A work day in the barn, part 1

The Girls are very suspicious - when ever they are locked in the barn, it is a sign that baaaad things are going to happen.

Today it was pedicures, worming & setting up the breeding group, and moving Jasimine to her new home in Mt. Vernon with Toni & John C.



Pearl was not too happy about getting her tonails clipped & what is this thing that dad just put on my face!!!???

















I think I have dibbs on Pearl's lamb fleece. Isn't it pretty? & very long - she is just a little peanut under it - If we sheared her today, she'd just fly away.











Remember Gwendolyn. She not only came with spots, she came with horns, which is somewhat rare...

Our friends Donna & Tom brought her up to her new home with our flock last sumer.


http://ablipontheradar.blogspot.com/2006/07/all-kinds-of-company.html

Her wool is stripped under all those spots. Hmm., now which fleece do I want to keep?


Gwennie also got a new halter, very stylish don't you think?









We were in charge of snacks for church today. I made my "famous" Seafood Caesar Wraps, Turkey Caesar Wraps & Ham Wraps - (They were all very good, if I don't say so myself, and they disappeared quite rapidly too) We partnered up with our friend Vic and he brought crackers and cheese, and fresh locally grown grapes. We also brought apples & carmel dip - a new experience for some of the older folks, but it is so tasty, that they caught on quickly! Big week ahead - I'm on my way to "San Anton" - more later!

Weekend Cat Blogging #71

Showing off for company - (drum roll, please.....................) Sinda will now roll over!



















Thank you Sinda!










Neelix's trick is a grand imitation of a dust mop!






See more tricks & treats at Rosa's Yummy Yums
http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2006/10/weekend-cat-blogging-71.html

A big thank you to Fridolin and Maruschka and their nice lady in Switzerland for having us all over to visit! (Fridolin, that hat is just divine)

We got our picture in the paper!

GRAZERS
Name: Flock of sheep
Pedigree: Shetland sheep are native to Scotland but are becoming more popular in the U.S. because of their small size and hardy constitution. They are friendly and their naturally short, V-shaped tails are known to wag when they are petted.
People: John Park and Tina Thomsen-Park, Bellingham

So this is what got printed in today's Bellingham Herald! Pretty cool, huh? They have a regular weekly column called Pet Parade, and people send in their favorite pet pictures. I thought they needed something else besides cats, dogs & the occasional rabbit. So, end of this summer, I sent in this picture that I took last spring. Our pasture looks so lush & green in this pic - it looks pretty toasty now, but with the little rain that we've had, it's coming back slowly.


That's our exciting news for the day. Back to working on payroll. T.

Inspiration (or my lack thereof)

Susan, who writes the blog Farmgirl Fare http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/ recently announced that she had been having so much trouble with her computer network & because of other issues, she was going to "take a break" from blogging.

I almost cried - well, not almost, I did cry - mostly for Susan and her frustrations - but because I enjoy reading her blog so much - her writing is fresh & witty, informative & entertaining, and she has a great way with a camera - her farm in Missouri is in a very picturesque area, and she takes the best pictures of her animals. She has devoted readers from all over the world - sometimes reading the comments on her blog are as entertaining as her blog entry! Her camera work has inspired me to find beauty in the common every day world.

I was happy to see that she had a new post today - maybe she has solved her computer issues - maybe just taking a week off was good enough to rest her "inner blogger" -

When I thought about it, I was astonished to realize that I knew more about what was going on in Susan's life than I did in my sister's or my good friends here in town. Hmmm - what does that mean?

Heck if I know -It's "angel time" (11:11 pm) and time to go to sleep, I think. Thought I'd share this picture I took of a little chick-a-dee in John's sunflower patch - between the chick-a-dees and the gold finches, they pretty much have the sunflowers cleaned out - & BOY you ought to hear them when they get to talking about it!

Heading for bed. T.

Weekend Cat Blogging #70

Neelix & Sinda would like to thank Boots, Tess & their human at The Hidden Paw for hosting this weeks WCB #70 - Be sure to check in there and check out all the wonderful cats on the blogesphere :-) http://forthejunta.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, we were going to show you some of the tricks that we know, but as I was walking around taking pictures in our yard this morning, I found Sinda & Neelix having such wonderful sunbaths, that I had to share those with you instead.

Sinda has gotten a "water bath" more than once when John has been watering the plants and didn't see her before he watered this pine. But it is still one of her favorite places to sit.




It was a beautiful fall day here in the Pacific Northwest & Neelix made good use of the sun this morning. It's a good thing he did, because it's clouded up now and looks like it might rain.

Thanks again to Boots & Tess @ The Hidden Paw for hosting Weekend Cat Blogging. Everyone can go take a nap now. :-) T.

I'm Baaaack.....

I keep telling myself that Fall is just around the bend - I think, it has actually turned the corner - look at how beautiful our yard is.

It was a rough couple of weeks - computer problems are never "fun" but when they happen at the time that you need your computer the most - whew - it sure makes you grumpy. Mine started with an innocent notion that I should change anti-virus programs (this was recommended by my office computer guru) from one that had worked fine (beginning with a Mc) to one that totally took over my computer (& my life - beginning with a "N") Well as they said in the play "The Music Man" - I'm a sadder but wiser girl - pocket book is much lighter too (try $227.00 to get the whole thing fixed) Anyhow I ditched the "N" antivirus, upgraded my RAM & put the "Mc" antivirus back on. All is right with the world.

So, I thought I'd branch out here and add a little religion to my blog... As you may, or may not know, John & I are Unitarian Universalists. We go to church in Blaine at a little church that was established over 75 years ago by the Icelanders who had become convinced that "the Lutherans were dangerous people" They hired themselves a traveling Unitarian minister, and Free Church Unitarian was born. Fast forward to today - John leads the choir (I am one of three alto's), we actually have More Basses than Sopranos - actually last night we didn't have ANY sopranos - and I am the newsletter editor.

Being the newsletter editor is kind of like writing a blog by committee - and thankfully it only happens once a month. It is fun, but I've been trying to inspire other members to contribute. Just asking hasn't been very successful, so I'm hoping that my October "From the Editor" column will encourage some to get out pen and paper. Here it is - let me know what you think - (after all, it is my blog, and I can write about anything I want, right?)

"From the Editor"
I was intrigued by a “forwarded” letter that I recently received from Becky & Larry T. It was a note to them from a new friend in Panama, where they are now living. The fellow was a retired Anglican minister and he was reflecting on how the hardest thing he had experienced during his years as a minister was not the writing of a sermon every week, but trying to find a topic that would be relevant to the everyday life of the time and place. He went on to say that faith is of little value to people if it cannot be shown to be totally applicable to their life experiences.

Like George M., I came upon the UU “faith” via my mother & the Church of the Larger Fellowship when I was about 12 or 13. I think I always had an “inkling” that there was “something else” out there for me, though, because I can remember, even at a very young age, having sincere doubts about the stories that the ministers were telling us. Perhaps even then I suspected that “Standing in a church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.” I think that too often, we overlook the value of our Unitarian Universalist faith and the roots that it has given to our country. (And how far our country has moved away from those important UU roots?)

I am very grateful that I am able to walk down the street, dressed as I wish to dress - read what I want to read and go where I want to go. But, most of all, I am grateful for the freedom to believe the way I want to believe, and, like Nan says, “and that’s the truth”

So what do you think? Will I inspire them?

BTW - this is a picture of our beautiful Mt. Baker taken from the docks at the Port of Blaine -

Hope you enjoyed today's installment - coming up next? Why it's Weekend Cat Blogging and Sinda & Neelix are going to show off their tricks! Later, T.

Alligators?

That's what I feel like I'm up to me ears with... church newsletter and work end of year - and I'm having trouble with my computer! (Did you know that anti-virus programs don't like each other and will completely disable your computer! Sadder but wiser, and when I get my computer back from the shop, lighter of wallet...) I do have some "ideas" in the hopper - so don't give up on me, but it's gonna be a few days. :-)

ALL THINGS "ORANGE"...

I realized this weekend that we had a lot of
"orange things" on the farm right now...


What do you suppose Mr. Neelix is looking at in the pond?







Well, lookey here -


Two of the Japanese koi that John put in the pond last spring made it thru the summer, and heck, they are about 8 inches long!







Some of the bonsai have turned their fall colors - every thing looks kind of ragged right now - but the last few days of rain are beginning to work wonders.






The zinnias, damp with today's rain and some nasturchiums from earlier in the summer -

They looked so pretty earlier in the summer I thought I'd use that picture instead of taking another one this evening - it was getting kind of late to be taking pictures,

BUT,

Here are some of the pumpkins - they don't look so big here, but they are about the size of basket balls - and just as ORANGE!

Weekend Cat Blogging #67

Ebony & Ivory -

Our two sweet kitties, Mr. Neelix (in the orange & white) and Sinda (in the tuxedo) in a BRIEF moment of perfect harmony.

See more Weekend Cat Blogging at:

http://www.ptank.com/catsynth/index.php?m=09&y=06&entry=entry060916-121556

Thanks to Amar and Luna for hosting this week!

Off the Shelf (Book shelf, that is)

(or, since school has started, maybe it's time for some book reports...)

I just love to read. Mostly novels - historical romance, science fiction/fantasy, mystery - Much to John's dismay, I can spend a WHOLE evening or a WHOLE weekend reading! Here are some of the most recent books that I have been reading.

I love Diane Mott Davidson - not only do you get a great murder mystery, but you get recipes to boot - and some of them are very good.

Murder follows Davidson's main character Goldy Schultz, around like it did Jessica Fletcher from the Murder She Wrote TV series - Who knew so many murders could happen in such a small town... In this book, the dead woman is not only a friend of Goldy's , but the daughter of her neighbor - who begs Goldy to find out who killed her daughter. As per usual, you are kept hopping and guessing as to who the murderer might be.

Here we have my all time favorite pair of shoes - a burgandy high heel - suede on one side, swirled into patent leather on the other - I gotta tell you, I only got to wear these shoes about 5 times, (before my bunion got so bad that I couldn't get them on), but I'm never going to give them up. They are the most gorgeous shoes I've ever owned and like Kathleen Turner said to Michael Douglas, in "Romancing the Stone" - "those were Italian" (of course he had just chopped the heel off, and proclaimed - "and now they're practical")

Anyhow, I digress... Last month, I went to a "Literature Live" reading at our local Independent Book Store, Village Books. The author, Christina Dodd, told about how she had gotten "where she was" (ie - 32 books in 15 years) and read us the first chapter of her newest book, "Trouble in High Heels" - OF COURSE I HAD TO BUY THE BOOK - how could I not after hearing the first chapter! It's a very fun read - and has a surprise ending! After I finished it, I logged into the B'ham Public Library web site and promptly checked out 4 more of her books. They were good - I need to take them back (before I get a past due fine) and get some more.

Although I've watched all the "Joe Leaphorn" movies on Public TV, I've never read any of Tony Hillerman's books. It was in my Literary Guild catalog for something like $4.59 - how could I pass it up? It was easy to imagine the characters as they are played on the TV - & Jim Chee gets a little romance in this one - luckily for him, ex-Officer Bernadette Manuelito, doesn't give up easily - I think I may have to find some more Hillerman books to read.

Of course I've read a whole bunch of Nora Roberts - she's "repackaged" alot of her earlier Harlequin Romance novels in twos or threes (some of the family stories or trilogies) - pretty sneaky - what a money maker that is - she's already sold them once 20 years ago, now she's selling them again! And I'm buying 'em - Go figure.

I've also read a couple of books this summer, by a woman who is a new Shetland Sheep breeder - Syne Mitchell wrote four really enjoyable Science Fiction novels in the late '90's & 2002 - she is a great story teller and her characters are very compelling - her books can only be found in "used" book stores now, but Powell's books in Portland had all four - Here's her web site - read the first chapters of her books - it will leave you wanting more - http://www.sff.net/people/syne/index.htp

My sister Merrill just sent me "The Alpine Escape" by Mary Daheim. It falls "in the middle" of Daheim's twenty Emma Lord, Alpine mysteries - alphabetically named, like the Sue Grafton alphabet mysteries. It really kept my interest and had some great characters - certainly bears looking into some more of her books.

Well, have I bored you to death? Hope not - I hope this will make you want to put on a pot of tea and curl up under a nice fleece blanket with your favorite book...good reading!

OOPS! I forgot Debbie Macomber's newest book "6 Rainier Drive" Just finished that one today at lunch!

Weekend Cat blogging #66

Hello - welcome to Marietta Shetlands Farm, where Sinda thinks that John put the pond and waterfall in just for her drinking enjoyment. She stands in the waterfall and drinks out of the top - then complains because her feet are wet. Go Figure.

Any how, many more talented and adorable kitties can be seen at Chef Sarah Jane's blog - she is hosting this weekend's WCB. Thanks SJ - we appreciate all you've got to do.



http://chefsarahjane.blogspot.com/2006/09/weekend-cat-blogging-66-round-up.html



Besides Sinda & Neelix, here is the other kitty who lives on our farm. Always smiling - always ready to dance.

Bye, Bye d'Jango

Since we are keeping Cimarron & Gizmo (aka Wizard) John is putting in a fence to keep a little bit of space between them and the girls. As you can see, it looks like a government job - one guy working and three guys supervising...

He has almost finished their little barn - all he has left is the ramada (get it...RAMada...) so they can have a little shade or cover from the rain as they sit outside and survey their vast domain.




But, we can only keep the two and as with all things on the farm, someone has to go...

and d'Jango - your name's on the ticket.

This is the hardest part for me - it kind of keeps me from getting to know some of the sheep because I know they will not be staying.

We had some great hopes for this little fellow, but as you can see, instead of turning out, his horns have started to turn in - not a good thing, if you're a ram in the wild. Not a good thing if you're a ram on the farm - wethering would have stopped it, but with only 3/4 of an acre, there's no room for a wise ass wether - even if he did have lovely wool...


One last tousle with his buddies. Bye, Bye d'Jango. It was nice to know you.

Weekend Cat Blogging #65

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mr. Neelix - I took it last spring - and I even had a mouse pad made from it at KodakGallery.com (very cool site for storing & sharing pictures BTW)

He just looks so saucy...which he is...he likes to hide out in the cool spaces in the yard this time of the year. Soon he'll be back sleeping in the middle of the living room and watching TV with John. You can see more weekend cat blogging at Miss Ellies page - http://misselliespage.blogspot.com/2006/09/weekend-cat-blogging-65.html

Green Corn Tamale Pie

Well, I can't believe it, but it's been a long week since I posted last - we've hired a new employee at work, so there have been extra things taking up my mind lately. BUT, I promised you that I'd share the Green Corn Tamale Pie recipe that I have.

As long as I've known him, my husband has raved, every summer, about the Green Corn Tamales that he used to get in Tucson where he spend part of his "growin' up years". Not being a big tamale fan, I was always, like "that's nice dear" - if you know what I mean... I'm a fairly decent cook, and I did earnestly search through cookbooks for such a recipe but nothing came up UNTIL...

About 5 years ago, I was reading through my new "Sunset" magazine (which I've subscribed to since the early 1970's) and there it was - not only a recipe, but a whole article on "Tucson Tamale Pie"! I read the article and thought "Ho, boy, this is it" - but when I excitedly showed it to John, he kind of "poo-pooed" me - saying "Oh, it couldn't be as good" etc.

Well, I really wanted to try it out - and we had a potluck to go to - so there you go - You can take anything to a potluck and if it looks halfway any good, it'll be gone right away, and you won't be stuck eating left-overs of some horrible dish. Long story short - everyone, including John, loved it and I even had people asking me for the recipe!

The recipe called for lining your casserole dish with corn husks - well that went by the wayside after the first go-round - too much trouble and it didn't really add anything but a little ambiance to the dish. It also called for a chorizo & nopalito (cactus strips) sauce to spoon over the top, but since JP doesn't like sausage, that didn't fly either. Here is my revised version of the recipe that appeared in the Sept. 2001 issue of "Sunset".

Green Corn Tamale Pie

(Recipe says it makes 8 servings - I bake it in my Pampered Chef 9x13 stoneware baking dish - so if it was used as a side dish - that's probably about right - we generally eat about 1/2 of it "fresh" and I wrap the other 2 quarters in Saran Wrap & foil and stick it in the freezer for a mid-winter treat)

7 pounds corn on the cob (8 or 10 ears) We have been using an Indian/sweet corn hybrid that John found someplace (if you really want to know, he'll research it) - it has a very strong "corny" flavor that stands up to the green chilies better than regular sweet corn.

3/4 cup dehydrated masa flour (I'm sure you can probably buy it in bulk to just get the 3/4 cup that you need, but I always end up buying a whole new 5# sack of the stuff - it's cheap -

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese (1/2 lb)
1 can (7 oz.) diced green chilies (drained)
1 & 1/2 tsp salt

1. Husk your corn & pull off the silks from the ears (makes good sheep treats). Holding each ear upright, cut off the kernels; you need 7 cups. Discard cobs (makes good chicken treats).
[Someplace earlier this summer I read that if you're cutting the kernels off the cob, use a Bundt pan - the center stem makes a perfect place to balance your ear of corn & the pan catches all the corn kernels & juice - I tried it - very cool way to do it.]

2. Put your 7 cups of corn kernels, masa, olive oil & salt into a bowl and mix it up. Working in batches in a food processor (or you can use a blender if you're desparate, but the food processor works eons better) I do about 2 cups at a time - (small food processor) - whirl until the corn is finely ground - scrape the mixture into another bowl until you are done - Stir in your shredded cheese & drained green chilies.

3. Spray the bottom & sides of your casserole dish with non-stick spray (or you could line it with corn husks, but what a lot of work and you loose some of the mixture getting stuck in the folds of the husks) Spread the corn/cheese mixture into your baking dish, making sure it is level. Cover with foil.

4. Bake at 350 degrees until the corn mixture is steaming and slightly firm to the touch in the center (uncover to check) 55-60 minutes, taking care that it doesn't overcook - you're not making cornbread here. Let the dish stand covered for about 10 minutes after you remove it from the oven.

Like I said earlier, the recipe called for putting a mixture of fried chorizo & cactus strips on it or a nice green salsa on top of it. We eat it plain - it makes a nice side dish for fajitas or chicken enchiladas. If you want the skinny on the chorizo mix - let me know and I'll email it to you. Happy eating!

On the farm of late...

I just had to show you this cool picture of our weeping giganticum flashing the "Peace Sign" to our neighborhood!













Tiger lillies are in bloom,








and the hops have set fruit - they are practically indestructible - and make a good shade plant on the greenhouse arbor.



John has finished the barn for the boys...











They like their new hay feeder & it is lower so it almost keeps the little flakes of hay out of their wool.


Our pasture is dry as a bone - this has been one of the dryest summers on record in the Pacific NW. Although, it doesn't look like anyone has missed any meals, now, does it....









John plants this special Indian/sweet corn hybrid cross - I use it to make green corn tamale pie, a recipe I found in Sunset a few years ago. I'll tell you more about it in the next day or so - it's late & I'm tired.

Girls out to Lunch

The ladies I work with had an excellent day today. Our friend Melanie (who also happens to be the bosses wife, which was how we could get away with this) invited us up to their beautiful home to have lunch!













YUMMMY!!!

Kay & Bekah enjoyed their sandwiches!

and Rascal made sure he got his share...

After our delicious lunch we went for a walk through Melanie's beautiful gardens

Sometimes, the benefits of working for a small business are endless. Many thanks to Jamie & Jim & all the guys who took over answering the phones so we gals could go have a nice lunch together!

Weekend cat blogging

This is Sinda, of course - it's her weekend - Last week was Neelix's turn -

Such a lovely lady, and such a pain in the butt sometimes. I guess, at 16 years (late 70's in human years) she's allowed to be a little persnickety.










Want to see more beautiful & talented cats - go to Heather's Space (http://azurelynns.blogspot.com/) for Weekend Cat Blogging #62






Have a great one.

Sinda says "This is definately my "best side"

Off to the Fair We Went

We generally go to the fair for one reason - to watch the draft horse show - it is generally fun and exciting and today was no exception. I believe that Whatcom County has, if I remember correctly, 8, count em' EIGHT six horse hitches of draft horses, and boy are they pretty. and they get them all out in the ring & let them "do their thing", which is a crazy combination of circles & etc, and as you can see from this picture they are going every which way. And they've been doing it for so long, that the horses never run into each other.





After the "big guys" are done, they bring in the 8 horse pony hitches - there are only 4 of those - and it's a good thing, because those little guys really get to rolling - flat out at a run!







The other thing we went to see this year was the Sheep to Shawl demonstration - we had donated one of Thorson's fleeces for this one, and everyone really loved it - the staples (or locks, for those of you who don't spin) were really long on this fleece - and it spun like a dream. The pile in the middle of this picture has been picked & run through a drum carder. Doesn't it just look like cotton candy?












They were using a floor loom this time that had been prepared with a red yard to weave in the beautiful white yarn that they were spinning, to make a shawl. I had some other fun pictures of the weaving, but for some reason, they won't download. Who knows - anyhow - we had the cattlemen's Brisket sandwich w/coleslaw & beans for lunch (with a lemonade, of course) I had a lime snow cone on our way out of the fairgraounds - light on the syrup...

It was way too hot for me - and we'd worried that it might be too much for John to do, after being off with the flu all week...but he's fine tonight - my knees & feet feel like they've walked a million miles. But it was fun. Now we don't have to go for another four or five years.