Sunday Stills & A little more

This weeks theme is power lines. You have to look close, they are there. Always in the foreground of the beautiful sunsets we have in our backyard.
(You have to click on photo and enlarge to see powerlines. It was much more visible on my photo program then here on my blog)

My boy then grabbed the camera. Kids have a completely different perspective. I love looking through the pictures they take. You never know what you'll find. If you have been following for a while you must remember the Glamour Shots Leah took last year.

I apologize for my recent absence on my blog and catching up on others. I assure you I have been taking tons of pictures and have lots to say, recipes to share, just lack of time lately. You notice on my side bar that our list of "what's growing in the garden" is expanding. Between that, the kids birthday, and school wrapping up life has been BUSY. So looking forward to summer and the kiddos being home..... 2 1/2 more weeks.

Sunday Stills ~Yellow

It's that time of the week again. For anyone interested in joining along Ed's Sunday Still challenge please go over and visit. It has been a lot of fun !

Maine Man found the little bugger above in the middle of the road. It took residence in the barn for a few days in the kids catch & release tank, then into the back pond. In the 2 1/2 years that we have lived here I've only seen one turtle. It was a huge snapper by the duck pond and it was gone when I returned with my camera. I love having fresh cut flowers overflowing in canning jars and/or vases throughout the house. That is exactly what I did with those yellow blossoms. Today the kids and I went unintentional lawn saling. On the way to the grain store we came across some bargains. 10 glass vases for $1.00, a handful of spice jars for 10 cents. The kids bought a double seated wooden swing with intentions of hanging from a tree. I think it will serve us well by the pond. Today I constructed a trellis for our peas out of some netting I bought at a lawn sale last year for a quarter. MM said "what are you going to do with that?" Ha...it took me a year but I found a use. I will post a picture as soon as I take one. It took me nearly 3 hours to construct and a nearly severed thumb to complete but by geesh I did it! I am not handy by nature that's FOR sure, unlike Maine Man. There is not a thing that man can't fix or do. Joking about the severity of my finger, just a nasty cut from a hand saw. Probably a good thing I wasn't able to start the chainsaw.

I know they are not yellow but they just the cutest creatures! Their Momma had 12 kits. I was surprised because it was her first litter. 2 did not survive, we bottle fed them for a few days and kept them on a heating pad in the house. We did our best.

As with everyone this time of year life has been so busy. Days are not long enough to complete the chores at hand. Most days I am able to roll with it but some days I am simply overwhelmed. The kids annual birthday party is next Saturday and we will be having a pig roast for my brother's 40th at the end of next month. So if your wondering where I am I'm either in the garden or cleaning up my messy barn. :)

Sunday Stills- Black & White With A Twist

This weeks theme at Sunday Stills was to look back at past topics, choose two, then convert the pictures to black and white. This was a great challenge for me because there were SO many possibilities. Here are a couple pictures I thought were priceless. Neither are my children, just one of the dogs belongs to us. Regardless these two girls are my friends kids (2 different ones) and they are both VERY photogenic. For themes I choose: action (above), portraits? (below), and pets for the last one.

This little girl is a spit fire! She played in the hose then made mud angels in the garden. My mother would have flipped had she been here. Our parenting styles are VERY different. A chilly day last week the kids asked to go in the pool and I said "go for it." My mother scowled at me and said "what?". I said, "they won't be in long, watch." Within seconds there stood two dripping, happy, popsicles.

I learned early on that it is best to pick and choose your battles.

Are they going to get hurt? No, then GO FOR IT!

Don't you love that look on her face? I often warn friends to send there kids over in play clothes because they are sure to get dirty. They NEVER let me down! This was a warm sunny day and she and Leah went upstairs in search for bathing suits. Down they came dressed in gymnastic leotards. A while later I realized she had put it on upside down. We all had a good laugh and then they headed up to change for the zillionth time.

My brother's Chesapeake Bay Retriever playing tug-of-war with our little boxer.

On a final thought, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all!

Sunday Stills ~Plants & Flowers

Back in the game.... it has been a while since I participated in Sunday Stills. Above is some garlic we planted last fall. We planted 3 types in which I only remember the name of one, Red Russian. I bought 2 varieties at a local grange hall sale from a lady that works at Johnny's. The other variety was purchased at the grocery store and I haven't a clue what it is. We are real good about planting around here but when it comes to keeping track of varieties we re REALLY lacking. I will attempt to better organize our garden records this year.

MM (finally) ordered the fingers for the chicken plucker that he plans to build. The only parts that we are still looking for is a barrel and an 3/4 hp electric motor. We have 40 broilers that are almost ready to go.

Sunday Stills ~Animals~

I have been a bit delinquent posting my Sunday Stills but this weeks topic was way too easy for me to let it slide. I did not take out my camera over the weekend but my archives are full on animal pictures. I can't imagine why!

Rona has officially been named the black sheep on the farm. Maple the goat bucks her, Bob the rooster is always looking to put the spurs to her, and Smokey the cats does not let her pass by without a swipe and a hiss. Thankfully she is loved by the kids and she has worked our way into our hearts as well.

Lots of chicks peeping around here.

The last two pictures are from our Sunday Stills Challenge
two weeks ago and the theme was lines.


The kids and my boys buddy at my brothers.

Sweet Dreams

Last weeks theme for Sunday Stills was water. I took a few pictures of the water holes on the farm and here you have it, 2 frozen ponds. I never posted the pictures because I thought they were lame compared to the other excitement we had last weekend. We can not wait until they thaw! This weeks photo challenge theme is lines and I took several different photos keeping that in mind. However, my battery is dead or I broke my camera when I dropped it on the stairs tonight. So I had to dig into my archives because my OCD will not allow me to post without a picture . I am unable to download my pictures from the weekend and my camera is making one funny sound. Maine Man is going to KILL me! He's going to think it was an intentional act because he knows I'm itching for a new camera. Can you imagine that me, Country Girl would do such a thing? Hee, hee....here I come e-bay! No really, I am a little sad because I had pictures to share for the challenge and pictures of our weekend including the makings of the BEST maple syrup you've ever tasted and I cannot tell the story without pictures.

The top picture is the pond right beside the house. This is where our 10 little duckies will reside. MM plans to make them a floating house so that they can stay clear of predators.

The bottom picture is of the pond behind the barn. This is where the kids spend most of their time frogging and trapping crayfish.

I am off to read one of the 3 books I have going (told you I have ADD)

I am currently reading :

A Small Farm in Maine by Terry Silber which is at the moment is my favorite because I am able to relate to the story in many ways.

In defense of Food by Michael Pollan. It is a good book but it has not kept my attention compared to the last book I read by him, Omnivore's Dilemma

The Power of Play by David Elkind is about how spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children.

What are you reading? I'd LOVE to HEAR!!! C' mon ladies and Gents! Plus when I ever finish these books....June (I'm a slow read for lack of time and pure exhaustion most days) I will be looking for a good read.

Posts to come (as soon as my camera dilemma has resolved): Maple Syrup Sunday, Black Sheep (ha, not what your thinking), and a belated photo challenge.

HAVE A NICE WEEK! :)

Sunday Stills ~Architecture~

Another week of Sunday Stills Photo Challenge with Architecture as the theme. I thought about taking a cruise by an old church and some barns but that never happened. I always seem to be LAST minute preparing for my Sunday post so once again today was the day. We were on the lake ice fishing (John & the kids fishing, me just playing photographer) so the only architecture around were camps. When is the last time you come across a round camp? I was excited to find this unique structure.

An antique boat house. Maine law prevents people from building new boat houses.

Not quite a camp!
Red neck chalet
This was a cool little shack. Somehow I cut the skis out of this picture.
Hunting blind by fall and ice shack come winter.

Running for a flag.

FARM POSTS IN THE MAKING..... I PROMISE;) WE HAVE DUCKS ARRIVING AT THE END OF THE WEEK AND UPDATES TO COME.
LASTLY, I WANT TO THANK MY FELLOW BLOGGERS FOR 4 RECENT BLOG AWARDS I HAVE RECEIVED.....I HOPE TO GET CAUGHT UP ON THAT THIS WEEK.

~Sunday Stills ~ Reflections

It is that time of the week again for Sunday Stills photo challenge. It always creeps up on me and here I sit trying to get my post in before I head off to bed. This was a hard one for me. I took a bunch of shots in the mirror, none that I liked. This would be have been perfect one for Spring when the ponds begin to open up. I took a quick peak at some of the other submissions and there are some real cool ones like this horse eye. I am amazed by the creativeness (not in me) that this challenge sparked in others. This is by far my favorite one and as the warm weather comes I will be looking for more opportunities to take pictures of reflections. Next week theme is the moon.


Did you see my Harvest 2009 update on my side bar? Egg count thus far is up to a whopping 500. That is because MM put a timer and a light out in the barn for them. We were averaging 8 eggs a day for quite sometime and now we are up to 2 dozen a day....back to what we were getting over the summer and fall.
I was fooling with some angle shots as that was last weeks photo challenge but I goofed. This is one of our 2 maple trees that we plan to tap for a first time real soon.


Answering a few questions from my last post:

Kyfarmlife, I did not make the bird feeder my dad did. It is just a can painted with wood sides hanging by a chain. That would be a good project to do with the kids this summer.

Farmgirl DK, my brother and I were raised separately because our parents divorced and my brother decided to live with my dad and I stayed with my mother. Not too much of a story, seems like an everyday occurrence in this day and age.

Dreaming of Spring!

SO glad it is February! I have not whined all season so I am entitled, right? For me this month is usually the toughest to get through. At least in March you get the warm thaws and the longer days and you know April is right around the corner. MM and I have been talking lots about our animal plans come spring and what new items we plan to have in the garden. We would like to plant several berries patches and put in an aspargus bed. Things we had on last years agenda but never happened. As far as animals he has already placed an order for ducks, I think he said khaki campbells. We will also get some more broilers & turkeys...my freezer supply is dwindling. We are looking into breeding the 2 pigs we have. I did not breed my goat because I am really not set up to have a buck here, maybe next year. MM has done lots of reseach on meat rabbits and it currently looking to buy 3 does and 1 buck(Californians and/or New Zealands). We would also like to get some cows but the fencing must go up first. I am looking forward to that because the goats will have a big area to run.

This weeks Sunday Stills theme is Zoo/Museum pictures. Since I have previously posted the only zoo pictures I have I will just put the link here when went to Rhode Island this past summer. The picture I love the best is one that MM took of Leah up against the glass with the bear.

I am off to bake some bread and start working on that pantry project I previously mentioned.

I will leave you with a dry mix recipe for chili that I recently made. We are big chili people and I use to buy the packets but now I make my own, much cheaper!

Chili Seasoning Mix

2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
Mix all ingredients; store in a small airtight jar in a cool, dry place. Makes about 1/4 cup.

I used 1 Tablespoon of mix w/ 1 lb of deer, 1 can of kidney beans (once my pantry is set up I am going to start buying dry beans in large quantities), and 1 can of chopped tomatoes.

Sunday Stills on Saturday Night

Another week of Sunday Stills photo challenge this week subject was whatever so here it is.... From the imagination of an 8 year old. Can you guess what this is?


How about the pictures below, do you have any idea what this is?

Not the best shot but it gives you a better idea of size and shape.

OK I KNOW YOU MAINERS KNOW WHAT THIS IS. LET'S SEE SOME COMMENTS FROM SOME OF YOU LOCAL FOLLOWERS THAT NEVER SPEAK UP! I WOULD LOVE TO HERE FROM YOU...LIKE MIKI AT THE BANK SHE'S A REAL MAINE WOMAN OR MY NEIGHBORS, COME ON GARY YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS? I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM SOME OF YOU LOCALS TOO.

p.s. MM didn't kill me for the last post, he laughed. Whew!

Sunday Stills

Over at Sunday Stills this weeks photo challenge is Color. So since there is not much color outside except white, brown, and blue this time of year in Maine here are a few indoor pictures I took over the weekend. The above picture is of some buttercup squash we had for dinner last night. We still have a reserve in the root cellar although I whined on a previous post that we had a good amount of losses in the squash stash. I think I have 3 left along with an acorn and a spaghetti squash.

We also ate some potatoes over the weekend.....baked, mashed, and home fries. We will be out by February. Next year we hope to plant enough to get us a little further into the year.

Don't you love that counter top, 1960's 70's??? Gotta love it!
Our onions are still looking good and we have a still have quite a few if they hold up. Not very colorful....sorry.
Unfortunately this is store bought corn. We froze several bags of corn on the cob that has held up but I did not put up any kernels....maybe this year. A good portion of the food we are eating now is what we have raised or grown although we are still supermarket dependent for many items. I plan on buying a pressure canner this year along with a cow so that will allow us to put up more food that is grown here on the farm. Looking back to our meals a year ago I never would have imagined we would have come this far.
I went to a seminar on co-ops this week I am very interested in starting one. For any locals that are interested let me know, I have a price list I can send you. I would like to start with 10 local families.
Luke had an idea to make some candy out of snow and warm maple syrup. He has been reading a book called, Little House in the Big woods and this is how the pioneer children made candy back in the day. So the kids did some experimenting and they were successful in making maple sugar candy.

Anxious for spring we planted a few things today. We planted lettuce, cucumbers, basil, dill, and cilantro.

I cut up a cool whip cover to use as markers for the plants. I had my hand in one of the photos but quickly deleted, I could never be a hand model that is for sure!


MM's tractor has come in handy this winter, sure beats snow blowing! He does not have a plow for it but the bucket and box blade work just fine clearing the driveway.

Thankfully it has warmed up but this week the temperatures dropped to 20 below zero in this area and and at my dad's (up north) he said it was 36 below one morning. Our animals survived, the pigs seemed to tolerate it the most and the chickens the least.

Leave a boy alone with his friend and what do they do? Well, naturally bury his sister in the snow. She loved every minute of it!