Days Fly By

Ah, yes, the days do fly by.  Christmas has come and gone, with family and friends, food, visiting and games, watching the youngest at age 5 1/2 enjoy his new toys and entertain the adults sitting around.  I gave everyone a jar with a homemade hot chocolate or a coffee mix, so I hope they remember the good times we had on the 25th, 2010 when they drink a cup of brew.

We attended the funeral of a friend with whom I went to country grade school for 7 yrs. and to high school.  She had some rough times, including cancer and an amputation.  I visited her a few days before she died, not knowing it would be the last time.  She had enjoyed life, however, and that is what I will remember.

2010 is promising to go out with some bad weather.  We are in a weather watch from Thursday night to Saturday morning, with promises of snow, maybe ice, and wind chills of 10 to 20 below.  Now that is cold!  It is a balmy day today, tho, at 43 degrees and no wind.  That is the saying about SD.  If you don't like the weather, just wait a day or so, and you will have a change, no promise if for better or worse, however!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve day, and preparations are going well at my house.  We are expecting 23 people.  The tree and lights are sparkling.  Tables are up with red cloths, gold napkins and gold ball centerpieces.  The turkey and ham are thawing, the squash is in the oven, to be put in the crock pot for tomorrow.  Homemade ice cream ingredients are ready to be put together.  Potatoes will go in the oven to be baked. Garden carrots yet to be cleaned and sliced.  Buns and a pumpkin roll are ready.  The rest of the great dinner is made by the families coming tomorrow..green bean casserole, dressing, salads, candies, desserts.  Salami, cheeses, crackers, rolled pickles, veggies and dip on the appetizer table.
We will be doing a matching game to find your dinner partner, should be fun, along with fun favors on the table. We are grateful that all of our children and grandchildren will be here, along with my Mom and Dad; and that the SD weather promises no snow tomorrow!
Church services are at 5:00 tonight, to remember why we are celebrating at this time of year; for Jesus Christ, who was born and died for us.
Happy Holidays, everyone!

Marshmallows

A young farm couple in our neighborhood have a baby I have occasionally watched while her mother is gone. She dropped me off a gift today.  Some delicious ginger cookies, a pretty Christmas mug, with a jar of homemade cocoa mix and homemade marshmallows!  Have you ever tasted homemade marshmallows?  They are very good, and no ingredients with strange names!  How many people are making a gift for a neighbor this season? And how many people know how to make marshmallows?!
Thanks, Trudi!  You are a sweetheart!

Snow

The snow fell all morning, and when I walked to the mailbox, there was no wind. It was a beautiful afternoon.  The snow had fallen straight down, about 3 inches of big flakes, was pristine, white, and had no marks on it yet.  No animal tracks, deer, rabbit, possum or cat;  no human footsteps; no tire tracks.  I picked some snow up, and it was almost sticky enough to make a snowball, which I did.  When I walked back, the snow was disturbed by my previous steps, but still beautiful.
Of course, those in northern SD or in MN were probably not calling this beautiful, as they got a lot more, and had more to begin with.

Dad and Mom

My parents are 95 years, going on 96.  They live happily in their home, get out to the Sr Center, to Church, to play bridge, and entertain at card parties.  We visited there yesterday.  It is so much fun to listen to Dad reminisce about the past. The time frame we like to listen to is the early 1930's, which for him, is over 80 years ago.  He talked about his first corn picking job.  He was paid 1 3/4 cents a bushel, and yes, you read that right.  This was hand picking, walking along side the wagon, picking 2 rows at a time.  Horses, of course, pulled the wagon, no driver.  The man picking controlled the horses with voice commands.  The picker furnished his own gloves, one of which had a hook on it for catching the corn.  The husk also got pulled off before being thrown into the wagon. He described how you catch the ear with one hand, how you break and pull the husk before throwing into the wagon, which had bang boards to catch the high flying ears.  Roger asked him if he overthrew the wagon, if he had to go around and pick up the ear, but he said that did not happen. :)
He also talks about his High School years, when he worked out.  That means he worked for his room and board, milking cows and doing chores before leaving for school.  He hitched up a team, and drove the "school bus" to pick up students for school.  Patten was a big school in the countryside, where both grade and high school students attended.  He delivered students home after school, and back to do his chores for the evening.  He had some adventures with bad weather, and with a singletree breaking during a storm on the way home, and other snags along the way.   (Singletree--a wooden bar swung at the center from a hitch on a wagon and hooked at either end to the traces of a horse's harness) ...  For his Senior year, he changed High Schools, also working for room and board, and walking 1 1/2 miles to town to school.

Cattle

Yesterday we brought our cows in.  Brent and Roger, with help from a neighbor, sorted the calves off the cows.  The vet came and pregnancy tested the cows.  The calves are now weaned into one yard, where they will be fed corn silage daily, and the cows to another. The will also get fed silage and hay, and in a few days, turned back out to the winter pasture.  The bulls were moved to their own yard for the winter.  Four cows were open, that is, not bred.  We loaded them up and took them to the Sale Barn to be sold.  It was a noisy night around here, the cows and calves all bellering in their side by side yards.
The cows quieted down this AM after they were fed bales of hay. They will give up bawling soon, as I think they are actually glad to have their calves weaned off.   The calves got their silage in the cement feed bunks, and almost all of them came up to eat.  They will bawl for another couple of days and then settle down as well.
This does mean that I have to dress up for the cold and watch gates while Roger feeds hay in the yards!
It is nice to have this done before we get our next snow, altho the temp now is in the 20's or so, and promises to stay cold, at least through Christmas.

Soup

The wind is blowing and howling here in SD.  Roger fed the cows, and came in and pronounced "It is cold out there!"  He retired to his chair, and I watched & listened to my TV quilting shows.
Weather like this calls for soup, so I browsed the frig and my recipes, and decided to make broccoli soup with the wilting heads I found.  An hour later, broccoli and onion, some carrots I found, and a piece or two of cauliflower I found, are cooked.   Made some thickener with whole wheat flour, added chicken bouillon, thyme, some milk and cheddar cheese, and noon lunch was on the table, along with a hamburger from our own beef.  Tasted good, and good for us!

Kidney Disease

   I have a first cousin, Barbara, whose husband died at age 41 of polycystic kidney failure.  She has two daughters who inherited this disease.  They are now 56 and 57 years old, and have daily dialysis.
.  The dialysis is the peritoneal dialysis, done while they are sleeping, for a 7 hour period.  You get to hook yourself up to the machine, and saline solution goes into your belly, and then drains back out.  This is the lower level version of dialysis, not the blood circulating out of you as done in the hospital setting.  They are both on kidney donation lists, waiting. They are both active yet, and still continue to work.
  If you are not currently an organ donor, consider being one.  What better way to leave a legacy, than to give life to someone who has no options.  Carry a donor card, put it on your driver's license if that is an option, and tell the people closest to you, as they will be in the position of carrying out your wishes.

Due West

Last night the Pheasant Crest Lodge where I work during the hunting season, hosted a few people to a Country music jam session.  The lead singer for DUE WEST,  Tim Gates, and 2 songwriters/producers from Nashville were there for the hunt and the jam.   One of the S/P was Jason Steers, who produces the Due West albums, and has written or collaborated on many of the songs.  The Due West men are also songwriters, and all of the songs on this album are their own.

Tim and the 2 S/P sang and played mostly songs they have written, but some other songs as well.  They sometimes talked about the inspiration for the song.  They told stories about the songs they have written, and other tidbits. They also talked a little how song writers sit around singing their songs to groups of people who are a lot like themselves, songwriters, so they do a lot of critiquing when listening.  They appreciated an audience like us, that just wanted to sit and listen.

It made Roger and I remember when we were in Nashville walking the streets past all the places with music going on inside, no cover to listen or go in.  We were also in the famous Bluebird Café where singers/songwriters play every night.

Due West has a new album out, one song is “Bible and the Belt”, written by Tim.  I think this song has gone to #35 on the charts.  Jason sang one of his songs "Jesus and Babies" that we may hear some day on the radio as well.

Due West will be singing the National Anthem at the NFR in Las Vegas on Thursday, Dec 9^th, 2010.  

So you all in Vegas this week, remember,  I served Tim Gates his breakfast, and he eats like everyone else!!

Watch for these guys if you are country music fans, they have a great sound!

Deer Hunting

Deer hunting season opened last week, and Roger, 2 sons and a grandson, each shot a deer on our land.  If you don't like hunting, look at it this way.  These are the animals that have destroyed my garden the past few years, the animals that tromp on and ruin our corn silage pile that will feed our cows this winter, and the animals that are so terrifically hard on our trees, from eating leaves to sharpening or cleaning their antlers.  SD would be overrun by deer if we did not have a season to reduce the population.
Today, we made deer jerky, cut steaks and loins for the freezer and made a large batch of brats for the winter.  This is a lot of work of course, making me admire the workers that do this type of work every day for their living.  Dressing an animal, cutting it up, wrapping, making salami or brats, physical work, and involves a lot of standing, probably on cement, and cleaning up every day.

Cold

Cold day, this day before Thanksgiving.  More snow flurries, icy in many places in the State.  A day to stay inside.  Painted my office, trying to go thru, throw and organize.  What an accumulation of paper!!

I made pumpkin roll up cakes to take to my sister's tomorrow. Have to put in the filling yet, cream cheese, powdered sugar and kool whip.   Baked squash from the abundance I raised this summer.  It is in the crockpot, ready to heat.  My brother from Texas is here, will see him tomorrow.

Hope the weather lets up, and allows for safe travel for everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving!!

First Snow

We had our 1st snow this morning.  Fortunately, my calendar was empty for today, so I did not have to leave the house.  The ground was covered, with some big flakes over the day, adding a little more.  The snow fluffed in front of my feet as I walked to the mailbox. 
The ice underneath yesterday caused car accidents in parts of SD during the day and last night.  It always seems to take a little while for drivers to remember how to drive in winter weather.  Takes the first snow and ice to remind everyone.
I used my free day to catch up on computer book work, reply to some emails, and continued to put away and hang things back up after painting.  I have several boxes of books that have to be taken somewhere, and all the pictures of kids and grandkids and ancestors that I took down are in boxes with no plans to put them back up.

Winter is coming!

The weather turned here this week, to give us a taste of the coming winter.  It got windy, then cold, then last night a little precipitatjion that put a very fine spray of ice over everything.  It was deceiving, as you could not see the slick, until your feet started to move in odd directions.  Pastor sprinkled ice melt over the cement parking lot, but it was still a little treacherous after Church. 
I moved my apples and squash from the garage to the porch for the night, and they are still on the porch.  The temp is 26 degrees this PM, so it will get colder tonight.
The gerbera daisies are now gone, as are the arugula leaves, laying on the ground, cold and icy.

A New Look

Whoopee, Keke painted for me last week.  Our small house has rooms that run from one to another without much break.  Keke is very good with colors, and an excellent painter. Starting in the front room with a light brown color in the dining room, then to a dark gray around the front door, then back to the brown for the dining room, but changing to the gray for the soffitt, and around into the kitchen with the gray, back to brown for the hallway.  It looks very nice, seem to look alike at times, then change to the two colors, depending on the natural light or the LED lights.  She did the bedroom, 3 walls in the brown as well, and one wall is a dark barn red.
She seemed to easily slide her paintbrush along, with no goofs or errors, rarely used a dropcloth.  She repaired a wall in the bedroom, replaced some sheetrock and mudded up the seams.  She is a jack of all trades, as she also lays floors, builds things, and can do wiring.  Thanks, Keke!

Rodeo

At the Brookings rodeo, Keith Iseley was the clown. The announcer and the clown keep up a running banter.throughout the whole act.   Keith had Brice and Alex help him with the act between events.  Brice "sold" him a horse, which turned out to be a very small pony.  Keith tried to "buy" another horse from another man, who came into the arena with Alex.  That man left, and the Keith started to leave with the pony, and Alex still in the arena.  The announcer stopped him, saying, "Now, don't leave that little boy, he has always wanted a pony!" The clown ends up giving the rope with the pony attached, and Alex left the ring.  Alex did a very good job with his part, considering he talks all the time in an ordinary situation, and in this he did not talk.

Rodeo

We attended the PRCA Rodeo at Brookings over the weekend.  Alex, our 5 1/2 year old, went on his first boot scramble.  There were about 12 kids, 5 yrs to 8 in the rodeo arena.  Take off your boots, walk with the clown to the designated start point.  When the clown says Go!, run down, find your boots, put them on, and run back.  Alex got one boot, another boy got Alex's 2nd boot, so Alex put the other boy's on, and away they ran.  The parents did not discover the wrong boots until all the kids were sent back to their seats, but they made contact at the announcer's stand, so all was well.  Alex had fun, and is ready to do another boot scramble.

Painting

Whoo Hoo!  Keke is painting at my house.  It is a mess right now, a small house, and lots of "stuff".  The middle of the living room is completely full, 3 bookshelves emptied (so we could move them), the walls cleaned off, etc.  The living room has its first coat, a very pretty brown.  My rooms run together, without walls, living room into dining room, kitchen, some cupboards in between, and then down the hall.  She will use 2 colors to pull them together. The second color is called Mexican sand, a taupish gray, if there is such a color name.  She has lots of ideas, and experience to go with the ideas.  She will also paint the bedroom, trying to work a little red into the scheme, and Roger has decided to withdraw his objection to that, so I think we will go for one wall in a barn red.  I better like it, as that will take 3 coats.  Again, not a big room and lot of windows.  She will be back tomorrow, having put on some primer in the kitchen and dining room.  Can't wait!!

Quilt Club

Prairie Needlers Quilt club meeting was tonight, and we had a very good time!  A neighboring town's group came, so we had 32 people.  Almost everyone brought some Sew and Tells.  The beautiful items ranged from large and small quilts, hand quilted, tied and quilted on a long arm to baskets, bags, table runners, and lots of other things.  We had fun visiting and exchanging ideas with women who have the same interests as we do...cutting up big pieces of material and sewing the pieces back together!

Wind Farm

There is a wind farm being built, with the westernmost tower 5 miles directly north of us.  It has been interesting, while driving to work to see the progression.  It seemed slow at first, but then I could see more than a half dozen towers.  This week they are using a huge crane to put up the blades.  There are 3 blades, and they are assembled onto the head while on the ground, then lifted and put in place. 
The land is rolling, so I cannot see any further east to see how those towers are coming.  There will be a total of 108 when they are finished.
The transmission line has been laid, it looks like.  It snakes along, and will collect power from each tower, and take it the main station, which is three counties over, and covers a lot of miles.  It will feed into the same place that another wind farm does that was built several years ago to the east of these towers.  I think there are 36 in that farm, so this number is nearly triple.
It has certainly changed the landscape.  You see the huge towers, and not the land below.
South Dakota certainly has enough wind to handle these towers.

Election Night

My daughter stopped for an overnight visit last night.  We dined on a warm crusty French bread, sliced for dipping in a delicious oil and herb mixture, had my homemade black bean soup, opened a bottle of wine, and watched the Election results nationwide, as well as South Dakota's.
We watched some of the winning electors talk about how they would now go to Washington and change things.  If only that would or could happen!   The sad part is that we, the voters, exchanged politicians for politicians, none of whom can work with each other for the good of this country.
Kim and I did have a good visit.  We rarely have the time to just sit and talk.  Love her!!

Reprieve

We did get high winds, and snow on Oct. 26 & 27th.  Some ditches here have drifts along the fences.  Temperature for 2 mornings was 25 degrees.  The rest of the snow has melted.  I think they got more snow in northern SD, however.
We did get a reprieve, tho, and have had several nice days.  We got the caulking nearly done, the last window trim painted, the frozen garden hoses thawed out, and I drained the water from them and got them hung up.
Garden is not cleaned off, but there is so much foliage, and it is only frozen, not dried.  Cleaning garden will have to wait awhile.  I don't have any way to grind it for the compost, and don't have enough room in the compost ring for all the garden throwaways unless they dry down, and maybe not then.  May have to start a new pile.
I did throw some ground hay over the carrots, but noticed that something is eating on the parts that are out of the ground, so think these had better get dug sooner than later!
I hung a basket of washing on the clothesline this AM, and wind was chilly, reminding me that winter is around the corner.  (Love the fresh smell of line dried clothes).

Chilly Fall Night in SD

The cold wind blew very hard today.  On the way home from work, my car shook as I drove.  Now the first winter weather advisory is out for the north part of our State.  It will get cold here tonight as well, and tomorrow promises only temps in the 30's and 40's.  However, the weekend forecast puts us back up in the 60's.  The football playoffs were tonight, a very cold, windy and blustery night to play that game.  Looked like more running games than passing ones tonight.
I brought into the house, my three pots of Gerber daisies.  I just can't bear the thoughts of those pretty flowers freezing tonight.  One pot is heavy, so I am not going to do this too many times.  I had some moss roses in with them, and they are only seed pods and stems, so will pull them out before I put the pots back on the step.
Well, we will see tomorrow if anyone gets snow tonight!!

Rain

We got a little shower of rain today, really needed it.  The dust was so bad on our gravel roads that when you would meet someone, especially a truck, if the wind was in the right direction, the dust cloud enveloped you, and you were blinded temporarily.  You had better not be going very fast, so that you could stop, until you could get your bearings and see exactly where you were.  Fortunately, the wind removed the dust rather quickly.

When I was on the ladder a few days ago, painting more trim, the trucks were flying by here with loads of corn they were combining, delivering it to a neighbor that has a cattle feedyard.  The dust was flying around them as well.  They were happy for the dryness of the fields, tho, letting them get their crop out.  This fall has been nice for farmers in that regard, they were able to do fall work without rain and cold hampering them.

Church Youth Services

The 29 young people at our Church, 7th graders through Seniors in High School, led the Church Service today.  They sang, led the responsive Scripture readings and prayers, helped with Communion, the children's sermon and taking of the offering. They did a skit called "The Jesus Suits", reminding us all to keep on our Jesus suits when we leave Church for the week ahead. They did an excellent job, and it was an enjoyable hour.  
After Services, they invited the congregation to a biscuits and gravy breakfast with juice, coffee and/or lattes. It was delicious. 
Thank you to our Pastor, and the Youth leaders that work with her leading this great group of young people.

Book Club

Our Book Club, the Undercover Page Turners read the book, "What is the What?"  It was story about Valentino Achak Deng, and the lost boys of Sudan.  This heart wrenching fictionalized memoir was based on Deng's life.   Valentino was seven years old when he fled his village with thousands of other children and trekked hundreds of miles on foot. lived for over a decade in a refuge camp.  The United States, along with some other countries has given sanctuary and political asylum to many of them.  We listened to him talk, along with the author, Dave Eggers at a Book Festival. The war in Sudan killed 1.9 million civilians and forced over 4 million people to flee their homes.

Last night, our club met and watched the film, "God Grew Tired of Us".  This was about 4 young men who were also in the same camps as Valentino.  The film concentrated mostly on what happened to them after they came to the United States.  Think of it, you live your entire life without anything we take for granted, and then suddenly it is all before you....electricity, TV, enough food to eat, transportation other than just your fee;  to say nothing of a culture entirely foreign.  The film was very interesting.  These four young men are like Valentino and those in the book...they want to get an education and do something for their country, for the people they left behind, the ones just like themselves who were not lucky enough to get the opportunity they now have.

Frost in Central SD

We got our first frost of the season last night.  It frosted what was left of the squash vines, and the outside of the tomatoes show black and curly.  Still time to pick the last tomatoes tho.  We have the squash picked up, and have apples yet to pick.  The first frosts do not hurt them, makes them sweeter.   The carrots are still bright and green, they can go much longer before being dug.  I have dug them out of the snow on Thanksgiving week, and they were sweet and tasty.
Most of the deciduous trees show various colors now, faded green to bright yellows.  Some flowers hanging on yet...cosmos, some calendulas that did not dry up, and on my step, the Gerbera daisies in pots.  Wonder if I took them in, how long they would bloom in the house?   Not enough light, I imagine, now with shorter days.

House Fix Up

Our house is now about 50 years old, which is young in comparison with a lot of houses in SD.  However, it seems now that when you fix one thing, another is ready for attention.  We replaced a window on the east, now we see there are some windows on the north that have rotting sills.  More caulking is needed around the house. Looks like wood and siding dry out with age and shrink back.  In addition, the previous caulk dries and shrinks. The sons that were here pheasant hunting "worked" for their keep; did a lot of scraping of the caulk.  Now Roger & I will get back on the ladder, caulk up and do some protective painting.  By the looks of the siding on the north side, it is soon going to have to be painted, too much weathering, hail at times, have taken a toil.
Inside the house, all walls need to be painted again, and we have a sink drain pipe that corroded and is now leaking. (Plumber on the way for this one!)  They also worked on the camper hitch, and replaced a garage door, so that is ready for winter, which is creeping up on us.
Nice to have your "kids" come home for a visit.  The time is too short, there are always jobs that need to be done on the farm or on the house. We appreciate having them home no matter how short the time is.

Pheasant Hunting

Opening day of pheasant hunting in South Dakota was a balmy, beautiful fall wonderland of colored trees, crunchy grass and corn stalks, with Ruger running ahead to flush out birds. The hunting party consists of 7 adults and teenagers with guns, 2 women walking along to help the hunters, and 6 1/2 year old Colby, and 5 1/2 year old Alex, having a great time with the adults. All dressed in orange, they made a stop at the house for cold drinks and snacks, water for the dog, and headed back out. I did some odd jobs outside to enjoy the day and put potatoes in the oven for a baked potato bar for supper. Bev contributed a spicy buffalo chicken dish. We had carrots and little yellow tomatoes from my garden, and crock pot baked beans. Susie brought bagels and made some dips. Birthday cake and ice cream for Troy, who turns 40 next week, finished off the meal.
They came in with their limit for the day, picture taking all around, cleaned birds, and exchanged hunting stories. The meal was delicious. It was a very nice day.

Compost

Roger brought up an old tractor tire rim, which I think I can use to make a compost pile. It is about 40 inches in diameter, 18 inches high. We put it in the garden area. As a habit from my parents, I bury my garbage in the garden, but we have not had rain for some weeks now, and the ground is as hard as a rock. Tomorrow, he will bring me up a tractor scoop of ground hay, as I already have some garbage thrown in to start this. What else do I need, peat moss? Of course I would have to buy that,so will just the hay work? Do I need to have some air to this, I could put boards under the rim to raise it up a little. Advice anyone?

Long Lives

The weekend flew by. We had Sunday dinner (noon meal to all of you) with hubby's brother, sister and their spouses. Lots of good conversation and laughs. His sister lives in Montana, so don't see them often. Later, to visit my 95 year old mother and father at their home, then to see a friend from West River who was here for her 93 year old mother's funeral. We had a discussion about the longevity of the people that live here in central South Dakota. Born in the early 1900's, they have seen a lot of life changes that we take for granted...running water in the house, w/indoor plumbing, electricity, transportation from horses to what it is today.
My Dad drove a school bus, which was a wagon with horses hitched to it. He worked for his room and board, did chores before dawn, and left to drive the bus to school, after he had the horses hitched up. At school, unhitch, go to school for the day, then do the same thing, hitch back up and deliver his charges home, take care of the horses. Then evening chores, which involved milking the cows again, plus any other farm chores in the 1920's. Teenagers today would stay out of trouble if they had this much to do every day.

Kindergarten Teacher

Troy and his son Alex visited this weekend. Alex is 5 1/2, has been in kindergarten for about 5 weeks. He asked me for plain paper, had me staple pages together, because he wanted to make a book. He started writing, did the title of the book, Max and the Crystal, and wrote Author, then his own name. He asked how to spell words, and Troy suggested he use the Turtle method, and he began sounding out word after word. He wrote on the left side and illustrated his book on the right side. He would turn the page, and tell me the lines for that page, in long complicated sentences. He would sound out every letter of a word. I kept trying to get him to shorten the sentences, but the story just kept getting longer. Max finally found the Crystal, but then someone promptly tried to take it from him again. (Max, spelled MSC, is a dog, and he drew Max on every page) He also has a great understanding of the ! point for an exciting sentence, and explained to me that the dot meant the end of a sentence because that's what his teacher says. Then he wanted me to read it to him, "because I can't read yet". I want to meet his teacher! He also has parents that read to him every day, talked to him in complete sentences from the day of his birth, and give him long explanations on any subject that comes up. And of course, he is my grandson, so I think he is brilliant!:) His teacher has about 20 students, and my hat is off to her!

Today's Sights, Smells and Sounds

Sighted** Outside the Hospital, an older lady, maybe 70's, maybe older, hunched over and leaning heavily on a cane...smoking a cigarette!
Smelled** On an elevator in another definite non smoking building, the smell of cigarette smoke from a previous rider.
Sound**Mountain lions in SD, beware, the allowed kill has been increased from 40 animals to 50 this year.
This all, on a beautiful, warm day, breaking record temps for this time of year. High 80's!
*** If you live in South Dakota, don't be complacent, please go to the polls in November, and VOTE YES on # 12, the smoking ban. Thank you!!

Volunteer Tomatoes

I was hanging out a load of clothes this AM, when I noticed an open spot in the shelterbelt, and what looked to be tomato plants.  On investigation, it was a group of plants, 2 1/2 feet tall, the patch was 4 feet or so in diameter.  They are blooming, have little tomatoes setting on.  Where did they come from?   This summer, July 1st, to be exact, we had a sink hole right beside the garden fence, and in a few days, our septic tank collapsed.  The digger man that came to replace the tank took some of the deeper dirt, which was actually gray looking clay like dirt, and dumped a heap in the shelterbelt.  This is interesting, because he did not take the top layer, which would be the logical place for last year's tomatoes to be thrown, so how those seeds got where they were is a mystery.
Because we are nearing frost for our area, there will not be enough time to get a crop from these plants.  It was a bonus year for rain, and garden crops, tho.  I doubt I will ever see another garden of mine flourish the way it did this year!  

Painting Window Trim

A beautiful fall day in SD.  I have been out on a ladder painting the trim around some windows on our house, listening to the birds singing.  Amazing the damage the elements do to wood!  I primed a couple of windows, will put the top coat on in a few days.  Luckily, we have permanent siding, so the house does not need paint.  One big window on the east has rotten sills, and we had some moisture damage on the inside walls last winter...the 2009-2010 winter with snow everywhere, a blizzard every few weeks, snow that buried us a lot of times.  This weekend, we will get that window replaced.  ...Hoping the painting I am doing will hold off any more replacement to be done for another couple of years.  This window alone cost around $1000.00, and that is without the installation cost.  This house was built in 1959, so I guess the windows have held up well.

Blogging - 2010

I am setting up a Blog as a place to put my thoughts.  This is a new experiment for me, and I like to do new things. If you don't try something new, how would you ever know if it was fun, or you liked or did not like to do that particular thing?   Sometimes my experiments are a good idea, sometimes not!  There is only one way to find out!