Pictures to Prove it!

Do you remember that kid that wanted NO part of having bees on his 100 acre playground?

Well that is him in the bee suit just below….Imagine that!  He cried and fussed and carried on.  I was initially suppose to pick the bees up on his birthday.  I delayed that until the following week to keep peace in the family.  In effort to get me to change my mind about raising bee’s he even said “Did you know that bees kill more people then any other animal?”  Smarty pants….he was reaching for my weak spot….safety. LOL.  I guess he has outgrown his fear in the last couple weeks because yesterday when I went out to do my weekly check he wanted to participate.

He has always watched from a distance and he’s real good at getting my smoker fired up.  It was fun to watch his expressions, first time around the bees is a little scary.

I still have not been able to locate the queen but I’ll continue looking for her until I find her.  The bees have drawn out most the comb on the frames so within the next day or two I will be adding another super (box). 

The cells filled with the white are the larvae….cool to see their cycle of life.

If I could have bet money on it Flower Girl would have been in this suit long before Country Boy!

What's Not to Love?

Can't help but to post this picture again because I absolutely LOVE it and well I LOVE them!

That being said I think it deserved it's very own post.

When Maine Man and I went up to bed the other night our door was peppered with sticky notes of "I love yous & your the best". Then to find a note above our bed of 6 sticky notes stuck together.

It read ....You both make my wonderful life and you make me the person I really am! I love you both so very much! I hope your days are fantastic! I love you both with all my heart! Hope you enjoy all the letters I wrote! Love you xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

With lots & lots of love

Your loving little girl

Flower Girl!!!

To Mom & Dad

I thought that was a pretty sweet thing to write. Figured I'd better preserve to look back on when she's sixteen. ;)

Growing Mushrooms in Maine

I have been wanting to grow mushrooms for a couple years now since seeing Shitake mushrooms at the Common Ground Fair. A vendor had logs displayed and a never ending line-up of people paying good money for fried Shitake mushrooms.

Looking back in my archives I even have a picture of them on a post I did in Oct 09'.If your a fellow Mainer you may find that post useful as it displays local mushrooms and where they are found. The last picture on that post is of the Shitake's growing on the logs.

I bought the above plugs at a local market for $30 for 200 they came from Oyster Creek Mushroom Company. We planted approximated 3/4 of them and gave the rest away to a friend.

We made it a family event... melted down some paraffin wax. You are suppose to use a double boiler, but who follows directions...really?

Maine Man gathered Oak logs approx 4 ft long and directions said 4- 8 inches in diameter, 1 tree was sacrificed in the making of this project. Drilled the holes w/ a 5/16th bit every 8" evenly spaced around the log. Then the we all took turns pounding the inoculated dowels in the holes, making them flush with the log. Lasly we sealed the plugs with some melted wax. Easy & Fun project to do with the kids! They stayed up an hour past their bedtime helping out. Now the logs will be stacked in a shady area in a square rick or log cabin formation. We should be able to harvest twice a year, Spring & Fall. I will be sure to update our progress on growing mushrooms in the future.

Country Boy Can Survive

I have NO doubt this boy could survive out in the wilderness! On the other hand, I would never make it out alive unless of course I had Maine Man or County Boy there to bail me out. A few weeks back CB was getting a little stir crazy (aka driving his mother crazy) so MM bought him a pellet gun. CB will spend part of this Spring into Summer working around the farm to pay it off. He offered to give us some cash after he sells some chickens he is hatching out but we declined. I think working for things you want provides for a valuable lesson. Almost every day after school he ventures out on to the back forty with MM. He goes his own way as MM cuts wood. A porcupine was his first kill with his new gun.
After the kids were ever so persistent their dear old dad, MM reluctantly cut it up and believe it or not I cooked it up. I baked it in a baking bag and it came out pretty darn good. MM and I had a few bites and the kids ate the rest. Actually they all but sucked on the bones. I really can't get over how much of a carnivore Flower Girl is. In a survival situation I could easily eat it but after seeing it dead, smelling it, and the cooking it I found it a little challenging to consume knowing I had an assortment of other foods to eat. We also saved some of the quills for future projects.

Who Needs Toys...

...when you have fire?

....maple syrup

....and snow!

On one of the many snow days the kids had this winter I found them making maple candy "just like the pioneers did". They made it with both store bought syrup and maple syrup we had put up last year. I was the sampler and voted for the homemade. Homemade is ALWAYS best no matter what it is. LOVE that my kids have such great imaginations! Tapping season is just around the corner......can't wait!

The fire picture at the top of this post was from a recent ice fishing trip when our heater broke. Maine Man & the kids started a fire for warmth & cooking. MM was pretty proud of his quadruple hot dog roasting stick.

Honestly, I have nothing against TV, video games, and toys when used in moderation. My kids have a Wii they bought with their own hard earned cash. I actually love playing Just Dance when I'm able body ...not as of lately ;) On the other hand I am against video games that encourage violence. I think they desensitizes children.

I am even ok with the kids watching TV although if it was not for MM & the kids I would so NOT have cable TV. I do not watch much TV. Although I will admit this season I am watching Survivor as there is a local Mainer in the game. We also have a Survivor pool going at work and I potentially could win $180. I was assigned Stephanie, the chick that had the heels on last night, WTH? I hadn't watched Survivor since Flower Girl was in the womb, 8+ years ago. She was actually named after one of the contestants...lol. I do not agree with some of the shows that are broad casted but there is also many shows that can be educational. Country boy loves watching Myth Busters & Man vs. Wild. I'm often amazed by what he learns from the shows.

As for toys, early on I learned not to waste a whole lot of money on them because in all reality my kids just didn't play with them and they often end up in the bottom of a landfill or Goodwill.

Good Ole' Mother Nature is the best toy box of all!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Horsing Around

Good Old Fashioned Fun

Last weekend my neighbor, her children & grandchildren came over for some winter time fun.

Rona & Callie

Me & CB

Brother & Sister skating....love this pic!

MM

FG

Saphie (the girl next door)

Snowflakes

Last year I hoped to make these with the kids. This year we finally did! It was a fun, fairly quick & easy project. Only supplies needed: popsicle sticks, hot glue, and paint. My inspiration you wonder.....Craftynest. LOTS of great ideas. Here is the link for a how-to for this craft if your interested.

Wordless Weekend

Letter to Santa by FG

Dear Santa,

How are you? How are your raindeer? I have a great life. I have a loving mom and the Best dad in the world. I would really like a lot of candy, DS games like plant vs. zombies, pants, I would like some pichers of me if you have any but I would like pichers of me when I was little, and the thing I would like the most is the Best Christmas ever. Merry Chrismas! P.S. Please wright back. Love: FG

One, Two, Tree

This past weekend we went out to my cousins tree farm
He worked a deal with the kids so they could try & sell a few trees.

Our farmer friend, Myron came along too.

He had a grand time watching the kids run about.

Even thanked me the next day for inviting him along.

We enjoyed his company as well.

He even helped by trying to guide me as I backed up the trailer.

He quickly learned I was going to do it my way even though I would have been much better off had I listened to him. LOL...maybe that's why I sometimes drive Maine Man crazy :)

If your a local come on over and buy a tree from the kids. You'll make their day!

Grateful

Holidays are a time to reflect on and foster peace on earth, good will towards all, and to simply savor the good times we have with friends & family.
A time to count our blessings.

And remember those less fortunate.

Hope Everyone Enjoyed Thanksgiving with their loved ones.
Flower Girl made her first Apple Pie today.
It was delicious! Her Daddy would agree, he ate most of it :)

Working Hard

The kids have depleted their stash of cash and have been trying to come up with a few ways to build it back up. They made up a bunch of braided dog toys in hopes to sell them this holiday season. So for all you LOCALS with dogs.... the kids are selling braided fleece dog toys for $2.00 each. Call or send us a message and they will even deliver. Yes, Flower Girl is standing on my kitchen table. My mother would flip out if she saw her now. Ha, we like to break the rules ;)

We just don't hand the kids cash. They get allowance only if they earn it and that does not include the basics such as picking up after themselves and cleaning their rooms weekly. That is just expected! Maine Man & I both have good work ethic and we feel that it is important trait to pass on to our children. To make money you must first earn it!
Next week I'll be posting on their next adventure to make a little cash this holiday season. This one is going to take a little help from MM & I but I think it will be a fun adventure.
Stay tuned.....

Ordinary Days

I watched this video that was posted by friends on facebook tonight. I found it very touching! For those of you that know me personally know that I have struggled a bit with the transition Country Boy has made from age 9 to 10. I could so relate to much that was said in this video. You will as well if you have children of any age. I cried tears of joy and sadness all at the same time. Just the other night I was telling Maine Man that the hardest part of your children growing older is that you constantly have to reassess and make adjustments to how you parent your children. They don't have to change, you the parent has too! I think I also spouted off that I was headed to the library to get a parenting book to try and figure out how to handle this stage......lol.

On another note the kid above is not mine or anyone I know. Just snapped a picture of him at the Common Ground Fair a couple months back.

Almost time for New Years Resolutions.......anyone thinking that far ahead? Sorry I am a bit of a planner. Last year when I made my resolution of delivering a meal or a baked goodie once a week to some older folks down the way I had absolutely NO idea what the outcome would be! Little did I know that 1 year later I couldn't even imagine life without them! My old man friend holds a place in my heart like no other. He truly is one of the most involved and important people in my life. Blessed I am! So for this year I have a few things I'm pondering....loose a couple pounds is a yearlong battle so that is a given, no more cussing, to decrease my cell phone use while driving (never calling out.....want to set and example for my kids & be safe) and lastly to post 1 or more pictures a day on my blog for 365 days of 2011. What do you think.....little crazy? I think it will be fun, it will encourage me to take my camera out more and document the "ordinary days", and it will allow me to improve my photography and editing capabilities as they could use some more work. What are you pondering? Would love to hear!

Can't Hide My Pride

Country Boy shot his first deer this past Monday afternoon.



3 points, 140lbs


CB had a great 1st year of hunting.
So glad he has such a good Papa who teaches him everything he knows!
Next.....Spring turkey hunting. He asked for a beagle for Christmas for rabbit hunting but I cannot see that happening just yet...2 dogs are enough.

P.S Please excuse the photo quality. By the time they hauled the deer from the woods it was foggy and dark. Needless to say I struggled to get the pictures I did.