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

Freeing Myself From Paper Clutter!

Thursday was a gorgeous day,sunny,and comfortable. I picked the last of the potatoes and any of the green tomatoes that survived the frost.I would've done it earlier,but this past week has given us rain off and on,so nothing was dry until then. Now the beds are empty and the plants are in the compost pile. It wasn't our best season for gardening. I didn't even can anything because we didn't get enough of anything to can,with perhaps the exception of the green beans,which I froze instead. Rick cleaned out the coop to make the girls a bit more comfy.

Yesterday it rained all day,and this AM it's still foggy and rainy,though the weather is suppose to clear by noontime. Rick,Brother B,and Zach are all going down to Dad Shaw's house to split some wood for him for the winter later on today.The turkey that Brother B got yesterday turned out to be a bit smaller than we had hoped-8 lbs- a bit too small for Thanksgiving,so we are going to eat it tomorrow for Sunday dinner.Even though my Mom is the only extra guest we have for dinner,just that one extra person would not leave enough for a filling meal.( It reminded me of the The Fabulous Beekman Boys episode where they kill a turkey for Thanksgiving and it's waaay too small for the number of people they have invited). We may still have to buy our turkey this year unless Rick can get one with his bow.

Since yesterday was not nice, I decided to attack one of our worst areas of clutter-the front of the file cabinet and the top of the printer. Clutter in a file cabinet,you may ask? Isn't a file cabinet suppose to keep papers in order? Well, yes,in the normal world. Here in my world,I have a tendency to put papers in the front of file cabinet drawer because I am too lazy to just take the extra thirty seconds to put it in the folder it belongs. Sigh.

Many things I just placed there while still in their envelopes,so I had a whole pile of envelopes to get rid of (some which I could save for the wood stove,others I had to throw out). That in it's self freed up some space. Now I everything is filed in their proper folders,and the top of the printer is clear. I also went through the folders to see if there was anything that was no longer needed,so I had a nice pile taken out from that,too. Some weight had been removed,from both the cabinet and from my shoulders! It is so gratifying to see stuff go away.

Our new kitty,who we named Mini Moxie ( or M& M)is doing very well.He slept with us last night, Today I am going to show him the litter box. Hopefully he can climb into it,as he is still quite small.

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!!!

A Hard Frost

We knew it was coming,and that we were actually overdue.

Our first hard frost of the season happened Friday night. The temperatures went down in the low 20's. Of course, Rick and Zach were camping out all weekend with the Boy Scouts for their annual Fall Camporee,so needless to say it was a wee bit nippy for them,but thankfully they had warm clothes and sleeping bags. It was windy all weekend,which made the temperatures even colder. Sunday morning it was pouring out,so they had closing ceremony at 8:00 AM instead of 9:00 AM. We made sure there was hot coffee and cocoa waiting for them,and we did start the wood stove up so they could have some nice heat to warm their bones after being out in the cold all weekend. It was the first time we started up  the wood stove this season. This week is suppose to be a nice week-only a chance of rain today with temps in the 70's,and the rest of the week is going to be sunny,which is good. Our poor chicken run is still a muddy mess,because the weather has been rainy and chilly all last week. At least now it will dry out and we can get it de-smellified ;)

Once everything is dried out I can put the garden to bed for the winter. 

We brought our cat Smokey to the vets today to be neutered. It was his first trip to the vets and he actually did OK. We brought Samson and Sasha last week for their check ups. Samson is having hip problems so we give  him meds every day to help with the stiffness. We discovered that Sasha has Lyme's Disease, but it doesn't bother her at all. Her joints are fine and she is not suffering from any symptoms,which is good.

Last week when I went for a walk I saw a turkey in someone's yard,and as I walked by I watched her pecking at the ground.We are not raising turkeys anymore,so if we want fresh turkey for Thanksgiving,The Men will have to hunt one. Further down the road on my walk,I noticed an old cemetery. I love old cemeteries and of course,had to walk over to check it out. As I climbed the small embankment,I heard a rustling off to my left,and I just caught the flash of the white tail of a deer as it jumped into the woods. The cemetery consisted of four stones-two adult sizes and two child sizes,which made me rather sad. There are quite a few family cemeteries around here-in the woods,on the side of the road-and coming upon one always makes me wonder about the families. Sometimes their homes are still standing,sometimes there is just a foundation left. What drove them off their property? What killed the little ones? Were they farmers? Trappers? Hunters? All three? When the resting places become overgrown,and the stones broken,I feel so terrible. At one point,these were living,breathing,humans who laughed,cried,and loved. Now they are forgotten. It's so very sad.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Let The Harvest Begin (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

                       WARNING...GRAPHIC PHOTOS OF DEER BEING SKINNED

Like I mentioned in my earlier post,we got a deer that was hit by a car.He hung over night in our tree in the backyard. Saturday morning,The Menfolk,Zach,and nephew Brody went out hunting,but were not out long.They didn't see any deer,but they did see a mink.

This past weekend was mighty busy,as we planned on having Brody up to hunt,then harvest the turkey  that we had sold. Then we got the call about the deer,so that was added to the mix.Saturday-out early hunting,then home to harvest the deer. Some photos of the skinning:

                                                             *GRAPHIC PHOTOS*

He let Nephew Brody try his hand at skinning as well,under his guidance:

                                                       *END GRAPHIC PHOTOS*

After the deer had been skinned,then the real processing began. We have a food vacuum sealer and that keeps the meat nice and fresh.Thankfully,most of the meat was good and not ruined from the accident. The whole process of skinning,butchering,and processing took about four hours or so. We have medallions,roasts,and steaks. I have meat in the fridge that I am going to make into burger today.

The Men were exhausted by Saturday night.Sunday they harvested the turkey that we sold. We let Nephew Brody harvest the turkey,since it's not something he normally does. Zach,who is our turkey harvester,was fine with it because he knows that he will be helping with the rest this week (he has the whole week off from school).

We don't have any fancy scales,so our method of weighing turkeys is to stand on a regular scale,take note of the persons weight,then put the person on the scale with the turkey.The difference in weight is the weight of the turkey. The one we sold was 19 lbs and a Tom. We did sell it for incredibly cheap,on par with frozen at the supermarket.(a mere .75 cents per lb) We had not been keeping track of feed costs,so we really had nothing to gauge it on. Selling one was last minute decision. Our customer,Stephanie,told me she would like to get one from us next year,and I told her that the price would be much more. She seemed pretty pleased at any rate,which was a good thing.

The rest of the turkeys will be taken care of over the next couple of days. We have one for our neighbor,one for Rick's Dad,one for Brother Dale,one that we are trading for some pig meat,one for us,and three that we are donating with food baskets. We only sold the one.No money making venture this year,which is fine.Next year,we plan on keeping track of costs,buying more and selling some at what the price should be. I don't like the thought of charging people I know,though.It's just who I am.

Our neighbor,Kelly got a call about a hit deer.The Menfolk are going to help him harvest it,and he is going to give us some meat in exchange for the help.So we are going to get more venison!!

There won't be much hunting up until Thanksgiving Day. Everyone is going to be busy. 

Today: Menfolk-process Kelly's deer

            Me:make fresh pumpkin puree from two Sugar Pumpkins;finish shopping list and food basket             list. Make venison burger.Begin cleaning house.

Tuesday:Menfolk/Zach:some hunting in the AM.Begin turkey processing.Shop for food basket items.

              Me:Shop for week and Thanksgiving.Make venison sausage.

             Zach :Make up the food baskets

Wednesday: Menfolk/Zach:Process more turkeys. Deliver food baskets.Make my Birthday cake(Rick and Zach insist on it)

                    Me:Iron table cloth,wash china and special glasses/dishes,make gluten free pumpkin pie,stuff turkey with citrus,make venison sausage stuffing,and celery stuffed w/cream cheese and olives.

Plus,there always other goodies that pop up.How do you prepare for Thanksgiving,if you celebrate it?

It's 3:10 AM ....Do You Know Where Your Deer Is?

Very early this AM at 3:10 (or is it very late at night??)I woke to the sound of our phone ringing. Lately,we have been receiving "Private Caller" calls around 3:00 AM,which have been nothing but beeping noises,much to our annoyance. Usually,when a phone rings in the dead of night (or is it dead of morning??) one assumes it's not good news-something terrible has usually happened,which is why these annoying beeping calls are even more frustrating. I heard Rick answer it,and heard him say," Rt 16? Where?" When I heard this,I knew it wasn't bad news.None of our loved ones would be out and about up here,since none of them live near us.Especially that time of night ( or is it morning???)

A deer had been hit,and we are on a call list for any deer or moose. We have friends in the Middleton Police Dept who have let it be known to other Police Depts in the local area that they can call us any time of the day (or night) when they get a call about dead deer or moose,so we are on their call lists. We don't get them often,but we have a couple of times.

This deer was not far from the house-maybe about 10 minutes down the highway.It was a buck,weighing about 140 lbs.

When Zach woke up,Rick told him we got a deer,and he thought Rick had gone out and shot it. He wasn't fully awake yet,and didn't stop to think that it was still dark out. :)

At first,when Rick and I were first married and he got the same kind of call,I thought it was rather...well...weird getting roadkill. I won't lie. The thought of getting something from the side of the road conjured up images of  hillbillies scrounging for food,scraping up possums with a shovel (which I actually saw many years later on "My Big Redneck Wedding"-YUCK!) We weren't hillbillies,and we weren't starving. I mentioned this to Rick,and he replied that we weren't getting an animal that had been there for days.It was fresh,just like he had shot it. Better to get it,and at least not have it's death be in vain,than to just have it rot by the side of the road. Well,that made sense. When I saw the deer,it looked just like it would've looked if it had been hunted. It wasn't gross,and it was fresh. It took a bit,but I got over that mentality.

It's funny that this happened this morning (or is it last night??)because Nephew Brody is coming up after school to spend the night and go hunting with Rick,Brother B,and Zach tomorrow. After Brody gets here,then the deer cutting process will begin. We will vacuum seal the portions. I will actually get to try out my my meat grinder on My Precious (aka the Cuisinart),as well as my sausage maker. They have been lying in their virginal state in a drawer since I got them last year. We are fortunate that they The Menfolk can process and cut up their own deer,and we don't have to bring it to a butcher. I'm not sure if they will cure the pelt or not (another thing that they know how to do).

It's a good thing we invested in a new freezer this past week.

Surprise Visitors

This morning I was laying in bed listening to Rick get ready to go hunting.Today is opening season for deer here in NH,and for the last four years Rick has had a doctors appointment on Opening Day,so he was really happy that was not the case this year. There is a very small window for hunters to hunt either sex,and since I am not a hunter,I am not entirely sure how many days it is,but it is no more than 2 or 3. I heard him call down to Brother B to see if he was up and getting ready,and B replied that he was.

Then,I heard the the door from the kitchen to the screen porch(also our mud room) open,and quickly close. I heard Rick call down to Brother B, "We won't be going anywhere for a while-we have two skunks in the mud room."

At this point it's 4:45 AM,and I heard Zach get out of bed. He heard Rick mention skunks,and of course,wanted to see. After a few minutes,the first skunk took off,but the second skunk was not in such a hurry to go.

I got out of bed,and Rick and B had gone off the deck,around the house, to the outside of mud room,where they proceeded to bang on the side of it in hopes of scaring the skunk away. He was curled up behind the recycle bin,against the wall.That sucker wasn't going anywhere. I also noticed that our porch was completely trashed. We had one trash bag on it that was ripped open and garbage was strewn everywhere. Items had fallen off the bench to the floor,and a huge bag of bird seed had been ripped to shreds,leaving 10 lbs of bird seed on the floor.

Sigh.

How did they get on the porch? Our mud room is not attached to the house,so it has settled,causing the simple wood door to not line up with the hook and eye lock.( The door from the kitchen to the mud room is a regular door with a regular lock) The wind had opened the door,and the skunks smelled our trash and bird seed,so they decided to have a nice pre-Thanksgiving feast.

After their futile attempts to scare off the skunk,Rick and Brother B came back inside,and I told them to just go hunting. The skunk would leave eventually,and I could go in and out of the french doors that lead to the deck. Rick,however,would not leave with a skunk on the porch,and he was angry that his hunting plans were getting messed up in this manner. I again told him to just go,and he replied,"Don't say that again. I don't even feel like going hunting now." Alrighty then.

Rick shut off the light in the mud room,thinking that the skunk was probably afraid ,so if it was dark and we left it alone,it would just take off.At 6:15 AM,the skunk decided all was clear and ambled off,not knowing how much aggravation he caused this morning.

Rick and Brother B did wind up going hunting,but only spooked a deer and saw nothing else. Before they left,Rick told me he would clean up the mess after he got back,which was fine with me. I decided I was going to make crock pot chili for supper,thinking after being in the woods all day they would enjoy a nice,hot meal that would warm their bellies and bones. They were back to the house earlier than I thought they would be,and while I was preparing the chili Rick cleaned up the mess,filling a 5 gallon bucket with the wayward bird seed. He decided to give it to the chickens and the turkeys,and they enjoyed it immensely. Rick and Brother B then decided to go back out on the mountain to do more hunting.So I now have a quiet house until Zach gets home from school at 3:00 (being alone doesn't happen very often and I relish the time I do get).

It's amazing how two little creatures can cause so much turmoil on Opening Day.My guess is that lock will be adjusted by the end of the day,and locked each night. Sorry,skunks,but your party is over!!!

Laying Low

This past weekend I have been laying low.My allergies kicked into full gear making me stuffy,my head swimmy,and I have been left overall lethargic.Completely drained. I was suppose to can tomatoes-well,that didn't happen.I didn't have the drive to do it at all. Saturday I did poke around in the garden,and pulled up the plants past their prime-the cantaloupes,lettuce,most of the cucumbers,some of pumpkin vines.I left my corn stalks (which are a lovely shade of tan) because I didn't have the energy to tie them up into groups for decoration. I spent all day in bed yesterday,popping Benedryl and sleeping,and today my head still feels off and I have no energy. So the tomatoes will not get canned yet again. I wanted to make sauce,but I don' t have the 40 lbs of tomatoes called for in the Blue Book,so I was going to content myself with canning them in water. I don't have the drive to do it,though. Maybe tomorrow. I have been saying that since this started on Friday! I feel very guilty for it,but there is no way I can do it. I already feel like going back to bed,and it's only 8:50 AM.I feel like I am letting my family down.I don't like feeling sick,when there is so much to do.

Today is Labor Day,and Zach has had a long four day weekend.His Cousin Brody came up over the weekend,and all the menfolk went hunting.It's squirrel and bear season,as well as coyote and other small critters. Alas,things were rather elusive,but Brody enjoyed his first hunting excursion.

We did have a special visitor this AM. Brother B had made a store run and on the way back,he saw a bull moose lumbering down the treeline that separates our yard and the neighbors. Mr Moose then crossed the road and went into the woods . If we had the blinds on our french doors open,we would've seen him. Drat! Rick said that he has noticed deer tracks in our yard,more than he has seen since we moved up here in 2003.This is the second moose we have had in that amount of time. We haven't had any bears yet this year,but I did see one about two miles south,crossing Rt 153 a couple weeks ago on my way back from Farmington. I am surprised that we didn't get one in the yard this year,like we did last year,especially since we have more bird feeders and our garden is bigger.

I should go attempt to do something.....have a great day!

Misc Catch Up and the Death of My Soap

I have been fighting headaches and allergies since the weekend,so my motivation has not been at an all time high. One Benedryl and I am ready for a nap. If anyone out there has taken Benedryl,they know what I mean. It wipes you out.

I have two cabinets left-my pots and pans ( which is more or less just straightening and wiping down the inside of the cabinet) and the dreaded under the sink area. Yuck. Today will not be the day,however. Zach and I are meeting My Dear Friend Michelle and her boys at the lake,then later this PM Rick has an appt with his PTSD counselor,Ken down at the VA Outpatient Center in Somersworth. He hasn't seen Ken in a while,not since before he had his knees done,so it should be a good visit. I think Ken will be pleased to see Rick doing so well physically,which also helps him mentally.

Rick is now in the midst of stopping his morphine. He is lowering his dose by 15 mg each week. He was at 120 mg a day. Last week he started at 60 mg in the AM,then 45 mg at night.This week it is 4 5mg and 45 mg,next week it will be 45 mg and 30 mg,etc., down to nothing. It is not easy. He has been on it for two years,and as most people know,morphine is physically addictive.Each time the dose is lessened he has some minor withdrawal symptoms,but it only lasts for a couple of days until his body adjusts. At least we know it is temporary each week.He is happy to finally not have to take it anymore and is anxious to stop altogether.

Yesterday Brother B canned 9 pints of blackberry jam. He had gone down to North Hampton to help out his Dad and there is an area loaded with blackberry bushes. He picked 9 lbs,so needless to say we still have quite a bit of berries left! He hadn't canned in years,so I just helped him out a bit on the first batch.

I am not loving my homemade dish soap at all.We had a nice ham dinner on Saturday,and when Rick washed the dishes there was about an inch of grease on the dishes.He went up to the neighbors and borrowed some detergent. I am glad it worked out for some people,and hope it worked out for you. Not here,I am sad to say. I will stick to my laundry and hand soap. Tomorrow I will return to the land of Grapefruit Ajax. At least I gave it a shot.

A Surprise Visitor Part II

To continue....

The bear was not walking through the yard, he was moving quickly. And he was not a small bear,either. He went about 200 lbs. He made a path in the grass that has grown tall by my garden-we haven't been home much this week to mow or weedwack,as you can see in this photo.

He ripped down two stalks of corn- I am thankful it wasn't more!!!

After his second trip to the corn, he ran across the yard toward the turkey cage. At this point, Rick saw Mr. Bear laying on the ground by the cage,with what appeared to be white feathers flying through the air. It was later discovered that it wasn't feathers, but corn husks.When he was done,he looked at Rick,and started running towards him,but Rick made a loud noise,and he turned and ran back towards the turkey cage.He hit the cage with this paw,but then thought twice,and lumbered off into the tree line. This was the point where Rick and Brian were slowly patrolling the treeline,their weapons drawn. It seemed like the bear had gone into our neighbors yard and through his field. Rick told me he could have shot him,but it wasn't the best angle to shoot him at,and he didn't want to have to chase a wounded bear while it was getting dark,even though Brian had his rifle.

Needless to say, I am a bit nervous going out into the garden in the evening now. However, Brian came up with a good idea-hit the car alarm button on my keychain before I go out,or keep it with me,so if he comes up on me while I am out,it should scare him off.However, I am going to be very aware of my surroundings for quite a while.

This is not the first time we have had a black bear in our yard. The first time was in 2004,the first summer we lived here. It was late at night,and we had the windows open watching TV in the living room. All of a sudden,I smelled something horrible. It smelled like rotten garbage. At first, I thought someone had a really bad gas problem! But then,Rick,who has been out hunting bear and has seen bears in the woods,smelled it and said,"That's a bear. There's a bear in our yard." We knew he had to be close,because the smell was so strong. We looked out the windows,but neither one of us wanted to start trying to find a bear in the dark. At that point,we had no poultry or garden,just bird feeders,so it didn't phase us. The next morning we went out and sure enough! Our bird feeder was on the ground and there was fur on the tree where he had brushed against it.

Actually, I am surprised we haven't had more bear sightings in our yard. We live on a corner lot,and in front of the house across the road we have woods,with an old bear den. Down the dirt road along side our house is acres of woods,though some of it has been cleared by our neighbor.We are also within sight of the Moose Mountain range. The boys see bears up on the mountain all the time.

Now the boys will be keeping a watchful eye out,in the mornings and evenings. Chances are fairly good that Mr. Bear will be back,now that he knows he has a food source in our yard. Just another part of country living!!!!

A Surprise Visitor Part 1

Last night our local news had a story about black bears. NH has quite a few of them,and apparently the town of Bethlehem,which is up in the White Mountains,is having quite a problem with them. The town has gone so far as to pass ordinances to try and control the problem. All dumpsters must have wildlife covers on them,people can't leave their trash out,and no one can feed the bears. The also had some video of a bear up on Rt 93 in Franconia Notch ( famous for the now gone Man In the Mountain).The bear was on the side of the road,surrounded by cars who had stopped so they could see this bear close up. Some of them were actually very close. A tourist commented,"It's nice that he's not afraid." Both Brian and I,as if on cue,said,"Oh no it's not!!!" For some reason,tourists love to try and get as close to black bears as they can and feed them. They think it's cute. Then they go back to their respective states and leave us with bears who will climb on people's porches,dig through their trash,and,in some instances,try to get into homes,because they now have a taste for people food and they are trying to find more. This is not a good thing. It's also not good when bears are no longer afraid of people. Many people think that because black bears don't have the reputation that brown or grizzly bears have,that they are harmless. Wrong! People can get chased,bitten,or killed by black bears. You never want to approach a bear,ever.

After the broadcast,Rick,Brian,and Zach all went out on the screen porch to watch the weather. We were in the middle of a severe thunderstorm watch as well as a tornado watch.(Tornadoes are not common in NH because of the hilly terrain,but last year one made a 50 mile path of destruction and came only a few miles from my house-in fact,they had posted a warning for my town as one area it might hit. One woman in Deerfield was killed.)I was on Facebook,when all of sudden Brian came rushing in with Zach right behind him. "There's a bear in the backyard! it looks like he is going after the turkeys. Zach ,you stay in the house," he said,and he ran downstairs to get his rifle. I ran to window after window to try and see the bear,but the garage blocked any possible view I could have,unless he walked towards the front yard,which he did not. It was nearing twilight,and it was thundering and raining,so he blended right into the tree line.I did see Rick,with his pistol,and Brian with his rifle,aiming at the tree line and walking slowly along it,maintaining a safe distance (our turkey cage is in the back corner of the yard in our tree line). I don't know what the law is in other states,but in NH,if a wild animal tries to eat your animals you can kill it,it doesn't matter if it's in season or not ( bear season starts Sept 1 here). After checking to make sure the bear was gone,the turkeys were safe and they examined the yard to see what if any damage he had done, they came in and told me what they figured out.

Apparently,the bear was already in the yard when they went on the porch. He had gone into our corn,knocked a couple of stalks down,and brought ears behind the woodpile where he proceeded to eat. The woodpile is tall,so they didn't see him at first. ( I took the photos this morning)

Apparently, after he had nibbled on this corn,he ran up the woodpile,and made his appearance. From the woodpile he ran in between the truck and the car,down the side of the garden,and back to the corn.

I have to bring Zach to Ethan's house for a sleep over, so I will continue this later.