Monday, August 31, 2009

Corn and other stuff

School starts tomorrow so I decided to get the kids up at 645a.
Which is the time they will be getting up to catch the bus at 73oa.

Needless to say one of the three was not a happy camper.

After I threw a few bagels at them we headed out to feed the animals
which was quick, since the cows left on Friday night to run with a bull
up at a friend of ours house.

Then we hit the garden. It was quite wet out this am and chilly too.
Walking through the corn we all got soaked, but
managed to pick a heaping wheelbarrow full.
With everyone helping the whole corn process went fast.


(cute little corn shuckers)

Wolfie better watch out!
I hate it when the cats hang around the pool
as we have had a few cat/pool incidents in the past.



Chyann found this worm thing in the cow pen on Saturday.
Sure is big and juicy looking.


I made a batch of salsa that was delicious!
Unfortunately I didn't have enough tomato's ready to make another batch.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have enough to make more.
We got all the taters harvested also.
Cal was hoping we'd grow enough with the 90 hills to last through the winter,
but that's not going to happen. Total we got four wheelbarrows full and
that's just not enough for our tater eating family.


This guy was hanging out by our Pheasant pen this morning.
I wonder if ours called it in?



Saturday, August 29, 2009

Interesting kids


Caden found an old briefcase in the basement the other day
and packed it up with some of his favorite stuff and began dragging
it all around with him.

I found him out in the driveway, just sitting there looking at stuff.

When along comes a few cats.
They were pretty interested in the briefcase, sniffing it, walking
through it and a few jumping on the lid, trying to sit on it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough with my camera to get those funny shots.



The dogs wanted to check it out too.


This was too much for Caden so he packed up.
(had to put his shoes back on first)


Next he moved to this junk car Cal is going to
haul off this weekend.


Peace from the animals at last.


Since I had been taking pictures of Caden,
Chyann, the original HAM of our family had
to get in on the pictures too.


She decided to give Biskit a bike ride.
Off they go...

Poor Biskit.
He looks like he is paralized with fear!


The look on his face says it all, I think.


Chyann was convinced that since he didn't jump out
when she stopped that he really liked riding in the basket.


I think he was just so freaked out his muscles hadn't
unfroze enough for him to scramble out and
run for a good hiding place from this wild biker girl.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Friends

Once upon a time there was a small commuter airline in AK.

Three gals, all from AK, met at this airline.
We forged a friendship through crazy, busy, hectic and stressful working conditions,
(we also had some seriously fun times too) that has endured through the years.


Even though we no longer work there,
(Rose has been gone 12 years, I've been gone seven years and Krissy just 18 months)
we have this rhythm when we are together that is amazing.


I'll sure miss Rose and will be looking forward to the next time she visits (hopefully she'll bring her hubby, so mine will have a buddy to hang with while us gals do our thing).
I'm thankful Krissy lives close and hope she knows how much I love it!


P.S. After we caught each other up on the current events of our lives we commenced in reviewing our old work days. I wonder if all the pilots, flight attendants, ticket agents, rampers and other assorted old/new employees felt their ears burning?

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sunshine

And the sun came out again.
Strange that I never realize how much I miss the sun
when it's cloudy and dreary out until it comes back.
I am our family's weather gal.
I suppose this stems from growing up in Cold Bay, AK.
When I was in High School we did a project on the weather,
tracking it for two years and going back through records to
determine just how many sunny days a year we had.
Surprisingly we only had on average 10 sunny/clear days a year.
With an average high temperature of 43*.
(yuck, I know)
Now that I live in the land of milk and honey (WI),
I revel in the nice weather.
Give me Hot, humid, sunny days, a little rain now and then,
even a good thunder storm for good measure and
I am one happy camper!
It was a beautiful day yesterday and promises to be even nicer today.
I worked out in the garden and got most of the lawn mowed.
It sure felt good to be outside.
This is Wolfie lounging in a flower pot.
I had been wondering what was wrong with those flowers
as they never looked as good as the pot next to it and
now I know why.

I went to Krissy's last night to see our friend Rose.
We had the best time visiting and remembering times past.
They are coming over later today for dinner.
I can't wait!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

More of the same...

Again, we have rain.
Only about an inch of accumilation since yesterday.

We had fresh corn for dinner two nights ago.
It was wonderful!


The wild plums are starting to ripen.
This year I'm going to make plum jam
(I say that every year and never do).
Usually they are ripe during salsa making time
and I don't get around to them.


My husband is from North Dakota and he is a bonafide water miser.
(not that that's a bad thing)
A few years ago he went to an auction and got this 500 gallon
water tank. He put it under the garage eve and we collect the water
runoff. He has a pump hooked up to the hose and I water my garden
from the tank during dry times.

Since it's been so rainy and the tank is full,
he put a piece of gutter on top of the tank
to divert the water off to the side.


The unintended result has been this nice big ankle breaking hole.

I've moved the gutter to direct the water in a different direction,
but it still makes it way back to this hole, that I've filled
numerous times.



This is Scotch.



What a guy...


Sunday, August 16, 2009

Enough already with the rain!

Last night we got another inch of rain.
We are so waterlogged that we are loosing some serious ground.


Is that amazing, or what?
I've got the kids slated to fill the holes in this afternoon.
It's going to take a month for the pig pen to dry out at this rate.

Since Chyann had her party on Thursday and no one slept in the tent
the kids talked us into sleeping in there on Friday night.
My plan was wait till everyone fell asleep,
then head into the house and sleep in my nice comfy bed with
a fan going. Sounds like a good plan right?
Unfortunately I fell asleep and woke up to find Cal gone.
That stinker had the same idea I did, except he didn't fall asleep.
So, with him gone I had to stay. Bummer.

This is a pic of my sleeping beauties.
All three are in there, you just can't see Chyann under all the sleeping bags.



My big plan for Saturday was to try a new recipe I got for
Spicy Pickled Green Beans.
Did you know a five gallon bucket will hold 622 green beans
that weigh 16lbs? Well It's true.
Not that I have OCD (really, I don't) like Krissy has suggested.
I was picking away and suddenly realized I was at 75 beans in
the bucket and decided what the heck, let's see how many this sucker will hold.
So, really you can see how it happened that I know 622 beans will fit
in a five gallon bucket, right?
I talked Krissy into helping with this process.
She was the official bean snapper.



Me, getting the peppers ready.




Krissy and I with our jars stuffed.
(yes that is an onion hanging by Krissy's head)




The finished product and they are delicious.
I've already eaten one jar.
I'm going to have to make more soon before
my beans all go to pot.


Friday, August 14, 2009

Rain, baby rain..

Wow, did we get some rain last night!

The lightening and thunder were spectacular!!
This morning the pool was overflowing, a little water in the basement,
but worst of all the pigs got flooded out.

We had to move them into the barn
and they will be there until their pen dries out a lot!
(no pictures of that, it's a nasty swamp)

It is nice and hot out today with dew points up in the high 60's.
Very muggy, but I kinda like that..


So, yesterday was Chyann's end of summer party,
imagine six 11 and 12 year old girls and two young boys,
the noise screaming/shrieking/laughing non-stop
for about 10 hours.

The kids mostly swam, but did get out occasionally to
play volleyball (net got wrecked), roll down hills in a barrel,
love on the horses and kittens.

We did the camp fire and cooked their hot dogs.
Smores too.


Ever wonder how many towels the average household has?


Three of the kids brought their own towels, but
with getting in and out of the pool so much they
all needed dry towels frequently.

I can tell you that I had 27 soaking wet towels out on my line
when the storm hit and not a single dry one in the house.

I never knew I had that many towels.


We purchased a new tent for this girly expedition.
It is 18 x 10 ft.
You can zip in dividers making up to three rooms.

It only took about 15 minutes to set up, not
too bad considering it was a little windy and hot.


And do you think anyone slept in that tent last night?
Nope.
Way too stormy.

They ended up sleeping on the hide-a-bed in the living room
watching movies.


All kids gone by noon today.


Sure is quiet.


As hot as it is today Chyann decided to try out
a new recipe, Monkey balls.


They were delicious!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

All Alone...

Yesterday when I got off work Caden had already gone to a freinds house to spend the night, Chyann had been invited to spend the night with a friend and Cal and Colton were working on the white van. I took Chyann to her friends house and come home to work in the garden.

Look at those beautiful English cucumbers and that very cool lemon cucumber. I had actually forgotten that I had planted that variety. Cal purchased all the seeds this spring and for some reason got those two kinds. I've never had either of them. Hopefully they taste good.


After the guys got done working and feeding the animals Colton got a call inviting him to a friends house to spend the night. Yowzer!! Me and Cal all by ourselves? Sounds like a good time to me.

We had a delicious steak, baked tater, salad and garlic bread dinner all by our lonesomes. Then it was off to the pool..

Sure was a fun and relaxing evening.

Chyann is having an end of summer party tomorrow with five girls spending the night in a tent in the backyard or up in the hay mow. She plans on them swimming all day and having a fire to roast hot dogs and smores in the evening. Should be interesting and very loud. Good thing we had a peaceful night yesterday, because I'm sure there wont be any quiet around here tomorrow.

Monday, August 10, 2009

MoJo Lemon

Saturday night we went out to a local bar/restaurant called the Buck Snort with some friends.

The bar had sponsored a motorcycle ride during the day (why, I'm not sure) and the band, MoJo Lemon, played there that night with Karaoke afterwards.

Now I'm not much of a blues fan, but WOW! MoJo Lemon really blew me away! We even had Colton come up and listen for a while (He was our designated driver) because their guitar player was so fantastic! Colton being the budding guitar fanatic that he is, was suitable impressed and has been playing lots ever since.

After the band was done at 9p, the Karaoke guy set up. There was a lot of 80's music, some old country that this weird guy kept singing, and some new rock. Not too many people sang, but those that did were pretty good. I didn't sing, maybe if we'd stayed longer I would have, but as it was I just danced and was Sherri's back up dancer when she sang.

A good time had by all and I'd have probably stayed till closing, but we had a huge storm brewing and the kids called to say it was getting scary out, so we were home by midnight or thereabouts.

MoJo Lemon is playing up at the Pioneer in the next few months and I'm already planning on dragging Cal out to see them cuz I really had soo much fun!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Trip

Meet Trip.
The kids and I went to a thrift sale and they
had free kittens. Chyann noticed that one of the kittens
was limping and asked the lady what was wrong with him.
She said he was born without a left rear foot.
Of course the kids wanted him, but I said no.
We have about seven barn cats and didn't need any more.
We went home and the kids tell their Dad about this cat.
He also said no, we have enough cats.
But wouldn't you know the next day He comes home with this kitten.

He had driven past where we said we'd seen the cat and decided to stop.
That guy is such a softy. He just couldn't not take him.


Trip ended up having an upper respiratory infection (watery, goopy eyes,
sneezing, and some coughing) that didn't clear
up after we had him about a week. We took him to the vet and
they gave him a shot of antibiotics, de-worm medicine and
an oral antibiotic to take twice a day for two weeks.
He is fit as a fiddle now!
Racing through the house (yes, he is a house cat)
and getting into mischief.
It's fun to watch him play, good cheap entertainment!
And missing the back foot does not slow him down at all.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Crazy vines

It seems our farm is being overrun with vines.
I like the look of them, climbing up the barn, shed
and even the yard light, but they are really a
rotten nuisance.


Out in the back yard they are trying to take over the wild plum trees.
Some of the trees are so entangled with the vines that they literally
are breaking in half due to the weight.
Back in April I went on an all out assault against those
tree stranglers and thought I'd done a pretty good job, but
I was wrong. They are back, maybe not as bushy and full, but
once again they are trying to strangle my plum trees.
Yesterday I tore down all the vines that were trying to climb up
our chimney on the west side of the house.
These vines seem to have little suckers on them where they were
sticking to the siding. Very gross.. And I cut back the dead cane from
three bushes that were looking very poor. Those bushes were so
poky that I ended up with scratches every where and had thorns poke through
my leather gloves - ouch, those suckers hurt!
Today's garden product.
My first ripe lemon boy tomato, a roma that fell off that's
not quite ripe, some peppers and onions.
That lemon boy tomato was so good!
Can't wait for more.
Chyann and I rode horses for about an hour and a half today.
It was fun, but not for long enough according to Chyann.

A big HELLO to my brother in AK!!
He reads my blog and says I should post more often.
xoxo

Monday, August 3, 2009

Got some rain

Yesterday was beautiful!
And last night we got some much needed rain.
It started about midnight and rained hard and steady for
a few hours. This am it was amazingly foggy, but burned off quickly.

We got a little over an inch.
The garden, yard and pasture all look much better.
Since we are in a drought our trees
are showing the stress of it by
the leaves turning colors prematurely.


This is the 100 year old Elm tree in front of our house.
It has whole branches that are brown and dead looking.

I hope it does not die on us.
My tree pictures are a bit blurry due to the wind blowing again today.
We picked 3 ice cream pails of green beans today and I have 2 tomato's
that are almost ready to pick!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Long time no post...

I'm not sure what I've been up to that has kept me from posting this last week, but here I am now.

My friend Rose from back home is coming to visit Krissy and I in 21 days. We are very excited to see her! I have not seen her in seven years, man how time is flying.. The three of us worked together at PenAir and had some great times. I can remember how some days I'd come home from work with my stomach muscles sore from laughing so hard and so much. We called ourselves the "weekend warriors" since we pretty much ran the place on weekends. Rose occasionally would page me from somewhere in the building singing that song from cheers, that Woody would sing to his girlfriend. It went something like this - "kellie, kellie, kellie, kellie, kellie, kellie, kellie, kellie." Well you get the picture. We are planning on having a girls night at Kris's house while Rose is here and breaking out the margaritas/beer and whatever else sounds good!!
I can't wait!!

Amazing to think that it is August 1st today. We really have had only one week of HOT weather so far this summer and that was back in June. I saw a thing on the weather channel last night and on their map they showed the Midwest with how many days each major city had in the 90's on average during July. Minneapolis on average has 11 days in the 90's and this year they had none. Most days the temp has been low to mid 70's and that's alright IF the wind is not blowing. Seems like the wind has been non-stop this summer. Reminds me of Cold Bay when I was a kid. Or as my husband says "Are we in fricking North Dakota?" I suppose since we are in a drought it's probably better not to have weather in the 90's, but man it sure doesn't feel like summer. Especially since the kids have hardly used the pool. Last night Cal said we should just put the cover on the pool and be done with it. I told him that was a sure way to get HOT temps.

Kris, Chyann and I went to an animal auction today. It was, well... sad.. Lots of chicken varieties, and other feathered fowl, bunnies and such.. Those all looked in good condition, but some of the goats and cows were just skin and bones. Kinda breaks your heart. I mean who are those people who bring their animals in such horrible shape to be auctioned off to the highest bidder? Are they down on their luck folks who couldn't feed the animals or are they some of those jerks who just don't give a shit? And who is going to buy animals in such sorry shape? Probably no one, so then what happens to the animals? My honey says, probably people who feel sorry for them and that have a hobby farm gone bad (animal collectors).

After the auction we went to the Eau Claire farmers market. I had not been there in a few years and it was huge. Tons of vendors/people looking to buy. I didn't get anything but Kris got some goodies..

Anyhow.. The kids are all good. Starting to think about school starting on September 1st. School supplies and new clothes need to be purchased and schedules worked out.. Colton wants to drive to school everyday, but I don't see that happening until he figures out how to pay for gas. Chyann is excited and being in middle school this year she gets a locker. Whoo-hoo, how cool is that? Got to get a locker shelf, mirror, cool pictures.. Caden is soo stoked about school starting! Acutally even more than school, he is signed up for FOOTBALL! Practice starts here in a few weeks and he wants to be the quarterback. He was just telling me today, when we were tossing the ball around that he will be as good as Brett Favre or better. No confidence problems for that kid.