Fish Outa' Water

My nephew and niece came by the house last night. We never have any trick or treat where we live. So that makes these fish out of water even more rare!

Don't be sad little fishy.....candy is much more yummy then fish food!

Mamacita

Mamacita

Mamacita is our farm cat.  She's not a pet.  But rather an valued employee.  She can be found all over the nursery taken care of business.  Mice, moles, voles, rabbits...  You name it, she eats it.  

She didn't even have a name....or at least I thought she didn't till I overheard bits and pieces of a conversation that a couple of the guys were having.  She was hanging around the garage during lunch break.  Moochin' lunch meat on her break.  They were calling her Mamacita.  So it just stuck.  I pretty much lay eyes on her everyday.  She just sorta pops up in various locations.  And when the hunting gets tough.  She'll hang out in the barn waiting for the horses to come in so she can get a bit of cat chow.  She'll get close enough to rub on your leg and tolerate a scratch behind the ear on occasion... Otherwise she keeps to herself.  She sure is pretty though and very much appreciated.

Crazy Beautiful

Crazy beautiful sky yesterday as I walked up to bring the horses in. Mother nature was certainly locked into a battle with herself.

Good Morning!  The first snow of the season.

PTSD Over The Black Locust Part 6 The End

At what point do you stop referring to a tree trunk... As a tree trunk and start referring to it as a log?

The jaggy stump.

And of course. My husband's girlfriend. The bane of my existence. The Stihl Farm Boss. After a big job like this hubby lovingly tears her down and puts on a fresh chain and oils her. PERLEASE. Wait a second. That's not a new chain is it? Pretty wicked lookin'.

So Far Side asked me what I'm going to plant?  That's a good question.  Today I'm going to take some pictures of the remaining trees in my yard.  And we'll have a sorta' kinda' vote on it, okay.  You can help me decide.  I do have a couple ideas.  And will dig out shots of prospective trees.

In a way I was born to be a tree hugger.  I'm a 4th generation nurseryman (woman)...but it's definitely something else too...trees are a wonderful part of God's creation for me.  They are miraculous really.  How they grow, survive, overcome damage, insure the survival of the species...a system so incredible perfect that I can not believe that there is anything random about their creation.  

When is the last time you planted a tree?  Take yourself, your kids, your grandkids, your niece and nephew, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, bestfriend, random person off the street, Jack Russell Terrier, whomever... out and plant a tree.  Fall is the best time to plant for most parts of the country.  Seedlings are cheap.  Or go to a nursery and ask for environmental or park grade.  Even if they are wholesale only....chances are they may be happy to part with the park grade to retail customers.

Fall is for planting.

PTSD Over The Black Locust Part 5

Home for ants...

Uprooted...

Now this little guy had me worried. 'Cause he has some sawdust on his tiny little back. And I thought. Great not only have we killed this beautiful tree. But now we've gone and mortally wounded a field mouse. LIVING in a field. Which is where they are supposed to be for goodness sakes. But when I bent down thinking to scoop him up. He scared the tarnation out of me and jumped about two feet in the air and scurried off to hide under the felled trunk. After about two more minutes he scurried off. So I didn't have THAT on my conscious.

The lonely twin left standing.

It is not much for it's beauty that makes claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something.  That quality of air that emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.  ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

I'm processing my emotions.  More to come.....

PTSD Over The Black Locust Part 4

Reinforcments...backup...whatever you want to call it. Tree butchers.

That's my dad. Surveying. Contemplating the situation. This is about the time when hubby points out the hollow spot inside the tree. To which I say. "Yeah. Well it's really old. Of course it's going to have a bit of hollow to it." Which does not earn a response. 'Cause clearly I've completely lost my mind and have entered the realm of non-compliancey.

So they decide to give it a push. And the sound. Well it was awful....the cracking. Ugh. Really. That tree was NOT ready to go. So hubby & his awful little girlfriend had to go around back and do some more cuttin' on the poor thing.

Unfortunately there is more to come.....bear with me people. I need to work through this.  I'm going to wrap it up in 2 more posts.

PTSD Over The Black Locust Part 3

A couple of days later.  Hubby starts cutting down what's left of the poor old tree.  Of course when I saw him get out the Bobcat and do this little maneuver, I wanted to question his sanity.  But I just keep my mouth shut.  'Cause bein' this close to the road.  And livin' on a family farm.  Solo maneuver's like this one.  Don't last long.  Equipment draws the men folk like bees to honey.

And soon and very soon.  My Dad rolls up.  Has a little chat with hubby then heads back to the garage.  For reinforcements.  Backup.  Which we will get to in Part 4.

Hubby starts cutting a wedge.  When I saw this picture, the size of this tree just hits home again.  And that was only part of it.  1/3rd to be exact.  Sigh.

More to come...

PTSD Over The Black Locust Part 2

So the power company shows up. I see them from the office and I run up. "Hey. What are you doing?" So they start talking. Blah Blah Blah. Power company. Storm damage. Cleanup. Future damage. Liability. Blah. Blah. Blah. I can be what my hubby and father both term as 'really disrespectful'. Well that's what my Dad calls it. My husband's term for it is 'royal bitch'. My Mum would say. "Well she's strong and has compliancey issues." To guys at the power company I represent a MAJOR pain-in-the-arse. And this was not going to be an exception to that rule.

But as you can see from the above picture. I lost. The 'compromise' was that they would take the branches down to a height that should it fall the tree would not go on the power lines. Well there is no friggin' tree left. It was a bad night at my house that night. With hubby saying things like "I sure hate to have to take that tree down." And me saying things like "What are you talking about. The tree is destroyed. Gone. They didn't trim it. They ruined it." And then him following up with. "Well....they had a point. Someone could have got hurt."

"Agggghhhhhhhh that tree was fine."

Sigh. Head rubbing. "Tami please. Your not being reasonable. While we were standing out there talking to the guys you could hear the tree cracking."

"I'm not being reasonable. ME. UNREASONABLE. I'm going to bed."

"It's only 7. What about dinner."

"Ask the saw to cook for you. I've had it." Slam goes the bedroom door.

More to come...

PTSD Over The Black Locust Part 1

I think I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Really.

Ike took 1/3rd of one of the twin multi-stem black locust that are on the border between the cottage we live in and the nursery. We thought that we could just cut out the trunk that was damaged and leave the other two trunks. These trees are old and huge. You can see the power lines to the far right of the photo. So these trees are like 60' or so. Old, very old. And loved, very loved. There were two of them side by side. Both multi-stem. And the flowers in the spring...Fragrant and wonderful.

That was not to be.


Easy-peasy to cut out the damaged trunk of and still have 2/3rds of the tree. That was the plan. It was a good plan.

Hubby ... "Were going to have to take that tree down."
Me ... "What. Are. You. Talking. About.?'
Hubby ... "The Locust. It's cracked. When it goes it'll fall on the power lines and across the road."
Me ... "I don't care."
Hubby ... "We won't have any power. Someone could get hurt. The whole road won't have any power."
Me ... "So?"
Hubby ... Stares. Rubs his head. Stares.
Me ... "No one cuts trees down w/out my permission. You are just crazy. Saw happy. You just want more work for your little girlfriend the Stihl Farm Boss. Manish. ABSOLUTELY NOT...I'M THE BOSS OF THE TREES."
Hubby ... "I hate to see it go. I do. But it's not really safe."
Me ... "Okay fine. I'll come out and you can show me."

So out we go. And he shows me this.

Me ... "That little crack?" Incredulity oozing.
Hubby ... "It's not little it runs the whole length of the tree. It's going to fall down."
Me ... "Your crazy. I'm sure you can put those steel rods in it to support it."
Hubby ... "What."
Me ... "Whatever. The tree is fine."

Well. The power company didn't think so.

Stay tuned....

Curious Eyes

My niece's big brown curious eyes to complete yesterday's quote.

Blue Sky, White Clouds, Green Leaves

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.  But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.  Everyday we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize; a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes.  All is a miracle."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Four out of five on a little farm in Western Pennsylvania today.

Jack Russell Tree Service

Clarice is my little tattle-tale (or shall we say tattle-tail).  Anyway it's easy to tell when something is up at my house.  Clarice is an easy read.  "Clarice why are you parked in my ancient Lilac bush?"  (Which desperately needs thinned out, by the way)

"Oh because Charlotte is in here trying to kill something."  It's all fun and games till I see that she is stripping the bark off the trunk.  In her desperate attempt to dig the darn thing out.

"Charlotte..... I'm sorry to say it girl but it's just not happenening for you.  That lilac has been here longer than you or I put togeather.  And a 11 pound Jack Russell Terrier is not going to rip the darn thing out of the ground.  And no I'm not helping.  So making pathetic eyes at me will not win me over to the cause."

Euro Sticker Giveaway

We have WINNERS!!!!!  

Because I'm having one of 'those' days.  You know what I'm talking about here right.  And I've made very big decisions and can not possible make anymore.  I pick all three of you!

Adventure Girl Wanna Be

Lady Fi

DVM's Wife

Ladies....send me an email to: h.bluehorizon(at)gmail.com include your mailing address and which sticker you want!  Cheers all.

Tomorrow I'm posting about the very very naughty Jack Russell Terriers, Charlotte Pup Pup & Clarice.  To set the mood for that post I'm giving a 'Euro Bumper Sticker' away.  Your choice of any of the above three.  Giveaway is open to the entire world.

For your chance to win simply tell me if your a ...... dog person or a cat person & tell us which sticker you would want if you win ......Meow, Paw, or Woof.

Random winner picked on Thursday.  

Lessons

We're still cuttin' up trees from Ike. Yeah I know. That was like a month ago. But there is a lot that needs done 'round here. And only so many hours in the day. And so many hands to get it all finished before the snow flies.

I just absolutely love it when people stop on the road to shout instructions to my husband. Cause round here. Pretty much everyone who's anyone knows everyone else. So you just pull your truck over on the wrong side of the road and stop for a chat. And when that chat includes a lesson in the proper size of logs....well that is okay with me. Cause my hubby needs people to tell him what to do. Really we wouldn't want that bossy chainsaw to feel she can just take over. No sir-e. So this is our friend Harry. Stoppin' to give my husband a lesson.

Overall though...it looks like he's doin' a pretty good job.....Of course I was told that the saw is going to need her chains sharpened. And maybe a new chain as well. Humph. We'll see about that. I need a new pair of insulated boots. I think the saw can wait.

Wrinkels

I love a lot of things about Obie.  But there is one particular thing that I love about horses in general (well okay, there are many things I love about horses in general, were just gonna' talk about one of those).  When horses drink water they wrinkle up their nose.  Or officially their muzzle's.  I love those wrinkles.  Especially in the fall and winter, cause those wrinkles have fur.  And for some odd reason furry wrinkles are even more adorable.

Aren't they cute....the wrinkles?  The muzzle wrinkles.  Don't cha' just want to kiss those wrinkles... to nuzzle the muzzle!

Ode To A Pocket Knife

I absolutely can not believe it!!!!!! You have returned to me. My very favorite pocket knife. You were not lost after all just misplaced. It was chilly this morning and I grabbed a sweatshirt out of the truck. And there you were in the pouch pocket. Nestled in. Clueless to the fact that I was depressed and lost without you.

But your home now. We cut twine today and opened a package at work. I photographed you and am now immortalizing you in a blog. Tonight we will kill the fatted calf and feast in your honor. Welcome home, my wicked little companion.

Nicholas Evans Winner

Congratulations Ruby (mouth) you are the winner of the slightly used copy of The Divide. Really...the dice never lie! Send me an email to h.bluehorizon(at)gmail.com, include the name and mailing address you want it mailed to.

I'm going to give away another book this week. Stay tuned!

My friend Jodi gave me this Wishbone bookmark last week. I scanned it in and am using it here. Appropriate don't cha' think. Two things I love (Jack Russell's and books) given to me by one of my favorite people.  Cheers all!

I Love Your Blog Award

My very first blog award....such a proud moment for my little blog!  A big thank you to Adventure Girl Wanna Be!

I am very thankful to the academy for even nominating me.  OOOPPPSSSS.....I'm getting a little carried away here.  Sorry.  Wait....I'm not sorry.....it's my day.

As the recipient of this award, I'm now empowered by the 'bloggers that be' to nominate a minimum of 7 of my fellow bloggers.  So I'm going to nominate the following 4 blogs which I read daily.  And dearly love.  They will of course be then empowered to nominate the blogs they love....if they so desire to do so.  I will use the rest of my nominations at some point in the future.

This DVM's Wife Life

Far Side of 50

Lee Lee's Lulus

The Machine & Me

So ......  Thank you Adventure Girl ............ I'm feelin' the love!

Sunday's One Thing

'Lots of Color' by artist Steven Mitchell

Preach the gospel at all times... if necessary, use words.

~St. Francis of Assisi

Nicholas Evans Book Giveaway

I loved The Smoke Jumper, loved The Loop.  Sorry Nick but I'm just not feelin' the love on The Divide.  I've picked it up and put it back down about 6 times.  And finally forced mineself to read it.  And about 3/4 of the way through it.  I finally and I mean FINALLY started feeling the inkling of a hook.

Good points: There are horses in some of it.  Part of it takes place in Montana and Wyoming.  Did I mention horses?

I'm not going to list the bad points.  Cause well ....... I'm just not.  But I will say.  You will read this book and wish there was more character development with the Hawkins (particularly Ty).

Contest ends for this 'slightly used book' on Monday when I will post a winner in a separate post.  

Click to read the 2 Rules!

This weeks question.....Mountains....Yes or No?

Personally I can't get enough of them.  I think every state should have them!

Fall Comes To The Nursery

Upper pond

Acer saccharum 'Legacy' aka Legacy Sugar Maple

Betula papyrifera 'Canoe' aka Canoe Clump Birch

Fall is my absolute favorite season.  If your a tree hugger (literally) like me then your favorite season is fall too.  Mother Nature turns out in all her glory doesn't she?  I could walk the fields all day this time of year....no matter if it's sunny or drizzling.  I just can't get enough of this farm in the fall.  This is why I have not completely packed this dream in yet.  I just love it.  I want to protect it.  Save it for future generations.  Wax poetic till the cows come home....err better make that.... Wax poetic till the Jack Russell Terriers come home.  There that was better.

 

Canin lupis pain-in-the arses aka Charlotte Pup Pup