It took a lot of treats to get these pictures. Happy Halloween a bit early.

I had so much fun dressing animals up for Halloween.  Some like the attention, some are just stoic and take it, others want to eat the costume or run away as if I'm going to attack them with a scary wig.  What I found helped the most was black licorice.  Yup, almost all my animals like black licorice.  You'll notice I have no pictures of James dressed up this year.  That's because he doesn't like black licorice.  There are a few other ways to bribe him but I didn't have time for that before typing this up.  I know what you're thinking and that's not what I mean.  I meant I didn't have time to bake him a chocolate cake.
I hope you enjoy these pictures even half as much as I liked taking them.  I think I took 8 pictures of Roxie and this is the best she and I could do.




Mac was one of the stoic ones I was talking about.  "g'day mate"

I don't know which animal this is but she was a little too eager to get dressed up and have her picture taken.

I think Willo looks beautiful as a blonde, don't you?

Calvin Monroe.

Hobbes wanted a piece of Calvin Monroe.

Poppy heard it was going to be a cold winter. 

I don't know who looked cuter in the hat, Poppy or Calvin.

Of course, I can't leave out sweet Lex.  Keri is too bouncy to dress up.

I saved my favorite for last.  Cooper, my buck, is far from an angel but he loved the attention so I put the wings and wig on.  For those of you who have bucks and know what they're like this time of year, you'll appreciate this video.


Happy Halloween from Elk Cliff Farm.

Goat cheese with activated charcoal

Sounds gross, doesn't it?  I don't make many soft cheeses but  I'm enjoying this new (to me) moldy (moldy on purpose using p. candidum) goat cheese.  I receive a monthly newsletter from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company where I buy many of my supplies.  Each month they highlight at least one cheese and give you a new recipe to try, and I often do.  Here's this month's http://www.cheesemaking.com/GoatWithAsh.html 

Mine came out looking just like theirs.  It seemed to ripen faster than they said though.  It went from black to grey to white in 4 days.

We ate one of them at 5 days old, one at 8 days and still have one in the refrigerator we'll try around 2 weeks old, I think.  The second one was definitely much dryer and a little stronger flavored.  This week I'm attempting a large sized one.  It may be too big.   It looks like a lopsided black cake.                                                                                                                                      

I'm only getting 3/4 of a gallon of milk a day right now but it seems to be yielding more cheese than usual.

Food Fight

During an election year I have to wonder how much of what people say is based on emotion and what is based on reason.  I'm just as guilty, for sure, of being emotional about statements I and others make.  Today someone wrote on Facebook, "I've been amazed---and, frankly, appalled!---at how many people who take advantage of the food stamps system don't know that food producing plants and seeds can be obtained with food stamps". 

I wrote in response, "I think many people who use food stamps live in cities on a small plot or have no land at all and can't grow their own food. Not all of us can do this. If only they could find a way to barter for local, healthy food. It's not always as easy as you may think. It's important to keep an open mind. I'm extremely lucky to have almost everything I eat grown right here. Not everyone has this luxury, I understand that. Those of us who can afford it should have compassion for those who can't. Maybe they'd learn something from you about healthy eating." 

This person and I do not agree on this apparently.  At times I think I might be a snob about how James and I live and eat.  I hope I don't come across as holier-than-thou.  I know this lifestyle isn't for everyone.  We certainly haven't figured out how to do this on-the-cheap.  I'd like to think (maybe wrongly) that folks who get food stamps, at least a good number of them, truly need it.  Most likely they don't have money or time or opportunity to spend planting, harvesting, feeding animals, etc. 

I don't think there's any reason to be "appalled" that folks don't know their food stamps can be used for seeds and plants.  If that's appalling, then maybe it's appalling that some people have never planted arugula and artichokes. It seems to me only people who garden would even think about using food stamps or dollars for seeds.  For those of us who get angry about this, maybe we should try educating folks on food stamps, arugula and artichokes. Maybe we can all learn something.  Kumbaya........

Halloween dress rehearsal

My Mid Atlantic Minis Yahoo goat group is having a costume contest for our goats.  Winner gets $35.00.  I doubt anyone participating cares if there's a prize or not.  It's just fun.  We don't get trick-or-treaters here so this is about all the Halloween celebrating I do, dressing up my animals.  For those of you who missed last year's 10/30 post, here's a link http://holesinmyjeans-kpannabecker.blogspot.com/2011/10/hippy-halloween.html
I can't use the same costume as last year so today I began experimenting.  It's not easy to dress up a goat so I thought I'd do a dress rehearsal on one of my most patient and devoted buddies, Lex.  He's an angel, don't you agree?

I think he needs a white robe.  I don't know if I can get a goat to let stand still to put 3 pieces of clothing on it.  We'll see.

I'd really love to dress up one of the pigs too.  They're so darn cute but they rarely stand still unless I'm giving them a good scratch or in Calvin's case, a tummy rub.  Yesterday I was doing work in the field and I was worried the boy goats would get in the way but it was the pigs who were more curious about tools.  My drill was covered in mud from them gnawing on it with their muddy noses and mouths.  They got tired of me after awhile but still wanted to be close and took a nap next to my wagon.  I couldn't resist and snapped a picture with my phone.  They really are pretty affectionate creatures.

Anyone have any ideas for goat costumes?  Or other animals.  Donkeys are also fun to dress up. 

Cute

I know I'm a bit slack on blogging lately so I thought I'd post this cute picture (not mine).

This is not Keri and one of my goats but I wish they were this tight.  Keri has adjusted to living with them fulltime now and that makes life much easier.  She'd still rather be with us.

Breeding season has begun so I've brought all the boys (6) up to the house so I can tell when the girls are in heat.  It's super noisy and active and I can't wait to put the boys back in the field.  They become insane whiny bucks this time of year and I know the neighbors can hear them from at least half a mile away.  I bred 3 girls today and it was weird how a few wanted the one boy they weren't supposed to have.  Isn't that how parents always feel?  I presented them with the guy I thought was good for them and he just didn't turn them on like the other one.  Tough, I'm the boss.  I need the no-eared girls to breed with the no-eared boy and the long-eared girls to breed with the long-eared boy.

I know this may surprise many of you but tomorrow I'm sending Darla and her daughter, Remmy, to live with my friend, Susan.  I really need to scale down before kidding season and it made more sense to say goodbye to my little girls and stick with my giant milkers.  I will cry but I'll get to see them again and I know they'll be in good hands.

Today I had to butcher the first of our turkeys.  We were going to wait till November but this boy has been limping and had a very swollen foot.  I don't know if it got stepped on or what.  Today he was lying around looking pitiful so it was time to put him out of his misery and into our freezer. 

I took Macaroni (donkey) for a 2 mile walk on the road today to see how he'd handle the little traffic we have.  He's been on the road many times before but not here.  He did great.  We walked to visit a friend of mine.  When she let her little barking dog out of the house Mac didn't blink an eye or even twitch.  The only problem we had was Mac wants to walk faster down hills than I want him to.  I want him to get used to walking on the road to the Glenwood Horse Trail which is only a mile and a half away. 

Not much else........

Some days I feel like a farmer

Today was one of those days I felt like a real farmer.  After morning milking and feeding I went out to the field to give Jaz her meds and noticed the big gate needed attention.  It seems like hanging a farm gate should be easy, right?  I can build a barn but ask me to hang a gate plumb and I fall short.  Maybe I wasn't feeling like such a farmer after that.  I did get it hung though.  Perhaps it was so hard because my buck, Cooper, insisted on helping me by rubbing his stink all over me and licking me.  So now I not only feel like a farmer, I smell like one.  The falling rain seemed to make his cologne even worse.

Rainy days are good for cheese making so I made gruyere cheese till the rain subsided.  I need to be in a certain mood to butcher a chicken and today just happened to be one of those days.  Don't ask what that mood is because I can't describe it.  We have lots of roosters and we need to slim down before winter so I headed out to the yard with a large net in hand.  I just did one and butchering was an easy task.  I cut it up and we had legs and thighs for dinner along with eggplant, squash and potatoes from the garden.  I think Lex was feeling like a farm dog today too because he got goat milk, an egg, whey and a chicken foot.  I hear his tummy grumbling now and I hope I don't have to clean up his farm dog food in another form later on.  Keri never seems bothered by stuff like this.  She eats all kinds of things.  I'm not sure she's so thrilled with store-bought dog food. 

It cleared up to be a lovely evening so I put a halter and lead on Macaroni and took him for a walk around the perimeter of our field.  He was so eager and interested in his surroundings and never questioned where I was taking him.  He walked right down to the creek with no hesitation.  Next we crossed the road so I could show him where I live.  He met the turkeys and a barking Keri through the fence.  He was nonplussed.  We only quit because it got dark.  I can't wait till I can ride him.  Hopefully tomorrow. 

I think I need a bath to wash this farmer feeling off me.

And called him Macaroni

My friend, Mike, emailed me 5 days ago and said he was selling his mammoth donkey, Mack (short for Macaroni), and would I like to give him a home.  Well, Mack is the reason I wanted a mammoth donkey to begin with.  Mack is awesomely gigantic yet gentle as a lamb (are lambs gentle?).  He's Mike's saddle donkey.  I was enchanted by him the first time I met him.  This is one of Mike's pictures I love of Mack with a toddler on him.

 Mike lifted me onto Mack's back within 5 minutes after his arrival.  Wow, it's a long way down.  I'll be using a saddle for sure.  I'm a bit nervous up there. I'm going to have to find ways to get up on him myself.  A stirrup won't do it. 

Introductions went pretty well.  There was a little half-hearted kicking (the donkeys, not me) but for the most part all the donkeys seem fine together unless we're giving attention to Mack.  They all want to be the favorite donkey.  Willo is especially possessive of me, even with her mom and brother.  I've been riding her more lately so she thinks I'm hers.  Here's the initial meeting of the asses.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow but if it doesn't I'm going to take him for a short ride.  I hope:)

Three little pigs

Really it's more like one big pig and 2 little pigs.  We sold all but 2 of the piglets, Calvin and Hobbes.  Calvin is the friendlier of the two but they're both really nice looking pigs, I think.  I've always thought Hobbes was the best looking of all of them but no one bought him.  He's red in the front and back and has a white belt around his middle.  He's also quite husky.

Keri is fascinated with the little guys and they seem equally as infatuated with her, Calvin in particular.  Any time (really, every time) Keri sniffs him he rolls onto his back for her to sniff his tummy.  She never does it long enough for him because she wants him to play.  Sometimes he even has his eyes closed.  It's adorable.  See for yourself.

Music to my (long)ears

Photo ops

Remember how our parents made us pose for pictures when we were kids?  We have many slides of me and my two sisters dressed in our Easter finery in front of Mom's flower bed holding our Easter baskets just so.  Three adorable little girls smiling at the camera.  I can almost smell the hyacinths as I type.  This tradition of posing our children while we get just the right shot is passed from generation to generation.  I love the photo of Adam after getting off  the schoolbus on his first day of kindergarten.

The tables turned this weekend.  My parents came to visit.  As my folks watched me sit at my computer (I really know how to entertain) I stumbled upon a person planking on their horse.  Had my dad known what was to come next he might have left a day sooner.  Mom, being the good sport she is (Read: gullable) was all about it.

"Hey Mom, I know it might hurt a little but will you lie across the arms of this chair so I can take your picture?"

She was a real pro.  I feel I need to mention here my mom is 74 years old and had not touched my homemade wine.  I think she may have even fallen asleep like this. 

"How 'bout this, Mom?  Could you lie between these ottomans so I can get another picture for my blog?  Yes, I know it's hard to breathe but stay still and stop laughing."

At this point my dad was shaking his head.  He went to bed before I got him to pose.

We went out to dinner last night and on the way home James and I decided we should get some more planking shots.   Yes, James was in on it too.  It was raining and getting dark so we had to be quick about it.   I'm pretty sure we were making Dad nervous because:
A.  He thought we were going to be arrested.
B.  He was worried we were going to run out of gas and have to walk home in the pouring rain (our gas light was on and James and I weren't concerned.
C.   We might embarrass him.

Unfortunately these pictures are blurry because they were taken with my cell phone and some were taken with headlights shining so we could get the picture.   This is me at the feet of King Kong taken outside the Pink Cadillac restaurant.  You can make your comments below about the handicapped sign beneath me.

Not far away is a road named very appropriately for our outing last night.

How could we NOT take a picture of James planking underneath this sign?

Our final picture for the night (only because it was getting too dark) was taken outside the Natural Bridge Zoo.  Remember, it was raining so my mom had to lie in a puddle beneath this elephant's feet.  And yes, she HAD to.  Actually, she may have volunteered.

Today before ma and pa headed back to Pennsylvania my good ol' dad gave in, even though I put him in a very uncomfortable place.

Thanks, Mom and Dad.  I'm sure one day Adam will get back at me too.

Feeling Nostalgic

One of my friends recently found out she's going to be a grandmother for the first time.  She said she looks forward to all the good books she will get to read her grandbaby.   Oh yeah, I can appreciate her enthusiasm.  I loved reading children's books to Adam. 

Today I listened to a cd James made 13 years ago and the last song on it was Wynken, Blynken and Nod.  It was a book we read Adam when he was little and he put it to music and sang.  It's been many years since he sang this to us and I loved hearing it today as I milked.  Adam is 22 and this week said two things to me that make me realize how long ago it was since we held him in our laps as we read to him.  "Time really flies", and "it's a small world".  It makes me laugh that he's old enough to say these things but it also makes me nostalgic for those early days of our young family.

We no longer have the book so I had to find it on the internet and I did a voice-over with James' song.  I hope you like it.

They're everywhere

I wish I knew Spanish

Yesterday I was out strolling in the pasture with Keri, our goats, turkeys and chickens.  It's not uncommon for cars to slow down to look at the animals so I waved to the SUV which almost stopped as it approached the pigs and goats.  Most folks become self-conscious when they see me watching them watch our animals, but today's group didn't care I was watching them watch.  I hollered, "do you want to buy a pig?"  The driver waved to someone in the back who leaned out the window.  "We don't have a farm, ha ha ha".  I assumed they were staying at the campground up the road but I was wrong.  I invited them to pull in our driveway if they wanted a closer look at the animals.  They seemed excited to be asked.

They were originally from El Salvador but have lived in the US for 13 years.  It was 2 brothers and their wives and one young child.  Only one of the brothers spoke fluent English.  One lived in VA and the other in MD.  They grew up on a farm in El Salvador and were enchanted with our place for some reason.  Rubin was full of smiles and appreciation.  His wife and brother had very little to say unless they were speaking in Spanish.  They weren't being rude, they just didn't understand me and my rambling.  They took lots of pictures or videos of themselves with turkeys and goats and laughed a lot.  They were a friendly group and it was fun visiting with them even though I doubt they understood much of what I was saying, which didn't stop me.  The one from VA lives about 45 minutes from us and they were out taking a drive and that's how they ended up here. 

I tried learning a little Italian when we went to Italy 5 years ago but I've forgotten most of what I learned.  I'm thinking maybe I should begin trying to learn Spanish now so when we visit a Spanish speaking country we can communicate a little better than we did in Italy.  It would have been fun to be able to switch back and forth between English and Spanish yesterday. 

Feeling lighter already

Last week we sold our cottage.  This week I gave away some things on Freecycle.org.  I still felt overwhelmed with stuff so today I decided it was time to clean out the garage attic.  When I went up there a few days ago there were 5 cats (I have no idea where they came from) and a snake who appeared to have taken up residence.  There's lots of evidence of mice up there too.  Here's what it looked like before I started.  This is just a small section of the attic.  There was lots more.

Here's the after.

We can actually walk up there now.  There's still more that can go but I filled an 8 foot pickup bed to overflowing and couldn't fit anymore.  I found a few things I couldn't let go of that I probably should have.  Next I need to work on cleaning out the cabin.   Usually a good way to get rid of stuff is to move but we have no plans to do that.   I hope this attic isn't full again in 5 years. 

Someone else wants to ride my donkeys

My phone rang this morning.  "Karen, grab the camera if you want a picture...."   I just knew the photo opportunity would be gone by the time I got outside.  I should play the lottery today because I was lucky.  Look what I captured.  Is this sweet or what?

She did it several times.

James said she stayed on much longer before I got out there.  I think Chy likes it because it feels good on her back.  Or maybe she just likes giving Respa rides.

New vehicle in the garage

It's not really new.  Most of you who know me and James know we don't buy new vehicles.  You might also know we don't keep our cars/truck in a garage.  Who would use precious garage space on a station wagon with 300,000+ miles on it?  Or a 1987 rusted out Dodge Ram that we haul manure in?  Our latest model is a 2002 Toyota.  Even it doesn't rate garage space.  This "new" vehicle is an antique.  Really it's in the garage only until we build a covered space for it in our field with the mammoth donkeys or make a cover for it. 

Last night James and I had a very romantic date.  We drove 2 hours one way to purchase this.  Sweet, huh?

Even the thought of this "donkey" cart is romantic to me.  James and I took turns pulling each other around the driveway today.  It pulls like a dream. 

I'd called about this horse cart a few days ago (Craigslist) and James said he wanted to go with me to look at it.  It was a relaxing and scenic drive.  James read to me, Goat Song, by Brad Kessler, as I drove.  I knew I wanted it the moment I saw it.   It also came with a complete harness which I think will fit Willo (my driving-donkey-to-be).  I need to learn how to harness a donkey first.  On the way home we stopped for dinner in downtown Staunton.  For those of you who live in the area you really should have dinner at Zynodoa.  They serve delicious local cuisine and wine.  It has a nice atmosphere and it's close to Blackfriars Playhouse, in case you want to catch some Shakespeare in a gorgeous timberframe theatre. 

It almost felt like we were on vacation.  It was dark when we arrived home so the cart spent the night in the bed of the Dodge.  Today I cleaned it up, along with the harness and James made room for it in one of the garage bays. 

I can't wait to ride around our field with Willo leading the way.  I've been ground driving her lately and she's doing great.  It won't be long till she pulls us in our spiffy chariot.  Now that will be a romantic date.

Pigs, goats, snapping turtles, turkeys, donkeys, dogs....................

It took a few days to get back in the swing of things but I think we have things under control (well almost).  We returned from the beach very relaxed.  That lasted a few hours.  We found we had a toilet leak at the house we're selling.  Our goat barn was infested with chicken mites and when you walked in there you were covered with them in seconds.  Very gross.  The first morning back my 3 month old kid, Respa, had weak legs and could hardly stand up.  One of my mammoth donkeys has been struggling with laminitis and has sores on her sides from lying down so much.  Our grass was shin-high and needed desperately to be cut.  A few days ago we got a call that Keri had been visiting neighbors regularly and had also been seen in the road.  Piglets needed to be castrated.  It was a pretty long to-do list.

All these things have been taken care of except for the mammoth donkey's painful feet but I'm doing my best to make her comfortable again.  James and I castrated the piglets and that went well.  Five boys now have little lines on their backsides but you'd never know they had surgery because they ran around like nothing happened almost immediately. 

I'm now letting them explore the big pasture for a few hours a day and they love that.  The donkeys and goats didn't know what to make of these busy little creatures.


When it's time to get them back to their fence for the night all I have to do is call them.


Keri is now living fulltime with the girl goats and standard donkeys.  We can't have her leaving the property so right now that's our only choice.  She didn't look very happy about it at first but now she seems to have settled in and everyone is getting along fine.  There's lots in that pasture she finds appetizing and I don't mean grass. 

I took her and Lex to the river yesterday so they could play and run.  I was gong to follow Keri across the creek but didn't want to get my feet wet so I looked for the perfect stepping stone.  As I got closer to a rock which would make an easy hop across I discovered it had lines in it.

I changed my mind.

The boy goats are getting more active now that we've had some cooler days and I think they're anticipating breeding season, which won't be for 2 more months here.



The turkeys are annoying but what can you do?  I think I'll stick with the Bourbon Reds from now on.  They're way more polite than the giant breeds.  I don't know why that is.  Here's a giant white carrying lots of food in its crop.  Some of them always have doggy bags swinging back and forth from their neck.

The first few days back I was thinking about when we could take our next trip.  Now I'm having fun again.   The past two days have been just as relaxing as vacation.

  

More Vacation

We've decided not to go home.....at least not till Wednesday.  The B&B owners invited us to stay another day.  We couldn't think of a reason not to and our farm sitter said it was ok so we're staying put today.   I feel really lucky we're able to do things like this.  We can't stay much longer, though, because I'll weigh 200 lbs.  To say we've been eating well would be an understatement.

Last night's sunset was beautiful.  This picture was taken on the pier at Adam and Melissa's. 

Adam took this panoramic picture with his phone.

The 4 of us climbed Jockey's Ridge - the largest natural sand dune on the east coast.


Our B&B has kayaks available for the guests so James and I checked out the coastline.

They also have bicycles which we plan to ride through the nearby preserve today.  If you're looking for a quiet place to stay in the Outer Banks we highly recommend Cypress Moon B&B in Kitty Hawk.  Linda and Greg own two houses side by side, with 3 bedrooms in each.  We got a tour of the house nextdoor and it's beatiful.  It's a relaxing place to be.


I guess my next blog entry will be written from Elk Cliff Farm, which seems to be doing just fine without me.

What I'm doing on vacation

It's just after Noon, James is out running and I'm all alone in our room at Cypress Moon B&B in Kitty Hawk.  The air conditioning is so cold I'm wearing long sleaves with a down comforter over my lap as I sit on my Tempurpedic bed with  2 pillows behind my back.  On the night stand next to me is a piece of crusty bread, some Nordic Grumpy Goat cheese and a glass of wine.  Divine!  Edit:  James informed me later there was a sign saying "no eating in bed".  Oops.  I'm glad I didn't spill anything.  Sorry, Linda and Greg.  I usually behave better (not).

Maybe I should be out doing something, at least sitting on the beach reading a book, but right now this is all I want to do.  We haven't been able to sleep late yet so I figured sitting in bed in the afternoon is the next best thing, maybe even better.  This morning we got up at 6:30 to take a Wild Horse Adventure Tour.  The tour guide was quite the entertainer and didn't seem to ever get tired of talking.  We gave him a tip even though I bit all my nails off on the jeep ride back on the beach.  It was a good way to spend the morning, see the sights and learn about the island.  Adam seems very comfortable in his role as a guide and it was fun seeing him in an environment that's all his own and I know nothing about. 

If I get really energetic I may roll out of bed and walk a whole 30 yards down to the pier and watch the sailboats go by. This is the view out my bedroom window.

The B&B has bikes and kayaks we can use but a nap sounds best right now.

Vacation

I won't be blogging for at least 5 days.  I know, you're just devastated, aren't you?  We're going to the Outer Banks for some R&R.  This is the first time in 5 years I've really been ready to leave the farm.  I used to be so worried my animals couldn't survive without me, but really I didn't think I could handle being away without worrying.  I no longer feel that way.  Our farm sitter is perfectly capable of doing just as good a job as I do.  I can't believe I just said that.  I've become somewhat of a control freak and I recognize that.  That is the first step, isn't it?  Admitting it?  I used to think I was such an easy-going kick-back kinda gal but I'm learning this isn't as true as I thought.  Gasp!  I'm learning that I have a hard time letting go of things because I think I can do them better. 

We had friends visit last week and the wife is very into recognizing who fits into what personality type.  For those of you who know about the Meyers Briggs test, that's what I'm talking about.  James and I took something like this years ago when we worked for Citicorp.  I'm an extrovert/intuitive/feeler/perceiver.  You'll have to look this up http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html to see what I'm talking about.  Maybe I should tell you what it says because I'd be able to make it clearer;)

Peace, outta here.

I've won the gold

I haven't watched the olympics but I've read some of the news on the internet.  There are always many heroic stories about folks who beat the odds or had challenges we couldn't even imagine facing.  Many of the athletes leave their families for months or years to train just to find their dreams.  Most of us can't even grasp what a gymnast or sprinter or whatever..... experiences when they stand on that pedastal as someone places a medal around their neck. 

Let me tell you a story of a simple girl who didn't face any unusual challenges any other average girl didn't face.  She grew up in a normal household with a loving family, never ventured too far until she met a man.   A man who gave her all she could ask for.

He invites her to move to St. Louis.  What else can she say but yes, as this handsome man hypnotizes her with his gentleness and captivating way.  She's already lost.

Could he be just as captivated?  "Let's quit our jobs and move to NC....and later, VA", the girl says.

"Sure", this unusual man says.

"I want to learn to play guitar", she says. 

"Go 'head, you'll be great", he says.

"May I raise goats?", she asks the generous man who didn't grow up with animals. 

"Sure, the milk will be great", says he.  "You want more goats?  Chickens? Donkeys?, Okay, we'll have a farm we never knew we could dream of".

James and I met 25 years ago today, 8/7/87.  I may not have faced the challenges the olympic hopefuls have or have trained like they did, but I'm just as thrilled as if I've had a gold medal draped around my neck. 

OooooooOuija Board

Some old friends from NC came to visit this weekend.  We hadn't seen them in several years but it felt like no time had passed since we hung out last.  The sign of true friendship. 

After a long, tiring kayak trip yesterday we all somehow got a second wind and played the game Catch Phrase.  We divided ourselves into teams - the introverts against the extroverts.  The introverts won but I'm sure they cheated.  They pretend to be all quiet and unassuming but they're sneakier than they let on.  We definitely need a rematch.

I don't remember why we decided to drag the Ouija Board out next.  Adam had given me this as a Christmas gift a few years ago because I told him I played with one as a kid.  I remember our church youth group leaders getting upset about us using one.  I didn't really get that because to us it was all fun and games.  We saw nothing evil about it.  Looks innocent enough, right?

This one even glows in the dark so we lit candles and turned off the lights.

Today I read that we were supposed to put it on our knees between two people.  We had it on the table so maybe that's why we didn't get the full experience.  We did get some interesting responses though.  We started simple with a yes or no question.  We got the answer we expected and wanted.  Next we asked a question only James and I could know the answer to and had our friends be the ones with their hands on the planchette.

 The above photo is blurred to protect the innocent.  We don't want any demons following them back to NC.

We asked who had lived in this house besides senator Miles Poindexter, whose framed photo we had perched on the table.  The planchette pointed to I and then R.  It stopped there.   One of the women who lived in this house (now deceased) was named Iris.  Hmmm.

We asked what year the senator died in this house.  It pointed to 1964.  Actually he died in 1946 but maybe this spirit was dyslexic.  We asked another question and didn't get an answer at all.

Even after mixed results I think everyone was a little impressed.  No one walked away possessed (not that I know of) and it left us wondering if maybe it really works. 

Today I read some Ouija Board stories warning us not to use this but I'm not scared away just yet.  I also read some tips for how to use it.

1. Play sober.  You'll get better results if you haven't been drinking or smoking.   Good to know.
2. Maintain control. If the board starts giving rude, vulgar, obscene or otherwise disagreeable responses, break off the session immediately by closing the board.  We never felt out of control but that may have been pretty exciting.
3. Don't believe everything the board tells you. Just as with any other source of information, don't accept whatever the board says to be the truth or accurate.  We were prepared to believe anything even though we were sober.
4.  Move it. Purposely move the planchette around in a circle on the board for a moment or two to get it 'warmed up.  I'm thinking we might have gotten better results had we done this.

5.  Close the board. This is an important step. When you're done with your session, slide the planchette to 'GOODBYE' and remove your hands.  We didn't do this but from what I've read we might be in big trouble.  I think I'll still sleep ok tonight.

Now I want to try it again.  Does that mean I'm obsessed or possessed?

I might be losing it

My friend, Jerry, commented on my organic spa entry, saying he thinks I need to get off the farm for awhile.  At first I thought he was probably just jealous because we didn't have pigs and mud for him to play with when he visited.  Another friend said she may have to "unfriend" me on facebook after reading it.  I'm thinking they both may be telling me what I need to hear.

Today I have to admit I probably need to get out more and I might even need a break from the farm.  My aquaponics system isn't working quite like it should because it's root-bound and not draining properly.  It's getting frustrating.  We've also been getting rain so it overflows occasionally.  This morning I had to drain a little because of last night's storm.  I put the hose in to syphon it and said, "I hope I don't forget and drain the whole thing".  Of course I forgot but at least it didn't drain completely before I noticed - maybe a foot more than it should have though.  To make matters worse, I put the hose back in to add water.  This is where I ask you to guess what happened next............

Did you guess that I forgot and overfilled it till it was running over?  I drained it again but set the timer this time and didn't wander too far.  Unfortunately, one of the garden beds was sagging and lost a bunch of water that drained onto the patio so I should have topped it off but I couldn't bring myself to go through that again.  Now it's threatening rain so hopefully it will fill it another 3 inches so I don't have to go through another Groundhog Day.  I'm not even going to explain this.

Yesterday I had bread dough rising on the dining room table.  This morning I finally remembered it was there so it is now a very heavy and dense bread that rose and fell too many times. 

As I type this I have tomatoes on the stovetop, cooking down to make sauce.  In the past I've burned the tomatoes but I'm sitting only 15 feet from them so I hope I'll remember them before I smell something burning.

Today I made reservations (at a B&B, not an asylum) in the Outer Banks for 4 nights.  I think I need it.