The Nees Family

Fruit Trees, Maggie's help and a happy Main coon cat ~

2012-02-14T12:11:00.000-08:00

Found four fruit trees to start our small Orchard with last weekend. Asian pear( a favorite of ours), a Ayer pear, Akane apple and a Bing Cherry.
Was hoping to buy larger sized local trees, but finding what we want in VA has proven to be a challenge.
So I have ordered the other's via, Rain Tree Nursery.

The more distance view is a little hard to see. We are planting the fruit trees on the other side of the gravel road, we put in to the hay shed. That way they are not to far from the house.

Little behind on getting the Hen House yard finished but you can see DH has the posts up. Still have the wooden gate to build and the wire to put up. We need to finish painting the inside soon, too.
Have planted some Leyland's around the Hen house yard to kind'a shield them from the neighbors in the future.

Maggie has been a big help to me. With her Sawbuck and Panniers, she carries things like T Post insulators, which are quite heavy. And it is nice to have a buddy along when you are doing work.

Nari is a lot happier now we can let her out of the house when either DS or I are outside.

To be able to have her out all day, we still have to get the hot wire up around the house fencing. This is to keep her in and the local dogs out, so she stays safe. Hoping that will be done by next week.

Nari helping DS do the morning chores.

And here I thought this was my Art Desk?

2012-01-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

I guess I was under the mistaken impression....this was my Art desk.Not a sunny lounge area.....

As soon as we can get the hot wire strung up around the house, she needs to go outside to hunt, so I can create some Art.... on my desk....without help.......

New Hen House and other stuff~

2012-01-29T14:04:00.000-08:00

Back gate going out to the pond and part of the fencing around the house.

The new, half off, store display shed. Hate the odd red color but it can be painted. DH is getting the inside caulked and the floor painted, that way it will be easy to clean. Should be ready for the chicks come April.

Will also be adding a Hen House yard, for those days I want them to stay close to the shed.

In the back area around the shed, if you look closely, I have planted some tiny Leyland Murray's.
Unlike Oregon, plants are not cheap here and very hard to find. Had to order by mail.
But these trees grow fast and will help screen out the neighbors.

Not used to being this close to people. But knock on wood, so far all is good!

Drive from the new hay shed, looking towards the hen house and the big gate at front drive.
Still have to get the rest of the fencing done in front but we only had enough fencing for around the house for now.
Which is ok... gives us a safe area for Nari and the future chickens.

Another View of the front of the house.

Hay in the Hay shed..... finally!
Good hay is hard to find here. The two big green bales to the front left, are the ones I brought from Oregon.
Others are from two different hay places in VA.
Needless to say the horse's like the hay from Oregon the best.
So it will be an on going quest to find good hay.

Things are slowly coming together

2012-01-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

We are slowly having things come together. Sheds for the animals and hay are in. Started a path from the shed to the animal pasture and now we have the round pen in the same area.
Moved the round pen because where it used to be, is where the hen house will be.

Found a pre build shed that was on sale for a very, very good price down the road. Will arrive tomorrow. Have until April to get it fixed up and ready for the chickens.
Can't wait!!

Wether Goats

2012-01-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

After searching far and wide for a wether sheep buddy for Apollo and finding none.
I started looking for goats. Came across these two 9 month old Nigerian wethers .
We ended up getting them for free, which was wonderful.

Now we have buddies for Apollo and a couple of extra brush eaters.

Only problem is... what to name them? Normally I look at an animal and a name pops into my head.
For some reason, I keep coming up with blanks.
One kind'a reminds me of Sid in Ice Age. But the other? Hmmmm....

Smithsonian Natural History Museum

2012-01-10T04:57:00.000-08:00

On Jan 1st, we decided to take a break from all the work we have been doing at the new place and have a day off.

I have never been to DC and have always wanted to see one of the Smithsonian Museums. Figured this day, would have the least traffic.
Pretty nice drive in, however, don't use GPS.... silly thing can't even find the White House, let alone a museum.

DH and DS at the S.M, standing in front of the only good diorama in the place. I guess after being to the Natural History Museum in SF a number of times, that the Smithsonian would be better some how. While not a bad place, it was no where near the quality of the SF one.

Impressively sized bones...

Oh and if you are handicapped and need a scooter... bring your own. All they have are uncomfortable wheel chairs.

However, I did enjoy the day with the family.

Have more photos to unload from the other camera's. To which I will post soon.

Blue Birds and DH working

2012-01-10T04:43:00.000-08:00

DH working on the box that will house the electric fence charger, on a nice sunny day. Weather has never been this nice in Oregon, at this time of year.

And we have Blue Birds, lots of them. Another thing we did not have in Oregon. Is fun waiting them flit about.
Have also seen Cardinals flying by, very pretty but very shy.

New Tractor

2011-12-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

John Deere had a good deal on Tractors and since we have a big need of one....

Had to take a photo with the new Hay Shed in the background.

Figured taking photos now, would be a good thing, because this is the cleanest you will ever see this Tractor.

Plan on putting it to work after lunch!

DH, really wanted an enclose one, with air conditioning but the cost was just a bit more than we could handle. Would of been nice with the heat we have here but the canopy is a cheaper compromise.Will at least keep the sun off our heads.
Will also make the chores on our new Farm, a lot easier!

Hay Shed Arrived~

2011-12-29T03:45:00.000-08:00

Hay Shed

I am very glad the hay shed has finally arrived. Want to Thank Bucky for doing the foundation and being there to make sure the shed was placed where I needed it.
Hay Shed is fairly close to where the horses are, so feeding shouldn't be a problem.

More than enough room to put a years worth of hay in, for 3 horse's and a sheep.

Below you can see the Shed being placed on the blocks.

Fencing during the Holiday~

2011-12-27T06:56:00.000-08:00

During the 3 day Holiday, Christmas, Yule, what ever you want to call it, the family did a lot of fencing.

We wanted to get as much done as possible, so the horse's and sheep can finally have a place to run and play.
Being in that round pen this long, is hard on them.

The gates are in, a 6' for use to walk through during feed and so on and a 12', so if I need to use the tractor we will be signing for, hopefully, sometime today, it will be easy to do work in the pasture.

All that is left to do is build a housing for the Charger, get it plugged in, will be using an extension cord for awhile and get the grounding rods connected.
As soon as we can do this, the horse's can go into their new home.

We are hoping before next Autumn, we can get power and water too the shed, so it will be much easier to do the chores.
But right now the funds are tapped out.

Slowly we are getting the place set up nicely for both the humans and animals. ;O)

Hallway with Grandmother's Art ~

2011-12-27T06:47:00.000-08:00

Grammy is a wonderful Artist and I have a couple of original paintings and a couple of prints on Canvas.

So I decided to put her wonderful Art in the Hallway of our new place, for all to see.
I have one more piece to put up but the frame was damaged.
The blank space on the wall is where it will go.

Art on the Wall and a Beautiful Morning

2011-12-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

Image Kind had a 40% off sale on and I wanted to check the quality of their prints, since I haven't done that in awhile. Do miss the lush green of the old farm, so I love having this on the Wall. It is called, "Time Lost". Fitting I think.
I also bought the panoramic of Mt St Helens I captured and that came out, very, very well. Will try to get a photo of it soon as DH has his stuff off the mantel.

This morning I decided to play with my slowly dying camera. Its frustrating me no end and wish Santa would bring me another one, one that works very well, isn't broken and able to do what I want. But until that happens....

This is one of the photos I took, that I liked. The other is on my Art page if anyone wants to take a look.

Family has been staying busy. Not sure what we are going to do over the Holidays. Most likely continuing to work on the new place.
But we will see.

It is however, wonderful to have the family all together again!! VBG

Horse's Run in Shed has arrived!

2011-12-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

At long last, the horse's new home. Nothing fancy, just a double bay run in shed, with a wee tack room on the end. Here you see it on the trailer.

Then tilting the trailer back aiming for the blocks. Who ever made the rule in this county, that we had to use block, has never lived on a Farm. Would of been better on a level gravel base.

Of course my heart was in my throat through this whole process.

A Nice Oak framed, Amish built, Board and Batten Run in Shed.

Hopefully we will be able to get the fence buttoned up this weekend and the horse's can finally have the run of their night pasture!

The Yule Tree

2011-12-19T03:48:00.000-08:00

DH bought me Moonstruck Chocolate for Christmas!

And I had to put it under our little Yule Tree.

Just a table top sized one but we like it. Makes the house smell wonderful.

Well..... and with a big tree, we would most likely have cat's helping us with things in the tree and that would make the holidays a wee bit more interesting than we need.

So small is good!

Fencing

2011-12-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Since the run in shed is arriving this Monday, I decided we need to work on the fencing a bit. Nice to have another section finished and the brace for the larger of the two gates in.

Finished the New Roof

2011-12-14T05:23:00.000-08:00

The new roof was finished yesterday. Properly put on with a ridge Vent across. This will stop some of the things that were going on with the roof.

Can also see we have put a gravel path in, which will be dual purpose. One, to be able to use the front door and the second will be a path to the future hay shed.

Back part of the new roof and you can see the ridge vent better here.

Nice to know we will have a dry house during the winter.

The New Roof for the house we bought ~

2011-12-14T05:15:00.000-08:00

Hated parting with the money for a new roof but as you can see, it needed to be done. Yes, that is indeed a hole in the roof... and mold.

This is what happens when people use a contractor, that doesn't care about the quality of his work, or even doing the work correctly.

Luckily, we found a good general contractor that takes pride in his work, to repair all the issues with the house. So if you need a good Contractor in Caroline County, VA, let me know. Will give you his contact information.

New Roof, Horse pasture and a Muddy white horse

2011-12-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

Wasn't at all happy when I found out we needed a new roof on the part of the house built in 2000.

The money we are having to put into that repair, should of bought, a scooter so I can get around places better, wood stove for the house and a manure vacuum. Sigh ~~

The roof repair is more important. And the family is together but will still grumble about it a bit.

Stone foundation for the wee board and batten hay shed.

Where the wee board and batten run in shed will be, hopefully sometime next week.

Was hoping for a small traditional barn but this is what we could afford. Maybe some day.

Other side of the night pasture. DH will finish this part once the run in shed is in place.

Yes, Dyfra can even find mud in VA, rather impressive.

Family is doing well.

Slowly getting things done, unpacking as I find room to put the stuff.

For such a big house, there is very little closet space and what there is didn't have any shelving or such. So DH and DS put some up.

The poor men of the house are going to have a "To Do" list, a mile long for a very long while! But at least they will never be bored. ;O)

Thanksgiving at Jamestown

2011-12-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

With all the work moving across the country and this being the first Thanksgiving in two years since the family has been together, we decided to go the Jamestown.

Can see DH happy smile.

A couple of photos of DH and DS. Was nice to take a day to play.

Maggie's New Cart

2011-11-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

Before the move to VA, I decided I had better sell Maggie's posh Country Road Cart for a couple of reasons. One, I did not have room on the truck for it and two, more than likely something would of happened to it.

The replacement is this, a Hyper Bike. I can no longer give pony rides with me but it is much lighter than her CRC.

This is her 2nd time in this cart and I have a lot more tweaking to do before I have the cart and harness where I want it.

Is a very stable, has a wide track and able to handle the type of driving I do, which is just on the trails.

She seems to enjoy it so far and for the first time ever, I am wearing my helmet while driving.

Working on my Art Studio room

2011-11-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

The start of my Art Studio... table, good light.. fake Doug fir boughs....

Well, I love Doug Firs and since they don't grow in VA....

Slowly getting things unpacked and hope to start a new painting in the next

couple of weeks.

Nari in the Box

2011-11-23T06:01:00.000-08:00

So this morning I decided to unpack one of the boxes of horse stuff. There were things piled on top of this box too, so I wasn't expecting to see a tail and when I opened the box more....

Some how Nari decided to crawl into the box under the stuff on the lid and creep her way into the closed box and was happily snuggled inside.

Rather invented way to find a nice place to hide.

Around the New place

2011-11-21T05:07:00.000-08:00

Second Back door and where the future run in shed will be. Fencing is already going in. This time around we are doing cattle panels, little more heavy weight which I think we will need.

The Well, yup seriously and it is only 40' deep. Hopefully we will have water in the summer when needed.

Lots of Oak trees around the house.

Drive to the road and the front of the property. Hopefully will get that fenced by spring. Been a long time since I have had to live so close to other people.

Horse's housing until the run in shed comes in and the fence is finished.

Only out building on the place, nice large double garage. So there is outside storage for DH's things.

New Place ~ Through the window..

2011-11-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the first photo I took of the new place, through the bedroom window.

Rest of the trip photos ~

2011-11-20T04:13:00.000-08:00

Utah, interesting land formations.

Start of the Rocky Mountains...

Going through St Louis Missouri, very early hours in the morning. As you can see, very little traffic this time of day.

Missouri sunrise... just before we made it to St Louis.

Illinois.. very polite folks here.

The Mists of the West Virginia Mountains.... Almost to our destination!

Second day

2011-11-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

Early morning the second day of our travels across the country.

This day we traveled through Idaho and Utah.

Heading towards the snow.

We stopped at Evenaston WY for the Night. Quite cold out around 11*, bit of snow on the ground but the roads where dry.

The first day traveling through Oregon.

2011-11-10T05:22:00.000-08:00

First day on the road and traveling through the beautiful Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. The day was bright, sunny and the wind was incredibly strong. White caps on the river and the wind bending the trees in half.

We stopped for lunch at the Bonneville Dam.

More beautiful Columbia Rover Gorge.

A bit sad, as it is doubtful I will ever see this stunning area again. Very glad I have some good photos.

Here we are heading to Pendleton. Heavy winds here too and just before the town, we were attacked my a number of wild Tumble Weeds! Wish DS took a photo of it, as it was impressive.

After driving for hours with a coypus number of Tumble Weeds stuck to the grill and waving at me from the front edge of the hood...

I spent a little time pulling all the TW out from various places they have stuffed themselves around my SUV. Incredible to say the least.

Driving on the dry side of Oregon heading out of Pendleton, up into the hills where the wind was so bad, best speed I could go was 45 miles an hour, and the wind trying its best to rip the hood off the SUV. I have never driven through winds this strong. But at least the drive wasn't boring. LOL

The Move

2011-11-10T05:16:00.000-08:00

As you all know, DH was not able to find a job in Oregon and had to travel 3,000 miles away to find one.

It took us 14 months away from each other to finally sell the house.

We both loved the Farm in Oregon very much, but one must go where the work is.

Can see the boxes in the old place, day before the moving truck arrived.

I boxed the whole house myself, to make sure things were packed correctly and trying to save a little money. Moving is very spendy.

The Pilot packed up and ready to go. Along with the needed people stuff, we had three cats in there. Needless to say it proved to be a bit interesting at times. LOL

Good News

2011-10-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Good News,

We finally sold our farm and we put a bid on this place and was accepted!

It is a simple single story house on 20+ acres.

One of the Bedrooms.

Beautiful country Kitchen.

One side of the living room.

No fencing of course, nor run in sheds for the horses, but at least we now have a place to call our own.

Hay field and Bucks

2011-08-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Looking toward the house from the road.

Hay field from the road.

The Bucks stops here! LOL DS told me there were deer out in the main pasture.. I figured it was just Does and fawns again. But no, there were 4 bucks. Haven't seen that before. Can see how green the hay field is, normally this time of year it is brown. Could almost get a 2nd cutting.

Pearson's Air Museum and the Evergreen Air and Space

2011-08-03T12:07:00.001-07:00

One of the gentlemen that volunteered at the Pearson's air museum kindly took a family photo for us.

A couple of the aircraft at this small Museum.

The Evergreen Air and Space Museum ~

DH thought this was cool looking.

Spruce Goose tail from another angle. Abstract Modern Art at it's best, as it towers overhead.

Men were very brave... to have to come home in that during free fall! All manner of impressive.

Rover

One of the Tank photos DH took... I had to play with the photo on this one too. It looks like it should be part of an old War poster.

Fort Vancouver

2011-08-03T12:02:00.001-07:00

DS took this photo of DH and I at Fort Vancouver in WA. I really enjoyed going on vacation with the family.

Rather wild capture from DH, of me taking a photo of DS.

Me walking towards the Fort Vancouver sign.

They have a lovely garden there, wish mine looked like that! Yup, had to play with the photo a bit.

DH's photo of part the Fort, where they kept the cannons.

St Helens by DH

2011-08-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

DH was taking lots of photos while I was driving when we were on vacation. Glad he did because he captured some interesting views. Driving over the long bridge heading towards, St Helens.

Lots of photos of the family at Mt St Helens. The Volcano is quite impressive in person and it was the perfect day. Was very windy but the cool wind sweeping of the mountain made it wonderful.

Yes, the sky was that color as DH took this photo while I was driving. Can see one little cloud up there, looking like a alien space craft.

Another photo I did not know DH took. This is the look out near St Helens, where the Elk tend to hang out.

DS and I .

DS and I again, this time a little farther away from St Helens. DH and I really liked this spot, so we had our picnic lunch here.

Another drive by shooting. ;O) Can see the thick ash and the very large logs buried in it.

The Gorge ~ DH's Photos

2011-08-03T11:40:00.001-07:00

DH and I at the Multnomah Falls. Bought him some very good Fudge here.

DS took the photo.

A pretty photo of one of the Falls.

Glad DH took this shot, is really cool. Looks like it should be in some 1930/40's movie! This is the Bonneville Dam and you get to drive over part of it to get to the fish ladders.

On the beautiful side road that follows all the Waterfalls.

The Bridge of the Gods. Played with DH's photo a bit to make ...well... more impressive. Is a rather small bridge and was expect something as impressive as say the, St Johns bridge. But it was nice to see all the same.

Driving across The Bridge of the Gods, heading into WA.

Husband's photos he took on Vacation

2011-08-03T11:34:00.001-07:00

Yes, that is a box of Moonstuck chocolates. DH bought them for me when we were on vacation. They are incredibly good, have to say some of the best chocolate out there.

The Lewis and Clark Bridge, we have to go over this to head north or go into WA to shop. Can see one of the many of the places that sell Logs from the US to overseas just in front of the bridge.

Can you see me now? LOL Only thing missing is my bright Orange helmet cover. Good to stay safe on the road and avoid poachers shooting at you.

The Rhodies.

Some photos of me and the horses

2011-07-27T07:28:00.001-07:00

Not the best photo but I found it interesting. Edda did a spinning turn right after I took this photo.

Short ride on Stjarna yesterday, getting her to round nicely. Find her reverse dapples interesting. Yes, I am riding her bitless. She had some pretty big issues with a bit, so I decided to re train her bitless and she goes much softer this way.

This photos shows her dapples a little better.

Riding does make my back and body feel better. Thank you DS for taking the photos.

Reason for No photos

2011-07-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am sorry everyone for the lack of Photos. I finally found out why. Let's just say it has something to do with Google+ and the lack of foresite with Google itself.

Hence the 3 years of photos gone on this blog. And 4 years of photos gone on my Art blog. :(

It will take me a couple of months to get all the photos back up on all my Blogs.

Am sorry ..........

Eww... the ground peed on me!

2011-07-09T17:49:00.001-07:00

Is the ground supposed to be doing this? Nari would sit just out of reach of the creeping water and.....

As it touched her body, I swear I could hear her say.............I say, who... has caused this unwarranted attack upon my person?? LOL

Edda was 2 years old May 30

2011-07-09T17:41:00.001-07:00

Decided I had better get some new photos of Edda since she is for sale....and if you know anyone interested in an Icelandic, let them know.

Camera has been slowly dying, it really doesn't want to take action shots and does some weird things when I force it. But it turned out pretty neat anyway.

She is as tall as her mother who is 13.3 hands tall and she is still growing.

Even though her coat is super dirty, she shines through all of it.

Last two photos are her running with her Dam. Can see how much muscle she has running in the rolling pastures we have.

We have Peony's!

2011-07-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

First Peony's we have had in 5 years and they are well worth the wait! And I put one of them in the hand blown glass vase I bought at Jamestown, VA.

Flowers always put a smile on my face.

What do you do when the Garden is over grown?

2011-07-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Get Sheep!

With everything I have to do, is all but impossible for me to do a Veggie garden this year. So I decided to toss two sheep in and let them have at it. At least it will get eaten down and not look so scruffy.

Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls

2011-06-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

DH and DS at the first waterfall we visited. And yes, DS, if you make faces when I want to take photos, I am going to post them any way.

I don't know why we waited so long to visit the Gorge, it is a truly stunning place.

Multnomah Falls, really impressive but nearly impossible to get a good photo of it with my dying camera but I tried any way. If I remember correctly, it is 620ft.

This one is the Wahkeena Falls.

And the bottom of Multnomha Falls. We really enjoyed the drive, visited the Falls, enjoyed the beautiful landscape and saw the Bridge of the Gods, which was a lot smaller than we were expecting but still fun to see.

Edda in the evening ~

2011-06-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

Decided to take some photos of Edda in the last rays of the sun yesterday. Love how the sun looks in her mane.

Is hard getting good photos of Edda, either she wants to be really close or is making a funny face. LOL

But I tried anyway. She is growing up to be such a beauty. She turned two years old on May 30th. Is hard to believe she is two already, time sure flies.

A Beautiful Silver bay 2 year old Icelandic filly.

Bonneville Dam

2011-06-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

We decided to go visit the Columbia River Gorge and visit the Bonneville Dam. And was able to drive on top of the Dam/Locks in one area, rather wild.

The shear amount of water coming out of the gates was impressive.

Impressive white water at the Dam. Enjoyed watching it as we ate lunch at a picnic bench.

Am saying the word impressive a lot, well,, because it was. ;O)

The fish hatchery at the Bonneville Dam. Pretty neat place.

Cute little cottage. Looks like both the Dam and the hatchery was built in the 1930's and had a wonderful feel to it.

Really cool weather vane.

The 450lb sturgeon, really big fish.

New Car

2011-06-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

With DH and I driving on the HWY a lot the last couple of weeks in the Element, I firmly come to the conclusion that car just won't work for me. I didn't feel safe, and it was tiring to drive. Was squirrely at HWY speeds and add any wind or weather into the equation and lets just say it was really hard too keep it on the road.

So we went car shopping one day. We tried a number of vehicles from cars to trucks.

I loved the Tundra truck but sadly they could not find any used 08's any where in the Northwest. And that same problem followed us at every lot we looked at.

There is a serious shortage of good used cars, or used cars period around here.

We were shown this Honda Pilot, high miles on it but pretty clean and neat inside and out. And goodness, does it ever drive 100% better than the Element.

Not getting knocked around in the wind or anything else is nothing short of wonderful.

So here is our new to us, used 2008 Honda Pilot.

Plus to this one, is the gas mileage is the same as the Element and it has a much higher cargo weight capacity than the E, something we really need. Plus it will tow 4,500lbs. Which will great in the future.

Evergreen Air Museum

2011-06-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Spruce Goose and family. The thing is so big, is impossible to get it all in one shot. ;O)

Enjoying the Air and Space Museum, both DH and DS really enjoyed themselves.

Like this Plane enough, will be made into a painting at some point.

Inside of the Spruce Goose.

They had to try out the F111 Trainer... which didn't work sadly. For what one pays to go to this museum, stuff should work.

Remember seeing these fighters taking off at NAS Alameda. And is another plane that will end up being painted.

Trying to land the Rover, DS did a great job and they said that is he the type of person they would hire.

DH.... well lets say........... I love him anyway. ;O)

Those old plane seats were pretty comfy.

The Last week we were Stationed at NAS Miramar, the then" Top Gun " base, I saw one of these landing. Was incredibly impressive.

Last but not least, a piece of the Berlin Wall.

It wonderful do go on a mini Vacation with DH and DS, we had a great time.

Mount St Helens

2011-06-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

DH and DS enjoying the view of Mt St Helens. Was a beautiful day, it was warm but felt a nice cool breeze coming off the Mountain. OK well in this area, the nice cool breeze could just about knock you off your feet!

Can see the Mountain steaming in the background and the Moonscape around the base. The original valley floor in this area, was 600ft lower than it is now. That is a lot of stuff the Volcano choked out.

Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them. This is a wider view of the valley floor and the mountain. It is impressive to see in person, just the size and scale of all that went on, is mind boggling.

A wee Chipmunk posing for the camera, on one of the original tree's taken out by the Volcano.

A Lake before we arrived at St Helens. St Helens could be seen to the left of this photo.

Captured a shot of the helicopter flying over the Valley floor. In this area you can see the Ash covering where the river used to be, the guide said it was 200ft above the original Valley floor.

Another river and you can see three Elk walking in the upper right hand corner of this photo.

DH and DS posing for a photo in front of the very long bridge on the way to St Helens.

It was an incredible day.

The weather was perfect for the day's outing. The views spectacular, people friendly. Even had to jump start an older Asian couple's car twice. Glad we were there to help so they didn't get stranded.

Stjarna's first Body clip

2011-06-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Very happy Stjarna, sporting her first Body clip. She did really well.

Stjarna, with Dyfra and Edda in the background. I did not clip Stjarna's legs and could not clip all of her face because I was using my giant clippers. Love how she is still shinny after being clipped.

I think Stjarna's major lack of proper care for all those years by the previous owner and her age, is still causing her not to shed her coat normally. With Stjarna, the fur on her neck was still really long and her body was a little shorter but no where near what I would call normal. No where near slicked out like Dyfra's coat is.

She does seem to be a lot happier not sweating like she was before I clipped her. I did have her tested for Cushings but that was neg.

Maggie, Sheep and Flowers

2011-05-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

The lambs have about tripled in size. They are halter training well, super friendly, smart and love to be scratched. I have them in with Maggie now and they all get along well.

Japanese Flowering Cherry....what is left of them at Sunset last night. There are beautiful carpets of petals on the bright green grass.

The weather has been mostly rain, so everything is bright and green, quite beautiful out.

Hoping we get a week of sunshine soon.

Coffee Cake and Strawberries

2011-05-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

I have been remiss about showing photos of yummy food. LOL Here is a wonderful Coffee Cake my DS made, served with fresh strawberries. Makes a wonderful breakfast!

Nari in Spring

2011-05-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

Nari, walking through a lush carpet of bright green grass and flower petals.

Very happy to have good weather and perfect Temps. She even caught a Kangaroo Mouse yesterday and was quite proud of herself.

Rainbow clouds and flowering trees

2011-05-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

The Grandmother Crab Apple tree is just loaded with flowers now.

Spring is really here and the Japanese flowering cherry trees are in full bloom finally! And a carpet of petals on the ground. Much more impressive in person though.

So many flowers, that the tree branches are bowing.

We had some rainbow clouds the other day that covered the sky in a narrow band. Sadly the camera had a hard time capturing the colors but I will share the photos any way. If you click on the photo, you can see a larger photo.

Finally a Day of Spring ~

2011-05-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a very wet March, April and beginning of May, we had one day of beautiful weather so the Flowering Japanese Cherry tree decided they had better start flowering now.

I love this view.

The Flowering Cherry Tree the evening before during Sunset.

The Japanese Cherry Tree, flowering at the front gate. This is the one I had to cut back drastically because of the snow this past March. So it looks a little rough around the edges but still pretty.

So after our stunning day yesterday, it is back to heavy rain.

New Riding pants

2011-05-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

I know, boring news. But hey, I haven't had any good riding pants for oh... goodness.. since my DS was a year old. Back then I was nice an thin, now a days, well, lets just say I have a well rounded figure.

Unfortunately, my camera doesn't like cloudy days and low light, so the photos aren't the best.

These are boot leg Jean Breeches, with a very long knee patch. They are a really good quality denim, should be able to handle, tree branches, blackberry bushes and the like with no problems.

Finally getting Stjarna to learn how to bend around my leg and flex her body more.

Have to say these riding jeans are super comfortable!

Tribbles

2011-05-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is a Tribble, the cats, love Tribbles.

The reason Star Trek had problems with Tribbles is because..........

They didn't have any Cats on board to keep them under control.

Now you too, can enjoy Tribbles without worry, because for each dozen Tribbles, we will throw in a free cat. ;O)

Here let me help you

2011-05-01T07:32:00.001-07:00

DS on the phone with his Father, trying to figure out how to change the back windshield Wiper. Which of course, means Nari has to see what he is doing.

Here you can see if she is asking him, if he needs help.

You can click on the photo to see a bigger picture.

Nari decided she needs to show him how it is done, so she jumps onto his shoulders.

Here you can see Nari trying to get to the refill so she can put in on the car for her person. LOL

Riding Stjarna

2011-05-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

I did not put my international Orange Vest on for this ride, should of, so you can see it. Was thinking to do something with the Breast Collar so it would glow like the Parson's.

There is no way, anyone can say they didn't see you or you looked like a Deer with this on.

Cars also slow way down on the road, which is wonderful!

Anyway, Yesterday I did a short ride on Stjarna. Have been able to keep her sound but it has taken lots of meds, supplements and a really good Farrier. She also wears Gloves with gel inserts on her fronts.

But she is so very happy going out and being with me. Quite a zippy mare now that she is in good health.

And what a beautiful place to ride in.

Lots of Hail

2011-04-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

In fact, ever since we moved to the NW from NH, I have never seen so much hail. I did not get a photo of it but I heard a weird sound and looked out the bedroom window, and here comes a wall of white.... very impressive to say the least because it was hail. Small hail Thank goodness.

And it was Bouncy hail! Tried to take photos of that, but wasn't really able to capture how impressive it was. If you click on the photos you can kind'a see some of the hail bouncing back up.

Where's Spring and some lamb photos

2011-04-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

INSTALLING SPRING...
███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE.

Install delayed....please wait. Installation failed.

Please try again. 404 error: Season not found. Season "Spring" cannot be located.

The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try again......

Sheesh... Mother nature sure has some kind of sense of humor.

Halter training the lambs. They are doing really well and following quite readily. So I let them eat around the house this morning, while I was doing some chores.

Very picturesque capture, lambs near the very old fruit trees. Which by the way haven't even flowered yet. The Fruit trees, not the lambs. ;O)

They are really friendly and are exploring all over the place. No worries with them. First time on the porch, at least they did not leave any ....ah .. presents like Edda does.

I heard a banging at the back door and .....Guess who came knocking and steaming up the windows? Can you see Mia to the bottom right?

Stairs no problems for lambs.

No worries with these two. They wanted me to come out, then they followed me perfectly and I lead them back into their pasture. Think they wanted to go back in! Smart lambs.

Fruit trees are just budding out but haven't even flowered yet. :P

First Magnolia flower just starting to open.

Daffodils, hanging their heads because of the weather but at least they are finally starting to Bloom.

And can you believe it, we have had a pretty heavy frost 2 mornings in a row and the temps feel more like late Autumn instead of spring, for goodness sakes.

But at least it is still pretty and green.

Naming the Lambs and the new Scratch thingy

2011-04-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Cats had decided scratching the back of the chair was a fun thing to do. Me, not so much. So I found a heavy duty card board scratch thingy, not sure what else to call it. And that has seemed to of done the trick. They now happily play on and scratch the new thingy, not the chair. Just wish I thought of it sooner.

Was trying to get Mia to pose pretty for me but she was more interested in playing.

After reading about all the interesting ah.... name ideas for the lambs by my friends and DH ;O) LOL....

I had these two names pop into my head, Apollo and Atlas. Both are named after satellites, as I figure once they figure out where their grain and hay come from, they will be running around me, like two satellites.

It hasn't been a full day yet since they arrived, but this morning when they saw me walking towards them with the feed bucket, I sure had their attention. They even followed me into the shed. Apollo was the first to come up to the bucket before I could back away. Atlas, stood off a little with a hopeful look in his eye, so I backed away and he came and ate out of his feed pan. I do not think it will take long to tame them the way I want. So halter training can start next week.

I do really enjoy having sheep again.

Looks like we are going to finally have a much needed break from the rain today. So much to do, so little time to do it.

Katahdin Lambs arrived this morning.

2011-04-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have a bit of a grass problem... too much of it in my horse paddocks. I do not want to use Toxic stuff to get rid of the grass, so the next best thing is sheep. They can graze the grass so short the horse's can't get to it but it leaves a cover over the ground and less likely to get muddy.

If things weren't the way they are, would of gotten a couple more. But as they grow the next couple of months, they will start eating more and more grass and weeds.

Can't tell you how much I have missed having sheep. These two wether's are Katahdin hair sheep and I love the colors they have. Another plus, is I do not have to shear.

Will leave them alone for about a week and then halter training begins. Need to be able to move them from pasture to pasture and want them a little more tamed out. Glad I kept all my old sheep stuff from back when.

Katahdins are a medium sized sheep, males weighing between 180 and 200lbs when full grown, so the biggest sheep I have ever dealt with. And one of the few US breeds of sheep.

Spring ? Well Almost

2011-04-05T10:31:00.001-07:00

DS going out to do a burn for me. Of course Nari has to help and rode on DS's shoulders all the way out to the burn pile. Nari loves going everywhere with DS and helping him out!

Down in the Valley area's, it has been full spring for a few weeks. Up here in the hills, we are not quite there yet. This is the first spring flower we have blooming. The Japanese cherry trees are no where near blooming yet.

March was extremely wet, in fact the most rain I have ever seen here and April isn't starting out any better.

The next hill over, the one we named "Rainbow Hill" doesn't disappoint. All we need is a little rain, no problem there and a bit of sunshine and we always get a rainbow, this one is a large double!

Above is the close up and below, can see the double.

NOT moving to VA

2011-03-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

No go on the Move, they decided to not pay for the fencing and wanted to up the rent $400.00 a month. Neither which we can afford to do.

If we had that kind of money, we would of taken one of a couple of nice rentals that had big 6 stall, full barns with lofts, many out sheds, fully fenced and crossed fenced and turn key for horses. One was asking $1,300 a month the other $1,500 a month.

So $1,600 a month for a place not set up for horses, no barn or fencing... lets just say if I had the money I would pass on it any way.

We would rather just own our own place and not get jurked around by land lords.

So will be here until the Farm sells.

Tree over driveway now out of the way.

2011-03-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Before and after pictures of the Branches of the Japanese flowering cherry tree in the drive way.

Tree over the drive way as been trimmed. We had to use a ladder, hack saw and pruners, managed to get it trimmed as far up as we could. I got the bigger branches and had DS do the clean up. Might not be able to get a big truck in but at least I can get the E out. Once the roads are plowed that is, what a mess out there.
DS heard something like a tree coming down and then he said Mom, the power lines are bouncing. Sure enough, told him if them come down to run to the house. Luckily, all they did was bounce wildly.
The adventures in Oregon. :P

Had to add this photo, kind cool, snow is sticking every where!

More Snow

2011-03-01T07:05:00.000-08:00

Can see why we are not going any where until I can figure out what to do with the branches hanging over the drive way.

Power out last night, off and on for.. seemed like forever, feed back through the lines and I have never heard a Frig Electronically scream, lights over bright in bursts but before I could get to the house's circuit breaker to shut the house off, the power went out.
Look out the windows this morning,we a heavy wet snow and we got 12". Power finally back on this morning but it is flickering, so I not sure how long it will stay on. :P
Not sure if all the electronic stuff is working, will check it all out later, when I know the power is going to stay on.

I have to go to town tomorrow... stupid weather. If this keeps up, will have to change the appointment to get the transmission serviced. sigh ~~

Had to turn the hot wire off, at least until this snow goes away.

Just a shot of the branches. Hopefully no more trees come down, cutting our power.

Mini Horse pasture looking towards the house.

Here the Doug Fir trees look like they are wearing wigs.

Can hear branches coming down around us, even heard a big tree go down in the back woods of the property.

Something I will have to go check out when the weather is better.

More Horse photographs in the snow

2011-02-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

Beautiful shot of Edda's face.

Edda, Stjarna and Maggie are Enjoying a Run.

She just had to buck, LOL, look at Dyfra's tail!

I made sure of have DS bring Stjarna back in and Edda decided to follow.

Lots of Snow and action shots of the horses

2011-02-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

Edda enjoying the view.

Maggie galloping through deep snow.

Stjarna

Dyfra and Maggie heading for the woods at full gallop.

Dyfra and Stjarna galloping. Can see how deep the snow is.

Dyfra and Stjarna running for the hills.

Blasting through the snow!

Edda spinning, so she can blast off after the other horses.

We ended up with another 3"'s of snow last night and cold as a.... lets just say it was 16* out this morning out of the wind. It has since warmed up to 25* !

Have to admit it is pretty though.

Nari and the Snow

2011-02-24T16:57:00.000-08:00

Nari really wanted to stay on Dyfra's back but I wanted to go out riding. So she finally figured out the boys shoulders where better than sitting on the snow.

Nari walking towards Dyfra , not all happy about the snow. She wasn't at all cold but she loves laying on a Icelandic horse's back.

You expect me to sit pretty for a picture in this stuff, she seems to be saying.

Lots of snow in February

2011-02-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

This is the point of the pasture where DS has his archery target, looking out over the hills this morning.

Night pasture early this morning after feeding the horses. This is before the additional 2 inches of hail balls, that came later on this day.

Driveway, not that one can see it.

Night pasture trees

Night pasture run in shed in the early morning.

Back of the house in the early sunrise.

Maggie in Snow

2011-02-24T15:28:00.001-08:00

Pawing the snow to make sure the grass is still there.

Maggie having a gallop through the snow.
Maggie is adorable.

Edda Snow photos

2011-02-24T15:18:00.001-08:00

This farm is so beautiful.

Edda is standing down hill.

More snow this morning about 3" originally, then we had a break for a little while.

Mother nature added another 2" of hail balls on top of that and afterwards we had some bright blue sky, so I came out took some photos.

Edda trotting and making a funny face. But it is nice getting some new updated photos of Edda. She is a pretty young horse and wanted to get some better photos of her.

Need to scratch that itch.

Getting some air jumping the ditch.

What is cool, is there is 2" of little hail balls on top of the 2"+ of snow, was fun walking through it.

Icelandic's and Maggie the Mini

2011-02-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

Miss Maggie

The high winds blowing Dyfra's mane around in a pretty fashion.

Abstract shot of Edda's mane

And a number of photos of Edda, who had to follow me all over the pasture while taking photos to see if she could help.

Tolting to Maggie, not the greatest angle...

Mia update and the downed Grandmother Cedar tree

2011-02-22T15:25:00.000-08:00

I have been trying for a couple of weeks to get a good photo of Mia but no such luck, not enough light so I get the possessed kitty photos. DS took these photos today of her in the super bright wash room and got a couple of good photos.

Normally she is not allowed in the dryer.

Mia is doing a lot better, no sign of the abscess and her fur is finally starting to slowly grow back in.

The downed Cedar tree, snapped off about half way. The tree is a lot bigger than it looks here in the photos.

Have a chain saw but it is a bit small for this tree. Need to get it cleaned up but not sure what I am going to do at this point.

Mia's abscess

2011-01-21T09:49:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, when my roof was leaking around the Vent for the fan above the oven and having to deal with that.

I saw that Mia had an Abscess at the right back corner of her jaw. Weird shape but being the weekend, trying to find a good Vet wasn't going to happen. She seemed to be doing ok.

On Monday morning after the morning chores, I had DS take Mia to the Vet, to be dropped off and checked out, while I waited at home for Karen to come fix my roof.

Was grateful Karen was able to fix the leak on the roof. Thank you Karen!

Of course is the day the farrier also decided to show up....

I picked up Mia later that day and would need to flush the abscess twice a day.

Busy day to say the least.

Three days later...

Back from the Vet, had a nice long talk with her. Basically Mia got bit, figured that.... those field mice are huge. She is not allowed outside but she does hunt in the garage. Glad I caught it as soon as I did.
The abscess was very deep and in and around the nerves around her neck, also pressing against her wind pipe and spine. Vet had never seen an abscess that bad, over 3oz of puss out of that tiny neck of hers. There is no way to go in and make sure all areas of puss is removed, not where the abscess was. Vet said considering how bad the abscess was, she is doing well.
So she has to keep her collar on until the pocket closes up and I need to keep flushing it twice a day until it does so. Might take awhile.

Of course I will worry until she is fully healed.

She will have to wear the collar until she is healed.

Sadie not overly happy with the way Mia smells and looks but doing pretty well considering.

George Washington's Birthplace

2011-01-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Well, since this is the George Washington's birthplace blog entry, thought I would show the house again.

The Park Rangers were really nice, from taking a photo of us, to driving us around in a golf cart, which enabled me to see more of the place. Would like to give a big Thank you to them.

One of the Bedrooms... love the fireplace and wood work.

The formal dinning room. One of the only original pieces on the table is that little gold colored flask.

Inside of the kitchen... Nice fireplace for cooking food.

The Loom.

One thing I have always wanted to with the yarn I make, is weave blankets on a nice loom. Maybe some day.

Wood fencing looking towards the Monument.

Some nice little out buildings, top and bottom photos. The usual buildings, little stable, blacksmiths shop and so on.

Cute little piglet, from heritage breed of pig. I like the size of these animals, nice and small.

They also raise Tunis sheep but I did not get to see those, this time around.

Old Jamestowne

2011-01-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

Figured I should get the rest of the vacation photos up on the Blog so family and friends could see.

Takes a number of hours to do this, but worth it.

This is Old Jamestowne. Luckily.. unlike Williamsburg, they let you use a very nice scooter for free. Without that, I would not of been able to check this place out.

DH decided to be cheeky by puffing his stomach out....so I took the photo of him anyway and post it for all to see. LOL

One silly man he is!

Photo was taken in front of the Jamestown Monument.

A recreation of the original church, the people where Episcopalians.

An out line of the old Fort. What you do not see in this shot is that the other side of the Front and housing that was once here, ended up in the river when the banks were eroded away.

A recreation of one of timber frame buildings. This site is an on going archeological dig site, which I find really cool. One of those dream jobs.

Distance photo of the Church.

Old Jamestowne, was surrounded by marsh and water.

I just had to buy a little blue hand blow flower vase. If this house wasn't in the state of flux, I would of bought another piece. It is simple but beautiful and they were able to recreate the exact mix, to get glass of the past.

Hand made in America, a wonderful thing to have.

Sadly, I just did not have the energy to check out the recreated Jamestown with the ships and houses, looks like DH and I would love it. Another plus here, they do have scooters.

Mia and the Candy

2011-01-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

This is not a photo of that day... or what she was doing but I wanted to put a photo up anyway.

Was really hungry after cleaning the horse's hooves. Too early for lunch so I got a couple of organic Twizzler type candies.

I put one down next to my water glass and out of the corner of my eye I see Mia, slowly making her way over to my candy. Like I won't notice. She sniffed...her eyes got big as marbles, her ears went side ways...one white tipped paw ever so slowly reaching for that yummy treat and I say...

Mia, what do you think you are doing? She stops her paw in mid air and She looks at me, then slowly lowers her paw and I take the candy out of her reach..she gives me a hurt look.

Then she starts sniffing again..going towards ........ and I said... Mia those are your nail clippers. I ask her if she wants her claws clipped again? Oh.. the look she gave me. LOL Big case of Cat stink eye!
Ears come back up, eyes go back to normal.. she sits down and gave me one of those cat looks, as if to say... No thank you. Licks her paw and then she walks off. Was too funny.

Williamsburg 5 ~ close ups and back areas

2011-01-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

DH snapped this photo of me while we were walking through many of the back gardens. Really enjoyed walking in this area, there was so much to see.

Was really glad I bought these winter boots from Cabela's. Not only did my feet stay nice and warm, they are super comfy, the soles have super grip in snow and ice. I did not slip once!

Walked hand in hand with DH, under the trees that are gracefully arching over this side road. Was rather romantic.

What is hard to see, is the thick sheet Ice under that bit of sand thrown on top.

Some more of the period Wreaths. They were quite creative.

Here is a wreath with cotton right off the plant.

An adorable little house and shed.

Love the split rail fencing. A lot of work but so beautiful and peaceful looking. We both really enjoyed visiting here and it is my kind of town! ;O)

Hoping I can go back some day and see the other half of Colonial Williamsburg.

This was also our first Vacation ever and we both enjoyed it a lot!

Williamsburg 4

2011-01-04T07:34:00.000-08:00

Beautiful little shops.

A nice Carriage house or barn.

Beautiful house and shop.

A cold morning. Bundled up as well as we were, was quite pleasant out.

A field looking towards some brick buildings.

Two of the bigger houses in Williamsburg.

Did not get to go inside either of these houses, this time around. But hopefully in the future I will.

Williamsburg Long shots

2011-01-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

The City Hall and way, way in the background, you can see another big building.

This is the only photo in this post to be taken on 25 Dec 2010.

DH took a series of what I call "Longshots" to try to show the size of this place.

Each photo is only a small fraction of one area.

Was wonderful to stroll down the roads looking at these beautiful places with my handsome DH.

There are some seriously beautiful buildings here. All these photos where taken on 29 Dec 2010. Looks quite picturesque with all the snow.

The Governors house in colonial Williamsburg

2011-01-04T07:15:00.001-08:00

The commons in front of the Governors palace. The size of this place is just incredible.

A close up, can see they liked to use brick and had walls around the Governor's place.

The start of the tour and this lady was fun to listen to.

I was not able to take the whole tour because of the number of stairs but I did enjoy what I was able to see.

The Parlor.

Their front hall was loaded with weapons, sure meant to either impress or scare the residents and visitors.

Portraits.

And some inside photos.

Is an impressive place.

Colonial Williamsburg 3

2011-01-01T11:52:00.001-08:00

Cute little shops, Williamsburg has so much Character.

Have to say.. I am itching to start a new painting, just have to decide which one I want to paint first, will not be easy to choose!

Front of one of the old houses.

Another shot of one of the back gardens. Really enjoyed following the unbeaten path. Could get more of a feeling for the place and found interesting nooks.

The only day they had the horses's out, which was on Christmas day. I really wanted to go on a carriage ride, horse person I am. That and I find it very romantic. ;O)

But sadly on the 29th, with all the Ice and snow, they could not bring out the carriages. So hopefully next time.

The George Wythe house.

George Washington's head quarters just before the British siege of Yorktown, and French General Rochambeau made the home his headquarters after victory at Yorktown. In 1776, the house accommodated Virginia General Assembly delegate Thomas Jefferson and his family.
Is a really nice old house, I was told is 85% original. Repaired or replaced pieces were very well done to say the least. .

The Armory, we just walked by and did not go in, though I wish we had. Ah well.. another of those to save for next time.

Williamsburg is a really big place. Between the two days I could only walk about half of it.

Needless to say, I loved walking hand in hand with my wonderful DH.

The only down side to Williamsburg, is if you are handicapped in any way. I could of seen the whole place if I had access to a scooter or even a wheel chair.

They do not offer scooters and only have a couple of folding wheel chairs. So if you have any mobility issues, you need to bring your own transport.

Colonial Williamsburg 2

2011-01-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

DH snapped this photo of me looking at that cute little Tavern.

There are so many house's I would love to have. LOL Is my kind of place. VBG

Some random shots DH took for me as we were walking around.

Can see the period Christmas decorations on the front of the houses and the Icicles add a nice touch.

Any photo you see with the blue sky and or with snow like this one, the photos where taken on the 29th of Dec. The photos with the clouds and no snow, were taken on Christmas day.

A very pretty Well.

Pretty sure this was the wood workers shop.

The Trip to Virginia

2011-01-01T06:20:00.001-08:00

Decided to visit Husband in Virginia. So off on the plane flight I went... on the only direct flight offered.
Flight in, was smooth until we got to DC ... bit of a bumpy landing. Dulles is huge, I mean major huge. Had no idea I had to take a tram to end up where Husband can come get me. Also learned... I am shipping/mailing all my clothes home. Even a light carry on bag is too much for me. Have never been an Airport so big! Also very, very glad I did the upgraded seats! Can we say.. cattle car?!
Flying has become much more of ah... an adventure and not for the better sadly.

Welcome to Virginia.. OMG the traffic... 5 hours to get to DH's place, when it should of only taken 2 hours. By that time, felt like just going back to the Airport to fly home.
This country mouse is no longer used to that kind of traffic. :P

Next day was a little better, got to recoup. Is really nice to see husband. VBG
And where he lives, there is little traffic, so much more relaxing.

The day after we went to Williamsburg, what a wonderful place! Could only walk a 1/4 of Wiiliamsburg but I did have fun. (Wish they had scooter rentals! Or let me borrow a horse! LOL )
I could see myself riding my bay Icelandic mare or driving Maggie in her traditional wooden cart. Is so flat, wee Maggie would have no issues. Would love to have one of those lovely houses and barns! Oh.. and gardens.. sheds.. Did I say I love the place?! LOL
Just started to snow lightly when we left, was almost magical that Christmas day and so very special to be there with my Husband.

Glad we went yesterday because we are getting quite the snow storm today. Good day to stay in and found out, "How to tame a Dragon" is a really good movie!

Love seeing all the big farms, though a little surprised not to see big beautiful Barns too. Like ones see's in Oregon.

DH, sharing his hat with a new friend. LOL At this point it was starting to snow. Christmas day is a great time to go to Williamsburg, yes, it is cold if you don't dress warmly, but there are very few people there.

All the photos you see with the clouds.. was taken on 25 Dec 2010. Any bright sky photos, they were taken a couple of days later.

I would love to have this Barn yarn! This is the way a town should be. ;O)

A very beautiful scene. Tiny house with a Big chimney and a wonderful split rail fence.

A back garden through the gate. I loved exploring the back gardens, where no one goes.

DH took most of the photos for me.

I love this shot. An outside view of the Barnyard I am standing in above.

Will be adding more photos and so on, in the next few days.

Family photos

2010-12-17T16:41:00.001-08:00

DS and his outside Main Coon Cat Nari and Nari being where she likes to be... on DS's shoulder.

She is one happy cat and Lad too for that matter!

OK... a so, so photo of me. I do not normally do photos of me because I am not photogenic.

Down to size 8 pants..and the pants are starting to look big. Wearing my really comfy Cabela zip on boots and a soft Alpaca wool sweater.

Wee Christmas Tree and Nari the shoulder Cat

2010-12-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

We have a small house, not really any room to set a Tree up this year and then, there are the Cats. Sure DS would get tired of picking up a large xmas tree and or the ornaments several times a day, as the Cats try to rearrange it to their liking. So this year..we just decided on a tiny table top xmas tree, set away from the Cats.

Is still festive and smells just as good as the large trees.

Nari, with her favorite person, standing on her favorite spot (her 2nd favorite spot is laying on Dyfra). Any time DS goes out side there is Nari, wanting to sit on DS shoulder, when he is standing, walking or doing chores. LOL I told him, I could always design a platform to go on his shoulders so Nari can sit better, but DS just looked at me kind'a funny ....and I swear... he rolled his eyes! Can you believe it?? LOL

Dyfra's Sporting Stjarna's Parson's rump, so someone I know could see it on a grey horse... couldn't miss her could you!!?

Excuse the odd angle of the photo and even with a rainsheet on, Dyfra finds new and interesting ways to get dirty.

Baking bread today, and the house smells wonderful!

A cool Tuesday morning Sunrise

2010-11-24T11:03:00.000-08:00

Woke up to 18* temps on Tuesday morning but it looked like it would be a beautiful day. Can see the Moon on the upper right and the sun just touching the next hills over.

And a Closer shot of the Hills next over, camera couldn't quite capture the stunning beauty of that morning.

Made it all the way up to 20* later that day. I saddled Dyfra up to ride the fence line to make sure the poachers hadn't messed with it.

Had my new shoes on and with the Protection Vest I now wear every time I ride..

Stayed nice and warm.

DS even had to use the snow shovel for the first time this year. ;O)

If we can't have Sun ....a Fire place will do...

2010-11-22T19:50:00.001-08:00

This is what cats love to do during a winter storm.... Sun themselves in front of the Fireplace.

You can't see DS off to the side.. but he is playing with Mia. She likes to bat the foil ball back at him, when he tosses it to her. Also a great winter storm pass time.

Can see her in... "well hurry up" Mode... "toss the ball already... I am waiting". LOL

First Snows of Winter

2010-11-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

Started snowing Sunday morning and has basically been snowing since then. Not a whole lot but enough to turn everything white.

Edda in the snow around 1pm on Sunday. Snow is still kind'a new to her. Can you believe is a little over 12.3 hands now!

The Icelandic's are loving this weather... they spend a lot of time running and playing. Is a joy to watch.

A little more snow on the ground.

Right now it is Monday evening... and along with the snow and hail every now and then, we are having fairly high winds. Just hope the power doesn't go out.

Have a good snow shovel, plenty of wood, food for us and the animals...

We should be all set for awhile.

An November Evening

2010-11-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening it was so nice, I thought I would stay out after feeding the horses their evening meal.

After being fed and well groomed, there is nothing better than a relax rolling in the Evening sunshine... LOL Stjarna is really enjoying it.

Next up we have wee Maggie... and her cute, adorable teddy bear like winter ears.

Think the will be the last time I will Roach her mane, as I won't be driving this winter. But she really doesn't seem to mind having no super thick Mane to lug around.

When I looked up into the sky from taking photos of the horses and foliage I see a Rainbow cloud. Of course I had to try to take a photo of it... camera wasn't happy about it, had a hard time trying to focus but it came out fairly well.

The Evening sun in Nov looking toward the night pasture, hay field and our woods beyond. This is such a beautiful place.

A little Fall color.

Everyone is doing well, staying busy to say the least. DH is enjoying his job, DS is trying to find work and practicing with his Longbow and me.. I am handspinning more yarn and working on my online shops.

British Longbow arrived

2010-10-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Will take more photos in the next couple of days but even stringed, the bow is taller than DS. Is a Traditional Red Oak Huntsmen's Longbow design from the Middle Ages.

He is also going to have to build some muscle because this is one powerful bow.

Can see one of his new cool looking Noggle Stone arrows in flight, too.

Archery

2010-10-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful morning for a little Archery practice. Can see our lopsided straw bale targets. LOL

Getting ready...

DS is using his small Martin Bow until his Red Oak British Longbow comes in.

Can you find the blue arrow in flight?

DS is doing quite well.

Me... I am a little more rusty. But it is the first time since the accident I have been able to shoot my Horsebow and not get a headache.

Forgot how much fun Archery is.

Cool Leaf Moth, DS and Nari, Stjarna taking an morning nap.

2010-10-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Stjarna happily sunning herself after her breakfast.

DS, getting some help on how to move a bale of hay from Nari. LOL

This cool looking Moth that ended up right by the back door. Looks a lot like a Autumn Leaf, have never seen this kind before.

Lush Green pastures and working on fencing

2010-10-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Finally put up the last line of heavy duty hot wire. We have had a bear trying its darnest to get into the the horse pasture, over the camel backs.. even bent one of those 8' tall heavy duty T posts. Sigh ~~ So beefing up things even more. Have a predator rated charger too, so it has some bite to it.

If the Bear keeps being a problem, will have to call Fish and Game... that is if they will do anything about it. There is nothing to entice the Bear at all...other than the horses.

Beautiful slightly foggy morning yesterday. The sun did come up a little later. The weather has been perfect for doing things outside.

Can see how lush and green the miniature horse pasture, as we call it, is. And the main hay pasture is growing quite well now. Much better than last spring. Which means, the horse's haven't been able to run in that pasture during the day as the green grass is too rich.

Normally this time of year most everything is brown, but not this year.

Am going to have to put some horse's back in this pasture for a few days, so they can eat it down.

This is such a beautiful place!

Homemade Rice Milk ~

2010-09-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Allergic to cow dairy or just do not want to use dairy products but need some kind of milk to cook with. Here is a good recipe that will allow you to do just that.

BASIC HOMEMADE RICE MILK - Adjusted

yield 6-8 cups

You can use all kinds of brown rice - basmati, jasmine, short grain, long grain, even sweet brown - to make this milk. While they all work, I like the overall effect of short grain best. But the choice is up to you, feel free to experiment.

1/2 cup short grain brown rice

8 cups water

optional: stevia or other natural sweetener to taste, Maple syrup, or 1-3 pitted soaked dates

2 TBP sunflower oil to make it creamier.

Rinse rice and soak for for 6-8 hours. Rinse then place in a large pot with 6-8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook until rice is totally soft and starts to dissolve and get very mushy, about 45 minutes to an hour.

You can also do this in a crockpot and cook it on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Once your rice is super soft, transfer rice and water to a blender,, fill your blender halfway with the rice mixture and halfway with water and blend until totally smooth, working in batches as necessary. If using, add sweetener to taste and blend until combined. If you are not using a Vitamix or other high-powered blender, you may want to pour through a fine sieve, straining out any small chunks. Pour into jars, cool, and cover, then store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Shake well before consuming. Milk will thicken slightly as it cools; dilute as necessary when ready to use.

A look at the label of Rice Dream Rice Milk reveals that it contains oil. Oil does make things creamier, and can add about 2 Tablespoons of organic sunflower oil to your batch of milk.

You can also add about 4 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup to our batch of milk,instead of sugar, as most are still used to the slightly sweeter taste of the Rice Dream product than what you get from homemade. It’s not a big difference…just a little one.

You may have to experiment to get the milk the consistency you want. Have fun!

Going to Pull the House off the Market, Sunrise and Edda Dyfra photos.

2010-09-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

Early Sunrise the other morning, looking over Rainbow Hill.

DH and I have decided to pull the Farm off the Market. No one is willing to pay a fair price and since we owe the bank and do not want to destroy our excellent credit....

We will be keeping the farm and next year, mostly likely the first week of March, will put it back on the market and see how it goes.

Finding a Lease on the other end hasn't produced any results either. Mostly do to my health issues..ie.. needing to live in a very quiet place, my lack of ability to go up and down flights of stairs easily and our limited budget.

Sunrise a couple of mornings ago.

Not the best photograph but you can see how tall Edda is getting. Dyfra is a solid 12.3 hands tall... think Edda is taller than that now.