A VERY BIG BOY

Since the farm was rainy and COLD, I am posting a photo from when we were out there a few weekends ago.  I was in the yard at the farm, surveying things, and I heard this noise.  I turned around and this big guy was standing on the other side of the fence.  This is on the property behind us.  

He was huge.

Really big bull

It's like standing next to a large vehicle and I guess in a sense he could be a vehicle of sorts...though I wouldn't ever do something like that, I'll leave that fun job to the rodeo pros, LOL.

He took up the length of a whole section of fence...

Face to face with a bull

It was somewhat intimating standing there face to face with him.  Solid muscle.  Very powerful animal.  He snorted a few times and rolled his head around in the dirt/mud.  He didn't seem overtly aggressive and was curious as I stood there taking pictures.  Then I looked at the barbed wire and thought, hmm, I better not take any chances.  If he really wanted through that fence, I don't think it would hold him in and one or both of us would get hurt in the process.

But here's the best part...I'm standing there clicking away with my camera, coaxing him over to the fence for about 15 minutes and as I was walking back to the house, I realized that I was wearing an oversized, bright red t-shirt...

Everything is a learning experience, right?

FISH AND VEGETABLES MEALS, VINTAGE POSTER SUNDAY

Fish and Vegetable Meals, vintage poster image courtesy of Wikicommons

Here's a good one.  It dates from WWI, and comes from Canada (those Canadians know how to eat, ha).  This one urged civilians at home to eat more fish and vegetables so that the wheat, meat and fats would be saved for the soldiers and allies overseas.

This one is interesting though because it looks like it could easily be a healthy eating poster today.  Eating more fish and vegetables and eating less wheat, meat, and fats would be a good thing.

Hope your weekend is going well.  We are in another day of rain and cold  So far, we are at a little over 1" of rain and highs only in the mid to upper 30's.  But for a few degrees of temperature, we would have had snow...an extreme rarity for this part of the state.  

More later today and I'll catch up on comment replies.

SAME SONG DIFFERENT DAY

Sigh...

It's cold yet AGAIN today...

There is rain AND sleet in the area...

The skies are gray and overcast and dreary...

Time for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies!

Hope you are having a good weekend, for the 4th time in a row, ours is a bust.  

CERAMIC BERRY BASKETS

Ceramic Berry Baskets

We found these really cool ceramic berry baskets the other day.  They were on clearance at our local Kroger grocery store.  The store has a housewares section that has become my new favorite place to check out whenever I'm in there grocery shopping as they are always putting stuff on clearance.  

These were only $2.00 each!  

The thing that's cool is that they are textured...instead of the smooth ceramic and/or porcelain that many are.  This gives them the same 'feel' as cardboard ones.  Amazon sells ceramic berry baskets, but I haven't seen any exactly like these.  They will definitely come in handy during dewberry season this year.  

Rinse them off and keep them in the fridge!

Of course, it's 30's here today with sleet and rain...dewberry season seems like it's ages away.

SLEEPING KITTY, FELINE FRIDAY

No words...

...just Friday cuteness.

More later this afternoon!

ROUND RAISED BEDS, INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Round raised bed, image source via Pinterest

With the last couple of Thursday's being Christmas and New Year's Day, we missed having our Inspiration Thursday posting...

I have no idea of the origin behind these, I did a google image search and couldn't find the the original source but I'm fascinated by them.  They look like a neat way to make a round raised bed and as much as I like our traditional rectangle and square wooden raised beds, the round shape is different and unusual and could have its place in the yard/garden as well.  

These look easy(ish) to make, I believe that's some sort of fencing formed into a circular shape and then lined with sheet metal?  Not sure but it's definitely an intriguing way to make a round raised bed.  

Be inspired!

PAPRIKA PASTA AND MEATBALLS

2nd Man recently threw this meal together (I keep telling him he should try out for "Chopped" on Food Network, ha).  He made some homemade pasta and decided to add some Spanish Smoked Paprika to the dough.  

It made a gorgeous looking pasta...

Paprika Pasta

Such a smokey flavor and definitely a beautiful color...

While the dough was 'resting', he made some meatballs, sautéed them in a skillet with peppers and tomatoes and onions...

Pasta and meatballs

...and just ladled it over the pasta, sprinkled some Parmesan shavings on top and we were ready to eat.  It was so good and seemed like a great Autumn/Winter dish.

WHAT TO DO WITH CHINESE FORTUNES

OK, so for the last almost 16 years, I've saved, for some odd and sentimental reason, every fortune that 2nd Man and I have ever received from our fortune cookies.  Hey, what can I say, we enjoy Chinese food!

For awhile, I just dropped them into a small box we had, but after a couple of years, they started to overflow.  So then I started taking them, folded slightly...

...and dropping them through the top of this retro vase with a flower frog wire mesh top.

Then I just take the jar, shake it a few times so that they fall down into it and...

Jar of fortune cookie fortunes

Voila!  15+ years later and we have this jar full of fortunes!

Hmm...I wonder how many missed winning lotto numbers are in there?

I figure it will make a great crafty project someday, but of course, I don't know what we'll do.  I guess I'll figure out something in time, not that I need to do it now.  I just thought it would be fun to blog about.  

Either that, or someday, long after we're gone, someone will stumble across it in a thrift store and wonder what the heck someone was thinking, LOL!  Hey maybe it will inspire a mystery novel!

Do any of you have any silly things you collect that you hope to one day do something with?

AUSTRALIAN SNACKS

Recently, a very sweet friend of ours in Australia sent us a special package.  It arrived just in time for Christmas!

Australian Tim Tams and Vegemite

It contained a few uniquely Australian products.  Tim Tam's, a chocolate covered cookie/biscuit sweet treat and of course, the uniquely Australian snack spread that is known as Vegemite.

Tim Tam Slurpee

First up, the TIM TAM SLURPEE (or TIM TAM SLAM).

These can be eaten as normal snack cookies might and they are delicious that way.  But, per the suggestion we were given, there is something called the Tim Tam Slurpee.  First, you nibble off one end, then you nibble off the other end.  Do you see where we are going?  No?  Hang on.  Next you take a cup of hot coffee or tea or, in this case, hot chocolate and get ready.  You will use the Tim Tam as a straw!  You place one end in your mouth and the other in the hot beverage and suck up the liquid through the cookie (biscuit).  Then, as quickly as you can, you put the whole thing in your mouth.  

What happens next we can only describe as a magical experience...the inside cookie part has turned to liquid, held together only by the chocolate coating.  It's like chocolate air.  Just wonderful!

Vegemite on toast with butter

Next up, our first ever experience with VEGEMITE.  

We went into this knowing full well that it could go either way.  Vegemite is one of those love it or hate it things, apparently there is no in between.  It is not eaten by the spoonful (though perhaps some do).  Instead, the best instructions for eating it, especially for the first time, are to eat it on toast spread with butter and then a thin layer of Vegemite.  So that's what we did.

All we can say is...YUMMY!  It's a salty flavor, a bit sour, kind of like what I would imagine eating a beef bouillon cube might be like.  That's probably why using a little is best.  I asked 2nd Man what he thought and he liked it too...he said it was a very 'umami' taste.  It's definitely something we will have again.  We can actually order this from Amazon Vegemite and I believe we will do that and keep some on hand!

Many of you who follow our blog know that our cats are named Sydney, Brisbane, and Hobart.  I'm not sure why we've always been fascinated with Australia but we have been and of all the countries we'd like to visit, it's at the top of our list.  Someday, we hope to make it there and will definitely have to take some time to see the sights of this beautiful country.  One thing we know for sure, its people are kind and generous!

THANK YOU!!!!

COLD AND WET STILL

Sure the rain was gone today but...

...when we got to the farm in the morning, it was still wet...everywhere...

The pasture behind the garden was almost underwater, the driveway was soaked, and there was standing water under the house.  According to the rain gauge, we had a bit over 3" of rain at the farm.  That's a lot for just two days of rain.  Almost everywhere we stepped outside it was muddy and squishy.  It was also cold today, 40's and windy, so the windchill was even worse.  

Needless to say, we stayed inside and did stuff.  I unpacked and found a home for some salt and pepper shakers I was given as a gift a couple of years ago.  I had lost track of them for a bit.  They are all animals we have seen at the farm.  A pig, an owl, a chicken, a cow and a fox....er, well, OK we haven't seen a fox, let's just say it's a coyote.  

We stayed until almost sunset and then headed back into town.  We got things done that we had been putting off and I'll blog about those in upcoming posts.  Oh, and I unhooked all the hoses, drained them, and wrapped up the outside faucets.  Winter is coming here!  

It was still a relaxing day, as it always is out there.  

Here is the forecast for the next few days.  Freeze tonight...a bit of a warming trend Tuesday and then the bottom falls out again and it's 28 for a low and only 40's for a high.  Time to stay inside where it's warm.  

The extended forecast for the weekend shows rain AGAIN.  Argh!  We're all for rain, but how about during the week instead of our weekends?

Hope you are warm where you are and had a good weekend.  Of course, those of you in other parts of the world where it is now Summer, well, should we send some cold your way?

HARVEST WAR CROPS, VINTAGE POSTER SUNDAY

Help Harvest War Crops, vintage poster courtesy of public domain

Here is a neat poster image.  This one shows an empty harvest bucket with the instruction to FILL IT!  Help Harvest War Crops.  The shortage of men to help harvest the crops meant that everyone else was needed to help with the harvesting of crops.  They made it look so fun, didn't they?  

As for today, hmm, would it be wrong to just hand out a bucket and this as a flyer to unexpected visitors that might just stop by?  Ha. 

As this posts, we'll be at the farm.  After yesterday's yucky weather, today is clear and sunny BUT it's still pretty cold.  

More later this afternoon!

COLD AND WET AGAIN

  

We were awakened at 1am Saturday morning by heavy rain and thunder.  You can see on the left, it was 38 degrees and we were in the middle of huge storms.  Very unusual for this time of year.  Then on the right, that's the radar image at 6am...still heavy rains moving through...sigh, it was cold and wet most of the day.  The good news is that Sunday is supposed to be clear and dry, but still pretty cool.  We'll head out to the farm to check things out to see if all is OK out there, since we didn't make it out there the last couple of weekends because of rain.  Hopefully it will be nice and we can check things out for the first time this year.

More Sunday afternoon.  Until then, enjoy this photo I snapped a few weekends back of this beautiful hawk Crested Caracara flying into the trees.

UPDATE:  TexWisGirl (who knows her birds!) said this looked like a Crested Caracara and I looked at pictures and it is what I saw.  They are also called Mexican Eagles.  Very cool, will have to keep an eye out for these beautiful birds and get some better pictures.

2ND FAMILY'S NEW DUCK

Recently, we mentioned about 2nd Family losing one of their ducks.  Well, the next door neighbor was heading to a livestock sale and so they asked if they could come along to see if there were any ducks.  

They went and found this one...

...not sure what species she is but she's the newest member of the family.

Her name is "Nui" (pronounced like saying newie) and I guess you could say she's a rescue duck of sorts.  She is fitting in nicely with their other animals and most importantly, Ginkgo really seems to like her as well.  She follows him around all over the place, learning the ropes of her new home.

Nui and Ginkgo

She is grooming, eating well and playing in the kiddie pool that they keep water in.  She's very friendly and seems happy in her new home.  

Two ducks and a dog

And Alice, the family dog, is getting to know her.  
She approves. 

FUNNY GARDEN SAYINGS TO START THE YEAR

To start the New Year, here are some funny garden sayings that I've found online:

"Annual" really means disappointment once a year.

The lawn is always slightly bigger than your actual desire to mow it.

Whatever garden tool you want always seems to be at the back of the shed.

The only way to ensure rain is to give the garden a good soaking.

Weeds grow at precisely the rate you pull them out.

Nothing ever looks like it does on the seed packet.

Autumn follows Summer, Winter follows Autumn, drought follows planting.

The only way to guarantee color year round is to buy a garden gnome.

However bare the lawn, grass will always appear in the gaps between the paving stones.

"Evergreen" is a misnomer, they almost always turn a shade of brown in the Winter.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We scheduled this post for midnight our time (CST) to celebrate the New Year!

We wish you all the best, and happiest, and most productive new year!

2015 is here!  

We ask this every year...we are now 15 years into the 21st century...where are our robots, flying cars and cities on the moon?  

WE HAVE AN OWL

2nd Family's daughter, loves to roam around on the trails I have cleared and mowed and she's really into taking pictures of trees and flowers and birds.  

So the other day she emailed us this photo:

Owl in tree

It's an owl (amazing how camouflaged they can be) sitting in a tree near our house.  She said she has seen this owl in this tree several times and hoped to snap a picture.  She got this one picture, though she readily admits it's a bit fuzzy because she was pretty far away trying not to spook it.

I'm not sure how you encourage an owl to stay around but if they snatch up mice and rats, they can stay as long as they want to, LOL.  She's going to point out the tree to me so I can try to get a few pictures myself.  

We just love sharing our property with the local wildlife  

(most of it anyway, ha).

Anyone have any owl experience?

WATERING PROBLEM SOLVED

2nd Man did well on the gift giving.  We had agreed to not really exchange gifts this year, but he said he couldn't pass this up when he saw it as it will make doing something I've complained about much easier at the farm...

Water tank mounted to back of John Deere

Behold!

A 35 gallon tank that mounts to the back of the zen machine!  It's made for chemicals but works fine with just water and that's what we are going to use it for.  It connects to the battery so it has an electrically powered spray wand/pump.  This will make watering the fruit trees and bushes/trees along the driveway much, much easier.  

My old routine consisted of two 2-gallon watering pitchers.  I'd ride to the faucet...get off the mower...fill up the pitchers...get back on the mower holding one on each side and ride to the trees....get off the mower again...water until they were empty...then ride back to the faucet and repeat...about ten times.  

Now I'll be able to fill it up, ride to each tree, water with the wand and never have to get off the mower.  Since several of the trees are at least within water hose reach, I will only need to fill up once or maybe twice in the heat of the Summer to get the rest.  That's no problem though since the wand dispenses water at the flow rate of 2 gallons per minute, it will go quickly as well.  

Did you get something unexpected for Christmas?

RAINY DAYS AND COLD SUNDAYS

Always seem to get us down...

After the radar image I posted from yesterday morning, this is it today at about 4:30pm.  Nothing has changed...though the rain is finally, albeit slowly, going away.  Rainfall abut 1 1/4" over the last two days.

Since it was rainy, cold and we had a case of the blahs, we just didn't feel like cooking in.  We went out to eat and had Tex-Mex both days.  Today we went to another of our favorite local places.

Fajita tacos

These are chicken and beef fajita tacos, drizzled in queso with sides of rice and re-fried beans.  Hot, fresh, and so good!

Queso Flameado

This is an appetizer called Queso Flameado...it's melted asadero cheese topped with chorizo.  You stir it all up and then spread it on flour tortillas.  

Healthy?  Probably not so much.  

Delicious?  Absolutely.

Yesterday it was 78 degrees...today it is 39 degrees with the possibility of a light freeze tonight.  Houston area weather, it can change on a dime!

Chocolate chip cookies

So we came home this afternoon and 2nd Man made some more chocolate chip and pecan cookies.  Using the oven is a great way to warm up the house on a cold evening and of course course warm cookies can warm up the body too...

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

LIBERTY AND PEACE WAR BONDS, VINTAGE POSTER SUNDAY

Liberty Bonds - Public Domain image

You'd think finding holiday themed vintage poster images would be difficult but they actually had quite a few.  This one of course equated buying war bonds with helping to end the war and to bring liberty and peace on Earth.  

I remember my Grandfather was still a firm believe in bonds.  Even in his later years, he asked about buying government bonds (can you still even do that?).  

Hope you are having a great weekend.  The new year is almost upon us!

More later this afternoon!

RAINY DAYS AND SATURDAYS

Well it might be a holiday weekend but it's another messed up weekend.  Radar image this morning...it's rainy and gray.  So far about 3/4" of rain, needed, but not needed on a long weekend when so much more could be getting done.

Unfortunately, we still have our coughs, so we went to the store to pick up some honey.  Do you know these little honey bears are $6 each?  What the heck?  And it's not even local honey!  It does however help with the cough, better than any cough medicine we've used.  Gotta love those bees!

Honey bear

...oh how we can't wait until we have honey from our own hives!

The gray hangs like a billowy blanket on a clothesline, ready to drop down and envelop you at any moment.

Caldo de Res

We did run out to our favorite local Mexican restaurant and got a big bowl of Caldo de Res (beef soup).  It's SO good, especially on these kinds of days.