Almost gone...

 

In a few hours, January 2016 will be gone and February 2016 will begin.  This year is a leap year so there will be 29 days in February.  The pictures above of the Puddle Pond were taken before the big snowstorm that hit us a week ago.  There has been a lot of snow melt and there's to be some rain later this week which, if it's not too much, will aid in the disappearance of some of it.  It has now compacted and is that dirty, dirty stuff that is not as pretty to look at.  

We are headed out early tomorrow morning on a trip and I'm hoping to keep up with posting while away.  

I hope you are having sunny skies wherever you are.  Until next time...

Digging Out

The week began quietly and there was a sameness about the first few days.  Mr P and I cleaned out the freezer, I made and froze a ham loaf and some banana crunch muffins using a recipe from Ina Garten.  There was a trip to the grocery store and then as a result of an upcoming weather forecast, Mr P decided to put a snow blower on one of our tractors.   (The other tractor already had a snow plow/blade on the front in preparation for winter weather.) From midweek on, the weathermen on TV were predicting the possibility of a big snow storm for the eastern half of the country.  Depending on the track of the storm, there could be 8-12 inches of snow or upwards to 24 inches here in our area.  The snow began falling about 2:30PM on Friday afternoon.  By the time we got up on Saturday morning there was a foot of snow on the ground and by 4:30PM in the afternoon it had accumulated to a whooping 29 inches. 

On Sunday morning we awoke and the snow now measured 32 inches ( which might be a low number since the snow may have compacted overnight after it finally stopped).  The eastern part of the country had been hit in varying degrees.  The official measurement of 30.2 inches for our area was a new record and the total we got in one snowfall is the amount of snow that our area would usually receive over an entire winter season. 

We began the joy of digging out on Sunday.  The neighbor's big front end loader made short work of the driveway and good old fashioned back-breaking shoveling took care of clearing the deck at the back of the house.  Today was spent "tidying up" along the edges of the driveway, etc.  We're really not sure when we will be able to take a walk down to the Puddle but I'm hoping to get a picture of it with all the snow on top. 

This week will be busy making preparations to pack for a trip we will be taking soon. I hope if you were in the path of this storm, you are safe and getting back to normal. Until next time...

Busy Week

 

The walk with my walking buddies last Sunday was cut short when it began to rain.  We tried walking faster but the rain came down harder the faster we walked.  A nice woman living in an apartment complex we walk past called to us to come in and get out of the weather.  I had already called Mr P to pick us up and so we stood under the overhang on her front stoop and waited to be picked up.

Monday was a fairly quiet day with the major activity being the transfer of our neighbor's big front end tractor to our house in anticipation of the delivery of a crate containing a new shed on Tuesday.  The shed was delivered on Tuesday, pulled back close to the area where it will be erected come warmer weather and covered from the elements.  Snow squalls started as I left to volunteer at the library in the late afternoon but the roads were clear by the time I headed home at 8PM.

Wednesday I took my Mom to an eye doctor appointment and then to lunch.  We had a nice visit over lunch and she doesn't have to go back to the eye doctor's for a year when she will be 90 years old!

Thursday Mr P and I made a trip to the 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg.  We hadn't been to the farm show, which is an annual event, since we took OnlyDaughter and her friend, K, when the girls were still in college.  I really enjoyed seeing the animals, the displays and the butter sculpture.  Mr P not so much.  He wasn't happy with the traffic, having to park in an overflow lot, the ride in the cramped seats on the school bus that shuttled us and the crowds inside.  Oh well, he got a milkshake (wanted a part vanilla, part chocolate shake but ended up being convinced to take a full chocolate one since it was already in a cup and the lines were long) which was one of his main goals for the visit.

Friday was a nice day weatherwise and we worked outside.  Saturday we went to a local church to donate blood and I walked later in the day with one of my walking buddies. Sunday I took another walk early in the morning, we called OnlySonInLaw to sing Happy Birthday and wish him well and of course watched football on TV.

Today it was 14 degrees F when I got up.  Mr P startled 6 ducks on the Puddle when he took a walk down earlier today.  He helped me clean out the freezer and then I made a ham loaf and banana crunch muffins with some leftover bananas that were very ripe.  The ham loaf and some of the muffins are in the freezer.  Some of the muffins were given to R when we walked a while ago and others will go to my other walking buddy, R, later today.  Turkey pot pie (homemade noodles) is on the menu for dinner this evening.

Finally we are having weather that is more winterlike. I hope you are staying warm wherever you are.  Until next time...

Warm 'n Cold

 

Almost mid-January and with the exception of a few days and nights of really cold temperatures, it remains unseasonably mild.  Today the forecast is for temps in the high 50's (F) and it has been raining hard outside off and on since 11:00PM last evening.  

The several days and nights of cold temps created a layer of ice on The Puddle and some beautiful ice crystals on plants.  A quick walk this morning down to the puddle between the rain drops showed that the ice is now all melted.  

My asparagus bed was weeded and the edging put back in place in an attempt to keep the lawn from encroaching on the bed come this spring.  Hardwood mulch (and some left over peat moss) has been spread with the intent of keeping weeds in check too.  I recently read a book entitled "The Dirty Life" by Kristin Kimball who along with her husband Mark runs Essex Farms in New York.  I would highly recommend the book for some interesting reading; however, Kristen also maintains a blog reporting weekly updates to the members of their CSA on the happenings on the farm.  Of course, the blog is there for all to enjoy www.kristinkimball.com/essex-farm  One of her posts in December was related to the cleanup and "putting to bed" several beds on their farm, one of which was their asparagus bed.  After weeding, staff at the farm was preparing to lay down a nice layer of hardwood mulch to keep the weeds in check.  Well, despite the warm weather we were experiencing, trying to find hardwood mulch here proved elusive.  We finally found some at a local nursery sold in bags but I underestimated the amount needed (Mr P wasn't helpful on the amount that might be needed) hence the application of a block of peat moss found in the shed to cover the bare areas.  We'll see how things work out come spring in the weed department.

One of the gifts from OnlyDaughter and her family at Christmas was a wooden jig saw puzzle of the "satellite image photograph centered on our home".  What a challenge!  We started putting it together on a quiet day here and didn't finish up until late the next day.  Pieces seemed like they fit and then later the discovery was made that they didn't belong where they had been put in the puzzle.  Once it was finished, Mr P put a blue tab where our home was located on the puzzle and that piece of the puzzle was shaped like a house.  The words Home Sweet Home were also spelled out in pieces of the puzzle.  Quite intriguing and lots of fun looking at the finished puzzle and identifying other homes, etc. on the picture.  This would be a wonderful gift for someone and I'm keeping it in mind for when OnlyDaughter and her family relocate to their new home.  

I received two boxes from Try the World (a birthday gift last year), the first being a box with items from Venice and the most recent being a holiday box which is pictured above.  It contained foodstuffs from eight different countries.  It's such fun to get the box, anticipate the country represented and then look at the foods picked for the box.  

The rain has stopped and it looks as if the sun is trying to make an appearance.  My walking buddies and I are planning on walking later today.  Then I need to concentrate on the socks I'm knitting for OnlyDaughter.  

Hope all is well wherever you are and the sun is shining.  Until next time....

 

Happy New Year 2016

 

Here in Central Pennsylvania for some people it's a tradition to begin the new year with a meal of roast pork and sauerkraut for luck and prosperity.  We enjoyed roast pork, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and a freshly made loaf of bread.  

When I was growing up, my father was quite the gardener and homesteader.  We lived in the middle of a small town so we weren't really in a rural setting but my Dad made use of the space around our home to grow a huge garden.  The produce from the garden feed our family of eight (six kids and my Mom and Dad) picked fresh over the summer months and canned or frozen over the winter months.  Every fall, my Dad purchased a large quantity of cabbage (don't really know why we didn't grow our own) and my Dad supervised the making of a large crock of sauerkraut.  Dad shredded the cabbage on a big wooden shredder and we kids took turns "stomping" the cabbage with a wooden "stomper" as it was put in the crock and salted.  I loved sneaking tastes of the salted cabbage when it was my turn to stomp.  My Dad saw to the placing of a large glass plate on top of the cabbage which was then topped with a big stone for added weight and pressure.  The entire crock was covered in cloth and set in a corner of the dining room to ferment.  Every so often, my Dad would uncover the crock, remove the stone and plate, clean everything and replace it all to continue the fermentation process.  It smelled, especially when the cloth was removed and the plate and stone cleaned, but I guess after awhile we became used to the smell because I don't remember being especially bothered by it.  Either the day before, or on New Year's Day, the first batch of sauerkraut was removed from the crock and enjoyed with roast pork on New Year's Day.  My Mom would then can the remaining sauerkraut for use throughout the rest of the winter.  Unfortunately, none of us ever took the time to learn the process before my Dad passed away so it has become a lost art in the family.  I do have one or two of the large crocks that we used to make the sauerkraut in but I have no idea where the big shredder got to after all these years.  Boy that was a trip down memory lane!

Yesterday there were four doe at the side of the house foraging and wandering around for quite a while.  Today when I went down to the puddle to get my first of the month picture all four ran through the woods and made their way to the other side of the house.  We pulled the card from the camera outside but so far we've failed to snap a picture of that big beautiful buck we saw during hunting season.  I only hope he made it.

It's been cold here today and very breezy.  Finally feels a little bit like winter is here.  I wore my ear cover and gloves today when R, R and I took our walk earlier today.  Not much else happening here right now.  

Peace, personally and worldwide, and happiness is my wish for all in this new year.  For OnlyDaughter and OnlySonInLaw I ask for an additional wish of no more bumps in the road.

Until next time may the sun shine wherever you are.