Peas

Here's all that's happening in the garden for now, except for the broccoli and cabbage.
I think it would be nice to have produce staggered throughout the year, so the canning and freezing would always be manageable.
Wait till I get all 25 tomato plants in. Talk about pressure canning ; )

Beef. It's What's for Dinner.

Here's Captain Wentworth. I don't like saying things like, "He's a sweet boy." Or anything else that reminds me he'll probably be food one day.

Dexters

I was lying in the field today, being tasted and stepped upon by four calves and, more frighteningly, four moms. This is Charlotte, the old matriarch.

My Dog Scott

Scott's back home and loving it.
I'm glad to have him back, even if I do think that 5 dogs is a little excessive.

Katie's Gardening Day

I figured it would be good for the kiddos to get out into the fresh air, so after Latin I told them to go plant some cabbages. The big girls did just that. Katie, however, planted 4 dandelions smack dab in the middle of the future tomoato patch, and a pan of wild strawberries.
I don't have the heart to tell her that her flowers are weeds.

Very Quick Update

No pics today because I was scrambling to get laundry washed and hung out. It had been raining an inordinate amount for the last few weeks. And I've quit using the dryer, as you may remember from earlier posts.
It was so windy today that the clothes were dry by the time I got them up! It was a funny experience. I should mention that I've started bringing laundry in and tossing it in the dryer for a few minutes to make it less like sand paper and more like cotton.
My drains are all clean now, and I learned a very handy lesson. I started cleaning the traps myself, and when Big Dan came in, he took over. So now, I'll just start random chores I want him to do, and when he sees me, he'll jump in. No more nagging.
The result of the drain cleaning was actually too scary to post pictorially.
Soon I'm gonna have those peach blossom photos.

Drain Cleaning

You'll notice the beautiful hair on all of our daughters. That's the hair that's not in the sink drain. Yet.
I'm about to go clean the "J trap" with directions from the Internet. Now I can keep up with people in California who have scary drain issues. My rechargeable batteries are recharging, so if my findings in the drain aren't nightmare inducing, R rated content, I'll post my work.
Spell check says that Internet is spelled with a capital I. I never knew...
Did any of you know that it's a proper noun? I'd like to find out how to take surveys on here because I also want to know how many of you think my poor orchard will live after the goats got to it and stripped all the bark yesterday. I'll show that when I have batteries too.
Wish me luck...

Flat Stanley in Viginia!

Here's our guest from Pittsburgh, Pa. Flat Stanley. He's here for a visit and some sight seeing, then back to his K-8 schoolroom to tell about the Virginia experience. Probably there will be lots more Confederate converts after he makes his report back home.
Here's Stanley ice skating at the La Haye center at Liberty University.
Aren't those a pretty bunch of skaters with him?

Well, I've gotten new batteries. But they need charged up already. Hopefully I'll be back to blogging at my usual rapid pace soon.

Tomorrow we go up to the big city to pick up my little dog, Scott. A wonderful family adopted him from me a couple months ago, but he's been a hankerin' to get back to the woods, so off we go to retrieve the retriever.

Today is my friend Sam's birthday. Happy Birthday, Sam! Double digits, woohoo!

PS Flat Stanley is a small, fictional boy made of paper at the bottom of the photo.

No more pictures till I go to Wal Mart

My children lent my camera batteries to a friend, and now I have to make a trip to Lynchburg before I can share more visual stimuli with you.
We had a speck of lovely spring weather before the rain appeared again. It was nice while it lasted.
This week started off about as bad as it can get with a pit bull starving to death on a chain right in Appomattox. Surprisingly, things went downhill from there.
Our good friend who sold us the 65 acres died today at the age of 37. John had surgery for pancreatic cancer last Monday and never recovered. He leaves behind a wife and four children.
Knowing that there was a person on this earth as good and fair and honest as John made life better for everyone who knew him.
The whole town is grieving and we're all in a state of shock.
So I may not be posting till I get some semblance of normalcy back.
Oh, and I also have a scratchy sore throat from pollen, so I'm extra cranky.
Maybe next time I post, I'll have beautiful peach blossoms to share.

Big Dan defending his cattle against the enemy horses

In another example of our dreary, English style weather, here's Big Dan coming to the rescue. If he didn't, the bad horses would mug the cows for their hay. Now, in case you're wondering, the horses have their own stash of hay right down the fence line. But that's not good enough for them. They must have all the hay!

It is sooo cold here!

We had such balmy weather earlier that I thought summer was here. I was wrong.
But at least this is typical spring weather. The stuff that poems are made of.
It's cold and raining. And raining. And...
In the morning, Sirius Black and Katie share a heat register.

Can you spot the real animal?

Here's Debbie in a pile of stuffed animals. I think she's cute.

Poor Winky

Winky apparently had a headache today. The buck is chasing her relentlessly, but she chose to run around, gasping for breath instead of giving in easily.
You go girl. Get a dinner out of it, at least.

Laura's New Shawl

She loves this birthday gift. Handmade by our friend.

Before and After- Back

Katie got her hair cut today! No more rat's nests this summer!
And some kid with cancer can have some hair, too.

Before and After- Front

Chainsaw Heaven

Here's Big Dan in chainsaw heaven. I think that all the trees on fences are gone from around the house. There were trees across the path today when we went toward the creek. I'll take the camera tomorrow.
The weather is absolutely perfect.

Rural Gothic

And my question is: Why do suburbanite posers think they can one up country folk?
We'll always be the real farmers in the family.

Mr. B the pet horse

Here's Becky enjoying her pet. We've had quite a change of weather in a week.

Gearing up for fun!

Here's Big Dan getting ready for Laura's make up party. Not make up as in cosmetics, but make up as in the big blizzard put a damper on last week's attempted party so we'll give it another try.

Big Dan stealing hog panels on the beautifully mown and tended path

This is the pretty day, when we went to steal the neighbor's hog panels.
He pulled them out with a chain and loaded them onto the wagon.
The neighbors told us we could take the panels.

The Garden

Here are the little sprouts which will hopefully become cabbages, broccoli, and tomatoes in my garden.
It's funny that just a few days ago the weather was hot and we were planting pea seeds, then the blizzard hit.
According to the forecast, we'll be back in the gardening mindset by tomorrow.

Aww, Poor Beagle

Isn't the Beagle cute?

Don't you want to adopt him?

A new appreciation for electricity!

Outside my window is a winter wonderland that I can enjoy more fully having had a shower.
The last two days were so much fun, well, maybe fun's not the right word, but they were definitely educational.
There's something rewarding about being self sufficient, even if it's only for two days. I liken it to the toddler in us all saying, "I do it myself!" Even though it's clearly not as efficient.
We're also more aware of what we need to do in order to be more fully equipped for emergencies. My first goal is to buy an Alpaca cook stove. I'll use it outdoors for canning in hot weather too. I'm wondering if I can use the shed to do canning since it'll have shade and no breeze to blow out my propane fires.
My good friend Laura had sent me a link on how to make my well work without electricity, and wouldn't you know, I glanced at it without really reading it. Now I get to go back and find it!
Becky's going to make lots of plain candles. They were wonderful! They burn for over 45 hours, and you can actually just let it burn all night without any trouble. Gotta love soy candles.

The Soccer Castle

Here's Laura's lonely birthday party. The storm has just started when the castle turrets were lit up, and by the time it was eaten, the roads were bad.
Spinster came over to celebrate. Then we never heard from her again.
She's still without power.

Winter Storm Preparedness

Here's Joe Houndog hoping that the snow won't reach his perch. He's never seen that scary white stuff before! It makes him hop on three legs, which is kinda funny.

Wanna See Some Snow?

Here's a view from the corner bedroom.
A view from my window. Can you find the cardinal? (That's for Niece R.R.)
And the wire fence, photographed by Laura, who I think is a talented photographer.

And More...

Top: Here's the highway to our place, heading south from the unethically advertised property ; )
Bottom: Shhh! I don't know if I was supposed to take Mr. Amish Snowman's picture.
He's wearing his good hat though, so how could I resist?

More today

Top: How'd ya like to have this for your driveway?
Middle: A typical scene and an explanation for the widespread power outages.
Bottom: A jewel encrusted tree almost makes up for how bad I smell. Almost.

Today

My neighbor's snowman and igloo- no way can I keep up with those Jones's.
Our farm in the snow.
Dan picking a boulder out of the road to our house.

March 2

2 Days Later

Here are three pictures taken by Laura on the morning after the big snow.
I'm not sure why I was looking forward to a blizzard after all.
The power was off for over two days. The phone was off for one. I suddenly remembered why it is that I love the South!
I'm going to be posting lots of photos.

10 Minutes Later

Anyone who's reading in Northern climes, I know you won't understand the obsession with snow.

It Begins...

The snow is starting. Hard to believe that we really will get an accumulation. I'll be keeping you up to date on the latest winter weather advisories.

That Wii Fit Sure Works

Here's Big Dan getting a good workout on the Wii.
I don't really believe that you can safely presume to play sports from your recliner and expect not to get posted about. Do you?
Not with me for a wife, anyway.

Winter!

Should I become superstitious?
The storm of the century is about to hit, finally.
Why?
Because I baked a castle shaped cake for Laura's birthday and hung out wash, I guess.
Either that or global warming.
We're supposed to get up to 10 inches of snow. Right now ice is coming down. Of course I was low on groceries too, which helped the storm to form.
No pictures for you yet since right now it's just ugly out there. Soon I hope to post lots of white!