Hope you all had a Merry Christmas

As you can see all the festivities around here have tired our little boy out to the point he can't even finish looking through his favorite magazine.

I couldn't resist this picture. The magazine had fallen off the coffee table and I hadn't gotten around to picking it up, then shortly after Ace laid down on his blanket and fell asleep ... I thought it was just too cute not to take a picture.

More Snow and Ice

This is what I found when I opened the back door this morning to let the puppy out. During the night about an inch of sleet and snow came down and covered the 4 to 5 inches of show that we had gotten the other day. The ice and snow are slowly sliding off the tin roof. I knew that it had been sleeting all night, but I was not expecting to open the door and see icicles pointed straight at me.... eek! I'm just glad that I was the one who discovered it. And I'm glad it wasn't like that around 12:30 a.m. when *T* had to leave for an emergency call. He would have ran right into those icicles in his haste to get out the door and to the scene of the car accident that the Department got out to. In the picture below you may be able to see the layer of ice that has built us on the vehicles during the night. The Blazer was completely clean at 10:45 last night when we got home from my store's Christmas party and the pickup truck was clean when he got home at a little after 3:00 a.m.

This snow is still falling and it is predicted that we will get 2 to 4 more inches of snow and ice today. So it's hard to tell what we will end up with by the end of the day. I'm just glad we don't have to go anywhere today, unless of course there is another accident or fire... we just never know.

Our family has grown again

Somehow I failed to mention that we added to our furfamily last week. I was looking for a buck for my one doe ... long story short... I found one. But I also found one of the biggest goofiest goats I have ever met in my life. So, we just had to bring him home too. :-s

First I'll introduce you to Burner, the buck. I'm not fond of the name but that is the one he came with. I am told he is an eight month old Oberhasli. I think he is quite handsome and I think deep down he does too, but so far has been to bashful to show it.

In this picture he was challenging the other goat, that is why he looks all distorted.

Now meet "Lucky"! He is the biggest, fattest Nubian I have ever seen in my life. You really cant get an idea of how big he really is in this picture, but trust me he must weigh over 200 pounds. I'll try to get a picture of him next to the other goats as a comparison. Granted he is a wether and 8 or 9 yrs old. But he is a big baby and I can tell he is going to be the personality of the barn.
This picture was taken the first day we brought Lucky home and he was checking out the geese. As you can see they were not to keen on meeting him.

Lucky really needes his hooves trimmed and I will be doing that tomorrow as that is when I will have help to hold him. I would have had it done by now, but he is too big to fit in my goat stantion.

All of this just today

When I left the house yesterday morning at 5:50 a.m. to go to work it had just started snowing and there was barely a dusting of snow on the back steps. This is what I found when I got back home at 3:00 p.m. When had snow last week but during the week the temps had risen and we got rain so the ground was bare again .... until this morning!

It could have been worse the prediction was for 8 to 10 inches for the day, so we got pretty lucky. After shoveling a path to the barn and feeding all the animals I took this picture of Ace (the Jack Russell) and Dawson (the Aussie) in the snow, on the way back to the house.

As you can see I didn't make a very wide path (I hate shoveling). All the tracks on the right hand side of the picture are from Dawson and Ace playing. By the time I took the picture Ace was starting to get cold and had stopped running around like a lunatic. I'm still curious to see how he will react to the snow when we get a real storm and it piles up higher then he is tall.

I've been AWOL

Sorry I disappeared on all of you. I'll try to keep up on posts now.

Thanksgiving was great. We went to Mom and Dad's and there were only half the number of people as usual but we had a good time, and lots of good food.

The Monday after Thanksgiving is the start of a two week deer hunting season here in Pennsylvania.

I can't believe it but I finally shot a buck with antlers (My very first set of antlers).
A seven point with a 15 1/2 inch spread. We didn't weigh him but we are guessing his dressed wieght was about 175 lbs.
*T* and I went out back behind the house and I was at "my post" by 6:40 a.m. Monday morning. I shot this buck at 7:18 a.m. I didn't even want to go out that morning, it was cold and supposed to rain... I only went because *T* was so excited about it and told me that he had a good spot for me to sit. (I had a good spot in mind too ... it was warm and dry.... My bed...LOL).
After I shot this deer *T* was more excited then I was... seriously... I really didn't care that it had antlers, I just kept looking at all that meat, a doe would have been just as good.. I don't eat the antlers anyhow :-P
I was back to the same spot Wednesday evening while driving deer for my brother, and paced off the distance the buck was from me when I shot him... he was 50 of my paces away.... roughly 113 feet from me. LOL...Troy is bragging to everyone that the deer dropped like a rock when I shot. I'm not surprised... the deer never knew I was there and he was so close the gunshot alone would have given me a heart attack. At that distance I'd have been ashamed if I hadn't killed him.

Now I've got all this meat to take care of ... it's great. I would like to make some jerky, summer sausage and country sausage too. I'm hoping that we get a couple more deer, between us we have four more doe tags and a buck tag left to fill... wish us luck.

The Turkeys Are Gone

I know ... it has been almost a week since I've posted anything, but I haven't had anything to talk about.

*T* and I butchered the two turkeys Sunday evening... that was interesting, seeing as *T* has never even witnessed poultry of any kind being butchered....lol... I shouldn't have laughed at him but it was funny. I started helping my parents with butchering since I was old enough to pluck feathers, so it is amusing to me to see some one's reaction who has never done this. LOL.... like I said, I should not have laughed at him, but he took it well :-)

We sent the turkeys to be smoked and will have one for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas. I tried to weigh one of the turkeys on the bathroom scale but I'm not sure how accurate that was. The scale said it weighed 28 pounds, dressed, but I'll get the true weight from the slaughter house where we sent them to get smoked. A friend of mine, *R*, works at the slaughterhouse were the birds are being smoked so he took them with him to work last night, and I haven't talked to him to see what the total weights were.

Today I am going to pick up three female rabbits. I have been wanting to get rabbits to raise for meat for quite some time. Our last attempt failed when the female we got last year died from an unknown cause. I still have the male rabbit, so I'm going to try this again.... wish me luck.

My New Favorite Thing

I have discovered a new favorite thing today. I was at Wal-Mart and spotted this reusable bag.... it cost just $1.

According to the label each bag is:

* 100% recyclable

* Made from 85% recycled materials

* Made from approximately 4 plastic soda bottles

* Can replace 50 plastic shopping bags

* Can carry the same weight as 2-3 plastic shopping bags

* Made in China (the only thing about it I don't like)

At first it didn't look like it would hold very many things, but let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised how much actually does fit into it.
Have any of you see these... or used them? What do you think?

Let the mayhem begin....

I have not canned meat in years... not since living with my parents. So, when *T* came home the other day after being out artery hunting and told me he wanted me to can this one and we'd put the ones we get in rifle season into grinds and roasts, I was thinking "me?" why me, why not "us". I'll admit he knows nothing and I mean nothing about canning, so I knew right then who was going to be doing all of the work. And me trying to teach him is completely out of the question because we do not work well together in the kitchen. He is assuming that just because we both have bonus tags we are going to fill all of them... I hope we do but that isn't always the case.

How do I restore this old Saddle?

I would like to restore my mother's old saddle. It has been stored for several years. I would like to try to bring this saddle back to its shining glory that it used to be. The saddle had layers and layers of dust built up on it when I brought it home (as seen in photo #1) I used my vacuum with the brush attachment to get most of that off (seen in photo#2). I know Mom used neatsfoot oil on the saddle to help keep the leather soft, but that was years ago, when we were still using it to ride. Is there anything that I can get to clean the dirt out of the design work of the leather? Any suggestions would be great.

What is for dinner?

Am I the only one who gets asked this question before he even gets the back door shut or at least by the time he takes his work boots off? he never seems to care what I have cooking... nothing makes him happier then when he opens the oven door and sees this....

looking back at him. I don't know how, but my guy would eat pizza seven days a week if I would let him. Actually it is a toss up between steak and cheese submarine/hoagie sandwiches or pizza that he would live on if he could. I made the steak sandwiches last night for dinner (sorry they didn't last long enough for a picture...lol).

Ginger has a new shadow

This has been the scene in our pasture since Sunday evening when *T* first let Ginger into Lacy's pasture. Lacy is so happy to have another horse here at Seldom Seen Acres. The poor girl probably thought that she was the last living horse on the planet, she has not had an equine companion since the pony died in December of 1998. At times I think I need some alone time, but nine years is a long time to go without seeing another member of your species. Ther are times Ginger looks at Lacy as if to say "will you just leave me alone, already!". I'm glad that they are getting along, I must admit that I was a bit worried because the transaction was rather quick and I had not met Ginger. *T* did all the dealing.

Bbbrrrrrrr....

At 5:30 a.m. the temperature outside was 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Everything was covered in a layer of ice. Here is a picture of one of the rose bushes in the back lawn.

Meet Ginger

Look who was waiting for me when I got home from work on Saturday! This is Ginger. *T* had seen an ad in the paper a couple of months ago for a horse who needed a new home... I don't recall the reason. He had called about her but the owner said that someone had already taken her. We were looking for a companion for Lacy (mom's twenty five year old paint). Then about a week ago a lady called *T* and asked if he was still interested in the horse he had called about. For one reason or another things were not working out with the family that had taken her and they must have talked to the original owner and gotten our phone number. *T* was really excited that we were going to get Ginger after all. They brought her to our farm on Saturday while I was at work, so she was here when I got home. She seems to be a very nice horse, but time will tell.

LOL .... *T* is convinced that we are going to ride her. Yeah, okay. I have not been on a horse in about 16 years and its been longer since he has ridden.... so we'll see.

Who are you?

Okay people, according to my sitemeter, this site gets an average of 45 hits per week. So, that means someone must be reading this blog, right? Who are you? Leave me a comment every so often so I know what you are thinking. Are you thinking "this lady should just stop already!" or are you liking what you see... or... let me guess... you are just speechless at what you see that is why I rarely get comments. ;-)

Picture of the day

This is a scene that I have looked at nearly every day for the past eight years but never thought to take a picture until the other day. When I moved here that old barrel was sitting at the end of the garage with that old calf feeder bucket turned upside down on top of it. I don't know why I have never moved them ... guess I just kinda liked the way it reminds me of Ernie, the farmer who used to own this farm, that barrel and bucket have been there since he lived here back in the 80's. It is kind of sad how I hang on to things like that isn't it?

The Leaves Are So Pretty

Here are a few pics I took yesterday afternoon. Even with a hazy sky, the leaves were still very vibrant. I actually think they were brighter today but I didn't get any Pictures taken.

Fall is my favorite season.I just love all the colors... just wish it wasn't followed by such a gloomy look when all the leaves fall.

Ways to do nothing

Great Ways to Do NothingDon't know how to do "nothing?" Here are lots of ideas for de-stressing, relaxing, enjoying, appreciating and otherwise living like you mean it. When you are done reading the list add one of your favorite ways to do nothing and pass it on!

1. Make a date with nature once every week.
2. Brew a pot of sun tea and invite your neighbor over for a taste.
3. Invest in a hammock.
4. Spend an hour in the sunshine to boost your brain's "happiness" chemistry.
5. Grow an aloe vera plant to heal sunburns next summer.
6. Get conversations started at your next party by serving Popsicles as hors d'oeuvres.
7. Let your kids pick out your next outfit.
8. Hire a kid in the neighborhood to run your errands this week.
9. Think of a change as a workout for your creativity.
10. Burn off extra "worry" adrenaline by exercising.
11. Laugh 100 times to work out your abdomen, neck, back and even your legs.
12. Rent a comedy and invite over that friend with the great laugh.
13. Next time you buy groceries, get yourself something from the toy aisle.
14. Buy a postcard and mail yourself a compliment.
15. Memorize a new joke and try it on a complete stranger.
16. Make a list of your blessings and mail it to yourself.
17. Once a week, substitute the nightly news with recordings of your favorite comedians.
18. Give the universe time to answer all your questions.
19. On your next vacation, put down the camera and try sketching.
20. Have a family contest to see who can spot the most birds on your street.
21. Watch the sunset with your kids tonight.
22. Make a wish on the first star to come out.
23. Breathe deeply to reduce stress.
24. Take a deep breath and hold it until you think of five people who make you laugh.
25. Take a hike and shoot a whole roll of film on nothing but bugs.
26. Treat your best friend to a gourmet picnic.
27. Spend an afternoon kite racing.
28. Send yourself flowers, with a card.
29. Pick a mantra just for vacations.
30. Using Crayons, draw a picture of your pet.
31. Do nothing for an hour to replenish your brain chemistry.
32. Watch reruns of I Love Lucy for an hour to replenish your brain chemistry.
33. Mail a present to someone you love.
34. Cleanse your digestive system by eating a mango, which is loaded with antioxidants.
35. Make and drink a mango smoothie.
36. Sing your favorite Broadway musical hit out loud.
37. Add a dance routine.
38. Get your feet wet.
39. Make time each week to infuse your body with a wild setting.
40. Count your down time as real time.
41. Make a list of your top ten priorities; cut it down to five.
42. Play jacks.
43. See if you can skip for a block without giggling.
44. Go barefoot.
45. Help to prevent heart attacks, depression, arthritis and ulcers with a spoonful of fish oil.
46. Take a 15-minute catnap to recharge yourself for three hours.
47. Make a date with your inner artist.
48. Spend some of your home improvement budget on original art.
49. Frame your favorite travel photos.
50. Ask your houseplants how they feel today.
51. Build a bird feeder.
52. Blow a whole roll of film on flowers.
53. Have an ice cream cone today.
54. Throw a Frisbee.
55. Take a tango lesson with your sweetheart.
56. Make a CD of the songs you sang along with in high school, and play it in traffic.
57. Practice yoga by lying very still to calm the mind.
58. Pay extra for home delivery.
59. Ask a kid if you can play, too.
60. Keep Crayons at work.
61. Learn which part of your body tells you when you reach your stress limit.
62. Two more months before you have to, rake leaves again.
63. Book yourself some hammock time.
64. Make a date with your feet to take your toes for a wiggle in the sand.
65. Make optimism your mind's default setting.
66. Spend the day complimenting each person you meet.
67. Talk yourself into living in the moment.
68. "Present time" is the only place the universe can ship your presents.
69. Spend ten minutes eating a pear.
70. Make a Coral Rita: 1 part lime juice, six parts good tequila, 2 parts cointreau; blend with ice.
71. Let a friend take you for a walk blindfolded.
72. Learn the art of arranging flowers.
73. Keep a foot massage kit near the couch.
74. Make a CD of silly songs and play it on your way to work.
75. Make a Shark Bite: 1 part dark rum, 2 parts orange juice, a splash of sour mix; blend with ice.
76. Start a sketchbook. If you can't draw, use crayons.
77. Throw a party to invent a new cocktail. Name it after yourself.
78. Spend the day in your cutest pajamas.
79. Eat your dinner out of order.
80. Read a poem out loud to a friend.
81. Hire a musician to serenade your sweetie at work.
82. Have a happy "childhood" by eating an ice cream sundae.
83. Don't skimp on the whipped cream.
84. Learn to throw a boomerang.
85. Make sure you have your own superhero costume.
86. Buy and wear a dramatic hat.
87. Replace should with could for a week.
88. Treat yourself to lunch with that friend who always compliments you.
89. Learn to play your favorite song on the guitar.
90. Make a fruit salad entirely out of fruit you've never had before.
91. Boost your immune system by laughing a lot.
92. Have a bad joke tournament with your friends.
93. Make a list of things you've accomplished that you never thought you could do.
94. Have a sunset picnic.
95. Imagine the universe as a waiter ready to take your order. Make sure to order dessert.
96. Strand yourself on a desert island by unplugging your phone for an hour.
97. Hold a garage sale as an excuse to meet your neighbors.
98. Spend the profits on a Slip 'N Slide. (Yes, you can still get them and they're only about $14.)
99. Play Frisbee.
100. Design a bouquet out of wildflowers.
101. Have a family art show.
102. Dance the Calypso.
103. Let the kids plan your next adventure day.
104. Try juggling, starting with rolled-up socks.
105. Throw a sunset dinner party in a park.
106. Give your kids disposable cameras and have them shoot a day in their life.
107. See who in your family can invent the most ridiculous laugh.
108. E-mail a list of compliments to your sweetheart.
109. Spend five minutes today sitting perfectly still — it's harder than it sounds.
110. Make mud pies.
111. Make your own field guide to the wildlife in your city.
112. Invent the perfect salad.
113. Write a poem.
114. Take a nap with your dog — on the floor.
115. Make time in the morning to visualize your day.
116. Go skinny-dipping.
117. Put a basket of toys in the break room at work.
118. Blow a whole roll of film on the house from your dog's point of view.
119. Treat yourself to a sunrise.
120. Give the universe time to get back to you when you ask for something.
121. E-mail yourself 10 things you admire about you. Schedule it for delivery a week from now.
122. Grow a houseplant from a seed.
123. Read the biography of your favorite person in history.
124. Throw an ice cream sundae-building party.
125. Write your "to do" list for the week in crayon.
126. Stimulate your chi by eating fish.
127. Enjoy the moments in-between.
128. Skip rocks.
129. Embrace your animal qualities.
130. Give anger an expiration date.
131. Reduce stress by throwing a water balloon.
132. Spend your loose change at a batting cage.
133. Rub warm sesame oil on your feet before bedtime to cure insomnia.
134. Describe your favorite shining moment to someone in the third person.
135. Ask your inner child to write out a "to do" list for the week.
136. Stage a breakfast feast that lasts till well past noon.
137. Relish the things you are still learning to master.
138. Think of your name as a verb, not a noun.
139. Fish without a hook and just meditate.
140. Schedule a mud bath.
141. Spend the a couple of hours sitting in the barn, after the chores are done, talking to one of your best friends.... even if she is your mother

Our Beef Cows

My new - used camera

I finally got myself a better digital camera. So it's used and I won it on eBay, but I'm so exited!

Here are some pictures of Ace who was the first "victim" of my camera. I didn't realize that the camera was going to have such clear pics or I would have made Ace get down out of the chair before taking the photos. That chair is probably older then I am and the dogs have taken it over as "their chair" and I try to keep it covered with a sheet....oops! Now that you have all seen the rattiest chair I own I can post any pic ...right?

Old Fashioned Pancakes

1½ cups All purpose Flour
3½ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon White Sugar
1¼ cups Milk
1 egg
3 tablespoon Butter – Melted

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix until smooth.

Meet Nickie....

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of Nickie coming to live with me perminately.
I first met her on August 28th, 2003. That was my first day working at the SPCA and she had been brought in with a litter of 11 puppies. We were told that she had been a stray on the indian reservation, for quite some time and, they had finally trapped her in a barn (where she had her litter of pups), and brought her to the shelter.
Since the puppies were still nursing (only a few days old) they were in need of a foster home until the puppies were old enough to be away from their mom. It was late in the day, near closing time, when Nickie and her babiess were brought in. The kennel mangager did not have a chance to make phone calls to see if she could find someone willing to provide foster care to the shelter's newest family, so they asked all staff memebers if anyone could take this family home. "Just for tonight, until we have a chance to find a foster home". I brought them home, and decided to foster them until the puppies were old enough to find new forever homes of their own. Then we even found a new forever home for Nickie, or so we thought ... two weeks later we got a call from the guy who had adopted her, and told us he no longer had Nickie... she had gotten away from him and couldn't catch her. Well, to make a long story short, on October 1st, 2003 ..... Nickie came to live with me FOREVER!!!!
I adopted her and she has been with me ever since.

LOL... I have to laugh every time I think of how scared she was of men... until she met *T*. You see when he started coming to the house I told him that my one dog hates all men, and it was kind of a joke that if he could win Nickie's trust then I'd give him a chance (to renew MY trust in men). Within a couple weeks, if he and I were on opposite sides of the room and both of us called her, she would go to him and not me. I could not believe it, but I kept up my end of the deal and gave our relationship a chance ... what can I say.... He and I have been together ever since too :-)

Thank You Nickie, for showing me everyone needs a second (or third) chance in life. I love you babe!

What do you think???

What do you think of the new look??? I've done some rearranging and redecorating. I'm not sure if I like it yet so let me know your thoughts... any suggestions?

Misty Morning

Good Morning everyone!
This is the view I had from my back steps around 7 o'clock this morning.A view of the catalpa tree at the same time this morning.

These two pics were taken about a half an hour after those first two. The white spot you see in the pasture is Lacy our 25 year old horse.

If you look closely you may be able to see the birds sitting on the wire near the electric pole. They were just sitting there watching the sun come up.

It's been twenty days since I've written.... and I still have no idea what to write about today. This month has been very emotional for me, even though it may not have appeared that way to others. I have had a lot of inner thoughts going on that I have not shared with anyone. Some would call it soul searching, but I'm not sure that is the correct term.

I can't even say that I've figured anything out during all my thoughtful times... I just know that there are a lot of issues in my life that need to be addressed, somehow. I can't say that I'm UNhappy but I am sure I'm not as Happy as I could/should be. Lately, I feel as if I am drifting through my days with no emotion what so ever.

So what would you like me to talk about.... any suggestions?

Summer is gone!

Summer is officially gone. Labor Day Weekend has come and gone. We were looking forward to having a long weekend but were so busy that we didn't even get to sleep in at all.

Friday evening: *T* went to help with bingo and *M* and *C* came down to visit while he was gone. *C* sat and watched t.v. while *M* helped me set up a myspace account. I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time getting it the way I want it. I have always heard about this myspace thing, but never really paid too much attention to what it really is or how to use it. I'm sure I'll get it but it'll be a while...

Saturday: I had to be to work at 6 a.m. and *T* had to go sit with our elderly neighbor at 8 a.m. When I got home it was nearly 5 p.m and *T* was mowing the lawn. I noticed that he had gotten the apple tree that fell in the back yard cleaned up and had also mowed down all the blackberry bushes that were behind the garage. I've been wanting to get them mowed for a couple of years, so I could start them over. The canes had gotten so big that I couldn't get to the berries when they were ripe... so the bushes were just taking over the back lawn for no reason.

*M* had invited us to a cook out at her house and said that they would be eating around 5 p.m. but when I got home she had left a message saying it would be closer to 6 p.m. before they would be eating. Since I didn't get home until nearly 5 p.m. and *T* was still mowing I was glad to here that. We got to *M*'s house around 7 p.m., ate, chatted a bit, and came home just about dark. Did chores and went to bed.

Sunday: I was up early... *T* had volunteered me to make scalloped potatoes for a pig roast we were invited to. I asked him how he knew that I could make scalloped potatoes ... I have not made them since we've been together... he just smiled and said "honey.... you are a hellofagood cook... you can do it!". So, I was busy peeling and slicing enough potatoes to fill a 12"x17"x2" baking pan, and trying to get them cooked by noon. I finally got them cooked and we got to the pig roast around 1 p.m. We had a really good time, and stayed longer then we had planned... <<<>>>...
Came home watched movies and went to bed.

Monday: I woke up early. While I was trying to get some laundry done mom came over to say that the neighbor's daughter just called her and wanted us to go check on her father because she had been trying to call and no one was answering. *T* went to check and called back to say no one was home.... HHHMMMM... did he run away????.... the man can hardly walk, let alone run. Come to find out the lady who had been with him during the night had taken him to *S*'s house and he was waiting for his daughter to get home to go get him. *T* and I were also waiting for the daughter (*C*)... she had asked if we would help her unload her moving van when she got here... the only problem.... the reason she was trying to call her dad to begin with was because the moving van broke down and she wasn't going to be here when she thought she would. She was somewhere near the PA/OH border and had to wait for a mechanic from Ohio to come help. After a while *T* got to thinking and called *C* back and had her try something else to get the van started.... it worked. So she ended up getting here a little after 3 p.m. instead of noon. By the time we got the van unloaded and got back home it was after 7 p.m. We both had to be to work early (*T* at 4a.m. and me at 6a.m) so it was off to bed again.

And the weekend was GONE!

Today it was back to work as usual... Up at 3:15 a.m. make *T* lunch, see him off to work by 3:35 a.m. I went back to bed until 5:15 a.m. then got up and went to work at 6 a.m.

Good Morning

Good Morning

I'm sitting here sipping my coffee, cruising the net, waiting for the boys to wake up. I can't believe they are still asleep, because they went to sleep at nine o'clock last night. They were so tired. *T* and I went to get the boys last evening and when we got home they played outside until it was almost dark. The boys were playing with the dogs in the sandbox, and watching the skydivers' plane flying around. Freefall Oz was having their annual Boogie (lots of pro skydivers coming to sky dive) and since we only live a couple of miles from there the plane was quite low when it would go over the house, we could watch it circle around as it was climbing to the right elevation to for the skydivers to jump. *C&B* (the boys), and of course Ace (the puppy) helped *T* feed all the animals while I cooked dinner and then we took it out to the picnic table to eat. So we all had a very enjoyable evening. *A* (the boys' BM) called about 9:35 pm to talk to the boys before they went to sleep. when I told her they were already asleep I think she was a disappointed. She was at work when we picked the boys up, so she hadn't seen them all day. I kind of felt bad that she didn't get to talk to them, but maybe she'll call again this morning.



In the barn, to my surprise, the old hen that got broody and I set 6 eggs under is still setting on them. I can't remember what day I put the eggs under her :-? I really need to get them candled to see if there are any chicks in them.

The cows have been moved over to Mom's pastures so it seems odd not to have to fill both water tubs 4 or 5 times each day. The horse is still over here, she must really like my pastures because she will not go over to Mom's. She used to stay with the cows no matter which pastures they were in, but anymore Lacy (the horse) just looks at us like "are you crazy" when we are moving the cows over. Then she will go to the back corner, and stay there until we have the cows all moved and the gates closed. I think she has just gotten to the point in her life that she doesn't like change. She is 25 years old now, so I guess she has earned her right to decide which pasture she wants to live in. :-)

I'm still looking for a milking goat. I know where there are some nice looking Alpines for sale, but I'm not sure what breed I want. I like Nubian, but I don't like how vocal they are. I also like Saanens but I like the color patterns on the Aplines. Maybe I'll just have to get one of each ;-P

I'd also like to get a couple more meat rabbits. We saw a litter of Black New Zealands for sale at the fair, but the sign did not have a contact name on it and we did not see anyone around who knew who's bunnies they were. I wanted to check back another day but we didn't get back to the fair until late Saturday evening after all the animals had gone home. :-(

The I have the turkeys in the barn and would like to let them out to free range, but *T* is afraid the coyotes will eat them. And I'm sure they would too if we didn't shut them in at night just like the other small animals. We let the chickens, ducks, geese, guinea hens free range and then close them in at night, so why can't we do the same with the turkeys??? I think he is just a bit over protective...LOL.



I have got to get this house cleaned! I keep trying (at least I think I am) but I just don't seen to be getting anywhere. I have been trying to work on something for a certain amount of time each day, and if I can stick to it I know it will work. I'm just not disciplined enough.

why me?

While I was at the store this morning a guy (*W*) stopped in to see if I was working. I wasn't officially working, but I was there. He "the guy done at Mix's says you might take in an injured bird". My first question was "what kind of bird?" *W* said he found a homing pigeon next to the road in front of his house, it is drinking and eating and he has found the owner, who lives near Syracuse, NY (a long way from here), but *W* doesn't know anything about birds so he would like me to take it until he figures out what the owner wants to do with it. Like I do! I told *W* that I would take the bird and see what I can do for it ... we'll see.

When I got home there was a message from *J* wanting to know if we will take that other turkey her dad has up at his place. I guess it is one of the same ones that we got from *G* last week. What is it with people?

I told my mother that I'm thinking of changing the name of my farm from Seldom Seen Acres to Seldom Seen Sanctuary. Okay... not really. It does make me smile to think that when people are trying to find a good place for there animals to go they think of ME :-)

Where has time gone?

Not sure where to begin here. I have been so tired this week that I haven't even been checking my email... and yes I am going through internet withdrawl. The only reason I've been online this week is to pay bills and check out a couple of things for *T*.

We wanted to get the boys this past weekend but BM said NO. We did end up seeing them for a few minutes while we were at the county fair. I really hope that she lets us get She didn't act like she was going to let him get them this weekend either, so we'll see.

At work my boss has been on vacation so that leaves me "in charge"...LOL... I really don't like that term or that job, but I can do it if I have to. Nothing major has gone wrong ...yet... but we still have a few days to go until she gets back on Friday. I got a call from the guy who is baking tomorrow, he said that he just took a cake order so could I come in a little earlier and decorate the cake? LOL... gotta love these young kids... he could do it if he had to, but I have to go in to send in the Deli and Bakery order anyhow so I'll do the cake while I'm there. The plan is to get there early enough to get everything done and go home before the store opens... wish me luck! :-)

Here at Seldom Seen Acres things are about the same as last week. The pigs are growing, the chickens are finally laying in one place and I can find the eggs each day. One of the older hens decided to set in an empty nest (one that didn't even have any hay in it), so I gave her 6 eggs... hopefully she will set on them until they hatch (that is IF they hatch), she has a habbit of setting for a week or two and leaving the nest. I'm not real worried, either way. I just didn't want her sitting there "wasting heat" when she could be incubating eggs.

I have to get a lot done around here tomorrow, I haven't done laundry in a week so you can only imagine what is left in my closet... nothing. The dishes are stacked in the sink from the last few days and that really drives me crazy so that is my plan for tomorrow... CLEANING!

Overdue Update

I think I'm finally getting used to the new laptop. For a few days I was beginning to think I made a mistake in getting a laptop. One of the biggest changes is the keyboard. I do, however, like the mobility of it :-)

Not sure where I left off with the homesteading stuff but I'll try to catch everyone up.

We are still trying to get the apple tree that fell in the back yard cleaned up. T borrowed the neighbors chain saw to cut it up, but that quit running and he can't seem to figure out what happened to it. So now we are waiting for another friend of our to come with his chainsaw and help get this mess cleaned up. I am to the point that I just want to hook onto it and drag it out of here. I don't care if it just ends up down in the pasture for a scratching post for the cows :-/ I just want it out of my back lawn!

The piglets are doing very well, I forgot how fast piggies grow at this age.

We have new additions to the menagerie... Three white gobblers. Last thursday I no more then got home and got out of the truck when a neighbor from up the road pulled in the driveway on her fourwheeler, she must have seen me go past her house on my way home, she asked me if T & I would like some turkeys that GP has had for a few months and just want to be rid of them. She said that he had been asking she and her hubby to take them but they don't wnat any "livestock". She told me that there three birds and the were probably about three months old. T & I decided to go get the turkeys, but when we got there, we found three "huge" birds. These babies are between 30 and 40 pounds.... Not three months old. We brought them home and added them to our little collection of critters, but not without laughing at ourselves the whole time, and asking how we get ourselves into some of these situations. In the midst of it all T says to me "if nothing else... we have dinner for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.... huh? what do you think". "What do I think?" "I'm thinking, I don't have a roaster big enough for those big boys. And even if I did.... it wouldn't fit in my oven!" So, these birds have been the joke of the week. Oh, and not just for T and I... a co-worker of the original owner, stopped me at the grocery store yesterday to ask me how the turkeys are doing.... apparently these guys thought it was funny that they "suckered" us into taking these turkeys. Little do they know that we are excited about getting them, and that we have been looking into getting turkeys but any time we have seen them for sale they too pricey.... and these ones were FREE! I'll try to get pictures of them soon.

Dad informed me last week that he has sold all his cows. My first thought was "now I'm going to have to get something to keep the pastures picked", then he told me that the guy who bought them is going to leave them here and rotate them back and forth between here and my parents (like we have done). So, even though we no longer own the cows we will still get the benefits of having them, just not the work. I'm still not sure what kind of deal we are going to work out for the rent of pasture, but I'm sure we will come up with something. I have no idea what people charge for these things.

Getting used to this new computer

I don't think I am ever going to get used to this new laptop with the vista program. If I do I'll be back to post.

Sorry...

Sorry I did't return the other day. MY COMPUTER CRASHED!!!!
I had just ordered a new laptop and was hoping that it would get here before the other computer died, so I could get some of my files transfered... but it didn't get here in time. Oh well.. I guess I will survive, there wasn't any REALLY important stuff that I lost.

Missing in action

I know... I know.... I've been missing in action again... But trust me I have not been missing any action.

Look what happened to our apple tree on July 6th. It was the only tree in the back lawn so I really am going to miss it for several reasons, not just the apples. I knew that it's days were numbered because every year it has been losing a limb, and I've noticed when the wind blew lately the whole top would twist on the trunk. So I wasn't suprised when I came home and found it like this.
July 4th we both had the day off work so we decided to go to the livestock auction in Spingville, NY and this is what came home with us. I had not been to the auction in over a year and S.O. had never been there so we really enjoyed our day. He said he wished he had more Wednesdays off so we could go more often.

I finally got a picuture of our Jack Russell puppy uploaded. Meet Ace he is 15 wks old now and just as adorable as the day we got him.

We did finally get our lawn tractor home and mowed the lawn but since then it has been so dry around here that all the grass has turned brown (as you can see in the picture of Ace) and we havn't had to mow since.

I'll post more later today ( I promise) but right now I have to go see if I can get some fencing up around the corral that will keep the goats in. We have been trying to make time to get this done for quite a while so I better quit thinking about it and just go do it.

I'm back

I'm sorry that I have not posted in a month. I'm not even sure what I've been doing in that amount of time but apparently I've been busy because I haven't even had a chance to check in on the blogs that I normally read on a daily basis.

One thing I know I've been doing is potty training the Jack Russell Terrier puppy that SO and I got on the 15th of May. He is so cute (sorry no pics yet). When we got him he seemed so tiny... but I can finally see where he is growing. I've never owned a dog this little before ... remember I used to have great danes ...LOL... what a difference. The first time my mother saw Ace (the JRT pup) she said "your may as well have gotten a hamster". Of course when my oldest brother saw him and mom told him what see said he said " he is about the size of my boys' guinea pigs, why didn't you just take one of them". But this little pup is a smart little bugger. Within a week of being home he had already learned how to sit and lay down on command. The first time I showed SO that Ace knew how to sit on command he said "that is just wrong, he's too little to know how to do that". I is the cutest thing though seeing as he is so tiny and he already know some tricks. LOL

Another thing... I've been trying desperately to get my lawn mowed. SO other got most of it mowed for the first time this year, then the lawn tractor quit. I borrowed my mother's push mower (since her tractor was not working either) and mowed most of the lawn again... then wouldn't you know it that darned thing quit on my too.... gggrrrrr! Right now we are waiting for a phone call telling us our lawn tractor is fixed and ready to pick up from the shop. In the mean time I've been tying the goat out in the highest spots of the lawn and wishing I had about ten more to do the job. And wouldn't you know it last night it started raining ... so now the grass in growing again. .... ggrrr! The one section behind the garage hasn't gotten mowed at all this year and I'm seriously thinking about just fencing that whole lot and bringing mom's goats back over to put in the fence. That is also where the blackberry bushes are at that I wanted to mow down and start over too so the goats would love that.

For now I guess I should go get dressed and go up town to the post office, I got a card in the mail on Saturday saying I have a certified letter there... just wondering what it could be.

Simply Leeks

One of the true signs that spring has arrived in Northern PA is when everyone (or should I say the "men") in town start sharing leek digging stories and recipes. I've never figured out why it is mainly the men of the town who start all the talk of leeks. Probably because the men that dig these tasty, smelly little morsels con us women into doing the cleaning and cooking of the leeks. Community Centers, Churches, and other Associations in the area have annual Leek Dinners and it is always amazing how many miles some people will drive to attend one of these dinners. I am guilty, as a child of a die hard leek fan, I sware my father used to see just how many leek dinners he could get to each spring. Usually there is only one leek dinner in each location, per year and since we live in such a rural area it sometimes means driving 30 to 40 miles in one direction to attend. Dad never likes to miss an all you can eat meal... especially when it involves Leeks, Ham, Potatoes, Gravy, Corn, Baked Beans, etc..... oh and don't forget the desserts, usually an assortment donated from the local ladies' kitchens. MMmmmm ....MMmmm.
Little did I know that I am living with yet another Leek Lover... I don't know how I missed that fact last spring. Maybe because our lives were so hectic last year that somehow we both missed leek season. Anyhow, yesterday while cleaning the refrigerator I came across yet another covered bowl of leeks... I thought I had all of them used... once I realized that there were leeks inside the bowl I was scared to open it... let me remind you this thing had been in there for at least a week and a half.... I was thinking "oh, man... this is going to be bad"!
I think I've discovered a good way to keep leeks for over a week :-) After SO cleaned and washed the leeks I had wrapped them in a paper towel, to absorb the water that was still on the leaves, and put them in a sealed plastic container in the fridge. I was fully expecting to open that up yesterday and find a rotting pile of mush... to my amazement they were as fresh as the day I put them in there.... "only God knows when that may have been"!
Okay now... what to do with them.... I had already had ground burger (1# home grown beef and 1# venison) thawed out to make either meat loaf of hamburgers... I hadn't decided yet. SO other came in and said he was on his way to the fire hall for a little while and would be back in an "hour or so", we all know when they tell us that it could be hours. He had asked what was for dinner just before he went out the door and I had said that I wasn't sure, he gave me one of those looks that said "oh no... now what is she up to". LOL.. I rarely know what I am going to end up with when I start out, and rarely have a plan to begin with... but he usually ends up really liking what ever concoction I come up with.
Armed with the ground meat and the idea of those leeks that were still in the fridge, the brand new deep fryer (a birthday present from my friend) sitting on the counter just screaming to be used, and a bag of french fries in the freezer... I went to work. Of course, I wasn't sure when he would be home, but I knew that the meat loaf would take about an hour to bake and the fries I could throw in when he got home, so I wasn't worried about timing issues.
I started by mixing the two different meats together with two large eggs (brown, free range,home grown.. of course!), then I chopped up a hand full (about a cup, but who's measuring?) of leeks, not to fine... like you would an onion, and mixed them in added some salt and pepper and packed that mixture into a loaf pan and tossed it in the preheated (350 F) oven. Now I had another dilemma.. what kind of gravy am I going to make? I remembered not too long ago Rachael Ray had made this yummy looking mushroom gravy, so that was my start. I couldn't remember how she did it and I didn't want to take the time to look it up online so I started my own rendition. I started by chopping another small handful (maybe half a cup) and tossing them into the skillet with oil and a small can of mushrooms... I drained them but kept the liquid to add later. I sauteed them just until the leeks started wilting them I added a can of condensed mushroom soup, and I poored the mushroom liquid into the soup can and added enough milk to fill the can to between half and three quarters full, then added that to the mix, gave it a few stirs and heated it until it was all bubbly. I let it simmer a little bit to get all the flavors mixed.
Just about the time I decided that the sauce was done SO walked through the door and I'd done something wrong... he took one look at my sauce on the stove top and wrinkled up his nose and said "WHAT IS THAT?? THAT STUFF LOOKS NASTY". I must admit, it wasn't the prettiest dish I've ever made... far from it. But then he recognized the smell of leeks and his attitude changed. Then he was like "okay, I'll wait and see, what she's done now." As it turned out he didn't have to wait long until the meatloaf was done, I served the meatloaf with the leek and mushroom sauce over the top with french fries on the side. HE LOVED IT!!!
The whole time he was eating he kept saying "you have to write this one down"... lol... he doesn't realize it is so simple it doesn't need written down...lol. But that is okay. I always laugh when the simplest recipes impress him more then if I'd worked for hours with several "fancy" ingredients. I also love showing him that food doesn't always have to look like a pizza or hoagie to taste good. He is a fast food junkie... and I'm trying to reform him.. slowly. Maybe that is why I had to add the french fries... lol ... can't get away from the fast food all together ;-)

First round done

After a few cups of coffee, a quick round of chores in the barn, a load of laundry, a quick online search for some recipes, and a trip to the grocery store to get some ingredients, I have finished the first round of cookies. Peanut Butter No Bakes.

4 c. Sugar

1 c. Butter

1 c. Milk

Heat to 234 degrees F.

Add

1 c. Peanut Butter

6 c. Quick Oats

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

For Chocolate peanut butter no bakes add 8 tablespoons cocoa powder to the suger, milk, and butter mixture before heating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trip to the store is what took the longest. As I was parking the truck I noticed my neighbor JB from up the road walking across the parking lot and when she saw me she stopped to wait for me. I figured she was going to tell me that the little dog who came to visit her a couple weeks ago really does belong to the people I told her about, but she had other news. She wanted to let me know that her brother-in-law passed away yesterday... he lives a few miles away (and coincidentally is my brother's neighbor). I ended up spending about 20 minutes talking to her about various things, and she asked if I could make sure to tell my father because she knew that he would want to know. I quickly made my rounds picking up the baking ingredients, avoiding isle #1, you see I work in this store and on my days off I really don't like to be in the store because it never fails if my co-workers know I'm in the store they always have some work related issue they "need" me to solve. As I was picking up the things I needed I saw K who was on the same mission I was... she is also making stuff for the bake sale. While I was in the checkout line I heard someone say "oh I see R is here to help you today!". I looked towards the door to see my mother and 3 year old niece R coming in. So, of course I had to chat with them a few minutes... giving her the update of the neighbor's BIL passing and the other neighbor who is in the hospital and not doing well at all. Of course I always have to chuckle to myself when these things happen... Mom lives right across the road and is here doing barn chores at least twice a day, and JB lives two houses away, yet sometimes it seems the only time we take time to chat is in the store... LOL.

Okay, back to work.... Haystacks are the next on the list.

This is just how I feel this morning

"To Hell With The Worm"I'm not sure if the words in the cartoon will show up, but this is how I feel today!

Do you ever have mornings when you just don't want to get out of bed? Today is mine. I am thanking the Gods that S.O.'s hours have changed and I didn't have to get up until 6:00. He used to have to leave the house at 4:15, that was cruel. Thankfully, I don't have to go to work today. But today is the day we have to have all our bake sale goodies together for our Relay for Life fundraiser. I'm still trying to find some yummy recipes that will work for a bakes ale... any ideas?

I gotta go... the critters are waiting... and not too patiently either!

Now what did I do wrong????

After working with S.O. other all day Saturday, trying to get the water line unplugged, I'm surprised that something similar to this cartoon did not happen at our house. ;-)

April 8th

April 8th, 2007

I just took this picture from my back door, before sitting down to write this post. I can't believe that it is only 24 degrees outside on April 8th!

Sorry that I have not had a chance to post in a while. We have had quite a few projects around the farm we've been working on. If you look closely at this picture you will see that we aren't yet finished with some of them.

A week ago last Friday S.O. was working on the blazer, he had the gas tank out trying to change the wiring going to the fuel pump, and as I was going into the milk house to get some tools for him, the wind caught the door and slammed it shut.... breaking glass everywhere. Of course I was barefoot so I had to call him over from the garage to help me pick up glass. May I remind you that the temp that day was 75 degrees, not 24 as it is today. The next day we replaced the door. LOL... and if you look closely you may be able to see that there is lettering on the door... "Bar Room Open"... no, I did not write that there, I scavenged the door from one of Dad's auction finds, and I will be peeling those letters off or repainting the door when the weather breaks again. The old door is still leaning against the side of the milk house, I have to get that out of there too.

S.O. discovered several reasons why the blazer was not running right.... first of all the old fuel pump filter was inside the gas tank, along with a few other things the last mechanic dropped while replacing the fuel pump.... gggrrrr... Oh, and the vent tube wasn't even connected, along with the fact that the wiring going to the fuel pump has been spliced a few times and twisted back together. You just have to love a used vehicle that has had several "mechanics" working on it over the years. Since S.O. cleaned the gas tank of stuff that shouldn't be there, hooked the vent tube up, and fixed the spliced wires, replaced all the spark plugs and wires, air filter, and the fuel filter, the blazer runs beautiful!

We were doing so well at getting these little projects taken care of that we decided to tackle the expansion tank in the basement... it has been leaking all winter. Thursday after work we bought a new tank ... $121 ... took the old one out, hooked up the new one ... everything is going great until we realize that we only have a little trickle of water coming into the house on the main line... no wonder we don't have very good water pressure in the house. All this time we thought it was because the tank had holes in it and was just losing the pressure. So, the water line coming in from the barn (that is where the well is) must be clogged somewhere. We borrowed a snake from a friend and ran it into the line from the house out to the barn, yesterday afternoon, got a lot of silt and rust out but no more water. Today we are going to try running it from the barn out towards the house, and hope that the clog is on that end and breaks lose. If that doesn't work I guess we are going to have to run a new water line. For now we have the garden hose (seen in picture) running from the barn, which has water, hooking into the house's main line so that we have water in here until we figure out what we have to do to the water line..... This may be the new "You might be a Red Neck" Photo.... but it is working for now. And if you are wondering why that hose on top of the ground isn't freezing in the 24 degree weather, it is because we are letting one of the faucets in the house run.

Oh, the joys of owning your own home!!!!

Monday evenings sky.