Tales from the Valley

New Chicks!

2011-06-15T11:51:00.003-04:00

New baby chicks arrived yesterday. Picked them up at the post office. When I opened the door of the post office, the first thing I heard was lots of peeping. I wasn't sure what I would find - I've never ordered live animals through the mail before. They were in a small cardboard box with holes in it. I signed for them then rushed off to the library to show the ladies. I cut the tape and lifted the lid, and we all gushed over them for a few minutes. I took them home to put them under the heat lamp in their new digs. They seemed very healthy and happy. The boys were so excited to have them finally. We couldn't stop watching them and holding them. I was sad to have to go back to work right after getting them home. They all have names; surprisingly we can tell them all apart. They are Auracana chickens - they lay the blue and green eggs - and all are pullets (young females).

l. to r.: Lola; Charlotte; Estelle; Marcelene; Chirples; and up top is Skylar. The boys helped me to name them.

Remodeling the Bathroom

2011-04-30T23:05:00.001-04:00

Josh came for the weekend to give John a hand in beginning the big bathroom remodel. Everything will be replaced except the tub. Ceiling, floor, walls, toilet, shower hardware and ring, sink; new drywall, fan, lights and all new mouldings. I tell you - the bathroom needs this fix!

Removing the old drywall exposed these old green walls with a "not-to-code" outlet.

John measures for the last bit of drywall.

John added a new fan and 4 recessed lights into the ceiling.

debris

11 pm; time to quit for the evening.

Weekend in DC

2011-02-17T08:11:00.002-05:00

We were in DC for Uncle Frank's Memorial service. It was really good to see family that we haven't seen for a while. Frank is now buried in Arlington Cemetary, and was given the full honors ceremony. It was amazing, emotional, and very moving. We spent half a day at the Smithsonian museum and saw some amazing things. My favorite I think, was the set of Julia Child's kitchen from her television program. So fascinating - I could have looked at it for hours; much longer than my family wanted to!

2009-11-08T18:26:00.002-05:00

Cookout at the Kalinas. Sunday was so beautiful! Sunny and 65 degrees. Deb and Bill invited us over for some grilling and games in the woods.

Bill, Sam, and Asa

2009-10-31T23:18:00.001-04:00

Halloween in Ellicott City, MD at Tammy and Jeff's house. We have to commute to Trick-or-Treat; our three neighbors don't participate in this pagan ritual holiday.

Jake is Michael Jackson, Nick is Peter Criss, and Asa is a hobo.

Asa, Sam, and Jake

2009-07-20T12:08:00.003-04:00

I am just testing my video upload capabilities. Sam in the middle is Asa's best friend. On this day, the boys were making a movie and wore facepaint. You know, classic good guys against the bad guys.

enjoying summer break

2009-06-18T09:42:00.001-04:00

Asa's Sunny from the Codorus Creek.

Asa and his best friend, Sam, are taking swimming lessons at our pool. Unfortunately, this week of his classes has been cold and rainy.

Jake and Asa eating Cheese Curls at the pool.

asa takes swimming lessons during the coldest, rainiest week of June

2009-06-17T13:14:00.001-04:00

Asa with his best friend, Sam. Asa is loving his swim lessons. Not even the mid-60 degree, 100% cloudy weather doesn't keep him from wanting to go to his lesson! He goes every night this week at 7pm. This whole week we will have well below normal temperatures.

Trout Fishing in the Codorus Creek

2009-06-07T16:39:00.005-04:00

Friends of Sandra learned of Asa's great fondness of fly fishing and offered to come teach him a thing or two about fly fishing. Jody is a certified fly fishing instructor, and visited us for the day (along with his wife Rachel, and two little girls) to fish with Asa and John. It was obvious that Jody loved teaching as much as Asa loved learning. Both of them would have stayed at the creek fishing all day long if we let them.

Here is a good-sized Brown Trout that Jody caught. Our whole family was shocked that we even really had trout that size in our creek! Asa caught a Brook Trout. The boys put them back in the stream so they could have a chance to catch them again another day.

Cream also had a good day catching things. He caught this young starling. He came slowly sauntering up the road with this in his jaws. He walked past all of us and up the porch to the front door; we could see the bird was very much alive, flapping its wings every once in a while. After some discussion amongst the humans, we decided that we should put an end to this Wild Kingdom moment; after all, he gets fed two healthy servings of cat food every day - he doesn't need additional sustenance. After forcing Cream to let go of the bird, he was clearly mad at us for quite a while afterwards.

The Bob Potts Heritage Rail Trail Marathon

2009-05-31T12:29:00.000-04:00

On May 31st, we had a nice treat with a marathon that ran right by our house. Not 10 feet from our front door passed the (26.2 mile) marathon. Jake, Asa, and I cheered on the passing runners, while John and his band (3 Dollar Suit) played music for the runners and their supporters at Serenity Station cafe, just two miles up the trail. A water stop and a port-a-potty were stationed right at our house; which was just fine with us. Asa tried out the potty to make sure it was properly functional. It was.

That's our house on the very right. You can see how close it is to us. We loved it!

This is Maggie. She came running up the trail along with the other marathoners. She wasn't with any of the runners, so I guess she just decided that it looked like something she wanted to be a part of. She pulled over at our house for a breather and some enthusiastic petting. It didn't take long for Asa to declare her as "our new dog!" Sadly, her owner came to collect her about 15 minutes later.

It was a beautiful day in every way; and we are looking forward to next year's run.

Asa Officially Learns to Ride A Bike

2009-05-25T20:06:00.001-04:00

Pretty sure this is the bike that Jake learned to ride on. He's outgrown it.

Asa pretty much rode on his first try. John thinks it's because Asa was already an expert on his scooter; the bike was just a minor adjustment.

Jake is ready to move up to a full-sized bike.

Chickens in the garden.

Dip in the Creek

2009-05-16T19:00:00.004-04:00

Today was beautiful. After school, Asa wanted to go down to the creek with his cup of corn for bait and see if the fish were biting. His choice of pole today was the one he made himself: a short stick with a piece of string tied around it and a hook attached on the end. He puts a few kernals of corn on the hook and throws it in. No serious bites today. Jake and I sat at the edge of the water enjoying the weather. Before we knew it, Jake had wandered into the water. Toes first, then feet; then calves. Once his rolled up pants were wet, he just got all the way in. Asa had to join him when he saw how much fun Jake was having. What a great way to begin the weekend!

getting back into the groove

2009-05-12T09:02:00.018-04:00

It just sort of happened without me really realizing it. The posts just stopped coming. I haven't really been taking too many pictures either. I came across the blog on accident, and it made me sad that the last post was so long ago; and it motivated me to start it up again. I guess that we just got really busy with the new school year and updating the blog can sometimes feel like a luxury I don't have time for. I want put this in the middle of my priority list. Let's get started...

I will try to briefly catch you up on what our family has been up to since the Presidential Election.

Asa is playing Lacrosse in the U9 group in our school district. This is his first year at it. He'd barely even thrown with a stick until his first practice. He is one of the youngest players, and the most inexperienced. He loves playing and even though he is in the very beginning stages of learning, he doesn't get flustered at all when he doesn't catch the ball, and at all his "beginner throws". I am very proud of him. The only part Asa doesn't like is the running during practice. Coach has the team running lots of laps throughout practice. His team practices twice a week for an hour and a half, and has at least one weekend day game. John throws with him at home when he gets a chance; and John says Asa's doing really well for a beginner. He needs to learn to be more aggressive during play. He has a hard time with it; it's just not in his nature, and all his life, John and I have kept him from behaving that way at all. I wondered if it's a good thing or not to never let him be physically aggressive. But for now, that is the only thing he is lacking. John is trying to teach him that it really is okay to behave that way while playing Lacrosse.

Asa with his best friend, Sam, at the Fairie Festival

Jake has been very active with school activities. He has been featured in our school district as an "Artist of the Week", appearing on our local school channel and in the district newsletter, and has a display case at his school filled with some of his artwork. He is in the school band playing Alto Saxophone, he was in the school county Honors Choir, participated in the York County Envirothon, and will be recognized this evening in a ceremony at the high school for his academic excellence and participation in Envirothon and the Honors Choir and as a DARE (school drug resistance program) essay winner.

Jake at the Fairie Festival

John is still with UnderArmour, commuting an hour each way to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. He finally has admitted that his Geo Prism has reached the end of its life and agreed to buy a new car. He is really happy with his new Nissan Versa and is glad he finally took the plunge. He is pretty busy with his band, 3-Dollar Suit. They play out at least once a month, and weekly practice is a great outlet for him and his two band mates. Each of the other musicians happen to be the dads of two of Asa's classmates. Give John a call if you need a band for your next event.

I am still working as a part-time librarian at the Arthur Hufnagel library in Glen Rock. I love working there! Surrounded by so many interesting books; no end to discovering great new things to read; satisfying my OCD-tendencies through re-shelving and scrutinizing each section to make sure the books are in the correct order! I am still busy volunteering at the boys' school and with the PTO. But right now, I am the most busy with my springtime gardening. I tilled and planted our vegetable garden; moving established plants from one bed to another; John and I cut down numerous Yew bushes that had turned into trees; lots of planting in containers and garden beds; and trying to reclaim the rest of the large yard removing scrub and overgrowth to make way for a grassy yard. All while desperately trying to avoid poison ivy. I have not done so well with that attempt so far.

This summer our family plans to hop into our new Versa and ride south to visit with Grammy and Granddad in North Carolina for a couple of weeks. I (and maybe the rest of the crew) will go to my hometown of Rock Island, IL to attend my 25-year high school reunion. Jake and Asa have never been there, and I'd like to show them where I grew up. We will also spend many days at the pool, and hope that we can find some camps for the boys. Asa wants to take a camp to hone his bow and arrow skills and to go to a Lacrosse camp. Both fellas will go to Art Camp at their favorite shop, The Studio and Art Bar.

Jake and Asa with our Nubian wether, Yankee

I think that's everything for now. The next post won't be so long-winded!

President of the United States: Barack Obama!

2008-11-05T10:15:00.005-05:00

Last night we, as a family, voted for President of the United States. We always take the boys when we vote - and let them push the buttons. We want them to understand how important it is - and what a privilege it is for each American to be able to participate in the democratic process. With the outcome of yesterday's vote, we are so happy, relieved, and hopeful for our country's future.

Poor Sport

2008-10-21T13:44:00.005-04:00

I had taken this picture the morning before yesterday to capture our first frost in the valley. Note the Obama sign standing proudly on the side of the road.

I came home today, after volunteering at school, to find that someone had driven right over our sign. The day we put up our signs - I had discussed with Sandra, my sister-in-law - who is a volunteer for the Obama campaign and got us these signs - how long she thought it would take before someone would deface or demolish them. I thought it would only take a couple of days. But it's been out there for maybe a week and a half. We have two other signs up, but they are much closer to the house. This one was an easy target being on the other side of our road just off the pasture. Weiners.

Yankee Doodle's Dandy!

2008-09-21T19:22:00.007-04:00

This is our new goat - Yankee - the Nubian wether. He is actually the son of our very own Juniper! I was really excited to be offered him by Juniper's step-mom, Rosemary. He was born on July 1 along with one other buckling (who has been claimed by a 4-H kid); so he is almost 3 months old. I can see the family resemblance.

He came home today, and so far seems very frightened of people, of his surroundings, and of the other resident goats, Apple and Acorn. It doesn't help that Apple is trying to assert her position with Yankee. And not gently either. She is very intent on giving him a painful and lasting lesson on who's boss around here. Yankee is so much smaller in stature than Apple - and much thinner and he's still a baby. I won't be able to let him alone with them for quite a long while it seems.

On this first day for Yankee, it's hard to imagine him as a happy and comfortable resident of the Seven Valleys goat herd. But I felt that way during the first days of Acorn and Apple's arrival. Boy, have they come a long, long way. I am pretty satisfied with how things turned out with them. They are no longer scared of me at all. They come to me every time I go out to see them. I can put their leads on them with no resistance at all. Things are good with them. Now that all was well, we will begin the long, rocky road of working another kid into the family. But now I know it can be done - and I have all the confidence in the world.

Minnesota: Evergreen Lodge on Woman Lake

2008-06-30T10:43:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Minnesota. Land of folk legend - Paul Bunion. Among other things.

For as long as I can remember this fish-shaped piece of plywood, with the words Evergreen Lodge hand-painted on it, has had the ability to elicit ear-shattering squeals from every child in our seven-car caravan as it came into view. This sign was the official signal that we had arrived at our beloved Evergreen Lodge.

Being here meant that all my 24 cousins and I would be able to enjoy two weeks of sweet emancipation! We would have fourteen days of swimming, minnow hunting, leech killing, and fishing off the dock; of water skiing, row boating, playing cards, burying each other in the sand, and Turtle Races in town on Wednesdays. When daylight faded all the kids would meet up at the Lodge to listen to the juke box, play some pool - some pinball, eat gobs of candy and drink Nehis until our money ran out. That vacation to Minnesota was our last hurrah before beginning a new school year just a week after returning home. It was pure bliss.

Even now as an adult – I have most of the same feelings attached to that place. I feel the same giddy anticipation all throughout the year of summer arriving so we can go back again. It’s not quite the same for me now as it was when I was a kid of the ‘70s, but when I’m there, everywhere I walk, everything I see, being in Cabin 13 - I can see so clearly all the ghosts of my past and feel I am in some way with my family again. These days only a handful of my extended family makes the trek each year, unfortunately not at the same time. Like me, they too, want their kids to experience in some way the magic we felt back then.

The gang: Asa, Natasha, Karissa, Allysa. Not pictured: Jake

Asa with his "Big One"

2008-06-28T13:41:00.009-04:00

Alyssa and Jake using teamwork carrying a pale of water to the dock.

One of the thousands of itty-bitty fish that Asa caught. Mom and Dad were the lucky ones to take the hook out of the thousands of mouths... for the most part.

This is the likeness of Paul Bunion's sweetheart, Lucette. She lives in Hackensack.

This is the Fishing Derby in Hackensack - about a 30-minute drive from Longville. All of our gang participated. They got bags of candy for being good sports. Asa was 2nd place for largest fish caught. He got a nice bullhead, aka: catfish.

Riding the pontoon boat into town for the Turtle Races

Natasha shows her skills as pontoon boat captain and driver.

The Goats

2008-05-28T17:02:00.000-04:00

Acorn, Turnip, and Apple

End of April

2008-05-26T16:46:00.002-04:00

Cousins Nick and Asa

The boys had a lemonade stand over the weekend - and made a decent amount of money. They advertised that half of the proceeds would go to "Race for Life".

Asa caught this sunny in the Codorus Creek. He's warming up for Minnesota in June.

New Mower

2008-05-23T10:59:00.000-04:00

The Smith family has a new tractor! We decided it was a good idea to just bite the bullet and get a new tractor. We were having so many troubles with the old one; like the belts constantly falling off, one of the three blades not even working, extremely high noise level of the mower, and just one headache after another with the dang thing - it was nickel-and-diming us to death; and it was just frustrating. Our field grass had grown so tall and dense that it took a few mowings to get it to look good. Now it looks great and we can actually hang out over there, which we hadn't done yet this year. We even took the goats over to browse (with great difficulty because of their skittish nature), and Asa has been able to go fishing. The grass was literally taller than him. Once the grass began to grow, it was out of control in no time. John is very happy with his new tractor and is finding all kinds of things and places to mow.

Envirothon Victory!

2008-05-14T12:50:00.004-04:00

Jake's Envirothon Team, the Environmentalists, ranked as gold medalists - earning them a blue ribbon in this year's York County Envirothon this past Tuesday. Jake and his team have been studying most of the school year to compete against other 3rd and 4th graders in York County.

The Envirothon is a nationwide program that encourages our kids to learn more about our natural environment through competitive events. Senior High Envirothons are held throughout North America and Canada. York County is one of the few places to offer the Envirothon competitions beginning in the third grade.

John took this photo of just a portion of the crowd of teams and some parents during the awards ceremony at the end the all day event.

Jake and one of his teammates both crossing fingers and arms in hopes of victory.

DC Trip with sister Janice and her family

2008-04-27T13:35:00.001-04:00

The Washington Monument from the other side of the mall. Growing up, I always thought this was the Pentagon. As a child, my dad took occasional business trips to "the Pentagon", and this is the image I saw in my head. John laughed at (with?) me when I first called it that, and he still gets a laugh out of it and can't resist poking fun at me every time he sees it.

The very famous and powerful spot where MLK gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Asa and Natasha at the foot of Thomas Jefferson.

It was a very rainy and chilly weekend in DC. That didn't stop us from visiting all of the must-see spots. After a two day DC visit, we drove back to Pennsylvania - a 2-hour drive. Janice, Steve, and Natasha stayed for almost a week. I can't believe it, but I didn't get any pictures of them at our home!

Back in PA, we visited an Amish home - which is now a museum site where we learned a thing or two about the Amish. I was able to show them Wehrly's auction, Brown's Orchards, Perrydell Farm, our goats, and the simple beauty of our valley.

Asa Lost a Tooth

2008-04-17T22:09:00.001-04:00

Asa lost his fourth tooth today.

He plans to leave the tooth fairy this note.

Not sure how that will work out...

24/7 badness

2008-04-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

Three Nigerian Dwarfs

2008-03-06T08:56:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday three new arrivals joined our farm family. Apple, Acorn, and Turnip; two month-old Nigerian Pygmy goats. Unfortunately, they are not friendly right now. They are very scared of us and won't come near unless there is food involved. I am hoping that with time, patience, and food treats they will learn to accept us as part of their family.

These goats will just be pets - at this point. They are a miniature breed, so will always be small. This is part of the reason I wanted them. They should be much easier to handle. However they do have horns; we'll see how that goes. People that have goats with horns swear that they'd have it no other way; people who have goats without horns say they'd have it no other way. Supposedly the horns make great handles if needed.

The bucklings (Acorn and Turnip) will be castrated later this month. Castrated males are referred to as wethers. They are more gentle and don't have that strong smell like unaltered males do.
They are very healthy and happy so far. The thing I will concentrate on the most is spending plenty of time in their yard and letting them get used to me. They love Fritos, so I'm hoping that the best way to a goat's heart is through it's stomach. We'll keep you posted.

A Warm Day in February

2008-02-18T15:11:00.010-05:00

The boys have the day off for Presidents Day. It is a really nice day (for February) being partly sunny and in the upper 50's. We spent some time outside to enjoy this short-lived weather. We had a picinic lunch in the backyard, the boys rode their bikes and we took a walk on the trail. We found some of our favorite signs that winter is on it's way out the door: Snowdrops - our first flowering bulb of the year.

The winter-ravaged gourd from our summer garden.

Even this way, it is beautiful.

Boys' Art

2008-02-17T15:58:00.001-05:00

Asa's masterpiece. He really enjoyed this project.

Jake's valentine

Jake's first experimental collage

Jake's second work

Jake's magazine collage

Ice Storm

2008-02-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

Ew! The weather here in the valley is awful. Today is the second day that school has been cancelled. Yesterday because of snow; today because of ice. Our power went out for a short moment this morning, but went right back on. I am worried that it will go out again for a longer period of time. John is staying home from work for the second day in a row too. The boys are playing games and doing artwork and watching movies with popcorn. They are glad to be missing school, although at first Jake was upset because he was going to miss a Valentines Day party in his classroom, but he got over that pretty quickly. I think it's a baking day. Cookies? Lasagna? Hmmmm.

Some recent family pictures

2008-02-11T15:37:00.000-05:00

brothers

The first snowman of 2008 made with the neighbor kids and Dad.

Asa in his classroom on the 100th day of school. The kids in his class dressed up like 100-year olds.

A nice day outside.

A Few Holiday Photos

2008-01-12T20:00:00.001-05:00

Webkinz!

More Webkinz!

Lily, Jeanne and Asa playing with some gifts.

Lily and Cherie

Wrestling masks from the Roesslers. Clever!

And fun too!

The ancient Smith New Year's Eve tradition of melting wax into a bowl of water to discover your fortune for the year to come.

Asa will become Abraham Lincoln in '08.

Jake will get a seahorse?

Pooped out.

First Snow Day of December '07

2007-12-05T15:18:00.001-05:00

Yeah! School was let out at 1:30 today so the kids could come home and play in the snow. We were only supposed to get about an inch at the most, but I'd say we have between two and three inches, and it's supposed to snow into the night. I love snow days. So do the boys.

Snowball fight!

I am the target of Jake's snowball fury.

I love the bike path in the snow.

The Newest Addition to our Farm Family

2007-10-09T09:53:00.001-04:00

I found this pitiful little kitten on the trail one afternoon - he was following a couple who were jogging on the path. I overheard the man scolding the woman to "put it down - you can't carry it the whole way back!" I heard the woman half-argue that she couldn't just leave it there, but she eventually did. I wondered if that was my cat Cream they were referring to. Funny, Cream doesn't look like a stray that needs rescuing... I walked outside to see if indeed Cream was out there, but on the trail I found this very young and very vocal kitten running after this couple, by now pretty far up the path. It was a sad sight: the kitten not doing a very good job of following after these people; it seemed somewhat disoriented. All the time bellowing in desperation, reminding me of that sad scene from the movie, Shane. I quickly scooped up the kitten to check it out. One look at it and I knew it was in trouble. Both its eyes were really infected, one so badly that you couldn't even see the eye at all; so swollen that the inside parts were outside. Both eyes were surrounded with pus-covered open wounds, perhaps from scratching at the itchy eyes. He was very gentle and sweet and liked being held. The first thing I did was get him inside with some water and cat food. He was famished. Then I called the vet at Old Trail. I told them the story of the cat, and they suggested I bring him in immediately, which I did.

Other than the eye infections and ear mites, he was a healthy boy. The vet figures he's about four month old. I named him Boxcar Willie because of finding him on the train tracks. I went home with plenty of medicine and high hopes of restoring his health. Now, about 4 weeks later, Boxcar is doing very well. He has lots of admirers who come by to play with him whenever they get a chance.

Our neighbor Gretta is wild about all animals, especially kittens! She will come over and carry him all over the place. Boxcar doesn't seem to mind one bit.

Boxcar's eyes have healed almost 100%. The vet said that he is very impressed and amazed at how well the eyes healed, and all that's left is a bit of moisture on one layer covering the eyes - looks like he has a cataract - his own body's way of protecting the eye while he had the infection - and that is expected to go away in time. Boxcar is a kitten full of life and energy and affection for all. He and Cream absolutely adore each other. They love to lounge together and to chase each other all over the yard and the mill. I think that ever since Millie left, he's longed for a pal to play with. Now he has one!

Let's Dish!

2007-09-09T20:32:00.000-04:00

Jake and I had a mother-son date night at Let's Dish! in Towson, MD. We had a lot of fun spending Friday evening preparing eight delicious meals for our family dinners. We made mouth-watering dishes like Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Garlic Herb Cheese, Orange Teriyaki Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice, and Bruschetta with Chicken and Tomatoes, among others. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with Jake cooking in a completely stress-free environment. They did all the food prep, all the clean-up, and even provided scrumptious desserts for us to nibble on between meal-making. It was a darn good time, and it was darn-good eatin' tonight as we scarfed down our Shrimp Scampi with Linguine. I've done Let's Dish! with Sassa and also all alone for my own mom's night out. Good times! I recommend it to one and all - alone or with a friend or two.

Chef Jake in his cookin' clothes.

2007-09-05T11:21:00.000-04:00

Us at the Warhol Museum photo booth. We used this photo as a template for Warhol-esque artwork done in the museum's hands-on workshop. It was lots of fun!

So long, Sadie

2007-08-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

John found our barn cat, Sadie, expired in the back yard this morning. We don't know how or when she went. Sadie was our cat for only two years, but we sure will miss her very much.

har cut

2007-07-29T11:39:00.000-04:00

This is the "before" picture of Asa. Here are the boys in North Carolina while staying with the G's. Long story, short - Asa said that he wanted a "bald haircut". He's been saying for quite a while that he wants to be bald. I told him to just give it a few years and it will likely happen on its own, but he wants it now! I didn't particularly love the idea of him sporting a bald style, but I figured that now is a good time to give him his wish - and hopefully this will convince him that maybe his curls aren't so bad afterall (he says he hates his curly hair).

I let him feel his head after the first couple of swipes of the buzzer. Shocking!

We all wanted to feel it.

I told him that this cut was his future-look. He wasn't ready for that look, so we continued buzzing away.

Here is the finished look. He says he likes it, but he quietly asked me if it would grow back before his birthday party. He says he doesn't want the kids to laugh at him. I told him that it would grow back quickly, and if it didn't he could wear a hat! He seemed satisfied with that answer.

Ka-plink, Ka-plank... Ka-plunk

2007-07-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

The boys and I went to pick blueberries today with Jake's best friend, Emma, and her mother, Ann. BTW: Are all blueberry places called "Blueberry Hill"? Anyway, we'd never been to pick our own blueberries, however, it was Ann's fourth visit this season!

The bushes were packed with nice-sized berries, and it was really fun to pick them. Asa rediscovered his love for the berries - after a 3-year hiatus.

A great many berries never made it into our baskets, but made a detour into our mouths!

We finally stopped picking after we filled up two large baskets. We took them home and cleaned them, and will freeze half of them, and make delicious fresh desserts with rest of them. I'm thinking: blueberry-vanilla goat's milk ice cream; blueberry-peach cobbler (Ann says she has an awesome recipe), and a straight-up blueberry pie. I love the summer when all of my favorite fruits and veggies come into season!

Milking Time

2007-06-04T20:58:00.000-04:00

Ladies of the morning. Here I prepare Ginger's teat dip after milking her.

Wake Up! It's 6:30 in the morning and time to milk the goat. Thank goodness John has made the coffee already. I had decided long ago that I wouldn't be one of those farmers who woke up at 3 or 4 or 5 in the morning to begin milking. Why on earth would you do that when you could do the same thing at say... 9 in the morning? Now I know. If any of you have ever breastfed a child (or know someone who has), you know what happens when you go too long without feeding your little babies! You get so full of milk that it feels like you'll explode, and it hurts so much! Not to mention that it's really difficult to get milk out of an udder that is beyond capacity. You can't just milk whenever you feel like it. Hard lesson Number 87. If you get out to milk at the right time, you can get a nice full udder that's easy to milk out. At this point I am milking once a day (the morning), and getting 5 to 5.5 pounds of milk. This is about 2.5 quarts. The bucklings keep Ginger milked the rest of the day, and then the little fellas are put in their own pen for the night (at which time Ginger is able to replenish her milk supply for me). After the bucklings go to their new farm in a couple of weeks, I'll have double the amount of milk each day, as I'll be milking Ginger in the evening too - the boys will no longer be around to do it for me.

foreground is Ginseng, Sycamore in the rear

Morel Mushroom Find!

2007-05-03T10:15:00.000-04:00

Right along the bike path just a few feet from our property line I plucked these rare morel mushrooms. I've been watching this spot for a while now; last year I happened upon about 15 morels here while taking the goats out for a bit of browse. This year, I only found 3.

As a child, I remember each spring my Uncle Paul would take his seven kids to the woods to hunt for morel mushrooms. A time or two I tagged along. I found this a bizzare, yet interesting and exciting adventure. This memory jumped to the front of my brain when I spotted these just last spring in my own back yard.

My man built a milk stand!

2007-04-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

Asa just had to be the first one to try out the milk stand!

This stand uses a platform to raise Ginger higher for easier milking by the milkmaid... and a stanchion to hold Ginger's head in place and keep her on the stand until I am done milking her. Now I've just got to get faster at milking because when she's done eating her grain, she's ready to get down off of that crazy thing.

John made the milk stand and a stool for me to sit on while milking this weekend. He downloaded the plans from the best dairy goat website ever, Fias Co Farm. Everything you ever wanted to know or wondered about goats is answered on this site. I love my milk stand!!

Columbus, Ohio

2007-04-22T08:45:00.000-04:00

Kim and me lunching at the Northstar Cafe.

I was able to get a mom's weekend away over Easter to visit with my great friend, Kimberly. She's in Columbus, OH with her husband, John, and her almost 2-year old daughter Ann. We had a nice time visiting, eating, libating, and shopping. You know, girl stuff. It was a nice get-away for me and a much appreciated respite from Mommydom.

We began the visit with lunch at the Northstar Cafe. Kimberly's sister, Kelly, took the pictures. My usual there is their own veggie burger and a "Starburst" fresh juice consisting of carrot and apple juices with a little ginger thrown in for extra tastiness. Every time I visit Columbus I must have my Northstar burger! Kim, Kelly, and I went from here to Jeni's ice cream for the best ice cream I've ever had! This time I fell for the Orange Blossom flavor. Tasted exactly like the essence of an orange blossom. Heavenly! Jeni's has the most unique flavors I've ever heard of in ice cream... delicious too. Last summer, the flavor I chose was Ohio sweet corn with blackberries! sounds iffy - but I had to try - and it was simply delicious! Some of their other unique flavors include Thai Chili, creme de Violet, lavender and wild berries, Savannah buttermint, salty caramel, and black coffee, among many others. You can even have the ice cream shipped to you where ever you are so it can be enjoyed anytime! Bottom line: it's really good and different.

After ice cream, we did a bit of shopping before Kelly had to head back to Cinncinnati, where she lives. Kim and I went out for dinner together and enjoyed some wine and delicious food.

Ann and me coloring together. She's very good at her art.

I was able to get some Whole Foods Market shopping in where we bought some lamb to make at home for dinner. Delicious! I headed back home on Monday and was very happy and refreshed. It was good to return to my family again.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2007-04-06T17:10:00.000-04:00

I wondered if it would work dying our own brown eggs. We found out that it does indeed work. Different tones, but beautiful still!

Now we're hoping that the Easter bunny can find his way to our house down here in the valley!

They turned out pretty darn great!

Snow Day

2007-02-14T18:11:00.000-05:00

No school today. A big snow/ice storm blew in yesterday. I think that tomorrow we will be home too. Even John stayed home from work today - and it takes a lot to keep him home!

The boys seemed to be able to stand the freezing outdoor temperatures for long periods of time, unlike their parents.

Barn kitty, Cream, had fun frolicking in the snow too. He followed me wherever I went hoping to be picked up and scratched.

The Codorus Creek

Road Trip to Pittsburgh, PA

2007-02-04T07:54:00.000-05:00

Our family drove to Pittsburgh, PA to enjoy a brief visit with my great friend, Kimberly, whom I met back in my Atlanta days. Kim's living in Ohio, so Pittsburgh is a convenient place for us to meet that is pretty much at a halfway point between our homes. We stayed overnight in adjoining rooms. The fellas went to the Duquesne Incline and museum in town while Kim and I went out for Sangria and a nice chat. The guys met us after their sightseeing and we all had a delicious dinner together at Mad Mex mexican restaurant.

The official picture of the Duquesne Incline. Unfortunately, during our visit, it was cloudy, and very cold. The good thing was that it snowed alot! We haven't had much of that yet this winter. It was a plus.

The boys inside the incline car.

Jeanne and Kim are off for Sangria and conversation.

What? No indoor pool in the hotel? No problem for these boys! They just "swim" in the tub!

The boys with their Kimmy. Kim came without her family (husband, John and toddler, Annie) so she was able to give the boys all the attention that they wanted.

Snow. Finally!

2007-01-21T18:54:00.000-05:00

Juniper isn't sure what to think of this snow. This is the first snowfall of her life. She was born last May into really warm weather.

For the chickens, it's business as usual.

The boys are thrilled to finally have snow to play in.

It only snowed for a couple of hours; not much accumulation at all. But still, it was really nice to have our first snow. We are hoping for more though!

January Artwork

2007-01-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

Asa painted a picture of a colorful summer day with fingerpaints.

This is Jake's mixed media portrait.

Is This January or May?

2007-01-15T11:05:00.000-05:00

It's been so warm all winter long my plants are thinking that it's time to begin to flower. It's not so unusual to see the snowdrops this time of year, but everything else is showing up way too early.

You can see this hyacinth's flower buds peaking out.

Crocus

three blooms on these Snowdrops

My poppy looks is looking marvelous.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to begin a period of more seasonable temperatures. Into the 30's for highs. What will become of my bulb plants?

Dusk in the Foggy Valley

2007-01-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

Jake Turns Nine

2007-01-13T14:39:00.000-05:00

This Saturday we celebrated Jake's 9th birthday with a bowling party and a few of his school friends. We all had a blast with bowling, pizza, cake, and presents!

An intimate party with only a few friends.

The birthday boy makes a face for the camera.

Opening gifts. This one was a stack of Boxcar Children books!

2007-01-12T20:55:00.000-05:00

Look at this itty-bitty egg laid by one of our chickens. It’s the cutest thing we’ve ever seen. It looks like a toy egg! We wanted to keep it around just to enjoy its petite beauty; but one day, Asa decided that he wanted to know what it tasted like as an over-medium egg.

After cracking open the egg, we saw that it wasn’t quite formed right. I chose to pitch it instead of eating it.

Then we cooked one of our other more normal eggs. Beautiful! And yummy too!

Happy New Year 2007

2007-01-01T19:18:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Can I go to sleep now?

John and Sass

The boys at midnight. They went to be at their normal time.

Christmas 2006

2006-12-27T18:46:00.000-05:00

Over Christmas we were visited by Grammie and Granddad and the Blums. Here are a few pictures.

Asa and Lily are crazy about each other. They spent a lot of their time with Lily sitting on Asa's lap.

If there is an instrument in sight, Lily must play it.

Josh in the "Future Chair"

Cherie makes a pumpkin pie. Do you see my new KitchenAid mixer? It's pistachio. I adore it.

I made this apple pie. It was as delicious as it looks.

for the birds

2006-12-14T10:10:00.000-05:00

Asa is making a cranberry string to feed the birds. He threaded the cranberries onto the red string all by himself. He loves to give food to the birds - and loves all animals.

This was hard to let him do by himself, but he made it through the project without injury.

Great concentration was needed to get the job done. Good work Asa!

Christmas Tree Hunting

2006-12-14T09:47:00.000-05:00

We are lucky enough to have a Christmas Tree Farm right in our neighborhood. We just hop across the creek to Wayne and Irene's place and trudge up the steep hill to find the perfect tree for Christmas. It didn't take us very long to find it. In the background, to the very left of the tree, you can see our house and mill.

The boys wanted to take it down in their own way, but John felt that it would take a lot less time to do it his way.

Asa encouraged John while he sawed away. Last year we brought our new chain saw with us; that turned out to be a disaster - and luckily a passer-by took pity on John and lent him his handsaw. This year, no question - the handsaw was the tool of the day.

While John and Asa worked on taking down the tree; Jake enjoyed the beauty of the valley from up in the sky.

Kitties in a box

2006-11-18T19:19:00.000-05:00

Cream and Millie enjoying the simple pleasure of an empty box.

Codorus Creek overflows its banks

2006-11-17T07:12:00.000-05:00

The storm system that blew through here on Thursday was a doosey! It rained hard all day long and then suddenly at about 4:30 in the afternoon - it just disappeared! Gray clouds blew away revealing beautiful blue skies and a beautiful clear rainbow above the valley hills. When the boys got home from school, we went to check out the damage at the creek. The water was really high. This little side pool is not usually there. That is typically dry area where the goats play. You can see the remnants of their haystack and the wood pallet they walk on.

At one point we saw a metal barrel floating downstream.
It got caught up at the bridge until a gigantic tree branch dragged it through the bridge along with it.

Millie joined us on our walk to see what was so interesting about the creek.

My First Ricotta Cheese

2006-10-29T19:57:00.000-05:00

John and I spent the day on Saturday in a cheesemaking class taught by Ricki Carroll, aka: The Cheese Queen. We learned to make mozzarella, ricotta, farmhouse cheddar, and queso blanco. It was a great fun, and so interesting too. There were probably 60 people from age 13 to somewhere in their 70's attending this class, which was held in State College, PA; a three-hour drive for us. I've wanted to take a class from Ricki for well over a decade, so this was a really nice 40th birthday present for me!

This photo is a ricotta cheese that I made this afternoon, and I just made a chevre this evening; tomorrow I will drain it for 6-12 hours, then it'll be ready to eat!

Chicken Boy

2006-10-17T09:24:00.000-04:00

Asa with his favorite chicken: "Ketchup"

Getting Ready for a Yard Sale

2006-10-08T11:58:00.000-04:00

Jake finds something he hasn't seen for a long time!

Autographed Boog Powell Orioles hat! Priceless.

I've been working hard just about every day to go through all of our boxes and piles and bags of stuff. When we moved in over a year ago, we put a lot of stuff in the mill and just left it there. Most has been forgotten about. It is fun going through and rediscovering thing that bring back fond memories and other things that will be quite useful in the house now. But mostly - what we are finding is going to be sold!

Music in the Country

2006-10-08T11:51:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, October 7, we spent the afternoon in Fawn Grove, PA listening to Sandra's orchestra celebrate the 125th year of the town. Cloudy and a bit nippy; we were happy to find that they were selling food; like pie and coffee and chocolate milk and hot dogs and cheese curls! It was a really nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. After the show, Sandra came to spend the night in the country with us.

This Year's Halloween Costume?

2006-10-06T13:16:00.000-04:00

George Washington.

2006-10-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

Grammy and Granddad visited us the week of John's birthday. We had lots of fun taking them to some of our favorite places. The boys have been anxiously awaiting their chance to take Grammy to Serenity Station in Seven Valleys, as it has, according to Jake, "Grammy written all over it". We had a snack break there, Grammy picked up a few gifts, and then we walked on the rail trail a bit. We also stopped in at the local winemaker, Four Springs Winery, to sample and buy their delicious wines! It was great to see G&G again, and we hear that they will be by again at Christmastime!

Sunny Side Up eggs

2006-10-06T10:12:00.000-04:00

Asa's favorite breakfast since we got our chickens! Every day he must have his sunny-side-up eggs! A day doesn't go by without them! We have three hens, and we get maybe six or seven eggs per week. Not much, we expected more, but that's how it goes with hens you buy at the auction. Sure, the previous owners say that they're good layers, but you just never know. That's fine with our family though. It's nice having them around, we love the sounds they make. It's good to have somewhere to take all of our kitchen scraps. At least they are being put to good use instead of putting them in the garbage. The cats like to tease them and the goats are sometimes curious about them. They just give our place a nice farm feel. The rooster used to crow at all hours of the day and night for about a week after we brought them home. But I guess that they've really settled in and have gotten comfortable. I haven't heard him crow for over a week. At all.

More fun in the Creek

2006-09-15T11:10:00.000-04:00

The boys had a fantastic afternoon in the creek. Asa found a good use for the silty mud on the creek bottom. Body Paint. Jake would have none of that, but he liked dumping buckets of water on Asa to wash it off. The largest crawdaddy I've ever seen was found under a rock. It was freshly dead, and the kids decided they needed to bring it home. This will likely be one of the last days warm enough to play in the creek this summer.

Mud-faced boy showing dad the giant crawdaddy.

John doing another farm job. Doesn't our Dogwood tree look beautiful in late summer?

2006-09-15T11:00:00.000-04:00

The gigantic crawdad. Huge!

Room to Paint

2006-09-10T21:20:00.000-04:00

Through this door is my brand-new, drenched-in-sun, art studio. John and the boys surprised me today with this wonderful gift. The three of them worked on it this morning while I was mucking out the goat barn. My husband knows that all I need is a little push to get me back to my artwork. I haven't touched the stuff since before Jake was born. Once I became a mother my focus shifted to caring for my child. I completely forgot about all of those things that made me happy, and fulfilled me as a human being. If I could do it all over again, I would not forsake all of my interests to be a mother. I'd try my hardest to make the time to do those things that made me happy; even if only for minutes a day. Keep those things playing some role in my day-to-day life. Anyway, here I am, getting back into my pre-mom interests.

Back in Atlanta, my friend Kimberly, gave me a few oil painting lessons in '95/'96. She is a very talented artist, especially with oils. She was very patient and supportive as a teacher. We had memorable times together painting, listening to great music, and drinking good beer some nights - red wine other nights. Painting, talking, and lots of laughing. Now she's in Ohio and we are in PA. Oh, those were good days!

I've got the basics here to start to draw - to paint. I'm sure this will be a great "before" picture. So neat. So tidy. Just a few things on the table. I can't wait to get in there and make it my place.

Here's my old artbox from college. I studied graphic design - even got my Bachelors Degree (back in 1988)! I can't believe that I still have this old thing. Still has the local band and fanzine stickers that I made on it. Just seeing the charcoal pencils made my eyes widen and my imagination go into high gear. Oh the things I could draw!

August 28 - First Day of the School Year

2006-09-07T20:14:00.000-04:00

Asa and Jake at their bus stop on their first day of school. Jake boards the bus alone in the morning.

Asa is in Mrs. McCoy's afternoon Kindergarden class. Our neighbor, Greta, is also in the same class. Jake rides the bus in the early morning; Asa and Greta catch the bus around lunchtime, and then all three ride the same bus home at the end of the day. Jake is in Miss Hoover's 3rd grade class. Miss Hoover is new to Friendship Elementary school this year. She taught at another local elementary school last year. Friendship is closer to her home, so she changed schools. She is getting married at the end of September, so she will then be Mrs. Felix. Jake really likes her so far. He finds her to be very much like his first grade teacher from Catonsville, Miss McGowan.

Neighbor Greta and Asa waiting for the bus together on the first day.

The now-experienced Asa getting off of the bus at the end of his first day of school. He can't wait to return tomorrow!

Ugly Stick

2006-08-15T11:44:00.000-04:00

Asa got an early birthday present from the Blums while they visited us early August. A new "Ugly Stick" fishing pole. Asa has become quite the outdoorsman, and especially since our summer vacation to Minnesota, has really taken to fishing. His Aunt Janice and Uncle Steve were big inspirations for him and eagerly awaited their return after each fishing trip on Woman Lake to see what they came home with. Then the best part... watching the fish being cleaned!

With his new pole, Asa asked his dad for bait, then immediately took off for the creek to catch those bluegill he kept seeing. All we had for bait at the time was frozen corn kernels, which apparently, bluegills like to eat. Asa "baited" his own hook and learned on his own that the best way to get a fish off the hook is to set the fish (while on the hook) down in the grass, and it gets itself off of the hook for you. That's how he did it! Then he walked back home and asked for a string to put his fish on. It was really amazing how he just really did it all by himself. He had no desire for help or assistance from either of his folks. He genuinely enjoyed doing it all for himself. Both of his parents are so proud of him.

Bluegill in the Creek

2006-07-30T12:31:00.000-04:00

Asa caught a bluegill in the creek today with an earthworm. I think it was big enough to eat, but they threw it back. Asa wants it to grow larger for the next time he catches it.

High heat and humidy makes this a great place to be today.

Even the girls enjoy being at the creek.

Wild Kingdom of Tomatoes

2006-07-25T17:58:00.000-04:00

The fierce predator quietly approaches his prey.

And with the swiftest move - he goes in for the kill and easily overpowers his victim.

He is unrelenting using his firm grip and sharp teeth as skillful tools.

In a short time it is over for the prey, and the beast can now survive yet another day in the wild.

A Slimy Find

2006-07-16T09:37:00.000-04:00

Did you know that there are leeches, also known as "bloodsuckers", in Pennsylvania? I didn't either. But apparently there are! Asa came to me saying, "Mom, there's a leech or a snail on my boot." I responded by saying, "It's a snail, honey". We recently returned from our vacation in Minnesota, where in our lake, live leeches. Both boys had an encounter with them, and that's the only place I've ever in my life seen them, or heard tell of them. So, naturally, when I heard Asa saying that there was a leech on his boot, I thought he was just experiencing residual leech-fear from Woman Lake. I went out to the porch to look at his boot so I could show him how the snail is different from the leech, and was surprised when I looked at his boot, it was a leech (as you may have guessed by this point)! It kind of struck fear in my heart, that not only do I have to beware of bloodsuckers while swimming in the lake on vacations, but also here, where I live. I was always able to deal with the concept of leeches because my exposure to them was so short-lived and seemingly remote from the reality of my daily life; but this somewhat concerns me! I will always have to be looking over my shoulder - always be on the lookout for one of those nasty, slimy, blood-thirsty abominations clinging between my toes!

This is a picture of the leech where she was found on Asa's boot.

Honeysuckle on her new mossy rock.

The boys have decided to keep "her", and have named her Honeysuckle. Get it? Honey - suck - uhl? They gave her her own habitat of creek water and moss-covered rocks and some detritus thrown in.

Wehrly's Auction House

2006-07-12T10:32:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday, Wehrly's Auction House was closed because of the 4th of July holiday. This week I think that I made up for lost time by buying more than I ever have before. I took the boys with me, and they did great for the most part. When John got off of work, he met us there, and took the boys home so mom could get serious with bidding! Among other things, I won a cukoo clock, vintage (unused) felt-rimmed fly watters, ceramic pots, glass milk bottles, flower plants, and a flat of lunch-size Utz Sour Cream and Onion potato chips (for the boys who went wild went they saw them up for auction). When the boys left, they were replaced by my neighbor, Cathy. We stayed until it closed. I love Wehrly's!

This indoor auction is one of 3 to 4 auctions going all at the same time at Wehrly's. It's your loss when you want something at more than one site. Indoor is knick-knacks, then they have box lots outside and inside, large pieces and some equipment outside, and then produce and plants.

Lunch at Wehrly's is always tasty. Burgers, soups, salads, drinks, ice cream, and pies and cakes!

Looking over the leftovers of this lot.

At 7:30 pm the furniture auction begins. This picture was taken at the tale end of the day. Only a few straglers left to take all the great deals!! At this point things got real cheap since most folks had already left (9:15 ish).

Looking forward to next Tuesday! My husband is rolling his eyes. He thinks that I have a problem.

Coburn Visit

2006-07-07T12:37:00.000-04:00

On Friday, Sandra, Tammy, Jordan, and Nick came for a day in the country. We went to the Farmer's Market in York, stopped by Brown's Farm Market and went by the Junkman's store. Once back at our place we took the goats over to the field and the kids played in the creek. They found at least one crawdaddy and one baby turtle - and had lots of fun too. We cooked dogs on the grill, did sparklers, and ate Carman's ice cream! It was a really great day.

Clover giving Tammy kisses

Just found a baby turtle. Asa is describing the size of the "sea turtle" that he saw just two days earlier in the same creek.

Jojo and Nick

Nick brushing Tulip

Things are Growing Here

2006-07-06T17:25:00.000-04:00

potted tomatoes

rosemary growing from a mug

Daliahs that I planted this spring!

Found Object Art - on our farm

2006-07-06T08:43:00.000-04:00

This nest was just sitting on the ground next to the railroad tracks. Asa put this egg that he found weeks ago into the nest in hopes that a Robin will come and make it hatch. Asa originally found the little blue egg abandoned and intact on the ground in our pasture. He wanted to bring the egg to his house so he could give it a chance to hatch. He built a surrogate nest out of an empty egg carton and some grass clippings. He is still hoping that it'll hatch. When we saw this actual nest, Asa thought if his egg were in it, that might improve the egg's chances of hatching. We'll see!

Bunnies are appearing everywhere these days. This one thought that he was clever hiding under this truck.

I put in the lambs ear last year just after we moved in. Those yellow flowers (I don't know the name of them - maybe some kind of coreopsis) and Iris were already there. This year I put in one of my favorites - Yarrow; this one is in a nice bright pink.

This tree looks like a number 4. In this photo the bushes sort of conceal the botton right angle, but squint and you can see it.

Air Conditioner Time

2006-07-05T11:40:00.000-04:00

It's July. The time has come to put in those window-unit air conditioners. John makes time over the four-day weekend to finally get them in. We use two upstairs and one on the main floor.

The trek from the mill to the house. Dang, these things are heavy.

Easy as pie, simply open the window, slide it through, plug it in, and viola!

Cool air! Good work John! One down, two more to go.

Max's Birthday

2006-07-02T11:13:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we went to our old neighborhood in Catonsville, MD to celebrate Max Johnson's birthday. We were able to catch up with some of our friends while the kids played and ate lots of sugar in many forms. Lolly and Glen were great hosts as usual. Tons of food, music, beer, and laughs. It was a nice time.

Pinata booty

The birthday boy: Max!

Time for water fun!

Move over! I can't reach the water!

Just because you're my child, don't think I won't squirt you...

Zach, Jake and Asa decide to leave the Moonbounce... some people just ruin the fun for everyone.

jeez.

Blums Passin' Through

2006-06-30T19:57:00.000-04:00

Keeping it short and sweet were the Blums on Friday evening. On their way home from seeing family, they stopped in to visit with us and have a country cookout and a chance to say Happy Second Birthday to Lily. Josh, Cherie and Lily finally were able to meet our newest additions - Tulip and Juniper. Mr. Henry showed how he has roots as a herding dog. He took right to herding the girls around and seemed to absolutely love it! The girls had a much different opinion of the whole frightening event. Lily took a tumble in the poison ivy hills and had to get a scrub down. After a delicious dessert of Carmen's Ice Cream, the Blums were off to Brooklyn. They were planning a weekend in Maine and had to leave early the next day. Even though it was for a couple of hours, it was really nice to see them - especially with Lily growing so quickly.

Cherie and Josh arrive

Asa introduces the little girls to Lily.

Notice Mr. Henry herding Tulip. He was good at it!

Where it's okay to hang out in the street. Usually.

A short fireworks show... Lily didn't like it one bit!

Friday is Farmer's Market Day

2006-06-30T16:51:00.000-04:00

I love Fridays! In York there is a great Farmer's Market only open one day a week. Yes, that seems like tough luck, but it makes the buys all the sweeter and more appreciated. They pretty much have it all: fresh local honey, eggs, fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, cheese, delicious fresh baked bread (real bread too - hand made by actual people!), desserts, candy, nuts, freshly made peanut butter, fresh-squeezed citrus juices, locally grown flowers and herbs. There are even a few tables that sell dime store junk (they kind of ruin the whole ambiance for me). My favorite stop is the cheese counter; they sell an excellent Danish Goat's Milk Gouda that reminds me of a Parmigiano-Reggiano with it's little flavor crystals throughout each bite. Today's buy included strawberries, canteloupe, blueberries, watermelon, sweet corn, a loaf of crusted herb bread, and last-but-not-least... the Danish Goat Gouda. Oh, yeah!!! Like I said, I love Fridays!

The Fitch Bros. stand is the one that I typically buy from. They always have such fresh looking produce, and everything always tastes just as delicious as it looks!

Asa isn't the only kid who loves the cheese counter. Asa always hopes to be offered a sample slice of the white American cheese. It didn't happen today.

It's so hard to decide which kind of cookie to eat. Asa goes with the pig shape, while Jake prefers the butterfly.

Latest Wehrly's Auction purchase

2006-06-28T21:08:00.000-04:00

Two Dollars for this pair of lamps. I love Wehrly's Auction. This was the only thing that I was able to walk away with. During my "Mom's Nite Out" I did enjoy a hotdog with sauerkraut and mustard and an in-season strawberry sundae. It was a satisfying evening.

The matching lamps struck me as hideous at first glance. Then they became more and more interesting. Now they are funky. The only room in the house where they seem to fit; the bathroom!

a detail photo. The shades were obviously handmade looking at the stitching. Weird, yet interesting.

2006-06-27T20:01:00.000-04:00

Tulip and Juniper enjoying a munch in the wet pasture. It's been raining off and on since our return from vacation. The girls haven't been able to spend very much time at all in their field.

Tulip and Jake exploring the remnants of the burn pile for possible hidden treasures.

Minnesota

2006-06-26T19:35:00.000-04:00

We just returned from our annual pilgrimage to Longville, Minnesota. We had to fly from Baltimore to Atlanta, GA then from Atlanta to Minneapolis, MN. After spending the night in a hotel, we drove about five hours and finally arrived at Evergreen Lodge on Woman Lake in Longville, MN. My mother's family has vacationed there yearly since about 1960-ish. I am glad to be able to take my boys to have the same fun I had for years. There we vacationed with my older sister, Janice, her husband, Steve, and Janice's granddaughter, Natasha - age seven. We caught lots of fish, some of them keepers. Janice and Steve cleaned them for us and Janice fried them up for us for the traditional Friday Night Fish Fry. Janice helped John to clean his first fish - a nice sized large mouth bass. Asa and Jake caught the traditional Sunnies and Bluegill, I caught a bluegill (who thankfully let himself off of the hook inside the boat) and a perch (a Northern Pike attempted to eat it while I was reeling it in and was about 2 feet from the boat - we were not quick enough to net the two of them while we had the chance, and ended up with just the perch - which had bite marks from the Northern).
Asa got to experience his first "bloodsucker" or leech on his toe; Jake had one on his hand. With Asa, I was able to pass down the tradition of killing the leech with salt so that it'll fall right off of you. We netted our own turtle and went to the Turtle Races in town on Wednesday; Janice raced her first turtle ever. None of us advanced to the winner's round. We all played fetch with Harley, the resident Black Lab. She's the sweetest dog ever! Never a bark, never a pounce. The one thing about her is that she endlessly begs you to play fetch with her. We stopped in for a visit with my Aunt Mary (Uncle Dick was away on business), and on Friday afternoon Aunt Mary came to our cabins with my cousin Ann and one of her sons. We enjoyed two nights of fireworks and one night of 'Smores. We were able to go to the Lodge a couple of nights as well for some games of Foosball and pinball, some candy, and to listen to the jukebox. When Janice and Steve weren't doing nightfishing, we played card games together in their cabin. I'll miss our games of "Crummy Rummy". What fun. It was a great week and couldn't have been better. We look forward to our visit next year.

2006-06-26T08:16:00.000-04:00

That's Aunt Mary in the middle. My mother's sister. This is at her home on Woman Lake.

Harley pleading with Asa to play fetch with her.

Asa holding Dad's delicious bass.

Asa watching Aunt Janice cleaning the fish. Asa was the champion eater on Fish night. Janice made fried fish, Johnnycake, and tomato salad. Yum!

2006-06-26T08:06:00.000-04:00

Janice's first turtle race... ever!

Jake's turn to race "Shelby" - we all used Shelby in different heats.

Jake and Natasha in the kid's hoola hoop contest.

John participates in the Dad's hoola hoop contest. All the dad's hoops fell at the same time... immediately!

2006-06-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

'Smore night Asa-style.

Natasha and Janice in Longville.

Cold Minnesota nights in front of the 'smores grill.

Natasha as a turtle.

2006-06-26T07:54:00.000-04:00

John's Large-mouth Bass.

Jeanne enjoying the beauty of Woman Lake.

Janice offers John tips on cleaning his delicious bass.

John carefully filets as Janice watches.

2006-06-26T07:44:00.000-04:00

Asa shows everyone his "Sunny"

The biggest freezer pops in the north.

Netted a turtle for the Wednesday Turtle Races.

Kids enjoying some quiet time together.

2006-06-26T07:37:00.000-04:00

Jake, Natasha, Asa enjoying a Nilla wafer break.

Returning from another visit to the Lodge.

Toes in the bay; waiting to go fishing.

A friendly game of Life.

2006-06-26T07:29:00.000-04:00

Asa, Harley, and John... off for more fishing.

Foosball at the Lodge.

Natasha at the Lodge.

John, Asa, and Jake fishing off of the bridge.

2006-06-26T07:21:00.000-04:00

Jeanne in front of cabin #13

Asa feeding the ducks.

Jake and Natasha making plans.

Rabbit ears

Manhattan for Cherie Blum's 40th Birthday

2006-03-01T09:28:00.000-05:00

The weekend of February 25 our family went to New York City to attend Cherie Blum's surprise 40th birthday party. Tammy, Jordan, and Nick came along so Tammy could hang with Jake and Asa while we went to the party. We all took the Staten Island Ferry to do a drive-by of the Statue of Liberty, saw Times Square (our hotel was in the heart of Times Square), went to Soho to go to our favorite store, Pearl River; guess who we ran into in Pearl River the morning before the surprise party?? To our great surprise Josh, Cherie and Lily were shopping in that store. Perhaps we blew the surprise, but Josh tried to convince us that Cherie already knew that something was up. The party was a lot of fun with a delicious dinner, then an 80’s dance party after. Jake came down with a pretty bad virus on our first night, and he’s just about over it now – on Wednesday! It’s been a rough week for the boy – but he’s almost over it. Just the week before the trip, Asa had strep throat! Now spring is almost here, and hopefully we’ll stay healthy for the rest of the winter.

In the subway.

On the Staten Island Ferry. Jake is smiling for the camera, but in between each picture, his facial expression changes dramatically.

Jordan and Tammy watching a street musician playing the steele drums.

Lunch in Soho after bumping into the Blums at Pearl River.

Sick boy Jake on the car ride home Sunday afternoon.

What Else Can We Burn?

2006-02-22T08:57:00.000-05:00

Despite the deep snow, I am able to get a fire started in the pasture. I only burned a small part of this pile. The rest we are going to burn all at once instead of a bit at a time. The neighbors swear this will be okay...

Hulk tired.

The boys get a bath together.

First Burn

2006-02-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

Finally, what we've looked forward to since we moved here! We've had this huge pile of ivy vines, tree branches, and other various yard debris left laying in a gigantic pile just outside of the goat barn by the previous owner. That pile is now gone! It took three weekends, but we did it, and we really enjoyed it. The first weekend, at the end of the first day of burning, it began to snow. It kept snowing until it was 17 inches deep.

All that snow didn't stop us, we went back out and dug out a fire pit in the snow, and began pulling the wood from under the deep snow and set it on fire! It burned, no problem. It's exhausting work - which surprised us; we were achy and totally spent at the end of each day's work. The boys had lots of fun too. Now we have one monstrous pile left in the pasture. On a windless day some weekend, that pile is going to go up in one glowing apocalyptic mushroom cloud. Our neighbors swear that it'll burn crazy-huge for about 15 minutes or so then will ease up. Apparently this type of event is no big deal around here. It scares the crap out of John and I, yet some small dark place inside of us can't wait to see it all go up...

Thank You, Josh!

2006-02-02T10:20:00.000-05:00

Josh and Lily Blum came for a visit with us a week or so ago. Josh came to help John renovate the attic and turn it into either a guest bedroom, or possibly, our bedroom. Josh and John moved some beams, created a beadboard ceiling, and framed in one end of the room. It was a lot of hard work that was pretty time consuming. John could never have done the work himself, and we are very grateful for Josh's help.

During the visit, we got to really bond with Lily, who came to feel like a little sister to the boys. Her personality was a perfect compliment to our existing family vibe. Mr. Henry came along for the visit, and the poor guy, who is allergic to grass, had a skin reaction to our back yard grass, and a digestive reaction to all the kitchen waste that I've been tossing out there all winter long. Pee-You!! Mr. Henry gave Asa a run for his money in the gas department. Even still it was a wonderful visit and we were sad to see them go back to Brooklyn and Cherie after five days. Thanks again, Josh!!

Happy New Year!

2006-01-05T10:37:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Sassa, John and I were able to go out on New Year's Eve. Sass hung out with Jake and Asa at G&Gs house in Columbia, and John and I went to the famous New Year's Eve party at the Randazzo's house. We got to see much of the old Tanglewood posse and catch up a bit. Some of us danced the night away to Paul's music mix, and some of us just took pictures of the people dancing! Lots of pictures. So many pictures. More than was needed. Pictures of things that you don't want to see. Lots of pictures of the Randazzo's ceiling. Lots of pictures of Glen Johnson's tongue. But still, it was great fun.

A Seven Valleys Christmas

2005-12-26T09:50:00.000-05:00

The Blums visited us for Christmas. It has become something of a tradition for our families... we visit them for Thanksgiving, and they visit us for Christmas. It is a good way to ensure that we get a chance to catch up with each others lives at least yearly. It's easy to lose contact with friends across state lines - even friends on the other side of town.

The boys love Lily so much - she is such a great playmate for them - she has no trouble at all keeping up with them.

We hosted Christmas/Hannukah dinner at our house. The Coburns, Sass, and Margaret came to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with us. This was my first dinner - and boy, was I naiive about the amount of work involved in pulling off such a meal. Thank you everyone who helped for all your hard work to make what ended up being a very delicious meal. Cherie makes the Thanksgiving meal look so effortless, that I thought that I could do that too; I quickly realized that I was in over my head. There were at least three people in the kitchen at all times working non-stop until the meal was complete. This was not what I had visualized before hand, but it did end up very delicious despite my lack of organization. Cherie was gracious enough to give me a couple smart tips, and I hope to do much better next year. I look forward to the challenge. Josh and Cherie made homemade Potato Latkes, then shared with everyone the tradition of lighting the Menorah and both said the Jewish prayer in Hebrew.

A Walk to the Christmas Tree Farm

2005-12-11T22:29:00.000-05:00

One thing I've been waiting for since we first saw our new home is getting this year's Christmas tree from our new neighbors down the road. We were able to hop on the garden tractor and drive over the one-lane bridge to Irene and Wayne's with the boys riding in the cart. Sadie the cat followed right behind. John brought along our chainsaw so he could finally use it, but unfortunately, when we found the perfect Fraser fir, he couldn't get it to start up. Luckily, a friendly family offered their hand saw to us so we could take home a tree.

Once we got the tree home, John was able to get the chainsaw working, so he was able to use it to trim some of the lower branches. Mom and the boys decorated the tree while John worked away at sanding the dining room floor.

Tile Removal in Dining Room

2005-12-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

Two days after we began our dining room tile removal work, we realized that the tiles were most likely made with asbestos so we needed to remove them in a very specific way to avoid possible future health issues. John was able to finish the job of removing the tiles, then he sanded the dining room and bathroom floors. He worked really hard and did a great job.

Let It Snow

2005-12-09T22:07:00.000-05:00

Yippee! It snowed about 3 inches! John was so happy to get to finally use the tractor to plow snow. He plowed our driveway, parking area, and our neighbor's driveway. He was surprised at how quickly he was able to clear it all out.

Jake got to stay home from school on Friday - he and Asa played outside for a good part of the day. The best part of playing in the snow for the boys was getting a mug of hot chocolate when they came inside.