Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I'm in the mood to give something away!

I haven't done this in a while so here goes!

This is a sweet little wooden napkin holder that I have painted a lovely shade of pink and in oils painted roses upon. It is shabbied up a bit, 'cause it's me and that's just what I do. I have signed it, so when I am famous or dead maybe it will be worth a load of cash!

All you have to do is leave a comment to this post between now and Sunday night and I will draw a winner from all who enter.

Good luck and

Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Monday, May 25, 2009

Oprah has scaly leg mites and other stuff...


If you never have to deal with scaly leg mites, consider yourself lucky. Poor Oprah has them, she has them bad. (She's the redish one with yucky legs) The treatment for scaly leg mites is to rub vaseline on said legs for a period of more than a month until the mites are smothered and the old scales fall off. Which means catching Oprah, holding her upside down to garner access to the scaly legs while dipping your fingers in vaseline to rub onto the grossest looking legs EVER! So the first day was yucky but since she was unsuspecting, pretty simple. Each day hence, has been a struggle.

Little girl and I tried to set a trap. We caught a stripey chicken and a red chicken, but not Oprah.

So we quit and took pictures of stuff in the trees.


A momma Robin in the apple tree.


Icky caterpiller like things in the other apple tree.


Lilacs.


Then we cut some rhubarb and though I wish we had fresh Maine strawberries, we had to get some at the store from California, and made a pie.


It leaked, which really caused my inner Martha to cringe, but the consumers in the house didn't seem to mind and it was all gone by nightfall.

While the pie was being consumed, I snuck into the henhouse, grabbed Oprah, held her upside down, rubbed Vasoline on her legs and put her back on the roost. I also need to clean the hen house and treat every crevice with some sort of mite killer. Ellen and Tyra's legs also are starting to look a bit scaley so I greased them up too.

Farming's fun.

Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Who doesn't love apple blossoms?

The bees love 'em... The hummingbirds love 'em...There is a hummingbird in this picture, but man they move fast! I love 'em... Aaaand the goats love them. There are FIVE, count 'em FIVE~*5* apple trees at our house. Huge old apple trees with loads and loads of blossoms. But the sweetest ones just happen to be the ones I just picked. I've got bruises. Stupid goats.

Smiles (and grimaces) from the farm, Lisa

Monday, May 18, 2009

The deal of the week...

I got this at the Saturday night auction for $10.00 along with a whole lot of cookie cutters and old kitchen stuff.

It works great and most importantly, looks really cool on my sideboard.

And this is a picture of a chicken on my hammock. Sorry, slow weekend.

Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Chicken Picnic

Is the chicken fresh?

Let me check...




Yes.

Very.



Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Happy Birthday Little Bud




Today Little Bud is 4 years old!

I made him a Dirt Desert to take to pre-school tommorow.

First we got a package of Oreos...
Then we squished them to look like dirt...
Then we mixed an 8 ounce package of cream cheese, a cup of sugar and 1/2 of a stick fo butter together...
Then we mixed a package of vanilla pudding according to package...

THEN... folded a tub of Cool Whip into the pudding
Then we folded the pudding/Cool Whip in with the cream cheese/sugar/butter. And then...this is the cute part...we washed out a new dump truck to display the dirt desert it. I did line the truck bed with plastic wrap just in case of lead. Little Bud goes to a preschool for children with behavioral problems and the last thing they need is lead poisoning (last thing anyone needs really!). Little Bud doesn't have behavioral problems but he does have some pretty significant developmental delays and there is no program for children with physical or developmental delays in our area. There used to be, but with funding cuts, the program was forced to close. They just opened two new Methadone clinics though. Ok, sorry I'm getting down from my soap box. What was I saying?...Oh yeah, the dump truck...I put down one layer of "dirt" and then the pudding mix, dirt, pudding and then the rest of the dirt...

Then we added some gummy worms and a little shovel. HOW CUTE IS THAT!

I also made a little sticker for the door with his name on it.

Happy Birthday Little Bud!
Love ya!

Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

My grandmother had a little Victorian framed picture on her bedroom wall that read...

Who ran to help me when I fell
and would some pretty story tell
And kiss the place and make it well?
My Mother.

It was lovely. But it wasn't my mother. She'd have told me to shake it off and that crying was for sissies. She was so young when she had me and she made mistakes. She wasn't perfect and we fought ruthlessly but quietly most of the time. We'd go months without speaking, but pick right back up like nothing ever happened. Both of us cutting off our noses to spite our face, hating each other but having to look in the mirror each morning and see the other's face staring back.

When I became a mother she was there...all four times. I've avoided some of her mistakes and repeated some. We still fight that quiet fight some times but time has mellowed us both.


Happy Mother's Day~Thanks for what you gave me but most of all for what you couldn't~THAT has made all the difference. I love you.


The Special Mother

by Erma Bombeck



Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit.

This year nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

"Armstrong, Beth; son. Patron saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."

"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter. Patron saint, Cecelia."

"Rutledge, Carrie; twins. Patron saint, Matthew."

Finally He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God, "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it."

"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has her own world. She has to make her live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you." God smiles, "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect - she has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps - "selfishness? is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word'". She will never consider a "step" ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle, and will know it!"

"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice....and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side".

"And what about her Patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.

God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."



Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Good luck?

Of all of the talents that I could have been blessed with, of all of the skills that could come naturally to me~you would think that I could have gotten one that was marketable. BUT NoooOOOoooo. My talent is that I have the uncanny ability to find four-leaf clovers. Don't get me wrong, it's neat and sometimes people (strange people) are impressed.



But, I'm still waiting for my good luck.

Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

One hour on my farm...

And this is why I will have no tulips or iris' this year.


. Dottie's favorite place to lounge...


Don't you love just hanging out on the front porch, preening?



Chicken spa


Fresh fiddle heads for supper.


The last tulip on my property.


and now it's gone.


Why don't they eat the Stinking Benjamins?


Watch your back Charles.


You'd better watch your front too.


Oh, it's okay Dottie. You're still the Queen.


I don't think you're going to like the horse radish though.


Oh Ben, what have we said about personal space?


Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Monday, May 4, 2009

There has never been a cuter baby...

Ever...

Stella is so cute she has her very own rubber ducky patch on her side.
She's so cute the other goats chased her into a tree jail, because they just can't stand it. Don't worry, I rescued her.
She's so cute, even the striped chicken is in awe.
I just love her right to death. Don't you?


Smiles from the farm,
Lisa

Water buffalos and a little hoarse goat...

Well, I now know that true blue mozzerella cheese comes from the milk of the water buffalo. So I NEED a water buffalo.

Good news! In the Uncle Henry's there are two bred water buffalo (buffalos~buffali?) for $1,200.00 each. Woo hoo! and I thought it was going to be hard to find a water buffalo in Maine. I am so relieved. And to make it even better, my husband said yes! He actually said, "Sure why not. As soon as you sell enough eggs from the chickens and cheese from your goats, you should absolutely buy a (%$#&^ water buffalo." What a doll, he just gets me~you know? But the chickens are only laying two eggs a day and it takes Dottie a week to give me a gallon of milk, so it looks as though my water buffalo dreams are for naught. Unless you want to click on my blog ads like a million times-Oh do it, just so I can get a water buffalo. That would be so awesome.


So no water buffalo this weekend but on Sunday morning I packed everyone in the van and told them we were going on a big adventure, and oh Little Bud was so happy! Where are we going mama?

We're going to get....

A new little goat!



And by the time we got home, we all felt that way. Holy cow, who knew such a tiny little goat could be so LOUD! She's cute though.




Her name is Stella. Stella the Yella'. We all hope she quiets down soon. I wonder how loud water buffalos are? My husband say's they coo like doves, poop gold bricks and are practiced in the art of swedish massage. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's a tad sarcastic.

Smiles from the farm,
Lisa