First Green Beans Of The Year

It seems like the green beans just popped out this week! These are Tenderpod Heirlooms....10 oz worth :)

After a cooler weekend,the heat is back in full force. 90 degree temps plus humidity. It's going to be like this all week. Thankfully,the beginning of next week is going to see cooler temps.

Stay cool if you are having a heat wave!!!

It's A Wee Bit Hot Out There

The week that The Boy was gone started a cycle of rain that we were in for another week. It also included high humidity.Needless to say,it put a damper ( no pun intended!) on the outdoor plans. It put us a couple of weeks behind in laying down the loam and seeding. Last week,the chance of rain lessened as the week went on,but the temps have been in the 90's,with over 70% humidity-which put the actual temperature around 100 degrees. Rick has been out there,determined to get the loam spread as best as he can. Scoop up a load with the tractor,dump it in the area,and spread it out manually. I have been telling him to come inside where the AC keeps the house nice and cool every so often to rest a bit.He has been drinking plenty of water. We have also been fighting with the pool. We bought Green to Blue from HTH. Unfortunately,it didn't say on the bottle that it's not for use for a cartridge filter system,and that you need a material vacuum system for your pool. It broke down the metals,etc in the water and made them settle,but because our filter is not designed to pick up this sort of material well,when we vacuum the sediment spews back out of the outtake into the pool again. I finally looked this issue up last night,and found out that we have been using the wrong chemicals. Sigh. So we blasted the pool with chlorine,and have to start all over. I joked that by the time we can use the pool,the weather will turn to cold and rainy. Live and learn. I am hopeful that we can get the pool functioning for this coming weekend. We are having our Boy Scout Troop to the house for their Year Planning Weekend. It would be nice for them to use it.If not,then we do have the beach down at Sunrise Lake.

I think The Boy came back a carrier from NYLT,because on Monday at Yoga,My Dear Friend Michelle mentioned that her son,Ethan,who was at NYLT was sick with a cold. That night,I started having a scratchy throat,and by Tuesday AM I felt like I was swallowing glass. I was in bed for three days,even most of the Fourth,so it didn't feel much like a holiday for me. I did make some potato salad,and we had chicken ka bobs and corn  on the cob with the salad. We set off some fireworks (no ordinances here in town,though anything after 11:00 PM is noise nuisance)which is our yearly thing. Each day I do a bit more,not to over do it. My poor garden was so sad and full of weeds-Friday I got out there and weeded,finally. The Girls loved the weeds. The mornings are a bit rough.It takes a while for my head to clear,and I am bit stuffy,Mostly I just feel tired all the time,but I just putter along and yesterday was the first day I didn't nap or lay down.

The broilers have all been processed. Rick vacuum sealed them,some whole as roasters,some cut up. It took him over 6 hours to do it. We had about 28 broilers,give or take. We did lose a few over the course of time. That seems to be normal. Michelle and her hubby  were kind enough to lend us their homemade chicken plucker,and it was a time saver. The plucker is all clean and under cover. We just need to return it,I think it will be sometime this week.

In between rainstorms,I have been able to pick a couple few things.......

Some German Chamomile . I used my tea infusers to dry out the flowers. You can see the dried ones on the right, and the freshly picked ones waiting to be dried on the left. I am going to try some Chamomile tea this year.

This has been the best year for our strawberries so far. I have made it point,no matter what the weather or how I feel,to go out and pick the ones that are ready.I wash them,pluck the stems (which I then compost) and put them freezer bags.I am hopeful that I will have enough of my own berries this year to make jam with them.If not,I will have to go to the local farm and get some to combine them with. We have three harvests,and this was a sample of what I was gathering during our first.It has since gone down to just four or five berries at a time,but now we are getting some new blossoms for the second harvest.

We have invested in a roadside sign. We put it out on on the Fourth. Folks have been slowing down when they pass,which is good. Yesterday I sold three dozen eggs.We will have a regular sign by the road with our farm name,and this sign will be used just for what we are selling,which will increase with time.

Hopefully everyone out there is staying cool...if you work outside, please don't over do!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Close Call

Zach was picked to attend the Boy Scouts National Youth Leadership Training program (NYLT). The boy applies,the Scoutmaster gives a recommendation,and then he is either chosen or not. The program is for 6 days,and the boys are taught various things such as how to run a patrol,leadership skills,etc. NH's NYLT takes place at Camp Bell,in Gilmanton  Iron Works (GIW,incidentally,is the setting for the famous novel Peyton Place. The author based it on people she knew).

We dropped Zach off on Sunday for noontime.Once everyone in his particular patrol arrived,they hiked two miles into woods,up a mountain for their week long training. The only buildings are the shower houses. They do have tents on platforms with cots for the boys to sleep in.

I had to take this photo of Zach when we dropped him off. I am so proud of him being chosen. You can tell how excited he was to have his Mumma take his photo in front of everyone. :)

The weather forecast for this week is thunderstorms off and on all week long. My Dear Friend Michelle and I were saying at yoga class Monday that we hoped they had some sort of shelter in case a bad storm came up. Her son Ethan,is at NYLT with Zach. They wound up being in the same patrol.

Monday night around 11:30 the phone rang,and it was the ER at Lakes Region Hospital in Laconia,NH. Zach was in the ER,and he had been in a lightning strike. He had a burn on his heel,but he was OK,and she told me to hold while she connected me to Zach.

When Zach got on the phone,he told me what happened. Apparently,a storm came up quickly,and it was a bad one. The only had time to get under a staging area. It looks like they may have used it for some classes or for meals. I got the photo from the WMUR (Channel 9) webpage:

Lightning hit a nearby tree,and the electric current traveled through the root system,coming out to where they boys were. There were approx. 30 boys and leaders under the tarp. Zach said everything was bright white,then a very loud clap of thunder followed. There was pandemonium,of course,with yelling and screaming. Zach says he yelled for everyone to "shut up" because "they were hurting my ears".

No one felt any effects until 30-40 minutes later. Some boys complained of tingling sensations in their arms,legs,or down their sides. One boy had blurry vision and his left side was numb. Some, like Zach,felt burning and spider web like markings started to show. Because the storm was still going on,they could not go down to the main building at the base of the mountain. Adults and older boys who had experience and training did first aid on the boys as best they could until the storm passed and they were able to go down to the main building,where most of the boys were put into buses. Six boys who had burns on their chests were driven by truck. They all went to the Belmont fire station (23 boys,3 adults) where they were assessed and then they were all sent to various local hospitals depending on their injuries. Some boys were just shaken up,but those like Zach who had burns, etc,were brought to Lakes Region. Zach had a burn on his heel,and a blister that popped. He said on a pain scale of 1-10,it was a 15,but when he spoke with us,it no longer hurt. His ears had rung for a brief period,but that,too,went away. Michelle's son has a burn on his back. 

Zach sounded fine,but tired. He complained that he didn't get a chance to finish his dinner,because as soon as he started eating,that's when everyone was brought to the hospital. He joked that they all should get a "I Survived a Lightning Strike" merit badge. I knew he was fine. 

This is the tree that got hit. Again,the photo is from WMUR Channel 9 in Manchester,NH.

Zach is back at camp,and everything seems to be fine. I have been a bit of a wreck,just thinking about how close he came to getting either seriously hurt or killed. A lightning expert was on the news discussing this and he said that it is very rare that so many people  get hurt from one bolt,and that there must've been a very large charge of electricity.He was shocked that no one was killed. Usually someone is in that circumstance.

This week just happens to be Lightning Awareness Week.

Oh,the irony!

We are so very grateful that he is OK.

Around The Farm

Yes, it's been forever and a day since I posted last. I have been reading,planning,and doing a lot of thinking...as well as planting,etc.

Our big project of late was fixing our leach field. It died on us. There is nothing like sitting out on the deck with raw sewage bubbling up from the septic tank a few feet away. Ah,the fragrance!!

We had to rent a couple of pieces of equipment for the job,and happily,our neighbor  Kelly is licensed to do such work. So,even though it rained all day on Saturday,he and Brother B were out there digging away. We had to buy a few truckloads of gravel and sand,plus the french drainage pipes for the job.

This is what the leach field area looks like now.

The front yard after the machines went back and forth in the rain:

The corner. the gravel and sand were in our driveway,and this was the only way to get to it. Looks like some loam and reseeding will be in our future!

Even though the yard got tore up,it's A-OK. It needed to be done. Of course,if the weather was cooperative,it wouldn't have been so bad.

There are some great signs of spring:

The green beans are coming up:

The broilers are getting big:

The leaves are out!

The strawberries are flowering:

The lilacs are in bloom and their fragrance flows on the breeze:

We have a little bird's nest on the rafter of our wood shelter. The bird flew away just as I was taking the picture!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Goats,Chickens,and Leaves,Oh My!

Well,whatever the issue was that I had with Blogger,it's been fixed,and I can now download photos again :)

Here are some pics taken over the week:

First up,the adorable little Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats at Tiny Hill Farm!

All three of us fell in love with this sweet little beige guy. He was so cute,and had such a "please take me home look!" 

They were so very friendly,and enjoyed chomping on our sweatshirts. They especially liked Zach's. I was so glad that we were able to arrange our visit during his school vacation week.

I took this pic to show how small the babies are. Rick is 6'1". The little beige guy really liked him. Larissa,one of the owners of the farm,is on the right of the pic. She was wonderful and very helpful.

Friday our 30 broilers came in. Zach had to pick a few up because they are so cute...but he knows they are food,not pets.

I know...how could we think of eating such cute little things?

Spring has finally sprung in NH! We have leaves popping out on trees....

And the maples will soon follow suit. It seems like the green takes a long time to take over,but then,one day,we wake up and all the leaves are out.

The Girls have been enjoying some free range time,now that the weather is nice. They take care of the bugs and ticks...

....and some of the weeds that I haven't pulled out of my garden boxes yet.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Lots Going On!!!!

For some reason,I can't post any photos today. Either Blogger or my computer is being ornery.

Let's see...I guess the first thing is that I have been laid low lately. I tripped going up our bedroom stairs and fell on the edge of the top step,landing just below my left wrist. It hurt so much that I was sick to my stomach,and couldn't talk when Rick came running to me because he heard me cry out. I sat there for a few minutes until the nausea wore off. My wrist stung,and I thought I had scraped it,but no. The next morning,it was a whole assortment of colors,and terribly swollen. I put an ice pack on it,but that didn't help,and I had pain going up my arm. Rick insisted on taking me to the ER for some xrays,because he thought I had fractured it. The Dr in the ER took a look,and his first assessment was that I had indeed broken it,but the xrays determined that I didn't,I just have a big old nasty hematoma. I have a bandage wrap for my lower arm,been alternating ice and heat on it,and been taking 800 mg of ibuprofen every six hours. This was last Saturday. The bruise is now a yellowish purple color,but it still hurts. It doesn't help that I also have tendinitis in my left elbow,and actually had to go to the Drs for that few weeks ago. Sigh. Needless to say,my activities have been somewhat curtailed.

The weather here in NH has finally started to feel like Spring. The leaves are coming out on the trees,and the weather has been nice. This week the temps are suppose to be in the 60's to the low 70's. Yesterday I sat out on the deck after I took the hay off our garlic and strawberry plants. They are coming up nicely.

The Girls enjoyed the afternoon free ranging around the backyard and ate lots of bugs. They also dug up some of the weeds in my garden boxes.This week I must weed the boxes and get fresh compost in them. I have some Rutgers tomato seedlings that I have started. I am not starting my cukes and pumpkins yet,they sprout so quickly that I don't see the necessity.

One thing awesome thing we did last week during Zach's Spring vacation was visit Tiny Hill Farm in Milton Mills,which is just a couple of towns over from us. Rick got their business card from our local feed store,Longmeadow. We are looking to get Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goats,and Tiny Hill sells them. I got in contact with one of the owners,Larissa,and we went for a visit.One of the things that she said that impressed me was that she was willing to work with new goat owners,and that she didn't care if we called at 2:00 AM with a question. She also said they bred their goats for milk quality,and that they are all registered and vaccinated. Also,the fact that the farm is local was an added bonus for us. She was so kind and wonderful,and was quite pleased that we had actually done some research on the goats,so we understood most of what she was talking about! We chatted for an hour. We saw the adult goats,and the babies. We have three does ordered for next Spring.

Rick and I have been working on a plan to move our little farm forward,in stages. More about that later :) My arm hurts,so I am going to end this now.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Damn That Groundhog!!!

Here we are,in the midst of yet another snowstorm! The snow had started to melt,and the paths made from the snow blower were getting wider and wider,showing grass...dead grass,but still grass. Now we are expected to get 8"-14" of the white stuff.

Damn that groundhog!!!


Some of you may be scratching your heads wondering what in the wide-wide- world of sports I'm talking about. What does a ground hog have to do with a snow storm?

Let me introduce you to Punxsutawney Phil. 

February 2,here in the States ( and Canada!),is known as Groundhog Day. In Punxsutawney PA,there is a big celebration before the dawn hours on this day,with music and food. At sunrise,Phil emerges from his home,which is actually located in Gobblers Knob ( I kid you not) which is just outside of Punxsutawney. If Phil sees his shadow,he goes back into his home,which means another 6 weeks of Winter - like weather . If he doesn't see his shadow,he stays out and it means Spring weather will come early.  If he stays out,they hold him aloft,for all to see,and apparently put a jaunty top hat on his head.

While Phil tends to be pretty much on the ball,the last two years he has slipped. Last year,he saw his shadow,which meant no early Spring. At this time last year,we had almost a whole a week of temps in the 80's. People went to the beach. In March in NH. Again,I kid you not. This year,we are suppose to have an early Spring,yet we have had more snow in the last month and half than we did all winter last year. So much for that.

 Phil has an easy life, however,and lives in the library during the rest of the year. He even has a wife! He also has his own handlers,a couple of gentlemen who plan this event every year.

This has been a tradition for over a 100 years. It originated from Celtic belief that if a hibernating animal comes out and sees it's shadow on Feb 2 (which was a Pagan holiday),it meant six more weeks of Winter;if they didn't see it,it meant an early Spring. German folks who immigrated to PA had their own beliefs.Clear skies on Feb 2 meant cold weather. Eventually this all morphed together,and now we have the present holiday.

Some of you may have seen the movie,"Groundhog Day," with Bill Murray which used Phil as part of it's story line.

Damn that groundhog!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!

Fresh,Cold Air

 Yesterday Zach's Boy Scout Troop took part in the Abnaki District's annual Klondike Derby. The boys have to tow/push a "Klondike" sled that that they have made themselves from station to station.Stations have such activities as fire building,first aid, obstacle  course,etc. Our sled consists of an old shopping cart that is attached to two old skis.The day culminates with the boys havin  a race with these sleds. The boys did well,earning two third place awards. The only down side was that we lost most of our snow from the warm temperatures and  heavy rain earlier in the week. It was a day long event,and it felt good to be out in the fresh,cold air,since I don't go out much in the winter,with the exception of gathering eggs,chores,etc. I don't do any outdoor winter sports,so I tend to stay in my warm little house. It was nice spending the day with Rick and chatting with other adults,and watching the boys work together on their stations.Our scoutmaster,Ray,brought seafood chowder,moose,and venison meat for the adults for lunch,which was good. The boys had beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches.

The sun shone until just after noontime,when the clouds started rolling in a some snow started to fly.  It was somewhere between the upper teens to mid twenties,and there was a slight wind that would blow on occasion,but we were bundled up so it wasn't that bad. I did use hand and feet warmers,which made a big difference.There was a warming tent for those who got too cold,and a nice big campfire that we could stand in front of. ( We didn't use the tent,but we did use the fire).

Needless to say,being in cold fresh air all day makes one sleepy. Zach fell asleep on the way home. Rick and I were both in bed by eight. We were beat,but it was a good kind of beat. 

Today,here in the US is Super Bowl Sunday.  On one hand,I would like to see San Francisco win because Baltimore beat the Pats,but on the other, I would like to see Baltimore win because they are from the East Coast. I guess it doesn't really matter either way. The commercials themselves are well worth watching. We have some coupons for Pizza Hut so we are going to to get pizza and Buffalo Chicken wings to nibble on during the game.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

My How Time Flies

Holy Smokes,I just realized how long it's been since I posted last. Sorry about that!

We have received the check from Progressive Insurance and Rick has already gone out and found himself a truck-he's getting a 2003 Dodge Ram. He is suppose to pick it up today. He is doing well,his shoulder is still a tad stiff,but fine.

The Plague seems to have abated and everyone seems to be healthy. We had quite the Arctic blast here for a few days. Temps with the wind chill went below zero for a couple of days,and in the teens a for a couple more.I am thankful for the wood stove,because we ran out of fuel (our oil tank's gauge is broken).Our tank is outside,so we have to use the mix,which is a bit more expensive. We had the tank filled yesterday,and the driver told us the last time we had it filled was in Sept.Four months is pretty good,considering I have heard of folks who have gone through a tank in a month's time.

The other night was gorgeous-at least,looking through a window in a warm house! It was bitter cold,but the moon was as bright as day.It reminded me of the section in "By The Shores Of Silver Lake" when Laura and Carrie go outside to follow the moon path and wind up going all the way to a wolves den...and seeing a big old wolf. I could see wanting to be outside in the bright moonlight. Of course,it was -12F at our house,and no amount of brilliant moonlight could persuade me to go for a stroll outside!

Zach has a two hour delay from school this AM. Last night we got some snow and freezing rain,so the school district showed some good judgement and delayed opening.

Yesterday I picked up a couple of cross stitch embroidery projects. I was hoping to find a book for beginners for reference,but Ben Franklin's didn't have what I was looking for.I picked a couple of patterns that came with thread,needle,and instructions. I bought an embroidery hoop. It should be interesting. I would love to design my own sheets and pillowcases with embroidery and lace/edging.

I have made a master list of things that need to get done around the house,and have posted only two things:

1) Move all the stuff from the bedroom into the garage that is in the garage pile

2)Measure old ladder and space in front of the kitchen window to see if a pot rank is feasible.

I have been thinking about how I want the bedroom,and I keep coming back to the colors white,turquoise,and green.

The other day we went out to gather eggs,and found these two specimens:

Monster egg and baby egg!!! The baby egg was the size of a robin's egg. We don't know why,but we did lose one of our Girls. Rick went into the coop and found her dead. There was no blood or anything like that,so the other chickens didn't gang up her or anything like that. It looks like she just died. Poor Girl.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lovely day. The sun shone,and the temps were in the 50's. Everything went smoothly-and the food came out great,if I do say so myself ( and I do!) LOL!

My Mom came up for Thanksgiving (as usual) and this year it was just the four of us-Brother B went down to his Dad's for the holiday this year.

I must admit the best tasting item was the pumpkin pie. It was so light and delicious!!

While I am usually running around with my head cut off,I was actually ahead of the game due to my prep the day before. I found myself walking around with nothing to do. I even had more than enough time to scope out the yard for a centerpiece. Some years, I buy flowers,but this year,I wanted to get everything from the yard and use what I already had on hand.

The best items were some dried hydrangeas and azalea branches-the branches have lovely reddish leaves on them. I also had some green apples and gourds.  

I couldn't quite arrange the gourds and apples the way that I liked,so I make a little circle around the bouquet.I also had a couple of votive candle holders with tea lights that I lit while we ate.

The official menu:

-organic turkey rubbed with rosemary/garlic butter ( we grew the rosemary and garlic)

-mashed potatoes ( we grew them)

-sweet potatoes with cinnamon,butter,and home made brown sugar

-green beans ( from the garden)

-brown and serve rolls ( Rick ate gluten free rolls)

-cranberry sauce (the smooth canned kind-we don't have many palates in this house who like whole berry)

-apple stuffing ( my Mom's recipe)

-Gluten free pumpkin pie ( made with farm bought pumpkin,our eggs,and brown sugar)

We ate early,around 1:30,because my Mom can no longer see at night to drive. If it's a short trip,it's one thing,but we live 35 minutes away. After Mom left I watched "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" (one my faves!) and then fell asleep during a Walton's marathon around 7:30. I was out for the night. I don't think it was only the dinner- I think that maybe the three or four glasses of wine I had may have contributed to my sleepiness :) I don't drink wine that often,as it can cause me migraines if I drink it at the right time of the month.

That night,while I was in and out of turkey/wine induced sleep,the phone rang and it was the local PD. A button buck ( a male deer with just little nubbins for antlers) had been hit out on Rt 11. The Boys all got in the truck and picked it up,and it is hanging in our garage,and is going to be butchered today. We are going to give some of the meat to our neighbor,who is going through a rough patch.He has two boys and works full time. However, because his now ex girlfriend moved out,he is having a hard time making ends meet and paying the rent,so he has been asking us for various ways to save money.He loves it up here in the country and does not want to move. So we have been giving him advice,(every little bit helps!)He wants to learn how to hunt and butcher,so when The Boys do the butchering tonight,he is going to come over to learn. He does not know that we plan on giving him some meat.

Yesterday I spent working on Christmas gifts and reading.

This morning,I woke up and went to get a cup of coffee. When I opened the cabinet to get a coffee mug,this was there to greet me:

Brother B had left me this birthday message after he made the coffee. He was going out hunting and didn't want to miss his chance on wishing me a happy birthday first thing :)  Oh -it's my birthday today. I am 45 and Fabulous!!!!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!!

A Touch Of White

We are in the midst of a nor'easter,but this one is not too bad on our end. Right now we are getting some freezing rain,and we did get about 2" of snow last night,with some pretty gusty wind.Thankfully,we didn't lose power. I was a bit surprised that school was not delayed this morning,because quite a few communities around us have a two hour delay. The poor folks down in the NJ area,yet again,got the brunt of it (at least,the last I saw on the news). I am keeping the folks who had to deal with Sandy and are struggling in my thoughts and I hope that this storm doesn't create more misery on top of everything else.

I am really losing track of the days,as I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized that Christmas is only a stone's throw away,and Thanksgiving is banging at my door. 

The Girls are all cozy in their coop,and we have started getting a few more eggs now that we have the light on. I only set it from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM so they get more light later in the day. I was wondering if I should keep the light on from early morning to 8:00 PM,but I figured that the normal daylight would still suffice,even if the sunshine is not as strong. Any thoughts,chicken owners?  We are very happy that the "driveway" mix we put down in the coop did the trick. The coop yard was filled up at least four inches,and the proof was when Sandy hit. Unfixed,The Girls would've been walking in three inches of mud. There was no mud. There is no more smell. It did the trick. We also revamped our driveway with it and met with the same success. We fixed the road in front of our driveway and the holes at the entrance to Avon Lane. So far,so good.

Yesterday Rick made some kindling and drained the pool to the level it should be. I'm glad I got my garlic planted and my strawberries under cover in time! Talk about cutting it close! The temps are quite chilly,but on Saturday,it's going to be around 60 degrees,so at least this snow won't last.Of course,The Menfolk are very happy to see a bit snow...so they can see tracks. Rick almost got a turkey with this bow yesterday,but just missed (apparently there were some small branches that got lost in his sights). They are gearing up to get back out again this AM.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

I

Planting In The Snow

Yesterday it snowed here in our neck of the woods-not much,just light flurries.It is our first snow sighting of the season. I was late planting our next years garlic crop,and it was rather odd planting in the garden while snowflakes fell around me. We haven't had enough cold weather to freeze the ground,or our raised beds. We covered the garlic bed up with straw,and I also covered up my strawberries for the season. 

We have begun starting the wood stove,though we don't start it up until later in the afternoon.Once the sun goes down behind our pine trees around 3:00 PM,the house starts to get chilly  ( we do have a furnace back up,but I don't like to use it much).Now that we have set our clocks back,it gets dark earlier.  To be honest,I'm not a hundred percent sure why we still use Eastern Daylight Savings Time, but I suppose it is what it is. One thing I don't like when we "fall back" at the beginning of Nov is that on the first day of winter,it's dark here around 4:00 PM. I am thankful we have a small house. It doesn't take much to heat it,especially since everything is on one floor...and sometimes we have to open the windows in the dead of winter because it gets too hot! Imagine being too hot in the dead of winter in NH!

Today is Election Day here in the States. After all the pounds of political flyers we received in the mail,hundreds of polling phone calls,and over a billion dollars spent by the political campaigns (mostly  by SuperPacs-which is the worst thing to happen to politics in years),it comes to down to the citizens.I don't get into political things here on my blog,but I do want just say that I hope everyone gets out there and votes their conscience. Here in NH,we are considered a swing state,and we have been bombarded by political ads on TV. As much as I love my state,when elections come around I wish I was not in such a watched state. The other night I counted over 20 political ads,for national and state elections in a span of less than an hour.  Many ads are the same over and over. If I made the rules,campaigns would only have  a couple of months to campaign,they would only be allowed a certain amount of donations,and candidates could be sued for libel. That would get rid of the negative ads. They could only run ads about themselves and what they would do for the country/state. Maybe some day.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Back On!

We lost power around 8:00 on Monday night and got it back last night around 8:30. Kudos to all the hardworking folks that have been pushing hard 24 hours to try and get electricity back to the millions of people that are still without power.

The storm here wasn't too bad,no near misses like  with Irene,thankfully.  We did have a couple of road closures near the house.We used the propane grill,and the Coleman stove to cook. We used water from the pool to fill the toilet tank so we could flush . The oil lamps and candles were out last night.We have a small generator so we could at least keep the fridge going and have a radio on. I would like the radio stations to offer more info-if I don't have Internet,how am I suppose to check your website for cancellations??? We didn't do any dishes,so that is on the agenda for today. I have been fighting a cold,so I spent the last couple of days mostly in bed sleeping (thanks to some nighttime cold medicine!).I still feel like poo today,but I think I am on the mend. Zach was bummed that he had to go back to school today.

I feel so bad for the folks down in the NJ/NY area,and for the folks in the WV area that got hit by the blizzard. I hope that they can get back to their homes soon and begin their lives again.I am keeping them in my thoughts,as well as those who lost their lives.

It's raining again here,but at least there is no wind.We did get a bad thunderstorm that rolled in last night-our newly restored electricity went out a couple of times,but just a power bump,thankfully.It lasted only a few seconds. The storm was quite strong,though,
and rolled past as quickly as it rolled in. We will be feeling the effects of Sandy for the next few days with off and on rain showers.

I just wanted to touch base with you all and let you know that things were OK here. There are still over 50,000 people in NH without power. We are among the fortunate.

It's still a Fabulous Planet,even if the weather can be less than.

Have a nice day....and Happy Halloween!

Gearing Up For Halloween...And Sandy

Yesterday we had a whole dump truck full of little rocks and sand delivered. It's the kind of stuff that you can compact and it will stay compact and not create mud. We are using it in the chicken coop,the driveway,and on part of Avon Lane,which is dirt. It's a Class Six road,so the town does not maintain it at all. There are some good size rocks that are sticking up due to wear and tear. Neighbor Kelly is going to grade the road and use some of our "fill".

Rick scraped down the chicken yard area yesterday,to get the stinky top layers off as best as he could. We have come to the conclusion that our soil must contain some clay,because the damn chicken yard took forever to dry. Rick used our tractor to pour the mix into the coop yard,and Brother B spread it out,then used a rented compactor to tamp it down. Bye bye stink! When Rick went to the business we got the mix and the compactor from to see if we could rent it for one more day,they said that we could keep it until Monday for a one day rental price since they were not open on Saturdays. Not a bad deal!!!

Since Halloween is next week,that meant some decorating. Zach was carving a pumpkin....

Rick decided to get in on it as well......

...And they have their place of honor outside. Molly Bruce apparently is too busy eating to appreciate the Halloween display!

A couple of skeletons guard our yard!

 My neighbor let me use her pumpkin costume and her orange sweatshirt for this part of the display:

 A Mama and Baby spider seem to be liking our trees! Can you see the Mama on the right,and the baby near the center?

Look like we are headed for what the weather forecasters are calling a "Frankenstorm." Apparently Hurricane Sandy is going to collide with some cold weather,and it will be a hybrid Hurricane/Nor'easter. The word is that this is going to make 1991's "Perfect Storm" look like a breeze.There are several paths that Sandy can take,but we have 80% that we will get it in some way,shape,or form,and it's effects will be felt all the way to Nova Scotia. It's pretty big. We are gearing up with extra water,batteries,making sure we have propane to cook on our grill or cook on our double propane burners if we lose power,as well as gas for the generator. We have plenty of candles and paraffin oil for light.  We are all set. Last year,we had a snowstorm. This year,a hybrid storm. Life is not boring!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet! 

Come On A Walk With Me!

Yesterday was a lovely day. The sun was shining,and there was nice cool breeze blowing. I decided to take myself on a little walk. I wound up walking four miles round trip. First,I was only going to walk down to the bridge,but then it felt so good to be out and about that walked much farther. I admit that today I am feeling it,but it's a great feeling. 

The one thing about living here in Middleton is that it's very rural. We have two main businesses-a lumber yard and a small GMC dealership ( owned by the same family). We do have several small businesses that are based out of homes. There are no streetlights,and no sidewalks. We have no traffic signals. We have a few farms. New homes have to have a minimum of 2 acres.There are no apartment buildings or trailer parks. Everything is single family homes. Our fire dept is volunteer,so during the week we can't have an outdoor fire in the pit until 5:00 PM when the volunteers get out of work(weekends we can burn whenever). It's very quiet. I believe our population is is less than 2,000 people.

One thing we do have quite a bit of are stone walls. Stone walls deep in the woods,on the side of the road,everywhere-including in our yard!When I am walking around and see these walls,I wonder about the folks who built them and how long ago they created these property borders.In my minds eye I see them toiling the soil,building homes,and lugging all these stones to make the walls. Did they thrive? How long did they live on the land? They don't call NH The Granite State for nothing-our soil is very rocky. In fact,when the artesian well was put in a couple of years ago,we learned that our yard is on a granite ledge,which was good to drill the well through.

The strange thing is,folks from MA come up here and steal stones from our walls just to make walls themselves! 

Stones were also used to make foundations. We have many of these old empty foundations scattered through out the town,and in the woods. It might be hard to see in this photo,but the big tree is growing right out of the middle of it. What happened to the house? Was it destroyed in a fire? Or was it just abandoned and left to slowly succumb to the elements and years?

We still have some bright leaves left,but they are slowly turning to a rusty orange. That signals that foliage season is over.

You can see that the trees are getting bare now. I was in a shower of leaves,and I tried to catch them falling in this photo,but it didn't quite work.

We have many streams/brooks in town. Some have fish,but I don't believe this one does,as it's not very deep.

When I left for my walk,I had my fleece over shirt on,and I eventually had to take it off ( I did have a short sleeve shirt on!). I was feeling the burn in my calves,legs,hips,and butt,as well as my arms. I worked up quite a sweat. It was fabulous!

When I got home,I saw little Mini Moxie curled up on my afghan-

I had to leave you with such a cute photo!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!

Thanksgiving Dinner,Baby!!!!

Today is the last day of shotgun season for turkey. Rick is in his tree stand with his bow (bow season lasts longer) and Brother B was on the ground. Brother B does not have a bow license,so today was do or die for him to nab a turkey.

It was do for him and die for the turkey.......

Thanksgiving turkey is now checked off the list :)

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Look What We Found......

A couple days ago we were outside with the dogs and Sasha kept whining and trying to look under the flap of the "boat house" (one of those heavy canvas half circular storage thingies that we keep the boat our friend gave us in).She eventually got in there and kept whining. Every time she would go out,it was the same thing,so we knew something was in there. Rick decided to put out the Have a Heart trap yesterday to see what he would catch. We figured it was probably a cat,as we have many cats in our neighborhood. They like our yard because we keep cat food outside for Molly Bruce,our outdoor cat. When Rick went out a few hours later to check on it,this was inside:

A wee little kitten!!! We brought him into the mudroom at first,and placed a towel over the trap. Later we put him in out cat carrier with a towel for some comfort, brought him into the kitchen,and gave him some water. Cow milk is not good for kittens. Early this AM we could hear him crying. I wrapped him in a towel and held him for a while. He was very docile,which was surprising for a stray cat.Chances are pretty good that he is the offspring of a tiger cat and a gray- beige cat that have been hanging around,and that they had their litter in our boathouse. He looks like our cat Moxie that was killed by a car,and he is so darn cute that Rick and I had to keep him. Rick has felt bad about letting Moxie get out,and I think this was his way of making amends. I told him it wasn't his fault that Moxie got out,it was an accident,and it could've happened to any of us,but he still felt bad. He did inform me that "this is the last one." 

While I was on the computer this morning, I had him wrapped up in my bathrobe.

We called the our vets office,and set up an appt to have him checked out,and they were able to take him right away.  Everyone in the office fell in love with him. They estimate him at 7 weeks. He has fleas and round worm,but they gave him some Revolution that will take care of all that. The Revolution was a free sample,and they also gave us free kitten food (wet and dry) and it came in a cute little canvas tote bag. He was also tested for kitty leukemia and feline AIDS.He has neither. He was also given a distemper booster.

I joked with the Dr that we should own stock in their practice,since Sasha,Samson,and Smokey have all been there for appts within the last week!

Today is sunny and nice,so I am going to clean out the old garden and set it to bed for the winter. After that,I am going to cuddle with our new little family member. We have debating on a name for him,but we may just wind up calling him Moxie 2.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!