Tag: Welcome To The Zoo

Good things come to those who wait

 When my husband asked me to marry him I told him without a doubt I would always have dogs and horses that would live in as close proximity as I could manage.  When he met me I was living on my aunt’s horse farm, earning my keep by tending her boarding stable while working full time and attending school at night.  He already knew any of my extra money went to my dog and horse – an adopted old race horse that had literally been abandoned by it’s owner.  I pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck in order to support that horse.  (I am not recommending this to you young folk!)   The reason I warned him of the dog/horse thing was because he was raised in a very clean household, no pets.  On our first date I noticed how very white and unblemished his hightop sneakers were and how spotless his car was when he picked me up.  

Uh-oh.  
  So I felt I had to warn him.. that living with me wouldn’t be quite what it was with his mother, not that there’s anything wrong with that! –  or what his first few years in his own home (squeeky clean! -) had been….not that there’s anything wrong with that either!   
 Now.. I am not a slob… This Old House, and the homes we’ve lived in before it… have always been what most people would consider pretty clean and organized.  It has taken many years for our two worlds to blend with somewhat of an ease… if I dare use that word.   Would he like things alittle neater? Cleaner? … more organized?  Absolutely. Does the occasional destruction that inevitably happens with animals in the house drive him nutz?  Without a doubt.     Have I paid more attention to the need to vacuum doghair almost daily  so we’re not using it as a condiment with dinner?  You betcha.
 Years ago, no way in a frozen hell EVER and before or even way after the cows came home under a blue moon would he allow any of the dogs to sleep on or around our bed.
 The dane has his own queen sized mattress in my office, and Rudy the pisspot is in his crate at night because he’ll pee on everything five inches off the ground if I don’t contain him. … it’s a dachsund thing, so I’m told. 
 Bailey and Frasier, however… are a different story altogether.
We’ve come a long way, baby.

Neigh-bors

My girl and I took Coady & Lacey
down the driveway and across the street to
visit with our good neighbor, Margaret.
Our minis have been to nursing homes
and rehabilitation centers with me to visit those
who can’t get out into the world like they used to..
therapy horses, they were.
I haven’t done that work in years
and sometimes I miss it.
 At 89 years young, Margaret still takes care of her own home
and we feel lucky to have her as a neighbor.
She’s always got a positive outlook on life. 
 Just look at her lovely garden. 
While we stood there grazing  horses and talking,
hummingbirds were swarming the feeders and flowers.
I always leave her yard with a feeling of peace.
Some people just have the ability to put you at ease…
to remind you of the simple graces in life.
She’s one of those for sure.

Frasier Entertainment

Remember those shows on TV
when your kids were young…
the ones you’d count on 
when you had stuff to do
and you needed them to just sit for a while?
For my kids that was Sesame Street
and Barney. I tried not to rely
too heavily on Babysitter TV, but now and then
I leaned on it just a little.
My second set of kids are much easier
to entertain.  Frasier will watch
the Bunny & Chipmunk Show for hours on end.
These two have taken up residence outside the kitchen door
so I’ve been feeding them berries and such.


Currently, Chip lives under the rock step
and Peter lives in the bushes next to it.

Not a bad piece of real estate for either of them,
but the traffic is steady and can be annoying,
as the barn swallows found out.



Ramble along with me, won’t you?

 On the face of it, we had a great weekend… lots of summer activities, good food, great weather.  I am grateful for every single day that are able to enjoy the good things in our lives.  This weekend’s snapshots below…

The Mr. harvesting onions… 
and talking business with someone.

Did you know that the onion plant grows a beautiful globe flower?….

and this is what they look like at ground level… ready to harvest.
When the tall leaves fall over, they’re done.

We went to the Chester Sunday Market again…
the men in this house are in love with the belgian chocolate milk we get
from Smyth Dairy and the artisan bread from a local baker…
Look at these beautiful carrots…
And this really big dog!  There are dog water bowls here and there
throughout the market, I just think that’s awesome.
Such a community vibe, kudos to those who put this idea together.

This is my stash….

and it went into last night’s campfire bundles…
recipe here   http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Campfire-Bundles
You can use any variation on veggies…

There was another bonfire up on the hill….
These kids have all been friends since kindergarten..

I hope they’ll always remain good friends..
one of the jewels among the thorns in the crown of life.
They gathered again on Sunday at the Brownstone Quarry..
We did some of this…

..and there was some intense baby bunny watching…

..wonderful weekend, but I couldn’t get away from
something that’s been bothering me for some time now.
A small group of people in a particular political party
have turned debate on any big issues we have before us
here in this town, into a nasty spectacle.
They slander, they accuse, they use scare tactics
and personally attack those who are trying either through
elected office or through volunteer work  – to improve
conditions on many levels here in town.
It’s one thing to disagree and state your grievances and concerns..
quite another to personally attack, slander, spew out misinformation
and leave comments on news forums that are snyde and sarcastic.
Ironic that the ones who complain the most are not often
the ones who are actually trying to do something to fix the problems.
Sad that this is the climate in our little town…
 and the problem isn’t just here.
 
On a similar note…have you watched The Newsroom yet?
If you have the time and are so inclined, watch this video below…
..just a few minutes long.
It’s disturbing, yes… but profound as well.
tell me what you think.
But please, be kind in your response. 
http://youtu.be/lIffq85zMI4

Hatchlings

The cycle of nest building to egg laying
to hatchlings to taking flight is nothing less than amazing…
Just a few weeks ago one nest was abandoned for another…
then eggs were laid…
and yesterday I noticed what appeared to be momma bird
feeding babies.
So I got the bar stool out and snuck up while she was
out grocery shopping..and took a few more blind shots.

Interesting facts:
 For the Barn Swallow,
Incubation period is about 15 days.  The nesting period is 16 to 23 days.
Once established, pairs usually stay together to breed for life,
but extra-pair copulation  is common, making this species genetically  polygamous,
 despite being socially monogamous.
 Males guard females actively to avoid being cuckolded.
I’m not touching that one.

The Brood

You remember a few posts back…
the couple who relocated
from one side of our kitchen slider
to the other due to heavy traffic issues?
They finally decided the second nest
was egg worthy…

They’ve used chicken feathers and horse tail hair mixed in with mud and grass.
I stood on a bar stool and snapped this picture way up over my head,
not bad for a blind shot, huh?

Respect for Farmers…

“Abraham Lincoln created the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862. At that time about 90 out of every 100 Americans were farmers. Today, that number has shrunk to just 2 out of every 100 Americans. Still the motto of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the same today as it was nearly 150 years ago. Across the bottom of the official USDA seal, are the words “Agriculture is the foundation of manufacture and commerce.”

 When we finally moved in to the completed Homestead here, Mike was eager to get a large garden going and have a stand out front to sell some of the produce.  His grandfather had a fruit and vegetable store in West Haven years ago and something in the growing of produce has always held his interest. We’ve had a small  horse farm ever since we were married 24 years ago,  but didn’t devote any large piece of the land to vegetable gardening until recently.   We also have several hay fields at This Old House that need tending. 

 What we’ve learned in the past few years is …. Farming is  HARD WORK!.. and it’s truly a science.  It’s not hard to lose an entire crop to weather or over/under-fertilization or pest infestation.  I’ve gained tremendous respect for those who tend the soil and produce food for the masses.  I’m not talking about corporate “factory”  farms, but those who are down in the trenches, the fields, the barns, the soil… from sun up to sun down.  While we’re just a hobby farm with that small stand out front, there is enough toil here for us to appreciate those who are  feeding their families off the land and making a living at it too.  I urge you to support their efforts by buying local produce whenever possible.  Your body will thank you too! Not only is their produce healtheir for you… without them present in this country’s system we’re headed down a road we don’t want to go.

A very interesting article about Family farms and their plight… http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/familyfarms/.

 We don’t have hay equipment, so a farmer in the area brings his equipment for atleast two cuttings each summer to cut and bale the hay. He takes most of it to feed his own animals, and leaves some of the hay for us.   The hay must be cut in dry weather conditions… there needs to be enough time to mow it, thresh it into rows, and then bale it with a haybaler.  Then the bales need to be picked up out of the field and stored in a dry loft where there is plenty of air circulation, so as to prevent mold, which makes them useless for feed.  Moldy hay can make a horse very sick.  If there is a rainy season, it’s hard to get this accomplished.  Yesterday the hay was cut in most of the fields here, some of it baled, and today, before the predicted rain, they’ll try to finish what they started.   Last year we had to throw our stored hay out because it had gotten wet and was stored too tightly.  When I opened a bail to feed the horses weeks later, the mold cloud forwarned me that the hay had been ruined.  Lesson learned.

Lesson No. 2
Weeding is a bitch.
The larger the garden plots you plant,
the more weeding you’ll have to do.
These are onions – competing with weeds
Lesson #3
If you’re gonna grow berries… you’ll have to protect them from the birds
if you plan to eat any yourself.
A very fine mesh works best.  These raspberry and blueberry bushes will have a covering
very shortly, as they are already being scoped out by the birds.

Lesson #4…
Peas are happiest when you give them ample room on both sides of
a mesh net fence to grow..free and clear of other clutter.
These are now as tall as me.
And let me tell ya… I’ve never been a pea eater until we grew them ourselves.
There is no comparison in taste to what you buy at the grocery store.
It’s that good.

I’ll never get tired of silver dew drops on broccoli leaves.

Lesson #5 – No matter how badly you want to say your produce is
ALL ORGANIC.. that’s really really hard to do.  Organic farming is a very difficult
time consuming thing, and it’s not a precise science. 
That’s why your organic produce in the store is more expensive than the factory farm standard.
  Worthy practice  Absolutely…
but it’s oooh, sooo easy to want to grab that insecticide or fertilizer and sprinkle it all over
to get the easier results.   We’re doing as much of this as organically as we can,
but the temptation is there. 

Lesson #6. About those chickens…
Yes, they’re really easy.. and I love them dearly!
Those eggs are just incredible tasting, and better for you
if you feed your chickens properly.
Chickens love to free range, and if you can do so, although there are hazards…
(fox, coyote, hawks, dogs)…
it’s well worth letting them roam for a while each day.

Also, sometimes chickens just die.
I lost two a few weeks ago for no apparent reason
and after doing much research that’s what I came up with.
Two chicken experts told me the same.
My coop is clean,
They showed no signs of being sick, no parasites,
no evidence of having been attacked.  No signs of being egg bound, 
 They were fine in the morning,
then when I went back to check on them,  on two separate days,
I found one just lying there, dead.
That kind of freaks me out.
The only good thing is…
The first chicken to die..
happened to be the one who was plucking everyone elses
tail feathers out.
Karma, indeed, is a bitch.
If you’re still with me, thanks for tagging along 🙂
I recommend highly planting a little plot for yourself.
It can be a few pots on the deck or patio,
a small plot on the side of the house,
or a patch of dirt out in the back yard.
The rewards you reap are worth the effort
and getting back to the land  just feels good.
.