Wednesday 31 July 2013

A Big Box and a Big Sister

A storm came through a couple of weeks ago and it flattened the oats in the field.

It also flattened the bbq.

I tried to stand it back up but it fell back down.

It had had the bun.

So we bought a new one.

It came in a box.  A big box.

The girls made it into a house.

Today, they decided to be cheetahs and Johanna painted their faces.

She is a very good big sister.




 

These little girls are so lucky to have a big box and a big sister.

Brenda

Tuesday 30 July 2013

The Washing of the Hens

Johanna, Grady and Jack belong to the local 4-H Chicken Club.  They teach them all things birds.  I have learned SO MUCH about chickens over the last 3 years.  There are different types of chickens....fancies, layers, meat birds.  Then there are all different breeds....brahmas, cochins, silkies, barred rocks.....

If you need birds, there are local 'bird sales' that you can buy/sell/trade your birds.  There are some serious bird people out there....with some really beautiful birds.

Part of the program of this 4-H club is to teach the kids how to properly 'show' their bird....how to hold it, how to show it off, how to answer the judges questions....and how to wash it.

It's not unusual for me to be driving 5 kids and 3 or 4 birds to these meetings....down the highway.

In my van.

Does that make me a redneck?

The meeting yesterday was all about washing the birds.

They needed to get them all wet and cleaned up....even scrub their feet!


 
 


And then they rinsed them off.



Cuddle time!  Those birds needed to get all dried off.

 
Johanna's new hair cut.....



Show time!  Everyone had a turn to present their bird.  We drilled them with all sorts of questions and they knew the answers....most of the time.





Did you know that Silkies have blue meat?  I didn't.  These girls have Silkies and they were trying to show us the skin....you can see the blue under their feathers!

 
These kids will all be at the Renfrew County Plowing Match on September 14th to show you their birds and answer all your questions.
 
 
Brenda

Monday 29 July 2013

Celebrating Sophie

We celebrated Sophie on the weekend.  It was her birthday and she turned 6.

We ended up having 2 cakes for her.  One on her actual birthday night....

 
 
and then one the next night with cousins and family.  She wanted a doll cake.  She chose the three colours....purple, blue and orange.  Then she designed the cake...sitting beside me while I decorated it to her specifications.


She is pretty creative.


She is pretty sweet.

She is pretty.

She received this gift from my Mom and Dad.


It's a fishing game that runs on a battery and spins around and around.  The fish open and close their mouths and you have to try and jam your plastic fishing rod down their throats and catch them.


It makes people scream.

It makes me dizzy.

I can't play it.

Brenda

Thursday 25 July 2013

Sophie's Spuds

The hay is plentiful.  We sold a couple of loads.  The buyer came and left his two wagons for us to load with square bales.

Terry hitched the wagons to the back of the truck.  He would have the job of piling the hay on the wagons....Johanna, Grady and Jack were going to walk along and pick up the hay and throw it onto the wagon.  My job was to drive the truck.....the easy job!!...with Sophie and Lydia in the back seat riding along.

As we started around the field, I was concentrating on going slow enough and keeping in a straight line.  Then I heard Jack at the back window....we was saying that he would have a family order of fries, some ribs, a few hamburgers....all with different condiments.  The girls were listening intently. Then he walked away and continued to pick up hay.  The girls frantically got to work in the back seat....pretending to cook all the food.  They were making all the 'pretend' noises...and I was trying to pay attention to the job that I was suppose to be doing.  I was listening for the shout of 'whoa' or 'stop' or 'go' or 'slow down'.

This continued all the way around the field.  Jack would come up to the window and place another large order of food.  The girls were LOVING IT.

Once when he approached the window, Sophie rolled it up and shouted at him, "I'm sorry sir, but we are closed!"  And then the giggling was intense.

At one point, I heard Sophie shout, "Do you want fries with that?" as Jack was walking by with a bale of hay.

It made the job of picking up the hay much more fun....it was all a game.....for Jack and the girls and I.

When we were finished and we were all back in the truck riding home, Sophie told Terry that she wanted to run a chip stand in Douglas.  He told her that that was a great idea....and she should call it 'Sophie's Spuds'.

He had no idea where her idea had come from....as he was unaware of what had just taken place while he was piling the hay on the wagon.

Brenda

Monday 22 July 2013

Potato Bugs

These bugs are little buggers.


I go through the potato patch EVERY morning and pick them....except Sunday.


The multiply really fast....so you have to keep on top of it.  They will eat the entire potato plant and leave you with nothing.  When I ask people about their potato bugs they usually roll their eyes or shake their head....either they have given up and 'dusted' the plants or they just started to dig and eat the potatoes.  Some people just look at me...like I'm crazy....they don't even bother to plant potatoes anymore.  It's just too much work.


It is a lot of work.


Growing produce is a lot of work.  People wonder why our grocery stores are full of imported vegetables that we could grow here.  It's because it's a lot of work....and people want cheap food.



I take our 'extra' produce to the farmers' market.  Someone complained to me about the high price of $2 for a bag of my fresh garden leaf lettuce.
 

Seriously.


$2 is too much?  Work the ground.  Plant the seeds.  Hoe.  Weed.  Water.


Pick some potato bugs.


Just try it.

 


Brenda

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Eganville Farmers' Market

The Eganville Farmers' Market is open every Friday from 2pm to 6pm.  It is located at the Legion Field Ball Park....which is just across from St. James Church.  The market runs from the Canada Day Weekend to the Thanksgiving Weekend.


I am a vendor at the market.


I make pies.

 
 
And cookie sandwiches....that are filled with buttercream and chocolate ganache.



And buttertarts.


And Cake in a Jars.


And sometimes I take a decorated Rose Cake to sell.

I also take any extra produce I have from the garden.  Last week I had lettuce, onions and rhubarb.


Johanna tagged along last week and played her fiddle.  She received lots of compliments.

 

The market is a lot of fun.  It's a great place to socialize....and eat!

The pizza farm will make your pizza just for you.


And then they bake it in their wood fired oven.


It's SO good.  They use organic flour and top it with produce from their gardens and meat that they have raised themselves.

Or....you could have a lean, gluten free hot dog.  This is from the Bonn Valley Farm.  They also sell grass fed beef and vegetable chutneys.  They have all sorts of relish type home made spreads to put on the hot dog....and also jars of it to purchase.

 
 
These dogs are SO yummy!
 
There are a variety of other vendors there as well.
 
This lady sells home preserves, oven mitts, quilts and rabbit meat.  People are usually a little surprised when they see that she is selling rabbits.....it's just a little unusual.  I overheard one boy ask her if she was selling rabbits that were alive....or 'not'.  She told him that she didn't have any live ones with her today....but that she could make arrangements if he wanted to purchase a 'live' one.  He was interested....but his mother was not.
 
 
Then there is Coronation Hall....with all of the most amazing apple products that you will ever eat....or drink!  The apple cider just tastes like pure apples....it's SO delicious!
 
 
 
Genevieve Townsend and her father Charles have beautiful display at the market. 
 
 
Genevieve is an artist.  She draws fairies....pretty, sweet fairies.  She not only has pictures in frames of fairies but she draws them on rings, pendants, magnets and tote bags.  Johanna bought a fairy ring last year.  This year she bought this....
 
 
It's as cute as a button!  It's a ring that can also be used to stick pins in when you are sewing.
 
You can find lots of other things at the market as well.  There is fresh bread, lemon loaves, lamb, beef, preserves, produce, knitting, homemade soaps, paper products, plants/flowers and sewn items.  A full listing of the vendors is here.
 
Hope to see you at the market!
 
Brenda