Dumb Comment of the Day

The other day at work there was someone in our office visiting from another system. I don't know him. He seemed like a nice person. We got to talking and a co-worker mentioned how I have horses. To make a long story short, this guy, the one I didn't know, said to me [enter Dumb Comment of the Day]:

"I used to have a horse. She tried to kick my wife. So I had to get rid of her."

He was dead serious. I was dumbfounded...though I know better and shouldn't have been. Really, dude!? REALLY? I could make a year of blog posts giving you reasons why you *think* your horse might have tried to kick, because, let's be honest, he is clearly an idiot in the world of horses and my guess is the horse probably didn't even attempt to kick, but for whatever reason, her action was interpreted that way. Poor horse. Or maybe not. Hopefully she is in a better home now with someone who KNOWS horses. Cripe!

Anyways, the next day, this article came to my attention by way of the Fugly Horse blog - and I.LOVE.IT. This guy couldn't have said it any better or more clear. And I hope, for that horses sake, this woman corrects her mistakes. Dang - people are so aggravating.

Article can be found here. Take the time to read it if you have horses, want horses, have ever considered owning or horse, or just plain ol' want to be better educated about horses in general. Actually, the underlying concept here can be applied to any pet I bet!

The Sunflowers

Remember this post?

My how they've grown!



Just imagine if 'Chedda' could actually stand next to one ;)

Chedda goes to the Fair

My son's current nickname is 'Chedda'...or if you want to be more formal, 'Cheddar'!

Chedda attended his first county fair this past week. One of what I hope to be many! And in a few years, he can hopefully attend with his animals in tow.

 Chedda with Daddy in his oh-so-appropriate fair outfit!

 Cheddar meets a goat, but I don't think he's really feeling it.

 Chedda patiently waiting for Mama & Daddy to finish their cheese on stick(s)!

 Chedda checking out the hay with Daddy

Gesh -- this trip is starting to take on a trend very similar to this one!

And, Chedda meets yet another goat!



7 Links - The Best Of

Emily, over at Little House on the Southern Prairie, has tagged me in the blogger chain going around regarding 'Best of Posts' within your blog. Bless her heart! Emily, don't you know how indecisive I can be when I have to choose just ONE of something!! :)

So, without further or do, here is my best attempt at choosing 'The Best Of' on The Life of a Novice!

My Most Popular Post: Really, I don't have to choose this one; it's in the stats! And I am guessing the Portabella's maybe had something to do with it?

My Most Controversial Post: Well, huh! In person, I tend to be a tad controversial I suppose! However, I don't know that I have had one controversial post on this blog. At least not that I am aware of!! [Speak up, Folks! Healthy debate is ok!] But, if I had to assume which might cause controversy, I would say, most definitely, one about rescuing animals, my feeling on how 'some' people treat their animals and toss them like their trash, and this post is a prime example. You will see this shows up in another category too - ok, off my soap box!

My Most Helpful Post: If I am going by stats, I am going to assume that my French Onion Soup recipe has been most helpful! I get a lot of hits on this one from people googling for how to make French Onion Soup! I hope my recipe has helped and also proved to be a 'go-to' recipe for those searching!

However, if I had to choose not solely going off stats, I would say this one, that 'kinda' touches on grazing your horses on Spring grass and pasture management, as it has received decent traffic from people googling topics of the like.

My Surprisingly Successful Post: Again, going by stats, this post on my winter maternity photo shoot was a surprisingly successful [to me] post! There must have been lots of prego women out there this past winter wanting ideas for maternity photo shoots in the wintertime - because they googled it and then found me!

My 'Deserves More Attention' Post: Here is where I can't, absolutely cannot make a decision on just one ;) If I had to showcase JUST ONE, it might be 'Thinking of the Others on Derby Day', with this one following closely - 'Something to Ponder - Horse Owners'. But, what I really want to say is, just search the word 'rescue' in my blog search bar and read them all!!!!

My 'Most Proud Of' Post: Again, how to choose just one? But of course, 'Apollo - Our Story - From Hell and Back' does stick out as a major proud moment for me!

My 'Most Beautiful' Post: Ha - ok, I have seriously failed at this! I can't just choose ONE! My most beautiful post? Depends! Are we talking about My Child? My Beloved Horses? Or just something that looks beautiful, like the Orchard?

Now, it is my turn to inflict this decisiveness on 5 others! Here are some bloggers, whose blogs I enjoy reading, that I'd be interested in seeing a list from! Enjoy!

Stacy Makes Cents - Stacy was all about living the frugal life and now she does it all while eating good, healthy food too! I picked up some good ideas from Stacy's blog and I bet you will too :)

Life in a Little Red Farmhouse - Kim and her family left city life behind and now she chronicles life in her 'Little Red Farmhouse' - seriously, she has a red farmhouse...and horses and dogs and goats and....! And I love reading all about her life there!

Chiot's Run - Suzy, an organic gardener, has some very educational posts that I've learned much from. I enjoy reading her daily blog for inspiration, ideas and a healthy dose if envy! Her pictures and gardens are gorgeous!

Seven Gates Farm - Debi knows what I am talking about! She runs a business, tends to horses, her farm and, when there is time, her sanity! I love reading what is going on over in her neck of the woods because, most likely, I have or will, feel her pain!!

A Rural Journal - Nancy, as she says, lives on a farms, takes photos and blogs about them. I say, Amen!

County Fair - Part 3

Part three of last week's county fair in pictures!

God is this baby potbelly pig ca-ute or what!

And this poor mama was ready to bust!

And this big momma had just popped!

Local Honey

A bunch of characters!!

'Who you looking at?'

County Fair - Part 2

Here is part 2, in photos, recapping our county fair which took place last week.

 FFA Corn Entries

 Homemade Wine Entries

Stay Tuned. More to Come. And incase you missed it, you can see Part 1, featuring the bovines, here!

Harvest Monday, August 8, 2011

This past week we've had a decent harvest. I spent Saturday preserving a lot of it...more on that in a minute.

This pic was from a harvest during the week. Lots of peppers, Jalapeno's & Chipotle's, which by the way, our diagram of what we planted where doesn't seem to match up now?! So I don't know which is which since they look similar anyways! I might cook with what I think is a jalapeno and get a tad more of a kick than I expected! We also harvested two more Hungarian Hot Wax; my new favorite way to eat these is in my marina sauce over stuffed shells!

Ok, moving on...we picked some broccoli (which went into Pasta Primavera) and lots more cuc's. Don't they look so not 'cuc-ish'! Oh well, they till taste good! I have a jar of  'Traditionally Fermented Pickles' going. One week down, one more to go. They smell wonderful but hubby is a little leary since they sit out at room temp, no lid or anything on them!

Friday I harvested our Soy Beans. This was our first year growing them and they were so easy. They had some Asian Bettle damage on the leaves but the fruit was fine and I harvested about 1.5# :) I worked on cleaning, steaming, bagging with a Foodsaver and feezing them yesterday and I probably ate half while doing this ;) Ok, not half, but enough! This was the first time I used the Foodsaver - how many people does it take to figure out a Foodsaver?! And how long? Just all afternoon and a call to their hotline for hubby and I ;)

Saturday I harvested the rest of our Broccoli; a little over 2 pounds.



This was my line up for preserving Saturday; Soy Beans, Cauliflower and the Broccoli.



And I picked some herbs for drying. Sage, Tarragon, Oregano and Rosemary. I dried it on the oven.
I also dried some Peppermint for tea in the winter - a fav of mine!
Do you dry your herbs? If so, which method works best for you?





Check out other gardener's harvests for the week over at Daphne's Dandelions!

Check out what other gardener's are growing at An Oregon Cottage's Tuesday Garden Party!