.

Manicure Monday functions a LOT differently if you are a dairy cow than if you are a horse. A horse can be bribed to stand still with a bucket of grain. A cow just wants to come in and get the milked so she can go back out on the pasture to eat grass and lay down. Any disruption in that routine is viewed with suspicion and not welcome at all.

Because cows have a split hoof they need a highly trained kind of farrier to take care of them. He brings special equipment to make it as non traumatic for the cows (and safe for his hands) as possible.

First he sets up a chute that will lift the cow up on her right side for her "manicure".

He lays out all of his tools on the bed of his truck. He even sets up a fan to blow on the cows to keep them cool and not stressed as much as possible.

This cow is older and has done this before, so she was pretty calm about the whole procedure.

She seemed more affronted by me standing in front of her eyeballing her with my camera than anything...

Ups a daisy, goes "Daisy"!

She was very nonchalant about the whole thing and looked at me as if to say
"Are you getting all this?"

After a little filing and buffing she was all done and down she went....

ta da!

Piece of cake!

She even paused, turned and glanced back at the lift in curiosity before turning again and ambling her way out to the pasture on her newly coiffed hooves.

The next cow couldn't have been more different. For one, she is younger and more excitable and hadn't ever experienced the lift before. Because she is younger, her hooves were actually in good shape overall, only over the last few days she had started to walk very slowly and there was some swelling and tenderness in her front right foot indicating most likely an abscess from stepping on some sharp object.

She didn't enjoy the lift anymore than a baby enjoys the pediatricians office ...

I think her expression pretty much sums it up.

Sure enough she had an abscess but it was caught early. The farrier made a cool looking little "shoe" for her to cushion her hoof while it heals.

He mixes an acrylic just like they do at the nail salons and coats her hoof protectively and attaches the "shoe", then wraps the whole thing in a medicated wrap that will stay on for 4 days and then be removed.

The farrier stopping to go talk to her and let her see him to help calm and reassure her

Hang on Miss 217, you will be all done soon!

The acrylic attached shoe will fall off on its own after a week much the way acrylic nails loosen and fall off without upkeep. By then her hoof will be good to go.

Within an hour she was walking well and the only evidence of the mornings shenanigans was her bright red ankle wrap.

The farrier: This man was so skilled at his work and so knowledgeable and kind to the cows. It was really awesome to meet him and we will definitely be keeping him!

So that sums up manicure Monday. Anyone need some work done?

Tuesday's Takes

2010-06-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

on the last few days...

Old man Blue scores a ride home from the Dairy after a hard days work.

plenty of natures bounty to eat

We've been catching rainbows

and welcoming a brand new puppy to the family!

Wish you were here?

Well, come on over...

were always lookin for some good cowboys and cowgirls!

Have a great week everyone~

RAIN

2010-06-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

If a farm were a living breathing organism (which it is, really ) its life blood would be rain.

Even though I see it year after year, I am still in awe of the change that can occur literally over night in some instances.

We are now in that summer weather pattern where the heat builds all day and in the late afternoon - it rains...

everyday.

It is hot and sunny, then the temperature drops, the wind blows, the animals kick up their heels with relief and run and cavort in their fields....

and people have about 2 - 3 minutes to find shelter or find a bucket of wetness dropped on your head.

These are violent, thunder booming, lightning filled, drenching storms that coupled with the heat before and after, create an outdoor greenhouse.

Remember when I was forced to turn the grass fed steers out to graze because their grass was all gone?

This was "The Littlest Princess" herding the steers out of their field of dying rye so that they could graze the lush green pasture behind it.

Millet was planted for them and we waited for rain.

This is the same field 5 weeks later...

Belly deep in the good stuff!

So no more "babysitting" them while they are turned out on the hayfield every afternoon
(I got a lot of reading done)

So tell me, my little buds...will you miss hanging out together with me on the open range?

Of Mowing and Melons

2010-06-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today has been all about mowing...

My backyard has been mowed right up to the edge of the hayfield it borders

The hay field is getting mowed today for the first time this year.

Its not "early" or "late", as has been the case in recent years.

Rather,
its right on time.

We are getting rain and LOTS of it
(thank you El Niño or La Niña. I apologize for not knowing which of you is responsible)

Know whats kind of cool?

The watermelon and the fresh cut grass smell very similar.

They both have the smell of green.

I am feeling extreme pressure while attempting to take these pictures...

the pressure to share...

Apparently everyone likes watermelon~

I rest my case.

Catcher In the Rye

2010-06-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

The steers have always loved grazing right up against the rye field (a forbidden zone for them).

The rye field is gone now. It was ready for harvest. No more grazing in its borders for green stuff for my little steers.

Now that it is gone, peanuts will be taking its place.

As I write this, I hear the tractors droning on in the darkness. Plowing the rye stalks under and readying the ground at night, helps preserve the moisture that the sun would take.

Here's hoping Rye seed is selling well on the global market...

and one last look at the shimmering field of gold with fittingly enough, a double rainbow hovering above.

And the Peacocks Name Is....

2010-05-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

Pete!

How do I know this?

Well, once again I have gotten ahead of myself in telling the story.

So "lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start!"
(anyone know where that very famous quote is from?)

We left our peacock saga with many cliff hangers:

1)ll the peacock ever leave the roof?

2)Will "Roo" ever recover from his fall from glory?

3)Will the peacock ever be claimed by its rightful owner?

4)Will Dixie Dawg ever make it out of the laundry room?

The answers:

1)Yes! The peacock left the roof and nested for the night in a nearby tree.

2)Roo is ego maniacal and has short term memory loss. He is fine.

3)See below *

4) You will be relieved to know that Dixie Dawg had resigned herself to her laundry room sentence, had made the best of it and was found reclining on a laundry pile of dirty jeans with all the airs of a diva at a spa. She was almost reluctant to be "sprung from laundry room jail" and laid there yawning for a few minutes before she nonchalantly resumed her post as chief enforcer of the premises.

So as to question #3...

*Once I had the immediate threat named Dixie Dawg contained in the laundry room, I drove a little distance down an adjoining dusty road that turns on to yet another dusty road. I was working off an old memory of driving down this road once and seeing a guinea hen on the side of the road. I thought that guineas sounded like a good place to start in my search for the origin of the peacock. I turned into a long lane of cedars to an opening with a home, a camper, a truck and two people standing beside a car in the driveway.

I said hello and asked if anyone here was missing a peacock. A question that I figured would either make me look certifiable OR helpful depending on whether I had found the right place or not.

Fortunately the relieved and happy look on the mans face was encouraging.

Here is our conversation as best I can recall it...

Me - Hi I found a peacock down on my farm over that way (pointing) I wonder if you know anything about it?

He - Pete! She found Pete! (looking rapturously at his friend)

Me - So his name is Pete huh? Ok. He is safe for now but he is very far from home and I have a LOT of dogs and I don't think he is safe at my place.

He - So where is your place?

Me- Giving descriptions and getting a blank look I realized I needed to resort to the time honored way of giving directions this far out in the country. I live down the Webster family road (what the road was called before it got a real name back in the 60s) I'm just after you pass the Campbell's place? (mentioning the founding farmers of our area)

He- (brightening and getting much friendlier) oh yeah, Pete Campbell married my cousin Mary.

Me- I know Mary, (feeling like I just discovered the open sesame code word) she gets cow manure from me.

With that little bit of rural southern "who's your daddy" etiquette behind us, he seemed to relax and so I mentioned "Pete" again...

So..."Pete" is up in a tree and like I said I have dogs that are not going to understand why he has showed up? (asked as a question)

He - (reaching casually over to the top of a rusty unused grill to retrieve his can of beer) This hear is my cousin Cyndi he said (pausing to take a swallow from the can while Cyndi nodded.) She checks in on me. I'm a widower.

Me - Oh I'm sorry (no earthly idea what one is supposed to say other than that at this point)

Cyndi checked her watch and declared that she had to be off to work. Night shift at the post office.

I drug the conversation, such as it was, back to "Pete".

Me- So what do you want to do about Pete? I'm really worried about him getting home safely.

He- You are a nice lady. ( while popping the top on a fresh beer) He then suggested maybe I could catch "Pete" and bring him home?

Me- Oh nooo.....I can barely catch my chickens. I am too afraid. Can you come get him?

He - No. I am too drunk tonight to do that. I'm getting ready to go to bed in a few minutes.

Me (wringing my hands mentally) but what about Pete? If he comes down out of that tree the dogs will get him!

He- Oh well. If they do they do.

Me- You wont feel that way tomorrow

He - Hes not hard to catch. Once you put the net over him his very easy to pick up, He's mostly feathers.

Me- The net? Well you see I don't have a "net".

He- (with a look of sodden incredulity) you don't have a fishin net?

Me - (feeling as though I am being outed for the yuppie that i am having only worked the land here for 20 years which makes me practically a newcomer) I um.. I don't fish I said lamely. Effectively canceling out all the good will I had engendered by living near the Campbell's. There was a bleary side glance to his cousin as this information was slowly processed by him and Milwaukee Light.

Feeling very benevolent he said "Well here, you can borrow my net" and with that he walked with the slow purposeful movement to a shed and took a net off of a hook. He walked toward my car for all intents and purposes seeming ready to shove a huge fishing net attached to a ten foot long aluminum pole into my open drivers door.

Cyndi and I intervened and I left holding the net by the pole outside my care while I drove 2 miles down long sandy roads back to my house looking like almost as big of an idiot as I felt.

When I got home, "Pete" had settled in the top of an oak and tucked his head under his wing and was done with us for the day.

With no peacock scent on the ground, Dixie was off to her own pursuits. I hung the net with its super long pole in a tree near "Pete's" night accommodation and called it a day.

The following morning "Pete" was no where to be found. There where nor tail feathers leaving a trail of carnage and the dogs acted as bored as usual.

Later that day I drove down the lane and returned the fishing net.

Pete was marching the yard of his owner doing quarter turns with his hens watching admiringly.

All's well that ends well.

2010-05-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Just when you think you have seen everything...

when you think that your day is almost over, twilight is falling and things are wrapping up.

That time of day when you are done with this particular day, whatever it is you did or didn't plan or get done.

The land is cooling off from the heat of the afternoon. Thoughts turn to dinner, a nice bath, a good book.

THAT is exactly where the danger lies my friends! This is called being in a RUT.

Albeit a nice comfortable rut (that we prefer to call a routine)!

Then something happens and you and your comfy routine, and your relaxed blasé "I know how the rest of this day is going to go" attitude get a total shock.

It hits hard and fast and bounces you right out of your rut. Causing you to shake your head and laugh and call to people nearby so they can come see and be amazed too.

Then if youre the kind of fool that never has their camera handy at such important times (ahem) you holler for everyone to freeze right where they are, while you run for your camera and of course there is no freeze frame on life, so no one listens and you make it back to the scene of jaw dropping amazement and take the best pictures you can at 8 o'clock at night and just hope you do the moment some kind of justice....

and then....

you post them on your blog!~
(but wait - I'm getting ahead of myself)

It was twilight and another gorgeous sunset was rapidly becoming a thing of the past. I was driving the beef cows toward their pen after an afternoon of grazing. I have found it works better for me and them if I do this slowly, letting them eat and browse, grabbing last delicious mouthfuls here and there as they walk in basically the "right" direction (north). Once we are within sight distance of the gate to their enclosure, they usually go right on in, anxious for a long deep drink of water from the trough.

We had meandered our/their way over the distance of about a mile. The cows staying bunched in a loose casual circle while they walked and grazed their way forward. We were within about 100 feet of their enclosure when the lead steer stopped to munch again, which was of course the signal for the entire bunch to do the same, which was (of course)the signal for me to stop about 15 feet away on the golf cart ( my version of a horse) and pick up my book for a 5 or 10 minute read. We are creatures of our routine and we like it that way.

About three sentences into my book I heard snorting, followed by moo-ing followed by cows breaking their informal loosely held circle and going in every direction the way a cue stick breaks a rack of balls in a game of pool.

My biggest fear was of course a rattlesnake but the steers didn't seem panicked, they seemed more flustered than anything and they were quickly regrouping in a tight bunch, all staring in the same direction.

As I looked in the direction they were staring, a peacock marching sedately, as though leading a parade! He marched past the bewildered cattle and down the lane. I saw a yellow blur (Dixie Dawg) out the corner of my eye, she was moving fast and coming at a right angle straght toward the peacock who only in that moment saw the dog.

There wasn't even time to ask the obvious questions was that really a peacock? how did it get here? where would it even come from? when the peacock saw the furious, fast moving yellow blur streaking to him and something in his 1and 1/2 inch skull said RUN and so he abandoned his grand march with his beautiful trailing feathers, in favor of the worlds most awkward attempt to hoist himself into the air. Which he managed to do exactly one tenth of a second before Pitt bull jaws tried to clamp on turquoise tail feathers only to get nothing but air.

The peacock landed on the roof of my house, turned around to stare down at the still furious barking dog on the ground below him and opened his mouth (beak) to make a noise as exotic as himself.

For one split second we all forgot we were in rural "no where-ville" and were transported to thoughts of a rain forest by the peacocks exotic tone as he looked down (both literally and figuratively) on the dog below.

Next he strolled down the south side of the roof to take a look at ground conditions there while one dog, one human and 15 cows all watched in silence

Apparently he was looking for a good spot to leave his perch on the roof and continue on his majestic journey. Not liking the odds where we all watched, mouths gaping, he turned in a magnificent sweep of tail feathers and began to walk the length of the roof to the other end.

On reaching to end of the roof...

"His Majesty" turned (this guy made more dramatic quarter turns than a soldier on parade)to look down down at the yard below. The scene was much more peaceful as I had managed to corral the dog inside the laundry room and the cows, attention diverted, had quit looking upward when one of them spied a weed growing in the yard that they all had to try and taste.

There was only one lone soul for the peacock to take the measure of below...

Thats right. Poor "Roo" was standing there innocently plucking at leaves, knowing internally as he does everyday, that he is "Cock o the walk" in his little kingdom, the fairest of them all.

and then...

a shadow falls over him. He looks up. The sound he made would defy description. It was a strangling noise and he tilted sideways looking up, like he couldnt believe what he was seeing! Then he high tailed it a safe distance away, flapped his wings and crowed in a slightly wobbly and high pitched "Im not threatened at all - no siree" kind of cry.

Poor guy...must have felt like being the hometown "hottie" that all the girls swoon over. Captain of the football team. Class president. All the "chicks" in town dig you.

and then one day,

Brad Pitt walks casually in the door. Reducing you in one moment into a lesser role.

So what happens next on "As the Farm Turns?

Will the peacock ever leave the roof?

Will "Roo" ever recover from his fall from glory?

Will the peacock ever be claimed by its rightful owner?

Will Dixie Dawg ever make it out of the laundry room?

stay tuned for more after these messages....

Let Them Eat Cake!

2010-05-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

Once again I had a "neighbor visit and drop off food!

Either I am incredibly fortunate and have really great neighbors

OR

I am desperately ill and no one is telling me!

So here's the scoop;

This beautiful slice of cake showed up at my door...

Oh, and the neighbor is beautiful too - but this is ALL about the cake. Focus!

She said she was trying a new recipe.....she said it wasn't quite what she wanted...so she took it "off the road" recipe wise (did I mention she is very brave that way?) and started adding and pretty soon she came up with this:

A honey butter cake she calls it....baked in thin layers till it has a slight crispness. Each layer separated by blackberry jam - barely sweet and tasting mostly of fruity blackberry goodness - homemade from her own blackberries no less. And finally iced with a sugary icing that smells of vanilla.

That would be real vanilla folks.

As in not artificial flavoring. No cardboard box. No thaw before serving instructions, no artificial food coloring....

just a real cake with real fruit, made be a real girl.

Desperate For Rain

2010-05-16T11:16:00.003-07:00

Aprils long dry cool days have continued into May only minus the cool part!

With the hot dry wind and no real rain in over a month, the lush pasture for my grass fed beef steers is all gone.

What to do?

I cant just feed them grain. That undoes the whole premise of grass fed. I cant let them survive on just hay. They could survive but they wouldn't grow and that is the whole point.

The next best thing seems to be to allow them out to free range on the hay field.

The same hay field that was beautiful with flowers last year.

see here

http://writingsfromblackberryhill.blogspot.com/2009/07/field-of-flowers.html

After it got mowed down, it got plowed under and after lying dormant for the winter has burst out in all its spring glory as green as a golf course.

The problem (and trust me - there will be a problem sooner or later) is going to be

keeping the young steers out of the rye field to the East, which is about ready for harvest and off the road to the West and I don't even wanna think about what happens if they head South and get mixed in with the dairy cows!

Ok, one thing at a time. My trusty assistant goes and gets the poor hapless steers who have no concept of what they are supposed to do

They like the idea though!

And settle right down to business...salad and a martini for everyone! Hooray!

After about three minutes....

"Are they done yet? Its hot!"

"What do you mean hot? Its only 92!" I say enthusiastically.

She does NOT seem impressed...

Seems I remember something in her union contract about lemonade....

"Watch the cows...I am going for lemonade and cookies, ok?

She still is just not catching my enthusiasm...I'd better hurry...

Fast forward two minutesand I return to see...

she has left her mechanized "ride" and is on foot with a staff no less!

That's my little sheperdess!

p.s. yes, I realize there are no sheep here, but doesnt sheperdess just sound nice?

Tuesday Morning Coming Down

2010-05-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

Aren't neighbors wonderful?

NOT the annoying kind ...

but the ones that just drop by to say hello and just maybe perhaps bring a little gift?

I have that kind of neighbor.

She grows a beautiful garden full lettuces of all kinds and tomatoes and herbs and sunflowers. She also bakes wonderful earthy artisan breads with fresh wheat, sunflower seeds and whatever else strikes her fancy.

So today she dropped by and brought the basket above, complete with a little jar of salad dressing. Crusty delicious bread and a salad so fresh it came out of the garden this morning.

I really love my neighbor.

I think I might just stop in to see her one day this week. Bring along some fresh raw milk with cream on top, along with some eggs from the Diva chickens who run this joint!

TGIF

2010-05-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Dont forget to take some time to have a little fun...

kick up your heels a bit...

enjoy life a little,

Happy Friday everyone.