happy new year everyone

amazing........... it's almost 2008!

remember Y2K?
hahahaha
to all a most wonderful happy, healthy, prosperous and interesting new year


til next time

vi

a storm a storm........

we are, as i understand it......to get a storm

ok so what's news with that?
as we finally have a REAL winter......snow, sleet, ice.......COLD......
well this storm is due when we are to go to the company christmas party

which bernie has really really been looking forward to
(me too a bit.....i will admit......i like these people very much)
i got a new outfit for......( actually i got several new outfits and am wearing something ELSE from what i thought originally)

i really hope that the storm either holds off.......or
that it is over and done with and we can go there
i know we can't stay late

we heat with wood PLUS we got a very bald laperm at the moment......
he was sick and the vet gave him a shot which cured him BUT
he lost all his fur!

i can't wait to see june and jim..........
i won't have thier christmas presents until after this party but i still can't wait to see them

ok today i forked some fresh dried/wet leaves into the ducks outer pen
they have a ton of hay ( or so it looks like) in the inner pen......
i will put a few more bales in there over the weekend
it looks like a manger in there..... now if i get the rest of the animals home.....and throw a mom and human baby in there
we got the nativity scene......

the ducks seem happy

and i will admit it looks so pretty with all that hay piled around........
i love looking into their inner pen

they are pleased with the new load of leaves too......they are eatting the little sprouted weed seeds in there as well as any hibernating bugs they can find

i added alfalfa pellets to their waterfowl maintance pellets and cracked corn......
plus fresh spinach, lettuce and other greens
they really like fresh greens but the alfalfa will do when we can't get the fresh stuff

i like to get green weeds for them
they like bean leaves as well...... but they will weed if they can....so when they can't do it themselves i give them weeds from the garden

the chickens are as well but they AGAIN went into the molt......
i am not sure why
dulcette got molty and broody
i hope it just stays cold
(said on a day all the snow has melted and the ground is thawed and wet)

i got some of the holiday cookie doughs made up for the massive bakeout that i do every year
bernie takes them on trays to work with him
and we give some to his friends
i am doing fruit breads for his crew i think......not cookies......not muffins


we are still waiting for a verdict on the lawsuit against the assholes next door
i would imagine that the judge will uphold the arbitration award AND add legal fees etc to our award....i swear.......AGAIN, too bad he can't or won't order mental evaluations on those idiots.....

and have you all see the new knitty?
me and EVERY other knitter on the planet is going to want to knit that ice queen......

mine will however probably be in a plum or wine color

meanwhile.......

i have to get going and do some more baking and start supper

i am so behind on everything


til next time

vi

here i sit

contemplating my eggnog,
it's about quarter to four in the afternoon.........

we are thawing out
ok so I AM thawing out
bernie is bringing in wood

we further winterized the duck pen
as i decided they looked a bit chilly to me
so we tarped one side of their pen and part of the sunny side of their pen....
part of the sunny side is still left open
then we stuffed the roofed part with hay.....over the dried leaf bedding

followed by stuffing the duck domicle with hay as well
and they got a pail heater coming in the mail........ 44.95

it would have been cheaper to buy a little kids playhouse we saw at lowes for 299.

thems are two very spoiled duckies

plus we went and got day old produce for them
baby spinach......
lettuce

and alfalfa rabbit pellets as well
telling yous..............

meanwhile they were wearing a feather and down coat....(snowy white now thank goodness.....)

i was freezing my ass off

i still am not sure i got all my toes.....i think i left one out there

ok now........ for all you wood burners out there I GOTS something for you

we loved it click HERE
and watch the videos
they are great

and i am changing the way i burn our woodstove now

let's see..............
i have started baking for the holidays........ i will be baking most of the week
butter cookies
spitz
sugar cookies
snickerdoodles
mixed chip cookies......( chocolate etc)
he will be taking trays in for work
and some folks get their own trays
or bags or whatever of cookies
i have muffins to make as well for bernie's crew
i am going to make them muffins and apple butter for the holidays

let's see what else
i started to knit a tea cozy, from a book called 'a knitters stash'
it's a thatched roof cottage!
i am thinking.....maybe i should make it a ROUND cottage?
i have quite a ways to go before i have to make a decision.....
so we'll see

i have to knit mittens with longer cuffs at a much tighter gauge for me
and a pair of boot socks
it is COLD going on out to the duckies you know

i could also use a pair of barn boots while i'm at it
a good old fashioned pair of 'welleys'

let's see
on the jackass front

we went to court again wednesday past

she walked in with pippi longstocking braids.....
an acid green WAY too tight sweater and no bra

way way too tight pants that caused a HUGE spare tire and CAMEL TOES.....

ewwwww
they put her on the stand and she swore to tell the truth
then proceded to lie like a rug

first off she told the judge that the trees were all still standing.....
he asked her..... on the side line or on the back
she said on the side
remember now.....her attorney kept telling the judge that the husband cut the trees down
NOT HER and therefore she needs to be let off the lawsuit.....

she said that she never went to georgie up the hill's house
and didn't tell her that they were going to cut the trees down
but instead georgie referred to me as 'the crazy neighbors'
( yeah right...... georgie testified AGAINST her and for us)

she said that they put that stupid half privacy fence up because 'mr herron cursed at her children and they were terrified of him'
she neglected of course to mention that it was put up the DAY after the tv segment aired about them defrauding people out of money.........HERE ( click PLAY and turn your speakers on)

she made it a point to tell the judge that they were no longer together as this split them up ( our lawsuit)

she kept telling the judge she didn't want any trouble....
that she'd never spoken to me
and that she only moved in to the house in 04
when the deed was clearly ( and the incident was also clearly) in 03

oye

i don't think she spoke one single word that was true
including NOT giving her full name!


but the vision of her trying to sex up the judge................
oh man
she looked like a bad porn star.....( my lawyer said)

i told my attorney she was missing the knee socks and school girl uniform

mind this broad is as big as i am
not to mention 31
and the mother of 4 boys

somethings like her spare tire and camel toes.....really should be kept to herself

oye

so we wait for a decision by the judge now
he made it a point of saying......that the order of no tresspass stays in effect forever
period
even if we sell the property.....
( what if they buy it? they still can't tresspass according to this order)

so that is all that

hohoho

happy holidays to all
and to all a goodnight


vi

let it snow, let it snow.......let it snow

morning,
i am sitting here, watching the snow fall
it's very steady and very soft
like a holiday card
i been watching it since the sun came up.....or
more correctly since it got light out.............
i have to look over the woodstove which of course is on......
three years ago i dreamt of this scene........
and now i get to live it

i keep expecting Currier and Ives......
as well as the sound of sleigh bells.......which i haven't heard in YEARS
i dreamt of sleigh bells last night

the snow still falling softly but more of it now
is starting to cover the tree limbs
and it is time now to start my day

the gimmy gimmy, i want, greedy little violet christmas list

ok
so anyone have bernie's ear
here is my greedy little christmas list

at the top of the list of course
is a farm
well see........i got my eye on yet more sheepies
and another goatie
so i think it is a good idea to get the farm no?????



a milk cow
a mini jersey milk cow............
well doesn't EVERYONE have a milk cow on THEIR christmas list?

more poultry......i am thinking more chickens and some turkeys

again doesn't everyone have more poultry on THEIR christmas list

no? what is WRONG with you people???

don't you remember that whole partridge in the pear tree thing......
oh and I want the pear tree too.....the partridge is optional


4oz canning jars
you can NEVAH have too many of them i have discovered this since i got that french jam book
mes confiture
like 25 cases isn't enough.......


henkel knives......for 31 almost years i been married to bernie..........
every christmas list has the henkel knives on it

i don't ask for much.....( total adoration, akin to worship.....and keep telling me i'm perfect)
but you THINK a girl could get at least the three damn knives that are on her list
a paring
a filet
a butcher

duh
what is so freeken hard about THAT?

i don't CARE that bernie thinks i may possibly use them on HIM..........

hey i got stuff to CUT UP damit


some of them SAS clogs........the store is downtown RIGHT next to the yarn store........

which brings me to the drum carder.........
i need a drum carder to go with my sheep
that goes with my farm
that goes with my spinning wheel
that goes with my huge ass farm house kitchen and total food storage put the harvest away from the summer HOUSE
and the RED BARN IS NOT OPTIONAL


i did mention the greedy part no?

i want it all and i want it all NOW


thank you
very much


vi

ps: i am trulyviolet on ravelry, as well as kr just in case you wondered

tidying up the loose ones

ok this is about odds and ends

just getting short bits tidied up


rhinebeck: we went sunday this year.....and did NOT get to go spin alpaca
there was some confusion about weither or not the alpaca spin was on......
it was but i didn't find out until AFTER i was committed to rhinebeck sunday
we arrived late
i was a bit upset about that as i adore rhinebeck, hands down it is my FAVORITE fiber event
the colors are amazing
the trip up and down goes through some of my most favorite country
and the atmosphere is the very best
i got a few things....not much
some dyable 'glitz'
some bleached silk tussah
( little barn for both of them......and they were out of unbleached tussah)
a bobbin for the lendrum
and an amazing skein of hand painted/dyed 100% silk lace weight from
SPIRIT TRAIL
in the colors of late russet autumn
AND
i met mobarger from kr
what a sweet sweet person,
poor thing got the full violet treatment
and i was distracted by the rhinebeck abundance of fibery goodness
but she is a wonderful person....
( and really pretty too......reminds me a little of clara from kr)


the cats: they were/are sick. you all don't want to know what my vet bills are right now
it started with calpurrnia.....the runs.....
then a bit of vomiting
then fawn and the runs......

finally the big guy
only he still has a bit of the vomiting
we have stuff from the vet
he's still eatting.....
i of course worry like crazy
he will no doubt survive in spite of me worrying like a mother hen

which brings us to the hens:
no one is laying
they are just over 2 years old
i have to make a decision..........

we need to get a few more layers
two is good
that's enough
now marguerite doesn't like to share her pen
but that is the only space i got for more hens
unless the other three either go out to the farm
or something

i am also thinking they need a chicken tractor....now that jackass isn't around......

which leads us to JACKASS:

yes, once again we tune into the continuing saga of as the jackass turns

btw, i did mention that his wife's name is jeni............ which is a female jackass?
( that just cracks me up every SINGLE time i think of it)
ok well
apparently he has found hisself another victim......ah......i mean woman
and has left her sorry ass
she naturally has installed a new penis
( what HER wait?)
things are much quieter for the most part now
ohhhhhhhh
jackass shows up now and again......

he was here last night (halloween-for true frightening) to get the kids and take them somewheres
heaven forbid mother of the year over there does anything with/for the kids
no one actually parents the kids.....
how could a pair of 3 year olds parent 4 kids?

we go to court AGAIN on the 16 of this month

let's see

what all else

ok in KNITTING news
i am again knitting......not much as my hands will act up again but a bit
right now i am knitting a bit of wool to felt for a swatch of what may possibly
become a felted coat
i want a deep wine red boiled wool coat with black trim in the worst way
and the ones i drooled over at rhinebeck didn't fit me
even if i could afford them
soooooo
i can slowly knit garter stitch no?
and felt it a bit no?
and if i over felt it.........the BLACK felted border will get a bit WIDER no?

or so i think........


life on our little corner of the world:
well we finally got our killer frost
this past week........end of october
i got some stuff still out there......covered
i need to get the garden huckleberries picked
now that there has been frost

canning season is sort of winding down.....
i want to can potatoes and chestnuts and dried beans yet
talk about true convienince
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

open a jar of tators or beans
add a jar of ham........
we are off to the races in 10 minutes
all homemade......no salt......no msg......no weird stuff we can't pronounce

the duckies:
are doing well...........
i need to get another bucket for them
i will do that tomorrow
they are losing their little pool this weekend too
falstaff FINALLY molted......is molting.......
whatever
feathers all over the place but his primary flight feathers are FINALLY
FINALLY coming out
i waited long enough
there wasn't any actual FEATHER left on them....just the quills

i have been raking leaves and putting two or three wheel barrows full
into their pen daily
they have their little duck house and all......
and i guess they are as ready as they are going to be for winter


the sheepies and the goatie........
i have no idea how they are
long story
and i am pretty upset about it
i am pretty sure that they are perfect,
but i don't know for 100% sure
i am wondering if i can risk bringing them home here?
zoning would freek
but with jackass gone....maybe i can?

is there anything i forgot?

drop me a line

vi

halloween movies

i love halloween
it is such a happy holiday
no pressure for single folk like valentines.....
no expectations and uneasy family relationships to live up to......
or cry about later
and NO ONE in my circle DIED on halloween!
( can you spell ironic?)

ok part of halloween is the specials......
and the pumpkins...don't forget the pumpkins

so while i rarely watch tv..... and have serious trouble sitting through a movie
there are some movies and specials i would love to have a back to back marathon on

here is a partial list and i think i best add to it here and there huh?

• the worst witch- this was so campy it was great
• the addams family- both the series and the two movies with raul julia
• casper- the first movie (christina ricci is wonderful in this and the addams family)
• it's the great pumpkin charly brown ...... naturally
• harry potter.....all of them....one after the other
• the others- ok this was pretty scary the first time around, after that it's just cool
• edward scissorhands
• sleepy hollow- johnny depp VERY atmospheric~christina ricci again as well
• the nightmare before christmas
• the corpse bride ( we may as well get johnny depp out of the way
• the witches- angelica huston should only play morticia or a witch or both
• the witch's sister..... campy 70's fun
• witch's night out-little known but really interesting
• interview with a vampire -while we hate vampires messing up halloween, i gotta admit...this one is good
• bednobs and broomsticks.....witches never looked better
• the woman in black this one is from 2012 with 'harry potter AKA daniel radcliffe'
• paranorman (just get this one.... seriously do yourself a favor and just get this one)
• beetlejuice
• the haunted mansion-just cause i loved that scene of the coach with the ghosts
• bewitched-the SERIES
• hocus pocus......are you kidding me.... watch this a couple times
• the witches of eastwick
• disney's halloween treat
• practical magic-that house and that BOOK
• Canterville Ghost (1986)
• high spirits
• i married a witch
• mists of avalon
• bell book and candle
• narnia
• the adventures of ichabod and mr toad
• merlin
• the haunting
• the lady in white
• the watcher in the woods
• the ghost and mrs muir
• child of glass
• ghost story
• topper
• truly madly deeply
• the gift
• elvira mistress of the dark...campy fun
• the black cauldron
• halloweentown
• haunted history of halloween
• blithe spirit
• heart and souls
• the ghost and mr chicken
• blackbeard's ghost
• the frighteners
• chitty chitty bang band......oh come ON a flying CAR...i love it
• beyond tomorrow
• a christmas carole, (get the one with jim carey for the FX)
• coraline
• something wicked this way comes
• gremlins
• the halloween tree
• saint ange
• the woman in black
• mr. boogedy 
• when good ghoules go bad
• sweeny todd
• what lies beneath
• excalibur
• the sixth sense
• stardust
• the bridge to terabithea
• the pirates of the caribbean if you are inclined to pirates, the special effects rock
• ALL of the harry potter movies, do them back to back, start in july when it's raining out-YES this bares repeating.....oh man yes it does

ok that is part of a list.....i would love more movies like these. I highlighted my favorites for you all but really getting a bunch of these and watching them one after another with glowing jackolanterns and whispery 'cobwebs' all together is a wonderful family night that shouldn't give anyone nightmares
i have a lot of these on vhs but would dearly LOVE to get them all on dvd ( i have the corpse bride on dvd)....just cause i don't ever want to be without them on halloween
i wish that the folks that did sleepy hallow and the folks that did hocus pocus would do more although sleepy hallow was pretty gory.....it was just so perfect that i can accept the gore
i would love to see some more witches and ghosties.......
i also love a good ghost story...... preferably a real one....but a really good one is ok real or not
til next time
vi

must haves and security blankets

it's almost winter,
we started the heat here
saturday night we did the yearly break in firing of the woodstove

canning season is still going but for me not quite at the frantic pace of before

i have been having a good time making some pear preserves, each batch lowering the sugar
i would like to get to the point where there is NO sugar in there
just pears and juice
we'll see
the sugar draws the juice of the pears out and helps preserve them
and then you reduce the juice to syrup
it's really quite good

but i am thinking
if i simmer the pears in say.....pear nectar...until tender
then reduce the juice to syrup
same deal right?

ok to the original point of this post

what are your 'must have's'?

the things you must have in the house before winter?
i have a list

• honey-we need a fresh jar of raw honey for the winter for colds etc
• candles, and oil lamps- i now have 5 oil lamps with enough oil for probably 10 years, as well as 2 boxes of 36-15 hour candles
• wood-we have 10.5 cords, which i am hoping is enough if we have a bad winter
• 200 pounds of potatoes-direct from the grower
• a fully stocked pantry-all the basics plus what i canned all season
• new prodjects for the winter ( yes virginia, this is where the yarn would come in)

now with my canning and drying, i found a few new ways to put the staples we use up, things like mushroom concentrate to replace mushroom soup for soups and sauces and gravies.
( i love my friends on the canning list......we bounce ideas off each other all the time.....)

i also have to have dried sweet red peppers on hand.....and little jars of sweet roasted red peppers..... they are the best
the upcoming weeks i will be canning kidney beans, and pinto beans.....potatoes....etc
also stuff that is on sale that i didn't get to grow this year......
such as sweet potatoes..... chestnuts

i will hand wash all our woolen or acrylic sweaters,
and lay them outside to dry on the patio table

i have already planted the garlic...... it is tucked all snug in the little divided beds in the garden.
i planted 12 new varieties this year.....and will put in, i think three of the older ones
by the time i really find out what variety works here......we'll move!

oh well it is fun to plan and try the different garlics

i want seeds for the heritage 'long pie pumpkin'
i have found them on line so this coming season.....i will grow pie pumpkin and long pie
along with long NECK butternuts
i hope we do move before this gardening season next, as i want to expand the garden
and with jackass and his ongoing juvenile vandalism i can't
somehow...... the plastic 'tent' that i put over the peppers got folded back....
but ONLY the side we can't see from the house......
and tucked between the garden fence and the hoop that supports the peppers......
neatly tucked no less
that is pretty hard for the ME to do let alone the wind don't you think?
thankfully it was still enough to protect the peppers
so no harm
but that is what we live with daily
we are going to get cameras and put them in

now back to my garden
if it were larger i would have a longer list for next year
as it is
i would like to be out of here by next year
into a larger property and slightly larger house......
i wouldn't mind building
as we would then build around the woodstove and with added solar-greenhouse etc.....
the first floor would be a HUGE keeping/kitchen
the basement one huge storage room
(and real dirt floored root cellar)
the second floor......bedrooms and studio.....
bernie wants me to have a seperate canning/soap kitchen.....
that is doable fairly easily i think


anyway....... i wandered around as usual

sooooooo what do YOU do to prepare for winter?




til next time

vi

october blue skies

there isn't anything like an october blue sky
the color is sharp against the brilliance of the trees
if the weather is 'pretty' we try and soak up every last ounce of it before the cold winds
and the snow flies

so what am i doing?
CANNING
in the HOUSE

oye
ok today i canned mushrooms
sauteed in butter with garlic and onions and a severely reduced stock......
in little cute 4oz jars
not all of them sealed
that pissed me off highly......

now i had actually made the mushroom base on sunday...... lightly pureeing it
i put it in some quart jars in the fridge until i had time to can it

and i have to tell you
as good as it is.....mmmmmmm
and it IS good
it looks like swamp witch potions

ewwwwwwwwww
it really does
i kept expecting eyeballs and disembodied digits to turn up in it
told you.....it really looks THAT BAD

next halloween
serve a homemade cream of mushroom soup in CLEAR glass jars
you'll see


ok now...... duck eggs are excellant for baking
most excellant
and i am going to get a second female duckie for this
wow

falstaff will think he died and went to heaven
ha
little does he know......
HIS serves are no longer needed

hmmmmmmm
i also got ORANGES......................


well canning season is starting to wind down.......
ha
at least i tell myself that
i got blisters on my fingers from peeling pears but I LOVE these pears

i didn't tally what i canned this year.....not as much as last year but
i still have a ton from last year......(not that i went overboard mind with the canning, but if i could even think of eating it......i canned it)

i plan on hobby canning of artisianal jams etc all winter
oh and buying a half a cow and canning THAT


i got the bug you know


til next time

vi

violet at the fair

our little blue ribbon winner.......

what's a nice girl doing UP at an hour like this?

it's 5am ( or a bit past now)
i'm up
getting ready to go to the fair

some demon disquised as my friend carole talked me into showing violet the goat at the fair
what am i nuts?
do I THINK i am 19 still?

ha
i helped wash 18 goats yesterday
right now i am feeling all 47 of the 18 goats i helped wash.....
and a cow or two.....
maybe a pig as well

so that is what screaming muscles feel like!

and today...... ( heaven help me)

i get to take MY very own goatie into the ring
my very own goatie, who btw is not speaking to me

see goats don't like water
in the LEAST
they also don't like anything or anyone when they are out of their pens

this list includes

red headed children
golf carts
trucks
cars
tall people
short people
COWS
blond headed children
birds
ashpalt
gravel
PIGS
blowing paper
brooms
people sweeping with brooms
my face


did i mention there is a HILL between where the goats are penned and the wash station?
and in between ARE COWS...... pigs...... humanity OH MY.....


cows are big you know
even the babies are big.....
really big
REALLY BIG
REALLY
and they have very LOUD voices

ok so
today we go into the RING
( picture the really SCARY music in the horror movie)
more specificly......tonight
if i am still awake
and still alive
and still can MOVE one limb or finger on this body

and tomorrow
i get to go argue with goats and horses to pick peaches....
if i can move.....
well you get the picture

i think.....i need a nice snow storm.....
87 inches will do it
i need a bit of time off now


thank you all for listening to me


vi

bernie's angel again....

last week, bernie pulled in home here pretty late,
he had vehicle troubles and had a part in the engine melt on him!
so friday he had to take my van ( and i am still without a vehicle)

friday morning he is driving east on route 80..... coming down a nasty hill with no left hand shoulder.

he was in the left lane

knowing him.....he was doing 90

he was listening to the radio, which suddenly cut out

now normally in his truck......the radio starts to break up and lose signal around there.... it gets all static-y

the radio in my van just went completely dead.....no sound, just instant silence
and NO traffic on route 80 at ALL......... very odd for that time in the morning

he moved over, to the middle lane slowing down a bit......and rounded the bend at the bottom of that wicked hill

in the left lane...... pointing TOWARDS the traffic was a car!
( remember no shoulder)
the car had it's headlights on, and had apparently spun out and ended up facing north

when dh touched the volume slide on the radio
he found it had been turned DOWN

there had been no gradual or even fast fade of noise...as you all know would happen if you had turned down the sound

it had gone from LOUD to no sound.....
this was a slide thing.......
and it couldn't have happened that way....

he turned it back up

i would sure like to know who is his angel ( this isn't the first time he's been the reciever of help that is paranormal)

anyway, i have been thanking this being....... soul.......entity

as if they had not done that simple thing of turning the SOUND off the radio.....my bernie AND that other person would have been dead.


anyway, i thought you folks would like to hear about this

out of sorts day

what a day........
poor little badger got a vacine today....
my poor baby lambsie
kris said it's time he learns to drink water from a bucket....so we gotta get him a bucket

someone told me.....(remember i am all italian) that she knew that all italians made sauce with sugar and vinegar in it......because while she was NOT italian...she lived next door to italians and watched some on tv....
huh?

does living next to the ocean make you a porpoise?

oye

it's been that kind of day

and now i can't walk
my left arch is killing me
i don't know why but it hurts so bad......
ok meanwhile in duckie news
they are HUGE
and are going to monica's farm shortly
i bought 5 ducklings and made a new friend doing it......the 5 ducklings are carole's birthday present.....
1 for each decade of her life


some of my tomatoes have early blight
i have to mulch them
and cut the affected leaves off and spray them with liquid copper

one tomato is ripening...it's turning RED
i can't wait for the rest


bernie LOVES his new job
he loves the company and the people


he feels he is making a difference....keeping the ambulances running

now.....
i am haveing a bit of trouble breathing and a few chest pains...
so I am giong to go lay down


til next time

vi

serafina and company

we have four ducklings
serafina is a bit......ahem.............. protective

protective duck....+ me needing to FEED and WATER them.....= me covered in duck poop

not the way i wanted to end my gardening day the other day
oye

and it was exceptionally smelly poop.......and i know from poop
bright GREEN too

ok so we had this storm the other night..... and bernie ( you remember him right...mr. no more animals.....and mr. get rid of the ducks???)

ran out in the storm to make sure falstaff was ok....as falstaff is in the outer pen....since he tried to kill the babies and rape serafina....
the outer pen doesn't have a roof.... just a small panel and then top flight netting....

all that happened was....his food got really really wet......

my tomatoes flopped over......
and falstaff spent the night in his crate
oye

I tied up the tomatoes...... there are a LOT of baby fruits on them....
i am looking forward to black tomato sauce.....
and canning hopefully 500 pounds of fruits......
after last years abysmal season.....
the peppers aren't doing as well

meanwhile badger the lamb is getting big..... he is hearty and healthy and quite a handful at times
and he doesn't always listen like he should
but he's growing on us

bernie loves him and wishes we could keep him

we can't.....he's going to be a HUGE sheepie when he's done growing

oye

vi

where do i begin.......to tell the story.......

let's see
we'll start with the new lamb.....
there is a bfl lamb on the floor next to me
he doesn't have a name yet....he was born monday morning
and after three hours of life and motherly attention.....
he was rejected
so he came here to be bottle fed
he's doing well and in spite of the fact that he is a bit confused about his ahem.....
species.......( that's really easy to do around here)
i think he will be a fine and dandy fiber animals....... ( is it only me who hears george carlin saying.....fine......and DANDY)

ok
i have put a giant white stuffed cat in with him....so he isn't alone.....he sleeps with it.....and he trys to nurse off it....and me....and the pen......and georgette up the hill......and bernie.....AND his bottle.....
this boy is one CONfused little guy

i took him up the hill to georgette's fenced and private yard to gambol and frolic.... as lambs DO.......
yes we have pictures.......forthcoming

in duckie news....
we have a hatch......but a dead duckling
i am really upset about that...they pipped last night and probably died shortly after
bernie has to help me remove it from the nest box
it isn't in the next....but beside it
and we don't want it drawing anything


speaking of bernie
he's got a new job........as a shop manager of a fleet of ambulances, and a couple of techs
it is a wonderful job...much much more money..... better benefits
he will love what he is doing....i know him.....he is going to love this
and best of all...... salary......so more money AND he actually gets it!
closer to home a bit as well......by 60 miles a day


ok in cat news...... they are not impressed by this lamb
they have retreated to the boudoir
and have come downstairs only to express their displeasure by pissing behind the front door

so far......only the hens love me ( and the lamb but he's too young and dumb to know anything)......they each laid an eggie today....so i got 4


ok......now a few other odds and ends....
i still can't knit.....my hands are pretty swollen
however i was able to can a bit
i got 14 quarts of beef in red wine with mushrooms done..... 7 with homemade red wine from a friend of bernies.....and 7 with commercial wine
needless to say....
i intend on making wine this summer
ha
and i don't DRINK!
hahahahaha
i want red for cooking and white to make vinegar with....

meanwhile the garden is still not finished planted...i got pumpkins to go in
but we got small green tomatoes......bean flowers
mesclun........... and peas
( and the constant slug battle over my beloved peppers)
ok so i think
THAT is all the news......

stay tuned for pictures
and if i remember any more news


vi

Short Vent ***

thar she blows

oh man

ok so i went to talk to the police today, as the staties won't come help unless the locals chief asks the local DA to call them in.

nice young officer, ( when did cops start being 12?) I told him all the stuff
showed him the court papers
showed him the order of no tresspass
the defiant tresspass order
the download from the TV station
told him about the kids tresspassing
about the harrassment
he asked me...'have you tried to talk to him'

I said yes......and he got in my face about two inches from my nose.......
and i am terrified of him
I told the cop that i have no doubt that if jackass could.......... i would have been dead already

i begged the cop to tell me what to do to help them help me

he said.....camera's but that he didn't tell me that
i said..... that's 2550. which i don't have

he asked about the fence
I said yup we fenced...... 6K worth of fence
that they've now damaged

ok....... then I came home
falstaff and serafina are making a mess since she started setting eggs
I don't think she's gotten off that nest today to eat or drink though

i uncovered the beans and tomatoes
brought the 7 trays worth of plants BACK out

watered and weeded the garden
and picked up a tick
ew
now you all don't know how much of a tick phobia I have
so when i felt this tiny little deer tick......... ewwwwww
crawling on my neck i flipped out
and flipped it off
only to have it replaced by a second one
talk about the creeps
oh man

i got the second....... smothered it in vaseline
shook and shivered until bernie got home
he practically had to do a cavity search until i was assured there weren't anymore ticks

listen you know who your friends really are
when you get a tick on your ass
and it is
JUST too far for you to reach

don't ask..........................


ok
then my insane KY sister in law.....( what is with my husbands family ??? are they ALL nutso ticking timebombs or what???)
got some sort of crazy restraining order on her husband by calling him up
rileing him all up
TAPING HIM without his knowledge and taking THAT to court
the man was in tears.
their sons were in tears

talk about a hillbilly hoedown
this sister in law ripped her entire family apart
like a BAD country western song
my poor nephews and brother in law
they were such a close family........ they all were always there for each other
always together
what a mess

i am thinking at this point
that the tick was probably the highlight of my day

oye


vi
til next time




*** like a whale!

Serafina is to be a momma

i can't see how many, but there are a fair amount eggies in there
she isn't setting close though
but it has been pretty hot
tomorrow is to be cold so i imagine she will set really close
falstaff is of course not helping at all
( what would you expect from falstaff)

meanwhile
they are eatting a ton of bugs ......flies included and bernie watched falstaff eat a spider.....oops wrong buggie that is a GOOD buggie.....

falstaff meets me at thier door looking for the leaf mold/compost and his corn
serafina LOVES the little bathing pool thingie that aunt pieheart gave them
( top of a garbage can......hey they aren't snobs)

they wag their tails at me

they pick over the leaf mold
they cut it all up
mix it all up
and i then take it out and mix it into the garden beds
wow they are so much help

shhhhh don't tell bernie but i prefer the ducks to him in the garden
they don't weed whack the soaker hose...........
they are much quieter then him too.........
and peaceful ( bernie likes his weed whacker........we won't go there)

i keep hoping that damn thing melts or something

and LOUD
how can I think with all that noise going on

ok
now we are to get really cold weather tomorrow with a sunday night low of 37
so i will be covering the garden
and then planting more monday

i got the beans up.......this hot weather has really really brought them on
they are about 6-8 inches high already

i put in the broccoli
the one poor remaining red cabbage
the purple cauliflower
some of the many many many MANY tomatoes i accidently grew
and then seeded some carrots
and some marigolds

i have to still put the peppers in......
and seed some corn
then there are the eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin......... winter squash, mellons
oye
celery, garden huckleberry, tomatillos *salsa is in my future*
and goodness knows WHAT ELSE
gees i forgot the beets, chard, brussels sprouts too

the deck garden has lettuce.... spinach
peas!
hahahah
oops gotta go
gotta water them

til next time

farmer vi

duckies and goaties and little lambsie daisies

ok first off
my baby goatie is going to her VERY first DAIRY GOAT SHOW
how about that!
little violet is all grown up and is to be BRED this fall
(tune in this fall and watch ME melt down with worry about my beloved little goat)

we named the female duckie
soooooooooooooooooo
( drum roll please)

it is SERAFINA!

that is the ONLY name i found that fits her!
remember what she looks like?

she is so sweet and serene
he is soooooooooo falstaff

so i give you...... falstaff and serafina muscovy

my duckies!

now as to the lambsie stuffs
i lost bonnie's and arabella's papers
damn
i need them as arabella is to be shown this year and she is definitely nice enough to win the blues
anyone pschyic?
they are beighish and in a page protector
help~!!!!

meanwhile
it's time to plant the garden
yup yup
and tonight the broccoli is going in and possibly some tomatoes


my duckies are helping me by processing the leaf mold
they cut it all up
mix it up really good
and it's ready to spread in the garden
hmmmmmmmmm
nice duckies
helpful duckies
momma's darlink duckies...............................

well mostly it's serafina that does the bulk of the work
( right now a whole bunch of females are nodding their heads in agreement)

while falstaff sleeps on the top of what was a hay bale.................

too bad he doesn't have a beer and a remote huh?
thank goodness he's a DUCK and they don't do that


oye

meanwhile
someone we all know and love.................... who shall remain nameless.....( but is a CITY BOY who's name rhymns with ernie..........)
decapitated a red cabbage plant
why ?
I have no freeken idea?
but remember this is the man that gardens with CHAINSAWS...............

he uses a weedwacker when a small hand pruner would be much more appropriate, not to mention better for the plants health................
the man who yanked UP the ground cover that was pretty and green with little flowers and put some ugly ass brown shit he got from the dump

oye

ok
i will cut him some slack as he is to help me in the garden tonight......... however he doesn't know that yet
hahahahah
that is my own little special surprise for him
that and egg salad I think for supper

oye
but there are tiny new lettuce leaves for his sandwitch



til next time

vi

what do you get when you fall in love?

and plant WAY too many tomatoes?
peppers
etc............

oh man
i have been seduced by heirlooms...........
now I love my peppers...... sweet peppers of ALL kinds
tomatoes are ok in my book
but I got into the heirlooms........

STOP
WAIT
SAVE YOURSELF
learn from my mistake

and whatever you do............
don't accidently over plant maremmano tomatoes........every single freeken one of them will grow.....(and they will apparently TWIN ......and you will have countless pots of them all over the deck)
( news at 11)

and don't continue on with at least 20 different heirloom varieties........... save yourself
be firm.......... you will thank me for it later

we have now a sort of jeririgged greenhouse on the deck
we have tomatoes and peppers under lights in the house
we have given MANY away
to complete strangers
i have almost gratefully watched a few get dampoff..........
( I SAID almost)

i got tomatoes and peppers in the windows
in the sink

i am begging my friends to take two..............three.............18 more tomatoes and pepper plants

i had BETTER have a harvest of SOMETHING this year.............

i want to be so buried in tomatoes and peppers that I come here and kevetch at you all about how i am out of my mind
and how NEXT year i am eatting out or some such nonsense.........

however i would really like to be able to dry about 100 pounds of sweet red peppers
and can about 100 quarts of assorted tomatoes......... ( i don't know why)

and we won't even
DISCUSS the pole beans................... 4 varities of assorted green beans....... then there are the red, yellow, purple, and turkey pole beans......... but that is another post........

meanwhile my RED CABBAGE.............. bernie the city boy strikes again......he decapitated it
oh man........

now you all wish me a farm.........cause NEXT year I need a greenhouse to start off with
and wish me a pretty farm please
with stately sugar maples
just like I have now

and no jackass' anywhere NEAR us


til next time
vi

canning season has offically begun!

there was a nice sale on chopmeat,
how could I resist
so I didn't........ canning season started with 3 nice quart batches of chopmeat with mixed veggies
one batch has mushrooms added
the others are just chopmeat with mixed veggies.

i am watching the meat sales now
i intend to can more meats with mixed veggies as it is a very FAST easy winter meal.
sickdays, late days, and snow days are easier this way.

while i wait for this batch in the canner........ bernie has gone to get us icecream and rootbeer

it's time for rootbeer floats!

woohoo

we love rootbeer floats around here!

meanwhile on the duckie front
we got them a small garbage can lid....... it's the perfect size for a small bath for them
and they LOVE IT
they prefer it to their water bucket even for drinking
we are going to give them a perch this week........as they ARE perching ducks

they really are the perfect backyard pet
no noise!
no smell!
and they mix and shred compost as well as eat bugs!


the beans are up out in the garden, the ones against the tarp.
they are doing so well that I tarped the other row of beans!
what started as a way to protect my duckies from jackass...turned out to be good for my garden!

we have the broccoli bed almost ready
and we prepped the tomato bed
i was going to put the plants out this morning but when we got up
the temp on the thermometer outside was 34!
too cold for tomatoes, but the broccoli should be ok
i put blood meal on the broccoli bed as there is a mole digging tunnels under it
I am sure that he has gotten all the worms out now
so the blood meal is there

we need to prep the pepper bed........that one for SURE needs black plastic to heat the soil
i want to heat the tomato bed and put a smallish hoop house.

now that jackass 'privacy' fenced against us........( I am STILL loving that)
we can hoop house out there without his shit bothering us

so we get WINTER veggies all winter .............no?
hahahaha
this is GREAT


now i think that's all i got to tell you all

if i forgot anything please remind me
vi

duckies bathing......

in their water bucket
I got to get them a pond

they remind me of little japanese monks

they first plunge thier little heads deep in the bucket
then they take a bit of water and sprinkle it over their backs
I sat down to watch them
they do that a few times then beat the air with their wings

i think they are getting used to me

they love the wheelbarrow full of leaf mold/compost i gave them again today
they eat the bugs out of it
and the maple tree seedlings
as well as other sprouted seeds

they enjoy it so very much
i love to sit and watch them root around

when I go and get the wheelbarrow they run to the side of their pen and watch me fill it with leaf mold
then they rush to where i dump it


I wish my hens could do the same
this is just about killing me that my hens aren't safe out there as long as jackass is around

but the ladies do make a lot of noise

bernie said if jackass is gone
we will put the ladies in tractors for the day and they will come in at night
( i would miss them way too much if they were left out there)

i long for the day when my ladies can free range in our back yard.......hopefully on a farm
and my duckies can fly free
with the sheepies cutting the lawn and the goaties triming the underbrush
and maybe a nice little mini jersey cow and her calf happily grazing on fresh pasture

with jackass nothing but a distant memory
displaced by the lowing of my cows, the contented clucking and boop booping of the chickens.......
all the animal sounds

?

and with luck...... I get to put my stories in a book for folks to read all together
and getting back to being an artist

vi

jackass neighbor!!!

http://www.pahomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=17523

can we say........ fraud
money laundering
criminal activity
can we say district attorney
attorney general

yes i knew we all could

vi
ps: I sooooooooo wish I could have this clip
but i can't afford the 40.00 for this one

HERE there be DUCKIES

duckie have landed and names

justinius or justinian Cornelius
Octavius Honoria Hortensius
laetres Amalia Antigonus
Archidamus Cornelia Desdemona
Drucilla Eugenia Euphemia
Hortencia Lavinia Lucretia
Falstaff Lucetta Luella
Novella Octavia Odessa
Malvolio Olivia Ophelia
Pericles Proteus Rosaline
Sebastian Agamemnon Orsino
Clachas Deiphobus Diomedes
Menelaus Alarbus Lucius
Quintus barnabus


here are some of the names we been considering

I am leaning to falstaff for the boy
ha
that male duck
we got them home, opened the crates.....and he concernedly and what we thought was TENDERLY called her and went over into her crate

was it a concerned reunion of two lovers seperated for a day?????????????????????

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

it was a horny male duck who'd been interuppted in the midst of his nookie
and wanted to finish

( see what i mean about falstaff? and he is a bit.............ah......portly...unlike her)


oh man MEN!

now i am attempting to associate ME with treats
I want them thinking.........."OOHHHHHHHHHHH nice lady with big straw hat, what have you brought us today"

today it was apples
they apparently don't care for apples
they liked the whole grain bred though
I can't wait to start feeding them slugs


they make a weird sort of dog sniffing noise
like a dog on a scent trail.......and they wag thier TAILS
hahahahaha
no kidding
and they got BLUE eyes
way cool
they watch me
but really they aren't all that concerned that i may hurt them
they don't rush me when i got to give them water or food or something.........
I almost was afraid that i would need body armour but they are pretty good duckies
I hope to get pictures soon

oye

vi

sheepies sans fleece***

(baby sheepies don't get shorn)


baby goaties.......cause.......well you know!


gee I LOVE life on the farm


vi

no news from the sheepie front

it rained like crazy today so hopefully my babies are still 'clothed'
I hope to get out to the farm for the derobing such as it is
I was busy all day......
I had a LIST of stuff to do
one part of the list was to research cow breeds
hahahahaha
( we have to move first huh? )
well i discovered not only mini jersey but dexter.....
so that pretty much is where we are heading for milk cows
they are much smaller.... in some cases much less then half the size of a full grown cow
the mini jersey will give a LOT of milk however
and they will do it on half the feed
I am thinking I am not all that tall......so i shouldn't have too much trouble handling them
with bernie helping with the hard stuff?

with two cows......you get milk all year long
probably too much milk huh?
about 6 gallons a day on an average

and me.............I LIKE milk

ok so i also love cheese and yogurt

and of course ICECREAM............
ok let's see

I gave the hens a mix of cornbread and hard boiled eggs and some of the kitty glow vitamin powder
as henrietta still isn't as bright red in her comb as I like to see on the girls

I am also thinking of a high tunnel hoop house out back
for winter gardening....
we can make one pretty cheaply
even the BIG ones are only about 500.
I am thinking maybe 75. for the one I would like............
and the girls maybe able to go out there as well.....
jackass won't be able to see them..........or hurt them
the ducks can defend themselves............... the muscovy drakes can be quite a deterant
to a moron who is too stupid for words..........

I have decided that until we know what is going on with bernie's job...... we are going to get as much stuff going here as we can... the high tunnel hoop house is not only dismantelable.....
but it is so cheap we could even leave it and build a new on at the next place

ideally i would love to put a hoop house for raising broilers out on the back parcel of land
but of couse with jackass next door we can't
I would like to raise about 100 broilers and 4 turkeys
for the freezer

I been also researching microfarms
tiny farms that earn a living
it's pretty cool if you have a mind

anyway
I am waiting to hear about my bonnie and edmund

stay tuned

vi

Firsts...... and hopefully no seconds!

well my two sheepie babies are getting shorn
not my lamb arabella........she won't get shorn until august
but my bonnie and my edmund
I can't get there to see it
sniff
but I hope for pictures
Carole says this shearer is most excellant and there will be very little if any second cuts
my first fleeces from my beloved tunis sheepies

in other news
we are getting muscovy ducks (accent on the COVY)
a pair of white ones
they will be working ducks as well as pets......eatting slugs in the garden
the hens won't eat nearly as much as the ducks and the hens would gleefully EXCAVATE the garden.

so until we get the chicken palace finished for hens
the muscovy ducks will live in there until the domicile du caneton finished.....
hahahahaha
the home of the duckling........sounds better in french

anyway.....
we will need some names befitting a rather droll pair of ducks
I am thinking...... something out of dickens?
well I mined the romans for calpurrnia's name....... and thaddeaus......well.... you know

soooooooooooooo how about dickens for the ducks

any ideas?


vi
stay tuned for what I hope will be pictures of bonnie and edmund getting shorn

march 31, heritage day at kutztown

Sunday march 25, 2007.... Spin surprised the hello out of me!

ok so maybe turning 50 isn't going to be so bad?
I got the best friends in the world

vi

Arabella at 1 month

and typhoon's new baby at 1/2 hour old


edited to add
my friend Julie is a tarot card artist as well as the author of some stuff on tarot
I put a link to her site on the side.........(it says 'my friend julie)
I love her decks, and i love her
so please go take a look if you are into tarot ( which i am)
she's coming to the east coast next month and I hope to get down to see her

vi