Bird Watching

A snowy, blustery day in SD.  We watched a lone bird at our feeder today.  We could not identify the species, so looked in my Birds of the Dakotas book.  We determined it is an American goldfinch.  The males are bright yellow in the summer, but in the winter, the male looks like the female, a pale brown breast, a little darker brown head and back, black tips on the wings. There was a very slight yellowish tinge to the breast, and those feathers were very puffy against the cold and wind.   They are year round in  South Dakota, and also summer in North Dakota.  We see these, especially in the spring, and they are so very pretty, did not realize they wintered here, as they are not yellow in the winter.  We had quite a few this past spring, wonder where the rest of the crew is hiding out?

Dad's 96th Birthday

We had a party for Dad's 96th birthday.  He and Mom live in their own home in town, and manage quite well.  I have 2 talented nieces who prepared the main dish.  Crackers and dips were munchers before the meal.  We started with an appetizer of provolone cheese dipped in egg and bread crumbs, and lightly browned in olive oil, served with homemade salsa.  Dinner followed with fruit salads, delicious roast vegetables and Italian beef sandwiches on French bread rolls. The bread was filled with tender roast beef, cheese melted over the meat, and dipped slightly in au jus sauce and warm from the oven.  Carmen  made Giardiniera relish. It has finely cut up marinated vegetables, including hot peppers for some zip. This topped the meat and cheese.  The meal was a delight to eat! 

We ended with ice cream and a decorated chocolate cake, made by Mom who is 95.  And of course, we had a cup of coffee.
Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Weather

A little reprieve today.  Temp this PM was 36, which means some of the snow and ice were melting, hopefully enough to clean off the roads a little.  This also might put a crust on the snowbanks, so when the wind comes up again, the snow will not blow willy nilly, creating a mini blizzard.
Just have to report on the wind towers again.  They, all 107 of them are up now, and many of them have red lights on the top.  (They don't all have to have lights, but enough that they do not create a flying hazard.)  At any rate, there are a LOT of red lights.  They blink off and on, all at the same time, and can be seen for miles.  Our farm is lower, so we can only see a few from here, but when we came home last week from Miller, a town north of here, we came to a rise in the elevation, and there they were, blinking and stretching along the horizon for miles.  We were more than 30 miles away when we saw them.  We tease our neighbors that live close to the towers that they now live in the Red Light District!

Women in Blue Jeans

WIBJ was held this week, giving farm women a couple of days to relax, listen to great speakers, and attend short sessions on a variety of subjects pertinent to life on the farm. This 8th annual conference was held on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University in one of their great facilities. (The conference was not held last year due to the weather SD experienced in 2009.)  WIBJ was a time to, as their slogan this year stated, Renew your friendships, Recycle your knowledge and Regain your spirit.
The key note speaker told us we were Super Heroes, and gave us some tips about Balance, Endurance, Strength and Flexibility, and she was not talking about the physical things those words mean; rather gave us suggestions on how to use these attributes in our busy lives.  The committee gave us a fun little Farm Fashion Show, and provided a Spa Night with various providers giving chair massages, facials and hand care.  Delicious meals and lunches were provided, and vendors were in attendance to answer a myriad of questions.  Hats off to the committee of women who worked so hard on this event!

Tie Dying

I met my sister, cousin, and 2 friends for lunch at a neat little sandwich and coffee place in Mitchell.  After lunch, we went to Flavia's B&B for a tie dying lesson.  Lelia had previously dyed silk scarves, 60 inches long, with a dark, pretty blue.  We folded and retied them with rubberbands, and then put them in another color dye.  Two twisted scarves went into the magenta, the rest into yellow.  We cooked them for 60 minutes and Lelia showed us many dyed pieces, done on all kinds of fabrics.  We had a tour of this very large 1880's house, its many rooms and interesting history.  We finished up by rinsing the scarves in clear water.  The magenta came through the dye as expected; and the yellow color on the other scarves which should have been green at the end, was more a brownish green, rather than the forest green we expected.  What a fun day!

Weather

Here we are in SD on January 10 with lots of fluffy snow, about 6 inches, that came yesterday, and an inch or so today. It was kind of like someone was up there with a sifter, sending it downward.   Luckily, we did not have our typical SD winds, so it has come down and pretty much stayed put.  Of course this means that farm yards and calf pens are retaining a lot of snow.  I scooped off the back step twice, the second time, the snow was harder, and will get harder as the wind picks up tonight.
When Roger fed cows this AM, he noticed in the tree belt south of us, there were a lot of pheasants, mostly roosters. Some were on the ground, but mostly were in the trees, which is not very usual.  As he unloaded his hay, he noticed a very large coyote, rather mangy looking come running out of those trees.  This explained the pheasants in the trees, so I'm guessing some of the birds got wise, and others made a good meal for the coyote.

Seed Catalogs

January, and the seed catalogs are in my mailbox with their beautiful, colorful pictures of flowers and vegetables, enticing me to think of spring, while the wind howls outside and the weatherman is promising very cold weather all next week.  Never mind the weatherman.  I will sink into my soft warm chair to browse the catalogs and dream of black soil on my fingers, what I will plant and in which bed,  and look at ideas for something I have not tried before. What worked last year, did I have too much of something, not enough of some other plant?  Should I plant some new flowers?  What should I put in my herb bed?
I have time to plan, after all it is only January, and this is SD, where the garden soil will remain cold well into May.  Dream on!

"Of Bees and Mists"

The Undercover Page Turners book club met tonight to discuss  the book, "Of Bees and Mists".  It is a fable that chronicles three generations of women under one family tree, a mythical town, spirits and spells, clairvoyance and prophets, witchcraft and demons.
We agreed we would not have picked this book if given a choice, but nonetheless, after you started reading, and put the book down to absorb what you read, there was always the urge to pick up and  read some more.  The author, Erick Setiawan, certainly knows how to spin a tale and keep one's interest. 
We had a lively discussion about life and how these families lived, died and survived.  It was, as the book cover promised, touching, truthful and memorable.

Happy New Year--2011

Happy New Year to my friends out there.  Roger spent the morning moving snow, then I went out in the calf yard to be the guider, as he tried to clean off the cement "apron" that the calves stand on to eat silage.  The calves had it so packed and frozen, he was only able to take 4 or so inches off, but it will help.  Don't want them to stand higher than the cables that keep them in the yard.  The wind had gone down, so only my feet got cold.  I am not used to the cold anymore!!  He loaded and filled the bunks up again, so their stomachs should be full to stand the cold, which is going to be with us all week.  We got about 5-6 inches of snow, but the northern part of SD got much more, 12 and over in some places.

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!!