Monday's musing

I wanted to add a picture of the sunset I took tonight but it won't let me, maybe later.
It is more of the clouds and the sun reflecting off them as it was setting, with the corn gone I have a much clearer view. Tuesday morning and it let me put the picture up. These are the trees at the back left of our property, past them are miles of fields. I love all the colors we get in the sky here.

The first part of the day was cloudy, but by about 1 I was more inspired to go out and do some mowing. The part of the yard I was working on is where I am making plans for gardens and water features. So as I bump along, I day dream and plan and re plan where and how. There is a nice slope which will lend itself to a fountain, stream and pond which I hope to artfully meander down through the gardens I will plant. I have collected a wide assortment of books and magazines to find inspiration and direction. A some day plan is to use it as a place for small weddings so I keep that in mind as I draw things out.

While mowing up near the trees I spotted violets still blooming, I guess being so low to the ground they have avoided the frost. Was a pleasant sight, I also have some violas in bloom near the house. I wish the weather guys would quit saying the s word.

Guess that is it for now, off to read more blogs and see what else I can learn!!

Best to all

I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.

I was cut out to be rich, but I was sewed up wrong!

"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."
~ Maya Angelou

Sunday Evening

Sunday Evening, Jim just called to say he had arrived at his apartment in one piece. I always worry about the drive, nutty drivers, deer, car problems, you name it I will worry about it. This is always a hard time, he hates to leave and I hate to see him go. What we try to concentrate on are the pluses, he has a job to go to. We actually like each other and seem to be handling this particular bump in our road fairly well. I reminded him today that if he were home full time it might mean he was out of work!! So he keeps in touch with the headhunters and hopes that something will turn up closer to home. They call and email, but the jobs are in New York, California every where except Iowa.

Today was a very nice day, warm and not too much wind. Actually it was what Saturday was supposed to be!! Silly weathermen, never seem to get it really right, even with all their new equipment. I had looked forward to Saturday, planned on mowing and working on winterizing more of my plants and flower beds. Unfortunately it was cool and very windy, not a working outside day at all. Jim helped me move the rest of the large hay roll, that extra muscle sure came in handy and saved me days of work.

I watched part of the movie "Sahara" today, and was not a happy puppy. The movie is based on the Clive Cussler book by the same name, supposedly. I do not think the person who cast the movie read the book first. The title character, Dirk Pitt is the tall, rugged, handsome devil, his side kick Al Giordino is Italian, on the short side but very strong and clever and popular with the ladies. In the movie the lead is not tall, not rugged and while attractive, is not like Dirk at all. Al is played by someone who looks more Irish then Italian, and he is not in shape, well not a muscular shape. When ever one of Clive Cussler's books come out Jim or I pick it up right away, and very much enjoy them. Having one of them come to the screen and then not be true to the book really bugs me, can you tell?? Since I enjoy reading I get into the characters and have definite ideas as to how they should look and act.

So many of the birds were out today, I need to drag out my bird book again and see if I can identify them. Mother Earth news had some receipies for making those suet cakes for the birds, I printed them out. Now I am saving my bacon grease and will get some suet from the store and make my own, cool. While I was filling the feeders, some of them were lined up on the fence talking to me, probably saying "Hurry up, we're hungry". If the weather report is at all right this next week should be fairly warm, for the season. Hopefully, I should get all the mowing done and the plants tucked in for the winter.

Best to all

Friday, Hooray!!!

Another beautiful sunrise, hopefully less clouds today. Those gloomy days really do me in I feel like I am trying to function underwater. Must be from all those years of living in Florida, I need the sun.

When I took the dog out I kept an eye out for deer, but none this morning maybe all the spraying I did yesterday worked. They did take out the two big sunflowers I had left for the birds. When Elvira and I went out yesterday morning we surprised a large doe by the new trees. So, the first part of morning was spent going to all 14 trees and spraying them with deer repellent. I told Jim if they do not leave my trees alone they just might end up as Thanksgiving dinner!! I spent all summer watering those trees and keeping them alive, so anything that messes with them is on my bad list.

The upside of the morning was getting some good pictures of the sunrise. I can stand on the front porch and have the most beautiful light show. In Spring and early Summer the sun rises to the left of one of the huge maples down front. At this time of year it rises on the right hand side of the yard, more over in the apple trees. Another thing I have learned since living here, I always thought "The sun rises in the East and sets in the West" and that's it. No, Einstein, the Earth moves so do the rises and sets. I get more pictures of the sunrises cause it is easy, to get the sunsets I have to walk to the back of the property past the trees. Right now that is not a bad walk, but when all the weeds and plants are up it's like a jungle. The eventual plan is to have nice paths with all sort of neat plants, right now it's a mess. I have found another pile of rocks, Jim will be sssoooo happy. We also found piles of barbed wire, broken farm equipment, discarded appliances. Jim had better luck, earlier in the year he found a couple of old brown bottles, one of them I believe held bleach. The name eludes me at the moment. The to do list expands, next year will be very busy.

For me one of the major things will be gutting the kitchen. It is nice size but just does not work for me, the shame is that some family puts lots of money into "upgrading" it. My goal is to take it back in time, cupboards and shelves to the ceiling so I have places to put things. Earlier in the year on Martha they had a kitchen do over, that could almost have been my kitchen. It has this weird jut out near the top that to me serves no purpose at all, the ceiling has also been dropped. I have a huge collection of kitchen items and every time I open another box it becomes clearer I have no place to put things!! No, I am not getting rid of any either!! What I have gets used at one time or another, plus most has been found at thrift shops or yard sales. I love gadgets, just do not like to pay full price. If you watch re-runs of "Murder She Wrote", the kitchen there is along the lines of what I want, those great glass front shelves.

One of my thrift shop finds has been put to use quite a lot lately, my bread maker. I found a recipe for whole wheat bread that comes out great. I love the bread with all kinds of goodies in it, you know the one that costs $3.00 a loaf, well, this gal is not spending that much. So went searching on the web and found a wonderful recipe using whole wheat flour, honey, sunflower seeds etc. I also add flax seeds to it and one time raisins all of which work, so nummy. I get a $3.00 plus loaf for probably less then a dollar, works for me and the machine does all the work.

Today I need to start on the dog bones so they will be ready for Jim to take back with him. Getting orders is also a spur to get kitchen organized as I will need to have assembly line going. Just need to sort through and put the less used items down in basement for now.

Goats await breakfast and Buddy the Cockatoo is sounding off so his bowl must be empty. The cats and dog are already fed, so they are happy, Tonka the big grey cat is sprawled across the bottom of the bed. What a life!!

Good Day to all

Ah, Wednesday has arrived, two more days and Jim will be home. I have been working on my "Honey, Do" list for him, fix the section of fence that has come loose, the blower on the fan in the truck does not seem to be working, I can't get the storm window down on one of the windows. I did get the hay roll moved some, and am now working on flaking it off, I manage this by laying down a tarp and filling it up and dragging the hay inside. Who needs a gym,lol.
I think I may have moved around a hundred pounds before I pooped out, only 800 to go. Of course, once I get it inside the goats think they should help me by running through it. I keep forgetting to shut them in their side first. They sure keep me on my toes and amused.

Actually I have lots of company, 4 cats, 1 dog, 1 Chinchilla, and 7 birds. Some one always needs something. The majority of my critters are rescue animals and they sure bring me lots of love and a feeling of doing some good in this world. In September my German Shepherd Duchess passed away, I sure miss her. She had heart problems and I guess it just gave out, her buddy Elivra was lying beside her as were the Himalayans Sabre and Peaches. She was a rescue about 14 years ago. On one of my trips to the vet I aquired Elvira, she had been brought in to be put down, and I happened to walk in the door. Fate I guess.

Oh, good news, I got my first order for dog bones, 3 dozen!! Hopefully this will be the start of something good. Wasn't there a song by that name?? Some where along the line I need to start designing a website. Considering my location having a website will be the way to go, just have UPS pick them up and away they go.

I spent yesterday tracking down oldest son's birth certificate, so took a drive up to Albert Lea. Thank goodnesss that Minnesota has their vital records state wide, so just had to pop into office and get it printed out. I was afraid I would need to drive to Minneapolis, not a happy prospect. I am getting so very spoiled, no traffic to deal with other then a tractor now and then. Having spent the first 50+ years on the East Coast and driving in D.C., NY and Boston as well as Orlando and points in between this is heaven. Well, most of the time, there are periods when the snow is flying that I plan on just staying in. Of course, there was that time in Boston that it took 3 hours to go about 5 miles, due to an ice storm. I guess if I can make my way through that and other hair raising trips I have taken, I'll be ok.

The best in life to all

Gloomy Monday

This is the part of winter I don't care for, the gloomy. Of course, could be worse, when Hubby called he said it had snowed off and on all day. Not sticking all that much but still it is snow. He told me it would be sunny, and then get real black and start to snow, some times almost a white out. Not here yet but I know it is down the road.

A good thing, when I went out to give the goats their afternoon snack found that their area was very nice. With the wind blowing about 25 mph and the temp in the 30's I was worried it might be real chilly for them. I guess all our attempts at keeping the weather out are working. I had to unzip my jacket as it got too warm, that is until I got back outside.

Good life to all

Tis the weekend

Another fine day, blue sky, fluffy clouds and not too much wind. Jim, my talented husband,
is under the backroom putting in insulation. He is going to seal all the cracks to keep the wind from whistling through. When you walk from the kitchen to the back room it is like going into an ice box in the winter and a sauna in the summer. When this room was added on little care was taken to insulate it, there is bare minimum in walls and does not seem to be any in roof or floor.
Our goal is to have this place be as green as possible, so insulation is a big plus. The radiant heating he put in is working very well so far. Putting up roller shades made a big difference for the heat in summer and I can tell the difference with the cold also.

When I had gone out the other day and found several of our new Maple trees were stripped of bark, I thought deer. Makes me sick, I have hauled hundreds of feet of hose all summer watering them, weeding them and they were growing so nice. Jim was talking to some of the guys who work for him and they say squirrels. Apparently when the sap starts to run the squirrels think the tress are a big treat. I have concocted what I hope is a sure fire cure that will keep those pests off them. I had a couple dozen jalapenos left in the garden so I have run those through the food processor. We are going to wrap the trunks in burlap and then paint on the pepper mixtures and then put chicken wire. I know peppers are used to repel squirrels from the bird feeders so hopefully this will keep them off our trees.

I know there are all kinds of hints out there so will research and see if there is anything else to do. I know to wipe my measuring cups with oil so the honey comes right out and all kinds of little gems like that. Repelling squirrels is pretty new!! As I have mentioned before living here is a constant learning experience. Those ramblings always bring me to the thought of how the heck did the pioneers manage to live out here.

Scratch what I said about the beautiful fall weather, it has done an abrupt about face and is now overcast and the wind has picked up a lot. Jim is still under the back room, but making progress. You can feel a big difference, no more wind pouring out into the basement. He is great.

Live, Love, Laugh