Peaceful morning

It was a peaceful morning on the farm today.  All the animals were eating breakfast and enjoying the warmth of the sun finally!

Damn…..

I thought for sure it would count!! 🙂

Dulce de leche

What to do with those out of season apples you can only get at this time of year?  Make a quick batch of Dulce de leche to dip them in.

You can see how I make it on my Facebook page here:  Dulce de leche

Niagara Falls, New York

The power of the water rushing over the falls is mesmerizing

In the moment

Sometimes all you need is a bit of sunshine, warm ground, and a great place to rest your mind and body.

Coming back from a walk in our woods today the horses were enjoying the warm earth for the first time this season.  I envied them being able to lay there in utter peace, no worries, no responsibilities, just  to be.

Interestingly enough the two relaxing are my geldings (male horses).  They are both so different in personality.  My oldest one turned 25 last week.  This is a “senior” horse now.  He’s always been a loving animal, so full of pride and so gentle.  He has a very hard time trusting people and things and after 14 years, it still warms my heart to see him be able to relax like this.  The other one is a 16 year old who has the personality of an eight year old boy.  Full of mischief, inquisitive, loving and carefree.  He trusts his older brother with his life. He does not like to be far from him and knows he can lay next to his brother and not have a care in  the world.

And yet while these two are having their moment of inner peace, there is my mare (female) horse standing to the side.  She is an 18 year old gentle soul.  She is brave and trusting and skimpy with showing her love for you.  But it’s there and you can feel it even when she doesn’t show it.

Stopping and looking at them after my relaxing walk, it came to my mind that she is like me.  I want to relax, I want to lay on the warm ground and not have a care in the world.  I envy people who are able to do that.  Shut off the world and just be.  But that is not in my makeup.

And so like my mare, I will be content with where I’m at and accept who I am knowing I may never be able to “just be” and that’s ok.

Mom and Dad Trail Ride

After a nice cold winter there is still enough chill in the air to keep the bugs away for now.  This is the perfect weather to ride.  Today the man and I had the opportunity to ride together for the first time this season.

The horses were tacked up and we headed down the trail

Took a quick trail ride selfie

And everyone made it back to the barn to enjoy the rest of the evening

And in time for softball practice and to cook dinner 🙂

Relaxing evening

Outer side of marina facing where Lake Erie and the Niagara River meet

Friday morning I had a major dental procedure done on two of my teeth.  On Saturday I spent most of the day in pain and felt bad for the kids as it was a beautiful evening and they were stuck in the house with me. The man of the house took my mother to her FIRST Buffalo Sabres game.  This was supposed to be her and I, but I was in too much pain and my face was swollen like the elephant man so he offered to take her.

You can see she had a great time!

Entrance to Spaulding Trail

I decided instead of sitting at home being in pain, I could just as easily take a walk and be in pain.  So the kids, our dog and I headed to a trail on the Island that leads through the woods, around a marina inlet, through Beaver Island State Park and loops back to the beginning where we parked. It’s about a 4 1/2 mile loop.

The entrance of the marina after coming out of the wooded trail has a beautiful tree perfect for posing for pictures.

These rocks circle the marina.  In the warmer weather there are floating docks with kayak launches built in.  Poor Wrinkles wanted to run with the kids on the rocks so badly but there is a leash law at the marina and the park.

Across from the marina is the Huntley Power Plant.  It’s such a cool building but it is the largest polluter in all of our county.

There are a few areas that are perfect for having a family picnic so the kids can play at the marina.  I love the area by this tree looking to the East of the marina.

Looking to the West is the Fisherman’s Club and their docks where we had the man’s birthday party last year.

And on the shore of the river side of the inlet there are also rocks and a nice area for the kids to collect shells and “sea” glass.

The sun was starting to set at the marina and we still had about 2 miles to go to head back to the car so we set off through Beaver Island Park.

When woods washes up or any of the trees fall in the State owned park, they drag it up to store back by a practice driving range for golf.  Of course the kids could not resist climbing the rock area and on the large logs.

And after our 4 1/2 mile trek we headed back home to do the evening barn chores and feed the animals.  We headed in with just enough time to catch two periods of the Buffalo Sabres final game of the season!!

And while it really didn’t help the pain and actually caused my face to swell more the next day, it was worth it to spend the time with the kids 🙂

Turkey Tenderloin

Yesterday with my dental appointment I figured it best to crock pot cook our dinner just in case I wasn’t up to cooking.

Well it came out perfect.  Turkey Tenderloin is another one of those items I stock up on when the grocery store has a sale on them as they are fast and easy to cook.  You can prepare them so many ways (Asian style, grilled, traditional turkey & stuffing, turkey soup, or as I did yesterday as a shredded meal over dumpling noodles).

You can see how I made our dinner on my Facebook page here:  Turkey Tenderloin

Gem Corn

I have been following a wonderful blog since I first started my own blog.  Jane’s blog:  My Food and Flowers  is full of beautiful pictures of every type of flower and plant that you can imagine.  Not only does she share her talent and love of landscaping, but she shares her advice and information on how to grow most of the plants she features. I can’t begin to tell you how much I have learned from her blog.

Recently she asked me if I would like to receive some of her Gem Corn to plant here.  I could barely type the word YES because it was such a generous offer that I almost felt not worthy of trying to grow these plants.  If you do not know the history of Gem Corn, you can find it here:  GEM CORN.

As you can see from the article, the offer to share her bit of heirloom seeds is truly a special gift.

The envelope arrived and inside was this beautiful handmade card containing the seeds.  True to form she included a bit of information about these special seeds.

They are colorful just by themselves and grow into the most beautiful ears of corn.

Tonight we planted them and they are settled in the indoor greenhouse to hopefully begin their sprouting process.  If I am lucky, these beautiful seeds will offer a new heirloom seed to my collection, and I can only hope to be able to share them with some of my special gardening friends.

Take the time to stop by Jane’s blog.  You will be hooked just as I am!

Thank you Jane (My Food and Flowers),  we will do our best to carry on the Gem Corn legacy you have started with your seeds!

Perspective

When things tend to crop up that stress me out, I withdraw.  The past week has been that way for me and I have avoided posting on my blog, getting more of our first plantings going, seeing/talking to friends and spending more time in my barn alone to process things.

I had severe allergies as a child.  My father used to clean carpets for the doctor in exchange for the much needed allergy shots I received twice a week.  As a result of being sickly my teeth have always been a problem as the enamel is soft and problematic.  I have had major dental work done over the years with no dental insurance and paid more than my first new car cost.  I have been with my company for 24 years and we have good medical insurance but no dental.

I recently had an issue with a front tooth that has already been worked on twice before.  I went to my dentist of 20+ years and he said it needed to have a root canal along with the tooth next to it that already had a root canal as that root canal did not hold up and needed to be redone and then I would need new crowns on those and a bottom root canal also needed to be retouched.  This would be approximately another $6,000 to $8,000.00.   WHAT?????????????????  I paid $4000 for these teeth less than 7 years ago.  I also need to see a specialist (Endodontist) for the root canals.

There is no “good” time to be told about a huge expense like this and it hits a bit harder right now as it’s time for spring vet visits for the horses and goats, to stock up and purchase hay for the upcoming winter, and to try and save a bit of “fun” money to enjoy the summer.  We gave up the cottage we rented in Long Beach, Canada for a week, I sold my round pen for training horses (which really stings as this has been a life long enjoyment I have working with horses), and are selling a few other horse items we are not using to put towards the dental work.  Luckily there is a dental “credit card” with zero percent financing for a year as that will help as well.

So while I have been wallowing in my pity party for myself it’s amazing how God can put things in perspective.  I have a friend who lost a son to brain cancer at the age of 7 who has now been diagnosed with cancer herself which is horrific as she has a tween daughter who lived through losing her brother and will now face the fear of her mother being sick, another friend has recently had a double mastectomy, and yet another friend dealing with an addiction issue with her only child.

Sometimes we need that kick in the head to remind us that regardless of what we are facing, there are others who deserve our pity WAY more than ourselves!!

So tomorrow while in the dental chair for the first of my proceedings, I will be praying…not for myself but for the others whose lives are so terribly uprooted right now.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as well!