Sweet Tomato Sandwich, Winter Reds

Mercy, do you think I may be 'craving' a sweet tomato sandwich on toasted homemade bread?I just couldn't help myself. A new blog friend 'Dad', the Tomato Man, got me started.
These are just a few of the tomatoes we put up for the winter in the form of sauces, salsas and canned tomatoes from the fall of 2009.
Even Hubby Bill pitched in after his heart attack for something to do while anxiously waiting to get back at arranging his new shop...poor fella. I thought he sure would rather had been doing 'his own thing', but said he actually enjoyed helping me out. We set up a canning and meat processing area off the side of his shop that will eventually be partitioned off. What a guy. I'll keep him another 30 years.
Our work area comes complete with a stove, refrigerator, freezer and shelving in two locations. Running water isn't in yet....I'm still working on him for that one. But we do have drains in place.
My craving is overpowering me so I think it's time for that Sweet Tomato Sandwich.

God Bless Your Day

Barns and a few Necessities

Aunt Lois and Mom Wynette- Aren't they just peaches? So much fun and so active for youngsters in their 70-something and 80.We laughed Sooo hard our faces and stomach muscles hurt...
The outhouse started it....tho there IS inside plumbing, there used to be a need for this lil building years ago and when the power goes out....brrrr
Yesterday, I took my Mother to see her sister up North. Now, Aunt Lois is a pioneer of a generation before me. She and her husband never had any children but she still ran the farm by herself while my uncle was involved with forestry, tending the upkeep of cabins around the flowage. He is in another heaven for a few years now. Our visit was wonderful and memories abounded.

These are my Aunts barn boots, now all purpose and wood carriers. She no longer farms after being recognized several times for her excellence in milk producing stock.
I will be adding more photos later but for now will keep with the barns and just a few of her items that sustain her life. She is not of todays requirements of survival, but rather of yester-years. This is one of the antique gas pumps, still in use.
The old iron wheel barrow leaning against the outhouse, is still used to haul her firewood from one of the barns to the porch of her house. She heats with firewood in the kitchen and dining area which is one big open space, much like todays new-fangled home with open-concept design.

The distance from the wood storage to the house is about 60 yards up a steep grade. She fills her wood box a couple times a week after shoveling her path if the plow has not come through.

It takes her about 5 trips to fill the box. Now that beats any workout in the gym.

This is the counter-weight system used to open the Bus Garage door with ease. The bus garage is over 100 years old, and is still in excellent condition, having only a couple rows of logs replaced nearly 50 years ago when my aunt and uncle first moved into his parents home a few years prior.

The log bus garage is quite the wonderful sight. It has dormers on the west side to let more light in and the upper section is used for storage with a ladder access. Windows and the dormers were added later.
The west side with the dormer, more windows, and a service door. I love this building. I would sure love to move it to my cabin...

This is the barn that housed many prize cows, calves and a bull throughout my aunts farming days. It sits about 100 yards from the main house behind the bus garage and a couple other outer buildings. Love that copula that used to have a cow weathervane atop that neighbor kids shot off with their BB guns. It's still a beautiful site.

This is the back and side of the wood barn. More loft windows on this beauty.
On the ride up north, we pass this wonderful old barn in the middle of a field that must have either had a home or perhaps, just to store the hay without hauling it to the actual farm which I believe was across the road by yet other outbuildings and another small barn. It's a nice sized field for our rocky country.
Another shot of the same barn.
I hope you enjoyed the ride... It was such a wonderful day for a visit and how we laughed.

God Bless Your World

"Rooster"

Good Morning...This is "Brooster the Rooster". He was, notice I said Was, the favorite mascot at "The Farm", my parents place where I grew up.

For fun, fellow friend bloggers, The Fish Guy and Darla, (not this Darla), have a new fun event going. They are creating a new Header each week and this week it is 'rooster'. I'm not competing but just wanted to share my folks favorite rooster for his incredible 'crow'.

This is the time of the year that my Dad would pour over the 'Poultry' catalogs and carefully choose each type of chicken he wanted he and Mom to raise. Some of the favorites were the Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, Cornish Rocks, you get the picture,...not only for their meat, but their fine eggs.

The chicks would come via 'mail order', so when the local post office would call and beg, "Please come pick up your chicks!", they would go get them immediately. A box full of chicks are quite noisy and need to be put under the heat lights as soon as possible and fed and watered. Mom would insist on keeping them in the house until they began to 'feather out.'

Easter usually meant a houseful of little Grands euwwing and awwwing and holding the little fuzz balls, of course, under the close eye and supervision of Great Grandma.

These are a few of Broosters hens of whom he adored. He took such good care of his brood.

Children of all ages loved Grandma and Grandpa's chickens. Some of them had to have eggs each time they visited. Always, Grandma would send at least a dozen eggs home with the Grands and Great Grands. And, of course, they always had to gather the eggs. All part of the fun and learning constantly going on at 'The Farm'.

I just had to show you a picture of the barn there, that housed many small livestock including cows, chickens, sheep, hogs, horses, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas, cats and dogs throughout the years of my youth. Even the mow and the rooftop was always full of pigeons.
OK, Fish Guy and Darla, How bout this ol' Rooster? Does he qualify? Good Ol' John Wayne portrayed Rueben J. "Rooster" Cogburn in the still famous fictional movie, "True Grit". It's still one of my Bill's and my favorite movies.
I just cannot leave without recognizing " The Lady"....played by none other than Kathryn Hepburn. Ya gotta love The Rooster and The Lady.

So goes here in God's Country.

Bless You All

Shine On

I have been in such a 'slump', 'winter blues', just plain HAD ENOUGH.

Sooo, to brighten my day, I'm thinking of all things shiny. I took a walk outside to see the sun beating down on the snow so beautiful. Who could not smile at those Diamonds covering my once green lawn.?
And Nothing cheers me more than to be reminded of my faith and thinking of all my loved ones under His care, (despite that devilish ice sickle), I am not discouraged.
I haven't seen a cardinal all winter, so this one will have to do. It is one of my ornaments from Christmas that I decided to leave out. I'm glad I did. The heat from the register twirls him ever so slowly throughout the day.
Look at those bright shining eyes of my GrandLove Noah. Who wouldn't be cheered by those brilliant baby eyes.?
And Plum Jelly...so crystal clear and ' yum in my tum '!!!
So, in spite of the long snowy days we still have ahead, there are just as many 'behind' us now. That will brighten anyones day who has not been fond of these long winters. Like my sister , hibernation has been a thought. Since I am not a bear, finding ways to entertain myself has become the option. Today, it was to 'Shine On.' How 'bout you?

May the Good Lord Shine On You

As I turn into the driveway to the cabin, I never what I will see or feel. Today was no different. The first quarter mile was snow covered and trackless. I did not expect that. I couldn't help but think that the wildlife didn't like the deep freeze we have been in either.
Awww, a runway. The deer are active.

The deer are Very active. I rounded the corner about three quarters of a mile in and WOW, a Whitetail Highway. The wind has died down, the temperature is actually a few degrees ABOVE zero, and the deer are hungry. They 'hunker down' just like we do when it's bitter cold and during snowstorms. These tracks are testament that they are ready to browse on the twigs and whatever they can find to sustain them. All that is at the cabin at the moment are frozen pumpkins that they are scratching at. Tomorrow I will throw corn for them and apples.

Even though I have parked behind this fence for years, somehow, today I felt as though I were fenced in. I wanted to chain it to the back of the truck and pull it up.

I didn't.
Finally, some wildlife in the flesh. Off in the distance I saw just his head as he walked up the side of the bank and showed himself. He was a beautiful partridge strutting his stuff. Keep in mind I haven't much for a camera and he was an 1/8th a mile away.
No matter where I looked, the 'white' was everywhere, even amongst the bits of gray, green, black, and browns. I started to feel surrounded again. The bench was covered.
The view out the cabin window was covered.
I opened the south door to the deck and it was covered knee-deep. Just the snow tunnels made by the squirrels were visible. To walk on the snow with these low temperatures, well, you do not sink in. There is a hard crust that is impossible to shovel. I tried.
The sky was such a beautiful, hopeful blue when I drove up the hill and into the woods, heading to the cabin.
When I drove out, it was this depressing GRAY. The sun Was Trying to Shine. It did leave a bit of a rainbow on the hood of my truck. If you click on the picture, you can almost see it.
This is still my little Get-Away from it all. I wanted to stay but the pilot on the gas stove went out. Someone forgot to turn off the gas during the last stay, the tank went dry, so when the pilot fizzled out, the smell of gas lingered. It must have just happened because the loft window was open, yet the smell was too strong to hang around long. Needless to say, I opened more windows and will close them tomorrow.

Thank God, I am not a smoker. I hate to think what could have happened when the door opened. It WAS strong in there. I can still taste it.
These next two pictures hang in the south windows facing the creek. I made them with window paints by outlining each area with a lead paint designed for this type of craft. Then, fill in with the paint. I should do more. They are so much fun to do. New Project. Do more windows. These are Wood Ducks. We feed about 30 of them that come waddling up the hill each spring and at least one pair stays and nests in the wood duck box we made for them.
This is the other duck we have visit. The family of mallards are my favorite. The woodies are timid but the mallards are quite friendly.

I know why I was so in the dulldrums today...I want more of this...COLOR. Color in the birds, ducks, the woods, the gardens, SPRING...and we only have at least a couple more months of winter. Don't get me wrong. I do love the snow, just not the cold.

God Bless from my house to yours

nasty, Nasty, NASTY

This was our 6 a.m. Moon...

It is BITTER cold out at -21 degrees, that's MINUS 21 and the wind promises to pick up. I took this picture through my window this morning. There was no way I was stepping out the door... I like the way the tree branches were caught...
Stay safe and warm one and all, especially in the 'freeze zones'

God Bless Your Weekend

Dreamin' Again

Been dreamin' again!!! All the bitter cold weather has me in a dream for some fresh off the vine, sugar snaps and broccoli florets
And bright blue skies and the 'Eye of the Tiger'
A shadowed bloom of the Yellow Hollyhock
Stately Joe-pye Weed hugging the creekside
Goldenrod swaying by the Bluebird house
Turtleshead peeking through the grasses
My Great Grandmothers Monkshood surrounding the highly scented Beebalm flanked by the Cinnamon Fern that grew 5 ft. tall by summers end
My favorite combo of Pink Poppies and Blue Bachelor Buttons
Of course, my Sweet Williams planted for My Sweet William
I can't forget these wonderful deep blue Delphiniums that dry and keep their color so famously all winter long...
I hope these quick pics of a few of my summer fun has warmed your day. Oh for green grass and flowers again....

Bless Your Day