Life Isn't Quiet Here Anymore

  

    Life here isn't quiet anymore. Michaela is not a quiet girl. Today, Daniel and Amy put shoes on here. She screamed and tensed up and shook. Every time she looked down at her feet, the screaming got worse. Amy and Daniel thought they'd try putting shoes on her at a store to see if maybe it was that particular pair of shoes only to find it's any shoes. Michaela has had shoes on before and this hasn't happened. Some parents are so mean. If once wasn't bad enough, they tried later in the day, and the results were worse.



Side view



   A couple of weeks ago, Tim sold one of the 3 generators we had and used that money to buy a wider, flat bottomed canoe. I guess it's not really called a canoe, but I can't remember what Tim was calling it. It was a good deal. Now, he can go on the smaller lakes out here that don't allow bigger boats.

   Last week, Tim took me to Fan Lake and we paddled around the whole lake. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, since I can't swim and don't really like being in or on the water. While we were on the lake, we saw a couple of Bald Eagles. One was carrying a very large fish in it's talons. We also saw water turtles and, believe it or not, fish.

   On the way home we saw many does and their spotted fawns out and about since it was early evening.



   Eventually, Tim wants to get a small motor so he and any passengers don't have to row all the time. The canoe  also needs seat cushions and seat cushions with backs would be nice since, the seats are hard and very butt numbing.







Cherry pitter

    Today, I pitted 10 pounds of cherries with the cherry pitter I bought at a yard sale last year. I think I paid $3.00 or $5.00 for it, and it was really worth it. I wasn't really sure how it would work, since there were no instructions with it. It did pit the cherries so there were no stray pits in the cherries. It also chopped the cherries at the same time, so they'll be great for my cherry jam. I will use the first cherry pitter I bought (also at a yard sale) that uses the plunger method, if I want whole, non-mangled cherries.

   It still took time to go through all the cherries and look for bad ones, remove stems and wash, but pitting was so much faster. When I was finished, I measured out and put in bags, in the freezer, what I need for each batch of cherry preserves. I did it this way last year, and it was much nicer canning in the winter than in the summer.

   I have finally finished harvesting, washing, blanching and freezing our spinach crop. I now hate spinach. I like eating it, but if I never have to do the rest, it will be too soon.

   Tomorrow, I'll be harvesting more peas and beans. At least they are more staggered than the spinach crop was.

   I still haven't done anything with the fiber in the bathtub since I was waiting for me to finish the spinach. It's done, so now I can play. Hopefully. Oh, there is another basket of towels waiting for me to fold, as usual.

   I need to tackle Chip and give him a bath and a haircut. I had to buy a muzzle for him since he's decided to be a nasty dog when I try to cut his hair and claws. Rotten poodle. I have decided to keep Chips hair short, even in the winter. It's funny, since hos hair is much shorter and Tim is mowing our whole 5 1/2 acres, you would think it would be less junk in Chips coat. Not so. Teach me to think.