S Second Look

http://www.equestriancollections.com/product.asp?ic=DA00004R  Davis Turtle Cross Ties 25.95 EACH

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2e87c14b-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5 $16.95 EACH at Valley Vet / free shipping

I am taking a second look at Internet shopping. I am not a big shopper, but like every one I buy "stuff". In the past I have not  done allot of Internet shopping, although I have my favorites ( King Arthur) .In the past I was turned off by shipping charges, this is less of an issue with the gas prices.This week I saved 20.00 purchasing my flea and tick preventative on line at Valley Vet vs. the local Petsmart, I replaced our broken cross ties with this order and received free shipping. Additional I bought Lager a new toy ( a weekly tradition) from Dr. Foster and Smiths. Internet shopping seems to be more competitive then the past, although I still encourage you to shop around even via the web.

Mr.Lager Jerrier

My Other Love

Grass is Greener

The opening of the back pasturea right of passage 5plus months in the making.

We tie off the back pasture, late in the fall.We open the back mothers day weekend.

Opening the pasture is as much about springis the peepers.

the team is happy.

I am happy! We all survived winter.

At the end of the day when the dinner bell rings

they still come home, thank god.

This Week's Menu Plan

It was quite chilli when Bob and I started morning chores 34.
I hope it is nice by this evening, I would like to dine out by the fire.
I have a package waiting at the post office, it contains my Chocolate Lava Cake Kit from King Arthur Flour.I had quite a bit of luck internet shopping this week, maybe I'll share more of that in a later post.
 Plan to make this treat on Sunday, to enjoy when Bobby and Keri visit.
Hope you have a wonderful week end.

Friday: Antipasto
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Antipasto-Platter/Detail.aspx
(by the fire, weather permitting)
Saturday: Lasagna & Bread Sticks
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Antipasto-Platter/Detail.aspx
Sunday: Steak Swap Cobb Salad
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/steak-swap-cobb-salad/
Monday: Crock pot Chicken
http://busycooks.about.com/od/chickenandturkeyentrees/r/crockpotlemonchicken.htm
Tuesday : Pasta Salad/ left over Chicken
Wednesday: Crepes , ham n cheese
http://cooking-from-scratch.blogspot.com/2011/03/ham-and-cheese-filled-crepes.html
Thursday: Panini
thisweekfordinner.com/.../caprese-paninis-garlic-basil-mayo-and-how-to-make-a-panini-without-a-panini-maker/

Sunday dessert
Chocolate Lava Cake

05/05/1985

Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. ~Hoosier Farmer

Some things have changed allot in twenty six years , some for the worst some for the better. I'm still glad I married the love of my life in 1985.

May 1985


1st - William Hoffman's "As Is," premieres in NYC

2nd - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

3rd - Date of $5 million check in "View to a Kill"

4th - 111th Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr on Spend A Buck wins 2:00.2

5th - I MARRIED MY BEST FRIEND (Love You Bob)

5th - Amy Alcott wins LPGA Moss Creek Women's Golf Invitational

6th - 17th Space Shuttle Mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 lands at Edwards AFB

8th - 20th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alabama & Judds win

8th - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

10th - Challenger transports back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB

11th - 40 die and 150 injured in fire at Bradford City football ground, England

11th - Booby trap bomb kills 86 people in India

11th - Madonna's "Crazy For You," single goes #1

11th - Pope John Paul II arrives in Netherlands

11th - Dave Concepcion becomes 4th Cin Red teammate to get 2,000 hits, others include Pete Rose, Tony Perez & Cesar Cedeno

12th - Amy Eilberg is ordained in NY as 1st woman Conservative rabbi

12th - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA United Virginia Bank Golf Classic

13th - Carlton Fisk becomes 5th catcher to steal 100 bases

13th - Laura Elena Martinez-Herring, 21, (Texas), crowned 34th Miss USA

13th - Phila Police bomb a house held by group "Move," kills 11

15th - Everton wins 25th Europe Cup II at Rotterdam

16th - Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year

16th - Pope John Paul II arrives in Belgium

17th - Les Anderson, catches record 97 lb 4 oz Chinook Salmon, off Alaska

18th - "One Night In Bangkok" by Murray Head hits #3

18th - 111th Preakness: Pat Day aboard Tank's Prospect wins in 1:53.4

18th - 1st remote location for "Nightline" (South Africa)

19th - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Golf Classic

20th - 1150 Lebanese/Palestinian prisoners exchanged for 3 Israelis

20th - Dow Jones industrial avg closes above 1300 for 1st time

20th - FBI arrests John A Walker Jr, convicted of spying for USSR

20th - Indians-Brewers game at Cleve Stadium is 1st rain-out of 1985, ends record string of 458 ML games since Opening Day without a rain-out

20th - Israel exchanges 1,100+ Arab prisoners for 3 Israeli soldiers

20th - Larry Holmes beats Carl Williams in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

20th - US began broadcasts to Cuba on Radio Marti

22nd - Pete Rose 2,108th run passes Hank Aaron as NL run scoring leader

22nd - Real Madrid wins 14th UEFA Cup at Madrid

22nd - US sailor Michael L Walker arrested for spying for USSR

24th - "View to a Kill" premieres in US

24th - -25) cyclone hits Bangladesh; about 10,000 die

25th - Allan Border scores 4th successive 1st class 100 (v Derbyshire)

25th - Cyclone ravages Bangladesh; 11,000 killed

26th - Danny Sullivan wins Indy 500 by 24 seconds following a spin

26th - Explosions destroys 2 tankers off of Gibraltar, 30 die

26th - Patti Rizzo wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic

27th - Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China in 1997

27th - Inaugural bands parade for Pres Reagan

28th - David Jacobsen taken hostage in Beirut Lebanon

28th - Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-G

29th - Juventus wins 30th Europe Cup 1 in Brussels, 39 die in riot

29th - Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.

30th - Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers beat Phila Flyers, 4 games to 1

31st - 41 tornadoes hit Northeast US, killing 88

31st - Guatemala adopts constitution

31st - New Orleans Saints are sold for $70,204,000

31st - Tornados in Penn, Ohio, NY & Canada kill 88 & injured more than 1,000

31st - 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.

31st - Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) became a Schedule I drug in the United States

A Clothe$ Line

Lager loving clothes line weather

and a new mascot for the deck

On my wish list has been a new clothes line, if you have been following along year over year, you have heard this request before.

I thought I had found a solution last year with the folding umbrella (50.00$), I was going to use it both in the yard and on the back deck, I thought.
The umbrella clothes line is light weight and easy to assemble, but it flies better than a kite. I have picked up this clothes line at least three times per use.
Last month I found a good temporary solution , at a hardware store for less (12.00$) , it was easy to set up only 1 hook two screws.
I say temporary though because it had a 20 foot max. span , a good solution for one load of clothes at a time.
Today Bob was home, and my wish came true a nice long clothes line, strong and secure, suspended from the second floor deck. No more picking the clothes from the dirt , and no more lugging baskets down stairs.








This is the best Laundry soap recipe I have found, I got it at The Beehive Cottage.

I dissolve the powder in hot water and then wash in cold because I have a front load.
*You can also use Ivory, Castile or PINK Zote bar soap.
3 bars Fels Naptha Bar Soap - each bar is 5 1/2 oz
(IF YOU  USE PINK ZOTE / USE 1~1/3 bars)
4 lbs. Borax
4 lbs. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
4 lbs. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
Mix and store in airtight container.
1 to 2 tablespoons per load.

Loving Life

A useless life is an early death.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe~

First let me apologize

It is Tuesday and I am just doing my week end post,
Its the computers fault, honest. I was unable to load the photo's, and without photo's whats the point.
We had a WONDERFUL week end on the farm.Lots of real good food, friends and together time.
(The Team)Saturday was mostly yard work and chilling by the fire together , but that was much needed and enjoyed. I made fried calamari, for the first time ever and might I say it was Yummy! We also enjoyed baked haddock and Cole slaw.

The chickens are loving the yard and weather.

(Mr. Mister)My garden boxes are constructed and waiting to be filled.

(Mr Nickel)On Sunday Bob and I were again working in the yard, when happily interrupted. Friends arrived, with their horse's early afternoon , and we all took off for a trail ride. We road for a couple hours, and upon arriving home we had an impromptu BBQ. I served up the menu I had planned for Bob and I and every thing tasted twice as good shared with frinds.

(Big Jake)

We had stuffed jalapenos,corn bread ,watermelon stuffed flank steak, green beans and left over Cole slaw. This is the stuff in life that makes all the hard work worth wild.

Day Off

Candy Apples for The Birthday Boy

Today is Nickels Birthday,  I am making candy apples.

Candy Apples , For Horses

this photo is from the ad I answerd,my first look

Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
•8 apples
•2-4 wooden skewers
•2 cups granulated sugar
•1 cup light corn syrup
•1/2 cup hot water
•1/2 cup red cinnamon candies, like Red Hots
Fresh Old Fashion Oats and broken candy cane/ peppermints
Preparation:
1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with Parchment paper and spraying with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Wash and dry the apples carefully. Remove the stems, and stick the skewers firmly in the stem ends of 2-4
3. Combine the water, corn syrup and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 250 degrees. Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush occasionally to prevent crystallization.
4. Once the candy reaches 250, add the cinnamon candies and stir briefly to incorporate. Continue to cook, washing down the sides, until it reaches 285 degrees.
5. Remove from the heat and stir the candy so that it is smooth and even. Hold an apple by the skewer and dip it in the candy, tilting the pan at an angle and rotating the apple to cover it completely with a smooth, even layer. Bring it out of the candy and twirl it to remove excess, then dip it into the oats set it on the prepared baking sheet. Remove the stick and repeat with remaining apples.
6. Allow apples to cool at room temperature. Candy apples are best enjoyed within 24 hours.

This Week ends Menu

Looks like better weather ahead (no rain)
This is good news for Menu planning , because I am getting tired of" cold weather food"


Fri Apr 29 Partly Cloudy 69°/44° 20 %

Sat Apr 30 Partly Cloudy 62°/43° 10 %
Sun May 01 Partly Cloudy 67°/49° 10 %

Mon May 02 Partly Cloudy 64°/47° 10 %

Friday :
Grilled Pizza  and salads
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/grilled-pizza-recipe.html
Saturday
Grilled Stuffed Flank Steak,
 http://grillingtips.com/grilling-recipe/t--3212/grilled-stuffed-flank-steak.asp
Bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno
 http://www.food.com/recipe/bacon-wrapped-stuffed-jalapeno-peppers-152465
Corn Bread and Potato salad
Sunday Fish and Chips http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/fish-and-chips-recipe/index.html

Trimming Draft Horse Hooves

No rain , yay

 green grass

Tonight our Farrier Matt, came out to the farm.
Both of the draft horses received a trim.
This trim was not one of the regularly scheduled but needed .
Our two draft horses have very different hooves one from the other. Jake has shoes on his front feet, with clips,Nick has bare feet.
In a perfect world I would keep all of my horses barefoot, for ease of maintenance and cost. Jake's brittle chipping hooves called for shoes.
If you want to learn more about barefoot drafts,here is a good link. http://www.hoofrehab.com/draft.htm
Nickel has always had a consistent diet , and consistent care. Jake on the other hand I suspect has had consistency seance he landed on our farm.
The rate at which a hoof grows and wears depends on several things, including climate, terrain, genetics, nutrition, and daily use, to name a few. In the recent weeks both horses have been effected by climate and terrain, we have seen thawing from winter, wash out from mud season and a lot of rain. As a rule we have the Farrier out for maintenance every 6-8 weeks, with Bob trimming in between.

Bob has learned to rasp off the edges. Rasping takes a bit of strength and finesse,with draft horses due to their size.

April Showers

If April showers truly bring May flowers, then I am anticipating one heck of a bouquet.
It is raining again today, thankfully not down pours, but a steady cold drizzle.
Again today I collected three very large brown fresh eggs and one freakish, small one.
 The five day forecast shows rain every day. Around the farm I am just starting to see  daffodils open .

AARON LEWIS - "Country Boy" (Official Video)

If I play this on a 24/7 loop, on my out door speakers, think the neighbors will enjoy...hmm. I Love It!

Blessings On Your Easter Day

One of my 4 grand dogs Jake

 Brunch

Baked Apple Pancake

FaRm FaShIoN????