In Which Bu Takes Me For A Walk

We've been working with walking the Bu-Dawgh. He's a tad bit excitable and very narrow minded. Likes to chase things that move, like rabbits, chickens, deer and leaves (not this time of year, the leaves are hard to chase right now), but you get the picture. He likes to run.

I don't. I will do a fast walk with the best of them, but run? Um, no! Old. Arthritis. Hips hurt. Whatever excuse you can come up with, I've already thought of it. If I'm going to run, it's gonna either be from a house on fire, a wayward steer or on the back of my horse.

Bu-Dawgh, on the other hand, would rather run than anything. And he has no qualms dragging me along behind. Through the woods, on the ice, it's always an adventure.

Enter Cesar. And his method of being the pack leader.

Ok then. Walk, Bu-Dawgh, Walk! As long as I take him for the equivalent of 5.5 hours of walking/running/chasing/dragging every day, he's good, but at this rate, my shoulders are going to give out.

I took him out for a walk the other day through the woods, not the smartest thing I've done in awhile, but it was a beautiful day. Being pulled face first through 3 foot of snow was even exhilarating, reminded me of my days on the sleds when we were younger. But back then, it was fun. Yeah, good times.

So, with a bit of a variation on Cesar's techniques (walk, don't run, don't pull, walk, that's good, ugh, no don't run, ice - slow down) we're getting there.



Weather related, it has warmed up, at least for a few days, we actually saw 50 on Saturday, with bright sun. It was beautiful. Sunday was about 40 and I hung clothes out and They Dried! This is huge. This hasn't happened in a long time. I always hang clothes out, but end up draping them over furniture in the living room by the woodstove to get them to dry.

Supposed to start raining tonight, that will be a fun little mess.



We'll see how that all plays out!

If It's February, It Must Be 2009!

Yesterday was a beautiful day. About 35 deg. bright sun, and down in our little hole, almost no wind. So Bu-Dawgh got the bright idea to go for a walk. In the woods. Where's there's about 3 foot of snow. (I may be short, but mid thigh, is mid thigh, and that's right around 3 foot). So I made him lead the way, figured we'd get a head start on making our path for walking to work.
This was fun, he's not tall either, there was kind of a gazelle effect as periodically he would jump up into the air (with me attached to the other end of the leash) to get a look around.
Kind of made the whole path thing hard to follow, but at least he kind of blazed the trail. Kind of. We still slogged through the snow, but it was a nice, if not invigorating, walk.

Would have been really interesting if I'd have gone with my first thought and strapped on the cross country skiis. We'd probably still be out there.

So, lately I've discovered Facebook. This is pretty cool, and I've already connected with a cousin who (whom?) I haven't seen in a coon's age. Most of my brothers are on Facebook too. And my parents. Seriously, don't you people have better things to do?

Apparantly I don't!

In Which The Mouth Swipes My Pie!

So, today finds me over at my cousin's house armed with pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and rolls.
Since I'm totally a homemade gal, I did almost all of it. The pumpkin pie came from pumpkins, that no, I didn't grow, but I did can. Those are the best. Don't even have to have pie pumpkins, any that I've tried will do, they just taste way better, fresher than the canned pumpkin mix I've "bought" in the past. Takes 3 qts of home canned pumpkin for 2 pies. The pie shells are made from a centuries old recipe I've had for, well, half a century anyway.
I bought the cranberries and the oranges, but will mix them together with a bit of sugar and cinnamon, add some heat and water and produce cranberry sauce.
As for the rolls, yeah, they're just plain white rolls, but I'll throw in a bit of whole wheat flour just for kicks.
I didn't whip up the cream myself, I don't have access anymore to fresh milk and cream so I bought the old standby, CoolWhip. Hey, that stuff's not bad!

I will take my pie (made 2 of them, The Mouth swiped one), Cool Whip, cranberry sauce and rolls and head over to my cousin's house as soon as the rolls are out of the oven (and I haven't started them yet, but it's still really early, she'd shoot me if I showed up really early).

And in return for all of this early showing up and all, she will reward me with wine! Lots and lots of wine. Knowing her, it will be an all I can drink kind of thing, bottomless, and not even in good wine glasses, but in tankards. Yeah! That's what you should drink wine out of, saves the need to keep going back for a refill.

I did not finish my mossi cardi, grrrr, but I will take it over to work on, when I'm not swilling wine or on the floor playing with the kids.

So, two things happened yesterday that merited remembering. When The Mouth dropped off my groceries (my vehicles are in various states of protest, and the one that runs currently does not have plates or registration on it so I can't go too far), she spotted the pies. Pumpkin pie is her favorite, and as it was, the 2 pies happened to be cozily nestled into my 2 remaining pie pans, my favorites, as it were, mostly because they're the only 2 I have left.
The minute her eye went for the pie, I knew I was in trouble. So, I did the only thing a loving mother would do. Grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and hastily scrawled out a contract regarding loss of life and limb if the pie pan was not returned. Laughing at me, she signed it, making such comments as "you know I'll bring this back". Yeah right, if I knew that, I'd still have 8 pie pans instead of my current favorite 2!

The second thing that had me rolling on the floor relates directly to the new tin roof we put on the cabin this summer. And Bu-Dawgh. And the current location of his leash, which is outside the front door. I knew the snow was going to come down, the temps had warmed up and you could almost see the snow inching it's way down off the roof. And Bu-Dawgh loves to play in the snow, next thing I heard was the goosh-plop of the snow off the roof hitting the ground. Thinking this would be an awesome thing for an oversized puppy I went out fully prepared to see him happily bounding around in the new fallen avalanche. He was not. He was up on the deck, hiding underneath the summer aquarium, shaking. Not shaking as if to shake off the snow, but shaking as if he was scared to death. Trembling. And very much willing to leave his snow outside. He's such a baby. He's recovered though, already been out playing in it. I suspect before long, he'll be looking forward to the goosh-plop so he has some new snow to play in!

Off to start the rolls now. Have a great turkey day!

Schmucked By A Snowflake And Other Ridiculousness

Let me set the scene. Happily, if not merrily, working away at my real job yesterday and oops. Left something in my car. Better go get it.

Happily, if not merrily I wander out to where I park my vehicle to retrieve said item. While there I discover a bunch of things that need to be transferred, not just one, so more than one trip needs to be made.

Happily, if not merrily, I meander back and forth between vehicle and work space relishing this little break, and loving the fact that it's snowing. Even if it is just a little.

The skies are cloudy and dark (it might snow), the air is brisk and cold (definitely gonna snow), and I'm lovin' it (with apologies to McDonalds).

When all of a sudden.... a kamikaze snowflake ATTACKS me where I stand. I've never seen such a thing, usually snowflakes are such docile little objects, but not this one. Noooooooo, this one has a death wish. I didn't mind when it flurried around my head, snowflakes are kind of known for their ability to flurry, and I didn't mind that it actually seemed to rush me a time or two. Silly little snowflake. But then, it schmucked me! Right in the eye! Hard! It probably weighed a pound at least, and I really have no idea how it managed to flurry for so long, being that big and dangerous. This seriously cuts into my happily and merrily meandering as now I'm jumping up and down, holding my eye, waiting for this huge ice chunk to melt. There had to be blood. I'm sure there will be a bruise.

But Bu-Dawgh protected me, he did. While I thought I saw him laughing, probably not, I was only able to see out of one eye, he did chase down a few of my co-conspirators though.

And, that's how my day ended yesterday! Today looks to be much better!

A New Toy

Squeeeeeeeee!

Last night, as I pulled into the driveway, what did I see in the back of hubby's truck?

A Snowmobile! Not a new one, but it's new! It's 1979, hardly new, but it was driven twice a year by a little old lady who only took it to church.....

You know the story.

Seriously, the paint on the running boards isn't even worn off yet. Stuff isn't even rusty. The tunnel still has paint on it.

I probably has less than 50 miles on it. But you know what's the best part???

It's ELECTRIC START!! I'll leave you with that for a moment, let it sink in!

Ok. Electric Start. You can't even imagine what electric start +snow machine means to a little old 50 year old lady. Ok little is stretching it. Lady is out of the park, and old? well, that's just ridiculous, but the fact is that I already have one sled, that I can't start cause it's a pull start. Not one of those Fresh-Out-Of-The-Showroom ones that start the instant you start to pull the rope. Nope, this one required triceps the size of Lisa's. Er, I mean, well, you have to be really, really strong to start it, and I never could. Unless it was already warmed up. Which it never was cause Lisa's not here to start it for me, er I mean, cause I could never pull it hard enough to start it to get it warmed up. (add in the layers and layers of restrictive clothing usually accompanied by snow machine rides).

It cost me...... NOTHING!! Well, it cost hubby some sort of trade or something or other, I've learned not to even try to keep track of his horse trading. If I were you, I wouldn't bother either.

Electric Start rocks. Now I don't even have to think about putting my 4x4 gas guzzling truck on the road for the winter. Nope, if my egg won't make it through, my sled will! YAY!

Do they make side cars for sleds? Hmmmm. Wonder what Bu-Dawgh's gonna do?

It does get better, really it does. Know where I'm gonna hang out this weekend? All weekend? From sun up saturday morning, till sundown sunday night weekend?

At the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival. I will be face down drooling in fiber and yarn and new books and patterns, and needles and, and, and, and.

And I will ride my motorcycle there, cause I am a biker chick (with sticks) and one of the gals in the office is a biker chick too, but her bike is a bit, well, more modern than mine (she has a new 1500 Harley). Mine's, well, not a new 1500 Harley. But's it's all good. Mine will beat hers any day! I'll even bet hers lives in the garage and never see's inclement weather. Mine laughs at rain, sleet, bugs and the errant killer leaf. It also laughs at me once in awhile. I can live with that. When I can't ride my bike anymore, I'll just get on my sled! Ye-hawwwww!

Sleds, Motorcycles, Fiber Festivals, and Bu-Dawghs. Life is good!! Electric Start? Life is REAL GOOD. This was just what I needed to jump start me into the impending fall/winter season.

Bring on the snow.................

Banana Bells Are The New Zucchini!

Banana Bells! They're everywhere. I'm not sure who did the Collecting Of The Seeds From All Available Sources and then later planted all of these seeds, and then apon (upon?) all of this germination, found places to plant all of this stuff, but they need to be talked to.

I'm blaming it on Bu-Dawgh!

He doesn't even like banana bells. Actually, I guess I don't know that for sure, but he's definitely not a salad eater, so I'm guessing that anything of the "green" variety would be out.
The chickens would love them, ahhh, there's the link. Bu-Dawgh loves his chickens, so it would stand to reason that he would want them to eat well.
And they do! They're getting all kinds of weeds, weed seeds, garden leftovers, and "stuff". And, they're Staying In Their Pen! YAY!! Well, all except the mama and the 5 babies, who will be put in the pen probably this weekend.

So back to the banana bells..... if I can get past "why in the world would I someone plant so many of these things, I'm forced to find things to do with them. Already people run when they see me coming. They don't want any more of these, yet more is what I have. And tonight when I go out to the garden, even more will be there. Laughing at me. Taunting me. Daring me to come up with new and inventive ways to use these suckers.

Anyone got any ideas? Don't even suggest Google, they saw me coming too, and I got nothing from them.
Actually, I know what I can do with them. There's a small "honor system" vegie stand in my way to work, I can stash them there, however I'm thinking they'll find their way home.

Maybe I can invent some sort of fountain of youth skin cream to use them in. Yeah, that's it! I'll be rich! I'll be famous, and I'll forever be known as "That Crazy Lady Who Assaults Her Victims With Banana Bells But Who Found A Way To Make It Work!"

Yeah, I can live with that.

Hey, I have a new blog. Check me out at knitting.craftgossip.com ! And I'd love it if you'd actually leave me a comment!

It's All About Relaxation

I've come to a conclusion that relaxation and having your ducks all in one puddle, that you can actually find, on command, are both related.

This insight all came to me on my ride from work last night (and it only took 50 some years to get to this conclusion)!

Beautiful night, gorgeous, looking forward to the meteor shower and all (it's all about the universe!). But it's a bit chilly on the toes, (wearing socks might have helped, but they were in another puddle - probably in another universe). But I was relaxed because I was riding, and knowing that I'd be witness to a majorly cool solar event later that night (after dinner, laundry, dishes....) And then it rained. Rain = clouds, and clouds = no view of night sky. There's probably a mathematical equation in there somewhere, and I'm sure one of my engineer brothers would love to help me out with that one.

Relaxation is accepting that rain is good, and that meteor showers will be visible again, at another time. The tomatoes and peppers like the rain, as does the corn and cucumbers. And I really don't like watering the garden from the well and since I don't have the watering systems set up yet, that's what has to happen.

Relaxation is knowing I'm right on top of a major life changing deadline at job #1 (and having the confidence to actually acknowledge that I'm right on top of it, and I WILL meet this deadline. (now that I've sufficiently jinxed that one...)

Relaxation is starting a new job without leaving any of the previous jobs and figuring out how to get another hour or so out of every day (it is a part time job, after all). But, hey, the universe will get me through that one, and the extra money will buy me a really, really awesome vacation in January in Colorado.


Relaxation is knowing that I have to have 2 sweaters done by the middle of Sept. and that both of them are nearly done. (I just did the jinx thing again didn't I?). But both are extremely enjoyable and are easy to knit while watching tv (what's that?) or walking.


Relaxation is riding to work with a turkey carcass strapped to the back of the bike, so that even though I have to work until late, my son (who is home from Iraq for another week) can have his turkey noodle soup that he loves (have to make it at work for various reasons, mostly so I only have to cook once, and my Dad can eat too). Gotta love the looks you get from people, although this being farm country and all I'm sure I'm not the only one who has attempted this.....


True relaxation comes in knowing that tomorrow night, come hell or high water, I'm going to my Knit Night, even if I'm late, and even if it's raining and I get wet, cause, well, that's what I want to do.

And most of all, relaxation is having a soft puppy to cuddle with. Awwwwww. No, not the Bu-Dawgh, he's not soft, although he is cuddly. But The Mouth has a Siberian Husky, who is very, very cuddly and of the Soft Enough To Spin His Fur Into Yarn To Later Knit Into Something That Will Hopefully Not Smell Like Dog Hair When Washed variety. Plus, he smiles too, now that's relaxing!

Relaxation is conquering my demons one at a time with a grace and strength (still working on those, but hey, gotta have goals..) that sets me apart from, well, ok, not from anyone else who's ever conquered demons, but they will be conquered. I will whip them into submission. I will win! I will rise victorious, and there will be no jinxing of this! I WILL WIN!
Alot of this recent "I will win" attitude comes from a friend, who recently in an accident, and is now paralyzed from the neck down and may never even breathe on his own again (a Christopher Reeves type of injury) fights his own battle. I'm told he has a 1% chance to breathe on his own again and a 1% chance to actually walk again (if he actually pulls through, and this hasn't been verified yet). This has sparked discussion between myself and hubby about what ifs and what nots. We're fiercely opposed on this one. I'd like to believe I'd take the 1% chance they've given him and make it 2. Then make it 4. And go from there. Hubby, not so much. I'd like to believe I got this attitude from my Dad, who fights his own battles daily with a fierceness unparalleled, but on the same plane also hope I never have to find out. I'd like to believe that if forced into a fight such as this one, I'd be able to walk the walk and not just talk the talk, again, hopefully I'll never find out, I'm afraid I'd fall far short of my own expectations.

But, it's all about relaxation, and ultimately, taking what life throws at you, making the best of it, and smiling through it.

And that's deep enough for now!

Mailbox Drama Resolved!

Regarding yesterday's Mailbox Drama! All is well, all is good, no bail was required, no security had to be called, the issue was "tabled". Just one little guy stood up against the big bad county government.
Oh, they had pictures of our "insubordination" hanging on the walls. Lots of them, from every angle. Hubby stood his ground, and even went so far as to offer to ride around the county and make notes of "violations" of their ordinances, so they wouldn't have to take precious tax dollars to do it themselves. He offered to put up the old mailboxes, in all of their disrepair along with a handwritten sign - something to the effect of "this is your tax dollars at work". And, he offered to take them all out, one by one and show them why some of their own mailboxes didn't meet their own ordinances. Every bit of nonsense they offered was met by a counteroffer, he's so good, he should be a politician! I'd vote for him! He even went so far as to ask why we were being singled out. When told that they weren't singling us out, he wondered why he was the only one there complaining, and our mailboxes were the only ones that had pictures hanging on the wall. They couldn't really disagree with that!
They also couldn't disagree with the fact that everything that stated on their ordinance website we were in compliance with.
About 45 mins into this nonsense, the commissioner decided that this wasn't really "a can of worms we want to open" and declared the issue "tabled". This could mean one of two things, either it's "not a can of worms we want to open" (at all), or they need time to figure out a different way to make us comply.

See, one person can make a difference, all you have to do is be willing to stand your ground!

Tomorrow, we leave on vacation, I have so much to do. Ugh, at least the farm will be covered, and I've learned from previous experience that my job will not fall apart if I leave it for a week.

Poor Bu-Dawgh, though. He will have to go to the kennel. For a whole week. He will be devastated. Will probably have to start him on Prozac when he gets home! But tonight, he needs a bath. That's always fun, at least it's warm out and I can do this via the hose, rather than in the bathtub.

Got to get to work, later gator, or as they say in Mexico..... well, I don't really know what they say in Mexico, but I'm gonna find out!

When It Rains.....

And rains, and rains and rains and rains.....

The Farmer's Almanac says that the last week in June will be dry and hot and sunny. Perfect weather for haying, except that the first cutting should have already been done. Actually, we should be just finishing up now. That will put us 2 weeks behind and the hay will start getting "stemmy". But, nothing to be done, except hope that Mother Nature and the Farmer's Almanac are on speaking terms soon!

The rains and thunderstorms are good for the gardens, and the water table, seeing as how we are still classified on the edge of a drought. Really! My pond has never been deeper, the fish peer at us as we're eating dinner, who's really in the aquarium now?? The streams are at all time highs, but it's yet to soak down far enough to affect most of the underground stuff, except our basement. That's why they make sump pumps, and probably why, when I build my cabin 17 years ago, my Dad insisted that I put one in. "But Dad, I'd rather have lots and lots of windows and a cool deck". Said I. And now, I, is saying "Yeah, about that sump pump? Yeah, probably a good idea!"

Reason #5 for not walking to work this morning: Going out this morning to do chores and discovering that the horse fence is down. Not good. Don't have time for a rodeo today. By the time the fence was back up and working (I do hope I remembered to plug in the electric charger - have to remember to call and have N. check it) it was too late to walk, so Bu-Dawgh and I endured the 4 mile drive. I was already to walk too, had my little bag packed with all the necessities: water bottle, knitting, extra knitting, extra knitting needles (one never knows where the knitting needles will end up when the Bu-Dawgh spots one of our resident psycho-manic deer and decides that he must protect us at all costs. (All costs, usually involves dragging me through the brambles, woods, fields, once in awhile swamps, at 90+ mpg). We make good time though, and if where we end up is where we were aiming for in the first place, then it's all that much better.

Maybe tomorrow!

Take A Walk With Me!

I remembered my Awesome Camera That I Bought Myself For My Birthday Last Year, finally, on my walk this morning. So join me on my twice daily (when it's not raining) commute! K?
Actually the first part of my trek was undocumented as I was drinking my breakfast. Yes, my breakfast consists of a drink, yummily consisting of oatmeal, yogurt, nuts, frozen or fresh fruit, frozen juice and water. Mmmmmmmmm! Keeps Ya Regular!!
So the part where I hike through the woods and then through the blackberry/raspberry bramble filled meadow isn't here. Picture it in your head, I'm sure you've seen it.
The absolute coolest part of this whole trek is about 1/2 mile through a pine stand. Pic. 1

Another part of the pine stand part:


And yet another:


And another:


Coming to the end of the pines, this is where we veer off into the field. See the fence post? That's my marker.


Part of the field:


Over the hill and more field:


To the old stone foundation:


And finally to the road, where I complete the rest of my 3+ mile trek to work. I have aprox. 2 miles of country road. It's rough!


This morning, since Bu-Dawgh was a bad boy (he chased the chickens), he had to stay home, so I actually got to knit. Found out that the last 2 miles or so are Totally Knitable! And also Totally Barefootable! It doesn't get any better than that. Well, I get some weird looks but pretty much I'm used to that! And... I got a swatch knitted from the recent fibery goodness that comes to me via post every month! What could be better? Well, the trek home, where we have another 2 or so miles of barefootable, knittable walking and then another mile or so of hiking through the woods, fields, meadows, pine stands and blackberry brambles!
Tough commute, really hard to put up with, but what are ya gonna do?

Another Busy Weekend!

Much was accomplished this weekend. Lots! An almost insane amount of activity was registered on the "get-er-done o'meter". Scary amounts actually!

Got the chicken coop moved to it's proper location, which means that an old dead tree had to be taken down, the area had to be leveled, and the actual coop moved into it's new home. This translates into big boys getting to play with big toys (ie.. bulldozers, skidders, front end loaders...) That's ok, it had to be done, and if they had fun doing it, at least it's done! Still to do: fence in the area around the coop.

Got most of the garden in. Got the back part of the garden fenced off for the horses, so they've mowed down a lot of the weeds. And part of it rototilled. Still to do: Tonight if it's not raining, I'll do more rototilling and planting.

All of my laundry that I washed and hung out on the line got wetter, because of the torrential downpour that we had 3 times between friday night and this morning. It's still out there. It's still wet. Or wetter, or dripping saturated. It's not dry. Or anywhere near it. Still to do: Wait until it dries out before I hang anything else out there. I'm no physicist, but I do get the concept of water weighted down laundry, vs water spun out laundry.

Got part of the hayloft cleaned out in anticipation of a near record haying season which should start in another 2 weeks or so. (groan). Still to do: reorganize so that the hay that is left from this season is in a spot easy to get to, so that when the loft is filled to capacity, this will be the first hay I feed.

Got a small blow-up pool for the Monkey. Best 4 bucks I ever spent. And of course, I had to show her how to chase her mother around the yard with the hose. 2 yr olds are so trainable! Still to do: hide from her mother as she was not impressed!

Got a bunch more rhubarb picked and frozen. Called Gurneys and got a refund for all the asparagus I ordered from them and never grew. They were GREAT!!! No questions, even after I offered possible fault on my end, no questions at all. Issued me a refund on the spot. Definitely a company to do business with again!! Gurney's rocks!!

I even got to swim in my pool! I love my pool. My pool rocks. It's 15' round above ground. And chemicals or not, it's my lifeline in the summer. I'm a heat wimp, or so I've been told, but when I work out in the garden or am putting up hay, I got to get me cooled down quick and a total immersion in my pool is just the ticket. The water is cold, but after that first initial shock, it's sooooooo refreshing.

Hubby got the hot tub cleaned out and filled up. Still to do: hook up the electrical so it's more than just a big bathtub filled with cold water.

Hubby got the dog run finished. Still to do: Nothing! One project is actually totally completely done! I know, I'm scared too.

Had a tornado yesterday, that was fun. Actually out at our farm it was just an old fashioned thunderstorm with high winds. No biggie, get them regularly this time of year. But in town... yikes! trees down, buildings gone or relocated, cars flipped over or had trees dropped on them. Trees on roofs (rooves?) signs wrapped around trees, or relocated to other stores.. It was quite the event. I'm sure noone was hurt, probably would have heard by now, so that's a good thing. But there are a lot of people who will be getting new porches, roofs (rooves?) and cars.

I didn't walk to work today. It was raining just a bit when I left, but being as how the first mile of my trek is through the woods and meadows, I would have been drenched. Now it's beautiful, but I know it's still soaking wet out there. Tomorrow when I walk, I'll take pictures so you can appreciate the awful hour long commute that this is to become.

Hope you had a good weekend! Tonight, housework if it's raining, more garden stuff if it's not!

Walking and Knitting

Ok, yes I did walk to work this morning. It was great. Wonderful, you know, all the stuff I thought it would be. What I didn't see coming was this:
I can knit and do almost anything else at the same time. I cannot knit and dive (water+gauge does not work and play well together). I also cannot knit and be drug through woods, meadows, horse pastures, corn fields, pine stands, and front yards by the Bu-Dawgh. Oh, but what a fun walk it was! At one point we were almost attacked by a psycho-manic deer. The Bu-Dawgh was ready to defend, actually more on the offensive, he insisted that we follow the intruder to make sure that there were no more attacks on our persons/fur. At speeds no less than 45 mpg. Through the woods. Throught the meadow. And it was wet.
I need to get him a harness to "keep him from pulling" as the package clearly states. I guess this is breed specific as I was under the impression that to get a sled dog to pull a sled you have to put on a "harness". So, we'll get him a harness, clearly labeled for a Bu-Dawgh, not a husky and that will be all better.
That will keep him from dragging me along. Everyone says so. Even the harness packaging!

I was unable to center and relax, except during that short span when I was on my belly, panting for air, as the temps were rising to approx. 195 degrees.
I was unable to knit.
What I was able to do is get a pretty darn good an-aerobic workout. You know, the kind when you push or pull against a stationery object (or a furry object intent on ridding the world of psycho manic deer). And the upper body strength that I will develop from just this sort of activity will be awesome. I will be lean, and toned and underneath the scratches, road rash, and patches of missing skin, I will look Darn Good!

Got a real nice rain last night, and today it's hot and humid. Tomorrow it's supposed to be hot and humid and rainless again, perfect for finishing the garden. It will be an awesome spectacle, it will be! The garden of gardens. The raccoons and psycho manic deer will stand in awe (right before they scurry over, under, or through the fences. The birds will fly over and drop their beaked noses, or jaws at the splendor of berries, cherry tomatoes, and other birdie goodies, right before they swoop down and help themselves to the grapes etc...

Yup, Saturday is the day. The garden will be done, and then we'll work on fixing the hay feeder for the horses. "Will do's" are marvelous things! I will do this, I will do that, and I will definitely do the other! Once the "will do" becomes a "it's time to do it now", yeah, different story, but hey, it's all about the good intentions, eh?

Learning a New Language.

Bu-Dawgh here:
When a baby comes into your house, they come with their own personality (this has been proven, however we've not yet been able to break them of it), their own tastes and their own language.

Our recent addition is no exception. And if you take the time to analyze their language, it really does make sense, most of the time.

Monkey points at a chicken and says "buk, buk". Of course, what else would it be? That's the noise it makes, so why would you call it a chicken? And I am "ruff". Makes sense! Blotchaboos are vegetables, yup, I get that, now here's one:
Pockies and Ebo. (for the uninitiated, pancakes and syrup). That one will take some figuring out, but they're still good to lick up off the floor when she drops them. Eggs are eggs, house is house, cat is cat and I, The Bu-Dawgh, want to know why Monkey can play with the "buk, buks" but I can't. And why is she sleeping in my room? And why have I been demoted to the mudroom. And why at night does the monkey get to climb up in mom's lap, that's supposed to be my spot.
I had it good! I was the baby, the only child, for my whole life, and now all of a sudden.....
But, the Monkey is fun to play with, she's more my size than mom is, and she giggles at the weirdest things. She thinks it's hilarious when I yowl at her, and when I pounce on the stuff she drops.

But it's not funny when mom plays with her. She'll grab her and hoist her up in the air and bite at her toes and tummy and she giggles and laughs, but it's not fun for me. Mom used to play with me. I don't remember her ever biting at my tummy or toes, but she would play with me and now she doesn't seem to even notice when I go into my new spot and pout. At least before when I would pout, she would come and talk to me. I'd give her the big brown eyes and I'd pretty much get anything I wanted, but no more. I don't understand why this has changed. I'm a good bu-dawgh, hardly ever chase the buk buks anymore (well, except for this morning when monkey opened the door and I scooted out). I always eat all my dinner, and I help clean off the monkey when she's done with dinner. I supervise when the monkey is in the bathtub, which is huge considering the history that the bathtub and I have, and considering that the baby buk buks are in the bathroom still, that's a bit of a distraction, me being a baby too.

I'm hoping that with time, the attraction of the monkey wears off and I'll once again, be top dog in mom's lap.

Herding Chickens

The Bu-Dawgh needs a job. He's totally entranced by the chickens and turkeys that terrorize him all day. Why can't he play with them? Well, he's a bit rough, being a puppy and all. Ok, how about the barn kitties, they are fuzzy and like to play. They just don't like to play with him. That's no fun. The only thing left is the baby chix and turks we have in a box in our bathroom. Yeah, our bathroom. Up here it's still too cold to put them outside, they're just feathered out so I can leave the lights off for awhile now and then, but it's still too cold to store them outside. This gets to be a creative way to see how many boxes you can tape together to give them the space they need, without taking over the house.
Another couple of weeks, then they will go outside, under lights. It's just too cold yet.
So, the Bu-Dawgh still needs a job. Or maybe a pet. That's it, I can get him a pet. When he comes to work with me, he plays with the Puff-a-Fluff all day, those are good days. But when I ride my bike, (and hubby has yet to build me a sidecar for him) he has to stay home all by his little self, and he's bored. If he had a pet, he could have someone to play with when he has to stay home.
Actually one of the remedies for mild depression is to get a pet. Since he's the Poster Puppy For Separation Anxiety, that would classify as depression wouldn't it? So there, medical research that practically shouts: GET THE BU-DAWGH A PET!!
Well we discussed it, he and I and he would pretty much be happy with anything, anything except a porcupine, he tried to play with one of them once and didn't win that little game, so no porcupines. Besides, when it's bring your pet to work day, and he brings his porcupine, and The Puff-A-Fluff wants to play, how in the world would we tell which was porcupine quills and what was just more hair?


Got lots of tomatoes and some peppers coming up, they really sprouted this weekend. The asparagus is all weeded and the rhubarb is just about ready for picking. Haven't gotten my blueberry seedlings yet, hmmmm, strange, the first time I got them almost immediately, now it's been 1-1.5 weeks. Hubby cleared a space for them, and I'm anxious to get them going.

We're still about 2 -3 weeks away from our frost date, although the weather has been so weird this year, it's hard to tell what is gonna happen.

Tonight? Gotta work with the Bu-Dawgh on the shock collar thing, the Red Wings play game 3 against the Dallas Stars and so it goes without saying that there will be lots of knitting accomplished, and well, all the other stuff that a homestead/farm/home requires. Like sweeping the floors now and then. And taping boxes together to make elaborate condos for the baby birdies.

I love baby birdies, but they don't love the Bu-Dawgh!

One Of These Things Just Doesn't Belong Here....

Everybody say hi to Bu-Dawgh!
What do fish hooks and motorcycle keys have in common? As it happened they were both in hubby's pocket. Last night. When he decided to go fishing. And had my bike keys with him. And my car. Grrrr.
Back up....it really is an interesting story, bear with me here.

Yesterday I was working at our oldest's resale shop when Grandson #1 called from school and was sick. Since I had ridden my bike to the store, I went to the back of the store where hubby has his machine shop and get my car keys. And gave him my motorcycle key so he wouldn't be stranded without a ride if I didn't get back in time for him to go home. Went to pick up grandson, took him home, gave him excedrin and put him to bed. (he's plenty old enough to be by himself, all is good). Well, I got back to hubby's shop, parked the car.... told him I was back... and went back to work (up front in the same building, logistics are important in this story). An hour or so later he came up and told me he'd be late as he was going fishing. I could just as well blame him for the fact that my bike key remained in his pocket, but to be fair I didn't think about it either.

As it is in one or another of my stories, A+B=C and I was left with transportation, but without a key to make transportation go. So daughter gave me a ride home, which is huge, as she lives 25 miles in the opposite direction of which I live about 10 miles. But I got home, got chores done and had a very nice evening watching my Red Wings clobber Li'l Bro #2's Avalanche! hee heee. I was a nice sister, I didn't rub it in at all very much ok, I rubbed it in, you'd have done the same thing. That's what he gets for deserting the home team!

So, early this morning, I'm riding to work with hubby, so I can get my bike and we are happening to have the first real thunderstorm of the season. This should be fun. Oh well, I've ridden in the rain before, never on the outside of a metallic object, but hey, what's life if you can't count a near death experience once in awhile.
This is LIG in the sun, when it's raining she looks a little shinier, or wetter, or something, and as a backdrop, my awesome farm truck that gets 11 mpg. On a good day. Going downhill. With the wind. And empty.



The rain pretty much held off until I drove into the driveway and parked LIG. Then it downpoured, so I had to do my chores in the pouring down rain. And the horses were all standing in the barn wondering why I was putting their hay out in the rain. Who's the smart one here?
Never mind!

New Stove!!!

OMG! I am soooo geeked! Ok slow down and breathe. A bit of history first. When we first built our cabin, I looked and looked for an old cast iron wood cook stove/oven that had been converted to electric for my kitchen. Couldn't find anything affordable, for some reason the people who come up with these ridiculous county codes thought a roof was more important!
Anyway, couldn't find anything that I could afford!

Yesterday, our oldest, who owns and operates a resale shop called me and told me she got one come in to the store and I could have it for 75.00!! I was sooooo all over it. Gave her the money immediately, and loaded it right from the truck it came in on to hubbys truck.

So, last night I went on the internet to find out what I could find out about this particular model (Hasty Baker 1864) and found a picture of one that had been restored. This picture could have been taken in my kitchen. There were vertical log beams, the light fixtures were the same as mine and even my dish pattern decorated the kitchen. It was meant to be! (in my kitchen!) Starting this weekend, I'll tear it apart. Needs to be sandblasted and repainted. Electrical needs to be fixed. We can do all of that! See - self sufficiency does save money! Can't even imagine what it would cost to have someone else restore it.

I'm so excited I can't even think! That, by the way, is why I DON'T like to go into her store, she has soooo many cool things. Our cabin is like a rustic up north hunting cabin, and stuff that people drag to a resale shop is just the kind of stuff I decorate with! You know, pine cones, antlers, old rusty light fixtures, homemade stuff..... Aaaaaaaaaaaa (scream)!! I am soooo excited. Did you get that? Should I say it again? I'm sooooo excited!

(obligatory picture:)



Ok, I'm better, I promise.

As promised I took a new picture for this blog, as well as pictures of LIG, my Bu-Dawgh, Mystery (one of the barn cats), a turkey and of course my newest aquisition MY STOVE!!!
So here are some of them, I won't label them, cause if you don't know the difference between a Bu-Dawgh and barn cat and turkey, labels won't help!

What Was I Going To Say? Or The Memory Is Really Getting Bad!

So, last night I'm on my way to the barn to get the curry comb. Maybe that will help the Fluffy Puffy shed out faster. When I got there, I decided to rake more of the hay off the ice so it could melt. Noticed that the horses water trough needed to be topped off, decided to throw a couple of bales down from the hay loft so they'd be ready for me in the morning, and give the chix and turks an extra helping of scratch grains. And went back in the house. 1/2 hour or so later I remembered that I had forgotten to get the curry comb when I was out there, so I immediately went back out to the barn. You can guess where this is going. I noticed one of the turkeys wandering around out in the dark, so put it back in its pen and went back to the house. About 1/2 hour later.... yeah you guessed it. So I reminded myself all the way out to the barn that I needed the curry comb and actually got back to the house with curry comb in hand, only to lay it down to take off my muddy boots and forget that I needed it at all.

Aye-ya!

Brain Fog! It's a technical term. I'm convinced it's related to menopause, or too many pans on the stove, or the wheels on my bike are dirty, or there's too many bales of hay not stacked properly, or the fences need to be fixed, or having too much to do, or something, or maybe, since my brothers seem to suffer from it too, it's an ADHD type of thing. Ok, sorry, John, MOST of my brothers suffer from it, is that better? (he's actually about as bad as the rest of us, but he loves his world of denial, so we won't tell him, k?)

Geez!
Brothers! Yeah, I need a few more of them!

Kind of like the time I was headed up the stairs to get something (or maybe I was headed down, I really don't remember) and got stopped or distracted (I really don't remember) halfway down (or up, I really don't remember). Then I didn't remember what I was after let alone if I was going up or down. Yup! You want to live in this confusion? Spend a day in my brain! Of course the happy pills help LOTS, when I remember to take them. But then I have a whole SLEW of people who are more than glad to remind me to take them.

I really need a new picture for this blog, it's not snowy anymore. One of these days I'll remember to take a new picture. Maybe this one will feature Bu-Dawgh. Or maybe not, it will probably depend on what I'm looking at when I have my camera with fresh batteries all at the same time when I remember to actually use it and take a picture! It's kind of like a suspense thing, you never know what you're gonna get until it's decided at the last moment.

I will ride my bike to work again today, it will be an awesome day. When I went out to do chores as I was climbing up the ladder into the hay loft (because I forgot that I threw down extra bales last night)and the sun was shining and it was probably 45-50 deg with no breeze to speak of, I knew it would be a bike day. My turkeys were barking and gobbling (yes, they really do bark) and were being answered by some wild and unseen turkeys (which was kinda cool - I'll have to remember to tell hubby tonight what direction they were answering from, if I can remember).

It's getting bad!

Tonight my Wings play again I know they will rise victoriously tonight. They have to, it's coming down to the line boys, are you reading this? You Must Win Tonight! There, I sealed it. It's a sure thing now.
There's a cold one in the fridge, so that's good. I have to remember to get something out for dinner before I leave. Yeah, that will happen, like I forget to bring lunch now almost every day for the last 17 years. Yeah, it's a fun trip inside this brain! If I start to argue with myself and there's not a clear winner in sight, please just return me to my rightful owner. He'll be ever so glad you did!

From Point A To Point B

Going from point a to point b in style. Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about. Beautiful morning, The Bike started right up, ride to work was wonderful! Early morning haze from the dew and the woodsmoke, I saw deer, turkeys, even a coyote. Stuff I see everyday anyway, but on a bike it's more noticeable. (Reading between the lines.... you need to watch out for this stuff, it hurts a lot more to hit such a critter on a bike than it would in my truck, or even probably in my egg).

Went for a ride last night when I got home and hubby ditched his (well, it's really my old bike). Hee heeee. Seems there was still some ice under the hay in front of the barn and when he rode across it, well, lets just say that the old bike isn't well suited to riding on ice. (The new Bike has already been snow and ice tested, we don't ride on ice anymore) He's alright, no problems, he's good that way, an inborn survival instinct as it was. So he's got that out of the way for the year.

The Bike still doesn't have a name although I've got some in mind, one that's working it's way to the front especially after my totally awesome ride to work this morning. But I'll leave you hanging on that one, until after I decide. Submissions are still welcome, so let me have them!

2 more turkey eggs last night, the count is now 30. I had to throw one away, it was clearly not good. They take 28 days to incubate so quite soon, I should have baby gobblers. It's also chick days at the local Tractor Supply store, and although I told myself I wouldn't need to buy any, I probably still will, just cause. I love baby birdies! And one of the gals at work gave me a coupon for a free chick waterer if I buy 6 birdies. So, I'll have to buy at least 6.

Last night was Bu-Dawgh's first night without any roommates. The Mouth and her Puffy (Puff-a-Fluff... aka.. Dawson... aka... Fins) moved out yesterday. Everyone together, "Awwwwww, poor Bu-Dawgh". See he used to sleep in The Mouth's room with her and Puffy but he was alone. It was traumatic, and then leaving him alone all day by himself today, with no one to entertain him but the chickens, turkeys and barn cats, and a big old bone. Again... "Awwwwww, poor Bu-Dawgh"!

As I posted before, the 120 days ago sweater is done, actually has been for awhile now, and this morning will be delivered to it's rightful recipient. Blondie has been after me to get this done for at least 120 days so she better like it and it better fit. I had some minor modifications to do on it but it fit The Mouth, so it should fit Blondie.

No, I didn't get the deck cleaned off last night, nor did I get any more seeds started, it's all about The Bike this time of year, and when I got home and went to the barn to do chores, there it was all hooked up to the battery charger and everything taunting at me. Seriously, it was being such a pest that I decided to take it out for a ride just to shut it up! Yeah, that's it, I did it for The Bike. And again, The Bike needs a name. So The Bike got it's annual First Ride Of The Season out of the way and is much happier, and then The Mouth decided it was time to move over to her other residence, so not much else happened. Tonight I expect that The Bike will have some say over my schedule again, although it being Taco Night at the Local Watering Hole, and also game 4 of the playoffs, The Bike might have to settle for what it gets tonight. Oh, yeah, Local Watering Hole has a big screen TV and if you remember from a previous post, drinks are on sale when a local team is playing. All this combines to make for taking The Bike to the bar not such a good idea, being of the age when Designated Drivers were first invented and all, a semi responsible sort to boot.

My Wings will rise victoriously tonigh, I know it, I can feel it, I'll be watching on a big screen tv with other Wing-Nuts and the beer is on sale. How could they lose???

Go Wings!!

A Whole Gob of Randomness!

Guess I'm gonna need a new picture pretty soon!

This post will be fairly random, kind of in a random mood today. This is never good as usually it ends up being fairly unproductive.

Why is that? Because today is the day that the folks come home. They winter in Arizona. This just isn't fair. Who ever thunk up the idea about leaving this Winter Wonderland Where The Snow Keeps Coming and Coming and spending their hibernation months in greener pastures should be shot had a pretty good idea. Why stay and fight the snow when someone will do it for you, you know, keep your driveway plowed, keep the roof shoveled off, deal with frozen water and sewer lines.... stuff like that.

There's ALMOST no snow left, just in spots where it was banked up and my Mother's daffs are starting to peek up. They are on the north side of the house so it takes a bit longer for them to creep out of the ground. She'll be glad to see them.

I found a turkey nest full of eggs yesterday. Don't know how long they've been there or if they've frozen or not but I marked and put them in the incubator anyway. The egg count is up to 28. Maybe I won't need to buy birds this year after all!

Still making ice at night. The waters are all clear of ice but there's a skim of ice on our farm pond as well as any puddles every morning. Usually gone by midmorning, the sun is bright and warm (warm is a relative term up here, we realize that, just like cold is relative down south) yet you still see the glare of ice for a few hours in the morning..

Hubby hooked up the battery charger to my bike last night. Watching the weather but I'm thinking tonight might have to be the first ride of the season. I'd love to start riding to work tomorrow, we'll see.

My Wings lost last night to Nashville. Hubby says the games are fixed. He's a bit of a pessimist but it does make sense. The organization would make a ton more money if eaach round went the full 7 games. Next game is Wed. nite. We'll win I just know it. It's a best 4 out of 7 series, and we've already won 2 of the 3 played. The stash busting is a logo from a group I joined, a whole bunch of us hockey fanatics (Wing-Nuts) who are using the playoffs as an excuse to finish up some knitting projects.



Friday I will be without my Bu-Dawgh for the first time. I'm sure I'll survive, not sure he will. How can you be the Poster Puppy For Separation Anxiety if you don't have your mommy to hold you at night? But this is a necessary separation. He's going to visit the Nice Lady Down The Road who will take care of our little territorial issues. I don't have a problem with him marking outside, but I kinda think the house is my territory, I already know that. I don't have to mark it but for some reason he feels the need. Again it's my house, the cats have the barn. And Bu-Dawgh is just gonna have to adjust!

Tonight if I have time I'll try to finish cleaning off the deck. Get the firewood piles consolidated, sweep it off nice, and get out the deck chairs. Also get more seeds started. It's too cold to leave them out yet so I have to bring them in at night. I have an old black plastic tarp that I put them on during the day if it's sunny so they stay plenty warm.