Turkeys in the hayfield….

turkeys in the pasture and turkeys in the garden that was.

We have a flock of wild turkeys that come around and feed. They are interesting to watch as they come out from the wooded area on the far side of the hayfield just south of us. If they are undisturbed they will filter across the hayfield, go behind our house,feast in our pasture and in the garden that was.

As long as our dogs don’t go on a barking spree, the turkeys don’t seem to be bothered by them. A few have even come very close to the fence that surrounds the yard. I believe that these are the same group that we saw last fall/winter. We have seen quite a few hens, jakes and at least three fully grown toms.

Hopefully they will remain in the area. Fresh turkey for Thanksgiving would be great!

More Home Improvement

After a successful install of a new toilet in our bathroom, we decided that it was time to replace the bathroom sink. The old counter top was in the throes of coming loose and falling off. It was indeed time to address this issue.

A trip was made to the local home improvement store and a lovely one piece sink and counter-top was decided upon. Also a new faucet, J trap and hardware for the cabinet doors. The end result is just what we wanted. But as usual the getting there was fraught with challenges.

Just once it would be nice to have something go smoothly. Take the old one out, put the new one in. Sounds simple enough, but there is always something unexpected to contend with and make things challenging.

The challenge this time came in the shape of the drain pipe that goes from the J trap into the wall. It disintegrated. Literally fell to rusted pieces. It should have been no big deal to replace……….except when this was installed whoever did this felt it necessary to tile right up to the screw connection. It was embedded in the tile, no way to get a hold of the thing. So we were stuck with digging out the rest of the rusted pipe and figuring out how to connect a new piece.

After a few more trips to the hardware store and some creative finagiling by Jeff2, the job was complete. The new white sink and counter top really helped to brighten up the bathroom and it looks great! The last dark avacado green piece in there is the tub/shower. We are considering a few options to deal with that.

I have come to the conclusion that home improvement is more than just improving your space, it’s a test of character.

For your amusement, a poem

I wrote this years ago, when my now grown son was just a baby……….

I caught a glimpse of my table tonight,

dimly lit by the stove hood light

littered with donations from my family

a gift of a mess for all to see

babys’ shoes and a kleenex box

a little boys treasures, unmatched socks

chessmen piled in disarray

what a valiant battle they fought today

backgammon game neatly boxed up

a few scattered dribbles from a coffee cup

a ring of keys, babys’ plastic kind

a misplaced bill I had to find

condiments sitting on a wooden rack

a tired and mauled empty cigarette pack

I shake my head and remember when

about an hour ago it must have been

I cleared the table of life’s debris

and now it looks like world war three.

A little bit of heaven

Anyone who knows anything about me at all, knows this: I would rather spend time in my kitchen cooking and baking than anything else. I am definitely NOT a heat and eat cook. I make just about everything from scratch.

A large part of preparing good food is to have good ingredients. The better the parts the better the result. I use real food. No margarine, no pretend sugar, salt or anything else for that matter. Real food is what our bodies were meant to consume. Quantities of course are just a matter of common sense.

So it is no surprise that the food network is one of my favorite TV destinations. I am always looking for ideas to make things better, more flavorful and pleasing to the eye. If something looks good you have a higher expectation of its flavor, and are more likely to try it, especially if it is something new.

I discovered a unique supermarket via the food-network. It is a place called Jungle Jims. This is a marvelous place filled with lots of imported international foods, and so much more. The store is over 300,000 square feet, that’s about six acres. One and a half of those acres is devoted to the produce department. They have every fruit, vegetable and herb that you have ever heard of, a few that you probably haven’t.

The meat department is filled with the usual and the not so usual offerings. This is a place where you can find things like rabbit, buffalo, elk and caribou. Fresh, not frozen. They also carry Amish grown chicken. That means the chicken is free range fed and NOT full of antibiotics and hormones. They are truly things of beauty.

The cheese department has cheeses from all over the world, every kind you could ever want. And once again probably some you have never even heard of before. They also carry 1,000 different kinds of beer(some from local micro-brewers) and 10,000 bottles of wine. They even carry home brewing supplies.
There is also a fully stocked kitchen store. There you will find everything from imported English teapots (and tea) to cookware, bake-ware, canning supplies, gadgets, cookbooks and so much more!

It may sound crazy to some, but for me it is well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive to get there. True I will not be going there every week, but it is most definitely worth a trip 3-4 times a year!

A touch of Autum

The days now begin a little cooler than they have in the summer. There is a thin mist that envelops everything in the evenings and lasts until mid morning. The trees are tinged with gold and shades of brown.

The garden has given its best and is now basically finished. It is populated by the last few tomato plants and the sunflowers. The once magnificent bright yellow blooms have faded and hang listlessly from the now yellow stalks. They remind me of a row of mourners in a funeral procession.

We have completed a few tasks inside the house. That leaky kitchen faucet has been replaced, even though we have not as yet done the rest of the things we want/need to do in regard to that. A big plus was replacing the toilet with one that does not require 5 gallons of water per flush.

I understand that these old style toilets are somewhat of a hot commodity for some. So if you are in the market for an old style toilet, circa 1960’s, no chips, no cracks, no stains and avocado green in color, let me know! We can also complete the look with a matching bathroom sink and tub.

Ewww

I have been busy the last bit of time dealing with some very unwelcome visitors. It seems that every flea in this part of the state found it necessary to come here.

All at once.

Without warning and definitely without an invite.(Who in their right mind would invite them anyway?)

There was only one course of action that we would even consider. The mass murder of the flea population.

We have sprayed, sprinkled, washed and bombed them into hopeful non-existence. There are a few things that I have learned from this experience:

1. Fleas are sneaky little buggers and will inundate your dogs, yard and house when you least expect it.

2. Flea shampoo and sprays should be sold by the gallon.

3. Fleas don’t care that your house was clean to begin with. Like unwanted party crashers, they come in, make a mess, and get into everything imaginable.
4. The cashier will look at you strangely when you check out a cart full of flea shampoo, spray,collars, yard treatment, bombs and the stores entire supply of borax.

5. Flea shampoo isn’t kind to your hair, but you use it anyway, just because.

6. You react violently to every brown speck you see for days afterward.