Beating The Mud Battle

Part Two of our multi-phase driveway project.

With the new culvert in last summer, some of the mud issues in front of the barn and the approach to the shop were alleviated.  That wasn't going to quite fix the softening of the ground and making ruts during the Spring thaw, though.

So, in late winter, before thawing really began, DH ordered 20 yards (? I actually can't remember the exact amount) of crushed asphalt and we made a driveway to the shop.  That was a much faster and simpler project than the culvert project had been.  

We marked out, using ropes, the exact path of our new driveway, including fixing that troublesome curve.  With the arc of the curve moved to where we'd originally, in 2002, wanted it to be, it was easy to make a spur that went straight in front of the barn and the shop.

DH told the delivery driver which two spots he wanted the asphalt dropped at, and once that was done, he used the tractor to spread it and pack it.  As the ground thawed, the asphalt packed more, and not once was there a rut or a tire spinning in clay mud!

going where no driveway has gone before

the adjusted curve, with it's new spur to the outbuildings

No more muddy path to the barn or shop!

There will be yet another phase to this long driveway project, and that will be, at some point this year or next, to order more crushed asphalt and do a top coat to the whole shebang from road to garage and outbuildings and around the circle loop.  Then we'll be done hopefully for another couple of decades.

A Big-ish Project From Last Summer

 Last summer, once we'd finished building and laying mats in the remaining stalls in the barn, DH decided it was time to start another big project.  Not quite as big as building stalls in all the many facets that entailed, but still, a multi-part project that required quite a bit of use of heavy equipment. This multi-part project was a pre-req of another project we'd been talking about off and on for about a decade.  Ironically, the pre-req wasn't easier than the other project, unlike when you are taking classes and there's a pre-req.

So, what was this particular project?  Digging out and replacing the culvert that runs under our driveway up near the house/garage. Put in back in 2002, when the driveway to our house was 'built', we'd since discovered two things:

1. The driveway curve to approach the house/garage from the north wasn't quite where we had originally wanted it to be. The stake we'd put in to mark the middle of the driveway for the curve was mistaken as the eastern-most edge of the curve.  And once the driveway was installed, and the house/garage built, approaching the garage straight enough to pull in the overhead door was a bit tricky on the eastern-most door.
2. In order to 'fix' the driveway and re-route that curve to the more desirable location/arc for straight approach to that particular door, we would need to extend the culvert. And bring in more dirt/base material to build up the location for that curve.

Neither was a real hot button, and over the years there were much more pressing things to spend our time and money on.  But, while building DH's shop in the Fall of 2022, the culvert got damaged.  Being driven over repeatedly by a 25-yard gravel train (of sand needed in bringing up the grade around one half of the shop) had crushed part of it.  

Didn't affect us much until winter came, and it was a really wet winter.  Lots and lots of rain, often on top of frozen ground. Water pooled up in the circle part of our driveway because the culvert was partially blocked.  And then when things started to thaw out, that crushed culvert became an extremely leaky culvert, and a small sinkhole developed in the driveway.  Now it was a problem.

Hence, DH's decision to not extend the culvert, but to replace it.  And if we were going to replace it, we might as well get one long enough to be what we'd need when re-doing that curve in the driveway.  (And if we were going to have the right length culvert, we might as well put the driveway reroute on our calendar. . .)

So, we walked off several driveway culvert location scenarios, complete with rope to lay down as a visual so we could see which option we liked best.  The one we both agreed was the most preferable in terms of drainage and working with where we wanted to amend that curve in the driveway was in the same spot as the crushed one, but about twice as long so that it both extended further into the circle part of the drive for better reach to the lowest part of the circle and ran under and out the other side of the grassy slope we used as a way to back long trailers perpendicular to the front door of the barn and pull out straight up onto the driveway where it goes past the house.  Which is how we ended up needing 30+ feet of culvert.  

That is not an easy size to come by when you are doing this yourself and want a normal diameter corrugated plastic driveway culvert instead of some massive takes-a-creek-under-a-roadway diameter metal culvert.  Thankfully, the nearby big box store had 10' (or was it 12'? I don't remember now) sections in stock as well as the needed couplers to connect it all to the desired length.

Before the new culvert could be installed, the old one had to be removed.  DH did a little digging with the tractor bucket, and a little digging by hand, and had me wrap a strap around the middle of the existing culvert via the hole he'd dug above and on either side of it.  His thought was with the strap around the middle then attached to the tractor bucket, he could use the tractor to lift up and pull out the old culvert.

What he didn't account for was how much dirt had washed in via the broken spot (remember the sinkhole in the spring?)  That dirt was heavy, and the tractor could not pull the culvert free of it's spot in the driveway even with most of the layer of driveway removed from above it.  Which meant more hand digging.  Another attempt at pulling with the tractor broke the culvert into two pieces, the lighter of which came out.  More digging (and sweating, and, truthfully, swearing) and eventually the entire old culvert was out.  Which left a trench about a foot and a half wide across the width of the driveway.  And, now it was getting too late at night to put the new one in because the removal had taken about four hours longer than anticipated.

(Seems like every project--and some vacations--we endeavor to do there's always a lengthy frustrating delay or unforeseen problem that becomes kind of a funny memory years in the future.  Maybe someday I'll write the story of our trip from Michigan to Oregon hauling a new-to-us camper in 2008 and blowing out 3 of the 4 camper tires one by one along the way. . . )

The next day, we dug out the trench for the new culvert to sit in, using the laser transit to mark depth so that there were no high spots along the length of it.  Afterall, the whole idea of this new culvert was to get the water to drain where we wanted it to and not create puddles, sinkholes, or really muddy areas where we needed to drive which included not just the existing driveway but the area in front of the barn and the shop where we intended to create a driveway.  Getting the pitch right was very important.

Once we had the trench at the right length, depth, and pitch, the new culvert pieces were joined together and laid into the trench.  Easy peasy. Then DH backfilled, using the tractor.

We ordered some gravel, and spread that over the part of the driveway that we'd had to dig up for the culvert replacement.  Good as new!

The slop (or 'ramp' as we typically refer to it) that now had a culvert underneath it needed a little modification in width and pitch, both to protect the culvert when being driven over as well as for ease of driving a vehicle towing a trailer or hay wagon up or down.  Using dirt from a place in the field DH had been wanting to modify (for better drainage) anyway, he adjusted the ramp.  The old culvert had ended about 6' from the ramp (which had been the north edge of the existing little hill we'd built the house at this little place here on), and that distance had made a really hazardous drop off of about three feet on the driveway edge. Now, with the new, longer culvert, we filled that in so that the driveway--with it's newly adjusted curve--and the ramp flow together. No drop off for unsuspecting visitors (or drivers not paying attention) to fall off of.

That was then end of this phase of our two part project.  The second part happened during the winter.

I Did a Whole Counted Cross Stitch and Never Mentioned it Once!

 Over the weekend, I put the finishing back stitches onto a sorta large counted cross stitch project that I'd started back in January.  At which point I took a picture, so I could share here my finished product.  And then, scanning back though this entire year's blog posts, couldn't find a single mention that I was even doing any counted cross stitch once Christmas presents had been made for 2024.

Huh.  

Well, for a good part of the winter and a bit of early spring, I was working on a new cross stitch, by the same designer as the fox and the squirrel I'd done in previous years.  This one is a rabbit, and you can find the pattern here.  I actually got everything but about three colors of the back stitching done by Easter time.  And then my cross stitch got put away in the 'clean the house for Easter company' frenzy, and until ten days ago, I hadn't touched it once.

Typically summer is not a time of much stitching for me, as there is so much to be done outside and other than cooking/eating meals most days I'm not in the house until after dark.  As I get older, my eyes don't so much like cross stitching under artificial light.  So cross stitching has become more of a cold-weather day time thing for me.

However, we had some really hot and extremely humid weather lately, and in the name of not dropping dead from heat stroke, I spent a bit more time indoors than I usually would in July.  And, to be productive without actually doing housework  I pulled out my rabbit cross stitch and decided to put some back stitches into it.  By the third day of working a little here and there on it, I was surprised to find that I was done!

So, here it is!

You know what this means, right?  Now I need to pick a new cross stitch project to start so I have something to stitch on if we continue to have suffocatingly humid days this summer.  🤣  Realistically, it's time to pick a new Santa ornament to stitch as my Mom's Christmas gift this year.  I have several kits in my stash as options.

Garlic, MMMM

 Earlier this week, I harvested my garlic crop.  Last fall, I had planted it in a corner of the garden that I'd piled about four inches deep in (mostly) composted horse manure.  Since garlic is a heavy feeder of nitrogen, and horse manure is pretty high in nitrogen, I was hoping that this combination would yield me a crop of decent sized garlic bulbs.

And, for the most part, it did.  Almost every bulb of garlic I pulled, no matter which of the five varieties I'd planted, was as big as the individually sold heads of garlic in the grocery stores.  And, of a few varieties, there were many garlic bulbs that were close to baseball sized.  I am quite happy with the results of this informal experiment.

Guess how I'll be prepping my garlic beds from now on, LOL.

For the most part, every clove of garlic I had planted last fall grew and yielded a head of garlic this summer.  One variety had a smaller yield, I'd say about 70%, and those were also the smallest bulbs. But of the rest, two varieties gave me 100% of what I'd planted, and two others were more than 95%. 

We've had a couple of days of scattered showers since I harvest the garlic, but on the non-rainy days I've been spreading the garlic out on the front porch in the breeze and (indirect) sunshine in order to dry the necks down and cure the heads.  Once the 'stems' are all dried up, I will cut off the heads and bring them into the basement to separate out the ones I want to save for this year's seed garlic (the largest heads), and store the rest for eating.

So. . .

 First, I want you to read this old post.  Partly because it covers quite nicely the 'joy' of free food sent to my home by my mother-in-law.  And, partly because some of it is rather funny.  At least it is to me, reading it seven years after the fact, and remembering how horribly overwhelmed I was by life at that time (but successfully chugging through without totally losing my shit  mind).  Not that I haven't been quite frequently overwhelmed by life in the years since, but there's a certain naivety to that post I see now, having gone through so many frustrations in between.

Okay, did you read it?  Now for today's little rant.  Which is much like the noodle rant.

It's actually been quite a few years since Mother-in-Law sent down a ton (not literal, it just feels like it right now) of food I don't want/need.  Since covid she's mostly caught family members when they are up visiting and requested they 'shop' her breezeway for various grocery items she's brought home as leftovers/unclaimed food from the weekly food pantry she volunteers at. I like that approach much better, as I can say "I can really use those two boxes of elbow macaroni" or "I'd love to have three jars of creamy peanut butter" rather than having the responsibility of not wasting foods I don't/can't eat foisted on me. I can leave all the processed food I can't eat behind.  I can turn my back on the half-dozen cans of canned prunes.  Walk away from the cases of  super sweetened 'sports drink' and forget it even exists.

Until this month, that is.  DH went up north to retrieve a new mattress we'd bought at the store of his friend who gives us great deals.  The store is less than two miles from Mother-in-Law's house.  Which means DH had to stop in and see his mom while he was in the area.  He came home with not just our new mattress (which I was eagerly anticipating sleeping on, our other one having developed some quite uncomfortable hollows in recent years), but also with a 'box of food'.  A box, which, upon inspection, holds dried pinto beans.  Just dried pinto beans.  Nineteen one-pound bags of pinto beans.

*Sigh*.  Here we go again.  I checked with my kids to see if any of them would like some dried pinto beans.  Got rid of two bags.  With all of them working full time (except Surprise who is going to school and trying to do a little side hustle perfume business as well as still learning to be a mom, and Two-EEs who is on maternity leave for another few weeks), they are not interested in food that requires enough forethought to put it on to soak the night before you want to eat it plus an hour or more of simmering the day of.  If they want refried beans for taco night, they will grab a can at the grocery store.  

Because refried is pretty much the only way we've ever eaten pinto beans.  And, honestly, I'm in the same boat.  Can I use these beans and make refried beans?  Yes.  Have I made refried beans from scratch using dried pinto beans before? Yes.  Do I want to now?  Uh, not really.  I'm rather working full time plus myself this summer between the horse business and tending the garden.  I'm all about buying my refried beans by the can from the grocery store currently.  (On sale, and in multiples so I never run out, LOL).  

And with just DH and I at home to feed, I certainly am not going to soak and cook up an entire pound bag at a time.  It would take me YEARS to use up 19 pounds of dried pinto beans.

Does my local food bank want them?  Nope.  They want canned goods that people can open and heat, no skill (or soaking time) required.  (Honestly, I'm thinking that's why these 19 pounds of beans went unclaimed at the food pantry pick-up the week Mother-in-Law brought them back home so they didn't get thrown away when the pantry closed.)

But wait, there's more!  The beans aren't my only "What am I going to do with this? Where in the world am I going to store this?" food item this month.  Because when Mother-in-Law came down for Rascal and Octavia's baptism, she brought fish. 

Specifically, individually packaged, frozen lake trout filets.  Which sound like a great thing to be given, right?

I'm allergic to fish.

I have been allergic to fish the entire time I've known DH (and Mother-in-Law).  I'm pretty darn sure she knows I'm allergic to fish, the number of times we've been at her house in the last 34 years and I can't eat what she made for dinner because it's fish and I'm allergic to fish.

So, thirty frozen lake trout filets are not what I want to have to put into my freezer.  Because not only am I not going to eat a single bite of one of them, let alone thirty, I'm also not going to invite people over for dinner and serve them fish.  My allergy has gotten to where not only can't I eat it, but I can't cook it (for years I would occasionally cook fish for DH and the kids) either.  And, if I go into the house after someone else has cooked fish in my kitchen, I get ill just from the lingering fish oil in the air.  

This isn't just a matter of what am I going to do with this food I can't eat and don't want to throw away because it's good for other people who do want it.  No, this is more like being told you have the responsibility of caretaking this thing that could maybe kill you.  But you should be grateful for that responsibility because this thing didn't cost you anything.

I don't even want the darn things in my freezer, where I keep the meats that I can eat.  Not to mention the fact that we have a quarter of a beef on order that is going to the butcher in late August.  I need my freezer space for beef, not fish.

Do my kids want any of them?  Not really.  Because of past icky experiences with Mother-in-Law and seafood she has gifted them, they are all running away as fast as they can.  Nobody wants to take a chance on these fish even though both DH and I checked them thoroughly on arrival to make sure they hadn't thawed the least little bit (the thawed shrimp--from the food pantry, previously frozen--Christmas gifts one year are the reason for the adamant refusal of any seafood coming from Mother-in-Law).

Any ideas on where I can donate this fish?  Not that I have extra time in this incredibly busy season to call around and then drive it somewhere that can use it. . .

Happy Friday!

 It's been a busy week.  In the past seven days. . . 

--Rascal and Octavia got baptized! 

 

Of DS1 and K2's children, K3 and Toad had been baptized, but shortly after Rascal was born, K2 decided she did not like our church, tried a few others, also decided she didn't like them, and just plain refused to baptize Rascal anywhere.  Since by then DS1 was constantly walking on eggshells to not send her into a wild mental health episode (there were four suicide attempts and at least one OD in the two years before Rascal's birth and the three years after he was born  and before K2 died), Rascal just did not get baptized, no matter what anyone other than K2 thought was good for him.  Now, with it being several years since K2 passed away, and having another child about to be born, DS1 made arrangements--and explained to Rascal why he believes baptism is important--for Rascal to be baptized at the same time as Octavia. K2's brother along with his wife and sons (who live out of state) came to the baptism; it was wonderful to see them there.

--I worked in the garden a lot, catching up on weeding and mulching.  Sweaty, tired, sore, but the garden is looking great finally!  

That is, if you ignore that woodchucks or deer or rabbits ate all my pepper plants off to nubs.  I'm hoping there's time for them to regrow and produce peppers yet this season, but also keeping my ears open for somewhere I can get peppers of the right kinds in bulk when it's time to can salsa (after onions are harvested and once my tomatoes come on) and pickled peppers.

--My hay field finally got cut.  

This spring/summer we've had quite a bit of wet weather.  Which is great for making things grow, but really difficult to plan when to cut hay so that it's not either being laid on wet ground or gets rained on before the hay is dry and baled.  So, I have rather overmature hay (I'll be looking to buy more with better nutritional value elsewhere), but it can at least be fed to the 'air ferns' who get fat just by looking at hay as well as be used as 'busy hay' for feeding in the pastures over the winter or in the stalls on inclement weather days.  The fact that it was cut dry, baled dry, and put in the loft dry takes a load of worry off my shoulders.

Now, hopefully the weather will cooperate to have it grow fast enough that we can get a second cutting done in early to mid-September.  After that, it's really difficult to get hay to dry in Michigan. I'm planning on looking for about 200 bales of second cutting grass/grass mix hay to buy locally in the next month just as insurance that I will have enough hay in the loft to get through to next year's hay season.

                                    

--We got a cold front through on Wednesday night that brought our daytime temps back down into the mid-70s for Thursday and today.  Hooray!  I was out of bread and not really looking forward to heating the house up even more (it's been sitting in the 80s indoors; we don't have AC) by using the oven to bake more bread, so this cold spell arrived just in time.

--DD2 met DH and I yesterday evening for another free concert in the park of the nearby town.  It was an orchestra group made of high school kids from a town about 45 minutes away, and they played Celtic music.  The weather was great, and we had an enjoyable time watching and listening to these talented young musicians.

--When I went to the local Tractor Supply store this week for more broiler chick feed, I saw that they were clearancing out all their Schleich toys at 50% off.  Looking through what was left, I was happily surprised to find four horses that look just enough like the four horses that live at this little place here that I figured my grandkids would love to play 'Grandma's Horse Farm' with them.  So I bought them.  Now there's a herd outside, and a matching herd inside, LOL.

     

                                   

--Yesterday afternoon while I was out replacing some of the t-post insulator caps on my pasture fences (the clips that hold the electric tape had broken off, typically a result of deer trying to go over the fence and hitting it), about 20 feet in front of me popped up the twin fawns that have been living in my greater pasture area this summer.  They didn't run off, but rather stood curiously and watched me work for a few minutes before moving further away.

        
                                                                   

--This morning, DD1, Faline and I went and got hair cuts.  This was Faline's first hair salon experience (DD1 has been trimming it so far).  She will be going into kindergarten in about a month, and is getting to the stage where she wants to brush and fix her hair all by herself, but it was down almost to her waist and just too long for her to manage on her own.  

DD1 has been growing her hair since shortly after Buck was born (he'll be 3 in October) and was ready for shorter hair herself.  Mine hasn't been cut since shortly after K2's funeral in 2023 and has been sorely in need of a trim to even it out.  

So, when DD1 mentioned that she and Faline were going to go have their hair chopped and donate it to one of the foundations that makes wigs for children, I said "sign me up!" 

Both of my daughters have donated their hair twice in their lives; once in elementary school and once about the time they were entering high school, but mine has never been long enough to be donatable without leaving me with hair that would be super short.  Since I like brush-n-go hair (or, more accurately, brush-ponytail or braid-n-go), I didn't want my hair to be shorter than the tops of my shoulders.  It's been really slow growing since I was in my late 20s, and seems like it has taken forever and a day to get to mid-back length, which is where I felt it might be long enough to consider donating.

Come to find out, after I told the stylist at the salon this morning that I wanted my hair to be shoulder-length once the ponytail for donation was cut off and before finishing the cut to even out my remaining hair (because I have naturally curly hair and knew that shoulder-length after cutting would sproing up to closer to chin length when finished), I had 12" of hair to donate, of which about 10" was really usable because my hair has gotten thinner and straggly at the ends the last few years.  

Well, that was several inches more that I'd thought I had of donatable hair, so I told the stylist to go for it!  What the heck, it's hair, it will grow back.  Maybe slower than I'd like, but it would grow back.  As long as I could still get it into a low ponytail for neatness under a riding helmet or to get it off my neck in the summer heat, it didn't really matter how long of hair I was left with.

So she cut it level with the tops of my shoulders.  A nice long chunk to use for making some child's wig.  And, true to form, once it was cut, then washed and trimmed evenly (I told her nothing fancy, just blunt cut because it's almost always pulled back or twisted up into a bun) the curls did their thing and shortened it by another few inches.

Do I love my new short hair?  Meh.  I wear it pulled back 98% of the time anyway, so really it doesn't matter if I like the length of it down. 

What does my family think?  My youngest daughter doesn't remember when I had short hair in 1999.  And none of my grandkids have seen me with hair that didn't go at least several inches past my shoulders. It's going to be harder for them to get used to than it is for me.  And it'll grow.  Right?  Yes, it will grow (do you get the feeling I'm really hoping it picks up the speed at which it's been growing?)  In three or four years (*fingers crossed*) it will be back to a length that braids to about mid-back.

Who is this short-haired woman?!?

I *do* love my new little ponytail poof.

Does DD1 like her new shorter hair (just below her shoulders and she donated a full 12" of usable hair.  I should mention her hair is mostly straight with only a little natural wave.) Yes, she's feeling lighter and freer.

Does Faline like her new shorter (about shoulder length) hair?  Oh yes.  It's swingy now! She also fully enjoyed the beauty salon experience complete with hair wash, trim to a new (very simple) style, and having it blown out by the stylist.

It's been a good week, and I fell like we capped it off with some real warm fuzzies by sending away our hair for someone else to use and enjoy.

Excuse Me, Ma'am, I Think You Dropped Something

 Last summer, the Poetess gave herself toe cracks in both right feet mid-summer by stomping flies.  It took them pretty much all winter to grow out, and that included some packing and wrapping of the affected feet to keep the cracks from getting bigger. Honestly, the rear foot wasn't totally grown past the top edge of the crack when the flies came this spring.

This year, I decided I would be more proactive than just using fly spray, and ordered her a set of Shoofly Leggins.  I had heard good things about them, and decided rather than try similar brands at a lower price, I would shell out the bucks for the real deal.  Afterall, I reasoned, one set of Shoofly's was cheaper than having front shoes put on the Poetess once. Let alone shoes all around (you typically don't shoe just one foot of a pair front or hind.) So if they lasted the whole season, and prevented her feet from cracking and busting up (potentially making shoes necessary), the cost was well worth it.

This post isn't intended to be a commercial for Shoofly's, but I have to say I'm loving them!  And, other than still insisting on lifting her back feet exceptionally high the first 3-4 strides after I put on her Shoofly's every morning, the Poetess seems to also approve.  That front foot hasn't cracked at all so far (fingers crossed I didn't just jinx us by saying that).  The rear foot, while it hasn't cracked, does have a chip out of it currently in the spot near where last year's crack was. (And so this month I'm back to packing and wrapping that one . . .)

But anyway, the real intent when deciding to write this post was to share a picture with you.

This is the Poetess one day last week.  She went to the pasture in the morning with all four Shoofly's on.  She came  in from the pasture at dinner time with only three.  

"Excuse me, Ma'am, I think you dropped something."

After removing all her fly gear and putting her in her stall, then bringing the other three horses into their stalls for the night, I went walking in the pasture the Poetess had been turned out in that day to look for that missing Shoofly.  Being blue, it was easy enough to find in the short green grass.  

I had expected to find it laying open, thinking that I probably hadn't secured the velcro down the entire length it, and that she'd pulled it open by snagging it on something.  Nope, that hadn't happened.  It was still tubular, all velcro attached to itself, as if she'd just plain stepped out of it.  Strange, but okay.  I was glad it was recovered and undamaged.

How she managed to get it off like that, I have no idea.  As if she just took a high step and it slid right off.  Hasn't happened again, so far.  And apparently it wasn't off so long that she stomped a lot from having flies on her legs.  At least, her hoof on that leg looks crack- and chip-free so far.

Horses.  They do the strangest things.

Apparently I'm the Weird One

 Indulge me in a funny little story, and I'll give you a 'custom' recipe at the end.  

Last weekend, I got a text from DD2.  (Which reminds me, I should do an update on DD2--big positive things have happened to her this year!)  She asked for my no bake cookie recipe saying "I thought I had it written down, but I can't find it anywhere.  And none of the ones online have coconut in them."

To which I replied "That's because coconut in no bakes is something I started doing many years ago at your Dad's request."

Then I told her that the coconut came from DH's fond memory of his childhood friend's (the friend with the appliance/home furnishings store at which we buy all our household brand-new big stuff) mother's no bake cookies.  Only she called them 'haystacks' and used no cocoa powder, but lots of peanut butter and coconut in them.  As an adult, DH had lost his fondness for peanut butter, and asked me once upon a time to add coconut to my regular no bake cookie recipe. (side note: all the haystack recipes I've seen use chow mien noodles, but DH insists these haystacks did NOT have chow mien noodles only oats.)

So, every time since then (looking back, I realized it had been definitely more than 22 years, and since DD2 is only 27, she doesn't remember any other way) I have put coconut in my no bake cookies unless we are out of coconut.  And since it's long been my goal to never run out of pantry staples, it's been pretty rarely that I've made 'normal' no bake cookies in this century.

DD2 then texted me back: "I can't believe the coconut is just a Dad preference.  I always thought that was normal for no bakes and have argued the point with friends before because no bakes without coconut are weird to me. But apparently I'm the weird one here."

Which gave us both a good laugh.  But, if you think about it, this is a great example of how our belief system is shaped by what we experience as kids. What we consider normal versus abnormal or weird.

I did let her know how much coconut to put in a to-everyone-but-her normal recipe for no bakes.  She made them for her new housemates and guests (they were having a moving in party), all of whom thought they were the neatest take on no bake cookies ever.  

Here's *my* (and DD2's!) no bake cookie recipe:

2 cups sugar

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup milk

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup shredded coconut*

3 cups rolled oats (or quick oats, if you prefer less 'meaty'/chewy cookies

Top a cooling rack (or two if you don't have a large cooling rack) with waxed paper.

Put the first four ingredients in a medium-large saucepan, and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and the mixture comes to a boil.  Boil and stir one minute.

Shut off burner, and stir in vanilla. Then stir in cocoa and peanut butter until the peanut butter is melted and mixture is smooth.  Add the coconut and oats, stirring until completely combined with the hot ingredients.

Using a large table spoon (like you'd eat with), place cookie mixture by spoonfuls onto the waxed paper.  Let sit until firm and cool.

 * if I'm a little short on oats, I add more coconut to make up the difference.  This helps keep the cookies from being too runny, yet I can still make a batch rather than miss out for want of a half-cup or less of oats.

My Dear Little Friends

 Or, should I say, my little deer friends.

Last year, we noticed that apparently at least one doe thinks our fenced in hayfield/pastures makes a nice safe nursery to leave her fawn in.  We would see that fawn almost daily (and typically in the early morning or dusky evening, the doe in there nursing it) for about two months.  As it got bigger, it got curious as to the goings on in the barn and would venture closer trying to see inside when I was cleaning stalls or feeding horses.  Then, one day, I saw it crawl through the rails of the gate, and out it went into the big wide world, following mama around.

This year, there are two fawns, I'm assuming twins, as I've only seen one doe go inside or jump out of the fenced area.  The fawns, who I've been aware of since late May when they were tiny and rarely seen (unless I happened to ride nearly on top of them while they were curled up in the growing grass of the hayfield), are now to the much bolder and more adventurous stage.  They will stand, thinking I can't see them in the (still, can we please have three dry days without rain?!?) uncut hay, and watch me work horses.

zoomed in, I was about 20 yards away

One morning this week, I walked out to the barn to feed horses their breakfast, and was greeted by this:

not zoomed in, actual distance

They watched me get just a little closer than this, then turned and scampered away into the taller grass.

Pretty soon they will figure out how to crawl through the gate, and then they'll be gone.  Off to the larger field and the woods, and I won't recognize them from all the other local deer when I see them again.  

All I Needed Was a Good Rock

 Now that we have a screen door attached to the door opening between the mudroom and the garage (mentioned here), the regular door there spends quite a bit of time open in order to let the breeze flow through.  But, we've noticed, it is not uncommon for there to be air pressure changes (with all the garage doors open) that 'suck' the mudroom door shut with a bang.  Both defeating the purpose of having that screen door there, and startling us with the random loud noise.

Clearly, I needed to put some sort of doorstop against the mudroom door to hold it open.  I looked around for something that would do (a few other doors have random clay sculptures made by DS2 in high school--as shown in this post) but didn't find anything suitably heavy to hold the door open yet not so bulky it would be hard to move out of the way when we want to shut the door nightly.

Then it hit me: I needed a rock.  Rocks, we have tons of (ha ha, literally).  Rocks of all shapes, sizes, and colors.  Free for the picking out in the field.  All I had to do was go look.

So one afternoon, I did.  I wandered the field for a little bit and was soon rewarded with the perfect rock.  Sorta flat on three edges, tall enough and heavy enough to hold the door, yet easy to nudge out of the way with your foot.  And best of all, it is a bluish gray.  Or grayish blue, depending on how you look at it.

I took it to the house, gave it a good scrubbing, and once dry, put it into place.

Perfect!  It even kind of matches the colors in the vinyl flooring, LOL.

Did I Ever Mention. . .

 That I discovered the joy of cold brewed floral/fruit tea?  

I never liked, and still don't, any kind of tea that contains actual tea leaves (or, really leaves of anything else, including raspberry leaf).  But a while back, I was introduced to tea that is made with flower petals and/or roots and/or bits of dried fruits, and that was a game changer.  I found out I actually do like tea; it just has to be the right kind of tea.

A few of summers ago, I had cold brewed tea for the first time.  Another game changer.  On a stiflingly hot and humid summer day, a nice cup of cold tea from the fridge is delicious.  Again, it has to be the doesn't-contain-any-kind-of-leaf type of tea.

About a year after that, DD2 gave me lid that fits a wide mouth canning jar and comes with a diffuser that screws into the underside of the lid.  Perfect for making my own cold brewed tea.  And I do, particularly during spells of hot weather.

It's very simple:

I put about a tablespoon and a half of whichever tea blend I'm feeling like brewing into the diffuser.  Screw the diffuser to the lid.  Fill a wide mouth pint canning jar with cold water, screw the special lid onto the jar with the diffuser immersed in the water, and put it into the fridge overnight.

The next day, I remove the lid, unscrew the diffuser and put it's sodden contents into the compost bucket, then recover the jar with a solid plastic screw-on lid. (The diffuser lid has a hole in it that you could put a straw in if you wanted to drink straight from the jar.)

Typically I serve myself about 6 ounces at a time, so a pint of cold brew lasts me 2-3 days.

I find that it reminds me of Kool-aid in a vague way; in that at that concentration (1.5 Tbsp tea:16 oz water ) it's got a little bit of sweetness and a good flavor that isn't too watery. I don't add any sugar or anything to it.

 

It's quite refreshing when I'm looking for something other than yet another pint of water to drink. I drink a ton of water every day. Close to a gallon a day during hot weather, and more than a half-gallon daily even in the winter. Rarely anything else other than water, with the exception of hot chocolate in the winter, cold brew tea in the summer and very occasionally a nice heavy dark micro-brewed beer.

Very red tea (this one was Cherry Bang, bought at the Red Bud Cafe in Shipshewana)

Friday Happies

Some things this week that made me happy:

*DH and I had all six 'walking' grandkids (to differentiate those who could get around under their own power from the two infant grandchildren) for a day.  It was complete and utter chaos when DH was in charge (I confess, I took delight in his exhaustion, mainly because this had been his brilliant idea and I'd tried to tell him six kids wasn't going to be as easy and fun as he thought. . .) but when he let me be the boss, there wasn't whining or fussing and everyone moved reasonably quickly when they were told to do or not to do something.  That was the 'happy' part: knowing I was right that it wasn't easy, and secretly enjoying seeing him be overfaced at times.

Part of the day was spent at a local park with a big playground.  When it was time to go (and DH was dragging his feet about rounding up the kids and getting them all into the two vehicles we'd driven), I simply called them all over, asked who wanted a package of fruit snacks --to which they all said ME!-- and told them that as soon as they were buckled into their seats I would hand out fruit snacks.  Five minutes later all six kids had walked willingly to where we'd parked, hopped into the vehicles and, if they were big enough, buckled themselves in.  No fussing, no whining, and all happy smiles.  (Something I learned while raising my four kids mostly by myself while DH's job had him working long hours and/or traveling out of state:  work smarter, not harder.  Be prepared with at least two plans for every situation. Corral the troops, keep morale good, and always be alert for signs of mutiny.)

Rascal and Faline

Buck

L to R: Buck, K3, Rascal, Faline, Sixlet, Toad

*I had a great ride on the Poetess the other day. We canter now during just about every riding session, and she is really getting the hang of transitioning back down to the trot when asked (rather than thinking she should keep on going if I didn't totally throw away the reins).  We've also started riding outside the fenced in area behind the barn, just little short jaunts out a couple hundred yards or so and back, keeping things calm and low-key.  This particular ride we kicked up a fawn while outside the fence, and Poetess did startle when it jumped up in front of her, but then she stopped and stood looking at it rather than wheel and try to run away.  I love this horse; she has a great brain.

*The broiler chicks (and the four little pullets plus our 'free' chick) have moved out of the brooder in the garage and into the grow out pen.  Hooray!  They were getting rather big and stinky for the brooder, and I was getting tired of having to try to shovel it out.  They will now live outside for 3-4 weeks before heading off to freezer camp (and the other five chicks move to the coop with the big chickens).  No more shoveling, just moving the pen to fresh grass daily.

* The long hours of daylight.  I am so solar powered.  And, honestly, I don't mind hot weather nearly as much as I mind cool and damp weather.  I find it much easier to cool myself off than warm myself up, so Summer is probably my favorite season (although I don't think I truly have a favorite).  

*I was able to get with my BFF since 8th grade whom I hardly ever see (but we text and/or message on FB fairly often) and we traded some iris rhizomes.  I gave her a couple that are super dark purple and a black/dark purple with pale lavender standards and she gave me a bright yellow, and a pink that I don't have, plus a couple mixed kinds that aren't exactly the same but similar color combinations to some that I do have. It was great to swap plants, and to see my friend of over four decades.  We're both busy with work, grown kids, and grandkids, so it's been somewhere in the realm of five years since we've spent time face to face.

*The lilies  and drumstick allium are in bloom.

* I found a teeny tiny baby praying mantis on one of my dahlia plants.  It was so small!  Only a little bigger than an inch long.

How has your week been?  What are some of the things you took delight in this week?