Sunday, July 12, 2015

The Not-So-Lazy Crazy Daze of Summer on the Farm!

 ARGHHHHHHHHH!  Do  you see these bald spots on my head and the handfuls of hair I hold???  That's because my old computer died and the new one DOES NOT LIKE ME.  I couldn't sign into this blog because my old (and well-loved, I might add) computer remembered things for me.  This one's head is empty and when I depend upon it to know my huge collections of passwords, it fails!  Now how would I know what my password is???  Remember, I said the computer's head is empty...




 I had to eat three slices of fresh zucchini bread and a snickerdoodle before I could come back and try it again.  Hmmm.  Wonder if a cup of coffee would have helped even more?

Here's my garden again.  Things have grown nicely because we've had our generator down in the valley (750' or so, the way the crow flies) pumping water up from the creek.  Tonight my hubby has told me that the pump is now seized and it may mean the end of the extra water for the season.
 Sigh.  Seems like things just can't run smoothly!

My pie cherry tree had enough fruit for a couple of double batches of cherry jam.  OH MAN.  Just like eating pie!  I made a batch of biscuits to go with dinner the other night and we tried the first jar.  Delicious.  Don't know why I've never made it before, and let me tell you I am no novice at canning!  Wonder what other delectables I've been unaware of?
 The bright pink dessert below really WAS that bright.  It's a Rhubarb Dump Cake.  Very easy.  Very tasty.  Very sweet.  I changed the recipe and lessened the amount of sugar, but if I were to make it again, I'd add even less sugar.
 We've been plagued with a family of big black crows this summer.  Mom and Pop hatched out a healthy trio of demanding, noisy cry-baby crow-babies.  They get up at the crack of dawn and caw & gargle in the yard under my bedroom window.  When they're pretty sure I'm awake, they move on to harass the livestock.  They've been clinging to the rabbit feeders and pecking the food out as well.  I think we're about to declare open season on crows.....
 The weather has been cooler and just slightly damp here the last couple of days.  It actually feels like it's much later in the season than it really is.  Get's me to thinking about Fall, my ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!!!!!   I started making Fall primitives, like the squirrel & acorns--------------->

We've done most of the prize shopping for our county's Southwest Washington Fair coming up in August.  My two daughters and I will be working as assistant superintendents in the Living Arts building once again from August 12th until August 23rd as we work our way from entering, judging, decorating, setting up and then do the Fair itself.
 My oldest daughter now sells fabric on Ebay & Etsy, including some scrumptious wool - 33 or 34 different patterned wools for applique & what-have-you, so of course I've had to have samples to play with.  I made this pinkeep from a pattern by Buttermilk Basin.  It was fun & quick to put together.  You can look at my daughter's beautiful stuff here:
http://www.ebay.com/usr/rebeccas_rabbitry
https://www.etsy.com/shop/RebeccasRabbitry
 I usually make five loaves of bread at a time.  It keeps well in the freezer and then I don't have to make it so often.  With my KitchenAid mixer, it's just as easy to make and knead 5 as it is one, so there you have it.  My grandmother had 8 children and she always told me that she made 8 loaves of bread every other day.

My mother said that they ate lard & sugar on it.  I think I'll stick to cherry jam!
 A sweet little friend of ours is having a baby soon, so we made her a Frog and Toad set - quilt with flannel backing, matching pillow & picture,  Frog and Toad storybook.....and of course, a frog and a toad to read with!
 This is Ransom.  She's a youngster English Lop and she's what's known as a 'charlie' Black-Orange Tri Color.  The term 'charlie' means that both her parents were 'broken' (spotted) patterned rabbits so she got double broken genes and has very little color on her white coat.  Charlies cannot be show animals as they do not meet the requirements of color.

I went to the dentist recently for the first time in about 10 or so years.  Three cavities were my punishment.  Two have been repaired now and I've one more appointment to go.  I am amazed at how dental practices have changed since I was a child.  When I told my kids that when I was young the dentist worked for a bit, then every few minutes you had to sit up and spit in a sink, they were horrified.  I can't say that I enjoy it any more than when I was a child, even with all the amazing new technology.  Of course, one filling cost around $248 and when I was a kid, it was $12.  I must be old.  Wow. 
So, we come to the end of the blog for today.  Here is my chihuahua, Maddie, who has finally worn herself out playing with rubber ducks and hedgehogs.  She simply MUST sit on my lap.  Usually she feels the need to stand up with two feet on the desk to be sure that I cannot see the computer screen.

There's most likely more life to be lived tomorrow, so, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand!