The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I Get!

Wow! what a lot of catching up to do! Our trip to Gatlinburg was uneventful, except for missing the baby sisters wedding! we could not find the wedding chapel, after driving past it several times, and the businesses and the local gas station couldn't help us. Anyway, we managed to be 'FOUND' by the rest of the family just in the nick of time to go and have lunch with everyone else which was enjoyed by all, I think. Our trip home was uneventful. But when we arrived home we had an unpleasant surprise. We had asked a neighbor if she would could come and shut our chickens in just before dark. (She has chickens of her own.) She said, Sure, no problem! Said she would write it on her calender! When we arrived home at 11:45 PM, she had not been there at all, but it was too late! A nasty 'coon or two had already been there and done his dirty work. Our rooster was beaten up and bloody and sitting out in the dark of the chicken yard, two of our 8 week old young chickens had been killed and partially eaten. E was pretty upset. We always close up the chicken house and lock the chickens in their house every night to prevent this from happening. This was the first time this has happened to our chickens. The following nights E set the live trap out in the chicken yard and we caught three coons on three nights. I take them with me on my way to work and let them go, into the woods about 7 miles from home. So anyway...what is done is done.

This last week, we have been baling hay. Last year we got nearly 200 bales, but we only got about 95 this year. It is so dry the grass was thin and just didn't make much hay. The neighbors round bale their hay and last year they had 4 or 5 big bales off of one particular field that adjoins ours and this year they only got 1 bale off of it! E said at this rate it isn't worth all the sweat and aggrivation! The hay was so slick (because it is fescue grass) that the bales didn't hold together very well and several would come apart when you attempted to pick them up. But...that is done now too. We won't get another cutting unless we get some pretty fair amount of rain.

I have been riding Katie in the early morning now. There aren't any bugs annoying us as we ride. She runs from me when she sees me coming in the morning if I am carrying a halter! She goes and stands in a corner in the run-in shed and waits for me to come and get her! After a couple of weeks I think she will be better about it. I am changing her routine by riding so early and she would rather I'd leave her alone. Horses are such creatures of habit.

What is THAT ???

A couple of days ago Ed called from outside and said: BRING YOUR CAMERA!!!! I didn't know what was going on, but when I caught up to him he said look over there! And this peacock was in our pasture walking around! Wow! where did He come from? Our chickens were scared and were all squawking and making a lot of noise! They had never seen such a big chicken! I tried to get close to it, but it was too wary. I threw some corn out to it and it started to eat it, until the dog spotted it and gave chase. then, it flew up onto this electric pole that is in the pasture. It sat there for a couple of hours. Then while we were busy with other things it flew down and started to eat the corn again. (we had put the dog in the house). A couple of our uphill neighbors came down and it turned out that the bird belonged to one of them. She lives on the next road to the north of us. But she couldn't get him to go home either. He walked way down to the woods near the road and we think found a tree to roost in for the night. No sign of him since. No feathers either, so hopefully he went home.

Here is a closer look at him. He was very pretty. He has a loud, raucous call, and he would make that call while sitting on top of the power pole.

That was the only 'out of the ordinary' thing that happened all week.

I bought some vegetable plants for my garden yesterday, and hope to get them in the ground tomorrow. Tomatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers, cucumbers, and I want to plant some herbs this year. I've never cooked with fresh herbs, so this will be an experiment. I'll keep you updated.

Where is Spring?

I think everyone is fed up with this lingering winter. I know I'm tired of being cold and having to bundle up to go feed and take care of the horses. And they say there is global warming? Not in my neck of the woods!

Last Sunday our banty hen hatched out 4 chicks.It has been so nasty outside that they have been confined to their little house. The hen is getting stir crazy and wants out! Now if she can just hold on until Monday or Tuesday, it will warm up somewhat. They are as cute as can be! Sorry, no pictures yet. I will try to get some as soon as we can get her out of her house.

The spring bulbs that were given to me last fall, are coming up now. Since they were put in the ground late, they are later than everything else so they missed the major freezes. I expect some lovely flowers soon.

Here is a photo of father in law's Windmill Ranch. He repairs or builds them. He and E can be see on the corner of the back porch, grinding horseradish roots for sauce! This was taken a couple of weeks ago.

My truck let me down the other day. The electric door locks had been a bit sticky, for the last couple of weeks but would always open. Then, I was at the grocery store in the rain, and uh oh! it wouldn' open. The drivers door wouldn't open with the key. Thankfully the passenger side did! But I had to climb over the seat from the passenger side for a couple of days. Talk about turning me into a pretzel!! Anyway we got it fixed, at least for now. It did this once before, a long time ago and now if it ever happens again we are going to unhook all that electronic stuff and just use the key to open it.

I have commited myself to getting rid of the extra weight that I have been carrying around. I have started a new blog if anyone is interested in checking up on me. You can help keep me honest.

Here is the link: http://kountrylady.blogspot.com/

There's nothing new under the sun! Nuttin' to blog about. The boys and I are going outside everyday. They have a lot of fun, playing in the gravel, finding sticks, (they live in the woods) riding their little toy tractors, playing with the basketball, digging with their shovels, and just running around the yard. Since I haven't posted any photos of them lately, here is a couple that I took last week. They are little sweeties, well, most of the time!

I have been working with Maddie, our 4 year old filly. I have been doing groundwork, getting her ready for me to ride. She is doing very well, and she learns quickly. By the time I get ready to get in the saddle she should know what the reins are for, and what is expected of her. I don't really expect her to have any problems with it, as long as I take it slow and don't rush her.

My perennials are coming up and everything is growing and getting ready to bloom! I sure hope it doesn't freeze and kill everything! Spring is so early this year, but I love it!

Lovely Weekend!

This is Solomon, 19 years old. I have cared for him since before he was born. He was watching me getting his supper ready. This was taken about a month ago, when we had some rather cold weather. He and the girls were eager to get in their stalls for the night.
I took this one yesterday. After I get home from work, the horses will often come down to this corner of their pasture and wait for me to come outside. I was in the kitchen when I took this one of Katie. She couldn't see me with the camera. She was just watching the door and waiting.
Awww! Say 'peaches'! This was taken on Sunday. We had a lovely visit and ate way too much! We had wonderful spaghetti with meatballs; potatoes, carrots, and roast cooked in the crockpot; garlic bread; chocolate cake; cream puffs; pretzel crunch salad; persimmon bread and bars; sweet tater pie; applesauce cake for all the March birthdays; two kinds of iced tea. I'm probably forgetting something too. It was a lovely day with warm spring weather. But best of all was the wonderful companionship and good company! My parting shot, saying goodby at the back door. See you soon!

Where is Spring??

It sure doesn't seem to be lurking around here anywhere! I love the sunshine, but it is nasty cold outside and the wind blowing makes it feel that much colder! Even the crocus and daffodils haven't started to poke their heads out yet! If anyone knows what happened to it, let me know!!

This morning we drove up to Greencastle to the Tractor Supply store, and stopped at the Monon Restaurant to eat breakfast. It is a quaint little place and always busy. I had a Western Omelet with coffee. It was pretty tasty. E had biscuits and gravy with orange juice. Love to eat there, just for the atmosphere. They have train stuff all over the place, with other antiques mixed in too.

Last Monday I took Taco to the vet for an evalution. We left him there and she did surgery to remove the mass on Tuesday. Since he had to be inside (he is a barn cat) for the next 24 hours, we left him there and I picked him up on Wednesday after work. The area above his eye is still swollen, but I think it is gradually going down. He still can only open his eye a little bit. I think he was glad to get rid of that thing! He is his usual annoying self. Meowing to be picked up and held, constantly! He is eleven years old this year. We didn't spend the 70.00 dollars it would have cost to find out what it was. Just glad it is gone. Vet said it would just kill her not to know what it was! Well, she can spend her nickles to find out, if she wants to know that bad!

I'm itching to get back in the saddle again! The horses need more exercise and I need it more than they do! But all the mud, makes it so hard to do. Can't

ride ANYWHERE around here without making deep pock marks in the ground. Sure don't want them in the hay field, or anywhere else. So...we wait...until it dries up some more. I wish my ship would come in! I would like to have some of those dollars to put some gravel down and a couple of loads of sand in the round pen. We could take care of some of this mud!

I got a call at 10:00 PM on Thursday night from eastern Kentucky. I was brushing my teeth, just about ready to hit the hay! Well, it was 12:30 when her cell phone died and my phone went dead! Nothing new, just talking about her dogs, and sheep and grandkids and her own kids. Youngest grand children are 14 months, and 3 months. She did say thanks for the photos of the dogs. One of them was recently killed on the highway in front of her house. No, it was't the one we took to her. It was her youngest son's dog and he is taking it pretty hard. A female, but she said she has two puppies from her that look just like her and one will be his.

The horses want their supper, so I guess I will head out to the barn and clean stalls and feed them. Then feed us when we get back in the house. No idea what is for supper!

This has been a pretty 'ho hum' week. Most of the snow is gone, but it sure feels like winter out there. 35 degrees and rain. The rain hasn't started yet, but we are supposed to get up to an inch or so. Yuck! We have lots of mud already. My daffodils that were 4 inches tall in early January have completely disapeared. I hope they will come back and bloom. The cold weather really did a number on them.

The log splitter that E has, has been giving him fits, so this morning he took it back to the repair shop for them to try again. This is only the third time it has been there this winter! As soon as it gets warmed up, it starts to choke down, and will stall under a load. He has tried everything he knows, so maybe they can figure it out again. Third time is a charm, right?

My poor horse, Solomon. Somehow he has got a nasty gash on his face about an inch above his left eye. It has only torn the skin, there is no damage to his eye, but it sure looks bad. I couldn't find anything in the run-in shed that was protruding, like a nail or anything. Don't know what happened to him.

On Monday Taco (barn cat) is going to the vet for an evaluation. He has a large growth on his head above his eye. It is getting bigger and is now forcing his eye shut. His eye isn't involved, except from the weight of it above his eye. The vet won't take it off without looking at him first. We will see what she has to say about it. This growth is about 2 inches long and as big around as my thumb. It is centered about half way between his ear and his right eye. It has only come up on his head since about October. It hasn't seemed to bother him until now, when he can't open his right eye. So we will have it looked at on Monday.

I have been planning to make some Corn Cob Jelly since before Christmas. I didn't have time to get it done in time for Christmas gifts. I just today got it done. It is so pretty to look and it tastes good too. Ed likes it and his step mother has asked me for it. She absolutely loves it. It has a fruity taste, but different than anything else.

It is still winter!! I wanted to wake up this morning and find it 50 degrees! No such luck! It is SNOWING! EEEK! I hate winter!

When I woke up this morning, ED was MAKING waffles! He had his Mayberry cookbook out and was stirring up a waffle batter! That is a first! They were good too, with butter and maple syrup. Yum! (I usually sleep in on Saturday mornings.) Getting up at 5:30 is for the birds, at least until there is some daylight.

An update on the missing chicken. Our next door neighbor (the one that owns that awful dog) came over carrying a garbage pail, and said guess what I found? She had found the hen, over by her barn. There were no marks on the hen, that stupid dog just killed it and left it. Played with her I would guess. But that dog is GONE now. Thank goodness!

Did I mention that I hate winter? We have had a very hard time trying to find sawdust for the horse stalls. Last weekend we went to Rural King and bought some pelleted bedding. You have to spray them with water, then they expand and fill the stall. I had never used them before, but they smell so good and they really expanded to fill the stalls. But they are expensive so this was an emergency measure. We had tried to get someone to haul us some sawdust for weeks, but they couldn't or wouldn't. But yesterday one of the two guys finally could get some and brought it and dumped it in front of the barn. When we got home we started shoveling, and shoveling, and shoveling! It was a huge truck load! More than we could get in the barn! And it was full of chips and splinters and pieces of wood.
We shoveled all we could and the rest is still sitting there! It may last us until next October. But now we have plenty of bedding!

E has just opened the kitchen window and is trying to do away with a chipmunk that has been coming to the birdfeeder. He hates those little varments. All morning we have heard one in the walls of the house, chirping away! Now he hates them even more, because it disturbed his nap!!

I haven't been on here for quite a while. It just seems that there is not much to write about, but I will try to catch up a little.

The weather has been nasty, therefor I've pretty much stayed in the house. Yesterday it sleeted ALL day, then last night we had two inches of snow on top of an inch of ice! EEEK! But today the sun is shining and everything is sparkling and glistening! It is so beautiful! It was 9 degrees this morning and has at least warmed up into the teens.

The horses stayed inside yesterday, and we turned them out while we cleaned the stalls last evening. They ran, bucked, kicked, and farted and had a grand time, then came inside again for the night and had their supper. Today they are out for the day, enjoying the sunshine.

When Ed went to feed the chickens on Monday evening, he discovered that something had pulled the wire away from the side of the chicken house and one of the hens was missing. It was his favorite hen, a very pretty black and white one. There was no sign of a struggle, no feathers anywhere in the pen or the chicken house, no blood, no NOTHING! There were canine prints (dog?) in the snow, but not much. No sign of any thing! I walked out into the pasture, behind the barn, in the back pasture, looking for tracks, and there was nothing. Then, I found a few scratches in the snow, about 20 feet from the chicken house and 3 white and 3 or 4 black feathers. There were some marks in the snow, that would have come from the wing tips hitting the snow. There was no blood, no nothing else. Ed went to the house and called our next door neighbor and she said she bets she knew who it was. One of her dogs. But she said she had seen a strange chocolate lab running around here that day too. But back to her dog, this dog chases her horses something awful. That dog is a bad one and she very well could have been the culprit. Since there were no tracks anywhere else, she could have walked back to the neighbors and no one would have been known she was here. The neighbor came over check it out, and she said she will find another home for her. She called later that evening, and said she had. Ed was upset enough to shoot that dog on sight! Even without actual proof that she did it!! In the years that we have had chickens here, this is the first time we have lost one.

Here are a few photos of our recent activites and the ice.

We have been watching this big buck at the deer feeder for weeks. He didn't show up until hunting season was over though!
This is the scene every evening starting about 4:30. They are lots of fun to watch. They rear up and paw each other and chase and smack each other with their front hooves. Wish we could get it on video!
Got snow? We have 2 inches. That is better than 2 feet! The birds are sure enjoying the feeders.

I feel pretty awful today because I have a nasty cold that I got from my boys. And my cat died. Toby, the black and white barn cat was found laying on the hay in the loft, gone on to 'greener pastures'.

Nuttin going on here. Just the usual going to work stuff.

Whats new on Sinkhole Acres? Nothing very noteworthy. Nothing to blog about. I am enjoying my birdfeeders. This one is attached to the kitchen window with suction cups and I have Niger seed in it for the Goldfinches. Here is a male and female, the male is in his winter plumage. I just learned something this week. I didn't know that the male goldfinch changed his color in the fall! In the summer he is lemon yellow all over. Now he is a dull olive like the female. I love to watch them, especially this close up! Aren't they pretty?

I have 14 gallons of mulberries in the freezer that I am starting to make into jelly. The guy that I used to work with on the horse farm, Enrique, picked them and put them in his freezer. He asked me months ago if I would make them into jelly for half of it. Said he would pay for the sugar and jars. So now I have to get this done before Christmas. I have some of it thawed out and ready to cook today, about 4 gallons of berries. That works out to about 6 batches of jelly.

On Friday evening we attended the Christmas party for the company E works for. It was held at the American Legion here in town. It was interesting to watch some of the people dancing when the band was playing. Especially one older couple. He was using a walker, but he also wanted to dance. They parked the walker, his wife took his arm and they slowly circled the dance floor. He kept time with his free arm, but his feet were too slow to keep up the beat. He danced several dances with her like that and looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself! Since I don't dance, I just enjoyed my steak and watching everyone else.

Ok, gotta go and get started on my jelly.

Here are my little guys. Aren't they cute? They are just so huggable and such fun to be around. I took these photos on Wed. so they are current. It has been a while since I posted any photos of them. They are getting to be such big, little boys!

One day early last week this bird was sitting six inches from my kitchen window on this twig. It was a wet cold and raining afternoon. I suppose it was sitting here fluffed up, napping and trying to stay warm. When I made a small noise it looked at me, startled and flew away. 

Balls of Fluff

Last Saturday E found these cute babies when he went to a farm where a friend of his stores his shelled corn. There are no houses in the area. E was filling his bag of corn to feed the deer, when these babies came running up to him! They were glad to see a human! He brought them home and we had them for several days, until we could locate a foster home for them through the local Humane Agency in our county.

These little buggers really did some damage to my house plants. They tore off the leaves of my philodendren and dumped over the pots of some of the others. I thought I had moved them out of the way! No way! They were all over the living room, climbing up on anything that would hold them, streaking around the furniture, and attacking each other with vicious baby kitten ferocity! Then, collapsing in a heap to sleep and regroup for another all out attack on the living room!

These babies were tiny, probably no more than 4 or 5 weeks just fitting in the palm of your hand. Barely eating dry kitten food. They were so soft and cuddly. And as little as they were they would purr when you picked them up to cuddle them! But alas, we couldn't keep them, so we found a foster home for them through the Humane Society in our county.

Our Thanksgiving

We got up early and ate a quick breakfast of cereal for me and Peaches and Cream oatmeal for E. Then I made two dozen eggs that I had cooked the night before, into deviled eggs. We stopped at Rural King in Martinsville to purchase a couple of Christmas presents for the grandchildren.

Then, it was off again to Lebanon to the familys pitch-in Thanksgiving dinner. We were told that no one was bringing deviled eggs, but two more people did anyway. So there were LOTS of eggs. There was plenty of food to go around, as several brought more than one dish. There were about 30 people, some of which after 10 years of being in this family, I still have to ask E their names! Some of them I only see once or year, sometimes less than that.

It was a good day, warm, sunny and unusual for mid November. We drove home, a two hour drive, and fed our horses, chickens, dogs and cats and called it a day. We brought home enough leftovers for another meal or two. Yes, I'm ashamed to say, I ate too much. My bad!

Boxed Puppy!

This is Missy. She has decided to be an indoor dog this winter. Since she didn't have a bed of her own, she took over the cats bed! Does she look comfy? Well, we did go and buy her a bed of her own and she loves it! But I thought this was cute.

Here are the photos from McCormick's Creek State Park. I could not get them to load for the last two days! Arrrrgh!!

McCormick,s Creek State Park

Saturday was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly, the air was sharp and clear, the trees were in their fall glory!
E and I went to McCormick's Creek State Park for the first annual "McCormick's Flavor", an event to celebrate the joys of outdoor cooking. But...we couldn't find it! Then discovered that I didn't check the date! It is NEXT weekend!!! Since we had already paid our 5.00 to get in the park, we drove around the park and took photos. It is truly a beautiful park, and it is 5 miles from our house!

Here is a couple of photos that I took while we were in the park.

Hiking In Autumn

Last Sunday my baby sister and I went to Greens Bluff Nature Preserve and hiked down a beautiful narrow trail to the Bluffs. There are large hemlock trees growing on the face of this huge cliff, overhanging the creek. Here are a couple of her photos. The trees were just starting to change color so there isn't much in these photos, but it was a quiet, restful, beautiful place. Come and go with me, and we will do it again, now that the trees have really changed. We can walk her from my house. It is about a 30 minute walk, maybe a little more.