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I can’t stand it

The hardest part of volunteering at the Dog Days events
is not being able to take one home. 
With four on the floor here at This Old House…
I cannot stretch the limits one dog further or I might find 
myself going it alone… lol..
If I had my druthers… Bo would be coming home with me tonight…
2 year old Dane/husky mix, lovable boy, about 80  lbs. 
Oh, he has the bluest eye…

Poor Jake was a bit overwhelmed at the Event.. there is an awful lot of
commotion and 100 or so dogs, some barking at any given moment…
We kept him outside the kennel area for much of the time showing him some love..
and a young man who works in a vineyard as come to his rescue…
Jake and his new Dad. 
 

THIS dog got a home 🙂
Off to Dog Days… 55 dogs homed yesterday… 50 still waiting …
Burnetts Country Gardens, Route 85, Salem… if you’re local and looking…
Come on Down!

ooh, those faces!!!!

 the “bus” arrives from Georgia… 
Volunteers line up for the handoff…

 
 
The dogs are walked to stretch their legs and have a potty break…
 
 
Then the vet gives each a check-up and medical papers check…
 
Love this dog… Jake… if I didn’t have four….
 
 
 
.and then the dogs are fed and walked again and  settled into kennels 
..and given some love. 
It’s a beautiful thing.
I’m teary, can ya tell?  

A divine Winter Vegetable recipe and a Dog Days update

  An old friend gave me this recipe a while back, and I finally got around to trying it out last night.  Oh my Lord, it is good.  And Light!  A perfect addition to any fall meal, but in my opinion, especially Thanksgiving.

Ingredients: 

Peel and dice the following –

1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced parsnip
1 1/2 cups diced turnip
2 cups diced butternut squash
*Recipe calls for 2 cups diced celery root, ( this is not celery)
 I didn’t have any so I added more turnip. 
1 diced sweet potato
1 stick salted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup brown sugar, or more or less to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Dice all vegetables and put in big stock pot.  Boil in water till tender – turnips take a while. When all are tender, drain water and but veggies in either a food blender to puree or back in the stock pot to mix with an electric beater – adding in the butter and heavy cream and brown sugar and salt and pepper. I used the beater, so it’s not totally smooth, which I actually liked.

I’ve been told to double the batch because it is so popular and keeps well as a leftover.   I loved it and I recommend you give it a try.

 Off to Dog Days this morning to welcome the Southern hounds who will be joining us.  Say a little prayer to the powers that be that we find these dogs a good home.  They are at least now rescued from Death row. – Amen.

A pic of most of our site crew team, who spent Wednesday night setting up kennels for
120 dogs.  Thank God for the selfless volunteers, or this wouldn’t be possible.
 
We’ll see these hopeful faces in Salem this weekend..
 

..and hopefully we’ll see the happy faces of their new families too. 
Hooray for the Underdog! 

Gifts

   This is my breakfast on this chilly fall morning…
A healthy bowl of oatmeal, berries and honey (just add hot water )…

 I remind myself now and again that not all have the many choices I take for granted, something simple like fresh berries in the fridge to throw over oatmeal stocked in the pantry.  Dog food under the sink for four dogs that I can afford to feed.  A family to nurture and care for (and swat and yell at when they get out of hand 🙂 Horses and chickens up on the hill that.. yes… have to be fed come rain or shine,  and their bedding mucked out and water buckets dumped and refilled, etc. etc… but it’s my choice to add these chores to my day, because I love my critters. Choice… it’s truly a gift.

Their after- breakfast ritual.

Speaking of gifts.. I received these in the mail yesterday from a dear friend who I met years ago now in blogland when I stumbled across her blog while doing a Martha’s Vineyard search.  Joan, thank you so much for such a thoughtful “play” on our shared obsession and love for Martha’s Vineyard.

Recently I admired a fellow bloggers craft skills and particularly coveted
a pair of mice.  Guess what arrived in the mail soon after…
Diane is one of the most cheerful, upbeat people you could ever be lucky enough to know…
She lives in Florida and  I’m pretty sure -sunny disposition- is her middle name. 
Thank you, Diane –

  The manchild has a new girlfriend and from what I hear from others, she is a lovely young woman.  So far, all I have to go by is this photograph and the perpetual smile he’s got on his face –  This child of mine tends to hold emotions close to the vest..doesn’t share much and I guess that might be typical of the age.  That smile, though, gives it all away 🙂    Another gift.
We’ve got the gift of a Dog Days Adoption Event coming up this weekend,
set up starts tonight  – let’s hope we find the gift of 100 homes for 100 shelter dogs – 
It’s a new day all –  you know the drill. 

A Weekend full of Wonderful –

  It’s been a long time since I’ve had such an action packed weekend, all in a wonderful way.  I was the kind of bone tired last night that you welcome after getting some rewarding work done… out like a light at 8pm, I was.  Saturday was filled with meeting and greeting neighbors old and new, catching up with friends and family and getting rid of “stuff” we didn’t need here at this old house. We had a tag sale out front and it was well worth the effort.  The weather was a perfect mix of fall foliage with the aroma of fading leaves and pine needles, some sunshine and a little chill in the air. A big thank you to Joleen and Lynn for joining in, it made the day so much more enjoyable. 
  Sunday I got up bright and early. The girlchild took care of the critters for me so I could head to Hammonasset Beach to photograph the Run For The Cove. A wonderful couple I’ve known for many years founded this organization in, I believe, 1995 and it has grown in ways unimaginable… an incredible source of support for grieving children who have lost a parent or family member.. to learn more about THE COVE center for Grieving Children, visit HERE  Again, the weather was fall-chilly-beautiful and oh, how very uplifting these people and this event always are.
The reason I don’t have any adult runner pics available is because I mistakenly hit the RAW
button and shot every image in jpeg and raw, which is a huge file.  Guess who filled her 
camera card before the event was over, and forgot to bring another.  
*sigh*
Thankfully there were other photographers on hand and they assured me they would complete
the photographing with adult runner pics.  
Live and learn. 
   Then it was off to Parmelee Farm in Killingworth  to help with the First Annual Pumpkin Carving Party organized by the Parm Farm Steering Committee. Sponsors were the Killingworth Lions Club, Pizzeria DaVinci and the Killingworth Chamber of Commerce.  What a fun day! So many families came to participate and the smiles and happy chatter and laughter were a breath of fresh air.  

 
 A giant leaf corral bordered by hay bales was a big hit with the littles…

There was some awesome artwork among the pumpkins…

A Big THANK YOU to all who helped make this happen,
and to all those awesome families who came out to LIGHT THE NIGHT!

The Spirit of Community.. .it’s a beautiful thing. 
Don’t pass up the opportunities in your area to join efforts like these,
the rewards are endless and so good for the soul. 
It’s a new day, all ….
make it a good one. 
 

They’re on their way!…….

Over 100 shelter dogs and pups, many having been saved from kill shelters, are being prepped by their rescues  for the up coming  Dog Days adoption event next Saturday and Sunday…

Arnie!
 
Bolt!

Jayme!
 Joseph
 
Chicadee!
(hold me back!) 

Dog Days has now placed close to 1000 dogs in the past two years alone…
how amazing is that? 
Screw Washington… we the people know how to get things done, now, don’t we. 
 My unsolicited advice? Don’t hesitate to join a group of dedicated people
 trying to solve some of the worlds problems in your area… 
whether it’s  animal rescue or feeding the homeless or 
donating to good will or heck, smiling at your neighbor who repeatedly
throws his grass clippings over your side of the fence. 
We can all make a difference in big and small ways, it all matters.  You matter.
Hooray for the Underdog!!
  It’s a beautiful thing – 

I heart Robert

Robert Redford sat down with CNN for an interview about his new movie (who knew?)…  but the conversation turned political.  I have to tell you, I like what he has to say very much, agree with it whole heartedly, especially (and here is where some of you will tune out)…  how he acknowledges why our President never stood a chance.

 For the full article, click HERE

For a brief excerpt at the end of the article regarding our current state of government affairs….. read below…

  “Something new is starting to happen that offers hope. Susan Collins, who is a
Republican, is saying: ‘Enough of this. This is not the job I signed up
for. I’ve got to do something,’ ” said Redford, referring to the U.S.
senator from Maine.  
“So she’s bringing a bipartisan group together of
women. I think the future should belong more to women and young people.” Women must save the
country “because a lot of men that were in control were behaving
stupidly,” Redford said. “I mean, sometimes you say: ‘Can we actually be
this dumbed down, or am I actually hearing what I’m hearing from some
of these people? Are they really, is that really happening?’ It’s sad.”


Does this mean Redford is already throwing his support behind Hillary Clinton in a 2016 White House bid?


“No, I wouldn’t single out one woman over another,” he said. “I think it’s time to give more women a chance.”
– Amen, brother.  Just sayin.

Moody

Once the family was fed and horses and chickens put to bed,
Frasier and I took a walk around the fields last night behind This Old House.
The setting sun created some beautiful moody hues across the sky…
 

 the moon had a halo…

 In this picture you can see the garden has been cleared out for the winter
and is being downsized… fencing has been pulled out and the plot will be smaller next year.
You can also see a little light on in the first floor of the house…
that’s the men watching monday night football.

 
…another goodnight.

Glorious Fall Weekend

 These are the days I love most.. when this little family finds time to slow down and relax and enjoy the simple things together!  OK… maybe for an hour here and an hour there we are all doing something together… or at least some of us are together most of the time.  Good enough.  
 
 The weather has been wonderful and we’ve been walking, talking, cooking, eating, watching movies or football, picking apples at a local orchard, blowing leaves (no rakes around here – blow ’em into the woods or chop ’em up with the lawn mower.)  sittin’ round a bonfire and taking a dog or two around the fields to explore. 
 
  Right now, the girl child is off riding her horse while the boyz are watching football.  I’ve baked an apple pie and the aroma is intoxicating…. recipe HERE.  Even if you hail from the Deep South  I hope you get to experience fall in all of it’s glory at least once in your life time. The air smells of woodsmoke here in the country…the  earth is littered with crunchy leaves and golden hues, the harvest fruits delicious.
 
Scotts Orchard, Deep River, CT
 

Have you ever seen so many apples??
 
 Hammocks ’round the fire pit up on the hill… 

 
 
 

 

William Cullen Bryant