Here's a scary picture~ What people won't do for adventure! Let's take a walk out on the edge of Niagra Falls.Don't worry.It's frozen.hey! Let's take little Johnny out there with us!OOOOH !!! LOOK DOWN THERE! ~~What was that ?? Did you hear a crack ? What was that loud noise over there ? Yes, there it is again! What's that rumbling sensation? "Oh noooo Mr Bill !!" (sigh

Looking forward to June Hay !!

Boys with Trains

Do you see that train trestle in front of little Kyle ? That belonged to my Uncle Bob. He received it as a Christmas present in 1930 when he was about the same age as Brandon, the bigger boy.I have his whole trainset ,tinplates from 1929 - 30. These guys love the trains and we set them up at Christmas & forget to take them down for months to come.Kyle will be the next one to get a set of trains for his Christmas present from us. He loves them as much as I do. I was 5 weeks old when my dad bought me my first Christmas present- a set of Lionel trains! An absolute necessity ! I still have the engine, but it needs repairs.I was in a wonderful trainshop before Christmas to buy additions for my twin grandsons.A 4 yr old boy was in there looking at trains with his mom.They have beautiful displays in this shop & the mom only wanted a poster of a train.Unfortunately they didn't have anything that she was looking for.I said to her,"Give me your address & I'll send you a beautiful large calendarfilled with train pictures .My husband is an engineer & drives the coal train. She was delighted! So, when I got home I told my sweetie the story & he told me to mail the little boy the new calendar( beautiful pics of the train driving up the Sussquehanna,etc) , his new Train cap he received & a Safety Pin. Well, little Joey mailed him a picture he drew of trains ( 2 engines pulling a freight train) with a bright shining sun entitled "LOVE TRAINS !".(Happy child) as a thank you note.I'd love for that little guy to actually see the coal train! 133 cars to deliver to the power plant!

The Fisherman

This boy is all set to fish ~~ except he's like his nana~ he's loaded down with everything (fishing vest, bucket,tacklebox~~oops! smack myself in the forehead! forgot the fishing POLE!! HELLO !! Duh!!What a great age it is to be-ten!Your only worries are getting on the schoolbus on time! He and his twin brother can now manage their own fishing poles & lines.No more 'bird'snests' because they forget to 'set-the-bail'.I used to spend more time untangling squirrely fishinglines than actual fishing.

A Good Website

http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2009/02/how_many_honor_killings_are_there_in_islam.html

Miss America !

I can see this gal in a dress & heels while on R&R after she takes out a stronghold. I can also picture her as the mother of my grandchildren.She don't take no crap! She won this handy dandy kitchen gadget at a Pampered Chef party the church ladies had one Tuesday night.Lucky thing!

FINNEGAN SPECIAL repels Honor Killings

I count my blessings everyday, especially that I wasn't born in some Islamic nation. As more & more of these 'Honor Killings' are brought to light, & to the attention of the world , I realize how fortunate we are to be American women.Islamic women need to be taught how to defend themselves. How can we help them?I hope this next picture will offer them some hope. We shall send them ~~ MISS AMERICA !!

POTATOES

Potatoes will keep you alive in a famine & will store beautifully underground until the ground begins to freeze.You can dig a few up for dinner & always have a wonderfully fresh potato on your plate.They keep for months & months in the cellar as long as you leave the dirt on them which preserves them & store them in a cardboard box, or a burlap bag or a wooden basket or crate. Keep them in a dark place and away from apples.A box of apples in the same room emits a gas into the atmosphere which will start the breakdown of the potatoes.Today is February 20th & I just had a lovely plate of mashed potatoes Ifreshly peeled from my fall diggings.And they're still good.They're starting to grow eyes.I cut them with a small cube of potato underneath each one & put them into paperbags for drying. When spring comes around I'll have my potato seeds for this coming year's batch.One of my favorite toys as a child was Mr & Mrs Potato Head.My mother gave us a large potato to play with and my brothers & I proceeded to stab the potato with a little hat and eyes & nose, mouth & ears & whatever other the game came with.You can even make puppet heads with potatoes.Shove a stick in the bottom, a handkerchief around the neck and you have an instant puppet! You can also make a printing press out of potatoes!! Cut one in quarters and carve a letter into each quarter.Dip it in a pan of easter egg dye & whallah! Or carve a picture into it as your brand or a tatoo! Peel a potato & use the same peeler to peel off potato chips.Deep fry and you have another fun thing to do with a kid!

Digging for potatoes

Digging for potatoes is awesome! Like digging for gold.Always a surprise and a bonus to pull one out that's the size of your shoe! Great fun for kids also and much more wholesome than spending the day textmessaging friends.My favorite, thus far, is Red Pontiacs.Best for flavor so far.I've planted Yukon Golds,Pennsylvania Whites, Eastern, etc.But the reds are my favorite.

Loading Piggers & Snowy Squall

Today was not the best of days to take the piggers to the butcher, but an appointment has to be kept.It took all the efforts of 4 of us to coax them thru a rigged up squeeze pen (horse gate & wooden pallets as fencing) and the 'not-so-good-idea of a cattle shocker.We backed off using that as it set them into a panic and we would lose them and have to start again from square one.By the time they were fianally loaded onto the trailer & munching away happily on bribed yummies nobody felt remorse at the thought of the butcher.I raised 3 pigs.One for my household, one for my daughter & son-in-laws household, and one for my cousin.Yesterday there was a little remorse at the thought.That was dispelled today thru gritted teeth & skinned shins,and muttered profanities."GET UP THERE YOU *&!!#^#*!)*(&**!^#(! Crtainly not the 'CHARLOTTE'S WEB idea of sweet pink piggers calmly taking in the universe around them.Not these gals! My pink piggers arise from the Jerry Springer type of fighting squeeling women! All buisness when it comes to mealtime! After the loading was completed we had breakfast.Then we saw the squall coming over the barn from the south and I thought, "Oh, NO!! Tell me I have to drive through that!! Funny how I have my own private snowstorms up here.Just a dusting 12 minutes down the bottom of the mountain & all sunshine & NO snow at the butcher.

Winter Continues!

Ah! Winter continues! More snow today.I had to travel 1 hour for an important Certification test.I got there an hour early so I didn't get caught driving in the midst of a storm. Since my cousins live near that area, I could always hookup & stay there till things clear. But wasn't necessary. I passed the test and did well. I kind of enjoyed studying for it, but it sucked up all my spare time. No time for other things that needed to be done. Piggers go to Old Order Mennonite butcher tomorrow. Why do I mention that? I don't trust too many others. The saying goes," a butcher always eats good." Well, I worked doggone hard to produce this meat & spent a lot of money raising them.I want ALL the meat back.He does a beautiful job butchering & curing the hams too.It's worth the hour drive to get there.Do you make your own sausage ? I will give some very nice recipes. I make my own sausage patties, Italian links & breakfast links, cure my own bacon .

I love a sawdusted barn. I only wish I could find someone who sells sawdust in the winter. Now that there are wood (sawdust) pelleted stoves, nobody sells it anymore as plain sawdust.

So glad for that brief thaw this month.We needed to get that manure cleaned out & spread in the garden to give it a few months to get into the soil.

The pickle keg in the picture below was my husband's Grandma Indyke's , which in Polish means TURKEY~~ no wonder he married me ( I'm drawn to them- hunt them & raise them!Her name was Julia Indyke but I don't recall her maiden name right off the top of my head. Early 1900's she came over by boat from Poland.Her parents paid for her to come over accompanied by friends.They took the money & purchased occupancy down in the HOLD of the ship for her+instead & kept the balance for themselves! If you've ever read journals or other accounts of immigrant travelers by sea you'll understand what THAT means! She ended up gettingTyphus and almost died.And so,until the end of her days (99 yrs old) she never returned to Poland for a visit. Too afraid.We tried to explain that jet travel is far different than when she was a teenager.No way~she would never do that again.My sides of the families came over during the Civil War era, so we have no Ellis Island accounts.More of that another time.Anyway, the big white enamel pot & the keg were hers & still in use. Well, the pickle keg only for show.Once cracks develope in a keg toxins can leak out as acid levels in kraut & pickles intensify. You can tell a good keg by flicking your finger on the rim. If it has a clear ring it's good.

canning

I do love canning, even if it does become overwhelming in the fall.All the pretty colors & not having to go to the grocery store,except for goofy stuff like soda and things you can't make at home.

The cellar & canning jars

I would not do well in a Birka~~then again, maybe I would. I would use it for a turkey blind & set up a fort inside.Spring turkey is 2 mos away.I gotta get ready!

Black bears can get pretty big up here,some 600-700+ lbs. Not because of the berries but because people like to feed them so they can video tape them.in their backyards.Nice little bear! They pretty much keep to themselves & mind their own business & you don't often get a glimpse of them unless you're out there at night .But they don't make good buddies & eventually they complain that the menu is not up to par, they want more & they start trashing the shed,the backyard & become a general nuisance & potential danger.Besides the fact that the dogs go WILD in the house & rip down the curtains & shades trying to get at them. Sometimes I'll see one standing at the top of a dirt logging road sniffing the air.I worry that he'l be killed the next bear hunt.I love to hunt, not for killing pleasure but only for what I like to eat.The sport is in outsmarting the prey, especially turkeys, my favorite hunt.

If your as ignorant of computer language & blogging etc, etc, as I am you may end up like this~ half English & half Hebrew with no idea how to correct it.I

Next on the aggenda is FLYFISHING!!That delightful pastime of making your own bugs and tying them to a tiny hook.I need a magnifying glass to finish them off.Never take your dog to keep you company if he loves to swim & fetch.Too much time will be wasted undtangling fine fishing line from his legs and trying to hold him still while you manipulate that little bittyuncompromising hook from his ear or lip.I could never say 'NO' when Ruger, my Boykin Spaniel,wanted to go with me to the creeks & lakes

This is my absolute favorite picture of my twin grandsons, Brandon & Bailey. They are now 10 yrs old~ 8 yrs old in this picture.This pic was taken when the garden looked good~~ this too shal pass! (haha!) Good ole stringbeans! I prefer them canned. I get so many that I freeze a good deal of them & those I feed to the piggers in winter so that they have veggies. 'Outta the freezer as a stringbean....back in the freezer as a pokechop! 'Most of our veggies we raise ~potatoes, bell peppers,onions,cabbage for sauerkraut,tomatoes, corn, stringbeans, broccoli,pumpkins,red beets,brussel sprouts, cucumbers; then we buy carrots (50# bags )& cut up & can those.Those are a pain in the butt to raise yourself,so I buy them from the produce stand down the road.I gotta tell you about the produce stand down the road~~ WHAT A GREAT PLACE!! It's the size of a one car garage.However, you can buy everything you need there! One day I walked in & said to myself,'maybe i'll buy a cabbage'.They were pretty huge~ so I asked the price ....."HOW MANY DO YOU WANT?? TEN???"he said~~ 'what is he nuts??' I thought. "Ten???", I said~ "Why would I want TEN???"~~~~ "Don't you make your own sauerkruat?? EVERYYYYY BODDDYYYY up here makes their own sauerkraut!!"~~ "How do you do that?", I said & they told me. Easy! and out came the directions.So, I've been making my own sauerkraut ever since. "SURE! ", I said "Gimme 10 !" I love that store. Someday I'll tell you more stories . They make me smile! They SURE don't have stores like this around anymore.

"I'll Be Bock"

I knew it! Snow covered ground once more ~ It has returned with its' icy fingers on everything. I brought the ewe to her inside stall last night so when she delivers her lambs will be warm & cozy.

It's amazing what a little sunshine & warm breeze can do for the soul ! The gloom of winter is put on pause and winter songbirds flit about happily. The chickens excitedly scratch into the softened soil & grass where ice & snow have melted away.My white quaterhorse, Dolly,cannot resist a roll in the mud.WHY does she do that?

February's brief thaw is the time to take advantage of the mushy soil to reseed the horse pastures.The fields will soon be covered again with a blanket of snow & draw in the seeds for the remaining winter's sleep. So, I sit at breakfast and browse through seed catalogues that arrive in the mail and mull over what I will plant this year . The garden is a whopping 185' x 185' . Each year it needs to be rotated .Potatoes can't go where they were last year, the corn will be on the opposite side~ or should I put it down the bottom ? If this goes here then this cannot go here, etc. I welcomed winter's arrival this year. It was a relief from the summer & fall canning & freezing , raising & butchering meat chickens and garden management. September was the end of garden 'management' .Weeding became a distant memory. I'd stand with my hands on my hips with a lost look on my face & say ,"Now I know I have 120 tomato plants in here SOMEWHERE ! By the time I dug that last wheelbarrow load of potatoes from the nearly frozen earth in November, I had had enough! How good of God to give us winter to rest along with the fruit trees . Spring will be here in another 2 months and with its' arrival a rejuvenated spirit to plow & plant and experience the great feeling of the cool freshly plowed earth on bare feet.!

Farming gets OLD! The romanticism of the barn, purring chickens at roosting time, the contentedness of horses & livestock eating , the gathering of potatoes in summer (like digging for GOLD!), and carrying in baskets of vegetables to your kitchen for canning or freezing gets old! Especially when it's doggone COLD outside !!!
Spring comes around & City people have a weekend off & have confiscated your fishing hole ! No matter~ you couldn't get there anyway! Too much to do! By the time feeding & cleaning & gathering are done, it's just too late to get to the fishing or favorite huntimg spot!
I am at the twilight of my youthful years.Soon I will hit 60. I worry if the apple trees, the cherry trees, the grape vines, peach & pear trees & plums will produce enough fruit to actually deal with before I get too old to care anymore.
God has a great deal to say about family matters. My area has to deal with what HE has to say about grandparenting. I am no longer planning or planning ahead. I am now LOOKING BACK.The CROWN OF OLD AGE. Proverbs 13:22 a ~~ "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children; " . I am hoping I can leave each of my grandchildren with a START in life. But, I also have my own children. How shall I do this?? All in one lifetime??

Today I took a trip to get some sheep feed.I've avoided it all winter since the ground hasn't been seen since the beginning of Dec. All snow and ice.My friends, whom I've been buying a special sheep mix of grain, live on a muddy dirt road, down hill on an inner mountain road. Best to wait for the thaw! Nice visit today. Had a cup of tea & tossed about the past year's incidents.Their home is more than 100 years old, probably WAY more~ and as we drank tea & ate scones we talked about the addiction of canning, and that no one with a little bit of land should EVER go hungry~~~ then we watched the sheep mill about on the steepside of the mountain across from the kitchen window. But then, as if on cue, they began to make their way, single file down the mountainside toward the farm & barn. What called them then? Who knows? My own ewe, Sweetpea, will be bringing forth her lambs this month or next month in March.

What is the oldest profession in the world ? ~~~ Farming Genesis 1:8
What is the 2nd oldest professon ? ~~~~ midwifery. ( Also Genesis. 4:1 Adam wa the first midwife! )
What is the 3rd oldest profession ?? ~~~~ Gen 4:4 sheepherding then cattle herding.

SORRY !! ~~~~ Prostitution is a DEFORMITY in the course of human events.