Picnic on the Farm

For the Memorial Day Weekend, we hosted a picnic yesterday on the farm. It was H.O.T.!!! But I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Our theme was 'Wing Cook Off' and everyone brought their own secret recipe for chicken wings. My brother-in-law took first place with my brother trailing behind in second by one vote!!

My sister, Kellie, with our niece, Madelyn, and her son, Ben!

My brother-in-law's winning wings on the grill!

Grandma's Famous 5 pounds of potato salad - it goes every time ;)


My cute 'lil nephew, Benny Boo Boo, hanging out with Romeo ;)

My Mom & Dad with Ben. Mom using a citronella candle for her birthday cake candle wish!

And now, today, I think I will do....NOTHING! Aw, who am I kidding? I have gardens to weed and horses to groom ;) Happy Memorial Day!

All by 7:15am

Well, it's more like 7:31 right now, but when I finally poured my morning cup 'o steaming hot joe, it was 7:15am....and then I thought back to all the things I had already accomplished since I had woke up!

Fed & water 4 horses (ok, so 2 horses, a pony and a mini mule!)

Fed Maggie (indoor cat)

Fed & Supervised the feeding of mama and her 3 kitties. One of the kitties has some territorial issues when eating so I have been setting him off to the side with his own plate. I know, a 3 month old kitten with aggression when eating....who would have thought!

Then, I swept their room up, changed out all newspapered areas and moved on to the BLEACHING of the litter boxes. I bleached their two and Maggie's main one. Maggie gets this done once a month and these little, dirty gremlins have theirs done about every week!

Let me just say there is nothing glamorous about cleaning litter boxes, let alone full out stripping them and bleaching them. *BLEEECH* I will pick up the manure turd that fell over the side of my wheelbarrow ANY DAY over messing with kitty litter and the boxes. Yes, with bare hands.

So, now I finally have my coffee and I am going to sit here and enjoy it for what I hope is at least a whole five minutes.....then the horses need to get out to stretch their legs before it gets too sweltering outside. They are calling for mid-90's today and we have no shade in our pastures right now :/

And, in T-5.5ish hours, all our picnic guest will probably start arriving.....and I still have a bathroom and a kitchen to clean....and a cake to ice.....

I snapped this pic of the neighbors pond yesterday morning.

Free Friday

Alas, a 3-day weekend is upon us! And don't forget, while you are having your picnic's and enjoying the time, that it's our veterans that have made this all possible for us!

I am home from a 2-day out of town, work related excursion. I am overwhelmed as we still have lots that needs done before the wing cook-off we're hosting Sunday. Do I need to remind anyone how my husband is this week?

So as I continue to try and follow my mantra of taking things in stride, I am posting some pics from around the farm that I have taken this past week and remembering to just breath ;)

Enjoy!

Dramatic Flare-Up

I believe my husbands 'dramatic flare-ups' to probably be just as annoying as a flare-up of athlete's foot. NOW, I am not speaking from experience, but I can IMAGINE that athlete's foot is just as annoying ;) [Just wanted to clear the air on that one!]

We are hosting Memorial Day at our place this coming weekend, as we have for the past two years since we moved to the farm. My husbands dramatic flare-ups have been almost non-existent so I guess he was due! And what better reason for one to come on then having company this weekend and having 9 million things to accomplish before that. I still say the 5-day work week changes to a 2-day work week so we can accomplish things we want to do!!

So, in the middle of his tantrum flare-up yesterday, these are just some of the things he decided needed done NOW!

• Broken toilet needs replaced (It's been broke for a year! We have another one! Toilets are $$)
• Dishwasher needs replaced (It's been broke for almost a year! And I can make do without. Dishwashers are $$)
• Microwave is broken and needs replaced (really? for a party we NEED a microwave? I have one in the basement that works and can get plugged in for a day if that is the case!)
• Sink in bathroom with broken toilet needs taken apart to find a clog that drain-o cannot fix.
• Sink in bathroom with working toilet needs looked at. Water is barely coming out of faucet.
• Ceiling in bathroom with working toilet needs re-done because there is a finger sized hole....or two....in it from me! Whoops!
• Cistern needs fixed (but it does still work, fyi)
• Something in one of the septic something or anothers needs fixed (but it does still work, fyi)
• Mini's pasture fencing needs put up
• Grass needs cut (BTW, I did a huge chuck of it with the PUSH mower last night! ;)
• Garage needs cleaned
• Grill needs cleaned
• We need to pick up another propane tank for the grill
• 4-Wheeler needs an oil change because it's been 5 years. (Umm, we have only lived in this house, poor, for 2! What were you doing the other 3 years??)
• Tractor has all kinds of issues and needs serviced (but it will cost us $300 to get it to the dealer :/ Oy Vey)
• His truck needs an oil change
• My car is falling apart
• The front garage (Which no one will even SEE) needs cleaned out
• More veggies still need planted (mind you, he said he wants another garden....and then blames me that his second one isn't bigger because I told him it was big enough when he was digging it)
• All his hard work with his pepper plants is a wasted because HE chose to plant them to close and to close to bordering tomato's and now the tomato plants are going to shade the pepper plants and it will all be a waste! (SIGH, can you hear the drama flare -up?!)
• I now need to build trellises so my tomato plants can grow up and not hinder the peppers and my idea is better than what you just suggested. Your idea is too much work. (ok, whatever!)
• Laundry is piled high in the basement from just TWO people. (Ummm, I do laundry. You want to start with that, and it can become YOUR chore!)

I am sure I could go on, but I am already getting worn out again just reliving this for this blog post. So you see....I have said it before, my husband has a flare for the dramatics. Nothing can be taken in stride with him. EVERYTHING has to become an huge issue. I wonder if there is a pharmaceutical company out there working on a pill for this? If so, I'd like to nominate him to be a test for them ;) He won't take it willingly, but I already decided I can crush the pill and sprinkle it on the sandwiches I make him for lunch - would that be ok? Did I really just admit that out loud!? Telling him "Welcome to being a homeowner" and "Welcome to living on a farm" just doesn't seem to cut it!

Sunday Wind Down

Today was a busy one. We had our niece & nephews birthday party to attend and they are calling for 80 degree weather here all week so Allen wanted to work on getting in as many tomato and pepper plants as we could. We got about 60 or so in.....and still have more to go! And that also doesn't include other things waiting for us like cucumbers and members of the squash family! Allen is also working on some raised beds, one of which will be for the Strawberry plants I received at a plant swap a few weeks back.

This morning Allen got up for barn chores and he snapped this beautiful photos on my cell cam.
Look at this first one.....can you see the spider web? He said there were spider webs galore glistening in the morning sun. I love when they have dew drops on them too!

I love this one too. The orchard looks so gigantic; like it goes on for miles and miles!

And this evening, I snapped this one of my Scarlett Verbena coming up! I planted it in an old galvanized pail that used to belong to Allen's grandfather.

Potluck Post

Today it's looking overcast and rainy out. We have lots to do, including getting some of tomato and pepper plants in the ground. And picking up hay. But if this weather keeps at it, none of this will happen. How the day will pan out has yet to be seen ;)

Here is a picture of my new gremlins! Their 'mom' is Cindy....the mom from my last litter. Their mom was hit by a car :( and they were orphaned. Since my last litter was about weaned, we took Cindy to see if she'd accept these gremmys and sure enough, she did! They are a tad smaller than they should be, which makes them EXTRA CUTE! The rescue has been calling them Larry, Curly & Moe.
And here is a snap shot of one of my favorite spots around the farm ;) Yellow Iris are now popping up too! My new camera should be in this coming week sometime so hopefully I will have many more pics to share....and nicer quality than what I have been getting on my cell!

Happy Weekend All!

Relaxin' Thursday

Savannah's chillin' on the front porch....don't mind the streaks. I guess I need to clean the windows ;) Everyone is just chillin' tonight....everyone as in the animals!

Me, A Mutt & A Couch

Whinny has sure had a whirl wind 48 hours. And so have I. And Allen. And Mossy is just confused why I am not in bed to snuggle with him. And why his sister isn't trying to beat him up!
Two evenings ago, we woke up in the middle of the night to the lovely smell of poo :/ Yes, that is right, poo. Seems Whinny got a tummy ache and couldn't help herself. Next thing I know, I find another pile puddle of poo :/ UGH Clearly she wasn't feeling well. I guess I hoped by the time we got home from work, she'd have slept it off. I was wrong!

Allen got home and found that Whinny had messed her whole cage up :( Poor Whinny.....she NEVER does that. Now we know something was wrong. When I got home, I gave her some Pepto Bismal hoping that would help. No such luck. I spent the evening with her on the couch and we were up every other hour or so going potty outside. [I'll spare further details] Allen decided to stay home from work so he could take her to the vet. (And he had to collect the stool sample!!! I will spare you the details)

After the vet, I spoke with Allen, hung up with him and then called the vet myself. If I was supposed to understand any of the jibberish Allen relayed, then I guess I can decode the speakings of a toddler. Okay - so it was more like "Yeah, she has bacteria, she got shots and she has some pills and food to be on"............UH OK!? That is all you can tell me!! So, after speaking with the vet, it seems she somehow managed to get some kind of nasty bacteria in her tummy. How and from what, WHO KNOWS! She also is running a fever. The vet gave her 2 shots to jump start antibiotics and whatever it is to help her with her *ah-hem* diaherra. She has special, prescription canned food to eat for the next day and a half and horse sized pills we have to entice her to take!

And the best part is, while waiting for the medicine to kick in, she still had the runs. So what does my smart, lovely husband do? Put her in her crate with her FRESHLY WASHED blankies to 'rest' while he mows the lawn. {Rather than let her be outside with him] What do you think I came home to? YEP! Freshly soiled blankies in her crate!! I swear, sometimes I could just .....well, whatever, anyways!

We are back on the couch tonight. Just taking proper precautions! And here she rests. Her she has been resting since 6:30ish this evening ;)

The Feathered Fear

For those who don't know me, then you don't know that I have a 'fear' of birds....well, really anything that walks and has feathers. (uck!) This phobia, if you will, was passed on down to myself and my siblings from my mother! Thanks Mom!! So, now you can understand why it is such a dilemma for my husband to get chickens. I really don't mind feathered friends as long as they keep their distance.....like at least 500 ft and I prefer if they didn't have a way to get to me either, should they chose too ;)

So, it goes without saying that I was less than thrilled when I discovered a black bird had made a nest and hatched her eggs in a rafter in my barn :/ It would be one thing if the barn ceilings were gigundous, but they aren't. When momma bird comes swooping out, she is too close to my head for [my own] comfort.....especially when I am pulling in on the tractor so my height is elevated.

I eventually got used to her and her babies in there. She didn't swoop down on me very often and minded her p's & q's. Occasionally she'd swoop down when I would enter the barn. I would quickly stop, drop and man tornado drill position while anxiety would overcome my every limb, then I would calmly stand up, brush off the hay, shoot the horses a "what?" kinda look [as they shot the same back] and get on about my business.

Well now, the babies are older. And they are all somehow managing to apparently lift their back ends over the rafter just to poo all over the floor.....just to amuse me I am sure. I told hubby the other day I better not walk in one day to see one hoping around on the ground trying to learn to fly.....or better yet....trying to learn to fly, fall and succumb to Savannah. (And Savannah is highly aware they are there).

So of course, yesterday, when I have to close the main door to clean stalls since it was raining and the horses were hanging out with me while I cleaned, I swear I kept hearing a flutter. A flutter of feathered wings. (Ewww!) (I know, those of you without this phobia just cannot comprehend my anxiety at the sound of wings flapping) So anyways, I kept hearing it and decided it was coming from the aisle where Gypsy was quietly munching hay. I promptly screamed for the hubby and demanded he turn over EVERYTHING to ensure there was no bird anywhere before I came out of the stall! He insisted. I came out.

I moved on to Apollo's stall. Apollo has a doorway in his stall that we converted into a window so there is a wall that probably comes half way up my stomach in height. This tid-bit will be important shortly. As I am cleaning, I hear a flutter again. (Ekkk). I scoop up a big pile, start sifting, hear the flutter, drop my rake, scream and hurdle the window screaming for Allen! At this point, I was sure, in my head, that there was a baby bird who somehow injured itself trying to learn to fly and ended up in my shavings pile I was sifting through my rake.

Now I am outside the barn and Allen is in. (And his friend who was over was starring at me in disbelief...And I do not think it was because of my lack of fashion when I am in my barn clothes!) No such luck -- no bird in the shavings pile. But I am not that insane.....there was a baby bird, stuck, in the divider wall between the two stalls. There are two walls separated by posts and we never closed off the top so you can 'reach down' between the two walls. OF COURSE A BIRD WOULD GET STUCK IN THERE!!! WHY NOT?! My husband insists that he doesn't think he can get it out. 'Um, hello, and then what?' So I insist he GET IT OUT!

Longer story less long, he gets a garden tool of sorts with a tall pole and sticks it down in between the walls and helps lift the bird out. (gesh. ugh) Of COURSE the bird tries to fly away, but cannot, and manages to wedge itself between a wall and outside sliding door. OF COURSE. And now, as well, The Farm Manager has awoken from her slumber....and she's sure to spot this bird any moment. UGH. So again, I insist to Allen to PICK UP THE BIRD and get it back in the dang nest. He puts on gloves and stretches to reach for this bird stuck behind a door. [Mind you, I AM across the yard as far away as possible and holding my hands over my ears. Really, lord only knows why! HA!]

And OF COURSE, that dang bird, when Allen finally caught her, wouldn't go back in the nest. She hopped back onto a stall wall. SO, I promptly told Allen to finish feeding the horses because I was NOT going back in that barn.

The End!

....until this morning when I crept in to feed and made sure I shuffled all hay I needed to pick up prior to touching to ensure there was no bird stuck in it. I hope it learned to fly overnight and taught all it's brothers and sisters to do the same!!

Confessions of a Novice Gardener

Hmmmm, confessions. Everything I blog on here is a confession I suppose! A glimpse into the fact that I truly have no clue about lots, dive right in, don't give second thoughts and go with whichever way the wind blows. Is that what my mother means when she says I am free spritied? Hmmm. Well, anywho, I wanted to share a few secrets about my novice gardening skills. Shhhh, and don't tell my husband ;)

So, we have a garden gardens and I have no clue! I just buy seeds and plants like a compulsive buyer because I think, how cool to pick that out of my backyard instead of BUY it at the store. It will be healthier for us this way AND taste better too.....and cost less ;) I think my husband has a compulsiveness in plant and seed buying too, but probably for other reasons unbeknownst to me!

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, we accomplished a lot of garden work over the weekend. My husband shocks me all the time in a good kind of way! He knows way more about this stuff than I ever thought. Really, he knows more about homesteading that I ever imagined! I do still surprise him sometimes though; for exmaple, on making Wild Violet Jelly! But lets be honest, I did not come up with the idea on my own; I found the recipe online. Anyways, for exmaple, I found a recipe on how to make your own butter from heavy whipping cream - cool right! The conversation went like this:

I say "Hon, I am going to try and make my own butter from heavy whipping cream"

Allen "oh yeah, how are you going to do that?"

Me "Well, there is a store that sells a churner thingy you could use, or you pour it into a jar with a lid and shake it up"

Allen "yeah I know, that is how we did it when I was younger. My mom and aunt would do it" ...and then he proceeds to explain the process

Me "Oh! Whatever!! How do you already know all this!!"

So as I also mentioned, over the weekend, he dug in another, second garden. He is just a freaking smarty pants. He knows how to till it up, compost it in and get that soil warm and ready for his plants! Pfffft! So, we started then planting some of our plants that we started from seeds in the winter, as well as some of the plants we purchased, last evening. Due to me, we are trying to do more of companion planting this year, which requires a little more knowledge and research on our my part. See, I am good for something!!

So as we are planting, I keep reminding Allen I still have bean seeds to get into the ground THAT NIGHT. I have lots of other seeds of other kinds of things too, but we'll play it by ear. That is what I do best, right? Allen is not thrilled at all the things I still need to plant because, between the now 2 gardens we have, he thinks he won't have room for his 50-some pepper and tomato plants. And these things are his babies. Rare & heirloom varieties we he started from seed.

So, after I get in three rows of bushing beans, what do I do with the still handful of seeds left over? *Gasp*...no seriously, you might gasp when I tell ya! I THREW them into a bush on the side of the property.....when Allen wasn't looking ;) hahahaha, I know, what the heck, right? Well look, I had no more room for another row of beans and if I asked Allen to dig me a third garden, he'd probably take the dogs and leave me. (Maybe he'd leave me WITH the dogs!?) He was all about them when I thought they were pole beans that would grow up a trellis he was about to make....and then I realized they were bush beans.......So...maybe later this year we'll have some volunteer bean bushes in the bushes!!

More Dirt....

Are you tired of all my unneccessary pictures of dirt and posts about planting?

Well.....too bad! That is pretty much what the extent of our weekend was spent doing so it's all I got ;) We did get a lot accomplished though. My peas are coming up nicely. No sign yet of the Easter Egg Radish, Carrots or Purple Top Turnips.

We got in, this weekend, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, sweet potatos, green bush beans, red bunching onions and Walla Walla onions. I was also able to plant my moonflower seeds - fingers crossed they germinate and grow nice and beautiful! I border some of one garden with Marigolds and the gaps I will fill with Nasturtium.

Here is a close up of the extra work the hubby was doing today on the 'new' fence in the 'new' 2nd garden. He took old grapevines and wrapped them around the posts. In this pic, the gate is open a tad.

Not the greatest pic, but here is one of most of the 'new' second garden. Oh yeah, I planted some mammoth sunflower seeds in the SE outside corner of this garden. *fingers crossed that these too come up!*

Here is my lovely row of Marigolds. Hubby saw this pic and continued to tell me that I am 'so queer'! I happen to think it is cool ;)


And, right before dusk I snapped this one so it is not the greatest either, but here is a shot of most of what was planted today.....cabbage, cauliflower, celery, broccoli, beans and sweet potatos.....ok, you cannot see it all in this shot ;)

And now.....*sigh* tomorrow is Monday :/ I am so sad to see this weekend go! Perfect Weather and nowhere to be! Bu-bye wonderful weekend!!

Diggin' In

Allen decided today that our one garden is not going to be big enough with all these plants we have below and.....then, a few more also that you don't see here :0

Exhibit A: LOTS of Plants

Exhibit B: Allen decided to start tilling up more land. This picture is after he tore out all the grass with the tractor. At this point he is tillin' in the manure :)

Exhibit C: Finished Product! He even built a fence around it out of tree limbs that needed pruned from trees around the property. Now, all it needs are plants.....and according to him, all his pepper and some tomato plants will be in this garden.

Exhibit D: My dang drop-dead cutie pie niece, Madelyn Jane down on the farm ;)

Around the Farm.....

Not too much to report today! All went smoothly so far ;) *Knock on wood*

They are calling for storms so we held off on spraying the orchard, but I have YET to see a drop of rain *sigh* I hope that was the right decision......

I got a few more things I obtained at the plant swap in the ground. I put in the Peony I received from The Unusually Unusual Farm Chick as well as the Lovage herb plant.

Here are a few pictures I snapped on the cell this evening. I think this weekend I may breakdown and go out to get a new camera ;)

'Buttercups' in the Orchard

Grape Vines Growing

Need I say more?

*Can you see the right side of Romeo's mane standing straight up from the breeze ;) ?

The Barn Yard Chronicles: Bored Horses

It's been raining here. Raining a lot. Raining to the point that I may be sinking back into seasonal depression! So it should be no surprise that the horses probably feel the same way. They have to stay inside when it rains like this, otherwise they'll tear up their pastures and have no grass for the summer months. Normally, Gypsy chews a nice sculpture in one of the walls and calls it a day. Everyone else just screams in whinnies as soon as they hear me pull in the drive.

Today...was a tad different. I had set a scented geranium I had potted inside the barn before I left for work in the morning. I figured it would be better in there for the day since it certainly didn't need another days worth of rain. This pot has a trellis in it for the geranium to grow up. Nothing fancy, just something I put together with apple sticks and twine. I came home and discovered the dirt in the pot a mess and the trellis out and across the barn aisle floor. And my eyes went STRAIGHT TO ONE HORSE - Apollo! He must have reached over the front of his stall, grabbed the trellis [in his mouth], wacked it around to mess up the dirt, then flung it across the barn aisle. *Sigh*

So I move on. I head to the hay 'crib' to get dinner and peer through the slatted side to look in on the minis. I see Romeo in Daisy's stall [huh!?].......then for a second I had sheer panic that someone, anyone, was loose, somewhere. Then I noticed the divider door to their stalls was open, looked left and saw Daisy in Romeo's stall. Hmmmmmmm - ok, so clearly I didn't lock the divider door after I fed this morning. Hey, what can I say. I am a walking Zombie in the a.m.!

I then get into the stalls and boy would a camera have made this story a tad more interesting! They were salt licks on the ground, hay EVERYWHERE, shavings piles destroyed, poo on the wall [!] and donkey hair everywhere :/ Poor Daisy. She is usually the instigater, and I have no doubt she was today too, but she sure got her little hinny behind whooped :( She had two kick marks on her and she was PISSSTED! If Romeo so much as attempted to look at her this evening, she had a FIT. I mean a royal, he-hawing hissy fit. (she normally does any ways, but this time, I swear you could just hear the anger in her he-haws!)

Poor Daisy - half a tube of neosporin later, she is tucked in with a full belly as I type! Never a dull moment I tell ya....never a dull moment! I could only imagine what went on in that barn today.....or what the neighbors may have heard!

Here are a few pics I snapped on the cell after I was done playing Dr. Vet ;) Rain, please, GO AWAY!

Lemongrass Plant from my Mom; the dogs and Savannah LOVE to eat it!

These iris flowers smell like grape jelly!

Weather Lore - Icemen Days

Ugh! This weather could not be any more awful after the beautiful, warm days we had last week!

I guess, on the bright side, our peas and carrots might be enjoying it!?

Anyways, a friend of mine posted this info today and I found it interesting so I thought I would share.....

Spring may be in full swing, but May 11, 12, and 13 often revert to the colder days of winter, according to weather lore. The Three Chilly Saints—Mamertus, Pancras, and Gervais (also called Mammertius, Pancratius, and Gervatius or Servatius)—often celebrated their feast days during a cold snap.

Some called them the Ice Saints or Frost Saints, and many farmers held off planting until after the Three Chilly Saints’ days had passed. Germans knew these days as the Icemen Days, and both the English and French watched for a late frost at around this time. St. Boniface (May 14) and the chilly “blackthorn winds” were sometimes associated with them, too.

Pretty neat huh! And pretty dead on considering the weather we're having today and scheduled to have the next two days here in NE Ohio! I believe our last frost date is this Saturday - keep your fingers crossed! In the words of my husband, "This garage is starting to look like a nursery!" I think he means, we need to get the seedlings into the ground....asap!

Mom's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms out there, I hope you enjoyed your day! I was able to sleep in while the hubby got up for our children.....2 horses, a pony, the mini donkey, 2 crazy mutts a demanding cat and bossy barn cat ;) Ahhhh, it was so nice!

Favorite Etsy Finds....and an Obsession

Today I was at a plant swap over at Harvest Thyme Farm. I took some of hubbys pepper and tomato plants as well as some grape vines we had dug out when we tried to thin the vines. I came home with some tomato plants left.....and also, from my swapping, I brought home the following: (1) celery plant, (1) cauliflower plant, (1) set bunch red onions, (3) pickling cucumber plants a peony flower plant, 2 strawberry plants and one more tomato plant! I think that covers it. Ohhh ohh, and I picked up some heirloom carrot seeds and moonflower seeds too ;) Think I am developing an obsession!?

So, for my favorite Etsy finds of the week......

I wanted to start with a purse I actually ordered and am super happy with! I have been searching for a new tote for awhile now and finally found one that seemed to fit! I purchased it from Mom of Two Boys Designs and I must say, the service was exceptional! Shipping was beyond fast and the workmanship of this tote is true quality.

I have been reading a lot this past week in other blogs about thistle and things you actually can do with it, so I did an Etsy search on it ;) and came across this beautiful print! You can find it, and many other nice prints, at Futurowoman Fotographie.

Ok, how about this ca-ute get up! Wouldn't one of my nieces look too cute in it!? With the chaps! Agh! I cannot stand to picture it; it is too adorable ;) You can find it at The Handmaiden's Cottage.

I stumbled upon this hooded cape and it instantly caught my eye! I love that it has a hood! You can find it at Sew Ninja; check it out. Lots of OOAK (one of a kind) items to fall in love with!

And for any of my readers who are vendors....farmers markets, craft shows....things of that nature. Get your vendor apron from Yoopers! Michelle does a FABULOUS job! I ordered my vendor apron from her, and then ordered one for my mom too!

Shhhhhh

A lovely horse is always an experience.... It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words. ~Beryl Markham

Wednesday on a Whim

This evening after barn chores, we planted our snow peas. I know, I am a tad behind on getting these in the ground, but the way I look at it, better late than never, right?

I mean, you will most likely still have peas....just a tad later than others ;)

These seeds were sent to me from Daphne - thanks Daphne!

I decided that we're going to try and grow the peas right outside of this outdoor 'covered patio' of the hen house. * Note, no hens this year! I figured the peas can climb up the chicken wire. We'll see how my plan works! Hubby had to till up the area and 'de-weed' first.

Then I went in a laid all the seeds. I still actually have a decent amount left so if you are looking for some Mammoth Snow Peas, let me know. I'd be happy to mail some out to you :) And we got them in just in time! As I type, we have a wonderful thunderstorm going on :)

The horses enjoyed a wonderful 80-ish degree evening with a nice breeze.........

And apparently I woke [and bothered] Savannah from her evening nap!

Wake Up Call

You just never can predict one day from the next. Especially when living on a farm ;)

Last evening we sprayed our first round of pesticide on our orchard. I usually don't talk much about us and our spraying because I know some people can be funny about that. Organic is what it is all about these days, but honestly, to get a truly organic apple, I think, would be a difficult task for an orchard of our size. (120-ish trees).

For backyard growers with a tree or two, it is very possible. I have read about how you can just enclose your buds into brown paper bags for the growing season and voila! A perfect apple at harvest. But for us, with 120 trees x the gazillion buds per tree, it just really isn't an option!

Next year, I would like to experiment with 'natural' pesticides & fungicides with the few trees in front of our house and see what happens, but for now, we stick with what we have been doing.

Anyways, the point of all this was me trying to say that I sprayed the trees last evening. It's a long story but after a "I can do anything you do" conversation with the husband, I was insistent that I would spray. I tried once prior, last year, when we first started spraying. I did one row and was covered in spray, as well as the tractor, and that was the last time....until yesterday. I must say, I did a dang good job too!

And this morning, I was woken (is that a word?!) up to a meow in my window. At first, since it was 4am, I thought maybe it was Maggie next to the bed. Then I heard it again so I cracked open an eyelid....didn't see anything. So I grabbed the cell for a little light and pointed towards the floor...still didn't see anything. Then I heard a few quick meows and my heart sank. 'Crap - that came from outside the window'. "meooooooow" - oh super, it sounds like a kitten. 'Please dear lord, don't let it be a KITTEN!' So now I am up out of bed and the dogs quickly moved onto my pillows [grrrrr] and I peer through the curtain.

SURPRISE - fricking Savannah sitting on the dang window sill meowing RIGHT IN MY EAR! How she even got onto the window sill is beyond me. And why she felt the need to sit there at 4am and meow into the window I will never understand. The thought did cross my mind that maybe she was channeling Lassie or Flipper and being the kind of animal that was coming to try and tell me something was wrong. Maybe something was wrong with one of the horses? Did they need me? Should I go out to the barn? You know I ran out there, half asleep in my pjs, to make sure everyone was up and breathing! Why else would Savannah be on my window sill at 4am.

So since Savannah has a recently history of slitting screens, I then had to crank the windows closed in an effort to squeeze her off the sill. Just what I wanted to do at 4am - thanks Savannah!

My Battle with the Bottle

No, not that bottle! I love my wine....there is no battle there ;)

So I have this horse. Her name is Gypsy. Sometimes she can be less than tidy in her stall. And then, sometimes, she'll insist that she stand right where she relieves herself. *sigh* So, needless to say, sometimes I need to treat her 'hoof' that she insists on resting in a 'certain' area when she is in her stall. It isn't often since, pending weather, she is outside and all her other hooves are doing very well. It is just this one hoof. It doesn't like me. It likes to see me sweat trying to get her to lift it. And then it laughs at me. Why?

Because when I FINALLY get it up long enough to pick it [the hoof that is] it isn't too long before Gypsy fights with me to put it down. She is 1100-some pounds; she usually wins. But I persist. I continue to work on getting that dang hoof back up. And just when I do, I grab the 'Thrush Buster'.....and try to squeeze some of the goods in the bottle out.....then, I realize something has clogged the tip. Now understand, what I am about to tell you all took place in about 1 minute and 8 seconds TOPS!

I panic ...ok, not really panic. I try in a fury of all my might to squeeze that dang bottle as hard as I can to blow whatever is clogging the tip because, gosh darn it, I have her hoof back up. I have her hoof up. And I won't have it up for long.

And the next thing I know, I have successfully thrush busted myself. *sigh*

Allen came home from a golf outing and I ran at him with my hand in the air telling him I have a disease. He said "get away because you probably smell like hoof" :/ Dang, can't fool that cowboy!

Note the lovely new french manicure....we do it in brown instead of white out here in the county. Ok, you got me. It is dirt under the nails. What do you expect?

Anyways, the thrush buster actually sprayed onto my face [pics spared] and I had blue specks everywhere. My brother-in-laws reaction was "What the ....." I told him I turned into an alien while they were gone. He might have believed me...but it was probably his beer talking.

And this was my right hand! Good Lord; who knows if Gypsy even got any on her dang hoof!

And to my dear friend Yvonne, who always battles the bottle. I believe I have now trumped you and any war you have ever had....with the bottle ;)

Whoops!

Wow, we are already at Saturday evening and I never even had a chance this week to do some favorite Etsy finds - time flies! Here we are already, Saturday evening and where has the weekend gone!

Our niece, Val, was over again....third weekend in a row! She may as well just claim a dresser for herself ;) She did the usual, got dirty, played in the hay, helped me with the horses and, of course, played with the latest group of foster kitties!

This is Cheeks, laying in my lap...on his back. These kittens are unreal!! I could eat them all up in one bit! They will just lay in your lap all day and take their belly rubs!

We've been hardening off our plants to get them ready for outdoor planting and today we got the herb garden in. I pray they make it. I haven't had much luck with my herbs outside and I love my Basil and Cilantro.

We also took some time to 'explore' and Val and Allen decided to climb trees!

Yes, this is my child......errr, Husband!