Warm, Chilly, Sunny, Rainy, Cloudy, Clear...

You name it, we've got it here! Weather that is.... We went from high 70s to low 40s all in a week's time. We went from warm, sunny days to clouds and rain with the potential for flooding. Today there is a 50% chance of rain, tomorrow is a 100% chance of rain and from there we just have to wait to see if the rivers and streams can hold the water. Some have already crested but fortunately, not near where we are. After tomorrow's rains, all bets are off.

While we don't have to worry about the cabin flooding, we do have to watch the news to see where there are flood waters coming over the roads and bridges. My drive to work is 37 miles and I cross lots of bridges along the way. This morning was fine. The water is definitely high but not to the point of coming up on the roads or bridges. I'll keep you posted after my drive in tomorrow as this news may not be the same after tonight's rains.

The garden loves the rain and appears to be thriving between bouts of sunshine and rain. The peas are almost all reaching towards the fence and some are already climbing up it. A few of them even started growing together so I just took a stick and tangled it in the tendrils and then leaned it on the fence. In a day or so they'll have climbed up the stick to the fence and will continue on their way to the top. I'll get new pictures when the weather clears again...

This weekend we spent a lot of our time getting the farm chores caught up. We had to do something with the blue gate that was smashed by the tree in the storm while we were gone. We had to make repairs to the fence at the creek - it keeps our horses on our property and while it allows our neighbor's cows access to the water, it keeps them off the farm. Nothing against his cows mind you, we would love to have them. It's just that he doesn't want to have to come looking for them when they graze our property.

We had downed tree limbs everywhere that needed to be picked up before any kind of mowing could ensue and we needed to grade (?) the driveway as the gravel was swept into little currents of rain water and made for a messy ride.

But first on the agenda was the Nunnelly post office where I had a package waiting for me. Just after we left for FL the mail carrier tried to deliver the package but wasn't comfortable leaving it at the gate so they left a notice in our mailbox instead.

I went to the post office in Lyles and they told me I was at the wrong post office. My package was at the Nunnelly post office instead. Duh! Well, in my own defense, Lyles is where Wally has his post office box so that's the one I'm used to going to for his mail. The Nunnelly post office is quite a distance away and it still amazes me that the poor carrier has to come all that way to deliver our mail when the Lyles post office is just a few miles down the road. Welcome to Hickman County :)

We headed out first thing in the morning on Saturday - skipping breakfast and all - as I didn't want to get there too late. I didn't know what time they closed but I figured it would be early since Nunnelly isn't that big a town and the post office probably isn't all that busy on a Saturday morning. We got there in time and picked up our package. They had me fill out a form saying that I was allowed to receive mail there (never heard of that before) and we chatted for a few minutes then left.

I could barely contain myself knowing what was in that box but it was Saturday morning and there were yard sales GALORE so we took our time going home and stopped at a few sales looking for things we simply couldn't live without. I didn't find anything, believe it or not, but Wally found a trunk full of stuff. That's not to say there was a whole lot - my trunk is very small :) LOL!!

We took our time and gradually got back home. We unloaded our purchases and Wally brought the package inside for me to open... woo hoo!!! My long time friend, Kris, had sent me a Shark Steamer with which to clean my floors. I had no idea how it worked or IF it would work but Wally put it together, filled it with water and plugged it in and we waited. Neither of us knowing what to expect we just stood there looking at it like it was going to give us some sort of signal. When no signal came, Wally picked it up and pushed it across the floor...it made a hissing sound and we knew we would be on our way to clean-as-clean-can-be-floors as soon as I had time to spend on them.

The package also had a huge box of doggie biscuits which we stored with the rest of the doggie biscuit stash and there were some winter clothes bundled in as well. This was the second of two packages sent by Kris, the first of which was packed with food. If you recall, I had previously posted about the lack of Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Pancake Mix in this area. Friend that she is, Kris searched the internet for a location near me where I could buy this mix. She found, as I did, that it isn't available here. That being the case, she searched the area local to her in FL and found where it could be purchased. She bought a few boxes for me and shipped them up here!

Within that first box were two bottles of something called "Mojo." Now, I've heard of Mojo but never used it myself. She tells me to marinate chicken in it and it is supposed to be really, really good. Dizzy Debbie saw it sitting on the bar and said "mmmm mmmmm that stuff is the bomb!" Next time we make chicken, we'll use it and let you know how we like it. From the looks of it, I'm pretty sure we will :)

Kris also sent me several packets of seeds; sunflower seeds, chive seeds and parsley seeds. My plan was to plant the sunflowers while Dizzy Debbie was here but that never panned out. My next plan was to plant them this past weekend but that didn't happen either...sigh... Perhaps the coming weekend will allow for those seeds to be planted as I would love to have sunflowers blooming up and down the driveway come summer!

There were other items in those boxes for which we are grateful and as you well know, getting something in the mail just can't be beat...so long as that something isn't bills :) So, Kris, thank you for everything and we hope to make that pancake mix last until you and Lance are able to join us for breakfast some morning to come in the near future :) :) :) The Mojo - we can't guarantee that will last...lol!

Well now - onto the farm chores... Wally somehow was able to drag the blue gate down to the creek so it was waiting for us when we arrived. The gate that was in the creek had been washed out by this year's rain water. We use a gate in the creek so the water and debris can flow but the horses are unable to get through. It's easier than trying to string barbed wire across it and with less chance of it coming free like barbed wire tends to do in a rush of water.

The first order was to hook up the old gate to the 4 wheeler and drag it out of the water. Wally hooked it up and I drug it out into our neighbors field. From there I drug it across the bridge and back up onto our road. We unhooked it and pushed it aside to wait with the other gate that was taken out in last year's flood. We go through some gates huh? At some point it will be loaded on a trailer and taken to the scrap yard.

While I wandered around checking out the rocks and the waterfalls and the minnows, Wally managed to push that smashed blue gate up between two tree trunks where it held fast. It was long enough that half of it crossed the creek. He tied it to the gate on the other side and secured them together with barbed wire. Now the horses and cows would have ample access to fresh, cold, spring water without the risk of either escaping their respective pastures. Whew! All in a day's work...

We cleaned up what little mess we had made and headed up the holler to the cabin. The driveway was a mess from the rain washing the gravel hither and yon so it was time for me to get another tractor driving lesson. We hooked up the "box grader." I could have that named wrong and maybe even spelled wrong but the purpose of this attachment is to drag the gravel along the way until it eventually builds up within the box. When the box crosses over a hole in the road, it dumps the gravel that has been boxed up inside. Viola!

He showed me the ropes and I was on my way on that big ole' tractor...It was such a beautiful day with the sun shining on me and the light wind in my face from the forward motion of the tractor. I put a bandana on my head to keep my hair out of my eyes and I had my sunglasses on to help keep the dust out of my contacts. Surely I was a sight to see! lol  The holes in the driveway filled in and no one (namely me) had to rake rocks all day to get it evened out. The driveway was nice and smooth after I took 3 or 4 passes and then Wally took a couple more just to kind of clean up my mess.

He was nice enough to say that he just wanted to make sure the road was graded between the gate and the mailbox but I knew I didn't do the best job of things seeing as how it was my first time out. In any event these two chores took the better part of the rest of the day. As much as I wanted to get the steamer out and going, it would have to wait until Sunday. Of course, since the road had been graded, it proceeded to pour down rain all day Sunday...lol!

For dinner on Saturday we grilled up some chicken leg quarters and drumsticks - totally forgetting about the Mojo - we used the Leggs BBQ rub on one side and McCormick's chicken seasoning on the other. Sorry Kris - lol - I put the Mojo in the pantry and well, out of sight out of mind I guess...I'll remember next time!

Wally grilled the chicken while I was on the tractor and when the chicken was cooked, we called it a day. We had grilled chicken and pea salad and we were completely satisfied with that dinner. There was nothing fancy about it but it had all the components of a good meal; chicken hot off the grill with the skin crispy and the meat simply falling off the bone, pea salad with minced onions, hard-boiled eggs mixed stirred with mayonnaise and a little black pepper and cold glasses of tea to wash it all down. ahhhhhh full bellies!

For a Saturday we had accomplished quite a bit. Our muscles were sore but not too bad. We had been in the sun enough to get a good, much needed, dose of vitamin D. We had most of our chores done and our meal was healthy and filling. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday than messing around on the farm...

We sat down to watch the race but only made it to lap 55 before we headed up to bed. It was still daylight but we didn't care. We had been up before dawn so felt justified in going to bed before dark :) I guess I'm learning why farmers are up early and in bed early. Even Dizzy Debbie thought she would be up until 10 or 11:00 at night but quickly found that 7:30 - 8:00 was more to her liking...LOL Did I mention she's not a big fan of my roosters? lol

With the dawn of Sunday morning came the rain and the wind and the forever more cloudy skies. We listened to the rain on the tin roof and when finally a lull came, we went downstairs to begin our day. I made us a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and tea. We ate like it was going to be a long work day like the day before! With it raining like it was there wasn't much we could do outside so once the kitchen was cleaned up I got out the Shark Steamer.

After a few lessons, I was on my way to steaming the living room floor. This device is a huge time-saver, not to mention WAY easier than ringing out a mop, changing mop water and waiting for the floors to dry. You push it along - it's very light weight - and it steams and cleans as it goes. The end is padded and the pad picks up any dirt, dust or grime left after sweeping. The pad comes off for easy cleaning and the cord is long enough to reach my entire living room floor so there's no unplugging and replugging. The water canister holds enough water to do the living room the hallway and the kitchen with a little left over! THANK YOU KRIS!! This is my new toy! Who could ever get excited about cleaning, right? Well, this just makes life so much easier :) :)


Well now that the kitchen and the floors were clean what was I to do?? I took a long, hot shower and slathered on the lotion. I got dressed, got my bangs blow dried settled down on the couch with my feet on the coffee table, my tea glass by my side and my new Southern Living magazine in my hands :) :) I sat there looking out over the hillside that is our front yard and watched as the rain turned everything a bright, almost neon, green. The wind blew my little hummingbird feeder back and forth until I thought it would fall from the tree. Wally napped in the recliner while I watched my shows and read my magazine. Now this was a peaceful Sunday.

The day before I had decided to take out a ham for Sunday dinner. We bought two whole smoked shoulders back in the fall when they were on sale and since the freezer stock needed to be rotated, I figured a rainy day would be perfect for baking that ham. And so it was...it went into the oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours and then I added some chopped carrots to the water and let it go another 40 minutes. The cabin was smelling of smoked ham and sweet carrots, the two of us were content with our tv and magazine and the rain was out there washing the dust from everything on the farm. My garden was happy to have that big drink! Talk about a relaxing Sunday - whew!! We were in much need of that!

We taped the race and watched it during the afternoon. Wally won the race pool which means he's got $100.00 coming to him when we go to Pee Wee's Place this Wednesday. This is his second win of the year so far - not bad! He called Darryl who congratulated him and then he let Darryl know that I was ready for more eggs if there were any available. He assured me there would be and we told him we would see him Wednesday. I'll bring him some of the ham in exchange for the eggs...that's how things go in these parts :)

I didn't have much of a chance to get out in the garden this weekend but I think I may have identified the beginning of what looks to be carrots. I planted them way back in March and up until now I wasn't too confident that they were going to grow. I made sure the rocks were out of the way and the dirt was tilled and weed-free. Since that time, weeds have grown in and I can't really tell the difference between what might be carrot tops and what might be weeds. I know I've written about this dilemma before but Sunday, when I did get out there to have a peek, it looked as if maybe, just maybe there is a pattern of leaves that wasn't there before. I'll keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed - I'd really love to have fresh carrots from my very own garden at some point this year :) :) Wouldn't you??? LOL

I've decided to go ahead and sign up for the CSA share again this year. If you are a new reader, the CSA share is a half bushel basket of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers from a local farmer. CSA stands for Consumer Supported Agriculture. I buy a share of the farm, the farmer farms the land and provides me with my share of the crops. Last year I was overwhelmed with the amount of food coming in the basket every week. I had lettuce, broccoli, squash (yellow, pattypan and zucchini), tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, cantaloupe, radishes, rattle snake green beans, okra, basil, mint, dill, carrots and sweet potatoes to mention a few. There were greens of all sorts; mustard, turnip and collards. There was chinese cabbage, regular cabbage, bok choy and kale. Imagine the recipes I had to come up with in order to consume all that food! I loved it!

I didn't have to buy lettuce or tomatoes for months! The share isn't free but it was well worth the price to know that my vegetables were locally grown with no pesticides in use and the money I spent went towards this year's purchase of seeds and farm equipment.This is the best way to support the community that I can think of...really - it benefits everyone involved if you think about it. Why not look up CSA on the internet and see if you can find a farm near you? Even if you don't buy a share, you can still shop the farm for locally grown produce. You'll be supporting the farmer and you'll be eating healthier than ever before :) :) :)

I'm looking forward to my first basket which should be coming next Monday! Pictures will be sure to follow. If you want to see who my farmer is, go to http://www.beaverdamcreekfarm.com/. You can see pictures of the farm and hear what's new and what is hopefully coming up in future baskets. Enjoy :)

Let us all have a great week! Eat right, exercise and take a vitamin just in case the first two don't work out for you...hahahaha!

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons." ~Alfred E. Newman